14 Years Later

Andy Jackson thought she was just a normal kid, with a single mother, dyslexia and ADHD. But as she comes to realise, everything is not as it seems. As she gets plunged into the world of Greek Myths, monsters and gods, Andy completes one of her life goals.... to meet her father. Or in this case, save his godly butt from the top of a volcano.

Based off of Oldmanmah's story '14 Years Later'.

Good Guys

 * Andromeda 'Andy' Jackson: daughter of Percy and Annabeth
 * Monique Anderson : daughter of Athena
 * Alexander 'Alex' Depp : son of Zeus
 * Joshua 'Josh' Antonio Moro : son of Apollo
 * Perseus 'Percy' Jackson: god of Tidal Waves and Vassal Lord of the Atlantic
 * Annabeth Chase: daughter of Athena, mother of Andy and lover of Percy
 * Rhea: mother of the gods, consort of Kronos, and titaness of nature

Bad Guys

 * Briareos: 100-handed giant
 * Riley : son of Kronos
 * Kronos (indirectly): Titan of time

Chapter One: Is it Me, or is My Biology Teacher Attacking My Mom?
Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.

If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this tab right now, or click that little back button in the corner and go some other fandom. Because this isn't safe. Believe whatever lie your mum or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.

You don't want to be a half-blood, trust me. Become a doctor or lawyer or something, because being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, you get killed in painful, nasty ways.

If you're a normal kid, reading this fanfic because you happened to like the summary, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.

But if you reconise yourself in these chapters — if you feel something stirring inside — stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

You said 'You didn't warn me', didn't you? Geez, mortals these days.

Anyway, my name is Andromeda Chase, but call me Andy. You can actually spell that.

I'm twelve years old. My mother, Annabeth Chase, inrolled me in St. Newton's School for Troubled Children.

Am I a troubled kid?

Yeah, you could say that.

I could start at any point in my short, miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad at the begining of summer, the last day of school. The best day in most kids books, the day where teachers are slack, awaiting the holidays themselves, and the students are crazy (-er than usual.)

I was sitting at the side of my 9th Period English class, pretending to listen as Ms. Stocker droned on and on about adverbs and pronouns and— I dunno what else, I'm not listening here, am I? Anyway, my fingers were getting a work out as I tapped a ball-point pen against my book.

English in Action. Really? What kid in the world would want to read that? To bad we were forced to and Ms. Stocker knew about my dyslexia. She knew! But she insisted that 'You must try to succeed.' Now that's all well and good, until the words start dancing off the page.

Then I get frustrated.

So, I gave up a few minutes ago (*cough* years *cough*), and fell into the abyss that was boredom. Now, if only I didn't have ADHD I could have stayed in this abyss in peace.

I flipped my blonde hair over my shoulder in a practiced flick of my head, which I guess would look nice but I didn't give a cra— crud. I didn't give a crud. I caught like, half of the jock-group starring at me. I gritted my teeth and turned away from them, looking around the room.

Like all schools, we were sorted into unofficial groups. The jocks, who you just heard about. The nerds, sitting at the front of the class giving their full and undivided attention to Ms. Stocker. The cool girls, wearing out their fingers by texted each other and checking their make-up on the screen of their cells. Then the emos, who were having a very competitive game of hang-man on one of their folders.

And then there was me. Sterotypicaly and by looks alone, I belonged in the cool-girl group, but I was anything but them, thank god. With long-ish (and incredibly tangled) blonde hair, sea-green eyes and a knack for trouble, everyone avoided me as much as they could. So, hence the reason I was tapping my pen against my book, eyes fixed on the clock above the black board.

Come on second hand, tick faster! 10 minutes. 10 minutes of this torture and then I'd be free for two months. Mum would be taking me to St. Louis, or more accuratly the Gateway Arch.

See, my mum was an architect and a damn good one at that. She'd designed some ripper buildings, but she also travelled around America delivering lectures on important monuments. And she loved to take me with her... although I did have to sit through the extra-lectures and the pre-lecture lectures and post-lecture lectures and the don't-destroy-anything-on-purpose lectures and— well, you get the point.

Tick, tick, tick.

Come on... come on...!

"Ms. Chase," a gravely voice said and I tore my eyes from the clock to the two teachers at the front of the classroom.

There was the ancient Ms. Stocker a.k.a the Nail-Polish Nazi, donned in a long skirt and a flowery blouse that belonged in the 50s, and then there was the Biology teacher Dr. Thorn. Even after, like, two years he still freaked me out. With his hawk-like face and army cut hair style he looked about ready to kill you. And his eyes! One brown and one blue, they must be fake. Or he could have heterochromia. Anyways...

"Could you plee'z come wiff me, Mz. Chase," Dr. Thorn said in his stupid little French accent. I nodded mutely and collected my books. Throwing them all into my book bag I slung it over my shoulder and followed Dr. Thorn out of the door and into the hallway. Sunlight was streaming through the glass doors and I silently hoped that this would take 2 minutes, so I could leave on the bell.

But Dr. Thron led me throught the eerily silent halls, out footsteps echoing off the white wached walls. We continued through the junior section and out into the gymnasium. I stopped in the door as Thorn kept walking.

"Sir? What did you need?" I asked, re-adjusting the strap on my bag so it sat more comfortably on my shoulder.

"I thin-ck you know, Mz. Chase," he answered, clenching his fists as he said my name.

I raised an eyebrow, "Uh... question mark?" Which was Newton slang for what?

Dr. Thorn's nostrils flared and he took a step forward. His shoulder's seemed to strech out and his shirt seemed close to ripping...

RINGGGGGGG!

Oh my god! Yes, school had ended! Whoo hoo! I guess the smile showed on my face and Dr. Thorn... growled? He took another step towards me when the doors burst open and the seniors came bounding out, ignoring us completly as they ran for the exit on the other side of the gym. Taking that time, I slid out of the gym unnoticed. Okay, I know. Running out on a teacher? Detention. But Dr. Thorn was— I'm gonna sound weak saying this— scary. He freaked me out and I didn't care if I got detention, although it would suck on the last day of school.

I ran through the halls to my locker. Waiting there were the only three people who actually talked to me in this place. Sydney Smith, Emily Lyon and Laikha MacWillson. They were the biggest tomboys you would ever find, and together we could smash most of the guys a touch rugby.

Sydney was... how do I explain this? Ah, yes. Insane. I mean— how can anyone hate cheese? Nah, but she was a Canadian girl with long hair that she kept annoying us by repeatedly dying it blonde than brown than blonde than brown. She's a lefty, with braces (he he he) and contacts. We wanted her to get yellow iris contacts like a cat but she like her blue eyes so... no yellow contacts.

Laikha— full name of Nur Zulaikha MacWillson— was an African-American girl, with black hair pulled hurridly up in a pigtail, warm brown eyes and clothes that looked as if they should have been thrown out last year. She had two sisters, one older and one younger, and was one of the best females in athletics.

Emily was more or a nerd than a sporty girl, with black-rimmed glasses, short brown-blonde hair always held back with a head-band and neat clothes. But don't let that fool you, Em was killer on the Basketball court and was one of the select few who could beat me in a one-on-one game.

"Andy! Finally, girl." Emily smirked, opening her locker.

"Sorry, Em. Dr. Thorn wanted to talk to me." I said, moving to open my locker only to find that the lock was open and the door was slightly ajar. "Um... any reason my locker is open?"

"Oh, I needed your math notes," Sydney said off-handedly, her face in her locker, searching for something while swinging my lock in front of my face.

I huffed and snatched the lock back, ignoring Emily and Laikha's snickers. I stuffed the books I needed into my bag and swung it over my shoulder. I re-locked my locker and turned to the others.

"I really need to change my lock," I mumbled, leaning against the metal.

"Yeah," Emily, Laikha and Sydney said together as they closed and locked their respective lockers. Then a boy jumped behind Emily and wrapped his arms around her waist, putting his head on her shoulder. Jérôme Bourg, Emily's new boyfriend who had just come from France (and who was incredibly hot, but I never noticed that.)

"Hey, hon," he smiled as he began to kiss her.

"Urgh!" "No!" "Get a room!" Laikha, Sydney and I yelled.

They both laughed and Jérôme dragged Emily away with his friends, I'd forgotton they'd organised a 'study' date tonight.

"Hey, guys. I gotta go. Mum'll be dodged if I'm late."

"Again." Sydney smirked and I hit her on the shoulder.

"Hey! That was your fault! You forgot your Ringette gear and I was a great friend and waited for you!"

Sydney rasied an eyebrow, "You-you waited? You were complaining as I dragged you back to the change rooms!"

"I still went," I mumbled as I started towards the door. I waved good-bye to my friends and stepped out of the door and out the front of the school. It wasn't anything special. Just a large red brick building with a grass courtyard out the front with 'The Tree' in the centre. But I passed all of this and slid into the shotgun seat of a car. I plonked my bag on the back seat and clicked in my seat belt.

"How was your day, Andy?" Annabeth asked, pressing down on the accelerator and navigating her way out of the crowded car park.

"It was school, mum." I said as if it was obvious.

"Anything interesting at school today, then? Did you pay attention?"

I raised an eyebrow, "It was school, mum."

"Didn't think so."

I laughed at Annabeth. I wasn't sure, but I'm pretty sure most parents would reprime their kids for not listening. Annabeth said that as long as I knew it, I could ignore it. She understood the dyslexia and ADHD seeing as she had it herself, and she had taken to teaching me Ancient Greek, which was suprisingly much easier than English, reading wise anyway (and don't tell her that I Google Greek curses). She also loved to talk to me about mythology, especialy Greek as she had a degree in it from Harvard. So I think I knew more about Greek Mythology than Mathematics, but that was fine with me.

"Why were you late?" Annabeth asked. "I thought you'd be the first one out the doors."

I smiled, "I wanted to be. Nah, but Dr. Thorn was talking to me, I still don't know what the purpose of that was but—"

"Dr. Thorn?" Annabeth asked, loosing her grip on the steering wheel for a second so we were thrown to the left before she regained control.

"Yeah, French accent, army hair-cut, brown and blue eyes, looks ready to kill everyone he sees." I said offhandly, slouching in the seat and putting my feet up on the glove box.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about him?" Annabeth asked harshly, her eyes misty like she was thinking hard.

I shrugged, "He teaches the seniors. I don't see him much, only at break."

Annabeth bit her lip and then out of the blue she asked, "Do you want to go to a camp this summer, Andy?"

I was taken aback by the question, but answered stubbornly, "I wanna go to St. Louis like you said we were."

"But I think you'll like this camp, honey. It's... unusual," she said wistfully. But I knew something was up. Annabeth never called me 'honey'.

"I want to go to St. Louis." I repeated, crossing my arms. Now, I know. She's your mother, listen to her and stop being a stubborn brat. Well to bad, I'm a stubborn person so get used to it.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Okay, how about this. I won't take you to St. Louis— no listen—" she said as I opened my mouth to complain. "— I won't take you to St. Louis, but I will take you to Montauk for two days then you go to this camp."

"Five days," I bargined. "Two days is us going camping. Five days is Montauk."

"Three"

"Five"

"Three"

"Five"

"Four"

"Done" I agreed and Annabeth and I shook hands.

...

I slammed the door shut as Annabeth pulled into the small driveway of our Montauk cabin. I loved it here, they say Disneyland is the happiest place on Earth, I say Montauk is. The old log cabin that sat inbetween a forest and the beach, was where Annabeth and I stayed during our trips here. She'd said that it'd been my dad's and that he'd given it to her before he'd... left. I tried not to pry into that any more, because when you see your mum cry, you tend to want to avoid the subject.

Behind the cabin was a small forest where, since I was little, I had made a play house out of logs and other natural materials. My own little hide away in a hide away. And, unknown to Annabeth, there was a small lagoon in the centre of the forest, where I used to imagine that I could play with the water, like Avatar: The Last Airbender style. But those kiddie playtimes were over and had been for sometime, well, ever since Middle School, because we all know what Middle School does to a kid.

But then there was the beach. A long strech of grey sand, dotted with big clumps of disgusting-looking seaweed and rotten driftwood.

I loved it here.

I swung my bag over my shoulder and walked into the cabin, mum staying outside to 'tend to the car' as she called it. I called it 'making me get rid of the spiders'. And I did because mum has the worst arachniphobia I had ever seen (didn't stop me from chucking a dead spider of her pillow case though.)

...

I sat on the edge of the water, the tide gently coming in and out, just missing the top of my toes. The sun was out, making the usually more-than-gloomy beach almost sparkle, and I lay on the sand, ignoring every other sound that wasn't of the water crashing against the sand. It was oddly calming, the water. I turned my head and came face to face with a small hermit crab in a red-blue shell.

M'Lady

I started and jumped up. What the hell? Well I guess this proves it.

I was going insane.

But before I could contemplate my mental sanity, something lept on my from behind, pushing me back against the sand. It felt like paws were digging into my shoulder blades and a deep growl emmited from behind me. So I did what first came to mind.

I screamed.

The thing on my back growled low and threatening, as I heard Annabeth run out from the cabin. She shouted something that didn't catch and the thing jumped off my back and ran at my mum. I rolled over and stooped up into a crouch to see what was happening.

Annabeth darted out of the way and the monster ran past her into the side of the cabin.

"Cursssed daughter of Athena!" It yelled, which was weird 'coz it was like a talking animal.

Annabeth pulled her Yankee's cap from the back pocket of her jeans, and quickly slapped it onto my head. Then, with surprising strength for one as petite looking as her, pushed me with all of her strength, into the churning waves behind us.

Immediately a sense of calm surged through me, blanketing the other feelings, that of fear, terror, hopelessness, and anxiety for Annabeth.

Not surprisingly, I didn't feel wet. This had been an unexplained phenomenon that Annabeth had attributed to my over-active imagination. At this juncture, I could even see through the waves, as though I were looking through a sheet of clear glass instead of churning water. I saw the golden flash of mum's hair and the grotesque shape that was attacking her. Annabeth was surprisingly quick on her feet, dodging and slashing at the monster with a wickedly sharp bronze knife that she had conjured out of thin air.

I tried to get up, rise from the water to help mum, but I was stopped when I saw where my arm should have been. I moved it and the sand moved without anything visible touching it. Then, I remembered the cap that mum had pushed onto my head.

She had some serious explaining to do.

...

Annabeth dodged another vicious swipe from the Manticore that would have taken her head off, and retaliated by jabbing at the long, lethal paw of the beast. It roared in pain as the bronze blade buried itself into flesh.

Annabeth knew that she could not continue like this. Sooner or later, she would tire. She just prayed that Andy was safe somewhere.

A volley of bristles cut through the air. Annabeth managed to dodge them, but one grazed her waist, drawing blood. She gasped in pain as she felt her side burn. Blood began to soak into her blouse.

"Where isss the daughter of The Tidal Lord?" The Manticore hissed. "I ssshall rip her apart. Rip him apart for ssslaying my Lord Kronosss. You, Daughter of Athena, ssshall be first!"

The situation was hopeless and Annabeth knew it. She could already feel the venom spreading in her veins. Soon, she would not be able to move. Before she lost consciousness, she turned to the Sea, and prayed.

''O Tidal Lord of the Sea, Perseus, Spare your daughter. ''

Chapter Two: Saved by a Fish with Fancy Armor
Just as the edges of her vision began to blur, Annabeth's eyes picked out her daughter, floating in the surf, cocooned by a bubble of pure, green light. She silently thanked the Gods.

"What isss that light?" the Manticore muttered distracted for a fraction of a second.

Annabeth wanted to snort and tell it how stupid it was, but unfortunately she was already unconscious before she could open her mouth.

"Well, I'll sssstart with thisss demigod then…."

The Manticore reached one paw out toward Annabeth's prone form.

A flash of bronze blinded the Manticore, and it howled in pain, a long bronze spear sticking out of its paw. A tall warrior, who had seemingly stepped out of the ocean, drew his wickedly sharp bronze scimitar. He was clad from head to toe in shining bronze armour, and had long flowing white hair. A golden trident was emblazoned on his breast plate. The Manticore roared and charged at the warrior. Just as the Manticore was on top of him, he used his heavy bronze shield and smashed it onto the Manticore's thick skull. The Manticore reeled from the unexpected blow, and faltered in its assault. Spinning his scimitar in a wide arc, the warrior beheaded the Manticore with one, powerful stroke. The Manticore dissolved rapidly, its death cry still resounding long after it had disappeared.

Andy, who had been watching through the translucent cocoon of green light, stared in disbelief and awe at her bearded saviour. He waved his hands once, and the green light dissolved.

He bent down and started examining Annabeth's wounds, occasionally pulling out small bottles of medicine and dabbing her wound with it. Trembling, Andy got to her feet and walked shakily towards her mother.

"Is she okay? What happened? Who are you?" Andy's voice broke at the last question, and she began to sob quietly to herself.

The warrior's face softened, and he reached a hand out toward Andy.

"I am Carthlo, Captain of the palace guards of Atlantis. And I must say, you've got your Father's eyes."

Andy looked up through tear-stained eyes at him. "Atlantis? My Father? Who are you? What the hell is happening?"

Carthlo frowned and said, "These are not my questions to answer. For now, I shall take you to camp. Your mother will come with me to Atlantis to receive treatment."

"Wait! Don't take my Mum away! I go wherever she goes!"

Carthlo stared directly into her sea-green eyes, and said, "You'll just have to trust me."

Looking back at him, Andy could not help but feel a sense of security blanket her senses and she nodded slowly, not taking her eyes of him.

Carthlo got up and extracted a small milky-white pearl. He placed it securely between Annabeth's limp fingers, and enveloping her small hand in his big ones, crushed the pearl.

"Atlantis…" he whispered into the wind.

Andy gasped in shock and surprise as her mother was borne aloof by the sea breeze, disappearing in brilliant flash of green light. "What the hell?" she shouted, unable to control herself.

Carthlo merely shook his head. "As for you, you have to follow me. I shall now take you to camp." Carthlo turned towards the sea and whistled. They both stood there and waited, he in expectant patience, and she in perplexed curiosity.

Then, Andy caught sight of a moving object out at sea; just visible from where she was standing. It resembled a claw gliding through the waves, leaving three lines of foam in its wake. As it reached the shore, it burst through the surface, a mythical creature with the head of a horse and the body of a fish, a hippocampus. Andy's eyes glowed in wonder at the beautiful creature, and she took a step towards it. Strangely, she could hear its thoughts in her mind.

Greetings, my Lady. My name is Nenith, and I will now bear you to Camp Half Blood.

Carthlo placed a muscled hand on the Hippocampus's slender head, and seemed to be giving it instructions. It inclined its head slightly, and when he let go of it, it bowed down low to the bearded warrior.

"Godspeed, Nenith." He muttered.

Then, he unexpectedly lifted Andy under her shoulders, which made her gasp in surprise.

"Oh my god!"

Carthlo chuckled under his breath, and said, "It's 'oh my gods,' young one."

Andy looked at him, confused, "What do you mean?"

He just placed her securely onto the Hippocampus's back.

Carthlo just shook his head in amusement and said, "Hold tight, Andromeda."

The Hippocampus jerked, and suddenly Andy was gliding on the surface of sea with exhilarating speed, not even caring that Carthlo used her full name. Her heart was thumping wildly, and despite the fact that she'd just lost her mother and that she was off to an unknown camp, she could not help but feel excited. All the new revelations resounded in her mind. Daughter of Athena, captain of the palace guards of Atlantis. Hell, next thing you know, they tell you your Dad is some kind of God.

As Nenith slowed down, Andy caught sight of a quiet quay. Canoes were moored just off the beach, and the night breeze was cool in her face. She made out a figure waiting for them at the jetty, darker against the night sky. She/he was wearing a long cloak which obscured all facial features, but it was obvious that she/he was watching Andy.

Andy cautiously watched the figure as she slowly got off the back of the hippocampus, trying not to slip off the smooth back of the creature.

I leave you here, My Lady. Do not fret, you are in good hands.

Andy nodded uncertainly and wrapped her arms around the creature's scaly mane.

"Goodbye, Nenith."

She watched as the Hippocampus dived under the surface and disappeared into its cold depths.

She turned reluctantly, and saw that the cloaked figure was still watching her. She cleared her throat nervously and held out her hand, saying, "Hi, Andy Chase, pleased to meet you."

The figure pulled off its hood and revealed its face. He had warm brown eyes and a wispy beard. His abundant curly brown hair framed his narrow face, and he had a splash of freckles on his cheeks. Andy gaped in surprised when she noticed that he had horns.

He took her outstretched hands into his warm ones.

"I've been waiting so long for you, Andy. You remind me so much of your parents."

Andy bit her lip, thinking of where her mother was now.

The man seemed to feel her emotions, "I heard from Atlantis not too long ago. She's okay. Admittedly, she's been through much worse, I remember once when we were...Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Grover Underwood, Assistant Director of Camp Half Blood, and I'm pleased to meet you, Andy Jackson."

Atlantis

Poseidon sat on his coral throne, his deep sea-green eyes watching his son intently as the latter paced up and down the length of the throne room non-stop. His son was so much like him. He had inherited his father's black hair, sea-green eyes, but had apparently not inherited his father's appetite of having multiple affairs with different mortal women at a time.

"What should I do, Father? I haven't seen her in what, thirteen, fourteen years?"

"I don't know, son. I was never good at these sorts of things. No wonder now Sally is with that horrid mortal Paul Blowfish. I would have killed that insect long ago if he did not make your mother happy like he does now."

Perseus paused, and glanced at the room where he knew Annabeth was now resting. His eyes turned unexpectedly cold.

"She was the one who broke my heart, over and over again."

He paused, and continued.

"Worst still, she didn't even tell me we had a daughter while I was away patrolling the Atlantic. Why should I care about her? Yes. I'll let her go back to her life, but I will watch my daughter and make sure nothing untoward happens to her."

"We gods should let our children fend for themselves, Perseus. It's tradition."

"Yet she is my only daughter, and I don't intend to change that any time soon."

"Whatever, son. Just make sure you are subtle."

Annabeth groggily got up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. How long had she been out? As her vision returned to normal, she began to notice her surroundings. She was lying on an elaborate coral-like bed, furnished by cool blue-green sheets that faintly smell like the sea.

The atmosphere around was tainted blue, with occasional shapes drifting past in twos or threes. Next to the bed was an enormous clam. Curious, she gently rubbed the enormous shellfish. It hissed silently, and she abruptly pulled away. The top half unhinged itself from the bottom half, revealing, to her surprise, a bedside cabinet. On top of the cabinet was her trusty Yankees baseball cap, and her enchanted bronze knife, presents from her mother, Athena.

What am I doing here? She wondered, and why is my cap here? I thought I gave it to Andy when that Manticore attacked…

Then, she gasped aloud, horrified, as the details of the previous events came back to her.

She searched the room with her eyes frantically, hoping to spy, perhaps, another blonde head sleeping on a coral bed similar to hers. When found not what she seeked, she got up hurriedly to look for her daughter.

She silently reproved herself for getting them in such a sticky position. If anything had happened to Andy, she would never forgive herself. The last thing she remembered was the translucent blue-green bubble descending on her daughter. As she stalked the silent coral halls, she realized where she must be.

Atlantis… she thought to herself, Is there a chance that he might be here?

She shook her head and muttered to herself, "He's in the Atlantic sector. He won't be here."

"How can you be sure of that, Annabeth?"

Annabeth froze when she heard the cool voice issuing from a corner, so alien yet so familiar. She slowly turned around and her grey eyes met his green ones.

Her memories of him had not done him justice. He was leaning casually against a limestone pillar, one of his hands in his pockets and the other gently tugging at his lip. His thick jet-black hair, which had always been so unruly, was now sleek and straight and braided with silver. His face had lost its youthful roundness, and had become more angular. He was dressed in a tight fitting polo t-shirt, with brown Bermudas and moccasins. The overall effect was to enhance his already good looks. He looked almost like his father, Poseidon.

"Hello Annabeth. It's been a long time. Fourteen years, to be exact."

"Hello, Percy…" Annabeth stammered, slowly backing away. His godly aura was chilling, as if he was emitting waves of ice. This was not good.

"Why are you backing away, Annabeth? Is this how you greet old friends after fourteen years?" he asked, his voice dangerously cold.

"Not at all…Percy…"

Percy belatedly realized his effect on the surroundings, and the mood abruptly shifted. Warmth crept back into the atmosphere, and Annabeth let out a breath she didn't realized she had been holding.

"I'm sorry. I should control my feelings better." He said shortly.

Annabeth nodded mutely, not trusting herself to speak in case she squeaked.

"I don't want to beat around the bush, so I'll go straight to the point." He paused to take a breath. "Andromeda is at camp. I sent a hippocampus to bring her there. She will be safe there."

Annabeth gasped. He already knew about his daughter?

He regarded her with cold eyes. "As for you, Annabeth, I'll have Carthlo take you back to New York. And, thank you for taking care of my daughter for the past twelve years. No thank you for not telling me about her."

With that, he turned around and strode in the opposite direction.

Pain gripped Annabeth's heart as she saw the man she loved turn his back on her and walk away without saying a thing after not seeing her for fourteen years.

"Percy, wait…"

He stopped in his tracks but did not turn around. "Yes?"

She approached him cautiously, praying that he would not walk away.

He didn't.

She slowly wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. "I'm sorry, Percy. I'm so sorry. After all these years, I still need you. I can't forget you…"

He stiffened as she pressed herself against him, gathering his resolve despite what his heart yearned to do.

"No, Annabeth. I'm sorry. You won't break my heart again. I've kept it under lock and key all these years, and I intend to keep it the way it is."

With that, he dissolved, leaving behind the scent of the fresh sea breeze.

Chapter Three: Camp? More Like Reality T.V Show
Third POV

"Jackson?"

"Your father, Andromeda. His last name is Jackson."

Andy looked at Grover, confused. Grover sighed, and beckoned for her to follow him. She followed him across a meadow, which looked cheery despite the darkness, and into the parlour of a big house. There were several cosy-looking armchairs and a roaring fire.

"This is the Big House, Andromeda..."

"Andy," Andy corrected, "Just Andy. Not Andromeda"

Grover smiled, "Okay, Andy. Sit down and I will explain to you everything."

Andy nodded, absorbed with a statue in the corner of the parlour. It was a statue of a teenager, perhaps sixteen or seventeen, borne aloof by a tall tidal wave. There were strange carvings at the base of the statue. Andy somehow knew that they read, "Coronation of the Tidal God."

Grover followed her gaze to the statue and sighed. "That's him. Your Father."

Andy wasn't surprised. She had had her suspicions from reading some of her mother's writings, but... "What's his name, Grover?"

"Perseus. We called him Percy. But now, to all, he is Lord Perseus, God of Tidal waves and vassal lord of the Atlantic."

Andy did not say anything but continued to stare at the statue of the father. "So all these Greek myths and Gods, they are true?"

"Yes. I believe Annabeth dropped a few hints?"

"Yeah. Is my father is one of them?"

"He used to be human too. A demigod."

"Demigod? Like, half-god, half-mortal?"

Grover was now pouring tea into two tiny teacups, and offered on to Andy. Andy accepted, bowing her head in thanks. Then, she asked a question that had been bugging her.

"Why did he leave my mother? Is it because he is like the other gods, always having affairs with mortal women? And if that's the case, do I have half siblings?"

"Hold on Andy. I will now tell you everything, starting from the time the flame of the Western Civilization came to America…"

Andy listened intently, absorbing facts that seemed absolutely ludicrous. Yet, she remembered things, strange things that had happened to her that had no rational explanations. Once she had fallen off a cliff and into the sea. The impact should have shattered her bones, but she had risen to the surface, unharmed, and her mother hadn't been the least surprised. She also couldn't explain why she could swim before she could walk. In school, too. The attacks. The accidents that were never her fault, but always had been blamed on her.

"And, by doing so, your dad became a God. He was exceptional; very few demigods have achieved immortality…"

Grover finished the story and carefully observed Andy's face. He looked for signs of scepticism or doubt, but all he saw was relief.

"I'm not mad then. I always knew something was very wrong…"

Grover continued eagerly, "Here at camp, demigods are safe, protected by the camps magical borders. You can train and live here during the summer and go back to live with your mum every year."

"My mum. Why didn't she tell me all these things?"

"That is because when a half-blood is aware of what he or she is, the scent coming from the demigod is stronger and it will attract more monsters. Your mother has been silently protecting you all these years, fighting of monsters and keeping you safe. Now that you have reached an age whereby it is impossible to mask the scent, you have to come to camp."

Andy nodded, again accepting it without question. "You still haven't answered my question. The one about my dad and mum."

Grover shook his head sadly, and said, "Even I do not understand the complexity of their relationship. They were the best of friends, Andy. But they kept the details of their relationship to themselves. I cannot answer because I do not know. But I do know one thing. Your Father never stopped loving your mother, and he does not have any other children besides yourself."

Andy looked out of the window, across the meadow and towards the darkened waters. Her father was somewhere down there, just waiting to be part of her life.

Andy hobbled down the steps like a zombie, rubbing her eyes, her long blonde hair like a haystack. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around groggily. Sunlight streamed through the trees.

Sunlight? She thought. Nuh-uh. The toilet's not that way.

She turned around and started back towards the big house, but her foot slipped off a step and she fell backwards. Andy shut her eyes, preparing herself for the painful fall. But it did not come.

"Hey. Are you alright? That fall would have hurt a lot."

She suddenly realized that she was in the arms of a mystery person.

"Thanks." She murmured, and looked up to scrutinize the face of her rescuer.

She turned pink when she realized that it was an incredibly cute guy. He had dark hair which fell to his eyes, which were a stormy blue. He smiled, revealing even dimples on both sides of his cheeks.

Seeing her reaction to him, he laughed. When he laughed, his eyes seemed to twinkle. His whole face seemed to laugh with him, and it made him look better than he already was.

She immediately disentangled herself from him, smiling back sheepishly. Her face was still bright red. When she didn't say anything, he held out a hand and said, "Hi. My name is Alex. You must be new around here, because there is no way I would miss an adorable girl like you."

"Yeah, sure." She mumbled under her breath. "Uh, excuse me; I'm on my way to the washrooms."

She turned to go, trying to hide her red face behind a curtain of blond hair, which she ran her fingers through in a vain attempt to straighten.

"Hey! Wait up! You haven't told me your name! Regular or undetermined?"

She reluctantly turned around, still brushing her hair. "Uh, I'm Andy. Andy Cha- Jackson. And, I don't know what you mean by regular or undetermined. Anyway, I've got to go. Nature calls!"

She attempt a weak smile and run up the steps of the Big house three at a time, reaching it and disappearing into its depths.

"Wow, she's something…" someone behind Alex commented.

"Yeah…" Alex said thoughtfully, staring at the spot so recently occupied by the flustered blonde.

Andy slammed the door of the toilet and leaned against the frame, sighing. She'd made a fool of herself in front of a cute guy. Anyway, what's new? Isn't it always the case? First impressions are always the best, but once the guy finds out what a walking disaster she is, she gets avoided like a plague.

Well, that's the story of my life, isn't it? She thought to herself, as she turned to the basin.

Thirty minutes later, a fresher Andy stepped out of the front door, now dressed in grey skinny jeans and a fitting, orange, Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Her long blonde hair had been somehow tamed, and now fell in curls at her shoulders held back from her face by a black, cotton cap. Her sea-green eyes surveyed the flurry of activity before her. Around her, kids her age sparred with dangerous looking bronze swords, had Canoe races, and Archery shoot-outs. She even saw a couple of kids climbing up a rock wall which had very realistic lava stimulation pit underneath, or so she thought.

Behind her, Grover appeared and placed an affectionate hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ready? I'm going to introduce you to the Camp."

Andy nodded mutely, allowing Grover to take her hand and lead her to the dinning pavilion, where many campers had started to congregate.

The campers that had arrived stared at Andy with curiosity. She scanned the crowd, searching for someone. Then, her green eyes met stormy blue, and she and Alex locked gazes there for a moment. He smiled and waved, and she responded with a half hearted wave of her own.

The twelve tables began to fill out, but for some reason there seemed an unequal distribution of kids sitting at the tables. Grover then cleared his throat loudly. Immediately, the chattering ceased and all attention was focused on the satyr, with some wandering glances directed at Andy.

"For the year rounder's, Hello again!" Grover grinned good naturedly at a handful of tough looking kids. "And for those who have just come back to camp, welcome to another summer at Camp Half-Blood!"

The kids all cheered enthusiastically, some banging tables for an added effect. It was infectious, and Andy found herself smiling and clapping along with the other campers. Then, the applause died down and Grover continued, "Chiron, our activities director, is on Olympus, for the Summer solstice. I will be the temporary overall director. Also, I have another piece of good news."

Grover pulled Andy in front of him, placing his hands on her shoulders. "We have a new camper!"

There was a sudden murmur of interest.

"Is she determined?" one boy yelled. "Because if she's not, I'll gladly share my bunk with her!" He then grinned mischievously at Andy, who blushed scarlet.

"Sorry, Josh, but she's determined." Grover said. The whole camp fell silent. "She will be bunking in Cabin Three."

The entire camp gasped. "A daughter of Poseidon?" Many were now eagerly craning their necks, trying to get a better view of her.

"No, she is not a daughter of Poseidon. She is the daughter of Perseus, Son of Poseidon, Hero of the Second Titan War, God of Tidal waves and the Lord of the Atlantic, which is, coincidentally the sea around here." Grover said.

Suddenly, a tall, statuesque blond girl with beautiful features stood up. Her stormy grey eyes were frightening and exquisite at the same time, and those grey eyes now focused on Andy.

"Yes, Monique?" Grover asked the blonde beauty.

Monique tore her gaze from Andy, and now faced Grover. "If that's the case, director," she said in a smooth, melodious voice, "She must also be the Granddaughter of Athena, through her mother, Annabeth Chase, Heroine of the Titan War, who was not made a Goddess, even though her role was as great, or even greater, than that of Lord Perseus."

"Yes, that is true, Monique."

The blonde girl then declared, "She has as much right to be in the Athena Cabin as opposed to the Poseidon cabin. And besides, The Tidal lord has not even claimed her."

Grover then paused thoughtfully. "Yes, you are right, Monique. She has not been claimed."

Monique grinned triumphantly, turned to Andy and began, "As leader of the Athena Cabin, I welcome you, sister, to our-"

"She will bunk in the Hermes Cabin."

Monique frowned.

"She has also not been claimed by Athena; therefore, she will belong to the Hermes Cabin temporary, until her parent or grandparent has claimed her."

Andy looked confusedly at Grover. "My dad hasn't…claimed me?"

"Good bye, Nenith." Annabeth said with a heavy heart.

Annabeth was back at the Montauk cabin. The hippocampus let out a low whine and nipped Annabeth's hands at the jetty. She reached down and caressed its shiny head. Then, she bent even lower and whispered in its ear, "I love you, Percy Jackson."

She got up, and brushed the tears from her eyes. The Hippocampus regarded her sadly, before disappearing into the waves.

Annabeth knew that Percy had heard her. She knew he could listen through the ears of his vassals, just like he could 13 years ago.

It grinned to itself, its bright green eyes gleaming in the dark. It could see the Tidal God seated at his throne, his brow furrowed in deep thought. It was surprised that the powerful God had not sensed its presence. It was a good thing, really, that Perseus was so emotionally unstable. It made it so much easier to accomplish what it wanted to do. Besides, concealment and stealth had always been its niche point.

As soon as it was directly behind the coral throne, it closed its swirling emerald orbs, and summoned the power within itself. For a split second, the water behind the Sea God shimmered, and a gigantic sea serpent winked into existence. As quick as an arrow out of a bow, Perseus whirled around, summoning his javelin which flared bronze in his hands as it shimmered to life. But the sea serpent was quicker. A bullet out of a gun. It was over as fast as it had begun.

Andy Jackson sighed in frustration, beads of perspiration dotting her forehead like a constellation against the night sky.

For the seventh time this day, she found herself looking up at the high peak of the rock wall, streams of lava flowing continuously down the sides to form a pool at the foot of the rock obelisk.

It had been already two weeks since she had arrived at camp, and still, she remained at the Hermes Cabin. Not that she did not like it there; on the contrary, she loved it there. The kids there were cool, and treated her like family. Maybe it was because of her illustrious lineage, that everyone wanted to be her friend.

She watched as an Athenian girl gracefully scaled the sheer rock wall without as much as a hiccup. She bit her lip and, again, grasped the natural rock ledge and heaved herself up. Her faced was scrunched up in concentration, her delicate features creased.

One, two, three…

Almost there, Andy, you can do it.

Suddenly, her left hand slipped, and without its support, she began the downward plummet towards the ground. She shut her eyes, waiting for the horrible splash of her body against the lava. But, a hand shot up from the top, and with surprising strength, pulled her over the ledge.

She lay still on the summit of the rock wall, gasping for breath.

"Easy there, sister…" A soothing voice caressed her mind.

She looked up, and beheld the beautiful face of her half-aunt, Monique.

Monique smiled graciously, and waited for her to catch her breath.

After a few minutes, Andy spoke.

"Thank you so much, Monique. I could have…"

Monique laughed a high, soprano tinkle, and placed a hand on Andy shoulder. "You can't fool me Andy. I saw you fall at least thrice. And nothing happened to you."

Andy grinned sheepishly. She couldn't explain why, but the lava did not harm her.

Monique pursed her lips thoughtfully. "It must be your Father then…"

A flicker of pain crossed Andy's features. Already two weeks, and still, her father had yet to claim her.

Seeing the barely concealed pain on Andy's face, Monique quickly said, "I'm sorry! That was tactless."

Brushing a stray tear, Andy shook her head. "It's fine, but thanks."

The two girls grinned at each other, and looked out to the sunset.

"Come on. It's time for dinner."

"Hey! Andy! Pass those tomatoes!"

Andy rolled her eyes and pushed the plate towards the chubby, blonde and pimply youth.

"Can't you wait just a sec while she takes some, Augustine? You're such a pig! "Another boy shouted across the table.

Andy smiled at the dark haired youth.

"It's fine, Josh, but thank you."

Josh grinned at her, winking. He had been infatuated with her since she had arrived at camp.

The campers soon queued up before the sacrificial flame of their respective parent.

Andy slowly made her wait towards Perseus's.

Why aren't you recognizing me? Are you ashamed of me as a daughter? I'm your only child, damnit!

These questions ran through her mind as she slowly tipped some pizza into the flames. She turned to make her way back to the Hermes cabin, not expected anything of ordinary. However, the flames turned a bright blue green, growing to twice the original length.

She gasped and looked around. No-one seemed to notice this fantastic explosion of light.

Andy stared at the abnormally large and coloured flame, astounded. Then she watched as the flame receded and died away. Her head was pounding and her mind was going at a million miles an hour. Grover's eyes widened.

Annabeth ran a hand through her tousled blonde hair, her face wrinkled up in concentration. After a few moments, she let out a sigh of defeat and sat back in her swivel chair, her fingers massaging her scalp. Try as she might, she could not concentrate. The scene at Atlantis kept replaying in her head, the cool power that radiated from the Sea God and his dark, glorious eyes that penetrated her soul. The blueprint of a multi-million dollar building lay unfinished on the highly polished oak table.

A lump grew in her throat as she thought of his harsh rejection. Well, she deserved it. She cursed her indecision and foolishness. It had been so obvious that they were meant to be. Yet, she had resisted and that had only brought more misery and suffering upon them both.

She gazed out of the window at the bustling street below and watched cars zooming by and pedestrians crossing Fifth Avenue.

How is Andy doing? She thought to herself. I hope she isn't being bullied. That girl can be such a klutz at times. She suddenly grinned when she realized that Andy hadn't inherited that particular trait from her.

Annabeth bit her lip. She thought that maybe she could take some time off to visit Camp Half blood. She hadn't seen her old friends in a long time. Both Grover and Juniper were still there, along with Clarisse and the Stoll brothers.

She got up and walked towards the door to her office. She was going to ask her boss for time off, again. Anyway, her work was waaaaay ahead of schedule, and she was the best in the company. They couldn't afford to lose her.

As she grasped the door knob and turned, there was a pull in her gut, and the last thing she remembered before blacking out was a flash of bright green light.

Chapter Four: Watch Out for the Electric Rocks
Perseus cracked open his eyes, taking in his surroundings. He was at the peak of a mountain, chained to stone of solid bronze, the chain cackling with static energy every few seconds. The hard ground was littered with ashes, and the air was saturated with power.

His whole body was sore, and he felt weak and drained. Golden ichor periodically dripped from a multiple of wounds that decorated his bare chest, onto the bronze stone, congealing and shimmering against the backdrop of the duller bronze.

He twisted his head to look behind him, and what met him was a gaping chasm of what seemed to look like never-ending darkness. The hole swirled and rumbled, dislodging ashes every few seconds.

"Ah…it seems you have regain consciousness, Perseussss." A reptilian voice addressed him.

He looked up and gasped. A man dressed in billowing blue robes stood there, his eyes shimmering with malice and delight at the sight of the helpless God.

"Briareos." Perseus breathed. "I thought I cut you up?"

"Cut me up, yessss you did. Ahh…the pain of never ending torment, to be shattered into pieces and to feel agony coursing into my being from every single shred of the million pieces. You have no idea of what kind of pain that isss, you do not…"

Briareos paused, before continuing.

"So, to remedy that, I've arranged a little…family reunion?"

Briareos turned and gestured to the far corner of the plateau, up till now unnoticed by the raven haired god. There was another bronze stone, and chained onto that stone was a woman. A beautiful, grey-eyed, golden haired someone…

"NO!" Percy gasped.

Seeing Annabeth unconscious, bleeding from multiple wounds and the red welts on her wrist caused by the chains, he was no longer Perseus, God of Tidal waves, cold, calculating, and in control, but Percy, a mortal demigod still very much in love with her.

"Yessss, there is a certain sense of nostalgia, am I right, Lord Perseus? Or should I say, Percy?" He mimicked Annabeth's voice.

The Tidal God was so incensed that he breathed in deeply, summoning his power from deep inside himself. The chain, instead of bursting from the awesome might of the God, cackled furiously and immediately pain shot up Perseus's hands.

He groaned as his entire body was charged with hot, searing static energy, and slumped onto the rock. It felt like every cell in his body was on fire and being tortured by red hot pokers.

Briareos grinned.

"That is just a taste of the pain that is going to come."

He paced the area around the chained God, hands clasped behind his back and humming.

"Soon we will be joined by beautiful Andromeda, fighting her way up here heroically, thinking that what is waiting for her is recognition from her father."

Perseus groaned again. "Not Andromeda. Please, not Andromeda. Leave her be. Torture me, do whatever you want with me, but let Annabeth go and don't involve my daughter. They have nothing to do with me…" He trailed of as the pain consumed him again.

"Oh, you are soooo pathetic. Begging? It really amazes me why they made you a god when all you do is mope."

Perseus let out another strangled moan as he continued to be tortured by his own energy, collected by the enchanted chain and released periodically back at its own master. Briareos grinned and perched himself by the rock, watching the sea God.

"Life is good."

Andy looked around wildly for Grover.

"Andromeda!" Grover yelped as she dashed to the girl's side. "Did...did..."

The tables nearest them stopped eating and stood up, craning their necks to watch Andy.

Grover shivered, "You need to see the oracle. Now. The rest of you, sit."

Andy stared at Grover, puzzled. "The oracle…? Who is that?"

Grover sighed and grasped her by the elbow, steering her toward the Big House. "A quest so fast… you've hardly been here a month! Come on, Andy, It's time you met one of your Father's old friends…"

Alex stared at his steak sandwich, prodding it in irritation. His thoughts were occupied by one long legged, blonde, green-eyed beauty.

He sighed again. For the past two weeks, countless guys had been hitting on her, but she seemed uninterested, even in him. He was used to having girls fall to his feet, with his legacy and all…but Andy, she was a tough nut to crack, and more beautiful than any of the Aphrodite girls.

He looked up and searched the Hermes table for the object of his affections and subject of his thoughts. He frowned when he failed to locate the girl. His wandering eyes met those of Josh Antonio Moro, Son of Apollo, and resident Hotshot.

His dark brown hair and dreamy blue eyes, so uncharacteristic of his lineage, coupled with superb archery and swordsmanship skills, made him one of Camp Half-Blood's most lethal and celebrated heroes. He had complete three quests set by his father Apollo, and even won a haiku competition in Japan and dedicated it to his father. And now, Alex's competitor in winning the favour of the pretty daughter of the Tidal Lord.

Josh also seemed to be searching out the missing girl. He frowned at Alex, arching one eyebrow with a competitive gleam in those azure blue eyes. Alex glared daggers at him, and continued his search for Andy. At the corner of his vision, a flash of golden hair caught his attention.

Andromeda Jackson was being led by Grover, the camp director, towards the Big House. After taking a cursory glance at Josh, who had also caught on, he jumped to his feet and hurried in the direction of the pair.

Andy hurried after Grover as the satyr ascended the stairs into the attic, a place in the Big House that she had never been. As they reached the landing, Grover motioned to Andy to follow him into a room on the right.

Softly pushing the door open, Grover made a beeline for the centre of the room. Andy took in the surroundings of the room. The room smelled strongly of sherry and herbs, and many weird artefacts decorated the shelves that lined three walls of the room. In the centre of the room there was a thick, luxurious Persian rug, and on the rug sat a magnificent carved oak chair. There was no one in the room.

Looking around and perplexed by the vacancy of the room, Andy asked Grover, "Where's the oracle? There's no one here!"

Grover smiled and clasped his hands and being murmuring. Then, he bent down and took a small bead from a basket at the foot of the chair and crushed it between his fingers.

Immediately, smoke began spewing from the bead, and noxious fumes filled the room at once. Grover seemed to have anticipated this, and had already held his breath and covered his nose. Andy, on the other hand, began to cough, tears filling her eyes at the harsh smoke.

Grover smiled apologetically at Andy and placed a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, her lungs and her vision cleared. The smoke had just began to clear too, but now, sitting on the high back hair, was a beautiful woman with long, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders and piercing green eyes. To top it all, she was wearing a ratty t-shirt that read, "Save the Vaquita's!" and caprice with frayed ends.

She sighed and said, "What is it now, Grover? I was in the middle to a protest to protect Vaquita's!"

Grover smiled widely at the woman. "Rachel! I want you to meet this young lady, Andromeda Jackson. Andy, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Apollo's Oracle of Delphi. "

Rachel's green orbs grew wide at the sound of her name, and stared at Andy long and hard. Andy was a little nervous at the scrutiny and Rachel's dramatic entrance.

'Wow… you look a lot like… Annabeth! It's been so long!" Rachel gushed. "How is your mum? Where does she stay? She and I should meet up soon to catch up! It's three years since I saw her!"

Andy smiled at her enthusiasm and her nervousness receded. "Mum is great. Although she did have a run-in with a Manticore, she should fine by now. My mum's tough."

Rachel laughed, "That's her alright. I remember how she used to react whenever I flirted with your dad…"

Andy's eyes fell at the mention of her father. Rachel stopped laughing abruptly, and a sad look graced her features. She apparently knew all about Annabeth's relationship with Percy.

She turned back to Grover.

"How may the Oracle of Delphi be of service, Grover?"

Grover frowned, confused. "Haven't you already gotten a premonition? Any prophecy?"

Rachel shook her head. "Nope nothing at all…."

Grover turned to Andy, "That's odd…when this type of thing happens, there's usually a prophecy…"

The trio was silent for awhile, when suddenly the room was bathed in a bluish hue of green light. Then, a tall figure stood next to Rachel Elizabeth dare. He was a merman, but instead of one fishtail, there were two. He was wearing full Greek armour that was studded with pearls, and his long black hair was tied up in a ponytail.

He spoke. "I am Triton, Son of Poseidon." He said this with distaste, as if acknowledging his parentage was a chore. "My half brother, Lord Perseus, has a message for you."

Chapter Five: Cue Indiana Jones Theme Song!
"Triton?"

Triton scrutinized the spawn of his insipid half brother with contempt.

"Yes, yes, I am Triton, your uncle and your old man's half brother."

"And a case of sour grapes..." muttered Rachel, rolling her eyes. "This dude lost his status as Poseidon's heir when your dad became a God."

Triton gave Rachel a withering glare, but paid no attention to the redhead.

Grover dipped his head in recognition of the Sea Lord, but he had a bad feeling about this. And usually, his feelings were pretty accurate.

Thousands of questions blossomed in Andy's head, like fireworks ready to explode.

"Where is my dad?" She decided on that one.

Triton smirked inwardly. "Okay. Straight to the main course eh? Just like dear old Perseus. Well, it's something like this."

Andy leant forward eagerly, grateful for any information on her Father.

"I don't usually act as a messenger for my half siblings, even if he is the Tidal Lord. But this one is particularly interesting." Triton's eyes gleamed as blue met green, and already, he could see the desire for recognition burn brightly in the depths of those orbs, so much like his own fathers. This was going to be easy.

"Your father is a very powerful God. Thus, he demands that you complete this quest before he extents his recognition to you and induction into his House." Triton paused for dramatic effect.

"You are to venture to the summit of Mount Etna, and along the road there will be trials and tribulations. There will be tests of your physical, mental, and emotional strength, and how you react in the face of danger. If you are deemed worthy at the end of it, you shall be officially claimed by the Tidal Lord and by default into the House of Poseidon."

Triton paused before continuing. "Of course, you will not be alone in this. You are allowed to take with you three companions." At this juncture, he grinned.

"I daresay two of those three vacancies have already been filled, seeing as there are two eavesdroppers behind the door, who already know the contents of this conversation. It will save you the trouble of explaining this all over again."

As if on cue, the door to the room gave way, and two teenagers tumbled in, having obviously been fighting for possession of the keyhole.

Embarrassed and red-faced, Alexander Depp and Joshua Antonio got to their feet, both grinning nervously.

"Damn right I am coming. I am not missing this kinda adventure for the world, "Josh declared.

"Yeah, I'd like to come to. If you'll have me, Andy." Alex chimed in.

He looked into her eyes, and Andy couldn't help but stare back. For a moment there, a wave of something akin to electricity coursed through her. Then, she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and summoned her best smile.

"Of course you're welcome to join me."

Annabeth came to, the second time in two days. The first thing she noticed was the pain. Red hot pained coursed through her, and her first instinct was to cry out. However, she forced down that impulse.

You are a daughter of Athena. You are made of sterner stuff. You will not cry out.

Then, her vision finally cleared and the pain was reduced to a dull throbbing, still there but relegated to the fringes of her consciousness.

She titled her head and observed her surroundings,

Where the hades am I? She thought.

The smell of burning sulphur filled the air; the dull bronze gleamed beneath her. The air had a heavy quality about it, filled with an intangible energy that Annabeth belatedly recognized as power. Lots of it. Enough that it could rival that of a God.

She tried to move her hands and legs, and discovered the source of her pain and discomfort. She was shackled to a bronze slab, with chains made of celestial bronze. Blue energy cackled around the chains, and they dug deep into her wrists, cutting it to a pain that welts had appeared and a stream of blood dripped slowly onto the bronze slab.

Then, she noticed that she recognized the feel of the blue energy shackling her. It was familiar, nostalgic even. It was Percy's power.

Why would Percy do this to me? Did he capture me from the office to punish me for lying to him?

As quickly as she had though the words, she quickly banished them from her mind. Percy would never do that. Even though she had accepted that Percy would never love her the way she loved him, he at least considered her a friend.

A single tear escaped her eye as she recalled past memories. When it was just the two of them, against the world.

I might die in this place, She thought. I never actually told Percy I still loved him. Now I may never get the chance.

Suddenly, unimaginable pain shot through her again and she couldn't help but cry out. The frequency of the blue static weaved into the chains increased dramatically and spread down the length of her body.

As abruptly as it had started, the pain receded and she heard a weak voice.

"Annabeth?"

Not daring to believe what she heard, she turned her head slowly and met his green gaze.

"Percy?"

It was only now that she realised that she had company, in the form of her former lover and best friend the Tidal God, Perseus.

"You're awake! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Where does it hurt? I heard you screaming and I thought something had happened to you..." The panic in his voice was evident, and distress mingled with concern was written all over his face.

Tears began coursing down Annabeth's face and her heart threatened to burst from all the love she felt for this man.

"You talk too much, Seaweed Brain. I've always said that." She sobbed out, smiling at Percy. "You asked me if I was hurt and immediately asked me where it hurt. That was redundant! And, and..."

Percy began crying as well, straining against the chains, trying to get to her, to heal the nasty cuts that decorated her wrists and legs. "Even when we're both chained and being tortured you still correct me. You never change, do you, Wise Girl? "

Annabeth shook her head, also leaning in his direction. It was now or never.

"I also know one thing that has not changed, Percy. I love you. I still do after all these years."

Percy nodded his head. "I love you too, Annabeth, I never stopped loving you, even after you left me."

Annabeth let out another sob of relief at those words. "Oh I never should have left you, Percy. I missed you so much, and I thought about you every single day. I never dated anyone after you. "

Percy took in those words slowly, feeling relieved despite the catastrophic situation they were in.

How he yearned to break free of these chains. How he ached to gather Annabeth in his arms and protect her. He summoned within him another burst of power and unleashed it at the chains. Immediately, pain shot through his body, and he cried out in anguish. He noticed that his cry was not alone.

Annabeth, too, had let out a shriek of pain. Belatedly did he realize that his power was also being used to torture his beloved...

...

Triton gave a last farewell smile, and vanished the same way he came. Grover was the first to speak; "Now we defiantly need a prophecy. Rachel?"

Rachel turned to Andy, "You need to ask me a question for a prophecy. And not 'what will be for lunch' I've had that so many times at school." she rolled her eyes, as if remembering that prophecy.

"Um...ok." Andy thought for a moment, "What will our fate be on this quest?"

Andy gasped as mist surrounded Rachel, and a green, smoke snake slithered out of her mouth. When she spoke, it sounded like five Rachel's were speaking, not one.

Friends must travel away from the sound,

To find two lovers, broken and bound,

Old enemies awake and seek retribution,

On your safe haven, the boat of destruction,

But constricted you be, by a deadline to date,

For war is waiting, if you should be late.

The snake receded and the mist cleared. Rachel's face was white and her breathing shallow. After a few seconds, the blood returned to her face and she took a few deep breaths.

"How was it?" she asked, looking at the faces of everyone in the room

"What? You don't remember?" Andy asked, the prophecy still ringing true in her ears.

Rachel shook her head, "I don't remember any of my prophecies. The oracle speaks through me, I don't hear anything. It gets pretty annoying." she added in an undertone.

Grover recited the prophecy to Rachel, who was trying to work out what it meant.

"Anyway, Andy, Alex, Josh, Rachel. I have to go and meet someone." Grover clambered down the stairs and out the Big House. Andy turned to Rachel.

"Vaquita?"

Rachel laughed, "Yeah, big porpoise in the Gulf of Cali. And on that note, I'll be going back to my protest." Rachel took a bead and crushed it, "Good luck." she said before disappearing in a puff of green smoke.

"Monique!" Andy called, waving her hands to get her friends attention. Monique was busy scaling the climbing wall, and when she looked down at Andy as a river of lava threw itself at the girl. She dodged it and quickly descended to meet a flustered Andy.

"Hey, what's up?" Monique asked, taking off her climbing gloves.

"I was wondering if you..." Andy looked around to see a group of people eavesdropping, "if you could find me a weapon."

Monique caught on, "Sure, come on. We've got a weapons shed over here."

The eavesdroppers dispersed as Monique and Andy hurried to the garden shed behind Cabin 9.

Once they were inside Monique asked, "What happened at lunch? Where did you go? What was...?"

Andy shushed her and closed her eyes tight. She opened them again and smiled, "I got a quest."

Monique's mouth fell open, "No way! Congratulations!" both girls were smiling widely and jumping up and down like freaks.

Once they calmed down (that took a while) Monique's curiosity spiked, "Who are you taking? I saw Alex and Josh sneaking up to the Big House. I think they both like you."

Andy raised an eyebrow, "And you call yourself a daughter of Athena," she smiled tauntingly.

"What?" Monique asked, exasperated

"Geez, Monique! I'm taking Josh, Alex...and you!"

"Oh, no. You don't have to. I mean...that's cool and all, but..." Monique's usually gentle and controlled voice was leaking excitement and surprise into her words.

Andy shook her head, "Monique Louise Anderson, you. Are. Coming."

Monique smiled. She hugged Andy tight, before releasing her, "We'll need to get ready. Spare clothes, ambrosia and nectar, drachmas, and gods! You need a sword!"

But before Monique could continue a hunting horn blew, "Oh no..." Monique moaned, "Not them"

"Who?" asked Andy, her turn to be curious.

Monique stormed out of the shed, closely followed by Andy. They ran up to the Big House with the other campers and pushed their way to the front of the group that had surrounded Thalia's Tree.

There stood a group of girls, about 9-18, all wearing silver camouflage with bows strapped to their backs.

Monique glared daggers at the girls, "The Hunters of Artemis"

Atlantis

There was only one person in the usually busy throne room of Atlantis. This was because this said person was Poseidon, and anyone who disturbed him at the moment would be turned into Fish Fingers. The water was hot and the tides were violent, tsunami's destroyed Fiji, and Haiti and Chile was suffering horrible Earthquakes.

Why?

Well, Poseidon has just found out that his son, his heir, Perseus, had been kidnapped, or god-napped, whatever. He had Carthlo and his guards out searching, every sea creature under his command looking. Even some of the gods offered to help. Apollo and Artemis were searching for him during their shifts as sun/moon. Hera, Hestia and Demeter were looking across land. Dionysus, Nike and a group of satyrs were trying to track him. Even Hades was helping, ordering spirits that weren't in the Underworld to look for him. It was important that they found out what had happened, as Athena pointed out someone who wanted to do anything hostile against Olympus would take out the best warriors they could get to, so Perseus was on top of that hit list.

But nobody had found the slightest trace of him.

It seemed hopeless.

Then the doors to the throne room swung open. Behind the threshold stood Athena, decked out in full battle armour and Aegis by her side.

"POSEIDON!" she glared as she stormed into the throne room.

"What Athena? Come to gloat?" Poseidon's tone was so harsh and deadly, Athena stopped in her tracks, but still had the angry expression painted on her face.

"No idiot! Your stupid, middle-minded, pathetic, insolate..."

"Athena!"

"Imbecile of a son got my daughter taken too!"

Poseidon looked taken aback, "Annabeth?"

"Yes Annabeth!"

"She was just here, a few days ago..."

"WHY WAS SHE HERE?"

"For your information, Owl Head, she had a run-in with a Manticore! She would have died if Carthlo hadn't helped her and Andromeda!"

Athena's brow furrowed, "Who?"

Poseidon's eyes widened and his mouth opened in a perfect O. "Andromeda Jackson! Perseus and Annabeth's daughter. Your grand-daughter!"

Athena shook her head in surprise, "I didn't..."

"You didn't know? The wise Athena didn't know that her favourite daughter had a child. Who would have thought?" Poseidon stopped his taunting when he saw Athena's eyes fall.

It must be hard, Poseidon thought, to be told you had a grand-daughter for 12 years that you didn't know about.

But, at seeing Poseidon's sympathetic look, Athena hardened her gaze and straightened up, her head held high.

"I guess she would be at camp." Athena said, in a hard tone.

"Yes, but not for long. She's just taken on a quest."

Athena smiled, "Then we'll be seeing her soon."

Poseidon raised an eyebrow, "We will?"

"Yes, we will Barnacle Beard!"

Annabeth dipped into unconsciousness ten minutes ago, and Percy passed the time by deciding what would be the most painful punishment for Briareos, when he returned.

"Still tied up are we?" he taunted, jeering.

"You just wait Briareos, we I get free I'm going to..."

"Yes, yes, torture me in some painful way. Please Jackson, save it. I mean," his voice softened into a fake tone of concern, "You don't want to use such bad language in front of your daughter"

Percy's eyes flamed, but he didn't dare let out any more of his power for Annabeth's sake. She was strong, but not as strong as a god.

"Yes. Andromeda. Beautiful girl she is. Wonderful. Yet, so gullible. As we speak, her and her friends are preparing to come here. Straight into my welcoming arms." he lifted all of his 100 arms wide.

Percy struggled against his chains, "She'll realise. She's not stupid-Ahh!" a jolt of static energy coursed through his limbs once again.

Briareos laughed, "Ha! How would you know? You've never even met her."

Percy lifted his heavy head to look Briareos in the eyes, "I know she will. Just wait."

Camp Half-Blood

The hunters charged through the group of campers and into the Artemis cabin, leaving a trail of pushed over boys in their wake. But one hunter stayed behind, as the campers dispersed back to their normal activates.

She had jet-black hair that was spiked up, with a silver circlet on her forehead. She had electric blue eyes and freckles dotted over her nose. Unlike the other hunters she wore a silver parka over a Greenday t-shirt and army boots. She smiled at Monique and Andy

"Hey," she shot out her hand, "Thalia"

Andy shook her hand, "Andy Jackson"

Thalia's hand stiffened. She looked at Monique then back at Andy with a huge smile crossing her face. Then, Grover came trotting up to Thalia.

"Bah-bah! Thalia! How are you?" he asked smiling at Thalia, "Not to sound harsh but..."

Thalia's smile became apologetic, "Sorry Grover. But Lady Artemis is helping Apollo with something. She asked me if I could take the hunters here."

"If Artemis wants it it's O.K with me." Grover said dreamily, his eyes distant. Thalia hit him over the head and he came round, "Sorry." he muttered, "So you've met Andy?"

Thalia shot Andy a look of pleasure and nodded, "They look so much alike. Except the eyes."

"Mmm..." Grover agreed, "Percy's eyes."

Andy looked at Monique, who fake gagged into her hand. Grover turned from his conversation with Thalia to Andy and Monique, "Are you two organised yet?"

Monique shook her head, "We need to pack. But Grover. Andy needs a weapon, she can't go on a quest without a balanced sword."

Thalia turned to Andy as well, "I would suggest a bow, but being Percy's daughter, I doubt you can shoot. No offence," she added, seeing Andy's face, "But your dad couldn't shoot the backside of a stationary elephant."

Grover nodded, rubbing his backside, as if remembering wounds from years ago.

Andy lay on her bunk in the Hermes cabin, thinking about her quest. Some of the boys from the Hecate cabin told her that quests were difficult. Others from the Demeter cabin told her the survival rate was 0.5%. Others still told her as soon as you stepped out of the camp, you were attacked. She thought they were just trying to wind her up, but when she asked Alex, who had been on three quests already, he only confirmed her fears.

Wonderful, she thought, just great. I should just paint a target on my forehead and stand in the middle of Times Square. I'd be allot safer.

Just then four Hermes girls walked in, with a pile of stuff in their hands. Ginny, Kathy, Gwen and Jayme smiled and dropped the stuff on the floor, beside Andy's bed.

"Hey, what's this?" Andy asked, getting up, careful to avoid the pile of stuff.

"You're going on a quest right?" Ginny rolled her eyes, "We, found, you some stuff to take with you."

Andy laughed, "And by found you mean borrowed with no intention of return."

"Yeah, practically." Jayme winked

"We found you a backpack," Kathy kicked a turquoise bag, "About $500 dollars and 100 drachmas" she jiggled a zip lock bag of money.

"Some ambrosia," Gwen held up another zip lock bag like it was an object on sale, "Nectar" she dropped the bag and replaced it with a thermos.

"And..." the girls said together, "An IM set!"

The girls were open mouthed at Andy's lack of reaction

"Don't tell me you don't know what an IM set is!" Jayme practically chocked

"No." Andy said plainly.

Kathy nodded, "Guess you wouldn't have heard of them yet. The goddess of the rainbow Iris, can deliver messages for people if she's not busy. Which she usually is."

"Yeah, all you have to do is make a rainbow, throw in a drachma and pray to her."

"This used to be torture in the old days." continued Ginny, "But now with hoses and stuff, it is some part easier. But what if you want to call someone on a cloudy day? You can't. So some genius, Daeleus I think, made this." she took out what looked like a normal flashlight.

"Just turn it on." Ginny flicked the on switch. What came out was a beam of light, yes, but it wasn't yellow or white. It was red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. A rainbow flashlight.

"Cool!" Andy smiled

The girls were satisfied with this reaction and left. Andy shoved the stuff in the bag and put it on her bed. She had no idea where she would be this time tomorrow. Hopefully she wouldn't be dead.

"You ready for tomorrow?" Monique asked as she headed off to her cabin after dinner

Alex nodded, "Everything's packed."

"Same here." Josh agreed, then turned to Andy, "I can help you to pack if you like." he gave her a charming smile.

"No, I've finished packing." Andy snapped, "Night."

She turned sharply and headed off to the Hermes cabin.

"Wadi' I say?" Josh asked, as if it wasn't obvious.

Alex and Monique shook their heads as they departed for their own cabins.

Chapter Six: Can't I Dream Like a Normal Person?
That night, the dreams came.

Andy found herself standing in a massive cavern. It was pitch black with only a trickle of light coming from the entrance. She could hear moans from outside and she was instantly scared to death.

Literally.

"Andromeda Jackson." boomed a voice from the bottom of a pit Andy only just realised was there.

Andy backed away from the pit, feeling her way along the damp wall.

The voice laughed, hearty and evil at the same time, "Don't be afraid young one. Come closer."

For some reason, Andy didn't feel any safer. But the voice sounded so nice, so caring, Andy couldn't help but take a few steps forward.

"That's it," the voice cooed, "Come on. Help your great-grand-father. Help me rise."

Andy's senses were blocked; she couldn't think anything but going into the pit and helping the nice voice.

One more step.

"Come on, just a little closer..." the voice sounded eager now. So close.

MY LADY! STOP! PLEASE!

Andy shook her head. Her thoughts cleared, and she regained control of her limbs.

GO BACK! GO BACK!

Andy had no idea who owned either one of the voices, but the newest one seemed to be the friendliest. She ran backwards, hitting the rock wall and slid down it into a crouch.

"Go away!" she shouted to the pit.

Good girl! Show him you're stronger!

The voice's tone changed from sweet and seductive to evil and murderous, "Come here now stupid girl! If you want your parents to survive you WILL do as I SAY!"

Andy shook her head frantically, "No! Never!"

"YOU WILL PAY GIRL! YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!"

The dream started to change.

Andy feet sank a few centimetres into the wet sand, the sunlight danced through the waves and the ocean water calmed Andy down. She was at home, at peace. This was where she belonged, in the sea, or on the beach getting a tan. Either one would do.

My lady.

Andy looked around for the body of the voice. Then she found it, in the shape of a hermit crab sitting on a small rock by her feet.

"Hello..." she said awkwardly, bending down to the crab. If crabs could bow, this crab would be.

Oh my lady! Hello. It is so wondrous to meet you!

"Yes, hi. Not to be rude, but, who are you?"

Oh! Sorry ma'am. My name is Kavouri. And there is no need in telling me your name. I don't think there is a sea creature alive who doesn't know your name!

That shocked Andy, "What? Why?"

The crab laughed, Lord Perseus has just learned he has a daughter! It's in every gossip pearl under the sea! That and the Antarctic scandal. Who knew penguins could be so devious.

Andy couldn't make head nor tails of that, so she just nodded and smiled. Then questions flooded into her head, "Who was in that pit?"

Kavouri sighed, one of the most evil beings that have ever existed. Kronos.

The water seemed to get colder at the name.

"You mean the Titan my father defeated?"

Yes, the exact same one. He wants to be resurrected.

"But what does that have to do with me?" asked Andy, sick of jumping through hoops.

Your father slew him! The titan lord can't kill Lord Perseus because he is a god, but he can kill your mother and you, or even worse, use you as a host!

"WHAT?"Andy's eyes burned with fury, no way in he-hades was this jerk hurting her mother.

Kavouri grasped his mouth (do crabs have mouths) with his claw, I have said too much! I cannot tell you anymore. It is a forbidden subject.

"Do you see dad? Or Poseidon? Or Carthlo?" Andy asked, trying to pry information out of her new friend.

No, my lady. But any discussion will draw attention to you. And you will have enough trouble with monsters without the gods on your case too!

"Ok, I guess so. And don't call me my lady. Call me Andy."

Of course, my la- Andy.

"That's better." Andy smiled

Goodbye Andromeda. We will meet again very soon.

"Wait-"

But before she could finish her objection, the water bubbled and she woke up in the Hermes cabin, dry and looking like a mess. Sunlight streamed through the windows and some of the girls were starting to get up.

It was quest day.

Alex was having a nightmare.

Andy was in the arms of Josh, a smug smile on his face. Andy was looking at Alex with a mixture of hate and sickness, like he was a piece of gum on the bottom of her favourite pair of shoes.

"You lose Alex." Josh smiled, as Andy looked up at him with admiration, "I got Andy, you got nothing. Why did you even try? She would never like you, she's not even in your league!"

Josh rubbed Andy's neck, caressing her cheek, and leaned down to kiss her.

Their lips met and Alex felt like he was getting hit with a thousand arrows.

Andy then turned and pointed to Alex, "Baby, could you please deal with, that. I don't want to look at it."

Josh smiled evilly and drew his bow and arrows. He notched one, aimed it briefly and let it fly, straight at Alex's forehead.

Alex woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around, there was no blonde haired girl in his enemies arms, there was only his half-brother, Charlie lumbering into the bathroom.

Alex swung his legs over the side of his bed and got up. He dresses and grabbed his sword for a quick training session.

Josh was tossing and turning in his bed.

Andy was in the arms of Alex, a smug smile on his face. Andy was looking at Josh with a mixture of hate and sickness, like he was a piece of gum on the bottom of her favourite pair of shoes.

"You lose Josh." Alex smiled, as Andy looked up at him with admiration, "I got Andy, you got nothing. Why did you even try? She always liked me more, I was the one of her affection."

Alex rubbed Andy's neck, caressing her cheek, and leaned down to kiss her.

Their lips met and Josh felt like he was getting hit with a thousand arrows.

Andy then turned and pointed to Josh, "Baby, could you please deal with, that. I don't want to look at it."

Alex smiled evilly and drew his sword. Kissing Andy one last time, he turned and started to stalk towards Josh...

Josh bolted upright in bed, accidently hitting his head on the bunk bed above him. Andy with Alex, he thought, no, never. He was so much cooler than that stupid son of Zeus.

Just then the girl of his dreams walked into his cabin, "Josh? You up?"

Josh quickly fixed his hair and got up, "Yeah, I'm up, do you need some help getting ready?"

Andy laughed, "No, Josh. I'm ready to go, but you on the other hand." she scrutinized Josh, his messy hair, his developing bruise and his pyjamas, "You need to get ready, we're leaving in 10 minutes."

With that Andy walked out of the cabin, her golden hair wiping the door frame as she turned.

Josh sighed; Andromeda Jackson was going to be a hard girl to get.

Monique couldn't sleep.

For one, the other Athena girls were reading and chatting all night, and two, she was nervous. Monique had been on two quests before, she knew how to avoid monsters, and she knew what she had to do. But she had never done a quest with two boys trying to seduce another girl. It was going to be difficult to impossible for Alex and Josh to take their eyes of Andy and onto an ugly monster.

But hey, it's their fault if they get killed.

Monique ran through plans in her head, how were they going to get to Sicily? They could fly because Zeus (hopefully) wouldn't blast his son out of the sky. But then again, it probably wasn't a good idea for Andy to fly. They could sail, because Poseidon (hopefully) wouldn't drown his grand-daughter. But then again, they would have to sail across the Atlantic and if Lord Perseus was trying to test Andy he would cause havoc on their boat.

On your safe haven, the boat of destruction.

Boat. They would have to sail. It was much better to go with prophecies than to fight them. Monique had tryed that once before and the Fates had granted her one more try. She wasn't eager to waste that chance.

Monique looked at her watch. 4:57am

She sighed and rolled off her bed. She got changed and walked out of the Athena cabin. On her way out she left a note to the girls.

Clean-up duty

~Monique

Andy checked that everyone was up. Josh had just got up, Monique was already fine-tuning plans and Alex was destroying the training dummies. Andy had so much that could be on her mind.

But instead, Monique's words from yesterday rang in her ears, I think they like you.

Andy had never had any experience with dealing with boys liking her, she was a trouble-maker and no one wanted to be going out with someone who could be expelled any day soon. But two. Twee. Dy. Dues. Dvije. Dve. Deux. Zwei. Dha. Dua. Dos. Dau. Two

She couldn't believe it.

Please Andy. Why can't you believe it? Heaps of boy here like you.

Andy jumped, surprised at the voice, "Kavouri?" she whispered, not wanting to look like she was talking to herself.

Yes!

The hermit crab from the beach scuttled over her shoulder.

"You were at the beach! You came with me to camp, didn't you?" Andy's raised her voice, gaining some weird looks from groggy campers. She hurried down to the lake, and sat on the pier.

Andy, I-I. I hope you're not angry

Andy smiled, "No! No! Why would I be angry?"

Lord Poseidon has ordered every creature on the search. I thought you would be mad because I'm not searching.

"Searching? Searching for whom?" Andy stood up, "Who is missing? Kavouri, tell me, who is missing."

Kavouri shook his head, I-I can't! Please understand Andromeda, it is a closed subject!

"If everyone is searching, why is it closed?" Andy glared at Kavouri, her temper at boiling point. The water was bubbling and steam was starting to appear on the water's surface.

Calm! Andy, calm down! Quickly!

Andy shook her head and looked at the lake. Half of the lake had evaporated and fish were getting cooked. Andy's hand flew to her mouth, "Did-did I do that?"

Yes, you haven't learnt to control your powers yet. You must keep your emotions in check.

"Wait, my powers? I have powers?" Andy picked Kavouri up and looked at the disaster she had caused at the lake, "How do I fix this?"

Well, I'm no expert in hydrokinetics but...

Kavouri explained to Andy how to change the steam back to water. It took awhile, but finally the lake was back to its original volume, save a few drops.

Andy was knackered. Perfect for a quest, a tired and mentally exhausted leader.

Andy sat down at the Hermes table to a round of applause. Some people clapped her on the back.

"Good luck, Andy!"

"Don't die!"

"We'll be praying for ya!"

"You'd better come back Andy. You owe me $10!"

Monique, Josh and Alex arrived to the same type of welcome. Grover arrived 5 minutes later with the hunters. Thalia came over to Andy, "Good luck, girl. Don't let those two," she gestured to Josh and Alex, "Get in your way." she laughed as if we just shared a private joke and she turned to the Artemis table.

"Settle down! Settle down campers!" Grover announced a huge smile on his face, "As you all know, we have 4 campers on a quest. Monique Anderson, Alex Depp, Josh Antonio and Andy Jackson!" the campers and hunters all applauded, "Now dig in!" the harpies bought out plates and goblets and layed them in front of campers. The Hermes cabin got up and Andy scraped her biggest bit of bacon into the fire.

I'm coming. She prayed and she sat down.

I'm coming, Percy heard Andy's voice, and he felt her sacrifice. She didn't know how much her food was helping Percy. He was building his strength, but not daring to try and break the chains. Annabeth was battered and bruised, but she hadn't been unconscious for a few days.

"Are you alright?" Percy asked, as Annabeth awoke from her sleep.

"I can't say I'm ok because I'm chained to a wall, but I'll live."

Percy bit his lip, "Andromeda's coming. She's leaving today."

Annabeth closed her eyes, obviously worried sick

Percy smiled reassuringly, "If she's anything like you, she'll work it out, she'll save the day and look good doing it."

Annabeth lifted her head and smiled weakly, "I'm just worried about her, Percy. What if Briareos hurts her? I would never forgive myself."

"It's going to be alright-"

"Percy! She doesn't even have a weapon! How is she supposed to protect herself? She hasn't even been at Camp for a month!"

Percy looked stunned, "She doesn't have a weapon? You didn't give her a sword?"

Annabeth looked at Percy like he was stupid, "She was 12!"

"Yes, I guess you're right. As always." he smiled, "What about Riptide?"

"So, what where are you going?" Fresia asked, through a mouthful of eggs.

Andy swallowed a piece of bacon, "Sicily."

"Oh cool! Most people don't go out of America." Fresia smiled, "That'll make it even more fun! Hey, since you're not in America, do you think there will be monsters?"

Andy scoffed, "I don't know for sure. It's supposed to be a test so there most likely will be."

"A test?" Fresia asked, putting down her fork, "What test?"

You've told her too much! Kavouri sounded worried

"I know." Andy whispered

"What?"

"Nothing." Andy stayed off the subject until the food dispersed. The four kids got up to silence. Andy shouldered her backpack and they marched out of the pavilion.

"Good luck!" the campers called, as the four got into the camp van with Argus.

Driving.

Andy's mind was occupied with Kavouri's training. He was going through defence moves and sword strikes as they drove into New York.

Monique was going through plans and tactics, in case they encounter every monster that has ever existed. Minotaur, Nemion Lion, Medusa, Echidna, Chimera, Hydra.

Josh was fidgeting and composing haiku's in his head.

Andy is my girl

On this quest she will realise

That I am her guy

Alex is an ass

<p style="text-align:center">He will never get Andy

<p style="text-align:center">I am so cooler

Alex kept looking around at Andy and Josh. Andy was looking in the distance and nodded slightly every few minutes, like someone was talking to her, Josh kept looking over at Andy, flashing a charming smile, realise she wasn't looking, then turned to glare at Alex. This routine lasted for the entire ride.

Argus dropped them off outside the 6th Subway station. They waved goodbye as he peeled down 2nd and onto 9th.

"Do you think he has an eye on his tongue?" Josh asked as he watched the van

When no one answered he took it as a yes.

"So," Alex said, "What do we do now?"

"Well, the prophecy said boat. So, the dock?" Josh suggested

"That sounds like a plan. Go to the docks and wait for a burning boat. Yeah right, idiot." Monique scoffed.

"Fine. What do you think Andy?" Josh turned his charming smile to the place where Andy was standing, "Andy? Where the hades is Andy?"

The three looked around frantically for the gold head of Andy.

"There!" Monique pointed to the street opposite 3rd, "ANDY!"

Andy turned and gestured for them to follow. They hurried across three lanes of traffic onto 5th.

"Andy! Where are you going?" Alex asked as they ran to try and keep up. Then he stopped outside an apartment building. It was a typical building. Redbrick's, worn doors and windows, and stairs along the back. But something seemed to catch Andy's attention. She ran into the lobby, and sprinted up the stairs. When the other 3 caught up, Andy was standing outside the door to apartment 4b.

"Andy," huffed Josh, puffed out, "What was that for?"

Andy looked at him and knocked on the door.

No one answered.

She knocked again, louder this time.

Still, no answer.

Andy's face paled as she fumbled with a chain around her neck. She took it off her neck and put the key on the end into the lock. She turned it and it clicked open. She opened the door and walked into the room, followed by 3 stumped demi-gods.

"Andy," Monique said softly, "This is your house, isn't it?"

Andy nodded, taking in every detail of the house. She walked into the kitchen, the lounge, but no one was there.

"Where's your mum?" Alex asked as he examined some pictures on the shelf. One was Andy getting a trophy; another was Andy and an older blonde, probably her mother, standing on a beach, and of six people.

A redhead, who was standing next to a short guy dressed in black. He had black hair and dark brown eyes and a small smile. Next to him was a buff girl, with cropped hair and an evil grin. She was arm-in-arm with a boy with black hair and amber eyes. Then there was a guy with curly brown hair and a goatee and next to him a teenager. She had spiky black hair, electric blue eyes and a Death to Barbie t-shirt on. Next to her was a blonde girl who looked allot like Andy.

"Hey Andy," Alex called, "Who're these people?"

Andy walked over to Alex and smiled, "That's Rachel Dare, the oracle, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, Clarisse and Chris Rodriguez, daughter of Ares and son of Hermes and Thalia, the hunter we met at camp and my mum, Annabeth."

Alex put the picture down and picked up the last on, hidden behind a small vase of withering water lilies.

It was of 4 people who stood in pairs, slightly away from each other.

One pair were 2 girls, they both looked the same age about 25, one with black hair and the other with blonde. They both shared piercing grey eyes and a look of power. Annabeth and her mum.

The other pair both had jet black hair and sea-green eyes, but one was older than the other. One looked like your typical fisherman, the other like your typical college student. Nothing odd there.

Monique and Josh joined them. They were all looking at the boy, who was holding hands with Annabeth.

"Andy?" Monique put a slender hand on Andy's shoulder, "Is that your dad?"

Andy looked at the picture, "I think it is. Mum would never tell me, but I think it is."

It is. Kavouri whispered in Andy's mind from her pocket.

A tear weld up in Andy's eyes. Both boys put a hand on her shoulder, both glaring at each other.

Andy shook her head, gathering her thoughts- or just jumbling them around in her head. She straightened up and took a deep breath, "I just wanted to see if mum was home. Obviously she's not, so let's go."

Alex put the picture down and the group turned to the door.

"Wait." Josh ordered, 'Don't you think you should write a note to your mum? Tell her you're ok."

Andy smiled at Josh and nodded, "Yeah, she'll be worried sick."

Andy found a note pad, one of those cheap ones you get from real-estate companies and but she couldn't find a pen. She looked in the kitchen, in the lounge, in her room. No pens. Last she checked Annabeth's room. Sure enough, on the dresser sat a ballpoint pen.

"Andy! Hurry up!" Monique called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Andy called as she uncapped the pen.

Chapter Seven: We Board the Cruise Ship of Death
Andy's fingers tightened around the worn out pen lid. She pulled the plastic but it was stuck tight. Scowling, Andy pulled harder, the lid slowly releasing the pen from its hold.

Finally, Andy ripped off the lid...

<p style="text-align:center">...

<p style="text-align:center">'''I was thinking of ending it here, but I though, nah! I'm not that evil. 3:)'''

<p style="text-align:center">...

...and she saw the source of the stubborn lid, the pen ink had leaked. Andy huffed and threw the pen onto her mother's bed and stalked out of the room. She went into her room and got a pencil, why didn't I think of that before? Andy thought as she scribbled a note to her mother. Andy then threw the pencil back onto her desk and stuck the note onto the fridge at eyelevel.

"Ready?" Josh asked, as Andy walked out of the kitchen and back into the hallway to where the other three were waiting for her.

"Yeah, let's go." Andy smiled as the four headed for the apartment door. Andy turned and looked back over her shoulder at the apartment, unaware that she wouldn't step foot there again for months.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Mount St Helens, Washington

"Here you go, Poseidon." said Hephaestus, handing Poseidon a wrapped package from one of the many tables in his sweltering hot forge. The package was small, covered in brown paper and duct tape.

"Thank-you Hephaestus. It will be great." Poseidon praised as he payed Hephaestus for his creation.

"Of course it will." Hephaestus said gruffly as he pocketed the drachmas. "Hope everything goes well." Even though he didn't specify what he was saying, Poseidon knew what he meant, he hoped Percy was okay. Poseidon hoped that too.

As Poseidon exited the forge he was joined by a very impatient goddess of wisdom.

"Finally," she scorned as the unlikely pair made their way out of the volcano. Poseidon resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he warily walked with his enemy. Athena noticed Poseidon's nervous demeanour.

"Scared of a volcano, Coral Creep?" Athena smirked as she stepped around a smoking vent.

Poseidon scowled, "Don't like volcanos." he muttered.

Athena laughed, "Wow, Shark Bait, you sound even more like a five year old then you usually do!" she taunted. The two were silent for a few moments, still getting used to the fact that they were not enemies any more, or at least, not as much as they used to be. They emerged from the volcano and with one look at each other, disappeared in a flash of gold light.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Mount Etna, Sicily

Percy took another deep breath and concentrated on the magma underneath him. He felt the raw power of the volcano, mixed with the distant power of the sea, off the coast of Sicily where they were being held. He dared not to try and cause an eruption, or call on the sea because the any power he used would be turned against him and Annabeth, who was still in a very serious condition after a beating she had received for being a bit of a smart mouth.

"Percy!" Annabeth hissed, as his eyes shot open and he focused his emerald orbs on the grey ones of his ex-girlfriend. "Listen!"

Percy knew what she was talking about. Braises' reptilian voice drifted on the wind to them as he discussed something with someone they couldn't make out.

"Are you sssure?" Braises' voice asked, an unmistakable hint of worry in his hiss.

"Of course I am, Braises," the other voice snapped. The voice sounded male, with a tinge of authority. "What could go wrong that the master hasn't thought of?"

Braises scowled, "Allot. The girl better hurry up. Sshe'll caussse them both much more pain." he said excitedly.

"Yes, yes. You can use her for your stupid revenge, but she is needed for matter's greater then you can comprehend moron." the other voice scolded.

Annabeth bit her lip from screaming at the men not to hurt her daughter. Andy wouldn't know what she was walking into; she could even already be injured or dead. No, Annabeth thought, she will have her friends to look out for her. She will be okay.

Percy's jaw locked, he had never met his daughter, Hades, he didn't know about her a month ago, but he would protect her, but 'she is needed', what for? Could there be another war brewing?

"-plan better go perfectly, or the master will have my hide." the unknown voice said, almost to himself.

"The kid better hurry up with the plan, I don't have much more patience for the masster'ss ssson."

Those words hit both Percy and Annabeth. They looked at each other.

What kid? Percy's look said. What master?

But Annabeth was more to the point, what plan?

<p style="text-align:center">...

NYU, New York City

"Riley" Riley started at the sheet of paper on the desk in front of him. Or more pacifically, question 28 on the sheet of test paper on the small desk in front of him.

Riley was sitting his final exam for his master's in Ancient Mythology, and he had aced every question so far, resisting the strong urge to correct the question's themselves, because, he wasn't supposed to know Zeus' master bolt was 5ft long, or that Athena's owl sucked out your energy when it pecked you.

Anyway, back to question 28...

Greek Mythology: 28) The 'Golden Age' of ancient rule was ruled by the giant-like race of Titans. Explain how the gods took reign:

The gods are assholes who are so full of themselves and only took over reign from the Titans (who were perfectly capable rulers) because his step-mother― Rhea― decided to favour her kids than her husband― his father― Kronos.

But, of course, Riley wanted to pass this exam, so he gritted his teeth and wrote down the answer.

<p style="text-align:center">...

68 short answers, 5 essays and 45 multiple questions later, Riley stepped out of the exam room, the first one to leave out of the 50 or so student to take the test.

Well, they don't have divine blood, do they? He scowled. His father should still be in charge of these stupid mortals, not his idiotic half-brother, Lord Zeus.

Riley put his helmet on his jet-black coloured hair, sliding the visor over his topaz eyes and kicked his motorbike into life. The bike purred as he revved the engine and shot off, ignoring the stupid 'laws'. As he weaved in and out of the New York traffic he thought over the plan. Foolproof, he thought, but when you work with fools, you can never be sure.

At the beginning of the month he had received information that the Tidal Lord Perseus Jackson and his old girlfriend Annabeth Chase had been captured and were being secured on Mount Etna. He needed the god's attention somewhere else, and making it look like someone was planning an attack on Olympus fit the requirements. The brat, Andromeda Jackson, would be trying to find her parents, he made Triton make sure of it, and then at the terrible death of her mother at her father's hand, Riley would be there to take her with him, into the right side of this war.

Foolproof.

<p style="text-align:center">...

NY Harbour, New York City

The quartet stood on the edge of a New York harbor, avoiding the bustling crowds that were ever crowding the dock. The smell of the sea was strong in their noses and the sound of the sea-gull only added to the noise.

"So, remind me why we are here again." Alex asked Monique who was studying each ship in the dock with an air of annoyance. She turned to the other three demi-gods, all sharing the same confused look.

"You honestly don't understand why we are here?" she asked, looking at each of her friends in turn, as if expecting them to come up with the answer. When no one did she sighed.

"Really? Oh, guys! The prophecy! Monsters blah, blah, blah...boat. Of. Destruction. A boat. We are here to find, a boat."She smiled at the simultaneous look of understanding that passed through the others and turned back to the docks.

...

After half an hour of searching, Monique finally gave in to Josh's pleadings and accompanied him, along with Andy and Alex, to McDonalds. The four sat in a quiet corner at the back of the restaurant, trying to lay out plans over the noise of screaming kids.

"Why don't we just get a plane flight?" Alex suggested, while chewing on a cheeseburger. Monique got a napkin and wiped the table where flecks of Alex's half-chewed burger were getting spat everywhere.

"Alexander? That is really and truly, disgusting." Monique scowled as she moved closer to Andy to avoid the flying food. Alex swallowed while Josh roared with laughter at Monique's reaction.

"Hmm, so anyway, why don't we fly?" Alex suggested again, this time without deep-fried mush in his mouth.

"Ha!" Andy snorted. "I really don't wanna' get blasted out of the sky by your dear 'ol dad, Alex."

Thunder shook the building.

All four demi-gods instantly looked out the window at the spire of the Empire State Building that dominated the sky. When they were certain no lightning bolts were likely to crash into the fast-food restaurant, they turned back to each other.

"Okay, so Lord Zeus wouldn't like you flying-" Alex started only for Andy to cut him off.

"Like? He wouldn't like me flying? He would hate it. And frankly, so would I," Andy scowled. "No flying."

"We could walk." Josh smirked, only to be hit on the shoulder by Monique. "Geez, Monique! It was only a joke!" he laughed only to receive another hit.

"This is serious, Josh, We need to find a boat," she turned to Andy expectantly.

"What?"

"You're the daughter of the Tidal Lord. No, I don't know, any bonuses?"

Andy laughed, "I wouldn't know, would I? I've only started believing in this stuff three weeks ago."

Monique nodded absently, her eyes distant. The three fell silent, watching Monique, imagining the gears turning in her head.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Alex picked at his fries, thinking. Monique had a very grand plan, but that grand plan involved them getting to Sicily before she could start it, and that was the hard bit.

If Olympus was still in Greece, we probably could walk. Might take awhile, but we could, he thought as he watched the two blonde girls discuss the plan in quiet voices. Josh was also watching that general direction when he noticed someone behind Monique's head.

An old woman, with pasty white skin that looked like it was peeling and frizzled white-silver hair, which stood up like a mad scientist's. Normally, Josh would have overlooked her, after all, this was New York, and there were people who looked stranger then this old woman. The reason he noticed, was that she had her misty eyes locked onto their table. She moved her gaze to meet Josh's and he stood up, dragging Alex with him.

"Hey! What's-" Alex started to protest but he followed the son of Apollo's gaze and his own eyes widened at the sight. "Oh." he grabbed the girl's arms. "Let's go."

The four hurriedly walked out of the store by the door closest to the counter, the one the staff usually used to get out into the car park.

"Oi, what the Hades was that for?" Andy protested as she jogged to keep up with the boy's fast pace.

"We need to get out of here, away from mortals, she's already seen us." Alex explained as they rounded another corner, and another, and another.

"Who?" Monique asked, looking over her shoulder, trying to find the person Josh and Alex had seen. Josh gave a discreet point in the direction of the woman and Monique gasped.

"You know who that is?" Andy asked.

"Of course she does." Alex added before turning to Monique, "You do know who that is, don't you?"

Another corner.

"Of course I do, Alex." Monique rolled her eyes as they entered a large alleyway, completely devoid of mortals. "She's meant to be a fable, even by the god's standards. It's Alphito."

The alley seemed to get darker and colder at the name.

"Who?" Andy asked, as she turned towards the mouth of the alley.

"Alphito. She's like the Greek version of the bogeyman. Parents told stories of her ripping apart naughty kids to their kids to scare them into behaving." Monique explained as she drew her sword. Andy followed suit as Josh notched an arrow and Alex expanded his spear.

Alphito turned around the corner, and even in the near dark, her features were still horrible. Josh realised, at close quarters like this she seemed even more horrible. Her face was wrinkled, huge bags handing down under her misty white eyes, the irises so light, you could easily make the mistake of her not having any irises at all. Her throat was eaten away, so you could see the vocal cords, stretching when she spoke.

"Demi-gods stand and fight, demi-gods should be back at their haven, why are demi-gods out? Naughty demi-gods." she said her voice harsh and strained, the vocal cords looked like piano strings almost at breaking point.

"I think you're said 'demi-gods' enough times," Josh scowled as he stretched the bow string back, looking down the arrow shaft at the monster.

"My master does not want useless demi-gods. Stand down demi-gods. My master only wishes to have the Tide-Born." she glared pointedly at Andy and the other three moved to stand in front of her.

"Try us." Alex gritted his teeth.

Alphito lunged.

Josh shot six arrows into the heart of the monster as she was in the air, but instead of bursting into the gold sand they were used to, she ripped the arrows out and glared at Josh, who was already aiming.

"NAUGHTY DEMI-GODS! DEMI-GODS WILL PAY!" she screamed as Monique and Josh lunged forward. Monique swiped at the monster's legs, the supposably weak and paper thin skin, deflecting the blow as Alex's spear tore through her chest.

It only annoyed her, she swiped, her long talons catching Monique and throwing her back against the brick wall that lined the alley. Alphito ducked Alex's jab and clawed at him, he jumped out of the way as Josh sent a volley of arrows at the monster's back.

Andy was frozen in terror. Later, she would curse herself for freezing up, but she just couldn't move. Alphito's gaze had rooted her to the spot, along with Andy's own terror of facing a monster after only four weeks of training.

Everything that could go bad swam through her mind, they could all die, Alphito could kidnap her or Monique or Josh or Alex. All of these faults and more kept her on the spot, watching her friends fight a monster that should have been well past defeated.

Andy hated her Atychiphobia. Her fear of failure had taken its revenge on Andy every time something big was happening, something important, or in this case, something dangerous.

But as Monique was thrown against the wall, and Alex was injured Andy kicked herself into action, finally.

She passed Josh, who drew a dagger from its sheath. Alphito whirled on the spot to face the remaining demi-gods. The others had left their mark on the 'elderly lady', her legs were crumbling, a huge chunk of papery skin was taken off the brittle bone and arrows hung out of the crevices in-between the bone joints.

"You need not hurt demi-god. My master only wishes for the Tide-Born." her voice scratched against their eardrums, but Josh and Andy didn't back down. Alphito swiped her hand and a strong wind instantly buffeted both of them. Andy was pushed back against the wall, but Josh was sent flying, colliding with a dust bin and sinking into unconsciousness.

"What do your master want?" Andy demanded, keeping Alphito away with swipe after swipe of her sword, which was coming increasingly heavy in her hands, the stupid, unbalanced sword.

"He wants the Tide-"

"Yeah, yeah, the Tide-Born, I've gathered that's me. But what."

Swipe.

"Does."

Swipe.

"He."

Thrust, overhead cut.

"Want."

Block, sidestep, hilt hit.

"With."

Jab, duck, kick, backhand.

"ME!" she was acting on instinct, ignoring the voice in the back of her head that was her Atychiphobia, she kicked sending Alphito sprawling, out for a few seconds.

How in the world was she killed in the myths? Andy thought. Then she got an idea, KAVOURI! A LITTLE HELP!

Hmmm...tired...the small crab groaned (can crabs groan?) as he woke up from sleeping in Andy's bag which happened to be right next to the advancing Alphito. Whoa! Alphito, you have horrible luck, Andy.

Thanks for the support, Kav, she ducked Alphito's talons and thrusted, only for Alphito to push her hand away and shove her across the alley. How did our friend die in the myths?

She didn't.

Duck, kick, roll, thrust, deflect.

WHAT! Andy swiped and caught Alphito's chest, which forced her back.

Well...each parent told a different story, she didn't die or the kids would still run a riot. But...no that wouldn't work...

Alphito summoned more wind and Andy was thrown back against the dust bins, Any idea, no matter how stupid or suicidal, I'll do it.

Fine, she's meant to kill children who do wrong, right?

Right. Andy agreed mentally as she rolled out of the way of another claw of talons, diving for her sword that lay beside her bag, and Kavouri.

So, in theory, she should kill herself if she is doing something wrong.

That...makes sense...kinda. Andy kicked, her foot contacting Alphito's chest, but what is she doing wrong? Well, apart from attempted murder.

Kavouri thought for a while, as Andy danced out of Alphito's talons. She should be evaporating! Kavouri told Andy with a sound of triumph. It sounded stupid to Andy, but it would have to do.

"Why aren't you evaporating?" she shouted as the monster advanced. "That's very naughty." Andy was very glad Josh was unconscious at the moment, because if he heard her saying that she would never hear the end of the teasing.

Alphito's sneered turned into a look of utter disbelief, as a gold light started to glow inside the papery chest, growing bigger and bigger and bigger.

"YOU WILL PAY, TIDE-BORN! MY MASTER WILL DESTROY YOU! HE WILL KILL YOU ALL! HE WILL-"

Poof.

"-die down a hole." Andy finished, as she fell to her knees, her chest heaving. Cuts decorated her arms and legs, while a nasty cut was bleeding from her head. She sunk to the floor, and heard the muffled voices of her friends call out to her from above the darkness she was sinking into...

<p style="text-align:center">...

"Father," the young man said, as he knelt by a huge, black throne occupied by a sort of mist, not solid, but very close.

"News?" the mist-person asked, as the man stood.

"The best," the man smiled evilly, as his topaz eyes darted around the room, taking in the surroundings. The he stood in a giant cave, and by giant I mean you could drop Mount Everest down it and it wouldn't even touch the sides (A/N sound familiar?)

"Alphito has been destroyed, the girl shows promise." The man smiled again. "Although, she did get help from a crab."

"Has her flaw been discovered?" The voice seemed impatient, angry about something, angry at someone.

The man hesitated for a moment before answering, "It hasn't been confirmed-"

The voice roared in rage and the cave heated up another thousand degree's.

"-but it is possible that it is Atychiphobia, fear of failure. She was frozen for 3 minutes before fighting and during that time the other three demi-gods she is travelling with were injured."

"Yes, very well," the voice mused over the information. "Where is she now?"

"She is still in New York, about to-"

"NO!" the voice roared. "SHE IS HERE!" The man turned his attention to the blonde girl hidden in the shadows. But before he could draw his weapon she disappeared into a blue mist, the smell of the sea being left behind.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Andy woke up with a start. She shot up, only to be pushed back down to the floor by Josh, who was fussing over her, tending to her injuries.

"What happ-OW!" Andy screamed mid-sentence as Josh applied a bandage to a gash on her leg.

"What happened?" Alex finished. "That's what we want to know," then he turned to Josh."Are you sure she can't have any more ambrosia? She looks about ready to pass out again."

"Thanks for the compliment," Andy muttered but the boys ignored her.

"Yes, I'm sure, Alex. She's had three blocks already, that's more then I'd ever risk giving anyone."

"Well, I'm glad I'm special." Andy said, louder, trying to break the tension between the two boys.

Success.

It turned out that only Andy had any horrible injuries, apart from the large amount of bruises and scratches, Monique had broken a rib, Josh just got a small concussion ("That it wouldn't of changed much, you'd still be slow" "Oi!") and Alex had a wound on his leg from Alphito's talons all of which were healed in no time thanks to the ambrosia and Josh's healing skills.

You got lucky this time, the Atychiphobia's voice said in the back of her head, next time, the injuries could be worse, lethal. Kavouri mightn't be there to help you.

Doubt began to seed itself in Andy's thoughts, could be, might not. It was all unknown, unsure. Next time...hopefully that wasn't any time soon.

"Andy, Earth to Andy, come in Andromeda." Josh's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Phew, I thought we'd lost you for a sec," Josh said with a smirk. "You'll live, your leg might throb a bit now and then, and your bruises will hurt if someone pokes them," he glared pointedly at Alex. "But, you'll live."

Until next fight, the Atychiphobia added before Andy shut it out.

"Ready?" Monique asked, as she packed up the rest of their things.

"Yeah," Andy smiled, as she took the hand Josh offered and was pulled onto her feet. After the brief moment of dizziness, the quartet walked out of the alley where they had been for an hour and back out to the docks.

<p style="text-align:center">...

For the second time that day, the four stood on the edge of the dock, looking out over the ocean as if it would give them answers. Monique had insisted that this was the place to start, the other three were critical, but knowing Monique, they kept their mouths shut and followed her lead.

"Something strange," Monique told them. "Something out of the ordinary that we won't be looking for."

Josh snorted, "If we're not looking for it, how are we gonna find it? Trip over it?"

Monique hit him on the shoulder where he ever so happened to have a big bruise. Silently swearing, Josh stepped out of arm's reach of Monique and decided not to annoy her until he didn't have any bruises.

Something strange, out of the ordinary. Oh, how about this! Four kids who happen to be the kids of gods are looking around a dock for a boat mentioned in a prophecy so they can sail and complete a quest given to them by a giant fish that happens to be my uncle after just recovering from a fight with a grandma-bogeyman, Andy thought bitterly as they scoured the docks. She herself was sceptical of the plan, but she saw the logic behind the choice so she trusted Monique's judgment.

Andy climbed a stack of crates to get a better look at the dock. To her left was a cluster of cargo ships, filled with people bustling around. Directly in front of her was fifty or so private boats, still heaps of people docking and sailing out. To her right was an empty space of water, big enough for three cargo ships to fit in snugly, no one was around here, then after that was some cruise― hold on.

Andy looked again, something out of the ordinary. Deserted. One small section of the dock absolutely deserted. Everyone seemed to unconsciously move away from the area, finding another way to get to each side.

This was New York, nowhere was abandoned like that, even the worst part of the city was full of crooks and homeless.

"Monique! Alex! Josh! M'ere!" Andy shouted over the din. The three demi-gods pushed their way through the crowd, Monique apologising here and there, Alex and Josh not bothering.

"What is it?" Monique asked, excitedly as she reached within earshot of her friend.

"New York, guys," Andy smiled. "Nowhere is deserted, there is always action, right?"

"Right..." Josh agreed, not sure where this was going.

"Well, why is there three docking spaces completely deserted, not a soul around." Andy smiled as she led the way to the spot she had seen. It was a longer walk then she had thought from her high vantage point, but when they got there, sure enough- it was empty.

"Strange." Josh said.

"Out of the ordinary." Alex added.

"Something we aren't looking for," Monique finished. "You're a genius, Andy!"

Andy frowned, "Don't get to excited, we still need to find them damn thing."

The other's smiled turned into frowns as they realised there was no ship here. It wasn't here.

"We should-what that Hades is that?" Alex exclaimed, pointing to the water.

The water was bubbling; steam was billowing from it, clouding everyone's vision. When it cleared they saw a ship rise from the water, a giant cruise ship that looked like the one Annabeth had taken Andy on when they cruised the Caribbean. It looked like it had been blown apart, but magically put back together, the hull blackened with soot and only half of the bridge remained intact. The decks were wet, most of the floorboards were soggy and the poles rusted. The figure head didn't inspire much confidence as it was one of a girl chained to the front, looking utterly terrified, and on the front was the name of the ship:

Πριγκίπισσα Ανδρομέδα

The Princess Andromeda

Chapter Eight: Remembering Sucks
Mount Etna, Sicily

Annabeth's scream pierced Percy's eardrum's as he woke from his slumber, sleep still in his eyes, and look alarmed at Annabeth. He expected to see something that would make his heart wrench, like her being tortured, or his own power being used against her, but that wasn't what he saw. He saw the girl he loved...

...cringing away from a spider that was crawling by her feet. Percy couldn't help but laugh, despite the horrid situation they were in, it felt good, laughing.

"SPIDER!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to kick the hairy arachnid away with her foot.

"Scared of spiders still, Wise Girl?" he said through his laughter, recieving dagger's from Annabeth as she kicked the spider away and off the summit and into the magma chamber below.

"I'm ever so glad that I could be to your amusement, Seaweed Brain." she huffed.

"Remember the Tunnel of Love on our first quest?"

Annabeth scowled, "Yes I do." and then she muttered something under her breath that sounded something like, "iíthio, gamiméno aráchni."

Percy laughed, "Language, Annabeth!"

"Greek." she smiled

<p style="text-align:center">...

New York Harbor, New York

"Are you sure?" Monique asked, apprehensive.

"Yeah! Come on, Mon. It'll be fun!" Alex smiled, practically jumping where he stood.

Monique crossed her arms stubbonly, "Yes, fun and dangerously stupid. Some random boat just pops up in the water and you instantly decide to board it? Is that suisidal or what?"

"That may be so, but how many boats have you seen just 'pop up' in the water?" Alex huffed, putting air quotations around the words 'pop up'. "It has to be for us. Who else gets a 'pop up' boat, huh? The president? Oprah? The queen?"

"Yeah, Alex is right," Josh agreed. Everyone looked at him and he realised he had just agreed with his enemy. "I-I mean, it could be dangerous, but what else is new?" he asked, trying to cover up his 'mistake'.

Monique looked between the two boys before rounding on Andy who had been silent through the entire argument. "This is your quest, Andy. What do we do?" she asked testily, still eyeing the boys angerly.

They were all looking at Andy now and she fought down the blood that came rushing to her cheeks. "Uh..." she said, rather intelligently. "I think we should...we should go on the boat. Like Alex said, we can't stay here and wait for another one."

Monique's nostrils flared, making her momentarily look something close to an angry Rhino, but she took a breath and frowned, "Okay, fine." she muttered, trailing beside Andy as walked up the bridge that connected them to the boat.

"I think we should search the boat. Just in case." Monique sauggested, but her tone made it clear that there was no arguing on the matter. "Josh, we'll check the stern. Andy, you and Alex check the bow and meet in the bridge."

Josh and Alex both looked confused at Monique, "Check the where?" they asked together.

Andy answered, "The stern, guys, y'know, the back. The bow, the front. Port, left, Starboard, right. The keel's the spine of the ship, the hull's the outside, bottom's the bilge and bridge is the place where there steer the damn ship." she said, pointing out each part of the ship as she said it. "Any questions?"

He didn't say anything but Josh had one question on his mind. Why the hades did Alex get to go with Andy?

Monique saw him about to say something, grabbed his arm and dragged him to the stern. Alex looked smugly at Josh, a look he thought Andy missed, when in all reality, both her and Monique had bet on who would do the stupidest thing first, here money was on Josh. Hers was on Alex.

Andy smiled inwardly and led Alex to the bow. As the combed all of the decks, they realised how messed up the boat really was. There was blood on the boards and on the carpet. One of the lounges was so horrible, Andy got a sick stomach from being in there so Alex had to check it out. The carpet was worn away, trails of slime coated the floor and the wallpaper was ripped and torn, like someone had taken to it with a hacksaw. Bones littered the floor, and Andy shuddered as she realised some of them were human bones. And then there was the stench. Imagine putting your sweaty, smelly gym socks into your locker after you just finished running a marathon. Then put in moldy cheese, rotten eggs, spoiled milk, rotting flesh, burning tyres and throw in all of the Newton Middle School's jock's colonge for good measure, leave it there to, do something for a month, then you'll have come close to how that room smelt.

Yuck.

They didn't find anything so they headed back to the bridge, and getting completely lost in the task.

"There's got to be a shopping plaza around here," Andy mused as they walked through countless corridors.

"Okay, I know girls like shopping and all, but is this really the time to see if they have a Prada?" Alex asked, slightly amused.

Andy looked over her shoulder at him, "No, Fly Boy, I actually hate shopping. In a shopping plaza, there should be a khiosk with maps."

Alex felt embarassed at his idiocy, but Andy didn't seem to see, or care, and continued. After a good five minutes, they found a shopping plaza, and like Andy said, there was a help khiosk with maps. Alex went over to the destroyed YOU ARE HERE model ship that was missing the ship, then stopped to look at Andy, who had frozen on the spot, looking at the plaza.

The place was a mess. Shop windows were smashed and cracked, merchandise was everywhere and the fountain in the centre of the plaza was smashed and leaking all over the tiles. But there was a definated path of destruction. It seemed to start at one of the far left shops, then moved to the right before going into the middle and destroying the fountain. Andy wondered what did that. Maybe a giant bulldozer? Or a monster? (A/N hint, hint, wink, wink, LO)

"Andy, I've got the map. Come on." Alex urged, he was getting uncomfortable by the way Andy stodd staring out into the water of the fountain.

Andy heard sounds, voices, yell, clangs of sword and slices of metal through flesh. Then the voices, or voice, became louder, but still onlt the ghost of things that had been.

"Hey, crabby." a voice said, "I'm just gonna scoot around you so-" Then there was the sound of glass shattering and clothing racks falling to the floor. Someone drew a sword, she heard the metal cling against a type of armor, and then there was a squeal, like the one you get when you play basketball and your sneakers rub on the floor. A shout of triamph, then new yells.

"There!" someone called, "Intruder!" Andy couldn't explain why, but she felt paniced, if she got pinned down in the middle of the ship, she'd be crab chow. But there wasn't a crab! Or a fight! No one else was here except her and Alex. Then there was a rumbling deep in the ship and green flames burst into existance being with them amazing heat. Every inch of her body seemed to be on fire...

"ANDY!" Alex yelled, dragging Andy out from her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, umm...sorry, Alex. Blacked ou' th'air for a sec, y'know." she said, her speech slurred as if she'd just recovered from the worst hangover in the world (not like she'd know...)

Alex sighed. He knew Andy was lying, she was a horrible liar and she was shaking madly, he thought for a moment she might have a fit or somthing. He put an arm around her waist (YES! he thought when she didn't protest) and helped steady her. Some colour returned to her face as they walked down the steps.

They went back out into the sunlight to meet Josh and Monique, not bothering to ask why Josh had a red mark on his arm. Instantly, Josh glared at Alex, whose arm was still supporting Andy and Alex moved closer to her to ask if she was alright. Josh almost had steam billowing out of his ears at Alex's smug expression, but as Andy's faces paled once more, he forgot his rivraly and went over to help her.

"Andy, Andy!" Monique squeaked as she litterly clawed Alex's arms off her friend and laid her down on the couch. Josh ran a simple check over of her.

"Muscle spasmns. Caused by large amounts of stress and trauma. Your body thinks something should have happened but it didn't." he informed Andy.

"After effects of the fight?" Monique suggested.

Andy didn't answer. She hadn't thought about the fight with Alphito since it ended, no, the boat...triggered something...something...old...something that should stay hidden.

Andy rose from the couch (ignoring Josh's protestes that she needed to rest) and started to the bridge. Andy had no idea how to steer a boat, let alone a freakin giant cruise ship, and even if she did, the bridge was in such a mess every janitor in the world wouldn't have been able to clean it up.

Why can't this stupid thing sail itself! she thought angryly, kicking a console and immediatly regretting it.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Mount Etna, Sicily

Why can't thins stupid thing sail itself! Percy heard his daughter's distress from countries away.

"Annabeth, Andromeda needs help." Percy told Annabeth, as she looked up in worry.

"Why? What happened? Is she hurt?" Annabeth bombarded him with questions as he closed his eyes and tried to find his daughter again. He found her.

"She's on the Princess Andromeda." Percy told Annabeth, who gasped but let him continue. "She's with three other demi-gods, which is strange 'coz it's usually only three, not four..."

"Get on with it, Seaweed Brain!"

"Okay, okay. I think they've just been in a small fight, I'm not sure, and now they want to sail the Princess Andromeda but it's kinda' impossible seeing as me and Beckendorf blew it up." Percy's words turned solom at the memory of Beckendorf.

"Well?" Annabeth asked. "Can you help her or not? Don't gods generally do that?"

"I'm sorry, Wise Girl, but it is kind of hard to sail a ship from 4,000 miles away."

"You can do it, can't you."

"Yeah..."

"Then do it!"

<p style="text-align:center">...

Princess Andromeda, New York Harbor

Even with the Princess Andromeda sailing smoothly, the four demi-gods were paranoid, that is, even more than usual.

As Andy dipped her feet in the pool, she saw Josh walk past in the opposite direction not even glancing at her (which in itself was odd) and keeping a hand on the bow that was slung across his back, notching an arrow with lightning speed at the slightest noise.

Andy could see Alex was pacing up and down the starboard deck, stopping, looking back at the Empire State Building in the distance, muttering, then pacing again, all the while, his hand gripping the sword that was resting in it's scabbard until his knuckles were white and looking quite sea-sick.

Monique on the other hand was meditating in one of the lounges, every five seconds or so reaching for the dagger that sat on one of the small tables beside the small, white lounge she sat on.

Andy felt very uneasy as she sat by the pool side. She kept hearing noises around her, but not normal ones, it sounded like a whole group of people were on board around her.

"Traitor!" a boy yelled. "You tricked all of us! Even DIONYSUS at CAMP HALF-BLOOD!"

Andy shuddered, screwing her eyes shut as if it would block out the sound.

"Who poisoned Thalia's tree, Luke?" the boy asked angerly.

"I did, of course." a young man snarled. Andy's blood ran cold at the tone of voice he was using, she couldn't explain it, but something in his voice sparked something in her brain, a memory, but not a memory.

"You were going to heal Kronos!" the boy yelled.

"Yes! The Fleece's magic would've sped his mending process tenfold. But you haven't stopped us, Percy."

And then she heard the sound of fighting. Swords and shields clanging against each other. Then the sound of hooves galloping onto the deck, the whoops of what sounded like partying horses (however weird that might sound) and the blast of...a paintball gun...? She felt chaos around her, the sound of war cries, screams, her mother's voice.

"Come on, Percy! We've gotta go!" her mother yelled over the fray. Why would her mother... wait, Percy. Percy... Percy... Perseus, as in Lord Perseus of the Atlantic...as in dad.

Andy had had enough. She pulled her legs out of the water to get up and instantly the noise stopped, the voices and the gallops stopped. Curious, she dipped her toes back into the water and the noise started again, this time different.

"You're late, Percy. We've been expecting you for days," the man said, but then something in his voice changed. His voice became heavier, ancient and powerful, it sounded exactly like the man in Andy's dream- the Titan lord Kronos. "Come, bow before me."

"Like that'll happen." Percy muttered and Andy only then realised that he was next to her, or, he used to be. A sword fight broke out, the sound of metal against each other was the only noise, then there was one, swift slice that seemed to be louder then it really was.

"A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke tells me you were never his match at swordplay."

"Luke had a big head," Percy said and Andy gasped at how weak his voice sounded. "But at least it was his head."

Andy couldn't help but let out a snort at that comment, but then she realised, she probably would have said something along those lines. Talk about creepy.

"It seems a pity to kill you now. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realise how I will destroy Olympus." Luke, no, Kronos said.

"You'll never get this boat to Manhattan," Percy said, stubbornly, getting a smirk from his daughter, still immersed in the sounds she was hearing.

"And why would that be? Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?"

There was the sound of footsteps and someone struggling, probably someone being led by another.

"No!" Percy yelled. I guess they were friends, not close, but still friends. So another demi-god on Kronos' ship? Andy thought, maybe theye were on a mission, or just being really, really stupid.

"He was going towards the engine room, my lord." another person said and Andy couldn't help but scowl at the last two words of his sentance. Blagh!

"How do you know that?" Kronos asked, now so close to Andy she shuddered. "Did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?"

Andy laughed, burn, she thought.

And then, a voice that Andy hadn't heard before, "What isss he doing? What isss that on hisss wrissst?"

There was a rumbling deep in the ship. There was hundreds of yells from monsters and weapons flying in Andy's general direction. There was a great SPLASH! then the ship blew. It felt like the entire ship was being blast apart by 50 nuclear bombs, the heat was unbearable, the screams, the death, the destruction...

"Andy! Andy!" her friend voices bought her back to Earth as they crowded around her.

"Are you okay?" Monique asked, uncertainly, putting an arm around her friends shoulders. Only now, did Andy realise she felt freezing cold, but was drenched in hot sweat at the same time. She was shacking slightly again.

"I-I'm fine, guys." she said, rather unconvinsingly.

"Don't say that, Andy. This is the second time today you've started shacking and screaming-"

"I was screaming?" Andy asked, suprised.

Alex crouched down next to her, "Yeah, really horrible stuff like 'traitor' and you kept saying 'no' alot."

"I'm fi-"

SLAP!

"Andromeda Jackson! Don't you dare ignore our help." Monique growled and both boys instantly inched back a bit, away from the angry daughter of Athena. "You are obviously going through something. Let us help. At least tell us what's going on."

"I'm-" Andy was about to finish that sentance with a 'fine' but the look on Monique's face made the words dive back down her throat. She put her head in her hand and closed her eyes, trying to organize her thoughts. Finally, she found her voice.

"I-I keep having these, well I don't know what to call them. Memories? Visions? No, not visons. Like, ghosts of what's happened on this boat. Right here." she said, gesturing around the top deck. "Monique, why was this boat so important?"

Monique sighed, "This was the main boat Kronos used to transport his army during the Second Titan War. Beckendorf and Jackson, I mean your dad, blew it up at near the begining of the Battle of Manhattan."

"Did...did Beckendorf die?" Andy asked, pale as a sheet.

Monique was silent for a moment before answering with a soft, "Yes."

The four were silent for a minuted until Josh asked, "What do you see?"

Andy looked up at the clear blue sky and took a calming breath, "I don't see it as much as I hear it. I heard the a fight between my dad and Kronos and I heard, and felt for that matter, the ship exploding. And earlier today in the plaza I heard my dad fighting a monster and breaking everything in there."

Josh nodded as if he understood what she was talking about, which he most liekly did, seeing as his dad was also the god of prophecy.

"Andy, you should get some sleep." Josh advised, as he helped her to her feet. "And don't argue with me. I'm a better healer then all of you put together. Go and find a room to stay in."

Andy would have argued (and probably would've won) but she realised she was ready to drop dead on her feet. She sighed and walked into the sleeping quarters of the boat, ignoring the concerned looks from her friends.

She chose to stay in a beautiful stateroom, with huge windows curved along the back wall, looking out over the stern of the ship. A Persian rug covered the floor. two plush sofas occupided the middle of the room, with a canopied bed in one conrner and a mahogany dining table in the other. But there were marks on the carpet, like the once you get when something heavy has been there. (A/N hint, hint, wink, wink SoM)

She walked over to the bed and collaped onto the soft matress, and was instantly asleep.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Rome, Italy

Riley liked Rome.

He made a mental note to ask his father not to destroy the city, well, only the parts that linked it to the gods. Sorry Trevi Fountain, but Poseidon would just have to go. Something Triton mightn't be to happy about, seeing as he is also featured in the stupid fountain but, really, who cared what that big-headed, egoistic son of the sea god thinks?

That's right, no one.

There were two reasons why Riley was in Rome. One, was he needed to be close enough to Mount Etna to make sure Braises didn't screw up (again) and two, he needed to be far enough away so he wouldn't need to listen to Braises' complaints, and he needed his involvment to be at a bare minimum.

But avoiding Braises was more important to his sanity then to his plan.

Everything is going along perfectly, he mused, sipping his coffee as he watched the Trevi Fountain from a cafe across the street, I must have over looked something. He huffed in frustration as he tried to think of what he had forgotten...

The incentive centaur was out of the way for now, along with that fat, drunken god who directed that filthly pot-hole of a camp.

The four demi-gods were on their way, Riley had personally watched them board the ship. He'd been slightly concerned about the Athena girl (Molly? Madison? Monay? Monqiue?) when she stopped Andromeda and the other two (John and Aaron, or, something like that), but his nephew's natural stupidity changed her mind, he had predicted that.

Perseus and Annabeth were secured, there was no chance they would be escaping without help. And that was exactly what he was hoping for.

The gods were being themselves, y'know, getting in the way and being general [CENCERED]. Riley hadn't been found out yet, something he wanted to keep the same until the right time came to revel himself as the person behind the plans, and in turn open up the next war his father was going to win. Poseidon and Athena were going to visit Andromeda and the other three, something Riley had predicted, again.

The only thing that was upsetting the plan in the slightest was his stepmother. Rhea was trying her best to interfere with his plan. Next thing you know, she would send Andromeda a dream. Ha! Like that would-

Riley sprang up from his chair so fast he knocked over the chair and his coffee. A waiter came to tell him off in rapid Italian but Riley was already running. He pushed though the crowd surrounding the Travi Fountain.

"Mossa! Fuori dai piedi, idioti!" he growled at the people blocking his way as he reached the main road. He kicked his motorbike into action and sped off at incredibly reckless speeds. He sped past several poliziotti but he drove to fast for them to even register his precence, that and time was slowing down to make it easier for Riley to navigate the traffic.'''

Rhea was either going to pay for interfering, he would make sure of it.

Chapter Nine: I Ruin the God of the Sea's Shirt
The Princess Andromeda, Atlantic Ocean

Have I mentioned I hate demi-god dreams? I have? Well, let me say it again.

I hate demi-god dreams.

As soon as my head hit the incredibly soft pillow in the stateroom, I was sucked into a dream.

I was standing in a huge hall that was lined with black stone and blazers burning green fire. At the head of the hall stood twelve magnificant, but horrible, thrones. A giant window covered the back wall and showed a view over a city that I realised was San Fransisco. I got the feeling that this room would usually have been bustling with activity but now it was empty, except for one woman who was sitting on one of the two larger thrones.

Her hair was the colour of rust with streaks of dark brown here and there. She had a kind face, she looked like a typical mum, really. Her green eyes had flecks of different colours in them, as if a flower had imprinted itself into her iris. And those eyes were looking at me.

"Ms. Chase," the woman smiled as she stepped off her throne and shrank down to human size, but she was still a head taller then me. "Or do you go by Jackson now?"

"Jackson." I confirmed, slightly suspisious but much more curious.

She smiled warmly, "Ms. Jackson. My name is Rhea, Titaness of Nature and Earthly Elements. Consort and Wife of Kronos, Queen of the Titans and Mother of the Gods. Come." she gestured for me to follow her outside and I did (probably not the best idea I've ever had but, hey, why not follow the wife of the guy who has hundreds of reasons to want to kill me.)

Outside was worse then inside the throne room. The ruins of beautiful dining pavillions and temples were dotted along the landscape, green fires burned in plants and all of the natural life seemed to have died. I looked over the edge and instinctivly took a step back. We were on a mountain that I reconised to be Mt. Tamalpais in San Fransisco. My mother took me here years ago for a few days with her work and she'd practically dragged six year old me away before I could explore up the mountain.

"You reconise this," Rhea said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "I was watching you six years ago. My stepson-" she made a face, "-tried to get you up here when you were young, but thank Gaia your mother is intelligent."

I stood there, confused, trying to remember that trip. We were leaving mum's opening of the new buisness building and...I couldn't remember. Why in the world couldn't I remember? It was the most exciting part of the boring trip!

"Yes, I am sorry about that. I had to erase your memory of the event or my stepson—" she scowled, "—would have been able to track you back to your home in New York." she amended before I could complain about having my memory taken.

"Not-not to sound rude, but why did you, uh, 'call' me?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound to rude.

"No, no, darling. It is a practical question. I need to tell you something very important. Your quest, what is the goal?"

"Um, uh..." I said, feeling horribly stupid. "Triton said we have to go to the summit of Mount Etna for a test from my father."

Rhea bit her lip, "This is worse then I thought." she mused. "As much as I do not want to, I shall tell you the blunt truth." she looked in my eyes. "Your father and mother have been kidnapped."

"W-what?" I said. I didn't understand, how could they have been kidnapped? How are gods kidnapped? Or is that godnapped? Can gods even be napped?

Rhea sighed and envolped me in a tight hug, "The gods are searching for them, but no one has been able to find them," she wiped a tear from my cheeks like a mother. "But I think you know where they are being held."

I wiped tears from my eyes, "I-I don't-" I shook my head and took a calming breath. "Mount E-Etna?"

"Yes," Rhea smiled sadly.

"Bu-but, you're a Titan. Why're you helping me?" I asked, truly confused.

Rhea turned and studied me closely before answering, "We are family, Andromeda. And family should help each other. It seldom happens in this family, but still." she smiled at the look on my face. "Oh, we are closer then you think," she said, as if reading my mind. "I am technically your great-grandmother on your father's side, or your great-great-grandmother on your mother's side. Not the closest relation you have, but a relation non the less."

I nodded, I understood...kinda.

Rhea smiled again, "I wish to help you, Andromeda—"

"Andy," I automatically corrected.

"Andy," she amened. "I fear my stepson-" she scowled. "-is planning something, I do not know what, but I know my stepson-" scowl. "-enjoys extravagant plans. And my stepson-" another scowl. "-has a knack for making then work."

"Who's your stepson?" I asked.

Rhea looked at me with...pity? "Try to work it out, young one."

I thought for a moment, "Stepson," I mused. "Well, you're married to Kronos and he doesn't have any immortal children with any other Titans or Gods so he would have a child with a mortal... Kronos has a demi-god son?"

Rhea looked solemn, "Yes, although demi-titan is more correct a term, but that doesn't sound as good does it?" she smiled. "His name is-"

There was a crash and the edges of my eyesight when fuzzy.

"RHEA!" I heard a man yell.

Rhea looked around in alarm, but then turned to me, "Andy, you need to go. We will speak again soon. Remember, nothing is ever as it seems. Go!" She shoved me off the mountain as a man burst through the doors of the throne room. I was falling, falling, falling...

I screamed and jumped, accidently rolling off of the bed and onto the floor. I huffed in frustration as I wiped the sweat off my face. Then a small jolt of what felt like electricity shocked me and I jumped to my feet. I realised I had landed in the middle of the indent in the carpet. I shuddered for some reason and backed away subconsciously. I looked out of the window, it was night and by the position of the moon (and the time on my watch) it was 1:57am.

I was worried about Rhea. Who was that man? Kronos? His son? Who was Kronos' son? Well, his half-blood son, not the other ones, I know who they are. But... argh! She didn't say his name, what's his name?

I huffed in frustration as I changed out of the clothes I had been wearing for two days and into a pair of ripped shorts (I swear it wasn't my fault) and a simple T-shirt. I had to search the room for my converse high top sneakers that were sitting by the door (well, one of them was anyway, the other had somehow got under the bed.) I grabbed my New York Giants jumper that Kavouri was sleeping next to, slid it over my head and walked out into the hallway. I navigated my way throught the corridor, with only the periodic beams of moonlight through the windows as I tried not to wake the others, who had most likely gotten rooms near mine if Monique had had anything to do with it.

I turned into the shopping plaza again, but I really didn't want another recap of who knows what, so I started walking out to the deck. But then I smelled something burning. Oh gods, please no, I thought as I ran in the direction of the smell. I climbed down flights of metal stairs until I got into the bilge of the ship. The engine room should be around here somewhere, I mused as I cautiously investigated the rooms. I came to the last and biggest room, and I knew that was where the smell was coming from. I pressed the back of my hand to the metal door and expected it to be hot from flames.

It wasn't.

Curiosity go the better of me and I pussed the door open. It swung open with a spine-tingling sqeeeeeeeeeaaaak! like the one you would hear in a scary movie when someone would walk into a room and— oh for gods sake, do not think about scary movies now!

I stepped into the engine room and instantly had to step out again from the smoke. I bought the hood from my jumper around my neck and used it to cover my mouth and nose as I stepped back into the room, despite my every instinct telling me not too.

The room was black, and I mean black. The walls and floor were covered in a thick layer of soot and ash, the metal was melted and cracked so much I had to watch where I put my feet. The engines which should have dominated the room were nonexistent, the remains of them were strewn across the room. The smoke was coming from a small fire of green flames that was burning in a jar that was lying in a corner. I walked over to it and picked it up and immmediatly dropped it again. The glass was boiling hot.

Silently cursing myself for being so curious, I pulled the sleeve of my jumper over my hand and picked the jar up again. Thankfully, it hadn't smashed. Then a strong gust of wind flew in through the doors and I was thrown against one of the engines. But the engines were blown to smitherines.

I stood up quickly and realised I was still in the same room, but it looked newer. The walls were clean and the engines were still running.

Not another stupid vision!

Then I realized the monster in the room with me. It was hunched over a console, about two metres tall, with the head of a Doberman and the body of something that resembled a sea lion. He growled and tapped something on his keyboard, maybe he was messaging his friends on uglyface. com. (hint, hint, wink, wink) Then he stiffed and turned around, only for the blade of a wickedly sharp sword slice through him, making him disintergrate.

I didn't even notice the two teenagers creep through the door.

One of them was ripped. He was an African-American dude, with muscles like a pro ballplayer, and with hands like catcher's mitts which were calloused from working with them so much over the years. He had cropped black hair, muddy brown eyes and was carrying a sack over his shoulder.

He was followed by another teen, although the next one looked much younger then him. He was kinda-sorta slim but kinda-sorta athletic at the same time, which was kinda-sorta weird... He had messy (and I mean messy) black hair and deep, sea-green eyes so much like my own. He was the wielder of the sword.

They completly ignoring me, and the ripped-dude (very creative nickname, I know) made his way to the engines where I stood.

"One down," he said. "About five thousand to go." he tossed the other dude a huge roll of duct tap and a jar of green fire, like the one I was holding. "Slap that one on the console. I'll get the turbines."

They worked for a few minutes until I heard the sound of feet pounding against metal. The two boys locked eyes. "How much longer?"

"Too long," the ripped-dude said, tapping his watch. "I'll have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least."

That wasn't good.

"I'll distract them," the other guy said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point."

"Percy-"

"Wish me luck," Percy said as he charged out of the door.

"Good luck." he whispered, before I followed my father out the door.

<p style="text-align:center">...

I watching in awe as Percy took out monster after monster, leading them away from the other demi-god in the engine room. I watched him as he took out the giant crab that had destroyed the shopping plaza and destroy heaps of snake-women people. Then he burst out onto the main deck while I was still running to catch up. I saw him get surrounded by monster's and the scene that I had heard yesterday by the pool replayed.

Then there was the rumbling, the flames, the pain, the death, the destruction. I couldn't handle it, it was to much. How would anyone be able to survive this torture? Then I remembered the other demi-god. He'd ended his life so my dad could get to safety. That hit me hard. Then, ontop of all the pain, the small of my back started burning, the red-hot pain searing up my back and into my arms, my legs and burning up my neck so hot I felt like my entire body was being dipped in a vat of acid...

"AHHH!" I screamed (rather high pitched and girlish-ly I might add), tears running freely down my face. "NO! NO!"

Then there was a hand on my shoulder, a comforting hand that I didn't know, but needed so much. "Shh..." a male voice said from beside me. "It's okay, you're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you, my dear." I didn't reconize the voice or, when I looked up, the face. I instinctivly moved away, but not getting very far because the small of my back was still on fire and I screamed again, the pain increasing tenfold.

The tears started flowing down my cheeks again, and the man pulled me into a tight embrace, my head resting on his chest, my tears ruining the Hawaiian print shirt he was wearing. "Shh..." he said again. "It's alright."

I pulled away and wiped my eyes, "I-I'm s-sorry, i-it's just—"

"The visions," the man nodded. "If I may, what did you see?"

"I-I," I blinked back the tears already forming in my eyes and took a calming breath. "I saw my dad— Percy— on a mission with another demi-god—"

"Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus," he supplied.

"Yeah him, and the ship... they-they blew it up... so much pain... so much death... it was horrible... and he was killed..." I shuddered, reliving the memories of the past day.

"He died a hero's death, Andromeda."

I pulled away from him, "H-how do you know my name? Who are you, anyway? Why are you here?"

The man smiled, not at all fased by my caution, "My dear, I think you've already worked it out."

And I had.

"Poseidon," I greeted.

"Of course, my dear. But most gods would blast you to bits if you didn't add a 'Lord' or 'Lady'," he told me.

"You didn't answer my third question." I pressed, taking the hand he offered me and pulled me off the deck. Only then did I realise where I was. Instead of being in the boiler room where I started, or in the shopping plaza where I was when the ship blew, I was on the front deck by the pool. It was night and it was freezing cold, now I was thankful I'd worn my jumper, not so much the shorts.

"Mmm..." he ageed. "Firstly, I came to give you something," he said as he took a small package out of his pocket. It was wrapped in brown paper and duct tape, it was just smaller than the palm of my hand. He passed it to me and I took it. It wasn't very heavy, but I was careful with it as I tore off the paper. It was a small, blue jewelry box, like the ones you would get at the shop, although I highly doubted it was from Tiffany and Co.

I looked up skeptically at Poseidon, but he just smiled, which honestly, just made me more skeptical.

I opened the box.

On a small, white cushion sat an ornate bronze braclet, carved in the shape of a snake so it's body wound around your wrist. It's body was imbedded with emeralds and it's eyes were made of glittering rubies.

Okay, I'm not one for wearing jewelry, in fact I don't even wear earings even if I have them pireced (my friend Desmond Hellody and a needle, don't ask), but the braclet was beautiful! I took it out of the box. It seemed to shine in the moonlight as I slid it onto my wrist.

I looked up at Poseidon, "You got this, for me?"

Poseidon laughed, "Why? Are you complaining?"

"No!" I denied quickly. "I-It's just, well, why?"

"Why? Aren't I allowed to give my grand-daughter a present after surviving her first fight on a quest?"

I blushed, "You saw that?" I said, shuffling my feet a bit.

"Only the end. Zeus had me trying to track down— oh it doesn't matter. But I saw the sword you were using—," he looked at the sword hanging from my waist in it's scabbard. "—and it looked extremly unbalanced."

"Uh...just a bit," I shrugged, aware of the growing weight of the sword. "But what's that got to do with—,"

"Touch one of the eyes," he said, stepping well away from me.

Confused, I touched one of the rubies with my thumb— which was easy because the head had crawled up under it (which was insanly weird)— and the braclet grew hot.

Now, the only way to describe this is in slow motion. The braclet glowed brighter as the snake's head slithered through the gap between my thumb and index finger. It continued into mid air, when it stopped when it was just under a meter long and it solified. The hilt, which was bronze, had two rubies imbedded either side of the quillion. (A/N- I bet you're going to Google that now) On the hilt, the emeralds had been arranged in the shape of a three-pronged trident surrounded by swirls— which probably represented water— and on the other side, an ornate owl sitting on a book. The sword was 3 feet long and weighted roughly 5 pounds. It was perfectly balanced in my hand as I twirled it round, Poseidon keeping well away, not that I could blame him— I mean— he just gave an ADHD 12 year old girl a sword, I could see why he was a little cautious.

"Hephaestus has done an amazing job, as usual," Poseidon nodded, as I touched one of the rubies and it melted back into a braclet (which, if I may add, was completly sickage!).

And I was speechless.

Poseidon smiled and took another package out from his pocket, this one was wrapped in silver paper with the imprint of an owl on the top, "Athena asked me to give you this to give to your friend, Monique." he passed me the package. "Athena would be here, but Zeus called her to Olympus for a council meeting."

I knit my eyebrows, "Then why aren't you there?"

"Well, I should be there, but I'll say that I got caught up doing something, which isn't technically a lie, is it?" Then he sighed and lent on the rail, looking out over the sea. "What's missing?" he asked.

I was thrown off by the question, but joined his leaning on the rail. I looked out over the water. It was navy blue, the moonlight reflection of the calm and silent water of the Atlantic.

"Waves," I answered. "There aren't any waves." I looked up at him and saw the pain and confusion conflicting on his face.

"Andromeda, if you have any infomation, any at all, about the whereabouts of your mother and father..." he left the question float in the air.

I looked out over the ocean. Rhea knew where they were, and she'd told me. Would she want me to tell her son? I knew it was important, but did I really think I could do it by myself? I reminded myself that I had Josh and Alex and Monique to help me, but what was I getting them into? Would they still want to help me when I tell them what he have to do?

"Mount Etna," I finally whispered. "They're on Mount Etna."

Poseidon looked shocked, "How do you know that?"

Oh, y'know, your mother— who ever so happens to be the wife of the guy who ate you and tried to take over Olympus— sent me a dream in San Fran where she told me and then pushed my off a mountain.

"That's where we're going on the quest. M-Monique worked it out yesterday," I improvised.

Poseidon's face seemed to light up at the infomation, "Excellent, th—" Poseidon's words were cut off by a loud clap of thunder followed by lightning. "It seems my brother grows impatient," he scowled and the lightning strunk way to close to the boat for my liking.

"Fine," he huffed at the sky then he turned back to me, "I must take my leave. I will try to speed you on your way. Good luck, my dear." he started to glow and I averted my eyes as he turned into his godly form and vanished, probably leaving behind the smell of the sea that I couldn't smell, seeing as we were on the sea.

I fingered the box in my hands, wondering what Athena gave Monique. I put it in my pocket, sighed and lent against the cold rail. I checked my watch and saw it was almost 2 am. I groaned and dragged myself back to the stateroom and flopped down on the bed, only now I realised how sore and tired I actually was.

<p style="text-align:center">...

I woke up in the morning to a very unpleasent wake up call.

"ANDY! WAKE UP, ANDY!" Alex screamed in my ear. I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him, but he ducked it and hit me with another pillow.

"Argh..." I groaned, squinting my eyes against the fierce sunlight coming in from the window. "Go away..."

"No, come on, get up, Andy. It's 12:30. Even Josh is up!" he stressed, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the bed.

"Gerroff!" I protested. "'M tired. I was up all ni'et..."

Alex dropped my arm, "Doing what?"

"Stuff," I scowled, slowly getting up off the floor where Alex had dragged me. "Have I mentioned you're annoying?"

"Not lately," he shrugged, walking out the door.

"Well you're annoying!" I yelled after him. He smiled and made his way out to the cafeteria.

<p style="text-align:center">...

A while later I entered the cafeteria to meet the other three already halfway through lunch.

"The zombie lives," Josh smiled as he shovelled a piece of hamburger in his mouth. Monique scooted her chair away from him, avoiding any re-dos of Alex's lovely lunch at McDonalds.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I grabbed an apple from Monique's vegetarian plate and sat down on a chair next to her.

"So, what's the plan?" Alex asked Monique and me as he sat down on the table.

I lent back on the back legs of my chair, "Well, it'll take us 'bout 12 days to reach Catania if we average 20 knots nonstop and we don't get any trouble with the Atlantic currents and the tides when we reach the Strait of Gibraltar or any different trading routes." I explained.

"Yep. I didn't understand a single word of that." Josh said.

I rolled my eyes, "It. Will. Take. Us. Twelve. Days. To. Get. To. A. City. In. It-al-y."

Monique and Alex burst out laughing while Josh pouted, closely resembling a two-year old.

Then I remembered the package Poseidon gave me.

"Monique, 'mere," I said, standing up and gesturing for her to follow me out of the cafeteria.

"What?" she asked, as she jogged to keep up with my fast pace. We walked back into the stateroom and I grabbed the box Poseidon gave me last night. I turned to Monique, who was considerably curious, and I gave it to her.

"A present from your mom," I smiled at her reation.

She opened the silver box with slightly shacky hands, unwrapped the purple crêpe paper and took out the gift. It was a silver owl pendant on a silver box chain. The pendant was incredibly simple by really pretty at the same time. It's eyes were big and the iris' were made of diamonds.

"Oh, whoa," Monique muttered, holding it up to the light. She put it back in the box and took out a note. She read it, the smile on her face growing wider and wider at each word. She handed the note to me so i could read it.

Dear Monique,

I know you will put this gift to great use. It was crafted many years ago by Archimedes while he was attempting his— well, I am sure you already know. I found it beautiful and I thought you might need it more then I do.

I will let you experiment with it, but all you need to do is put it on and ask it a question and it will give you the answer. Although, I know for a fact it cannot answer questions about the future, ask Apollo for that.

I want you to know that I am imensly proud of you and your achivments and I wish you the best of luck on this quest to find your half-sister. Tell Andromeda I am also very proud of her, although I am willing to bet that you will show this note to her.

Stay safe.

Sighned,

Lady Athena of the Olympian Council

I looked up from the note and locked eyes with Monique and she smiled.

"Cool, huh?" I said as I handed her back the note. She fumbled with the clasp of the chain as she put it around her neck. It glowed slightly and the diamonds flashed once, then it went as it was before.

"Yeah," she agreed, "Definatly cool."

<p style="text-align:center">...

Mount Tamalpais', San Fransisco

Riley kicked the wall.

He was angry.

He was absoultly furious.

His stupid stepmother told Andromeda about Perseus and Annabeth's location. She told her what was happening. She told the enemy! The ENEMY! How much had she told her? TO MUCH! And then his half-brother comes along and she tells them. SHE TELLS THE OLYMPIANS! When he next saw her he would wring her NECK! The-the-the... ARGH!

Riley paced up and down the throne room, thinking hard. The plan was still in effect, the demi-gods were still sailing. They were still going to Mount Etna, still on...the quest...

Riley smiled evilly, they were on quest.

The demi-gods were on a quest.

The demi-gods were on a quest to Mount Etna to save Perseus and Annabeth.

Riley was now practically jumping for joy (except he would never actually do that, it would absoulutly crush his dignity,) even if Poseidon informed the Olympian Council, they couldn't do anything about it! The Ancient Laws forbid them from interfering with a demi-god's quest, they may try to help them as much as they can, though. Riley would just have to make it more difficult for the demi-gods.

How about a little 'pit-stop'?

"Kampê! You're needed!"

Chapter Ten: On the Point of the Triangle and Trying not to Fall
Princess Andromeda

The Princess Andromeda was oddly quiet this Saturday morning. The four demi-gods on board had deviated to their own activites.

Monique had taken advantage of the small library on board, and had immersed herself in learning sailing and oceanography, to at least understand the things Andy started to say when she got started.

Once Josh had found out there was an arcade on board, he ignored everything else and bolted for a map, shooting Alex a death glare when he said arcade games were stupid. The others hadn't seen him out of the arcade room since.

Alex had challanged Andy to a game of Pool (A/N Billiards, 8-Ball, Snooker, whatever you want to call it) and was now getting his arse thourghly kicked by a girl, and as she had great pleasure in pointing out, who was a year younger then him.

"Face it, Alex. You suck at this game," Andy smiled, as she propped her big-stick-thingy against the table.

"I swear you cheated," Alex huffed, throwing his stick next to Andy's knocking both of them from their racks.

"Aww..." Andy cooed. "Iv poor bubby Awex upfet he wost?" She said in a mock bay voice, then laughed at a pouting Alex. He hit her on the arm good naturaly.

"I'm gonna get a burger. You want one?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm just gonna relax for a while."

"So in other words you're going to come back with a lovely tan."

"Hey! I am actually going to read a book in my room, thank-you very much." Andy huffed, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, by the huge window in your room, open, getting a tan." Alex smirked.

Andy, very maturly, stuck her tounge out at Alex, "For your infomation, Alex, the window in my room doesn't open."

"And you've checked?"

"I-I... er... well... errete es korakas!" Andy swore and stormed out of the room, leaving behind a laughing Alex.

Andy huffed, although smiling, as she made her way down the corridor and out onto the deck. Even though they hadn't been on the boat long, Andy had made herself memorize every corridor and room. 'Straticic purposes' she had told the boys. 'Avoiding the embarassment of getting lost' was Monique's answer. Andy opened the glass door that led into Sleeping Deck E-12 and then turned left into the stateroom she was staying in, with Monique's room directly in front of her and the boy's rooms either side of hers.

The room still gave her the creeps, but she stayed in there, the only reason being that she was curious about why she was creeped out by the room, paticulary the patch on the carpet, which hadn't seemed to come out, like the carpet had been melted down. Andy plopped down on her bed and grabbed the book on the bedside table.

Not even five minutes passed before she grew frustrated with dyslexia and threw the book against the wall, narrowly missing a glass vase full of water lilies that sat on the small dinning table.

She subconsiously rubbed her right wrist, feeling the metal of the (complete and utter sickage in Josh's words) sword, which Monique had christened Thalassa, which she explained was modern Greek for 'Sea'. Josh and Alex had suggested calling it some incredibly stupid name like 'Ripper' or 'Dynamite'. Andy suggested both of them to shut up.

So now it was Thalassa.

Anyway, Andy had been playing around with Thalassa as much as Monique had been playing around with her gift from Athena (which they all called Bobo, after the owl in the old Clash of the Titans movie.) Andy was sure the poor owl would soon die of thought, as Monique pressed it for infomation she could easily get from Andy (but as Monique said, "When you get going, no one can understand a word you're saying, Andy.")

Andy touch one of the rubies and the sword grew and harded in her hand in 0.962 seconds (yes, Monique had timed it.) The room glowed bronze as the sunlight reflected off the sword, with the tint of red and green as the light danced off of the rubies and emeralds, too.

Then there was a loud CRASH! Andy jumped in surprise, accidently throwing Thalassa at the wall. Then there was another CRASH! as the vase of water lilies on the table fell against the floor, water seeping into the crapet.

"Whoopsie," Andy muttered as she darted over to get Thalassa, avoiding the shards of glass that, if she asked really nicely Josh or Alex would probably clean up later.

She grabbed the hilt and felt one of the rubbies move, like, a micrometer in it's place, like it was a button.

Thinking something along the lines of, OMG, something really cool better happen,she picked it up and pressed the ruby. The point of the sword glowed faintly and it morphed into a hilt, so there was no point any more, just two hilts and a sharp blade. Andy grabbed the new hilt and pulled, the blade coming apart like butter and morphing down back closer to the hilts into two small daggers. She twirled them around a bit, before pressing the single ruby that was on the right dagger. Like a magnetic force, the left hand dagger was pulled toward the other dagger, and in a flash of gold light, the braclet was back on her wrist.

"Oh my gods, that is so cool," Andy muttered, staring in awe at the snake on her wrist, loving the sword/dagger/whatever you called the two hilt sword, even more than before.

<p style="text-align:center">...

It was dinner time on the Princess Andromeda, and the demi-gods were enjoying a delicious meal cooked by Josh, who they were very suprised by when they figured out he was a good cook.

"Oh my gawds, Josh. This is actually amazing," Andy smiled, swallowing a bite of one of Josh's 'suprise' biscuits.

"You'd better die and go to Elysium before me so you can make these amazing biscuits for me when I get there." Monique added, in a strangly good mood.

Josh smiled and sat down at the large table they were all sitting at, "Well, I'd rather not die any time soon, sorry Monique."

"Neither, mate," Alex smiled, putting his feet up on the table.

Monique huffed, her good mood gone, "Get your feet off the table, Alex." she reprimed.

Alex gaped at her, "You sound like my mother!"

"Good." she huffed, taking a bite out of a corn kernal.

The four lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate. They had all grown closer during the last few days on the Princess Andromeda. Even Josh and Alex seemed to be less hostile to each other, actually being able to have a civil conversation without trying to strangle each other. For them, it was a big improvement.

Josh laughed at Alex, then turned to Andy, "So, any improvments in the— WHAT THE HADES WAS THAT!" he yelled, as they were all thrown against the wall, the funiture following.

Andy seemed to know exactly what was happening, but she didn't tell them. Instead she donned the expression of someone who had just found out their house had been destroyed in a cyclone (A/N Queensland's Cyclone Yasi) and sprinted out into the halls with the others closly following. The task of simply running out onto the deck was made incredibly hard by the constant rocking of the ship, and the rumble of the storm outside. Andy grabbed a rail and steddied herself before running again, every so often stumbling with the momentium of the boat.

When they got out on deck, they weren't prepared for what they saw. Huge waves— the size of an average skyscraper— were pushing the boat around, buffeting against the hull so the night air was full of the sickening creaks of the hull's metal. The sky was black, full of storm clouds and pouring rain. The water was a disgusting sand-grey colour as the waves smashed against the ship, making it almost impossible to stay standing. The waves roared in their ears as a massive tidal wave gained height and smashing into the boat, breaking above the railing and shooting grey water onto the already soaked deck, sending the demi-gods sprawling. Andy regained her feet first and ran up to the bridge, getting smashed against the railing of the stairs as she climbed. She dived for cover in the bridge as another wave threatened to flood the deck.

Andy staggered drunkenly around to get a better vantage point, the noise of the waves and the roar of the harsh wind masking the sound of the others entering the bridge, grasping for anythign they could to keep them standing.

"ANDY!" Monique shouted over the wind. "WHAT'S HAPPENING? TROPICAL STORM?"

"NO! IT COULD'T HAVE COME IN SO FAST, I WOULD HAVE SEEN IT!" Andy yelled back, grabbing Josh's wrist and pulling him back into the bridge before he fell out of the room.

The rain increased, making it impossible for them to see out of the bridge windows, so they had to move outside and what they saw only made everything ten times worse.

A giant whirlpool was opening up around them. Imagine the whirlpool that is created when you take a plug out of a bath tub and all of the bath toys get sucked in. Now imagine that, only blown up to the size of Texas and put into the middle of the Atlantic with the Princess Andromeda playing the toy boat. Yeah, not good.

As the boat was getting sucked in, a sudden jerk sent Andy tumbling down the stairs and onto the deck, while Monique held Alex and Josh back as a wave crashed onto the deck, seperating Andy the the other three even further. Andy couldn't help but get to her feet again and stagger to the front of the ship. The centre of the whirlpool was pure gold and they were sailing right into it.

Andy's eyes windened as she dived for the front mast, realizing what was going to happen.

"GAVE HOLD'A SOMETHING AND FOR GODS SAKE DON'T LET GO!" she screamed over the wind, and by some miracle the others heard her. They attached themsleves to the most solid thing they could find as the ship plunged into the solid gold core.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Have you ever felt that small moment on a swingset when you are momentarly weightless? How your stomach seems to abandon you and you are slightly scared but slighty amused at the same time. Multply that by 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, take out the amusment and that is plunging into a whirlpool while on the deck of a crusie ship.

The demi-gods screams filled the world (the boys later denied the fact that they screamed) as they fell. Andy was worse off as she was at the very front, unsure if she was going to drown, suffocate or get smashed. The ship was on a 180o angle, the demi-gods hanging on for dear life as they swung sideways into the waves. Then the water consumed everything. Andy was perfectly fine, beign able to breathe underwater, but the others weren't. The boat was sinking and sinking fast and everthing getting dragged down with it.

Without even giving a thought to how stupid and reckless she was being, she let go of the pole and Thalassa formed in her hand. She touched the ruby and grabbed both daggers in her hand and kicked herself upwards, using Thalassa to slice things out of her way. She found the other three, Alex already unconsious from the lack of air and the pressure of the water. She pulled Alex closer to her as she grabbed hold of Monique's hand with Josh clinging onto Monique's other arm. Andy shut her eyes and consentrated on the bubbles of air in the water. She felt a tug in the pit of her stomach and three, small air bubbles appeared around her friend's mouths and noses.

Then, just when Andy was feeling triumphant, the ship hit something, hard. A bright gold light obscured her vision and just before she sank into unconsiousness she heard a low, evil laugh.

<p style="text-align:center">...

"Andy?"

"Andy can you hear me?"

"Please don't be dead!"

"Andy!"

"Oh, wake up..."

The voices swum in and out of Andy's ears as she started to stir out of the blackness. Her eyes started to flutter open, but all she regestered was the blurry blobs of colour, and then the red hot pain that was consuming her thoughts.

"OW!" she screamed, making Monique, Alex and Josh jump as they watched their friend regain consiousness. Andy, shaking with the effort, lifted herself off of the ground long enough to find what was causing her so much pain, but Josh pushed her down.

"No," he said firmly. "Lie down and stay down. You've gotten something stuck in your leg. Won't take a moment."

Andy really didn't want to see (or hear) what Josh was doing to heal her injury, so she turned to Monique and Alex. Monique was still slightly shaken, but Alex was white as a sheet, trumbling slightly as he gripped Andy's hand. She squeezed his hand and he smiled down at her, although the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Where are we?" she finally asked, as Josh finished applying the bandages to her leg. Instantly she knew that the others had absolutly no idea how to answer the question, so she smiled and slowly got to her feet, ignoring Josh's protests.

Andy looked around. They were standing in the middle of the top deck of the Princess Andromeda. All of the furniture was strewn around the deck, with some of the deck chairs replaced clumsyly around the front. Planks of wood were ripped from the deck and no where in sight, and there was still puddles of seawater littering the deck along with huge clumps of seaweed. Andy then looked out where they were. They were docked in a large harbour with five-or-so smaller crusie ships and dozens of smaller, private boats. There was a flurry of tourists around a mall with three old clocktowers.

"Thirty-two, nineteen, sixty-four, fifty." she said knowledgeably to the other three, recieving confused stares.

"What in the world are you talking about, Andy?" said Alex.

"Thirty-two, nineteen, sixty-four, fifty. 32 degrees, 19 minutes north, 64 degrees, 50 minutes west." Andy pressed, making the other demi-gods feel incredibly stupid.

"Oo-kay... coordinates. Where?" Monique asked, crossing her arms.

Andy sighed, and gestured around them, "Uh, hello? Bermuda!"

<p style="text-align:center">...

"Oh, come on, Andy!" Josh complained as he tried to drag Andy away. Not usually a 'tourist' person, but Andy had been intrigued with every inch of Bermuda.

"Oh come on, Josh. You, Alex and Monique have all travelled, I've never been out of the US, give me some leeway!" she protested, but allowed Josh to pull her away from the Cathedral of Holy Trinity.

They spent a good two hours just looking around the island, seeing everything there was to see, avoiding tourists and– in Andy's case– causing mayhem and setting free the marine life that occupied the Bermuda Aquarium. Overall, they were having a good time, for a moment forgetting how they'd gotten there, why they were they or any of their problems really as theyy had fun together.

But that soon changed.

It was Monique who spotted the strange woman who seemed to be stalking the four. She noticed the (rather ugly) woman first when she was looking in the window of an antique shop, then in a rain puddle, and then in a mirror hanging from a local's stall. Conserned with this, she lent over to Andy as they sat on one of the many piers.

"Have you noticed her?" she asked quietly.

Andy slyly eyed the woman in question, "Yeah, you think she's following us?"

"I'm certain," Monique snorted. Alex and Josh seemed to realise that the girls were having a conversation that had taken a darker turn and tuned in. "I just want to know if she's dangerous."

Now it was Andy's turn to snort, "Uh, stalker? Yes, I would classify that as dangerous monster or mortal."

"Yeah, well..." Monique trailed off, now openly staring at the woman who was walking– or more like strutting– towards them. The demi-gods focused on her, trying to look over the mist and they hated what they saw.

She was half-woman half-dragon. The human portion was pretty in a sick, twisted kinda way, with snakes for hair similar to Medusa. The dragon half was about twenty feet long with black scales, large claws, a barbed, scorpion-like tail and dragon legs made out of hundreds of viper snakes. Where the human and dragon halves meet the skin seemed to have welded together into a bubbly muck with various animal head growing out of the bubbles. Altogether, Andy really wanted to puke, but instead she drew her sword and the other followed suit.

"Monique?" Alex asked.

"Kampê." she answered bluntly, as if that explained everything, which it did.

"Crap." Josh swore as he let off a volley of arrows into Kampê's chest, giving the others time to figure out a plan. And the plan was amazingly simple.

"Run."

There was no arguing with Andy, there was no way they were fighting this thing. Kampê drew two long bronze scimitars that glowed with a weird greenish aura, boiling wisps of vapour that smelled sour and hot even across the street. And she was runnin/slithering after them.

"Do not let those things touch you," Alex advised. "They're filled with poison and if you do..."

"We'll die?" Andy suggested as they bounded down the bermudian streets, bounding through packs of dark-skinned locals and lighter tourists, all equally annoyed.

"Well, after you shrivel slowly to dust, yes."

The four demi-gods and one evil monster bounded out into teh open of Hamilton Harbour, knocking over crates of fruits and other goods. Kampê sliced very close to Josh, but Andy interseped the blow with Thalassa and played a short game of power-trip, pushing Kampê back a few paces (slithers?) giving the others time to run.

"Go! Get back to the Princess Andromeda!" Andy ordered, as she tried to get Kampê's attention away from her friends. Josh and Alex ignored her and tried to help, taking Andy's attention away from Kampê for a crucial second. Kampê used this to take a swipe at Andy, who jumped back just in time, tripping over a crate in the process. She tumbled to the floor and Kampê struck downwards at her, but she rolled out of the way and jumped to her feet.

"GO!" she yelled at the boys then turned back to Kampê, trusting Monique to drag the other two away.

Kampê growled and screeched something in a tongue Andy didn't know, but she doubted it was a compliment. A tiger's head from Kampê's waist took at bite at Andy, who was preoccupied with avoiding the tail, and it's teeth ripped three parallel lines across her stomach, not deep enough to cause any real damage, but still enough to make it hurt like hades.

Now as Andy was more cautious of the animal heads, Kampê's tail flicked around and struck Andy in the chest, sending her flying into Hamilton Harbour. As she fell into the water, she couldn't help but mentally laugh at poor Kampê.

Andy focused on the water around her. There was the familiar tug in her stomach and she was thrown out of the water on a huge tidal wave, something that was much to big to have ever been seen in the small harbour. Ignoring the strange looks she recieved from the mortals around her, Andy built up the pressure of the wave, until it was impossible to hold it any longer.

The wave came crashing down upon Kampê, but she was lulled into a false sense of security, not knowing of Andy's abilites as daughter of the Tidal Lord. The sheer presure of the water was enough to kill 50 men twice, let alown a single monster. Kampê disintegrated with a screech of fury, as Andy landed on the pavement.

Ignoring the yells and incredibly rude gestures she was getting from the mortals, Andy broke into a run as she tried to catch up with the others. She met up with them about half-way back to the docks.

"Kampê?" Alex asked.

"Gone." Andy smiled.

As they ran up the road back to the Princess Andromeda, Andy couldn't help but notice as they ran past a café that everyone's eyes were locked on them. A rather fat woman with muddy brown eyes who was wearing a horrid floral print dress, an almost golden eyes man with shoulder length black hair, a red-haired teen whose soda can was halfway to his mouth, a young brunette girl who was clutching a teddy bear in one hand and a Barbie plastic purse in the other.

Andy felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she passed and for a moment she locked eyes with the golden-eyed man, a shiver running down her spine as they rounded the corner into the docks and ran up the gangplank onto the deck of the Princess Andromeda. Andy stayed on the dock to untie the ropes that kept the boat in place. She grabbed a rope and swung from it, skimming the water and quickly running up the last few meters of the hull and landing on the deck.

"Show off much?" Monique asked, as Andy landed, and the boat started off, Alex overseeing the course from the Bridge.

Andy shrugged, smiling as they set off, away from Bermuda finally. She collapsed into a deck chair as Josh came over to her.

"Gods, Andy! You're obliviation my supply of ambrosia," Josh complained as he healed some of Andy's worse injuries. "I'm afraid you'll have that scar," he gestured to the cuts the tiger had made. "I can't heal them. The teeth must have been coated in somthing, sorry." he apologised.

"Nah, it's okay," Andy waved him off.

"Do you know what's not okay?" Monique asked, sounding angry as Alex returned to the deck. "You two! You both came in to try and protect Andy, and don't even try to deny it!" she warned Josh as he drew a breath to protest. "If you guys had just done what she said she would have a scar, would she? We had a plan worked out!"

Andy stood up and placed a hand on Monique's shoulder, "Nique, it's fine," then she turned to teh boys. "But you two seriously need to start getting along." The tone of voice she was using made it clear that there was no arguing in the matter.

Alex and Josh eyed each other distainfully, a move Andy caught.

"Shake hands," she ordered, glaring down the boy's attempts at protesting. Hesitantly, both boys glared at each other and clasped hands. The move only lasted a second, but it was good enough for Andy.

"Now, let's get this place cleaned up."

<p style="text-align:center">...

Indigo Café, Bermuda

Indigo was a very nice, small café located on the tropical island of Bermuda. It rarely got any trouble, the teens on the island were a nice bunch of kids and the adults were more than helpful, the only trouble was the tourists taking way to may photos. But that all changed when a mysterious man arrived on the island. Gossip had spread like wildfire about him, but he ignored all of it, and on a nice Saturday afternoon, he came into the Indigo Café and enjoyed a Lemon, Lime and Bitters while watching the chaos start out on the Freeport Docks.

His good demenor was instantly crashed when the four hooligans who were involved in the inncident survived and went back to their boat and sailed away.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Damn them! Those idiot demi-gods and their luck. Sheer DUMB LUCK! The Athena girl and the Apollo and Zeus (he spat on his half-brother's name) boys would have to be killed. They were far to much of a threat to Riley and his plan.

Riley looked up as the demi-gods ran past, locking eyes with Andromeda as she passed. He kept his face in a mask of shock and confusion that were similar to those of the stupid mortals surrounding him.

Although he was thourghly peeved at the demi-gods, he was also very happy at the outcome. For one he wouldn't have to listen to Kampê for another decade or so and two, Andromeda was looking better and better as an ally, as his plan was going to result. Seriously, what demi-god could have defeated Kampê with only a months training and no extraordanary powers? Obviously she could.

Things just kept looking better and better, for Riley that is.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Princess Andromeda, Bermuda

The dinner that night was very strained, the boys not speaking to each other and the girls holding in their laugher at the boys antics. Finally, they all decided it was late.

They all walked to their sleeping quarters, the boy's door slamming loudly. Andy laughed as she entered her own stateroom. Monique hesitated at her door. She knew that after fights they were worse. She could go down to tthe library and avoid them, but Andy then switched off the lighting, which the switch to was located in her room so Monique had no choice but to endure them.

Monique collapsed on her bed and was instantly asleep, and instantly plagued by the constant nightmares that haunted her every night. They were back.

She was standing on the Golden Gate Bridge watching the scene around her, unnoticed by the people present. In the centre of the deserted bridge stood two children, only 8 years old at the most, both of them had blonde hair and pirecing grey eyes. They were shoulder to shoulder, the boy only an inch taller then the girl, but both looking incredibly scared.

In front of them was, unmistakeably, the Minotaur, waving his (it's?) battle axe in wide archs, as the boy stepped in front of the girl who was obviously his sister. He drew a bronze knife from his pocket as he pushed the girl out of the way of the axe. It sliced him in the stomach and he collapsed on the ground, blood seeping through his clothes. A group of older kids ran onto the scene and after a quick fight they defeated the monster, but the young girl was at her brother's side, crying into his chest.

"Leo! Don't g-go, please d-don't go! I-I need you!" she cried.

Leo hugged his sister for the last time, "Monique," he shuddered weakly. "Stay safe, please stay safe... promise me, 'Nique."

"I-I will, Leo. I'll be safe, I'll make you proud. I promise." she smiled weakly, but started bawling when Leo's body went limp in her arms. The teens who were watching quietly reasured young Monique, ushering her into a white delivery van, Leo's dagger in her hand.

Older Monique had tears in her eyes as she relived her twin brother's death for the millionth time since it had happened. Then someone gave her strong, one armed up, and Monique looked around to see Andy standing next to her, the dim glow that he radiated reveling she was dreaming too. But before either friends could say anything they were whisked away into another memory.

Monique was terrified of what Andy would think of the next memory, it was the worst one next to Leo's death.

They were on the edge of the forest at Camp Half-Blood, young Monique now 10 years old and in front of her tall girl Andy didn't know, but Monique did, all to well. The girl was Paris Lyon, daughter of Eris. She had sleek dark brown hair that had a single streak of gold in it on the left side and crystal blue eyes. She was dangling Leo's dagger above Monique's head, just out of reach as she tried to jump for it.

"Come on, midget. You can get it, come on jump!" Paris smiled evilly, as Monique missed again. Monique huffed and kicked Paris in the shin, then she grabbed the dagger (accidently cutting herself in the process) and ran off, unknowingly into the forest. Now, Andy was squeezing old-Monique's wrist, as the pair were dragged after young-Monique. They found her by Zeus' Fist, surrounded by dracaena. One snake-woman lunged at Monique, who sliced at her with the dagger still in hand. She missed and the dracaena's claw tore through Monique's flesh, blood spilling on the forest floor as she collapsed.

Monique felt Andy gasp in pain and shock as the dracaena disappeared and Monique lay heaving on the ground. She looked like she had lost so much blood, every breath she took looked pained as the dagger fell from her grasp.

Then three elderly women walked into the clearing from the shadows of the trees. One was holding a big basket of multi-coloured wool, the second one held lots of wool, measuring it out, and the last one held a great big pair of what looked like golden gardening trimmers.

"No," the second one rasped. "She must live, she is too important!"

"So can't. We are breaking to many rules." the last one interjected.

"We make the rules!" the first one declared, before selecting a string of wool from the basket. It was a glittery silver colour that would have looked nice if it hadn't been tattered and blood stained. The second woman took it carefully and measured it until the third lady gripped it and it glowed white. The blood on it disappeared and it fixed itself, until it was back into a beautiful silver string.

On the forest floor, Monique's blood had disappeared from the floor, the wound across her chest had healed and she was now rolling onto her stomach away from the Fates, coughing so hard Andy expected to see a lung.

Old-Monique had tears down her face as Andy pulled her into a tight hug. They stayed like this for what seemed like eternity, before there was a flash of white light and Monique sat up in her bed, feeling oddly empty without her friend's supporting arms around her shoulders.

Chapter Eleven: I Make Plans and Meet my Godly Dad
I was shaking as I watched my best friend die on the ground in front of me. I knew she was really in the room across the hall, but she had died. And then the Fates had saved her. Why? What was she important for? Was that Paris chic still at Camp, because of she is, I'll be opening a can of whoop-ass.

I was taken out of the dream at the same time as Monique, but suprisingly I was still asleep, just in a different dream.

I'm really, really hating demi-god dreams at the moment.

I looked around at my surroundings. I was standing in the middle of a volcano. I yelped as I jumped away from the lava, no sorry, magma that was flowing around my feet. I coughed as ash filled my lungs, but it wasn't half as bad as I expected it to be. The I realised that, in a dream, my senses were dulled, so I was only smelling a quarter of the ash and smoke and feeling half the heat.

That really didn't improve my mood.

I looked up. Miles above me I could see the tiny opening of the volcano, which I knew was actually miles wide. It was a tiny dot of blue sky against the black rocks and ash that billowed around me.

"Sorry for bringing you here, I couldn't really get any, uh, further away." A voice said from behind a huge cloud of ash. I half-expected Rhea to pop up and tell me something (hopefully about that Riley dude) but it was a male voice who spoke. I then thought Riley, but if this Riley dude wanted to kill me then why would he be apologising and stuttering?

That's right, he wouldn't.

So, ruling out the people who wanted to kill me, I decided it was better to ask him aloud, but he answered before I voiced my question.

"Perc- uh- Perse- um..." he stumbled and I held back a snort at him, I felt as if I really shouldn't be snorting at PercuhPerseum.

"PercuhPerseum. What a lovely name. I can only imagine what high school was like for you," I smirked.

Then guys (who I still couldn't see) huffed and said in a stronger voice, "Percy. Percy Jackson."

I bit my lip to hold in the gasp I was about to take. Why would my dad, no sorry he didn't deserve that title, why would Lord Perseus be dreaming/whatever this is-ing me?

"Yes, and I'm Bond. James Bond." I rolled my eyes to hide the shock. Then he stepped out of the ash and I saw my father for the first time.

His hair was a mess of black on his head, clumped together with dry blood and sweat. His body was tan and, I'll admit... well built... but he was covered in cuts and bruises. And I mean covered. His arms, legs and chest were covered in bruises that were a sickly collage of blue, yellow, green, purple and black. His wrists were red and raw from where chains had dug into them and he had a nasty slice across his face that was bleeded golden ichor down his face. His clothes were torn and stained with ichor while his left knee looked incredibly dislocated. Then there were his eyes, the deep sea-green so much like my own, it looked weird, like I was looking at my eyes in a mirror, but it was so different at the same time.

"You look... horrible," I said, meeting his eyes. "And I've put up with freckle faced Mackenzie Bobofit for seven years, I know what-"

"Bobofit?" Percy asked suddenly.

"Yes..." I confirmed, eyeing him wairily.

Percy looked suprised, "Who in the world would like Nancy Bobofit?" he asked himself.

I raised my voice, "No one. The guy Sloan left her and the bit- I mean, Mackenzie."

"Sloan?" Percy asked again, taken abake by the name and I guessed he knew both of them.

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" I snapped, getting impatient. "Any reason I'm here, or do you just fancy a chat after twelve-or-so years?"

I knew I was being an idiot. He didn't know about me for twelve-or-so years. I was being majorly unfair and not to mention rude, but I was angry. Angry at him, angry at mum, furious at the Olympians! I mean, I'm risking the lives of my friends to save him when the stupid gods should do it them-bloody-selves.

"Andromeda-" Percy started, reaching out to touch my arm but I lerched away.

"Touch me and I'll poke one of those bruises," I threatened. Not the best threat in the world, but it would still hurt. And apparently Perseus got that. He dropped his hand to his side and looked at me intently.

"Annabeth was right," he mused quietly.

I met his gaze, "Where's mum? How is she? ANSWER ME FOR GODS SAKE!" I ordered, stepping closer to Percy. Even though he was a good head taller than me and a god to-boot, he still cowered under my glare, something I had learned from mum years ago.

"She-she's good," he lied.

"DON'T LIE TO ME ABOUT HER!" I yelled. Percy grabbed both of my wrists and held them tight so I couldn't move.

"Andromeda..."

"NO!" I yelled then lowered into a deadly voice. "Don't you dare lie to me, if she isn't in perfect health by the time I find her I'll have your head. You don't deserve to be close to her, you left her and you left me. So just run of to your little Olympians and leave us alone."

"An-"

"Bye."

I kicked and hit him in the shin so he realsed my hands and I retreated back and was pulled out of the dream and back onto the Princess Andromeda.

Hundreds of miled away, Percy frowned, "Well that didn't go well."

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. I had been a prat and I knew it. I had no idea why I'd said what I did, I would never say that, well, at least without a reason. I shook my head. No reason to wonder why I'd said it, I had still said it and Percy— Perseus, dad, PercuhPerseum, father, Bob, whoever— was probably incredibly annoyed at me.

I threw a pillow against the wall in frustration. I jumped at the resulting CRASH! as the newly replaced vase smashing into a thousand glittering pieces against the hard floor.

"Oops," I muttered as I slipped out of bed and got changed. It was early in the morning, about 6 or 7 o'clock. Far to early for a normal teen to be up, but I wanted to talk to Monique about her brother, Leo.

I walked out of the stateroom and into the hall, opened the door to Monique's room only to find it empty. I closed the door quietly and went searching.

I found her on the main deck. She was leaning on the very front rail of the ship, where just a few hours ago I was clinging onto for dear life as we tumbled into a whirlpool. It was windy, like insanly so, and her hair was blowing behind her as she curled into her jumper. I joined her, likewise sticking my hands into my pockets, but she didn't notice me for a few minutes (or she was ignoring me which was probably the most likly case.) Monique turned to me and tried to smile.

A single glistening tear slid down her cheek and wrapped my arms around her.

"He saved me, Andy. Did you know that?" Monique asked quietly. I knew who she was refering to. So, Leo Anderson saved his sister Monique Anderson. "We were twins, too. He was older by 7 minutes."

That suprised me, Monique had had a twin brother? Urgh, I can only handle one Monique let alone another one!

"He saved you," I said. "Then I owe him something, otherwise I mightn't have my best friend."

Monqiue looked up, a sort of small smile on her face, "Yeah, then you'd of had to put up with those two by yourself."

We both laughed.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Mount Etna, Sicily

Percy opened his eyes and was back in the chains on Mount Etna. He hung his head. His meeting with Andromeda didn't go as he planned.

"How'd it go, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy looked up at Annabeth, "Uh... alright?"

Annabeth knit her eyebrows, "Oh gods, you called her Andromeda instead of Andy didn't you? Urgh, you are such a Seaweed Brain!"

"Thanks, Wise Girl. Did you teach her to glare or what?"

Annabeth smiled, "Oh yeah, she's good like that. I'm pretty sure she could give Thalia a run for her money."

"Yeah, so do I. And she kicks hard."

"She kicked you?" asked Annabeth. "I don't know whether I should reprime her or laugh at you."

"I like the former." Percy smiled.

"Ha ha! Suck, Perce. You got kicked by a 12 year old!" Annabeth laughed, earning a half-hearted glare from Percy.

"I said the former."

"Yeah, so I do the latter."

"You're not nice, Wise Girl."

"I know, Seaweed Brain."

<p style="text-align:center">...

Princess Andromeda, 36'o '42' N 21'o '48' W

It was 3pm and Josh was finally out of bed. Contrary to whatever Alex tells you I did not tip ice-cold water on him to get him out of bed.

It was cold, not ice-cold.

Anyway, he was awake and we all sat in the main lounge 'discussing' plans.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Alex almost growled, fists by his side. "Rhea, Kronos' wife, mother of the gods ecetera, sent you a dream telling you that Lord Perseus and Annabeth have been kidnapped and Kronos' demi-god son is luring us into a trap, and you forgot to tell us?"

I crossed my arms, "Well so-ree if it slipped my mind while we were sinking into a whirl-pool and getting attacked on Bermuda, Alex! I don't see you doing anything useful!"

"I'm helping to plan!" Alex yelled as he stood up, knocking his chair over as he did.

"What's the plan then, Alexander?" I sneered, standing up to face him.

"You're suposed to be the smart one, Andromeda!"

"So you don't have a clue do you?"

"I—"

"URGH! BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!" Josh yelled. "I don't care Andy, sit."

Reluctantly, we both did still glaring daggers at each other.

Monique massaged her temples, "Zeus almighty you two are giving me a headache." She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. "Alright, so what do we know?"

"Onions are disgusting?" Josh supplied, shrugging.

"What? I love onions," I complained. "Tomato's horrible."

"No it's not."

"Cooked it is."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you there."

"But on the BBQ—"

"Guys! We're getting off subject here," Monique interviened before we began a verbal food fight. She shook her head. "Okay, what do we know that's related to the quest?"

"Boats are really—" Josh began before Alex cut him off.

"Josh? Shut up," he said before turning to Monique. "For starters we know that Perseus and Annabeth have been captured and are being held on Mount Etna."

"Yeah, and that Triton told us different," I put in. "I mean, you couldn't be misinformed about someone being captured."

"He said that this was a test right? Maybe Perseus set this the got captured." Alex suggested.

"Yes, Alex. His captor then held him on Mount Etna where he had set Andy to go." Josh rolled his eyes but Monqiue's eyes lit up.

"No... if his captor held him where we were already set to go it would be a perfect trap. If we didn't find out we could blame Perseus for sending us into the trap and avoid the captor getting caught."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Alex agreed. "But who would benefit from that?"

"Riley," I said and everyone turned to me. "Kronos' half-blood son, the one I was telling you about. Rhea seems sorta... I dunno... scared of him."

"Scared?" Josh asked. "How bad would he be to scare a Titan?"

"Well, he'd be a demi-titan himself, wouldn't he?" Alex asked. "And a son of Kronos t'boot. It would be hard for him to be a pr—"

"Alex!"

"—ick." Alex smiled innocently at Monique who had reprimed him.

Josh and I laughed. Then I got an idea, if we could... yeah... make it look like... probably... 'Kavouri, what do you think?'

Hmm... wah?

'What do you think of my plan?'

It sounds good, but you should run it through Monique, she'll work it out.

'Yeah, I will. Thanks, Kav.'

No problamo!

I smiled and tuned back into the converstion, "Okay guys, here's the plan..."

Chapter Twelve: Spain: Sun, Surf.... and Echidnas?
The others liked my plan. Monique instantly spotted the faults and corrected them, so I was pretty comfident that we would kick some monster butt when we got to Sicily. But that was just it, we had to make it to Sicily first, no scratch that, we needed to make it into the Mediterranean Sea first. But I think we could manage that without difficultly.

No scratch that, without to much difficulty. Because (as we all know) demi-god's lives aren't exactly 'simple' or 'pleasent' or 'safe'.

While I was musing over these facts, I didn't see Alex. Only when I walked into him and knocked us both over did I notice him... that and my nose really hurts now...

"Oh! Crud, sorry, Andy!" Alex apologised as he got up from the floor and offering me his hand. I took it and allowed him to pull me to my feet.

"Nah, Alex. My fault. Day dreaming." I said, waving off his apologies. "Where are you going anyway?"

"Hmm?" he said, obviously sinking into dream land again. "Oh! I'm, uh, going to the lounge. Josh wanted to see me for some reason."

I raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Ok-ay... do you mind if I come with? I'm bored out of my mind right now."

He nodded and we walked together into the lounge where Josh was already sitting. He eyed both of them warily before turning back around. Then he got an idea.

<p style="text-align:center">...

"PLEASE, ANDY!" Josh begged. "Pretty please with a cherry on top."

I smirked and swung my legs up onto the arm of one the armchair I was slouching in, "I don't like cherries, Joshua." I said as if it was obvious.

"Andy!"

"Fine," I sighed, leaning back in the chair. Josh jumped up and pumped his fist when Monique walked into the lounge.

She looked at the insanly happy son fo Apollo and arched an eyebrow, "Did you give him coffee, Andy?"

I gasped in mock-horror, "Monique! I would never."

"No, she said yes," Alex said from a bar stool across the room.

Monique looked between Andy and Josh, confused almost horrorified, "You're going out?"

"NO!" the three of us yelled, me in amusment, Josh rather glumly and Alex in fierce denial.

Monique put her hands up in a 'surrender' gesture and stepped back, "Sorry. But what did you say 'yes' to then?"

"Josh is sick of sailing—" I started but Alex cut me off.

"So am I."

"Yeah, but no one cares, Alex."

"I care!"

"Of course you would care about yourself, nimrod. But we don't."

"Hey! That's not—"

"SHUT UP!" Monique ordered. She sighed and fell into an armchair. "What are we doing, Andy? Before I kill Alex for the answer."

I smiled, "We're stopping off in Spain."

Monique grew ridged and clenched her jaw, "That, is, a really, bad, idea."

"Have you ever had Josh pleading with you ever second?" I defended, shooting a glare at Josh who was taking much interest in the bottom of his glass of lemonade. "I had to. And anyway, we need to stop somewhere to get some supplies, the boys are plowing through the food."

Monique bit her lip, "Ok-ay... but how much will we be put off course?" she said, taking a sip of her mineral water.

At that I smiled, "By nothing. We have to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar to get into the Mediterranean anyway, and we stop off in either Spain or Morocco. So we'll dock in Tarifa, have a look around, and leave."

"For some strange reason, I don't think it will be that easy," Monique sighed.

"It never is," I smiled ruefully.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Mount Etna, Sicily

Percy cursed himself for being so loud.

Why didn't he spend all of his demi-god years learning to be quiet? Why did his ADHD have to taunt him now? At this very moment? When he could be escaping?

Percy crouched next to Annabeth as they hid behind a boulder that was teeterign on the edge of Etna, hiding from the view of the [CENCORED] Briareos. He was talking, with his back turned, to the mysterious visitor that had been frequently checking in on Briareos, to see how he was doing on his 'task'.

But surely, even Briareos couldn't be stupid enough not to notice the empty chains swinging gently in the breeze across the summit? Well, it wasn't exactly a 'breeze' for-say, it was more of a huge cloud of poisinous ash that was billowing from the mouth of the now very active volcano. Just being in the proximity of the ash made Percy cough and splutter, and was exactly why he was cursing himself for being so loud.

Annabeth hit him on the shoulder and put her finger to her lips in the international 'shut the hell up' sign. He nodded and mouthed 'sorry' before they turned back to Briareos.

Following Annabeth's plans made Percy feel like he was still a demi-god, in the middle of Mout St. Helens, where Annabeth first kissed Percy. BUt then, he remembered, he had almost been killed and thrown to Calypso (not that he had complained), but Annabeth thought he was dead for weeks. Let's hope that didn't happen now.

But Percy had another reason for being so distracted. He was still thinking about his meeting with Andromeda, or Andy as Annabeth told him to call her. She was almost a mirror image of Annabeth but with his eyes changing most of Annabeth's features. Smile lines were written into her face, something Percy was happy about. She was almost his height (which was a bit worrying) and she kicked very hard. Percy still had the bruise. He was disappointed to say the least that the meeting hadn't gone well, he wanted to know her but he couldn't hold her reaction against her. In all truth Percy was sort of proud that she'd stood up to a god (even though it was him.)

But he was also worried. From what Annabeth had told him, Andro- Andy was smart, but could she figure this out? Against Percy's wishes he didn't think that she could, in all honesty she was only twelve.

You were only twelve, he reminded himself, when you went to get the Master Bolt. But that didn't help Percy much. He had been tricked during that quest and he didn't have to travel across the world. Only across America. Percy wondered how they were doing it. They obviously weren't flying, Zeus would have killed her. The best bet is that she and her friends would be sailing.

Good.

"Psst!" Annabeth whispered. "Percy, do you know who that is?" she pointed to a figure over Briareos' shoulder. He was tall with broad shoulders and cropped black hair.

Percy grit his teeth as he reconised the figure, "Triton," he mumbled in Annabeth's ear and she instantly began trying to work out a plan. She seemed to have one. Sneak very quietly.

And so they did.

Annabeth insisted that she go first, so she crept along an outcrop of rocks, taking very small and quiet steps. She nimbly made her way across a patch of lava and dodged into a small ridge. She gave Percy the thumbs up as she got into a sutible position. Percy went next, not so nimble, but quiet all the same. But when he got to the lake of lava he accidently inhaled a large amount of ash...

<p style="text-align:center">...

Princess Andromeda, Atlantic Ocean

We were under a mile away from the Strait of Gibraltar. I was amazed to say the least, it should have taken us 12 days to get here from New York, but we'd achived it in under 7 while also stopping off in Bermuda! That had to be a record.

Anyway, it seemed Poseidon had been helping a bit because I could see Europe and Africa in the distance. It was strange, those two continents, one full of wealth and the other of poverty, only 14 km away from each other. I voiced this to the others and the boys just shrugged but Monique and I engaged in an animated debate about what Europe should do to help Africa. Then it turned into talking about the song American Pie.

Don't ask.

Anyways, we were almost at Tarifa and we were getting ready. And by 'getting ready' I mean Monique was preparing for the worst while I kicked the boys butts at Wii. After they gave up on Mario Cart we parted ways to get ready for docking. Being the smart-cookie I was, I checked the temperature. And oh my gods. Shorts and singlet day today, it was almost 43 C.

I smiled, grabbed the small bag I was taking and darted out of the stateroom. I touched the metal bar to open the door but it burnt my hand and I pulled it back quickly. Oh yeah, I forgot, it's over 40 degrees. I managed to open the door and a wave of heat washed over me. It was like opening the door to an oven. Careful not to touch any metal, I decended the (metal) stairs and walked onto the deck. Already I could feel the beads of sweat on my forehead and hurridly wiped them off. The sun wasn't high in the sky yet, but if it was this hot in the morning I could only imagine how hot it would be at high noon.

I walked past the swimming pool and up to the bridge where Monique, Josh and Alex were waiting.

"Ready?" Monique asked.

"Ready." I smiled as I led the way walk slowly across the deck, checking we had everything. We certainly didn't want a repeat of Bermuda so we made sure we were ready. I had already emptied half of my water bottle before we even got off the boat, so I had to run and refill it before we left.

I'd docked the boat in the Monstruo Puerto next to other cruise boats so ours blended in. We melted into the crowds of tourists who were stepping off their own boats, most of them holding cameras and snapping a picture of everythign they could see. We stayed together and allowed us to be pushed in the general direction of the crowd.

Most of the tourists went into air-conditioned buses, as we walked along the side of a road that led to limestone gates.

My dyslexia wasn't so bad. The signs were in Spanish so I didn't have any idea if they were spelt right or even how they were pronunced. I saw a sign that read: PLEGIOR. I guessed that was the dyslexic version of spanish DANGER, whatever that was. There was the usual 'Keep Left' arrows and 'No Entry' white lines, so we got the general idea of where we couldn't go.

Monique grabbed my wrist and led me along with the boys to a less crowded spot. "Andy? What was it you needed for the boat, again? We shouldn't be here long." Monique said.

I flushed red, although she mightn't have seen it under my already red cheeks, "Uh... Nique, we don't need anything. I just wanted to go to Spain." I smiled, wryly.

Monique glared at me and hit me on the shoulder, "Andy!"

"What?" I asked, ignoring Alex and Josh's snickers. "Haven't you noticed the food replenishes itself? Oh, come on, Monique. We'll be fine!"

Monique crossed her arms and shook her head, "I'm going to regret this."

"Thank-you!" I smiled. "Now, come on."

<p style="text-align:center">...

Tarifa was hot.

After only a few minutes I had sweat dripping down my back, forehead and neck. Personally, I was fine. I mean, it's water right? But the others (mainly Alex) were sluggish as we walked down the mainstreet, looking at the merchendise that was on sale.

Small, wooden stalls lined some of the more dodgy roads and alleys, but they had great stuff and it was so fun bargining for objects. Josh and Alex had fun playing 'Good Cop, Bad Cop'. One of them would like something, but the other would have the money and say it was too much, making the vendor lower the price until 'Bad Cop' liked it. Monique and I enjoyed watching the vendor flinch as- Josh this time- asked for something like 25 Euros for a gold amulet.

We were walking down one of these streets when something caught my eye. A small, circular stone made of a green-ish rock, with a wave carving along the side. On one side was a head, although the design was faded, I could make out a kind of wreath on his (?) head, and on the other side was a mountain with a snow caped peak.

I looked up at the vendor and pointed to the rock. He understood and took it and held it up. "'Cuarenta euros," he said in a gruff voice. Me, never have taken a Spanish lesson in my life, understood zilch of that, but Monique, who did Spanish at her school, gasped.

"Cuarenta euros! Eso es demasiado caro. Diez." she said and by the look on the vendor's face she had said an insanly low price.

"Diez? Se trata de un artefacto increíble!" he said, throwing his hands in the arms in emphasise.

Monique held up the rock, "Es una roca."

"Un especial-" he started to say, but Monique slapped 10 euros on the stall and took the rock. The vendor shrugged and pocketed the euros, after all, a profit was a profit.

We caught up to the boys and Monique gave me the rock, "Any reason I just spent 10 perfectly good euros on a rock?"

"It's a pretty rock," I said, my voice dripping in sarcasm as I pocketed it. Actually, I had no idea why I- no sorry- why Monique bought it for me, but I had it now so... yeah.

<p style="text-align:center">...

We explored the town a bit more, grabbed a coffee at one of the many cafés along the main street, and saw some of the sights. We'd had a pretty relaxing day and now Monique was telling us to get back to the boat.

"See?" Josh said to Monique as we stood outside the harbour gates. "We didn't need to be paranoid, nothing-"

"DEMI-GOOOODDDDSSSS!" a harsh voice screeched and we whirled around.

"I spoke to soon," Josh muttered, notching an arrow. I drew Thalassa and spun around to face our adversitary.

It was a rather fat woman, with scaly green skin, yellow fangs and reptilian eyes. She didn't look like a big threat, but by Monique's face I figured that this book was much worse than it's cover.

"Monique -"

"Echidna," she muttered as Echidna take a step towards us.

"Yesss..." she hissed. "And prepare to die, demi-gods!"

I don't know if you know this about me yet, but I'm a rocket scientist and a brain surgeon, and while I'm at it I've even been president. So I said the first thing that came to mind: "I thought echidnas were only found in Australia?"

Aren't I such a genius?

"ARHHHHH! I HATE AUSTRALIA! Naming that stupid animal after me!"

The other three all looked at me, each gaze saying: 'do you want to die?'

I shrugged and twirled Thalassa in my hand, "Let's see what you got."

Echidna's eyes flamed with fury and she lunged forward, swipping with a sword that she drew from seemingly no-where. The sword caught Monique by suprise and she had to jump back, accidently knocking into Josh, sending them both flailing to the flaw. Josh's arrows had been knocked off course and instead of pierceing Echidna in the heart, they became inlodged in her leg as her tail flicked around and Alex pushed me out of the way.

I rolled away from Alex as his spear grew longer, he kneeled and jabbed at her. I dived for Thalassa and blocked Echidna's tail from slicing my neck and I jabbed. Echidna roared as Alex gave an upperhand cut. She turned to block him and I saw an opening. Dodging her tail, I sliced up and severed her tail from her body. She roared in pain and turned to me, giving Alex the opening to slice at her neck.

Echidna seemed to realize that she was in a bad position, so she tried to fall back, but Alex swung his spear around and Echidna burst into a hundred million tiny little golden pieces.

Alex smiled at me, "Done."

"Done."

"RRRROOOAAARRRR!"

"Oh my gods, what now?"

Chapter Thirteen: Alex and I Go Sanke Charming in Spain
We both whirled around. And oh my gods I swear my heart missed a beat. Standing there is all of there ugly glory were the most horrible group of things I'd ever seen. About 7 or 8 snake-ladies (who Monique later identified as dracaena with a scowl on her face) were standing up front with very, very pointy spears and murderous faces. And at the very back, standing there pounding his chest like a demented Tarzan, was one of the only monsters I could identify on-sight.

The Minotaur.

Okay, first thing's first. I'm an animal lover. I love animals of all types (except spiders *shiver*) and I would never harm one. But I was now being faced with having to kill 8 snakes and a bull, and oddly enough I didn't feel guilty at all.

I think that they were trying to kill me had a part in that.

Anyway, Alex and I side-stepped away from the uncounsious Monique and Josh, fearing for their safety. A dracaena lunged at as and that spured the others into action. I swiped at the first one, but it dodged and swiped back, grazing my elbow. Alex jabbed at a dracaena, turning it into puke-yellow dust, then used his spear to block an incoming mace and chain. But it wrapped around the shaft and snapped Alex's spear clean in two.

I heard Alex grown and mutter something about that being his favourite spear, but I had to duck and pureé another dracaena before I was sliced into an Andy + Dip platter. I swipped again, but the dracaena moved away and stabbed me painfully on the shoulder with the end of her spear. I was knocked to the floor, winded, sore and bleeding. I rolled out of the way before her spear point come in contact with me heart and— you'll never believe me luck— I slammed into a brick wall. I swear I heard a rib break, because I sure as Hades felt it.

Ignoring the pain in my shoulder, I got back on my feet and charged another dracaena who was caught unaware that I would still be a threat and was very promptly sliced through. Then Alex came over to me, tired, bleeding and weaponless. I realised I was the only one left with a bronze weapon.

"Are you any good with a dagger?" I asked him, as when jumped behind a stack of crates to gain time.

Alex rased his eyebrow, "I'm better with a spear—"

"But you can use one, right?" I asked impatiently as I fingered the ruby on Thalassa's hilt.

"Of course I can," he said, mildly offended that I'd questioned his skills.

"Good." I touched the ruby and after the one second transformation I handed him one of the two daggers. And just in time to, because a dracaena found us. I threw my dagger into it's chest, reducing it to a lovely coating for the Spanish side-walk.

Alex jumped out as I stayed back to take in the situation. 6 out of 8 dracaena were, no sorry, 7 out of 8 dracaena were dustified, the Minotaur couldn't be seen, Josh and Monique were lying under a large amount of rubble and, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, there were a group of locals hudled in terror. I had no idea what they saw through the mist, but I had to ignore them for the moment, as they weren't in any imediate danger.

Alex wasn't the best at weilding a dagger, but he could hold his own. I jumped up from my hiding place and went into a crouch, swinging my leg around to trip the dracaena and then stab it with me half of Thalassa. Alex looked at me gratefully.

"Thanks, Andy," he smiled, wiping the dagger and handing it back to me

"No promblamo," I smirked, reforming Thalassa but keeping it drawn. "Minotaur?"

"No idea."

"Not good."

Very not good."

We scouted the scene, but the Minotaur was gone. I found his path of destruction and it headed into the country side. Houses had been smashing in, stalls stomped to the floor and most of the street pulverised.

"Alex! I've found where he went!" I called and Alex ran over.

He bit his lip, "We shouldn't bother."

"Why?" I asked accusingly. "He'll cause more damage and possibly more deaths. At least we could do for Spain is to get rid of it."

"And the least we could do for us would be to get Monique and Josh and get outta here. Or have you forgotten about your parents alreday?" he spat, his tone unnessasarily harsh.

I whirled around and glared at him, matching his tone of voice, "Don't you dare say things like that, Depp. I actually care about other people besides myself, unlike a son of Zeus I could mention. Now back off, this is my quest and I decide what to do."

Alex stepped closer to me, drawing himself up to full height, which was only a few inches taller than me, "There's also a daughter of the stupid Tidal Lord that I could mention who is about to get us killed! The only person with little or no training to kill the Minotaur is Lord Perseus Trying to follow in daddy's footsteps then?"

I was now shaking with rage, "Shut your mouth, Depp. Before I shut it permanatly."

"Ooo, I'm so scared, Chase. At least my parents are smart enough not to get kidnapped unlike yo—" SMACK!

Before I realised what I was doing, my fist was clenched and I swung at him. And making contact with his fcae, forsing him to stumble backwards.

"Don't. You. Dare insult my parents, Alex." I growled, fighting the stinging feeling in my eyes. "Or d'you think this quest is all a waste of time?"

Alex got up, "I'm—look Andy, I'm sorry. It's just—"

"We're standing in the middle of a Spanish street, the locals shouting abuse at us, covered in dirt, sweat, blood, burns, grazes, wounds, monster dust and pomegranate. We're both a bit testy," I tried for a weak smile

"Just a normal day for a demi-god," Alex said and I couldn't help but to laugh. Alex smiled, 'Now come on, we'd better get Josh and Monique before the Spainish do."

<p style="text-align:center">...

Later, Josh was not impressed with my injures.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he started to heal me, making snide comments with each bandage, before I mentioned that he was uncounsious. Then he shut up.

"Okay, Andy," he said, slightly nervous. "I'm gonna need to do something."

"What?" I asked impatiently. I was sick and tired of sitting in this chair getting fixed up.

"What's the square root of Pi?" he asked suddenly.

I was taken aback by the quetsion, "How in the freakin' world should I bloody kno— OW! SHIT, JOSH!" I ended up screaming, as he pushed hard on my shoulder. I looked up at him, my glare digging into his skin.

He smiled and held up his hands, "Hey, I had to distract you otherwise it would've hurt a billion times more."

I huffed, even more frustrated, but feeling much better now my shoulder had been re-located. Finally, Josh gave me his injuries sheet to look at and I was shocked by how much one girl (me!) could get so many injuries. I looked up at Josh and he nodded grimly, "Yeah, they beat you up that bad," he smirked as he turned out of the door. "Oh, and Andy? Take it easy, you can't have any more ambrosia for, like, a million years."

I smiled, "I'll try to remember that."

"Try," Josh snorted as he climbed down the netal steps and out onto deck. Alex swarmed on him as soon as he was clear of ear-shot from the bridge.

"Josh! How is she?" Alex asked.

Josh sighed, "She'll live, dude. But she's been beat bad."

Alex nodded mutely and took the path Josh had just retured from to the bridge. When he was half-way up Josh called out, 'Hey, Alex! I'm-I'm sorry I couldn't help you two, it was really unfair that you guys had to deal-"

"Josh, dude. You were lying under 80 pounds of rubble, I didn't expect you to help. It's okay man, we're still alive aren't we?"

Josh smiled, "Sadly."

Alex rolled his eyes to the sun, "Your kid's annoying," he told Apollo as he entered the bridge. I was fiddling around with some of the controls that were un-damaged when Alex came in.

"Andy?" he asked, stepping next to me.

"Mm-hm," I muttered, not looking up from the console.

"I apologise 'bout what I said about you and your parents. I was being an idiot."

"Yes. Yes you were."

Alex flinched at my tone of voice. It was so cold it could cut ice. It wasn't fair on Alex, he was just annoyed and said a few stupid things, but he still shouldn't of said those things, mild as they were, they were still insulting and I took insults to heart.

Alex took another deep breath and started again, "Look, Andy. I was a prick. We both agree on that. Can we just build a bridge and get over it?"

I looked up at him accussingly, "That was the worst pun I've ever heard."

Alex smiled and slapped me on the back, "Thanks,"

"Who said I'm accepting your apology?" I said coldly, hiding a smile.

Alex raised an eyebrow, "You're smiling,"

I turned my head, "No I'm not," I said stubbornly.

"Of course you aren't," he smirked as he departed. "See you... Feather Brain."

I looked up as he said that. I narrowed my eyes, "Get lost, Air Head."

Affronted that I came up with a nickname, he turned and left.

<p style="text-align:center">...

I couldn't believe it. We were almost to Sicily. In under a week we had travelled thousands of miles when it should have taken far longer than that. I could bore you with all of the calculations and terms and stuff that even Monique couldn't understand, so I'll dumb it down for you.

It was pretty fast.

Anyways, I was standing in the stateroom looking out the window. I still called it the stateroom, not my stateroom, I had a bad feeling about the room still and I ddin't want to call it mine. I was spending so much time in there, trying to figure out what it was that freaked me out about this room. I'd long since figured out that there had been something bad resting on the burnt-down part of the carpet and someone bad ahd stayed in here, but the question who? continued to nibble at the edge of my thoughts.

It could have been Luke Castellan. Grover said he was, like, in charge of the last war and that he used this boat and that Kronos' coffin had been here, but I wasn't sure. I wanted to have solid facts. I was even trying to get a freakin vision to get the facts I was that desperate, but I couldn't work out how to do it.

I swear that the answer was staring me right in the face, but I just couldn't see it. I looked out over the cool, prestine waters of the ocean. It was staring me right in the face! I couldn't see it, it was so close, yet so far.

Oh how cliché.

Chapter Fourteen: Monique Calls in a Favor
Dinner on the Princess Andromeda was very calm and peaceful, one would think nothing bad would ever happen. The waters were sweet and tranquil, with the occasional ripple from dolphins who came to say 'hi'. The sun was setting on the horizon, sending a firey glow over the quiet cruise ship.

Can you see what's wrong with that picture?

If you answered 'because it's us', then you'd be correct.

So there I was, chasing a lone pea around my plate with a food crusted fork, when the boat lurched to the side with a sickening CRUNCH! I was sent flying,and hit the wall just below a porthole. Pain shot up my back as I quickly stood up, keeping low so if the boat lurched again I wouldn't go flying (*ahem* again.) I heard Josh groan from some where to my left, and Alex's colourful language from the right, but I ran out of the dinning hall as fast as I could and to get back on deck.

You may be wondering why I was so worried. Well, last time the Princess Andromeda lurched like that we fell into a whirlpool! So I was kinda worried.

I ran through halls, the sunset making the walls glow red and the carpet look like it was on fire. Said carpet muffled my heavy footfalls and of those of the others quickly following behind me.

I burst through the door and onto the flooded deck. The sky was firey red and the water was a pristine blue. Nothing seemed to be wrong except that there was a layer of water on the bottom deck. The others joined me as I walked further out onto the ship.

Nothing.

WHAM!

The boat was smashed to the side and we were all sent flying. I landed in a clumb of a deck chairs. Blagh! I kicked the stupid chair off me and I rolled to my feet, ignoring the searing pain in my neck from colliding with a very comfortable rail.

I got up and drew Thalassa and saw the others doing the same. Josh was climbing out of a new hole in the planks, Monique was moving away from the rail where she hit and Alex was running out of one of the doors leading to the gods know where.

Nothing was happening, which worried me more than gettign attacked. The other three came cautiously closer, not making a sound as if the slightest noise would set something off.

"Andy," Josh whispered. "What happened?"

I shrugged my shoulders, I had no idea what had just happened. Was it just a strange change in the wave patterns? Or something more sinister?

"Stay on your guard," Monique advised. "But don't get too jumpy. It's annoying."

Alex snorted as his spear compressed into a small cylinder, "I'm gonna check the top decks."

Monique nodded approvingly, "I'll come too. Andy, Josh, check the lower decks and engine rooms. Rendezvous back here and try not rip doors of their hinges." Monique glared pointedly at Alex, who whistled innocently, lifting the mood.

Josh and I started down the stairs and out onto the lowest deck which was just below our shoulders in water. I dived straight in, but Josh hesitated before putting his bow on his shoulders and stepping in.

He caught my look and grimaced, "Water makes the wood expand."

"Ahhh..." I smiled, and dived down into the water.

The wash that was used on the wood of the Princess Andromeda deck had saved the floorboards from getting soaked, but it hadn't saved the chairs and tables that had usually dotted the scape. I swatted a run-away chair leg out of my way and continued on, accidently shooting a current at Josh, so he got freaked out. I smirked when he jumped out of the water and onto a floating chair like a two-year old. I rose from the cool water and smirked at him, to which he pouted and slid back in.

<p style="text-align:center">...

Two and a half hours later, the entire boat had been searched thrice. Every inch of it had been investigated, I had even taken (was ordered by Monique) to search a 5 mile radius of water around the boat, and the four of us were exhausted. Personally, I didn't see what searching the boat did, but it kept the boys quiet so I wasn't complaining.

Now, after draining, like, a gajillion litres of sea water from the decks we were nearing the Catania port. We were sailing so close to Sicily that we could make out the individual people walking along the paths, and (in the boys' case) drool over the odd italian sports car.

We were sitting in the way-to-white-to-be-a-normal-lounge-room lounge room, watching land come closer and closer. Now I couldn't ignore the butterflies in my stomach, it was pointless to tell myself that I wasn't nervous, because I sure as hades was.

Monique was meditating again. Admitedly, it did make her less stressed out, but it was really freaky sitting next to her while she was still as a rock. Alex and Josh were playing a very competitive game of 8-Ball, so I gave them no mind. I was fingering the rock Monique had haggled off the spanish vendor in Tarifa. Why had I bought it? It was just a rock.

Well, a rock with cool carvings.

The outside edge (which was about an inch wide) had a laurel tree design on it, branches springing from a centre point on the other side. One side was decorated with an ornate snow capped mountain, with little houses tettering on the edge; and on the other was the face of a man, but the rock was so old and worn out that I couldn't work out any special features. On the rim of both sides were square holes, all the same size and shape; save the disfigurment that time had implicated.

"Andy?" Monique asked, out of her meditation pose.

"We're here."

<p style="text-align:center">...

Briareos turned to Triton, who had just appeared at the edge of Etna's summit, covered in dirt, sweat, blood and ash, among other things. He was holding his sword as if he'd just gotten out of a fight and his hair was tangled and his clothes disheveled.

"They're here."

<p style="text-align:center">...

Riley knelt in front of the golden throne of Kronos, his head bowed in respect while he gave his report to his father, who sat upon the throne, a smug smile plastered across his face.

"They've arrived."

<p style="text-align:center">...

We docked in the Catantia Port, next to small fishing boats and private boats. The Princess Andromeda looked completly out of place, but if anyone noticed us, they didn't bring the matter up.

After a week at sea the others were understandably still a bit wobbly on solid ground, so progress was slow as they regained their land-legs.

I was a bit shocked with Catania. True, I never really did ponder what the Sicilean city would look like, but it was fairly mondern comparred to Tarifa and Hamilton. The streets were reletivaly clean and there were some small skyscrapers dotted along in the middle of the city. Older buildings were more commmon, though, like the University which was 15th century at the least. Mount Etna dominated the skyline, smoke billowing from the summit, Mist clinging to the entire mountain, and I don't mean natural mist, I mean the Mist of the magical kind.

"Monique?" I asked as we stood on the docks. "What was your 'grand plan'?"

Monique smiled and pulled out a map of Catania which we had gotten from an infomation stand. Her finger followed a street and she apparently found something on the map.

"Is their a pay phone around here?" she asked.

Josh pointed to a booth behind Monique, "Yeah, behind you. Why d'you need a phone booth?"

"To call someone."

"Who?"

"You'll see," she smirked evilly as she slid into the yellow phone booth and inserted the correct number of coins and started to dial a number.

We waited impatiently as Monique called whoever she was calling, tapping my foot in a rhythm against the gritty cement. She came out of the phone booth, a very un-Monique smile on her face as she hailed a taxi.

"Well?" she asked. "Come on then."

All three of us stayed still, looking uncertainly at Monique.

"She's way too happy."

"Uh huh."

"Let's go."

"Aw, Andy!"

SMACK, "Zip it, Air Head."

"Make me, Feather Brains."

"Okay," SMACK.

"I—didn't—mean—it!"

Monique and Josh turned around as they were about to get into the taxi, "Well?" Josh called. "Are you two coming or not?"

I smiled and called back: "Coming!"

We ran to the taxi and slid into the air conditioned car. Josh had taken the front, so I was squished in the middle between Monique and Alex. Only as I sat down did I realise how tired I really was, and how sore my ankle was, which was weird. I rested my head back on the soft seat and closed my eyes and before I knew it, the car stopped.

I opened my eyes and then immediatly squinted them again against the harsh sunlight. As soon as I got used to the light Alex pulled me out of the car. We had stopped outside a villa.

A nice villa.

A very, very nice villa.

"Monique? What are we doing here?" Josh asked, as Monique led us up the pure white steps and to the French doors (which was kinda' weird 'coz we were in Italy.) She pressed the doorbell which gave off a high ringing. I heard footsteps coming to open the door as Monique stood expectantly, and us in impatient boredom.

A man opened the door. He looked like he was in his mid-forties, with salt'n'pepper hair and misty brown eyes. He would of looked smart in his dress jacket and trousers if they weren't dirty and the long rip on the hem of his pants. The red and yellow badge he wore on his breast pocket read Rbtoer Arsoennd, Seonir Vooisgncollot, Cianttaa Cllaoge. His face lit up when he saw Monique and I made the connection.

Monique smile matched the man's as she flew into his embrace, "Hey, dad."

<p style="text-align:center">...

We were sitting in Mr. Anderson's kitchen while sipping on the BEST homemade lemonade I had ever tasted.

Mr. Anderson was leaning on the kitchen island, a smile still on his face. He was so happy it was frightning.

"So, what are you doing here in Sicily?" Alex asked, finishing his drink.

"I study here. I'm a Volconologist and I keep track of Mederterainious Etnaphorus here. Mount Etna." he added, noting both Alex and Josh's confused faces at the scientific term.

"Uh, I'm probably gonna sound stupid asking this, but-" I asked, but Mr. Anderson answered before I finished.

"A Volconologist studies Volcanoes, Andy. Specifically the lava flows and the seismo activity."

"Uh-huh."

Mr. Anderson laughed, "Yes, now. I want to know why you're here. Nique didn't explain it over the phone."

"Yes I did!"

Mr. Anderson made a 'phone' with his fingers, "'Hi, dad. I'm in Sicily with my friends. Do you mind if we come over? No? Okay then, c'you!' I don't call that explaining."

Monique pounted, "Fine, A-"

"I'm not explaining!"

"Okay, Jo-"

"No way!"

"An-"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No!"

"Pretty please with a cherry on top!"

"Fine then."

Monique smirked in triumph and Josh and Alex his snickers. Mr. Anderson shook his head in a bemused way at his daughter and her friend's antics. I scowled and started to explain.

Mr. Anderson was a great audience.

He gasped and laughed and whispered in all the right places, finally ending with a worried sort of smile, shooting apologetic looks at me every so often. He offered us a place to stay, but suprisingly Monique rejected the offer.

"Sorry, dad, but you and I both know how dangerous it could be. You wouldn't believe how many monsters we've had to dodge. I couldn't bear it if anything hurt you because of me."

Mr. Anderson agreed, if rather grudgingly, to Monique's statement. He told us about a good camping spot close to the base of Etna, and he supplied us with heaps of gear that we could need, including hiking clothes/boots, extra food and water, ropes and lots more.

"Usually," he said. "You would need oxygen tanks for going up that high, but Alex should be able to keep enough oxygen in the atmosphere for you."

So we set out to the site. It was over two hours away, so I had plently of time to question Monique.

"Why did you say that to your dad?" I asked. "We haven't seen a single monster in Sicily."

Monique lowered her head, "I-I...I don't want to be close to my dad for long. I-It's to hard."

I gave Monique a sympathetic look, "Nique. Annabeth had a horrible relationship with her dad. Then he died 5 years ago. D'you know how bad my mum felt after that? She'd spent most of her life avoiding him, his wife and kids. Then Bobby and grand-dad were killed."

Monique seemed to evaporate into the taxi seat in shame, "Yeah, Andy, I know. You probably don't remember, but I was there at the funeral."

And the subject was dropped.

When we got to the camp site, Monique and my moods were improved greatly by the fact that both Josh and Alex had never, ever been camping. Can you imagine those two trying to put up a tent?

It. Was. Hilarious.

While both Monique and I got both of our one-man tent set up in 2 minutes flat, the boys got tangled in the fly, and the poles were wrong, and the pegs kept coming out, and there was sand in the tent, and then they put the tent inside out so they had to do it all again, while us girls were sitting by a nice, cozy fire with hot mugs of Hot Chocolate as the temperature began to drop.

Two hours later (yes, it took them two hours) we were all sitting 'round the campfire.

"Y'know. If we were back at Camp, the bonfire would be over by now." Josh pointed out, roasting s'mores.

"Meh, we've gewt ouw owrn," I said through a mouthful of s'mores, recieving a hit on the shoulder via Monique. We all laughed.

Soon after we all migrated to be, I was the last one to leave the dying flames. But as I stood up to douse the fire, it burned brighter, a deep, firey red; the flames flickering taller than me. Somewhere close by a twig snapped and I draw Thalassa in record time. But when the intruder entered the clearing I sheathed the sword.

Rhea was smiling at me (well, down at me seeing as she was, like, two heads taller than me,) her rusty hair knotted with twings and leaves, like she'd been out of it for awhile. Her dress was torn at the bottom, a big long tare by what looked like a spear.

"Lady Rhea," I nodded in respect as the Queen of the Titans came closer into the fire light, and Rhea looked twice as bad. "May I ask you something?"

Rhea nodded, already knowing what the question would be.

"What in hades happened to you?"

A sad sort of smile appeared on Rhea's lips as she sat down.

Okay then. Make yourself at home, I thought sarcastically as I joined the Titaness on the log in front of the fire. Rhea stared long and hard into the dancing flames, so silent and unmoving that I was worried about her; when she spoke.

"Well, Riley is not very happy with me. He is furious that I have been helping you and your friends. I told him that this war is not necassary-"

"Whoa! What?"

Rhea looked at me and sighed, "You will know soon enough. It is coming, very soon I am afraid. The capture of Perseus and Annabeth is just the start, and the start is one of the most, if not the most important part of a war. Athena, even Ares, will tell you that. And this begining, I fear, Riley has crafted it very well. He had covered every hole that is possible to break, and every loose string has been straighted and stuck back in place with steel."

"What's this begining gonna be like?"

"I have no idea, child. And that is what worries me. Now I must take my leave of you, before anyone finds me, and you need to sleep, my dear." Rhea stood up and started to glow. "Oh, and good luck, Andromeda. I fear you will need it."

And on that cheery note, the Mother of the Gods vanished in a blast of gold light, leaving me alone in the clearing, the fire slowly flickering out into embers.

Chapter Fifteen: Up the Summit
Morpheus beware, I am so going to kill you after this damn quest.

As soon as I fell asleep, I was flung into a dream, if you could call it a dream. It was more like flashes or places, some staying for minutes others for seconds.

I was in the Olympus throne room with the Olympians arguing; Poseidon looked about ready to run Zeus through with his trident (I wasn't chanting 'do it!' or anything.)

The Big House watching a centaur talk to-

Then suddenly San Fransisco, atop Mt. Tam with Rhea sneaking out of the blackened ruins of Mount Othrys.

Rome, in front of the Trevi Fountain with hundreds of tourists snapping pictures of the water spouts.

Athens, standing in the middle of the par-

Nothing.

Just black. I was in a black room, with black walls and black floor, black lights (however weird that sounds.) I seemed to be glowing, my tanned skin like a light-house in the dark.

"You were threatening me, demi-god?" a booming voice asked, in the way one would ask 'you were calling for me?'

I whirled around, trying to find the source of the noise, but only finding more darkness.

A hand tapped me on my left shoulder. I was about to move to the left when I stopped. I knew that trick. The number of times Sydney had crept up behind me and did the tap-on-the-shoulder thing, I'd gotten used to it. So I whirled to the right and had Thalassa at the man's throat before one second was up.

The man raised an eyebrow (but both went up at the same time, making him look shocked) "It is not wise to hold the god of dreams at sword point, Jackson, you of all people should know that."

I grimaced and shrunk Thalassa. I mean, if you were with the personification of dreams you would do what he asked, wouldn't you?

"What'm I doing here?" I asked.

Morpheus smirked and motioned for me to sit. As he moved his hand the darkness kinda... morphed into four comfortable armchairs. Morpheus sat and crossed his legs pretzel like on the chair. I hesitated before sitting down, keeping some weight on my feet in case I needed to get up quickly.

"Oh for Zeus' sake, Andy. Neither Morpheus or I will hurt you," a new voice stated and I could hear the man's eye roll.

"Now," another new voice corrected the first.

"Now," the first agreed.

Two other men morphed from the dark and sat down next to Morpheus. Looking at them all together there were deffinent resemblances. They all looked like they should be hanging out with Heidi di Angelo (Camp Half-Blood's resident emo) with the pale skin, haunted faces and thin builds. The two new ones had great big black wings growing out of their backs. They all looked young, fifteen at the most, decked out in, you guessed it, black clothes. I had to focus on them hard to stop them from morphing back into the background, like it wasn't natural for my eyes to see them.

"Andy Jackson," the one of the right said, holding out his hand. "Pleasure."

"Mm," I mumbled, not taking his hand. The other two, I could tell, were holding back smirks at the other, who retracted his hand as if he was used to being rejected.

"Excuse, Thanatos. He has mental issues," the other winged guy said, and I had the feeling that they were twins. Then I kicked myself, of course they were twins! Then I realised who I was sitting in front of. The Oneiroi, gods of dreams, sleep and old age in their own right. But...

"Wasn't Geras one of the Oneiroi? Since when has Morpheus been one? No offence." I added.

Morpheus cocked his head, "I have always been in the Oneiroi. Acknowled: no. And Geras faded a few centuries ago."

I smirked, the god of old age died first, geddit?

Hypnos flicked his wrist and a scroll appeared in the air. Thanatos caught it and handed it to me. I took it, well aware of the three pairs of godly eyes on me as I held it.

After a minute of silence, Thanatos grew frustrated, "Well? Go on!"

"What?"

"Open it, Jackson. Open it."

"Oh..."

"Yeah."

I scowled at Hypnos and Morpheus (who were openly laughing now) and unrolled the scroll. A shiver ran down my spine and the three Oneiroi instantly grew serious and sullen. I had to be incredibly careful not to rip the papyrus that looked and felt millions of years old. It was a large sheet of papyrus attached too two cylinder rods of intricly carved oak. Written in the centre of the page in black ink were six lines:

<p style="text-align: center">Αρσενικό παιδί του αρχαίου εγκεφάλου, Άρχοντας από κεραυνό στη μεγάλη περιφρονώ Ο χρόνος θα έρθει όταν θα οδηγήσει Και χρησιμοποιεί την εξουσία του πατέρα του για τη δική του ανάγκη, Καταστράφηκαν οφείλει, ή να ενδώσει σε πειρασμό, Αλλά έσωσε από καταστροφή από καλύτερος σύντροφος του

I'd taken a few classes in Ancient Greek, but this was far beyond me, and trying to translate it was made even harder by the fact that the words kept changing language. One second they'd be Ancient Greek, another they'd be Russian, then Chinese, then Swahilli, then Latin.

"The Ancient Prophecy," Thanatos told me. "Lord Zeus has forbade us from showing it to you, but you need to have read it before-"

"Thanatos!" Both Hypnos and Morpheus yelled, their voices shaking the room. Thanatos raised his hands in a 'surrender' gesture, which only annoyed me.

"Before what? Why did Zeus forbid it? How am I-"

"ENOUGH!" Came a female voice. The three Oneiroi shuddered at the voice of Nyx, goddess of night, and stood up.

"We are sorry, Andromeda," Hypnos said, looking sincerly sorry. The three brothers stood closer together and started to glow a weird green-black colour. I averted my eyes and caught Thanatos' gloomy comment, "Why do all the pretty girls have to die?"

Well, wasn't that a comforting thought.

I sat bolt upright in the tent, my face covered in cold sweat and every muscle aching like I'd just run a marathon. I sighed and lay back down. I noticed a flash of white by my ear and turned to it. Sure enough, sitting next to my head was a small sheet of crumpled paper with the prophecy written on it. I groaned in frustration when I read it.

It was in Arabic.

<p style="text-align: center">...

Waking everyone up in the morning was a nightmare.

I hadn't been able to get to sleep after seeing the Oneiroi, the prophecy had occupied my mind all night. So on not much energy and an occupied mind we started the hike up Etna.

Mr. Anderson had given us everything we needed, so we were all set, except one thing.

Mount Etna was close to an eruption.

The mountain was closed to all climbers and tourists.

Damn.

We pulled up outside a ski resort on the base of the gigantic mountain and while Monique payed the taxi driver, we look up upon the mountain. It was huge. Much bigger than I'd thought, standing at the base I felt like an ant. A quarter of the way up the incredibly 'big hill' the lush citrus groves melted into thick snow, perfect for skiing and snowboarding. The top bit of the 'big hill' was obscured in fluffy white clouds, tainted by the thick, black volcanic ash that spewed out of the unintelligable Crater Hole at the top of the 'big hill'. But what worried me most was that you could feel the tension in the air as the volcano got ready to blow.

The ski resort was locked, there was no one in sight. We'd promised the taxi driver that we were just waiting for our uncle to pick us up so he'd let four dirty-looking kids stay at the base of an active volcano.

Not my problem, he thought as he drove down the rode, eager to get away from the mountain.

Monique looked up to the top of Etna, her neck scrunching up as she did so, "So-"

"La-Ti-Do," Josh smirked following her gaze up to the top.

Monique glared long and hard at the son of Apollo before stating: "You're an idiot."

Josh shrugged, "What can I say? I'm special."

Monique raised a delicate eyebrow, "Yes...special."

I clutched my stomach, fearful that I'd broken ribs from holding in laughter; a lot more tactfully than Alex I might add, who was openly laughing at Josh's red face.

"Well?" Josh asked testilly. "Are we gonna stay here laughing? Andy's parents won't saved themselves."

We sobered up and started up the mountain.

<p style="text-align: center">...

At the lowest altitudes, barely above sea level, Mount Etna was blanketed with citrus groves. Their shiny dark green leaves, bright orange and yellow fruit stretch as far as the eye can see. It was a herculean task trying to keep Alex and Josh from picking said fruit and pelting it at each other. I though what Thalia would have said: 'Boys,' accumpanied with her signature eye-roll.

But if we looked carefully between the trees and flying fruit, we'd often spot the ancient irrigation systems that were largely out of use.

"They consist of a network of channels—hewn from lava of course—which snake back and forth under the trees on the terraced slopes." Monique began the lecture when the boys got back. "At the top of each system is a very large round tank—some farms use them as swimming pools nowadays—"

"Got any blue jelly beans left?"

"Yeah."

"—Water is gathered in these tanks and then, once a week, it is released into the channels—"

"This one's black."

"I know. I don't like the black ones."

"I wanna blue one!"

"—At the entrance to each level of terracing, a tiny 'door' can be raised or lowered: when it is lowered it forces the water to spill out of the channels on the level above, flooding the ground around each tree—"

"You have Katie's full attention. Not ours."

"—It takes several workers an entire day to irrigate a grove this way, because they actually have to create tiny levies that confine the pools of water to make it seep into the ground instead of running off—"

"Facinating,"

"—Traditionally, each farm watered once a week, with workers rotating from property to property—"

"Astounding,"

"Local farmers still swear by this method—"

"It's not nice to swear."

"—which soaks the tree and then allows it to dry out, but most of them are forced by the high costs of labor to use the new 'drip' method—"

"Bet they need to pee alot."

"—which mechanically delivers a steady stream of water to the plants every day of—"

"I thought we were supposed to be climbing a mountain!" Alex said loudly, as Josh ran out of sarcastic comments. Monique huffed and I bit my lip to stop from laughing.

After that we started climbing upward, almost immediately leaving the semi-tropical climate behind. For a while we hiked through a host of apple orchards, pistachio and hazelnut groves, and vineyards where they had just finished harvesting the grapes used to produce the local Etna wines before the evac was ordered.

Few sites are prettier than a vineyard in autumn, and these were made even more picturesque by the 18th-century homes of the aristocratic families that had originally planted them. Many of the manor houses were now abandoned, but no matter how sadly they may have deteriorated, their grand double staircases, pedimented windows, ornate fountains and elaborate tiled roofs paint a very clear picture of what life was like here in the older days.

The villas of Etna possessed a special characteristic I hadn't seen elsewhere in Italy; their walls are coloured in shades of azure blue, cotton candy pink and pistachio green. Against the backdrop of the wine-coloured grape leaves and the elephant-grey volcanic earth, bathed in the hot Sicilian sun and backed by the low-flying clouds of crater steam, well... It could make just about anyone consider spending a few months in this neck of the woods.

We passed quite a few towns on our way up the mountain, but the were all deserted at the warning of a horrible eruption to come.

We were at the end of the clear hiking road we had taken, and took an old mule track which led up the hill between two dry-stone walls. We walked first through live oak groves (past one specimen reputed to be 800 years old), then through ancient chestnut stands, then on to pine forests and finally to the edge of the Bove Valley. When we climbed over the verge that blocked our view we all gased.

"Whoa..." I muttered, taking in the sight.

In front of us stretched what most people probably envision when they thought 'volcano': a barren field of chocolate-brown lava (it looked like brownies, actually) riddled with dormant vents, lava streams, caves, sand channels and layers of volcanic ash. As formidable as it sounds, it is actually what has saved the villages on this side of the slope for centuries, because lava flows are absorbed by it before they reach human dwellings.

We navigated this field suprisingly easily, the only person to fall was, of course, me. Flat on my face in a huge mound of the most disgusting looking dirt. I indured their laughter and the boy's very 'hilarious' replays of the fall, making it much more Matrix each time 'til it came to the point that... I'm not sure how to descibe what they were doing...

Anyways, we trekked though more pine forests, and I got my pay-back. Whilst the other two were doing their matrix-falls they didn't notice the big. Tree. In. Their. Way. SMASH! You can imagine the rest.

We imerged out into a series of lava fields, so smooth and round that they seemed to still be flowing, except that of course we knew they had literally turned to stone. And off to one side, trapped between two enormous petrified brown slabs, was an entire forest of brilliant yellow and red poplars, beeches and birches.

Within minutes we had left the warmest corner of Italy far behind. The air turned chilly and then downright bitter as we perservered higher and higher, back and forth along the switchbacks of the deserted road that cut through the barren fields. We were almost swept off our feet by a wind I was sure was barely milder than the one tormenting Mt. Everest. We couldn't get enough layers of clothes on fast enough.

Now clawing our way through knee high snow, Alex trying his best to keep the poisonous gas away from us and the essential oxygen close to us, a task that was proving very difficult as the ash was billowing out of the 'big hill' at amazingly worrying speeds.

When the landscape started to become rocky we stopped and hid from the bitter wind in an alcove in the rocks.

"So wa'di we do now?" Alex asked. His question was met with silence. What did we do now? We'd been prepared for getting here, getting up here, but what do we do know we're here?

The awkwardness seemed to bounce of the rocks and echo back, but only getting louder and louder until Josh of all people spoke up.

"I don't think we should do anything today. It's almost dark, we should camp out here for the night, then on full energy and a plan we should and try and rescue Lord Perseus and Annabeth."

"But my parents—!" I argued but Monique cut me off.

"No, Andy. We can't just go barging up there without a plan. I agree with Josh on this one." Monique agreed stubbornly.

"Come on, let's find some firewood," Alex muttered. The boys stood up and left into the bitter, bitter wind.

<p style="text-align: center">...

I woke up in the morning to the scratching of a twig on the rocks. I sat up, to stubborn to relinquish the warmth of the borrowed sleeping bag. Monique was sitting by a newly lit fire, drawing in the volcanic dirt with a stick. I went over to her and sat down, still in the warmth of the sleeping bag.

S-s-so c-c-c-cold! Kavouri whined from the pocket of my New York Tai-Kwon-Do Championship 2021 jumper. I took him out and he skuttled out of my hand and close to the fire, beetttteeerr.

Monique looked up from the drawing and smiled at me, pointing to a bowl beside her foot, "Morning. We've got a lovely breakfast of dehydrated fruit. Eat up!" she smiled with sarcastic cheerfulness.

I grummbled and took the bowl. True to Monique's word, it tasted horrible, like... well, dehydrated fruit. What does dehydrated fruit taste like?

You don't wanna know. I actually felt sorry for the gods who had to put up with this sacrifice.

Wait, no I don't, it's Percy.

"What're you doing?" I asked between a mouthful of 'breakfast'.

'I'm working out a plan," Monique explained and I let out a sign of relief, Monique was already a well needed step ahead of me. "I had a dream last night about... yes, so anyway, the layout is like so:"

She pointed with the stick to a circle with lots of different lines and shapes in it. "This is the highest ridge of the top crater—," she pointed to the top edge of the circle, closest to the fire. "—and here's the two main slabs of granite Lord Perseus and Annabeth are attached to—" she pointed to two long, oval-shaped shapes on a 45 degree angle away from each other. "—and here—"

I narrowed my eyebrows, "Hold on, Nique. You—how—... this map is to scale, isn't it?"

Monique blushed, lowering her head so a curtain of blonde hair blocked her quickly redening face, "Maybe. Oh, and it is also in the correct position in relation to the actual crater and topographically correct!"

"Oh my gods, Monique, you need a life."

"I'll work on getting one; once I save your lives using this plan, that is."

"Point taken, continue please."

Monique nodded, "Okay. So, I was thinking we could—"

<p style="text-align: center">...

"Andy, are you sure about this?" Alex asked as we got in position behind an outcrop of thick granite on the edge of the top most crater.

The plan was simple (-ish), Alex and I would hide behind the rocks, while Monique and Josh hid behind the natural cave that Briareos was living in. I would provide a distraction (after much arguing about who would do it) and Josh would keep shooting arrows, both as a possible fatal hit and a distraction to keep Briareos from killing me. Monique would go around the crate in the small ridge lava flow had created to Annabeth's stone, release her, while Josh followed but went to Perseus' stone and releasing him. Together they'd get away. During all of this, Alex would sneak around the back of Briareos, aiding me in the fight.

Sounds easy doesn't it?

Well it isn't.

Vision was made difficult by the black ash billowing from crater, bubbling magma in the centre of the crater just waiting to blow and the rough, uneven ground on which they had to navigate. Add in the incredible heat and you have a recipe for disaster.

Eat it while it's still hot.

The an eagle's screech filled the air, Perseus looked up at the noise, but decided it was just an eagle which wasn't uncommon up here. But both Alex and I knew better. It was Josh's whistle. A signal.

Here we go.

I stooped up in a low crouch (while trying to navigate the rocks which was murder on my ankles), spluttering a bit on a lungful of toxic gas... just your usual demi-god activities!

I took a deep breath (free of ash; even I'm not that stupid) and smiled at Alex's comment: "If you die can I have you iPod?" he asked.

"No," I answered as I stepped over the rocks.

The descent was steep and dangerous, but my attention wasn't on the possibly deadly rocks, it was on Annabeth.

Now, people often use the phrase 'beaten black and blue', but anyone who has ever said that has obviously never seen Annabeth like she was now. Her skin was covered in sickly coloured bruises; black, purple, even a stomach-turning yellow-green. The very few parts of her skin that wasn't covered in bruises were papery white, blue blood vessals standing out like a white dot on black. Her wrists were red and inflamed where celestrial bronze chains held her and there was a horrible spread of crimson blood, mostly dried but there were puddles of fresh blood which made my stomach flip.

Percy— no, Perseus, looked no better (to which, I am ashamed to say, I was pleased about) but instead of the crimson, golden ichor dripped freely from his wounds, an especially nasty one on his cheek.

At the noise I was making from descending the rocks, both Perc—Perseus and Annabeth looked up, and even from this distance I could see the increased worry on my mother's face.

"Andy!" she yelled in suprise, her voice scratchy and laboured. "Run! Go! It's a—"

"Trap?" a deep, menacing voice asked from inside the cave. "Yesss it isss."

And out stepped Briareos.

His body was covered in green scales, a reptilian forked tongue darted out from between the yellow salavia covered teeth/fangs when he pronounced 'S'. But what freaked me out most was his arms. All one-hundred of 'em.

"Ssso young demi-god. Where are your friendsss? Have they abandoned you already?" he growled.

"Be quiet you—" Percy started to say, but a volt of blue electricity came out of the chains and shot down his arm. He held in a scream, but his entire body shook from the pain.

"Ssshusssh dear Perssseus. Let your daughter ssspeak."

"Oh, no. Don't mind me. I'm just here to get my parents back, n'all. You can just ignore me," I smiled, the miniscule hope that he was as stupid as he looked.

"Niccce try, Andromeda," he hissed, seven of his arms drawing a variety of swords, daggers, spears and bows. Minotaur dung!

"Hey, it was worth a try." I shrugged as Thalassa formed in my hand.

"Andy!" Annabeth yelled. "Be careful!"

Yeah, mum, I'm fighting a hundred handed monster on top of a volcano. Every person's view of 'careful'.

Briareos lunged first.

One of his more frontal arms swiped at me with a blood-stained cutlass and I parried the fierce blow, putting all of my weight behind a downwards thrust and twisted Thalassa, forcing Briareos to drop the weapon.

He suprised me. I thought Briareos would have more skill, but he wasn't a master fighter at all. He had his brute strength and more weapons, whereas I had skill with my weapon and the agility and size to be fast on my feet. Add in some ADHD and I really think I can win.

A spear soared over my head,the exact place my head was a second ago. I rolled out from under the torent of swirling weapons and brought the tip of Thalassa down into Briareos' scaley foot. He roared in pain as green blood oozed out from the wound.

With his other foot he whirled around and kicked me hard in the chest, sending me tumbling across the crater, dangerously close to the bubbling magma chamber.

I was drenched in sweat. Heat seemed to be coming from the ground in shimmering mirage-like shapes, distorting everything.

I tried to keep low to the ground, using Briareos height against him, but he jabbed at me with a spear, it grazed my shoulder and opened the old wound from Bermuda. Crap! Crap! Crap!

Josh's arrows were falling around us now, and, as planned, Briareos was distracted by the hailstorm of wooden shafts. He turned to grab out hanging limply out of his shoulder and I swiped, widening the wound on his foot.

Briareos roared in fury and charged me, his hands outstreched, looking very much like an angry bull. I stood my ground until he was almost ontop of me when I rolled under his legs and whirled around on my knees to see Briareos stumbling.

He was wobbling on his feet like he was drunk. Then I realised— he was on the edge of the magma chamber! The ground sloped downwards to the chamber and he was on the ground, clawing at the ground trying to find a handhold.

I took a deep breath and stabbed Briareos' hand, he screeched in pain and fright as he lost his grip and fell down into the bubbling magma with a SPLASH!

Then there was a hand on my shoulder.

I whirled around, only to find Alex standing there, a goofy grin on his fcae.

"Where were you?" I asked, regaining my breath.

Alex shrugged, "Well, I came to help you but you didn't need it, so I went to help Josh and Monique. And they needed help. Those chains didn't come off without a fight. Anyways, we're going." he smiled.

I laughed, the first genuine laugh I'd laughed in a long time, and followed the son of Zeus to where Monique and Josh were waiting with Annabeth and Perseus.

I moved straight pasted Perseus and into Annabeth's waiting arms. She hugged me strong and tight, as if she'd never been chained to s rock ontop of a volcano.

"Oh, Andy. I'm so glad you're alright! I thougght something bad would happen to you because you can be such a—"

"Feather Brains?" Alex suggested, to general amusement.

I turned to Alex, "Yeah, but what's that say about you, Air Head?"

Alex frowned, "No fair, here names way better than mine!"

Perseus nodded, "Don't worry. The girl's always figure out the better names. Right, Wise Girl?"

"Of course, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth smirked.

"Come on then," I said. "I wanna get off this mountain."

So with a smile, we turned from the summit of Etna, walking away from the horrible memories for the last time—

"And where do you think you're going?" a silky voice asked. We spun around and I came face-to-face with the green-skinned, two tailed (now two-legged) dude who started us off of this adventure. The first son of Poseidon, ex-Prince of the Sea and ex-Heir to the Atlantean Throne.

Triton.

Chapter Sixteen: I Fight a Fish to the Death
I groaned, this didn't stop, did it? I drew Thalassa.

"Monique, Josh, Alex. Get Mum and Perseus—" Percy flinched "—outta here. I'll deal with him."

Triton smirked, "Giving orders now, Chase? Trying to be like daddy?"

I gripped the sword hilt tighter, until my knuckles turned white, "Shut-up, Triton. Unless you want me to gut you like the spine-less gnat you are."

"All bark, no bite, eh, Chase."

"Go!" I ordered the others as the ground below us began to shake and rumble. The others seemed to want to protest, but the seriousness of this situation seemed to keep them quiet. Monique and Josh helped Perseus and Annabeth down the mountain to a safe spot we had prepared. Alex stayed and looked at me, almost begging to join the fight.

"Go," I repeated, and he nodded 'good-luck' before running off after the others. I turned back to Triton. He stood there, not in a fighting stance or even with the slightest look of aggression. That unnerved me heaps. And I 'spose that's what he wanted.

But I knew the rules, seeing as Monique had drilled them into my head at every possible moment. With no other choice, when the onset of violence was a virtual certainty and retreat was not an option, the rule was to strike first with no warning. Triton was a god, a minor one but still a god. Tall, strong, good fighter, god. I was a twelve-year-old girl who was tall for my age.

Strike first and without warning.

I swiped, never expecting the blow to actually do any damage and it didn't. He moved out of the way and parried with a— trident? Dude, you have got to be kidding. No? Oh, well I'm screwed.

He lunged, but I rolled out of the way and retaliated with a backhand. Triton dodged it and stuck a foot out, tripping me. He went to stab me while I was on the ground, but I kicked up (and hard), knocking the trident out of his hands. I got to my feet and stood back, catching my breath.

Triton was better than he looked. Well, I 'spose he had been training for millennia, whereas I've been training for a month.

"I overestimated you, Chase. I thought you'd be much better," Triton sneered.

"Errete es korikas," I spat, fingering the ruby that was embedded in the hilt.

Triton raised an eyebrow, "Language, Chase."

"Greek," I said. "And its Jackson, moron."

Triton lunged again, this time with much more force, as I whirled to block the attack. But he feigned a left cut and sliced at my right, taking a large piece of flesh out of my right shoulder in the process. I started seeing stars as a huge chunk of my shoulder was sliced off. My breathing became ragged as I put a weak hand over the newest injury, trying in vain to halt the endless stream of crimson blood that flowed from the wound. The edges of my vision began to blur, but I couldn't think straight, all I felt was the pain, like I was being run over by a Laistrygonian rugby team in cleats.

With a shout of triumph, Triton summoned all of his power, all of his remaining energy into a powerful storm. The rain did nothing to help the wounds that I'd received and I fought to remain conscious, as the clouds turned from grey, to charcoal, to the deepest black.

I realized what was going to happen a second too late. The wind smashed against my frail body and I was blown away. The wind was non-to-gentle with me, and I was thrown of the summit of Mount Etna, my friends' screams lost to the night. I was losing the battle to remain conscious, and as the darkness took my vision I was aware of one thing.

That I was sinking down.

Down.

Down…

<p style="text-align: center">THE END

<p style="text-align: center">FOR NOW