Chapter 15, Act I - The Mother of All Monsters.
Since I saved their bags, we camped out in Medusa's lair for the night, and we walked to a train station the next morning, Annabeth giving me curious glances whenever she thought I wasn't looking. I pushed her away after I gave her that answer last night, and I've been giving her the silent treatment.
I can't let her pry for more than I want to give, you know?
We spent two days on the train. We were all getting impatient, honestly. Percy's picture, as well as mine, were pasted all over newspapers. The pictures of me were ones I didn't recognize. It looked like old yearbook pictures. So I did have a dad, still, probably. I just don't know where.
We had tickets that got us as far as Denver, even with all the money camp gave us. The Fates really wanted us to go to one of the Square States. I really wanted to trademark that term at some point. It'd be funny to call Colorado and Wyoming the Square States.
But anyways, we had to pause in St. Louis, and Annabeth insisted we go to see the Arch. Personally, I didn't like cramped spaces that much, but I knew I needed to go up there.
After much convincing, hours later, we were all shoved in an elevator with a lady and her chihuahua. Of course, my meta knowledge being meta knowledge, I knew this wasn't a normal lady. They don't let dogs up there, unless they're service dogs, and chihuahuas aren't exactly known for being service dogs.
It was way too cramped in the elevator. I was forced onto Annabeth's lap, which was an experience I never wanted to repeat. I knew she was suspicious of me right now. If she got as much of a suspicion that I was keeping the real thief hidden from them, she could gut me here and now.
The lady struck up a conversation with us, and I shifted uncomfortably. I just tuned out the conversation, and we finally arrived at the top. I sighed in relief, and lunged out of the elevator. I looked on in awe, and I was reminded once again what an impossible task getting Percy to the river would be, then I'd be stuck up here, alone, facing Echidna and the Chimera, my MP likely drained.
There was a sour taste in my mouth from that. Soon enough, the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes, and I gulped. Percy steered Annabeth and Grover to the elevator, and I trailed behind them, eyeing the two monsters with us.
There wasn't much in the way of shadows here for shadow travel, given the pretty powerful lights, but it was dark outside, especially six hundred feet in the air.
It was a good method to escape, and that was what I needed. There wasn't enough space for me or Percy in the elevator down, and I assured the demigod and satyr that the two of us would be fine. Which was a lie. Their car disappeared, leaving us, the park ranger, a little boy with his parents, and Echidna and her Chimera.
I shoved my hand in my inventory, my hands both shaking. My hand was wrapped around my sword, waiting to draw it from my inventory, my gauntlet already equipped. Percy glanced anxiously at my gauntlet, and noticed Echidna's forked tongue just after.
The Chimera, still in its chihuahua disguise, started yapping at the two of us. "Now, now, sonny, is this really a good time? We have all these nice people here." Echidna asked her dog.
The Chimera bared his teeth, foam dripping from his lips. "Well, son," Echidna sighed, "if you insist."
"Excuse me, did you just call that chihuahua your son?" Percy asked. "Chimera, dear. It's an easy mistake to make." She informed us, rolling up her sleeves to reveal scaly, green skin. She smiled. Her teeth were fangs. Her pupils were sideways slits, like a reptile.
The Chimera barked, and with each bark, it grew larger and larger, until it took up half the space in the archway. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before anxiety got me. "Be honored, Perseus Jackson and Nikomedes Arcus-Lupin. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the mother of monsters, the terrible Echidna!"
Before I could even think to say anything, Percy said something stupid. "Isn't that a kind of anteater?" I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing, and Echidna howled. "I hate it when people say that! Curse Australia for naming that accursed thing after me! For that, Perseus, you die. Chimera, kill them!" I rolled out of the way, drawing my sword from my inventory.
Percy and I were on opposite ends of the Arch now. Percy was next to the park ranger and the family, and I was facing Echidna, who drew a whip from her pocket. "A son of Hecate... How rare!" She barked at me. "It's a shame I have to kill you." I knew I couldn't waste my time. I was outclassed. She's probably killed hundreds of demigods and monsters alike that contested her.
She even said Zeus rarely allows her to test demigods. She's like a last resort, then, because he believes us the thieves. I gripped the head of Medusa from my inventory, dropping my sword. "That's right, little demigod. Just give up, and surrender the bolt to us. Neither of you have to die." She cackled, slowly approaching me. I yanked Medusa's head out of my inventory, unwrapping the veil.
Echidna froze, and she quickly turned to stone. I stashed the head of Medusa, back in the veil, in my inventory, and I slashed through Echidna's statue. I looked over to Percy and the Chimera. His fight wasn't going so well. There was a hole in the Arch, and he was being backed into the hole.
"Percy, jump! Trust your father and jump for it! I'll help you reach the river!" I yelled. He nodded, pale, and leapt out of the Arch. I pushed him with aerokinesis, and I saw a massive splash in the river as he landed. I turned to the Chimera, and it turned to me. I shoved my hand into the light fixture, remembering what I read of the Chimera in Vincent's monster encyclopedia.
Bellerophon poisoned it by shoving a lead ball down its throat. Hopefully, a light bulb could emulate that. My MP was drained from pushing Percy to the river, since it was so far away. I could go for one last trick. It was a miracle none of the mortals saw Medusa's head. I couldn't risk doing that again.
The Chimera roared, about to spew flames at me, and I chucked the light bulb at it, closing my eyes and praying to the twin archers that they might have mercy on me. I heard a crunch, and I opened my eyes, revealing a choking Chimera. I retreated, and the Chimera spewed fire, catching this side of the Arch on fire, separating me from the mortals. I checked the Chimera with an observe, and its HP was 245/20000.
With my slowly regenerating MP, I threw a light arrow at it, piercing its eye. It melted away into dust, and I collapsed onto my ass, heaving in and out. "Ding!" I briefly checked the notification, waiting patiently for my MP to restore enough so I could shadow travel out.
For defeating both the Echidna and Chimera, you fucking legend, you got:
Echidna's Bane Title
Chimera pelt
I laughed, equipping the title, examining it.
Echidna's Bane: As the only living demigod to have bested Echidna, word of you spreads fast. All of her children know you, and fear you. Some of them may seek alliance with you, and some may seek revenge on you. In the end, all monsters you kill now give you more experience, and your stats increase 1.1x faster!
Upon examining the pelt, I saw it was like the Nemean Lion's pelt. Incredibly flexible, and it makes the wearer almost invincible, the only weaknesses, of course, being where it isn't covering the wearer. I donned the pelt, using the Mist to disguise it as a coat. I glanced at my MP. 1000/24000. It was enough to shadow travel down six hundred feet. Of course, I needed to get far enough away from the light. I carved out a side of the Arch with my sword, and without looking back, launched myself out.
The wind was whistling around me, and I closed my eyes, focusing on the ground. I felt myself get swallowed by the night, and I breathed slowly, waiting for the shadows to carry me to the base of the Arch.
I stumbled as I arrived on the ground, and I vomited up my meal. "Mama! That boy walked out of the river!" I heard a little girl shout. Despite my nausea, I looked up to see Percy. I ignored them, and walked up to Percy. "Glad to see you made it down." I said, wiping off my mouth with my sleeve. "You, too. You've got a new jacket." He noted, deciding wisely to not question how I got down.
"Yeah. Got it from killing the Chimera. Come on. We need to find Annabeth and Grover." I said, not even letting him process that I killed Echidna and the Chimera. Granted, the Echidna kill was cheap. I didn't really earn that.
We didn't have to walk far to find Annabeth and Grover. "Percy!" Grover bleated, wrapping him in a hug. Annabeth looked at me, trying to seem angry, though all in all, she seemed relieved to see us. "We can't leave you two alone for five minutes. What the hell happened?" She asked me.
"We got ambushed by the mother of all monsters and the Chimera. But as you can see, we're okay. Let's move on." I said quickly, desperately hoping they'll just let it go. Percy explained what happened, how I killed Echidna, how he fell, how my new jacket was a spoil from killing the Chimera, and how he got a summons to Santa Monica.
Annabeth gave me a blank stare, entirely in shock. "How did you kill it?" She demanded. "I'll explain on the train. We need to go before we get found." I tried. Annabeth sighed, and relented.
Thankfully, Hermes had mercy on us today, as we made it back to the train just in time. The doors slid closed just behind me, as I pulled up the rear of our group. The train continued rattling on westward, police lights still flashing against the skyline as we left St. Louis behind.
