"Damn it, how'd we end up like this?" Harry whispered to Percy in the elevator.

"I don't know, I thought the bull had gotten rid of them." Percy whispered back.

"Do you have any idea how we'll get back to the others?" Harry questioned.

"First step, not dying. The rest will come to me."

Harry rolled his eyes, "We can't hide in this elevator forever. In fact, I think it puts us at a disadvantage."

The group of people got off, leaving them alone with the tour guide.

"You boys are in a pinch, I see." She looked at them.

Harry reached inside his pocket for his wand, "Who are you?"

"Dude, relax," Percy grabbed his arm, "This is Annabeth's mom."

"Athena?" Harry tilted his head, no longer on guard, "What is a goddess doing here?"

"Are you suggesting I should be elsewhere?" Her gray eyes darkened as she turned to Harry.

"N-Not at all." Harry immediately apologized, 'She is definitely Annabeth's Mother.'

Athena crossed her arms, "I know about your...predicament. I can help you."

"Really? That would help a~"

"I said I would help, I never said I would intervene." Athena cut him off, "There is a way out for those who can find it."

The elevator stopped and she got off, disappearing.

"I'm think we should get off too." Percy followed Athena's lead, hopping out.

"Couldn't agree more." Harry nodded, stepping off the elevator.

The heavy footsteps of skeletal warriors prompted the two to hide behind a wall.

"And just when I thought we had lost them." Percy muttered.

"Unless they're dead or immobile, you never lose them," Harry shook his head, "How are we going to do? I don't think we can fight them."

"If they come this way, you blind 'em with a spell and we'll run for it. We can't fight them on our own. Even with your guns." Percy added quickly.

"Sounds like a plan, but first~"

"What are you two doing?"

Percy blindly turned around and slashed at the source of the voice.

"Oh. My God." It was a young girl with red hair. She looked to be their age.

"Percy!" Harry grabbed his hand back, "You don't just stab someone! Have you lost your marbles?"

"It's not my fault, she startled us!" Percy defended himself, "What kind of person sneaks up on others?"

Harry covered his mouth when he heard the shuffling of skeletal feet, "Crap, they've heard us," He turned to the girl, "Please, help us, we need to get out of here."

"After your friend just tried to impale me? I don't think so." She crossed her arms.

"Just, please." Harry dragged Percy into the closet and closed the door.

He held his breath and listened.

"Are you guys looking for two teenage boys about yay high? Both with green eyes?" The girl asked.

They seemed to have nodded because she carried on.

"Good, I saw them run that way." She pointed in some unknown direction.

The sound of the skeletal warriors' footsteps became lighter and lighter until they were gone completely.

Harry peeked out of the closet, "Are they gone?"

She nodded, "You're lucky I have a heart. I have a mind to call them back. Especially now that I see you're, uh, loaded." She looked at his guns.

Harry smirked, "Red hair, spunk. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a Weasley."

"After I got you out of whatever trouble you were in, you call me a weasel? That's it. HEY SECURITY GUYS!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Harry put his hands up, "Don't call them back. Listen, I don't have enough time to explain but I'm thankful for your help. My name's Harry Potter."

"My name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare," She placed a paintbrush in his hand, "If you ever feel blue, paint the sky anew."

"...Huh?" Harry and Percy both gave her a confused look.

She facepalmed, "It was supposed to be like in the movies when people part ways. I was trying to say something cool so you guys wouldn't forget me."

Harry grinned, "I definitely won't forget you."

"Harry, flirt later, leave now." Percy jerked his thumb at the elevator.

"Alright, alright. Don't throw a paddy," Harry muttered, "Rachel, I'm sure I'll remember you're name. Maybe we'll cross paths again."

"Maybe," Her green eyes shined, "You never know how the universe will work."

"Harry!"

"Coming!" With one last look over his shoulder, Harry entered the elevator and wondered if he would truly ever see her again.

Percy smirked, "So, did you get her number?"

Harry punched his shoulder, "It's not like that. She just...reminds me of someone."

"A lady friend perhaps?" Percy wouldn't let up.

"Well, yes, but not in the way that you're~"

"Harry's got a girlfriend! Harry's got a girlfriend!" Percy chanted.

"C'mon man. You're acting like you're in kindergarten." Harry shook his head.

"And I am. For this moment." Percy continued the childish chant.

'Don't tell me I have to suffer this until we get out of here.'

Unfortunately, Harry did have to suffer. To Percy's convenience, no one else got on, allowing him to tease Harry continuously. Once they reached the top floor, harry was glad to run out. He took a deep breath at the scenery.

They were at the top of the dam. Below them seemed to be endless water.

"Harry! Percy!" Annabeth's voice shook Harry out of his trance, "Where've you two been?"

She hugged both of them individually and maybe Harry's mind was playing tricks on him, but he could've sworn Annabeth gave him a little squeeze when it was his turn.

Percy waved his hand, "Hiding from monsters, dodging the death. You know, the usual. Oh, and Harry here found himself a love interest."

"What?" Annabeth looked at him.

"It's not like that at all. What happened was~"

"Okay, guys, we have much more important things to focus on than Harry's romantic life," Thalia cut them off, "I can't think of where to go next."

"G-Guys," Bianca pointed, "Aren't those the...?"

"For Hera's sake," Zoë muttered, "These skeletons can't leave us alone."

Harry looked around, "There's nowhere to run."

"They say the Gods will help us if we pray to them." Annabeth offered some advice.

"But who can we pray to?" Bianca asked the question that everyone was thinking.

A light bulb went off in Harry's head and he turned to Thalia, "Pray to your Father."

"What? Why me?" Thalia wanted to know.

"Because he's most likely to respond if his daughter asks him. Come on, we don't have time to argue about this," Harry removed his pistol from its holster, "I'll buy you time. But if you don't get us out of here, we're going to be dealing with skeletons and police."

Thalia closed her eyes and started to pray.

Harry aimed with one eye and shot a skeleton in the head. It dazed him for a moment, but soon he was back in action, heading towards them.

'So the shotgun is the only one that works on them,' Harry told himself, 'Damn it, it's only good for close range.'

A bullet whizzed past him and Percy removed his lion skin coat, holding it like a shield, "Thalia, anytime now!"

She didn't respond, still in the middle of prayer.

Zoë scowled, "I'm tired of being left at the mercy of these half-bloods. If Lady Artemis saw me now, she would not be pleased."

"Wait, Zoë," Bianca called after her, "What are you going to do?"

Zoë revealed a silver hunting knife in her right hand, "I'm going to hunt." She hopped over Percy's makeshift shield and kicked one skeletal warrior off the dam.

A woman screamed and a commotion started below.

"That's our signal to get out of here," Harry pointed, "Thalia are you~"

Before Harry could utter another word, giant metal angel statues flew towards the group, picked them up and carried them off. Zoë was snatched before she could fight any more skeletons.

"Help from Zeus?" Harry inquired from Thalia.

"Help from Zeus," Thalia had her eyes shut tightly, "Why'd it have to be flight?"

"So, anyone have any idea where we are?" Percy rubbed his neck as the angel statues flew off, "Cause I sure don't."

They had been let down on a rooftop of an unknown city.

Annabeth's face darkened, much to Harry's notice.

"Anything wrong?" He asked her.

"I know this place," Annabeth sighed, "This is San Francisco. My Dad lives here."

Thalia clicked her tongue, "The douche bag."

"Hey." Percy shook his head, telling her to cut it out.

"It's fine," Annabeth waved her hand, "I can't say I don't agree."

"If we're in San Francisco, before we see your Dad, we need to go to the docks," Percy interrupted, "It'll only take a few minutes."

"Fine by me," Thalia shrugged, "If I saw Annabeth's Dad right now, I don't know if I could resist punching him in the face. Sorry Annie."

"Like I said, I don't care." Annabeth bit her lip.

'That's a lie Annabeth,' Harry watched her silently, 'You don't want to to say anything, but it bothers you.'

"So, uh, how are we gonna get down from here?" Bianca asked.

Percy grinned, "My dear Bianca, there's a thing called a fire escape. See, it's purpose was to~"

"You talk too much," Zoë shook her head, "Bianca, follow me down."

Zoë scaled the building with her hands, climbing down slowly. When she was a good 10 feet above the ground, she dropped down, "Simple as that."

"Not all of us are immortal." Percy muttered.

Bianca however, followed her role model's example and was on the ground in no time, "Guys, it's actually not that hard."

Percy crossed his arms, "You guys aren't seriously gonna~"

Thalia was already rolling up her sleeves, "It looks fun."

Annabeth tied her hair into a pony tail with a rubber band, "I don't know if fun is the right word, but I want to try it out."

Percy sighed, "What about you Harry? You gonna jump too?"

Harry chuckled, "Actually, I'm fine climbing down. Got to get the blood rushing every now and then, am I right?"

"We just escaped indestructible skeletal warriors. My blood is still rushing!"

"Stop being such a baby Seaweed Brain," Annabeth called from below, "You're wasting time."

Harry wrapped his Gryffindor scarf around his right hand and used it as a claw, digging into the building's side as he slid down. When he finally touched the ground, he couldn't help but smile.

"That really gets the blood kicking. Percy, try it! It's awesome!" Harry gave him a thumbs up.

Percy muttered a prayer to Hermes and jumped. The look on his face went from fear, to uncertainty and finally a rush of adrenaline.

"Woo-hoo!" Percy jumped in the air, "That was amazing! We've got to do that again!"

"Wasn't there something important you wanted to do by the docks?" Bianca reminded him.

"Right, right," Percy smacked himself in the forehead, "Sorry about that everyone. Let's go."

"Are you positive we are at the correct location?" Zoë crossed her arms.

"I haven't been here in a long time but...yeah," Annabeth nodded, "These are the docks."

"Well," Zoë looked at Percy, "What did you need?"

"I'm looking for him." Percy scanned the waters.

"Him?" Thalia questioned, "We're looking for a person?"

"Not a person, a god. Kind of." Percy jumped down from the street and onto the pier.

"I don't get it," Thalia followed after him, "What does he look like?"

Percy sighed, "I have no idea what he looks like, but if we want answers, we need to ask him. He's rumored to know everything."

"WHO IS HE?!" Thalia exclaimed.

"His name is Nereus and he's an old sea god from before my Dad's time," Percy explained, "That's all I know."

"Could that be the one you seek?" Zoë pointed.

They turned their heads to look. An fat man sat on the edge of the pier, muttering things to himself.

"Why not?" Annabeth shrugged her shoulders, "Does the fact that he happened to appear mean anything?"

"It's probably him." Harry nodded.

Percy was already walking up to him.

"Excuse me Sir~"

"Stay away!" The man yelled, causing Percy to jump back, "I don't want anyone near me!"

Percy exchanged looks with the others and they shrugged their shoulders.

He sighed as he continued, "Are you Nereus?"

"Not another one," The man groaned, "Are you a demigod?"

"Is that a problem?" Percy asked, reaching into his pocket for his pen.

"I'm tired of being asked questions," Nereus frowned, "Can't I rest in piece?"

"I understand how you feel but we really need~"

"It's always about you, isn't it?" Nereus stood up, "If you think for one second, I'm going to answer your question, you're dead wrong."

"Is there anyway to get you to listen?" Percy questioned.

Nereus thought for a moment, scratching his pale yellow beard. His eyes seemed to light up and he smiled crookedly, "If you can catch me, I'll answer your question."

"Catch you?" Percy stepped forward, smirking, "Is that all?"

Nereus jumped into the water and Percy dived after him.

The others ran to the edge of the dock and stared into the water.

"How long do you think this is going to take?" Thalia asked no one in particular.

Zoë sighed, "My hope is that he catches the god swiftly. It is not my dream to spend the afternoon here."

"We agree on one thing at least." Thalia knelt on the wood.

Minutes felt like hours as they stood around waiting for someone to emerge victorious.

Bianca couldn't take it anymore, "Harry, do you have a spell you could use to make things end quicker?"

Harry smiled, "Never fear when the wizard is here. I think I have something..."

"Don't rush. We've been here for at least 7 minutes. Take your time, as long as you get that spell." Annabeth said.

"Shh," Thalia hushed Annabeth, "He's already got it."

"Alarte Ascendare!" Harry pointed his wand at the water casting the spell.

Both Nereus and Percy were blown high into the air. Nereus could be heard shrieking.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTION!" Nereus conceded, acknowledging defeat.

Harry smirked as the old sea god and Percy fell into the water. Percy hopped out quickly and gave Harry a high five.

"Nice work." Percy grinned.

"Thank you." Harry jokingly bowed.

Nereus grumbled, "You should've drowned, even without using a cheap trick like that."

"I can't drown, I'm the son of Poseidon." Percy informed him.

"Curse that upstart," Nereus spat, "I was here first."

"Um~"

"Enough of this!" Zoë intervened, "Ask the question!"

"Right," Percy nodded, "Where is the monster that Artemis has been tracking?"

"Is that it?" Nereus laughed, pointing at the water, "There he is!"

Percy furrowed his brows, "Bessie? No, it can't be."

"You asked a question, you got an answer. See ya!" Nereus shape-shifted into a goldfish, disappearing into the sea.

"Damn it!" Percy ran his fingers through his hair, "This was all for nothing."

Zoë tensed, "Be on your guard."

"Why?" Thalia stood up, stretching.

"Because of them." Bianca pointed at the group of men behind them.

They were all human, except for a familiar Manticore.

"Dr. Thorn." Bianca said bitterly.

"Hello my dear Bianca, how are you?" He laughed, "Doing well I see? Sorry, you're not the reason I'm here."

"None of you are, except for her." He pointed at Thalia.

"Me?" Confusion was evident on her face, "Why?"

"The Ophiotaurus is right there. Kill it and all the power will be yours." Dr. Thorn stepped forward.

Harry removed his shotgun from its holster, "I don't think so. Why is this thing so special anyway? It looks like it couldn't hurt a fly."

"On its own, it has no real power," Dr. Thorn agreed, "But whoever kills it and burns its entrails will destroy Olympus."

"And why would I want to do that?" Thalia questioned, her mace can extending into her spear.

"What have the gods ever done for you?" Dr. Thorn questioned, "Your father Zeus, wouldn't even save you in your dying hours. Instead, he turned you into a tree. Not to mention he knew what he was putting you through when you came into existence."

Thalia was silent and Harry noticed her hand falter.

"Slay the Ophiotaurus and join us. We will create a better world, one where the gods don't rule and leave everything to chance. I'm sure Luke would be overjoyed to see you." Dr. Thorn added.

"Luke..?" Thalia slowly started to lower her gear.

"No way in Tartarus is she going with you," Harry stomped his foot, "You really think if you over throw the gods, you won't do the same thing? Power changes people. Even if the gods are doing the best job right now, they're still a hundred times better than you imbeciles."

"Heh, well said wizard," Zoë sneered, "Let us put these fools back in their place."

'Use the pistol.' A familiar voice told Harry, 'The pistol is meant for humans.'

"Whatever you say!" Harry put his shotgun back in its holster and took the pistol instead, "I haven't used this one that much. Hopefully it won't send me flying like the shotgun."

He shot one human man and the guy fell to the floor.

"Harry?!" Percy looked back at him, "What did you just do?"

"Leave it alone Percy!" Annabeth ordered him, "I trust Harry. He wouldn't kill someone."

Percy clamped his mouth shut and nodded, apologize to Harry with his eyes.

Zoë and Thalia ran up the deck and engaged Dr. Thorn in combat while Harry picked off any humans that tried to intervene. This allowed Percy, Annabeth and Bianca to give Zoë and Thalia back up.

Once every human was down, Harry went back to his shotgun, but there was no need. The five of them had already gotten Dr. Thorn.

"What should we do?" Annabeth asked, "If we kill him, he'll just come back three hours later."

"I have an idea," Harry stepped forward, pointing his wand at Dr. Thorn, "Incarcerous."

Ropes appeared around him, turning this way and that until finally they made a big not at the center.

"That should hold him." Harry clapped his hands.

Thalia held her chin, "One more thing." She kicked Dr. Thorn onto his side and rolled him into the water, "There we go."

"Couldn't he drown?" Bianca asked.

Thalia shrugged her shoulders, "Monsters aren't human. We can't limit them to the same constraints."

"Wouldn't mind if he did," Percy said, receiving a punch from Annabeth, "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't say stuff like that. We're supposed to be the good guys." Annabeth scolded him.

"Supposed to." Percy mumbled rubbing his arm.

"Where to next?" Bianca asked, getting the group back on track.

"My sisters may know something to aide us with this quest, but in order to get to them we will need a vehicle." Zoë said.

Everyone was silent. Where could they get a working car without any questions?

Thalia snapped her fingers, "Annabeth! Your Dad!"

"What?" She grimaced at the mention of him.

"He has a car right? Maybe if you asked him he would~"

"Lend it to us?" Annabeth snorted, "He hasn't seen me in 4 years. I can't just show up out of the blue and ask to borrow his car.

"Annabeth, this could speed us up," Harry pleaded, "I've tried to put her out of my mind, but it's not working. Hermione needs my help as quickly as possible."

Annabeth pursed her lips, "Alright. Stop with the puppy eyes."

"Thank you." Harry bowed.

"Just in case, I want everyone to listen up," Annabeth warned them, "When we get there, no poking around, no asking questions and do not accept any offers for food."

Percy touched his stomach, "Even if you're really hungry?"

"Even if you're really hungry." Annabeth nodded, "Now let's go."

Back from the hiatus! :D