(Disclaimer: all of this belongs to Rick Riordan, except for Terra. I made her up.

Note: Next up! The boy behind the jokes........Leo!!!!)

I was woken up by a certain knock on my door.

"Uhh! Annabeth! I want to sleep for a little while longer!" I shouted.

I rolled back over in my bed.

The door opened. "Not today, Terra. Get up."

"At least give me time to get dressed!" I say, slowly getting out of bed.

I walk to my dresser and put on light blue jeans, sneakers, one of my Camp Half-Blood t-shirts, and my jacket I wore last night.

Last night. It was a really fun night. Well, except the part about...

I forced myself not to think about it. It led to unpleasant memories.

I walked over to the door and opened it to find the sun barely rising.

"Uh. Annabeth. Really? This early? You better have a good reason."

"Yes, I do." She smiled.

I just noticed Jason was with her. What did he want?

"What did I do now?" I asked.

Jason laughed a little. "You didn't do anything wrong, I just want to ask you to join Piper, Leo, and I on our quest. Annabeth said you'd be a great help and that we can trust you. I hope she's right." He said.

I was in total shock. My jaw had dropped and I was just starring at him. I know it must have looked weird, and it must have made him feel awkward, but I didn't care at all.

"Me? You want me to join? On your quest?" I asked to make sure I was hearing right.

"Yes." Jason said.

"One second." I said, and went back inside.

I quickly made myself a better quest outfit. Hiking boots, tough jeans, tough t-shirt, and a winter jacket. I made it stylish, just for fun. Not to mention they were all different colors of light teal and blue. I had ice armor underneath it, but you couldn't tell that I did. With my powers, my clothes would be able to change the color to fit my surroundings. But it would have to be like snow, ice, or clouds, or anything blue.

I made a very sturdy backpack and put a good amount of ambrosia and nectar in it. I knew I could make ropes and all other medical/survival equipment with my powers. I packed ointments that Will had given me for such a case and I packed granola bars and trail mix.

I didn't need bottles of water, I just needed empty bottles. I would fill them with really soft snow and it would melt on it's own, creating perfectly good drinking water.

I looked at my mangy hair and had to really think of how I should fix it. I quickly put my hair in a braid that went down the side of my head and into a tight bun on the other. It seemed like it would hold for a long time.

I walked back to the door and opened it to my first quest.

"Ready." I told Jason.

"Good, for a second I thought you didn't want to come." he said.

"Bye Annabeth, good luck finding Percy." I said giving her a hug.

"You come back alive. That's an order. I couldn't stand having you gone while Percy's missing." She begged.

I think I was about to cry. No, stay strong Terra. You'd look like a fool.

"I'll try. You stay alive too." I paused so I wouldn't cry. "We'll find Percy. He's alive. I can feel it."

Annabeth nodded, but then a huge bronze dragon came out of nowhere. It was the faulty dragon that had been setting our camp on fire and eating the satyrs.

I ran up to it, my ice bow aimed at it's glowing red eyes, ready to attack, But something stopped me.

"Leo?!" I asked.

There was Leo, sitting on top of that bronze death machine with the craziest grin on his face. The alarm was already up. Satyrs were running everywhere screaming, "Don't eat me!" Half of the camp was running outside in their pajamas and armor.

The dragon landed in the middle of the green when Leo yelled, "It's cool! Don't shoot!"

I watch the archers hesitantly lower their bows and all the warriors back away slowly, but keeping their swords and spears ready.

"It's beautiful," I heard Piper mutter.

I look at her like she's crazy, but when I looked back at the dragon, I noticed that it really was beautiful. In a fiery, bronze way. The eyes I had been aiming at don't look viscous anymore, they look like glowing rubies.

Then it shoots a column of fire up in the sky, and I remember why it's not welcome. I aim back at it's eyes. Chiron told my that the eyes were the best bet.

Leo slid off and raised his hands like he was surrendering, but was still grinning like a maniac. He was covered in grease and oil, but it made him look even cuter. It showed what a hard worker he was, that he didn't mind getting dirty.

"People of Earth, I come in peace!" He shouted.

If it had been a normal day, I would have laughed, but this was no laughing matter.

"What in the world Leo?!" I shouted at him.

I walked up to him and gave him a furious glare.

"That is a monstrous killing machine! And you expect us to just let it sit here and shoot fire everywhere?!?!?" I said, my hands gesturing wildly.

"Festus is just saying hello!" he smiled.

I just noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and he had a new tool belt.

"Festus? You named it Festus?!" I asked.

He named that killing machine after his father? And his father's a god! why would he do that?

"That thing is dangerous!" Clarrise shouted. "Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" Jason ordered.

He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and Nyssa.

Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement. "Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride!" Leo beamed. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

"It-has wings," Nyssa stammered. Her jaw looked like it might fall off her face.

"Yeah!" Leo said. "I found them and reattached them."

"But it never had wings. Where did you find them?"

Leo hesitated. He was definitely hiding something.

"In...the woods," he said. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?" I asked.

The dragon's head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of oil poured out of his ear and onto Leo. I was too close and some got dumped on me. I somehow got it off with my powers.

"Is that supposed to happen? You call that fixed?" I asked him.

"Just a few kinks to work out," Leo said.

"But how did you survive....?" Nyssa was still starring at the creature in awe. "I mean, the fire breath...."

"I'm quick," Leo said. "And lucky. Now am I on this quest, or what?"

I got suspicious. I remember my assumption of him having fire powers. I had a feeling that this justified my accusation.

Jason scratched his head. "You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, 'festus' means 'happy'? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"

I actually started to laugh.

The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings.

"That's a yes, bro!" Leo said. "Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the-um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."

I made my bow disappear.

Jason frowned. "But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just-"

"Go," Annabeth said. She was the only one who didn't look nervous at all. Her expression was sad and wistful, I could tell that it reminded her of her quests with Percy. "Jason, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!"

Jason nodded. Then he smiled at Piper and I. "You ready guys?"

We looked up at the dragon, Piper answered first.

"You bet," she said.

"Sure." I said finally.

"Wait, she's coming with us?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" I asked him.

"No, I just-" Leo was interrupted by Will.

"Terra!" He ran up to me. "Why didn't you tell me you were going on the quest?" He asked.

"Sorry, Will. I just learned that I was tagging along this morning." I told him.

He put a hand on my shoulder. "Be careful. Got the ointments I gave you?"

"Sure do. I'll come back, I promise." I gave him a smile.

He smiled weakly back.

"Oh, come on, Will." I said dragging him in to a hug.

It was quick, but I could tell that Will didn't want me to go.

"Bye, Will." I said, getting on the dragon behind Leo.

Piper got on after me and Jason got on last.

"Before we set off, hook your feet into the chinks of armor. You know, like stirrups. And there's these leather safety harnesses hidden under the exterior plating. So, if your scared of heights, or anything, buckle up." Leo told us, showing us the foot holds and the hidden harness.

"Okay, here we go." Leo flicked these leather reins and the dragon became airborne.

I got a little scared. Okay, a lot. But try not freaking out when your not exactly used to very high heights and riding on a freaking death machine.

I had to grab onto something, but that something was apparently Leo. I had wrapped my arms around to reasure myself that we weren't going to fall, but I didn't know it was him until he said something.

"Uh, you okay there, Terra?" he asked.

I opened my eyes, and realized what I had done. I let go of him and calm down.

"Yeah, sorry. I just don't really like heights." I said.

"Or the dragon." I thought.

I really don't like this dragon. He's been a nuisance to the camp for so long. Did you know he even tried to eat me?! Yeah.

He was heading for Grover and I ran in front of him to protect him. He sprayed fire at me, but I sprayed ice at it back. There were several situations were he would have eaten me if I didn't move over those three inches.

Percy ran to my aid. I wouldn't have been able to hold the thing off. Back then, I wasn't that prone to heat. I was loosing. The ice was just melting off the dragon. He was able to wash away the dragon and help me to safety.

I miss Persassy so much. That was my nickname for him. Since he's so sassy. Persassius Jackson. I hope Annabeth's able to find him.

"What if he is dead? You know Percy isn't invincible." I thought.

Don't think like that! No, he isn't dead. I can feel it. He's alive somewhere out there. Somewhere.

The view was incredible. I could see all of Long Island from here. The clouds were a light winter grey, and we're right next to them.

I held onto the harness with my left hand and ran my right hand through the clouds. It felt nice and cold. I noticed that everyone was shivering, except for me.

Leo grinned back at us. "Cool, right?"

"What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.

"The Mist," I answered. "It keeps mortals from seeing us. To keep us and them safe. It changes what they see into something a mortal brain could comprehend. They might look at us and see a small plane. Or at my sword," I create my sword. "And think it's a baseball bat or a really long stick."

"You sure about that?" she asked me.

"Heck yeah, but there are very few mortals that can see through the mist. One of them is my dad." I said.

I didn't want to say the last part, but it just came out.I had learned that he could see through the mist soon after I had entered camp.

"We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight." Jason said.

"Where, exactly, is that?" I asked.

"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."

I remembered something I had thought earlier. "Why do you need me on this quest?"

"Well, the god of the North Wind is your godly grandfather, and it's winter. Also, Annabeth said you'd be a great help. She said you practically know everything she does." Jason answered.

I laughed. "Know everything she does? She said that?"

He nodded.

I laughed again. "She's been at that camp ever since she was eight and she's the daughter of Athena. How could I ever know everything she does?"

I had accidentally said that part out loud when I thought it.

We were quiet for a long time, just sitting there watching the towns rush by and all the clouds and birds flying by. It was the most beautiful winter sight I have seen so far.

A flock of some kind of bird was flying by. It was really out of season. I was able to pet one before it flew away. The feathers were quite soft and it was an awfully pretty bird.

Our nice silence was interrupted by Leo, "Shut up, me,"

"What?" Piper and I ask at the same time.

"Nothing," he said. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

Uhh. I was a little scared after his remark about hallucinating. I look back at Piper and Jason to see the same scared expressions. It wasn't pleasant having a sleepless, hallucinating dragon driver.

"Just joking. So what's the plan, bro? you said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?" Leo asked.

We flew over New England as Jason laid down the game plan. First, we had to find my grandfather, Boreas, and get the information we need-

"His name is Boreas?" Leo asked. "What is he, the God of Boring?"

I laughed a little. "I hope not, he is my grandfather."

I think I'm the only one that thinks Leo is funny. Nobody else ever laughs when I do.

Back to the plan. Second, we had to find these venti that had attacked them at the Grand Canyon-

"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."

I couldn't help but laugh again.

Finally, we had to find out who the storm spirits work for, so we could find Hera and free her.

"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose," Leo said. "The guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."

"That's about it," Jason said. "Well...there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."

"Great." I said sarcastically.

Jason told us about a dream he had-the big nasty mother wolf and a burned-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.

"Uh-huh," Leo said. "But you don't know where this place is."

"Nope," Jason admitted.

"There's also giants," Piper added.

"The prophecy said the giants' revenge." I said.

"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants-like more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"

"I know right?" I muttered.

"I don't think so," Piper said. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."

"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about giants? Didn't you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad? And you could help too, Terra."

"You're dad's and actor?" Jason and I ask Piper.

Leo laughed. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia, Jason. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."

My mind exploded.

"Really?" I turn to Piper. "You dad's amazing. I can see a resemblance now."

She have me a nice smile. "Thanks."

"Uh- Sorry, what was he in?" Jason asked.

"It doesn't matter," Piper said quickly. "The giants-well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if I'm thinking of the right ones, they were bad news."

"You definitely got that right," I said. "They were huge, and almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. They were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth when Kronos lost the first Titan war, thousands of years ago. The giants tried to destroy Olympus. If the prophecy is talking about the same giants-"

"Chiron said it was happening again," Jason remembered. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details."

Leo whistled. "So....giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the right time to bring up my psycho babysitter."

"Is that another joke?" Piper asked.

Leo told us about Tia Callida, who was really Hera, and how she had appeared to him at camp.

I stopped him right there. "Wait, what did she look like?"

"Leathery slightly tan skin, black dress, black head covering, dark expression."

"Auntie June." I whispered.

"What?" Jason asked.

"I had a crazy babysitter when I was little too. Her name was Auntie June, but she matches the description of Tia Callida." I told them.

Jason winced and rubbed his temples when I said Auntie June.

Then I had a huge mind explosion, to where my head started to hurt.

"Ah!" I grabbed the sides of my head.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked.

I wanted to tell them what I had just realized in my head, but the air around me filled with electricity.

"Don't you dare tell them." A voice whispered in my head.

So I decided not to. I had a feeling I would be shocked to death if I did.

"Crazy too, huh? What would she do to you?" Leo asked.

"Oh, well the memories are foggy but I think she stuck me in the freezer once," I say slowly, "when I was three. It was cold, I could remember that, but I don't think I minded. Then I remember my father opening the freezer, probably to get something for dinner, the surprised look on his face when he saw I was in there and still alive. He yelled at her so much. I think she did that one more time before getting fired. I'm not sure, but it makes sense now, you know, having ice powers. The really weird thing was is that she'd call me her little heroine. She'd sing to me about warriors and fighting. It was weird, but if it was Hera, I guess it makes some kind of sense. I mean, we are going to save her, and being a goddess and all, she'd probably know the future."

Leo shook his head. I tried to see his expression. From what I saw he was shocked.

"Sorry for interrupting your story, finish." I told him.

He continued and told us about the night his mother died. The machine shop had collapsed, but before that, a strange earthen woman appeared to him. He said that she seemed to be asleep and know the future. I could have sworn I've heard of this lady before. I kept trying to think who it was, but my brain didn't want to work.

We passed over the whole state of Massachusetts before anyone decided to talk.

"That's..........disturbing," Piper said.

"B'out sums it up," Leo agreed. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So I'm wondering.....why are we doing this?"

"She chose us," Jason said. "All four of us, even you, Terra. We're the first of the seven who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

My heart was racing. Am I a part of the seven?! Am I really?! I'm gonna go down in history! Aww yeah!

But there was that cautious part of me that told me that I didn't want to be excited about this and I didn't want to be here.

"Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera-"

"Not a good trade-off," Piper agreed. "At least Hera is on our side-mostly."

"Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive than the Titan War." I said.

Jason nodded. "Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all-something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods-"

Awesome, it sounds like my birthday will be great this year.

"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."

"But who is she?" Jason asked. "And what does she have to do with giants?"

Leo looked back at me. "Have any idea of who this Dirt Woman is?"

I strained my memory. Tried to remember all of the Greek mythology. I couldn't find the name. I know who it is I just can't remember.

"I know who she is, Annabeth has told me about her. I just...can't remember the name. It's like something doesn't want me to figure out what's going on. She's like the earth godde-" a huge migraine hit me hard, "AHH!"

I grabbed my head. It felt like 10 pound bricks kept slamming into my head from a 100 foot drop. The pain was overwhelming. I needed to reach into my pack and pull out the right vial. It would stop the pain instantly. But I can't. The slightest movement sends more pain down my spine.

"My backpack.....open it." I manage to say.

It hurts so bad, but I need to get that medicine.

Piper gets my backpack open and looks through the vials.

"Which one?" She asks.

"Agh!! Pink!" I screamed.

It felt like my skull was splitting open. I could feel my powers going out of control. Leo trying to keep the dragon airborne, Jason super shocked and trying to help Piper find the right one.

"Got it!" She exclaimed and opened it for me.

It took the biggest amount of energy to grab the vial and drink some of it. I can feel myself shaking. The medicine worked instantly and I felt peaceful. It was like birds were chirping while the sun rose up after a good nights rest. I sighed in relief.

"Where's the cap?" I asked Piper.

She handed it to me.

"What was that?" She asked as I screwed on the cap and put it in my pack.

"A really fast working medicine used for searing pains. I got it from Will, this guy from the Apollo cabin-"

"No, no, no. The huge searing pain thing you just went through." She corrected me.

"Oh." I said.

I didn't really know how to answer that. I had no idea either.

"I-I don't really know. It just.....happened. Someone didn't want us to know something. Someone with a lot of power. I could feel the power of the person as I moved. I felt like-like if I had continued to think about it, I would have been vaporized. It felt like bricks were being chucked at my head with great force." I shuddered as the feeling is replayed in my mind.

"We're obviously facing a very powerful being. We need to be very cautious." Jason instructed.

"Thanks Captain Obvious." I muttered.

Leo must have heard because he smiled. I remembered the amount of sleep he was lacking. He was also shaking a little bit. This must be a little overwhelming for him. He's probably a little scared, especially after my seizure-like migraine.

"Why don't you get some sleep? You deserve it." I said rubbing his back the way that gets you really sleepy.

"You won't let me fall off?" he asked groggily.

"Why would I want to get rid of the only person who knows how to fly this thing?" I reassured him.

"Right," he muttered and leaned up against the neck of the dragon.

When I was absolutely positive he was out of it, I started playing with his curls. I know what your thinking. I'm insane and in a total stalker-like mode, but you try not playing with a bunch of curls in front of you while your totally bored out of your mind. And I couldn't resist, his curls are so bouncy.

I could already see the expression on Piper and Jason's face.

I kind if got lost in his facial features. The way he breathed in and out through his nose, but his mouth still hung open a little. The way he looked so relaxed while he slept.

A piece of hair fell in front of his face and I calmly brushed it away and put it behind his ear. Or I tried to, the strand was to short to stay behind his ear.

I looked back at Jason and Piper to see if they noticed, and judging from the looks on their faces, they had been watching the whole time.

I blushed and looked away. The snowy forests came to an end and then turned into a town on a cliff, overlooking a river. The plains around it are dusted with snow, but the city looked like it was glowing warmly. I know this is Quebec.

I had to wake up Leo. I hadn't kept track of how long it's been, but my guess is about five hours.

"Hey, wake up Sleeping Beauty. We're here." I shook him awake.

"Shouldn't that be Piper's nickname?" He pointed out.

"Sure." I said and shrugged my shoulders.

He looked at Quebec. "Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop."

I looked back at Quebec and laughed. It really did look like Santa's workshop.

"Yeah, Quebec City," Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"

I was impressed. She was definitely very smart for a daughter of Aphrodite.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Your dad do a movie about that too?"

She made a face at him, but it really didn't work with her glamorous makeup from her mom. "I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead."

"Feisty!" Leo said. "So you know so much, what's that castle?"

"A hotel, I think."

I laughed. "No way."

Leo looked back at me with that crazy grin on his face. I was confused at first, but then realized we had laughed at the exact same time and spoke at the same time too.

Why does this happen to us? I'm confused. This is kind of creeping me out.

We got closer to the castle and I noticed that it really was a hotel.

"The North Wind is staying in a hotel?" Leo said. "That can't be-"

"Heads up, guys," Jason interrupted. "We got company!"

I looked down and saw two winged figures, rising from the top of the tower. They looked like angry angels with nasty-looking swords.

Festus didn't like the angel guys, and neither did I. As he swooped to a halt in midair and bore his talons I created my signature bow and arrows, and just in case, I made my ice sword in a hilt on my hip.

"Steady, boy," Leo muttered as Festus made a grumbling noise in his throat.

"I don't like this," Jason said. "They look like storm spirits."

I thought Jason was right, until they got closer. I've seen a picture of a venti before, and they are more transparent than these guys. These, whatever they are, are solid. They looked like totally normal teenagers except for their icy white hair, similar to mine, and purple wings. Their bronze swords are jagged, like icicles. Their faces looked similar enough that they could have been brothers, but they definitely weren't twins.

One was the size of an ox, with a bright red hockey jersey, baggy sweatpants, and black leather cleats. The guy clearly had been in too many fights, because both of his eyes were black, and when he bared his teeth, some of them were missing.

The other one, oh gosh kill me! The guy looked like he had just stepped off of one of my dad's 1980's rock album covers. Bleeargh! Journey? Maybe Hall & Oates, or maybe something even lamer. His ice white hair was in the worst mullet I've ever seen, he wore pointy-toed leather shoes, designer pants that were way too tight, and a gods-awful silk shirt with the top three buttons open. Maybe he thought that he looked like a groovy love god, but he couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds, and had a bad case of acne.

The guys pulled up in front of the dragon and stayed there, swords at the ready.

The hockey ox grunted. "No clearance."

"'Scuse me?" Leo said.

"You have no flight plan on file," explained the acne covered rock star. On top of his other problems, he had a French accent so bad I could tell instantly that it was fake. "This is restricted airspace."

"Destroy them?" The ox showed off his gap-toothed grin.

I aimed my arrow at him while Festus hissed steam and Jason summoned his gold sword, but Leo cried, "Hold on!" He pushed my bow down. "Let's have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"

I don't know why, but I looked at Leo. Man did he look cute the way he was buying us time. Wait, what?

I looked back at the two idiots blocking our way and gave them menacing looks. The skinny one looked a little scared, but the big one looked pleased and grunted happily at me.

"I am Cal!" The ox grunted. He looked very pleased with himself, like he'd taken a long time to memorize that sentence.

"That's short for Calais," the love god said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables-"

"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.

"Which includes his own name?" I guessed.

"Yes." He nodded glumly.

"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"

"Wow," Leo said. "That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go!"

Cal grunted, obviously pleased with himself. I snickered quietly and I saw Leo give a small smirk.

"Stupid buffoon," his brother grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes."

I coughed to hide a laugh.

"And these ladies here-" He winked at me and Piper, but it looked like his face had a seizure. I rolled my eyes. "They can call me anything they like."

"Anything?" I asked smirking. I was thinking of some names that I really wanted to call him. Leo caught on and was trying not to laugh.

I don't think Zethes caught on and he gave me what I'm guessing was a seductive smile. "Why of course. Perhaps you two would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?"

Piper made a sound like gagging on a cough drop. "That's....a truly horrifying offer."

I started laughing at Piper's expression. "I'm fine. I lost my appetite as soon as I saw-"

Jason gave me a glare and I tried to figure out how to finish.

"Aaas soon as I saw.......a-a dead animal on the side of the road down there." I tried to cover up.

Zethes must be pretty stupid, because he didn't seem to know what I was going to say or that I intended to make fun, like Leo.

"It's no problem." Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. "We are very romantic people, we Boreads."

"What?!" I said.

These idiots are my uncles??????

"Boreads?" Jason cut in. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"

"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes looked pleased. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace on creaky dragons, scaring the silly mortal peoples."

He pointed below, and I could see the mortals were pointing up at the dragon in confusion and annoyance. Not yet fear.

"Which is sadly why, unless this is an emergency landing," Zethes said, brushing his hair out of his acne-covered face, "we will have to destroy you painfully."

"Destroy!" Cal agreed, with a little more enthusiasm than I thought was necessary.

"Wait!" Piper said. "This is an emergency landing."

"Awww!" Cal looked so disappointed I almost felt sorry for him.

Zethes studied Piper, which of course he'd already been doing to both of us. "How does this pretty girl decide this is an emergency, then?"

"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" She forced a smile, which I figured must have been killing her; but she still had that blessing of Aphrodite thing going on, and she looked great. She was also charm speaking.

I nodded when Zethes looked at me, giving him what hopefully looked like a realistic facial expression of "Yes! Yes! This is totally true!"

Zethes picked at his shirt, probably making sure it was still open wide enough. "Well.....I hate to disappoint lovely ladies like you two, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you-"

His sister? That must be Khione! Mom!

"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper added. "It could crash any minute!"

Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilled gunk out of his ear, splattering a black Mercedes in the parking lot below.

"No destroy?" Cal whimpered.

Zethes pondered the problem. The he gave Piper another spasmodic wink. "Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right. A malfunctioning dragon-this could be an emergency."

"Destroy them later?" Cal offered, which was probably as close to friendly as he ever got.

"And your sister, she's Khione, right?" I asked.

"Why, yes." Zethes said.

"She's my mother! I'm Terra, daughter of Khione. I'm sure she won't have a problem if it's just my friends and I." I explained, hoping my mother was that kind of person.

He seemed to ponder this too. "Actually, I think she would be quite excited to see you."

I had a little party in my mind.

"It will take some explaining," Zethes decided. "Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."

My uncles (ugh, not a title I like to use) sheathed their swords and pulled out those flashlights with the orange cones. You know, the things that traffic controller guys on runways use. Cal and Zethes turned and swooped toward the hotel's tower.

Leo turned to us. "I love these guys. Follow them?"

Piper and Jason didn't look eager.

"Heck yeah! I so wanna hang out with that Zethes guy, he's so hot." I said super sarcastically.

I got them all to laugh.

"Ha. If there's anyone who's hot around here, it's me." Leo said sounding so confident of himself.

My heart wanted say "Heck yes! Leo Valdez, stay with me forever!", but I didn't let it. I barely know the guy.

"I guess we'll follow them," Jason decided. "We're here now. But I wonder why Boreas hasn't been kind to visitors."

"Pfft, he just hasn't met us." Leo whistled. "Festus, after those flashlights!"

As we got closer to the tower, I got worried that we would crash into it. Cal and Zethes made right for the green gabled peak and didn't slow down. Them a section of roof slid open, revealing an entrance easily wide enough for Festus. The top and bottom were lined with icicles like jagged teeth.

"This cannot be good," Jason muttered.

Leo spurred the dragon downward, and the swooped in after the Boreads.

We went inside and it looked like a penthouse suite got hit by a flash freeze. I loved the feeling of the temperature dropping as we landed.

Leo slid off and I heard a crunch when he landed. I was about I slide off, but he held out his hand to me. I was surprised and a bit shocked, but I took it. I was able to slide off smoothly, but when I landed, there was no crunch. Leo and I had confused looks on our faces.

"Must have something to do with having ice powers." I said shrugging.

"Guys," Leo said. "fix the thermostat in here, and I would totally move in."

"Not me." Jason looked uneasily at the staircase. "something feels wrong. Something up there..."

Festus shuddered and snorted flames. Frost started to form on his scales.

"No, no, no." Zethes marched over, though how he could walk in those pointy leather shoes, I had no idea. "The dragon must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair."

Festus growled and spun his drill-bit teeth.

"'S'okay, boy." Leo turned to Zethes. "The dragon's a little touchy about the whole deactivation concept. But I've got a better solution."

"Destroy?" Cal suggested.

"No, man. You gotta stop with the destroy talk. Just wait."

"Leo," Piper said nervously, "what are you-"

"Watch and learn beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds if buttons. Some, you do not want to know what they do. But others....Ah, here we go."

Leo hooked his fingers behind the dragons left foreleg. He pulled a switch, and the dragon shuddered from head to toe. We all backed away as Festus folded like origami. His bronze plating stacked together. His neck and tail contracted into his body. His wings collapsed and his trunk compacted until he was a rectangular metal wedge the size of a suitcase.

Leo tried to lift it, but failed. It didn't seem like it weighed that much. "Um.....yeah. Hold on. I think-aha."

He pushed another button. A handle flipped up on the top, and wheels clicked out on the bottom.

"Ta-da!" he announced. "The world's heaviest carry-on bag!"

"Whoa!!" I said in amazement and started checking it out.

"That's impossible," Jason said. "Something that big couldn't-"

"Stop!" Zethes ordered. He and Cal both drew their swords and glared at Leo.

Out of reflex, I made my bow disappear and I unsheathed my sword.

Leo raised his hands. "Okay....what'd I do? Stay calm, guys. If it bothers you that much, I don't have to take the dragon as carry-on-"

"Who are you?" Zethes shoved the point of his sword against Leo's chest. "A child of the South Wind, spying on us?"

"What? No!" Leo said. "Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!"

Cal growled. He put his face up to Leo's. "Smell fire," he said. "Fire is bad."

I got a little ticked off at this point.

"Oh. Yeah, well.....my clothes are kind of singed, and I've been working with oil, and-"

"No!" Zethes pushed Leo back at sword point. "We can smell fire, demigod. We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And I still smell fire....on you."

I hoped nobody heard me gasp. This almost totally confirms that he has fire powers. Leo looked scared, like he really didn't want to be in this situation. So I helped, and besides. I like him, and I didn't like seeing him being held at sword point.

"Zethes, it's okay." I said in a soothing tone, hoping to copy the sound of charmspeak. I lowered his sword. "Leo's a good guy. How about this: since you smell fire on him, and I have ice powers, I'll stay with him and make sure he doesn't melt anything. Does that sound good?"

He seemed to take this in very good. I saw Piper out of the corner of my eye, raise her eyebrows in amusement and whisper something to Jason.

"That is a great offer, but what if you rebel?" Zethes asked, putting his sword back at Leo's chest.

Ugh, sometimes being a daughter of Aphrodite would be nice.

Jason stepped forward, gold coin in hand, eyes on Zethes. "Look, there's been a mistake. Leo isn't a fire guy. Tell them, Leo. Tell them you're not a fire guy."

"Um...."

"Zethes?" Piper tried her dazzling smile again, though she looked a little too nervous and cold to pull it off. "We're all friends here. Put down your swords and let's talk."

"The girl is pretty," Zethes admitted, "and of course she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I cannot romance her this time." He poked his sword point farther into Leo's chest, and I could see the frost spreading slowly on his shirt.

"Zethes!" I say, a little panicked, as I push Leo backwards to safety and push Zethes' sword down.

I really hate myself for what I'm going to do next.

"Zethes." I say calmer and seductive, sour to my ears, but apparently sweet to his because he starts to blush a little.

I get a little to close to him for comfort, which is like 3 or 2 feet away. I try so hard to focus on his eyes and not the surrounding acne. Even his eyes were somewhat repulsive.

"Look, nothing's going to happen. Everything will be just fine. Trust us, trust me. Nothing will go wrong, nothing will set on fire. Everything will be great." I say every word seductively.

At this point I'm four inches away from his face, my hands locked in his after he had dropped his sword in the middle of my painful message.

I was trying to act like I was a daughter of Aphrodite. I was trying to think sexy. Trying to act sexy.

On the outside my expression said:

"Hey there, handsome. Be my forever and I'll be yours. I'm so pretty."

On the inside I was saying:

"Ahhgggg! What are you doing?! This dude is so freaking ugly!!! Get away from him! Run!! Run!!!Run off with Leo!!! Get out of there!!! Leave!! Agh!!!!! My eyes!!!!!!!!"

I could hear all of them trying not to laugh.

Zethes' face was bright red from blushing and he was smiling like he's never seen a girl do this before (which I bet is totally true).

"Okay. I trust you." Zethes said still in total shock, enjoying what I'm doing.

I was ready to throw up. Not literally, but emotionally.

"Destroy him now?" Cal asked.

This question snapped Zethes out of his daze and he let go of my hands to get his sword.

I stepped back to where Leo was and let a shudder run down my spine. I sighed in relief and in disappointment. I was glad that it was over, but I think I had just lost what I was trying to get out of him.

"Nice try." Leo said giving me a thumbs up.

It looked like he was laughing, but there also seemed to be something else. Annabeth had taught me to read emotions. But his wouldn't show, there was something there that was unnerving him, but what?

Zethes nodded. "Sadly, I think-"

"No," Jason insisted. He sounded calm enough, but I could tell he was about two seconds away from flipping that coin and give both of those idiots a good lesson. "Leo's just a son of Hephaestus. He's no threat. Piper here is a daughter of Aphrodite. You already know that Terra is a daughter of Khione. I'n the son of Zeus. We're on a peaceful.."

Jason's voice faltered because both of the Boreads had suddenly turned on him.

"Um....yeah," Jason said. "That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason."

Cal looked so surprised, he almost dropped his sword. "Can't be Jason," he said. "Doesn't look the same."

Zethes stepped forward and squinted at Jason's face. "No, he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me-but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago."

"Wait," Jason said. "Your Jason...you mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?"

"Of course," Zethes said. "We were his crewmates aboard his ship, the Argo, in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then we accepted immortality to serve our father, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey."

"Hockey!" Cal agreed.

"But Jason-our Jason-he died a mortal death," Zethes said. "You can't be him."

"I'm not," Jason agreed.

"So, destroy?" Cal asked. Clearly the conversation was given his two brain cells a serious workout.

"No," Zethes said regretfully. "If he is a son Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for."

"Watching for?" Leo asked. "You mean like in a good way: you'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a bad way: he's in trouble?"

A girl's voice said, "That depends on my father's will."

I looked up the staircase and it took me three long seconds to figure out who that young girl was.

"Mom?!"