A/N
Hey there!
The next chapter is here. We have completed half the quest with this chapter. This quest will most probably be completed by chapter 20 or 21. Then we move to the Sea of Monsters arc. Comment or P.M me your views on it.
Do join my server on discord. There you'll find the latest themes and other content related to the stories I am writing. Also, I try to provide graphic visualization there. The link is :
https/discord.gg/Zke3568Mds
It is also present on my profile.
Now to address some reviews from last time:
To Hiilikepie69 : I am really trying to set up interactions of Percy with his harem members before they meet in canon!. Piper, I can try, but I think Calypso will have to follow canon!. Also, yes, it's been hard coping with the loss, but I guess that's what this is all about. Accept and move on. Thank you for the review.
To Going Dark : Yeah. And even the readers think that longer chapters are better. So, I guess I will go ahead with that. But I don't think I will increase it, as it makes it harder and boring. Thank you for the review.
To Inana : Don't worry. Percabeth isn't in the pairing for Son of Thor. But I believe that just because Percabeth isn't the ship, Annabeth shouldn't be shown as a bitch. I want to show her as a likeable character. Like, his female best friend or something like that. No Percabeth though. Thanks for the review.
To A-gods-flame : Will try to bring her back. Come to think of it, I have a rough idea for that. But that's about ten to twelve chapters away. So, you'll just have to wait and watch. Oh sorry. Wait and read. Thanks for the review.
To TheFire44 : Absolutely true. Third POV is better for smut and fight scenes, because it gives us a view of both parties involved. First POV may be better for individual feelings and other things, but for duels and lemons, third POV is better. Thanks for the review.
To BrownDirewolf : Although I admit your idea sounds amazing, I think I'll go ahead with snakes. The reason is that I personally like snakes very much and I have already set up the base for it. (Killing Leviathan and his snake slit eyes). Also, I have something planned in the future that suggests snakes. Thank you for the review.
To Whitefang24 : I'll say this again, I love drama. And what better way of drama than to have two people who dislike each other, fall in love? Though I assure you that it won't be cliché. But yes, and isn't his anger towards Athena justified?
To Theseus-Theo : Thanks Theo. And yes, I myself believe that Medusa was punished unfairly and unjustly. There are many such things I plan to make right in this story. Though Arachne will still be a bitch. Thanks for the review.
To TriainaMoon : Oh! Athena isn't just gonna blow a few brain cells. Much worse. Her pride is gonna be hurt, that too by a son of her rival. And as for the ladies, Percy better be prepared for the future. That's all I'll say for now. Thanks for the review.
To ArachnidHiveMind : I see that has been a query from many readers. To answer it, Thor has the domain of Justice. (In this story, at least). This is what provides Percy his intuition. He can sense the evil and wicked. And thus, monsters. But I said in the last chapter that Medusa is none of those. Beneath the monstrous look, she is a kindred soul. That's why Percy's sense didn't tingle. Because she isn't evil or wicked. Also, snakes are cool, no argument to that.
To Guest : He's gonna be powerful, chivalrous and humble. I may not be an expert on what ladies like, but I am pretty sure at least two of the three qualities mentioned above are appreciated by ladies. Also, I didn't quite get what you said about jellyfish. And about Annabeth, don't be too sure. *wink wink. Thanks for the review.
To thunderofdeath97 : Oh. Please do tell when I went back on my word? I had initially promised 8 girls, and Nyx clearly didn't fit in it. Calypso doesn't count, as this is my fucking story. I have complete authority to add someone to the pairing. So, I don't really get what you are grumbling about. And as for the option to vote, I really can't fathom what made you question it. YOUR votes made up the pairing. Not mine.
To Coolguy001 : Of course he's gonna be a parselmouth. He's the lord of snakes, after all. And moreover, Caleo is pure shit. Nothing but shit. At least that's my opinion. If someone does feel otherwise, I am not sorry. XD. Thanks for the review.
To matthew.robar23 : The scene where Percy gets mjolnir is going to be the best scene in the story. Actually, that scene was actually why I started writing this fic in the first place. And, as I said, I am a man of my word. I decided on 10 ladies, and I won't go back on it. Thanks for the review.
Anyway, let's start without any further distractions.
Last Time :
Percy was livid at two people. Firstly, Athena for not even asking Annabeth's father whether he wanted a daughter. And secondly at Annabeth's father, for not being there for her even when he was with Annabeth.
Percy let out a small sigh and placed his hand on Annabeth's. He pressed it gently and spoke, "I was never one to understand emotions that well. But even I can see that you are deeply hurt by what your father did. And I won't try to convince you that you should do something that you don't want to. But all I will say is that do not let this get to you. Your father didn't reject you, Annabeth. He didn't deserve such a great child like you. And for that, I will say that he is stupid. But you, Annabeth, are one of the strongest people I have ever met. I won't say that I understand what you went through, because frankly, I don't. But the fact that you emerged so strongly out of this, shows that you are strong and special. And never let anyone state otherwise, okay?"
He could feel Annabeth sniffling slightly and for a moment, Percy thought that he had messed up. But his worries were unfounded as he felt Annabeth grasp his hand.
She pressed it gently before removing it from his arm. "Thank you Percy. I needed that."
Percy nodded and replied, "No problem."
The next two days were hell for Percy. He had grown so bored of sitting in the train that he was planning on jumping out of their window just for some Kind of thrill. But his plan was immediately shot down by Annabeth when she grabbed him and made him sit on his seat quietly. Every ten minutes, Percy would groan loudly, "Are we there yet?" To which Annabeth would reply with a sigh and a no.
Annabeth was completely engrossed in her book for the last two days. And Grover, well all that the satyr had done for the past two days was eat, sleep and try to flirt with the girls sitting beside them. 'Try' because all that he spoke to them was about trees, tin cans and cheese enchiladas. Not really the best topic for wooing a girl.
After a few more agonizing hours, the train finally stopped and the intercom announced that there was going to be a three hour layover before the train departed for Denver. The trio got down at the station. Percy was the first to ask, "Now, what's the plan for these three hours?"
Annabeth spoke up excitedly, "Ohh. We are going to go sightseeing. The Gateway Arch. This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Goat boy, are you coming?"
Grover shrugged and nodded. Annabeth turned to Percy with pleading eyes that the son of Poseidon couldn't possibly say no to. "Fine. We'll see the arch." He said and Annabeth brightened with joy.
"Well, then sightseeing it is. Gateway Arch, here we come." Annabeth spoke giddily and started to drag her two questmates behind her.
Present Time :
Third Person POV
Note to self. If Annabeth, or any other child of Athena ever asked him to accompany them on a trip to some place of historical or political importance, say straight no.
By the time the trio had reached the Gateway Arch, Perseus' head was already groaning and asking him for permission to commit suicide. The over excited daughter of Athena was spewing out facts so fast that every passing second, the son of Poseidon felt the need to drench her with water increase.
The only consolation that he had was that Grover seemed to be even more bored than him. The goat boy was currently hungrily eyeing a few tin cans that had accidentally fallen out of the trash can. 'Really hygienic, man.' Percy thought.
As the questers had reached the arch in the middle of the day, the line wasn't that long. That was a given since the sun blazing on them was making even Percy feel warm. Annabeth and Grover were already drenched in sweat, yet the daughter of Athena didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest. For her friends, it was amusing to watch her so excited, yet a bit annoying at the same time.
A tiny little elevator car stopped in front of them and the trio got into it. That is when Percy's senses started to tingle so loudly that even Annabeth's rambling hadn't hurt that much. Behind them, a fat woman and her Chihuahua entered their cable car and the lady took up half the space. Wait a minute. How the fuck was this lady even able to get the Chihuahua in the Arch? Wasn't it a strict no-no to bringing pets inside the Arch? But the guard didn't even blink an eye at the Chihuahua.
Percy's senses had already confirmed that this was a monster. Now he was pretty sure that this was some Divine, or monstrous intervention. Either the lady, the Chihuahua, or the lady and her Chihuahua was a monster.
His right hand had crawled into his pocket instinctively and gripped the ball point pen in it. He needed to be ready if the lady or her Chihuahua tried anything. Annabeth seemed completely oblivious to the lady as her eyes were stuck to the great monument above them. Percy swore that he could see her grey eyes twinkling as she stared at the Arch. Thankfully, she had stopped spewing out facts randomly. Dad knew it was scary.
Percy heard Grover sniffing from beside him and glanced at the satyr. The goat boy seemed to have figured out that there was something different and strange around them, but didn't look sure. He met Percy's eyes for a moment and the demigod gave him a slight, imperceptible nod. His eyes widened in realization, but in a surprising bout of smartness, the satyr kept his mouth shut instead of bleating loudly and exposing us. He tilted his chin towards Annabeth and raised an eyebrow. In reply, the son of Poseidon just sighed and gave him a nod, saying that he had it covered.
Just as he was going to reply, the fat lady sitting in front of them asked, "Where are your parents, little kiddos?" Her voice and tone was so sickly sweet that Percy felt the need to barf. He was sure that even if he didn't have his monster sensing intuition, he would have immediately understood that she was a monster by that horrifyingly sweet tone.
Percy felt the need to act his own self and spoke, "He is up there." He pointed to the sky, referring it to heaven. Annabeth gazed at him incredulously while Grover tried to stifle a chuckle. The satyr had known Percy long enough to know all about his stupid joking tactics.
The fat lady looked at him in sorrow and spoke, "Ohh. I am so sorry for your loss."
Percy shook his head. "What?? No!! My dad's not dead. He is a god. Yep. I'm a son of God." He spoke proudly.
Annabeth was now completely focusing on Percy. When she realized what he was doing, she groaned internally and closed her eyes. She counted to ten to calm herself.
The fat woman seemed taken aback and spoke, "What? Surely you know that God does not exist, right?"
Percy shook his head and spoke sagely, "He does. His blood flows in my veins. His grace is what we live on. My father is God. He is divine. Also, how did you even manage to get the dog in here?"
The lady seemed to get angry at him calling the Chihuahua a dog. "Sonny here, is a perfectly well-behaved and tamed little guy. Also, it wasn't hard convincing the guards. Just a look at this innocent guy and they allowed him to accompany me." She spoke hotly, before softening at the end and gently rubbing behind the Chihuahua's ear.
Sonny?? Who the hell named their poor dog Sonny? Percy thought. Even his brother Triton could be more creative than this. And his elder brother was one of the least creative people Percy had ever seen.
Percy snapped himself out of his musings and turned his attention back to the fat lady. The fond memories of his pet shark could be remembered later. For now, the safety of his friends mattered the most.
The fat lady had surely taken him for a mentally unstable person now, because she turned her head and had a slightly contemplating look on her face.
Meanwhile, the lady's Chihuahua had been constantly glaring at Percy and growled viciously at him. The son of Poseidon just raised his eyebrows for a second, before closing them. Snapping his eyelids open, he glared right back at the dog with his terrifying snake slit eyes. The dog
immediately shut up, but didn't really seem that terrified. This proved Percy's assumption of the fact that the dog was definitely a monster. And if he was right, which he thoroughly hoped he wasn't; this dog was going to cause them some serious trouble.
Before Annabeth, Grover or the lady could catch him, Percy turned his eyes back to normal and went back to staring at the lady for any sudden movements. Fortunately, they reached the top without any monstrous activity from the dog. Percy was starting to actually believe that Tyche was with them this time, because he wasn't sure what he would have, or rather could have done if the dog had attacked them in the compressed space of the cable car.
It seemed like Annabeth was still lost in her own world, because as soon as they stepped out of the cable car, she started to run around excitedly like a toddler high on candies. And the worst thing was, she was dragging him behind her.
Percy swore that if she spouted out even one more fact about the architecture of the Arch, he would kick her off the Arch, consequences be damned. Fortunately for her, and for him, the daughter of Athena stopped at a particular spot and started to gaze scrutinizingly at it.
Taking this opportunity, Percy slowly slipped his arm out of her grip and moved backwards. Grabbing Grover, he dragged the satyr to Annabeth and gave his arm into her's. The satyr's eyes widened in terror as he started to beg Percy to release him. To his horror, the son of Poseidon laughed it off and flipped him the finger.
Immediately hardening his expression, the son of Poseidon started to walk forward, searching for the fat lady and her Chihuahua. Dang, another thought that he had never even imagined he would have.
Walking for another five minutes, he finally spotted the fat lady standing against the wall of the Arch. She was smirking at him, or was it a sneer? Percy couldn't tell exactly. She seemed completely relaxed and was again rubbing the Chihuahua's ear.
Percy walked in her direction with measured steps. He knew that he couldn't cause a scene inside the confined space of the Arch. He needed to stall this monster and her pet for some time so that they could get down first. Moreover, he was confused. Monsters never waited so long to strike. If demigods were ADHD, monsters were even more restless. By now, they should have been attacked at least thrice.
Reaching the woman monster, he kept about five feet space between them, so that he could not be caught off guard by her. The son of Poseidon kept his hands in his pocket, trying to blend in by acting casually. But inside the pocket, his knuckles had gone white because of the force that he was gripping his pen/sword with. One suspicious movement from the monster, and he wouldn't hesitate to behead her in public. Afterall, he could easily use the mist to confuse the clueless mortals.
"Oh. I didn't expect to see you here. Was Australia not on par with your expectations?" Percy asked the lady humorously. He took great pleasure in seeing the lady's lips turn back into a scowl and glare at him.
"Ughh. I hate that terrible place. Naming that stupid, two worth animal after me?? Me!? I swear if I had the chance, I would have killed the person who got that idea." The woman snarled at him, before seeing that they had attracted the attention of the nearby people.
Seeing the contemplative look on her face, Percy hardened his eyes. "I know that you and your mutt are here for me. And frankly, I don't care. But what I do care about is the security of these mortals. I do not want these poor humans to suffer harm due to our fight. I see that you have waited for this long and have patience. This means that you don't want the element of surprise. Otherwise you could have attacked us in the small cable car. So, I propose that we wait till we head down. There, you can attack me." Percy spoke confidently, yet in a cold voice. This tune itself could make many monsters nervous, yet the lady seemed unfazed by it. This was expected as the lady wasn't any other ordinary monster.
And if Percy's guess about this monster's identity was true, which now it proved it was, there was only one person who could order this woman to attack them.
Percy had never expected this to work, but he had still hoped for it. When was luck ever at his side? The woman sneered at him and spoke, "As if I would listen to a lowly demigod like you. Be prepared to prove yourself, son of Poseidon."
The stupid Chihuahua again growled and barked at Percy.
The son of Poseidon sighed and shook his head slowly. Nodding to her, he replied "At least let these mortals leave. I don't want to risk another mortal life."
The monster lady again snarled, "I don't care whether these mortals die or live. My only concern is to attack you and rip you apart, son of Poseidon."
Knowing that the monster wasn't going to budge, Percy used his powers to summon water and bind the lady. He knew that she would easily free herself, but that would give him the time that he needed. Immediately turning to the crowd, he manipulated the mist to make the people see that the lady had a gun with her. He shouted, "Oh my God! This lady has a fucking gun. Bloody hell!!"
The civilians who were present there immediately started to run haywire, but were gradually moving towards the elevator. This gave him time to deal with the monster. Turning back to the monster, he saw that she had freed herself and was glaring at him angrily.
"I would say it is a pleasure to meet you, but then I would be lying. So, fuck off, Echidna." Percy mocked her, trying to rile her up. But something seemed to be missing. The lady had something with her before.
He got his answer the next moment as he was tackled to the ground by a black body. Landing on the ground, he immediately kicked the black body away and got to his feet. Fortunately, he hadn't suffered any injury other than a small scratch on his left hand.
Glaring at the beast in front of him, Percy couldn't help but curse his bad luck. What was he? A magnet for legendary monsters? Firstly, the Furies of Hades, then the Minotaur, and now finally the Chimera. Add to it the mother of all monsters, Echidna. Ohh. The Leviathan, though Percy was the one that had approached the Apex water snake.
The Chimera stood larger than an average lion, with black saliva dripping from its mouth. It's terror inducing face was curled into a snarl as it glared hatefully at the son of Poseidon. It had been years since the son of Echidna had been able to devour a demigod. And he wasn't keen on letting this golden opportunity slip. After all, it was rumoured that the children of the Big three tasted better than normal demigods. But mostly, the Chimera could remember a son of Poseidon killing it the last time. Now he had the golden opportunity for revenge.
The beast had the body of a goat, which wouldn't sound scary, but in reality, was even scarier than a lion's body. In the end, it had a snake in the form of a tail. The reptilian tail was currently hissing at him in contempt, though Percy could hear some trepidation in it's voice. The snake didn't seem as enthusiastic as the lion or the goat head.
Percy knew that the Chimera was capable of spewing fire out of its lion and goat head, while the snake on its tail had deadly venom running through its body. He needed to be extra careful while dealing with this monstrosity.
Not wasting another moment, Percy pulled out Riptide and uncapped the pen. The celestial bronze weapon came to life as it gave out a small glow. At the sight of the blade, Chimera stepped back slightly. It's growling increased, and so did it's anger.
The next second, Percy's shield hurricane was in his left hand as he took a battle stance. He wanted to make this quick by not giving this powerful beast a single chance to strike. He closed his eyes and opened them to reveal the vertical snake slits. He had been practicing to battle using his snake slit eyes as they were far more perceiving than his normal eyes. They gave him a larger view and were able to sense even the minute vibrations around him.
The Chimera again snarled at the snake eyes. Never had a demigod made him feel even a tad bit nervous. But this one was different. The Chimera's mother might not realize it, but the Chimera did. The snake tail that he had was telling him to not challenge this demigod. That it would not end well for them. But his pride stopped him from thinking rationally. He wanted revenge for what the other son of Poseidon had done to him.
An unspoken agreement passed through the son of Poseidon and the Chimera as they immediately leaped at each other.
Chimera tried to slash at the son of Poseidon with it's sharp claws, but Percy was prepared for this. He raised his shield and deflected the claws easily. Not wasting a moment, he raised his sword and brought it down hard. The overhead slash hit the Chimera's jaw and the beast stumbled back. It's jaw was bleeding slightly, but this didn't deter him. While he was surprised that a single strike from the son of Poseidon drew blood, it just made him angrier. The need to rip this demigod apart was increasing with every passing second.
Again, they lunged at each other. But this time, the Chimera was paying attention to the son of Poseidon. He saw the sword coming at him again, but this time he was prepared. He opened his maw, letting the sword swipe through thin air. Perfectly timing it, he clamped his jaw onto the sword and pulled hard. He was successful in pulling the sword out of the son of Poseidon's grasp.
Rather than being surprised, the son of Poseidon just pulled out one of his throwing knives and held it offensively. The next time the Chimera charged him, he immediately crouched down. The beast lunged at him, but passed from above.
While it was above him, Percy stabbed his knife into the Chimera's unguarded underside. The knife didn't go that deep due to the beast's tough hide, but it was enough to draw a gash in the beast's stomach. The Chimera landed onto it's feet and roared in agony. He had never been hurt so badly before.
Seeing that it's physical attacks weren't working on the demigod in front of him, the Chimera decided to bring powers into play. Opening his bleeding mouth, the son of Echidna and Typhon spewed out a blast of extremely hot flames.
Percy smirked and removed his shield. Taking the blast of fire head-on, he put up a small barrier of water around his body. The fire was extremely hot, enough to melt the windows and steel objects near them, but to the son of Poseidon, it felt barely warm. The water absorbed most of the heat, with only the gentle warmth passing through it.
Once the fire stopped blowing, Percy put out the barrier and charged the Chimera. While lunging, he pulled out Riptide, which had returned to him. Before the Chimera could focus back after it's fiery attack, it felt a gut-wrenching pain in it's back. His goat head had just been cut off by the son of Poseidon.
Percy held the goat head in his hand. Smiling sadistically, he turned to Echidna and threw the head towards her. "Here you go, you filthy spiny anteater."
The mother of all monsters immediately screamed in disgust and horror as she saw the goat head of her monstrous son in her hands. Her anger turned to rage and hatred and she prepared to attack the son of Poseidon.
"You have just signed your death receipt, stupid demigod. Lord Zeus had asked me to test you, but now I will kill you for hurting my son." She screamed at the demigod, while casting a quick glance at her son Chimera, who was on the ground, whimpering in pain.
Percy's guess about the person, or rather God responsible behind this was proven true. As obvious, the Lord of the sky was behind this. Percy's anger towards the Lord of Olympus was increasing with every shitty move that the god tried. Wasn't he on a quest for retrieving Zeus' bolt? And yet the king of Olympus was making it harder for him.
Deciding to think about this matter later, Percy turned back to Echidna. She was charging him with her hand raised. Her claws, that looked insanely dangerous, were gleaming in the light as she brought them down. Using his superior speed and unbelievably apt reflexes, Percy twisted out of the way and slashed at her arm. To his surprise, all that his attack did was to cut a small gash in her hand.
"Haha. You think you can harm me? I am the mother of all monsters, the spouse of Typhon. Do you really think that an insignificant weakling like you can harm me?" Echidna asked him mockingly.
Percy glared at her and sneered, "Oh. Let me just tell you that you are not even half as scary as one of the monsters I have faced. That snake was ten times more powerful than you. Yet, I beat him. And I have more than enough confidence in myself that I can beat an ugly, overweight, shit faced monster."
Without wasting a moment, he removed two of his throwing knives. With the first one, he stabbed
Echidna in her throat. The knife easily tore through her skin and flesh, shocking the mother of Monsters to her core. The next moment, another knife was stabbed all the way inside her head, penetrating her skull.
The light left Echidna's eyes as she felt limp to the floor. Slowly, her body dissolved to golden dust as the wife of Typhon was sent to Tartarus to reform.
Before Percy could even straighten up, he was tackled by the Chimera. They broke through the wall's of the Arch and started to free fall downwards. The two hundred meter fall was not something Percy was looking forward to.
The Chimera tried to slash at the demigod's head, but Percy tilted his head, letting the claws pass harmlessly. Fed up of this, Percy covered both his hands in thick layers of ice and placed the hands on the Chimera's mouth. He forced open the Chimera's mouth with his hands. The Chimera tried to spew fire at him, but Percy immediately doused it with water.
The son of Echidna tried everything he could to close his jaw, but it remained vain as the son of Poseidon kept his mouth open.
Percy summoned some water and covered Riptide with it. Controlling it, he sent the sword straight into the mouth of the beast at maximum speed. The celestial bronze xiphos tore through the Chimera's inside, giving him an extremely painful death. The Chimera roared in pain and agony as he started to dissolve in golden dust.
Percy sighed in relief as he felt the golden dust of the Chimera blow away with the wind. This relief was short lived as the next moment, he splashed into the water below him. His body went to the bottom of the water body, making him widen his eyes in surprise.
Studying his surroundings, Percy was surprised to see that he was gazing at a heavily polluted water body. His surprise turned to sorrow when he saw a dead fish near him. It appeared that the fish had choked herself after swallowing a plastic carry bag. The Mississippi River was in need of some serious cleansing.
That is when he remembered the sand dollar that he always kept with him. Percy had once heard his mom and dad speaking something about the increasing pollution in the sea and how they needed more sand dollars.
Not knowing what to do, Percy held the sand dollar in his hands and tried to use it. Figuring that he needed to focus, Percy closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the sand dollars powers. But to his utter dismay, he could find literally no power inside the sand dollar. Maybe he was doing it wrong. Taking another breath, Percy tried to imagine removing the pollution from this part of the sea. He pictured a calm, tranquil and clean sea, sparkling with life and purity.
He was sure that when he would open his eyes, he would see a completely cleaned water body and happily swimming water creatures. But his jaw dropped and his eyes went wide when he saw that yet again, nothing had happened. The water was still impure and polluted.
Angry at this, Percy held the sand dollar and broke it into pieces. Just as he did so, a ripple was sent out of the two broken pieces of the ancient water currency. A wave of blue light spread around him, before slowly wounding itself in a dome. Percy could only watch in awe as the dome started to expand and cover over the entire water area around him.
It soon enveloped him as well, though instead of feeling anxious and trepid, Percy felt a serene feeling of warmth enter his body. A bright blue flash occurred inside the dome, rendering him blind for a moment, before it gradually receded into the teal blue color of the water.
Percy finally opened his eyes to gaze at his surroundings and for the third time in a span of two minutes, his jaw dropped in shock. Though this time, it was more of a surprise than shock. The water around him was completely clean. The purest form of water. There was not a single bit of garbage or other impurities residing in this water. Mortals usually believed that the essentia ionized water was the purest water they could get, but they couldn't be farther from the truth.
While the ionized water was pure, it was nothing like pure water that Percy knew of. Percy had been taught by his father that there was only one source of the purest form of water - The springs of Pontus. The reason behind this was that the mentioned springs held a major part of the Primordial's soul. Pontus was one of the strongest Primordials. He was water itself. One of the five main forces of nature.
But that was besides the point. Achieving the level of pureness as that of the springs of Pontus was impossible even for Poseidon and Oceanus.
But this level of pure water, which could only be obtained from either a sand dollar, or with the trident of Poseidon, was only next to the springs of Pontus. Percy was sure that if a human actually looked at this water without the mist covering it, he would be awestruck by it and spend weeks, if not days just staring at it in awe.
He was about to move upwards, when suddenly, he was tackled by a large beast. He was about to uncap riptide and slash at it when he heard the big beast squeal, 'Master!'
Shock turned to genuine surprise as Percy removed his hand from his sword. He turned to his pet, his only pet and smiled at the big softy. "Hey Meredith! How are you? I have missed you a lot, bud." Percy spoke happily as he stared at the Great White Shark in front of him. The shark was way larger than what normal great white sharks were supposed to be. That was a given since it was Meredith, the only pet of the prince of Atlantis. Percy gently rubbed the electroreceptors on it's nose. The shark happily hummed when it felt the sensitive part be rubbed by it's master.
Percy knew that if someone found him playing with a shark like it was a little kid, he would either be given a bravery award, or be admitted to a mental asylum. Given that the shark in question was a great white Shark, Percy was willing to bet on the second option. But he couldn't stop himself. The shark in front of him may have looked strong and huge for its species, and to be honest the shark could be quite violent when it's master was in trouble. But Meredith hadn't always been like this. Infact, Percy had first found Meredith as a baby shark who was being toyed with by two huge orcas. The huge killer whales were definitely going to torture the poor shark and then eat it. Percy knew that it was a natural occurrence as the orcas were the only known predators of the great white Shark. But the way that the whales were abusing the little fellow angered Percy. He had ordered the orcas to leave the shark alone and brought the little fellow home.
After having it treated by the medic, he had asked the shark what it's name was. To this, the shark had replied saying that it didn't know. Percy had named it Meredith, which meant 'Protector of the sea' in Celtic. Meredith had been overenthusiastic to have been named and had asked Percy if he could stay with him. Percy had agreed wholeheartedly and since then, Meredith had been Percy's loyal pet.
'I am fine, master. The kind lady brought me here to meet you.' The shark spoke to him through its mind. Kind lady? Who was this kind lady? The only two people other than Percy who Meredith liked were his mother Amphitrite and his niece Mera. Mera would never be allowed to come this near to the shore and his mom had many duties to attend to. There was no way either of them were here.
As if on cue, he felt another presence approaching him. Turning around, he felt happy and scared at the same time. Sally was swimming in his direction, but her expression was anything but happy.
Before confronting him, the mermaid turned to Meredith and started to scold it, "Meredith, how many times have I told you to not rush ahead?"
The Great white shark looked as sheepish as it could, what with those razor sharp teeth and hollow eyes. It mumbled out an apology and started to hunt around for small fish.
Sighing, the mermaid shook her head at the shark's antics and turned to face Percy. Her face immediately softened. "Hi Percy. Long time no see." She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek.
Percy smiled and nodded. "I suppose it has been. How are you?" He asked her politely.
"Fine. I am in charge of looking after this softy for the time that you aren't in Atlantis." She groaned frustratedly as she saw Meredith chasing after a school of fish for it's amusement.
"Yeah. I see he has taken a liking to you. How do you even do it? First you get my mom to like you. Then you manage to get immortality from the king of the seas. And now you even get Meredith to like you. You sure you haven't drugged them?" Percy asked her jokingly, though she could hear a tinge of jealousy in his tone.
She giggled and pinched his cheeks like one would do to a particularly chubby baby. "Awww. Is someone jealous?" She asked in a teasing, singsong voice.
Annoyed, Percy swatted her hand away and protested, "That's preposterous! Why would I feel jealous? I never get jealous." He spoke firmly.
The mermaid again smiled widely and spoke, "You look really adorable when you are flustered."
Knowing that he was never going to win this, Percy groaned and rubbed his face with his palm.
"Any specific reason you came here?" He asked her curiously. He knew that he didn't have much time now. His friends might be waiting for him on the shore. As fun as it was to bicker with Sally, he needed to make this fast and get back to them.
"Yes, actually. Your mother sent me here to meet you. She told me to give you these." Sally handed Percy three teal blue pearls. Percy's eyes widened at the sight of the pearls. Even a fool would know what these were. The pearls of Amphitrite. They were one of the strongest magic items in the sea. And Percy knew that they would be extremely important for escaping from the place that they were headed to.
"Whoa! Thanks. And tell mum I say thanks too." Percy spoke in gratitude.
Sally nodded and spoke again, "Also, your mother has asked me to inform you that after this quest, she would like to meet you. She wants to have a talk with you about something important that she wouldn't disclose to anyone but your father."
Percy again nodded and replied, "That is acceptable. Tell mum that I'll be there as soon as I can. Hey. Also, tell Dad and Mom that I miss them and that I love them."
"Will do. And oh, just a question. Where will you be going after this quest of yours?" She asked almost hopefully, hoping that he would say Atlantis.
Percy didn't even need to think for a moment before answering, "Atlantis without a doubt. It is my home and I dearly miss it. Also, everyone knows that Atlantis loves it's young Prince." He spoke the last part humorously with a cocky tone, flipping his hair for added effect.
Sally laughed and shook her head fondly. "That is great. Though that means I'll have to put up with you for another month."
"Aww. Come on. You gotta admit that you're lying. I mean, who can dislike this, eh?" Percy asked her jokingly, while pointing to himself and giving her a wink.
Sally laughed a genuine laugh, but couldn't stop the golden blush that rushed to her cheeks. Flustered by this, she mumbled out, "Come back alive and then we'll have this discussion."
Before he could respond, her lips were on his cheek as he gasped in surprise. But the warm lips were gone as soon as they came. He focused back to see Sally swimming away from him.
Meredith saw this and swam towards Percy. The shark nuzzled him once before swimming away, following Sally to Atlantis.
Percy kept staring in that direction for a few minutes before he abruptly remembered about his quest mates that must be waiting for him above the shore. Using the water to give him a boost, Percy shot towards the shore at full speed.
As he walked out of the water, he could see his two friends sitting nearby. Guilt filled his chest when he saw the crestfallen look on Grover's sleeping face and the tear streaked depressed face of Annabeth. They were worried about him while he was playing around and flirting with Sally.
That was another thing that confused and troubled him. He had never flirted with Sally before. And he knew that he already liked three girls, but doing this somehow felt right to him. His mind was continuously berating and cursing him for flirting with another girl, yet his heart and soul defended his actions. Percy was beginning to lose his head. His morals were extremely important to him. But now, he was doing something completely immoral, and yet he didn't feel any regret or guilt. Heck, had it not been for his morals, he would be enjoying flirting with these girls. And this truly frightened Percy.
But now was not the time for this. His friends were obviously distraught about his fall and he needed to console them. They had a quest to complete and a bolt to return. Oh. And also a father whose innocence had to be proven.
Walking quietly, he snuck behind Annabeth and covered her eyes with his hands. Leaning down, he whispered in her ears humorously, "Guess who."
Annabeth gasped and immediately shot up to her feet. She turned around to face him and a wave of relief and happiness spread across her face. The next moment, her eyes hardened and Percy knew that he was in for a terrible beating.
To his surprise, Annabeth just grabbed his face and started to check around for any injuries. "What the hell were you thinking? Jumping out of the Arch like a freaking lunatic. And what was that black object with you? I swear I can't leave you alone for ten seconds without you causing trouble, you idiot."
She would have continued rambling and scolding him if Percy hadn't covered her mouth with his palm. Annabeth quietened down, but kept glaring at Percy.
By this time, Grover had woken up due to this noise and was staring at Percy in awe and relief. "Thank Zeus! You are alive, Percy. I..I saw you fall from that height and I thought I failed again. Holy Zeus."
Percy scowled at him and spoke coldly, "Zeus was the one who actually caused this. He sent the Chimera and Echidna to 'test me'." Percy spat out the words 'test me' in anger.
Hearing this, Annabeth's eyes widened. "You fought the Chimera and Echidna??? Alone? Are you insane? You could have been killed, you Seaweed brain."
"Yes. I know it was stupid of me. But know this, Annabeth. I gave Chiron a promise that I would keep you both safe on the quest. And I intend to keep it. Also, it seems like luck was with me as I managed to slay the two monsters." Percy spoke calmly, with a voice that made it clear that he was sure about it and that they couldn't do anything about it to change his mind.
"Whatever. But still, we are on this quest together, Percy. You need to trust us, man." Grover spoke quietly.
The son of Poseidon nodded and replied, "I do trust you guys. But even I didn't know that it was Echidna and Chimera. They attacked me out of the blue, before I could even call you guys." He lied. Percy hated lying to his friends, but he knew that sometimes, lying was better than telling the truth and hurting the person. He had learned enough politics from his father to know that he needed to pacify his friends right now.
"Aren't we forgetting something? I really feel like we are." Grover mused. Annabeth's and Percy's eyes widened at the same time.
The daughter of Athena immediately checked her watch and groaned. "Damnit. Our train was to leave half an hour ago. We missed it. And we don't even have money now."
The two males groaned at the news that they had received. Percy knew that he couldn't ask his dad for help on the quest. It was against the laws. Nor could Atlantis help him. His mum had already found a loophole to help him. He couldn't expect any more help. Sighing, he spoke, "Well, let's at least start moving. We are just wasting time. I'm sure we'll find some means of transportation till at least Las Vegas."
The other two nodded and the three questers again set out to walk towards the city. After waking a fair distance, Percy saw something that made him grin widely. They needed money and he had just found a way to earn it for them. He could see it in one corner of the road. The shiny black Maplewood sparkling in the light. The melody of it's tune was like nectar to his ears.
At the corner of the street was a grand piano. A man was sitting on it and playing the very old and boring tune of 'knockin on heaven's door' .
The crowd passed by without paying attention, already used to hearing the tune everywhere.
The man playing the piano seemed to be depressed at the lack of money he was getting.
A smile made it's way to Percy's face as he remembered his mother teaching him how to play the piano. He had been five years old when he had once walked in on Amphitrite playing the piano in her bedroom. She had seen Percy staring at the piano starry eyed. Percy remembered his mother getting up and placing him on her lap. She had played him a lovely melody that she had herself made. Percy had shown interest in it, and thus his mother had then begun teaching him to play the piano.
Percy turned to his companions. "I think I just earned us some money for dinner." He grinned at them cheerfully before dragging them to the man playing the piano.
Annabeth and Grover were confused. They had never thought Percy would be the type to be interested in piano and keyboards. He always seemed the rock and roll type of guy, what with his cheerful attitude.
Percy walked to the man and asked politely, "Mind if I play a song, kind sir?"
The man looked up at him and studied him for a moment. Ultimately, he shrugged and spoke, "Why not? It's not like I'm getting much money playing this. Go ahead. But you better not damage it, kiddo."
Percy nodded and sat on the bench as the man got up. Taking a deep breath, Percy began to sing in the most melodious voice that any of them had ever heard.
SONG - ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
This is the version used in Lucifer. (Season 2 episode 1)
There must be some kinda way out of here.
Said the joker to the thief.
There's too much confusion now.
I can't get no relief.
Business men, they drink my wine.
Plowmen dig my earth.
All of them alone on the line.
Don't know, what any others proof.
No reason to get excited.
The thief, he kindly spoke.
There are many here among us.
Who feels life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that.
This is not our fate.
So let us stop talking falsely now.
The hour's getting late.
All along the watchtower.
Princess kept the view.
While all the women they came and they went.
Barefoot servants too.
Outside in the cold distance.
A wildcat did growl.
Two riders were approaching.
And the wind began to howl.
As soon as he finished singing, Percy opened his eyes and sighed softly in contentment. His eyes immediately widened in shock as he saw a huge crowd surrounding him, listening to his music in complete awed states. Many of them were recording him on their phones.
Enjoying the attention, Percy bowed his head and gave a peace signature with his fingers. Standing up, he picked the bowl next to the piano and saw what was inside it. Unsurprisingly, the bowl was filled to the brim with coins and some paper currency. He smirked victoriously and turned to the crowd. It had lessened slightly, seeing that he had stopped playing. Slowly, the rest of the crowd dispersed, with only Annabeth, Grover, Percy and the piano owner remaining on the spot.
The man turned to Percy and spoke in a voice oozing awe. "Oh God! That was simply amazing. How did you even learn to play that? That was divine music."
Percy smiled. Well, it was true. It was after all a goddess who had taught him to play the piano. He replied, "My mum taught me. She's one of the best pianists I know." The son of Poseidon then turned down to the bowl and counted the money. To his companions' surprise, there were more than three hundred dollars lying inside it. He picked-up about one third of it and handed the rest to the man.
"Keep it, sir. And thanks for letting me play the piano. It's been a long time since I last played." Percy spoke happily. The man was dumbfounded, but nodded in gratitude and went back to sit in front of the piano.
Percy then turned to his companions and smiled again. "See, I told you. We got money for dinner now. Also, I heard one of the spectators speak about a really good fast food joint near here. I am telling you, I need to have that heavenly piece of circular bread again. What do you call it?" He asked them with his eyebrows scrunched up in thought, trying to remember the name of that food item.
"Pizza" Annabeth answered his question reflexively, obviously still not over the fact that her friend was an amazing pianist.
"Ahhh. Yes. Pizza, it is. Well, I don't know about you guys, but I am incredibly hungry. So, pizza, here I come." Percy spoke and started to walk towards the fast food joint he had heard about.
Annabeth and Grover snapped out of their awe and joined him. Grover was the first to speak. "Damn Percy. That was completely amazing. I didn't even know you could play a piano that well. And your singing is even better than Apollo kids, dare I say. Are you sure you aren't a siren?" He joked in the end, drawing an amused chuckle from the son of Poseidon.
"Thanks for the compliment, goat boy. And no, I assure you I am not a siren. Just a natural, I guess. And if you think I am good, you should hear my mother playing the piano. She is way better than I am." Percy grinned at his friend. He hadn't noticed it, but Grover was the only male friend that he had had till now. All the others were females. In Atlantis, he had tried to befriend some other sons of nobles and generals, but all of them were arrogant and prideful assholes. They flattered Percy to get into the prince's good graces. And Percy hated flattery.
"That's right, Seaweed brain. That was simply the best music I have ever heard. I would really like to meet your mother if she plays even better than you." Annabeth spoke in wonder. She could still hear Percy's magical, serene voice singing in her head.
Wanting to poke fun at her, Percy smirked deviously and purred, "Don't you think we should wait for a few years before I take you to my mum, dear? I mean, we are clearly too young to be married."
Grover and Percy busted out laughing as the daughter of Athena turned a deep shade of red with anger and embarrassment, mostly embarrassment.
"Ugghh. Damn you, Seaweed brain." Annabeth groaned loudly in frustration and embarrassment. She tried to smack Percy in the head, but the son of Poseidon crouched down at the last moment. The hand hit Grover instead, making the satyr bleat loudly and rub his head.
About five minutes of walking later, the trio found themselves standing in front of the famous fast food joint that Percy had mentioned. Looking at each other, they shrugged and pushed the doors open. Walking inside they saw that fortunately, the place wasn't that crowded as of now. It was a given since the day was Wednesday, smack in the middle of the week.
Percy expanded his senses throughout the area and was pleasurably surprised by the outcome. There wasn't a single monster in, or near the food joint. The trio walked towards an empty table near the corner of the restaurant. It was beside the window, so that if there was a monster attack, they could easily escape the place.
Percy sat to one side, while Grover sat opposite to him. Annabeth debated for a moment, before sliding in next to the son of Poseidon. The next few minutes, they spent speaking about the quest while waiting for a waiter or waitress.
"I hope we reach Las Vegas by tomorrow. That would be really good progress for the quest. Then it would leave us with two hundred sixty five miles to Los Angeles. I do not know the exact location for the entrance to the Underworld, but I am pretty sure that it is in Los Angeles." Annabeth spoke in her 'daughter of Athena' voice. At least that is what Percy had named it, because whenever she was planning something or trying to explain something, her voice got all serious and authoritative.
Percy snorted and chuckled in amusement. At the incredulous looks that he got from his quest mates, he just shrugged and spoke, "Don't you see the irony? The gateway to the realm of the Devil, standing in the city of Angels. Ahh. An oxymoron. Now if that's not funny, I don't know what is."
His two partners stared at him for a moment before laughing with him. Soon, a waitress approached their table and asked for their orders. Percy was the first one to speak. "Get me the best pizza you have. And a Coke to go with it."
Percy noticed that Annabeth and Grover asked for Cheeseburgers, whatever they were. He was happy to eat pizza, the food worthy of Gods. As the waitress was writing their orders, Percy suddenly stiffened as he felt an aura of immense raw power radiating in the air. This raw power easily outclassed the Artemis', which meant that the owner of this aura had to be an Olympian.
He also sensed a foreign feeling trying to invade his mind. Rage - he deciphered it. He felt the need to fight or punch someone, but using all his mental strength, he clamped down on this rage and managed to overpower and suppress it.
From the stories he had heard, there was only one deity who had this effect on people. As if on cue, a loud roaring of a motorcycle engine was heard by the demigods and mortals. Looking outside, Percy was shocked to see a huge man get off an equally huge motorcycle and head towards the fast food joint. The man was easily seven foot tall, with a body that could make even bodybuilders look like rats. In short, he looked like The Undertaker on steroids.
As soon as the man entered the food joint, fights and arguments started to break out on every table. A lady threw water on her husband's face in anger, while on another table, the waitress smashed the pizza on the customer's face.
Even on their table, Grover and Annabeth started to argue about a trivial issue and the waitress, who had been lovely till now, scowled at them and asked rudely, "Do you kids even have the money to buy all that?"
Percy was about to answer, when a gruff voice spoke, "I'm paying for them. And get me the strongest alcohol you have. Fast."
The three questers and the waitress turned around to see the huge mountain of a man standing beside their table with his arms folded in front of his chest.
The waitress looked scared shitless as she nodded at the man. Percy could swear he also heard her mutter, 'Please don't kill me.' Under her breath as she all but ran away from the man.
Percy was now sure of the identity of this man and scowled. He did not like this particular god. His mother and father had told him enough about this deity. But Percy couldn't deny that he somewhat respected this god. The raw strength that this god possessed was unmatched throughout Olympus.
Adopting an expression void of any emotions on his face, Percy spoke, "Lord Ares, an honour to meet you."
Annabeth and Grover gasped as they finally discovered who the buff man was. Ares meanwhile turned to Percy and let a small, yet feral grin play on his lips. "Ahhh. So the punk does know who I am. Though I must say, I am mightily impressed that you are not affected by my presence. I had expected you to be tearing through the daughter of Athena's throat by now. After all, sons of Poseidon are known for their unmatched temper."
"Hmm. I guess I am special that way. Though I must ask, what are you doing here? Don't you have some fights and other disasters to cause?" Percy asked with an innocent mask, but it wasn't hard to make out the mocking undertone to his words.
Grover gasped in shock and hissed, "Percy. Show some respect. Lord Ares is an Olympian. You can't just mock him."
Unimpressed, Percy just rolled his eyes. Ares, on the other hand just laughed and spoke, "Nah. I don't mind a little attitude and arrogance. Heck, I actually like it. But only as long as you know who's the boss, right cousin?"
Percy decided to ignore the god of war and instead turned his head to the area where the orders were being called out. Hearing the name "Annabeth Chase" being called out, Percy nudged the daughter of Athena. Said demigoddess nodded and got up. She walked up to the counter and brought the tray back to the table.
The two demigods, one satyr and the Olympian god started to eat their food.
After eating two slices of the heavenly circular bread, Percy turned to Ares. "Lord Ares, I still didn't get the reason why you are here."
"Impatient much, punk?" Ares mocked him, before laughing out loudly.
It took all of Percy's Willpower to stop him from stabbing the god of war with his throwing knives. He didn't know whether it was the effect of Ares' aura, or the irritating nature of the war god, but Percy was starting to get seriously annoyed with him.
"Meh. Tough crowd. Well, to answer your question, I have a task for you demigods." Ares spoke, with a tone that clearly stated that he thought he was doing the demigods a favour by handing them a task.
His irritation now reaching beyond the safe limit, Percy spoke mockingly, "Thank you for the offer, but we will have to pass. Not interested, you see. Sorry."
Ares growled and glared at Percy. "Just because I have been nice doesn't mean I won't harm you, punk. I may tolerate disrespect to a certain degree, but even my patience has a limit. Also, you should be honoured that an Olympian has granted you a chance to serve them." Ares spoke to Percy in a threatening tone. His tone had the intended effect on the satyr and daughter of Athena, who trembled in fear, but the son of Poseidon remained unaffected.
Percy rolled his eyes at the god's attempt to scare him. Facing Ares completely, Percy leaned back and spoke in a tone which was used by humans while speaking to a toddler or pet dog.
"My answer still remains the same. Now you see, we are on a quest right now and have some serious work to do. So, go and bother some other demigod. Now, shoo. I want to enjoy the rest of my pizza. And your absence will really help me enjoy it."
The temperature in their booth immediately went up as Ares took off his sunglasses. Percy stared at his eyes and saw that Ares didn't have an eyeball. In those white orbs, there was only a bright red fire burning. It reminded Percy of a wildfire, unrelenting and unforgiving, burning everything in its path. The eyes were like miniature nuclear bombs, enticing the rage and frustration in his head.
Narrowing his eyes, Percy used his power over water to evaporate the liquid in their glasses, which immediately cooled down the booth.
The God of war lost his cool and roared at the son of Poseidon, "You ungrateful brat! You dare disrespect and insult an Olympian? You will suffer for this. I will turn you into an insect and run you over with my motorcycle, punk."
Percy kept his staring contest with the war god and sneered, "I would like to see you try. And I also wonder what my father and your father will have to say in that matter. Do not forget, god of war. We are on a quest for your father. And I doubt he will be happy if the quest fails because of you."
Miraculously, Ares seemed to actually think for a moment before cooling down a bit. Still angry, he kept growling under his breath like a restrained wild animal.
Leaning forward, Percy clasped his hands and raised an eyebrow. "Consider we do accept your task. What do we get out of it? Trust me, I am not working for free."
Ares seemed to consider this for a moment before replying, "What do you want, punk? Anything other than immortality and my blessing."
"Transport till Last Vegas. Deal?" Percy asked the god of war bluntly. Ares considered this for a moment before nodding.
"Great. Now what is the task that you want us to do?" Percy asked, getting straight to the point. He didn't want to stay near Ares if possible.
The god of war replied, "There is a water park some distance from here. I had brought one of my lovers there on a date, but something happened. We had to get away, but I forgot my shield inside the thrill ride of love. I want you kids to bring it back to me."
Giving the god of war an incredulous look, Percy asked, "Can't you just summon it back yourself? Please don't tell me you are too lazy to do that. Also, what the fuck were you thinking while taking a shield to a date?"
As if on afterthought, Percy added, "Wait. Don't tell me. I don't need to know about your creepy foreplay."
This time, a chortled laugh escaped Grover's mouth, but the satyr immediately paled and apologized when the red fiery orbs of the war god landed on him.
"Have you ever been told that you speak a lot, punk? I won't lie, I really feel like killing you." Ares told Percy frustratedly. This was the first time some demigod had insulted and mocked him so much. Even minor gods feared Ares enough to stay away from him. But the punk seemed unfazed by even his best attempts to scare him.
Percy was quick to snark back, "Yeah. Well, get in line, punk." This time, Ares just laughed. This had reached the limit. He was surprised to see the kid's fiery attitude and almost gave his plan a second thought. But he immediately steeled his mind. The plan had been made. The kid would die soon. Serves him right for insulting an Olympian.
"Ughh. Fine. Now I think we should leave. And oh! I hate war. Peace forever." Percy sassed as he gave Ares the two finger peace symbol.
Ares groaned and walked out of the place, not wanting to stay near the upstart runt for another second.
As soon as Ares left, Annabeth finally overcame her shock and glared at Percy. "What were you thinking? You can't just insult an Olympian like that. He could have easily killed you, idiot."
Percy smirked, "I just did it, Annie. And trust me, Ares won't dare harm us. Not unless he wants to get stabbed by a trident." He winked at her, making her face flush.
"Let's get going, shall we? We've got Ares' sex toy, oh sorry, Ares' shield to recover." Percy snickered as he got up to leave.
Annabeth glared at him some more and eventually shook her head with a sigh. Facing him, she spoke, "I would hate to be inside your head."
Percy nodded sagely and replied, "I bet you would." Of course she would. There was a cocky, sassy enigmatic bastard already living inside his head. Annabeth would surely hate Ikol. Speaking of Ikol, the voice had gone completely silent since the incident with Medusa's curse. Maybe he really did use too much energy to remove the curse.
Leaving that thought aside for the moment, Percy started to walk at a brisk pace with his two friends. The trio soon reached the water park that Ares had mentioned.
A big board with the letters 'WATER LAND' was displayed outside. Though Percy could tell that the place hadn't been open for a long time.
Walking inside, the trio was shocked to see that literally every ride in the water park was broken.
Trying to lighten the mood, Percy joked, "Well, it does seem like a place Ares would go on a date to. I'd put this right after a bloody battlefield."
Grover and Annabeth chuckled lightly before getting serious and searching for some kind of map. Percy joined them and helped them search for a map of the place.
It was five minutes later that Annabeth gasped in surprise. Perseus and Grover turned to her and followed her line of eyesight. Their eyes widened when they saw the only ride in the entire park that looked almost brand new. In bright pink letters, the words 'Thrill ride of love' were written on the glowing board above the tunnel.
Moving closer to the ride, they saw that it was a small artificial ferry ride with mirrors covering the walls around the tunnel. Judging by how narcissistic Ares was, this place did actually suit him.
Percy grinned as he turned to his partners. "This should be easy. I will just control the water and drag the shield to us. Then we give Ares his shield and move to the sin city." He closed his eyes and focused on the water inside the ride, trying to manipulate it. But to his utter shock and dismay, the water didn't obey his command in the slightest. It was as if something a lot more powerful was disabling his ability to control the water.
Gasping for some much needed air, Percy turned to his quest mates. "For some reason, I am not able to manipulate the water. Something strong is disabling my hydrokinesis."
As they were scouting the area to search for a divine resistor, Grover suddenly called them to show them something. Walking towards him, Percy and Annabeth saw a horse shoe symbol glowing in a bright steely colour.
"Omega" Annabeth exclaimed, as she recognized the symbol. "The last letter of the Greek alphabets. This place surely has some link to a Greek deity."
Percy nodded. He had a small speculation as to who was behind this symbol, Hephaestus could be behind this, but Ares had clearly stated that he was here with a mortal lover. And as far as Percy knew, Hephaestus only tried to shame Ares when he was with Aphrodite.
But one thing that Percy knew was that he would have to be completely aware of his surroundings for any threats to him or his friends.
Turning back, he saw Annabeth and Grover discussing the plan to get the shield. Percy heard Grover speak meekly, "I am sorry but I can't go in there. Satyrs and dark places don't really mix well, you know."
Percy nodded and placed a hand on the satyr's shoulder. "No worries, Grover. You stay here and make sure that no threat befalls on us and no one catches us." The satyr nodded and gave out a sigh of relief at the fact that he wasn't going to go down there.
Grover grinned smugly and spoke, "Yeah. I'll stay here while you two go down there and retrieve the shield. And oh. Don't have too much fun, okay?" He wiggles his eyebrows at his two friends, making Annabeth blush profusely and Percy chuckle.
Percy turned to Annabeth and put a hand around her shoulder. "You heard the goat. Looks like it's a date. Come on, we let's board the ride of love." He laughed loudly while walking to the tunnel. The daughter of Athena was now blushing madly and really wanted to beat him up, but the flustered state didn't allow her to do so.
As they boarded one of the boats, the ride immediately began to move forwards. This surprised them, but the two demigods didn't give it much thought. Percy was being his usual annoying self as he teased Annabeth relentlessly, while the daughter of Athena tried to stay calm and not lose her cool and snap at the son of Poseidon.
Suddenly, out of the blue, the boat came to a halt and Percy saw the shield of Ares beside them. He leaned over to pick it up, but was pulled back by the daughter of Athena before he could do so. Annabeth shook her head and spoke, "No. It can't be that easy. This has to be a trap or prank. Be careful, Seaweed brain."
Percy almost face-palmed at his own stupidity. While he knew that he wasn't in any aspect stupid or even slow, he was undoubtedly reckless. And that recklessness, which he showed now, could have very well caused his death along with Annabeth's.
Nodding, he gave her a sheepish smile and mumbled out an apology. The daughter of Athena returned the smile and nodded back. Turning back to face the shield, the two demigods tried to think of a way to get the shield without springing any traps.
Percy thought about using his hydrokinesis, but shot down the idea when he remembered the outcome from before. Annabeth, on the other hand, was gazing at the surroundings, looking out for any threats or unusual objects. Alas, she could think of nothing fruitful to aid their situation. Turning to Percy, a small hope bloomed in her mind that maybe his water powers could work inside the tunnel. Afterall, the Omega symbol outside was just a power outage for blocking outer influence. Facing Percy, she spoke, "Try using the water. I'm sure it will work now."
The son of Poseidon was cryptic about it, but ultimately complied with her wishes. He closed his eyes and willed the water to surround and lift the shield off the ground. Luckily, it worked this time around as slowly, the water started to flow up to the shield and surround it. It was definitely a lot more difficult and straining than usual, but his hydrokinesis was actually working.
Willing the water to cover the shield, Percy lifted his hands in the air. The water cover around the shield copied his actions by raising up along with the shield.
As soon as the shield left the ground, the two demigods heard an awfully loud siren go off. Annabeth turned to Percy, who nodded and used all of his power to launch the shield towards them. He caught the shield in his hand and strapped it to his back.
He knew that he couldn't move the boat right now, he was getting tired pretty quickly. The magic in work here was draining his energy when he used it.
Annabeth was about to speak when she immediately tensed up. Noticing this, Percy turned his head in the direction of her eyesight and saw a metal spider crawling up to them. It was almost as big as a cat, with menacing steel
chelicerae that were glinting in the dim red light of the tunnel.
Percy's eyes widened and he immediately turned to his companion. He knew that children of Athena were afraid of spiders after Arachne had ordered all spiders to torment them. Percy couldn't even fathom the amount of fear Annabeth must be feeling at the sight of a spider this big.
True to his assumptions, Annabeth was staring at the spider with unbelievably large eyes. Her teeth were chattering involuntarily as she pulled her knees to her chest. She looked like a person who had just seen a ghost in those Hollywood movies.
It seemed that their luck was absolutely, terribly bad, because the next second, Percy saw about twenty more steel spiders crawling towards them from all directions. Percy wasn't really that worried about the spiders, he was sure he could beat them without breaking a sweat. But what did worry him was that Annabeth could possibly be scarred for life and this might even cause her some trauma. Percy knew that even though he wasn't attracted to Annabeth romantically, she was important to him. She was his friend. He also knew that he would not let anything happen to her as long as he had anything to say about it. After all, he had made a promise to Chiron. And Perseus, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite did not break his promises.
Narrowing his eyes, he put an arm around Annabeth and drew her into him. He hid her face in his side and held her tightly, whispering encouraging words in her ear.
With his free hand, he uncapped Riptide and slashed at the nearest spider. The celestial bronze sword cut through the machine like a knife through butter. Whipping his sword to the other side, he decapitated another spider who was about to bite Annabeth. Unbridled rage coursed through his veins as he stomped on the third arachnid, crushing the metal insect under it.
The next three spiders were split into two pieces by a single swing of his sword. He was snapped out of his rage when he heard a mechanical voice speak, "HEPHAESTUS T.V. VIDEO CASTING TO OLYMPUS IN THIRTY SECONDS."
"Oh bloody hell!" Percy exclaimed angrily, annoyed at the god of blacksmiths. Another god added to his shit list. Percy swore that if the god of blacksmiths tried anything like this again, being crippled would be the last thing he needed to worry about. Consequences be damned.
Groaning, he made quick work of the remaining spiders and threw Riptide away. He knew that he didn't have the time to cap it and store it. The pen would return to him anyway. Holding Annabeth with both his hands, he used all of his willpower to push them forward. The water obeyed it's master and pushed their boat as fast as possible.
Up ahead, Percy could see the opening to the ride. Making the necessary calculations, Percy sprang out of the boat and successfully crossed the opening.
But unfortunately, he had not taken into consideration that the exit would be about ten feet above the ground. As soon as he realized that they were going to fall, Percy twisted his body in the air, making sure that his back took the brunt of the impact. Annabeth fell onto his chest, not getting hurt at all, as Percy groaned due to the pain he was feeling.
He could hear the sound of hooves getting louder, and a few moments later, Grover was standing next to them, helping Annabeth get to her feet.
Percy groaned again as he got back the feeling of having a stomach. Clutching his aching side, he slowly got to his feet and grabbed his bottle of water. Uncapping it, he drenched himself with water, sighing in relief as the liquid rejuvenated him and significantly reduced the aching in his side.
Grover was meanwhile trying to shake the daughter of Athena out of her stupor. She had been clearly terrified and her brain had shut down at the sight of those terrible metal arachnids.
Having rejuvenated himself, Percy walked towards Grover and Annabeth. Without wasting a moment, he splashed some water onto Annabeth's face. Grover stared at him wide eyed, as if asking him whether he had gone mad. Percy just shrugged in response and pointed at the daughter of Athena. Said demigoddess was sputtering out the water and gaping like a fish.
Annabeth finally came to her senses and immediately started the scout her surroundings for any spiders or other threats. Percy tapped her on the shoulder and shook his head, confirming that there was no danger now. The daughter of Athena relaxed immediately and let out a sigh.
"Well, we have the shield. Now let's go and return it back to the dickhead. Hope he is true to his word and arranges some transport for us."
Percy spoke as his quest mates nodded at this. The trio started to walk towards the entrance of the park, heading back towards the fast food place where they had met Ares.
As the trio walked back to the restaurant, they could see the seven foot tall Olympian standing to the side, leaning on his equally humongous motorcycle. A Gunbus 410, Percy noted out of the corner of his mind.
Ares was still wearing the blood red jacket and those black Ray-Ban sunglasses. His face was twisted in a smirk, that looked as cruel as a smirk could possibly be. Could Ares even muster up a gentle smile? Probably not. Percy clearly didn't want to imagine Ares smiling, he had enough obnoxious memories to give him nightmares.
Reaching the war god, Percy unstrapped the shield from his back and threw it at the god. Ares caught it with his left hand and started to inspect it closely. After a few moments, he turned his head back up and flashed Percy another wicked grin. "Not a scratch. I admit it, you impressed me, cousin. Maybe you aren't as vain as I thought."
Percy rolled his eyes and sassed back, "As much as I love to hear you blabbering, we have some work to do. Important work, mind you. So, just give us the bloody means of transport you promised and we'll be out of here. Oh. And no thanks to you for informing us about the fucking metal spiders."
Percy again heard gasps of shock from his friends and this time, even Ares looked genuinely pissed. "Careful, punk. I may be more tolerating than other Olympians, but there is still a limit. One that you are about to cross."
This time, even Percy knew that Ares was completely serious, and thus wisely refrained from offering a sarcastic quip. He just nodded and looked at Ares expectantly.
Satisfied, Ares tilted his head to his left, making the three questers follow his movement.
Now, Percy hadn't expected it to be a good Lexus with a chauffeur, but he had at least expected Ares to provide them a cab. He was proven horribly wrong when he saw the worn out zoo van standing in front of them. Surely, this was Ares' dastardly way of answering his insults.
Turning back to face the war god, Percy gave him an incredulous look. "Please tell me that's a joke. Come on man, that's really not funny."
The god of war roared with laughter and shook his head. "No. I assure you punk, that's not a joke. That is the means of transport I promised I would give you. Free trip to Vegas. Oh. And you runts will also have some beasts to accompany you. Hahaha." Ares seemed pretty proud of himself as he laughed at the demigods and satyr.
"Oh bloody hell." Percy groaned as he turned to his friends. "Fuck it, guys. Let's go. I really don't wish to listen to that annoying asshole anymore. I'd rather travel with some wild animals in the van."
His friends nodded. They might fear Ares, but they sure as hell didn't like him. They had no qualms with putting distance between the war god and themselves.
"Yeah. Let's go. And if there is a problem, we can always have Grover speak to those animals. He's a satyr after all. Animals respect him." Annabeth spoke in her ever knowledgeable tone.
Grover gave his agreement to the matter and they started to move towards the van. Before they reached, Percy turned back to Ares and spoke, "Just so you know, it was terrible doing business with you. I'd surely never give you a five star rating. Boo." He gave the god of war a thumbs-down and opened the back door of the van.
The inside was extremely dark and he was not able to see anything. So, he made sure that he wasn't in the clear sight of his friends before closing his eyes. Opening them, he was able to see everything clearly thanks to the enhanced snake slits in place of his eyes. Percy swore that this was undoubtedly the most useful power he possessed. Even more so than hydrokinesis.
Fortunately, right beside him was a light switch for the van. Raising his hand, he switched on the lights and heard two gasps behind him. In front of the demigods were three huge glass containers. And inside them were three equally huge……….pythons.
This was definitely not a legal van for the zoo. It wasn't possible, as none of the regulations and precautions that had to be followed while shifting snakes were present inside. Percy swore loudly. This was surely an illegal transgression going on.
But before he could speak, his advanced hearing caught the voice of two men speaking, getting louder as they approached. Immediately turning his eyes back to normal, he turned back, pulled Annabeth and Grover inside and shut the door behind them. Checking behind him, he saw that the three snakes were fortunately asleep. Or maybe even unconscious due to the sedatives they had no doubt been given. He shut off the lights and crouched down, waiting to hear the noise of the van starting.
Five minutes passed before Percy heard the sound of two doors shutting and the engine of the van starting. Letting out a sigh of relief, Percy again switched on the lights and turned to his companions
To his surprise, Annabeth had fallen asleep in those five minutes and was snoring away to glory. Surely, the event earlier was taking its toll on her. Grover was not much better as he was trying hard to keep the sleep away.
Shaking his head, Percy spoke, "Hey goat boy. Go to sleep. I'll take watch. Goodnight."
Grover looked reluctant, but ultimately agreed. "Okay. Thanks Percy. Goodnight. Wake me up when it's my shift."
Percy was going to reply with, "Will do", but saw that the satyr had already fallen asleep. The son of Poseidon chuckled to himself. The daughter of Athena and the satyr were clearly not ready for quests.
He was himself going to rest a little, when he heard a sound in his head, "Pleassse help usss, my Lord."
Andd wrappp!
14.5 k words!
A/N
So, how was the chapter? Like it?
Which part was the best?
Also, I dropped the starting of Percy x Sally pairing that you guys wanted.
I'll say that the piano scene was the one I liked the most. Yeah. Copied it from my favourite series - Lucifer. Was it good?
Damnn. I'll admit it took me some time to write this. What with the minor trauma of my uncle's death hitting me all of a sudden.
Also, thanks for the love that you people showed for the new story. For those of you who haven't read it, it is on my profile, by the name, 'Perseus - the Dark Destroyer'. Do read and comment your views on it.
Guys, please vote and comment. It means a lot to me. And if you are readers on Fanfiction, please comment, Favourite and follow. We have crossed 1k follows for this story and I can't be happier. Now let's take this number to 2k.
Ladies in the pairing :
1 Artemis
2 Zoë
3 Hestia
4 Aphrodite
5 Athena
6 Piper
7 Reyna
8 Calypso
9 Sally
10 Thalia
No changes there, obviously.
Ok then.
Thank you
Until next time
Peace out
Darkgamer08