Elves and Demigods

Chapter 8 - Piper

Piper saw Sophie going dizzy, as the blinding light faded away. She wanted to help her but Keefe was faster. He caught her by the arms before she could hit the ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. Some about the way he looked at her and spoke to her with warmth in his voice made Piper realize that he thought of Sophie as more than just a friend. She would know, because her mother was the goddess of love.

Sophie stirred and mumbled, "I'm fine, just a little dizzy."

"Yeah, what was that?" Keefe asked, still supporting Sophie.

"Me, of course. Sorry if my car was too blinding", said a voice.

Everyone turned around to see a man with sandy hair and a wide smile.

"Look guys, Apollo is Apollogizing!" Leo said.

"Shut up, Valdez", Jason says with a smile.

"He's right though", Percy said. "Since when do gods apologize to little mortals? I hope this means you've stopped with the charming haikus."

"I could recite one now", Apollo offers and clears his throat. Every demigod shuts their ears and Percy warns, "Say one word, and I'll kill you."

"But I'm Apollo now, not Lester! You can't really kill me."

"That's what Kronos said", Annabeth reminded.

"So did Gaea", Piper seconds.

"And so did Python", Apollo agrees.

"Python?" Sophie asked. "Isn't that a snake?"

"Python was a monster dad defeated", Will explained. "Twice."

"And he isn't coming back", Apollo added.

There was a pause before he added, "So, I hear you need a ride? How many?"

Annabeth immediately answered, "Seventeen if everyone's coming."

That was a lot. But everyone said, "I'm coming!"

"Seventeen is a big number", Apollo noted. 

"It is", Chiron agreed. "But since you have three places to visit, I suggest you split into three groups, one for each place."

Then the grouping begin. It was hectic. 

No, that was an understatement. It was absolute chaos. This part of a quest was always very hard- deciding who gets to go where. And now, there were seventeen of us and it was wild.

Fitz and Keefe demanded to go wherever Sophie goes. Tam said he wants to accompany Linh and even Biana. Dex wanted to go with Marella. Wylie wanted to go with Linh. Among the elves, Sophie and Linh seemed to be the only ones not arguing. Fitz and Keefe were glaring at each other. Dex was pacing in anticipation and Tam was being angsty. Wylie just stood in front of Lynn protectively. Biana and Marella were trying to form a group to which everyone would agree to, but in vain.

Then there were the demigods. Percy of course, would go everywhere Annabeth went. Leo wouldn't leave Calypso's side. Will stated he had no problem with any arrangement, then Nico glared at him so hard, he said he would stay with Nico. Jason too, wanted to be with Piper and this made Piper feel fluttery, for he was worried about her. But another part of her knew that she didn't need hos protection. She had been through too much for that. In the demigods group, only Annabeth, Calypso and Piper stayed silent, although Piper wanted to be with Jason too.

Chiron finally silenced them all. "Let me decide now." Everyone listened in anticipation. "Sophie, Keefe, Linh, Wylie, Nico and Calypso will go to the Camp Jupiter. Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Tam and Biana will seek help from the elves and Fitz, Jason, Piper, Dex, Marella and Will will journey to the nine worlds to warn Magnus chase and his friends."

For a while there was silence as this dawned on everyone. 

Then there was more chaos.

Fitz was complaining he didn't get to go with Sophie and said he should because they were- cognates? Nico was loosing his temper because he wasn't going with Will. Even Tam seemed annoyed until Biana reminded him she was gong with him and that calmed him down. Everyone was arguing so much it looked like the third war had already ensued. 

"Stop", Chiron commanded. His voice took on a strict tone that silenced everyone. "Let me explain my arrangements. Sophie and Fitz are telepaths and from what you have told me, they can communicate from halfway around the world. Demigods are already familiar with camp Jupiter which is why the elves should learn about it. Nico is capable enough of guiding you.  The nine worlds can be a dangerous place which is why an equal mix of demigods and elves should go there. And Percy, Leo and Annabeth can study the lost cities with the help of Tam and Biana. Any questions?"

None.

"Good."

There was still a lot of grumbling but everyone finally agreed. They decided to call themselves Team Sophie, Team Percy and Team Jason (they had a election session that included more arguing). Apollo would take Team Sophie to camp Jupiter, Team Percy would 'light leap' to the lost cities and Annabeth had arranged a meeting with Magnus, who would come to camp Half-Blood and take Team Jason with him to the nine worlds. 

Everyone bid each other good bye. The first team to start their quest was team Jason, when Magnus arrived. 

"So, Loki you say?" he asked. "Well, I guess it's never to late for Ragnarok."