Wisdoms_Child POST!!! (: This is awesome! (: check out my forum please! It's called "The Mark of Athena" and it's on this place. Or you can just click on my profile and go to my forums. (: Please give it a read it you have time.

Wisdoms_Child POST!!! If you have time, can you check out my forum? It's my version of the MOA... click here-------> http://www.fanpop.com/spots/the-mark-of-athena/forum/post/161479/title/mark-athena#comments

tvanimal First off, I would like to apologise for the time it took to put this chapter up. My only plea is that Work has been laid on me thick and fast. Having said that, in my limited free time, I also fell prey to my biggest vice of loving books too much. A week or so ago, by chance I stumbled across the trailer for the new film, “The Hunger Games” and, intrigued, decided to pick up the book on which it is based. Not one to leave it at that, I was then compelled to read the other two books in the trilogy. And though I cannot apologise enough to those eagerly awaiting the next chapter, Suzanne Collins (the author) delivered a brilliant story of the depths of humanity, the good and bad. And I am grateful she has some input on the film that is to be released next month. Trailer for the Hunger Games is; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgssLmsOa2s You absolutely have to Check out both film and book. Heres the next chapter as well, so Enjoy!! Chapter 9 - Percy Camp Half-Blood was just about in sight for Percy as he trembled in suppressed excitement. At the beginning of the trip, he was slightly apprehensive at spending more time in the air than he deemed he was allowed but the boat was apparently neutral territory, that or Lord Zeus knew the urgency of the quest. The ship didn’t even pass through a storm on their journey north, favourable winds helping speed them on their way. Jason had helped Percy navigate the ship over the course of the journey, which had taken less than a day which was impressive. The ship was just as smooth sailing on water as it was soaring in the sky. At the moment, the massive warship was skimming the sea approaching the shores of the Long Island Sounds. Now though, the strawberry farm was coming into view and Percy knew it would only be seconds until the borders of his camp were visible. In those moments Percy thought he would explode in anticipation. In what seemed like an eternity, the beach came into sight at last to reveal an impressive sight. Standing on the beach to welcome them home was an honour guard of 50 demigods led by none other than Clarisse and the fatherly figure of Chiron side by side. As soon as the ship anchored on the shore, Percy was over the side of the warship and leading the way to the shore. This was made all the more impressive as everyone following actually got wet and couldn’t walk across the surface of the water like he could. When they reached the shore, those waiting finally broke like the surf and rushed forward to clap Percy on the back all the while shouting and cheering. The only ones managing to hold themselves back where the centaur and the daughter of Ares as they looked on slightly disapprovingly. When everyone finally calmed down and was done asking about where he’d been and what he’d been up to, Percy managed to break free from the crowd and approach Chiron who stood where he had been before waiting. Percy was all smiles as he faced his mentor and friend, also smiling, as the centaur was a visage of calm and tranquillity in the face of an uncertain future. Even now, with Chiron present, everyone felt calmer than before. No words were needed as they embraced each other, arms encircling the other as Chiron slowly rotated so as to place Percy on his back as he led the small procession back to Camp. Within minutes, the demigods found themselves back in the Big House around the large council meeting table. The unchanging nature of the room set everyone at ease; even Frank and Hazel, who had never set foot in the room, found themselves at ease after initially being apprehensive of Chiron given their familiarity with his wild cousins. Percy had seated himself between Annabeth and Hazel, Frank flanking Hazel’s other side enfolding her hand in his. The following hour involved briefly recapping to everyone not at Camp Jupiter the quest to the lands beyond the gods and the assault on the Roman demigods stronghold. As the news of Nico’s capture was revealed, Chirons expression became tortured as he struggled to remain silent, refraining from interrupting. Towards the end, Jason also included the dream that plagued himself, Thalia, Hazel and Percy before their departure, something that didn’t go down well with his companions Leo and Piper, who had been in the dark about the cause of their sleepless night. Then it was Chiron’s turn to disclose a few prodding attempts by Gaea’s forces to breach the camp’s security. Reports of wild Cyclopes involved even made Tyson snort in disgust and despair, betrayed as he was by his own kin. Ella had to flutter out of the corner of the room she had chosen to occupy over to Tyson to calm him with a stroke of her wing on his face. If anyone present thought it a weird sight they declined to comment further on it other than with quizzical expressions. Then it came time to address the days to come and what must be done, in this everyone listened as Chiron made to speak. As a near-immortal being of unrivalled experience and knowledge, his advice was always invaluable. “This news of Nico in the hands of Gaea in severe in the extreme,” he said sadly, “that she could contain him with no hope of escape is our immediate concern and he must be found before she kills him or worse.” “What could be worse than death?” Hazel asked angrily, voicing the question before someone else could. She was after all closer in terms of family than anyone else present. “As a son of Hades, she could use his considerable power for her own ends, even if he fights her.” He paused then as a shadow passed over his face, “I should never have let him go to find the Doors of Death, he is no match for Gaea and there are places under the earth where even he has no dominion.” “There must be some hope for getting him back,” Percy said, “our vision of him was real, and they are not given to us without purpose and I do not see Gaea’s hand in initiating this one, only using it to further her cause.” At that point Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the resident Oracle of Delphi chose to enter the room, taking a prominent seat next to Chiron and shoving Annabeth over with an annoyed sigh in reply. “Did he mention where the Doors of Death were perchance?” she asked smoothly as she joined in the conversation, no doubt informed by her own mysterious means of everything said at the meeting. “The Doors of Death are apparently in Rome, which is where we have to be if we’re to have a chance to stop the giants before they reach Greece.” Hazel added, breaking her silence. The word Rome at that point triggered Ella though as she suddenly snapped towards Hazel as she recited clearly, ““Wisdom’s daughter walks alone, the mark of Athena burns through Rome” in her shrill singsong voice. Before anyone could have a chance to decipher that ominous message, their attention was diverted to Rachel as she slumped in her chair, head bowed as green smoke began to bellow from her mouth. Restraining Hazel before she had a chance to go for a weapon, Percy and everyone else could only watch as Rachel’s head lifted from the table with dead eyes as she repeated Ella’s words along with new ones. Children of the elder three unite To save death's son from Gaia's might Sons of bloodshed and fire embrace Their gifts to survive what they must face Through deaths door an ally has come And only love's spell can undo whats been done Wisdom's daughter walks alone The Mark of Athena burns through Rome

Wisdoms_Child WOW! I'm completely amazed! This is awesome! Your prophecy is [i]WAY[/i] better than mine. I suck at poems and such! Anywhoos, POST!

oceanlover123 post soon!

malandcar POST SOON

troll101 post soon!!!!!

tvanimal Sorry for the wait on the next chapter guys, been working hard out in the real world and, well, I came home every night without any energy left for continuing the story. I did finally get an hour in which I could do a bit of writing and so this is the result. As for the comments, thank you for taking the time to read and give me feedback. Someone mentioned I think the southern wind propelling them or something a few chapters back, what I meant I think was northerly wind (Camp half-blood is in California, north of Camp Jupiter in San Fran. Right? I can only apologise for being English and being very bad at geography and knowledge of the States in general being as how I study Physics) For those who care, I am considering writing a sequel to the inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini in the near future (set 200 years after the events of Inheritance, with at least one of Rorans descendants and Eragon returning to Alagaesia to confront a mysterious new threat). If you can comment, please do as I felt CP really let the hype and the fans down slightly with the final book. Also, distractions for me this month will be; John Carter film (next week or so), Hunger Games film (next few weeks), Wrath of the Titans (end of month), American reunion (next month) and Lockout. If viewing these films at the cinema in any way impact future chapter submissions in terms of frequency then I apologise in advance. (I also caught the newest trailer of the Avengers movie-one word “Legend…” wait for it “…dary!!”) Anyways next chapter up so Enjoy!!xx Chapter 10 - Jason Jason could almost smile as he watched the reactions of his fellow Romans. Hazel and Frank were staring wide-eyed at Rachel in disbelief; he also saw the involuntary jerk indicating they’d both instinctively gone for the daggers at their side. It was the same fighting reflex he’d felt when he’d seen the Oracle work through the mortal girl for the first time, the unnerving feeling that this girl was closer to the will of the gods than Octavian back at Camp Jupiter. As Rachel returned to her upright position, completely okay with the fact she was just hijacked with the spirit of the Delphic oracle, there was a moment of silence before a debate broke out over the prophecy’s meaning. “Children of the big three obviously refers to Percy, Jason and Thalia,” Connor Stoll said quickly. “And Hazel, she is the daughter of Pluto…or Hades for everyone here,” replied Frank quickly with a glance in her direction. “The second line must refer to Nico, which means it is possible to get him back from Gaea, I knew it!” Percy said with determination and a grim smile. “What of sons of bloodshed and fire?” Piper asked the room in general, looking around for a clue as to who they might be. “The son of fire means me I think. As for the son of bloodshed, isn’t it referring to a son of Ares?” Leo said with a quiet voice from the corner as he tinkered with some copper wiring. “My father isn’t Ares, it’s Mars. And he isn’t the god of bloodshed but of war and strategy.” Frank replied, an annoyed expression on his face. Jason knew why of course, his time among the Greeks taught him Ares was more violent and less like Athena than his Roman counterpart. “In this case, it does mean you I’m afraid. The prophecy was spoken through a Greek oracle as Athena was mentioned and not her Roman half. The fourth line also refers to you embracing each other and your gifts in order to survive.” Chiron stated simply, looking at Frank, his penetrating eyes somehow seeing Frank’s hesitance to be near the fire-starter. Jason could see Frank’s hand suddenly move to his pocket as if to check its contents. “Who’d be the ally through death’s door?” asked Clarisse, as everyone else suddenly fell silent, remembering all the friends they had lost to the Titan wars and those who’d fallen in the course of quests or to the monsters who hound them outside the safety of the both camps. “We cannot truly see who it’d be right now. As for the next line, a daughter of Aphrodite is our best bet, a charm speaker in particular,” Chiron stated with a glance at the end of the table towards Piper. “Wisdom’s daughter has to be me then, mustn’t it?” Annabeth said sadly as the implications of the prophecy took its toll, Percy and Chiron both calming her with a hand on each shoulder. “But I don’t have the Mark of Athena, at least I don’t think I do.” She added. “The last line must become clear at a later date, though prophecies usually take care of themselves regardless of our understanding of them.” Percy said to the surprise of everyone else, his teacher and mentor Chiron, smiled a shadow of pride at the statement. “Regardless of the prophecy’s content, everyone needs to try and get some sleep tonight. The camp’s borders are well protected as long as the Golden Fleece hangs from the guardian tree and even Gaea has not consolidated her forces so soon as to warrant concern over the next few days. For those departing for Rome, they should leave as soon as possible tomorrow before the giants can reorganise. Hopefully they will not realise you have left and continue their attempts on our borders again. With Lady Artemis and the hunters, minus Thalia and Phoebe, to help us shore up our defences and that of Camp Jupiter, and Iris being allowed to open communications between our two Camps, we are much better prepared to repel an attack.” Chiron said in a tone that signalled the end of the conversation. The room quickly emptied in small groups. Cabin heads were eager to impart what they had learnt to the rest of their brothers and sisters, whilst the rest were just eager for a chance to sleep. Phoebe departed for the edge of the camp after a word with Thalia, no doubt to join her fellow hunters in patrolling the boundaries with Lady Artemis, whilst Percy and Annabeth walked hand in hand towards Poseidon’s cabin. Thalia, however, joined Jason as he made his way to Zeus’ cabin, though neither felt fully comfortable sleeping in the majestic, yet cold marble hall under the gaze of their father. The night saw the two siblings succumb to sleep side by side with their hands inches from one another as if they wanted to make sure the other was nearby.

oceanlover123 Yea you posted! Post soon! :D

AthenaKnowsBest Wow this is AWESOME!!! You are a GREAT writer, keep it up. :) POST SOON!!! ~AKB

tvanimal Thank you again for all your reviews and sorry for the wait on the next chapter. Damn you television and internet for your enticing treats. This week I found a new show called Lost Girl (think true blood where Sookie is not a hapless damsel in distress every week) ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 11 – Percy Percy woke up when Annabeth nudged him painfully in the ribs. A shame too as he had been undisturbed in his dreams for once, an unusual thing for a demigod to experience let alone one of his power. He opened his eyes to take in the sight of Annabeth in his arms and the smell of the ocean in his nostrils. Poseidon’s cabin was otherwise empty to the pair in the bed, the water fountain the only source of light emitting a warm glow to match the light creeping through the closed curtains. For the first time in ages, Percy felt truly at home. It wasn’t as though Camp Jupiter hadn’t changed him, because it had. It was just that everything he needed was at hand and the only thing missing was his mother’s presence nearby; the one person still unsure of his safety and well-being. Carefully extricating himself from Annabeth without waking her, Percy approached the fountain with a drachma in hand. Tossing it in and asking Iris to connect him, he saw his mother sitting at the table in her kitchen, dark circles in her eyes. “Mum?” Percy asked, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth as he saw how ill his mother looked. “Percy!” she exclaimed, as her head whipped in his direction, her eyes with a wild cast to them. Even as they took in the sight of each other, Paul appeared at her side with two cups of coffee, wordlessly passing one to her and taking a sip of the other. “I’m sorry, for not speaking to you sooner and for being unable to see you,” Percy said desperately as his tongue untied itself and ran off that sentence too quickly to be understood. “Annabeth IM’ed us yesterday when she found you. You were asleep at the time and she told us you had enough on your plate,” Paul replied with a weary smile. On closer inspection of Paul’s face, he hadn’t had much sleep recently either; the cost of having a demigod for a son. “She told us you have to go on another quest again, so soon after your last one as well,” Sally said with tears in her eyes as Paul rubbed her back comfortingly. “I do mum; we need to get Nico back and Rachel has had another prophecy.” Percy replied, begging his mother to understand and trying to apologise. “Nico? Where’s Nico?” Sally asked suddenly, wiping her eyes with a tissue. “Mum, he’s been caught by Gaea in Rome,” Percy had to wait as his mum gasped. On more than one occasion, Nico had visited Percy at home and had met Sally and Paul. Like Tyson, Sally had immediately made him feel like part of the family which to be honest, they were in a weird way. “And Rachel, what does she say?” Paul asked; his hand motionless on Sally’s back, concern etched across his features. “That we have a chance to get him back, if we leave today.” Percy replied before he could lose his nerve. “So soon, but what if I never see you again Percy! I can’t say goodbye like this, I can’t…” was all that Sally got out before she started sobbing in earnest and buried her head in Paul’s shoulder, spilling her coffee over the side of the table completely ignored. Percy stared on completely helpless as Paul locked eyes with him and in that look understood that though they wished otherwise, Percy had no choice but to leave and pit his will once again against those who would bring down the gods. It was all Percy could do to look at his mother one more time as she emerged from her crying and say, “I will return mum, I promise. The giant who was Poseidon’s Bane died by my hand and with the aid of a minor god. The full might of Olympus and that of Poseidon himself is yet to be unleashed, to say nothing of their children.” A sudden fire bloomed in Percy’s stomach as he finished speaking, anger at Gaea and sadness at seeing his mother reduced to tears twisting his guts to knots, giving him a rush of energy and eagerness for the quest ahead. As the image of his mother smiling sadly back at him faded, the water in the fountain stayed weightless in the air for a second before falling back down with a splash. He stood rooted to the spot for a second before a rustling sound behind him turned his attention to the bed. Annabeth had watched the entire exchange in silence as she rose from the bed and approached Percy on quiet feet as she pulled on her shirt. Giving him a peck on the cheek and a quick hug, she somehow conveyed understanding of all the pain and comfort the sight of his mother had given him and he squeezed her back all the harder in appreciation. Percy and Annabeth both showered and dressed before leaving for breakfast. It was a sombre affair as everyone knew what was to come. Most campers would stay to oversee defence of the Camp and that of Camp Jupiter whilst the quest members would set off for Rome and danger of a different kind. Artemis herself would return to hunting monsters in the vicinity of both camps with the aid of her hunters minus two. As they ate, Percy watched as Phoebe and Thalia departed awhile in the company of Artemis only to return minutes later looking forlorn and thoroughly depressed. Phoebe in particular had been unusually reserved compared to her aggressive and boy-hating streak but now she looked lost and out of place as she hung close to Thalia for the remainder of the meal. Finally the meal drew to a close and the conch horn signalled the end of the meal. Chiron stepped down from the dais and led the quest members out of the pavilion and to the ship as those who’d remain moved out from behind tables to line up on either side of the slow and sombre procession. Sombre words were exchanged between Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Frank and their cabin-mates as they passed by, a few hands touching shoulders in silent farewell. Percy’s heart wrenched as he commanded the ship to move away from the shore and those upon it as those who joined him formed a living chain at his sides, watching everything they’d known disappear from sight.

oceanlover123 Love the chapter! Post soon please!

kylaluvscows Pllzzzz posttt sooonnn u r such a good writer!!!!!

MythicLover This is very good!! POST SOON PLEASE!!!!!!!

shadesofblue i just read the whole thing its really good keep going!!!

Reader25 Wooooow! You are the best!!! I agree with shadesofblue!!!

tvanimal My god! nearly a month between posts.....ahhhh i apologise profusely for my lack of submissions. i can only plead that i have had neither time nor inspiration for a while though hopefull the time will soon pass. in error of my ways i will now put up not 1, not 2 but three chapters to make up for lost time and a 4th will follow before the weekend. apologies and enjoy!! ------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 12 – Percy (again) It wasn’t until half an hour later, with the sails catching the wind just right and propelling them faster than should be possible, that everyone began to disperse. Leaving Camp half-blood was as hard as it was leaving Camp Jupiter, but nothing other than sea really remained between where they were now and Rome. As soon as Percy had left Montauk in the rear-view mirror, he felt better; as if a load had been lifted from his shoulders. His perfect navigation skills pointed him in the right direction and they made a beeline for Rome, but now he felt something else as well as they left the Long Island sound behind as well and saw nothing but ocean. Percy felt powerful. Not thousands, but millions of gallons of water lay twenty feet from where he stood on the railing of the deck. He had felt something like this once before; when he dared sit on his father’s throne as the titans attacked Olympus. The entirety of his father’s domain and his power could be felt from that throne, and now, for the first time in his life, Percy was surrounded by nothing but water. He could sense the little eddies in the current as he angled the ship to take advantage of the Gulf Stream that would see them to the western edge of Europe. He could also sense something else; his father’s presence. More specifically, he thought he could feel Poseidon keep track of the ship and be a lookout for dangers that Gaea might have sent to impede their journey. It made sense of course, Gaea would have no direct power in the middle of the ocean. For two nights Percy slept soundlessly in his bunk, his father’s constant presence reminding him of Poseidon’s cabin back at camp. On the third day however, when they were halfway to Rome and Percy sat next to Annabeth discussing nothing in particular, the hairs on the back of his head suddenly stood on end as Poseidon’s voice rang like a bell in his head. “Percy, look out!” his father cried, as Percy felt an alien and cold presence stirring in the water directly below the ship. Percy jumped to his feet even as Annabeth followed suit, alerted by the tension in Percy’s shoulders. Scanning the deck for Leo and Jason, Percy found them and shouted, “get us in the air, now!” As the ship shuddered and struggled to get in the air as fast as possible, it was suddenly pulled back down with a splash as something with scales came over the side of the ship. The “tentacle”, if that’s what it was, came over one side and vanished over the other. Before most of those on board could react, the top half of its body became visible. The serpentine body, for that’s what it was, was topped by a viciously shaped mouth. A snakes head with a cavernous mouth contained numerous rows of long and sharp teeth as it jabbed its head trying to catch Percy’s fellow shipmates with its teeth. “A Ketos!” Annabeth shouted, even as she drew her dagger from her side and a longer gladius from the other. Percy vaguely remembered the monster from the myths, more from the description than the name. his namesake, the original Perseus, slew a Ketos as he rescued the princess Andromeda and the city of Aithiopia from the wrath of the gods. The now-famous Herakles or Hercules had also slain one as it threatened Troy after the king slighted the gods after giving their aid to the building of its defences. Somewhere in the back of his mind as he dodged the fanged menace before him, Percy mused on the irony that in those two instances the two creatures had been sent by his own father and the others of Olympus. “Any ideas on how to kill it?” Percy shot back as he dodged the creatures other end. “Swords and arrows, though Medusa’s head would be useful about now!” Percy grinned in spite of the situation. Both the original Perseus and himself had used the hideous face of Medusa against a foe in battle. “What about you, Jason? Can’t you use lightning against it?” Percy yelled at Jason as everyone was forced to put distance between themselves and that mouth. “And fry everyone who’s soaked in sea-water? Not unless you have some way of making sure the strike doesn’t hit us as well!” came the reply. “Then use your power’s to isolate it Percy.” Frank interjected as he used a spear to fend off an attack by the monster’s tail. Seizing on that idea, Percy concentrated on the sea around him. As vast as it was, it wasn’t hard to condense the water immediately surrounding the creature and pry it loose from the ship. The creature tensed up and began to rally against the invisible force, but Percy held firm the watery prison and raised the entire beast into the air and way from the ship. As Percy began to squeeze the life out of the now-powerless snake, Jason yelled and raised his fist to the sky as lightning screamed down in answer. The resulting blast blinded everyone on board and forced them to avert their gaze, the light vanishing a second later to reveal no trace of the monster whatsoever. Chapter 13 - Piper Stunned silence followed as everyone turned their gaze on Jason. He looked round at everyone in reply before saying, “too much?” before cracking an impish smile suspiciously like the one Leo frequently sported. The tension vanished as everyone cracked a laugh and lowered their weapons; even Phoebe of the hunters managed a smile as she returned her nocked arrow to its quiver, a quiver that seemed to replenish its contents even as they were used up. “Just about right I think,” Percy replied as he recovered his smile. He went over to Jason and slapped him on the back before adding “impressive display though,” with a grudging smile. “You can talk, you could have finished him yourself by now if I’d just let it be.” Jason said in return before sharing a look with Thalia and asking, “How did you do it though? And how did you know we were about to be attacked?” “I’d like to know that as well,” Thalia butted in as she moved to Annabeth’s side, both girls looking to Percy for an answer. Percy looked uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. That was the major difference between not just Percy and Jason but also, Piper suspected, between their respective fathers and their positions on Olympus. Jason looked like the born leader; commanding loyalty from everyone as well as himself, but Percy liked to toil away rather than lead from the front. Piper had heard from people back at camp that Percy’s weakness was his family, but it was also his strength. The demigods of both Greece, and now, Rome as well saw his selflessness and rallied to it as they would a legions standard. “Do you not feel it? feel different out here, away from Camp?” Percy asked everyone, concentrating on Thalia and Jason. Piper had no idea what he was talking about. She felt the same as she always did; apart from the obvious emotions she felt for Jason and for the responsibility of the group and the quest they were on. The two siblings obviously had some idea of the question, as they shared another look and a slightly secretive, embarrassed expression. “We thought it was just us two,” Thalia answered as she looked guiltily at Annabeth by her side, “it was just a feeling we shared and we didn’t want to tell you guys about it too soon.” “Tell us what?” Piper asked, her curiosity now piqued. Jason motioned upwards, “you haven’t noticed that the sky has been cloudy since we hit the ocean in earnest? And that not a drop of rain has fallen on us that entire time?” he asked around. Piper looked up as everyone else did too apart from Thalia, Jason and for some reason Percy. It was true; the sky was full of clouds, and not the wisps of cloud seen on a summer’s day. These clouds looked as though they contained enough water to turn the sea into a roiling cauldron and upset their voyage completely. However, not a drop of rain seemed to threaten them. “What does that mean then?” Leo asked timidly, his eyes remaining on the clouds above. Piper returning her gaze to her companions as she awaited the answer. “That the gods are watching over us and our quest,” Frank said in reply as his expression revealed a startling revelation. That startled everyone else in response. Again though, the only ones not showing any surprise were Jason, Thalia and Percy, as if they had known it all along. “You knew this already didn’t you?” Annabeth asked Percy as he replied with a nod. “But how?” she added almost immediately “I only had my suspicions about Lord Zeus and the others, but my father has been keeping an eye on us ever since we set sail from Camp Half-blood. I also feel stronger than before, my senses more attuned to the surroundings.” Percy replied. Annabeth’s eyes immediately rose in realization, and chagrin. Piper took a little longer to understand as she cast her gaze about the surroundings. It wasn’t until she realised he was talking of the ocean itself that she saw what he meant. Percy was in the middle of his father’s domain, all of his parental-specific abilities would, of course, be magnified ten-fold as long as he remained there. But Jason and Thalia? Chapter 14 – Annabeth “I still don’t understand about Lord Zeus though, and how?” Annabeth asked, slightly annoyed as if the answer was just out of her grasp. “Father must have requested favourable winds from Aeolus and the four winds,” Jason replied. Of course, Jason’s last quest had involved seeing Aeolus and Boreas. She felt like slapping herself for not getting it sooner, Zeus would have organised for some cloud cover, Aeolus would make sure it covers the ship to Rome and Poseidon would be preventing a downpour. A simple solution to prevent any disturbance to their journey, no doubt designed, at least in part, by her own mother. Annabeth was surprised, and maybe a little slighted that the son of Mars had cottoned on quicker than she did herself. It was hard to see that Mars was different from Ares as his / their children all bore similar, physical characteristics. Frank Zhang was probably the only child of the war god, except on occasion Clarisse, that Annabeth felt she could get along with and trust. “That is good, it is about time the god’s stopped being the hunted and became the hunters instead like Lady Artemis,” Phoebe said regally with the first true smile seen from her in days. “True, but this time we are not targeting a particularly nasty monster, but mother Earth herself.” Thalia chided her gently before adding, “though a pack can hunt bigger and stronger prey together than an individual of that same pack, lest we forget when the titans held our own patron captive.” Annabeth’s back winced with a sudden, phantom pain. Memories of holding the weight of the sky threatened to flood through her as she hammered them back down and saw Thalia glance at her apologetically. “Enough with the depressing talk for me in one day this is,” Leo said brightly. Annabeth jumped as she’d forgotten the conversation included the whole of the ship’s crew. “I’ll see to getting us underway again asap,” Leo said as he sauntered off with a final, “bloody inconsiderate attacking and leaving a mess like this!” before he began to pick up broken pieces of ship and going off for replacements below deck. That was the cue for people to disperse. Percy went off to help Leo with repairs over the side of the ship, whilst Jason took to the air to check the length of the main mast which had somehow been undamaged by the sudden attack. The torn masts had to be repaired and patched up, holes had to be covered over the side, weapons had to be stashed away again and remnants of hacked off monster had to be thrown overboard. Within minutes, the ship was made ready to sail again with a weary cheer as the sails were tacked to the wind and began to fill. As the ship began to move without the assistance of Percy’s or Jason’s power, most everyone turned in for an impromptu nap, even though night was still several hours away. Annabeth had managed to find herself on watch duty with Frank for the first shift. Though initially alert, within minutes eyes began to sag and the silence marking the end of another was punctuated by snatches of conversation as they struggled to keep each other awake. It was with some relief that Piper turned up with Phoebe for second watch and, without any prompting needed, both Frank and Annabeth went inside and fell on the first beds they saw. Annabeth nodded off nearly immediately despite the fact that the warm presence of Percy next to her was absent. As she fell to the blackness within, she was stricken with a sudden terror which washed over her and energised her as she tried desperately to wake up to no avail. “it is useless child, your quest is doomed as are you I’m afraid,” Gaia murmured even as she appeared before her. “Not even the Mark of Athena can save you from what’s coming!”

acamp58 This is awesome! Keep posting

NN41216w12 AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

megon4ever you abandoned it!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

annabannana68 why arnt you posting this is amazing !!!

kkw1700 OMG. Chica, you need tto get back on your computer and POST!

BlazeFireSpirit Please please PLEASE post! the story is WAY TOO amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

cheekypeach OMG!OMG!OMG!,,,,,,,,,,PLEASE POST. ur version is AWESOME

giugiu0322 dude you got skillz and i agree with the other comments give me a call sometime athena out (ps i will be poping up to see how u doing and i am blushing as i write this too