Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or Camp Half-Blood or mythology. Rick does. Well, at least the characters and Camp Half-Blood.

Chapter 6

Percy was cold and hungry. He knew leaving at night was a terrible idea. And especially leaving out of the front entrance: Half-Blood Hill. Luke had urged him to go and in that process, he'd allowed himself to be pushed out that way.

It was mainly because Luke had no idea who he really was. And he figured it was best to keep it that way until the time was right. It had taken him two days to get to Manhattan. He'd learned first-hand how dangerous this place was. He hadn't been out of Camp Half-Blood in years, and things were different from what he remembered. There were still many lights and places open, but things just felt different.

He figured it was the feeling of safety he'd felt for years at camp.

There were a whole bunch of dark, shady characters studying him as he walked past. As hectic as Manhattan must have been, it must have still been abnormal to see a kid walking alone in Manhattan in the middle of the night. He kept a hand on his pen just in case.

A creepy chill crawled up his neck as he turned a corner. He was at the entrance to an alley when a girl's voice shouted out of the darkness, "Help!"

Percy made the mistake of stopping.

"Help!"

"Who's there?" he shouted back.

"Please, help me!" The voice sounded broken and desperate, like the girl had gotten mugged or raped. "Please."

Percy walked into the alley, and a lamp light flickered on conveniently. Percy saw a young girl, maybe a bit older than him, lying on the ground with her clothes torn and bruises marking her face. She wore a skirt and a blouse. She was crying and when she looked up, she looked surprised to see him.

"You're… you're young."

Percy smiled hesitantly. "Yeah, I am. What happened?"

She sobbed. "It was this man who… who pulled me and my mom into here. He beat me up and took my mom away. I don't know what to do. I don't want to go out onto the street now. Nobody will help. They'll just look at me and do nothing."

"Humans are cruel, huh?" Percy said.

The girl nodded.

When she looked him straight in the eye, he suddenly felt pity for the girl. He could sympathize with anyone whose mother had been taken from them at a young age. He remembered being alone without knowing what to do. He remembered the heartache and the pain. Percy realized that he was trembling a little bit.

The girl stood up and approached him. She wrapped her arms around him and cried. Percy stood there, stunned, as she put her head in the crook of his neck. Then something went wrong. Percy suddenly smelled… horses. As he backed up, his knee collided with one of the girl's legs and he heard a clang. It was a hollow, metallic sound.

Instantly, he kicked the girl down and pulled Riptide out.

The colour drained out of the girl's skin. It turned as white as chalk, her eyes completely turned red, and her teeth grew into fangs.

"What the Hades are you?" Percy stammered. He looked down. Below her skirt, her left leg was brown and shaggy with a donkey's hoof. Her right leg was shaped like a human leg, but it was made of bronze. "Uhh, a vampire with—"

"Don't mention the legs!" the girl snapped. "It's rude to make fun! And besides…" She grinned evilly. "I'm not a vampire. That stupid legend was based on us. I am an empousa, servant of Hecate. Zeus sends his regards."

She bared her fangs and lunged at him.

He rolled to the side as she swiped at his sword. He realized she was trying to take it away. Disarm him. Monsters were definitely on the stupid side. He jumped forward and slashed down, but she rolled toward him and threw a knee into his stomach. He was glad she missed his groin. But nevertheless, the wind was knocked out of him and he dropped his sword.

The she-devil pressed him up against the wall and hissed. Her fangs were so close to him. If they got to his neck, he was as good as gone. All sympathy he had for the girl dissipated, and fury replaced that feeling. Zeus had sent this beast to kill him.

He felt a surge of energy and grabbed the empousa by the throat. Years of wrestling training against Clarisse prepared him for a lot. He managed to throw both of them to the ground, and kept his hand locked around the monster's neck. The empousa flickered back to her human image and tried to make it hard for him to focus. It didn't work.

"I'm not the Olympians' pawn," he growled to the monster. "I will not bow down to death just because Zeus wills it. They will wish they didn't do this to me. They will regret it."

She only cackled, as if he'd made a wrong judgement.

He released his anger through his fists and beat her until she lay motionless on the ground. He stumbled over to Riptide, raised it, and stabbed the beast through her chest. She crumbled into sand, and he felt even more tired than he was before.

Percy tucked his sword into his pocket. The lamp flickered off, like the electrical flow stopped.

He darted out of the alley and made his way to Central Park. There was one place that he felt like he could seek help. It would be a horrible reminder of what happened five years ago, but if he could get help in exchange, he would man up for tonight.

"The Ramble," Percy muttered. "Where's the Ramble?"

He passed by the statue of William Shakespeare. He had a hard time understanding Homer, not to mention Shakespeare. He figured the book, or play, would just explode in his hands because of all the flying letters. But there was no doubt in his mind that Shakespeare was one of Apollo's sons. Following the signs to the Bethesda Fountain, he saw another statue. This time it was Ludwig van Beethoven. Another son of Apollo.

As Percy walked through Central Park, the memories flooded back. His heart got heavier the closer he got to The Ramble. Dread settled in his bones.

He entered the woodland walk after passing the boathouse. He and his mother had taken the exact same path years ago. Looking up, he noticed a few bright stars in the sky, but not much else. There were too many building lights. Light pollution was what it was called. This was where he'd proclaimed that there were no bad people, no monsters. This was where he'd claimed that he'd protect his mother.

It was his decision that ultimately led to her death. How stupid could he be? He'd run into the forest just because he wanted to follow a shadow. He could have prevented her death.

"Frisia?" he shouted into the darkness. "Cherry? Anybody?"

Percy delved deeper into the forest. It wasn't as thick as he remembered. Maybe it was because everything was bigger when he was last here. Well, technically he was smaller before, and most things were the same size, but that didn't matter. It seemed like there were less trees.

It took a few minutes, but Percy finally found a dryad. She looked like she was waiting for him. They were far away enough from the main path that people couldn't really hear what they were saying if there was anyone else in the woods. She looked almost the same as she did back then. Lots of green and brown except she looked a little older.

"Frisia?" Percy asked.

"Percy," the dryad said, smiling kindly. "How are you? How has camp been? Juniper tells me you've been growing up quite… maturely. Look at you. You're strong and fit for an eleven year old. You're going to be a handsome hero one day. What are you doing outside of camp?"

"I'm good," he laughed, which was odd in the cold darkness. "Camp's been, well, pretty good. Who's Juniper?"

"Oh, a friend I have inside camp. She's a dryad."

"Juniper tree?"

Frisia nodded.

"Where's Cherry?" Percy asked.

Frisia's expression darkened. "They cut down her tree." She said it in such a dark tone that Percy actually felt scared.

"Mortals?"

She nodded.

"Stupid mortals." Percy cursed in Ancient Greek as he turned away. "They can't just cut down trees. Trees are living things too. I'll stop them at any cost."

She gave him a grateful look. "Thank you. But there is no need. We can stand up for ourselves. Besides, I want to know the purpose for why you are out here right now instead of at camp like the past five years. Have you gotten a quest?"

He didn't lie. "Yeah."

"Wow, that's exciting! What's the quest?"

"Well, I have to go to..." He paused to try and think of a fake quest, but the look on Frisia's face threw him off. It wouldn't be fair to lie to her. "I'm going into the Bermuda Triangle. I'm going into the Sea of Monsters."

Frisia's excitement died off. She gave him a serious look. "Percy. That is a dangerous, dangerous place to be. It's full of creatures you've never seen before. Even though you're the son of Poseidon, I'm not so sure that you can handle what you might find there. It's the sea that all the ancient heroes sailed through. As adults, they barely survived. You're an eleven-year-old boy. You could die. Why are you going to the Sea of Monsters?"

"There's a prize I'm searching for, but I need your help."

"I'm not a water nymph. I can't help you."

"You can help me. Tell me, using your knowledge, where to find the most helpful naiads or Nereids. I need advice on how to get into the Sea of Monsters. I just heard that it's where the Bermuda Triangle is. So somewhere off the coast of Florida. How to get in? That's the part I need to know about."

Frisia frowned. "Well, I suppose…"

"Please, help me. I'll owe you twice."

She sighed. "All right. Head to this address." She pulled a pen and wrote on his arm. "Get help from the person at this store."

It was his turn to frown. "Uh, this is in Battery Park City."

"Trust me. An old friend works there. Late night shift. And, um, if you ever need a quick ride, grab a drachma and say: Stop, Chariot of Damnation in ancient Greek."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel excited about whatever the plan is."

"The furthest they'll go to is Chesapeake."

That caught Percy's attention. "Wait, Chesapeake? But that's in Virginia!"

"You're a special case. They'll make an exception. Don't use it until after you talk to the friend in the shop in Battery Park City. I… I can't tell you any more than that. At least, about the quest."

"How do you know all that?" Percy asked. "It's like someone told you about what's happening."

She winced. "There is a reason for everything, Percy. Make sure you know the purpose of your quest before you begin. It might not serve the purpose it seems to serve." Suddenly she tensed up as if a cold chill passed over her. "I—I have to go now. I'll see you sometime in the future. Promise me you'll visit me."

"But—"

"Promise me," she insisted. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost.

"I… I promise."

"Thank you. Goodbye, Percy. See you in the near future."

Then she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

Sweet on America apparently had two locations. The one in Grand Central Station that Percy's mother used to work at. And one in Battery Park City, where Frisia had said a supposed friend worked. He knew he barely knew Frisia aside from the one time she'd helped him get to camp, but he figured she would be friendly enough.

It was a gut instinct, and so far he'd survived using his gut instincts. He'd avoided most monsters, aside from that empousa, just by trusting his personal judgement. If the Athena campers were right, trusting that would only get him so far. They were probably right.

He arrived quickly enough. Manhattan was a lot less infested with giant hellhounds than the countryside of Long Island was, so it was definitely an easier trip. He fought off the urge to collapse and fall asleep before entering the store.

The smell of candy suddenly shot through his nose, and Percy sighed happily. Percy remembered the blue, white and red uniform that his mother had and its smell. Lots and lots of candy. Percy found himself feeling wistful and turned to the front counter. Standing there reading a book was a familiar looking girl who looked ten times as tired as he did. There were huge bags under her eyes, but she looked calm.

Then she looked up.

Percy grinned and ran to the counter. "Rose!"

"Percy?" Rose asked in shock as she closed her book. "What are you…? Oh gods, I'm glad to see you!"

He laughed. An old friend works there. Late night shift. It was Rose, the former head counselor of the Hermes cabin. "I can't believe you work here! I thought you were in college or university or something? Why are you working at a candy shop?"

Rose sighed in relaxation. "Well, it's summer, for one, so no school. Second, I thought I should earn some money. My mom isn't doing too well, and I'm going to work to help her. You know, get away from the demigod life. I mean, I still have to kill monsters that attack me—you wouldn't believe what happened like half an hour ago—but I can still survive. Though… things have been getting a little strange…"

"Strange?"

"Something just feels different."

He averted his eyes and noticed the book she had just been reading. "What's that?"

"Textbook for next year," she said. "I'm studying up because I'm going for a Master's degree. It's harder because I have dyslexia."

"What university did you get into?"

"NYU."

"And you've gotta study everything in English?"

"Yup. I'd been taught for years how to read in English by, uh, Nathan."

Nathan wasn't just a touchy subject for him. He remembered Rose telling him once that they were dating and had been dating since they were fourteen. She admitted she loved him, and when he died the summer after his second year in university, she left camp for good. Percy figured it was too painful of a reminder.

Would he ever find someone like that? Or would he destroy the world before that could happen?

"Yeah… yeah."

They stood in silence for a couple minutes. A man entered the store and bought a large bag of Twizzlers. He was wearing a New York City Marathon T-shirt and nylon running shorts. He was slim and fit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile. He looked kind of familiar, but Percy couldn't figure out why. Rose was gaping at the man for unexplainable reason, but the man didn't seem to pay attention. He paid for his Twizzlers.

"Thanks, Rose," the man said.

"Uh… No problem?"

The man turned to Percy and looked him up and down. "This boy looks malnourished. You know, I'd give him some multivitamins if I were you. For free. Get the homeless off the streets and back into everyday society, right? I'll see you next week, Rose."

As suddenly as he'd walked in and bought the candy, he was gone, leaving the two of them alone once again. Percy glanced at Rose, who still looked like she'd been shocked with a Taser, and asked, "Who was that?"

She didn't answer.

"Rose?"

She snapped back to attention. "Huh? What?"

"Who was that?"

"Oh, just a weekly customer," she said with a fake smile. He'd been around Hermes kids too long to not be able to detect lies. He felt like something big just happened but he couldn't pinpoint what exactly had happened. It was as if it was right under his nose.

Rose reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of weird shaped candies. Percy grabbed the bottle and saw Minotaur-shaped candies, Fury-shaped candies, and other candies in the form of different monsters. The label read: HERMES' CHEWABLE VITAMINS—Nine essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and everything you need to be yourself.

"Wait a minute, I can read this," Percy realized. "And the man…" He looked up at Rose. "Was that your dad?"

She glanced worriedly at the door. "Yeah. I don't know what's happening right now, but you're on a quest. There's no other reason you would be out here. These vitamins are vital in helping you through most situations. They will run out and they don't last forever so use them wisely. I've noticed some really weird things lately. Whatever you're doing, make sure it's worth it, because whatever is changing is on its way. Be careful out there."

Percy frowned. She sounded exactly like Frisia.

"Now go!" she ordered. "It's not safe here anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just go!"

What was happening? Why did she suddenly want him to go?

"If my dad was here, that means something is up. I've had dreams…" She looked lost in thought for a moment. "The point is it's not safe for you to be here anymore. Besides, these vitamins… I've been told not to give this to anyone unless they're really in danger."

"What? Did your dad say that?" Percy asked.

"Who else would give me these?!" Rose pointed to the bottle of vitamins. "There are a lot of wandering demigods. They need free food and stuff like that. The only reason why I work here is because demigods need a place to restock on supplies. The last time someone stayed for long, they were dead within minutes. 'kay? That's what's been strange. More demigods around New York than usual. More dying than I've ever seen before."

Percy looked around. He couldn't see any threats.

"It's like monsters have become more present in New York, like they're hunting for someone."

He raised his eyebrows. "Hunting for someone? Like… someone sent them on a mission. Someone sent monsters?"

She nodded.

"But that would be Hades." Percy's thoughts lingered to Thalia. "Ohhh… Oh no. That's not good. That's not good at all. Is she in New York already?"

Rose demanded, "What?"

"There's this daughter of Zeus," Percy rambled. "She's… her name's Thalia. I don't know if she's in New York, but if all these monsters are here, Hades probably sent them to hunt after Thalia. To kill her. He probably knows she's alive. Oh gods."

The gears turned quickly in Rose's head. "You have to get her to camp. Promise me."

He opened his mouth to agree, but then he remembered the quest he was on. What had Luke said about Grover earlier? That won't matter when we're done with our business, Percy. Unless they want to join us.

Thalia's death would be good, right? Then the prophecy would lie in his hands. He could control the decision he made.

If he made it to sixteen, he thought grimly.

But then if she could survive until he returned from the Sea of Monsters, then she would prove her worth as a powerful daughter of Zeus. He would save her, bring her to camp and manipulate her. If she survived that long, she would be a good use for Kronos.

His heart dropped. Even if that happened, he would be going against his own word. There was a good chance that he was going to die before he turned sixteen and so inadvertently, he would be raising her for slaughter. Besides, who would Kronos pick? He had to kill one to complete the prophecy. Percy needed Hades to kill Thalia to relieve him of his guilt. He couldn't bear to watch an innocent girl die so he could die later. And he couldn't bear to put an innocent girl in the position he was in.

"I'll… I'll see what I can do," Percy told Rose.

"Good. Go."

Percy squeezed his eyes tightly. Then he jogged off with his vitamins and out onto the street. He made it all the way down the block when he saw the hellhound. He froze as the monster crashed into the store. He grimaced, but there was nothing he could do. It was just like Nathan. A close friend, who'd helped him grow up, was going to be dead.

But to the rest of the world, it was just another demigod. To the rest of the world, it didn't matter.

Hey everybody,

I put a poll on my profile page, so vote! Vote! Vote! Tell me what I should do. Anyway, this chapter is another build-up chapter. I'm slowly guiding Percy to certain death. And don't worry about the confusing events. They will be cleared up later.

Thanks for reading,

SharkAttack719