Answers to reviews:
Guest: Don't tell me when to post. I post at my own pace, no one else's.
Tonyfanfic: The events of Devil May Cry 4 have just happened, so DMC 5 won't happen for five years... which may corresponds with The Last Olympian.
Grant Stewart: Thanks.
blueassassin996: Nope, it doesn't.
ultima-owner: Yes, Echidna, shes in DMC 4.
pawnofriasgremory: Thanks.
ayatoamagiri3425: It'll be something.
Disclaimer: I do not own Devil May Cry or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I only own the OC Damian Redgrave.
They were pretty miserable that night.
They camped out in the woods, a hundred yards from the main road, in a marshy clearing that local kids had obviously been using for parties. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers.
They had taken some food and blankets from Aunty Em's, but thet didn't dare light a fire to dry their damp clothes. The Furies and Medusa had provided enough excitement for one day. They didn't want to attract anything else.
They decided to sleep in shifts, with Damian volunteering to take the first watch.
Annabeth curled up on the blankets and was snoring as soon as her head hit the ground. Grover fluttered with his flying shoes to the lowest bough of a tree, put his back to the trunk, and stared at the night sky. Percy was silent and looking at the ground, lost in his own thoughts.
"It makes me sad, guys." Grover suddenly said, catching Damian and Percy's attention.
Percy scoffed. "What does? The fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?"
"No. This makes me sad." He pointed at all the garbage on the ground. "And the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr."
Damian snorted. "Try being the son of the Goddess of the wilderness."
"Oh, yeah. I guess you guys would be environmentalists, since Grover's a Satyr and Damian's the son of Artemis."
Grover glared at Percy for his words. "Only a human wouldn't be. Your species is clogging up the world so fast ... ah, never mind. It's useless to lecture a human. At the rate things are going, I'll never find Pan."
Damian blinked and looked at Grover. "You're looking for Pan?" He asked, getting a happy nod from Grover.
"Yeah. It's my dream to find him and bring him back to help save the wild."
"Pam? Like the cooking spray?" Percy asked, causing Damian and Grover to facepalm.
"Pan!" Grover cried indignantly. "P-A-N. The great god Pan! What do you think I want a searcher's license for?"
A strange breeze rustled through the clearing, temporarily overpowering the stink of trash and muck. It brought the smell of berries and wildflowers and clean rainwater, things that might've once been in these woods. Suddenly Damian was nostalgic for something he'd never known.
"Tell me about the search," Percy said.
Grover looked at him cautiously, as if he were afraid he was just making fun.
"The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago." He told Percy and Damian. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore, 'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."
"And you want to be a searcher."
"It's my life's dream," he said. "My father was a searcher. And my Uncle Ferdinand ... the statue you saw back there—"
"Oh, right, sorry."
Grover shook his head. "Uncle Ferdinand knew the risks. So did my dad. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first searcher to return alive."
"Hang on—the first?"
Grover took his reed pipes out of his pocket. "No searcher has ever come back. Once they set out, they disappear. They're never seen alive again."
"Not once in two thousand years?"
"No."
"And your dad? You have no idea what happened to him?"
"None."
"But you still want to go," Percy said, amazed. "I mean, you really think you'll be the one to find Pan?"
"That's dedication for you, Percy." Damian said, getting a firm nod of agreement from Grover.
"I have to believe that, Percy. Every searcher does. It's the only thing that keeps us from despair when we look at what humans have done to the world. I have to believe Pan can still be awakened."
"Then you'll definitely find him." Damian said firmly. "As long as you stay true to your dream and you keep that kind of determination with you then I know you will be the one to find Pan. Sometimes in life all you need is a little bit of hope and determination. You would be surprised at what you can accomplish with that."
"Damian's right. You'll defiantly find him/" Percy said, further encouraging and believing in Grover.
Grover meanwhile was looking at his friends in happiness that they believed in him. In satyr terms he was a very late bloomer and many of the older satyrs saw Grover as a bit of a disappointment. While many others discouraged the young satyr, there were those that did believe in him, those being Annabeth, Chiron, and Luke at times.
"Guys, thank you. You don't know how much it means to be to here that." Grover said wiping way a stray tear, happy to know that his two best friends believed in him.
"Anytime G-man." Percy said smiling while Damian gave him a thumbs up.
"We got your back dude."
The three boys fell into a comfortable silence looking up at the sky. Grover thinking about his long awaited search for Pan, Percy was thinking about getting to his mom more than anything else while Damian only had one thought on his mind.
'Mom? Are you looking down at me?' He thought as he stared at the full moon in the sky that had come out from behind the clouds.
"How are we going to get into the Underworld?" Percy suddenly asked. "I mean, what chance do we have against a god?"
"I don't know," Grover admitted. "But back at Medusa's, when you were searching her office? Annabeth was telling me—"
"Oh, I forgot. Annabeth will have a plan all figured out." Percy scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Don't be so hard on her, Percy. She's had a tough life, but she's a good person. After all, she forgave me..." Grover's voice faltered, gaining Damian and Percy's attention.
"What do you mean?" Percy asked. "Forgave you for what?"
Suddenly, Grover seemed very interested in playing notes on his pipes.
Damian eyed him closely, his eyes narrowing before he came to a realization. "Your first keeper job was five years ago. Annabeth has been at camp for five years."
"I can't talk about it," Grover said, and his quivering lower lip suggested he'd start crying if they pressed him. "But as I was saying, back at Medusa's, Annabeth and I agreed there's something strange going on with this quest. Something isn't what it seems."
"Well, duh. I'm getting blamed for stealing a thunderbolt that Hades took." Percy said.
"That's not what I mean," Grover said. "The Fur—The Kindly Ones were sort of holding back. Like Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy ... why did she wait so long to try to kill you? Then on the bus, they just weren't as aggressive as they could've been."
"They seemed plenty aggressive to me."
Grover shook his head. "They were screeching at us: 'Where is it? Where?'"
"Asking about me," Percy said.
"No, something in my gut tells me it's not as simple as that." Damian said with a frown. "I don't think Hades could be behind this, it's too stereotypical to make him out as the bad guy simply because that's how it's always been in the stories."
"He's the God of the Underworld, what more proof is needed that he's the bad guy?" Percy pointed out.
Damian shot him a dark look. "There are far worse creatures in Greek Mythology than Hades, Percy. Creatures that are so evil they were destroyed or locked away in Tartarus, like the Titans, like your grandfather, Kronos."
The wind became colder as soon as the Titan Lord's name was mentioned, Percy and Grover shivering at the sudden coldness... as well as the shiver sent down their spines at the mention of Kronos.
"L-Let's not mention that name, please?" Grover begged.
Damian shook his head and looked out ahead. "There's something off about this quest, guys. Something we've misunderstood. Anyway, enough talk. Get some sleep, the two of you. We'll most likely be up early tomorrow to continue the quest."
Grover and Percy nodded and settled down to sleep, with them quickly succumbing to the land of Morpheus, God of Dreams, leaving only Damian awake.
The son of Artemis heard a shiver and looked to see Annabeth shivering, her 'blankets' unable to cover her fully from the cold. Damian stood and took off his trench coat and placed it over Annabeth. Upon doing so, her shivering stopped and her body rested peacefully as a small smile grew on her face with the sudden warmth of Damian's coat over her.
Damian gave a small smile himself at the daughter of Athena before he went back to his position, staring out ahead, but he soon felt the desire to sleep come upon him, his eyes starting to droop. He tried to remain awake, but he was so tired and exhausted from the day's events, and was soon succumbing to a peaceful slumber.
However, not long after Damian had fallen asleep, a figure appeared beside Damian and draped a brown blanket over him to keep him warm.
"Always looking out for others before yourself." Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, whispered softly as she stroked Damian's cheek, smiling warmly. She snapped her fingers, two more blankets appearing over Percy and Grover to keep them warm, before she disappeared to leave the four to sleep.
Olympus
"Just give it back!"
"I didn't take your toy!"
"IT IS NOT A TOY!"
Hestia sighed as she appeared in the Council room of Olympus, greeted by the argument by her younger brothers, Zeus and Poseidon. Looks like Zeus was once again accusing Poseidon of stealing his Lightning Bolt. The arguments had gotten worse ever since Poseidon had claimed Percy Jackson as his son. All of the Gods were at the meeting, namely watching the Kings of the Sky and Sea arguing again.
The Goddess of the Hearth took her place at the hearth in the middle of the throne room.
Zeus noticed his elder sister's return. "Sister, where have you been?"
"Checking on the questers who are out looking for your Master Bolt." Hestia answered while poking the hearth.
"A quest was given? That hasn't happened since the one Hermes' son went on." Hephaestus said, causing Hermes to wince at the mention of Luke.
"Who is on the quest, sister?" Demeter asked curiously, wondering if one of her children was on it. In fact, that was the thought process of the gods who had children in Camp Half-Blood.
"Percy Jackson of course." Hestia said, causing Poseidon to smile proudly. "Athena's daughter, Annabeth."
Athena gave a small smile at the mention of her daughter, but she soon scowled as she realized her daughter was with the spawn of her rival and sent him a glare only for Poseidon to roll his eyes.
"The Satyr Grover Underwood, and last but not least... Damian Redgrave, Artemis' son." Hestia finished. The Goddess of the Moon smiled, but her smile faded as worry and concern for her only child took over.
"Is he okay?" She asked, causing others to send her strange looks. It was still shocking that she had a son.
"He's fine." Hestia smiled. "They were all asleep when I got there, so they must be tired from today's events. Damian even gave up his coat to Annabeth to keep her warm. I didn't want him to get cold so I put a blanket over him, as well as Percy and Grover."
Artemis' smile widened at the fact her son was okay, as well as his actions in looking out for Annabeth. "Thank you, Hestia. I worry he's too much like Dante."
Hestia giggled at that. Oh, Damian sure was much like his father as he was like his mother.
"Your son is making a good impression, sister." Athena said, having smiled when hearing how Damian ensured Annabeth would stay warm by giving up his coat for her. "I must find a way to thank him for looking out for my daughter."
"Oh yeah, he's awesome like his uncle Apollo. Heard they fought the Furies and Medusa." Apollo said with a smirk as he leaned back in his throne. However, he was soon grabbed by his sister and brought fourth to meet her angry glare.
"You did not mention that they had encountered the Furies and Medusa!" She growled, looking ready to skin her brother for neglecting to tell her about this. The Furies and Medusa were not like demons, nor were they easy types of monsters to defeat.
"I should've known having your spawn on the quest would cause trouble." Athena glared at Poseidon. "Now look, they've run into your old flame who you seduced in MY temple."
Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Are you really going to bring that up again? You're the one who thought the wisest decision was to turn her into a monster like you did Arachne!"
"Oh hey, that reminds me!" Hermes said, stopping an argument between the two... which would've no doubt went from Medusa to Arachne to somehow them arguing about Athena for the millionth time. He snapped his fingers and a box appeared in his hands. "Got a package delivered from Poseidon's son."
"What?" Poseidon blinked.
Hermes opened the box and his eyes widened before he grimaced as he reached in and pulled out Medusa's head. "Eww... Something tells me he's not too happy with us."
"He dares insult us like this?!" Zeus yelled angrily with a boom of thunder to accompany it. Poseidon rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics.
"He's just lost his temper, is all." Poseidon said in defence of his son.
"SO, he's much like you then." Athena remarked, causing Poseidon to glare at her.
Hermes blinked when he saw there was something else and pulled out a note. His eyes read the lines with a blank expression before he looked into the box, only to burst out laughing which caught the others' attention.
"Oh I love that kid already!" Hermes laughed, nearly falling out of his thrones from how hard he was laughing.
"Dear Chaos, Hermes, what is the matter with you?!" Demeter demanded.
"A-Artemis' son... s-sent us a..." Hermes couldn't finish his sentence as he was laughing too much, so he pulled out exactly what Damian had sent them and tossed it to Zeus who caught it and frowned when he held the bright yellow beanie toy shaped like a lightning bolt.
"Is this a joke?!" The King of Olympus demanded, but nobody answered him as they were busy trying to hold in their laughter... at least until Zeus involuntarily squeezed the toy which caused it to make a zapping noise.
Apollo, Aphrodite and Hermes fell to the ground, laughing while Ares and Hephaestus were gripping their thrones, trying not to fall down from laughing. Poseidon had let out a bellow of laughter while the other goddesses were giggling madly, even Hera had to laugh.
Artemis was in a fit of giggles, knowing her son was so much like his father in annoying people just for laughs... this was something che could totally see Dante doing. 'Oh Damian, I can't wait to tell your father about this.' She thought, while also planning to tell the Hunters who will get a kick out of this as well.
"I've never even met him and I already like him." Poseidon said with many of the others gods nodding on agreement with him. Everyone but Zeus, who was now pouting like a child.
"I hate this kid already."
Damian stirred awake and yawned, stretching his arms before opening his eyes only to be staring at the sky. "Morning already, huh?"
"Yeah." Annabeth, who had been sitting beside him, said before she gave him a big hug while handing him his coat back. "Thanks for the coat."
"Any time." Damian said, putting her back before he stood and got his coat back on. He stopped, curious at the sight of brown blankets with him, Percy and Grover but shook it off. While Annabeth went to go wake Percy, Damian looked over to where Grover was and paused when he saw him with a pink poodle. "Grover... where did you get the dog?"
"Oh, this is Gladiola. He's missing and there's a reward out for his return. If we give him back, we can use the money to get tickets to Los Angeles." grover explained before looking at the poddle. "Gladiola, meet Damian."
"How's it going?" Damian nodded at the dog, not really expecting a reply back.
"Wassup human?" The dog... actually responded back.
Damian blinked and crouched to meet the dog's stare. "Did you just talk?"
"Yes, but not in English. You seem to be able to understand animals." Gladiola explained before tilting his head. "You don't seem surprised, most humans would be pissing their pants or freaking the hell out at hearing a dog talk to them."
"Yeah, I've encountered much weirder than understanding animals." Damian said.
Grover looked at him. "You can talk to animals?"
Damian shrugged. "Must be something to do with being a son of Artemis. She can understand animals in her own way as she is the Goddess of the Hunt."
"Damn, animal whisperer, demon hunter, expert fighter, is there anything you can't do?" Grover asked jokingly.
Damian smirked. "Guess we'll find out eventually."
It was at that moment that Percy awoke thanks to Annabeth shaking him. "Well, the zombie lives." The daughter of Athena remarked.
Percy blinked and rubbed his eyes before asking. "How long was I asleep?"
"Long enough for me to cook breakfast." Annabeth tossed him a bag of nacho-flavored corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. "And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend."
Grover quickly explained to him and told him to say hello but Percy believed it was stupid to talk to a dog since they couldn't understand them.
"Tell that stupid, overgrown monkey to say hello!" Gladiola growled, causing Damian and Grover to stifle laughs.
Percy stared at Annabeth, figuring she'd crack up at this practical joke they were playing on him, but she looked deadly serious.
"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle," Percy said. "Forget it."
"Percy," Annabeth said. "I said hello to the poodle. Damian said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle."
The poodle growled.
Percy said hello to the poodle.
"So we turn in Gladiola," Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, "we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."
Damian nodded. "We'll take the train, The bus will take too long since we're going to the other side of America, a train will be quicker."
Annabeth nodded in agreement and pointed downhill, toward train tracks that hadn't been noticed the night before due to their tiredness. "There's an Amtrak station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the westbound train leaves at noon."
"Then we best make haste." Damian said.
They were now on the Amtrak train, heading west. At least one day had passed since they took this train, and it was streadily growing close to it being two days on a train, passing over rivers and past amber waves of grain.
Amazingly, they had not been attacked by anymore monsters during the trip so far and were enjoying the peace and quiet for once. However, Percy and Damian had to keep their covers low since they discovered Gabe had filed Sally as missing persons and had blamed it on Percy and Damian.
The fool had even managed to gather media attention that the two boys were delinquents and would do nothing but cause harm to other. Gabe even told them how Damian had threatened him since Gabe no doubt believed Damian could not do anything with the police now being involved.
Oh, he was so wrong about that.
The only thing that was the downside to being on a train for almost to days straight was the demigods' ADHD, and they tried to find ways to keep themselves from being bored but it wasn't easy. Although, when a mortal family boarded the train, Damian entertained the young kids by doing tricks like frontflips, backflips, or handstands, even a handstand on one hand while he had a thumb war with Annabeth, much to her amusement.
Damian glanced at Annabeth, who was sitting beside him and had fallen asleep about an hour ago, her head resting on his shoulder. The two had bonded more and Annabeth had even confided to him about her history. She told him what life was like with her dad, who simply forgot about her and turned most of his attention to his new wife and kids. She did not get on with her stepmother and her presence there was bringing monsters to them which only angered her stepmother more and the constant danger they were placed in.
Damian reassured her and reminded her that she had a family with them and with Camp Half-Blood, which she nodded thankfully to. She was even beginning to get on better with Percy since neither of them looked like they wanted to bite each other's heads off anymore.
Grover was either sleeping or trying to practise with his reed pipes. However, that was quickly put a stop too by the three demigods and some of the passengers. Grover just sheepishly scratched is head and placed his reed pipes away for another time.
"She's taken a real liking to you, Damian." Grover said, gaining Damian's attention. Grover and Percy were across from him and Annabeth, although Percy was sleeping, with a bit of drool coming out of his mouth much to Damian's amusement. "Annabeth had never really been the type to trust in others so easily... at least, not since Thalia."
Damian looked up at that, knowing Thalia was a touchy subject, but it did give him insight to Annabeth's past. She must've travelled with Thalia before coming to camp... and most likely witnessed her fate.
"What was she like?" He couldn't help but ask, causing Grover to look at him. "Thalia. What was she like?"
Grover looked like he was struggling to decide on what to do since Thalia was never a topic he liked to talk about much, even with people like Annabeth or Chiron.
"Thalia... well, I guess the best word to describe her was fierce," Grover said. "She was an amazing fighter, especially with her spear and her shield Aegis. A scary combo. She was fierce when protecting those she cared about and valued everyone's friendship. Hell, she saved mine and Luke's lives on a number of occasions. She would fight with everything she had and would not stop until she was so exhausted she couldn't get up." He snorted and chuckled. "The first time I met her, she thought I was the enemy and tried to take my head off. I almost crapped myself when I saw her coming at me with that angry and powerful expression on her face. She was always strong and not just for herself. She was strong for others and she looked after them. Heck, she pretty much raised Annabeth for a good six months before I found them. She was a big sister to Annabeth and she always had a special place for Annabeth in her heart."
"She was the best." Whispered a voice, making them both look over to see Annabeth with her eyes open but her head still against Damian's shoulder. "I still miss her."
Damian put his arm around her and rubbed her arm. "If you miss someone then it means you truly cared about them."
"Really?" She asked, getting a nod from Damian. "What about you? Is there anyone you lost who you miss?"
Damian was silent, thinking about the question. "I'd have to say my uncle Vergil. Never knew him, he died before I was born due to his and my father's... sibling rivalry. He might not have the best outlook on humanity and not the best relationship with my father, but he's still my uncle. Although, if I did meet him... I wouldn't hesitate to dropkick him in the face."
Annabeth snorted and giggled a bit. "Why?"
"Fighting seems to be a form of bonding or greeting in my family." Damian said with a chuckle, remembering when Dante told him how his and Vergil's 'heartwarming family reunion' was a fight that ended in Vergil stabbing Dante with Yamato, then driving Rebellion through him which awakened Dante's Devil power. "When my dad would talk of him, he'd just get this sad, far-away look. I can tell he misses him very much, despite the different paths they had gone down. Dad told me Vergil died years ago, but with how stubborn my dad can be, I have faith that my uncle is the same and is out there somewhere, alive."
Silence filled the train cart for about a minute or two, before it was broken when Annabeth spoke up while reaching into her pocket. "Do you want to see a picture of Thalia?"
"What?" Damian looked at her as she sat up straighter and pulled an old photo out of her pocket, one that was crumpled and with obvious signs of tear drops that had dried.
"I always keep this with me. Sort of like a keepsake I guess." She said as she held it in front of Damian.
Damian scanned the picture and first saw who must have been a younger Annabeth. She must have been about seven years old when it was taken. She was very adorable.
Next to her, with a hand on her shoulder and with a big smile on his face, had to be Luke if the elfish feature were anything to go by. He looked happy. The biggest difference was of course he didn't have the scar on his face.
Then his eyes went to the girl standing next to them. She had black shoulder length hair that spiked at the end. She had electric blue eyes with freckle across her nose and under her eyes. She was wearing all black punk style clothes. Black shirt, black jacket, black jeans and wore dark blue lipstick. She was smiling while her gaze had drifted to Annabeth who she looked like she was keeping close to her.
Damian smiled. They looked like a little family and he couldn't help but blush a little at the sight of Thalia. She was very pretty.
'Damn hormones.' Damian thought.
"Well, she's very beautiful, that's for certain." Damian commented, still blushing a little but Annabeth and Grover only smiled.
"She would have liked you. She always liked strong people who had kind hearts. You both would have gotten on well." Annabeth said, putting the photo away.
Damian's attention turned to Percy and he grinned when he saw Percy was beginning to drool even more.
"I guess you were right." He said to Annabeth who had a quizative look on her face. "Percy really does drool in his sleep." He said, causing her to snort with laughter which made Percy stir.
"He is the son of the sea god so it's makes sense," She said causing him to bark with laughter.
This made the whole cabin laugh which broke Percy out of his sleep and stare at them in confusion.
"What?" He asked, unconsciously wiping the drool of his face making them all snigger a little.
Toward the end of their second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, they passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. As they approached the city, Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch.
"I want to do that," she sighed wistfully.
"What?" Percy asked as he stared at the giant bag handle stabbed into the ground.
"Build something like that. You ever see the Parthenon, Percy?"
"Only in pictures."
"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."
Percy laughed. "You? An architect?"
"Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."
"Here we go again." Damian muttered with a roll of his eyes.
"Can't we work together a little?" Percy pleaded. "I mean, Athena and Poseidon did make the chariot together right. Your mom made the chariot and my dad supplied the horses to pull them. That shows they can at least work together."
Annabeth eyed Percy a little warily, trying to see if he was trying to pull something and trick her but she could see that he was being truthful and over the last two days they did get on a little better.
"I suppose," she said at last.
They pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told them that they'd have a three-hour layover before departing for Denver.
It was only then did Grover, who had slept through the bulk of the train ride, stir before getting up with a stretch. "Food." He said, his voice still weighed down by sleep.
"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth ordered, grabbing his arm and dragging him off the train. "Sightseeing."
"Sightseeing?"
"The Gateway Arch," she stated. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"
The three exchanged significant looks.
"Might as well indulge her." Damian said. "Or they'll be no living with her after it."
Percy caved, seeing it was best to stick together.
Grover shrugged. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."
The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. The questers threaded through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other stuff from the 1800s. It wasn't all that thrilling to the boys, but Damian seemed actually interested as Annabeth kept telling them interesting facts about how the Arch was built. Grover, though, saved Percy from being the first demigod to die of boredom as he kept passing the sea child jelly beans, thus making things bearable; he could just ignore the boring info dump and focus on binging on candy.
While Damian was listening to Annabeth, he was also keeping vigilant and made it a point to keep looking around the room and at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" He murmured to Grover.
The satyr took his nose out of the jelly-bean bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."
"Guys," Percy said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"
Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"
"Well, Hade-"
Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place, Percy...You mean, our friend downstairs?"
"Um, right, doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"
"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth corrected. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."
"He was there?" Damian asked curiously.
She nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus; the darkest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat."
"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"
"But then...how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" Percy asked.
Annabeth and Grover exchanged looks.
"We don't," Grover stated.
Damian rolled his eyes. "You guys are gonna be as paranoid as Zeus if you keep thinking that way. I'm pretty sure the God of the Underworld has got better things to do than stalk us."
For the ride up to the viewing deck, they got shoehorned into the car with this massively rotund lady and her diminutive dog: a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. Percy figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye Chihuahua, because none of the guards said a word about it as the elevator went up its curved slope.
"No parents?" The fat lady asked them, her tone dripping concern.
She had black beady eyes, pointy, coffee-stained teeth, a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.
"They're below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."
"Oh, the poor darlings."
The Chihuahua growled, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The woman chastised; the dog had beady eyes like its owner: intelligent and vicious.
"Sonny. Is that his name?" Percy asked, peering at the dog; those eyes...
"No," the lady told him flatly, she smiled, as if that cleared everything up. This seemed to set Damian off for some reason though. He suddenly stiffened, and glared at the old lady, even going so far as to make faces at the dog, getting it to growl at him and continued even when Annabeth told him to knock it off. The son of Artemis even hissed like a cat at it, getting the dog to growl even more.
What was stranger was that Damian could not understand the dog, at all.
At the top of the Arch, Percy heard the son of the Huntress let out an impressed whistle. Percy agreed. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was great to the white-haired boy it seemed as he kept peering out the windows to see it, but Percy just seemed jumpy about being cooped up this high.
Annabeth kept babbling on about structural supports, and how she would've made the windows bigger, and designed a see-through floor. She probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for Percy, the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.
Percy literally dragged Damian, Grover, and Annabeth toward the exit; after loading the latter two into the elevator, he and Damian were about to get in but two other tourists were already in there, so there was no more room.
"Next car, kids." The park ranger announced, seeing the issue.
"We'll get out," Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."
But that would just mess things up for everybody and take even more time, so Percy replied with, "Naw, it's okay. We'll see you guys at the bottom."
"We'll be fine." Damian added for reassurance, giving a suspicious glance to the dog and it's fat owner.
Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut.
Their car disappeared down the ramp. Now the only people left on the observation deck were the two demigods, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.
Percy smiled uneasily at the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.
Wait a minute.
She had a forked tongue?
Damian sighed knowingly, not even surprised that they had another monster to deal with. The peace could only last so long. "Alright, let's get this over with." He summoned Judgement and unsheathed it, causing the nearby family to start screaming something about him with a sledgehammer... which sounded stupid but he wasn't going to argue if the Mist was doing it's job.
The Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at the demigods.
"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."
"Percy, sword out." Damian said sternly, to which Percy quickly complied. "Looks like we;ve got another monster to face."
Percy blinked. "The dog or the woman? I mean, she called it her son."
"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!"
His parents pulled him back.
The Chihuahua bared his teeth at Damian and Percy, foam dripping from his black lips.
"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."
Ice started forming in Percy's stomach. "Urn, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"
"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."
She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, they saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.
The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.
"So, we're dealing with the bitch of all monsters and one of her bitch-ass kids." Damian remarked casually while leaning Judgement on his shoulder. "Lovely."
The lady glared at him and hissed in anger. "Watch your tongue, brat."
"Least, I don't have a forked one like you. Seriously, I pity any guy desperate enough to get a kiss off a woman and you offer up... then again, you're not exactly easy on the eyes for a ten thousand or however old you are bitch." Damian smirked, causing the woman's angry expression to darken.
"Fuck you!" She shouted back.
"Fuck you!" Damian retorted.
"FUCK YOU!" The woman lunged at Damian, who quickly ducked and rolled, tackling Percy out of the way of the Chimera. The woman turned to face them, still pissed at Damian's words.
The Chimera bared its gaping maw at the demigods, showing yellowed teeth the size of Damian's hand and bathing them with the stench of rotting flesh. Its lionesque head had old blood caked around its lips and staining its mane an uneven crimson; small patches of vivid orange glared at them from where the blood failed to coat. Lowering its head, a vicious diamondback around ten feet long writhed and hissed at them as its hulking goatlike body tensed. The room groaned and shook and the glass panes rattled ominously as the Chimera roared. Taking an unconscious step back, Percy's eyes darted around, analyzing the monster; a quick flash caught her attention: it was the dog collar, still desperately hanging onto its neck. The plate read: CHIMERA — RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS — IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS – EXT. 954
"Be honored, Percy Jackson, Damian Redgrave. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"
Percy stared at the monstrous woman long and hard, but all he could come up with was "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"
She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Perseus Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"
"Hey, don't diss the Aussies. Without them, we'd probably never have gotten Crocodile Dundee." Damian tutted mockingly.
"Sonny, kill them. Now!"
"I think someone's just a sourpuss~!"
"Start with the older boy! Strip his flesh and pulverize his bones!"
"Joy, a right ray of sunshine, you are." Damian rolled his eyes. "Percy, it breathes fire and has poison in its fangs; also, watch out for the tail, poison, too." He told him as he brought up his sword defensively.
"Right."
The Chimera charged, its fangs poised to skewer them. They leaped in opposite directions to avoid the bite.
Percy ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.
He couldn't let them get hurt. Sword raised, he ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than he would've thought possible.
It opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at him.
Percy dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off his eyebrows.
Where he had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.
Great, Percy thought. We just blowtorched a national monument.
Drake summoned his bow and drew arrow after arrow, shooting at the Chimera with one arrow getting lodged in it's neck, causing it to howl in pain, but the howl intensified when an arrow was shot directly into it's eye.
"Sonny!" its mother cried out in worry.
The beast turned and fired a wide gout of flames at the child of Artemis.
"Woah!" Damian ducked to the ground to avoid the fire, rolling to the side and he looked at where the flames were. "Man, talk about a hot breath." The Chimera leaped, but Damian slid underneath it, drew Judgement, swung it and chopped off the Chimera's snake tail at the base.
"I think you pissed it off more." Percy told him as Damian maneuvered to his right.
"It can't be that bad."
Percy pulled his friend down with him to avoid another spout of fire from the Chimera's mouth.
"I think it is."
"...Meh, family trait to piss off the monsters and demons."
The Chimera faced them and growled. Damian held his hand out and gave it a 'bring it' gesture.
"Come on!" He taunted, then proceeded to clap his hands and beckon the Chimera like a dog. "C'mon, little puppy! I'll take you for a walk! Come on, let's go!"
The Chimera roared and charged at the two, causing them to dive to their left/right side respectively, however, Damian was quick to leap and land on the Chimera;s back, which caused it to start trying to throw him off. Damian reached underneath the back of his trench coat and drew Dawn before he jumped off the Chimera, roilled then whirled around and shoved the gun into the monster's mouth.
"Open wide and say 'Ahh'" Damian smirked, then he pulled the trigger.
The Chimera burst into golden dust after being shot right through the back of it's throat, leaving behind a white horn with a tuft of bloody crimson fur.
Percy and Damian both breathed out in relief only to hear the hissing of the mother of monsters. They turned to see her with the lower body of a snake with the top half of a woman, all her skin had turned green as she stood about ten feet tall and that was when she was coiled.
"You dare!" she shouted at them, her fangs and clawed hands shining in the sun. "I'll rip you apart, son of Artemis! I'll send your corpse directly to your mother and-!"
BANG!
Echidna screamed as she burst into golden dust directly after being the gunshot that got her right in the chest.
"I think that look suits you better." Damian commented, holstering the gun.
They heard sirens screaming towards the Arch as the adrenaline faded from them. Percy put Riptide away and grabbed the fallen horn as Damian slung Judgement over his back where his bow and arrow quiver sat. They looked over the hole that was made towards the Mississippi and stared over the edge.
"We're gonna have to jump." Damian said, causing Percy to look at him with wide eyes.
"What?!" He squeaked. "No! It's too high!"
"The lift's been stopped, so this is our only way down." Damian pointed out. "Besides, don't know what you're complaining about. You should be fine upon hitting the water."
"No, no, there's gotta be another way." Percy shook his head, causing Damian to sigh as he realized he'd have to take the initiative since Percy was being stubborn. "Maybe we can-"
Damian pushed him over the edge.
Percy let out a girlish scream while he was waving his arms in the air, clutching his Chimera horn tightly. "I hate you!" Percy screamed on his way down to the Mississippi.
"No you don't!" Damian shouted back with a cheeky smirk. Although, he did sent a quick prayer of apology to uncle Poseidon, but there was no other way for them to get down and niether of them could fly... nor would Zeus tolerate Percy being in his domain. "Right... my turn."
He hopped on both feet, pumping himself up while analyzing the fall.
The son of Artemis nodded and looked ahead. "He's planning a double-twisting interrupted by forward-flying 2-and-a-half with a combo tuck and pike. High degree of difficulty." He said, imitating an announcer. He then jumped, spinning in the air, performed a front flip then settled into a dive. "Wooooo!"
He dove headfirst into the water below, soon resurfacing five seconds later while spitting some out of his mouth.
"Not bad." He commented before swimming to shore.
He met up with Annabeth and Grover, with the daughter of Athena demanding to know why half of the monument was blowtorched to which Damian sheepishly replied that it was his, Percy's as well as the Chimera's fault.
Percy resurfaced and met up with them, explaining about the weird spirit lady in the river that looked like a ghost. She had told him to go to Santa Monica bay and that his father wanted to relay a message and give him something.
"Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."
"Grover is right. If your dad has summoned you then it is for a good reason," Annabeth said as Damian just nodded along.
"Come on we better get out of here," Damian said, getting their attention. "You are forgetting me and Percy are technically wanted criminals. We better not stay here much longer since news like two boys being potential kidnappers can spread pretty quickly."
Somehow, they made it back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted. They got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind them.
And that's it for this chapter everyone.