The Junkyard of the Gods was a place not meant for man.
At least, that was Percy's impression of the ironically termed god-forsaken place.
To his right, Thalia and Zoë scoured the area and climbed on top of broken pieces of junk to try and find a way out. While the two still held a degree of animosity towards one another, they had evidently agreed to put aside their personal differences until they made it out of the potential death trap.
Bianca and Grover were to Percy's left. Every now and then, Grover would look up and sniff a few times, as if tracking a scent, before turning to a new direction and pushing towards some path. For her part, Bianca accompanied Grover, though she'd pick up a little something here and there and wonder at it, before tossing it back into the junk and moving on.
They had been virtually lost in the junkyard for hours. Percy, for his part, would've been utterly lost were it not for the abundant constellations in the unpolluted night sky. Still, the feeling of being stuck in an unknown and rather creepy place was frightening if he didn't have his fellow lost companions with him.
"Hey, look!" Bianca exclaimed. Percy, Thalia, and Zoë all turned around, weapons in hand for the worst. Instead, they saw the amateur Hunter holding up an ethereal bow, which glowed a tint of silver whenever the girl moved it around. "It even morphs like Percy's sword," she cheerily explained, shrinking the magical weapon down to a small ornamental hair pin in the shape of a crescent moon. It was, as Percy thought, a rather fitting weapon for Hunter of Artemis.
Zoë did not share this sentiment. "I am not sure if you should take this, Bianca," the lieutenant of Artemis slowly said, a sense of warning clear in her voice. "Whatever was left here was left for a reason." Bianca pouted a little, but eventually nodded her head in acquiescence and placed the small hair clip on a broken CRT monitor.
Suddenly, Grover burst from behind a pile of junk, scattering pieces of scrap metal and material onto the haphazardly cleared path. The satyr was panting, but he had a wide smile on his face as he looked at the bewildered demigods in front of him.
"Guys, I've found a way out."
Grover led to them through a winding path of trashed objects, rusty and broken metal contraptions piled high as far as the eye could see. Still, there was a clear way that Grover had carved out, and eventually, they burst out of a pile of debris that led to a long clear road flanked by walls of junk. At the end of the road, each of them could see the desert, free of any godly refuse.
Bianca whooped in joy, while Thalia smiled at the sight of freedom. Even Zoë, stoic as she was, cracked a small grin at the sight. Percy just sighed in relief. A few short minutes of walking later, and the five of them fell onto the familiar black asphalt of a U.S. highway, happy at their fortune.
Before any of them could move further, however, a thunderous rumbling roared behind them, and the party turned to face an imposing sight: a metal man, bronze in color and gigantic in stature, rose from the piles of metal, its gears straining and groaning as it extended itself to its full height.
The metal man's armor was warped and dirty-looking. Its face was deformed, a large dent in its left cheek and a lack of metal coverings on its right side giving the automaton's face an eerie grin. Every time it shifted slightly, which it did many times as it adjusted its balance, the figure's joints creaked and squeaked, hinting at how old the statue must've been.
"What is that?" Percy whispered, backing away slightly as everyone took a step backwards in sheer shock and awe.
"Talos," Zoë whispered, her voice losing its characteristic stillness in favor of a more human shakiness. "Someone took something," she accused, her voice hardening as she whipped around to face Percy. "Who took something?"
Percy backed away with his hands held up. "Not me. I'm a lot of things, but I'm no thief." Bianca, Thalia, and Grover stayed silent, but any opportunities for them to fess up to the crime was taken away as the towering defective Talos took a single step towards them, covering more than half of the distance while making the earth boom with the force of its step.
"Run!" Grover yelled, and the party split like they had against the Nemean Lion. Unfortunately, Talos was no Nemean Lion. Thalia had her shield out and ran down the highway, blocking the electric sparks that burst out of the broken power lines the giant swung its sword through. Zoë was firing arrow after arrow at weak points, like joints, of the mechanical monster, but to no avail – each broke harmlessly against its metal armor.
Percy narrowly dodged a falling power line before swinging behind a broken chariot for cover. He found Bianca already there, her bow out but no arrow notched. His eye's narrowed as he took in the girl's guilty expression.
"You took something, didn't you," Percy accused. "That bow, right?"
"No!" Bianca denied, but her voice quivered as she said it, terror coloring her response as the earth shook with each of Talos' steps.
"Just give it back! Throw it down!"
"I – I didn't take the bow! Besides, it doesn't matter anymore!"
Percy looked up. "Move!" he roared, and he dragged Bianca away with him as he scurried away from the chariot. A second later, the giant's foot crushed it, flattening where the two had been hiding just prior. Percy tried to drag her further away, but Bianca was still, her eyes tearing up as she stood frozen in the middle of the highway.
Her hand reached into a pocket and pulled out a small figurine, a metal statue of a god, while her other hand pulled out the small hair clip. Bianca's voice trembled. "I … I got this for Nico. It was the only statue he didn't have. I thought that since I took it, the hair clip wouldn't be much more."
Percy looked incredulous. "How can you think of Mythomagic at a time like this?" the son of Poseidon spoke slowly, his voice low and tone accusing. "How can you think of taking anything from there?" He pointed at the junkyard to emphasize his words.
The inexperienced Hunter was crying at Percy's words.
"Throw it down," Percy advised again, easing his tone. "Maybe it'll stop chasing us." Bianca dropped both items reluctantly, but nothing changed. The giant still was chasing after Grover, who was narrowly avoiding many of the wide sword swings of the defective Talos unit. Finally, the giant stabbed downwards at a pile of junk, throwing Grover away with the force of its thrust and covering the satyr with debris.
Zoë moved in to distract the metal monstrosity, but her arrows were still ineffective, and with a swing of the giant's other arm, Zoë was sent flying back into the junkyard, landing behind mounds of trash and beyond Percy's, Bianca's, and Thalia's sight.
When Grover was sent flying, Thalia also moved in, yelling at the sight of her friend being thrown to the ground. She pointed her spear at the giant, sending a blue arc of electricity flying out at the monster. It hit the Talos unit on its right knee, sending that leg buckling, but after a few moments, it reoriented and stood back up, albeit slower and more shakily compared to before.
As the giant raised a foot to stomp down again, Percy eyed a small vent, a manhole of sorts, that was exposed on the bottom, with the label 'FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY' on the side. A spark of inspiration went off in the son of Poseidon's head.
"I've got a crazy idea."
Bianca nervously looked at her companion. "Go for it." Percy explained the maintenance hatch.
"There's gotta be some way to destroy from the inside, where it's more exposed. I'm going to get inside."
"How? You'll get crushed!"
"I just have to time it right. You need to distract it." Nearby, Thalia rolled out of the way of another sword swing, this one cutting through a mound of junk and sending debris flying into the air.
Bianca clenched her jaw. "No, I'll go."
Percy spun around to look at her. "What? No, you're new! You'll die!"
"It's my fault that the monster is after us," she whispered. "It's my responsibility. Here." She handed Percy the small Mythomagic figurine. "If anything happens, give this to Nico. Tell him… tell him that I'm sorry."
Percy forced the small statue back into her hand, closing her fist around it. "Tell him yourself. Distract Talos." He turned to face the highway.
"Thalia!" The girl looked up as her name was called. Bianca's arrows flew overhead, and each, while not as accurate as Zoë's were, still annoyed the metallic contraption, which turned away from the daughter of Zeus and toward the remaining Hunter. Bianca paled and backed up, still firing arrows, as the giant slowly and ominously made its way toward her.
Meanwhile, Percy raced over to Thalia. "I've got a plan. There's an open maintenance hatch underneath its right foot, and-" He was cut off by Thalia's nodding and raised hand.
"I get in and wreck its insides with lightning, right?" Percy nodded.
"I would do it, but there's not much, if any, water to draw from here."
Thalia sighed, and eyed the monster. "Just make sure it raises its foot." She ran over and positioned herself near the foot of the giant, making sure not to get stepped on. Percy also ran up to the Talos unit, and seeing that Thalia was already in position and ready, he pulled out Riptide and slashed downwards onto the other foot of the automaton.
Talos immediately looked down and raised its foot to crush Percy, who turned and jumped to dodge. The foot still came down right beside him, and the force of the impact sent him flying. When Percy rolled over, coughed, and opened his eyes again, he saw the imposing form of the underside of the giant's foot above him.
'I hope Thalia got in' was all that went through the boy's mind as he felt imminent doom come upon him. However, the giant suddenly wavered, and it tripped backwards, its foot completely missing the downed demigod. Percy got up and stared at the sight of Grover frantically playing his pipes. Each time he did, a power line flew off and struck the defective unit.
Likely, the power lines were more annoying than they were harmful, and as the giant made its way toward Grover, the satyr tried to run. Unfortunately, he was exhausted from the magical exertion he had just put himself through by playing his pipes, and he fell to the ground after two steps, not moving even as the ground around him rumbled with each of Talos' steps.
"Grover!" Percy yelled, futilely running towards his downed friend even as he knew that he wouldn't make it in time. It seemed imminent that the defective monster would step on the tired satyr.
Suddenly, the Talos unit stopped, and it oddly jerked its arm and head, contorting itself into poses more akin to those seen in a game of Twister rather than any that was suitable for the field of battle. This continued as the metallic monster stumbled between the junkyard and the highway, sending pieces of metal and scrap flying everywhere as it jerkily moved. It seemed unable to coordinate itself.
"Thalia," Percy whispered, realizing that his friend must've made it into the monster.
As if on cue, flashes of blue lightning burst out of the gaps in the monster's armor. While Thalia was inside and had some measure of control over the movements of the automaton, the Talos unit seemed desperate to keep control of itself, resorting to slamming its hands against its own torso in an attempt to wipe out whatever was controlling it from its chest.
Percy and Bianca raced over to Grover, collecting the satyr as they followed the stumbling monster down the highway.
"Wait, how will she get out?" Bianca worriedly asked. Percy's eyes widened as he realized that he had never thought of that.
Down the highway, the Talos unit still walked, its joints and torso smoking from fried machinery and broken servos. Still, it held a measure of control over its own body, fighting with the commands it was getting from Thalia inside. The Talos unit hit itself in the head, causing it to fall across the highway into a row of power lines.
"Watch out!" Percy fruitlessly yelled, unable to change the course of the falling monster. The Talos unit's legs snagged on the power lines, and blue arcs of electricity coursed through the monster's highly conductive metal body, short-circuiting everything inside as the giant shook from the electricity running through it. It was stumbled back up and fell back into the junkyard, but its body was already falling apart. An arm embedded itself into the ground as its knees buckled and fully crumbled. Its head finally rolled off as pieces of armor unbuckled themselves and clanged to the ground with loud echoes, and the entire contraption fell to the ground, broken beyond even Hephaestus' ability to repair.
"Thalia!" Percy yelled, rushing towards the downed monster with Bianca and the just-awoken Grover on his heels. Percy looked hopelessly at the scattered parts, many of them still smoking.
No…
Please…
Thalia.
Percy fell to the ground, his face buried in his hands. Bianca and Grover raced up to him, similar somber expressions on their faces as they took in the sight.
The sun was just beginning to rise in the distance, but in Percy's heart, it may have well been the dark side of the moon.
Grover kneeled beside his friend. Bianca sat on a nearby cylindrical piece of metal, her lips tight.
A cough echoed out from the torso of the Talos unit. Percy's head snapped up instantly, as did Grover's and Bianca's. The son of Poseidon sprinted to the top of the monster, and drawing Riptide, he slashed downwards, carving a hole through the tough metal of the monster. Finally, he cut through, and the piece of metal fell.
Thalia stared back. She sported a nasty cut on her forehead, but was otherwise fine, and with the assistance of Percy and Grover, she was pulled out of the destroyed control center of the automaton.
"Whew, that was a close one," she exclaimed, dusting off her jeans and popping her knuckles.
"H-how?" Percy stuttered, both astonished and ecstatic at the miraculous survival of his friend.
"Meh, electricity is one of my powers, Seaweed Brain," Thalia amusedly answered, playfully prodding my shoulder. "I was more hurt when it fell. Bashed my head pretty good."
As if on cue, Grover pulled out his pipes and played a little. The healing magic sealed up Thalia's wound, but left Grover even more exhausted, to the point where he fell backwards as if his bones had been removed. He was caught by Bianca and laid down.
"Zoë," Bianca suddenly said. Percy and Thalia looked at each other.
"It's light now," Percy said. "We'll find her." Thalia nodded.
From the ground, Grover coughed. "No, we won't," he said miserably. "It's happened just as it should."
"What are you talking about?" Percy asked.
Grover looked up at his friend, tiredness and sadness evident in his eyes. "The prophecy. One shall be lost in the land without rain."
Percy gulped. The satyr was right. They were in a land without rain.
And they had just lost the lieutenant of Artemis.
Bianca sat down on the ground as she her eyes teared.
"I'll go find some transportation," Thalia spoke up, uncomfortable with the situation. Percy quickly jumped up.
"I'll go with you. Grover," Percy said, looking at his tired friend, "stay behind with Bianca. We'll be back soon." The satyr was too tired to mutter more than a 'sure' as the two demigods left.
The two strolled through the winding hills of debris, searching high and low for a vehicle that had preferably four wheels and an engine. Silence pervaded the space between them as they walked.
"I'm really glad that you're fine," Percy remarked, breaking the silence.
Thalia nodded. "Me too. That was way closer than I wanted to be to the Underworld."
The silence returned.
"Look," Percy spoke up again. "I wasn't completely truthful with you guys about Aphrodite." Thalia looked interested, half-turning with an eyebrow raised at Percy's statement.
"How so?"
Percy blushed. "Well, she… she gave me some advice."
Thalia looked amused. "You say advice, like the romance kind of advice?"
"Yeah. She kept talking about it, and it was… really confusing."
"Really?"
"She kept talking about Annabeth."
Thalia full-stopped, turning around to face her friend. Percy couldn't read her impassive expression.
"What about Annabeth?" the daughter of Zeus asked, her voice even and clear.
Percy sighed. "She continually compared Annabeth to a princess in need or whatever, and made the Paris and Helen comparison. It was really awkward."
Thalia blinked at the explanation. "So… how did you feel at that?" she slowly asked.
Percy chuckled a little. "It's weird to think about. Annabeth's like a sister. We fight, laugh, and have fun together, but I don't really think about, you know, kissing her or anything. I love her – just not in that way."
He looked away, missing Thalia's split-second relieved expression, and when he turned back, Thalia's face reverted to a regular smile.
"Well," she started slowly, "Aphrodite has been known to lead men astray. It would not be out of character for her to create or imagine a romance where none existed before." Percy looked relieved at her words.
"Really? That's good to know." Thalia nodded, and she turned to continue walking. Percy followed closely behind. Eventually, the pair stumbled upon an ancient tow truck, but at the very least, it ran, so the two hopped in, Thalia at the wheel, and they slowly navigated their way back to the other two in silence.
Percy was absolutely relieved – and livid – that what he had been having doubts about was just Aphrodite's mindgames.
Thalia was absolutely relieved – and happy – but she couldn't explain why.
Nonetheless, as the two drove back towards Bianca and Grover, the rising sun on their backs, each turned to the other with smiles on their faces, before facing forwards.
Towards the future. Where they could only hope happiness awaited.
Aphrodite lounged in her palace, pulling grapes off their vines and popping them into her mouth as she watched the events of the mortal world unfolding with an almost lazy glance.
In particular, one event. Or rather, one pair of people.
Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace. The son of Poseidon and the daughter of Zeus.
A grape burst in her grip as she thought about them. Annoyed, she snapped her fingers, cleaning the remains of the grape from her hands and furniture.
They were not meant to be. This was not how it was supposed to go. Perseus Jackson was supposed to be with Annabeth Chase, where he would be kept down-to-earth, kept humanized by the domineering force of will that was that particular daughter of Athena.
Now, instead, he was with Thalia Grace. Like Annabeth Chase, she was a pure force of nature, but instead of controlling, she was complementing, and instead of canceling out the storm, she enhanced its strength.
This was a storm that Aphrodite was afraid of. This was a storm that had the potential to engulf Olympus, and it came at a time when the Titans were making their latest resurgence. The potential for the gods to be overthrown during this period of turmoil was too high, and Aphrodite would not allow this to happen.
Deep down, however, she knew that there was another reason. She had ordained that Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were to be in love. Instead, she found her will subverted by the actions of the rebellious daughter of Zeus.
"Such a punk," Aphrodite muttered, tapping her lip with one finely manicured finger. It was absolutely insufferable that her will could be ignored in such a way, and by such a lowly figure.
This was more than the future of Olympus. This was even more than a point of professional pride.
This was a point of personal pride for Aphrodite, and she would never allow her pride to be harmed.
Thalia Grace would fall before that. And then all would be right in the cosmos.
Aphrodite would only do her best to see this through. Her pride would allow only that.