"We're moving too slowly," Thalia sighed, coming to a stop on the side of the road with her hands on her hips and her head hanging down in a somewhat dejected fashion. Behind her, Bianca, Percy, and Grover all halted, and the Ophiotaurus, which was following them in the water, slowed down, instead choosing to spin around in circles in the water with the occasional flip.
Thalia was right to be concerned. They had been moving for nearly two hours after the battle at the pier, but they had only made it to the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was already beginning to set, and they were running out of precious time; they only had a few hours left before the beginning of the Winter Solstice.
"The Ophiotaurus is slowing us down too much," Bianca quietly said, looking at the creature as it played in the water.
"Wait!" Grover suddenly spoke up, causing his friends to turn towards him as he looked at Bessie. "The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?" Seeing Percy nod, the satyr continued. "Well, we can prod him back to Long Island Sound, and Chiron can help him from there."
"But he was following me," Percy replied, unsure of how they would prod, so to speak, the Ophiotaurus all the way to the other side of the continent. "How would we get him there alone?" As if to agree with Percy's sentiment, the Ophiotaurus mooed forlornly, its eyes wide as it looked at the four questers.
There was a silence that stretched to nearly a minute before Grover cleared his throat. "I'll go with him. To lead him to Olympus."
Percy stared at his hooved friend in near-shock. Grover was infamously scared of going into water, and yet, here he was, ready to accompany a sea creature on a cross-continent sea trip.
"Are you sure?" Percy asked hesitantly.
"Yeah," Grover said, his voice hard and his head nodding. "I'm the only one who can talk with him. It's the only option." Grover turned to the sea again, and he paled as he viewed the wide expanse that was the Pacific, but with a gulp, he leaned in to the Bessie and whispered into his ear. The Ophiotaurus shivered before making a low, contented sound as it sank a little lower into the water.
"That was the blessing of the Wild," Grover quietly said, still looking queasily at the ocean. "That should help us with safe passage. Percy, pray to your dad as well. See if he will grant us safe passage through the sea."
Percy nodded, and stared at the waves as it crashed upon the shore, tuning everything else out. All that existed was the clear sight of the water, the salty smell of the sea, and the gentle sound of the waves.
"Dad," he whispered, his voice barely audible to his friends. "Please keep Grover and the Ophiotaurus safe. Bring them to the camp. Protect them." There was a pause before a hand, softly laid on his shoulder, brought him back to reality.
"A prayer like that," Thalia said, "needs a sacrifice. Something big."
The son of Poseidon nodded, looking at the ground before sliding his coat off his shoulders. As Percy did so, the coat reverted back to its original form, the fur eerily reminiscent of the Nemean Lion that they had fought not long ago. With a glance, he tossed it into the water, watching it float for a few seconds before sinking beneath the waterline. The lion skin seemed to dissolve into light, and with that, the breeze unnaturally picked up. A sign.
"Percy," Grover slowly began, "that was the Nemean Lion's skin. Even Hercules used it."
Percy took a deep breath before replying. "If I'm – no, if we're going to survive, it's not because I had a lion skin coat. I'm not Hercules." He winced as he remembered how he had said those exact words to Zoë just a few days past. It felt like an eternity ago – they had lost so much on the way.
Grover nodded. There wasn't much else to say – either way, the coat was gone already.
"I'll be off, then," the satyr said, jumping into the water. "No time to waste." He shot a last look at Percy and Thalia, before sparing one last glance and grin at Bianca before he took hold around Bessie's neck, the Ophiotaurus offering a ride to the fearful satyr.
"Be careful, G-man," Percy said, wishing the best for his friend.
"We will." And with that, satyr and Ophiotaurus alike disappeared underneath the water, their trail showing a speedy journey before it disappeared into the waves.
"Well, that solves that problem," Thalia said, as the other two demigods looked at her.
"We still need a car, though," Percy replied, Bianca nodding in agreement with him.
"Should we just steal one?" Bianca asked, causing the two older demigods to look at her. Percy looked as if he was about to shoot down the proposal, but he sighed instead and looked at Thalia, who had become the de facto leader of their quest after they lost Zoë. She looked conflicted between the obvious need for a vehicle and the moral quandary presented by stealing one, even in their dire circumstances. Suddenly, her eyes brightened, and she swung around her backpack to look for something, shifting through the various items she had in there to find what she wanted.
"Wait," she hurriedly said to her companions, before pulling out a small piece of crumpled paper. "I think I have a better option."
"You know someone in San Francisco?" Percy asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah," she replied. "Frederick Chase. Annabeth's dad.
Percy leaned against the front seat passenger's window of the Chases' yellow convertible Volkswagen, watching the landscape roll past as the sun crept ever closer to setting. As usual, Thalia drove, and in the backseat, Bianca sat quietly, looking out much like Percy was.
Frederick Chase was… an odd man, Percy felt. The professor was certainly eccentric. Between his World War I models and the fact that he had an actual working biplane, Frederick Chase was extremely enthusiastic about things that most would not care the slightest about. This oddness, however, did not mean that the good professor wasn't a good man – from what Percy had seen, Frederick Chase seemed like an intelligent man, a reasonable parent, and a caring father. All in all, very much a different picture than the one that Annabeth had painted of her father many years ago. The easiest explanation, and the most likely was that the man had come to terms with what his daughter represented. A world beneath the world, one that he inevitably had a foot in but would never be able to engage with.
Pulling himself back to reality, Percy looked at where they were going. Tamalpais loomed in front of them, and he could feel the uncomfortable knot of dread begin to weave itself in his stomach. This was going to be it. The final battle where the fate of the world could be determined. They had to win, or they risked the loss of both Annabeth and Artemis as well as the beginning of a war.
Suddenly, Percy shifted upright, staring out of the window.
"Look," he whispered, and Thalia spared a glance while Bianca stared. It was a big white cruise ship, docked at the beach.
"Is that Luke's ship?" Thalia whispered. Percy didn't want to believe that it was, but he knew better. That was why Luke had sent Princess Andromeda all the way through the Panama Canal. He had brought his legions of monsters to the shores of California.''
"Yeah," Percy quietly whispered. "Which means we'll have to fight some monsters. And Luke." The last sentence was nearly inaudible, but Thalia seemed to have heard it, because she tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she solely focused forward.
"The Mist is getting really thick," she muttered, keeping her attention on the road and off the hordes of monsters assembling at the base of the mountain – or on the fact that Luke was there with those monsters.
Percy opened his mouth to reply when Thalia suddenly stiffened and slammed on the breaks, sending them all forward to strain against their seatbelts.
"Out!" Thalia yelled, and the three demigods all scrambled out of their seats and into the road as a flash of lightning flared across Percy's vision. A large boom accompanied the flash as a thunderbolt struck the yellow Volkswagen, causing it to erupt like a grenade. Percy and Bianca, who were both on the same side of the car, were sent flying back as pieces of debris and shrapnel flew through the air.
"Agh," Percy groaned, rolling over. He screamed as he tried to move his left arm. Shaking, he turned his head to his left side, where he saw a small piece of metal sticking out of his upper left arm. With a cry, he pulled it off, letting the blood gush as he tossed away the piece of shrapnel. Pulling himself up, he stumbled over to Bianca, who lay still on the ground.
"Bianca," Percy said out loud, and the young Hunter stirred. She was in little better condition than him, but she, thankfully, had no debris that had hit her, meaning she was in an overall better condition than he was.
"Thalia," Percy whispered, his voice still hoarse from the acidic air that dried his throat. The son of Poseidon wandered to the other side of the flaming wreck. It was considerably more destroyed, with some of the road also cracked and smashed. The trees by the side of the road burned as the fires from the explosion found fuel.
"Thalia!" Percy yelled as loudly as he could. There was movement some thirty feet away by a tree, and Percy rushed over to see the daughter of Zeus cough as she retracted her shield. Still, she lay on the ground, breathing deeply her electric blue eyes stared accusingly at the sky.
"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Thalia muttered, her tone hard. "Curse you. You would destroy me?"
Percy looked taken aback by the venom in her tone before he realized that she assumed it was Zeus that had just flung a lightning bolt at them.
"There's no way that could've been Zeus' lightning bolt." Those accusing blue eyes locked onto him.
"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded, her tone angry and sharp.
"I don't know. Maybe it was Kronos. It's something he would do to make you lose faith in your father, to split the two of you up. He's trying to manipulate you." Thalia looked away, her eyes still burning. Still, when Percy extended his hand, Thalia took it.
With a tug, Percy helped Thalia back onto her feet, and once he had gotten Bianca onto her feet as well, the three set off again, Percy walking beside Thalia while Bianca followed closely behind.
"Stay close," Thalia said to the two demigods following her as they went deeper into the Mist. At this point, the sun was barely over the horizon, little more than a sliver of light that made the water of the ocean sparkle as it went down. As the sun crept those last few inches on the horizon, the path in front of us cleared, becoming one solid path.
And beyond that path was a lush garden, an Eden of the west. Fruits lined the trees of the meadow, most notably the golden apples that gleamed and shined in the remaining light. The grass was a rich green, vibrant and thick, and flowers were everywhere in every color.
There was also a dragon, and it breathed heavily as it slumbered, its every snore multiplied by the many heads it had. Its scales were shiny and hard – Percy doubted Riptide could stab through it if push came to shove.
Before any of the demigods could figure out what to do, or how to get around the massive dragon, an eerie, yet beautiful, singing filled the air, chilling Percy to his core and making every hair on his body stand up. An unnatural singing, one that sounded ancient and probably was. He pulled out Riptide, keeping it in its pen form but with its cap half-off.
Four figures faded into appearance in front of them. Each wore Greek clothing. Their skin was like caramel. Their hair was like silk, black and lustrous. They were all beautiful, and they carried themselves like royalty, haughtily looking upon the three demigods that had inadvertently stumbled into their realm.
"Three half-bloods, one a Hunter," one spoke, her voice having an ethereal quality. "You shall all die soon."
Percy snarled, and he nearly uncapped Riptide then and there, but before he could retort, a familiar voice rang out behind him.
"I think not." The demigods turned.
Zoë Nightshade, lieutenant of Artemis, stood resolutely at the gates of the garden.
The Hunter looked somewhat worse for wear. Her clothes were dirtied and somewhat more ragged than they had been when they had last saw her, but she still carried her bow and a quiver of arrows. Her expression was ambiguous.
"Sisters," she said, looking at the four Hesperides in front of them as she strode up to where Percy, Thalia, and Bianca stood. The former two were very much surprised by her appearance, while the latter one stood still, shocked by the elder Hunter's appearance.
"You are no sister of ours," another of the Hesperides snarled, her voice harsh.
Zoë looked impassive at this and continued on. "We must continue onwards to the mountain."
"You know that he will kill you. Why do you struggle?"
"We must free Artemis," Zoë continued as if none of the sisters had spoken up. "You will not stop us."
"You have no right to be here," the fourth sister spoke. "All we have to do is cry for help, and Ladon will awake."
Zoë laughed, before yelling, "Ladon!" This cry shocked the Hesperides sisters, who all cried in fear as they stumbled back.
"You fool!" one of them yelled. "You will die! You have no control over him!"
The Hunter calmly walked towards the awakening dragon, its many eyes focusing on the woman walking towards him.
"He will remember me. Don't you, my little dragon?" Ladon looked confused as Zoë approached, some heads unsure of what to do.
"It's me, my little dragon," Zoë continued, ignoring the yelps from the Hesperides. With one hand behind her back, she gestured to the other demigods to move. Thalia took the lead and dragged Bianca, with Percy following close behind, by the edge of the garden, making sure to keep as far away from the golden tree and Ladon as possible. They had almost made it out when Percy felt the atmosphere change.
Ladon lunged at Zoë, and she barely dodged it, backing away fast enough to escape the dragon's sharp, slashing fangs as she ran towards her fellow questers. Percy pulled out Riptide, his sword ready to help, but Zoë waved it away as she ran towards them.
"No! Just run!" she yelled, sprinting as fast as she could out of the garden. The other demigods followed, and Ladon gave up on the chase, returning to the golden tree as the Hesperides continued their song.
The song was morbid now. Fitting for the end of the quest, for it would end one way or another at the summit of Mount Tamalpais.
A/N: The next chapter will be the end of "The Titan's Curse" arc.