Ten minutes earlier…
Percy nodded as he slipped Annabeth's hat on, vanishing from sight. Gohan sighed, turning back to the museum.
"Okay then…" Gohan frowned, noticing his first problem. How to slip into the museum without a ticket or without being seen by Zoe or Thalia? His solution? Apparently, Gohan's solution ended up being slipping into an entering school group, and sneaking away once they were through. Once Gohan was inside though…
"Whoa!" Gohan's eyes widened in curiosity as he looked around, taking it all in.
The main part of the museum was one huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Three levels of balconies curled around, so you could look at the exhibits from all different heights. The place wasn't crowded, just a few families and a couple of tour groups of kids, probably doing one of those holiday school trips. But Gohan was distracted by all the fascinating sights. He just couldn't help it.
"Cool…" Gohan grinned as he looked at a large space capsule. True, it wasn't his Earth's history, but that's part of what made it so fascinating to read. Though at the same time, he wondered just how space travel worked in this universe, given all the different gods. Unfortunately, Gohan's curiosity ended up… backfiring on him.
"YOU!" Gohan yelped as Thalia slammed into him, knocking him into an Apollo space capsule. Gohan quickly flipped, bouncing off and landing on the top.
"Come on, this stuff is fragile!" Gohan blinked to find that Zoe and Bianca had arrows notched, aimed at his chest. Their bows had just appeared out of nowhere.
When Zoe realized who Gohan was, she didn't seem anxious to lower her bow. "You! How dare you show thy face here?"
"Gohan!" Grover said. "Ummmm… hi. Is Percy with you?" He asked hopefully.
Zoe glared at him, and he blushed. "I mean, um, gosh. You're not supposed to be here!"
"Well, I never was the best at listening to people. Just ask my mother." Thalia's eyes narrowed.
"Gods, you're infuriating!"
"I have that effect on…" Gohan trailed off as his ears twitched. He could hear something. It sounded like… his eyes widened.
"MOVE!" he roared. Zoe cocked her head in confusion.
"What? What drivel are you sprouting now, oth-" Gohan didn't wait, launching himself towards Thalia and the others. In the same instant, the entrance and the entire surrounding wall exploded, showing the room in rubble. Screams erupted as the room collapsed into pandemonium.
Thalia coughed as she waved smoke out of her face. And then blinked in surprise as the smoke faded. Gohan had thrown a force field around them just as the wall exploded, which had in fact saved them from several large chunks of rubble that would have landed on them otherwise. Thalia also noticed that… Gohan had landed on her. They stared at each other awkwardly, their faces centimeters from each other.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Gohan stammered as he tried to push himself up… only to find that his hands had been on her chest.
"Ummmm…" Thalia and Gohan blushed, their faces deep red in embarrassment.
"Despicable man!" Zoe smacked Gohan in the node, causing him to tumble off Thalia in surprise, the shield fading around them.
"See, Bianca? This is why men are so disgusting! Despicable!" Bianca wasn't listening, however.
"Ummmm… guys?" she pointed her finger, causing everyone to follow. From the gaping hole, something emerged.
"What foul beast is this?" Zoe gasped. Whatever it was, it certainly didn't look like any beast. It looked human. At least, it had a humanoid shape. Only, this thing was huge, almost matching the height of the balcony they were standing on. Its body was completely a sleek silver, save for a red slit on its head that seemed to serve as its eyes. No eyes, no face. It looked like a massive silver metal mannequin, in a way. Its head slowly turned, slowly sweeping across the room, until its gaze fell on the small group.
"PRIMARY AND SECONDARY TARGETS IDENTIFIED." A deep monotone voice erupted.
"It talks?" Bianca gaped.
"Separate on my mark," Zoe said. "Try to keep that thing distracted."
"Until when?" Grover asked.
"PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: SECURE PRIMARY TARGETS. SECONDARY… ELIMINATE."
"MOVE!" a second later, the thing plunged its fist into the wall where they had been standing, cleaving through the wall like putty. The room shook as rubble fell from the ceiling. Gohan flipped through the air, landing on a nearby rocket. It was complete chaos downstairs, however.
"Grover! Clear the kids out!" Gohan ordered.
Groups of kids were running around screaming. Grover tried to corral them away from the monster just as the other cord on the spaceship snapped and the exhibit crashed to the floor. Thalia dropped off the second-floor railing and landed across from Gohan, on the other side of the globe. The humanoid regarded them both, as if it trying to decide which of them to kill first. But, instead of swinging at them, it spoke.
"PRIMARY TARGETS IDENTIFIED. DESIGNATION: SECURE." Then, a hissing sound radiated from the humanoid as part of its shoulder seemed to slide back. Then, a rocket shot out, flying straight at Gohan and Thalia.
"MOVE!" Gohan fired a ki blast at the rocket. The two collided in a bright explosion. However, something emerged from the smoke. Multiple somethings. It looked like balls. Small, round, black balls. All around Thalia, they splattered on the wall. Thalia lowered her shield in confusion, looking down in confusion. One of the balls had hit the shield, center on.
"Ummmmm… what is this?" Then, much to Thalia's shock, the ball began to expand quickly, inflating like a balloon.
"What the?"
"MOVE!" Gohan knocked Thalia's shield away from her and fired a ki blast at it. When the smoke faded, the ball was gone, though Thalia's shield remained.
Arrows whistled past him. He turned and saw Zoe and Bianca climbing the Apollo capsule. They were firing arrows, one after another, although they all shattered harmlessly against its skin. Not a single sign of damage. Not even a blemish. Gohan's reflection, warped like a funhouse mirror, stared back at him as the thing turned. And then, in lightning-fast speed, the thing lashed out and swung towards Zoe and Bianca. They were barely able to leap off it before its hand closed around the capsule, ripping it from its pedestal. Then, it clenched its fist, causing a loud metal crunch. It then whirled towards Gohan and Thalis and hurled the destroyed capsule. Thalia and Gohan both jumped, the exhibit behind them exploding into rubble. Gohan landed on the second floor next to Bianca and Grover, while Thalia landed next to her shield.
"You okay, Grover?" the satyr nodded slowly.
"Gods damn it! This thing is tough!" Bianca cursed
Then, Gohan whirled at the sound of a scream. A group of kids cowered as several large chunks of rubble fell towards them. Gohan shot towards the rubble, blasting it into pieces.
"GO!" Gohan roared at them. He wasn't sure what exactly they were seeing, given the mist, but it must have been terrifying. They sprinted out the hole in the wall, screaming in pure terror. Gohan turned towards the large figure, his eyes blazing.
"HEY! OVER HERE!" Gohan roared as he raced towards the creature. It whirled to face him, swinging out its fist. Gohan leaped over the fist, landing on the arm and racing up.
"Come on!" Gohan grinned as he cocked his fist, slamming it right onto the creature's red slit. It snapped back, crashing into the balcony. Yet, it stayed on its feet.
"WATCH IT!" Thalia screamed as she jumped, landing on the escalator. Gohan jumped back, grabbing Thalia as the escalator collapsed, landing on the second floor.
"How do you like that!" Gohan taunted as the smoke began to fade. However, he frowned as he saw a bright red light, which seemed to grow larger and larger.
"Whoa-" Gohan leaped back just in time to avoid a massive red blast, missing him by centimeters and blasting through the ceiling. Much to his shock, the thing emerged from the smoke… completely unscathed.
"Oh, come on!" Gohan landed next to Thalia, who gave him a venomous glare.
"Why is every time you show up, things explode?"
"Don't blame me!" then, vines suddenly started to appear, wrapping themselves around the thing's arms and legs. Gohan turned to see the source: Grover, who was playing YMCA on his pipes. Which was agony on Gohan's ears.
"Ooooh! A double benefit!" Thalia smirked, enjoying Gohan's clear discomfort.
"Will thy both stop bickering like children?" Zoe demanded as she rushed up to them with Bianca, arrows notched.
"That thing is tough. I punched it full on in the face, and not even a scratch!"
"Then blast it with one of those light things from your hands! Blow it to pieces!"
"I can't! If I fired one powerful enough, I'd destroy this entire building and everything in it!"
"That would be bad." Bianca admitted, pushing back a loose strand from her face.
"What? This thing is going to destroy the entire place anyway if we don't kill it!" Thalia countered, her eyes blazing in a combination of frustration and rage.
"Well, at least it's only one foe. If we can combine our skills, I'm sure we can beat it! Besides, it can't get much worse than this." Bianca pointed out. At that exact second, Gohan heard a loud growl. He turned to see something leap from the ceiling, landing opposite to them. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. It was a…
"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move." Gohan glanced behind him. They couldn't move if they wanted to. They were stuck. Behind them, the massive metallic creature stirred. In front of them, a very hungry mythical lion stalked. Talk about a rock and a hard place.
"You just haaaaad to say something." Gohan glared at Bianca. The lion roared so loud it parted his hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel. Grover was startled so badly he dropped his pipes. A second later, they heard what sounded like a loud twang. To their mutal horror, the humanoid was still moving, crossing its arms together over its chest, causing vines to snap off the creature like twine. Then, in one swift motion, the creature flexed and thrust its arms out, sclicing the vines into tatters.
"This is very, very bad." Thalia turned to face the lion, who roared. Quickly, she stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. "ROOOAAAR!"
"Hi-yah!" Thalia said. "Back!" Gohan turned to face the machine.
"Come on!" Gohan rolled, avoiding a gigantic foot that smashed into the ground. His hands glowed as he then unleashed dozens of small ki balls, clamming into the humanoid's head. It stepped back as Gohan continued the barrage. He roared as he intensified the barrage, keeping the humanoid occupied.
Meanwhile, the lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated under the gaze of the intimidating shield. For a second, it seemed that Thalia had it under control. Then, the lion crouched, its leg muscles tensing. It was about to leap. But just before it could, it suddenly let out a roar of rage and bucked like an angry bull at the rodeo.
"What the?" Thalia lowered her shield in confusion. But then, the answer was revealed when a sudden yell erupted from the lion's back, and Annabeth's hat fell off to reveal no other than Percy, clutching the lion's back in dear life.
"Peeeercy!" Grover bleated happily.
"Hey!" Percy yelled. He slashed downwards with Riptide, a good strike to the flank that should've cut the monster into Meow Mix, but the blade just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.
The lion roared in rage and thrashed. Percy tried to hold on, but unfortunately slipped loose, crashing onto the ground. The lion lunged with its claws, ripping off a chunk of his coat. Percy backed against a large chunk of rubble, holding his blade out in an attempt to keep the lion back. Unfortunately, this failed. It sprang at Percy, one thousand pounds of monster, and he had no choice but to roll. The lion smashed headfirst into the boulder, unleashing a bellow of pure anger as it stumbled back. The hunters unleashed a barrage of arrows to try and kill it, but to no avail. Like the humanoid, the arrows shattered harmlessly against the lion's fur.
"What are those arrows made of? Tinfoil?" Gohan called out as he continued to blast the humanoid.
"Perhaps I should shoot thou with one and let you find out!" Zoe countered.
"HEY! STOP IT!" Percy bellowed as he raced over to them, the lion ignoring him as it thrashed its mane. He gaped at the humanoid, his jaw hanging open.
"Whoa! That thing is huge!"
"It's good to see you too, Percy."
"That thing… it's Luke's. His partner sent it. They're here."
The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?"
As fast as he could without blurring his words, he told them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General. "The General is here?" Zoe looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."
"Why would I lie? Look, there's no time! We've got a crazy lion and a big robot that both want to kill us!"
"Robot? That thing is a robot?" Bianca gaped.
"Move!" Gohan tackled them, just in time to avoid a giant fist that smashed the ground where they had been a second ago.
"Thanks." Percy gasped.
"Look out!" Bianca screamed. The lion roared as it leaped towards them, claws glittering. Gohan grunted as he dropped and slammed his feet into the lion's stomach, sending it rocketing into the roof. But somehow, the creature recovered incredible fast, landing on the third-floor balcony, or rather, what remained of it.
"LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!" Gohan bellowed as he leaped at the robot, his eyes glimmering with rage. Light glowed down his arms as energy formed, stretching outwards from his body in the shape of a long-curved blade.
"ENERGY BLADE!" Gohan roared as he swung, slamming into the side of the robot's head. The blades burst apart into little light fragments as the machine stumbled back, yet still undamaged.
"COME ON!" Gohan roared as he unleashed a barrage of blows onto the machine's chest, forcing it back onto the wall, which began to crumble around it. Meanwhile, both Zoe and Bianca leaped onto the robot's outstretched arms, firing arrows at its face in an attempt to disorient it. Although it seemed more annoyed than disoriented. It swung its left arm in an attempt to smash the girls off, taking out another wall in the process. Gohan shot back, landing next to Percy as he raised his hand palm out, a light glowing in the center.
"MASENKO!" a bright beam shot from his hand, slamming into the machine's chest and blowing out in a large explosion.
"Any ideas?" Percy asked. Gohan sighed
"I do. But it's a little crazy. And I don't know if it'll work." The room shook as a rocket crashed next to them. Thalia snarled.
"Screw it, I'll take anything at this rate!" Gohan nodded, crossing his arms. Then, to Thalia's amazement, he split into not two, but four separate Gohans. One of the Gohans immediately began blasting the robot in the face, keeping it distracted and not finishing off the Hunters. The second grabbed the rocket and hurled it like a dodge, smashing into the machine's head and bursting into pieces. The two other Gohans then faced Percy and Thalia.
"Percy, come with me. We need to get the lion's attention." That Gohan grabbed Percy and shot up towards the balcony where the lion stalked, giving them a venomous glare.
"Thalia, hold on. I need you to stay still!" Then, the last Gohan grabbed her and shot up, landing on an old bi-plane.
"HEY! OVER HERE!" the robot whirled, covering Gohan and Thalia in its red gaze.
"PRIMARY TARGETS IDENTIFIED. ENGAGING CAPTURE PROCEDURE." The compartment slid back, firing another rocket at them. Gohan leaped off, flying straight at the rocket. Then, he spun as he gripped the rocket. His body began to glow as he pushed his feet down on the rocket, and then kicked back, sending the rocket flying straight back at the humanoid. He fired a ki blast as he landed on the plane, which flew into the rocket and exploded, causing dozens of the black balls to fly out and slam into the robot's head. They immediately began to inflate, quickly enveloping the robot's head.
"ERROR: OPTICAL SENSORS BLOCKED." It reached up and tried to pull the liquid off, to no avail.
Meanwhile, the other Gohan dropped Percy, landing cleanly in front of the lion.
"Hey, big guy!" Percy grabbed a chunk of rock and hurled it, striking the lion cleanly on the nose. It roared in rage.
"Well, that did the trick!" The lion swiped at Percy, and he dropped onto the next exhibit, a weird-looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter. Percy looked up and saw the lion roar—inside its maw, a pink tongue and throat. Then, a bright ki blast shot straight into the lion's mouth. The lion stood still for a second, and then let out a bellow of pain as smoke rose from its mouth.
"Percy! Move towards the robot!" Percy understood. He gripped the top of the spacecraft and pushed, causing the metal supports to creak as it slowly swung.
"Hey ugly!" Percy yelled at the lion. He was too far away to strike, so he took a risk: He hurled Riptide like a throwing knife. It bounced off the lion's side, but that was enough to get the monster's attention. It turned toward him, and snarled.
It roared at Percy and raced towards him. Without hesitating, Percy jumped. He plummeted towards the ground, rushing straight towards him. Then, Gohan shot down and grabbed him, the both of them landing cleanly on the floor. Meanwhile, the lion continued on its path, landing smack dab on the robot's upper chest, its paws landing on the humanoid's right shoulder. The robot thrashed in response, trying to get the lion off. The lion roared as it started to slide down, slashing at the robot as it did, leaving large gashes in the metallic skin. Gohan grinned.
"Bingo." He grabbed Thalia, wrapping his arm around her waist. The robot continued to thrash as it tried to free itself, flailing its arms as the lion shook around like a rag doll.
"GO!" he hurled her like a javelin, sending her rocketing towards the large humanoid. Without explanation, Thalia understood, her spear coming to life in her hands. She roared as thrust her spear downwards, plunging the spear right into the gash left by the lion on the robot's shoulder. It sank into the opening like a knife through butter. Thalia gasped as she struggled to stay on, as the robot's smooth skin offered no footholds.
"DO IT!" Gohan roared. Thalia narrowed her eyes as she clenched her teeth, sparks beginning to dance around her body.
"Zeus… please!" she gasped. Almost by cue, the sky began to darken. Then, a massive bolt of lightning shot through the ceiling, slamming into Thalia's spear. Thalia flew back as sparks danced across her body, tumbling off the robot. The spear acted as a sort of source, directing all the lightning into the robot's body. The robot stiffened, its hands twitching as it absorbed the full force of the lightning bolt. It let out an almost sort of eerie scream as the red light on its face intensified, growing brighter and brighter. Sparks danced all across the machine's body as it shook, and the faint sound of explosions could be heard. Smoke rose from the gashes left by the lion. Said lion roared as sparks danced across its body, thrashing in a struggle to free itself.
ERROR! ERROR! POWER OVERLOAD! BEYOND SYSTEM CAPABILITIES! ERROR! ERROR! ERRO100010100100100100101- Then, the red light suddenly blinked out. For a long moment, the robot stood still, smoke rising from its body. Thalia screamed as she tumbled downwards, before being snatched out of the air by one of the Gohans, the two of them sliding across the ground.
Meanwhile, the lion roared as it thrashed in a rabid frenzy, finally freeing itself from the massive robot in an earsplitting grind of metal. It landed on the floor, letting out a snarl of triumph as it turned to look at Grover.
Then, a loud creak attracted everyone's attention. The robot slumped forward, falling onto its knees with a loud CRUNCH.
The lion let out a massive roar as it leaped at Grover, who shrieked as he stumbled backwards. Then, the robot crashed face first right in front of him, completely crushing the lion beneath it, blowing smoke in every direction. For a long moment, no one moved. Then, the smoke faded, revealing the robot lying face first on the ground, motionless. They all stated, stunned. Then, Percy let out a beal of uncontrollable laughter. Thalia sighed, letting out a long sigh. She bounded over to the robot, where her spear was still sticking out of its shoulder. She gripped it, clenching her fists together as she wretched the weapon free. She groaned as she sank to her knees.
"We won! Ha ha!" Percy laughed as he jogged over. The Gohans all landed around, congratulating each other.
Grover knelt at Thalia's side and helped her up. She seemed okay, just a little dazed. Zoe and Bianca dropped from the balcony and landed next to them.
Zoe eyed the Gohan's cautiously. "That was... an interesting strategy." "Hey, it worked." One of the Gohans answered.
She didn't argue. Bianca seemed more curious, poking one of the Gohans with the tip of her bow.
"So… how does this work? Are you all the same guy, or are you dividing your mind? This is really confusing."
"Sorry." Then, three of the Gohans raced towards the fourth. Just before they collided with him, they faded, merging back into one Gohan. He let out a groan as he rubbed his temples.
"Ow… doing that always gives me a headache."
Meanwhile, alarms wailed throughout the museum. Not that anyone was even around. The place was completely deserted. Even the security guards were gone.
"We need to leave. No telling what might come after us next." Thalia stated. That got Percy's attention.
"Oh yeah! The General made these things that he was going to send after us. They're skeleton warriors—"
"What?" Thalia demanded. "How many?"
"Twelve," Percy said.
Thalia and Grover exchanged looks.
"That's not good." Thalia stated. Gohan snorted.
"Really, a bunch of skeletons? We just took down a hundred-foot robot! I think we can handle a few bones!"
"You are wrong!" Zoe snapped, taking Gohan aback.
Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," she said, "we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible... We must leave now."
"Good idea," Percy said.
"I was not including thee, boy, or you, Otherworlder." Zoe said. "Neither of you are not part of this quest."
"Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!"
"Yeah!" Gohan butted in. "If not for us, you would have been stomped to pieces by that!" he gestured at the robot. Thalia let out a loud groan.
"You guys shouldn't have come." Thalia said grimly. "But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van."
"That is not thy decision!" Zoe snapped.
Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"
"You never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoe growled. "You never could leave them behind!"
Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoe. But then, Gohan perked.
"Sssshhhhh!" Gohan hissed, waving at them.
"Wha? Do not shush me, boy!"
"Stop! All of you, shut up and listen! Can't you hear it?" As they fell quiet, they did hear something.
"Is that a… beep?" It was indeed a beep. Like one of those beeps you would hear from a sci-ft show.
"Where's it coming from?" Grover looked around. Gohan's mouth furrowed as he turned around in a circle, trying to focus in on the source. It seemed to getting… faster? Then, his eyes fell on the robot.
"MOVE! MOVE AWAY!" Gohan roared as golden light enveloped his body. He shot towards the robot, gripping the head and reaching for the gashes, digging his hands into the skin.
"What are you doing?" Bianca sputtered. Gohan roared as the light intensified around him, the ground shaking in intensity, until he shot upwards like a golden firework, carrying the massive humanoid with him. It was a curious sight to say the least. Gohan grunted as he pushed back against the weight, focusing on his hands.
"Ka… me…" he focused on the beeping. It was even faster now, to the point that they were starting to carry into each other, creating one long continuous beep.
"Ka… me…" the city began to blur beneath Gohan, but ke continued on. He needed to get as far as possible. The beeping was even faster now, and louder in intensity. It was one nonstop beep now. He was out of time.
"HHHHHAAAAA!" two bright blue beams shot out of both his hands, slamming into the robot's back. The robot continued to soar upwards, supported by Gohan's kamahamaha blast. Gohan, meanwhile, shot back downwards, propelled by the force of the blast coming out of his hands. Then, the beeping stopped.
On the ground, the two demigods, two hunters, and satyr looked up at the sky, where Gohan and the robot had vanished.
"Man, what was that abou-" Then, their ears were deafened by a massive explosion, so bright that it almost blinded them and lit up the sky. The force almoe slammed them to the ground as the building shook.
"Oh gods!" Bianca gasped.
"A bomb. There was a bomb in that thing!" Percy gaped. Then, he looked up at the sky.
"Oh gods, Gohan!"
"You think he's dead?" Bianca asked. Percy opened his mouth to counter, but was interrupted when something slammed into the ground outside the museum. They raced outside to see a smoking crater. A second later, Gohan emerged from the hole, his clothes smoking.
"Good gods, man." Percy gaped. Gohan frowned at Percy and gestured at his ears.
"I don't think he can hear you." An open-mouthed Bianca commented. Gohan groaned as he fell back on his butt.
"Owww… that was too close." Gohan groaned as he rubbed his ears.
"So… that monstrosity had an explosive inside. Clever. Should it be defeated, it would self-detonate and kill the victors. It would have destroyed much of this city had he not carried it into the sky." Zoe admitted reluctantly.
"Hey guys? What do you want to do with this?" They turned to see Grover holding a glittering fur coat, the size of a normal lion's pelt.
"What's that?" Bianca asked.
"A trophy. A spoil from the lion. You should take it," Zoe told Gohan. He blinked at he looked at her, rubbing his ears.
"What?"
"You should take it! It is a spoil of war," she told me. "It is rightly thine."
"Technically." Gohan joked. "The robot killed it with its stomach." He frowned when Zoe didn't laugh.
"But seriously, I didn't kill it. Thalia killed the robot, which killed the lion when it fell on it."
"By your plan. Fair is fair, Otherworlder. Take the fur."
Gohan frowned as he took the fur from Grover and lifted it up; it was surprisingly light. The fur was smooth and soft. It didn't feel at all like something that could stop a blade. As he watched, the pelt shifted and changed into a coat—a full-length golden-brown duster.
"Not exactly my style," Gohan murmured. "I would have preferred a gi."
"We have to get out of here," Grover said. "The security guards will be back eventually. And not just them. "
Gohan noticed for the first time how strange it was that the guards hadn't rushed forward to arrest them after the robot had been beaten. In fact, no one could be seen anywhere nearby. Alarms were blaring, not just in the museum, but everywhere in the city. The robot's explosion had been that massive.
"Oii…" Gohan sighed.
"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoe said. "Look."
Gohan could see a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for any of them to see their eyes, but he could feel their gaze aimed straight at them.
"Go," Percy said. "They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."
"No," Zoe said. "We go together."
Both Percy and Gohan stared at her. "But, you said—"
"You are both part of this quest now," Zoe said grudgingly. "I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the fourth and fifth quest members. And we are not leaving anyone behind."
"Hey, come on. Up and at em." Annabeth groaned as she rubbed her eyes. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep. She had waited so long that she had just nodded off. She sighed as she blinked spots out of her eyes. Then... she immediately shot up, her heart racing in her chest. Because she wasn't alone anymore. Sitting across from her, lounging in the comfortable recliner with a chessboard between them, was a boy. He smiled at her, flipping a pawn between his fingers. Hie eyes, identical to hers, gleamed in a mixture of eagerness and excitement.
"Hello Annabeth, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Would you like to play a game?"