𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖊𝖋

ONCE PERCY LEFT THE SPOT BESIDE PHOENIX TO STAY AT THE POSEIDON CABIN WHERE HE BELONGED, he was avoided by every camper as if he were diagnosed with the plague.

Something Phoenix didn't have to try to actively do, considering she hardly left her Cabin for anything but chores and only the most mandatory cabin activities of the week.

But when she did see the boy in passing, She noticed that he was being completely shunned. The other Hermes kids refused to train with him which left him training alone with Luke and the occasional Phoenix if she felt like it. Phoenix was the only one besides Luke who didn't treat him any differently, still quite annoyed by his constant questions and overall existence.

She didn't know what it was about him, but he knew how to provoke something within her.

Regardless, he seemed to become comfortable with her. Something Phoenix had no intention of causing. She simply knew how it felt to feel isolated from the rest, and didn't care to treat him any different knowing he was a child of the big three.

As the days passed Phoenix's schedule remained as boring and repetitive as ever. When she was awake, she spent most of her time drawing. When she was asleep, the nightmares came.

It always started with the one she always had, her skin felt like it was being flayed off, terrible overlapping voices rang in her head, and she felt an ache within her entire body.

The second one she had the night before her life would be forever changed, and it was not recurring. It was something she could hardly understand. Which wasn't new for her Nightmares.

Two men were fighting. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green. They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked, and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.

Phoenix wanted to stop them, but she couldn't. She could only make it worse...

The scene got bloodier and bloodier. More deadly as the lightning flashed and seawater became wild, like a growing, lethal, tropical storm.

Over the roar of the storm, She could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, Give it back! Give it back! Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.

The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying Phoenix with water.

She wanted to yell, Stop it! Stop fighting! But white smoke spilled from her lips instead. The men in the robes became more wild.

The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth.

Come, little hero.

Another voice emerged, overlapping that one, a voice so deep and evil she almost felt afraid. It's time, Phoenix...

The sand split beneath her, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. Her feet slipped, and darkness swallowed her, when she woke up, she still felt like she was falling.

Phoenix did her best to disregard her dream the next day, which led her to ignore Luke the entire morning. Refusing to leave her spot, she didn't do anything but draw and draw. She didn't even look up when Bella offered her brownies. Nothing interested her, she only wanted to spill out whatever weird emotion the dreams generated within her. After a while, when she realized she was drawing a scene of four figures and a satyr, she paused. Her blood ran hot, and her eyes started glowing red.

That's when Luke came in, she tried ignoring him again. Until he told her that she was being called to the Big House.

"What the hell?" Phoenix grunted, shoving her sketchbook under her pillow. "W-Why? Chiron never wants to speak to me..."

Luke smiled slyly, "Congratulations Phee. You're going on your first quest."

𓌪

"DOESN'T A QUEST REQUIRE ONLY THREE PEOPLE?" Phoenix asked. Shifting on her legs. Percy stood in front of her on the front porch of the Big House. "Luke told me there's a higher chance of death and bad luck if there's more than three people?"

Percy huffed rubbing his temples. "Is there a Demigod life Guide I can watch?"

Dionysus sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke unamused and annoyed. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheelchair—two sets of cards hovering in the air.

"Well, yes." Chiron cleared his throat, he watched Phoenix carefully and curiously. She interpreted it as him waiting for her to fuck things up. "But the Oracle has declared Percy to have three companions for his quest, and he has chosen you."

"You chose me?" Phoenix ignored Chiron, quickly turning all her attention to the boy next to her. Grover stood, his eyes widened and he yelped when she turned towards them.

"Well—I—Um, yeah." Percy began, "But if you don't want to, you can say no. I know it's asking a lot. I just—There was no one else that came to mind for me..."

"So you think I'm a coward who's going to turn down a quest?" Phoenix scoffed

His face twisted in confusion, "Phoenix where did you get that from—"

"Shut up, You chose me so I'm going." She crossed her arms over her chest, "Don't backtrack now."

"I wasn't—"

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She cut him off, "So, What's our quest?"

Percy looked at Grover in question. The goat boy just gulped nervously his eyes begging his friend to rethink his decision.

Chiron directed his question towards Phoenix, "Child don't you think you should ask that before you agree to go. It is your first quest after all."

Phoenix looked at him and glared, "It could be a suicide mission for all I care about, I'll do anything to get out of this damn camp Chiron."

Dionysus laughed, he raised his soda can. "I don't hate that one. She understands me."

Chiron sighed, "Phoenix, I understand you feel trapped. But you must be prepared for this...You are a special child and you are not as experienced as you believe yourself to be. You must consider if you can handle this... This quest is, of grand importance. Percy needs to be supported in every way possible."

"You mean if it can handle me" Phoenix growled, "You think I'm going to mess up Percy's quest because I'm a daughter of Eris. You're doubting me again."

"No, Phoenix. This has nothing to do with your ancestry dear. I simply don't want any trouble for Percy." Chiron saw how her face dropped, "Phoenix I don't mean—"

Phoenix swallowed harshly, "I know exactly what you mean Chiron. You don't have to explain it to me." She turned to Percy, "Choose someone else, I'm too much of a flight risk."

Phoenix went to leave but was stopped by Percy blocking her path.

"No." Percy said, "If you're willing to come with me why shouldn't you?"

Grover and Chiron frowned, "Percy."

He ignored everyone else, "You want to go don't you? Well, I want you to come. You saved me, and it's clear that you've got power. Plus you're the only other kid here that doesn't treat me weird. So I want you to come. I want you to help me. I mean that."

Phoenix didn't bear to look him in the eye. There was a mild warm sensation in her chest. "Chiron is right, I'll mess everything up. I bring trouble everywhere I go."

Percy grinned, "Then we have something in common."

Phoenix dared to look up. His green eyes broke their locked gaze when he addressed Chiron. "She's coming with me. I choose her as my second companion."

"Very well." Chiron nodded bleakly, "If that's what you both wish. I guess it may even be good for you to have a child of the underworld to navigate it with you."

Percy's face dropped. "Underworld?"

"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"

"Somebody else who wants to take over?" He guessed.

"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."

"Hades." Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."

"Only?" Phoenix raised an eyebrow, "you really think there's no other person who wants to gain incredible power and become sovereign of the entire universe?"

Chiron was doing his best to steady his uneven breaths, Phoenix was almost proud of her effect on him. "Yes, It is the most plausible answer right now Phoenix."

A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"

"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

"Yes, but-but Hades hates all heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon..."

"A hellhound got into the forest." Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."

"Great," Percy muttered. A defeated frown on his face. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."

"But a quest to..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."

"But I was the one you didn't want joining the quest." Phoenix jabbed at Chiron. "The goat is about ready to shit himself and we haven't even left yet."

"H-Hey! I am not Phoenix!" Grover was trembling. He'd started eating pinochle cards like potato chips.

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt." Chiron insisted.
"He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

A strange fire burned in Phoenix's stomach. The weirdest thing was that it wasn't fear. It was anticipation.

"Look, if we know it's Hades," Percy told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."

"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said.

Phoenix snorted, "That, and Gods never do their own dirty work.."

"Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades-and I imagine Poseidon does-they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Phoenix is right, in a way. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, and challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"You're saying I'm being used."

"Bingo." Phoenix nodded, "Welcome to Demigod life, Fish Face."

"No, I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now." He grumbled, scolding Phoenix silently. "It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."

"You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"

"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."

"So let me get this straight," He said. "I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."

"Check," Chiron said.

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Check."

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right."

He looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.

"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.

Phoenix shrugged, "I'm down to go as long as I get to finally stab something."

Grover nodded, he tried convincing Phoenix with a grin. "You can always stab a good plate of cheese enchiladas!"

"Grover." Percy tried, "If you can't, I couldn't ever force you t—"

"Oh..." He shifted his hooves. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places...well..."

He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt.

"You saved my life, Percy. If— if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."

Percy looked relieved "All the way, G-man." He turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."

"Where?"

Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."

"Oh," Percy said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"

"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"

"Do you have a death wish?" Phoenix genuinely asked

He shook his head, looking embarrassed under their gaze.

"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."

Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.

Phoenix rolled her eyes, unimpressed.

"Okay," He said, determined not to look at the storm over Camp Half-Blood's boundaries. "So, I'll travel overland."

"That's right," Chiron said. "Three companions will accompany you. Grover is one. Phoenix...The other. The last one has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."

"Gee," Percy said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

The air shimmered behind Chiron. Phoenix stood up a little straighter. She cleared her throat and smoothed down her hair subconsciously.

Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket. "I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"If you do say so yourself," He said. "I suppose you have a plan, Wise girl?"

Phoenix became a little bitter remembering Capture the Flag, she couldn't stop herself, "Don't you remember? Princess Know-it-all always does..."

Her cheeks flushed with color."Do you guys want my help or not?"

"The four of us," Percy said. "That'll work."

Phoenix suddenly remembered the portrait she had drawn just that day...It's happening...

"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather. Phoenix tilted her head curiously.

"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."