"I'M GOING TO USE YOUR BONES AS A XYLOPHONE"
This particular accursed line won't leave me alone, dagnabbit.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my OCs. I thank Commissar 8Ball3 for beta-ing this- also Cadia stands
o7 o7 o7
~0~
Of Bats and Snakes
~0~
At first, Percy just stared at Big Harley, confused and still on the ground. Only when he saw something move behind the dark-tinted windows; which was Ray slumping forward in the driver's seat, made him move.
Immediately forgetting about his friends behind him or the possible Medusa somewhere in the warehouse, he jumped to his feet and ran at the RV, his mind not completely comprehending what he saw in front of him though his desire to protect his brother still in the forefront of it.
But just a few feet left until his hand could reach the door handle, a black shape landed roughly atop Big Harley. The RV jolted at the impact.
The first thing that caught his attention was the tire mark running down her face, and with that alone he knew that this was the Fury that got ran over by a car, the one Annabeth reported. The Fury had discarded her whip somewhere, but she was still anything but harmless, especially seeing those long, yellow claws that acted as her hands.
She glared at him with her glowing, burning red eyes, like how a car steamrolled her was his fault somehow.
If it was any other occasion, he would be scared by her. He would just freeze on the spot and stand like an idiot as she swooped down and skewer him, his fear rooting him on the spot… but she just hurt his brother.
Rage immediately filling him in, he glared back right at her.
The Fury bared her teeth at him, her burning eyes smouldering with dark amusement. "Why are you looking at me like that, dear?"
"Grelod…" he growled right back, remembering that nickname from that particular teacher. "You want me to stab you again, Bat-hag?"
He subconsciously realized his friends had stood next to him, readying their weapons. Annabeth had a dagger and a sword out, but the most intimidating thing on her was her deadly, angered look. Grover was less confident and more nervous, hesitantly holding his weed pipe… but Percy could tell the big guy was trying to hide it.
Grelod- he knew her name wasn't Grelod but he called her Grelod for 12 years so give him a break- hissed, her claws stabbing into Big Harley's roof. "Now shall be different, seaspawn. Now, I will not hold back. Your head shall be a nice trophy I can bring back with me…"
Percy scowled, uncapping Riptide, letting return to its sword form. "I already beat you, and recently a car just beat you, so good luck with that buddy. I'm the one who's going to take your head."
"Well, someone's head shall be someone's," Grelod snarled, spreading her wings.
He could see her preparing to lunge from the RV- her muscled legs tensing, her claws widening, her mouth turning into an ugly smirk- so he quietly told his friends to prepare to dodge.
They didn't give verbal replies, but he could tell they heard it.
Grelod jumped, and everyone scattered. Just like he expected, she immediately swooped back down and flew at him, both of her claws outstretched and a darkly giddy expression upon her face. Percy ducked as she got to him, and he immediately turned around to take in the chance of attacking her back.
Apparently, she had been expecting him to do that since she flipped in the air and swung her claws at him at the same time. Sparks flew as they sliced at each other, Celestial Bronze against long, yellow monster nails- and Percy's eyes widened when he felt the sheer power of the Fury's strike. He gritted his teeth to prevent from yelping as pain flared up his arm. Grelod landed on her feet, and with nothing more than a snarl, she gave him no time to recover from the impact and lunged at him.
An orange blur, and Grelod's plan was thrown off course as Annabeth moved way faster than he thought she could, and kicked the Fury away. Rapid high-pitched noises filled the desecrated statuary as Grover quickly played his pipe, and as a result, whatever weed and greenery that had covered anything in sight grew and latched on at the monster, gripping her limbs as she laid sprawled on the floor.
But before either Annabeth or him could impale her on the spot, Grelod merely tore the vines off her and swiped at their direction with a hiss, rising into a crouched, tensed position like a pulled rubber band.
Percy took a deep breath to take his mind off the thudding of his arm, and raised Riptide again, though partially wondering if he should just use his other hand instead. Thing was, now, Grelod felt way more dangerous when they last met. Their first meeting lasted barely ten seconds. Now he could tell she determined to at least kill one of them… he eyed her anxiously, not really eager to give her the first move yet not trusting to guard himself if he did take it for himself.
Annabeth had no reservation and charged immediately. Percy almost yelled at her not to do that, but Grelod already swung and Annabeth already countered. He held his breath as he took a step forward… but no blood were spilled.
The two of them dueled it out right before them, a wave of righteous anger on Annabeth's face as she parried and jabbed, but never blocking. A good thing if Percy had to say, considering how strong Grelod was. Falling rubble from behind him made him turn, and he quickly remembered the other new thing in the warehouse.
"Ray!" he whispered furiously, running at Big Harley, forgetting about Grelod and every other thing in there. He ran over at Big Harley and pretty much slammed the door open, Riptide now in his left hand.
He paled when he saw Ray slumping on the driver's seat, still stuck in his seatbelt, his face firmly planted on the driving wheel and blood dripping down from his chin. "RAY!"
Percy, in a fit of panic, cut the seatbelt with Riptide instead of just unlocking it. When he saw his older brother fall forward completely he immediately dropped his sword and caught him. He pulled Ray off his seat, so both of them were on the RV floor.
Heart beating quickly, he turned over Ray's face so could look at it, and suckered in a breath when his brother didn't wake up… though thank whoever it was that watched over them (probably Athena) that he was breathing, and the blood was just from Ray's mouth.
Percy stared at his brother's unconscious face, the sentence fully dawning on him.
…Oh Gods, the blood was from Ray's mouth.
He felt lightheaded, seeing the still dripping red substance. Percy almost fainted when the blood dripped over his forearm. But he jumped and turned around, picking Riptide off the floor and faced the newcomer, protecting Ray behind him.
His heartrate lessened significantly when he saw it was just Grover, panickingly handing over a Tupperware bottle of nectar. Percy took it and forced it down Ray's throat, croaking out a weak 'thanks' as he did.
"He'll be fine for now, Percy," Grover assured in a way he probably guessed as soothingly. "But right now, we have to help Annabeth."
"…I know." Percy took a deep breath, shaking hands reaching over and wiped away the blood on Ray's chin. "I-I know. I… let's go."
He stood up, grimacing when he saw the droplets of blood on his hands.
"Er," Grover looked uncomfortable at the blood too. "We'll… look for a handkerchief later, Percy. Sorry."
He didn't give a reply to Grover, and instead only muttered, "I'm so sorry Ray… I should've never let you out of my sight."
Grover seemed sad, patting his back comfortingly. "Don't worry Percy. We'll make sure he's fine."
Percy only nodded slowly, and together they ran back outside. But right before he stepped out of the door, an idea struck his mind.
~0~
'If an enemy has vastly superior strength compared to you, do not even try to block their attacks,' Percival's lecturing words recited in Annabeth's head. 'And considering the majority of monsters possess incredible strength, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think that you would be better off relying on your speed instead of power.'
The Fury swiped at her in furious barrages, rapid slashes that barely left her a moment to catch her breath properly. Sometimes it would jump in the air, using its wings to attack her using the advantage of height and aerial swoops or spins.
Annabeth dodged all of that she could, only using her weapons to deflect if she didn't have enough time or space to jump or sidestep out of the way.
'Deflection and parries are your saving grace. Shields may prove useless, and the truth of the matter is; when you need speed it will only be a weight disadvantage you're better off without.'
The Fury flew up again, only to dive back down while at the same time swirling quickly, forming a rotating drill of flesh and nail. But Annabeth was fast, thanks to her advanced training with her brother, and easily jumped out of the way, letting the Fury tore several statues to minor stone pieces instead.
She took the short window of brief relief to take a much needed deep breath and assess whatever it was that was happening around her. The damage on her was mostly minor- she was very careful to remember Percival's teaching and avoid blocking or getting hit by the Fury's claws. Her friends- well, maybe Percy was relegated to begrudging companion instead of friend- checked up on Ray, and a pang of worry sparked in her.
She immediately shook her head- now, her focus was exclusively shone upon the Underworld torturer now rising from a pile of broken statues. She would make sure Ray was going to end up fine.
'But do not forget, the one thing we demigods have to counter monsters' superior physical might is simple, and quite frankly obvious. As a way of compensating perhaps, while the majority of monsters are supremely powerful, they are dumb as hell, or at least they don't rely on their intelligence too much that we can still outsmart them.'
The Fury was both powerful and quick… but its attacks weren't guided, merely wild slashes without any style or form. Percival would have a fit if he saw the way the Fury fought. But the most useful thing about this information was more simple- the Fury was either too dumb to properly fight her, or too confident.
Annabeth was determined it would be its downfall either way.
The Fury snarled and lunged at her, its claws behind its back in what deceptively seemed like a crossing attack. Annabeth tensed, ready to parry its attacks in case it was a feint, only to remember the sheer confidence the Fury had and in the end decided it wouldn't do something as smart as a feint.
So she ducked, and felt the wind rush by her as ten long claws went past her head, neatly slicing off a few strands of hair too late to dodge. Before the Fury could attack her again, Annabeth immediately jabbed both of her weapons into the monster's exposed stomach.
The Fury's screech almost deafened her ears, but she managed to rip her weapons back out again and prepared to strike a second time. But before she could, the Fury kicked her right in her chest, knocking both the wind from her lungs and her herself away from it.
Annabeth cried out in pain when she slammed against a statue of someone, though she could land on her feet in a not so undignified way. That… was definitely going to bruise. She felt a bit of pride in herself when her grip on her weapons only slackened slightly, and she tightened her hold once she regained her bearings.
"Filthy owl brat!" the Fury hissed. "Tell me where it is!"
"Good luck finding him, you bat bi- hag!" she corrected her insult, striving to be more refined like her brother.
The Fury was back on her immediately, barely giving her another chance to gain her breath again. She parried the monster's blows, grimly knowing she couldn't even hope to outlast the Fury's endurance. Annabeth was either going to win quickly, or lose slowly… by attrition.
She frowned, considering what were the options possible to her as she made distance with the Fury.
'Of course, I won't be telling you how to outsmart every monster in existence- you're already smart enough to do it on your own. But I do know several tips I can give you; use your enemies' emotions against them. Monsters are prone to acting with their rage… this makes them easy to predict, and thus easy to kill.'
"I don't know who's more pathetic," Annabeth taunted, trying to see what buttons she could press. "Your sisters for never reaching us in the first place, or you who's going to die fighting against a little girl."
The Fury snarled hatefully as it flew at her. "Do not insult my sisters!"
"You know I'm right," she continued as she backstepped its attacks. "I'm a daughter of Athena- I'm always right. Also, by the way, how does dirt on a tire taste, remembering your experience?"
"SILENCE BEFORE I RIP OUT YOUR TONGUE!"
Annabeth couldn't help the amusement off her face. "Jealous 'cuz you can't taste anymore?"
It screeched again and just straight up charged at her like a bull.
'Well,' Annabeth thought with a grimace. 'Now she's angry… what do I do next?'
She quickly remembered Thalia's and Ray's lesson, and hastily conjured up a Mist illusion of her standing still in the Fury's path with both blades held up in defense. She immediately dodged out of the way, but then, she realized one new thing about the Furies that day.
Mist doesn't work on them. The Fury saw her jumping away and easily changed her course.
Annabeth's eyes widened. She didn't have enough time to dodge out of the way!
She gritted her teeth, raising her weapons to futilely block the attack… only for a black blur to come flying into the Fury's face and got it tumbling away. Annabeth stared at just what happened, stunned.
"Squawk!" the black thing screeched.
Ray's crow!
'If you are incapable of killing your enemy with your current choice of weapons, do not forget the world that exists around you.'
Gripping her weapons tighter, she jumped into the fray. The Fury was trying its best to get rid of the bird scratching and pecking at its face, but seeing its behavior Annabeth concluded that it couldn't really do anything without shortening its claws.
"Miserable winged rat!" it hissed, still under Stalker's furious small attacks. Before Annabeth could do anything, it slammed its face against a boar statue, and Ray's crow along with it.
The Fury looked down at the bird, snarling with unfathomable rage as she raised a clawed foot. Stalker just laid there, not moving out of the way… or at all, for that matter.
"No!" she cried out, now enraged as well. Purely on impulse, she hurled her dagger right into the Torturer.
It hit with perfect accuracy, impaling itself in its neck. The Fury screeched and staggered back, buckling around to get rid of the dagger buried in its hairy neck.
Annabeth quickly scooped up the bird and held him against her chest. Stalker was warm, and thankfully she could feel the crow breathing. For now, she just put him somewhere safe, under a small stone pipe, which she could only assume was there for decoration.
After hiding him, she stood straight up and took a deep breath, thanking Stalker (and her mother) under her breath for the much needed distraction. Now, she could catch her breath and do what she did best; make a plan.
'Use your environment to your advantage; a well-thrown stone can stun a monster, spark a flame to a tube of gas and you can cause an explosion. But I'm sure you don't need me to remind you of this.'
The Fury was still angrily slamming itself to whatever statue she could find, snarling and hissing as it tried to pry off her dagger without stabbing itself with its claws.
Annabeth quickly swept her gaze around the room, thinking with haste. Big Harley's turret first came to mind, but it might take a while, and 'a while' she might not have considering her current enemy. She could probably push a big statue to fall over on the Fury, but with it moving all over the place and her own not that big pure physical strength, she doubted she could make it happen.
Weaponry from the RV? It might work… but most were the same as her own- melee weapons, and she couldn't really kill the Fury on her own. A gun or two might work, but truth be told she wasn't that confident in her handling of a firearm.
Where were her friends, anyway?
And… she felt like she was forgetting something. She glanced aside, trying to remember, and saw the frightened face of a statue, frozen eternally in a scream.
She immediately knew what she forgot.
Right after that thought appeared, as if on cue, high-pitched rapid sounds started playing, and several vines cracked open from the floor and latched onto one of the Fury's legs. It tried stumbling away, but the vine was now more focused on one thing; its single leg, and so it failed to overpower it, tripped over, and fell on its stomach.
Then Percy appeared, quickly running in and sliced off one of its wings with his sword.
'And Annabeth, remember that you can rely on are your friends. They can watch your backs when you cannot, draw attention from you before you get overwhelmed- and steal your kill if you're not careful- they can help you in life and death situations.'
This was a chance! Annabeth almost, almost, smirked in victory, but she didn't, and instead just went in with the intent to kill. Percy had the same idea and raised Riptide.
"No!" the Fury screamed. But it was all for naught- they brought their blades down, and soon it was nothing more than a pile of ash.
There went her plan on using the Medusa to beat the Fury.
'But regardless of what you do, I'll know you'll win and succeed anyway. After all… you are my sister.'
Annabeth turned to look at Percy, and Grover, who now jogged over holding his reed pipe. She panted as the rush of adrenaline buggered away and leaving her with various aches in her body. She felt like dropping over and sleep, but her pride (and her feet) wouldn't allow that.
She raised an eyebrow. "Where the hell were you two?"
"Sorry," Percy said, wincing, and Annabeth instantly knew he meant it. "I was trying to turn on the turret, but it took a while."
"We saw you here struggling and decided to just help the old-fashioned way," Grover added.
"I wasn't struggling." Annabeth huffed, standing straighter to hide her fatigue. "And you can apologize properly to me later. Right now…"
She grimaced. "Right now, we still have to fight Medusa."
The boys nodded grimly, and all three of them turned their attention to the creak of an opened door. The old lady with the middle eastern burqa had stepped in, and even with the black cloth covering her entire body, Annabeth could see her staring blankly at the destruction in the room, stunned.
"Oh, dear," the old woman that was definitely Medusa said, "What happened here?"
The three of them glanced at each other, non-verbally deciding on what they should do. Outright attack or sneaky chat attack?
Annabeth, on her part, was too tired to instantly raise her blades and run down Medusa. She shrugged as a reply. "Not much, just some… scuttle."
"A scuttle," the old woman repeated.
"There was a bear!" Grover added in. "There- there was a bear that came in, yeah. It, uh, it… tried to eat us."
"Bear," the old woman repeated again. "And… why is there a car halfway into my storage room?"
The three of them stared at each other again. Annabeth glanced aside, noticing that Percy was looking at her more closely. Perhaps noticing how tired she was. The dense idiot.
"You know what, screw this." Percy uncapped Riptide into its full form and hurled it at the old woman. "Catch, Medusa!"
The old woman easily sidestepped the blade and hissed in a clearly inhuman way. "You demigods are going to pay for my warehouse."
"We don't have cash." And Annabeth rolled her eyes at Percy's reply.
"With your blood!" she roared, as her hands elongated into claws. The female creature's burqa bulged, and Annabeth had already yelled at her friends to look away before it burst apart. She herself just clenched her eyes shut.
Annabeth knew that beneath the veil, the monster's head comprised only of living snakes as hair and whatever hideous face Medusa had. You look at her, and you turn to stone. Annabeth hoped her friends were smart enough to avoid doing that.
The Medusa hissed, and from the stomp-stomp-stomp coming from her direction, Annabeth knew she was charging at them. For a split second, she felt immense panic when she had no idea what to do, with the loss of her sight and her aching limbs, but she quickly smothered the feeling away, jumping back to gain some more distance. She really, really hoped her friends were fine on their own.
Focusing in the darkness of her closed eyes, she tried listening in on Medusa's movements. The only good thing in this encounter was that she doubted the Medusa was as strong and agile as the Fury, and by Athena that was such a relief.
Annabeth's mouth turned into a grimace when Medusa ran right past her friends and directly into her. The grudge in the monster was real. There was a cold chill on her back, seeping into her bones as she was sure the Medusa glared at her with mounting hatred. Annabeth desperately raised her blades, knowing she couldn't defend as well as she should be.
But she didn't need to. Short, frantic notes came from Grover's reed pipe, and the impact never came. Medusa grunted in front of her like she was forcefully pulled back, and Annabeth clenched her eyes tighter. She swung, but her sword was blocked.
"Stupid satyr!" she heard Medusa hissing. Abruptly the chill was gone, but another type of fear came when she realized Grover was on the receiving end of Medusa's rage.
So Annabeth ran forward, and from the rapid footsteps by her left Percy did too.
Grover yelped somewhere in front of her, and she gripped her weapons tighter. There was a metallic scrape on the ground as Percy picked up Riptide. Together, they engaged.
It was… an interesting thing, fighting with your eyes closed. Percival had tried teaching her that, Annabeth regretfully recalled, but she insisted on learning more fighting styles instead. Her reasoning back then was simple, though it mostly was an excuse to learn more forms of fighting from her brother; that she wouldn't end up in a situation if she had to fight in total darkness. And even if she did, she'd argued that she would find a way to find any lighting.
She swung her weapons literally blindly- something she stopped doing soon when she realized she could hit a friend as well as the enemy. She decided to fall back instead, knowing she would just get in the way and think of something to beat the monster.
Rapid clangings occurred when what she guessed as Percy fought against the Medusa. Knowing she had a short time, she turned around, opened her eyes, and found herself facing the front of Big Harley.
The idea already formed in her head as she ran at the RV's door.
~0~
It was really weird, fighting with your eyes closed. It was different from fighting in pure darkness, Percy thought, since at least you could slightly see enemy silhouettes. With your eyes closed, you could only 'see' nothing, not even black. Just blank.
Which made it extremely hard to fight against Medusa. He had to rely on his ears, since Medusa's claws were pretty loud when they moved in the air, making swish sounds. Thanks to that, he managed to avoid all of her attacks, though since he couldn't judge the length of her claws he got some shallow cuts on him.
A loud swish came from his right and he raised Riptide to block. He could hear her other claw preparing to slice him from the left, but somebody got him covered. Thank goodness she wasn't as strong as Grelod, or he would barely be able to use his arm after the first block.
Percy kicked Medusa right in what he hoped to be her stomach, pushing her away for the much needed breathing room. Based on the distance of the thud he heard, she got away for a bit.
"Annabeth," he whispered, out of breath, still clenching his eyes shut. "What's the plan?"
Silence. He tried again. "Annabeth?"
More silence. Medusa seemingly had gathered herself up and hissed at him, though it sounded far away.
"Where's Annabeth?" Grover dreadfully whispered.
He got no answer for that. The tell-tale of Medusa charging at them sounded again, and Percy prepared himself again, cursing. "Dammit, Grover, we have to focus!"
But before any of them could do anything, both Medusa and them, Percy heard a mechanical whine, slowly becoming louder… from behind them. He didn't give it a second thought, heart beating faster as Medusa reached him and by the pair of swishing sounds she wasn't happy about him.
He ducked, feeling quick air as Medusa's talons cut the air above him. There was a smack somewhere up, and then Medusa's cry of pain and Grover's cry of glory.
"That's for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover shouted, and there was another loud, satisfying smack.
Percy slashed Anaklusmos up and was rewarded with another cry… and a swift slash he realized too late. The talons raked across his chest in a diagonal line of pain, making him involuntarily cry out too. He lowered himself to a knee, using his free hand to reach his chest and winced when the contact hurt. It was wet, too, how great.
"Percy!" Grover yelled out in alarm. Medusa growled, and Percy forced himself to gain distance.
The simple movement made his chest hurt, and he inwardly cursed. Dammit, he had to see to fight properly!
Medusa snarled. "Just for that, son of Poseidon, I will have your dead body as a trophy on my wall!"
"Percy dodge!" Grover shouted.
There was the sound of rushing wind, and he immediately knew Medusa lunged at him. Desperately, as a last resort, he threw Riptide again, but to his fear, the sound that greeted his ears was Medusa's aggravated hiss.
Somewhere behind him, the metallic sound whined louder.
"Close your ears!" Annabeth suddenly yelled somewhere.
Out of options and quite scared and desperate, he barely managed to clamp his hands over his ears in confusion.
And just then, he heard a muffled rapid drum of gunfire. It rang through the warehouse, but what he heard the most was Medusa's… screaming. Whatever Annabeth was doing, it sounded like it was working.
Though Percy still didn't dare to open his eyes.
It lasted for 5 seconds. Only seconds… and when the sound died away, he waited with bated breath.
But there were no other sounds. No hiss, no snarl of monsters. Percy lowered his arms, noticing the small ringing in his ears, before they too died out.
"Grover?" he called out.
"I-I'm here," Grover hoarsely responded.
"Annabeth?"
"I'm here, Percy," Annabeth answered him, concern evident in her tone. "Are you okay? You can open your eyes, by the way."
Hesitantly, slowly, he opened his eyes. Before him, on the ground, was what remained of Medusa- a single 'strand' of snake hair, looking like it was forcefully ripped apart from its tail.
He was panting. He was shaking. And his chest was bleeding and hurting. Still, Percy looked around, worried for his friends.
On Big Harley, the turret's barrel was smoking, but still raised, as if it was proud of its latest kill.
Grover had a large bump on his forehead, probably from the scuttle they had with Medusa. The satyr was panting too, holding a particularly large tree branch, sweat covering him.
Annabeth didn't look any better- if anything, she looked worse. There were small cuts on her, from her fight alone with Grelod (he winced guiltily), and she was pretty much swaying on her feet. Still, she wearily offered him a bottle of nectar, which he accepted gratefully.
~0~
Percy rifled through Aunty Medusa's Emporium office, trying to find what Athena had told him. Grover had offered, as seeing he was the only one who didn't have a major wound, sleeping on his feet, or unconscious. But Percy's chest had… somewhat healed, leaving only a small scar that he was confident would fade away if given more time. Besides, he was sure his brother was in safe hands, and honestly seeing the blood on Ray's face made him nauseous.
He pocketed any dollar money and drachma money he could find, though he didn't try to linger much. He didn't know if a monster heard their battle, but he didn't want to know. He wasn't about to test his luck.
Percy pulled open a drawer and looked inside- and he almost yelled out 'Bingo!'. There was a pile of receipts in there, but the one on top was recent, only a few days ago. It read that some statues were sent to an Underworld garden that belonged to Hades and Persephone, though the most important thing was the billing address- DOA Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California.
He stuffed the piece of paper in his pocket too and retracted quickly.
Back in the area where they fought against Grelod and Medusa, everyone was resting on whatever they were able to rest on. Ray had woke up from the nectar he was given, and now was wiping blood off his face with a tissue, sitting on a stone fence, and lost in thought with Stalker ruffling his feathers beside him. Annabeth sat on the ground, leaning against the stone fence Ray was sitting on, and mended her own bruises and scrapes. Grover rubbed the bump on his forehead, sitting next to her.
Percy approached them and aimed at a spot between Annabeth and Ray's legs. When she didn't kick him away, he deemed it safe and sat down, leaning against the stone structure and instantly felt tiredness seeping into his bones. The rough stone surface felt like a thousand-dollar bed. He could just close his eyes and sleep then and there.
He felt a hand on his hair and looked up, meeting Ray's concerned face.
Percy nodded slightly, in a form of assurance that he was fine. His brother's stare lingered on him, though. Small splotches of dried on Ray's face made it hard to focus.
"You got what we were searching for?" Ray asked, pulling his hand back and rolled up his tissue.
"Yeah." Percy's voice sounded more tired than he thought, though he still pulled out the receipt and handed it over. He looked away then, uncomfortable at the blood on his brother's face. "I got the address… we gotta go to California."
Ray hummed at this new information, visibly mulling it over, and then turned to Annabeth.
"Damage report, Annabeth?" Ray asked gently.
Annabeth startled, then had to think for an answer. She looked over at Big Harley still poking her face in from slightly above the floor. "Well… I can't say for sure, but I think the RV only sustained minimal damage. The turret is still operational, so I doubt it's that bad."
"Thank you for the observation," Ray said, "But I meant you. I said damage report as a half-hearted attempt at a joke."
Annabeth blushed and looked down. "Oh, sorry. But… for me… I can't really say for sure, too. I don't think any of my bones are broken. I think I only have some cuts and bruises, nothing more, Ray."
Ray nodded and glanced at Grover then Percy, both of whom were silent. "My question extends to both of you, boyos. How badly are you hurt?"
"Besides my obvious one?" Grover muttered, lowering his hand and looking up to Ray's face. "Same like Annabeth, probably."
"Same like them," Percy answered automatically. There was no need to make his brother worry too much- which was why he used spare clothing from his backpack to change from his bloodsoaked one. "And even if I had… it already healed."
"Hah." Ray dropped down and walked over in front of them, observing them critically. "You mean to tell me you fought against a Fury and the Medusa, and got away with barely anything more than a few scratches?"
The three of them shrugged.
Ray stared at them for a while. "You know what, I'm gonna let Big Harley be the judge of that. Can the three of you stand?"
Shakily, weakly, they rose. Percy glanced at his friends, who looked, more than anything else, tired than hurt. Annabeth in particular was struggling to stand.
"I can see it," Ray said, worry leaking into his voice. "Just you wait a moment…"
Percy turned his gaze to his brother, and saw Ray narrowing his eyes but staring at nothing- Ray was focusing. Not a few seconds later, a muffled explosion could be heard somewhere deeper in the warehouse. Percy's head whirled to the source, eyes widening as his friends did.
If there was another monster coming…
But instead of a hulking form of a beast, a surge of water burst through a door, rushing at them. Before Percy could even raise his arms in defense, the liquid had already engulfed him. His friends got the same fate, Grover's yelp got cut off as he did.
"Sleep," Percy heard Ray say, before he blacked out.
~0~
When Percy woke up, he was back on Big Harley's passenger seat again, with the RV itself driving on a more populated area, in a city he didn't recognize. He sat up blearily, blinking the white irritating dots out of his vision. He felt an unknown pressure on him, and when he looked down the blanket upon him and the black crow sleeping on his lap shifted slightly. He had some new clothes on too.
Ray noticed his awakening, glancing away from the road only for a moment. He whispered, "I saw that scar before it went away, you know… and that… bloodied t-shirt of yours. Are… how are you feeling right now, Percy?"
Percy looked around, not answering yet. He noticed small cracks on the windows. Annabeth and Grover were in the middle of the RV, on the dining table's separate seats, both of them sleeping underneath blankets like he did. Soft, quiet classical music (weirdly enough) aired inside, almost like a soothing lullaby.
"Percy?" Ray glanced at him again, concern slowly marring his features. "Are you okay?"
Percy sighed, lowering deeper into his seat and guiltily snuggling his blanket, angry at himself for how comfortable he was yet still not willing to let go of this comfort.
Moreover, Percy was also angry he felt fine. All of his aches are gone, his large cut now nothing more than a bad memory, and if there was anything wrong with his bones, he didn't feel it at all.
And that was exactly what Percy said to his brother… minus the early parts, of course.
Ray's infinite concern didn't fade away. "Which one cut you? The Kindly One? Medusa?"
Percy just shrugged and looked at the road. The sky had darkened, and when he glanced at Big Harley's clock in the middle, it was already 6 in the evening. The road lights had turned on, lighting the road they were on. The trees around the freeway swayed gently in the dark, dark leaves blowing in the wind. The road wasn't empty, but it wasn't full either- cars and trucks often passed them or got passed by them.
Ray sighed. "I'm really sorry it happened. I… I should've been more careful. Maybe then I would've been able to protect you three better- or at least help."
"…Ray, were you hurt?" he quietly asked. The flashes of memories haunted him in his sleep, of the blood flowing down his older brother's chin and just how slack Ray was, like a doll with its strings cut off.
"Not as bad as you seem to think, Percy." Ray was quick to assure him. "I just bit the inside of my cheek when the Fury threw the RV… I didn't have any internal bleeding or anything.
By the gods, there were so many things that could go so wrong in that goddamned warehouse. What if the RV landed upside down? What if it landed on somebody, like them for instance? What if it exploded?
An involuntarily shudder went past him, and he brought the blanket on him higher. Stalker was either too asleep to notice or didn't care, still breathing softly with his every breath letting out a soft, almost silent caw.
"Hey, Ray… do you think this is a bad idea?"
His brother glanced at him, but didn't say anything.
Percy shrugged helplessly. "This whole thing of me bringing you along for the ride."
Ray went silent, and the RV passed a slower compact car on the right. "What, you regret me being here?"
"Not in the way you might think." Percy sighed, feeling bad. "I just… I want you along for the ride so nobody can hurt you while I search for the stupid bolt. But… well, not even one day after we left and you already got hurt."
"Minor," Ray reminded him. "It's already gone, just so you know."
"Yeah, but you're still hurt. And that's what I'm trying to avoid. I was confident when we started this retarded quest, because of all the stuff you and the others taught me made me feel I could take on the world. How wrong I was. I know things will only get worse, and, well… I think you know where I'm going with this."
Ray was silent for a while. "…Percy, the only one who got seriously hurt was you. We were lucky Big Harley was near- if you weren't healed as soon as you did… I really don't know. If anything, I don't want you here. This is- this is so dangerous you don't even need me to tell you that."
Percy sighed. "So this is a bad idea?"
His older brother inhaled. "If it was, I would've put a stop on it the first I heard it. But considering your plan… it might actually work. If I was in your position, and you were blamed instead of me, I'd want you to be near me all the time. Also… personally? I'm glad I'm here, since I can watch out for you too."
Percy turned back to the road, thinking. "But it will get worse, right?"
"Unfortunately. But." Ray hesitated, like he didn't actually want to say it. "But… but we'll be prepared for it."
Percy blinked, a bit surprised at just the sheer confidence in his brother's tone of voice his doubts and fears got kicked out for a moment. "You really think so?"
Ray's humor wearily came next. "I got the three best bodyguards watching my butt, I'm sure we'll manage. We'll find the Master Bolt, and take it back to its master's grubby hands before long. You three alone managed to kill a Kindly One and Medusa all on your own. And you were taken off guard! Even Percival would be impressed."
Percy cracked a smile, and for a second, the Oracle's final line of her prophecy stopped haunting him.
"So chin up, bucko. It's a long road ahead of us. It'd feel shorter if you don't feel all gloomy and stuff. We'll do it. We'll succeed."
"Hah… sure, Ray. And… thanks." For cheering me up, he didn't say.
Ray smiled tiredly at him, and he knew he didn't have to say it at all. His brother already knew what he needed. "We'll be fine, brother mine. All of us will. We may get some bad wounds, some scrapes and bruises here and there… but it'll heal. We'll heal, we'll succeed, we'll survive. I'll make sure we will."
For a moment, Percy just stared at his brother. The conviction in Ray's tone, the sheer determination of it- it made him brave. At that moment, even when Ray wasn't even looking at him since he was driving, he felt like he could take on all the monsters in the world.
And now he understood why people like Percival, like Athena, like Mr. D liked his brother. Ray's voice was infectious, and he didn't need any magic to do it. Ray knew what to say to who, and when to say it. Ray could make him brave even when he wasn't.
So he just stared at his brother. Slowly, he smiled back. "Yeah… yeah, we will."
And then the violin on the music started playing aggressively.
"What in god's green Earth is playing?" Percy asked, genuinely confused, though his voice was quiet as to not wake up his friends.
"I have no idea." Ray grinned as he whispered, not looking away from the road. "Probably Mozart… or Beethoven. Bethoven? I dunno, I just like it. Want dinner? I think there's some food… somewhere."
"Not hungry, but thanks."
Ray smiled, and if he wasn't so far away, Percy knew his brother would've ruffled his hair. "Sleep, Perce. I'll wake you up in the morning… or when there's trouble."
There were still many things Percy was worried about. Firstly of course, were they still able to hide considering the Furies managed to track them down? And why the heck were the Furies even chasing after them? Did Zeus send them? Was their quest doomed from the start?
A bitter taste entered his mouth when that last question surfaced. Percy was really starting to hate the Oracle.
"Right now, try to get some sleep, Percy," Ray said, bringing him back from his speculations. "There's no need for you to worry- leave the worrying part to me, I'm good at it."
Percy sighed, rolling his eyes at his brother's joking tone. But he was too tired to argue. Settling deeper into his actually pretty comfortable seat, he closed his eyes again and let Ray's weird choice of music lull him back to sleep.
Ray's voice echoed in his head. They will survive and succeed.
~0~
"So… what city will we pass?" Ray quietly asked to himself when Percy's breathing got even, calmer, as his little brother fell asleep. "Los Angeles, obviously. Vegas… hmm… Denver?"
Considering how Annabeth loved architecture, maybe they could sidetrack for a short while to visit the Gateway Arch… Saint Louis. But then again, the thing they weren't on a field trip, they were on a quest and stuff. But then again, their deadline was still one month away.
Then again, this wasn't Ray's quest, it was Percy's and his friends'. It would be their call, not his. Though… he gotta say… a field trip didn't sound too bad.
He smiled slightly, already picturing it in his head. Yeah… yeah, a trip across the country… hah, maybe when this was done. It should be fun.
The sky had already gotten black, and if Grover was still awake, he would start lamenting on how the stars weren't visible, though not like it wasn't justified. Pan was, even according the Lady Athena herself, a vital key component in nature. Grover wasn't the first satyr who got upset by Pan's disappearance, nor would he be the last.
Suddenly, there was a quiet beep coming from his headrest, right at the moment a bright red icon of a home telephone lit up near the speedometer. Ray narrowed his eyes and pressed a button in the center console. Afterward, a hatch opened next to his car-door elbow, revealing another one of Marcus' earpieces. This one, however, was painted white to signify its extremely long range.
Eyes not leaving the road in case a half-witted moron or a blind imbecile would come in out of nowhere, Ray pulled out the white earpiece with one hand and put it in his ear. Then he pressed a small button on the earpiece.
"Yes?" he asked quietly.
"Z found out you're gone," Percival's voice came in.
Ray closed his eyes, exhaling. "Of course he friggin would."
"Your timing was impeccable. This afternoon he sent the Stormguard to take you in. Imagine their surprise when they didn't find you in your cabin."
"The Stormguard," he repeated, a bit stunned.
The Stormguard… Zeus' personal guard of anemoi thuellai. He had fought against some, the storm spirits, and he always hated them for their bodies were unable to be harmed through conventional means. The Stormguards was a recent thing, made a few years after the Keepers did, though the spirits were barely active at all. Lady Athena had mentioned, worriedly, that she suspected Zeus formed the squad of storm spirits to anticipate the Keepers in case of... well, incredible paranoia, Ray would guess.
"Why does he want me now? He even sent the goddamned Stormguard, don't tell me…"
"He wanted to interrogate you," Percival grimly answered. A chill ran down Ray's spine. "And no offense, but I doubt you'd survive it. It's a good thing you left quickly."
Ray grimaced. "That was an extremely close call, agreed. And am I right in saying he didn't take it well?"
"As you might expect of him, he was enraged. He demanded your location from everyone. Chiron didn't know, and D probably wouldn't even remember if he knew. And thanks to your vague orders, you saved us from lying to them."
"So…?"
"I have no idea where you are. I'm unable to send help if you're in trouble… but I also loathe how right you are for hiding your location. Z now truly wants you."
"He sent the Stormguards again?"
"Not just them, no. Very recently, he sent the decree to anyone in America; whether it be monsters or spirits or even demigods, that if they see you, either report to him or capture you personally."
"I'm surprised he didn't post in on mortal news."
"I believe it was my mother's doing. She told Z that you're probably out there searching for the Master Bolt yourself, in an effort to… lighten your sentences should you fail, I suppose. Are you searching for the Bolt?"
"Aye."
Percival hummed before answering. "Due to what my mother had said, Z somewhat… lessened his gusto in your search. He even said it himself- either he gets you first, or you get the Bolt first."
"How nice of him." A prickle of annoyance arrived when the car in front of him drove extremely slowly, and he passed it. "Anything else I should know?"
"Well… Thalia was angry when she found out you did something alone without telling her. But then the Stormguard came in, demanded if she knew your location, and… well, she looked extremely pleased with herself when she said she had no idea."
Ray grinned, a bit fond. "What of the Keepers?"
"We were questioned, of course. But we're all the same- we have absolutely no idea where you are."
Concern clawed its way up, but his voice remained calm. "My mom isn't involved?"
"We made sure she didn't, and we'll make sure she won't," Percival assured him, and hearing the conviction in his old friend's voice made him drive a little more easily. "Did you leave behind a trail of breadcrumbs?"
"None that I am aware of." Ray leaned back in his seat; work was easy to discuss. "The Mist shield will always be active, even if we stopped. Any bullets used are always recollected. However… we did leave some… destruction."
"Ah. Can you be tracked down through it?"
"If we leave another one. It has been a while since we left it. I know you'll find out the address soon, and by then we'll be far away enough that it would be next to impossible to track us through it."
"Which monster, if I may ask?"
Ray glanced around. All the kids were asleep. Maybe he could chat some more. He told Percival the important parts while letting out some information in case Schneider would be questioned later…. and if he was the snitch; Ray still hadn't let it go, either. Basic things, and really small bits of important ones. Omit some more inconvenient stuffs. The Medusa was dead, and all the Furies were dispelled as well.
"The Kindly Ones…"
"Indeed. I wonder if I can trust you to look it up."
A sigh. "You can always trust me, Jackson. I'll look up why the Furies attacked you. Underworld… even I don't think Z knows what's up down there."
"Indeed," Ray repeated, half thinking how weird what Percival just said; 'What's up down there'. "Since I'm driving, I think we can agree we cut this now. Any last words?"
He could practically sense Percival rolling his eyes from the other end before answering. "Not much, however… the Camp now knows the Master Bolt is missing, and that Z blames you. I, for one, believe things will be a handful tomorrow."
"Yep. You can say that again. All done?"
"…One last thing. How's Annabeth?"
Ray smiled. "She's more than fine. She personally killed one of the Kindly Ones, you know."
Percival scoffed, and pride was evident in his voice when he spoke. "Of course she is. I expected nothing less."
Ray raised an eyebrow. "You expected the Torturers to attack us?"
"That's not what I meant." Percival sighed.
"I sure hope so. Better give her a proper congratulations and celebration when we get back. See you soon, Schneider."
"I… uh, see you. Well… good luck."
Ray hummed and turned off the earpiece. He put it back in its place, and the hatch closed again. When he could finally focus back on the road, a frown arrived on his face.
So… Zeus had begun to act. And not just that, but actually sending the Stormguard themselves to capture him. If he was one for hyperbole, he would gladly say that the tides of change were coming. Something big, and, if his brother's dream implied anything, something dark and evil.
His frown turned into a scowl. He knew he was being played here. They all were. The Master Bolt… it was a dangerous thing- tempting enough that it could be used as bait, yet powerful enough that if nobody took the bait it would even hardly matter. Who took it? Who had it? Why the hell was it even stolen in the first place?
What in Olympus was going on?