Author: eyo it's your friendly neighborhood Spiz here!
Remember that one episode, "The Gracie Code: Part 1?" And remember how Emma was mysteriously missing the entire time? Hardly mentioned?
Here's where she's at in that time being.
Thanks for the reviews! Please feel free to leave more or give me any critiques to help me improve this story!
Disclaimer: nah bruh
There were apologies to go all around between Emma and some people in her life. In effort to make it up to Percy, Emma decided to take him horseback riding. It was actually Elliot's idea, but Ash did want to apologize to Percy for giving the wrong impression, and Percy did want to get to know Emma's supposed-boyfriend. And Emma thought that a trail ride on the warm, sunny day would be quite enjoyable. And, of course, Annabeth was eager to ride a normal horse on the ground.
"And this is Rebel," Ash introduced the brown coated horse as he brought him out of his stall by the reins. "This is my horse, but Emma's going to take him out for today." Ash lead the horse to where Percy and Annabeth stood outside the stable. "Why don't you guys watch him and get acquainted while Em and I go get the rest of the horses?"
"Sure!" Percy took the reins into one hand, and used his other hand to pat Rebel's neck. Ash and Emma smiled at the other couple before turning back into the stable of horses.
"Hey, Rebel. How's it goin'?" Percy asked.
"I'm very good, thanks. Who might you be?" the horse returned.
"I'm Percy, and this is Annabeth." Percy jerked a thumb towards himself, then to Annabeth, who was on the other side of the horse. Annabeth rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Part of me feels like someone is trying to show off," Annabeth muttered with a shake of her head. Percy stroked Rebel's light colored mane.
"She's just jealous," Percy whispered. "Excited for a ride with Emma today?"
"Oh, yes. I love Emma. She's real kind. She saved my life once," Rebel answered.
"Oh, yeah?" Percy arched an eyebrow. "How'd she do that?"
"There was this one day I accidentally ate some poisonous plants. Ash did everything he could but nothing was working. I was very hot and my stomach hurt so bad. And then Emma came back and she did this thing to keep me cool all night. She made ice fall from the sky," Rebel explained with a snort. Percy furrowed his brow and looked at Annabeth across from you.
"Emma made ice fall from the sky?" Percy repeated. Annabeth frowned. "You mean like...dumping a bucket of ice on you?"
"No, no, it wasn't like that," Rebel replied. "There wasn't any bucket. It was just her and me in my stall. And the ice was real soft, not like regular ice."
"So it was like snow?" Percy asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, maybe it was snow! I've never seen snow before, but if I did, I bet it would look like that! And after spending the night with the snow and Emma, I felt much better. I was cured!"
"So, one more time," he said. "Emma saved your life by making it snow on you while you were sick?"
"Yes, sir!"
"She can't make it snow. It doesn't even snow in Australia," Annabeth protested. "Are you sure Rebel knows what he's talking about? Or that your ears are working properly, Seaweed Brain?"
"Hey, guys!" Emma's voice beckoned their attention. She and Ash exited the stables with three horses of different shades of brown, all properly suited up, in tow.
"Do we need a quick lesson before we go? " Ash offered.
"Nah. I'm an expert when it comes to horses," Percy smoothly answered with a smug expression. Ash looked unconvinced.
"When I first met Emma, she also claimed to be an expert," Ash informed. Emma scowled and glared at the smiling brunette while Percy snorted. "And it's slightly more concerning hearing this from one of her family members. You sure you don't want to cover some of the basics?"
"I'm sure. I ride all the time. I even got my own horse," Percy reassured.
"You got your own horse?" Emma questioned skeptically. "Seriously? I've been asking for a pony since I was six. And you live in an apartment in the city. Where can you even ride your horse? Downtown?"
"We go riding all the time at our summer camp," Annabeth cut in. "So we can assure you that we can just get started."
"Alright, fine. Can we get going now?" Emma asked impatiently. Ash chuckled.
"Sure. Let's hop on and hit the trails. And remember, you want to get on facing forward," Ash reminded jokingly.
"Yeah, yeah."
It took Emma two tries, but she was able to swing herself onto Rebel's saddle securely. Percy and Annabeth did the same, after Percy teased Emma, but also proving to Ash that they were both capable of riding horses without extra instruction.
The four rode on an old trail, one of many, through the forest surrounding the stables. It was a bright sunny day, but thankfully there was enough shade to shield everyone from feeling too much heat. The afternoon was lazy and quiet, save for the sound of the horses' whinnies, birds chirping, and bugs buzzing.
"So, from the States, hm?" Ash asked Percy as their horses trotted side by side to each other. "How do you like it here?"
"It's a lot warmer, to say the least," Percy replied. "I'm from New York, so it's always cold up there."
"Get snow and everything?"
"That's an understatement." Both boys chuckled at the remark. "It's a nice place, though. And this is too. The beaches are great, and I haven't seen this side of my family in a long time either."
"Yeah. I can imagine. Traveling between two different hemispheres must be quite the challenge," Ash mused. Percy nodded. "So, you go to summer camp? Are you a counselor?"
"Uh, yeah, yeah. Annabeth's one too." Percy's never thought of them being technical camp counselors. They were head counselors for their respective cabins, but that was definitely something different from what Ash would be thinking.
"That's cool. What do you do there?"
"Uh-"Swordfighting, climb a rock wall that dumped lava and boulders on you, waged battles, capture the flag, flew on pegasi, hung out with a few gods, sometimes there were dragons, just to name a few. "We sing songs."
Laughter interrupted the boys' conversation and prompted them to turn around. Annabeth immediately covered her mouth to stifle her laugh, but was failing. Percy grinned and winked at her before looking back at Ash.
"You know, we sing songs around a campfire every night. But during the day, I teach kids how to ride horses. Annabeth teaches them...how to...build things? And, you know, all of your other basic camp stuff. Stuff you'd normally see at a regular summer camp. Friendship necklaces, teambuilding, all that," Percy explained. Ash nodded in understanding and Percy inwardly sighed in relief.
"Are the wages fair?"
"Wages?" Percy repeated. Ha. That's an idea. Getting paid to lay down your life for a bunch of gods that have frequent temper tantrums. "Nah. We volunteer."
"That sounds great," Ash said. "You must really enjoy it, hm?"
Did he enjoy it? There were extraordinary people at that camp-Chiron, who was almost like another dad to Percy, Grover, his best friend. And there was of course, Rachel and Nico and Clarisse and Piper and Leo and Will-and let's not forget everyone from Camp Jupiter; Jason, Frank, Hazel, Reyna. Were the gods assholes? Yes, most of the time. Was fighting monsters on a daily basis fun? Not particularly. But did Percy enjoy it? Yes.
"There's nothing else like it," Percy responded with a smile. "That's how I met Annabeth. When I first started going when I was twelve."
"Wow. That's quite a bit of time," Ash murmured. Silence began to hang and Ash glanced at Percy from the corners of his eyes. Percy's face was relaxed and his expression was calm, his sea green eyes unfocused on anything particular, and simply taking in the peace of nature. Ash cleared his throat to earn Percy's gaze on him. "So, hey, um, I kinda wanted to talk to you about the other night. I would like to apologize to you for everything that happened. Nothing of that sort was going to happen, and there was no intention for it."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that too," the demigod admitted, fondling the leather reins between his fingers absently. "I was thinking about it for a while. Emma kinda explained everything to me. I guess maybe I did overreact a little. And maybe I shouldn't have judged you so quickly."
"Oh, no. It was very easy to insinuate such a thing and I should have made everything perfectly clear on my part," Ash protested.
"You probably would've if you could, but I don't think anything was clear that night." Percy sighed. "Em's like a sister to me, ya know? I don't have much for family and it has been a pretty long time since I've seen her, so I can't help but get a little protective of her. Somebody's gotta, right?"
"I completely understand and I respect that. You would make a great brother." Percy chuckled before giving Ash a reassuring smile. He immediately thought of his half-brother, Tyson, and hoped it was true. "So, are we-you and I-are we cool?"
Percy chuckled before nodding. "Yeah, we're cool. As long as you don't do anything to hurt Em. If I hear that you do, I'm coming for your ass."
"I can assure you that the last thing I ever want to do is hurt Emma in any way," Ash said. He glanced back at said young woman, who seemed to be in deep conversation with the other blonde.
Annabeth was listening intently to what Emma was saying, but a shift in the shadows caught the corner of her eye. Suddenly, all of Emma's words didn't seem to reach Annabeth as her head turned in search of anything suspicious. Her grip on the horse's reins seemed to tighten and her posture stiffened. Annabeth forced her breathing to slow and quiet down enough for her to listen, but nothing was to be heard. However, something darted out of the corner of Annabeth's other eye, on Emma's side.
"Hey, Percy?" Annabeth called hesitantly. Her boyfriend didn't seem to hear, for he was riding ahead of her and conversing with Ash. Rebel slowed in his trot and Emma looked around.
"C'mon, Rebel," she urged. "Not getting tired already, are you?"
Annabeth peered at the wooded area, but there was no movement. She shifted her grey eyes to Emma. The blonde didn't pay any mind to the demigod at the moment, instead was patting Rebel's neck and muttering inaudible phrases.
"Percy," Annabeth tried again. Percy glanced back this time and craned his neck to give Annabeth a questioning look.
"Yeah?"
A loud, high-pitched neigh immediately followed by a sharp squeal tore everyone's attention to the source: Emma desperately clung to the high-rearing Rebel, who frantically kicked at the air.
"Emma!"
Percy and Ash jerked their horses' reins to turn them around. Rebel brought his hooves down into the dirt. Behind the foursome, the underbrush off the trail started rustling wildly. Birds lifted into flight to the sky and Rebel went into a frenzy. Instead of flying away, however, the flock of birds circled above, but the teenagers were preoccupied settling down their horses to notice their surroundings. Rebel shuffled his hooves wildly before breaking out into a run off the trail.
"Rebel!" Emma screamed. The horse didn't listen, only ran, and all the mermaid could do was grip on for her life and screech.
"Emma!"
All five birds circling above suddenly dove into the three remaining riders. They narrowly avoided each one, but Ash nearly fell off his horse. Just as quickly as they had swooped, the birds flew into the woods at an amazing speed, heading in the same direction after Emma and Rebel.
"Can't I catch one break?" Percy grumbled. After a few tugs and some choice words, his horse was able to settle down and Percy led his horse after the birds and Emma. It was impossible to fully understand what was happening, but he knew that Emma was in danger and could be seriously hurt if he didn't get to her. Listening to her distant shrieks only made his heart stop, but he continued forward. He couldn't see Rebel or his rider, but he could see the flock weaving themselves through the trees.
At first, Percy wondered that the strange birds were just part of Australia's incredibly dangerous natural wildlife. The birds were probably the size of hawks, but with extended necks like ducks. Their feathers were a shiny, inky black. Instead of bills, the birds had long beaks that gleamed like his sword in the sunlight.
Speaking of, as Percy drew near the birds, he uncapped his pen and unleashed his sword, Riptide. His horse was quickly closing the distance between him and the birds and Rebel's figure was now visible. Very tiny, pretty much a brown dot, but visible. And judging but the continuous screaming, Emma was still on the frenzied horse.
Suddenly, all five birds gave one great flap simultaneously and dozens of metallic feathers shot forward like darts at Emma. The blonde didn't dare look back, but she felt them whiz past her head, badly startling her.
Percy rode up to the closest bird and the one flying the lowest. He swung his blade down on it fiercely and it hit it's beak, only to bounce back scratched and faltering, but no real damage taken. Apparently, that WAS real bronze. Celestial Bronze, even. Percy uttered a curse and the bird squawked at him before sharply turning its beak at him. The demigod lurched his body out of the way to avoid getting swiped by the sharpness, but the bird circled back around to try again.
This time, Percy adjusted his grip on the hilt. Just before the bird attacked, Percy powerfully brought the hilt of the sword down on top of the bird's head. The strength of his counterattack was enough to send it into the dirt with an angry cry. Sure, it didn't turn to dust like Percy would have liked to have it done, but at least that's one less freakish bird firing feathers like they were knives.
The birds never formed any kind of formation; they just flew as they pleased, and very angrily so. They flew closer to the ground and wove through the trees. Percy's interference, albeit to a single bird, slowed the entire group and they had not shot anymore razor feathers towards Emma.
Just then, Annabeth leapt onto the scene on her horse, one hand clutching the reins and the other holding her trusty Celestial Bronze dagger. She rapidly approached one of the birds and tried striking her blade on it like Percy, but also failed. Before the bird could do more than caw, Annabeth reached her dagger under the bird and shot it skyward into its underbelly. Like all monsters, it instantly turned into golden dust, caught and carried by the wind.
One bird was very unhappy with the killing of the other and circled over to the blonde. With another great flap, many razor feathers shot at Annabeth all at once. She yelped and jerked her horse with one hand while the other gripping the dagger was raised to shield herself. Some were deflected off the blade and one even grazed her tanned forearm. The bird swooped in and Annabeth drove her dagger straight into its underbelly as it flew directly above her. It instantly turned to dust and rained upon her.
Two down, three to go. Annabeth wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her forearm. She lowered her arm and noticed there was a thin red line marring it, blood slowly starting to ooze out of it. A squawk from behind pulled the demigod's attention. One of the monster birds must have fallen behind-probably Percy's doing, Annabeth guessed-and it's beak shone in the sun and into Annabeth's eyes.
Percy was accelerating towards Rebel. Emma's fingers were curled around the reins but were no longer pulling against them, instead just gripping so tightly that her knuckles were white. He couldn't see her face, for it was buried in the horse's reins. She had her blue eyes squeezed shut, but Percy couldn't see that. She was screaming, Percy could hear, despite being muffled by the mane, and he wondered how one girl could scream so much for so long.
After finally reaching Rebel's side, Percy extended a hand to his neck. He neighed loudly in surprise.
"Get away from me!"
"It's me, Rebel," Percy said in a calm voice, his hand soothingly stroking Rebel's neck. "Hey, it's me. Remember? Percy. I'm here and Emma's here too."
"And those monsters are too! They're after me! They're trying to kill me!" Rebel protested.
"No, they're gone. They're all gone. We got rid of them. Nothing's trying to kill you," Percy reassured.
"They're everywhere!"
"No, it's okay. We got rid of every last one of them. You're safe now. So please, stop running. There's no need. Please, slow down. You're scaring Emma."
At the mention of her name, Emma dared to look up. She yelped at the sight of Percy, even though her throat was already aching from her cries. Her cousin was at her side, on his horse and he was fixated on Rebel, but he was here.
"Percy!? What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"Here to save your butt," Percy joked. The mermaid was not convinced, but her blue eyes were filled with fear and worry above all else.
"Emma could make them go away," Rebel said. "Emma can do anything. She's saved my life before and she will do it again. She can freeze those monsters."
"I'm sure. But there's no need. Everything's okay. You're safe and protected. There's nothing to be afraid of," Percy said to Rebel. Emma raised her brows at Percy because before anything else, Rebel began to slow in his run. He was slowing down and began to trot. And then he came to a stop in the middle of the field.
Emma sat up and her grip slowly loosened. The biggest exhale was released and her shoulders dropped. She nearly collapsed against Rebel's back, the relief was so great. She was exhausted from screaming and enduring such a wild ride and experiencing such heart-racing thrills. Breathing seemed to help ease her pounding heart.
Percy looked behind him and saw nothing but trees. The forest was quiet once again. He looked back at Emma, he grinned.
"Whew. What a ride, huh?" Emma glared at him.
"You weren't the one experiencing it!" Emma snapped. Percy threw his head back and laughed. Emma exhaled, but this time, it escaped as a giggle. She found herself laughing with him. Why? She didn't know. It was crazy. She could have died! And here Percy was, practically rescuing her. From what, she didn't know, but in that moment, it didn't matter.
"C'mon. We better head back to the others before they leave without us," Percy said, turning his horse around. "Ready, Rebel?"
"Ready!" he whinnied. Emma rolled her eyes. How could he do that with the horse?
"What was that? What scared him?" Emma asked as she and Percy through the newly created trail courtesy of Rebel, Emma in the lead and Percy following.
"Must've been some snakes. You know what kind of messed up things live out here in Australia after all," he replied. "You couldn't see anything?"
"Nothing. I heard some birds, but they were startled by Rebel. Other than that, I pretty much only saw everything flying past me, but I was trying not to look anyway."
Percy inwardly sighed with relief. Of course she couldn't see anything. The Mist would have disguised it well enough. He scanned the area for any of those evil birds flying around, and kept his hand over his pen, but found nothing.
Annabeth and Ash came into view eventually. Both were off their horses, but holding them by the reins, and talking to each other. At the sight of Emma, Ash rushed to her side.
"Emma! Are you alright?" He placed his hands comfortingly on Rebel, but his gaze was fixated on the blonde. He took her hand in his and assisted her off the horse.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Emma answered. "Just a little shaken is all."
As Ash spoke to Emma, Percy hopped down and immediately went to Annabeth, asking her the same. Annabeth assured him that he was fine, and promised that she had killed all the birds that were around, which were five of them.
"What in Hades were those things?"
"Stymphalian birds," Annabeth answered. "Man-eating birds with beaks of bronze and sharp metallic feathers that they launched at us. They were Artemis's pets but they migrated and bred quickly. Also Heracles' Sixth Labor was to kill them."
"Those things were so annoying," Percy grumbled.
"We ran into them before. Remember the summer when we were thirteen?"
"Vaguely."
Annabeth punched his arm. "Liar. It was the summer that Grover got married and you turned into a hamster."
Percy glared at her and the blonde snorted. "Guinea pig, actually. See why I tried to forget that summer?"
"We faced some Stymphalian birds then," Annabeth said. Percy rolled his eyes.
"Why are they here? Why'd they attack us? Emma, of all of us?"
"Probably migrated here drawn to the tropical weather," she responded. "And they're hunters, since they were originally Artemis's pets. They might have sensed that we had our weapons and Emma may-have seemed like the weakest one and went after her to pick off the weak one for food."
"That was too close...thank the gods nobody got hurt." Percy ran a hand through his hair. After the words fell from his mouth, his eyes scanned Annabeth. His eyes fell on her scraped arm and Annabeth suppressed a scowl. "Hey, I thought you said you were fine."
"I am fine," Annabeth huffed stubbornly.
"You're bleeding!"
"Sshh!" she hissed as her eyes darted to Ash and Emma, who didn't seem to be paying any attention. "Percy, I'm fine. It's just a scratch and it's hardly bleeding. I'll just wrap it up with my bandanna."
"Wrap it up and I'll take care of it when we get back, okay?" This time, Annabeth didn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.
"Whatever, Seaweed Brain. You're overreacting."
"Hey, guys!" Ash called the demigods' attentions. "Let's walk back. Sound good?"
"Sounds good to us!" Percy returned.
Emma was staring down and scrolling through her phone. She got a few new text messages from her friends. She opened the most recent one, which was from Lewis, and it read: "When are you free today?"
Emma responded, "Not sure. I'm out with Ash, Percy, and Annabeth."
Her phone buzzed with Lewis's text reply, "Can you meet us at Cleo's tomorrow morning? I got something BIG here!"
"Earth to Em!" Percy shouted, startling the mermaid.
"Hm? What?" she asked as she immediately clicked her phone off.
"Ready to head out?" Ash asked. Emma blinked and it finally registered in her head.
"Yeah, I am. Let's get going."
Author: OKAY LAST NOTE
I did a little bit of research, and by research I mean Wikipedia, for the birds. It said on there that they were in the "Sea of Monsters" but it's been so long since I've read that so I just kinda guessed there.
SO IF I'M WRONG PLEASE CORRECT ME AND I'LL TRY TO FIX IT
EITHER WAY YOU SHOULD DROP REVIEWS BECAUSE THEY MAKE ME SMILE PLEASE AND THANK