Title: Keep Little Company

Category: Sisters Grimm, Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Characters/Pairings: Sabrina, Percy, and ensemble; working towards Sabrina/Puck, Percy/Annabeth, and possibly others.

Rating: K+, but will probably be bumped up as the chapters progress.

Notes: Written on a whim, so apologies if it's a little choppy. Will probably be edited later.

Set a week or so after the end of The Last Olympian and about three years after the end of Council Of Mirrors. As such, spoilers abound.

Reviews are much appreciated.

Keep Little Company

part i

And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays.

-Bottom, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

"You'd think that after you've saved the world at least three times, life would cut you some slack," groused Sabrina.

Psycho Boy didn't turn away from the pegasus. She would have stalked over and punched him in the head, but he'd tied her to a tree. "I've saved the world, like, five times, and I don't see it happening," he replied.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Hilarious." Like some stupid renegade Everafter could do anything but screw things up for her and her family.

"It wasn't very nice of you to tie Blackjack up," Psycho Boy called out, hunched over his pegasus and trying to undo the knots that Sabrina had tied.

It wasn't very nice of you to tie me up. "Well, what was I supposed to do? People would freak if they saw a horse with wings flying over Times Square. Not to mention we're running low on forgetful dust, or don't you know that?"

He turned and flashed her a smile that was terrifyingly similar to Puck's. "The Mist would have taken care of it."

Sabrina snorted. "Nice try, but the smog—oh, I'm sorry, the "mist" around the city isn't nearly thick enough to cover up that." She nodded at the pegasus.

Said pegasus whinnied and attempted to flap its wings, but seeing as Sabrina had tied them to its back with several lengths of rope, it was a wasted effort. Psycho Boy patted it on the neck. "I know, buddy. But these knots are really tight, and I don't wanna cut you by accident."

Oh, her night was just getting better and better. Not only was she was stuck with a nutcase Everafter, she was stuck with a nutcase Everafter who could talk to animals. It was like Goldilocks all over again. Sabrina sighed.

"Look, buddy, I don't know who you are or what you want to do to me, but you better untie these ropes. Like, right now. Or else you're in for a world of hurt."

"What?" Psycho Boy blinked. "Oh, gods, no, you've got it all wrong. I don't want to hurt you, I want to take you somewhere safe. Sorry about the ropes; they're just a safety precaution. You looked like you were gonna claw my eyes out."

"Somewhere...safe?"

"Yeah. A place for people like us."

People like us? "Um, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you've gotten me mixed up with someone else."

Psycho Boy actually laughed. "I don't think so. You managed to bring down Blackjack, didn't you? You're definitely a half-blood." His pegasus gave an indignant-sounding wicker. "Anyways, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Percy Jackson." He stuck his hand out, then seemed to remember that her arms were tied to her sides.

Percy Jackson? The name sounded familiar, but she'd never heard of an Everafter named that. Then again, she'd never heard of anyone named Frau Pfefferkuchenhaus before she'd moved to Ferryport Landing, either.

Sabrina realized Psycho Boy (wait, no, Percy) was staring at her, waiting for a response. "Oh, my name is, um. Wendell. Wendell...Smirt." She cringed internally.

Percy quirked an eyebrow. "Weird name."

"So's Percy," grumbled Sabrina. "Are you gonna let me go or not? Since, you know, you aren't here to hurt me or whatever."

"Yeah, just give me a minute," he said, turning back to Blackjack. "What were you doing here, anyway?" He indicated the quiet, secluded part of Central Park they were currently stuck in. "Other than assaulting my pegasus, I mean. It's kinda late for a walk."

"Okay, first of all, I didn't assault anybody, least of all your giant pigeon. And two, it's not that late at all," Sabrina replied, avoiding the question.

"It's almost ten. And it's cold outside. You aren't wearing a jacket."

"I'm fifteen, don't baby me—"

"Got it!" He waved a long piece of rope over his head triumphantly. Behind him, Blackjack stretched out its wings, pawing the ground and snorting.

Percy turned to her, grinning, and Sabrina was again struck by how very...Puck-like he looked. "Okay, I'm gonna untie you now, yeah? Promise not to punch me."

"I promise not to punch you," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

He walked to where she was tied, and suddenly there was a sword in his hand. A giant, gleaming, sharp sword. Sabrina swallowed, hard.

Percy caught her expression and chuckled.

"This is just to cut you free," he explained, leaning over her. "I'll be careful, I promise." There was a flash of metal and Sabrina stood unbound, the rope around her feet. She rubbed her wrists.

He began to turn away from her, to Blackjack."Come on, let's g—"

And that's when Sabrina slugged him in the face, as hard as she could.

"I crossed my fingers, you moron!" she shouted, giving him a hard kick as he toppled over.

Then she turned and ran.

Pinocchio was so not having a good night.

First, he'd gotten stuck on patrol duty around Central Park instead of relaxing at the Golden Egg like he'd planned, reading books and enjoying mature company.

And then he'd gotten Sabrina as a partner, instead of Daphne.

Daphne...

The younger of the sisters Grimm had been looking especially...radiant, lately. Every time she smiled at him, Pinocchio could feel his heart rate increase by at least double. And when she had held his hand this morning, he had felt like his his face was about to melt right off, even though she had just been dragging him over to the hotdog cart so he could pay for her Schnitzel Surprise.

Pinocchio sighed wistfully as his mind drifted off into a beautiful place where he and Daphne smiled at each other and held hands and spent long hours discussing the works of Greek philosophers over coffee.

He'd just gotten to the part where he had made a particularly witty remark about Aristotle, and she was giving him a soft smile, leaning over, her face inches from his—

"Pinocchio!"

He snapped out of it, stumbling through the bushes that he'd been crouching in, his muscles cramped and complaining. What in the world...

"Pinocchio!"

There it was again; a faint, familiar voice in the distance...

"Get your skinny wooden butt over here or so help me—!"

"Sabrina...?" he muttered to himself, confused. Then realization dawned, along with horror."Carpet, up!"

The magic carpet, which he'd been standing on, rocketed into the sky upon his command.

"Find Sabrina!" he called over the air rushing against him. The carpet immediately shot off in the direction Sabrina's voice had come from, nearly unseating him in its speed.

Pinocchio grabbed at the tassels, feeling frantic. Oh, if anything had happened to Sabrina, Henry would kill him...

And then Daphne would bring him back to life using magic and kill him again. He shuddered.

Fortunately, Sabrina was not in danger. Yet, anyways. She came into view over a small hill, sprinting at top speed, screaming cuss words. Whether she was screaming them at him or at the large, shadowy figure flying after her, Pinocchio didn't know, but he thought that it would be prudent to get her on the carpet as soon as possible.

"Sabrina!" he yelled, extending his arm below the carpet as they got closer.

She swung her own arm out, and then their hands were linked (she flinched in pain) and he pulled her onto the carpet without much difficulty. "Away!" Sabrina shrieked, and the carpet abruptly changed direction, speeding away from the huge, dark, flying...thing that had been chasing after her.

Now they could hear the flapping, whooshing sounds of the thing as it got closer; obviously, it wasn't going to give up any time soon. "Faster!" Pinocchio and Sabrina screeched at the same time. The carpet obeyed, and this time, their pursuer didn't seem to be able to keep up.

The flapping sounds faded, and then it was just the two of them, screaming through the cold night air so fast that Pinocchio could barely breathe. "Slow down," he gasped, then started coughing as they decelerated.

"Start circling a random part of the Park," Sabrina managed after a minute or two.

"I thought we were going back to the Golden Egg after patrol?" Pinocchio asked, then immediately wished he hadn't.

She turned the full force of her glare on him and he shrank back. "We would be going back, if it wasn't for the fact that I was just captured by a maniac rebel Everafter!"

"Erm, yes, well. About that. What happened, exactly?"

Sabrina threw her hands up in disgust. "Exactly what it sounds like, Pinhead! That weird sound that we heard turned out to be a pegasus. It went, like, crazy when I tried to touch it, so I had to tie it up. Wasn't easy."

"I thought all the pegasi were in the Hall of Wonders?"

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong. Anyways, I tied it up and was about to go find you, but some lunatic jumps out of nowhere and takes me down! " Here she paused and alternated between glowering at Pinocchio and shaking her head in disbelief. "Then he ropes me to a tree and unties his pegasus."

"How did you manage to get away, then?"

"That's the thing; he let me go. Started blabbering about the fog and a "safe place" or some nonsense like that—" Sabrina cut off suddenly and swung around to face him, scowling. "What were you doing during all of this, by the way?"

Pinocchio decided that 'daydreaming about dating your sister' was probably not an acceptable answer in this situation. "Uh...patrolling."

She gave him a look. "You're lucky that I'm exhausted right now, or else I'd be strangling you."

He cleared his throat self-consciously and nodded at her right hand. "What happened to your knuckles?" They were a sickly purple color.

Sabrina sighed and flexed her fingers experimentally, grimacing. "I socked him. He...had a really hard face."

It was pretty cold outside the Golden Egg, even though it was only the end of August. Red was glad she had her parka on.

When she craned her neck, she could see Mr. Canis through the window, sitting at the bar with Basil in his lap. He'd given her a concerned look when she'd asked him if she could wait outside, his wrinkled mouth puckering and his shaggy eyebrows coming together. "Are you sure, Red?" he'd asked her.

Red had smiled. "Of course. I'll be right outside, just where you can see me."

Now she watched him as he ordered something from Momma, the bartender; probably a cookie or some hot chocolate for Basil. He shot an anxious look in the direction of the doors, beyond which she was standing.

Red had to shoot down a sudden surge of frustration. Why did everyone insist on treating her like she was made of fine china? Okay, so maybe she wasn't sneaky and street-smart like Sabrina, or good at magic like Daphne, or a genius like Pinocchio, but surely she had some talents to provide?

Yeah, like the fact that you might transform into a fanged, flea-bitten killing machine any time you get ticked off.

No, no, no! Red shook her head violently, trying to dislodge those thoughts. She had the Wolf under control, she'd had it under control since the end of the war—

Her train of thought was interrupted by someone opening the door of the Golden Egg, letting warm yellow light spill out onto the sidewalk. Red looked up.

It was Mustardseed. He was clutching Elvis's leash in one hand, and the big dog wagged his tail in greeting.

"Oh, hello," Mustardseed said, sounding surprised. "What are you doing out here?"

"J-just waiting," she stammered, internally cursing her timidness around strangers. It didn't help that said stranger was rather cute. "F-for Sabrina. And Pinocchio. A-and Daphne, and G-granny, and Mr. Grimm."

He nodded. "Alright. I just thought that I should bring your dog outside." Elvis wagged his tail again. "He was trying to eat the Gingerbread Man."

"Oh, I'm so s-sorry! I'll t-take him off your hands."

Mustardseed gave her a curious look as he passed Elvis's leash over. "Are you cold? Your teeth seem to be chattering."

"What? Oh, n-no, I'm just—" Red paused and took a deep breath, steadying her voice. "I'm just worried, I guess. Sabrina and Pinocchio were supposed to be back already, and then Granny and Daphne and Mr. Grimm went off chasing who knows what..." She trailed off and shrugged, reaching to pat Elvis. "And I'm just...here."

He stared at her, his expression inscrutable. "You are doing your part in this, all the same," he said finally, voice quiet.

Red stiffened, feeling seen through and vulnerable. "So are you."

The fairy sighed and tugged at his bangs. "Yes, well, Mother's not very pleased with all of this. Mortals under a sleeping spell and monsters everywhere and the Empire State Building flashing blue, of all things...she seems to think the whole thing is some sort of mass conspiracy against Faerie."

"That's why you called us here, isn't it? To figure things out. Mrs. Grimm's been talking to your mother for almost a week now."

"More like attempting to calm her down before she burns down Central Park, actually—"

Pop!

Sabrina and Pinocchio appeared in front of them, looking windswept. Pinocchio had the flying carpet rolled up and tucked underneath one arm, while Sabrina was in a state of total disarray. "I need to talk to my family!" she barked at Mustardseed, running a hand through her tangled blonde hair distractedly. "I met one of...one of them!"

Mustardseed's eyes widened, and he charged back into the Golden Egg, his wings popping out of his back. Sabrina was right behind him, leaving Pinocchio, Red, and Elvis out in the cold.

Pinocchio turned to her. "Where is everyone? I thought you all said that you would wait for us."

Red bit her lip. "Mrs. Grimm's still trying to talk sense into Titania, Mr. Canis and Basil are waiting inside, and the other three went off to investigate a horse-man."

"A...a horseman?" The blood drained from Pinocchio's face. "D-did he have a head?"

She flashed him a puzzled glance. "Well, yes, I think so."

"Ugh, never mind that. Have Puck and Jacob shown up yet?"

"No, not yet. But Daphne said they might not until tomorrow morning. What've you two been up to, by the way?"

"Oh, don't make me relive it." The boy sat down, letting out an exhausted breath. He was immediately assaulted by Elvis, who began to cover him in slobbery kisses. "I'll tell you about it later, but for now, I have a question for you."

Red blinked and stopped fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. What...?

"Red, have you ever heard of anyone named Percy Jackson?"