§Ginny§
I heard footsteps, and everybody whipped around pointing various weapons at the noise. Annabeth gasped and ran towards the entrance "PERCY JACKSON DO YOU KNOW HOW-" Her voice cracked and she hugged him as if he were a teddy bear. "I was worried about you, you Seaweed Brain."
Percy smiled mischievously and ran his fingers through her hair. "Thanks, I was worried too, Wise girl. I thought that you were being tortured by cyclopes and everyday stuff like that." She punched him playfully. Then I saw Harry. A much too girly squeal issued from my mouth, and I ran towards him. He folded me in his warm arms, his face pale, but smiling.
I pulled away from him. "What happened?"
Percy answered instead. "Cyclopes. They imitate voices to lure their victims." Annabeth nodded gravely.
"And it was you, screaming… I couldn't stand hearing that. I was so terrified for you," Harry murmured into my ear, and I squeezed his hand. Unexpectedly Percy perked up and beamed at everyone.
"Zoë Nightshade" he spluttered excitedly.
"Huh?" everyone seemed to say in unison.
"I broke my sword, and then Zoe spoke to me inside my head and told me how to fix it," he told Annabeth, who pursed her lips thoughtfully.
"Who's Zoe?" demanded Leo. "If she can fix stuff she sounds like my type o' gal."
Everyone groaned except for Annabeth and Percy. "Zoe was the creator of Riptide," said Percy slowly. "She… she died."
"I'm sorry," said Leo, for once showing social skills. "She must have been quite clever, though, to find a way to speak to the owner's head or whatever. Was she hot?" There it goes. Lyra shot him a harsh look, and he shrugged back. "Just wondering."
"She was a hunter," Annabeth snapped. Leo blushed.
"Anyway…" Hermione interjected, "Now what?"
"I say get the heck out of this place, you can contact the magic government thing, we'll Iris message Chiron, and then do whatever they tell us to do," stated Jason. I gave a murmur of agreement along with the others.
"Um, the exit's this way," directed Ron. We followed him down a labyrinth of corridors, comparing stories and cringing whenever we passed by limp bodies.
§Leo§
Ugh, why couldn't Lyra understand that I only wanted to know if she was hot? Well I guess that I would be upset too if Lyra suddenly said "Gosh, Zac Efron is HOT!" Yeah I would get mega annoyed and would probably never watch another High School Musical again. (Please don't tell anyone else how much I'm obsessed with those- I'd get pulverized for it) I smiled at her apologetically, hoping she'd get the message and we could move on.
After what seemed like forever we got to a long flight of stairs. Ron leaned on the door and turned the industrial handle. The sunlight nearly blinded us after hours underground. I smiled as Lyra pushed past everyone and leapt into the square ahead. "FREE!" I couldn't imagine being stuck down there as long as she did, not to mention the things she'd seen… I held back a shudder as I joined her dancing.
Annabeth rolled her eyes and scanned the buildings around us. "We're right near the Hirshhorn. If we wanted to go-"
She cut off as the air shimmered in front of us. Chiron's face appeared, looking rather nervous.
"Hello! Oh, and it seems you have completed your mission?" he noted, taking in our surroundings. Annabeth nodded. He must have suddenly acknowledged the wizards, who even though it was the second time they'd seen an Iris message in action, were still gaping, because he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Chiron continued, "The reason I called was… we have some visitors here at camp who would like to speak to you urgently. They tell me they are the leaders of your companions." He looked at Annabeth so fiercely he might as well had said it: Really? Mortals?
"Okay, we'll meet you at camp," Percy replied. "I don't know how we'll get there, though. The Argo II… well, it's not an option anymore." I let out a dramatic moan. I had almost forgotten about my ship. Almost.
Chiron looked thoughtful. "Perhaps I can ask some pegasi to find you, in which case it's best for you to stay put. If they agree they can get there in about a half an hour, so I'd suggest finding a bite to eat. By the way, I haven't had the pleasure of being introduced to your friends." He was curious.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Lyra," Annabeth said curtly, pointing to each one in turn. "They're wizards." Leaving Chiron to ponder this, she made a snatching gesture into the Iris message and our beloved, bossy, know-it-all centaur counselor evaporated away.
§Hermione§
I was extremely glad I had suggested that credit card. Harry, the only other member of the Order who had grown up in the muggle world, was to absentminded to bring up the topic of cost. Yes, you do need money to book a flight on "plane-o-air"s, yes, you do need money to stay at a muggle motel. And yes, an international credit card is helpful while waiting for pegasi in the middle of Washington, D.C. with five teenage boys.
"I'm starving! Let's go eat," Jason complained, stretching. The others bobbed their head vigorously. I rolled my eyes, but truthfully I could have done with food as well. And so while Ron explained loudly the rules of Quidditch to the demigods, Annabeth, Ginny and I pored over the map one of us had wisely pocketed earlier.
"There's a cafe not too far away," observed Ginny, pointing. She traced the roads with her finger, memorizing the route, then took the map and folded it up. "Forward, march!" she bellowed good-naturedly, stomping her foot and turning sharply. We all laughed at the boys' blank expressions.
"Wha?"
"We're going to eat, Seaweed brain," Annabeth teased.
"I said, forward, march!" protested Ginny. Confused, Percy and Leo made to make a line behind her. As we all giggled I scorned myself for being so frivolous. Then I realized: we're just in shock from still being alive. Everyone's happy, everyone's safe. Relax, Hermione, just enjoy it while it lasts.
Eventually we got to the cafe. Harry and I helped Ron and Ginny order, and we payed with the credit card. Even though it was extremely humid today, classic East-Coast summer weather, I had been told, we squished several tables with brightly-colored umbrellas together and ate outside, in front of the cafe. After so long underground, the sunshine was energizing to our exhausted bodies and brains. Once we finished we pushed our trays to the center of the table and chatted happily. We almost didn't notice the pegasi flying towards us, except Percy suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "Blackjack! My man!" I craned my head to get a look. Above the rooftops, pumping gigantic, feathery wings, were four pegasi of different colors. I had only seen winged horses once, when some carried the Beauxbâtons carriage in fourth year, and had never ridden one. I had, however ridden a thestral, a hippogriff, and a dragon, and never wanted to do any of those or alike again. I watched in awe as the landed on the sidewalk. The coal-black colored one trotted up to where Percy was sitting and nudged him with its head. Percy smiled as it bobbed its head, as if they were having a conversation.
Which they were. "Blackjack says they can each take two to three of us, but they just need to get a quick break."
Ginny popped up. "Should I get them something to eat?" she asked, heading towards the smallest one. She coddled it like a horse at the stable I once visited with my parents. It snorted happily.
"No, they're fine, apparently. Thanks, though," Percy answered.
So we rested for a few more minutes while each pegasus was introduced. "Those two pure-white ones are Blackjacks BFFs- sorry, buddies. He says BFF is a fluffy, feminine term." Blackjack puffed approvingly. "So that's Guido, the tall one with the blue eyes, and the other's Porkpie. And this guy volunteered to come along- he's sorta a rookie to the whole help demigod thing, they didn't want him to come but he begged," he added quietly. The shorter, caramel pegasus in question was stomping impatiently as the others ignored him. "His name's Rider, and I'm told he likes Reese's pieces and hijacking airplanes that come close to Camp Half Blood. Anyway, I think they're ready to get going now. Annabeth and Lyra, you guys take Rider. Harry and Hermione, Porkpie, and then Ron and Ginny… and Leo, can have Guido" Leo made a face, obviously insulted with being shoved on a full horse because he was the shortest other than Ginny. "Which leaves me and Jason on Blackjack."
We all climbed awkwardly onto our pegasi. I stole glances around the street. Plenty of muggles passed by and waved, but the Mist must have been doing its job. Still in wonder of this powerful essence, I grabbed Harry's hand and he pulled me onto Porkpie.
"Ready?" asked Percy, "Let's go!"
I held back a shriek as we were thrusted into the air, clinging tightly to Harry's t-shirt. He was laughing. As if he was a legilimens, he said exactly what I had been thinking. "It's just like those thestrals!" I agreed, but I had no idea why anyone who had ever flown on a thestral would be happy about that comparison. It's a good thing the pegasus wasn't invisible though.
Some quick notes: In case you were fuming about the stupidity of this chapter, the reason why the wizards can see the pegasi is because they are related to the Winged Horses in G.o.B. so the Mist didn't hide them. Also, Rider's name is random, if you can come up with a better name put it in your review and we might use it. Thanks for reading!