Chapter Four
Percy was nearly vibrating in excitement. It was finally time. Chiron currently had all of the Satyrs working triple time across the country to find other Demi-Gods. We needed as many as could be found because war was coming, and they were losing too many people already.
The Friday before winter break was finally here and with it came the emergency call from Grover that he needed our help securing two half-bloods. Bianca and Nico Di Angelo.
He could see them again and he knew that he was going to do everything in his power to keep Bianca alive. He never wanted to see Nico in that kind of pain again.
They were almost at the school now. It had been a long 8-hour drive from New York to Maine where the military boarding school they were enrolled but Percy had a lot of fun anyways.
Thalia was just as intense as before with her punk rock style clothes and heavily lined eyes, but the undercurrent of annoyance and inadequacy wasn't there this time or the feeling that she was taking his place.
Percy was very happy to let her take control and as he was an omega she didn't feel any aggression and they didn't butt heads. He actually really liked her, and they got along really well even if she did come with Annabeth attached to her.
The long car ride had been spent singing carols and his mom trying her hardest to stop worrying and making sure they were entertained. Sally always had another story of how adorable Percy was as a child.
He wasn't embarrassed this time and instead added little side notes to the stories about why he'd gotten into the mischief she described.
Annabeth wasn't really enjoying it but Thalia was nearly in stitches half the time and the other half she was shamelessly soaking up the motherly love Sally Jackson practically radiated. He was happy that they were becoming fast friends.
"Oh yeah. This'll be fun." Thalia intoned sarcastically as she looked out the window at the imposing castle-like school as they finally arrived.
"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Sally asked fretfully while reaching over to make sure Percy's knitted beanie cap was secure and covering his ears. Percy didn't feel a lick of embarrassment about it either. He happily endured her fussing for a moment before grabbing her hands.
"We'll be fine mom. Grover is waiting for us and we don't know how long this'll take." He said softly.
"We'll make sure nothing happens to him, Mrs. Jackson." Thalia cut in a well, allowing her Alpha tone to seep into her voice to put his beta mom at ease. Percy gave her a wide thankful smile as some of the tension left her shoulders.
"All right dears. Do you have everything you need?" She still pressed. "Extras sweaters and clothes? Drachma just in case? Back up Mirrors? Ambrosia and Nectar" She rattled off. Thalia had been able to soothe her nerves a bit but Percy was still her only child and she would always worry.
"Yes mom, we have all of that." Percy assured while leaning over and giving her a hug before he and the two girls exited the car and grabbed their bags out of the trunk.
Percy had gotten a cute seashell-shaped backpack enchanted by Lou to hold as much as he needed, and he'd loved it the second he laid eyes on it.
It was a cream color that had a blue sheer iridescent fabric sewn over it with pearls decorating it. Thalia had done the same with a black backpack that had some cool chains decorating it.
Annabeth had been the only one to decline a bag like that, so she was struggling with a medium-sized duffel before Thalia rolled her eyes and grabbed it from her.
"You should've gotten a bag like mine." She grunted with a bit of annoyance before they all headed up the long drive to the, frankly, creepy school.
"I don't need one!" Annabeth insisted. "Not everyone needs to pack at least six outfits for a trip." She added scathingly, shooting Percy a glare out of the corner of her eye.
Percy didn't bat an eye. He wasn't sure how he missed Annabeth's jealous streak the first time around. Not that it was that shocking considering the things Athena had done in the past. Seriously turning Arachne into a spider because her weaving was better? That was just cruel.
Thalia rolled her eyes too, huffing a bit before choosing to simply ignore the comment.
He didn't particularly care what either of them though. He was meeting Nico and Bianca for the first time again and he wanted to look nice. He was wearing a thick baby blue knitted turtleneck with a navy mid-thigh length skirt with a couple of wool petticoats that kept him warm and made the skirt puff out adorably in his opinion.
He'd paired it with knitted stockings in the same navy as his sweater and a pair of short blue Ugg boots that had bows on the back. To make sure he was warm he'd also donned a navy beanie that had a fluffy blue pompom and a light blue hooded coat that had cream-colored faux fur lining the inside.
The entire outfit was adorable while also being warm and functioning. If Annabeth was to stick stubbornly to her 'Tomboy' routine and act like this anyone who dressed up a bit then she could just get over it.
He didn't care to pander to her whims and apparently neither did Thalia as she preferred to just ignore it anytime something like this happened.
"You're mom is so cool, Percy." Thalia commented after his mom had driven away and they began to trek up the drive towards the school.
"Yeah, moms the best!" Percy chirped happily while wrapping his coat around him tightly. The wind felt like ice.
"Let's hurry up and get inside. Grover's probably waiting for us." Annabeth interrupted with a huff.
"Yeah." Thalia agreed with a shiver while looking up at the building that was looming over them. "I wonder what he found that made him send out a distress signal?"
"I doubt it's anything good." Percy chimed in as he stared at the dark towers of Westover Hall.
༻🐚༺
They had finally reached the school and the giant oak doors opened with an ominous groan and we entered into a large stone entryway with a swirl of snow.
"Whoa." Percy breathed out while looking around.
The place was huge, and the walls were lined with battle flags and weapons displays. Everything from antique rifles and battle axes to javelins and a bunch of others he couldn't name. I knew Westover was a military school, but it was a bit much.
But even more ominous than that was an overall feeling of 'wrongness'. Something dangerous. Just like last time. And again, Thalia felt it too as she had her hand on her silver bracelet; her favorite magical item.
"I wonder where-" Annabeth started with a small scowl before the large doors slammed shut behind us making all three of us jump slightly.
"Well, I guess we're staying a while." Percy murmured before they walked further into the room. They stashed Annabeth's behind a nearby pillar and move further into the school following the faint sound of music.
They hadn't gotten very far before two adults marched out of the shadows. They both had short grey hair and were wearing black and red military-style uniforms. The woman had a faint mustache while the man was clean-shaven. It seemed a bit backward to Percy.
"What are you doing out here?!" The woman demanded harshly.
"Uhm well..." Percy trailed off pretending to be worried. Thalia would manipulate the mist in a moment just like she had the first time when Percy had been too worried about Grover to think of why they would be there.
"Ha!" The man snarled, stepping forward. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be Eee-jected!"
He had the same weird accent as before and now that Percy had gone through a war every hair on his body was standing on end and telling him that the man, Manticore, in front of him was dangerous.
Thalia stepped in front of him with a frown on her face before she snapped her fingers. He shivered as he felt the mist begin concentrating around the two adults.
"But we're not visitors sir." Thalia intoned smoothly, her voice clear and confident. "We go to school here. I'm Thalia and this is Percy and Annabeth. We're in the eighth grade."
Last time he'd been worried about getting caught and thrown out but as it was he just relaxed with a small sigh of relief as the Manticore made a small show of confirming that with the other teacher before Grover came running up and led them away.
Grover had gotten a bit taller since last summer and he had a bit more hair in his wispy beard but other than that he was still the same old Grover with his fake feet and crutches.
He ushered them all to the gym as soon as the female teacher, Mrs. Gottschalk, told them not to sneak out of the dance again.
As we walked away I turned to Thalia and asked her how she had done that just by snapping.
"You mean manipulating the mist?" Thalia asked with a small furrow in her brow. "Chiron hasn't shown you how to do that yet?"
"Nope." Percy replied, popping the 'p'. "But to be fair things have been really hectic at camp since I arrived, so I think he just hasn't had the time yet."
She nodded her head, the frown smoothing away before she turned to Grover.
"So what's the emergency?" Thalia asked as they entered a set of doors with 'Gymnasium' printed across them.
"I found two." Grover admitted after taking a deep breath.
Thalia and Annabeth froze for a moment.
"Two?" Annabeth demanded shrilly while also trying to keep her voice down. "Here?"
"A brother and sister aged 12 and 14. Bianca and Nico Di Angelo." Grover said seriously while motioning towards the bleacher on the right side of the gym. They were talking to each other while Nico was shuffling his Mythomagic cards.
It took everything Percy had not to run over to them and hug them to death.
Grover proceeded to explain that the male teacher from before, Dr. Thorn, was blocking him at every turn when he tried to get close to them and get them out of the school.
Once again they all had to act 'normal' and spent some time milling about and dancing. Thalia and Grover stuck together for the most part and Annabeth followed after Percy with a sour look on her face anytime he was approached by an Alpha to dance.
Percy declined shyly every time but made sure to soften the blow with a sweet smile and blush before moving away.
Just like last time Annabeth was the first to notice the missing siblings. She took off through the crown and again Percy lost her in the throngs of people.
He quickly made his way over to where Nico and Bianca had been and saw her green army hat and Nico's trading cards. Out of the corner of his eye he could just make out Dr. Thorn manhandling them out of a side door on the other side of the gym.
Annabeth had gone to get Thalia and Grover so Percy didn't waste a second to take off after the three of them.
Hopefully, he'd avoid the poison dart to the shoulder this time.
༻🐚༺
He found Nico and Bianca in the same room as last time staring in horror at what he knew was the Manticore, but he made a point of ignoring that for now.
"Hi. My names Percy." He said softly, raising his arms gently. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm going to get you somewhere safe."
He sensed the movement of Dr. Thorn this time around and twisted out of the way and avoided the poisoned dart this time. He pulled riptide out of his pocket and easily clicked it open into its sword form and slipped into a fighting stance.
"Yes." Dr. Thorn stated with a cold laugh. "Perseus Jackson. I know very well who you are."
He melted out of the shadows, and he looked even less human now. His teeth were too sharp, and his dual-colored eyes glowed eerily and reflected the light from riptide.
Another projectile shot from where Percy now knew what his scorpion tail, currently hidden, and impaled itself in the wall barely an inch from Bianca's face. She swallowed heavily and paled even more.
"Thank you for leaving the Gym." He said darkly. "I do so hate middle school dances. Now be good children and follow me. If you fight or try and run I will show you just how accurate my darts really are."
༻🐚༺
They were led through the woods and to the same rocky cliff as before. He pulled out a cell phone and told whoever was on the other side that the package was ready to deliver.
While he was distracted with that Percy worked on trying to calm down the worried and tense siblings while projecting his thoughts and general location to Grover through their bind.
"Hey." He whispered to them. "It's going to be alright. I've got help on the way."
"What is?!" Bianca whispered back harshly. "What does he want from us and how do we fight him?!"
"That's a long story that I can tell you once we're safe." Percy replied. "But long story short you two are special, just like me, and he isn't human."
Bianca and Nico both looked even more confused and scare but as they opened their mouth to ask more questions Dr. Thorn interrupted them.
"What are you brats whispering about over there?!" He demanded harshly before basically answering his own question.
"Well, it's no matter. You'll be meeting my employer soon enough." He finished with a nasty smile.
Percy was not impressed.
"You work for Luke right?" He asked, looking him directly in the eye and looking for all the world as if he wasn't 'captured' by the monster in front of him. He made a point of putting himself in front of Nico and Bianca.
"You have no idea what is happening Perseus Jackson. You shall be doing the general a great service tonight. Ah and here is your transportation"
They all turned to look out over the cliffs to see a military helicopter making its way toward them.
"Where are you taking us?" Nico demanded.
Percy promptly tuned out the monologuing and began insulting Mythomagic, and Percy could see how Nico puffed up in anger about that, adorable, before he slowly began moving into position. Thalia would be here soon with Annabeth and Grover.
He was right. She came charging in just as badass as always and they both moved seamlessly together as Dr. Thorn revealed his true form.
Percy stayed mostly in defensive mode however and protected Nico and Bianca while Thalia did most of the frontal attacks. The missiles from the helicopter were a bitch but Percy had made sure to invest in a better shield this time.
He'd had Tyson make it for him, so it bore the symbol of Poseidon and was enchanted to collapse into a small pinky ring with a heart. If he ran his finger of the surface of the ring it would open immediately and wrap securely around his arm.
Annabeth arrived then along with Artemis and her huntresses, not that Annabeth realized that yet. Dr. Thorn panicked momentarily at the sudden volley of silver arrows being fired at him.
Zoë Nightshade again requested to use deadly force and they were able to force Dr. Thorn to the cliff before Annabeth interfered and jumped on his back to bury her dagger deep into his neck.
Just as before they both tumbled over the cliff and into the darkness below.
"Annabeth!" Thalia screamed while running over and trying to peer over the edge.
Percy made his way over and laid a consoling hand on her shoulder as Zoë made her way over. The distaste on both of their faces was hilarious.
She scanned over the rest of them before reporting to Artemis. Percy made a show of staring at the young auburn-haired girl for a moment before widening his eyes.
"My lady Artemis, it is an honor to meet you." He said respectfully while dropping into a small curtsy. Zoë and the other huntresses gave him looks of surprise and mild approval.
"Perseus Jackson... I have heard many things about you." She murmured in response, but he could see that she was pleased with his respect. Male omegas were the only men she didn't despise and to the gods, they were the same as women.
His respect was nothing compared to Grovers though as the Satyr fell to his knees and practically groveled before her. At this point, Bianca had enough.
"Whoa! Hold up and time out." She demanded while holding up her hand. "What's going on here and who are you?" She demanded.
Artemis turned to her, and her expression softened even more.
"The better question is who are you? Who is your godly parent?" She asked.
"What are you talking about?" Bianca demanded.
"Godly parent?! We're orphans!" She finished nearly yelling.
Percy took over quickly as he saw Zoë open her mouth. That girl was just a bit too blunt sometimes.
"I know this is confusing. It was for me too at first but one of your parents wasn't... human. The ancient Greek gods are real and they're rather fond of having children with mortals and siring Demi-Gods... like us." Percy explained softly while walking up to the two siblings.
"Cool!" Nico gushed with interest and awe shining in his dark eyes. Percy couldn't help himself and gave him a happy smile. He was pleased to note that a soft blush crept onto his cheeks.
"No!" Bianca's voice quivered. "Not cool."
But Nico's excitement wasn't going to be stopped by his sister and he started asking questions about all the gods and if their powers were accurate or not.
"Nico shut up!" Bianca shouted. "This isn't your stupid game! Gods aren't real!"
Thalia and I both tried to reassure her, and Artemis being there certainly helped. She slowly calmed down as she realized they were telling the truth.
She and Nico began talking back and forth about the different monsters that had tried to attack them or that they had seen.
Percy and Thalia both helped explain a bit more after they asked if Dr. Thorn was dead. Artemis explained that monsters reformed and added that they would look for Annabeth as well since some magic had taken both of them away.
Everything was going well until Zoë once again offered Bianca the choice of becoming a huntress instead of going to Camp Half-Blood which of course set Thalia off. Man, there was some bad blood between those two.
Artemis once again chose to speak with Bianca while asking Grover to play with Nico when the bot eagerly came forward. Percy decided to join the two as well and happily listened to Nico ramble on about the game he loved so much.
He was going to keep Nico safe and happy this time.
Thalia was still angry at him for running off without help but he wasn't taking that this time. Finding Annabeth's Yankees cap had triggered her anger.
"I didn't have a choice! They were just gone and frankly, Annabeth ran off first and left me in the dust! I knew Grover would be able to find me, so I took a chance!" Percy argued back while Nico and Grover watched Awkwardly.
Thalia glared at me for a few more minutes before her whole body just sagged. She wiped a tear from her cheek and walked away.
Nico then began to pepper him with questions.
Was he really a son of Poseidon? Yes.
Could he surf? I've surfed on water but not with a board.
Was Thalia his Alpha? Ew, No! Thalia and I are friends!
Question after question that didn't irritate him this time around but that just made him smile and laugh about how happy Nico was. Grover was interrogated just as much and the three of them had a great time talking.
It was at that point that Zoë Nightshade walked up to them and informed him that Artemis wanted to speak with him.
༻🐚༺
Once again he was led into the Huntresses' camp and to the tent in the center. At least he wasn't being glared at like last time.
He answered all of Artemis' questions about what Dr. Thorn had said, especially about the General and the monster that could bring down all of Olympus.
"Thank you for your help young Perseus." Artemis said at last. "I will be leaving at once to hunt this monster."
Zoë again said they would be ready to leave at a moment's notice but Artemis declined just as before. Percy hesitated before opening his mouth.
"Lady Artemis... forgive me for this but I don't think you should go alone." Percy told her softly.
You could have heard a pin drop in the tent and Zoë opened her mouth after a moment, with an angry look on her face but Artemis raised a hand.
"Why do you say this?" She asked just as softly.
"I... have a bad feeling about you going alone. I don't know why but I learned a long time ago to trust these feelings and my instincts." Percy answered while looking the goddess directly in the eye.
Artemis held his gave for a moment before answering.
"Thank you for telling me this Perseus but still I must go alone." She said, tightening her grip on her bow. "I must also ask a favor of you. Please escort my huntresses to camp."
Percy let out a nearly inaudible sigh before nodding respectfully. Artemis gave him a smile before turning to Bianca and asking if she'd decided yet.
Percy knew what they were talking about but instead of jumping the gun and going on about camp, he listened passively before offering his thoughts.
"It's entirely your choice if you'd like to join the huntresses' but I'd take the time to think it through. You have a place at camp if you want it where you can receive the same training and there you wouldn't be separated from Nico."
Bianca looked startled at the mention of his name and then a guilty look entered her eyes and she shifted uneasily.
"You don't have to look like that. I'm just saying you wouldn't physically be with him, but Half-Bloods have special cell phones from mirrors you can use to stay in contact. Just think this through fully before you decide." Percy said with a smile before offering a hand to help her up.
He completely missed the appraising, and approving looks, from Artemis and the other huntresses.
Sadly, he knew that Bianca would most likely still choose to join. Despite the guilt he could still see in her eyes it was overshadowed by want. The desire to be free of responsibilities and be able to be something other than Nico's older sister.
And he was right. She accepted the offer to join the hunt.
Artemis gently interrupted from there and informed them all that dawn was approaching and with it their ride to camp with her brother Apollo.