Zoe looked out the window of the questors shared room, watching the countryside pass them by. Reds, oranges, and yellows painted the sky like a canvas as the evening sun gave way to night. The smell of fake wood and static electricity filtered throughout the room making a not so pleasant experience. Liam had paid for the room using his card given to him by his mother for emergencies. Given the mission they were on, Zoe assumed Miss Noble wouldn't make a fuss. Said boy settled into the seat across the small table from her, Karina's light snores emanating from one of the two bunk beds the three shared. "What's our next stop again?" Liam asked as he fiddled with his ring.

"Charleston" Zoe answered, looking away from the beautiful sky.

"Think we will find anything there?"

Zoe leaned back into her seat. "Hopefully. Orlando and Jacksonville were both nothing but dead ends. Even the few monsters we found were useless."

"To be fair," Liam countered, a smirk growing on his strong jaw. "Hellhounds can't talk and cyclopes might as well not be able to."

The daughter of Perseus gave her friend a blank look. "Still makes them useless," she deadpanned.

Liam shrugged at his friend. "We will come up with something eventually. If it was going to be that easy to find Percy then the others would have already."

"Yeah, I know, you're right. It's just all of this uncertainty is driving me crazy," Zoe complained, stretching her arms back. "Why couldn't this have been as straight forward as Dad's first quest? 'Go west, fight a god, return with stolen bug zapper. Easy peasy.'"

Liam scratched behind his ear. "If I recall, didn't they nearly die on multiple occasions throughout that experience?"

"Yeah, I guess," Zoe said. "We've only had one so far. Maybe we should consider ourselves lucky?"

Liam flopped on the table. "Why did you have to say that?" he asked exasperatedly. "Are you trying to tempt fate?"

The daughter of Heroes rolled her eyes. "Please, why would the three fates care about what I have to say. I'm no one special."

"Why would you say that?" he asked, sitting back up properly.

"What?" Zoe questioned casually.

"You think you're not special?"

"Why would I be?" the two's back and forth continued. "I'm just a demigod. Not even an Olympian demigod. Why am I any different than Karina or any number of our friends back at camp?"

"For starters you are Percy's first and only child," Liam countered. "You were also raised by the Consul of New Rome at the request of your father. For a lot of kid's your dad is the closest thing to a parental figure any of them ever have. And you know he is limited in what he can do for them, and you." Zoe averted her eyes from the boy. "I know I would prefer Percy as my father, at least then I would have a conversation with him every now and then."

Zoe looked back out the window, the dying sunlight making way for darkness. Taking a breath, Zoe looked her friend in the eyes. "Okay, you win." Liam nodded his head, pulling out his camp beads and began fiddling. "So," Zoe began and the son of Zeus looked up at her. "How was school this year?"

Liam raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You asked me about mine, but I never got to ask you." The two chose to ignore the reason why.

"It was good," Liam humored her. "Private schools, as you know, have different standards than public schools. Otherwise I probably would buy have been expelled years ago."

"How do you keep the monsters away?"

"Some of the teachers are really mortal, you know?" he told her. "They are so bad that even when I go home the scent covers me. Of course, it's not full proof, but it works." He smiled as memories flashed across his mind. "Anyways, spent the year trying to learn Spanish, again. Also studied literature, statistics, and US history."

"Make any new friends?"

"Not really," Liam answered. "There was this new girl, Harley. I think she might have been a descendant of Aphrodite." He noticed Zoe's raised eyebrow. "A little to flirty for my liking. She was nice though, her mother is apparently a high profile lawyer who sent her there to keep her out of trouble." He looked out the window, missing Zoe's frown.

"Well, sounds like you had a pleasant-"

"Zoe Chase Jackson," a stern woman's voice shouted. The two demigod's nearly jumped out of there skin, Liam pressing back against the window and Zoe shrinking down into the bench covering her face with her hands. Karina squealed and fell out of the bed, a pile of blankets writhing on the floor. Zoe slowly raised her head, parting her fingers to confirm her suspicions. Through a shifting floating image, Consul Reyna sat at a desk, a mess of paperwork before her, and an irate expression on her face.

Zoe straightened up before a brave smile appeared on her face. "Hey Reyna," she began, her tone placating. "We were just-"

"Stop," the Consul interrupted, Zoe clamped her jaw shut. "You will speak when spoken to. Understand?" Zoe and Liam both nodded their heads, Karina still fighting her way out of the blankets. "Now, the Praetorian Guard and I had just finished scouring Detroit for any sign of Percy, when I received a missive," she held up a letter. "Want to guess who it's from?" The two teens shook their heads. "It is from Will Solace. The little coward couldn't even send me an I.M. Want to speculate as to what it's about?" Again the two shook their heads. Karina managed to free herself from the covers, her head popping up. She noticed her two friends sitting in abject terror and then saw the image of their distress. Eyes widening, she quickly ducked back under the blankets. If Reyna noticed the girl, she made no indication of it. "You sure? It's pretty interesting. It details how you three have been missing for two days. Two days," she shouted at the end, throwing the letter away. "The gall of that boy to wait two whole days before writing to me using the Hermes Express...if he hoped to escape my ire he will be sorely mistaken."

The Consul took a breath. "And now to you three." She pointed at Zoe and Liam. "Karina," she called out. Karina's head poked back out of the covers. "I know you're there. Come out and sit next to Zoe." The daughter of Magic climbed out of the covers before sitting next to her friend, sharing a glance with the others. "Good," Reyna stated giving the three a once over. "Zoe." Zoe looked at her guardian. "Mind explaining to me why you three are not at camp where you should be?"

Zoe shared a look with Liam and Karina before clearing her throat. "I had a dream, two nights ago, and was guided by The Huntress to the Oracle and received a prophecy."

Reyna's anger seemed to melt away, concern filling the void. "Tell me everything," she ordered them, sitting back in her chair.

Zoe told her mentor everything, describing both dreams, the prophecy, their conversations with Aphrodite, their fight with the Minotaur, and their trip cross country. Karina and Liam chimed in every so often to fill in the gaps. When they brought up Aphrodite's claims, Reyna's look soured before returning to passive. Reyna rubbed her face as the trio finished their story. "Gods Zoe, you should have messaged me."

Zoe looked down at the table. "I'm sorry Reyna. I was just..."

Reyna looked at her pupil empathetically. "You were scared of what this all means?" she asked. Zoe nodded her head, eyes still down. Reyna sighed. "You can always come to me Zoe, you know that." She looked between the two other demigods present. "As for you two, do your parents know you're here?" Liam and Karina both shook their heads. Again a sigh escaped Reyna's lips. "We can deal with this later. Where are you heading."

The three friends each released a sigh of relief. "Our tickets are to Manhattan. It's a tour of the east coast so its stopping at every major city for several hours," Zoe informed her. "Our next stop is Charleston."

"Go to Fort Sumter," Reyna told them, she grabbed a piece of paper and began writing furiously.

Zoe shared a questioning glance with her friends. "Why?"

Reyna looked up from her paper. "The prophecy. 'Follows Destruction's golden trail.' Percy was searching for clues regarding a threat he had dreams of. That's why he went to Miami to start with. Fort Sumpter was the beginning of a very painful journey for Percy. He would have stopped there, both to pay respects and to search for any tampering."

"Tampering with wha-," the sound of metal scrapping metal interrupted Zoe and the three demigods were thrown about the cabin. Liam flew through the Iris Message and crashed into the door, cracking it. Karina and Zoe collided becoming a jumble of bodies and limps on the floor. "What happened?" Zoe asked with a groan.

Karina moaned from underneath her. "I don't know. Maybe the magnetic lifts failed?"

"I thought you said it was fool proof?" Liam complained, straightening himself out on the floor.

Karina freed herself from under Zoe. "They should be. We had to have hit something hard enough to knock us off course."

Zoe grabbed the table and hauled herself up. "What could we have hit capable of-." The cabin shook, a large thud filling their ears. The thudding progressed in volume, the shaking of the cabin increasing with every thud.

"Uh, guys?" Karina started. "We should probably-." The loudest thud of all rocked the cabin and a shadow overcame the window. Zoe approached the window, attempting to see the culprit. Zoe stumbled back as a gigantic eye invaded the window pane. Black as the Pit, full of hatred and malice. The eye scanned the room before settling on Zoe.

Zoe rolled her head around. "Are you kidding me?"

Zoe climbed to her feet, her friends positioning behind her. The eye focused on the trio, a loud huff reverberated through the cabin. "Run," Zoe shouted to her comrades. The eye left the view of the window as the three demigods rushed out of the cabin and down the hall. Karina and Liam stumbled as a moo shook the train carriage. Liam collided with the carriage door, smashing as the control panel to open.

"The power is out," Karina exclaimed as she reached the door. "There should be a manual release. There," she pulled a lever at the top of the door, releasing the lock. Civilians began stumbling out of their cabins, carrying bags, purses, or nothing.

Liam shoved the door open, leaping out of the carriage. "Dear Zeus," he said, looking towards the beast. Glancing back inside, the son of Zeus drew his bronze kopis. "Zoe, Karina, get the mortals out and on their way. I'll keep it distracted," he ordered and he was gone.

"Ugh," Zoe groaned in irritation. "I swear if that boy gets himself killed I'm going to get Uncle Nico to resurrect him. So I can kill him again." She jumped down and helped Karina down. The slopping grasslands pocketed with trees surrounded them, a small river cutting them off from the city behind them. Looking past the train, Zoe confirmed their adversary.

Standing even larger than before, the Minotaur swung a great battle ax with ease. Each swing gouging great rends into the earth as Liam flew about his form. "Zoe," Karina shouted at her stirring her from her stupor. Zoe turned back to her friend and assisted civilians in climbing down. Directing them towards the river away from the great beast.

"How did it get even bigger?" Zoe asked her friend, helping a woman down and then her daughter. "For that matter, how is it not dead?"

Karina gave the two a small shove towards the river. "How am I suppose to know?" she questioned. "Now that I think about it, did it leave gold dust last time?"

Zoe's eyes widened in realization. "No, it didn't. Gods how could we have not noticed?"

"Go help Liam," Karina told her. "I'll try to keep the passengers safe."

"Right," Zoe agreed, drawing Riptide from her pocket. She stabbed the sword into the train, before backing up. Zoe ran at the embedded blade, jumping and stepped off the bronze sword, launching herself onto the train. The daughter of Perseus dropped off the other side and sprinted towards the battling demigod and monster, each impact shaking the earth around them. "Liam," Zoe shouted.

Liam dodged another swipe of the ax. "A little busy Zo," he shouted back in irritation.

Rolling her eyes, Zoe focused her energies. Stomping her foot down and releasing the energy, the earth quaked. The Minotaur stumbled and a lightning bolt struck it's chest, flattening the beast. Liam floated down to join her. "How do you want to handle this?" Zoe asked him, redrawing Riptide. The monster began climbing to its feet, now towering twenty feet over them.

"Brute strength isn't going to work," Liam told her. "I can't conjure a bolt big enough for this guy. We will need to-." A torrent of flames split the two demigods, scorching the earth. The two demigods jumped backwards turning to the beast. The Minotaur snorted, smoke puffing out of its nostrils. It snarled, reared back, and launched a wave of fire from its mouth. Zoe and Liam dodged the flames, the flames leaving scorched earth in their wake.

"Oh come on," Zoe shouted, tossing her braid behind her shoulder. "Since when can it breath fire?"

The Minotaur growled, hefting it's great ax. The beast jumped, crashing down between the two demigods. Liam pushed off the ground, wind currents pushing him aloft. Zoe stood her ground, barely fazed by the localized earthquake. She quickly side stepped, the ax blade crashing into the ground. Liam charged the beast, propelling himself with the air currents. The Minotaur swatted at the son of Zeus, lifting the massive ax. Zoe jumped on the ax, spring boarding off of it and drove her sword into the beast's side. The beast roared in pain, dropping the ax before swatting at her. Zoe let go of the sword, grabbing onto it's fur and began climbing. She buried herself into the monster's fur as flames roared past her. Smell of burnt hair and matted fur filling her nostrils. The flames extinguished as lightning bolts rained down upon the Minotaur. The beast stumbled backwards, arms deflecting the worst of the assault. Zoe grasped new fistfuls of hair, pulling herself up the hairy back.

The pull in Liam's gut vanished as his arms fell and the lightning vanished. His labored breathing consuming his hearing as he landed roughly on the ground. Slowly, the son of Zeus stood, bearing his bronze sword. The Minotaur shook itself, smoke wafting off patches of burnt fur. Smoke blasted from the beast's snout, it's hoof gouging the dirt. Liam adjusted his grip, glancing behind him. Karina was talking animatedly to the train operator, he noticed a lot of hand waving and Karina snapping her fingers. A small girl caught Liam's eye, squeezing a unicorn to her chest. Her hazel eyes where saucers, locked onto the beast behind him. Liam stumbled as the ground shook underneath him. Turning back the son of Zeus gawked as the beast charged him, each step shaking the earth below. His legs trembled, his arms burned with effort as he raised his sword. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Zoe drew her sword, catapulting herself forward from the Minotaur's back. She shot past the beast's head, her sword lashing out. The Minotaur cried out as Zoe rolled into the ground. Her body sprawled out as a massive horn struck the earth several feet from her form. Zoe felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders and looked up. Liam's sweat drenched face grimaced as he hauled the girl to her feet. She nodded in thanks to her friend who returned the nod, his breath finally beginning to calm down. Zoe turned back to the Minotaur, it's form slowly rising revealing a massive lose on it's head. The beast's head tilted as it growled. It grabbed the remaining horn and snapped it off, roaring in pain.

"Welp," Liam began, rolling the stiffness from his shoulder. "Wasn't expecting that."

Zoe rolled her eyes, bringing her sword to bear. "We got to think of something," she told Liam. The beast charged the demigods, wielding it's snapped horn like a dagger. The two separated, dividing the Minotaur's attention. The Minotaur snarled, turning to Zoe and unleashed a wave of flames at her. Zoe jumped away from the flames, white hot pain shot up her leg before she crumbled to the ground gasping. She tried to stand but her leg would not move, looking down she noticed it. Her right leg had caught the tail end of the blast. Her shoe and pant leg had taken the brunt of the blast, but through the holes she could see burns. Bad ones. The Minotaur stood above her, Zoe almost thought she could spot a smirk. Zoe shut her eyes as it brought its horn dagger down.

A thunder crack deafened her ears and her eyes shot open. The Minotaur stumbled to the side, a spear, wrapped in lightning, was lodged into the beast's side. The Minotaur shuddered as lightning arced off the spear, the smell of burnt hair and flesh pervaded the battlefield. Again Zoe felt hands pull her to her feet. Zoe winced as she attempted to put weight on her foot, before Liam put her arm around his shoulder and hoisted her up. His breathing heavy and his shirt clinging to his chest. The two turned away from the beast, eyes widening surprise.

"Hey kiddos," a spiky raven haired girl said, lightning blue eyes alight with amusement. She couldn't have been much older than the two in question, her silver jacket and matching camouflage pants glittered in the evening sun. A sparkling silver tiara adorned her head. "Fancy meeting you here." A half dozen young girls hopped the train, bows and arrows trained at the Minotaur. The beast climbed to it's hooves, removing the spear from it's side and tossing it aside. "Dear gods," the huntress grumbled, drawing her bow from her back. "Can't he just stay down?"

"Thalia?" Liam asked, eyes scrunched together.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Yes Liam it's your big sister. Now let's deal with hairy, tall and ugly." The Minotaur snarled, sniffing and snorting as it's head swiveled at the approaching hunters. Thalia's eyes darted about the field. "Girls, attack plan Theta. Go," she ordered.

The hunters flowed like water over the land, encircling the Minotaur. The beast twisted and turned, unable to focus on any one target. "Zoe, I know you're hurting, but I need to ask you to finish this. We will distract it," Thalia told the the daughter of Perseus, her gaze hardened. "Kill it."

Zoe nodded, facing Liam. "Got anything left in the tank?"

Liam winced, wiping his strawberry blond hair from his eyes. "What do you have in mind?" Zoe smirked.

The hunters surrounded the monster, arrows notched. Thalia approached the Minotaur and drew her bow back. Lightning arced around her body before filling the gap between her two hands. "Fire," she commanded, releasing the bolt of lightning. The beast slid back carving trenches into the earth, clutching at it's smoldering chest as it's muscles spasmed. A wave of silver struck the twitching monster. The Minotaur lashed out, throwing it's remaining horn at the nearest girl who narrowly dodged. Thalia fired another bolt of lightning, slapping the Minotaur's head to the side. It turned back to Thalia, unleashing another torrent of flames at the girls. The hunters nimbly avoided the flames as they tore through the landscape. "Zoe," the lieutenant called out. "Whatever you're doing, hurry up." The Minotaur turned to the daughter of Zeus, huffing and charged.

A small blur struck the Minotaur on the crown of it's bull head, whipping the head back in a cry of pain. Zoe jumped with her good leg from the beast's cranium, slashing as she fell. Her sword bit into the Minotaur's neck, the force nearly cleaving it entirely. The monster's dying roar filled the hunters' ears as it's body disintegrated into golden dust. Zoe fell uncontrollably before the air currents pushed against her, softening her fall. Zoe spotted Thalia's arm lower as she rested on the ground and Liam fell in a heap beside his sister. A pair of hunters approached her, eyes asking for permission. Zoe nodded and the two helped her to her feet before supporting her. While a third came over to examine her leg.

Thalia turned, helping her younger sibling to his feet. "Liam, how many times do Percy, Jason, and I have to tell you to conserve your energy?" she scolded him. "What if we hadn't shown up? You would have been mince meat for that big hairy cow." Thalia pulled a flask of nectar from her pack, handing it to the boy.

Liam eagerly took the godly drink, pouring a fair amount into his gullet. He closed the flask and returned it to Thalia. "It all worked out didn't it?" Liam argued.

"Only because that light show you put up could be seen from miles around," Thalia countered. "Your body is not developed enough to take on that kind of strain."

"Alright, I get it," Liam placated, hands raised in defeat. "I'll try to pace myself better next time."

"You better," Thalia deadpanned. "I don't want to bury any more family." She ruffled the younger child of Zeus' head, turning to Zoe. "Hey Zo. It's been, what, a couple months? How's the leg?"

Zoe smiled. "Nothing I can't survive, Aunt Thalia," she greeted the Lieutenant of the Hunt. She winced as the hunter applied an ambrosia paste to her burns. The godly food soothing the searing pain in her leg.

"I can see that," Thalia responded. "I have another half dozen girls helping Karina with the mortals. Shouldn't be to much longer." She paced the field, examining the tracks. "We will have to get out of here and find a safe space to camp. You three will be joining us, you need to give that leg time to heal." She picked up her spear, which shrunk down into a can in maze.