WHEN KARINA AWOKE, she was no longer laying on the cold concrete of the airfield, with large ogre shaped craters surrounding her— instead, she was on a plane, laying in someone's lap, their hands running through her hair softly, lightly pulling on the small knots that had formed in the time since she last brushed it.

she shifted slightly, and turned onto her back, slowly opening her eyes to see hazel staring softly at her, noticing that she had finally woken up.

"look who finally decided to join us," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

karina smiled groggily, moaning in slight pain as she felt her muscles ache as she sat up on the leather seat of the plane.

and not even a second after she sat up and rubbed her eyes, two out of three of the other passengers were staring at her, with anticipated and looks of awe masked onto their faces.

" . . . what?" she muttered quietly to them. "is there drool on my face?" she subconsciously went to wipe the sides of her face, but feeling nothing, she put her hand back down.

"no, no," hazel said with a small laugh. "there's no drool on your face, karina. we are just . . . a little, in shock. that's all."

"in shock at what?"

percy looked at her with a raised eyebrow, his facial features tensed, and she suddenly remembered that he too was afraid of heights. karina's stomach began to feel queasy at the reminder that she was thousands of feet in the air— no where near her normal terrain.

"do you not remember taking out fifteen ogres, like, thirty minutes ago?" he asked skeptically, and suddenly all of the memories went rushing into her head, making her forehead begin to pound.

she groaned quietly, rubbing her forehead as flashbacks of what she had done not long ago reappeared in her memory. "did i really do that?" she asked.

hazel and percy nodded.

she sighed deeply. "oh,"

"yeah," hazel replied. "oh."

it was silent for a long minute, before percy asked, "so, what . . . exactly, happened?"

karina shook her head. "i don't know what came over me. my power was fading, and . . . and i could feel myself losing control. but then . . . i felt this sort of— rush of energy wash over me. and, all of a sudden, i felt as if i could run a marathon. i felt my muscles become stronger, and my hold on the ogre's got tighter, and . . . "

she hesitated for a moment, debating on whether or not she should tell the rest of them about how she heard a voice in her head—- that did not sound like her, at all. she debated on if they would even believe her, since it did sound kind of stupid, if she thought about it.

yeah, a weird strange voice was talking to me in my brain, but it wasn't me! i swear!

yeah, that sounded pretty believable.

but, these people were her friends, they would believe her, right?

"and what?" hazel asked softly.

she swallowed. "i . . . heard this voice in my head. telling me that we'd fight them together. the monsters. but . . . the voice wasn't mine. and . . . it came as soon as it left, along with the strength i had acquired with it."

percy and hazel glanced at each other, giving awry looks to one another. "you heard a voice in your head, that wasn't yours?" hazel asked hesitantly.

karina nodded, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

hazel paused for a moment, pursing her lips as she stared at the seat in front of her, as if trying to figure out what to say next.

"well," she began. "from what i know, hearing strange voices in your head is never anything good. are you . . . are you sure it wasn't just your . . . subconscious, or something?"

karina gave her an annoyed glare. "yes, hazel. i'm pretty sure i would know if i was talking to myself."

hazel nodded, and gave her a sympathetic look. "okay, okay, i know. i'm sorry. . . it's just, hearing voices in your head isn't a good sign. it could mean a lot of things."

"like what?"

she paused. "well— there's not too many reasons as to why your hearing a voice, but, the most reasonable reason would be . . . someone is trying to possess you. in a way."

karina looked at her in disbelief. "possess me? you mean, like, take over my body?"

hazel nodded, looking at her grimly. "but, that might not be the reason at all. maybe it was your mother reaching out to you? to help you when she knew you were about to faint?"

karina considered this. maybe hazel was right, maybe it was just her mother trying to help her. but, when had she ever done that? she'd been in many situations where she was slowly growing weaker— but she never heard the voice of her mother in her head. why now?

"i— i don't know, haz," karina responded quietly, and looked up to see percy looking at her with a soft expression, his body language showing that he was trying to remain calm— even though she knew that his instincts were to get out of the plane as soon as possible.

she flashed him a small smile, and moved to sit next to him, her stomach twisting as she felt the airplane roll through a cloud— causing a small jolt in the plane. she stopped, and took a deep breath, trying to distract her mind from the fact that she was in a small metal box in the air, and not safely on the ground, where she felt most comfortable.

she eventually found her way next to percy, who looked quite pale, and nervous.

"how are you holding up, percy?" she asked quietly, looking at him through the corner of her eye.

he took a shuddered breath, his hands shaking slightly as they moved from his lap to the arm's on the sides of his chair. "uhm— you know, the usual," he muttered, and nervous laugh escaping him. "trying to survive without jupiter blasting me into a pile of schist."

karina bit back a grin, and went to place her hands over percy's shaking ones— though, her's were still a little jittery as well— she tried to hide it.

"don't worry, i'm pretty sure he knows what type of quest your on, and that his wife would not be very happy to find out he killed the most important part of her master plan."

percy chuckled, and turned to squeeze karina's hands softly. "yeah, you're right. and it's not as if there isn't enough trouble in paradise already with them."

"now that," she agreed. "is very true."

they both laughed, and turned to look back at hazel, who had begun to speak to frank— who had been sitting quietly in the corner of her plane, not saying a word. karina had almost forgotten he was there— she mentally slapped herself for even thinking about that.

she heard hazel reassuring frank that he'd done everything he could for his grandmother. he kept his head down like he was ashamed to have been crying, but karina didn't blame him. the poor guy had just lost his grandmother and seen his house go up in flames.

as far as karina was concerned, shedding a few tears about something like that didn't make you any less of a man, especially when you had just fended off an army of ogres that wanted to eat you for breakfast.

frank refused to explain exactly what his "family gift" was, but as they flew north, frank did tell them about his conversation with mars the night before. he explained the prophecy juno had issued when he was a baby— about his life being tied to a piece of firewood, and how he had asked hazel to keep it for him.

some of that, karina had already figured out, and percy had too. hazel and frank obviously shared some crazy experiences when they blacked out together, and they'd made some sort of deal. it also explained why even now, out of habit, frank kept checking his coat pocket, and why he was so nervous around fire. still, karina couldn't imagine what kind of courage it had taken for frank to embark on a quest, knowing that one small flame could snuff out his life.

"frank," percy said. "i'm proud to be related to you."

karina's heart swelled at this, and couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in her heart. frank's ears turned red. with his head lowered, his military haircut made a shark black arrow pointing down. "juno has some sort of plan for us, about the prophecy of eight."

"yeah," percy grumbled. "i didn't like her as hera. i don't like her any better as juno."

hazel tucked her feet underneath her. she studied percy with her luminescent golden eyes, and karina wondered how she could be so calm. she was the youngest one on the quest— her and percy being basically senior citizens around them— but she was always holding them together and comforting them. now they were flying to alaska, where she had died once before. they would try to free thanatos, who might take her back to the underworld. yet she didn't show any fear. it made karina feel silly for being scared of airplane turbulence.

"you're a son of poseidon, aren't you?" she asked. "you are a greek demigod."

percy gripped his leather necklace with the hand that wasn't laced with karina's. "i started to remember in portland, after the gorgon's blood. it's been coming back to me slowly since then. there's another camp— camp half-blood."

karina, hazel, and frank stared at him as though he'd slipped into another language.

"another camp," karina repeated. "a greek camp? gods, if octavian found out— "

"he'd declare war," frank said. "he's always been sure the greeks were out there, plotting against us. he thought percy was a spy."

"well he thought i was too," karina grumbled. "since i didn't go to lupa."

"that's why juno sent me," percy said. "uh, i mean, not to spy. i think it was some kind of exchange. your friend jason— " he flashed a quick glance at karina. "i think he was sent to my camp. in my dreams, i saw a demigod that might have been him. he was working with some other demigods on this flying warship. i think they're coming to camp jupiter to help."

karina gasped. "you're exactly right, percy!" she exclaimed. "i saw that in my dreams too. jason was helping some kid named leo with an engine for a warship. the argo- something."

percy nodded, and frank tapped nervously on the back of his seat. "mars said junk wants to unite the greeks and romans to fight gaea. but, geez— greeks and romans have a long history of bad blood."

hazel took a deep breath. "that's probably why the gods have kept us apart this long. if a greek warship appeared in the sky above camp jupiter, and reyna didn't know it was friendly— "

"yeah," percy agreed. "we've got to be careful how we explain this when we get back."

"if we get back," frank said.

percy nodded reluctantly, and karina's heart skipped a beat. she seemed to forget how easily she could die on this quest.

"i mean, i trust you guy. i hope you trust me. i feel . . . well, i feel as close to you three as to any of my old friends at camp half-blood. but with the other demigods, at both camps— there's going to be a lot of suspicion."

hazel did something karina— or percy— wasn't expecting. she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. but, karina didn't feel the slightest bit of jealousy in her bones. it was totally a sisterly kiss, so she didn't even care. she smiled at the way hazel smiled with such affection toward him, it warmed her heart.

"of course we trust you," she said. "we're a family now. aren't we, frank, karina."

karina nodded. "of course! can't have fish brain being an outcast, can we?" percy smiled at her, and squeezed her hand tighter.

"sure," frank said. "do i get a kiss?"

karina barked out a laugh, and looked to percy to see if he was smiling— but she saw him looking at her with a expectant eyebrow raised, as if he was expecting the same thing that frank asked.

karina narrowed her eyes at him. "not happening, kelp head."

he rolled his eyes with a frown, sticking his tongue out at her childishly, and looked back to hazel, who was just beginning to laugh at what frank said, but there was a nervous tension to it.

"anyway," hazel said. "what do we do now?"

percy took a deep breath, as did karina. time was slipping away. they were almost halfway through june twenty-third, and tomorrow was the feast of fortuna.

"i've got to contact a friend," percy announced. "to keep my promise to ella."

"how?" frank said. "one of those iris-messages?"

"still not working," percy said sadly. "i tried it last night at your grandmother's house. no luck. maybe it's because my memories are still jumbled. or the gods aren't allowing a connection. i'm hoping i can contact my friend in my dreams."

another bump made karina's heart jump into her throat, and she felt percy grip onto her hand with a steel hold, the veins in his hand becoming prominent from the force. below them, snowcapped mountains broke through a blanket of clouds.

"i'm not sure i can sleep," percy said. "but i need to try. we can't leave ella by herself with those ogres around."

"yeah," frank said. "we've still got hours to fly. take the couch, man."

percy nodded, but, before he got up, he glanced at karina— sort of shyly, and then glanced to their interlocked hands, and back up to her again.

karina began to smile warmly at what percy was trying to ask without words. "do you want me to lay with you, percy?"

percy felt a blush creep up the sides of his neck, and he refrained from trying to rub it off, and nodded at her hesitantly. "uhm— yes, please," he said quietly, looking at her with his glittering sea green eyes. "i think it might help me fall asleep faster, with you next to me."

karina's heart continued to swell at the sound of this, and she knew that her face was coated in a dusty blush as well— but, she'd become so used to the feeling that she didn't even care when it occurred. "okay, percy," she said softly. "i'll help you sleep."

he smiled warmly in her direction, avoiding the intrigued stares of hazel and frank, as he led them to the small, but very comfortable couch, that was in the back corner of the plane.

karina sat down first, and she pulled percy's hand down with her, plopping him beside her on the couch. she gave him a small smile as she began to pull his shoulders down to the cushion of the couch, scooting over slightly so that percy could lay down across it— his head resting in karina's lap.

she began to twist her fingers through percy's raven black hair, that was surprisingly very soft— and smelt good— even after all the shit they had just been through.

she could hear percy let out a quiet sigh of content as she continued to run her hands through his hair, and she felt him relax into her touch, his body falling heavier against her legs, and his breathing beginning to slow.

karina let out a soft sigh of relaxation, and leaned her head back against the back of the couch, closing her eyes, choosing to ignore the fact that frank and hazel were whispering to each other with wide grins casted upon their faces— no doubt talking about what had just happened— and karina knew that frank was telling hazel all about the small kiss he saw her and percy share.

but, she just put that all in the back of her head as she began to feel sleep overtake her, and the feeling of percy's soft hair between her finger's, his lips pressed up against her legs in his slumber was all she needed at the moment mc and then all she saw was black.

karina woke up the second time that day with a bounce, feeling a bump in the plane as it began its descent. she felt more refreshed than she did before— and she managed to have a quiet slumber, free of any weird or scary dreams that usually plagued her sleep.

she noticed that she had somehow managed to lay sideways as well— her body curled behind percy's in a way that showed she didn't purposely put herself like that. she arm was hanging loosely over the side of percy's face, and his hand was draped loosely over it. and his head was so close to her's that she felt the tips of his hair tickle her nose, and she wrinkled it as it began to tickle.

and, after another jolt in the plane— percy awoke as well, a small gasp escaping him as he startled himself awake.

karina sat up from behind him, still slightly groggy, and put a hand on his shoulder. "sleep okay?"

he too sat up groggily, looking at her with hooded eyes. "how long was i out?" he asked karina, his voice still slightly raspy from the time he spent sleeping— which was extremely attractive to listen to.

frank stood in the aisle, wrapping his spear and new bow in his ski bag. "you two were out for a few hours," he said.

karina looked out the window. a glittering inlet of the sea snaked between the snowy mountains, surrounded by lush green forests on one side and icy black beaches on the other.

"welcome to alaska," hazel said. "we're beyond the help of the gods."

karina's lips lifted into a wryly grin. "well, isn't that reassuring."

it seemed her joke didn't last very long, because before she knew it, they were already landing in alaska, the pilot telling them that the plane couldn't wait for them.

but, that was okay with karina. if they survived till the next day, she hoped they could find a different way back— anything but a plane.

and, despite all of this, she felt strangely . . . okay. she didn't feel terrified of death, or facing ploybotes— though, she has a feeling she will be when she actually faces him— but, at the moment, she just felt . . . there. she was with her three closest friends— someone being a little more than that— and they were together, and that's all she needed.

as they took a taxi into downtown anchorage, percy told frank, hazel, and karina about his dreams. karina knew she looked anxious, as did the other two, but she wasn't surprised when he told them about the giant's army closing in on camp.

frank choked when he heard about tyson. "you have a half-brother who's a cyclopes?"

"hey, don't discriminate." karina chided playfully.

percy sent an amused glance in her direction, before turning back to frank. "sure," he said. "which makes him your great-great-great— "

"please." frank covered his ears. "enough."

karina snickered, and she heard hazel begin to speak. "as long as he can get ella to camp," she said. "i'm worried about her."

percy nodded, and the taxi turned on highway one, which looked more like a small street to karina, and took them north toward downtown. it was late afternoon, but the sun was still high in the sky.

"i can't believe how much this place has grown," hazel muttered.

the taxi driver grinned in the rearview mirror. "been a long time since you visited, miss?"

"about seventy years," hazel said.

the driver slid the glass partition closed and drove on in silence.

according to hazel, almost none of the buildings were the same, but she pointed out features of the landscape: the vast forests ringing the city, the cold, gray waters of cook inlet tracing the north edge of town, and the chugach mountains rising grayish-blue in the distance, capped with snow even in june.

karina had never smelled air this clean before. the town itself had a weather-beaten look to it, with closed stores, rusted-out cars, and worn apartment complexes lining the road, but it was still beautiful. lakes and huge stretches of woods cut through the middle. the arctic sky was an amazing combination of turquoise and gold.

then there were the giants. dozens of bright-blue men, each thirty-feet tall with gray frosty hair, were wading through the forests, fishing in the bay, and striding across the mountains. the mortals didn't seem to notice them. the taxi passes within a few yards of one who was sitting at the edge of a lake washing his feet, but the driver didn't panic.

"um . . . " frank pointed at the blue guy.

"hyperboreans," percy said. "northern giants. i fought some when kronos invade manhattan."

"wait," karina said. "when who did what?"

"long story. but these guys look . . . i don't know, peaceful."

"they usually are," hazel agreed. "they never bothered me, though one almost stepped on me by accident once."

that sounded fairly bothersome to karina, but the taxi kept driving. none of the giants paid them any attention. one stood right at the intersection of northern lights road, straddling the highway, and they drove between his legs. the hyperborean was cradling a native american totem pole wrapped in furs, humming to it like a baby. if the guy hadn't been the size of a building, he would've been almost cute.

the taxi drove through downtown, past a bunch of tourists' shops advertising furs, native american art, and gold. karina hoped hazel wouldn't get agitated and make the jewelry shops explode.

as the driver turned and headed toward the seashore, hazel knocked on the glass partition. "here is good. can you let us out?"

they paid the driver and stepped onto fourth street. compared to vancouver, downtown anchorage was tiny— more like a college campus than a city, but hazel looked amazed.

"it's huge," she said. "that's— that's where the gitchell hotel used to be. my mom and i stayed there our first week in alaska. and they've moved city hall. it used to be there."

she led them in a daze for a few blocks. they didn't really have a plan beyond finding the fastest way to the hubbard glacier, but karina smelled something cooling nearby— sausage, maybe? but, that didn't smell too appetizing to her— considering she's vegetarian— but, just the thought of food made her realize she hadn't eaten since that morning at grandma zhang's.

"food," percy said. "come on."

they found a café right by the beach. it was bustling with people, but they scored a table at the window and perused the menus.

frank whooped with delight. "twenty-four-hour breakfast!"

"it's, like, dinner time," percy said, though karina couldn't tell from looking outside. the sun was so high, it could've been noon.

"i love breakfast," frank said. "i'd eat breakfast, breakfast, and breakfast if i could. though, um, i'm sure the food here isn't as good as hazel's."

hazel elbowed him, but her smile was playful.

seeing them like that made karina happy. those two definitely needed to get together by now. but, seeing them two act like that reminded her of the fact she had someone right next to her, who she could have something with as well. she turned her head to look at percy, only to already see him staring at her, his eyes shining brighter in the ultimates sunlight that was streaming through the windows.

he looked beautiful.

her smile grew bigger and she linked their hands together under the table, resting them on her thigh so that she could place her other hand overtop them. his smile grew as well, and he scooted closer to karina, close enough to where the sides of their legs were pushed together, and their shoulders were laid on each other. karina just scoffed lightly, a small smile still present on her face as percy spoke.

"you know," he said. "breakfast sounds great."

they all ordered massive plates of eggs, pancakes, and reindeer sausage— though, karina skipped out on that. frank looked a little worried about the reindeer. "you think it's okay that were eating rudolph?"

"absolutely not," karina deadpanned.

"dude," percy said, ignoring her remark. "i could eat prancer and blitzen, too. i'm hungry."

karina rolled her eyes, and subtly pinched his arm, electing a small yelp of pain from him, and he looked over to her with a small pout. "what was that for?"

"murdering reindeers." she said with a frown, glaring at him.

he just shook his head with a small smile at her childish antics, and turned back to the table, moving his hand from her grasp to now resting on her thigh, which ultimately made karina feel like her stomach was a butterfly zoo.

besides karina's already fluttering from where percy's hand was, she still managed to enjoy her food. she had never seen anyone eat as fast as frank. the red-nosed reindeer did not stand a chance.

between bites of a blueberry pancake, hazel drew a squiggly curve and an X on her napkin. "so this is what i'm thinking. we're here." she tapped X. "anchorage."

"it looks like a seagull's face," percy said. "and we're the eye."

karina side-eyed him as hazel glared at him. "it's a map, percy. anchorage is at the top of this sliver of ocean, cook inlet. there's a big peninsula of land below us, and my old home town, seward, is at the bottom of the peninsula, here." she drew another X at the base of the seagull's throat. "that's the closest town to the hubbard glacier. we could go around by sea, i guess, but it would take forever. we don't have that kind of time."

frank polished off the last of his rudolph. "but land is dangerous," he said. "land means gaea."

"but i'm also stronger on land," karina added. "i would be of more help if we on solid ground."

hazel nodded. "karina's right. we need everyone to be in their top shape to act alcyoneus. and besides, i don't see that we've got much choice. we could have asked our pilot to fly us down, but i don't know . . . his plane might be too big for the little seward airport. and if we chartered another plane— "

"no more planes," percy said. "please."

"uhm, yeah, literally anything else." karina said.

hazel held up her hand in a placating gesture. "it's okay. there's a train that goes from here to seward. we might be able to catch one tonight. it only takes a couple of hours."

she drew a dotted line between the two X's.

"you just cut off the seagull's head," percy noted.

"focus, please?" karina said to percy in a motherly tone, narrowing her eyes at him.

"sorry," he muttered, looking down at his plate with a pout.

hazel sighed. "it's the train line. look, from seward, the hubbard glacier is down here somewhere." she tapped the lower right corner of her napkin. "that's where alcyoneus is."

"but you're not sure how far?" frank asked.

hazel frowned and shook her head. "i'm pretty sure it's only accessible by boat or plane."

"boat," percy said immediately.

"fine," hazel said. "it shouldn't be too far from seward. if we can get to seward safely."

karina gazed out the window. so much to do, and only twenty-four hours left. this time tomorrow, the feast of fortuna would be starting. unless they unleashed death and made it back to camp, the giants army would flood into the valley. the romans would be the main course at a monster dinner.

across the street, a frosty black sand beach led down to the sea, which was as smooth as steel, and a hyperborean giant lumbered across the street. nobody in the café noticed. the giant stepped into the bay, cracking ice under ice sandals, and thrust his hands in the water. he brought out a killer whale in one fist. apparently that wasn't what he wanted, because he threw the whale back in and kept wading.

"good breakfast," frank said. "who's ready for a train ride?"

after he said that, they quickly left the café, and made their way to the train station— which wasn't far. they were just in time to buy tickets for the last train south.

as they began to climb on board, percy said, "be with you in a sec," and ran back into the station.

"percy what are you — " karina began to say, but cut herself off as she realized he was already out of eye shot.

frank furrowed his eyebrows. "that was weird."

"yeah," hazel nodded. "let's just find seats, he'll be back soon."

karina nodded after a second of hesitation, and then joined them in their seats, sitting silently as she waited for percy to return.

after a few minutes, karina heard the conductor yell, "all aboard!" and just before they took off, she saw percy running toward the train, and just before they pulled up the steps, he climbed to the top of the double-decker car and slid into the seat.

karina frowned. "you okay?"

"yeah," he croaked. "just . . . made a call."

she understood, and frank and hazel seemed to understand as well. none of them asked for details, and karina reached over and grabbed his hand softly, squeezing it.

soon they were heading south along the coast, watching the landscape go by. karina tried to think about the quest, but even for a mild ADHD kid like her, the train wasn't the easiest place to concentrate.

cool things kept happening outside. bald eagles soared overhead. the train raced over bridges and along cliffs where glacial waterfalls tumbled thousands of feet down the rocks. they passed forests buried in snowdrifts, big artillery guns (to set off small avalanches and prevent uncontrolled ones, hazel explained), and lakes so clear, they reflected the mountains like mirrors, so the world looked upside down.

brown bears lumbered through the meadows. hyperborean giants kept appearing in the strangest places. one was lounging in a lake like it was a hot tub. another was using a pine tree as a toothpick. a third sat in a snowdrift, playing with two live moose like they were action figures. the train was full of tourists ohhing and ahhing and snapping pictures, but karina felt sorry they couldn't see the hyperboreans. they were missing the really good shots.

meanwhile, frank studied a map of alaska that he'd found in the seat pocket. he located hubbard glacier, which looked discouragingly far away from seward. he kept running his finger along the coastline, frowning with concentration.

"what are you thinking?" percy asked.

"just . . . possibilities," frank said.

karina didn't know what that meant, and it seemed percy didn't either, so he let it go.

after about an hour, karina started to relax. they bought hot chocolate from the dining car. the seats were warm and comfortable, and she thought about taking a nap.

then a shadow passed overhead. tourists murmured in excitement and started taking pictures.

"eagle!" one yelled.

"eagle?" said another.

"huge eagle!" said a third.

"that's no eagle," frank said.

karina looked up just in time to see the creature make a second pass. it was definitely larger than an eagle, with a sleek black body the size of a labrador retriever. its wingspan was at last ten feet across.

"there's another one!" frank pointed. "strike that. three, four. okay, we're in trouble."

karina grumbled. "can i not just have one moment of peace around here?"

the creatures circled the train like vultures, delighting the tourists. karina wasn't delighted. the monsters had glowing red eyes, shapely beaks, and vicious talons.

karina saw percy feel for his pen in his pocket. "those things look familiar . . . "

"seattle," hazel said. "the amazons had one in a cage. they're— "

then several things happened at once. the emergency brake screeched, pitching them forward. tourists screamed and tumbled through aisles. the monsters swooped down, shattering the glass roof of the car, and the entire train toppled off the rails.

5415 words

yes karina is a vegetarian. yes she will eat chick-fil-a nuggets. it's canon.