VIDEO GAMES! (p. jackson) (#1)

- two

chapter ii, act i
december 14, 2018
bar harbor, maine

YOU'D THINK NOTHING ELSE COULD SHOCK THE GROUP OF DEMIGODS.

Especially after witnessing Dr. Thorn turn into a manticore and plummet off the edge of the cliff with Annabeth.

But when this twelve year old girl told Percy she was the goddess Artemis, he said something real intelligent like, "Uh... okay."

Rose sighed. What a dumbass.

Grover, on the other hand, gasped and kneeled down in the snow. "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... wow!"

"Get up!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"Whoa," Bianca said. "Hold up. Time out. Who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at Nico before saying, "Our parents are dead. We're orphans. There's a trust fund that pays for our school."

"Bianca," Rose said gently, "you might want to sit down."

"No," she snapped. "Whatever you're going to tell me, I can handle it."

"You're a half-blood," Rose said. "One of your parents was mortal, and—"

"The other was an Olympian," Zoë said, cutting rose off with a glare. Rose rolled her eyes.

"An Olympian athlete?"

"No," Zoë said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico.

"No!" Bianca's voice shook. "This is not cool!"

"Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca snapped. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

The anger in Thalia's eyes faded a bit. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. The gods are still around, trust me. They're immortal. Whenever they have kids with regular humans, and have kids like us... well, our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca repeated. "Like the girl who fell."

"Do not despair for Annabeth," Artemis said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

"Why won't you let us look for her?" Rose said.

"She is gone. Can't you sense it, daughter of Aphrodite? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."

Rose still wanted to jump off the cliff and look for her, but she knew Artemis was right.

"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with the arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis explained. "Hopefully he has been destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They reform over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

"That's why Grover's been watching you," Rose said. "To keep you safe, in case you guys turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"A satyr, actually," Grover said. He kicked off his shoes and displayed his hooves. Bianca looked like she might faint.