Dinner came late that night, but everything was mostly back to normal by the next day. The satyrs were upset about a few trampled gardens, a few buildings needed repairs, some of the pegasi had to be treated for injuries, and the whole camp had a distinct manure smell now, but for the most part the camp was intact. Alexa had shuffled around the responsibility of her classes that day so she could focus on the shrine she had promised the ghostly goddess. There were plenty of freebies; bronze braziers, sacrificial bowl, columns, but the statue that would act as the centerpiece was taking all of Alexa's attention.
Marble, as it turned out, wasn't exactly the easiest thing to work with so recently after being caught in two stampedes, but the statue was well on its way to being presentable. Besides, there were worse injuries to be treated than the bumps and bruises she had acquired.
Alexa grumbled softly as she arrived for dinner, her body stiff from the day of chiseling, marble dust clinging to every available surface. Most of the camp was already waiting, tucking into their own food or sacrificing at the fire. She sat in her chair next to Mr. D, who was busy adding nectar to a taco like divine hot sauce.
"There is no way that tastes good." Alexa mumbled as she watched. The god grinned at her.
"It's to die for." He responded before taking a loud bite of the taco. "So, how's your art project?"
Alexa sighed, shook her head and grabbed a flour tortilla, smearing guacamole down its center. Calling what she was doing an art project felt like calling a fifteen-page book report simple homework.
"It's going." She replied, "I have all the little things pretty much done, it's the more intricate things that are taking me so long."
"Good things take time." Mr. D responded, swirling his glass of diet coke.
"Like wine?" Alexa asked dryly as she mixed steak and chicken into her burrito.
"I was actually going to refer to my time with da Vinchi, but yes, I suppose winemaking does take time as well." Mr. D smirked.
"I just wish I knew how much time we actually have." Alexa complained, a bit of the anxiety starting to leak through, despite her best efforts. "Have you heard anything from the questing group?"
"Not a peep. But I haven't really been listening." Mr. D responded with a nonchalant shrug.
"What do you mean you haven't been listening! You're a god!" Alexa asked incredulously. Mr. D responded by rolling his eyes, the faintest flicker of purple flames sparking out of them.
"Contrary to what you may think, we don't listen to every little moment of your short lives. If I was back on Olympus, and cared enough about the quest for the golden bathmat, I'd be able to watch things play out. But since I'm stuck down here, watching over the munchkins, I can't take any peeks until they start leaning into my domains. Unless they drink themselves into a stupor or have a psychotic break while they're out there, I won't hear about it unless they pray to me directly." Mr. D finished his dismissive explanation with a bite of his food, nectar spurting out over his fingers.
"So, we just have to wait?" Alexa groaned.
"Unless they find a way to send word to us, yeah, pretty much." Mr. D said with a nod, casually licking the taco's leavings off his fingers.
"Send word? They're in the middle of the Sea of Monsters, fighting who knows what! What're they supposed to do? Make a phone call?" Alexa asked exasperatedly.
Alexa felt she really should've known better by now; Mr. D might not be watching mortal lives, but the Fates were always listening for that sort of lead in. The moment the words were out of Alexa's mouth, a ripple of color appeared in the middle of the dining hall. The campers collectively gasped, then fell silent as the colorful swirl resolved itself into shapes. The first thing that Alexa saw was the backs of several people. Most were oddly shaped and she had a hunch that they were humanoid monsters, but the middle one was familiar to everyone; blonde, tan, dressed in a blue polo and gripping a sword that was half steel, half Celestial Bronze.
The next thing Alexa noticed (making her stomach tense and churn at the sight) was the fact that they were on the deck of a cruise ship, the ocean off in the distance, what sure as heck seemed to be a pirate ship lashed to the side.
The third and final thing Alexa noticed was the same thing that caught everyone's attention; three figures in stained clothing stood opposite Luke. In the middle was Percy, glaring defiantly at the traitor. On one side of him, wincing every time she moved but still looking determined, was Annabeth. Her right arm was in a sling of some gauzy white fabric. She held her knife in her left hand and judging by the monster dust swirling around her ankles that hadn't slowed her down in the slightest. On Percy's other side was Grover…who appeared to be wearing a torn and stained wedding dress, the bottom two feet or so cut away to reveal his hooves and furry shins. Alexa distractedly wondered if it had been sacrificed to make Annabeth's sling or if it was just for the convenience of movement. Tyson and Clarisse were nowhere to be seen, mixing panic in with the sudden relief she had felt upon seeing the three. Before Alexa could work herself up too much, Percy began to speak.
"You're the one who poisoned Thalia's tree!" He accused. Luke laughed.
"Of course! The gods are so arrogant! None of them would ever expect someone daring to sneak in and disrupt their precious tool training camp! A dart and a little elder scorpion venom and the borders were as good as gone." Alexa had to admit, Luke took to the whole villainous monologues thing like a fish to water. Percy barely even had to work to get the gloating mojo flowing. She spared a glance at Mr. D to gauge his reaction; His eyes were hard, and his irises were fully purple, as if a pair of amethysts encircled his pupils. He was giving the Iris message his full attention.
"How could you?" Alexa returned her attention to the message as Annabeth spoke. "Luke, how could you do that to Thalia!"
"How could I?" Luke chuckled condescendingly. "Annabeth, if you can't see how this is the Gods' doing you're going to have to do a lot more thinking on the subject. Who was it that hunted us? Who sent monsters after us? Who turned Thalia into that tree to begin with? It wasn't the Titans. So, I made her a little sick. We were going to let you keep the fleece…after we had finished with it."
"...You want to use the fleece on Kronos." Percy suddenly whispered "That's why you poisoned Thalia's tree…it has nothing to do with the camp!"
"The fleece would speed up the Titan Lord's recovery tenfold…but I wouldn't say it had nothing to do with Camp, getting Chiron fired was a pretty entertaining side effect." Luke chuckled again, stepping forward.
"Now…where is the Golden Fleece?" He asked, drawing his sword. At the question Percy turned his head and looked directly into the Iris message for the first time.
"We sent the Fleece ahead of us, with Clarisse. It should be in the air by now, going to JFK. But did you hear the entire confession?"
"Indeed, I did." Mr. D answered, causing Luke to wheel around. "I believe that's enough to corroborate the centaur's claims of innocence, and I must say I'm tired of losing to a dog." He turned to Alexa, "Ms. Baker, I hereby demote you to Temporary Activities Director."
"I happily accept!" Alexa chirped back, giving Luke a smirk. Luke gritted his teeth and slashed the Iris message, disconnecting the call.
"I must admit, I didn't expect Peter to be that clever. An Iris message during a villainous monologue, what a treat!" Mr. D chuckled.
"Percy." Alexa corrected automatically, getting to her feet and tossing the untouched burrito into the fire. "Bucky!"
"Yes boss?" The satyr was at her side before his name was even fully out of her mouth.
"Gather up some supplies and meet me at the camp van. Snacks, blanket, first aid. If they sent her ahead she's gotta be wiped out and airplane peanuts aren't going to do much." Alexa quickly rattled off. Bucky nodded and darted away. Alexa began heading for the Camp's garage, whistling for Luna as she jogged. The faithful hound was quick to fall into step next to her, little wings buzzing on her paws.
"Escort mission, we need to make sure nothing happens to Clarisse before we can get her back to camp. Keep your eyes peeled." At the command a few clicks and whistles sounded from Luna's head. Alexa nodded with approval; the pup was entering search mode. She only hoped she had gotten enough of Clarisse's scent. A single misstep could be disastrous.
The ride to the airport was nerve racking, but it was nothing compared to the wait once they got there. Alexa found herself pacing in the arrival area while Bucky fought for a parking space. Luna, as was expected of something made of bronze, was more stoic, sitting and watching the passersby for Clarisse.
"...What if something happened to her on the way?" Alexa worried.
"Woof" Luna responded flatly.
"...Well they could've done it subtly." Alexa muttered sheepishly. Had Alexa given Luna the ability to roll her eyes there was no doubt in her mind the pup would've before her next huff in response.
"No…you're right…a passenger going missing would make a plane land." Alexa sighed, stopping her pacing next to Luna. "I just can't help but worry…I just feel so useless, waiting."
Luna nudged Alexa's hip with her head, a move that all but forced Alexa to start petting her. This calmed her down after the third ruffle of the metallic ear.
"How in the world did I even make such a good therapist?" Alexa sighed. Luna perked up, her low growl sounding like the lowest setting on a leaf blower. At first, for a split second, Alexa thought the word therapist had set Luna off. Did she want more credit? Should she have said psychiatrist? Then Alexa realized Luna was no longer looking at her, but down the airport's main thoroughfare.
Alexa turned to find a pair of very conspicuous figures trying to look as inconspicuous as possible in a matching set of fedoras and trench coats. One was about ten feet tall, mist swirling around his fedora exactly like the cigarette smoke from a noir detective. The other stood only four feet tall, on a good day, his trench coat dragging on the floor and his hat pulled down low. It might've just been the bagginess of his disguise, but he seemed strangely lumpy.
Alexa's eyes narrowed; Two suspicious guys in trench coats, one inhumanly tall and smokey, one very short and lumpy. It could be nothing, but the fact that they were loitering around the arrivals area, near the bag claim, was enough to raise a red flag in Alexa's mind.
"Circle." Alexa whispered to Luna. "Clarisse is priority one, only jump in if you need to."
It was a testament to how focused the two were on their task that someone Alexa's size was able to get close enough to hear their conversation.
"...My…am…ee?" The bigger of the two asked, saying the city's name slowly and carefully with evident confusion in his voice.
"Yessss Jerry." His smaller companion responded. "Miami." The smaller of the two had a voice that just…sounded wrong. It had a buzzing cadence mixed in with the exasperation, as if a busted radio had taught itself to speak. The big one, Jerry, paused as if considering.
"What girl look like?' Jerry finally asked.
"Gee, I don't know, ssssslusssshhhh for brainsss!" The smaller creature hissed. "Maybe look for the one holding a golden fleeccccce! The bosssss ssssaid ssssshe wassssss on the plane from Miami! Jusssst keep an eye out for some brown haired girl getting off… there!"
Halfway through his explanation someone stepped into view from the arrival area. Looking like she hadn't properly showered or combed her hair in weeks, was Clarisse. Her light brown hair was a rat's nest, salt clung in visible clumps all over her skin, and her shirt and backpack were so faded, wrinkled and stained it was impossible to tell whether they were intended to be camo or not. In one quick movement the disguised monsters rushed forward. Jerry was the first to reach her, his meaty hand grabbing a hold of Clarisse's arm.
"Hey!" Cried the daughter of Ares, unsheathing a blade at her hip. Alexa was in motion too, though; She had already unhooked Lightning Bolt from her bracelet. She slashed through the smaller monster, cutting through his neck with no resistance and pulling the blade into a downward arc to slice Jerry's hand off at the wrist. The hand on Clarisse's shoulder immediately turned to slush as Alexa grabbed her other shoulder and yanked her back.
"You okay?" She asked.
"Yeah…" Clarisse said, watching as Jerry, frowning, looked at his wrist. He didn't seem upset, more befuddled as if he were wondering just where his hand had wandered off to.
"Owwie…" Jerry whimpered, sending a stab of pity, regret and shame into Alexa's heart.
"Quit gawking, oaf!" The voice came from the monster Alexa had, presumably decapitated. Wheeling around, Alexa took in one of the oddest sights she had ever seen. Six insects, each about two feet long with long whip-like tails, clung to each other in the now open trench coat. Two made up the creature's legs, two were currently tearing their way out of the arms of the trench coat, one clung onto the tails of the leg bugs, acting as their lower torso, and one, currently sporting one antenna significantly shorter than the other, glared at Alexa with its beady little eyes.
"Get both of them!" It hissed. Although it irked her to do this, picking a fight was not her main priority.
"Do you have the fleece on you?" Alexa asked as the mortals began to run for the exits, TSA agents making a beeline for the group.
"Duh! I'm not dumb, it's in the backpack!" Clarisse growled, reaching for her own pocket, presumably for a more potent weapon than the small knife.
"Good, hold tight!" Alexa said. Without any more warning than that, Alexa grabbed Clarisse by the belt and threw her upwards with a cry.
"Fetch!" Luna seemed to materialize out of the ether, dipping down slightly and sliding her head and neck under a very startled, airborne demigod. If Clarisse was anything like Jazz, Alexa knew she was going to be in for an earful when she got back to the van. Alexa moved to follow Luna, her sword sparking with electricity. She swiped the blade through the bug mass. The six insects broke apart to avoid the slash, but a few stray bolts arced off the blade to zap at their fleeing forms. Not pausing, Alexa sprinted for the exit, after the faint glimmer of her pup.
The van had its back door opened, the massive pitbull squeezed into the back seats. Alexa leaped in, and upon taking a quick inventory of their passengers she gave Bucky a slap on the shoulder.
"Punch it!" The satyr complied immediately, stomping a hoof on the accelerator and tearing into Queens just as six whip-tailed insects burst from the airport in hot pursuit.