AN: So, this chapter is by far the shortest but I decided to upload it due to the fact that I will soon be uploading my Game of Thrones story, so I have to work on that too and this chapter just wouldn't budge any further than what I've written. Sorry! Also, apologies for the long wait but school is a complete torture for me right now. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter and leave me your comments in the reviews below! Also, more details of Merri's past will be revealed in a prequel I will publish after I've finished this story and it will tell the story of her life before the beginning of the movie. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

Merri could feel the exertion of the last few days build up and make her more tired than she should've been. She could bet there wasn't an inch of her body that didn't hurt right now. Her leg had fallen asleep about two or three times since they'd left Medusa's lair and whenever it did, Merri would have to pull over to walk a little to get some feeling back into it less she risks getting her and the others into a serious accident. She glanced over her left shoulder at the younger demigods and satyr to find them all three fast asleep. Percy was squashed into the truck door with his head leaned on the window in a strange angle, Annabeth was curled up into Percy's side which made the two demigods adorable and Grover was leaned back in his seat with his head tilted back, his mouth wide open and was snoring so loud Merri thought he could probably wake the dead with all the noise he was making.

She soon pulled over at some random motel when she felt her eyes slowly refusing to cooperate and shook her passengers awake. Annabeth and Percy were easy to wake but Grover was a whole other story so she came up with what she considered a brilliant idea: she clamped his mouth shut and pinched his nose. They only had to wait about thirty seconds to get their results. It was only thanks to Merri's fast reflexes that she didn't get hit by Grover's flailing arms when he woke so forcefully that he jumped up in his seat and banged his head on the roof of the truck. They were all laughing so hard at the satyr that they made him blush a colour of a ripe tomato. ''Don't ever do that again,'' he 'threatened' Merri to which she gave another small giggle. ''No promises!''

Grabbing their stuff they came into the lobby and Merri paid for a room for the four of them. The room itself was nothing particularly special. There was a bathroom, two beds with their respective nightstands, a dresser and a small TV perched on it. Considering there were only two beds and four of them, they would have to either share the beds or someone would have to sleep on the floor. Merri silently decided that she would be the one to sleep on the floor. 'No need to take the bed from them, they need their rest more than I do,' she thought.

Dumping her bag at the foot of one of the beds, she grabbed some clean clothes from it and proceeded to the bathroom. ''I'm just going to grab a quick shower,'' she said to them.

The water felt rejuvenating on her skin and she could already fell some of her lost energy return by just touching the water. The bruise on her writs that she got when the hysterical woman grabbed her healed alongside many small scrapes that littered her back from the training at camp that she did before she left with her half-brother and the crew given that she hadn't had the time to take a proper shower for them to heal. She was almost horrified at the murky brown colour of the water as it drained off her body. It still felt weird to think of Percy as her half-brother but she figured that she'd just have to get used to it. After all, she already had two half-siblings albeit mortal.

Finishing her shower, she put on a pair of black shorts and an oversized grey T-shirt with a sea green smiley face on the front. Merri carefully pulled all the water from her hair as fast as she could all the while making sure that her hair wouldn't curl. She never really liked her hair when it curled. Sure, it seemed shorter and lighter but it was too bouncy and hard to keep in control, especially when she was training her dancing, skating, gymnastics, sword fighting, anything really... So she preferred her hair to be straight.

Just as Merri stepped out of the bathroom, she saw the TV on and heard Grover calling Percy and Annabeth back upstairs. As it turned out, Percy had ended up on the news. His weird walrus-looking step-father had reported him missing and claimed that Percy was drinking and doing drugs AND that Percy had kidnapped his mother. They didn't get to see the rest of the news because Percy turned the TV off with a: ''Shut up, Gabe!''

''Great, now I'm a fugitive!'' Percy exclaimed irritably.

''See, that's what I'm talking about man,'' Grover said while chewing on a can of Fanta? ''Gabe's always running his mouth man.''

Merri turned after Grover and pointed at the half eaten can in his hand. ''That better not have come from my bag, mate.'' Grover proceeded to pale before turning a bright shade of scarlet. He just turned around, continuing his rant while going to the bathroom.

''He's just mad that I busted 'im up with my crutches.'' Merri smirked at his retreating back before turning to Percy and Annabeth raising her hand and counting down with her fingers. At the count of zero they heard: ''OH, nice!'' Grover came out of the bathroom holding Medusa's head by her snakes. The head now sported sunglasses so that it wouldn't stone someone by accident. ''I can't pee with her watching me!''

It took everything for Merri not to burst out laughing at Grover's face but they all turned around to see the cleaning lady stop by the window and scream in horror at the sight of Grover holding a severed head who promptly dropped it on the floor as the woman ran away screaming. Annabeth quickly got up and closed the curtains. They all turned to Grover who had a shocked expression on his face. ''Sorry, guys. I messed up,'' he said remorsefully. ''I should've closed the curtains.''

Percy gave an exasperated sigh and Merri just shook her head at the satyr as Annabeth said: ''Come on guys, let's hit the road before homeland security shows up.''

They all quickly started packing their bags to continue the trip or at least find a new place to stay the night with Grover apologising all the while.

''It's okay, mate,'' Merri assured him for the umpteenth time as they were taking their seats in the truck. ''It could've happened to anyone!'' She sat back behind the wheel after she hurriedly slipped on her converse so she wouldn't drive barefooted. It wouldn't have bothered her but it would've been weird if they had to stop at the gas-station and got out. Her bare feet surely would've attracted a whole lot of unwanted looks.

The start of the ride was mostly quiet after they had gotten Grover to stop apologising( Merri threatened to pull over at the side and dump his sorry ass to walk the rest of the way if he didn't) until Percy got tired of the silence and started up a conversation.

''You know, you never told us how you learned who dad was, Merri. I mean, you promised to tell us in the motel but you never got the chance.'' The puppy eye look he was giving her melted her inside given how green his eyes were and she gave a sigh knowing there was no way for her to pull herself out of this one.

''Well,'' she nervously started ''It's not really the happiest story there is but alright, I'll tell you.'' She cleared her throat while the others looked at her with expectant faces. ''I was about six or seven, I can't remember correctly, and I was with at my grandparent's for the summer. Grandpa and I went out for a walk around the block like we normally did and were going to get some ice-cream for me. Anyhow, we were passing by the pond in the park we were in when we were stopped by this weird lady in a leather jacket. She was talking some nonsense for a while before she turned to me. I got this really bad vibe from her and I remember something in me practically screaming to get the hell away from her, she started talking to me about my eyes, how she's never seen such green eyes and how she knew someone with eyes like that. Before I could say anything she attacked grandpa and I, showing her true form to be a Fury. Grandpa tried to fight her off but she was too strong for him and she kept flinging him to the pavement and the trees. I remember, one time I heard this sickening crack from him; it's just something I'll never forget. She... she broke his spine in two places and crippled him. She went directly after me then and there was this male voice in my head telling me to be brave, that everything was going to be alright. As she got closer I felt this tugging in my stomach telling me to get near the water. I remember running to the pond and this big wave crashing on her and after that everything was blank. Later on, when we were in the hospital, grandpa told me that I attacked the Fury with wave after wave of water before I took out my sword and stabbed her sending her to the Underworld. When I told him about the voice in my head, he told me it was my dad telling me what to do and told me everything about this world. A couple of weeks later, he got mum to send me to Camp Half-Blood and I've been going there ever since.'' Finishing her story, she looked to see their reactions. Annabeth and Grover were both slightly pale while Percy's mouth was agape.

''You were six when you were attacked by a Fury? And you managed to defeat her?!'' Percy exclaimed when he got a hold of himself.

''Exactly what I said.''

With a frown on her face, Annabeth asked: ''Wait, you said your grandfather explained everything about our world to you? How is that possible?''

Merri looked at her with a tiny smirk gracing her lips. ''It's possible because he is a demigod, a son of Hephaestus, actually.''

''WHAT!?''