AN: So it's been a while hasn't it. Still I'm back now, and I have a fresh update for you, or at least for those of you that are still following this story.

That said I'll admit that this chapter was a difficult one for me to write. Whether that is because it's been so long since the last update, and I am out of the swing of things, and desperately in need of re-familiarising myself with the source material. Or whether it was because this was a particularly annoying chapter to write, I'm not sure.

Either way, though I finished it and now have a publishable version for your perusal and judgement. I hope you enjoy the chapter and leave a review.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me. For the moment though I need to try and find my notes in this story, as aside from my outline for this chapter and the next, I've not got a clue where they are, and only have a vague idea of where I wanted this story to go.

Thanks for reading. Also please do check out my other stories if you have the chance, I have a load of Percy Jackson crossovers on my profile of varying length and quality.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.

Betaed by Arch_Angel and Silver.

( - )

(Last Time)

"See you in the morning, Thalia!" Percy called, waving over his shoulder to the daughter of Zeus as he headed off in the direction of the cabins.

"Yeah, in the morning!" Thalia shouted after him.

Not looking around, Percy continued heading down the hill and towards the Hermes Cabin. Only for him to then walk past it, and then into the woods. Pulling a gleaming drachma out of his pocket as he did so, with him absentmindedly rolling the coin along his knuckles as he entered the forest and tried to find a bit of mist.

He had a call to make, and some arrangements to put in place for the upcoming quest.

( - )

Chapter 8

( - )

(With Percy)

There was only one word that could properly describe how Percy Jackson was feeling right now, and that was uncomfortable.

Currently the Demigod in question was stuck in Camp Half-Blood's strawberry delivery van with four other people. Only one of whom seemed to be completely accepting of his presence, and that was Thalia.

To compound the situation, Zoë and Thalia both sat in the front, with Zoë driving and Thalia riding shotgun in the passenger seat, her back to him.

He meanwhile had been relegated to the back of the van, which was not in itself too bad. Nor was it the reason why he was feeling so uncomfortable.

No, the reason for that was because he was riding bitch. Or rather he was stuck in the middle seat. Tightly crammed in between the two Hunters. Phoebe who was currently glaring daggers at him. As if his mere presence was offending her. And Bianca who looked just as uncomfortable and awkward as him, as the van bombed down the road, headed for Washington.

That said, he could understand their irritations, after all, despite the vehicle being a van, it wasn't a particularly roomy one. The fact that he could feel his shoulders rubbing against theirs every time the van jostled him was evidence enough of that. Which of course led to him being accused of 'manspreading' by Phoebe. Who seemed to take personal offence every time he accidentally made physical contact with either her or Bianca.

Suffice it to say the journey to the capital was for the most part spent in silence. Especially after Percy had quite bluntly told Phoebe; 'that she needed to get laid''. When she suggested that he sit in the back of the van with the weapons and supplies.

Unsurprisingly she didn't take the comment particularly well. Not that that bothered him though. After all, he could have been a lot crueller and cruder, and he probably would have been, were it not for the fact that they were on a quest and so needed to get along for at least the next few days.

Of the lot of them, Thalia was the only one who continued to try to make conversation after the first few awkward conversations failed. Not that she had much success as her attempts at small talk died mere moments after they began.

Looking around, it was quite clear to Percy that as far as teams went, this one was dysfunctional.

Thalia and Zoë both disliked one another. Just as Phoebe and Thalia disliked one another. Though perhaps with a bit less animosity than the former.

Bianca was little more than a wallflower, and for the most part, just stayed quiet. Whether this was because she was just socially awkward though. As she hadn't been a member of the Hunt long enough to be indoctrinated into their way of thinking. Or because she was still mourning her brother's death, Percy didn't know.

What he did know however was that both Zoë and Phoebe resented his presence. Though again; whether that was due to their personal dislike of him, their disdain of his scavenging lifestyle, or his gender, he wasn't sure.

A part of him though strongly suspected it was all the above.

That said, fortunately, they at least grudgingly accepted him being a member of the questing party. If only because he was an undeniably useful asset.

Shifting slightly in his seat and ignoring the look of disdain he received from Phoebe. Percy decided to break the ongoing silence. "So, since we're already nearly there, can I just ask something? Why of all places are we going to Washington D.C.?"

It was a pertinent enough question. After all, nothing in the prophecy for the quest had hinted that they should go to Washington. Or at least nothing that he, as a novice to understanding prophecies, had picked up.

"For reasons," Zoë replied 'helpfully', not even looking back at him as she spoke.

"Ah yes, reasons…." Percy drawled back, rolling his eyes, even as he saw Thalia glance back at him in the mirror. Her lips quirked upwards in amusement for a moment at his tone.

"Be quiet scavenger, you're not the leader of this quest, Zoë is." Phoebe shot back; her tone blunt.

Glancing sideways at the broad-shouldered, blue-eyed Demigoddess, he had to refrain from rolling his eyes at her attitude. She was not the worst of the Hunters, not by a long shot. But even so, the way she spoke to him and looked down on him was starting to grate.

"Yes, but as a member of the Quest, I reckon I can speak my mind." Percy returned. His dark eyes were colder than normal as he gave her a sideways glance before looking back up front again. "The prophecy said to go west, so let's go further west. I have some contacts based in California. They might know if something supernatural is going off over that way."

"Who do you know in California?" Thalia spoke up curiously. Speaking up before either Zoë or Phoebe could inevitably shoot him down.

"Do you think that Camp Half-Blood is the only place in the world that Demigods congregate?" Percy shrugged, not missing how Zoë's shoulders had stiffened up almost unnoticeably, the moment he had mentioned going further west.

"Wait, what? Are there really other places out there that are safe for Demigods?" Thalia asked in interest.

As Thalia asked this question, Phoebe and Zoë, Percy noticed with delight, both started looking as uncomfortable as he had just felt. Bianca meanwhile, looked away from the window she had steadfastly been staring out of for the last few hours and instead looked over at him now, curiosity burning in her dark eyes.

"That's enough Perseus," Zoë finally spoke up firmly, glancing back at him for a moment as she did so. Her dark eyes were full of warning. "We are nearly here so everyone should start preparing themselves. This was the place Lady Artemis told me she was headed to. So it'll be the first place we should look to try and pick up her trail from."

"Okay, if you say so," Percy sighed, sitting back slightly in his seat now. Content with the information he had just been given, even if he thought the plan was a foolish one.

Not that he was about to say that, or push for a different, better, plan, after all, why should he? He was not invested in rescuing Artemis. She wasn't his meal ticket to immortality like she was for Phoebe, Zoë, and Bianca. Nor was he a 'do-gooder' like Thalia who would willingly come on a dangerous quest with people she disliked just because it was the right thing to do.

No, he was here for one reason, and that reason was currently sitting stiffly next to him and once again staring out of the window. Bianca Di Angelo, Hade's daughter and the person that he needed to abduct without drawing any suspicion onto himself.

"Hey, wait! I want to know what you just meant Percy?" Thalia piped up, not dropping the subject like Zoë probably wanted her to. "You said there were other places where Demigods gathered, what did you mean? This is important Percy; those places could be targeted by Luke and his allies."

Percy raised an eyebrow at her question and the reasoning behind it, and was about to reply with the truth.

However, before he could he felt a sharp elbow dig into his ribs, even as both Phoebe and Zoë's eyes bored into him expectantly.

Holding back a smile, Percy pondered for a moment on what he should say next.

He could tell the truth and break the centuries-old silence on the existence of the two different Demigod Camps. The Greek Camp, Camp Half-Blood, and Roman Camp, Camp Jupiter.

Both of which he knew had been separated and hidden from one another. For the simple fact that neither side could play nice with the other. With them instead fighting every chance they got. All because of something that happened in Ancient Greece thousands of years ago.

The American Civil War was the last and most recent example of the ongoing spat between the two factions.

Of course, there was more to it than just revealing the other Demigod Camp. Right at this moment Percy could reveal to Thalia, and consequently to the rest of the Camp once she got back, other well-kept secrets. Such as the Amazons, and the existence of Demigods from other Pantheons.

Suffice it to say the part of Percy that revealed in chaos wanted to drop this bombshell, and then hopefully see what came of it. He was truly curious how the Greeks would react to the revelation of just how much their parents and Chiron were hiding from them.

Fortunately, the more prudent side of him was also present. The side of him that realized that alienating the Hunters at this pivotal moment, and pissing the Olympians off was probably not the wisest of moves.

"I doubt it, Thalia," Percy finally said, an easy smile spreading across his face. "The Demigods I'm talking about are adults, alumni of Camp Half-Blood. They're the ones that managed to make it to adulthood. I mean don't get me wrong, there isn't a huge amount of them out there, but the few that do exist know the dangers of this world and are more than happy to help out their fellow Demigods when they get the chance."

It was a cop-out, but a believable one. Partly since what he had just spoken was the truth.

There were adult Demigods out there that helped out their juniors. The ones at the Demigod settlements, Waypoint and New Rome came to mind.

"Oh, well still, they should be warned all the same," Thalia said, oblivious to the way both Zoë and Phoebe seemed to relax.

"They're well aware of what's going on Thalia. That's why I suggested that I contact them to find out whether they know anything we don't ." Percy replied with a shrug.

"It's a possibility," Zoë cut in, her eyes back on the road. "But for now we will go to Lady Artemis's last known location, and try to follow her trail from there. If we are unable to do so though," Zoë then continued. Before pausing, a look of distaste passed across her face for a moment. "Then we'll alert Chiron to the van's location and then take a fast train further west, to California."

Hearing the finality in her voice as she laid out her plan, Percy nodded and sat back in his seat. As Phoebe had said, she was the leader and so it was up to her what they did next. That said, he did at least appreciate her taking his suggestion on board, even if she had relegated it to a 'Plan B'.

Either way, what she ended up choosing and where she ended up taking them didn't really matter in the long run, or at least it didn't matter to him. After all, no matter what was decided. He would just continue playing along, watching and waiting for the perfect time to make his move.

With that thought in mind, he looked out of the window and remained quiet, even as they continued to drive through the snowy streets of Washington. Before eventually pulling into the Smithsonian Museum's car park.

( - )

Parking up a few moments later. The five of them quickly got out of the van, much to the relief of the three that had been crammed into the back.

All of them stretched and grumbled as they rejoiced in once again being able to move freely. After more than five hours of being confined to the back of the van as it trundled down from New York to Washington.

Rolling his neck, Percy was the first of the assembled group to make a move as he threw open the back doors of the van and started gearing up.

With him firstly pulling on and buckling up his cuirass, and then his gauntlets. Over the top of which he then pulled on a thick, padded parka coat, complete with a fur-lined hood. After which, to then finish things off, he slung his satchel over his shoulders.

With that done, he then started rooting about further back in the van. Before stepping back with several bound-up, bundles of arrows in his arms. Each of which he put into his internally expanded satchel, even as the others piled in after him, pulling out their weapons and gear as they did so.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you something, Percy." Thalia suddenly spoke up, even as she put on her own breastplate and turned away from where Zoë, Phoebe, and Bianca were still unloading their supplies and equipment, as she instead looked over at him.

"Ok," Percy hummed, cocking an eyebrow as he turned to look at the dark-haired daughter of Zeus.

"What's with the handbag?" Thalia continued, an impish smile playing across her pink lips as she met Percy's dark eyes for a moment. Before she then glanced down at the bag at his hip.

"It's a satchel." Percy deadpanned, ignoring the snort of laughter from Phoebe. As she and her fellow Hunters locked up the van and approached. "Indiana Jones has one."

"Indiana who?" Bianca asked, intruding into the conversation now. Her dark eyes flicked curiously between Percy and Thalia. Percy sent her a sideways look and sighed. "A tomb raiding, action hero from a film series."

"Oh, is this a new film?" Bianca asked curiously.

"Oh come on you must've heard of it Bianca, it's about thirty-odd years old," Thalia said, rolling her eyes. Bianca gave the other two nonplussed Hunters a confused look. "But that wasn't what I meant. What I actually was asking, is what is up with your 'satchel'. How did you fit all of that stuff in it, is it enchanted or something?"

"Yeah, it is. I was given it by Mer-Hermes a year or so ago for services rendered." Percy shrugged, almost slipping up on the name before he caught himself at the last moment. "It's been pretty handy too. It's internally expanded and is weightless. Pretty much perfect for a nomad like me."

Cocking an eyebrow at that, Thalia then glanced down at the rucksack at her feet.

"That does sound useful." She mused for a moment before she promptly picked up her bag and threw it to the surprised Percy. "Could you stick my bag in your 'satchel' then? I mean it would save me the trouble of carrying it, and since it's enchanted to be weightless it won't bother you much either."

"This doesn't seem like a request," Percy replied bemusedly. Glancing down at the bag in his hand and then up at the grinning Thalia. Before with a sigh he acceded to her harmless demand.

"Thanks," Thalia grinned, watching him for a moment as he rootled about in his bag. Arranging things so that her rucksack was at the bottom of the bag, alongside several superfluous trophies, a few bits of equipment and some other innocuous items. The more useful things like the bundles of arrows, spare weapons and a couple of bags of Ambrosia, and bottles of Nectar were at the top.

"Any of you three want to get in on this?" Percy asked diplomatically, glancing over at the three Hunters.

Two of whom scowled, as Phoebe answered for them. "We'll carry our own burden, scavenger."

Whilst Bianca looked to be on the verge of asking him to take her things too. Before she stopped and stayed quiet after hearing Phoebe's answer.

"Ok rude, but whatever. Suit yourselves." Percy said, with a roll of his eyes, even as he turned away and buckled up his bag.

It seemed that prolonged contact with him was rubbing off on the girl the wrong way. He remembered Phoebe being a bit of a bitch before they set off, but not this much of one.

Still, Percy mused, it didn't matter in the end. He wasn't here to make friends. Besides, he was already planning to fuck over the Hunters, and well, their bad attitudes just made it that much easier for him to go through with it.

"Enough talking. If everyone is ready, then let us go." Zoë suddenly said, striding forwards now. Her strung bow on her back and an intense look accentuated her beautiful features, as she strode past Percy and toward the museum's entrance. "I think it would be best if we split up to cover more ground." She then continued, looking between the other four party members as she did so.

Percy cocked an eyebrow at her command but still nodded. "Sounds good, if you four split up into two pairs, then I'll head off on my own."

"No, that might not be safe. We don't know what might be lurking around here. If this was where Artemis was captured, then the thing that captured her might still be around, and well, if it is strong enough to take on a god then a lone Demigod wouldn't stand a chance of getting away. Why don't you and I go one way, Percy, and those three go the other?" Thalia spoke up before anyone else could, with her outlining her reasoning quite promptly. Even if she did skip over the fact that two Demigods likely had as much chance as one did. If they were indeed confronted with the same thing that captured the Goddess of the Hunt.

"That plan is acceptable," Zoë nodded, her eyes flicking to her fellow Hunters for a moment. Before with a single gesture, the three of them headed into the museum.

Seeing this, Percy had to hold back a curse.

Ideally, he had been hoping that they would have all split up. With Phoebe and Thalia going one way and Bianca and Zoë another. Or some other combination between the four girls. Whilst Percy, the only guy in the group would have been sent off on his own.

That for him would have been the optimal situation. It would have split up the group and given him the freedom he required to isolate Bianca, and then fulfil his mission.

Only now that chance was ruined.

"Well come on then," Thalia said, knocking Percy's shoulder with her own as she passed. "And you're welcome by the way. If it wasn't for me speaking up back there, then you know Zoë would have sent you off on your own."

"Right," Percy muttered, nodding his head as he followed after the girl. "Thanks."

( - )

(A few minutes later)

A few minutes later found both Thalia and Percy walking through the Museum of Natural History. Both tried to look like casual, normal visitors to the museum as they looked around. Or at least as casual as two teenagers could when they were armed to the teeth and wearing armour beneath their buttoned-up coats.

Though admittedly, Thalia used her moderate talent for manipulating the Mist to aid them in their task, which made things much easier.

Looking around as they walked, they both headed past different exhibits barely glancing at what was in the display cases. As they instead kept looking around at anything and everything they could see.

They were both searching for anything suspicious. Or anything that might indicate that Artemis had indeed been here as Zoë seemed to think.

Which should be easy enough to identify if they were indeed here. After all, gods were immensely powerful. Alien beings whose mere presence shifted and changed the world around them.

That said though, the signs could be subtle and easily overlooked unless you were specifically looking for them.

Apollo, for example, his presence could cause the average temperature of an area to rise and in some cases cause a mini heatwave to unexpectedly hit the area. Or, in less subtle cases, his mere presence could cause drought and wildfires, with the intensity of these 'natural' events increasing the longer he stayed around.

Artemis meanwhile, her presence could result in nature becoming more bountiful and vibrant. Or in woodland creatures, dryads, satyrs, and the like gathering together in large groups after being lured in by her mere presence.

Either way, gods left a tangible mark on the world when they passed, even the subtler gods, like Artemis. Though admittedly there were many ways they could affect their surroundings. Especially those gods, like Artemis, who ruled over more than one Domain.

Of course, in this case, neither of them had to look very hard to see something unusual, and something that didn't belong. After all, there right in front of them were several Empousai; beautiful, goat-legged, red-eyed, vampiric women. Not the kind of beings that regularly visited museums, especially not a group of them.

No, Percy knew that they usually had other 'better', things to do than absorbing culture at a museum. Such as hunting down and eating Demigods. Or just seducing and then, brutally murdering mortals. As a rule, Empousai were pretty one-track.

Noticing the trio of monsters just up ahead. Percy quickly made note of the direction they were walking in, even as he nudged Thalia gently in the side with his elbow.

The daughter of Zeus stared slightly as she tore her gaze away from a nearby poster that was advertising the Egyptian Exhibition. With a large image of the bird-headed God of the Sun, Ra, quite prominent, even as she turned to give him a quizzical look.

Putting a finger to his lips, Percy nudged her gently in the ribs again. Before he pointed at the retreating backs of the monsters. His dark eyes narrowed, as he then tugged the surprised but blessedly quiet girl's sleeve and started to follow them from a distance.

As they walked, he led the way so they skirted around the edge of the room. Often hidden by the other visitors to the museum. As they followed after the retreating backs of the monsters.

"Percy, we should get the others," Thalia whispered. Her breath was hot against the side of his face as she leaned closer to his ear as she spoke.

"No, not yet. We don't know where they're going. If we head off now we might lose them," Percy whispered back. Putting his arm around her as he tried to make it seem like they were just a young couple that was spending a snowy day visiting the museum. "I think we should follow them to see where they're going, and then get the others."

Shifting closer to him, Thalia slipped her arm around his waist, even as she leaned to whisper in his ear again. Masking her actions by leaning her head on his broad shoulder. It was a surprisingly demure action for the usually fiery, strong-willed beauty. "If we're not careful they might smell us. The Mist can only do so much when it comes to monsters. Especially with me being a child of the Big Three."

"True, so let's just be careful and keep our distance," Percy muttered back just as quietly. Their faces were mere inches apart now. His eyes roved over her delicate features, sky-blue eyes, and pink lips, just for a moment before he quickly turned away and smiled. Pointing at a nearby statue in interest, as they passed by a large group of foreign tourists, French by the sound of it. His arm was still around her as they continued to follow the Empousai at a safe distance, through the building.

( - )

(A few minutes later)

A few minutes after they had started following the monsters, they both soon came to a stop as they saw the trio of Empousai slip into the currently closed dinosaur exhibit. The large door to the exhibit closed quietly behind the monsters, as they slipped inside unnoticed by any of the other visitors to the museum or the guards.

"Right, you head off and get the others. Bring them here if you can. I'll head inside and see what's going on." Percy said, the two of them breaking apart. As they did so, a flash of reluctance passed through him for a moment, before he quickly focused his mind on the here and now.

"It's too dangerous for you to go alone, I'll come with you," Thalia replied firmly. Her blue eyes were locked unerringly on his face.

"Not when I can become invisible at will," Percy shot back, and when he noticed the stubborn expression on his face he continued. "Also remember, you're a child of the Big Three, your Demigod scent is much stronger than mine."

Narrowing her eyes at that point, Thalia continued to watch him for a moment. Worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth as she did so. Before, with an expression of stubborn reluctance on her face, she nodded. "Fine, but be careful."

"I always am," Percy smiled back cockily, before with a nod and a brief pat on her shoulder he turned and headed for the closed door. Most of his body rapidly began to fade from view as he opened the door a crack and made to slip through it and to the other side.

Thalia meanwhile sent him one last look before he closed the door, even as she turned and started to fast walk back the way they had just come.

Closing the door quietly behind him, Percy almost had a heart attack when he turned back around only to find himself nearly face-to-face with the giant skeleton of a T-rex. The unexpected sight jolted him and made him jump. But only for a moment, before he calmed his nerves and slunk passed the prehistoric skeleton. Mentally cursing himself for being an idiot as he did so.

Continuing further through the room. Percy idly played with the Imperial Gold ring on his hand. His eyes flicked left and right, as he looked for any sign of danger. The moment he saw something, he was prepared to shift the ring into its gladius form and defend himself.

Quietly walking forward flitting from column to column, and using the exhibits to cover his already partially invisible form. Percy eventually found himself facing another set of large, wooden doors. Only this set of doors, unlike the other, had a pair of armed mercenaries standing on either side of it. Both of them were carrying gleaming black machine guns and were wearing black combat fatigues and Kevlar vests.

Narrowing his eyes at the sight of the two guards, Percy eyed the heavy wooden doors as he weighed the chances of him getting past the two guards unnoticed.

If he had any talent for manipulating the Mist like Thalia seemed to have. Then he could have befuddled the two of them and just walked past. Unfortunately, though that was a skill he had yet to acquire.

On the other hand, he could strip off his armour, the only things on his person that he couldn't make go invisible. And then, using the gifts he had received from Melinoe. He could phase through the door like a ghost, unseen, and enter that way.

Unfortunately, such an action would leave him unarmored once he got to the other side unnoticed. Which, since he didn't know what was on the other side of the door, could be dangerous. Additionally, he wasn't even sure if he could pull off such a feat anyway, after all, he hadn't mastered the gifts he had received from Melinoe quite yet, as he had only had them for a few days.

He knew he could make himself intangible and could focus it on different parts of his body. But he didn't know how long he could hold if for, or for that matter, whether he could make his entire body intangible yet.

This meant using the untested power now was potentially dangerous. He could very easily find himself re-materializing in the middle of the door. Thus killing himself, if he wasn't extremely careful. On top of which, surely there were limits to the power, after all, if he did become fully intangible. Then wouldn't gravity take hold, and consequently drag his intangible form through the earth?

No, there were too many unknown factors for him to use his new Demigod ability in such a risky way. Not when there were other ways he could do this.

Setting his mouth in a grim line at that thought. Percy pushed away from the wall and approached the mercenaries. His all-but-invisible form caused the air to ripple slightly around him as he moved. His coat covered up the armour, but it could only do so much to hide the faintly glowing Divine metal from view. Even with him bending the light around him to hide it.

"Hey, Dave, do you see something there?" One of the mercenaries asked his fellow.

"Wha…" Dave went to say.

Before he could finish his response, however, Percy had lunged forward. The ring on his hand shifted smoothly into the form of an Imperial Gold gladius. Even as he rammed the short blade through Dave's throat. Blood sprayed out of his neck as the black-clad mercenary slumped back against the wall. Gurgling as he futilely attempted to stem the blood flowing from his gaping neck wound.

A wound made worse when Percy twisted and wrenched the blade from his neck and turned to the other guard. His free hand already moving to cover the startled guard's mouth. His palm glowed a burning white as he grabbed the man's face and slammed him back and into the wall behind him.

A barely audible scream issued forth from the struggling man for but a moment, before he died. His skin rapidly steamed and started blistering and peeling, before turning to ash in his hand.

Grunting, Percy rammed the remains of the man's head against the stone wall bordering the door. The man's entire head crumbled into ashes moments later, as Percy released him and let him fall to the ground at his feet.

Ignoring the stench of melted flesh, and the coppery taste of blood in his throat. Percy, calmly and with practised ease, grabbed the first man he had killed by his ankles and dragged him away from the door. Only to deposit him in the corner of the room, his fellow guard's body joining him moments later.

After he finished shifting the bodies, he then poured fire into both of his hands. Making both palms burn white hot, the air around them rapidly heating as he then started to evaporate all the spilt blood. Following this, he then used his booted foot to disperse the ash across the ground. After which, barely even glancing at the two dead bodies in the corner of the room, he then snuck through the door they had been guarding.

The whole thing from confrontation to end, had taken him less than five minutes.

( - )

(A few minutes later)

Sliding through the door, Percy quietly closed it behind him. His attention was entirely on the loud voices he could hear just ahead of him.

His dark eyes narrowed as he quietly padded forward. Making sure to keep his partially invisible form hidden behind a nearby column. Even as he surveyed what was going on in front of him.

The first thing that caught Percy's attention was the giant of a man standing just a few meters away from him. His back was currently to him.

The man in question stood over nine feet tall and had immensely broad shoulders and thick corded arms.

The man was a literal mountain of muscle.

That said, his physical presence had nothing on the immense power Percy could feel rolling off of the clearly Divine Being.

A pressure had begun to form on his shoulders just from being near the man. A pressure that attempted to force him down to his knees in subservience.

To add to this, the power rolling off of the being in front of him was so thick and dense, that even breathing became difficult.

Pushing down the nauseous feeling in his stomach, Percy quickly mastered himself.

This was not the first god or Divine being he had come across, nor was he the most intense or powerful, not quite anyway.

That said though, the man was certainly up there with the strongest he had encountered. The fact that his mere presence seemed to be causing those around him difficulty breathing. Even someone as powerful as him. Was evidence enough of the being's power.

Though part of that, Percy knew was because he hadn't gotten used to the man's presence yet. The longer he remained near the man the more he knew he would adjust to the power that seemed to naturally roll off of him.

Still, the being in front of him was certainly something to behold.

That said, he was not the only thing of note in the room.

No, the next thing Percy noticed, apart from the dozen or so monsters. Including Dracnea and Empousai in the room, was the skinny, blonde-haired kid that stood opposite the giant of a man.

The blonde-haired teen was currently facing Percy due to his positioning. Which allowed him to estimate that he was around seventeen or eighteen years old. With tanned skin, greyish-blue eyes, and a noticeable scar running down his face.

The guy was certainly distinctive.

More than that though. He also matched the description that Percy had been given by one of his contacts. The kid was Luke Castellan, the traitorous son of Hermes.

Keeping to the shadows, Percy didn't make a sound as he instead leaned forward and listened in on their conversation. His expression was hard, even as he noticed a couple of monsters approaching the larger man from the other side of the room.

"Do you have them?" The giant, silver-skinned being demanded.

"Yes, my lord," One of the Empousai replied, her voice sibilant and sultry as she bowed to the larger being.

"Good. Good. Now bury and water them." The man ordered, shifting his head to look at the dark-haired Empousai and then to the canvas bag she was currently holding in her hands as he did so.

'Bury them and water them?' Percy thought, leaning forward now, his dark eyes narrowing in curiosity. He tried to work out what the giant man was up to. By the sounds of it, he was planting something, but what that was he didn't know.

What was this, some kind of monster gardening club?

Maintaining his position, Percy watched as the monster emptied the bag. Dropping several yellow-whitish things - which almost looked like giant teeth - onto the earth in a nearby exhibition. Only for the monster to then kneel and bury them in the ground. After which, without a word. Another one of the vampiric monsters approached and then poured water over the buried 'things'.

Leaning even further forward, his head now poking around the column. Percy watched the wet earth expectantly.

Something was sure to happen.

Around the room, the monsters, the giant being, and Luke all did the same.

All of them were soon rewarded for their patience by several hands exploding out of the earth. The bony, grey hands, some of which still had mummified flesh clinging to them, each scrabbling about for purchase. Moments later many large, nasty-looking skeletal warriors started clambering out of the ground.

Holding back a breath at the sight of the menacing, undead beings. Percy quickly counted nine of the warriors as they clawed their way out of the earth and then came to a halt in front of the giant man.

"It always amuses me just how foolish mortals can be. How oblivious and small-minded they truly are. To think they don't even know the difference between dinosaur teeth and dragon teeth." The giant, silver-skinned man chuckled to himself, shaking his head in amusement.

The monsters that Percy could see shifted around awkwardly and glanced at one another. Before one or two of them awkwardly laughed alongside their giant, immortal leader.

Cutting his laughter off a few moments later, the giant man snapped his attention to the blonde, "Do you have it, Luke?"

"Yes, General. It was taken from the lieutenant. I think her name is Zoë N…" Luke started nervously, only for him to abruptly stop speaking when he saw the look on the giant's face and heard the General's angry response.

"Do not speak her name in my presence, boy!" The General hissed in fury, a ripple going through the air and earth around the man as he spoke. The marble flagstones beneath him cracked, and dust fell from the ceiling overhead in response to the man's anger.

"S… Sorry my lord," Luke stuttered; his gaze now directed firmly at the General's feet.

Waving his hand dismissively at the boy's words. The General instead took the proffered piece of silver clothing from Luke.

The clothing was something that Percy quickly recognised as being a part of the standard huntress uniform.

Just how the older boy had gotten a hold of it, Percy wasn't entirely sure of yet. Though admittedly, a cynical part of him strongly suspected that it was most likely taken by a traitor in the Camp.

As Percy thought this, the General approached the skeletal warriors and handed the clothing over to the undead beings. Taking the offering, the skeletons showed a surprising amount of sentience as they passed it around to one another, each of them smelling it as they did so.

"Good. Now that they have the scent they won't stop until she is dead." The General said before he then turned and looked over at the blonde teen. "Remember Luke, you must separate the daughter of Zeus from the others. The beast will come to her."

Frowning at both the mention of Thalia and of some kind of beast that would be pursuing her. Percy leaned even further around the pillar, his focus now entirely on the General and Luke.

Only, before Luke could reply, the General suddenly whipped his head around. His pure, molten silver eyes locked with Percy's dark eyes, and his cruel, blunt features twisted into a snarl.

"We have an eavesdropper Lock the building down!" The giant then hissed, his gaze boring into Percy.

An oppressive force was already starting to weigh down on the adopted son of Melinoe's shoulders as the giant immortal turned to fully face him.

( - )

AN: So probably more canonish than I would have liked, but well, needs must. Soon though we'll be going off the rails, after all the Percy I've got in mind, as some of you have noted is not always likeable and is a selfish bastard at times. I.e. he's not the compliant, subservient hero type like canon Percy tends to be, once you cut through his bellyaching. Instead, this one will happily do what he wants, when he wants to.

This is probably a good thing as I know I want to explore more of the mythological world, and the different pantheon than what is covered in the book. Admittedly though some of the Pantheons are covered in the additional books Riordan has been publishing I'll be taking liberties with. I'll admit I've not read his Apollo books, and only read the first Magnus Chase book.

So yes, other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and leave a review. Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later.

Greed720.