Hey you guys, I don't know if you will really care, but I need to get this off my chest...

Firstly, I have just recently found out my school is closing and it is unaccredited, meaning that the degree isn't going to get me very far in life. An that's if I can even graduate. It's going to take a while, but I'm hoping to sort this mess out soon. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. I've spent three years at this school and now it may have been a waste. The only good thing to come from it was meeting so many creative people.

Secondly, on a different note. I wanted to tell you guys about the 'Little House on the Prairie' books. It is unfortunate to say a woman who was very accomplished for her time is being stripped of her praise for a poor choice of words, or maybe just a phrasing that someone misinterpreted. I'm hoping this doesn't go any further than what it has, because stories, especially ones that give insight into the past are very important. Those books were memoirs of her life. I'd hate to see them be destroyed because of it. Stories from the past, can help us to shape our future. To make things better now than they were then.

Maybe it's just me as an author and book lover wanting to preserve these stories.

Any-who, Please enjoy this next chapter and tell me what you think. Hopefully I will also have my other story updated soon.

Disclaimer, I don't own Percy Jackson. It belongs to Rick Riordan.

They had been riding the horses for hours. Percy was definitely becoming sore all over from the effort to remain on the unsaddled horse. It was hard to not be noticed by the police. Or at least they didn't want to draw too much suspicion as they crossed from Arizona into California. Luckily, no one on the highway paid them any heed. The horse he was riding, who introduced himself as 'Thunder', kept fussing over Percy. Asking him questions and desperately trying to get a response.

I'm not trying to be irritating, my lord. Thunder told him gently as he shook the pestering flies from his mane. I just want to make sure you are alright.

"I'm fine, Thunder." Percy gave the horse a reassuring pat on his neck. "And you don't have to call me that. Just call me Percy."

The horse nickered humorously when both the boy and horse noticed Annabeth giving them rather strange glances. She was clearly trying to figure out if Percy was crazy or not. It took only a moment for her expression to become that of understanding. Maybe she could tell him why he could understand horses. He could make sense of being able to talk to fish, but why horses?

"Got something to say, Wisegirl?" The son of Poseidon asked.

"I feel dumb for not realizing it sooner." She answered. Since they had long slowed the horses to a trot it was easier to talk to one another. "That's why the horses all wanted to protect you. Even Luke's Pegasus fought against him to keep you safe."

Percy tilted his head in confusion, "And why exactly is that, Annabeth?"

"You're a son of Poseidon. Your father is the one who created horses." She explained. "You are essentially related, they may even consider you royalty."

Percy looked at the other two horses in their group, both nodded at him as if answering his unvoiced question. Would the horses be his siblings in a way? It was a weird thought. The horses admiration for him would explain a few things about his childhood. Like the time when he was eight, a Police horse had eagerly rushed him while he and his mom were in the heart of the city. He had been a little taken a back by its eagerness to greet him, but he had happily pet its snout when the policeman had offered.

Did that horse know who he was all that time ago?

Those horses hadn't even known him a day, but they all sacrificed so much to keep him safe. Looking at thunder and his two barn mates made a knot of guilt bubble in the fourteen year-old's stomach. Their friends were dead because of him. If he hadn't of been so weak, Luke wouldn't have gotten the upper hand. Percy scowled as the fight replayed over and over in his mind. There was some opportunity he had missed.

"You shouldn't do that to yourself, Percy." Grover chimed in, almost as if he knew what the demigod was thinking. "Beating yourself up over losing a sword fight with Luke won't help you. He has more experience than you, of course he'd be better."

Apparently Grover was good at giving advice rather than taking it. Percy decided to keep his mouth shut, however, getting into Grover's own guilt issues wouldn't be productive to their quest. The son of Poseidon made a mental note to talk to his friend once their quest was over. If Annabeth wanted to chime in on the conversation she gave no sign. Percy still couldn't understand her completely.

Why didn't she want him to help her fight Slate?

"We probably need to clean up." She told them. Annabeth scrunched her nose up as she sniffed the collar of her shirt. "This smoke smell is starting to make me feel sick."

"Maybe there's a rest center somewhere, they'll probably have showers or something." Percy offered.

He had been trying to read the signs as they passed them. His dyslexia and the less than smooth ride on Thunder made the task less than fun. Of course his mom wanted to sign him up for extra classes to help him cope with his dyslexia. Gabe wasn't for it. 'You can't fix stupid, Sal.' Percy hadn't passed up the opportunity to say that there was absolutely no hope for Gabe then. It was a good thing the man had been too drunk to really comprehend the insult.

"That's right, kid. No hope." Gabe had agreed before taking a long swig out of his beer.

Annabeth placed a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright, Percy? You kind of spaced out there."

"Just thinking." He admitted with a shrug.

"Well that's dangerous." She grinned her smile seemed to light up her whole face. "Do you want to talk about it? We've probably got a little while before we find the next rest stop."

"My step dad was a jerk." Percy mumbled, but chose not to say anything more. Calling Gabe a 'jerk' was the mildest thing he could think of to say.

Annabeth's smile faded as she absently began to fidget with the ring on her necklace. "Step parents are jerks in general."

Percy knew she had a lot of trauma in her childhood, but he wasn't sure of the extent of it. Maybe they both had similar problems when it came to their mortal parent's spouses. They were quiet for a while after that. Occasionally Grover would read the road signs for them and try to have conversations with Thunder and the other horses. Sometimes cars that passed by them would honk, Percy didn't know if they were trying to scare the horses or get the group's attention.

"Thank, Pan." Grover sighed. Each time they were honked at, the poor goat boy couldn't help but be more jumpy than the horse. "There's a rest stop exit a mile away."

My lord, I'm afraid this may be as far as we can take you. Thunder whinnied. We must return home. Our humans will be worried about us.

"You're going to go back?" Percy felt guilty when he thought about the mayhem they had caused at the farm. "But the barn was destroyed."

Our humans took good care of us, I'm sure they will rebuild.

Thunder and the other horses kept to their word and brought them up the rest stop ramp. For the most part the area was pretty vacant. There were some cars scattered around the parking lot and a few semi's parked in their designated area. Percy tried to ignore the oncomes who rushed pass them. The horses shied away, but they did their best not to buck the friends off.

I really hate those things. The horse Grover was on whined.

We'll avoid them. Thunder promised as they reached the rest stop building.

Percy stiffly climbed off of Thunder. He didn't have to wonder why cowboys hobbled with their legs so far apart. Both he and Annabeth had to help Grover off of his horse. The trio said goodbye to the horses, Grover gave them a little magical blessing with his flute. Though Percy thought he was playing an acoustic version of "So Yesterday" by Hillary Duff. Whatever it was, it seemed to make the horses feel better before they began their trek home.

Grover gave a relieved sigh as the horses disappeared from sight.

"I've missed Air conditioning." Annabeth smiled as they were buffered by the cold air of the rest stop.

After of days trekking in the hot humid air, it was a great change. Most of the stores in the building were closed, only the restrooms and showers seemed to be available. Since there was no one around, Annabeth found one of the general stores in the building and picked the lock. Of course Percy spotted a camera glaring down at them, but hopefully anyone working security was slacking off. They may already have the police after them after the incident in the park.

"Only take what you need." the daughter of Athena hissed as they entered the dark room. It was only lit by the emergency lights in the corner.

Percy could just make out some clothing racks and shelves silhouetted in the room. Their Satyr friend trotted over to the food without hesitation while Annabeth browsed for some decent clothing. Again, Percy didn't feel right about stealing, but he had a feeling that being a demigod would soon wipe away such inhibitions. He opted to grab bottles of shampoo and conditioner instead. He'd be fine with his Good-Will clothing.

They shouldn't be in the store looting longer than they had to.

As soon as they had everything they needed, the trio headed towards the washrooms. Annabeth went first while Grover and Percy waited in the hallway. It was still quiet, the occasional person passed them here or there. Other than that, the rest stop was pretty much dead. Grover sat next to Percy, munching on some chips he had swiped from the store. He offered some to Percy. Having not eaten in almost two days, Percy gladly accepted the stolen chips.

"So what did he mean?" Percy blurted out. He didn't know why he wasn't more tactful, but he really wanted to know what Luke meant before.

Grover paled, his cheeks moved as if he were rolling his tong over his teeth. "What do you mean?"

"About Thalia." The teen pressed. He tried to find a good way to word his next question. "About you failing to protect her?"

The hurt on Grover's face made Percy regret asking. Percy didn't mean it in the way he knew Grover was taking it. The satyr didn't give him much of a chance to talk about it at the barn, and with the whole place going up in flames, neither of them got to talk. Grover stopped eating, he no longer looked as hungry as he did before. Percy also felt his appetite leave him. It was awkward, but he doubted Annabeth would be out of the showers in time to break the tension.

"I didn't mean it like that, bud." The teen promised. "I know that you did your best. With both of us, but why does Luke think it's your fault."

"Because it is." Grover whined. "I chose to take Luke and Annabeth with us, and it slowed us down. And then I chose to help look for Zeus's master bolt instead of confirming you were a half-blood. Your mom died because of me. She could have left Gabe if you had known who you are."

Percy gently clasped Grover's shoulder, "My mom died because a evil and drunk monster shot her. Don't feel like its your fault. You didn't pull the trigger."

"You didn't either, Perce."

The teen looked away. He didn't want to admit how guilty he felt about his mother's death. Sure he hadn't been the one to kill her, but there had to have been something he could have done differently. Some way he could have saved her life. It seemed he wasn't too good at hiding his guilt because Grover could see right through it.

They fell into another awful silence. Percy glanced over to the door to the showers. Was Annabeth one to take hour long showers? Not that he could blame her, but he needed her to come in and break up the tension between him and Grover. At the rate their conversation was going, the two friends were bound to talk themselves in circles.

Grover nibbled nervously on his lips and looked away from the teen. The son of Poseidon wanted to say more, but he knew if he pressured his friend, Grover would push him away.

"Do you think this one is good enough?" A voice asked.

Percy's head snapped up. There were two men standing across from them. The men were both handsome and buff, a lot like actors. Their eyes almost dimly noted both Percy and Grover, there was something off about their eyes. It reminded Percy of the boy Drew had charmed into kissing her.

But who would have use for it out here?

"She didn't specify anything other than a boy who could pass off as her boyfriend." The other man told him. "That one would be good. He looks about her age."

When the men started walking towards them, both Percy and Grover leapt to their feet. Percy's first instinct was to run from the strangers, just like he had done to Slate and Killer when this whole ordeal started. But Annabeth was still in the shower. She was most likely not dressed. Were these guys monsters?

Percy shot a glance to Grover. He wasn't shaking like he had with the other monsters, so Percy felt safe to assume that these guys were most definitely mortal. The men continued their advances with the same dead look in their eyes. Percy side stepped so that he could be in front of Grover. Grover gave him a tap on the shoulder.

"This might be a bad time to tell you, but your sword won't work on mortals."

"Fantastic." Percy huffed. When the guy on the left tried to grab him, Percy dodged and dragged his friend out of the way.

When the other guy made a grab for him Percy gave a sharp swing with his arm to knock him back. Grover bleated nervously and tried to keep the second guy at bay. The men were good. So good that they had a third man sneak up from behind and throw a bag over Percy's head. Blinded, Percy swung wildly at anything near him. He hoped he didn't hit Grover.

One man grabbed him from behind, wrapping his trunk like arms around Percy's considerably slighter frame. Percy squirmed and kicked as he was carried off like a sack of potatoes. Behind him he could hear Grover yelping in surprise. His captor was a fast runner, before he knew it, he was already thrown into a car and taken away.

"They really didn't need to be so rough with you." A girl's voice reached his ears. "A bruise wouldn't look good for the cameras."

When the bag was lifted off his head, Percy found himself surrounded in luxury. He had been thrown into the back of a limo. It was gaudy with red velvet lining and black leather seats. To his left was a fridge full of cake and other treats. Sitting directly across from him was a teenage girl. She had tan skin, multicolor eyes, and a feather gently resting against her cheek. The girl was familiar, but where did he know her from?

"As you may know, my name is Piper McLean." She began as she brushed some hair over her shoulder. "And I've got a deal for you. Let's just say, I know you can't refuse."

I also wanted to let you know I have started writing some Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir fanfiction. My friend and I brainstormed the ideas. I can post them up eventually.