Zane Williams and The Gods of Olympus

by thesuperone342

Ever felt like Jason Grace is a complete disappointment and a failure to what a son of Zeus should be? Ever feel like Thalia was a waste and was thrown away too quickly? Well, this is the fanfiction for you. Join Zane Williams on his quest to be the strongest. Current Arc: The Last Olympian. Yaoi. (Anime Elements/AU) [Bad First Chapter, Needs Rewrite]

4. Gorgons, Chimeras, Echidnas, Oh My!

Chapter 4 boys. Some things before we begin.

If it feels like I'm just copying things from the book and adding Zane in it, you're right about the last couple of chapters. I feel like I could be doing more and changing more stuff, so expect some stuff to be different to the book.

Yeah, short one this time. The only reviews I got are here:

Echoxenvy 1: Nice chapter as always. And yes he was conceived by Hercules' Roman version of himself, so he is Roman. But the fact that he is at Camp Half Blood and not Camp Jupiter means nothing since the ending of Blood Of Olympus. Anyway, love the story so far, we should do a Zane/Matt crossover when our stories are done. I feel like Zane is a little stronger though...for now at least.

Echoxenvy 2: I saw your latest comment, and thanks. Malachi is an interesting case and I think everyone will be a little surprised at what he is. Also I accept your challenge, and then we will have them fight in a crossover story maybe lol.

Response: Thanks, man. Since I haven't read Blood of Olympus yet, I didn't know that. Thanks for clearing it up for me. About the crossover, heh your story may be done a lot quicker than mine. I plan to do all of the Percy Jackson series, Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo. Also a God of War crossover for the final arc which will be very, very long. I'm thinking well over a million words for this story. Lets hope I last that long lmao.

Born In The Second Generation: I believe in the Femboy Supremacy.

Response: Hell yeah, brother. Another man of culture.

Shadowhunter2077: I think you already know this but i have to say this because you said that percy jackson universe power scaling is weird this happen because is divided in three parts: raw power, skills,strategy. A good example is the battle between percy and ares, despite what fanboys say percy wasthe one outclassed in the fight (i think even percy himself says that in the book) ares was playing with him and is confirmed that he was not even fight seriously, percy only survived because he was close to the water and that insted of fight power vs power he used his head and even that he only menaged to only piss off ares (yes he wounded ares but ares was more in shock than hurt) ares was going to kill percy but kronos stoped him. This show us that percy his strong but to the major gods he is fodder if they want they can kill him and this is also true to the titans because all the titana percy fought were all weaker than they were in the first war, and still were superior to percy ( and during that time he was with the curse of achilles). So i would say that percy at his best is aroud the power of the minor gods powerful but nothing compred to the major gods

Response: Yeah, power, skill and strategy do have an impact on the outcome of fights. But you can't argue that the power scaling is a bit fucked. In Titan's Curse, Percy and Annabeth both held up the sky, which would weigh roughly eleven billion pounds or five and a half million tons. Yet, in Mark of Athena, they had trouble getting the Athena Parthenos on the flying ship. Why didn't Percy just pick the thing up like a sack of potatoes? Annabeth literally held the sky for around three days, if I remember correctly. Explain that. Or when Percy literally completely destroys Polybetes in Son of Neptune using Terminus as a weapon, but has trouble with Otis and Elphialtes (Sorry If I spelled that incorrectly), who are only the anti-Dionysus giants. Polybetes is the anti-Poseidon giant and Percy bodied him. Why did he struggle against two weaker giants, especially when he had Jason by his side? So when I mean by inconsistent power scaling, I mean that kind of shit. We're not going to do that shit here.

Shadowhunter2077 2: Also i think you can scale de olympians as powerful as you want because one thing that always bothered me in the books is that rick never showed just how powerful the gods are. The only thing we know is that if you low-ball them they are as powerful as the god tier from naruto verse (like kaguya) and if you explore the lore they have large star level feats but the problem is that most of those feats is them doing thus as casually as possible so we don't know just how strong they are at their full power. Do this leave a lot of room for authors so if want you can just make them as powerful as their: Marvel, DC or GoW counterparts (but i think in the metter of power GoW is more faithfull to the greek myths when you loke at the lore of the game)

Response: The Olympians will probably either be scaled to regular Percy Jackson lore feats (Around Large Star Level) or they will be scaled to their actual mythology level (High Universe Level). It could be one of those. I honestly will probably scale them to God of War later when the crossover very far in the future that I am planning. I do play to showcase the full power of the gods in this fanfic. You won't have to worry about some people being not properly scaled.

Shadowhunter2077 3: Are you going to include other pantheons, if yes how will they scale from one another, because I'm tired of seeing in fanfiction that everytime a new pantheon appear they are god of gods to the olympians and that the greek pantheon is the weakest of the world

PS: sorry for grammar errors english is not my natural leaguage

Also in just few chapters you gave a leason on how to make a son of zeus, because in most "percy gets betrayed" history the evil son of zeus survived on his own for 16 years that guy should be a god to demigods because he survived and killed monster ever since his 12 years old.

Response: So far, I'm only planning to include the one Riordan has brought into his own verse but I may bring others into it. This is how the strength level will be between Pantheons, strongest to weakest:

Greek/Roman Gods

Norse Gods

Egyptian Gods.

I'll clarify later why that is the case in the closing parts of the chapter, so just bear with me here. Also, I hate those stupid 'Percy gets betrayed and joins the hunt' fanfictions. They are so poorly done and they flood the site and I absolutely hate them so much. They are almost as bad as the Naruto ones.

Okay lets get this shit underway, I got fifteen thousand words to write. Enough bitching from me, lets blow this pop stand.

(Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, but if you couldn't figure that out from the fact that this story is on a fanfiction site, you're fucking retarded.)

(000)

As I entered the gas station, I surveyed the area inside, not only with my eyes, but also my aura sense. As inviting as the smell of hamburgers in the middle of the forest might seem, it's still the smell of hamburgers in the middle of the forest, which was one of the most unlikely things to exist in a forest. This just had to be a trap. Us three demigods stood in an area that could be called a lobby, if your average lobby was completely trashed and unkempt.

Before I could say anything to my fellow demigods, we heard a door close around ten feet away. We quickly looked to our left, tense and ready for a fight. All we saw was a woman. She was wearing a long black gown that covered her entire body except for her hands. It did not however, cover her hourglass figure that could clearly be seen through her gown. Her head was completely covered with a dark veil, making us unable to see a single feature of her face.

I could tell she looked middle eastern from the skin tone of her hands, which were more brown than they were white. Her accent was vaguely middle eastern as well. "Children, what are you doing here? Where are your parents?" She asked us in a kind tone. She sounded like innocent nun, but she also sounded like she was putting up an act. What was here real tone of voice like?

Percy answered for us, as we couldn't come up with anything. "We're...orphans." Great explanation, Percy. Tell the middle eastern lady the reason that we intruded her house was because we were orphans. It's not like we could say anything to his answer, however. At least he actually said something to her rather than stand around like a bunch of wide eyed drongos.

"Oprhans?" The words on the woman's tongue sounded like she was trying to speak a different language. With her possible heritage, maybe she was. "But surely not, dears! Surely not!" So she did know what the word orphan meant. I guess she must of not been completely middle eastern, or she's been here long enough to know the language through and through.

Percy continued with his obviously made up explanation. "We got separated from our caravan." Caravan? What is this, medieval Europe? "Our circus caravan." Percy clarified. Alright, I'll admit that makes a bit more sense. "The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost but he have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station." Percy, that is completely retarded. It's already weird enough that there is a gas station in the middle of the fucking woods, but it would have to be impossible for two gas stations to be here. "Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?" Wow, Percy. We just barged in this woman's home and asked 'Is that food?' Note to self, never let Percy take over diplomacy for this quest ever again.

The woman didn't seem disturbed by Percy's rudeness. "Oh, my dears, you poor children. Yes, that is food you smell, dear. There's a dinning area in the warehouse. Go to the back door and I'll get you settled in." She ushered us out the door of the gas station and closed the door behind us. That was suspicious. Why didn't she just lead us through the gas station to the dinning room? She has to be hiding something. I'll find out what it is.

As we made our way to the back of her warehouse, Annabeth tapped on Percy's shoulder. "Circus caravan?" Annabeth asked as her face scrunched up. Yeah, it didn't paint the best picture in my mind either, Annabeth.

Percy shrugged. "Always gotta have a strategy, right?" He said with a smirk rising on his face. That wasn't strategy, dumbass. It was improvisation. Whatever, like I said earlier, it gets my vote, since it was actually something.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Your brain is full of kelp." That's it, I'm calling her Annabel now. You can't be calling my boy rude names like kelp head or seaweed brain and only expect to be called wise girl back. Percy didn't try to rebuke her her insult as we entered the warehouse.

The warehouse we walked into was filled to the brim with statues. The statues were placed randomly, with no order to them. They were in all sorts of different poses and with different expressions on their face. They honestly looked almost completely realistic, like marble Greek statues in a museum or something. But that wasn't the thing that made me suspicious, no. There were some talented artists out there, realistic statues were not something that put me off. It was the age of the statues.

Or more specifically, the varying age of the statues. Some of the statues looked rather new and pristine, like they were just ordered or created. Others looked incredibly old, some of them having cracks and chips among them. Others looked as if they were eroded by time. Some didn't even have features because they were so old. That sealed it in my mind, this 'Aunty Em' was a monster.

I didn't feel much from her, which meant she wasn't very strong, or she learned how to hide her aura over the years. I steeled myself, ready to grab my Labrys or dagger at anytime. I heard the door lock behind us as we went in. I just barely kept myself from reacting to it. It's better to let the monster believe she had the upperhand for as long as possible. Percy or Annabeth didn't seem to even notice. Okay, something was definitely going on here.

After walking through the warehouse for sometime, we found the dinning area. A few steel picnic tables adorned an open area in the warehouse. Surrounding the table was a hastily put together makeshift kitchen, complete with a grill, soda fountain, pretzel heater and nacho cheese dispenser. Okay, this was suspicious as fuck. Why the hell were Percy and Annabeth so lax about this entire thing. I tried to not let my anxiety show on my face.

Aunty Em seemed to materialize out of nowhere. I had to hold myself back from drawling my Labrys and decapitating her. "Please, sit down." Fuck no, bitch. This is completely suspicious, right Percy and Annabeth? Apparently not right, as Percy and Annabeth sat down without any objections. I had to think of something non suspicious to get us out of here.

I tried to put a polite tone of voice on. It was hard. "We don't have any money, ma'am." I said before joining the other two demigods at one of the tables. They shot me a dirty look before Aunty Em answered. "No, no children. No money. This is a special case, yes? My treat..." She shook her head as she answered, before trailing off. "...for such nice orphans." I had to physically grab the table so I wouldn't react, as my instincts were screaming at me to kill her.

"Thank you, ma'am." Annabeth smiled, before glaring at me. What the fuck, Annabeth? You're supposed to be the daughter of Athena! How can you be so retarded?

Aunty Em stiffed at Annabeth's answer, her chest jiggling. I tried to avert my eyes from her chest as she answered. "Quite alright, Annabeth. You have such beautiful grey eyes, child." I gripped the steel table, bending the edges slightly. How the fuck did she know Annabeth's name? I kept my hands over the bent steel, in a attempt to hide the bendings from the obvious monster in disguise.

Aunty Em went behind a snack counter that was close to the tables and started to cook some food. In less than a minute, she came back with a full tray of food, including cheeseburgers, fries and some vanilla shakes. Okay, I'll admit, I ate quite a bit of the food. I was really hungry and I hadn't had fast food in over a year and a half. It was dumb and stupid but I still did it.

I heard a slight hissing noise after I had finished my portion of the food. It sounded like a snake. I knew it must have come from the disguised monster than sat at the table with us. I didn't comment on the noise, knowing it would alert it to my suspicion. I kept my eye on Aunty Em. I knew she would try something soon, by not exactly when she would attack. I noticed my fellow demigods movements were starting to get a little sluggish.

Fuck. My eyes almost widened, but I controlled myself. She drugged us. She had to have drugged us. We wondered right into her trap and we were in her hands. I felt the same, but I knew I had a hardier immune system to most thanks to my heritage, so I could still be affected my the drug or poison. I necessarily wasn't immune.

To my right on the table, Percy spoke up. "So, you sell gnomes?" Normally, I would mentally roast Percy in my mind for such a dumb question but now I felt like I could kiss him for asking it. It would give me the chance to get some information on what kind of monster this could be.

The disguised monster nodded. "Oh, yes. And animals. And people. Anything from the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know." Okay, so she makes these statues. These statues vary immensely in age and look like real people. Probably were real people at some point from the expressions of terror on some of their faces. The only monster I know could turn people into stone was...ah, fuck.

Percy continued the small talk. "A lot of business on this road?" Considering how many statues were in this warehouse, probably a lot.

Medusa shook her head. "Not really, no. Since the highway was built, most cars do not come this way. I cherish every customer I get." Yeah, by turning them to stone and putting them in this fucking warehouse. I also noticed neither Annabeth nor Percy chose to comment on the fact that Medusa remembered the highways being built, despite not sound or looking a day over twenty five. Well, I don't know how she looks, but considering she sounds young, she shouldn't remember the highways being built if she was a regular mortal.

Percy suddenly turned around to look at a statue of a little girl. The statue looked completely terrified, So Percy probably wondered why that was in a garden. He surveyed it longer than what was normal, so Medusa picked up on it. "Ah. You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest part to get. Always the face." That explanation made no sense. The face looks like a master artist created it and slaved over every detail. How the fuck would you mess that up?

Percy didn't seem to disturbed by her answer. "You make these statues yourself?

Medusa nodded. "Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sister to help me in the business. But they have passed on and now Aunty Em is alone. I only have my statues. That is why I make them. They are my only company." She actually sounded sad.

Annabeth stopped eating. She actually looked alerted. She looked at me subtly and I gave her a subtle nod. She looked at the disguised Medusa to confirm her suspicions. "You had two sisters?"

Medusa nodded. "It is a terrible story. One that is not for children." She then proceeded to tell the story to children. "You see, Annabeth," Annabeth now tensed at her name out of Medusa's mouth, like she just realized she didn't tell this woman her name. "a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago. I had a..." Medusa trailed off. "..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 for as long as they could, but they eventually passed on. They faded away. I, alone, have survived, but at a price. Such a price." She was rambling now, not really noticing we were here.

To my left, Annabeth was as stiff as a wooden pole. She knew who this was by now. Percy, to my right, was looking more sleepy and droopy by the second. It was time to go. "That's nice and everything, ma'am, but we really should be leaving. Our ringmaster will be looking for us and I don't want him getting worried." Hopefully that would convince her to let us leave.

Medusa looked at me in interest. Or what I thought was interest. "Such beautiful blue eyes, Zane." My right hand clenched at her saying my name. Yeah, this was not a human alright. "I haven't seen the likes of them in a long time."

Annabeth stood from the table, putting her hand on Percy's shoulder. 'We really should go." I nodded at her words, trying to convince Percy to get the fuck up and get his ass in gear.

Medusa didn't want her prey to slip through her hands so easily. "Please, dears. I rarely get to be with children. Will you at least sit for a pose?" And end up like all these statues in the warehouse? Fuck you, bitch.

"A pose?" Annabeth asked, ready to jump into combat at a moments notice.

"A photograph." Medusa clarified. "I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are very popular, you see. Everybody loves children." By the gods, that sent shivers down my spine.

Annabeth started to shift her weight foot to foot as I answered. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't think we can." I turned to Percy. "Come on, Percy, we need to leave." But Percy did not stand up from the picnic table. If anything, he looked annoyed with the very suggestion to leave.

"Sure we can." Percy answered to Medusa, apparently the leader of our group now. He turned to me, irritation clear on his face. "It's just a photo, Zane. What's the harm." I almost punched him through the wall after he said that, but I knew attacking a fellow demigod in a situation like this would be counter productive.

"Yes, Zane." The gorgon purred. I could imagine a smirk underneath her black veil. "It's just a photo." Fuck. I didn't say anything else as Medusa led us from the poor excuse of a dinning room to the garden of statues that used to be people. She was going to try and freeze us when she took our picture. I was going to throw my celestial bronze dagger at her face to distract her and cleave her in two with my Labrys.

Medusa lured us to a marble bench by a statue that looked like a stone satyr. The statue looked remarkably like Grover, if he was thirty years older. "Now, I'll position you correctly." She seemed to think for a moment before deciding. "The young girl in the middle," She pointed to Annabeth. "and the young gentlemen on her sides."

As we were maneuvering to the place she directed us, Percy made the comment, "Not much light for a photo."

Medusa shook her veiled head. "Oh, there is enough." She turned her entire body directly to us. "Enough for us to see each other." Percy didn't have a retort for her as he sat on Annabeth's left. I sat down on Annabeth's right, positioning my hand to reach for my celestial bronze dagger.

"Where's your camera?" I asked, trying to stall her for as much time as I could. My hand rested on the hilt of my dagger now, ready to be thrown in Medusa's direction.

Medusa didn't answer me, she simply stepped back, as if to get a better view of us. "Now the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?" Yeah, she was going to try and freeze us, wasn't she? My grip around my dagger became Iron as tension ran through me. As soon as she was going to pull the veil, I'm throwing my dagger right at her heart.

Annabeth spoke up. "Percy..." She sounded tense and worried. She must be trying to get Percy to snap out of it. "Percy, something's wrong!" She wasn't even trying to be subtle now.

"Wrong?" I could hear the amusement in Medusa's voice. She reached up to undo her veil. "Not at all, my dear. I have such noble company. What could possibly be wrong?" I don't know, bitch, everything? I didn't let her undo her veil as I threw my dagger right at her chest. She saw the dagger coming, although she barely could move to avoid it. My dagger nicked her side as she jumped out of the way. She shrieked in pain, clutching her bleeding side. I drew my Labrys from it's sheathe. Time to end this.

I swung my Labrys in a wide arc towards her neck. I was going to take her head, just like my fellow son of Zeus, Perseus, did. What I did not account for, is when Medusa just barely avoided my knife throw, her arms did not move from her veil. So before my axe could reach her neck, her veil was removed. Her snakelike face was revealed, her yellow slited eyes stared into mine. Fuck.

I immediately felt my body lock up. While I was in motion earlier, I could barely move now. I tried to bring my Labrys to her neck once more, pulling the weapon back for another swing, I felt as if my entire body weighed a million tons. Medusa, whose eyes still rested upon mine, looked surprised. "You...resist the transformation? Extraordinary. You must be quite powerful." I turned my head with great effort to see my fellow demigods. Both of them had run away from the immediate area to the steel picnic tables, which they had flipped and were hiding behind. I didn't blame them, they would probably turn to stone instant.

I turned back to Medusa, not bothering to not look her in the face. I was already dead at this point, so why bother? I was going to take her down with me, however. I tried to channel lightning into my Labrys, however, in my weakened state, I could only manage to make a few sparks appear. Medusa chuckled, walking closer to me, removing her black gown. She was wearing something that would even make the slave Leia outfit look modest. I probably would have blushed up a storm if I wasn't in the process of turning into stone. "A son of Zeus, too? You seem the best far more powerful than the original one I had faced."

She stopped right in front of me. She smirked before she grabbed me by the neck, her talons trying to pierce my neck. "Just submit to me, Zane. I'll take very good care of you." That promise would have sent shivers down my spine if half of my spine was rock right now. I looked down at my arms holding my Labrys, which had partly turned grey. I only had one thing I could do now.

"Fuck...you...bitch...!" I barely could say out.

Boom!

Lightning crashed through the ceiling, creating a large hole where it passed through, and struck me. Medusa was sent flying back as lightning encircled my form. I feel myself feel a thousand times better, all the stiffness from looking at Medusa disappearing. I had activated my Thunder form. A thunderstorm raged above me in the night sky, an omen of my power. The wind picked up inside the warehouse, as if I was the one generating it. I looked at Medusa, who was getting up off the floor, right in the eye. And I felt no different.

She noticed this as well, as I was turning to stone at all. Her snake-like face turned to fear. I started to float a bit of the ground. "I-I-Impossible...How are you...What...How!?" She could barely get the words out, her snake mop for a haircut freaking out. I smirked, before pointing my Labrys up in the air. Lightning struck in directly, causing the axe head of my weapon to seem like it was glowing with lightning.

"You said it yourself, bitch. I'm the son of Zeus." I pointed my Labrys at her like a wand. Lightning shot out of my weapon like a beam, completely enveloping her in a beam of blue lightning. It looked like the Kamehameha from Dragon Ball Z, just with lightning sparks in the blast. When the blast stopped, I exited my Thunder form, and turned around the survey the damage.

My jaw hit the floor when I saw the entire other half of the warehouse was completely gone. Just destroyed. The ground had no grass, no building foundation, just burnt dirt. But that wasn't the most incredible part. For a far as the eye could see, my blast created a massive hole in the forest. It had taken out trees, grass, rocks, anything in the radius of my blast. It looked like someone had taken a massive bulldozer and had just gone in one direction destroying everything in there path for miles. What the fuck?

I turned back to my fellow demigods, only to see them gaping at the destruction my blast has caused. Both of them had their jaws on the ground as they stood my the flipped over picnic table. I can't blame them for their reaction, as my reaction was basically the same. I sheathed my Labrys back on my back, which was still slightly crackling with electricity. I made my way over to the two, before stopping right in front of the table.

I could barely find the words. "D-Did you guys just see that?" I didn't say it in a way some sports jock would say after scoring points for their team or something. I said it like I had just seen a ghost. I looked over the warehouse, or what was left of it. The gas station portion was completely gone. The actual warehouse itself was halfway destroyed, only the half that was behind me during my blast had remained. I'm lucky Percy and Annabeth ran over her otherwise they would probably be dead.

Percy was the first one to recover from his stunned state. "I...knew you were strong but..." Percy looked at the destruction. "...I didn't know you were that strong..." What I decided to know tell him, that was nowhere near my full strength. Hell, if I had put that much effort into an attack in my base form, I would probably only manage to create a tiny streak of electricity that would barely shock a rat. My own strength scared me.

Annabeth nodded dumbly, agreeing with Percy. She looked at me in barely concealed fear, which hurt a little. I knew my power was intimidating, but could I not be trusted to use it in a way that doesn't harm my friends? I didn't want to know the answer. I grabbed the table that the two were standing behind and set it up as if it was a plastic table. I sat down and sighed. "Okay, guys, so that was Medusa, right?" I asked, trying to change the subject away from my terrifying power.

Percy sat down at the table. Annabeth followed him, although reluctant. I couldn't be that terrifying, could I? Annabeth was the first to speak up. "You looked at Medusa..." She trailed off, thinking to herself. "...and didn't turn to stone." She looked at me in disbelief. "That should be impossible."

I shrugged. "Guess I'm just strong enough to resist the transformation." I tried to not sound to arrogant, but is it arrogant if it's true. Perseus, my ancient half-brother, had to use his wits to defeat Medusa in Mycenaean Greece. I just obliterated her with a wave of my weapon. I tried not to visibly smirk. I guess I'm the strongest son of Zeus to ever live. I killed the Nemean lion with my bare hands when I was eleven, and completely untrained, too.

Annabeth shook her head. "It's not about strength. Even gods cannot resist Medusa's power. The curse was made by my mother." She looked at me, her eyes wide with fear. "What are you?"

I shrugged, trying to pretend that her words did not get to me. "I'm not sure what I am. I do know Zeus is my father, so maybe he gave me his blessing or something? I'm not sure." I sighed as I put my hands on my face. "We need to think of a plan." I motioned to the destroyed warehouse. "We can't stay here. This place may collapse at a moments notice." Annabeth looked back at the barely standing half of the warehouse.

Annabeth nodded, still not recovered from my show of power. "Agreed. We should camp in the woods." She stood up from the table, motioning us to follow her. We exited the hald of the warehouse safely, by not going close to the building that was not about to collapse. That meant we went the way I have blasted. The ground we stepped on crunched as we walked across it. The dirt was literally burnt from my lightning blast.

As we walked through the forest, thunder rumbled above us. I wasn't sure if that was leftover from my power up or if that was dear old dad. I hoped it was the former. We walked for a few miles, before finding the interstate highway once more. Suddenly, Percy spoke out. "Hey, Annabeth. You said earlier that Athena was the one who cursed Medusa with the whole 'turn you to stone thing,' right?" Percy sounded like he was remembering a question he had asked himself a week ago. "So we have Athena to think for that monster?"

Annabeth stopped walking as Percy said that, prompting us to stop along with her. Annabeth turned and glared at Percy for the question. "Your father, actually." Are you sure Annabeth? From what I remember, Athena was the one who cursed Medusa. "Don't you remember? In myth, Medusa was one of Poseidon's girlfriends. They decided to meet up in my mother's temple. That's why she turned Medusa into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who helped her get into the temple became the three gorgons."

I shrugged at her explanation. "Still kinda sounds like we have Athena to thank for Medusa being a monster." Annabeth turned her glare to me, although she was clearly hesitant. I lifted my hands in surrender. "I know your mom was mad that Poseidon and Medusa were going to do the dirty in her temple, but turning Medusa into a snake monster that froze people on eye contact was a little much, don't you think? Would you murder two campers if they decided to do that in the Athena Cabin?"

Annabeth glared at me for a few seconds before shaking her head and continuing to walk forwards. "Whatever. Lets just keep going." Percy just shrugged at me while I sighed. I didn't say anything more as I followed the two demigods. We finally stopped after a few miles, deciding to camp at a spot on the side of the road for the night. The spot we picked sucked, but it wasn't any worse than all the other spots. Trash covered the ditch we camped in as we laid down on the grass.

I sat down on a medium sized rock to the left of where Percy was currently lying. "I'll take first watch, guys." I said to my fellow demigods. Annabeth didn't say anything as she gathered a couple of trash bags to use as a makeshift pillow. Percy halfheartedly nodded at my declaration as he too gathered a couple of trash bags.

For around ten minutes, all was quiet. Well, except for the fucking crickets that kept screaming all night, but other than that, it was quiet. I summoned a bit of wind around my hands. I whirled the wind up in a ball, feeling like an airbender. I let the air dissipate quietly, so I wouldn't alarm my fellow demigods. I fiddled with my Labrys, which I had drawn from my sheathe. I admired the Ancient Greek inscriptions on the axe, before a voice broke out to me.

"Uh, Zane?" The voice wasn't much more than a whisper, but I could still follow the source of the sound. It came from Percy, who was staring up at the cloudy night sky from where he laid. I wonder what he wanted?

I sheathed my Labrys. "Yeah? What is it, Perce?" Percy sounded like he wasn't all there. Maybe he was just tired from the long day, or he was still in shock from my lightning blast, but he sounded off.

Percy didn't turn away from the clouds. "Do you ever think about your dad..." Percy trailed off, as if he was trying to find the right words to say. "..do you think your dad cares for you?" Ah, so that's what it was. Percy hadn't been quite right since me and Annabeth had argued about which god cause Medusa, Poseidon or Athena. Percy wanted to know if Poseidon actually cared about him and all.

I shrugged, pretending like I didn't care too much. "I guess he does. Or at least, I hope. I'm his only demigod child who is still alive, so if he didn't care, that would kinda suck." I joined Percy's gaze up to the dark night sky. "He took pity on my half-sister when she died, so maybe he does care about his children. I just hope he extends the same care to me." I looked at Percy, who was still looking at the sky in thought. "You're thinking about your dad, aren't you?"

Percy's answer was quick. Too quick. "No." He didn't turn from the sky, but he could probably feel my deadpan gaze looking directly at him. He sighed. "Okay, fine. I am thinking of my dad." Percy was quiet for a moment. "Do you think he cares about me, Zane?" I could tell he desperately wanted me to say yes.

I wasn't going to tell him what he wanted to hear, but I wasn't going to be cruel about it, either. I took out my knife and started to flip it in the air, up and down. "I don't know, Percy." Percy finally turned towards me. "He very well could, that might be why he claimed you. He could have only claimed you due to him needing help, but I don't think he could be that cruel." I didn't really know what I was saying. I don't even know if Zeus cared about me. "I'm not the person to ask about this, Percy. I don't even know if my own father cares." A thought popped up in my head. "Maybe when we get the bolt back, you can ask him yourself."

Percy didn't really seem to feel any better. "Maybe." Percy rolled over. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep. Good night, Zane." Percy didn't speak anymore, seeming to be asleep. I was about to return to gazing at the pitch black forest, before Percy spoke up again. "Oh, and uh...thanks, man."

"No problem, dude." Percy truly didn't speak anymore after that. I returned my gaze to the clouds, wishing I could see the stars. Slowly, the clouds faded away, showing the stars in all of their glory. I was confused. Could I control the weather? I imagined the clouds returning, which they did. My eyes widened. This was amazing! Now I can get rid of rain whenever I want. I wished for the clouds to vanish again, revealing the starry night sky once more.

I decided I would stay awake for around three or four hours before I woke Annabeth for her turn on the watch. I spent the next four hours just think of random shit. Like if gods could change genders or something, or if Jesus was just a demigod or something. Just random thoughts that popped in my mind. After I felt like I could barely keep my eyes open, I walked over to Annabeth and lightly kicked her in the ribs. She grunted as she woke up, glaring at me for interrupting her slumber.

I waved off her ire. "It's your turn for the watch, Annabeth." Annabeth groaned, before standing up from the likely not so comfortable ground. She went off to do gods know what as I took her spot on the ground. I did my best to fall asleep, yet anticipation about the quest and such keep me awake. It probably took around an hour, but I finally felt sleep claim me.

(000)

I felt something hit me in the face. I almost jumped up, ready for a fight, but Annabeth's voice calmed me down. "Woah there, lightning boy, It's just me." I realized I had my Labrys drawn and ready to strike. I awkwardly apologized as I sheathed my weapon. "It's fine." She motioned to a dead squirrel she had roasting over a makeshift fire pit. When did she make that? "I'm cooking breakfast. Go wake up seaweed brain while I prepare this." I looked around our little campsite. The entire thing looked more proper now. Well, as proper as one made without actual camping tools could get. Annabeth had even moved all the trash into a pile away from us.

I nodded at Annabeth's request and made to go wake up Percy. He was still lying in the same spot I left him after our conversation had ended, by the rock I had sat on earlier last night. Hif face looked like he was disturbed, as if he was having a nightmare. I shook him awake, ready for him to lash out at me. When he woke, he didn't lash out like I was expecting. He was...trembling. Wow, that must have been one fucked up dream if he was acting like this.

Percy turned his eyes on me. "How long was I out for?" It looked about eight o' clock in the morning and we stopped around eleven, so maybe nine hours? I wasn't sure. We didn't exactly bring a watch.

I shrugged. "Long enough to get a full nights sleep I guess. Next time, you're going to take one of the watches." I motioned for him to get up. "Come on, Annabeth has made some breakfast." He got up quickly after that. He also looked in confusion about our now organized campsite. I shrugged and he follow me over to the makeshift fire pit. He saw Annabeth skinning the squirrel she had caught and cringed. I chuckled a bit. "It's better than nothing, right?" Percy didn't say anything as he sat with his legs crossed on the ground.

As we ate our breakfast, Annabeth spoke to the two of us. "Alright, you two. We need a new plan." Annabeth took a bite out of her squirrel portion. "While I was taking second watch, I already made one. This is what we are going to do." She motioned to a sign a couple hundred feet away from us down the street. "The Amtrack station is about half a mile down that way, so we're going to get some money, buy some tickets and hop on a train to Los Angeles."

I had a couple of questions about that plan. "How do you know there is a train to Los Angeles exactly?"

Annabeth grimaced a bit. "I don't know. I couldn't leave you guys to go check it out while you were sleeping. If there isn't any trains going to Los Angeles, then we get on the train that takes us the closest and we walk from there. Any other questions?" Yeah, I had one more.

I nodded. "Where are we going to get the money from? We left our money with our bags back on the bus, and even if we didn't, we only had a hundred dollars in the first place. I'm pretty sure that wasn't enough money to get a train that goes halfway across the country." I think Annabeth already has a solution to that problem, but I wanted to hear it directly from her.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at my questioning. "We don't really have the time to get the money legally, so we're going to have to steal it." She looked between the two of us. "Is that going to be a problem, you two?" I shook my head. Sure, it would hurt the one we stole it from, but we were on a quest to literally save the fucking world, so I didn't want to hear them fucking complain. Percy also didn't looked too disturbed by Annabeth's words, likely having the same thoughts I was.

When Annabeth found that neither off us were going to object, she continued. "Good. Now, lets finish up and get going. We only have nine days left until the whole world suffers from Zeus and Poseidon's war, so lets hurry it up." The two of us nodded, and we began to finish our food off. I had to hold a chuckle back when I saw Percy cringe from a particularly big bite he took out of his squirrel meat. Annabeth may be good at planning and stuff, be she wasn't exactly the best at cooking.

Annabeth disassembled the makeshift fire while me and Percy prepared ourselves for the journey. Once everything was settled, we set out down the road, towards Amtrack station. I stretched my arms. Our journey was just beginning.

(000)

Getting the money for a train at the Amtrack station was very difficult. None of us were exactly children of Hermes, but Annabeth probably had taken some lessons with Luke or something, because she was really good at pickpocketing. All she needed us to do was distract our unlucky victims while she relieved them off their cash. Unfortunately, most people only carried their credit card or debit card now a days, so we only managed to collect around two hundred dollars for the train tickets.

This meant that the closest place to Los Angeles we could book was Denver. Not quite the most ideal place, but it was better than New York. At around twelve we boarded the train to Denver, being informed it would take around two days to get there. Fuck. By the time we get just to Denver, we would be three days down from total destruction of life as well know it. We had to get to Los Angeles and get there fast, otherwise I didn't even want to imagine the death toll.

The drive down to Denver was quite uneventful for the most part. I saw some wanted poster for Percy while getting on the train, which caused him to keep his head down. Apparently that asshat who snapped his picture back on the bus had given it over to the police, so now Percy was a wanted man.

When I said the trip down to Denver was uneventful, I wasn't lying but I wasn't being truthful exactly. There were a couple of interesting conversations on the way down there. It had gone something likes this.

It was around nighttime of the first day we were on the train. I was on edge constantly. Last time we were on public transport we got attacked by Hades' most deadly followers and I accidentally got a bunch of mortals killed. Percy had just woken up from his nap, whisper something to himself. Annabeth heard whatever he had to say, so she was looking at Percy intensely while Percy creaked his neck from the stiffness of the poor seats our meager money could afford

"Who wants your help?" Annabeth asked Percy as soon as he was fully conscious. Annabeth, you are really fucking nosy. I guess it comes from being a child of Athena or something. From my experience, they didn't exactly respect privacy as much as most did in camp.

Percy looked like he was a deer caught in a pair of headights. "What do you mean?" Percy tried to wave her question off with another question, failing miserably. He must have dreamed something kinda fucked up again, like he had this morning.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at Percy's poor attempt at secrecy. "When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' What were you dreaming about?" I guess Percy was having the patented demigod dream. I hadn't actually had one just yet, despite being part of the divine world for a year and a half. I was hoping I would never have one.

Percy obviously didn't want to tell us. But he broke and decided to tell us anyway. He told us for the past couple of nights, he had been dreaming about a dark voice over an endless pit. The voice was constantly asking Percy for help, telling him he would give him back his mother if he did as the voice commanded. The voice had asked his to help take down the gods and other things like that. This couldn't be Hades, like Percy said he believe it was. From what Percy described, he used the word 'gods' like it was something different from himself.

When Percy was done, Annabeth seemed to have the same thoughts as I did. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne and never laughs." She had the same thoughts as I did. It couldn't be Hades. It just didn't have the same feel as The Lord of The Dead should have.

Percy shook his head. "He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?" Perhaps the many Primordials out there who vastly eclipse Hades in terms of power, and probably can easily transcend life and death.

Annabeth was deep in thought. "I guess...if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld,' if he wants war with the Olympians. But why is he asking you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?" Good question, Annabeth. I, for one, have no fucking clue. Who else besides Hades could have the master bolt at this point?

I spoke up. "Weren't the Kindly Ones on the bus asking for something before the fight? Weren't they screaming, 'Where is it?'" At my words, Percy and Annabeth seemed to dip even deeper in thought. If Hades didn't have the bolt, then who did? Did my dad just forget he left it somewhere or something? That would be really embarrassing if that happened. 'Uh, hey guys, you know how I accused Poseidon of stealing my Master Bolt? Uh, funny thing really, I actually just left it under my bed.' Yeah, I could imagine how well that would go over with all the gods on Olympus.

Annabeth finally broke from her thoughts, deciding on something. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that right? He's deceitful, heartless and greedy. You can't be tempted into making a deal for your mother." That's cold Annabeth. I don't know exactly how your relationship with your mortal parent is, but you wouldn't try and save them from Greek Satan?

Percy seemed to have the same thoughts. "What would you do if he had your dad, Annabeth?" Knowing Annabeth, she would probably leave him to rot. Like I said, I didn't know the exact details of Annabeth and her father's relationship, but I don't even know if she had feeling besides logic and irritation.

Annabeth stared at Percy, her gaze uncaring. "That's easy. I'd leave him to rot." Guess I was right. I suppose Annabeth is about to tell us why, but I theorized that maybe her father was a shitbag or something. She did come to camp at age seven and was a year round camper, so they couldn't exactly be close to each other.

Percy didn't exactly believe her. "You're not serious." Percy probably couldn't believe her. I didn't claim to know Percy's mind, but he probably didn't want to believe that someone he was going to have to trust his life to in this quest would be that cold hearted.

Annabeth's casual uncaring gaze shifted into a more critical, serious look. That was her 'oh shit, monsters are coming' face. You've done it now, Perce. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born." Well, damn, I thought Percy's stepfather Gabe was bad. He told me about that smelly bastard at camp. "He never wanted me as a baby. When he got men, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him that heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."

Percy was confused. "But...how? I guess you weren't born in a hospital..." Percy couldn't wrap his mind around the total assholerly of Annabeth's mortal parent.

Annabeth didn't mind Percy's confused state. "I appeared on his doorstep in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr The West Wind. You think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right?" Annabeth shook her head. She looked pretty bitter. "Like maybe he'd take some digital photo or something? But he always talked about my arrival like it was the most inconvenient thing to ever happen to him. When I was five, he got married to a mortal wife, had two regular mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."

We were silent for a moment, no one saying anything. I suddenly chuckled a bit. "Wow, what an asshole." Percy looked at me like I just called an old nun a saggy old cunt. Annabeth just giggled a little bit at my joke. She quickly returned to her serious gaze, before looking out the window.

Annabeth messed with her necklace a bit. "He doesn't care about me. His wife-my stepmom-treated me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went a long with her." Hah, what a pussy whipped cuck. "Whenever something dangerous happened-you know, monsters and all-they would look at me resentfully. Like, 'How dare you put or family at risk?' kind of shit. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and ran away." Wow, her family sounds like the family of a protagonist in an awful fanfiction. Don't judge me, I read some before the whole Laestrygonian incident.

Percy asked Annabeth, "How old were you?" Well, Perce, if you look at the necklace she's fooling with, you would see she has five beads on it. Five beads means five years at camp. If you know how old she is now-twelve-then you would have your answer. Maybe that didn't go through your head like mine cause of all the seaweed. Wait, did I just think that? Damn you Annabeth and your stupid seaweed brain joke.

Annabeth answered Percy's fairly obvious question. "Same age as when I started camp. Seven. I wouldn't have been able to survive any years out on my own at that age, especially without any training or hardly any knowledge on the divine world. Luckily I found a couple of unexpected friends who helped me reach camp."

She didn't comment on said friends she just talked about, but I knew the story already. I didn't exactly hear it from her though. Luke had told me that he and Thalia had came upon Annabeth on the way to camp and decided to take her with them to keep her safe. Grover had been the one guiding them and when they made it to camp, they got attacked by monsters, Thalia died and dad turned her into a tree that creates a barrier around the camp.

The rest of the ride on the train before our first stop was rather boring after that conversation. I could barely fall asleep in the uncomfortable ass seats. Whenever I had to use the bathroom, I had to walk all the way down the train car because Annabeth chose the seats closest to the door so we could make a quick escape if we had to. I would normally applaud her on the strategy but since she chose the side without a bathroom, I was a little cranky about it.

Things got a little interesting again when I was looking out the window at the scenery of the forest. As we passed a particularly large tree, I saw a familiar golden shape. It looked like a creature on four limbs and was the size of a Hummer. My hands touched the familiar golden cloak I had worn for the past year and a half. I knew what we had just saw was the Nemean Lion. It just had to be. I wasn't exactly worried, however. I could stalemate the Nemean Lion in my base form before I had any training and could easily kill it in my Thunder form. I had no reservations about fighting it now. I could probably kill it easily in my base form with my bare hands, just like my half brother Heracles did long ago.

Around the end of the second day on the train to Denver, we passed into St. Louis, Missouri, through the golden hills and over the Mississippi. As the train came into the city of St. Louis, the iconic Gateway Arch stood tall in the clouds. Annabeth side to my left, looking at the massive structure. "I want to do that."

I was confused. "Do what?" Did she mean, do the Arch? Like, sexually? That was a little weird. Annabeth was around the age of a female to hit puberty, if the Sex Ed classes at Camp Half-Blood have taught me anything. I wasn't going to judge her.

Annabeth motioned to the Arch. "Build something like that one day. You two ever seen the Parthenon?" She asked both me and Percy, who had been looking at the buildings of the city.

Okay, so not do it sexually? Okay, jumped the gun there for a minute. I got to stop having such a dirty mind about things, I'm only twelve.

I shook my head and Percy said something about only seeing it in pictures. Annabeth continued. "Well, I'm going to see it someday. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that will last thousands of years." Now hold on now, you got a bit too much dip on your chip, Annabeth. Jokes aside, it's good to see someone with dreams, even if they're reaching for the stars.

Percy wasn't so encouraging. He laughed a bit. "You? An architect?" Okay, you ain't got to be a dick about it, Percy. So what if the dream is a little far reaching? You'll never reach the star if you don't try or something like that.

I decided to call him out on it before he and Annabeth could start an argument. "Don't be a dick, bro. She's just trying to dream a little. Don't you hate it when people say your dreams are stupid?" Percy looked down a bit, thoroughly chastised, no doubt feeling bad about what he just said.

Annabeth, in her infinite maturity, decided to kick him while he was down. "Yeah, an architect. My mother expect her children to create things, not to tear them down. Kinda like a certain god of earthquakes." Okay, Annabeth. I literally just scolded Percy on being mean about your dreams and you just go an roast him about his dad? What the hell?

She must have felt my glare on her. And the fact Percy looked even more down thanks to her words. Also, the Mississippi river churned as well went past it. I guess Papa Po Po wasn't too fond of Annabeth. I'm with you Big P, I don't really like her either. "I'm sorry. That was mean." She actually apologized? I guess this quest is forcing her to get better with people, eh?

Percy rolled his eyes. "Can't we at least try to work together a little?" He sounded so done with his whole back and forth thing with Annabeth. I won't mention how he eggs it on sometimes, too. "I mean, didn't Poseidon and Athena cooperate at any point?" I don't really remember my self. Also, why are the two pissed at each other again? Just make up and fuck or something.

Annabeth looked back to the Arch. "I guess...the chariot." She looked back at Percy, who was just as confused as I was. What chariot? "Athena invented it, but Poseidon created horse out of the crest of the waves. So that means they had to work together to finish it." Huh. I didn't really know that if I'm being honest.

Percy nodded at the information I knew he wasn't going to bother to remember. "Then we can cooperate, too?" Wow, look at Percy being the bigger person and trying to make amends with the daughter of the archenemy of his father. Good for him.

Annabeth was quiet for a while as she watched the Arch disappear from view on the train. "I guess." She said after a while. A hilarious and evil thought came to mind.

I smirked, putting my hands on the table. "So when's the wedding, you two?" Percy facepalmed at my amazing and absolutely not at all terrible joke. Annabeth scowled and smacked me on the shoulder, which I didn't feel in the slightest.

Soon, we pulled into the Amtrak station at St. Louis. The intercom told us we would have a three hour layover until we departed for Denver. I growled as I held back the urge to punch a hole in the wall. More fucking delays. We weren't going to make it back in time to stop the war if this shit kept happening.

Annabeth stood from the seats. "Come on you two." She grabbed her knife and made sure it was in good condition. "We're going sightseeing."

I stared at her, dumbfounded. "You cannot actually be serious." I rubbed my hand down my face. "It'probably safer here. Why do you want to risk the entire quest for sightseeing?"

She glared at me. "Firstly, The Gateway Arch. This may be my only chance to ride to the top and I'm not dumb enough to go alone without you two. Secondly, it's better to be on the move rather than stay here in one place. The monsters will have a better chance following our scent if we just sit here. Now come one, we're going." I looked at Percy, who just shrugged and followed her out the train car. I growled, resisting the urge to shatter the table with a punch, and followed them out into the city.

(000)

The Gateway Arch was only about a mile away from the Amtrak station, so at least we didn't have to walk all that far. The lines to get in the underground museum portion were not very long due to it being almost night time. In the museum, we saw a bunch of artifacts and stuff I really didn't give a shit about, and Annabeth kept telling us facts about the construction of this place, which I really didn't give a shit about.

Throughout the entire visit to the museum portion, Percy was jumpy. I tapped him on the shoulder to ask if he was alright, only to withdraw my hand as soon as I touched him due to him flinching. "You alright, dude?" I asked in a concerned tone.

He nodded, which wasn't very convincing. "Yeah, just..." He trailed off. "You guys know about gods' symbols of power?" Yeah, I know them, Perce. We're literally on a quest to go get one from a death god. Or underworld god, or whatever he is.

I nodded to his question. "Yeah, what about it?"

Percy looked a little hesitant to ask before speaking up. "Well, Hades-" I interrupted him, telling him that since we're n public, we probably shouldn't go throwing around Greek terms like Hades and Zeus and all that. I just told him to refer to Mr. Shadow man as 'Our friend from below.' "Um, right, Zane. Our friend from down way below, doesn't he have a hat kinda like Annabeth's?" Ah, The Helmet of Darkness. Something that isn't really mentioned all that often in myth.

Annabeth nodded, taking her eyes off the information she was reading about. "The Helmet of Darkness. The symbol of his power. I saw it at the winter solstice during our field trip there." Yeah, I saw Mr. Big Bad himself as well. He didn't look anywhere near as intimidating as he should have. It was kinda weird. "His Helm is a lot more powerful than my cap, though. If what I hear about it is true..." Annabeth trailed off before picking up again. "It allows him to become darkness. He can meld into shadow and pass through walls. He can't be touched, seen or heard. He can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

Percy looked more uneasy ever since Annabeth started her curse explanation of Hades' Helm. "How do we know if he isn't here right now, watching us?"

I shrugged. "We don't." Percy looked pale after my answer. "Don't worry, Perce. He's an Olympian god. They believe themselves too high and mighty to lower themselves to confront their enemies directly. He would sen a minion instead. A minion we could easily defeat."

Percy didn't look too much better after my explanation, but he nodded his thanks. We didn't say anything else as we approached the sky elevator that led to the top of the Arch. Percy looked even more pale seeing it, if that was even possible. "Don't worry, Percy. My father won't strike you down or anything. I'm here, so at best, he'll send a monster to try and kill you." Again, my honest explanation didn't help him, but it convinced him to get on the elevator.

We were guided to the elevator by employees, who shoved us in an elevator with a big fat lady who was carrying a Chihuahua in her purse. The big fat lady felt...weird. Not quite like a monster, but not quite like a human or demigod either. I knew something big was going to happen up at the top of the Arch, but I kept my mouth shut. Let the monster believe they have the upperhand and all of that.

We started to rise in the elevator, which felt really, really weird. I had never been in an elevator with a curve in it, so that's one thing knocked off my bucket list. As we rose, the fat lady with her dog spoke to us. "No parents?" This lady looked like the textbook example for the average american. Overweight, looks older than she probably was, the whole works. She even had a southern accent as well. Stereotypes exist for a reason, kids.

Annabeth answered for us, probably because Percy would say something stupid again that involved being orphans or a circus caravan. "They're down below." She answered. "They don't really like heights." I gripped my hands together. I was ready for anything that this potential monster would throw at us.

The lady chuckled. "Oh, the poor darlings." I scowled at those words. Something didn't feel right here. The lady's Chihuahua growled at us. For such a small dog, it sounded really vicious. The dog's eyes were intelligent and fierce. That put me on edge. "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The woman chastised her dog, which immediately shut up.

Percy, ever the one trying to make small talk, asked the woman, "Sonny. Is that their name?" Percy looked at the dog in apprehension, as did I. I normally loved dogs. They were so cute and cuddly and they were just awesome in general. But this dog didn't give off that vibe. Reaching out with my aura sense, this Chihuahua felt like the fat lady. Must be two monsters then.

The fat lady shook her head. "No." She answered with a smile, like that answered everything. Before Percy could ask anymore, the elevator reached the observation deck. We stepped out on the platform, six hundred and thirty feet in the air. Percy just looked even paler than he did before, if that was possible, which it really shouldn't.

We didn't stay for very long on the observation deck. We tried to exit on the first available elevator to the bottom, however, the elevator was full with tourists that had come up here before us, which meant we had to wait. However, Annabeth was able to get on the elevator. She had tried to stay behind with me and Percy, but we told her to go ahead and get to the bottom. She didn't want to leave us, but she didn't argue. After Annabeth left, the only people left on the observation deck was me, Percy, a park ranger, the fat lady and a couple with a little boy.

A couple of minutes after Annabeth left, the Chihuahua hopped out of the fat lady's arms and started to bark ferociously at the two of us. The fat lady walked up to her dog and tried to talk it down. "Now, now, sonny. Does this look like a good time? We have all of these people here." She motioned to the parents who were holding their child back from petting the barking Chihuahua.

The Chihuahua did not let up. Hell, it looked more deranged and angry with every passing moment. It was foaming from the mouth, baring it's teeth at me and Percy. The fat lady sighed. "Alright, son. If you insist." Wait, did she just called her dog son?

Percy seemed to have the same thought. What is with this kid and him seeming pale? He was paler than Hades was when I saw him on Olympus. "Um, did you just call your Chihuahua your son?" Percy started to reach into his pocket, likely to draw his sword, Riptide. I started to tense as well. This really felt like a monster situation.

The fat lady laughed. Her tongue was forked, like a snake. "Chimera, dear. Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make." That sentence, combined with the fact the lady started to look more snakelike by the second, confirmed in my mind that this was Echidna and her son, the Chimera. The Chimera started to grow in size. It grew so large that it even dwarfed the Nemean Lion, who was already the size of a fucking Hummer. It's back started to touch the ceiling of the observatory box.

The Chimera was a massive creature that looked like a child designed it's biology. The head of a lion with a blood cloaked mane, along with the body and hooves of a goat. It's tail was a literal living and breathing snake, which acted all on it's own. It also had a blood caked collar around it's neck, it's massive size making it easy to so the writing on it. 'CHIMERA-RABID, FIRE BREATHING, POISONOUS-IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS 1-800-666-6666.' Well, I guess it was nice to know the number for Tartarus now. I'll give that call a try later.

The fat lady, who I now knew as Echidna, didn't seem so fat anymore. Her body slimmed down as she grew to a size very similar to her son, The Chimera. Her clothes literally evaporated as she grew, leaving her topless. Ugh, what's with all the female Greek monsters and trying to look so sexy? Was it something to distract male demigods with so it's easier to kill them? Echidna's lower body morphed into a large snake tail, leaving her only able to sliver on the floor. Before, she looked like something straight out of Walmart, now she looked like something straight out of anime.

Percy uncapped his sword, his expression one of fear. Don't worry, Percy. I'm here to save you. I drew my Labrys from my sheathe on my back, as I did so I thought about how maybe I should get it enchanted to turn into a household item so I didn't give away our position. The thing looks like a turkey leg on my back when it's sheathed.

The now no longer fat Echidna smirked. "Be honoured, Perseus Jackson, for Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood." Echidna now no longer had a southern accent. Her voice now sounded exotic and echoey. "For I am the Mother of Monsters, The Terrible Echidna!" She did some kind of pose with her arms as she said those words, making me have to stop myself from laughing.

Percy's face was blank for a moment, before a barely contained smirk appeared on his face. "Wait, so like, isn't that a kinda of anteater?" I couldn't help myself and doubled over on the ground, laughing. Percy tried his hardest not to laugh as well, but my laughing weakened his resolve and he fell over, too. Looking back, it was a rather dumb thing to do in that situation, but it was too funny.

Echidna's snakelike face scrunched up in anger. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Why did they name that ridiculous animal after me!? For that, my son will destroy you two!" The Chimera lunged for the two of us. Percy dodged to the side where the other people in the observatory where shivering in fear of the monsters, while I allowed the Chimera to bite down on the hilt of my Labrys, it's lion teeth struggling to overpower my ironclad strength.

I smirked as I held back the Chimera. "You know, Echidna, if this ugly motherfucker manages to kill me, Zeus will probably be really pissed. I am his son after all." I put up an easy facade, but truly, this lion goat snake thing was strong. My arms shook holding the beast back. It made the Nemean Lion feel weak.

Echidna paled at my declaration of who my father was, but I wasn't going to allow her to say anything. I turned to Percy, still keeping the rabid Chimera held in front of me. "You deal with snake bitch over here. I got big and ugly." I didn't give him any time to agree or argue, as I heaved the large beast above my head with a roar. I swung the beast through the observatory window, shattering the glass and sending the Chimera plummeting down.

I knew it would probably survive and go hunting for Annabeth, so I dove out the window to intercept the monster. I commanded the wind to force me down quicker so I could catch up with the Chimera before it hit the ground and landed on someone, no doubt killing them. The wind allowed me to fly through the air a super sonic speeds to catch up with the Chimera, creating a sonic boom behind me. I grabbed the Chimera's snake tail thing and flew upwards.

I looked for a place to fight this thing without any mortals nearby, and I did it fast. The Chimera was freaking out trying to reach me as I increased my altitude in the air. I found the best place. On top of the Arch. I flew to the peak of the six hundred and thirty foot tall structure and dropped the Chimera. I flew a solid twenty feet away to create some distance between me and the monster. When I landed on the top, I wiped a bit of sweat down my brow. Flying outside of my Thunder form was really difficult, and I couldn't do it for too long.

I didn't get very long to rest, as the Chimera charged me the second I touched down, closing the twenty foot gap near instantly. The beast leaped in the air like a wolf, trying to lunge down at me. I ducked under the beast and lifted it by it's torso. I slammed it into the Arch, creating some cracks in the structure. As the Chimera hit the ground on it's back, the snake tail tried to lunge at me. I, not expecting this kind of attack, barely avoided the bite by a few inches.

The Chimera recovered quickly, standing up and charging me once more, this time on the ground. I caught the beast by the mouth with my Labrys handle, stopping it in it's tracks. Damn, this thing was really strong. I drew my right arm back and landed a solid punch on the fourhead of the Chimera. The beast staggered back a few meters and it roared in pain. I was surprised, as that punch would have killed most monsters with ease. I drew my Labrys back and readied to slam it into the stunned Chimera's skull.

The Chimera, however, wasn't exactly ready to die. It let out a massive roar, creating a wave of force that pushed me back a couple of feet. I gaped. It literally forced me back by just roaring. The Chimera seemed to grow even larger, it's goat body becoming more muscular and defined. It slammed it's hoof down on The Arch, creating a large amount of cracks where it stood. I readied myself, knowing this would be one of my hardest fights yet.

The Chimera wasn't any faster, but when it swung it's hooves at me, I could tell it was much stronger now. I tried to block with my Labrys hilt, but the new strength of the beast send me staggering back. The beast tried to bite down where I was standing, but I used the wind to propel me out of the way. I slammed my foot into it's side, trying to stun the beast. The Chimera barely even flinched at my kick and tried to smash me with it's hooves once more.

I gripped my Labrys in frustration. I could use my Thunder form and one shot it, but from what I showed in the forest a couple of days ago against Medusa, I knew I could seriously damage the city if I tried that. I had to keep holding back. I, however, knew I had to kick it up a notch.

I lifted my Labrys in the air, thunder clouds forming above the Arch. Lightning struck my axe and wind encircled my form. The Chimera, not caring for my show of power, tried to charge me again. Perfect. I slammed my Labrys into the beast's side, digging into the torso of the Chimera's goat like body. The beast roared in pain, likely not expecting to be hurt in it's strengthened form. I charged my power into the Labrys, electrifying the Chimera. The monster cried out once more. I knew I had won right here. It was over.

Except it wasn't. Fiery pain exploded in my shoulder, causing me to yell out in pain. I saw the snake tail of the Chimera retreat from my shoulder as I fell down to one knee, clutching my shoulder in agony. The Chimera had recovered from my axe slice and leaned down, the top of his head facing me. Only now did I realize the Chimera had horns. Blood stained ones.

The Chimera charged forward, goring me with one of his horns. I caught the horn with my left arm to stop the horn from impaling me all the way through, but the damage had already been done. I pushed the Chimera back and clutched my torso with my left arm, which now had a bloody hole the size of a pipe in it. I looked up at the Chimera, only to see a pair of hooves coming right towards my chest. When the hooves connected, I felt my sternum crack as I fell several meters away on the ground.

The Chimera inched closer to me, as if it were a predator about to finish off it's prey. The beast suddenly lunged forwards and I felt time slow down. I knew I was done for. I had a hole in my torso and snake venom running throughout my body. I could barely move thanks to the pain. I was going to die.

Anger built up in my chest, which was still cracked. This pathetic monster, was going to kill me, the son of Zeus? This will not happen. I've killed better than this before I even received training, it was not going to kill me now. I felt my strength return to my body and I turned my back to the beast. My Nemean Lion cloak protected me from the brutal gnawing of the Chimera as I charged my Labrys with Lightning. I commanded the wind to push back the beast, which it did so with ease.

While the Chimera was stunned, I quickly whirled around to slam my lightning infused Labrys into it's open jaw. The beast tried to scream, but it only came out as garbled nonsense as it's jaw was hanging down, unable to move thanks to my axe. I felt the pressure in the wind change and I looked up to see the snake tail of the Chimera racing towards my face, jaws open and ready to strike. I shot my arm up to catch the snake. The tail squirmed in my grasp, trying to escape. I put pressure down on it's neck, causing it to snap and the snake to go limp in my hand.

Turning my attention back to the Chimera, I saw the beast trying to frantically pull it's injured jaw from the axe head of my Labrys. I pulled the weapon out of it's jaw, only to slam it into the Chimera's forehead before it could react. The beast didn't quite go limp but it's actions mostly ceased as it started to die before me. I looked at the pathetic monster before me and felt disgust feel my being. You think you can almost kill me and think you get the easy way out? No.

I rose my Labrys up high above my head and charged it with lightning. The thunderstorm above my head started to form into a large funnel cloud. My Labrys nearly turned turquoise with power. The weapon radiate lightning and wind. Finally deciding it was ready, I slammed my weapon back down on the Chimera's head.

Perhaps this was the wrong thing to do, as before my vision went completely white, the last thing I saw was the Arch completely collapsing below me. The top of the Arch crumbled entirely as the Chimera ceased to exist from my mighty blow, the rest of the structure following behind rather quickly. Ah shit, Annabeth is going to be so pissed.

(000)

When my vision came back, all I could see was darkness. And well, I guess rocks or something. It feel like I was in a cave or something, just without the wet part. I found that I couldn't move, as I was being pinned down by something. I guess it was also rocks, as it felt like it was rubbing against my skin rather harshly. Mind you, it didn't hurt, but it just felt unpleasant.

I remembered the Arch collapsing was the last thing I saw before my vision went completely white, so I guess I must have been buried under thousands of tons of rubble. Most people would probably freak out and come to terms with the fact that they are going to die, but not me. I wasn't hurt at all, which was strange as I'm pretty sure the Chimera had impaled me earlier. I tried to feel my torso to check for the hole it's horns had made, but found I couldn't move my arms. I guess we were going to have to do this the hard way then.

I created as force of strength with my arms, allowing me to push the rubble above me a few feet. I quickly put my hands on the rubble above me before it could fall back down on top of me again. I pushed up like a bench press, feeling my muscles strain under weight for the first time since gaining my demigod powers. I pushed the rubble far enough for me to stand up. I was now basically squatting the rubble above me. I felt thousands of tons of rock being pushed up. I put my arms underneath the rubble, now at my full height and heaved.

The rubble above me cleared. I could now see the light of day, or perhaps the dark of night, since it was night time. I was basically surrounded by rubble in every direction, so I didn't know where I was. I climbed out of the little pit I had made with my strength, looking around me at the top of the pile. I could hear the voices of hundreds of rescue works freaking out that the rubble had moved, but I payed no mind to them. My only concern was to find my fellow demigods.

I sneaked into the crowd of people that were surrounding the fallen Arch, careful to avoid the police officers who kept the public away from the site. As I follow the auras of both Percy and Annabeth, who were about a few hundred feet away in the crowd. I surveyed my wounds, or I would say now, former wounds. I had somehow healed all my injuries in a burst of rage. Weird, huh?

"Zane!" I heard Percy call my name out as I finally made it through the crowd to Percy and Annabeth's location. Annabeth looked completely fine while Percy looked like he had been through hell. His clothes, like mine, where ripped to shit and tattered, likely from Echidna. He also looked fine, though, like me. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, smiling whilst I did so. "Yeah, I'm good." I fiddled with my Labrys on my back, which I remembered to grab under all the rubble. "Took out the ugly motherfucker. What happened to Echidna? You kill her?" I said these words with a smirk, feeling pride I was able to take out such a legendary monster like Echidna in my base form.

Percy looked embarrassed. "Uh...no. She beat me. I had to jump from the Arch into the Mississippi to survive. But I think she died from your little light show." Percy said as he motioned towards the massive pile of rubble surrounding by police and rescue workers that used to be The Gateway Arch.

Annabeth spoke up. "About that..." I turned to meet her glare, which was outright venomous. "What the hell was that about!?" Annabeth whisper yelled at me as to not draw any attention from anyone. I cringed at her tone. I knew she would be pissed at me about the whole 'destroying a important monument' thing.

I lifted my hands in defense, trying to calm her down. "I didn't mean for that to happen! I was just bashing the Chimera's face in with my axe and the whole Arch just exploded." I was being honest when I said I didn't mean for it to happen, but I was lying about beating it's face in. I just hit the beast three times before I charged my Labrys like I've never charged it before.

Annabeth calmed down a little, but she was still visibly angry. "You need to tone it down a little, Zane. I know you're strong, but if you keep making light shows like here and at Medusa's place, you're eventually going to kill all of us." I wisely forgot to mention that I wasn't even in my Thunder form when I destroyed the Arch. I told Annabeth I'd try to hold back more or placate her, but I the situation called for it, I was going to get destructive.

Annabeth sighed at my promise, knowing I'd likely not keep it. "Whatever. Now we need to get going. We have to get to Santa Monica." She walked back in the direction of the train. I looked at her in confusion. Santa Monica? I thought we were going to Denver.

Percy must have sense my confusion as he told me the story about the Naiad and everything that happened to him while he was in the Mississippi river after losing to Echidna. "So let me get this straight. We have to go to Santa Monica cause your dad summoned you there or something, and we're pretty much on the run from the law?" Percy had told me that the police were looking for him since the whole bus incident with the Furies and now they blame him for the destruction of The Arch. Wow, good thing I missed those cops, huh?

"Basically." Percy told me as we boarded the train. We had made it back just in time at the Amtrak station before the train pulled out. And without getting spotted "We have to keep a low profile on our way there, Zane. So try not to destroy anymore monuments, okay?"

"Hey! I said I was sorry about that and that I didn't even mean to. What's a guy gotta do to get forgiveness around here?" Even though I said those words, I didn't have any heat in them. Percy simply just chuckled and sat down in our seats, which were luckily not stolen.

As the train pulled away from the station, I could see the police light of St. Louis fade away into the darkness. I put my head on the window, fading off into sleep, feeling the strain of the day wash over me.

(000)

There we go. Chapter four baby. Not too much to say right here as I want to read this and post this damn bitch. Also, Zane's strength is seemingly climbing. Beat that, Echoxenvy.

To Shadowhunter2077, here is why The Greeks are the strongest of the gods of the Riordanverse, at least the gods that Riordan had covered. One, The Egyptians are the weakest due to having multiple weakness, like secret names and such. Magicians are trained to literally fight gods and banish them to the Duat. In either Greek or Norse myth, regular mortals can never attain power on par with the gods. The Stronger gods of the Egyptians in Riordan maybe have only continental level feats, with Set being able to cover entire continents in a desert thanks to The Red Pyramid. Only Apohis and Ra are above this, with Apohis only being star level at the absolute most. The Greeks can casually do large star level feats in Riordan, as Hera can create Supernovae when she is mad about Zeus' sexcapades. Two, The Norse Gods can die, permanently, like mortals. Even from age, which forces them to eat golden apples to retain their youth and power. However, I have placed them above the Egyptians thanks to Thor and Odin having moon and planet level feats in the Magnus Chase books. Maybe Apohis is stronger than those two, but he's only one being from Egyptian myth who ranks that high. Norse Gods are typical stronger in general than Egyptian ones. So, tldr, Greeks are casually above the Norse, who are just barely above the Egyptians. Okay, powerscaling over. If you disagree, check out VsBattles, as that's where I get most of my feats from.