Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters. Except Kristina.
Thinking
"Speaking"
CHAPTER 2
Previously,
I gasped. Was this... Hades?
"F-Father, is that you?" I asked hesitantly.
My dream changed.
I made sure Nico was still asleep, and headed to the bathroom.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I have wavy black hair with dark red highlights at the end. It comes down to the middle of my back.
I have hazel eyes, fair skin and a bracelet I've had forever. I never knew how I got it, but I've always had it. It was a black leather bracelet, with a metal piece in the middle. The metal had a carving of my name in cursive. I loved it.
I tapped it lightly, and I suddenly had a bow in my hand.
I gasped in shock, but couldn't help admiring it. The bow was blood red. My name was carved in the center, much like my bracelet.
I pulled the string lightly, and a black arrow shot out. Since I hadn't pulled very hard, it just clattered to the floor. I gasped again, but carefully moved towards it and picked it up.
Stygian Iron.
Stygian Iron absorbs the essence of whoever it cuts. If it kills a monster, that monster won't be able to reform for decades.
If it cuts a mortal or demigod, even if it's just a small cut, it sucks the essence and the person can die too.
Essentially, it isn't supposed to harm children of Hades as much, but I'm not sure.
I slowly lifted it, and lightly cut my finger. Other than the light stinging sensation, I felt fine. So, I guess it really doesn't harm Hades's children. The bow is perfectly balanced in my hand, and I mentally thank Hades for sending it.
I tapped my bracelet to vanish the bow, and washed my hands. I noticed that along with the bow, even the arrow disappeared. Awesome.
I took a shower and changed into a black crop top, and black ripped jeans. I put on my black leather jacket and left my hair open. I don't know if you figured it out yet, but I love black.
I entered the cabin again, only to find Nico still sleeping.
"Neeks, it's time to wake up." I said, shaking him.
He groggily sat up and yawned.
"Morning." I smiled.
"Mornin'," He mumbled back.
He dragged his feet to the bathroom, and came back out in ten minutes.
He was wearing the camp t-shirt, and black pants. I grabbed my bag, fished out the ring and tossed it to him.
He looked at me confused, and I told him to put it on and come with me.
He did. I led him to the forest, not too deep, and said, "Twist it."
"What?" He asked.
"The ring. Twist it."
He stared at me for a second, before doing it. All of a sudden, there was a long black sword in his hand.
"Whoa!" He said, admiring it.
I nodded my agreement.
"How did you do that?" He asked, bouncing again.
"I can't tell you right now, but you'll know in time. Now there are a few things you need to know. First, you cannot tell this to anybody. If anybody finds out about this, we'll be in big trouble. Like, God-level trouble, ok? So, you can't tell or show this to anyone."
His face fell, but it was necessary.
"Second, make sure not to hurt any of your friends with that. The slightest of cuts and they die. It will not harm you, me or Bianca, but no cutting anyone else. Except monsters, of course."
His eyes widened.
I nodded again. "Yes, it is that powerful. And third, I want you to choose a weapon from the armory. It can be another sword, but you have to take one. You need to know how to protect yourself. Clear?"
Nico nodded vigorously, and I smiled. "Now twist it again and it should go back."
He did, and it vanished just like mine.
"Do you have one too?" He asked.
I smirked and tapped my bracelet. Boom! Badass looking bow.
His eyes widened even more. I chuckled and put them back.
Just as I did so, the conch horn blew, signaling breakfast.
"Come on. Breakfast time. I'll even let you have whatever you want today." I spoke. I usually make him have something mostly healthy, but come on. Hades sent us weapons. Hades. Our father. If that's not a reason to celebrate, I don't know what is.
I sat at the Hermes cabin again, and got chocolate chip pancakes. I put two pancakes in the fire and mumbled, "To Hades and Hestia. Thank you for the weapons, father."
I plopped myself next to Nico, who's plate was full of Nutella waffles and vanilla ice cream.
I chuckled at his hungry expression, and dug into my own food.
"Whoa! You look cool, Kristina." I heard someone say. I glanced back to see Connor and Travis looking at my outfit.
I grinned, "Why, thank you."
They grinned back and took a seat.
We were chatting the whole time, and I didn't notice Nico's plate filling up repeatedly.
When I was done with my food, I stood up to find Thalia and Annabeth.
"Nico, I'm going to the armory with Thalia and Annabeth. Don't hurt yourself. Connor, Travis, are you guys doing anything today?" I asked.
"Not really. I mean I have sword-fighting in the afternoon, but nothing else." Connor shrugged. I could only differentiate because of their slight height difference.
"I have the same." Travis responded.
I nodded, "Would you mind keeping an eye on Nico for a while? At least till I'm back?" I requested.
"Sure, why not?" They said, grinning. I smiled at them gratefully, "Thanks guys. I'll be back in a while."
I waved at them and started walking over to the Zeus table, seeing Annabeth walk towards it too, I jogged over to her.
"Hey Annabeth." I greeted the blonde.
"Hey Kristy. Oh, I'm sorry, can I call you Kristy?" She asked.
"Sure." I shrugged.
"Hey Thalia." I waved at her, spotting her coming towards us.
"Hey guys." Then she looked at me. "Nice," She grinned. "I like your style."
I grinned. "Thanks."
We went to the armory, discussing the most random topics; the Gods, fast food, how stupid most boys are, etc.
When we entered, I was shocked. There were weapons everywhere. Bows, swords, spears, you name it.
I walked over to the swords and picked them up randomly. Most of them were either too heavy, or didn't feel right. I stopped at a medium length one, with a black handle. I lifted it and swung it around. It felt comfortable, not perfectly, but close enough.
I turned around to show it to Thalia and Annabeth, and I saw them staring at me with wide eyes. I arched an eyebrow.
I admired the sword and I accidentally cut me. I hissed and sucked the wound.
"Th-That's Stygian Iron." Annabeth stammered.
Shit.
"Oh crap." I muttered. I dragged them both to the forest.
"You cannot tell anyone about this." I hissed.
"You knew?!" Thalia demanded.
"Well, I wasn't sure, but then fa- Hades appeared in my dream and told me he's going to claim us soon, which is surprising since I asked our godly parent to claim Nico and me soon last night. Oh, and he also sent me, Nico and Bianca weapons. Which reminds me; I have to tell Bianca about her weapon." I ranted.
Seeing Thalia's scowl and Annabeth's shocked expression, I stopped.
"What?" I asked.
"Hades spoke to you." Thalia said quietly. I think it was supposed to be a question, but she said it in statement form.
"In my dream, yes." I replied slowly.
"And he sent you weapons."
I nodded again.
"Great." Thalia snarled and stormed off.
"What did I say?" I asked Annabeth.
"Well... It's just that Thalia's been trying to contact Zeus for a long time, and she never gets a reply, and the fact that Hades already spoke to you, made her angry." Annabeth responded.
"Awesome. One day here and I've already pissed someone off." I sighed.
She sent me an apologetic look.
"I'll just go talk to her." I sighed again. I jogged behind Thalia.
"I'll be in the Athena cabin if you need me." Anabeth called.
"Thanks!" I called back.
I walked everywhere searching for Thalia, and I finally found her sitting on one of the branches on her old pine tree.
"Hey Thalia. Can I come up?" I asked hesitantly. When she didn't reply, I climbed up anyway. I sat down next to her, "I'm sorry." I murmured. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I know." She said after a few seconds. "I just got mad because you got to speak to him just after a day of being here, and I plead for Zeus to send me one sign and he ignores me."
"It's against the Ancient Laws, right? Maybe he's just trying to be an example to the other gods?"
"Maybe." She muttered, although from her tone I knew she didn't believe it.
"So, umm, you're not angry with me?" I asked hopefully.
"No." She gave a small smile. I smiled happily.
She sighed, "Come on, let's go get you a sword that doesn't tell anyone you're the daughter of Hades."
I grinned and jumped out the tree.
"Hey, would you mind showing me the weapon?" She asked suddenly.
"Um, sure." I tapped my bracelet and showed her my bow. She stared at them in awe.
"I love your style." She commented after a few seconds. She reached out to it, and I passed it to her. She pulled the string back, but I stopped her at the last moment.
"Stygian Iron." I said in response to her frown.
"Oh."
I pulled them back in, and we started walking back towards the armory.
After fifteen minutes, I found one that was still not right, but I managed. We decided to ask Beckendorf to make one for me later.
"Well, I should get back. I promised Nico I would help him get a weapon." I said, looking at Thalia.
"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours?" We had decided to join the sword fighting lesson in the evening.
I nodded and started walking away. On my way, I saw Bianca walking with Phoebe and Zoe.
I smiled to myself and entered the Hermes cabin. A blur slammed into me, and I stumbled.
I looked down to see Nico with a huge smile on his face. He pushed away and said, "Can we go get a weapon now?"
"Sure..." I said, eyeing the grinning twins behind him.
We raced to the armory, and he picked up every single sword. When none of them were right, we moved to the spears, bows, nun chucks, everything. Nothing worked.
Nico was very disappointed. I suggested getting his own sword made too, and he agreed instantly. His face brightened, making me laugh.
"Neeks, do you want to go see Bianca?" I asked suddenly.
"Yes!"
I grinned and we started walking towards the Artemis cabin. Before I knocked, I made sure to make Nico stand far away.
When I knocked and Bianca opened the door, I saw her face light up.
"Kristy!" She hugged me.
"Hi Bianca." I laughed. "Would you mind coming with Nico and me for a while? There's something I want to show you."
"Um, sure, but let me ask Zoe." She replied, stepping away.
She went inside the cabin, and came back a few seconds later.
"Let's go!" She stepped out and got slammed by Nico.
When they broke apart, we headed to the forest.
"Where are we going?" She asked, her brows furrowed.
"Not far." I replied.
Once we had reached the edge of the forest, I stopped.
I faced her and said, "Tap your bracelet."
She looked very confused, but tapped it, and two scimitars appeared in each hand.
She squeaked when she first saw it, then looked at it in fascination. Her name was carved on the ends of the blade, ending at the hilt. I took it from her and examined it.
Stygian Iron.
"How the hell did that happen?" Bianca said, freaking out.
I started explaining the same thing I told Nico, and she nodded in understanding.
"Wait." She stopped when I was done. "Stygian Iron?"
I nodded.
She whispered, "Only children of Hades can use Stygian Iron. It doesn't harm them as much."
I looked at her nervously.
She strode over to me and took the swords from my hand. She held one up and cut her finger like I had done.
After a few seconds of staring at the wound, she looked up at me, "We're children of Hades?" She asked in a little more than a whisper.
I nodded slowly. "But you can't tell anyone!"
"What?"
"We're not supposed to be alive." I explained the pact the Big Three had made, and at the end, Bianca plopped herself onto the ground.
"Holy sh- crap!" She mumbled.
I sat down next to her, "I know. But you should be glad that at least Father contacted us. A lot of children here haven't even been claimed yet. At least we know it's going to happen soon."
"I'm confused." Nico spoke up.
We both looked at him expectantly.
"You're telling me that the God of Death, the king of the Underworld, is our father."
We nodded.
"And he told you through a dream."
Another nod.
"And you didn't tell me yesterday."
I nodded.
"Why?"
"You're ten." I said bluntly.
"How does that matter?!"
"It does. Plus, Father also told me not to tell you." That was a lie. He never said that, but I had to give some reason.
"Oh."
"Well, I have to go now. Bianca, don't tell anyone about our parentage till Hades claims us. Or about the scimitars. And Nico, don't get into trouble." I got up and started walking inside the forest.
When they were both out of sight, I stopped. I looked around and muttered, "Alright, how do I do this?"
I closed my eyes and tried to sense... anything. I focused on the shadows around me, and tried to sense the objects in the shadows.
I kept my eyes closed for a few minutes, before gasping and snapping them open. I had been holding my breath without realizing.
I stared at a small shadow of a bush, and tried to move it. I glared at it, frowned at it, tried to go Shikamaru style with the hand sign, but nothing worked.
"Alright, so that didn't work. Shadow travelling?"
I closed my eyes and made a mental image of the tree in front of me. I willed myself to shadow travel there.
Suddenly, I found myself gasping for air, and on the ground.
I was no closer or farther from the tree. Feeling utterly disappointed, I dragged my feet to the cabin and fell on my bed.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Do not despair." I heard a voice say. I was in the same pitch-black cave as yesterday. I faced the voice to see the same silhouette.
"Father?" I called in a softer voice than intended.
"You can use the powers of the Underworld. You possess a greater power than any of my previous children. You have yet to unlock it. Train hard, my child." Hades said.
"Father, when will you claim us? All three of us know, but no one else does. What are you waiting for?" I took a step closer, and he took a step back.
"The right time. It will happen soon, child. Trust me."
"But father-"
"Do not argue with me, Kristina." He said sternly. "I told you I will claim you soon, and I will. No more arguments. Understood?"
"Yes father." I sighed.
"Good. Now wake up. You have a sword fighting lesson."
My eyes widened-
Then I woke up.
Holy shit, does Hades actually pay attention to what happens in our life?!
I got up and grabbed my sword. I opened the cabin door to see Thalia standing there, about to knock.
"Oh, hey." I said, surprised.
"Hey, I was just about to knock."
"Yeah. Let's go?"
She nodded and off we went.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
When we returned, I had Travis and Connor at my side, and I was exhausted.
They had conducted an amazing session, and I even made good progress!
I had a quick shower, kissed Nico on the cheek, and promptly crashed. Again.
I woke up to Nico shaking me and telling me it's time for dinner.
We went to dinner, and the lasagna was good! Once dinner was over, everyone started putting on their armor for capture the flag.
I nervously put my own armor on and helped Nico with his. Once Thalia and Percy were done talking, Nico ran to him and I moved towards Thalia.
"So, what do I have to do?" I asked her.
"Um, defense. You just have to stand near the flag and keep the Hunters from getting it. And don't get killed."
I hummed under my breath.
Thalia grabbed the flag and yelled, "Blue team! Follow me!"
We all marched behind her and set the flag atop Zeus's fist.
Nico, Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers were with me for guard duty, while Silena led a decoy team with Laurel and Jason to the left.
Then Percy and Thalia argued, Thalia shocked him and we all went to our posts.
Nothing happened, till-
"Can you guys hold the fort?" Percy broke the silence.
"Hell yeah." Beckendorf snorted.
Percy nodded and ran towards the Hunters' end. I heard a faint 'oof' and my eyes narrowed. He slammed into Bianca.
I closed my eyes and focused on the shadows. I, somehow, sensed someone behind the tree next to us. I turned to them and tried to shadow travel there. I put all my focus on the tree. Then I felt my stomach do a summersault, and I landed on my knees.
I came face to face with Zoe, who looked at me in immense surprise.
Before I could recover, however, she whizzed past me, grabbing our flag on the way. Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers chased after her, it was Zoe, but she managed to outrun them.
I stumbled towards Nico and he stared at me in shock.
"You- I- how?" He stammered, looking at me and where I was a second ago. I was exhausted from shadow travelling. Although, I was amazed I even managed to shadow travel.
"The Hunters win!" I heard Chiron boom. "For the 56th goddamned time in a row." He muttered.
"Percy Jackson!" Thalia thundered. Literally. She even had sparks flying around her fingers. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I got the flag! I saw an opportunity, and I took it!" Percy retorted.
"I was at their frickin' base!" Thalia yelled. "I would've gotten the flag, but nooo! You just had to butt in!"
"You had too many on you!" Percy argued.
"Oh, so it's my fault now?"
"I didn't say that!"
Thalia pushed Percy back with a lot of force. Maybe a little too much, because he went flying around twelve feet back.
"Oh gods, I'm sorry Percy, I didn't mean to!" Thalia paled.
Then a wave of water blasted Thalia in the face.
"I didn't mean to, either." Percy growled.
"You want some, Seaweed Brain?" Thalia demanded, electricity crackling around her.
"That's enough!" Chiron yelled.
He was ignored.
"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!" Percy said, the water rising behind him.
"Guys, stop it!" Annabeth yelled. She was ignored too.
I sighed and said, "Would this be a good time to point out something is walking towards us?"
Everyone looked at me. I smiled awkwardly and pointed towards the woods. Sure enough, something was approaching us; shrouded in green mist.
"Impossible. Sh-she has never left the attic." Chiron stuttered.
The Oracle floated towards us. At least I think it floated.
She looked at Percy, then turned to Zoe.
I heard a hissing in my head, and winced.
I am the spirit of Delphi. It hissed, The speaker of Phoebus Apollo; slayer of the mighty Python. Approach seeker, and ask.
"What must I do to help my goddess?" Zoe swallowed.
Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titans curse one must withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.
Then the green mist retracted into the Oracle's mouth, and she sat on the rock, like she had been sitting there for centuries already.
"Well, all cabin leaders are to come to the Big House for the quest discussion." Chiron informed.
"Um Chiron?" Travis said nervously.
"What?" Chiron turned to him. He pointed at me, and Chiron gasped.
I looked at him weirdly, till I noticed they were all looking above Bianca, Nico and my head. I looked up to see a glowing skull with a weird design on it.
I smiled at my siblings and looked back to the campers, who had started kneeling. Even some of the Hunters knelt.
"It is determined." Chiron announced. "Hades; Lord of the Dead, King of the Underworld, God of Riches. Hail, Kristina, Nico and Bianca Di'Angelo, children of Hades."
I hugged Nico and Bianca with one arm, silently thanking Hades in my mind.
When everyone rose, I saw Zoe and the other Hunters smiling at Bianca, The Stoll brothers grinning at both, Nico and me, as well as Thalia and Annabeth beaming at me.
I sent them both grins. Although, I did not like how some of the campers were shooting us either scared or angry looks.
"Guess we can use our weapons freely now." I grinned at my siblings.
Nico's eyes lit up, while Bianca grinned back. She went to the Hunters again, and starting talking to them with a huge smile on her face.
Nico ran to the Stoll brothers and I walked to Annabeth and Thalia.
"So, he finally claimed you, huh?" Annabeth smiled.
"Yeah." I smiled back. "Didn't expect it to be so soon though."
"Wait, so you can use your amazingly cool bow, right?" Thalia asked excitedly.
"Yes, I can." I laughed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Nico and I still had to stay in the Hermes cabin, since Hades doesn't have a cabin here.
The next morning, after breakfast,
"Cabin leaders! To the Big House!" Chiron ordered.
"Wait, does this mean I can come too?" I asked. I was with Annabeth and Thalia, walking around, doing nothing.
"I don't know." Annabeth said, her forehead scrunched up.
"Meh, just come along. We'll see what Chiron says." Thalia said, swinging her arm around my shoulder.
I chuckled and we started walking. We entered the room and sat next to each other. I tipped my head in Mr. D's direction. He eyed me carefully before going back to his Wine Magazine.
When Chiron appeared, his gaze lingered on me for a second, and there was a moment of hesitation before he took a seat next to Mr. D.
"Where's Percy?" Chiron looked around.
"You sent him and Grover to keep the Oracle back." Annabeth said. Yes, we all forgot about the Oracle, and it spent the night near the forest.
"Thank you, Annabeth. Thalia, would you mind getting him here?"
"Yes." Thalia said without hesitation.
"Well, too bad." Chiron looked at her with a 'Get up and do as I say right now' look.
She huffed and got up, storming out of the room.
I stifled a chuckle, and went back to quietly talking to Annabeth about her architecture plans. She really was passionate about architecture.
A few minutes later, Thalia returned with Percy and Grover behind her. They took a seat and the meeting started.
"This is utterly pointless." Zoe said bluntly. "Our goddess needs us, and we must leave immediately."
"And go where, exactly?" Chiron asked.
"West!" Bianca exclaimed.
Wow. Even my own sister has been affected by them. Even she's pointing out the obvious.
"How specific." I couldn't help but comment. Bianca shot me a glare, and I shrugged innocently.
"You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can take five Hunters and go." Zoe pointed out.
"You're missing something, as usual." Thalia said, examining her nails. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We need to work together."
"No! We do not need thy help!" Zoe exclaimed.
"But you do need our help!" Chiron said quickly, when he saw Thalia's mouth open to retort. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."
"One shall be lost; one shall be killed. What if that happens because you try to cooperate?" Mr. D said, idly flicking a page.
"With all due respect, Mr. D. Whose side are you on?" Chiron sighed.
"Just trying to be helpful."
"We need to work together!" Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, but I'm not going against a prophecy. Are you, Zoe?"
Zoe grimaced but didn't argue.
"Alright, now we must not delay. Today is a Sunday. This Friday is the Winter Solstice." Chiron warned.
"Oh joy! Another brain numbing meeting." Dionysus said, rolling his eyes.
"Lady Artemis must be present at the meeting." Zoe said. "She has been the most vocal at the meetings, and if she is not there, nothing will be decided. Another year of planning will be delayed."
"Are you insinuating that we gods have trouble acting together?" Mr. D asked, his eyes narrowing a bit.
"Yes, Lord Dionysus." Zoe said, unflinchingly.
"Well, you're right, of course. Carry on." He said, reading his magazine again.
"I agree with Zoe. Artemis's presence is critical at the council. You have one week to find Artemis and the monster she was hunting. Now, who all are going on this quest?"
"Three and two." Percy spoke up. Everyone looked at him, and he hesitated before continuing, "It's fair. Two campers, three Hunters."
"I would prefer to take all Hunters. We need the strength." Zoe scowled.
"You will be retracing your goddess's steps. She would have moved west while following the bane of Olympus. And what would your mistress say; Too many Hunters spoil the scent. A small group is the best." Chiron said wisely.
Zoe picked up a ping pong paddle and said, "This bane of Olympus. Out of the many years of hunting with Artemis, she has never told me about the creature."
Everyone turned to Mr. D. When everyone went quiet, he looked up and said, "Don't look at me. I'm a young god. Why would I know about those old monsters? Besides, they make for terrible party conversation."
Then we turned to Chiron.
"I have a few ideas, but none of them make sense. Typhon or Keto were truly the banes of Olympus, but if they were stirring, we would know. They are the sizes of skyscrapers. Poseidon would have raised an alarm. This monster is even more powerful and elusive." Chiron sighed.
"That is some serious danger you're facing. It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die." Travis commented.
"'One shall be lost in the land without rain'. I would stay out of the desert if I were you." Beckendorf added.
"'And one shall perish by a parent's hand'. Whose parent would kill them?" Grover said in between bites of ping pong balls and Cheez Whiz.
I saw Thalia and Percy sharing a look, while Zoe and Chiron shared one too.
They was an awkward silence before Chiron said, "We know there will be deaths."
"Oh, goody!" Dionysus chimed up. I facepalmed. Everyone looked at him again.
"Oh, don't mind me. Pinot Noir is making a comeback." He said innocently.
"Percy is right. Three Hunters and three campers should go." Silena said.
"Oh, and thy wish to go?" Zoe asked sarcastically.
"Uh-uh. I'm not going anywhere with you. Don't look at me."
"A child of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at! What would thy mother say?"
"Enough." Beckendorf said. "Which three Hunters are going?"
"I'm going, of course, and I'm taking Phoebe. She is our best tracker." Zoe replied.
"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis asked cautiously.
"Yes." Zoe replied, confused.
"The one who put arrows in my helmet?" Connor continued.
"Yes," Zoe snapped, "Why do thou ask?"
"We have a t-shirt for her." One of them said. They held up a silver Artemis Hunting Camp blah blah t-shirt, "We saw her admiring this, so we thought we would give it to her."
Zoe sighed but grabbed the t-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe, and I wish for Bianca to go."
"Me?" Bianca yelped, "But why me? I mean, I'm new here."
"That is why I want thou to go. It will be a good way to prove thyself." Zoe insisted.
"Oh, um ok, I guess." Bianca said, chewing her lip.
"And campers?" Chiron asked.
"I'm going." I said as soon as he finished.
Zoe eyed me, and I met her look head on, daring her to say something.
"Hold up, you're new." Thalia said. "You might get killed."
"I'm sorry, but I agree with Thalia." Annabeth said.
I tried to argue, but Chiron agreed with them. Knowing I wasn't going to win, I didn't say anything.
"I'm going." Thalia stood up.
Grover opened his mouth to say something, but Annabeth cut him off, "And me."
"Whoa, wait, hold up. I wanna go too." Percy stood up.
"I will not travel with a boy." Zoe denied firmly.
"You came here with me."
"That was short term and my goddess ordered it." She retorted.
"I just feel like I'm supposed to go!" He insisted.
No one stood up for him. Chiron only sent him a pitying look, and no one else met his gaze.
"The quest is for Lady Artemis. The Hunters should get to decide who goes." Chiron said.
Percy sat down, not meeting anyone's eyes.
"Very well. Thalia and Annabeth will accompany Zoe, Bianca and Phoebe. You shall leave tomorrow morning. And may the gods-" We all looked at Mr. D- "Present company included, we hope, be with you." Chiron concluded.
We all left the room, and the three of us, Annabeth, Thalia and I, went back to the creek.
"Hey guys? You both go ahead; I'll catch up with you later. Nico will be wondering where I am." I said, slowing down.
They nodded and I headed back to the cabins.
"Nico!" I yelled when I saw him outside the cabin.
He ran up to me and beamed at me. "What happened? Are you going on the quest?"
"No."
"Oh. Who all are going?" He asked.
"Thalia, Annabeth, Zoebiancaandphoebe." I said the last three names fast so that he didn't realize Bianca was going too.
"Bianca's going?" He looked so dejected, I winced.
"Yes, but she'll be back in a week." I explained hurriedly.
"Oh." He said softly.
"Come on, I want to help you with your powers." I smiled down at him.
An excited look came over his face, and we went to the forest. I showed him how to shadow travel short distances, and let him practice on his own, while I tried to control the shadows.
I glared at a shadow of a bush, and willed it to move.
Move. Just move. Move, damn it!
After fifteen agonizing minutes of standing still, the shadow extended.
A grin escaped, and I started shaping the shadow into different things.
When I tried to shape it into more complex things, it refused to move. I thrust my hand out and tried to mold it in mid-air. When I did that, it was much easier.
I stretched it out, making it longer, and into something like a string. Noticing Nico beside me, I flicked my hand, making the shadow move towards Nico.
It wrapped around his leg at my command, and pulled. Nico fell down with a yelp, making me burst into laughter.
He glared at me, but that disappeared withing a minute when he noticed the moving shadow.
He had stars in his eyes again, and another excited smile on his face.
"Can I do that too?" He asked, bouncing again.
"Yes, but practice shadow travelling first." I chuckled.
His face fell, but he went back to practicing. So did I.
After a few hours, we both were tired, so we ended our training there. I told Nico to go back to the cabin, while I went to talk to Zoe.
I found her walking towards the cabin, but I stopped her.
"Zoe!" I yelled, running towards her.
She stopped and turned towards me, but made no movement.
I halted in front of her, "Please keep Bianca safe." I requested.
"What?" She asked.
"Bianca's going to be on the quest, right? Please keep her safe. She's new to the Hunt and the demigod life in general, yet she's still going on the quest. So, please, please keep her from dying. It'll break both me and Nico if something happens to her. I trusted you when she joined the Hunt, but I still don't want her to die. Please keep her safe." I ended in a whisper.
Zoe's gaze softened a bit, "I'll try my best, Kristina."
"Thank you." I gave her a smile, before we parted ways.
I headed over to Beckendorf, who led me to the armory. I was surprised when he opened a door to the very back, and I saw campers, Hephaestus's kids, making weapons.
"So, what exactly do you need?" He turned to me and grinned.
"Um, a weapon that I'll be able to use in close combat and in distance. I mean, I have a bow, but maybe a sword or a dagger?" I explained. I wasn't sure what kind of weapon would be best for me, so I left it to him.
"I see. You have bow and arrows, and you need something for close distance." He mused and started muttering to himself. Then he examined me. I fidgeted with my fingers, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
After a few minutes, he spoke. "Come over here after breakfast tomorrow. I'll have your weapon ready. Oh, and do you have a specific metal, or just Celestial Bronze?"
"Stygian Iron, if you have it. If not, just Celestial Bronze will do." I shrugged.
"Alright, I'll have it ready by tomorrow."
"Thanks, Beckendorf. Oh, and could you make a normal sword for Nico?"
"Sure."
"Thanks. I owe you, dude." I grinned.
He grinned back, and I left.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next day, I woke up early to say bye to Bianca. I walked towards the gate, and found them all standing there. Except Phoebe. She was the only one missing.
I walked towards them with my hands in my pockets. Bianca's face lit up when she saw me, making me smile.
"Hey guys." I said, hands in my pockets.
"Kristy! You came!" Bianca beamed.
"Of course, I came. Now, did you take everything you need?"
She nodded.
"Your bow? Arrows? Scimitars? A change of clothes? What ab-"
"Geez, Kristina. Calm down. She'll be fine." Thalia said, shaking her head.
"Sorry, but I can't help it. It's her first quest, and we came here, like, three days ago!"
"I took everything, and I'll be careful." Bianca said, looking up at me.
"Promise?" I asked, nervously.
"I promise." She smiled.
I hugged her, murmuring, "Please don't die, Bianca. I won't be able to handle it."
"I won't." She murmured back.
I broke away, turning to Thalia and Annabeth instead.
"You guys will be fine, right?"
"We've been on quests before, y'know." Thalia rolled her eyes.
"I know, but..."
Annabeth smiled at me assuringly. "We'll be fine. Don't worry."
She pulled me in a hug, and I let out a breath. "Please don't die. And take care of Bianca too, if you can."
"I promise."
I broke away and fist bumped Thalia, "Don't turn back into a pine tree." I teased.
She grinned cheekily, "No promises."
I chuckled, and I turned to Zoe. "Take care."
She just nodded minutely.
They got in the van, and I waved goodbye. I sighed again, biting my lip nervously.
I walked away, unconsciously fiddling with my bracelet. I headed over to the archery range, pulling out my own bow. I stood in front of the target, and without even focusing, pulled the string.
I did that a few times, before I noticed what I was doing. I looked at the target.
One arrow was in the center, and the others were at different parts of the circle.
Impressed, I continued, actually paying attention this time. Some of them hit the center, but most of them flew past.
An hour later, I went for breakfast, then to the forging room behind the armory.
I entered, finding Beckendorf and a few others still there. I walked over to him, "Hey Beckendorf."
"Hm?" He looked up, then grinned, "Oh, hey Kristina. Your weapon."
He tossed two somethings that looked like the hilt of a blade. No, they were actually half the size. Plain black. I looked at him in confusion, till he took one back and pressed a button on it.
Instantly, a blade that was around nine inches, shot out.
"Whoa!" I exclaimed, a grin splitting my face.
"Right?" Beckendorf said, a little smugly.
"Thanks, Beckendorf!" I said, thrilled about getting a new to- I mean, a new weapon. Weapon. Not toy.
"You're welcome. These are twin daggers and they're dangerous. They have one side Stygian Iron and the other Celestial Bronze, so it affects mortals too. And this button-" He pointed at a small button right where my thumb would go, "will expand or retract the blades."
"Cool, got it." I said, carefully taking the daggers. He nodded.
"Awesome." I grinned again, examining the daggers. They looked badass.
"And this is your brother's sword. It's only Celestial Bronze." Beckendorf said, handing me a sword with a black hilt that was way too light for my liking.
"Thanks." I smiled at him. I headed to the cabin to give Nico his sword, when my thoughts transferred back to Bianca and the quest. I started chewing my lip again.
"Kristina!" I heard someone call me from behind. I whirled around to see Travis jogging up to me.
"Travis! Hi."
"Hey. I was wondering if you wanted to, uhh, go for a walk or something?" He said, smiling.
"Um, sure. Let me just hand this over to Nico." I replied, smiling back at him.
I couldn't help but notice how cute he looked when he smiled.
"Sure."
I entered the Hermes cabin, and kept the sword on Nico's bed with a note. I closed the door, and walked over to Travis's side.
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"Um, have you been to the strawberry farm yet?" He asked, turning a bit to face me.
"Mm, no, I haven't been there yet." I replied.
"Oh dear!" He added a dramatic gasp. "Mr. D likes you, and you haven't been to his farm! Oh, sacrilege!"
"Shut up!" I said, laughing. He grinned at me, and we walked in silence for a while.
He's kinda cute.
"So, what do you think of Camp so far?" Travis asked.
"It's nice, I guess." I shrugged. "The food is good, there's a lot to do around here, but I think I like the campers the best." I glanced up at him, "Some more than others."
His cheeks turned pink and I snickered. He mock glared at me, then, "And here we are!" He announced, stopping in front of a gate. He opened it, and my eyes widened. The view in front of me was... almost magical.
The plants looked brighter than normal. It seemed like... like they glowed. The strawberries were a luscious red, and there were campers picking them.
Travis laughed at my expression. "What do you think?"
"This is amazing!" I said, reluctantly tearing my gaze away. "Wait... Are they growing it... by speaking to them?" I asked incredulously.
"Yep." Travis nodded. "Those are the Demeter kids. They can grow plants, so, they come here and help."
"They grow plants. By speaking to them." I repeated blandly.
"Yes, that's what I just said."
"... okay then."
Travis chuckled, and we walked ahead. I looked around, feeling weirdly happy. I never really liked plants, but these made me feel good, for some reason.
"Hey, Travis? What would happen if a mortal came into camp?" I asked, sneaking a strawberry off the plant.
"I saw that, by the way, and they'll just walk away. The Mist makes this place seem like a strawberry farm, but if they do come here, they just automatically turn around."
I hummed under my breath. After a few minutes of walking around and sneaking a few strawberries, Travis made the mistake to race me to a nearby tree. I gave him a head start, then shadow traveled there.
I leaned against the tree waiting for him to reach. I crossed my arms and smirked when he slowed down, realizing what I did.
"That's cheating!" He complained.
"You never said I couldn't use my powers." I shrugged nonchalantly.
He shot me a mild glare, then chuckled at my fake innocent look.
I grinned, and we started walking back to the cabins. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, and kicked a rock on the ground.
"Have you... have you ever met your dad?" I asked Travis a little hesitantly. I wasn't sure how he would react to the question, but thankfully, he didn't mind.
"No, not really. I mean, dreams, sure. But never in person." He sighed.
"Mmm."
"Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just wondered." I shrugged, not looking at him.
"Uh-huh." He replied.
"Honest!" I insisted.
"If you say so."
I used a shadow near me to hold him in place. It snaked around his ankle, and held him firmly in place. He took a step forward, and tripped.
He didn't fall, but I burst out laughing. He shot me another glare, and I let him go. I continued laughing, annoying him further.
He came to my side, and retaliated by tickling me. I started giggling uncontrollably, writhing in his hands.
"Stop... Travis... please stop..." I struggled to say.
He stopped, and smirked at me. I glared at him, but a smile was tugging at my lips.
We entered the cabin, and I saw Nico sitting on the bed, looking extremely happy. When he saw us, his eyes narrowed by a fraction, and his eyes darting between the two of us.
Then he focused on me and smiled, "The sword is so cool!"
A few minutes later, Nico and I went to the forest and practiced our shadow traveling and shadow... controlling? Whatever. That thing.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Third Person POV
The four quest members drove out to Manhattan in silence. Mostly.
"How much longer?" Thalia groaned.
"Will thou please shut up?" Zoe said, irritated. Thalia had been asking the same question every two minutes, annoying the Hunter immensely.
"Why is this taking so much time?" Thalia asked. Again.
"I cannot do anything about the traffic." Zoe said simply from the driver's seat.
Bianca and Annabeth sighed together from behind. Being demigods, Thalia and Annabeth had ADHD, meaning they couldn't sit still for a long time.
Although, Annabeth would sit in her cabin, or out in the field reading a book for long periods of time, letting her sit still- with difficulty- for a while.
Annabeth pulled out a book from her bag and started reading. Five minutes later -
"How much more time?" Thalia whined.
"Oh, for the love of-" Zoe slammed her foot on the brakes, making the van screech to a stop.
"I do not know! I cannot control how fast traffic goes! So, please keep thy mouth shut!" Zoe exclaimed.
Bianca and Annabeth sighed again, and the two of them got out of the van as Thalia argued back.
"We're going to be in the coffee shop over there, feel free to come once you two are done." Annabeth raised her voice. "Come on, Bianca."
The two of them walked over to the shop, scanning their surroundings. They entered and ordered some hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.
A few seconds later, Zoe and Thalia entered, looking angry and annoyed at the same time.
"You guys done?" Annabeth asked.
"Yes." They both grumbled. Then they looked at each other, realizing they spoke together. Annabeth rolled her eyes, sipping on her drink.
They started arguing again, and Annabeth sighed loudly.
"This is getting annoying. Can you guys please call a truce or something?"
Thalia hesitated, then nodded, "Truce?" She looked at Zoe.
Zoe stared at her before agreeing.
"Now that that's over; where do we have to go?" Bianca spoke up.
"I can help with that." Grover said.
All four of them whipped their heads towards the voice.
"Grover?" Thalia and Annabeth said incredulously.
"Hi." Grover said sheepishly.
"What are thee doing here?" Zoe demanded coldly.
"I, er, I snuck into the back of the van." He admitted.
"How did none of us notice?" Thalia asked the girls.
"Probably because you were fighting. The whole time." Annabeth said.
Zoe and Thalia looked a little sheepish before focusing on the satyr again.
"As I was saying; I know how to play a tracker's song now, so I can help?" Grover added hopefully.
"It appears we have no choice. Thou are a part of this quest now. And if you really know the song, I guess thou aren't totally useless." Zoe said distastefully.
Grover's eyes lit up, as a smile spread across Thalia and Annabeth's faces.
He joined the four of them, and used his acorns.
They left the café, deciding to head to D.C. After another fight between the Hunter and the daughter of Zeus, they started driving.
"Is it just me, or is it weird that nothing bad has happened yet?" Thalia asked.
"Don't jinx it!" Annabeth, Zoe and Grover hissed, looking around nervously.
A few moments later-
"Um, Zoe?" Bianca looked at her. "Is there supposed to be a skeleton walking around?"
Zoe's head whipped back towards her. "What?"
Bianca pointed behind, and a few skeletons were running towards them.
"Shit!" Annabeth cursed.
"You jinxed it!" Zoe accused Thalia.
"Sorry!" Thalia had the decency to look sheepish.
Zoe stepped on the accelerator, and did not take her foot off.
"There!" Bianca pointed at an opening. "That parking lot!"
"We'll be trapped!" Grover said frantically.
"Trust me!"
Zoe looked at her skeptically for a second before going in. She slammed the brakes once they entered, and everyone leapt out of the van.
They looked around to see they were in a subway station, and they shared a collective nod and went to buy some tickets.
"Let's go south; Alexandria." Bianca said.
They all agreed again, and got in the train. Every time they heard the faintest noise of helicopter blades, they switched trains.
When they finally lost the helicopter, they got off the train, only to find themselves in an industrial area with warehouses, railway tracks and lots of snow.
"Hey guys!" A homeless guy waved at them. "Y'all need to warm up?"
Everyone looked at each other and walked over to him, huddling up near his trash can fire.
"Well, this is just g-g-great." Thalia sighed.
"My hoo- um, feet are frozen." Grover added.
"Maybe we should contact camp? Chiron might be able to help us." Bianca asked hopefully.
"No." Zoe shook her head, "They can't help us now. We're on our own."
"You're never on your own, y'know." The homeless man said kindly. "You kids need a ride west?"
"Yes sir. Do you know of any?" Annabeth asked, her eyes lighting up.
He waved his hand behind them, and they all turned. Right there, free of snow and bright, was a freight train with 'SUN WEST RAILWAYS' in bold.
"Well, isn't that convenient?" Annabeth commented. "Thank yo-" She cut herself off, turning around to find an empty spot where the dude was.
They all got in the train, choosing a car each.
Thalia got into a black Mercedes, hot wiring a radio. Zoe and Bianca crashed into a Lexus, and Grover was playing race-car driver in a Lamborghini.
Annabeth joined Thalia in the front seat of the Mercedes SLK, and nodded along with the beat of the song.
"We're going to San Fransisco. You were supposed to move there, weren't you?" Thalia turned to the daughter of Athena.
Annabeth nodded grimly. "Dad should've known I can't move there."
Thalia agreed.
Not wanting to talk about it, Annabeth got out of the car, "I'm going to crash. Wake me up when we reach, yeah?"
Thalia nodded, and Annabeth got into a Ferrari. She closed her eyes, and her exhaustion took over.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kristina POV (First Person)
I walked towards the Big House, wondering what was going on. Percy told me that Chiron wanted to speak to me for something.
I stuffed my hands into my pockets, and let my thought drift to Bianca's quest. It had been one day; they should have reached the Sun West Railway by now. Maybe even crossed it.
I knocked on the Big House door, and heard Chiron saying, "It's open."
I entered, "You called, Chiron?"
Then I noticed Mr. D. "Oh, Lord Dionysus." I gave a small bow.
He eyed me again, then went back to flipping through his magazine.
This is getting annoying. He would just look at me, then ignore me.
Chiron smiled at me and gestured for me to take a seat. I did so and waited for him to speak.
"So, Hades claimed you." He started. I nodded, wondering where he was going with this.
"And you realize you might be the one of the prophecy?"
I nodded again, nervously.
"And you also realize you can die if you don't train?"
"Chiron, where are you going with this?" I asked bluntly.
"All I want to say, child, is that being a child of one of the Big Three is dangerous. You will have to train a lot to survive. I wanted to talk to you about your schedule. Which do you prefer; Archery or sword fighting?" Chiron replies.
"Um, archery, I guess. Although, I have a weapon Be- um someone made for me, and I'll need help learning to use it." I said, taking the daggers out.
Chiron looked at it curiously, before I handed it to him.
"Careful, the black side is Stygian Iron." I warned. He pressed the button and examined the blades. He handed them back to me, "I'll help you with that, if you start taking the classes here."
"I was anyway planning to." I shrugged.
He smiled at me, and I left the room. I strolled around, not wanting to do anything right now.
Someone came up behind me and covered my eyes. I stiffened, till I heard his voice.
"Guess who?"
I grinned and said, "Hmm, Hermes?"
He uncovered my eyes, and I spun around to see Travis.
"Oooh, so close!" He said, playing along. I laughed and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just walking around and saw you." He shrugged.
I walked along with him. "Hm. You happen to be around me quite frequently, don't you think?" I grinned.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He denied.
"Oh, I see." I played along. I saw him grin from the corner of my eye, and smiled.
I bit my lip and asked him something, "Hey Travis? Are you... Do you have a problem with me being, you know, the daughter of Hades?"
A lot of campers here had a problem, and many of them were avoiding Nico and I.
Travis snorted, "Of course not."
For some reason, that made me very happy.
I returned his smile and we headed back to the cabins.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Third Person POV
The five of them stared at the huge junkyard in front of them.
"Something tells me we're not going to find a rental here." Thalia commented.
Grover took out his acorns, threw them into the sand, then played his pipes.
They rearranged them into a pattern that concerned the satyr. "That's us. Those five nuts over there. And that cluster is trouble."
"A monster?" Annabeth asked, reaching for her dagger.
Grover sniffed the wind, "I don't smell anything, but the acorns don't lie. That's our next challenge."
He looked straight at the junkyard.
"Let's camp for tonight, and go Dumpster-diving tomorrow morning." Thalia suggested. Everyone agreed, and Bianca and Zoe pulled out five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks.
The night was chilly, so Grover and Annabeth collected some old wooden boards, and Thalia zapped them to make a fire.
"The stars are out." Zoe murmured. Everyone looked up to the sky and had a look of amazement.
"Wow," Bianca commented. "I've never seen the Milky Way before."
"This is nothing." Zoe said, "In the olden days, you could see all the constellations, but now they've disappeared because of human pollution."
"You talk like you're not human." Thalia muttered.
"I am a Hunter. I care about what happens to the environment. Could the same be said for thee?"
"You. Not thee or thou. Just you."
"But you say you at the beginning of a sentence."
"And at the end. And the middle. No, thee, thou or thy. Only you." Thalia corrected.
"I hate this language! It changes too often!" Zoe flung her hands in the air.
"If only Pan was here. He would set everything straight." Grover said sadly.
Zoe nodded her agreement.
"Maybe it was the coffee?" Grover mused.
"What I want to know is how you killed the skeleton warrior." Annabeth looked at Bianca.
"I don't know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames." Bianca replied.
"Maybe it has something to do with your weapon?"
"No, it is the same as mine. Celestial Bronze." Zoe shook her head.
"Maybe you have to hit it in a certain spot?" Grover guessed.
Bianca looked very uncomfortable, so Zoe changed the subject, "It does not matter. We will find the answer, somehow. In the meantime, we should plan our next step. We must continue west once we get out of here. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike to nearest city. Las Vegas, I think."
"No! Not there!" Bianca protested. She looked completely freaked out.
"Why not?" Thalia frowned.
"I think we stayed there for a while. Kristina, Nico and I." Bianca took a shaky breath, "While we were travelling. After that... I can't remember." She trailed off.
Annabeth's eyes widened. "Bianca, the hotel you stayed at, it was the Lotus Hotel and Casino, wasn't it?"
"It was. How do you know that?"
"Great. Percy, Grover and I stayed there for a couple of hours last year. When we came out, it had already been five days. It's designed to make you stay there forever. But we barely escaped. How did you come out?" Annabeth explained.
"That's impossible." Bianca breathed.
"You said someone came and got you out. Do you remember what he looked like?" Thalia pressed.
"I- I don't remember. Please, I don't want to talk about it." Bianca was at the verge of tears.
Zoe frowned in concern, "You said Washington DC had changed. You didn't remember the subway being there."
Bianca nodded.
"Bianca, who's the current president?" Annabeth asked. Bianca gave the right name.
"And who was it before that?"
"Roosevelt." Bianca answered after a few seconds.
"Franklin or Theodore?"
"Franklin. F.D.R. Why?"
"Bianca," Zoe started gently, "F.D.R was the president seventy years ago."
Bianca looked at her hands. "I- I'm not that old."
"It's ok." Thalia said a little sadly, "The important thing is that the three of you made it out."
"But how?" Grover asked, "We were in there for one hour and barely made in out! How did you-"
"Grover." Annabeth interrupted. "We'll talk about this later. Let's all just rest for a while, and then move on."
Bianca smiled at her gratefully, and got into her sleeping bag. Everyone else did the same, but five minutes later-
"I can't sleep." Thalia muttered, sitting up.
"Me neither." Bianca got up as well. One by one, everyone else sat up.
"If everyone's still up to it, then we can head out now." Thalia suggested.
Everyone muttered their agreement, and Zoe and Bianca put the sleeping bags back.
"Now don't pick up anything." Zoe warned. They started walking around, and suddenly, Bianca broke the silence.
"Hey, look, a Hunter's bow!"
"Bianca put that down!" Zoe said. She was about to leave it, when it shrunk into a hairclip.
"Whoa, just like Percy's bow!" Bianca said in amazement.
"Bianca, leave it. Everything here is either cursed or defective. It's a god's junkyard." Annabeth said gently.
Reluctantly, Bianca set it down.
"I don't like this place. It gives me the creeps." Thalia muttered, fingering her spear.
They walked over all the mountains and hills of junk for about half a mile, when-
"What the heck is that?" Annabeth asked. She looked ahead to another stretch of mountains, but they looked like-
"Toes." Grover said.
"Really large toes." Bianca agreed. Grover picked up a scrap of metal and threw it at the toes. It made a deep echo, like it was hollow.
"Why would you do that?" Thalia demanded.
"I don't like fake feet?" Grover cringed.
"Come on. Let's go around." Annabeth said.
They walked for a while, and just as they made it onto the highway, they heard something like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.
The noise came from a metal bronze giant in Greek armor. It looked like a skyscraper with hands and legs. It gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. Its deformed face looked down on them.
"Talos!" Zoe breathed.
"It can't be the original. It's too small. A prototype, maybe. Or a defective model." Thalia shook her head.
The giant drew its sword.
"Someone took something." Zoe muttered. "Who took something?" She demanded.
Annabeth noticed Bianca's somewhat guilty expression. She opened her mouth to say something, but the giant took a step towards them.
"Run!" Grover yelped.
They all split up. Thalia drew her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung its sword and took down a row of power lines, which burst into sparks, and scattered across Thalia's path.
Zoe's arrow whizzed to its face, but shattered harmlessly. Grover brayed and went climbing up a mountain of metal.
Annabeth ended near Bianca, and asked her the question, "You took something, didn't you?"
"N-No..." Her voice was quivering. Before Annabeth could ask her again, they had to move. Talos's foot was right above them, ready to flatten them.
They ran down the hill, just as the giant's foot slammed down, making a crater where they were a minute ago.
"Talos!" Grover tried, but the giant's attention was on Annabeth and Bianca. It raised its sword, still fixed on them.
Grover started playing a tune, making the wires on the highway dance. One of them snaked around its leg and sent a jolt of electricity through it.
Talos whirled around. Annabeth turned, "Come on, Bianca!"
But Bianca was frozen in place. She slowly pulled a figurine out of her pocket, a statue of a god. "I-it was for Nico. The only one he didn't have."
A tear fell. Annabeth's heart melted. She looked at the giant who was still focused on the others. She wrapped her arm around the crying girl.
"It's not the time to cry, Bianca. We need to get out of here so that you can actually give it to Nico. Come on, let's get out of here." She gave Bianca a reassuring smile.
Bianca sniffled and nodded. The two of them ran over to the others.
Noticing the figurine in Bianca's hand, Thalia glared at her.
"You took it even though we told you not to?" She yelled. Bianca opened her mouth, but Annabeth cut her off.
"Oh yeah, that's smart! Let's talk about what Bianca took and just stand here waiting for that thing to kill us!" She said sarcastically, pointing at the giant.
Thalia glared at her too, then turned back to the giant. Annabeth looked at Talos and noticed its right leg was slower than the left. She narrowed her eyes and charged, slashing through its right leg.
When her dagger went through like a hot knife through butter, her suspicions were confirmed. She raced back to Thalia and Zoe, but Bianca came in her way.
"I have an idea." The younger girl said, determined. "There has to be a way to control this thing so I'm going to do inside it and you'll have to help me distract it so that it'll lift its foot and I can get inside." She said it all in one breath without stopping.
Annabeth was about to say something, when Bianca interrupted, "I was the one who caused this, Annabeth. It's only right that I solve it. Here," She pressed the Mythomagic figurine along with her bracelet into the blonde's hand. "Give the figurine to Nico for me. And the bracelet to Kristina. Please tell Kristy I'm sorry."
With that, Bianca raced towards the giant.
"Bianca, wait! I have a safer way!" Annabeth tried. When the Bianca didn't stop or turn around, Annabeth sighed.
"I cannot believe I'm doing this." She ran towards the giant too, hoping to either get Bianca to stop, or help her.
"Hey, giant defective model of Talos!" Annabeth yelled. At the word 'defective' the giant turned, lifting its leg to stomp on her.
Annabeth rolled out of the way, but saw Bianca roll under it from the corner of her eye. Annabeth said a silent sorry to Kristina for breaking her promise.
A few seconds later, the giant lifted its arm and slapped itself.
Zoe, Thalia and Grover stared at it in shock. Slowly, the giant began breaking, collapsing on itself in the end.
Once that was over, the other three jogged up to Annabeth.
"What just happened?" Thalia sked, staring at the giant's wreckage incredulously.
"Where is Bianca?" Zoe asked, looking around. At the name of the girl, a tear rolled down Annabeth's cheek. Tears she had been holding back burst, and she fell to her knees, crying.
Thalia and Grover immediately knelt down, concern evident on their faces.
"Annabeth, what's wrong?" Thalia asked, looking at her friend for wounds.
"I-I'm sorry! She wouldn't listen to me!" Annabeth cried, waving her arm in the destroyed Talos's direction.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
In the meantime, at Camp Half-Blood, Kristina heard a loud and strong buzzing in her ears. She fell to her knees because of the volume.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Annabeth, where's Bianca?" Thalia asked slowly.
Annabeth wiped her tears and explained what happened in ragged breaths. Before she finished the story, Zoe raced to the wreckage, searching for the lost Hunter.
When she couldn't find anything, she fell to her knees and wept.
After a long time of Grover and Thalia comforting the two, they stood up.
Annabeth approached Zoe and murmured, "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I should've stopped her."
Zoe shook her head, "It is not thy fault. It was meant to happen. One shall be lost in the land without rain."
They walked around till they found an old truck full of gas. They got in, and Thalia drove.
In the back seat, Annabeth's hand wrapped around the little figurine. She examined it closely, and realized it was Hades.
She squeezed her eyes shut. What was she supposed to tell Kristina? And Nico? How she let their sister run to her death? She had promised she wouldn't let that happen. Yet, she did.
Then she realized they had stopped. They got out of the vehicle and she noticed one of the wheels blew.
She scanned the surroundings and saw a lake in the distance and a tiny goat path leading to it.
Grover pointed it out, and Thalia paled.
"Let's go farther upstream." Annabeth argued, albeit quietly.
"But-" Grover protested.
"A walk won't hurt us, Grover." She said quietly, and started walking.
They found a canoe rental place, and got two canoes. It was closed, but they took two canoes anyway. They were about to set it in water, when Zoe said, "We will have to go further upstream. The rapids are too strong here."
They dragged the canoes upstream, till the water was calmer. Then they noticed the Hoover Dam was opposite them.
"The Hoover Dam." Annabeth breathed.
"700 hundred feet tall. Built in the 1930." Thalia said.
"Five million cubic acres of water." Grover added.
They grinned at each other, then chorused, "Largest construction project in the US."
Annabeth glared at them while Zoe looked at them like they all grew second heads.
"What?" She asked.
"Annabeth likes to spout random facts sometimes, and we've memorized them." Thalia grinned.
"Let's just get there." Annabeth interrupted.
After an hour of walking, they found a road leading to the monument. Grover suddenly sniffed the wind.
"What's wrong Grover?" Thalia frowned.
"I smell monsters." He replied, still sniffing.
"How close?" Annabeth said, grabbing her dagger.
"Maybe... maybe they aren't close at all. The scent could just be carrying. But it's coming from different directions. I don't like it."
"There's a snack bar in the visitors section." Thalia said, "Let's go there first."
"You've been here before?" Annabeth asked.
Thalia nodded, "Once. To see the guardians." She pointed at two huge statues that had tourists surrounding them, staring at their feet.
"Let us go to the dam snack bar. We should eat while we can." Zoe said.
"The dam snack bar?" Grover snickered.
"Yes. That is what I said." Zoe said, oblivious.
"You know, I want some dam fries." He said with a straight face.
"And I need to use the dam restroom." Thalia added, grinning.
"I do not get it. What is so funny?" Zoe looked at them.
Annabeth cracked up, and they went on.
"I want a dam t-shirt."
"And I want to use the dam water fountain." Grover laughed.
Then suddenly, he stopped. "Did I just hear a cow?"
"A damn cow?" Thalia smiled.
"No, I'm being serious. I think I just heard a cow." Grover tried to hear it again, but was met with silence. He shrugged and the four of them went inside the dam snack bar.
Thalia and Grover ordered burritos, Zoe ordered a cup of coffee, and Annabeth settled with a sandwich.
It took a few minutes to get Zoe's and Annabeth's order, but it took a solid twenty minutes before Thalia and Grover got their food.
Unfortunately, just as they did get their food, Grover froze. He sniffed the air, and yelped.
"Monsters! Monsters very, very close!"
That was when a few skeleton warriors chose to run towards them from the entrance. Grover did the first thing that came to mind; he threw a burrito at a skeleton and yelled "FOOD FIGHT!"
All the other kids there, threw food at each other, causing a beautiful view of flying food.
They saw the army of skeletal warriors coming from outside, the three guards who came out of the elevator, two on the east side of the dam road, three on the west side, guarding Nevada, and three from the stairs.
The four of them took the chance and ran out from the exit. They raced across the street into the pavilion with the bronze statues, with their backs to the fountain.
The skeletons formed a semi-circle around them and drew their batons.
The four of them were cornered. Then a voice whispered in Annabeth's ear, "The statues..."
Taking the risk, Annabeth said, "Thalia, pray to Zeus."
"What? Why? You know he never replies!" Thalia said, not taking her eyes off of the approaching skeletons.
"Please!" Annabeth pleaded, "Call it a gut feeling! I think it'll be different this time!"
"Says who?!"
"My mother, I think!"
Thalia stares at her, then sighs in irritation. She closed her eyes and started muttering a prayer. Annabeth muttered a prayer to Athena.
The skeletons were about to attack, when a shadow of a huge wing fell over them.
The skeletons fired, but the bronze statues stood in front of them, shielding them from the bullets.
"Man, does it feel good to stand!" One said in a tinny voice.
"Holy Zeus! What have those tourists done to my toes!" The other exclaimed.
"Guys! Get us outta here!" Thalia screamed.
"Zeus's kid, huh?" They looked down at the four.
"Yeah!"
"Could I get a please, Miss Zeus's kid?"
"Please!"
They shrugged and grabbed one of them in each hand and started flying.
Thalia squeezed her eyes shut, "Tell me once it's over."
Annabeth nodded, not realizing Thalia couldn't see her.
"We're in the Sierras." Zoe informed. "We should be in San Fransisco in a few hours at this speed."
"Frisco, huh? Hey Chuck! You remember those cute angels we met?" One of them said.
"Oh, definitely!" Chuck said.
"These mechanics introduced us to these cute metallic angels, see? And the things they could do with their-"
"Hank! They're kids, dude!" Chuck interrupted.
"Right. I knew that." Hank said, embarrassed.
An hour or two later, they reached San Fransisco.
"Yo kids! Where should we leave you?" Hank asked.
"By the Embarcadero Building." Zoe answered.
"Oh yeah, good thinking." Chuck said.
"We can blend in with the pigeons." Hank finished. The two of them chuckled, while Annabeth rolled her eyes, and the other three stared at them.
"What, an automaton can't have a sense of humor?" Hank complained.
The two statues freaked a homeless guy out as they landed, but no one else took much notice of them. After dropping the four of them, literally, they dropped them on the grass, Hank and Chuck flew away, talking about their next party.
After a quick discussion, they decided to track the monster.
"But how do we find it?" Grover asked.
"Nereus." Zoe replied in distaste.
"You know him?" Thalia tilted her head.
"My mother was a sea Goddess. Unfortunately, I do know him. Come, I will show th-you."
Thalia gave a small smile, and followed her to a Goodwill box.
Five minutes later, she had Grover dressed a floppy rainbow hat, bright red sneakers, and an oversized hoodie with a large pair of jeans.
Grover scowled as Thalia burst into muffled laughter, and Annabeth sent him a sympathetic look.
"Now, just go up to everyone, and grab the one who smells... different. Bad different." Zoe instructed.
Grover sighed, but walked across everyone. Once he found the one they were looking for, a man dressed as Santa Claus, he played his reed pipes, making grass and branches grow and grabbing the man's hands and feet.
He freaked out, thrashing his arms and legs and yelling in alarm. All the other homeless people looked at the two in fear.
Zoe, Thalia and Annabeth strode over to the two, and Nereus stopped thrashing.
"What do you guys want?" He asked irritably.
"What does anyone want with thou, Nereus?" Zoe sneered.
"Alright, you know the rule. One question per capture."
Grover hesitated, then asked, "Where is the monster Lady Artemis was hunting?"
"Well, that's easy," Nereus cackled. "It's right there!"
He pointed at the ocean, then disappeared. Seeing a creature in the water, Annabeth hurried to it.
"Guys!" She called. The other three came running, wondering what it was.
"What is that?" Thalia asked.
"It looks like a cow... And a serpent." Annabeth said.
Mooo! The creature said.
"Umm, it says its name is the Ophiotaurus." Grover said.
Then Zoe smacked her forehead, "I know this story! My... father told me. Sacrificing the Ophiotaurus's entrails gives the person power enough to overthrow Olympus! That is why Lady Artemis was hunting it!"
MMM.
"He doesn't like the S-word or 'Entrails'." Grover translated.
Thalia knelt down and rubbed its head. "Power to overthrow Olympus..."
Her expression turned disturbing. Like she was contemplating sacrificing it.
"Thalia? Umm, the Ophiotaurus wants you to stop looking at it like it's a cheeseburger." Grover said nervously.
"It is a power you shall unleash, Thalia Grace." A familiar voice said.
They all whirled around to see Dr. Thorn standing there, grinning madly.
"Isn't this just purrr-fect." He said in his heavy French accent.
Zoe notched an arrow and pointed it at the manticore's head. The men beside him pointed their guns at them.
"Zoe, don't!" Annabeth cried.
"Listen to your friend, Zoe Nightshade." Thorn said, grinning triumphantly. "After all, it would be a shame to have to kill you before you witnessed Thalia Grace's great victory!"
"W-What victory?" Grover stuttered.
"What are you talking about, Thorn?" Thalia growled.
"Oh, my dear. Isn't it clear?" Thorn looked at her, "This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life! You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus! You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on mountain! You will gain unlimited power! And then... for your sixteenth birthday, you will overthrow Olympus." He finished, satisfied by her expression.
She was stunned. Annabeth expected her to tell him off, but to her horror, Thalia hesitated.
"You know it is right. Your friend, Luke, recognized it. You shall be reunited with him. You both shall rule the world under the Titans!" Thorn's voice softened, "Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He does not care for you. So now, you shall gain power over him. Then you shall overthrow Olympus! Call the beast! It will come to you! Use your spear."
Desperate, Annabeth went to her best friend's side, "Thalia, don't do this. Zeus does care for you. He saved you. He saved us today as well. Don't listen to them."
Thalia's hungry look in her eyes reduced. A few seconds later, a scowl came over her face.
"Your tricks won't work on me, Thorn!" She snarled. That's when Grover chose to play a tune on his pipes, making new branches rise from the wooden planks.
"Stop him!" Thorn yelled, pointing dramatically at Grover. But they were too late. The branches had already tangled around their feet, holding them in place.
Zoe quickly let loose two fart arrows, making the guards cough. The manticore shot his spines at them, but they managed to dodge.
They all ran up the stairs to the shopping center on the pier. They ran across the corner to the nearest store. They could here gunshots as the guard blindly shot the bullets in the air.
They scrambled to the end of the pier, and hid behind a kiosk filled with souvenir crystals.
"We have to get word to camp." Thalia said.
"Word to Camp..." Annabeth muttered. She slashed through a water fountain, and threw a drachma threw the water, "Oh, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering."
The rainbow shimmered, and Annabeth continued, "Camp Half-Blood!"
The Mist shimmered and Mr. D appeared, peering in the fridge.
"Do you mind, Annie Bell?" He murmured, lazily.
"Where's Chiron?!"
"Is that how you say hello?"
"Hello, Mr. D. We're all about to die. Where's Chiron?!" She said.
"About to die? How nice. But Chiron isn't here at the moment. Would you like me to take a message or something?"
"We're dead." Thalia said. "But we'll die fighting."
"Wow. Very inspirational. So, what's the problem, exactly?" Mr. D asked.
Annabeth explained everything in a hurry.
"I see." He said, stifling a yawn. "Let's see. Pizza?" He mused.
Annabeth was about to slash through the image, when the manticore appeared.
And then they were cornered. "Splendid! Alone." The manticore mocked. He shot a pointed look at Dionysus and said, "Without any real help."
"You could ask for help, y'know. You could say please." Dionysus muttered amusedly.
Annabeth saw a tear roll down Thalia's cheek and made her decision, "Please Mr. D. Help us."
The manticore grinned viciously, "Spare the daughter of Zeus. Kill the rest."
Then, SNAP! The guards' minds snapped. There was a tinge of purple around them and the smell of wine overwhelmed them.
One guard placed his gun in his teeth and ran around on all fours. Two others waltzed with each other. The last one did an Irish clogging dance.
It was a little funny, so Annabeth stifled her giggle.
The manticore growled, "I will deal with you all myself!"
He started moving, but the planks under him erupted into grape vines, wrapping around his body, growing leaves and grapes that ripened as he shrieked.
Soon, he was engulfed in a huge mass of grape vines. The grapes stopped shivering, and the manticore was no more.
"Well, that was fun." Dionysus commented, closing the fridge.
Annabeth glanced at him with a small smile. "Thank you, Mr. D."
He waved it away and instead glared at Thalia, "I hope you learned your lesson girl. It's not easy to resist power."
Thalia blushed in embarrassment.
"Mr. D, you saved us." Grover said in amazement.
"Hm. Now get going. I've bought you a few hours at most." Dionysus said. "The huntress knows where to go." With that, he waved his hand and the image vanished.
"What did he mean, Zoe?" Annabeth asked.
Zoe pointed past the Golden Gate, to a single mountain.
"I must go home." She muttered.