OF COURSE JASON GRACE was fighting a loosing battle, considering his opponent was literally a giant. When his lance snapped, eliciting a fiery golden explosion that shook the entire mountian, his friends (and Blaire) knew that they had to save him— or else he'd probably die. Meaning, for once, Jason Grace wasn't the one playing saviour.

  Jason was sitting at the rim of a crater. Enceladus stood at the other side, staggering and confused. The javelin's destruction had released so much energy, it had blasted a perfect cone-shaped pit thirty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick glassy substance. Blaire was not sure how Jason was still alive, but she didn't have much time to think of that, because Piper and Leo were charging into action.

  Blaire wasn't exactly sure what either of them had planned, until Leo shouted, "Heads up!" And swung a large black metal wedge into the giant, sending him toppiling to the earth below, sliding into the pit.

Piper rushed over to Jason. "Jason, get up!" She called, and Blaire could tell she was using charm speak. She helped him to his feet.

  Blaire joined Leo, standing by his side, over a damaged peice of construction equipment—a long cannonlike thing with a single massive piston, the edge broken clean off.

    Enceladus was struggling to rise, an ax blade the size of a washing machine stuck in his breastplate.

  Amazingly, the giant managed to pull the ax blade free. He yelled in pain and the mountain trembled. Golden ichor soaked the front of his armor, but Enceladus stood.

  Shakily, he bent down and retrieved his spear.

  "Good try." The giant winced. "But I cannot be beaten."

  As they watched, the giant's armor mended itself, and the ichor stopped flowing. Even the cuts on his dragon-scale legs, which Jason had only recently inflicted, were now just pale scars.

  Blaire and Leo jogged over to the other two, staring in shock at the rising giant.

  "What is it with this guy?" Leo questioned, exsasperated. "Die, already!"

  "My fate is preordained," Enceladus bellowed. "Giants cannot be killed by gods or heroes."
 
  "Only by both," Jason said. The giant's smile faltered, and Blaire saw in his eyes something like fear. "It's true, isn't it? Gods and demigods have to work together to kill you."

  Great. They were going to die. The gods didn't care, they wouldn't help the mortals, not even in such an urgent situation. Not even when the aforementioned mortals were their children.

  "You will not live long enough to try!" The giant started stumbling up the crater's slope, slipping on the glassy sides.

  "Anyone have a god handy?" Leo asked nervously.

  Blaire was about to speak up, to tell him the god's would much rather let them die, but Jason beat her to it.

  "Leo," Jason said suddenly, "if you've got a rope in that tool belt, get it ready." He leaped at the giant with no weapon but his bare hands.

  "Enceladus!" Piper yelled. "Look behind you!"

   It was an obvious trick, but her voice was so compelling, even Blaire bought it. The giant said, "What?" and turned like there was an enormous spider on his back.

   Jason tackled his legs at just the right moment. The giant lost his balance. Enceladus slammed into the crater and slid to the bottom. While he tried to rise, Jason put his arms around the giant's neck. When Enceladus struggled to his feet, Jason was riding his shoulders.

  The other three demigods watched with wide eyed and bated breaths from a distance away.

"Get off!" Enceladus screamed. He tried to grab Jason's legs, but Jason scrabbled around, squirming and climbing over the giant's hair. He looked to be deep in thought and Blaire suspected he was praying to his father.

Suddenly they could smell the metallic scent of a storm. Darkness swallowed the sun. The giant froze, sensing it too.

Jason yelled to his friends, "Hit the deck!"

And they did, just in time.

Crack!

It all happened so fast. Lightning surged through Jason's body, straight through Enceladus, and into the ground. The giant's back stiffened, and Jason was thrown clear. He was slipping down the side of the crater, and the crater was cracking open. The lightning bolt had split the mountain itself. The earth rumbled and tore apart, and Enceladus's legs slid into the chasm. He clawed helplessly at the glassy sides of the pit, and just for a moment managed to hold on to the edge, his hands trembling.

He fixed Jason with a look of hatred. "You've won nothing, boy. My brothers are rising, and they are ten times as strong as I. We will destroy the gods at their roots! You will die, and Olympus will die with—"

The giant lost his grip and fell into the crevice.

The earth shook. Jason fell toward the rift.

"Grab hold!" Leo yelled.

Jason's feet were at the edge of the chasm when he
grabbed the rope, and Leo, Piper and Blaire pulled him up.

They stood together, exhausted and terrified, as the chasm closed like an angry mouth. The ground stopped pulling at their feet.

For now, Gaea was gone.

The mountainside was on fire. Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. Blaire spotted a helicopter—maybe firefighters or reporters—coming toward them.

All around them was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth, but Blaire figured they would re- form soon enough. Monsters always did. Construction equipment lay in ruins. The ground was scarred and blackened.

Coach Hedge started to move. He sat up with a groan and rubbed his head. His canary yellow pants were now the color of Dijon mustard mixed with mud.

He blinked and looked around him at the battle scene. "Did I do this?"

Before Blaire was able to tell him that he had nao part in the cause of the destruction, Hedge picked up his club and got shakily to his feet. "Yeah, you wanted some hoof? I gave you some hoof, cupcakes! Who's the goat, huh?"

He did a little dance, kicking rocks and making what were probably rude satyr gestures at the piles of clay.

Leo cracked a small smile, then broke into hysterics. Jason and Piper were quick to follow, and Blaire would be lying if she said she didn't allow herself to slightly grin. It was a relief— being alive after everything that had happened and she found herself glad to be in Jason, Piper and Leo's presence for the first time.

  The moment of childish vulnerability was soon over though because a man stood up across the clearing. Tristan McLean staggered forward. His eyes were hollow, shell-shocked, like someone who'd just walked through a nuclear wasteland.

  "Piper?" he called. His voice cracked. "Pipes, what—what is—"

  He couldn't complete the thought. Piper ran over to him and hugged him tightly, but he almost didn't seem to know her.

  Blaire watched them with sad eyes. A father and his daughter embracing— it was all she'd ever wanted for herself. But she couldn't have that. No matter what she did, she'd never be able to experience that again.

  "We need to get him out of here," Jason said.

  And he was right. Mr. Mclean He had too many memories, too much trauma his mind just couldn't handle. He was coming apart.

  "Yeah, but how?" Leo asked. "He's in no shape to walk."

  Jason glanced up at the helicopter, which was now circling directly overhead. "Can you make us a bullhorn or something?" he asked Leo. "Piper has some talking to do."

  PIPER HAD EASILY convinced the pilot to let them borrow the Helicopter. She needed only a few words through Leo's improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain. The Park Service copter was big enough for medical evacuations or search and rescue, and when Piper told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to the Oakland Airport, she readily agreed.

  "No," her dad muttered, as they picked him up off the ground. "Piper, what—there were monsters—there were monsters—"

  She needed all three of the teenagers help to lift him off the ground, while Coach gathered their things. Fortunately he had put his pants and shoes back on, so they didn't have to explain the goat legs.

  Seeing Piper's dad— a grown man— so vulnerable and helpless made Blaire sad. He must've been through a ton. And Blaire assumed he'd never be the same again.

"It'll be okay, Dad," Piper said, and it was obvious she was using her charmspeak. "These people are my friends. We're going to help you. You're safe now."

  He blinked, and looked up at helicopter rotors. "Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms ..."

  When they got him to the bay doors, the pilot came over to help. "What's wrong with him?" she asked.

  "Smoke inhalation," Jason was quick to suggest. "Or heat exhaustion."

  "We should get him to a hospital," the pilot urged.

  "It's okay," Piper denied. "The airport is good."

  Yeah, the airport is good," the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she'd changed her mind. "Isn't he Tristan McLean, the movie star?"

  "No," Piper demanded. "He only looks like him. Forget it."

  "Yeah," the pilot said. "Only looks like him. I—" She blinked, confused. "I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going."

  Blaire, for the first and most likely last time, was incredibly thankful for Piper's charmspeak.

  Finally they got him on board, and the helicopter took off. The pilot kept getting questions over her radio, asking her where she was going, but she ignored them. They veered away from the burning mountain and headed toward the Berkeley Hills.

  As Piper and her father shared a deep conversation concerning the events from the last few days and Tristan's new found trauma, Blaire found herself looking away from the two in respect.

  She sat beside Leo, who was fidgeting with a lug nut from his belt. Jason gazed at the valley below —the roads backing up as mortals stopped their cars and gawked at the burning mountain. Gleeson chewed on the stub of his carnation, and for once the satyr didn't look in the mood to yell or boast.

  Blaire looked down at her hands and cracked a small almost maniac grin, seeing they were coated with the clay remains of the montsers.

  She was alive. Somehow the last monster had just erupted. She wasn't sure how, or why. But it did. And she was incredibly greatful.

For a while, the plane was silent besides the charming lull that was Piper's voice speaking to her father, recounting their adventures and trying to lull him back into sanity.

   As they passed over the hills into the East Bay, Jason tensed. He leaned so far out the doorway Blaire thought he might fall.

  He pointed. "What is that?"

  They all looked down but didn't find anything intresting —just hills, woods, houses, little roads snaking through the canyons. A highway cut through a tunnel in the hills, connecting the East Bay with the inland towns.

  "Where?" Piper asked.

  "That road," he said. "The one that goes through the hills."

  Piper picked up the com helmet the pilot had given her and relayed the question over the radio. The answer wasn't very exciting.

  "She says it's Highway 24," Piper reported. "That's the Caldecott Tunnel. Why?"

  Jason stared intently at the tunnel entrance, but he said nothing. It disappeared from view as they flew over downtown Oakland, but Jason still stared into the distance, his expression almost as unsettled as Piper's dad's.

  "Monsters," Tristan said, a tear tracing his cheek. "I live in a world of monsters."

  WHEN THEY UNLOADED on the tarmac, they all looked to Piper for instructions.

  "What now?" Jason asked.

  The Mclean girl hesitated for a moment, before deciding, "First thing. I—I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."

   They all seemed pretty dissapointed at this. Except Blaire.

  "Oh," Leo murmured. "I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here."

  "Pipes, no." Her dad had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around his shoulders. But he stumbled to his feet. "You have a mission. A quest. I can't—"

  "I'll take care of him," Coach Hedge stepped in, surprising them all.

  Coach Hedge was the last person any of them expected to step in for such a job.

  "You?" Blaire scoffed in disbelief.

  "I'm a protector," Gleeson said. "That's my job, not fighting. "

  Then Hedge straightened, and set his jaw. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too." He glared at them all, daring them to argue.

  "Yes!" Jason was quick to agree.

  "Terryfying," Leo said.

  "Eh—-" Blaire teased.

  The coach grunted. "But I'm a protector, and I can do this. Your dad's right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest."

   "But...." Piper looked like she could cry. "Dad—-"

  They embraced tightly and Jason akwardly cleared his throat.

  "Let's give them a minute," Jason said, and they all shared a look.

    At that, they left the two of them alone, taking the pilot down the tarmac. Blaire trailed behind them, her thoughts befuddled by the concept of paternal relationships. It wasn't fair that Blaire was envious of Piper when her dad was so terribly off, but at least Piper had a father.

Eventually Leo fell in step beside Blaire. He was smiling at her, a full fledged beam. And she merely raised an eyebrow at his apparent giddiness.

  "It was cool what you did back there, Leo," Blaire spoke hesitantly, shrugging as if to downplay her words. "With the bulldozer."

  Leo's already large brown eyes widened by a tenfold, and his cheeks blossomed with color. He looked at her as if he'd just won the lottery. "You— you called me Leo?"

Blaire realized her slip up at the same time as he did, but she merely shook her head. "That's your name? Isn't it?"

  "Actually, my name is Leonidas—"

  Blaire laughed, a real genuine laugh that shook her shoulders, her face curling into an amused grin and catching Leo totally off gaurd. "Leonidas?"

  Leo couldn't help but stare at her grin in awe— he'd never seen her actually smile before. And he thought it was one of the prettiest things he'd ever had the pleasure of seeing. Leo thought she should've done it more often, though he'd never say it aloud.

   Jason and Hedge were trudging ahead of them, along with the pilot who still seemed confused by her own actions. Then, Piper shouted for their help, and they all turned, ready to aid their friend.

  They sprinted back down the tarmac to Piper and Hedge managed to catch her father who had slumped forward just in time.

"Got him," Hedge said. The satyr stumbled, but he was strong enough to hold Tristan McLean upright. "I already asked our ranger friend to call up his plane. It's on the way now. Home address?"

  Piper reached into her fathers pocket then pulled out his Blackberry and passed it over to the Satyr.

  "Everything's on here," Piper said. "Address, his chauffeur's number. Just watch out for Jane."

  Hedge's eyes lit up, like he sensed a possible fight. "Who's Jane?"

  By the time Piper explained, her dad's sleek white Gulf- stream had taxied next to the helicopter.
Hedge and the flight attendant got Piper's dad on board.

  Then the chubby half goat came back over to say his goodbyes. He hugged Piper and glared at Jason, Leo and Blaire.

  "You cupcakes take care of this girl, you hear? Or I'm gonna make you do push-ups."

  "You got it, Coach," Leo said, a smile tugging at his mouth.

  "Whatever," Blaire agreed with a nod.

  "No push-ups," Jason promised.

  Piper gave the old satyr one more hug. "Thank you,
Gleeson. Take care of him, please."

  "I got this, McLean," he assured her. "They got root beer and veggie enchiladas on this flight, and one hundred percent linen napkins—yum! I could get used to this."

  Trotting up the stairs, he lost one shoe, and his hoof was visible for just a second. The flight attendant's eyes widened, but she looked away and pretended nothing was wrong.

  When the plane started to take off down the runway, Piper started to bawl. Full heartbroken sobs escaped her mouth and she slumped into Jason, fisting his T-shirt. He wrapped both arms around her and held her while she sobbed.

  Blaire and Leo stood akwardly to the side, the latter pulling kleenex from his tool belt.

  "Your dad's in good hands," Jason soothed as she bawled. "You did amazing. "

  Though Blaire didn't exactly like Piper, she felt bad for the girl. Piper looked so sad. And her sobs sounded deeply disturbed.

  Not long after, the Aphrodite daughter pulled away from Jason, her eyes still teary.

  "Thank you, guys," Piper said. "I—"

  She didn't have to finish. They all knew what she meant, how greatful she was for them and their help.

  Then, the air beside Jason began to shimmer with the beginning signs of an iris message. The mist formed the image of a dark-haired girl in silver winter camouflage, holding a bow.

   Jason stumbled back in surprise. "Thalia!"

  "Thank the gods," said the Hunter. The scene behind her was hard to make out, but Blaire heard yelling, metal clashing on metal, and explosions.

  "We've found her," Thalia informed. "Where are you?"

  "Oakland," Jason told her. "Where are you?"

  "The Wolf House! Oakland is good; you're not too far. We're holding off the giant's minions, but we can't hold them forever. Get here before sunset, or it's all over."

  "Then it's not too late?" Piper cried, and Blaire foolishly allowed herself to feel hopeful, however Thalia's expression was quick to dampen it.

  "Not yet," Thalia said. "But Jason—it's worse than I
  realized. Porphyrion is rising. Hurry."

  "But where is the Wolf House?" he pleaded.

  "Our last trip," Thalia shouted, her image starting to flicker. "The park. Jack London. Remember?"

  This made no sense to Blaire, but Jason looked like he'd been shot. He tottered, his face pale, and the Iris message disappeared.

  "Bro, you all right?" Leo asked. "You know where she is?"

  "Yes," Jason exhaled. "Sonoma Valley. Not far. Not by air."
 
  They all turned to the ranger pilot expectantly, who'd been watching all this with an increasingly puzzled expression.

  "Ma'am," Piper tried with her best smile. It was strained and weak from the time she spent crying, yet still beautiful. "You don't mind helping us one more time, do you?"

  "I don't mind," the pilot agreed.

  "We can't take a mortal into battle," Jason protested. "It's too dangerous." He turned to Leo. "Do you think you could fly this thing?"

  Blaire wanted to tell him he was absolutely insane for trusting a 15 year old to fly a hellicopter into battle, entrusting him with their lives—- but then she realized, if anyone were able to do such a thing, it would likely be Leo.

   "Um..." Leo murmured, then he put his hand on the side of the helicopter, concentrating hard, as if listening to the machine.

  "Bell 412HP utility helicopter," Leo said. "Composite four- blade main rotor, cruising speed twenty-two knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is near full. Sure, I can fly it."

  Blaire shook her head in half-disbelief, half-amazement. Leave it up to Valdez to know these things upon merely touching the side of the plane.

  Piper smiled at the ranger again. "You don't have a problem with an under-aged unlicensed kid borrowing your copter, do you? We'll return it."

  "I—" The pilot nearly choked on the words, but she got them out: "I don't have a problem with that."

  Blaire doubted she'd be very happy when she came to her senses, though.

   Leo grinned. "Hop in, kids. Uncle Leo's gonna take you for a ride."

  "Don't ever call yourself that again," Blaire cringed shaking her head.

   SUPRISINGLY, LEO WAS actually pretty good at flying a helicopter. Maybe it was a Hephaestus thing, or maybe he was just naturally gifted at everything he did. Blaire didn't know.

  Blaire sat in the copilots seat, while Jason and Piper knelt between her and Leo. They flew north, toward the setting sun and over the Richmond Bridge.

   "Going okay?" Piper questioned, obviously nervous.

  "Aces," Leo managed, but he didn't seem to sure of himself. "So what's the Wolf House?

  "An abandoned mansion in the Sonoma Valley. A demigod built it—Jack London," Jason interjected.

  Blaire wasn't sure who Jack London was.

  "Who is that?"

  "Writer," Piper informed her. "Adventure stuff, right? Call of the Wild? White Fang?"

  "Yeah," Jason confirmed. "He was a son of Mercury—I mean, Hermes. He was an adventurer, traveled the world. He was even a hobo for a while. Then he made a fortune writing. He bought a big ranch in the country and decided to build this huge mansion—the Wolf House."

  What was with this guy and his love for Roman titles?

"Named that 'cause he wrote about wolves?" Leo guessed.

  "Partially," Jason said. "But the site, and the reason he wrote about wolves—he was dropping hints about his personal experience. There're a lot of holes in his life story—how he was born, who his dad was, why he wandered around so much —stuff you can only explain if you know he was a demigod."

  The bay slipped behind them, and the helicopter continued north. Ahead of them, yellow hills rolled out as far as Leo could see.

  "So Jack London went to Camp Half-Blood," Leo asked.

  "No," Jason said. "No, he didn't."

  "Bro, you're freaking me out with the mysterious talk. Are you remembering your past or not?"

  "Pieces," Jason said. "Only pieces. None of it good. The Wolf House is on sacred ground. It's where London started his journey as a child—where he found out he was a demigod. That's why he returned there. He thought he could live there, claim that land, but it wasn't meant for him. The Wolf House was cursed. It burned in a fire a week before he and his wife were supposed to move in. A few years later, London died, and his ashes were buried on the site."

  "So." Piper tilted her head quizzicaly, "how do you know all this?"

  A shadow crossed Jason's face. Probably just a cloud, but Blaire could swear the shape looked like an eagle.

  "I started my journey there too," Jason said. "It's a powerful place for demigods, a dangerous place. If Gaea can claim it, use its power to entomb Hera on the solstice and raise Porphyrion—that might be enough to awaken the earth goddess fully."

  The words settled over them with a sort of uncomfortable uneasiness. Blaire stared ahead, out the front window and she digested the words. The beginning of a new era—- an era that was just as dangerous and deadly. But, still.

  A new threat would awaken, and this time Blaire would be thrusted right into it's path. She wouldn't have Percy and his grand army to hide behind.

  "Thirty minutes out," Leo told his friends, though Blaire wasn't sure how he knew. "If you want to get some rest, now's a good time."

  Jason was the only one who seemed eager to sleep, for he strapped himself into the back of the hellicopter and passed out almost immediately.

   After a few minutes of awkward silence, Leo finally spoke up;  "Your dad'll be fine, you know. Nobody's gonna mess with him with that crazy goat around."

  Piper glanced over to Leo, and then Blaire, as if calculating something in her head.

  "My dad," she said thoughtfully. "Yeah, I know. I was thinking about Jason. I'm worried about him."

   Leo nodded in understanding. "He's starting to remember. That's got to make him a little edgy."

  "But what if ... what if he's a different person?"

  Blaire felt like she was interrupting something. She didn't feel as if she should be involved in the conversation, for she wasn't at all close with Jason. Meanwhile, Leo and Piper were his best friends.

  "Nah," Leo decided. "After all we've been through? I can't see it. We're a team. Jason can handle it."

  Piper smoothed her blue dress, which was tattered and burned from their fight on Mount Diablo. "I hope you're right. I need him ..." She cleared her throat. "I mean I need to trust him..."

  "I know," Leo said, and he smiled at the girl. "Hey, don't worry, Piper, you're the strongest, most powerful beauty queen I've ever met. You can trust yourself. For what it's worth, you can trust me too."

  The helicopter dipped in a wind shear, and Leo almost jumped out of his skin. He cursed and righted the chopper.

  Blaire cursed. Piper just laughed nervously.

  "Trust you, huh?"

  "Ah, shut up."

  Leo and Piper seemed to have a strong bond, a friendship unable to affected by the burdens of demigodliness. And despite herself and the promise she made to hold everyone at an arms length, Blaire couldn't but help but wish she had something like that. Someone like that.

  She wasn't able to wallow in self pity for long, because they hit the storm clouds. Instead, she was thrusted into self worry.

Lyn Says / Hi guys :) it's been a while but finally I updated! as always, i'm not too fond of this chapter + it's unedited, but i do really really like the blaire and Leo moment. you guys were fed. don't be a ghost!