Again, this is based off of works created by Rick Riordan and Oda Eiichiro. Citations in MLA are on the first chapter.

So, I just can't portray most of the campers. That was one of the main reasons this took so long, actually. Sadly Grover isn't in this chapter as much. People interacting in groups isn't my strong point, but hopefully this will help me get over that.

I know what I want to do in general, but figuring out how to get to my planned ending is a lot like banging my head up against the wall. I hope that you enjoy this...

Chapter 8

Beyond Percy gaining a different sleeping spot from Zoro, their friendship and the friendships they had cultivated since they had arrived hadn't really changed all that much(Zoro did become a bit more overprotective, but it was hard for other people to tell that he was basically stalking his best friend with haki when no one else had haki). Oh, the average camper treated them differently, just not the people who really knew them(Not well, perhaps, but anyone who'd interacted with Percy for more than five minutes knew that he was a good friend to have, and anyone who'd seen Zoro with his 'students' knew that he was not compelled to kill people. But campers had prejudices as to what a son of Death should be like). Basically it was the same as middle school, except in that wretched and miserable place only Grover bothered to be friends with the weird kids who liked swords.

Most of the campers were alternating from terrified(because Percy's dad was one of the 'Big Three' and Zoro's was literally Death) to collectively trying to cozy up to powerful demigods they had previously dismissed. Which did not go well for them at all because Zoro was straightforward and liked who he liked(Something that him and his Captain had both shared), while Percy hated it when people only liked or disliked others based on something they couldn't help such as parentage.

Generally all Zoro had to do to get the more 'friendly' group away was to give them a demonic glower which honestly felt(to most people, those who actually knew the god of the Underworld would know better. Hades felt very different from Zoro) like Hades was nearby, but Percy was such a nice guy(and considered pretty good looking by the ladies… who were admittedly twelve year old Aphrodite campers), and not a direct relation to the scary Underworld so he got the brunt of the mindless sycophant storm.

Of course the Ares, Hephaestus, and Hermes cabin liked them well enough, and while Clarisse, Luke, and Grover were all good friends with them and each other by that point(there are only so many times you can be beat into the ground by Zoro together in the name of training and not become friends), there were a few people outside of that that had often been found nearby that the group collectively claimed as friends and shanghaied to put more bodies between Zoro and boredom now that he could no longer go out and hunt monsters whenever he felt like it. Both of those people cursed their curiosity after the first 'spar'.

The first was a son of Nemesis, Ethan Nakamura, who followed Zoro around(The sheer blood thirst and focus on revenge against whoever had sent that lion after Percy, well. Ethan honestly couldn't stay away, especially not after his mother had told him that the guy would help him on his crusade. Nemesis did care about her children, even if she showed it in a weird way) and had outright declared himself to be the guys subordinate before harassing anyone trying to bother him(Apparently, Nemesis was Thanatos' sister, and Ethan decided that Zoro would be an awesome enough cousin to actually claim the relation unlike most campers to those outside of their half siblings. Mostly because Zoro didn't judge him based on the fact that his mom was the goddess of Revenge and Balance and because him and Percy were causing changes to a stagnated world). The guy had happily entrenched himself in their group(after surviving the first round of Zoro training), stating something about their general lack of long ranged fighters and needing to have a better balanced team.

Upon Luke pointing out that Ethan fought with daggers, the dark haired kid had merely smiled sharply and smoothly pulled out a revolver looking gun that he casually used to hit one of the archery targets. That was behind him and he couldn't even see at the time. No one questioned him after that(though Percy bonded with him through guns. Hey, even if he loved swords that didn't mean that his mom hadn't taught him his way around a rifle, after all he was a momma's boy).

On the other side of the fence was Annabeth Chase, who'd followed them suspiciously and refused to admit that she was a part of their group. Eventually, they had stopped asking politely, and had Clarisse drag her into the practice ring any time she skulked about until she just started showing up ready to fight and became friends with all of them. Of course she'd deny even liking any of them other than Luke or Grover, but Annabeth had slowly become something similar to a friend.

She disagreed with them a lot, and seemed determined to best Zoro, Clarisse, or Percy in a duel(she wasn't that picky, and didn't really care too much about Ethan beyond the fact that he was good enough with daggers to give her a good challenge), but that had just made Zoro decide she was a true friend. And Percy had looked at her and known that there was something… different… about her compared to most other demigods.

"She kind of feels like your family," Percy confided to Zoro, "It's so interesting."

Zoro nodded slowly, wondering if his friend had always had such good instincts, "Her family is probably similar to mine, attracts a lot of godly interest and ends up with a lot of godly blood in their veins, we should probably check in on the rest of the Chases sometime. Not all of those families are as lucky as the Okubo."

So life went on like that for a little while more, but storm clouds were on the horizon, drawing near.

And they'd all need to work very hard to placate a power hungry idiot.

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

A crack of lightning flashed across the sky closely followed by the almost menacing roll of thunder. Most of the campers were looking up at the sky with nervous anticipation, feeling the tension the thick bank of clouds seemed to exude. To the smart ones, they'd realize that Zeus was angry.

And that was why, when Percy was called to the Big House all of his friends went with him(Even Annabeth, though she'd deny being friends with any of them, or that she was worried, she just wants to be certain that nothing will ruin any plans that she has. Oddly enough, if her and Clarisse could stop attempting to murder each other for about a minute they'd be best friends. They were extremely similar in some respects).

Chiron looked at them all gravely(he was smart enough to know that he couldn't separate them. And he was secretly grateful for that) as he ushered them inside. Mr. D was grimacing into his Coke.

"Percy," Chiron said gently, "There is something that I must tell you."

"Oh, quit beating around the bush, old friend," Mr. D mutters before looking up at them, "My Old Man in the Sky believes that Barnacle Beard has stolen his lightning bolt, via his son, and has demanded it back. Barnacle Beard denies that he stole it, and has demanded an apology. Naturally, they have only given each other until the Solstice to meet these demands until they go to war. Which is in about ten days from now."

Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing at the deer-in-the-headlights look most of the campers had adopted(except Zoro), "Yes, thank you Mr. D. I was trying to ease them into it."

"Why tell us now?" Percy asked.

Chiron sighed, before looking at the gathered group. From a scowling Clarisse, and a stormy nervous Annabeth and the happy looking Ethan(because this was going to help keep the balance, and his mother had left him with the near-compulsion of working towards balance as a demigod quirk along with smelling when a person wanted revenge against another. It smelled a lot like cumin, weirdly enough.), to an oddly guilty looking Luke and a miserable Grover and a thoughtful, worried Percy. And Zoro, standing there seeming both confident and intent.

"Because, as it is now, we are headed for war," the old teacher rumbled, "And as it is neither of them will back down. With all the rest of the gods forced to choose sides and prepare for war the Lightning Bolt will not be found by them so that leaves Heroes."

"Us," Grover said incredulously(He did not see himself as hero material, and had been somewhat shocked when Chiron had called him a hero along with his friends).

"Indeed," came the reply, "besides, what better show of faith than to have the son of the accused find and return the Bolt."

"So you want Percy to go on this quest for sure," Luke said softly, seeming to think about something.

"What do you mean by 'for sure,' obviously we're all going," Percy replied confused.

Chiron nodded slowly, "Normally only three people are allowed to go on quests together, because any more than that and the heroes will draw far too many monsters to them."

"That's not good," Percy frowned worriedly.

"Ah, it'll be okay," Zoro said lazily, "We can just send out two separate groups close enough to help each other in case of trouble, but far enough away to not attract a lot of monsters."

"If we're on the same quest, then wouldn't we end up in the same places?" Ethan wondered, not necessarily condemning. Annabeth was looking at Zoro with mild shock, wondering how he'd thought up a solution before her, the Daughter of Athena and Tactician(plan person to be general).

"Not if we're after two separate things," Zoro smirked in smug satisfaction, "I had a fairly interesting dream last night…"

*FLASHBACK*

Zoro appeared in a somewhat dark, yet cozy and rustic room. Looking around, and wondering how he'd got there when he was still asleep(last he'd checked), a man appeared before him.

The guy had dark colored hair, dark gold eyes, dark clothes, dark… everything really. Not to mention a massive scythe held in one hand, and the large wings on his back, and of course being weirdly beautiful for a man. But Zoro immediately recognized who he was.

"Thanatos," Came Zoro's growl along with a narrowing of his eyes.

"Son," The Greek god of Death replied, looking at him with fondness(though most would be hard pressed to tell).

"Why am I here," Zoro wondered suspiciously, hand going to the swords by his side.

"You're my son, so I wanted to talk to you."

"Okay," Zoro said, "Did you hurt my mother?"

(Because Zoro had not forgotten his promise. If his father had hurt his mother in any way, he would find a way to kill him regardless of the consequences. End of story.)

Thanatos smiled at him, "Your mother is a very strong woman that I had liked from the moment I first saw her. Since my boss(meaning DEATH, but most people would probably mistake him for Hades considering the wording used) allowed me to father a demigod child, and she wanted to have a son without being beholden to some guy we decided to date for a little bit."

Zoro looked considering, before nodding, "Okay, yeah, that sounds like mom. So you wanted to talk to me?"

Thanatos sobered up fairly quickly, "Though I do not normally interfere, Hades is a good friend of mine and his children do not deserve what has happened to them. Since they and many others cannot die where they currently are at, it's also causing me a bit of a headache."

"You want me to rescue some children of Hades from where they're trapped?"

"And anyone else there, as well as destroy the place trapping them. Some of the mortals there may not be able to handle leaving, but even I am better that the torment this place inflicts."

"Torment?"

"They are trapped within their own minds, knowing that all they care for is probably dying or dead, and incapable of doing anything as their bodies go through the motions. Demigods handle it better, but I still doubt that most of them will survive."

"Yeah, okay, that sounds like a pretty good reason to go on a quest," Zoro said with malice at the thought of anyone taking another person's freedom away, "Anything else while I'm on the quest?"

Zoro's father just shrugged before tossing him an object, "You both get lost easily, and can find any person because you're my son, but sometimes being able to find a place or object is just as important," Thanatos grinned suddenly before saying, " I got the idea after an impressive pirate who honestly cheated me out of his life quite a few times died. This compass doesn't point to your heart's greatest desire like his did, but it does point to where you most need to go at the time."

"Thank you," Zoro muttered, looking at the compass with a soft smile(because it had the Straw Hat symbol embossed on the cover, meaning that his new father, even though he had lived a previous life, cared about and knew enough about him to give him a priceless gift that reminded him of his nakama).

"And Zoro," Thanatos said gently as the room started to fade, "I can contact you through your dreams whenever, so if you need any clarification then simply ask."

(Thanatos was both proud of the swordsman who was going to be great and had given up any peace in the afterlife to aid another, and happy he could help Hades with his problem. Not only were the children of Hades trapped, but something kept trying to make some poor demigods scapegoats. Knowing Zoro, the kid would definitely be able to help any he might… run into.)

*END FLASHBACK*

"So," Zoro said smugly, holding his new compass in his hand(which was pointed straight up for some weird reason... ), "We have another quest, and considering that most people probably suspect Hades of being the 'third party' even if he's not, and that he'd probably want his children nearby, we'll be near by each other the entire time. Probably."

Ethan looked at him with a somewhat deadpan expression mirrored by Annabeth(Because everyone else couldn't see what the issue was), "That doesn't stop there from being seven of us and not six."

"Six demigods though," Percy pointed out, "I don't think most monsters will get a read on Grover because he's a satyr, so while he'll bolster our numbers, he won't add to our scent. Which is why the three people only rule was created anyway."

Chiron nodded agreeably, with even Mr. D smirking in the background, "Yes, that works. Since Zoro and Percy have quests, they should both go up to the Oracle to get a prophecy for the quests."

Seeing both Percy and Zoro's confusion, Annabeth took pity on them before explaining, "Prophecies help demigods figure out where to start on their quests, while providing a warning of possible dangers. The Oracle is in the attic, and it will speak once you get up there."

"Okay," Percy said cheerfully, "Let's get this show on the road, the clock is ticking."

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

This of course ended with Zoro and Percy looking at a hippy mummy spewing green smoke and giving them both separate prophecies(somehow at the same time).

"You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,

A choice shall be made, to protect or betray,

And pain comes to friends that were led astray."

"You shall find aid in the south, and subdue the horses of war,

Fight fire with fire, unafraid of the four,

Break from the stupor the caged to be free,

And aid a father's redemption at sea."

After the smoke all cleared, they looked at each other with twin expressions of contemplation.

Those prophecies weren't exactly pleasant sounding, and they had friends to tell. Hopefully it would end up alright.

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

Clarisse knew that she had to go with Zoro as soon as she heard his prophecy. Because if she was right, that meant that either her father or one of her immortal half-brothers was going to be fighting them in the south.

"This is bad," She simply stated, causing everyone to look at her, "Four horses of war, fire, the south… that means that my father's chariot will be involved, and knowing him it's probably going to be in Dallas."

"Texas," Luke said, "You mean Dallas, Texas."

She looked at him with annoyance, "Of course Texas, do you know any other place named Dallas?"

"Why would the god of war be in Dallas," Percy murmured, before getting wacked by Annabeth.

"It might not be him," Clarisse said with a hint of… something in her eyes, "My father has a couple of sons that he lets take his chariot on joy rides sometimes, and as for why Dallas… the Dallas Burns use the horses of war as their logo."

"Really," Percy said interested, "And it doesn't do anything weird?"

"Not really, just means that my father really likes their team, but he doesn't really care much about sports. As violent as they can get they're not really war."

(Also, Ares never really got over the Olympics, which used sports to negate the necessity of war. This eventually evolved into a hatred of most sports, especially ones that were in the Olympics).

So it was concluded that Zoro would go to Texas, and Percy would end up in Los Angelos(on the basis that Hades would be the culprit or at least have a clue about who was framing him depending on who they asked. Opinions on the Underworld god were mixed, though they'd all be at least a little sympathetic by the end of the quest). They just had to figure out who to go with which person.

"Grover should go with Percy," Zoro grunted, "All signs point to me getting some extra help on my quest, so Percy should have his."

Clarisse nodded her approval, "Hedge was a big help to me going across the country, a satyr is a major bonus on any quest. And I should probably go with Zoro because I know a lot about the area and the enemies we might face. The gods of fear and terror can be a bit… overwhelming… if you're not expecting their tricks."

"Then I should go with Percy," Annabeth said, her grey eyes daring anyone to contradict her before adding, "My mortal family lives in the area, and I lived there for a while. I could navigate it pretty well."

Ethan smirked a little, as if he knew something they didn't(actually, he just wanted to make sure Clarisse and Luke had to interact more, so… ), "There's more to balance in the west, the south is just a necessary detour. To keep things fair, I've got to go with Percy."

"Well, I've heard that everything is bigger in Texas," Luke said contemplatively, "I wonder if that hold true to wallets."

And so, the teams were decided, with Team Zoro(consisting of Zoro, Clarisse, and Luke) heading south to Dallas, Texas before heading back up to L.A., and Team Percy(consisting of Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and Ethan) Going straight to L.A. to talk to Hades.

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

"We won't even be able to help each other," Annabeth frowned, not liking how the original plan was basically broken, "We'll get to L.A way before you guys."

Luke laughed smugly, "Yeah, but I can both drive and hotwire cars. We'll get there before you because you wont have as sure transportation."

(He was the only one physically old enough to actually drive, at 17. Clarisse and Ethan were both 15, and Zoro looked old enough to be 15, even if he was actually 13)

"Oh really?" The daughter of Athena remarked to her annoying older brother figure, "Well then you'd better put your money where your mouth is. Obviously, we'd get there way before you."

"Fine, loser has to take over stable mucking duty for a month from the winner."

"Deal."

And so, the two groups of demigods were off, both to complete the quests that they had been given, and on a race against each other.

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

:The Dallas Burns are a soccer/football team(depending on what you call it) that I decided to use after typing fire horses into Google and coming up with their logo. Actually, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they decided to change their logo... just after the first Percy Jackson book originally came out. Which has the potential to be pretty funny in the story. Also, can anyone guess the demigod that will end up helping Team Zoro in Dallas?