Chapter 10: The fearsome dirty sock gag

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be following a pegasus to save other pegasi from the Amazon," Thalia muttered to herself as she walked silently through the bushes of the forest. "Hunters of Artemis... Amazons... What's next? A damn secret society of Spartans?"

The black pegasus, Blackjack, snorted and bowed his head to Percy, who walked beside him.

'You have strange taste in choosing your mares, boss,' the pegasus said.

"Who the hell are you calling a mare?" Thalia scowled at the pegasus.

Both Percy and Blackjack turned to look at Thalia with surprise on their faces, or at least Thalia assumed the wide eyes of the pegasus were in surprise.

"Wait, do you understand him?" Percy asked confused.

Thalia snorted.

"Of course I do. I can understand any animal that has wings and can fly. Daughter of the god of the sky, remember? And this pony has wings. Although I'm surprised he can fly, considering how fat he is."

This time it was Blackjack who snorted.

'Fat? Fat your ass. I'm a stallion of pure muscle!'

Thalia's frown deepened at the comment about her butt and she couldn't help but turn to look at it.

'Was it really that big?' she thought.

"Keep eating those donuts, and she'll be right, dude," Percy pointed out.

'Of course you could side with your female, boss,' Blackjack said. 'I didn't know you had a thing for tomboy punk.'

Percy's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Shut up, Blackjack," he said.

Blackjack just whinnied in a way that was the equivalent of a laugh.

"How would a pegasus know about pop culture?" Thalia asked.

'I am not like the other pegasi' Blackjack spread his wings and raised his head proudly. 'I'm unique!'

Thalia wouldn't admit it, but he was right. Blackjack was a beautiful black pegasus. His fur seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, his large muscles contracted with every step he took, indicating great strength, and his wings looked as soft as cotton.

"What are they talking about?" Annabeth asked Grover who could also understand animals because he was a satyr.

"Uh... well... about how fat Thalia's butt is," Grover said hesitantly.

"It's not fat!" she snapped, before looking at Percy doubtfully. "... Isn't it?"

"No. It's just..." Percy's cheeks flushed a little. "Your hips are wide... and... your thighs too..."

Thalia felt strangely self-conscious, and it didn't help that Blackjack came over and nudged her lightly with his snout.

'Lucky for you, the boss likes them like that,' the pegasus said mischievously. 'You're his type.'

"Shut up, you winged pony," she growled, shoving the horse away.

"Hmp," Sammy snorted, clinging to Percy's arm. "Don't listen to them, Percy. You still have the cutest butt."

Percy chuckled as he stroked the little girl's head.

"Thank you, Sammy."

Looking at them, Thalia couldn't help but think how cute they looked. Next to Sammy, Percy had an attitude he didn't show to anyone else. He was like a big brother. It reminded her of the relationship she had with... Jason.

But that wasn't what she needed to focus on right now. Neither did Percy's perfect butt, which was only two feet away from her. She needed to focus on saving the pegasi and the clearing in the forest she could see in the distance.

"We're close," Percy said softly. "Stay close. We don't know how many there are."

Blackjack snorted for attention and nodded.

'There are three of them,' the pegasus reported. 'I saw them.'

"There's only three?" Percy asked.

Blackjack nodded again.

"That makes things easier," Luke said, sounding confident.

"Do not underestimate the amazons," Annabeth warned. "They are fierce warriors. Better than the hunters of Artemis, if the stories about them are true."

"Don't let the hunters hear you say that," Grover said as he looked around, almost expecting the hunters to appear. "They have a small... No... a big rivalry with the amazons."

"Even though both are girls?" Sammy asked. "I thought they would get along."

"Oh, they both respect each other, but their ideals are slightly different, and that's why they tend to clash. In the past, some hunters have come back to camp badly injured after encountering the amazons."

"And now we're going straight to a group of girls who can humiliate the hunters..." Luke said, feeling his confidence evaporate.

"Great! I'll show them who's boss!" Thalia said, still defiant.

"Percy is the boss!" Sammy exclaimed with joy and a big smile on her face, earning her a pat on the head from an amused Percy.

'Yeah, he is!' Blackjack said, showing his support. 'I like this one, boss.'

Thalia snorted derisively.

"Or rather, the seaweed boss."

The pegasus slight snort caught everyone's attention; they had arrived.

The midday sun allowed them to see clearly what lay before them. Three cages, about ten feet high and fifteen feet long. In each cage was a pegasi, white as snow in winter. One of them was banging its head against the metal bars, another was calmly eating a sack of apples that it had in its cage, and the other had its head down as if resigned to its fate.

Guarding the cages were five girls who, unlike the hunters of Artemis who wore silver, the amazons wore black. Leather pants and black jackets, along with black military boots. Thalia could see that some of them had bows with quivers of arrows slung across their backs. Others wielded spears along with crescent-shaped shields.

But what caught their attention was a group of boys, six of them, doing heavy lifting. They were carrying large wooden crates to a truck parked in the woods. The strange thing about these boys was that they were all wearing orange jumpsuits, like those used by prisoners, and even had chains holding their hands and feet together, although the chains were long enough to allow them to walk a little.

"Who gave you permission to rest, boy?" one of the amazons shouted as she kicked a boy who had stopped.

The boy fell to his knees, but he didn't let go of the box he was carrying.

"Did I say stop? Move!" ordered the same amazon who had kicked him.

"Yes, my lady..."

Thalia felt disgusted when she saw this. Apparently, the amazons were forcing these boys to do the heavy lifting.

"This... Is this normal?" Thalia asked, to no one in particular.

"I told you, the amazons are different from the hunters of Artemis," Grover said, hiding behind a bush. "Unlike the hunters, the amazons don't hate men, they just subjugate them and force them to work for them... although many of them do it of their own free will."

Percy frowned in disgust.

"And why would they willingly submit to someone?" he asked, unable to understand how anyone could give up their freedom to be forced to work as a pack mule for someone else.

"Well... from what I understand... they do it to be with them, in different ways," Grover said, emphasizing the word.

Thalia, Luke and Percy understood, while Annabeth and Sammy still looked a bit confused.

"I see... I don't know whether to feel sorry for them or envy them," Luke said, watching as the amazons forced the boys to drag a cage into the truck.

"Well, think about it later," Percy said with a serious look on his face. "We need to do something before they take the pegasi."

"We need to distract them," Annabeth said. "We cannot take them all. We are outnumbered and they are all armed."

"Not only do we have to distract them, we have to separate them," Luke said. "We need to get them away from the cages so we can free the pegasi."

"But how do we do that?" Thalia asked. "Those cages have locks, and surely one of them has the key."

A mischievous smile formed on Luke's lips as he looked at the cages containing the pegasi.

"We don't need the key. Or at least I don't," he said, his voice full of confidence. "But I'm going to need some time to open all three cages. From what I could see, they all have electronic locks."

"Then we need to split into two groups," Annabeth said, her hand on her chin. "One group will distract the amazons, while the other group will free the pegasi."

"Thalia and I will take care of the amazons," Percy said, looking to Thalia for support, which was met with a determined nod from the punk girl. "You four will be responsible for freeing the pegasi."

"Are you sure, Percy?" Grover asked worriedly. "The amazons are a dangerous group. If they catch you, you will most likely be taken prisoner and forced to work for them."

Percy frowned at the thought of being subject to someone else's will.

"That's not going to happen," he said.

A loud groan drew their attention. One of the pegasi was shaking violently in its cage, preventing the orange-clad boys from properly dragging it into the truck.

"Control that pegasus!" ordered one of the amazons, who appeared to be about eighteen-years-old and was the obvious leader by the presence she exuded. "It's bad enough that we've lost that only rare black pegasus! I will not let us lose these white ones!"

"Yes, ma'am!" was the response the boys received in unison.

A smile formed on Percy's lips.

"Okay, I think I have the perfect distraction," he said, a plan forming in his head.

"Annabeth," the young demigod girl looked up as she saw Percy approaching. "Are you ready?"

"I... Yes," she answered, but then lowered her head slightly. "But... What if I don't do it right, what if instead of helping, I just screw things up? What if I alert the Amazons? What if I make things worse? What if I put you in danger? What if..."

"Hey, don't do that" Percy knelt down to her level and put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't eat your head off with 'what ifs' because it's a vicious cycle."

"But I can't help but wonder if I can do this."

"You could have done it the day we met, couldn't you? When I asked you to burn the church."

She nodded slowly, but the uncertainty was still on her face.

Percy looked at her for a few seconds, trying to think of the best way to encourage and motivate her. There was only one way he could think of.

"I think you can do it, Annabeth," he said, reaching into his boot and pulling out the dagger Luke had given him, who in turn had received it from Hal. "And that's why I'm going to give you this."

Annabeth opened her eyes wide in confusion as she hesitantly held out the dagger Percy offered her, as if afraid to take it.

"As a demigod, it's time you had a weapon to defend yourself," Percy took Annabeth's hand and closed it around the hilt. "I know it doesn't look as fancy as Luke's sword or as amazing as Thalia's spear and shield, but a knife can be a deadly weapon in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. Not everyone can wield a knife. It takes courage and cunning to wield a knife. Someone smart. And that is you, Annabeth. You are much smarter than me."

Annabeth looked at her own reflection in the Celestial Bronze dagger. Percy was right. Though not as flashy as Luke's sword or Thalia's spear, a knife could be immensely deadly in the right hands. One only had to look at Percy. He wielded a knife and was the strongest person she knew.

"Do you think... I can ever be as good as you are with a knife?" she asked.

Percy smiled at her and put a hand on her head.

"I think you can be better than me."

Annabeth smiled back. All her doubts had vanished from her mind. If Percy trusted her, if he believed in her, she would not disappoint him.

Amber wasn't a very happy woman right now, as evidenced by her heavy frown as she crossed her arms and rhythmically tapped her foot on the floor.

She had been assigned as the leader of the group in charge of finding mythological beasts, by none other than the queen herself! Imagine her surprise and delight when, after a week of finding nothing worthy of her attention, they found four full-grown pegasi, three of them as beautiful as pure snow. But they paled before the majesty of the fourth pegasi's beauty. He had an onyx-black color and powerful muscles that spoke of his strength and speed. She had never seen or heard of a black pegasus before.

She had to capture that pegasus by all means. Her queen would be immensely pleased to present her with that beautiful and unique specimen.

But they underestimated the black pegasus. He was fast, clever and most of all very cunning. He had evaded their traps and attempts to capture him with grace and beauty, which only increased Amber's desire to capture this beautiful specimen.

Unfortunately, they couldn't. The pegasus had flown away on his great wings. Amber wanted to beat her fellow amazons for their incompetence.

She took a long breath. There was no point in dwelling on the past. At least they had captured the three white pegasi. She would not return to her queen empty-handed, that would have been an absolute shame for her. She only wished she had something unique to present, so that her queen would not regret entrusting her with such a delicate task.

One of the amazons trotted over to Amber. She stopped in front of her and stood up straight.

"The pegasi are secured," the amazon reported.

Amber acknowledged her report with a nod. The amazon, Sasha, a daughter of Apollo, was one of their newest members. She had joined only six months ago, but she showed promise, dutifully fulfilling her role as the group's medic.

"Perfect. Get ready to go. We need to..."

She was interrupted by a loud whinnying. At first, Amber thought it was another of the pegasi they had captured, but when she turned to the sound, her eyes widened in surprise to see the same black pegasus that had escaped a few hours ago.

Blackjack charged quickly toward the cargo truck holding his companions, and with a loud whinny, slammed his front paws into one of the truck's unlocked cargo doors, ripping it from its hinges.

Amber, the more experienced amazon, pulled herself together first.

"Catch that pegasus!" she commanded authoritatively, "Don't let him get away again! If you fail, you'll spend the next three months cleaning latrines and without sex!"

This seemed to spur the amazons on. No one wanted to clean the latrines, but most of all, no one wanted to go through three months of sexual abstinence. It was their greatest way of coping with the stress of constant work.

The amazons quickly pulled out their nets and prepared to catch the elusive pegasus. With each attempt, the pegasus deftly evaded the nets, adding to the amazons frustration.

In a moment of carelessness and impatience, one amazon came closer than she should have and was struck hard by one of Blackjack's wings, sending her flying and crashing into the cargo truck.

"Jenny!" a girl exclaimed worriedly. She turned to the pegasus, who had backed up to the edge of the clearing, and with a mocking whinny, he turned and ran into the forest. "It's running away again!"

"Don't let him out of your sight!" Amber cried. "Sasha! Stay here and look after Jenny! Claire, Madison, follow me! We'll catch the bastard!"

With orders given, Amber moved quickly through the undergrowth, following the footprints the pegasus had left in him attempt to escape her. Had she not been so focused on catching Blackjack, she would have noticed that the pegasus was galloping slowly so as not to lose sight of him, or that he was not flying away from them as he had done before.

The three amazons watched as the black pegasus dashed into the bushes, disappearing from sight for a moment. They followed him without hesitation, through the same bush, and saw with a mixture of satisfaction, surprise and confusion that the black pegasus had stopped, but he was not alone.

The pegasus stopped next to a boy who looked no older than seventeen. He had unkempt black hair and worn clothes. They were all surprised to see the pegasus docilely lower his head to allow the boy to gently caress his face.

"Well done, buddy," the boy said in a soft voice. "I'll take care of the rest."

Amber, being the leader, was the first to speak.

"Stay away from that pegasus, boy," she demanded authoritatively, taking a step forward. "The amazons have claimed him as our prize."

"Stay out of our way," Claire warned, less patiently. "And we'll consider letting you go."

Percy slowly turned and looked directly at Amber, his cold, piercing green eyes holding a dangerous gleam.

Unconsciously, Amber tensed her body. Ready for battle.

"Pegasi are not objects," Percy said, frowning. "They don't belong to anyone. They're free creatures. So you'd better set them free."

Madison mocked his words with an amused snort.

"And what are you going to do on your own? You're just a boy. You can't beat us."

Percy reached into the back of his jeans and pulled out his hellhound fang knife.

"We'll see about that."

At the sight of the knife, Amber felt a chill run down her spine. There was something familiar about the knife, but she couldn't remember exactly what it was.

"It's three against one," Amber said, but she had her spear ready in case she needed it. She had a bad feeling about this boy. "You don't stand a chance. Hand us over to the pegasus and I won't kill you right here for your insolence. I'll just make you my prisoner."

Percy arched an eyebrow in amusement, though his body language suggested he was ready for a fight.

"When did I say I was alone?"

That caught the amazons off guard. Claire and Madison were unable to react in time as Thalia burst out of the bushes like a tiger pouncing on its prey and slammed the edge of her shield directly into Madison's stomach, causing the amazon to double over in pain as the daughter of Zeus kneed her in the face.

There was the familiar snap of the bone breaking and Madison fell back several feet behind her, completely unconscious.

"Madison!" Claire exclaimed in alarm, then frowned heavily and charged angrily at Thalia, who waited for her with a defiant smile. Her trusty spear and shield in hand.

Amber tried to help Claire and avenge her fallen sister, but she had to quickly raise her shield as a leg threatened to slam into her stomach. The force of the blow brutally threw her back several feet, but she managed to stay on her feet. When she raised her shield again, her arm shook slightly and felt numb. Clearly, the blow had not been normal.

"I think I'll be your opponent, amazon," Percy said, preventing Amber from helping her partner who was being overpowered by Thalia.

'Who is this boy?' Amber thought, studying Percy, then widened her eyes in surprise as she saw a dent in her Celestial Bronze shield. She looked at Percy warily. 'He managed to surprise me, and his strength is not normal. I cannot underestimate him.'

She had over six years of experience and training since she decided to join the amazons at the age of twelve. But she felt that she had to give her all in front of this opponent if she wanted to be victorious. Those green eyes, as cold as the Arctic Ocean, sent a chill down her spine.

Luke glided silently with one goal in mind: to free the caged pegasi. He was a little sad to see these beautiful creatures being taken away. He felt it shouldn't be like this. These creatures should be free to fly through the skies, not on display as some kind of trophy.

With this feeling in his heart, he sneaked away from the small amazon camp in the direction of the truck carrying the pegasi. Fortunately, Blackjack had broken through the back doors, which came in handy for Luke. He only hoped that the remaining amazons wouldn't notice him, but that's why he sent Annabeth, Sammy and Grover to distract them if necessary.

With the stealth of a worthy son of Hermes, Luke quickly climbed into the truck. The first thing he noticed were the three cages lined up in the center. The pegasi were inside, one biting at the bars trying to get out, another asleep with a half-eaten apple in its mouth, and the last just lying on its legs with a depressed look on its face.

As he approached the lock, the pegasi chewing on the bars nearly bit his fingers off.

"Whoa! Easy, buddy," Luke reassured it in as calm a voice as he could muster. If there was one thing he had learned from the pegasi, it was that they were highly intelligent and capable of understanding human language. Blackjack had confirmed that. "I am here to free you. We have met the black pegasus, Blackjack, and he has asked us to help you."

The pegasi studied him for a few seconds, as if it doubted his words. Then it stepped back slightly from the bars. It seemed to believe in Luke. The son of Hermes gave it a reassuring smile and went to work on the lock. It took him about thirty seconds before he heard a 'beep' and the red light turned green. The locks released and the door opened.

The pegasi wasted no time in opening the door and leaving the cage. It walked quickly to the truck's exit door and stepped out into the open, spreading its wings. Before it galloped off into the woods, it turned and looked at Luke. It bowed its head in gratitude and respect and ran into the woods, disappearing into the trees.

Luke smiled, but this was no time to stand there. The amazons left in the camp might have seen the pegasi run away, and he had two more pegasi to free.

With that in mind, he began to open the other gates. Next was the pegasi, who seemed depressed, but it raised its head when it heard the 'beep' of the lock, along with the sound of the cage opening. There it saw Luke, who smiled encouragingly at it before moving on to the last cage.

As he concentrated on unlocking the last lock and freeing the last pegasus, he didn't notice a figure taking position behind him until it was too late and everything went dark.

"Are you sure about what you're doing, Annabeth?" Grover asked, nervousness in his voice.

"No," the little demigod admitted, but she didn't stop what she was doing. "But I don't need to know, I just have to cut some wires from the dashboard to prevent the car from starting."

"Then you better hurry," Sammy said. "That amazon just healed her partner."

"Maybe you could do a better job," Annabeth growled as she tried to open the board with the bronze dagger Percy had given her.

She had been touched and doubtful that Percy would give her a weapon, she was just a child! What if she accidentally stabbed herself in the eye? But the trust Percy had placed in her erased any doubts she had about herself. Percy had that effect on people.

Sammy didn't say anything about her friend's outburst, just kept looking in the rearview mirror at the amazon who had stayed behind at the camp. If she was honest with herself, she was a little nervous. None of the three of them were good at fighting, and they wouldn't be able to do anything if the amazon caught them trying to sabotage their car.

"Luke or Percy would be more ideal for this job," Grover said, biting his nails as he looked around.

"They have their own job," Annabeth said, concentrating on her work. "And they trust us to do ours. And I'm not going to let them down. Besides, we have already deflated several tires on the truck. Once we finish that, our job is done."

With a jerky movement, she finally managed to expose the plastic of the dashboard. A proud smile graced Annabeth's features as she got it.

"Way to go, Annabeth!" Sammy encouraged her friend in a whisper.

"Quick! Cut the wires!" Grover hurried.

With a single swing of her knife, Annabeth cut all the wires in the car. She might have cut one of the ones that was responsible for starting the engine, or she might have just cut the wire for the lights and the air conditioning, she didn't know, and she didn't have time to check.

"We have to go! She's coming!" Sammy warned, seeing the amazon approaching in the rearview mirror.

Annabeth quickly put the dashboard in place as best she could before getting out of the driver's seat. They closed the driver's door and left as quietly as possible, heading for the rendezvous point they had arranged with the others.

"Sabotage mission successful," Sammy whispered excitedly with a slight chuckle.

"Now we have to wait for the others. I hope they're okay," Annabeth said worriedly.

"They will be," Sammy assured her without a doubt. "No one can beat Percy."

Annabeth and Grover could only smile, touched by the confidence in Sammy's voice.

'Who the hell is this boy?' Amber thought in fear.

Panic began to flood her mind as she dodged a cut that had slashed her eye, but just as quickly the boy attacked again, swinging his knife again and slashing her across the cheek with the tip of the blade. Amber felt the sting of the cut, along with the many others all over her body, but she didn't let her guard down. She couldn't, for a single moment of carelessness would be the end of her.

This boy... she had never faced anyone like him before. Despite all her years of training with the amazons, they meant nothing to the boy before her. He fought with a brutality she had only seen in the most savage monsters, but even with that... there was a precision to his movements. As if each cut was coldly calculated.

Trying to get some distance between them, she pushed the boy with her shield, gaining some space. She decided to take advantage of it by thrusting her spear with the intention of stabbing him, but the boy stepped aside at the last second and grabbed her spear under his left arm, then forcefully raised his left knee, breaking the spear in half.

Amber cursed herself for wielding a wooden-handled spear and lunged forward with the edge of her shield, but the boy was too quick and ducked under the blow, slipping into her guard. Amber couldn't do that as she saw the boy's open palm come toward her head, closing over her neck with a force that cut off her breath. She felt a force lift her up before she hit the ground hard. A choked scream escaped her mouth, but she couldn't say anything else because the boy still had an iron grip on her neck. She tried to hit him with her shield, but he planted his foot on her forearm, making it impossible for her to move.

Before she could counterattack with her free arm, she saw the tip of the boy's strange knife just inches from her eye, stunning her. Her gaze then slid to the eyes of the person holding the knife. A shiver ran down her spine as she saw those cold eyes and a primal fear settled in her heart. A single move would be enough to kill her.

"Give it up," Percy demanded, not taking his eyes off her. "I don't want to kill you."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thalia disarm Claire with a deft move and place the tip of her spear in the amazon's chest, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath.

Seeing her cornered, Amber bit her lip in frustration, glaring at Percy, but admitting defeat as she dropped his broken spear and shield.

Percy's gaze softened a bit, but he still kept his guard up as he grabbed the spear, leaving the amazon unable to fight. He took the shield from her, leaving her completely unarmed.

"I see you're done," Thalia said, walking over to Percy and poking Claire with the tip of her spear, causing the amazon to growl in annoyance, but she did nothing. "But I won. I defeated two while you only defeated one."

Percy raised an eyebrow, a look of amusement on his face.

"But I faced the leader," he said. "And I didn't need a sneak attack to defeat her."

Thalia grunted at that.

"Anyway, it counts. Now, what do we do with them? I pass on killing them."

Percy nodded.

"We don't have to. Just make sure they don't try anything while we free the pegasi. Luke will have already finished the job."

Amber grunted at that. They were deceived. Those two were just a distraction, there was a third party involved. And if he was as strong as the two of them, then Sasha wouldn't stand a chance and Jenny would be finished.

A bitter taste settled in her mouth as she realized that she had been playing into their hands all along. They had lost.

Blackjack trotted over to the small group, an unconscious Madison hanging from her jacket by the pegasus strong teeth and a backpack on her back.

Percy smiled slightly as the pegasus released the amazon, causing her to groan in pain.

"Well done, buddy," Percy said, stroking the pegasus head. "We wouldn't have done so well without you."

Blackjack whined in delight at the compliment as he pressed his face into Percy's, causing him to chuckle in amusement.

Percy grabbed the backpack Blackjack had on his back and pulled out a couple of ropes, tossing one to Thalia.

"Percy... I didn't know you had a fetish for tying people up," Thalia said mockingly.

"Maybe I'll give you an up-close demonstration later," Percy said, sneering back. "But right now we need to tie up the amazons. I don't want to fight again unless I have to."

As they both tied their arms behind the amazons backs, Amber couldn't help but groan in discomfort at her injuries. Percy hit... hard. She had no doubt that she had several bruises where he had hit her.

"You will regret this," Claire growled angrily. "No one attacks the amazons without suffering the consequences."

"The only thing I regret right now is not having duct tape to shut your mouth," Thalia commented, unperturbed by the threat as she placed the unconscious and bound Madison on Blackjack's back.

"We could always gag her with your smelly socks," Percy said with a grin as he finished tying up Amber.

Thalia made a face of disgust.

"Even I'm not that cruel... but I'll consider it if she doesn't shut up."

Claire wisely kept quiet, but she still glared at the two of them, especially at Thalia.

As Percy, Thalia and Blackjack led the defeated amazons away, Amber glanced at Percy. She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about the boy. He had defeated her without much effort, even though he was younger than her.

Amber had years of training on her part, but Percy had none. He had no pattern or training when he came to attacking. He was unorthodox, his movements completely unpredictable. But most of all, he was dangerous because of his experience. She could see it in every move he made, even when he seemed to walk casually, he remained alert, his muscles tensed and his eyes roaming everywhere, looking for threats. They were the movements of someone who had been in many battles, most of them life and death.

"Who are you?" Amber asked, sounding more meek than she wanted.

The question was more directed at Percy than Thalia, as Amber asked it looking directly at him.

Percy only gave her a sideways glance, but answered anyway:

"We are like you; demigods."

Amber and Thalia's eyes widened in surprise.

"How do you know I'm a demigod?" Amber asked, curious to know how this boy could recognize her.

"It was the way you fought," Percy replied dismissively. "No normal human would have the reflexes you have. Your strength, speed, and spear handling are not ordinary. You could have killed Thalia without much effort."

"Oh, wow. We have a son of Athena among us," Claire said with sarcasm and mockery.

Thalia shot Percy a look of disgust.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, seaweed boss," she said in a sour voice.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Thalia," Percy said with an apologetic smile. "You're strong, no doubt, but you don't have the proper training." He jerked his thumb at Amber. "She, on the other hand, has years of training. I could see that when we fought. The only reason I was able to beat her was because she underestimated me and didn't know the way I fight."

Thalia scoffed but didn't say anything. She just looked away from her, still feeling rather grumpy from his comment.

Amber was a little shocked by the boy's deduction and studied him with new eyes. Percy was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with his situation, but he continued on through the forest, trying to ignore the tense silence that prevailed, except for Blackjack's amused snorts.

When they reached the edge of the clearing where they had decided to meet the others, they saw Grover, Annabeth and Sammy looking worriedly at the amazons camp. Percy's instincts kicked in when he didn't see Luke anywhere, and he quickly walked over to his friends, leaving Thalia and the captive amazons behind.

"What's going on?" Percy asked urgently.

Annabeth turned to look at him, concern on her childlike face.

"Luke's not back yet," she said, her voice shaking.

Percy narrowed his eyes. He looked at the amazon camp and couldn't see anyone in it, which was strange and worrying.

"Are you okay?" Grover asked, his eyes moving between him and the bound amazons.

"Yeah, it was nothing," Thalia said, approaching the group with an arrogant smile. "I told you I'd show them who's boss."

"It was just a fluke!" Claire exclaimed, still sulking from her defeat. "You took us by surprise, that's all! Next time I'll kick your ass, tomboy!"

Thalia frowned and gritted her teeth in annoyance. Percy could see a vein sticking out of Thalia's neck and made a mental note not to call her that.

The angry daughter of Zeus slowly approached the amazon, who began to freak out a bit at the look Thalia was giving her.

"I warned you," was all Thalia said,

She sat up and removed one of her black boots.

Claire watched with fear and a pale face as Thalia took off her socks and held them up to her face.

"No... Please... No!" Claire begged, but Thalia didn't stop. "I'm sorry! Don't do it! For the love of...! Ugh!" Her pleas were literally drowned out by Thalia's sock filling her mouth.

Claire could only scrunch her face in disgust as small tears welled up on her face, whether it was from the taste of the sock or the humiliation, they didn't know.

Amber looked at her fellow amazon with pity, but a part of her knew the girl had asked for it. Never goad the enemy when you are at their mercy.

"Okay, now that the nuisance is silenced, we need to find Luke," Thalia said, ignoring Claire's muffled sobs. "Any idea where he might be?"

"I didn't see Luke get out of the truck when he got into it," Grover said.

"Most likely he was surprised and captured," Annabeth deduced.

"Yes, I think so too. I saw that only two pegasi were released. I never saw a third."

Percy and Thalia frowned. They didn't believe that Luke had been captured so easily; as far as they knew, there were only two other amazons, and one of them was injured. But everything indicated that their friend had been captured.

"What are we going to do? We can't leave him," Thalia asked Percy, who was staring at the camp.

Then he saw the bound amazons and an idea flashed through his mind.

"It's simple," Percy said, a smile forming on his lips. "We'll make an exchange."

"This is not going to work," Amber said as Percy pushed her into the Amazon camp. "We lost the pegasi we came for because of you, and you attacked us. Don't think we're going to take this lying down."

There was a hint of threat in her voice, and Percy was aware of it, but he didn't flinch as he strode into the camp without hesitation, followed by Thalia, spear in hand. Ready if the negotiations failed.

"Perhaps we can come to an agreement," Percy said. "Not everything has to be settled by violence."

"As a daughter of Ares, I must disagree," Amber said, taking Percy by surprise with the revelation. "Violence and war are within me. If I have the option to resolve a conflict by fighting, rest assured that I will do so."

"And where has that led you? To be captured by the enemy and used as a currency of exchange. Violence is not always the answer."

"It's funny to hear someone as strong as you say that. You could make your demands with force instead of words," she said, but then smiled resignedly. "But as a daughter of Ares, I respect force above all else. And you are strong, so I will respect your point of view regardless. Even if I disagree with it."

"I've been told I'm good with words," he said. He looked at Amber with a raised eyebrow, slightly intrigued. "You're quite understandable."

"Only to those I consider strong." She gave Percy a look he couldn't identify.

"If you're done flirting, can we just get this over with?" Thalia asked, stepping between them and looking at both of them, especially Amber, with annoyance.

When they were in the middle of the camp, Percy looked around but saw no sign of the other amazons or his captive friend.

He took a long breath before speaking.

"I know you're here, amazons!" Percy's voice echoed throughout the clearing; if anyone was there, they would surely hear him. "We have captured your leader! And we know that you have captured our friend! Come out and let's talk! Let's settle this peacefully!"

No one answered for a few seconds. The clearing grew quiet, and Percy was about to shout again when a movement caught his attention.

Luke emerged from behind the truck where the pegasi were being held, stumbling and falling to his knees on the ground. He was unable to break his fall because his hands were cuffed behind his back.

Percy studied his friend. He had no visible injuries, except for a little dust on his clothes. He looked upset, though, perhaps from being caught.

"Have you been captured again, Luke?" Percy asked, deciding to make fun of his friend, "Apparently this is becoming a habit. I see you like to play the role of the damsel in distress."

"I just like to be rescued by my prince charming in shining armor on a white horse," Luke said with a cheeky smile, not feeling threatened by the position he was in. "Are you my brave and handsome prince, Percy? The man who makes his enemies tremble with his eyes and wets women's panties as they sigh with desire?"

"Gods, I'm surrounded by idiots," Thalia said exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose to calm herself.

"You love us, Thalia. And you know it," Luke said.

"Yeah, when I save your ass, I'll show you how much I 'love' you," she said, cracking her knuckles menacingly, causing Luke to swallow audibly.

"Let's get this over with," Percy said impatiently. "Show yourselves, amazons!"

Percy had expected a group of women to emerge from the same place Luke had come from, but what he hadn't expected was a group of six boys, all dressed in the same orange prison jumpsuits and wearing chains on their hands and feet.

"But... What the hell... They are..." Thalia muttered, completely confused.

Percy narrowed his eyes.

"So... that's how it is," he said. "You're not being held against your will, are you?"

"Yes, that's right," said one of the prisoners, taking a step forward, or as far as he could with the chains that restricted his movements. "We chose to serve the amazons. They have offered us a future, a life. If we have to work hard, we will gladly accept such a life."

"A life of chains and servitude. A life that isn't even yours," Percy said with a contempt that surprised Thalia and Luke.

"Can you blame us?" asked another prisoner, one with blond hair styled into a book shape that Thalia found ridiculous. "We had nothing, nowhere to go. We were just dogs on the street, waiting to die."

"So you decided to put on a collar and wag your tail for a little recognition?" Percy looked at them all, disgust seeping into his voice. "You couldn't do anything for yourselves, so you gave up your pride and dignity to live a little better. You are... pathetic."

Some of the prisoners looked annoyed, while others lowered their heads in embarrassment.

"Maybe so..." the same boy admitted, taking a step forward. "But we made our decision, and we'll live with it. Even if it's embarrassing, and they treat us like animals, we'll keep our word."

"Although I like being treated like this..." another prisoner said without a hint of shame.

"If you are done with your deep philosophical talk, can we make the exchange?" Luke asked impatiently. "These handcuffs are hurting my wrists. My nose is itchy, and I need to go to the bath. I don't think my bladder will hold much longer."

"Okay, okay. Gods, you act like a little girl sometimes," Percy said. He looked at the prisoner who stepped forward, assuming he was the leader. "This is simple: free our friend and the last pegasi you have imprisoned, and we will free the three amazons we captured."

The prisoners began to murmur anxiously when they heard this.

"Three?"

"Didn't they just capture Miss Amber?"

"Did they take Miss Claire and Madison too?"

"What do we do?"

"Unfortunately, we can't," the leader said, surprising not only Percy and Thalia, but Amber as well. "Your friend here has released two of the pegasi we worked so hard to capture. So we will not release the last pegasi we have. Release our three ladies, and we'll release your friend and forgive him for ruining our mission."

"That's not fair, you masochistic bastards!" Thalia shouted in anger.

She took a step forward, startling the prisoners with the flash of anger in her eyes, but was stopped by Percy, who held an arm out in front of her.

Percy frowned, looking at the leader with cold, hard eyes.

"I don't think you understand the position you're in, so I'm going to explain it to you slowly enough for an idiot like you to understand," he said, drawing his knife and pointing it at them. "We defeated three of your ladies, all of them strong warriors. They were armed and trained... but you... you are mere prisoners. Not to mention that you are chained, and you won't be able to fight us since you don't have any weapons. So free my friend and the last pegasi. Then I won't have to cut off your fingers one by one and make you swallow them."

All the prisoners trembled slightly at Percy's gaze. His eyes were cold, and he didn't seem to have any remorse about having to carry out his threat. Thalia was still amazed at how Percy could be so scary sometimes. She was glad to have him by her side.

'I think Luke was right when he said that he makes his enemies tremble with his gaze,' Thalia thought to herself.

One of the prisoners made the first move, the same masochistic prisoner who stood behind Luke and held a knife to his neck.

"If... If you take a step towards us, get rid of your friend!" he muttered.

"You bastard!" Thalia snapped, stepping forward in anger, but also out of concern for Luke.

The prisoner panicked and gasped slightly, but in doing so he cut Luke's neck lightly, drawing a small trickle of blood that made Thalia pause.

"Yes... I thought so," the prisoner said with a nervous smile. "Now... Release our ladies!"

Percy glared at the prisoner with painfully suppressed anger, but although he was visibly frightened, the prisoner did not lower the knife from Luke's neck.

"I will only say this once last time," Percy said through gritted teeth. "Release my friend. And don't make me do anything I don't want to do."

Despite his obvious fear, the prisoner did not lower the knife from Luke's throat.

"Now you're the one who doesn't understand the position you're in," the prisoner said. "I would do anything for my ladies. Now let them go!"

To prove his point, the prisoner pressed the knife harder into Luke's neck, drawing more blood and causing a grimace of pain on his face.

Percy couldn't stand it anymore.

He reached out to the prisoner and flexed his fingers. The reaction was immediate. The man visibly tensed and dropped the knife. Percy began to squeeze his fingers tighter and the prisoner's body began to jerk erratically before it began to levitate.

"What the... What is this!" he grunted in panic, unable to control his body.

"I've only used this on monsters before," Percy said, a sinister gleam in his eye. "But I can make an exception for you."

The prisoner's body began to shake more violently and blood began to trickle from his nose and eyes.

"P-Percy..." Thalia said, looking a little frightened as she watched the prisoner begin to bleed. "You... You don't have to go that far. Just... let him go."

Thalia took his hand gently and tried to talk some sense into him. Sure, she was upset too, but it wasn't necessary to show such... brutality.

Percy glanced sideways at her and saw how frightened she looked. To see that was like being hit with a bucket of cold water. To see that fear in Thalia's eyes, fear of him, was like a pang in his heart. He dropped his arm and the prisoner fell as well, coughing erratically.

There was a tense silence in the clearing, but a light, amused laugh broke it, disconcerting those present. Everyone looked at Amber, who was laughing quietly despite her tied hands. She looked at Percy carefully, as if she had found a new toy to fascinate her. Thalia didn't like that look at all. Not one bit.

"Now I understand why you looked so familiar to me," she said, looking closely at Percy. "You are the man who has killed thousands of monsters across the country. The one who terrifies monsters just by hearing his name. You are him, aren't you? The Monster Slayer."

The other two amazons, despite being gagged, let out a gasp as they turned to look at Percy, who just raised an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised you know," he said.

"You underestimate the extent of the slayers' information network. You also your reputation. You're listed as a gamma class with the amazons."

"Gamma class?"

"Subject of interest, basically. Although, from what I saw..." she glanced at the prisoner Percy had controlled, who had managed to stand up with obvious effort. "They'll classify you as beta class, maybe alpha. I don't know. What I do know is that you are truly one of a kind."

"Uh... Thank you?" Percy said, not knowing exactly what to say.

"To think I'd meet the Monster Slayer here..." Amber shook her head with an amused smile on her face. "But you're right. We are not in a position to ask for anything. As I told you, you could force us to comply with your demands, but... What then? Once we've freed your friend, and you're gone, what's to stop us from continuing to search for these pegasi and capture them again?"

Percy's eyes narrowed as he looked at the girl.

"I could make any one of you swear by the River Styx. It would take time, but I'd get there eventually," he said, his voice icy.

Amber's blood ran cold when she heard that. She hadn't considered that possibility. As strong as he was, Percy seemed like a reasonable person who would prefer to avoid fighting unless he had to. She had noticed that when they had fought and when he had tried to reason with the prisoner.

But in the end, a wolf is still a wolf, even if it dresses like a sheep.

"But as I said, I want to avoid violence," Percy said, the coldness in his eyes fading a bit. "If we can come to an agreement, that's the way I'll go."

"We have a mission to accomplish," Amber said, pulling herself together. "We can't go back empty-handed. If a pegasi is all we have, then we'll hold on to it."

Percy was silent for a few seconds, considering his options. One side had to be willing to throw something away. He wouldn't give up his friend for the world, but he wouldn't give up the pegasi either. He had made a promise to Blackjack, and he intended to keep it. But the amazons would not give up the pegasi, they are important to them because of their rarity.

Wait... The amazons want the pegasi because they are rare, but... What if he offered them something even rarer?

A mischievous smile spread across his lips as he found an answer.

Amber was startled to see him smiling. She thought she had pushed Percy too hard. That she had prodded a dangerous animal too much. And that was never good.

Thalia, on the other hand, recognized Percy's smile. It was the kind of smile he had when he was about to do something stupid, like when he dragged her and the others out into the rain, and they played until they were tired, or when he had a plan in mind. She hoped it was the latter.

"Then... What do you say I offer you something even rarer than a pair of pegasi?" Percy asked.

This clearly confused Amber, but she remained cautious.

"What do you have in mind?" she was encouraged to ask.

Percy took off his backpack and rummaged through it. With a triumphant smile, he pulled out a long, pointed object the length and width of his forearm.

"A... Horn?" Amber asked, confused.

Thalia's eyes widened in surprise as she recognized the object her friend was holding.

"Percy... Is that...?"

Percy nodded enthusiastically. He showed it to Amber so she could get a better look at it.

"You said you were looking for something strange, so here it is," Percy said. "Let my friend and the pegasi go and stop chasing them, and I'll give you this."

Amber frowned at the horn. It was large, there was no doubt about that. It was cleanly cut at the base and had a dark stain that had dried on the tip.

"What is so special about it? It looks like just another horn."

"Maybe it is, but the strange thing about this horn is who it belonged to," Percy said. "I'm sure it's unique."

Amber studied the horn closely. It was curved and bulky, so it could not have come from a unicorn. Maybe it was a satyr's horn, but theirs was much more curved and smaller. But that couldn't be it either, satyr horns weren't rare, they were pretty easy to find. The possibilities were many, but she never expected the answer she got.

"Which monster did it belong to?" she asked curiously.

"The Minotaur," Percy replied. "I faced it a few months ago. I managed to cut off one of its horns before it turned to dust."

Amber gasped at that.

This... boy... did he defeat one of the most legendary monsters in all of Greek mythology?! That couldn't be possible... Or maybe it was? After all, he is the Monster Slayer.

Could he be telling the truth? She had to know.

"Prove it," Amber demanded. "Swear it by the River Styx. If it's true, then we will honor your terms. Your friend and the pegasi will go free, and we will not pursue them."

She had to check it out. If it was true, forget about the pegasi. Her queen would be immensely pleased to present her with such a unique item. It would sell for an incredibly high price and help the cause of the amazons. She might even be promoted to a charge of one of the branches that spread throughout the country.

"Don't do it, Percy! It's too dangerous!" Thalia said, alarmed. "You don't have to..."

"I swear by the River Styx that I have killed the Minotaur, and what I hold in my hand is its horn," Percy said without hesitation.

A distant thunderclap was heard throughout the clearing, startling those present and bringing a greedy smile to Amber's lips as she saw that Percy was still unharmed, showing that he was telling the truth.

"Asshole!" Thalia scolded him, slapping him on the back of the head. "That was really stupid, even for you!"

"It was necessary..." Percy grumbled as he rubbed the spot where Thalia had hit him.

"Necessary will be the kick in the ass I will give you later!"

"Can you two stop fighting like an old married couple and let me go?" Luke asked exasperated as he shifted uncomfortably. "I'm the damsel in distress here, remember?"

Percy looked at Amber, one eyebrow raised.

"Are you going to hold up your end of the bargain?" he asked. "You decide. I can give you the horn and set you and your companions free, but only if you keep your end of the bargain."

"Deal," Amber said without hesitation. Eager to get her hands on the horn.

A leader always looked out for the best interests of their subordinates and the mission. Percy's proposal was too juicy for her not to accept. It was a win-win situation for both of them.

Percy nodded and came up behind Amber. He used his knife to cut the ropes holding her, causing the amazon to massage her slightly red wrists.

"Release the boy," Amber ordered the prisoners, who happily obeyed when they saw that their lady was free. "I must say, I was not expecting this turn of events. You are quite a box of surprises, boy... no... Percy. That's your name, right?"

Percy simply nodded, not really paying attention to the amazon's words as he watched the prisoners free Luke while another went into the cargo truck to free the pegasi.

"Rest assured, the amazons will be grateful for your... donation," Amber said, approaching Percy and lifting his chin with a finger so that he could look directly into her eyes, since she was a little taller than he was. "You are a truly remarkable man. Strong, loyal, selfless...and very handsome, now that I look at you closely. You would look great in an orange jumpsuit with a collar around your neck."

She licked her lips before approaching Percy's face and kissed him on the lips in front of the stunned eyes of everyone present.

Or at least she would have if Percy hadn't put his hand on her lips.

"Sorry, darling, but I don't kiss on the first date," he said. "I'm not an easy catch."

Amber pulled away, but a smile formed on her lips.

"I can see that," she said. "But I like a challenge. They make the prize more... exquisite."

"Is that how you see Percy?" Thalia growled. "Like a damn prize?"

"Oh? Does that bother you?" she asked with a grin as she crossed her arms. "I'm not afraid to do what I want. Percy got my attention, which no man under our command has ever done."

"So you kiss every man you are interested in?" Thalia asked with a look of contempt and anger.

"Oh, of course not," Amber dismissed with a wave of her hand. "I know a number of strong and loyal men, but that wasn't what attracted me to Percy. It was his eyes."

"His... eyes?" Thalia didn't know how to react.

Percy had very beautiful eyes. The kind of eyes you could look at all day and never get tired of. But... Was that enough for this amazon to have the nerve to try to kiss him?

"Yes, all the men under our command have that look of submission and obedience in their eyes," the amazon explained. "They would carry out any order given to them without hesitation, and I find that very boring." A smile played on her lips as she looked at Percy. "Percy, on the other hand, has that fire in his eyes that no other man I know has. He has the look of a free man who has no thought of bowing to anything or anyone. Just the thought of having him at my feet, under my complete control, with a collar around his neck as he looks at me defiantly is... very... exciting..." she finished looking at Percy with a predatory smile as she licked her lips.

'Okay, I said that as a joke about wetting panties, but... apparently it's true. Either that or the amazons are crazier than I thought,' Luke thought, finding the whole scene rather amusing.

Thalia stomped her foot hard, drawing everyone's attention as electricity shot from her foot and burned the grass beneath her feet. It was a rather impressive and fascinating sight.

"I don't care if you want to gang-bang with these prisoners, you fourth-grade whore!" Thalia spat scathingly. "But keep your claws off Percy, or I'll shock your ass so hard it'll leave permanent scars so ugly no one will ever want to fuck you."

To demonstrate her threat, she raised her right hand and electricity sparked up her entire arm, concentrating mostly on her hand. Her blue eyes grew even brighter and her hair stood on end slightly, giving her a terrifying look.

Amber looked at the demigod in front of her a little warily, but in the end she just dismissed her threat with a wave of her hand.

"Big words for such a... little girl," he said, looking haughtily at Thalia. "Now step aside and let the grown-ups negotiate."

Thalia gritted her teeth in annoyance. She was about to shock the bitch in front of her, but was stopped by Percy, who put a hand on her shoulder and gave her an awkward smile.

"Okay, let's calm down," he said in a soothing tone.

"Are you on her side?" she asked incredulously. "Do you like the idea that she wants you to be her personal whore so much?"

"You know I don't." Percy frowned a little. "All I want right now is to avoid an unnecessary fight."

"She asked for it..." Thalia grumbled.

"Why does that bother you so much?" Percy asked.

Thalia opened her eyes for a second, not knowing what to answer. She frowned and clicked her tongue, feeling incredibly annoyed.

"You really are an idiot," she said irritated. She turned and started to walk away. "I'm going to untie the other amazons. If you want to fuck her so much, go to one of the pegasi cages."

Percy watched his friend disappear into the bushes where the other amazons were being held. He had an uncomfortable feeling in his chest and in the pit of his stomach, and he didn't understand why. But he decided to ignore it for now.

"Obviously someone isn't being honest," Amber said cryptically with a grin, causing Percy to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Okay, let's get on with the negotiations. I think you owe me a nice Minotaur horn."

The greed that flashed in her eyes surprised Percy a bit.

The walk through the woods to the Mean Machine was uneventful, but there was tension in the air. They all glanced at Thalia, who wore a disgusted expression as she walked past them.

Percy saw that his friend was quite tense, if the way her shoulders were raised, along with her clenched fists and the quick, forceful steps she took were any indication. He decided to remain silent so as not to further aggravate her mood.

Fortunately for Percy, it wasn't he who decided to break the tense silence, but his blond friend with a somewhat unexpected comment.

"It's good to see the amazons are a little more reasonable than the hunters," Luke said, rubbing his wrists where he'd been bound earlier. "Although they had to be bribed to do it."

"Although that little 'alliance' was about to be thrown away when Thalia electrocuted their leader," Annabeth said, giving the punk girl a sideways glance.

Thalia just grumbled and walked on without looking back. She didn't feel the slightest remorse for shocking Amber when she 'shook' her hands in a gesture of farewell and 'respect'.

"That bitch deserved it," Thalia spat with disgust in her voice as she remembered what she had done.

"Well, they looked at you pretty badly," Sammy remembered. "Especially the blonde. I think it was because of the sock you put in her mouth."

"I warned her! It's her fault for being stupid and not taking my words seriously."

That was something they had all learned from Thalia. Her threats were always, always, real.

"You should stop making enemies of everyone we meet," Luke advised. "Percy... Hal... Your father... and now the amazons. I should start making a list. If you keep this up, you might piss off every monster and god we meet."

Thalia shot him an annoyed look over her shoulder.

"I don't want to hear that from the one who wanted to fight the hunters."

This time it was Luke who gave his friend an annoyed look.

"That stupid girl deserved a punch in the face for being so sexist! And you know it!" Luke snapped.

"Well, this stupid girl deserved it too!" Thalia yelled, referring to the amazon.

"Why? Because she tried to kiss Percy!"

"Yes!... I mean... No... I just... Fuck!" She ended up yelling with red cheeks, turning around and punching Luke in the shoulder.

She turned uneasily to Percy, wanting to explain herself somehow. But Percy wasn't there, he had stopped at the side of the road, frowning into the woods. He had an intense, worried look in his green eyes, a worry that was transferred to Thalia.

She walked over and stood beside him, looking out into the forest. There was nothing there, but she had a strange feeling in her heart. And if there was one thing Thalia believed in, it was her intuition and Percy's.

"Hey, seaweed boss, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to seem unconcerned.

"I think... there's something there," Percy said, not taking his eyes off the forest.

"A giant potato chip?" she asked, trying to be amused.

"No... something bad."

Before Thalia could question him further, Grover's voice rang out loudly, alarming everyone.

"Guys! Something... Something is coming and fast!" he shouted in panic. His eyes reflected true fear.

"Monsters?" Luke asked, his hand going to his sword-turned-necklace.

"Only... only one, but... Its smell is very strong! That means it is very dangerous! We have to go!"

The fear in his voice seemed to alert everyone to the seriousness of the situation. Grover had never reacted like that before, not even when a pack of hellhounds was chasing them.

Speaking of hellhounds, Mrs. O'Leary, who had been sleeping and keeping watch in the car, had gotten up and stuck her head out the window, snarling, hair standing on end, as she looked toward the forest.

They all looked out into the forest in anticipation, their hearts pounding in their chests. Thalia felt a bead of cold sweat run down her temple and her mouth was strangely dry. Unconsciously, she reached for her wrist, where Aegis was in the form of a bracelet.

But she was certainly not prepared for what happened seconds later.

The bushes shook, and out of them came an animal that none of them expected.

"A... Chihuahua?" Thalia asked, puzzled.

The small dog was only about six inches tall. It had black fur with bulging eyes. A pink collar around its neck with a small tag. The animal looked out of place in that place like a puritanical nun at a Green Day concert. Or at least, that's what Thalia thought.

"Oh, shit..."

Thalia turned to look at Percy, who had a worried expression on his face at the sight of the little dog.

"Percy?" she asked, confused.

"We have to go," he said, not taking his eyes off the chihuahua. "Now!"

"Why, does that chihuahua scare you?"

"That's not a chihuahua!"

Percy pulled out his knife and pointed it at the little animal, who barked sharply.

Thalia would have laughed another time, but when she saw the chihuahua bare its teeth and begin to bark, her laughter died in her throat as she saw that, with each bark, the chihuahua grew in size and began to change. Its front legs began to lengthen, its doggy face began to disfigure and split in two, one going to its torso while the other remained on its head and a pair of horns grew longer and longer. Its tail lengthened, and a hissing sound came from it.

When it finished its transformation, the monster reached an imposing height of 10 feet and stood upright on its hind legs like a human, but this creature had not a shred of humanity. The legs it stood on were similar to Grover's, looking like a hoofed goat, but it was completely hairless. Its arms were long and thin, ending in claws that could cut through flesh like paper. In the center of its lean, muscular torso was a hideous and menacing lion's head, surrounded by a thick mane. It looked at everyone with malice and hunger in its bloodshot eyes. On the top of his body, above the lion's head, were the large and prominent horns of a goat's head. At the back, the body of a snake, more than six feet in length, peeked out. Like the lion's head, the snake glared maliciously at the group, venom dripping from its long, pointed fangs.

"No... it can't be..." Grover muttered in fear as he saw the legendary creature. He stepped back, never taking his eyes off the beast. "The... the Chimera."

"What's a monster like that doing here?" Annabeth asked anxiously, hiding behind Luke.

"Did our scent attract it?" Luke asked, alarmed.

"Why don't you ask it?" Thalia said, looking at the monster with surprise and fear. "Maybe it will answer you."

The beast let out a warning growl, but not at the group, but at one person in particular. Percy looked at the creature with surprise, but also with obvious annoyance.

"It's here for me," Percy said to everyone's surprise. "I killed its fat and ugly mother Echidna a long time ago."

The Chimera, or rather the snake head, hissed in hatred, never taking its eyes off Percy.

"Thalia, I need you to prepare to release your shield on my signal," Percy ordered, not taking his eyes off the monster. "The rest of you, get to the car and prepare to leave as soon as possible."

Sammy quickly tried to protest.

"But, Percy...!"

"Now!" he shouted, his tone not allowing for argument.

He hated having to yell at them, especially Sammy, but his main concern was the safety of his friends. He was not going to let an old enemy he couldn't kill be the cause of their deaths.

Sammy looked visibly distraught, and she seemed to be on the verge of tears. Percy bit his lower lip, hardening his resolve.

"Leave... now," he ordered again, this time in a softer voice.

Reluctantly, Luke pushed the others towards the car, slowly so as not to attract the Chimera's attention. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, the monster didn't take its eyes off Percy. The look on its face promised a slow and painful death.

"Are you ready, sparky?" Percy asked, giving his friend a sideways glance.

She gave him a quick glance before giving her trademark smile and raising her hand, ready to release Aegis as Percy had told her earlier.

"I'm always ready for a fight, seaweed boss," she said fearlessly.

Which she found strange. She was about to face one of the most feared monsters in all of Greek history, but she felt no fear. Perhaps because she was at Percy's side? It was strange, but he seemed to give her an unknown confidence. Next to him, she felt like she could take on anything.

Percy smiled in the same way. Pleased by her reaction.

"Get ready. Everything will happen in a moment," he said, his voice serious. "When you stun him with your shield, aim for the lion head's eyes. That bastard can breathe fire. Don't worry so much about the goat head, its sight is terrible, but be careful with the snake, if it bites you, its venom will kill you in a few minutes."

She had no time to be surprised by this revelation. The Chimera approached them on all fours, its lion's head facing the ground. This gave Percy and Thalia a clear view of the Chimera's goat head. Its dark brown hair contrasted with the light brown of the lion's head. Its curved horns, larger and longer than a normal goat's, pointed directly at them as the goat's head stared hungrily at them with clouded eyes. Slime slowly trickled down its rotting snout.

Thalia began to feel uneasy as she watched the Chimera get closer and closer. If it wasn't for Percy's hand on her shoulder, she would have attacked.

"Not yet..." Percy whispered close to her ear, making her shudder. She wanted to believe it was because of the threat of the Chimera, but the slight blush on her face said otherwise.

The loud bleating of the goat's head snapped her out of her reverie. The Chimera leapt at her like a cat, ready to impale her with its claws.

"Now, Thalia!"

"Aegis!" Thalia's cry was loud and clear.

The Chimera, not expecting to see Medusa's infamous face, let out a shriek of terror as it reared up on its hind legs, exposing the lion's face. It was only a second, but Percy and Thalia took advantage as they pierced its eyes with their weapons. Thalia's spear's length gave her the advantage of not having to get too close to the monster. Instead, Percy fearlessly lunged forward with his knife and drove it into the exposed eye of the lion's head. He twisted the knife roughly to do more damage, then yanked it out, staining his hands and shirt with the beast's hot blood. The Chimera's lion head was permanently blinded.

The snake head lunged forward to bite him, but Percy had ducked at the last second, avoiding a bite that would have been fatal.

"We have to go! Now!" Percy yelled at Thalia.

Thalia nodded and ran to the car, where the others were waving at her to hurry. She turned around for a few seconds, watching the Chimera writhe in pain as it tried to get its bearings. Its lion head was blinded, but it could still see with its goat head. Its black eyes fell on them, and it let out a roar before lunging at Percy, paws flailing. He managed to dodge it by ducking, but the beast did not cease its attack. Percy managed to dodge it, but was beginning to be overwhelmed by the beast's ferocity.

Determined to come to his aid, Thalia ran toward him, raising her shield to face the monster. The snake head saw her coming and lunged at her with the intention of biting her. Thalia raised her shield, and the snake sunk its fangs into the edge. She could see green venom oozing from its fangs and dripping onto the ground, corroding everything in its path at a terrifying rate. If even a drop of that venom touched her skin...

"Thalia!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luke glide to her side, brandish his sword, and then swing it in an upward arc. Thalia could see the blade of his sword cut through the snake's body, severing it from the main body. The snake's head fell limp from the body and turned to golden dust as the Chimera let out a scream of pain. The goat's head shrieked and the lion's head roared as it turned toward them, standing upright on its hind legs. Thalia and Luke could see the Chimera's torso take on a faint orange glow, and the lion's mouth opened as the glow intensified inside.

But before the Chimera could spew out the fiery breath for which it was so well known, a fist embedded itself in the side of the lion's face. In a split second, Thalia saw the face deform under the force of the blow. The earth shook violently and the Chimera's massive body was thrown brutally into the forest, shattering trees in its path.

Coming out of their stupor, they saw Percy with his fist outstretched. He lowered his arm and let out a tired sigh before turning to look at Thalia and Luke.

"It's time to go," he said and walked towards them.

They both nodded.

Luke ran to the car while Thalia waited for Percy to catch up with them. As she watched him approach, she noticed something over Percy's shoulder. It was a black figure with red eyes, gliding through the shadows of the trees.

"Percy!"

He turned to see a hellhound lunging at him, claws outstretched and jaw open.

To Thalia's eyes, everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion. She could see the surprised expression on Percy's face and how he began to raise his knife with the intention of stabbing the monster, but he would not succeed in time. She saw the predatory glint in the hellhound's eyes and the saliva between its teeth, as if it was tasting its next meal.

She would not let it.

She felt a pull in her stomach that spread throughout her body, like fire burning in its wake. But it wasn't fire, it was electricity coursing through her body, filling her with energy. Power. In the blink of an eye, she crossed the distance that separated her from Percy and was in front of the hellhound. The monster couldn't react as Thalia stabbed it in the torso with her spear, causing it to explode like a piñata in a cloud of golden dust.

When everything seemed to be moving normally, Thalia was on her knees, gasping for air. Her muscles spasmed slightly, a product of the electricity that had coursed through her body. This feeling... was similar to the time in the cyclops' lair. Only this time it was much more intense.

"Thalia? What was it...?" Percy spoke with a perplexed look on his face. To his eyes, Thalia had been a stone's throw away from him, and in the blink of an eye, she had appeared behind him, leaving a fleeting electric blue trail in her wake. But when he saw her on her knees, gasping for air, it didn't matter. He knelt in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. Are you all right?

"Yeah, I'm fine..."

She touched his shield, and it turned back into her bracelet. She did the same with her spear and tried to stand up, but grimaced as she felt a particularly painful spasm in her legs. If Percy hadn't held her, she would have fallen to the ground.

"No, you're not," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder to help her walk to the car. "I don't know what you did, but it was amazing. It's like... you moved in the blink of an eye. Like you were lightning yourself. How did you do that?"

Thalia looked at her hand, which was trembling slightly, but she saw flashes of electricity jumping between her fingers.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I just... felt this pull in my stomach and an electricity running through my whole body. It was... exhilarating. The power... Is that what you feel every time you use your powers?"

She turned to look at him, but instead of seeing excitement on Percy's face, the same excitement she felt, she only saw disgust.

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. His feelings about his powers were reflected in his eyes.

"You three are mad to face the Chimera!" They were greeted by hysterical screams from Grover as they entered the car. "You are blessed to have a Tyche that can survive a fight with this monster! Do you know how many demigods have died trying to face it?"

"This is no time for your bitchy screams" Thalia scolded, looking at Luke who was behind the wheel. "Step on the fucking gas, Luke! We need to lose that son of a bitch!"

"On it!" Luke replied, sensing the urgency in his friend's voice.

Without waiting another second, he stepped on the gas. Tires screeched against the asphalt as the car accelerated rapidly, leaving the stunned beast in its wake. Thalia stuck her head out of the window, relieved to see that the Chimera wasn't following them.

"Fuck you, you damn chihuahua!" she yelled, raising her middle finger in the Chimera's direction.

Percy let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and leaned back against the back seat of the car.

"That was close..." he muttered, but was jolted out of his relieved state by Sammy's constant pounding on his chest.

"Idiot! Fool! Stupid chips addict!" she shouted at him as she hit him. "Do you want to die? Why do you have to fight every monster we come across?"

The pounding stopped and Sammy clutched Percy's bloodstained shirt, almost desperately. She was sobbing and shaking, her head on his chest as tears streamed down her face.

"I can't lose you too..." she whispered, her voice choking. "I couldn't bear it. You're the only thing I have left..."

Percy stroked Sammy's head slowly and lovingly, trying to calm and comfort her as he let her get off his chest.

"I did what I had to do, Sammy," Percy said quietly. "We had to stop that monster, or it would have come after us. Now, with any luck, the beast will be too hurt to do it."

"I don't think it can after the beating we gave it," Thalia said, trying to lighten the mood.

"But you didn't have to put yourself in danger like that!" Sammy shouted. "Why do you always put yourself in danger like that?"

"We do it to keep you out of danger," Thalia said with a harder voice than she wanted.

That seemed to surprise Sammy. She shivered slightly and clutched Percy's shirt tighter.

"Sammy... please look at me," Percy said. She did, her eyes red from crying and her cheeks wet with tears. She even had a faint trail of snot coming out of her nose, but Percy didn't care as he gently wiped her face with his thumb. "From the first moment we traveled together, my only duty was to protect you from everything, no matter the cost. Now that duty has been extended to more people." He glanced at the others with a small smile. "It is my responsibility, my mission, and what gives me the strength to face anything, even the gods. As long as you can survive and be safe, I wouldn't mind giving my life."

"But I don't want you to die!" exclaimed Sammy, a feeling shared by everyone present, including Grover, whom they had known for a short time.

"Neither do I," said Percy. "But there are times when you have to face danger to protect what you hold dear, what you love most. And for me, that's all of you."

Sammy didn't say anything, just hugged Percy again with fervor and fear in her heart that she might lose him.

The others looked at Percy in amazement. They all had a slight blush on their cheeks as they stared at him in awe. Annabeth had small tears in her eyes. Luke stared down the road, blinking to keep from crying. Grover had a look of shock on his face as he looked at Percy with new eyes.

And Thalia... she had a hand pressed tightly to her chest. She couldn't look Percy in the eye, she felt she would fall apart if she did. Instead, she decided to look down at her feet while trying to calm the strong and fast beating of her heart.

...

..

.

And that's all for now, my lovely readers!

You didn't see that ending coming, huh? Well, to tell you the truth, neither did I. I had in mind to end with the negotiation with the Amazons and introduce the Chimera later, but I felt there should be a little more action, drama, and emotion at the end. And before I knew it, I had the scene written.

I hope you liked my version of the Chimera, which is different from the books. I based it mostly on the design of the Chimera from the video game God of War, which IMHO was much cooler and scarier.

Now we're approaching a key point in the story, which I think anyone who's read the book will know what I'm talking about. So stay tuned, the next update will be one of the most important, significant and impactful events in history that I have in mind.

That is all. I hope you enjoyed it.

And with nothing more to say... Until next time, beautiful people!