Yay! Look what I have! Gasp, it's a six-page chapter for you! Hooray!

Okay okay, calming down. Alright, I am proud to announce that I have gotten past my writers' block for the moment and even came up with a Great Prophecy, so yay me! I'm also happy to say that after I post this chapter I'm going to work on chapter 7, soo yay you! (I'm sorry I'm kinda hyper, even though its like 7 am over here.)

Disclaimer (did I do this ever?): I do not own PJO, though I would probably sell my...soul? Sure let's go with that. I don't own it, but I'd sell my soul for it. Okay byesies!

6/Escaping

She didn't like the way the woods seemed to close around her when she took her first few steps beyond her Hunters' vision.

On one hand, she was furious with herself for heading for Muir Woods in the first place; she really didn't need any more trouble in her life. (Yes, she realized that running around hunting mythical monsters with a wilderness goddess dressed in silver isn't technically classified as "normal," but still.)

But on the other hand, she knew that as Zeus's daughter, crazy adventures and "keys to salvation" such as her brother's son were her responsibility. And as much as she wanted to walk away from it all at that second, she couldn't leave saving the world to Nathan Grace.

Bringing herself out of those thoughts, she wondered bitterly if she'd have to make a fast escape from the Wolf House. She knew all too well Lupa wouldn't let Thalia leave camp alive.

And then she realized what a mistake she'd made. Traveling to Camp Rome ensured Nathan Grace, her Hunters, and herself as Roman hostages. She'd always known the Treaty of San Francisco-New York would never solve any bad blood between Greeks and Romans. They hated each other just as much, if not more, after the treaty was made as before.

"She'll never let you leave." Autumn Campbell voiced her very thoughts from behind her.

"Do you always just appear?" Thalia asked, annoyed. "Go back to your mirrors."

Autumn scowled at her. "Lupa doesn't want Greeks telling stories that they escaped Castra Roma. She has a reputation to uphold."

Thalia took a sudden step towards the girl. "Look Autumn, I get that you're all about upholding your Roman status, but I'm a Greek, I've got nothing to do with you and vice versa. Beat it, okay?"

And Thalia ran into the trees, leaving Venus's daughter alone in the woods with her poisonous quips unsaid.

The familiar green-brown blur of trees flashing by Thalia's eyes calms her as she makes her way to the dreaded Wolf House, bow in hand and arrows sharpened.

It seemed too easy to walk through the doorway as she'd seen Autumn do once before. She could sense the dangerous wolves prowling the house around her, ever-suspicious.

"Lupa!" she growled, barging into the seemingly empty room.

With a hiss, Lupa's massive head whooshed in front of her face. You dare intrude without my permission?

"Don't worry," Thalia sneered, "I'm not staying. In fact, I'm leaving today, whether you want me to or not. Just thought I'd let you know." Still clutching her bow, she whirled for the door, but Lupa darted to block her path before she can flee.

No one leaves without my blessing, she snarled. You, Thalia Grace, do not command me. You do not command my camp. My camp.

"Doesn't matter whose camp it is," Thalia snapped. "You can't stop me."

Lupa's muscles tensed as if to spring, the dark skin of her muzzle receding to bare razor-sharp teeth. Thalia suddenly came to a realization she'd downplayed; Lupa would not hesitate to kill her, no matter whose daughter she was.

Faster than she would ever think possible, she yanked a knife from her boot and plunged it into Lupa's flank. She hardly waited for a shriek of pain before she sprinted out the door, running as fast as she could through the forest and towards the main gates, where she was surprised to find only Phoebe waiting.

"What happened to the girls?" she called.

Phoebe pointed wordlessly to the open gates, where a group of demigod guards lay wounded. "Fast escape?" she asked, grabbing Thalia's arm to steady her.

It only took one fleeting glance back for Thalia to realize Lupa's minion wolves were not far behind. "No time!" she said hurriedly to Phoebe. "Go! Go!"

And letting a few arrows fly, the two Hunters made it safely outside the gates.

Thalia followed Phoebe as they blindly dashed through the forest, getting whipped by branches and tripped by bushes. Neither spoke a word, for fear of alerting the predators they both knew were tracking them. So they traveled in silence.

When Phoebe finally skidded to a stop, Thalia was out of breath. "Where—are—we?" she panted, hands on her knees.

"Just outside the Bay Area," Phoebe managed. "Lupa's wolves can't pass the barrier, I think."

"Right," Thalia wheezed.

"Phoebe? Thalia?" a small voice asked timidly. Blue-eyed Amy stepped from the bushes tentatively, bow notched.

"Yeah, it's us," Thalia assured her.

More Hunters flocked from the green foliage, curious but wary eyes sweeping the small area. Every bow was out, ready for fire. All the girls seemed relieved at their leaders' safe return.

"What about Lupa?" Chloe asked.

"Angry, but I don't think she'll come after us," Thalia said confidently. "Autumn's too stupid to leave in charge." There was a pause as each Hunter donned a small smile, glancing at each other.

"What now?" Elena Valdez's voice broke the silence, causing everyone to look at her irritated face.

"Now," Thalia said grimly, "I think it's time we visit Chiron."

Traveling cross-country wasn't on Thalia's list of favorite things. A group of thirty or so girls dressed in silver on a bus? Not so easy to make up a story for.

However, mere hours later, that was exactly what Thalia found herself doing. It was Phoebe's idea to use a choir-girls cover; they wore matching uniforms already anyway. The Greyhound bus wasn't exactly ideal, but Thalia had to admit it was doing better than she'd originally thought it would. Most of the girls seemed content, no matter how disgusting it was.

"You think the kid going to be okay?" Phoebe asked suddenly from beside her.

Thalia looked at her. "He's a Grace," she said simply. "He'll be fine." But it sounded like she was more convincing herself than she was Phoebe. An epiphany suddenly hit her. She reached into her pocket—and sure enough, there it was. The small, pink compact mirror that she'd forgotten to give to Nathan.

"Thalia, what's that?" Vanessa had spied the compact from over the lieutenant's shoulder and was now staring at it curiously.

"Magical item," Thalia responded finally. Slowly, cautiously, she flipped it open. "Nathan Grace."

Vanessa's little gasp of surprise and Phoebe's lean-in of interest was proof that what Thalia was seeing wasn't just a trick of her brain.

Indeed, the small mirror of Piper's compact was swirling with silver mist, and the next thing Thalia knew, she was looking at her nephew's face.

"Lower!" Autumn's irritating, sneering voice could be heard faintly from the compact. "No, hold your sword lower!" A frustrated grunt later and a manicured hand pushed Nathan to the floor, seizing his sword. "Pathetic," she jeered. "Like this." A crunch of armor made Nathan wince, followed by a thud that didn't help much either.

Autumn's blonde hair suddenly obscured the compact as she leaned down to smirk in Nathan's face. "Never." She poked a finger in his chest. "Hesitate." Disappearing from sight, she could be heard saying, "Anyone else want to fight the infamous son of Jason Grace?"

Bawdy laughter brought a hurt look to Nathan's eyes, but he brushed off his clothes, grabbed his practice sword, and stood. "I wish Thalia was here," he muttered under his breath.

Thalia snapped the compact closed loudly, but it was too late; her heart was already dropping. She should've known Autumn would get revenge on her somehow, she just never she would use him.

"Thalia?" Phoebe called her back to earth. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said after a moment. "Yeah I'm good." Reassured, Vanessa settled back into her seat with Chloe. Phoebe wasn't so easily fooled; she studied Thalia with narrowed eyes, but Thalia didn't care.

She stared out the window aimlessly, wishing she could just go home.

By some miracle—though Thalia suspected it wasn't a miracle at all—the next time she opened her eyes, the bus was passing the Empire State Building.

The sight cleared her mind of sleep; she pressed her nose to the glass like a schoolgirl, gaping with her mouth open. "Phoebe," she managed, floundering for Phoebe's arm, jolting her awake.

"What happened?" Phoebe's voice, unsurprisingly, wasn't coated in sleep. A Hunter's senses never rest. She leaned forward. "Are we—are we in New York?" Disbelief was etched across her face.

Behind them, Chloe stifled a yawn. "Is that even possible?"

Amy stretched from the seat beside them, accidentally hitting Valerie in the face. She twisted in her seat. "Why is everyone asleep?" she asked, her voice stirring the girls awake.

"Thalia, what's going on?" Phoebe demanded in a low voice.

Thalia herself was deep in thought. "I don't know," she said finally. They all lurched forward as the bus screeched to a sudden halt.

"Your stop," the bus driver called in a gravelly voice. Slightly dazed, the Hunters rose from their seats and filed down the aisle, un-boarding the bus in an orderly fashion.

It was only after the last girl stepped off that Thalia finally noticed the driver's mischievous blue eyes. He flashed her a painfully familiar grin from under his baseball cap. "You're welcome, Thalia." The door whooshed closed before Thalia could react, vanishing down the street.

"What was that?" Elena Valdez wondered.

"Hermes," Thalia replied. Her voice came out more indifferently than she'd intended.

"Hermes?" Phoebe echoed, cocking an eyebrow. "Why would he help us?"

Thalia stared after the long-gone bus, thinking of the mysterious driver. She could just picture Hermes now, wherever he was, twirling he snake-twined staff and grinning devilishly down at her.

"I don't know," she said finally. But she had a feeling that she was going to sooner or later.

Looking around, she realized they were standing in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. "We're in Long Island," she said finally.

"Near Montauk," Alexa agreed. "It's less than a mile to camp."

Elena sighed loudly. "More walking?"

Thalia forced herself to put a smile on her face. "Yes," she said sweetly. "I'll take the front. Pheebs, bring up the rear."

No one gave them strange looks. Thirty girls in matching silver outfits trooping down Old Montauk Highway wasn't weird at all, not in New York, and that's what Thalia loved about it most.

Forty steps into their trek and Elena began her complain campaign. About how dark the sky was, how much her feet hurt, the state of the street, the hobos, her voice droned on and on and made the time pass like molasses.

Finally there was a thud, then a squeal, and Elena shut up. Thalia smiled.

"Thalia?" Carmen called her name timidly, quickening her steps to walk besides the lieutenant.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Chiron will be happy to see us?"

There was a pause. Thalia realized that Carmen's question had voiced the Hunters' thoughts. Even now she could sense their eagerness to hear their leader's opinion. That thought worried her too.

"Yeah," she decided after a moment. "Chiron's always glad to see us. Besides, we're bringing him a new kid."

Carmen relaxed visibly. There was a collective sigh.

Thalia kept walking, head held high, but she wasn't so sure what Chiron would say. Hunters and campers never got along well, not when Zoë Nightshade was lieutenant, not when Thalia took her place. She wasn't sure they ever would. She was more scared of that than anything else.

She spotted Half-Blood Hill before any of the others. Hiking up the long emerald grass, her heart was suddenly pounding, hoping for once their arrival would be welcomed. But reaching the top, there was no one in sight.

Peleus, the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, reared his head when the Hunters came into his golden gaze. Thalia held up her hands, approaching cautiously. One sniff later and Peleus was her best friend again, his eyes lighting up as he recognized her scent.

The monster had grown even longer than the great pine tree since the last time she saw him, which had been over ten years prior. He was his usual color, but darker, and obviously more aggressive, but at that moment he had all the anger of a puppy.

Thalia reached out a tentative hand for her beloved tree. As she neared it, a spark jumped from the bark to her hand, jolting her with the delicious energy she hadn't felt in so long.

"Hi Peleus," she cooed, scratching his scaly throat. "Did you miss me? Yes, you did. Look how big you are now! Who's my favorite dragon?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes towards the sky, but before she could say anything—

"You!"

The very angry word interrupted Thalia's reunion with Peleus. She looked up to find a sword quivering an inch from her nose, and a pair of furious eyes glaring into her own.

"What are you doing here?" Troy Jackson's demand was infuriated and dangerously nervous, as was the tip of the sword in Thalia's face.

Phoebe's own sword threatened the skin of Troy's throat, along with countless arrows of the other Hunters.

"Back. Away," Phoebe commanded in a low voice. "You threaten the lieutenant, you threaten us."

Troy scowled, but dropped the sword and held up his hands. "Who are you? And don't tell me you're my mother's sister 'cause I know you're not!"

Phoebe glanced sideways at Thalia. "You know this kid?"

Thalia stood, brushing dirt off her pants. "Yeah. This is Troy, Percy and Annabeth's kid."

"Troy! TROY! What are you doing, you idiot!" a voice shouted. Two campers barged up the hill, out of breath. The first, a boy, pointed a finger at Phoebe.

"Hands—off—the kid," he panted.

"I'm not a kid!" Troy protested.

The second camper, a girl with dirty brown hair, was the first to catch her breath. Eyes narrowed, she gave Thalia a slight bobbing bow, though her expression was anything but wondrous. She slapped the back of Troy's head hard. "You idiot!" she snapped. "You don't run off to attack random people, Jackson!"

"You're Hunters, aren't you?" the boy asked, gesturing to Thalia's garb.

"I'm Thalia," she said. "Lieutenant of Artemis."

The girl and the boy exchanged stricken looks. "Seriously?" the boy said. "What are you doing here?"

"We haven't seen you in years," the girl added.

"We haven't seen you ever," Thalia told her.

"Whatever," she said haughtily, in a strangely familiar tone.

The sound of galloping hooves had Thalia's head snapping up in delight. Sure enough, Chiron himself was trotting towards them, holding a bow in one hand.

"Thalia, my dear," he said warmly upon seeing the daughter of Zeus. He gave the three children a hard look. "Have they been causing trouble?"

"No," Thalia answered.

Chiron's pursed lips proved his disbelief. "Very well. Marissa, Aaron, take Troy to join my class. We'll see how he handles a bow." Marissa, the girl, and Aaron, the boy, nodded and dragged Troy away.

Chiron tilted his head, indicating for Thalia to walk beside him. She obeyed gladly, signaling her Hunters to linger behind. Phoebe's commands to set up in Cabin Eight followed after her.

"What brings you here, my child?" Chiron questioned. "It's been too long since the Hunters had paid us a visit."

"You know about the gods," Thalia said bluntly, a hint of a question in her voice.

Chiron's face lapsed into momentary shadow. "Yes. Mr. D has, unfortunately, been recalled to Olympus. He has not returned."

"Hooray," Thalia responded dryly.

"This is no laughing matter, Thalia," Chiron said gravely. "If the gods are absent, there is no telling what's happening behind the doors of Olympus."

"I talked to Diana," Thalia informed him. "Or, she talked to me."

"Savannah! Stanley! Get back to your classes!" Chiron called to two teenagers sitting on a bench, who peeled apart from each other and glared. "And?" he prompted Thalia.

"She said Jason's kid is the 'key to everything.'"

"I've never met the boy," Chiron mused. "I imagine he takes after his father."

"He does," Thalia agreed. "He's very moral, like Piper."

"Mhm." Chiron was lost in thought. "Where have you been all these years, Thalia? Camp has missed you."

"I bet," Thalia snorted.

Chiron's piercing eyes shut her up fast. "Percy, Annabeth, and Nico were quite miserable without you."

"I was running errands for Artemis," Thalia said. "I got a message from her a few days ago: get to San Francisco fast."

"Thalia," Chiron said, astonished. "You didn't—"

"I obeyed my orders," she interrupted firmly. By then, she and Chiron had reached the doorstep to the Big House, and when they entered, it was silent. "I found the Hunters of Diana there, waiting for us," she couldn't help but sound accusing. "You knew about them, didn't you?" The centaur's silence said it all. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You know the secrets of the Romans aren't mine to give," Chiron warned. "You must tread lightly, Thalia. This situation is delicate."

"There's a new prophecy," Thalia abruptly said, changing the subject. "I heard it from the Roman prophetess—some girl named Monique."

"She sends her regards," a voice called from the stairs.

The two turned to find a girl who looked very much like Rachel Elizabeth Dare at the foot of the steps.

"Eliza," Chiron said calmly. "I wasn't aware you'd returned from Clarion Academy. Where is your mother?"

"Charity benefit," the girl, Eliza, replied. She pointed at Thalia. "You're Thalia Grace."

Thalia's eyebrows raised. "Yes."

"Six shall depart from different worlds—" Eliza began, but Chiron cleared his throat, quickly cutting her off.

Thalia glared at him. "You already know the prophecy?"

Chiron let his shoulders rise and fall, his tail swishing nervously. "Thalia, I have already explained. The secrets of the Romans—"

"Are ours too!" Thalia cut him off. "I have a right to know. If I'm in that prophecy, I want to know it."

"No," Chiron said firmly. "With Mr. D absent from his post, it's left to me to keep you children safe. How can I do that if you hear the prophecy and decide to complete it on your own?"

"Since when will I do that?" she challenged.

"The second you get the chance," he declared. "Thalia, it is forbidden that you hear the prophecy. Return to Cabin Eight immediately."

And with that command, the centaur trotted out the door, leaving Thalia fuming. "Ugh!" She kicked a chair.

Suddenly she felt as if she were a kid again, waiting to hear her fate. She hated that.

"It's alright," Eliza said softly. "You wouldn't want to hear it anyways."