A/N: Hiya, readers! I'd like to thank my reviewers:

Katydid7131

PercyJacksonPossed

Tridentbonez313

Clearspring2009

You guys rock and keep on reviewing! Thank you soooooo much for your support!

Percy: You know, they're only reviewing because you threatened to kill me!

Me: Narcissistic much! Plus, how many times do I have to tell you to shut up, Jackson! Oh, and, because I'm a nice person, I'm updating even though no one had any ideas! You tried and that's all that matters! Plus my best friend helped me out a little bit! Thanks, unnamed best friend! You know who you are!

Lucy's POV:

After another five minutes (which felt like five hours) of waiting for them, Percy and Nico finally burst out of Percy's room. "What took you two so long?" I asked impatiently.

"Sorry, Lucy, I couldn't find my wallet," replied Percy calmly like he was talking to a little kid having a tantrum. I ignored his tone and went on.

"Why do you need your wallet?" I continued questioning him. He smiled mischievously. Uh-oh. What is he up to?

"I'm driving," he answered simply. I groaned.

"Great, we're gonna be dead before we even start the quest!" I exclaimed sarcastically. Percy's mischievous smile vanished and he rolled his eyes at me. When did he start to treat me like such a child?

"So, where're we startin', Lucy?" asked Thalia to break the awkward silence that was sneaking up on us.

"Uh, well I guess we should avoid forests like Annabeth said. Soooooo are there any forests around here?" I asked uncertainly. Even now that I knew I could lead this quest, I still didn't exactly have a plan.

"Yeah, down the block, but why are we avoiding forests?" responded Percy.

"Lucy had a dream that she died in a forest, and since she's a descendent of Apollo, we don't want to take any chances," answered Annabeth in a surprisingly calm voice.

"You mean like a vision?" asked Nico.

"You could call it that…" answered Annabeth. I took a deep breath.

"Okay, so how are we going to get to San Francisco? We can't take a plane, but it would take way too long to drive all the way there…" I mumbled, more to myself than anyone else. I took a deep sigh and bit down on my lip again. Then it came to me. Now that I'd thought of it, it seemed so obvious! "A train! We'll take a train to San Francisco!"

"Okay, soooo I'll drive all of us to the train station… and we'll think of a plan along the way," suggested Percy.

"Yup," I agreed loudly, popping the "p".

At the train station, we bought our tickets from the ticket counter, and we all glanced nervously at the screen telling the times for the trains and where they were going. We decided we were going to take a train half way to San Francisco, then find another means of transport to get the rest of the way there. This way we wouldn't be followed by anyone who decided we were either going to ruin their evil plans to kill a goat-boy or that we'd make a good meal. You know- the basic villain stuff. I sighed and bit my lip for the third time that day. Nico put his arm around me. "It's gonna be okay," he assured me. I forced a smile. I'd been told that before…

"Thanks… I've heard…"

"Well, you don't sound so convinced," he countered, looking concerned. I smiled again- a real one this time. Did he meet me three day ago or three years ago?

"I'm fine… Look, isn't that our train?" I asked, pointing up at the big screen. He nodded and pointed it out to everyone else, so we all boarded the train and found a compartment in the very back. We waited a couple minutes until everyone was on the train, then it lurched forward and, finally, we started moving westward. For a while, I was relaxed. The only sounds on the whole heard were the hum of many people having quiet conversations all at once, and the chug, chug, chug of the engine. Then, Annabeth, who was facing me and Nico, gasped almost inaudibly. I saw her muscles tense and she seemed more awake than she was a second before. I knew better than to look, but when I listened my ears caught the unmistakable thud of heavy footsteps coming towards our compartment. My breath and my heart quickened in the same instance. Thud… thud…thud. Then, there were more footsteps- whoever or whatever it was, it wasn't alone. Thud, thud, thud…thud, thud, thud…thud, thud, thud.

"Don't… turn… around… pretend you're talking to me. Laugh… do something! We need to make them think we don't know they're here," ordered Annabeth in a low, barely audible whisper. In my peripheral vision I could see her hand on her bronze dagger, slowly pulling it out of her pocket. Actually, I noticed, we were all arming ourselves. Percy was tapping his magical pen on his thigh, Nico, like Annabeth, had his hand in his pocket, Thalia was grasping her charm bracelet tightly in one hand, and I slowly began to remove the amulet of Aphrodite from my neck.

"Who's 'they', exactly?" I asked uncertainly, but instead of answering, Annabeth… laughed? She started laughing hysterically and signaled for everyone else to start laughing too. They caught on and chuckled nervously. My amulet was now in my hand

"I know isn't that a great story… and then they fell in the mud!" I said, going along with the plan. Meanwhile, the thudding was getting louder, closer. THUD, THUD, THUD… THUD, THUD, THUD… My thumb was on the gem in the middle. Creeeeeeeeeeek… the compartment door opened and we all sprung up out of our seats. I had pushed the gem in the middle, turning my necklace into a gleaming bronze blade, Percy had uncapped Riptide, Annabeth and Nico had their swords drawn, and Thalia had her Medusa shield out. I gasped at the sight before me…

A/N: Cliffy! Mwahaha! I know I'm soooooo mean! I haven't updated in forever and now I'm giving you a cliffy… but my family and I are moving so I haven't been able to for a little bit! So, there! I promise the next chapter will be up sooner! So read and review to make your author happy!

Percy: Don't be so pushy!

Me: *says in a mocking tone* "Don't be so pushy!"