The Heroes of Olympus
The Heroes of Olympus The Son of Neptune
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HecateA posted on Oct 28, 2010 at 12:36AM
So once again you guys have the opportunity to get in my head of what I think the next HoO book RR blesses us with will look like.
Before I start you peoples off, I need to say something. So shush and listen. When I wrote "The Lost Hero, written by me", I had to guess who the parents were. Well now, I know. So I am following Rick Riordan's version of the characters. Piper has nothing to do with Persephone, Jason and Thalia are siblings and Camp Ceasar Salad is real. For my series of fanfics, I'm following my version of the characters, but here, Rick's versions rule. Get it? Title: The Son of Neptune Rating: C Type: Adventure, friendship, hopefully humor, maybe a touch of romance Characters: Add, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Drew, Leo, Jake, Nyssa OC personalities: Reyna, Dakota, Hazel, Gwen, Bobby, Caleb OC: The Gayle brothers, Karren Synopsis: After discovering a new world, not so far from their own, Jason and his friends are sailing straight for it, unsure wheter they'll come out victorious or just start a civil war. But it doesn't take the arrival of a flying boat to get the citizens curious. They already sence something is wrong, way before the flying ship docks. Disclaimer: The story base, character and settings base was created by Rick Riordan, who owns the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus rights. A/N: Hopefully you guys will like it! I got some very nice comments on my random wall poll, so here it is guys! Love you all, you rock! The Rebel Soldier's debut: link The Honour in Death's debut: link The Fire's Revenge's debut: link Part Two's debut: link 
last edited on Jul 29, 2011 at 10:13PM
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Title: The Rebel Soldier
Raiting: C
Type: Adventure, Friendship, Fantasy, touch of romance, touch of sad (you know me)
Sypnosis: While Annabeth Chasse watches the Argo II rise from scrap as her ticket to her boyfriend, Piper McLean knows its hers to lose all hope of Jason Grace being hers. She sees it in his eyes how he misses the City.
Meanwhile at the City itself, Add is stuck between a rock and 3 angry sons of Bellona. Not only is the anti-Greek movement rising like a phoenix (bad joke) but there’s nothing to do about it. He can’t guarantee a safe arrival for anyone in the City.
And it gets even better: these people are going to have to work together. Which is probably what scares Lark so much. She’s heard of what happens, she’s seen the victims and it’s a near fail-proof catastrophe the heroes are lining up for. With still no news from Olympus and deceased US presidents running around the country… She doubts it’ll be any better.
Both trainers are useless by the gods’ wills. Both sides will meet for the first time in years. And both sides have reasons to profoundly hate each other.
OC: Jace Gayle, Melaina “Lark” Grey, Hilary Shehan, Karen Mallock, Caleb Gelus, Jonnathan Stargo, Zane Attique, Carmen Attwel
*introduced by Rick Riordan* Hazel Ducharme, Gwendolyn Madison, Bobby Peverell, Dakota Ledécit, Reyna Gayle, Phoebe Rider, Lou Ellen Spellcast
Characters owned by Rick Riordan: Jason and Thalia Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Annabeth Chasse, Percy Jackson, Nico Di Angelo
Disclaimer: I have never met or communicated wit Rick Riordan and am not affilated with Heroes of Olympus. The older campers and Olympian, some minor, gods and creatures have not been created by me.
A/N: More than 3 months ago I sat down at my laptop and started writing for the heck of standing the wait until the Son of Neptune would hit the stores and my personal library. Many other fanpop members were having the same problem as me, aka not losing our sanity, or what we had of it left after the Lost Hero’s subtle little “Her boyfriend. Some guy called Percy Jackson” (by the end of this series expect none). So I installed a forum and posted chapter 1. And 2. And 3… And after 39 forum pages, 27 chapters, 972 comments (spot recod!) and 125628 views (still a spot record) and only one swearing incident, here we are. The Rebel Soldier.
So this fan fiction didn’t stay limited to our club’s population even if we did hit three-hunrer and sixty-some members. People joined fanpop to comment and I’m sure others are reading this.
We have about a million and seventy three Son of Neptune fan fictions here, and there are about seventy three million ones here and there on the web. But a lot of people said that this was the best one. Why? No idea. Will this be as good? No idea either. But after the success we had at the fan fiction awards (EEEEEEP check out this link! -> link) I’m quite puzzled. But I’m ecstatic and O_O about it, so here are two chapters.
This is dedicated to, firstly, two people who will never read this: J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan. To J.K. Rowling because it’s reading books that I decided to give writing them a shot and Harry Potter was one of those big factors. To RR because my fan fictions are all about his books, his universe and his characters.
My friends whom on the web I refer to as Persephone and Hebe. Thank you for letting me write in peace, for not stealing my notebooks when I innocently go throw out a granola bar wrapper at lunch, for not hiding them for the sake of making me freak out and let us not forget the waving them on top of garbage cans. Of course I’m sarcastic but they did help me pick it up when I dropped it in the snow.
My third grade teacher for reading my stories (I read them and laughed at myself so hard), and this year’s French teacher for accepting to read another.
Thank you all!
Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters.
Alexander the Great
1
Melaina Grey
May 28st:The City
Rebelling against doors
You’d think it’d be cool wouldn’t you? Seeing the ghosts. Seeing the dead. A superpower. Adventures beyond man’s imagination. Hot ghosts. Immortality, perhaps? Can’t say I’m not used to it. But you’re wrong. Wrong as you can get about me. It’s not cool. It’s a pain to deal with, and even more emotional pain then the producers of “The Ghost Whisperers” would ever dare show or understand.
Yet everybody think it’d be great. Imagine all the people you could talk to.
And that’s exactly the problem. All the people you could talk to…
But that’s not the story you need to know. You need to know that my name is Melaina Grey. I am 13 years old, my father is a horror writer that goes by the pen name of Braxton Oliver Oakston; and when he asked me what name he should get printed in the resume on the inside flap of a book when he mentions me, I said -4 years old here-:Lark Oakston. So everybody forgot that my real name was Melaina and everybody called me Lark, fine with me nobody can write or pronounce it right on the firsts shot. Also, I’m a demigod, my mother is Mania, goddess of ghosts, which explains why I’m medium and I’ve been training at the city since I’m 11.
Lately everything’s been going wacko. Everyone’s anxious nowadays, waiting for what’s supposed to be a flying boats (search me; I don’t know how the Greeks came up with that one). And the new guy, Add, he’s the worst.
He’s been here for 5 months, it’s May now, and so far they haven’t put him in a legion, officially. Sometimes Reyna Gayle includes him, but usually he goes run, but once he gets in the woods the rest of us don’t know what he does. I don’t think most people care either, a lot would like to see him dead. I don’t. There are enough ghosts without needing another one, especially one with such a young life and sharp ending.
He swordfights a lot with Reyna Gayle, everyone insists it’s the only way for him to stay in shape and she’s one of the only willing fighters strong enough to match up with the curse of Achilles. I’ve met him. He’s a nice guy. Some days he’s just plain sad, but others he’s okay. I know he gets dreams, I can see his ghosts in his eyes, except they aren’t dead; they’re just far away.
-Lark! Timmy’s voice called me back to reality.
-Good, someone’s in there. She said. She threw me the baseball and I caught it in my glove.
-Sorry, I’m thinking.
-Yeah, I know, that’s your thinking face. She catched the ball I threw.
-‘Bout what?
-A lot of stuff. That flying boat, mostly.
-That’s bugging me too. When they stop here, before going to the Mediterranean, Bobby is determined that he’ll be part of the leaving team. She said. I knew Bobby was the brother she was closest to. They have the same brown hair, same grey eyes as penetrating as cat eyes, with so much intelligence I felt intimidated.
-Bobby’s good enough to make it. I said reassuringly. The pounding sound indicated the ball hit Timmy’s glove.
-I guess you’re right, Lark. She said throwing back the ball. I missed it. I turned around to get it but Add tossed it to me.
-Hey Lark. He said.
-Hi Add, thanks. I said. I saw Riptide sticking out from his pocket and he looked preoccupied. If the flying boat had me troubled he must’ve been worried sick!
-‘Welcome. He said before walking off to where Caleb was standing. They talked for a bit before Caleb tried to make him laugh, but having failed took out her sword and BAM swordfight.
-I hope he gets back soon. I told Timmy.
-Yeah, so do I. The Gayle brothers don’t like him a bit and just being in the City is getting dangerous for him. She said.
-No, I mean, he just looks sad.
-No. Timmy said,
-What do you mean no? Some days he looks depressed! I said. I caught the ball, surprised at Timmy’s throw.
-Yeah but Lark, that’s how you see him. Your eyes draw the sadness and ghosts out of people; it’s just how you see things. Timmy said matter-of-factly.
-I see things depressingly. I said making a catch.
-Yeah, you do. Timmy said. I think it’s time for supper.
-Really? I need to stop by my place. I’ll see you there. I told her.
-Key by.
I stopped by my house.
The walls were silvery grey and the whole place was misty, lighted by black candle holders on the wall. The floor is marble and the furniture is covered in white cloths, like a horror house. There’s a big fireplace, which reminds me of the one at home, except this one is marble, and not carved with pictures. There aren’t many of us, we’re 3. I share the girls’ room with my sister, Évangéline Beauxbatons, and I also have a brother, Jasper Fitzgerald. Neither of them were there, I headed for the bathroom. My black hair was dry and could sure as heck use a brush, and I looked pale even for me. Compared to me, the white of the ceramic squares in the bathroom look tan. My eyes are dark brown, nearly black and covered in part by my bangs.
I washed my face and changed my jeans to something not ripped at the knees. Most of my pants are- I can’t help it, they just are.
When I got to the cafeteria everyone was chatting about everything and nothing, already eating. I sit down at my table, next to Prue Piers, the only available seat.
I cannot stand Prue Piers. Most meals it’s a struggle not to rip her pretty little head off. She’s the backup head of house for Venus. That already says a lot. But every time it’s a new conversation about split ends how I’d look great in bright colors and every time I do my best not to turn my fork into a lethal weapon.
Today they were all talking about Hilary Shehan’s boyfriend or something and they were all shooting me looks like I’d just shot at a baby rabbit. I didn’t bother asking what I did. I just ate. When I was done I got up and left the cafeteria.
I decided to cut through the forest. I didn’t know why, I just did. I was passing Mania’s mine.
When the City started out really long ago, the place had trouble in the mortal money department. We’ve always been a little apart from the gods, requiring their gifts only in emergencies, and them offering it only in such. The romans didn’t hold the gods in great esteem; it was a miracle to us when Typhon was defeated last year. Anyways, the children of Trivia, Pluto, Libitina and Mania –basically all the Underworld-dwelling gods- found hot spots in the City’s land (which used to be huge) for mining. The camp made a fortune off gold from the stream as well, Mania’s mine was one of the biggest mines, and the guy who found it named it after his mom- Mania. It’s a place most of us dare not go to. There was a planned collapse in the 1860’s and many demigods died. Suddenly I wondered if the Greeks had anything to do with it.
No, it doesn’t matter; we’re being forced into an alliance anyway.
I wonder if they’ll stay here for a bit, before setting off again. Surely. Hopefully it all went well, but knowing all the sad stories of the past, it wouldn’t. I talked to some demigods that died in the Civil war and managed to extract information from them. Bloodlust increased by a gazillion percent whenever the two sides were anywhere near each other. From all the stories it didn’t sound promising. Like so many other things…
I should just stop talking to ghosts, they never bring good news. Always sad stories of the past and of how they died. The occasional happy memory, of a birth or marriage, but ghosts are never completely happy. They’re bitter, and angry, and sad. No happy person is a ghost. No person who has accepted the fact Pluto has claimed them will jump at the idea of being a ghost, nobody who has finished all their business and came to a peaceful or expected or heroic halt…
And I did something that Caleb had forbidden to do. I leaned over the mine entrance and looked down. There was something down there. Someone actually. A cold, sad presence that reminded me of rain in the winter, when all the snow gets washed away.
-Hello? I called. Nothing. But I recognised the presence, a ghost… A ghost in distress? New to the whole being-a-ghost business.
-My name is Lark, can I help? I asked. I heard a raspy breath.
-I can help, what is your name? I ask. This ghost didn’t scare me, but he alarmed me. It wasn’t right, he wasn’t right… I was about to ask in Latin or French, but he talked.
-My name is Flint Holton. He said. Then he appeared. He was about 14, a year older than me. His hair stuck up like he had just been electrocuted. His face was scared so badly and savagely, there was no way to tell if he’d once been handsome or not. He wore armour I did not recognise, and a helmet was under his arm.
-Its Greek. The armour. I died in the civil war, at a battle at the old city, before they moved it to Othrys. They tortured me until I died.
Woe… This guy was 14. Only a year older than me. Did they really have to kill him? I know they couldn’t reduce him to slavery like the Ancient Romans did, but still…
-That`s horrible I’m really sorry, can I do anything for you?
-I was separated from my sister, Arianne. I need to find out what happened to her, and I know she’s a ghost. Flint said.
-I can’t really tell you. We don’t have any records of the war, and if she was Greek…
I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Flint. He was ripped out of life so violently, and all he wants is to know what happened to his sister, not revenge, not to kill, not a second chance or anything. I just thought of rain in winter whenever I met his eyes.
-I’ll tell you what, before the end of the year, a ship is supposed to come, from Camp Half-Blood. I’ll make sure to ask them what happened to Arianne Holton. If they know, they’ll tell you. If they don’t, you can stick with them, and follow the boat. I explained to Flint what the plan consisted of, about where the boat was going. He seemed okay with it, and pretty excited with the idea.
-Waiting for that, you can go back in the Underworld and wait, or you can stay here. Either in the mine or in Mania’s house.
-Will children of Ares be there?
-I’m sorry; I don’t know Ares, only his equivalent.
-The war god. Cruel offsprings. He said.
-Oh, Mars! No, they don’t speak to ghosts unless they are theirs.
-I’d like to haunt the Styx out of them. Flint said bitterly.
-You could. I said. I knew if I were Flint I’d do it.
-It isn’t right. Flint shook his head.
-Common, I was heading back to the house anyways. I said. Flint floated out and followed me.
-There aren’t many ghosts here. I assumed it was because most demigods are always ready to fight to the death, and know it could be coming.
-I reckon you’re right. But nobody is ready when it happens.
-I guess.
-Can the other people, you know, see me?
-Not unless you appear to them, and they will only talk to you if you want to establish communication. You’ll only see lips moving. The only ones who will always hear and always speak to you are me and my siblings. There are only 3 of us. Évangéline doesn’t speak English, so you’ll only have to deal with Jasper and I.
-They have old names… Not the usual 21st century common.
-No, many children of Mania have old names, like we’re part of the past. My real name is Ancient Greek mythology, actually. Melaina.
-A nymph. Daughter of Persephone and Hades, loved by Apollo, wasn’t she?
-Something like that. I never really paid attention to Greek mythology before the switch happened.
-I’ve heard a lot about that. Flint said.
-I’m sure you have, the underworld’s in chaos because of it, partially.
-Yes, it really isn’t great. Flint said,
-No, and Pluto and Proserpina aren’t allowed to do anything… The whole world’s a wreck right now, and the mortals don’t see it like they saw Typhon. My friend Timmy, daughter of Minerva- umm the knowledge goddess-
-Athena
-Yeah, she told me Terra will start causing landslides and earth quakes everywhere pretty soon.
-It seems like a likely, Gaia-ish thing to do. Flint said.
We got to the City, so I stopped talking to Flint, because nobody else realised that he was there and people already think I’m a freak as it is.
I had stayed in the forest longer than I thought, because the praetors were already shooing everybody in the houses.
-Hey Lark! I heard somebody say. It was Caleb.
-Hey Caleb. I said.
Caleb for some reason changed so much over the past months. Her lips weren’t as thick and her hair didn’t curl anymore. She was the same person of course, but she looks so different, you could barely recognise her.
-Can I talk to you for a minute?
-Umm, sure.
-Great, go get Évangéline and Jasper, meet me in my cabin in 10.
-Got it. I said. She went off, and I took Flint to the house. I jumped the steps to the front door (3 creaky old wobbly steps) and pushed open the door with the silver lion-shaped knob. We’re one of the houses that has an actual door. If it’s that warm we leave it open, but lately the nights have been chilly.
Évangéline was lying on the couch, her legs stretched out. Her hair was let loose and was a raven black veil that wet up to her mid-thigh, and she was tall. Her eyes were dark like mine and she was very petite, and looked younger than her 16 years. Her boyfriend, Chad or whatever his name was, was sitting down on the ground, his back to the couch, a History textbook on his knees. Évangéline stuck out her arm to point at something on the page (tutoring) but she grabbed her shoulder in pain.
-Oh my God I hate when Gred’s in charge, thank gods tomorrow is Sunday! Évangéline said in Latin. And apparently they’re going to add morning training on Sunday once per month. Once per month!
-You should be in legion 2, Mike’s pretty cool, about 5 girls in my cabin love him. Chad said.
-Why was Mike in charge? Was Dakota filling in for Lupa again? I asked.
-Yeah. Jasper said.
His hair stuck up like Flint’s. He had his dark eyes glued to a book on scientific explanations for ghosts opened on his lap. We had a bunch of them lying around the cabin in case we needed a good laugh.
-Is she back on Olympus?
-I don’t know, I haven’t chipped her. Line said.
-Caleb wants to see us at her place in 10. I said.
-I better go. Bye Line. Chad said. She kissed him on the cheek.
-Thanks for the help, Line.
-Welcome. Anytime you need help in History. She said. Chad nodded.
-See you two. He told Jasper and I.
-Yeah. Jasper said, trying to find a bookmark. Chad walked out the doorframe.
-So who’s your friend? Évangéline asked.
-Flint Fitzgerald, but I’ll talk to you later, Caleb looked really worried and she’ll kill us if we’re late. We all smiled. That was a running joke with the Underworld god kids.
My sister slipped an elastic off of her wrist and tied her hair up quickly; it didn’t even touch her shoulders the way she did it. She wore a black spaghetti-strap top and white capris, with dirt and grass stains on the knees- not that anybody but a child of Venus would care. I strongly believe some people just get the “gods can look like whatever they like” genes and are therefore beautiful, and that Éva is one of them.
-Do you know what she want?
-No clue.
-Geez, that’s helpful. Armour?
-She’s not even your praetor, Perseus.
We call Jasper Perseus because his first monster was Medusa. Besides, Jasper Perseus.
-Good point. He said. We set off to Pluto’s house.
It was an awesome house, with no door from the outside. Caleb could shadow-travel in. But when Jasper kicked the wall a door formed itself.
The common room was black and the whole house seemed to have been carved from stone and fitted outside to look like the others. Different shades of black rock made the room and it was pretty simple. There was practically no sign of it being occupied, mostly because Caleb was never here. For a daughter of Pluto she was a social butterfly.
-Over here! I heard a voice. Brad, from Libitina. We went down a hallway and he stood there. Black hair, pale skin. For some reason we were all built the same way.
He opened a closet door and revealed a room bigger then I’d thought. 15 people were already assembled inside. 11 children of Trivia, Caleb daughter of Pluto, and 4 children of Libitina, crashed on chairs or sitting on a table. Caleb stood up front.
-Hey guys, common. She said. I took a slight bow.
-Lark, don’t. I didn’t call this as a praetor, but as a daughter of Pluto. She said, in Latin so everybody could understand. She sat on a bunk. The room was empty, because Caleb had no brothers. Brad closed the door. The room was lit by blue fire in torches.
-Unless you’re particularly clueless you know Proserpina and Pluto are stuck in the palace down there on Jupiter’s orders, and that Gaia’s open the doors of death, meaning people come back to life.
-Haven’t they done that all the time, though? Jenni, daughter of Trivia, asked.
-Ghosts are different. They have no consistency or much power, and they are only heard and seen if they want to be, Éva said. These people have been granted a body and a life, not a brief passage.
-These things are consistent, mean and loud. Hazel Ducharme said. Her wand was slipped under a leather cord on her forearm, which was just one of the ways children of Trivia had come up with to keep their wands at ready.
-Exactly. The problem is the two gods who would have any power over it cant.
-Jupiter doesn’t seem to have any concern over Mania, Trivia and Libitina being confined. Brad’s sister, Leanne, said.
-He needs someone to at least try and keep order. Mania’s a natural at keeping things in or out of the Underworld, Trivia’s magic is just essential and she’s like Mania’s sister anyways; and Libitina can help show who’s coming in and monitor if anybody’s sneaking out that way. Caleb said.
-How do you know all this stuff?
-I do other things then sleep at night. There’s a son of Hades Add told me about. Nico something. I was hoping to see him down there. I thought… I’m known for banishing zombie-skeletons back into the underworld. Maybe if you guys would give it a try and if we could get with some of the Underworld kids there… We might be able to repair some damage at some extent.
-Brilliant plan Cal, one problem, last time I checked none of us are people people, and last time the Greeks and Roman faced each other it was America’s biggest bloodbath. Hazel said.
-Well, you 11 aren’t that bad. She said pointing to the 11 children of Trivia.
-Oh yeah, of course we’re not. We don’t turn each other into aqua-bats because of temper problems. Terry said.
-Oh yeah, we are perfectly rational people. His sister, Annika, said.
-Umm, aqua-bats? The new addition to Trivia’s house, Emerald said.
-You’ll find out. Her sister Jeni said.
-Sea mammals are beside the point! Caleb, it does sound pretty last-resort. Jasper said.
-Because it is last resort! Look, I don’t know about you guys, but since Lyncus, Lamia, George Washington and who-knows what else, have started popping up everywhere, I’m having trouble sitting still and sleeping at night! We’re training the legions harder, all the praetors, but it’s not enough! It’s when Kronos offered all the monsters protection all over. They claw their ways out of the Underworld time and time again- Lyncus was seen in Canada last week-and they are killing demigods. If we can’t control the flow of things coming out of there, we can’t get more demigods here.
-Yeah but the Camp Half-Blood place… Haley, son of Libitina said.
-Is probably having the same problem as us. Their satyrs are having the same issues as our genies. I said.
-Wait, they use satyrs? Sorry Lark, go on. Leigh, child of Libitina, said.
-I think Caleb’s right. I’m not sure how much we can do, but if we can do something, I’m in. I said looking at her confidently.
-Thanks Lark.
-I’m not sure what we can do about it, but I’m in. Brad said.
-I’m not rebelling against anything. There is no permission-
-Who will give us permission Hanna? Caleb asked the daughter of Trivia.
-Exactly. There isn’t anything we can do. We are half-bloods. Oliver (Trivia) said.
-The same half-bloods who toppled the throne of Kronos. Caleb, I’m in to the end. Hazel said.
-If you aren’t interested, leave. Brad said.
-It’s not we’re not interested. We have no plan. We’ll help one there is one. Until then… I’ll contact you if anything comes to mind. Isabelle, daughter of Libitina, said.
-If you’re in the same state of mind as Isabelle, you can leave too. If you don’t think you can help until someone finds you a job, leave too. I’m looking for people who’ll try to be productive. Caleb said.
In the end only 13 were left. Caleb, from Trivia: Hazel, Hanna, Teri, Jeni and Annika and Fred, from Libitina: Hayley, Leigh and Brad and me and my siblings.
-I’m going down tonight. I’ll find something out, same time tomorrow if you’re still in. I’ll talk to Mania and Trivia and whoever else I can find. Caleb said.
-We have a ghost, in our cabin. He’s a guest I guess. We can ask him, too. I said.
-You guys do that. Caleb said.
And that was the night we started rebelling against doors.
2
Leo Valdez
May 31th: Camp Half-Blood
Final touches
The boat looks great. It was all built (nearly), the oars made (except for 2), the sail done; it looked great. Festus’ head was on top of the mast, we’d attached a flag for every crew member below-deck, in the living area we’d have to sleep in, and we’d poked in some murderers; little rectangular openings that allow people bellow-deck to shoot (everyone had also been on hard-core archery training). Huge wings that retreated in the lowest of the 3 levels of the boat’s under-deck and water-proof jets that could be extended from a flap under the hall of the boat were there for the first part of the journey: our fly to California. The boat was ready to hit the sea if we had to; it was just waiting there for the final touches that would make it what it was on the blue print.
Or for an accident.
Shut up, Valdez. I told myself every time that thought crossed my mind. Even if it was probably true.
But the checklist of stuff to do was still long if we wanted to make the boat use less man power and save storage place.
1. Install the oar-rowers and the solar panels that fuel them
2. Remind Athena cabin to finish the oar-rowers
3. Set up water filter
4. Install bastillas
5. Stock food and medical supplies
6. Load on the deadly weapons
7. Prep crew of 4
8. Get Piper to talk to Jason for more than 30 seconds
That was probably going to be the hardest thing. As best as I could figure out, Jason had to break it to Piper about the Reyna-chick he’d briefly mentioned, and she wasn’t taking it well. Just kidding, I didn’t figure that out, Nyssa did. She seems to take less of that “does-not-cooperate-with-organic-life-forms” thing then the rest of us do.
Number 2 I could do.
Nearly everybody in on construction was out guarding the boat; the campers from 9, a few from Athena that had volunteered to help, as well as a few Ares campers who had nothing better to do.
-Melanie, where’s Annabeth? I asked. Melanie’s eyes were the exact same shade as Annabeth and her raven black hair was pulled up in a knot.
-Melanie? I pulled her out of some fantasy about hidden compartments in a couch or bombs or whatnot.
-Cabin. Or bunker. Or big house. I don’t know, they’ve been working on different things everywhere. She said.
Probably to minimise damage if one place was broken into. Exactly the kind of security measure Annabeth would take.
-Did she say what they’re working on today?
-Yeah, lighting.
-Okay, thanks. I tried to remember where she’d told me she was working on the lighting. Big house basement. Right.
I walked out of the forges into the blinding sun. My eyes were blinded for a few seconds. I’d been in there since breakfast and the sun had risen way more in the last 6 hours.
I walked over to the big house; Chiron was heading out for archery practise.
-Hello Leo. He said.
-Hey, is Annabeth..?
-Down stairs. Working on the lighting I believe. At the last sentence his voice became low.
-Thanks. I said. I climbed the steps and welcomed myself in. I headed for the basement. When the door creaked open I heard several people turn quickly, knocking into various things. Annabeth materialised at the foot of the stairs with a knife.
-Sorry! I said.
-Okay it’s you. You scared us! Annabeth said.
-Sorry. I said. I climbed down the stairs. Annabeth, Malcolm and their siblings, Rupert, Emma, Theo, Reagan and Reese wore lab coats and had goggles in their pockets, hands or drawn up on their foreheads and gloves on their hands. A make-shift lab had been set up. For some reason Jason was there too, watching over a boiling vial.
-Leo, just in time! Rupert said.
-Why? I asked. I’d learnt to be very subtle about the ideas in cabin 6. The kids were geniuses, but some of their ideas…
-We’re testing something for the lighting, it’s our final mix, and if this doesn’t work we’ll have to try something completely different. Annabeth said.
-But we’ve been sticking to this frame of mind since we decided in January, it will work. Emma, the feisty and determined 10 year-old said.
-It’s nothing too bad. But we need you to blow some fire on the gas. Annabeth said. I stayed silent for a few seconds.
-Why?
-The idea is this gas will only catch with one fire, and that’s the one from the specialised matches. And that the special matches will only catch on the gas. Reese said. She was 18 and the tallest person around.
-Can you blow some fire on it? It’s safer for you to do it then us to throw a match in, just in case it, you know… Reagan, the eldest, said.
-Explodes again? Emma said.
-Don’t scare him. Malcolm said.
-No, I’m fine. So I just… go?
-Yeah, right there on the liquid in the dish. Malcolm said. Everybody took a huge step back.
I lifted my palm and a fireball the size of a sugar cube hit the gas. It roared for about 2 seconds before completely dying out.
-Again. Malcolm requested. I hit it again and got the same results.
-One last time. Emma said. Three was a charm. They cheered heavily.
-You were right, about using a replacement with less oxygen in it. Annabeth told Emma giving her a high five. Emma stood tall and proud.
-We know it works with the matches, but what about the matches working on wood and junk? Rupert said. Annabeth took a box of matches from the pocket of her lab coat and ran it across the box. It caught but the fire was pure white, reminding me of the time Hera went supernova.
-Take 1, wood. Malcolm said approaching his sister with a piece of scrap wood. The two things came in contact but the fire wouldn’t catch.
-Theo, write it down, next? Annabeth said.
One after another, the materials came and went. Celestial bronze, food, human hair, clothing, metal, water (you never know), plants, electrical circuitry. Nothing. But when the gas caught the fire of the matches, it glowed like a candle. Everybody cheered.
-That was worth it. Reagan said, slipping her goggles off.
-Yeah. The fire can last up to 12 hours, but an average of 10.
-We’ll only be really using it at night.
-Okay. We were right about the number to be made, go for it. Annabeth told her team. It was funny, during meals or when one of them was having a bad day, they were extremely close. But sometimes, they weren’t siblings anymore; they were a crew, a team.
-Leo, there was probably something else you wanted to talk to me about. She said slipping off her lab coat and hanging it on a coat hanger that held a few extras.
-Yes, the oars…
-Right! I’ll show you. Malcolm and Reese, come with me. And Emma, could you go tell Liam to meet us at the oars’ station?
-Sure thing. Emma was up the stairs before we knew it.
-Follow me. Jason, do you want to see this?
-Sure. He said.
We followed Annabeth to bunker 6. It had a finger print scan, which looked odd in the middle of the woods. Annabeth pushed her thumb.
-Recognised: Annabeth Chasse. A female voice said.
-State your reason. She said.
-Reason 12. Annabeth said.
-State your company.
-Leo Valdez and Jason Grace. She said.
-Proceed. The doors swung open.
-High-tech system. Jason said.
-So far it’s worked. Annabeth said, leading the way down the white steps to the bunker.
The wall was occupied with world maps, color-codded pins indicating spots. Under each map was a desk, which had been modernised with a lamp. Binders were opened and highlighters, pens, rulers, loose leaf notes and protractors were abandoned on the work tables. Blue prints decorated what wall-space didn’t contain maps or encased weaponry prototypes. The ceiling had 3D skylight windows, which let sight of the forest and blue sky above ground. What caught my eye was the glass case on the ceiling. The bow in it was huge and made of ivory, engraved with ancient Greek letters.
-Heracles’ bow. Malcolm said.
-He gave it to Odysseus, and he’s a family friend I guess. Never loved Athena, but always respected her, she held him in high esteem. Passed it to children of Athena before he died, we were sure it’d been destroyed in a fire incident back in the mid-1800.
-It was here all along, no damage though. Malcolm said.
-That’s a quality of Elysian metals. Annabeth told her brother.
-Elysian metals? Reese said.
-Yes. Ivory, iron, metal or copper purified in Tantalus’ stream, hard to get your hands on and nearly impossible to craft once its purified, not many people can use it right. Jason said. We all looked at him odd.
-Until I was nine I was not allowed to lay a finger on a weapon that wasn’t Elysian. It can’t conduct electricity. The last child of Jupiter who showed up before learning full control sort of set Juno’s house on fire. Jason explained.
-Don’t give Valdez any ideas. Annabeth said. But you’re right. It’s a metal not exactly strong enough for swords, but it makes good bows. Anyways, oars. She walked across to the other side of the bunker and kicked a square of wall. The bricks fell out and there was a safe. Annabeth opened it and put her hand far in. She took out a box and put it on one of the center tables. We all gathered.
She took out an electronic the size of a shoebox. The wiring was hidden under a celestial bronze shell she used a screwdriver to unscrew. The shell had a battery mounted on one side, a circlet that would probably hold an oar at some point attached to the side, and solar panels on the top.
-This is what we came up with. It can move the weight of this whole bunker with an oar. Well, if we tried that would break the oar, but calculations and estimations lead to that conclusion. Malcolm said.
-The battery, Annabeth started. She snapped the battery off the side.
-Snaps off and we can charge it on deck. The solar wiring… She wiggled a clip out of its holder and one solar panel came off, I saw it was attached by wires to the battery.
-Follows, that’s how it charges. Annabeth said.
-That’s awesome! I said.
-They take a day to build; we just needed your stamp of approval before making the rest. Reese said.
Oh gods, my approval?
-Yeah, sure, umm, go for it.
-Good, we started the second this morning. Annabeth said.
Duh.
Malcolm went over to get it from the safe and he took off the shell, which was just a protection for the little wiring inside.
-This project was great; we got so many ideas from the cabin. That’s the main difference between children of Hephaestus and Athena- talent wise. We’re good with ideas better than building. But this one was all idea. She said.
-Most things are.
-This one didn’t require any man-power or strength. If you understood the idea you had to understand the mechanics.
-I just wanted to check on progress, I won’t bother you any longer. I said.
-Yeah, I’ll find myself something useful to do. Jason said. We left the bunker.
-If you want to do something useful go talk to Piper. I said once we were out of Athenian ear reach.
-She won’t talk to me.
-Well then don’t give her a choice, just talk to her! I said.
-Leo, I can’t. I really messed things up for her. He said. By the look on his face even my sibling who has the worse people skills could see he felt really bad.
-You had no way of knowing and she knows, Jason, she’s… I don’t know, you’re the one with people skills just go talk to her!
-I told you, I can’t.
-We are leaving on a flying boat across the country in 21 days! I will not be the only guy on the boat who will actually know what is going on and talk to you two! I said.
-She still hasn’t calmed down, she’s still super mad.
-Wrong. Piper McLean is not mad, she is sad. Help her get over it, talk to her, tell her she’ll find someone I don’t freaking know! I said. We were nearly on the outskirts of the forest.
-Well neither do I! He said. Look, I’ll figure things out before we leave, I’ll talk to her.
-Good. Make sure she gets over it.
-Well she seems to be pretty over it now. He said. I turned to look at the basketball court. Piper and her sisters Lacy and Kumiko were standing there with 3 guys-Connor, Travis - and Piper was holding rainbow-pony guy’s hand. Butch said something and everyone laughed.
-Good point. I said.
-Problem solved. Jason said.
-I hate how all your problems get solved like that. I said snapping my fingers.
-Oh yeah, stray in a camp for children of the Greek gods, just figured out I have a sister, going on a flying boat to fight giants and mother earth. Yup, no problem. He said sarcastically.
-Okay, sorry. But still… How?
-Her sisters probably talked some sense into her.
-Whatever it was it seemed to work. I said as they all started laughing again.
*Lark
Raiting: C
Type: Adventure, Friendship, Fantasy, touch of romance, touch of sad (you know me)
Sypnosis: While Annabeth Chasse watches the Argo II rise from scrap as her ticket to her boyfriend, Piper McLean knows its hers to lose all hope of Jason Grace being hers. She sees it in his eyes how he misses the City.
Meanwhile at the City itself, Add is stuck between a rock and 3 angry sons of Bellona. Not only is the anti-Greek movement rising like a phoenix (bad joke) but there’s nothing to do about it. He can’t guarantee a safe arrival for anyone in the City.
And it gets even better: these people are going to have to work together. Which is probably what scares Lark so much. She’s heard of what happens, she’s seen the victims and it’s a near fail-proof catastrophe the heroes are lining up for. With still no news from Olympus and deceased US presidents running around the country… She doubts it’ll be any better.
Both trainers are useless by the gods’ wills. Both sides will meet for the first time in years. And both sides have reasons to profoundly hate each other.
OC: Jace Gayle, Melaina “Lark” Grey, Hilary Shehan, Karen Mallock, Caleb Gelus, Jonnathan Stargo, Zane Attique, Carmen Attwel
*introduced by Rick Riordan* Hazel Ducharme, Gwendolyn Madison, Bobby Peverell, Dakota Ledécit, Reyna Gayle, Phoebe Rider, Lou Ellen Spellcast
Characters owned by Rick Riordan: Jason and Thalia Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Annabeth Chasse, Percy Jackson, Nico Di Angelo
Disclaimer: I have never met or communicated wit Rick Riordan and am not affilated with Heroes of Olympus. The older campers and Olympian, some minor, gods and creatures have not been created by me.
A/N: More than 3 months ago I sat down at my laptop and started writing for the heck of standing the wait until the Son of Neptune would hit the stores and my personal library. Many other fanpop members were having the same problem as me, aka not losing our sanity, or what we had of it left after the Lost Hero’s subtle little “Her boyfriend. Some guy called Percy Jackson” (by the end of this series expect none). So I installed a forum and posted chapter 1. And 2. And 3… And after 39 forum pages, 27 chapters, 972 comments (spot recod!) and 125628 views (still a spot record) and only one swearing incident, here we are. The Rebel Soldier.
So this fan fiction didn’t stay limited to our club’s population even if we did hit three-hunrer and sixty-some members. People joined fanpop to comment and I’m sure others are reading this.
We have about a million and seventy three Son of Neptune fan fictions here, and there are about seventy three million ones here and there on the web. But a lot of people said that this was the best one. Why? No idea. Will this be as good? No idea either. But after the success we had at the fan fiction awards (EEEEEEP check out this link! -> link) I’m quite puzzled. But I’m ecstatic and O_O about it, so here are two chapters.
This is dedicated to, firstly, two people who will never read this: J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan. To J.K. Rowling because it’s reading books that I decided to give writing them a shot and Harry Potter was one of those big factors. To RR because my fan fictions are all about his books, his universe and his characters.
My friends whom on the web I refer to as Persephone and Hebe. Thank you for letting me write in peace, for not stealing my notebooks when I innocently go throw out a granola bar wrapper at lunch, for not hiding them for the sake of making me freak out and let us not forget the waving them on top of garbage cans. Of course I’m sarcastic but they did help me pick it up when I dropped it in the snow.
My third grade teacher for reading my stories (I read them and laughed at myself so hard), and this year’s French teacher for accepting to read another.
Thank you all!
Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters.
Alexander the Great
1
Melaina Grey
May 28st:The City
Rebelling against doors
You’d think it’d be cool wouldn’t you? Seeing the ghosts. Seeing the dead. A superpower. Adventures beyond man’s imagination. Hot ghosts. Immortality, perhaps? Can’t say I’m not used to it. But you’re wrong. Wrong as you can get about me. It’s not cool. It’s a pain to deal with, and even more emotional pain then the producers of “The Ghost Whisperers” would ever dare show or understand.
Yet everybody think it’d be great. Imagine all the people you could talk to.
And that’s exactly the problem. All the people you could talk to…
But that’s not the story you need to know. You need to know that my name is Melaina Grey. I am 13 years old, my father is a horror writer that goes by the pen name of Braxton Oliver Oakston; and when he asked me what name he should get printed in the resume on the inside flap of a book when he mentions me, I said -4 years old here-:Lark Oakston. So everybody forgot that my real name was Melaina and everybody called me Lark, fine with me nobody can write or pronounce it right on the firsts shot. Also, I’m a demigod, my mother is Mania, goddess of ghosts, which explains why I’m medium and I’ve been training at the city since I’m 11.
Lately everything’s been going wacko. Everyone’s anxious nowadays, waiting for what’s supposed to be a flying boats (search me; I don’t know how the Greeks came up with that one). And the new guy, Add, he’s the worst.
He’s been here for 5 months, it’s May now, and so far they haven’t put him in a legion, officially. Sometimes Reyna Gayle includes him, but usually he goes run, but once he gets in the woods the rest of us don’t know what he does. I don’t think most people care either, a lot would like to see him dead. I don’t. There are enough ghosts without needing another one, especially one with such a young life and sharp ending.
He swordfights a lot with Reyna Gayle, everyone insists it’s the only way for him to stay in shape and she’s one of the only willing fighters strong enough to match up with the curse of Achilles. I’ve met him. He’s a nice guy. Some days he’s just plain sad, but others he’s okay. I know he gets dreams, I can see his ghosts in his eyes, except they aren’t dead; they’re just far away.
-Lark! Timmy’s voice called me back to reality.
-Good, someone’s in there. She said. She threw me the baseball and I caught it in my glove.
-Sorry, I’m thinking.
-Yeah, I know, that’s your thinking face. She catched the ball I threw.
-‘Bout what?
-A lot of stuff. That flying boat, mostly.
-That’s bugging me too. When they stop here, before going to the Mediterranean, Bobby is determined that he’ll be part of the leaving team. She said. I knew Bobby was the brother she was closest to. They have the same brown hair, same grey eyes as penetrating as cat eyes, with so much intelligence I felt intimidated.
-Bobby’s good enough to make it. I said reassuringly. The pounding sound indicated the ball hit Timmy’s glove.
-I guess you’re right, Lark. She said throwing back the ball. I missed it. I turned around to get it but Add tossed it to me.
-Hey Lark. He said.
-Hi Add, thanks. I said. I saw Riptide sticking out from his pocket and he looked preoccupied. If the flying boat had me troubled he must’ve been worried sick!
-‘Welcome. He said before walking off to where Caleb was standing. They talked for a bit before Caleb tried to make him laugh, but having failed took out her sword and BAM swordfight.
-I hope he gets back soon. I told Timmy.
-Yeah, so do I. The Gayle brothers don’t like him a bit and just being in the City is getting dangerous for him. She said.
-No, I mean, he just looks sad.
-No. Timmy said,
-What do you mean no? Some days he looks depressed! I said. I caught the ball, surprised at Timmy’s throw.
-Yeah but Lark, that’s how you see him. Your eyes draw the sadness and ghosts out of people; it’s just how you see things. Timmy said matter-of-factly.
-I see things depressingly. I said making a catch.
-Yeah, you do. Timmy said. I think it’s time for supper.
-Really? I need to stop by my place. I’ll see you there. I told her.
-Key by.
I stopped by my house.
The walls were silvery grey and the whole place was misty, lighted by black candle holders on the wall. The floor is marble and the furniture is covered in white cloths, like a horror house. There’s a big fireplace, which reminds me of the one at home, except this one is marble, and not carved with pictures. There aren’t many of us, we’re 3. I share the girls’ room with my sister, Évangéline Beauxbatons, and I also have a brother, Jasper Fitzgerald. Neither of them were there, I headed for the bathroom. My black hair was dry and could sure as heck use a brush, and I looked pale even for me. Compared to me, the white of the ceramic squares in the bathroom look tan. My eyes are dark brown, nearly black and covered in part by my bangs.
I washed my face and changed my jeans to something not ripped at the knees. Most of my pants are- I can’t help it, they just are.
When I got to the cafeteria everyone was chatting about everything and nothing, already eating. I sit down at my table, next to Prue Piers, the only available seat.
I cannot stand Prue Piers. Most meals it’s a struggle not to rip her pretty little head off. She’s the backup head of house for Venus. That already says a lot. But every time it’s a new conversation about split ends how I’d look great in bright colors and every time I do my best not to turn my fork into a lethal weapon.
Today they were all talking about Hilary Shehan’s boyfriend or something and they were all shooting me looks like I’d just shot at a baby rabbit. I didn’t bother asking what I did. I just ate. When I was done I got up and left the cafeteria.
I decided to cut through the forest. I didn’t know why, I just did. I was passing Mania’s mine.
When the City started out really long ago, the place had trouble in the mortal money department. We’ve always been a little apart from the gods, requiring their gifts only in emergencies, and them offering it only in such. The romans didn’t hold the gods in great esteem; it was a miracle to us when Typhon was defeated last year. Anyways, the children of Trivia, Pluto, Libitina and Mania –basically all the Underworld-dwelling gods- found hot spots in the City’s land (which used to be huge) for mining. The camp made a fortune off gold from the stream as well, Mania’s mine was one of the biggest mines, and the guy who found it named it after his mom- Mania. It’s a place most of us dare not go to. There was a planned collapse in the 1860’s and many demigods died. Suddenly I wondered if the Greeks had anything to do with it.
No, it doesn’t matter; we’re being forced into an alliance anyway.
I wonder if they’ll stay here for a bit, before setting off again. Surely. Hopefully it all went well, but knowing all the sad stories of the past, it wouldn’t. I talked to some demigods that died in the Civil war and managed to extract information from them. Bloodlust increased by a gazillion percent whenever the two sides were anywhere near each other. From all the stories it didn’t sound promising. Like so many other things…
I should just stop talking to ghosts, they never bring good news. Always sad stories of the past and of how they died. The occasional happy memory, of a birth or marriage, but ghosts are never completely happy. They’re bitter, and angry, and sad. No happy person is a ghost. No person who has accepted the fact Pluto has claimed them will jump at the idea of being a ghost, nobody who has finished all their business and came to a peaceful or expected or heroic halt…
And I did something that Caleb had forbidden to do. I leaned over the mine entrance and looked down. There was something down there. Someone actually. A cold, sad presence that reminded me of rain in the winter, when all the snow gets washed away.
-Hello? I called. Nothing. But I recognised the presence, a ghost… A ghost in distress? New to the whole being-a-ghost business.
-My name is Lark, can I help? I asked. I heard a raspy breath.
-I can help, what is your name? I ask. This ghost didn’t scare me, but he alarmed me. It wasn’t right, he wasn’t right… I was about to ask in Latin or French, but he talked.
-My name is Flint Holton. He said. Then he appeared. He was about 14, a year older than me. His hair stuck up like he had just been electrocuted. His face was scared so badly and savagely, there was no way to tell if he’d once been handsome or not. He wore armour I did not recognise, and a helmet was under his arm.
-Its Greek. The armour. I died in the civil war, at a battle at the old city, before they moved it to Othrys. They tortured me until I died.
Woe… This guy was 14. Only a year older than me. Did they really have to kill him? I know they couldn’t reduce him to slavery like the Ancient Romans did, but still…
-That`s horrible I’m really sorry, can I do anything for you?
-I was separated from my sister, Arianne. I need to find out what happened to her, and I know she’s a ghost. Flint said.
-I can’t really tell you. We don’t have any records of the war, and if she was Greek…
I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Flint. He was ripped out of life so violently, and all he wants is to know what happened to his sister, not revenge, not to kill, not a second chance or anything. I just thought of rain in winter whenever I met his eyes.
-I’ll tell you what, before the end of the year, a ship is supposed to come, from Camp Half-Blood. I’ll make sure to ask them what happened to Arianne Holton. If they know, they’ll tell you. If they don’t, you can stick with them, and follow the boat. I explained to Flint what the plan consisted of, about where the boat was going. He seemed okay with it, and pretty excited with the idea.
-Waiting for that, you can go back in the Underworld and wait, or you can stay here. Either in the mine or in Mania’s house.
-Will children of Ares be there?
-I’m sorry; I don’t know Ares, only his equivalent.
-The war god. Cruel offsprings. He said.
-Oh, Mars! No, they don’t speak to ghosts unless they are theirs.
-I’d like to haunt the Styx out of them. Flint said bitterly.
-You could. I said. I knew if I were Flint I’d do it.
-It isn’t right. Flint shook his head.
-Common, I was heading back to the house anyways. I said. Flint floated out and followed me.
-There aren’t many ghosts here. I assumed it was because most demigods are always ready to fight to the death, and know it could be coming.
-I reckon you’re right. But nobody is ready when it happens.
-I guess.
-Can the other people, you know, see me?
-Not unless you appear to them, and they will only talk to you if you want to establish communication. You’ll only see lips moving. The only ones who will always hear and always speak to you are me and my siblings. There are only 3 of us. Évangéline doesn’t speak English, so you’ll only have to deal with Jasper and I.
-They have old names… Not the usual 21st century common.
-No, many children of Mania have old names, like we’re part of the past. My real name is Ancient Greek mythology, actually. Melaina.
-A nymph. Daughter of Persephone and Hades, loved by Apollo, wasn’t she?
-Something like that. I never really paid attention to Greek mythology before the switch happened.
-I’ve heard a lot about that. Flint said.
-I’m sure you have, the underworld’s in chaos because of it, partially.
-Yes, it really isn’t great. Flint said,
-No, and Pluto and Proserpina aren’t allowed to do anything… The whole world’s a wreck right now, and the mortals don’t see it like they saw Typhon. My friend Timmy, daughter of Minerva- umm the knowledge goddess-
-Athena
-Yeah, she told me Terra will start causing landslides and earth quakes everywhere pretty soon.
-It seems like a likely, Gaia-ish thing to do. Flint said.
We got to the City, so I stopped talking to Flint, because nobody else realised that he was there and people already think I’m a freak as it is.
I had stayed in the forest longer than I thought, because the praetors were already shooing everybody in the houses.
-Hey Lark! I heard somebody say. It was Caleb.
-Hey Caleb. I said.
Caleb for some reason changed so much over the past months. Her lips weren’t as thick and her hair didn’t curl anymore. She was the same person of course, but she looks so different, you could barely recognise her.
-Can I talk to you for a minute?
-Umm, sure.
-Great, go get Évangéline and Jasper, meet me in my cabin in 10.
-Got it. I said. She went off, and I took Flint to the house. I jumped the steps to the front door (3 creaky old wobbly steps) and pushed open the door with the silver lion-shaped knob. We’re one of the houses that has an actual door. If it’s that warm we leave it open, but lately the nights have been chilly.
Évangéline was lying on the couch, her legs stretched out. Her hair was let loose and was a raven black veil that wet up to her mid-thigh, and she was tall. Her eyes were dark like mine and she was very petite, and looked younger than her 16 years. Her boyfriend, Chad or whatever his name was, was sitting down on the ground, his back to the couch, a History textbook on his knees. Évangéline stuck out her arm to point at something on the page (tutoring) but she grabbed her shoulder in pain.
-Oh my God I hate when Gred’s in charge, thank gods tomorrow is Sunday! Évangéline said in Latin. And apparently they’re going to add morning training on Sunday once per month. Once per month!
-You should be in legion 2, Mike’s pretty cool, about 5 girls in my cabin love him. Chad said.
-Why was Mike in charge? Was Dakota filling in for Lupa again? I asked.
-Yeah. Jasper said.
His hair stuck up like Flint’s. He had his dark eyes glued to a book on scientific explanations for ghosts opened on his lap. We had a bunch of them lying around the cabin in case we needed a good laugh.
-Is she back on Olympus?
-I don’t know, I haven’t chipped her. Line said.
-Caleb wants to see us at her place in 10. I said.
-I better go. Bye Line. Chad said. She kissed him on the cheek.
-Thanks for the help, Line.
-Welcome. Anytime you need help in History. She said. Chad nodded.
-See you two. He told Jasper and I.
-Yeah. Jasper said, trying to find a bookmark. Chad walked out the doorframe.
-So who’s your friend? Évangéline asked.
-Flint Fitzgerald, but I’ll talk to you later, Caleb looked really worried and she’ll kill us if we’re late. We all smiled. That was a running joke with the Underworld god kids.
My sister slipped an elastic off of her wrist and tied her hair up quickly; it didn’t even touch her shoulders the way she did it. She wore a black spaghetti-strap top and white capris, with dirt and grass stains on the knees- not that anybody but a child of Venus would care. I strongly believe some people just get the “gods can look like whatever they like” genes and are therefore beautiful, and that Éva is one of them.
-Do you know what she want?
-No clue.
-Geez, that’s helpful. Armour?
-She’s not even your praetor, Perseus.
We call Jasper Perseus because his first monster was Medusa. Besides, Jasper Perseus.
-Good point. He said. We set off to Pluto’s house.
It was an awesome house, with no door from the outside. Caleb could shadow-travel in. But when Jasper kicked the wall a door formed itself.
The common room was black and the whole house seemed to have been carved from stone and fitted outside to look like the others. Different shades of black rock made the room and it was pretty simple. There was practically no sign of it being occupied, mostly because Caleb was never here. For a daughter of Pluto she was a social butterfly.
-Over here! I heard a voice. Brad, from Libitina. We went down a hallway and he stood there. Black hair, pale skin. For some reason we were all built the same way.
He opened a closet door and revealed a room bigger then I’d thought. 15 people were already assembled inside. 11 children of Trivia, Caleb daughter of Pluto, and 4 children of Libitina, crashed on chairs or sitting on a table. Caleb stood up front.
-Hey guys, common. She said. I took a slight bow.
-Lark, don’t. I didn’t call this as a praetor, but as a daughter of Pluto. She said, in Latin so everybody could understand. She sat on a bunk. The room was empty, because Caleb had no brothers. Brad closed the door. The room was lit by blue fire in torches.
-Unless you’re particularly clueless you know Proserpina and Pluto are stuck in the palace down there on Jupiter’s orders, and that Gaia’s open the doors of death, meaning people come back to life.
-Haven’t they done that all the time, though? Jenni, daughter of Trivia, asked.
-Ghosts are different. They have no consistency or much power, and they are only heard and seen if they want to be, Éva said. These people have been granted a body and a life, not a brief passage.
-These things are consistent, mean and loud. Hazel Ducharme said. Her wand was slipped under a leather cord on her forearm, which was just one of the ways children of Trivia had come up with to keep their wands at ready.
-Exactly. The problem is the two gods who would have any power over it cant.
-Jupiter doesn’t seem to have any concern over Mania, Trivia and Libitina being confined. Brad’s sister, Leanne, said.
-He needs someone to at least try and keep order. Mania’s a natural at keeping things in or out of the Underworld, Trivia’s magic is just essential and she’s like Mania’s sister anyways; and Libitina can help show who’s coming in and monitor if anybody’s sneaking out that way. Caleb said.
-How do you know all this stuff?
-I do other things then sleep at night. There’s a son of Hades Add told me about. Nico something. I was hoping to see him down there. I thought… I’m known for banishing zombie-skeletons back into the underworld. Maybe if you guys would give it a try and if we could get with some of the Underworld kids there… We might be able to repair some damage at some extent.
-Brilliant plan Cal, one problem, last time I checked none of us are people people, and last time the Greeks and Roman faced each other it was America’s biggest bloodbath. Hazel said.
-Well, you 11 aren’t that bad. She said pointing to the 11 children of Trivia.
-Oh yeah, of course we’re not. We don’t turn each other into aqua-bats because of temper problems. Terry said.
-Oh yeah, we are perfectly rational people. His sister, Annika, said.
-Umm, aqua-bats? The new addition to Trivia’s house, Emerald said.
-You’ll find out. Her sister Jeni said.
-Sea mammals are beside the point! Caleb, it does sound pretty last-resort. Jasper said.
-Because it is last resort! Look, I don’t know about you guys, but since Lyncus, Lamia, George Washington and who-knows what else, have started popping up everywhere, I’m having trouble sitting still and sleeping at night! We’re training the legions harder, all the praetors, but it’s not enough! It’s when Kronos offered all the monsters protection all over. They claw their ways out of the Underworld time and time again- Lyncus was seen in Canada last week-and they are killing demigods. If we can’t control the flow of things coming out of there, we can’t get more demigods here.
-Yeah but the Camp Half-Blood place… Haley, son of Libitina said.
-Is probably having the same problem as us. Their satyrs are having the same issues as our genies. I said.
-Wait, they use satyrs? Sorry Lark, go on. Leigh, child of Libitina, said.
-I think Caleb’s right. I’m not sure how much we can do, but if we can do something, I’m in. I said looking at her confidently.
-Thanks Lark.
-I’m not sure what we can do about it, but I’m in. Brad said.
-I’m not rebelling against anything. There is no permission-
-Who will give us permission Hanna? Caleb asked the daughter of Trivia.
-Exactly. There isn’t anything we can do. We are half-bloods. Oliver (Trivia) said.
-The same half-bloods who toppled the throne of Kronos. Caleb, I’m in to the end. Hazel said.
-If you aren’t interested, leave. Brad said.
-It’s not we’re not interested. We have no plan. We’ll help one there is one. Until then… I’ll contact you if anything comes to mind. Isabelle, daughter of Libitina, said.
-If you’re in the same state of mind as Isabelle, you can leave too. If you don’t think you can help until someone finds you a job, leave too. I’m looking for people who’ll try to be productive. Caleb said.
In the end only 13 were left. Caleb, from Trivia: Hazel, Hanna, Teri, Jeni and Annika and Fred, from Libitina: Hayley, Leigh and Brad and me and my siblings.
-I’m going down tonight. I’ll find something out, same time tomorrow if you’re still in. I’ll talk to Mania and Trivia and whoever else I can find. Caleb said.
-We have a ghost, in our cabin. He’s a guest I guess. We can ask him, too. I said.
-You guys do that. Caleb said.
And that was the night we started rebelling against doors.
2
Leo Valdez
May 31th: Camp Half-Blood
Final touches
The boat looks great. It was all built (nearly), the oars made (except for 2), the sail done; it looked great. Festus’ head was on top of the mast, we’d attached a flag for every crew member below-deck, in the living area we’d have to sleep in, and we’d poked in some murderers; little rectangular openings that allow people bellow-deck to shoot (everyone had also been on hard-core archery training). Huge wings that retreated in the lowest of the 3 levels of the boat’s under-deck and water-proof jets that could be extended from a flap under the hall of the boat were there for the first part of the journey: our fly to California. The boat was ready to hit the sea if we had to; it was just waiting there for the final touches that would make it what it was on the blue print.
Or for an accident.
Shut up, Valdez. I told myself every time that thought crossed my mind. Even if it was probably true.
But the checklist of stuff to do was still long if we wanted to make the boat use less man power and save storage place.
1. Install the oar-rowers and the solar panels that fuel them
2. Remind Athena cabin to finish the oar-rowers
3. Set up water filter
4. Install bastillas
5. Stock food and medical supplies
6. Load on the deadly weapons
7. Prep crew of 4
8. Get Piper to talk to Jason for more than 30 seconds
That was probably going to be the hardest thing. As best as I could figure out, Jason had to break it to Piper about the Reyna-chick he’d briefly mentioned, and she wasn’t taking it well. Just kidding, I didn’t figure that out, Nyssa did. She seems to take less of that “does-not-cooperate-with-organic-life-fo
Number 2 I could do.
Nearly everybody in on construction was out guarding the boat; the campers from 9, a few from Athena that had volunteered to help, as well as a few Ares campers who had nothing better to do.
-Melanie, where’s Annabeth? I asked. Melanie’s eyes were the exact same shade as Annabeth and her raven black hair was pulled up in a knot.
-Melanie? I pulled her out of some fantasy about hidden compartments in a couch or bombs or whatnot.
-Cabin. Or bunker. Or big house. I don’t know, they’ve been working on different things everywhere. She said.
Probably to minimise damage if one place was broken into. Exactly the kind of security measure Annabeth would take.
-Did she say what they’re working on today?
-Yeah, lighting.
-Okay, thanks. I tried to remember where she’d told me she was working on the lighting. Big house basement. Right.
I walked out of the forges into the blinding sun. My eyes were blinded for a few seconds. I’d been in there since breakfast and the sun had risen way more in the last 6 hours.
I walked over to the big house; Chiron was heading out for archery practise.
-Hello Leo. He said.
-Hey, is Annabeth..?
-Down stairs. Working on the lighting I believe. At the last sentence his voice became low.
-Thanks. I said. I climbed the steps and welcomed myself in. I headed for the basement. When the door creaked open I heard several people turn quickly, knocking into various things. Annabeth materialised at the foot of the stairs with a knife.
-Sorry! I said.
-Okay it’s you. You scared us! Annabeth said.
-Sorry. I said. I climbed down the stairs. Annabeth, Malcolm and their siblings, Rupert, Emma, Theo, Reagan and Reese wore lab coats and had goggles in their pockets, hands or drawn up on their foreheads and gloves on their hands. A make-shift lab had been set up. For some reason Jason was there too, watching over a boiling vial.
-Leo, just in time! Rupert said.
-Why? I asked. I’d learnt to be very subtle about the ideas in cabin 6. The kids were geniuses, but some of their ideas…
-We’re testing something for the lighting, it’s our final mix, and if this doesn’t work we’ll have to try something completely different. Annabeth said.
-But we’ve been sticking to this frame of mind since we decided in January, it will work. Emma, the feisty and determined 10 year-old said.
-It’s nothing too bad. But we need you to blow some fire on the gas. Annabeth said. I stayed silent for a few seconds.
-Why?
-The idea is this gas will only catch with one fire, and that’s the one from the specialised matches. And that the special matches will only catch on the gas. Reese said. She was 18 and the tallest person around.
-Can you blow some fire on it? It’s safer for you to do it then us to throw a match in, just in case it, you know… Reagan, the eldest, said.
-Explodes again? Emma said.
-Don’t scare him. Malcolm said.
-No, I’m fine. So I just… go?
-Yeah, right there on the liquid in the dish. Malcolm said. Everybody took a huge step back.
I lifted my palm and a fireball the size of a sugar cube hit the gas. It roared for about 2 seconds before completely dying out.
-Again. Malcolm requested. I hit it again and got the same results.
-One last time. Emma said. Three was a charm. They cheered heavily.
-You were right, about using a replacement with less oxygen in it. Annabeth told Emma giving her a high five. Emma stood tall and proud.
-We know it works with the matches, but what about the matches working on wood and junk? Rupert said. Annabeth took a box of matches from the pocket of her lab coat and ran it across the box. It caught but the fire was pure white, reminding me of the time Hera went supernova.
-Take 1, wood. Malcolm said approaching his sister with a piece of scrap wood. The two things came in contact but the fire wouldn’t catch.
-Theo, write it down, next? Annabeth said.
One after another, the materials came and went. Celestial bronze, food, human hair, clothing, metal, water (you never know), plants, electrical circuitry. Nothing. But when the gas caught the fire of the matches, it glowed like a candle. Everybody cheered.
-That was worth it. Reagan said, slipping her goggles off.
-Yeah. The fire can last up to 12 hours, but an average of 10.
-We’ll only be really using it at night.
-Okay. We were right about the number to be made, go for it. Annabeth told her team. It was funny, during meals or when one of them was having a bad day, they were extremely close. But sometimes, they weren’t siblings anymore; they were a crew, a team.
-Leo, there was probably something else you wanted to talk to me about. She said slipping off her lab coat and hanging it on a coat hanger that held a few extras.
-Yes, the oars…
-Right! I’ll show you. Malcolm and Reese, come with me. And Emma, could you go tell Liam to meet us at the oars’ station?
-Sure thing. Emma was up the stairs before we knew it.
-Follow me. Jason, do you want to see this?
-Sure. He said.
We followed Annabeth to bunker 6. It had a finger print scan, which looked odd in the middle of the woods. Annabeth pushed her thumb.
-Recognised: Annabeth Chasse. A female voice said.
-State your reason. She said.
-Reason 12. Annabeth said.
-State your company.
-Leo Valdez and Jason Grace. She said.
-Proceed. The doors swung open.
-High-tech system. Jason said.
-So far it’s worked. Annabeth said, leading the way down the white steps to the bunker.
The wall was occupied with world maps, color-codded pins indicating spots. Under each map was a desk, which had been modernised with a lamp. Binders were opened and highlighters, pens, rulers, loose leaf notes and protractors were abandoned on the work tables. Blue prints decorated what wall-space didn’t contain maps or encased weaponry prototypes. The ceiling had 3D skylight windows, which let sight of the forest and blue sky above ground. What caught my eye was the glass case on the ceiling. The bow in it was huge and made of ivory, engraved with ancient Greek letters.
-Heracles’ bow. Malcolm said.
-He gave it to Odysseus, and he’s a family friend I guess. Never loved Athena, but always respected her, she held him in high esteem. Passed it to children of Athena before he died, we were sure it’d been destroyed in a fire incident back in the mid-1800.
-It was here all along, no damage though. Malcolm said.
-That’s a quality of Elysian metals. Annabeth told her brother.
-Elysian metals? Reese said.
-Yes. Ivory, iron, metal or copper purified in Tantalus’ stream, hard to get your hands on and nearly impossible to craft once its purified, not many people can use it right. Jason said. We all looked at him odd.
-Until I was nine I was not allowed to lay a finger on a weapon that wasn’t Elysian. It can’t conduct electricity. The last child of Jupiter who showed up before learning full control sort of set Juno’s house on fire. Jason explained.
-Don’t give Valdez any ideas. Annabeth said. But you’re right. It’s a metal not exactly strong enough for swords, but it makes good bows. Anyways, oars. She walked across to the other side of the bunker and kicked a square of wall. The bricks fell out and there was a safe. Annabeth opened it and put her hand far in. She took out a box and put it on one of the center tables. We all gathered.
She took out an electronic the size of a shoebox. The wiring was hidden under a celestial bronze shell she used a screwdriver to unscrew. The shell had a battery mounted on one side, a circlet that would probably hold an oar at some point attached to the side, and solar panels on the top.
-This is what we came up with. It can move the weight of this whole bunker with an oar. Well, if we tried that would break the oar, but calculations and estimations lead to that conclusion. Malcolm said.
-The battery, Annabeth started. She snapped the battery off the side.
-Snaps off and we can charge it on deck. The solar wiring… She wiggled a clip out of its holder and one solar panel came off, I saw it was attached by wires to the battery.
-Follows, that’s how it charges. Annabeth said.
-That’s awesome! I said.
-They take a day to build; we just needed your stamp of approval before making the rest. Reese said.
Oh gods, my approval?
-Yeah, sure, umm, go for it.
-Good, we started the second this morning. Annabeth said.
Duh.
Malcolm went over to get it from the safe and he took off the shell, which was just a protection for the little wiring inside.
-This project was great; we got so many ideas from the cabin. That’s the main difference between children of Hephaestus and Athena- talent wise. We’re good with ideas better than building. But this one was all idea. She said.
-Most things are.
-This one didn’t require any man-power or strength. If you understood the idea you had to understand the mechanics.
-I just wanted to check on progress, I won’t bother you any longer. I said.
-Yeah, I’ll find myself something useful to do. Jason said. We left the bunker.
-If you want to do something useful go talk to Piper. I said once we were out of Athenian ear reach.
-She won’t talk to me.
-Well then don’t give her a choice, just talk to her! I said.
-Leo, I can’t. I really messed things up for her. He said. By the look on his face even my sibling who has the worse people skills could see he felt really bad.
-You had no way of knowing and she knows, Jason, she’s… I don’t know, you’re the one with people skills just go talk to her!
-I told you, I can’t.
-We are leaving on a flying boat across the country in 21 days! I will not be the only guy on the boat who will actually know what is going on and talk to you two! I said.
-She still hasn’t calmed down, she’s still super mad.
-Wrong. Piper McLean is not mad, she is sad. Help her get over it, talk to her, tell her she’ll find someone I don’t freaking know! I said. We were nearly on the outskirts of the forest.
-Well neither do I! He said. Look, I’ll figure things out before we leave, I’ll talk to her.
-Good. Make sure she gets over it.
-Well she seems to be pretty over it now. He said. I turned to look at the basketball court. Piper and her sisters Lacy and Kumiko were standing there with 3 guys-Connor, Travis - and Piper was holding rainbow-pony guy’s hand. Butch said something and everyone laughed.
-Good point. I said.
-Problem solved. Jason said.
-I hate how all your problems get solved like that. I said snapping my fingers.
-Oh yeah, stray in a camp for children of the Greek gods, just figured out I have a sister, going on a flying boat to fight giants and mother earth. Yup, no problem. He said sarcastically.
-Okay, sorry. But still… How?
-Her sisters probably talked some sense into her.
-Whatever it was it seemed to work. I said as they all started laughing again.
*Lark
