Disclaimer: Percy Jackson is property of Rick Riordan and League of Legends is owned by Riot Games

Chapter 10

It was very early in the morning as an old pickup truck drove through the streets of San Francisco. Normally the sight of four underage girls driving around with two laying in the trucks bed would draw attention, however due to how empty the streets were and a simple application of the mist, no one noticed a thing.

The truck rattled as it drove through empty streets. Its tank nearing empty.

"Gods I hate this." Bianca muttered as her eyes scanned around her. "What's with all these roads?" Driving through the city was not something she was used to, and these twisting streets were not helping her nerves

"These roads are designed for max efficiency for both cars and trolley cars." Annabeth lectured as she read a map. "Pull into there." She pointed off to the side at a mostly abandoned parking lot. Bianca pulled the truck over and then killed the engine.

The two girls looked back at their other two passengers. Zoe had been staring intently at the sleeping daughter of Zeus, her eyes having a rather soft look as opposed to the frigid glares that they had been known to exchange. It was almost as if the huntress didn't want to take her eyes away, in fear that she would disappear.

"Zoe." Bianca spoke softly. The girl didn't respond so Bianca called again, this time a little louder, earning her attention. "Where do we go now. The trail leads to San Francisco, but we don't know what we're looking for."

"We need to find Nereus." Zoe said after a moment of contemplation. "If there is anyone that knows what we need it would be him."

A groan from the back drew their attentions to the truck bed. A very groggy Thalia sat up from the back, bleary eyed and a head of hair like a bird's nest.

"Whaz are we!" The girl stumbling through her words in her half-asleep state.

"This is the second time that you've passed out." Zoe gave her a glare but seemed more amused than anything. "Please don't make this a habit."

"Yeah yeah." Thalia rolled out of the truck with a visible middle finger held out into the air. "Where are we going this time?" She grumbled but attentively listened when Zoe.

"So where are we supposed to find this guy?"

"By the smell of course."

The three girls just looked at Zoe as if she lost her mind.

"Uh Zoe. I know a hunter is supposed to be skilled in tracking, but don't you think your being a bit too literal?"

The lieutenant shook her head with a smirk. As if laughing at an inside joke. "You will understand." She spoke cryptically before walking off in the direction of the beach. The girls not seeing any reason to disagree followed closely behind.

X

Zoe stopped at the docks to sniff the air. The faintest scent of sea brine and dried seaweed hit her nose. It was a repulsive smell, but it was one that meant that the target was close.

"So, you want to explain what it is we are looking for?" Thalia asked as she eyed the homeless people that lined the docks. Zoe herself sent a few glares that properly cowed some of them from attempting anything.

"Nereus, 'The old man of the Sea'." Zoe explained. "He is known for his generally all-knowing knowledge. He never strays too far from the oceans and has made a habit of sunning himself during the day. If we can capture him, we can ask him one question that he will answer."

"How do we know if we can trust him?" Annabeth asked. "He could be working for the titans for all we know."

Zoe raised a brow. "Nereus is many things but he has always been a neutral party. My mother was a sea goddess and has had a few encounters with him, so I know this to be true."

"Either way he is bound by agreement to answer truthfully any one question that is asked upon his capture."

"Sounds like a sucky deal." Thalia whispered to Bianca who nodded in agreement.

"Now help me find him. You will know who he is by how…different he smells." Zoe walked of with her nose to the air trying to find where the scent was the strongest. Out of the corner of her eye she can see the other girls all sniffing like dogs trying to find a trail. She had to admit that it was slightly amusing to watch, even more so if she wasn't doing the exact same thing.

A sudden wave of nausea hit Zoe and she almost visibly gagged. The wind had suddenly shifted, carrying the scent directly into her nose. On one hand she now had an idea of where her target is but on the other hand…ew.

Not one to be deterred simply by smell Zoe followed the scent down the pier until coming across a small group of homeless people. Most of them looked normal, or as normal as the homeless could look, however there was one in the back of the group that stood out.

He was a heavy-set man dressed in a frayed bath robe, with a long-yellowed beard and hair to match. Zoe couldn't help but compare him to the large man in the red suit that the mortals display on their sugary drinks in the wintertime.

Sandy Claws, or something similar.

Either way the smell was definitely originating from him.

Zoe had to restrain herself from charging forward. Her intuition telling her that she was already on the man's radar.

Her steps were silent and graceful, not even the aged wood of the pier made a creak under her weight.

Her finely tuned senses never losing track of her prey. Her target suddenly twitched, but Zoe never missed a step as she kept herself composed and calm.

"Nereus."

The homeless man barely turned to her. One of his murky blue eyes peeking over an old pair of sunglasses to show that she had his attention. His body was lax in its posture but looks could be deceiving. The homeless god let out grunt. "What do you want?"

"You know what I want." Zoe narrowed her eyes trying to find any sign of fleeing.

Nereus scoffed. "Demigods, always picking on me. Why can't you lot just figure things out yourselves for once?"

"Are you going to answer my question," Zoe ignored the mans grumbling and complaints. "Or will we have to do this the traditional way?" The two of them stared at each other. Neither moving nor looking away. Their gazes locked with laser focus.

…

…

Nereus moved first. In one move he bolted out of his trashy beach chair and threw it into Zoe's face. The huntress expecting this ducked out of the way, letting the portable seat fly over her head. Despite his size Nereus was already sprinting down the docks towards the ocean.

Zoe took off after him at a speed that would make Olympic athletes seem slow. Slowly she was catching up to him, but it wasn't fast enough as he reached the end of the pier and jumped over the railing.

Zoe didn't even slow down as she followed him over the railing. Her arms locking around Nereus' torso like a vice. The smell was even worse up close, and Zoe had to force herself to take a deep inhale before the two of them hit the water.

Despite the cold shock Zoe's grip only tightened around Nereus. The old sea deity wriggled with even more desperation before he began to change shape. He turned into a sleek black seal and dove deeper before turning into an eel and then a fish.

Each time Zoe had to shift her grasp round the old sea god to prevent his escape. The only problem was that she couldn't keep this up for long. Her mother may have been a sea goddess but that didn't mean that she could breathe underwater.

As the two of them struggled neither of them noticed the ocean themed staff softly glow, as if responding to its master's pleas of the surface.

The seawater began to churn around them as they wrestled till a current picked them up. Its strength and suddenness disorienting them as it pulled them in a specific direction.

Zoe's lungs burned as she both held in her breath and gripped Nereus for dear life as she was tossed head over heels like a giant deluxe dry cycle before being lifted up and slammed into the sand of the beach in a large wave.

The two groaned, their bodies battered and beaten from the impromptu surf. Zoe was still holding onto Nereus' wrist with an iron grip, a testament to her above superhuman strength and endurance that it hadn't slackened during the entire ordeal.

"Zoe." Zoe blinked the salt water from her eyes as she looked up. Her companions all rushed down the beach to her position.

"Jeez you look like crap." Five drachmae to whoever figures out who said that.

"Are you okay?"

Zoe ignored their concerns and turned to her captured target. Nereus cracked open his eyes and turned to the four girls. He let out a groan. "Fan-fricking-tastic. An audience to witness my humiliation! Well? You caught me. Ask you damn question!" Nereus growled with distaste.

The four girls all looked back and forth at each other. There were many questions that they could ask. Even without speaking Thalia, Bianca, and Annabeth all turned to Zoe. This was her quest and she deserved to ask.

Zoe debated in her head. She already knew where her goddess was. Even after so many centuries away she always kept track of where her sisters and father ended up with each relocation of Olympus.

"Where is the beast that Lady Artemis was tracking." Zoe asked. The others gave her questioning looks, no doubt wanting to ask why she didn't inquire about the goddess. She already knew where the goddess was trapped, but the beast that had worried her so was still out there.

Nereus gave an evil smile. "Why that's an easy one. Its exactly where you need to go." Without any further prompt, the aged deity turned into a small fish and leapt back into the ocean.

Zoe felt her teeth grinding against each other, her fists clenched in a white knuckled grip that threatened to draw blood. "DAMMIT!" Zoe screamed so loudly that the other girls flinched. They had never seen the lieutenant lose her composure. "GODS DAMN MOTHER FUCKER!"

"Zoe…are you…?"

"I am fine." Zoe ground out. She took deep breaths one after the other, reciting mantras in her head to reign in her flaring temper. "This quest just became more difficult and yet much simpler at the same time."

"What do you mean?" Bianca asked.

"It means that the titans have already found the monster Artemis was looking for." Annabeth explained. She was chewing on her thumb in thought. "Nereus said that it was in the same place as where we need to go. Our objective has been to find Artemis, so our overall objective hasn't changed."

"I know where we need to go." Zoe said as she rose from her place in the sand. "A place I had hoped to never go to."

Thalia raised a brow at the look of uncertainty that Zoe wore. "It can't be that bad?"

Zoe looked Thalia straight in the eyes. Her face a mask of stone to further portray just how serious that she is about this whole situation. "We must head to Mount Tamalapais, or more specifically the divine land above it. Mount Othrys, the home of the titans."

"Ah…"

"It is only right to be awed," A heavily French sounding man's voice spoke. "The home of the titans rival, nay, surpasses Olympus itself."

The four girls spun around to find themselves held at tail point. There at the end of the dock stood Thorn. His tail swaying behind him, ready to unleash a volley of poisonous spines at a moments notice.

"Where's your little dog." Thalia spat.

The mention of the bastardized werewolf wiped the smirk from the manticore's lips. "I do not need that oversized mongrel. I can defeat you all myself and bring you before the general. I will be rewarded with fame and demigods to feast on! All shall know of me and tremble in fe—"

BWWOOM!

A large golden portal opened in the sky as Dr. Thorn ranted. The manticore was so caught up in his own hype that he didn't even notice unlike his guards who leapt away as something fell from the golden portal on top of him, resulting in a cry of pain and a sickening crack.

CRACK!

"AAHHHH!"

"Percy!?" Thalia called out, being the only one able to scrape up enough sense together to speak. The rest were trying to piece together exactly what was happening.

Percy for his part was scratching his head as he stared at the large golden portal, not even caring for the fact that he had landed on top of Thorn. As soon as he heard his name though his head turned towards the demigoddesses. Something that could barely even be called a smile spread across his face.

Percy picked himself up off of Thorn, the manticore crying in pain as he moved. "M-My back!"

The four demigoddesses all collectively ran over to where the tall son of Poseidon stood. Annabeth glaring at him because of his unexpected absence. Bianca looking a bit worried at his sudden appearance from nowhere. Thalia and Zoe were both relieved that he had returned fine, though Zoe hid it behind an even gaze and Thalia with righteous anger.

"Where the Hades have you been?" Thalia scolded him; her arms crossed over her chest. It might have been intimidating if it weren't for the fact that she had to look up just to look him in the eyes.

"…Mountain."

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "You climbed to the top of a mountain?" It was more of a statement than an actual question, but Zoe got her answer anyway when the demigod turned his head away, trying not to look them in the eyes. Though he did seem to notice that Zoe had dropped her olden way of speaking and had a very familiar looking staff strapped to her back. If it was possible Percy would have been grinning ear to ear at the sight, but he wasn't the best with emoting and just had a ghost of a smile. He would have to talk to her about it soon.

"Hey! Eyes on me. Look at me." Thalia ordered, making Percy, reluctantly, look at her. Despite his joy he did still ditch them. Sarah could have a vicious streak a mile wide when she felt like it, a trait that Thalia seemed to have inherited.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

Thalia held her glare for a few moments before relenting. Try as she might, she just couldn't stay mad at him for too long."Just warn us next time." Thalia said with a smile before giving Percy a friendly slug to the arm. A good-natured action, or it would have been had Thalia not punched with a good deal of force, forgetting exactly who it was that she was speaking to. As soon as the daughter of lightning's fist made contact a shiver traveled through her entire body.

Zoe held back a laugh as Thalia cradled her now injured hand. She must have let a giggle escape if the look that Thalia was sending her was any indication.

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that he feel out of the sky from a golden thing?" Annabeth asked in disbelief as she watched the trio. She motioned behind Percy to where he just was and where Thorn was still collapsed in his crater.

"I-I can't feel my legs." Everyone ignored that.

"No, not really." Annabeth received a bunch of negatives as none of the three even cared. They were acting like this was a normal occurrence. She felt like ripping her hair out.

Bianca seemed to notice that Annabeth wanted to strangle some one and decided now was the best time to step in. "Can you at least tell us what that golden thing was?"

Percy raised a brow as he paused to think. "Portal?" He said, a bit unsure before nodding and repeating himself.

Bianca sighed. Even if they weren't friends, she had spent an entire trimester of military school with him as a classmate and knew that he was never the most vocally eloquent of people. "Whatever. Let's just go."

"Agreed. We must make haste. The place we need to go is only open at the sunset and is quite a way away." Zoe explained.

"I think we have a bit of a problem with that." Annabeth interjected. "The truck barely has enough gas to get out of the city, and we already used most of our money to get here. Unless we steal another car, I doubt that we'll make it all the way to Mt. Tamalapais."

"Hey check this out!" Every turned to notice that Thalia had at some point left their little group discussion and was now rummaging through Thorn's pockets. The manticore was weakly trying to grab her with his arm, as his legs were bent at weird angles and his tail was limp on the group.

"Please help. I-I think my spine is bro—"

"Shut up." Thalia lazily slaps Thorn's hand away, not really paying him to much attention as she digs through a wallet that she found in his coat pockets. A grin then spreads across her face when she holds the wallet up showcasing a large stack of twenty-dollar bills and a few credit cards in her hand.

Zoe let out an amused snort at the basic thievery before leaving with Percy at her side. Thalia joined in with the smuggest smile as she waved the wallet, vocally counting her loot.

"Why do I feel like nothing is making sense anymore?" Annabeth says with a sigh.

"You mean things were making sense before?"

Annabeth could only look at Bianca with a gaze that said that they really need a nap…or a strong drink. But seeing as she was underage, she could only get one of those things. "Let's just go."

The two demigoddesses quickly jogged off the pier to follow their friends back to the truck, and with the money, hopefully a good lunch.

"You feel like we're forgetting something?"

Thorn the manticore still laid in his crater. His body broken from a massive weight that fell on it, rendering his legs and tail useless as well as causing quite a few serious internal injuries.

"Someone. Anyone, p-please kill me. I feel so cold."

However due to the Mist, no one would notice him as even when later into the day the pier goers would all avoid massive crater thinking it was an accident, never once noticing the crippled monster at the center crying for the mercy of the sweet release of death.