ALL RIGHTS TO THE CHARACTERS (except Celeste, she's mine.) BELONG TO THE AMAZING RICK RIORDAN. I DO NOT OWN THE PJO/HoO SERIES!!!

Chapter 24 - Celeste

If you were a normal, mortal teenager, your definition of awkward might be finding your boyfriend on a date with some girl you don't even know.

If you were a demigod teenager, your definition of awkward was swimming with your brother in the ocean, looking for sunken ships.

Longest. Silence. Ever.

Celeste kept glancing over at Percy, who said nothing.

It was only fair to return to favor of not speaking.

However, the thought of Percy having that nightmare kept tugging at her mind.

What had he been dreaming about?

Celeste didn't want to ask him though. He obviously didn't want to talk about it.

As they swam, the silence grew thicker until Celeste couldn't stand it any longer.

"Percy?" She asked, cutting through the soundless waters.

He looked over at her, his face expressionless.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Well, I was wondering. When I woke you up on the beach, you looked like you were having a nightmare. Can you tell me what it was about?" She asked.

Percy's expressionless face switched to a nervous look. He blinked and looked down as he swam on.

His hair, even in the water, looked messy. Celeste fought the urge to swim closer to him and ruffle it like she always did when they were little.

Wow. Celeste hadn't realized how much Percy had grown since they had last spoken to each other, before her curse.

The first 4 years of her life, she had been like a big sister to Percy, even though they were the same age. Well, technically, she was the big sister because she was born a minute before Percy was. She had always teased him about that.

But now, he was older and capable of taking care of himself and others. It was like he was the older one now and Celeste protecting him was just childish.

It made her furious.

All her life she had been there for Percy, but now he seemed fine without her.

Celeste could die and he'd probably still be fine.

No.

She wasn't going to think like that.

For Percy's sake.

It wasn't his fault. He was forced to forget Celeste and lived his whole life in confusion and helping other people, such as their mom.

Finally, Percy spoke. "I'm not sure I want to talk about it right now."

Celeste nodded.

Then, the feeling struck her.

The feeling she got whenever Polybotes was close, his presence setting all her nerves on red alert.

"Percy." Celeste whispered harshly.

However, Percy didn't understand.

"Celeste, I told you I don't want to-"

He was cut off when Celeste shoved him behind a rock.

She swam beside him, using her arm to keep him pinned so he wouldn't dart of to save the day like he always did.

He squirmed under her grasp, trying to get out, but she held him tight.

She used her other hand to cover his mouth as he started to protest.

She shushed him and he instantly shut up, understanding what she meant.

The giant, Polybotes, was right there, standing in the perfect place so he couldn't see Percy or Celeste.

But he could smell them.

Unfortunately, for demigods, monsters can smell them. No amount of perfume, cologne, deodorant, or even water will mask that scent. It kind of sucks.

Celeste though, had never had the problem of monsters sensing her since she was always invisible. She, however, was now perfectly visible. At least she could sense monsters from the sea.

Example, Polybotes. He was the giant created to rival Poseidon.

So, both Percy and Celeste smelled strong to monsters because they were children of one of the elder gods, Poseidon.

Which meant they were out of luck.

Celeste removed her hand from Percy slowly, letting him draw his sword.

But as soon as he got it out, she pinned him again.

She pulled out her own sword and prepared herself.

She couldn't kill Polybotes by herself, she needed Percy. Just as much as Percy needed her.

Removing her arm once more, she motioned for Percy to follow her.

He nodded and they stealthily swam away.

They almost got away when Polybotes screamed, "Perseus Jackson! I see you!"

Celeste felt Percy tense beside her and she grabbed his arm, swimming fast.

Polybotes was faster.

He reached them just as they were almost out of sight.

Normally, fighting a monster in the water would be beneficial for Percy and Celeste. This time though, Polybotes was just as powerful in the water as they were.

Percy charged first, and Celeste followed.

Her sword dug into the giant's arm, causing him to roar and reach for her.

She screamed (very un-warrior like, yes) and darted to the side.

She saw Percy swinging his sword defiantly.

As Percy struck hard, Celeste took her chance.

She summoned her true form like she had done at the beach.

She felt her body radiating power, but she didn't dare break concentration despite Percy's shouts.

Then, she felt the giant's hand smack into her, causing all the air to come out of her lungs in one exhale.

She blinked, dazed, as black spots danced in her vision.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Percy struggling to get out of the giant's grasp.

His sword had fallen onto the sea floor and he hadn't been able to grab it.

Celeste hoped the sword would go back to Percy's pocket, but it always took a while.

Then, she briefly remembered the giant grabbing her and then darkness.

Only five words rang in her head as she fell into darkness. They were the words of Polybotes.

"Your blood will raise her."

Celeste knew what that meant.

The giant was going to use their blood to wake the earth goddess.

The blood of two demigods, one male, one female.

The blood of Olympus.