A/N: Sorry for the delay! I'm afraid school caught up with me. However I made this one 1,000 more words than usual, so hopefully that makes up for the delay. =)
To answer some questions: yes, Percy and Annabeth are a couple. And Artemis has several theories, but I am not smart enough to work them out into words that sound intelligent. =P
Oh, and I don't own anything relating to the musical Mamma Mia! But then, you already knew that.
Chapter 3/Mamma Mia! There's a Monster on Broadway
They found their seats immediately and the show started soon after that. Just as Artemis had suspected, it bored him to tears. However he kept watching for one reason and one reason alone. The girl playing the lead was not human. At least, not like any human he had ever seen before. She hid them well, but one of her legs seemed to be made out of bronze, and the other looked like a donkey's leg. He found himself staring, fascinated.
Half-way through the first song, he heard a collective intake of breath next to him. Glancing over he saw that the other children seemed to have seen the lead character for what she was. Nico's words came to him suddenly. To fend off monsters.
Whipping out his cell phone, Artemis accessed the internet, a fantastic theory forming in his brain: stringing together all the information he had collected since overhearing Rachel use the words "Kindly Ones." A patron of the theater glanced over at him and his phone and scowled.
"Cell phones are not permitted in the theater," he said crossly. "If you don't put that away, I'm going to have to call a theater attendant and have you thrown out. You're distracting the other members of the audience."
Artemis did not look up from his research, knowing the only thing distracting the other theater-goers was this man's obnoxious voice. "Juliet," he instructed calmly.
Juliet turned to the complaining patron. She said nothing, simply lowered her dark sunglasses and gave the man a cold look, her other hand straying toward her side as if to grab a weapon of some kind. The patron quickly backed down.
"Just make it quick," he muttered.
By this time Artemis had gathered the information he needed. He turned to Rachel and the others.
"Is it normal for your productions to star Empousai?" he asked.
Rachel's eyes widened and she sat up so quickly she almost bounced off her chair. "I knew it!" she called out, causing several other members of the audience to shush her in annoyance.
"What should we do? Do you think it's after us?" Percy asked.
Annabeth gave him a withering look. "No Percy, it wanted a career on Broadway. Of course it's after us! It must have found out about our plans somehow . . ."
"We can't just run down there and kill it onstage," Rachel said, tapping her fingers on her armrest agitatedly. "The show wouldn't be able to go on. Unless . . ." She glanced over at Annabeth.
"Have you seen this play before?"
Annabeth's eyes widened. "Absolutely not. I'm not going to go down there and play Sophie. They probably have a regular understudy anyway."
"Not if it ate her," Percy muttered, peering down at the stage.
"Children," Artemis interrupted the discussion. "I believe your friend has taken matters into his own hand. And if he used a technological device to teleport down there, I want to see it."
"What?!"
Three pairs of startled eyes glanced at Nico's empty chair, then down at the stage where they could just see him hidden behind the curtains of the wings on stage right. The Empousa who was Sophie, finished her song and ran off the stage, right into Nico.
Percy leaped out of his chair and started pushing his way out of the aisle. Annabeth followed quickly. Rachel hesitated slightly, glancing over at Artemis. But he was already standing and gestured for her to get a move on, Juliet right behind him.
Together the five teens filed out of their row and toward the exit, ignoring the annoyed protests of several people.
"Where are you going?" called a confused Mr. Dare. He got no answer.
Nico had reacted instinctively. As soon as he recognized the Empousa, he bent the shadows around him and moved through them to the side of the stage. There were shadows everywhere so it was not difficult, although it did leave him somewhat weak and tired. It was because of this that he did not step away in time and Empousa-Sophie ran into him.
He managed to get a grip on her arm and swing her around so they were hidden from the view of the other actors who were scurrying on and off the stage.
"Let go of me; I'm going to miss my cue," Empousa-Sophie complained.
Nico drew his Stygian sword and Empousa-Sophie stopped wiggling. Her eyes narrowed and her voice lowered seductively.
"You're going to kill me, little Nico?" she murmured. "Son of Hades. The Ghost King." Reaching up, she touched his cheek lightly and revealed her fangs in a hungry smile. "So tasty. You'll be in for a nasty surprise soon. Why don't you just let me take a bite and then you won't have to deal with it, hmm? We'll both benefit from it." Bending her head forward swiftly, she licked his throat gently.
Nico reeled back with revulsion, swiping at his neck frantically. Empousa-Sophie advanced with a ravenous light in her eyes. In his sudden panic, Nico stumbled against a prop table. Brooms and rags and feather dusters fell to the ground, and he slipped, smacking his head against the corner of the table. His sword flew out of his hand. Dazed, he shook his head and reached for his sword, but a donkey hoof came down on his wrist, snapping the bones in a harsh twist.
He cried out in pain, a hazy mist clouding his vision. As he shouted however, a small fissure broke through the floor of the theater, a blazing orange and red glow casting a blood-colored veil over the darkened space. Through half-shut eyes, he could see Empousa-Sophie's face fall into a pout as she began to slip backwards into the fissure.
"Not nice. Could've waited for the finale." Then with a short scream she disappeared into the ground, the fissure closing up behind her.
Nico then fell back, darkness descending as he blinked slowly at the blurry figures of Percy, Annabeth, Rachel, and the new boy . . . Artemis. They were bending over him, Percy reaching out to grab his shoulder.
"Hang in there, Nico," he heard Percy say as though far away.
"His carpals seem to be broken," Artemis commented, frowning slightly at the boy's swelling wrist and then at the small crack in the tile.
"We need to get him out of here," Annabeth said, cradling Nico's head in her lap as his eyes fluttered closed and he lost unconsciousness.
Percy reached over and retrieved the Stygian blade. The sword felt ice cold and strange in his hand. He stared, fascinated and horrified, as his fingers began to slowly shrivel. Despite his immunity to all weapons, his hand seemed to be dying before his eyes. He dropped the sword hurriedly and his hand returned to its normal state. Frowning, he picked up one of the fallen rags and used it to pick up the weapon once more. Carefully, he slid it back into its sheath.
Juliet came forward then and bent, picking up Nico's small body easily. He really did need to gain some weight.
"Let's go to my hotel room," Artemis said. "And then you can tell me exactly how Empousa exist, how your friend teleported and what exactly are you, Rachel, trying to drag me into." He raised an eyebrow at the girl, who blushed slightly. "I have several theories that I'm sure will turn out to be correct, but I'd rather hear the entire story. From the beginning."
"Fine, we'll tell you everything," she said. "Let's just get out of here before they realize they don't have a Sophie for Act 2."
Everyone agreed and hurried out of the backstage area. The security guard that Juliet had knocked out was beginning to come around, but by the time he opened his eyes and sat up, the teens were long gone.
Back at the hotel, Juliet laid Nico carefully on the couch. Artemis took a seat on a wing-backed chair, crossing his legs and placing his hands deliberately on the armrests, staring at the half-bloods with an unreadable expression. Annabeth took a seat on the edge of the couch next to Nico, and Percy sat himself down on the small coffee table that stood between the couch and the chair. Rachel remained standing, tugging at a strand of her hair absently.
"I don't suppose we could IM Apollo and ask for the healing of a broken wrist," Percy said glumly.
"And by Apollo I assume you mean the Greek god of music, poetry, archery, healing, prophecy, and the sun," Artemis said flatly.
"How did—"
"Why don't you all simply inform me as to what exactly is going on and then let me decide for myself whether or not I want to help you in whatever mess you've gotten yourself into?"
The half-bloods exchanged a glance and then Rachel sighed, stepping forward and taking a seat next to Percy on the table. As Juliet and Annabeth bound up Nico's wrist, Rachel and Percy filled Artemis in. They told him about the Olympians, the Titans, the half-bloods, and Half-Blood Hill. They told him about the monsters and about the Mist. Then they told him about Nico's quest and the prophecy that mentioned a boy with eyes of two colors that was supposed to be able to help them.
Throughout it all Artemis remained impassive, nodding slightly to some things, and frowning slightly in thought to some others. When they were done there was a moment of silence as Artemis processed all this new information.
"It's a lot to take in, I know," Percy spoke up after a minute. "It took me awhile to believe it all."
"Oh, I believe it," Artemis said. "I'm just weighing my options. It does not seem I have much of a choice in the matter. I'm now in this as deep as you. That creature saw me with you and now that I know everything, I'm sure others have seen me as well."
"You believe us? Just like that?" Annabeth asked in surprise. "I thought for sure you would call us all crazy."
Artemis smiled vaguely. "I've been involved in things regular mortals would call 'crazy.' I'm actually very well acquainted with the abnormal."
Annabeth was not entirely sure she wanted to ask what he meant. Instead she turned to Nico and frowned. "He should be awake by now," she said softly in concern. "The wrist was not that bad."
"He's probably suffered a concussion," Artemis supplied. "He was on the ground when we arrived. He most likely fell and either hit his head on the table beside him or the floor with enough force to render him unconscious immediately. In a regular hospital this would call for an MRI."
Percy looked agitated. "Oh great. I'm so glad we thought to bring one of those along with us." He ran his hand through his hair, somewhat annoyed that Artemis did not appear more worried. But then again the teen barely knew them.
"I'm going to IM Apollo," Percy said suddenly, standing. "This is Nico's quest and we can't have him unconscious for the whole thing. Besides, Apollo might be willing to help since it's his sister we're trying to find."
Annabeth nodded encouragingly. Percy smiled at that before leaving to go to the bathroom, squeezing her shoulder lightly as he passed.
"So why do you think an Empousa auditioned for a Broadway musical? If it was after us, I don't think it would have gone to such lengths to go undercover. Rehearsals for Broadway are brutal." Rachel glanced over at Artemis, sure that after all he had said, he had a theory.
"I can't presume to understand the Empousa mind, but I get the feeling it was not there to kill you. Or anyone for that matter. At least not in an assassination. Perhaps in a meal."
"Why do you say that?" Annabeth asked curiously, leaning forward attentively.
"Several reasons. First, it did kill Nico immediately. We all saw it run right into him. It could have eliminated him instantly, but it didn't. Second, it did not put up much of a fight. And lastly, it seemed genuinely surprised to see us there. I could see it in its eyes as it fell back into the pit."
"Okay, so it wasn't there to kill us. Still, I think it's extremely weird that an Empousa would try out for a musical."
"We had them as cheerleaders," Rachel pointed out. "Back at the Academy."
"Yes, but they were after Percy," Annabeth reminded her.
Before anyone could make any more assumptions, Percy came out of the bathroom, a tall handsome man behind him. He practically swaggered across the room and grinned at all those present. His smile dazzled everyone in the room to near blindness, and his hair was gelled back in a way that made him look like an unbelievably good-looking greaser.
"Good evening to all
I know you're glad to see me.
No touchin' the hair."
With that horrible haiku which made Artemis look rather ill and Rachel roll her eyes, Apollo stooped beside the couch. He glanced over at Annabeth and chucked her under the chin lightly.
"How you doing, sweetheart?" he asked.
"Fine. Thanks. Can you help Nico?" Annabeth said, a little flustered by being so close to the god. Percy bent down quickly and pulled Annabeth away from the couch.
"Yep. This kid hit his head hard. Must have been a doozy. Probably would have caused brain damage if the doctor wasn't as good as me. Which we all know he wouldn't be. And that wrist looks mighty painful. I'm in a benevolent mood so I'll heal both. Besides, he's gotta find my sister, right? Can't do that when he's speaking backwards or something. Although that would make some interesting poetry right there." He grinned again but this time it looked more forced than sincere. Laying one hand on Nico's brow and the other on his bound wrist, the god focused on healing the boy.
Annabeth turned to Percy. "How did you get him to come?" she whispered.
Percy shrugged. "Just reminded him that it was Nico's quest, and if he ever wanted to see his sister again he would help us."
Annabeth shook her head slightly. "Sometimes your audacity amazes me, Percy," she said with a slight sigh.
"Hey, it worked, didn't it?"
Artemis was staring at Apollo. After the god was done, he stood to his feet and glanced over at the teen. He grinned and winked slightly.
"Named after my sister, huh?" he asked. "Never really saw it as a boy's name, but hey. I'll give your parents points for creativity. Be a good boy now and help out these nice demigods. If you make it through alive you'll probably be greatly rewarded."
Artemis swallowed hard and was somehow at a loss for words. Juliet was also staring at the god, although for reasons different than Artemis's. When the god winked at her, she blushed faintly.
"Your friend should wake up in a couple minutes," Apollo said to Percy. "You'd better watch him. I don't want you calling me to bring him back from the dead or something ridiculous like that. And you'd better find my sister."
"We will," Percy said firmly.
"And now I must go
Try not to cry as I do.
Cuz I'm so awesome."
Leaving everyone wincing from that dreadful haiku, Apollo straightened and began to glow.
"Look away!" Rachel called out to Artemis and Juliet, adverting her gaze.
The room was filled with a brilliant light, and then it was gone, taking Apollo with it. Nico sat up slowly, twisting his wrist around slowly, experimentally. Blinking rapidly, he looked around at the others in the room.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"Dude, you totally wiped out after you sent that Empousa to the Underworld, and I had to get Apollo down here to heal you."
Nico blushed slightly. "She caught me by surprise," he said. "I shouldn't have let her get to me like that."
"What did she say?" Annabeth asked.
His blush deepened, and he rubbed hard at a spot on his neck. For as ugly as Empousa are, they were really good at shifting their appearance to look very beautiful. And Empousa-Sophie had. The entire confrontation was embarrassing to think about. However something nagged at him about the whole ordeal.
"She wasn't there for me. For us. I don't think she even knew we were there."
"I know, we were just discussing that," Rachel said with a glance at Artemis.
"But she said something," Nico went on. "Something about me being in for a nasty surprise. But she didn't say anything else about it. She recognized me though. I know that for sure. She said my name."
"So she did know something," Percy said slowly.
"Unfortunately you killed her before you were able to extract any information," Artemis observed wryly.
Nico scowled. "I was a little busy," he snapped.
"Yes. I suppose it is hard to interrogate your attacker when you're on the losing side of a battle."
Nico flushed and stood quickly, fists clenched as though he were going to attack the teen sitting mildly in his chair. Juliet stepped forward quickly, frowning warningly.
"Nico, stop," Annabeth said sharply, stepping forward and placing her hand on his shoulder lightly. "We're all confused and anxious here," she said, obviously speaking more of the half-bloods and Rachel than Artemis. "Let's just calm down."
Slowly Nico sat back down on the couch, relaxing slightly under Annabeth's touch, but never taking his glare off of Artemis.
"I think we've had enough excitement for one day," Artemis said after a brief pause. "I'm going to think over this quest of yours and I'll inform you of my decision tomorrow. In the meantime, goodnight." Standing, he made his way toward his room. Just as the door closed behind him, the front door of the hotel room opened and Mr. Dare and Mr. Fowl strode in, both looking harried and upset.
The half-bloods and Rachel exchanged a knowing look. Thus followed quiet a chewing out and they were all sent to bed without supper. This was fine with them, for as soon as the men went to bed, Nico ordered room service and snuck outside to retrieve it when it arrived. The teleportation made him tired, and he fell asleep without eating much. Since he shared the room with Percy and the girls had the other room, Percy decided to go to sleep as well.
In the girl's room however, Annabeth and Rachel stayed up late into the night, discussing the prophecy and events of the day over pizza and club sandwiches. The main thought on their minds however, was whether or not Artemis would agree to help them. And, when he did, if they would be able to cooperate long enough to make a plan and carry it out to full effectiveness.
Apollo was way too much fun to write, hehe. At least three reviews and you'll get a new chapter! Hopefully within the next day or so. =)