A/N: Okay, so apparently this story has been nominated for a Phoenix award and I couldn't be more overcome with excitement. The site I've been nominated on is fanmortals .weebly index . html, without the spaces of course. I am not going to ask who nominated me, as it is a pleasure to be nominated by any of my readers. I am merely going to thank you all in general for providing me with an opportunity such as this one. The nomination period ends September 15th, 2012. In specific terms, this Saturday.
In case one of you points it out or notices it, not everything in this story is going to be exactly like the novel. How can it be? So, yes. The demigods ride in sleeper cars, despite the fact that they had crashed in chairs in the book. Sorry if some of you wanted it to resemble The Lightning Thief.
Disclaimer: I am in no way making a profit from this fanfic, nor am I attempting to pass off the ideas of Rick Riordan as my own. All credit for the characters goes to him.
The worst thing about demigod nightmares had to be the underlying reality of them. Mortals had the advantage of conjuring up abnormally irrational dreams, while demigods had some mystical force placing a vision in their brain, and it played before their closed lids like an old-fashioned film. The nightmares were confusing, and more often than not they caused the half-blood to wake up in a cold sweat, their frenzied hearts bashing relentlessly against their chest.
Fortunately, Thalia wasn't having a nightmare.
She wasn't herself; as in, she wasn't in her own body. She was in the form of a tall warrior, clad in glinting armor, a heavy pair of gladiator sandals separating her feet from the frigid stone floor. The demigoddess loathed dreams where she found herself looking through the eyes of another, especially when she didn't know whom in the world she was supposed to be. Although, she could already make the obvious assumption that she was some kind of fighter. Usually, one didn't prance about wearing armor for absolutely no reason at all.
"Thalia," a soft voice whispered, calling her attention.
If she was someone else, why was her name being spoken? Her eyes searched for the source of the noise and she found herself appalled. A man—well, definitely a god—suddenly stood in front of her, his royal chiton neat and practically glowing in the sunlight. His curly black ringlets of hair fell over his high forehead and framed his ears, and his rough beard billowed over his chin like a curtain. Something about the god reminded her of her father, but there was no way it could be him. Even though gods could take on many appearances, Zeus usually only stuck with one, and he never flashed warms smiles, as the god before her was doing now.
The god was tanner than her father and slightly shorter, although not by much. His sparkling green eyes didn't resemble the cobalt blue her father's were, and his lips were thinner. The god looked vaguely familiar to Thalia, but she couldn't think of why. That is, until he grinned even wider, showing off his charming smile lines. Of course, why hadn't she realized it before?
"Lord Poseidon," she spoke in awe, her voice quiet as if she was afraid raising her voice even slightly would scare the god away.
"Ah, niece," the god of the Sea said, almost wistfully. "So good to finally meet you. I must say, you are significantly less dull than I imagined. When my brother claimed you were a chip off the old block, I fear I took him more literately than I should have. But seeing as you don't appear to be growing any unusual facial hair, I believe I can speak to you as I wish."
"Huh?" she asked, dumbly. What did he mean? Why wasn't he gouging her eyes out with shards of glass? Not that she was complaining or anything, but his friendliness was certainly unexpected.
"Oh, don't worry," he brushed off with a wave of his hand, "just nonsense about your father. Now, where was I?"
"Facial hair?" Thalia tried to help, her face twisting in confusion as she gave a small shrug of her shoulders.
"Yes, thank you," he said, nodding. "Straight to business then. What are you intentions with my son Percy?"
"M—my intentions?" she questioned. "What do you mean?"
"I am aware of your tracking of him," he supplied knowingly, throwing out a sly smile. "Your father never was too careful with his affairs. I swear, Hera has caught him cheating on her more times than Lindsay Lohan has gotten busted for—"
"Um, Lord Poseidon?" she interrupted. "As interesting as Lindsay Lohan is, you're killing me with the anticipation."
"Right," he laughed. "My apologies. You see, I do enjoy a good conversation." The god cleared his throat pointedly, blinking owlishly before continuing. "My son is a good boy. Great, even. He is in no way affiliated with the theft of Zeus' master bolt nor has he communicated with I."
"With all due respect, I know that," she answered, frowning. "Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be talking to my dad?"
His eyes darkened and his face grew grim. The threatening look didn't suit him very well. The scowl looked out-of-place on his previously amused face. "If your father has sent you to harm my son, I wouldn't suggest stepping anywhere near my domain."
If there was something Thalia hated more than the uncomfortable sandals she was wearing, it was being accused of something she didn't do.
"I wouldn't hurt him even if he asked me to," she said, just as coldly. She knew it wasn't wise to speak to an immortal in such a way, but she found it difficult to refrain from doing so. The demigoddess just hated being judged and she hated that every adult seemed to instantly peg her as the bad guy. She never had the intention of hurting Percy! She couldn't if she tried. He was her friend.
Poseidon nodded, internally pleased at the news. "That is all I have to say to you, for now anyway. Tell Percy…never mind," he said, faltering over his words. "Do my boy some good. And please, make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble."
Thalia sighed in content, snuggling into the warm body behind her. She tried to go back to sleep, but something other than the intrusive sunlight was bothering her. Warm breaths splattered against the back of her neck and she shifted slightly, her face contorting in discomfort. It freaking tickled. She resisted the urge to giggle, because Thalia Grace did not giggle. She bit down on her bottom lip and wiggled around a little, trying to get more comfortable. This action caused the arms around her to tighten and her eyes flickered open.
Wait a minute…arms?
She jumped from the sleeping bag, not even bothering to unzip it. Thalia wound up kicking Percy in the face, but the jerk deserved it. Percy Jackson had been cuddling her. Cuddling. Cuddling with her.
Despite being kicked in his bruised jaw, the boy hadn't woken up. Before she could scream and hopefully wake him up, she heard a laugh sound from her right. She turned to see Annabeth, crafting together three lunches and laughing her white ass off.
"What's so funny?" the brunette challenged, setting her hands on her hips.
"Nothing," the blonde dismissed, attempting to stifle the rest of her laughter. "It's just…well, you didn't seem to be complaining five minutes ago."
Thalia flushed red. "Shut up."
"All right, all right," Annabeth surrendered, holding her hands up. "I was just saying. So, what's your poison? Turkey and swiss or pastrami and provolone?" she asked, holding up two sandwiches.
The daughter of Zeus took the second one, stuffing it into a zip-lock bag. She'd save it for later. "Where'd you even get the stuff to make the sandwiches?" she asked, sitting down cross-legged across from the daughter of Athena.
"Went up to town earlier," she answered, shrugging. "Picked up a few things. Grover is out doing something. I'm not sure. He's probably trying to find another form of transportation."
"Oh," the dark-haired girl replied, looking over to the sleeping demigod. "I am so going to kill him when he wakes up." She was, too. She was going to torture him until his throat was dry and he could no longer scream.
Annabeth laughed again, even going as far as to grin at the taller girl. "Sure you are," she chirped disbelievingly. "So, truth," the blonde said, setting her elbows on her knees and supporting her chin with her hands. "Do you have a crush on him, or…?"
Did she? No, no. She shouldn't like him…but did she?
Percy was cute and kind and a million other good things, but that didn't mean she had a crush on him. She could find someone attractive without actually liking him or her, couldn't she? Thalia cursed when she felt her cheeks warm and quickly looked away so the shorter girl wouldn't catch it. She did not like Percy Jackson. No way, no how. They were friends.
"No," she replied, finally meeting Annabeth's eyes again. "I don't."
The daughter of Athena shrugged, pretending to seem indifferent. "I understand," she sympathized, running a hand through her curly, honey locks. "Denial is the first stage."
"It's not denial," Thalia argued. "It's fact."
"What's fact?" a new voice asked.
The daughter of Zeus instantly tensed, shooting the newly awakened son of Poseidon the most hateful glare she could muster up. "Jackson," she spoke through clenched teeth. "Maybe you can tell me why I woke up with your arms around me and your breath on my neck."
The boy paled, hurrying to his feet. Raising his hands up in defense, he took a few steps back. "Hey, hey," he said, in an attempt to alleviate the situation. "There's no need to castrate me any time soon. You were shivering and I thought I'd share the sleeping bag. I'm sorry, all right?"
Thalia couldn't think of a witty remark so she weakly mimicked his words, sticking her tongue out in an immature manner to add to the childish effect. She knew she probably looked like an idiot, but it got Annabeth to laugh again and that made the embarrassment worth it.
Percy shot her a look of astonishment, completely taken off guard by the action. Recovering from his shock, he stuck his tongue out at her as well and it soon evolved into an all-out toddler war. "Real mature, jerk!"
The daughter of Zeus placed her palms over her ears and loudly chanted, "La la la, I can't hear you!"
"Did you hear that, Annabeth? I think it was the wind," Percy snidely said, looking to the blonde demigoddess for some sort of assistance.
"You can't ignore me!"
"You two are the most retarded people I have ever had the misfortune of coming across," the daughter of Athena grumbled, pulling an architecture book from her backpack and beginning to read it, effectively ignoring the bickering teenagers. To the blonde's surprise, the demigods stopped arguing and instead settled into an uncomfortable silence.
At least she could read her book in peace now, Thalia thought, a smirk rising to her face.
"Hey!" a voice sounded across the field. Percy and Thalia glanced up, and waved upon seeing their satyr friend charging towards them, a small poodle in his arms. Annabeth didn't bother to look up from her reading.
"This poodle is going to help us get to Denver," Grover explained, smiling at the small dog. When the animal rubbed her head against the satyr's stomach, he scratched between her ears.
"That's a freaking poodle," Thalia stated blankly, not in the mood to put up with any games from the satyr. How was a dog going to take them to Denver? Did he have a spare Lamborghini he could loan them? The daughter of Zeus rolled her eyes when the poodle began to yap at her.
"That freaking poodle has feelings, you know," Grover snapped, looking back down to the dog. "It's okay, Gladiola. She didn't mean it." The dog barked. "No, no. Well, at least I've never seen her throw puppies into a wood chipper."
"I don't kill puppies!" the dark-haired demigoddess exclaimed, stunned at the notion. "Or throw them in wood chippers."
"Uh, throwing them in wood chippers would be killing them," Percy pointed out, receiving a painful whack to the back of his head. "Hey!"
"What if the poodle has super powers, Flounder? She might be invincible to wood chippers," Thalia proposed. "You ever think of that?"
"That's stupid," the son of Poseidon said, snorting.
"You're stupid," she rebutted.
"Your hair is stupid!"
"Your face is stupid!"
"Your—" Percy began, but was cut off by an agitated Annabeth.
"You're both intolerable. Now, for the love of Athena, shut up and listen to what the poodle has to say," she said, her voice laced in annoyance. She turned back to her novel. Reluctantly, the two petulant demigods turned to the small dog and waited for Grover to translate its nonsensical barks.
Not even an hour later, they were boarding an Amtrak train to Denver, Colorado. Thalia was seated in a sleeper car with Annabeth, and Grover with Percy. The lack of conversation was driving the daughter of Zeus crazy. Every time she attempted to bring up a topic, the irritated daughter of Athena wouldn't even bother to look up from her freaking book. The brunette couldn't possibly make it through two full days with no talking.
"Annabeth," she said, turning slightly in her seat to face the demigoddess. "What are you reading?"
"Right now?" at the other girl's nod, Annabeth scowled. "A book on architecture. However, if you continue to disturb me, I'll be reading your obituary in no time."
"Sassy," Thalia quipped, turning forward in her seat again. She tired to stay quiet; she really did. But staying silent has never really been a hobby of hers and she was talking again within seconds of getting rejected. "You know what's a funny word? Obituary."
Annabeth face-palmed, but didn't reply.
"Say it again," the daughter of Zeus commanded. "This time, say it in a German accent."
"Charona…" the daughter of Athena trailed off, the implied warning obvious in her tone.
"Oh, come on! German accents are cool," the taller girl continued to urge, causing the blonde to grit her teeth in frustration.
The blonde demigoddess sprung from her seat and exited the car, leaving the slide door wide open. Thalia rolled her eyes, but bit back the angry remark. Would it kill the girl to just talk to her for two seconds? Was she not deemed worthy of the almighty Annabeth's attention?
Her gaze flickered to the door when she sensed someone entering. It was Percy. She smirked, watching as he sat down directly beside her on the small couch seat and smiled at her. "You should hear the things Annabeth is saying about you," he said, chuckling. "She practically forced me to switch with her. Although she really didn't have to," he assured. "I like you better than Grover, anyway."
Thalia laughed. "Gee, thanks," she said. "You like me more than a satyr. I'm honored, really."
"I can tell," he joked, placing his arms along the top of the seat. "Two days, huh? That's too long to be on a train."
"I know," she agreed. "I can't sit still for long. You want to get some food soon?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," he replied, grinning. "I hear they're preparing lunch now. All they have in there is breakfast food right now."
"Breakfast food is good," she said. "Percy, you have to learn. I eat more than a starving elephant does after smoking a million joints."
"I didn't know they allowed the animals in zoos to get high," he remarked playfully. "I was under the impression they put an end to that in the sixties."
"Nah," she said. "That's just what they tell the media."
"Of course," he jibed. "How silly of me."
"It's okay. You've learned your lesson."
They sat in silence then, neither of them really knowing what to say next. They hadn't talked since their earlier argument and the last thing Percy wanted to do was get into another one. It wasn't like his usual bickering with Annabeth. As much as his fights with Thalia amused him, he couldn't help but feel like he should beg for forgiveness after offending her.
He'd catch himself watching her a lot, ever since she had shown up at Medusa's store. The son of Poseidon feared that if she might happen to catch him, she would grow suspicious. But, as his eyes ventured across the features of her face, he couldn't bring himself to care. She wasn't like most girls he had met. Sure, she had the obvious…well, girly parts, but there was something that made her different. Whether it was her cropped hair or her hero complex, he didn't know. But he knew there was something. Maybe one day he'd be fortunate enough to discover what it was.
"You ever hear many old sayings?" the demigoddess suddenly asked, glancing out the wide window of the train. The question caught Percy completely off guard and he hesitated to reply. "Like adages or proverbs," Thalia clarified.
"Yeah," the dark-haired boy responded, silently cursing the way his voice cracked. "Uh, yeah," he repeated himself, purposely lowering his voice to compensate for his earlier slip-up.
"My mom," she started, reluctantly. Percy realized it was the first time she had ever openly mentioned the mysterious woman. "She was real crazy about 'em. The woman always had one up her sleeve." Thalia laughed, as if recalling something from memory.
"Really?" the demigod asked, interested. "What were some of her favorites?"
"One time, when I was only about five, my babysitter gave me a huge bag of candy even though my mother specifically told her that I was not to be given sugar," she remembered, flashing a minuscule smile. "Anyway, I got a sugar rush, of course, and I was bouncing all over the house. We were still cleaning up the mess for a week."
Percy grinned. "And I'm sensing there was a phrase involved?"
The daughter of Zeus nodded. "Oh, yeah," she said. "Thalia, baby, a rolling stone gathers no moss." While repeating her mother's words her voice had dropped a decibel and sounded slightly huskier. "It sort of applied to the situation, I guess, but it wasn't completely relevant."
"I've never even heard that," he commented honestly. "How many did she know?"
"Gods, she must've known thousands," the girl replied, not directly answering the question. "She collected them from everywhere. Movies, poems, books, songs, and just anything else she could get her hands on."
"She sounds like a cool mom," Percy said, smiling. His spirits dropped when he saw her face harden. She had finally revealed something about her past to him, and he had ruined it. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's not my place to say something like that."
She smiled. "It's not your place? Percy, you weren't being intrusive. I was just thinking about something."
"Oh," he let out a relieved breath of air.
Thalia wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the train had stopped in a station in St. Louis, Missouri. It would be three hours before the train departed again, so the teens had hurriedly left through the nearest exit and debated where to venture first.
"We have to see the Gateway Arch," Annabeth announced, her tone implying that no one else had a choice in it.
Percy looked to Thalia, as if wanting her to object. "Sure, why not?" the raven-haired punk agreed, smirking at the son of Poseidon's disgruntled expression.
"Great!"
"Thanks a lot," the demigod muttered to Thalia when the others were no longer able to hear him.
"Anything for a friend."
The tour of the humungous memorial bored the daughter of Zeus from the beginning. Annabeth seemed to be pulling made-up facts out of her ass, even though chances were they were completely accurate and true. Percy and Grover had eaten most of the jellybeans, and got the bright idea to chunk them at security guards. Luckily, they all ran fast enough to avoid being caught.
It was when they were nearing the end of their tour that Thalia began to really regret tagging along. For one, the elevator they had to cram into was occupied by an obese woman and her dog, which made it a very uncomfortable position for them to be in. And, two, they were suspended roughly 600 feet from the ground and heights wigged her out. After making begrudging small talk with the lady in the elevator, they all piled out when they hit the top floor.
If the demigods had thought the arch itself was impressive, the observation deck was magnificent. Thalia still couldn't shake off her fear. Even though they were confined behind seemingly sturdy walls, it didn't alleviate her worries of free falling to her demise.
Before too much time had passed, the appointed guard announced that the observation deck was closing. Annabeth and Grover were the first in the elevator, soon followed by two others. Percy and Thalia made a move to enter the elevator but were stopped by a guard.
"Next car, kids," the man spoke, alerting them of how full the elevator was already.
"We'll wait with you two," Annabeth suggested, but Percy quickly assured her that it wouldn't be necessary.
Percy and Thalia found themselves alone with a family, a guard, and the fat lady. The son of Poseidon uneasily smiled at the lady and the demigoddess did a double take at the scene. She could've sworn she just saw a forked tongue slip between the woman's lips.
The boy tugged on the sleeve of her brown leather jacket and whispered, "Did you just see what I saw?"
Before Thalia could reply to his question, the lady's Chihuahua dropped from her grasp and began to bark at the teenagers. "Now Sonny," the lady lectured, her voice raspy and creepy. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."
"Doggie!" cried a little boy, from the family of three. "Look, a doggie!"
His parents pulled him back and sheltered him slightly with their bodies, which was a smart decision on their part. Thalia considered tossing Percy out in front of her but then she remembered that she wasn't some worthless damsel and she could fight off a small dog any day. She had intimidated that poodle, after all. She got it to bark at her and everything.
The frenzied dog persisted, baring his gnarly teeth, foam billowing from his charcoal lips. "Well, son," the obese woman sighed. "If you insist."
"Did you just call that freaking Chihuahua your son?" Thalia asked, incredulously. "That's a dog, lady. Humans don't typically birth animals."
"Chimera, actually," chubby corrected. "It's an easy mistake to make. And I never did claim to be human, dear."
The woman rolled up her denim sleeves, leaving green, scaly skin in her wake. She smiled, her fangs glinting in the light and her eyes narrowing into slits, like those of a serpent. The demigods astonishingly observed as the once small animal transformed into a venomous creature right before their eyes. The mortals were thrown into a panic, as they struggled to find another exit. The monster was tall enough to where its furry back connected with the roof. With the head of a lion, body of a goat, and serpent for a tail, it was enough to make the usually fearless daughter of Zeus want to faint.
The fat snake lady cackled. "Be honored, demigods. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my own brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"
Thalia furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't have heard that right. Her father sent Mexican food after them? "Um, is that pronounced Enchiladas, ma'am?"
Percy frowned, shaking his head. "No, no. She said Echidna. Which I am one-hundred percent positive is an anteater."
The color of the monster's face began to alternate between brown and green and she roared. Home girl needs a breath mint, Thalia thought, visibly cringing from the smell. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, demigods, my son will destroy you!"
"What was he destroying us for before?" the daughter of Zeus asked, bewildered. "What did we do, steal his chew toy?"
"Thalia," Percy whispered threateningly. "Shut up before we compensate for his loss and become his new chew toys."
The Chimera charged for Thalia first, and she only narrowly managed to avoid its bite. She stood in front of the family and park ranger, who were attempting to pull open the emergency exit door. So much for a safe and effective escape. Percy rushed over to her side and she tried to signal him away.
She didn't need him to wind up dead, too.
The daughter of Zeus pulled her ballpoint pen from her pocket and uncapped it, taking special pride in her Imperial gold sword when Echidna's slanted pupils dilated in surprise. Percy, taking notice of her similar weapon, uncapped Riptide.
"I'll provide a distraction," Thalia murmured. "It's what I'm best at. You try and sneak around to the tail. Chop off the head of the snake without it seeing you, if you can."
He nodded. "I'm on it."
Thalia sprinted to the other side of the deck and felt like peeing her pants when the Chimera doubled her speed. Before she was able to swing her sword, the lion's mouth opened and she found her nostrils assaulted by its horrible road kill breath. Why couldn't monsters just carry tic-tacs around? Was it so much to ask?
A column of flame barreled out of its throat and toward the demigoddess. Not able to dive to either side, she settled for leaping through the explosion. The fire had blown a ragged hole through the side of the observation deck. The carpet floors ignited and Thalia braced herself for the burning sensations that were sure to travel through her willowy body.
But she felt little to no burning at all. When the hell had she become the Human Torch?
"Impossible!" Echidna cried. "How are you still standing, demigod?"
Thalia shrugged. "Gee, don't know. But, hey, I'm not complaining."
The obese monster narrowed her eyes before gasping. "Your garments!"
"What?" the brunette, looking down at her attire. "Is it too flashy or something?"
"The skin of a drakon is only worn by a true warrior," Echidna said. "Who has given you the scales of the mighty drakon Python?"
"Uh," the brunette started, "what scales are you talking about? I don't have any scales."
"Your jacket," the monster clarified, her eyes slimming dangerously. "Daughter of Apollo, I presume?"
Thalia glanced down at the jacket, so see that it was now glowing a bright bronze. She groaned to herself. Bronze so wasn't her color. Without giving her time to answer the anteater, the Chimera spun back around to face her. Reacting blindly, the daughter of Zeus slashed out with her sword, cutting off the monster's bulky collar. It wasn't exactly what she had intended to do, so she regretted her mistake of attacking.
The snake of a tail swung towards her and before she could register what was happening and possibly leap out of the way, its venomous fangs sank into the scar in her brow, reopening the wound that had been closed nearly sixteen years before. The demigoddess hated the way she reacted to the bite. She screamed, falling down onto her knees and gripping her thudding skull. Blood dripped down her face and she prayed the poison wouldn't travel through her veins or to her brain.
"Thalia!"
The son of Poseidon charged the monster with a terrifying cry, swinging his sword down as he vaulted into the air. The daughter of Zeus expected the move to be effective, but her hopes crumbled when he was carelessly swept aside with a wave of the beast's paw and his sword tumbled into the hole in the Arch.
"Grab it, Thalia!" he ordered, watching in fear as the sword began to slip off of the observation deck.
The brunette reached out, her hands brushing across the hilt of the sword. But she hadn't caught it. She leaned to reach out further and that had been her most dreadful mistake. Thalia slipped from the deck and yelled as she fell through the brisk air. On the bright side, she managed to catch the sword.