Chapter 9: Rematch

"It's better to have a fat ass, than to be a fat ass."

Sun Tzu probably


Argus drove them out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to him as if they were normal carpoolers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy.

"So far so good," he told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

She gave him an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way,"

"Sorry, some of us are new to this whole demigod business."

Annabeth rolled her eyes but didn't respond.

In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at him. Percy wondered how he managed to walk around if he had eyes everywhere. Wouldn't the eyes on his legs be in pain and utterly red after being squished on for so long? Not to mention the rumour that he had an eye on the tip of his tongue. He shuddered, not willing to think about it further.

Traffic slowed them down in Queens. By the time they got into Manhattan, it was sunset and starting to rain.

Argus dropped them at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, near his mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with his picture: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?

Percy ripped it down before Annabeth and Grover could notice.

Argus unloaded their bags, made sure they got bus tickets, and then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch them as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Percy thought about how close he was to his old apartment. On an average day, his mom would be home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe was probably up there, playing poker, not even missing her.

Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction he was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"

Percy stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"

"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

He nodded, wondering what else Grover might've forgotten to tell him.

"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told him. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura…. Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."

"Thanks," he said. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew. Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer and were a son of Poseidon, you probably would've been found by monsters long ago. A son of Kronos? The gods would've realised it and hunted you down long ago before you even reached the age of ten. And who knows, without Chiron, how bad things would've gotten for you, Percy. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."

It didn't, but he forced himself not to show it. Besides, he was going to force Hades to give her back. She had been taken away from him unfairly. One way or another, he was bringing her back.

He wondered if Grover could still read his emotions, mixed up as they were. A part of him was glad he and Annabeth were with him, but another part was still somewhat cautious. While he didn't hold it against her, she had been one of the campers who had avoided him after he had been claimed from Kronos. It wasn't just that. He didn't quite know how to explain it, but some part of him, deep down, didn't quite feel in place with the rest of the campers. He was a child of a titan. They were children of the gods. He was different. He didn't belong. And as much as he tried, he couldn't get that feeling out of him.

You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend

You will fail to save what matters most in the end.

Also, he felt somewhat guilty for hiding the truth from them. The fact was, he didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt or saving the world. A part of him was angry at Poseidon. Poseidon was the one who had an affair with his mom. He was the reason why Kronos managed to interfere. He was the one who was responsible for a large part of all the problems and unfairness Percy had been dealing with all his life. If Poseidon truly loved his mother, why didn't he help her? He was a god, after all. He could've given her a better life, and she wouldn't have had to endure Gabe for his sake. She deserved far better. A better life, a better son who didn't cause problems every waking minute of his existence.

The rain kept coming down.

They got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, elbow, shoulder, whatever. He wasn't too bad either.

The game ended when he tossed the apple toward Grover, and it got too close to his mouth. Their Hacky Sack disappeared in one mega goat bite—core, stem, and all.

Grover blushed. He tried to apologise, but Annabeth and Percy were too busy cracking up.

Finally, the bus came. As they stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favourite school cafeteria delicacy—enchiladas.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."

But Percy could tell it wasn't nothing.

He was relieved when they finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. They stowed their backpacks. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.

Annabeth clamped her hand onto his knee as the last passengers got on. "Percy."

An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. Her black eyes glittered when she tilted her head up, and his heart skipped a beat.

It was Mrs Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face. He would recognise it anywhere.

"You have got to be kidding me. All three of those hags. I'll kill that damn brother with my own bare hands when I get the chance," he growled.

Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise, they looked exactly like Mrs Dodds—same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. Triplet demon grandmothers.

They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.

The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She didn't stay dead long," Percy noted. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said. "As you've probably realised in the last two weeks, your luck isn't exactly the best, even for a demigod."

"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Di immortales!"

"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."

"They don't open," Grover moaned.

"A back exit?" she suggested.

There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around," he said. "Will they?"

"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded him. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit on the roof ... ?"

They hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.

Mrs Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the restroom."

"So do I," said the second sister.

"So do I," said the third sister.

They all started coming down the aisle.

"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. You could get to the front and get away.

"I'm not abandoning either of you. This is my fight."

"Percy," Annabeth hissed. "In case you haven't realised, this might be your quest, but you're not alone. There's a reason a quest is three people. Grover and I can help. We'll handle this. If they see you, it'll cause far more problems. Take the hat and go."

"But–"

"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"

Percy did so. When he looked back at his body, he couldn't see it. Percy felt like a coward, but he snuck right past them. He was free. But he wouldn't just leave those two to fend for themselves. He went to press the emergency stop button, but then he heard something behind him.

The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same, but their bodies had shrivelled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"

The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw something, all right.

"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"

The Furies raised their whips.

Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it.

What he did next was so impulsive and dangerous he should've been named ADHD poster child of the year.

The bus driver was distracted, trying to see what was happening in his rearview mirror.

Still invisible, he grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right, and he heard what he hoped was the sound of three Furies smashing against the windows.

"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey—whoa!"

They wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal and throwing sparks a mile behind them.

Somehow the driver found an exit. They shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and barreled down one of those New Jersey rural roads where one couldn't believe there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to their left, the Hudson River to the right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river.

Another great idea: he hit the emergency brake.

The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. Percy stepped into the driver's seat and let them pass.

The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans.

Percy looked at the open doorway. He was free to go, but he couldn't leave his friends. Plus, he had a personal score to settle with them. They had something he wanted. He wanted to get a message across to his elder brother. He took off the invisible cap. "Hey!"

The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at him. Then, as she used to do in class, Mrs Dodds stalked up the aisle, about to deliver his F- maths test. When she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather.

Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward him like huge nasty lizards.

"Perseus Jackson," Mrs Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther south than Georgia. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."

"I liked you better as a maths teacher," he told her.

She growled.

"Tell your master," he continued. "I'm coming for him. He has the stupid bolt and he'll return it to me. And more importantly, I'm coming to get my mother back. I don't care what it takes, I will fight him with my bare hands."

Annabeth and Grover cautiously moved up behind the Furies, looking for an opening.

He took the ballpoint pen out of his pocket and uncapped it. Riptide elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword. He would've preferred to use his spear, but he remembered Chiron's warning. One wrong move, and it could deflect against the mortals who had just run away. And he wanted to avoid hurting mortals.

The Furies hesitated.

"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."

"Torment for what?" Percy roared in outrage. The constant blame game against him was seriously getting to him, and he was getting unbelievably close to snapping. "What have I done to Hades that makes him want to kill me so badly? Why take my mother? If he's got a problem, tell him to face me directly. But framing me for stealing the damn bolt, that's a step too far!"

"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.

Mrs Dodds lashed her whip around his sword hand while the Furies on either side lunged at him.

His hand felt like it was wrapped in molten lead, but he managed not to drop Riptide. Instead, he stuck the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backwards into a seat. Then, he turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust. Annabeth got Mrs Dodds in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backwards while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.

"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"

The Fury he'd hilt-slammed came at him again, talons ready, but Percy swung Riptide, and she broke open like a piñata.

Mrs Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs Dodds's legs tied up in her own whip. Finally, they both shoved her backwards into the aisle. Mrs Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.

"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"

"Braccas meas vescimini!" Percy yelled.

He wasn't sure where the Latin came from. It meant, "Eat my pants!"

"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at him. "Now!" He didn't need any encouragement.

They rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped his photograph before he could recap his sword.

"Perseus Jackson!" Mrs Dodds roared. He turned around to see a smirk on her face. "What makes you think you can retrieve your mother from Lord Hades? You're a puny pathetic mortal, who could barely protect her. Child of Kronos, Hades has designed a special segment just to torture you alongside your mother. I hear she's enjoying his personal attention."

Percy's blood turned cold. He wanted to think she was lying. But that taunting smile on her face flamed his anger and removed all rational thinking in his head. There was no possible way. Hades was… torturing his mother?

His vision turned red. Electricity crackled along his fingertips. Above him, thunder rumbled loudly, almost sensing his anger.

"Percy, wait–" Annabeth started, but it was too late.

BOOOOM!

The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a massive crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told him Mrs Dodds was not yet dead.

"Our bags!" Grover realised. "Our bags were in there Percy!"

Percy ignored him. He rubbed his ring, and his spear formed in his hands. He got ready to rip her apart and absorb her essence right into his spear. But Annabeth grabbed his shoulders, locking a fierce glare right at him.

"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"

They plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind them, and nothing but darkness ahead.


"Have you completely lost your mind!" Annabeth yelled right in his face as they got enough distance. Percy held back his own yell. He was getting seriously annoyed. He had been cornered by creatures who obeyed the maniac holding his mother hostage, and in return, he was getting yelled at.

"Don't test me Annabeth," Percy warned, a glare forming on his face. She scrunched her hands into a fist.

"In case you haven't realised, this isn't just about you, Percy," she replied hotly, her cheeks reddening in anger. "Because of your stupid recklessness, you caused a bolt of lightning to destroy the bus and lost us all our bags and supplies. And on top of that, you uncapped your stygian iron spear? Percy, that weapon is lethal to mortals! What if Mrs Dodds had used her whip on you again? You could've seriously injured me, Grover, or worse, the mortals around us? Stygian Iron isn't a metal to joke with. It's from the underworld for a reason!"

Percy yelled in anger as he punched the closest tree to him. "You don't think I know that? How would you feel Annabeth, if the person you loved and cared about was being tortured while you're being hunted across the state, blamed for something you've never done and having monsters chasing you while trying to prove your innocence?"

Annabeth's eyes narrowed as she seriously contemplated punching him in the face. "Not sure if you realised Percy, but you're not the only person who's been hunted across the state because of a god's prideful anger. You're lucky, you still had other gods to protect you. I ran away from the age of seven and was hunted by cyclops and other vicious monsters sent from a god to kill me and my friends just for being born. And unlike you, we didn't have the same godly help or a loving mother who was willing to risk her life for us."

"Um, guys–" Grover began.

"Oh, I'm sorry Annabeth, I guess not all of us are as emotionally intact and wise as you are," Percy interrupted, not thinking clearly. "If I'm such a big bother to you, how about I continue this quest alone. We're not too far from camp, you and Grover can get back safe, without having to suffer from my recklessness!"

Percy's face burned in shame and embarrassment. Deep down, he knew Annabeth was right, but he couldn't stand to hear her condescending tone against him for another moment. He had been mistrusted by the campers, the gods, and random monsters who wanted to try him for something he'd never done. He ran off, the winds lifting him as he put some distance between himself and his quest mates, ignoring their calls for him to come back.


Author's Note: And so the quest begins. And it doesn't have the best start from the beginning. Now, I'd like to kind of defend my boy Percy here. He's been through an intense amount of bs and he's completely new to this world, so he was bound to blow a fuse sooner or later. He's been hunted, almost killed, his mother is possibly being tortured by Hades, the campers all avoid him, and he, himself, has some doubts about the campers (because he's a titan's child, he feels out of place) so it's natural with his short temper fuse, he let loose. In this chapter, as you all can see, he caused the bolt of lightning to explode the bus and destroy their bags, not Zeus. As Hestia and Chiron said, Zeus will not interfere at all, while his three sisters are shielding Percy. So that'll cause certain changes as well. And now, Percy has abandoned Annabeth and Grover. Yeah, that'll have its own repercussions on Percy. But yeah, not a bad cliffhanger to leave it on.

Love to see all the reviews coming in, and seeing everyone's opinion on Thalia's situation. I'm taking into consideration of everyone's opinion, and in about two or three weeks, I'll open a poll and give everyone about seven days to choose what they want. Keep sending your suggestions though, I read the reviews every morning, and I change certain parts of the chapter from others' suggestions. Also I like getting feedback :)

Next chapter won't be out till the weekend, this week is a bit busy, and I really want to update my other two stories this week as well. Feel free to check those out as well, you might enjoy them. Let me know what you think of those ones as well.

Also please please, can someone suggest me a nickname for Percy from Annabeth instead of Seaweed brain? (I'll also take nicknames for Percy from other people like 'Kelp Head' from Thalia, and 'Aqua Boy' from Leo). I've been racking my mind for a good one, but I seem to be coming up short. If anyone can give me good suggestions, I'll use them.

Now for the reviews.

UU TWO: Haven't planned Thalia's arc yet, but when it comes, there will be natural collisions between her and Percy, especially because of [spoilers can't say], but through that, I'll be using it to try and build her personality better. Appreciate the review, and yeah, since Percy will be more combat-oriented, I thought I'd use his sisters and Poseidon as a way of giving him 3 weapons to show how he adapts to different situations.

skotos07: Yeah, I feel like that trope is overused and, more importantly, not canon accurate. I know it's fanfic, and technically, I'm changing things from canon, but I try to keep the essential aspects of canon intact, and from Titan's Curse and Last Olympian, Zeus didn't want to kill Percy for purely being Poseidon's child but instead voted for him to live. I'm going to try and describe Zeus as a more proud immortal king, who has so many responsibilities, he does make his mistakes as well; an indication of what Hestia said to Percy when they talked.

Anaklusmos404: Duly noted on Thalia's arc. Yeah, like I said, it'll be Percabeth, but I won't rush into it. I'm going to try and build it as a natural good progression to make it an actually well-written friendship turned into something more. And yeah, Percy's drawbacks are vital to his character, as one of them prominently shown in this chapter. Love the review.

Death Fury: Thank you and duly noted as well. Appreciate the review :)

DevilishSlipper: Noted. Taking everyone's opinion in. Thanks for the review.

titus5: Noted. Percy and Kronos's relationship is... complicated. Will be explained later in the books.

Lord Kronos1950: Noted as well. Hera's motives and willingness will be explained soon, some of it in the next chapter. She's complicated, mainly from Lost Hero and Trials of Apollo vs Battle of the Labyrinth. I'll be using both sides of her, hopefully I can write it well.

Guest: Since there's two guests, I'll quote what you said so you know I'm talking to you.
"I did suspect that Kronos's status as the former ruler of the universe was the cause behind Percy's different power set. Good job! Keep up the good work and stay safe from the coronavirus!"

Yup, I wanted to add some good spins and I thought I'd use that version of the myth. Stay safe as well. Appreciate it.

ryan3127: Appreciate the kind review. Noted for Thalia, yeah I thought I could add an interesting spin to her character, but I wanted to get people's opinion before I made major changes. As for the great prophecy, well I don't want to spoil anything just yet, there'll be interesting spins added as things go on. But before I bring up anything to do with the prophecy, I need to do some major character building to set the heroes up for the prophecy.

Other Guest:
"I'm definitely enjoying the changes you have made! Is the Stygian Iron spear a shout-out to the Draupnir Spear from God of War Ragnarok? Keep up the great work and stay safe from the coronavirus!"
Actually, no it is not. I wanted to make deeper references to Percy's different powers and this was one of the opening points by giving him a weapon of the Underworld. But, I do love the way you think, that's a good spot, even if that wasn't my intention. Thanks for the review, and you stay safe as well.

JoJo 'Perlia' (obsessed aren't you XD) Jesus: Love the review from you. Yeah, if the changes made to Thalia work out, she'll have a different role to what she did in canon. Whether it's as the prophecy child, or something else, is yet to be seen.