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

Note: I can't believe I'm forgetting so many characters from previous chapters. Here's Grover, and just because I couldn't find one I liked with him alone, there's Juniper too.

"Whoa, sleepyhead." Piper said trying to calm down Jason.

"D-Detroit," Jason stammered. "Didn't we crash-land? I thought-"

"It's okay," Leo said. "We got away, but you got a nasty concussion. How are you feeling?"

"How did you-the Cyclopes-"

"Leo and Terra took care of that." Piper said.

"It was mostly Leo though." I pointed out.

"Jason, Leo is amazing. He can summon fire-"

"It was nothing," Leo said quickly.

Piper laughed. "Shut up, Valdez. I'm gonna tell him. Get over it."

While Piper started telling Jason about how freaking amazing Leo is, I talked to him.

"You know, that was pretty amazing." I said.

"It was nothing." He repeated.

"Ha. If that was 'nothing' I want to see what 'something' looks like." I folded my arms.

He gave a small smile.

"I hope you know that what you did out there was truly amazing. If I was Hephaestus, I'd be so proud of you. I bet even Beckondorf would be surprised at what you can do." I said.

"Did you know him?" He asked.

"No, I came to Camp this summer, right after the Titan War 2." I said.

"I thought demigods were supposed to be brought to Camp when they were 12 or 13."

"Yeah, that's what's supposed to happen, but it's just an average. And most averages have outliers. Like how Annabeth was brought to Camp when she was eight and how all of you guys came when you were-how old are you guys?" I asked.

"Sixteen."

"Yeah, sixteen."

I heard Piper tell Jason about the kid in the purple shirt that was eaten by the Cyclopes. It reminded me of how in my dream almost everyone was wearing a purple shirt.

"I'm not alone then," he said. "There are others like me."

"Yeah, I have no doubt about it." I said. They looked at me, and I continued. "I had a dream when I was unconscious. It looked like an Ancient Greek or Roman town, but I couldn't see any detail. There were lots and lots of people, and most of them were wearing purple shirts, even I was. People started going off about praetors and augurs. I was so confused, yet I felt welcome like I belonged there." I didn't want to talk about Octavian.

"So, does that mean you're like me? That we might be from the same place?" He asked.

"It might be, like I told Leo, I didn't come to Camp Half-Blood until this summer. But I didn't have amnesia. I can remember what had happened before I came to Camp." I said.

"Well, we got fake memories about each other, maybe the things that you remember are fake memories too. Well, probably until you got to Camp." Piper said.

"Yeah.......maybe." I said, hoping that wasn't true. That would mean my friendship with Will wasn't real. I loved Will like the annoying twin brother I never had. We got along so well.

Thinking of Will reminded me of the rumor that had been going around about him liking me. I had hoped it wasn't true. I liked Will, and all, but I wasn't ready for that kind of jump in our relationship. If Nico and I decide that we weren't meant to be together and go out separate ways, it'd be super awkward between us. I didn't want it to be like that between Will and I.

"I had a dream too, Hera was in it." Jason said, we all stared at him now. "I was with Hera in some sort of earthen cage. She couldn't get out, she said it was something like getting your foot caught in a bear trap? She said only I can find her and she's getting weaker by the day. She says her capture is the start of another war. That the earth is stirring more fiercely and that we're gonna need the gods to defeat them. But she said that the one who the giants' serve can't be defeated, only kept asleep. I heard wolves howling and then she said that I needed to hurry because her keepers were approaching. I asked her about what Boreas had said about her making a dangerous gamble. She said it was an exchange, that I was her gamble. And Terra. She said that we would be the bridge to overcome a millennia of hatred. That it was the only way to bring peace. That we can't be divided because it's what the enemy wants. Then she said something about how the only reason that we're living, Terra, is because she took our memories. She said I needed to return to my starting point, and that my sister would help."

I just sat there in shock. How was I Hera's gamble? What memories of mine are fake? Which ones are real? I had some really good memories of Will and I that I never want to forget.

"An exchange? What does that mean?" Piper asked.

Jason shook his head. "But Hera's gamble is me and Terra. Just by sending us to Camp Half-Blood, I have a feeling some kind of rule was broken."

"Something that could blow up in a big way." I continued the thought.

"Or save us," Piper said hopefully. "That bit about the sleeping enemy-that sounds like the lady Leo told us about."

Leo looked at me. He seemed to be asking a question, "Do you want me to tell them about you?" I shook my head. I knew he was talking about Gaea/Terra wanting me as her servant and how that was my mom's plan for me and the reason why she had named me Terra. I was still worried Jason would judge me. I don't know why I had an uneasy feeling towards him, but I do. It's strangely stronger than before.

Leo cleared his throat. "About that....she kind of appeared to us back in Detroit, in a pool of Porta-Potty sludge."

"Did you say.......Porta-Potty?" Jason asked.

"Trust me, it wasn't a pretty sight." I said scrunching my nose a bit. "Anyway, her real name is Gaea. She's the goddess of the earth."

Leo went ahead and told them about the big face in the factory yard. "I don't know if she's completely unkillable, but she definitely cannot be defeated by toilet seats. I can vouch for that." I laughed. "She wanted me to betray you guys, and I was like, 'Pfft, right, I'm gonna listen to a face in the potty sludge.'"

"She's trying to divide us." Piper said. I read nervousness all over her. Something's wrong and she's not telling us what it is.

"What's wrong?" Jason asked.

"I just .... Why are they toying with us? Who is this lady, and how is she connected to enchiladas?"

"Enchiladas? What would she have anything to do with Mexican food?" I asked seriously confused.

"No, Enceladus," Piper's voice quavered. "I mean....... That's one of the giants. Just one of the names I could remember."

"Yeah, he's supposed to be the demise of the goddess Athena. It would totally suck if we ever had to fight him. He's freakishly smart." I said. "But with our luck, we might eventually have to."

Piper looked to the side, my last comment seemed to have bothered her. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden?

"Didn't Old Potty Face mention another name? Porpoise Fear, or something?" Leo asked me.

"Haha. You mean Porphyrion? He's the king of the giants. Destined to destroy Zeus." I said.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess," Jason said. "In the old stories, Porphyrion kidnapped Hera. That was the first shot in the war between the Giants and the gods."

"Correct."

"Heroes and gods had to work together, that's what Hera told me." Jason noted.

"Kind of hard to do," Leo grumbled. "if the gods won't even talk to us."

"I concur." I said pointing my index finger at him.

Everyone went silent. There wasn't anything we could talk about anymore. I felt really awkward. I wanted to say "Hey!! Somebody say something that could lead us in the direction of a conversation!! I don't care if it ends up making us want to wring our hands around someone's neck and strangle them!!! Somebody, just please talk!!!!" But nobody did. I just continued in my awkward feeling that no one else appeared to be having.

We flew west, and after what seemed like the longest time ever, we broke through the clouds. Below us was a city at the end of a massive lake, glittering in the winter sun. A crescent of skyscrapers lined the shore. Behind us, stretching out to the western horizon, was a vast grid of snow-covered neighborhoods and roads.

"Chicago," I heard Jason say.

"One problem down," Leo said. "We got here alive. Now, how do we find the storm spirits?"

I saw Jason follow something around the sky, and judging from how he was following it, it was super fast and went through the town to. Let me guess, he spotted a storm spirit.

"How about we follow that one, and see where it goes?" Jason suggested, pointing off at the location of the storm spirit.

Festus dove into the town and I grabbed onto Leo. We tried to follow it, but I was afraid that we might loose it. The ventus moved like......... well, the wind.

"Speed up!" Jason urged.

I wasn't agreeing with that idea.

"Bro," Leo said, "if I get any closer, he'll spot us. Bronze dragon ain't exactly a stealth plane."

"Slow down!" Piper yelped, I agreed.

The storm spirits dove into the grid of downtown streets. Festus tried to follow, but his wingspan was way too wide. His left wing clipped the edge of a building, slicing off a stone gargoyle before Leo pulled up.

"Get above the buildings." Jason said.

"Good idea." I wheezed, out of breath from nearly dying.........again.

"We'll track him from there."

"You want to drive this thing?" Leo grumbled, but did what Jason had asked.

Later on I saw another one in the streets. It had blasted around the corner of the Renaissance Hotel and linked up with the first.

"Oh great, Piper said. "There's two."

The two storm spirits wove together in some sort of chaotic dance, shooting to the top of a skyscraper, bending over a radio tower, and diving back down toward the street.

"Those guys do not need any more caffeine." Leo said.

"I guess Chicago's a good place to hang out," Piper said. "Nobody's going to question a couple more evil winds."

"More than a couple," Jason said. "Look."

The dragon circled over a wide avenue next to a lakeside park. Storm spirits were converging-at least a dozen of them, whirling around a big public art installation.

"Which one do you think is Dylan?" Leo asked. "I wanna throw something at him."

"Who's Dylan? Why do what to throw something at him?" I asked confused.

"He's the storm spirit that attacked us a the Grand Canyon. He threw me over the terrace." Leo said with a look of hate on his face.

I stared at the the group of venti. "Can I freeze his face if I ever meet him?" I asked.

"Sure" Leo said while Piper said "No."

We stared at Piper.

"What?" She asked.

"Fine, I'll just give him severe frostbite in his toes........I mean-if he even has any, being a storm spirit and all."

The art installation ahead was a public fountain. Two five-story monoliths rose from either end of of a long granite reflecting pool. The monoliths seemed to be built of video screens, flashing the combined image of a giant face that spewed water into the pool. As I watched the fountain, the image on the screens changed to a woman's face with her eyes closed........Gaea. Or is it Terra?? I don't know, but whatever form she's in I'll whoop her earthen butt.

"Leo.... Terra....." Jason said.

"Yeah, I see her," Leo said. "I don't like her, but I see her."

"I can't wait for the chance to whoop her earthen butt." I said repeating my thoughts.

Then the screens went dark. The venti swirled together into a single funnel cloud and skittered across the fountain, kicking up a waterspout almost as high as the monoliths. They got to it's center, popped off a drain cover, and disappeared underground.

"Did they just go down a drain?" Piper asked. "How are we supposed to follow them?"

"Maybe we shouldn't," Leo said. "That fountain thing is giving me seriously bad vibes. And aren't we supposed to, like, beware the earth?"

I felt the exact same way, but we had no real other choice. We had to find Hera, now in only two days. That reminded me that my birthday was almost coming to. What a great birthday present, right?

"Put us down in that park," Jason suggested. "We'll check it out on foot."

Festus landed in an open area between the lake and the skyline. The signs said Grant Park, it looked like a winter wonderland. The tree's had icicles hanging from the trees and snow laid on the ground like a white, fluffy blanket. The dragon's hot metal feet hissed as they touched down. Festus flapped his wings unhappily and shot a column of fire into the air, luckily there was no one around to notice. The wind coming off the lake felt good against my skin, it sent warm vibes throughout my body. It must have been cold though, because I could see Jason starting to shiver.

We dismounted Festus and the dragon stomped his feet. One of his ruby eyes where flickering, so it looked like he was trying to wink at us.

"Is that normal?" Jason asked. I was wondering the same thing.

Leo pulled a rubber hammer from his tool belt and whacked the dragon's bad eye. The light went back to normal.

"Yes," Leo said. "Festus can't hang around here, though, in the middle of the park. They'll arrest him for loitering. Maybe if I had a dog whistle....."

Leo rummaged through his amazing magical tool belt, but came out with nothing in his hand.

"Too specialized?" he guessed. "Okay, give me a safety whistle. They got that in lots of machine shops."

This time, Leo pulled out a big plastic orange whistle. "Coach Hedge would be jealous!"

I was about to ask who Coach Hedge was, when I remembered he was the saytr that had helped them get to Camp Half-Blood. He had been taken by a storm spirit. It was probably that Dylan dude that they hated so much.

"Okay, Festus, listen." Leo blew the whistle. The shrill sound probably rolled all the way across Lake Michigan. "You hear that, come find me, okay? Until then, you fly wherever you want. Just try not to barbecue any pedestrians."

The dragon snorted-hopefully in agreement. Then he spread his wings and launched into the air.

Piper took one step and winced. "Ah!"

"Your ankle?" Jason asked. "That nectar we gave you might be wearing off."

"It's fine." She shivered, which meant that it wasn't.

She took a few more steps, trying not to grimace.

"That's it." I said fed up with the idea of Piper trying to save Hera on a broken ankle. I took off my backpack and set it on the ground to get some medicine and ambrosia for Piper.

"What's it?" Leo asked.

I pulled out the pack of slightly squished ambrosia and a bright, almost neon, vile and one of those eyedroppers. I walked over to Piper.

"Eat this." I handed her a piece of ambrosia and waited for her to finish. "Open." I said, and she opened her mouth. I dropped two drops of the green liquid on her tongue.

Piper gaged. "What was that?"

"Medicine. Only supposed to be used in times of great need. And if we're going to be chasing storm spirits on foot. You're gonna need it. Not to mention we need to save Hera too." I put the vile, bag, and eyedropper in my backpack, closed it, and slung it back over my shoulder.

"What are you? A daughter of Apollo?" Leo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ha. No, I'm friends with a son of Apollo. With how accident-prone I am, he kind of found teaching me healing lessons important." I said remembering all the times Will stepped in when I was hurt from training. I missed his smile, his funny jokes, and the walks on the beach without shoes on we had.

"Let's get out of the wind," Jason suggested.

"That sounds great." I said. The wind was dry and made my lips start to crack. I rummaged in my pack for chapstick.

"Down a drain?" Piper shuddered. "Sounds cozy."

I silently laughed to myself as I rubbed my lips together and enjoyed the feeling of moisture. "Anyone need chapstick?"

Piper and Jason nodded, so I handed them their own tube to keep with them.

"You sure you don't want one Leo?" I asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I could probably get one from my belt." He searched a pocket, and pulled one out. "Apparently they have these in a lot of workshops," and he dropped it back in.

Everyone, except me, bundled up as much as they could. Piper needed a sturdier jacket, so I decided to make one for her, one that would reflect body heat. I handed it to Piper and she took it hesitantly, but she smiled as she slipped on one of the sleeves so I must have done a good job.

According to a plaque on the side of the fountain, it was called Crown Fountain. Luckily, all the water had emptied out and there were only a few puddles here and there that I decided to freeze for the well being of our feet. It didn't feel right to me that the fountain would have water in it during the season of winter. Then again, those big monitors had flashed the face of my least favorite goddess, Queen Dirt Face. Nothing about this place felt right at all.

We stepped into the center of the pool. No storm spirits came to stop us, and the giant monitor stayed dark. The drain the storm spirits had gone through we're big enough for a person, but sense I was kind of skinny I had plenty of elbow room to go down the ladder that led down into the gloom where another monster was probably planning our downfall. Well, whatever monster we'd find down there, I will personally rearrange their face for them. I mean, if they have one.

Jason went first, then Piper, then me, and then Leo came in last. I braced myself for terrible sewer smells, mostly breathing through my mouth. When it did come, it wasn't that bad actually. The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.

When we had all gotten down Piper asked, "Are all sewers this nice?"

"No," Leo said. "Trust me."

"Wait, what?" I asked.

Jason frowned. "How do you know-"

"Hey, man, I ran away six times. I've slept in some really weird places, okay? Now which way do we go?"

Jason tilted his head, almost like a dog, and then pointed south. "That way."

"How can you be sure?" Piper asked.

"There's a draft blowing south," Jason said. "Maybe the venti went with the flow."

It seemed pretty logical, and I guess Jason knew what he was talking about since he's a son of Zeus and can fly. I'm kinda jealous of Jason. It seems like things come easily to him. He also has so many amazing powers. I freeze stuff and when people think cold they think evil, but Jason......... He can FRICKIN' fly!

Unfortunately, as soon as we started walking, Piper stumbled. Jason caught her. Now he has perfect reflexes, great.

"Stupid ankle," she cursed.

"Let's rest," Jason decided. "We could all use it. We've been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?"

"Thought you'd never ask. Chef Leo is on it!"

"Piper, I'm gonna need to prop up your leg. The medicine and ambrosia need to be able to work it's magic so you can fight." I said as her and Jason sat down.

"Okay." She said.

I leaned down next to her foot, and lifted it up softly with my left hand so I could make some sort of pillow with my right. It came out really well and seemed very plush. I gently rested her foot on the pillow.

"How's the jacket working for you?" I asked.

"Great, even though it's made out of ice, it's very warm." She said smiling.

I smiled back and nodded my head. Then I walked over to Leo who was putting together a small cooking fire.

"How you doing Chef?" I asked squatting down next to him.

"Good," he lit the coals on fire. "Hey could you pull out a frying pan from my belt and some meat and start cooking it?"

"Sure, what are we making?" I asked as I reached into the belt that he had laid on the floor.

"Tacos. And make sure to get some tofu for Pipes." he said as he heated up a platform for the pan with his fire powers.

The room was getting a little warm from the fire and I had to refrain from cooling the temperature. I may be immune to freezing temperatures, but my friends aren't. I got a wooden spoon out from the belt and started cooking the meat. I added spices here and there and red and green bell peppers. Leo was cooking the tortillas to give them that "U" shape. The smell of taco meat was starting to fill the air and I just realized how hungry I really was. I had a few granola bars here and there, but I wanted son e real food. My mouth started to water and the sizzling of the meat made it irresistible.

Soon the meat was done and I had to cook up the tofu for Piper. Leo had all the other parts of the tacos ready and started putting some together. When the tofu was ready, I got the pan off the stove and helped Leo make the last taco and then pile them onto plates. He had apparently made some chips and salsa to go with the tacos, I thought that was a nice touch.

"And bingo!" Leo said as we walked over to Piper and Jason.

We had one plate in each hand. Leo gave the tofu tacos to Piper and I gave the other plate in my hand to Jason. I saw the expressions on their faces and knew we had just interrupted an important conversation between those two. I felt awkward and bad that we had ended their talk that probably would have gone somewhere progressive.

"Leo, Terra," Piper said in amazement. "How did you-?"

"Chef Leo's Taco Garage is fixing you up!" he said proudly.

"Oh! So we're naming it after you? What about me?! I'm apart of this too!" I said jokingly.

He smiled and rolled his eyes. "Fine then, how about Leo and Terra's Taco Garage? Is that better?"

"Yes, yes it is." I said sitting down next to him.

Piper eyed her taco like it might have a bomb hidden in it, then I remembered that she's a vegan. She probably thought we had given her a taco with actual meat.

"And by the way, it's tofu, Pipes, so don't freak. Dig in!" I said after finishing my first bite.

We all had a great time eating the tacos. We talked a bit and laughed, despite the fact that we were in a cold sewer and both physically and emotionally beat. When we had finished Jason had encouraged that Piper should get some sleep, so she took a nap on his lap. I never knew Piper could snore so loud, but it didn't seem to bother Jason. Leo and I looked at each other and tried to hold in laughs.

Leo handed us some lemonade that he had made out of canteen water and powdered mix.

"Good, huh?" Leo grinned.

"You two should start a stand," Jason said. "Make some serious coin."

"Thanks." I said.

Jason starred off into the flames of the fire, and it looked like something started to bother him.

"Leo.....about this fire stuff you can do......is it true?" Jason asked

Leo's smiled faltered. "Yeah, well..." He opened his hand. A small ball of flame burst to life, dancing across his palm.

"Wow." I said. The flames in his hand looked so pretty and I felt a little sad when he made it disappear.

"That is so cool," Jason said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Leo looked at the ground. "Didn't want to look like a freak."

"A freak? Dude, I can make things out of ice and summon blizzards." I said opening my hand and let snowflakes float out from my hands and into the air.

"I have lightning and wind powers," Jason reminded Leo. "Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. You're no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell, 'Flame on!'"

Leo snorted. "If I did that you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than 'Flame on!'"

I laughed as I pictured that.

"Trust me," Leo said with a look of despair on his face. "Hephaestus cabin doesn't see fire powers as cool. Nyssa told me they're super rare. When a demigod like me comes around, bad things happen. Really bad."

"Maybe it's the other way around," I suggested. "Maybe people with special gifts show up when bad things happen because that's when they're needed most."

Leo cleared away the plates. "Maybe. But I'm telling you....it's not always a gift."

Something inside me sympathized, like I knew how that felt.

"Your talking about your mom, aren't you?" Jason asked. "The night she died."

I wanted to go over to Jason and slap him as soon as I saw the expression on Leo's face. Jason had pressed to hard on Leo. Leo didn't answer.

"Leo, her death wasn't your fault. Whatever happened that night-it wasn't because you could summon fire. This Gaea, has been trying to ruin you for years, mess up your confidence, take away everything you care about. She's trying to make you feel like a failure. You're not. You're important." Jason said, trying to reassure Leo.

"That's what she said." Leo looked up, his eyes full of pain. I wanted to just wrap my arms around him and give him a big hug. "She said I was meant to do something important-something that would make or break that big prophecy about the seven demigods. That's what scares me. I don't know if I'm up to it."

I felt so bad for Leo, you could feel his pain and suffering in the air. I placed my hand on his knee. "It'll be okay. We'll be here for you, and we won't let anything happen to you. Ever." I said firmly. It wasn't army firm, it was softer than that. But it was firm enough to make me sound serious (because I was) and super reassuring at the same time. Even though I wasn't a daughter of Aphrodite, I could give a really reassuring piece of advice or pep talk.

He looked me in the eyes and sensed my seriousness. He placed his hand on mine and sent an electric current up my arm. He gave a small smile, "Thanks."

Then he leaned over and poked at the remains of the fire, turning over red-hot coals with his bare hand. But he used his right hand to do that, his left hand was still on mine and I was so glad that he kept it there. He sat back up again. I twisted my hand around to where my hand was holding his hand, not his knee. He tightened his grip on my hand, like he was worried I would fly away like Jason.

"Do you guys ever wonder about the other three demigods? I mean..... if we're four of the ones from the Great Prophecy, who are the others? Where are they?"

I've thought about that before at some random times in the day or before I'd fall asleep. I had a strong feeling that Percy and Annabeth were two of them.

"I don't know," Jason said. "I guess the other three wi show up when the time is right. Who knows? Maybe they're on some other quest right now."

Leo grunted. "I bet their sewer is better than theirs."

I lightly chuckled. Leo smiled a little bit. The draft picked up, blowing toward the south end of the tunnel.

"You get some rest, guys." Jason said. "I'll take first watch."

Leo and I didn't object. I cuddled up next to Leo and rested my head on his shoulder, then I felt him rest his head on mine. I gave his hand a squeeze and he squeezed my hand back. I smiled and went to sleep.