Percy sliced through one skeleton. Thalia stabbed another, breaking it into pieces.
Still, more came towards them. And the ones they had destroyed reassembled themselves with speed. The two demigods were getting slowly overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers the monsters had on their side.
"We should run," Thalia grunted, deflecting a heavy baton blow from a skeleton with her shield.
"Yeah," Percy agreed. Disengaging from combat, both turned and sprinted down a set of stairs, blowing right past the security entrance and setting off the metal detector. Behind them, a security guard yelled, "hey!", but they ignored it as they barreled right into a nearly-full elevator just as it closed.
The tourists in the tour group looked annoyed at the two winded teens who had pushed and bumped them in their hasty entrance, but the tour guide was unperturbed and still droned on in a neutral voice about the history of the Hoover Dam and random fun facts.
"We will be going down seven hundred feet. Do not worry, ladies and gentlemen, this elevator hardly ever breaks." To Percy, that'd normally be rather not reassuring, but given the situation he and Thalia were in, he ignored it.
"Does this go to the snack bar?" Percy asked. Thalia looked at her friend incredulously, her expression being the non-verbal equivalent of "are you serious?". Some of the other tourists chuckled, while many likely did a mental facepalm.
The tour guide turned to look at Percy. "We are going to the turbines, young man. Were you not listening to my presentation upstairs?"
"Is there another way out of the dam?" Thalia asked, cutting off any potential reply from the son of Poseidon.
"For heaven's sake," a tourist in the back of the elevator huffed. "It's a dead end. The only way out is the other elevator."
Before anyone else could say anything, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, leading to a flood of tourists pouring out of the elevator. Percy and Thalia went along with the flow, not being able to do much else.
"Go right ahead, folks," the tour guide continued. "There will be another ranger waiting for you at the end of the hall."
Percy and Thalia were left alone by the still-open elevator as the rest of the tour group walked away, both unsure exactly where to go or what to do. The sound of someone clearing their throat caused both demigods to turn around.
The tour guide had pulled off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of gray, stormy eyes. She looked at Thalia.
"There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it." Looking at both of them, Percy felt the intensity of the tour guide's gaze as it fell upon him. "And usually, there is more than one way out."
She looked over them both. "I expect… very much from the two of you."
The elevator doors slid shut, leaving Percy and Thalia alone, the whine of turbines a distant but constant sound. Both of them stared blankly at the closed silver and reflective elevator doors.
"What… was that?" Thalia breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. Percy shook his head, unsure of what had just happened.
A ding down the hall snapped both of them out of their respective reveries. As the second elevator's doors opened, the clatter of skeleton chatter echoed throughout the corridor. Without a second thought, Percy grabbed Thalia's arm and ran, dragging her along before she came to the same conclusion a split-second later and began running herself. After going down the hall and through a rocky tunnel, the pair came to a balcony that overlooked the turbines and warehouses. The tour group from earlier was there, as was another tour guide.
The two acted as casually as they could around the group, maneuvering themselves to the other side of the balcony, which led to another small hallway, while facing the tunnel they had come from. Thalia's shield was collapsed into its bracelet form, but she had her can of Mace at the ready, while Percy clenched onto his pen-form Riptide.
A sharp, rattling sound – like that of the skeleton's chattering mouths – echoed behind them. With a startled flinch, Percy uncapped his pen and swung his blade right through the person behind him.
The girl yelped, dropping her Kleenex as she jumped in shock and fright.
"Oh my god!" she shouted. "Do you kill everyone who tries to blow their nose?"
Percy blinked and alternated his gaze between the girl in front of him and his sword. Thalia looked similarly confused before a look of understanding passed over her expression.
"You're mortal!" Percy exclaimed.
The girl blinked. "Well, yeah?! What's that supposed to mean? How'd you get that sword past security?"
"I didn- wait, you can see it's a sword?" At this, Thalia put a hand on Percy's shoulder as she leaned in and whispered.
"She can see through the Mist, Percy."
Percy ah-ed as he understood.
"What's your name?" he asked the girl, putting away his sword while he did.
"Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Now, are you going to answer my questions or should I scream for security?"
Thalia raised an eyebrow and her can of Mace. Percy instantly got her drift and widened his eyes, putting one hand on her arm to stop his friend from knocking the girl out.
"No, don't do that," Percy quickly said to Rachel, putting himself in between the two girls. "We're kind of in a hurry. We're in trouble."
"Wait, are you guys in a hurry or in trouble?"
"Uh, both, sort of."
Rachel huffed a little and rolled her head incredulously. Suddenly, her line of sight went past Percy's shoulder and her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"Bathroom!" she whisper-yelled.
"What?" Percy and Thalia both echoed each other.
"Bathroom! Behind me! Now!"
The two demigods quickly followed the mortal's instructions, both slipping into the men's restroom and closing the door behind them.
"What's going on?" Percy frantically whispered. Thalia shushed him and planted her ear against the wooden door. Percy did the same. They waited for a few seconds, where the only sounds were Rachel's breathing and her feet shuffling. There was a moment of silence.
Then the chattering of bones. Percy instinctively tensed up at the sound of bones clacking, the sharp, rattling sound that he mistaken a nose being blown for. If he let himself relax, let his mind wander and his senses become less attuned, he could hear human voices, courtesy of the Mist, from the skeletons that he knew were on the other side of the door.
He stiffened again. He and Thalia had just left a mortal girl alone against ancient Greek monsters while they cowered behind a door. Percy fought the urge to rip open the door and start slashing, and he breathed as deeply – and quietly – as he could to calm himself down.
"Oh my god!" Rachel started yapping at machine-gun-fire-esque speed. "About time! Did you see the kid with the sword? He tried to kill me! How did you guys let a maniac like that in here?! He ran towards the turbines."
Percy could imagine her pointing down the hall with a frantic expression on her face. He could hear the skeletons excitedly chattering, their voices sounding less human again and more like the harsh scraping of bones against one another. They scampered off, presumably excited at the thought of catching their elusive prey. A few seconds passed as the sound of their footsteps, which alternated between the sound of heavy boots on the tile floor and bones clicking against the ground, faded into the distance.
Rachel slowly opened the door, her face pale and expression stunned with a hint of fear. Both Percy and Thalia slowly walked out, checking the angles as they exited the bathroom. The way to the elevator was clear.
"S-skeletons?" she asked, her voice slightly shaky.
"Do yourself a favor," Percy replied, slowly nodding his head, "and just forget about all of this. About us and them." He gestured down the hallway the skeletons had just run through.
"Wait, who are you guys?"
Percy sighed – Rachel was rather persistent.
"Percy. This is Thalia." Thalia glared at her friend, but didn't say anything.
"Okay…" Rachel breathed deeply again.
"We'll get going," Percy said, waving at the girl. "Just forget about this. It'll be easier for you." Without waiting for a response, he and Thalia both ran over to the elevator, not daring to breathe until the doors closed and the lift started moving upwards.
Percy collapsed onto the floor of the elevator, trying to catch his breath. Thalia was doing much the same as she leaned against one metal wall of the elevator. As his breathing slowed back to a more regular pace, Percy looked up at his friend. Thalia's forehead glistened with a faint hint of sweat, partly from exertion and partly from fear. Her hair, which was short anyway, was messy from all the running they had done to avoid the skeletons, and her cheeks were flushed red as she tried to control her breathing.
She was hot. To Percy, in more ways than one. Then he mentally slapped himself. They were running for their lives, and here he was acting like a hormonal teenager who had a crush on a girl in the same class. It was hardly the time to be pining romantically over his best friend.
"Why'd you tell her our names?" Thalia muttered. Percy looked up.
"I… I don't know. It felt like I was supposed to. I mean, it didn't feel wrong."
Thalia looked at Percy with a confused expression, before turning away.
The two were silent the rest of the elevator trip up.
When the doors opened, Percy and Thalia carefully peeked out, making sure the way was clear before leaving the safety of the lift. Thankfully for them, this part of the Hoover Dam had a multitude of tourist-friendly signs, making it easy for them to find the café – well, that and the fact that most of the tourists were heading to the snack bar along with them.
"There!" Thalia yelled, pointing a finger at a window table. Grover and Bianca were sitting down with some burritos, and from the look of it, they had barely started eating.
"We need to leave now," Percy gasped as he reached their table. "Now!"
"Wait," Grover protested. "We just got our burritos!" Thalia moved over, stuffed the burritos back into the paper bag they came in, dragged the bewildered satyr to his feet, and stuffed the paper bag into his hands. Then she turned his head so he could see past the café exit.
"Oh," was the only thing Grover uttered. Bianca scrambled to her feet, having seen what Grover saw. Outside of the panoramic window they had been sitting by, there were three skeletons on each side of the state line, while three more were near the café exit. Just as Grover turned to the elevator, said elevator dinged and three more skeletons – the ones that Rachel had thrown off track towards the turbines – stepped out, their eyes, or rather eye sockets, metaphorically burning and their teeth clacking as they saw the group of demigods and satyr. They were surrounded.
And then Grover threw a burrito at a skeleton.
No one was sure exactly what happened – perhaps one of the schoolkids there had thought that another kid had started a food fight – but the result was nonetheless the same: one second, things were peaceful – the next, it was as if they had collectively decided to re-enact a battle with food.
The hapless skeletons with batons tried to wade through the mess, but were inevitably slammed into or tripped by someone. The others couldn't even aim their guns because there was too much debris to get a clear shot onto them.
In the chaos, Percy and Thalia both took advantage of the situation and body-slammed the two closest skeletons into the ensuing food fight. They weren't about to pull out their respective weapons and start slicing – who knew what the Mist would make that look like. The four quest companions raced through the stairs and back out to the open-air entrance of the Hoover Dam. From each side of the street, each squad of three skeletons raced towards them, batons and pistols at the ready.
Percy and company found themselves backed up against the bronze statues looking for a way out. He glanced at Thalia for help, but found that she was looking at the bronze statues. She had a hand extended out towards the foot of one, her eyes almost glazed over as she inaudibly moved her lips.
"Thalia!" Percy yelled, trying to get her attention. That shook the daughter of Zeus out of her reverie, and she snapped her hand back as she blinked.
"S-sorry, I'm not sure what happened," she uttered, before turning around and facing the oncoming skeletons.
"It's fine. But what's the game plan here?" Percy asked as he looked around. In front of them, six skeletons approached from two different directions, while behind them, he knew that the other six would be extricating themselves from the carb-heavy mess that the Hoover Dam snack bar was becoming. They would soon be surrounded, with skeletons closing in on them in force from both in front and behind.
"I think we should go for one their vans," Thalia said resolutely. She resisted the urge to turn around and look at the bronze statues, which seemed to beckon to her, and instead focused on Percy and laying out her plan to the assembled group.
The clicking and clacking of the skeletons grew closer as the four all nodded and looked forward again. By now, they could also hear the tell-tale sounds of skeleton-speech closing in behind them as well, so time was of the essence.
"Now!" Thalia yelled, and Percy rushed forward, raising one hand and bursting a nearby water hydrant, causing a deluge of water to flood the concrete ground up to ankle-height around the six skeletons in front of them. At the same time, Grover played his pipes, causing the plants that decorated the entrance of the Hoover Dam to sprout and grow erratically, reaching out with long vines that snagged and tripped up the skeletons. Combined with the fact that they had already lost balance with the sudden flooding, all of the skeletons fell to the ground. Percy followed up by bursting another water hydrant and pushing all six skeletons off the edge of the dam, the clicking and clacking of their bones fading into the distance as they all fell out of hearing range. Grover, spent from magical exertion nearly collapsed, only avoiding the hard ground as Bianca caught him and hoisted one of his arms over her shoulders.
Meanwhile, Thalia had opened her shield, and raised it while facing the entrance of the Hoover Dam, ready to deflect any stray bullets from the skeletons behind them. Indeed, even as the six skeletons from the café converged at the entrance of the dam, some snarled and fired the stray random bullet, but Thalia steadfastly kept her shield up, protecting her friends. The sight of Medusa's visage on the replicated Aegis, even a fake one, caused the skeletons to snarl – as best a skull could, that is – at its sight, but they still slowly walked towards the questers.
Percy and Bianca both helped carry Grover, while Thalia protected them from behind as they backed towards one of the black, non-descript vans that was haphazardly parked on the side of the road. Percy rushed up and threw open the doors, making sure there were no unwelcome surprises lurking within. With a grunt, he and Bianca lifted Grover into the back, lying him down as Bianca jumped in as well. Percy slid the side door shut, opened the driver's seat door, and ran around the van to get into the front passenger seat.
Thalia felt herself bump into the van on her back. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she pulled out her can of Mace, transformed into her spear, and summoned as much strength as she could. Suddenly opening her eyes, she flung a lightning bolt at the group of skeletons, blasting them backwards and blinding them with a bright flash. She quickly took advantage of the attack, collapsing her shield and spear as she climbed into the driver's seat.
Before the remaining skeletons could re-orient themselves, the van pulled away, heading into Nevada on the way to their ultimate destination.
As they crossed state lines and put miles between them and the Hoover Dam, only then did Percy and Thalia sigh in relief and smile at each other. Percy looked at the back of the van, only to see Grover still lying there, unconscious, and Bianca curled up on one of the seats, her eyes closed as she had a jacket draped over her.
Percy turned back around. They were safe.
He looked at his best friend. Even now, she was the most awake, the most alert, the strongest one of them all. Even tired, she persevered when the rest of them were crashing. It was what set her apart. And it was just one of the many things Percy admired about Thalia Grace.
Now, perhaps, it wouldn't be inappropriate. To tell her.
He stopped himself before his tired mind could do something he would regret. They were still on a quest. Yes, the quest. He would tell her afterwards. That was a good enough compromise.
Even as he breathed deeply and leaned into the chair, settling in for the long haul, he felt content. It was almost things were going their way for once.
Aphrodite glared as she stared at her wall-length vanity mirror. With clench of her fist, the entire mirror shattered, shards falling to the ground. It all lay there for a few moments, before the entire mess disappeared with a wave of her hand. The mirror replaced itself, as if nothing had happened at all in the last ten seconds.
She glanced at herself again, schooling her face into a more neutral expression before checking her clothing. The goddess enjoyed her ancient Greek clothing, and as such, she was draped in a similar style as she was over two millennia prior, except now she wore fine silk and had more modern accessories like diamond earrings.
She strode over to her couch, high heels clicking on the marble floors as she did. Her entire palace was modeled in the ancient Greek fashion, but like her clothing, it was all updated for modern day amenities and style. As she slid into the loveseat, she idly wondered whether calling Ares over would help her mood, before deciding that having a brash knucklehead in her presence was not likely to improve her countenance any.
Percy Jackson was a simply infuriating creature. He had no regard for her advice, and in fact regularly went against it completely. She could not allow this affront to her stand. The boy would one day get his comeuppance, and she would only gloat about how he should have just followed her words.
In the back of her mind, she wondered why he would choose Thalia Grace over Annabeth Chase. What was the reason? What did the rebellious punk have over the smart daughter of Athena in Percy Jackson's eyes? She couldn't even pretend to understand as she closed her eyes and leaned back to relax.
Suddenly, the temperature dropped, sending the entire complex from a comfortable room temperature down to a chilly cold. Aphrodite's eyes snapped open as a shadow lowered itself into her living room.
"My Child," it whispered, its voice simultaneously rough and sweet.
"Patér," Aphrodite gasped out, her voice quiet and awed.
"How is it?"
Aphrodite stood up, inhaling like she couldn't breathe well and gazing around in absolute wonder. Her eyes were wide, and her hair, which was normally meticulous, was messy and out-of-place. She, however, did not care.
"It is underway. It will soon be complete, as you want. It moves apace."
"Good," the voice crooned. "You must sow the seeds…"
The last part was little more than a whisper, a last breath uttered.
"Of discord."
A/N: For clarification, when Aphrodite says "pater", that is not the Latin version, but rather the Romanization of the ancient Greek word. It ends up being about the same because they both, if I am not incorrect, they share roots.
As for the story, this is where the train starts rolling. I originally didn't have this in mind, but as I strived to avoid just rehashing three novels worth of canon, this story has evolved beyond my original idea. This chapter and the next are fairly similar to canon, albeit with changes and expansions, but beyond this, I can and will start deviating from canon significantly. I have three books, if you will, planned out, the first of which is already underway – all three will be in the same story, because while I call them books, they aren't distinct or long enough to be considered separate installments. More like different thematic arcs. Anyway, I will be introducing new elements into the story that were not seen in canon, and I will be pulling from Greek myths as I do so. Percy and Thalia will have to face more than Kronos to find peace.
Don't forget to review, favorite, and follow. Stay tuned.