It was a long drive to Richmond, Virginia, especially with the growing tension. It took them a day and a half to make the 1,830 mile journey. It didn't take long for Aella and Percy to become bored with the flat scenery that dominated the majority of the trip. It wasn't until they began to cross into the Appalachian Mountains that their boredom finally hit a peak. Percy constantly rolled around in the backseat, unable to remain still, while Aella requested for Dean to change the music after he played through his Creedence Clearwater Revival tape for the sixth time (his response was for her to shut her cakehole). Both complained that there was nothing for them to do.
Eventually, Sam and Dean were forced to pull over at a Target to get something to shut them up. Sam suggested the two of them get books, but as Percy was dyslexic and Aella became car sick easily, the idea was quickly stomped out. In the end Dean sent them back out to the car and picked something out himself. He returned ten minutes later with six color books and two giant packs of crayons. He tossed them into the back seat, starting up the car.
"If you're going to act like children then I'm going to treat you like children!"
They were silent the rest of the trip.
"I can't believe it," Sam whispered, peering into the backseat, "You gave them crayons and let them draw for a few hours and bam! They're out."
The two kids were asleep in the back, using each other as pillows. The coloring books were stacked up on the floor, used up, and crayons littered the back seat. While Dean wasn't too pleased by the mess, he was just glad to have a moment of peace. Aella had been fine on her own, but with Percy she became just another kid.
"How old are they do you think? They can't be more than thirteen."
Sam nodded, "Aella mentioned being twelve I think...no, she was twelve when she heard from her father. She must be thirteen by now, or nearly thirteen. I'm not sure about Percy."
"He doesn't look much older," Dean agreed, "They've seen a lot though, especially Percy.
It wasn't a question. The boy was friendly enough and had a decent sense of humor, but there was a caution about him, like he expected everything that could go wrong to go wrong.
"At least they've got each other through all this now," Sam said, "I don't think they knew each other too well before, but they're close enough now."
"Hiding something will do that," Dean agreed.
"I told you to just ask them if you're curious."
Dean shook his head, "Nah, something tells me we'll find out soon enough. I don't think they're dangerous or anything. I wasn't sure at first, after the whole lion incident, but...come on, evil kids don't enjoy coloring books."
"Really? That's your standard?"
"Well it's true," Dean insisted.
Aella decided she was happy being back on the east coast. They were driving through the heart of Richmond now. It felt like a worn down Old Town to her. Almost all of the buildings were made of brick or haphazardly painted wood. In spite the obvious poverty, there was a lightness to it all that came from the art scene and multiple universities in the area. While the majority of the shop fronts had dirty or broken glass, the side facing alleyways were often painted with incredible murals. She particularly liked the one by a 711 of a woman with blue hair using mason jar of strawberries for a tub. Percy liked the one of a troop of angry cartoon pandas.
Even after seven o'clock, street parking was nearly impossible to find. Eventually, they parked in the student garage and then began to make their way to the job.
"It's on the campus apparently," Dean said, "One of the professors noticed that at night there seems to be something creeping around the center of the campus."
Sure enough, as they came walked past a small cluster of fast food restaurants, they found a compass made of different colored bricks at the center of a ring of buildings.
"That'll be the library there, and that looks like the food hall," Sam continued before Dean interrupted.
"Yeah, we get it, you went to college, but you didn't go here so shut up. We'll ask one of the nerds where the professor is. Oi! You! Pink hair!"
While Dean spoke to a group of what Aella assumed were art students, she looked around the immediate area with Percy.
"Think it's one of their monsters or ours?" Percy asked.
"Let's hope it's one of theirs so they stop snooping our trail. We don't have a clue what we're going to find up north at the ruins of this world's camp. For all we know, it could completely ruin the cover Bobby helped us build."
"I'm sure there'll be nothing. Best case scenario we find something to help us, worse there's nothing there at all. Hey, what's that?"
Percy pointed towards the alleyway between the food hall and what might have once been a warehouse but had now been converted to a theatre. He put his finger to his lips, gesturing. Aella and Percy ran over, but the alleyway was empty, devoid of life except for a group of smokers sitting over a vent.
"False call. Strange though, I could have sworn I saw something."
"Let's hope it was," Aella said, "There are still students around. We don't want humans in the crossfire."
"That's real subtle, saying things like 'humans'."
"Well, it's true…" Aella grumbled, crossing her arms.
"You need to get away from camp more often."
They went back over to Sam and Dean, who were waiting somewhat impatiently.
"They said Professor Elm is over on the other side of the campus. He has a class until eight, but we can sit in without causing too much of a fuss," Sam said.
"That's allowed?" Aella asked.
"Professors don't mind," he said with a shrug, "You only pay for the grade. Professor Elm sounds like the sort of professor who's just happy to teach. He apparently has a ton of classes, but this one is his most popular."
"What is it? A film history class?" Dean snorted.
"Monsters in Literature."
"Well, that's just...huh."
The class was, in fact, watching a film when they came in (Dean punch Sam's shoulder and pointed with a 'told you' look). The Christopher Lee Dracula flashed across the screen, his eyes highlighted by a vertical spotlight. The professor spoke while the film played, pausing the clip to discuss how it varied from the original passage in Dracula. Sam and Dean took seats in the back while Aella and Percy continued to hover near the door.
"Nervous about being in a classroom?" Percy asked.
"You bet," Aella agreed, "Last time I was in one something exploded."
"Yeah, the last issue I had was—"
Someone in the back hushed them, staring pointedly at them until they both sat cross-legged on the floor. They waited there until the class was over, and then joined Sam and Dean as they strolled down the aisle to the front of the lecture hall. The professor was probably in his late thirties and looked like he was straight out of a movie, elbow patches and all. He gave the group a small wave, grinning at them.
"If you're here about the essay, no, I will not extend it. It's due Monday, even if it snows."
"It's supposed to snow?" Percy gasps.
"Well, apparently, but with as warm as its been lately I doubt it."
"We're not students, Professor Elm," Sam broke in, "I'm Sam Winchester and this is my brother, Dean. Bobby sent us."
"Singer! Ah! Great drinking buddy. He's sent me loads of great books in the past too, first editions at that! Excellent. Yes! I'm glad you came, but ah, if I might ask, who are those two?"
"These are our cousins," Sam lied, "That's Percy Jackson and Aella Cooper. They're shadowing us to learn the business."
"They're a bit young for that, aren't they? Shouldn't they be sitting down with some nice books on the subject first? I can offer a few suggestions."
"Professor Elm, can you tell us why we were called here?" Dean interrupted, "We're on a tight schedule."
"Oh yes, yes, of course! Now let me see here. I have a picture."
He took out his laptop and opened up a few folders before finally bringing up multiple pictures. Aella instantly recognized a few of the monsters, but one was unfamiliar to her.
"That one is definitely from our world," Percy grumbled, "That one is Medusa. Weird, I vaporized her a few summers ago. What's she doing back already?"
Dean stared at him, "You vaporized Medusa?"
"With some help from my friends, yeah. She wanted to turn us into statues for her garden shop. It's a long story."
Professor Elm stared, then cleared his throat, "Right...well, I've already classified the others as well. The first one, the Empousa, is a tricky foe. You'll want the lady to handle her. They hypnotize men. Now, the other one is a gorgon, yes. How do you know this one is Medusa though?"
"She looks like a grandmother," Percy said, "A really weird one."
"Right...so this last one here. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe it's Arachne."
Sam shook his head, "That doesn't look like the ones we killed before."
"Oh no, I'm not talking about the creatures, I mean the Arachne, the one who was transformed by Athena."
"Huh...so what makes you think that's who it is?" Dean asked.
The professor flipped through the pictures again. He revealed a strange sight: a statue covered in webs.
"All the students think it's an art stunt, but we know better, don't we? They're appearing all over the city. Also, some of the textile students have gone missing."
"Sounds like something a jealous monster would do," Sam agreed, "So we have a pretty big monster roundup here. It's a little strange seeing so many in one area."
"I bet there's a portal," Aella suddenly said, "Professor, where did you take these pictures? Can you plot them on a map?"
"Of course, I can add in other sightings too. One moment."
The professor pulled out a well-worn map (probably used to show students how to get to classes) and started to plot the points. There were fifteen dots in all.
"Look, they all surround that building there. What is that?"
"That building there? That's a freshmen dorm. It used to be an old hotel, but it was converted some years ago."
"That's where we start looking for the portal," Aella said, "I'm sure of it. The monsters, I'm not sure, but to close the portal at least we know the way."
"I'm sorry, but what's this 'portal' you're talking about?" the professor asked.
"A lot more trouble than you want to know about," Dean said, rolling up the map, "Thanks for your help, Professor."
Professor Elm nodded, "Of course, of course. Let me know if you need any other assistance even ah...child care during the more dangerous bits. I don't mind watching Percy and Aella was it? What interesting names, I might add. Your parents must really like mythology."
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"I'm guessing Percy's name is short for 'Perseus'? Ah yes, that look confirms it. Aella, you were named for one of Hippolyta's Amazons! She was the first Amazon to attack Heracles! Of course, he did kill her for that...but nevertheless, with a name that means 'whirlwind' and to stand up to Heracles, she must have been something. Your parents all had good taste in names. Were they professors? Scholars? Teachers?"
"Not really," they both said.
"Their parents are hunters, like us," Sam put in, "Thanks again for your help, Professor Elm. We'll get started on this tonight after we get a hotel room."
"Oh nonsense, you can stay with me tonight. I live right off campus, not even two minutes away."
The group agreed to stay with the somewhat odd professor, and after getting their things from the car, marched over to his house and set up for the night. He had a rather large split level with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. In spite the multiple bedrooms, Percy and Aella decided to stay in the same room once more. They said it was because they were homesick, but in reality it was for protection. It was safer for the two of them to stick together in case there was a monster attack. Two demigods were always better than one. After a homecooked meal by the professor's wife, who'd just come home from the lab, they prepared for the long night ahead. It was decided that Percy and Aella would go try to close the portal while Sam and Dean dealt with the spider-woman first.
"So...how do we get in?"
Aella shrugged at Percy, peering up at the building. It was made almost entirely of bricks and might have looked like an ordinary apartment building if not for the white Greek goddess statue that sat in a nook above the door. The statue looked quite poised in an old March Madness basketball t-shirt.
"Think it's alive?" Aella asked.
"Why would a statue be alive?" Percy asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Something I read Hephaestus does. He makes...automatons or something. I don't know. I think Annabeth mentioned it before."
Percy nodded, "She would know, wouldn't she? I'm guessing it's not one since it's not reacting to us."
"So how do we get in? The students all have to swipe their badges."
Percy thought for a moment, then grinned, "I've got this. Follow me."
They waited for a group of students to come sulking into the dorm (judging by their bulging backpacks they'd been studying at the library) and followed after them. Like the students, Percy and Aella stopped at the front desk and waited until the other students had all swiped their cards and cleared out. Percy let his shoulders hunch a bit as he walked up, putting on a pitiful look.
"Umm...my sister locked me out," Percy said simply, "My family's visiting and she's supposed to be babysitting us tonight."
The guard looked at him and shook her head, "Let me guess...Jesse?"
"How'd you know?"
"She left her parents down here for nearly an hour while she slept in. Thing is...I'm not allowed to let people up without a student escorting them."
"Even siblings?" Aella put in, looking down at the floor, "We were supposed to spend the night in her room. Her roommate even cleared out for us."
"She got Heather to leave? It's going to be a quiet night. Go ahead," the guard said, "The rule really only applies to adults. You don't have IDs you can leave here, right?"
Percy and Aella shook their heads in unison. The guard smiled and waved them on, "I'll see you two later. Don't get into too much trouble. Go straight to your sister's room, all right? Do you know which one it is?"
"It's umm….was it 346?" Aella asked Percy.
"I thought mom said it was the fourth floor?"
"It's on the fourth floor, yes. Goodness knows I've got that one memorized."
After thanking the guard they scurried off to the elevators. They stayed silent until the doors were shut and the rickety old thing was crawling upward.
"Did we really just break into a dorm?" Aella asked, staring at the doors, "Without even manipulating the Mist? You can't do it, right?"
"Nope. Thalia could, but I can't. She didn't get a chance to show me before she went off with Artemis."
"Huh…"
The two looked at each other and burst out laughing. It took them several moments to calm down even once the doors opened and they walked out into the hallway. Most of the doors were shut tight, but a few were open with people milling in and out.
"So...what exactly are we looking for?"
"The portal," Percy said, "They sort of just showed up back in our world...what do they do here?"
"Sort of just...show up?" Aella shrugged, "Do we ask some of the students if they've seen it?"
"I'm not sure how we could without coming off as complete nuts. We'll just poke around I guess. You think it's even still open?"
Aella nodded, "It's got to be. Or maybe it sort of...opens and closes randomly but in the same spot? Why else would so many monsters come through here?"
The two agreed to split up. They began searching up and down each floor, checking all of the hallways and any open dorm rooms. They even peered inside each bathroom stall, but they couldn't find any evidence of a portal, or even monsters in the area.
"Maybe it was a false lead," Percy said glumly sitting down on the floor at the end of the top floor hallway.
"I guess so. I don't want to go back empty handed though."
Aella sat down beside Percy with a yawn. It was well past midnight and even the college students were winding down for bed. Aella looked over to see Percy leaning his head back against the wall, his eyes shut.
It hadn't occurred to her how strange their newfound friendship was. They'd hardly spoken before coming to Earth 2.0, but now here they were after a week's friendship sharing nearly everything. Percy had told her all about his mother and everything she had done to keep him safe before he'd learned he was a demigod.
Aella told him about her own mom, though with a bit more hesitation. Her mother was odd, to say the least. She could never quite pinpoint the woman. They both shared the same bright blonde hair, but beyond that, there were few similarities. Her mother always said how much she looked like her father, whoever that was.
She'd opened up to Percy about that. He understood, confessing that he'd had a rocky relationship with his own godly parent too. As much as they wanted approval from their godly parent, there was always that lingering sense of rejection.
Continuing to look over at Percy, Aella felt oddly protective of the other demigod. She still couldn't believe he jumped through a portal to save someone he hardly knew...but that's what heroes did she supposed. I'll bring you back to Annabeth and your mom, she thought, I swear by the River Styx. And she meant it.
"Hey, what are you kids doing here? This is a dorm, not a hotel."
Aella jumped and looked up to see a tall sorority girl standing over her. She looked like one of the daughters of Aphrodite, with her sun-kissed brown hair curled into perfect ringlets.
"We're visiting our sister," Aella began slowly, "We were waiting out in the hall for her to get back."
"Who's your sister? That girl Lizzy?"
"Jesse, actually," Aella said and she immediately realized her mistake.
"I'm Jesse. Now I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?"
Percy was waking up now. He blinked slowly as he gained his bearings, then shouted in horror, pointing at Jesse's leg.
"What is that?!"
Aella frowned, then noticed that there was something shiny on Jesse's leg. If she narrowed her eyes, she could just see a glimmer of metal beneath a fuzzy haze of skin.
Thankfully, Percy was used to these situations. Without thinking he grabbed Aella's hand and stood up, dragging her with him. As he ran, he waved a hand at a water fountain, causing it to explode in a torrent at Jesse's face. She shrieked in rage, falling back.
"Nice one!" Aella grinned as they bolted towards the steps, "At least we found one monster!"
"You say that like it's a good thing," Percy smiled back.
They down two flights of stairs when Jesse appeared again, "Percy, you should stop. I don't want to hurt you two. I'm lost too. I just want to get back home."
Percy slowed down, looking back in confusion. Aella grabbed him just in time before Jesse made a swipe at him.
"Oi, snap out of it! She's charmspeaking you! She must be the empousa that the professor mentioned."
"Oh, now you tell me," Percy grumbled, rubbing his eyes.
Aella tapped the side of her bracelet. The bracelet shimmered, then a gold bow began for form from it. The golden recurve bow settled neatly into her hand, shimmering with a prepared arrow. Aella grinned. So this was the present that Apollo had sent with Percy. Thanks, Great Gramp, she thought, drawing back on the string. She could feel the pressure behind the bow, but it held as easily as if she were using a compound bow.
Before the empousa could attack again, Aella fired. The arrow buried itself deep in the empousa's shoulder, just inches from her target. I would take time to get used to the new weapon. The power behind it was far more than she was used to. Still, she was pleased she could use it effectively at such a close range.
"Nice one!" Percy shouted, drawing out his own sword, Riptide.
Jesse wasn't discouraged by the two demigods. She laughed, a wide grin forming on her face.
"I missed demigods...they're so much more fun to play with that mortals. Come little children...it's time to play!"
She jumped down the flight of stairs, trying to tackle Aella, but Percy covered her, slashing at the empousa to give Aella another opening. Aella fired off two shots in rapid succession. One shot went wide and hit the wall behind Jesse, but the other hit her right in the center of her chest. She let out a scream, then evaporated into golden dust.
Percy whooped, running to Aella and holding out his fist. Aella laughed, following up the gesture. They were still congratulating themselves when a head popped around the corner, peering down at them. A girl with auburn hair slowly walked over, kneeling down beside the gold dust. She picked it up with a frown, her eyes narrowing.
"You know...that was my roommate."
"Umm...we can explain," Percy began, but he never got a chance to finish the sentence.
The girl threw himself at him, knocking him off his feet. Aella realized a second too late that this must have been Heather...and most likely an empousa as well. Aella drew her bow again, but hesitated. If she missed, she would hit Percy. Swearing like Dean, she let her magic bow disengage, returning it to its bracelet form, and leapt for the empousa. She jumped onto the girl's back, grabbing her hair and tugging back as hard as she could. The empousa screamed, reeling back and throwing Aella.
Aella went tumbling over the railing and the next thing she knew she was falling. Thankfully, before she hit the bottom, everything went black.