* Hello again! :)

Real quick, thanks to everyone who checked out my brother's Youtube channel. He was really excited about all the likes and comments :) If you commented on his video and I didn't follow you like I said, comment here and I can do that. 

Also, before I get into the story, a little announcement thing. A lot of people have been asking if there will be another book after this, and I'm thinking that after finishing this I will complete the trilogy with a Frazel's Child. Since I'm going to be doing that, I am leaving Reyna's love story for that book so I have enough stories to follow to keep that interesting. But since I haven't started that yet in this book nothing is really changing.

Anyways, please enjoy! 

* * * (I claim these dots ;)

CHAPTER SIX: I HAVE A SALAD IN THE PAST

PIPER

Piper hadn't told anyone about her visit to the past. Although she was part of the demigod world, although it was hard to find anything that sounded crazy to her or her friends after all they had seen, she'd never heard of anyone time travelling. In fact, she had a hard time processing what had happened herself; it had been so strange, so surreal, to see everything around her as it had been seventy years ago. Everything looked antique, but it also looked new, bright, still untouched by the years or the fuzziness she'd seen in the old movies she had used to watch with her grandfather.

It seemed that in the world Piper was now a part of there was no such thing as a coincidence. And honestly, putting aside whatever had thrown her back in time in the first place, what were the odds that she ended up in the same year, the same cafe, the very moment her grandparents had met for the first time? She had no idea what the reason was, especially considering there had been no prophecy, but Piper knew it was more than just a freak accident that she ended up where she had.

It had been two weeks since Piper had received the news about the triplets, two weeks since she had met her grandparents in that cafe in nineteen forty-something. For two weeks, Piper had hung out with Jason, thrown around more baby names, entertained Caleo and Serenity as she used her newfound powers to change her outfit, hair, even her eyes and nose as she practiced further. Piper could suddenly see how that might come in handy; she could change not just her hairstyle and clothing at will, but virtually every element of her appearance. She could disguise herself as an entirely different person and her own husband wouldn't be able to recognize her.

She'd been watching Jason as he experimented with his own powers. As much as he tried to hide it, she could tell he was still having a hard time controlling them. Despite being crowned the God of Strength, a sudden onset of violent lightning frequently followed anytime he did get upset, angry, or even surprised. Once, after Leo had kindly deposited a week's worth of Caleo's used diapers on Jason's side of the bed, he had even managed to brew stormclouds right there in the bedroom. Piper had reprimanded Leo as sternly as she could muster without without bursting out laughing; she had slipped a bit of charmspeak in without even knowing, and Leo had backed out the door looking seriously scared before she quickly dropped the act and apologized.

Something, however, told Piper that her business in the past was not done. Only a couple days after the diaper incident, resting in bed, she again felt a tug in her stomach; it was followed by the same, strange feeling, and moments later she was no longer lying in her bed.

A flash of black. A cool breeze. Then another tug in her stomach, and her room flashed before her just as she had left it; with a wave of nausea she felt one final tug, and found herself back on the streets of 1940s New York. It was all over in a matter of seconds, leaving Piper dizzy and disoriented as she tried to adjust her appearance to the time period once again.

For a moment she thought she was in the same location as she had been the last time she travelled back in time; she was still standing on a busy street in New York, but this time she found herself outside of an elegant restaurant labelled "Italia." A memory struck her from her last visit; her grandmother hinting that her grandfather should meet her at this restaurant.

A few minutes passed as Piper waited outside the restaurant. She wondered what time it was; were her grandparents already inside, enjoying dinner? Should she go in and try to find them?

She was about to enter the restaurant and request a table for one when she saw her grandfather approaching on the sidewalk. He strolled up to the doorman and asked jovially if he remembered letting a beautiful brunette into the restaurant. The doorman shook his head and this young version of Piper's Grandpa Tom nodded, stepping away and searching the thong of pedestrians for the woman he hoped would come.

Piper tried to blend in as she waited, tried to keep herself from glancing over at her grandpa too often. She didn't want him to be suspicious, but it was so strange, so captivating, to see him young and alive and full of boyish energy.

Finally, she saw her grandmother hurrying along the sidewalk toward the restaurant. Her hair was done up to perfection, makeup on, beautifully dressed; still, there was something about the way she kept her head down as she hurried down the street, glancing up occasionally as though she were expecting something that made her look flustered and frightened. Nonetheless, she brightened considerably at the sound of Tom calling her name to attract her attention.

"I am so sorry, you must have waiting here for ages," she gushed in her soft, silky voice, hurrying up to him.

"That's alright," Tom replied, a wide, boyish grin on his own face. "The fact you showed up is enough for me," he said in a fake pretentious voice. Rosemary laughed, accepting his hand as he held it out for her and lead her inside.

Piper hated to eavesdrop on their first date, but she had yet to figure out what she was doing here, why and how she kept being pulled to the location of her grandparents at convenient times, if there was anything important she had to see. She suspected her grandparents knew nothing of what was happening or who she was, but she wasn't about to distance herself from the only familiar things in a situation, a place, even a time that was completely unfamiliar.

She waited a few minutes after the couple had gone in so as not to raise anyone's suspicions, then entered the restaurant and asked for a table for one. Being the candlelit, romantic restaurant that it was, she was sure this was not a request that they received often, so she slipped a little charmspeak into her voice. It still bothered her to manipulate people against their will, but she figured this was a harmless use.

The waiter began to lead her through the restaurant, and when she spotted her grandparents and an empty booth or two behind them, she asked sweetly if she could possibly be seated there. The waiter obliged unconditionally, asking her if there was anything else that she needed.

As Tom and Rosemary flirted and laughed and told stories, Piper ordered a salad and wolfed it down with a grimace. She really didn't care for mortal food anymore, but she wanted to draw the least attention as possible and avoid any unnecessary questions.

Piper listened on and off to her grandparents talking, but she still felt like she invading their privacy. However, when their tones changed to something more serious, Piper quietly put down her fork and listened.

"What's this?" Rosemary asked. Piper couldn't see what she was referring to, but she listened for Tom's response.

"It's a medal I received in the war," he said, his voice suddenly sounding much older, much more tired and aged.

"You were in the war?"

"It's not really something I like to remember." He sighed. "It's a terrible thing, seeing your friends fall down like dominoes. And everyday I regret things I did, people I could have saved. This was one of the few times I actually did any good."

"What did you do?" she asked breathlessly.

"I... I guess I saved a man. A boy, really. Not that I was so old myself... but this one seemed so innocent. He'd just turned eighteen, drafted into the war, and you could tell he didn't want to be there but he made the best of it. Always whistling and telling jokes, even at the end after he'd seen some terrible things. At one point, over in Iwo Jima, it was just he and I left from a big group of boys that had gone out. He'd gotten shot multiple times over in the same leg, obviously couldn't walk. We were miles away from safety, but I picked him up and hauled him back. They probably wouldn't have even given me anything, but I managed to get myself shot in the leg on the way back as well... that's why I limp a little, if you've seen that."

Piper gasped quietly. Her grandfather had had a limp for as long as she'd known him; she'd always suspected it was just something of old age, his joints getting sore, and she was so used to seeing him that way that it hadn't even registered when she'd seen his younger self.

She was amazed, too, to hear all these stories of her grandfather. She'd known he was in the war, but she'd heard these stories, seen the medals, anything like that. It was fascinating to see this different side of him.

Tom sighed again. "But I wasn't anything special. Anyone should've done that in my situation."

"They should have," Rosemary agreed, "but that doesn't mean they would've."

"Timothy would have. Timothy wouldn't have even hesitated, like I did."

"Timothy?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Tom replied. "That was his name. Is, rather. He came out alive, I believe. He was a changed man, but he was alive."

"Timothy who?" Rosemary persisted.

"Timothy Grace. You know him?"

Timothy Grace?

As in Jason Grace?

Jason's middle name was Timothy...

"Yes," she said, voice soft in wonder. "Yes, I do. He's a family friend. Just a friend, but a very good one. Always, always there for me. I was terribly worried when he went off to war... He was so innocent, like you said. He's a little harder now, a little rough around the edges, but he's alive. And all along... I thought... but it was you who saved them.."

Tom began to speak, but he was cut off as Rosemary made a sudden hushing sound.

Instantly, Piper saw the cause of concern. Two tall, burly men wearing biker jacket had entered the restaurant, and were standing a few tables away, watching Piper's gandparents.

"Do you know these men?" Tom asked urgently.

"Leave, Tom, get out of here," she whispered.

"Are you crazy?"

"No, I'm serious. Get out of here. You don't want to get involved with this," she warned.

"And leave you to deal with these two? Who are they, anyways?"

"They're... well, they're men who, supposedly, I owe something too... but after what you told me tonight, I don't think I do."

"What are you talking about?"

Piper's grandmother took a deep breath. "You're going to think I'm crazy, but I might as well be honest with you. When Timothy went to war, he sent us a letter telling us that he would soon be invading Iwo Jima... I couldn't stand the thought of losing him, and I prayed and prayed. My prayer was answered, but not how I thought. Rather than just having him return safely... I got a direct response, you might say. Someone turned up at my door, someone who wanted something from me in exchange for the safety of Timothy. I couldn't believe who he said he was at first, it was out of the myths, but he showed me things and explained everything and convinced me... I agreed to help him, but I could finish what he wanted me to, and although Timothy came home, he told me that I still owed it to him because he had insured his safety. These men have been showing up everywhere, reminding me of what I have to do and threatening me... if it were anyone else, if it weren't so unbelieveable, I might have gone to the police... but there's no stopping this man. Not the Greek God of War. Not Ares."

Just as Piper tried to digest this information, tried to comprehend the fact that her grandmother knew about Greek mythology, had made a deal with Ares, that Jason might be involved... she felt the familiar tug in her stomach. She tried to wish it away, tried to stay rooted in place so that she could hear more about her grandmother's story and what Ares wanted her to do and so many other things, but she was getting dizzy and she her head was spinning and she felt sick and...

Another flash of black. Then she saw her grandmother once more, talking quickly to her grandfather in their restaurant booth.. Then again with another tug she was back in the sea of black... there was black everywhere... but no, there a sky above, a cloudy sky... It was just the people, she could see as she adjusted to the setting, just the people were in black. In front of her, she gasped, was a stroller with three little babies inside... her stomach was no longer swollen. She was in the future, surrounded by people dressed in black, but where was Jason? She saw her babies, saw Annabeth and Piper and Percy and the others and she thought she even saw Jason's parents... but where, where was Jason?

With one final tug of her stomach and a wave of dizziness, Piper opened her eyes to the present once more and collapsed back on her bed.

* * *

So I may have pulled a Rick and gone the whole cliffhanger route...

But what'd you guys think? I want your opinions!

Also, if I were to post an original romantic comedy or a high fantasy story (completely different genres, but I've got ideas for both...) would anyone read it? Which would you prefer?

Thanks again guys ;D

-Evelyn