Hi guys! I'm BAAaaack! …Okay, that was a little weird. Sorry, I had coffee earlier and…wait, why am I putting this?! Anyway, this is the rewritten version of "Rising Storm" that I'm making. I was reading over the ideas that I had made for the original one, and the direction it was going just sounded too much like "The Lightening Thief" plot, so I decided to completely start over. Hopefully this version will be better than the one I previously made. (Also, I'm sorry that this took so long! Life happened! Please don't kill me!) But, just please keep in mind that I haven't written much fanfiction lately, so I'm rusty, and I think it's showing. I'm hoping it'll improve as I write this. Okay, enough rambling. Enjoy!

IMPORTANT NOTE: I just want to thank mistystar123 for helping me brainstorm ideas for this over the last couple months. I want you to know that you've been a huge help and I really appreciate your humoring my rambling! XD Seriously, you're awesome! Thank you!

DISCLAIMER: …Yeah, I own nothing but the story idea. And the OCs.

It was thunder storming that night. Of course, it had been thunder storming every night for the past few weeks. During the day, the rain would cease, only to pick up again once the sun disappeared. The roads were unsafe, choked with all the excess water and runoff that the sun failed to evaporate. Tonight, it seemed as if there was more water than road.

The couple in the car was silent. The wife, a beautiful blonde, sat in the passenger seat watching the countless tiny droplets hit and splash against the vehicle window while her husband drove with his eyes intently on the path in front of them. For several minutes, there were no sounds minus those of their breathing and of the windshield wipers frantically trying to wick away the constant downpour of moisture nearly blocking their line of sight. Finally, after several more moments, the wife sighed.

"Morgan," she started, and then paused before continuing, "We should tell them."

Her husband, who was normally so animated, didn't give her his usual negative response to the familiar statement. Instead, the brunette was silent for a few seconds, mulling it over in his head. Christina could see the gears turning in his creative mind, imagining every possible outcome of their kids' reactions. She knew Morgan was a very observant person, more so than many gave him credit for. To put it simply, he knew people, and how their minds worked. It was what made him such a talented and successful movie director.

After about half a minute, he finally spoke. "Do you really think they're ready? I mean, their lives will be in danger after they know they're-"

"As if they aren't in danger already? Morgan, keeping this from them any longer will only make matters worse for them down the road! Our kids need to hear the truth!"

"Our kids…right…" the man muttered in response. His voice had an uncharacteristically humorless quality to it.

"Morgan…"

"You're right," he finally said. "They deserve to know. We'll tell them once we get back." Outside, thunder boomed ominously. Morgan chuckled before adding, "Although, the whole 'getting back' part might take a while."

Morgan's light humor was contagious, and Christina smiled as well before returning to gazing out at the water-warped scenery outside the window. Things were looking up. The kids would know, and they would train, and they would be safe. Everything would be okay.

Then suddenly, the car began to skid after Morgan hit the brakes without warning.

"Morgan?!" she shouted fearfully.

"Th-There was something big in the road!"

Through the window, Christina saw it, too – and then saw the large ditch they were headed towards. "MORGAN! WATCH OU-"

But it was too late.

One month after the funeral (and two weeks after the court session to decide who had custody of them), the Ross kids found themselves on a subway headed to the airport. Jessie sat with them offering silent support as their last few minutes together slowly ticked away. Luke fidgeted, Zuri hugged Jessie, Emma checked her bag for the twelfth time, and Ravi simply sat staring out the window at the blurred scenery speeding by. The only people in the car besides them were three other adults (two men and a woman) engaged in a friendly conversation.

The subway stopped, and two more women got on. Once the train was moving again, Jessie asked, "Do ya'll need anything?"

"No, Jessie," Emma sighed.

"We have everything, thank you," Ravi added.

"Alright then," the nanny paused before hesitantly asking, "Are you guys really okay with this? I mean, you're going to a whole new house and school all the way in California, and-"

"We know, Jessie," Emma interrupted, shooting her (ex)caretaker a quick scowl before continuing to mess around with her maroon purse. "You don't have to keep reminding us."

Jessie sighed, "Right. Sorry." Several more minutes (and two stops) later, the nanny added, "You do know I care about all of you, right? That I would never want any of you to be unhappy?"

Emma relaxed, sighed, and responded, "We know."

"We love you, too, Jessie," Zuri hugged the older woman tighter.

"Just…worry about your own problems." Luke spoke for the first time the entire day. He finally looked up from his lap and twiddling thumbs. "Your stop is next, right?"

"Yeah," Jessie sighed. "There's this little café that I heard is hiring. I might be able to get a job there," She gently ruffled Zuri's hair as she added, "It won't be near as fun as looking after all of you, though."

The little girl giggled, but then sobered up. "We'll miss you…"

The speaker of the subway came to life, static filling most of its message as it garbled out some sort of gibberish about a location. As Zuri released her hold, Jessie grabbed her purse and suitcase before saying, "Well, I guess that's my stop. As soon as I have enough money, I'll visit you guys at your aunt's house. That way I can see how you all are settling in. If you need anything, call me on your cell phone. If you need to talk to anyone, call me. And if there's some jerk whose butt needs to be kicked-"

"Let me guess…call you," Zuri grinned. "Or I can just beat them up in your place."

Jessie hugged her again. "Good girl – just as long as you try to talk things out first." The sub began to screech to a halt, and Jessie quickly released the seven-year-old and made sure to give all the other Ross kids one, too. "Now remember, I'm always available to talk if you need me. Your aunt loves you, too." The doors slid open, and passengers began to file out. After saying goodbye, Jessie stood up with her bags and walked off. She paused a few feet away, turned back around, and waved to the four children that she had come to love and care for in just the couple months that she had worked for their parents. The kids waved back. The doors closed, the train moved out of the station, and just like that the nanny that had become like an older sister to them (and their old life) was left behind.

One by one, the kids settled back into their previous positions. Emma wiped a small tear away before returning to rummaging through her purse. There wasn't much else to do – it was either find something to distract herself or think about her parents' death. While it had been a while ago, the pain was still fresh, and the young blonde didn't want to face it yet. The fact that she was being forced to leave the home she always knew for some house in a whole different state to live with an aunt she barely knew was not really helping. Eventually, she grew tired of looking through her bag and instead settled upon a Leopard Beat magazine rolled up inside it. She quietly slid it out, unfolded it, and began to read.

After a few moments, her youngest brother broke the silence. "Luke..?"

"Hm? What?"

"…What is Aunt Carrie like?"

Oh, right. Emma suddenly realized that Ravi had never even met their mother's older sister. With all the craziness and...custody arrangements occurring over the last several weeks, she, Luke and Zuri had neglected to fill him in on everything they knew about the woman they were being sent to live with. Which, granted, wasn't much (after all, they themselves had only met her twice, despite how close she and their mother had claimed to be), but any information probably would have been welcome. Emma quickly shoved the small twinge of guilt she felt in her heart aside as she listened to Luke respond, "Uh, she's…okay, I guess."

"We'll be fine, Ravi. You'll like her." Emma decided to add from behind her magazine, reassuring the ten-year-old.

Zuri chimed in, "Yeah, we like her! And we hardly know her!"

Ravi smiled a little bit and thanked them before returning to watching the outside scenery speed by. The four siblings once again sat in silence, unwilling to speak anymore about their soon-to-be home and guardian. Or talk in general, for that matter. Much had happened in the past several days, and knowing they would still have to make a long plane trip soon was not helping to alleviate the fatigue they all felt.

What seemed like an hour (even though it was really only about fifteen minutes) passed before Ravi shifted again and turned towards his older brother. "Luke?"

"What now?"

"Do you ever get the feeling that something bad might happen to you? Like a powerful sense of foreboding?"

The twelve-year-old looked at him strangely for a second before responding, "Dude, you worry way too much. It's a subway. What could happen?"

Suddenly the car lurched forward, and Luke was thrown into Ravi as the train came screeching to a halt. Emma screamed as her magazine and purse flew out of her hands while Zuri gripped the handrails like they were her lifeline. After a few seconds, the horrible sound of metal grinding against metal ceased, and the subway came to a complete stop. As soon as she was sure her heart wasn't going to burst out of her chest (or her lunch going to make a grand reappearance), Emma shakily stood up. Her younger siblings followed her example (Luke had to get off of Ravi first though) and began looking around. Outside, there was nothing to be seen except the grey walls of the tunnel they were in – the subway hadn't yet made it to the next station.

"What happened? Why did we stop?" One of the passengers on the other side of the car, a young woman who had fallen in the chaos, wondered aloud.

"Don't know," replied a middle-aged man as he helped her up, "but it can't be good." He glanced in the Ross kids' direction. "Hey, are you kids alright? Got a real good scare there, didn't we?"

"We're fine," Emma replied. "Just a teensy bit startled." She bent down to pick up her purse while her siblings gathered up their possessions, all of which were now strewn about on the floor. She was just getting settled in her seat again when the speaker came on, but only sputtered static. That's odd…she thought. Suddenly, all the lights installed on the sides of the tunnel blinked out while the ones inside the car flickered. Zuri yelped from beside her, making Emma jump.

"There's something out there!" The little girl exclaimed. Across from her, Luke and Ravi looked up as well and started. Confused, the blond twisted around, only to see some sort of soot-colored fog outside the window. Which normally wouldn't have been that frightening…except part of it then began to shift and morph into a tall, cloaked (and faceless, to her horror) figure that stared back at her. Emma screamed, practically leaping from her seat. The eerily silent creature outside simply remained in place before floating upwards and out of their line of sight. Emma continued to scream until she felt someone shaking her out of her stupor.

"Emma!" she heard Luke saying. "It's gone! Snap out of it!"

Gasping, the thirteen-year-old relaxed. "What is that thing?!" She yelled over the sounds of the other passengers' panicked queries (probably of the same question).

"No clue. But it didn't look friendly."

"Ya think?!" snapped Zuri.

Over the insanity, Ravi suddenly raised his voice. "Wait! Listen!"

Just then, as if someone had flipped a switch, everyone in the car fell silent. There was an ominous silence before another louder creaking sound came from the ceiling. Without a warning, one of the windows shattered when a long, skeletal arm burst through it and swiped at them. Emma and Ravi both screamed and ducked to avoid the creature's sharp claws while Luke and Zuri both crouched next to them.

"Why is it doing this?!" Emma screeched.

"Does it really matter if it's trying to slice us into pieces?!" Zuri yelled back over the din of the other passengers' shouts and cries. "Let's get out of here!"

"And go where?! In case you haven't noticed, we're stuck in the middle of a dark tunnel with that thing!" Luke exclaimed.

"Yes, and even if we do escape the car, there will be nothing between us and that creature!" Ravi added. "Do you really want to take that chance?"

The window on the opposite side shattered, and the young girl responded, "Do you really want to get shish-kebobbed? If so, be my guest! I'm getting out!"

Before any of her siblings could stop her, the young girl began crawling across the floor towards the emergency exit, expertly dodging any low-slashing claws. Luke hesitated a second before following her. Emma moaned in fear before snatching up her purse and scurrying after them. Ravi watched them, dumbfounded, for a second, then muttered something under his breath about stupidity as he crawled after his siblings. Over by the small red door, the four Ross kids gathered. Zuri tried the latch, but it was being stubborn and wouldn't open. Luke joined her, and with a bit of might and elbow grease the emergency exit popped open. In single file, all four kids slid out of the subway and into the tunnel, practically hugging the walls (since there were only a couple feet of space between the car and the wall) as they hurriedly shuffled away. From outside, they finally had a full view of the monster, which floated with its back to them as if suspended on top of the car. It had still not uttered a sound, even with all the screaming and carrying on from the people who remained inside the subway. Its long, transparent arms (which now, the Ross kids realized, were smoky apparitions rather than actual arms) had ceased randomly slashing at the interior of the train and were now feeling around, as if searching. Quietly, the four children attempted to sneak away.

"If we hurry, we can reach the next station and get out of here before that thing notices us," Emma whispered once they were just past the front of the sub. Before the others could agree, the creature's head twisted around like an owl's. Upon spotting them, it retracted its tendrils and shot after them. Screaming, the Rosses fled towards the end of the tunnel.

The thing was fast. It was just a few feet behind them as the kids burst into the next station. The place was empty, like it had been evacuated or something. Either way, they didn't have time to worry about it now – they had bigger issues at the moment. Hurrying up the stairs leading above ground (and past a tv mounted in the station that had the rising crime rates from the last month listed on it), the foursome ran outside and into the pouring rain with the monster hot on their heels.

As they were fleeing, Ravi panted, "I do not get it. Why is it so adamant on catching us?"

"Do you want to stop and ask it, or keep running?" Zuri snapped back.

After several moments, the figure had almost caught up to them. Not used to such fierce physical activity, the children were exhausted. As they ran up the side of a grassy hill, they spotted something – a stone arch that had 'Camp Half-Blood' engraved on it, with several buildings and statues behind it.

"Look! We can lose that thing in there!" Luke shouted.

"Great!" Emma panted. "Let's go!"

The four children steeled themselves before running the next several yards to the camp. However, just outside of it, the monster suddenly got close enough to grab a part of Zuri's shirt. The little girl screamed, and Emma stopped. Using her purse, she bopped the creature on the head, and it let go (but not without swiping at Emma, who ended up squeaking in fear and throwing her 'weapon' at it to keep it at bay). In the short couple seconds in which their assaulter was distracted, Emma pulled Zuri along as she and her brothers fled into the camp. Looking back, the blond started when she realized the monster wasn't following. It just…stood there and stared after them before vanishing into thin air. Sighing in relief, Ravi sat down while Luke and Zuri whooped in victory, all tiredness forgotten. Emma, on the other hand, only groaned – that had been her favorite purse that the creature had made off with. However, her thoughts were interrupted when the sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind her. Surprised, she and her siblings turned around, only to be met with the sight of several kids in orange shirts staring (with expressions ranging from shocked to indifferent, as if this sort of thing happened all the time) at them while directly in front of them was a middle-aged man who from the waist down was…a white horse?

The two groups sized each other up for a few moments before Emma, in an attempt to clear the awkwardness in the air, said, "Uhhh…hi?"

Well, I hoped you liked this, despite my obvious rustiness. I know I replaced the Hydra, but – SORT-OF SPOILER WARNING – that monster will play a role later on. And my little sister seemed to like it better than the Hydra (of course, she only read the "skeletal arms" part and was like, "I like this!"), so I decided to keep it. Hopefully that was the right choice. Anyway, thanks for reading! You guys rock!

Chapter word count (not including author's notes): 2,862