AN: So it's been a while. I could bore you with the details, but you probably don't want to hear about that. Though I will say a reread might be useful, just to familiarise yourself with the details.
Instead I'll just say, here is chapter 10, I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review etc. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to PM me, or if not join my discord. The link is in my bio, and at the bottom of the page.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson.
Betaed by Arch_Angel in December 2022
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(Last Time)
"Burn!" Percy shouted, his eyes gleaming golden as he continued to bathe everything around him in purifying fire. His flames raising the heat in the room by dozens of degrees in seconds, causing sweat to bead on all of the watching Demigod's faces as the fire rapidly began to consume the Spartus' below.
From the side the Nemean Lion let loose a roar of surprise and irritation as the sea of all consuming golden flames lapped at its body. The fire, which was noticeably hot enough to crack stone, and reduce metal into molten slag, not effecting the lion in the slightest. Or at least not in the conventional sense.
The amount of heat the fire created though, as it swept across the floor; burning and devouring all the oxygen in the area was enough to affect the giant cat though. Enough to get it to roar and open its mouth wide as it desperately attempted to breath. Which was all Zoe Nightshade needed to land an arrow straight through the monster's throat and into the back of its head. The single shot reducing the monster to golden dust, even as flames continued to eat away at the surrounding area.
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Chapter 10
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(With Percy)
Staggering through the streets of Washington DC a few minutes later, Percy pulled his newly acquired tan coat tighter around his shivering form, as he tiredly struggled to keep up with the three hunters and Thalia, as all five of them rushed through the backstreets of the city.
The Nemean Lion was dead, killed in a joint effort between himself and Zoe. The beast hadn't gone down without collateral however, which is why as they ran, smoke continued billowing into the air behind them as much of the National Air and Space Museum burnt.
The other parts of the museum complex meanwhile, those that weren't on fire, were a charnel house filled with the butchered bodies of the scores of mortals unfortunate enough to have had a run in with the rampaging Spartoi, and other monsters that the General had sent after them.
All things considered; it was a mess.
One that they were quickly fleeing from as fast as they possibly could, with Zoe leading the way, and the rest of them trailing after. Or at least trying to, as even the other hunters were struggling to keep pace with the Lieutenant, this being despite them having the same innate blessing Zoe herself had.
Fortunately, as they ran, the sounds of sirens ringing out in the distance had long since disappeared, lost within the hustle and bustle of the city.
Initially, they had fled by stealing an abandoned vehicle. Unfortunately, however, they had barely covered a block or so in their purloined set of wheels before they ongoing panic forced them to proceed on foot, as more and more ambulances, police cars and fire engines rushed by them. The Smithsonian was probably swarming with policemen, paramedics, and firefighters by this point.
Which in turn meant that it was only a matter of time until the footage from the security cameras were confiscated and analysed by the police, and a manhunt was announced for the five perpetrators. After all, from the camera footage they would most likely see the five of them brutally attacking 'staff' and 'visitors', as well as someone's pet 'cat'. The Mist was a bitch that way.
The best-case scenario for them would be if the Spartoi were seen as armed terrorists or something. But even then, there would still be a manhunt for them, as there would likely be footage of them 'murdering' monsters and Spartoi.
"Come on, we need to hurry." Zoe hissed back at Thalia and himself, the dark haired Huntress pausing only long enough to look around a blind corner, before she continued to run, her dark hair, which was still drawn back into a ponytail, bobbing about behind her as she ran.
"We are hurrying, but it would be nice to know where we're hurrying too?" Percy shot back irritably. He was feeling tired after the fight at the museum. His arms were aching from drawing his longbow, his lungs were still smarting from the amount of smoke he had inhaled, and to top it off, he had developed a nasty headache from overusing his abilities.
Mustering up enough fire to incinerate the Spartoi, and suffocate the Nemean Lion, had not been easy. Especially since he had had to direct and regulate the heat of his flames so that he didn't kill either his companions, or more importantly, himself.
It was a pain in the arse.
"We're heading for the railway yard." Phoebe answered, her tone and expression irritable as she glared back at him. "We can't go back to the van now, can we? Not now, not when the entire place will be swarming with mortals after your display!"
"That and they have probably already blocked off all the roads around the museum too." Thalia added, sending Phoebe a nasty glare. "Even if we could get back to the van, we wouldn't make it past the blockades, not unless we tried to break through, and then we would have every cop in the city after our asses!"
The daughter of Zeus looked as irritated as he felt. Thankfully, however, her irritation seemed to be directed at their dire situation, and at Phoebe for being a bitch, and not at him for burning down the museum. She, at least, seemed to appreciate the face he had saved their asses.
"Why are we going to the railway yard?" Bianca piped up into the tense silence that followed. Her expression, unlike the others, wasn't angry or irritable, instead she just looked scared and nervous. It was the expression that a normal child of twelve, or however old she was, would have when faced with the dangerous predicament they now found themselves in.
"Probably so we can catch a lift on a cargo train out of here." Percy shrugged. It made sense to him, after all the authorities would probably be checking the roads, civilian train stations and airports for the 'terrorists' that attacked the museum, i.e. them, if they had indeed pulled incriminating footage off of the cameras. But they might not be looking at industrial and commercial freight trains, or at least not yet.
"Yes, that was my reasoning. But I have another reason, Phoebe believes we may be able to find some much needed aid at the railway yard." Zoe added. There was a distinct frown on her face now, even as she hazarded a glance over at the scowling Phoebe.
"Let's just say I have a feeling that we need to go there." Phoebe muttered. A grimace twisting her face as well. Whatever both girls knew about what awaited them, and clearly, they knew something, it didn't seem either of them were remotely pleased about it.
"At least he's helping." Zoe replied to Phoebe, once again not bothering to expand on her cryptic words for the sake of those not in the know as she did so. "He might be a useless good for nothing wastrel, but he at least cares enough to lend as much aid as he is able too."
"The fact he cares even that much is one of his only redeeming qualities." Phoebe muttered before shaking her head as they crossed over several more roads, and entered the railway yard Zoe had been leading them too.
Frowning as he tried to piece together what the two hunters were talking about; Percy followed the others as they entered the railway yard.
It was growing dark, and cold by this point. Snow had already begun to fall heavily, even as night drew in, it had already covered the railway tracks and surrounding area in a light dusting. This gave the mostly unlit yard an almost eerie atmosphere as they passed by large snow dusted trains, carriages, cargo containers and cranes. All of which loomed out of the darkness around them as they pressed on.
Continuing their journey through the railway yard, following along behind the two hunters. Percy could feel their pace beginning to slow down, both as they started to look around, and as the tiredness and weariness of the last few hours began to take its toll on them.
Despite this, however, the hunters continued to still lead the way. Both Zoe and Phoebe continuing to mutter to one another as they did so, while Bianca just followed on uncertainly behind them. From where he was walking at the back of the group, Percy was occasionally able to see her scared, pale face looking back at him, even as she nervously surveyed her surroundings.
He didn't blame her for being nervous. This place was unnerving even him, and he wasn't a fresh faced newbie to all this divine nonsense.
Frowning slightly, Percy's dark eyes suddenly took on a faint golden glow as he dug deep and used his 'god given abilities' to see through the darkness.
Looking around with his new vision, all Percy could see were rows and rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow and looked like they hadn't moved in years. Even when he looked through the dark and gloom that infested this place, it made things no clearer. It was still an incomprehensible hodgepodge of old and new train engines and snow-covered cargo freights.
"Ok, seriously." Thalia muttered from beside him, catching his attention as he glanced away from the rusted freight carts and instead over at the daughter of Zeus. Ahead of them, the hunters continued on unperturbed, not even slowing down as they continued to search for whatever it was they were searching for. "What's with the golden eyes? What is it with you and your powers? How does fire have anything to do with the goddess of Ghosts?"
"Don't know." Percy shrugged completely unperturbed by the accusation he could hear in her voice. It helped that he was good at poker. "I've just always been able to do it."
"Always?" Thalia scowled. "So what are you then? A legacy of another god as well as a child of one?"
"Maybe." Percy shrugged, allowing her to come to her own conclusions, even as he turned away from her and went back to staring through the gloom at a ghostly looking train carriage that looked to be from the 40s. This place looked like a cross between a working railway yard, and a clichéd, ghostly decommissioned one. Considering its geographical position in the city, it made no sense. "I never met my mother or my father. I don't even know their names. I grew up in the system, so there's not much I can really say about my origins."
It was a half-truth at worst, Percy thought to himself as he saw Thalia suddenly look away guilty, before then turning to look back at him, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth as she seemed to agonise over what to say next.
Oddly enough, seeing her like that, it made him feel a bit guilty for deceiving her. As a while, it was true that he didn't know who his father was, and that he had grown up in the system, in Canada of all places. He had not been quite honest when he said that he didn't know who his mother was. He had found out who his mother was, and on top of that he knew his unknown father was his divine parent, just as he knew Melinoe was little more than his patron.
Still, he wasn't guilty enough to come clean. Not only would it mean proving himself to be a liar, and he couldn't have that, not at this stage in his plans. It was also against his nature. He had grown up being sneaky, dishonest, and morally ambiguous. It was how he had survived, thrived, and not been ground down under the heel of society like so many others who had grown up like him had been.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Thalia said after a moment.
"Not your fault." Percy shrugged. "Shit happens. Besides, I've no complaints. I might not have grown up with a mother or a father, but I'm still here. More than that I'm still strong and tough, probably more so than I would have been if I had been raised by my parents, and had been spoiled and pampered."
"Is that what you really think?" Thalia asked quietly. Her blue eyes were unreadable as she looked over at his shadow covered face. "That growing up in a loving, nurturing home makes you weak? Or is it just an excuse you tell yourself to make you feel better about being abandoned?"
"What the fuck?" Percy shot back, a flash of genuine anger shooting through him at her words. His eyes flashing slightly as the golden glow momentarily intensified due to his fluctuating emotions. "Are you trying to patronize me? Is this some shoddy attempt at psychoanalyzing me, or some shit like that?"
"No," Thalia replied quietly, her expression still unreadable as she gazed at him, a hint of pity and sadness in her eyes as they locked with his own. The pair of them by this point had stopped walking, and searching. "I'm just trying to understand you."
"Well don't." Percy said coldly. "I'm not a problem for you to solve, or some charity case for you to take pity on."
"I didn't say you were." Thalia smiled wanly. "I just realised that we had more in common than I thought. Looking at you now, I can't help but think about how I could have ended up just like you if things hadn't been different."
"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?" Percy asked, forcibly suppressing his irritation now. He was not in the mood for this. Not when it was so cold and dark, and especially not while he was exhausted, and they were all on the run from monsters, the police and who knows who else.
What made things especially grating, was that it was Thalia saying these things to him. If it had been one of the hunters then he could have laughed it off, after all they were bitches, and he already knew they looked down on him principle, both for his gender, and for his 'scavenging ways'.
But Thalia though. He had thought that the two of them had gotten along. He had thought they had become friends of sorts, or at least good acquaintances. He hadn't been prepared for her to attack him like this.
"It means that like you I had a shit childhood and was on my own." Thalia replied, her tone still calm. Though her blue eyes were intense, and her full lips were downturned into a slight frown, even as a cold wind whipped around her and ruffled her short, spiky black hair. "But unlike you, I didn't close myself off and refuse to rely on other people. Instead, I found friends, people who I loved, and people who supported me. What's more, I became all the stronger for it!"
Percy's frown deepened at that comment. So that was what she thought. She believed he was lonely, and that he had isolated himself to what… avoid getting hurt or some bullshit like that? What was next, was the so-called 'punk badass with a heart of gold' going to start wittering on about the 'power of friendship' next, or about; 'how love lifts you up where you belong'? "So was this before, or after, you got turned into a tree?"
Thalia's gaze turned a bit colder at that. "It was before. Back when things were simple, and we all had so much hope. Back before everything went to shit."
"Hmm, things have always been shit. Or at least for us. We were born to fight and die for beings that couldn't give a damn about us! Do you not realise that? We're little more than expendable pawns to them, amusing toys that they can mess with and break on a whim. Our lives are meaningless Thalia, we were born to suffer and die for the amusement and aggrandizement of the gods. I would have thought you'd have realised that by now." Percy grunted, turning away from her now. She had not given him the reaction he had been hoping for. Instead, she had just proven to him her naivety, and just how childish her views on life were. It was a shame. "It's getting cold, let's keep on looking."
"Fine, but I'll say this first. You can believe what you want, you can be all pessimistic and edgy but don't think you're the only one that got dealt a bad hand. You said it yourself, we all have suffered and struggled, not just you. Most of us though, we can find the good within the bad. We actually choose to live the lives we've been given, shit though they are, instead of hiding away in the dark." Thalia replied after a few moments, her gaze resting on him for a moment longer, before she nodded and the two of them once again began walking. "But anyway, let's get going, it's cold, and I'm not in the mood to deal with this shit now!"
"Ditto," Percy replied curtly, not even glancing over to look at the fierce girl at his side. She was a strange one, she had a tough exterior but was very naive, innocent and almost childlike underneath it. Still, she was interesting at least.
Up in front the three hunters were just about visible due to the silver glow their weapons gave off. The three of them were still moving, with Phoebe surprisingly taking the lead now. Zoe and Bianca meanwhile just followed behind.
"So what else can you do, other than throw around fire and turn into a ghost?" Thalia asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, as the two of them quickened their pace. Making an effort to catch up with the other three.
"I can control fire and light." Percy replied after another brief silence.
"What, like a son of Apollo?" Thalia questioned dubious, a frown on her face as she turned and inspected his face. "You don't look like one?"
"No, and I don't think I am his son either." Percy said with a shrug. She had a point, all of Apollo's children, Roman and Greek both, had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was the opposite in terms of both eye colour and hair colour.
"Maybe a legacy of his then, just a really powerful one?" Thalia pressed.
"Maybe, but I doubt it." Percy replied once more. There was a chance he could be a legacy, but after meeting the god and feeling his presence, he doubted it.
"Good, there you two are." Zoe's irritated voice interrupted their conversation.
Looking up Percy saw that the three hunters of their group were now waiting impatiently for them to catch up.
"Did you find something?" He asked, ignoring the scowling Phoebe as he instead looked to Zoe for an answer.
In response Zoe nodded and then gestured for him to follow. Nodding, the two of them followed the hunters around the corner, only for them to stop as they found themselves looking at a homeless man in ragged clothes, and a patched hat. Looking at him, Percy could see a cheerful, toothless smile on the homeless man's face, even as he waved them over to join him at the trash-can fire he was warming himself next to.
Frowning in confusion, Percy glanced over at Zoe for an answer.
Yes, it was cold, but was this really the time and place for them to cosy up with a hobo around a flaming garbage can?
"Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!" A new voice spoke up, cutting off any answer Zoe might have given, as the homeless man instead looked over at them and gave them an even wider toothless grin. It was the kind of charming smile someone might give if they were used to having a full set of shining, pearly white teeth. Unfortunately, it didn't quite have the same effect for the scruffy looking man by the trash can fire, instead it just made him look sketchy.
Hearing the man's words, Percy glanced over at the others. Bianca looked scared and confused and kept casting the older hunter's nervous looks. Thalia just looked cold and tired. Zoe and Phoebe, however, they just looked irritated. Phoebe especially looked like she was on the verge of snapping as they moved over and started to huddle around his merrily burning fire.
Frowning slightly, Percy followed the other's lead. After all, it was pretty cold and as far as he was concerned, even if the old homeless man was a monster, he fancied their collective chances against him if he got nasty.
"Well..., this is nice." Thalia said, extending her pale hands out to the fire as the others bundled in around her.
"Delightful…" Phoebe replied acidly, her sour gaze for once not on Percy, but instead on the homeless man.
He wasn't sure what the girl's problem was, but she was being more of a bitch than normal. Which was especially noticeable considering the homeless guy seemed so harmless and friendly, his sketchy smile aside.
"So not that this isn't nice," Percy said, his own hands hovering over the fire as he soaked in the warmth -he could already feel the inner fire within him starting to resonate and draw strength from the flames in the trash can. "But what is our plan? I thought we were trying to get out of DC?"
"Maybe we should contact the camp?" Bianca suggested from beside Zoe, her face pale as she looked to the older huntress for answers.
"Chiron—"
"No," Zoe said abruptly, her own expression stiff as she looked at Bianca, and then around at the rest of their group. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."
"Though a bit of divine help wouldn't go amiss…" Phoebe tagged on, her eyes still riveted on the grinning homeless man.
Following her gaze, Percy began to wonder what the man had done to offend the hunter. He certainly couldn't find anything offensive about the man, other than his smell. Nor could his finely tuned danger sense pick up anything nefarious about the hobo. He didn't seem to be a monster. "Do you really think we should be talking about things like that, in the present company?"
"Don't be rude." Thalia jabbed him in the side with her elbow. "This man-"
"Call me Fred!" The now named Fred chipped in cheerily, sending the scowling Phoebe a toothless grin as he did so. Percy could almost hear the hunter's teeth grinding together.
"Yes well, Fred, here is letting us use his fire. You should at least be nice." Thalia pressed on unperturbed.
"Oh I don't mind," The homeless man said, his eyes finally leaving Phoebe as he instead sent Thalia a gummy smile "You kids look like you've been having a rough time. Besides, it's no great thing to share a fire with some youngsters like you."
"Thank you." Bianca smiled weakly, bowing her head a little.
"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine…" Phoebe commented, her tone still strained.
Percy frowned again at her acerbic comment. He really didn't get what the hunter's problem was, but he was beginning to get suspicious. No one could be that much of a bitch to someone they've only just met, not when the other person has done nothing to warrant such coldness or dislike.
Zoe however did seem to know something, as she sent Phoebe a quick warning look, and then looked back to Fred. An expression of irritation and exasperation on her face. "So Fred…" She looked pained as she said his name. "I don't suppose that thou knows a way for us to get out of the city, do you?"
"Of course," The homeless man said as he nodded, the smile never leaving his face. "Sometimes all you have to do is ask." His face, Percy noted, was grimy and his beard tangled, but beneath that, there was something about his smile and the way he spoke that was starting to seem familiar. "So you kids need to get out of the city do ya. Well, I happen to know of a train leaving this very yard soon, and wouldn't 'cha know, it's going west?"
"Of course there is." Phoebe said dryly.
"How sure are you?" Percy asked, eyeing Fred strangely now. His suspicions were starting to build up now, after all they were demigods, it should be possible for them to get a convenient break like this, not without some kind of divine intervention.
"Very." Fred nodded sagely.
"That's great, where is this train?" Thalia butted in next, sending a glare at Phoebe, before turning back to the unperturbed Fred.
"Oh you're a sweet girl," Fred smiled as he pointed one greasy hand over their heads, and pointed directly in front of him. "And the train you're looking for is over there."
Frowning at this, Percy turned away from the fire and followed his finger.
Almost at once he noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUNWEST LINE. Percy was one hundred percent sure that it hadn't been there before. He had scanned that very spot only minutes before as he approached the trashcan fire.
Phoebe, meanwhile, sighed at the sight of the train, and then just grumbled under her breath about 'idiot's.
Zoe meanwhile, just rolled her eyes. Though Percy could spot the faintest of smiles gracing her face as she took in the train. "Sunwest Line, how fitting…"
"It is… convenient," Thalia said, looking at the train for a moment, before turning back to Fred. "Thanks, uh… where did he go?"
Turning back around at her words, Percy immediately spotted the problem. The homeless guy was gone, and the trashcan in front of them was now cold and empty, as if he'd taken the flames with him.
"And of course, he was a god…" He felt like an idiot for not seeing it before, straight away.
"Yes, and a very stupid and idiotic one at that." Phoebe grumbled, kicking over the bin and sending it clattering and rolling away along the snow-covered ground.
"But helpful all the same." Zoe corrected her.
"I'm guessing the reason he didn't show himself was because he isn't supposed to be helping?" Percy asked. He already had a feeling about just who the god was, based on the evidence. The man wasn't subtle.
"That and because he has a thing for the dramatics." Phoebe said, shouldering her bow.
"Yeah, well whatever, the important thing now is that we have a ride out of here." Thalia interrupted the discussion. "So, let's go and get on it before it disappears on us."
With that said they all ran for the train, crossing the few dozen metres just in time into a freight cart that had been conveniently left open, even as the train exploded to life and began to move the very moment they were all onboard.
The train cart began to rumble as it picked up speed, and out of the still open doors Percy could see that they were very quickly leaving the railway yard, probably far more quickly than a train should realistically have been able to build up speed and go.
Rolling his eyes at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, Percy walked over and slammed the door shut, enclosing them in a semi darkness for a moment, before overhead emergency lights at the front and back of the carriage flickered on, revealing as they did half a dozen very fancy and expensive looking cars.
"Shotgun the Maserati," Percy called out tiredly, scratching the back of his neck and pulling his newly acquired Nemean Lion hide jacket tighter around him as he then proceeded to climb into the leather passenger seat in a vibrant, red Maserati Spyder, already stifling a yawn as he adjusted the seat to make it lean back as far as possible.
Exhausted after the battle, and their subsequent journey from the museum to the railway yard, the others followed his lead.
With both Phoebe and Bianca climbing into a yellow Ferrari, their muted voices softly drifting over to where Percy was seated, even as they got themselves settled. For once Phoebe wasn't being a bitch, as she instead seemed to be trying to cheer Bianca up and offer her words of comfort. Thalia meanwhile climbed in the black Lamborghini and made herself comfortable, even as Percy subconsciously felt her gaze resting on him for a moment.
As for Zoe, after checking on both Phoebe and Bianca, and doing a walk around of the carriage, probably checking for trouble, she climbed into the driver seat of the Maserati, her dark eyes fixed on him. "We need to talk..."
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AN: So what did you think? Please leave a review, comment etc. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to PM me.
Also I am on a discord with a load of other writers, so if you fancy popping over to ask questions or offer suggestions about this story, or any of my other ones, or to find new authors you might not have come across yet, please feel free to use this link: discord .gg / elibrary
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you later.
Greed720.
