Chapter 9: Three Grandmas In Ugly Hats Throw Us Off Course

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The first thing I did was look for Luke, to tell him the good news, that I finally had a quest. We were leaving in a few hours, and I didn't want to go without saying goodbye. He was as good as my family, after all. I guess in a way, I wanted his blessing.

Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found. He wasn't in any of his usual haunts—not cabin eleven, nor the sword-fighting arena, or even the arts and crafts cabin, where most of the campers were hiding from an unexpected downpour. (The rain had started right after Percy, Grover and I left the Big House, which was not a reassuring sign from the gods.) I scoured the entire camp, even the beach where we set off Fourth of July fireworks, getting thoroughly drenched in the process, but Luke didn't turn up. None of his cabinmates had seen him all morning.

Finally, I had to give up. I only had a little time left to get my stuff together.

Word of our quest had spread by then. My half-siblings all bombarded me with well-wishes and monster-fighting tips. Malcolm told me to kick some monster butt. Anita made me promise to come back alive—so I could take over officially as cabin counsellor, no doubt. Holly started to cry, as though she didn't think I'd make it, but she gave me a big hug anyway.

It was a good thing I'd spent years thinking about how I'd tackle a quest, because after all that, I had only five minutes before I was due to meet Percy and Grover. I changed out of my wet clothes and pulled on a fresh Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and clean jeans. I stuffed a toothbrush and a spare set of clothes into a satchel and threw in my celestial bronze knife and Yankees cap. I would repack along the way. As an afterthought, I grabbed a book—the Iliad would have been helpful, but it contained too many references to monsters, and that wasn't a good idea if we didn't want to draw too much mythological attention to ourselves. I picked Dad's guilt gift instead: the Greek book on architecture.

The rain finally let up when Percy, Grover and I headed up Half-Blood Hill. I rearranged my things as we walked, pulling out my cap and dagger, shoving in the book. My knife went up my sleeve, its sheath strapped to my left arm so I could have easy access to it. It would be our best defence against monsters. Percy looked askance at it when I pulled it out, but I gave him a look just daring him to comment. He'd appreciate having a celestial bronze weapon later, once we encountered our first monster.

Besides, it had been a gift from Luke. I wasn't about to leave it behind.

Instead, Percy looked at my cap. 'Do they really sell those things at the Yankees stadium?'

'It was a gift from my mom,' I told him shortly. 'For my twelfth birthday.'

He didn't seem to have anything that would help us in battle. Chiron had apparently gotten him sorted out for money and first-aid—he split the cash, notes and drachmas alike, and nectar and ambrosia with me—but I didn't see any weapons. Grover's backpack was packed to the brim, but I knew well enough that it was probably all satyr-friendly snacks. His weapon of choice were the reed pipes—which he was still getting the hang of.

I figured I was going to be responsible for most of the fighting.

Chiron was waiting for us at the top of Half-Blood Hill (he'd chosen to wheel up in his chair for some reason), along with Argus, who held a set of car keys. I guessed he was our ride to the bus station.

I touched the bark of Thalia's tree while Chiron introduced Percy to Argus. 'Wish me luck,' I told her. 'I'm going to make everything you did for me worth it.'

She didn't respond, of course, but I liked to think that some bit of her that still lingered in the tree heard me, and approved.

Luke came running up the hill as we were about to set off, waving and yelling to catch our attention. He stopped when he reached us and bent over to catch his breath.

'Glad I caught you,' he gasped out. My face felt warm as his smile passed over me. I was glad, too, that I wouldn't have to leave without saying goodbye after all.

But then he turned his attention to Percy, wishing him good luck and even loaning him his flying shoes—the very ones Hermes had gifted him with on his quest … which he never spoke of. I tried to push down my jealousy. This was officially Percy's quest. Luke was just being generous.

And then Luke enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug and whispered in my ear, 'Come back safe, okay?', and I forgot completely about everything he'd said or given to Percy. He hadn't hugged me like that since I was ten.

I nodded, but I couldn't speak over the lump in my throat. Up my sleeve, my bronze knife seemed to tingle with energy. It was a while before I could focus on anything again.

'You're hyperventilating,' Percy teased.

'Am not.' He was so annoying.

'You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?'

I wanted to smack him. His eyes twinkled playfully at me and I felt my face get even hotter than it had when Luke had hugged me. 'Oh, why do I go anywhere with you?' I huffed. With a toss of my head, I marched off towards our waiting SUV.

Grover came flying down a moment later—literally; he was wearing Luke's flying shoes, which didn't seem too happy to be carrying a satyr—but Percy was up at the top for at least a good five more minutes, conferring with Chiron. I waited moodily in the car while Grover hopped around, trying to get control of the shoes. He finally gave up and got in the car next to me, panting.

'You're all sweaty, Grover,' I complained.

'Sorry,' he muttered. 'Those things are harder to use than I thought.'

'Percy gave them to you?' I tried not to sound too disappointed.

'Yeah, he can't really use them, allergic to flying and all that.'

I nodded glumly and put my hand up my sleeve, feeling the solid hilt of my dagger. It was glowing faintly with warmth, as if it knew I needed the reassurance. I already had it to remind me of Luke. I didn't need another gift.

Percy finally slid into the car. Argus slammed the doors shut and got into the driver's seat.

We were off.

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Most demigods are ADHD, which isn't great for a car ride. Everything we passed caught my eye: the massive billboards along the highway, the cars that sped past in the fast lane, their windshield wipers racing back and forth, the pedestrians on the sidewalks huddling under umbrellas, cursing at the splashes thrown up by the vehicles. Percy had maybe one of the strongest cases of hyperactivity that I'd seen: the guy just couldn't sit still. He was practically bouncing on the car seat as he looked out of the windows.

Grover didn't say anything. He'd already broken into his snack pack, which might have been because Percy was keeping up a running count of how far we'd made it without encountering any monsters. After the tenth mile of this, I had enough.

'It's bad luck to talk that way, Seaweed Brain,' I told him.

He laid up on the monsters then, but unfortunately he didn't shut up. He was in his most frustratingly stupid mood, the kind where he had a wisecrack to everything. Normally I could never decide whether to laugh or shoot him down; now, with my nerves already keyed up in anticipation of monsters (thanks to him), I only wanted to strangle him.

I crossed my arms huffily and stared out of the window. I hated how he turned serious subjects into a joke. Even more, I hated how much I was tempted to laugh, too. We were supposed to be on a serious mission here.

We finally reached Greyhound Station, which was one of those modern steel buildings with large electric billboards at each corner. It had round columns supporting its base, which were incongruous with the straight lines and rigid angles of its cage-like upper storey. The dark green paint on the building might have looked solid and impressive in the sunshine, but the combination of overcast skies and dirty rain dripping off its sides gave it a dingy, washed-out appearance. I would have designed something that looked good whatever the weather.

Argus dropped us off under a billboard that had an advertisement for Blue Bottle Coffee. The best in America, the sign promised in schizophrenic lighting. He tooted the horn of the car once in farewell, then he was gone, lost in the swarming Manhattan traffic.

We were on our own. The enormity of it was strangely overwhelming. I felt like this was the moment—like a stage performance I'd been preparing for all my life, where I just had to do or die. I'd wanted to do the show, but it also scared me to death to walk out on stage.

I wasn't about to let the others see that, though. 'Come on,' I said. 'Let's get tickets.'

The next bus to Los Angeles was in an hour. We'd be travelling through the night. While we queued, I kept my eye out for monsters, but everyone seemed to be pretty normal, from the bored-looking ticket-seller at the counter to the men and women in business suits with their eyes glued to their smartphones. Even the group of boys who were tossing a football around a bus station for some reason seemed to be regular teens, if a bit rowdy. Anyway, they quickly disappeared onto a bus to New Jersey.

Grover pulled out an apple from his backpack and twirled it idly in his hands. I was about the reach for my book to pass the time when Percy cried, 'Toss it here, G-man. Hacky sack!'

Grover threw the apple over. Percy bounced it on his knee, once, twice, then twisted and whapped it with his ankle. The apple flew at my face. 'Catch, Annabeth!'

I snatched it out of the air. 'What on Olympus are you doing?'

'Well, we've got a while to wait, so … why not? You know how to play, right?'

I had no idea what he was talking about.

'Here, I'll show you.' He pulled me to my feet. 'Just keep it in the air—no hands, but anything else is fair game.' He demonstrated, bouncing the apple off his knee again, then using his ankle, then changing leg.

Grover gamely gave it a go and managed two kicks before he fell over, unsteady on the fake feet he used to hide his hooves.

'You're up, Annabeth,' Percy said.

The apple flew at me again. This time I copied Percy, raising my knee to it. It bounced off back towards Percy, and he bounced it back to me.

'That's it,' he said encouragingly, 'you got it.'

I grinned and thwacked the apple hard with my elbow. It shot straight into Percy's stomach.

'Oof,' he said, and laughed. 'Nice one. Again?'

I didn't want to admit it, but I liked Percy's idea of a good past-time. Bouncing off the apple between us was more fun than I would've thought. It helped that I took to it naturally. Years of fight-training, especially as a knife specialist, made me quick and flexible. Percy looked gratifyingly impressed when I pulled off seven consecutive bounces. After a while, Grover managed to get in a couple of good ones, too. Unfortunately, while we were trying to best our record—twenty bounces before the apple dropped—he got a little over-enthusiastic and the apple disappeared with a snap of his jaws.

I met Percy's eyes and it was good, suddenly, to just be sitting here, tossing the apple and laughing at Grover's stricken expression. My previous quest stage-fright had dissipated.

Then the bus pulled in. 'Well,' Percy said, 'this is us. L.A., here we come.'

When we got in line, I had the sudden feeling that someone was watching us, though as far as I could tell, none of the people around were paying us any attention. It made me all nervous and fidgety. It wasn't until we'd taken our seats and I looked out the window that I saw them: a trio of little old ladies approaching the bus bay. Their faces were hidden by garish hats and they were stooped over their walking sticks, but their gait was clearly not the slow hobble of elderly people. As they came closer, I saw that the fingers that curled over the crook of their sticks were gnarled and curved … like claws.

My blood ran cold. Monsters. I was sure of it. Please don't get here in time.

One of them, in an orange hat, sniffed the air and beckoned to her sisters. They joined the queue for our bus. Not just any monsters, I realised. The three Furies—eternal tormentors of criminals and rule-breakers. They had come after Thalia five years ago, intent on punishing her for the crime of her existence. I didn't think they would view Percy any differently.

Orange-hat climbed on board the bus. I gulped.

'Percy,' I said urgently, reaching for him. We had to get out of her. The Furies might not have located us yet—they'd settled at the front of the bus, their bright hats (orange, purple and green) bobbing above the head rests of the seat—but in an enclosed bus trundling across the country, they would have plenty of time to sniff us out.

'She didn't stay dead long.' Percy sounded like he was about to hyperventilating. His voice was a notch higher than usual. 'I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime.'

I couldn't believe he was actually referencing a conversation we'd had on his first meeting, when I'd told him about monster archetypes. Most took centuries to return. But these were primordial deities, born from the blood of Ouranos and raised in Tartarus itself. They probably didn't need much time to reform.

'I said if you're lucky.' Fear made me snappish. 'You're obviously not.'

Beside me, I could feel Grover trembling as he swore. I forced myself to stay calm. There had to be a way. We'd get out of this. It was only the beginning of the quest.

'It's okay. The Furies,' I said, thinking hard. What did I know about them? 'The three worst monsters from the Unerworld.' Not helping, Annabeth. I knew my mother had appeased them once, but it was such an old story … something about bribes … or was it threats?

Grover whimpered.

'No problem,' I said automatically. 'No problem. Um. We'll just …' Get off the bus. Without passing them. Not the doors, so … 'Windows. We'll just slip out the windows.'

I put my hand up on the glass, recognising the problem immediately.

'They don't open!' Grover sounded close to panic.

'A back exit?' I swivelled around in my seat, cursing myself for not thinking of it sooner. I should have planned this all out before, made an escape plan. Now we were stuck on a moving bus with three demon crones blocking the door. Think, Annabeth, think!

'They won't attack us with witnesses around, will they?' Percy said hopefully.

'Mortals don't have good eyes. Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist.'

'They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?'

'Hard to say.' More likely they'd see us having seizures or something and three kindly grandmothers attempting CPR. Though it was tempting to hope that some guy would be chivalrous enough not to let an elderly lady take on something strenuous, the chances were minute. The Mist probably had an answer for that, too. 'We can't count on mortals for help.' Our best chance was to get out before they found us. There had to be a way. Buses couldn't only have a single door, there had to be some law against it. 'Maybe an emergency exit in the roof …?'

Darkness flooded the bus suddenly and I nearly screamed, thinking it was the Furies' doing, then I realised we'd only plunged into a tunnel. In the glow of the bus's dim internal lighting, I saw the orange hat rise. She's smelt us, I thought. This is it. My fingers tightened around the Yankees cap in my hand.

My Yankees cap. It was a gift from my mom, who had appeased the Furies before, so it should probably work to conceal us form them. Except it would only work on one person. My heart pounded furiously against my chest. I knew what the plan had to be.

'I've got it,' I hissed at Grover and Percy as all three hat-sisters came bobbing down the aisle. 'Percy, take my hat.'

'What?'

'You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away.'

Percy shook his head wildly. 'But you guys—'

I pressed the cap into his hands. 'There's an outside chance they might not notice us. You're a son of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering.'

'I can't just leave you.'

Later I would appreciate his display of loyalty, but at the moment, I just wanted to throttle him. He was the biggest target and he was weaponless. If the Furies got their claws on him, I didn't think he'd be lucky enough to get the tree treatment like Thalia.

I tried not to think about what they might do to me. My dagger felt like it was glowing red-hot in its sheath, preparing for the fight ahead. It was time to see if I could do this, after all. As long as Percy would just—

'Go!' Grover said. 'Don't worry about us, go!'

Percy took the hat and disappeared.

'Please tell me you have a plan,' Grover whispered.

'It'll be okay,' I promised, though it was taking all my courage not to tremble. I put my hand up my sleeve. The celestial bronze was warm under my hand.

The Furies descended on us, Orange-Hat in the lead. They'd shed their mortal appearance, becoming creatures of my nightmares: shrivelled brown demons with leathery wings sprouting from their shoulders and glowing whips that crackled with fiery energy. Only the bright hats remained, perched absurdly on their heads. All hopes I had of escaping their notice vanished like Percy had under my hat.

'Where is it?' Purple-Hat growled. Something about that sentence struck me as odd, but I wasn't in the mood to dissect it. Green-Hat smacked her whip on the seat in front of us, slicing right through a mortal. It didn't hurt the man, but he started to scream. I had no idea what the Mist was showing him, but I bet it couldn't have been as scary as three enraged monsters threatening us with whips. Green-Hat's whip cracked inches from my face, nearly blinding me.

'Where?' Orange-Hat screeched.

'He's not here! He's gone!' I shouted at them. It was no use, though. They might want Percy—I'd guessed that right—but they were perfectly happy to take us down first. I drew my knife from my sleeve, ready to fight.

And then the bus lurched to the left. The Furies were thrown off-balance into an empty seat across the aisle from us. Purple-Hat hit the window so hard, I thought I saw a crack start to form. I had to drive my knife into the headrest of the seat in front of me to keep from swinging towards them.

'We know you have it!' Green-Hat yowled, but the bus was swinging so madly, they were having trouble climbing over each other to get back up to us.

'It?' Grover whispered.

'We don't!' I insisted. I yanked my knife out of the seat and brandished it. Just one good hit, I thought. If I could just avoid the whips, maybe when the bus was still swaying about, I could sink the blade. I staggered to my feet.

'You carry a curse,' Orange-Hat hissed suddenly. 'You—'

The bus did another sharp turn and I fell back against Grover. Orange-Hat flew towards me and I swung my knife in a blind arc. She managed to avoid it, scrambling to the side at the last second. Whatever was going on with the driver—I suspected Percy—he'd finally had enough, because with a violent screech of tyres, the bus hit the brakes. Orange-Hat tumbled forward in the aisle and was nearly stampeded by passengers charging to the doors.

Unfortunately, Green- and Purple-Hat weren't slowed by escaping mortals. They advanced on us, whips blazing through the air.

'Stay back!' I screamed. Something whizzed past my ear—a tin can. I felt Grover reach into his bag for another. Green-Hat's whip curled around the can and flung it easily aside. Orange-Hat got to her feet and started coming at us again, too.

'Hey!'

The Furies' heads whipped around so quickly, their hats flew off in unison. It would probably have been funny if I hadn't been so terrified. Percy, the great idiot, had chosen that moment to show himself, and he stood at the front of the bus, waving his bare arms at them. All three Furies immediately lost interest in Grover and me. Just as I'd thought, it was Percy they were after. I felt no relief, though, only more terror as the Furies turned on him.

Not again! my mind screamed.

'Perseus Jackson,' Orange-Hat snarled (at least I thought it was her—she was still in the aisles; Green- and Purple-Hat were clambering over the seats). She straightened up and intoned, as if delivering a verdict, 'You have offended the gods. You shall die.' A random memory sped through my head—something about exacting justice.

Somehow, Percy found the wits to taunt her. Her whip whirled around her furiously. I had been ready to charge her from behind, but I had to leap back to avoid it. Percy stuck his hand into his pocket and came up with a ballpoint pen. Then, to my amazement, it extended like a light-sabre.

He hadn't mentioned that he had a sword.

'Submit now and you will not suffer eternal torment,' Orange-Hat said, though she sounded less certain about it now that she was up against a long, celestial bronze blade. Her claws tensed around her whip, focusing on Percy. Green-Hat crouched on Percy's left side, preparing to pounce; Purple-Hat mirrored her on the other side. They were all distracted.

'Percy, look out!' I warned, and took a flying leap.

I landed on Orange-Hat's back just as she lashed at Percy. At the same time, he swivelled his sword, simultaneously smashing Green-Hat in the face and slicing Purple-Hat into dust.

One down. But I wasn't celebrating. I had Orange-Hat in a choke-hold and she was bucking so hard I could barely hold on, let alone stab her in the back. Her wings batted against me and she snapped her head back and forth, attempting to sink her fangs into my arms. I grabbed hold of her hair for purchase instead. It writhed under my fingers like live snakes. Grover leapt up and snatched her whip.

'Ow!' he cried as it burned his hands, but he didn't let go. He ran it around her ankles: one round, two, three, until she was all wrapped up. I finally dropped her and she toppled to the ground.

'Zeus will destroy you! Hades will have your soul!'

Percy yelled back at her in Latin. Her beady eyes nearly popped right out of her head.

I remembered at last how Athena had persuaded the Furies to give up their vengeance: a mixture of bribery, offering them a role as protectors of justice, and a veiled threat to unleash the thunderbolts of Zeus upon them.

Thunder rumbled. My heart just about stopped.

'Get out now!' I cried.

I would never know if the bolt that struck the bus was Zeus attempting to kill us or my mother persuading him to help us out; either way, the bus exploded right after we dashed out the door.

'Our bags!' Grover cried.

It was too late, though. The bus was a ball of flame around an outraged Fury (no pun intended) who was against all odds still bawling for our blood. I didn't think we should wait around for her to get help.

'Run!' I urged the others. 'She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!'

Neither Percy nor Grover put up any arguments. I stuck my knife back up my sleeve and we ran for our lives. We didn't stop until we were miles away, the burning bus swallowed by the dark night behind us. Grover and Percy slowed first, breathing hard, but adrenalin was still raging through my veins, pushing me on.

'All three,' Grover kept wailing. 'Three Kindly Ones! Three!'

'Need—to—rest—' Percy panted.

'Come on!' I told them. 'The further away we get, the better.' I tugged at their shirts.

'All our money was back there,' Percy moaned. 'Our food and clothes. Everything.'

I stopped dragging him, stung by the underlying accusation. I'd done my best. We were alive. If it hadn't been for my plan—which he hadn't stuck to—we wouldn't even have made it out of there.

'Well,' I shot back, 'maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—'

'What did you want me to do?' he snarled. 'Let you get killed?'

I didn't want to admit that I'd probably needed his help. I wanted to stamp my foto and tell him it was all his fault. I caught myself, though—that wouldn't be fair. 'You didn't need to protect me, Percy,' I said sullenly. 'I would've been fine.'

Grover coughed. 'Sliced like sandwich bread, but fine.'

I turned on him. 'Shut up, goat boy.'

We'd slowed to a walk. I stomped along behind them, angry and bitter. They marched side by side, commiserating about our lost belongings. Stupid boys.

But as we cooled down and my heart stopped racing, my anger faded. I wasn't really angry with Percy, anyway. None of this was his fault. And he was right—Grover and I hadn't been doing too well on our own against the Furies. It was just, that terror I'd felt when I watched the Furies bear down on him … I thought I knew why I'd got more scared when they turned away. I'd already seen that scene play out once before—countless times, if you counted my nightmares—and it scared me more than anything, that feeling of helplessness while a friend gave their life to protect me.

Percy didn't know that, though. And he could have chosen to escape to safety, carry on the quest without us. But he hadn't. I had to admire that.

I jogged up to him. 'Look I …' The swallowed. The words were hard to get out. 'I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave.'

He looked at me. It was dark, but I could tell it was his bemused look, the one he gave me whenever he didn't get something during lessons. 'We're a team, right?'

The simple way he said it took my breath away. As though there was no question about it. It reminded me of being with Thalia and Luke, so many years ago. We're family, right? Except we had left Thalia behind on Half-Blood Hill and then Luke had left me behind two years ago and I didn't really know if I was still his family any more …

We're a team, right? I felt like crying. But I didn't want to, not in front of Percy, so I said instead, 'It's just that if you died … aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean that the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world.' Admittedly, I wasn't feeling so keen on another adventure out in the world so soon after the Furies, but it had been my dream to be able to travel. I still wanted to see the sights described in the books: all the great monuments of the world. With a pang, I remembered my architecture book, incinerated with the rest of our things.

'You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?' Percy said curiously.

'No … only short field trips. My dad—'

'The history professor?'

I blinked in surprise. It still shocked me when Percy remembered little insignificant details like that. 'Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home.' I felt a slight twinge of guilt. I hadn't even thought to let my dad know I was going on a quest. When I'd thought about saying goodbye to family, I'd thought only of Luke. I pushed the guilt aside. Luke was my family. He and Thalia had taken care of me in the real world when my dad couldn't, at least until we got to camp and I started learning to take care of myself. Now I was out here again, with one chance to show if I had the ability to take on the real world. I said, 'At camp you train and train, and that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not.'

And you aren't, are you? A little voice sneered in my head. You didn't stop the hellhound at camp, you couldn't handle the Furies now. You failed … just like you failed Thalia.

'You're pretty good with that knife,' Percy said.

I paused. 'You think so?'

'Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me,' he said staunchly.

I smiled despite myself and decided not to correct him. I guess he'd earned the right to call him by name, after standing up to three Kindly Ones who had been searching for him.

It struck me like an anvil then, the thing that had struck me as odd when the Furies had been looking for Percy. Where is it? they'd said. It, not him. And one of them had said something about a curse …

'You know, maybe I should tell you …' I started to say, 'something funny on the bus …'

Grover blew shrilly into his reed pipes, interrupting me in his excitement. He suggested a 'find path' song and started the tune.

I didn't sense any navigational enlightenment. Percy walked into a tree. I think it was unrelated.

I felt the knot on his head in sympathy, but there wasn't much I could do. Our rations of nectar and ambrosia had been left behind with everything else. All we had were my knife and hat, Percy's pen/sword, and Grover's pipes. Which were not proving to be any use as a GPS.

I decided the first thing we needed when we found civilisation was a good map. Twenty minutes later, I changed my mind; I was beginning to realise how hungry I was after all that Fury-fighting and running. We emerged from the edge of the woods and the smell of fried chicken wafted in the air.

Percy and I looked at each other. I could tell we had the same idea. We sped up immediately, letting our noses lead the way.

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A/N: Finally, they're off! I think I've taken one less chapter than RR to get them there, though, lol. It's certainly getting harder to write alongside canon. You'd think having the plot structure to follow would make things easier, but I really do want to put a fresh spin even when I have to follow canon dialogue. So yeah, all recognisable dialogue is from Lightning Thief, but I hope the narrative is divergent enough that it doesn't feel like the same old thing!

Anyway, NaNo starts this coming week. I'll probably be updating this fic slower during November, but I will endeavour to post a chapter a week, if not one a fortnight!

Thank you to those of you who have reviewed so far, especially allen r for your continued support!