I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Chapter Six: The Quest Begins

Argus dropped them off in front of the upscale Manhattan apartment building that Chrysa owned.

"Why are we here?" Percy asked.

"My cars are in the parking garage below it," Chrysa said. "I own the building."

"Wow," Annabeth said.

Chrysa led them down to the parking garage.

"Now, the Bentley and the Rolls-Royce are back in England, the Porsche, the Audi, and the Mercedes are in California, and the Ferrari only seats two, so I guess we're taking the Maserati," she explained as she walked them to the VIP section.

"You have seven cars?" Annabeth demanded, even as Percy and the satyr burst out, "You have a Ferrari?"

"I have seven cars that I use on a regular basis. I have several more in storage, in case I need them. Yes, boys, I have a Ferrari. My boyfriend gave it to me for our anniversary."

She fished the keys to her Maserati Quattroporte out of her purse and clicked the unlock. The lights flashed, and the kids hurried over to it. Before anyone could say anything, Chrysa called, "Girls in the front seat, boys in the back!"

Both the satyr and Percy sighed, but moved obediently back. Annabeth smugly took shotgun.

A few minutes later, they were driving out of Manhattan. As they drove through Upper East Side, Chrysa could see Percy staring longingly towards where his mother's apartment was in the rearview mirror.

"You want to know why she married him, Percy?" the satyr asked him.

Percy turned to stare at the satyr.

"Were you reading my mind or something?"

"Just your emotions," the satyr replied with a shrug. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and stepdad, right?"

Percy nodded.

"Your mom married Gabe for you," the satyr told him. "You call him, 'Smelly', but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura…Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."

"Thanks," Percy said. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy – if that makes you feel any better."

Percy was silent for a long time after that.

Chrysa sighed and asked Annabeth how her architecture studies were going. It was a surefire way to fill the car with conversation – even one-sided conversation – in two seconds flat.

They had made it through the Lincoln Tunnel, onto a rural New Jersey Road, before the Furies attacked.

Granted, Chrysa was expecting the attack. She knew that Hades would be sending Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone after them in order to keep up the ruse that he blamed Percy for the missing Helm of Darkness.

She was not expecting them to total her car that quickly.

The car flipped several times before slamming into a tree. Thanks to the numerous ward and charms on the car, no one was harmed.

"Out!" Chrysa barked. "Get out of the car now! You're sitting ducks!"

The three were out of the car in seconds, abandoning all of their things. Chrysa took a little longer, as she wasn't actually allowed to help.

"Perseus Jackson," she heard Alecto say. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."

"I liked you better as a math teacher," Percy fired back.

Chrysa watched out of the corner of her eye as Percy drew the same pen-sword he had wielded against Alecto in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Submit now," Alecto hissed, "and you will not suffer eternal torment."

"Nice try," Percy replied.

"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.

Alecto lashed her whip around Percy's sword hand while Megaera and Tisiphone lunged at him. Percy hit Megaera with the sword hilt, before turning and slicing Tisiphone's neck with the blade. She screamed and exploded into dust as the celestial bronze touched her neck.

Annabeth managed to get Alecto in a wrestler's hold and yank her backwards while the satyr ripped the whip out of her hands.

"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"

Megaera charged Percy again, but he swung the sword and she turned to dust.

Alecto was furiously trying to escape Annabeth, but the daughter of Athena held on tightly. The satyr managed to tie Alecto's legs in her on whip, before shoving her into a bush. She tried to get up, but her wings kept running into the bush.

"Zeus will destroy you!" Alecto yelled at Percy, keeping up the act. "Hades will have your soul!"

Percy yelled something – probably an insult – in Latin, but Chrysa didn't catch it. While she could read Latin due to Hogwarts, she was not fluent in spoken Latin. She had died before it had come to exist, after all.

Thunder shook the sky overhead while an earthquake shook the ground.

Chrysa decided she really needed to get out of the car. She had just made it over to the kids when lightning shredded her car and destroyed the woods around them. One hit near Alecto, but she was unharmed.

"Our bags!" the satyr cried. "We left our…"

The Fury began to shriek.

"Run!" Annabeth yelled. "She's calling for reinforcements!"

All four plunged into the woods as rain began to pour, the car in flames behind them.

By the time they made it to the bank of the Hudson River, Chrysa felt like it was safe to talk. None of the three kids looked well, but Annabeth looked the best out of the three. After what she'd gone through during the month she spent alone on the streets, and the six months she spent with Luke and Thalia, Chrysa wasn't surprised. Out of all of them, she had the most experience with monster attacks.

The satyr was shivering and braying, goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror.

"Three Kindly Ones," he said. "All three at once."

Annabeth was pulling them along.

"Come on! The farther away we get, the better," she urged.

"All our money was back there," Percy reminded. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

"Well, we don't have much of a choice now!" she snapped.

"Tin cans," the satyr brayed mournfully. "A perfectly good bag of tin cans."

"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.

They were silent for a long moment, before Chrysa spoke up.

"Well, someone owes me a car," she sighed. "I'm definitely charging someone for that. I haven't decided who I'm charging, but I'm definitely billing either Father or the Lord of Riches for that."

"The Lord of Riches?" Percy asked, confused.

"Our mutual uncle," Chrysa replied.

All three kids stopped and stared at her.

"You're going to bill your uncle, the absolutely terrifying Lord of the Underworld that we're on our way to confront, for the car that his pet monsters destroyed," Annabeth deadpanned.

"Absolutely. The Lord likes me. We have similar senses of humor."

They continued sloshing across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.

Annabeth eventually fell in next to Percy.

"Look, I…" Her voice faltered. "I really appreciate you stepping in front of us, okay? That was really brave."

"We're a team, right?" Percy replied.

Annabeth was silent for a few more steps.

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

"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" Percy asked, surprised.

"No…only short field trips. Camp does group trips for the year-rounders. And Chrysa takes Luke and I out sometimes. But my dad…"

"The history professor."

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

It was only because she knew her so well that Chrysa could hear the doubt in her voice.

"You're pretty good with that knife," Percy said.

"You think so?" Annabeth asked.

"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me," Percy replied.

"Chrysa's been helping me. Have you ever seen her fight with her knives?"

"I saw her pull a knife on Luke during a sword fight," Percy replied.

"That doesn't count. She was using her knife as part of a swordfight. When she goes all out with her knives…it's beautiful."

"Why thank you, Annabeth," Chrysa said, raising her voice so the pair could hear her.

Both jumped and turned around.

"Gods, Chrysa, how are you this quiet? I forgot you were here!" Annabeth exclaimed.

Chrysa let out a small laugh.

"I'm good in the shadows. Always have been."

Any further conversation was interrupted by a shrill toot-toot-toot, like the sound of an owl being tortured.

"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" the satyr cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"

He puffed out a few notes, but the tune sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.

Instead of finding a path, it confused Percy enough that he slammed into a tree and got a nice-sized knot on his head.

"Satyr, if you do not remember the 'find path' song, do not attempt to play it!" Chrysa barked.

She saw him wilt from ahead of her. He probably didn't think she could see it.

For the next mile or so, Chrysa watched in amusement as the kids tripped and cursed their way through the woods. Since she had perfect night vision, she did not have the same problem.

Then, finally, the colors of a neon sign appeared ahead of them. The smell of fried, greasy food wafted its way to them.

They continued walking until they saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the smell of food. There was a neon sign that displayed the name in red cursive.

"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," Annabeth said.

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," the satyr translated.

Two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded runts, flanked the entrance, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their pictures taken.

Chrysa scoffed.

"Garden gnomes do not look like that. I have never in my life seen a garden gnome smile, and I have had to help de-gnome my best friend's mother's garden many, many times.

Percy crossed the street and moved towards the building.

"Hey…" the satyr warned.

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth pointed out. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.

"Snack bar," Annabeth agreed.

"Are you two crazy?" the satyr asked. "This place is weird!"

Chrysa could feel the persuasive magic beating against her Occlumency shields. She plastered a smile on her face and followed Percy and Annabeth into the clearing.

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

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my uncle Ferdinand!"

They stopped at the warehouse door.

"Don't knock," the satyr pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" the satyr said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy reminded him.

"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are…looking at me."

The door creaked open, revealing a tall woman wearing a long black gown, her head completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was all Chrysa could make it. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant.

Chrysa froze inwardly, making the connection of who this must be. She cursed mentally, wishing she was more than a chaperone so she could tell the kids who they were about to face.

The woman – Medusa – said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

"I'm their guardian for the moment," Chrysa said, stepping forward and offering her hand for the woman to shake. "I'm Chrys, and is my nephew, Percy, and his best friends, Anna and Grover. We'd been on a day trip to New York, when my car malfunctioned shortly after the Lincoln Tunnel. We flipped several times, and shortly after we were out of the car, it exploded, taking my cell phone with it. We've been looking for someplace for several hours now. I'm afraid we're a bit lost."

"Is that food I smell?" Percy asked.

"Oh, my dears," Medusa said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."

"Thank you, ma'am," Chrysa said, echoed by the kids.

The warehouse was filled with more statues – people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. Chrysa was pretty sure she'd seen similar ones in Persephone's gardens.

Percy and Annabeth obviously did not notice the satyr's nervous whimpers, the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow them, or that "Aunty Em" had locked the door behind them.

At the back of the warehouse was a fast-food counter with a grill, soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser.

"Please, sit down," Medusa said.

"Awesome," Percy said.

"Um," the satyr said reluctantly. "We don't have any money, ma'am. It was all in the car."

"No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice children."

"That's very kind of you, ma'am. Do you have a phone I could use to call my boyfriend? I'm sure he can come pick us up, and he'll pay you as well," Chrysa said, hoping to remind the kids that something wasn't right.

"Of course, dear, but why don't you sit down and eat first. I'm sure you must be hungry."

"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.

Medusa stiffened, but only for a second before saying, "Quite all right, Annabeth. You have such beautiful gray eyes, child."

Chrysa was the only one who caught that she had introduced Annabeth as "Anna", yet "Aunty Em" had known her real name.

Medusa disappeared behind the snack bar and started cooking.

"The phone is right around that corner, dear, if you want to call your boyfriend," Medusa said helpfully.

Sure enough, there was an old payphone around the corner. Chrysa had to dig around in her purse for quarters, but she eventually found enough and dialed Hades' phone number.

Most people were quite surprised to find out that the Underworld not only had both landlines and cell service. All the deities and daimons who lived there had cell phones, and there was a landline in every office. Chrysa chose to call Hades' office phone. It was still early enough in California.

"Hello?" he answered.

Chrysa flicked her wand and silently cast the Muffliato charm.

"Hi darling," Chrysa replied.

"Love? Why are you calling? Has something happened?" Hades asked worriedly.

"No, dear, everything's fine. Mostly, anyway. I'm chaperoning the quest that Percy Jackson is taking to confront you in the Underworld about the missing Master Bolt. The Furies totaled my car, which I'm fining you for, by the way, and we ended up at "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."

Hades responded slowly.

"Chrysa, love, you do know that the emporium is run by Medusa?" he asked.

"I figured that out on my own, thank you. But, I told her that our car crashed and I needed to call my boyfriend to pick us up. I don't need you to pick us up, but I still decided to call my boyfriend. I miss you, after all."

"I miss you too, my love. I'll see you in a few days?"

"No later than the twenty-first," Chrysa promised. "I love you."

"I love you too.Don't get turned into a statue."

"I won't. Don't drown in paperwork."

"I won't. Good night."

"Good night, dear."

She hung up the phone, took down the charm, and returned to the main part of the warehouse.

By the time she got back, Medusa had brought them all plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and extra-large servings of French fries.

Percy was devouring his burger. Annabeth slurped her shake. The satyr was picking at his fries an eying the waxed paper liner as if he might eat that instead, but he still looked too nervous to eat.

"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.

Percy and Annabeth listened, but didn't hear anything. Chrysa listened, and faintly heard the sound of snakes whispering to each other.

"I hope Mistress finishes with them soon."

"I want to get out of this blanket!"

"I want to see light again."

"I want dinner."

Chrysa shook her head slightly, trying to get the hissing voices out of her mind. She distantly realized that she was hearing the snakes atop Medusa's head speak in Parseltongue.

"Hissing?" Medusa asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."

"I take vitamins. For my ears," the satyr said.

"That's admirable," Medusa said. "But please, relax."

Chrysa resisted the urge to snort. The woman was literally staring at them as they ate her food, yet she made no moves to eat anything himself.

Though, Chrysa admitted to herself, for a monster, Medusa was a pretty good cook, even if her food had far too much grease in it. It actually reminded her of Ginny's cooking; the woman couldn't do any of her mother's recipes, but she could deep fry anything. It made her a favorite of the newest generation of Weasleys.

"So, you sell gnomes," Percy said, trying to make small talk while Chrysa continued her meal.

"Oh, yes," Medusa said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."

"A lot of business on this road?" Percy asked.

"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built…most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."

Percy turned to look at the statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. Her face was terrified. She had obviously seen her doom before it happened.

"Ah," Medusa said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."

"You make these statues yourself?" Percy asked.

"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company."

She sounded truly sad at the loss of her sisters. Apparently monsters could feel loss.

"I'm so very sorry about your sisters," Chrysa said sympathetically. "I lost my own sister a few years ago, and another sister when I was much younger."

"The bond between sisters is so hard to replace, isn't it?" Medusa sighed.

Annabeth stopped eating. She sat forward and asked, "Two sisters?"

"It's a terrible story," Medusa said. "Not one for children really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a…a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."

Percy seemed to be falling asleep. Annabeth shook him to get his attention.

"Percy?" she said tensely. "Maybe we should go. I mean, our parents are probably worried about us."

"Such beautiful gray eyes," Medusa told Annabeth. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like that."

She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up sharply.

"We really should go," she insisted.

"Yes!" Grover exclaimed. "Our parents will be worried! Right!"

"Please, dears," Medusa pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"

"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.

"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."

Annabeth shifted her wait from foot to foot.

"I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy…"

"Sure we can," Percy said. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"

"Yes, Annabeth," Medusa purred. "No harm."

Annabeth obviously didn't like it, but went along as Medusa led them back out the front door, into the garden of statues.

Medusa directed them to a park bench next to the stone statue.

"I'll sit over here, so I don't mess up the photo of the children!" Chrysa said cheerfully, taking a seat on the other side of the garden.

Medusa looked annoyed, until Chrysa flared her aura. The Gorgon flinched and quickly waved her acquiescence. Thanatos' mark on her soul was hard to ignore, if you knew what to look for.

"Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the young gentlemen on either side."

"Not much light for a photo," Percy pointed out.

"Oh, enough," Medusa said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"

"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.

Medusa stepped back, as if to admire the shot.

"Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"

The organic satyr glanced at the cement satyr next to him and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."

"Grover," Medusa chastised, "look this way, dear."

Chrysa pulled a large mirror out of her purse and angled it so that she could see Medusa in it. She drew a knife with her other hand. None of the kids could see her.

"Percy…" Annabeth said.

"I will be just a moment," Medusa said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil…."

"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.

"Wrong?" Medusa asked, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"

"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" the satyr gasped.

"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She yanked her Yankees cap from her back pocket and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed both Percy and the satyr off the bench.

The satyr scrambled off in one direction, Annabeth in another. Percy remained lying at Medusa's sandaled feet. By this point, her hands had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails. He was about to look higher when Annabeth yelled, "No! Don't!"

"Run!" the satyr bleated. "Maia!" he yelled, activating the flying shoes that Luke had given Percy.

Percy remained motionless.

"Such a pity to destroy a handsome face," Medusa cooed . "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."

Percy managed to look to one side instead. Chrysa could see the moment when he caught Medusa's reflection in one of the glass spheres that decorated the lawn.

"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."

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

"Silence!" Medusa snarled.

"To be fair, you were the one who allowed you godly boyfriend to convince you to have sex in a temple dedicated to Athena, a virgin goddess," Chrysa pointed out.

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

"No," Percy muttered. His legs twitched as he tried to get up and run.

"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear.You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."

"Percy!" the satyr yelled as he flew towards the Gorgon. "Duck!"

Percy managed to turn, even as the satyr flew in, eyes shut tight, clutching a tree branch the size of a baseball bat.

"Duck!" the satyr yelled. "I'll get her!"

Percy dove to one side, and the satyr beamed Medusa with a loud, "Thwack!"

Medusa roared with rage.

"You miserable satyr!" she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"

"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" the satyr yelled back.

Chrysa watched closely in her mirror as Percy scrambled away and hid in the statuary. Grover swooped down for another pass, hitting Medusa with a loud, "Ker-whack!"

"Arrgh!" the Gorgon yelled. Her snake hair was hissing and spitting.

Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible next to Percy.

"You have to cut her head off," she told him.

"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."

"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but…" Annabeth swallowed. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You – you've got a chance."

"What?" Percy demanded. "I can't…"

"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"

Annabeth pointed to a pair of statues lovers, their arms around each other. She grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal.

"A polished shield would be better," she complained as she studied the sphere. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of…"

"Would you speak English?" Percy demanded.

"I am!" Annabeth insisted, tossing Percy the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly."

"Hey, guys!" the satyr yelled. "I think she's unconscious!"

"Roooaaarrr!"

"Maybe not," the satyr corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.

"Hurry," Annabeth said. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."

Percy uncapped his new sword-pen. The bronze blade appeared in his hand. He moved towards Medusa, eyes locked on the glass ball.

Even as he moved, the satyr attempted another pass with his stick. However, he flew too low and Medusa was able to grab the stick and pull him off course. The satyr tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"

Medusa was about to lunge at him when Percy yelled, "Hey!"

She turned to look at him. She let Percy approach instead of charging him, even though Percy was obviously looking at the glass ball in his hand and not at her.

"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," Medusa crooned. "I know you wouldn't."

"Percy, don't listen to her!" the satyr yelled.

"Too late!" Medusa cackled, before lunging at Percy with her talons.

Percy slashed upwards with his sword and managed to cut Medusa's head off. It fell to the ground next to his foot with a plop, even as the body disintegrated.

"Oh, yuck," the satyr said. "Mega-yuck."

Annabeth walked over to Percy, eyes skyward, holding Medusa's black veil.

"Don't. Move," she ordered Percy.

Very carefully, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth before picking it up. It was still dripping green juice.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked Percy, voice trembling.

"Yeah," Percy replied. "Why didn't…why didn't the head evaporate?"

"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," Chrysa called as she got up from her bench. "Same as the Minotaur horn. With Medusa, you get the head. With her sisters, you got vials of Gorgon blood. Blood from one side of the Gorgon heals practically anything, blood from the other side is a poison that can kill practically everything. When I was twelve, I killed a drakon that left its entire carcass behind. Drakon meat used to be considered a delicacy. I still have clothes made from the skin, and a few of my knives are embedded with the venom. But I digress. Don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you. And we really don't have the time for me to unpetrify you."

"You know how to unpetrify people? I thought it was impossible!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Not impossible, just very difficult. I'll probably sublet the job to some friends back in Britain. I'll see what I can do once this quest is over."

The satyr moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead.

"The Red Baron," Percy said. "Good job, man."

The satyr managed a bashful grin.

"That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun."

The satyr snatched his shoes out of the air. Percy recapped his sword. The three made their way back into the warehouse, Chrysa wandering close behind.

Chrysa found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head, before charming it sealed. The three kids collapsed in the table around it, too exhausted to speak.

"You did well," Chrysa said quietly. "When the original Perseus was given the quest, he had the aid of Hermes, Athena, and Hades. He also snuck up on her when she was asleep. You have all surpassed him this day."

"Did you know?" Annabeth asked quietly.

Chrysa hummed to herself.

"Not immediately, but I figured it out very quickly. It's not my place to intervene though. I can't intervene without jeopardizing the quest. If I do too much, Father could say that I found the Master Bolt, not Percy, and the war might still begin."

Everything fell silent once more.

Finally, Percy asked, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"

Annabeth glared at Percy.

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

"To be fair, Athena had turned Poseidon's previous girlfriend, Coronis, into a raven. It really was a constant back-and-forth between the two. Still is, actually," Chrysa said helpfully.

"So now it's my fault we met Medusa," Percy said sarcastically.

Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of Percy's voice, she said, "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"

"Forget it," Percy said. "You're insufferable."

"You're…" Annabeth began, before Chrysa cut in.

"Acting like little children. Shut up. Just because your parents are rivals doesn't mean you have to be. I'm not arguing with Percy, am I Annabeth? And my father is threatening to start a war with his father. So shut up."

There was silence for a moment, before the satyr asked, "What are we going to do with the head?"

All four stared at the head. Percy got up suddenly.

"I'll be back," he said.

"Percy," Annabeth said, "What are you…"

He came back a few minutes later with a box and a packing slip. He filled out the delivery slip:

The Gods

Mount Olympus

600th Floor

Empire State Building

New York, NY

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

"I am impertinent," Percy replied, pouring golden drachmas into the pouch attached to the packing slip. As soon as he sealed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared.

"Come on," Annabeth muttered. "We need a new plan. And I certainly don't want to sleep here tonight."

"That won't be a problem," Chrysa said. "We just need to find a nice clearing in the woods, and I can set up my tent."

"Chrysa, all our things burnt up in your car," Percy pointed out.

Chrysa gestured to the purse still hanging over your shoulder.

"All your things burnt. The only thing of mine that burnt was the car."

"You're telling me you have an entire tent in that little, tiny purse," Percy said dubiously.

"I've seen her do some really weird things with magic," Annabeth sighed. "I'd believe her. Come on, let's find a place to stay."

They tromped out into the woods, and found a marshy clearing only twenty minutes later. It was about a hundred yards from the main road and had obviously been used by local kids for parties. The ground was littered with beer cans and cigarette butts.

Chrysa pulled the folded-up tent out from her bag. Like this, it looked like a handkerchief.

"I don't think that's a tent," the satyr said.

Chrysa dropped the tent on the ground, pulled out her wand, and tapped the tent. It sprung up into a fully-formed tent, looking just like a Muggle camping tent.

"In you go!" Chrysa said with a smile. "Boys on the left, girls on the right!"

She opened the tent flap, and gestured for the three to enter.

She heard them gasp as soon as they were inside.

Unlike the tent she, Ron, and Hermione had used during the Horcrux hunt, this tent was much more expensive. It had ten rooms, including two bathrooms and a kitchen, all of which were fulling functioning.

"There are four bedrooms, two to the right and two to the left. You boys will be staying on the left-hand side. Annabeth and I will stay on the right-hand side. There is a bathroom on each hallway. The kitchen cupboards should be fully stocked if you wake up before I do. I am going to set up wards so that nothing can attack us overnight. Sleep well, everyone. If anyone wakes me up before seven, I reserve the right to stab you. If you are not up by eight, I reserve the right to dump cold water on you."

With those parting words, she cast her spells around the tent and made her way to her bedroom for some much-needed rest. It had been a long day.

AN: Sorry this is several hours later than normal...I normally post once I'm home from church, but I went straight to see Wonder Woman after church, and then we went shopping, and I didn't get home until late. In related news, after seeing Wonder Woman, all I could think about was the characters of Percy Jackson watching Wonder Woman and constantly asking Thalia, "Wait, you're a daughter of Zeus. Can you do that?"