Special Update! Note: this is not a regular time, I will never post again on Sunday unless I have a good reason to(because there's no post on Sunday). I will still be posting on Tuesday, however I'm going on a trip on Wednesday, so I might not be able to post on Friday! I will try!

The first thing Chiron did was send me to the attic. He said that I'd need to find out where we were going, the Oracle of Delphi would tell me. Even though I was under the impression that they would be somewhere north, because the north is colder.

At four o'clock in the morning with no light except two candles that sat on either side of the three-legged stool, the attic looked pretty creepy.

The old shrivelled woman seemed to stare at me with her empty sockets, as if saying "Why must you wake me up so early?" I walked towards her slowly, and I didn't even have to ask for 'guidance from the powerful sprit of Delphi' before the green mist spewed from her mouth and her bone-chilling voice could be heard.

"The god you look for is indeed north,

Soon he grows weak,

And will die on the fourth.

Though the answers you seek,

Are the other way 'round,

You must choose, not be weak.

Once again they will call,

Six must go,

One will fall."

The green mist evaporated into the air and a chill ran down my spine. Last time we went, or I went, anyway, there were seven of us. Two died. This time there would be six, and one of us will. I didn't want to go back downstairs to tell Chiron the prophecy. I didn't want to go on a quest with all of my friends when one of them would just die anyway.

But I walked back down the stairs and was greeted by the half-asleep cabin counsellors sitting around the ping-pong table. It reminded me of my first quest that never really happened. Did that mean this was my first quest after my first quest?

Chiron was now in horse-butt mode, and seemed the least tired of us all. "Tera." He nodded. "What did she say?"

I took a seat in one of the empty chairs and started speaking,

"The god you look for is indeed north,

Soon he grows weak,

And will die on the fourth.

Though the answers you seek,

Are the other way 'round,

You must choose, not be weak.

Once again they will call,

Six must go,

One will fall."

I repeated.

"The answers you seek?" Annabeth asked, then yawned. "What does that mean? What answers?" I had assumed Chiron had gone over the whole 'Apollo kidnapped' thing, otherwise Annabeth would be asking about the god, not the answers.

"That's for me." I determined. "The answers I seek, about why I wasn't claimed by the three gods and why that whole not-really-reality thing had happened." I looked down, and I felt Nico's hand once again on my shoulder reassuringly.

"I remember that," Nico announced to the others. "I'm not sure how, but I remember fractions of it as if it were a dream. I remember her being claimed after a game of capture the flag, there was a big quest to get answers on why she was claimed by three gods."

"Unfortunately," Will broke in. "We're going to rescue Apollo, not get these answers. I'm sorry, Tera."

I nodded, expecting nothing less. As much as I wanted these answers, saving my father was more important. Besides, he could quite possibly give me the answers himself, anyway.

"I know who is going." Chiron declared. I saw Clarisse look at him expectantly, as if she knew she was to be called. "Tera, Will," - for obvious reasons. The children of the trapped god. - "Percy, Annabeth--"

"Me!" Grover shouted from the door. I hadn't heard him come in. My stomach twisted when I thought of who would be called next, since Chiron nodded at Grover.

Nico, Thalia, or someone who hadn't been on the quest?

"And..." Chiron took a breath before announcing it. "Thalia." I exhaled deeply, relieved and panicked. I was happy Nico wasn't coming. I was so content with the fact that he remembered, that I was scared he'd come on the quest and forget again. But Nico didn't looked too pleased about it, even though he kept his mouth shut.

Clarisse growled from her spot at the table and looked away. All the other cabin leaders seemed to have fallen asleep.

Thalia looked at me as if she knew something I didn't, her eyes glittered mischievously. "When are we leaving, Chiron? We don't even know where north we're going. It just says north." She wasn't wrong. Would we really just start heading in the general direction in hopes of bumping into our missing god?

"Tera and I can track him, when we get close enough we'll be able to feel his presence, however weak it may be." Will spoke up, and I looked at him. I didn't know we could do that.

"Then it's settled." Chiron smiled, though I could tell it was forced. He felt the same feeling I was, worry. We both knew this would be a difficult journey, and that we only had six days. May fourth was coming up in six days, and the Oracle said he would die on the fourth. I just prayed we could get to him in time. "You will leave at noon. Pack and rest, I will set up transportation."

~

I had nothing to pack, and Annabeth and Thalia said they'd pack extra clothes for me. Nico came back to the Apollo cabin with Will and I, to talk to me.

We took a seat on my bed. Well, Nico sat, I laid down.

"I remember what happened last time," he told me, though we were speaking in hushed voices as not to wake up the other cabin members. "Wouldn't it be better if I was there with you? I could protect you." Having someone who remember was amazing, the fact that it was Nico made it all the more sweet. But I wouldn't allow it.

"No," I told him as I closed my eyes. "Because I can't lose you again, and if one person is going to die on this quest, then I'd like to keep you as far away as possible, however low the risk may be."

"But what if it's you this time, Tera? I couldn't handle it if everyone came back to camp except you, because that meant I had no chance of saving you!"

"You can talk to me, always." I reminded him. "You can find me in the underworld. But I'm not going to die Nico." I replied. The conversation was over and I fell asleep for the long journey ahead.

~

Will shook me awake. The cabin was empty, and he had a backpack over his shoulder. He didn't have to say anything for me to realize it was time to go, so I stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Tera," Will called behind me. I turned to face him and he was pointing to a backpack sitting at the base of my bed. "Your bag?"

I had nothing to pack, no bag to put my stuff it, anyway. Still, I walked over to the bag and picked it up, strapping it on and following Will out. There was a slip of paper attached to a pocket sown onto the left shoulder strap. I walked behind Will so he couldn't see it, and I took it out and unfolded it.

Don't go without protection. Sword, bow, arrows, dagger. Nectar and Ambrosia squares. Medical supply, for a child of medicine. Good luck charm, DO NOT LOSE. Snow supplies from gift shop. Golden drachmas. Sleeping bag. Bedroll. Necessities.
I may not be able to come, but I can do my best to help. Iris message me if you need me, I'll shadow travel. Good luck,
Nico.

I smiled to myself as I tucked it back into the pocket. I spotted him at the bottom of the hill with Annabeth and Thalia, Percy and Grover were no where to be seen.

"Thanks." I smiled at Nico, and he smiled back.

"But I'm serious," he whispered so only I could hear it. "Iris message me whenever you get the chance. Give me updates."

I nodded.

Eren came over the hill with Percy and Grover, carrying a nectar and ambrosia kit, as if we each hadn't packed enough.

Argus sat in the van patiently as Eren loaded all our bags by himself, he insisted he felt the need to do that since we were going to look for a god. Really, it made no sense to me. A child of Hermes had no connection to the god of the sun (and so many other things), nor any need to be concerned when he was being held hostage in a place where he was weak. I mean, sure when a god goes missing it's in everyone's best interest to find him, but if it were Hermes, for example, to have been captured, and I wasn't on the quest, I wouldn't 'feel the need' to put all the heavy bags in the trunk.

Annabeth and Percy sat in the back, Grover beside me, Will on the other side of him, and Thalia up front beside Argus. Like my other first quest, we were packed in like sardines, but at least now I didn't have to worry about Nico dying, even if that wasn't a prominent thought the first time around.

I gave Nico a quick hug before getting into the van and shutting the door. Eren stood beside Nico and they both waved as we drove off.

Our first destination was north of New York. Like, way north. We were heading to Montreal, Canada, since Chiron insisted we'd skip over Vermont. He wouldn't answer why, he just said it was important not to stop there.

In total, from our current location to Montreal, it would take seven hours. On top of that, we'd have to wait a while to get across the US-CANADA boarder. That was part of the reason Thalia was sitting up front, because she could do the misty-snap thing to get them to let us through no problem. Overall, we estimated the trip would take eight hours, and as soon as we got to our destination, we'd stay at a hotel for the night.

I was kind of worried. I know Will said we'd be able to sense him, but I was scared I wouldn't be able to, and we wouldn't get to him before the fourth, in six days.

Grover seemed to sense my uneasiness, and he - one of the two only people to know me well - passed me a can of coke from his bag. It was my favourite drink; I preferred it to pepsi even though most people said they tasted the same. (Which side are you on, Coke or Pepsi?) We were only a few minutes on the road, and I already felt bored.

"Want a book?" Annabeth asked, holding one over the seat for me.

"Or a sketch pad?" Will offered as well. As much as I loved to read, I found myself reaching for the sketchbook and pencil Will was holding out to me. Maybe being the daughter of only Apollo was making that choice for me; him being the god of painting and everything.

Anyway, I didn't mind. I had always been quite the sketcher, I had loads of practice during classes at school, doodling instead of taking notes.

I hadn't realized how long I'd been sketching until we were at the outskirts of Vermont. Something about this made me feel uneasy, because, sure, we'd only been travelling for about two hours or so (and I wasn't done my drawing, I was making it detailed but REALLY? TWO HOURS?) and we hadn't had even the slightest encounter from a mythical being. We were six demigods, it was usually better to stay in groups of three or four; smaller numbers. We had two children of the big three gods. Wouldn't we be giving off a big smell for the monsters?

I obviously wasn't complaining about it, but it all seemed too easy, and that made me restless. I put away the sketch pad and pencil and tapped Argus' shoulder (and probably poked one of his many eyes).

"Stop the van." I told him. "Please." He obliged. We weren't on any major road, and we seemed to be on a deserted street with not-so-many buildings that were to be condemned, right around the back of large office buildings, so he got us out of the way and parked on the side of the asphalt.

"Chiron said not to stop in Vermont, Tera." Grover put a hand on mine as I was about to open the door and climb out. "Why do you need to get out?"

"Why don't you?" I asked rhetorically. "Why can't we stop in Vermont, anyway, Grover. Doesn't this place make you feel uneasy, like there's something wrong that we need to figure out?"

I had sparked interest in Annabeth and Percy, Thalia and Will had drifted off to sleep somewhere around the half-an-hour mark, claiming they hadn't got much sleep before and after the meeting.

"Yeah, I have the same feeling." Percy agreed.

"We all do." Grover agreed. "The uneasy feeling and the feeling that there's something wrong. They're warning signs. We shouldn't stop, we're almost at the boarder, anyway. Let's go."

"Grover," Annabeth asked, "what is here that makes this place so dangerous?"

Grover shifted uncomfortably in his seat. I could tell he knew, and that he didn't want to tell but the looks we were giving him convinced him otherwise.

"Chimera." He told us. "She's awful. A demon. She relocated here, thinking she could catch demigods coming in and out of the country. She breaths fire, and she's very dangerous."

I opened the car door and stepped out. "So where is she? Where does she hide?"

"Tera, get back in the car," Grover pleaded, and I saw Annabeth and Percy shaking Will and Thalia awake (Will shook Thalia, but whatever).

"You're going to get yourself killed before the quest even begins!" Annabeth chided.

"No, but seriously. It's been too quiet. No monsters, no nothing coming after us. I surely am not upset about that, but it's like something is wrong. Like..." I froze and looked straight ahead on the road.

Grover, Will, Thalia and then Annabeth and Percy all jumped out of the car to see what I was looking at, Argus closed all of his eyes.

There were at least three monsters heading our way. Three harpies. At the moment, they were all I could see, until the dust cleared around them and a quite large beast started stomping towards us.

"A trap." I finished. I could hear the busy streets from the other side of the buildings, as if life continued on over there but had stopped completely here. I took a closer look at the empty houses around us.

At first glance, they were just old, run down houses that've been abandoned and scheduled for demolition. That was probably why this road was so deserted; the demolition crew was scheduled to come later today. But that's not what I was looking at.

Inside the house closest to us, I could see a floor made of garbage and greens; like an up-scaled nest. Lined in between the rows of junk, were bones. And skulls. Probably of the demigods before us.

"These ares their houses." I told the others, who were drawing their weapons now. "They lured the demigods onto the abandoned roads, and then ambush them. It's not only Chimera, it's the three harpies as well. All working together."

I ran back to the van, and grabbed my backpack, dropping it on the road and getting out the sword and the bow and arrows. I strapped the sword to my belt and the quiver to my back, holding the bow in my hands.

"Six against four." Percy announced, as if that were fair. The four had razor sharp claws, and a fire breathing three-headed demon lady!

I heard Thalia about to say 'seven' but stop herself. I looked up from my bag and realized the van was gone, all our luggage in the space where it would have been.

"You have got to be kidding me." Thalia cursed. "Where the hell did he go?!"

"We'll figure that out later." Will scolded. "Right now, we've got bigger issues."

I looked back at the advancing army. I could see Chimera clearly now, and she was only 40 feet away. She was a vicious mix-and-match monster without the match. Part goat, snake, and lion, and just like Grover said, with three heads.

She was a hideous monster, and every time I looked at her I felt the urge to just look away, maybe that was a strategy for her: look so disgusting that her enemies would be distracted.

I drew my arrow, and I saw Will do the same. We got ready to shoot, and the others prepared their swords, Annabeth her dagger, Grover his bagpipes, and Thalia her shield.

20 feet...

10 feet...

As if on silent command, Will and I let loose the first volley of arrows; and we hit the wings of two of the harpies. But that didn't stop them. They were no longer air-bound, but they were still racing towards us on their disturbingly human bodies, screeching and wailing at one another.

Once our arrows were gone, I grabbed my sword. I couldn't see if Will had a back-up weapon or not, but I hoped he did because the monsters were upon us.

Grover started playing his reed pipes, and the ground near the closest harpy's feet erupted, sending vines to ensnare the flightless creature. Annabeth advanced on it, and Will took the second flightless harpy, using the dagger from my bag.

The harpy in flight barrelled towards us, and, being the closest, I lunged at it with my sword pointed.

I saw Thalia and Percy charge Chimera, Thalia's shield raised - obviously fighting ugly fire with ugly fire.

The harpy thrashed beneath me, and her claws grazed my leg. It stung, but wasn't deep enough to hurt me enough to get me to let go. I was hanging onto the back off her neck, her black, messy hair entangled in my fingers. Her skin was tinted brown, matching her large wings, but her eyes were pools of black, and her fangs were each easily as long as half of my thumb. She started flying upwards, and I knew I'd have to act now.

If I waited too long, then slashed, I'd fall out of the air and plummet to my death; and I was determined not to be the one who died on this quest.

I held on with one arm now, and used my other to slash around. She kept jolting, and I couldn't get a clear shot. But soon, we were too high off the ground for me to even dare. She seemed to realize it too, and she stopped jolting.

And then she started her 90° decent at full speed, taking every chance to move about and try to fling me off.

----

Hola! How do you like the sequel so far? Express your opinions, questions, and suggestions in the comments, and I will always reply. Love the feedback, btw!

More on the way,
Awesomeelsa