"There they go." Percy pointed at the black van driving out of the Camp.
"What are we waiting for?" Harry looked at him, "Let's go."
"Right." Percy nodded, "Blackjack, you ready?" He was talking to the pure black pegasus clopping around them.
Harry couldn't hear anything Blackjack was saying, but according to Percy, being the son of Poseidon gave him the power to speak with horses.
Percy mounted the winged horse and held out a hand to Harry, "Come on."
Harry grabbed Percy's hand and pulled himself onto Blackjack's back.
Blackjack neighed and trotted off the ground and into the sky.
"Ever flown before?" Percy called over the winds.
"Yes!" Harry yelled back, "Although, it was a car, not a horse!"
Harry might have been mistaken but he thought he heard Percy laugh.
'"Get comfy!" Percy called over his shoulder, "It's gonna be a long ride."
'He was right.' Harry thought to himself, 'This had been a long ride.'
The two boys were still on Blackjack, following the van with determination. Unable to sleep, in fear of another nightmare, Harry's mind wandered to other things. Such as his weapons. He had never held a gun before, let alone shot one.
'It can't be that hard. Just hold the barrel and pull the trigger.' Slowly, he removed the shotgun from its holster, 'Wait. How do I load this again?'
Harry inspected the pump action shotgun and, for the life of him, could not find the loading area.
"Hey Percy," Harry leaned forward to talk to him, "You ever held a shotgun before?"
"Nah." Percy shook his head, "Why?"
"I have one but I'm not exactly sure how to use it..." Harry trailed off.
"Well," Percy straightened his posture, "If you're really in a pinch and have no choice but to use it, make a quick prayer to Hephaestus. He'll probably help you out. And if not," Percy sighed, "You can always pray to Ares. He's the god of War, so he might be able to do something."
Harry made two mental notes, "Got it. Hephaestus and Ares."
"But hey," Percy looked back at Harry, "We've got each others backs. It'll never come down to that, right?"
"Right." Harry nodded, 'How could I forget? I've got my wand with me. I'll be fine.' He was jolted out of his thoughts. Literally.
Blackjack skid to a halt on a roof and Percy shook his head, "No we can not have donuts! We're on a mission for Olympus' sake!"
Harry laughed as he slid off of the pegasus' back, "I understand you Blackjack. There's always a time for snacks."
Percy held out his arm, pointing, "Look there."
Harry followed Percy's finger and felt his heart sink. It was the Dr. Thorn and next to him was Bellatrix. They seemed to be arguing and Dr. Thorn shook his head, stomping off in anger.
"Let's follow him." Percy parkoured over to the next roof.
Harry jumped over as well, keeping his eyes on Dr. Thorn. He seemed to be drawing them farther and farther away from buildings, as they were forced to climb down a fire escape and tail him on foot. A shiver went down Harry's spine and he knew something wasn't right.
"Wait," He held Percy's arm, stopping him from going around the corner, "Be on your guard."
Percy nodded, uncapping his pen and removed his wand from his pocket. Both of them poked their heads around the corner and Harry heard Percy mutter in Greek. Standing next to Dr. Thorn was Luke, but he wasn't what caught Harry's eye. Atlas stood in between them, strength radiating from his body.
"Do you have them?" Atlas' voice boomed.
"Yes." Dr. Thorn nodded, and for the first time, Harry noticed the silver briefcase by his side.
Dr. Thorn opened the briefcase to reveal seven medium sized dinosaur teeth and a vial containing a red liquid. Luke took them out and pushed them into the soil beneath. When all seven were sufficiently submerged in dirt, Atlas took the vial and poured it over the teeth. Before Harry's own eyes, seven skeletal warriors popped out from the ground.
"What in Olympus' name?" Percy whispered.
"I don't know," Harry whispered back, "Let's see if we can hear them."
"You've done well, Manticore." Atlas smirked, nodding his head.
Dr. Thorn bowed, "It is my pleasure, General."
Luke kept glancing over his shoulder and Atlas turned to him, "What bothers you?"
"I feel like something's going to go wrong." Luke faced Atlas.
"Worry not, my dear boy," Atlas placed a hand on Luke's shoulder, "They shall succeed without fail." From his pocket he pulled out a black cloth and Harry realized it was the same fabric as the Hunter's outfits.
"That's~!"
"I know," Percy cut him off, "Listen, I'm about to do something very stupid. As soon as I move, run to the museum."
"What are you going to~"
"Now!" Percy yelled, running out from behind the corner and snatching the cloth from Atlas' hands.
Harry turned on his heel and ran down the road, as fast as his legs could move. His scar began to throb and Harry knew he was in trouble. Soon enough, he arrived at the museum. Almost immediately, he spotted Thalia's distinctive spiky black hair and headed towards her. Tapping her on the shoulder, she dropped her donut, jumping around in surprise.
"Harry?!" She looked bewildered, "What are you doing here?"
"There's no time for that," Harry shook his head, "Percy's here with me. We saw Dr. Thorn, Atlas and Luke together. They did something with~"
"Hold on," Thalia put her hands up, "You saw Luke? Here? Is he hurt?"
Harry furrowed his eyebrows, "No, he's not, but~"
"Where? Maybe I can still talk some sense into him." She started towards the door.
"What?" Harry grabbed Thalia's wrist, stopping her in her tracks, "What do you mean 'talk some sense into him'? Are you insane?"
"Let go of me Harrdini!" Thalia wrung her arm loose.
Harry gripped her other arm, "Listen to me Thalia. The Luke you knew is gone. I don't know that much about the guy, but clearly he's not the same demigod you once fought beside. He's changed. For Zeus' sake, he's sided with Kronos!"
At the mention of the Titan's name, the air grew heavy. Thalia slapped Harry's hand off of her.
"Don't you think I know that?" Her voice had a quiet anger, "I know he's changed, but maybe, maybe if he saw me and we spoke face to face things would..."
"Go back to the way they used to?" Harry finished for her.
She nodded slowly, then sighed, holding her head, "I know it sounds dumb, but I really thought I could change him."
Harry leaned against the counter beside her, "It's not dumb to want to save a friend."
"You!"
Harry knew that voice. Exhaling, he turned around to find Zoë two yards away, pointing at him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, not taking a step further.
"Nice to see you too." Harry waved.
Bianca was by her side, smiling like a little kid, "I didn't know going on a quest could be so much fun!"
"Trust me, it's not supposed to." Thalia assured her.
Percy appeared in the midst of a group, holding a navy blue Yankee cap. He was hunched over, struggling to catch his breath. Zoë nearly had a heart attack.
"Explain thyselves this instant!" She stomped her foot.
"Well, you see~" Percy was interrupted by the roar of a lion.
Harry looked to his left and saw it. It was roughly the size of an SUV, its fur shimmering gold.
"Move!" Thalia got him moving, shoving him out of the way as the Lion sprang to attack.
"Curses," Zoë muttered, "The Nemean Lion, of all things, why gods, why?"
"What do you think everyone's seeing right now?" Percy asked the group, talking about the humans running towards the exit.
"I don't know," Thalia jumped out of the Lion's reach, "And frankly, I don't care."
Bianca drew her bow, firing arrows at the Lion's back, but to no avail. The arrows either bounced off of broke harmlessly against it's fur. Thalia and Percy circled it, hesitant to get in close with their weapons. Harry searched his mind for a spell.
'Think, Harry, think!' He yelled in his mind.
"I have an idea!" Percy yelled, "Keep it busy for thirty seconds!" He ran off, deeper into the museum.
"Easier said than done," Thalia pushed the Lion back with her spear, "Hey, Wizard, got any spells?"
"I'm thinking!" Harry snapped.
"Well, think faster!" Thalia snapped back.
'I've got it!' A light bulb went off in Harry's head. The Lion turned to him, as if it could read Harry's mind. It built up speed and pounced, but just before it landed, Harry pointed his wand and yelled, "Aguamenti!"
A jet of water shot out from his wand, dousing the Lion. It roared in frustration, shaking it's damp mane.
"Thalia! Now!" Harry yelled, hoping she would understand his actions.
Thankfully, she did. Her spear charged with electricity, she stabbed at the Lion's wet hair. It was like fireworks had gone off in the museum. The Lion lit up as if it was the 4th of July. It fell over on its side and Harry felt his knees give way. He sank to the ground.
"I actually did it." His heart began to steady.
"It isn't over yet," Zoë pulled him to his feet, nodding at the Lion.
Indeed, it was not. The Lion, even after being thoroughly electrocuted still summoned the strength to stand. It was significantly weakened, but hadn't been killed.
"You've got to be kidding me," Harry muttered.
The Lion trained its eyes on him. Why wouldn't it? After displaying his weird power, it made sense that the Lion would target the clear threat. Harry knew he didn't have another spell in him that would stop the lion. He thought about using his shotgun, but remembering Zoë and Bianca's failed attempts with their arrows, it was unlikely to work.
The Lion planted its paws down and roared, reasserting its dominance in the situation. While it was roaring, Harry saw Percy dash past him and toss some sort of bag into the Lion's mouth. The Lion held it's mouth open, retching at the contents of the bag.
"Zoë!" Percy called her.
She was already aiming her bow. She let an arrow fly and it hit the back of the Lion's mouth. In a shower of gold dust, the Nemean Lion dissolved. All that remained was its pelt.
"Take it." Zoë picked it up off the ground, handing it to Percy.
"What? I couldn't," Percy shook his head, "You killed it."
"While that is true, your...distraction allowed its weak spot to be exposed for so long."
Percy grinned, "The power of astronaut food."
Zoë threw it at him, "It's yours."
"Alright then." Percy gave up arguing, seeing as it was getting nowhere.
Before his eyes, Harry watched the Mist transform the pelt into a brown duster coat. From Harry's view, all Percy needed was a cowboy hat for the complete look.
"Hey," Thalia nudged Harry, "You see those guys over there?"
She was looking in the direction of a group of security men, heading towards them. Harry saw their images flicker and become skeletons.
"Oh bollocks," Harry muttered, stepping back, "We've got to go mates. Now."
Thalia nodded and the group of five left the museum.
(Updates will be every 5 days. Give me some feedback. I'm going to edit all of this when it's done.)