╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

ELECTRIC LOVE

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
[ N A T A L I A ]

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

NATALIA DREAMT SHE was in the Artemis Cabin back at camp. It looked exactly how she left it, except a little more clean. Thanks Will, she said to herself.

"Okay," she said slowly. "This is weird."

She began to wander around until she heard a voice behind her.

"Hello, daughter."

Natalia whipped around to see Artemis standing there, a silver aura surrounding her. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Mom?"

Artemis opened her mouth to respond, when a yellow light appeared in the room. "And me!"

Apollo casually walked over to Artemis, slinging an arm around her shoulder. Artemis crossed her arms, sending her brother a harsh glare after rolling her eyes.

"Get out of here, Apollo."

"I would never pass up to the opportunity to visit my favorite . . ." he trailed off, and thought for a moment. "Well, only niece."

"Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt this moment, but what are you two doing here?" Natalia asked.

"I'm . . . well apparently we're here to help you," Artemis answered, shrugging off Apollo's arm.

"I thought the Gods went silent," she responded.

"As you said before, I follow my own set of rules. And this one over here just finds himself in troubling situations that I often have to get him out of."

Apollo looked offended. "Hey!"

Natalia shook her head. "I don't understand. If you can get caught by Zeus, why are you in my dream? You could be doing something more important, like finding Percy or fighting out a way to stop Gaea."

"But daughter, this is important," Artemis answered. "Percy Jackson must find his own way home first. And Gaea can wait, that's for another Prophecy. But there's the one line in this Prophecy that's bothering you."

Natalia stiffened. "Yeah . . . Daughter of the hunt shall bend moonlight, When all goes wrong to make things right. Mom, what does that mean?"

Artemis sighed and sat down on a bed, patting the spot next to her. Natalia walked over and sat down, Artemis taking her hands in hers as she did so. Meanwhile, Apollo made criticisms about the decor inside to himself.

"Bending moonlight is something only I can do," Artemis explained. "And since you're my one and only daughter — trust me, I'm not having any more — you have it, too. When you bend moonlight, you have to connect with the moon. Will it to do your bearing. Don't focus on anything else."

"But . . . when will I have to use this?"

Artemis gave her a small smile. "You'll know the time."

Natalia stared down at their hands, and swallowed her nervousness. "Just one more question . . . why did you break your oath for my dad?"

"I knew you would ask that," Artemis admitted. "There was something about him, unlike any other man I've ever met. I've sworn off love and children since I was born, but he . . . he made me change my mind, just once. There's no one else in the world like him. Even if I did break my oath, I'm glad I met him and I'm glad I had you. You're a lovely daughter, Natalia. I don't regret you. And I'm so sorry that I haven't spoken to you."

The girl smiled at her mother. "Thanks, mom. You're a pretty great mother if you ask me. I couldn't imagine having anyone else."

"And everybody knows I'm the coolest uncle," Apollo chipped in.

Artemis ignored him. "I need to cut this dream short. Good luck with the rest of your quest, Natalia. Remember what I told you. Also, I convinced Aphrodite to make your clothes comfortable enough to fight."

"What?" Natalia asked, but the entire dream faded to black.

»»---------------------►

WHEN SHE WOKE up, she was sitting at a table in a café. She glanced around at her surroundings: it was completely sunny, almost as if winter didn't exist.

Yep, she said to herself. I'm definitely in California.

The others all had their arms crossed over their chest, dozing peacefully. However, Piper was also awake, and she looked down at her own outfit and gasped. "Mother!"

Jason flinched, bumping the table with his knees, and then all of them were awake.

"What?" Hedge demanded. "Fight who? Where?"

"Falling!" Leo grabbed the table. "No — not falling. Where are we?"

Jason blinked, trying to get his bearings. He focused on Piper and made a little choking sound. "What are you wearing?"

Piper was wearing a turquoise dress with black leggings and black leather boots. She had on her favorite silver charm bracelet and an old snowboarding jacket, which amazingly went with the outfit pretty well. She pulled out Katoptris and looked at her reflection.

"It's nothing," she said. "It's my—" She paused, and then continued. "It's nothing."

Leo grinned. "Aphrodite strikes again, huh? You're gonna be the best-dressed warrior in town, Beauty Queen."

"Hey, Leo." Jason nudged his arm. "You look at yourself recently?"

When Natalia saw what he was wearing, she let out a chuckle into her hand.

"What . . . oh."

All of them had been give a makeover. Leo was wearing pinstriped pants, black leather shoes, a white collarless shirt with suspenders, his tool belt, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a porkpie hat.

"God, Leo." Piper tried not to laugh. "I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt."

"Hey, shut up!"

"I think he looks good," said Coach Hedge. "'Course, I look better."

The Satyr was a pastel nightmare. Aphrodite had given him a baggy canary yellow zoot suit with two-tone shoes that fit over his hooves. He had a matching yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-colored shirt, a baby blue tie, and a blue carnation in his lapel, which Hedge sniffed and then ate.

"Well," Jason said, "at least your mom overlooked me."

Yeah, that's true, Natalia said to herself. Just one look at him, her heart did a little leap. He was clad in jeans, a purple t-shirt like the one he was wearing when she rescued him, and new track shoes. His hair was neatly trimmed, and his eyes shone a brighter blue than the sky.

Natalia felt a blush creep onto her face, but she cleared her throat. "Yeah, she overlooked me, too."

Aphrodite had given her a pair of light blue ripped jeans, a black t-shirt, and black high-top Converse. Her hair was neatly put back into a French braid, which was much better than the one that was falling out. Her silver bracelet sat on her wrist where it usually was. She didn't seem to notice that Jason was staring at her with wide eyes and a red face.

"Anyway," Piper said uncomfortably, "how did we get here?"

"Oh, that would be Mellie," Hedge said, chewing happily on his carnation. "Those winds shot us halfway across the country, I'd guess. We would've been smashed flat on impact, but Mellie's last gift — a nice soft breeze — cushioned our fall."

"And she got fired for us," Leo said. "Man, we suck."

"Ah, she'll be fine," Hedge said. "Besides, she couldn't help herself. I've got that effect on Nymphs. I'll send her a message when we're through with this quest and help her figure something out. That is one Aura I could settle down with and raise a herd of baby goats."

Natalia scrunched her nose. "Gross."

"I'm going to be sick," Piper said. "Anyone else want coffee?"

"Yes please," Natalia said, her eyes shut as she massaged her temple.

"Coffee!" Hedge's grin was stained blue from the flower. "I love coffee!"

"Um," Jason said, "but — money? Our packs?"

Piper looked down. Their packs were at their feet, and everything seemed to still be there. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. Natalia's eyes widened.

Leo whistled. "Allowance? Piper, your mom rocks!"

"Waitress!" Hedge called. "Six double espressos, and whatever these guys want. Put it on the girl's tab."

It didn't take them long to figure out where they were. The menus said Café Verve, Walnut Creek, CA. And according to the waitress, it was nine A.M. on December twenty-first, the winter solstice, which gave them three hours until Enceladus's deadline.

They didn't have to wonder where Mount Diablo was, either. They could see it on the horizon, right at the end of the street. After the Rockies, Mount Diablo didn't look very large, nor was it covered in snow. It seemed downright peaceful, its golden creases marbled with gray-green trees. But size was deceptive with mountains, Natalia knew it was probably much bigger up close. And appearances were deceptive too. Here they were — back in California — supposedly Piper's home — with sunny skies, mild weather, laid-back people, and a plate of chocolate chip scones with coffee. And only a few miles away, somewhere on that peaceful mountain, a super powerful, super-evil giant was about to have Piper's father for lunch. Natalia's heart broke for her.

Leo pulled something out of his pocket — the old crayon drawing Aeolus had given him. Aphrodite must've thought it was important if she'd magically transferred it to his new outfit.

"What is that?" Piper asked.

Leo folded it up gingerly again and put it away. "Nothing. You don't want to see my kindergarten artwork."

"It's more than that," Jason guessed. "Aeolus said it was the key to our success."

Leo shook his head. "Not today. He was talking about . . . later."

"How can you be sure?" Piper asked.

"Trust me," Leo said.

"Uh, Nat . . ." Jason said hesitantly, making her look up at him from her coffee cup. "That note . . ."

A sad expression appeared on her face and she sighed, taking out the paper and unfolding it. She handed it to Jason, who examined it.

"I wrote that years ago," she said quietly. "There was this guy at Camp . . . he was charming and sweet, and I had a major crush on him. He was especially nice to me since I was young, and me, being dumb, thought I was in love. So, I wrote that note, but when I went to go give it to him, he was smiling and talking with Annabeth with much more enthusiasm than he ever did with me. I was completely heartbroken, and I sat down in my Cabin crying for an hour. Finally, I folded the piece of paper and threw it into the wind. Not sure why I was so caught up on him, I mean, I'm a daughter of Artemis, I should be sworn off boys. That's how I was my entire childhood. But there was something about him that made me change my mind."

"Who was it?" Jason asked.

Natalia's heart shattered before she even said his name. "Luke Castellan."

Leo picked his head up. "Luke . . . that's the guy Thalia mentioned. Who was he?"

"In the Second Titan War a couple months ago, he gave his body up so Kronos could use it as a host," Natalia said, stirring her coffee with a spoon absentmindedly. "At the end, on Mount Olympus, he stabbed himself in the weak spot he chose in the River Styx, sacrificing himself for the world."

Jason took her hand in his. "That's really heavy, Natalia. But I'm glad that you told us."

A small smile appeared on her face. "Well, you guys are my friends. Anyways, moving on . . . what's our plan for this?"

Coach Hedge belched. He'd already had three espressos and a plate of doughnuts, along with two napkins and another flower from the vase on the table. He would've eaten the silverware, except Piper had slapped his hand.

"Climb the mountain," Hedge said. "Kill everything except Piper's dad. Leave."

"Thank you, General Eisenhower," Jason grumbled, making Natalia chuckle.

"Hey, I'm just saying!"

"Guys," Piper said. "There's more you need to know."

She then told them she'd figured some things out in her dreams.

Piper looked at the other girl. "Natalia, you know who we're up against, right?"

She nodded grimly. "Yeah, I figured it out a while ago but I waited until I could confirm it. Our enemy is Gaea."

"Gaea?" Leo shook his head. "Isn't that Mother Nature? She's supposed to have, like, flowers in her hair and birds singing around her and deer and rabbits doing her laundry."

"Leo, that's Snow White," Piper said.

"Okay, but—"

"Listen, cupcake." Coach Hedge dabbed the espresso out of his goatee. "Piper and Natalia are telling us some serious stuff, here. Gaea's no softie. I'm not even sure I could take her."

Leo whistled. "Really?"

Hedge nodded. "This Earth lady — she and her old man the sky were nasty customers."

"Ouranos," Piper said.

"Right," Hedge said. "So Ouranos, he's not the best dad. He throws their first kids, the Cyclopes, into Tartarus. That makes Gaea mad, but she bides her time. Then they have another set of kids — the twelve Titans — and Gaea is afraid they'll get thrown into prison too. So she goes up to her son Kronos—"

"The big bad dude," Leo said. "The one they defeated last summer."

"Thank you for reminding me," Natalia said sarcastically. "Really good memories."

"Sorry, Nat."

Hedge ignored them. "Right. And Gaea's the one who gives him the scythe, and tells him, Hey, why don't I call your dad down here? And while he's talking to me, distracted, you can cut him to pieces. Then you can take over the world. Wouldn't that be great?"

Nobody said anything. Suddenly, Natalia didn't have the stomach to drink anymore coffee. Hearing Kronos' name still gave her horrible flashbacks and anxiety. Especially thinking about Luke. And Gaea, that just made her feel even more sick.

"Definitely not Snow White," Piper decided.

"Kronos may have been a bad guy, but Gaea is the mother of all bad guys," Natalia said. "She can't be killed, because then the entire Earth will die. However, she can be kept asleep. It's hard for her to be fully conscious because she's so old and powerful."

"But she talked to me," Leo said. "How can she be asleep?"

Gleeson brushed crumbs off his canary yellow lapel. He was on his sixth espresso now, and his pupils were as big as quarters. "Even in her sleep, part of her consciousness is active — dreaming, keeping watch, doing little things like causing volcanoes to explode and monsters to rise. Even now, she's not fully awake. Believe me, you don't want to see her fully awake."

"But she's getting more powerful," Piper said. "She's causing the Giants to rise. And if their king comes back — this guy Porphyrion—"

"He'll raise an army to destroy the Gods," Jason put in. "Starting with Hera. It'll be another war. And Gaea will wake up fully."

Gleeson nodded. "Which is why it's a good idea for us to stay off the ground as much as possible."

Leo looked warily at Mount Diablo. "So . . . climbing a mountain. That would be bad."

Natalia swallowed her nervousness. Gaea was behind Piper's dad being kidnapped by a Giant, and she was worse than a Titan.

"Guys, I can't ask you to do this," Piper said. "This is too dangerous."

"You kidding?" Gleeson belched and showed them his blue carnation smile. "Who's ready to beat stuff up?"

Natalia smirked, and stood up. "Let's kick some ass."

»»---------------------►

THE TAXI DIDN'T make it all the way to the top.

The cab made lurching, grinding sounds as it climbed the mountain road, and halfway up they found the ranger's station closed, a chain blocking the way.

"Far as I can go," the cabbie said. "You sure about this? Gonna be a long walk back, and my car's acting funny. I can't wait for you."

"We're sure," Leo said, getting out of the car.

Natalia was the last one out. She looked around at the sky and at the ground, noticing the tires were sinking into the ground. Her shoes were also sinking, making the white on the rims of her Converse turn a muddy brown. It shouldn't have done that, since the ground was hard dirt, but Natalia knew it was Gaea. Her fists momentarily clenched — Mother Nature was a bitch.

Leo paid the cabbie with a generous amount of money. "Keep the change. And get out of here. Quick."

The driver didn't argue. Soon all they could see was his dust trail.

Natalia stared at the retreating car. "Okay, bye."

Jason chuckled, and Natalia sent him a playful glare. She then looked around, scouting out her surroundings as always.

The view from the mountain was pretty amazing. The whole inland valley around Mount Diablo was a patchwork of towns — grids of tree-lined streets and nice middle-class suburbs, shops, and schools. All these normal people living normal lives — Huh, wonder what that feels like, Natalia thought.

"That's Concord," Jason said, pointing to the north. "Walnut Creek below us. To the south, Danville, past those hills. And that way . . ."

He pointed west, where a ridge of golden hills held back a layer of fog, like the rim of a bowl. "That's the Berkeley Hills. The East Bay. Past that, San Francisco."

Natalia raised her eyebrows at him. "You've been here before?"

"Yes . . . no." He gave her an anguished look, and just like every other time, it made her heart break. "It just seems important."

"That's Titan land." Coach Hedge nodded toward the west, and Natalia shuddered. "Bad place, Jason. Trust me, this is as close to 'Frisco as we want to get."

"Yeah," Natalia said quietly. "My mother was captured by Atlas over there. I had to go and rescue her and Annabeth once over on Mount Tam."

But Jason looked toward the foggy basin with such longing that made her stomach churn. Why did Jason seem so connected with that place — a place she knew was evil, full of bad magic and old enemies? What if Jason came from here? Everybody kept hinting Jason was an enemy, that his arrival at Camp Half-Blood was a dangerous mistake.

No, Natalia thought. Jason is my . . . friend. Yes, friend. He's not an enemy.

Natalia went to take a step, but her heels were completely embedded in the dirt. She yanked them out, scowling at the dirt left on her shoes.

"We have to keep moving," she said.

The others noticed the problem.

"Gaea is stronger here," Hedge grumbled. He popped his hooves free from his shoes, then handed the shoes to Leo. "Keep those for me, Valdez. They're nice."

Leo snorted. "Yes, sir, Coach. Would you like them polished?"

"That's varsity thinking, Valdez." Hedge nodded approvingly. "But first, we'd better hike up this mountain while we still can."

"How do we know where the Giant is?" Piper asked.

Jason pointed toward the peak. Drifting across the summit was a plume of smoke. It looked like a cloud from the distance, but Natalia knew better — something was burning.

"Smoke equals fire," Jason said. "We'd better hurry."

Natalia thought she was in good shape. Many of the quests she went on involved lots of moving around. She got her mother's agile hunting skills, but climbing up a mountain while the Earth tried to swallow her feet was incredibly difficult. Natalia was already sweating, and mentally thanked Aphrodite for giving her a short-sleeve shirt. She also found a pair of aviators in her back pocket, and slipped them on her face to block out the sun.

By the time they neared the crest of the mountain, Natalia was completely covered in sweat with her shoes and jeans dirty. She placed her hands on her hips, taking a few deep breaths. Slipping her hand into her pocket, she rubbed her thumb across the piece of paper.

I know the pain of your first heartbreak, Aeolus had said. She had a lot of ups and downs in her life, just like climbing a mountain. Every time she got somewhere, there was always another place to climb.

Knock it off, Natalia scolded to herself. Save Piper's dad and Hera first. You can wallow in self-pity later.

Finally Jason crouched behind a wall of rock. He gestured for the others to do the same. Natalia crawled up next to him while placing the sunglasses on top of her head, and Leo did the same. Piper had to pull Coach Hedge down.

"I don't want to get my outfit dirty!" Hedge complained.

"Shhh!" Piper said.

Reluctantly, the satyr knelt.

Just over the ridge where they were hiding, in the shadow of the mountain's final crest, was a forested depression about the size of a football field, where the giant Enceladus had set up camp.

Trees had been cut down to make a towering purple bonfire. The outer rim of the clearing was littered with extra logs and construction equipment — an earthmover; a big crane thing with rotating blades at the end like an electric shaver and a long metal column with an ax blade, like a sideways guillotine.

Why a Giant needed construction equipment, Natalia wasn't sure. She didn't see how the creature in front of her could even fit in the driver's seat. The Giant Enceladus was so large, so horrible, Natalia didn't want to look at him. It brought back painful memories.

But she forced himself to focus on the monster.

To start with, he was thirty feet tall — easily as tall as the treetops. Natalia was sure the Giant could've seen them behind their ridge, but he seemed intent on the weird purple bonfire, circling it and chanting under his breath. From the waist up, the Giant appeared humanoid, his muscular chest clad in bronze armor, decorated with flame designs. His arms were completely ripped. Each of his biceps was bigger than Natalia's entire body. His skin was bronze but sooty with ash. His face was crudely shaped, like a half-finished clay figure, but his eyes glowed white, and his hair was matted in shaggy dreadlocks down to his shoulders, braided with bones.

From the waist down, he was even more terrifying. His legs were scaly green, with claws instead of feet — like the forelegs of a dragon. In his hand, Enceladus held a spear the size of a flagpole. Every so often he dipped its tip in the fire, turning the metal molten red.

"Okay," Coach Hedge whispered. "Here's the plan—"

Natalia rolled her eyes and elbowed him. "If you think you're charging at him alone, you're wrong."

"Aw, c'mon."

Piper choked back a sob. "Look."

Just visible on the other side of the bonfire was a man tied to a post. His head slumped like he was unconscious, so Natalia couldn't make out his face, but Piper didn't seem to have any doubts.

"Dad," she said.

Natalia took the girl's hand and squeezed it gently. "We'll save him. Don't worry, Piper."

She wished this were a Tristan McLean movie, like the ones that the Aphrodite Cabin were so obsessed with. Then Piper's dad would be faking unconsciousness. He'd untie his bonds and knock out the Giant with some cleverly hidden anti-Giant gas. Heroic music would start to play, and Tristan McLean would make his amazing escape, running away in slow motion while the mountainside exploded behind him.

But this wasn't a movie. Tristan McLean was half dead and about to be eaten. The only people who could stop it — four fashionably dressed teenaged Demigods and a megalomaniac goat.

"There's five of us," Hedge whispered urgently. "And only one of him."

"Don't underestimate a Giant, Hedge," Natalia said sternly. "Trust me, I know."

"Okay," Hedge said. "So you, me, Leo, and Jason distract him. Piper sneaks around and frees her dad."

They all looked at Jason.

"What?" Jason asked. "I'm not the leader."

"Yes," Piper said. "You are."

He shook his head. "If anything, it's Natalia."

She raised an eyebrow at him, her heart fluttering with flattery. "I don't think so, Jay. I may have been on many quests before, but I can tell you have, too."

"Then let's take co-responsibility."

She rolled her eyes, giving him a small smile. "If that makes you happy, then sure."

In reality, Natalia always thought of Jason as the quest leader. Coming this far had been a team effort, but when it came to a life-and-death decision, Natalia knew Jason was the one to ask if she didn't know the answer. Even if he had no memory, Jason had a kind of balance to him. You could just tell he'd been in battles before, and he knew how to keep his cool. Natalia didn't trust many people unless she got to know them first, but she already trusted Jason with her life.

"I hate to say it," Jason sighed, "but Coach Hedge is right. A distraction is Piper's best chance."

Just a best chance, Natalia thought to herself. Doesn't mean we'll survive.

They couldn't sit there all day and talk about it, though. It had to be close to noon — the Giant's deadline — and the ground was still trying to pull them down. Natalia's knees had already sunk two inches into the dirt, making her skin that was exposed from the rips in her jeans get covered in mud.

She sighed, tapping her bracelet and holding her bow, grabbing a Celestial Bronze arrow from her quiver. Natalia glanced over at the others, and gave them a small smile.

"Let's boogie," Leo said, holding what looked to be a wind-up toy. "Before I come to my senses."

★彡

luke castellan.