━━ chapter twenty-eight
kansas gods

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━━It irked Fiona that only yesterday, her camp had been fired upon by the ship she was standing on. It felt like that had been weeks ago, and yet here she was, leaning against the side of the ship and looking out into the horizon.

Already, she missed home. She missed the familiar feeling of her own bed at the barracks. The food at the forum. War games. Heck, she even missed insulting Larry and Octavian, and that was saying something. She missed her mom, and she missed the days where she was given Stable Duty to look after Hannibal. Fiona hoped that once this was all over, she had a home to go back to; one where she wouldn't be shamed out of by 'betraying' their trust.

She felt an arm slip around her shoulders. Smelling sea salt, Fiona immediately knew it was Percy.

"Hey," he greeted her, and Fiona gave him a tired smile. He was no longer wearing a Camp Jupiter shirt, and instead, an orange one much like the one he had arrived in━except this one wasn't in tatters.

Fiona arched a brow at it and her fingers pulled at the fabric, curious. "You have a pegasus on your shirt," she decided to say.

Percy rolled his eyes, "And good morning to you, too."

"And you're in a better mood," she smiled, happy. Fiona knew it was because of the orange shirt, and she tried not to feel that annoying pang of jealousy. Once this was all over, was it goodbye? Would Fiona never see him again? It felt stupid to get upset over that, but she was. Sometimes, you meet people in your life, and you just click. Percy wasn't just her boyfriend, but he was also a good friend━one of the quickest friends Fiona has ever made, and she found herself holding onto that. That made him special and very important to her. Because she trusted him, and got along with him, and felt at ease far quicker than any other friendship she had grown.

Fiona slipped her arms around his waist and settled her head on his chest. Percy hugged her back, startled by the sudden affection. "I'm not sure whether you're trying to kill me, or ..."

"Shut up, Barnacle Biceps," she told him, and Percy chuckled lightly. This dork, Fiona thought to herself.

The both of them were up pretty early, and the only people around so far was Leo at the mast. So, Fiona found it okay to rise up on her toes and gently capture Percy's lips in hers. It was a short peck, nothing more, but Percy looked like he just won the lottery. Dork.

They stayed there for a while, waiting for the others to come up above deck. Percy with his arm around Fiona's small figure and her leaning into his touch as they stood by the railing. When she saw Annabeth walk up the steps with Sam behind her, whistling some tune that sounded like AC/DC but with daisies instead of heavy electric guitar. Fiona tensed, her gaze fixed on him as they approached. She was sure Percy noticed, for he just brought her closer to his side, but he said nothing about it. Instead, he greeted:

"Hey, Wise Girl," his green eyes flickered to Sam momentarily. "What's up?"

"I'm tired," mumbled the daughter of Athena, breaking apart the toast she had carried with her from downstairs. "And I have a shadow who just follows me everywhere."

Sam frowned at his older sister, "I'm trying to be helpful, like you said!"

Annabeth sighed, and closed her eyes. "Look, Perc, I wanted to ask━well, Sam wants to ask━" Sam avoided eye contact and just shuffled his feet on the deck, "━whether you'd give him some sword lessons. I told him that if he stays on this ship, he has to know how to defend himself."

Percy straightened up, but kept his arm around Fiona's shoulders. "Sure," he looked at Sam. "What do you know already, Sam?"

"Just basics," mumbled Sam. "But I can disarm Katie Gardiner, so there's that."

"She let you disarm her, Sammy Dandy," came Piper's voice from nowhere, and she joined the group of them. Percy gave her a smile in greeting, which seemed to surprise her.

Everyone had arrived after that, and so Annabeth began with a quick snatch of Piper's bagel from her fingers, taking a bite. "So! Here we are. What's the plan?"

"I want to check out the highway," said Piper. She looked very pretty this morning━she had pulled her hair back into a messy braid. Fiona doesn't think she even brushed her hair this morning. She rose her fingers to the curls, and when she ran through them, she got caught immediately in knots and had to work to get her fingers out. Yep, she definitely didn't brush her hair. (She misses her straightener). "Find the sign that says Topeka 32."

Leo spun his Wii controller like a Nunchaku. Fiona wasn't sure how she felt about the masts and boat being controlled by a small, white, rectangle game-controller with a thumb-rest. "We shouldn't be far," he said. "Festus and I calculated the landing as best we could. What do you expect to find at the mile marker?"

Piper explained her visions from the knife. Fiona wasn't stupid, she knew she was withholding information, but asked nothing of it. When she was finished, Fiona crossed her arms and said, "Sounds like Bacchus."

Piper frowned at her, and Percy slipped a hand into his jean pocket. "Dionysus," he muttered, bitter. "If we came all the way to Kansas to see Mr D━"

"Bacchus isn't so bad," Jason said. "I don't like his followers much..." (Ah ... yes ... them ...). "But the god himself is okay. I did him a favour once up in the wine country."

Percy looked appalled. Fiona shook her head at him, but she hid her smile. "Whatever, man. Maybe he's better on the Roman side. But why would he be hanging around in Kansas? Didn't Zeus order the gods to cease all contact with mortals."

Frank grunted. He decided to wear a blue tracksuit this morning, and Fiona thought he looked like he was about to go for a brooding coming-of-age-move-type jog in the sunflowers. "The gods haven't been very good at following that order," he noted. "Besides, if the gods have gone schizophrenic like Hazel said━"

"And Leo said," added Leo.

Frank scowled at him. "Then who knows what's going on with the Olympians? Could be some prety bad stuff out there."

"Sounds dangerous!" agreed Leo cheerfully. "Well ... you guys have fun. I've got to finish repairs on the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna work on the broken crossbows. And━uh━Annnabeth, I could really use your help. You're the only other person who even sort of understands engineering. And your bro━Sammy Boy! Tag along."

Annabeth glanced apologetically at Percy. "He's right. I should stay and help."

Percy shrugged and pulled her into a friendly side hug. "I'll come back, promise."

Fiona pursed her lips. Don't, don't, don't, don't━

Frank slid his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the rail. "I think I should turn into a crow or something and fly around, keep an eye out for Roman eagles."

"Why a crow?" asked Leo. "Man, if you could turn into a dragon, why don't you just turn into a dragon every time? That's the coolest."

Frank continued to frown at him. Fiona bit her bottom lip, noticing the tension between the two of them. "That's like asking why you don't bench-press your maximum weight every time you lift. Because it's hard and you'd hurt yourself. Turning into a dragon isn't easy."

"Oh. I wouldn't know. I don't lift weights."

"Yeah. Well, maybe you should consider it, Mr━"

Hazel quickly stepped between them. "I'll help you, Frank," she said, shooting Leo a glare. "I can summon Arion and scout around below."

"Sure," muttered Frank, still scowling at Leo. "Yeah, thanks."

Fiona shared an uneasy look with Percy and Annabeth. She could tell that Leo and Frank were both trying to show off to Hazel, which must be confusing for her, considering she already had had a past with Sammy who looked exactly like Leo. And Frank must be intimidated ... and it was just a messy sandwich they didn't need at the moment.

Hazel turned to Percy and Fiona, "Just be careful when you go out there. Lots of fields, lots of crops. Could be karpoi on the loose."

Piper blinked, "Karpoi?"

"Grain spirits," Fiona explained.

Hazel nodded, "Yep. And you do not want to meet them."

"That leaves four of us to check on the mile marker," said Percy. "Me, Fiona, Jason and Piper. I'm not psyched about seeing Mr D again. That guy is a pain. But, Jason, if you're on better terms with him━"

"Yeah," said Blond Superman. "If we find him, I'll talk to him. Piper, it's your vision. You should take the lead."

Piper looked worried, but took a deep breath nonetheless and said, "Of course. Let's find the highway."

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━━"I'm going to hit him when we get back," declared Fiona as they trudged through half a mile of hot fields. Leo had said they were close, and this was no where near close. She was getting bitten by mosquitoes and whacked in the face with scratchy sunflowers. Fiona was not in the mood for this.

This is to help us find Nico, she reminded herself. Bacchus will help us find Nico.

Finally, they reached the road. An old billboard for Bubba's Gas 'n' Grub stated they were forty miles from the first Topeka exit.

Percy tapped Fiona's shoulder, "Uh━Correct my maths," he said, "but doesn't that mean we have eight miles to walk?"

(Oh, Leo is so going to get a stern talking when Fiona gets back! And a hit across the head!).

Jason peered both ways down the deserted road. He looked much better today; his colour was back to normal, the scar on his head had almost vanished ... like normal old Jason. "No cars ..." he murmured. "But I guess we wouldn't want to hitchhike."

"No," agreed Piper, sounding nervous. "We've already spent too much time going overhead. The earth is Gaea's territory."

"Hmmm..." Jason snapped his fingers. "I can call a friend for a ride."

Percy's brows shot up, "Oh, yeah? Me, too. Let's see whose friend gets here first."

Piper pinched the bridge of her nose. "Guys, we do not need to do this right now━"

"━I bet you Percy's will get here faster," Fiona egged it on, and Piper gave her an exasperated look. Hey! Fiona's the grandaughter of the goddess of victory! She loves competitions! Percy gave Jason a smug look as if to say, ha, take that.

Jason just whistled, while Percy closed his eyes and concentrated. Fiona would admit, she took the chance to admire him when he couldn't see. His hair was dark waves; and they blew in the gentle breeze━and it was like Fiona was standing in front of an ocean. Like usual, the warm glow of the sun turned his tan skin bronze ... he was so good-looking. Gods, Fiona was lucky.

Thunder crackled in the clear sky. Jason grinned, "Soon."

"Too late," Percy pointed east, where a black winged shape was spiralling towards them. At first, Fiona thought it was Frank in crow form━but that was stupid. She knew Percy had a pegasus named Blackjack. She had just never met him until now.

The winged stallion came in for a landing. He trotted over to Percy and nuzzled his face, then turned his head inquisitvely towards Fiona, Piper and Jason. When his eyes settled Fiona, he gave his owner a nervous look and Percy was quick to reassure him with a hand on his flank.

"It's okay," he told the pegasus, "this is Fiona━and this is Piper and Jason. They're friends."

The horse nickered.

"Uh, maybe later," answered Percy.

Fiona arched a brow, amused. She walked up to the stallion and carefully held her hand out. There was some hesitation, but Blackjack let her pet his nose, even if she was a daughter of Pluto and not the best around living things. "What did he say?" she asked Percy.

"He wants doughnuts," he said. "Always doughnuts. He can carry all four of us if━"

The air turned cold. Fiona's ears popped. About fifty yards away, a minature cyclone three storeys tall tore across the tops of the sunflowers. It touched down on the road next to Jason and took the form of a horse━a misty steed with lightning flickering through its body.

"Tempest," greeted Jason, grinning broadly. "Long time, my friend."

Fiona's eyes widened, "Wait━is that a ventus?"

The storm spirit reared and whinnied. Blackjack backed up skittishly.

"Easy, boy," Percy calmed him. "He's a friend, too," he gave Jason an impressed look. "Nice ride, Grace."

"Nice ride?" Fiona scoffed. "That's awesome! You can control storm spirits?! Since when? We could have used that back in '08!"

Jason gave her a sheepish glance as if to say, sorry? While Percy turned to her like she had betrayed all of his trust. Fiona rolled her eyes and patted her boyfriend's chest to tell him, get over it, dork.

"I made friends with him during our fight at the Wolf House," said Jason, shrugging. "He's a free spirit, literally, but once in a while he agrees to help me."

Percy and Jason climbed on their respective horses. Since Fiona was sure Piper would want to ride with her boyfriend, she took Percy's hand and climbed aboard. Settling behind him, Fiona thought a second before deciding to slip her arms around his waist. As soon as she did, Percy clicked his tongue and Blackjack soared up into the air. Fiona gasped a little, not expecting the jolt, but once everything settled, she couldn't help but admire the view, and the way Blackjack's muscles tensed with each flap of his majestic wings. Only Reyna had a pegasus at camp, and so this was the first time Fiona had ever ridden one.

Below, Tempest raced down the road in a mix of wind and lightning.

Fiona breathed a small chuckle, and settled her head on Percy's back, enjoying the ride while she could. Until she felt everything go cold again━that sliver down her back ... the hum in her ears. She frowned, sitting back, but it was gone as it quickly came. She hoped she imagined it ...

Fortunately, they passed no cars, and in no time, they arrived at the thirty-two-mile marker. A thought crossed Fiona's mind and she frowned at Percy, "Why didn't you and Jason just call Blackjack and Tempest from the start?"

They landed, and Percy looked like he was going to reply with some smart comment, only to falter and blink. "Huh ... uh ... oops?"

Fiona sighed, but her eyes glittered with amusement. Blackjack whinnied and Percy nodded, "You're right," he replied. "No sign of the wine dude."

"I beg your pardon?" came a voice from the fields.

Fiona jumped. The wheat parted, and a man stepped into view. She knew immediately it was Bacchus by his wide-brimmed hat wreathed in grapevines. That and he looked eerily like Dakota (which she was sure the demigod did not want to hear). He looked perhaps thirty, donned in a purple short-sleeved shirt and kakhi shorts with a beer belly that made him seem like some sort of middle-aged I-live-in-my-mom's-basement guy.

"Did someone just call me the wine dude?" he asked in a wine drawl. "It's Bacchus, please. Or Mr Bacchus. Or Lord Bacchus. Or, sometimes, Oh-My-Gods-Please-Don't-Kill-Me, Lord Bacchus."

Percy urged Blackjack forward, though the pegasus didn't seem happy about it. "You look different," he told the god. "Skinnier. Your hair is longer. And your shirt isn't so loud."

"Percy," Fiona warned softly, not wanting his stupid I-have-a-death-wish attitude towards gods to get in their way of finding information.

Bacchus squinted up at him. "What in blazes are you talking about? Who are you, and where is Ceres?"

"Uh ... what series?"

"He means Ceres," Fiona explained. "The goddess of agriculture━you call her Demeter."

Jason nodded respectfully to the god. "Lord Bacchus, do you remember me? I helped you with that missing leopard in Sonoma."

Bachus scratched his stubby chin. "Ah ... yes. John Green."

"Jason Grace."

"Whatever," he waved it off. "Did Ceres send you, then?"

"No, Lord Bacchus," said Jason. "Were you expecting to meet her here?"

The god snorted, "Well, I didn't come to Kansas to party, my boy. Ceres asked me here for a council of war. What with Gaea rising, the crops are withering. Droughts are spreading. The karpoi are in revolt. Even my grapes aren't safe. Ceres wanted a united front in the plant war."

"The plant war," mused Percy. "You're going to arm all the little grapes with tiny assualt rifles?"

"Percy," Fiona warned again.

Bacchus narrowed his eyes. "Have we met?"

"At Camp-Half Blood. I know you as Mr D━Dionysus."

"Agh!" Bacchus winced and pressed his hands to his temples. For a second, his image flickered━Fiona saw somebody else: fatter, dumpier, dressed in a leopard-patterened shirt. Then he retured to being Bacchus. "Stop that!" he demanded. "Stop thinking about me in Greek!"

Percy blinked. "Uh, but━"

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay focused? Splitting headaches all the time! I never know what I'm doing or where I'm going! Constantly grumpy!"

"That sounds pretty normal for you."

Fiona pinched Percy's sides to stop him, but he just continued to stare at the god, unafraid━even if one of the grape leaves on his hat burst into flame. "If we know each other from that other camp, it's a wonder I haven't already turned you into a dolphin."

"It was discussed," Percy assured him. "I think you were just too lazy to do it."

Fiona pinched him harder this time, "Stop it!"

Fiona will not have her boyfriend transformed into a dolphin, thank you very much.

Thankfully, Piper interrupted, sliding off Tempest's back, "Lord Bacchus!"

"Piper, careful━" Jason warned but she shot him a warning glance: I've got this.

Fiona also slid off Blackjack, giving Percy a final look to say, if you mess this up, I will murder you.

"Sorry to trouble you, my lord," Piper told the god, "but actually we came here to get your advice. Please, we need your wisdom."

Fiona felt her insides go warm, and she found herself listening to everything Piper said━she realised she was using her charmspeak. Bacchus frowned, and the purple glow faded in his eyes.

"You're well-spoken, girl," he said. "Advice, eh? Very well. I would avoid karaoke. Really, theme parties in general are out. In these austere times, people are looking for a simple, low-key affair, with locally produced organic snacks and━"

"Not about parties," Piper cut in. "Although that's incredibly useful advice, Lord Bacchus. We were hoping you'd help us on our quest."

She explained about the Argo II and their voyage to stop the giants from awakening Gaea. Fiona pitched in when she could, and they told him what Nemesis had said: that in six days, Rome would be destroyed. Piper then described her vision in her knife, where Bacchus offered her a silver goblet.

"Silver goblet?" he didn't sound excited. He grabbed a Diet Pepsi from nowhere and popped the top of the can.

"You drink Diet Coke," said Percy.

Fiona shot him a glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bacchus snapped. "As to this vision of the goblet, young lady, I have nothing for you to drink unless you want a Pepsi. Jupiter has put me under strict orders to avoid giving wine to minors. Bothersome, but there you have it. As for the giants, I know them well. I fought in the first Giant War, you know."

"You can fight?" asked Percy.

Fiona pulled at her hair, wishing she could whack him upside the head. "Percy!"

Bacchus snarled. His Diet Pepsi transformed into a five-foot staff wreathed in ivy, topped with a pinecone. Fiona quickly tried to get the attention off her idiotic boyfriend. "A thyrus!" she exclaimed, gasping in delight to try and sound impressed. "Oh, what a mighty weapon!"

"Indeed," agreed Bacchus. "I'm glad someone in your group is smart. The pinecone is a fearsome tool of destruction! I was a demigod myself in the first Giant War, you know. The so of Jupiter!"

(Jason flinched. Fiona has a feeling he probably wasn't too thrilled over being reminded that his big brother was technically the Wine Dude).

Bacchus swung his staff through the air, though his potbelly almost threw him off balance. "Of course, that was long before I invented wine and became an immortal. I fought side by side with the gods and some other demigod ... Harry Cleese, I think."

"Heracles?" Piper suggested politely.

"Whatever. Anyway, I killed the giant Ephialtes and his brother Otis. Horrible boors, those two. Pinecone in the face for the both of them!"

Fiona stopped for a second. Twins snuff out the angel's breath ... Otis and Ephialtes ... her gaze met Piper's and they shared a moment of realisation.

"Lord Bacchus," said the daughter of Aphrodite, "Those two giants, Ephialtes and Otis ... would they happen to be twins?"

"Hmm?" distracted by his swinging thyrsus, Bacchus almost didn't comprehend the question. "Oh. Yes, twins. That's right."

"That's why we're here," Piper told him. "You're part of our quest!"

Bacchus frowned. "I'm sorry, my girl. I'm not a demigod any more. I don't do quests."

"But giants can only be killed by heroes and gods woring together," she insisted. "You're a god now, and the two giants we have to fight are Ephialtes and Otis. I think ... I think they're waiting for us in Rome. They're going to destroy the city somehow. The silver goblet I saw in my vision━maybe it's meant as a symbol for your help. You have to help us kill the giants!"

Fiona winced. She had chosen her words very badly. Bacchus glared at her, and Piper's shoulders fell, understanding what she had done. "My girl," he said coolly. "I don't have to do anything. Besides, I only help those who give me proper tribute, which no one has managed to do in many, many centuries."

Blackjack whinnied uneasily, and Fiona didn't blame him. Tribute didn't sound like some sort of song, or food offering ... not the way Bacchus had said it. Percy voiced the question they were too scared to ask. "What kind of tribute?"

Bacchus waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing you could handle, insolent Greek. But I will give you some free advice, since these girls do have some manners. Seek out Gaea's son, Phorcys. He always hated his mother, not that I can blame him. He didn't have much use for his siblings the twins, either. You'll find him in the city they named after that heroine━Atalanta."

Fiona pursed her lips, "You mean Atlanta?"

"That's the one."

"But this Phorcys," Jason said. "Is he a giant? A Titan?"

Bacchus laughed. "Neither. Seek out the salt water."

"Salt water ..." Percy said slowly, confused. "In Atlanta?"

"Yes. Are you hard of hearing? If anyone can give you insight on Gaea and the twins, it's Phorcys. Just watch out for him."

"What do you mean?" asked Jason.

The god glanced up at the sun, which had climbed almost to high noon. "It's unlike Ceres to be late, unless she sensed something dangerous in this area. Or ..." the god's face went slack all of a sudden. "Or a trap. Well, I must be going! And if I were you I'd do the same!"

"Lord Bacchus, wait━!"

But the god shimmered, and was gone with a pop! and a distant smell of red wine.

The wind rustled throught he sunflowers. The horses paced in agitation. Despite the hot, dry day, Fiona shuddered. Hum ... the hum in her ear again. Just like the day they left Camp. Her heart paced. She hadn't imagined it━she reached for Piper's arm, holding it tight.

"Bacchus is right," she said. "We need to leave━"

Too late, murmured a sleepy voice, humming through the fields all around them and resonating in the ground at Fiona's feet. Percy and Jason drew their swords, Fiona unsheathed her pugio. The power of Gaea was suddenly everwhere. The sunflowers turned to look at them. The wheat bent towards them like a million scythes.

Welcome to my party, she mumbled. What did Bacchus say? A simple, low-key affair with organic snacks? Yes. For my snacks, I need only two: the blood of a female demigod and the blood of a male. Fiona, my dear, choose which hero will die with you.

Fiona tensed, her grip tightening around the hilt of her dagger. She remembered what Percy told her about what Gaea had said to him ... she wanted to keep them alive ... she had plans for them ...

"Gaea!" Jason yelled. "Stop hiding in the wheat. Show yourself!"

Such bravado, hissed Mother Earth. But the other one, Percy Jackson, also has appeal. Choose, Fiona Midgrass, or I will.

Fiona immediately snapped to the grain, "No way! I'm not choosing anything for you!"

Suddenly, Jason gasped. He sat up straight in his saddle. Piper frowned, "Jason!" she cried. "What's wrong━?"

He looked down at her, his expression deadly calm. HIs eyes were no longer blue, but nstead solid gold. Fiona's breath hitched, and she stepped back a few steps. "Percy!" she turned to the son of Poseidon. "Percy, what━?"

But he had already galloped away from them, stopping thirty feet down the road and wheeled his pegasus around. He raised his sword and pointed the tip towards Jason.

"One will die," he said. Fiona shivered; the voice wasn't his. It was deep and hollow━not at all warm like usual ... like someone whispering from inside the barrel of a cannon.

"I will choose," Jason answered in the same hollow voice.

"No!" Piper yelled.

All around them, the fields crackled and hissed laughing in Gaea's voice as Percy and Jason charged at each other, weapons ready.

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━━The horses saved their lives; quite literally. If Tempest and Blackjack hadn't baulked, Fiona and Piper wouldn't have been able to leap out of their way. Rolling to the edge of the road, Fiona looked back, dazed and horrified as the boys crossed swords, gold against bronze. Sparks flew━their blades blurred, and the ground trembelled. The first exhange only took a second, but Fiona couldn't believe the speed of their swordfighting. The horses pulled away from each other━Tempest thundering in protest, Blackjack flapping his wings.

Desperate, Fiona cried out, "Stop it!"

They didn't listen. Piper's gaze flickered between the two, looking miserable. "Stop!" she tried, and for a moment, Jason heard her voice. HIs golden eyes turned towards her, and Percy charged. Fiona shouted, but he slammed his blade into Jason. Thank the gods, Percy turned his sword━maybe on purpose (Fiona hopes it was on purpose, because that meant he was trying to fight back)━so the flat of it hit Jason's chest. But the impact was still strong enough to knock Jason off his mount.

Blackjack cantered away as Tempest reared in confusion. The storm spirit horse charged into the sunflowers and dissipated into vapour. Percy struggled to turn his pegasus around.

"Percy, no!" Fiona tried, standing onto her feet.

But she didn't have charmpseak. She turned to Piper, defeated. The daughter of Aphrodite gritted her teeth and demanded: "Stop! Jason's your friend. Drop your weapon!"

Percy's sword arm dipped, and Fiona took a breath of hope. But Jason had gotten to his feet. With a roar, a bolt of lightning arched out of the clear blue skye. It ricocheted off his gladius and blasted Percy off his horse. Blackjack whinnied and cantered into the wheat fields. Jason charged at Percy, who was now on his back, his clothes smoking.

Fiona couldn't stop herself. With her dagger, she rushed forward with her own speed and met Jason's strike before it could hit her boyfriend. With her blade near his hilt━it was a move only the most skillfull and quickest of dagger fighters could achieve. Jason looked surprised for a second, seeing Fiona here when seconds she had been over by Piper.

"Jason, stop!" she told him.

He froze, and for a second, the gold in his eyes flickered uncertainly. Fiona's heart quickened━whatever he was had listened to her ... could she control this ... this spirit inside them? "I cannot stop," said Jason. "One must die."

"Who are you!" Fiona demanded.

Jason's mouth twisted in a gruesome smile. "We are the eidolons. We will live again."

Piper frowned, "Eidolons...?"

While she tried to figure out who they were, Fiona already knew. She gritted her teeth and pushed against Jason's blade more. They were spirits from the Underworld━spirits who should not be here. "No you will not," she told him.

He blinked confused, "But ..." Jason turned his attention back to Percy, "...he must die━"

Percy had recovered more than any of them realized. He swept out his leg and knocked Jason off his feet. The son of Jupiter's head hit the tarmac with a nauseating conk, and Percy rose to his feet.

Fiona stared at him, startled. "Stop it!" she heard Piper shout, but there was no charmpseak in her voice. She was shouting in sheer desperation.

Percy tried to attack Jason, but Fiona blocked him and parried his strike. It was hard━this spirit had all of his skill, but she was Fiona Midgrass. No matter what her grandmother says, she will win. "Percy, Percy━stop, listen to me━wake up!"

Percy froze, and Fiona thought for a second she had him. "Listen to me," she tried to tell him, looking into his eyes. They were no longer sea-green, but she knew he was still in there, she just had to reach him. I'm the daughter of Pluto, Legacy of Victoria, she reminded herself. "Fight it━fight the spirit━"

His face was pale and cruel, not at all like Percy's. "You have not chosen," he said. "So this one will die."

Fiona hoped Piper was taking this chance to figure out some sort of plan, because all Fiona had was distract! Distract! But when she heard the sound of Blackjack returning, she stopped herself from smiling when she realised that Piper indeed did have a plan. She just had to keep Percy focused on her.

"Then you'll have to get through me," she said. "And I know you won't hurt me, even if you're being controlled."

Percy sneered. "You may be the daughter of Pluto, but you cannot control me. I will live again in this body. the Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish."

"That's what happened to Leo," Fiona seethed. "He was being controlled━how many of there are you in our team?"

The spirit in Percy's form laughed without humour. "Too late you realise. You can trust no one."

Behind Percy, Piper had gotten Blackjack back. Percy began to turn towards the sound, but Fiona pushed against his blade and snapped, "Ignore it! Look at me! Percy!"

He obeyed. "You cannot stop me. I will kill Jason Grace."

"You won't kill him," suddenly said Piper. But she wasn't ordering Percy. She locked eyes with his pegasus, pouring all of her power into her words. Fiona could only just hope that Blackjack could understand. "You will knock him out."

The charmspeak washed over Percy. He shifted his weight indecisively, and lowered his blade away from Fiona. "I ... I will knock him out?"

"Oh, sorry," Piper smiled. "I wasn't talking to you."

Fiona ducked out of the way just in time as Blackjack reared and brought his hoof down on Percy's head. He crumpled to the road next to Jason. Fiona gasped and knelt down next to him.

"Oh, gods!" she cried out. "Blackjack, you didn't kill him, did you?"

The pegasus snorted. Fiona couldn't speak Horse, but she thought he might have said: Please, I know my own strength.

Tempest was nowhere to be seen, which meant they only had one steed to return on with. Piper knelt down next to Fiona has she checked on Jason and Percy. They were breathing steadily, but she was scared for Jason. Two knocks on the skull in two days couldn't have been good for him.

"We have to get them both back to the ship," said Piper.

"I know," murmured Fiona. She turned to Blackjack. "Can you get them back?"

The pegasus bobbed his head in agreement. He knelt on the gound, so that Fiona and Piper could drape Percy and Jason over his back. After a lot of work (unconscious boys are heavy━like, gods, what do they eat? Bricks?), they got them secured. The girls climbed onto Blackack's back and Fiona hoped he wouldn't be under too much strain as they took off for the ship.

*

    a/n: friendly reminder that fiona is a cute badass and percy is my fav and Jason deserves better and piper is a queen