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IT WASN'T EASY SAYING GOOD-BYES. the thunder and lightning were still boiling over mount tamalpais in the north. artemis was so upset she flickered with silver light. "i must go to olympus immediately," artemis said. "i will not be able to take you, but i will send help."

the goddess looked over at annabeth and andromeda. "you are brave beyond measure, my girls. you will do what is right." she looked solely at andromeda when she said "let not atlas deceive you. words are his ploy. what he has told you is a half truth."

andromeda looked down, feeling his words echo in her mind. she supposed he wasn't lying after all. not fully anyway.

then artemis looked quizzically at thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of her. thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes. they held a coversation with only their eyes. artemis's gaze softened with sympathy. then she turned to percy.

"you did well," she said. "for a man."

percy seemed to want to protest, but he didn't.

she mounted her chariot, which began to glow. they averted our eyes. there was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.

"well," mr. chase sighed. "she was impressive; though i must say i still prefer athena."

annabeth turned toward him. "dad, i. . .i'm sorry that —"

"shh." he hugged her. "do what you must, my dear. i know this isn't easy for you."

his voice was a little shaky, but he gave annabeth a brave smile.

then whoosh of large wings sounded. four pegasi descended through the fog: two white winged horses, one brown and one pure black.

"blackjack!" percy called.

the horse neighed.

"it was rough," percy replied.

andromeda stared at him with a weird smile on her face as he talked to the horses. had a full on conversation with them.

mr. chase was staring openmouthed at the pegasi.

"fascinating," he said. "such maneuverability! how does the wingspan compensate for the weight of the horse's body, i wonder? why, if the british had had these pegasi in the cavalry charges on the crimea, the charge of the light brigade —"

"dad!" annabeth interrupted.

mr. chase blinked. he looked at his daughter and managed a smile. "i'm sorry, my dear, i know you must go."

he gave her one last awkward, well-meaning hug. as she turned to climb aboard the pegasus mr. chase called, "annabeth. i know. . .i know san francisco is a dangerous place for you. but please remember, you always have a home with us. we will keep you safe."

annabeth didn't answer, but her eyes were red as she turned away. mr. chase started to say more, then apparently thought better of it. he raised his hand in a sad farewell and trudged away across the dark field.

the four mounted their pegasi and soared over the bay, flying toward the eastern hills. soon san francisco was only a glittering crescent behind us, with an occasional flicker of lightning in the north.

thalia was so exhausted she fell asleep on her pegasus's back, who pegasus flew with ease, adjusting himself every once in a while so thalia stayed safely on his back.

andromeda was beside annabeth.

"hey," she called quietly. "you okay?"

annabeth nodded. "yeah. . .yeah i'm just. . .thinking."

"about what?"

she sighed. "everything. the war, the titans, the hunters. . .luke,"

andromeda wanted her to not think of luke right now. "are you going to join them?"

annabeth shrugged. "i kind of want to. is that bad?"

andromeda shook her head. "you want what you want. what's holding you back?"

annabeth smiled. "home. you guys. the camp. i won't be able to be with you,"

andromeda smiled at her. "i'll always be with you. we'll find a way. you do what you want."

"i won't." annabeth decided. "i won't. i can't give you up. after everything you did for me, ever. no. i won't."

"i don't want you to regret it."

"i won't." annabeth confirmed. "maybe i'll fall in love or something over the summer. y'know, add to fact that i didn't join."

andromeda laughed.

"you won't, will you?"

"no."

"ofcourse," annabeth smirked. "how could you bear to leave your boyfriend?"

andromeda rolled her eyes. "jackson isn't my boyfriend."

annabeth laughed. hard. "i meant daniel. but i guess percy is your one true love,"

"i like him about as much as i like what i atlas fed us."

annabeth's laughter died into an expression of confusion. "but he starved us."

"exactly."

the two looked at eachother with suppressed smiles before bursting into fits of laughter. and andromeda felt like this was the silver lining of it all. if a week like that ended like this, andromeda wouldn't mind going through it for eternity. to laugh with annabeth about the incidences of their past like faultless teenagers in the slivers of dawn, it healed something broken inside of her.

annabeth's horse neighed.

the girls looked at percy. "what did he say?"

"he says you remind him of the girl horses at the stables," percy smiled.

"you mean mares?" annabeth corrected.

"his words," percy shrugged.

"you know what," annabeth looked at andromeda. "i understand what you meant,"

andromeda laughed, moreso at the quizzical look on percy's face. "don't worry," she told him. "just a few compliments about you,"

"you guys sound like you're already hunters," percy said with a weird undertone.

andromeda's pegasus neighed. she looked at percy for translation, but he just frowned. "do i even want to know?"

"i don't think so," percy shrugged. andromeda felt a little unease between them since luke had been brought up. she sought to solve.

the towns were zipping by faster now, islands of light thicker together, until the whole landscape below was a glittering carpet. dawn was close. the eastern sky was turning gray. and up ahead, a huge white-and-yellow glow spread out before them — the lights of new york.

percy's pegasus brayed.

"you're the man, blackjack," percy told him. "er, the horse, i mean."

"you don't believe me about luke," andromeda said to him, "but we'll see him again. he's in trouble. he's under kronos's spell."

"i thought you hated him," percy frowned.

"i do."

"you're making excuses for his actions."

andromeda didn't feel like arguing, so she just sighed.

"there it is." thalia's voice; she'd woken up. she was pointing toward manhattan, which was quickly zooming into view. "it's started."

"what's started?" percy asked.

high above the empire state building, olympus was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air.

"the winter solstice," thalia said. "the council of the gods."

they circled over midtown manhattan, making one complete orbit around mount olympus, and despite all her hate for the gods, andromeda was amazed at the sight of it.

in the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors. the twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by cyclopes. andromeda caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things that would make the demeter kids fangirl. music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes. towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

the magic that the city emanated seemed to be energizing her more and more. the merry laughter, the ancient architecture, all of it was enchanted. and it settled over the place like a blanket of warmth, pulsating a good aura.

their pegasi set them down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. before anyone could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.

blackjack gave a little gesture to percy, neighing.

"yeah." he replied, looking at the gates dauntingly.

blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving the four alone. for a minute they stood there regarding the palace, the way they'd stood together in front of westover hall, which seemed years ago.

twelve enormous thrones made a u around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. the ceiling above glittered with constellations — even the newest one, zoe the huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.

all of the seats were occupied. each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and suddenly andromeda would rather have held the sky than their gaze.

"welcome, heroes," artemis said.

"mooo!"

that's when andromeda noticed bessie and grover.

a sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. he seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. grover was kneeling at zeus's throne, but when he saw them, he cried, "you made it!"

he started to run toward them, then remembered he was turning his back on zeus, and looked for permission.

"go on," zeus said. but he wasn't really paying attention to grover. the lord of the sky was staring intently at thalia.

grover trotted over. none of the gods spoke. every clop of grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. bessie splashed in his bubble of  water. the hearth fire crackled.

grover gave the girl big hugs. then he grasped percy's arms. "percy, bessie and i made it! but you have to convince them! they can't do it!"

"do what?" percy asked.

"heroes," artemis called, sliding down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant olympians. she walked toward them, her silver robes shimmering. there was no emotion in her face. she seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.

"the council has been informed of your deeds," artemis boomed. "they know that mount othrys is rising in the west. they know of atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of kronos. we have voted to act."

there was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"at my lord zeus's command," artemis said, "my brother apollo and i shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the titans' cause. lady athena shall personally check on the other titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. lord poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship princess andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. and as for you, my heroes. . ."

she turned to face the other immortals. "these half-bloods have done olympus a great service. would any here deny that?"

she looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. the lady hera.

on zeus's right, poseidon clad in hawaiian t-shirt. next to him, a huge man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. hephaestus. hermes winked in his business suit, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades and ipod headphones on as he gave them a thumbs-up. dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. ares sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at percy, sharpening a knife.

on the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches, demeter, goddess of the harvest smiled down at andromeda. next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress, athena. then there was aphrodite, who smiled at the two knowingly, making andromeda roll her eyes in spite of a light blush.

with all the olympians in one place, andromeda's head throbbed with power and magic. it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart.

"i gotta say" — apollo broke the silence — "these kids did okay." he cleared his throat and began to recite: "heroes win laurels —"

"um, yes, first class," hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid apollo's words. "all in favor of not disintegrating them?"

a few tentative hands went up.

"wait just a minute," ares growled. he pointed at thalia and percy. "these two are dangerous. it'd be much safer, while we've got them here —"

"ares," poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. we will not blast my son to bits."

"nor my daughter," zeus grumbled. "she has done well."

thalia blushed.

the goddess athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "i am proud of my daughter as well. but there is a security risk here with the other two."

"what?" andromeda scoffed. "how can you —"

athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "it is unfortunate that my father, zeus, and my uncle, poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. only hades kept his word, a fact that i find ironic. as we know from the great prophecy, children of the three elder gods. . .such as thalia and percy. . .are dangerous. as thickheaded as he is, ares has a point."

"right!" ares said. "hey, wait a minute. who you callin' —"

he started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.

"oh, please, ares," dionysus sighed. "save the fighting for later."

ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "you're one to talk, you old drunk. you seriously want to protect these brats?"

dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "i have no love for them. athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?"

"i do not pass judgment," athena said. "i only point out the risk. what we do, the council must decide."

"i will not have them punished," artemis said. "i will have them rewarded. if we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the titans. if this is olympian justice, i will have none of it."

"calm down, sis," apollo said. "jeez, you need to lighten up."

"don't call me sis! i will reward them."

"well," zeus grumbled. "perhaps. but the monster at least must be destroyed. we have agreement on that?"

a lot of nodding heads.

"bessie?" percy spoke up. "you want to destroy bessie?"

"mooooooo!" bessie protested.

poseidon frowned. "you have named the ophiotaurus bessie?"

"dad," percy said, "he's just a sea creature. a really nice sea creature. you can't destroy him."

poseidon shifted uncomfortably. "percy, the monster's power is considerable. if the titans were to steal it, or —"

"you can't," percy insisted. he looked zeus right in the eye. "controlling the prophecies never works. isn't that true?"

"besides," andromeda spoke up. "bessie is innocent. killing something like that is wrong. just as wrong as kronos eating his children, just because of something they might do. it's wrong!"

zeus seemed to consider this. his eyes drifted to his daughter thalia. "and what of the risk? kronos knows full well, if one of you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. do you think we can let that possibility remain? you, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says."

"you have to trust them," annabeth spoke up. "sir, you have to trust them."

zeus scowled. "trust a hero?"

"annabeth is right," artemis said. "which is why i must first make a reward. my faithful companion, zoe nightshade, has passed into the stars. i must have a new lieutenant. and i intend to choose one. but first, father zeus, i must speak to you privately."

zeus beckoned artemis forward. he leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear.

"andromeda," percy called quietly. "don't."

she frowned at him. "what?"

"look, i need to tell you something," percy continued. "i couldn't stand it if. . .i don't want you to —"

"hey," andromeda looked at him with concern. "you okay?"

he only gulped, said nothing more.

"i shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "if she will accept it."

"no," percy murmured.

"thalia," artemis said. "daughter of zeus. will you join the hunt?"

stunned silence filled the room. everyone stared at thalia. annabeth smiled. she squeezed thalia's hand and let it go.

"i will," thalia said firmly.

zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. "my daughter, consider well —"

"father," she said. "i will not turn sixteen tomorrow. i will never turn sixteen. i won't let this prophecy be mine. i stand with my sister artemis. kronos will never tempt me again." she knelt before the goddess and began the words.

then, thalia did something that surprised the whole assembly. she came over to percy, smiled, and gave him a big hug.

percy blushed. when she pulled away and gripped his shoulders, he said, "um. . .aren't you supposed to not do that anymore? hug boys, i mean?"

"i'm honoring a friend," she corrected. "i must join the uunt, percy. i haven't known peace since. . .since half-blood hill. i finally feel like i have a home. but you're a hero. you will be the one of the prophecy."

"great," percy muttered.

"i'm proud to be your friend."

she hugged annabeth, who was trying hard not to cry. then she hugged grover, who looked ready to pass out, like somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon. then she hugged andromeda.

"protect him, won't you?" thalia muttered.

andromeda chuckled quietly. "i'll try my best. might just kill him myself though,"

thalia smiled. "i-m me, we can hide the body."

with one final laugh, she went to stand by artemis's side.

"now for the ophiotaurus," artemis said.

"this boy is still dangerous," dionysus warned. "the beast is a temptation to great power. even if we spare the boy —"

"no." percy looked around at all the gods. "please. keep the ophiotaurus safe. my dad can hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in olympus. but you have to protect him."

"and why should we trust you?" rumbled hephaestus.

"i'm only fourteen," percy offered. "if this prophecy is about me, that's two more years."

"two years for kronos to deceive you," athena deadpanned. "much can change in two years, my young hero."

"mother!" annabeth exasperated.

"it is only the truth, child. it is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. or the boy."

poseidon stood. "i will not have a sea creature destroyed, if i can help it. and i can help it."

he held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "i will vouch for the boy and the safety of the ophiotaurus."

"you won't take it under the sea!" zeus stood suddenly. "i won't have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession."

"brother, please," poseidon sighed.

zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone.

"fine," poseidon sighed. "i will build an aquarium for the creature here. hephaestus can help me. the creature will be safe. we shall protect it with all our powers. the boy will not betray us. i vouch for this on my honor."

zeus thought about this. "all in favor?"

surprisingly, a lot of hands went up. dionysus abstained. so did ares and athena. but everybody else was raising their hands tall as the empure state itself.

"we have a majority," zeus decreed. "and so, since we will not be destroying these heroes. . .i imagine we should honor them. let the triumph celebration begin!"

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tysm for 2k!