Integrity

Chapter 1

Another day, another book

Author's notes: As I've said before I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus. Everything in bold belongs to Rick Riordan. Enjoy!

One more thing before we start. To Everyone who wants to know. I'm doing all the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books, Plus the short story 'The Singer of Apollo', The Demigod Files, The Demigod Diaries, and The Heroes of Olympus books, including the Blood of Olympus.

I've ever considered having them read the Official Guide to PErcy Jackson and The Olympians...I'm not sure about that idea though. And I even briefly considered later (probably after the end of the war) having them read The Kane Chronicles, The Son of Sobek, The Staff of Serapis, and when it comes out The Crown of Ptolemy. Also The Magnus Chase series.

But I'm getting Way ahead of myself. For now I'm just going to concentrate on this fanfiction of them reading The Titan's Curse for the time being.

The Seven Chosen Heroes, Reyna, Nico, Clarisse, Luke, Chiron and the two satyrs Grover, and Coach Hedge had taken a much needed long break. They had eaten dinner together (though it took some convincing from Jason to get the Son of Hades to join them), and they had decided to put off the third book until the next day. Since they were all tired and somewhat dirty, they had all taken showers and decided to get ready for bed.

Chiron and Coach Hedge shared his room on the Argo II with the Centaur Chiron. Annabeth and Percy were of course sharing his room. Tartarus had done a real number on them and the elder satyr didn't even say a thing about it. Grover and Luke would be sharing Annabeth's room. Clarisse would be sharing with Piper. Hazel had offered to let Reyna room with her; which the daughter of Bellona gratefully accepted. And with a lot of persuasion Jason had gotten Nico to stay with him for the night.

"I think that you should tell them." The two boys, Jason and Nico were in his room settling in for the night.

"Tell who what?" The Son of Hades looked up at him from where he laid on an blown up air mattress on the floor of Jason's room.

Jason sat on his bed in his pajamas, a white tank top with blue and white checkered pajama pants. The Son of Jupiter sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Nico, I think you should tell the rest of the Seven, Reyna, Coach and the others on the ship about what happened in Croatia."

"No." The Ghost king replied adamantly.

"Nico," Jason started again.

"I don't want them to know." Nico argued. "They'll judge me."

"No they won't." Jason protested.

"Yes they will. Everyone always does. I'm the sons of Hades."

Jason sighed. "Nico, none of us here care about who your godly parent is. And they won't care about...any of that."

Nico turned away and pulled the blanket over his head promptly ignoring the Son of Jupiter.

Jason sighed in frustration. He pulled the covers up and decided to go to bed.

"Why did he tell Jason and not me?" Percy asked Annabeth. "I've known him longer!"

The two of them were back in Percy's room in their pajamas ready to go to bed.

"I don't know Percy." The daughter of Athena said. "Maybe when we were...gone they got closer."

"Why won't Nico tell me what's going on though?" Percy looked frustrated. "I mean one minute he's angry over how people have treated me. The next minute he's ignoring me and acting like he can't stand me."

Annabeth sighed. "Percy, maybe he just doesn't feel comfortable telling us what's going on."

"But we've known him for four years!"

"Just because we've known him the longest, doesn't mean that we really know him." She told him. "Maybe he was just upset and Jason happened to be there."

"Still," Percy sat on the bed with Annabeth. "Why won't he tell me?"

"I don't know Percy." She admitted. "Come on we should get to bed. We have another big day tomorrow. We're going to read the third and fourth books."

"Don't remind me." He groaned. "I bet they're both in my Point of View too."

"Probably."

"Fantastic."

The next morning after they had all eaten breakfast (Nico with some wheedling from Hazel, Reyna and Jason), they all took seats and were ready to start the next book. A flash of light temporarily blinded the others and after it faded they saw four people.

"What's going on?" Will Solace asked.

"Hera's summoned all of you to read these books about Percy's Adventures." Annabeth announced. "It's supposed to help us learn everything about each other. Apparently we need that to help us succeed in the war against Gaea."

"Why must we read about a boy's adventures?"

They turned in shock to see Zoe Nightshade, The former lieutenant of Artemis. "Zoe... but...what...how... you're dead!" Thalia said.

"What does thou mean? I am very much alive." Zoe frowned in confusion.

"Wait, where we you before you were brought here?" Piper asked.

"We were getting ready to leave for our quest to rescue Lady Artemis." One of the other girls spoke.

Nico looked up in shock. He recognized that voice. "Bianca?"

Hazel looked at the olive skinned girl. "That's Bianca?" She looked at Nico for confirmation.

Nico's voice seemed to abandon him. He could only look at his younger sister and nod. He stared at his elder sister as if he couldn't believe that he was there.

"Nico?" Bianca said. "Is that really you?" She couldn't believe how different he looked. He was dressed in black jeans, a black skull t-shirt, black steel-toed boots, and a black aviator jacket, along with a skull ring. What had happened to change her brother so drastically in the future? What had happened to the fun loving, energetic little kid brother of hers?

He nodded again, staying silent. He couldn't didn't say anything for fear that he might break down. He couldn't afford that right now.

Zoe seemed to noticed Thalia's outfit for the first time. "You are a Hunter of Artemis in the future?" She looked shocked. "Before you would not leave that because of that boy." She glared in Luke's direction.

Luke avoided the Hunters' gazes.

"It will probably be explained in the book." Reyna replied.

"Well, if we're here to read these books shouldn't we get started?" The Oracle asked. "By the way.." She pulled the Son of Poseidon and the daughter of Athena into a crushing embrace." "I'm so glad that you two are okay." They returned the hug gladly.

Rachel took a set beside Annabeth. Zoe sat beside Rachel and Bianca sat beside her with Hazel on her other side.

"It's Leo's turn now to read." Frank reminded them. Jason got the book and handed it to the fire-user. Nico tore his eyes away from his older sister and turned his attention to the third book.

"Percy Jackson & The Olympians Book 3: The Titan's Curse." Leo read. He turned to the first page and began to read.

Chapter 1: My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong

The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school. We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the way.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, and I hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for my mom. She talks more when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me.

"So you could black mail him if you wanted to?" Leo said with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe..." Thalia trailed off with a smirk.

Percy groaned in reply.

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun. "

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Sounds cozy." Rachel said sarcastically.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" my mother asked.

"No, thanks, Mom, " I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay. "

"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy. "

They smiled at that. Percy's mom really was the best.

I hoped I wasn't blushing. It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my battles.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson. " Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked into a ski cap and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean. "We'll keep him out of trouble. "

My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Annabeth is the most levelheaded demigod ever to hit eighth grade.

"That's because she is." Thalia remarked.

The others nodded. They completely agreed with the daughter of Zeus.

She's sure Annabeth often keeps me from getting killed. She's right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

"All right, dears, " my mom said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson, " Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride. "

"Thalia's being polite?" Nico said surprised.

The others laughed while Thalia glared at him.

"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"

"Mom-"

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"

"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys. "

She looked a little hurt, and I was sorry about that, but I was ready to be out of that car. If my mom told one more story about how cute I looked in the bathtub when I was three years old, I was going to burrow into the snow and freeze myself to death.

There were some raised eyebrows at this sentence.

Annabeth and Thalia followed me outside. The wind blew straight through my coat like ice daggers.

Once my mother's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy. "

"She's pretty okay, " I admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"

Jason and Thalia winced at the mention of her.

The others looked at them worriedly.

The son of Jupiter just smiled tensely in response while Thalia avoided their gazes.

As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes she always wears-the ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry, the black eyeliner and those intense blue eyes. But the look she gave me now was a perfect evil "ten. "

"If that was any of your business, Percy-"

"We'd better get inside, " Annabeth interrupted. "Grover will be waiting. "

Thank the gods for Annabeth. They thought. If she hadn't interrupted them who knows what would have happened.

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call. "

I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good, " I guessed.

"No really?" Grover commented with an eye roll.

The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

All I could say was, "Whoa. "

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.

My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

They all listened intently as the fire-user continued to read.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where-"

The doors slammed shut behind us.

"Oo-kay, " I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile. "

"Well, that was ominous." Piper said shivering a bit.

I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.

We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me.

They snorted in laughter at that statement.

They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"You seriously have the weirdest thoughts Percy." Frank shook his head.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um... " I realized I hadn't planned for this. I'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, I hadn't considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night. We hadn't talked at all in the car about how we would get inside.

"Great," Reyna groaned at their poor planning.

I said, "Ma'am, we're just-"

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"

He had an accent-French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors-one brown, one blue-like an alley cat's.

"That's weird." Hazel frowned.

I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something very weird.

She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir, " Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade. "

"Good thing Thalia did that." Annabeth commented. "Otherwise we would have been in big trouble."

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. I didn't know what Thalia was thinking. Now we'd probably get punished for lying and thrown into the snow. But the man seemed to be hesitating.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.

Chiron's eyes sparkled with humor in them whilst the rest of them laughed.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I... Yes. I believe I do, sir. " She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You-"

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh-"

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover.

"Probably because he's a satyr." Coach commented. "And we satyrs can sniff out monsters."

"What do you mean, they made it? These students live here. "

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made... The punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

Clarisse sighed, Grover was really bad at lying.

"Grover, seriously?" Leo asked pausing in his reading. "As soon as this war is over. You and me lying lessons. Pronto."

"That reminds me Leo." Piper said. "You still haven't answered out questions."

"What questions?" Leo frowned in confusion.

"We asked you earlier why you personally wanted to give Grover lying lessons." Jason reminded him.

"Oh...that..." Leo trailed off. "Well..."

"Don't you even dare think of dodging the question." Annabeth said sternly.

The Fire-user sighed exasperatedly. "Obviously because I've become good at lying over the years."

They all frowned at that statement.

The son of Hephaestus quickly began to read again before they could say anything else.

Dr. Thorn glared at us. I decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

We didn't wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.

Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music.

Nico groaned internally. He was going to be popping up in the books soon.

I could feel the teachers' eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?"

"You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

"No, he hasn't." Percy answered.

An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. Chiron was our head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown me anything like that. Why had he shown Thalia and not me?

Chiron sighed in response.

Grover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. I gave him a big high five.

It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human-a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.

"Definitly the school motto." Leo agreed trying not to laugh. "Don't you agree Reyna? Nico?" The fire-user wiggled his eyebrows and the two of them burst into laughter and the son of Hephaestus joined in soon after.

Everyone else exchanged bewildered looks. What had they missed?

After the three of them had settled down Leo began reading again.

"So what's the emergency?" I asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two. "

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

"A brother and a sister, " he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover looked at Thalia desperately. I tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to me for answers,

"Sorry Perce." Grover winced.

"It's okay G-man." Percy shrugged. "I'm over it."

Leo continued to read.

but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus.

Thalia had more experience than any of us with fending off monsters in the real world.

"Right, " she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance, " Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh, " Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn. "

"Wonderful!" Clarisse groaned.

Nico and Bianca both shivered remembering their first encounter with Dr. Thorn.

That's when all of my problems started. Nico thought sullenly.

Will who noticed Nico's reaction felt concerned for the Son Of Hades.

Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices.

Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked more like me-uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true...

"Unfortunately yes." Percy sighed.

Annabeth just snuggled into his side whilst Leo kept reading.

"There they are. " Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

The others glanced at the mentioned siblings before listening again to Leo reading.

So this is when they rescued them and then brought them to camp. Will filed away the information for later.

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

They looked at Bianca expecting an answer. "I did feel that something was about to go horribly wrong." She admitted.

Annabeth said, "Do they... I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger. "

He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"Yum!" The fire-user said over enthusiastically. "'What are we having for lunch today mom?' 'Oh a rare delicacy demigod delight!'"

They others snorted and tried to keep from laughing. They of course failed miserably.

"Where do you come up with this stuff Leo?" Piper asked through her laughter.

"It's all up here Beauty Queen!" He pointed to his head.

She stopped laughing to scowl at him. "Don't call me that."

So let's grab them and get out of here, " I said.

I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.

Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here.

"Fantastic!" Leo said sarcastically. Though his face betrayed that he was worried for Nico. It happened in the past. Nico's right here. He's completely fine. He looked over at him as if to reassure himself. He began to read again before the others got suspicious.

"Don't look at the kids, " Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent. "

"How?"

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids. "

"I have a bad feeling about this." Hazel frowned.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did. "

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Let's dance. "

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading, " Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy. "

Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

They laughed at that scene.

Annabeth smiled.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back. "

Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer, which I found kind of disturbing. She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls-the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at that first sentence of the paragraph but kept silent. She was still cuddling against her boyfriend Percy as she continued to listen to Leo read.

"So... " I tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told us. When you're a half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural? "Um, design any good buildings lately?"

Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program... "

She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up-she loves math and historical buildings and all that-but I hardly understood a word she was saying.

The daughter of Athena shook her head before smiling fondly and saying. "Seaweed Brain."

Percy just grinned at her a gave her a kiss in response.

The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often.

It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an all-girls school, and I was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, I hardly ever saw them.

Yeah, uh, cool, " I said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"

Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't-"

"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy.

Grover looked slightly offended at that line.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym.

"Well?" Annabeth said.

"Um, who should I ask?"

She punched me in the gut. "Me, Seaweed Brain. "

The rest of their demigod friends grinned at that part.

"Oh. Oh, right. "

So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me.

"I'm not going to bite, " she told me. "Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"

I didn't answer. The truth was we did. But I'd never, like, actually danced at one. I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner.

The girls rolled their eyes.

We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl-anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble at school or something?"

She pursed her lips. "It's not that. It's my dad. "

"Uh-oh. " I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father. "I thought it was getting better with you two. Is it your stepmom again?"

Annabeth sighed. "He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco!'

She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment or Hades's gym shorts.

"Hey!" The Roman demigods protested.

"Sorry," Annabeth responded.

"And please don't bring my Hazel's and my dad's Gym shorts into this." Nico shuddered.

Hazel nodded in agreement looking a little green.

Bianca's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Hazel is our...sister?" She looked at her younger brother.

"Yes, she's a Roman Demigod, daughter of Pluto, Hades Roman side." Nico responded avoiding looking at his sister. Don't get attached. She's still going to die once she gets sent back to her time where she belongs. She'll still die and there's nothing that you can do about it. He reminded himself.

The daughter of Hades seemed to realize that he hadn't mentioned her in his statement. He said Hazel's and my dad. He didn't ever say anything about me being his sister.

"So he wants you to move out there with him?" I asked.

"To the other side of the country, " she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that. "

"What? Why not?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought I was kidding. "You know. It's right there!'

"Oh, " I said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn't want to sound stupid.

The blonde girl sighed in exasperation. "Seaweed Brain." She repeated her earlier statement.

"So... You'll go back to living at camp or what?"

"It's more serious than that, Percy. I... I probably should tell you something. " Suddenly she froze. "They're gone. "

"What?"

I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there.

They tensed extremely worried for the two of them.

Thalia remembered what happened to Annabeth on the quest for the fleece to heal her. She reminded herself to give the daughter of Athena a stern talking to later. She had assured her that she had not in anyway, been injured on that quest. She had lied to her.

They were best friends they were supposed to share everything. Annabeth had even told her about how she had had a secret crush on Percy since they were twelve. But she hadn't bothered telling her that she had been injured on that quest.

The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"

She ran through the crowd. I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way. I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time I was free, Annabeth had disappeared. I turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, I saw something that chilled my blood.

About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.

Jason glanced at Nico subconsciously as if to remind himself that he was okay. This happened a few years ago. He's completely fine now. Well...maybe not completely fine. He was still struggling to accept himself for who he was.

When Jason thought of everything that Nico Di Angelo had been through he felt like hugging him and telling him that everything would be okay. Though if he did that, Nico would probably punch him... or shove him. An angry Nico Di Angelo was not somebody you wanted to mess with.

I still couldn't see Annabeth, but I knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Grover.

I almost ran after her, and then I thought, Wait.

I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall, looking at me all puzzled when I asked about the finger-snap trick: Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet? I thought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.

Not that I resented Thalia. She was cool. It wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention... Still, I didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.

Chiron sighed at Percy's thoughts and actions. Maybe if he had shown Percy how to manipulate the mist when he taught Thalia then things would have been different. He might not have gone after the Di Angelos' by himself. But then again if he hadn't they might not have gotten there in time to save the two siblings.

The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. I uncapped Riptide.

The pen grew in my hands until I held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.

I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids.

They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me.

"Why? Were you having a really bad hair day?" Leo joked trying to loosen the tension.

Percy snorted in reply. "Yeah, Definitly. That's why Nico and Bianca were terrified of me."

I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. "

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial bronze weapons.

"I only wish he had." Percy sighed.

Grover, Thalia, and Annabeth nodded their agreement.

"My name's Percy, " I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe. "

Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant.

She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me.

"You mean it wasn't because you were having a bad hair day?" Leo replied with a twinkle of humor in his eyes.

"Nope, me and my hair were perfect that day." Percy said with a flair of dramatics. "Even with the monster fighting that happened later."

I whirled around and something went WHI1ISH! Pain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked me backward and slammed me to the wall.

I slashed with my sword but there was nothing to hit.

A cold laugh echoed through the hall.

"Yes, Perseus Jackson" Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled the J in my last name. "I know who you are. "

I tried to free my shoulder. My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike-a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I'd felt something like this before. Poison.

Tyson looked concerned. "You were poisoned brother!?"

"I'm alright now Tyson." Percy reassured him. "I'm all healed up now."

"You are sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine now."

The young Cyclops nodded. He seemed to find this an acceptable answer.

Will frowned worriedly. He glanced at Percy and then Annabeth. He remembered the note that appeared in the dining pavilion in the sacrificial flames. That was when they had learned of Percy and Annabeth's terrible fate. Luckily it seemed the two of them were alright, at least on the outside. But as a healer he knew that some scars ran deeper. Some of them were emotion. After going through hell, literally, he wouldn't be surprised to hear that they were having nightmares.

I forced myself to concentrate. I would not pass out.

A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of my sword.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym, " he said. "I hate middle school dances."

I tried to swing my sword again, but he was just out of reach.

WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.

"Annabeth?" Reyna guessed looking at said girl.

She nodded in response.

Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

"All three of you will come with me, " Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw. "

"That's the end of the first chapter." Leo replied. He gave the book to Luke who turned the page and began to read nervously.

Authors notes: So here's the beginning of Integrity. They'll be reading the third book in this one. I hope that you all enjoy reading this fanfiction just like the first two. Also I have no idea if Bianca knew about Nico's crush on Percy, or his sexual orientation. I'm assuming that she doesn't and I'll have her find out with the rest of them. Since Nico was very reluctant to tell anyone about it I don't think he would have told Bianca. Considering what time they were from he might have though she would hate him for it. Which she won't don't worry. And WillXNico will appear in this fanfiction. So if you are opposed to this paring or just their sexual orientation in general. I suggest you either ignore it. I'm sticking to what the books say and Uncle Rick writes that Nico develops a Crush on the Son of Apollo so... that's going to be in here eventually.