✦ ༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍦— 003. the war begins.

RIGHT, SO, from this moment on, Percy Jackson needs to inform Vivi when he goes somewhere or she's gonna lose her shit! One moment, she was watching Isa and George spare ( the younger girl loosing, unfortunately ), the other, she found herself in the back of Camp's strawberry van, travelling to Olympus after Percy gave a phone call to Annabeth.

They'd had about half an hour to pack up their weapons, spare clothes, armor, and possibly anything they found useful and all rushed into the van, some of them with face-paint to camouflage on and some people in all black clothing like Vivi ( black shirt and zip-up hoodie that she thinks she stole from Travis with black leggings and black combat boots ). On her right hand was the only shining object, her dagger in bracelet form.

The Hermes, Athena and Apollo cabin had paired up together for the ride, all sitting in silence. Vivi sat in between Annabeth and Isa; one of Isa's hands was holding Vivi's and her other held Freya's who sat next to her. You could feel the emotions radiating of everyone and you didn't have to an Aphrodite kid for that. Scared, worried, nervous, frightened. Vivi wanted to throw up real bad.

Suddenly, Annabeth's phone begun ringing. She pulled it out and without wasting a second, Vivi snatched it, seeing who it was calling. She's gonna murder him one day.

"Don't you dare disappear like that ever again, Perseus Jackson!" Vivi hissed.

"Nice hearing you too, Bibi," Percy said from the other line with a small chuckle.

This motherfucker had a nerve to laugh!

"I swear to gods, Percy -"

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I needed to do something."

"You better be explaining what that something is."

"I will, I will. But, did you get my message?"

"The message that said almost nothing! Yeah, we got it." Vivi said and she felt Annabeth putting her hand on her knee to calm her down, "We've been worried sick! I've been worried"

"You were worried for me?" Percy asked, and Vivi knows he had a huge grin on his face despite the situation they were currently in.

"Of course I was, you dumb Seaweed Brain!"

"Not you too with the nickname," he groaned, "Never mind that now, where are you?"

"We're on our way, almost to the Queens ─ Midtown Tunnel. But, Percy, what are you planning? We've left the camp virtually undefended. Only Ares Cabin is there and there's no way the gods ─ "

"Trust me," Percy said. "I'll see you there."

He hung up. 

Vivi turned to Annabeth, "I swear, he's going to be the reason I die."

It was around late afternoon when they finally arrived and around forty of them piled out of the vans. Vivi exited right behind Annabeth and her eyes immediately landed on Percy. He looked a bit on edge ( that was for sure ), but there was something different from him, but she couldn't quite exactly tell. He was still very attractive, so it wasn't a physical difference, but something has definitely changed about him.

Vivi walked up to Percy, with Annabeth following behind, butterflies circling her stomach as she smiled, but he continued to stare at her with the most oddest expression she'd seen.

"Why are you staring at me like that, Aquaboy?"

"Huh?" Percy spoke, completely dumbfounded.

"You're looking at me funny," she smiled. "Like you've never seen me before."

"Um, no, no," Percy mumbled and couched, before he quickly turned to the rest of them, "But uh, thanks for coming, everybody. Uh, Chiron, after you."

But Chiron shook his head. "I came to wish you luck, my boy. But I make it a point never to visit Olympus unless I am summoned."

"But you're our leader."

He smiled. "I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be too late to convince my brother centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers here, Percy. You are the leader."

Percy wanted to protest, but everybody was looking at him expectantly, even Vivi and Annabeth. He was the one the prophecy was about. And even if she knew how Percy never liked the spotlight, he was still their leader, he was the one who would leave them to victory.

The boy took a deep breath. "Okay, like I told Vivi and Annabeth on the phone, something bad is going to happen by tonight. Some kind of trap. We've got to get an audience with Zeus and convince him to defend the city. Remember, we can't take no for an answer."

Percy asked Argus to watch Mrs. O'Leary, which neither of them looked happy about.

Chiron shook my hand. "You'll do well, Percy. Just remember your strengths and beware your weaknesses." 

Percy nodded and tried to give Chiron a confident smile. He then turned to the rest of the demigods, "Let's go."

A security guard was sitting behind the desk in the lobby, reading a big black book with a flower on the cover. He glanced up when they all filed in with our weapons and armor clanking.

"School group? We're about to close up."

"No," Percy said. "Six-hundredth floor."

The guard checked them out. His eyes were pale blue and his head was completely bald. Vivi couldn't tell if he was human or not, but he seemed to notice their weapons, so she guess he wasn't fooled by the Mist.

"There is no six-hundredth floor, kid." he said it like it was a required line he didn't believe. "Move along."

Percy leaned across the desk ( why was that so attractive! ). "Forty demigods attract an awful lot of monsters. You really want us hanging out in your lobby?"

The guard thought about that. Then he hit a buzzer and the security gate swung open. "Make it quick."

"You don't want us going through the metal detectors," Percy added.

"Um, no," he agreed. "Elevator on the right. I guess you know the way."

Percy tossed him a golden drachma and they marched ill rough. 

They decided it would take two trips to get everybody up in the elevator. Percy went with the first group and dragged Vivi with him, who grabbed Isa with her, making the smaller girl yelp.

The elevator doors finally dinged open. In front of them, a path of floating stones led through the clouds up to Mount Olympus, hovering six thousand feet over Manhattan. Right, so, Vivi had never see Olympus and it showed on her face. 

The mansions glittered gold and white against the sides of the mountain. Gardens bloomed on a hundred terraces. Scented smoke rose from braziers that lined the winding streets. And right at the top of the snow-capped crest rose the main palace of the gods. It looked majestic. That was the word Vivi found for it.

But with Percy standing next to her and the warmth of his hand spreading though her body ( which, by the way, was a bold move from his side to take her hand ), she could really tell something was just. . . different, about him. It wasn't his mood or something like that, he just looked much more stronger then last night.

"You look . . . different," Vivi said, looking at Percy. "Where did you go?"

The elevator doors opened again, and the second group of half-bloods joined them.

"Tell you later," Percy said. "Come on." 

They made their way across the sky bridge into the streets of Olympus. The shops were closed. The parks were empty. A couple of Muses sat on a bench strumming flaming lyres, but their hearts didn't seem to be in it. A lone Cyclops swept the street with an uprooted oak tree. A minor godling spotted them from a balcony and ducked inside, closing his shutters.

The group passed under a big marble archway with statues of Zeus and Hera on either side. 

Annabeth made a face at the queen of the gods. "Hate her," she muttered.

"Second that," Vivi said.

"Has she been cursing you two or something?" Percy asked, looking at two girls. 

"Yup," Vivi said, "She makes peacock feathers appear everywhere around me; from my hair, in my bed, just everywhere I am. Even in my food sometimes. Can you believe that!"

Percy grimaced, "Yikes," he looked at the blonde, "You?"

"Just little stuff so far," Annabeth said. "Her sacred animal is the cow, right?"

"Right."

"So she sends cows after me."

Percy tried not to smile. "Cows? In San Francisco?"

"Oh, yeah. Usually I don't see them, but the cows leave me little presents all over the place ─ in our backyard, on the sidewalk, in the school hallways. I have to be careful where I step."

"Look!" Pollux cried, pointing toward the horizon. "What is that?" 

They all froze. Blue lights were streaking across the evening sky toward Olympus like tiny comets. They seemed to be coming from all over the city, heading straight toward the mountain. As they got close, they fizzled out. Demigods watched them for several minutes and they didn't seem to do any damage, but still it was strange.

"Like infrared scopes," Michael Yew muttered. "We're being targeted."

"Let's get to the palace," Percy said.

No one was guarding the hall of the gods. The gold-and-silver doors stood wide open. Their footsteps echoed as they walked into the throne room.

Of course, "room" doesn't really cover it. The place was the size of Madison Square Garden. High above, the blue ceiling glittered with constellations. Twelve giant empty thrones stood in a U around a hearth. Vivi saw a throne made of gray rock. It had ram's heads on the arms and a cushion of goatskin. She guessed that was her father's throne. In one corner, a house-size globe of water hovered in the air, and inside swam am Ophiotaurus, half-cow, half-serpent. Vivi remembered Percy telling her the story about the creature. It's name is apparently Bessie.

The group walked toward the thrones, and a woman's voice said, "Hello again, Percy Jackson. You and your friends are welcome."

A grown woman stood by the hearth. She wore the same kind of simple brown dress and was poking the flames with a stick.

Percy bowed. "Lady Hestia." 

Everyone followed.

Hestia regarded the boy with her red glowing eyes. "I see you went through with your plan. You bear the curse of Achilles."

"Sorry, what!" Vivi hissed, her eyes wide.

The other campers started muttering among themselves: What did she say? What about Achilles?

"You must be careful," Hestia warned. "You gained much on your journey. But you are still blind to the most important truth. Perhaps a glimpse is in order."

Annabeth nudged Percy. "Um. . . what is she talking about?"

Percy stared into Hestia's eyes, and suddenly, his knees buckled.

"Wow, there." Vivi quickly grabbed him.

"Did. . . did you see that?"

"See what?" Vivi asked.

Percy glanced at Hestia, but the goddess's face was expressionless. 

"How long was I out?

Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "Percy, you weren't out at all. You just looked at Hestia for like one second and collapsed." 

Percy straightened up, "Um, Lady Hestia, we've come on urgent business. We need to see ─ "  

"We know what you need," a man's voice said and Vivi recognized that voice immediately.

A god shimmered into existence next to Hestia. He looked about twenty-five, with curly salt-and pepper hair and elfish features. He wore a military pilot's flight suit, with tiny bird's wings fluttering on his helmet and his black leather boots. In the crook of his arm was a long staff entwined with two living serpents.

"I will leave you now," Hestia said. She bowed to the aviator and disappeared into smoke.

Vivi understood why she was so anxious to go, because her dad did not look happy.

"Hello, Percy." his brow furrowed as though he was annoyed with Percy. He turned towards Vivi and his eyes softened, "My dear, how are you?"

Vivi crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Could be better."

Percy bowed awkwardly. "Lord Hermes."

Oh, sure, said a voice in Vivi's head. She jumped a bit, the realized that one of the snakes said in her mind. Don't say hi to us. We're just reptiles.

George, the other snake scolded. Be polite.

"Hello, George," Percy said. "Hey, Martha."

Did you bring us a rat? George asked.

George, stop it, Martha said. He's busy!

Too busy for rats? George said. That's just sad. 

"Um, Hermes," Percy said. "We need to talk to Zeus. It's important."

Her father's eyes became steely cold. "I am his messenger. May I take a message?"

Behind Vivi, the other demigods shifted restlessly. 

"You guys," Percy said. "Why don't you do a sweep of the city? Check the defenses. See who's left in Olympus. Meet Vivi, Annabeth and me back here in thirty minutes."

Silena frowned. "But ─ "

"That's a good idea," Annabeth said. "Connor and Travis, you two lead."

Her brothers seemed to like that ─ getting handed an important responsibility right in front of their dad. They usually never led anything except toilet paper raids.

"We're on it!" Travis said. They herded the others out of the throne room, leaving Vivi, Annabeth and Percy with Hermes.

"My lord," Annabeth said. "Kronos is going to attack New York. You must suspect that. My mother must have foreseen it."

"Your mother," Hermes grumbled. He scratched his back with his caduceus, and George and Martha muttered Ow, ow, ow.

"Don't get me started on your mother, young lady. She's the reason I'm here at all. Zeus didn't want any of us to leave the front line. But your mother kept pestering him nonstop, 'It's a trap, it's a diversion, blah, blah, blah.' She wanted to come back herself, but Zeus was not going to let his number one strategist leave his side while we're battling Typhon. And so naturally he sent me to talk to you."

"But it is a trap!" Annabeth insisted. "Is Zeus blind?"

Thunder rolled through the sky.

"I'd watch the comments, girl," Hermes warned. "Zeus is not blind or deaf. He has not left Olympus completely undefended."

"But there are these blue lights ─ "

"Yes, yes. I saw them. Some mischief by that insufferable goddess of magic, Hecate, I'd wager, but you may have noticed they aren't doing any damage. Olympus has strong magical wards. Besides, Aeolus, the King of the Winds, has sent his most powerful minions to guard the citadel. No one save the gods can approach Olympus from the air. They would be knocked out of the sky."

Percy raised his hand. "Um. . . what about that materializing/teleporting thing you guys do?" 

"That's a form of air travel too, Jackson. Very fast, but the wind gods are faster. No, if Kronos wants Olympus, he'll have to march through the entire city with his army and take the elevators! Can you see him doing this?" 

Vivi's father made it sound pretty ridiculous ─ hordes of monsters going up in the elevator twenty at a time, listening to "Stayin' Alive." 

"Maybe just a few of you could come back?" Vivi suggested.

Hermes shook his head impatiently. "My dear, you don't understand. Typhon is our greatest enemy."

"I thought that was Kronos."

The god's eyes glowed. "No, Percy. In the old days, Olympus was almost overthrown by Typhon. He is husband of Echidna ─ "

"Met her at the Arch," Percy muttered. "Not nice."

" ─ and the father of all monsters. We can never forget how close he came to destroying us all; how he humiliated us! We were more powerful back in the old days. Now we can expect no help from Poseidon because he's fighting his own war. Hades sits in his realm and does nothing, and Demeter and Persephone follow his lead. It will take all our remaining power to oppose the storm giant. We can't divide our forces, nor wait until he gets to New York. We have to battle him now. And we're making progress."

"Progress?" Percy said. "He nearly destroyed St. Louis."

"Yes," Hermes admitted. "But he destroyed only half of Kentucky. He's slowing down. Losing power."

Vivi didn't want to argue, but it sounded like her father was trying to convince himself. In the corner, the Ophiotaurus mooed sadly.

"Please, Hermes," Annabeth said. "You said my mother wanted to come. Did she give you any messages for us?"

"Messages," he muttered. "'It'll be a great job,' they told me. 'Not much work. Lots of worshippers.' Hmph. Nobody cares what I have to say. It's always about other people's messages."

Rodents, George mused. I'm in it for the rodents.

Shhh, Martha scolded. We care what Hermes has to say. Don't we, George?

Oh, absolutely. Can we go back to the battle now? I want to do laser mode again. That's fun. 

"Quiet, both of you," Hermes grumbled.

Her father looked at Annabeth, who was doing her big-pleading-gray-eyes thing.

"Bah," Hermes said. "Your mother said to warn you that you are on your own. You must hold Manhattan without the help of the gods. As if I didn't know that. Why they pay her to be the wisdom goddess, I'm not sure."

"Anything else?" Annabeth asked.

"She said you should try plan twenty-three. She said you would know what that meant." 

Annabeth's face paled. Obviously she knew what it meant, and she didn't like it. "Go on."

"Last thing." Hermes looked at Percy. "She said to tell Percy: 'Remember the rivers.' And, um, Aphrodite shouted how Vivi should work courage, whatever that means."

Vivi could feel her cheeks warming up. And it didn't help that her father was looking at her with a raised eyebrow, as if to say Well? Vivi coughed.

"Thank you, Hermes," Annabeth said. "And I. . . I wanted to say. . . I'm sorry about Luke."

Her father's expression hardened like he'd turned to marble. "You should've left that subject alone."

Annabeth stepped back nervously. "Sorry?"

"SORRY doesn't cut it!"

George and Martha curled around the caduceus, which shimmered and changed into something that looked suspiciously like a high-voltage cattle prod.

"You should've saved him when you had the chance," Hermes growled at Annabeth. "You're the only one who could have."

Percy tried to step between them. "What are you talking about? Annabeth didn't ─ "

"Don't defend her, Jackson!" Hermes turned the cattle prod toward Percy. "She knows exactly what I'm talking about."

"Maybe you should blame yourself!"

Vivi wanted to slap him right there and then.

"Maybe if you hadn't abandoned Luke and his mom!"

Hermes raised his cattle prod. He began to grow until he was ten feet tall.

"Dad!" Vivi shouted, "Stop it, right now! We have bigger problems then your little cat fight right now! Kronos is approaching, are you seriously mad at them right now."

The god looked at his daughter. Vivi couldn't read his expression really well, but there was hint of sadness, gloominess, but a bit of pride too. He lowered the cattle prod, and it turned back to a staff. George and Martha leaned in close and whispered something in his ear. Hermes clenched his teeth.

"Percy Jackson," he said, "because you have taken on the curse of Achilles, I must spare you. You are in the hands of the Fates now. But you will never speak to me like that again. You have no idea how much I have sacrificed, how much ─ "  his voice broke, and he shrank back to human size. "My son. . . my poor May. . . my poor Amelia. . ."

Vivi didn't know why her mother's name came out of Hermes' mouth, but it made her sad and angry. He was the one that left them, and now he's mooring over her. But, Vivi understands him. He lost a son; Vivi lost a brother. They both lost a part of their family to a threat that wanted to destroy them all.

The girl walked up to her father and hugged him. The god froze for a moment, but she could feel his arms wrapping around her, "You looked like you needed a hug."

Although Vivi couldn't see it, she knew her father had a small smile on his face, "I did."

niki speaks!

now when i have time, i don't write.
what is wrong with me??
i might need to reread the Blood of Olympus
for the last book cause
i'm stuck on that.
and i need to start writing for maddy and jason and for rosalie and robin
and i wanna make a jj maybank fic. . .
nice
plus me and my current obsession
of shifting to legend of korra and making script for it. . . that's i've been doing

anyway,
have a good day/night!
bye!