Nameless Finder

The First Part of "The Jackson Legacy". Visit the Original Page for details about the story.

Chapter One: I Hate Pinochle
- One -

I Hate Pinochle

'''Peter hated it when he dreamed about his childhood memories. '''Most of them were with his big brother, and because of that, he'd wake up in tears. The dream he just had was a blurry memory. He didn't remember much at that time, but it was the day his family discovered that he was a clear-sighted mortal, just like their mom. His brother was worried about little Peter, knowing the fact that he can see things that aren't suppose to exist. Myths, Peter meant. It was all true. All of his brother's adventures were all true, not silly (but awesome) bedtime stories he used to tell Peter every night. "Well, here we are," the taxi driver announced, "are you sure this is the place in the address?" the driver said nervously. Peter shifted on his seat, looked through the window and saw the large Pine tree on top of a hill. It was the one in the stories. "Ah, yes, this is it.…" he quickly wiped the tears away from his eyes, hoping the driver didn't see him crying in his sleep at the rear mirror.

He paid for the fare fee, stepped outside, and watched the taxi drove back to the city. Whatever it was that he had to offer, Peter hoped it was worth the trouble going to this place. He climbed towards the top of the hill with the pine tree, where two figures waited for him. Peter wasn't the athletic type, so he felt like he was carrying the world on his shoulders just by climbing. Curse himself for not doing P.E. properly. When he reached at the top, he was greeted by the sight of a large dragon (which was sleeping soundly, thank goodness), and a woman around her late 20s (or early 30s, Peter couldn't tell). She was tall, had wavy blond hair, and wore an orange t-shirt under a traveling coat and jeans. Her face was familiar, but it didn't ring any of Peter's bells. "You've grown," said the woman. Then it clicked.

"Anna?" Peter said timidly. The woman smiled in a welcoming way. "You can call me Annabeth, but I wouldn't mind."

It had been a long time since he met any of big brother's friends, much less than a former girlfriend. He called Annabeth "Anna" back when he was little, because he was having a hard time saying "Beth" when all he could do was, "Bell" and "Bed".

"I got your call," Annabeth started, holding out a cell phone, "what is it that you want to tell me, or rather, us?" Peter swallowed. Here it goes. Keep yourself together, Pete!

"I…" he hesitated, "I…think I know the whereabouts of Percy Jackson."

"Oh, who's this, new camper?" a kid approached Annabeth on the way to a big building. She shook her head and put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "This is Peter. He's a special guest here at Camp Half-Blood." She said to the kid. The camper gaped at Peter, and then sheepishly smiled. "Well, make yourself at home, Peter. I'm Leon, nice to meet you." Leon took Peter's hand and shook it. Peter didn't know how to respond. He might say something that might offend the kid. "Ah, well…nice to m-meet you too," He said carefully. Leon chuckled. He looked like he's around Peter's age, maybe a bit older, and wears the same orange tee Annabeth was wearing. His brown hair looked like it wasn't combed for a century. "I have something to catch up, but I'll see you around!" Leon waved and jogged away to the strawberry fields. Peter breathed a sigh of relief. This place was making him nervous. "Leon's a nice kid. He isn't going to blast you into smithereens." Annabeth said with a slight chuckle. But then she saw the expression of his face and frowned. "Is something wrong, Pete?"

"Huh? Oh…no, it's nothing. It's just that…I'm not one of you." He just then realized his mistake of saying it aloud. Annabeth stared at him then smiled sadly. Her hair seemed to glow when it faced the sunset. "I think you're lucky that you weren't one of us." She said, "Many of us even wished to have a normal life. You know, any typical life where you wished you wanted to be someone you wanted, and doesn't have fighting monsters in the what-to-do-when-grown-up list…"

Peter shivered. Monsters, they existed too. He could see them. Peter thought he was just imagining things back then, but it was real. So could the monsters notice him too? Was this why big brother is always with him? Was it to protect him from the monsters? His brother was, of course, one of them.

"This is the Big House," Annabeth interrupted his deep thinking. They stopped on their tracks, and Peter stared at a large farmhouse painted purple. On the porch, four people were sitting around a table, playing cards. Annabeth approached one of the players. "Chiron, he's here," addressed Annabeth. One of them, a man on the wheelchair, looked away from his cards and smiled. He had scruffy brown beard, thinning hair and wore the camp tee under a winter jacket. There was a blanket over his lap. He doesn't look like it, but I think he's friendly enough, Peter decided.

"I know that you feel, err, out of place," the man said, "but, of course…welcome to Camp Half-Blood, your brother's second home." A man in a tiger-patterned sweater snorted while looking down at his cards. Everyone ignored him. "Umm, thank you…" was all Peter said. He only hoped any upcoming conversations about his brother wouldn't just pop out of the blue. "Sorry about this…" Annabeth whispered at his ear, glancing at the small group. "…I think they're in a middle of a long game."

"No, no…we're fine here," the tiger-shirted man chimed. He seemed to be in a pleasant mood. "Go on, Chiron, continue on where you left," he hand waved.

The bearded one called Chiron sighed. "Would you like to join us? It's Pinochle." Peter quickly refused. Besides, he didn't know the game much. He was though offered a seat beside Chiron. "I'll go get some hot chocolate for Peter." Annabeth said, and then went inside the farmhouse. There was silence as cards shuffled and players coughed. Peter sat on his seat awkwardly. He got the feeling he's not just seating beside regular players. There was something…powerful in each of them. "I guess you have already heard the basics, but you wouldn't mind if I could explain a few things?" Chiron said through the silence. "No…sir, I…don't mind," Peter said in a small voice. He was curious, excited, and frightened to hear more of his brother's other world. He hated it if he felt so many emotions at the same time.

Annabeth handed him the chocolate—perfect for any cold winter day—and Peter listened to the details his brother left out in his stories. It was only a few things about Camp Half-Blood, the gods and the explanation of western civilization. Peter felt like a trespasser to know all of these, and yet…he couldn't help but feel so special. Only a few lucky mortals could gain such knowledge as this, but Peter knew that if he tried to insist the facts to his classmates, they'll think he's gone to Cloud Ten.

"So Peter," Chiron started, staring at nowhere, "we heard that you knew where Percy is." The Tiger-shirted man, who wanted to be called Mr. D, suddenly sneezed and blew the game cards away from the table; the other players were too stunned to notice the disruption. "This…boy, he knows it?" one of them chided, "A mere mortal like him?"

"Shush, Atalanta!" another one said, "Just because he's male doesn't mean he's garbage…"

"Oh yes, this coming from a guy who brings coffee to the gods," Atalanta sneered. The coffee guy's ears went pink. "At least I'm doing a favor to them," he argued back, "unlike a certain Artemis maiden who likes wrestling."

"By the gods, be quiet, you two!" Mr. D exclaimed after blowing his nose from a snotty handkerchief. His pleasant mood had vanished. "And you, boy," Mr. D glared at Peter, who cringed, stood up from his chair and took a few steps back. According to his brother, it was not cool to anger this person, no matter how angry you were to him. "Boy…what do you mean you know where he is?"

"W-w-well, I think I know where h-he is…" Peter stammered. He knew one thing though: he just got into Mr. D's bad side. And they've just met.

"You think?"

"I…I had a dream, a few days ago." Peter continued, trying to muster up the courage to speak straight, not stammer. He had to tell them appropriately. Correctly. "I thought it was just one of those mortal dreams, but…he really was there, and I knew this wasn't a memory. He…called out and told me he was there. I wanted to talk to you personally, he said to me, I'm at the place where no one knows, not even the immortal beings in the stories I used to tell you. I'm somewhere unreachable to others except a chosen few. You are one of them. Well, thanks a lot, bro…for the clue…" he mumbled in the end. Then silence fell towards them again. The sun had set and stars started to appear at the sky. Peter knew these people know where he was. He was right all along to approach them. He knew how delicate his brother was to these people.

"But, how will the dream end up to you, child?" Atalanta said.

Peter looked down at his feet. "It's because I'm his brother…step brother, to be exact."

"Unreachable…is he talking about that place? Impossible. It doesn't exist."

"That's why it's called Nameless, Ganymede, you imbecile!" Atalanta retorted, "It was considered the graveyard of the heroes! They say that those who found the dwelling never came back. No contact or anything. They had disappeared completely. Their souls never arrived to the land of Hades. But this…"

"We are not sure if Percy Jackson is in there," Chiron interrupted, "we cannot confirm it. But this coming from his family…" he looked at Peter; there was something in his eyes Peter couldn't explain. "…we must not take this matter lightly." Chiron finished, and then turned his gaze at Annabeth, who nodded at him. They must be agreeing on something secretly, but Annabeth said clearly, "It's going to be one of those quests, right? The one that happens only every one hundred years and…led by a mortal."

When all eyes were on him, Peter's heart froze. No…he didn't expect that it'll go this far. He told them what they needed to find Percy Jackson, and then he'd leave it to that. He didn't want to be dragged into something bigger. Peter wasn't prepared for a quest. He'll just have to turn it down and…

"Being a half-blood is dangerous," Percy once said to his little brother. He remembered the lines well, because it was said in the time when Percy first told his stories to Peter. "It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways."

Would Peter be fine if he went on a quest? He wasn't a half-blood. But…he wanted to be one. He loved Percy's stories about his quests to retrieve the master bolt, to find the Golden Fleece, to carry the world on his shoulder, the tale where he explored the same Labyrinth in the Greek stories, and then, his brother defeating the Titan Kronos, lord of time. Peter wanted to experience them all. He wanted to go on an adventure like his brother's. This could only happen once, and he might miss this chance. He didn't care if it would kill him in painful, nasty ways. He wanted to be like Percy. Peter was determined to find Percy Jackson. He was shaking in excitement. He was going to see his big brother again.

"But it is still unclear to me," Ganymede the coffee guy mumbled, but all ears were on him, "…Percy Jackson died a long time ago, right?"

Chapter Two: Plants Are Evil, I Tell You
- Two -

Plants Are Evil, I Tell you

Peter had to be very careful if he wanted to stay alive. Camp Half-Blood was a place for demigods, not the kind like him. Thankfully, there was one (clear-sighted) mortal living at camp, but Annabeth pointed out that that person was the Oracle of Delphi. Apparently, she stayed at a cave. Peter couldn't decide if said mortal was civilized or not. "You'll have to stay here overnight," Annabeth said as she led the way to the cave. "A meeting will be held with the Council of Cloven Elders in the morning, to discuss about the search for Percy."

"What's that? Do I have to attend too?" Peter asked. It was hard to see, at that moment it was dark, but Annabeth was walking like she had crossed the path many times. "You don't have to. We're just making plans for the quest, that's all. I have to attend because I'm an honorary member. I could give you a proper tour of the camp before the meeting, if you like…"

"Ah! Y-yes please!" Peter suddenly burst, which startled Annabeth. When he realized what he did, he covered his mouth with both hands. How embarrassing, especially in front of an adult. But Annabeth simply chuckled and continued on. "This is it," she declared, stopping in front of a menacing-looking cave with red curtains hanging on the entrance. "Come on, there's no monster living here…" Annabeth lifted the curtains and went inside. Peter considered for a moment, took a deep breath and followed.

It certainly took him by surprise. Instead of seeing a cave lit by burning firewood (as Peter expected), the place was colorful as a rainbow. A bright lantern lit the whole room. The cave walls were painted with childish graffiti. There were canvases hanging on the walls, most of them with surrealistic painting style and feeling. Some of them were sketches, but it almost looked like a photo that was photoshopped. Someone actually did all this? This place looked like an art museum! There were other things that were out of place like a bed with a laptop. And there was the stereo and a music player at the corner. Peter couldn't name them all.

This cave was really awesome.

"Rachel? Are you here?" Annabeth called out. There was a muffled reply from outside. Then a woman entered. She had short red hair, green eyes and freckles crossing the bridge of her nose. She was also tall like Annabeth, but had a very weird fashion sense. She was wearing a winter cloak over a glittering t-shirt and jeans that looked like it had been spluttered with paint many times.

"Annabeth!" the woman said happily, hugging her blond friend. It didn't look like she noticed Peter. "Oh, I haven't seen you for a while! I didn't leave the cave until today because of an emergency. I told the Apollo kids to bring dinner here," the woman mumbled in addition, "anyway; I heard that someone new came to camp. A camper, I guess? Determined? Undetermined?" She spoke so fast Peter thought she must have drank ten cups of coffee. Annabeth smiled slightly, "It's only a few days. Besides, I'm always around here until someone could get the job. The new guy you're talking about…is right here." They both turned and noticed Peter standing awkwardly for the first time since entering the cave. Peter smiled sheepishly. "Rachel, this is Peter. He's clear-sighted, like you." Annabeth made the introductions. Rachel squinted, her eyes scanning Peter like a metal detector; there was a hint of interest, curiosity and reminiscence in both of them. Peter had the impression that Rachel thought he might transform into a monster. But in the end, she smiled. "Is this him? The one Percy talks about?" she asked Annabeth in a sincere voice. Annabeth nodded, "This is his brother. Would you mind if he could stay here for one night? There's going to be a meeting held at the forest in the morning to discuss about him and, well, Percy."

Rachel was still considering a decision when a horn blew somewhere in a distance. "Let's talk about it at the pavilion, can we?" Rachel cheered, "I'm hungry already."

"For the gods!"

Everyone else raised their goblets and cheered. Then most of the crowd stood up, brought their plates with them, and scrapped a portion of their food to a firepit. Peter remained seated with Rachel and Annabeth, the Pinochle players earlier, a few satyrs, and a centaur that he didn't know was Chiron. This camp was full of surprises, even if Percy had already told him what Camp Half-Blood was. But back then he thought they were all just fairy tales by his step brother. It was going to be quite a while to get used to this.

Everyone returned back to their seats and started wolfing down their dinner. Peter stared at the barbeque he received from a girl who popped out from a forest tree. "Go on, you must be hungry from the long trip," Annabeth said, who was sitting besides him, "and don't worry, it won't burn you up". Peter nodded to his barbeque and joined the pack.

Shortly after that, Chiron the centaur called for attention. He said that Capture the Flag would happen in two days and that Cabin Eleven would present the laurels (cheers from a group of kids in one table). Then Peter was given a very short introduction by Mr. D (Chiron had to correct his name and they didn't bother to state his last name). And then there was sing-along. There was a lot of singing and laughing at the camp's amphitheater. The flames of the fireplace grew higher as the campers sang loudly with their unusual songs. Peter was too tired and full to join the fun.

If he were a half-blood like Percy, would he be singing and laughing like the rest? Peter knew that Percy used to go to this camp during the summer to train so he could fight monsters and protect himself, but he never knew it could be so much enjoyable.

"See? I drew this back then," Rachel said as she revealed an old sketch portrait of Percy to Peter. He narrowed his eyes, "Wait, why does it have little holes-"

"Never mind that," Rachel laughed anxiously. Despite the small holes on the nose and other places, the sketch was really good. There was his brother, still young and alive, his face full of determination, like it was natural for him to look like that. "So…how long have you been living in this…place?" asked the boy to the young woman while scanning the pages of an old sketchbook. Rachel thought for a moment. "I don't know…I moved in here about a year ago after graduating from college, but before that, back when I was still in your age, I stayed here at camp like Annabeth and the others during the summer and winter breaks. One time, Apollo built this." She moved her arms around to indicate the whole cave. "I thought he was just joking…" she murmured while preparing herself a blank canvas.

For some reason, Peter felt relaxed speaking to Rachel, unlike the many times he felt uncomfortable just being with girls (not counting his mom). It's probably because he could relate to her in a few ways. "You're really talented in this," Peter said, though he felt a bit stupid stating the obvious.

"Thanks," Rachel replied, with the look of pride on her face. She picked up a pencil and started sketching something on her canvas. "Hey, could stay still for a couple of minutes? You can still look through the book."

"Uh, sure," Peter said. There was silence for a while, and then Peter asked, "Do mortals usually go on quests?"

Rachel sighed, her eyes not taking off the work she was doing. "In very special cases, they can come with demigods to help them. But it's a rare chance to have them lead a quest. And that rare chance is the Hundred-Year Quest. It only happens in every…err, one hundred years." She stuck out her tongue, "And mortals rarely come across this camp…except for the occasional pizza guys crossing the camp boundaries."

"Oo-kay," Peter wanted to ask about the Pizza guys, but he decided to leave the question, "So, how did you find Camp Half-Blood?"

"Percy and Annabeth found me. Well, it was really Percy, but it's a long story." Rachel chuckled lightly. Peter nodded and continued to scan the pages of the book. Each page was imprinted with events that he remembered from his brother's stories, some of them were scenes he was familiar and unfamiliar with. But out of all the hundred sketches, there was one scene that took his full attention: a drawing of a teenage boy and a little girl. The boy was crouching down, his whole figure exhausted and frayed. He was gazing up to the little girl; his face looked desperate, like he was begging for something really valuable. The little girl, dressed in shawls, was looking down to him, her expression unreadable, but had a warm feeling. "It was a vague memory," Rachel pondered, noticing Peter's interest to the picture. "It happened back at our Titan War. I was being held to safety in the throne room on Olympus with a goddess when someone busted in. We thought it was Kronos, and it wasn't Percy, yet for some reason, that person almost felt like him. Then I realized it was just a demigod." Peter moved his eyes to Rachel, eager to learn more. "He looked worn out and was ready to collapse. He ran up to the goddess, who I think was Hestia, and he was demanding something from her. They were having a long and aggressive conversation. After that, everything went blank. The next thing I knew, battles were over, and the said titan lord was defeated. I forgot what the boy looked like; only the color blue."

"Blue." Peter repeated, nodding. Percy's favorite color was blue.

"The scene that I saw felt so important I had to draw it to remind myself. The conversation between Hestia and that boy helped me set my decision to become the Oracle of Delphi, though I didn't remember what they were talking about." Rachel grinned clumsily. She stopped sketching and stared at her piece. Suddenly, her face turned sad. "Here, want to see this? It's done." Rachel held the canvas and passed it to Peter. It was a sketch of him reading the sketchbook. However, Peter couldn't understand the expression of his face; it was both mixed with emotions he didn't even felt earlier. "This is…really cool," he said to Rachel, trying his best to hide the little pain in his voice. Rachel smiled back, although she had a sympathetic look that reminds Peter of his mom.

After the tour of Camp Half-Blood at six in the morning, Peter and Annabeth took a quick stroll at the woods. Regardless of the snowfall last night that marked the true beginning of winter, it looked like it didn't happen at all. Apparently, it looked more like spring than winter at the forest. Peter wondered what happened to everyone's description that the forest was always full of monsters and that you needed to enter armed and prepared. Annabeth came without any weapon, and that made Peter a little bit uneasy. "Oh, don't worry," she assured, "At this time in the morning, the monsters are asleep. The meeting will happen around here shortly. Are you sure you don't want to come?" Peter shook his head. "I'll just stick around for a while, and wait for the news here."

"I see," Annabeth said, and then she stopped walking. She turned her head to the left and her expression softened. "What's wrong?" asked Peter, looking at the direction she was facing. A little far ahead, a tall tree stood in the middle of a grove. It looked brighter than the other surrounding trees.

"Can we go here, just for a while?" Annabeth said.

"Sure, I don't mind," Peter replied, though he was confused of the sudden mood change. They walked down the grove and stopped in front of the tall one. Annabeth knelt down and touched its roots. Her expression was sad, but she lifted a small smile. "I guess he's still standing strong," she said to herself. "Hey, Pete, do you remember…how Percy, as everyone had presumed…died?" Annabeth said it like it was a question that had been bothering her for ages. Now that she had mentioned it, how did he die? Peter forced himself to think back, and all he could remember was another blurry memory. It was few years ago when Percy told his family that he was going to some place. That was the last time Peter saw him. The next day, his mom came around telling Peter to get up and get changed, so that he would attend his brother's burial. He told this to Annabeth, whose expression grew sadder.

Then Peter's phone suddenly rang. He fished it out from his pocket and stared at it. "That's weird," Annabeth glanced at the gadget, "you don't get signal here in the forest, and bringing one isn't a really great idea if you're a demigod."

"I still have to answer it, right?" Dad was calling on the phone, but Peter was hesitating to answer.

A satyr came out of nowhere and trotted towards the pair. "Annabeth, the meeting had started a while ago," he said, looking weary, "Chiron's been looking for you."

"Sorry for the trouble, then," Annabeth said, "I'll be going. I'm going to leave you for a while, Pete," then she took one last look to the tree and went on her way with the satyr. When Peter was alone, he answered his phone that had been ringing for minutes.

"Hey dad, it's me," Peter knew what was coming after this.

"Pete, where have you been yesterday? Your mom was worried about you!" a man on the other side of the line cried. Peter could not help but smile. "Sorry for worrying everyone. Are you with mom?"

"No, I'm at the school. We're holding a meeting before the break. Peter, why didn't you at least tell us where you were going? You know your mom; she doesn't like her children running around, blowing up buildings without telling her the real reason."

"I don't even have the guts to steal explosives and blow up a car." Peter snorted. His dad, Paul Blofis, was good enough to get nominated for the Coolest Dad in the World award. He was the "normal" one in the family, and the only one who couldn't see through the Mist. Regardless of how weird (and probably dangerous) the family was, Paul was still with them, and that was really cool and awesome of him.

"Sorry dad, I can't tell you where I am, though I might come home later than planned. Mind if you tell mom that?"

Dad hesitated, but he answered nonetheless, "Okay. I'm just glad that you're well. Just keep us updated by calling. I have to go; everyone's looking for me. I just found the time to check up on you."

"Alright. Talk to you later dad, and tell mom…to get well soon." Peter closed the connection and sighed. He looked up towards the tree. For some reason, he felt like he should know this tree, he just couldn't pin it down. It had a familiar aura that reminded Peter of forests and wildlife.

Peter was about to walk away when he heard a loud scream. He jumped and found that it came from the tree, which was glowing brighter. The ground shook and Peter was forced on his knees. His heart raced. His legs ached. He suddenly felt like he was going to explode. He wanted to get away, but he couldn't move. Then abruptly, everything stopped.

Peter slowly brought his head up. Everything went back to normal. The majestic tree stood tall, innocently looking down to him. No glowing or anything. What on earth just happened? He backed away from it, his heart still beating fast.

"You're still here, Peter?" Annabeth voice rang. Peter hastily turned to face the concerned adult. "Did something happen? Pete, you don't look so good."

"Did…didn't you hear it?" Peter asked, his voice shaking. Annabeth frowned, "Hear what?"

"The scream, it came from this tree," he pointed accusingly to the plant. Annabeth stared at Peter. "Pete…I didn't hear anything unusual during the meeting."

"I…I don't understand." Or maybe he did. Maybe the tree didn't like him. Maybe he was only tired. Maybe the so-called Mist was just playing around him. Peter decided he shouldn't tell the rest to Annabeth, or she would have to inform the others about his recent discovery of screaming trees. He had to figure this out by himself. "A-anyway," he swallowed, keeping his voice from shaking, "Is the meeting over? T-that was quick one."

Annabeth's face was unreadable. "Pete, the meeting took 4 hours, maybe longer. We had to contact a few people outside of camp to help out with the matter. We're still not finished organizing. Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you're just hungry. Lunch will start soon."

This time, Peter didn't respond.

"If you're wondering if I'm carrying any news," Annabeth continued, breaking the silence, "I do have. There will be a quest to find Nameless in the next few days. And you will lead it."

Chapter Three: We Plan To Go Shopping
- Three -

We Plan To Go Shopping

Peter prayed that he wouldn't be discovered. Most of the campers had mistaken him for a demigod, which was good, since Annabeth said that he shouldn't just reveal himself as a mortal. The campers kept asking him if he was "determined" or "undetermined;" he simply shrugged to their questions. He was invited to camp activities like archery and Pegasus riding. Peter politely refused to them and went on his own way of fitting in. He wasn't going to participate in those dangerous things, no matter how tempting it was. Well, not yet. Peter managed to relate to a few of them, though. Year-rounder Leon was one. His godly parent was unknown, so he stayed at the Hermes Cabin. And he talked a lot.

"See, a lot has changed in the past decade," he said to Peter one afternoon, during free time. They were at the canoe lake, watching the naiads weave baskets. "Back then, the Big House was still painted blue, and Capture the Flag still had two teams, not four. There have been a lot of half-bloods coming into camp these days, and it's a good thing too, I guess."

"Umm, how long have you been staying here?" Peter asked.

Leon tapped his chin. "I guess I've been here my whole life."

Peter stared at him. "You…don't have any mortal parent or something?" But he felt a lump in his throat. He knew family matters were a serious discussion. He had many classmates who told sad stories about their families; some of them were still depressed about it. But Leon grinned to the question like it didn't bother him a bit.

"I don't have any. I did remember a demigod bringing me to this place. It was loooong time ago."

One of the naiads giggled to her other friends, spoke something in naiad language, and then all of them dived under the lake. Peter stared at the lake's surface for a while, deep in thought, but from the corner of his eye he saw a girl approaching them. Leon made a face that clearly stated that he wasn't happy to see her. "Oh boy, here comes miss know-it-all. I'd bet anything she's going to pull something intelligent when she sees you."

"Why? What's wrong with her?"

"Oh nothing, it's just the fact that she likes showing off her smarts and skills to anyone. She thinks she's exceptionally special. She's a daughter of Apollo, the only thing that's common about her. That and…."

The girl stopped in front of the two boys, both hands on her hips. She looked like the classical red-head with the trademark red hair (short), green eyes, and freckles on her cheeks. The only thing that stood out in her appearance was the necklace with a silver cross. A Catholic demigod? Peter thought, Well…that's new. She glared at Leon for a second then turned to look at Peter. "You're being called to the Big House by Annabeth. She said she wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh," Peter said, uncomfortable at the way the girl spoke, "D-do I have to go, like, right now?"

"Immediately," the girl nodded.

Leon groaned and crossed his arms. "Don't act smart on him, Claire," he said.

The girl, Claire, frowned and clicked her tongue, turning her head away. "I wasn't talking to you," she replied angrily. Then she stomped to the archery range. Peter looked at Leon, who still had an annoyed look on his face.

"A-aren't you a little harsh on her?" he said.

"No," Leon replied, gritting his teeth. "It's enough to tell her that she isn't the boss around here."

Leon accompanied Peter to the Big House. Inside, they sat down around a coffee table. Annabeth sat opposite of them, looking down at the weapon laid on the table, a bronze knife.

"Peter, we had talked about the quest, and I think everything's ready," Annabeth said. She paused, and then looked at Leon. "Uh, Leon… ummm…"

"No, it's okay. You can tell him," Peter said. Like everyone else, Leon didn't know Peter's true category, until Annabeth hesitantly told him. It took Leon for a while to swallow all the words, but he was able to digest it.

"Still, you can't ignore javelin throwing forever, Pete," he said with a shaky chuckle.

"Peter, the dream you told us was still unclear in meaning," Annabeth continued, "but one of our contacts had volunteered to go to the Underworld to check out… a soul. And another one offered us a lead. A very solid lead. But he stated that the information is too, err… how I should put this, valuable. You'll have to listen to it from him personally. And that means going to Wichita. The second you set your foot in the city, he'll be right there to pick you up and bring you to safety just for a while to discuss about it."

"Sounds like kidnapping… but wait a minute," Leon interrupted, "I thought Nameless was supposed to be an unknown place? How come he knows?"

Annabeth bit her lip. "I don't know, exactly. But that person is an old friend of mine, and I trust him. I've known him for a while, though I haven't contacted him until a few days ago."

"Well, what's his name?" Peter asked. The young woman sighed. "I can't tell you his real name, since I don't have permission."

"Why not? And what permission?"

Annabeth glanced at Peter and sighed again. "Here's the long story." She shifted on her seat.

"Fifteen years ago, we had another war," she started. "It was bigger than the previous Titan War. In the end, our side won. There was a great difference in the way we lived back then, after that war. There were no more monsters chasing us, more half-bloods were safely brought here at Camp. Basically, life had become easier for us demigods. That was until Percy…as some people would like to put it, disappeared a few years ago."

"We assumed that the reason why the monsters were backing down was because Percy was around. They started to fear him and the other half-bloods that lead our army, though that didn't stop them from chasing them. But now, the danger was twice than before. We needed to find as many demigods as we can before they would be killed off. And they, the monsters, are currently hunting down those who fought in the war. We all went into hiding. Some of us are already dead. Others may still be alive, but we avoid contact as much as possible. It's too risky. This was the only place in the world that could keep us safe, but we're not children anymore. We have to keep moving to prevent anything bad happening. We had to leave our families to keep them safe. Right now, we don't have a permanent home." Annabeth took a shaky breath and paused. She let the two boys alone for a while in their own thoughts.

Thinking about it, Peter's heart sank. There were other people's lives that were affected by his brother's disappearance, not only himself. For some reason, he felt like he was responsible for all the things that happened in the past. He felt really bad for making Annabeth homeless.

"Nevertheless, we can't change it," Annabeth continued. "Names have power; everyone here knows that. My friend, the guy who will talk to you about Nameless, he was also part of the war and he contributed a great deal. Saying his name without his presence or permission will only make the monsters go wild and hunt for him. You could say he's top on the most wanted list. I'm still surprised that he's still managing fine today."

"I wish I could meet this guy. He seems awesome…" Leon commented. Peter couldn't help but agree. If Annabeth trusted him, then he could trust that person too.

"I have a question," Peter asked. "You said we can't say the name of the person who fought in the war unless we're near him or have his permission. What do you mean by permission?"

"Well, what else does it mean? Ask the person if you can speak his name," Annabeth simply stated. "Peter, what was the first thing I said to you when you first came here?"

"Uh, you've grown?" Peter said sheepishly.

"Forward."

"You can call me Annabeth?"

"That's permission," Annabeth pointed out. "I told you that you can freely call me Annabeth. But of course, this doesn't apply to every half-blood. Just us."

"I… understand."

"Now that we at least know where to go," Annabeth said, "the next question will be: how do we get there?"

Leon raised his hand like he was in class. "Well, we could use the mall passages," he suggested.

Annabeth nodded. "It's unsafe to travel by air now. You've seen the local news; there were cases of airplane crashes because half-bloods were on board. The reasons are unknown, but our best guess is that Zeus does not like flying demigods and monsters, unlike before. The only means for a safer journey is by land or sea. But four years ago, three sons of Hades built passages underground, passages that connect through all the country's states. The entrances to the passages are inside shopping malls. And a shopping mall is not a place for a demigod."

"How come?" Leon asked. "And why the mall if it's not safe for us?"

"While the mall has packs of monsters roaming the stores, the place is also full with mortals. The mortals' scents can mask a demigod's own scent. If you're lucky enough, you could pass by without those creatures noticing you." Annabeth stood up from her seat and turned her back to them. "Tomorrow, Argus will drop you off to the nearest mall. Before that, you need to prepare yourselves. We need two half-bloods to accompany Peter. Claire could be a good candidate-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, miss…" Leon interrupted, "…Claire? Are you serious?"

Annabeth eyed at him. "Claire is a skilled demigod. She has more quest experience than the rest of you. Is there something wrong with it?"

"Ah… then could you give us a chance to have quest experience too?" he asked, rather sardonically. Annabeth chose to ignore it.

"Sure, Leon, you could be the third person. You know Peter much more than the others. This way, you'll have better teamwork." She sounded like she was calculating the chances of winning a lottery. "Well, do you want to come with him?" Annabeth finally asked. Leon hesitated, and then nodded.

"Fine, I always wanted to get out of camp for a while and do other stuff, you know."

Annabeth faintly smiled. It was probably the best smile she could muster up. "Could you call Claire and tell her to come here? I will tell her the basic details of Peter's quest. Then, tomorrow, you'll be going. Best be prepared."

Leon left without a word, maybe unhappy to the fact that he would be with Claire throughout the whole trip. Peter remained seated for a while, thinking. Then he asked Annabeth, "Can't you come with me in this quest?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, we have our own problems to tend to. But just gives us a ring and we'll try our best to help you out."

"Thanks," Peter said. He was about to follow Leon outside when he remembered something else. He turned his back to the door and asked Annabeth once more, "Quests usually have prophecies to guide you, right? Percy told me once. Do… do I have to get one too?"

Annabeth blinked, rubbed her arm and sighed. "Yes, you're correct, Pete. But for this one… there is no prophecy to help you out."

Chapter Four: We Behead The Cashier
- Four -

We behead the cashier

Day One

"Well, you're set now. I heard that Wichita is a breezy place during the winter, so keep your coat on. Did you sleep well last night?" Rachel said to the young boy. Peter hesitated, and then shook his head. The older woman patted his shoulder. "At least you're being honest," she said. They were at the top of Half-Blood Hill, where the pine tree stood serving as a border for the camp. Rachel was there to help Peter out with his own things to bring in the quest.

She looked around her surroundings and saw Leon and Claire, who were walking down the hill to the road, arguing about something. She sighed. "Those two…when will they ever make up?"

Argus, the camp's security guard, was walking down towards the van in his chauffeur outfit, jingling his keys, whistling a tune. Five of his eyes were staring at Peter. Rachel stared back at him in a funny way. "He seems like he's in a good mood," she said to herself. She shook her head, smiling, and once again turned to Peter. "Well, time to go now. I wish you the best of luck."

Peter briefly nodded. Now that the day had come, he didn't feel excited anymore. If anything bad would happen, he would be held responsible since he was the one leading this quest. And learning that he would go without knowing what was ahead of them, it was making him more anxious.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Rachel took out an item wrapped in cloth and handed it to him. "Here, Annabeth said you should bring this with you." Peter unfolded the cloth and in his hand he held a sheathed combat knife. He blinked. This was the same knife he saw back at the Big House.

"Celestial Bronze can't hurt mortals; I learned that the hard way. You can only fight monsters and demigods with it," Rachel said. "This was Annabeth's knife. She wanted you to have it for a while. It'll keep you safe."

"But…I don't know how to fight," Peter murmured. He didn't have demigod training like Leon and Claire. He didn't have ADHD that would help him out as battle reflexes. And to fight with a knife that may hurt his companions… he wasn't so sure if he was even worthy of wielding something like this.

"You don't have to unsheathe the blade all the time. Just think of this as a luck charm. It may be a burden, but who knows, it might come in handy," Rachel said. "And here's a luck charm from me." She tossed something that gleamed in midair. Peter caught it on his palm. It was a large gold coin with a person stamped on it.

"It's not much, but it should somehow help you out."

At the road, the van's horn blew.

"They're waiting for you." Rachel sighed, "Now, hop along, get moving. These half-bloods are impatient critters."

"W-wait…mind if I ask you one unrelated question?" Peter quickly said, "There are some demigods that are called children of the Big Three, right? Annabeth mentioned that the children of Hades made the mall passages. Are there any other Big Three children who are still alive?"

"There are the three sons of Hades, yes. The Boston brothers who are currently staying at this camp, and the third one, he's a survivor of the last war so he's in hiding. And then there are the Grace siblings, children of Zeus. The older one is currently a Hunter of Artemis, and the younger one is also in hiding."

"Any children of Poseidon?"

Rachel started pushing Peter towards the van. "Percy was the last son of Poseidon that we know. Well, in the Greek side anyway. We don't know much about the Roman side."

"Roman side?"

Then Peter stopped himself. When he looked around to face the young woman, he caught sight of something etched on the side of Rachel's neck: a red Greek letter. He didn't notice it until now. Before he would ask about it, Rachel shoved him to the shotgun seat of the van. "Have a safe trip, guys." She waved. "And please say hello to Mr. Flamingo for me!"

"Who is Mr. Flamingo?" Leon—who was sitting in the back—asked incredulously.

"The guy you'll be meeting," she replied. "He goes by that alias now. Rumor has it he's fond of the color pink lately, but maybe that's just me."

Argus started the engine and drove slowly out of her sight. Peter took one last glance of her and Camp Half-Blood. He sensed that this trip was going to be a long one.

Though she wasn't close anymore, Peter noticed Rachel putting her hand on her neck, like she was hiding a scar that had troubled her for a lifetime.

The group arrived at one mall entrance. It was crowded with groups going in and out, children crying, people talking on cell phones, the usual mall business.

"Man, it's been a long time since I visited one of these places," Leon commented. Claire stared at him, holding her silver cross and muttering something in Latin.

"We've got to hurry," she said. "The entrance is at the customer service. We have to be quick if we want to remain unnoticed."

Leon arched an eyebrow. "How do you know that the entrance is in there?"

"I've been here twice in the past when I'm going on quests. Now, come on…"

They walked past a few stores; some of them had interesting items on sale. Leon once stopped to stare at the new gaming gadget. "This is so cool…" he kept muttering "…if only camp could let these kinds of things there."

It also had been a while since Peter had gone to malls. The last time he did was maybe two, three years ago? Peter vaguely recalled the reason why he stopped hanging out. Though he remembered there was something in malls that kept scaring him…

Claire raised a hand, gesturing the two boys to stop on their tracks. She cocked her head at one side. "Our first monster," she said. Leon turned his head to look at the direction Claire was pointing and gaped. "No way…that big?"

His curiosity overwhelming him, Peter turned his head to take a glimpse of the monster. The monster was standing only a few yards from them, his head turning to every direction. Peter looked closely, and then he felt his heart thumping in his throat. Head of a bull, a body of a man…a familiar description he remembered from the stories.

"He seems to looking for us," Claire stated. "But he's still confused." She looked pale, a clear sign that this was the first time she had seen the Minotaur up close. "We better sneak around him while he still hasn't spotted us."

But it was too late. The Minotaur's bloodshot eyes were staring at them. At Peter.

"I guess he's attracted to your hair," Leon scowled at Claire, "But now the best option is to run!" They sprinted pass confused and aggravated customers, and hid at the nearest shop, a bookstore. They moved toward the Young Adults section and stopped behind the bookshelves. "Y-you think we lost him?" Peter wondered. He was still shaking from the early shock. It wasn't his first time seeing monsters close, but back then they weren't attacking him because Percy was with him, maybe except…

"Shhh! He's coming…" Claire whispered urgently. The monster came into view. He was wearing a security guard uniform that was stretching out due to his large body. He sniffed the air for a moment, and then approached a customer, a fat man wearing a tourist shirt. The Minotaur was grunting and groaning and making hand gestures. Whatever he was saying, the tourist understood it.

"I'm guessing that man thinks our monster's a tall security guard, huh?" Leon pondered. He looked slightly amused at this. They watched the monster shook his head and exited the store. Peter breathed a sigh of relief; safe for now. But it was a mistake for them to relax too early.

"There you are!" someone from their right side shrieked. They snapped their heads to the voice's direction, and to their dismay, they had met monster number two. It was a green lady wearing a staff uniform (with a tag cashier), and instead of feet she had two snake tails. And she was holding a spear. It was creepy of her to smile innocently at them while raising the spear to Leon and Claire, but when she looked at Peter, her expression hardened. "You are not the ssson of Poseidon," she hissed. "What are you, child?"

Before Peter would answer, the monster brought out her talons then managed to scratch his left shoulder. Peter was taken aback by the pain. His vision suddenly blurred and his knees buckled; he felt like he was burning.

"Mortal!" he heard the monster shriek. "This child is—!"

She was abruptly stopped halfway by the sound of something sharp cutting through, and a there was a disgusting thud shortly after that.

"Well, that should shut her up," Leon said. Peter's vision slowly came together and he saw Leon and Claire in front of him, weapons raised. The snake lady earlier was gone, leaving the smell of something burnt in the air.

Claire knelt down and checked Peter's wound. "This is not good. She poisoned you. Do you feel alright?"

"Well, what do you think?" Peter scowled.

"This needs to be healed with magic." She ignored Peter's retort. "We have to find someplace safe. Leon, help me get Peter up."

They exited from the store and trotted to find the customer service. The people inside seemed to notice the commotion at the bookstore. The group moved quickly toward the end of the mall when they heard a piercing roar. The ground shook slightly and came out from one corridor was a large red reptile the length of two buses. The monster stared directly Peter, and for a moment he felt a familiar and dreadful feeling he had never felt for a long time; it only happened whenever he would confront…

"A dragon," Claire said, gritting her teeth. "It appears it doesn't have any wings."

"Well, we can't fight something that large," Leon said, backing away with Claire, "and with all these people around."

The dragon crouched down and glared at Peter, who was rooted on the spot, shaking in panic. He couldn't even feel the pain of his wound anymore. He thought of getting out the knife Rachel gave to him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it; the feeling of nostalgia and fear was taking over his body. Just when the monster was about to roar again, someone caught Peter's arm and pulled him away from the dragon's blazing breath.

"What's got into you, man?" Leon said, "You're going to get yourself barbecued!"

"W-what?"

"Get behind me," Claire said, bringing out a bow and a silver arrow from her backpack. She aimed at the dragon's head. The two lads followed her order. "On my mark, follow my lead," she instructed. She waited for a second and then fired the weapon. The arrow went through the reptile's head clean and, with one last roar, stumbled down and lay motionless.

"Now!" she cued. They ran around the stilled dragon and went straight to the department store.

"What was that? The arrow," Peter said, exhausted from all the running. "It's not dead," Claire replied, "It'll only paralyze him for a few seconds, but he's still on our tail, like right now."

Sure enough, the ground shook again when, from the corner of Peter's eye, they saw the dragon trotting behind them, furious. Thankfully, they had arrived at the customer service. Two women were at the counter, staring at them suspiciously. "May I help you?" one of them asked politely.

"We…we need a passage to Wichita, Kansas." Claire said breathlessly while fishing out a golden coin from her pocket—the same kind of coin Rachel had given to Peter—then handed it to the woman. She stared at the coin blankly. "Hurry!" Leon alerted, looking behind. Not only was the dragon charging straight at them, but the Minotaur from earlier had joined the stampede.

After another second's silence, the woman sighed. "Alright, get in. Wichita is in door three hundred and sixty three," she said casually. The other woman opened a door at the back of the area and gestured the group in. Claire jumped over the counter and ran inside. Leon helped Peter climb up and followed suit. "Remember, door three hundred and sixty three," the woman said, and then she closed the door with a click. Then silence. No sound of stampede or roaring giants.

"Safe, for now and for sure," Leon said, sitting down on one corner and closing his eyes. "I need a nap, just for a while," he added. Peter nodded in agreement. He clutched his wounded shoulder to ease the pain and tried to stop himself from bleeding to death.

"This is very unusual," Claire said. She slumped at another corner and put her bow down. "This mall doesn't have any large monsters; only dracaenae and Laistrygonian giants. But a dragon…and the Minotaur! Something's wrong."

"Gee, you noticed just now?" Leon said sarcastically.

Claire was right, though. Something was definitely wrong. Every monster they had encountered, they were all looking straight at Peter, like he was their long-time enemy. Especially the dragon. Peter had the feeling that red dragon wanted him eaten in one go. Could monsters even distinguish the difference between mortal and half-blood? Did they know about this quest?

Peter remembered what that snake lady had said to him. ''"You are not the son of Poseidon." ''

What had made them think he was a demigod?

Chapter Five: Robot Animals Save The Day
- Five -

Robot Animals Save The Day

Day One

"H-hey, is that going to hurt?" Peter stammered.

Claire rolled her eyes. "No," she said simply. She pressed her hand against Peter's wound, and muttered something in Greek. She slowly brought her hand back and watched the wound close itself, the pain subsiding. Peter suddenly felt great. He felt like he could punch someone in the face (which was very unlike him). "You're cured, for now," Claire said, "until we could get proper treatment."

"You mean it's still not healed?" Peter said incredulously, blinking. Claire shook her head, stood up and looked around. They were still in the mall's underground passage. It was a narrow hallway so long Peter couldn't even see the end of it. It had steel walls and there were many kinds of doors (the most common doors seen were the big, metal, and flowery kinds) with numbers on top of each. Blue neon lights lit the way.

Leon came back from scouting the hallway, looking exhausted. "Ah, what number is the door we're supposed to find?" he panted, "Three-six-three?"

"Three hundred and sixty three,"Claire corrected. "But yes. We're from door three hundred seven, so it's not far."

"Well, I found it." He pointed at Peter's right. "Can we get out of here? This place is making me uneasy."

"Your claustrophobic senses tingling?" Claire teased. Leon scowled at her and took his bag from Peter.

"This place…is there any end to this?" Peter said as they walked toward their destination.

"Actually, there were rumors that Nico di Angelo, one of the people who built this, is not yet finished with the construction," Claire replied. "He has plans to make more passages. Some say he is planning to make passages that will lead outside the states. Who knows, he might be in the very end of this hallway."

"Spooky," Leon shivered. "Some guy waiting for us at the very end."

"That name sounds familiar to me…" Peter pondered. He recalled a Nico in his memories, but he couldn't pin it down. He tried whacking his head. He knew he'd heard it somewhere.

"Well, of course you should know!" Leon said. "He's a celebrity in the mortal world, an actor. Rumors say he's over a hundred years old. But that's just gossip and the internet. He looks twenty-something to me."

"We're here." Claire announced. They stopped in front of a normal looking door with a sign that said, "Janitor's Room". Above the door were the numbers three-six-three.

"Wow, we're already in Kansas in like an hour!" Leon said, checking his watch. "Must be a world record or something." Then he opened the door and took a peek for a second. "All good, no monsters in sight," he said.

The group moved away from the passageway and blended in with the shoppers. The temperature had gone lower and even inside the warm mall, everyone was still shivering. "Gods, I should've brought another jacket with me," Claire complained to no one in particular.

"So, we're here. Now, where's the guy who's going to pick us up?" Leon looked around. "No one seems to mind us."

"Maybe we have to wait for him," Peter said. Claire shook her head. She had been doing that a lot today. "No, we have to find somewhere safe before another wave of monsters could attack us."

"Speaking of monsters," Leon chimed. "Not a single one of them in sight. Not even staff monsters. Do you think it's strange?"

"No, wait…" Claire said, stopping at her tracks. "Look…at that shop." She pointed at one store that was fairly crowded with people, mostly adults carrying bronze swords.

"Hermes's Godly Supplies," Leon said. "Whoa, a store for demigods?" He exchanged looks with Claire. "We might as well check it out," she said.

When they entered the store, Peter felt like something was pressing him down. The store was vast, with plenty of items displayed on shelves and walls, and there were many customers, though it didn't take much space. But Peter could feel the same powerful force he felt back at camp, especially when he was at the porch on his first day, sitting beside a god and three more people from the Greek myths. Maybe it was the demigods' aura in this store, since most of the customers had weapons hanging on their belts.

"This is so cool," Leon said. "Weapons, ambrosia…they have it all."

Claire looked around the shelves, picked up a powder bottle and read the label. "'Aphrodite's Magical Powder: apply and your demigod scent won't be detected. Magic lasts for an hour for one slap.' Wow, this is really impressive. Do you really think it'll work?"

"Why, yes, of course it will!" someone said. A staff member appeared behind them. He was tall with short brown hair, freckles on his face, and wore a red vest over a white sweater. He grinned at the three of them. "From Aphrodite herself, delivered to us by our father, Hermes. Five drachmas or fifty dollars, if you want one."

"So you guys manage the store?" Leon asked.

The man nodded. "Just me and my brother. Right now, we're the center of any demigod resources here, other than Medea's department store, which gives out bad deals, though you have to check out her stuff. It's really cool, but very pricey." The man cringed at the thought. "We get a lot of orders from Camp Half-Blood, and traveling demigods can visit the shop for some extra supplies. Today, we have a lot of customers because, well, let's face it, tomorrow's the winter solstice. Half-bloods who aren't yet brought to safety, well, need to be brought to safety, before the monsters can eat them. To camp, of course."

"Umm, how come there aren't any monsters roaming around the mall?" Peter said. "I thought malls are supposed to be dangerous?"

The employee chuckled. "Yes, you're right about that. But this is Wichita, the safest place for any demigod in America other than Camp Half-Blood. Demigods everywhere you look. We're like the camp, except with no magical borders because we can't make one. A few demigods guard the streets of the city, disintegrating the monsters immediately when caught in sight, while the majority of the group here are searchers, helping out satyrs look for stray half-bloods outside the city and bring them to camp for training. The demigods here are mostly adults; some of them are from the big Gaea war. Right now, the searchers are preparing themselves for their next big search because winter solstice is the day where the Olympian gods meet up, leaving no one to watch over us. Oh, and monsters are stronger during that day."

"Ah, you sure have organized a lot for the safety of the half-bloods, like you actually formed a big group," Claire said. "If that's the case, then there is supposed to be a leader, right?"

The employee tilted his head to the right, thinking. "Yes, I suppose he is the one in-charge, since he started this idea six, maybe seven years ago. Besides, he's also the one who made the store's weapon supplies."

"Then, could he be, umm…well, Mr. Flamingo?" Peter said. "Could you tell us who he is? We're trying to find him."

When he heard the name, the employee stifled a laugh. "D-did you hear that, Connor?" he shouted at the counter to another employee, who was also laughing. "Those people at camp are calling him a bird! They are really not going to take him seriously with that name! But that's him alright!"

They laughed for another minute (the customers were staring at them oddly), then slowly recovered from their secret joke.

"Ah, sorry about that, but yeah, that's him. Though, we don't have permission to speak his real name except when he's around." The employee smiled apologetically while wiping a tear. "But you can ask my brother, Connor, at the counter, for the address on where he lives. The place is not far from here, actually."

"Alright, thanks a lot!" Leon said, recovering from his own chuckle. The threesome walked across the shop to the payment counter, where another man who almost looked like the employee earlier manned the place.

"Now that we have a lead, do you think this is the guy we're looking for?" Claire said uncertainly.

"I think he's the one," Peter replied. Leon nodded in agreement.

When Claire paid for one bottle of Aphrodite's powder, they asked for Mr. Flamingo's address. Connor the cashier wrote it down on paper and passed it to them. "But I think he's on patrol today, since many searchers are going out of the city to begin their search," he reminded them. "There's going to be a lot of monsters flooding the roads later, so I doubt he's home."

"We're still giving it a shot. And thanks a lot," Claire said.

Connor smiled, "No problem, just come again next time!"

"Sure!" Leon said, and then the three stepped out from the store, exited the mall and went into the streets.

The sky was littered with dark clouds, giving an ominous feel to the city. The streetlights were on and only a few cars drove on the slippery roads. There weren't any pedestrians on the side streets.

"Isn't it dangerous for a demigod to live here?" Claire said as they walked down a snowy street. "I mean…I think there are more than a hundred of them staying here altogether, maybe the monsters outside the country can sniff them out."

"Relax, the store already explained how things are working here," Leon said, "Wichita is a place for adult demigods, while Camp Half-Blood is a place for demigod children. Besides, they must have been applying that powder you bought to keep themselves hidden." They turned to a corner near a bus stop.

Claire took out the paper with the address and read it carefully. "It's…actually far, not too far though. It's in walking distance, but we can ride a bus if you all want to," she said.

"We'll just walk. There's no harm in doing a little exercise in the winter," Leon said.

Just then, Peter's phone rang. Leon and Claire exchanged looks, and then quickly took a few steps back away from Peter. Peter gave them a bewildered expression. "W-what's wrong with my cell phone?"

"You didn't tell me that you own one," Claire said, rather shakily. "You know those things act like flares in the sky so they could find us."

Peter chose to ignore them and answer the call. It was Annabeth on the other side of the line. He was glad to hear from her.

"Hey, it's me. How's it going?"

"Uh, well, we're fine. We were attacked by a few big monsters an hour ago but yeah, we're still…fine," Peter said sheepishly.

"An hour ago?" Annabeth pondered. "Ah…never mind. But glad you're all fine. Listen, Pete, I have something for you. I just got news from my friend who volunteered to search Percy's soul in the Underworld."

"R-really, what is it then?" Peter couldn't stop his voice from shaking. Either it was caused by his excitement to know or the cold winter air making him shiver.

"He Iris-messaged me just now, saying…well, that Percy is dead, but…there is no soul."

"What do you mean?"

"Percy's soul isn't at the Underworld, even though Hades himself explicitly stated he is dead." Annabeth's voice was also shaking. "They don't know how or why. But in the past, Thanatos searched for it, the soul. But he gave up shortly, telling Lord Hades that it's really gone for good."

"So…there's a chance Percy's still…alive?"

Annabeth hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe? But that's why you're in this, right? Anyway, did you already meet him?"

"That Mr. Flamingo guy? Uh…no, we're looking out for him, though."

"…uh, oh…huh? Sorry, Pete. I have to go. There's something going on outside, and Chiron is calling me out. I'll talk to you later. Stay together, alright?"

Annabeth abruptly hung up. Peter was left on the phone, confused. At least he knew that this search wasn't a waste of time. He put it back in his coat's pocket and turned to his companions. "Let's keep moving," he told them.

Then suddenly an arrow whistled past Peter's head and stuck itself on a tree. Peter stood stiffly, still unable to understand what had happened seconds ago. Leon and Claire, who seemed to have sensed something, quickly took out their weapons and moved closely at him. They snapped their heads in different directions, searching for the attacker. There was no one. The area was deserted.

A moment later, a rain of arrows came down from the sky. The group sprinted from point of range and continued to run, not looking back. But then, a horde of monsters appeared from back alleys and buildings and cornered the threesome. They quickly backed away and turn around, but they were greeted by another group. Leon and Claire searched frantically for a narrow way out, but Peter knew they were hopelessly surrounded.

"It was the phone, isn't it?"

Leon scowled at Claire while eyeing each Laistrygonian giant and dracaena surrounding them. "So you're blaming Pete?"

"I didn't say that."

Peter took out Annabeth's bronze knife and unsheathed it, though he wasn't sure how he was going to use it. It was too small to fight big and tough enemies, and he didn't know how to use knives in combat.

"I don't understand," said Claire. "What's going on? Why are there so many monsters chasing us?"

"Oh, I will tell you, miss," someone from above chimed. "We only want that half-blood." Then the speaker landed on the ground and came into view. He was riding the same red dragon from the mall (Peter took a step back). The man wore dark winter robes and his facial features were handsome, pale and fine like he was made from ivory. He looked down at them with his blue eyes.

"No way, when did this dragon get wings?" Leon exclaimed. The man in robes raised his hands in the air and smiled in triumph to them.

"Why, I gave it to him," he said. Then he turned his head to Peter with a look of curiosity and disgust. "You do not look familiar," the man pondered. He stepped down from the dragon and approached one of the snake ladies. "This is not him. Are you sure this is him? I do not think so," he said with distaste.

The snake lady looked offended. "But, sir Iamusss, he smellsss like him," she hissed, pointing her bow at Peter. "He smellsss like Perseus Jackson."

"No! This boy is not Perseus Jackson!" Iamus bellowed. "Do you not notice it? You creatures keep relying on your noses! All of you are blind!" He turned his back to the group. "He is not the one we are looking for."

"You…you know my brother?" Peter said uncertainly. Then everyone's eyes were on him, and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. Iamus narrowed his eyes. Leon and Claire drew their weapons tightly and moved their backs closer to Peter.

"Brother?" Iamus said. "Perseus Jackson does not have any brother other than the Cyclopes Tyson. I do not know what you are talking about. Unless…unless…"

The dragon growled and took a step back. The other monsters aimed their spears and arrows at the threesome. The giants drew their clubs and big swords. Peter tensed and held the knife tighter.

"Unless you are the one in the prophecy," Iamus finally said. He stared at the sky for a while, and suddenly burst with fits of laughter. The monsters were looking at each other with puzzled looks on their faces. "Now it makes perfect sense!" Iamus mused, covering his face with his hands. "Our search here is not in vain, ladies and gentlemen!" He looked at the dracaena from earlier. "Are you sure he smells like our favorite person?" he asked gleefully.

The dracaena blinked, but answered, "Yes, sssir."

"Then we could stop the prophecy from happening right here, right now. We are very lucky today." He smiled at the three friends. "Why, you two, why don't you just back away and leave your friend here to die for us?"

"We're not leaving him," Leon said, gripping Peter's shoulder. Claire nodded and aimed her arrow towards Iamus.

Iamus shook his head, still smiling. "I pity you, children. It was your only chance to escape. Nonetheless…"

He was about to snap his fingers to signal an all-out attack when something pounced on him and knocked him down on the snow. A large canine made of bronze growled on top of Iamus. Dozens more came charging at the surprised monster army, and seemed to force them away from Peter's group. The monsters fought and tried to graze them, but the wolves' bronze hide were sturdy.

"Automatons!" Claire said, looking excited. "There are still more of them?"

Behind their group, someone said, "Listen Iamus, buddy. This is my city, my turf. How many times do I have to tell you that if I caught your people, especially your monsters, skipping around the streets of my home…" he paused for a while, thinking, and then said, "…I'm seriously running out of puns to use. But I'm telling you, man: stay away from this city."

Iamus pushed the bronze hound away from him and stood up, unfazed but enraged. "Do not interfere, son of Hephaestus. As much as we want you sent to Hades, we have our own matters right now."

Peter turned his head around to see a man walking towards them. He was around his late twenties, with curly black hair and—oddly—brown eyes that were so bright it looked like it was glowing in the dark. He was wearing a green winter jacket, goggles hanging around his collar, a band aid stuck on his cheek and a cigarette dangling on his mouth.

"Oh, I have my own matters too," he said. He looked at Peter, then at Leon and Claire. "Sorry I'm late," he said to them with an apologetic smile. "I was busy taking care of Nico's monster chase, but we're okay now. Annabeth sent you guys on a quest, right?"

"You are not going to take him away!" Iamus shouted, looking frustrated that he was being ignored. "Think about the prophecy! If you let this child live, who knows which side he will be on and what decision is he going to make in the future! He must be killed!"

The man scoffed, clearly unimpressed by Iamus' end-of-the-world theory. "Prophecies, blah-blah-blah, fate of the world lies in one child, yeah, we get those a lot. Mind if I request for something new and refreshing?"

Iamus didn't look like he was amused. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Then everything went silent. The monsters and automatons stopped fighting. There was a tense moment in the air until Iamus muttered angrily, "You just made a mistake coming straight to us, demigod…oh wait, you have a name, am I wrong? Could it be…Leo Valdez?"

The name rang throughout the street, and suddenly the monsters spun their heads to the man's direction. Their eyes glowed red and in a split second, they charged towards him.

"Kids, get behind me," he said calmly to Peter and the others. The three moved behind him, eager to see him do something cool. The monsters were closing in to him. The man was still standing on the same spot, lighting another cigarette.

"What's he doing?" Claire said, looking at him desperately.

The man kept flicking his Zippo lighter on, not minding everyone else. "Oh shoot, no more light," he finally said, sounding a bit disappointed. When the first giant was about to swing his club downwards, the man tossed the lighter up in the air.

BOOM!

A fiery blast spread all over the corner, sending monsters in every direction. Peter was sure they were still included in the explosion. He could feel the heat around him, but for some reason, he wasn't affected. A minute later, the explosion died down. When the smoke and debris cleared away, Peter looked around. The street was in flames. The man and Iamus were not in sight.

"I'm right here." Someone tapped his shoulder. Peter jumped and found himself in front of the man. He looked fine, not even a scorch mark on his clothes. He peered at Peter's back, and then he looked behind. He whistled, and the flames around the lot died down at once. Snow was starting to fall. It all went back to normal, just like that time when the tree went berserk.

The man moved around, and picked up his lighter from the ground and flicked it. A small flame came into view. He slightly smiled and put it back to his pocket along with the cigarette stick.

"Who…who are you?" Peter said, breathless. The man turned to him and smiled playfully, a trait Peter hadn't expected him to have.

"I thought you already knew because of that narcissistic oracle Iamus. Oh well. The name's Leo Valdez, your friendly neighborhood mechanic. Call me Leo whenever you like, just don't pass that permission to oracles. I don't give that big a fortune to such people. To some of them, though, I'm also known as Mr. Flamingo."

Chapter Six: Leon Weilds The Pink Towel
Release: Today