The ground rushed towards them at a dizzying pace.

This is it! We're gonna die! We're all gonna die!

You know, you're quite the optimist, my Lord.

Bobby strained at the reins, yanking them skyward. The pegasi strained to pull up, but as they went up, the rest of the chariot dangled limply behind them. Reyna and Percy lost their grip and slid to the back of the chariot, Reyna nearly crushing Percy.

"Bobby! Don't let go!" Reyna screamed, as the chariot gave another jerk. Reyna instinctively grabbed onto Percy. Lighting zapped all around them, scorching the wood.

"I'm trying—Gah! NO!" he hands slipped from the reins. He groped for them for a few split seconds, before falling back and sliding down, landing on Reyna with a startled "Oof!" from both.. The Pegasi slipped from the chariot, quickening its decent.

"No!" Reyna shouted. The Venti's laughs were like the buzzing of a million angry bees.

"Fair well, demigods! Have fun in Hades!" one laughed. And with that, they swirled away in a writhing cloud.

My Lord! We've come to save you! Jump out!

"What?" He screamed over the howling winds. "That's absurd!"

"What's absurd?" Reyna yelled. Percy ignored her. He struggled out from under her and peered over the side. Two Pegasi struggled to keep up with them, their golden wings flapping furiously, sending puffs of gleaming feathers to the wind.

There is not much time! Now JUMP OFF! I will not let you or your friends fall, my Lord, and neither will Sunny!

Percy gulped. He was right. They would be a grease spot in a matter of seconds. The Pegasi swooped downwards, circling under them.

"Reyna, Bobby! Jump!"

"What?"

"Just do it!" and with that, Percy hurled himself over the side, Reyna and Bobby screaming after him.

He landed on the Pegasus with a hard thud that knocked the breath out of him.

"Ow…" he muttered his voice cracking and breathless.

Sup, boss! It's an honor to serve you! The name's Sunny, and that's Glace!

"Hey…" he ground out, his voice still an octave higher than he would've liked. He struggled to sit up without tipping over, and steadied himself on Sunny's back. He glanced around and spotted Bobby and Reyna, sitting safely on Glace's back a little below Percy and Sunny, looking very disgruntled.

Sunny veered sharply to the left as the remains of the chariot hurtled past them, and crashed harshly on the grass below, sending chunks of blackened wood and metal into the air in a mushroom cloud of smoke.

They drifted slowly to the ground a little way from the crash. Reyna jumped off the moment Glace's hooves brushed the grass.

"Bobby, you idiot! You just had to jinx us!" She shouted in his face. The rain had miraculously stopped, but all three teenagers were soaked to the core and bleeding from multiple wounds (well, besides Percy. He still found that odd. The water hadn't even touched him!). With that angry look contorting her face, her hair hanging limp and tangled, Reyna was almost as scary as the Hellhound.

"Jinx you? What are talking about?" He jumped off Glace, his eyebrows contracted in confusion and irritation.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the, 'Unless you wanna crash, that is!'" She mocked him in an exaggerated voice that sounded frighteningly close to Bobby's own southern drawl.

"Oh, so you're blaming this on me? How I was I supposed to know?" He demanded, crossing his arms.

"Ugh!" she stomped her foot in frustration and began walking pointedly away from them, towards the twisted forest a little ways down the clearing. "This way, idiots. We're not far form the Great Rock. Just walk fast and keep your stupid mouths shut."

"Jesus," Bobby muttered, falling into step beside Percy as they delved into the woods. The horses trotted close behind. "That girl has more mood swings than a rollercoaster." He shook his head. "Mmm, mmm, mmm. Well, we're lucky that those Venti were too stupid to check if we were dead. Cocky little bastards, aren't they?" Percy agreed, and they both snickered.

"Bobby!" Reyna reprimanded, turning her head and glaring at him reproachfully.

"I know, I know," he put on a fairly pompous accent, index finger pointed to the sky. "'You shall not use strong profanity inside or outside the camp. Offense punishable by death.'" He dropped the act, rolling his eyes. "Puh-lease, Reyna. Like she'd kill the Praetor of the Second legion over that. Besides, there's no way she could know unless someone squeals. I've gotten away with worse before." he winked.

Reyna muttered something under her breath. Percy caught, "idiots" and "Mercury's lot" and a few choice words she would certainly get put to death for.

*.*.*.*.*.*

They walked for longer than Percy could keep track of. Apparently, "not too far" meant "some where within 20 miles". Or at least, that's how he felt. By the time they reached the clearing, Percy was drenched in sweat and ready to drop dead. Reyna and Bobby still looked like they could grab a sword and kick some serious ass without even breaking a sweat.

Percy glanced around warily. The clearing was a near perfect circle, wringed by towering trees on all side, with a path cutting through the dense foliage. It was empty, save for one massive boulder, its surface smooth and gleaming in the sunlight.

"Wow…that's a…big rock," Percy said stupidly. Reyna rolled her eyes.

"That's why it's called The Great Rock."

"Like Zeus's Fist," He muttered without thinking. It had just come to him.

"What?"

"Er…nothing."

"Okay…well, I'm afraid this is where we split." She Walked over to Sunny and slung herself on his back. Bobby did the same with Glace.

"What? You can't just leave me here!" He cried.

"Sorry, runt, but I've got to. Standard protocol. Just keep walking. You'll find it eventually. It's not that easy to miss." And with that, she dug her heels into Sunny's sides, and Bobby smacked Glace's rump (earning a disgruntled whinny of protest). They flew into the air, circling over the clearing.

Good Luck, My Lord.

Try not to die, boss!

"Wait! Come back! Where am I supposed to go?" he shouted, waving his arms in the air. But they just kept flying. Percy stared at the horizon, watching them shrink smaller and smaller. He sighed, feeling betrayed.

"Guess I'm on my own," he muttered. Clutching the picture of him and the girl in his hands, he started down the path, a little part of him already starting to harden.

What's this? A BACK TO BACK UPDATE? My god, the world must really be ending!

Well, school's tomorrow, so I'll throw you a chapter. *throws chapter into crowd of rabid readers* There you go! Sorry it's only three pages. I can't stay up till two in the morning anymore, so expect the chapters to be about this long. Updates soon!

With love.

TUC