Thalia finally felt the time pressure of a timed quiz. Here she was, trying to save her friend, and she had no idea where she was supposed to go. Taking a plane after they had just been in the wilderness was not a practical approach. But Hazel had taken out her credit card, paid for two tickets, and they stood there covered in mud and water in the waiting area.
They had been hiking all night, making sure they didn't miss a day of what they could accomplish. The worst part? If Thalia hadn't been Zeus's daughter, Zeus would've blasted that plane right out of the sky. Hazel took a deep breath as they entered the plane, the air conditioning blasting as usual.
Thalia's stomach lurched as they went up into the air. She forced herself to take deep breaths. Her fear of heights always embarrassed her, but now, it was like watching a raccoon cower from the trash can.
"You okay, Thalia?" Hazel asked.
"Yeah..." Thalia whispered. "I'm good."
Slowly, without even realizing it, Thalia's head drooped and her eyelids closed as she drifted off to sleep, utterly drained.
She was in a dark room, with no lights or anything.
"Hello?" she called.
A maniacal cackle filled the room.
"You have ten days left, daughter of Zeus... Ten days until your beloved Percy goes down to the Underworld and stays there for his permanent trip!"
"He'll never leave us!" Thalia yelled defiantly. "We're on our way to get the cure!"
"And Apate is very hard to convince, young Thalia. She has no regard to the wellbeing of the world... Let's just say... She's isolated herself from the Olympians. She wasn't cared for. Which makes her an easy target to get into my clutches..."
"She'll help Percy! She will!" Thalia yowled.
"Even with her help, I doubt he'll survive. Just look at him now."
A figure was laying with its back turned to Thalia. Blood was soaking into his shirt. She slowly walked up and to her horror, she was met with dull, almost lifeless, sea-green eyes. A small flicker of recognition passed through them as his lip twitched into what was supposed to be a smirk.
"Hey, Thals..." his voice was crackly, as if it was an empty plastic water bottle. "Thalia? What are you doing here? How'd you get in here? Do you and Hazel have some sort of talent of mind-reading?"
Thalia couldn't help but smile. Even if he was practically dead, he was still a seaweed brain.
"Sh..." she cooed, surprised and disgusted by how motherly she was around him. "Save your breath, Kelp Head. You're gonna need it."
"How's everything going, Pinecone Face?" he murmured, coughing slightly as his chest heaved for breath.
"Percy... It's going great. We're gonna find you a cure," she whispered, fighting her tears. She hated seeing him like this. So... NOT Percy-like.
"Thals, you have to stay strong," Percy breathed. "Tell Annabeth I love her. Please..."
"I will," Thalia promised. "I will cure you, Percy. You're not leaving us like this, Kelp Head."
Percy gave her a sad half-smile. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Thals."
With that, Thalia jolted awake on the plane, her heart beating rapidly.
"Epirus, Greece. We hope you had a great flight."
Her heart was beating rapidly.
Her breath was coming in quick.
Her face was paler than Nico.
Her eyes were wide with alarm.
Her cousin was dying.
She did not have a great flight.
___
Getting off the plane was already a big step for Thalia. Waiting for the luggage to come in was another huge step. Waiting for a taxi was yet another large step. But waiting in general was just not possible for her. Hazel sat by her when they waited inside the taxi, fearing that they were going to be too late.
That he was going to die.
No, Thalia... Don't think that way. You're on a TIME CRUNCH. You need to get to Apate's Palace real fast. You need Night Leaves. Night leaves...
"We're here," Hazel said, tipping the taxi man as they got out and onto the streets.
The floors were sand and dirt, red ants creating a fine moving art of fiery fury. The wind blew in their faces, the tan sand getting caught up in her hair. Thalia looked behind her to see that it was just concrete. They were at the edge of the city. Looking out in front of her, she knew this was her decision. There was still time to turn back.
She didn't take her chance to escape all the trouble she could get into.
Her choice.
Her life.
DEAL WITH IT, as Percy would say.
"It's near here..." Hazel murmured. "I don't know why, but I can almost feel where the entrance to Tartarus is... It's like a tug to my gut."
"You and me both..." Thalia muttered, realizing that Hazel wasn't the only one feeling it.
Thalia had followed her gut instincts before. Most of the time, they took her to the principal's office. Some of the time, she got away with it. And none of the time was she successful. But she followed her gut. Something in her gut told her to.
Now that was stupid, but it was the seaweed brain way.
The tug was like a rope with a harness pulling her forward. Forward until she was in front of a large, black palace. It seemed to have screams coming from inside of it as its windows seemed to glow purple. Snakes seemed to be hissing 'lies... lies... lies...' over and over again. Of course, Thalia had forgotten. Apate was the goddess of deceit.
Being strategic with how tricks were set up was an asset that both Hazel and Thalia needed to have in order to make it out. Making sure every detail was covered so there was no way Apate could wiggle her way out of any promise she made and avoid any gain for them or for Percy. In a way, it made Thalia disappointed in what thoughts ran through her head.
But this was war.
War didn't have time for kindness.
The doorbell rang.
And this was when Thalia knew there was no way out.