1 NO SUMMER VACATION

The bell rings, and that's that. Kids run from their seats. Some talk about what college they're going to - others cry that they will never see their friends again. Some will have big parties in the evening to celebrate...not a bad idea. I might ask if I could join. I only know a few souls here - a consequence of being a demigod. And Kronos's son.

Last year, there was an ambush on DGH. More than half of all the residents had perished in the fight. The cult that had been such a bother was now under Nick's grip and wouldn't pose a threat for now. Most importantly, he's managed to discreetly send demigods to the Isle of Lemnos or Themyscira, the island of the Amazons. There they will train and swear allegiance to Kronos. As the third consul, Nick was part of the big three in the cult. I haven't met the other two yet, but Nick didn't seem to have problems with them.

Well, I can ask him later. Right now, I needed to get to DGH. The gods were convening to talk about Kronos, and everyone in DGH was invited. Usually, I would head there after school with Julien, but he wasn't here right now, so I went to pick up Helen on my own.

Helen had just finished her first year of high school. When college starts, she'll be a sophomore. And she's changed tons too. At five-seven, she was now only two inches shorter than me. On her left middle finger was a purple ring our mother once wore. Same with the earrings and the necklace - all the same color and all from the same person - Kronos. It was kind of ironic that she wore gifts from someone she hated. But it didn't really matter. They belonged to Mother, and Helen wanted to keep a piece of her to herself. Besides, they fitted her nicely.

I hugged my sister as she came out the door. "So, how's the first year?"

"It wasn't so bad. Compared to middle school, I haven't been bullied at all," she smiled.

"Good. Have you made friends?"

She nodded. "Lots of them."

Helen seemed to be so much happier nowadays. Perhaps it was the fact she wasn't treated poorly by her peers. Or, maybe she got a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. Or it could be that I popped into existence after a year without saying anything. Either way, I'm glad.

"But never mind that. Yiannis, isn't something happening at DGH?" Helen asked.

"Yeah. The gods are finally stepping in. We're gonna go to Olympus and have a chat with them about how to deal with Kronos."

"Then we probably should get going." She let out her hand. "Could I do it this time?"

"Sure. Be my guest. Shadow travel is exhausting." With that, we fell down into a black hole.

And then spit out at DGH.

I remember the time shadow traveling once would knock me out. After three years of training, it was no big deal for Helen. She did it often and is a lot better at steering than I am(if you could call it "steering" through a shadow).

The two of us met up with friends. After what I did, whoever remained was traumatized. Everyone here had gotten much closer, and coming back here always proved to be emotional hell. Every so often, someone would talk about their brother, their dead lover, or a friend whose life I stole. It proved impossible to face them. When I was alone, I cried on several occasions. I guess the attack had wounded me too. It haunted all of us. Only in the presence of a fellow demigod here could we heal. And it seemed that DGH could finally move on.

But soon, the war would begin in earnest.

And another tragedy would befall this place.

Chiron led us to the elevator. You see, this hotel actually had somewhere around a hundred floors, but there is a button to go to the thousandth floor. In simple terms, hit that, and you go up to Olympus.

We arrived at the gods' throne room. Ten were in attendance: Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Hermes, Artemis, Athena, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Demeter, and even Hades. Why was he here?

Nick elbowed me. "According to Lord Kronos, your second father came here at Kronos's command. As he has already won over the trust of the gods, he will do well as a double agent."

"Got it. Anything else?"

"No, my liege."

"Alright. Thanks, Nick."

We bowed to the gods. Zeus cleared his throat, glaring at me. "Tell me, boy. You were missing for a year. What happened, exactly?"

"As I've said. Vittoria was ordered to kidnap and sacrifice me in a ritual to the Titan Lord. I got away and managed to contact Hades before coming here."

"Yes, that is what your father had to say as well. Did you learn anything about our enemy?"

"Not really. I was confined in a room and found myself in some forest after escaping. I did overhear talk about how it was planned to revive someone called the general-"

Zeus's eyes flung wide. "Then...yes, that would explain it."

Athena nodded. "Kronos offered himself to us as bait, distracting us from Atlas. I guess it only makes sense then that we so viciously lost three of our own already."

Hades nodded. "Yes. Sending only Artemis, Dionysus, Ares, and Apollo was a grave mistake. DGH was almost crushed had I not intervened."

Zeus didn't like that last comment and shot a look at my father, who ignored him. He turned back to us. "Well, despite that, all of you have done well in building back up. And in time. Soon, Kronos will come again. If only I could track Vittoria, his child..."

I did find that funny...since his child was right here...but let's not get into that.

"Lord Zeus, if it's alright, might I make a request?" I bowed.

"Go on."

"If you'd be so generous, I'd like more support from Olympus."

Zeus raised his eyebrows. "Do we not help you enough?"

"I'm grateful, but...after that attack, DGH has lost a lot of good demigods. We're short on manpower and resources."

"Be specific. What do you want?"

"I would appreciate if we could be lent more equipment, more secure borders to protect us from monsters and if you could notify us of where your children are. This might sound audacious...but could we also get assurance that at least one of you to stay here?"

"Stay here? When there's a war?"

"Kronos will be targeting Olympus. And I'm sure he'll try to crush DGH completely this time. He's already sent Atlas here once, and a Titan is beyond us. We can't do it alone-"

Zeus dismissed. "Perhaps. But you lot are responsible for DGH. As for us, all we have to do is thwart Kronos quickly, and that will be the end of it, correct?"

I sighed. "Yes. Forgive me for speaking so boldly." I wanted to scream at him. Had he not learned anything from his past two failures? Especially the most recent one...Kronos could have broken into Olympus a year ago if he wanted. Why was Zeus not fazed, then?

Athena spoke. "The boy does raise a point. If we want DGH to carry the burden of defending Olympus, we have no choice but to do as Yiannis says. If Kronos sends Atlas here yet again-" She silenced Zeus with her hand, "Then it will be the end of DGH, and even of us. Atlas will be free to wreck the place."

Artemis nodded. "I'm in agreement. Father, is it possible for me to stay? We have no clue what Kronos will throw at us - at least one of the Titans will likely lead the attack here if not him. Given Atlas's resounding success, we should anticipate him as well."

Zeus shook his head. "No. We've already lost three of our own, and we'll have to take on all the Titans already on Kronos's side. And that is if there are no nasty surprises. I won't have one of my best fighters sidelined here."

Athena opened her mouth and closed it. I guess she realized she couldn't well argue with her own king after he made his mind. Sadly, the goddess of wisdom was not the queen of the gods.

I bowed before Zeus yet again. "Lord Zeus, can none of the gods really help us?"

"You've heard my answer, boy," he snarled. "Don't ask again."

One goddess raised her hand. Zeus was shocked. "Hestia..."

She looked him right in the eyes. "Will you object to me as well?"

Zeus considered, then sighed. "You're very stationary. I don't mean offense, but you'll likely be staying here, even as war breaks out, correct?"

"Yes. As I've told you, I would like to help our children defend Olympus."

"Then the choice will be up to you."

Zeus turned to Chiron. "Did Dionysus report anything about the situation of the minor gods before he was taken?"

The centaur nodded. "Yes. He informed me that all the minor gods, save Aeolus and the wind deities, have joined the Titans."

Zeus ground his teeth. "It seems some are more ambitious than I thought...I'll need to converse with them about reality. Chiron, was there anything else?"

"Yes. I was instructed to give you a private message."

"Then stay here, and send the heroes back to the hotel. We can end the meeting here."