Percy had been rather enjoying flying, until the whole "falling-to-his-death" part. That was a lot less fun.
But hey, he was only sixteen and he'd already died once (not counting the time he went to Hades, because that one was hard to figure out), so what was one more time?
As he tumbled downwards, he thought desperately for something to do - a way to rescue himself and his friends, to stop their descent. Thalia was unconscious just ahead, hair blowing in the wind as she punched an almost cartoonish hole through the cloud bank. Zoe, behind him and a short distance to the right, was characteristically silent, but Percy thought he could see her eyes screwed shut in prayer. The bronze statues, partially melted, were careening off into the distance, still flying but only barely, their arms arcing with black electricity.
The hail falling around them pelted against his face, and he got an idea. Beneath them lay San Francisco Bay, and around them was a whole bunch of water - he could work with this. Making his body as straight and slippery as he could, he began to gain ground on Thalia, which was important because they were now just barely five thousand feet above the ground. Reaching out and snagging her out of the air, he wrapped himself around her and tried to shout to Zoe. The wind whipped away his words before they could cover the short distance between them, lost in the turbulent air.
Three thousand feet.
Zoe opened her eyes from her prayer and caught sight of Percy, who beckoned her with his hands. Understanding flashed across her face and she clumsily steered herself towards them, grabbing onto the other side of Thalia's still unconscious body. She and Percy wrapped around the daughter of Zeus in a sort of protective ball and Percy really, really hoped that his plan would work.
Two thousand feet.
Percy wrapped the Nemean Lion's coat around the group as best he could. As he removed it the coat shifted from its previous Coast guard guise to become its original form - a massive lion pelt which felt as though it were woven from braided steel cables. It wasn't comfortable, but it should protect them somewhat if his plan didn't quite work out the way he wanted it to.
One thousand feet.
He shut his eyes and reached out for the water around him and beneath him. It was reluctant at first, as though it wasn't sure he was who he said he was, but soon enough the water and air and hail around them was whipping itself into a waterspout, slowing their descent significantly.
Five hundred feet.
Zoe thrust her hand out, and Percy felt the water bend to her will as it did his. Together they summoned a great geyser-like pillar of saltwater at the center of the waterspout, which leapt up from the frothing waves to try to catch them.
Two hundred feet.
The ten-foot swell beneath them raced upwards as they crashed down into their geyser, Percy's ribs creaking and nearly shattering despite the protection of the lion's pelt. Thalia stirred from her unconsciousness just as she crushed down onto Percy's chest, Zoe smashing into her back and squeezing the air from the daughter of Zeus's lungs just in time for the group to plunge underneath the water.
Zero feet.
Desperately, Thalia thrashed towards the surface again. Percy snatched the lion's pelt and grabbed Thalia by the waist, trying to stop her from panicking. Zoe was kicking herself to the surface already. Percy willed himself and Thalia to the surface, where they were met with ferocious wind and hail and Zoe, treading water in the pitching surf and waiting.
"Well," Percy shouted to be heard over the din and roar of the ocean. "That was a ride!"
Thalia punched him but continued clinging tightly to his bicep, kicking her legs but still clearly uneasy in the ocean. Despite that, and the saltwater matting down her black hair tightly against her neck, and the anger in her eyes, he had to shake himself violently to fight the urge to just pull her into a kiss then and there. Turning his head away sharply, Zoe caught his eyes with a knowing look. He expected her to look reproachful, angry, hateful of his masculine tendencies - but she simply smiled at him.
"See that pier over there? I think it's our best bet to stay out of the breakers and make it to shore. Shall we go for it?" She asked. Before Percy could answer, Thalia nodded a very, very firm yes. That settled, Zoe sent Percy a wink, and before he could get over exactly how weird that was, the Huntress set off south towards the pier.
Once they had reached the pier, Percy managed to calm the waves around a few pilings and they clambered up, resting on the triangular shape formed by support beams holding up the walkway beams. It was still freezing cold, and certainly not an ideal location, but they were out of the water and the hail, so it was better than nothing. He passed Thalia the lion's coat and a small part of him admired the way her clothes clung to her before he snapped his fingers and dried both her and Zoe off.
"Thanks," she managed, her teeth chattering sharply. "Was that… the prophecy?"
Zoe shook her head as she lay back onto the beam, having elected to take her own piling rather than share the one Thalia and Percy had climbed. "I have never seen a bolt such as that one, in all my life. But I would not fear your father. I suppose the Titans could be considered thine family," Zoe said thoughtfully, "But I doubt that the prophecy would be so literal about a fall - and if such an interpretation were true, all three of us would be valid as family. The prophecy certainly would not under-count in such a manner."
Thalia didn't seem convinced, but sat back. Percy reached out and rubbed her shoulder. "Hey, I may not be the biggest fan of Zeus, but that wasn't him. Zoe's right - that was a Titan, and the prophecy wouldn't stretch like that for 'family,' I think."
Thalia shook her head. "I think I'm pretty close to being eighteen, which would make me the child of the prophecy. Remember how we talked before the quest about… I'm not fifteen but I'm not twenty-one either?"
Percy shrugged. "Yeah, but…"
Thalia turned a hard look onto Percy. "After everything you've told me about your first quest, you really think Zeus wouldn't do something like that?"
Shit. She had a point, and Percy knew it. Zoe did too, going by how she bit her lip and looked away. "Well, I mean, he turned you into a tree instead of letting you die - I think he cares," Percy offered tentatively, "Just maybe he's not good at it." Now Thalia worried at her lip, but Percy didn't let up yet. "Besides, it only makes sense for Kro-" He caught himself. "For the Titans… to make you not trust the Gods. Then you might help them. Join them."
Thalia stared off over the waves as they churned and crested with white. "I… I would never join them. I may not be the biggest fan of the Gods, but they're better than…"
Percy nodded. "I know."
They paused and wallowed in an awkward silence for a moment. Percy side-eyed Thalia for a moment before looking out at the ocean. The storm was fading slightly, its end visible a few miles out. The hail shrank from quarter-sized to dime-sized, and now was turning towards rain slowly. Percy leant sideways against the piling of the pier, and after a moment, Thalia leant against him too.
"Hey, Perce," she asked after a minute. "What's with the whole… door and purple flames… thing?"
He chuckled at the phrasing, but searched for how to answer the question. After a minute, he figured he had no reason to keep any part of it a secret. "Well, uh. In the junkyard, I kind of died. But Hecate and Thanatos managed to, uh, hide me? I guess. And Hecate made me her champion, to bring her power and help me out. She's obviously the goddess of magic, hence the whole purple flames thing, but she's also a goddess of boundaries. I think that's why I can do the doors?"
Thalia shook her head amusedly. "You just don't do things the normal way, do you?" Percy shrugged. She wasn't wrong, but he was used to weird things happening around him. "But what about Thanatos?"
"I think we have a similar arrangement? He talked to me a little bit, but definitely wasn't as aggressive about it as Hecate. Maybe that's why I killed the skeletons completely?"
Thalia seemed happy enough with that, so Percy left it there, and they stared off into the fading storm. Storms had always brought Percy some sort of peace. Probably it was because they were natural, comfortable, and in some ways beneficial for the ocean. He wondered if it was the same way for Thalia - but he didn't really want to interrupt the moment for a dumb question like that.
Zoe coughed, and when the pair looked over, she gestured around. "It's letting up. We're still short on time, sadly. We must find Nereus. He should be nearby."
The group climbed up onto the pier and began their search. With shocking speed, the storm had abated quickly and by the time the group had reached the shoreline it was a beautiful day again - sunny, warm, and with a soft sea breeze. Percy didn't question it. It seemed relatively likely that the storm had been caused by the Titans with what little power they had - perhaps to slow down the quest, or maybe to sow distrust among the group. Whatever the reason, it was over, and Percy was glad for that.
"So, uh, Zoe. What does this Nereus guy look like?" He asked, casting about for anybody that looked like an 'Old Man of the Sea.' There were a bunch of old men, but none really seemed right.
"You will find him by his stench," Zoe said, wrinkling her nose. "Trust me, you will know him."
Thalia shrugged. "So we just kind of bum around on the beach looking for someone who smells bad? Can we at least put on swimsuits or something so we're a little less conspicuous?"
Zoe blanched at that idea, but Thalia had a point. It would be a lot easier to run around undetected looking like a group of tourist teenagers than it would be as they were now - a motley crew of torn, sweaty, stinky teens in clothing that was still set up for winter in the West - not a lovely day on the coast. It was warmer than was typical for San Francisco this time of year, and there were some locals already filtering out to take advantage of the post-storm sunshine.
Percy shrugged. "I'll keep watch?"
A few minutes and one quick stop in a surf shop later (with a very puzzled attendant), the crew was decked out in their more appropriate west-coast attire. Percy went for a simple swimsuit and T-shirt, the Nemean Lion's coat settling into a letterman jacket for reasons he didn't understand or question. When they met up in front of the shop, though, Percy nearly swallowed his tongue.
Zoe looked normal enough. She was wearing board shorts, a one-piece swimsuit, and her hunter's jacket. Thalia was dressed mostly similar, with somewhat shorter and tighter shorts and the lion pelt as light blazer. However, what caught Percy's unfortunately hormonal eye was the bikini top she was wearing underneath the blazer.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, I saw this homeless guy while I was waiting. He looked… ancient. And he smelled like seaweed."
Zoe nodded. "That's him. Where did he go?"
Percy pointed down to a small concrete pier. At the end, laying on a bench and snoring so loud that the group could hear him from a hundred and ten yards, was a rather mangy old man with an enormous gray beard. "That's him, I think."
"That's Nereus," Zoe confirmed. "Go up to him, Percy. He will grant you the answer to a single question, but you must earn it." Percy swallowed. That sounded vaguely ominous. Zoe slapped him on the back. "Be brave, young hero. You can accomplish much."
"Yeah," he grumbled. "Save the world, fight an old, stinky, homeless dude."
Nereus grumbled when Percy blocked out the sun. "Whaddaya want?"
Percy steeled himself. "I want information."
The old man rolled over. "I don't have any. Go away."
Percy wrapped the old man in his best bear hug, fighting down the urge to retch from the pungent odor of the old man's dreadlocks. As the various onlookers began to complain vaguely, the old man writhed in Percy's grasp. "I'm a half-blood! You're supposed to answer one question!" He grunted through clenched teeth and redoubled the tightness of his grasp.
"Curse you half-bloods! Why can't you just leave me alone?" Wailed the old man, bucking and twisting to fight Percy's muscled arms. "Just leave an old man be!"
They tumbled around for a moment, then pitched precariously against the fencing of the pier. Percy had a brainwave. "Oh, no! Not the water!" Just as planned, the old man grinned and leapt over the railing, Percy clinging tightly to him as he followed the old man into the water. The second the man hit the water, his skin writhed and after just a moment, Percy found himself clinging as best he could to the blubbery skin of a seal.
Nereus rocketed through the water with his seal body, but Percy clung as tightly as he could, arms still locked around the man-seal's midsection. He was very grateful for the added strength he always got in the water, because without it he was certain he would have lost not only his grip but his arms in the attempt to wrestle this ancient, strange person into submission. When the old man turned into a killer whale, Percy couldn't keep his hold around the torso and slipped back, just barely managing to catch ahold of the dorsal fin at its root and clamp on in time for the orca to leap from the waves.
As they crashed back under the surface, Nereus began plummeting towards the depths, racing along the seabed and heading further west and deeper into the ocean - trying to scare Percy into letting go, perhaps, or else simply drown him. When that didn't work, he turned into an electric eel, zapping Percy and attempting to wriggle free with the fresh slime now coating his body. Percy focused hard and, hands glowing purple, suddenly found that he was practically glued to the eel's hide. Smirking, he began tying the eel into knots, wrapping it around itself.
"Why won't you drown?" roared Nereus after morphing into his own body. His limbs were twisted awkwardly, but returned quickly to their normal location and appearance as Percy wrapped his arms tightly onto the man once more.
"My father is Poseidon," Percy explained with a grin. "Now answer my questions."
"Curse that upstart!" roared the old man, but he made no further effort to fight. "I was here first. Alright, fine - One question only."
After Nereus conceded defeat, the old man swum slowly to the surface, then collapsed onto the dock, heaving. Percy felt pretty good, though he was definitely tired. It was a lot like he'd just gone to the gym for the perfect level of workout - everything hurt, but in a good way, a familiar and relaxing way.
"You got him!" Zoe exclaimed, rushing over. Thalia raced over after, and Percy ignored her very pleasing wardrobe as she crushed him in a hug. Instead, he focused on just enjoying a hug from a friend - a very beautiful friend.
"You scared me, Kelp Head," she muttered into his shoulder.
"I can literally breathe underwater," Percy pointed out, gingerly hugging her back, "The worst that could have happened would be me letting him go."
"Shut up," she muttered, letting him go. He was pretty sure she was blushing, but he couldn't quite tell.
"Alright, folks, what do I ask?" Percy said, still holding Nereus. "And you're not getting off that easy, Nereus - that wasn't my question for you."
The old man grumbled, but the group ignored him. Zoe thought for a moment and came to a decision. "Ask about the monster," she said. "Ask him where to find the beast which Artemis was hunting."
Percy turned to Nereus to repeat the question, but the old man was already laughing. "Oh, that one's easy!" He pointed at the sea just beside the dock. "He's right there."
"What?" Percy asked, perplexed, but Nereus had already turned into a fish - Percy absently noted it was a California Lizardfish - and slipped off the dock and into the water. Percy rushed to the edge of the pier and looked over, hoping to catch sight either of Nereus or of the monster - but all that was there was Bessie.
"Oh, Bessie, not now," Percy said.
Zoe looked sick as she peered over the railing. "Perseus… you know this creature? You named it… Bessie?"
"Yeah," Percy said. "I rescued it before I followed you guys on the quest. It was caught in a net in the Sound, and I freed it. I guess Bessie thinks I'm her protector now, or something."
The creature mooed, kicking its strange cow front legs and spinning in a circle. Thalia spoke up. "She doesn't look like a monster. She's supposed to bring down Olympus?"
A silky voice cut across Zoe's response. "Yes, my dear, she is." The group turned as one, to find Dr. Thorn and Luke, standing together in front of an echelon of mortal mercenaries who collectively blocked off the pier. Not a problem for Percy - but Zoe and Thalia weren't quite so comfortable in the sea, and besides that, they now had Bessie to worry about and protect. The manticore continued - "And you shall use its power to bring about the end of the Age of the Gods."
"I am a fool," Zoe muttered. "I know this story - the Ophiotaurus. Its power is its innocence - anyone who could bring themselves to commit such an act and sacrifice this beast would wield great power indeed."
Bessie mooed again, clearly distressed, and Percy whispered, "Hey, maybe cut it out with the S-word?" Despite the situation, Thalia snorted with laughter.
"There's a lot of power in killing the innocent, hun," Luke called to Thalia, ignoring Zoe and Percy. "Power you deserve. Power you could use better than the Gods could." He took a step forwards, holding out a hand. "Come with me, and we can bring down the Gods together. Create a new, better world, Annabeth by our side. Like the old times."
Percy uncapped Riptide and opened Tyson's shield. In response, the mortals leveled their rifles at him, and he weighed his options. Zoe put her hand on his shoulder and he nodded, putting his weapons back away.
Thalia stared at Luke's outstretched hands. "Your birthday is soon," the blond said quietly. "You'll be the child of the prophecy. This can be your great victory. Our great victory. Together."
A knife twisted itself into Percy's gut as Luke said that. "Together," Thalia echoed softly. Percy felt sick. Did Thalia still… did she still feel that way for Luke? It had been a huge reason for the enmity between her and Zoe at the beginning, and she definitely still felt for him in one way or another - she'd admitted as much to Percy, even. But would it be a strong enough feeling to take his side now? To betray camp and Percy and Annabeth?
"Annabeth would never join you," Percy spat at Luke. "She's too smart for that, and so is Thalia." Luke turned a bemused smirk onto Percy and waved his hand at Thorn. In response, the manticore launched several thorns at Percy, who dodged as best he could - but ten feet was simply too short a distance to react perfectly. One of the thorns buried itself in his thigh. Thalia's head whipped around, and she took a step towards him, but stopped when the mortals pointed their guns at Percy.
Again, Bessie mooed, spinning another circle.
"Together," Luke said. "The Gods abandoned us. We're just their playthings. Think about what Zeus did to you, Thalia! He trapped you as a tree instead of saving you!" The scar on his face twisted unnaturally as his face turned pleading. "Come with me, Thalia, please. I… Think of what we could do as a team again. We could do so much. Be so happy."
"Thalia," Zoe said, stepping forwards as Percy tended to the poison-laced wound in his leg. "Your father… he saved your life. Perhaps it was not a good way to do it, but he tried." Thalia nodded slowly. "He sent the metal angels. He turned you into a tree to protect you, not to punish you. Think of Camp, and all your friends there."
Hey - that gave Percy an idea. When he'd first left on the quest, borne aloft by Blackjack, they'd stopped for donuts and Mr. D had appeared through an Iris message but still very capably tied them up with vines. Maybe he'd be willing to help this time. From his kneeling position, he cast about for a source of mist - and then realized he didn't need that. Instead, he focused hard and reached out into the air.
When he clasped his hand shut, it was on a soft plastic refrigerator door handle. Twisting it and pulling the door open, he was met with the rather displeased face of Dionysus. The mortals scrambled backwards as a full-size fridge appeared on the beach, and Luke scoffed. "Gonna stuff your face to deal with the world ending, Perce?"
Ignoring the son of Hermes, Percy looked at Dionysus. "Mr. D, we could really use some help here."
Mr. D reached his hand into the other end of the fridge and grabbed a Coca-Cola. "Do you mind, Perry? I'm really rather busy, here, and if you're going to be rude…" He left the threat unspoken, dangling in the air. Percy knew it wasn't an idle threat, either - there was little doubt Dionysus could and would happily leave the group to fend for themselves.
Percy nearly swallowed back bile. It hurt to say, but he looked at Thalia, cornered and afraid and uncertain which way to turn, and suddenly it was a whole lot easier. "Mr. D, please. We're probably going to die, and the world might end. Please help us."
The god of wine popped the can of soda open, and nodded slowly. "Please don't ever show up in my fridge again, Percy. I don't appreciate it." He shut the door, and Percy was left gaping into a now-empty refrigerator, the door still in his hand but the light suddenly out and the shelves suddenly empty. Was that it?
A soft breeze rustled its way along the beach, carrying the faintest scents of grape and honey, as though a vineyard and apiary were burning in the very far distance. The mortals, recovered, raised their guns to point them once more at the group. Then, as the breeze reached them, each reacted in their own way. One mortal simply dove over the side of the pier into the ocean, swimming away in the surf. Another turned his rifle into the air and began shooting at pigeons with woeful aim. Others began tangoing with each other, or belting out Sinatra in wildly discordant registers, and running off into the distance. It would have been hilarious in an absurdist way, if Percy weren't so goddamn terrified of it.
Luke and Thorn turned to watch the mortal mercenaries disappear into insanity. "No, no!" Barked Thorn, but his mercenaries couldn't care less. One of them was babbling in tongues, and Percy seriously doubted any of them would take orders from anyone in the near future - or ever, really. Luke turned back towards the group, but before he could say a word, Zoe launched an arrow at him - and Thalia followed it up with a massive bolt of lightning. Meanwhile, Percy charged Thorn once again, though he was much more reserved than his very first encounter with the manticore.
Swiping Tyson's shield sideways, Percy deflected a spike from Thorn's tail, stumbled slightly as his quad gave way under him, and recovered with a roll to thrust upwards through the beast's flank - Riptide burying itself deep into the side of the monster who quickly began to fade into golden dust. Luke fell back, seemingly unfazed by the onslaught from Zoe and Thalia but also clearly not interested in sticking around. Percy leapt forwards, slashing at Luke - and his sword passed through air, the man simply not there any more.
"What the hell?" He asked.
Before anyone could respond, though, the Ophiotaurus mooed again, insistently, from the side of the pier. Collectively the group rushed over to the railing, searching for the strange beast-creature that could apparently bring down the world as they knew it. There Bessie was, spinning happily as it played with an inquisitive seal.
"We can't just leave Bessie here," Percy said. "We have to get him to Olympus, or something."
"Hey, Percy," Thalia said absently. "Did Mr. D call you the right name?"
Percy looked at her, then burst out laughing. Pretty soon, they were all laughing on the pier, taking a moment to unwind from the utter absurdity of their situation - saving the world with a small cow-snake-lizard thing while dressed like tourists and wielding Greek weaponry. And yet the weirdest thing so far of the day was someone getting Percy's name right. That was a little too absurd to ignore.
Once they had recovered somewhat, Percy had a brainwave. "Bessie has been appearing in different bodies of water this whole time, following us. So what if I ask my dad to protect him? And then maybe we can get Grover and Bianca to try and summon him at Camp, where he'll be safe."
Bessie groaned in a way that sure sounded like an objection and tossed his head. Thalia shook her head. "She doesn't seem very happy about leaving you, Perce."
Zoe nodded. "The Ophiotaurus will naturally come to those who wish to use its power, or those who would protect it. It… She… has chosen you to protect her, Perseus. We cannot abandon her now."
"Well, then what do we do?" Percy asked. "We can hardly bring her with us when we fight Luke and the rest."
Thalia's breath caught at the mention of that, but she shook herself quickly and pondered. "What about you ask Poseidon to protect her, just while we're traveling to the fight and everything? And then, when we get to… fighting Luke, we just… don't think about her. She needs to be summoned, right? And it has to be you or me, Percy, because of the Great Prophecy or whatever. So if you don't summon her, and I don't, then we should be fine."
Zoe nodded. "Thinking of the beast will summon it to you. If the two of you can focus well enough not to summon it, then she should not appear - and she will be safe. Perseus, could you perhaps make another doorway? To the lake at Camp?"
Percy looked down at his hands. They shook faintly with exhaustion, his forearms ribbed with veins brought out by the sheer exertion of the day. "Yeah, probably."
"Then do it," Zoe said. "In the water, to preserve your strength. I will call Camp and make them aware of the plan."
Turning to Thalia, Percy managed a feeble wink. "Wanna come for a dip with me?" The girl managed a faint grin, and then shrugged.
"Fuck it, why not?"
She quickly stripped out of her board shorts and the lion pelt, which she handed over to Zoe. As she stood in front of Percy in just a blue bikini, he had to fight to keep breathing. Then, she stepped onto the pier railing and, with a grin, dove into the water. It was a solid thirty feet deep at this point of the pier, and Percy shucked off his shirt and dove over the side as well. Thalia was treading water in the gentle swell, laughing as Percy resurfaced, and she splashed him with water when he swiped his hair out of his eyes.
That meant war.
For the next five minutes, the pair forgot about Serpent-Bulls and prophecies and war and gods and titans and everything else. They were just teenagers, playing awkwardly in the strangely-temperate waters (that Percy might have prayed to Poseidon to keep warm, just for a little bit), enjoying being young and stupid and with each other.
Eventually, they stopped, panting heavily. Percy had won, of course, crashing down a small tidal wave onto Thalia's head, and now they treaded water just feet apart. The girl brushed her wet hair out of her face. Thalia's blue eyes sparked with electricity, but it was a friendly sparkle, and she laughed when their eyes locked. Their gazes remained locked together for a long moment, bobbing in the surf as the rest of the world faded away. Then, Zoe called down to them, reminding them they had other things to be doing.
Suddenly very interested in anything else, Percy returned to business. With the newfound strength of being back in the water, he pushed all his will into creating a large door, almost like a sluice gate one might see on a dam. Hopefully the Naiads back at the lake didn't mind a little salt water. He shut his eyes, prayed a little bit to Hecate for help, and reached out with one hand.
There before him and Thalia, suddenly very tangible, was a concrete set of gates. They swung open, and Bessie happily swam through, mooing a farewell sound as she did. The gates swung closed and disappeared - and so too did the Ophiotaurus, which was both frightening and a relief.
When the pair arrived on the pier once more, Zoe was putting on a stern face, like a mother whose children had stayed out too late after dark. She couldn't be too mad, though, as Thalia and the exhausted Percy were still giggling and leaning against each other, and she allowed herself a small smile.
"I spoke with Grover, Bessie is there and fine and he will look after the beast," she said. "But now, we must go to the garden of my sisters. I am afraid this will be the final part of our journey."
All the joy Percy and Thalia had felt evaporated.
"Hey, Zoe?" Percy asked. "Artemis is still… under whatever curse she's under, right?"
Zoe nodded. "If I'm correct, she is bearing the weight of the sky. That is the Titan's Curse to be withstood."
Percy took the lion pelt from where Thalia had discarded it on the floor. Then, muttering a quick prayer, he tossed it over the side of the pier. As it hit the water, it disintegrated, fading away. "Hopefully that sacrifice should give her a bit of extra strength," he said. "It was an idea I had a while back but the coat seemed more useful then. If we're almost done…" he said.
Thalia and Zoe nodded solemnly. "Good call, Perseus," Zoe said. "A lesser hero might never have given up such a device."
Thalia looked like she'd remembered something. "Yeah, like Hercules," she said. "He wore it for, like, years, didn't he?"
Percy saw something flash over Zoe's face, and came to a cold realization - Hercules had been Zoe's hero. The man in his dream. Percy really didn't want to be that kind of hero.
"Yeah, well, I'm not Hercules. If I'm going to survive, it's not going to be because of some coat," he said. Then, turning to Thalia, he grinned and elbowed her. "Besides, I'm much better looking than Hercules."
She smacked his shoulder, but the somber mood that had settled in seemed to lift slightly.
"You keep telling yourself that, Kelp Head," Thalia muttered without venom. Percy sent her a crooked grin.
"Alright, well, let's get going," Percy said. "We've got Titans to go beat up."
Hey, everybody - still here. 5,425 word chapter - biggest so far in this story, actually. Covered a fair bit of ground. Sorry about the wait, had a lot of other stuff going on. Can't promise that waits like that won't happen again but we're pretty close to done with TTC and I'm okay with that. I've got an idea for a Noir-style fic that I've had kicking around for a while, so if that interests you, feel free to let me know. If not, that's fine - I'll probably just finish this and think about pushing it into the Labyrinth/Last Olympian. Tell me if y'all would have any interest in seeing this continued beyond the current place.
Also, quick clarification: I aged the characters up by about two years. I just felt weird trying to write this with thirteen to fourteen year olds. Honestly, it feels weird with fifteen/sixteen year olds - but having the Great Prophecy be for a 21-year-old felt weird too. Dunno, might go back and just make everybody eighteen or something and just say 'to hell with it'.
Anyways, hope this one was up to snuff. Let me know what you thought.