Why a year? Demigods have so many advantages, I need a reasonable amount of time to give my oc a fighting chance... even the weakest demigod starts off super strong, faster, durable and they all heal faster. Some more so than others, I needed a realistic time to develop.

I am sorry for the change, but the last story sucked bad. All tell and no show...

Everything about this story is superior...

After walking through the woods, light by a fire in Rowan's hands, for another mile or so, they started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. Rowan could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. They kept walking until They saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.

It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like they'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, sur-rounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was irritating to look at.

"What the heck does that say?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," Annabeth said.

Rowan turned. "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium. I sense magic, it's in the air here, potent and dark, twisted and warped. A mix of... well, you two." he told Percy and Annabeth, but he could see immediately they were enchanted. Their eyes were glazed over and they were practically drooling at the smell of food. "Good thing I am resistant to magic, perk of being an active witch." He muttered.

Percy almost immediately crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers.

"Hey ..." Grover warned. "Didn't you hear Rowan?"

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar," Percy said wistfully.

"Snack bar," she agreed.

"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

They ignored him.

The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

They stopped at the warehouse door, Rowan cast off his light but readied himself for combat if he needed it. Something fierce was happening, and he knew it would be utterly dangerous if they did not deal with it soon.

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters and Rowan senses magic!"

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy reminded him.

"Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are ... looking at me."

Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of Them was a tall Middle Eastern woman-at least, Rowan assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all he could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant.

Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

"They're ... um ..." Annabeth started to say.

Rowan, used to lying to adults, said. "We are lost ma'am, we wondered from our group. Can you help us?"

"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."

They thanked her and went inside.

The warehouse was filled with more statues-people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size.

Rowan turned and saw Aunty Em locking the door behind her, and he knew they were screwed.

At back of theo warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.

"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.

"Awesome," Percy said.

"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."

Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice children."

"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.

Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly. Rowan was on edge, and he figured out who she was.

'Statues, not liking Annabeth, feels like Percy and Annabeth... this is Medusa, damn we are screwed.'

"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." Only they never introduced themselves... adding to his worry.

Their hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before they knew it, she'd brought they plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries.

Rowan couldn't entirely help himself, he adored red meat and devoured his food fast. Oddly, the enchantment never took hold, it should have, he suspected it was due to his awareness and his magic... who knew?

Annabeth slurped her shake.

Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.

"What's that hissing noise?" he asked and Rowan groaned.

"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."

"I take vitamins. For my ears."

"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."

Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her head-dress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched them eat. Rowan sighed after he ate. "I am sorry, my lady... but we are in a rush." And in a swish of movement, he summoned his blade, and cut off her head. It would only work if she was a monster, and so when her head rolled away, her body turning to dust, he knew he was right. Annabeth screamed, the others gaped in horror. Ignoring them, he wrapped her head in her own veil and kneeled. "Hecate, I killed her out of need, not want. She deserved better. Please, help her, in this life or the next. Watch over her cursed soul..." He stood. "We are going to offer prayers, to her and to the souls lost here. Your parents caused this, we will make it better."

""

Annabeth was terrified, she knew now that they were dealing with Medusa, it was so obvious, but seeing a mortal defeat her and with such ruthlessness was... terrifying. The tears in his eyes took nothing away from that fact. " How did you figure it out so fast?"

"Statues, her not liking you, and her magic. Her parents are sea deities, and she was cursed by your mom. It was obvious. Now make a pyre, we are making and offering to free and bless these statues and Medusa herself... none of them deserved their fates. Your mom cursed Medusa for being assaulted, Poseidon never helped her. She is alone, i cannot feel her sisters nearby... isolation makes you go mad, it is science... we will honor them, all of them. They deserve that much." And so they started and made a hearth, Rowan tossed in Medusa's head and they all offered some food. "Gods above, Hades below... help these souls pass onto the next life, with your blessing of peace. To Medusa, may you find peace and freedom from the curse on your poor soul..."

To her credit, Annabeth had taken Rowan's words into consideration... and she sighed and offered her own sacrifice "Mom, it is unwise to let Medusa be alone and cursed. Look at the death it wrought, please help undo her misery and pass on to a new life."

They each offered something, a prayer and an offering, before an odd ripple exploded from the fire. Shock filled them all as the statues all crumbled away, flowers growing in their place along with a new wave, one of peace and new memories as the death washed away... it was lovely, sad and sweet all at once... and it made Annabeth reconsider her loyalty to her mother all at once.

"You are a good person." Percy said to Rowan.

"I would have been better if I could have saved her but that magic is beyond me... let's get her money, and find a way out of here..."

They searched the back of the warehouse until They found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden. According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. In the cash register They found twenty dollars and a few golden drachmas. They packed some of her food up and hurried away, leaving the place to wallow in it's death and potential for new life.

"""

Rowan had never been a fan of the gods, ever, but now... looking back at old lair of Medusa, he hated them. Seeing their evil so clearly visible, it was horrible. So many casualties and innocents lost... it was so wrong.

'Hecate, Hades, Hestia, if I matter at all, help undo this evil... do not let it linger.'

He doubted they cared enough to listen, but he could hope...

Right?

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was a joy to write,

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.