I loved it! Please post more when you can! I loved: "He is short."
Is he the hunchback of Notre Dame? I don't know, probably not, but the figure reminded me of him!!

Such a Percy thing to say. Loved it.

whoa, that was totally AWESOME!!!!!!

hahaha OMG i luved thsi so much!!!

that was fantastic. who could it be. i thought it was the minotaur at first but reyna thought he should be in tartarus but percy killed him last. plus the "he is short" haha. post soon :D

I just started my first fanfiction and I hope to post daily link

Lol !!! Great chapter loved it calypso0. Hope u post soon.!!!!

I'm glad you liked it, guys...
ok, I'm writting to say I'm not sure when I'll be able to post but I think it's gonna be around wednesday or maybe thursday cause I have two major tests i have to read for (math+chemistry... at least they're not science... I hate it) but i'll try to upload the next chapter the quickest possible.

Love,
Calypso
@~~,~'~~

Awsome. can't wait for next post the....I'll be waiting :]

when u gonna post?

Post post ..........................................­...­...­...­...­...­...­... Post !!!!! Please :)

That was really good, I love Reyna and Gwen!
Percy is gettin a lil too cocky, Reyna was right bout the hubris thing, someone(Annabeth) needs to be there to knock some sense in him. Of course Percy would say "He is short" Its blunt and obvious.

Post please can't wait any longer!!!!!!

Oh my gosh, that was incendible! LOVE IT!

okay, so, this took me a bit longer than i had thought it would... friday today and I know i'm a day late but hey! I just posted! Enjoy!



Chapter XIIX(18)

Reyna gaped. "What?"
"He is short," Percy repeated slowly, looking thoughtfully at the -dangerously- oncoming form of the Minotaur. Only after those three words had left his mouth for a second time did he truly understand their meaning.
"Seriously? That's the smartest thing to say yοu came up with?"
"But, he is short," he said again, sounding somehow thrilled. "He had little time -barely half a year- to reform," he explained. "That's why he must have come back shorter."
"Um, Percy?" Gwen started tentatively. "We don't really have time to-"
"Don't yοu understand?" he interrupted her. "He must be weaker apart from shorter. Size equals strength for monsters. I think."
Gwen's eyes widened in comprehension but Reyna's eyebrows remained arched so high that almost reached her hairline, and her face baffled. The Minotaur howled ahead of them.
Percy sighed, trying to gather up what little patience toward Reyna he had left. "The last time I faced him, he had spent more than half a year in the Underworld, was six feet tall, and admittedly less difficult to defeat. The time before that," he continued, now talking faster as the monster came closer and closer, "it had been four or five years, and he had the size and force of a monster truck. Now that he had not that much time, he is relatively smaller and -hopefully- weaker."
"Hopefully?" she asked wary clear in her eyes.
"Percy, don't do anything rash," Gwen warned, but he had already floored the accelerator.
The car started forward violently, speeding towards the Minotaur. The monster paused in the middle of the road, his misshapen, beefy head cocked on the side in a bemused grimace. The angry glint his small, black eyes usually had was replaced by bewilderment and incomprehension. He seemed so stupid standing like that -head on the side, with only a dirty loincloth on-, that he looked more like a short buffalo with horns than a fiery mythological half-bull.
Percy could hear Gwen and Reyna shouting and yelling and screaming their heads off, their voices sounding far-away to him. He focused on his plan, though, and led the car forward.
Turns out, the Minotaur was even shorter up close -four ft. 9, 5 tops. But that only helped on underestimating him. Sure, he was weaker than any previous encounters with Percy. Still, Gwen's car was barely a match for the monster. It crushed into his unmoving form with so much momentum that he fell on the hood, slowing down the car and smashing the glass with his burly, ugly head. And then Riptide was in Percy's hands, who leaned to the side and in a swift strike drove the blade on the monster's neck, cutting his head clean off his shoulders. But his problems didn't stop with the Minotaur turning to dust. The car was still moving in great speed and an approaching car was visible ahead of them.
"Brake!" Gwen shouted at him from the back seats.
"I'm trying to, but the brakes are not working," he yelled back, panic starting to at last take over inside him as the other car kept coming.
Not even thinking about it, he turned the car to the right, planning to simply avoid the other vehicle. Instead, it slipped on the wet road, went off course and entered the thick woods and run into a huge old oak tree.
Cursing and groaning, Percy opened the car's door and dropped on his knees on the wet, cold, mossy ground, heavy raindrops falling on his back. He felt exhausted, though he had no idea why.
Smoke bellowed from the car's engine. The driver's side of the car had hit the tree, bending the front like an accordion, leaving the other and the back side untouched. Reyna opened her door furiously, and plodded outside, walking around the car to reach Percy. Gwen got out, too. But she knelt next to him and gently put her hand under his chin, lifting his head to look at him in the face and pursed her lips.
"Are you nuts?" Reyna yelled to be heard over the rain, before Gwen could talk. "What were you thinking? That you could run that beast over with a car?"
"Pretty much. And I'm alright -thanks for asking," he replied, sitting on his butt and leaning his back on the car with Gwen right next to him.
"You're psycho," Reyna said and returned to the car, climbed on the back seats, and grabbed her backpack.
Gwen shook her head. "She's right, you know," she told him. "You were crazy to do that."
He shrugged. "It was an idea."
"An idea that could have gotten us killed."
"Hey, it was faster like that -and safer."
Gwen snorted. "You call that safe?"
"It was better anyway from going out and facing him."
She rolled her violet eyes and leaned back on the car. Wet, curly locks of hair had escaped her ponytail and hung in dark ringlets around her face and on her forehead. Her clothes were drenched and there were raindrops clinging on her eyelashes.
"You look good," she finally said, looking uncomfortable and trying not to squirm under his piercing gaze. "No wounds or injuries. But I didn't really expect any, seeing as you're invincible and stuff. And, as it turns out, your weak spot is neither on your head or face nor hands or torso."
Percy rubbed the small of his back lazily. "Thank Poseidon it's not. A simple bruise on that place and I'd be bleeding inside to death. Imagine what would happen if I got cut with broken glass."
Gwen winced. "I'm glad you see things so optimistically," she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm.
Reyna came to stand before them, her hair and clothes wet and heavy.
"This is no time for slacking," she said. "We gotta reach the town to find another means of transportation, so get up." Then, not waiting a second, she marched off, somehow managing to step on every pit and splash Percy, who, along with Gwen, had gotten hastily on his feet and followed her.
Heavy spring rain was falling, bringing along the coldness and wetness of early morning that bit into Percy's exposed skin. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he kept walking along the empty road, eyes wandering around. Flowers had shyly poked through the lush green foliage, protected from the raindrops by the canopy of trees. The sun had risen halfway over the horizon, coloring the landscape with a soft yet vivid light that made everything look like some scene from one of those fairytales he remembered listening to as a child -the voice reading them in his pictureless memories was so sweet and tender that made his heart flutter and swell and his stomach feel empty with nostalgia all at the same time. The air was cool and weak, carrying the smell of the damp earth and floral fragrance of morning glory, wild freesia, and chamomile flowers. The sun had left the horizon for a little more than an hour when the rain finally lessened and soon completely stopped. The three of them went on, nevertheless, drenched to the bone, not saying a word.
Not long thereafter, the first signs of a building appeared through the dense woods on their right. The only thing Percy could see was a pyramid-shaped roof with wet dark chestnut-colored tiles that glinted gloriously from the weak sunrays. After looking warily at one another, Percy, Gwen and Reyna decided to venture going there. They crossed the forest silently and reached a huge clearing where the building stood high and imposing. Thick, tall, stone walls circled it. A deep river about four feet wide run at a little distance away from them, leaving the enclosed premises from a short archway that appeared to be the only opening on that side. Not even thinking about it much, Percy started toward it.
"Where are you going?" Reyna hissed, keeping her voice low.
"Just to get a look inside. Chill," he whispered.
With the two girls on his heels, he went to the river and, holding the wall for support, bent sideways over it. Manicured lawn stretched around, interrupted at places by perfect gardens, stone paths, what seemed like a parking lot on the other side, and the river which circled the premises and got lost behind the old, grey, building. Ugly gargoyles were perched on the higher balconies, looking like gruesome and scary guards. A few teenagers strolled up and down the paths, talking and laughing. Above the heavy, dark, wooden, doors on the entrance were inscribed words, barely visible from that point of view. It said something like 'ST. PTACKRIS'.
"I think it's a school," he told Gwen and Reyna as he straightened up.
"A school?" Gwen asked. "Then there must be a parking lot."
"Yeah, there is one, but it's on the other side."
"Well, we gotta get there, then. Which school is this, you know?"
"I couldn't make out the name. It's something like 'ST. PTACKRIS'."
Gwen and Reyna shared a wary glance.
"It couldn't, by any chance, be 'St. Patrick’s' could it?" Reyna wondered.
"You know it?"
"Reyna was supposed to come here this year," Gwen said.
"You live in Denver?" he told Reyna.
"No. St. Patrick’s is a private boarding school." She kicked a pebble to the water. "Just another place full of rich, spoiled mortals where my stepfather wanted to send me so as to get rid of me. Now, how are we going to get inside?"
Percy was caught by surprise. He had never thought about Reyna's family, but, even if he had, he wouldn't have guessed that she had a stepfather -who she didn't seem to like from the sound of her voice- and could afford being sent to private schools. Thankfully, Gwen, not standing the awkwardness that hung between them, answered Reyna's question:
"I don't think the gates are open. And, if this is really St. Patrick’s, then I bet there are guards there."
"We could use the river," Percy suggested. "It's the only-"
"I am not going through the river!" Reyna suddenly exclaimed, startling Percy.
"Percy, I think that the river's not a good idea. The current's too strong and Reyna cannot swim," Gwen said.
"You can't swim?" he asked Reyna. His eyes narrowed pensively. "Are you afraid of water?"
"It's none of your business," she snapped.
"No, it's okay if you are," he reassured her. "I just did not expect it, that's all."
"Yeah-yeah. I'll go see if there is an opening anywhere else." She turned abruptly, took a deep breath and started walking away, humming under her breath what sounded suspiciously like the song "I Wrote This" by Patrick Star from the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon TV series.
Percy could not stop himself from staring at her as she walked away. "She is..."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she is humming. It helps her control her nerves. As about the choice of song...'St. Patrick’s'...'Twinkle, twinkle Patrick Star'...I guess she made the connection."
"Huh. A daughter of Mars that sings."
"Hey," she scolded, "she's the best of the whole lot of them. And at least she tries to control her temper."
Percy lifted a shoulder. "Fair enough. Should we go after her?"
"Nah, leave her alone for a while. We could go the other way. Surely we'll meet somewhere along the way."
Percy agreed and took off with Gwen on his side. But, had he known what was going on twenty yards behind them, he would have never done that...


Reyna kept on humming to herself as she walked, trying hard to calm herself down. "...it tastes like beans and bacon/and it smells like-" Her voice faltered and she blinked several times at what -or rather who- was in front of her.
It was a lady. An old lady. A sleeping, old lady.
Her hair was thick and the color of the soil on the ground and her skin a slightly softer, paler shade. Her dress was very long -so that it swept the ground and fell in folds around her legs- and as if made of mud and wet leaves. There was, also, something like a dark veil over her shoulders and face. Still, it didn't stop Reyna from noticing the woman's eyes. The lids were darker than her skin, and her eyelashes a thinner version of the twig-like locks of her hair. But she couldn't tell what color her irises were because her eyes were closed. Closed, as if she was sleeping while standing, one hand holding the other in front of her serenely, and a chilling smile on her thin, dark lips. But her appearance was not even nearly as strange as the feelings that her presence stirred inside Reyna. They were neither good nor bad -but that only meant that they were worse; numbness, quiet, eerie calmness, lethargy.
"Hello, Reyna," the woman said slowly in a soft, lulling voice.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*I couldn't resist using Patrick's song...B-)

Hahaha!I remember patricks song,man good days good days b.t.w. Goodie chappie

Lol then everyone dies (patrics song)
Amazing chappie!!!
Can't wait for the next one!!!

Love it cant wAit for the next chapter!!!:)

Outstanding! Great job mini me!! Love the new plot twists! Can not wait for the next one!!!!!!!

Watching silently
~Calypso_

I loved it, and Patrick's Song! Priceless! I loved it, but 2 things:

"Percy, don't do anything rush," Gwen warned, but he had already floored the accelerator.

You mean don't do anything rash?

"You can't swim?" he asked Reyna. His narrowed pensively narrowed. "Are you afraid of water?"

What do you mean his narrowed pensively narrowed?
Can you explain to me?

PATRICK'S SONG

dang! and that's why i hate touch-screen phones... I always make mistakes... thnx Emily(do you mind me calling you that?) for saying... okay, editing it now...
a)yes, it's rash... not rush
b)it's 'his eyes narrowed pensively'(I have absoluely no idea how that came out the way it did...)
well, anyway, soz everyone...
I'll be more careful from now on...

Its fine, I just like to help! :)
And yea you can call me Em or Emily, its fine!
:D

Post soon!!:)

post

post.plz.i will be your best buddy

Post soon!!:)

PLEASE POST SOON!!:D this fanfic is AWESOME:D i love your writing:D

It's been a couple of weeks, so, today, I'm gonna post 3 chapters! 19, 20, 21.
Enjoy!


Chapter XIX(19)

Reyna could not move. She knew she had to, but her body wouldn't comply. Her feet felt heavy and her arms numb. Even breathing was hard. She tried to talk but found that she couldn't speak a wοrd and the questions kept filling her head, unable to be voiced and said out loud.
Reyna felt as if fatigue had finally caught up with her, bringing along an irresistible sleepiness and she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth against it. It was all she could do not to lie down and curl up to herself. Concentrating hard, she turned her head a little to look back for Percy and Gwen. But the riverbank was now empty and they were gone.
"Don't bother, child," the woman spoke softly, soothingly. "Your friends are nowhere near. I am certain of it. Yοu see, that boy's presence is quite...troubling to me. My earth shudders where he walks -moves to follow his will. It demands for more energy than I can currently yield to keep it in my command.
"Quite...disconcerting, it is, indeed.
"Therefore, I try to keep him away from me -I still am a bit too weak to completely wake up and claim my full powers. But enough about myself. It's for yοu I'm here to talk about.
"So, my dear, you're on a quest. Now, that is a surprise, is it not? Because, I thought that the all-mighty gods had abandoned you, their half-blood children. And, of course, there is, also, that little issue with that...ah, new demigod in your Fortress. He's been there for just a few months, no? And, yet, he's leading this special quest. But I'm not alone in finding that strange, am I? You're suspicious of him, too. That's the reason yοu have offered to take part in this quest. Yοu don't trust him... No... Not at all."
The woman stopped talking and just stood still, her face turned to Reyna as if she could stare the girl through closed dark eyelids.
She was intimidating, Reyna decided. She could feel the power flowing around the air, drawn by the lady. And she had already felt her own defenses weakening in her presence as she talked in that soft voice. The more Reyna relaxed, though, the more she gained control over her body. Enough control, at least, to ask her next question and break the silence.
"Who...who are you?" she said quietly.
The woman's smile widened, as if the answer amused her. "I'm merely someone who cares and wants to help," she finally replied. "That's why I'm here. And I have a present for you. It's not much, really -simply a means to contact me when you need to."
Then the lady raised her hand, palm facing upwards, to the sky, and curled her dark fingers in a tight fist. When she opened them again, a necklace had appeared on her palm. All of it was of what seemed like pure gold. A simple thin chain with a perfect round coin-like charm that bore a bare-tree-like pattern carved on each side.
Reyna couldn't help hesitating when the lady offered it to her -something that washed that creepy smile of her face.
She wiggled challengingly her fingers around the necklace. "Can you really trust him enough, so that you will turn down any help you can get?" Her voice was so low it matched the whisper of rustling leaves. "You know you can't... You know he's been keeping secrets from you... I know you do. And what are you afraid of this little piece of jewellery, after all?"
Reyna, bracing herself, took a tentative step toward her, fighting the numbness that the woman's presence brought. The woman stepped forward, too. Or, rather, moved, and the heavy folds of her dirt-brown skirt brushed the ground under her as if they had a will of their own. Gently, she placed the necklace on Reyna's hand and the girl felt all numbness instantly taken away from her and saw the carved trees of the charm dim faint brown before returning to gold. The lady inclined her head, as if listening to some kind of music that she liked.
Then a violent shudder past through her, and all softness was abruptly gone from her expression.
"I have to go now, child," the lady told Reyna. "The land's warning me that that cursed son of Poseidon approaches."
"Wait," Reyna's eyes narrowed, "why 'Poseidon'?"
The corners of the lady's mouth curled. "Why don't you ask Perseus, my dear? I believe you’ll find the answer...interesting. If he tells you the truth, that is."
Then she was gone, melting back in the shadows and the ground.
Reyna had barely enough time to compose herself and hang the necklace around her neck before Gwen and Percy came.
"Reyna?" she heard Gwen calling. "Are you okay?"
Reyna tucked the necklace under her shirt and turned around. "Fine."
"Are you sure?" Percy insisted, looking at the woods behind Reyna.
"Sure," she replied and quickly changed the subject. "Did you find any way into St. Patrick's?"
Gwen looked at her for a moment. "Yeah," she said slowly. "There's a tree a couple yards away that we can climb to get on the wall. We'll have to go in the school, though, first, from a nearby window and get to the parking lot from there. It's the only way that doesn't require jumping ten feet down."
Reyna nodded and took off toward the school. She stopped a few feet later, though, and turned around to Gwen and Percy who had not moved but to look at her questioningly.
"Are you coming, or what?" She had to force herself to continue. "Percy? You're leading this quest, right? How about getting on with it -if that's okay with you, of course."
He simply fixed his narrowed eyes on hers, shot her his best cocky I-so-not-bought-that-b.s.-I'm-oh-so-smart look, and started walking. Gwen raised an eyebrow but she, too, didn't say anything else.
Reyna herself didn't know what to make of the strange lady and their conversation. She concluded that she must have been some powerful woodland nymph, judging by her brownish woodsy weird appearance -and her species was definitely not one to trust.
But for one thing Reyna was sure. She was sticking close to Percy from now on. If that was what it'd take to avoid seeing that woman again, then so be it.
She'd keep an eye on him that way, too.

Chapter XX(20) [Yay! 20!]

St. Patrick's was a beautiful school, Gwen had to admit that.
It might have been rough, grey, and gothic on the outside, but, inside, it was the exact opposite. The colors varied from shades of blue and violet to deep green and shimmering gold and the style reminded Gwen of Baroque times. Heavy curtains framed the huge windows. The walls were covered with iridescent wallpaper that brought peacock feathers to mind. Thick carpets were strewn on the dark wooden floors and doors lined one side of the hall -classroom doors, with gold tags that bore three-digit numbers.
Gwen, Reyna and Percy walked silently through the corridors, gaining some curious glances from passing students.
"I can't believe mom would send me here," Reyna whispered to Gwen, pointing at a pair of girls that passed by. They had school uniforms on -grey oxford shirts, blue-green-gold-and-purple-vertically-stri­ped skirts, knee-high grey socks under fashionable shoes, and a blue and grey scarf around their necks that bore what looked like the school's insignia: a gold crown of laurel.
"Look at them. Look at their uniforms. Look at those hideous skirts," Reyna said and shuddered. "I mean, I didn't go to last year's prom because dresses were compulsory; I threw a fit when they tried to get me in a skirt for Christmas in third grade; and I even wore jeans when mom got married Mr. Billionaire.
"How could she even think of my coming here? Doesn't she know I'll have to wear these...tiny, hideous, sexist things? If she thinks I'll come here next year, she's in for a big surprise."
"Well, maybe they'd let you wear trousers, like the boys," Gwen suggested.
Reyna looked at her incredulously. "You know that's not going to happen."
Gwen did.
So they kept going, with Percy ahead.
The halls suddenly became more crowded, and fewer students turned to look at them. Mostly girls did, Gwen noted. And they were particularly interested in checking out Percy. A group of them past by, giggling and stealing glances at him and whispering things to each other. Gwen caught only a few lines, like: "check out the new guy", "totally hot", and "think he has a girlfriend?” Another one -a very thin, very blond, very covered in make-up and jewellery rich girl- even came over, fell in step with him and started a conversation.
"Hey, I'm Vanessa Pierce. You must be new here, right? Well, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but you do know you're not wearing a uniform?"
Percy smiled at her politely. "I know."
"Oh, well, you should wear one, though. I mean, it's not that your clothes are not nice -they look great on you, actually. It's that you're gonna get expelled and I wouldn't want that. Not before we get to know each other." She battered her eyelashes and smiled.
"My friends," he said, nodding toward Gwen and Reyna. "and I were not given uniforms yet. We just came here."
Vanessa turned to look at the girls with narrowed eyes and when she saw Reyna's funky leather-jacket-turned-to-a-vest frowned. Of course, Reyna scoweled back at her, receiving a kill-you-dead glare from her. Vanessa turned back to Percy with a sunny smile.
"You're new here? I could show you around..." she elbowed him playfully.
"I wouldn't want you to miss class," he said.
She waved that off. "Oh, I don't think Mr. Duhamel -our math teacher- would mind me missing his class for once. I'm really good at maths. His best student, even."
"I'm sure you are," Percy murmured glancing at Vanessa's gold hair-pin, gold necklace, gold bracelets and expensive DocMartens.
Vanessa giggled and fixed her hair with one hand, misinterpreting his sweeping glance.
"We're heading to the parking lot, actually. To...get our...stuff," he explained.
"Oh," she sounded disappointed. "That's straight ahead, down the staircase and out the front doors. I would come with you but we're not supposed to leave this floor... So, anyway. I guess I'll see you at lunch if not sooner. Come sit with me, will you? Your...friends can come, too. If they want." Then, she gracefully pushed her blond hair out of her face, beamed at Percy, and, after shooting Gwen and Reyna each a warning glance, walked away.
Gwen couldn't be more relieved she did. With a silent exhale, she unclenched her hands that she had unconsciously fisted inside her pockets.
Percy turned around to them. "We go straight ahead…" he started.
"Yeah, we heard," Gwen snapped and bit her tongue at the amused look she got from Percy.
As the three demigods continued walking, the hallways started to empty as suddenly as they had filled with students. They also became darker as curtain after heavy curtain were drawn over the windows leaving no natural light in.
Gwen had been praying to her mother and all gods known the whole time, knowing that if they were caught trespassing they would be in major trouble. She couldn't help sighing when she saw the top of the stairs right ahead. But, as they were approaching it, another pair of footsteps joined the sound of their own and an old, female voice called:
"Students. Where are your uniforms?"
Gwen swallowed and turned around. The woman that had talked looked just as old as she sounded. Her hair was the color of platinum gold and her face was deeply etched with wrinkles. She had on a long pencil skirt, tailored jacket and crisp shirt, and a pair of round glasses was perched on her nose.
"You are not students of the school," she realized. "I demand to know what you are doing here. No visitors are allowed in the morning and unsupervised by an adult."
"Dear," a clear, imperial voice called from behind Gwen, Reyna, and Percy, followed by a finger-snapping sound. "I think you're overreacting. Now, why don't we leave these three go, and have a chat, shall we?"
The old woman was now looking beyond the three demigods, her eyes glassy and unfocused as she nodded.
"Children," the other voice called. "To the Performing Arts Center."
Turning, Gwen caught her breath.
The voice belonged to a beautiful lady. She was quite young -in her mid-twenties or something- with hourglass figure that her waist-high knee-long dark skirt and silk midnight blue shirt complemented perfectly. Her face was silvery pale, spotless and beautiful, it's shape and high cheekbones distinctly familiar. She had long black hair braided artfully with a few free perfect curls framing her bright almond-shaped eyes. Around her, the shadows seemed to thicken and take on an almost purplish hue and, on her right, was a dark Russian Blue cat, looking all royal and queen-like, and, on her left a big black Rottweiler that seemed to be made of nothing but smoke. The three of them -the lady and her pets- were slowly approaching, their eyes mirroring each other's. There was something odd to those eyes but Gwen couldn't quite put her finger on it at that moment. The lady had raised a hand and was pointing to a set of black doors with a long gold tag above that read: 'PERFORMING ARTS CENTER'.
"Go," she said as she passed them and reached the other, older woman, and lowered her hand.
Gwen, Reyna and Percy didn't move. How could they, anyway, listen to some mysterious lady without second thought? The Russian Blue turned her bright, calculating eyes on them and started walking toward them slowly. Seeing that they had no other choice but to go, they finally retreated to the Performing Arts Center and left the lady and the older woman in her dazed state behind. The cat followed them in the dark room, and, when they stopped there, jumped on an empty desk, looked at Gwen and purred. The cat's eyes seemed strangely luminous in the room's darkness and, as she stared, Gwen suddenly found what had seemed so odd and out of place about them. They were not the usual piercing green of Russian Blue cats, but filled with vivid colors -neon purple, electric blue, toxic green, fluorescent yellow, plastic hot pink- all moving in dizzying patterns around the cat's slitted black pupils.
The Russian Blue arched it's neck as if to say "follow me" and went off, jumping leisurely on desks and holding her tail high and proud, to a small door on one side of the room. They followed obediently to a larger room filled with plastic dummies dressed in curious costumes and racks filled with others -surely a dressing room.
Glancing at the costumes under the shelf the cat was perched on and licking idly one paw, Gwen thought she was dreaming. There were dresses, gloves and hats, and fancy suits. But those were no ordinary garb. They were identical to that of the 18th and 19th century, with flowing fluffy huge skirts, tight bodices, corsets, lace and feathers and ribbons and beautiful fabrics.
"Holy Mother..." she said wonderingly. "Reyna, check these out..."
"Well, duh. We are at the Performing Arts Center. Of course there would be theatrical costumes."
"They are no simple theatrical costumes... They are detailed imitations of clothes from the Victorian Era and before..."
"What did you expect? This is the most expensive private school in the entire state."
"My gods... My Mother... This is..."
"Horrible?" Reyna offered, looking appalled at the sight of the skirts.
"...wonderful..." Gwen finished, ignoring Reyna's lack of enthusiasm.
She had just dared to touch a lacy, grey-and-purple bodice when the door to the dressing room opened and the cat looked up from grooming herself. It gracefully sprung down to the floor and quickly went to the lady standing at the door, its tail held high and proud. As it got closer, though, the cat turned less substantial, until it completely vanished in a cloud of black smoke. The lady stepped forward, where the dim light caught her face and lit her features.
With a start, Gwen realized that the woman's eyes were just like the cat's -colorful irises, slitted pupils, and all. They were at the same time beautiful, sweet, alluring and intimidating with cunning and a silent you-can-trust-me-but-you-don't-want-to-mes­s-w­ith­-me warning.
The lady smiled warmly when she caught Gwen's eyes.
"Use any costume of these but hurry up," she told them and then disappeared behind a larger door marked 'STAGE', leaving the three demigods to wonder where they had gotten into.
Again.

Chapter XXI(21)

For a while, Gwen, Percy and Reyna just stood there, exchanging glances. Then Gwen lifted her shoulders and, clutching the purple-and-grey bodice, picked up a long big skirt and ducked behind a white room divider to change. It was a dream coming true for her to wear a dress from the pre-Victorian era, and she would definitely seize the opportunity. She peeled off her clothes quickly and stuffed them into her bag, but took extra care when putting on the two-piece outfit. The bodice was grey, covered with fine purple lace and tied with black ribbons around the waist, and with long, elegant sleeves and a lace-trimmed wide square neckline. The skirt was cotton, dark and slightly pleated and so long and heavy it brushed the room's parquet floor magnificently. She had to wear a heavy and quite uncomfortable metal skeleton of a skirt underneath the real one, to make the dress look big and wide and a proper 18th-century one, but she was so over the moon at that moment that she didn't mind the inconvenience and couldn't even chastise Reyna for still wearing her clothes and going through the costumes and dresses in a quite insulting manner.
"Why don't you pick something random? There are so many costumes I'm surprised you didn't find anyone you liked," Gwen told her.
Reyna pulled at a green dress's skirt using only two fingers to touch it. "I'm not wearing a skirt," she stated, letting the dress fall back.
"Gods, skirts do make you loose any trace of sanity you might have. They're only clothes, Reyn. Clothes."
Reyna glared at her.
"Fine," Gwen gave up. "Wear a man's suit, but just hurry up."
As Reyna went through the racks in search for something that would do, Gwen turned to a shelf on the wall overflowing with hats and other stuff. She let her hair loose, and run her fingers through the tangles as she thought about what to choose while waiting for Reyna and Percy. There was a huge variety of headdresses, accessories and faux jewellery; big or small hats; long or short or fingerless gloves; scarves and neckerchiefs; feathers and studs and colorful fabrics. A few silver hairpins studded with little purple flowers and elaborate metallic leaves caught her eye, and, soon, she had piled her dark curly hair and held them up with them. But that was absolutely not enough for her. She swapped her high-top Converse sneakers for a pair of black suede knee-highs and put a wide, black hat with purple feathers and lacy ribbons on her head.
Reyna had already gotten ready till then and put her clothes in Gwen's messenger bag. She had chosen a horse-rider's costume -brown riding pants, white T-shirt, dark jacket, and riding boots- and looked quite comfortable in that attire as she slid one of her daggers in each boot.
"Don't you think that's a bit dangerous, keeping those sharp things in your boots?" Gwen approached her.
"Not if you know how to use them," Reyna replied eyeing warily Gwen's hat. As if to prove her point, she threw one dagger on a nearby table were it stood, point deep in the furniture.
"Is it a sai?" Gwen asked looking at it wonderingly. "I thought sais were found only in the east."
"Yes, they did. But, this is no sai. Sais are pointed, dagger-shaped metal truncheons, each with two curved prongs -a.k.a.yoku- projecting from the handle. It is primarily used as a striking weapon for short jabs into the solar plexus but it also has many defensive and dissarming techniques.
"These babies, on the other hand, have three wickedly-sharp blades, as if each is three daggers combined in one. Judging from the shape and sharp points, I'd say this is definetelly Egyptian and probably used in ceremonies and stuff."
Gwen couldn't feel awed at Reyna's vast knowledge in weapons. But, sure she would know everything about them, seeing as they were her obsession.
With a shrug, Reyna took her dagger from the table and carefully placed it inside her other boot as Gwen turned to look for Percy. She was about to ask Reyna were he was when she spotted him sitting in a dark corner of the room and gazing at a clay-bead necklace.
"Hey," she said softly, sitting on the floor next to him. "That's pretty. Where'd you get it?"
"I had it for months now," he replied.
"Oh, well, I haven't noticed it before."
"I had taken it off. Didn't want you Romans think I'm into jewellery. Put it in my pocket." He fingered one bead -a black one, with a sea-green trident on it. "First summer," he said slowly. He touched the next one. That one was pearly white, with the shape of what looked like a sheep's skin painted in gold. "Second summer," he went on. The third bead was ash-grey, with a blood-red intricate pattern of a maze on it. "Third summer." Percy then fingered the last one, staying completely silent. This one had a towering modern building on, surrounded by countless words in gold that contrasted strongly the light sky-blue background. The letters of the words were tiny but by a few weird ones Gwen made out, they must have been in Greek.
"Forth summer?" she offered after a long silence.
Percy nodded curtly and closed his fist around the necklace. Gwen had the urge to ask him what the words were, but, looking at the grief that had filled his green eyes, she figured that she'd better shut her mouth. Reyna, having worn her hair up in a loose ponytail, approached them as Percy got up and wore the necklace around his neck. "What time is it?" he asked.
"Almost a quarter to nine," Gwen replied.
Reyna raised an eyebrow at Percy. "You have a watch," she pointed.
Sure enough, there was a big black watch on his left wrist.
"It doesn't tell time."
"It doesn't tell time," she repeated, sounding incredulous. "Then what the Pluto does it do?"
He shrugged. "Other stuff."
Reyna raised her other eyebrow, too. "What stuff?"
He raised his hand and pushed a button on the side. Instantly, the watch expanded and the metal rim unfolded and spiraled outward like camera shutters until it was a round four-feet-wide war shield. It was held by a leather strap on his forearm and the outside was polished bronze engraved with strange designs and the inside soft brown leather. He pressed another button and the shield unbelievably turned back to a simple watch.
Gwen closed her gaping open mouth with a snap.
"That's one cool gadget," Reyna said approvingly. "Haven't seen you using it so far, though."
Percy lifted a shoulder. "It's for emergencies only. And it's easier to fight without the weight of the shield. Gives me the advantage of speed."
Reyna nodded, looking even more approving at his thinking of that. But then a shadow passed over her face, her eyes narrowed and her hand rose to finger a gold chain around her neck.
Gwen couldn't interpret the sudden change in her friend's mood but she could feel something ominous in the situation.
"Time to get going," she announced a bit too loudly and brightly, and, taking Reyna by the arm, headed to the stage.

wow really wow
i guess the woman is aphrodite
am i right

aahhhhh O to the M to the G! that was awesome!! hehehe i love how u hada ll the girls staring at Percy!!! :D

^What she said!!!
I loved then all!!! Yay!

^^^ what they said iiii llloveeedddd every chapter I hope u post soon really liked it :))))))))))))) so glad u posted!!:)

Awsome chapters n_n !!! keep up the good work =D we love your fanfic!

Nice chapter.When u gonna post another one.

Calypso: i would like to apoligize for having been gone from this story for so long! i missed so many amazing chapters! i got so overwhelmed with everyone asking me to read their stories that i almost forgot about this, but thankfully i remebered and i got 6 pages worth of chapters. you are an amazing, talented, wonderful writer, and i want to say thanks for posting! so sorry....i wont forget! <3333 great chapters, and please post soon! :)

GO CALIPSO!!!!!!!! Wow that was so good!!! When are you gonna post again??? Soon??? (hint hint) !!!

OMG, your story is in my Top 3 List of Favorite Son of Neptune Fan Fictions of All Time!! It's so wonderful! theres a good amount of detail, but not too much to distract you or make you confused. The monsters and myths and the modern and original twist to them is so amazing, worthy of RR himself!! The quest so far is so interesting and action packed and perfectly paced. Your character development of the new characters is flawless, like they are real people. AND you captured Percy's personality perfectly, which so many fanfic writers have tried and failed to do. PLEASE make a schedule, I'm DYING cuz i dont know when to check again!

Amazing chapter again. :D

when can u post again

Cool you are such a good writer when can you post again!!!!!

Okay so, ATTENTION: i just noticed two HUGE mistakes in Chapters 20 and 21 (I mean, missed whole paragraphs!) and i will correct it right now, so, yeah...

Going on...
Oh, you guys... thnx a lot... I'm so glad you like it...:-D and I'm so sorry i can't post sooner than once a week...:-S
*NicoDiAngelo, you don't have to apologise for anything, I myself have a lot of fanfics due to read but just can't seem to find the time
*Everyone: THNX AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­!!!­

Enjoy!


Chapter XXII(22)

As she stood at the stage of St. Patrick's Theater, Gwen couldn't help wondering if she should apply to St. Patrick's for next year. It was a pretty nice school, her dad could definitely afford it, and the drama classes seemed the best ever. But she quickly chose against it as Denver was pretty far away from L.A. Still, just looking around, she was seriously tempted to give it a try.
A small smile lit her face as she breathed in the heavy smell of the old theater -a combination of dust, make up, old clothes and dampness. If there was one thing she liked even more than wearing dresses and clothes from past decades, it was being in an old theater with a huge stage, heavy velvet curtains, and rows upon rows of worn, lumpy seats. Two lampposts and a wooden bench were set on one side of what looked like a makeshift road that took up half of the stage, and a thin, fake wall with a door and a window divided it from what looked like a small home that took up the rest half. A whole class of dressed-up-in-18th-century-attire students was scattered around, some talking to one another and others rehearsing the play's lines. Gwen spotted the lady from before standing a few feet away from Reyna, Percy and her, and watching curiously around the students. Percy approached her slowly and asked out of sheer curiosity: "Um, excuse me, but which play are they doing?"
The lady glanced with mock stealth around, put on a show of leaning closer conspiratorially, her eyes glinting mischievously, and replied: "Well, if you three hurry up, we won't have to find out."
Gwen had a hard time keeping her jaw from falling to the floor when the lady turned around to wink at the three of them. In the semi-darkness of the hallways and the dressing room she had thought she looked familiar. Now, under the strong stage lights, it was clear who she reminded her of. And by Reyna and Percy's wide-eyed faces it looked like they had made the connection as well.
Gwen took a few steps forward and stared incredulously at the lady.
"Mom?" Her voice came out shrill with bewilderment.
"But you're...pretty and...young," Percy pointed out.
The lady -Gwen's mother, Trivia- chuckled, amused at the disbelieving looks she got from the three demigods. "I bet," she said, "yοu expected me to be an old hag, hunched over a deep cauldron in a dusty fireplace, stirring some disgusting green bubbling potion, didn't yοu?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, with yοu being the goddess of witchcraft and stuff..."
Trivia run a finger through a stray lock of her curly dark hair. "Real witches, dear, are not like that at all," she corrected him. "Actually, most of them are exceptionally beautiful and able to enchant men with a glance. Beauty is a form of magic, after all. Take, for example, Circe. She's some sorceress, isn't she Percy?" she arched a perfect eyebrow questioningly at him before going on. "Circe... Media... Marilyn Monroe... My daughter... Beautiful and powerful sorceresses."
Gwen felt her cheeks blushing furiously and quickly changed the subject. "I thought you, gods, had all gone silent," she noted.
Trivia waved that off with a dramatic move of her wrist. "Mr. Lightningbolt is too busy right now dealing with my wise niece and keeping that war-loving god from turning the Palace to rumble with his impromptu fights with other godlings. I am the least of his concerns, being not one of the Olympians," she rolled her colorful eyes but sounded somehow offended and saddened as she said that. "And, as long as you don't use my or any names of the gods that may draw attention, he'll pay no notice.
"Now, I've heard all about your quest," she turned serious -a little too much to look natural. "You have to get to the Underworld and do so fast. You should look for Prosperina as soon as you get there, too. I am really worried about her, you see. It's been a while since I last communicated with my friend. And with the Lord of Heaven keeping us in the Palace, I can't go to the Underworld," Trivia explained with a slight scowl.
"However, this is not the time to worry about that. You have to leave this place the sooner possible. Use the back exit on the other side of the stage. Now, get." Trivia smiled encouragingly and then walked away, to the center of the stage where she raised her voice to the class. "Students," she called, "your places."
In the chaos that followed as boys and girls in fancy costumes scattered around, Gwen, Percy and Reyna ventured out on the center of the stage. They walked swiftly, yet trying to look inconspicuous between the other teenagers. They got some curious looks from a couple girls -one was wearing what looked like a maid's brown simple dress with a white apron and headdress on her dark hair and the other a dark green gown with ruffles and studded with precious stones in the same color as her flaming red hair, that only a royal lady would wear back in those times. But, thanks to their costumes, nobody seemed to notice that they were not students in St. Patrick's. Well, except a Lolita girl around thirteen or fourteen, that is, who was standing by the velvet curtains, outright staring at them.
Gwen couldn't help being surprised with the girl. She had seen Lolitas before but they didn't look like this one. They had extreme hairstyles, lots of make-up, puppet-doll dresses with rows upon rows of lace and ruffles, and huge headdresses like bows and hats on their hair. This girl was totally different. She wore her caramel-colored hair long, with side-swept bangs and styled to fall straight and end in soft wavy ringlets, instead of the usual platinum blond or jet-black straight-straight or fake-curly of Lolitas. She had, also, no makeup on, let alone a thin line of dark eye-pencil bordering her dark eyes. Her dress was simple, elegant, long-sleeved and cream-colored with a smart coat-like neckline and discreet ruffles at the skirt's hem, and was matched with a satin brown neckerchief around her pale neck, brown leather gloves, and brown thigh-highs. The girl's eyes, though, were the most striking feature on her. Although sweet and startlingly beautiful, they were so black they seemed to glow and Gwen was sure she could make out silver flecks in them even from as far away from her as she was -flecks that seemed to fade in and out of sight ever so slightly.
Shaking her head, Gwen recovered herself quickly and, trying not to look again at the Lolita girl, walked faster, urging the other two to follow her pace.
Reaching the other side of the stage and ducking behind the curtains, they entered a dark hallway and easily found the back exit. It was the third in a line of identical grey metal doors, easily distinguished by the red sign over it that read: 'EXIT'. But, the approaching voices of a few girls left them no choice but to slip in the closest room to avoid being ushered back to the stage and drawing attention to themselves.
The room turned out to be some kind of storage, faintly lit by a single small stained-glass window on the far wall. Shelves were loaded with theatrical props on one side, and boxes of paint, brushes and the like were piled in a corner. The opposite wall was covered from a floor-to-ceiling glass show-case filled with a variety of stuff that looked completely random. There was a cheerleading blue-and-grey outfit with the word 'AMAZONS' in gold; some kind of sturdy leather buskins; a pair of offhand pompons made of hastily and savagely torn strips of bright orange and purple cloth; a knee-long woolen dress in earth tones; a realistic long platinum blond wig and a brunette one; and a collection of short knives and long bows. Since that was a theater's storage room, those things seemed pretty normal -well, at least most of them did.
There was a set of bow, quiver and arrows that stood out from the others. They were made from dark, polished wood; the arrows had white feathers and silver tips; the quiver was dressed in what looked like white bull's skin; and all seemed to have a grey aura, like a faint storm cloud surrounding them. Their story popped in Gwen's head immediately, as if called. She couldn't help being surprised by the fact that such a powerful object ended up in a private school but she didn't question it further as this was hardly as strange as having met her immortal Mother only a few moments ago.
"Guys," she called as Reyna peered outside in the hall. "This is Europa's bow."
Percy knitted his eyebrows. Seeing him troubled, Gwen was about to explain when Reyna spoke.
"Jupiter's gift to Europa," she mused, one hand slowly and quietly closing the door. "The bow that never misses its target -never fails. It's supposed to be always true to its aim." She looked at Gwen who was absentmindedly holding her palm against the case's glass. "What are you waiting for, then? Take it."
Gwen backed off from the glass. "I'm not touching it. You might not be able to see the kind of power it contains but -believe me- it's much. Very much. Europa was an exception between mortals and demigods, being able as she was to touch it."
"We can’t just as well leave it, though. Percy, you take it."
"Reyna-" Gwen started but Reyna stopped her with a casual shrug of her shoulders.
"He's a child of the Big Three and invincible," she said. "If he can't get it, I don't know who else might."
Percy raised an eyebrow but approached, anyway, opened the showcase and reached for the bow with steady hands. Gwen let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when his hand closed around the magic item. He didn't seem to notice, but as soon as he touched it, the bow's aura changed, and tinted faintly to match the sea-green one of Riptide. It was like the bow recognized him as his new owner -an owner it'd apparently been waiting for a long time.
Percy offered the bow to Gwen, who refused it.
"It's yours now," she told him.
"But I'm not good at archery."
"It doesn't matter, genius. Its aim’s always true," Reyna said. "Even an incompetent can use it."
"Why don't you take it, then?" Percy challenged.
That was the less nice and most stupid thing Percy could ever say to Reyna. Reyna's eyes flared and seemed to turn red.
"Let me help you," Gwen rushed to help Percy sling the quiver over his shoulder and strap the bow on his back.
"It feels weird," he admitted after a moment of standing and getting used to the bow's weight -not the least bit concerned by Reyna glaring at him.
Gwen spent a few seconds looking at him. He looked like a modern-day warrior, she decided. Tough and cute.
"It looks weird, too," Reyna said coldly but didn't elaborate in explaining. She opened the storage's door, glanced outside, and, after making sure no one was around, walked out on the hallway. "Coast clear," she announced as Gwen and Percy joined her.
They headed to the exit and were just about to open the door when a female voice from behind stopped them.
"Yοu have something that belongs to us," she said in a cool voice, "and, I'm afraid, we can't let you leave with it."
Turning around, the three demigods were met with over a dozen girls. They crowded the narrow hallway, regarding the three with dark brown, ageless eyes. Some of them, four or five, had cheerleader outfits on -same as the one in the storage room; half a dozen others wore St. Patrick's uniforms; and there were also five girls dressed in 18th century gowns. Behind a cheerleader that had worn her black hair in two pigtails, Vanessa waved merrily at Percy, her hair falling in a cascade of blond on her petite shoulders. A few feet in front of her and the rest of the group stood the two girls Gwen had seen in the theater before -the red-haired in her royal green dress gazing at them coldly, with the one dressed like a maid right behind her. The red-haired seemed to be the one that had talked.
"I demand," she spoke again, "you give the Bow back." Her hand rose to grab her hair and she pulled them, revealing that it was merely a wig and leaving straight dirty-blond hair fall around her lightly tanned face.
She was beautiful, Gwen noticed. And with her bronze complexion and brown almond-shaped eyes she reminded her a little too much of Reyna, too.
"You are not a mortal," Reyna suddenly said, putting both hands on her hips, pursing her lips and looking at the other girl suspiciously.
The girls' clothes then began to shimmer and change, as if they were just a trick of the Mist and the spell had been broken the moment Reyna talked. The dresses became flowing knee-long light brown woolen tunics, tied with gold threads around their waists and held with thin gold spaghetti-straps on their shoulders, and their shoes became brown leather buskins. A boar's skin appeared on the until-previously-red-haired girl's shoulders, a ruby-and-amber-studded leather belt around her waist, and delicate gold sandals dressed her feet instead of buskins. All the girls were armed with bows, swords and knives. And no one looked too friendly any more.
The girl that looked like Reyna smiled.
"Of course, I am not, little sister," she told Reyna. "I am Penthesilea, daughter of the god of war, queen of the Amazons."

Oooohhh! Amazons?! This is so good calypso! I wonder what's gonna happen! And Gwen and Percy? Pwen...Gercy..nope, PERCABETH! :) and that would be such a cool bow to have! I mean seriously! You'd like never miss! Tht's so cool! Thanx for the chappie=]

really great chappie
is Pentheselea a minor godess or a demigod

HI!!!!i just joined!!! calypsoO you r such a good writer!!!!

i hate jason!!! he is just ....ugh!
i hope he dies. a slow and painful death!
am i being mean? sorry!

Loooovvveeeddddddd the chapter and the Qween of the Amazons !!! The group of girls is like the artemis hunters?:)

good chapter.Its awesome

POST POST POST POST POST POST POST POST POST
CalypsoO ur such a good writer u should like e-mail all the story thing to RR! POST POST plz!