With the invisibility hat still on my head, I rushed out of the building and into the Smithsonian in search of my friends. I scanned the building, trying to look past the spaceships and aircraft all over the place to see if I could just catch a glimpse of my friends.
I ripped off the invisibility cap like the invisibility was making me vision impaired or something. I ran up the ramp to the next floor and tried to ignore the multitude of aircraft hanging from the ceiling on metal wires.
I wanted to yell out but I knew the "little playmate" was nearby. I didn't want to attract any unwanted attention.
I wracked my brain to try and remember where my friends would be but I just couldn't seem to remember. I cursed myself. Maybe I should write everything I do remember in a book or something. My lousy memory could end up getting someone killed.
As I sprinted up the ramp to the top floor, I ran into something and for a brief second, I thought it was the killer skeletons. Fortunately, the colourful Ancient Greek cuss words told me otherwise.
I raised my hands in a surrender motion as two arrows lined up with my chest. Thalia, who was picking herself up from the edge of an Apollo space capsule, looked up and stared at me in relief. Zoë and Bianca lowered their bows and before my eyes, they vanished into thin air. I took that as a cue to lower my hands.
'Percy!' Grover bleated happily. 'You're-'
'Not now, Grover,' I cut him off, still catching my breath from my escape. 'Sorry for disappearing on you guys, but we need to go. Like, right now.'
'Where have thou been?' Zoë, surprisingly, asked me with an annoyed look on her face. 'We were looking everywhere for thee.'
'I'll tell you later,' I assured them. 'But right now, we need to get back to the van.'
'Why?'
As quickly as I could, I explained what I saw. From Dr Thorn, to Luke and finally, the General. I didn't dare mention his name just yet, not with him so close.
'The General is here?' Zoë exclaimed in shock. 'That is impossible! You lie.'
'Do I look like I'm lying?' I challenged her. 'Look, we need to go right now.'
Just as I finished my sentence, a growl sounded off somewhere below us. It was so loud, the planes and spaceships hanging from the ceiling shook on their wires. The sound shook me down to my bones.
I looked over the balcony to see adults running towards the exit screaming. The voice of a little girl screeched: 'Kitty!'
I backed up just as a large shape bounded up the ramp. Being the size of a pickup truck and having gold glittering fur, it was kind of hard to miss. Its beady eyes narrowed in our direction, gleaming silver claws and razor-sharp fangs itching to tear us apart. As it stalked closer and closer, my urge to uncap Riptide was getting stronger and stronger.
Oh, boy. This was going to be fun.
'The Nemean Lion,' Thalia said softly. 'Don't move.'
The lion roared and I took a cautious step back, getting into a stance for the upcoming fight.
'Separate on my mark,' Zoë said, her bow already in her hand. 'Try to keep it distracted.'
'Until when?' Grover asked nervously.
'Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!'
Riptide sparing into full length as I dashed left. Arrows flew past me and found their mark in the lion's hide. At least, that's what would have happened if it didn't have indestructible skin. Instead, the silver arrows shattered harmlessly off its fur.
The sound of Grover's reed pipes filled the air as he played a sharp melody. I looked over my shoulder for a brief second and saw Zoë and Bianca climbing the Apollo capsule. The screams of mortals had long faded away. Turning my eyes back to the lion, my grip on Riptide tightened.
'Let's get this over with,' I muttered before charging the beast.
The lion eyed my running figure, snarling as he prepared to bite me in half. Thinking quick, I charged the lion before it could make the first move.
I rolled under a swipe and stood up delivering a strike of my own. I let out several Ancient Greek cuss words when my sword bounced right off its fur with a burst of sparks. As I was recovering, the lion lept forward with its claws aimed right at my chest. If I was a second slower, I would have been cat food. Luckily, I dodged just in time but not quick enough to save my coat.
'That was my favourite coat,' I examined the damage before turning towards the lion. 'I hate you.'
Before I could charge again, I spotted Thalia sneaking behind the lion, her spear in her hand. I faced the lion again. It didn't seem to notice Thalia so I decided to keep it that way.
'Come on, you overgrown house cat!' I said as I took off my coat, waving it around to keep the lion's attention on me. It worked because it completely ignored the barrage of silver arrows that assaulted it from above.
'That's it. Come get me,' I said as I backed up slowly, the lion stalking closer and closer. Thalia was just a few feet away from its swinging tail. Zoë and Bianca must have seen what we were trying to do because they stopped firing arrows down at the beast.
I shared a look at Thalia and after a split second, we both acted at once. I threw my shredded jacket as hard as I could at the lion and miraculously, it found a place right over its eyes. It roared in indignation at the sudden blindness but Thalia had jumped onto the back of the lion at the same time.
Thalia must have been thinking the same thing I was thinking because she discarded her spear straight away. Gripping onto the soft yet indestructible fur, she climbed further and further up the lion's back.
The lion bucked around to throw the intruder off its back but Thalia held on strong. I looked up to see Zoë and Bianca ready with their bows.
'Wait for my signal!' I yelled at them as I rushed towards the thrashing lion.
Jumping up, I grabbed onto the two protruding fangs on the lion's lower jaw and pulled downwards. My weight pulled the lion's head towards the ground. It roared again in defiance but Thalia saw that as an opportunity to grab onto the other set of fangs on the lion's upper jaw and pulled back with all her strength.
My arms shook against the force. Thalia was holding on but I could tell neither of us was going to last for very long. My jacket had already slid off the lion's face and as I looked into the struggling eyes of the Nemean Lion, I couldn't help but smirk.
'Gáma se,' I managed to say in Ancient Greek. 'Now!'
I watched in satisfaction as the lion's eyes widened, arrows filling its mouth at lightning speed. Two arrows, then four, then six. With one last strangled roar, the lion dropped dead onto the ground with a mouth resembling a pincushion, shaking the entire building. Thalia jumped off its back and landed on her feet gracefully with a large grin on her face.
'That was awesome,' she said as she gave me a fist bump. 'Scary, but awesome.'
I simply nodded. My arms were still on fire from holding the lion's mouth open for so long.
Zoë joined us and a moment later, Bianca followed. Grover walked over towards us, putting his reed pipes back around his neck.
'That was a good strategy,' Zoë said cautiously as she eyed me.
'Thanks,' I said. 'It wouldn't have worked if you and Bianca hadn't fed it a bunch of silver arrows.'
'I didn't even realise what you were doing until you grabbed onto the lion's teeth,' Thalia said as she clapped me on the back. 'I was planning on stabbing it in the eye but I lost my spear on the way up. Nice job.'
The body of the lion melted away before our eyes and left nothing but a pelt behind. Almost subconsciously, I walked over and picked it up, albeit gingerly.
'Does anyone want this?' I said, trying to keep my face as neutral as possible.
'Take the fur, Percy Jackson,' Zoë said nonchalantly but I could see the hint of disgust in her eyes. 'It was your idea to kill the lion. The fur is yours.'
I crinkled my nose. 'But I kind of don't want it.'
'You lost your jacket,' Grover pointed out.
Realising there was no way out, I sighed and put the lion's pelt on. I held in a cringe as it transformed into a full-length coat.
As useful as this coat would be, I had no desire to wear the same thing Hercules wore. It just doesn't feel right.
'We have got to get out of here,' Grover said. 'The security guards won't stay confused for long.'
I looked around and snickered when I noticed one of the security guards running into a wall, falling over, before running into the wall again.
'Nice job, G-man,' I said clapping his back. 'Yeah, you're right. We need to go.'
'What are those?' Bianca spoke up, pointing towards the glass walls of the museum. I turned over and cursed at the sight of a dozen grey skeletons dressed in grey camouflage outfits. The worse part? All of them were staring straight at me.
'Spartoi,' Zoë said in a glum voice. 'They are skeletons that hunt down whoever they are tasked to kill. They will stop at nothing until their target is dead.'
'Yeah,' I said sheepishly. 'Well, I may or may not have forgotten to mention that part.'
Thalia slapped me in the back of the head. 'Idiot.'
'The worst part,' Zoë continued. 'Is that they cannot be killed. We need to leave. Now.'
The five of us, as if we were one singular being, dashed off to find the exit of the museum. In no time, we piled up into the van and sped off, Zoë at the wheel.
The next few minutes seemed to stretch on forever. Zoë had probably gotten about five speeding tickets trying to distance ourselves from the museum as much as possible. It wasn't until we were crossing the Potomac River that we saw the helicopter following us.
'Uh, guys?' I drawled out.
'I see it,' Zoë said through gritted teeth as she eyed the sleek military helicopter through the rearview mirror. 'We need to ditch the van.'
'There!' Bianca suddenly shouted out, startling Thalia. 'That parking lot!'
Zoë managed to turn the van just in time without any hesitation, fully trusting Bianca's instincts. She swerved the van through a few lanes of traffic and into the shopping mall parking lot that Bianca pointed to, nearly crashing into a pole on the way in.
'Maybe Thalia should have driven after all,' I muttered under my breath.
Zoë didn't even park the van properly before she brought it to a halt and ushered us all out. She didn't have to tell us to get out of the van, though. My door was open before the van even stopped.
'Subway entrance,' Bianca said. 'Let's go south. Alexandria.'
'Anything,' Thalia stated as she looked over her shoulder. I couldn't help but do the same.
We ended up buying tickets with whatever cash we had and boarded the train less than a minute later. As the subway came above ground, I spotted the helicopter circling over the parking lot and let out a sigh of relief when it didn't follow us.
'Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway,' Grover said gratefully.
'Yeah, well. I remembered that station from when Nico and I came through last summer,' she nodded in response. 'I was really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C.'
I watched in sorrow as the rest of my quest mates furrowed their eyebrows in confusion.
'New?' Grover frowned. 'But that station looked really old.'
'I guess,' Bianca shrugged. 'But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway.'
Thalia sat forward. 'Wait a minute. No subway at all?'
Bianca responded with a simple nod.
My sorrow grew as the faces of my quest mates grew more and more confused. That conversation is one of many that I had no desire of reliving.
'Bianca,' Zoë said with furrowed eyebrows. 'How long ago...'
She didn't get to finish her sentence. The sound of the helicopter grew louder and as I took a peek out the window of the moving train, I could see the small shape of the helicopter slowly gaining on us.
'We need to change trains,' I said urgently. 'Next station.'
For the next thirty minutes, all we did was hop from train to train. I had no idea where we were going and I did not care. All I was focused on was getting myself and all my friends away from danger.
When we finally got off the train, we found ourselves at the end of a train line I did not know the name of. The first thing I noticed was the warehouses and railway tracks scattered everywhere. The second thing I noticed was the cold.
As much as I hate to admit it, I was glad of the Nemean Lion's pelt. It's strong enough to stop a sword but it can also keep a person warm, that person being me.
The five of us walked around trying to look for another passenger train we could hop into. Unbeknownst to my friends, I was subtly leading them at the front of the group to where I know help was.
As I turned a corner, I let out a sigh of relief when I laid my eyes on a homeless man standing in front of a trashcan fire. Almost as if he sensed us, the man looked over in our direction with a toothless grin.
'Y'all need to get warmed up?' he waved us over. 'Come on over!'
Grover and Thalia looked at me sceptically but I shrugged and followed Bianca and Zoë who were already warming up their hands with the burning flame.
'Well, this is g-g-g-great,' Thalia said through chattering teeth as she tried to shake off the cold.
'My hooves are frozen,' Grover groaned.
I was about to correct him but then I remembered that the homeless guy wasn't really a homeless guy.
'Maybe we should contact camp,' Bianca suggested. 'Chiron-'
'No,' Zoë interrupted her. 'They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves.'
I tried my best to hold in a smirk. Zoë didn't know just how wrong she was.
'You know,' the homeless man spoke up. 'You're never completely without friends. You kids need a train going west?'
'Yes, sir,' I replied, trying to remember when we mentioned needing to go west. 'You know of any?'
He raised a finger behind us and when we turned to look, we saw a gleaming train that did not have a single speck of snow on it. It was one of those trains that transported cars and I could see three separate decks of cars through a steel mesh. I could just barely make out the words on the side of the train: Sun West Line.
'That's...convenient,' Thalia said. 'Thanks, uh...'
Turning back, the homeless guy was gone and so was the flame. The trash can was empty and there wasn't even a sign that the fire was there just a second ago. I sent a quick prayer of thanks to Fred before turning to face my friends.
'All aboard, I guess.' I smirked. 'Dibs on the Lambo.'
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I warned Grover not to get into the Lamborghini. He sure looked eager but I told him that the car was mine. He had it the last time we were here. Not that he remembered or knew about it, but he was in the Lambo last time. It's my turn in the Lambo.
I searched for the Mercedes on the middle deck, knowing Thalia was going to be hanging out in that car. I held my breath and strained my ears, moving towards the direction of what sounded like a radio.
Soon enough, the black hood of the Mercedes SLK came into view. I could see the silhouette of Thalia sitting in the front seat, the sound of rock music leaking out of a slightly open window.
'Mind if I join you?' I said as I opened the door to the shotgun seat.
Thalia just shrugged.
Both of us sat in our heated seats, White Stripes blasting from the radio as the train made its way west. Thank the gods for Apollo. There was no way we could have made it to San Fransisco in time otherwise.
'Nice coat,' Thalia said, breaking the silence between us (the music didn't count).
I ran my finger along the unbreakable yet unnaturally soft fur of the Nemean Lion coat, 'Yeah, I guess. The lion wasn't the monster we were looking for though.'
Thalia nodded. 'Not even close.'
'Any idea which monster this is?' I brought up, even though I clearly know what the "monster" is.
'I have no clue,' she admitted. 'But you know where we're going, don't you? San Fransisco. That's where Artemis was heading.'
I nodded. 'The Mountain of Despair.'
Now that I was saying it out loud, a thought I had before the quest returned to me. Why did Artemis need to go to Mount Tam? That was the Titans' home base and why would she go search for the Ophiotaurus there?
If the Titans already had Bessie, then Olympus would already be doomed. So why did Artemis seek out Atlas?
I looked over at Thalia and saw her looking out the window of the car. The afternoon sun was shining through the mesh covering the freight car, casting a shadow on Thalia's face. The pinpricks of light made it look like stars found their way off the sky and found a home on Thalia's cheek.
'The Hunters tried to recruit you,' I said bluntly. There was no point in beating around the bush.
Thalia's eyes shone in anger and for a brief second, the look in her electric-blue eyes reminded me of Zeus when he was about to blast me out of existence. Thankfully she reigned in her emotions and just sighed.
'I nearly joined them,' she said. 'Luke, Annabeth and I ran into them once, and Zoë tried to convince me. She almost did, but...'
I waited patiently. I didn't want to push her. Even though I already knew the reason behind the rejection of Zoë's offer, I wanted her to tell me willingly.
Thalia's grip on the steering wheel tightened, her knuckles turning white with the force. Eventually, she spoke up. 'I would've had to leave Luke.'
I pursed my lips. 'Do you still have feelings for him?'
Thalia stayed silent.
'We're going to have to face him, you know,' I said softly. 'There's no other way.'
'Do me a favour,' she said. 'Get out of my car.'
I looked at her with a hint of pity before getting out of the car. I didn't want to burden her any more than I already was.
I made my way to the Lamborghini and sat with a slump in the front seat. I didn't know how long I sat there looking out the window but before I knew it, the blue sky was replaced by the evening palate of orange and yellow.
I was thinking of going to sleep. I needed it for what was to come but I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go through a dream again.
I jumped a little when a knock sounded off to my right. I had been expecting Apollo - sorry, Fred - and I didn't think he would appear outside of the car and knock to come in. Before I could even answer, the door opened and my visitor entered the vehicle.
I held my breath for a second when I caught a glimpse of a Hunter uniform before my eyes landed on Zoë Nightshade, who was making herself comfortable in the shotgun seat.
I didn't dare move. I have no clue why Zoë was here. She did not come to visit me the last time and I have no idea what she wanted from me. To be honest, I don't know if I want to know.
'This is a nice car,' she said finally.
I nodded, fearing my own demise if I opened my mouth. Don't blame me. Zoë is a scary person.
Silence enveloped the car once again. The landscape outside was getting blurrier and blurrier, the train speeding up to make up for lost time.
'We need to talk,' Zoë said, breaking the silence once more.
'About?' I responded, finding the courage to speak up in the presence of someone that hated people of my nature, as in boys.
'What thou knows,' she turned to face me. 'How did thou know that a prophecy was going to be announced? To me, no less.'
'Intuition,' I said almost immediately. I've already gotten used to telling these lies. The more confident I appeared, the more believable that lie will be.
'Is that so?' Zoë raised an eyebrow. 'You have been leading this quest from the very start, despite me being the quest leader. I have noticed the way thou holds thyself. You show experience. The only reason why I've noticed is because I have more.'
I kept my face emotionless. I hadn't noticed but Zoë may be right. I've been subconsciously pushing my friends in the direction we needed to go. I thought I was subtle about it but I guess it wasn't enough to fool a Hunter with two thousand years of experience.
'I did my research,' I tried to play it off. There was no need to bring up my situation with the Fates. 'I know where we're going and who we're going to see when we get there.'
Zoë clenched her jaw and faced the windshield again. 'So you know I am the daughter of a Titan.'
I nodded. 'I do, but that doesn't mean I see you any different,' I reassured her. 'Anybody that can stay by Artemis' side for two millennia has proven their loyalty.'
Zoë looked at me for a lot longer than what would usually be deemed healthy for a male. I shifted a bit in my seat but I waited for her to speak.
'You are an interesting male, Perseus Jackson,' she said with a sliver of a smile. 'I can see why Artemis did not castrate thee when we first met.'
I gulped. 'Thanks?'
It took me a minute but I just realised that when Zoë called me interesting, she meant a good interesting. I guess that's as close to a compliment as I'll ever get from her, but I'll take it.
'I will leave thee for the night,' Zoë said as she opened the door to get out. 'We still have a long road ahead of us before we reach Mount Othrys.'
Zoë was about to leave when I called out to her, 'Zoë, wait!'
She looked back and stopped, waiting to hear what I have to say.
I hesitated a bit but reached into my pocket and pulled out a familiar pen. Zoë looked at it in confusion before her eyes widened.
'What are thee-'
'I think this belongs to you,' I said as I held out the sword that was once a gift from her mother.
'How did thou find out?' she asked, still staring in shock at the pen.
'Dreams,' I replied.
Zoë reached out for the sword that used to be hers but pulled herself back just as she was about to pick it up.
'I-I cannot,' Zoë gulped. 'It will never accept me again. Not after I...not after who I gave it away to.'
'Have you tried?' I asked raising an eyebrow.
'No, but-' she sighed. 'I cannot accept Anaklusmos again. I gave it away to someone not deserving of it. I have not been forgiven.'
'You can try,' I almost pleaded. 'It is not too late to try.'
If I remembered correctly, Riptide contained the immortal essence of Zoë Nightshade. Her powers over the ocean. I hoped that if I returned the sword, she will get back more than just the physical sword.
'No,' she said with finality. 'The weapon belongs to thee now. I cannot relieve thee of your only weapon.'
Before I could even protest, Zoë raised her hand. 'That is enough. I appreciate the action, but it is not possible for me to reclaim the blade I so easily gave away.'
She climbed out of the Lambo and looked back at me one last time. 'Sleep well, Perseus. Do not let the fear of dreams keep you awake.'
The door closed softly and I sat there behind the wheel looking at the retreating figure of Zoë Nightshade. I shifted further into my seat as I let out a breath.
As much as I would have liked to think about that conversation, I knew Zoë was right. I needed to get some sleep. So I reclined the seat backwards as I thought about the quest ahead and how to deal with the next part of the prophecy.
One shall be lost in the land without rain.
A/N: Oh. My. God. It has been a minute ladies and gentlemen.
As much as I want to put the blame on school and homework and other stuff, I know there is no excuse for putting this story off for so long. I hope this chapter is worth the long wait.
I don't know when the next one will come out. Hopefully soon because I do not want to keep you guys waiting for too long. On that note, I hope you guys have a wonderful day and see you in the next one.
~Sacai2005