Disclaimer:

I DO NOT own this series. That goes to the wonderful Rick Riordan and Hyperion Books. I am just borrowing the story and characters. I will say that the story lines will be written down because it makes it much easier to follow along and know the current placement, especially if it has been a while since reading the book. Also, this is not beta'd so there will most likely be a few mistakes, feel free to let me know. Enjoy!

Oh, this is also only my second story ever so please be gentle. I've been really enjoying getting to share how I would imagine characters would react to their tales and I hope to continue to do so.

Book

'thoughts'

"speech"

AN: Just wanted to comment since I've been getting rather rude commentary and PMs about how I made Percy have a slight crush on Luke (moderated due to language). I know it was not this way in the book... remember this is a FANFICTION, not everything is going to be exactly like canon. Also, he's twelve in this book, there's a perfectly reasonable chance that Percy could be confusing his own feelings of jealousy and idolization for a crush. Feelings are confusing, especially for someone who was just thrust into a completely new world with little time to adapt. As the story and other books continue Percy's thoughts and feelings will be expanded upon and better understood. Just because you read something you don't agree with doesn't mean it won't change or that you need to be so negative. You don't HAVE to read my story, so please either stop if you don't like it or at least look at how you say something.

Anyway, rant over now. Thank you to those of you who were more constructive with your criticism it was much more appreciated. Again, please try and remember that this story is still progressing so change will occur and thoughts of the characters are definitely going to be changing one way or another.

We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium

"Don't like gnomes." Tyson shivered.

"Me neither." The three questers agreed.

Everyone was confused at that byplay.

In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there,

"Aw thanks!" Apollo beams.

"Give it a sec." Percy snorts.

because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.

"Aw, thanks." The Sun God says much less enthusiastic.

For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.

"It does explain a lot after a while. Most issues boil down to it being our parents' fault." Chris mused.

"How dare you!" Hera screeches.

"What it's true! Percy alone has to worry about being killed by his uncles, not to mention any monsters who may hold a grudge against his father."

"It's the same with kids not of the big three as well. Our cabin always has problems with spiders after the Arachne event." Annabeth adds.

"Not to mention we only tend to get quests because the gods need something and won't do it themselves." Chris snarls.

"And very few gods actually explain what is needed to be done or provide help."

"Well, you shouldn't have been born anyways! Most demigods are bastards and proof of their parents' unfaithfulness!" Hera yelled which actually caused almost all of the gods to turn glares at her. Only Athena and Artemis were indifferent.

"Without demigods the gods wouldn't even exist anymore. You need us to believe in you to survive!" Percy scowled.

"Not to mention that we have affairs with mortals for various reasons, not just to cheat on spouses. The younger of us aren't even married." Hades stated. His wife wasn't with him for half the year, she understood his need for company.

"True, Amphitrite and my marriage was arranged anyway. She knows I have my affairs as does she." Poseidon commented.

"Makes sense actually, she's much more civil with me than other gods, which I definitely hadn't expected when I first met her." Percy pondered, "I mean when I met her it wasn't the best time since there was fighting going on, but she was pleasant all things considered."

Poseidon turned to his son surprised. Pleasant? Not what he would have expected of his wife, Percy must have decided to be overly polite and play it safe.

"Now Triton on the other hand, he seems to hate my guts."

"Ah, yes that's most likely due to the fact that you are technically a prince even though you wouldn't be in line to rule anyway. He always sees my demigod children as a threat to his position." Poseidon winced.

"No, I got it, I'm the kid from his father's affair. Makes sense that he sees me as wrong since he has had both parents all his life, I kinda ruin the plan." The Son of the Sea shrugs.

"Which is another thing we deal with the immortal children of the gods tend to hate us as well." Thalia interjects causing the gods to flinch.

"Ho-how about we keep reading?" Grover stutters struggling with the emotions of the room.

Will clears his throat and starts again.

So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.

All the campers as well as Sally and a few gods scrunch their noses at the reminder of the river.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

"Aw man you had flashbacks, didn't you?" Thalia groaned hugging the satyr.

"I don't remember, but probably."

I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

"All our money was back there," I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

"You're definitely not off to a good start." Clarisse said.

"Nope. Didn't get much better either."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—"

"Seriously?!"

"I was still too irritated." Annabeth grouched.

"You got better." Percy murmured kissing her temple. Aphrodite continued to squeal excitedly in her head.

"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"

"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."

"Would've gone to Dad the easy way, but sure fine." Nico snarked.

"Quiet Death Boy."

"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."

"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.

Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans…a perfectly good bag of tin cans."

"You still have your life, Graham." Dionysus chided.

"Uh, yes sir."

We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.

After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to me. "Look, I…" Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."

"Ooh Annabeth sucking up her pride!" Travis snickered.

"Shh, do you wanna get hit?" his brother warned him.

"We're a team, right?"

She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died…aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."

"You should not be going on a quest if that's how you think, daughter." Athena scolds Annabeth.

"I know mother, I wasn't great at dealing with my cabin fever. I had been at camp for so long, I just felt so trapped."

The Wisdom Goddess didn't have anything she could say to that. Afterall, she'd never felt that struggle.

The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. I couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blond hair.

"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her.

"No…only short field trips. My dad—"

"The history professor."

"Aww! He remembered!" the Love Goddess clapped.

"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."

If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice.

"You're pretty good with that knife," I said.

"You think so?"

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth whispered snuggling into her boyfriend's side.

"Always."

"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."

I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled.

"I did."

"You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you…Something funny back on the bus…"

Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill toot-toot-toot, like the sound of an owl being tortured.

"WHAT?!" Artemis and Athena cry.

"Whoa, whoa. It's not that!" Percy waved his arms frantically.

"Um, the next line actually explains, sorta." Will said holding up the book.

"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"

The goddesses relax back in their seats; crisis averted.

"Great song there Grover." Connor giggled.

"Hey!"

"Goat boy make nice music now." Tyson smiled.

"Thanks, Tyson."

He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.

"Why can't you think of another artist?" Thalia moaned.

"I did!"

"Jesse McCartney isn't much better!"

"Says you!"

"Keep reading, otherwise they'll go on and on." Nico nudged Will.

Instead of finding a path, I immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on my head.

"Haha nice."

"Rude. That hurt."

Add to the list of superpowers I did not have: infrared vision.

"You have something similar in water." The Sea God said.

"Huh, you're right." Percy agreed, "Never thought of it like that, but it pretty much is."

"That's so cool!" Nico yelled, showing his age.

After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. This boy needed a double cheeseburger.

"That has to be a trap, no way it's not." Clarisse muttered.

"Don't think we could have avoided this even if we tried." Percy grunted.

"Really?" his mother squeaked clutching his hand tight.

He nodded, "Pretty sure the food was enchanted, so just the smell…" he trailed off.

"You wouldn't have been able to resist." His father finished for him.

"Sounds about right." Annabeth agreed, "We didn't seem to really put up a fight. It took a while for us to really notice anything."

We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.

It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English.

"Wha- okay what the heck is this?" Will paused trying to decipher the next line.

Percy looked over to see, "Oh I guess it's what I read, but all messed up from dyslexia?"

"Gods that hurts to try and read." Will shook his head and stumbled out the line.

To me, it looked like: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Exactly, you try speaking that without going cross-eyed."

Of course, at the challenge the Stoll brothers couldn't help but attempt it.

"Is that really what it's like?" Athena questioned. Her children never seemed to struggle enough for her to realize.

Annabeth nodded, "we mostly read in Greek, but even then, we still struggle some."

"Knock it off!" Clarisse smacked the Hermes brothers upside their heads getting them to stop trying.

"What the heck does that say?" I asked.

"I don't know," Annabeth said.

She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too.

Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."

"Why does that sound so familiar?" Hades contemplated.

Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.

"Gnomes creepy." Tyson shivered again.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Percy shuttered as well, "I'll never be able to look at one the same ever again."

I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers.

"Hey…" Grover warned.

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," I said wistfully.

"Snack bar," she agreed.

"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

We ignored him.

"You're already under the spell?" Hermes asked. The three nod, "That was fast."

The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

Grover hunched down at the reminder. Many look to him with pity with realization of the loss.

We stopped at the warehouse door.

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

"If this hadn't been a trap it wouldn't have hurt to see though." Apollo thought.

"Yes, but it smelled wrong, so I didn't get my hopes up."

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," I reminded him.

"Those are vegetables!" Grover yelled.

"No, they're not."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"N-"

"Boys!" Sally barked.

"Sorry Mom."

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson."

"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are…looking at me."

"Ooh I hate when that happens. Paintings feel the same way." Nico quivered.

"I hate you for putting that thought in my head." Percy growled.

Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman—at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.

Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

"Oh boy, here comes Percy's oh so great lying." Annabeth held her head.

"Honestly, I was just rambling. I don't even remember what I said."

"Oh, it's a doozy." Grover laughed.

"They're…um…" Annabeth started to say.

"We're orphans," I said.

"Okay, not too bad…" Connor started.

"Just wait."

"Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!"

"We got separated from our caravan," I said. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"

"And there it is."

"Wow, I really don't remember that. Well, I don't remember much of this to begin with."

"You know? It's so out there it could weirdly work." Hermes sniggered.

"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."

We thanked her and went inside.

Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?"

"Always have a strategy, right?"

"And what a strategy it was." Travis snorted.

"Your head is full of kelp."

"Hey! Don't you start stealing my nickname for him too!" Thalia pointed at Annabeth.

The warehouse was filled with more statues—people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. But mostly, I was thinking about food.

Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because I was hungry, but I do impulsive stuff sometimes. Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair—it made everything else go away. I barely noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, or the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.

"You're spelled and you noticed that?"

"Apparently."

"Why did you two?" Will motioned to Grover and Annabeth.

"I was entranced as well. Food kept me occupied."

"I was terrified and everything smelt funny and I couldn't place it."

All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.

"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.

"Awesome," I said.

"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."

Before I could jab him in the ribs, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."

"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.

Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I figured it must've been my imagination.

"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said.

"How does she know your name?"

"Trust me, you don't wanna know."

"You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." Only later did I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves.

"She pointed out your eyes? That's weird."

That caused Athena to stiffen. Hopefully it wasn't who it was seeming to be. If her child had to fight her? It would definitely show how she made her daughter's life worse.

Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries.

I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe.

"So like any other time you get burgers." Sally chuckled breaking the tension of the room somewhat.

"Cheeseburgers are good."

"Yup." Thalia nodded.

"Gotta love my Happy Meals." Nico smiled at the idea.

"It must be a Big Three thing. Those three are obsessed with McDonalds." Annabeth laughed shaking her head.

Annabeth slurped her shake.

Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.

"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.

"Hissing?" Poseidon asked getting more and more worried.

I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head.

"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."

"I take vitamins. For my ears."

"Goat boy made a decent lie!" the Stolls celebrated.

"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."

Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her headdress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, but I was feeling satisfied after the burger, and a little sleepy, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess.

"At least you have manners, even when drugged." Sally muttered, still clutching her son's hand.

"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested.

"You didn't." Grover and Annabeth state together.

Percy just shrugged, not much he could do now.

"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."

"A lot of business on this road?"

"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built…most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."

My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.

"Oh, that poor girl." Clarisse crooned. The campers knew who this was, they had heard the tale before after all.

Poseidon was tensing more; he had finally realized who this was. How did his son get out of this one?

"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."

"You make these statues yourself ?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

"Oh Lord." Sally whined bringing Percy into her arms.

"We came out fine Mom."

"Doesn't mean I can't worry."

Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"

"Oh good, you're starting to realize." Chiron murmured.

"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a…a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."

"Boyfriend!" Poseidon boomed, "I was no such thing!"

"Of course it had to be her." Athena blanched fists tight on her lap.

I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her. My eyelids kept getting heavier, my full stomach making me sleepy. Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?

"Oh us, why?" the Earthshaker whined huddling into himself. He was trying so hard to not get lost in memories.

"Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention.

"Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."

She sounded tense. I wasn't sure why. Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything.

"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."

The tension in the air could be easily felt by everyone. Everyone was holding in their comments waiting.

She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly.

Athena lowly growled. If that woman touched her daughter…

"We really should go."

"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"

I didn't want to leave. I felt full and content. Aunty Em was so nice. I wanted to stay with her a while.

"Jeez that's some strong spell." Nico wondered.

"She was probably throwing most of it towards Percy, since he's Lord Poseidon's son." Clarisse brainstormed.

Said God could only shakily exhale, that was not a thought he wanted to think about.

"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"

"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.

"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."

"Oh, that's just wrong on so many different levels." Will shuddered needing to pause after reading that line.

"I'm glad I can't remember this part well." Percy trembled.

"Lucky for you." Grover said dryly.

Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy—"

"Sure we can," I said. I was irritated with Annabeth for being so bossy, so rude to an old lady who'd just fed us for free. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"

"Ooh, how much you wanna bet Bethy is gonna get him back for that one?" Connor nudged his brother.

"No bet, brother-mine. Especially with that glare she's sending your way." Travis turned him to face Annabeth reveling in the way his face blanched.

"What did I tell you about calling me Bethy?" Annabeth growled fingering her dagger.

"Not to?"

"Therefore, you should?"

"Not do it?"

"Strive to remember that." She warned the Stoll pointing her dagger's tip at him.

Connor nodded so fast he looked like a bobble head doll and turned away terrified.

Of course, having turned around he never saw Annabeth's face fall back to a smile as she winked to the others causing them to struggle hiding their laughter. It was always fun when someone managed to spook the Stolls.

"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. "No harm."

I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues.

"Holy crap, how can you still notice things like that?" Chris queried.

"It's probably the Sea in his blood." Chiron speculated.

"Well, it is ever-changing." Poseidon puffed up, tension somewhat eased with his boasting.

"Upsides of parentage that." Was muttered from someone.

Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."

"Not much light for a photo," I remarked.

"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"

"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.

"This took us way too long." Whined Grover.

"We were still pretty young, G-man. This was all of our first quest, so it makes sense we didn't get stuff faster." Percy tried to placate him.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it." The satyr sniffed.

Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"

Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."

"Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear."

She still had no camera in her hands.

"Percy—" Annabeth said.

Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth, but I was fighting the sleepy feeling, the comfortable lull that came from the food and the old lady's voice.

"Ah the start of the 'always listen to Annabeth' streak begins." Thalia smirks at Percy who tried to act nonchalant but failed given his bright blush.

Annabeth couldn't help but let out a light snort at her boyfriend's face but let him be. Knowing their friends, he'd get teased by the others enough.

"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil.…"

"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.

"Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"

"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.

"Oh Grover, come here." Sally ushered the satyr to her for a hug.

Grover gladly accepted and was soon content with his friends giving him supporting hand squeezes and pats. It was always hard hearing about satyr losses but losing his Uncle Ferdinand had been difficult, the reminder didn't help much either.

"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and me both off the bench.

I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet.

I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. But I was too dazed to move.

"She must have been pouring the spell at you if you were that affected." Chris said.

"Explains a lot. Took him a bit to really snap out of it." Annabeth nodded.

Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails.

Poseidon had managed to grab his son to him once again praying for his safety. Percy could feel his father's shakes and decided against trying to stop him. Afterall he couldn't say he wasn't enjoying the obvious care he was receiving.

The other campers were all on the edge of their seats with a mix of worry and excitement. Since none of them had had the opportunity to go on a quest they couldn't help but feel exhilarated. The war had been to gruesome and depressing, but a quest always seemed so… intriguing.

I almost looked higher, but somewhere off to my left Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"

The Sea God managed to look to his son's girlfriend thanks and relief clear in his eyes. She smiled and nodded, it was the least she could do for Percy, they'd saved each other multiple times anyway.

More rasping—the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from…from about where Aunty Em's head would be.

"Gods, Percy why?" Travis whimpered.

"I'm gonna get nightmares just from descriptions." Connor pulled his knees to his chest.

"Try living it." The Sea son drolled.

"Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, "Maia!" to kick-start his flying sneakers.

I couldn't move. I stared at Aunty Em's gnarled claws, and tried to fight the groggy trance the old woman had put me in.

"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she told me soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."

Percy heard his father take in a sharp breath, his mother following just after. Tyson was close to tears.

Turning to his brother Percy attempted to comfort the cyclops, "Ty, buddy, I'm okay. Promise."

"Snakey lady scary." The young cyclops wept.

"I know bud, I know. You know what though? I got helped by your favorite pretty girl and goat boy." Percy beamed causing his friends to flush lightly.

"Yeah, Ty. I'd never let Seaweed Brain die."

"Course I'm gonna help my best friend!"

It seemed to soothe Tyson some, it certainly helped that Percy dragged him into the huddle with his father, who just basked in the warmth of his children.

It was a heartwarming scene for the gods to witness. A monster, a very young one at that, so easily accepted, as a sibling no less! Comforted by all, and it was all, the other campers clearly accepted the cyclops need and watched on with small smiles.

Will seeing the stares decided to keep reading, taking the attention away from the family.

I fought the urge to obey. Instead I looked to one side and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens—a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents.

Aunty Em.

Aunty "M."

How could I have been so stupid?

"Percy stupid? Definitely not." Connor said.

"Prissy acts stupid." Clarisse snarked.

"This is true." Travis agreed.

"Oi!" Percy yelled playing along.

Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?

But I couldn't think. Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus. She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face.

"Dude, are you just gonna end up fighting, like, every monster the old heroes have?" Nico wondered.

"Sure seems that way, huh?"

"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."

The Goddess of Wisdom flinched some. The sad part was that it was clearly true, especially after what she learned. If anything, her actions made things worse for others.

"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, somewhere in the statuary. "Run, Percy!"

"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."

Tyson let out a keening sound and was squeezed into a tight hug.

"How did I not hear her say that?" Annabeth pondered eyes wide with fear.

"Me either. She was scarily focused on Percy." Grover added.

"No," I muttered. I tried to make my legs move.

"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."

"Well, I guess in a way she's not wrong." Apollo tried to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"Doesn't help that she says they're pawns of us." Hermes muttered.

"We tend to be." Thalia grumbled but was not heard by the gods. Which was good, as no one wanted to rehash that argument again.

"Percy!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. Grover yelled, "Duck!"

That had managed to lighten the atmosphere some and a few huffed out a bit of laughter.

"Gotta love your descriptions, man!" Chris snickered.

"It's a gift." Percy grinned.

I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone.

"Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!" That finally jolted me into action. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and nail me.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Perce." Grover grumped playfully.

"I was just using common sense, you were relying on smell alone and were still new to the flying shoes." The son of the sea explained.

"You have a point, but I'm not happy about it." The satyr pouted fighting a smile.

I dove to one side.

Thwack!

At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. Then Medusa roared with rage.

The campers, Hermes, Apollo, and surprisingly Ares cheered causing Grover to blush. Some of the gods were smiling, as well as Sally and Chiron.

"Woohoo!"

"Go Grover!"

"Show 'em what satyrs can do!"

"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"

"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.

I scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass.

Ker-whack!

"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting.

More cheers and praises are heard.

Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy!"

I jumped so high my feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!"

"Lucky you didn't have your sword out." Rachel drolled.

"I said I was sorry!"

"Are we ever going to learn what you guys are talking about?" Annabeth asked.

"Third quest." Percy grumbled.

"I sneezed." Rachel grinned.

"While I was being chased by skeletons."

"If anything, I'm more confused." Travis said.

Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. "You have to cut her head off."

"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."

"Yes, run." Poseidon cried.

"No, fight!" Ares yelled, longing for action. Aphrodite rolled her eyes at her lover, he got so focus on violence and death it was annoying. She supposed she liked him for other reasons, but she didn't need to get into that. Her husband was becoming more and more interesting, however. Hephaestus had stopped what he was tinkering on to look up and focus on the story. He may not be the most attractive physically, but his eyes were intriguing to her. Soulful and full of expression, how she had never noticed she was unsure, but she would be paying him some more attention during their time here.

"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but…" Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance."

"That must have been hard to admit, Annie." Thalia pointed out.

"Yes, having to swallow my pride, something I still struggle with."

"What? I can't—"

"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"

She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster.

"And now Percy's selflessness comes into play."

"It made sense." Said demigod shrugged.

Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—"

"Not the best time to spew physics…" Apollo chided.

"I do it when I'm nervous."

"You know what physics are?" Athena asks mystified.

"I am the God of Knowledge you know." He replied with clear frustration on his face.

"I always forget all the things you're a god of." Percy awed, saving the Wisdom Goddess from Apollo's anger.

"Would you speak English?"

"I am!" She tossed me the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly."

"Well, that's a given."

"Shhh!"

"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!"

"Doubt it."

"Mhmm."

"Roooaaarrr!"

"Called it."

"Quiet!"

"Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.

"Hurry," Annabeth told me. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."

"Wow, thanks." The satyr deadpanned.

"Oh, like you didn't think the same as you were doing it."

I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide elongated in my hand.

I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair.

I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her.

Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"

"That part sucked." Grover winced at the reminder.

"Oh, not the Medusa part?" Percy said sarcasm evident.

"After all we've been through, Medusa was easy."

"I don't think that helps are case there, bud." Percy was quick to point out noticing the looks of concern from many.

Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!"

I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.

But she let me approach—twenty feet, ten feet.

Sharp inhales could be heard from almost everyone. Will was struggling to not give into his urge to stop and hand off reading to another, fighting to keep his twitching hands still.

I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really that ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse.

"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."

I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass—the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak.

From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!"

Medusa cackled. "Too late."

She lunged at me with her talons.

Everyone held their breathe.

I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening shlock!, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern—the sound of a monster disintegrating.

Heavy exhales ring out soon followed by cheers.

"So… furies, the minotaur, and Medusa? That's quite a line-up you got, man." Travis counted on his fingers.

"Yeah, basically my luck sucks."

"It can be really good though." Annabeth interjected.

"Also true."

Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces.

"Eeeewwww!" Aphrodite gagged.

"It certainly felt disgusting." Percy dry-heaved.

"Smelled worse." Annabeth choked.

"Oh, you can't talk about smell. It was much worse for me." Grover smothered a cough.

"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."

Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move."

Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.

The Love Goddess fought back the urge to vomit. Her husband was sweet enough to conjure her a bucket just in case. She turned to him with a grateful smile.

"Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.

"Yeah," I decided, though I felt like throwing up my double cheeseburger. "Why didn't…why didn't the head evaporate?"

"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."

Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.

"Anyone else picturing Tom from Tom and Jerry every time her crashed?" Travis asked.

"I wasn't then, but I am now and it's perfect." Percy sniggered.

"The Red Baron," I said. "Good job, man."

"So that's where that came from!" Connor exclaimed, "I always wondered."

"Lucky, you got a cool nickname from Percy." Nico faux pouted.

"Don't lie, you love being called Neeks." The Son of the Sea chastised gently.

Nico just faked a pout, he wasn't successful at hiding his smile.

He managed a bashful grin. "That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun."

He snatched his shoes out of the air. I recapped my sword. Together, the three of us stumbled back to the warehouse.

We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.

Finally I said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"

Everyone flinched, the recent conversations were still very much fresh in their minds. It definitely changed everything most believed.

Surprisingly Poseidon was very relaxed. Now that Medusa was dealt with he felt better about his son. He wasn't worried about the background information about this story, he got through it the first time just fine, and he had his brother to help him again if need be.

Said brother, Hades, was looking over to the Sea God giving him a once over, pleased with what he found. Clearly having his sons with him was a big help.

Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."

"Sorry, sir." The daughter of Athena winced apologizing.

"It's fine. I'd rather just forget about it." Poseidon waved her off.

My face was burning. "Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa."

Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'"

"Oof, low blow Annabeth." Chris grimaced.

"This event didn't help with my thoughts on the rivalry."

"Forget it," I said. "You're impossible."

"You're insufferable."

"You're—"

"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"

"Poor Grover." Thalia cooed.

"I'm more impressed. He's pretty much the only one who can get them to stop bickering." Clarisse jumped in.

"Oh, it doesn't always work." The satyr said fake glaring at the couple who just give him looks of innocence.

I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!

I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice.

What had Medusa said?

Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue.

"You're about to do something impulsive, aren't you?" Sally looked to her son eyebrows high.

Percy coughed, "Yes."

I got up. "I'll be back."

"Percy," Annabeth called after me. "What are you—"

I searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden.

Everyone looked to the God of the Underworld shocked.

"I didn't know that's where Persephone got them from, she decorates how she likes. It's not like I'd notice the souls, they all come in the same way." He said arm up in surrender.

"She does love decorating; I've never known her to let anyone get a word in about that garden." Nico nodded thinking back.

"Well, she let me keep the throne room how I wanted it, so she can keep the garden."

"That's fair, I guess."

According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket.

In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins. I rummaged around the rest of the office until I found the right-size box.

I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:

"Oh… my… gods." Will gasped. "Percy this is…"

"Yup."

"Are you…"

"Oh yeah."

"But-"

"Share already! What happened?" Travis yelled.

Will cleared his throat preparing himself for the reactions.

The Gods

Mount Olympus

600th Floor,

Empire State Building

New York, NY

With best wishes,

PERCY JACKSON

It was silent for a minute.

Finally, it seemed to have clicked and the campers burst out in laughter.

"You have brass ones, man!" Connor struggled to say.

"When I grow up I wanna be like you." his brother joked.

"I honestly forgot about this. Looking back, it is pretty funny." Annabeth giggled.

"Percy, THAT'S how you got the head?" Sally scolded, "You're lucky you weren't smote on the spot!"

"Oh, I had some help with that." Percy winked at his father who chuckled. Poseidon was sure he snagged the package before the others could find it.

Unfortunately, some of the gods, Hera and Zeus, could not see the humor of the moment and made their thoughts clear.

"Of all the things, boy-" Zeus boomed.

"The disrespect!" Hera yelled over her husband.

Percy just shrugged, further scaring his parents at his nonchalance, "It was an outlet of my anger. I had basically been given clear proof that I was nothing but a piece of a game to the gods."

Silence. A cough.

Will cleared his throat at the tension and started to read hoping his turn would end soon.

"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent."

"He is impertinent." Chris tried to joke.

I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!

"I am impertinent," I said.

"Ha! He agrees!"

Some light laughter follows.

I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize.

She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods. "Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."

Will snapped the book close causing everyone to jump.

The room was still tense and awkward. Percy was looking down at his hands avoiding the glares from Hera and Zeus, some of the campers and a few of the gods (Hermes and Apollo mostly) were hiding laughter still, while the rest were just tense.

It was Hestia who broke the silence.

"Why don't I read next and after that chapter we wrap up for the day?" she offered soothing the room with her aura.

All let out a relaxing breath as she opened the book.

AN: And that's the chapter. Was surprised at how slow it's been for me lately. Hopefully it will continue so I can write more often

As always feel free to comment/review or PM if you prefer. Please try to moderate yourselves some, I don't need to read stuff that's just calling me an idiot or stupid for writing what I do. See y'all next time.