Hey! First off, I want to say that if you are worried about my other stories, no they are not being abandoned. I'm working on them, honest!

Okay, to everyone else - Hello! I know there are loads of 'Bella is actually a goddess and is married to one of the gods' but I really do like the Bella/Apollo pairing (not to mention Edward has been getting on my nerves more and more with every non-canon fic I read.) Also, most of the good Twilight/PJO fics aren't finished. So I decided I'd try a hand at it.

This isn't going to be particularly long (maybe 5 chapters + an epilogue) but it will be updated weekly (Sunday nights my time) and MOST DEFINITELY finished. I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Twilight and Percy Jackson and the Olympians, including the characters and settings are the property of Stephanie Meyer and Rick Riordan respectively. I've just applied my imagination.

I dump my vampire

I was practically dying of anxiety as I stood on a beach somewhere in Quebec, of all places.

I didn't know what would be quicker – going through the ocean or getting a car. I couldn't really focus, as my mind was frantically trying to figure out a way that I could find out what had happened, but immediately after the fight was over my father returned me to the mortal state I had been in for eighteen and half years and then ran off to Olympus. In this state I'm basically the same as one of my father's demigod children, except I'm not allowed to go to Olympus or whatever, which means that I only had one option, as Camp would be too unstable right now. I had to go back to Forks. I had to know how it all turned out – I know we won, my father told me that much during his brief return, but other than that…

Yes, Forks was definitely my best bet – and I never thought I would say that. But Charlie was in Forks, and he may have news. He wasn't a part of the war – he's only a son of a daughter of Hestia, which means that while he is much more equipped for battle than a mortal, he is no where near the level of a full demigod, and is getting a little old and creaky. Besides, he never went to Camp, not really – he's just a scout, keeping an eye out for demigods who might show up in the middle of nowhere, as the Satyrs can't be everywhere at once.

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Eventually I decided that even in my demigod-like form the sea route would be quicker, so I jumped back into the water and used the currents to guide me around the top of the continent towards Washington. While normally my bearings and sense of direction would be perfect at sea, my mind was in too much of a frazzle to be paying attention and I had no idea how long it had been. I still made my way to Washington though, and ended up near James Island. After that, it was a short swim upriver to Forks.

I have no idea what I must have looked like, rushing through the streets like a mad, wild woman, but I didn't stop to see if anyone was watching. I just ran as fast as I could to Charlie's house.

When I got there, a silver Volvo was parked across the road but I ignored it – the only car I noticed was the police cruiser, which caused me to sigh in relief. I still didn't pause though, and instead ran straight inside.

"Charlie!" I yelled the second I crashed through the door.

Edward and Alice were in the hall in less than a second – literally – but, as with the car, I barreled right past them and ran straight for the man who had been kind enough to take me in after my 'exile'.

He was in the living room, clearly having turned off the TV and stood up when he heard my yell.

"Bella," he said, taking in my rather disheveled appearance. "How quickly did you come here?"

"Doesn't matter," I gasped, grabbing his arms. "Just tell me Charlie – please, tell me you've heard something?"

Charlie's eyes widened.

"No, I thought you'd know more than I do, I-"

"I wasn't in Manhattan," I said. "I was helping to defend my home. But I don't know what happened, I haven't heard about any of them-"

"Calm down," said Charlie.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down!" I hissed. Charlie took a step back from me, looking scared. I gasped. "Oh, Charlie, I'm sorry, I'm just really, really-"

"I know," said Charlie. "I am too."

We simply stared at each other for a while; Charlie's gaze was searching, while mine was just plain desperate. After a couple of seconds, I forced myself to take a few deep breaths.

"There," said Charlie. "That'll do. Now, I got an IM-"

"Who from?" I demanded.

"Just a second," said Charlie. "I got an IM from Katie Gardner, who said she was from the Demeter Cabin at Camp."

I nodded. I knew Katie – as I was in exile as a mortal for twenty years, my father thought it best that I learn to defend myself and sent me to camp during the summer from when I was ten to when I was sixteen. Katie had been one of my friends. I was very glad to hear that she was alive; although admittedly she was not one of those I most wanted to hear about.

"A few of the head councilors had been allocated to IM those who needed information, such as parents and the like. Apparently, you're a special case though. But she says that all is good, they won, but there were heavy casualties."

I gasped.

"No," I said. "Please say Percy is alright, please, Charlie…"

"I know he survived," said Charlie with a sigh, "But I don't know what state he's in."

"Is that it?" I all but screeched. "You have to know more than that! What about the others? What about-"

"That's not all Katie said," interrupted Charlie. I quietened again. "They're coming here."

My eyes widened. I could get out only one word.

"When?"

Charlie quickly looked at his watch, then a clock.

"Now."

I took a deep breath.

"Where?"

"There's a large clearing in the forest – I suggested it as I thought it would be big enough for, uh-" Charlie glanced over my shoulder, then back at me, "- his car."

My eyes widened considerably.

"He's coming?" I whispered. "He's okay?"

Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Bella, you do know who we're talking about here?"

"It was a war, Charlie," I said. "You never know what is going to happen."

Charlie looked at me sadly.

"It was bad, wasn't it? I mean, down your end."

"You have no idea," I said. "It was awful. There were so many causalities, and no matter how much we pushed, more just kept on coming. It was impossible."

"No," said Charlie softly. "You won, didn't you?"

"I need to know what happened," I said firmly.

"Do you know where to go? The clearing is ten miles due north of the Hoh Forest ranger station."

"I know it," I said, nodding. That was where the Cullens went to play baseball.

"Do you need a lift or-"

"I got it," I said, but then I began to reconsider. The truck wasn't very fast, and there was no way I was going to run – I didn't have enough energy left for that, and I'd eaten my last square of ambrosia when I was somewhere near Alaska. "On second thoughts… could I borrow your cruiser?"

"I'll take you." At the sound of a third voice entering the conversation, my head snapped to the source to see the two vampires still standing in the doorway. I'd completely forgotten they were there, which was very unlike me.

Alice looked upset about something, although what, I wasn't sure. Edward's face, on the other hand, was completely stony, and his eyes were blank. It was him who had spoken.

"No offense, Edward," said Charlie, "But Bella really needs to get to the clearing as soon as possible. She can't afford any delays-"

"I understand," he said. "My car is a lot faster than hers, and this way she doesn't have to take the cruiser."

"Whatever!" I snapped, dashing to the door. "I have to go, I need to go right now!"

By then I was running down the hall and it wasn't long before I wrenched the front door open and sprinted to the Volvo. In reality it would have been smarter to take the cruiser and just drive myself, but I was so frantic that I felt if Edward and Charlie wasted one more second of my time by arguing I would simply explode.

Edward and Alice came walking out of the door, as slow as you please, seemly arguing about something.

"Come on!" I screamed. Edward looked up at me, a dark look passing over his face. "Please, Edward – I have to go now!"

He gave one more look to Alice, who nodded, and then walked over to the car, unlocked it, and casually got inside. I slid into the passenger seat at a much faster pace.

"You know where we're going, right?" I asked. He nodded, and started the ignition. "I have to get there as fast as I can, please Edward, I need to!"

He nodded again and pulled away from the curb. The moment the car started to move I felt a small piece of panic in my chest, a fear that he would drive in the complete opposite direction. However, he did begin driving the way I wanted to go, and he drove fast.

I was unable to sit still, and found myself fidgeting and shifting constantly. Edward didn't say a thing, but I was too anxious to notice.

Unfortunately, however, it turned out that my second of panic had not been so irrational, for the moment we were away from the town Edward pulled over.

"What are you doing?" I yelled. "Keep going!"

He ignored me, and instead asked:

"What's going on, Bella?"

"I need to move," I groaned. "I have to go…"

I tried to get out of the door so I could run – I didn't care how tired I was, this was more important – but I found he had locked them.

"Let me out!" I yelled. "Let me out of here, I have to see-"

"Percy, yes," said Edward. He turned slightly and gripped my wrist. "But I am not letting you leave until you have explained this to me."

"So you're the only one who's allowed to leave?" I asked. I knew it was a low blow, but at that point I was practically past caring.

He winced.

"Bella-"

"No! You say you love me, but you lock me up in a car like a prisoner and prevent me from going to see-"

"Bella!"

"Edward, let me out! This is a matter of Life and Death!"

"You were gone for nearly a month, Bella!" he yelled.

"But that's-"

"A MONTH! We went hunting, and one night Alice gets scared because your future disappeared! I don't mean it went black, like with the wolves, I mean she felt nothing at all. And when we get back you're gone but Charlie is acting like nothing is wrong, even though in his mind he seems to be so anxious he can't even think properly, and meanwhile there's a freak storm system killing thousands of people, and now you show up out of the blue looking like you've run all the way from hell, stay for one conversation and then tell me you need to meet with a group of people I've never even heard of, and expect me to just deliver you to them? I don't think so!"

"I just need to-"

"Bella, your eyes are green," he growled. I froze. Damn. Father didn't change my eye colour… he must have been in a huge hurry… it's not like him to make a mistake like this. That just served to make me all the more anxious. But Edward wasn't finished. "Green. How did that happen?"

I simply glared at him.

"Your future still hasn't come back, you know," he hissed. "Even when you were in Charlie's, Alice still couldn't see you. Why is that, Bella?"

"Why do you even care?" I spat.

"Excuse me?" he recoiled.

"You clearly don't love me – if you did, you wouldn't be holding me back here! So why the hell do you act like you're trying to save my life from something you have no clue about while you're actually causing me to practically die on the inside? Who the hell gave you the right to destroy my life?"

Edward looked stunned. I momentarily forced my focus onto a more productive concept than stress – getting the Hades out of this damn car. Yes, provoking him may cause me to be chucked through the window, but hey, that's what I was aiming for.

"The whole time I've been with you all you've done is control me," I hissed. "You try to tell me who I should be friends with and then you try and keep me away from anything even vaguely exciting, but I let that pass because I thought that it was just you doing what you thought was best for me and maybe I could help you change. But this – this is over the line. Edward Cullen, if I am not in the clearing that Charlie mentioned within the next five minutes, I will get away from here my own way, and you can expect to never see nor hear of me, ever again."

I realised now I would be able to get out of the car – one swipe with a knife at the window should do it. The only problem would be out running Edward. Realistically, the only solution was destroy him – I could simply take him apart to slow him down, but that would take to long. I needed to get moving, and I'll be damned if I get slowed up even more by this moronic creature – even if he did interest me mere weeks ago.

Edward was stunned. He clearly didn't think I would go that far. He stared at me for a few seconds, then sighed.

"Fine," he said. "You win. But we will be talking about this later."

Yeah, I thought, sure.

Rather than starting up the car like I expected him too, Edward unlocked the car doors. The moment he did I was out of there, and running into the forest. Like I had predicted earlier, however, he caught up in a second. He didn't try to stop me though – he gestured for me climb onto his back.

I hesitated this time – of course I did. I was afraid he'd head in the completely wrong direction – and this time I had more of a reason to.

"Remember what I said," I growled. He simply nodded, so I got onto his back, and then he began to run.

We arrived at the clearing in only a few minutes, and the moment Edward stepped into the open I was off his back.

But no one was there.

"Life or death, huh?" asked Edward snidely.

I swear that if I weren't a mortal-type-thing right now, he'd have been turned into a fish a long time ago.

"I think it would be better if you left now," I said.

"No," said Edward, "No matter what's gotten into your head recently, I do love you, and I will not leave you out here on your own."

"Suit yourself," I said, shrugging. He seemed surprised I gave in so easily. "But don't blame me if you don't like what you see."

I didn't know what I was expecting, but I remembered what Charlie said and glanced up at the sky. There was nothing out of the ordinary there – I couldn't even see the sun, due to the clouds.

I sighed, and looked back down – just in time, too, because that was when a figure stepped out of the shadows on the other side of the clearing.

I heard Edward's intake of breath behind me – of course, it must be disconcerting to a vampire to be snuck up on like that – but, as I had been doing lately, I completely ignored him and ran across to the dark figure, who was now leaning on a tree in what appeared to be exhaustion.

"Nico!" I yelled. He looked up at me just as I reached him, and grinned.

"Hey Ella." He moved towards me but stumbled, and I reached forward to catch him.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," he said, "Just a little tired. New York is quite a distance from here, you know, and I did just fight in a battle not that long ago."

I nodded. Boy did I know. While Shadow Travel is quick, it probably would have taken more out of Nico than swimming did for me in this form. The main factor of my tiredness at the moment was mainly lack of sleep. But now that I knew he was fine, I had other priorities.

"Nico," I said, tightening my grip on him, "What about the others? Where are they – why are you by yourself?"

"As I said, it's a long way – I wouldn't have been able to bring anyone else without passing out, and Mrs O'Leary was injured in the fight."

"Is she alright?" I asked.

"We couldn't heal her the normal way because, well, we haven't ever tried to heal a hellhound before. But Chiron said she'll be fine."

"So Chiron's fine too?" I asked, desperately.

"Yes, Apollo healed him after he was injured."

"So that means-"

"Ella," said Nico, "Just stop with the questions, okay? They'll be here soon – they just sent me this way earlier because Charlie IM'd Katie and said you were in a massive spazz."

I sighed, and just stared at him for a moment. He looked fine enough, so I figured that nothing completely horrible could have happened.

I was about to ask him how he'd been during the fight when I was interrupted. A cold hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from Nico and around behind a marble body.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded.

"He smells like death," growled Edward, his face twisted into a ferocious snarl. Well, it would seem ferocious to most people.

Nico, however, regarded him coolly and said:

"You didn't tell me you'd met a vampire, Ella. I thought that was more my forte."

Edward flinched.

"Well, I hadn't actually met him the last time I saw you," I said. I tried to pull away from Edward but I wasn't able to.

"Hmm," said Nico. "I can take care of him if you'd like."

He moved to pull out his sword, but I stopped him.

"No, Nico, don't. I just found out you weren't injured, I don't want you to get hurt now."

"Don't you think I could take him?" he asked, insulted.

"I know you could," I said, causing Edward to stiffen. "But you're tired right now, and I have more important things to worry about."

Edward finally let go of me, and the moment he did I quickly moved across to stand next to Nico.

"I could still take him," he muttered.

"You insolent human," growled Edward, "you wouldn't stand a chance against me."

"That might be true, if I actually were a human," said Nico, rolling his eyes. Edward snarled again, and then turned to me.

"You didn't answer before, but I demand that you do now! You told me this was a life or death situation but it really doesn't seem like it. Bella, your eyes are green, you're talking to a boy who smells just like death, who calls you a different name and claims to not be human and you're speaking in ways that make no sense! You seem to have deluded yourself that you were in a war, for heaven's sake! So tell me what's going on, right now!"

We glared at each other for a moment, but Nico broke the silence.

"Aw, man, you've done it now. You want my advice, vampire? Duck and run. Immediately," he said, clearly remembering my independent flair. I hate being told what to do.

"I told you that you wouldn't like what you saw if you stayed," I said, "But right now you are going too far. How dare you say that I am deluded – I spent the past few weeks fighting for my life and my home, and you have the audacity to call me deluded? I don't think so." Edward opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't give him the chance. "As for who Nico is and why my eyes are a different colour to what you're used to – I don't see how that is any of your business."

"You are my business," said Edward.

"You shouldn't have said that," taunted Nico.

I just stared at the vampire for a second, deciding what to say. In the end, I settled for something short, sharp and to the point.

"Stay away from me."

Then, I turned back to Nico.

"How long will they be?"

"Not too long," he said with a grin. "They're taking the Chariot."

"Oh yeah," I said, grinning.

"Hey, Ella," said Nico, "I know he's a jerk and all, but – actually, no, that's my reason. Why the hell are you with him?" He gestured towards Edward.

"I was curious," I said, shrugging. "I'd never been with a vampire before, and this particular coven are actually nice. Alice is brilliant, anyway, and Esme is really sweet. If I could have taken my pick I'd have gone with Emmett – if you met him you'd understand. But Edward was the only one free."

"Ah, your rules," said Nico over Edward's hurt gasp. "You know, anyone else of your, erm, standing – especially the ones above – would have just gone in anyway."

"If you saw them-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'd understand. But still."

"They're really close Nico," I said, "I wouldn't have been able to break them apart even if I wanted to. Anyway, I think I know a certain member of the family who might have murdered me if I did try."

"Yeah, and then we'd have another war on our hands," muttered Nico. "Honestly, I have no idea how you do it. It's like people either love you or they absolutely hate you. You're like Percy!"

"We have a gift," I said, winking at him.

I have a feeling that conversation might have gone on for a while if it weren't for the bright light and warmth that suddenly entered the clearing. Nico and I threw our arms up to shield our eyes, lowering them the moment the glow subsided. On the grass in front of us sat a bright red, slightly glowing Hummer limousine. I heard Edward gasp once more – honestly, he should stop doing that, it's distracting – but I managed to ignore him and kept my eyes on the doors.

Finally, the back door opened rather suddenly and a group of teenagers fell out and tumbled onto the ground.

"You Kelp Head!" someone yelled, "I told you I knew how to open it! But did you listen? No!"

"Percy!" I yelled, and began running forward. One of the figures detached himself from the others and began to move toward me, too. I was aiming for a hug, but we ended up just crashing into each other.

"Ow!" I yelled. "What the Hades, Perce, you're like a rock!"

"Sorry, Ella," he said, grinning.

I forced myself back on topic.

"Are you alright?" I asked, grabbing him and running my hands down his arms looking for broken bones or something. He looked completely different from when I'd last seen him, which was ridiculous as the last time I'd seen him was just after he'd blown up the Princess Andromeda – only a few days ago. But I suppose war does that to a person.

"I'm fine," he insisted. "I, um, went for a little dip in a certain underground river."

I stared at him for a moment. Oh. Oh.

"You didn't," I whispered. He nodded. "You idiot! You could have been killed!"

"But I wasn't," said Percy, "And we all would have been killed if I hadn't done what I did. Anyway, it was all Nico's idea."

I simply pulled in him into a hug.

"At least you're alright," I said. Finally. Now that was one less person I had to stress about.

Behind me I heard Nico say,

"Oh, shut up. He's only her brother!" Words I assumed were directed at Edward. It didn't really matter, but it reminded me that there were others here. I looked up to see who else had been in the Sun Chariot and saw three others.

"Thalia!" I yelled. "Annabeth! Grover!"

"Hey, Ella," they said.

"Why are you all here?" I asked. "Surely you have better things to be doing?"

"Well, yeah," said Thalia. Annabeth elbowed her in the gut. "I mean, um, Chiron said you were completely freaking and that you would need reassurance that we were all not dead."

"Don't even try to deny it, Ella," said Annabeth, "I remember what you were like after any of our quests!"

Ugh, don't remind me. I had never been allowed on a quest as, even though Father had put me in this form, I was still technically a Goddess, albeit a minor one, as per usual and therefore am not allowed to 'interfere'. That meant I never knew if I would see them all come back alive or not, and I always got rather stressed out.

"Okay, fine," I said. "I'm glad you're here."

They all grinned at me, and Grover let out a little bleat. I was glad they were all okay, but… there was still someone missing. I glanced back at the Sun Chariot, and then at Percy.

"Where's…"

"He's still in there," he said, grinning. "He said he wanted to 'prep', or something. I don't get why."

I rolled my eyes, once again beginning to fidget, although this was for an entirely different reason than before.

"Oh, give them a break, Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth, rolling her eyes, "They haven't seen each other for nearly nineteen years."

Yeah, and I wasn't supposed to see him for another six and a bit years. So why was he here? To be honest, I didn't really care.

I stopped listening to their conversation at that point though, because that was when the driver's side door of the limousine opened, and he stepped out, running a hand through his blonde hair and smirking like he didn't have a care in the world.

The moment I saw him, it was like my body switched to autopilot. My legs made me run toward him, and my arms threw themselves around his neck. I immediately pressed my lips to his, and he responded just as fast, pulling me closer to him. We kissed for several minutes, but due to my pathetic sort-of-mortal form we had to slow down lest I suffocate myself. I continued to hold on to him, though, and kept peppering his face with kisses.

"I knew you would miss me," he said, grinning at me. I rolled my eyes at him. That was just so Apollo.

"You're alright, aren't you?" I asked. "I heard what happened to Dionysus and Hephaestus, but I hadn't heard anything since then and-"

"That's insulting, Elle," he said. "Do you really think the big bad Typhon could have done something to me?"

"That doesn't matter!" I exclaimed, and then more quietly I added, "I was just worried about you."

His expression softened, the cocky, arrogant mask slipping away.

"We're all fine," he said. "I healed Hephaestus after we'd dealt with Typhon, and Artemis found Dionysus not long after that. Every one of us is perfectly fine."

"What about the demigods?" I asked, glancing behind me at the others.

"We suffered heavy losses," sighed Annabeth.

"Who?" I demanded.

"So many," said Percy. "We lost Silena and Michael… and so many others. There would have been an awful lot more if Hades hadn't arrived at the very end."

"He's claiming he only did it to reduce the backlog in the Underworld," said Nico, smirking, "But don't believe it for a second."

"We lost hunters as well," said Thalia,

I would have asked about the nature spirits too, but they all looked so distraught – especially Grover, who was being quieter than I'd ever known him to be – I thought I'd better leave it.

"Hey," said Apollo, "It's a sad time, but it's also a time for celebration."

"That's true," said Thalia.

"Besides," said Percy, smirking, "wasn't there something you were so excited to tell Ella about earlier?"

"I know," said Apollo indignantly. "I haven't forgotten anything."

"Sure…" muttered Annabeth.

"Well, what is it?" I asked.

"Your father is ending your punishment as a reward for your services in defending Atlantis," said Apollo. "Similarly, Dionysus' punishment is being reduced by fifty years. That's another reason why I'm here – Poseidon wants you to meet him on Olympus rather than in the ocean."

"Brilliant!" I exclaimed, excited. But then my face fell. "Although, that means that I won't get to say goodbye to Charlie! Nor Alice, Esme and Carlisle. They've been so kind to me the past year and a half."

"They might not want to see you now," said Nico. I looked around and realised he was right. Edward was nowhere to be seen – he had probably run off and informed his coven about me by now.

Apollo sighed.

"Great. Just great."

"What?" I asked.

"Apart from when Hades and Aphrodite created them, we haven't really had any interaction with vampires," said Apollo. I nodded – I knew this already. "But now that one of them has seen us and has probably told his coven, we might have to bring them in."

"You don't mean…"

"Yep."

"That'll be interesting," said Nico. "Any chance I can watch?"

"We need to get back to camp," said Annabeth, "So it's unlikely."

"Yeah, I'm supposed to help the Hunters regroup when we get back," said Thalia.

"I'll be needed at the council," added Grover.

"And I doubt they'll let us back up there now anyway," said Percy. Okay, now I'm curious. Since when was Grover on the Council of Cloven Elders?

"I wasn't actually expecting an answer," said Nico, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I have a cabin to build."

With that, Apollo gave me one more kiss and then ordered everyone into the Sun Chariot. I decided to sit in the back with the demigods and Grover rather than in the front with Apollo, as if I was going back into my proper form I wouldn't get to spend much more time with them, with the old laws being what they are. The only reason I had interacted with them so much recently is because my father had allowed me to attend Camp Half Blood.

On the flight to Olympus, the five of them recounted the entire story to me. It was long, but we had plenty of time – the distance from Washington to New York is rather large when you're only able to fly west. What they told me was amazing – the way that Percy had taken charge, the way they'd defended the bridges and then Manhattan, when Percy, with the aid of the satyrs and nature spirits, defeated Hyperion was simply incredible. I was very glad to hear it was our father and the Cyclopes that turned the tide of the battle against Typhon – especially as when he'd left the battle against Oceanus had gotten much, much worse. It was nice to know that all the sacrifices of that last hour or so were not in vain. I was sad to hear that Luke had died, although more for my cousin Hermes than anything else, though it was great that he had died a hero's death in the end.

One of things I heard that I was most happy about, however, was that Percy and Annabeth had finally gotten their act together and become a couple. I could picture Aphrodite jumping up and down in glee.

We finally got there, though, and made one stop at Camp Half Blood.

"I'll miss you guys," I said.

"Calm down, Ella, it's not like you'll never see us again," said Thalia, rolling her eyes.

Hmm, I suppose that's true. Artemis is Apollo's twin after all, even if they do argue all the time.

"I'll visit you at Atlantis at some point, I hope," said Percy. "I want to see it when it isn't in the middle of the battle."

"I'll try to talk to father for you," I said, giving him a hug.

"Bye Ella," said Annabeth. "Maybe you can come down – or up, depending on where you're staying – and design your own cabin for camp."

"Maybe," I said, smiling at her. It would be cool to have a cabin. I don't have any demigods at the moment, though; being in exile as a mortal I obviously hadn't given birth to any in the last nineteen years, and my last one, a beautiful young boy named Reece, was killed by a hellhound along with a young satyr when he was trying to make his way to camp when he was only eight years old. I might be only a minor goddess, and for the most part my children are able to live in peace, but not all are so lucky.

On that happy note, I finished saying goodbye to the demigods, hoping along with them that I would get to see them soon, and then I got back into the Sun Chariot – which now was back in the form of Apollo's favorite Maserati – and we were off again.

When we got to Olympus, we headed straight for the throne room. While we walked, I found myself staring around in horror. The place had obviously been cleared up since the battle as there was a distinct lack of rubble, but it was still pretty horrific. There were large chunks out of buildings – many had been destroyed entirely – and several statues were still lying all over the floor in pieces, as if the spirits and others which were pottering around and cleaning up were afraid to move them without the god's or goddess' consent. I remembered that Annabeth had been named the Chief Architect of Olympus, and grinned. She had her work cut out for her, but I was sure she'd do a brilliant job.

When we got to the Hall of Gods, it was to find it immaculate. I figured that was probably one place Hera refused to have changed. The inside was a little roughed up, but from what Percy had told me, the thrones must have been done up because they were perfect now.

All the gods were there apart from Dionysus, who I figured was either recuperating or back at Camp Half Blood. Even Hephaestus was there, although he did look a little worse for wear after his ordeal. When we walked in, Apollo grew to his usual size and went straight to his throne. I stayed where I was.

"Isiobella, Goddess of the waves. Back at last are we?" asked Zeus in his thunderous voice.

I nodded.

My father, Poseidon, stood and came towards me, thankfully downsizing a little. He stood in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. As he did, I felt my powers come flowing back into my body, and I grinned. I felt ecstatic, and all my tiredness just seemed to disappear. Even though, this time, I had only been in mortal form for what I figured to only be a few days, it still felt as amazing as it had last time.

The moment the power flow stopped and I was back to my full strength, I changed my appearance to my natural form, with black hair and green eyes like my father, tanned skin and a face thinner than the one I had worn as Bella Swan. I also looked a little younger.

"I hope you've learned your lesson," said Poseidon, smirking. "No more tsunamis killing innocent people – you've got to have some sort of reason first."

I knew it would be pointless to mention that I only got angry because we'd been in an argument and that he had caused an earthquake before my tsunami came along. He'd either get angry again or completely ignore it. So I simply told him that yes, I had learned my lesson. Then he returned to his throne.

I am not one of the Twelve, so I don't have my own throne – not on Olympus, anyway. This left me standing kind of awkwardly while the discussions began.

"Right," said Zeus, "Apollo, you said there is something we need to discuss."

"I think Elle would be the best person to explain," said Apollo.

"What?" asked Artemis, smirking. "Are you saying that someone is better than you at doing something?"

I very nearly laughed at the expression on Apollo's face, but I managed to keep it in. Hermes didn't though.

"That's not what I meant," said Apollo indignantly, causing Hermes to laugh again. "She's the one who, well, for lack of a better word, caused this, so I think she had better explain."

"Go on then, Ella," said Zeus, thankfully using the name I preferred over my own. Seriously, who names their kid Isiobella? Oh well, I suppose I'm luckier than my older sisters.

I sighed, sensing that I might get in trouble again for this.

"During my seventeenth year in exile, I decided to go and live in the town of Forks with Charlie. While I was there, I met these vampires…" I continued to explain, watching the expressions of the Olympians grow more and more serious as time went on. Only Apollo remained casual, knowing this already, though, as I guessed, Aphrodite did seem happier when I mentioned the three happy couples in the Cullen family. "… but he left just after Apollo and the demigods arrived."

There was silence for a moment before Zeus spoke up.

"Well, this is a problem."

Indeed. Vampires are strong. Luckily, they did not know of our existence. If they did, there is no doubt that they would target our children, and that some of them at least would attempt to attack Olympus. We would be able to destroy them of course, but at what cost?

"We need to bring them in," said Athena. "The best way to go about this is to talk to them. There is no need to destroy them if we can get their solemn oath that they will not be a threat to us."

"They would not attack us," I said. "They are a very peaceful coven."

"Either way, they could tell someone about us," she replied. "We can't afford word reaching the ears of other vampires, especially not that coven they call the Volturi."

"Did the vampire that saw the Sun Chariot know what you are?" asked Hephaestus.

"I'm not sure," I said. "He has the ability to read minds, but he couldn't read me so I don't think he can read the minds of the gods. He could only partially read Charlie's mind, so it is likely he couldn't read the minds of the demigods either, although I have no idea whether he would be able to read the mind of a satyr or not, and Grover was there. Other than that, Charlie and I were careful with what we said, and I am fairly certain that I didn't mention anything that was particular to us until I saw Apollo, by which time he had already left."

"But he might have seen us through the mind of the satyr," sighed Demeter.

"So we do need to bring them in," said Athena.

"Where, though?" asked Ares. "Surely you aren't considering bringing them here? We can't afford them knowing where Olympus is."

"Where else?" asked Zeus. "We need to stay here at the moment, it is too close to the battle to be able to leave." As he said this, he glanced at Athena, who nodded in approval. "As such, we need to bring them here. One of us shall have to go to collect them, and then transport them here. That way, they will not know that the entrance is in the Empire State building, and they will not be able to return. Poseidon, are you able to stay here for this?"

"Yes," replied father. "Amphitrite and Triton have everything under control in Atlantis at the moment. I should be able to stay here for a little while longer."

"Good. Hermes, if you could go and collect them…"

"Why me?" groaned Hermes. "I have a backlog of messages already."

"You are the fastest," replied Zeus.

"There are seven of them," said Hermes. "I won't be very fast with that many."

"Fine, then," said Zeus. "Ella will accompany you."

"I will?" I said, stunned.

"You know them best," said Zeus, "and therefore you would have the best chance of convincing them to come."

"I doubt they want anything more to do with me," I said.

"You shall change your appearance to something they will not recognise," said Zeus. "Then you can inform Hermes of the best way of convincing them to come."

"They will recognise my voice," I said. I wasn't necessarily trying to get out of going, as I knew that what he was saying was right – I did know them best. But I needed them to know how likely it was that they would realise it was me.

"Change your voice," said Zeus. "And perhaps pretend you don't know how to speak English."

"And my scent?"

This time it was my father who spoke.

"You have been returned to your godly form – your blood is now ichor, rather than the red blood that runs through the veins of mortals. Your scent will be very different to them."

"Alright then," I said, pretty sure this covered all the bases. "When do we leave?"

"Hey, I haven't agreed to this yet!" exclaimed Hermes.

"It shouldn't take long," said Zeus.

"You guys have no appreciation for my job," muttered Hermes. "But fine. Just let me ask Iris if she'll do a little bit of extra work while I'm gone."

"Fair enough," said Zeus, "But the both of you will leave in an hours time. We can't afford to have them tell anyone else about us, especially not now. We will all meet back here before the vampires arrive. Hermes-" he paused when he received a glare, "-sorry, Hephaestus, could you please inform Dionysus? Other than that, everyone can go."

We all nodded, and then the gods dispersed. Most of them simply wandered off, but Hermes sprinted away, clearly intending to find Iris before we left. Hephaestus was grumbling about being used as a lackey, while Aphrodite grabbed Ares and dragged him away, chatting about hoping to see the love between the couples while Ares talked back at her about hoping to be able to fight one of them.

Apollo came up to me and took my arm before pulling me out of the Hall and towards his home.

There's an awful lot you can get done in an hour... and we had nineteen years to make up for.

So? What did you think?

And I'll hopefully see you next week for chapter 2!