~ The Hunt Begins ~

LYKOS

There is only a faint, dim red glow by the time Lykos is waiting on the girls to get ready. The very first lazy rays of the sun as it creeps into the sky from the distant horizon. It's only four in the morning, but he's been awake for about half an hour now. He's anxious. The night's sleep had been a stressful one. Several times he had snapped awake out of his dreams; visions of seeing the group killed or lost somehow. He's also been eager to get on the move. The enemy has a four-day headstart now. He knows the Hunt has had to track down monsters from even less favorable points. He's also done his fair share of tracking, but that was without such high stakes. There's no telling how far they got.

The door to the bunkroom opens to release Artemis and the girls. They're all fully dressed in their usual getups. Saphira carries his harness and banner in her hands. At first, Lykos hadn't liked it, but eventually he grew to tolerate it since he did allow Saphira to hitch rides on his back, and it made it easier for botb of them. Plus, the banner was a symbol of his loyalty to them, and he very well could not refuse having that on.

He stands up to give her an easier time slipping it around his torso. She clicks it into place and secures it, giving him a quick scratch on the head before backing off.

"Ready?" She asks. Lykos nods, so she turns to the rest of them with a soft exhale.

"Come then. Let us go see if Perseus and Annabeth are prepared to leave," Artemis says.

They follow their divine leader out of the cabin and begin to search for the two demigods. It's still quite dark out. The lazy dawn light only illuminates the surroundings with a soft reddish hue. Crickets still chirp their nightly song, and in the woods in the distance, Lykos can hear owls still hooting. At first it seems they were to go for the Athena cabin, but Lykos catches a whiff that is fairly fresh, maybe only a night old. It's both Percy's and Annabeth's scent, but the latter isn't leading to her proper cabin. Lykos emits a hushed woof to get the attention of the others and they turn towards him with puzzled expressions.

"What is it?" Saphira asks.

Lykos gestures his head along the direction of the trail… back towards the Poseidon cabin. The Hunters and Artemis still seem perplexed as to what he means, so he decides further actions should get the message across. He turns around and pads in the direction of the Poseidon cabin, where both scents lead him toward. A brief glance over his shoulder assures him that the girls are following him. They reach the front door of the cabin, where they pause and look at him in question.

"Did you just want to get Kelpy out first or something?" Thalia asks. "Or did he just make a good impression on you with those barbeque ribs?"

Lykos rolls his eyes and is about to retort with his typical mocking, but soft noises from the other side of the door keep him quiet. He can hear not one, but two voices inside.

"Come on, Perce. Let's get out before anyone sees me leaving your cabin with you. I really don't want to hear the talk again from Chiron."

"Relax, Wise Girl. Everyone is probably still asleep. With any luck, the others are…"

The door opens and whatever else was going to be said is lost to the ages as Lykos and the Hunt are met by a surprised and wide-eyed Percy and Annabeth, with a gasp from the latter. Even in the low light, Lykos can see both of their faces flush red as an emotion that he can only describe as embarrassed panic floods their expressions.

"Holy sh- guys! Uh, I know how this looks but-"

"We didn't- I mean, we were only-"

"Nothing like that-"

"She was just-"

They stammer and talk over each other in their horrible attempt at an explanation. Lykos may be from a very different time period and spent very little time socializing, but he knows exactly what has them flustered, and it's rather amusing. He smirks while they continue to try and explain things. Saphira is blushing slightly but she too looks amused by this, as does Chloe. Thalia raises her brow and crosses her arms, and Artemis… well, she is Artemis.

"So, what exactly did you mean when you said you always treat Annabeth like a goddess?" Thalia inquires.

"Thals, for the love of gods, please," Annabeth pleads. "Don't. We didn't-"

"Spare us the details, young Chase," Artemis interrupts. She regards her and Percy -mostly Percy- with a very stern look that has them both gulping. Especially Percy. "All I wish to know is if everything is consensual between you two."

They both immediately and rapidly nod their heads. Only Annabeth tries to explain once again.

"I promise that we were only sleeping toge- I mean, just sleeping next to each other. Only sleeping."

Artemis sighs. "As I said, we do not need the details. As long as he is treating you well, which I suppose I should never expect anything else from the male who has my favor."

Percy clears his throat and nods again. "Absolutely, Lady Artemis. I swear on the Styx."

Thunder booms, sealing his promise, which seems to satisfy Artemis, but Lykos is a little miffed about how Artemis referred to the sea child. He glances at the goddess with a frown and voices his complaint in a groan. She looks at him in question, though it only takes her a moment to understand and she chuckles.

"Apologies, my brave Guardian. You are also my favorite male."

Happy with this, he returns attention to the two demigods.

"I take it you two are ready to leave?" Saphira says, gesturing to their backpacks.

"Yeah," Percy replies.

Lykos, Saphira and Chloe then turn to Artemis and Thalia. Thalia is leaving with Artemis to rejoin the Hunt, where she will be left while Artemis returns to Olympus to deal with more Olympian matters. This will be the last time they see them in person until the quest is complete.

"Watch yourselves out there," Thalia says while stepping in to pull Saphira and Chloe in for a hug. They reciprocate and hold each other for a moment.

"You too," Saphira replies with a shaky voice, as if she's trying to fight back tears.

"We'll be okay," Chloe adds as they pull away.

Thalia then turns to Lykos, and he straightens his posture to give her more ease for her embrace around his neck. He returns the affection by resting his head and neck around her, closing his eyes for a moment. Thalia has become one of his favorite Hunters, and has forged a pretty good friendship with her. He didn't think of how much it would hurt him to ever depart from her like this, but he's realizing it now.

"Take care of them," she whispers to him before they separate. He gives her a single nod of his head. She then moves on to give her farewells to Annabeth and Percy, while Saphira and Chloe are just getting done with their farewell to Artemis.

"Please, be careful. Make sure you all come home. I do not think I could handle it if something were to happen to any of you," Artemis says with a sniffle. Even this powerful goddess has a soft spot, and it's her Hunt.

"Of course we will come home," Saphira says, choking on her words a bit. "Do not worry, milady."

"We IM you whenever we get the chance to keep you updated," Chloe offers her further console.

"As much as I would love that, you must focus on your mission. Do not let this worrisome goddess distract you," Artemis says. "That is an order. Focus on the mission and on yourselves. That is how I will know that you will do fine."

"Understood, milady," Saphira and Chloe say together.

Artemis then turns to Lykos, and casts a quick glance to see if Thalia has wrapped up her goodbyes.

"Lykos, Perseus. A moment before you depart, please."

It startled him to hear the plea in her voice. It was not the commanding tone of a goddess, but the voice of someone making a heartfelt request. Lykos and Percy exchange a glance with each other, but they heed her as she pulls them a few feet away from the others.

"I know I do not have to tell you this, Lykos, nor do I have the right to ask anything more of you, Perseus, after what you've done for Olympus," Artemis begins with a deep breath. She looks close to crying right there in front of them, but she manages to keep her composure. "But please. Look after them. Protect them. I cannot bear the thought of what I might do if I were to lose any of them. I swear on my immortal life that I will be eternally grateful to both of you and should you wish it, reward you… just please keep them safe."

Lykos is the first to nod. She was right. She never would have needed to ask him to do this. Percy takes a deep breath and nods as well.

"I will, Lady Artemis. You have my word. And don't even worry about a reward." His voice is serious and solemn. It's clear he has every intention of making good on his promise.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, both of you." She stands aside to allow them to regroup with the others.

"Goodbye, all of you," Thalia says. She too has a sad smile, but she keeps herself reeled in.

"May fortune be with you," Artemis says as she takes Thalia's hand. In the blink of an eye and a gust of wind, they suddenly both disappear from sight. A few seconds pass before everyone turns to Saphira with expectant looks, but she only looks confused and frowns back at them.

"So, what's our first move?" Percy asks.

Saphira's eyes widen. "What?"

"Well, you are the leader, Saph. This is your quest after all," Chloe reminds her.

The Hesperide opens her mouth but a moment passes where no words come out, and she stammers. "But I-... I don't know how to lead a quest! I just thought we would…"

"Hey, don't sweat it. The first time is always hard, but it's how you'll learn," Percy assures her. "Trust me. It took me like four years to finally understand how it works."

"You're still learning," Annabeth chides him. Percy scoffs and rolls his eyes, earning a punch to his shoulder from her.

"I don't… I don't think I can be a leader," Saphira whispers.

"Saph, you have like two thousand years of experience to lean on!" Chloe says.

"I never led anything in those two thousand years!"

"Okay, well, you can still rely on your experience. This is basically a hunt, right?" Annabeth inquires. Saphira frowns again, tilting her head.

"I… yes. Yes, it is," she says, her voice starting to sound calmer as she seems to see what the wisdom child is getting at.

"So, how do you normally start a hunt?"

Saphira exhales sharply. "By picking up the trail of our prey and tracking it. We start from where we know they would be or have been." She looks towards the camp borders. "And we know where Asteria has been last."

Annabeth smiles at her. "Perfect."

Without another word, they follow Saphira as she spins around and begins marching for the hill that marks their border. Lykos takes his place at her side, with Chloe right behind them and the couple bringing up the rear. They pass Thalia's pine tree, draped in the Fleece with Peleus dozing peacefully around the roots. He opens one eye as they approach, giving a low snort before he returns to his slumber.

They continue onward down the hill, and it's only another minute or so of walking before they reach the spot that Lykos had found Saphira fighting the empousai. He narrows his eyes at the dark splotches on the ground. He can tell the exact spots of where every event happened. The spots where black liquid had left great pools and smears, and the ground torn up and ruined, indicated exactly where he had fought and killed Kelli.

Other spots show crimson stains… one large one where he knows Saphira had been lying, bleeding close to death. The stains trail back towards the camp, showing where he had carried her to safety. He glances at Saphira, noticing her glare focused on the exact spots he had been looking at. Gone is the sorrowful look she had before, replaced by obvious anger. She's no longer disappointed for losing Asteria, but he can tell she is definitely furious about her fight with the empousai. He has a feeling the next time, she will take her revenge.

Saphira kneels to the earth, pressing her fingertips to the stained grass. Lykos remains beside her, watching as she begins to search. Her obsidian eyes flick this way and that and his gaze mirrors hers. She's standing over the patch of crimson-stained grass.

"This is where I was bleeding," she murmurs. "The empousai were standing only a few feet away, about right… here."

She moves to touch a part of the earth where there are two sets of slight indentations in the grass. After four days, it's mostly returned to normal, but Lykos can still see the slightest signs of disturbance. One looks like a typical human footprint, albeit without toes as the bronze legs of empousai don't have that. The other looks like a hoof; their donkey's leg. The other set of indentations match the first, showing where the two demons had stood.

"Kelli was bleeding some right here. I don't think Tammi had any open wounds, so this spot would have been where she was standing with Asteria," Saphira goes on. She points at tiny spots of scorched grass, as if they had been touched by tiny flames. "Look. It's burnt, by embers falling from their flaming hair. More burnt grass there!."

Chloe kneels beside her. "Looks like the empousa headed northeast, back to the main road."

"Wow. I know you guys are literally called Hunters, but man. I never would have been able to get all that from looking at some bloody and burnt grass," Percy marvels at them.

"If Tammi is only travelling on foot, then there is a decent chance we can catch up to her and Asteria," Annabeth says.

"We will have to move quickly then," Saphira says as she and Chloe stand up. She glances at Lykos with a hopeful look. "Can you smell them?"

Lykos turns his nose to the ground first, inhaling deeply through his nostrils, letting the scents flow in while his senses do the rest. He can pick out the blood, the charred grass, and the stink of the empousa out, separating each scent. He focuses on the final scent and it leads his nose upward to confirm Chloe's suspicion. He looks back up at Saphira and throws his head in that direction.

"Looks like you're right. Come on. Let's move!" Saphira says before she takes off at a brisk jog, followed by Lykos and Chloe. It's only a trot for him to keep pace with them, but this is slower than what they normally do. The Hunters with Artemis' blessing and he with his wolf's strides allow them to travel much faster than even demigods, and this seems to be the case even now. Both Percy and Annabeth look like they're putting much more effort into their strides in order to keep up with them, though at least they don't seem to be too bothered by the pace. They are definitely physically fit and well-trained, something he's glad for as it means they won't slow them down.

It doesn't take them too long to reach the main road. In fact, they came to the exact spot where they had been sent off the road in Argus' van. Lykos can tell by the fact that there are still bits of shattered glass and skid marks left in the road. He's still not sure what exactly caused them to crash, maybe the cyclops throwing something at them. That beast had taken a great amount of effort for him to kill. They may not be very smart, but they more than make up for it in brute strength. In the end, he was able to get a lucky blow on the throat with his fangs and left the monster to bleed to death while he ran to find Saphira.

The scent still continues up the road, which Lykos confirms for them with another sniff, so they stay on it. Even four days old, Lykos can still pick out Asteria's scent quite strongly. That's a sign of the potential of her power. It still amazes him that she is very likely the child of a primordial. It's unheard of even by the gods as Artemis and Dionysus revealed last night. He wonders just how far her powers can go. He's running with the son of Poseidon right behind him, the hero who fought Kronos himself and saved Olympus, and while his presence does indeed radiate power… it's only just approaching the levels of what Asteria was giving off, and she's still only a child. Lykos' curiosity soars as he ponders over how strong she might be when she reaches Percy's age.

It's another hour or so of running, before they encounter their first problem and Lykos is the first to pick it up.

He skids to a halt, driving the others to do the same as to not crash into him, but he pays them little mind as he swivels his muzzle every which way. The trail… it's gone, as if the empousa had simply taken flight, leaving no more trail for him to follow. Yet, he knows that's not the case. There's something else, something he hadn't been smelling since they got on the road. The raunch smell of rubber, residual gas fumes… trace of motor oil. It begins right where the empousa's trail ends. He knows where she went.

"What is it? Is the trail gone?" Saphira demands, sounding a little anxious already. Lykos shakes his head as it's not quite the truth, but how to communicate this to her. Ugh, he hates that he doesn't know how to take his human form. Still, he has to try, no matter how ridiculous this feels.

Inhaling deeply, Lykos builds the rumbling growl in his chest while gesturing at the road. Every few seconds, he kicks it up a notch, making the sound vibrate and boom deeper and louder before letting it die down again, only to repeat the process. Gods, he feels stupid doing this.

"Is… is he trying to imitate a racecar or something? Maybe a motorcycle?" Percy asks. He scratches his head.

"He's obviously trying to tell us what happened to the scent, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth says before she nudges Saphira. "Can you understand what he's trying to hint at?"

Saphira studies Lykos with a frown, and he stares right back at her. Come on. She knows him best. She has to be able to figure it out. Luckily she is not the only one as Chloe speaks up.

"Actually, I think Percy may be on to something there," the healer says.

Saphria nods in agreement. "He's imitating the sound of a vehicle. The empousa got into a vehicle, right?"

Lykos nods briskly, always in awe at how well she can make sense of his communication.

"Well, I'll be damned," Percy says.

"So much for her being on foot," Saphira growls. Her fists are clenched tight. "If the demon is traveling by vehicle, she most definitely could be anywhere by now."

"Can you still follow the vehicle's scent, Lykos?" Chloe asks.

Truth be told, he's not sure. Perhaps he could for as long as it is the only recent scent on this road, but it will become much more difficult when they get to busier routes. There doesn't appear to be anything very special about this particular vehicle's smell… if it had bad oil or tires burned from skidding, it would give him something to focus on, but there's nothing. It would only be lost among the dozens if not hundreds of other scents of vehicles that pass through.

In the end, he shrugs in response to Chloe, earning a dejected sigh from her.

"We could stay on this road and see if he can pick up the trail again," Percy suggests.

"We could do that… or we could head to Manhattan," Annabeth says. All eyes turn towards her.

"Why would we go there?" Chloe asks.

"Manhattan is the heart of western civilization, where Olympus hovers in the sky right above it. The gods' presence is strongest there, and it's close to CHP, which also means a lot of us demigods go there to hang out when we're not in school or at camp. That means there's a lot of monsters."

Percy nods, though not to agree with her. "Uh huh, uh huh. Right so… why would we go to where all the monsters are?"

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "Because, Seaweed Brain, Asteria was captured by monsters, and not just any monsters, but high-class ones like empousai. She was being hunted by dracaenae and hellhounds before that, which we know don't hunt us unless someone makes them. That means that something huge is going on, which means that it's very likely most if not all the monsters are in the know-how."

"So, we capture one and interrogate it for information," Saphira finishes, and Annabeth nods.

"Exactly."

The Hesperide sets her jaw and looks back to the road, seeming to be taking a moment to think this over before she replies.

"Alright. Let's go."

. . . . . . . .

It's already about ten in the morning, judging by the sun, by the time they get to Manhattan. The four-hour trek had cost them time, but now they have to see if the cost would pay off. Still, Lykos is not at all happy to be back in this city. He didn't particularly mind being at Camp Half-blood, as it was a rather pretty landscape, with its pockets of woods, soft hills of grass, and lovely view of the sea, but his heart will always belong to the true wilderness that lies far beyond the reaches of civilization. Saphira was right. Those snow-capped mountains, lush open valleys and towering pine forests… indeed that region was one to adore. He wonders how long it'll be before they'll see it again.

If they'll ever see it again.

That nagging inner voice intrudes on his thoughts. He shakes his head with a growl to rid himself of it. They will see it again. He knows they will, some day.

"Why is it when we actually want to run into a monster, they are nowhere to be found?" Percy grumbles.

"There's gotta be some around here. We just have to find where they slink off to when they're not doing their usual monster things," Annabeth says.

Saphira scans the surroundings, but she sighs in frustration after a few seconds. "I do not see anything in these crowds. Lykos, any chance that you smell anything nearby?"

Lykos raises his nose to the sky and sniffs. With so many smells, he has to concentrate to pick out one that could lead them someplace useful. Humans, humans everywhere… rats, pigeons, vehicle fumes, pizza -he learned that scent from Percy's meal yesterday- rotting food in the dumpsters, fumes leaking up from the sewers, seal, alcohol- wait, seal? That's odd. With another sniff, Lykos focuses on that particular scent. It definitely smells like seal. He's encountered the sea creatures on his many travels, several times when visiting coastlines. This is definitely their scent, though a bit more rancid, like they were covered in rotted seaweed. Ah, yes, he can recognize the smell now. Telkhines, those sea demons that can forge weapons. He's only run into them a few times before, but the experience was never a pleasant one. After Kronos was defeated, they scattered across the land. The Titan Lord's uprising was their one moment to shine, but his defeat rendered them obsolete once again, mattering not that they're the ones who reforged his scythe… however, given their importance in the last war, there may be a good chance that they're somehow involved in whatever is going on now.

Lykos huffs at the others to make sure he has their attention before promptly taking off at a swift lope down the street, following the scent.

"He has something!" Chloe exclaims as they run after him.

While the Mist may conceal his true appearance, that doesn't mean the mortals don't get out of the way when they see him coming. They dip and duck out of his path with surprised cries, some cursing at him, but he doesn't care. He runs on, ignoring everything else except the smell of the telkhines. As he goes, he begins to pick up a few other stinks that mix and blend with that of the sea demons; rancid burned meat and dead bird… laistrygonian and harpy. This may be a monsters' hideout they're running towards, but it doesn't smell like there are many of them. Besides, they have a child of the Big Three with them. Lykos feels that whatever happens, they can take them on.

Soon he reaches a turn-off from the main street; a wide alley that opens into a small parking lot, but it's sealed off by an old chain-link fence with barbed wire coiling along the top. There are several metal signs mounted on the fence that say… actually, he can't read them, but if he could, he's certain they would be warning passersby to keep out and stay away. Beyond the fence is a small wing from the main building, with a sign over the door. It looks almost like a pub or a bar.

"Seriously, I'm going to burn off like sixty pounds with all this running!" Percy rasps as he and the others catch up to Lykos. Lykos throws him a low warning growl to lower his voice and Percy hushes up once he sees what he's looking at. "What is that place?"

Saphira takes the lead to see for herself before she nudges Lykos. "You smell her in there?"

He shakes his head.

"Must be monsters then," Chloe says and directs the next question to him. "Are there many?"

He repeats the shake.

"We need a plan," Annabeth says.

Saphira is silent for a while, and Lykos can see her gears turning in her head. Something tells him she already has something in mind, and in a few seconds she confirms his suspicion. "I have one."

"Let's hear it."

"We walk through the front door."

Annabeth, Percy, and Chloe all turn their eyes on her with expressions of disbelief, with Percy being the first to speak up.

"What?"

"Lykos said there are not many of them in there. You two are the heroes of Olympus twice over. You've battled gods, giants, and titans and won. You defeated Kronos himself. You survived the Pit. Do you not realize how frightening you might be to the average monster?" Saphira says while raising a brow.

Percy and Annabeth both frown, as if they had never once considered that as a possibility.

"They didn't seem afraid of us the last time we fought an army of them," Annabeth points out.

"Yes, but that was an army. The few that are in there, a dozen at most, will not dare to challenge you if they know who you two are," Saphira counters. "We also have a third card to play."

"That being?"

"Lykos."

Lykos tilts his head at her, it now being his turn to be confused, so she goes on to explain.

"Lykos killed Lycaon, which technically makes him King of the Wolves even if he's not leading the Pack. Lycaon's defeat would have been a big deal since the Pack is higher up on the monsters' hierarchy than most. We can use that to our advantage," Saphira says. "We may not have to fight at all, and even if we do, I'm sure that the five of us together can take them."

Annabeth still doesn't seem very convinced. Percy just looks confused and impressed at the same time. Chloe looks uncertain, but her expression says that she trusts Saphira's judgement. Meanwhile, Lykos is still just pondering her words. He never really thought about the fact that he is still the new leader of the Pack. After he sent them away, he assumed they would simply wait for Lycaon to reform so that they may return to his side. He knows he can use the alpha's command ever since he killed the bastard, but he's still not sure if he holds that much power over the Pack.

"Alright. We'll try your idea… hopefully it works," Annabeth says as she draws her sword: a blade Lykos notes to be made of drakon bone. Not the usual weapon for a demigod, but interesting to say the least. Percy taps his watch and it expands into a shield, then pulls a pen from his pocket which transforms into a sword. Saphira slips her knives from their sheathes while Chloe loads an arrow into her bowstring.

"Let's do this," Percy mutters and steps forward to the fence. With a single slash of his sword, he slices a gap in the chain-link large enough for them to duck through. They walk for the building wing, and upon reaching the door, they pause.

"Care to knock?" Saphira asks Percy. The child of the sea flashes her a grin and promptly kicks the entire door down, right off its hinges. The gang spills inside with their weapons at the ready.

Lykos was right. It is actually a small pub, but for monsters. Immediately to their right is a trio of telkhines taking up a booth with a game of cards between them. At the bar counter is a pair of harpies, with a fourth telkhine who seems to be the one running the place. Nearby, an eight-foot laistrygonian is sweeping the floors with what must have once been a broom.

The quest's entrance draws every monster's attention straight away. The telkhines and the harpies seem ready to jump out of their seats, but Saphira's voice halts them all.

"If you desire to avoid a trip to the Pit, I suggest for you all to remain right where you are!" She snaps. At first, the monsters scoff at her threat, but their confidence quickly begins to fade when their eyes settle on the two heroes.

"Titan's Bane."

"The survivors."

"They defeated the giants."

The whispers around the room reach Lykos' ears as the monsters shrink back into their seats. The only one who seems unfazed is the laistrygonian, but he only seems bored by the situation.

"We have questions to ask you lot, and if you cooperate, then we will refrain from tearing this place apart and killing you all," Saphira warns them. She turns her gaze on the telkhine behind the counter. "You! Are you the one in charge here?"

The telkhine is clearly nervous, but he attempts to put on a brave face. "Yeah, so?"

"So you are the one we want to talk to."

"I'm not telling you shit, you hunter filth."

Saphira narrows her eyes, dangerously so. Lykos hasn't seen her like this before. She is clearly in no mood for games.

"Look around, demon. You have the two twice-over heroes of Olympus. They fought through the hordes of Tartarus itself and escaped. You have the wolf who killed Lycaon and now commands the Pack," she growls. The other monsters shuffle nervously. "Do you really want to make an enemy of us? All I'd have to do is ask and he will bring the entire Pack down on this place… assuming that we don't just kill you ourselves."

To help emphasize her point, Lykos bristles his mane and snaps at the telkhine with as vicious a snarl as he could muster. The telkhine gulps, but he doesn't seem quite ready to share what he knows.

Saphira's shoulders rise and fall steadily with every breath. Lykos can tell she's losing her patience.

"Chloe," she says and nods to the healer. Chloe doesn't miss a beat. She releases her arrow and it flies right into one of the harpies beside the telkhine. The unfortunate creature squawks as she's sent sprawling over the counter to be pinned against the back wall, before she dissolves into dust.

The telkhine yelps and stares at them with wide eyes, shrinking away behind the counter.

"Are you ready to cooperate?" Saphira asks.

"I am."

It was the laistrygonian who spoke. He sets his broom against the wall and casually thumps over to them. Chloe aims another arrow at him while Lykos growls a warning when he gets close, but the giant looks unbothered as he simply plops down on one of the stools.

"I hate this place, but I still need this job. I'll answer any question you ask," he says with a discontented sigh.

Lykos narrows his eyes. This giant doesn't seem to be interested at all in a fight, which is not typical of his kind. They're crude, aggressive, and usually adore destruction… then again, Lykos should know better than to think it impossible for a monster to turn away from the behavior of their kind. He did it too. Still, he's not ready to trust him just yet. Saphira seems to feel the same, but this doesn't hinder her from demanding her answers.

"Four days ago, a demigod child was kidnapped by an empousa. She is only a little girl. What do you know of this?" she states, getting straight to the point.

The laistrygonian snorts. "You know, I figured that's what this would be about. Yeah, practically every monster from here to the west coast is in the know about that. Somewhat anyway."

"Keep your mouth shut, Greg!" the telkhine snaps at him. "You say anything and you're fired!"

Greg is not a name Lykos would have expected for this giant.

"Sure you will, because you have so many other freaks lined up for this job," Greg scoffs, waving off the telkhine's threat. "Tell them nothing and we both lose our work, Clyde."

Another unexpected name. The telkhine, Clyde, huffs and crosses his arms. Greg rolls his eyes and continues.

"What do you want to know?"

Saphira looks somewhat puzzled, but she goes on. "Why did they take her?"

"That I don't know." Greg leans back against the counter, but when Saphira begins to raise her knife, he holds his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm telling the truth. I don't know why they took the kid. In case you haven't realized, hunter, us freaks in this place aren't exactly the type to get invited for the big major uprisings anymore."

Clyde grumbles in agreement. "Look around you. My kind especially got the rejection treatment after Kronos was sent back down. Nobody thinks we're useful anymore."

The other telkhines in the booth mumble and mutter among themselves at this statement. They don't sound too happy about their predicament either.

"Yeah. We're not super trusted with this kind of stuff like some other upper class monsters. Empousa, dracaena, and I suppose his kind would know," Greg says and points at Lykos. "But if Lycaon is out of the picture right now, then I just ain't sure."

"So what do you know?" Saphira asks.

"I do know where the bitch might have taken the kid," he offers. At this, the entire quest perks up with interest.

"Where?" Saphira demands.

"There's a warehouse about twenty minutes from here, Hudson and Vandam Street. Looks old, ugly, and abandoned. You said she was kidnapped four days ago? Well, I saw a gathering happening there around that time. Empousai and hellhounds guarding the place, didn't let even any other monsters near and they wouldn't tell us why," Greg mutters while scratching his head. "Seemed like they had something important they wanted to keep safe. If I had to take a guess, that's where your kid would be."

"Can you take us?" Chloe asks, but Greg shakes his head.

"No can do. I've got work that needs to be done, plus I'm not about to go sticking my head into the business of empousai. And don't bother trying to threaten me either. Whatever you do, those evil whores can do five times worse."

"It's okay. I know how to get there," Percy assures the Hesperide.

"Alright. We need to get moving then." Saphira glances back at the laistrygonian with a raised brow. "Anything else I should know?"

"You're probably gonna get yourselves killed."

"Anything useful?"

Greg shrugs.

Saphira sighs and gestures for their party to start backing out the door. "For your help, I will not bring the Hunt down on this place… unless I discover that you are doing more than just selling alcohol."

"If you are implying that we might be causing trouble, no. We just make drinks and sell them to other depressed rejects like ourselves," Clyde growls. "Now get out of my business."

Nobody makes a move to stop them as they depart. Greg even gives them a farewell wave and the next moment they find themselves back outside, sheathing their weapons.

"That went a lot better than I expected," Percy remarks.

"I told you. You have a reputation. You ought to use it more," Saphira says. "A victory in a battle of psychology can be just as effective as a real fight."

Annabeth snickers. "I so want to play against you in chess even more now."

"Perhaps when this is over, we'll play. Our next move right now is to find that warehouse."

Percy nods and steps up. "I know this city like the back of my hand. I can get us there, no problem."

Saphira dips her head graciously. "Then by all means."

With that, they set out at a brisk pace once again, dipping back through the ruined fence and getting back out on the streets, where Percy then takes charge. Lykos is still quite astonished by Greg's behavior, surprised to find someone else like him, someone who rejected the ways of their kind. Perhaps… perhaps they can meet the giant again. Who knows? Maybe he can even be useful to them in the future by sharing what he knows.

For now though, Lykos has to focus on their mission. Greg didn't mention just how many empousai and hellhounds could be at this warehouse, if they were still around at all. They'll have to be extremely vigilant going into this. He just hopes that Asteria is still there, waiting for them to come rescue her.