NO! My wonderful vacation is over! I have to go back to school…so I'll deal with it by posting this chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own a picture frame now! But there's no picture in it…

Nico's P.O.V.

As I hopped to my feet, drawing my Stygian iron blade, there was only one thought circling through my brain. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.

I wasn't the only one, though. "Shit!" Leann cursed, jumping up with Sage. "Αποκαλυψη!"she yelled, at the same time that Sage shouted "Εντολή.κοίλα!" Their weapons formed in their hands.

Those weren't the only things that changed, though. Our waitress also undertook a little transformation. The little pigment her skin had drained away until she became as pale as death (What? No, I'm deathly pale, not as pale as death. There's a difference.). Her green eyes changed to a bloody red and her nails extended into talons. Even her legs changed, one becoming donkey-like, while the other changed to bronze.

"Bloody empousa," Sage spat disgustedly.

"Let's not be like that," the said empousa purred, her eyes locked on me. "Why don't you just give me a little kiss, hmm?"

I must admit, there was something very persuasive in the offer. It might have had something to do with her hypnotic crimson eyes…or maybe it was that soothing voice…

"Don't listen to her!" Leann warned, but her voice sounded like it was coming from underwater. "If you do, she'll just suck the life out of you, and Leo and Percy will be next!"

The empousa took her eyes off of me long enough to shoot a glare at Leann. "I don't suck life, you idiot, I drink blood. I just do it in a way that makes it seem like life is slowly being drained out of my victim." She turned her gaze back at me. "So, how 'bout that kiss?"

I probably would have given in, if it weren't for the horrified scream I heard as the mother noticed the monster. I don't know what the mist was showing her, but it clearly wasn't pretty.

The scream jolted me into action. I lunged at the empousa, who dodged with amazing agility. She laughed victoriously, as if she had already won the fight. "Hah! I'm a lot better at this than you would think kiddies! I have had centuries to practice, after all."

Sage made a sour face. "Ew. You're old."

The creature's face contorted with rage. "Why you-!" She lunged at Sage, who managed to block her talons with her scythe. I took the opportunity to slash at the empousa, but only managed to graze her arm as she slipped away once more.

This time, she attacked me, knocking my sword right out of my hands. I backed away as she approached me, smiling. Leann tried to block her, slashing her saber. The empousa dodged with her usual grace. Leann wasn't exactly the most balanced person on earth when she wasn't in the middle of a swing. So it wasn't exactly difficult for the empousa to kick her hard on the back, sending her sprawled on the floor, barely managing not to kill herself with her own weapon. She seemed to be struggling to breath, meaning the empousa had knocked the wind out of her. Still, she barely looked fazed.

As I scrambled for my sword, Sage quickly encircled the empousa with her scythe, so that it would only take one quick yank to end her. Still, she only smiled with amusement. She then gripped the flat of the scythe and vaulted to safety. She even managed to show no hint of pain on her face; though it clearly hurt like hell since her palm was red, raw and smoking.

I snatched up my sword at the same time that the empousa whirled to face me. She lunged at me just as I swung my sword, slicing her straight through the middle. Still even as she began to crumble to sand, she looked like she was the triumphant one.

"You fools have no clue what's in store for you," she rasped. "There's an army…a rather impressive one at that…they're coming for you." She stared at the man in the corner, who hadn't moved this entire time. "In fact, they're already here…" with that, she exploded into sand, which was quickly blown away on an eerie wind that reeked of sulphur.

We only had a second to catch our breath.

The man in the corner booth smiled as he dropped down onto all fours. His face became fuzzy, and hair began sprouting all over his body, which became more feline, until we were looking at a lion with a man's face. Then I noticed the tail, a leathery, spiky tail covered in spikes. I had seen a creature like this once before, and it brought back bitter memories. A manticore.

"Weren't you brats listening?" It growled in the raspy voice of a smoker. "She said, 'Time to die.'" It grinned and flicked its tail, sending a volley of spikes at us, like arrows from a crossbow. I rolled to one side to avoid them, Sage going the other way. Leann, still dazed from the empousa, slid back away from the spikes, ending up sitting under our table.

The manticore I could probably deal with. Even after three hellhounds broke a wall to get into the IHOP I wasn't too worried. But when I saw the monsters outside, just waiting to pour in-dragons and Scythian Dracaena and worse-it became pretty clear what the outcome of a battle would be.

Backing up slowly I whispered to the others. "Sage, at my signal, grab Leo and follow me. Leann, get ready to run."

"No whispering, half-blood!" the manticore growled. "There's no point in making a plan. Nowhere to run." He grinned wickedly. Suddenly, he lunged at us.

"NOW!" I yelled. I grabbed Percy, putting his arm over my shoulder and doing my best to support his weight. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sage do the same. I sprinted off as fast as I could carrying Percy's deadweight. Sage was close behind me. Leann took up the rear, warding off or killing any monster that got too near.

I looked around desperately, trying to find somewhere to hide. I glimpsed a walk-in freezer nearby. I quickly headed over to it and pulled the door open. Dropping Percy's body (Yes, I know I should have been more careful with him, but I panicked), I held the door open and gestured franticly for Sage and Leann to get in. At the moment, the monsters were out of sight, so if we hid, we'd probably get out alive. The two of them slipped into the freezer and I quickly eased the door shut.

Not long after, a shadow passed over the frosty window. We froze (uhg, bad choice of words), holding our breath, as the manticore's voice growled, "Search everywhere. Don't let them get out alive!" After a lot of scuffling, it fell silent. We released our breath.

We were still and silent for a long time after that. No one dared to risk moving or break the silence. Finally, Leann spoke up.

"Nico...I hope you know...you're an idiot."

"What?" I was confused and offended. I thought I had handled the situation pretty well. And she hadn't exactly been sprouting ideas.

"You see, the thing about freezers is...they only open from the outside. We're locked in."

"Want to know the worst part?" Sage asked, sounding miserable. "We never even got to have our pancakes."

Ta-da! That's the end of this chappie! Sorry it took so long to update, I wasn't really feeling into it. Anyways, make sure you review! Laterz!