Welcome Back.

thesuperone342: "Bro, this is so amazing. Harper is probably the most developed OC I've ever come across in a fanfiction. Most OCs are literally living sex dolls or just one dimensional characters to be used as plot points or something. Can't wait to see what happens to Levi later on in the story. Also, just a heads up, you might as well make your story M rated anyway just in case you get some goody two shoes reporting your story for having too much blood or gore in it. Seriously, there are people like that lol. Can't wait to see what you have in store next. Also, don't think I don't see how you copied my little line breaks. Lol jk don't worry I copied them, too."

"P.S. Is it weird I'm imagining Levi as Levi from Attack on Titan but much younger? Cause that's what I'm imagining."

Response: Appreciate it man. I really want to give my OC's depth and development. Talon will be next, in this chapter and the next, we'll see some interesting stuff involving him, as well as Nikandreos' story. Also, I changed the rating to M. Definitely a good choice, as I've already featured blood, gore, suggestive sex and rape, so yeah, don't want my fic reported lol. Also, I'm super interested in the direction your story is going in. We can PM about it if you want, or you can just answer my questions in a review.

Also no that's not weird at all, I love AOT.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Trials of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

12. We Hitch A Ride To Texas

I could describe our journey to the mental hospital, but it would be extremely boring.

Yeah, I'm just gonna fast forward to the depressing stuff, unless you want to hear about the five of us walking down the sidewalk, failing to hail a taxi, then finally getting one, only to have the driver spot Talon's gun, scream and drive away, leaving us to walk a mile on foot.

No? Didn't think so.

Anyway, we made it to the facility, I looked up at the sign and some of the people outside milling about, getting a break from their asylum-like rooms.

This place sucked.

I mean, looking at it, you would think it was a super nice retirement home. Turf grass littered the entrance yard just twenty feet away from the street, round tables scattered on it, a giant tree towering over the area, it looked pretty good.

But inside was a whole other story.

I started visiting after my mom got PTSD. The inside looked like any typical hospital or doctor's office, but it was the people that freaked me out. Not now as much, because I had grown used to it, but when I was younger, I got frightened at certain people with a mental illness that caused them to act crazy or violent. I knew it wasn't their fault, but it still spooked me.

I continued to glance at the entrance, preparing for what could be my final visit.

The others looked around, unsure of what to do. Talon was harassing some patient by asking him what the hell he was doing. Seriously man, it's a mental hospital.

Annabeth told him to cut it out and looked at me questioningly, waiting for my verdict.

"Uh, I'll just be a minute guys. I...just need to say some things."

Harper looked at me with concern, the others nodded and sat down at a round table.

"You gonna be alright?" She asked.

I didn't have to put on the tough act with her. "I don't know. I mean, this could be my last visit, and...I'm not sure if she'll even know who I am."

She touched my arm gently, her hands now bare due to her taking her gloves off and keeping them in her pocket. A small spark went up my arm, "You want me to come with you?"

I was shocked at her offer. We were friends for sure, and I had a stupid crush on her, but at the end of the day we had only known each other for like a week. Yet here she was offering to come with me inside?

"I mean...are you sure?"

She shrugged, "I let you see the worst parts of my childhood. I don't mind at all. But if you want to be alone, that's completely fine."

I remembered last night. Her memories displayed in my mind again. Some of them were very horrific. Levi killing another kid to put him out of his misery, her father's decline and eventual murder, her brother's kidnapping, and even Harper doing some very questionable things to get information.

I hesitated, but then thought about how I trusted her, probably the most out of this group, which is strange to say, since...that shouldn't be the case. Percy and Annabeth are older, but I don't know, I guess I relate to Harper differently. There's an affinity there that I don't quite have with Percy or Annabeth.

Plus, it would suck to be alone in there if mom didn't recognize me. I wanted the company, to be honest.

Because you're weak, my mind spat. You used to be just fine, handling things on your own.

Whenever I thought of weakness, I thought of myself compared to Malachi, and how big the gap was. I say Malachi, and not Ouranos, because it's most likely the power from Malachi's body that Ouranos is drawing from, which means it's his strength.

The guy was capable of incredibly dangerous things. Turning into Typhon, for one, and smacking Hera out of the sky like it was nothing. Even able to torture her, a goddess.

The thought made me cringe. I didn't like Hera, but that was awful. I hoped Zeus would do something about it if he found out, at least give a crap that his wife was being violated by a crazy powerful Primordial/half-blood/monster being, and take action. But I do remember what the cloaked man said, Zeus cheated on her a lot. He may not even really care about her. Hell, all of the Olympians do the same thing.

They suck.

Plain and simple. How were they any better or different from the sins of mortals? They weren't. In fact, I would argue that they're worse. The Titans must've been really bad if these are the rulers allegedly better than them. I could honestly see where the cloaked guy was coming from.

Woah, stop thinking like that.

I needed to stay focused. I finally answered Harper, "Um, yeah, if you don't mind. I would appreciate it."

She nodded and followed me inside, walking through the halls and passing patients doing their own thing, nurses and the like doing their business. It was surprisingly quiet in here today, which was a relief.

I went up to the front desk to let them know I was here.

A middle aged woman smiled at me, I remembered her from the previous visits, I always checked in when she was working.

"Oh, Hello Matt. It's good to see you again! You're here to visit of course."

I nodded, "Yes ma'am."

She handed me the usual clipboard and I signed it, saying that I visited at this certain time and all this other stuff.

"And who's this?" She asked, looking at Harper.

She held out her hand, "I'm Harper, ma'am. A friend of Matt's."

She shook it, "Oh, nice to meet you! You're so pretty!" Yeah, she was really nice. She didn't comment or even look phased by Harper's left eye being completely white.

Harper seemed to notice as well, and smiled back, "Thank you, you're too nice."

I walked away from the desk toward the usual room, "Well, see you later."

She stopped me, "Oh wait Matt. You're mother was moved to a new room yesterday. It's down the other hall, in Room 112."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Why was she moved?"

"I'm not sure dear. All I know is the room number."

That was strange. Mom had been in the same room since the day she came here. I didn't think much about it and made my way over to the next hallway, Harper following.

We walked until we spotted Room 112. It looked the same as the old room, as did most of them, except for a few special cases. I turned the corner and spotted my mom on her bed, under the covers, asleep.

Harper looked at me nervously, I understood that it was probably awkward for her, so I said, "Alright, I'll go in. I won't be long, just wait for me."

She nodded.

I stepped quietly into the room, I had hoped that mom would be awake, since it's easier and there's not as much chance of her freaking out. But oh well, I guess I can't pick and choose, that much I've learned.

I finally got to her and gently shook her, whispering mom over and over. She opened her eyes, wide with fright, and I immediately let go, knowing what was coming next.

"NO! NO DON'T HURT ME, PLEASE!" She screamed.

I hated this, it happened half the time and I had to calm her down when it occurred, Harper looked slightly startled, but I just held onto my mom, saying soothing things and trying to ease the panic.

She continued to fight and yell, at one point some nurses came in frantically, but I waved them off, they understood, because I had been in this situation before.

She finally calmed down a bit after a minute, I said, "Mom, it's okay. It's me, Matt. Your son."

She looked at me as if I had just got here, with confusion, she said, "Matt?"

"Yeah Mom, it's me."

She smiled, and hugged me, "Oh, honey. It's good to see you."

I smiled too, it was good to have her back. I was lucky this time, some of her panics lasted longer than that.

We pulled away, "How have you been?" I asked. Stupid question I know, but I liked to have small talk with her, and it helped to keep things simple.

She patted my arm, "I've been well, honey. But that's not important. How have you been? You didn't come to visit when you said you would. Have their been any monster attacks recently?" Before I could answer, she noticed Harper, and smiled, nodding her head to her, "Who's that?"

I kept my focus on mom, "Oh, that's Harper Pierce. She goes to Camp Half Blood."

"Is she your girlfriend? Oh, that's great! She's gorgeous, Matt!"

I blushed a little. I honestly wished it were the case, and Harper was here to meet her as my girlfriend, but no. Sadly, there were three other demigods waiting outside, one of them a gun for hire, and Harper had no feelings like that toward me.

"Uh, no mom. She's just a friend."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Wait, did you say Camp Half Blood?" Then she beamed, "You went!"

I smiled again, "Yeah, I finally went."

"Did you like it?"

"Yeah, it was a blast. I even made a few friends. Something I never thought would happen again."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you honey."

I didn't want to tell her about the quest, about Malachi, or any of it. It would only worry her, and she would probably forget most of it. So I just kept it low key.

We talked for another minute about basic things. What I was good in at Camp Half-Blood, how I met Grover again, a little more about Harper (Mom loved her) and a little more.

I knew time was of the essence, so I wrapped it up, "Alright Mom. It was great to see you, but I uh...gotta get back to camp. Don't want any monsters attacking do we?"

She laughed, an amazing sound, "No, we certainly don't"

I hugged her again, and she waved at Harper over my shoulder, the daughter of Nemesis waved back.

I was about to leave, when she grabbed my hand, I turned, and saw her face full of seriousness and worry.

"Promise me...you'll be safe Matt. Promise me that, no matter what you do."

I was a little stunned, it was like she knew I was holding a ton of dangerous information back for her sake. Mom's were good like that I guessed.

"I-I will Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, honey."

I turned and left, walking out of the hallway rather quickly, Harper keeping up.

"Hey, Matt, are you okay?"

"Fine." I lied, walking quickly so she couldn't see me.

"Hey, wait up, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, we need to go."

"Wait a second!"

"I'm good"

"No you're not, just talk to me!"

"I'm fine okay, we should really get to Texas, the Cretan Bull is waiting, gotta take care of him, right? Then of course the deer thing, then the three headed guardian of the underworld, not to mention Hades, then a guy in a cloak whose power may exceed mine for all I know, then a guy whose power definitely exceeds mine and can literally kill gods, then of course the fact that they serve a primordial that transcends the earth and most of history, then of course the fact that their on an island that could be millions of miles away with no transport on it, then of course-"

"MATT!"

I stopped my rambling, Harper was in front of me now, her hands planted firmly on my shoulders. Our eyes were locked.

"Talk to me, Shark Boy. I won't judge you."

I was taken back again, she had thrown the words back at me that I said to her in her memories last night. I was uneasy, and a little freaked out for some stupid reason. Everything was...murky. I needed to vent, to let it out, and if I could do that with anybody, it was the girl in front of me.

"I'm just worried, okay."

Her face was etched with concern, the cutest thing I had ever seen. Ugh, shut up, Matt, just shut up with the cute and the adorable crap. This is serious.

"Worried about what?" She said.

"That I'll…die. There I said it. I'm afraid that I'm gonna get killed by Malachi, and my mom will be left all alone. I'm worried about what's to come. I just get a feeling...that this quest is only the beginning."

She tensed up at that. But kept her cool, and said gently, "Maybe it is. But I don't think so. I think-no I know that we're gonna be fine. We can pull through this. We're gonna take care of these monsters, go to the island, beat the crap out that cloaked guy and Malachi, save Hera, and come back in one piece. I know we will."

"How?"

"Because we've made it this far. Look at us, we're strong, and we can work together. Have hope, Matt."

I wasn't sure. She made me feel a little better, but I was still a little on edge. I forced a small smile and said, "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just being paranoid."

She smiled, "Yeah. Now come on, before that stupid assassin does something to endanger us all."

We exited the hospital, to a glaring Talon, and an indifferent Percy and Annabeth.

"What the hell took so long? We don't exactly have the whole year." He said.

Harper stepped forward, "Talon, it's none of your beezwhacks what took so long. Now, do you have a ride or not?"

His face turned a little red at her ironic wordplay, but he just grumbled and said, "Yeah, actually. It took a while, but here we go."

He pulled out a coin the size of my hand.

He held it up proudly, we all just stared.

"What the-"

"Don't ask." Annabeth interrupted, "He says it's gonna work. There's no point in arguing with him."

"Exactly" Talon beamed, and flipped the large coin into the street when no traffic was coming. The coin made impact with the ground and in an instant it transformed into a large eighteen wheeler like truck. It was huge and rectangular, like a mobile house, or a transfer truck that delivered stuff to stores.

He held his hands out to his side, "Ladies and gents, welcome to Taxi Talon. One way trip to Texas."

Annabeth's jaw was to the ground, "Wait. We're gonna ride in that thing, all the way to Texas? On the road?"

"Yeah. You got a better idea? A private jet or something?"

Percy raised his hand like he was in a classroom, "Yeah uh, no jets or planes please. Zeus would freak." Huh, never thought about that. Made sense that the Son of Poseidon shouldn't go into his father's rival's domain.

Annabeth stumbled, "Well, no. But that's nearly two thousand miles! It'll take-"

"A day with light traffic, blah blah blah" Talon interrupted, making a talking hand gesture, "Look, it's comfortable in there, and it goes pretty fast. It'll only be for the rest of the day, then by mid morning tomorrow...say three or four am, we'll have arrived."

"What do we do while we're in there?"

Talon looked at me like I was stupid, "Gee, I don't know kid. Talk to somebody, practice with that spear, jerk off, I don't care."

Annabeth reared her head back in disgust, "Why do you have to be so vulgar?"

He raised his eyebrows at her, "Says the girl that had sex last night."

Her face reddened, along with Percy, "W-we didn't..." She knew it was pointless, we weren't that dumb. "How do you even know about that?"

Harper and I looked at each other, both of our eyes wide and mouth's parted in an O expression. Oh gods, we speculated, but they actually...

Talon immediately threw us under the bus, pointing at Harper and I. "Them."

Annabeth turned and glared at us, a dangerous sight. Percy only scratched his neck nervously.

"Were you two spying on us?!"

Harper held her hands up, "It was only speculation, that's all! We just happened to be right!"

I backed her up, "Yeah, you guys wouldn't answer the door. Then we heard Percy snoring. It was just odd that you guys weren't up yet, so we figured something must've kept you up all night."

"Okay, fine. But to tell him? What were you thinking? Perhaps there's someone else you should tell, huh? Perhaps Olympus should..." Then Annabeth's eyes widened like she had just remembered something awful.

She turned to Percy, "Oh no...my mother! And your father...what if they...you know..."

Percy also had a worried look, "I don't think Dad would be too angry, but Athena...yeah, I'd better watch my back."

Talon actually laughed, "You guys are something else! Now come on, let's get to Texas."

We all entered the large truck, Annabeth and Percy still quietly panicking about the possibility that their parents knew about last night, while Harper and I looked at the interior in awe.

It looked like a literal small house. In front of us, near the back, was a little living room. A couch and tv sat parallel to each other, a rug underneath, a light above on the roof of the truck, and next to the furniture, was a closed door.

Talon pointed to it, "So, that door right there leads to a room exactly like this one, in case someone wants some privacy, and then that room's door leads to the front. Where I'll be at, driving this thing. Please do not come up there and annoy me."

"You'll be driving?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

He returned it with annoyance, "Yeah kid. No need to worry, I can drive."

"What if we have to go to the bathroom?" Percy said.

Talon pointed to the rear corner of the truck, to my left. "There's a bathroom compartment over there. Now then, If you're done with twenty questions, I'd like to get to Texas at some point, if you'll excuse me."

With that, the assassin walked through the doors, and eventually, the truck started with a rumble and slowly took off.

The four of us stood there, and eventually once we determined that Talon wasn't a lunatic behind the wheel, we relaxed. All of us sat on the couch, talking and occasionally laughing, but not as much as recently. No, things were about to get serious again.

After an hour or so, Percy and Annabeth decided to go in the other room, leaving Harper and I alone in this one.

She had taken off her combat boots and comfortably sat not two feet away from me, watching the TV.

I leaned over the side of the couch on the armrest, stretching my limbs, when I felt something metal hit the back of my hand.

I got up and walked to the source of the metal, and was surprised to see my Nemean Lion shield.

"Whoa, how the heck did this get on here?" I had no clue. But more importantly, I had forgotten it again. I mentally scolded myself for being so careless. I had left behind an invulnerable shield twice. I guess I was just so used to having my weapon around my neck and not having to haul it around all the time, that I didn't really know what to do with something like that.

Harper noticed it, "Maybe it was your father. Gods can do that, materializing things pretty much wherever they want."

I doubted it. My dad, actually helping me? No way. He's never been there, he's never even talked to me.

That's not true, I thought.

Maybe I was wrong. I had heard a voice a couple of times, occasionally saying something brief, then disappearing. Also, I had no idea how the Nemean Lion pelt came about in the first place. The Lion hadn't left a spoil of war. Had my father put it on that tree for Grover to find?

I picked it up and held it, "I don't know. If he did, then thanks I guess."

Harper looked at it for a moment, then shrugged, going back to watching her show.

What if dad was helping me throughout this quest? What if he had helped me punch Malachi all that distance across the sea? I wasn't sure. I began to think though...how strong would I be if I had help from my father? Could I stand up to Malachi?

No, push those thoughts away. He left you, he left your mom, he won't help you, you're on your own.

I set the shield down and slumped on the couch, officially bored.

Another hour went by, we kept rumbling along the road from what I could feel. Occasionally turning and speeding up, but it was just like any other road trip.

Yet another hour went by, we had stopped and turned like crazy at one point, then finally, straight. I guessed we had left the city, and was now on the straight road. I was even more bored now, the turns and speeding up had offered a tiny source of entertainment, and now it was gone.

Harper still sat there, only moving to change positions on the couch, but she stayed glued to that TV screen. I couldn't really tell what was going on in the show she was watching, but it was violent, and she paid attention.

I paced around the room, tried to take a nap to no avail, hesitated in going in Percy and Annabeth's room, Olympus knows what's going on in there after the earlier revelation.

I finally felt a mini light bulb go off in my head, push ups! I could do push ups until we got to Texas. Yes, I had cracked the code. Thousands and thousands of push ups for hours in a row, now that was the way to spend time on a moving house.

I got in push up position on the floor, and started quickly pushing my body up and down from the ground to a little in the air, and repeating in perfect form. I did about fifty before Harper noticed, and when she did, she laughed.

"What?" I said mid push-up.

She shook her head, "You get bored easily don't you?"

"Yeah. Not everyone can sit for two hours and watch..." I glanced at the screen, "The Walking Dead. Wait a second, you like the Walking Dead?"

She lit up a little, "Yeah, do you?"

"I mean, the first four seasons were good, then I kinda lost interest."

She nodded, "Same here. I'm binging the third one right now, It's been years since I've seen it."

"Years? You mean you watched it when you were little or something?"

"Well, Levi liked it. He always said that because he thought those guys had rotten luck, kind of like demigods."

I chuckled, "He wasn't wrong."

I did a few thousand quick push ups within ten minutes, feeling no burn at all. I was sweating however, because it was freaking hot in here. I had a feeling Talon purposefully raised the temperature to get on our nerves.

I did a few more push ups until I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and took my shirt off, finally getting rid of the damp cloth. I felt better, a lot cooler, and I was about to get into push up position again, when I noticed Harper gawking at me.

Crap, I had forgotten she was even in here. I'm such an idiot, taking my shirt off without realizing, she was probably disgusted, no doubt getting the wrong impression and thinking I was some kind of exhibitionist.

"Oh crap, I'm sorry, let me-" I reached for my shirt.

"No!" She shouted almost urgently, her face was red, and she quickly added, "I mean, no go ahead. Yeah, it's totally fine, I don't care. It is a little hot in here, huh? Wow, it's actually really hot in here. I wonder if that stupid assassin has AC in the front..."

"Uh, nah, It's fine. I'll just put my shirt on-"

"No! It's fine, trust me! I really don't mind. Just be comfortable, do your workout, really, just imagine I'm not even here." I didn't get why she was being so urgent and acting so weird. She was obviously flustered and angered by my actions, I had offered to put the thing back on. So why did she refuse?

"You sure?"

She waved her hands in front of her face, "Yep, totally fine!" She put on a nervous smile, I just shrugged, not making sense of any of it.

I popped my neck audibly, and noticed again her looking at me, only lower this time, toward my stomach area.

"Uh, what's up?"

Her eyes widened, and she quickly turned away, like she'd just been caught stealing candy. "Oh, um, nothing! Yeah, nothing at all! It's just...wow, not bad, Shark Boy."

I looked down, a six pack on display, glimmering with sweat. I mean, yeah, I had abs. Every human does, some just work out, have less body fat, and appear more, it wasn't strange to me.

I then realized how dense I was. She was complementing me.

My turn to go red. Averting my gaze, I said, "Yeah, I um, built a little muscle monster fighting and stuff."

She nodded, face still red, "Cool." She muttered.

It took a moment for the awkwardness to pass, when it finally did, I worked out a little longer, and finally got bored of it as well. I wiped off the sweat with a towel in the bathroom compartment, and put on my now somewhat dry shirt.

I sat on the couch again, Harper still hadn't moved. Jeez, this girl could be a couch potato when she wanted to.

After yet another hour, she finally turned to me and said, "Hey, are you still bored?"

So even she was getting sick of it now. "Yes, out of my mind."

She turned to me, "Alright, I've got an idea on how to pass the time, and be productive."

I sat up, eyes opening from their half lidded position. "Lay it on me."

"Sparring."

I wasn't sure if I heard her right, "Sparring?"

She nodded.

"Uh, I mean alright. I'll go get Percy-"

"No, idiot. I meant you and I."

I was a little stunned, Harper and I sparring? I mean, she was extremely fast, and really good with those knives. But one strike from me, and she would be squashed. I didn't want to hurt her. That's not me being sexist or anything, but it was true. The same applied to a dude.

"Harper, I don't know if that's a good idea."

She got defensive, "Why? Cause you're afraid you'll pummel me?"

"Well, yeah."

"I'm tougher than I look. Besides, I was thinking we could use our weapons. That way we both get practice from it."

I hesitated.

She rolled her eyes, "Fine, if you're so worried. I'll let you know if it gets to be too much, and we can stop." She didn't sound serious about that, she sounded like she was just trying to get on with it.

"Alright then. I guess we're sparring."

She smiled and got up, putting her combat boots back on. She moved the couch and TV out of the way and grabbed her two knives. The celestial bronze blades glowed as she spun them skillfully in her hand.

I pulled off my necklace and gave it a squeeze. It became a five foot long spear, the familiar giant shark tooth at the end.

Harper smirked and got into a feline like position. With her dark hair and clothing, she looked like a panther, ready to pounce. I got into a basic fighting stance, holding on lightly to the spear. This wasn't serious, just fooling around.

That thought changed the moment she became a blur and appeared at my side, kicking me in the ribs.

I stumbled and nearly fell. I didn't feel pain, but I felt the force of the blow, and knew that she was strong. I could sense her aura, and it was at about half of her strength. Geez, if that kick was half strength, and the way she moved...she trained her legs a lot.

I rebounded, ready to defend with my spear.

She smirked again and winked at me, becoming a flash of black and bronze, in the next instant, I saw two knives coming at me, I barely blocked with my spear, the parry recoiling her in front of me.

She continued, striking with such speed that I was really struggling to keep up with. It was like every half second, six swipes and stabs had been thrown at me. I blocked most of them, and tanked the ones that I couldn't see.

I finally used a little strength and pushed her back with my spear handle, she went flying fifteen feet across the room, and for a second I was afraid I had went too far, but she only flipped, and landed on the wall like a spider, before flipping off again and landing gracefully.

This time I took the offensive, using a little strength, I attacked, jabbing and swiping with my spear like Percy taught me. But nothing worked on her. She kept sidestepping, jumping in the air, flipping like Yoda in the prequels around my attacks. It was nuts, I couldn't even hit her.

Finally I feinted her and caught her with an arc to the side, her eyes widened and she brought up her knives to block, but the force of the blow knocked her into the wall. Yet again, she landed like Spider Man and vaulted on the floor again.

I took my chance and quickly closed the distance, leveling my spear at her face.

"Got ya."

She smirked, "Quite the contrary, Shark Boy. Wanna see my real speed?"

Then in an instant, she was gone. Like the snap of a finger, she vanished and I saw a thin blur dash across the room. It was her.

I was in awe.

I had no idea she could move so fast. I mean, I figured it would be fitting for a Hermes kid, since he was the god of speed, but Harper was literally zooming around the room, bouncing off the floor and the walls like a light speed pinball.

She dashed and dashed, I couldn't see her. She had completely vanished from my sight, which proved how freaking fast she was going. Considering I could spot super fast strikes and mid air arrows, her speed was on another level. I would guess in the Mach range. I don't know what degree, but it was far beyond the speed of sound.

Finally after searching frantically, only hearing her boots against the walls and floor lightly, due to her impressive stealth, I suddenly felt a force make contact with my stomach.

She had kicked me again, like a bullet, she had bounced off of the wall in front of me and used both feet to stab me like a spear. The blow sent me back, my shoes skidding fifteen feet across the ground, nearly losing my balance, but planting my spear firmly to keep upright. Once I stopped, I felt a tiny pain in my ab area. She had actually done a little damage. Nothing major or even minor. It was like a big thorn had pierced my stomach, but it was still there. And considering that It took a lot to bring that out, I was utterly impressed.

She stood there, shaking her head and smiling, "Man, you really are tough. Every other person or monster hit with that had their bones shattered. One guy's torso even left his body on impact."

I tried not to picture that. I instead widened my eyes, impressed. "Me? You're the one that deserves the praise. You were like the Flash zooming around. You were going like a million miles an hour! How the heck are you that fast?"

She shrugged, raising one leg in the air, "A lot of strength and endurance training in these bad boys. It's all about condensing and using as much force as possible in little quantities. Also, knowing how to use your surroundings helps."

"Who taught you all that? Levi?"

She shook her head, "No, I gained that speed on my own. Levi taught me how to use these knives. Annabeth refined my skill a little at Camp, since she used to have a knife too."

"Well it paid off. You're incredible."

She smiled, "How about this. We take it easy and just practice. No super strength, no super speed, just two fighters using their weapons."

I wasn't sure, "I don't know, Harper. I kinda suck with weapons. Using my powers is where I shine."

She rolled her eyes, and set her knives down, "Alright fine. I'll give you some pointers if you're so insecure."

She walked over to me. "I've seen Levi use a spear, and I know how it works, so I'll help you. Get in a fighting stance."

I got a little nervous, having someone watch me do this, especially her. I felt like an idiot, no doubt doing the wrong thing.

I got into a basic stance, the spear in one hand, the other in front of me.

She nodded, "Well, that's basically the default stance."

I groaned, "Harper, I suck alright. I haven't had any training, and I only know one stance, okay?"

She put her hands up, "It's fine, it's fine. Here, I'll show you a different one."

She got behind me, and put her hands over mine, her front pressing against my back.

I immediately felt my face get hot at the position and almost didn't catch her instructions to me.

"Alright, now widen your legs, and lower yourself."

I did.

"Good, now let my hands guide you."

She moved my hands in her own down, and put my left one on the spear handle. I was very aware of her breath on my neck.

Once I was adjusted, she left her spot behind me, to my disappointment, and examined me.

"Nice. That's way better."

"Okay, now what?"

"Try some new combos." She demonstrated some, and I mirrored them, occasionally having to repeat one, but I usually got it right a second time.

After a few minutes of this, she clapped her hands, "Much better! Now let's try it for real."

"Uh, wait, what?"

She grabbed her knives, "Ready?"

No, I thought. But my mouth said, "Yeah."

She came at me, strike after strike, and I surprisingly blocked them. Albeit with effort, and she wasn't using her full speed, but I was blocking them with some skill. I then took the offensive, jabbing and swiping with the new stance, my blows more precise and straight, I felt more confident with this.

She was now blocking with force, breaking a sweat even. This went on for what seemed like forever, when I finally caught her knives with my handle and knocked them out of her hands, clanging on the floor, I closed the distance, and leveled my spear at her.

"I catch on quick, huh?"

She smirked, "Indeed you do. But don't think you've won." She then quickly leapt into the air, launched off the ceiling, and landed back on me. She quickly wrapped her legs around my neck like a Boa Constrictor and twisted her body in a way that caused me to lose my footing. Off guard, I flipped over and ended up on my back, staring up at her.

She had a smug smirk on her face, I had been too cocky, and she had gotten me.

A little too good.

I registered the fact that she was literally sitting on me. Her legs still wrapped around my neck, and my face...right there. I blushed at the position, at the strands of her hair tickling my face, her warm breath that smelled like mints and syrup from the hotel.

She had a gloved hand on the top of my head, lightly grabbing my hair.

"Looks like I've got ya pinned. Surrender."

"Never." I said for some stupid reason.

Her eyes flashed with mischief, she tightened her hold on my hair, used her other hand to grab my chin, and tightened her leg grip on my neck, forcing my face even closer to her center.

I was blushing a storm. Did she not have a clue the position we were in? I mean, was she not embarrassed? Apparently not, because she only smirked at me, waiting for my submission.

"You know I don't feel it, right? I could unwrap your legs right now."

She leaned closer, her face inches from mine. She narrowed her eyes, "I know, but I got you fair and square. Remember, no strength or speed. Now, submit."

I had to get out of this position, for fear that I would explode from the intense heat in my cheeks.

"Alright, I give."

She chuckled and unwrapped her legs from my neck, getting up. I breathed in and out, feeling my insane blush fading. Seriously, was there a medical condition for too much blushing?

She held out her hand to help me up.

I took it, getting off the ground.

"That was great. You do catch on fast. If you keep training with that thing, you'll be pretty good."

"Thanks."

She yawned, "Kicking your ass made me tired, I'm gonna take a nap."

I turned, "Hey! You did not kick my-" I stopped myself, she had already closed her eyes, smiling.

Ah, there was no point in arguing. Girls, am I right?

I decided for some reason to check on Talon. I mean, the guy had no one to talk to, even he needed some socializing every now and then right? I couldn't believe I had just thought that, since I've been an introvert for years. But this quest had changed a lot of things.

I walked through the door, saying hey to Percy and Annabeth, who were cuddled up on their couch, watching the TV. I walked through the other door and emerged into the drivers' compartment.

It was big, it looked like a bus, or even a plane's cockpit. I tapped Talon on the shoulder, letting him know I was there.

He turned and groaned, "What are you doing in here? I thought I told you guys to stay away!"

I raised my hands, "Sorry man. I was just gonna check on you, maybe talk for a minute. But nevermind."

He softened a bit, and hesitated, but caught me as I was opening the door, "Hold up...just take a damn seat."

I lightly smiled and sat in the passenger's seat. It was still evening, the sun hidden behind the white clouds, the straight road in front of us.

I tried to make conversation, "So...you said you grew up in Texas?"

He frowned, "What're you up to?"

"Nothing, why?"

"Why're you trying to be all friendly? You want to find out the truth about my father?"

Yes, I do. But not only that, I actually wanted to know the guy better. If he was our tracker, he should be involved with us.

"No, man. That's your business. I just figured since your on this quest, I should at least know a little bit about you."

He studied me through his sunglasses, finally saying, "Well, alright. I guess I can take a few questions..."

"You said you grew up in Texas, right?"

"Yep."

"It is...interesting out there?"

"The days are hot, the nights are cold. Yes, interesting things happen there if you're a demigod."

"Like what?"

He groaned, "Look kid, I appreciate the offer, but let's not do this right now. I've got a lot on my mind."

He was right, I shouldn't pry. I nodded, and turned to face the road, we stayed in silence for a minute, until he finally muttered, "Can't believe he doesn't remember..."

"What?"

"Malachi."

"What about him?"

He didn't respond for a few seconds, just stared at the road in thought, before clearing his throat and saying, "It's just, I knew the guy. I aint' gonna go into details, but he was...my friend. We were trapped together, and we teamed up to survive, along with this shy girl named Sera. We had to protect her, you know, she was strong for sure, but she was too scared to use her powers." He then chuckled, "There was this one time, where she had enough though, and damn near wiped out everyone of the assholes that were messing with her. I'll never forget that." He sighed, and shook his head. "I wonder what she's up to right now."

I thought about my vision, and blurted out, "I may know something."

He turned, taking his sunglasses off, "What?"

I told him about my vision, the one where a girl named Seraphina was trapped in ice in a cavern on the Cursed Island. Talon's eyes were wide, and he clenched the steering wheel.

"So she's alive...and she never left..."

"Never left?" Then it dawned on me, "Talon, this operation on that island a few years back...you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

He wouldn't look at me, "No, not a thing."

I knew he was lying. Something about that place, something about that island, and the way he talked about being trapped, the dots were starting to connect.

But before I could reply, I felt the truck stop in it's tracks, throwing me forward into the dash, not feeling a thing of course, but still stunned.

"What the hell was that for?"

Talon nodded his head in front of us, "Looks like we're being robbed."

I looked up, and saw what I least expected. About six guys with cowboy hats and leather dusters stood on the road in front of us. They had on masks and gloves, each figure holding a repeater or revolver. There was no traffic, next to us, wheat fields littered the landscape for miles, not a thing in site. It was just us and them.

These guys looked dangerous...and kinda badass. They each had on either a brown classic leather duster, and wide brimmed hats. Not the modern kind that "cowboys" wore to look pretty, but the outlaw kind. The kind that were worn in the wild west days.

"Uh, what do we do?"

Talon put on his sunglasses, and straightened his leather jacket, "We have a little chat with em' of course."

I nodded, "I'll get the others-"

He held up his hand, "Nah, leave them be. You and me can handle this. Come on." He motioned for me to follow, and exited the truck.

I cursed under my breath and jumped out after him, what was he thinking? I could read these guys auras, and they were pretty dangerous, demigods for sure.

Talon was standing twenty feet in front of them, I caught up and took a spot to his right.

"Alright, you little shits! You got ten seconds to explain why you stopped my truck, or I'm blowing your brains out!"

The guy in the middle stepped forward, the leader I guessed, "We're here to take your money, puta. Courtesy of Mateo Rojas, your old amigo."

The guy spoke with a genuine Hispanic accent, and held his pistol comfortably, I wasn't sure how Talon was gonna take that.

He didn't take it well, he gritted his teeth, "That bastard. After all I've done for him, and he pulls this?"

The Hispanic guy shouted again, "Hand over the money gringo, or you and your juiced up friend here are gonna be laying on this road for the vultures!"

Talon gripped his own gun, and whispered, "At the ready, Matt."

I couldn't believe what we had gotten into. A literal Wild West bandit showdown. I internally groaned, if this was what Texas was gonna be like, then we were in trouble.

I suddenly wished I had rewatched all of the John Wayne westerns, because I could see a lot of tumbleweeds and shootouts in the near future...

(000)

Chapter twelve! I realize it was a bit shorter than the rest at 8k words, but don't worry, the next ones will be packed. Prepare for some heavy cowboy themes in the next couple of chapters, not trying to be stereotypical towards Texas, I just love Wild West history, and the Red Dead games.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Until Next Time.