Disclaimer: I'm a girl, so I'm not Rick Riorden. Since I'm not Rick Riorden, I don't own any of this (besides the plot to this fanfic)
"What are you talking about?" Percy demanded. He and the quest group stood in the rubble left over from Talos. They were desperately searching for Bianca. She had gone into the robot to shut it down. She wasn't anywhere in the rubble.
Grover's eyes filled up with tears before he answered. "The prophecy. One shall be lost in the land without rain." Everyone was silent.
They were standing in the middle of the desert and Bianca was gone.
Aphrodite shook her head. I warned him. I said they shouldn't take anything from his junkyard. Yet the girl took something anyways. She thought. The gods stood around the throne room, they'd been watching what had happened. None of them actually knew the girl that had died. She wasn't one of theirs. They'd seen the way that she'd killed the skeleton. That action gave them and idea as to who godly parent was but they weren't going to bring it up with Zeus. The silence wouldn't last for long.
"Well... he helped complete that part of the prophecy." Ares said. Everyone knew who Ares was talking about-he was talking about Hephaestus. This was obvious because the kids had just been in Hephaestus' junkyard.
"Only you would consider someone's death as helping." Athena grumbled.
"I told you something tragic would happen." Aphrodite said as she checked her husband off of the list. "He helped them understand the prophecy. Besides, it wasn't that great of a loss. She was one of Artemis' maidens after all."
Athena was seated in her throne. She was watching the campers on their quest. She knew that she'd need to help them out at one point or another. They were currently at the Hoover Dam, one of Annabeth's favorite architectural structures. Athena looked around the rest of the area. She noticed the van that had been following the group around. Skeletons had just exited it. The kids hadn't even noticed them yet. Wow, these kids are oblivious. Athena thought to herself. She decided that she should help them. She dressed as a park ranger. It made sense, why shouldn't the goddess of wisdom help out by providing a form of knowledge? Athena decided to pull her long, currently black hair into a simple ponytail. Her gray eyes would probably scare the mortals. She decided to wear black, tinted sun glasses. Athena snapped her fingers and appeared at the Hoover Dam.
Athena walked over to the park ranger station. Nobody questioned her authority. A group of people stood waiting for the next tour to begin. She took a deep breath before beckoning to them.
"Hello, my name is Athena," She started. Please note that Athena didn't need to change her name because there are people named after her. "I'll be your tour guide for the next ten minutes or so. If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the turbines." She began to walk and continued on with her speech. "There are seventeen main turbines. Any questions?"
A young boy looked up at her and said "How does water reach the turbines?"
"The water reaches the turbines through four penstocks. There are two stocks on either side of the river." She stopped walking because they had come to the elevator. Athena pushed the button and the elevator arrived. She entered and everyone else followed. Athena looked over the crowd as she waited for the doors to close. She immediately recognized Percy Jackson. He was running from the skeletons that she'd spotted earlier. He ran past the guard who was working the metal detector and into the elevator just before the doors closed.
"We'll be going down seven hundred feet." Athena said happily. She sensed that some people were worried about the elevator breaking. "Don't worry ladies and gentlemen, the elevator hardly ever breaks." She added.
"Does this go to the snack bar?" Percy asked the tour guide, he didn't recognize Athena. A few people laughed at his question. Athena rolled her eyes. Nobody noticed because of her sunglasses.
"To the turbines, young man," She said. "Weren't listening to my fascinating presentation upstairs?"
"Oh, uh, sure." Percy said stupidly. "Is there another way out of the dam?"
"It's a dead end," A male tourist wearing a floral shirt said, "For heaven's sake. The only way out is the other elevator." The doors to the elevator opened.
"Go right ahead, folks," Athena said. "Another ranger is waiting for you at the end of the corridor." The group exited with Percy slowly trailing behind them.
"And young man," Athena called to him. She'd taken off her glasses to reveal her gray eyes. Percy looked back at her. "There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it." The doors to the elevator closed. Athena snapped her fingers and went back to her throne on Olympus.
The gods were all seated in their thrones. They had been watching Athena- none of them had believed that she would actually help Poseidon's kid.
"Well done." Hermes said. "You actually helped them... Although I didn't really get your hint."
"It was an easy enough one... He just needs to think about it. Besides, they already saw what I was talking about." Athena answered. "And don't act so surprised. They're attempting to save Artemis and my daughter."
"We didn't see what you were talking about." Ares said.
"You know those statues that I dedicated to father?"
"You mean the ones that everyone rubs the toes for good luck or whatever?" Aphrodite asked.
"That would be them." Athena said.
"What are they supposed to do with the statues?" Hermes asked.
"They'll figure it out themselves."
"And if they don't?" Apollo asked.
"I'm telling you, they'll get it."
"If you say so." Aphrodite said. She checked of Athena's name.
"Four against eleven." Zoë muttered. "And they can't die."
"It's been nice adventuring with you guys." Grover said, his voice was trembling.
"Whoa," Percy said as he turned around to look at the bronze statues. "Their toes really are bright."
"Percy this isn't the time." Thalia said. Percy didn't turn around. He was busy staring at the two humongous statues. His mind was working quickly. The toes were shiny because people rubbed them for good luck. Good Luck. The blessing of Zeus. Percy thought about the tour guide he'd met in the elevator. He vividly remembered her gray eyes and her smile. She'd said that 'there is always a way for those clever enough to find it.' Percy got an idea.
"Thalia," He said. "Pray to your dad."
Thalia glared at him, giving him a look that clearly said are you crazy? "He never answers."
"Just this once." Percy pleaded. "Ask for help. I think... I think the statues can give us some luck."
The skeletons were advancing, getting closer and closer.
"Do it!" Percy yelled.
"No!" Thalia said. "He won't answer."
"This time is different!"
"Who says?"
Thalia stumped Percy for a moment. He tried to remember where else he had seen those gray eyes. Annabeth came to his mind. Her mother, Athena. He hesitated before saying "Athena, I think."
Thalia was scowling. The only thing that she was thinking about was how crazy Percy was. He honestly expected her to pray to her father? She had prayed to him when she was a tree and he never answered. Why would today be different?
"Try it." Grover pleaded.
Thalia closed her eyes. Her lips moved in a silent prayer. Percy put in his own prayer to Annabeth's mom. Desperately hoping that it was she who had been in the elevator- that she was trying to help them save her daughter.
Nothing happened.
"Who dares to interrupt my vacation?" Zeus roared, causing Hera to look at him. He and Hera were relaxing on a barren beach in Jamaica. Zeus frowned as he looked to see which of his children had called for him. His expression softened as he realized it was Thalia. She and her friends were in trouble. A group of skeletons were closing in on them. They were at the Hoover Dam, just in front of the statues that Athena had dedicated to him. Zeus snapped his fingers and the statues sprang to life.
"Which one of them was it?" Hera asked. She was rather annoyed with the fact that Zeus tended to pick his children over her.
"Thalia." He stated. Hera frowned; of course it was the girl who wasn't supposed to be alive.
The statues rose, casting a shadow over Percy and Thalia. They looked up to find them standing over them. Five skeletons looked up at the statues, to be swept a side by a long bronze wing. The remaining six opened fire. The kids backed up to protect themselves from the bullets but they didn't need to. The two statues stood in front of them and folded their wings like shields. Bullets pinged off them. The angels slashed outward, and the skeletons flew across the road.
"Man, it feels good to stand up!" One of the angels said. His voice was extremely dry.
"Will ya look at my toes?" The other one said. "Holy Zeus, what were those tourists thinking?" Percy and the group stared at the angels. Percy was the first to recover. The skeletons were reassembling themselves.
"Trouble!" He said.
"Get us out of here!" Thalia yelled, causing both angels to look down at her.
"Zeus's kid?"
"Yes!"
"Could I get a please, miss Zeus's kid?" The first angel who spoke asked.
"Please!" Thalia pleaded.
The angels looked at each other and shrugged.
"I could use a stretch." One of them said. One of them grabbed Thalia and Percy, and the other grabbed Zoë and Grover. They flew up in the air, away from the skeletons.
"I told you so." Athena said with a smile. She had taken Aphrodite's list and checked off Zeus.
"I told you so." Ares mocked. Aphrodite hit him off the side of the head.
"Would you stop doing that? It gets really annoying." She said.
"Would you stop do-" Apollo began to mimic Aphrodite.
"Same thing goes for you," she pointed at Apollo, "and you." She pointed at Hermes. "Why can't you guys act more maturely?"
"It's impossible for them to do so. You of all people should know that." Athena said.
"You're the annoying know it all." Ares said.
"And you're the annoying cry baby." Ares rose from his throne, taking out his knife.
"What are you trying to say shrimp?" He roared.
"Oh nothing." Athena said. "You should probably put that away," she was looking at Ares knife. "I don't think dad would want to know that you were fighting me."
"I don't think he'd want to know that you helped out with the quest." Ares shot back.
"So did you and everyone else in this room." Athena reminded him.
Ares groaned. "I hate having a know-it-all for a sister."
