Hello readers!
Shoutouts to ihavesevereopjd, Ranger River, and Ensis96 for following and favoriting! Thanks a bunch you guys!
I've gotten so many new reviews since last chapter (at least 5!). You have NO idea how happy they made me. I got so pumped to write this next chapter and I already have a plan for the next one so it may be out by the end of the week if time permits. Special extra thanks to all who reviewed :D
No more stalling, enjoy Chapter 4 of the PJO/TKC crossover: When Worlds Collide
-Ardoa88
Chapter 4: Cheeseburgers and Contingency Plans
(Sadie POV)
What better way to end date night than with cheeseburgers, milkshakes, and the impending doom of yet another apocalypse over our heads. Shortly after Walt and I had swooped in to save the day- (yes we did, Carter. How would you know, anyways? You were unconscious at the time, remember. Oh right, you can't- because you were unconscious. Now shutup and let me tell the story.)- ahem, as I was saying. It wasn't long after that when we heard the wail of sirens in the distance.
Walt looked over at me. "We should probably get gone."
"Yes." I mused, "I'd rather not explain why half of Central Park is up in flames."
"Not to mention the giant hole in the art museum." The blond girl- Annabeth, added.
"You did what?" I rounded on my brother, "Carter! That is like, the one museum I actually enjoy going to!"
Carter rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding my glare. "It wasn't on purpose."
"Complete accident." The taller boy- Percy, assured. "Mostly my fault."
The sirens were getting louder by the minute. I sighed, "Fine. Let's get out of here before we're branded as arsonists."
Percy, Annabeth, Carter and I quickly made our way across fifth avenue, escaping to the corner of 80th and Park before the flashing lights pulled up to the museum. Walt had taken Freak back to the Brooklyn House, under the pretense that it would be hard to determine how the police and firefighters would respond to seeing a gryphon. If he was being honest, I think Walt's godly host, Anubis, had been more than a bit unsettled around our newest friends. I could hardly blame him, the moment Annabeth had mentioned Greek godly parents, a chill had run up my spine. The kind of instinctive, 'I-shouldn't-be-seeing-this' chill from when you accidentally turn on Adult Swim at age seven.
Now that we were safely away from the conflagration, the four of us slowed to a casual walking pace. Despite my healing charm, Carter still looked like he had gone three rounds with a rhino and lost, and the two demigods were only slightly better off. Logically, there was only one thing to do.
"So." I rubbed my hands together, "Who wants burgers?"
"Burgers?" Percy frowned.
"With fries. Look," I sighed, "I'm not typically the one to be all 'mother hen', but you three look beat. Plus, I'm hungry." I admitted.
Carter shot me an incredulous look. "Sadie, what burger joint is going to be open at-" He checked his watch, "-one seventeen in the morning? On a Sunday, no less."
"McDonalds?" I shrugged. The two demigods exchanged a look, their eyes having a silent conversation that I imagined went something like:
Percy: What about-
Annabeth: No.
Percy: But I didn't even suggest anything!
Annabeth: You were going to say 'let's go to (Place A)', weren't you.
Percy: … yes. But why not?
Annabeth: They're not demigods. That's why.
Percy: But it's better than McDonalds, and besides, don't you want to know what's going on with that Wonder Woman goddess?
Annabeth: …
My imagination quieted as the blond turned to face me and Carter. "We know of a decent joint. It's shielded from monsters so we'll be safe, but-"
"But since we're not demigods we may not be welcome there?" I interrupted, tilting my head to the side and folding my arms across my chest.
Annabeth bit her lip, "Not necessarily. It's just that, this is a coveted hangout for demigods."
"And the idea of revealing its location to non-demigod, practically-strangers isn't sitting well with you." Carter nodded, understanding. He glanced at me and we had our own silent conversation. I was hesitant to go anywhere with these so-called demigods, seeing as we'd literally just met them not half an hour ago. Carter, on the other hand, gave me a reassuring look, conveying that he felt they could be trusted- for now. It boiled down to whether or not I trusted my brothers judgement; which I did. Wholeheartedly (yes, Carter, that was a compliment, no need to look smug about it). Eventually I dipped my head in an imperceptible nod.
"You have our word that we won't reveal it to anyone else." Carter assured.
Percy gave the blond a smug look as if to say, 'Told you so'. Annabeth just nodded, "Alright, then. It's a few blocks away, follow me."
I easily fell in step with Percy, my brother and the blond walking ahead of us and discussing the night's events. They compared notes and talked about various theories; as for me, I wasn't interested in any of that stuff. I hummed aloud as we went, hopping from sidewalk crack to sidewalk crack, occasionally pulling out a piece of wax or string from my tool bag just to fiddle with it before putting it back.
After a block or two of walking I realized that Percy was staring at me. I frowned at him. "What?"
"Nothing," He said quickly- too quickly- directing his gaze elsewhere. I shrugged.
"Here we are." Annabeth announced.
I looked up to see that we had arrived at the intersection of 82nd and Madison. On the corner was a small restaurant with a green canvas overhang that read 'Nectar of 82nd Street' in a styled cursive font. To the right was a store called the Monnalisa with various dressed mannequins in the window. Annabeth led the way across the street, I followed behind, seeing nothing notably special about the food joint. The blond had mentioned that it was warded against monsters, but as we walked through the doors I couldn't detect even the faintest hum of magic that would indicate a barrier. Nor did I see any warding charms carved in the framework. The inside was no more impressive, styled like a cozy diner with wood-backed booths and warm lighting from hanging overhead lamps. The restaurant was empty at this hour, with only a tall cashier manning the bar. He looked up as we entered, a smile breaking out on his face.
"Percy! Annabeth! Póso kaló na se do."
I understood the first two words. The rest were in some strange language I couldn't recognise. Thankfully, Annabeth and Percy did.
"Hey, Hector. Good to see you too." Annabeth nodded as they walked up to the bar. "Can we get four venti half-caf, no-whip lattes with extra Nectar?"
The cashier's eyebrows raised, "Sígouros. Tésseris latte me Nectar anevaínei! Típota állo?"
"Yes, I'll have the grilled chicken sandwich." Annabeth said.
"I'll have your bacon burger supreme." Percy decided, "Extra fries."
The cashier nodded and looked at me expectantly. "Oh uh," I scanned the menu hanging on the back wall, "Double cheeseburger, and a chocolate milkshake please."
Carter was next, "Grilled ham and cheese with onion rings."
The cashier nodded, "Aftó tha eínai triánta drachmés." He held out his hand expectantly. Carter and I just looked at it blankly. After an awkward moment, Annabeth seemed to have an 'aha' moment.
"Right. You've probably never held a drachma in your life, I'll pay." She offered, proceeded to drop a small stack of shimmering coins into the outstretched hand. Each golden disk was imprinted with an eagle symbol, laurel wreaths lining the edges. The cashier spoke again and Annabeth moved to sit in one of the corner booths.
"Food will be out in ten minutes." She explained as the rest of us followed suit.
"Ten?" I asked with a frown, "Seems awfully fast for one employee."
Percy stifled a snort. I glanced at him but he pointed silently to the bar, it was an open design so you could see them prepare your food. Carter and I looked back and both of our jaws hit the floor at the same time.
The cashier had multiple arms. I counted five, six, seven, at least eight, all emerging from his elongated torso. The hands moved constantly, pouring coffee, lighting the grill, preparing the ground beef. It was mesmerising to watch, and also a bit creepy at the same time.
"Never seen a Hecatoncheires at work before, then?" Percy guessed.
Carter was the first to stop staring, "What's a Heck-athon-sherry?"
Annabeth shrugged, "A Hecatoncheires is hundred handed one. Greek monster."
"So a monster is making our food." I commented skeptically. "Is that really a great idea?"
"Not all monsters are out to kill us." Percy shrugged, "Well, most are, but Hector's been working here ever since it opened. He won't poison your food or anything."
Carter looked at Annabeth. "So was he speaking Greek, then?"
Annabeth nodded. "All demigods can understand the language inherently."
"And those coins-"
"Drachmas." Annabeth corrected, "Greek currency. But we're here to discuss how to stop doomsday." She prompted, a warning edge in her tone suggesting that the magicians not pry further into the world of demigods just yet.
"Right, right." Carter held up his hands placatingly, "Sorry, I was just… curious. On to how to stop doomsday one-oh-one." He joked lightly.
"You said something about a family reunion?" I prompted. Carter nodded.
"Yes, Walt and I believe that Hathor wants to resurrect her brother, Thutmosis III, and consume both his and her father, Ra's, essence to become the most powerful god." He recapped. "In order to do so she needs to destroy the other three renditions of Cleopatra's Needle which are located in London, Paris, and Luxor. So we have two main options. One: Ignore the obelisks and focus on sealing Hathor. Or, two: Ignore Hathor and focus on protecting one of the remaining obelisks." Carter surmised.
"But you have no idea how to seal the goddess." Annabeth pointed out.
"Correct."
"And protecting a symbol of power against a goddess is no easy feat." I reminded him.
"That is also correct." Carter agreed.
Percy didn't appear pleased by my brother's nonchalance. "So how are we going to stop doomsday if neither of the options you've presented are achievable."
"That's not what I said." Carter smirked.
I sighed. "Brother, dear, you're doing it again."
Carter's brow furrowed, confused. "Doing what?"
"Being vague and generally annoying." I said, ignoring his glare, "Now, are you going to explain your grand master plan or not?"
Carter huffed, "I was getting there. I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it will work. I give it, maybe a seventy percent chance of it being successful."
"Anything's better than nothing." Annabeth said, attempting to be optimistic.
My brother looked at me, "Remember the Red Pyramid?"
"How could I forget." I shuddered at the mention of it. Back when Carter and I had first become magicians of the house of life, Set, probably the most annoying god in Egypt, had attempted to rise to power, which would've resulted in the release of Apophis, the evillest being in existence. It hadn't been a pleasant quest. We'd nearly died at least a good half dozen times, if not more. But we had been successful in stopping the god's plan, just barely. It had involved… I suddenly understood what Carter was suggesting. And I did not like it. "You can't be suggesting-"
"Do you have any better ideas?" My brother looked grimly nauseous for even suggesting it.
"But we don't have the Book of Thoth, and the Feather of Truth was destroyed."
Carter waved a hand, "We can track down the book. As for the feather, we can ask Walt if there's a similar relic."
"Carter, the amount of magic necessary to pull it off-"
"-would be immense, I know. We would probably need to call on the power of the gods-"
"-which we swore to never do again." I reminded him.
"Extenuating circumstances." Carter retaliated. "Apocalyptic, remember? It's easier than trying to perform a shadow execration-"
"-we are not doing that. Never again."
"Exactly, so this is the next best option-"
"Guys!" Percy slammed a palm on the table, snapping us out of our fast-paced debate. He and Annabeth were staring at us blankly, "What in Hades are you talking about?" Carter took a deep breath, but before he could go divulging all of our secrets I cut him off.
"No." The demigods looked at me in confusion, but I ignored them, focusing on my brother. "Carter, you can't seriously be considering spilling everything to these… these strangers! An hour ago, we didn't even know they existed and yet you want to go blabbing about some of the most dangerous secrets of Per Ankh?"
"Well," Carter shrugged, "If they can help us stop Hathor-"
"They're not even magicians." I interrupted, "They're kids."
"Feelings mutual." Annabeth said with a frown, taken aback by my statement. "We were fighting Titans when we were your age. And yet we still trusted you enough to bring you here."
"Oh, yes." I rolled my eyes, "Because secret burger joints are the same thing as-" I cut myself off with a shake of the head. "Carter, Hathor is an Egyptian goddess. And therefore, it is our job to deal with her. Not theirs."
Percy was frowning now too. "Hey, if there's a plan to destroy the world, we can't just sit idly by and watch it happen."
"Regardless of which gods we worship, it's our planet, too." Annabeth added.
Carter held out his hands, "You see? Look, Sadie, before Hathor escaped from the needle, we fought a Bennu-"
"A what?"
My brother sighed, "Flaming bird. Born from it's own ashes."
"Like a Phoenix?" I surmised.
"Yes." Carter raised his eyes to the ceiling, "Like a Phoenix. Anyway, if it hadn't been for Percy and Annabeth… let's just say I was having a hard time defeating it on my own. Thanks to them, I was able to open a portal to Alexandria and-"
"You opened a portal?" I tried not to sound as impressed as I was. Channeling Divine Words and using portals was not my brother's forte. He mostly stuck to his combat magic and let me deal with the complex spells.
"Yes. So what I am trying to say," He glanced at the two demigods. "Is that we can trust them. I think."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Percy muttered, grunting as his girlfriend not-so-subtly elbowed him. Still I hesitated. The past few years had taught me that trust was a fickle thing. After everything we'd been through, Carter still somehow managed to see the good in others, whereas I preferred the 'attack first, make friends later' approach.
"Alright." I sighed, defeated. "But only necessary information."
"Of course." Carter agreed. There was an uncomfortable silence as we realized the two demigods were now waiting expectantly, the atmosphere suddenly more tense than before. Luckily for us, it was broken by Hector as he brought out our meals. Balanced in each of his eight hands was a separate plate and drink. Within seconds they had arranged themselves in front of the respective customer. It smelled delicious. I dug into my cheeseburger, finding that the taste was better than my nose had concluded.
"Dish is am'zing!" I said around a mouthful of beef.
"Best burgers this side of town." Percy agreed.
Carter looked curiously at his coffee, picking up a small, clear plastic cup on the side of the mug that had a syrupy substance like gold honey. "What's this?"
"Nectar." Annabeth said, taking her own and unceremoniously dumping the contents into her drink. "The drink of the gods."
"It's like that potion thing you gave me earlier," Percy explained helpfully. "It has healing properties and tastes amazing."
"And you put it in your coffee?" I frowned. "Doesn't sound like a natural combination."
"Just try it." Annabeth looked at me, "Unless you still don't trust us and think it's actually poison."
I watched her take a swig anyway before adding the gooey syrup to my drink.I took a whiff but the coffee didn't smell any different. With a shrug I took a sip, promptly gagging at the taste.
"Not what you were expecting, huh?" Percy winked.
That was an understatement. "It tastes like Grans' scones." I set down the mug, a bit disconcerted by the fact that coffee didn't even taste like coffee in the world these demigods came from.
"Nectar always tastes like your favorite comfort food." Annabeth smiled.
"Shame. Grans scones always tasted rather burnt and horrid."
Percy snorted a bit in his drink, looking up with wide green eyes. "What? It's supposed to be your favorite food."
I wrinkled my nose. "Way off the mark."
Carter pushed his cup of nectar away from his mug as though afraid of contamination.
"You had said something about a feather." Percy prompted, munching on a fry before drowning his bacon burger supreme in ketchup.
"The Feather of Truth." Carter corrected, sipping the coffee- without the nectar. His eyes widened slightly, "That is good. Sorry, as I was saying; we first found out about magic when our dad accidentally released Set, the Egyptian god of deserts, storms, violence- not a nice guy."
"Does releasing evil gods run in the family or something- ow!" Percy winced as his girlfriend retracted her elbow yet again. She shot him a glare that quite obviously said 'Shut up and let him talk'.
"Set tried to gain power over the other gods-"
"-and kill us." I interjected.
Carter nodded. "And kill us, so in order to stop him, we were told that we would need to use a spell from the Book of Thoth in conjunction with the Feather of Truth. Essentially, if all went well, Set would've been banished to the Duat for a good millennia or so."
"Would've?" Annabeth frowned. "Did it not work?"
"Well." Carter looked at me.
"I didn't complete the spell." I explained. "I was going to. But at the last minute I realized there was a greater enemy awakening with the magic from the Red Pyramid."
"Right." Carter said, picking up the story. "Sadie broke off the spell to reveal the threat, and in the process, the feather exploded."
Percy looked between us, "Does everything involved with Egyptian magic explode? Because that's my takeaway from all this."
"So what happened to Set?" Annabeth asked, apparently intrigued by our tale. "I thought you said he wanted you dead?"
"Oh he did. Still does, I would think." I nodded, "But he couldn't do it at the time because we knew his secret name."
"So you guys called him names and that stopped him?" Percy looked impressed. "Wished that worked on Greek gods."
Carter shifted uncomfortably, taking another swig from his coffee. "A secret name is… more than a nickname. It's called the ren. It sums up your entire existence. Imagine all of your dreams, all of your fears, all of your memories rolled up into one word or phrase."
Annabeth glanced at Percy with a knowing grin, "Yours would totally be Seaweed Brain."
"Shut up, Wise Girl." He retaliated, pouting slightly. "So why would knowing his secret name make him not kill you?"
"Secret names hold power." I explained, stirring my milkshake. "With the proper spell, a magician could use it to control the owner of the name."
"I can vouch." Carter grumbled. "Sadie found out my secret name last year. My life's been miserable ever since."
"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes "I only use my knowledge for good."
Carter suddenly face planted on the table, his head thunking on the wood and causing the plates and silverware to clatter. He picked his head up and glared at me, rubbing his temple. "Sadie."
"Oops." I flashed him my most innocent smile and ignored the demigods' confused expressions. "Long story short if we can learn Hathors secret name and find the Book of Thoth, doomsday will be averted once again."
"Easier said than done, I'm guessing." Annabeth nursed her coffee between her hands. "What's our first step?"
"We need to head east." Carter said. "Start by protecting the obelisks. In the meantime, I'll try scrying for the book and we can ask Walt if there's something we could use to replace the feather. Then all we have to do is find out Hathors secret name and we'll be ready to send her to the Duat."
"Travel by portals?" I suggested. "It'd be the fastest way."
Carter shook his head. "But it's draining, and we can only hop to certain locations. A plane is probably our best bet."
"Um." Percy cleared his throat nervously, "I don't think that'll work either. I'm the son of Poseidon." He explained at our blank looks, "Travelling through Zeus' domain is never a preferable option for me."
"So that leaves… a cruise ship?" Carter rubbed his chin. "But that would take too long."
"How much time do we have, exactly?" Annabeth inquired.
I leaned back. "Hathor was only recently freed so her power is already diminished. That, and the fact that she teleported out of my rope would leave her in a very weakened state."
"As long as she doesn't consume any magicians essence anytime soon, I'd say it'll be at least a week before she's back to full strength." Carter hypothesised.
"So we have a little bit of time." Annabeth nodded, glancing at her boyfriend. "I think I know a faster way we can cross the Atlantic. The trip would take, maybe, two days? You could use the time to find out where this book is." She suggested to Carter, who nodded.
Percy frowned at the blond. "Pegasi can't fly forever, you know."
"That's not what I was thinking of." Annabeth gave him a meaningful look.
The confusion cleared from the boy's face. "You mean-"
"Y-up." Annabeth nodded. "He's been wanting to take it out for a test drive for the past few weeks now."
It was me and Carter's turn to look perplexed. My brother finally asking, "Who's been wanting to test drive what?"
"You wouldn't believe me." Annabeth said with a trace of vindictiveness, and I realized she was more spiteful about my keeping secrets than she'd let on. "But we can get you across the ocean in two days. Maybe three. You have a better option?"
I grit my teeth unhappily. "No."
"So-" Percy cut in, putting a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "We'll grab the Argo three-"
"Ergo what?" Carter parroted.
"-and a few supplies. Do you guys need to prepare too, or can you just wait back at pier ninety-six for a few hours?"
"I could use a quick restock." Carter said, rummaging through his satchel. "What time are we meeting you?"
"Is three hours enough time?"
"Plenty." Carter assured the boy. "See you at the pier."
Percy nodded, extending his hand which Carter shook. Percy turned to his girlfriend. "Let's go wake up our helmsmen."
Annabeth snorted. "You say that like he'll actually be asleep." And with that last confounding comment the two demigods and the two magicians split ways. The former heading towards Long Island, the latter making their way back to the Brooklyn House.
As soon as the demigods were out of sight, I turned to Carter. "I don't trust them."
"Really?" My brother pretended to look shocked. "I couldn't tell."
"Carter-"
"Look," he sighed. "I don't like this anymore than you. I probably understand less than you too. But for once, can we just enjoy the fact that there is someone out there who is not attempting to destroy us? I mean, how many times do we actually get the chance to make friends. Even among other magicians we're… odd. So let's give this a chance." We walked in silence for a minute before he added, "Besides, if they do end up to be evil half-human, half-gods, we can always blow them up."
"That's not fair, tempting me with destruction."
"I blew up the Met earlier tonight." He deadpanned. "It's only fair to give you a turn next."
Fin. Thanks for reading!
Super-Duper thanks to Ensis96 for helping me polish this chapter before it was published. :)
Final things:
First, to TheRandomSekihanFan: I can't believe you compared this story to Riordans. Say WHAAA? That's a huge compliment, thank you :D I'm pleased to know that the characters are conveying the book characteristics. I'll be trying to work within the parameters of Riordans preset world, but a few things may need to be altered to fit the story. Thanks for the review! Oh, and it's gal. But dude works too (I'm impartial to the whole guy/girl, dude/dudet, bro/bra conundrum) ;P
Next, to ihavesevereopjd: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed it so far, hope I continue to exceed expectations ;)
To Ranger River: Last chapter was fun to write, glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for the continuous reviews :D
Lastly, to Ensis96: Three awesome reviews right before I went to bed. I had a great sleep- lots of dreams about Egyptian and Greek gods and goddesses XP Glad you enjoyed, hope you continue to enjoy and laugh with each new chapter.
As always, please leave a review. Tell me what was good, what was bad, what made you laugh, what made you cry. I'm not allergic to long detailed reviews ;P
-Ardoa88
p.s. 'Nectar of 82nd Street' is an actual restaurant in Manhattan but no- it is not open at one seventeen in the morning on a Sunday.
p.p.s. Greek translations for Hector are roughly "Percy! Annabeth! Good to see you again." "Four lattes with extra nectar coming right up! Can I get you anything else?" and "That'll be 38 drachmas." (Thanks google translate!)
p.p.p.s. Ancient Egyptian translations: Per Ankh = House of Life
