AN: Hey all! Sorry for the delay. I had been preparing for a trip to Washington D.C. My beta reader (my lovely wife), had been incredibly busy as had I. I'm posting this away from home at 2am. I will be moving posting days to Saturdays. And now it will be every other week. Once again, sorry for the delay. Comments and reviews are always appreciated. Also, let me know if ya'll are pro CW or not. Like most of my writing, it has a dark arc planned, or at least dark sections.

Jojo "Perlia" Jesus: Glad you enjoy! TBH, I don't even know where I came up with the idea, maybe because she's Jason's sister. Good news is, I'm at least not really planning on doing a lot with it.

CW: Abuse, Mention of Abuse

Percy would have preferred to keep going, but Blackjack's labored breathing betrayed his fatigue. The loyal pegasus would have run himself into the ground before voicing a complaint, but Percy called it a night, landing Blackjack in the parking lot of a little Motel 6. They had made it all the way to Kingman, Arizona, flying at a breakneck pace. Even the mild interruption with Aphrodite hadn't slowed them down too much, although her cryptic love games gave him a headache whenever he thought about it too hard.

Still, when she had morphed into an adult Thalia and pecked him on the cheek, his heart had done somersaults at the idea of it actually being Thalia. She had teased him with the future he so desperately craved. It was beyond cruel, knowing that his days were numbered. Yet, the hope that the future was not entirely fruitless began to worm its way into the back of his mind. What if Annabeth was wrong? What if the prophecy didn't actually mean his death? After all, Chiron had told him that prophecies were never determinate, so maybe that meant he could change his fate.

He smacked himself in the face with the hotel pillow. Those thoughts would only make the eventual goodbye more difficult. It wasn't like he didn't want to have hope, but every time it reared its head, the despair and hopelessness would follow, leading to him feeling worse than before. Percy glanced around the relatively normal hotel room, appreciating that he had a real bed to sleep in. He had been planning just to sleep out in the cool desert that night, but he found a wad of cash that had been curiously stowed in his bag. It certainly wasn't his, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the old horse had helped him a bit.

Despite the nice bed, he found himself tossing and turning. Now that Blackjack was going off and doing his own thing for the night, he didn't have the banter that had kept him preoccupied for most of the day. Instead, he was forced to reckon with the things he had seen. He preferred the numbness that accompanied the acceptance of his death rather than the turmoil he was currently facing.

Eventually, the fatigue struck his body hard, reminding him that he was still human. Evidently, he hadn't completely recovered from his stint in the shadows. He kept the lamp beside his bed on, both as a precaution for potential monsters, and to silence the fervent whisperings that now called to him whenever he was in darkness. Sleeping while anxious was nothing new to him, but it was the alien sense of eeriness that caught him off guard.

In spite of that, eventually his eyelids began to get heavy, and his ears could no longer hear the desperate whisperings of the damned. His ever increasing trains of thought began to derail, and after what seemed like an eternity, he drifted off into a restless slumber.

The gray of Thalia and Annabeth's dingy cell slowly came into view. There were two sets of chains that had been drilled into the wall. Percy's heart sank. Those were new installations, which meant that they were intended to be used. He began to struggle, but like before, he found himself unable to move or speak of his own volition, forced to watch another tragic event from the shadows.

The cell door slammed open, shaking the walls and causing debris to fall from the ceiling at the violent impact. Two cyclops stooped to enter the cell, the first one carrying the still struggling form of Annabeth. Her foot was sloppily bandaged, and the linens were already stained red. The second carried a now unconscious Thalia, draped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Desperation began to fill Percy's mind as he struggled against the dream. He tried to will himself to wake, to increase the pace, even if it killed him in the process. Yet, despite his best efforts, he found himself firmly rooted to the scene in front of him.

"You're a monster." Annabeth shouted.

"Silence." The cyclops carrying her grumbled. "You were given the terms. You refused to join."

"Go fuck yourself." Annabeth spat on the cyclops. "Go back to Tartarus where you belong."

The cyclops shrugged. "In time."

The cyclops carrying Thalia carelessly set her on the slab of marble that was the bed, strapping her limp wrists to the set of chains installed directly above her. He pulled out a key and locked the shackles, leaving her arms suspended awkwardly above her head. The only indication she was still alive were the tears streaming down her face.

"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way." The cyclops carrying Annabeth said, nodding toward his companion who was still standing over Thalia. "Your choice."

"Over my dead body." Annabeth scowled, still trying to struggle free.

"As you wish."

The cyclops over Thalia struck her in the face, specks of blood now adorning the cold stone floor.

Annabeth's face went ghost white. The message was clear. "Luke said to keep us safe." Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Last I checked, you ain't dead. Now, last chance. Easy way, or the hard way?"

Annabeth's eyes filled with unshed tears as she took in Thalia's now swollen face, small trickles of blood flowing from her cheek. The daughter of Zeus was awake now, but unable to muster the strength to even glare at her abuser. Reality seemed to set in as Annabeth's head hung and her body went lax.

"Good choice." The cyclops growled. He gripped her wrists tightly, ignoring Annabeth's groan of protest, and shoved them upwards into the cuffs. She winced, but remained otherwise silent as he locked the shackles in place, dropping her to her knees and sealing her fate.

"I do hope you'll reconsider." The cyclops said. "The next guys won't be as nice as us."

With that, they left the cell, slamming the metal door in the process and not even bothering to lock it behind them.

Thalia was pale as a ghost. Her body was completely soaked with sweat, and every part of her was trembling. Percy nearly flinched when she spoke, not expecting her voice to come out as strong as it did. "You should have let them beat me."

"What?" Annabeth cried, horrified. "I couldn't do that."

"Of course you could. Now we're both trapped. I think it's obvious what they're gonna do, isn't it?" Thalia turned her head to the side and spat blood. "They're gonna do whatever they need to do to get what they want. They'll beat me until you join Luke's army."

"No…no they wouldn't." Annabeth said, gasping. "I can't let them do that. I can't let them hurt you!"

Thalia managed a small smile. "I held up the sky. There's nothing worse they can do to me. Besides, we don't have a choice in our current state."

"There's always something worse." Annabeth whispered. "We just don't know what it is yet."

"Then you're gonna let them do whatever they're going to do, okay?" Thalia said. "You know Percy even better than I do. There's no way that he'd just leave us here to rot. We just need to survive long enough for him to get here."

"But that could take days. You could be dead by then."

Thalia took a shaky breath. "If that's the case, then so be it." She raised her head, locking eyes with Annabeth. "Promise me, that no matter what they do, that you will not join the enemy. We both know you can't. Swear that you won't."

Annabeth's lower lip quivered, but the sincerity of Thalia's request must have caught her off guard. It was so quiet, no one else could have heard her, but she softly whispered. "I swear on the River Styx that I will not join them."

Thunder boomed somewhere outside of the cave, sealing her oath. Thalia visibly relaxed, dropping her head again. "Thank you. It shouldn't be more than a day or two. The Hunters are bound to be on the trail as well with Artemis' current state."

Annabeth just nodded, eyes glazed over. Percy could almost sense her disgust with her own willingness to go along with Thalia's plan. Yet, he knew as he watched her think that reality had set in. There was no alternative plan. They were completely at the mercy of beings who thought of morality as little more than human foolishness. The cell was hauntingly silent for a moment.

"Well, well, well." Luke's voice echoed sharply through the small space. "It really is a shame. But I can assure you, this is all necessary for the greater good."

Percy had been expecting an explosion from the girls, or at least Annabeth. Instead, a whisper barely passed her lips.

"Family, Luke. You promised. How could you?"

Luke just sighed, stepping into the cell and leaning far too casually against the barred wall. "I do not have time to explain everything to you, but it is abundantly clear to me that you two have been brainwashed."

"Who are you to judge that?" Annabeth spat. "You've gone against everything you taught us."

"I have never changed." Luke said darkly. "It is you two who have bought blind loyalty to the gods. It is you who live at their little camp where they raise you like pigs to the slaughter. They have deceived you. I will help you see the truth."

"And yet you keep us chained here like cattle." Annabeth said. "At least slaughter pigs are pampered before their demise."

Luke just grinned, a ghastly smile that used to be so charming. Instead, it now looked like it belonged to a mad scientist, obsessed with crafting the world in his image. "That's why the system must be overthrown. We must have new rulers. New laws. You will see in time. Those who are brainwashed must be reconditioned at the most basic level."

Annabeth's face went pale white. "R-reconditioned?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You heard exactly what I said." Luke said. "Soon, you will see the truth, but the only way for those poor souls who have been brainwashed is to destroy their mind so it can be rebuilt. Otherwise, they will remain slaves to the lies they've been told."

"You're the slave, Luke." Annabeth said. "I'm sorry it ended up this way. I'm sorry you tore apart our family."

At that, the son of Hermes grimaced, as though the comment caused him physical pain. The look of genuine anguish looked alien on his hardened features. It had only been a year and a half since he had left camp, but he looked like he had aged twenty years. His eyes, once bright and strong, now looked swollen and sunken. His cheeks were hollow, and his jawline had lost its crispness. Still, beneath it all, he was the same. The Fields of Punishment would have been too good for him.

"I do hope that you'll see the wisdom in my actions." Luke said. Pushing off the wall, he crossed over to Thalia, his gait still uncomfortable. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, and Thalia's eyes grew wide. She began to weakly struggle against her restraints, but she could do little more than listen to Luke's proposition.

"No," She whispered. "You're insane."

Luke just sighed, straightening. "A pity. Perhaps soon you will see your error."

"What did you tell her?" Annabeth demanded, fear flashing across her face.

Luke glanced back at her. "I just offered her an opportunity. The most privileged position in Kronos's new army."

"Which is?"

"You wouldn't understand, but let's just say, being a vessel does come with certain perks." Luke grinned. "Of course, anyone could do it, but who better than the only living demigod child of the King of the Gods himself."

"Go to Tartarus." Thalia spat blood on his shoes.

"I'll pass, but thank you." Luke grimaced, toeing the dirt in an attempt to remove the blood spatter. "I do hope you reconsider. My underlings aren't near as nice as I am." Without sparing either of them another glance, he turned on his heel and walked out the cell door, ignoring the curses being hurled his way.

Silence settled in the cell, neither one of them wanting to speak. What was there to say? Annabeth's jaw was clenched so tight it looked like her teeth might crack. Thalia, by contrast, had little resistance left in her sunken frame.

"What do you think they'll do?" Annabeth said.

"It doesn't matter." Thalia's venomous reply sounded weak and tired. "Knowing would only make it worse."

Annabeth closed her eyes and began to pray. Percy couldn't make out what she was saying, but he didn't need to be a genius to figure out its purpose. Thalia had silent tears streaking down her face, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Percy…anybody…just get here soon."

The dream began to fade, the dingy background slowly becoming fuzzy. The last thing Percy saw was Thalia's electric eyes, staring straight into him, as though she knew he was there. Her quiet pleas still on the edges of her cracked lips, and then he was gone.

He woke up in a cold sweat, and his heartbeat echoed in his fingertips. This was so much worse than he could have imagined. His thoughts began to race so quickly that trying to parse them was impossible. He began to rock in his bed, back and forth, ever so slightly. He didn't do it very often, but it was something he had observed Thalia do whenever she'd get too overwhelmed, and it seemed to work.

He took deep breaths. The rhythmic rocking provided the ship in which he could sail the tumultuous seas in his mind. It was okay. At the current rate, he'd get there by tonight, and then he could rip Luke's skin from his bones. Still, the last lines of the prophecy echoed in his alone cannot be saved. Annabeth had promised she'd never join upon the punishment of the River Styx. What happened if someone broke an Oath? He understood what it was like, watching others take punishments. He winced as the painful memories of his stepfather tried to surface.

The shadows began to call to him. Simmering beneath his anxiety was a desire for vengeance, justice, to hold those responsible. For the first time, the ghostly hands didn't seem so scary, maybe they could take him where he needed to go. He imagined Luke's head on a stake, ripped from his body by the very monsters he employed. The calls grew stronger. Maybe he could get to the cell.

He pinched himself. He forced himself to slowly count to ten. He had once cursed at a guidance counselor who told him to use that strategy whenever he got upset, but for the first time, he was grateful for her advice. 1) even if he could successfully navigate that distance, and that was a big if, he'd be completely wiped out the second he showed up, and 2) there was no guarantee he'd ever come back. The spirits fed on his emotions, and their ravenous nature would know no bounds.

Thalia's desperate face weaved to the forefront of his mind. He'd keep his composure, at least until he could get to her. He reached over to his blue backpack and unzipped it. Right where he had left it, nearly undisturbed, was Thalia's favorite hoodie. He'd return it to her. He had to.

The light gray of false dawn began to lighten the room. That meant it was time to go. He quickly gathered up his things, ate a lightning fast hotel breakfast, and called for Blackjack.

Yo, boss. Did you even sleep? You look like a raccoon.

"Of course I did. Are you ready to go? What did you do all night?" Percy asked.

Pegasus stuff.

"Pegasus stuff?"

You're under eighteen, boss. I can't tell you.

"Well thanks for the warning." Percy sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Anyway, you ready to go?"

I was born ready. Hop on.

The late morning sun felt nice with the cool winter air. Percy was used to the harsh New York winters, where it would get so cold that any bit of exposed skin could get frostbite on the coldest days of the year. On the other hand, the mild Las Vegas winters provided a welcome relief, the cool blanket calming his racing heart.

The dusty concrete of the Hoover dam began to speed into view. Annabeth had always wanted to visit, calling it one of the greatest works of architecture and green energy. His heart twisted, realizing the sick irony that he, the one who knew next to nothing about building design, was getting to tour one of Annabeth's top road trip picks.

He shook his head. Thalia's pleading face threatened to overwhelm him. He had a job to do, and dwelling on their hopeless situation wouldn't do much more than force him to act recklessly. The simmering rage could be used as fuel, but if he used it too early, he'd be useless by the time he actually arrived.

Blackjack was starting to huff, his erratic breathing betraying his fatigue.

"You good?"

Yeah…boss…just… a little…tired…is all.

"Next time, focus on getting some sleep instead of having weird pegasus sex."

I'll…have…you know…it…wasn't…weird.

"Whatever. We can stop here. Go take a little nap."

Blackjack just nodded as he sped towards the dam. On the plus side, at least it was around lunch time, so it was close to time to take a break anyway. As he got closer, flashes of silver began to catch his eye. They couldn't be here, could they? He groaned. On the one hand, it would be nice to see how their search has gone, and see if he could get any more information. On the other hand, they'd probably try and kill him on the spot, and they were insufferably annoying. The internal war waged in his mind as Blackjack approached.

Where…do you…want…me…to drop…you…off?Blackjack wheezed.

Percy cursed himself for what he was about to do. "Drop me off by the Hunters, the silver girls. They're headed the same way."

Blackjack whinnied in disgust. Clearly he didn't like the Hunters either, which meant he was the smartest pegasus Percy had ever ridden. Still, he didn't complain, although he was out of there the second Percy was on the ground. They were at the snack bar, and Percy's stomach rumbled. He was surprised he was hungry so early in the morning, especially after eating the hotel breakfast. Then, he reflected on his anguish that morning and his elevated heart rate as a result, and it no longer was a mystery.

He slung his backpack off his shoulder, and took out enough cash for lunch. Like all tourist traps, the food was overpriced, but the burritos were absolutely to die for. Plus, it wasn't like it was his money anyway, and Chiron had centuries of teacher salary in the bank. Although knowing what he did about teacher pay, Percy figured it probably wasn't the nest egg it might appear to be.

As he finished, he glanced over at the Hunters and frowned. Bianca was nowhere to be seen. She was supposed to be on the quest, and her absence set off alarm bells in his head. He immediately began to fear the worst, the final lines of the prophecy ringing around in his mind. Nico had been absolutely devastated upon learning of her decision, and while the kid didn't reach out directly, Percy knew he had been praying for her safe return.

At his next inhale, the sweet scent of Pomegranates filled the air in his lungs. The hair on Percy's neck began to stand up, and his fingers began to twitch towards Riptide. His muscles tensed like springs, ready to strike at a moment's notice. He glanced over at the Hunters, but if they noticed anything they didn't show it. He forced himself to relax. Maybe that just meant Bianca was nearby, returning from scouting or something.

Still, the itching in the back of his mind warned him to stay alert. His instincts were immaculate, and ignoring them would most definitely lead to a painful demise. He bit his lower lip, inwardly groaning as he debated. For the first time in his life, he was ready to put his pride aside. He didn't want to work with them, but given the numerical advantage of his enemies at the Mountain of Despair, he figured having some backup wouldn't hurt. The only challenge would be not getting killed by Zoe the Titaness.

"Hey." Percy said, strutting over to the Hunters. At the very least, he decided he could fake some confidence.

Immediately, three of the four Hunters pointed their bows at him, ready to give him a lobotomy. The one exception was Zoe, who's cool, calculating glare shot daggers through him.

"What art thou doing here?" Zoe said icily. "Thou art a forbidden one."

"Oh don't mind me," Percy sassed. "I've just got a goddess to save." He wasn't going to tell the Hunters that Artemis wasn't the goddess he had in mind.

"We don't need aboy'shelp." One of the Hunters sneered. "We're doing plenty fine on our own."

"Phoebe's right." Zoe confirmed. "Thou art a male. We have no use for thee."

"Oh, go fuck yourself." Percy scowled. Then he turned towards Phoebe. "Last I heard. Bianca was on this quest. Where is she?"

A tense silence filled the space, the previous heated atmosphere turning frigid. Immediately, the Hunters lowered their bows. No one would meet his gaze, except for Zoe, who's jaw tightened. "She died honorably in battle."

The confirmation of his worst fears was not unexpected, but it did little to blunt the grief. The expectant face of Nico Di Angelo flooded his mind, a little boy eagerly awaiting his sister's return. Not only had she joined some girls' club, she was gone for good this time. His frustration began to boil over. At the gods, the Hunters, at the unfair nature of the life of a demigod.

"What are you going to tell Nico?" Percy demanded.

"That is not thy concern." Zoe shot back. "We will tell him just as we told you."

"Just like you told me?" Percy's voice came out louder than he meant it to. "Not even an apology that you couldn't protect her? You offered her a choice not even five minutes after she learned she was a demigod! Before she could make an informed decision. She was all he had. You broke up a family!" At the end of his rant, mild tremors began to shake the dam.

"Boys have no need to know what goes on during our Hunt. Unfortunately, that includes Nico." Zoe sneered. "Artemis has created her own family, with us, her loyal Hunters." Zoe got deadly calm. "And do not question the ethics of Lady Artemis. " She pulled out a silver hunting knife, the curved blade flickering as though the moon resided within. "Or it'll be the last thing you do."

"Great. Well I'll make sure to tell Nico the Hunters killed his sister." Percy said coolly.

Zoe's grip tightened around her knife, the ash handle nearly cracking from the force. He could see where she was tensing, tenuously preparing to strike. Beneath her stoic demeanor, however, Percy could sense something else. Around her, the shadows became stronger, betraying her anguish and self-blame.

Percy pulled out Riptide and fell into his sparring stance, ready to parry the incoming strike, but it never came.

"Hunters at the ready!" Zoe shouted. "Old friends have arrived."

The sweet aroma of pomegranates threatened to overwhelm him. He began to search for the epicenter, desperate to know the threat before he found himself face to face with it. Then, he saw them. The Hunters had surrounded one with breakneck speed, and it was immediately obvious what made these creatures so deadly.

On the surface, they looked like little more than skeletons wearing oversized suits of armor, but it was the inability to kill them that set them in a tier of their own. A multitude of arrows protruded from the skeletons, but nothing seemed to slow down their onslaught. He wasn't sure what the mortals saw, but if the panic around him was any indication, it clearly wasn't good.

The mortals running away from the commotion gave him a clear view of what he was dealing with. He counted four skeletons, one for each Hunter. Each one was riddled with arrow pockmarks, telling him that this was not the first time they had sparred. The image of the immortal snail flashed in his mind. Sure, these guys were a lot faster, but it didn't seem like anything could stop them. Maybe these guys were the immortal snail to the immortal Hunters.

Percy took a deep breath as an internal war began to wage within him. On the one hand, he could leave these Hunters to struggle against the skeletons. If they didn't want his help, he wouldn't give it to them. On the other, the panicked onlookers were threatening to create a stampede, and there was no guarantee they would be kept safe from the resulting carnage.

He took a deep breath. Damn it, Chiron. The centaur's words from his first quest slithered through his should never harm mortals unless absolutely he wouldn't be directly responsible for the devastation, he knew he'd never forgive himself for running away.

Riptide began to glow, a faint black aura with dancing yellow streaks. He could feel the thrumming of the two forces inside, the Sea and the Lethe. The world seemed to fade around him, and the shadows began to call his name. This time, however, he refused to melt and join them. Instead, he reached out for their source, searching for the Tether to the Underworld.

He felt it more than saw it really. A speeding bullet headed directly for his heart. The spartoi closest to him had fired from its rifle. Percy could feel the tether of the creature begin to pull taut, and he could've sworn the ghastly creature was smiling. Within the bullet, he felt a strange new metal, as though it contained the essence of shadow itself. He slashed instinctively, expecting a sea of crimson to stain his clothes, but instead, all he could hear was a metallic clang, deflecting the bullet straight into the floor.

Before Percy could even register what he had just done, the skeleton began reloading. Percy grinned. Now was his chance. He was the best swordsman in the last three hundred years, so even against unkillable monsters he liked his odds of at least a draw. Bringing a sword to a gun fight seemed like a bad idea anyway.

He charged the creature, closing the gap in an instant. The gray spartoi managed to unsheathe its sword, but it was too late. Percy slashed, his aura granting him strength, and cut through the sword. The mortal tether of the creature was now visible to him, and it ran straight from the ground into its spine, hazy and smoky like an enchantment.

With one quick slash, the spartoi found itself in pieces at Percy's feet. However, instead of the usual reassembly act they did, the bones burst into purple and black flames, leaving nothing but minor char marks on the ground. For the first time, he felt a tug of gratitude for his strange heritage.

He could hear the soft twangs of the Hunters' bows as they continued firing into the monsters. Zoe had taken it upon herself to weave effortlessly between them and continue to slice them into pieces with her Hunting knives. Unfortunately for them, by the time she could get the last one sliced to bits, which Percy had subsequently taken clean-up duty, the first one had already reformed, trapping her in the ever tightening knot of an anaconda.

"You guys want some help!?" Percy yelled across the snack bar. "I figured out how to kill them!"

"Fine!" One of the Hunters relented, yelling over her shoulder as she exchanged blows with a skeleton. "Bianca managed to kill one, but we haven't been able to replicate it."

Something clicked in Percy's mind. It wasn't just about cutting the thread, someone had to see it, to feel it. Someone who could sense the place where life and death meet. Bianca was a child of Hades, and he was a child of Posedao, which meant that they could both sense where the threads were woven.

Briefly, a smartass retort hung on the tip of his tongue, but then he saw the most recently reformed Spartoi. Zoe now had her back to it fighting its companion, and she didn't give any indication she knew it was back. As much as he hated her, letting her die would only encourage Artemis to extend the invitation to join the Hunt to Thalia. Plus, of course, she was the one link to the past he had.

He felt the dual thrumming in his sword once again, opening his mind's eye to the plane between worlds. The black, misty thread of the Spartoi was now in view. He immediately launched into action, his usual labored breathing now completely silent. As the skeleton began to reach for his sword, Percy struck, slicing through the tether, leaving a pile of rapidly incinerating bones at Zoe's feet.

She turned around, stunned at the pile of bones behind her.

"You're welcome." Percy deadpanned.

Zoe just shot him a glare before softening her gaze. "I suppose I should thank you, even if you are a boy."

Percy donned a magnanimous expression, the shadows slowly fading around him. "Damn straight. I just saved your life."

Zoe pursed her lips, as though she was trying to bite back an uncomfortable truth. Then, she took a deep breath. "I suppose so. Thank you for being willing to join the fight."

The voice of a terrified mortal girl sliced through the building tension. "W-what was that?"

"What was what?" Percy asked. "What did you see?"

"I-I saw these weird skeletons." The girl began. "Then," she pointed to Percy, "you started glowing all weird and you stabbed them. Then they burst into flames."

Percy began to fidget uncomfortably. Sure, he knew clear-sighted mortals existed, but other than his mother he never was forced to try and explain everything. It was one thing to explain it to new demigods, as they would eventually be involved in the mythical side of things. However, for the mortals, it often just led to mental breakdowns. There was a reason most of the psych ward patients were clear-sighted.

"So…" Percy began. "This might be kind of hard to explain." He walked over to the girl and placed what he hoped was a calming hand on her shoulder. "You know anything about Greek mythology?"

The girl nodded tersely.

"Well, long story short. That stuff is real. Most of it is hidden by something called the Mist. Some mortals can see through it. My mom is that way, and I guess you are too. I'm a demigod."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hunters all freeze, and he began to internally debate how badly he had just fucked up. Then, much to his surprise, The girl began to laugh like she found it all amusing. For a moment, Percy was afraid he sounded like a crazy person, or that this girl wasn't actually clear sighted.

"Oh my gosh, that was so funny. I've seen way worse than skeletons." She held out her hand, grabbing his in an exaggerated handshake. "My name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I just figured you'd be more likely to tell me if I pretended to be really scared. Plus, I needed some practice with my acting."

Percy took a moment to really look her over. Her frizzy red hair and wild green eyes certainly looked as eccentric as she seemed to be. "I'm just happy to hear that I'm not actually crazy. My dad has been trying to put me in the looney bin for a while now." She looked over at the Hunters. "You guys look awesome. Who are you? I like the silver aesthetic."

Zoe stepped forward. "Zoe Nightshade. Lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis."

Rachel surveyed Zoe's garb and compared it to the other three Hunters. She frowned.

"I'm digging the jeans, but the parka's a bit much. Especially here in Vegas." Then she groaned. "And don't tell me they make you all wear the same stuff."

"Lady Artemis is more than fair." Zoe said. "But yes. The Hunters' uniform is all the same."

"Aw man." Rachel pouted. "You guys seem totally cool, but I could never wear the same thing every day."

As if to highlight her point, she pointed to the holes on her green jeans, which were obviously made without rhyme or reason. "It's a little spicier this way."

Percy stifled a laugh. At the very least, this girl wasn't a complete lunatic, just a normal one. The back of his mind began to itch, the same way it did before he needed to enter Thalia's room. He groaned. All he could hope for was that this wasn't Aphrodite's doing. He had his fill of being a reality TV star when Hephaestus had trapped him in the Tunnel of Love.

Still, the itching became incessant, refusing to be ignored. He needed to talk to Rachel, although about what he wasn't sure. He took a deep breath.

"So, uh, have you ever been to California? We're kind of in a hurry." He cringed at how he sounded, but it wasn't his fault. He would have preferred to just get back on the road immediately.

Rachel's expression darkened. "Unfortunately." She said, "What kind of godly stuff is going on over there?"

"Er–" Percy began.

"Artemis has been captured by Titans." Zoe said. "We need to get her back."

"And that's bad, right?" Rachel asked.

Zoe rolled her eyes, like she couldn't believe Rachel was serious. "Yes, mortal. This is extremely serious. Can you help us or not?"

Rachel huffed. "If I'm nothing more than a mortal to you then I guess I'll just go." Then, she began to play with one of the holes in her jeans. "But I'm gonna guess that a helicopter is faster than walking."

"You have a helicopter?" Percy asked. "That's wicked cool."

Rachel just nodded. "Look, things are complicated. But I could probably get you guys a ride."

"You have a helicopter chauffeur?"

Rachel just shrugged. "More or less."

Percy began to wonder just how much money this girl had. What was most puzzling was her seeming lack of pride surrounding it. Most of the rich kids at Yancy would brag about the kind of money their parents had and all the expensive stuff they had. Rachel though, was dressed in standard green jeans, and a black shirt. Yet, this girl had a private helicopter at her beck and call, and she seemed nearly ashamed of it.

A wordless silence passed between the group. A few times Zoe opened her mouth, as did the other Hunters, but no words came out. The itching once again began to overwhelm Percy. Next time he saw the goddess of love, he'd make sure to file his complaint about the style of her prompts.

"Do you have any other questions about how things work?" Percy asked. "I mean, about godly stuff and all that."

Rachel stared off into the distance, as though they held her memories. Percy could hear the gears whirring in her mind, the attempt to reconcile the world she knew to be true, and the reality.

"I mean. Of course I do." Rachel started. Then, she took a deep breath and held out her hand again. "If you tell me your name and promise to explain everything, I can take you and the crazy girls to California."

That was it? It seemed too good to be true. Tell this clear-sighted mortal girl his name and he'd get a chauffeur all the way to the Mountain of Despair? Yet, the more he thought about it, the more he realized the sudden absence of that itching. He sighed. That meant whether he liked it or not, he'd be doing it.

"All right," he sighed. "My name is Percy. I'll let the girls introduce themselves."