Quest

Perseus opened his eyes as his crystal blue orbs met a pair of dazzlingly gray and wide ones, before with a small squeak the weight atop his body disappeared as a girl jumped away from his bed in surprise. The Son of Poseidon slowly reached to his eyes before rubbing his hands over them tenderly. He could see again, the realization dawned upon him and a small smile came to his face before he looked back towards the tall blonde girl who was standing next to his bed, looking at him with concern.

"Who are you?" Percy asked, though he felt a little nervous in doing so. She was probably the most beautiful person he had seen in his entire life, apart from what little he remembered of his mother's face. Her nearly golden blonde hair, which were rather very shiny, fell naturally in long tresses framing her face before going down past her shoulders ending at about mid-back. They also curled at the ends, and looked like it was natural, not artificially done. She had large, gray eyes and even though there were smudges of dirt on her face, and she was wearing a rather worn out armor, it did little to diminish her attractive features. A small smirk crossed her face at his question as her eyes lit up mischievously.

"Really Percy, really?" she asked, feigning a wounded voice as she clutched her chest dramatically giving him the heavily exaggerated expression of being hurt.

"Annabeth," he muttered before he gave her a smile, but it disappeared as he frowned a little at her.

"Why were so close to me when I woke up?" he asked and immediately realized that it sounded a lot more logical in his head than it did out loud, and even if he hadn't, Annabeth's very red face would have indicated that to him anyway. "Wow...that came out different," he muttered as Annabeth came and sat down next to him.

"Yeah, no kidding," she muttered as well, concurring with him before explaining. "Actually I was just sitting on the chair when suddenly your body started to glow green, and after the light disappeared you started to mumble, I was just trying to listen to what you were saying."

"Right, cuz the mumblings of someone in their sleep is such important information," Perseus shot back sarcastically, smirking as the blonde next to him pushed his shoulder lightly, an annoyed expression crossing her face. "So who won?" he asked once his amusement died down.

"Oh that's right, we won Capture the Flag!" replied the Daughter of Athena, excitement returning to her voice as she grinned. "You think you can walk?" she asked as the blue eyed teen nodded before standing up without any problems.

"Yeah," replied the Son of Poseidon as he stood up and started to walk towards the door when Annabeth quickly caught up to him, while handing him his black under armor to put on. "Thanks," Percy muttered as he quickly slid it on, over his head, before making his way towards the Big House with Annabeth taking the lead.

"So...you can see now?" The Daughter of Athena stated more than asked, though it clearly showed she wanted to know what exactly happened while Percy was unconscious.

"Yeah, my...Father sort of figured out I was his son and decided to fix my eyes," Perseus lied as he continued to follow his friend, re-familiarizing himself with his surroundings.

"So your name is Perseus, did you know that?" asked Annabeth in a cautious voice, she was still quite unsure how Percy would react to him realizing that he's a demigod.

"I...would prefer that you keep calling me Percy," responded the Son of Poseidon as the blonde demigoddess smiled covertly, she liked calling him Percy herself.

"Hey, look the ceremony for the winners hasn't begun yet, we made it in time!" Annabeth said excitedly as she grabbed his hand before running to the podium where the rest of the camp counselors were waiting for Chiron to do the honors and declare the winning cabins for Capture the Flag. Just as they made it to the podium, Percy was engulfed in a chorus of loud cheering and hugs as many of the campers knew that he was the key player because of whom Annabeth was able to make it to the other side of the river with the stolen flag.

"Glad you two could join us," Thalia said as she came up behind Annabeth before wrapping her arm casually over the blonde's shoulders. "And it looks like he is back on his feet."

"Not just that," Annabeth said, as she gave a nod to her friend's assessment. "But his blindness is cured too, he can see now."

"Are you serious?" Thalia asked, as her head whipped in the direction where Percy was now trying to break out of the bone-crushing hugs he was getting from the Hephaestus cabin. Finally, it was Beckendorf, but instead of hugging him, they just grabbed each other's forearms and gave it a firm squeeze, as Charles finally noticed the change of eye-color of Perseus.

"Dude, what's up with your eyes?" he asked as they each let go of the other's arm. Percy just grinned as he scratched his head.

"I can...sorta...see now," he responded as everyone heard and turned to stare at him in wonder. "Gift from my...a gift from Poseidon."

"That is good news indeed Perseus," said Chiron as he too came onto the podium, as usual carrying the massive staff in one hand, while holding the decorated winning laurels in the other.

"Thanks," he responded, as the centaur gave a nod in acknowledgement before turning to speak to all the gathered campers.

"Well, as we have all witnessed today, it is my great privilege and pleasure to announce the Alliance between the cabins of Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Hermes known as the Blue Team has won Capture the Flag!" he announced, holding the laurels out to all the gathered leaders of the Blues. Annabeth, Luke, Malcolm, and Beckendorf all moved together, while Silena, Travis, Connor, Thalia, and Percy himself gathered behind them, as the rest of the Blues erupted in loud cheering, banging their swords or spears against the shields, and stamping their foot against the ground. Finally, as the last of the cheers died and the crowd slowly started to disperse, he saw two young sons of Hephaestus lugging a large, and really long, object between themselves covered in a velvety blue cloth bound tightly with light gray ribbons. There was also a really large pink ribbon in the middle that was elaborately tied in an ornate large bow. The two kids handed it to Beckendorf, who lifted it with much more ease as he said a few words to his brothers, who nodded with large smiles before running off. Percy realized that by now most of the crowd had dispersed, and decided that he should also probably return to the Hermes Cabin, but just he was about to leave he felt Silena walk and stand behind him, as if waiting for him to turn and notice her.

"What's up?" he asked before he had even turned as Silena gave him a small smile.

"I just wanted to thank you personally Percy," she said, as the son of Poseidon's brows furrowed in curiosity.

"For what?"

"For helping us win today's Capture the Flag, you probably don't realize but it really is a big deal for us campers," she responded, her tone was serious.

"Oh," Percy muttered, a little surprised but then gave her a grin. "Well, I do suppose that having the losers clean the stables for the next month does help." Silena couldn't help but laugh and nod in concurrence as well, not having to do some of the most arduous of chores in the camp for the next month certainly helped matters.

"So, we have a small gift for you," she said as he felt Charles, still carrying the large object, coming up behind him, followed by Annabeth, Travis, Connor, Grover, and Thalia. He turned, before looking glancing back at Silena once more.

"That's a small gift?" he asked her as she giggled before pushing his shoulder lightly as he walked towards his friends.

"Hey hotshot," Charles called as Percy groaned.

"Not you too, it seems like everybody suddenly wants to call me that," grumbled the blue eyed teen as various chuckles rose from the group, while Thalia scowled.

"Well," she said with as much sarcasm as possible. "Let's see what you have been doing since the time we have met you. First off, you put Max in his place, the biggest jock at Goode High, then fought off three Furies at once, then destroyed two Colchis Bulls single-handedly, and now saved our team by protecting the flag bearer reach our side. Yup, you are a hotshot alright." Thalia finished as she folded her hands with a self satisfied smirk on her face.

"Hmm," Connor added turning from Thalia to look at Percy. "It's not even been a month and that's the list you have come up with?"

"List?" asked Percy, a little confused.

"The list, as they are referring to, is what used to be known as the Heroic deeds back in Ancient Greece," Annabeth clarified. "It was usually what would be recited before the arrival of a grand Hero to any important ceremony, festival, or at a King's court. It would start from the smallest things and would end up with their grandest, like Bellerophone slaying the Chimera, or Perseus taming the Kraken using Medusa's head."

"Oh, okay," Percy said dumbly as those around him chuckled once more before Beckendorf came forward and handed him the object he had been holding. "Congratulations Percy, today you were claimed by your Father, and that is something that not all people at camp can say." Charles was usually an easy going person, and Percy knew that, so the seriousness in his voice made the Son of Poseidon realize just how important it was to the Campers.

"Well, open it," Thalia urged, trying to dispel the somber mood that had taken over the group. She herself really wanted to see the new weapon too, it was unheard of for Beckendorf to take more than a week to build a weapon. Percy nodded, as he started to untie the ribbons one by one before all the ribbons were undone and Charles grabbed the end of the blue cloth, before snatching it off all at once. The entire group gasped at what beheld their sight. Even Percy couldn't help but be awed at the Great Sword he held in his grasp. The Blade of the Sword was varying between shades of a rich golden bronze and black, four feet in length, and a little over half foot wide. The Guard was a simple solid brick of bronze, inlaid with the same black iron, and the hilt, which was a foot long, seemed to be made entirely of the black iron and wrapped in sturdy leather binding stitched in bronze threading. The sword was literally glowing in the darkness, as if from a light within which made it all the more appealing. Thalia came a little closer as she frowned at the sword.

"Is that metal what I think it is?" she asked once it seemed she had found her answer from her inspection.

"Yes," Beckendorf replied in a much quieter tone. "The entire alloy has equal parts Celestial Bronze and Stygian Iron."

"Well," Annabeth cut in as she took a step forward. "I think you have outdone yourself with this, it is beautiful."

"No," Percy cut in, as everyone, save Charles, gave him looks of incredulity as he lifted the sword slowly with one hand and tested it's weight and feel. This was the first time that he felt as if a sword seemed balanced in his grasp. He closed his eyes, concentrated his power over lightning and pointed it at the sky before channeling it from the blade, looking to the Heavens. To his amazement, instead of lightning, that usually shot out from his hands, a solid and concentrated beam of pure energy shot out of the tip with such a loud boom that almost everybody cringed at the sound, and their ears popped from the pressure. "It's just right."

THE NEXT DAY

"Why have we been summoned today?" asked Apollo as he eyed the Queen of Olympus warily, she seemed to be in a particularly foul mood.

"To discuss the next trial for Perseus of course," responded Athena, as she spat out the demigod's name with extra distaste, now knowing which God's son he was.

"Already," asked Poseidon as he sat up straighter, he knew that they had decided to give Percy little time between trials but this was just preposterous!

"Yes, already," replied Hera as she finally seemed to began paying attention to the meeting in front of her again. "Apollo, where is your sister?"

"Eh?" the Sun-God nearly squeaked at being addressed by Hera so abruptly. "Well...um...I did send her the message but it seemed she just decided to ignore it."

"Hmm, it seems she is not the only," Hera said eyeing the empty throne of Ares. "Next time I will just send Hermes," she muttered as she gave a pointed look to the God of Messages.

"Yes, noted and ready," Hermes said with a nod.

"So now, let us decide his next trial," commanded the Goddess of Marriages with a wave of her hand.

"Hmm, what can we possibly throw at him, after all the Colchis Bulls were rather formidable opponents," said the Titan Hecate, thinking out loudly.

"Well, we could always test him in the Arenas of Atlantis," Poseidon offered, knowing that his son will hold a huge advantage considering that all his proffered powers over the seas were once upon returned to him.

"No," cut in Athena as she eyed the Sea-God. "He will obviously hold a distinct advantage over the domain, how about a test of the wits instead? It is something we have yet to see a display of from Perseus."

"True, very true," commented Apollo at this, it will be interesting to see Athena test the boy, her tests were never as it seemed and often turned out to have more layers than anyone initially expects.

"Or how about we grant him a quest," came a response from the unexpected Goddess.

"A quest, sister? I am not sure of that will be a wise decision for him so soon," Athena replied as she looked at Aphrodite warily, she had not forgotten the last time the Goddess of Love had shown her thoughts over the new demigod.

"Why not," Aphrodite asked, with the most innocent expression she could muster. Surprisingly, it looked very convincing even with the ridiculous amount of make-up she had on. "After all are these trials not meant to be a test to see how much of a hero this demigod is? For that purpose, a quest would be the best way to challenge Perseus."

"Yes, she is right!" Apollo cut in enthusiastically.

"I agree, a good quest will show us just how capable a hero Perseus can be when needed," Poseidon concurred, seeing a chance for his son to establish some reputation among the council will only help the boy in the long run.

"A quest it is, then," announced Hera as the Goddess of Wisdom grimaced, she did not want the new demigod to handle anything important as of yet. Aside from him being a child of her most hated God, his loyalties and origins were still a mystery to them.

"And what shall this quest involve?" asked Hephaestus as he rubbed his goatee in a contemplative manner.

"How about recover a stolen artifact? Maybe something that we have lost in the past centuries, perhaps?" offered Hermes as he looked at Hera and then to Athena.

"How about recovering the Bow of Orion?" asked Apollo, he knew that if Percy somehow recovered that bow, it would put him immediately in the good graces of his sister, and that was something that many men had failed to do in entire lifetimes.

Poseidon in the mean time looked at his younger brother, as he saw the King of Gods deep in thought. If it came to stolen artifacts, the God of Seas had expected his brother to jump at the chance, seeing that something very valuable of his was missing after all. But so far, the Sky-God had not made a single sound on the matter. "I nominate for Perseus Jackson to recover and then return the Master Bolt of Lightning to its rightful owner, Zeus!" Stunned silence descended on the council hall as the King of Atlantis declared his own will for his son's quest. Even Zeus looked up, in utter shock, at what his elder brother had just suggested.

Athena almost felt like laughing and crying at the same time, at seeing just how shrewd her old rival was when it came to politics. Not only did Poseidon's move put any Gods/Goddesses who had doubts about him stealing the Master Bolt away, it also put his son at the forefront of a quest that the current chosen Champion of Olympus, Thalia, had not been able to complete. And more importantly, if Perseus somehow ended up successfully completing the quest, then there would be no doubt in anyone's mind about who the most capable demigod in Camp Half-Blood was, automatically swaying the opinions of many minor and major Gods alike in favor of his son. "Well played Poseidon," thought the gray eyed Goddess in dismay to herself. "Well played indeed."

WITH PERCY

"Get up Perseus!" Chiron commanded as he trotted closer to the fallen hero. Percy was sweating profusely, and even with his enhanced physical strength, speed, reflexes, and vast stamina, the centaur still seemed to outdo any maneuver he attempted without having to even seemingly try. It was just over an hour that the two were into their regular weapons practice on the beach, and as usual the centaur was schooling his newest pupil with ruthless tactics and relentless commands to go at it again! The only difference that Percy felt today was that with his new weapon he could actually block and parry a good amount of the Chiron's strikes, but the centaur was always able to break through his guard and have him flying with strikes from his large staff.

"Yes," mumbled Percy as he started to get back up when the water touched his feet and he felt a jolt of energy traveling up his leg and spreading throughout the rest of his body. Involuntarily, the son of Poseidon did a flip and sprang to his feet, looking at the ocean like he was seeing it for the first time in his life. "Are you alright?" asked the centaur, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as the centaur noticed his pupil's slightly dazed look, it was like he was almost in a trance as he stared at the water-body with something akin to longing. "Interesting," thought the centaur as he saw the waves coming to rest at the foot of his student. Chiron scratched his chin before a small smirk crossed his face as he hefted his staff and made a light strike at Percy. The boy's sword hand moved, as if on its own accord, and intercepted his staff while he continued to stare at the ocean. "Perseus!" the centaur said, this time a little louder and much sterner as the teen jerked, as if coming to consciousness from sleep, before whipping his head towards his instructor.

"Yeah?" he asked as he shook his head. "Sorry, got a little distracted there."

"Step into the water," commanded the trainer as he watched Percy give him a questioning look, but decided to follow his command once he made no gesture to answer. As soon as Percy entered the water, the water level reaching his knees, he felt a surge of energy rushing throughout his body, relieving it of any fatigue he was feeling just earlier. Not only that, but all the bruises and lacerations that he had started to heal and disappear at an even faster rate than it usually did, and his overall powers seemed to expand, his senses now encompassing all of Camp Half-Blood rather than only the beach.

"Whoa," the Son of Poseidon said as he raised and then looked at his own arms. "What's going on?"

"Your powers over the seas have reawakened," Chiron said as he continued to see what changes this brought out among Percy. After all, he was a unique case among demigods with powers over both air and water, there were bound to be some unique traits that he had yet to see. "After all we cannot have a son of Poseidon that have no control over his own father's domain, can we?" the centaur said as he too stepped into the water. "Now, let us continue." As soon as the centaur finished, the teen was on him, instinctively riding on a wave he came at his instructor, faster and harder than he could before. His strikes were nothing more than a large blur to the naked eye, and even Chiron, with over centuries of experience was finding it hard to break through Percy's offensive maneuvers, it did not help matters that the boy was far stronger than normal demigods either.

Yet the centaur was not done, after all he was not known as the eternal instructor of the Heroes for nothing! Chiron brought his staff over his head, spinning it with expert ease as a small grin spread across his face. After all the years, finally he could let go completely against his newest pupil, something he had not been able to since the last Great Hero of old, Jason. He unleashed everything he had, his staff matching Percy's moves blow for blow as they attacked and parried, spun around each other and used their bodies just as much as their weapons. The Son of Poseidon found that he immensely enjoying himself, for the first time, in his spar against his trainer as they seemed to be evenly matched when he was augmented by the domains of both water and air at his disposal. On and on the two went, even after their allotted time for sparring since Chiron wanted to test just how far he could push this new camper, and Percy taking the challenge and feeling the thrill of battle where his opponent was not easy to give ground. Suddenly, an idea struck the teen as he thought over it for a few more seconds before deciding to execute it. Just as Chiron was coming at him with another charge, Percy used the wave he was riding to push himself straight up, where he used his ability of flight to turn himself in the air and shot a solid blast of energy towards the centaur from his sword. The trainer dodged it cleanly as Percy let himself fall back and the water rose up to form a wave and caught him, propelling him back towards his opponent in for yet another charge.

Just as he was about to swing his blade at Chiron, he sensed a being enter his consciousness, appearing out of nowhere, and he heard clapping coming from the shore. Both the centaur, and his student turned to the shore to see a man, in his early thirties, holding a silver staff, and clapping with a sly smirk on his face. Somehow, the man reminded Percy of his friend Connor a lot. "Come, Perseus, we have a very esteemed visitor in camp," Chiron said as he started walking towards the man with the Son of Poseidon in tow. As the two approached, the man stopped his clapping and just waited for them to reach him.

"Is he another Naiad?" wondered the teen as he inspected the man in front him as they got closer and closer to him. "No," concluded the demigod after a moment of contemplation before he noticed his staff once more. Now that he was closer, he could see there were two snakes intertwined along the shaft of the staff, and they were alive! Then his eyes fell on the man's sneakers and his doubt were cleared. Little wings were attached to both the sneakers, which were also made of silver. So he must be-

"Lord Hermes," Chiron greeted as he finally reached the God of Messages before giving him an elaborate bow with a stylish flourish of his arms. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company today?"

"Ha, Chiron, always the funny guy," Hermes responded before shifting his eyes to look at Percy. "And you must be Perseus, my sons seem to like you a lot."

"Uhh, thanks?" Percy responded a little uncertainly, but it seemed to satisfy the God because he suddenly changed the subject completely.

"Okay, to business then, I have a message for Mr. Jackson here. He has been awarded to go on a quest! Ta-da," exclaimed the Lord of Messages animatedly.

"Hmm, a quest?" asked the centaur in curiosity.

"Yes, yes, we debated and argued quite a bit over it but finally we settled on one," Hermes said rapidly as he pulled out a small scroll and unfurled it before continuing. "So the quest is that Perseus Jackson, along with whoever he chooses, must go on a quest to discover and then return the Master Lightning bolt to its rightful owner, who is of course, King Zeus, and do so within reasonable time or the quest shall be assumed to be a failure."

"How much is reasonable time?" asked Percy, a little curious himself.

"Well, I would say about a month? Or maybe a little less, you know the sooner the better," explained the God, but the Son of Poseidon just nodded dumbly, that did not sound very assuring. "In any case, I must be going, you know a lot of messages to deliver and all that. Oh, and Percy, here's something to help you along!" Hermes said as he tossed something wrapped in brown paper at Percy, who caught it, and when he looked up, it was just him and Chiron standing alone at the beach.

IN CAMP HALF BLOOD, A FEW MINUTES LATER

"A quest?" asked Thalia curiously as she stared at the ground, just after Chiron had finished explaining to her, Annabeth and Luke why Percy had headed off to the big house. "But why did the Olympians choose him, if anyone should be going, it should be me."

"I know Thalia, out of the campers you and Luke would be my first choice as well. You two have trained longer and are the best fighters we have, but it is not my place to question the Olympians, so this time I will support their decision," Chiron replied, and although he did seem to agree with the Daughter of Zeus in her opinions, he found himself rooting for Perseus and see just what the son of Poseidon could accomplish, even with the minimal amount of training he had received so far. Children of the Sea-God, were perhaps the best suited to be leaders of Heroes as their temperament were clam like the seas but they held the strength to fight, just like an ocean in a storm. Yet, the demigods sired by the Earth-Shaker were few and far in between, as Zeus has eternally been a constant cheater and Hades...well every year he was only able to spend time with Persephone for barely half a year, it was rather a surprise that Hades did not bare mortal children more frequently in the last several centuries. Though seeing the history of the children of the God of the Dead, it was not surprising. Half-Bloods of Hades could never really get the training they needed at Camp Half-Blood because they did not have their own cabin. As a result they did not get any protection in the mortal world like the other demigods, and unless they found their way to the Underworld, they were usually killed by monsters in a very short span, not to mention that if Persephone got wind of their existence, misfortune was bound to fall on them in one way or another. Chiron sighed heavily, the last thing he needed was for a child of Hades to pop out from somewhere.

ABOUT AN HOUR LATER

Percy walked out of the Big House attic looking a lot more troubled than he should have, and Chiron guessed the reason, he must have finally heard the Great Prophecy. He waited as Percy spotted him before making his way towards the centaur. "So, I assume you heard a prophecy concerning the quest?" Chiron stated as he stared at the Son of Poseidon to respond, but to his surprise the demigod shook his head.

"No, the mummy...or the Oracle told me that I am to search for the next Chronicler of Prophecies, and only after that can I move forward in my quest for the Master Bolt. Oh, and it also gave me name, someone known as Rachel Elizabeth Dare?"

"A new Oracle?" wondered the centaur as he rubbed his beard curiously. "This is indeed big news," he muttered before looking back at the demigod. "Well, it looks like you have a two part quest Percy," Chiron said as the two started to walk back towards camp.

"Well that still doesn't help me, who is Rachel?" Percy asked again, though this time he was questioning it to himself.

"Yes, we will have to see if anyone knows about this girl," Chiron said as they made way towards the cabins.

"Or woman, this Rachel could also be a grown lady," Percy commented as Chiron nodded but smiled mischievously.

"Percy, when someone has lived as long as me, the factor of age becomes...ineffective." The centaur paused as he looked at the demigod next to him with a small smile. "No matter how old Rachel maybe, I will technically still be centuries older than her, in any case she will be no more than a child to me."

"You got a point there," muttered the teen, to the amusement of his trainer. "So how does a quest generally work?" asked the Son of Poseidon, bringing the topic back to the issue at hand.

"Ahh, a very good question Percy," Chiron said as he paused to turn and face his pupil. "A quest is usually chosen or given to a specific Hero or Heroine, in this case that's you, and he gets to choose his companions that will go along with him on the quest. Choosing the right companions are very important Percy as they will be your only true friends out in the real world, the only ones that you should be able to trust explicitly with any information and plans that you have, and choosing the wrong comrades could potentially mean grave danger...even death." The centaur's serious voice and the chilling coldness with which he gave the warning left no doubt in Percy's mind that he had to be absolutely sure about the ones he chose to come along with him.

"And how many companions can I pick to come with me?"

"Usually, by camp regulations, it is only two to go along with the chosen demigod, but seeing the priority of this one I will even allow three, but no more than that. Having more than four demigods travelling outside of Camp is literally like a beacon for all monsters," replied Chiron.

"And when can I leave?"

"I prefer that you leave tomorrow morning, but it is your quest and you can do as you please with decisions such as these."

"In that case," Percy paused as he thought about the preparations that he would need to make before heading out of Camp. "I will take your advice." The centaur nodded towards the dark haired teen.

"Well, in that case I am sure you have much to prepare for. Let's see if I can find out anything about your objective, Ms. Dare." Chiron trotted off towards the Big House, slightly relieved that Percy had not yet heard any prophecies yet, he was afraid what a demigod such a Perseus would do if he had heard the Great Prophecy.

AT DINNER

The entire camp was buzzing with the news that a new quest had been handed down, and by none other than Zeus himself, to one of the campers. Even Dionysus could not deny something that the King of the Gods himself had commanded, all he could do was sulk at the head table like he usually did as he hated eating meals without any kind of alcoholic beverages, especially wine. As Percy sat down at his own table after sacrificing some food to the Gods, he was soon joined by his friends as Silena and Beckendorf sat directly across from him. Grover sat beside the massive smith followed by the Stoll brothers. Next to Percy himself sat Annabeth with Thalia and Luke sitting next to her.

"Hey Percy, have you heard? Someone has been handed a quest by Lord Zeus himself," Travis as he took a huge bite out of his barbecued chicken breast. Percy nodded as he chewed slowly on his food, wondering whether to tell his friends that he was the one given the quest, but Thalia beat him to it.

"Percy is the one that got the quest," she said as all eyes turned to him at once, only Luke and Annabeth did not seemed surprised by the news.

"How did you know?" asked Percy as he looked at his cousin.

"Chiron told us when we asked why you were headed off to the stables instead of practicing with us at the lava pit like you were supposed to," she answered offhandedly before going back to eating.

"Dude, do you know what this means?" asked Connor as he continued to look at the fellow demigod with something akin to awe in his eyes.

"That I get to go on a quest?" answered Percy feeling a little uncertainly.

"Well duh, but you also get to go outside, maybe even across the country to California or Florida man, you should definitely enjoy wherever you go before getting all lost in just the quest!" said the Son of Hermes excitedly as Annabeth and Silena simultaneously rolled their eyes, while Luke and Beckendorf both chuckled.

"And that's exactly why he won't be choosing you as one of his partners," Thalia remarked sarcastically.

"We ain't worried," cut in Travis with a cheeky grin. "One day, we will get a grand old quest ourselves, you just wait and watch girl."

"Psshh, I am sure that day would come when Apollo decides to ride his sun chariot from west to east!" Thalia shot right back. Travis and Connor both looked at each other in a confused manner before turning to Annabeth for an explanation, as the blonde sighed exasperatedly.

"The sun rises in the east and sets in the west," she clarified as the Stolls finally comprehended the meaning behind Thalia's comment. The Daughter of Athena just shook her head at their antics before turning to her friend. "Have you thought about who you are going to take with you yet?"

"No...well I know one person that I will be taking with me for sure, but I am not about the others," he replied, and he could almost predict her next question.

"Who?"

"Grover," the entire table fell silent as they looked at Percy as he had grown a third eye. Even the satyr himself could not believe what he had just heard.

"Err Percy...I am not sure that's a very good idea," he said nervously, chewing rapidly on the wrapping of his bean burrito. "I mean how can I help you in this quest, I am not that good at fighting...heck I am not even a decent guardian."

"I don't think those are the reasons why he chose you," Annabeth said as he gazed at Grover with a warm smile. She always thought he was a great guardian, after all he was the one who brought them to camp.

"Annabeth is right, I chose you because I know I can trust you more than anyone else to have my back no matter what. So what if you can't fight like Luke, or kick ass with a hammer like Charles? I know that if the time comes you will do anything you can to complete the quest." Grover blushed redder than a tomato as he was clapped soundly on his back by the large smith sitting next to him.

Hello Readers,

I am finally back! And I am not going to be apologizing this time for the massively late update because, to be honest, I am not sorry. I am a senior in college and on the last year to get my undergrad degrees in both Computer Science and Math, so I am pretty sure you guys/gals can understand why I have been so late with this update. So, here's the new chapter. Let me know what you think about this one? So the poll for whether Percy should get Riptide is over, and as the readers chose, he got a new weapon! I haven't thought of a name yet, and I still have more to do with sword's powers, so we will see as the story continues. If you want to have an idea of what it looks like, go to the following link:

search?q=guts+greatsword&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1qKnU8fBGsiTyATCjoDIBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=705#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=vJej-DncG4s8OM%253A%3BXJZOLEjUx2GcDM%3Bhttps%253A%252F% .com%252Fn_yXxrQ2otVpqlRdAjr_JNThqwcOr9oT_lj6iWidhDY%253Dw470-h575-no%3Bhttp%253A%252F% .com%252Fthreads%252Falvalos-skin-workshop-free.112257%252F%3B470%3B575

I am sorry to say that updates from now on will probably be irregular and most likely slower than before but I will try to write whenever I have the time. I hope you like this chapter and ideas and opinions from readers are always welcome. If you would like to discuss the story in farther detail, just send me a quick P.M. And please, please, please don't forget to review.

Have a good day,

Tanneal