Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, even though I want to. That would be cool.
A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed! If you actually log in to review, you know, I will actually reply individually. As it is, I thank you over and over if you reviewed, and even more if I didn't reply. I can't remember which ones I did and which ones I didn't. There most likely will not be another one for a while, and it's taken me a long time to get this one up and running for you. Maybe by next weekend? I'm thinking once a week would be good, until school is over. And...You're welcome! REVIEW!!!
We kept Nico quiet throughout the rest of breakfast by telling him that if he said another word, we wouldn't take him with us. The moment that threat left Annabeth's lips, he was as silent as the grave. And believe me, he was good at it. It was eerie.
Annabeth, Nico, and I escaped from the mess hall before everyone was finished, so we wouldn't have to meet the curious gazes that were directed our way. Most of them came from the Aphrodite table. I was sure that they were loving this. I ducked my head and hurried out.
"And where are we going?" Nico asked. I shrugged.
"I'm assuming the west. Again. 'What you want most is the hardest to get. To pass through the land of the wild one, repay your debt. Not everyone will leave the valley of the dead, and beware of those whose toes you tread' is what the Oracle told me."
"That sounds right," Annabeth mused. "The valley of the dead must be in the west, and is probably the Underworld. We can head in that general direction to begin with."
"I agree. And I promise that my father won't try to kill you," Nico stated. "You've helped me quite a bit, if I look really hard"—Annabeth laughed—"so I asked him to cut you a break. I mean, you've already ticked off Ares and Athena, so I figured that you could have one less god on your mind who may or may not wish to blow you to cinders."
"Thanks, Nico," I said sarcastically. "That really boosts my self-esteem." Nico grinned.
"Time to get going." Annabeth worried her father's college ring that was on her camp necklace. I remembered that mine was in the bottom compartment in my backpack. I would have to find it again, and get something to weigh the front down. When I had worn it, it had always twisted around, so it looked like there was just a piece of rope strangling me.
"In a hurry?" Nico mumbled under his breath as she stalked ahead, going towards the cabins to grab her things. I made a face and followed after her, but she was too far ahead already for it to be worth anything when I caught up. Instead, I tried to hurry so she wouldn't be too jumpy about being late or some other nonsense. Concentrating on not falling up the step to my cabin, I went through the door and gathered up my backpack again, but not before I had retrieved my camp necklace from the proper compartment.
Tying it behind my neck, I tucked it under my coat as I left and jogged over to where Annabeth was standing, Nico saying something to her, Cetus panting at his feet.
"...I think it could work," he finished. Great, my slowness made me miss the whole conversation. I rolled my eyes.
"Are we going now?" I wondered, raising my eyebrows.
"Obviously. Come on," Annabeth replied, heading off towards the hill, where Argus was waiting to drive us into the city. Annabeth and I climbed into the back, but with our backpacks and a hellhound in the back, too, there was no extra room for Nico. He climbed into the front and deposited his backpack on the floor, kicked back and relaxed as we drove into the crowded city, towards the subway station. Flying would be faster, but we—I mean I—never had that option. I doubt that Zeus would be kind enough to let me slide, even once.
I took in the grand sights as Annabeth went on about architectural structures, and I paid attention to the first three seconds, until she started using words that wouldn't register very well in my brain. I was surprised that Nico asked a few questions, and Annabeth responded happily.
I almost fell asleep in the car, but Argus stopped on the side of the road where the staircase for the subway disappeared into the ground. Annabeth shook my shoulder to make me get out so she wouldn't be flattened to a pancake by the cars whizzing past faster than the speed limit allowed.
"Come on, Percy, move it," she encouraged. It was amazing that she look cute while growling at me and climbing over the seat. But then again, she looked cute in battle armor as well, which not many people were capable of doing, even the Aphrodite kids.
We shouldered our backpacks—again—and quickly descended down the stairs, acting as if we knew exactly where we were going. Cetus trotted alongside us, probably looking like a black lab. And I had no idea where we were; the maps of the underground trains had always confused me. But Annabeth did understand, as always, so I let her lead the way. Staring around the place, I didn't notice anything unusual, which made me jumpy. Normally, creatures and monsters were just itching to pick a fight with me. Cetus growled randomly, and I petted his head affectionately.
"You feel that?" Nico asked, accidentally stepping on my foot. If he wouldn't have been carrying a twenty-pound backpack on top of his weight, I wouldn't have noticed too much.
"Um, you stepping on my foot?" I replied, pointedly looking down at my foot. He apologized and moved his foot. "No, it feels calm...like the calm before a storm," I said, answering his question.
"Yeah, I--" Whatever he had been going to say was cut off by a screeching Harpy. Told you that the monsters just loved me.
That thing was hideous, and I felt bad knowing that it was a female. Monsters shouldn't have to look so ugly—it only gave little children nightmares—and I knew that it probably thought that Medusa looked better, which she did. It was really pitiful.
Apart from the looks, its curved talons snatched at the air right above my head as I crouched, pulling out Riptide, but keeping it concealed so no one would think it was a gun and scream and call the police. As she swooped low again, I slashed at her legs, and one came off, oozing some dark liquid, more brown-black than pure black. Nico shuddered as he got a few drops sprayed on him.
The stupid Harpy screeched again, and it very nearly made my ears bleed.
"Duck!" I recognized Annabeth's voice, and I ducked just in time. A bronze knife flew through the air and landed in the Harpy's chest, and, as always, she burst into ash.
"I hate those monsters the worst, I think. Give me a minotaur any day. She was terrible at singing. Briefly, I wondered what Simon Cowell would think of someone with her voice. Flying cups and some throat-ripping summed it up pretty well.
Annabeth retrieved her knife from Cetus's mouth, and wiped it off on my coat quickly, before I had time to protest. "Your dog," she mumbled. I shrugged. We'd be in warmer climates soon enough, and I'd be able to shed my outer layers and wash them.
We made it onto the subway without further incident, and I was grateful. Even though I hadn't really fought the Harpy, I was feeling weary. Being woken early in the morning, traveling to camp and walking all around, and then fighting off a monster of the dead wasn't something that I liked very much. I thought that I should at least get a good night's sleep first. Everything else I could deal with it.
Annabeth and I caught up with Nico on the train, and he talked about how his father had treated him, with kind respect but definitely not favoritism. That was something that was seriously bad, a god naming a favorite, even though Poseidon had told me that I was his favorite son on my fifteenth birthday before evaporating into sea spray. Probably because I was the only half-blood alive and not a Cyclops. Well, whatever brownie points you can earn...
The ride was long and dark, and we had to keep switching trains every half hour. Eventually, there were no more subways to take, so we made our way out into the real world, where there was sunlight, which I had really begun to miss. Ever since that Labyrinth quest, I had become very fond of the sun and all the wonders that it holds. Like, I could actually see where I was going, and there were others things besides monsters and other people that wanted to kill me or see me fail miserably.
To say the least, I was never going down there again if I could help it, and I'm sure that Annabeth agreed.
"Oh, Styx," Annabeth cursed, stopping in her tracks. Nico, who wasn't paying attention, plowed right into her. "The next train out of here isn't for three days, and we can't take a taxi, either. We don't have those infinite casino cards anymore."
I could see her point. It was definitely not good, and I had no idea where we were, as usual. But it seemed somewhat like it could be made into a western film. And where there were cowboys in the film, there were...
"Horses," I replied simply.
They weren't too pleased with my ingenious idea when they got saddle-sores after a few hours.
