The Plea of Apollo || COMPLETED

NEW YEARS

The Seven, Will, Nico, Cecil, Lou Ellen, Calypso, and Reyna had agreed to go to Times Square to watch the ball drop and enjoy the fireworks in celebration of the New Year. Leo had picked everyone up on the new and improved Argo III, a much smaller version of his beloved ship he had been built from its remains for shorter journeys with his friends. There were bathrooms, a few cots, and a kitchen inside the mini version of the old ship, but Leo planned on expanding it when he got the chance. For now it was all they needed to transport everyone across the country.

"Are we there yet?" Cecil whined as they flew beneath the stars. It was less than an hour to midnight and he was getting worried. They needed to land to ensure they would not be blasted out of the air when fireworks all over the state lit up the sky.

Leo rolled his eyes are he asked Buford the Second for their estimated time of arrival. "Ten more minutes, dude. We have plenty of time to land and blend in with the crowd before the ball drops and the kissing begins."

Piper glanced at Reyna, who seemed to not be bothered by this comment as she might have been before. The moment she had been picked up by Leo the girl had thanked the daughter of Aphrodite for the note. She was a lot happier, despite outwardly acting the same. It was like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders, or more accurately her heart.

"I'd better tell Nico and Will it is time for them to come out of hiding," Lou Ellen said as she descended the stairs that led below deck.

Earlier when Frank had found out what Percy, Jason, and Leo had gotten Will as their group Christmas gift to go along with their card, he apologized to the couple before promising to censor their gifts next time. However, the innocent son of Mars as well as Nico's other "brothers" turned redder than a patch of tomatoes when Nico shared that Will pulled the lingerie off very nicely. This led to them chasing Will (and Nico) until they finally locked themselves in the kitchen of the Argo III. Since Leo would not have his ship damaged in pursuit of the two, they had been forced to leave them alone.

"Will, Nico," she called after knocking on the locked door. "We're almost at Times Square. The boys promise not electrocute, drown, burn, or skewer Will. Let's go!"

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Everything was fine up until five minutes to midnight on New Year's Eve. The demigods were minding their own business, exchanging resolutions while holding their significant other's hand as they waited for the one minute until New Year countdown. Of course it would be just as they were getting ready to ring in 2011 that a monster would appear.

To the humans who couldn't see though the mist, the large chimera darting past them appeared to be a stray orange cat. The thirteen demigods weren't so easily fooled.

"I'll take care of it," Reyna said tersely. She wanted her friends to enjoy the tradition of kissing their beloved at the stroke of midnight. It wasn't like her albino knight in shining armor had shown himself yet. "You guys stay here; I'll be back in a minute."

Before any of them could protest, the daughter of Bellona gave them a purposeful smile and raced through the crowd with her sword raised. Within minutes she had caught up to the half-lion half-serpent only for it to turn into an alley away from the crowds of people.

Good, she thought. The less people around the better.

She sped into the dark alley with her limbs poised to strike. The chimera, its back turned to her as it slowly advanced upon what she could only guess was a rather unlucky demigod, lasted no longer than three seconds before erupting into dust. It hadn't even had time to fully turn its head towards the Roman girl.

Reyna sheathed her blade, letting out a sigh of relief. For once she hadn't had one bit of trouble killing its kind; defeating it had been too easy. Strange.

She then turned her head towards where she saw someone with their back braced up against the wall at the end of the dark alley. Without thinking she made her way in front of the figure that was breathing harshly as he let himself fall against the wall and sink onto the ground. She couldn't make out many features because of the lack of light, but she could tell the person in front of her was a boy no older than sixteen.

"Excuse me, but you know how dangerous it is to be out at night with monsters lurking everywhere. Why are you alone? You should know better than to venture outside camp without two other demigods with you."

The boy spoke softly, looking up at her with red eyes. Her heart skipped a beat at the observation. "Demigod? I don't understand. I was just with a group of friends when this creepy lion snake thing appeared out of nowhere. My friends didn't see it, but I ran anyway. It saw me and then started chasing me! But you," his voice held so much respect and awe it almost made Reyna blush, "were amazing. You wielded that sword spectacularly! I don't know who you are, but thank you so much!"

She offered her hand to the boy, who took it gladly. When they were standing eye to eye Reyna introduced herself.

"Reyna, huh? I never heard anyone with that name before. It's nice. My name is Tucker," he said with a kind smile.

"Tucker," Reyna tested. "Are you telling me you aren't a demigod?"

He shrugged. "I know what they are from a World Mythology class I am currently taking in high school right now, but I know both of my parents. I've seen my birth certificate, so I'm very certain I'm not adopted. The fact that I'm just as albino as my dad, which is a rare trait as it is, farther proves my point. No cool powers like in the stories have revealed themselves either, but I've always seen strange things growing up. I just assumed I was some crazy medium. Why else would I be able to see ghosts and other weird creatures? This was the first time one attacked me though," he explained.

"You're a clear-sighted mortal then." She muttered under her breath.

All of a sudden shouts reached their ears as the sky erupted in light. A few blocks away the eleven demigods and one ex-goddess were kissing passionately. After exchanging a few romantic words they left to locate their friend who was busy leading the white-haired boy she had just met out of the alley and onto the streets of New York.

"You'd better find your friends," she instructed Tucker. "I should go find mine too. A word of wisdom though; if you pretend not to see the monsters then they will leave you alone. You're a special mortal to be able to see them, but if you don't acknowledge them they won't pay you any attention."

To her surprise, Tucker shook his head. "My friends are probably on their way to a party by now. I live just a few blocks away, so I don't need to worry about getting a ride home. How about I stick with you for a little bit? I'm interested in what it means to be special as you so elegantly put it," he said with a hint of mischievousness in his voice.

Reyna smirked at him. "Did I say special? I meant cursed. If you would like, I could introduce you to some of my other demigod friends. I am a daughter of Bellona by the way, so don't test my kindness. I could kill you in a second and a half."

"The Roman Goddess of War? I'd have guessed daughter of Ares, but I see now Bellona fits you better. Ares couldn't have a child as radiant as yourself. Also, I don't think the girl that just saved my sorry butt would kill me just for complimenting her."

"Do you flirt with every girl you meet?"

"No, only those that save my life. You're the first."