Here's our next part.

We visit the Garden Gnome Emporium Part Two:

(Phoebe's Point of View)

Whilst Annabeth and Jason went inside to collect snacks, Grover, Cody, Akeda and I were inhaling as much fresh air as we could. "I couldn't stand to be near that awful toilet anymore,".

"At least Jason managed to sway Annabeth," Grover said. "He really didn't like how you two were ratting at each other,".

"We weren't ratting. She was just being bossy,".

"She's only trying to keep us all safe. I need to tell you important tips. Monsters can't be avoided entirely. They're more common than you think. The trick is to spot them first before they spot you. It's truly they are more likely to sense a more powerful demigod. A child of the Big Three: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades is at the most extreme risk,". He was getting more nervous every second. "But it isn't your power exactly, that draws them. It's more complicated than that,".

"They smell fear?".

"That's bees. What a monster sense is kind of more complicated than that. Some are better at sensing your inadequacy, your need for glory, your shame …," he listened to every key to getting caught with his fingers. "It's important to remember that if you've ever got to confront one, wherever our armour is weakest, that monster's coming right for it. And nothing will stop them, not even death,".

I didn't want him to say anymore. I had never felt more scared of anything in my life. Nearby, Cody was looking at a father with brown curly hair holding a little boy in his arms. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Not really. See that father and son? Looking at them reminds me of the last time I ever saw my dad. Before Jason found me and took me to Camp Half-Blood,".

"What happened to your dad?" I asked.

"One day, we were out camping. And then we were attacked by angry monsters. That's all I can say," Cody began to cry a bit so he picked up Akeda and walked back onto the bus.

"I shouldn't have asked," I cursed myself. He must have lost his parent too just like I lost mine.

"They're back," Grover pointed to Annabeth and Jason carrying a bag of goodies.

"We've got some water," Jason came to us and handed us a bottle of water. Annabeth however went ahead onto the bus. We drank the lush cool liquid.

"Thanks," I said.

"Fresh air do you some good?".

"Absolutely. Now let's get onto the bus. Do want something like a Fury bothering us again,". I took one of the bags and we walked back onto the bus. But a strange tingle went up my spine; we went back to where we were sitting before Cody was hugging Akeda whilst he was crying.

"Cody," Jason sat beside him. "Are you okay?".

"I saw a dad and a son. And it reminded me of that awful day,".

Jason hugged the crying boy and Grover and I decided to give them some space.

"Where's Annabeth?" I wondered. "She went on the bus,". The bus pulled away from the station, and I saw her walking back towards us. A grim expression on her face.

Jason saw her. "Annabeth…,".

"Guys, don't panic but there are Furies on this bus," she whispered.

I froze. And just over her shoulder, I saw the same scaley woman who came for me that day. And another one was with her.

Quickly Annabeth put the cap on my head and I disappeared. The Furies became confused. "Where'd she go?" they wondered.

"Madams, please return to your seats," the bus driver ordered.

"Phoebe look out!" Cody shouted. Another fury flew right through the back window. Crash. Glass spilled everywhere. The Furies attacked us. Grover managed to pull Cody back but Jason, Annabeth and Akeda wrestled with them bearing daggers and teeth.

"Hey, you passenger, knock it off back there!" the driver shouted. "I will pull over right now!".

Suddenly another Fury came crashing through the window, knocking out the bus driver.

"Phoebe, get to the wheel," Grover said to me. Still wearing the cap, I managed to sneak past the Furies, but I tripped, and the cap slipped off my head. I became visible again. The Furies spotted me and came for me. Quickly, I fled to the front seat where everyone was looking, and I tried turning the wheel. But the other Fury came at me and made a grab for me. I swiped my sword at her, losing focus for a few seconds. I felt myself falling back on the wheel and it rotated.

The bus lurched off the road and we fell over on the sides. It tumbled over, breaking glasses and sending everyone flying off their seats. It took a moment for me to regain consciousness. Some glass has scraped my cheek and my head hurt so much.

"Phoebe…,". As everyone was crawling out of the bus, Jason was quite bruised, and stepped carefully towards me, wincing from his injuries. We scrabbled out, reuniting with the rest of our team. But the Furies were still onto us. "Head to the forest!". Jason pulled me along. We fled the crash scene, heading towards a forest of tall pine trees. The scaley women flew after us, trying to pluck us from the ground.

But a roar boomed from the trees and Tuastos emerged and swiped at them, forcing them to treat. "Tuastos!". Cody hugged her. "Come on guys. We can still get away from here before they come back with friends!".

(Jason's Point of View)

Tuastos guided us through the forest, Cody riding her.

Grover led us. "Somewhere up ahead, this turns into a satyr path,".

"What's a satyr path?" Phoebe asked.

"It's a road through the wilderness. Satyr explorers use them. Monsters will find it harder to track us,".

"That's great," I said. "Perfect,".

"But if we stay in the wilderness, how are we gonna find a phone?". Phoebe complained.

Annabeth frowned. "What do we need a phone for?".

"To call for camp,".

"We don't need to call for camp. We're fine,".

Phoebe gave her a straight look. "Fine? We haven't got to Trenton. We've lost a lot of our supplies. And now we're wading through a forest, bruised from that awful bus crash which we, unlike a lot of people back there, were fortunate to survive. We are anything but fine,".

"Here we go," Cody rolled his eyes.

"We were sent on a quest by the Oracle, by the gods. So yes it's gonna be hard. Did you think it would be easy? That's why only certain people are chosen. If we call camp, we're basically saying it was a mistake to choose us,".

"I'm completely comfortable with that," Phoebe answered back. "Everyone makes mistakes,".

"Why are you so afraid of who you are?".

"What?".

Grover decided to change the topic. "You know, what's interesting about this particular satyr path is it's actually the one my Uncle Ferdinand took when he went out on his quest,".

But Phoebe ignored him and kept on arguing with Annabeth. "What was that supposed to mean, afraid of who I am? I'm not afraid,".

But Annabeth began to get a little cocky. "You aren't just a kid. 'Just a kid' doesn't do what you did to Clarisse back at camp. 'Just a kid' doesn't have Hades sending top lieutenants to retrieve them. You know you are part of something so much bigger than you can understand right now. We have to move forward whether you like it or not, whether you want it or not,".

"Annabeth, you are not making this easy for Phoebe," I gently criticise.

"You wanna go on, fine. You don't wanna call camp fine,". Phoebe retorted back at her. "So why don't we call your mum?".

"Phoebe," I hiss.

"What? She's her mum. I mean I'd call my father but we aren't exactly on speaking terms. You know because of the lifelong neglect and all,".

"Phoebe, your father didn't neglect you,". She ignored my attempts at explanation as she kept having a go at Annabeth.

"You and your mother seem close so why do we just ask her to help us?".

Annabeth rolled her eyes and turned to Grover. "Grover, will you please explain to her that she needs to pull herself together?".

"Alright, that's enough out of you two. Would you please just apologise to each other?" I begged.

But Phoebe kept on having a go at Annabeth. "You can't ask her, can you,". She huffed. "Of course. Gods don't talk to their kids at all do they. They don't help them when they need them most,".

"Grover …," Annabeth begged.

"Stop trying to pull him into this. He's on my side,".

"What makes you think that?".

"Because he's my Protector. And my best friend,".

"He was my Protector first,"

" 'First' ?" Phoebe became jealous. "What does she mean first?".

The awkward Grover kept on talking about the path we were on. "It feels great getting to walk in Uncle Ferdinand's footsteps again. Just wish my brother could be here,".

Phoebe frowned. "Your brother?".

But Grover ignored her. "The next best thing to getting to talk to him again,".

"Thalia, Luke and Annabeth had a satyr protector. And that was you. Why didn't you tell me?".

"Guys, can we just keep moving?" Cody begged. "We're never gonna get anywhere if we fight,". His bear mount sniffed the air and he roared. "Woah, what is it, girl?".

Grover could smell it too. We eyed it wearily. "It's hamburgers,". He led us away through the forest. "Someone is making us hamburgers in the middle of a satyr path. They're from our world,". We came out of the forest and off the path and found ourselves on a long straight road heading towards a large house and a garden of statues. There was a sight that said: 'Aunty Em's Garden Emporium,'.

Cody dismounted Tuastos.

"This is someone from our world," Annabeth shivered a little. Akeda sniffed the statues and growled.

"Anyone wanna guess what 'Em' is short for?" I asked nervously. We stopped walking and looked at the giant statues of Greek monsters and daemons in front of us. "Oh no," breathed.

"Let's get out of here," Cody turned around but to our shock, the Furies and more of their associates had caught up with us. I instantly recognised the middle one who was Mrs. Dodds, the same Fury who had pinned Phoebe to the wall. There were eight of them.

I put down my rucksack and pulled out my father's sword.

Phoebe activated Riptide and it glowed golden in the sunlight. Cody pressed his wristband and it turned into a bow. His animals growled, baring their sharp teeth.

Their leader Alecto eyed Annabeth dangerously. "You should have accepted my offer when you had the chance,".

Phoebe eyed Annabeth sinisterly. " 'Offer'? What offer? What did she promise you?".

"You are not taking any of us," I held out my sword.

Alecto eyed me again. "I remember you. Such a feisty troublemaker you were. How in the world did a mortal child come to be blessed by Poseidon himself? What makes you so special?". She stepped forward.

"Stay back!" I ordered again. Before Alecto or any furies could make a move, we heard another voice.

"Not now friends. Not on my doorstep,". Instantly they shielded their faces with their wings.

We turned our heads and saw a white-dressed woman wearing a net hat appearing from behind the statues. "Oh shoot," Annabeth turned her head away.

"Don't look at her," I turned my head away too, covering Akeda's eyes whilst scrunching my own. Cody did the same with Tuastos.

"If you have something to resolve, why not come inside and I'll help?" the woman offered. "Alecto, would you be happy to join us?".

Alecto like her sister kept her eyes hidden. "Oh pity. You know you kids know as long as you're with me, she won't bother you. But it isn't as though she'll leave either, not if it means reporting that she failed to retrieve the son of Poseidon,".

Opening my eyes very carefully, I could see Phoebe twitching a little. "How did you …"

"A forbidden child has been claimed. How long did you think that secret would be kept? It's a pleasure to meet you, daughter of Poseidon. I'm Medusa. And you know you're not the only special one,". Medusa was talking to me now. "You aren't just any ordinary child, Jason. You have no idea who you truly are, touched child. Why else would Poseidon grant you a place in our world?".

Phoebe's head moved. "Phoebe, don't!" Annabeth warned. "She's a monster,".

"We all choose who we make our monsters, but right now those ones want to tear you limb from limb and I'm offering you all lunch. The choice is yours," Medusa walked away, and we saw her disappear behind the statues.

"I think we can trust her," Phoebe spoke up.

"What?" the others exclaim.

"That's a terrible idea!" Cody objected.

"She isn't a monster. Not truly. My mum used to tell me her story all the time. She isn't what people think she is. And I trust my mum. So, I'm going in because it's the safer option,". She walked away. I eyed my friends sceptically. Even together with our skills and our bear and wolf protectors, we could not defeat Alecto and her fury sisters altogether.

"We go in for now," I say. "We'll decide what to do from there,".

"Jason…" Annabeth hissed.

"We can't leave without Phoebe. And I know the story about Medusa too. And I feel sorry for her as well,".

Cody sighed and addressed his bear and wolf. "Keep an eye on them. Don't let them near the house,". They roar and woof with loyalty and we follow Phoebe into the house behind the statues.

(Phoebe's Point of View)

The dining room of Medusa's house was beautiful. I loved the candles and the furniture, and the food on the table was making my mouth water. I was glad that Jason and the others had followed in after me. As much as I knew Medusa's sad story, I knew that I couldn't completely trust her. But I wanted to give her a chance.

Her voice called from the kitchen. "I left snacks on the table while I got something proper going,".

I eyed the food. "Do you think it's safe to eat?" I whispered to Grover.

"I'm not gonna lie to use Phoebe. I'm really hungry,".

"So am I," Cody rubs his belly.

"Thanks for coming in guys," I said to all of them.

"It was definitely the safer option," Jason said. "You okay, Annabeth?".

"I'm not gonna lie. This isn't gonna be as easy for me as it is for you," she said stubbornly.

Medusa came inside again. "You're concerned I would hold a grudge against you simply because you are a daughter of Athena?". We hid our eyes and she poured juice. "You shouldn't be. We're not our parents after all. "And you and I might have more in common than you think. Please sit and eat everyone,".

We sat down, keeping her eyes low. "I don't believe you're a monster," I try my best to keep my voice as compassionate as possible. "I know your story".

"You are right. I'm not a monster. I'm a survivor. And I especially don't like bullies like the ones who appeared on my doorstep. Most times when they appear, they end up spending a lot more time there than they planned for. The good thing about my gift is that no one can bully me ever again,".

"It's not a gift. It's a curse," Annabeth spoke out bluntly without thinking.

Medusa began to interrogate her. "You are loyal to your mother?".

"Yes,".

"You stand by her?".

"Always,".

"You love her,".

"Of course I do,".

"And so, did I. Do you the story of how I came to be this way? Athena was everything to me. I worshipped her, I prayed to her. I made offerings. She never answered. Not even an omen to suggest she appreciated my love. I wasn't like you sweetheart. I was you. I would have worshipped her that way for a lifetime in silence. But then one day, another god came for me. Your father,".

I flinched. I hoped she wouldn't come to this part.

"The Sea God told me that he loved me. I felt as though he saw me in a way I had never seen before. I prayed to Athena for comfort but then she declared I embarrassed her and I needed to be punished. Not him. Me. She decided that I would never be seen by anyone again,".

Annabeth shook her head in disgust. "That isn't what happened. My mother is just, always.

"That's what the gods want you to believe that. That they are infallible, that they care about you. But they only want what bullies want. To make us blame ourselves for our own shortcomings. They don't care about us,".

"You are a liar,". Annabeth spited.

Medusa was quiet. "Oh, something is burning. Excuse me for a moment. Would you come with me, daughter of Poseidon please?".

I slowly stood up and followed after her, looking back to nod at my team. I entered the kitchen and saw her frying burgers. "I'm sorry. She shouldn't have slighted you like that,".

"She's going to betray you,".

"What?".

"Sooner or later people like her will stab you in the back. You will be an easy mark for her when the time comes,".

Annabeth and I may have been arguing all today but she would never betray me. If she did, she'd be betraying Jason and that was the last thing she'd want to do.

"You know your mother and I are like sisters in the same way. Both of us were targeted by the same monster. So, I find myself feeling protective of you,".

I reflected on my earlier childhood, how in that beach cabin, my mother would always tell me stories about the gods and the heroes who battled monsters and went on quests. "My mum never talked about my dad that way. She always said that he was kind and unlike any person she had ever met before,".

"Did he leave you that pendant around your neck?".

I touch it. "Yes,".

"Where is she now? Is your mother safe?

"No. she's not,".

And do you trust your friends to make sure she is? Will they let you make her safe if it conflicts with their quest? Like that touched child?"

"Jason cares. He's my friend,".

"In time he will be your doom. He will only bring misfortune upon all of you. Forces are already in pursuit of him as they have done for years. I could help, remove them from the equation. So, you can be free of them. And the touched children won't threaten all of you. If you ask me to,"

I tiptoe away and flee the kitchen.

(Jason's Point of View)

The moment Phoebe came from the kitchen, we instantly fled through another door and I shut it behind us tight. We tumbled down the stairs into a large, dark cellar. The sound of high heels echoed above us, and I hugged Cody to my chest. The upstairs door creaked and opened and a trail of fire ignited the stairs, towards us and behind me, a statue of a hiker woman appeared into sight. I nearly jumped. We looked ahead and saw a ginormous basement full of statues, lit torches and large wooden boxes. The door closed above us. Medusa was coming for us.

"Come on," Annabeth pushed us all and we sprinted into the maze of statues.

"There's five of us and only one of her," Grover whispered loudly. "If we split up, she can't be watching all at once,".

"I don't think it's that simple," Annabeth answered back.

"I've got a plan," I unzipped my bag and pulled out Luke's flying shoes. "Grover, if you can get in the air, you can draw her attention and give us a chance to take her out,".

"I'm not sure about this," Phoebe said worriedly.

"Jason's right, it's the only chance we've got," Grover sat down. "Give me the shoes,". I passed them to Grover, and I helped him lace them up. "Okay, was the magic word 'Maia?".

"Don't," I hissed, but it was too late. The white wings sprouted from the shoes and Grover was lifted off the ground. He disappeared into the dark.

Phoebe slapped her sides, eying me like I was an idiot. "So, we're gonna need a new plan. Any ideas?".

Loud hisses rang the air. "Split up,". I pushed Cody in one direction whilst Annabeth pushed Phoebe in another. It was our only chance if we could kill Medusa.

That's another part of episode three done. One more part and then that's three episodes done. I hope you all enjoyed this. Get ready for the battle against Medusa and another OC character which someone sent a while ago. Get ready for the fun later this week.

See you later.