✦ ༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ⁿᵒᵗ ᶠʳⁱᵉⁿᵈˢ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍪 — 017. dreams, outfits and giants.

ISA DREAMED OF A STORE. On the outside it looked like every other convenience store Isa saw around New York when Chiron let her visit Vivi. She walked up to it, reading the hand-painted sign over the door: RAINBOW ORGANIC FOODS &LIFESTYLES.

"Oh, you got to be joking." she muttered, but pushed the door opened.

As she stepped through the door, lights came on. Flute music started up like she'd walked onto a stage. The wide aisles were lined with bins of nuts and dried fruit, baskets of apples, and clothing racks with tie-dyed shirts and gauzy Tinker Bell–type dresses. The ceiling was covered in wind chimes. Along the walls, glass cases displayed crystal balls, geodes, macramé dream catchers, and a bunch of other strange stuff. Incense must have been burning somewhere. It smelled like a bouquet of flowers was on fire. 

Isa walked through the empty store, stopping here and there to look around. She knew where she was and who was the owner of the shop, but she didn't really want to meet them right now.

She walked through the produce aisle, between rows of eggplants, kiwis, lotus fruit, and pomegranates and finally arrived at the back of the store, where, behind a counter with an old-fashioned cash register, stood a middle-aged woman with olive skin, long black hair, rimless glasses, and a T-shirt that read: The Goddess Is Alive! She wore amber necklaces and turquoise rings. She smelled like rose petals. 

"Mother."

"Darling!" she walked from behind the counter, which was lined with dozens of little statues —waving Chinese cats, meditating Buddhas, Saint Francis bobble heads, and novelty dippy drinking birds with top hats, and came to hug the girl, "So glad you're here." 

"What is happening? How are you in my dream? Isn't Olympus closed?"

"Oh, it's closed off, but I don't really like to follow Zeus' orders, now do I." Iris said, unwrapping her hands from around Isa, "Would you like something? Maybe these chocolate cakes? They are gluten-free, no-sugar-added, vitamin-enriched, soy-free, goat-milk-and seaweed-based cupcake simulations."

"Um. . . maybe some other time."

"Right, right," Iris said, "You were freefalling. Blacked out. And now you're here. Just in case, you're only dreaming, my dear. If anyone wonders, I wasn't here. M'kay?"

"Okay. . ." the girl cleared her throat, "So, why are you in my dream."

"Oh, to talk of course! Come here." she led her daughter to a café table at a bay window. "I really don't like what Hera is doing, but she took a very big risk ─ an exchange. I do agree it had to be done, but it's still too early. Zeus has kept two sides divided for so long, but you need each other to accomplish the task that is ahead of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about, my dear. You are much smarter and stronger then you put yourself to be. Think about it more. Think of the enemy who could destroy the whole Olympus ─ it's not Kronos, he 's gone for now. Think more older, someone who has the power to open doors into the deepest parts of the earth."

Iris waited, as if she could sense Isa slowly putting together the pieces of a puzzle, which made a dreadful picture.

Isa made a face, "Please no. The Great Prophecy just ended."

"So you know?"

"Gaea," Isa breathed out. "The earth itself. That's our enemy." 

"I knew my only daughter would be the smartest. She has slumbered for eons, but she is slowly waking. Even asleep, she is powerful, but once she wakes. . . we will be doomed. You must defeat the giants before that happens, and put her back into her slumber. Otherwise the rebellion has only begun. The dead will continue to rise. Monsters will regenerate with even greater speed. The giants will lay waste to the birthplace of the gods. And if they do that, all civilization will burn."

"But Gaea? Mother Earth?"

"Do not underestimate her," Iris warned. "She is a cruel deity. She orchestrated Ouranos's death. She gave Kronos the sickle and urged him to kill his own father. While the Titans ruled the world, she slumbered in peace. But when the gods overthrew them, Gaea woke again in all her anger and gave birth to a new race ─ the giants ─ to destroy Olympus once and for all."

"The giants' war. And it's happening again."

"The result will depend on you, all of you: The nine greatest demigods must be gathered to defeat the giants, and that effort will not succeed without you. When the two sides meet. . . you will be the helping hand. You will always see the brighter side in the bloodshed."

"What two sides?"

"You will know soon," Iris said, "But now you need to defeat the giants that are standing in your way. The line of the prophecy is bothering you: Daughter of colors will brighten your day, and be the light to your darkest days. . ."

"Yeah," Isa sighed, "I mean, I know I can focus an intensive beam of prismatic light, but that is only when sun is there, I can't do it on my own."

"But you can use other sources to get the sun," Iris said, "Think about it. A star is a hot, glowing ball of gas. When you look up in the night sky, you can see countless twinkling stars. But, can you see any stars during the daytime? Of course! The light of daytime comes from our closest star: the Sun." the goddess took her daughter's hand into her own, "Use stars, their power, to help you in creating the beam of light. It's something only I can do, and I'm happy to share it with you."

"But. . . when will I use it?"

Iris gave her a small smile, "You'll know when."

And the dream faded.

"Mother!"

Isa woke up at the sound of Piper's voice, and someone bumping their knee against the table. She looked around. It was a sunny morning. The air was brisk but not unpleasant for sitting outside. At the other tables, a mix of bicyclists, businesspeople, and college kids sat chatting and drinking coffee. She could smell eucalyptus trees. Lots of foot traffic passed in front of quaint little shops. The street was lined with bottle-brush trees and blooming azaleas as if winter was a foreign concept .In other words: she was in California. Her friends sat in chairs around her ─ all of them in new clothes.

"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 furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you wearing?"

Piper blushed. She was wearing a white t-shirt with sakura tree on it that was tucked into a pair of baggy jeans and black leather boots on her feet. The girl had on a silver charm bracelet, with rings decorating her finger, and a snowboarding hanging from her shoulders. Piper pulled out Katoptris, and judging from the reflection in the blade, she'd gotten her hair done, too.

"It's nothing," Piper said. "It's my ─ It's nothing."

"Aphrodite strikes again, huh?" Leo decided on saying, "You guys gonna be the best-dressed warriors in town."

The dark-haired girl looked down and instantly gasped. She wore a white top with thin straps hanging on her shoulders, along with pink colored, cropped cardigan draped around her shoulders and pink checkered skirt along with white knee-high boots. Her necklace still there. Isa grabbed a spoon from the table and saw that her hair was done in a half and half style with white bow holding the hairstyle. Not comfortable for fighting, but Aphrodite did know how to make someone feel beautiful.

The black-haired girl didn't seem to realize that Piper was looking at her with a fond smile and redden cheeks. When the girl looked up and towards Piper, she looked away quickly, muttering something that wasn't audible to Isa. Red jumped in Isa's lap and she laughed slightly seeing the white collar with bowtie on it.

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

"What. . . oh."

Leo was wearing black checkered pants that looked flowy, a white collarless shirt that had few buttons unbuttoned at the top exposing his collarbone that was loosely tucked into the pants, and his tool belt. Leo looked embarrassed.

"Love the fit, Valdez." Isa grinned.

Leo rolled his eyes.

"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 gave me something simple."

Jason was dressed simply in ripped jeans, a simple blue colored sweater, with jean jacket over it. He had new track shoes on, and his hair was newly trimmed. The only accessory Jason supported was a silver chain around his neck.

"What a coincidence," Isa said, "Blue is Freya's favorite color."

Isa grinned when she saw Jason blushing.

"How did we get here?" Piper asked.

"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."

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

"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 brought out the money. 

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 9 a.m. on December 21, 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, Isa knew. It was probably much bigger up close. And appearances were deceptive too.

They were 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. 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. "Now ─ what's our game plan?"

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.

"Hey, I'm just saying!"

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

By the look on Piper's face, Isa knew that she was hiding something, much like everyone present at the table. She told them about their real enemy: 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's 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. She couldn't help looking up at the blue sky, wondering if it had eyes.

"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."

"Great memories of that war," Isa said, crossing her arms over her chest, "Thanks for reminding me of that event."

Leo cleared his throat, "Sorry, Isa."

Gleeson continued, "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. Isa lost her appetite and pushed the plate with her sandwich away. She didn't want to remember that war; the fact they lost so many campers that battle, some that Isa was close to.

"Definitely not Snow White," Piper decided.

"Nah, Kronos was a bad guy," Hedge said. "But Gaea is literally the mother of all bad guys. She's so old and powerful, so huge, that it's hard for her to be fully conscious. Most of the time, she sleeps, and that's the way we like her ─ snoring."

"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."

Isa looked at Piper. The girl had her head low, looking down at the coffee in front of her. She tried not to think of the idea of fighting a giant even though they had to. But, just the fact that Gaea was behind it ─ a force more powerful than a god or 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?"

The taxi didn't take them all the way to the top. The cab made lurching, grinding sounds a sit 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 was the first one out and everyone followed. The wheels of the cab were sinking into the road like it was made of quicksand. Not fast ─ just enough to make the driver think he had a transmission problem or a bad axle ─ but they knew different. The road was hard-packed dirt. No reason at all it should have been soft, but already Isa's shoes were starting to sink. Gaea was messing with them.

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-classsu burbs, shops, and schools.

"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."

"Jace?" Isa said, "You remember something? You've been here?"

"Yes. . . no." he gave her an anguished look. "It just seems important."

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

Leo tried to move his foot, but his heels were now completely embedded in the dirt. "Hey, guys," he said. "Let's keep moving."

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. From a distance, Isa had thought it was a cloud, but it wasn't. Something was burning.

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

Isa had fought a giant before, but she forgot just how afraid she was and that adrenalin was flowing though her veins.

They were hiding behind a wall of rock, it's shadow falling over them. 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 setup 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 ─ a hydraulic ax.

The giant Enceladus was so large, so horrible, Isa didn't want to look at him and not made herself think of bad memories. But she forced himself to focus on the monster.

To start with, he was thirty feet tall ─ easily as tall as the treetops. Isa 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. 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 ─ "

Leo elbowed him. "You're not charging him alone!"

"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 Isa couldn't make out his face, but Piper didn't seem to have any doubts. "Dad," she said.

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

"Did you miss the fact that he's thirty fucking feet tall?" Leo asked.

"Gleeson, I fought a giant before," Isa said, "Don't underestimate them."

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

They all looked at Jason.

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

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

They'd never really talked about it, but no one disagreed, not even Hedge. Coming this far had been a team effort, but when it came to a life-and-death decision, they knew Jason was the one to ask. 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.

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

Not a good chance. Not even a survivable chance. Just their best chance. 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. Leo brought out of his tool bag something small and Isa could practically see a lightbulb above his head.

"Let's boogie," he said. "Before I come to my senses."

niki speaks!

i updated this story!!??
what!!??
i surprised myself too
but i do need to say that may
and june are months
that i probably won't update
cause i need to prepare for my
finals and collage entrance exam
all which are in june

have a nice day/night!
bye!