The Next Generation: Hades's Helm

Chapter 8: Ally

Rights to Rick Riordan for the characters of Annabeth Chase and Estelle Blofis. Ally Saven, Ms. Hart, and the (currently unnamed) street girl are my OCs though.

Ally loved school.

Since Annabeth had taught Ally a lot while she was still at camp, Ally had skipped a few grades to the fifth grade. Kids her age were supposed to be in second, but both the school, Sally Jackson, and Chiron agreed that if Ally was going to school, she should be able to learn new things and not waste her time.

Ally walked to school with Estelle, but the girls went to different classes. Estelle was in the second grade, but Ally was in fifth. So the girls would walk to school together, go to their respective classes, then walk back to the apartment together.

Ally was so happy to be staying with Estelle. Estelle treated her like a normal, mortal kid, instead of like the kids at camp, who treated her like a war superweapon. Estelle was Ally's best friend.

Estelle had clear sight, so she could see through the Mist. Sometimes, better than Ally could. The girls were lucky enough to have not been attacked by a monster yet. But Estelle knew Ally would protect her if they did come across something from the godly world.

The girls were walking home one afternoon, laughing and chatting. Ally was wearing a yellow hoodie with an owl design on the front, which covered the sheathed dagger on her hip, denim shorts, and her yellow backpack. Estelle was wearing a blue dress over seafoam green leggings and her dark blue backpack.

When they got in the apartment, Ally hung her backpack on its hook, while Estelle just dumped hers on the floor. Ally and Estelle were both laughing and smiling, but Ally's smile quickly faded when she saw Sally talking to an Iris message in the living room.

Nico and Will were on the other side, in Camp Half-Blood. They both looked regretful. Sally turned to Ally, and Ally knew what was going on from reading her expression.

"I have to go back to camp, don't I?" Ally asks, looking over at Nico and Will. "Something happened, and now I have to go back."

"Yeah," Will confirmed sadly. "We got a prophecy, and you're in it. Sorry, kiddo."

"It's fine. I'll be at camp as soon as I can," Ally said, turning to Estelle. She hugged Estelle tightly, who returned the favor.

"I'll be back as soon as I'm done, okay? I promise." Ally says, smiling.

"You'll have one last day to go to school while we find the last member of the prophecy," Nico says, looking at the two girls hugging sadly. "Enjoy it."

"I will," Ally says, looking back at Nico with a smile. "Thanks, Nico."

And with that, the Iris message disappeared. Ally only had one more day of mortal school, with her best friend, before she had to go on a quest that she didn't even know if she would return from.

But such was the demigod life.

The next day, Ally woke up at 6:00 am. Same as always. She got up, made her bed, and got in the shower. After she got out of the shower and got dressed in a white shirt and her denim shorts, she put on the necklace she got from camp.

Her hair was still a bit damp as she walked out for breakfast, making it slightly wavy. She hadn't put it up in a ponytail yet, as she normally waited to do that until her hair was dry.

She ate breakfast quickly while her hair dried. After it was all dry, she put her hair back up in the ponytail she wore every day. Sally had offered to braid it or do something else for her last day at school, but Ally politely refused. She liked having her hair the same every day.

After Estelle woke up and got ready, the girls walked to school together. They were laughing and making jokes like they did every day, but there was an air of sadness lingering. The girls got to school and hugged one last time before they parted to go to their separate classes.

Ally had a math test. The teacher, Mrs. Hart, was sitting at her desk, making sure to keep an eye on her students. The students were allowed to use calculators, but Ally didn't need them. She couldn't explain it, it was like she looked at the equation on the paper and was able to calculate it out in her head. She was the first to finish the test.

Ally went about the rest of her classes, trying the best that she could to enjoy them. That was hard, though, since tomorrow she would be going on a quest that was more than likely dangerous.

Eventually, the day ended. Ally and Estelle met up outside the side door, where they always met. Estelle was leaning against the brick walls while waiting for Ally, her backpack beside her. When Ally came out, Estelle smiled and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

The girls walked back to the apartment, smiling and laughing like always. But something caught their eye when they were about halfway back to the apartment. They were passing by an alleyway and they saw something move in the darkness. The girls look at each other and nod, silently agreeing that they need to check it out.

Ally and Estelle set down their backpacks on the ground. Ally went first, obviously, since she had the dagger. She walks into the alleyway, hand on the hilt of her dagger. She was ready to draw it and use it if needed, but she didn't want to get into an unnecessary fight if whatever was in the darkness was passive unless provoked.

Estelle followed after her, squinting her eyes to try to see in the darkness. Estelle had perfect clear sight, so chances were if this was a monster, she would see it before Ally would.

The girls ventured into the dark alleyway, the walls illuminated by the faint glow of Ally's celestial bronze dagger. When they got to the end, they saw . . .

A young girl. She's wearing a torn and dirty gray hoodie and sweatpants in the same condition. Her hood is up in a way that covers her neck and the left side of her face. She has a black backpack next to her.

As soon as the girl looks up and sees the two girls, she gasps and grabs her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder, and standing up.

"Hey, hey," Ally says quickly. "It's okay. We won't hurt you."

The girl looks between Ally and Estelle, noticing they're blocking the alleyway. There's no way she can slip past them. So instead, she backs up and climbs a ladder to the rooftop of the building.

Ally and Estelle glance at each other, before shouldering their backpacks and running after the mysterious girl.