The Friday before mortal schools went on winter break, Grover contacted the camp. He had found two powerful demigod children in a boarding school in Maine. Percy's mother, Sally Jackson offered to take them there, Thalia, Percy, Annabeth and Alexander. It was an eight hour ride in the car. They played I spy, brought Ms. Jackson.
Alexander's eyes transfixed on a herd of centaurs which were running along on the fields to their right, "I spy with my little eye, something which begins with C"
"The clouds?" Came Percy's answer, always thinking straight ahead.
"Not even close, what do you take me for, simple?" Alexander chuckled.
Annabeth looked towards a greenhouse and asked, "Carnations?"
"Wrong again… aaaaand they are gone" the centaurs had run out of view.
"What was it?" Asked Sally Jackson, her voice light and cheerful, as always. She was an angel of a woman.
"To our right there were some centaurs, three of them to be precise, two older ones and one a child, maybe 10?"
"Oh I remember when Percy was that age", Sally smiled, "he tried eating one of my blue cookies right out of the oven, burned his little fingers, I had to kiss his boo boo, he was a mess, crying and he had dropped his cookie on the ground. To be honest, he was more upset over the dropped cookie than the pain"
"Mooooom!" Percy was bead red, covering his face.
The girls and Alexander chuckled.
"Oh- that was nothing- I still remember when you accidentally spilled glue over your hair and tried cutting it out with scissors. We had to shave your little head bare. Or when you accidentally fell into the green paint we wanted to use for your bedroom. We tried to scrub it off, it didn't work. The other children called you an alien" Ms Jackson was so engrossed that she missed her turn, that would delay them for another ten minutes.
"Is that where that nickname came from? I don't remember that incident but I remember you calling me 'my little alien'" Percy could see the comedy in that one, chuckling under his breath.
"Oh, I think we are here… this'll be fun", Thalia wiped away the fog from the car window.
The 'school' looked like an evil knights castle. All black stone with winding towers, slit windows and huge, oaken double doors. It stood on a cliff, ocean to one side and frost covered forest to the other. Snow was lazily drifting onto the street leading up to the imposing castle.
"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Asked Ms Jackson.
"No, thanks mom. I don't know how long it will take. We will be okay" Percy said.
"But how will you get back? I'm worried Percy" she scrunched up her nose and shook her head, her brown hair shaking in non existent wind inside the car.
"It is okay, Ms Jackson", Annabeth reassured her, "we will keep him out of trouble"
Sally visibly relaxed. Annabeth was a very skilled demigod with years of training under her mantle.
"All right dears, do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, Ms Jackson, thanks for the ride"
"My phone number? Your ambrosia and nectar? A golden drachma to call camp? Extra sweaters? Are you sure you don't want to wear one, Alex?"
"Mom! We are fine, we have everything and no, Alexander doesn't need a sweater, he can survive naked in the snow for days"
With a solemn nod, Sally accepted it, driving off after everyone had exited the car. Once she was out of sight, Thalia chimed in, "your mom is so cool, Percy"
"She is okay… what about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"
Thalia shot Percy an evil look that probably would do HP damage if it was directed at Alexander.
"We should get inside", Alexander said before Thalia could spit out any venom laced words.
"Yeah, Grover is waiting for us"
"Yes, whatever might he have found here that he had to send out a distress call?"
The four of them pushed open the thick, oak doors and gasped. The stone halls were filled with battle flags and there were plenty of weapons displayed, all mortal, he checked.
Alexander's fingers traced the carvings on Snowstorm, still in bracelet form. It was radiating cold. The weapon could sense that a fight was upcoming and it wanted to be used.
The oaken doors slammed shut behind them, "ooh-okay, guess we will stay a while", Percy's hand was also on his weapon, Riptide, a pen in his pocket.
They didn't get very far before two of the school's teachers approached them. This was a military school, and so the haircuts matched, short and well groomed, wearing a black and red military style uniform. The woman had a whisp of a mustache whilst the man was clean shaven. What shook Alexander was that above the man's head stood [manticore]
His fingers slipped to snowstorm but he halted. There was a mortal with her. If he revealed he knew what he was, the manticore could very well tear this innocent woman apart.
"Well? What are you doing here?" The woman asked, her voice sharp and commanding.
"Well, Ma'am, we uh-"
"Ha!" The manticore spoke, his voice just a little too resonating to be human, too much bass, with a heavy accent, not quite French… Spanish maybe? It definitely was foreign , "visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eeeejected!"
Alexander stepped forward, snapping his finger and letting mist control take affect. It wouldn't work too well on the manticore but he had to try, "We aren't visitors sir, we are students, just transferred a few months ago, you remember us, right? Alexander , Annabeth, Percy and me, Thalia, we are in eight grade"
"Miss Gottschalk, do you know these students?" The manticore asked, narrowing his two colored eyes in suspicion.
"I… yes, I believe I do, Dr Thorn sir. You four, what are you doing away from the gymnasium?"
Grover ran towards them, "you made it-! Oh, Mrs Gottschalk, Dr Thorn, I- uh…"
"What is it, Mr Underwood? What do you mean 'they made it'? These students live here"
"Yes sir, Dr Thorn Sir. I'm just glad they made… the punch sir. It is incredible and they made it, sir" Grover was bad at lying, always had been but this delivery was just awful but Dr Thorn, the manticore didn't seem to mind, " yes the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"
They rushed behind Grover towards the gymnasium.
"How did you do that, that finger snapping thing?" Asked Percy in a hushed voice.
"Haven't you been paying attention? I used the mist to cloud that woman's mind"
"Oh- er- right. So, Grover, what's the emergency?"
"I found two, powerful, both of them, a brother and a sister, don't know if they have the same parent, the girl is twelve and the boy ten. We are running out of time, there is danger approaching"
"A monster?"
Before Grover could answer, Alexander nodded, "Dr Thorn over there, a manticore. I think he is onto us"
"Oh- then it is worse than i imagined, a manticore? That's bad news", Grover shuddered. They entered the gymnasium, children were dancing awkwardly, badly mixed music was playing and the oh so praised punch? A murky pink color that was so artificial, it would kill a nymph if she drank it, "there they are, Bianca and Nico Di angelo"
The girl wore a green cap, trying to hide her face, the boy was obviously her little brother. Both of them had the same slimy dark hair and olive skin, using their hands a lot as they talked.
"Do they… I mean, have you told them?"
Grover shook his head, "you know how it is, I was actually wondering if you could maybe check their parentage, Alexander? It is one of your abilities, right?"
"I certainly can, I need clear line of sight though, let's get a little closer" Alexander weaved through the students and picked up a red solo cup, pretending to grab a drink as he got closer. He took a sip and observed them. He spat the drink out when he saw both of their titles.
Child of the underworld; child of prophecy
"What is it?!" Thalia urged.
"Children of the one who receives many guests"
"You don't mean…?"
"Uncle H, yes, we have to get them-", he turned around, only to watch both of them leave the gymnasium, behind Dr Thorn.
"Shit"