A/N: Hello. Happy New Year.
Things are picking up in the story for sure, though this update is coming a whole year late. In a few chapters, I hope I'll be able to wrap up Titan's Curse the way I want it to, and hopefully, none of you will be too unhappy with what I do with the characters.
I'm glad that people like my writing so far. Some of you want me to continue updating as quickly as possible, and while I do want to try, it's difficult. I hope you stay patient with me and I appreciate it.
Again, just wanna reiterate what I said in one of my earlier chapters and say that I'm still not settled on a pairing for my boy Percy. I don't think too far ahead because I wanna surprise even myself with all the plot twists. So, if ever something romantic comes along for him, if it surprises you, it probably surprised me too.
I don't own Percy Jackson.
Percy had trained long and hard for this moment.
He had spent years developing his skills. All those days dodging and weaving around the rapid arrows of the sun god Apollo, sprinting through the woods to avoid Artemis and her hunters, and parrying the quick slashes of Hermes' blade had prepared him for this. He felt like everything he had done in his life all led to that specific moment in time.
He couldn't fail. Not when so much was at stake.
Suddenly, something hit him. Literally.
With a loud smack, Thalia's hand connected with his cheek. He felt time slow down as it did, and in that moment, he knew he had never experienced such shame in his life.
The girl had coated her hand in electricity, whether unconsciously or not, Percy did not know, causing her swipe at his face to be much more powerful than a normal slap. It sent him to the ground, and he landed hard on his right side. He gasped for breath, his vision swimming, his cheek tingling from the electricity. He wondered how he hadn't stepped back and away from her; the move wasn't quick, and she broadcasted the move clearly.
Looking up at the tears that streaked down Thalia's cheeks, he had his answer.
Rubbing his cheek, he knew he had messed up. He tried to give her a disarming smile and said, "Thalia! Great to see you! I'm back, just like I said I would be–"
"You were dead," the daughter of Zeus hissed, taking a step forward as she glared down at him. "We saw the prototype fall. We thought we lost you. Then it turns out you aren't dead at all? How dare you let us think you were dead? Did you want to make us cry? Do you enjoy that sort of thing? Is that it?"
If Percy didn't feel so guilty, he would've asked if they really cried for him. Judging from their expressions, he assumed they did.
"Look, Thalia, I'm sorry, okay? It wasn't my choice," Percy tried, slowly pushing himself up from the ground. Before he could stand, Thalia used the blunt end of her spear and swept his legs out from under him. He let out a surprised and pained yelp as he landed on the ground again.
"You told me you'd come back for us!" Thalia roared, but the anger in her voice was slowly fading into something else that the son of Poseidon couldn't place.
"I did! I'm right here!" Percy replied, wincing as he rubbed his backside. He looked up at the daughter of Zeus, a look of guilt on his face. "I'm sorry, Thalia."
Thalia's frown only deepened, but her spear had returned to its mace can form. Percy took it as a good sign. After a moment's hesitation, Thalia offered her hand to the son of Poseidon, who took it with a smile. As soon as he was on his feet, he was quickly engulfed in a tight hug, courtesy of the daughter of Zeus. The boy chuckled and pat the girl on the back as he returned her embrace.
Behind the daughter of Zeus, Phoebe shook her head with a sigh, but she could not stop herself from smiling in relief. Though she was slightly upset that her tears and grief were all for naught, she was glad her friend was alive. He was easily one of the most precious people to her, despite her being a hunter. It had devastated her when she saw the prototype fall apart, knowing full well there was a small chance he would survive. It felt like she had lost her brother all over again.
Naomi and Zoe stood beside the larger hunter, though the latter leaned heavily on the nymph because of her exhaustion. The lieutenant of the hunt sent Percy a pained smile and nodded, while the smaller hunter mirrored her expression while she guided Zoe towards a wall. The two sat against it, Naomi tending to her leader's wounds and Zoe obeying the nymph's muttered orders quietly.
"We are glad you are alive, Percy," Zoe rasped out. She licked her dry lips and closed her eyes, leaning her head on the wall to rest her aching neck. "If you did not come when you did, I worry we would not have made it out of that battle alive."
Phoebe nodded, walking over with Thalia and Percy to where the lieutenant sat. "She's right. Whatever you did differently in that fight saved our asses," the hunter said with a small smile. "Where in the Hades have you been, Jackson?"
Percy smiled sheepishly and looked down at his new weapon in his right hand, "funny that you mention him, actually." He willed the gold comb to transform into the Stygian Iron sword gifted by his uncle and held it out to his friends. Looks of confusion from the rest greeted him.
"Hades?" Thalia raised an eyebrow. "He gave you a sword?" She peered at it with narrowed eyes as Phoebe reached out to test it, watching as the hunter swung it a few times.
"It's light. Very light. I can barely feel its weight," Phoebe muttered, staring curiously at the blade. "How do I get me one of these bad boys?"
"I'm afraid it's not for sale, Phoebe," Percy grinned. "I made a deal with Lord Hades, and I suppose that's a part of his side of the deal."
"Deal?" Thalia asked, still obviously bewildered. "How did you even talk to the guy?"
"He said he pulled me from the prototype just before it crashed into the ground," Percy paused his explanation to catch the blade Phoebe tossed back at him. "He wanted to speak to me about some personal stuff, and I guess he figured that was as good a time as any. I mean, as long as you lost me for a while, then that prophecy line must've been fulfilled, right?"
Thalia nodded slowly, though a frown still marred her features. Phoebe shrugged and kneeled beside the focused Naomi, asking her if there was anything she could do to help the nymph get their leader battle-ready again. After a murmured response, the two hunters busied themselves with feeding Zoe ambrosia and healing her cuts.
"Is no one else curious about what Hades wanted?" Thalia asked the others incredulously. She looked between Percy and Phoebe, the only two other quest members who could respond to her at the moment. "He tried to kill me, you know."
"He told me specifically he wasn't going to hurt me," Percy shrugged, leaning over to grab the offered ambrosia from Naomi's suddenly outstretched hand. He gave her a smile, and a muttered 'thanks', even if she was no longer looking at him, before looking back at Thalia, "and he didn't. I mean, I'm here. I'm feeling pretty good and I got a new sword. All things considered, I think he did the exact opposite of hurting me."
Thalia's narrowed eyes looked his form up and down as if to check if he had injuries. Seeing her expression, Percy straightened up and held his hands out to his sides, inviting the impromptu inspection. "I'm fine, Thalia, I swear."
Phoebe looked up while she bandaged Zoe's arm to give Thalia an exasperated stare, "relax, Grace. You know better than to pry into private affairs, especially when it concerns the gods. Percy and Hades had a deal, and it's between them. Leave it at that." The hunter gave her a stern look before focusing her full attention on Zoe once again.
Thalia looked hesitant to let go of the topic, but Percy tilting his head towards Phoebe in a sign of thanks forced her to give up. With a sigh, she shook her head and said, "okay. You're right. As long as he didn't send you to kill me or anything, and as long as he didn't threaten you."
Percy nodded quietly, opting to watch Zoe regain her strength slowly with the help of her fellow hunters. "How are you feeling, Zoe? Did any prophecy lines come to bite us in the ass before I came?"
"I will be alright," the lieutenant of the hunt replied. She looked less pale than she did when Percy first arrived, and there was significantly more strength behind her words. "And no, fortunately you missed nothing. We are on the West Coast, which means Lady Artemis must be near. All we need to do is find the Bane of Olympus."
"Still have no idea what the Bane of Olympus is," Phoebe said with a scowl. "It's supposed to show us the trail, right?"
Thalia nodded as she reached into her pocket and gave Percy back his sword in its phone form, bringing a wide grin to the demigod's face. She sent him a quick smile to return his own and turned to respond to Phoebe, "yeah. Apparently, it should lead us straight to the goddess in chains, who is somewhere on the West Coast. And... hopefully, she'll be with Annabeth."
Percy gave her a sympathetic look when her voice wavered as she finished her sentence. He could feel the worry in her voice. He gave her a few pats on the back to comfort her, but he doubted it did much good.
Zoe slowly tried to push herself up to stand, but was immediately pushed back down by Phoebe. She ignored the larger hunter's glare and sighed, "allow me a few moments to rest, and then we will push on. I will be fine. We need to find the Bane."
Percy frowned softly and shook his head, "we don't even know what it is, Zoe. In the first place, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to come to us. We'll talk about this more after you rest for a bit." He blocked out her weak protests by holding a hand up to block her from his sight and met Naomi's gaze, "will she be ready to fight?"
Naomi sighed and shook her head, "she can fight, but after a few minutes, she may collapse. She needs an hour at least. We fought a long battle before you and your pegasus friend came in. She will need time before she has her full strength, but she's right. She will be able to walk soon."
Percy nodded and turned to Thalia, who stood beside him, "then maybe we wait for Zoe before we find out what the Bane of Olympus is?"
He received nods of agreement from his quest members, despite Zoe looking hesitant to agree. Percy nodded back as he let out a sigh, hoping to relieve the tightness in his chest. Phoebe, who sat next to her long-time friend as they both rested, sent the two campers towards the waterfront and asked them to scout the area for any monsters that could take advantage of them while one of their quest members was still healing. Zoe weakly called out for them to keep an eye out for any creature that could be the Bane of Olympus.
"Once I heal Zoe completely, we will follow," Naomi said to the two. "Until then, try not to destroy anything please?"
Percy grinned sheepishly at the nymph, while Thalia frowned softly. "We aren't that bad..."
"Just get your asses moving and stay alert," grumbled Phoebe, who tossed another cube of ambrosia into her mouth.
The two children of the Big Three glanced at each other, shrugged, then wordlessly leaving the hunters, hoping they'd be alright.
As Percy walked with Thalia, the two talked about what he had missed while he was with Hades. She told him how they had followed roads going west and avoided the spartoi at the Hoover Dam thanks to a clear-sighted mortal and a few mortal children who liked food fights, causing Percy to laugh about the latter. After that, the two came to an unspoken agreement to walk and scout in silence, and they did so for a few minutes.
The champion of Hermes waited until they were somewhere near the edge of the water and told his friend to split up. "It'll be a lot more efficient," Percy said. "You'll hear me shout if I need you, anyway."
She agreed, and the two went in opposite directions along the docks.
As Percy walked, he took the time to think about what had transpired in the quest. Now that he was no longer separated from his friends, and now that they were safe, he realized just how much he had been through in the past 24 hours, give or take. He had escaped from seemingly unkillable skeleton warriors multiple times, destroyed a huge bronze warrior while sacrificing himself for his friends, met and made a deal with the Lord of the Underworld, and returned to his friends in one piece, saving the day with a new weapon added to his arsenal. He couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
Time passed by quickly, though Percy did not notice. By the time he was standing right next to Thalia where they had split up originally, some laughter was still escaping him.
Thalia, who had purposely stared out at the waters because Percy was doing it, looked at him in confusion when she heard him laugh. She bumped her shoulder with his gently as she raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"
Percy blinked, shaking his head slightly as he realized he had spaced out. He didn't even remember when he started to look out at the water. He smiled and shook his head, "nothing, Thalia. I just realized I live a crazy life."
Thalia continued to stare at him, and Percy took this as a sign that she was waiting for an explanation. "I mean," he began breathlessly, still slightly laughing, "the quest isn't even over, but I've somehow died and come back to life, and I've fought and seen monsters I never knew I'd see in person, and I've made new friends... isn't it just crazy?"
The speed at which Percy had said those words surprised the daughter of Zeus, and it took her a few moments to process his words. Slowly, she began to smile and chuckle along with him. She shook her head, glancing at the son of Poseidon, whose attention was once more on the water, and spoke, "yeah, Percy. It's crazy."
Thalia turned her head away from him and looked back on her thoughts while she did her own search of the docks: all her thoughts had revolved around Percy Jackson.
She knew it was an issue. After all, the last male she trusted this much was the new host of Kronos. She reasoned Percy was different in many, many ways. He was not only the son of Poseidon, but 3 Olympians trained him for years and a few others seemed to favor him. He did not seem to hate anyone except for Luke, a feeling that she shared, and the way he watched out for them and took risk after risk for them told her he cared. And Thalia couldn't quite shake her strange liking to the warmth she felt rise within her when he smiled at her, or how safe she felt whenever he was near. It was strange, and extremely worrisome to her that the feelings came suddenly and without warning.
Another glance at the demigod beside her, smiling and eyes sparkling as he stared out at the water and suddenly, Thalia didn't mind.
The two spent a few more minutes simply staring out at the water, neither saying a word to the other. Percy was content with resting his body and mind from fighting as he stood on the docks, while Thalia was just happy to be there at all. She would never admit it to him, though.
Phoebe came marching down towards the waterfront soon with a determined Zoe and oddly chipper Naomi in tow. "Did we miss anything?"
Percy and Thalia turned to shake their heads. "No," Percy replied, his face still relaxed. "We just finished walking around the docks. The coast is clear."
Thalia hummed in agreement, mentally noting the positive change in the hunters' demeanors; despite their differences, she knew everyone blamed Percy's death on themselves. She had caught Naomi shedding a few silent tears back at the dam, and when the demigoddess asked, the nymph hurriedly wiped at her cheeks and sent her a reassuring smile. The other two hunters barely spoke when they weren't being pursued by the spartoi, and when they did, their sentences were short and quick. Now, the fire she was so used to seeing in their eyes had returned. She was glad, even if she didn't like the hunters all that much. They were in good spirits again, looking a lot more ready to save a goddess than they did a few hours prior.
Phoebe placed her hands on her hips and looked around, "well, what happens next? We can't find the Bane and we don't have any leads."
Zoe shook her head with a frown, "impossible. There must be something."
The lieutenant of the hunt took a few steps from the group as her face scrunched up in thought. Naomi walked over to Thalia and checked her for any injuries. Gratitude replaced the daughter of Zeus' surprised expression quickly, and she folded up her sleeves to allow the nymph to do as she pleased.
Percy looked up at the sky as he wracked his brain for anything that could lead to the Bane. The sun shined bright above him, and he had to lift a hand up to his face to shield his eyes from the glare. He wondered what Apollo was up to and if he was in his sun chariot.
Suddenly, Percy's eyes widened as he came to a realization. "I-I got something!" He exclaimed with a grin on his face. He turned to his friends, who looked at him in surprise.
"What did you find?" Zoe asked, looking around in confusion.
"Nothing," Percy said, still smiling widely. "You guys remember the freight train with all those nice cars, right?"
He received nods of affirmation in response and continued, "Apollo visited me to talk to me about how things were going up in Olympus. He also said something about not being able to tell me anything directly, but he told me to remember what he wore when we first saw him."
Percy laughed in relief and screamed out a 'thank you' to the sky. The sun seemed to shine a little brighter in response. The other quest members let him celebrate on his own and looked to each other.
"He wasn't wearing anything telling," Phoebe said with a frown. "He was in rags. How does that help us?"
Thalia shook his head and snorted, "and to think Percy's celebrating about it. If he didn't recognize Apollo in front of that fire and call him out, I wouldn't have even known it was him."
Naomi hummed in agreement, "he looked very homeless." The nymph had lowered her voice as she glanced further down the docks, where a few homeless people huddled together. Thalia smiled and glanced with her while Phoebe went over to stop the only male on the quest from celebrating.
Zoe ignored the loud bickering of Phoebe and Percy behind her as she followed their line of sight down the docks and narrowed her eyes in thought. Suddenly, her eyes widened.
"Of course!" Zoe loudly proclaimed as she sighed, "why did I not think of it earlier?"
Phoebe stopped joggling Percy by the front of his shirt, both looking towards Zoe in confusion. Thalia and Naomi did the same.
"Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea," Zoe said, causing Percy's eyes to widen. Naomi's face lit up in joy as Phoebe nodded slowly. Thalia remained confused, but took the reactions of everyone else around her as a good sign.
"I've heard of him," Phoebe spoke up. "But why him again?"
"He knows much about our world! The knowledge he has gathered from his long life is vast," Naomi said excitedly. She was almost hopping up and down in place.
Percy stared at the nymph, slightly confused. "Is there something I'm missing? I read about Nereus being really wise, but Naomi makes him sound like the second coming of Beyonce or something."
Percy nudged Phoebe, and when she stared back at him with a blank expression, he looked at the others for support. Unfortunately for the demigod, no one else laughed at his joke but himself. He forgot he was on a quest with hunters of Artemis, who weren't known for keeping up with the latest pop stars, and a girl who spent most of the last couple of years as a pine tree.
"One could only hope to live as long as he has!" Naomi exclaimed, as if Percy had said nothing. "Imagine the things he has seen!"
"Forget what he's seen," Thalia spoke up, gently placing her hand on the nymph's shoulder to calm her. "I'm assuming we want to ask this really smart Nereus where the Bane is?"
Percy nodded, "it's the only shot we've got."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Thalia asked with a frown on her face. She turned to Zoe, "Lady Artemis needs our help. Let's move."
"I wish it were that simple," Zoe sighed and rubbed her forehead. "We will first need to catch him. Assuming Perseus' patron was not steering us wrong, he must be here. He runs from those that want answers from him, and that is where our problem lies."
"Like... physically catch him?" Thalia asked, looking confused. "That shouldn't be too hard. He's old."
Naomi spoke up suddenly with a look of offense on her face. "He is not frail. Nereus is strong and quick."
Zoe nodded, "he is slippery. We must catch him off guard."
Thalia nodded slowly, and the five quest members turned to look at the gathered homeless people further down the docks.
Percy sighed, "well, dibs on not chasing the guy. I heard he stinks."
"I vaguely remember saying I did not want to do this," Percy growled.
As soon as he had spoken at the docks, the group had turned back to head to a store that Zoe had seen earlier with a drop box in front of it. There were clothes dumped inside the box, and while no one was looking, the group had snatched what they could from it and ran back towards the docks.
Initially and almost immediately, Naomi had volunteered to be the one to catch Nereus. Zoe gave it some thought as they were putting together the disguise, but had ultimately decided that Naomi was not physically strong enough to grip onto Nereus. Though the nymph didn't look too happy about the decision, she had to agree. The group ruled out Thalia and Zoe for the same reason.
"Well, what about Phoebe?" Percy suggested. Zoe glanced at her longtime friend and shook her head.
"Her walk is too distinct," Zoe said simply. Percy had pondered her words for a moment and hesitantly nodded; when Phoebe was not hunting monsters or game, she always walked as if she owned the place. Hobos owned no place, he conceded.
The quest members stood in a semicircle around Percy, inspecting his disguise; he wore a large sweater peppered with holes down its sleeves, cargo shorts several sizes too big for him, long dusty leggings underneath to hide his rather nice legs, and bright neon sneakers. To make it all worse, Phoebe came in with a shiny ball cap and placed it on his head.
"To cover your face," the large huntress had said.
Thalia stifled her laughter behind her hand, Naomi giggled in delight, Phoebe grinned widely, and Zoe nodded in satisfaction.
"He will not see you coming," Zoe said.
"I'll get you all back for this. I swear I will," Percy mumbled as Phoebe and Zoe pushed him towards the docks.
Phoebe snorted, nudging him a little harder, "think about it later, Jackson. Keep moving. We have no time to waste."
The group slowed to a stop a few paces away from the homeless people, far enough so that they wouldn't draw any attention to themselves. Zoe leaned in and lowered her voice, "blend in well. He is there somewhere. He likes to sun himself during the day."
Percy nodded as he sighed. "And his smell gives him away, yeah, I know."
Thalia nodded, "you can do this, Percy." The daughter of Zeus had her arm wrapped around the nymph's shoulders to stop the girl from coming with Percy on his task.
Phoebe smiled brightly at him, "no pressure." The large huntress gave him a thumbs up.
Percy huffed and turned around, a determined look on his face. He still looked irritated at his outfit. "No pressure, my ass."
He slowly leaned his head down and did his best to obscure his face from the people in front of him without sacrificing his ability to see. He waddled down the docks, passing by the homeless people quietly. As he went, he sniffed the air, trying to get a whiff of Nereus.
Unfortunately for him, while the people he passed by smelled bad, he knew it wasn't bad enough to be the Old Man of the Sea. They just smelled like cigarettes and sadness.
He continued on his way, passing by people with shopping carts and plastic bags, all of whom smelled average on Percy's 'bad smell' scale. He idly wondered if Apollo's unpleasantly strong cologne would be worse.
Percy paused as he caught sight of someone passed out at the end of the docks. He seemed perfectly asleep despite the sun shining directly onto where he was sleeping. He was wrinkly and fat, wearing clothes with faded colors and fuzzy slippers. The demigod narrowed his eyes and crept forward slowly.
As he neared, the smell hit him like a truck; the man smelled horrible, giving off a smell exceeding the 'bad smell' scale Percy had made up earlier. He smelled of every negative smell that the ocean could have; he smelled like fishes and hot seaweed and a few more things Percy couldn't put his finger on. It was enough to make his eyes water, but at least he had found the guy.
Percy sat down nearby for a few moments to allow himself to breathe. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he suddenly felt dizzy. He looked around and luckily for him, only a few of the other homeless people were nearby. Only a couple of witnesses to what would look like a younger hobo attacking an older one for no apparent reason.
With a small sigh, Percy sprung into action. He got to his feet quickly and lunged, slamming into the fat man and knocking the air out of him. The man screamed in surprise, but reacted almost instantly. Suddenly, the demigod felt the old man's arms wrap around him and squeeze tight. Despite the man's old looks, his grip was steel-like.
Several of the other hobos began to scream at Percy. "Get off him! That's assault!"
Percy wanted to scream back that he was getting just as hurt as Nereus as the two rolled down the docks. He was unfortunate enough to slam headfirst into a post, but quick enough to regain his senses and chase down the fleeing deity. He lunged with a roar and grabbed onto the man, wrapping his arms around his chest.
"I don't have any money! Please!" Nereus yelled as he tried to struggle against the demigod's vice-like grip.
Percy felt tears gather in his eyes as he continued to bear the awful smell coming off of the man. "I don't want money! I want to ask you a question!"
"That's even worse!" Nereus screamed, struggling even harder than before.
Percy winced, gritting his teeth as he growled, "quit it, you fossil!"
The two continued to grapple with each other until Percy glanced to his side. Seeing that they were so close to the water, he decided to put Poseidon's blessing to the test.
"No! Stay away from the water!" Percy yelled. He thought he sounded pretty convincing. His hunch proved to be correct when Nereus gave a roar of delight as he plunged them both into the water.
Percy waited a few moments, holding onto Nereus as tight as he could when he felt it; a rush of power flowed through him, making him feel as rested as he did when he had just gotten Blackjack from Elaine. He tightened his hold and grinned.
Much to Percy's annoyance, Nereus transformed into a seal, and suddenly, the deity slipped out of his arms and took a sudden dive. The seal did loops and spins downward, clearly trying to lose the demigod in the depths.
Percy focused on his legs as he did when he tried to use Hermes' blessing. Suddenly, he rocketed right after Nereus as if he had been shot from a cannon.
Their chase lasted a few more minutes. Percy would catch up, and Nereus would transform into another aquatic animal in order to lose him; first a killer whale, and then an eel. Percy had managed to grab onto the whale's tail, and he had grabbed the eel, almost tying it into a knot.
An exhausted Nereus flopped onto the docks after the demigod had accosted him in his eel form, heaving but still struggling. He'd throw weak elbows back at Percy despite being spent, and before long, he collapsed.
Percy slowly got off of him, glad that he had changed into clothes he could easily throw away when they were back from the docks. He was sure Nereus' smell was now attached to the clothes he wore now. He turned his head to see his friends jogging to meet them.
"How did... how did you not drown?" Nereus wheezed, slowly looking up at Percy in a strange mixture of loathing and awe.
"That's a secret, old man," Percy grinned. His friends noticed he looked rejuvenated, and his posture showed no signs of the tiredness he had displayed earlier.
"You owe us an answer to a question, Nereus," Zoe said firmly. She had an arrow notched in her bow, though she wasn't aiming at the deity.
"Fine. You know the rules. One question per capture," the old man grumbled.
He glanced at his friends, who simply stared back at him. He sighed. He should've known they would dump the responsibility on him.
"Where is the Bane of Olympus?" Percy asked.
Nereus narrowed his eyes, "that's it? Are you kidding me? All of that for..."
Zoe growled and aimed her bow at Nereus, "where?"
Nereus snorted as he glared daggers at the lieutenant of the hunt, "it's right there! How the hell did you of all people not know?"
The old man pointed at the waters. As soon as the group turned to look, he transformed into a small fish with an audible pop and dived into the waters. Percy was about to chase after him again when Thalia held him back. She grabbed his shoulder and pointed, "what is that?"
The group watched as a half-cow, half-serpent creature rose from the depths. As soon as its head was out of the water, it let out a loud moo.
Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Bessie?"
"Who the hell is Bessie?" Phoebe asked the demigod. She was waved off dismissively, much to her annoyance.
The creature moo'd again.
Naomi, who was behind Thalia, spoke up, "it says its name is not Bessie. And that it is a 'he'."
The group turned to Naomi in surprise. The nymph took the chance to scoot her way closer to the creature, kneeling down on the docks to pet it gently on its head.
"You understand it?" Thalia asked the nymph who nodded back.
"He speaks an old form of animal speech. Ancient," Naomi murmured, clearly in awe of the beast.
"Well, if he's not Bessie," Phoebe spoke up, "then what... or who... is he?"
Naomi listened to the cow-serpent moo and turned to the others after a moment's pause, "he says he is the Ophiotaurus."
Zoe's eyes widened as she gasped. She kneeled down beside Naomi and stared at the creature in awe. "I know of this beast! How could I have forgotten?"
Phoebe frowned, "are you planning on elaborating soon?" The large hunter was clearly getting impatient.
"This is the Ophiotaurus," Zoe explained, turning back to glance at her friends. "He is from the time of the War of the Titans. Eons ago, the Fates ordained a prophecy. Whoever kills this creature and sacrifices its entrails to fire, they would have the power to destroy the gods. With another Titan War looming, it must have been reborn."
A few seconds of silence passed as the group processed Zoe's revelation.
"But how could someone do that to him? He's harmless," Thalia said with a frown on her face. She watched Percy as he kneeled down to place his hand on the creature's head.
"There is power in killing innocence," Zoe replied. Naomi quickly made her way to the Ophiotaurus, who shook as they talked about his death.
Percy looked up to glance at Naomi briefly, then at his other friends. Phoebe and Zoe looked worried. He winced at the strange look on Thalia's face. He knew of her fatal flaw, as Hermes had told him, and hammered it into his head that he should find out his own. He tried to push back the feeling of worry in him as he looked at her and spoke, "we can't let Luke take him."
Thalia nodded slowly, seeing that Percy was looking at her with a serious expression on his face. "Yeah. He wouldn't hesitate."
"The power to overthrow Olympus is..." Phoebe muttered. She looked slightly pale. "It's huge."
"A power that Thalia will take for herself," a voice spoke behind the group. They whirled around in surprise to see none other than Luke Castellan. Beside him stood Thorn the manticore, covered by a proportionately large trench coat. Both Luke and the manticore held onto leashes loosely, with slobbering hellhounds at the ends of them.
"You must be Luke Castellan," Percy growled as he stood. He brushed past a tense Naomi and frozen Thalia to stand in front of his group. "Can't say it's a pleasure to meet you."
"You must be Percy Jackson, champion of Hermes," Luke sneered. "I remember you. What did you do to have dear old dad favor you? Was your mother that good in bed?"
Percy's glare made Luke pause. The hate in the younger demigod's stare surprised him. "For one, Hermes is not my dad. And my mom is dead. I'll get you back for that."
Luke's eyes widened, "you're not a son of Hermes?"
"Why the hell are you here?" Phoebe growled, speaking up. Percy glanced to see the huntress looking livid. Her tight grip on her knives caused her knuckles to go white.
Luke swallowed slowly, still staring at Percy, before his gaze turned to Thalia. "I'm here to help Thalia fulfill her destiny."
"What destiny?" Zoe hissed. Her bow was aimed straight at Luke's head.
"Do you not understand, huntress?" Luke asked, his tone condescending. "This is Thalia's time to shine. Why do you think Kronos wanted me to poison her tree?"
"Stop speaking in riddles," Percy responded lowly.
Luke shook his head, "for a champion of an Olympian, you're really slow. Thalia is meant to kill the Ophiotaurus, sacrifice its entrails at the mountain, and be the one to overthrow the gods. She will usher in the new age."
Silence greeted him, causing Luke to smile. "It is your birthday in a few days, isn't it, Thals? Two days, if I recall correctly."
Thalia stared back, but did not respond.
Percy slowly realized that Thalia was almost 16, and thus old enough for the prophecy to come to fruition. She was the child of the prophecy, and she could fulfill it by destroying Olympus. His thoughts sent shivers down his spine.
"Naomi," Percy urged quickly, catching Luke off guard. "Get him out of here!"
Naomi nodded quickly, understanding what the demigod meant. She spoke quickly to the Ophiotaurus, her voice straining in panic. The beast moo'd once, then disappeared into the water. The group watched as the water rippled as it went further and further from them.
Luke growled. "How dare you?"
Before he could react, Percy charged. His speed caught everyone off guard. Unluckily for the Son of Poseidon, the hellhound in front of Luke took the brunt of his attack. It disintegrated into dust as Percy slammed into it. The traitor yelped in surprise, stumbling backwards and falling. He slammed into the ground with a thud.
Percy stood over Luke, his sword raised above his head. For a second, it felt as if the world had stopped moving around him. His heart hammered in his ears. He could end the son of Hermes here and take away one of Kronos' most loyal henchmen.
Suddenly, Luke gripped his arm, grasping his bracelet tightly. He disappeared just as Percy brought his sword down.
Percy grunted in annoyance and found that he couldn't pull his sword out of the ground. He had slashed down with such force that he imbedded it into the docks.
A roar to his left jolted him. He looked to see Thorn pulling off his trench coat with both of his hands. The hellhound he had held was now running towards Percy at full speed.
To his relief, Phoebe had seen his situation and quickly came to assist. She sent a kick into the hellhound's side just as it leaped at Percy, sending the monster tumbling away. She charged it, yelling for the others to help Percy.
Naomi quickly stood behind Zoe, who had already fired arrows with deadly aim at Thorn. The manticore growled in annoyance as the arrows simply bounced off of his skin. He shielded his face from some arrows and had to take a step back as the nymph quickly followed her leader.
Thalia managed to shake off the shock of Luke's arrival and consequent revelations and ran towards Percy. She started to slam her spear into the ground around his sword, grunting from the effort.
"Thalia, I'm fine here. Go help them!" Percy urged as he continued to pull on his sword.
"No," Thalia growled. "I need to help you."
"What are you talking about? Just go!" Percy tried again, though he could already see the effects of Thalia's efforts. He could shift his sword around and if they kept at it, he would be ready to fight in a few seconds.
"You saved our asses again, Percy," Thalia muttered. Percy thought he could hear shame in her voice. "He started talking and I couldn't do anything. I was frozen. But you sent the Ophiotaurus away and sent him running back to Kronos. I need to pay you back somehow."
Percy's hard stare softened at her words. He supposed he understood why she felt guilty. After all, a lot had happened during the quest. He sort of understood why she blamed herself.
"Okay. Let's hurry this up then," Percy replied. "We need to kick that manticore's ass."
Thalia nodded as she continued to thrust her spear at the ground, though her face held a frown. "How will we do that? Arrows just annoy him, and I think our blades will do the same."
"The same thing we did with the Nemean Lion," Percy suggested. "Not everything can be tough like his skin."
Thalia nodded again and gave one last thrust. Percy grinned as he pulled his sword out from the ground. The two children of the Big Three shared a glance, smiled, then rushed off towards Thorn.
Phoebe had long since gotten rid of the hellhound. When Percy and Thalia regrouped with the rest, she was dodging and weaving Thorn's attacks. She was sweating profusely, though, a testament to the manticore's power and skill. Without Artemis on their side, the battle was a lot more difficult.
Percy yelled to the hunters as he ran towards Thorn, "hey! Just do what we did with the lion!"
The hunters nodded despite never letting their eyes off of the manticore, who seemed to be getting quicker as time went by.
"What are you waiting for, Jackson?" Phoebe roared as she ducked a fast swipe at her head. She took the chance to slam her shoulder into the taller manticore's chest, sending him stumbling back off balance.
Percy took the chance and focused on the body of water they were right beside. Two tendrils of water smaller than the ones he summoned to fight the Nemean Lion shot up and grabbed onto the manticore's shoulders. The son of Poseidon sent more water through the tendrils so that a thin layer of it could coat Thorn's face and open his mouth wide for his friends. The force of the tendrils knocked him onto his back, allowing a winded Phoebe to retreat towards Zoe and Naomi. Thalia, who was behind Percy, ran towards Thorn and leaped up. With a roar, she slammed her spear into his wide open mouth. The manticore tensed, and Thalia sent electricity through her spear to finish the job. In a few seconds, the manticore was no more.
Thalia sighed in relief and transformed her spear back into its can form. She turned to see Percy grinning at her as he slowly kneeled to rest. Zoe and Naomi checked over a prone Phoebe to see if she was alright.
"It wasn't that hard to control it this time," Percy wheezed out happily. Thalia smiled back and walked over to help him up. As soon as Percy was standing straight, she embraced him fiercely.
The champion of Hermes did his best not to smile too wide, lest the hunters see and either maim him or make fun of him.
"Get up, Phoebe, we need to check your front for any cuts," Naomi chided lightly. Zoe was doing her best to push the larger hunter over, but to no avail.
"Let me rest, you she-demons," Phoebe growled.
Percy and Thalia walked over to where the three were, shaking their heads at the hunters.
"So," Percy sighed, "where do we go from here?"
"Didn't Castellan say something about a mountain?" Phoebe said, slowly pushing herself off the ground and allowing Naomi to look her over.
Zoe nodded, though she looked pale. She pointed off into the distance, past the Golden Gate. "That is where we need to go."
A single mountain rose above the cloud layer.
"How do you know?" Thalia asked, sending the nymph a smile as the latter tossed an ambrosia bar her way.
Zoe sighed shakily and looked away from them.
"It is the garden of my sisters," Zoe muttered. "It was my home."