They're on their way to visit Paul's sister, Katherine, who invited Sally and her family over for the New Year and Sally happily accepted. She and Paul went on ahead in their own car and Percy just had to follow but of course, he missed an exit ramp or two and got him and Nico totally lost somewhere around Nevada. They have the windows rolled down because they're riding through a desert and the wind is slashing through their hair at face whipping speed. Since they didn't own cell phones, they couldn't call anyone for directions but Percy said he could handle it so Nico just let him, but not without grumbling a few choice words. Nico was happily chewing on some jerky they picked up at a rest stop from before as he stared out at the mountain range that was encircling them. The radio was broken so Percy hummed some tunes to fill the silence. He wasn't very good at it but Nico didn't mind. He continued eating his jerky.
"Gods, I hate that sound." Percy said. Nico turned his head towards him.
"What sound?" he asked.
"That weird lip smacking sound you make when you chew." Percy said. "Close your mouth." Nico smirked at him.
"That's not what you said last night." Percy stole a glance at him before smiling and focusing back at the road in front of him. Time went by as Nico kept on drinking soda and having an occasional snack as Percy stayed on the one road that seemed to pretty much go on forever.
"I need to go to the restroom." Nico announced.
"You-!" Percy looked at him. "You couldn't have said something when we passed by that gas station 10 minutes ago?" Nico shrugged.
"I didn't need to go then," he said. Percy sighed.
"If you need to go, you have to do it on the side of the road."
"But there's no trees or shade or anything out there." Nico complained.
"Too bad. Go by a shrub or something." Percy slowed down and pulled over. Nico pouted at him before stepping out. A fresh wave of desert heat rushed into the car. Nico slammed the door shut as he walked off a few yards. The road was surprisingly empty, even though it was around noon. There should have been a couple cars whizzing by but Percy didn't think much of it. Nico returned, gloomier than before. Percy turned the ignition key but the car just sputtered. Percy tried a few more times but the car just wouldn't start up.
"No no no, gods, no." Percy muttered. He desperately turned the key a few more times before cursing and banging his hands against the wheel."The battery must have died again."
"Did you bring the starter thing?" Nico asked. Percy winced.
"I did but I forgot to charge it before we left."
"Well, that's definitely gonna help us right now." Nico said sarcastically.
"Hey, it was you who needed to use the restroom!" Percy snapped.
"It wouldn't have been a problem if you had charged the battery like you were supposed to!" Nico yelled. Percy sighed exasperatedly before leaning his forehead down on the wheel. He lightly tapped his head on it a few times, thinking.
"Do we have any water left?" Percy asked. "Maybe we can send an Iris message." Percy watched as Nico rummaged around at the piles of snacks and wrappers at the foot of his seat.
"No," Nico said. "I think I drank them all." A light pink spread across his cheeks. Whether it was from the heat or embarrassment, Percy couldn't tell.
"Perfect." Percy looked out at the desert. "I don't sense any large bodies of water either. Do you think you could shadow travel using my shadow?" Nico shook his head.
"It's noon, Percy. Even if I wanted to show up somewhere half asleep, I can't do it because the sun is directly on top of us which means your shadow is directly below you."
"So what?" Percy said. "Are we just going to wait here until help comes by?" Nico's gaze traveled over his shoulder before his eyes widened.
"We might not get that chance. Duck!" Percy instinctively flattened himself over the gear shift as something whizzed by his hair. It stuck to side of car, just above Nico's head. Percy looked back and saw a couple of metal things heading their way. Percy had a history of dealing with automatons and they never usually ended well. He immediately stepped out of the car as Nico rushed around toward his side with the projectile in his hand.
"Percy, look." Nico turned the metal spike in his hand for Percy to see the Eta symbol engraved into it.
"Hephaestus." Percy grumbled. "What we did we do to him?" Then it hit him. He quickly looked around. This wasn't the place where it had happened but it did remind him of the last time he saw Nico's sister, Bianca. Nico must have picked up on that vibe because he wouldn't look Percy in the eye. Instead he stared right at the oncoming tide of metal.
"I don't think this has to do anything with... that." Nico said. "I think we may have trespassed on some ground that was sacred to Hephaestus and that activated the guard dogs."
"You mean when you peed on that shrub?" Percy asked. Nico glowered.
"I should've recognized it. There must be a temple nearby." Percy looked around but couldn't see anything around for miles.
"I don't see anything," he said, squinting against the desert glare.
"It's probably heavily covered by the mist. I don't want to stick around to find out." He pulled his scabbard out from the back seat and slung it around his waist before unsheathing his black Stygian sword. Percy uncapped his pen and Riptide sprang forth. They launched forward simultaneously, blades at the ready. When they were close enough to see the dogs' diamond eyes, they split apart, making the dogs pick a target. Percy had two pursuing him while Nico had three on his tail. They were both at a disadvantage, with little water available for Percy to draw on and little shadow for Nico to summon some skeletons. Metal scraped against metal as the boys fought off their attackers. One of the dogs managed to scrape Nico's shoulder with its sharp claws causing him to cry out.
"Nico!" Percy kicked one of the dogs away and slashed at the other one before running over to him.
"I'm fine!" Nico kept on defending but Percy could tell that the wound needed immediate nectar. A dog pounced on Percy's back, making him fall forward. He managed to flip over and wrestle it away from him but not without burning some of his skin. The hot metal exposed some red skin on his hands and Percy could feel the blisters that were starting to form underneath.
"Don't touch their skin!" Percy yelled.
"Got it!" Nico slashed at a dog but could only manage to push it away. His sword didn't even make a dent in it. Percy growled and tore a piece of his shirt off to wrap around his hands before jumping back into battle to help Nico, who had all five dogs surrounding him. He used his cloth covered hand to pull one back and insert himself in the middle with Nico. They stood back to back, the dogs circling them, waiting for their resolve to drop.
"Any ideas on how to get us out of here?" Percy asked.
"One, but it's dangerous."
"Danger is my middle name." Percy said amusingly. Nico snorted. He wiped away some sweat from his forehead but then immediately winced when he jostled his bad shoulder. A dog pounced at them but Percy smacked it away as the other dogs snarled at them. Percy snarled back.
"So what's this bright idea?" Percy waved his sword as the dogs started to circle around them again.
"We use both our powers to create an earthquake and split the ground. Hopefully the dogs will fall in and we can escape."
"You're right. It is dangerous." Percy said, eyeing the dogs as they passed by.
"I don't see you coming up with anything." Nico said through his teeth. That shoulder wound was really getting to him. Percy needed to end this quickly and treat it before Nico collapses from the blood loss.
"All right." Percy said. "Give me your hand." He reached back and grabbed Nico's left hand, causing Nico to wince as he had to handle his sword with only his right hand, the side with the shoulder wound. Percy turned a bit and kissed his knuckles.
"We'll get out of this," he said determinedly. Nico smiled at him.
"Of course we will. You still owe me a cheeseburger."
Percy chuckled before facing forward at the dogs. He concentrated on the ground underneath them and felt a familiar tug in his stomach. A deep rumble resounded in the earth as a crack appeared ahead of them. One of the dogs got its paw stuck in the crevice before it widen and it fell in. The remaining dogs scrambled away as the crevice circled around the pair, creating their own little island as tons of sand fell all around them. Percy expanded his senses and felt traces of what use to be a flowing river. He drew upon that and called all the available water toward them. Percy could feel Nico's power give his a boost as water exploded all around them, creating a miniature oasis in the desert. Percy laughed as the water splashed on him,revitalizing him and giving him an extra boost of energy. Percy felt Nico squeeze his hand. Percy flashed him a grin before pulling Nico into the water, concentrating on keeping them dry. He kept a tight hold on Nico's hand as he pulled them against the current and onto the dry land on the other side of the lake they had just created. This time, when the remaining dogs barreled toward them, Percy confidently commanded the water to pull them down to the floor of the lake where Nico could summon the shadows to come up and engulf them and send the automatons to New Zealand or wherever. Nico used so much of his power sending them as far away as possible that Percy felt the weariness himself. When he was done, Nico slumped forward and would've landed face first in the sand if Percy hadn't been there to catch him. He laid him down gently before capping Riptide and putting it in his pocket.
"Good job, Nico." Percy said fondly. Nico turned his head slightly as Percy kissed the top of his hair.
"Let's get out of here." Nico mumbled, already close to passing out. Percy slung Nico's uninjured arm around his shoulders and wrapped an arm around his waist. Nico managed to sheath his sword as Percy helped him walk back to the car. Percy opened the passenger door before setting Nico down on the slightly too warm seat. Percy pulled out the ambrosia they kept in the glove compartment and fed a small portion to Nico as he poured some nectar over the wound, washing away some of the blood as best as he could. Nico winced a bit, but swallowed it down along with the ambrosia. Slowly but surely, the wound did start to heal and color was returning to Nico's cheeks soon enough.
"All right. We're all set," Percy said before putting the ambrosia and nectar back. "Just take it easy for now, okay?"
"Yeah," Nico said, tiredly. "Thanks." He leaned forward a bit and Percy closed the gap by giving him a quick kiss on the lips before pulling back and shutting the car door closed. He went to the back of the car and opened the trunk to pull out the battery starter. Percy checked how much charge was left and was surprised to find out it was fully charged. His mom probably charged it for him, as he had a bad habit of not checking the charge before he leaves for the day.
Thanks, mom. Percy thought. He quickly started the vehicle and both Percy and Nico were back on their way toward the start of the new year.