With how things have been settling down for me, I should be able to get back to writing much easier, give or take the corona and all. Thank you all for your patience and support, and once again, I apologize if I have let anyone down through the long waits. Hope the next chapter is okay for you all. Remember, this fanfiction is basically my take of a movie version of the books.
Some Things You Don't Want To Know
Percy's POV
We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as my ass could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was. And the fact that I had yet to fully recover from my injuries didn't help me either. I had no idea how many miles we covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were galloping (do boars gallop?) across the desert. As night fell, the Erymanthian Boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.
"This is as far as he'll go. We need to get off while he's eating." Grover said.
Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then we waddled away as best we could with our saddle sores. After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east. Quite a pity. I still had half a mind to just kill it anyways.
"It likes the mountains better." Annabeth guessed.
"I can't blame it. Look." Thalia said.
Ahead of us was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoe Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said "GILA CLAW, ARIZONA" hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills, but then I noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.
"Whoa." Grover said.
"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here. I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?" Thalia said.
Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but Grover looked concerned.
"That's us. Those five nuts right there." Grover said.
"And your mother says that nuts are magically delicious, which is why she can't stop blowing men's pipes." I commented, and yes, I basically called Grover's mom, a cock sucker.
Grover looked shocked and hurt. Annabeth and Thalia looked shocked until their shocked was replaced with disgust and agitation towards me. Zoe however, just looked confused.
"Why would his mother want to play other men's instruments?" Zoe asked confused.
"I wasn't referring to a musical instrument." I answered.
"Then what were you referring to?" Zoe asked, still confused.
"Zoe, believe us. You don't want to know." Annabeth cut in.
Zoe still didn't seem to get it but decided to just listen to Annabeth and let the topic go.
"That cluster right there, that's trouble." Grover said, pointing to the left.
"A monster?" Thalia asked.
"I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge . . ." Grover answered, looking uneasy.
He pointed straight toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet.
"Our next challenge is another fucking shitshow. Fan-fucking-tastic." I commented.
We decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of us wanted to go dumpster-diving in the dark. Zoe produced five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of her backpack. I don't know how, because the pack was tiny, but must've been enchanted to hold so much stuff. I'd noticed her bow and quiver were also magic. I never really thought about it, but when the Hunters needed them, they just appeared slung over their backs. And when they didn't, they were gone. Not that I really wanted to know or even cared altogether. Everything was just making me even more anxious to get this quest over with more than before. And believe me, that's saying something.
The night got chilly fast, so I collected old boards from the ruined house. Grover offered to give me a hand, but I told him I was fine on my own. That being accomplished, Thalia zapped the wood with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon we were about as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.
"The stars are out." Zoe said.
She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange. But of course, they were always out. So, it wasn't something to be excited about.
"They're always out. In the dark, they're fetched without being taken. In the light, they're lost without being stolen." I commented.
"You looking into a career in poetry Perce?" Grover asked.
"Shut up Grover." I replied.
"They're beautiful." Annabeth offered.
"This is nothing. In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution." Zoe said.
"You talk like you're not human." I said, making Zoe raise an eyebrow.
"I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?" Zoe countered.
"For "you". Not "thee"." Thalia corrected.
"But you use "you" for the beginning of a sentence." Zoe said.
"And for the end. No "thou". No "thee". Just "you"." Thalia corrected.
"I hate this language. It changes too often!" Zoe said and threw up her hands in exasperation.
"Get with today's program. And to answer your question, the wild places of the world are just another way to die. So why waste a second of your life caring for something that'll gladly get you killed." I retorted.
"Percy doesn't mean that Zoe." Grover tried.
"Yeah, I do. I'm dead serious. Why do you think mankind is so eager to cut down trees, pollute ecosystems, and kill animals?" I commented.
Grover just sighed at that. He looked up at the stars like he was thinking about the way mankind has come to pollute the earth and so forth. Truth be told, I wasn't one who at all liked how humans keep ravaging the only earth we live in. But with I kept getting more upset the longer this quest went on, I wasn't looking to be on friendly terms with any of these four.
"If only Pan were here, he would set things right." Grover said, which Zoe nodded sadly to.
"Maybe it was the coffee. I was drinking coffee, and the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee . . ." Grover started.
"Then you'd have high blood pressure, a precursor to heart disease, and/or other side effects like dizziness, shakiness, headache, or abnormal heartbeat. Coffee didn't have a goddamn thing to do with what happened. Nor your beloved Pan." I said.
Thalia and Annabeth both looked like they were ready to do whatever they had to do to shut me up. I was hoping they would try really. Anything to get this pent-up frustration I have out of my system.
"He sent us help, I don't know how or why. But it was his presence. After this quest is done, I'm going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It's the best lead we've gotten in two thousand years. I was so close." Grover insisted.
"And that's about as close as you're ever gonna get." I commented.
"That's enough Percy." Thalia said in an "end of discussion" tone.
"I wish you were right about that. But it ain't enough until this shit is over." I commented.
"Alright everybody, let's stop fighting already. We all need to be focused on the task at hand here. So how about we just plan our next move?" Annabeth cut in, trying to end the arguing.
Zoe seemed to agree with how she was the next person to speak.
"When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike to the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas." Zoe said.
"Bad idea." Annabeth said.
"Why?" Zoe frowned.
"The Lotus Hotel and Casino." Grover answered.
"What's the Lotus Casino?" Thalia asked.
"A year and a half ago, just before Percy found out he was the son of Poseidon and that the gods were real, Luke stole Lord Zeus' Master Thunderbolt and framed Percy for being the thief. So he, Grover, and I went on a quest to get it back and to save both Olympus and the world from the gods destroying themselves." Annabeth answered.
"You and Grover went on a quest to save Olympus and the world. I was only in the trip for saving my mother from Hades, right after she was abducted by the Minotaur." I corrected.
Annabeth just looked at me and sighed.
"Anyways, in addition to trying to get to the Underworld, we were looking for some of Persephone's Pearls. One was in a place called Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, which ended up being the lair of Medusa. The second we found was at the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee, where we ended up facing a Hydra. And third was at the Lotus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It's the lair of the lotus eaters. We were trapped there. We felt like we were in there for a couple hours, only to find when we managed to escape, that we were really in there for five days. The place is designed to speed up time and so you never want to leave." Annabeth finished.
Thalia and Zoe looked shocked by the story.
"That does sound problematic." Zoe commented.
"Luke used Percy so he could rage a war amongst the gods by stealing Zeus' Master Thunderbolt?" Thalia asked.
"Yep, and that was a year before Luke attacked camp with a Colchis Bull, poisoned your tree with venom from Tartarus, and used the Golden Fleece to revive Grandpa Kronos. "Quite a disappointment Luke has become, hasn't he?" I commented.
Before she could reply, we were hit with a blazing light from down the road. The headlights of a car that appeared out of nowhere. I was half hoping it was Apollo, coming to give us a ride again, but the engine was way too silent for the sun chariot, and besides, it was nighttime. The other half hoped it was probably Artemis who had managed to escape from her captives, but knowing my luck, that was very unlikely either. We grabbed our sleeping bags and got out of the way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop in front of us.
The back door of the limo opened right next to me. Before anyone could say anything, a sword was thrown in my direction. Acting quickly, I caught the sword in between my hands and held it in place, which was only a few inches away from my face. Everybody drew their weapons at that. Even though they didn't, just for the little stunt that was pulled off, I knew who it was. Which was more than enough to momentarily forget my agitation and being in a state of complete shock.
"Nice to see you haven't lost your touch kid." Ares said as he got out of the car with a smug smile on his face.
He was as he always looked. A big man with a crew cut, a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a white muscle shirt, and combat boots. But he didn't have his shades on, which he would wear to hide his eyes, which could be described as hollow sockets filled with flames.
"Lord Ares." I replied as I got on my knee and bowed to him as I have been ever since I took him in on his offer to train me.
The war god offered me a nod of his head before glanced at my friends.
"At ease, people." Ares said as he snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground.
"To what do we owe the unexpected pleasure Lord Ares?" I asked.
Normally, I wouldn't waste time with formality shit to a god anymore, thanks to my argument with the god who's my father. But Ares has been training me for months now, and it's really only because of him that I've been able to survive as well as I have throughout this quest and the one with finding Nico and Bianca. So, he did deserve it.
"Well for once, your praise doesn't go to me kid. It goes to the lady who wants to meet you." Ares answered, bidding me to rise and to give him back his sword, which I did.
"What lady?" Thalia asked.
Ares looked over at her.
"Well, well. I heard you were back. Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused.
"What's your business, Ares? Who's in the car?" Thalia asked, making Ares smile, enjoying the attention.
"Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not her." Ares said, jutting his chin toward Zoe.
"Wouldn't blame her. After all, all four of them ain't very good company." I commented, crossing my arms.
"Indeed? Well, why don't you all go get some tacos while you wait? Only take Percy a few minutes." Ares said.
"We will not leave him alone with thee, Lord Ares." Zoe said.
"Besides, the taco place is closed." Grover managed to add.
Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards flew off the door and the "CLOSED" sign flipped to "OPEN".
"You were saying, goat boy?" Ares challenged.
"Pissing the god of war off? Bad idea guys. I for one recommend you do as he says before he loses his patience." I said.
"You heard my trainee, go now before it gets ugly." Ares said.
My friends reluctantly headed over to the taco restaurant. Once they were gone, Ares and I turned our attention back towards each other. Ares then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur.
"In you go kid. And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am." Ares said.
I just bowed as did as he told me and went in to meet this lady Ares spoke of. When I saw her, I felt godsmacked. I forgot my name. I forgot where I was. I forgot how to speak in complete sentences. She was wearing a red satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was the most beautiful I'd ever seen. Perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that would've lit up the dark side of the moon. Thinking back on it, I can't tell you who she looked like. Or even what color her hair or her eyes were. Pick the most beautiful actress you can think of. The goddess was ten times more beautiful than that. Pick your favorite hair color, eye color, whatever. The goddess had that.
When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like a combination of Annabeth and Clarisse. Then like Salma Hayek, the actress I've had a fan/lustful crush on ever since I saw her in the movie "El Desperado", starred by her and Antonio Banderas, back when I was in eighth grade. Then, well, you get the idea.
"Ah, there you are Percy. I am Aphrodite." Aphrodite said.
I wasn't able to form any words, only stupid noises. Aphrodite only smiled.
"Aren't you sweet. Hold this, please." Aphrodite said, handing me a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had me hold it up for her.
She leaned forward and dabbed at her lipstick, though I couldn't see anything wrong with it.
"Do you know why you're here?" Aphrodite asked.
Regardless of how beautiful she looked and how warm I felt, her question knocked some sense back into me and helped me think straight.
"Camp was attacked, I got kidnapped, kidnappers were using me as bait to get to the other four, and now I'm stuck on yet another quest I don't anything to do with." I answered.
"Well then, why are you on this quest?" Aphrodite asked.
"Artemis has been captured." I answered.
"Oh, Artemis. Please. Talk about a hopeless case. I mean if they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should be breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think? I pity the poor dears who have to imprison Artemis. Boring!" Aphrodite said with a rolled her eyes and made me hold the mirror a little higher.
She seemed to have found a microscopic problem at the corner of her eye and dabbed at her mascara.
"Always some monster. But my dear Percy, that is why the others are on this quest. I'm more interested in you." Aphrodite said.
I was already not liking where this conversation was going.
"If it were up to me, I wouldn't be on this quest in the first place. I should be with Clarisse, focusing on getting ready for our baby." I answered.
"So, Ares wasn't making that up after all! You and his daughter really are having a child together! Congratulations!" Aphrodite beamed.
"I should be by her side right now." I added.
"I agree, but for now, you must focus on this quest." Aphrodite said.
"Please don't tell me you're gonna tell me what everyone in camp tells me. That I can worry about the baby later and should focus on the matter at hand instead." I sighed.
"Percy, I'm on your side. I'm part of the reason you're here, after all." Aphrodite said.
"What?" I asked at her.
"Phoebe suspiciously getting sick, which was because of a poisoned T-shirt the Stoll brothers gave her. Did you think that was an accident?" Aphrodite asked.
"You did that?" I asked shocked.
"Of course! Because really, how boring these Hunters are! A quest for some monster, blah blah blah. Saving Artemis. Let her stay lost, I say. But a quest for true love . . ." Aphrodite said as she took the mirror from my hand.
"Love?" I asked.
"Oh, my dear. Annabeth Chase has been crushing on you since day 1." Aphrodite said.
I was not prepared to hear that.
"Oh, it's been ages since we've had a good tragic love story." Aphrodite said.
"Whoa, first of all, I never said anything about love. And second, what's up with tragic!" I asked.
"Annabeth wants to be more than friends with you. But you seem interested in another girl. One who she doesn't like, but also one who you got pregnant." Aphrodite promised.
I was starting to feel uncomfortable with this.
"And you, despite the charade you have going on of pushing her away, you have romantic feelings towards her as well. But you bury them because you focus on Clarisse, the girl who only stopped bullying you when the two of you found out you got her pregnant." Aphrodite continued.
I was really starting to feel uncomfortable with this.
"You're in a love triangle Percy. Whether you know it or not, you're truly attracted to two girls who are both attracted to you as well. One who's your first ever female friend, and one who's the mother of your unborn child. But only one can have you. While the other will be left alone by you." Aphrodite finished.
I was completely uncomfortable with this.
I wish I could say I didn't feel anything for Annabeth anymore. But with how this was coming from the goddess of love, I knew it was gonna be a useless point. True, I did have an attraction towards her when I first saw her. But with how rough our time of knowing each other has been, between her driving me crazy one way or another and me being preoccupied with whatever was going on at said time, I never paid much attention to that attraction. And Clarisse, our relationship started with her being a bully and me being her favorite punching bag. Even after I helped her with her quest. We only ever truly got passed it with her pregnancy, with how we both wanted to be loving and caring parents for our child. If it weren't for the baby, Clarisse and I would most likely never be together in the first place, and I'd be lying if that truth didn't hurt me at all.
As much as I didn't want to admit it, Aphrodite really put me in an uncomfortable position. On one hand, despite how upset I was at Annabeth, I didn't want to break her heart. If I'd known she wanted to be more than friends with me, I would've ease up on my rough behavior with her and maybe talked to her about everything going on. On the other hand, I was in a relationship with Clarisse and was happy, but I didn't want the only thing we had in common, the only thing that was keeping us together in the first place, to be just our baby. As much as I wanted to be a father to my child, I didn't want to be in a relationship where there would be no true love in it.
"Exquisitely painful, isn't it? Having two girls interested that you to are interested in, and only one can have you and to leave the other behind? Not knowing which to love and which to just be a friend to? Oh, you kids! It's so cute, I'm going to cry." Aphrodite mused.
"Please don't." I said.
"And don't worry, I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I have some wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait." Aphrodite said excitedly.
"I rather you don't bother altogether." I told her.
"You're so cute. I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you." Aphrodite's eyes were tearing up.
"I think I should go now." I said.
"Good luck young hero. And do be careful in my husband's territory, Percy. Don't take anything. He is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash." Aphrodite said.
I just nodded my head and got out of the car.
Hope I narrowed the Aphrodite scenery fair enough. I won't lie, I had some trouble figuring how to write it out. Hope you enjoyed, and I'll update again whenever I can.
