Heh, being famous does have it's downsides, and Percy sees how pissed off Poseidon is.
Replies:
Undeath9087: Hehe, that it is. It shall be... interesting to see what happens to the others.
NuzhatT: I do my best! It's a busy time of year lol.

Percy was sad that they hadn't been able to really take the time to stop and fuss Cerberus- though she had paused briefly to fetch his giant ball for him and throw it- the happy yipping noises he'd made had brought a smile to her face as she'd gotten Charon to take the small group across the Styx, though he grumbled the whole time. It was once they reached they had finally exited the lobby of DOA records and stepped out into the streets of LA that Percy realised that they might have a potential problem.

The problem came from the fact that across the street from them was a huge billboard advertising Percy's latest movie- with a giant picture of her plastered all over it.

"Uh-" Thalia was the first to speak, blinking at it. "That… is kind of creepy."

"You get used to stuff like that around Percy." Bianca snickered, "Last time we got our nails done about ten people stopped us on our way there to ask for autographs."

"Uh… we want to get to San Francisco without this Alina bitch knowing where we are right?" Grover spoke up nervously, "How do we do that with the most famous teenager in America travelling with us."

"The Satyr has a point." Zoe admitted, "Thou has so many fans. They're bound to post pictures with you and such on the internet. If this Alina is smart she'll be able to use that to track you."

"I had not thought about that." Percy admitted, biting her lip hard before. "Okay. Okay so I might have an idea. It's not a great idea but it should work."

"Okay. What's the idea?" Thalia raised an eyebrow.

"Grover. The mist will cover your horns better than it'll hide my hair. Can I borrow your cap for like, an hour?"

"Of course." Grover nodded quickly, handing it over, and Percy quickly tucked her hair into it and pulled it on. It was awkward and bulky but it would help.

"Okay." She glanced back into DOA records, or more accurately at the window, and her reflection in it. Her hair was her most distinctive feature after all. She was still recognisable of course but people would have to give her a second glance.

"Are you just gonna wear a cap the whole time?" Thalia raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't seem like a long term solution."

"It's not." Percy turned to Thalia, "I have a plan but I don't want too much exposure until we've sorted it all. If I give you a list of things to pick up for me can you go get them?"

"Uh… sure." Thalia nodded. "I guess."

"Good. Bia you can go with her. Zoe, Grover and I can wait for you."

"Where would you wait."

"I know just the place."

And so, less than half an hour later Percy had led the way to Crusty's waterbed palace- which had clearly been abandoned since Percy and Piper had dealt with that particular half brother.

It was dusty- but it did have everything Percy would need, so once they were situated Percy sent Thalia and Bianca off to get what she needed- and two hours later she found herself staring in the mirror in Crusty's bathroom. Which honestly was gross and needed some major cleaning but she couldn't focus on that now.

She pressed her lips together into a thin line, running her fingers through her curls, pulling them forward before shaking them back.

It had taken four damn boxes of dye because of the length and thickness of her hair but at least the fact that it was white meant that the color had taken well. And she could easily magic away the dye once all this was over.

She just felt strange. It felt like she was looking at a stranger in the mirror.

There had been a time when she'd have gladly dyed over the white hair. Back before she'd come to terms with what had happened down on that beach.

But she had accepted her appearance. Had come to love her hair and scar, love what they symbolised. The strength that she took such pride in.

Covering that hair up felt wrong. Wigs were fine when she was acting but… but she hadn't dyed her hair in so long. Not since she and Sadie had done it together when she was little- she'd loved doing it then. Now…

Percy shook away those thoughts. She couldn't dwell on them, and it wasn't like her hair looked bad. Honestly it actually looked pretty. She'd dyed it a mix of deep blues and greens- because hey, she might as well embrace a sea theme for the few days it would be dyed. The color matched her eyes in places and it did suit her.

It just didn't feel like she was looking at herself in the mirror.

Which was the whole point she reminded herself, she didn't want to look like Percy Kane. She couldn't risk Alina tracking them through her because she was famous. It wouldn't do them any good.

So she braced herself before turning away from the mirror and heading out of the bathroom, into the main shop- which was dark and dingy- they'd made sure that the blinds were all down so that no one could see in and the others were perched wearily on the beds.

Percy had told them who used to own the shop so honestly, she couldn't blame them for that.

Bianca rose when she spotted Percy, eyes widening, "Oh wow. Okay. Okay so that should work."

"Holy shit girl." Thalia let out a laugh, "That- that looks surprisingly good. I thought you'd come out looking like a kid painted on your head or some shit but I mean, not bad."

"I've dyed my hair with my sister before when I was younger." Percy's lips twitched at the fond memories.

"I suppose that the break was worth it." Zoe spoke up, "Thou shouldn't draw nearly as much attention as we were expecting."

"I mean- you'll still get some looks." Grover laughed, "But I wouldn't recognise you right away or anything."

"Let's hope that we don't run into any of my hardcore fans then." Percy flipped her hair over her shoulder. "And we're going to need to plan before we actually head out."

"Right." Thalia leaned back on the bed, clearly considering, "Well LA isn't so far from San Francisco so that's something at least but I'm not sure how long it would take to drive- not that I can drive."

"Thou should learn." Zoe spoke up, "It's a vital skill to have. I can drive."

"Yeah, well." Thalia snorted, "I'm twelve. Nearly thirteen but still, pretty sure anyone seeing me behind the wheel would question it more than a little."

"Girls got a point." Percy rolled her shoulders, "Can you drive Grover? Just to establish who can do what in our little group."

"No." Grover shook his head, "Last time I tried I crashed. It was… embarrassing."

"Right. Well I know Bianca is still too young. Technically so am I but Sadie's taken me out a few times to start learning. I'm not great but I could probably do it if I have to but Zoe-" her gaze focused on the hunter, "I'm willing to admit that you're our best bet when it comes to driving." She frowned, "I think Crusty had some maps-" she moved quickly behind the till, rummaging before drawing out a large map, unfolding it on the counter. "So we can sort of figure out the best route now."

"Even driving we'll get there before the days out." Bianca spoke up after joining her, finger tracing across the map.

"Which means we'll then have a full day to get to Mount Tam."

"Finally." Thalia snorted, "Something on this quest is going right."

"Once we're in San Francisco I know where we need to go." Percy tapped the map thoughtfully. "We'll meet the others at the Chase house and I know the address." She pursed her lips together tightly. "Before we do we need to go to-" she eyed the map, "Let's say… Santa Monica. I need to see in person just how bad my father's being. Uncle Hades says he's angry at the moment and there are a lot of bad storms up and down the coastline."

"Huh. That sounds bad." Thalia pulled a face.

"You guys can linger back when I got onto the beach." Percy decided. "We should head there right away. Then we'll have to figure out the car situation." She pulled a face. "I don't think we'll able to get one legally."

"I know how to hotwire them." Thalia offered. Which made Percy blink.

"You don't know how to drive a car but you know how to hotwire one?"

"I travelled with Luke for a couple of years." Thalia shrugged, "He taught himself how to drive. And he taught me how to hotwire a car just in case. But I never actually ended up learning how to drive."

"Well." Percy clasped her hands together, blinking rapidly, "That… is surprising but probably very useful. We'll find a car that looks like it's been abandoned or something after we've visited the beach." She paused, "Anything we need to do before leaving? You guys need to clean up at all?"

"Not a bad idea." Bianca admitted.

"I could do with a quick shower." Grover added, with Zoe and Thalia nodding their agreement.

"I guess given how much time we've cut out of our travels it won't do any harm."

"Then you guys go and clean yourselves up. There are towels there. We don't have much in the way of clean clothes but I mean, it's better than nothing."

And once everyone was done the small group made their way onto the streets of Los Angeles, sticking fairly close together.

Based on the sun in the sky Percy assumed it was probably approaching midday now. It was surprising how long time dragged on. But still all being well they'd be in San Francisco before it was too late. And gods but Percy really couldn't wait to see the others again. She was sure that they were worried sick. But at least they'd be fine. They'd managed to scare off the Stymphalian birds and Percy had faith in Carter and Sadie. They'd get Piper, Annabeth, Luke and Artemis safely to San Francisco. And if Percy was lucky maybe she'd get to see them before they had to head off to Mount Tamalpais.

But for now she needed to focus on what they were doing. She needed to get to the beach and see how bad things were- though- she could taste salt in the air already, see that the sky in the direction of the beach looked darker, more foreboding than usual. She grimaced slightly.

She could feel the storm in the air. Not exactly a hurricane yet but strong. Her eyes flicked to Thalia, who met her gaze, her eyes crackling with energy.

She could sense it too Percy was sure. The air felt charged with the power.

So Percy sped up a little, the others automatically following her lead.

There were several people who turned their heads to look at her as she forged her way forward, but she didn't slow for long enough for any of them to recognise her.

She could practically feel the sea pulling at her, drawing her closer in it's fury. Even when she couldn't see it she could feel it, getting stronger and fiercer as she got closer, until she was running, running through the streets of LA.

If she didn't stop the storm that she could sense raging… if she didn't stop it then she knew that there would be destruction and death.

And fuck but these storms were ravaging all along the coast? Oh that was bad. That was so so bad.