AN: So, here is the next chapter. I hope everyone likes it. Also for those who want to know how I see the Olympians I have recently got that posted on my website. I have also updated some thing on my website for this story, for those who want to know what Sam looks like or more about him it's there.

Also, in this chapter we get to see a darker side to Melinda. Similar to what we saw during the war in Forgotten Daughter but also different. Hopefully she doesn't come off too impulsive.

Next chapter we'll get to see Melinda meet Charon and soon after that go into the Underworld.


The Sea's Daughter: The Lightning Thief.

Chapter 10: Crusty's Water Beds...already?

Melinda had decided she didn't like L.A, not at all.

It was loud, strange and very difficult to find their way around. It was a chaotic mess, and this was coming from a girl who'd gotten used to Manhattan, and had lived in England her whole life. In other, more simple words, she was lost.

Percy, Annabeth and Grover didn't seem to be having much better luck as they darted around, and finally turned into a alley. It was approaching mid afternoon now, and they were slowly, but surely running out of time.

The Summer Solstice was today, they had no time to waste.

"Does anyone know where we're going?" Melinda asked.

"D.O.A Studios," Annabeth said, nodding. "It should be around here somewhere."

Melinda could almost hear the mental 'I think' from the now silent, thoughtful girl.

"It can't be far," Grover said, nervously. "We don't have the time to waste."

"My thoughts exactly," Melinda muttered.

They didn't get much farther before a gang of six boys, around her age appeared in front of them. Some had knives, other had baseball bats and others had chains or something like that. Over all they were dangerous.

"What you think you're doin' in our territory?" the leader asked, stepping forward and Melinda sighed.

"It's what do you think you're doing, not what you said," Annabeth corrected before she could think better of it.

"Think you so smart then, Blondie?" another said, swinging the baseball bat around.

Melinda saw her brother uncap Riptide and some of the gang gasped, not sure what they saw but Melinda knew it wasn't good. Once Percy remembered it was useless against the mortals they would be in trouble.

"Back off," Melinda sneered, stepping forward to draw to some attention away from the others.

"Look what we have here," another said, strutting forward in what Melinda was sure he thought was a sexy strut.

In reality it made him look as if someone had taped a brick to his spin and it was pulling him back and then someone had shoved a stick up his ass.

"Why don't you come with us sweetheart," the leader said, grinning and looking at her lustfully.

"Hey, leave my sister alone," Percy growled, stepping in front of her and the leader kept coming.

Fearing the worse, seeing as the leader did have a rather large switchblade, Melinda whispered a hasty Greek spell under her breath. It was basically a simple conjuring spell, something the children of Hecate at camp – there were only around six currently – had taught her.

It simple enough it didn't tire her out like the bigger stuff did. She resorted to it because her dagger was in her bag, and she didn't want to draw attention by rummaging through it. The spell was also one that only worked short distances, like from her backpack to her hand.

Melinda cursed when Percy reacted on instinct and swung Riptide at the mortal. It passed through like he was a spirit rather than alive.

"Wha –" the leader asked, looking down confused and then back up with rage flashing in his eyes. "You'll pay brat."

Percy backed up some, and Melinda pulled him out the way further as the leader swung his blade with skill he was probably known for on the streets.

Melinda pulled her bone dagger from behind her back and stomped on the leaders foot, the one closest to her, and then swiftly kicked him the back of the knee.

He fell to the ground and Melinda kicked the switchblade over to Grover who picked it up clumsily

Grover closed it finally and put it in his pocket as Melinda grabbed the leader by the hair and while he was still on his knees, dazed, pulling back his head and leveled her dagger at his throat.

The others gasped, both her brother and friends and the other gang members.

"Whoa, our mistake," one said, and she really couldn't tell which one was which.

She really didn't care.

"Run," Melinda told them, looking at her brother and two frightened friends.

"You stupid bitch, when I get out of this," the leader spat and she moved her dagger and ran it down his left cheek. Not too deeply but enough that he yelled out in pain and shock.

"Shut up, I don't think you're in any position to be making threats," she spat, looking at her brother and friends she raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we don't have all day. I'll catch up in a second," she said.

Annabeth and Grover were the first to leave and Percy followed but stopped when he was a few inches past Melinda and her captive.

"You...you won't kill him. Right?" he asked.

Her brothers big wide eyes made her heart break. Despite everything this quest had done it hadn't shattered all of his naive innocence.

She remembered when she was like that, but the war had pretty much taken care of any foolish thoughts she might have about the black and white of the world.

"I won't kill him," she said back in Ancient Greek so the mortals wouldn't be able to understand and call her bluff.

Percy nodded, and took off after the other two. She watched them round a corner and glared at the gang then.

"Leave, don't follow us and hope I never see your faces again," she spat coldly, her eyes flashing.

She didn't know it but when she got like this her eyes tended to almost glow a similar green to the killing curse. If she had known she'd have snorted and called anyone blind and thought it terribly cliché.

"You got it," one man said, dropping his baseball bat.

"Go," she sneered. "Now."

"What about – "

Her glare shut them up and she dug her dagger into the leaders throat, but not enough to draw more then a thin line of blood. No more then a scratch really.

It had it's desired effect. They ran, the opposite way her brother and friends had gone.

"What..what are ya gonna do to me?" the leader asked, now sort of scared that his gang had run off like little girls.

"I don't kill mortals, even trash like yourself," she said, rather calmly, and pulled her dagger away and pushing him over. "Besides, I have bigger things to worry about."

She stepped over the lower half of the gang leader who looked like he was not moving from his position on his knees and bowing the ground with his arms over his head.

She shook her head and put her dagger into her left boot, covering it with her jean leg. After that she took off running in the direction her brother and the others had gone.

Soon she was racing down a street and hoping she was going in the right direction. Seeing a sharp corner she decided to duck around it. She was pretty sure that if the others thought they were being followed they wouldn't keep going straight.

Only one store on the block looked open, its windows glaring with neon. The sign above the door said something like CRSTUY'S WATRE BDE ALPACE.

Most her books and written things were in Latin or Greek so it sometimes took her by surprise when she couldn't read English right off the bat.

Glaring at the sign it took her a minute, a minute she didn't want to spend figuring out it said, Crusty's Water Bed Palace.

Through the dark tented glass Melinda was able to make out figures inside, one of which seemed to be giant compared to the one still standing.

Pulling out her bag she thanks the gods she hadn't had time to unpack everything or she wouldn't have the expendable ears George had given her the day of the wedding.

It only took seconds before she could hear what was going on inside.

"Let my friends go." her brother's voice demanded.

"Oh, sure I will. But I got to make them fit, first."

"What?"

"All the beds are exactly six feet, you see? Your friends are too short. Got to make them fit. I Can't stand imperfect measurements, you see," who she could only assume was Crusty said."Ergo!"

Melinda frowned and pulled the ear out from under the door and off. Once she'd replaced it she took out the flowing material of her invisibility cloak and swung it over her shoulders

she couldn't change going in seen, it might startle Crusty, who she was pretty sure was Procrustes, into being violent.

She slowly opened the door and slid in, invisible to everyone, even Percy, Annabeth and Grover. They of course saw and heard the door and Crusty turned, making Melinda wince at the full view she got of him.

He was definitely crusty, she thought.

"What was that?" he asked, beginning to move forward and Melinda moved behind Percy and leaned close to his ear.

"Probably just the wind?" Percy said, but it came out as more of a question.

"Don't worry, I'm here," she whispered and while he jumped an inch he was able to control any other reactions.

She back up some, heading over to Grover and Annabeth to see what she could do while Percy kept Crusty busy.

"Your real name's not Crusty, is it?" Percy suddenly asked, causing Crusty to stop and turn back to him.

"Legally, it's Procrustes," he admitted. "but who can pronounce that these days. It's bad for business, so I changed it to draw in more clients."

"The Stretcher," Percy said, his eyes a little wide.

She was soon busy pulling her dagger from her boot and trying to discretely cut some of the ropes holding Grover as he was closest to her. And more out of Crusty's line of sight.

"You're right of course. It's got a nice ring to it, to. You must see a lot of business these days."

His eyes lit up. "You think so? Because recently there seems to be a sudden decline in the need for good water beds."

"Oh, absolutely," Percy said. "the workmanship on these beds? I haven't seen anything like it before!"

"I tell my customers that. Every time. Nobody bothers to look at the workmanship. How many built-in Lava Lamp headboards have you seen?"

"None that I've seen."

"That's right!"

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Don't mind her," Percy told Crusty, waving Annabeth off. "She's impossible."

The giant laughed and Melinda grinned as the first part of the rope holding Grover down and stretching him gave way.

"All my customers are these days. Never six feet exactly, it's so inconsiderate. And then they complain about the fitting."

Melinda snorted quietly to herself as she tried to work faster and Grover looked over as if finally noticing, though he was still very pale.

"It's just me, Grover," she whispered, congratulating her brother mentally on a job well done.

She didn't think could have done a better job distracting the giant.

"Mel," Grover muttered lowly and smiled.

She didn't pay much more attention to Percy's tactic she was busy and just as Percy had tricked Crusty onto a bed she'd gotten on arm free and had moved on to his foot.

Once Crusty was tied down she stood, put her dagger away and pulled out her cypress wand.

She pointed it at the ropes still holding Grover down.

"Diffindo!" she cast, the white spell hitting the ropes and severing them along with part of the bed.

She repeated this process with the rest of the ropes and Annabeth. She had them free by the time Percy had used Riptide to decapitate Crusty.

Annabeth and Grover got to their feet, groaning and wincing and cursing Percy for taking so long, and they jumped when Melinda pulled off the hood of her cloak and then swung it around to drape over her arm.

"Wha – is that an invisibility cloak?" Annabeth asked, confused.

Melinda smirked, knowing Annabeth wouldn't know exactly what it was but was naming it more on what she saw. Nonetheless she was right.

"Yep," Melinda said. "I inherited it from my papa."

Grover and Annabeth blinked, but Percy was aware she called her adopted father papa, so he was aware of what she meant.

"My adoptive father," she cleared up.

"Oh," Annabeth said, staring at it like it was a mystery she wanted to work out or study. "What took you two so long, anyway?"

"Sorry," Melinda said, amused. "I couldn't risk just barging in and causing him to get violent. And those ropes were pretty heavily made."

"You look taller, though," Percy said, smirking at Annabeth.

"Very funny," Annabeth said. "Be faster next time, please."

"We should look around, he might have something to help us," Melinda said and the group split up.

Melinda was able to find some drachma's, not many but enough that they might be useful. She also found some old sale receipts, which made her blanch. Who knew what had become of them.

"I found something," Percy called and came forward with a orange filer.

Once she read it she could tell it was for DOA Recording Studios, offering commissions for heroes' souls. It was quite morbid if she did think so herself.

The address for DOA was right under all the large lettering and advertising.

"Come on," Percy said.

"Give us a minute," Grover complained. "We were almost stretched to death.'"

"Then you're ready for the Underworld," Melinda said. "It's only a block from here, and we don't have time to stop, even for a minute."

The others faces went grim but they nodded and they left the waterbed shop, heading for DOA Studios at last.