The Lost Hero

I was sleeping as peacefully as one could with a missing brother in Cabin 3. My mouth was wide open, my hair a tangled mess, and half of my bed covers falling onto the floor. The fountain in the cabin brought the mellow smell of sea salt and an ocean breeze, lulling my further into a dreamless sleep (one I hadn't had in ages). I had just came back from a long trip searching all of New York looking for Percy with the Stoll brothers and I was beyond exhausted.

I couldn't even face Sally and Paul to bring them the news that I still haven't found Percy in these past three days. The thought alone brought a sharp pain in my heart that my brother was still missing.

There was a loud slam from the entrance of my cabin, causing me to stir. I could see some light through my eyelids and a frown grew on my lips. I just wanted to sleep. A muffled voice was urging me to wake up, but all they received was my palm to their face. An all too familiar voice grumbled curses at me in Ancient Greek.

"Nevah! Wake the Hades up!" Annabeth roughly shook my shoulders. "I had a dream."

"Dream later, sleep..." I barely let out, a yawn cutting me off.

"It's about Percy." Annabeth softly told me.

"What?" I sat up quickly, looking at her with wide eyes. My heart started to beat rapidly in my chest. "Is he okay? Do you know where he is?"

"I don't know much, Hera sent it to me," Annabeth scowled and crossed her arms, " but she said to look for a guy with one shoe at the Grand Canyon."

"Then let's go." I swung my feet onto the ground, almost tripping over my backpack.

"Get dressed and wipe that trail of drool off your face. I'll tell Chiron. Meet me at the stables?" Annabeth had a soft smile at the mention of drool.

"I don't drool." I scoffed, wiping my hand against my chin. When a patch of wet drool met my hand, I pulled a face. Annabeth chuckled and rolled her eyes. "This is a one time thing."

"Sure." Annabeth hummed, walking out of the cabin.

"I don't drool!" I continued to defend myself, grasping my shirt to wipe more of the drool off of my face.

"See you in fifteen. By the way, we're picking up some demigods today, too. Gleeson Hedge reported two demigods from that same area." Annabeth closed the door behind her.

Still in denial that I didn't drool, I started to get ready. Pulling new clothes in and brushing my teeth, I made sure to do my routine quicker than usual. Not bothering to brush my hair to save time, I pulled it up into a high ponytail. I knew I was going to regret that later.

I grabbed my shield and stapled it to my back. I looked back at my bed and debated if I should make it. My foot tapped anxiously at the thought of wasting time and flicked my wrist at the messy bed. Closing the door behind me, I jogged towards the stables. Chiron, Annabeth, Will, and Butch were talking amongst themselves.

"You're going, right?" Clarisse asked me, shoving by campers to get closer.

"You bet I am." I gave her a determined nod.

"You sure you will be able to handle it? You just came back from a long trip late last night." Clarisse perked a brow.

"I'll manage. I need to be there to find my brother."

"Good luck." Clarisse gave my shoulder a squeeze and a curt nod.

"Keep the camp from going into chaos. I know Connor and Travis missed causing trouble here." I gave her a smirk, knowing some of their plans already.

"Thanks for the tip." She shook her head and held back a chuckle.

"Nevah, I swear to all the gods, if this chariot-" Will waved a finger in my direction.

"Will be in perfect shape!" I gave him a casual grin.

"That's not reassuring at all." Will muttered to himself, eyeing his precious chariot.

Butch was getting everything ready, leading pegasus to the chariot. Annabeth was still talking with Chiron.

Where are we going, My Lady? One of the pegasus questioned.

"We're getting my brother back and doing an extraction." I walked over to her and stroked her mane.

Why can't I go? I am more than qualified to pull a chariot! Angel Lili called out from the stables.

Butch raised a brow at me, noticing how dramatic Angel Lili was acting in the stables.

"I'll handle her, you finish getting things ready." I sighed, taking a hand down my face.

"Wait tell Blackjack hears." Butch warned me.

I groaned and made my way over to my pegasus. Blackjack should be arriving soon. It's best to calm Angel Lili down before the other came. Her nostrils flared in anger as she started to pick at the pen lock with her teeth.

"Angel Lili." I scolded.

You gotta let me go, too. Angel Lili stomped one of her hooves into the dirt.

"Angel Lili, look, we need you and -"

Yo, Boss Lady! Blackjack came trotting in, shaking his mane. Great. We're going to get the Boss?

"About that, actually-"

We're not going. Angel Lili huffed, her tail swishing behind her.

Woah, where not going? Blackjack looked at me with sadness in his eyes before determination flared.

"Now, before you two gang up on me." I had my hands extended to the two impatient horses. "I have a special assignment for you two. I don't. Fully trust this dream Hera sent Annabeth. You know how she is. So I need the both of you to continue to make rounds around the surrounding states if you can."

Fly and scope? Easy. We can do that, Boss Lady. Blackjack sent a nod towards me.

Will we receive sugar cubes and doughnuts? Angel Lili slyly bargained.

"I'll bring you some when you come back." I promised.

Alright, let's get this show on the road. Angel Lili lifted the lock before I could and trotted out of the stables with Blackjack following her lead.

I blinked as I watched them fly off into the sky. Butch called my name, waving me to join Annabeth and him on the chariot. I jogged towards them and hopped on.

"There better not be a single scratch on that chariot." Will narrowed his eyes.

"It'll be scratched free Solace. Promise." I gave him a grin.

"I don't think he believes you." Annabeth nudged me playfully.

"Who would?" Butch added, gripping the reigns.

"Rude." I huffed, gripping the sides of the chariot with uneasiness. "You know, maybe I should have asked Angel Lili to fly me instead."

"Oh don't be such a baby, you'll be fine. I'll fly at a safe height for you." Butch stated as he ordered the horses to fly.

I shriek escaped my mouth as the chariot started to ascend into the sky. The color in my face paled instantly as I saw the ground grow smaller. Zeus is for sure going to blast us, more specifically me, out of the sky.

"Just keep your eyes on the ocean, Water Girl." Butch suggested.

"This is going to be a long ride." Annabeth muttered as she patted my back.

🌊

My nerves started to settle when I saw the Grand Canyon below us. I was on the lookout for demigods and a satyr. Butch started to lower the chariot to get a better look. Below I saw a group of people point up at us.

"Remember to look for a guy with one shoe. That's what Hera said." Annabeth muttered.

"Down below on the skywalk, Butch! Do you see them?" I told him.

"Yup, landing in a few seconds." Butch steered the pair of pegasus to land on the skywalk.

Three teenage demigods stared at us with wide eyes. Two out of shock and one out of curiosity. I couldn't see Hedge anywhere. Annabeth hopped off the chariot and unsheathed her knife, running towards the group. I followed after her, leaving Butch to rein the horses.

"Where is he?" Annabeth demanded with her fierce grey eyes.

"Where's who?" The blonde boy asked.

"He has to be here. Where is he?" I stepped forward, my hand itching to grab my sword.  The boy just furrowed his brows. An ache settled in my heart. "He's not here...is he."

"What about Gleeson? Where is your protector, Gleeson Hedge?" Annabeth placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

She directed the question to the other boy and girl. The boy cleared his throat, not really knowing what to say.

"He got taken by some...tornado things." The Latino boy informed us.

"Venti," the blonde boy said. I raised a brow. "Storm spirits."

"You mean anemoi thuellai? That's the Greek term." Annabeth arched an eyebrow at him. "Who are you, and what happened?"

The blonde teen first informed us their names before he explained what happened from him waking up on a bus with no memory to a storm spirit named Dylan taking the satyr away. Butch had came over Galway through the story. He stood beside me with his arms crossed, sending the other demigods a glare.

"Annabeth..." I turned to look at her with disappointment in my chest. The ache so heavy, I could feel it growing in my throat. I knew I shouldn't have put so much hope in Hera's information.

"No, no, no! She told me he would be here. She told me if I came here, I'd find the answer." Annabeth's grip tightened on her knife.

"Annabeth, Nevah," Butch grunted and pointed towards the blonde teen's foot. "Check it out. The guy with one shoe. He's the answer."

"Him?" I pointed a finger at the amnesiac who looked offended. My jaw clenched in anger. A strong tug grew in my stomach as my fists balled into fists. "That's the guy who's going to help us? What the mighty hell, Hera!"

"No, Butch. He can't be. I was tricked." Annabeth glared at the sky with anger. "What do you want from me? What have you done with him?"

"Uh, is it just me or is there a huge wall of water rising from the canyon?" The new girl, Piper, pointed a shaky finger behind me.

The skywalk shuddered, and the horses looked at me with urgency.

Lady, the skywalk is unstable and the water is only making it worse.

"Sorry." I let my hold on the water go. There was a loud crash of the waves the echoed in the canyon. "They say the skywalk is unstable. We need to go."

"Annabeth, we gotta leave. Let's get these three to camp and figure it out there. Those storm spirits might come back." Butch informed.

Annabeth fumed silently.

"Fine." She gave the blonde teen a resentfully look. "We'll settle this later. Come on, Nev."

Annabeth turned on her heel and marched toward the chariot. She mumbled curses towards Hera. My hands were still shaking from anger.

"I can't believe- actually yes I can believe she would do such a thing. I am tired of this!" I felt the need to hit something. "That- that she would take him away from us just like that and then give us this-this blonde teenage shoeless guy as a clue!?"

I let out a frustrated scream, my hands clenching into fists again. Blood pounded in my ears as I could hear the rapid waves from below.

"Water Girl, chill a bit, 'kay? You're scaring the newcomers." Butch led the others onto the chariot. The new demigods eyes me warily as they climbed aboard. I sent him a withering look. "Alright hold on."

Annabeth took control of the navigation as Butch steered the horses. My hands gripped the edge of the chariot, my knuckles turning white as the chariot flew into the air.

"This is so cool!" Leo cheered. A pegasus feather flew into his mouth, causing him to spit it out. "Where are we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth answered. "The only safe place for kids like he. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Piper frowned. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"

"She means we're demigods." Jason. I looked at him curiously. "Half god, half mortal."

"You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom." Annabeth pointed towards me. I blew hot air out of my checks to calm down and sent them a sarcastic wave. "Nevah is the daughter of Poseidon, god of the sea."

"So that's how you controlled the water back there?" Piper pointed behind her towards the Grand Canyon.

"Yeah, that's just one thing I can do."

"I guess it makes sense as to why he calls you Water Girl." Jason said.

"I could've named her Quake, but then I think about the oatmeal brand Quaker's and that just makes me hungry all the time." Butch sent a cheeky grin my way.

"Shut up." I breathed out a chuckle, nudging him.

"Butch here is the son of Iris. The rainbow goddess." Annabeth continued.

"You're mom is a rainbow goddess?" Leo choked.

"Got a problem with that?" Butch asked.

"No, no. Rainbows. Very macho." Leo said.

"Butch is our best equestrian. He gets along great with the pegasi besides Nevah here." Annabeth stated.

"Rainbows, ponies." Leo muttered to himself as if he was in shock.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot." Butch warned.

"Demigods, you mean you think you're..." Piper seemed to pale at the thought. "You think we're-"

Lighting flashed and the chariot gave a shudder. I gripped the chariot even tighter, feeling as if my kicked would pop.

"Left wheels on fire!" Jason informed.

"I swear, Zeus..." I glanced behind us to see the Anemoi spiraling towards us in horse form. "Huh, that's a first."

"Why are they-"

"Anemoi come in different shapes." Annabeth cut off Piper. "Some times human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."

"Ah shit. Will is going to kill me." I groaned, rubbing my hand against my temple.

Butch flicked the reins. The Pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. In a second we were in a different place than we were moments before. A familiar grey ocean stretched to my left. Snow covered the fields, roads, and forests to my right.  Below is was camp full of green.

Annabeth and Butch tried to maintain control. The Pegasi labored to hold the chariot in a flight pattern, but they were already exhausted from their burst of spend along with the heavy weight of us all.

"It's too much for them." I looked at Butch with worry.

"The lake!" Annabeth yelled. "Aim for the lake!"

Butch and the pegasi followed her directions. I willed the water to rise towards us to slow the impact. I quickly unlatched the horses so they wouldn't get hurt. They quickly thanked me and flew to shore. As I controlled the water, campers started to come to shore. The tide rolled us safely into shore.

I hopped off and looked at the newcomers and my friends to see them shivering. Some of the cold water had splashed on them causing their clothes to be wet.

"Oops." I sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of my neck.

Some of the campers started to hand out towels and dry them with the leaf blower.

"Nevah! Annabeth!" Will pushed through the crow with his bow and quiver. He must have been practicing his archery. "I said you could borrow the chariot, not destroy it!"

"Hey! It isn't scratched!" I defended myself.

Will looked ready to throttle me.

"Will, I'm sorry." Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."

Will only scowled at the chariot's missing wheel. He glanced towards the new demigods.

"These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?" Will questioned.

"Claimed?" Leo asked.

"Any sign of Percy?" Will questioned, looking towards the water.

"No." Annabeth admitted.

The campers started to mutter amongst themselves. Some eyed me cautiously while others looked at me expectedly.

"I'm going to my cabin." I muttered to Annabeth in defeat.

She frowned, tilting her head as to say we'll talk later. The campers parted a way for me. The Stolls patted my back and stuck something into my hand. Nyssa gave me a soft smile of encouragement.

Exhaustion was wearing me down the closer I got to my cabin. On the trek to the cabin, I opened my palm to see blue candy. My heart swelled at the kind act the Stolls did. I opened the door and closed it behind me, tears streaming down my cheeks. A sniffle escaped from me as I trudged towards Percy's bed. I grabbed his pillow and laid down, hugging it tightly against my chest.

I missed him. I missed my older brother.

🌊

I didn't even realize I fell asleep. My eyes were puffy and bloodshot. There was a large wet spot on the bed from my tears. My stomach grumbled and I already knew I missed dinner and the campfire. There was a knock at my door before it slowly opened.

"Hey." Annabeth popped her head in. "Can we come in?"

"We brought food!" Rachel called out, shoving a plate above Annabeth's head.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "come on in."

"Here you go." Rachel handed me a plate that held a sandwich and chips. "We figured you would sleep past dinner so we saved you some food."

"Didn't expect you t sleep through the campfire, though." Annabeth sat down next to me, Rachel on the other side.

"Me either, to be honest. I guess all those late nights looking for Percy caught up to me." I muttered before taking a bite of the sandwich.

"You missed quite a lot." Rachel but her lower lip. "The three new demigods are all claimed and have a quest."

My sandwich fell back on my plate from shock.

"What?"

"Yeah, Jason is apparently the son of Jupiter." Annabeth held a calculating look in her grey eyes.

"Roman? It's there such things as Roman demigods?" I asked.

"Looks like it, Chiron won't say much." Annabeth stole one of my hips and popped it into her mouth. "Says he swore of the river of Styx motto talk about it."

"And Piper and Leo?"

"Daughter of Aphrodite and son of Hephaestus. And they leaving tomorrow to go save Hera." Rachel informed me.

"Save her? What trouble did she get herself into?" I grumbled and a girly bit into my food.

"She's trapped in some cage by a giant." Rachel answered.

"By the way," Annabeth stole another chip. I swatted at her hand. She only grinned and ate the chip. "I'm leaving in the morning to look for Percy. You want to come?"

"Before winter break ends? Yeah. I-I can't go back to Sally without saying I didn't try." I felt my eyes water. "I can't do that to her."

"You have been trying. You've looked all over the state and then tried to storm Olympus for crying out loud! You're trying Nevah, she Sally knows that." Rachel told me.

I slowly nodded.

"First thing in the morning, we're leaving okay?Oh! And Blackjack and Angel Lili have been trying to enter this cabin." Annabeth informed me.

"Ugh." I fell back into the bed.

Long chapter I know, but I thought you guys would like it 😁