Chapter one

We Get Some Good News…And Some Bad News

17 year old Micah Reed, preferably Reed, was having a bad day. First off, he had woken up late and completely missed breakfast (no thanks to his half-siblings…he could've sworn his alarm clock was plugged in when he fell asleep), which was just a fantastic way to start the day. Then it was off to archery, where he nearly killed his instructor, who just so happened to be his girlfriend, Remy. Wonderful. Next was foot-racing, which he was forced to sit out of, for the fourth time this week, by the over-controlling Nymph that instructed the class, who 'cared about his well being!' or some other crap. Great. (So what if he had a slight limp? His knee was fine.) Then it was lunch, where some new unclaimed kid had spilled his food all over Reed. Lovely. He had to run all the way back to his cabin, change, and barely had enough time to shove some food into his mouth before lunch ended and the Nymphs threatened to sick the harpies on him if he didn't leave. Then it was sword-fighting. Since the accident, he couldn't even hold a sword; much less swing it without impaling himself or someone else on it. Awesome.

So, he was understandably irritable as he walked towards the Bunker to help with the boat.

I swear to gods, he thought angrily, as he walked through the open door of the Bunker. If one more bad thing happens today, I'm going to bite someone's head off.

As soon as he set foot through the entry way, Nyssa was up in his face, too much in Bunker mode to notice his out-of-character sullen expression.

"Oh good, you're here!" she shoved a handful of blueprints into his unprepared hands. He scrambled to catch them before they all clattered to the floor. "Those are some of the last minute preparations. We just need some help with design, and that's were you come in. Just do what you did yesterday, and it should be fine." she grinned at him, and he gave a strained smile in return. "Get it? Got it? Good." And with that, she flew past him and into the corner, where most of the Hephaestus kids were having one of their secret little meeting thingies that involved a bunch of science-y and mathematical crap that made his brain hurt. They were currently debating on the shape of the celestial bronze plates on the hull of the ship. Reed didn't understand why it mattered.

He plunked down in the seat next to his best friend, Trent Baker, with an over dramatic sigh. Trent looked up from the blueprint he had been scribbling away at. Trent, being the computer wiz he is, had been put in charge of the security and navigation systems. He claimed he was making his final notes on the systems before he put them into action, but Reed suspected he was just adding a bunch of badass add-ons and what-not, just to make things interesting.

"Why the dear-gods-I-hate-my-life sigh?" he inquired. His green eyes were bright from working on the systems all day, and his auburn hair was as untidy as ever. "Had a bad day?"

Reed grunted and moodily unraveled a blue-print of the side of the ship, where he had just started making the intricate designs on each panel. "Understatement of the century, man," he muttered under his breath, tapping his newly-sharpened pencil on the table. Trent laughed good-naturedly, amused by his best friend's irritable behavior.

"So," Reed said, hastily trying to change the subject. "Added anything new to the systems?" He regretted it the moment it was out of his mouth. Trent's eyes lit up, and he went into full-out tech-nerd mode. Reed knew that once Trent began talking, there was no way to shut him up.

"Well…" Trent started, and Reed knew he was doomed.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Reed walked out of the Bunker several hours later, his head swimming. The group of Hephaestus kids debating about the plates had somehow managed to drag him into the argument, asking him his opinion. He'd somehow managed to convince them all to agree on the sharper, more armor-looking plates, with a lot of sweat and thinking and pondering and arguing on his part. And, of course, they were debating again the second he walked away, this time on the designs for bunks below deck. At this point, Reed decided he was done with the blueprints for the day, and left Trent to deal with his arguing siblings. He had Greek next with Annabeth. Since Percy disappeared, she barely even taught them anything. She just stared off over the lake, her expression pained. Reed felt really sorry for her, but he knew if he said that, she'd run him through with his own knife.

As he neared the spot beside the lake, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his torso. He tensed, but when a face pressed into his back, and a soft, muffled voice muttered, "Micah! Perché deviesserecosì alto?" he knew instantly who it was. His bad mood melted instantly.

He twisted his head around, smiling, to see Remy's beautiful face smiling back at him. She came around beside him and slipped her hand in his. Reed, at 6'2", towered above her 5'6" frame by a good six inches, so he had to bend down to peck her cheek.

"You know I hate it when you speak Italian and I have no idea what you said," he said teasingly. She laughed lightly.

"Ascolta!" she chided. Reed had learned enough to know she meant "listen". "I said, 'why must you be so tall'," she told him, her English still accented, even after five years of living in America. She grinned cheekily. "You know, it would do you good to learn some Italian." Reed made a face.

"Oh come on, I'm already learning Greek, what do want from me?" he grinned. "Speaking of Greek, I've got that next. I'm assuming you do as well?" She nodded, smiling a sly smile she rarely used.

"Do try not to impale me on your textbook. I think the arrow was effective enough," She smiled as Reed flushed, holding up the bandage on her arm for him to see.

"Remy, I'm really sorry—"

"It's fine, it's fine," she waved off his apology. "What, are you the only one in this relationship who's allowed to make the jokes?" she raised an eyebrow, and Reed couldn't help but laugh.

"Well…" he started, and she smacked his arm lightly. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

They arrived at Greek a few minutes late (Annabeth was smart enough to figure out why, Reed knew that much). Maybe it was just Reed, but the daughter of Athena looked more grim than usual. He blonde curls were a mess, her face was pale, and her mouth was set in a grim line. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the couple arrive and sit down, and her mouth quirked.

"So nice of you to join us," she drawled, and threw them both a textbook. "Page 150." Reed frowned and flipped through the pages. He spent the remainder of class staring off into space, barely listening as class went on. At the end of class, Annabeth caught his arms as he was walking away with Remy. Oh gods, he thought, she's going to kill me. I'm going to die. Remy! Tell my mother I love her!

"Micah, can I speak to you for a second?" Reed felt the urge to correct her (only Remy could call him that!), but resisted. The look on her face was grim and sad, mixed with a twinge of wistfulness in her eyes. Something was wrong. He nodded.

"Whatever,"

She pulled him over to the side with a quick wave at Remy.

"There's a War Council after dinner, okay?" she told him. "Be there, and don't be late."

He blinked.

"A War Council? Why do I have to be there? I'm not a head councilor."

Annabeth chewed her bottom lip, looking anxious. "Something, er…came up, okay? Chiron asked for your presence." Then she hastily turned away. "I've got another class to teach." She mumbled, and then hurried away.

Reed stared after her, convinced there was definitely something she wasn't telling him. And from the looks of it, it wasn't anything good.

Fan-freaking-tastic.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

"What was all that about?" Remy asked, as they walked back towards the cabins.

"Um…" Reed debated on whether he should tell her or not. "I was told to come to the War Council tonight."

"War Council?" she echoed, her eyebrows furrowed. "What for?"

Reed worried at the hem of his t-shirt. "She didn't tell me." He mumbled. Remy pursed her lips, looking worried.

"It might be something about the boat," she suggested, "I mean, you are on the Design Team, no?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, It's probably just that," But he didn't believe it.

After he walked Remy to her cabin, he made his way down the line to his own cabin. As he stood on the porch, he looked his cabin over. It was old and well-worn, that was for sure. The brown paint was peeling and discolored, and the wood was worn-down and warped.

"Man," he muttered to himself, as he yanked open the squeaky door. "This place could really use a paint job." Maybe he would talk to Chiron about it at the War Council.

It was dinner prep time at this point, and the whole cabin was bustling around, getting ready and showering and what not. Reed kicked off his shoes and shoved them in his cubby in the foyer. Glancing around the cabin, he spotted his half-sister Ella coming out of the bathroom, her hair wet, a towel in her hands.

"Hey Ells!" he called from across the room. "Any open showers?"

"Yeah, two. Better hurry though. They fill up fast!" she called back over her shoulder, half-out the door to hang her towel on the porch railing.

"Sweet." He peeled off his shirt, and then rummaged through his trunk. He remembered that he had hung it the night before, and left it out there. "Hey, can you grab my towel? It's the one with the rubber duckie on it!" he heard her laugh as she came through the door. She threw him his towel.

"Real manly, Reed!" she teased, walking over to the mirrors. She grabbed her hair dryer from the cabinet, and then searched for a place to plug it in.

"You know it!" he called as he stepped into the bathroom. The air was hot and humid, the tile under his feet slick with water. There was only one shower left. He took a quick shower, changed clothes, and ran a brush through his shaggy brown hair before Ella even finished drying her hair.

"Dang," She muttered, giving up on her stubborn hair and pulling it into a sloppy bun on top of her head. "How do you do that?" She sat down on her bed and began pulling her converse on her feet.

Reed grinned, pulling his knee brace up through his jeans. In retrospect, he probably should've done that first. "Oh, Ella, that's easy. I'm magical!"

Ella raised an eyebrow, her mouth quirked to one side. "Yeah, okay. Whatever floats your boat." They both laughed.

30 minutes later, the whole of the Hermes Cabin filed into the dining pavilion, pushing and shoving and joking around. The dining hall was already relatively full, so the nymphs had already brought out heaping plates of food. It was a Tuesday, so tonight, they had brisket and rolls. They sat down at their less-crowded-but-still-uncomfortably-squished table and began to fill there plates. Once all the cabins had taken a seat, Chiron came to the front of the stage and stomped his hoof. The sound echoed throughout the hall, and everyone fell silent almost immediately.

"Hello, campers," Chiron greeted them, a goblet in his hands. "Before we make our toast, I have a few announcements to make." He paused. "First of all, I am happy to inform you all that construction on the Argo II is nearly complete! Let us give a big round of applause for the Hephaestus cabin, who worked countless hours to accomplish this goal!" The room burst into applause, and Reed knew what they were all thinking, because he was thinking it too. The sooner the Argo is done, the sooner they have their unofficial leader, Percy Jackson, back.

Leo Valdez stood up from his table, grinning the crazy, sleep-deprived grin that all the Hephaestus kids had been sporting lately.

"We didn't do all the work," he said modestly. "Thanks to all of you, we'll be on our way in no time at all!" more applause scattered across the pavilion. "We should be ready to roll in another week or two!" There was more applause. Leo gave a comical bow and sat down.

"Thank you, Hephaestus cabin," Chiron said, beaming. Then his face hardened, as did his tone. "Second, we have an emergency War Council tonight before campfire. I expect all cabin councilors to be there, as well as…" he faltered, and glanced in Reed's direction. Reed knew what was coming instantly. "…as well as Micah Reed." All eyes swiveled from Chiron to him. Whispering broke out among the tables and Reed was pretty sure the subject of their conversations was him. Chiron stomped his hoof again, and the pavilion reluctantly fell silent once more.

"And last, the Chariot races have been postponed to next Thursday, due to a rather messy accident on the track." There was a chorus of annoyed grumbles. "And now, for the toast," He raised his goblet. "Everyone, please raise your goblet." Everyone followed his lead. "For the gods!" he declared.

"For the gods!" the campers echoed. They all took a swig from their goblets (the Stolls started a chugging contest) and stood to make their sacrifice to the gods. Even with the gods ignoring them, Reed didn't think skipping their sacrifices would please them so much. They're like grouchy kindergarteners with anger management issues, he thought as he stood in line to make his sacrifice. Thunder boomed in the distance, and Reed muttered a barely audible apology. He shoved a particularly plump cluster of grapes into the brazier. To Hermes. The smell of burgers on a grill wafted up, and as he turned away, he could've sworn he saw his father's face in the fire, staring at him sadly.

The Hermes table was as loud as it always was, full of loud jokes, raucous laughter, and the small-scale food fights that break out every few seconds. But there was a certain tenseness under all of the usual light-hearted childishness. Reed knew they were all wondering why he was wanted at the meeting, and whether it was a good or bad thing. So, of course, Reed joined in the food-fights and laughter, trying to make it seem like it didn't matter to him one way or another.

Needless to say, when he arrived at the big house for the meeting, his face and shirt were splattered with stains and pieces of foods. His hair was sticking up with the soda Connor Stoll had dumped over his head. Speaking of the Stolls, the wacky duo were on either side of him, each covered in the same stains, their hair sticking up with the soda he had spilled on them. All three were cracking up.

"Ech…" Reed groaned, wiping a trickling of orange soda from his eye with his sleeve. "I can't believe you did that!" The Stolls snickered.

"You gotta admit," Travis gasped, wiping his own eyes. "It was pretty damn funny!"

"That it was, my dear brother, that it was," Reed attempted to run a hand through his sticky hair. "My gods!" he gasped, laughing hysterically all over again. "I seriously think my hand is stuck in my hair!" They all doubled over laughing, and Connor comically yanked Reed's arm from his hair. Reed's grin faltered slightly. Good thing that was my right arm, Reed thought, but he didn't say anything.

They took their seats on the right side of the ping pong table, with everyone's eyes on them, their expressions varying from amusement to annoyance. Leo's eyes widened, and he grinned at them.

"What the heck happened to you guys? Did you lose a fight with your dinner and lose, or something?"

"The answer is quite simple, actually." he pointed an accusing finger at Connor. "It was him! Slay the beast!" He launched himself at Connor. They grappled weakly, Reed being careful not to jar his left shoulder, laughing.

"Noooooo!" Connor wailed in a high pitched voice. Reed heard Will Solace mutter, "You just had to ask, Leo."

"Ahem," a voice said from the head of the table. Connor and Reed froze, turning their heads towards the speaker. Chiron sat at the head of the table in his sneaky little magical wheel-chair, amusement written all over his face. Reed gave a sheepish smile. "If you two are quite done," he drawled, his mouth quirked. "The meeting is ready to begin." Connor and Reed darted back to their seats. Connor began smoothing down his hair so it was jelled back, and Reed pretended to straighten an imaginary tie.

Chiron cleared his throat again, before beginning in a grave tone that matched his now grim expression. "I assume you are all wondering why you have been called here," Reed dropped the funny business immediately, as did the Stolls, and sat forward, his eyes wide.

"As you know, a war with the Giants is drawing close," The campers all nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "And, as you know, the odds of us coming out victorious are very slim." A grim silence set upon the room like an elephant, mostly because they all knew he was right.

"We are going to need all the luck we can get. And thankfully, we have a discovered a way to help us with that task." There was a stunned silence.

Finally, Leo broke the silence. "What is it?" For once, all humor was gone form his voice. Murmurs of agreement broke out amongst the head councilors. Annabeth sat next to Chiron, he jaw working, her grey eyes anxious.

"The Palladium of Troy," there were a few gasps, but for the most part the announcement was met with blank stares. "As some of you might know, it was a small statue of Pallas, made by Athena in remorse for his death. It brought luck and victory to Troy as long as it remained inside the city's walls. It was stolen from the city by Odysseus and Diomedes, so that the Greeks could enter the city." He paused, looking around the room. "Odysseus tried to kill Diomedes to gain the glory, but Diomedes realized, and tied Odysseus up, but did not punish him. Diomedes fled with the Palladium to Rome. It is said to be buried under the Column of Constantine."

Something in Reed's head clicked, and he knew why he was here. He gulped. "So…um, sounds like we need a quest."

Chiron nodded grimly. "We received a prophecy from our oracle, Rachel Dare, earlier today." He turned to Reed, his expression a little sad. "And that, Micah, is where you come in.

OH MY GOD. Seven whole pages. It's a new record! Anyway, a new story I shouldn't be starting, but I'm going to anyway. I'm only writing it on weekends. But it actually has a fully planned-out plot! Aren't you proud of me? It's a story with all my OC's.

Trent Baker© ~Night-faery on Deviantart. She has an account here, BTW, though I forgot what it is. If you know it, give her some love!

Ella, Reed and Remy© the ULTIMATE Catchphrase

With love,

TUC