Sorry for updating late. I know, I know. I said I was going to update earlier, but I have a good excuse. I got wasted. Yeah, that's right. Me and my friends were reviewing. And to clear the stress, one of us decided to grab a few bottles. Soon enough, we got carried away. I kinda lost count after 6. LOL.

Anyway, as usual, thank you readers and also those who care enough to review.

And now, here is the update. A lot of addition to the plot in this one. And it's getting very interesting. :)

DISCLAIMER: I'm kinda getting tired of this. But, anyway, I do not own anything.


Chapter 9: Welcome to Smallville.


A small town, or what is left of it. Half-demolished buildings stood from block to block, ashes from scorched houses were being carried by the wind, metal scraps and pieces of wood were scattered everywhere, a water tank was laid down on the street, and the most disturbing of all, there were huge craters on the ground. It looked like a meteor shower took place here months ago, and no one out of town was aware of it. The only thing that stood unharmed was the welcome sign a few feet away from us. I tried to read it but I couldn't make out the words.

I pointed at it and asked Grover, "What does it say?"

"Welcome to Smallville."


"It doesn't look pretty welcoming to me," Nico said as we surveyed the area.

"Smallville," I muttered. I know I've read that somewhere before, I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"So, uh, should we check it out?" Thalia asked. We all turned to Grover who was busy crunching a tin can. He appeared to be very jumpy.

"Blah-ha-ha," he bleated when he finally realized we were staring at him. "What do you want?"

We all glared at him. "Oh, right. Well, the place is completely deserted, I think. There are no monsters, that's for sure. But this isn't the wild, so I'm not entirely certain if it's safe," he finished nervously as he started to munch another one of his tin cans.

"What do you think, Perce?" Thalia turned to me.

"We did end up here. And I think there's a reason for that. We should definitely check it out," I stated. "In the morning."

"Is Perseus Jackson, the hero of Olympus, afraid of the dark?" Nico teased.

"Am not!" I insisted. "It's just... this place is totally creeping me out. Besides, we can look around a lot better if it's bright," I reasoned out.

"I don't really mind looking around while it's dark. But I have to agree with the creeping-me-out thing," Thalia said.

We decided to camp for the night. I parked the truck right next to the road as the others gathered piles of wood from the nearest burnt down houses. No one wanted to go any further. I mean, who would even want to go exploring a deserted ghost town- that looked a lot like it was overrun by meteors- in the dark. If you think it's fun, then I think you're Nico's long lost soulmate.

We settled around the piles of wood as Thalia zapped them with her all-so-magnificent-lightning powers to start a campfire. She produced three sleeping bags from her enchanted backpack and distributed them to us. She grabbed another one from her backpack with a foam mattress for herself.

"Hey, that's so unfair," Nico complained.

"If you think it's so unfair, then I think I will take back that sleeping bag and you can go get your own."

Nico muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. "What?" Thalia glowered with a very dangerous edge to her voice. She definitely got that from Zeus.

"N-Nothing," Nico stammered.

"Are you sure?" Thalia asked with the same edge still in her voice.

Nico nodded rapidly and it looked like his head was about to come off any second. I rolled my eyes as Thalia smirked. "That's more like it."

"So, what do you guys think happened here anyway?" Grover asked. None of us really had any idea. This was more of Annabeth's expertise. We all kept silent. I know we were all thinking the same thing.

"I wish she was here," Thalia finally spoke up, breaking the silence. We nodded in agreement. Thinking of Annabeth right now wasn't really helping. It just made me feel a lot worse.

I kept my gaze on the fire, trying to think of the things that have happened. I don't really do these kind of stuffs, you know, thinking. But right now, it was the only thing I can do. Grover, Thalia, and Nico were talking about something, but all I could hear was the crackling sound of the campfire.

I don't remember how long it took me, but soon enough, I fell asleep. After two dreamless sleeps, they finally found their way this time.

In my dream, I was overlooking miles and miles of grasslands. There were groves of trees, wheat fields, and cornfields scattered all around. I was standing on a wooden board that was attached on a windmill. I felt the cold wind of the night brush through my body. I gazed up at the stars, and the full moon. Then I noticed that there was another source of light coming from the horizon.

Light was coming from what I identified as a small town a few miles away. There were small brick buildings and wooden houses everywhere. Right by the edge of town was a small school. There was a large town hall right at the center of town, and in front of it was a spacious park. Beside the town hall was a tall water tank. I gasped as I recognized the town. I was looking at Smallville when it was still in existence.

Suddenly, a blinding light was coming from the sky. I looked up to see stars shining brightly. They were slowly getting big, and I could feel the heat as they drew nearer. When I finally realized what was happening, large burning rock debris started to crash on Smallville. Meteor shower. As fast as the rocks landed on the small town, Smallville was, to put it simply, no more. Smoke curled up from the remains.

When I finally thought it was over, the sky shined brighter than ever. I gaped up just in time to see another one. But this was different. It looked more like a comet. A shooting star. The view was amazing, except for the fact that it was hurtling towards me. It crashed just a few feet away from me, leaving a large crater right in front of the windmill. Thick smoke covered whatever was in the middle of the crater. I tried to focus on what it is as it slowly shone brightly, then there was a blinding flash. And my dream shifted.

This time, I was in a small dark room. It was enclosed by brick walls at all sides. After a few seconds, my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, I noticed a body scrunched up in the corner. I slowly approached it and I choked when I saw the face. Her face.

"Annabeth," I whispered. Her eyes widened, which meant she felt my presence. She gazed around for a while. I guess she couldn't see me.

When she finally found me, she stared deep into my eyes. I missed looking at her startling gray eyes. I kneeled right next to her and ran my hand through her hair. She slowly smiled but it instantly faded. "You shouldn't be here, Percy. You have to go. Now," she insisted.

I shook my head. "I can't leave you. Not like this," I said, my voice quivering.

"You have to. They're going to kill you when they find you. I-I can't live with that," she finished, reaching out and holding my other hand.

I was slowly brushing her cheeks when her gaze turned towards behind my shoulder. Before I could react, I felt pain surge through my body. Something hard has hit me in the soft spot of my back.

"Perrrcy!" Annabeth bleated. Wait. What? Annabeth bleated?

"Perrrcy!" Grover bleated, shaking me to wake up.

My eyes jolted open. It was just a dream, but I could still feel the pain coming from my back. I slowly reached behind me and grabbed the thing that was stinging me. I probably rolled out of my sleeping bag and stumbled upon this small rock that hit me right at my Achilles' heel.

"Ugh," I groaned, throwing the rock.

"Are you okay?" Grover asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said as I stood up, brushing my shirt and jeans. Apollo's chariot was already high above the sky, which meant it was late in the morning. I glanced around. We were surrounded by long grasslands. And just by the outskirts of town, something caught my eye. A windmill.

"So, uh, where are Thalia and Nico?" I asked, turning back to Grover.

"They already started strolling around the town. I stayed behind to wait for you," he replied.

"Oh. Thanks," I smiled. He stared at me with concern all over his face. "I'm fine," I assured him.

He nodded, but I know he wasn't convinced. I was still a bit shaken from my dream, and he can feel it. Watching the meteor shower destroy the small town of Smallville was very disturbing. I wondered how many mortals were there when it occurred. The thought of innocent mortals getting mixed up with the problems of "Western Civilization" made my heart twist. They didn't deserve such bad luck.

"Percy," Grover called.

"Uh, yeah. What?" I blinked.

"Do you want to follow them?" he asked.

"You can go ahead. I just need to go and check something first," I answered. The lone star that crashed on the outskirts of town by the windmill made me wonder. I needed to check the crash site to see if my dream was correct. Grover studied my face first before nodding.

The windmill was about ten miles from the town. When I finally reached the clearing, I was half hoping not to see a crater. But to my dismay, there it was, just about the size of Charybdis' mouth. At first glance, it just looked like any ordinary crater you see everyday when you decide to knock your head onto the wall because you forgot to be on time to meet your always-on-time-very-punctual-regularly-follows-her-schedule girlfriend. Just a thousand times larger.

I was about to turn around when I noticed something. Two somethings actually. They looked like two small orbs placed right at the center of the crater. They were glowing faintly because of the sunlight. I slid down the crater to pick them up. Now, you may be thinking, way to go Percy. Just go and pick up two glowing orbs in the middle of a crater that a possible shooting star created. They're completely harmless. But hey, I've faced way more dangerous stuff before. Two glowing orbs are far down on my list of the most freaking things I've ever seen.

I picked up the orbs that were just the size of billiard balls, and to my surprise, they were soft. Squishy to be more specific. I've been very stressed lately, so give me some slack if I decide to take my time squeezing the balls with my hands. I was actually enjoying myself. I don't know how much time has passed but I eventually decided to check back with the others. I placed a ball in each of my front pockets and made my way back to town.

During daylight, the damage to the town can be seen very clearly. It looked just like that time when I accidentally stumbled on Annabeth's architectural model of camp. But this was life-size. The air smelled of burnt wood and something that I know but didn't want to think about it.

I took my time wandering about the town. I noticed a few bones that were covered with piles of bricks and wood. I guess there were people staying here when it happened. I tried to think of what they could've done to deserve such cruel fates.

I finally found Grover, Thalia, and Nico slumped on the grass in a wide clearing. From what I remember in my dream, this is the park, or what used to be the park.

"Kelp Face, where have you been?" Thalia asked exasperated.

I flopped down next to them and explained my dream, but I left the part out about seeing Annabeth.

"Huh. A meteor shower," Thalia wondered.

"Yeah. Weird, right?" I said.

"But why did you go out of town?" Grover asked.

"There was this other one which was a little different from the others, and it crashed right beside the windmill where I was overlooking everything. In my dream, I felt a presence coming from it. Like... like it was alive," I slowly spoke. "Obviously, I had to check it out," I finished.

"You're not talking about aliens, right? Now that would definitely be creepy," Nico said spookily. We all shuddered at the thought.

"Well, did you find anything?" Thalia asked.

I grabbed the two orbs from my pockets and tossed each to Thalia and Nico. "Here."

When Thalia caught it, she immediately passed it to Grover. "Ew... It's slimy."

"What is this?" Grover asked as he squeezed the orb. Nico was grinning when he squeezed his. I tried to avoid about thinking what was going on his mind. This kid has issues.

"I have absolutely no idea," I said. "I found them at the crash site."

"Great job, Seaweed Brain. Just go and pick up some strange items that probably came from the sky," Thalia mocked. I glared at her as she stuck her tongue out.

"Anyway, do you still have some acorns?" I asked, turning to Grover.

He nodded. "Of course! I never run out of them," he said delightfully, grabbing some out of his shoulder bag. He threw them in the air and they landed on the ground. But before he could start playing with his pipes, the scent in the air changed. Our bodies stiffened as we caught the smell.

"What is that?" Nico asked dreamily as he smelled the sweet aroma in the air. It felt like we were all being hypnotized. I tried to hold my breath but the scent was too tempting.

"Food..." Grover mumbled as his head swayed uncontrollably.

"It's-it's..." Thalia mumbled until she fell unconscious on the ground. Nico and Grover followed suit. I straightened my body, but I couldn't hold my eyes from closing. The last thing I could remember was seeing Annabeth smiling at me before drifting into unconsciousness. And I was rewarded with a dream.

I was back at the temple where Krios was staying. He now had a throne right at the center. His war helm, with a ram's horn curling on either side, rested on his lap. The only light in the room were coming from his pale glow and the torches on the pillars. With the faint light, I could easily see the crumbled pillars on the floor and pews turned upside down on the sides. Then I realized something. It wasn't a temple. It was a church.

Krios was sitting on his throne as a dracaenae approached him and squatted.

"Speak," Krios ordered.

"The trap hasss been ssset, my lord," the dracaenae informed him.

"And Laelaps?" he asked sternly.

"He hasss recovered. He isss on hisss way."

"Nice. Very nice, indeed," he laughed evilly. Just then, a loud howl pierced the echoing of his laugh in the hall.

I woke up just as Nico slapped me. I looked at his very amused face. "I never get enough of that," he smirked. I rolled my eyes. Even though I couldn't feel any pain, thank you invulnerability, the sudden jerk of my head still fazes me.

It was already dark. We were out cold for a few hours. I sat upright to see Thalia and Grover rubbing their heads. "What happened?" Thalia asked a little disconcerted.

"It was a trap. I think it was some sort of sleeping gas," I said as I explained to them my dream.

"And Laelaps. He's-" I started but Grover cut me off.

"He's near," he said, his eyes widening. "He's coming. Fast. Very fast." He started chattering his teeth as soon as he finished.

"Let's go," I said urgently. I started to run for the truck when Thalia grabbed my shoulder.

"We can't use the truck. There's no way to get it pass through the town," she said.

"And he's coming from that direction. We have to run," Grover added, his voice quivering.

"We won't be able to outrun him. You know that," I said. Thalia's face became white.

"We'll have to face him," she stated, looking away. I glanced at Nico as he looked down, his face very pale. We all knew we had no chance to stand against Laelaps. For Zeus' sake! He's completely invulnerable.

I approached him. "Can you shadow travel all of us?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Taking one is already very risky. Two, with sheer luck. Three, impossible."

"Can't we try?"

"No," he said morosely. "We can't risk losing someone forever in the shadow world. They will never be found again."

I sighed. I tried to think of any more ideas, but just my luck, I had no more time. Laelaps howled as he jumped on top of a crumbled building.

I drew Riptide as Thalia and Nico drew their weapons. I glanced at each one of them, they tried to look strong, but I knew them well enough to know that they were both shaking in the inside. When I turned to Grover, his eyes were wide, but this was one of those moments where he smelled very good enchiladas, or he had a great idea. I hoped it was the latter.

"What is it?" I whispered. Before Grover could answer, Laelaps started to charge. We planned on charging back but Grover stopped us.

"No. We have to run," he stated anxiously.

We all looked at him bemused. "What?"

"Just go!" he insisted. At first, we hesitated. But after seeing Laelaps nearing, we decided to go for running away.

"What exactly is wrong with your head, goat boy?" Thalia sneered as we ran towards the cornfield.

"Blah-ha-ha," he bleated angrily. "For your information, I have a great idea!"

"Grover!" I yelled as I heard Laelaps drawing nearer.

"Oh, right. Percy, you should shadow travel with Nico. Thalia and I will stay behind."

"What?" the three of us shouted.

"That is your great idea? To kill us?" Thalia asked infuriated.

"He won't kill us," Grover stated.

"Grover. Please explain. Now," I said trying to control my voice. We were running for our lives, and here we were arguing.

"He... he's just after you, Percy," he said, trying to catch his breath. "He won't harm us as long as we don't stand in his way."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Well, for one thing, he keeps saying Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson. That means he's after you. And another thing he's saying, Jackson Percy, Jackson Percy, Jackson Percy. That assures us you're he's only target. He sure is dumb."

I tried to laugh but it wasn't exactly the best time. I turned to Thalia. "What do you think?"

She scowled. She didn't like the idea, but she agreed anyway. "Go."

"Will you guys be fine?" I asked.

"Yes, Kelp Head. We'll use the truck. Just go," she insisted.

"Oh, and don't forget our bags," I smiled.

She glared at me, gritting her teeth. "Go!" I nodded and caught up with Nico who was running ahead.

"Nico," I said, running beside him.

"We're really going to go with this, huh," he answered.

"Yeah."

He nodded. He grabbed my arm and we jumped through the shadows of the cornfield. I took one glance behind me to see Grover and Thalia stopping before we shifted into the shadows. After tens of times shadow traveling, I still couldn't get used to the rush. When we finally shifted back to the real world, we crashed onto a wall and fell back on the ground.

"Ow. I hate it when that happens," Nico grumbled.

"Nico?" a familiar voice asked. "And... Percy?" she asked as her face hovered above me, her red hair falling on her face.

"Hey, Rachel."


AN: Finally, I've fitted Rachel into the story. The next chapter will be awesome. Yeah, I, myself, am excited. 'Cause (SPOILER), there will be a prophecy!

I hope you get the idea why I used Smallville. You know, the meteor shower. And the one that felt alive? Okay, if you don't get the point, never mind.

Anyway, a few notes (again), the windmill (if you're familiar with Smallville) is the one in Chandler's field. The view is amazing. I think the best view from the windmill is the one from Season 4 Episode 20: Ageless.

I'll try to update soon. The next chapter is still under works.

That's it. Please review!