The chase was rather harrowing. The skeleton-warrior-things didn't let up on their tail for hours, and it took some misdirection (and demigod powers) to throw them off of the group's tail. By the time they had escaped the skeletons, the sun was near setting, and their van was nearly out of gas.
Luckily, Percy had bumped into a beggar – that may or may not have been Apollo in disguise – that directed them to a nice train carrying plenty of nice cars.
The train chugged away into the night, the sound of the metal on rails becoming rhythmic and normal to Percy as he stared out of the Lamborghini's windshield. Beside him, one of his best friends, Grover, snored loudly, his goat legs perched on the leather dashboard as he lay under the cover of his jacket. Percy himself had put on the Nemean Lion's pelt – which had conveniently transformed into a brown duster, courtesy of the Mist – when the temperature dropped during the night.
Quietly opening up the passenger door, Percy slid out of the obscenely expensive sports car, immediately feeling the chilly night air blow into his face at high speed. The would-be warmth of summer was nothing compared to the wind chill of a fast, moving train, and Percy felt happy that he had the duster with him, unconsciously pulling it closer as he carefully stepped towards a nearby car.
He rapped his knuckles a few times on the side window of the car, before hearing the tell-tale click of the door unlocking. Gratefully, he quickly opened up the passenger door and slid into the seat, closing it behind him to bask in the warmth of the car's heater.
Thalia stared at her friend, who, evidently, had decided to join her in the middle of the night. "Hi there," she finally said, staring at the son of Poseidon. Percy, having warmed up his fingers enough to feel the tips of them, turned around and smiled.
"Yo."
An awkward silence filled the air between them, only being broken by the sound of an alternative rock band that Thalia had found suitable enough to listen to.
"That was a close fight," Thalia spoke up, breaking the quietness.
Percy slowly nodded. "Yeah, that could've gone bad. The Nemean Lion was definitely not the monster the prophecy was talking about, though."
"Definitely not. We'll have to keep going to find this bane."
Silence befell them once more as they took in the thought, though this time, it was more companionable as they imagined what a 'bane of Olympus' could be.
"Well, whatever this mystery monster is," Percy began, "the General said it would come from you. They wanted to split up the group and keep you from the rest of us, so the monster could fight you one-on-one."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"Wonderful. I love being bait."
Percy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "No idea what this monster could be?"
Thalia shook her head, a look of melancholy washing over her face. "Still, we've gotta go west. Artemis was heading to San Francisco for some reason, and I doubt it was for no reason."
"Wait, why?" Percy questioned, curious. "What's so bad about San Fran?"
"The Mist is thicker there than anywhere else in the U.S. because the Mountain of Despair is so close to it. Titan magic attracts monsters like you wouldn't believe."
"The Mountain of Despair? What's that?"
Thalia raised an eyebrow, an annoyed look replacing the melancholy. "You really don't know? Ask Zoë. She's the expert." She turned to glare out of the windshield at the passing shrubbery and wildlife, and Percy fell silent. He didn't like admitting that he wasn't knowledgeable about something, even to (or especially to) a close friend like Thalia, and her expression spoke of danger on the topic of the lieutenant of the Hunters.
Breathing in deeply, Percy leaned back into his chair, letting the music wash over him as he examined his friend. Dressed in her regular punk rocker aesthetic clothes, she looked about as far from the regal, almost royal and princess-looking Zoë as one could be. Personality-wise, it was no different; the Hunter was stoic and aloof, whereas Thalia was rebellious and passionate.
Still, for all of their differences, there was something that made them more similar than either would like to admit. Percy could see it on her face, even as she mixed annoyance and melancholy into a single expression. A determination, a toughness that both possessed in spades. It almost made Thalia seem like a Hunter of Artemis, ready to carry out the hunt.
"Wait."
Thalia turned, frowning as she looked at her friend with a confused look.
"That's why you don't like Zoë," Percy continued. "The Hunters tried to recruit you, right?"
Thalia's expression stiffened, and her electric blue eyes almost seemed to sizzle with electricity. For a second, Percy wondered if he had made a grievous miscalculation with his words, but Thalia's buzz seemed to die down as quickly as it had appeared, leaving her looking more tired and wary than angry.
She sighed. "I almost joined them," Thalia admitted. "We ran into them once, and Zoë tried to recruit me then. She almost convinced me, and I was on the very edge of joining the Hunters…"
"Why didn't you?" Percy asked. Thalia's lips pursed, and her fingers tightened around the leather of the Mercedes' steering wheel.
"I would've had to leave Luke."
Percy felt his heart tighten, for more than one reason, at the sound of his former compatriot's name. He wasn't sure whether he was angry at the fact that the bastard had betrayed Thalia's trust, or whether he was jealous that he used to have – and still had – such power over her…
"Oh." That was all Percy could say in light of the facts.
"Zoë and I got into a fight. She said I was stupid and that I would regret it. That Luke would let me down someday."
"That's harsh," Percy whispered. "Hard to admit that she was right." The words came out more scathingly than Percy had intended, but the effect on Thalia was evident. She whipped around, her eyes blazing with passion, almost red with sadness, as she faced her friend.
"No! She was wrong! Luke never let me down!" Thalia's force died down, and she breathed out deeply, falling into her seat as she did. Her eyes nearly brimmed with tears as she struggled to control her breathing.
"We'll have to fight him. There's no way around that."
A silence. This one stretched on for seconds upon seconds, each moment an eternity as the screech of the train remained constant.
"I know." Finally, it was an uncharacteristic whisper, hoarse and quiet, from Thalia.
Percy's throat went dry, his jealousy over Luke and Thalia's relationship dying as he examined his friend.
"I'm so sorry. Th-that it's come to this." Thalia looked toward Percy, whose own eyes were red. "If only I had stopped him. Or… or…" Percy's voice died, and he similarly slumped into his seat, unable to continue.
Percy stared at the soft fabric of the Mercedes' roof, not trusting himself to say anything, with his metaphorical dam of emotions barely holding together. He couldn't believe that Luke had such power over him, but it made some twisted sense. He was charismatic and likable, and Percy had felt such a kinship to the older boy, much like how a younger brother would look up to a successful older brother.
An arm slipped around Percy's torso, and he shifted his head to see Thalia lean over the gap between their chairs to place her head on Percy's shoulder. He leaned a little back, allowing Thalia to move more freely and not strain as much to move over the space between them. The car didn't have a back row, so the space in between them was a solid piece of plastic that Thalia could rest against as she leaned towards Percy.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," she solemnly promised, her voice barely a whisper. "And we will cross that bridge."
"I'll be right there. With you." Percy replied, his voice no louder than hers. He felt her hand, the one that reached over his body, tighten as it gripped his far shoulder, and he could feel her warm breath wash over his exposed skin as she leaned into him.
Finally, her breath became more rhythmic, and Percy could tell that she had fallen asleep. It had been a grueling day, and he could not begrudge her the much-needed rest. With his free hand, he silently turned off the still-playing radio, before closing his own eyes. He slightly leaned towards Thalia, pushing them both towards the center of the car.
If anyone crossed the windshield of a specific black Mercedes SLK, they would find a pair of teenagers sleeping against one another, looking like any other couple in the world. The two would blush at such sentiments, but thankfully for a rather specific passing-by god, they were securely in Morpheus' domain.
Apollo sighed as he viewed the son of Poseidon and daughter of Zeus. They were closer to each other than any children of those two particular gods had any right to be. Not that he could begrudge them. From what he could see, their relationship was genuine and, more importantly, mutually strengthening – he was not against it. However, he could still see the potential mess that this would create, were it to reach Zeus' or Poseidon's ears.
A son of Poseidon and a daughter of Zeus, Apollo mused. It was obvious what their future was going to be like, even if they didn't see it themselves.
He expected great things from the two. Together.
Revised: 5-21-18 (minor edits)