After Percy had made the stupid decision to mail Medusa's head to the gods on Mount Olympus, they followed Grover who found Cressida standing by a water fountain as she talked to a rainbow. There was actually a hint of a smile on her face, and they didn't need to see who she was talking to, to know it was her brothers.
She'd told them about the Furies and was wrapping up her talks about Medusa as they sang praises of encouragement when she saw them coming and her smile vanished. She waved goodbye before blowing them a kiss and waving her hand through the rainbow, cutting off the connection.
That night was rather miserable as they camped out in the woods a little way from the main road. Grover had been surprised when Cressida had handed him her empty chip packet, the satyr bleating a nervous thanks before beginning to help set up camp as he ate it. They'd also stolen some blankets and extra food from Aunty Em's, both of those coming in handy as they decided to sleep in shifts.
Grover had been explaining to Percy about a satyr's purpose, about Pan and the great search for the god of Nature and then he almost slipped up and told him about his first screw-up while Annabeth slept, and Cressida sat on her blanket as she focused on the small grapevine she'd grown from the ground. She had an earphone in one ear, the boys assuming that she had the other one in, but they were wrong. She was half listening as she tried to make the vine move but it didn't do anything.
"You ok?" Percy's voice asked as he moved to sit next to her, and she flinched.
"Gods of Olympus! Announce yourself. You'll give someone a heart attack," she exclaimed as she yanked her earphone out and slipped her hood off her head.
"Sorry," Percy said and she rolled her eyes as she went back to holding her hands over the grapevines and trying to focus. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to concentrate," she answered.
"But why? What are you doing?"
"Gods, you don't know how to listen or how to shut up, do you?"
He had the audacity to smirk as she turned to face him. "Call me curious."
"How about I call you annoying?" she returned before trying to focus again.
"Cressida, it's just us. You don't have to be angry all the time," he said, and she scoffed.
"You don't know anything," she replied.
"Not unless you tell me."
"Di immortales! You don't know when to stop, do you?! What part of leave me alone don't you understand?" she snapped, trying to be quiet so as not to wake the others.
"I just want to know why," he insisted.
"You don't need to know. We just need to get through this quest and get back to camp so I can get back to my brothers and everyone can go back to ignoring me," she announced before turning back to her grapevine.
"Cressida-"
Percy was cut off as the girl groaned before pushing her hand towards the ground and making the vine vanish beneath the earth. "You are the most annoying Barnacle...Butt, I've ever met."
"How did you do that? And Barnacle Butt, really?" he said, and she rolled her purple eyes again as she pulled another vine from the earth before pushing it back down.
"Yes, really. And it's actually quite easy to grow them. Controlling them is another matter," she explained. "My brothers only have this power so they're much better at it than I am."
"How come they don't have the mind control thing like you do?" he wondered, and she sighed.
"Wish I knew. Probably because I'm the daughter of Dionysus. Papa, hardly has children anymore, much less daughters. I'm apparently rare," she said and Percy nodded, seeming to understand her theory. "Have I given you enough that you'll leave me alone now?"
"Just one more thing to say," he announced, and her body deflated.
"Of course, you do."
"I just think that it's fair if I tell you about me since you told me about you."
"I already know everything about you," she cut in and he raised a brow.
"Do you now?"
"Your full name is Perseus Jackson. You're the son of Poseidon. Your mother married your stepfather to mask your demigod scent from monsters, and anyone who willingly smells that foul is probably a foul person in general. You have trouble reading, meaning you're dyslexic and hardwired to read Ancient Greek. You hate sitting still or constantly need something to fidget with, you have ADHD, meaning you have natural battle reflexes. Both of that together means that you probably bounced around from school to school a lot, it was easier to make enemies than it was to make friends. However, you are extremely loyal to the friends you do have, and especially to your mother who is probably the only person who's ever been there for you your entire life. A life that was recently uprooted much like every other demigod in this country," she recited rather quickly and Percy's only mouth only hung open.
"How-How did -"
"Combination of reading people and actually being able to listen when people speak," she sassed and now Percy was the one to roll his eyes. "And you're pretty easy to read."
"I don't know if I should be offended by that," Percy admitted and Cressida smirked.
"I wouldn't take it too personally," she said before growing another grapevine, this time plucking the grapes off to eat.
"Can I have some?" he asked, and she shrugged.
"Knock yourself out," she said as she waved her hand and the vine grew more grapes as Cressida pulled out a small switchblade from her back pocket as she cut them off and tossed them towards him.
"These are good," Percy said after slipping a couple of the fat red grapes into his mouth.
"Of course, they're good. Only the best for my father's wine. Not that he can make it now."
It was silent between the two of them for a while as they ate before Percy broke the silence, once again.
"Can I ask one more thing?"
She sighed again as she twisted two grapes in the palm of her hand. "You can ask, can't promise I'll answer."
"Why do you hate everyone at camp?"
Her jaw tightened as the hand lifting the grapes to her mouth froze. "I told you," she said, staring at the fire as she lowered her hand. "Ask Annabeth. She thinks she knows." She sank the vine back into the ground and threw the grapes down on her blanket at stood. "I'm going to take a walk, make sure nothing's out there."
And that was the only explanation she gave before walking off into the darkness, the glint of the firelight on her switchblade the only indication of her position until she closed it.
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Cressida didn't end up sleeping until the next day. Grover had gotten up for his shift and surprisingly had been good company, and when he'd gone off in search of food and in a general checking on the surrounding area, he came back with a poodle. A bright pink, fuzzy poodle named Gladiola.
And Gladiola pointed them in the direction of an Amtrack station with a train westbound that leaves at noon.
They spent two days on that train. Cressida passed out for one of them. When she did wake, she delved into the second bag of chips that she had as she distracted herself by reading another one of the books her brothers had given her, trying to fight her way through her dyslexia to get to the little message her brothers always wrote on the back page or the back cover. And she could tell that Annabeth was supremely jealous of the fact that she didn't have a book though. Even if the one that she was reading was about a group of boys locked in an inescapable maze.
They were only able to afford tickets as far as Denver with the money they got from returning Gladiola, so as they neared the stop, she put her book away and switched to her iPod, only keeping one ear in as she stared at the outside world that zoomed by so quickly as she half listened to the conversation.
One where Cressida found herself agreeing with Annabeth.
Percy was talking about bartering with Hades in exchange for his mother and Annabeth was warning against it.
And then began the discussion on if there was anyone in your life that you'd barter with Hades for.
"Cressida?" Annabeth asked, everyone silent and her voice uncertain. "What about you? And, you don't have to answer, if you don't want to."
She sighed as she stared out the window, not able to look at anyone as the words tumbled out of her mouth, a slow pop song playing in her ear. "I'd trade myself for my brothers in a heartbeat. I have no other family."
And she was thankful that they left it at that.
The conversation turned to life aspirations when they entered St Louis and saw the gateway arch. Annabeth wanted to be an architect, to create monuments like that. To see the Parthenon.
If she was being honest, Cressida had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. She didn't even know if she was going to have a life that extended past the end of this quest. If she was being even more honest, she didn't really have much of a life.
Annabeth was glad to have part of her wish come true as the train driver announced that they would be having a three-hour layover in St Louis before continuing on to Denver, which meant a trip to the Arch.
"You nervous?" Percy asked when he saw the girl staring up at the arch from the line.
"I don't like tight spaces and I don't like being off the ground. I like being able to move. Being able to summon my vines from safe heights on the ground," she answered, and Percy just bumped her shoulder with his.
"I don't like heights either," he said, and she smirked as she shook her head.
"Obviously not. Zeus would kill you if you got too far into his domain."
"Oh. Well, that's a fun fact to know as I'm about to climb up an arch 630 feet in the air," he said nervously before they were crowded into an elevator with a fat lady and a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar.
And let's just say, she was very, very glad to reach the top. Even if the top wasn't very glamorous. She overheard Percy refer to it as a tin can with carpeting.
Annabeth was in her element as she talked about the structural supports and then how she could've made the building better by making the windows bigger and adding a glass floor. She probably could've stayed up there for hours had the park ranger not announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.
"Still not a fan of heights?" Percy asked as he walked over to where she was standing at one of the windows, staring down at the Mississippi river below them.
"The view is nice though," she shrugged. It was a really pretty view. It really put things in perspective. How small you were and how big things could be. And how small people could do big things like the monument they were standing on.
"Well, you can see still it from the ground when we are not 629.9 feet in the air," he said and she turned to him with a confused look on her face.
"I thought you said it was 630 feet?"
"Yeah, well I said it in front of Annabeth and she looked ready to tear my head off because it was rounded up and not exact," Percy said nervously and Cressida actually laughed.
"What even is point 9 of a foot? 11 inches? 11 and a half?" she wondered.
"I have no idea. Just like I had no idea what 192 metres was until she said it in feet," Percy replied and he could see her small smile in the glass reflection. "We should get going," he said after a time, and she nodded before letting him walk her over to the lifts where Grover and Annabeth were waiting.
"Was it everything you imagined?" she asked Annabeth who couldn't wipe the smile off her face.
"Better," she answered and Cressida only nodded as they were guided into the lift, Grover and Annabeth going first before a park ranger put his hand out in front of Cressida.
"Next car, ma'am," he said as Percy stood behind her and Grover and Annabeth's eyes widened, two other passengers in with them.
"We'll get out. We'll wait with you," Annabeth insisted.
"No, it's ok," Percy promised, his hand on Cressida's elbow, startling her before she slipped her bag off. "We'll see you guys at the bottom," he finished as Cressida handed Annabeth her bag.
"I'll be back for that," she promised, the gesture easing their nerves slightly, but they were still there as the elevator door slid shut and the car disappeared down the ramp.
"We just wait for the next car, right?" Percy said as Cressida began to fidget with her bracelet.
"Yeah. It shouldn't take long. I don't know why I'm nervous," she admitted, and she inhaled sharply when Percy leaned in a little and whispered,
"Please tell me that you see the forked tongue on that dog too."
Cressida turned, faking tying her shoelace as she tried to look up at the dog, and then jumping back when it started barking at them.
"You sense anything?" Percy asked.
"That this dog doesn't like us?"
"I meant something demigoddy."
"I can only sense my father's sacred animals and I can't concentrate with the dog barking. So unless you'd like to lose your mind along with everyone else on this floor, shut up!" she snapped and Percy only glared at her.
"Doggie!" called the little boy who was still waiting with his family. "Look a doggie!"
His parents pulled him back as the Chihuahua bared its teeth and foam dripped from its black lips.
"Well son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."
"Did you just call that Chihuahua your son?" Percy asked as he backed away, his hand on Cressida's elbow as he pulled her back with him.
"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."
"Oh, shit," Cressida cursed. "Move!" and she shoved him back as the creature began to shift.
The dog began to grow bigger with each bark also turned into a roar and the woman rolled up her denim sleeves revealing her scaly and green skin.
The parents of the small boy pulled him back towards the park ranger who was paralysed with fear at the sight of the monster who'd grown so big that its back rubbed against the roof.
"Be honoured, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!" the snake lady hissed.
The Chimera charged, Cressida once again pushing Percy to the side as she drew her spear, barely managing to keep its fangs at bay.
Percy then called the Chimera's attention, the head whipping towards him as the tail knocked her down and she was grateful that all she copped was a hit to the stomach and not its fangs, Chimera venom was painful.
But luck wasn't on her side because not only was she certain that the hit broke a few ribs, but the hit also sent her tumbling towards a hole in the side of the arch.
Percy was in agony after he'd been bitten by the snake head, his sword long gone out of the same hole he was watching Cressida dangle from.
But with her broken ribs, it was hard to move her left arm and it was hard to breathe, not to mention the jagged edge she was gripping onto was digging into her hand.
She was gasping for breath as she remembered how high she was dangling.
630 feet.
630 feet.
The blood that was seeping from her hand was loosening her grip and she'd accepted the fact that she was going to the Underworld the hard way before a hand grabbed hers.
"I got you," Percy heaved, blinking heavily as he fought through the Chimaera poison and Cressida held her ribs.
"But for how long?" she gasped.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
Her ribs screamed as she did. "I'm dangling 630 feet in the air, do I have a choice?!"
"If you are the son of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "You would not fear water. So, fall Percy Jackson. Fall. Save your friend and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."
But Percy didn't move from where he crouched at the edge, both his hands desperately trying to keep Cressida from falling, making no move to pull her up or jump out.
"You have no faith," Echidna said. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."
Cressida didn't have to be bitten or have to be Percy to know that with how pale and sickly his skin looked and how dull his eyes seemed and how slow his breaths were.
"Die, faithless one."
And Cressida couldn't even scream as she went plummeting towards the Mississippi all because of Percy Jackson.
******************************************************************
Their hands had disconnected long before they hit the water, but when they did, Percy's impact didn't hurt. He settled at the bottom of the filthy river as he realised that he wasn't injured anymore and that he was perfectly dry. An ability that he could pass onto the objects he touched at the bottom of a river, a wrapper became dry and a lighter lit and then burned said wrapper. And when he let it go, they became wet again.
Not to mention the fact that he was able to breathe underwater, something that took a little while to register.
A voice, that sounded a lot like Sally Jackson, began speaking to him, though he thought it was his imagination. "Percy, what do you say?"
"Um, thanks," he spoke into the water. "Thank you...Father."
He got no response before the paddlewheel of a riverboat began churning the silt below the surface and the hilt of Riptide became visible from where it was stuck in the mud.
The voice spoke again. "Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you."
"Where are you?" Percy called, the voice seeming to come from all directions now that he knew he wasn't imagining it.
Through the murky water a woman the colour of the water floated above the sword, long billowing hair and green eyes that were reminiscent of his own.
"Mom?" Percy wondered, a lump in his throat.
"No, child," she said. "Only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica."
"What?"
"It is your father's will. Before you descend into the Underworld, you much go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence."
"But..." Then he realised who her dark hair also reminded him of. "Cressida! Cressida, she-"
"The daughter of wine sleeps. Her wounds have been healed but you must return her to the surface soon."
There was so much more Percy wanted to ask but the words were stuck in his throat, jammed like traffic on a highway.
"I cannot stay, brave one," the woman said as she reached out for his face, the current almost caressing his skin. "You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, do not trust the gifts..."
And she faded, her voice faded.
"Gifts? What gifts?"
Percy was awash with emotions, guilt and worry to name a few because it almost felt as if he was losing his mother all over again. But after capping his pen and returning it to his pocket with another thanks to his father, the silt shifted again and this time, Percy saw a bubble.
It was eerie.
It was almost as if she was in a coffin. Cressida was asleep inside a very large bubble that encased her whole body. And true to the ghostly spirit's words, there didn't seem to be a mark on her, not even from the Furies' whip which she'd stopped taking nectar and ambrosia for in fear of finishing it all too quickly. He'd never realised it before, but she looked a lot calmer and more relaxed when she slept.
But the second Percy touched the bubble it popped.
Though Cressida remained dry with his touch, she was unable to breathe underwater as her eyes bulged and her cheeks puffed as she tried to keep some of the air in her lungs and Percy wrapped an arm around her waist and they began swimming for the surface.
The second they broke the surface, Cressida was coughing and spluttering as she spat up some of the putrid water.
"Are you alright?" Percy asked, the two of them still treading water.
"If I could drown you right now, I would," she panted, Percy keeping an arm wrapped around her to keep her dry and above water.
"I just saved you! Twice!" he exclaimed.
"You let me fall 630 feet! And I've saved your life more than twice since I met you!"
"Ok, next time I'll let the Chimera eat you," he sassed, and she rolled her eyes. "We should find Grover and Annabeth."
"I can swim. You can let go of me now," she said, very aware of his arm now.
"Well, if you'd like to become soaked in dirty Mississippi water, then sure, I'll let go."
"Fine. Just this once," she relented as they headed for the shore, a shore with a McDonald's on it and she wished for her bag so she could get a cheeseburger. What she wouldn't give for a good cheeseburger. Or a taco.
Her hunger was distracted with worry when Percy directed her attention to the emergency vehicles surrounding the Arch, complete with numerous police helicopters overhead.
"Mama! That boy and that girl walked out of the river!" a little girl said as Percy stood and offered Cressida a hand.
"That's nice dear," her mother said, craning her neck to try and watch the ambulances.
"But they're dry!" the girl insisted.
"That's nice dear."
"Let's get out of here," Percy said and Cressida nodded as she took his hand and let him help her up.
"Agreed," she said as they began trying to walk their way through the crowd, a new lady talking to a camera about the incident, while also mentioning the fact that there were survivors and eyewitness reports of people falling from the Arch.
They only started to panic when she started talking about a young adolescent boy and girl that went wild on the observation deck.
"Keep your head down. Don't make eye contact with anyone. Just keep walking," Cressida said, Percy nodding as his shoulder brushed hers as they walked, not seeing any sight of Annabeth or Grover.
"Perrr-cy!" bleated a voice and they whirled just in time for Percy to get tackled into a hug by Grover, who didn't even seem to hesitate to hug Cressida.
She was taken aback at first, she'd never been hugged by anyone who wasn't family except for the satyr that brought her to camp. But considering she almost died for the third time on this quest, she was glad for it as she hugged him back.
"We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!" Grover said as he pulled away.
"We almost did," she admitted.
"We can't leave you two alone for five minutes!" Annabeth exclaimed. "What happened?"
"A Chimera."
"We fell."
Percy and Cressida gave each other strange looks as they'd spoken completely different answers in unison.
"Two hundred metres?!" Annabeth chastised and Cressida furrowed her brows.
"Percy said, you said that it was 192 metres?" she pointed out and Annabeth stomped her foot angrily on the ground.
"I'm allowed to exaggerate when you two almost died!"
"Gangway!" called a cop from behind them as the crowd parted and a couple of paramedics were rolling out a woman on a stretcher, the mother of the little boy from the observation deck.
Percy was the one who then pulled the trio into the crowd and out of the line of sight of the little boy who was pointing at them.
The four of them stuck close together as they pushed through the sea of people, Percy and Cressida giving a recount of what happened on the Arch with Percy telling all three of them what happened in the river.
"Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."
Annabeth didn't get a chance to respond before they passed another reporter that said Percy's name, explaining to the camera that the description of the young boy who caused the explosion was wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago, along with the disappearance of his mother. However, the mysterious girl who is thought to be his accomplice is still unidentified but has a very distinguishing feature being her purple eyes.
Cressida cussed and blamed Percy for this who rolled his eyes as they made their way back to the Amtrak station, managing to get back on the train just before it pulled out of the station for Denver, leaving the police and the St Louis skyline behind them.