Disclaimer~ I do not own the Percy Jackson series.

"That sounds ... interesting." Connor said. The trio laughed out, "Oh it definitely was." Percy answered. Before the start of the new chapter Annabeth quickly shifted so she was at Percy's side instead of his lap. Once Thalia saw she was ready she started.

In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there,

"Aw thanks kid." Hermes said smiling.

because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.

All the gods looked slightly annoyed after hearing that. "Erm... sorry?" Percy quickly said seeing their expressions.

For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.

Hermes shrugged his shoulders, "He has a point."

So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

"Man has he changed." Percy whispered into Annabeth's ear. Annabeth agree wholeheartedly. You couldn't even compare the small scrawny Grover to the Lord of the Wild.

I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."
"All our money was back there," I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

"And you guys survived?" Katie questioned.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight-"
"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"
"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."
"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."

Everyone snicker while Annabeth blushed. She glared at everyone but only the ones that didn't know her flinched. Her close friends just thought she did not look scary sporting her blush.

"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.
Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."

Now Grover was blushing deeply while everyone else laughed.

We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.
After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to me. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."
"We're a team, right?"

"Yeah and a kick ass team at that." Leo said smiling. "Oh definitely!" Everyone agreed.

She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."

"Wow Annie so sympathetic." "Shut up Thalia!"

The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. I couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blond hair.
"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her.
"No ... only short field trips.

"Wow that would suck." Synthesized a younger Roman.

My dad-"
"The history professor."
"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."
If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice.

"Oh my gods seaweed brain stop being so observant!" Annabeth said while hiting her head into his shoulder. "Is the great Anna-" Connor was cut of by the pair of glares sent his way, mainly the sea green ones. He paled slightly before motioning for Thalia to continue.

"You're pretty good with that knife," I said.
"You think so?"
"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."
I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled.

"I did." Annabeth whispered into Percy's ear. He grinned widely and planted a kiss on her temple.

"You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you ... Something funny back on the bus ..."
Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill toot-toot-toot, like the sound of an owl being tortured.

Everyone looked confused as to what made the sound.

"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried.

Everyone burst out laughing while Grover blushed deeply. "Classic Grover!" Nico choked out before everyone calming down bought to continue reading.

"If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"
He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.
Instead of finding a path, I immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on my head.

Percy groaned and held his head. Everyone shot him worried looks but he just shook it off.

Add to the list of superpowers I did not have: infrared vision.
After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food.

Everyone groaned thinking about it.

I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. This boy needed a double cheeseburger.

"This girl needs one too!" Thalia interrupted herself.

We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed- down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.
It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English.

"Tell me about it." Katie complained. "Okay, well you see-" "I didn't mean literally Travis you idiot." "Maybe 'you idiot' can be our always!" "SHUT UP!" All the campers now had tears in their eyes from laughing while the gods were smiling.

Aphrodite on the other hand was squealing, "OH YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE! YOU ARE LIKE MY SECOND FAVOURITE COUPLE, after percabeth of course. And can I just ask what was with the 'okay' thing?" Hearing that Travis stopped laughed and both him and Katie blushed deeply. "I know right they are so cute! And the 'okay' thing is from the best love story! The Fault in Our Stars!" A little Aphrodite girl squealed. After everyone calmed down, and Katie and Travis stopped blushing so much Thalia continued.

To me, it looked like: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM.

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.

"What the heck does that say?" I asked.
"I don't know," Annabeth said.
She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too.

"Wait if all you brain kids have dyslexia, then how do you read so much?" Leo questioned. "We tend to read Greek, as it's much easier." Malcolm answered.

Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."
Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.

"Wow, I never realized that." Grover whispered to Percy and Annabeth. "I didn't either because of the trance. Only Percy is because he is so damn observant." "Yeah I'm so damn observant." Grover snicker quietly, "And I'm so damn-" "Shut up right now you two!" Annabeth said sternly, "Last time you did this you went on for hours." "Yes ma'am!" They both said in perfect sync before turning back to Thalia. Everyone shot the trio weird looks but they brushed it off and motion to continue.

I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers.
"Hey ..." Grover warned.
"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."
"Snack bar," I said wistfully.
"Snack bar," she agreed.
"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."
We ignored him.

Everyone groaned. "Never ignore a satyr." Poseidon said sighing.

The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.

Perseus looked at Percy, Annabeth, and Grover with wide eyes. Upon seeing this Percy quickly put a finger to his lips in a 'shh!' motion. Nobody else noticed as they were too wrapped up in the book. Athena on the other hand already figured it out and the interaction between the four confirmed the place. She just grimaced before returning her attention back to Thaila.

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"
We stopped at the warehouse door.
"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."
"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"The food but a trance on you didn't it?" Athena questioned. Annabeth and Percy just soundlessly nodded their heads. Everyone visibly paled and sat more on the edge of their seats.

"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."
"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," I reminded him.
"Those are vegetables.

"They are?" "Well they're not considered dairy are they?"

Come on. Let's leave. These statues are ... looking at me."
Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman-at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.

Poseidon paled even more and gripped his seat tight figuring out the monster.

Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"
"They're ... um ..." Annabeth started to say.

"We're orphans," I said.
"Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!"
"We got separated from our caravan," I said. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station.

Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"

Everyone looked at Percy amused. "Eager much?" Demeter questioned while Nico asked, "Circus? Really?" Percy shrugged in response to both questions.

"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."
We thanked her and went inside.
Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?"
"Always have a strategy, right?"
"Your head is full of kelp."

"Yep!" All the older Greeks chorsed.

The warehouse was filled with more statues-people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statutes, because they were all life-size.

Everyone started eyeing the book suspiciously, trying to figure out who the trio was facing.

But mostly, I was thinking about food.

Everyone gave off a slightly nervous laugh while Jason smirked, "Of course you are."

Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because I was hungry, but I do impulsive stuff sometimes. Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair-it made everything else go away. I barely noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, or the way the statue's eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.

"That would have been nice if you noticed earlier." "Sorry G-Man." Percy replied sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.
"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.
"Awesome," I said.
"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."

"Wow there goes your food." Rachel hit Connor on the back of the head for that comment. "It's a monster you moron, I think paying for food was the least of their worries." "I know but still."

Before I could jab him in the ribs, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."
"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.
Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I figured it must've been my imagination.
"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child."

"She know Annabeth's name." Malcolm stated.

Only later did I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves.

"Hey look I'm keeping up with the brainiacs!" Percy said proudly. Annabeth snorted beside him, "Don't get used to it." Percy stuck his tongue out at her in response.

Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries.
I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe.

Annabeth slurped her shake.
Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.

"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.
I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head.
"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."
"I take vitamins. For my ears."

"Wow Grover you actually lied? Congratulations my young apprentice!" Chris said while the Stoll's wiped fake tears from his eyes. Grover blushed before replying, "Well that wasn't really a lie. Every satyr takes vitamins for their ears and noses. I just didn't tell her the whole truth." "And everything makes sense again."

"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."
Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her head-dress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, but I was feeling satisfied after the burger, and a little sleepy, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess.
"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested.

"Just so you know you didn't sound interested, just tired." Annabeth said while Percy sleepily shrugged his shoulder. After that he yawned and rested his head on Annabeth's lap barely keeping his eyes open. Concerned Hazel asked, "Are you okay Perce?" "Stupid cruse... I'm fine... Keep reading." He slurred.

"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."
"A lot of business on this road?"

"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."
My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.

"Poor little girl." Some people whispered while others looked confused.

"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."
"You make these statues yourself?" I asked.
"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on,

Percy peeked his eyes opened for a moment and looked up to Annabeth before whispering, "Not anymore." and closing his eyes again. Annabeth rolled her eyes and started running her hand through his hair.

and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.
Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"
"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."

Finally no one was confused by 'Aunty Em' anymore. Leo quickly spoke up to break the tiny silence, "Just to make sure we're all on the same track that is Medusa right?" "Bingo was his name oh." Percy slurred from his half-awake, half-asleep state. Everyone chuckled before turning back to Thaila all thinking the same thing, How the Hades did he get out of this?

I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her. My eyelids kept getting heavier, my full stomach making me sleepy. Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?

"I could name a few." Piper said innocently.

"Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."

She sounded tense. I wasn't sure why. Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything.
"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."

Percy reached out and grabbed Annabeth's hand for reassurance. Everyone smiled at the couple even with the tense atmosphere. Hercules, however, was frowning at the pair just realizing how tough breaking the duo might be. He quickly shook off the thought. This chapter and last he had stayed quiet seeing if it would get the blondes attention. So far it had got him nothing so next chapter he was thinking about maybe some more insults. He smiled at thought, it was the perfect plan.

She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly.
"We really should go."
"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"

"Still keeping up the ringmaster act?" Chiron asked amused.

I didn't want to leave. I felt full and content. Aunty Em was so nice. I wanted to stay with her a while.
"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"
"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.
"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."
Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy-"
"Sure we can," I said.

"Oh great." Everyone groaned.

I was irritated with Annabeth for being so bossy, so rude to an old lady who'd just fed us for free. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"

"A lot." Poseidon said darkly. "Thanks Captain Obvious!" Whispered so only his friends could hear, they all snickered quietly before quickly composing themselves.

"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. "No harm."
I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues.

"Really?" Athena questioned surprised. "Yeah, I was still fighting off the trance." Athena nodded her head in understanding.

Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."
"Not much light for a photo," I remarked.
"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"
"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.
Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"

"That would be creepy, being killed by a monster when they last thing they said was a large smile." Leo said. Everyone chuckled trying to break the nervousness surrounding the trio.

Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."
"Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear."
She still had no camera in her hands.
"Percy-" Annabeth said.

Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth,

"Yes please do." Poseidon whispered to himself.

but I was fighting the sleepy feeling, the comfortable lull that came from the food and the old lady's voice.
"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."
"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.

Perseus, Theseus, and Achilles all turned to Percy and asked the same question at the exact same time, "How did you survive this?"

"Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"
"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.
"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and me both off the bench.
I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet.
I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. But I was too dazed to move.

Percy sat up again, slowly fighting off the sleepiness. He still leaned against Annabeth and gripping her hand he kissed her forehead before motion for Thaila to continue.

Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails.

Perseus still did not look away from his cousin. He had barely managed to kill Medusa, and that is when she was asleep.

I almost looked higher, but somewhere off to my left Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"

"I will probably say this a lot, but thank you Annabeth." Poseidon said. Annabeth smiled in response completely ignoring her mother's smug look.

More rasping-the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from ... from about where Aunty Em's head would be.

"Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, "Maia!" to kick-start his flying sneakers.
I couldn't move. I stared at Aunty Em's gnarled claws, and tried to fight the groggy trance the old woman had put me in.
"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she told me soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."

Everyone keep on stealing glances at Percy just to make sure he was still here with them. Unfortunately, despite his groggy state, he noticed. "Can you all stop staring please, I'm fine and it's weird." He stated simply.

I fought the urge to obey. Instead I looked to one side and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens- a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents.
Aunty Em.
Aunty "M."
How could I have been so stupid?

"That's probably easy." Octavian muttered to himself but Achilles heard. He turned and glare fiercely at the augur, who visibly gulped.

Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?
But I couldn't think. Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus. She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face.

"Pleasant thoughts."

"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."

"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, somewhere in the statuary. "Run, Percy!"

"Yes run Percy!" Every screamed on the edge of their seats.

"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."

"Creepy." Apollo whispered to Hermes who nodded his head in agreement.

"No," I muttered. I tried to make my legs move.
"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear.

All the gods looked uneasy at the statement.

You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."
"Percy!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. Grover yelled, "Duck!"

"Are you doing what I think you are?" Leo yelled his eyes wide with excitement.

I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone.

Everyone cheered and Juniper kissed her boyfriend on the cheek.

"Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!"
That finally jolted me into action. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and nail me.

"Wow thank for the confidence Perce." "Sorry Grover, but you know back then it's true." "Touché."

I dove to one side.
Thwack!
At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. Then Medusa roared with rage.

"One-Zero Grover!" Everyone screamed while Grover was grinning while blushing slightly.

"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"
"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.
I scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass.
Ker-whack!

"Two-zero Grover!"

"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spit-ting.
Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy!"
I jumped so high my feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!"

"It's so creepy." Percy whispered into Annabeth's ear. She just held her hands up in a 'what are you gonna do' motion.

Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. 'You have to cut her head off."
"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."
"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You-you've got a chance."

"Wow that must have been hard for you." Nico said surprised.

"What? I can't-"
"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"
She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster.

"That's terrible." Hazel whispered. The trio nodded their heads in agreement.

Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of-"

"Can you speak English?" Poseidon and Theseus groaned.

"Would you speak English?"

"Like father like sons." Hermes smirked.

"I am!" She tossed me the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly."
"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!"

Everyone let out a huge breath they had been holding. While Hercules and Octavian's flipped around again. That's how he got out of this, she was unconscious!

"Roooaaarrr!"

And just like that everyone was tense again and Hercules and Octavian were confused once again.

"Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.
"Hurry," Annabeth told me. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."
I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide elongated in my hand.
I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair.

"Ew, she needs a new hairdo!" A young Aphrodite boy complained. Everyone rolled their eyes before turning their attention back to the book.

I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her.
Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"

"Ow." Everyone said at the same time.

Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!"
I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.

"And you got out of this?"

But she let me approach-twenty feet, ten feet.
I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really that ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse.
"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."

"You try to harm my friends and I will."

I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass-the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak.

Percy hand in Annabeth's all of a sudden went weak and fell into her lap. Annabeth just reached down and grasped it again. He offered her a weak smile to which she returned.

From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!"
Medusa cackled. "Too late."
She lunged at me with her talons.

Everyone sucked in their breathes while Octavian and Hercules smirked thinking he was about to be hurt and then saved by someone else. That has to be it!

I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening shlock!, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern-the sound of a monster disintegrating.
Something fell to the ground next to my foot.

Everyone looked at Percy in shock. It took a few more minutes before Perseus spook up, "One slice, a day of training, while she was awake and you managed to kill her?" Percy nodded sheepishly while blushing deeply. "Wow." Was all the everyone could make out. Octavian, Zeus and Hercules, on the other hand, had their jaws hanging.

It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces.

Everyone turned slightly green at the description.

Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."

"I'm with you." Aphrodite said looking by far the greenist.

Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move."
Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.
"Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.
"Yeah," I decided, though I felt like throwing up my double cheeseburger.

Percy shut his eyes closed trying to fight off the queasiness.

"Why didn't ... why didn't the head evaporate?"
"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."
Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves.

Juniper looked really concerned so Grover chuckled a little bit and grabbed her hands.

The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.
"The Red Baron," I said. "Good job, man."
He managed a bashful grin. "That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun."

"Not at all."

He snatched his shoes out of the air. I recapped my sword. Together, the three of us stumbled back to the warehouse.
We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.
Finally I said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"

"EXCUSE ME?" Athena yelled, her eyes going a dark and stormy grey. "I know that was really insulting Lady Athena but think of it from my perspective. I saw my mom disappear less than a week ago, I got attacked by a hellhound, got sent on a quest, and then attacked by the three furies and Medusa on first day. I think anyone in my position would be mad." That seemed to shut her up.

Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually.

Poseidon's looked angry for a few seconds before he calmed down. Percy shot him a thankful look before Thalia continued.

Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."

Hera looked between the two, "You two do look almost identical."

My face was burning. "Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa."
Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'"
"Forget it," I said. "You're impossible."
"You're insufferable."
"You're-"

"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"

"Yeah what did you do the head? We all knew you killed Medusa but you never said anything about the head." Will asked.

I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!
I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice.

"You shouldn't think that way seaweed brain." "And you were thinking different?" Percy asked innocently. Annabeth glared when Percy laughed at her sudden silence.

What had Medusa said?
Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue.

"You don't think that do you?" "Honest, sometime yeah I do, sorry dad." He added in afterthought in response to the sea gods question.

I got up. "I'll be back."
"Percy," Annabeth called after me. "What are you-"
I searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden.

"You support her?" Katie asked a bit outraged. Hades shook his head sadly, "I don't but Persephone wanted something to decorate her garden more. But don't worry I looked for their spirits and personally made sure they got what I thought was fair judgement."

According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California.

"That's helpful."

I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket.
In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins. I rummaged around the rest of the office until I found the right-size box.

"What are you doing Perce?" Rachel questioned.

I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:
The Gods
Mount Olympus
600th Floor,
Empire State Building
New York, NY
With best wishes,
PERCY JACKSON

Everyone was silent until all the Greeks burst out laughing. The Romans looked worries while the gods had looks of amusement and fury, though no god spoke their thoughts over their children's laughter and Poseidon's stern look. Even Zeus, who was silently fuming, didn't want to mess with his brother right now.

"OH MY GODS PERCE!" "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!" "PERCY YOU DAWG!" "Please tell me you didn't." "I always thought Grover was lying about that." Clarisse finished off all the Greeks shouting. The Romans still looked shell shocked until Reyna cracked a smile and asked, "How are you still alive?" He looked at her dead on with a completely blank expression, "I ask myself that question everyday." This time half the gods and all the Romans joined in on the Greeks laughter.

Hercules and Octavian shared a smug smile, excited to see Zeus make the kid pay. One thing they knew for sure, Zeus will make him pay one way or another.

"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent."

I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!
"I am impertinent," I said.

"At least you admit it." "Yes dear Neeks, but I never denied it either." "Don't call me Neeks and whatever!"

I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize. She didn't.

"Trust me I wasn't going too, I was too happy you were doing it."

She seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods.

"UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY!" Everyone screamed at the same time, Percy blushed slightly but laughed all the same.

"Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."

"That the end." Thalia announced. Zeus was about to say something when his brother cut him off. "I'll read next Thalia." Poseidon said with an angry glare at the huffing Zeus. Thalia handed him the book and the sea god waste no time starting,

We Get Advice from a Poodle.

Sorry about the late update, I got really sick so this week I was catching up on school, but yeah it's updated now. Anyways I hope you enjoyed please review and let me know what you want to see and/or what you like or want changed. In response to PJOloverforeva74 question how I don't make my characters too OOC (At least I hope they are not too OOC) by just writing anything I think the character would do. I don't think someone like Leo, and the Stoll's would be serious or the Romans would be joking and goofing around, so once I have decided how I want them to act I stick with it. And alos I read your story and I find no one is too OOC, so well done.

Anyways,

XOXOBeth2000