A/N: Whew! That took forever. It's nearly the end of the school year, so of course I'm being smacked in the face repeatedly with finals. Don't expect anything next week, but pretty soon I should start updating more frequently. Anyways, I had already written this story when I decided I didn't like the way it ended. So I re-wrote it. And then I re-wrote it again. And again. Finally, it ended up being longer than any of the ones I've already written.
I know some people were dissatisfied with the ending to my last one, and I do agree with them. I'm still pretty new to the Supernatural fandom, and this has been my first attempt at writing fanfic for it. As a result, I'm still trying to figure out how to write the brotherly dynamic. I feel like I have a good handle on Percy and I have moments of inspiration where I feel like I have a good connection to Dean, but I'm still trying to figure out Sam and how he and Dean interact. Even though I have a younger sibling, there is so much of our relationship that's conveyed and shared silently. Trying to figure out all the subtleties for my writing has been driving me nuts. And now, on to the story.
We're the FBI: Sam and Dean look into the case of Mia Williams, who is one of seventeen people to have reported a hellhound sighting, in New York and almost get skewered for their trouble.
II.
We're the FBI
The Impala's engine rumbled happily as Sam and Dean cruised down the clogged street, stopping every five freaking seconds because of the traffic. In case you couldn't tell, Dean was bored. And frustrated. And he still didn't know why they were here.
He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye before turning his gaze back to the road. "Why are we in New York again?"
"You want the long version or the short version?"
"Short."
"Weird stuff."
Dean's only response was an irritated huff. Sam smiled, but finally relented and elaborated.
"Really weird stuff, okay? Get this: in the past three days, seventeen people have reported seeing a hellhound."
"Reported?" Dean echoed, eyebrow raised. "They'd have to be alive to report it. Besides, even if they did see one, they're kinda sorta invisible."
"Exactly," Sam nodded. "The hellhounds haven't killed anyone, and I doubt any deals have been made. Two of the witnesses weren't even ten years old."
"Kids saw one?"
"Yep." Sam pulled out a couple printed pictures of smiling little girls with their arms around each other. "Mia Williams, age nine, and her friend Amy Hartford."
"I'm assuming this is who we're going to talk to?" Dean clarified.
"Yeah. Younger kids are more likely to tell you what they actually saw than adults are when it comes to the supernatural. I figured we'd start with Mia and then go from there." There was a slight pause before Sam spoke again. "That should be her house on the right."
Dean tugged uncomfortably at the sleeve of his suit. How the hell did people wear these on a daily basis?
He and Sam paused in front of what they hoped was the correct door, and Dean reached out to knock.
A few seconds later, a kind looking man opened the door. His hair was blonde like his daughter's and his light blue eyes had laugh lines around them. At six foot one, he was only a few inches shorter than the brothers, but his presence seemed much larger. He was the sort of person who could fill a room.
He cocked his head slightly and looked at them curiously. "Can I help you?"
"Mr. Williams?" Sam asked. When he nodded, Sam continued. "I'm Agent Pace; this is my partner, Agent Johnson. We're with the FBI."
They pulled out their (fake) badges and displayed them for him.
"If it's alright with you," Dean spoke up, "we'd like to talk to your daughter for a few minutes about the, ah...hellhound?"
"Oh, yeah," he said opening the door wider. "Come on in. And please, call me Grant."
"You're sure you're okay with us talking to her?" Sam clarified. "I spoke to the other girl's parents briefly and she seemed pretty traumatized."
Grant smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'm sure. Mia's...resilient, so to speak. To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of that. Mia really doesn't make things up. The doctors said it was an overactive imagination, but…" he shrugged. "Well, you'll see."
Grant led them into his small home and gestured towards the couch in the center of the living room. "Go ahead and sit down," he instructed. "Mia's just in her room. I'll go get her."
As Sam and Dean took a seat on the couch, Grant walked farther into the house. About thirty seconds later, he came back with his daughter in tow.
Mia was full of nervous energy, constantly fiddling with her hands or her curly blonde hair or what appeared to be the parts of a disassembled wristwatch. She perched on the edge of a cushioned chair opposite the couch gingerly, like she was about to sprint away at any moment. When she finally looked at the brothers, Dean almost jumped. Her eyes were grey like storm clouds and as serious as someone far older than her.
"Hi, Mia," Sam said softly. "We just wanted you to tell us about the scary dog you saw."
Mia was not buying it. She gave Sam a look like, What do you take me for, an idiot? She sighed exasperatedly. "It wasn't a scary dog," she sneered, sounding far older than she looked. Dean glanced over at Grant, who shrugged like, Yeah, she's always like that.
Then she seemed to back off a little. "It wasn't really there. My friend said she saw something and I didn't want the cops to think she was crazy, so I said I saw it too. That's all."
Dean smiled almost conspiratorially. "Are you sure?"
"It's very important that you tell us everything you saw, even if it seems crazy right now," Sam chimed in.
There was a knock at the door and Grant excused himself to open it.
Mia followed her father with her eyes, but answered nonetheless. "No, I'm sure. I didn't see anything. I am a kid, you know. Overactive imagination and all that."
Dean leaned forward. "We know that's what the adults believe, but what do you believe?"
Mia glanced at the doorway her father had disappeared through, providing a momentary silence that was broken only by the murmured conversation taking place in the other room. She sighed exasperatedly and muttered, "Alright, my dad would kill me for talking to you guys like this, but…" she trailed off before speaking again, this time in a louder voice. "I know you guys aren't really FBI."
Sam chuckled. "I assure you, Mia, we are."
"No, you're not."
This was said with such finality that the brothers recoiled slightly.
Mia cocked her head. "I'm nine years old. You really think I can't tell when someone's playing dress up? No," she continued, "you're obviously not FBI, which leaves two options. One, you're shrinks and you think I'm crazy, or two, you believe my story and are under the impression that you can help with the situation."
Dean sighed. "Alright, Mia. You caught us. We do believe you, and we're here to help."
"I'm already getting help," Mia assured them.
As she had been speaking, her dad and an unfamiliar guy came and stood in the doorway.
The guy cleared his throat hesitantly in the silence that followed Mia's words. "Um, I hate to interrupt, but I kinda need to steal Mia from ya."
Mia immediately hopped off the couch and hurried to her room with a smile in the direction of the new guy. The guy nodded to her dad, and Grant turned to follow his daughter.
Sam and Dean stood, stretching to their full height, but the young guy, who was at least an inch shorter than Dean, didn't even blink.
"And you are?" Sam wondered.
"Percy Jackson," the guy answered, green eyes glinting as he extended a hand for the brothers to shake.
Dean took Jackson's hand first, noting as he did the unusual calluses on Jackson's hands. "I'm Agent Johnson, and this is my partner, Agent Pace. We're with the FBI."
"Oh," Jackson smiled rather sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Awesome, I guess."
"Why exactly do you need Mia right now?" Sam asked. "We were in the middle of asking her some questions."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Grant has somewhere to be, so I'm giving Mia a ride to-" Jackson started.
"Don't bother, Percy," Mia interrupted. The little girl was standing in the doorway, a duffel bag in her hand. "They aren't real FBI agents."
Jackson's head snapped back to Sam and Dean, murder in his eyes. The kid actually had a pretty good death glare. Huh.
"Oh really?" he asked with mock politeness. But, the teasing lilt that he'd had since he walked in the door was gone.
Dean chuckled, but it was pretty obviously forced. He shot a glare in Mia's direction as he said, "Kids, am I right? They come up with the craziest things."
Mia ignored him and turned back to Jackson. "They say they're here to help with the hellhound."
Sam frowned. "You know what it is?"
Mia and Jackson paid no attention to the brothers.
"Mia, what did I tell you about talking like that in front of strangers?" Jackson scolded.
"To not to," Mia answered in a bored tone of voice.
"Exactly! You never know who could be listening!"
Mia put her hands on her hips. "Well, Annabeth said that I shouldn't always listen to you."
"Of course she did," Percy muttered. "Maybe Annabeth is the one you shouldn't always listen to, huh? Ever think of that?" Then he turned to Sam and Dean. "Look, did Reyna send you? Tell her that we appreciate the concern, but she's in our territory. We can handle it. I didn't fully introduce myself earlier, but I'm Perseus Jackson, son of… Well, you know."
"Who?" Sam and Dean asked in unison.
"You mean you're not…" Jackson broke off his train of thought. "If Reyna didn't send you, how did you know about the hellhound?"
"We saw the report online," Sam answered. "Hunting the supernatural is kind of our job, as I'm sure you know, so we thought we'd come by and check it out. So, you are a hunter then?"
"Supernatural?" Jackson chuckled. "What, like Ghostbusters? There's no such thing as…" he trailed off again. "Oh come on," he continued. "Don't tell me this is happening to me again."
Dean narrowed his eyes. "If you're not a hunter, then what are you?"
Jackson ran a hand through his already messed-up black hair. "I'm a demigod."
Sam and Dean immediately drew their guns and aimed them at the teen.
"What, so this little girl is your next victim?" Dean demanded.
Percy frowned. "What the Hades kind of demigod are you talking about?" He paused. "Oh, it must be those Scandinavians." He shuddered. "Man, those guys are weird. You know, Hercules once went over there a few centuries after he became a god. He told them he was a demigod 'cause he didn't want a ton of attention, but they were all, like, trying to sacrifice virgins to him and stuff. Creepy, right?"
Sam shifted uneasily. "Well, if you're not here to kill her, where are you taking her?"
"Let me explain," Jackson started. Then he paused. "No, there is too much."
"Princess Bride," Dean muttered. Sam glared at him out of the corner of his eye. "What?" Dean demanded. "I watch movies."
Jackson had ignored their exchange and began again. "Well, I already told you my name twice, so I don't think you need to hear that again. I'm the son of Poseidon."
He stopped, like he was waiting for dramatic music or something.
Dean raised an eyebrow, waiting for someone to elaborate. "The son of who now?"
Jackson sighed exasperatedly. "Do you know nothing of basic mythology?" Dean shrugged. "Poseidon," Jackson continued. "God of the sea?"
"No way," Sam breathed. "So, all the myths? They're true?"
"Well, all the Greek ones," Jackson clarified. "And at least some of the Egyptian and Norse ones. But I'm really hoping that's it. Like, really, really hoping." Jackson shifted uncomfortably. "Could you, um, put the guns away now?"
"No," Dean growled immediately.
Jackson let out a frustrated sigh. "What more do you want from me? This is supposed to be one of those moments where you realize I'm telling the truth, put your guns away, and tell me about your own little slice of crazy and suckiness."
"It's not that we don't believe you-" Sam clarified.
"It's that we don't trust you," Dean finished, still keeping his gun steadily trained on Jackson.
The demigod's startlingly green eyes twinkled. "Ooh, someone with more trust issues than Reyna. That's interesting." Jackson sighed again. Sheesh. What was it with this guy and sighing. "As much as I'm enjoying our not-so-friendly banter, Mia and I really do have to leave, so...if we're not gonna have our mutual "Life Sucks" session, we need to speed this along."
In response, Sam and Dean just tightened their grip on their guns and raised the barrels slightly.
Jackson looked at them like Come on. "I would really like to not have to fight my way out of here, since that's probably what I'm going to have to do anyways."
Dean narrowed his eyes slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I don't really have time to fully explain," Jackson said. "All you need to know is that Mia's a demigod and we're about to be tracked down by all the monsters within a mile radius."
"How is Mia a demigod?" Dean demanded. "She isn't even ten years old!" Turning to Jackson he continued, "You're - what, three thousand years old?"
Jackson looked taken aback. "No. I'm twenty-two."
"You're not immortal?"
"No."
"So the Greek monsters are real too?" Sam asked. Of course that would be the part he focused on. "Like the Minotaur?"
"Yeah," Jackson answered. "He's especially annoying. Comes back every year or so and tries to kill me...again. All monsters can pick up on the scent of a demigod, and right now they've got mine, which is so not good." Seeing the brothers' looks of confusion, Jackson elaborated. "I'm pretty powerful, which means my scent is stronger. Normally, I can use warding to cover it so I can walk around without being attacked, but when I'm around other demigods, their...auras, I guess, pick up mine and broadcast it ten times as far."
"Why don't you just ward Mia too?"
"We can't. The warding is specific to her godly parent and we don't know for sure whose child she is until she's claimed. I mean, we're pretty sure in Mia's case, but if we're wrong, her brain gets fried. Literally."
"I tend to prefer my brain un-fried, thank you very much," Mia interjected.
Then, they heard a low, guttural growl.
"Styx," Jackson muttered, slowly turning to face the source of the noise. "I really need to work on my time management."
There was a dark blur of motion outside the window at the other end of the room and then the sound of shattering glass pierced the air. Something had crashed through the window, causing the four of them to duck in an attempt to avoid the glass shards flying through the air.
Something solid barreled into Dean and Sam, knocking the wind out of them and sending them to the floor. Dean landed rolling, and when he finally came to a stop, he immediately raised his gun. Sam had done the same, and the brothers simultaneously began firing at the strange creature in front of them.
The thing was black and ugly, with the front half covered in greasy feathers and the back half all matted fur. The head was a strange cross between an eagle and lion, the large beak lined by even larger teeth. Sam and Dean kept firing until their mags were empty, but all that seemed to do was annoy the thing and tear up the wall behind it.
Dean looked around for Mia and saw her behind one of the couches, which meant the Jackson kid was… Aw, hell.
Suddenly, the thing exploded into golden dust, revealing a slightly more disheveled, pissed Jackson with a glowing bronze sword in his hands.
Dean pushed himself to his feet, holstering his gun as he did so. He heard crunching glass and assumed Sam was doing the same just to his left.
"Where'd that come from?" he asked Jackson, gesturing to the sword.
Jackson touched the tip to his forehead in a mock salute. "Never leave home without it."
Sam knelt and took a small handful of the dust is his hands and examined it. Jackson started kicking the dust until the relatively neat pile it had landed in was scattered all across the room. Dean thought he heard the kid mutter, "Old habits die hard."
"What did you do to it?" Sam asked.
"More importantly, what was it?" Dean chimed in. "Pretty sure I saw one of those things in a Harry Potter movie."
"It was a griffin," Mia answered for Jackson. "Right, Percy?"
Jackson nodded. "Yep. They're slightly different from hippogriffs. For one thing, these guys are real, and to this day, I have never seen a hippogriff. My sword," Jackson hefted the blade a little higher, "is made of Celestial bronze. It's the only thing that'll kill Greek monsters. That's why your guns didn't do anything but destroy the wall."
"Don't suppose you have any bullets made of that stuff?" Dean asked hopefully.
Jackson shook his head and started rummaging in one of Mia's cabinets. "Nah. Guns lack...style. We prefer to keep it classy." Jackson finally found what he was looking for, which turned out to be three daggers made of the same glowing metal as his sword. He offered the two largest ones to the Winchesters, cocking one eyebrow as he did so. "Hope you're comfortable with blades. You might need these." Jackson passed the smallest knife to Mia.
Sam frowned. "Should we really be giving a nine-year-old a knife?"
"Trust me," Jackson said, "she'll be fine. My girlfriend's been handling one of those since she was seven. Mia, you got your stuff?"
The nine-year-old nodded, gripping the strap of her duffel bag tightly. Suddenly, she looked very young and very scared, as she should have from the beginning.
Jackson seemed to pick up on it and knelt in front of the girl. "Mia, don't worry. I know we got delayed a little, but we'll make it to camp just fine, I promise. I won't let anything hurt you. Then we'll get you to camp and pretty soon you'll be kicking my butt."
They kept talking softly for a few moments, and as they did Sam came over to confer with Dean.
"What are you thinking?" he asked softly.
Dean looked back at Mia, who was now smiling up at Jackson and taking the guy's hand when he offered it. "I'm still not totally sure he won't kill her as soon as we leave."
"So we stay with them," Sam nodded. "Find out everything we can about these Greek gods and their kids."
Jackson stood and turned to the Winchesters. "Alright, if you're coming, we need to leave now."
"We're coming," Dean assured the kid.
"Okay," Jackson sighed. "I'm assuming you guys are cleared-sighted, since you could see the griffin and my sword, but let's not take any chances. Anything heads for Mia - and I mean anything - you kill it."
"What if it's just a person?" Sam questioned.
"Then the knife won't hurt them."
The Winchesters waited, but Jackson offered no further explanation. Finally, Sam and Dean just followed him out the door.
The four started walking down the crowded sidewalk, weapons still drawn. Sam and Dean made moves to stow them away, but Jackson stopped them. "Don't bother," he said. "The mortals can't see them."
"You know, we do have a car," Dean informed Jackson. "We could speed this up."
"No," Jackson responded without looking at him, allowing his eyes to wander over the people around them. "My ride is coming; it's just going to take him a few minutes to get here. He got held up in Maine."
"Maine?" Sam demanded. "Forget a few minutes. Try hours."
Jackson just smiled.
Dean had ignored the exchange completely, instead focusing on the blonde woman staring at them from across the street.
As he watched, the woman began to move across the road, through the traffic. Literally. A car sped right through her without even pausing. Dean gripped the hilt of his knife tighter.
The woman came closer and closer, her gray eyes serene. Dean knew that now the woman was on everyone's radar.
As she closed the distance between herself and the group, Dean raised his dagger slightly, preparing to launch himself at the woman. Hey, Jackson had said anything.
Then there was a hand on his arm, pulling it down.
"Cool it," Jackson ordered and Dean automatically bristled. "That's Mia's mother."
"You said she was a demigod!" Sam accused.
"She is," Jackson insisted. He nodded politely in the blonde woman's direction. "Athena. This is a little more involvement than the ancient laws allow, isn't it?"
Athena stared coolly at Jackson, gray eyes as calm as ever. "Do not disrespect me, boy."
"Yeah, 'cause I've never heard that one before," Jackson muttered.
Athena ignored him and knelt to look Mia in the eye. "Hello, my child."
Mia stared back at her, making the similarities in their eyes all the more apparent to Dean. "You're my mom?"
"Yes, child." Mia scrunched her nose up at the use of the word and Athena laughed lightly. "Never lose your spirit, my dear. It will serve you well." Athena straightened to face Jackson. "Look after her, sea spawn. She will be a representative of a new era for the Greeks. One where they'll always have a safe place to go."
Jackson nodded. "Will do, m'am."
"Don't call me that. I know you just want my blessing, and the answer is still no." Then, just as suddenly as she had appeared, Athena was gone.
Sam blinked in a stunned sort of way. "That was Athena. As in Athena Athena? The wisdom goddess?"
Jackson nodded and tightened his grip on Mia's hand. "Come on. We need to keep moving."
"What was all that about?" Dean asked as he quickened his pace to match Jackson's. "All that blessing crap?"
"Well, I'm trying to marry one of her daughters," Jackson responded bluntly. "But uh, she doesn't really like me because of who my dad is."
"So Athena and Poseidon are still feuding?" Sam clarified.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure my dad's over it, but Athena really isn't."
Dean felt a whoosh of air as something dove towards them from the sky. "Down!"
He and Sam dropped immediately, taking Jackson and Mia with them. Dean rolled over onto his back and stabbed upward with his knife, causing the - what was it, griffin? - to explode into golden dust. Sam slashed at another and it too poofed out of existence with a wail.
"Skatá," Jackson muttered. Dean cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Sam, who shrugged, but Mia looked horrified.
"Percy!" she shrieked. "You're not supposed to say that!"
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. "I forgot you could understand that."
"What? What'd he say?" Dean asked.
Mia turned toward him and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "He said the s-h-word."
Dean exchanged a glance with Sam. Now both Jackson and Mia spoke a second language? What else was going on with these kids?
"Anyways," Jackson said a little louder than normal, "you might wanna look up in the sky."
Sam and Dean did so, and noticed that at least ten other griffins were circling them from above.
Dean sighed as he squinted against the sun. "Well, shit."
"Now you said the s-h-word!" Mia exclaimed.
The griffins were gradually tightening their circle, preparing to dive bomb the four of them. Then, for no apparent reason, they stopped.
Jackson seemed to relax, but Sam and Dean just became more tense.
"What's happening?" Sam growled.
"Blackjack is happening," Jackson answered, which wasn't much of an answer at all.
The griffins split even farther apart, and this time Dean could make out three winged figures that were larger than the rest of the griffins.
"Um, what is that?" he asked.
"My ride," Jackson answered.
Finally, the griffins completely scattered, flying off to different corners of the earth.
Mia's jaw dropped as a pure black pegasus landed next to her, followed by two other winged horses with lighter coloring. Aw, who are they kidding? Dean and Sam did the same. It wasn't every day you saw giant winged horses descend from the skies. "Welcome to your new life, Mia."
The black horse nickered and Jackson rolled his eyes.
"For the last time, Blackjack. We do not need to trample every mortal who sees me. And why'd you bring your friends? You know we're just doing a one demigod extraction, right?"
The pegasus shook its mane and neighed for a good thirty seconds before Jackson held up his hands.
"No, you're right, I really didn't want to know."
The horse nudged Jackson with its nose, almost knocking him to the ground.
"No I know I don't need another manhunt on my trail, but who's gonna believe a couple of yahoos like-"
"Are you talking to that thing?" Dean demanded.
Jackson smiled again and exchanged a glance with the pegasus. "Let's just say it's in my blood." He swung himself up onto the back of the pegasus and extended a hand to Mia. The little girl took it and climbed aboard, eyes shining with delight.
The pegasus snorted and Jackson said, "No doughnuts."
"And what do you expect us to do?" Sam wondered.
"Well, you can keep the daggers if you want," Jackson offered. "Just don't tell any other so-called 'hunters' about what you learned."
Dean scuked air in through his teeth. "I don't know if we can do that. You see, we don't really like to keep secrets from our own." That was a total lie, but who cared? Sam and Dean needed to see where Jackson was taking the kid. They needed to learn everything they could.
Jackson didn't seem to be fooled. "You just wanna see where I'm taking her, huh?"
Dean shrugged. "Guilty."
Jackson's nostrils flared. "Fine." He gestured to the pegasi on either side of him. "You can ride these guys. Try not to fall off."
Dean approached the pegasus on Jackson's left cautiously, suddenly realizing that this would require flying. He almost swung himself up onto the horse and then backed off at the last second. "You know, maybe I should just follow from the ground. I can take my car and then you won't have to worry about giving us a ride back."
Jackson shook his head. "No, it'll be too slow. Pegasi cover ground - well, air - like nobody's business. You'll get left behind and your car will be destroyed by the griffins. They aren't gonna stay gone forever, you know."
"Come on, Dean. We gotta move," Sam 'encouraged' from the back of his own pegasus.
Jackson seemed to realize what the problem was and said, "Look, Guido isn't gonna let you fall. He's a pretty darn good flier. Hades, even Thalia agrees to ride him on occasion."
Dean didn't know who the hell Thalia was or what she had to do with this, but he steeled his nerves and climbed aboard anyways.
Jackson smiled. "Okay then."
The pegasi rocketed up into the sky, their riders (or maybe just Dean) clinging to them for dear life. Mia let out a shriek of delight, and Dean almost let out one of fear. Except, if he had, (and that was a big if) it would have been much manlier. For sure.
By the time Dean had managed to somewhat control the overwhelming urge to look down and was relatively calm, the flight was already well underway.
"How much farther?" Sam shouted ahead to Jackson. While Dean thought that sounded suspiciously like Sam doing him a favor, he would ignore it. Just this once because holy mother of pie the ground was far away and these things did not have seat belts.
Jackson, however, didn't seem to notice. He was too busy talking to his pegasi.
"Vacation?" he demanded. "How can I be interrupting your vacation? You've been on vacation for the last five years."
Mia glanced at the brothers over Jackson's shoulder and gave them a look like, Please help me. He hasn't stopped doing this since we left.
"Hey Percy?" Mia tapped the demigod's shoulder. "They asked you a question."
Jackson finally looked in their direction. "Yeah?"
"How much farther?" Sam repeated.
"Not far," Jackson responded. He glanced over at Dean. "Hey, buddy, mind easing up on Guido's mane?" He paused for a moment like he was listening. "He says he needs it to look good for- woah! I can not repeat that; there is a child here!"
Guido tossed his head, which made Dean hold on even tighter.
"Sheesh. Arion has been nothing but a bad influence since day one. Seriously though, dude. Ease up. We'll be there in two minutes." Jackson faced forward again and began talking quietly to Mia.
Dean started counting the seconds. Each one was ticking by agonizingly slowly. About a minute and thirty in, Jackson suddenly whirled his pegasus around in the air, motioning for the other two to stop.
Guido and Sam's pegasus flared their wings out to the side and shot up in the air a good ten or fifteen feet. In case you were curious, Dean was not a fan of the sudden change in altitude.
"What the hell, Jackson?" he snapped.
"Sorry," Jackson apologized. "I forgot about the barrier. I'm gonna need your first and last names."
Dean exchanged glances with Sam. "Sam and Dean Seager."
"Your real first and last names, please."
Sam narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why does it matter?"
"Because if I don't have your real names, you will plummet to the ground as soon as your pegasi cross the border."
"Sam and Dean Winchester," Dean finally interjected.
"Alrighty then." Jackson sighed and said, "I, Perseus Jackson give Sam and Dean Winchester permission to enter on grounds of...I feel like it."
Thunder rumbled and Jackson rolled his eyes at the sky and held out his arm like Right this way. "Sam and Dean, huh? Nice to finally make your acquaintance."
The pegasi moved forward again, more cautiously this time, but seemed to relax once they crossed a certain point of...air.
"As one of the senior campers, welcome to Camp Half-Blood," Jackson said. "Everyone is gonna be so pissed that I brought you here."
"Woah," Dean breathed. They had definitely passed some sort of barrier or something, because what had previously been a bunch of boring fields now looked completely different. There were still fields growing some kind of food, but now there were cabins sprawling over about half the valley. Some were ugly and looked like they needed some work, and others were absolutely gorgeous. A large house sat on the other side of the fields, next to some sort of open air pavilion.
"So, let me give you the quick tour." Jackson started talking faster and pointing at various buildings as the pegasi continued to descend. "Those cabins over there are where the campers stay. Each one is dedicated to a Greek god. The big house over there is uh, the Big House, basically camp headquarters, and the pavilion over there is where we eat. That's the arena where we practice fighting, that's the forge, and if you squint off into the woods, you might be able to see Bunker Nine, where the Hephaestus kids go for 'alone time'."
Just as Jackson finished his spiel, the pegasi's hooves touched the ground. Dean almost tripped over his own feet in his hurry to get off the damn horse. Sam got off slowly and kind of jerkily. Must've been hard to get off with those gigantic legs of his.
Jackson, on the other hand, dismounted smoothly, like he'd been doing this his whole life. Once his feet were on solid ground, he turned to help Mia off the horse.
Blackjack nickered and Jackson nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't eat too many sugar cubes, okay? It's not good for you."
Blackjack snorted in a way that could only be described as defiant and flew off, his two friends in tow.
"I mean it!" Jackson yelled after the trio.
"That was so cool," Mia breathed. Her cheeks were flushed from the wind and her eyes were shining. Jackson smiled down at the girl.
Before the four of them could go anywhere, they were approached by a pretty blonde girl about Jackson's age.
Did Dean say pretty? He meant hot. This girl was smokin'.
She held herself confidently and didn't seem to care about how she wore her gorgeous blonde curls, or about the fact that her tan legs were nicely showcased by her cutoffs. If he was completely honest, Dean thought she looked almost like one of those dumb California blondes. Then he saw her eyes.
They were the same as Mia's; Athena's eyes.
"Hey, Wise Girl," Jackson greeted the girl with a smile and a kiss. Damn.
"Seaweed Brain," she responded. She glanced at the knives Sam and Dean were holding. "I thought you were bringing back one demigod."
Jackson shifted uncomfortably. "Um, I did."
The girl frowned. "You mean…" Her frown changed into an exasperated eyeroll. "Percy, what the Hades do you think you're doing? This is the second time this month that you've brought mortals into camp."
"I don't think they're mortals, Annabeth!" Jackson protested. "Or, at least, not normal mortals. They helped me get Mia here...sorta."
Annabeth shook her head. "Well, this better be good."
"Hi," Dean said stepping forward with what he hoped was a winning smile. He held out his hand for the girl to shake. "I'm Dean." Sam rolled his eyes.
"Annabeth Chase," she answered, shaking his hand firmly, "daughter of Athena. Thanks for helping my idiot boyfriend get my half-sister here."
"That's idiot fiance to you," Jackson interjected.
Annabeth gave him a fondly exasperated smile. "Just because I've said yes doesn't mean my mom has."
"I know," Jackson grumbled. "We saw her today."
"You did?" Annabeth seemed surprised, but seemed to decide to save the discussion for later. She turned to Sam. "And you are?"
"Sam," he answered. "Dean's brother."
"Huh. So, why exactly did Percy think you weren't ordinary mortals?"
"They said something about 'the supernatural'," Jackson interrupted. "As in like, ghosts. They wouldn't really tell me what they meant, just that they were 'hunters'."
Annabeth nodded. "Trust issues, huh? That's fine we get plenty like that. You don't have to tell me anything, just talk to Chiron. Oh, and try not to threaten him or anyone else here if at all possible, 'kay? They'll probably end up stabbing you. I'll take those now," she added, gesturing to the daggers.
Dean took a tiny step back. "I think I'd rather keep it, thanks."
Annabeth gave him a cold smile, all traces of warmth disappearing from her expression in an instant. "I wasn't really asking, pretty boy."
Dean frowned, but handed over the dagger. Sam did the same.
"Thanks!" In just as little time, Annabeth's smile was back. "Come on, sweetie," she said, offering a hand to Mia. "I'll give you a tour."
Sam, Dean, and Jackson watched her leave with the little girl in tow.
"Scary girlfriend," Sam commented.
Jackson smiled fondly. "Yep. Once my dad wears Athena down, she'll be my scary wife." Dean chuckled and Jackson said, "I wouldn't be too pleased with her calling me pretty boy, just so you know. It's the same thing she calls Leo when she thinks he full of hot air."
Sam tried to stifle his laughter (and failed) as Jackson motioned for the brothers to follow him, Dean shooting a glare in Sam's direction before he complied. "Come on," Jackson said. "I should introduce you to Chiron."
Sam and Dean glanced at each other and then hurried after Jackson. As they caught up to him, Sam asked the demigod, "Wait, Chiron as in the centaur?"
"Oh, so you've heard of him," Jackson answered. "Good. He likes to stay out of his wheelchair as much as possible."
Dean frowned. "How exactly does a centaur fit into a wheelchair?"
"It's complicated."
Jackson led them towards the Big House. As he climbed up the porch, he called out, "Chiron? There's some people here I think you should meet."
Although the brothers couldn't see Chiron yet, they heard something that sounded like cursing in another language and the clopping of hooves. Chiron came to the door, his white stallion half almost causing Dean's eyes to bug out of his skull. "Vlasfimía, Percy. I told you to bring back one young, female demigod. I highly doubt these two slipped through our radar."
Jackson shifted uncomfortably. "Um, yeah. They aren't demigods."
Chiron sighed. "Why did you bring them in? Were they also 'riding dragons'?" Chiron made air quotes with his fingers as he spoke.
"Okay, I'm telling you, that kid didn't ride the dragon, he was talking to it. And he was using some weird language to do it. There was no way he was completely human."
Chiron looked unamused.
Jackson sighed and gestured to Sam and Dean. "They're mortals. They helped me get Mia here. Also, they said something about the supernatural…?" Jackson raised an eyebrow like, What do you know, horse-dude?
Chiron cursed again and sighed...again. "The twenty-first century is officially my least favorite. Everything that was not supposed to ever happen is happening."
Jackson cocked his head. "Something else you weren't supposed to mention?"
"Yes." Chiron turned to Sam and Dean. "I suppose you're hunters, then?"
The brothers nodded.
Chiron sighed (seriously, what was wrong with this dude - or, horse or...whatever?). "Wonderful. I suppose Percy told you what he is." Chiron glared at Jackson. Jackson at least had the decency to look sheepish.
"Yeah," Sam answered for both of them. "I have to say, though, I'm a little confused. What exactly is this place?"
Chiron straightened slightly. "It's where we protect our own. Outsiders aren't generally allowed in, especially if they are potentially dangerous to us. We have children here, and we take their safety very seriously." Another harsh look in Jackson's direction.
Dean looked up slightly, trying to catch Chiron's eye. "You know about hunters?"
"Of course. The gods watched over humans for centuries. You really think we didn't notice when you started hunting things? You used to constantly interfere with quests. Still do, really. Most of the media attention we get is because hunters - or people who have associated with hunters - saw through the Mist."
"The - what?" Sam asked.
Chiron glanced at Jackson again. "I will leave how much information is revealed and how much contact you continue to have with our world up to Percy. If he counsels with Annabeth first."
"You know how we feel about this, Chiron," Jackson said.
"And you know how I feel about this," Chiron responded.
Dean glanced back and forth between Chiron and Jackson, one eyebrow raised. "You're gonna leave a decision like that to a couple of kids?" Catching Jackson's glare, he continued, "No offence."
Jackson just shook his head. "I'm not that young."
"Seeing as Percy and Annabeth are some of our most senior campers, I trust their judgement," Chiron said with a nod in Jackson's direction.
Sam narrowed his eyes. "The oldest demigods you know are twenty-two?"
"There are a few who are a couple years older," Chiron admitted, "but Percy and Annabeth are far more experienced than them. Most demigods tend to die young. Or at least, they used to. Things are different now." Chiron straightened and slung a quiver of arrows over his shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an archery class to teach. I'll let Percy show you out," he gave Jackson a pointed look, "as long as you don't stay too long."
Jackson nodded once and Chiron trotted out the door.
As soon as the centaur was gone, Jackson sighed. "Sorry about that. He...he doesn't really like the idea of us associating with outsiders. It's probably worse with hunters than with anything else, since you guys kill things that are 'supernatural'. I mean, you might've mistaken one of us for some kind of creature."
Dean nodded, deciding against saying anything else.
"Anyways," Jackson continued, handing each of the brothers some kind of card, "this is the camp's phone number. If you ever run into something you think is up our alley, give us a call."
Dean took the card. "Thanks, but you're not getting ours in return."
Jackson shrugged. "Doesn't matter. If we really wanted to, we could have the Hecate kids locate you with magic."
Sam raised his eyebrows. "You work with witches?"
Jackson rubbed his forehead. "No. It's complicated." There was an awkward silence until Jackson spoke again. "I'll have Blackjack and Guido give you a ride back to your car. Try not to mention this to anyone."
Jackson walked out the door. Before following him, Dean turned to Sam and said, "There is no way I'm getting back on that horse."
"Come on, Dean," Sam said, coking his head. "We can't walk back."
"Yes, we can," Dean insisted stubbornly.
"What if someone steals the Impala while we're still walking?"
"Aw hell no," Dean muttered, finally following Jackson out the door.
Sam followed him, taking a final look around the camp. "I'm definitely going to be looking into this."
