The Heroes of Olympus The Gods Read The Lost Hero

partypony posted on Jan 01, 2011 at 02:29AM
DISCLAIMER-
Do I look like a middle-aged male American to you? I'm about as far as you can get to not being RR.

Title: The Gods Read The Lost Hero
Rating: T 'cause I'm paranoid.
Type: I think it's comedy/adventure/fantasy, or something of the sort.
Characters: The Olympians, the cast of The Lost Hero.
Sypnosis: A mysterious package arrives at Mount Olympus, sent by yours truly. What happens when the gods read The Lost Hero before the events happened?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N, in case you hadn't noticed, I discontinued this... Sorry about that, I just couldn't find the motivation to write anymore. And writing without having fun is very... trying? Yeah...
And please, LEAVE THIS FORUM ALONE. STOP COMMENTING. IT IS ABANDONED, AND I PLAN FOR IT TO BE AT THE VERY BACK OF THE FORUM SECTION WHERE NO ONE CAN FIND IT -AND THAT CAN'T HAPPEN IF ALL OF YOU KEEP COMMENTING ON IT!
I'm sorry for that outburst, but really, just leave it. The reason it's discontinued is because I don't have time to go on my laptop to write, and really, school is getting harder and harder without the distraction of writing a fanfic that will most likely take more than a year to finish, and that's only if I post one chapter a week, which is nearly impossible with my schedule. I might bring back this forum next summer (if I'm still here), but for now, just leave it alone.

~partypony
last edited on Nov 05, 2011 at 06:43PM

The Heroes of Olympus 536 replies

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over a year ago partypony said…
big smile
Expect the first chapter by tomorrow, like a New Year`s day thing.
over a year ago RomanGreekDemi said…
oh...... I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago partypony said…
big smile
Ok. since i know how the waiting feels, here's the prologue.


*This is set between the events of The Last Olympian and The Lost Hero


Zeus was sitting in his throne, telling Aeolus to that a storm is supposed to go through New Jersey. A package suddenly appeared in the hearth. Strangely, it wasn’t burning. He picked it up, sure it was for Hermes. There was a note tied to it. He read it and summoned the gods mentioned.
Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Hestia, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Hermes, and Athena appeared at their thrones.
“What?” Ares asked, irritated. “I was in the middle of... doing something.”
Zeus said, “There is a package addressed to all of us.”
Everyone looked at Hermes, who said, “I don’t remember a package addressed to all of us. Don’t look at me.”
Zeus read aloud the note:

To: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Hermes, and Athena

Hey guys! This is from the future, so I thought you might like to read these. Actually, it’s mostly for my own amusement, so please read. Enjoy!

Sincerely (not),
~partypony

PS: Please don’t try to change anything. It will all work out in the end... sort of. If you do, then I will erase your memories and take back the books.


The throne room was silent for a few moments. Athena spoke up. “I am rather curious. I suggest we read it.”
Everyone agreed. Athena opened the package and took out the first book. “The Lost Hero,” she read.
She then sat at her throne.
“Who’s the lost hero?” Hermes asked.
Athena rolled her eyes. “The point of reading the book is finding out what happens.”
Hermes sighed. Athena began to read.
---------------
yeah short, but whatev.
over a year ago RomanGreekDemi said…
isnt this similar 2 the demigod 1
over a year ago RomanGreekDemi said…
happy new year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now, can u post the second chap?
over a year ago Calypso0 said…
big smile
Happy new year!!!(better late tyan ever!;-))
this is gonna be really great.... plz post soon... plz plz plz...
over a year ago tessa34567 said…
smile
this is cool
over a year ago Biancadi said…
Please post soon ,it will be so cool if the gods read the lost hero
over a year ago HecateA said…
smile
Dude, that sounds epic! Please, please, pretty please!
over a year ago Starlight1o1 said…
You can't just stop the story there. I hope you didn't forget about this because I am dieing to know what happens next.
over a year ago psalm1003 said…
wink
Seriously! It soumds awesome! Besides, you posted the prologugue two months ago!
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago partypony said…
To whom it may concern,

I'm not posting, alright?
I found out that I'm not allowed to copy Rick Riordan's books. It's like, plagiarism, something like that.
I don't want Rick Riordan angry at me, and I don't want to argue with lawyers about copyrights.
I feel bad of abandoning this, but it has to be done.

Heartbreakingly yours,
~partypony

PS, if you want fanfics like this, I suggest you check out fanfiction.net.
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago HecateA said…
surprise
What? This isn't! You
a) Wouldn't be taking credit for the story or making profit
b) This isn't the Lost Hero, it's the gods READING the Lost hero.

Putting a disclaimer would make it all right!
over a year ago ThaliaGrace8 said…
I agree with hecate! THis is a really neat idea and i think that you could find loopholes...
over a year ago partypony said…
big smile
Oh ok then!
Thanks!
over a year ago Alex13126 said…
laugh
This is gonna be interesting....
over a year ago TheMagicWord said…
It should be fine, you arent making any money off of it and no one is going to be here that hasn't read the lost hero, so RR isn't losing any sales. Still, you should probably not recite the entire text of the lost hero. Don't take my word though, I'm not exactly experienced in this.
over a year ago psalm1003 said…
I think you will be good if u paraphrase and add extra details about th gods reading
over a year ago MoeSimpson said…
I think you can do that like write parts of the book and wirte like what the people reading in it did or said soemthing like that
Coz ive seen some stuff on fanfiction and do it exactly the same i think that as long as you dont try to publish it or anything you aloud to do it =]
over a year ago partypony said…
I
Jason

Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day.

“I wonder why that is,” said Dionysus. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

He woke in the backseat of a school bus, not sure where he was, holding hands with a girl he didn’t know.

“That’s so romantic,” sighed Aphrodite.

That wasn’t necessarily the rotten part.

“Of course it’s not!” exclaimed Aphrodite.

The girl was cute,

Aphrodite giggled.
“Aphrodite?” said Athena.
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”

but he couldn’t figure out who she was or what he was doing there.

“Strange,” commented Zeus. He couldn’t help but think of Jason, his son (in Jupiter form, of course).

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to think. A few dozen kids sprawled in the seats in front of him, listening to iPods, talking, or sleeping. They all looked around his age... fifteen? Sixteen? Okay, that was scary. He didn’t know his own age.

Athena glared at the book in disgust. “Is this really how dumb he is? Not even able to actually know his own age?”
“AMNESIA!” yelled Apollo.

A bus rumbled along a bumpy road. Out the windows, desert rolled by under a bright blue sky. Jason was pretty sure he didn’t live in the desert. He tried to think back... the last thing he remembered... The girl squeezed his hand. “Jason, you okay?” She wore faded jeans, hiking boots, and a fleece snowboarding jacket. Her chocolate brown hair was cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides. She wore no makeup like she was trying not to draw attention to herself, but it didn’t work. She was seriously pretty. Her eyes seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope-brown, blue, and green.

At this, everyone looked at Aphrodite. She gazed back at them innocently. “What? Did I do something wrong?”
Athena thought that there’s an extremely high chance, at least 89%, that this girl was a daughter of Aphrodite.

Jason let go of her hand.

“Aw..” said Aphrodite.

“Um, I don’t-” In front of the bus, a teacher shouted, “All right, cupcakes, listen up!”

“Cupcakes?” everyone said simultaneously. Then burst out laughing.

The guy was obviously a coach. His baseball cap was pulled low over his hair, so you could just see his beady eyes. He was a wispy goatee and a sour face, like he’d eaten something moldy. His buff arms and chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt. His nylon workout pants and Nikes were spotless white. A whistle hung from his neck, and a megaphone was clipped to his belt. He would have looked pretty scary if he hadn’t been five feet zero.

Hermes snickered. “Hedge?”
“Probably,” laughed Apollo. But a glare from Dionysus shut them up.
“You’re actually defending a satyr, Di?” mocked Ares. Dionysus switched his glare to him.

When he stood up the aisle, one of the students called, “Stand up, Coach Hedge!”

“Nice!” Hermes and Apollo high-fived each other.

“I heard that!” The coach scanned the bus for the offender. Then his eyes fixed on Jason, and his scowl deepened.

“He’s in tou-ble...” sang Apollo. Of course, everyone cringed. Apollo looked offended.

A jolt went down Jason’s spine. He was sure the coach knew he didn’t belong here.

“Damn right,” muttered Hera. She couldn’t help thinking of her plan. The plan she’d been working on ever since she suspected Gaea...

He was going to call Jason out, demand to know what he was doing on the bus-and Jason wouldn’t have a clue what to say.

“Lie!” quipped Hermes.
Athena sent him a look that clearly said, Shut up.

But Coach Hedge looked away and cleared his throat. “We’ll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don’t lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you back to campus the hard way.” He picked up a baseball bat and made like he was hitting a homer.

Ares grinned. “Now that’s how you keep discipline.”

Jason looked at the girl next to him. “Can he talk to us that way?”

Ares yelled, “Yes!”

She shrugged. “Always does. This is the Wilderness School. ‘Where kids are the animals.’” She said it like it was a joke they’d shared before.

“Probably did,” muttered Hera.

“This is some kind of mistake,” Jason said. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

“No, duh, Sherlock,” said Hephaestus.

The boy in front of him turned and laughed. “Yeah, right, Jason. We’ve all been framed! I didn’t run away six times. Piper didn’t steal a BMW.”

Aphrodite jumped. “Piper?”
“I guess that confirms my suspicions,” commented Athena.

The girl blushed. “I didn’t steal that car, Leo!”

“That’s it!” said Hermes. “Never admit you did it!”

“Oh I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You ‘talked’ the dealer into lending it to you?”

“She’s a charmspeaker,” said Athena and Aphrodite at the same time. They looked at each other in bewilderment.
“Wow,” said Poseidon. “Never thought I’d see the day...”

He raised his eyebrows at Jason like, Can you believe her? Leo looked like a Latino Santa’s elf,

“Oi!” said Hephaestus.
“He your child, Heph?” asked Apollo. Hephaestus nodded.
Hermes grinned. “You gotta admit... there’s a certain resemblance between Hephaestus and Santa. Except for the injury, of course... and the black beard... and the clothes... and the-“
“We get it,” interrupted Athena.

with curly black hair, pointy ears, a cheerful, babyish face, and a mischievous smile that told you right away that this guy should not be trusted around matches or sharp objects.

“Hey!” exclaimed Hephaestus. “My children are very good at handling sharp objects!”
“How ‘bout fire?” muttered Demeter. “Fire always destroys crops. Leaves nothing to grow for cereal!”
Hephaestus stayed quiet, preferring not to answer.

His long, nimble fingers wouldn’t stop moving-drumming on the seat, sweeping his hair behind his ears, fiddling with the buttons of his army fatigue jacket. Either the kid was naturally hyper or he was hopped up on enough sugar and caffeine to give a heart attack to a water buffalo.

“I should try that sometime,” mused Hermes.
“Hermes,” said Artemis, “if I see a single water buffalo that’s-“
“Ok, ok, sheesh!”

“Anyway,” Leo said, “I hope you’ve got your worksheet, ‘cause I used mine for spit wad days ago. Why are you looking at me like that? Somebody draw on my face again?”

Hermes sneaked a mischievous look at Zeus. He thought, After this chapter...

“I don’t know you,” Jason said. Leo gave him a crocodile grin. “Sure. I’m not your best friend. I’m his evil clone.”
“Leo Valdez!” Coach Hedge yelled from the front. “Problem back there?”
Leo winked at Jason. “Watch this.”


Hermes rubbed his hands, eager for the prank that was sure to come. He could sense it.

He turned to the front. “Sorry, Coach! I was having trouble hearing you. Could you use your megaphone, please?”
Coach Hedge grunted like he was pleased to have an excuse. He unclipped the megaphone from his belt and continued giving instructions, but his voice came out like Darth Vader’s. The kids cracked up.


And so did the Olympians.

The coach tried again, but this time the megaphone blared: “The cow says moo!” The kids howled,

Again, so did the Olympians.
“You know,” said Ares, “I think this dude might be more of Hermes’s kid rather than Hephaestus!”
Hephaestus, naturally, glared at him. Hermes looked delighted. “I’d be honoured to adopt him!”

and the coach slammed down the megaphone. “Valdez!” Piper stifled a laugh. “My god, Leo. How did you do that?” Leo slipped a tiny Phillips head screwdriver from his sleeve. “I’m a special boy.”

“Dang right,” muttered Hephaestus.

“Guys, seriously,” Jason pleaded. “What am I doing here? Where are we going?”
Piper knit her eyebrows. “Jason, are you joking?”
“No! I have no idea-“
“Aw, yeah, he’s joking,” Leo said. “He’s trying to get me back for that shaving cream on the Jell-O thing, aren’t you?”


“Nice,” Hermes snickered.

Jason stared at him blankly. “No, I think he’s serious.” Piper tried to take his hand again, but he pulled it away.

Aphrodite sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t-I can’t-“
“That’s it!” Coach Hedge yelled from the front. “The back row has just volunteered to clean up after lunch!” The rest of the kids cheered.
“There’s a shocker,” Leo muttered. But Piper kept her eyes on Jason, like she couldn’t decide whether to be hurt or worried.


“Hurt!” yelled Ares and Hephaestus, at the same time that Aphrodite and Hera yelled, “Worried!”

“Did you hit your head or something? You really don’t know who we are?”
Jason shrugged helplessly. “It’s worse than that. I don’t know who I am.”


Hera felt a twinge of guilt, then suppressed it. It had to be done.

The bus dropped them in front of a big red stucco complex like a museum, just sitting in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that’s what it was: the National Museum of Nowhere, Jason thought.

“Idiot,” muttered Athena.

A cold wind blew across the desert. Jason hadn’t paid much attention to what he was wearing, but it wasn’t nearly warm enough: jeans and sneakers, a purple T-shirt, and a thin black windbreaker.
“So, a crash course for the amnesiac,” Leo said, in a helpful tone that made Jason think that this was not going to be helpful.


“Naturally,” said Hermes.

“We go to the ‘Wilderness School’”-Leo made air quotes with his fingers. “Which means were ‘bad kids.’ Your family, or the court, or whoever, decided you were too much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lovely prison-sorry, ‘boarding school’-in Armpit, Nevada, where you learn valuable nature skills like running ten miles a day through the cacti and weaving daisies into hats! And for a special treat we go on ‘educational’ field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps order with a baseball bat. Is it all coming back to you now?”
“No.” Jason glanced apprehensively at the other kids: maybe twenty guys, half that many girls. None of them looked like hardened criminals, but he wondered what they’d all done to get sentenced to a school for delinquents, and he wondered why he belonged with them.


“You don’t,” murmured Zeus and Hera at the same time.
Athena glanced at them suspiciously. She had a feeling that somehow, this boy was tied to them...

Leo rolled his eyes. “You’re really gonna play this out, huh? Okay, so the three of us started here together this semester. We’re totally tight. You do everything I say and give me your desert and do my chores-“
“Leo!” Piper snapped.


“Curse that girl,” said Hermes.
Aphrodite huffed, and glared at Hermes.
“Not literally, of course,” added Hermes quickly.

“Fine. Ignore that last part. But we are friends. Well, Piper’s a little more than your friend, the last few weeks-“

“Aha!” said Aphrodite. Zeus and Hera winced.

“Leo, stop it!” Piper’s face turned red. Jason could feel his face burning too. He thought he’d remember if he’d been going out with a girl like Piper.

“You should,” said Aphrodite. “Love is forever!
“Oh gods,” muttered Artemis.

“He’s got amnesia or something,” Piper said. “We’ve got to tell somebody.”
Leo scoffed. “Who, Coach Hedge? He’d try to fix Jason by whacking him upside the head.”


“That won’t work,” whispered Hera so quietly that no one noticed.

The coach was at the front of the group, barking orders and blowing his whistle to keep the kids in line; but every so often he’d glance back at Jason and scowl.

“He suspects,” muttered Hera.
Zeus shot a look at her. Hera waved her hand, signalling that it was nothing.

“Leo, Jason needs help,” Piper insisted. “He’s got a concussion or-“
“Yo, Piper.” One of the guys dropped back to join them as the group was heading into the museum. The new guy wedged himself between Jason and Piper and knocked Leo down.


“Remind me to set that young man on fire,” said Hephaestus,” whoever that is.”
“I’ll say,” said Aphrodite. “Just as Jason and Piper were getting comfy!”
“Comfy?” muttered Hades.
“He’s rude!” huffed Demeter. “Interrupting conversations, knocking people down... He should eat more cereal!”
Athena cleared her throat, then continued.

“Don’t talk to these bottom-feeders.

“BOTTOM-FEEDERS?!” exclaimed Zeus, Hera, Hephaestus and Aphrodite.

You’re my partner, remember?”

Aphrodite scowled. “Throttle that guy, Jason!”

The new guy had dark hair cut Superman style, a deep tan, and teeth so white they should’ve come with a warning label: DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY AT TEETH. PERMANENT BLINDNESS MAY OCCUR.

Hermes started to say something, probably about that time that he wrote, ‘DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY AT TEETH. PERMANENT BLINDNESS AND TOTAL PARALYZATION MAY OCCUR’ on Apollo’s teeth while he was sleeping... and Apollo didn’t even notice until he was halfway through breakfast, when Athena pointed it out to him.
Athena cut him off, and continued.

He worse a Dallas Cowbys jersey, Western jeans and boots, and he smiled like he was God’s gift to juvenile delinquent girls everywhere.

“Alright, which god sent him there?” said Aphrodite.

Jason hated him instantly.

“Atta boy,” muttered Zeus.

“Go away, Dylan,” Piper grumbled. “I didn’t ask to work with you.”
“Ah, that’s no way to be. This is your lucky day!” Dylan hooked his arm through hers and dragged her through the museum entrance. Piper shock one last look over her shoulder like, 911.


“Yeah, 911,” muttered Aphrodite.

Leo got up and brushed himself off. “I hate that guy.”

“We do to,” said Hephaestus.

He offered Jason his arm, like they should go skipping inside together. “’I’m Dylan. I’m so cool, I want to date myself, but I can’t figure out how! You want to date me instead? You’re so lucky!’”

“He’s weird,” said Demeter.

“Leo,” Jason said, “you’re weird.”

“Small minds think alike,” commented Hermes.
“Hey!”

“Yeah, you tell me that a lot.” Leo grinned. “But if you don’t remember me, that means I can reuse all my old jokes. Come on!” Jason figured that if this was his best friend, his life must be pretty messed up;

“In a way,” muttered Hera.

but he followed Leo into the museum. They walked through the building, stopping here and there for Coach Hedge to lecture them with his megaphone, which alternately made him sound like a Sith Lord or blared out random comments like, “The pig says oink.”

“Can we trade kids?” asked Hermes. “You can have Gordon.”
Hephaestus shuddered about the thought of having one of his kids in his care, and vice versa.

Leo kept pulling out nuts, bolts, and pipe cleaners from the pockets of his army jacket and putting them together, like he had to keep his hands busy at all times.

“Yep,” said Hephaestus.

Jason was too distracted to pay much attention to the exhibits, but they were about the Grand Canyon and the Hualapai tribe, which owned the museum. Some girls kept looking over at Piper and Dylan and snickering. Jason figured these girls were the popular clique. They wore matching jeans and pink tops and enough makeup for a Halloween party.
One of them said, “Hey, Piper, does your tribe run this place? Do you get in free if you do a rain dance?” The other girls laughed.


Aphrodite narrowed her eyes. Maybe I’ll start with turning their perfume into skunk sprays...

Even Piper’s so-called partner Dylan suppressed a smile.

“Jerk,” said Artemis, Demeter, and Aphrodite at the same time.

Piper’s snowboarding jacket sleeves hid her hands, but Jason got the feeling she was clenching her fists. “My dad’s Cherokee,” she said.

Aphrodite sighed, thinking of Tristian.

“Not Hualapai. ‘Course, you’d need a few brain cells to know the difference, Isabel.”
Isabel widened her eyes in mock surprise, so that she looked like an owl with a makeup addiction.


“Doesn’t Aphrodite look like that on a daily basis?”
He got hit in the head by a high-heeled shoe.

“Oh, sorry! Was your mom in this tribe? Oh, that’s right. You never knew your mom.”

Apollo shook his head. “Mommy problems.”
“Don’t be a hypocrite,” said Athena. “You’re not on the top of the parenting scale either.”
“Neither are you.”
Athena decided not to answer and kept reading.

[/b]Piper charged her, but before a fight could start, Coach Hedge barked,[/b]

Ares said, “Aw!”

“Enough back there! Set a good example or I’ll break out my baseball bat!”

“Break out the baseball bat!” yelled Ares.

The group shuffled on to the next exhibit, but the girls kept calling out little comments to Piper. “Good to be back on the rez?” one asked in a sweet voice.

Then shampoos that smell like a vomiting hydra, thought Aphrodite.

“Dad’s probably too drunk to work,” another said with fake sympathy. “That’s why she turned klepto.”

Then some lovely lotion to dry out the skin...

Piper ignored them, but Jason was ready to punch them himself.

“Go punch them all you want kid,” muttered Aphrodite.

He might not remember Piper, or even who he was, but he knew he hated mean kids.

“Good lad,” muttered Zeus.

Leo caught his arm. “Be cool. Piper doesn’t like us fighting her battles. Besides, if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they’d all be bowing down and screaming, ‘We’re not worthy!’”

Aphrodite agreed. He was particularly excellent in The King Of Sparta.

“Why? What about her dad?” Leo laughed in disbelief. “You’re not kidding? You really don’t remember that her girlfriend’s dad-“

“What about her dad?” Apollo asked. He turned to Aphrodite. “Who?”
Aphrodite raised an eyebrow, but didn’t answer.

“Look, I wish I did, but I don’t even remember her, much less her dad.”
Leo whistled. “Whatever. We have to talk when we get back to the dorm.”
They reached the far end of the exhibit hall, where some big glass doors led out to a terrace.
“All right, cupcakes,” Coach Hedge announced. “You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it.


“Don’t break my creation,” Ares agreed.

The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that would cause me extra paperwork.”

“He should eat more cereal” said Demeter. “Whole grain. Maybe Honey Bunches Of Oats?”
“Shut up about the cereal already!” yelled Zeus.

The coach opened the doors, and they all stepped outside. The Grand Canyon spread before them, live and in person. Extending over the edge was a horseshoe-shaped walkway made of glass, so you could see right through it.
“Man,” Leo said. “That’s pretty wicked.”
Jason had to agree. Despite his amnesia and his feeling that he didn’t belong here, he couldn’t help being impressed. The canyon was bigger and wider than you could appreciate from a picture. They were up so high that birds circled below their feet. Five hundred feet down, a river snaked along the canyon floor. Banks of storm clouds had moved overhead while they’d been inside, casting shadows like angry faces across the cliffs. As far as Jason could see in any direction, red and gray ravines cut through the desert like some crazy god had taken a knife to it.



“ME!” declared Ares. Then he realized what Jason had said. “Wait, crazy?”
“Yeah, Oh Mighty Crazy God Who Created The Grand Canyon,” said Hermes smugly.
“You...” Ares stood up, but Apollo and Dionysus held him down. Dionysus wrapped grape vines around him just to be sure. Ares reached for his knife and cut through, muttering something that suspiciously sounds like Old Drunk.

Jason got a piercing pain behind his eyes. Crazy gods... Where had he come up with that idea? He felt like he’d gotten close to something important-something he should know about.

Hera shifted uneasily.

He also got the unmistakable feeling he was in danger.

Zeus narrowed his eyes.

“You all right?” Leo asked. “You’re not going to throw up over the side, are you? ‘Cause I should’ve brought my camera.”

“I would totally buy that pic for a thousand drachmas,” said Hermes.

Jason grabbed the railing. He was shivering and sweaty, but it had nothing to do with heights.

Zeus snorted. Now, if only Thalia’s like that...

He blinked, and the pain behind his eyes subsided. “I’m fine,” he managed. “Just a headache.”
Thunder rumbled overhead.


Everyone automatically looked at Zeus. Zeus defended himself, “This is in the future!”

A cold wind almost knocked him sideways.
“This can’t be safe.” Leo squinted at the clouds. “Storm’s right over us, but it’s clear all the way around. Weird, huh?”
Jason looked up and saw Leo was right. A dark circle of clouds had parked itself over the skywalk, but the rest of the sky in every direction was perfectly clear.


Weird, thought Athena. Not a coincidence.

Jason had a bad feeling about that.

You should, thought Athena.

[]“All right, cupcakes!” Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the storm like it bothered him too. [/b]

“Of course!” said Hera.

“We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!”

“At least he knows how to write properly,” muttered Athena.

The storm rumbled, and Jason’s head began to hurt again.

Hera coughed involuntarily.

Not knowing why he did it, he reached into his jeans pocket and brought out a coin- a circle of gold the size of a half-dollar, but thicker and more uneven. Stamped on one side was a picture of a battle-ax. On the other was some guy’s face wreathed in laurels. The inscription said something like IVLIVS.

Zeus caught his breath a little.

“Dang, is that gold?” Leo asked. “You been holding out on me!”
Jason put the coin away, wondering how he’s come to have it, and why he had the feeling he was going to need it soon.


“Monster,” said Zeus and Hera at the same time. They glared at each other suspiciously.

“It’s nothing,” he said. “Just a coin.”
Leo shrugged. Maybe his hands had to keep moving as much as his hands. “Come on,” he said. “Dare you to spit over the edge.”


Hermes snickered while Ares scowled.

They didn’t try very hard on the worksheet.

Athena gave a humph!

For one thing, Jason was too distracted by the storm and his own mixed-up feelings. For another thing, he didn’t have any idea how to “name three sedimentary strata you observe”

“What?!” shouted Athena, then read on furiously.

or “describe two examples of erosion.”

“What do they teach people these days,” Athena sighed.

Leo was no help. He was too busy building a helicopter out of pipe cleaners.

Hephaestus nodded approvingly.

“Check it out.” He launched the copter. Jason figured it would plummet, but the pipe-cleaner blades actually spun. The little copter made it halfway across the canyon before it lost momentum and spiralled into the void.

Hephaestus shook his head. If only he had rubber bands...

“How’d you do that?” Jason asked. Leo shrugged. “Would’ve been cooler if I had some rubber bands.”


Hephaestus nodded approvingly.

“Seriously,” Jason said, “are we friends.”

“What kind of question is that?” asked Artemis.

“Last I checked.”
“You sure? What was the first day we met? What did we talk about?”
“It was...” Leo frowned. “I don’t recall exactly. I’m ADHD, man. You can’t expect me to remember details.”


Hera gave a small sigh of relief. At least the Mist works...

“But I don’t remember you at all. I don’t remember anyone here. What if-“
“You’re right and everyone else is wrong?” Leo asked. “You think you just appeared here this morning, and we’ve all got fake memories of you?”


“Yes,” muttered Hera so softly that no one heard her.

A little voice in Jason’s head said, That’s exactly what I think.

Hera gulped. She’s gonna have to figure out some way to get rid of that voice.

But it sounded crazy. Everybody here took him for granted. Everyone acted like he was a normal part of the class-except for Coach Hedge.

“The satyr,” muttered Hades.

“Take the worksheet.” Jason handed Leo the paper. “I’ll be right back.”
Before Leo could protest, Jason headed across the skywalk. Their school group had the place to themselves. Maybe it was too early in the day for tourists, or maybe the weird weather scared them off. The Wilderness School kids had spread out in pairs across the skywalk. Most were joking around or talking. About fifty feet away, Piper was trying to fill out her worksheet, but her stupid partner Dylan was hitting on her, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her that blinding white smile.


“Urgh,” said Aphrodite, disgusted.
Artemis looked at her in mock surprise. “I thought you liked love?”
“Yes, I do. But that guy isn’t the right person for my daughter. Now Jason...”
Artemis shook her head. “This is why I don’t like boys...”

[b[She kept pushing him away, and when she saw Jason she gave him a look like, Throttle this guy for me.[/b]

“Please do so,” said Aphrodite.

Jason motioned for her to hang on. He walked up to Coach Hedge, who was leaning on his baseball bat, studying the storm clouds.
“Did you do this?” the coach asked him.
Jason took a step back. “Do what?” It sounded like the coach had just asked if he’d made the thunderstorm.


“That would be impossible,” said Athena. She gave Zeus a wary look.

Coach Hedge glared at him, his beady little eyes glinting under the brim of his cap. “Don’t play games with me, kid. What are you doing here, and why are you messing up my job?”

“Job?” muttered Dionysus.

“You mean... you don’t know me?” Jason said.

“Duh,” said Dionysus.

“I’m not one of your students?”
Hedge snorted. “Never seen you before today.”
Jason was so relieved he almost wanted to cry.


Zeus and Hera looked at the book disapprovingly.
“Now very tough, is he?” said Ares.
Aphrodite glared at him.

At least he wasn’t going insane.

“Are you sure?” said Hermes.

He was in the wrong place.

“You’re exactly where you need to be,” said Hera softly. Some of the gods and goddesses glanced at her curiously.

[b[“Look, sir, I don’t know how I got here. I just woke up on the school bus. All I know is I’m not supposed to be here.”[/b]

Hera glared at the book. “What did I just say.”
“Hera?” said Athena.
“Yes?”
“You’re talking to a book.”

“Got that right.” Hedge’s gruff voice dropped to a murmur, like he was sharing a secret. “You got a powerful way with the Mist, kid, if you can make all these people think they know you;

Hera snorted. You mean me, she thought.

but you can’t fool me. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you don’t smell like a monster.

Zeus stopped himself from saying a rather nasty word.

You smell like a half-blood.

“What do half-bloods smell like?” Apollo wondered.
“I can’t believe I’m related to you,” muttered Artemis.

So-who are you, and where’d you come from?”
Most of what coach said didn’t make sense, but Jason decided to answer honestly. “I don’t know who I am. I don’t have any memories. You’ve got to help me.”
Coach Hedge studied his face like he was trying to read Jason’s thoughts.


“Just your emotions,” said Dionysus.

“Great,” Hedge muttered. “You’re being truthful.”
“Of course I am! And what was that all about monsters and half-bloods? Are those code words or something?”


“No kid, they’re the real deal,” said Hades.

Hedge narrowed his eyes. Part of Jason wondered if the guy was just nuts. But the other part knew better.

“The other part that knew better is boring,” informed Hermes.

“Look, kid,” Hedge said, “I don’t know who you are. I just know what you are, and it means trouble. Now I got to protect three of you rather than two. Are you the special package? Is that is?”

“Special package,” murmured Hestia. Everyone jumped. Hestia’s been so quiet, always listening. Athena smiled at her.

“What are you talking about?”
Hedge looked at the storm. The clouds were getting thicker and darker, hovering right over the skywalk.
“This morning,” Hedge said, “I got a message from camp.


“Hmm...” mused Hera.

They said an extraction team is on the way. They’re coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn’t give me details. I thought to myself, Fine. The two I’m watching are pretty powerful, older than most.

Hera raised an eyebrow. “So, they’re not only older, but powerful too? Typical.”
“I sense a quest coming,” said Artemis.

I know they’re being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group.

“Of course,” said Ares. “The powerful ones always have a monster stalking them.”

I figure that’s why the camp is suddenly frantic to pick them up. But then you pop up out of nowhere. So, are you the special package?”
The pain behind Jason’s eyes got worse than ever. Half-bloods. Camp. Monsters. He still didn’t know what Hedge was talking about, but the words gave him a massive brain freeze-like his mind was trying to access information that should’ve been there but wasn’t.


Hera pursed her lips.

He stumbled, and Coach Hedge caught him. For a short guy, the coach had hands like steel.
“Whoa, there, cupcake. You say you got no memories, huh? Fine. I’ll just have to watch you, too, until the team gets here. We’ll let the director figure things out.”


“I think he means me,” said Dionysus smugly.

“What director?” Jason said. “What camp?”

“He means Camp Half-Blood, kid. Or possibly-“
Athena cut him off.

“Just sit tight. Reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully nothing happens before-“ Lighting crackled overhead. The wind picked up with a vengeance. Worksheets flew into the Grand Canyon, and the entire bridge shuddered. Kids screamed, stumbling and grabbing the rails.

Everyone, once again, glanced at Zeus.

“I had to say something,” Hedge grumbled.

“Yes, you did,” said Hermes. “Wouldn’t be any fun if you didn’t.”

He bellowed into his microphone: “Everyone inside! The cow says moo!

Hermes, Ares and Apollo snickered.

Off the skywalk!” “I thought you said this thing was stable!” Jason shouted over the wind.
“Under normal circumstances,” Hedge agreed,


“Which these aren’t,” said Hera.
Athena smirked before reading the next sentence.

“which these aren’t. Come on!”

Hera looked horrified. “I do not and will not think like a satyr!”
Athena rolled her eyes. “Whatever. That was the end of the chapter. Who wants to read next?”
“I will!” said Aphrodite.
Athena looked at her in mock surprise. “Aphrodite? Read? I never thought I’d hear the two words in the same sentence. Unless, of course, the word never is between them.”
Aphrodite snorted. “Give me the book.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GOSH! This took forever to write!
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago TheMagicWord said…
That was amazing, it was so hard not to laugh (I'm supposed to be asleep). Just, for next time,try to change the book so you aren't copying it word for word, that way it isn't copying... I think.
over a year ago psalm1003 said…
No I think your fine. That was cool
over a year ago Biancadi said…
Amazing!
over a year ago percyrulz said…
big smile
i was laughing the whole time and my brother kept asking me why
it was awesome
over a year ago Alex13126 said…
laugh
Yeah I really did love it!
over a year ago blacktemplar said…
big smile
It was hilarious.The godly comments made me laugh.I'm expecting that at the end of chapter 2 Poseidon,Athena and Aphrodite are gonna be like WHAT?????????
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago HecateA said…
laugh
^Oh man, YES!

That was so hilarious! I laguhed so much! I am freaking gald you wrote it! Oh Lord, the gods must have fun...

Woo, Hestia! I'm glad you included her!

Keep it up partypony, it's one AMAZING story you've got!
over a year ago percyrulz said…
angelic
i agree with hectae


its really hard to maintain a forum and u maintain two so i will understand if u cant post soon but when can u post any idea
over a year ago Starlight1o1 said…
I'm supposed to be doing work because I'm in the computer lab at my school but I got stuck so now I'm reading this. It was so hard not to laugh in front of everyone but I couldn't stop smiling. If people were paying attention they would be totally suspisious or just think that I'm a weirdo. This was a really good start on the story.
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago ThaliaGrace8 said…
That was great PartyPoney! i laughed soo hard!
over a year ago PiperLunaPotter said…
heart
That was so much fun! I kept laughing, and my sister kept giving me weird looks. . .:DD
over a year ago partypony said…
Hermes called Morpheus, god of sleep, on his caduceus, while the others were taking a break. He asked for a favour, and Morpheus agreed. Anything to get out of trouble, Lord Hermes.
Hermes grinned, then put his caduceus away.
Soon, Zeus was snoring. And so were the other Olympians.
Hermes pulled out a sharpie and shaving cream, and started working.
-------------------------
They all woke up, dazed.
“What happened?” asked Hestia.
“Holy freaking cows!” exclaimed Apollo, then doubled over laughing. The gods and goddesses gazed at what he was looking at, and failed to hold in their laughter.
Zeus had sharpie all over his face. There was very long eyelashes, kohl-like markings around his eyes, freckles, a very curly moustache (his beard was shaved off), a little stick man on his chin saying ‘Help! This dude’s chin is infested!’ And, written across his forehead, in very big letters, was I AM A WEINER.
Zeus frowned, then looked at a mirror that magically appeared in front of him. He was horrified. “HERMES!”
“Yes, father?” said Hermes, feigning innocence.
“WHAT. THE. HADES –“
“Hey!” yelled Hades, then burst out laughing at the look that Zeus gave him.
“Hermes! You. Will. Not. Leave. Olympus.”
Hermes shrugged. “Totally worth it!”
Poseidon snickered. “You’re quite the artist, Hermes.”
The more rambunctious Olympians called out little comments like that, all the while Zeus was getting very red.
Athena controlled her laughter, and said, “We should get on reading.”
Dionysus started to say something, then caught Athena’s look, which was saying, Don’t mess with Zeus if you want to live.
Aphrodite got the message, and started reading, also getting control over her amusement.

II
Jason

“You know,” said Athena, “I’m starting to think the chapter numbers are a clue. After all, they’re in Roman numerals.”
“You just figured that out?” muttered Zeus, still fuming over his face. He snapped his fingers, and the sharpie was erased. His beard grew again. Zeus shot a glare at Hermes. “This is not over.”
Hermes just snickered.

The storm churned into a miniature hurricane. Funnel clouds snaked toward the skywalk like the tendrils of a monster jellyfish. Kids screamed and ran for the building. The wind snatched away their notebooks, jackets, hats, and backpacks. Jason skidded across the slick floor. Leo lost his balance and almost toppled over the railing,

“Leo!” Hephaestus shouted.
“Relax, dude,” said Ares.

but Jason grabbed his jacket and pulled him back. “Thanks, man!” Leo yelled.

“Bless that kid,” mumbled Hephaestus. “Again and again.”

“Go, go, go!” said Coach Hedge. Piper and Dylan were holding the doors open, herding the other kids inside.

“How very demigod-ish of them,” said Dionysus in a bored tone.

Piper’s snowboarding jacket was flapping wildly, her dark hair all in her face. Jason thought she must’ve been freezing, but she looked calm and confident-telling the others it would be okay, encouraging them to keep moving.

“That’s right,” said Aphrodite, smiling. “She’s very demigod-ish.” Then continued to read.

Jason, Leo, and Coach Hedge ran toward them, but it was like running through quicksand. The wind seemed to fight them, pushing them back.

“Hmm...” said Athena, with a calculating look.
“Something on your mind, Thena?” asked Aphrodite.
“My name is Athena, and no, nothing.”
“There’s nothing in the mind of Athena!” exclaimed Poseidon, looking very fake-shocked.
Athena glared at him, and Aphrodite continued to read.

Dylan and Piper pushed one more kid inside, then lost their grip on the doors. They slammed shut, closing off the skywalk. Piper tugged at the handles. Inside, the kids pounded on the glass, but the doors seemed to be stuck.

“Oh my,” murmured Hestia.

“Dylan, help!” Piper shouted. Dylan just stood there with an idiotic grin, his Cowboys jersey rippling in the wind, like he was suddenly enjoying the storm.

“I knew it!” announced Athena. “He is a storm spirit!”
“We should get Aeolus on this, if there’s a storm spirit out there,” said Artemis.
“This is in the future, sis,” said Apollo.
“I am not your sis. And even if this is in the future, the storm spirit might wandering even before these events. In fact, from what Leo said, it’s entirely plausible that the storm spirit has been there before the start of the book.”
“Maybe the storm spirit ‘enrolled’ at the school,” said Ares.
“What’s the purpose?” said Athena. “I doubt storm spirits even like school.” She sounded disgusted.
“Reading on!” said Aphrodite. But before she could read, Hermes said, “I can’t believe she actually suggests to keep on reading.”

“Sorry, Piper,” he said. “I’m done helping.” He flicked his wrist, and Piper flew backward, slamming into the doors and sliding to the skywalk deck.

“Inconsiderate!” said Aphrodite.

“Piper!” Jason tried to charge forward, but the wind was against him, and Coach Hedge pushed him back. “Coach,” Jason said, “let me go!”

“Yeah! Let him go, goat-man!” yelled Aphrodite. “Let him rescue her!” Then she caught herself, and continued reading.

“Jason, Leo, stay behind me,” the coach ordered. “This is my fight. I should’ve known that was our monster.”

“You should have,” said Dionysus. “It’s about time you retired anyway.”

“What?” Leo demanded. A rogue worksheet slapped him in the face, but he swatted it away. “What monster?”
The coach’s cap blew off, and sticking up above his curly hair were two bumps-like the knots cartoon characters get when they’re bonked on the head. Coach Hedge lifted his baseball bat-but it wasn’t a regular bat anymore. Somehow it had changed into a crudely shaped tree-branch club, with twigs and leaves still attached.


“I’ve always wondered,” said Ares, “why satyrs and fauns prefer to use branches instead of real weapons.”
“Shut up, Ares,” said Dionysus.

Dylan gave him that psycho happy smile.

“Like this.” Hermes smiled. It looked like he was, indeed, a psycho who was having the time of his life. It was very disturbing. Even the souls on Hades’s clothes moaned, and they themselves were disturbing. Not to mention the ones in his underwear and gym shorts.

"Oh, come on, Coach . Let the boy attack me! After all, you're getting too old for this. Isn't that why they retired you to this stupid school? I've been on your team the entire season,

“The entire season?” said Hephaestus.
“Hedge should eat more Cheerios instead of recyclables,” muttered Demeter. “He would have better concentration, and his performance may improve.”
“DEMETER! Shut up!”
“Just saying.”

and you didn’t even know. You're losing your nose, grandpa."

“That, he is,” said Dionysus. “Remind me to call him off duty after this book.”

The coach made an angry sound like an animal bleating. "That's it, cupcake.

“When will that goat stop saying cupcake?” muttered Athena.
“Yeah,” Apollo agreed. “Now I have a total craving for cupcakes, which is weird, since I’ve never tasted one before.”
“You smelt it,” reminded Hephaestus.
“Not the same thing as tasting.”

You're going down."
"You think you can protect three half-bloods at once, old man?" Dylan laughed. "Good luck."
Dylan pointed at Leo, and a funnel cloud materialized around him. Leo flew off the skywalk like he'd been tossed.


“Oh my gods!” yelled Hephaestus.
“We,” said Zeus, “are not your gods.”

Somehow he managed to twist in midair, and slammed sideways into the canyon wall. He skidded, clawing furiously for any handhold. Finally he grabbed a thin ledge about fifty feet below the skywalk and hung there by his fingertips.

“Yo!” said Hephaestus. “Rope? Bungee cord? Something? C’mon!”
Aphrodite smirked as she read the next sentences.

"Help!" he yelled up at them. "Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?"

“Like father, like son,” said Dionysus.

Coach Hedge cursed and tossed Jason his club. "I don't know who you are, kid, but I hope you're good. Keep that thing busy"—he stabbed a thumb at Dylan—"while I get Leo."

“Hurry up,” said Hephaestus.

"Get him how?" Jason demanded. "You going to fly?"

“Not fly,” Dionysus said. “Climb.”
Aphrodite rolled her eyes.

"Not fly. Climb."

Dionysus blinked. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.”

Hedge kicked off his shoes, and Jason almost had a coronary.

“What’s a coronary?” wondered Ares.
Athena sighed. “A coronary is the same as a heart attack.”
“Oh.”
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“You’re an idiot.

The coach didn't have any feet.

“Duh,” mumbled Dionysus.


He had hooves—goat's hooves.

“Duh,” said Dionysus, louder.

Which meant those things on his head, Jason realized, weren't bumps. They were horns.

“DUH!” said Dionysus, his voice raised.

"You're a faun," Jason said.

“Du-duh?” said Dionysus, confused. “Roman? Yep, Roman.”
“Duh,” said Athena. “I’ve been suspecting he’s that Jason kid from [Camp Caesar Salad].”
“Oh, so it’s not Jason, son of Nemesis?”
“Duh.”

"Satyr!" Hedge snapped. "Fauns are Roman.

“DUH!” yelled Dionysus.
“Shut up, Di!” yelled Aphrodite.

But we'll talk about that later." Hedge leaped over the railing. He sailed toward the canyon wall and hit hooves first. He bounded down the cliff with impossible agility,

“If it’s so impossible, then why is he doing it?” said Hera.

finding footholds no bigger than postage stamps, dodging whirlwinds that tried to attack him as he picked his way toward Leo.

“Good lad. I mean faun. I mean satyr...” said Hephaestus, trailing off.

"Isn't that cute!" Dylan turned toward Jason. "Now it's your turn, boy."
Jason threw the club. It seemed useless with the winds so strong, but the club flew right at Dylan, even curving when he tried to dodge, and smacked him on the head so hard he fell to his knees.


Hera, Zeus, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Apollo, and Hermes cheered.
“That defies the Newton’s ‘Law Of Gravity,’” said Athena.
“Thena, we always defy Newton’s ‘Law Of Gravity,’” said Aphrodite.
“Don’t call me Thena.”

Piper wasn't as dazed as she appeared.

“My girl.” Aphrodite smiled.

Her fingers closed around the club when it rolled next to her,

“Yes!” said Aphrodite.


but before she could use it, Dylan rose.

“Aww,” said Aphrodite.

— golden blood—trickled from his forehead.

Ares snickered. “Nice.”

"Nice try, boy." He glared at Jason. "But you'll have to do better."
The skywalk shuddered. Hairline fractures appeared in the glass. Inside the museum, kids stopped banging on the doors. They backed away, watching in terror.


“What now?” murmured Hades.

Dylan's body dissolved into smoke, as if his molecules were coming unglued.

“Er...” The Olympians looked at Athena, who ignored them and motioned for Aphrodite to continue reading. When they kept staring at her, she said exasperatingly, “Oh my gods, I can’t believe you don’t know this, even after three thousand years!”
“I know it!” objected Artemis.
“So do I!” said Hera.
“And me!” chimed in Hestia.
Athena muttered something in Ancient Greek, and said louder, “It means that he’s turning into his real form.”
Aphrodite continued reading.

He had the same face, the same brilliant white smile, but his whole form was suddenly composed of swirling black vapor, his eyes like electrical sparks in a living storm cloud. He sprouted black smoky wings and rose above the skywalk.

“See?” muttered Athena.

If angels could be evil, Jason decided, they would look exactly like this.

“Very true,” said Apollo. “I once saw this sorceress, and she was all like –“
“Continue,” Athena interrupted. “Please, Aphrodite.”

"You're a ventus ," Jason said, though he had no idea how he knew that word.

“Background knowledge,” whispered Hera.

"A storm spirit." Dylan's laugh sounded like a tornado tearing off a roof.

“No,” said Hermes. “I don’t think it would be like that at all. I mean, if it did sound like that, it would be really hard to –“

"I'm glad I waited, demigod. Leo and Piper I've known about for weeks.

“Stupid old goat,” muttered Hephaestus.

Could've killed them at any time.

“Stupid old goat,” muttered Aphrodite.

But my mistress said a third was coming

“Stupid Gaea,” muttered Hera.

—someone special. She'll reward me greatly for your death!"

Stupid freaking Gaea, Hera thought angrily.

Two more funnel clouds touched down on either side of Dylan and turned into venti —ghostly young men with smoky wings and eyes that flickered with lightning.

“Aw,” sighed Aphrodite. “More of them.”
Ares looked excited.

Piper stayed down, pretending to be dazed, her hand still gripping the club.

Aphrodite smiled proudly.

Her face was pale, but she gave Jason a determined look, and he understood the message: Keep their attention. I'll brain them from behind.

“For a daughter of Aphrodite,” remarked Artemis, “she’s pretty tough.”

Cute, smart, and violent. Jason wished he remembered having her as a girlfriend.

Aphrodite squealed. “I know right?!”

He clenched his fists and got ready to charge, but he never got a chance. Dylan raised his hand, arcs of electricity running between his fingers, and blasted Jason in the chest.

Some of the Olympians gasped.
“This isn’t my kid,” said Hermes. “Like, I’m sure my Jason would love to fight storm spirits, but this isn’t my kid. He would never have survived that.”
“It’s mine,” mumbled Zeus. “Obviously.”
“At least that’s cleared up,” said Athena. “Although, I already suspected it.”
“Hmm,” mused Hestia. “Jason Grace... the Praetor of the First Legion? What would he be doing in an ordinary field trip for mortals with two Greek children?”
Hera shifted uneasily, but said nothing.

Bang! Jason found himself flat on his back. His mouth tasted like burning aluminum foil.

“That’s ‘cause you just got hit by freaking thunder,” growled Hera.

He lifted his head and saw that his clothes were smoking. The lightning bolt had gone straight though his body and blasted off his left shoe. His toes were black with soot.

“So,” Apollo said slowly, “he gets hit by electricity that could’ve killed twenty men, and all he gets is a blasted-off shoe?”
“You really are slow,” said Athena.

The storm spirits were laughing. The winds raged. Piper was screaming defiantly, but it all sounded tinny and far away. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw Coach Hedge climbing the cliff with Leo on his back.

“Go, goat-man!” yelled Hephaestus.
Hermes snickered. “Sounds like go-go man.”

Piper was on her feet, desperately swinging the club to fend off the two extra storm spirits,

“Go girl,” whispered Artemis.

they were just toying with her.

Artemis mumbled something unintelligible, which was very fortunate.

The club went right through their bodies like they weren't there. And Dylan, a dark and winged tornado with eyes, loomed over Jason.
"Stop," Jason croaked.


“That won’t work, kiddo,” said Poseidon.

He rose unsteadily to his feet, and he wasn't sure who was more surprised: him, or the storm spirits.

“Storm spirits,” half the Olympians said. The other half said, “Him.”

"How are you alive?" Dylan's form flickered.

“’Cause he’s my kid,” Zeus bragged.

"That was enough lightning to kill twenty men!"

“Not my children,” said Zeus.

"My turn," Jason said. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the gold coin. He let his instincts take over, flipping the coin in the air like he'd done it a thousand times.

Hera nodded. “Good.”

He caught it in his palm, and suddenly he was holding a sword—a wickedly sharp double-edged weapon. The ridged grip fit his fingers perfectly, and the whole thing was gold—hilt, handle, and blade.

“Awesome!” yelled Ares.

Dylan snarled and backed up. He looked at his two comrades and yelled, "Well? Kill him!" The other storm spirits didn't look happy with that order, but they flew at Jason, their fingers crackling with electricity. Jason swung at the first spirit. His blade passed through it, and the creature's smoky form disintegrated. The second spirit let loose a bolt of lightning, but Jason's blade absorbed the charge. Jason stepped in—one quick thrust, and the second storm spirit dissolved into gold powder.

“HA!” yelled Zeus. “Take that!”

Dylan wailed in outrage.

Dionysus said, “Understandable.”

He looked down as if expecting his comrades to re-form, but their gold dust remains dispersed in the wind. "Impossible! Who are you, half-blood?"

“Did he not know his name?” muttered Hades.

Piper was so stunned she dropped her club. "Jason, how … ?"

Aphrodite shrugged. “You’ll probably find out later.”

Then Coach Hedge leaped back onto the skywalk and dumped Leo like a sack of flour. "Spirits, fear me!" Hedge bellowed, flexing his short arms. Then he looked around and realized there was only Dylan. "Curse it, boy!" he snapped at Jason. "Didn't you leave some for me? I like a challenge!"

“He’s got a huge ego,” muttered Demeter. “That could be fixed by cereal.”
“For Zeus’s sake, stop with the cereal!” exclaimed Dionysus.
Zeus nodded. “Yes. For my sake. I really don’t want to hear any more about cereal.”
Demeter huffed. “I’m not giving you cereal anymore then!”
“YES!” yelled all the Olympians.
“Although,” said Demeter thoughtfully, “a big ego can also be humbled by a good muffin.”
And that, my friends, was how the Cereal style ended, and the Muffin trend started.

Leo got to his feet, breathing hard. He looked completely humiliated, his hands bleeding from clawing at the rocks. "Yo, Coach Supergoat, whatever you are—I just fell down the freaking Grand Canyon! Stop asking for challenges!"

“Agreed,” said Hephaestus.
“He’s not a supergoat,” grumbled Dionysus.

Dylan hissed at them, but Jason could see fear in his eyes. "You have no idea how many enemies you've awakened, half-bloods. My mistress will destroy all demigods. This war you cannot win."

Hera shivered. She wished it wasn’t a foreshadow for things to come.

Above them, the storm exploded into a full-force gale. Cracks expanded in the skywalk. Sheets of rain poured down, and Jason had to crouch to keep his balance. A hole opened in the clouds—a swirling vortex of black and silver. "The mistress calls me back!" Dylan shouted with glee. "And you, demigod, will come with me!"

“No, he won’t!” Hera objected.

He lunged at Jason, but Piper tackled the monster from behind.

“Go Piper!” said Aphrodite.

Even though he was made of smoke, Piper somehow managed to connect.

“HA!”

Both of them went sprawling. Leo, Jason, and the coach surged forward to help, but the spirit screamed with rage. He let loose a torrent that knocked them all backward. Jason and Coach Hedge landed on their butts. Jason's sword skidded across the glass.

“Not a good idea to lose your weapon, kid,” said Ares.

Leo hit the back of his head and curled on his side, dazed and groaning.

“Dude!” exclaimed Hephaestus.
“You’re not fit to say, ‘dude,’” said Ares.

Piper got the worst of it.

“Of course,” said Aphrodite darkly.

She was thrown off Dylan's back and hit the railing, tumbling over the side until she was hanging by one hand over the abyss.

Aphrodite gasped. “Oh dear!”

Jason started toward her, but Dylan screamed, "I'll settle for this one!" He grabbed Leo's arm and began to rise, towing a half-conscious Leo below him.

“HEY!” yelled Hephaestus.
“Heph,” said Ares, “I wouldn’t just yell, I’d do something. Go over there and beat up some storm spirits. I’ll be watching.”
Artemis rolled her eyes. “Have you forgotten what this... this partypony wrote? We’re not supposed to mess it up!”
Apollo nodded. “Messing up the future can have some really, really, bad consequences.”

The storm spun faster, pulling them upward like a vacuum cleaner.
"Help!" Piper yelled. "Somebody!" Then she slipped, screaming as she fell.


“Dammit!” shouted Aphrodite. “Save her, Jason!”

"Jason, go!" Hedge yelled. "Save her!"

Hermes was about to say, Ha ha, you think like a goat, but Athena said, “It’s not funny, Hermes.” Hermes shut his mouth.

The coach launched himself at the spirit with some serious goat fu

“Goat fu?” said Dionysus. “Didn’t know the satyrs started inventing their own martial arts.”
Ares raised an eyebrow. “Check it out sometime.”

—lashing out with his hooves, knocking Leo free from the spirit's grasp.

“Oh yeah!” said Hephaestus.

Leo dropped safely to the floor, but Dylan grappled the coach's arms instead.

“Ouch,” mumbled Hephaestus.

Hedge tried to head-butt him, then kicked him and called him a cupcake.

Ares cackled. “He has spirit!”
“No,” said Hades. “Satyrs do not have spirits.”
“You know what I mean!”

They rose into the air, gaining speed. Coach Hedge shouted down once more, "Save her! I got this!" Then the satyr and the storm spirit spiralled into the clouds and disappeared. Save her? Jason thought. She's gone! But again his instincts won.

“Three cheers for his instincts,” said Aphrodite.

He ran to the railing, thinking, I'm a lunatic,

“Yes, you are,” agreed Hermes.
“No, he’s not,” said Zeus.

and jumped over the side. Jason wasn't scared of heights.

“Duh-y,” said Demeter.

He was scared of being smashed against the canyon floor five hundred feet below.

“Reasonable,” said Athena.

He figured he hadn't accomplished anything except for dying along with Piper,

“That would be a nice death,” said Aphrodite. “Die trying to save my daughter.” She sighed. “You would’ve gone to Elysium.”
“He would have gone to Elysium anyway,” said Hades, unexpectedly. The Olympians started at him. Hades said defensively, “He lead the half-bloods to Mount Othyrs.”

but he tucked in his arms and plummeted headfirst. The sides of the canyon raced past like a film on fast-forward. His face felt like it was peeling off. In a heartbeat, he caught up with Piper, who was flailing wildly. He tackled her waist and closed his eyes, waiting for death.

“I don’t think I will be coming,” said Hades.

Piper screamed. The wind whistled in Jason's ears. He wondered what dying would feel like.

Hades shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt as much as you think. It’s the way you die that hurts.”

He was thinking, probably not so good.

“The way you’re dying,” said Hades, “probably.”

He wished somehow they could never hit bottom. Suddenly the wind died. Piper's scream turned into a strangled gasp. Jason thought they must be dead, but he hadn't felt any impact.
"J-J-Jason," Piper managed.
He opened his eyes. They weren't falling. They were floating in midair, a hundred feet above the river.


Silence. Then Apollo said, “Awesome.”

He hugged Piper tight, and she repositioned herself so she was hugging him too.

Aphrodite squealed.

They were nose to nose. Her heart beat so hard, Jason could feel it through her clothes. Her breath smelled like cinnamon. She said, "How did you—"
"I didn't," he said. "I think I would know if I could fly…"


“He did know how to fly,” said Hera. “He managed to totally control it by age thirteen.”

But then he thought: I don't even know who I am. He imagined going up. Piper yelped as they shot a few feet higher. They weren't exactly floating, Jason decided. He could feel pressure under his feet like they were balancing at the top of a geyser.
"The air is supporting us," he said.
"Well, tell it to support us more! Get us out of here!"
Jason looked down. The easiest thing would be to sink gently to the canyon floor. Then he looked up. The rain had stopped. The storm clouds didn't seem as bad, but they were still rumbling and flashing. There was no guarantee the spirits were gone for good. He had no idea what had happened to Coach Hedge.


“Probably taken prisoner by the storm spirits,” said Athena.

And he'd left Leo up there, barely conscious.

Hephaestus scowled. “That, you did.”
Hera said defensively, “He was saving Piper!”

"We have to help them," Piper said, as if reading his thoughts. "Can you—"
"Let's see." Jason thought Up, and instantly they shot skyward. The fact he was riding the winds might've been cool under different circumstances, but he was too much in shock. As soon as they landed on the skywalk, they ran to Leo. Piper turned Leo over, and he groaned. His army coat was soaked from the rain. His curly hair glittered gold from rolling around in monster dust. But at least he wasn't dead.


Hephaestus sighed in relief.

"Stupid … ugly … goat," he muttered.
"Where did he go?" Piper asked.
Leo pointed straight up. "Never came down. Please tell me he didn't actually save my life."
"Twice," Jason said.
Leo groaned even louder.


“And what, is wrong with being saved by a satyr?” said Dionysus.
Athena agreed. “Satyrs and fauns had been protecting and saving half-bloods for centuries.”

"What happened? The tornado guy, the gold sword … I hit my head. That's it, right? I'm hallucinating?"

“You wish you were,” said Demeter.

Jason had forgotten about the sword.

“Not. A. Good. Idea,” said Ares.

He walked over to where it was lying and picked it up. The blade was well balanced. On a hunch he flipped it. Midspin, the sword shrank back into a coin and landed in his palm.

“Awesome,” said Ares.

"Yep," Leo said. "Definitely hallucinating."

“Nope,” said Apollo. “Definitely reality.”

Piper shivered in her rain-soaked clothes. "Jason, those things-"
"Venti," he said. "Storm spirits."
"Okay. You acted like … like you'd seen them before.


“He probably had,” said Hera.

Who are you?"
He shook his head. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. I don't know."
The storm dissipated. The other kids from the Wilderness School were staring out the glass doors in horror. Security guards were working on the locks now, but they didn't seem to be having any luck.


“Not a good idea for the mortals to get involved,” said Poseidon.

"Coach Hedge said he had to protect three people," Jason remembered. "I think he meant us."

“Duh!” said Dionysus.

"And that thing Dylan turned into …" Piper shuddered. "God, I can't believe it was hitting on me.

Aphrodite agreed. “I know right?”

He called us... what, demigods?"
Leo lay on his back, staring at the sky. He didn't seem anxious to get up. "Don't know what demi means," he said.


“It means half,” said Athena.

"But I'm not feeling too godly. You guys feeling godly?"

“You can never feel godly,” said Ares smugly.
“Unless they sit on your throne,” added Poseidon.

There was a brittle sound like dry twigs snapping, and the cracks in the skywalk began to widen.
"We need to get off this thing," Jason said. "Maybe if we—"
"Ohhh-kay," Leo interrupted. "Look up there and tell me if those are flying horses."


“Pegasi,” said Hestia.

At first Jason thought Leo had hit his head too hard.

“Nope.”

Then he saw a dark shape descending from the east—too slow for a plane, too large for a bird.

Athena said thoughtfully, “A chariot?”

As it got closer he could see a pair of winged animals—gray, four-legged, exactly like horses—except each one had a twenty-foot wingspan. And they were pulling a brightly painted box with two wheels: a chariot.

Athena smiled smugly.

"Reinforcements," he said. "Hedge told me an extraction squad was coming for us."
"Extraction squad?" Leo struggled to his feet. "That sounds painful."


“It does, doesn’t it?” said Hermes.

"And where are they extracting us to?" Piper asked.

“Camp Half-Blood,” the Olympians automatically said.
“Since Hedge was Greek,” added Athena.

Jason watched as the chariot landed on the far end of the skywalk. The flying horses tucked in their wings and cantered nervously across the glass, as if they sensed it was near breaking. Two teenagers stood in the chariot—a tall blond girl maybe a little older than Jason,

“Hmm...” said Athena. Annabeth? Maybe if the other person is Percy... Oh, they may have broken up in the future! YES! Athena smiled widely. The Olympians wondered at this change.

and a bulky dude with a shaved head and a face like a pile of bricks

Athena’s smile widened. Anyone’s better than that Seaweed-Brain.

They both wore jeans and orange T-shirts, with shields tossed over their backs. The girl leaped off before the chariot had even finished moving. She pulled a knife and ran toward Jason's group while the bulky dude was reining in the horses.
"Where is he?" the girl demanded. Her gray eyes were fierce and a little startling.
"Where's who?" Jason asked.


“That,” said Athena, “is an unacceptable answer. Not even an answer.”

She frowned like his answer was unacceptable.

Some of the gods snickered, but Athena felt proud that Annabeth was thinking like her mother.

Then she turned to Leo and Piper. "What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"

“Gleeson?!” exclaimed Hermes. Then burst out laughing.
“It sounds like that show, Glee!” said Apollo.

The coach's first name was Gleeson? Jason might've laughed if the morning hadn't been quite so weird and scary.

“Totally understand,” said Apollo.

Gleeson Hedge: football coach, goat man, protector of demigods. Sure. Why not?
Leo cleared his throat. "He got taken by some … tornado things."
"Venti," Jason said. "Storm spirits."
The blond girl arched an eyebrow. "You mean anemoi thuellai ? That's the Greek term.


Suddenly, the danger of this dawned on every Olympian.
“Oh. My. Gods,” said Athena. “Greeks and a Roman... at the same place... this...”
“... is a really bad thing,” finished Apollo.
Athena shot him a look. “You know, for the god of poetry, you’re not very good at words.”
Apollo brightened. “Wanna hear a poem?”
“NO!” shouted the Olympians. Apollo looked disappointed.

Who are you, and what happened?" Jason did his best to explain, though it was hard to meet those intense gray eyes. About halfway through the story, the other guy from the chariot came over. He stood there glaring at them, his arms crossed. He had a tattoo of a rainbow on his biceps, which seemed a little unusual.

“Son of Iris?” said Athena.

When Jason had finished his story, the blond girl didn't look satisfied. "No, no, no! She told me he would be here. She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer."

“Huh?” said Aphrodite.
“Who’s ‘she?’” asked Poseidon.
“What answer?” inquired Zeus.

"Annabeth," the bald guy grunted.

All eyes turned to Athena.

"Check it out." He pointed at Jason's feet. Jason hadn't thought much about it, but he was still missing his left shoe, which had been blown off by the lightning. His bare foot felt okay, but it looked like a lump of charcoal. "The guy with one shoe," said the bald dude. "He's the answer."

“Huh?” said the gods.

"No, Butch," the girl insisted. "He can't be. I was tricked." She glared at the sky as though it had done something wrong.

Athena gazed at Zeus. “Did you?”

"What do you want from me?" she screamed. "What have you done with him?"

“Him?” muttered Athena. Her instincts and intellect was telling her who ‘him’ is...
Poseidon was also getting uneasy. He got a bad feeling about this.

The skywalk shuddered, and the horses whinnied urgently.
"Annabeth," said the bald dude, Butch, "we gotta leave. Let's get these three to camp and figure it out there. Those storm spirits might come back."
She fumed for a moment. "Fine." She fixed Jason with a resentful look. "We'll settle this later." She turned on her heel and marched toward the chariot.


“Hmm,” said Athena.

Piper shook her head. "What's her problem? What's going on?"

“We would like to know that too, Piper,” said Poseidon.

"Seriously," Leo agreed.
"We have to get you out of here," Butch said. "I'll explain on the way."


The Olympians groaned.
“Can you skip this chapter and get on with the explanation?” asked Aphrodite.
Athena glared at her, then Aphrodite read.

"I'm not going anywhere with her." Jason gestured toward the blonde. "She looks like she wants to kill me."

Athena and Poseidon’s feeling got more turbulent.

Butch hesitated. "Annabeth's okay. You gotta cut her some slack. She had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. That was supposed to be the answer to her problem."

“What problem?” asked the Olympians in unison. They knew that something bad must be happening if a child of Athena was troubled.

"What problem?" Piper asked.
"She's been looking for one of our campers, who's been missing three days," Butch said.


Athena gasped. Oh my gods!
The Olympians looked at her. “What?” asked Demeter.
Athena didn’t say anything, her mind working furiously.
Then it dawned on Poseidon. “Holy... this can’t be happening.”
“What?!” said the Olympians.
Aphrodite kept reading, extremely curious.

"She's going out of her mind with worry. She hoped he'd be here."

“Who?” asked the gods.
Then it came to Hestia, who put her head in her hands in realization.

"Who?" Jason asked.
"Her boyfriend," Butch said. "A guy named Percy Jackson."


Silence. Utter silence. They could hear New York city below, going about its usual business.
Nothing was said for several moments.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago Alex13126 said…
laugh
Oh Wow! Oh Wow! Oh my gods that was great! :DDDDD *squeals* That was amazing!
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago PiperLunaPotter said…
heart
I love the shaving cream-sharpie trick by Hermes! :DD
over a year ago Persephone16 said…
big smile
Awesome!! This is going to be great!
over a year ago NicoDiAngelo4 said…
holy zeus!!! oh my gods!!! that was so ah-mazing!!!!! no like, for reals, that was just absolutely! wow! pplease dont stop doing this! pretty please with a thousand dolars on top? pleeeaassseeee:) i love this!
over a year ago Biancadi said…
I am laughing till I just started singing squirrels in my pants! But the Percy going missing is still sad....Holy Poseidon I got no idea what Poseidon is going to do!
over a year ago TheMagicWord said…
Fantastic, hilarious, all those other descriptive words. Keep going!
over a year ago RomanGreekDemi said…
worried
partypony, this is awesome. Post real soon!

and everybody else, sorry for making her 'delay' the chapters. SORRRY!!!!!!!!!

*starts sobbing*
over a year ago HecateA said…
big smile
OMGTOTALAWESOMENESS!!!!!!

I love this so bad! I was laughing at the monitor and my folks thought I had finally lost it; but it was TOTALY worth it! I loved how Athena's like 'YES they broke up!' And Hermes is lucky he's still alive... I bet Aphrodite'll just start crying at the book or soemthing, Poseidon might cause a tsunami somewhere, Athena... I don't know about her but I can't wait to see! Good job, and it's such a unique idea!
over a year ago psalm1003 said…
This forum is so freakin awesome!!!!!!!
over a year ago MoeSimpson said…
big smile
OhMyZeus
That wass soo funny i kepy laaughing and i screamed at the end like i never read the book before. Your really good at this and yours is the best of the ones i read. I think in the beginning you should do like an intro about percy going missing. And my fav part was “We,” said Zeus, “are not your gods.” tooo funny
over a year ago Peracbeth2136 said…
big smile
OMG!!! SOO GOOOD!!
-LOVED the whole shaving cream and sharpie thing!
-and soo funny when Athena's like, YES they might've broken up in the future!
-and AHHHHHHH i cant wait to see how POSEIDON reacts!!!!!!
-love the whole commentary going on betwenn all the gods!! HILARIOUS!
-Demeter is hilarious with the whole cereal then muffin thing. she was like that in TLF:D
-and i feel so srry for u! it must take forever to write these! but keep going they're really good! :DDDDDDD
over a year ago Artemis_8 said…
laugh
I can't say anything 'cause all these pplz up there ^ ... stole the words out of my mouth! Hahahaha! My family already thinks I'm insane so I can laugh all I want! :D Love Hermes' prank! It's so frreaking funny!
over a year ago Starlight1o1 said…
Oh my gods that was so epic. At the end my eyes were skipping to sentences that were ahead before my brain could process what I was reading. The end was so climatic. It had almost the same level of excitement as the last chapter of the lost hero except I know that I don’t have to wait months to read what happens next. You did a really great job with this chapter. Some of the comments were so funny. I can already imagine Aphrodite’s reaction when she finds out she gets to dress Jason, Leo, and Piper up.
over a year ago Kittycat19 said…
big smile
Oh my gods! This is AMAZING! Never stop writing!
over a year ago tracytracy2000 said…
That was amazing this is like the first time I read ur writing its really good
over a year ago eyal10 said…
its really good, i liked it a lot and your very descriptive.

over a year ago ThaliaGrace8 said…
That was amazing! I love the side commentary from all of the gods, its hilarious!
Just one question,are the campers going to get a book too?
over a year ago partypony said…
@ThaliaGrace8, maybe... I once had a forum called, "We Read The Lost Hero," but I discontinued it. One, because I was kind of positive that not many would read it. Two, because it would take too long to write. It would delay my posting of THIS -Read The Lost Hero, THAT -Read The Lost Hero, and my fanfic.
But, if you guys want me to, I might continue it...

I'll put up a question on the picks section, and you guys can vote...

-----------------------------------------­-
Poseidon snatched the book out of Aphrodite’s hand. He muttered to himself, “What the heck?”
Aphrodite tried to take the book back. “Po-“
“DUDE!” yelled Poseidon.
Ares stared at him. “Since when did you start using ‘dude?’”
Poseidon glared at him, then made a rainbow. He threw in a drachma. “Perseus Jackson. Goode High School, New York.” An IM appeared in front of him. A classroom of kids were bent on their desks, focused on their paper, so they didn’t see the IM, which was very fortunate.
“At least they’re making an effort,” Athena muttered.
Poseidon scanned the classroom. He spotted his son near the back, also bent down on his paper, trying to read. Poseidon sighed, then waved his hand across the IM. Then he glared at the book. “What. Is. This. Supposed. To. Mean?”
“You’re talking to a book,” whispered Hermes.
Apollo snickered. “First sign of madness: Talking to inanimate objects.”
Poseidon glared at them, while Hera scolded them. “Show some empathy!” She was feeling a little guilty herself. It’s for the best, she reminded herself. This has to be done. But that didn’t do much to lessen the guilt.
Demeter cleared her throat. “Muffins-“
“SHUT UP, DEMETER!” shouted Poseidon. “NO MORE MUFFINS!” He realized that sounded weird coming from his mouth.
Demeter looked offended. “I was going to say that the muffin-flavoured ambrosia just arrived.” She glanced at Hermes. “About time.”
He shrugged. “You just made the order only half an hour ago, and I was too busy reading the book.”
“Listening to the book,” corrected Athena. “And personally, I’m happy that Sea-brat’s gone. No more stupidity around my daughter.”
Poseidon glared at her. With that look, he could have felled quite a number of drakons. “Would you stop thinking about your daughter for JUST ONE SECOND?!”
“Would you stop thinking about your son for just one second, Barnacle Beard?” She stood up. “I will not stay here and endure the insults to my daughter.”
Poseidon stood up. “Neither will I.”
Athena’s eyes were filled with anger. “What is it with you? How can you be so stupid?”
“You two!” yelled Zeus. “SIT DOWN!”
They glared at each other, but sat down. Some of the Olympians were relieved that a fight was avoided, but, of course, Ares scowled in displeasure.
“Now,” said Hestia in a calm, soothing voice, “I think it’s best we read on, to gather more information about this... news.” She picked up the book. “I will read.”



III
Piper


“It switches point of views,” commented Demeter.
AFTER A MORNING OF STORM SPIRIT'S, goat men, and flying boyfriends, Piper should've been losing her mind.
Hades snorted. “To most demigods, that’s normal.”

Instead, all she felt was dread. It's starting, she thought. Just like the dream said.
“What dream?” asked Hermes.
Athena rolled her eyes. “Well, if you stop interrupting, we might find out.”

She stood in back of the chariot with Leo and Jason, while the bald guy, Butch, handled the reins, and the blond girl, Annabeth, adjusted a bronze navigation device. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Piper's jacket. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.

“What made you angry?” asked Apollo.
Zeus glowered at him. “Do I look like I know?”

The chariot lurched and bumped. It had no seat belts and the back was wide open, so Piper wondered if Jason would catch her again if she fell.

“He’d better,” said Aphrodite.

That had been the most disturbing part of the morning—not that Jason could fly, but that he'd held her in his arms and yet didn't know who she was.

Aphrodite sighed. “Tragic love story...”

All semester she'd worked on a relationship, trying to get Jason to notice her as more than a friend.

“Atta girl,” said Aphrodite proudly.

Finally she'd gotten the big dope to kiss her.

Aphrodite said smugly, “Bet it was awesome.”

The last few weeks had been the best of her life. And then, three nights ago, the dream had ruined everything—that horrible voice, giving her horrible news.

“Stupid voice,” muttered Aphrodite.
Oh no, Hera thought. [i[]Could it be...?[/i]

She hadn't told anyone about it, not even Jason.

“Must be bad,” mumbled Zeus.

Now she didn't even have him . It was like someone had wiped his memory, and she was stuck in the worst "do over" of all time.

Aphrodite sighed. Hera looked down.

She wanted to scream. Jason stood right next to her: those sky blue eyes, close-cropped blond hair, that cute little scar on his upper lip. His face was kind and gentle, but always a little sad. And he just stared at the horizon, not even noticing her.

“Sad,” muttered Aphrodite.

Meanwhile, Leo was being annoying, as usual.
"This is so cool!" He spit a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"
"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."


The gods glanced at each other uneasily.
“Not exactly the only safe place,” said Athena under her breath. “But one of the two.”

"Half-Blood?" Piper was immediately on guard. She hated that word. She'd been called a half-blood too many times—half Cherokee, half white—and it was never a compliment.

“Is it a compliment for real half-bloods?” wondered Hermes.
Hephaestus rolled his eyes.

"Is that some kind of bad joke?"
"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."


“At least he know that,” murmured Hera. “Big problem if he doesn’t.”

Annabeth looked back. "You seem to know a lot, Jason.

“That’s ‘cause he’s been living as a demigod for twelve years,” mumbled Hera.
“What?” asked Zeus.
“Nothing.

But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom.

Athena smiled.

Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."
Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"
"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.


“Yeah,” said Zeus, glaring at the book. “Got a problem with that?”

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

Hermes and Apollo snickered. Ares was louder.

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."

“Can children of Iris talk to pegasi in their heads?” wondered Apollo.
Poseidon said gruffly, “No. That’s only a trait of my children.” He still wasn’t over the disappearance.

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.


Apollo was polite enough to only snicker. Hermes and Ares, however, were more boisterous.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

“Yes,” said Ares with glee. “Toss them off! Make sure they land on spikes!”

"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're … you think we're—"

“Yep,” said the Olympians.

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"

“Your fault,” Hera muttered to Zeus, who scowled.

Piper stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot. The wind roared. Piper glanced behind them and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiralling toward the chariot—

Some of the Olympians groaned. Some of the more, um, insensitive gods leaned forward in excitement.

except these looked more like horses than angels. She started to say, "Why are they—"
“Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth said. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."
Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred.
Piper's stomach crawled into her throat.


“Ew,” mumbled Demeter. “She’d better not do what I think she’s gonna do...”

Her vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were in a totally different place.

“Ah, I love the pegasi’s hyperdrive,” said Hermes.

A cold gray ocean stretched out to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. Piper saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire.

The Olympians smiled. “Camp Half-Blood.”
“How many cabins do you think they have now?” wondered Apollo.
“Well, so far they have a total of fifteen,” said Artemis.

But before she could really process all she was seeing, their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.


“Ouch,” said Apollo. “I know how it feels like to be in a vehicle that’s falling out of the sky.”

Annabeth and Butch tried to maintain control.

“Note the word ‘tried,’” said Dionysus.

The pegasi labored to hold the chariot in a flight pattern, but they seemed exhausted from their burst of speed, and bearing the chariot and the weight of five people was just too much.

“Poor pegasi,” murmured Poseidon.

"The lake!" Annabeth yelled. "Aim for the lake!"

“Good plan,” said Athena.

Piper remembered something her dad had once told her, about hitting water from up high being as bad as hitting cement.

“Not this lake,” said Artemis. “This lake is enchanted to not feel like that.”

And then— BOOM . The biggest shock was the cold.

“No, really,” said Dionysus sarcastically.

She was underwater,

“Duh,” muttered Dionysus.
“Is that your new favourite word?” asked Ares.
“Yes. And you cannot do anything about it.”

so disoriented that she didn't know which way was up.

“Up is up, kid,” said Hades.
Athena rolled her eyes.

She just had time to think: This would be a stupid way to die.

“Yes,” the Olympians all agreed.
“At least my children won’t die a stupid death like that,” said Poseidon, who seemed to be getting over the news.
Ares nodded. “They should all die a bloody death.” When the Olympians stared at him, he said defensively, “Well, that way they’ll die with glory...”

Then faces appeared in the green murk—girls with long black hair and glowing yellow eyes. They smiled at her, grabbed her shoulders, and hauled her up. They tossed her, gasping and shivering, onto the shore. Nearby, Butch stood in the lake, cutting the wrecked harnesses off the pegasi. Fortunately, the horses looked okay, but they were flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere. Jason, Leo, and Annabeth were already on shore, surrounded by kids giving them blankets and asking questions. Somebody took Piper by the arms and helped her stand. Apparently kids fell into the lake a lot,

“Only about fifiteen or sixteen times a year,” said Athena.

because a detail of campers ran up with big bronze leaf blower–looking things and blasted Piper with hot air; and in about two seconds her clothes were dry.

“Good,” said Aphrodite. “Wet clothes are very much not attractive.”
“In case you didn’t notice,” said Artemis, “she doesn’t care about her looks.” She thought for a moment. “She’d make a great Hunter.”
Aphrodite looked aghast. “My daughter... a Hunter... with you?!” She shuddered at the thought.

There were at least twenty campers milling around—the youngest maybe nine, the oldest college age, eighteen or nineteen—and all of them had orange T-shirts like Annabeth's. Piper looked back at the water and saw those strange girls just below the surface, their hair floating in the current. They waved like, toodle-oo, and disappeared into the depths. A second later the wreckage of the chariot was tossed from the lake and landed nearby with a wet crunch.

Apollo laughed. “How is she gonna explain that to Will?”

"Annabeth!" A guy with a bow and quiver on his back pushed through the crowd. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"

“Yeah, Annabeth,” said Apollo smugly. “Borrow, not destroy.”
Athena glared at him.

"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."
Will scowled at his broken chariot. Then he sized up Piper, Leo, and Jason. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"


“We would like to know that as well,” said Zeus. The Olympians looked at Hephaestus and Aphrodite.
“They weren’t at camp yet,” said Hephaestus in defence. Aphrodite nodded in agreement. “Besides, how ‘bout Jason?”
“He has already been claimed at [Camp Caesar Salad].”

"Claimed?" Leo asked.
Before Annabeth could explain, Will said, "Any sign of Percy?"
"No," Annabeth admitted. The campers muttered. Piper had no idea who this guy Percy was, but his disappearance seemed to be a big deal.


“Don’t talk like that,” chimed in Hermes, “or he’ll get a big head.”

Another girl stepped forward—tall, Asian, dark hair in ringlets, plenty of jewelry, and perfect makeup.

“Drew,” Aphrodite squealed.

Somehow she managed to make jeans and an orange T-shirt look glamorous.

“Bet none of your children can do that,” said Aphrodite proudly.

She glanced at Leo, fixed her eyes on Jason like he might be worthy of her attention,

“He is,” said Aphrodite.

then curled her lip at Piper as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a Dumpster.

Aphrodite frowned. “Hmm.”
“Yeah, ‘hmm,’” mimicked Artemis. “Bet you didn’t know that your daughter acts this way.” She leaned back on her throne. “She’d never be a Hunter.”

Piper knew this girl's type. She'd dealt with a lot of girls like this at Wilderness School and every other stupid school her father had sent her to. Piper knew instantly they were going to be enemies.

“She’s you sibling, honey,” said Aphrodite.
Ares looked delighted. “Enemies within your own cabin!”

"Well," the girl said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."

Hephaestus snorted. “Gee, thanks. What are they, her new pets?”
Hestia smiled as she read the next sentence.

Leo snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?"

Some snickers among the gods, and suppressed laughter among the goddesses. Hephaestus looked indifferent.

"No kidding," Jason said. "How about some answers before you start judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?"

“Camp Half-Blood, because you’re demigods, and depends on how long you live,” said Athena. She glanced at Zeus. “Or how long you get back to your original camp.”

Piper had the same questions, but a wave of anxiety washed over her. Worth the trouble. If they only knew about her dream. They had no idea…

“Dream,” muttered Hera.

"Jason," Annabeth said, "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew,"—she frowned at the glamour girl—"all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."

“Hmm...”

"Hey," Piper said, "we didn't ask to be brought here." Drew sniffed. "And nobody wants you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?"

Aphrodite sniffed. “Well. That’s the first time anyone has said that one of my daughters have hair that looks like a dead badger.”
“How does it feel?” asked Hermes.
“Not very good.”

Piper stepped forward, ready to smack her,

“Yeah!” yelled Ares.

but Annabeth said, "Piper, stop." Piper did.

“Aww,” said Ares.

She wasn't a bit scared of Drew, but Annabeth didn't seem like somebody she wanted for an enemy.

“Wise decision,” muttered Athena. “She’d run you through with her knife.”

"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth said, with another pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign them each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."

Again, the Olympians looked at Hephaestus and Aphrodite, who shrugged. “We’ll see.”

"Would somebody tell me what claimed means?" Piper asked. Suddenly there was a collective gasp. The campers backed away. At first Piper thought she'd done something wrong. Then she realized their faces were bathed in a strange red light, as if someone had lit a torch behind her.

“Someone’s being claimed,” said Athena.

She turned and almost forgot how to breathe. Floating over Leo's head was a blazing holographic image —a fiery hammer.

“HA!” Hephaestus looked at Aphrodite triumphantly. “I claimed my son first!”

"That," Annabeth said, "is claiming."
"What'd I do?" Leo backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?"


Hermes chuckled. “Smart kid.”

He ducked, but the symbol followed him, bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.

“That’s a great idea!” Hermes exclaimed. He turned to Hephaestus. “Hey, Heph, can you put a symbol like that above my head?”
Hephaestus looked at him like he’d just seen an ugly slug, but he snapped his fingers, and a fiery hammer appeared over Hermes’s head. Hermes stood up and started bobbing up and down. “I... am... Hermes... the... awesomest... god... ever...”
“Hey!” Apollo stood up. “I’m the awesomest god ever! Heph, give me a symbol.” Another hammer floated above his head. “I... am... way... awesomer... than... Hermes!”
Hermes snickered. “Oh yeah? Apollo... sings... worse... than... a... frog.”
“Hey! No need to insult my singing skills!”
Artemis and Athena sighed. “Men.” Athena snapped her fingers, and a couple of grey owls landed on both of the gods’ heads, squashing out the symbol and setting their hair on fire. The two gods yelped, then patted their heads until the fire had gone out. Then they glowered at Athena. They sat back at their thrones, dissatisfied.
Artemis glanced at Hestia. “Please read on.”

"This can't be good," Butch muttered. "The curse—"

“Curse?” said the Olympians.

"Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"
"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"
All eyes turned to him. "Jason," Annabeth said carefully, "how did you know that?"


“’Cause he’s Roman, and had known for twelve years,” said Zeus.

"I'm not sure."
"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE Star Trek.


“Star Trek’s awesome!” yelled Hades. The Olympians looked at him, shocked. Hades said, “Hey, even I watch tv, ok?” They didn’t comment.

What are you talking about?"
"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, "the god of blacksmiths and fire."
The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him.


“Is that... supposed to be offending?” asked Hephaestus, unsure.

"The god of what? Who?"
Annabeth turned to the guy with the bow. "Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunk-mates in Cabin Nine."


Hephaestus clapped his hands. “We get to read about my children!”
“Oh joy,” muttered Dionysus. “Those brats never leave the forge.”

"Sure, Annabeth."
"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked.


“Your cabin,” said Hephaestus.

"And I'm not a Vulcan!"

Hephaestus said, “Obviously. I am Vulcan. Not a Vulcan.”


"Come on, Mr. Spock,

“Mr. Spock?” asked Apollo.
Hades glared daggers at him.

I'll explain everything." Will put a hand on his shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins. Annabeth turned her attention back to Jason. Usually Piper didn't like it when other girls checked out her boyfriend, but Annabeth didn't seem to care that he was a good-looking guy.

Athena said logically, “My children are more concerned about other things than boys.” She looked at Aphrodite pointedly. “Unlike some people.”

She studied him more like he was a complicated blueprint.

“Means she’s assessing him,” muttered Athena.

Finally she said, "Hold out your arm." Piper saw what she was looking at, and her eyes widened. Jason had taken off his windbreaker after his dip in the lake, leaving his arms bare, and on the inside of his right forearm was a tattoo.

The Olympians gulped nervously.

How had Piper never noticed it before? She'd looked at Jason's arms a million times. The tattoo couldn't have just appeared,

“Mist,” mumbled Hera.

but it was darkly etched, impossible to miss: a dozen straight lines like a bar code, and over that an eagle with the letters SPQR.

The gods and goddesses looked at each other apprehensively.

"I've never seen marks like this," Annabeth said. "Where did you get them?"

“Please don’t let him remember,” Hera muttered. “Please don’t let him remember.”

Jason shook his head. "I'm getting really tired of saying this, but I don't know."

The Olympians sighed in relief.

The other campers pushed forward, trying to get a look at Jason's tattoo. The marks seemed to bother them a lot— almost like a declaration of war.

The Olympians tensed. “Uh oh,” muttered Poseidon.

"They look burned into your skin," Annabeth noticed.
"They were," Jason said. Then he winced as if his head was aching.


“He’s trying to remember,” muttered Hera.

"I mean … I think so. I don't remember." No one said anything. It was clear the campers saw Annabeth as the leader.

Athena smiled proudly, but it was a small smile. She was still tensed up.

They were waiting for her verdict.

“Verdict?” said Dionysus incredulously.

"He needs to go straight to Chiron," Annabeth decided. "Drew, would you—"
"Absolutely." Drew laced her arm through Jason's.


“Shallow,” muttered Artemis.

"This way, sweetie. I'll introduce you to our director. He's … an interesting guy."

Hestia chuckled. “That’s an understatement.”

She flashed Piper a smug look and led Jason toward the big blue house on the hill. The crowd began to disperse, until only Annabeth and Piper were left.
"Who's Chiron?" Piper asked. "Is Jason in some kind of trouble?"
Annabeth hesitated. "Good question, Piper. Come on, I'll give you a tour. We need to talk."


“That’s the end of the chapter,” said Hestia, putting down the book.
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last edited over a year ago