Chapter 11:
Markus was lying unconscious on the ground when he felt someone nudge him. He promptly ignored the person and turned over on his side, embracing sleep. When he felt someone nudge him harder, he snapped. He rose up, meeting the face of the person who nudged him. Apparently it was Percy.
Markus just had time to register that before he reached out, hugging his brother tightly. "Percy!" he exclaimed, relieved. While he knew that he would be healed from the poison thanks to the water, but he was still worried.
"Markus. Markus! I'm okay, really!" Percy said, after a moment too long of hugging. Markus, realising that, let go.
"Sorry. Just… worried," Markus explained.
Percy nodded. "Yeah, it's okay. I get it."
"So what happened?"
Percy was about to explain, but he was interrupted by a little girl. "Mommy, look! That boy walked out of the water and the other one appeared in black!"
"That's nice, dear," the mother told her child.
But they're not even wet or harmed!"
"That's nice dear, dear."
A news lady was talking to the camera: "Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious, especially since an underwater bomb went off, making the water reach as high as the Arch, dousing out most of the flames. We're trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of one person falling from the Arch and another person in league with the terrorist."
At the word survivor, Percy sighed out in relief, but wondered what they meant by underwater bomb. Markus thought it was probably due to the Mist, making the mortals think differently to what actually happened.
"… two adolescent boys," another reporter was saying. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show them actually going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities…"
Markus then turned to his brother. "Uh, we should get going."
Percy nodded in agreement. "Yeah."
Both boys walked along, keeping their heads down.
They had almost lost hope of finding their friends until they heard Grover bleat out, "Per-cy! Mark-us!" Percy got tackled by the goat boy while Annabeth came up behind him, looking angry, but failing.
She yelled, "We can't leave you two alone for five minutes! What happened?"
"I sort of fell," Percy said, shrugging nervously.
"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet?" she said, exasperated. "And what about you, Markus?"
"Oh, you know. Just killed Lamia, Chimera and the Echidna," he said, shrugging. He brought out the fang of Lamia and the horn from the Chimera. "See, I got prizes!" Markus smiled while Percy gawked at him, along with the others.
Behind them, a cop shouted, "Gangway!" The crowd parted, and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher. Percy and Markus recognized her as the mother of the little boy who'd been on the observation deck. She was saying, "And then this huge dog, this fire-breathing Chihuahua-"
"Okay, ma'am," the paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick."
"I'm not crazy! This boy jumped out of the hole while the other disappeared in shadows!" Then she saw the group. "There they are! It's those two boys!"
The two boys paled before they dragged Annabeth and Grover, not wanting to be the centre of attention.
"What's going on?" Annabeth demanded. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?"
"So... news flash: the Chihuahua was actually the Chimera, who bit Percy and poisoned him. But he was healed by water. The fat lady and the rattlesnake were Echidna and Lamia. I killed Lamia, while killing the other two after Percy fell," Markus explained in one breath. Annabeth and Grover looked at him, one in disbelief, the other in awe.
"You-you slayed the Echidna and the Chimera, not to mention Lamia?" Grover asked, shocked. "That's amazing! Very few heroes can claim to do that!"
Markus nodded, not really feeling all that great about it. While he did kill Lamia successfully, with the Chimera and Echidna, he knew that if Percy wasn't poisoned, and he grew angry, then he might end up the same as him.
Then Percy added his own input, telling the group about his high dive act, and some underwater lady's message.
"Whoa," Grover said. "We've got to get you both to Santa Monica! You can't just ignore a summons from your dad."
I've half a mind to just ignore it anyway, Markus thought bitterly. Seriously, Poseidon only sent a messenger to inform them of something after this long. And only when one of his sons was in mortal danger.
Before Annabeth could respond, they passed another reporter doing a newsbreak, and Percy and Markus froze when he said, "Percy Jackson and Markus Henderson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that both boys who may have caused the explosion fits the description of two young men wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boys are believed to be heading west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of them."
They quickly ducked under the news van to get away.
"First things first," Percy told Grover. "We've got to get out of this town!"
Somehow, they made it back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted and got on board the train before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind them.
"Well, at least we're on TV," Markus said, somewhat cheerfully.
"Shut up, Markus," said the group tiredly.
"Oh, you guys are no fun! At all!"
XXX
The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, the train rolled into Denver. Thankfully Markus still had some money to spare from the start of the quest. They were able to get some food, but only a little. They hadn't showered, and it was starting to show. Markus had no more water bottles, so he couldn't really help.
"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."
"We can't use phones, right?" Percy asked.
"I'm not talking about phones." She answered.
Markus assumed it was a magical means of communication.
They wandered through downtown for about half an hour, as Annabeth kept looking for something. It was hot and dry out.
Finally they found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. Veering towards the stall farthest from the street. Markus thought about using the Mist to cover them from any patrol cars, but decided against it. From experience, he knew that patrol officers only bothered kids who looked shady enough. Sure, they looked grimy and dirty, but patrol officers rarely bothered kids. The reason he got into so many fights with them in the past was because he stole a lot of stuff, and was caught a couple of times.
"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, as Grover took the spray gun.
"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled.
Way to answer the question, Markus thought, a frown appearing on his face.
"I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"
"Don't look at me," she said. "Markus is the one with the money." She pointed to him.
Grumbling, he reached into his pocket, fishing out four quarters that he had with him, which excluded the money he received from camp.
"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."
"What are you talking about?" Percy asked once more, really curious.
He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "'I-M'ing."
"Instant messaging?"
"Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected him. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."
"You summon a goddess with a spray gun?" Markus asked in disbelief.
Grover pointed the nozzle at the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."
"… I think there might be a spell for that," Markus mumbled.
Annabeth groaned. "Markus! That would have been helpful to know."
"One: I don't know it. Two: if I did know, you still didn't tell me what we were doing. So it's your fault."
Annabeth flushed. Markus noted she seemed to do that whenever he pointed out a flaw she had.
Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapour and broke into colours.
Annabeth held her palm out to Percy. "Drachma, please."
He fished out one and handed it to the blonde.
She raised the coin over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering."
She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer.
"Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then they could see through the mist and saw the strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. It was probably the porch by the Big House. Standing with his back to them at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank-top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.
"Luke!" Percy yelled.
He turned, his eyes wide. Percy could see that Luke was standing three feet in front of him through a screen of mist, except he could only see part of him that appeared in the rainbow.
"Percy! Markus!" His scarred face broke into a grin. "Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"
"We're… uh… fine," Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her T-shirt, trying to comb her loose hair out of her face. "We thought - Chiron - I mean - "
Markus rolled his eyes at her behaviour. She was acting like a typical high school girl with a crush. Sure, he acted in a similar fashion when he met Silena, but he recovered quickly the more he spent time with her. With Annabeth, she still acted the same.
"He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"
"I'm right here," Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke's line of vision. "What kind of issues?"
Just then a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hip-hop. As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.
"Chiron had to – what's that noise?" Luke yelled.
"I'll take care of it." Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to have an excuse to get out of sight. "Grover, come on!"
"What?" Grover said. "But –"
"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered.
Grover muttered about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle of Delphi, then he handed Percy the spray gun and followed Annabeth.
After a quick readjust of the rainbow by Percy, both sons of Poseidon could now see Luke.
"Chiron had to break up a fight up," Luke shouted to them over the music. "Things are pretty tense, guys. Word leaked out about the Zeus – Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how – probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound. Now the campers are taking sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."
Percy shuddered to think that Clarisse's cabin would ever be on his dad's side for anything.
In the next stall, they could hear Annabeth and some guy arguing with each other, then the music's volume decreased drastically.
"So what's your status?" Luke asked them. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you."
Percy told him pretty much everything, excluding the dreams. He tried to tell him about it, but Markus kept glaring at him the moment he opened his mouth about it. Percy wouldn't admit this, but sometimes his brother scared him. They kept talking and they didn't realize how long they talked until the beeper went off on the spray machine. One minute left it seems.
"I wish I could be there," Luke told them. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid, but listen… it had to be Hades who took the bolt. He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."
"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly."
"That's true," Luke said, looking troubled. "Still… Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anyone else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible."
They fell into silence. Markus paused at the notion, then stared at Luke disbelievingly. He realized what he'd said.
"Oh, hey," he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never… I mean, she's like a little sister to me."
Markus thought that Annabeth may not be happy at that bit.
In the stall next to the demigods, the music stopped completely. A man screamed in terror, car doors slammed, and the Lincoln peeled out of the car wash.
"You'd better go see what that was," Luke said. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel better if I know they've done you some good."
"Oh… uh, yeah!" Percy said, failing at sounding convincing. "Yeah, they've come in handy."
"Really?" he grinned. "They fit and everything?"
The water shut off. The mist began to evaporate.
"Well, take care of yourselves out there in Denver," Luke called, his voice getting fainter. "And tell Grover it'll be better next time! Nobody will turn into a pine tree if he just –"
The mist was gone, and Luke's image faded into nothing. They were alone as Grover and Annabeth came back laughing from around the corner, but stopped when they saw both boys' faces. Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, guys? What did Luke say?"
"Not much," Percy lied. He was thankful that Markus hadn't said anything. "Come on, let's find some dinner."
A few minutes later, the questers were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner.
All around them, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas.
This doesn't look like any kind of diner I've been to, Markus thought.
Finally a waitress came over. She raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Well?"
Percy said, "We, um, want to order dinner."
"You kids have money to pay for it?"
"… Got enough," Markus said, after checking the money he had. He had to be careful; he didn't want to waste carelessly at all.
Suddenly a rumble shook the whole building; a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant pulled up to the curb.
Markus immediately thought the rider was compensating for something.
All conversation in the diner stopped. The motorcycle's headlights glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather – but leather that looked like… well, Caucasian human skin.
The guy on the bike looked like someone who'd beat up bears when bored. He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruellest, most brutal face you'd ever seen – handsome, one could say, but wicked – with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights.
The weird thing was, Percy felt like he'd seen his face somewhere before.
As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind blew through the place. All the people rose, as if they were hypnotized, but the biker waved his hand dismissively and they all sat down again. Everybody went back to their conversations. The waitress blinked, as if someone had just pressed the rewind on her brain. She asked them again, "You kids have money to pay for it?"
The biker said, "It's on me." He slid into the booth, which was way too small for him, and crowded Annabeth and Grover against the window.
Poor guys, Markus thought. They have to put up with this jackass' stench.
Then he blinked, wondering what was wrong with him. He was never that irritable unless he was really angry. But ever since the man came into the diner, Markus could feel rage bubbling up inside of him, but he didn't know why. Usually he was better at handling his anger, but right now that wasn't the case.
He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him, and said, "Are you still here?"
He pointed at her, and she stiffened. She turned as if she'd been spun around, then marched back towards the kitchen.
The biker looked at Percy and Markus. You couldn't see his eyes behind the red shades, but bad feelings started boiling in Percy's stomach. Anger, resentment, bitterness. He wanted to hit a wall. He wanted to pick a fight with somebody. Who did this guy think he was?
Markus was no different. For him, it was like staring at the thing he most hated, times ten. He didn't understand why he felt such rage, but he did know this man was causing it, whether subconsciously or not. No matter how much he tried calming himself down, his anger kept rising. Unknowingly, his eyes burned green, glowing with rage.
He gave them a twisted grin. "So you're both old Seaweed's kids, huh?"
Percy's face twisted into a sneer. "What's it to you?"
Annabeth's eyes flashed him a warning. "Percy, this is –"
The biker raised his hand.
"S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousins?"
"… The more that I meet my extended family, the more I feel like our family line is messed up," Markus said after a moment, already figuring out who this man was.
The man raised his head back and laughed loudly. "I agree with you, brat! Our family is a little crazy, aren't they?!" He grinned wickedly. "Well, go on, tell your brother who'd in front of him?"
"No need," Percy interjected. "You're Clarisse's dad. Ares, god of war."
Ares grinned and took off his shades. Where his eyes should've been, there was only fire, empty sockets glowing with miniature explosions.
"That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."
"She was asking for it." Percy glared at the god.
"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for – I heard you two were in town. I got a little proposition for you."
The waitress came back with heaping trays of food – cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate shakes.
Ares handed her a few drachmas.
She looked nervously at the coins. "But, these aren't…"
Ares pulled out his huge knife and started cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?"
The waitress swallowed, then left with the gold.
"You can't do that." Percy told Ares. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."
Markus scoffed. "He clearly doesn't care. And if you're going to act like a thug, at least put on a better performance."
"I didn't know I was asking for an opinion, brat." Ares said, amused.
"Oh, I know. It's clearly wasted on you."
"So, Lord Ares, what brings you here?" Annabeth interjected, probably saving Markus from trouble.
Ares turned towards her, then the two boys. "I got a little proposition for you two little newbies. I need a favour."
"What favour could we do for a god?" Percy asked, thinly veiled tolerance in his voice.
"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little… date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."
"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?" Percy glared.
The fire in his eyes glowed a little hotter.
"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."
"And why should we waste our time getting your shield?" Markus asked this time. "We already have a quest. We don't need to divert from that."
Ares turned his heated gaze towards him. He could see blood and smoke and corpses on the battlefield. "I know all about your little quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally." Here Markus snorted at the thought of Ares being the best. "If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful…" He licked his lips, as if the very thought of the master bolt made him hungry.
"Well, if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him suspicions about old Corpse Breath."
"You told him Hades stole the bolt?" Markus asked disbelievingly.
"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."
"Gee, thanks," Percy grumbled.
"Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."
"We're doing fine on our own," Percy gritted out, not wanting his help whatsoever. Markus agreed with him.
"Yeah, right. Little money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against. Just relying on your brother to help you. How said." At the end Ares' voice turned mocking. Percy wanted to jump across the table and beat his face in, but Markus held him back.
"Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mum."
Percy's eyes flew to Ares'. "My mum?" he asked, trying not to sound too desperate to the war god.
He grinned. "That got your attention."
"And why should we believe that you know about her?" Markus asked, curious. "That, if we do your quest, you won't trick us and lie?"
He laughed throatily to Markus. "Now, now, I wouldn't lie about stuff like that."
"Well, excuse me if I find it hard to believe you on that."
"Well, you should. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."
"You know, for a god of war, you sure do seem like a coward when dealing with a water park," Markus taunted.
Ares bared his teeth, the look similar to what Clarisse's.
There was something false about it, almost like he was nervous.
"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."
They must have blinked or something, it was like he was never there, but Grover's and Annabeth's expressions told them otherwise.
"Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you guys out. This is not good."
Percy stared out the window. The motorcycle had disappeared.
It's probably a trap like Markus suggested," Percy said with a shake of his head. "Forget Ares. Let's go."
"We can't," Annabeth said. "Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent."
Percy looked at his burger with a grimace, not feeling hungry right now. Markus dug into his food, feeling no such hesitation.
"Why does he need us?"
"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains," Annabeth said. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."
"I'm not buying it," Markus said, just finishing his burger and now biting into some onion rings. "Ares looked nervous. What would a war god be so scared that he sends kids to take care of? He probably might be a coward, but even so."
The other three glanced nervously at each other.
"Joy," Percy said, sighing as they stood up and left, Markus taking the food with him. Hey, he wasn't going to waste free food!
The sun was sinking behind the Rocky Mountains by the time they found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D.
The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading into empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming in, the place looked sad and creepy.
"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," Percy said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."
"I think Cabin Ten might slap you for that," Markus muttered, looking at the padlock and wondering how to unlock it.
Percy looked at him. "Why?" he asked cluelessly, not connecting the dots.
Markus just stared at him, before turning his head, muttering, "Idiot." He then turned towards the gate.
"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."
"Why? I thought you hated Ares."
"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental." Annabeth said. She took a side-glance at Markus as he jammed the horn of the Chimera into the lock, trying to pick at it.
"You don't want to insult her looks?" Grover added.
"Who is she? Echidna?"
"Already killed her," Markus replied. "Also, you're a dumbass, you know that?"
Percy looked insulted at that before Grover said dreamily, "No, Aphrodite. Goddess of love."
"I thought she was already married to someone," Percy said. "Hephaestus."
"What's your point?" Grover asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh." Percy said, shutting his mouth.
The shadows grew long as they walked, getting in successfully with Markus' lock-picking skills, which he just developed five seconds ago. They checked out all the attractions available. There was AnkleBiterIsland, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?
No monsters came to get them. Nothing made the slightest noise.
They found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of –
"Clothes," Annabeth said. "Fresh clothes."
"Yeah," Percy said. "But you can't just – "
"Watch me." Annabeth smirked at him.
She snatched an entire row of stuff off the racks and disappeared into the changing room. A few minutes later she came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies.
"Looks good on you, Annie," Markus said, before looking at all the other stuff available. "Ah, what the hell." He shrugged, going into the gift shop.
Soon, all of them were decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park. Markus even picked up a disposable camera from the shop.
They continued searching for the Tunnel of Love. "So Ares and Aphrodite," Percy said, "they have a thing going?"
"That's old gossip, Percy," Annabeth told him. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."
"What about Aphrodite's husband?"
"Well, you know," Annabeth said. "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olypmus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"
"She likes bikers."
Talk about shallow," Markus commented. "If Hephaestus is anything like his children, and having met Ares, I'd choose brains over dumbassery any day. Then again, I haven't met the guy."
This got all the rest of the group to crack up, but didn't comment any further.
"Hephaestus knows about it?" Percy asked, picking up where he left off.
"Oh, sure," Annabeth said. "He caught them once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like…"
She stopped, looking straight ahead. "Like that." She pointed.
In front of them was an empty pool that could've been used for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl.
Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side from them, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!
Grover crept towards the edge. "Guys, look."
Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares' shield, a polished circle of bronze.
"This is too easy," Percy said. "So we just walk down there and get it?"
Annabeth walked over and ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue.
"There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder…"
"Grover," Markus said, "you smell any monsters?"
He sniffed the wind. "Nothing."
"Nothing – like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna-and-Lamia nothing, or really nothing?" Percy asked.
Grover looked hurt. "I told you, that was underground."
"Okay, I'm sorry." Percy took a deep breath. "I'm going down there."
"I'll go with you." Grover didn't sound too enthusiastic, maybe he wanted to try and make up for what happened in St Louis. That's what Percy assumed.
"No," Percy told him. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, remember? In case something happens."
Grover puffed up his chest a little. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"
Immediately Markus facepalmed. "For fuck's sake, Grover! Do not jinx us!"
Grover winced. "S-sorry!"
Percy winced also. "Yeah. Let's just hope that doesn't come to past."
Markus wasn't really hopeful. "So, why don't I go?"
Percy shook his head again. "No. You're our strongest member. We'll need you in case things go wrong."
"Naturally." Markus nodded his head while the others thought, So vain!
Then Percy said, "Annabeth, come with me – "
A second later, Markus burst into laughter as Annabeth glared at him, cheeks red. "Are you kidding?" She looked at him as if he was stupid.
"What's the problem now?" Percy demanded, wanting to get this over with.
"Me, go with you to the… the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"
Markus raised his hand. "I will."
"Shut up, Markus!" Annabeth shouted, still blushing.
"But why?" Here Markus grinned playfully. "I mean, aren't you guys a little young to be trying all this? I promise I won't judge and all, but – "
"I said shut up!" she shouted, exasperated. Markus just continued laughing.
Percy's own face was burning too. Leave it to a girl to make everything complicated. "Fine," he told her. "I'll do it myself." But when he started going down the side of the pool, she followed him, muttering about how boys always messed things up.
As the two were about to go down, there was a click, and then a flash. They looked up to see Markus, camera in hand, grinning like a loon.
"You guys look so cute together," he teased.
"I'll skin you alive for this, Squid Head!"
"Love you, too, Wise Girl!"
The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf. Percy looked around and wondered why Ares and Aphrodite wanted to meet out here. He then noticed the mirrors that lined the pool. He could see every angle of himself and Annabeth.
There was another click, and both kids knew it was Markus taking more pictures. "Yeah, guys! Work it!"
"… He's a dead man walking," the blonde girl growled.
Markus just grinned impishly.
Percy leaned in and picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable – rose, or mountain laurel. Something good. Percy smiled, a little dreamy, and was about to rub the scarf against his cheek when Annabeth ripped it out of his hand and stuffed it in her pocket. "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."
"Ooh, getting some competition from a scarf, Annie?"
"Just shut up, dammit!"
"Annabeth Chase, the mouth on you!" Markus continued cackling with glee.
"What?" Percy blinked, love magic?
"Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here."
The moment he touched the shield, something snapped.
"Wait," Annabeth said, hearing it.
"Too late."
"There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."
"No shit, Sherlock!"
"… I hate him, so much," Annabeth muttered.
Noise erupted all around them, of a million gears grinding, as if the whole pool was turning into a giant Transformer.
Grover yelled, "Guys!"
Up on the rim, the Cupid statues were drawing their bows into firing position. Before Percy could say anything, they shot, but not at the kids. They fired at each other, across the rim of the pool. Silky cable trailed the arrows, arcing over the pool and anchoring where they landed to form a giant asterick. Then smaller metallic threads started weaving together magically between the main threads, making a net.
"We have to get out," Percy said.
"Duh!" Annabeth said to him.
Percy grabbed the shield as they ran, but going up the slope was not as easy as going down.
"Come on!" Grover shouted.
He was trying to hold open a section of the net for them, but wherever he touched, the golden threads started to wrap around his hands.
Markus brought out Wavebreaker and tried hacking into the threads, but they didn't budge. It was like trying to hack steel.
The Cupids' heads popped open. Out came video cameras. Spotlights rose up all around the pool, blinding them with light, and a loudspeaker voice boomed: "Live to Olympus in one minute… Fifty-nine seconds, fifty-eight…"
"Hephaestus!" Annabeth screamed. "I'm so stupid. Eta is 'H'. He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and look like absolute fools!"
The mirrors opened up and then came thousands of tiny metal-
"Spiders!" Annabeth screamed. "Sp – sp – aaaah!" She fell back in terror, overwhelmed by seeing them. Percy pulled her up and brought her back to the boat.
Water spears skewered cameras three, four and five. Markus was using the water from the ride to get rid of the cameras. He mentally summoned a small wave to take out camera six also. There was roughly thirty seconds left.
The tiny spider came in the millions, no doubt to help humiliate Ares and Aphrodite. Instead, they were being humiliated.
Annabeth and Percy climbed into the boat. Percy started to kick away the spiders as they swarmed aboard. He yelled at Annabeth to help him, but she was too paralyzed to do much more than scream.
"Thirty, twenty-nine," called the loudspeaker.
The seventh camera got destroyed too, a water sphere impacting it and short-circuiting it.
The spiders starting spitting out strands of metal thread, trying to tie the captured kids down. The strands were easy enough to break at first, but there were so many of them, and the spiders kept coming. Percy kicked one away from Annabeth's leg and its pincer took a chunk out of his new surf shoe.
Grover hovered above the pool in his flying sneakers, trying to pull the net loose, but it wouldn't budge.
Markus took care of cameras eight to ten, his waterbending skills coming in handy.
Think, Percy told himself. Think.
The Tunnel of Love entrance was under the net. They could use it as an exit, except that it was blocked by a million robot spiders.
"Fifteen, fourteen," the loudspeaker called.
Then he realized that he had a solution. Markus was providing it for him.
Water, Percy thought. Where does the ride's water come from?
"Percy!" Markus called. "Use the water!"
Percy followed Markus' idea, seeing the huge water pipes from where the metal spiders came from, and next to one of the destroyed Cupids, a glass-windowed booth that must be the controller's station.
"Grover!" he yelled. "Get into the booth! Find the 'on' switch!"
"But – "
"Do it!" It was their only chance. The spiders were all over the prow of the boat. Annabeth was screaming her head off. He had to get them out of here. Markus was helping get rid of the cameras and the spiders, but he had to do something.
Grover was at the control booth now, slamming away at the buttons.
"Five, four – "
Grover looked up at Percy hopelessly, raising his hands. He pushed every button, nothing was happening.
Percy closed his eyes and focused on that all too familiar tug in his stomach from his training with Markus.
"Two, one, zero!"
BOOM!
A water spear got lodged in camera twelve, just in time, too.
Water exploded from the pipes. It roared into the pool, sweeping away the spiders. Percy pulled Annabeth into the seat next to him and fastened her seat belt just as the tidal wave slammed into the boat, over the top, whisking the spiders away and dousing them completely, but not capsizing the kids. The boat turned, lifted in the flood, and spun in circles around the whirlpool.
The water was full of short-circuiting spiders, some of them smashing against the pool's concrete wall with such force they burst.
Percy willed the boat to ride the currents, trying to stay away from the walls. Maybe it was his imagination, but the boat seemed to listen.
With one more spin, the water level was high enough to shred them against the metal net. Then the boat's nose turned towards the tunnel and they rocketed through into the darkness.
Annabeth and Percy held tight, both screaming as the boat shot curls and hugged corners and took forty-five-degree plunges past pictures of Romeo and Juliet and a bunch of other Valentine's Day stuff.
Then they got out of the tunnel, the night air whistling through their hair as the boat barrelled straight towards the exit.
If the ride had been in working order, they would've sailed off the ramp between the golden Gates of Love and splashed down safely in the exit pool. But there was a problem. The Gates of Love were chained.
Two boats that had been washed out of the tunnel before them was now piled against the barricade – one submerged, the other cracked in half.
"Unfasten your seat belt," Percy yelled to Annabeth.
"Are you crazy?"
"Unless you want to get smashed to death." He strapped Ares' shield to his arm. "We're going to have to jump for it." His idea was simple and insane. As the boat struck, they would use its force like a springboard to jump the gate. With luck, they would land in the pool.
Annabeth seemed to understand. She gripped his hand as the gates got closer.
"On my mark," Percy said.
"No! On my mark!"
"What?"
"Simple physics!" she yelled. "Force times the trajectory angle – "
"Fine!" he shouted. "On your mark!"
She hesitated… hesitated… then yelled, "Now!"
Crack!
Annabeth was right. If they'd jumped when he thought, they would be kissing the gate. She got them maximum lift.
Unfortunately, that was a little bit more than they needed. The boat smashed into the pileup and they were thrown into the air, straight over the gates, over the pool, and down towards solid asphalt.
Then Percy felt his free arm caught and looked towards Grover, who also hooked his arms under her. He was using the flying shoes to help him. Unfortunately, they had a lot of momentum, so they were about to fall. Fortunately, they had something to break their fall: a small, condensed body of water, courtesy of Markus.
As they fell, the body of water gave way, splashing onto the asphalt and wetting the group. Thankfully, they weren't hurt, so that was good.
"Well, that was anti-climatic," Markus said from behind them. They turned to see him, grinning cheekily.
Annabeth turned to him. "Thanks for getting us all wet," she grumbled, squeezing water out of her shirt.
Markus, unaffected by her glare, shrugged. "It was either that, or you all go splat," he said. "If it was me, I'd choose getting wet."
"Yeah, but you're the son of Poseidon," Grover noted. "You can't get wet."
He shrugged again. "Can't do anything about it. You're welcome, by the way."
The two grumbled, but thanked him anyway.
Percy looked towards the Thrill Ride of Love. The water was subsiding. The boat had been smashed to pieces against the gate.
Even with the cameras destroyed, the spotlights still shined, as if waiting for something.
"Show's over!" Percy yelled. "Thank you! Good night!"
"You've been a fantastic audience!" Markus added and dramatically blew a kiss.
The lights went off. The park went quiet and dark again, except for the tiny trickle of water into the Thrill Ride of Love's exit pool.
"Hopefully our ratings were excellent," Markus said to the group. Annabeth tried to shove him, but he dodged. She was just relieved that they weren't humiliated before the gods.
Percy hefted the shield on his arm and turned to the group. "We need to have a little talk with Ares."
"Oh, joy," Markus muttered.
So, that's a wrap, everyone! Sorry for not updating in a while. I got sick, and then now have to deal with exams in a few weeks, which is such a pain. Note that if I don't update for a while, then it's because I have to study and deal with them. But I'll still update, don't worry. I don't plan to abandon this story yet.
So, another chapter posted. Awesome. Sweet. Cool. …OK, so, the story's still going on. Not really anything new to say. A big shout out to those who reviewed, followed or favourited, or did all three, on this story. Thanks so much. You guys are awesome. Hopefully you'll continue to read the story as it goes on. Love you all!
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