RECAP (Since it's been a while. :D): Our beloved son of Poseidon arrives at a hostile First Legion. He meets Reyna, Hazel, Gwen, Bobby, Dakota and Todd. His first few days at camp weren't the best but he managed to survive. Lupa, the Roman equivalent to Chiron, has ordered a quest to stop an ancient monster from rising. She picks Percy, Bobby, Gwen and Todd. On the first day of said quest, they run into Cacus and after defeating him, they notice something wrong with the monsters. They aren't dying, The demigods then drive to Las Vegas, where the evil informant, Caligula informs them the location of said ancient monsters. While they were there, Percy meets the young servant Bora and subsequently saves the child demigod from being killed. The group gets separated, With Todd and Bobby landing in Montana while the others land in Hawaii. Aid comes to Gwen in the form of two minor gods, Aesculapius and Aurora. While Percy recuperates, Gwen learns the form of Light Travel. Percy wakes up four days later and is told of what happened. Gwen and Percy wait while Aesculapius shows Bora something. Percy finds an entrance to a cave and they decide to enter it, entering the lair of yet another monster...
Chapter XIII: In Which Things Pick Up
Percy wished he brought a weapon. It was pretty obvious that this woman was some type of monster, or just a really, really lost lady.
She looked like one of those mothers from the fifties with a pale peach dress, a flowery apron and a pearl necklace.
"Children," she repeated. "Why are you down here?"
"Uh…" The woman didn't give Percy enough time to form a word before she was dragging Percy by his arm.
"You should be in the dining room. It's almost time for dinner." Okay… This woman is totally off her rocker.
The daughter of Apollo followed Percy and the strange woman. Peering around curiously, she could see they were entering a completely different part of the cave.
For one thing, the floors changed from mud, puddles and rock to a white, clean tile. It looked like someone took a kitchen and just placed it there.
"Gwen, wipe your feet. You're tracking mud on the floor I just cleaned it." She hesitated before wiping her feet on the mat, clearly not seeing the point, considering the woman forgot about Percy's muddy feet.
"Are you two hungry?" The lady forced Percy to sit in a chair nearest to the kitchen. Gwen stayed by the doorway to the kitchen.
"Darling, why are you standing there? Please, come and sit down." Gwen had no other choice but to do what she said.
"Now make yourselves comfortable while I prepare the dinner."
Once the woman had left, the redhead tried to get up. She remained firmly stuck in the chair. Percy was also glued to the chair.
"This reminds me of Hansel and Gretel," He said as he tried to force himself out. Gwen could see his muscles straining.
A light bulb clicked in her mind. "Of course. Why didn't I notice earlier? I had just read about her in my books…"
Percy gave her a confused look. "Sunny, what are you talking about? If you hadn't noticed, we're stuck to some very uncomfortable chairs…"
"I know Percy. But I know who she is."
They finally noticed the silence of the area. If I'm correct, we don't have much time.
"Percy, She's Lamia."
"Llama? She doesn't look like a llama." He gave her a strange look.
If Gwen could move her arms, they would've face palmed her face. "No, you fatuus. Lamia. L-A-M-I-A. She's a serpent-woman who eats children."
"Oh. So we're about to be eaten?"
Why is he so thick-headed at the worst possible moments? She swallowed the thought before it could leave her mouth. "To put it causally, yes. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be eaten. So we need to find a way out of these chairs and away from here…"
Gwen almost forgot about her glowing, overheated hands. By natural instinct, she had lifted them away from the wooden rocking chair she was forced to sit in.
She had an idea. An idea anybody with anger issues would love. "Percy, try to destroy the chair."
She had placed her hands on the wooden armrests, gripping them tightly. She wrinkled her nose as the wood began to blacken and release foul-smelling smoke. She pulled at the wood once eighty percent of it was black, wincing when the wood got its revenge by driving splinters into her forearm.
Both of her arms were free and that was an accomplishment, considering Lamia hadn't returned the moment smoke started to ruin her light blue walls.
"Gwen, I can't break my chair."
She looked at him, "What? You're saying that you can't break an assemblage of wood?"
The way Gwen said that make Percy's cheeks colour a bit. "I, and probably every other teenager can, but unlike you I'm completely glued to the chair."
"Children, dinner is ready." Instead of the click clackity sounds of high heels, there was the sounds of sandpaper against marble.
Lamia's bottom half was replaced by a serpentine body, it made her as tall as the NBA basketball basket height. The scales were an ugly, mucky brown-green.
"Gwen! How dare you destroy that chair!" Lamia bared her sharp, yellow teeth. "No dessert for you!"
Lamia swung her tail into Gwen, tossing her through the walls and back into the cavern.
Gwen coughed, trying to breathe and stand. The force of Lamia's tail broke the rest of the chair.
"Gwen! Duck!" Percy shouted, watching as the tail returned and barely missed the daughter of the sun god.
Automatically, she reached for her bow and quiver, before remembering that she left it in her room back at Ace's manor.
Lamia snarled and grabbed the dazed demigod by her foot, leaving her upside down. "You're a bit spicy for the main course."
"Gods, your breath smells horrible." Gwen was shaken out of her daze by Lamia's breath. It smelled like baby food that had spoiled beyond belief.
Lamia's face turned purple from rage. "You don't speak to a mother like that!" She shook Gwen violently before a wave of filthy cave water sprayed on her face.
She turned toward Percy, whose chair was knocked to the side. "No dessert for you either!"
From her upside down view, Gwen saw that the ceiling of the cavern was covered in stalactites. Every time Lamia moved, they shook. This reminds me of a clichéd action movie or novel. Gwen thought as she struggled to find a way to get rid of Lamia and to free Percy from his chair.
Before Gwen could finish planning, Lamia wrapped her appendage around Gwen, still upside down. "Children these days! What ever happened to obeying your elders?"
She ignored Lamia's griping, trying to aim for the ceiling. Gwen had trouble aiming for the ceiling. The blood rushing to her cranium wasn't helping with her accuracy. She could feel the excess heat gather in her hands as Lamia continued to complain and nag.
The light blinded her. Everything was coloured yellow or white and the only thing she was sure of was her bones being jolted when she landed in the water.
The whole cave shook as the stalactites fell to the ground. Gwen heard Lamia scream in pain and then the light faded.
Gwen supported herself against a rock, her vision was making everything rainbow coloured. "P-Percy? You alive?"
After a few moments of silence, Gwen was getting worried that she had accidentally killed him. She had no idea what to do if he was killed. Drag his body back to Ace and leave it?
"Gods! You could've warned me!" Percy's complaint wasn't exactly music to her ears but it was a relief hearing it anyways.
"You're alive." She stated blandly. What is he exactly?
He appeared beside her. "Gwen! You're bleeding!"
Gwen placed her hand on her cheek. It was wet and warm. "It's nothing. Let's get out of here."
Percy grabbed a small lamp that survived the rock slide. He turned it on and light filled the atmosphere. With one hand holding the lamp, he helped Gwen back up the ladder and to the manor, which had touched ground some point while they were gone.
"You okay?" He asked quietly once they were on the balcony.
Gwen took a deep breath. "Fine, a bit dizzy. I'm surprised it's mid-afternoon. It felt like we were in there for a few minutes.
"Yeah." he agreed. He wasn't sure if he should tell her but he felt that place was familiar to him, like being at a different store than one you usually went to. The territory was familiar but the outline wasn't. "I'm surprised Ace didn't notice that we were gone."
"Oh, he did. Don't you worry about that," Ace's deep voice penetrated their conversation. "So, were you two getting it on?"
The demigods simultaneously looked at each other and blushed. "I'll take that as a yes. Come on, you wasted a lot of time sucking face with each other."
"We weren't doing that!" Gwen feebly protested, chasing after Ace's retreating figure with Percy behind her.
"What? Do you call it something else nowadays?" Ace led them back to the study he and Percy had desecrated hours before. This time, it was spotless.
"Where's Bora?" Percy asked, standing when Ace sat down. After the recent incident, he was wary to sit anywhere.
Ace waved him off. "He's doing stuff. Now, Gwen, what do you know about Percy?"
She was taken aback by the question. "Well, he likes the colour blue, he's annoying and for some reason he can't get hurt-"
"Glad you noticed that," he interrupted. "That's what this 'meeting' is about. With the way you guys are going, he's going to get killed."
"How can I be killed?" Percy questioned. "Nothing can really hurt me."
"Tell me, how many hours of sleep do you get at that camp of yours?" Ace looked at him seriously.
Percy had to think about it. His stay at First Legion was short before being forced on this quest. "Seven hours maybe?"
"And how many hours you slept since you left?"
"Well, we barely started this quest…so before I was knocked out for four days, maybe three hours? What does me sleeping have to do with what Jupiter did?"
"You have a curse. A very fragile curse." Ace stated bluntly.
Percy blinked. "A curse? As in a voodoo doll curse or something?"
Ace waved his comment off. "Let's leave the Egyptian gods to their own thing, they have enough problems as it is. You have the Curse of Achilles."
"Achilles?" Gwen piped up, "As in the Great Achilles?"
Ace nodded. "Yeah, him. You know the story, right? His mother bathed him in the River Styx and he became invulnerable, blah blah blah."
"How is that fragile?" she asked, "He was invulnerable besides for the spot on his ankle."
"Exactly," Ace leaned back against the white couch. "He had a weak spot. Do you know yours, Percy?"
"Whoa, hold on a minute." Percy held his hands up. "Are you saying my mother bathed me in a river?" What kind of mother does that? Almost immediately after the thought, he felt just a bit guilty. If his mother actually bathed him in a river, it was probably for his own good.
He then thought about what Ace asked. Any time he tried to think of a viable part of his body that would serve as a weakness, that blonde girl appeared in his mind.
"I do," Percy lied. He really didn't want to tell that he had no clue about this weak spot, besides a blonde girl.
Gwen raised an eyebrow at him. "Then I suppose you should keep it a secret? If anyone at First Legion knows about that, you're screwed."
Percy sighed, he had forgotten that most of the Praetors and campers hated him for no apparent reason. "Right."
Gwen turned to Ace, who was calmly watching them talk, like a therapist. Percy half expected him to say, now, how do you feel about that? Luckily, he didn't. "Was that all? We need to get to Bobby and Todd as soon as we can."
Percy tilted his head slightly. Now that she mentioned it, where were Bobby and Todd? He hadn't seen them all day.
She saw the look on his face. "They could either be stuck in Vegas or in Montana. I'm hoping Montana, since that's where Bobby had told Todd to Shadow Travel to."
Ace clapped his hands together. "Alright. It sounds like you're ready to leave but before you do that. Half-Sister, Aurora would like to see you before you leave." He nodded toward a wooden door that Percy hadn't seen when he came in the study. "Could you also bring the little cold guy as well? He should be done with his task now."
Gwen paused for a minute. She knew when someone wants to be alone. Praetors were masters at the subtle dismissal. She really didn't want to leave Percy, who couldn't keep a comment to himself, alone with a god, even a minor one.
On the other hand, this may be the last time she would have someone to teach her powers she should have. Aurora was fading fast.
Finally, Gwen bowed her head. "Of course, Lord Ace. I shall be right back."
She glanced back before closing the wooden door behind her.
It only took a couple of minutes before Gwen returned with Bora. He looked at Percy and smiled a bit.
Something occurred to Percy. "How are we going to get to Montana?"
Ace stood up, glancing at the watch that magically appeared on his wrist. "Gwen has that covered. I have to go, being lectured by your grandfather is not fun." He disappeared with a gust of wind, dissolving with the breeze.
Bora blinked, surprised. "Do they always travel like that?"
Gwen pulled her hair into a loose braid. "Luckily for us, he didn't transform into his true form. Something Percy might not even survive."
Bora gave Percy his bag of supplies. The small white-haired child had nothing to hold, this bothered Percy only slightly. After all, the kid was probably five or six, he couldn't carry much anyways.
Percy turned toward the redhead. "So, Sunny. How are we going to get to Montana?"
Gwen raised an eyebrow, she crossed her arms. "Sunny? Do you want a death sentence?"
"Well…" He shrugged. "I can't exactly die, can I?" He gave her a grin.
Gwen huffed and looked away. This was not the time to allow emotions, however brief or worrisome, show on her face. Until Bobby was back with them, she was the leader. "We are going to travel by light."
"Light? Isn't that impossible?"
She sighed, half in frustration and half in amusement. "For mortals…yes. But I know how. Take my hands."
Percy took her left hand and Bora took her right. They were soft, as usual and comfortably warm. "Don't give me cooties."
Gwen closed her eyes. "No promises."
Percy expected it to be cold in Montana. He didn't expect a freaking blizzard. After Gwen's light had faded the cold set in almost instantly.
Even with the light winter articles Gwen gave him, he was still freezing. Bora was doing way better than him. It looked like he wasn't even affected by the snow and cold.
"Bora?" Percy asked, "Aren't you cold?"
Bora turned his head and shook his head. "No, Percy. I'm not cold." He wasn't even wearing a proper coat. This kid's tough. I'll give him that.
Gwen called their attention back to her, rolling a piece of paper. She looked a little discouraged. "The weather's too foul to go searching right now. Let's wait and find someplace until we can see more than two feet in front of us."
Bora was looking through the trees. He squinted. "What about there?" He pointed in the direction he was staring at. "I see a large warehouse. It looks empty."
Gwen frowned and looked in the direction. "I can't see anything, Bora. You sure? Storms like this can play tricks on your eyes."
He nodded. "I won't lie to you, Mistress. I see a warehouse. It's only a couple of yards away."
Gwen hesitated for a moment before nodding. "We can stay there until the worst of the storm is out of the way. Come on, Percy."
The warehouse was filled with stone and old statues, Percy noted as he held the heavy iron door open for his companions. The temperature was only warmer by a miniscule amount.
"Jeez, I can barely move in here. So many freaking statues. Percy, help me move them. Bora, see if you can find any fuel for the small fire." Gwen ordered.
"These statues are weird." He lifted a statue of a tree stump. "Who'd buy this crap?"
"Narnia? Crazy millionaires? I have no clue." Gwen pushed a deer statue. "The faces look scared."
A few minutes of silence passed between the three demigods. Then out of nowhere, a sharp stone hit Percy in the back of the head. It didn't hurt, it just surprised him.
He rubbed the spot out of pure instinct and looked at Gwen. "Hey! Why'd you throw that at me?"
Gwen set down one of the last statues they were planning to move. "What? I didn't do anything."
Percy rolled his eyes. "You're the only person here besides Bora and I don't even see him near me. Don't lie."
Gwen straightened and placed her hands on her hips. "Why are you being all fussy about that? It's not like it hurt or anything."
"Whatever. Do we have enough room? These ugly statues are pretty heavy."
She nodded. "Yeah. I think we do. You still cold after moving all that stuff?"
Percy rubbed his arms. "Kind of. It's bearable now."
Another stone hit Percy in the head. "Bora! Are you the one throwing stones?"
"Ow! One just hit me!" Gwen rubbed her cheek. "Bora! Come here!"
Bora didn't come. But more stones did. Sharper and heavier than the last two.
Gwen covered her head. "Where are they coming from! Angry nymphs or dryads?"
Percy suddenly had the feeling they were being watched. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement between the statues. He pulled out Tempestas and looked around.
The sculpture of a bear tackled Percy. It felt like being rammed by a semi-truck. Not a very pleasant feeling.
Percy barely dodged the swoop of his claws. He backed up as the bear roared and made another attack.
The bear growled as Percy got up. Definitely not Pooh Bear. "Percy!" Gwen shouted. "Behind you!"
He turned around as he was back slapped by a tree branch. If it wasn't for his invincibility, the force would've killed him. He tried to steady himself but tripped over the tree stump bust.
The roots of the stump wrapped around his legs. Percy slashed at them but only produced sparks and cuts.
Gwen was already in the hands, or paws of a mountain lion effigy. She had hard time breathing, with a twenty pound foot pressing down her back. Her bow was knocked away, under the figurine of a moose. And her quiver of arrows was crushed by the mountain lion before it undertook her.
"Don't kill them, dearies. It would ruin the final look." The female voice ordered softly. Percy stopped struggling. Where had he heard that voice before?
Before he could figure out, a woman cloaked in black walked toward them. The way she dressed reminded Percy of those Middle Eastern women. The only skin that was showing was her hands, coffee coloured and elegant. Something he imagined a rich grandmother's hand would look like.
The roots of the stump wrapped around his arms uncomfortably, knocking Tempestas away and forcing his arms above his head. "Who are you?" He blurted out.
The woman laughed. Definitely a grandmother. "Percy, I'm hurt. You don't remember me?"
Percy blinked. "Uhm. No, sorry. I'm an amnesiac after all. I don't remember my own mother."
"Your mother!" The woman huffed. "Don't even mention her! If she didn't hook up with Poseidon, you wouldn't be here!"
Poseidon? Doesn't she mean Neptune? Gwen squirmed under the puma. She could faintly hear the blizzard outside get louder. It almost snuffed out whatever the woman was saying.
"I'm sorry for existing?" Percy said.
"Pah!" The woman turned around. "A simple apology won't work. You sliced my head clean off!"
Percy tried to move his arms. A thought popped into his mind. "Medusa. You're Medusa."
Medusa clapped her hands sarcastically. "Fantastic! So Hera didn't screw you over completely. That's not good news for my patron."
"Who's your patron?" Gwen asked. If she remembered correctly from her book of monsters, Medusa wasn't the brightest match in the box.
"Gaea. She took me from Tartarus and increased my powers in exchange for helping her cause."
Medusa trailed her fingers across the face of the bear behind Percy. It shuddered and went back to standing on both feet, easily towering Medusa. "I can control my statues now. They've been oh so helpful. Especially with that Hades kid. He was a pain."
Gwen jerked her head up. "Pluto? Todd was here? Was there a boy with auburn hair?"
Medusa glanced at her. "He was tough to keep still. Destroyed a couple of my favourite statues."
Gwen stared at Medusa. She could faintly hear the blizzard roar even louder outside. She hoped that Bobby wasn't another addition to Medusa's collection. "Did you turn them to stone?"
She sighed and crossed her arms. "No. Gaea needs an outlet for the Doors of Death-"
"Medusa!" A somewhat less eloquent voice shrieked, echoing against the walls of the warehouse. "He won't shut up! Make him shut up!"
Medusa groaned. "Stheno! Go back into the office. I'm a bit busy!"
Percy blinked. Medusa had sisters? He wondered if she was the oldest. From the sounds of it, she was.
Stheno appeared through the maze of statues, dragging a struggling, bound Todd behind her. She was far from elegant, compared to Medusa. Gwen was reminded of those lumpy grandmothers who worked at the supermarkets whenever she had the chance to leave camp. But instead of grey, unkempt hair, a mass of coral snakes.
Medusa turned toward her sister, forgetting about the two captured demigods. "Why did you bring him here?"
Stheno released Todd's collar. Todd yelped in pain as his head hit the concrete floor. His white plume of hair was gone, replaced by his natural pitch black hair. He had a bruise across his forehead and cuts on his arms and face, like he landed in a tree. "Ow! You guys sure know how to take care of a hostage."
"I want you to turn him into stone! He's so annoying. The other kid is way quieter than this one! Euryale said so!"
"You sent her to get the other one! You weren't supposed to! This one is just fine! The other one is too weak. Gaea said so herself!"
The two Gorgons started to bicker. Well, there goes her monologue. Percy thought, slightly amused that two monsters could bicker like that.
Gwen was trying to think. The paw pressing on her back started to get more uncomfortable. She said that there was another child of Pluto and talking about the Doors of Death in the prophecy. Lupa would want to know about this. She'll send a scout group for the second child of Pluto. What else do they know?
She tried to see if she could squirm her way out of the grip. The mountain lion didn't move or react as Gwen slowly made her way out. Medusa probably reverted it without out notice, or it's really stupid.
Her back stung from the scratches the paw made. The Gorgons hadn't noticed her, still bickering about who was in charge.They really act like sisters. Who knew?
Gwen started to crawl slowly toward Percy. He detected her and shook his head. Go to Todd. He mouthed. I'm fine.
She paused for a moment then nodded. Todd was blocked from the view of the monsters by a couple of fountains. If she didn't tread carefully, she would be caught and turned into stone.
As Gwen got closer to Todd, she put a finger to her lips. If he kept quiet, the blizzard outside could mask most of the noise she made as she got closer to Todd.
"Lycaon is looking for the other demigod!" Medusa told her sister. Todd listened while Gwen untied him. Lycaon? The Werewolf king? He's supposed to be in Canada! Did the scouts lie?
The scouts he sent to check on Lycaon and reported that he was still in Canada. They had lost a Mercury camper in Chicago. Todd hoped that Lycaon escaped his 'prison' and his scouts didn't lie to him.
That would ruin his reputation. Being the son of the owner of the Underworld, where Tartarus was, he was expected to keep an eye on the powerful monsters. So Lupa had given him Dakota's scouting duties, much to the latter's displeasure. It wasn't like Todd was obsessed with his reputation, unlike Bobby or Kim but it was pretty difficult to keep a decent reputation without stereotypes ruining it.
Todd rubbed his raw, red wrists. He nodded in thanks to Gwen.
Gwen started to whisper but was interrupted by the windows shattering, one by one.
"Ack! The windows broke! What do we do, Medusa?"
"Don't let the Hades child escape!"
Todd and Gwen ducked behind the fountain. "Should we get Percy?" He whispered.
She shook her head. "He's stuck. Let's kill the sisters first. You take Stheno ad I take Medusa."
Todd started to nod but stopped. "Do you have any spare weapons? They took my sword and hid it."
Gwen cursed. She completely forgot to pick up her bow. "They're somewhere by Percy."
"Then let's get them- duck!" Todd forced her down, barely missing the stone club of a Cyclopes. The fountain shattered, splashing cold water everywhere.
"Take care of them but keep the Hades kid alive." Medusa ordered.
Stheno had disappeared. The Cyclopes growled and swung his club again.
"How are we going to kill him?" Gwen asked as they dodged again.
"I have no clue."
Percy didn't really think when he told Gwen to get Todd. Maybe because he could use the strength to break the roots. No such luck.
He shivered. It was getting colder now that the windows broke.
"My dear, you still look like your father." Medusa cooed. "How about you reconsider my offer. If you remember it."
"Sorry, but I like being flesh and bone and not stone."
"That's too bad. It would've saved you a lot of pain." Medusa started to pull the cloth off her face and Percy forced himself to look at his feet.
"Gaea made it so that I can slowly turn anything to stone by looking at it. It's faster if I made eye contact." The sound of snakes hissing filled Percy's ears.
Percy started to lose the feeling in his fingers and toes. "It can be a pain sometimes."
He tried to swallow the panic setting in. It felt like the pressure was increasing inside him. He started to struggle now.
The ocean roared in his ears. He couldn't feel his forearms now, or the cold. His stomach started to hurt, along with his chest, making it difficult to breathe. What a horrible way to go.
Medusa grabbed his chin. "You're in pain. Just look at me and it'll all over."
Percy forced himself to look up.
Medusa had almond shaped, dark brown eyes.
The pressure was gone.
Water blasted from the windows and every open crevice, mixing with the snow to create an ice-cold slush.
Gwen and Todd braced themselves against the force. The force from the rushing water broke one of the walls. They could barely hear Medusa's screams as she is taken away by the water into the blizzard, along with the statues.
Todd held on tight to Gwen. Dang, Percy sure let loose.
Eventually, the water slowed in its force, leaving Todd and Gwen completely soaked and up to their knees in freezing water.
"Percy!" Todd called, rushing toward where he assumed the boy was. "You alive?"
Percy lay in a dry circle, not moving at all. Todd kneeled by him and lifted him from the ground. "Dude. Wake up!"
"Percy?" Bora asked, standing by a soaked Bobby. He wasn't soaked for some reason.
"Bora! Where did you go?" Gwen asked, turning toward them.
He opened his mouth then closed it, glancing at Percy. "I noticed a door and found Master Reuven encased on stone. I bought him out here, and then we were splashed."
"You pushed Bobby's statue out here? By yourself?" Gwen was mildly impressed. Bobby weighed about one hundred and twenty pounds. And if he was turned to stone, the weight would've increased.
Bora bowed his head and nodded. "It was difficult, but yes. I apologize for not coming back when I should have. Is Percy okay?"
Todd shrugged. "I don't hear any ringing or bells in my ears. So he must be alive."
"I am alive." Percy mumbled, keeping his eyes closed. "Very sore though."
Todd grinned, helping Percy stand up. "Glad to hear that, it wouldn't be fair if you died on me."
"How wouldn't it be fair?"
"Then my father would have to deal with you."
Percy smiled a bit. "Whatever."
"Todd, bring him over here. We can't risk everyone getting hypothermia." Gwen nodded to the blizzard outside. The blizzard's roar had become a soft growl.
"Right."
Once everyone was dry and settled, Gwen demanded the details of what happened when they were separated.
Bobby pulled the blanket closer. "Almost right after we landed here, I was knocked out. I had no clue how long I was out. When I woke up, they had tied up Todd and tried to kill me with their stupid statues. Then one of the sisters caught me by surprise, making me look at Medusa's face. After that, I felt nothing until I was un-stoned."
Gwen handed Todd and Bobby cups of hot chocolate. She looked at Todd expectantly.
Todd blew on his cup and sighed. "I was forced awake and they asked me a bunch of questions."
"Like?" She prompted.
"Who my godly parent was, what rank I was, etc."
Gwen looked out the window of the office. She sent Bora to see if the sisters or any other monsters would return. "What did they mean, about needing a son of Pluto for the Doors of Death?"
"I have no clue. From what I can infer, the doors need a sacrifice. Why they need me or my 'brother' I have no clue."
"So you believe them when they said you had a brother?" Bobby muttered. He wasn't in a good mood. Not only was he sore from being turned to stone, but his pride was damaged. He couldn't believe that he failed to kill two Gorgons and the fact he was saved, (albeit, a termed used loosely) by Percy.
He looked at the son of Neptune. Percy had been quiet the whole time. He was staring at his cup of chocolate, mouthing things to himself. Bobby was surprised that he was still awake. From the sounds of it, Percy seemed to release the ocean in the warehouse.
"I'm not sure whether to believe it or not." Todd looked mildly troubled. So that voice was right. I do have a sibling. "I won't be surprised if they were lying to taunt us. But if it's true, we need to get my sibling back to camp as soon as possible. Especially if Lycaon is looking for him."
"Nico." Percy mumbled, looking at Todd. "His name is Nico."
Before Todd could respond, Bobby glared at him. "How do you know?"
Percy shrugged, setting down his cup. "I don't know. The name just popped into my mind."
"Bull crap! You're hiding information from us!"
"Bobby!" Gwen scolded.
He ignored the warning. "You may have fooled everyone else by that stupid amnesiac act. But I'm not. Just come out with the truth!"
Percy looked up at Bobby. He scowled. "It's not an act! Why are you picking on me? Just because I beat you in a stupid fight?"
Bobby's cheeks flushed pink. "It's not that! I think it's suspicious that you appeared, with a strange sword after our leader disappeared. And I think I'm the only one."
"Bobby!" Gwen snapped. "Calm down!"
"I've been calm since we started this quest. I'm just tired of the complications Percy brings1 I find it very doubtful that you're glad he saved a stupid five year old. In my opinion, the kid's better off dead."
Percy stood up. "Don't talk about Bora that way! You're just like your dumb father! Only thinking about fighting and power! I bet no one has even noticed that Bora is just a little kid. You Romans just care about power and status! It's so annoying how shallow you guys are! You train and train. I hate it!"
Todd frowned. "Hey, guys. You need to calm down-"
Bobby rushed forward and punched Percy. "Don't talk about camp like that!"
It all went downhill from there. Gwen and Todd tried to separate the two but to no avail.
Percy wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. The only goal in his mind was to defeat Bobby.
He managed to pin Bobby to the ground, with his hands around his throat. Come on, just end his life now. A voice goaded inside his head. Part of Percy knew that he shouldn't listen to the voice. He didn't want to become a murderer like in his dream.
His hands started to squeeze.
Bobby's dark amber eyes glared at him with hatred. Percy could barely hear Gwen and Todd.
His eyes started to close when Todd tackled him, pinning him to the wall and shaking him out of his dark state.
"Percy." Todd said, looking very serious. His dark blue eyes looked angry. "Calm down."
The brunt of the situation hit Percy in full force. It was like being back in that arena but severely different. Watching someone get killed and being the killer were two different things.
He almost killed Bobby. And he didn't even realize it. Percy felt trapped and constricted.
Percy wanted to get out of here. He shoved Todd away, who protested. "What are you doing? Percy!"
He ran down the stairs, past Bora who had returned from his scouting. "Percy-"
Percy ran out of the warehouse, not caring where he went.
The son of Neptune panted, sinking to his knees. He could feel the cold but he took no notice of it.
He actually began to wonder who he was. Was the dream he had back in Hawaii true? Or just a warning of whom he was?
Some tiny part of Percy knew that this was totally out of character for him but he didn't know who he was anyways. So why should it matter?
He stared at a nearby creek as the thoughts he really didn't pay attention to the thoughts that started creeping in his mind.
Rubbing his temples to stop the on-coming headache, he closed his eyes. "Let's get the basics out. Then I can worry about my personality."
"My name is Percy Jackson, I'm sixteen, my favourite colour is blue, I have a sword named Riptide, I'm cursed, I know how to fight, I might be in love with a girl who has princess hair, and I know a kid named Nico…"
He paused. "And I'm the son of Ne- the Sea God. I'm the son of the Sea God." He repeated it to himself.
Percy rubbed the back of his neck, making sure he didn't miss anything. His hand brushed against his necklace. He completely forgot about the necklace he was wearing.
"There's also this…" He untied the necklace from his neck. The clay beads were cold to his fingers. "I have this necklace."
He rolled the bead with the trident. Out of all of them, this one was his favourite. It brought him a feeling of comfort.
This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp!
The title was a sense of neutrality. It offered no clue of status and Percy liked that. He was just a simple demigod. Well, he wanted to be a simple demigod. That much he knew.
What else did he know? The more he thought about it, the more the headache persisted. "I'm loyal. And very lazy. I'm short tempered, and rash."
Percy didn't feel completely satisfied with that. "This is hard for anyone without memories. Do I even know how to ride a bike? Everyone says that no one forgets that."
"You'd be an idiot if you forgot something as simple as that."
Percy jumped and turned around. "Who's there?"
Todd appeared out of the shadows, literally. He held up his hands. "Calm down. It's just me. Your good ol' friendly King of Jewels."
"You're far from friendly. And King of Jewels? Really?" Percy raised an eyebrow.
Todd crosses his arms and leaned against the tree, "Yeap. I wanted the King of Ghosts spot, but that was taken."
Percy relaxed a tiny bit. "Who wants a job with that title?"
"I do."Todd shrugged. "Sounds more fun than my current title. You okay?"
Percy looked at the still snow. When had the storm stopped? "How's Bobby?"
Todd played with a piece of cloth he took out of his pocket. "His throat is bruised but other than that. He's okay."
After two minutes of silence. Todd asked. "Did you really want to kill him?"
Percy sighed. "I don't know. Part of me wants to, and another part of me doesn't. He's not a monster."
"What's the difference? I've seen Bobby fight and I can sincerely say he's a monster."
Percy glanced at him. "Would you kill him the first chance you got?"
Todd nodded. "Absolutely. I might feel a tiny bit of regret but I would get over it. We aren't the best of friends."
"What! Why?" Percy couldn't believe it. Weren't they comrades anyways?
"I don't know." He shrugged. "I just will. I'll admit it confused me when you wouldn't kill anyone that's not a monster, even if it's to your benefit."
"So I'm strange because I won't kill my comrades?"
"Bobby's your comrade?"
Percy paused before answering. "Yes, I do care if he gets hurt. But if a situation rises where I have to kill him, I won't kill him."
Todd stuffed the cloth in his pocket. "You're too soft to be a Roman…"
Percy waited for the insult.
"I guess we'll have to deal with that."
"Psst! Gwen! Psst!"
Gwen woke up and rubbed her eyes. "Hmm?"
"Good! You're awake!" She propped herself up on her elbows and looked to the source of the voice.
"Reyna? Why are you IM-ing me? It's forbidden to do it on quests!" Gwen whispered. She checked to make sure Bobby and Bora were asleep. Todd was outside of the office, keeping guard and watching for Percy in case he returned.
"I know." The Iris message was a bit hazy. "But I have to tell you something."
"What?"
"You know the civil war? Well, I think it has to do with the second prophecy." Reyna looked around her for a minute. "Where is it… it was here a minute ago-Ah! Here it is."
She picked up a worn, leather book. "I found this while…exploring."
"What is it? It looks like a journal to me." Gwen yawned.
"Exactly! It's a journal from a Confederate soldier. His hand writing is horrible but that's not important. He talks of these orange shirt demigods."
"Your point?"
"Remember when Percy arrived? He was wearing an orange shirt. And I'm pretty sure that the soldier was talking about the Union."
Gwen thought about this. "So? They could be Roman demigods that deflected from First Legion."
Reyna set down the book and picked up another one, flicking through it. "That's what I thought but this demigod said that 'The oranges would be weak without their horse-man. They know nought of our power.'"
"Horse-man? You mean a centaur? A centaur leading demigods into war? I don't even think they know the meaning of war." Gwen snorted quietly. She remembered how chaotic centaurs were. I hope they don't burst in at this year's Lupercalia.
"This centaur might be different. I've been doing some research and in one of the really, really old encyclopaedias I found-"
"Wait," Gwen pointed a finger at her. "How old? As in one of the upper levels old?"
"No!" Reyna was quick to retort. "I found it on the first floor, behind some tactical plans for Sabotage."
"Anyways, it briefly mentioned a centaur named Chiron." The name sounded strange, with the Latin dialect they were used to. She pronounced it like Sheer-un. "It said that he trained demigods."
"A centaur that takes demigods and trains them? What does this have to do with the second prophecy again? I'm kind of losing you."
Reyna sighed, rubbing her head. She must be IM-ing from her tent. Her hair is down. Gwen had never seen Reyna's hair down outside of her sleeper tent. "Sometimes, I keep forgetting that you aren't in my head. Remember the first line of the prophecy?"
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. It's something I can't forget." Gwen kept having nightmares about the Oracle ever since Lupa took her to see it.
It clicked in her mind. "Are you saying that this Chiron has some of the seven demigods?"
Reyna nodded quickly. She was excited that Gwen figured it out before she told her. "I mean, it's possible. After all, I find it a bit difficult to fathom that seven demigods from camp are going. There has to be another source of demigods. Look at the Second Titan War. We defeated Crius and Jason toppled the throne of Saturn but did you ever wonder about Mt. Olympus?"
Gwen's elbows started to hurt so she moved to a sitting position. "Lupa told us that the gods protected it and defeated Saturn."
Reyna looked behind her; she thought she heard a twig snap. "Shoot. I think someone is listening in on me. I have to go. I promise I'll figure this out the next time we see each other."
"Reyna! Wait-" Gwen started to protest. The Iris message disappeared.
She considered telling this to Bobby but then she remembered the outburst of anger from him. She decided to tell him after the quest was done. The pursuit of this ancient monster shouldn't be jeopardized by accusations just yet.
Things are getting more complicated by the minute.
Gwen didn't ask where or when Percy returned. She was just glad that he had returned and hadn't run off.
She had talked to Bobby, who was still angry from last night. 'I don't care if you hate his guts, this quest had been trouble enough and I'll be damned if we return as failures. I know you don't tolerate that and neither would Lupa. If you kill Percy, Lupa will kill you.' Those were her exact words.
Bobby wasn't happy about that but he was glad that his girlfriend didn't make him apologize to the fish face. He wouldn't apologize to him anyways.
He valued his pride too much for that.
"So, Todd," Gwen started as they were packing. "Did the Gorgons mention anything about monsters?"
Todd cracked his knuckles. "Um, let's see… they did mention a junkyard in Arizona. Lizard Claw or something like that."
Gwen pulled out a map from her bag. She unrolled it and placed it on the desk. It looked like an ordinary highway map. Except for the glowing red dots, they varied in sizes. The dot in New York was the size of a bottle cap, along with another one in Los Angeles. Near San Francisco, there was a dot the size of a pepper corn.
"What's that?" Percy asked, looking over Gwen's shoulder.
She ignored the warm breath on her neck. "Something I nabbed from Ace's study. It's a map showing places where magic is. The one in New York shows Mt Olympus and the one in LA shows the Underworld."
"So the dot near Frisco is camp?" Percy guessed.
Gwen nodded. "You said Arizona, right Todd?"
Bobby looked at the map, frowning. "Don't tell me we're going to search the whole state of Arizona."
"We're going to miss Lupercalia if we do that!" Todd whined. "Last year's wasn't as fun because of the war."
"What's Lupercalia?" Percy asked, confused. To him, it sounded like an old band.
"Lupercalia is a Roman holiday to honour Lupa." Bora spoke, startling the trio. He had been so quiet that they forgot he was here. "Three days of festivals, drinking and adultery."
Gwen cleared her throat. "We don't do adultery but we do have alcohol. It's one of the few times we can really relax and have fun."
You must have a pretty high ego if there's a holiday named after you. The thought amused Percy. "Isn't underage drinking illegal?"
"Your point?" Bobby asked sarcastically. "We fight monsters that give mortals bed-wetting nightmares. A little law-breaking won't hurt us."
Percy blinked then turn to Gwen. "What are we going to do?"
She pointed to three spots on the map. "Here are three towns with Claw in the name. No Lizard Claw. I was thinking that we check the closest one. Which is Gila Claw."
"How are we going to get there? We're in the middle of Montana." Bobby pointed out.
Gwen played with her braid. "That, I haven't thought of yet. We have no means of travel unless Todd offers his Shadow Travel services."
"No thanks," Todd snorted. "The last time we did that, we got separated. What about your Light Travel?"
She shook her head. "I need it to be sunny and it's really cloudy."
While they were talking, Bobby looked at the map. Another dot, like the one near camp, appeared on Long Island. He blinked and it disappeared. Probably a monster hideout.
He took a closer look at the map. "Why don't we ride a train?"
When his companions looked at him, surprised. He grumbled. "I'm not all brawns. The map shows a train track leading south. One of the stations is near here. Half a day's walk if we leave soon."
Gwen took a closer look. "You're right. And if Lady Fortuna smiles upon us, we can find a train that's heading south."
"We need money for tickets, don't we?" Percy said. "and we have none."
Todd waved him off. "Don't worry, Perce. Bora's looking upstairs, where the manager's office is. I'm pretty sure Medusa has some cash."
Gwen rolled up the map and put it back in her bag. "Then it's settled. We'll catch a train to Arizona."
Right, you guys are mad at me for not updating for another month, blah blah blah. I have no real excuses up my sleeve, just the fact I'm lazy during the summer and I had a bit of writer's block writing this chapter. Also, this is the first time I've updated during the day...I usually update during unholy hours at night. (I'm half expecting for my mom to tell me go to bed.)
Anyways, school is coming up soon. Seven days from now. And in order to meet my two deadlines (First one is by October 4th and the second is before November so I could use the sequel for my NaNoWriMo story) I've decided to either make 4-5 really long chapters or 8-10 little chapters. What do you guys think? I'm more for the really long chapters myself...
Hopefully, the next chapter will be up by next week.
Anyone get the really obvious reference? Kudos to you if you did!
Catch any grammar errors? Tell me in a review (buh no flames...)
Reviewer Question: Coke or Pepsi? School or Vacation? Long or Short chapters?
Remember, reviews make lovely presents for my inbox! (So close to one hundred reviews! You guys can do it!)
-The Scribe
BTW before I forget, I'm considering getting a Twitter for you guys. So you can nag me whenever more than a week's passed and I haven't updated. Yes or No?
