IT WASN'T UNTIL THEY were seated and ready did Elle remember she was the daughter of the sea god. Meaning there was nothing Zeus would want more than to blast her out of the sky.

Part of her boiled with anger that it was even a possibility. Here she was, on her way to save his wife, and he still might kill her.

The moment they lifted off the ground, Elle screeched and grasped Jason around the waist. If it bothered the boy, he hadn't said so, because she hadn't let go since.

Leo sat at the front, using the reins to steer the dragon in the sky. He was a good pilot, and Festus was fast — they were already soaring over Connecticut.

Grinning back at them, Leo said, "Cool, right?"

Piper nodded, but asked, "What if we get spotted?"

"The Mist," Jason answered. Elle would've, but she was too busy burying her face into Jason's back. If Zeus wanted to send her to the Underworld, he'd have no choice but to send his son as well.

Take that, asshole. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"It keeps mortals from seeing magic things," the blond boy continued. "If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

Piper didn't look convinced.

"We're making good time," Elle commented, switching to a more positive subject. She glanced at Piper and Leo over Jason's shoulder, finally mustering the courage to sit up straight (even if it meant she clung tighter to Jason's shirt). "We're already close to flying into Massachusetts."

The Cherokee girl glanced at Elle quizzically. "How can you tell?"

"I can sense the water," the brunette responded. "It's different up here compared to New York."

Piper nodded offhandedly. "Where are we heading again?"

Jason had told Leo as they were climbing onto the dragon, so that he would know where to take them, and Elle had overheard. It seemed Piper hadn't.

"Quebec," Jason answered. "To find the god of the North Wind, and chase some storm spirits."

Piper fell silent in thought. After a moment, she turned back around. Elle wondered how she wasn't terrified of falling off.

"Hey, um... Elle?" Jason spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"I don't mind you holding on, but could you please not squeeze so tight? You're stronger than you look."

"Oh, right, sorry." Elle retracted her arms, opting to hold the metal of the dragon instead. She was grateful Jason sat in front of her because her cheeks were burning with embarrassment.

The four sat in awkward silence for a moment before Leo blurted, "Shut up, me."

"What?" Piper asked.

"Nothing," Leo answered hurriedly. "Long night. Think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

Piper glanced back at them, concern reflecting in her eyes. It's not cool, she seemed to say.

"Just joking," Leo said, as if sensing the group's hesitancy. "So what's the plan, Jace? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"

Jason shifted, squaring his shoulders. No one was looking at him, but instinctively, he grew tense. It was as though someone flipped a switch, changing him from his regular relaxed self to a leader. A warrior.

While she wanted to admire him, Elle felt jealous. Even without his memories, he slid so easily into a position of authority. People listened to his orders without doubt. He took charge with confidence, while Elle's nails dug into her palms and she sobbed into her pillow.

Jason began to lay out the plan: First, they'd find Boreas, the God of the North Wind, and question him for information—

"His name is Boreas?" Leo chuckled. "What is he, the God of Boring?"

Elle snorted, a laugh passing by her lips.

Second, continued Jason, they would find the anemoi thuellai (or as Jason called them, venti)—

"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil Starbucks drinks."

"I'd like a venti with whipped cream and an extra pump of caramel, please," Elle added.

Leo laughed and Elle grinned. If they had been sitting beside each other, they'd have probably high-fived.

And third, Jason finished, they would find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and set her free.

"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty, pervert storm dude on purpose?" Leo said. "The guy who threw me and Elle off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."

"That's the gist of it," Jason answered. "And, well, there may be a wolf involved too. But I'm pretty sure she's friendly. I don't think she'll eat us. Unless we show weakness."

Elle blinked. "Excuse me?"

The boy began to explain his dream — a big mother wolf and a burned house with stone spires growing from the swimming pool.

"Uh-huh," Leo sounded, sending Piper a look. "But you don't know where this place is?"

"Nope."

"There are also giants," added Piper. "Jason's prophecy said the giants' revenge."

"Wait — giants?" Leo interjected. "Like, plural?"

"Yeah," Elle answered. "Plural. They're an army." She didn't feel like elaborating further, not wanting to bring down the group's hope before they'd even started.

"Great," Leo grumbled. "An army. You know anything else, Daughter of the Sea?" He said her title jokingly as if they were children playing pretend. "What about you, Pipes? Didn't you do a whole bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?"

"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked.

Leo laughed. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."

"Wait — what was he in?" the blond questioned.

"It doesn't matter," Piper responded quickly. "Anyway, there were a lot of giants in Greek mythology, but if I'm thinking of the right ones, they were bad news. Huge, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans."

"They were," Elle confirmed solemnly. "They rose from the Earth after Kronos lost the First Titan War thousands of years ago. They tried to destroy Olympus." Elle took a breath. Daughter of Sea, you know what's at stake. "Chiron said it was happening again — the last chapter. This is what he meant. After Kronos' defeat comes the giants." And their mother.

Leo released a low whistle. "So..." he began to tick off on his fingers. "Giants who can throw mountains, friendly wolves who won't eat us unless we show weakness, and evil Starbucks drinks. I'm assuming now isn't the time to bring up my psycho babysitter?"

There was a short, stunned silence.

"Was that another joke?"

"Unfortunately, no." Leo launched into a long, complicated explanation about Tía Callida, his childhood babysitter and NOT his aunt, despite the name. Apparently, she was Hera in disguise, training him to become a hero at the age of two. He also explained that his mother died in a fire, due to "some dirt lady" who knew his future.

Festus had exited Massachusetts before any of them found the nerve to speak. Elle wasn't sure what she should say... sorry that Hera's a psycho and your mom got killed?

Finally, Piper spoke, saving Elle from having to.

"That's... disturbing."

Leo shrugged. "'Bout sums it up." They were silent for another minute before he continued. "The thing is, everybody says they don't trust Hera. She hated demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage, so I'm wondering: why are we doing this?"

"Because she chose us," Jason answered. "All three of us. We're the first of the seven who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

Part of Elle agreed with Jason. They were demigods. This was their duty, their destiny. They were heroes, meant to go on quests and save the world.

But the other part — presumably the mortal part — agreed with Leo. This quest could lead them to certain death. They knew nothing, with Leo and Piper new to the world of gods and quests and Jason and Elle working on limited memories. They were risking not only their lives, but the entire world's.

Then again, if they didn't do it, who would?

"Besides," Jason continued, drawing Elle away from her thoughts, "helping Hera is the only way Elle and I can get back our memories — for good." He sent her a look. "I know you're remembering bits and pieces, but Hera can bring it back for real."

She smiled at him, but she couldn't help the jealousy that churned in her stomach. Jason was the perfect hero, the perfect person. Through all this, he was remaining strong, offering them all encouragement even when he himself had to be struggling too. He made Elle feel like she could never be as great as him, and the worst thing was, he didn't even mean to.

Jason, unaware of her troubled emotions, was still speaking. "That dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera..."

"Not a good trade-off," Piper agreed darkly. "Well, at least Hera is on our side."

"Mostly," Elle added. "I don't remember the specifics, but I'm pretty sure she had it out for me and my friends. But as much as Annabeth dislikes her, losing Hera would throw the gods into chaos. She keeps the peace in the family when they begin to point fingers over who touched who first. If there's no Hera, there'll first be a civil war among the Olympians. Then once the giants get involved, it would be even more destructive than the Second Titan War. And again, while I don't remember the specifics, the Titan War is not something I'd like to experience again."

Jason nodded in agreement. "Chiron also spoke about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all — something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods—"

"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo concluded. "Dirt Woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."

"But who is she?" Jason wondered aloud. "And what does she have to do with the giants?"

Hesitantly, Elle spoke up. "I think I know."

Almost comically, three heads turned to her in perfect synchronization.

She took a deep breath before speaking, shutting her eyes and gathering her thoughts. She felt blood rise on her palms. "Greek mythology repeats itself. Gods and monsters are immortal and there are always new demigods to take the place of the old ones — the legendary ones, such as Heracles, or Perseus, or Jason.

"After the First Titan War, came the Giant War. The giants were born from Tartarus and... Gaea. Mother Earth." Her eyes met Leo's. "Dirt Woman.

"Chiron said 'the last chapter.' The giants are the last chapter. He also said that whatever's stirring is a threat worse than Kronos. And yes, the giants are bad news. They're incredibly dangerous and insanely powerful and can only be defeated when gods and demigods work together, but if there's one thing more dangerous than the giants, it's Gaea. She birthed them in whatever freaky way Greek mythology birth works. She brought them to power. And in my prophecy, it said that a goddess and a king were awakening. Meaning Gaea and — if my assumption is correct — Porphyrion. The king of the giants."

Somewhere during her words, all three teenagers turned to face forward again, an attempt to hide from the others whatever emotion they had. Elle didn't need the emotional powers of an Aphrodite kid to know that they were all drowning in fear.

Elle released another breath, shutting her eyes once more to try and calm herself down. She could feel her hands trembling as her heart rate picked up. She wanted to return to her thoughts before, berate herself for flying headfirst into danger, and potentially call off the quest, but she knew it was pointless. They had no other option. Hera chose them, and if they didn't succeed, it was game over. For everyone.

Elle opened her eyes, setting her jaw. Piper and Leo had guts, she couldn't deny it, but they had no idea what they were doing. And despite his flawless leadership skills, she had more memories than Jason. When it came down to it, she'd have to take charge. And she would. She would succeed. She would save the world and return to Camp as a hero.

She hadn't realized she'd completely zoned out until Jason's hand on her shoulder made her flinch.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, retracting it immediately. "But you were totally lost right there. I was trying to get your attention.

"Oh," Elle replied hollowly. Her eyes met his and neither spoke. Until Elle said, "What did you want to say?"

Jason blinked like he too had lost himself for a moment. "Oh, yeah. Um, I was just going to say that you look exhausted. You should get some rest."

"No way," Elle shot him down instantly. "Absolutely not, I'll fall right off."

"Just hold onto me," Jason suggested. "I won't let you fall." He smiled. "And even if you did, I'd catch you."

"Don't even joke about that, Superman."

A loud bark of laughter reminded Elle that they weren't alone.

Leo tipped back almost deliriously, laughing as he wheezed out, "Superman."

Piper looked concerned. "Leo, I know you find nicknames hilarious, but I think you need some sleep too."

"You think so, Beauty Queen?"

"Do not start calling me that," Piper grumbled, although Elle could hear the smile in her voice.

"What about you, Clark Kent? Hey!" Leo cut himself off as he looked at the others with a wide grin. "We should get Jason some of those black glasses. Then he'll really look like Superman."

He laughed again and Elle shook her head.

"You sound insane, Valdez." Leo had been up the entire night fixing Festus for this quest. he deserved rest the most out of the four. "Just get some sleep."

"Nuh-uh," Leo said. "Not until I come up with a nickname for you too."

"Technically you only came up with Piper's," Elle said. Piper and Jason sent her looks, as if scolding her. Why are you encouraging this, they seemed to ask.

"You're right, Aquagirl."

"Aquagirl? Fuck no. You can do better than that, Repair Boy."

Piper and Jason sighed simultaneously as Leo incredulously repeated, "Repair Boy? That sucks, Fish Face."

Elle wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, that's a no as well."

"Alright, well what about Kelp Head? Water girl? I'm personally a big fan of Aquagirl, but nooo." He paused briefly before brightly suggesting, "The little mermaid? Princess salt water?"

Despite herself, Elle laughed loudly. "Leo, enough with the nicknames."

That's when Piper and Jason began laughing too. Soon, they were all hunched over, laughing hysterically over a simple joke. Because everything seemed funnier when you were possibly flying into your own death.

Leo seemed to know exactly when to crack a joke. He was someone who understood the danger they were in but knew not to take it all so seriously. Someone who knew how to lighten the mood.

Someone like Percy.

"Okay, Leo," Piper said as her laughter died out, "you seriously need to sleep."

Elle expected another argument, but the boy had already slid forward, eyes closing as his arms wrapped around Festus' neck.

"Promise not to let me fall?"

Piper patted his shoulder gently. "Trust me, Valdez. Beautiful people never lie."

"Right," he muttered, not listening. A second later, his soft snores filled the air.

"Well that was fast," Elle chuckled.

"You should sleep as well," Jason said. And when Elle opened her mouth to argue, Jason cut her off. "That wasn't a suggestion. You look too tired to even lift your sword right now. Go to bed."

Elle huffed, but knew he was right. She felt too tired to even lift her sword. Fucking demigod dreams, she complained silently. Thanks a ton, Dad.

"Fine," she relented. "But if we fall and die, my ghost self will kick your ass, Superman. I mean it. This is not how I want to die."

Jason's lip twitched into a smile, stretching his scar. "I'll just have Piper's ghost charmspeak your ghost into leaving me alone."

Elle giggled, wrapping her arms around Jason's waist as she let her head rest against his back. He was warm, despite the cold air whipping around them.

"Well I'll have Leo's ghost build me some charmspeak resistant earmuffs. And we'll take Festus and barbeque the shit out of your ghosts."

Jason laughed, and Elle's heart swelled. It once again had that contagious effect as Piper's laugh could soon be heard as well. Elle smiled to herself as she felt Jason's posture sag.

Good, she thought. While she may have been jealous of his confidence and leadership, he deserved to relax as much as the rest.

Elle barely knew this boy, but she already felt such an important connection to him, to all of them, that she knew she wouldn't let this quest go sideways.

A wave of confidence flooded over her. She'd save Hera, find Percy, and return to Camp. Jason, Leo, and Piper would be safe and declared heroes as well. Her past would be explained, and she'd return to her old life. Their gang would be back; Grover, Percy, Annabeth, Aris, and Elle, with the added addition of her new friends.

But there was a lingering fear as she faded into sleep. Laughter in the back of her head, taunting her with all that could go wrong.

You cannot evade your fate, little hero.

a/n: who caught my six of crows reference?

thanks for reading!