Younger kids with an older self. kids with no younger self. The Seven.
Normal talking, telepathy
Sadly, I do not and probably never will own Percy Jackson and associates. I really, really wish I did, though.
"And... done." Theseus announced, eyeing his younger half-brother curiously.
"I'll read next." Perseus claimed, and grabbed the book from his cousin. Theseus rolled his eyes but gave it up without fuss. It wasn't worth it to start a 'fight' over.
"You guys are going to camp, now, right?" Clarisse practically demanded. She knew they turned up at camp just in time to help with the fight (get in her way), but she didn't know how they got there, or even what time it was. She was kind of busy at the time with the giant mechanical bulls that weren't being stopped by the Camp Boundary line like they should have been.
"Yup." Percy grinned before it dimmed at the memory of the taxi ride.
"Yay! Camp!" Tyson cheered, thrilled. He loved the camp, he tried to spend as much time there as he could when he wasn't needed in the forges or helping to search for Percy, which he'd actually been given the last two months off work to do.
Chapter three: We Hail the Taxi of Eternal Torment
"Well, if that doesn't sound ominous." Piper muttered, dreading this one.
"Tell me you didn't." Poseidon groaned.
"It was the quickest way to get to camp." Annabeth grimaced, confirming that yes, they had.
"Oh, this isn't going to be pretty. A word of advice. Cyclops are notoriously motion sick on land, especially with mortal forms of transportation." Triton advised with a grimace.
"Noticed." Percy muttered. And that was when they weren't on the Taxi. He and Annabeth were exceedingly lucky that Tyson hadn't lost his lunch then and there.
"Are we missing something?" The younger crowd and the Romans were confused. What kind of taxi was this that the older Greeks and the council, even, were wary of it?
"You'll find out." Percy promised with a strained smile.
(Annabeth was... Meriwether Prep.)
"There they are."
"So... how badly did the school burn?" Leo asked, curious.
Percy shrugged and looked at Sally. "I don't think the fire spread past the gym, but the damage to the gym itself was... extensive." She grimaced. She'd heard that they hadn't been able to reopen the gym for students to actually use until after Christmas.
("Where'd you... at Tyson.)
"Rude!" Leo called out, shocked.
A few others were blinking in surprise, too. Sure, he was a Cyclops and all that, but he was with Percy. He'd just helped protect Percy.
The only people who didn't say anything were the ones that were there when Tyson was Claimed. They'd all reacted badly and treated Tyson accordingly. The younger crowd only knew Tyson through one chapter in these books so far, he hadn't really said much yet.
Annabeth grimaced. "Sorry, Tyson." She said softly, rubbing his arm. He looked at her in concern, but didn't say anything.
(Now, under different... with my dad.)
"Which is no reason for you to not get along." Poseidon said firmly, looking at all the demigods. "Do not let your parents' fights or rivalries dictate your own fights and rivalries."
"Agreed." Hestia said, smiling at her brother proudly. She knew he was one of the few who truly thought that way, it was part of his and his children's nature to not let somebody else dictate what they could and could not do after all, but she still liked to hear him say it like that.
(I'd missed... wanted to admit.)
"You just admitted it." Annabeth smirked.
"Yeah, in the privacy of my mind." Percy deadpanned. "It's one of the few things we actually have that's private."
The other demigods fell silent at that. The gods could look in on them at any time they wanted, and often watched them for entertainment. Their private thoughts were one of the few privacies they had, and his private thoughts were no longer private.
(But I'd just...was the problem.)
"That is uncalled for." Clarisse informed the blond daughter of Athena.
"I know, ok?" Annabeth almost snapped before she stopped herself and visibly calmed herself down.
("He's my friend,"...
"Is he homeless?")
"What does that have to do with anything?" Leo asked, mildly offended.
She shifted uncomfortably. "The homeless ones are usually..." She hesitated, trying to figure out how to word this, glancing at Poseidon.
"The homeless ones are usually mine, and they aren't always the friendliest towards demigods they come across." Poseidon finished her sentence, shrugging sheepishly.
"So, what she was really asking was whether or not Tyson was Percy's brother." Piper concluded.
"More or less." Annabeth shrugged. Then she hesitated. "I wasn't the... nicest, towards Tyson for a while in the beginning." She said. "I was pretty rude, actually."
"Which she has personal reasons for." Percy added in, glancing around the room. The older Greeks nodded their understanding that they weren't to get after her on it.
("What does that... you ask him?")
"It's rude to talk about somebody like they're not there." Hestia admonished gently.
Annabeth turned red. "I wasn't aware he... um. I didn't have a very high opinion of his possible intelligence level." She admitted again.
The younger Greeks decided to take their cues from the older ones and not get on her case, too. Especially when they saw the way Annabeth was eyeing Tyson. They could tell that Tyson either hadn't noticed, or was choosing to ignore it.
(She looked... "He can talk?")
"Whoa!"
"Now that is uncalled for, personal issues or not!" Theseus defended his Cyclops brother.
Annabeth grimaced while Percy put an arm around her in comfort while Tyson frowned and 'patted' her shoulder. Percy's arm was the only thing keeping her from flying off her seat.
("I talk," Tyson... are pretty.")
"Aw, I think somebody has a bit of a crush." Chris grinned.
"It is kind of cute." Percy said with a small grin of his own. "At least he knows beauty when he sees it." He whispered in her ear, turning her red.
("Ah! Gross!"... from him.)
Annabeth got some glares and incredulous looks, but Percy's own glare stopped them from saying anything about it.
"You know?" Thalia asked him, glancing between Tyson and Annabeth.
"Yeah. It's probably going to be in the book, but no need to bring it up until we need to." Percy shrugged. It was a hard conversation for Annabeth, he wasn't going to put her through it more then needed.
(I couldn't believe... dodge balls,)
"They would've been if he weren't a Cyclops." Poseidon said, glad for that.
"Burns are overrated." Leo dismissed, grinning.
"Burns hurt. And they take forever to heal." Will deadpanned, eyeing him.
(but they looked... aren't even burned.")
"Ok, how long is it going to take him to figure it out?" Chris asked, amused.
"He didn't." Annabeth deadpanned. "I had to tell him." And that was only after Tyson helped stop an attack. Percy pouted, but she ignored it with practice and a smile.
("Of course not,"... with him around.")
"I, on the other hand, had no idea he had yet to realize Tyson was a Cyclops." Annabeth sighed, shaking her head.
"I'm surprised that they did attack with Tyson around, but they must have thought they had the numbers." Artemis reasoned out.
(Tyson seemed... blond hair.)
"He's easily fascinated." Percy said with a small grin at his brother, who just looked at him. Ponies, fish, etc.
Sadly, the ponies weren't so fond of him.
("Annabeth," I said... into them once,)
"Between the two of them, is there any monster or problem Odysseus and That Jerk didn't run into at some point?" Percy asked, being careful not to say Hercules' name, both out of disgust for him and respect for Zoe.
"That is a very short list." Hestia said with a snort.
(but I've never... York before.")
"There's a group of them in Detroit." Artemis said.
"I've never been to Detroit." Annabeth defended herself.
"If you do go, avoid abandoned car factories." Leo advised.
"I'll keep that in mind." She promised with a laugh.
"Detroit has good hunting." Zoe muttered, to Thalia's agreement. All the abandoned factories and warehouses made for perfect monster hang-outs.
("Laistry- I can't... moment. "Canadians,")
"Hey!" Both Franks protested immediately.
Frank punched Annabeth on the arm. "So you're the one that told him that?" He asked heatedly before rolling his eyes, exasperated.
"Sorry." She apologized.
"I take it you're Canadian." Piper deadpanned to Frank, who nodded, still glaring indignantly at Annabeth.
"Oops." She muttered. "They're from up north, and what's further north then the U.S?" She asked, shrugging sheepishly. He just narrowed his eyes some more.
(she decided. "Now... be after me.")
"So? They'll never find you at camp." Clarisse dismissed.
"And how did you suppose we were going to get to camp with the police after me? Again?" Percy asked, glaring at her.
"Same way you got California." She shrugged.
"In the back of a truck run by animal smugglers." Percy tilted his head. "I don't think we'll find many of those going from the city to Long Island." She shrugged again.
("That's the least... having dreams?")
"You, too?"
"It's official. Whatever's going on is bad." The Stolls chimed in.
"Oh, you have no idea." Percy said darkly, glaring briefly at Luke before looking away again.
("The dreams... what about Grover?")
"You're both having different dreams, but I have a feeling those dreams are about the same thing." Apollo said, leaning forward slightly, looking thoughtful.
Hermes stayed quiet. He had an idea that Percy's dream wasn't actually a dream, but Grover trying to establish the Link. That might have overshadowed the dream Percy would probably have had that night.
"Thanks for caring." Grover bumped her with his shoulder.
"Of course." She informed him like it was obvious. Which, it kind of was.
(I told her my...dreaming about?")
"My dreams weren't clear. All I knew was Camp was in trouble. Trouble it might not survive." She explained.
"What could have possibly happened?" Annabeth asked, biting her lip in worry.
"It'll all be explained." Percy muttered.
(Her eyes looked... kind of trouble?")
"The kind that you two should probably stop standing around talking about, and actually get moving to find out." Clarisse deadpanned.
Percy sighed. "As correct as you are right now, I really wish we weren't in a hurry." He groaned. Annabeth smirked.
"Bad taxi." Was all Tyson had to say, turning green just at the memory.
"Not my best idea, but it was the fastest way." Annabeth admitted, grimacing.
("I don't know... lot of attacks?" )
"Surprisingly, no." Reyna muttered, but she eyed Tyson, wondering if he was the reason. There weren't many, monster or demigod, that were willing to go up against a Cyclops. They were known for their strength and fire resistance.
"I enjoyed the quiet year." Percy shrugged. Enough that he'd let himself lapse in his training, he could admit that he could have tried harder to find a place to train after Sally made him promise not to practice in the apartment. He wouldn't have been able to get a good enough work-out in at the apartment, anyway, though. Not enough room.
"Were you alright?" Sally asked Annabeth, concerned about her being chased. This was why she opened her home as a safe house.
"I was fine." Annabeth smiled at Sally.
(I shook my head... to Tyson. "Oh.")
"Yeah, oh." Sally said in amusement. If she'd known that Percy hadn't figured it out after all this time, she would have said something.
She'd just figured that Percy hadn't said anything.
("What do you mean, 'oh'?")
"This is going to be painful, isn't it?" Paul asked with a grimace.
"Oh, yeah." Annabeth said with a smirk while Percy protested.
(Tyson raised his... of the Sea God?")
"You didn't realize before this?" Chris asked Tyson, blinking. When both of them shook their heads. "Is being clueless a family trait?" He deadpanned, looking between all the sea-dwellers.
"No/yes." Poseidon protested at the same time Amphitrite confirmed Chris' question.
Poseidon's children decided to stay out of it, not wanting to get in the middle of a squabble between their father and mother/step-mother.
(Annabeth and I exchanged looks.)
"I wasn't sure how to explain demigods and monsters." Percy shrugged.
"I wasn't sure how Tyson had apparently missed it." Annabeth shrugged, too.
(I didn't know... getting killed.)
"Well, I suppose that he does need to be told something, he was there when six cannibal giants attacked you." Luke muttered to himself.
"I doubt that Tyson was actually in much danger." Poseidon mused. That last hit Tyson took was because he got between two of the cannibals and Percy, and hadn't been able to recover enough to dodge or brace for the last hit.
"He wouldn't have been attacked at all if he weren't with me." Percy pointed out.
"If Tyson hadn't been there, you would have been dealing with monsters all year long." Annabeth reminded him with a sigh.
("Big guy," I said... Poseidon, Athena-")
"Oh, this is going to be so painful." Chris muttered again, shaking his head.
"Hey, now. Just because Percy didn't notice for an entire year, or through two fights that would have killed Tyson otherwise..." Annabeth started, grinning at Percy and almost yelling when he tried to slap his hand over her mouth. She broke off laughing.
"Shush." He finally said, trying to glare but wasn't able to keep it up.
("Yes," Tyson said... called half-bloods.")
"Oversimplified version. But it works." Athena muttered, adding the last quickly at the joint looks from Theseus and Triton. She quickly looked away at Triton's proud and amused grin.
"He's good at oversimplified versions." Annabeth said with a smirk.
"They work." Percy shrugged with a smirk.
("Yes," Tyson said... to the point.)
"I was." Tyson shrugged.
Percy snorted. "This was on me, big guy. I'm the one that went an entire year not realizing, even after the attack." He assured his brother.
("Uh, well, Annabeth... -in-training.)
"Under the best trainer ever!" Travis cheered, to the rest of the Greeks loud agreement.
Sally smiled sadly that this was their life at all, especially at their ages.
(And whenever... gym. Monsters."
"Yes.")
"He knows all this."
"But Percy doesn't know that."
(I stared at him... was telling him,)
"Because he already knows it." Clarisse muttered. She snorted. "He probably knows it all better then you do." She teased with a smirk. Percy was notorious for not knowing things that everybody else was pretty sure he should have already known.
Percy turned red. "Oh, shut up." He grumbled.
"This is so painful." Travis groaned, head in hand, shaking it.
(which surprised... the Sea God?")
"The real question there, 'you are my brother?'" Clarisse realized what really had Tyson so confused. As far as he probably knew, since he was homeless and probably didn't get told these things, there were no demigod children of Poseidon.
"Could you have sent Tyson to that school, wanting him and Percy to meet?" Amphitrite asked Poseidon quietly.
"Probably." He admitted, and wasn't sorry about it. Tyson was lonely, and could use a friend.
("Yeah," I admitted... looked confused.)
"I did not smell him." Tyson admitted, and that really confused him. He'd smelled Annabeth there, even though he was confused because he couldn't see her, but he couldn't smell Percy.
"Probably because your both Sons of Poseidon?" Athena guessed, eyeing them curiously.
Tyson and Percy glanced at each other, then shrugged. They didn't really care anymore.
("But then..."
A siren... in the taxi.")
Zeus snorted. "Good luck with that." He muttered, shuddering at the thought of that taxi. He himself had only taken it once, and it had been out of sheer desperation. Never, ever again.
Percy shuddered at what he was about to do. "That taxi isn't helpful for having conversations in." He muttered, just barely loud enough for everyone to hear him agree with Zeus. He shuddered again and glared at the Stolls when they tried to get him to repeat that.
("A taxi all the... much money-")
Hermes whistled. "That would be a lot of money. But I don't think that's what she means." He barely kept his grin hidden at the thought of Percy's reaction to this one.
"No. I didn't have that kind of money on me, anyway. I only had so much, and I spent most of that on food and a bus that at least got me partway from Virginia." Annabeth informed the room. She only had her allowance money that she'd saved up, she wasn't about to steal her dad's wallet or something.
Percy snorted. "We still barely had enough for the cab fare." He muttered, thinking about the extra few coins she'd promised and never actually paid. Which was lucky, because she didn't have anymore Drachma on her.
("Trust me."
I hesitated... for demigods?)
"I don't think it was Tyson's reaction you should have been worried about." Clarisse frowned. Of course, she knew that if Chiron had been there, he never would have tolerated half the stuff that was said or done to Percy and Tyson. Tantalus certainly didn't help in that regard.
But still, very few at Camp took Tyson's presence well. If she remembered right, only the Hephaestus cabin welcomed him with anything close to open arms.
"The Campers didn't handle his presence well, did they?" Poseidon asked, voice strained
Everyone who was there, even Percy, winced. Percy looked down, ashamed of his own reaction to Tyson's claiming, and ignored the incredulous looks. They resolved to read more and find out, but so far Percy was Tyson's number one defender. Had going to camp really changed that?
(On the other... trouble, too.")
"I'm not sure if people will even remember him. The Mist probably covered him up completely." Sally said, thoughtful. At least, none of the police or teachers asked about him before Chiron managed to smooth things over with them.
"Probably." Poseidon agreed. Which was for the best in the end as he was a Cyclops and wouldn't stay in the mortal communities now that he was going to Camp.
("Yeah." Annabeth... to the hospital,)
She got a few sour looks at that, but everybody obeyed Percy's request not to get after her for her attitude.
They knew it was personal, and they would wait to hear what it was, even if some of them really didn't like it.
(but I followed... school gymnasium.)
"I thought you said the school was fine." Piper said slowly.
"It was, it was just the gym. Like Paul said, they couldn't get the gym fixed for use for a while." Percy shrugged.
"They contained it to the gym." Sally said when she saw the looks exchanged even after Percy assured everyone.
("Here." Annabeth... have one left.")
"One left of what?"
"A Drachma." She said, matter-of-fact.
"What did you need a Drachma for?" Piper asked.
"To summon it." Percy grumbled darkly, and got a mix of amused and confused looks.
(She looked even... like claw marks.)
Annabeth coughed. "That's because they were." She shrugged. "I ran into a Fox den, a few Empousai, a Hellhound... I managed to kill or lose them all." She said when she saw the looks everybody was giving her. She didn't tell them everything else that chased her, mostly because she honestly just didn't remember such small details.
It was a while ago, and a lot had happened in that time, after all.
"Oh, dear. Were you alright?" Sally asked, concerned, eyeing Annabeth as if she could see every cut and bruise the girl had at the time.
"Yeah, just a few cuts." Annabeth smiled at her.
("What are you... statement by now.)
"Oh, no doubt. And it would have painted you in the worst light while the clueless gym teacher pipes up every once in a while in agreement." Will grumbled, shaking his head.
(He'd probably... bloodthirsty cannibals.)
"Knowing the Mist and your luck, probably." Katie teased him lightly.
"I know!" Percy groaned.
"A statement like that wouldn't be entirely Sloan's fault, then." Hades pointed out. "Not if the Mist affected him into giving a statement like that."
"It's still annoying." Percy grumbled.
"Doesn't stop me from wanting to show that punk how pathetic he really is." Clarisse muttered to Chris, who stifled his grin and gave the brief and insincere 'you-can't-threaten-the-mortals' lecture.
("Found one. Thank... "Ô hárma diabolês!")
"Why does that not sound very promising?" Clarisse muttered, narrowing her eyes as she thought about what this could be. She thought she had an idea, but...
"It wasn't." Percy said darkly.
"Er, can us poor Roman's get a translation, please?" Gwen raised her hand, looking hopeful. The Greeks looked unsettled by whatever was said, with a few of them having an idea what that phrase was in reference to, and those that did know what that was all about looked outright disturbed.
"Percy translated it." Perseus assured her, holding the book up before he kept reading.
(As usual, the... Chariot of Damnation!)
"Well, that doesn't sound very promising." Reyna muttered, grimacing, especially when she remembered the chapter title.
"I'm guessing this is the chapter title?" Dakota asked quietly, echoing her thoughts.
"Yup. Now we get to the good part!" Percy said, smiling cheerfully. It didn't reach his eyes, though.
(That didn't exactly... her plan was.)
"Don't blame you." Nearly everybody said, perfectly in agreement.
She sighed. "Honestly, if I'd known what that thing was really like, I would have tried to figure something else out." She shook her head. "But... we made good time, right?" She asked Tyson and Percy, who both groaned, but couldn't exactly disagree.
(She threw her... and disappeared.)
"Oh, now what?" Reyna asked, watching the Greeks reactions warily. She was curious, though, about just what she was up to.
"Just wait." Annabeth said.
(For a moment... from the ooze.)
"That's new." A few muttered, looking intrigued.
"This should be interesting." Ares muttered to Aphrodite with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and backhanded his arm with a laugh.
"Don't be mean." She tried to scold, but her twitching lips gave it away. Hephaestus saw them and just scowled.
(It was a taxi... right through it.)
"Unfortunately, it's very solid." Percy grumbled.
"Why is that unfortunate?" Jason asked, amused.
"Because if it wasn't, we wouldn't have had to ride in it." Annabeth answered with a grimace.
"This is your idea." Leo reminded her.
"Yeah, I know. After sitting in that taxi for a few minutes, though, I was already regretting it." She shook her head, then punched Percy on the shoulder suddenly. "You didn't help, either." She accused.
"Sorry! It was information we needed to know!" He defended himself.
(There were words... like GYAR SSIRES-)
Perseus paused and stared at the last two words for a moment. "Is that how you see words?" He asked, never having had a problem with dyslexia since he never even heard of English while he was still alive, and he didn't have that problem as a spirit.
"Don't know, what's it say?" Percy asked, getting up to see for himself. "Oh, that. Yeah, that looks about right." He muttered.
Perseus gave him another look before mangling the word in his attempt to pronounce it as written.
Poseidon had to hide his grin. "I believe that is the Gray Sisters taxi." He revealed to those that didn't already know it from it's description.
"I don't care how desperate we are in the future, never again." Percy said firmly, to Annabeth's agreement.
"Not that we ever would, if we need to, you can whistle for Blackjack. He's really good at knowing when he needs to bring along a few friends if you need them." Annabeth reminded him. Mrs. O'Leary barked behind her. "Or we can call Mrs. O'Leary." She smiled and rubbed the dog's ears.
"Thankfully." Percy muttered.
(but my dyslexia... a shot of Novocain.)
"Uh, do you really want to get in a cab like that?" Sally asked nervously.
"They know better then to do that." Hermes said sharply. They knew that if they tried... "She probably doesn't have the tooth." He shrugged, and ignored the confused looks from those who didn't know anything about the Gray sisters, which was just the youngest kids. The older kids knew about them, but it was clear they'd never had the pleasure of riding in their cab.
("Passage? Passage?"... completely normal.)
"If this is normal..." Reyna muttered. Why did it seem like the Greeks got all the perks and all this other stuff?
Then again, if she went hunting for anything about these 'Gray Sisters', she would probably find records of them being rejected by Roman society for something or other. They probably weren't military enough for their ancestors to acknowledge. They barely even acknowledged Minerva, after all. She knew there were many practices that the Roman empire did away with when they adopted the Greek gods as their own.
("Ach!" the old... take his kind!")
"Rude!" Most of the room complained, assuming she was talking about Tyson.
"What is with everybody picking on Tyson today?" Gwen asked Dakota. It seemed like everybody was, Sloan and the other bullies, the giants, Annabeth, now this lady!
"Guys... Tyson wasn't the most... accepted until probably the end of the book." Percy said with a sigh, knowing that those who weren't there, would have much more to complain about once they reached camp. "Can we not comment on it every time somebody says or does something? We won't get through this book otherwise." He pleaded. Looking around, he could see those who were there looking down in shame, and he knew that he himself wasn't exempt from that.
That didn't stop Poseidon from making a mental note to visit those three, even if part of their aversion towards Cyclops was the mess they'd had to clean up the last time one got motion sick in their cab.
(She pointed a... Ugly-Kids-Day?)
Percy winced. "Sorry." He said immediately to Tyson, who waved him off without worrying about it.
Sally gave him a Look, but didn't say anything about it.
("Extra pay,"... on arrival.")
"Didn't you just tell Percy you only had the one?" Nico asked, eyeing Annabeth. She turned red.
"I was going to borrow them from Chiron." She defended herself, with a sheepish look in Chiron's direction. "I was planning on paying him back, honest." Not that that was even needed in the end, of course.
("Done!" the woman... then most taxies.)
"Not even a mythological taxi can have good seats?" Will deadpanned.
"Nope, apparently not." Annabeth shrugged. She needed to work on her observation more, she hadn't even noticed all this.
"I don't think it matters what kind of taxi it is, the seats will always be cracked and uncomfortable." Hermes smirked.
(There was no... one old lady.)
"Did you just now notice that?" Rachel asked, amused.
He stuck his tongue out, not answering otherwise.
(There were three... sackcloth dress.)
Aphrodite grimaced, no matter how many times she tried to convince them into a make-over or a shopping trip with her for new clothes, they always refused. They were some of the few beings that she couldn't bully into it, too.
(The one driving... fare bonus! Ha!")
"Bonus that they never got paid." Annabeth murmured to Percy with a snort.
"I don't think they cared at that moment." Percy commented lightly. They were more worried about getting rid of him, he thought.
(She floored the... the backrest.)
Paul and Sally both blanched while Apollo winced and studied Percy's head with a practiced eye, even though it happened years ago. Hermes wordlessly grumbled, thinking that he needed to reteach those three how to drive.
Again.
"I get the feeling this is going to be interesting." Nico smirked, glancing at Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson.
"Oh, it was interesting, alright." Annabeth mumbled.
(A prerecorded... always buckle up!)
"Ugh, that sounds like one of those stupid video's teachers make you watch about proper behavior." Leo grumbled, disgusted. He should know, he was court-ordered to several schools like that before he just ran away again. The perky voice, the way of talking like you're a little kid... he hated it.
"It did sound annoying." Percy agreed.
"Maybe that's why they fight and argue all the time, they have to listen to that every time they pick up a fare." Annabeth muttered. Not that she imagined they had many of those, she doubted anybody would ever want to ride with them unless they absolutely had to, and never more then once, although she also knew that her and Percy's trip was more... exciting then most probably had it.
(I looked down... desperate... yet.)
"Good choice." Somebody muttered, frowning at everything they heard about this cab. That didn't sound any safer then not wearing one at all.
"What kind of cab is this?"
"The kind I am never getting in again." Percy deadpanned.
(The cab sped around... driver complained.)
"I'm sorry, did the person driving the car just ask for the eye?" Jason asked in disbelief. That didn't mean what it sounded like... right? Everybody else was apprehensive while Hermes narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah... yes she did." Percy confirmed, glaring at Annabeth for putting him through this in the first place.
"It was the fastest way." She said again.
(Wait a minute. Give her the eye?)
"Feeling nervous yet?" Clarisse laughed, smirking.
"Very." Percy was man enough to admit it.
"Good." She'd heard some things about that taxi, mostly from Annabeth and Percy complaining about it and vowing 'never again'.
(I didn't have... the next block.)
"I'm so glad you know how to drive now." Paul muttered. If he'd ever caught a hint of Percy driving like this, the boy would have never been allowed to touch his car, let alone drive it. Although, knowing that there were drivers like this out there wasn't very comforting. Especially since he was pretty sure the Mist would be covering them from sight, meaning they could wreck you and you would literally never see it coming.
"Thanks for teaching me, by the way." Percy said suddenly, not sure if he'd ever thanked his step-father for that. Paul smiled and waved him off.
"To my knowledge, they have never actually crashed or caused a wreck." Hermes assured the room. That didn't mean he wasn't going to put them through driver's ed again, though.
Poseidon, on the other hand, eyed Tyson in concern. This taxi was perhaps the worst possible mode of transport they could have put his Cyclops son onto.
("Wasp!" the third... to bite it.")
"Why?" Somebody asked, confused.
"It's the main method used for being able to tell if the coin is real gold or not." Annabeth answered promptly. "I don't know why she wanted to bite it, though, one would think they could tell a real Drachma." She grumbled. She'd never heard of a counterfeit problem on Olympus, at least.
"How would they bite it, anyway? They only have one tooth." Percy muttered, frowning. "Wouldn't that hurt their gums?"
"...Don't worry about it." Annabeth decided after a few moments thought.
("You bit it last... "It's my turn!")
"Knowing them, it probably was actually Anger's turn." Hermes informed the room helpfully.
"Yeah, especially if it's Anger and Wasp that are the ones going at it. There's a reason Tempest usually stays between those two, unless she's the one driving." Apollo agreed.
("Is not!" yelled... floored the accelerator)
Jaws dropped, and Hermes groaned. "Oh, yeah, those three are not driving again until I reteach them how to." He rubbed his face with his hands.
He would just ban them from driving all together, but he couldn't actually do that... those three were kind of Oracle's themselves, except it was constant instead of the occasional prophecy or premonition like with Rachel and those before her.
So, he couldn't ban them from driving. Not if he didn't want them predicting events and manipulating them to be very... uncomfortable for him. They had, and they would.
(and rode up on... a newspaper box.)
"Oh, I bet the mortals loved that." Paul muttered, then made a face as he referred to other humans as if he wasn't one. He'd been around the gods and their children for the last few days with only Sally and Rachel, but even Rachel identified more with them now, as their Oracle.
"The Mist would have covered up the true cause for it falling." Hermes muttered, scowling. Well, at least it wasn't a wreck.
(She left my stomach... on Broome Street.)
"You mean it kept up with you for that long?" Annabeth joked. She was sure hers had been left back on that corner where she summoned the cab in the first place.
"Of course. It doesn't go anywhere without me." Percy patted his stomach seriously.
"Boys." She rolled her eyes. Men and their stomachs, honestly.
("Excuse me," I said. "But... can you see?")
"A very valid question." Katie commented.
"Between their driving, and the argument..." Travis trailed off. He and his brother were currently debating if ever taking this taxi would be awesome, or if it was going to be too horrifying for even them. They were starting to lean towards not even bothering.
("No!" screamed... behind the wheel.)
"Um... that cannot be safe." Leo deadpanned, eyes wide.
"It's not." Percy and Tyson both informed the room with scowls.
Hermes sighed. "How many times have I told them? The person driving needs to be the one with the eye." He groaned, rubbing his face with his hands again, exasperated.
"I don't think you're ever going to get through to them." Apollo patted him on the back. "They are the definition of sibling rivalry." He grimaced. He didn't think he'd ever heard a conversation between those three where they weren't fighting over something, usually who had the eye or tooth that day.
("No!" screamed... the shotgun window.)
"Do those three know the meaning of 'inside voices'?" Sally deadpanned. Every time they were written to be opening their mouths, they were described as yelling, screaming, screeching...
"No. No they do not." Poseidon answered, amused despite himself. He knew that the three weren't actually in any danger with the Sisters, like Hermes said, they'd never actually wrecked.
Percy narrowed his eyes at his father. "So glad you're enjoying my suffering." He drawled, unimpressed. Poseidon grinned at his son.
(I looked at Annabeth. "They're blind?")
"Yes, and no." Apollo answered.
"I explained." Annabeth said before he could continue. He nodded.
("Not completely,"... have an eye.")
"So... they're Cyclops?" Piper asked slowly. She didn't remember reading anything about these three in her and her dads research into Greek myths. No, that couldn't be right. If they were, then why did they try to make such a big deal out of Tyson?
"Not exactly." Percy said simply.
("One eye?"
"Yeah."
"Each?")
Percy sighed. "Wishful thinking." He muttered.
"You would think you would have learned by now." Annabeth teased lightly, grinning. Things in the Greek world weren't always as they appeared, and usually not how one would prefer in the slightest.
("No. One eye total.")
"So... Anger is the only one of them with an eye, and Wasp is the one driving." Paul said slowly, trying to make sure he had this right.
"It's a bit more complicated then that, but yes. That's the general gist of it. Believe it or not, but they used to have two eyes each, and a full mouth of teeth. Don't ask what happened to them, I actually have no clue." Athena admitted. She couldn't find anything in the records and those who were there wouldn't tell her. She just knew that she'd overheard a few references to when they lost those eyes and teeth.
Hades, Zeus, and Poseidon glanced at each other, shuddered, and telepathically renewed their vows to never speak of it.
(Next to me... feeling so good.")
"Oh, boy." Poseidon and Triton both muttered, suddenly tense while Amphitrite glanced at Tyson in concern.
"This might get messy..." Triton continued slowly, hoping they weren't about to read about a Cyclops getting motion sick. That was not something he ever wanted to witness or hear described again.
("Oh, man." I... within fifty feet of.)
"Agreed." Poseidon and Triton both said at once.
"It's a Cyclops thing in general, just with land-based transportation, though. Naturally, their perfectly fine on the sea." At least, those Cyclops who were children of Poseidon were. But considering that most Cyclops could claim Poseidon as their father, that statement didn't really mean much.
"Looking back, it was actually kind of hilarious, especially the girl's reactions." Percy mused. Tyson shrugged. When Tyson said he wasn't feeling well, Percy had tried to get a teacher's attention, but they all brushed him off.
("Hang in there... or something?")
"I'm going to guess no."
"Hey, doesn't Annabeth have her bag?"
"He was not using my bag!" Annabeth protested this just like she did back then.
"That's better then it going everywhere." Thalia pointed out, making her grimace and reluctantly agree.
(The three gray... this-to-me look.)
"He's gotten very good at that look over the years." Clarisse claimed. Annabeth was it's most frequent recipient, but she herself had been on the receiving end of it several times.
"Well, you guys seem to enjoy putting me in crazy situations like this one." Percy shrugged.
("Hey," she said... way to camp.")
"We should have still found another way." Percy grumbled. Although, if they had, then the border patrol unit would have been crushed and those two mechanical bulls would have rampaged through camp...
"Hey, we got there in fifteen minutes. That drive is normally an hour, two hours depending on traffic." Annabeth defended herself.
Percy grumbled some more.
("Then why... it from Virginia?")
"They only serve New York city and the closer surrounding communities. Virginia is a little outside their area." Hestia said with a small smile.
Perseus let out a small laugh and kept reading.
("That's outside... should be obvious.)
"Is there anything obvious about anything to do with the Greeks?" Reyna questioned. She thought it was a legitimate question, after all. After all, why would a taxi driven by three sisters straight out of mythology be limited to one service area?
"Mostly." Most of the Greeks answered her. They were a pretty straight-forward people, to be honest.
("They only serve... You remember him?")
"Uh..." Jason started slowly, thinking back if he'd ever been in New York before being kidnapped.
"Not you, Jason. Other Jason from a few thousand years ago." Percy said with a shrug.
"Ah." He'd been wondering if he was still having memory problems, he had thought that he had all his memories back. A trip to New York, probably on official business or a quest, would have been a rather large thing to miss, after all, unless the gods Greek aspects had deliberately removed those memories entirely, of course.
"I don't think they had a cab back then." Clarisse muttered to Chris, who shrugged.
("Don't remind me!" Wasp wailed.)
"Whoa... did he do something?" Jason asked, not liking the way that sounded.
Perseus and Theseus glanced at each other. They remembered this. They also remembered that it had not been pretty. Them losing their eye had caused problems with the Oracle, Zeus was mad, the spirit of the lake he threw it into was mad... needless to say there was some unrest until that eye was found again, years later.
"You could say that." Was all Theseus said, and let Perseus keep reading.
("And we didn't... years ago!")
"Their driving abilities haven't changed much in those three thousand years." Hermes muttered. Whether it was a chariot, a hansom cab, or a car, they still couldn't drive worth anything. No matter how many lessons he put them through.
("Give me the... hand away.)
"Normally when people have a 'kindergarten fight', it's over a toy that they want and somebody else has." Paul said blankly, blinking.
"Not a tooth..." Sally finished slowly.
"They're unique." Hermes shrugged.
("Only if Tempest gives me the eye!")
"Wait a minute... I thought Anger said she had the eye."* Travis said suddenly. "Didn't she?" He asked Perseus, who blinked, but went back through the book and read it carefully.
"You're right." He said, shocked. Somebody made a mistake. "When they first started driving, Anger was giving the directions. Then Tempest warned about the red light. Then when Percy asked if they could see, Anger said yes, the other's said no. Then Anger was giving the directions. Then Tempest gave a few. Now Wasp is demanding the eye from Tempest?" He asked, and looked up.
"Maybe Wasp didn't know who actually had it?" Piper suggested.
"But then why would Tempest and Anger have been going back and forth with the directions? Tempest gave a few directions, too." Jason reminded her.
"Ok... either whoever wrote this made a mistake, or we're missing something." Reyna declared, and suggested they keep reading, maybe it would resolve itself.
Sally and Paul chose not to get involved in this conversation, not even wanting to think about an eyeball being passed among the three sisters like it was a cellphone being shared among them.
("No!" Tempest... you old hag!")
"That's a pretty good reason for her to have the eye today." Paul suggested helpfully.
At least, it was a pretty good reason to him. Everyone else seemed to agree, thankfully.
("Excuses! Turn! That was your turn!")
"If she had the eye, she would have known that." Rachel deadpanned, disturbed. She actually thought she remembered seeing this taxi around New York. The more this ride was described, the more familiar the erratic driving sounded.
"If they were focused on the road more then their argument, she wouldn't have missed the turn." Will commented.
"Oh, they always argue like this." Apollo waved off. "I would say it's their favorite thing to do." He shrugged.
"It's almost the only thing they do." Hermes muttered, rolling his eyes.
(Wasp swerved hard... miles an hour.)
"Well... the traffic shouldn't be too bad at this time of day..." Sally said, doubtful. The bridge was usually packed with traffic going in and out of the city, especially in the morning and at night when people were going to and from work.
This was around the time school was just getting out by now, so it shouldn't be too bad. Because going that fast on a packed bridge was just asking for trouble.
"They know what they're doing." Hermes reluctantly said. Again, not that that would stop him from putting them through classes again.
(The three sisters... grab at Tempest's.)
"Are you sure they know what they're doing?" Connor asked his dad, eyeing him.
Hermes slapped his face, exasperated.
"Are they ever going to not fight?" Apollo wondered.
"Doubtful." Artemis muttered. They fought more then she and Apollo did on their worst days, and that was saying something.
(With their hair... yellow incisor.)
Aphrodite moaned and grimaced in disgust. There was a reason she avoided those three when she wasn't trying to convince them to let her give them a make-over.
"That's disgusting." Piper grimaced.
"Tell me about it." Will muttered, as a Healer, he actually found it mildly offensive, especially since they obviously weren't taking very good care of it.
(Instead of eyes... of anything it saw.)
"That would be accurate." Apollo commented with a shrug.
"It's one eye doing the work of six, at the end of the day." Hermes muttered.
"Creepy." The demigods all deadpanned, not really caring about the eye itself, just knowing that they didn't have any interest in seeing it for themselves.
(Finally Anger... of sight,)
"There it is again." Travis said, frowning.
"Alright, we know somebody messed up when writing this, let's just let it go." Perseus sighed, not wanting to get into it again.
(managed to yank... Wasp's mouth.)
"That is just disgusting."
"Wouldn't that be painful?" Gwen asked, holding her hand over her mouth as if to protect her teeth.
"They're probably so used to it doesn't even register." Apollo shrugged, not knowing.
(This made Wasp... his stomach.)
"Oh, dear." Triton muttered, grimacing.
"I'm surprised he hasn't already been sick." Poseidon commented, making Tyson turn red, causing Percy to pat him on the arm.
It wasn't his fault he got motion sick, honestly.
("Uh, if anybody's... going to die!")
"Agreed!" Most of the demigods called out.
"Now, nobody is going to die. They've never actually had an accident." Hermes repeated himself.
"I can guarantee that nobody has actually died in that cab." Hades confirmed. Nobody had ever come to his realm because of that, at least.
("Don't worry,"... pretty worried.)
"When you tell somebody not to worry, it's usually best that you yourself don't sound worried." Nico advised, amused.
("The Gray Sisters... very wise.")
"If you call that wise..." Jason said, doubtfully, referring to their constant arguing and yelling.
"They are actually." Athena agreed with her daughter reluctantly. She didn't like the Gray Sisters much. "They may not get along, but they know many things."
"Don't let their behavior fool you." Apollo advised.
(This coming from... the East River.)
"Well, at least if you go over the railing, you know you'll all survive." Luke said doubtfully, then promptly shut up when he saw the glares from some of the council and the hurt and betrayed looks from the younger demigods.
"That didn't even cross my mind, and it's actually not that comforting." Percy frowned. It was true, though, he wouldn't have had a problem pulling anybody out of the water, assuming he was conscious, anyway.
"It was a comfort to me." Annabeth muttered. It had actually crossed her mind, especially when Percy was using the eye as a bargaining chip.
("Yes, wise!" Anger... Tempest added.)
The courtyard fell into shocked silence, any levity and joking about the Sisters bad driving gone at the suddenness of that statement.
"Ok, back to the real world." Rachel muttered.
"What location? Did you know you were seeking a location?" Will asked Percy.
"Not then. The only place I was interested in going was camp." Percy said before he glanced at Grover.
"Then how..." Katie started to ask.
"The Gray Sisters are kind of like the Oracle. Only they can't necessarily turn it off or on, not like Rachel kind of can." Apollo explained, looking at Percy, considering.
"Since when could I turn it on or off?" Rachel muttered, rolling her eyes. It was more like the Spirit of Delphi hijacked her body whenever she had something to say.
Thankfully it hadn't happened during math class yet because the teacher asked a question.
(Immediately her... even ask yet!")
"How are you supposed to ask when you didn't even know you were seeking something?" Rachel asked suspiciously. Yeah, that was the same way she generally worked, but that was when somebody was going on a quest and needed a prophecy or something to know where to start.
"They didn't want him asking at all." Chiron said grimly, used to how the Gray Sisters worked. Even if Percy had asked, they would have still tried to find a way out of it.
"But then how is he supposed to know where to go?" Piper asked, frustrated with them.
"He's not." Perseus sighed, frowning.
("What?" I said... It's nothing!")
"Oh, well now you've got him curious."
"He's not going to drop it."
Annabeth snorted. "He was curious as soon as she mentioned knowing what we were looking for." She rolled her eyes before glaring at Percy.
"What? She wouldn't tell me." Percy shrugged. She sighed and shook her head fondly while Chiron inwardly groaned at hearing that phrase again in connection with the Gray Sisters.
("Tell me."
"No!"... lake!" Anger agreed.)
Theseus and Perseus winced. "That would have been Jason." Theseus said carefully, eyeing his uncle.
"It was not pretty..." Perseus shuddered.
"Always impatient, that one." Chiron muttered, scowling. "Had a temper, too. He was angry that they didn't just tell him what he needed to know, so, after they finally told him, he threw it in the lake anyway, even though he'd promised to give it back afterward." He explained, and glanced at Zeus in concern. He wasn't sure about the blank mask he could see on the King's face right now.
A few of his students glanced at Percy, recognizing the similarities between Jason and what Percy just told Annabeth while Percy turned red.
("Years to find... Wasp moaned.)
"Those years were full of chaos." Chiron groaned just remembering it.
"We managed though... even though I was the one helping them search. That wasn't a small lake, after all." Theseus grumbled. That lake's spirit wasn't exactly helping, either. After five years of searching for it, he discovered that the spirit had it the whole time and was just being difficult.
("And speaking... give it back!")
"They can't be distracted for long, can they?" Dakota snorted, amused.
"They sound like me and my sister half the time." Reyna muttered, rolling her eyes. At least since they split up, her to Camp Jupiter and Hylla to the Amazon's.
"One track mind, those three." Apollo commented casually. Especially when it came to which of them had the eye or tooth for the day.
("No!" yelled Anger... on the back.)
"Isn't Tempest between them? How is she arguing and physically fighting with her sister and not crashing?" Travis demanded, confused.
"Experience and practice." Nearly all of the Council said at the same time.
"Never again." Percy whispered to Annabeth, giving her a look. She grimaced but nodded in agreement.
(There was a... into my lap.)
"Oh, gross!"
"That is so disgusting!"
"I didn't even see that part." Annabeth muttered, face screwed up in disgust.
"Not even on my top ten list of disgusting things that happened to me." Percy deadpanned.
"You have a list?" Piper asked, disgusted.
"You don't?" Nearly all the demigods from the future, Greek and Roman, asked. They dealt with monsters on a daily basis, stuff happened.
"Ignoring how disgusting that is for the moment." Hermes cut in. "All three of the sisters are now blind and driving a car at high speeds." He said bluntly, bringing everybodies focus back to what he considered to be the important part of the last few sentences.
Everybody was silent as the worry and tension levels sky-rocketed for the moment.
"Please don't be like Jason..." Chiron quietly whimpered. After all, they refused to tell him something moments before he got his hands on their eye.
(I jumped so hard... three sisters yelled.)
"Not good." Nearly everybody muttered.
Some thought it was just because they were currently behind the wheel of a car, and were now blinded. Others knew that if they couldn't see where they were going... well. They were all dead, whether they physically crashed or not.
("Give me the eye!" Wasp wailed.)
"Give it to her!" Everybody was in complete agreement with that plan.
"Yeah, Percy. Give her the eye." Annabeth scowled at him.
"Er... sorry?" He asked, making Chiron groan. Well, they were here, obviously the three of them lived, so clearly he gave it to her eventually, but...
("Give her the eye!"... not picking that up!")
"You know, if the situation weren't so dire, this would be hilarious." Leo muttered to Piper, who snorted and nodded her agreement.
"Maybe, but it's still pretty bad." She whispered back with a smirk, blinking innocently at Percy and Annabeth when they looked at them in suspicion.
(The taxi slammed... from the strain.)
Hephaestus winced. That car was made of shadow, it could only take so much 'damage' before it couldn't hold it's shape anymore. The Sisters put enough strain on it with their driving style without doing more damage.
"Could it really dissolve?" Piper asked, not knowing his thoughts.
"Yes." Dionysus grunted, flipping a page on his newest magazine.
("Going to be sick!" Tyson warned.)
"I'm surprised he hasn't lost it yet." Triton muttered, making Poseidon nod in agreement.
"Annabeth's bag is the only one around." Somebody muttered.
"He isn't using my bag." Annabeth promised, giving Percy a dark look for even suggesting it.
"Better he use your bag then we end up wearing it." He shot back.
("Annabeth," I... Get the eye!")
"While his sanity levels are questionable," Thalia started, and ignored Percy's protests, making everybody else snicker. "Right now the biggest threat he sees is Tyson getting sick all over the two of you."
"Always a valid concern with Cyclops." Amphitrite muttered, rolling her eyes at her husband and son.
"I still wasn't about to let him use my bag." Annabeth deadpanned. "He was fine." She didn't truly understand the scope of what Percy was trying to avoid, or why Poseidon and Triton were so concerned about it as well.
Percy shuddered. "By some miracle." He muttered.
"Sorry." Tyson apologized, not knowing what else to do.
"Not your fault, big guy." Percy patted his arm.
(Wasp yanked the... any human taxi.)
"You're not exactly in a human taxi." Hephaestus finally spoke up, grim. There were many things about the Gray Sisters 'taxi' that nobody else knew about, and they never would if he had any say in it.
"Yeah, we noticed." Percy muttered.
(The Gray Sisters... for their eye.)
"None of them even have it, and their still fighting?" Piper asked in disbelief. Not even her sisters were like this on their worst days! And her sisters could all be a bunch of catty diva's if they wanted to be.
"Oh, yeah. They'll probably still be fighting each other when the world is ending." Apollo said cheerfully. Thankfully his relationship with Artemis was much better then this, despite their own arguments with each other.
"It's what they do." Hermes shrugged.
"They need new hobbies." Reyna muttered.
(At last I steeled... off the floor.)
"Gross." The girls said again.
"Maybe, but necessary." Percy countered.
"At least you didn't pick it up with your hands." Clarisse muttered. Even she found that to be just a little too much.
("Nice boy!" Anger... missing peeper.)
"Ok, how?" Jason asked, a little creeped out.
"After it was recovered from being thrown in the lake, they had enchantments placed on it so they could easily find it should such a thing ever happen again." Artemis explained, surprising people as she hadn't spoken in a while.
"But how did they know it was in Percy's hands?" Piper asked, confused on that.
"It's part of the enchantments." Poseidon shrugged, not sure how they worked beyond that and not really interested, to be honest. That was Hecate's area of expertise. Not his or the rest of the council's, even if they all had their areas of expertise when it came to magic and enchanting.
("Give it back!"
"Not until you explain,")
All of the council groaned while the older demigods sighed in resignation.
"You have horrible timing." Clarisse informed Percy dryly.
"I wanted answers. They can't dangle something like that in front of somebody and then expect them to just drop it!" Percy defended himself.
"Guys, any one of us would have probably done the same." Annabeth defended Percy, even though she agreed with them. They admitted that she had a point, but still.
(I told her. "What... cried. "Accelerating!")
"You might want to give her the eye now." Poseidon suggested helpfully.
"If they don't know where they are going, they will just continue going instead of hitting the brake." Apollo informed those that didn't know.
"Accelerating?" Piper asked, confused.
"She had her foot on the gas, she'll keep it there." Hermes grimaced.
(I looked out the... of Long Island.)
"Just how fast were you going?" Clarisse demanded, shocked.
"Pretty fast." Percy said, frowning. "I think Blackjack could have kept up with us, though." He muttered to Annabeth, who looked at him incredulously.
"Seriously?" She deadpanned. He nodded, completely serious. She sighed and shook her head fondly.
"That doesn't answer the question of just how fast." Leo pointed out, missing Percy and Annabeth's conversation completely.
"I wasn't exactly looking at the speedometer at this point." Percy deadpanned. He wasn't sure if the speedometer would have even registered the speeds they were going, anyway.
("Percy," Annabeth warned... a million pieces.")
"That's bad."
Leo whistled, impressed. "That takes some serious speed."
"Forget answers, give them the eye!"
"Why does he do this?" Thalia wondered. She'd seen Percy do this several times that she could remember.
"Guys, we're right here. I gave it to them." Percy sighed.
"Last minute." Annabeth muttered. Percy shrugged. He still gave it to them, didn't he?
("First they have... oncoming traffic.")
"Oh, that would be even worse then the lake!" Theseus groaned. "And I thought it being lost for a few years was chaos."
"At least then it was still intact." Perseus agreed with a grimace. "Here, that might not be the case."
"Ok, what was so chaotic about them losing their eye?" Clarisse demanded, confused on that point.
They looked at each other before Theseus sighed. "We already said that they were kind of like Oracle's in their own right? Well, they use that eye to see the future. All oracle's are... connected. Their powers are interwoven, when one is having... issues, the others are affected as well." The Seven glanced at each other, remembering what had recently started to happen in the months before Apollo showed up mortal. "So, yeah. It was a chaotic few years until they had their eye back, and therefore their full powers."
("No!" the Gray... "Too dangerous!")
"At this point, I think it would be more dangerous for them not to tell." Piper frowned, wondering why they were still refusing to tell Percy.
Percy frowned, and glanced at Annabeth. "You think they knew what else was going on?" He asked, gesturing towards Luke, referring to his plan of using the Fleece to speed up Kronos' return.
"Most likely." She shrugged. He hummed.
("I'm rolling down the window.")
"Were you really?" Reyna asked, interested. Maybe he did have the ruthlessness of a Roman soldier after all.
"My hand was on the handle, but no." Percy admitted. "I preferred not breaking into pieces."
"Still, the threat of it was effective." Annabeth scowled for a moment after forcing herself to admit it. The timing of it wasn't the best, of course, but...
("Wait!" The Gray... "30, 31, 75, 12!")
"Numbers?" Clarisse asked. "All that for a few numbers?" She demanded in disgust.
"That's where they came from." Clarisse said in realization, recognizing those numbers.
"What?" The younger group asked at once, wondering what she was talking about. Did those numbers actually mean something?
"Those are coordinates." Poseidon said, recognizing them as the coordinates for where his son lived in the Sea of Monsters.
"What could he be seeking there?" Grover wondered quietly, frowning. Grover bit his lip, but didn't say anything.
(They belted it... "That makes no sense!")
"Agreed." Most of the room agreed.
"It will make more sense later." Annabeth promised. Even if she hadn't gotten it at first when Percy first figured it out, which wasn't surprising.
("30, 31, 75, 12!"... can tell you.)
"It really is." Apollo mentioned, almost sounding apologetic. "They've told you where to start, now you just have to figure it out."
"That's the way it works." Rachel agreed, shrugging. If they just gave all the answers, then nobody would learn. They wouldn't be considered quests anymore, or adventures. It would be 'go here, do this, come back'. Where would the challenge be?
"Sometimes I really wish it was simpler." Percy muttered.
"Really?" Annabeth asked.
"I said sometimes, didn't I?"
(Now give us... to camp!")
"You know, for somebody that can't see where they're going, and haven't for the last how many miles, they sure know where they are." Luke risked commenting.
"Huh... ya know? You're right." Percy narrowed his eyes at the book while everyone else looked wary and thoughtful.
"I doubt this is the first trip out to Camp that they've ever made." Annabeth suggested. "They probably just know how far it is and how far they've traveled." She shrugged.
"Still." Percy said.
(We were off... of a fallen hero.)
"How many times is that going to be brought up?" Thalia groaned.
"Considering which book this is, probably a lot more by the end of it." Percy pointed out. Luke looked away, not able to face her right now.
"You might want to give them the eye now." Chiron suggested helpfully. They weren't going to stop otherwise.
("Percy!" Annabeth... not to argue.)
"For once."
Percy scowled and turned all his attention to Mrs. O'Leary with a huff, muttering about traitors.
(I threw the eye... a contact lens,)
Jason shuddered. "I don't think I'm getting contacts, anymore." He muttered.
Percy laughed. "Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad." He grinned.
"Compared to some of his other descriptions, that's fairly mild." Piper pointed out to her boyfriend. He shrugged.
(and blinked. "Whoa!"... of Half-Blood Hill.)
Everybody sighed in relief that they were safe.
"Now that that's over. What's wrong with camp?" Beckendorf turned his attention back to what caused them to take that death-trap in the first place.
"That year? Where do we start?" Percy asked sarcastically.
"Percy. They'll read about it soon enough." Annabeth rolled her eyes.
(Tyson let loose a huge belch. "Better now.")
There were some chuckles while Poseidon sighed in relief, surprised. "I'm surprised he held it together." He said, smiling proudly at his son, who turned red at the attention.
"So was I." Percy muttered.
"Good thing he did." Triton shook his head.
("All right," I... numbers mean.")
"You're not going to give that up, are you?" Jason asked, amused.
"I wasn't going to, no." Percy shrugged. If it weren't for Annabeth and those bulls, he would have stayed in that cab grilling them for answers until he got them.
"He's stubborn like that." Sally chimed in, smiling at her son.
"I prefer 'persistent'." He corrected with a scowl.
"Stubborn." His group of demigods said at once, deepening his scowl, at least until Annabeth laughed and whispered something in his ear that made him grin lopsidedly.
("No time!"... to get out now.")
"I know you probably want out of that thing, but what's the rush? Let him get answers." Leo said, frowning.
"No time for that. We had other problems." She said, a little annoyed. Clarisse pursed her lips, but didn't say anything.
"They wouldn't have given him any more answers, anyway." Apollo waved off, curious to see what had Annabeth so concerned.
(I was about to... under attack.)
"That's the chapter." Perseus said quickly, looking up and eyeing the future Greeks.
"I hate cliff-hangers." Leo deadpanned.
"Then it's a good thing we're not stopping, isn't it?" Rachel asked, plucking the book from Perseus' hand and sitting down with it before anybody else could volunteer to read.
"What could be attacking?" Connor asked his group of demigods quietly, concerned.
Beckendorf bit his lip, but didn't have an answer for them. There were many monsters that could be attacking. The fact that a group of demigods had gone out to chase it off was what concerned him, normally if a monster came up to the barrier they just kept an eye on it but otherwise let it be, as long as they weren't aware of any demigods incoming with their protector. For them to have to drive it off...
Chapter four: Tyson Plays with Fire
*So... I discovered a fairly large error in the original text of the chapter. When the Sisters started going at it over who got the eye, Anger said that she had it when Percy asked if they could see. And then a few paragraphs later, Wasp demanded that Tempest give her the eye, and then started grabbing at Tempest's face to get it. Then a few paragraphs later it said that Anger 'had the advantage of sight', indicating she had the eye. And even before, Tempest was the one to tell Wasp that there was a red light, even though Anger screamed to brake. Then when Percy actually saw it, it was in Anger's face. And then when the eye went flying, it was because Wasp slapped Anger on the back and it came out, but Tempest was between the two of them, and Wasp had been demanding it from her, not Anger.
So now I'm really confused about just which one actually had the eye. Or maybe it's just the Kindle copy of the book I'm currently going off of, I don't know.