.☪︎.𖥔 ݁ ˖☁︎
" fighting like a married couple. "
.☪︎.𖥔 ݁ ˖☁︎
Percy walked over to the book, flipping through pages.
The three others walked up to him as he spoke. " Hermes express, she ships these things all over. Some of it goes to Olympus. "
Tara looked shocked, she tilted her head. " percy, you can't ship Medusas head to Olympus. "
Percy looked confused. " why not? "
Annabeth looked at him, a little surprised. " because the gods won't like it. "
Grover finished the sentence. " at all. "
Percy still didn't get what they were trying to say. " why? That's what you do with dangerous stuff. Like batteries, you just send 'em back where they came from. "
Tara gazed at the book. " okay. Look, this is a bad idea. "
Annabeth nodded. " I agree with tara, they will see this as impertinent. "
Percy shrugged. " I am impertinent. "
Annabeth and tara looked at each other.
Annabeth looked back at Percy. " yes, but we're not. "
Grover nodded. " really, very not. "
Percy pulled up a box, dropping it loudly on the table. " look. Medusa tried to derail our quest. She's got serious beef with your mom. When you look at it that way, this seems kinda like tribute or something, doesn't it? " he paused, grabbing annabeths hat off Medusas head. " and besides.. this way a part of your moms still with us. " he went to give her the hat athena gave her.
Annabeth gazed at him before slowly grabbing her hat. " thank you.. "
Percy smiled at her, closing the box and taping it.
Grover sighed. " so this isn't exactly what I meant. By choosing each other. " he paused looking at the three. " there are actual dangers involved here that cannot be.. "
Percy started clapping, interrupting Grover.
Grover looked at him.
Tara started giggling.
Grover sighed, annoyed. " you're gonna sing the song, aren't you? "
Percy started clapping faster.
Grover looked over at tara. " okay.. "
Annabeth smiled, looking at tara and Grover.
Percy started to sing. " oh, golly. The roads gettin' bumpy. Consensus. "
Tara grinned, starting to sing along.
Grover shrugged. " whatever. "
FEW HOURS LATER
It felt like forever when they finally made it to the train station, they hoped on, getting a room.
After a few minutes, they all laid down to get some rest after what happened.
Of course they made Grover and tara share a bunk.
Grover and tara were slumbering while percy and annabeth were.. well I guess thinking.
Percy sighed, hesitantly saying. " hey, you asleep? " hoping someone would answer him.
It was silent until annabeth coldly said. " yes. "
Percy relaxed a little. " you and thaila were really close, right? "
Annabeths voice sounded confused. " yeah. "
Percy looked looked at the ceiling. " what was she like? "
Annabeth blinked, a little uncomfortable. " why? "
Percy sighed again. " she was the last forbidden child before me and Tara, right? " he paused. " she must've dealt with the same kind of stuff. "
Annabeth shrugged. " she was tough. I mean, she knew she was a forbidden kid, she just didn't care. Tara reminds me of her. But when Luke and thaila found me, Luke cared for me right away. But thaila.. she made me earn it. "
Percy raised his eyebrows. " is that why you give me a hard time? Me and Tara gotta earn it with you too? "
Annabeth sighed. " Tara's already earned it and you, yeah, maybe. "
Percy gazed at her. " I gotta say, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. "
Annabeth sounded a little frustrated. " what doesn't make sense to you? "
Percy made hand movements while talking. " the way you guys all talk. The way the gods want us to think. Gotta burn an offering to get a parents attention. Gotta beat up on clarisse, this goes for me and tara just to get our parents to admit they are our parents. It isnt supposed to work that way. " he paused, silence filling the room before he continued. " people who are close to you aren't supposed to treat you that way. "
Annabeth looked a little understanding, just a little. " you wanna know how I ended up alone on the road in the first place? " she paused, waiting for an answer but nothing came so she just decided to continue. " I started out as a gift to my dad. That's how it works with athena. We're born from a thought in her mind, and then given to a partner she's connected to. And for a while, I was treated like a gift. " her gaze saddened as she shook her head. " my dad cared for me. He loved me. I knew it. Then he met a women. They had their own kids. And to her,
I— I wasn't a gift. I was a problem. So I left. I was seven. It isn't the gods who think that way. It's everybody. But at least with the gods you know the rules. Show them respect and they'll be in your corner, no matter what. "
It was silent for a few minutes until suddenly Grover groaned, rubbing his eyes.
Percy looked at the top bunk where Grover and tara shared the bed. " you two awake? " percy said.
Grover sleepily said. " well, I am now. Thanks. "
Tara opened her eyes a little. " shut up, let me sleep dummies. "
Percy looked confused. " are you guys okay? "
Annabeth grinned a little. " he's super grouchy when he doesn't get enough sleep. "
Percy nodded. " Tara's the same, she's probably worse than him. "
Grover mimicked annabeth in a high pitch voice. " ' hes super grouchy when he doesn't get enough ' nah! "
Percy raised his eyebrows. " wow. "
Tara pushed Grover a little. " stop taking up the whole bed you nerd. "
Grover looked at her. " you stop taking the blankets you weirdo! "
Tara covered his mouth, Grover's yells got muffled.
Tara closed her eyes, hoping for sleep.
Annabeth and percy looked at each other.
Annabeth sighed, trying not to laugh. " fighting like a married couple. "
Percy chuckled. " it's a nightmare listening to this. "
Annabeth nodded. " you never been on the road with him before, it's a little different then some froofy boarding school. "
Grover grabbed Tara's hand off his mouth, yelling at annabeth. " who's froofy? Your froofy. " he paused " what's froofy? "
Tara groaned. " Grover shut up! You know what, everyone shut up! "
Grover kicked her in the leg.
Tara opened her eyes, looking at Grover. " I'm about to choke you in your sleep boy! " she glared at him.
Grover mocked her. " go ahead! I dare you! "
Percy looked shocked. " annabeth please never let me wake them up again. "
Tara yelled at Percy. " yeah this is your fault! " she raised her hand over Grover's head, pointing at percy.
Grover grabbed her arm, shoving it down.
Tara gasped dramatically.
Grover flipped over on his side, facing away from tara. " I think I need to eat.. "
Tara rolled her eyes. " probably why you're so grumpy. "
Grover gasped a little. " like you aren't?! "
Annabeth put her hand on her forehead. " when is this gonna end. "
Percy grinned, sitting up.
Annabeth tried to sit up, struggling, while Tara and Grover was still laying down.
FEW HOURS LATER
They all sat at a table, well tara was laying her head on the table.
Grover sounded less grumpy, probably since he had food. " two days until we reach Los Angeles! " he paused, thinking. " plenty of time before our deadline to reach the underworld. "
Percy looked at the three. " can I ask a dumb question. "
Annabeth and tara said in sync. " it's like you need me to make fun of you. "
Tara sat up as annabeth looked at her, they both grinned at each other.
Percy looked at them confused before continuing. " I've never been to Los Angeles before. I'm guessing neither of you have been to Los Angeles. "
Tara raised her hand. " I have for vacation. "
Percy looked at her. " do you know where we're going then? "
Tara looked at him, shrugging. " no idea. "
Tara laid back on Grover as he spoke. " but that's like step 37, and we're still on step four. Cross that bridge when we get there. "
Percy nodded. " follow up stupid question. "
Annabeth rolled her eyes. " dude.. "
Percy looked at the three. " ' and you shall fail to save what matters most in the end. ' " he paused for a second. " back in jersey, I told you the oracle said this quest would fail. And no one's mentioned it since. Seems like something.. we oughta be taking a little more serious..ly.. " he trailed off, looking out the window. " hey.. look at that.. "
Grover looked out the window, a sad look appeared on his face.
Tara still laid on him as she looked out the window.
Annabeth looked a little confused as she too looked out the window.
Percy questioned. " are those.. "
Annabeth finished. " centaurs. "
Centaurs ran outside in the fields, trying to keep up with the train.
Percy looked around before looking back at the centaurs. " no one even knows they're there. "
Grover sighed. " there used to be herds of them everywhere. "
Tara looked up at Grover. " what happened to them? " she asked.
Tara noticed grover looked saddened as he talked. " humans. " he looked down at tara before looking at percy. " a few thousand years ago, the god of the wild, pan, disappeared. " he shrugged. " and ever since, without pan to protect the natural world, humans have been trying really hard to chip away at it. "
Annabeth looked at Percy. " the bravest satyrs volunteer to become searchers. "
Tara finished her sentence, but questioningly. " trying to find pan?.. "
Annabeth nodded. " yeah and.. none have ever returned. "
Percy looked at Grover. " your uncle we found in Medusas, Ferdinand. He was a searcher? "
Grover nodded, tara looked at him sadly, she nudged him in the side as he looked at her. He smiled at her.
Annabeth changed the subject. " the oracle didn't say the quest would fail. ' fail to save what matters most. ' that could mean a lot of things. "
Percy sat back as an officer came up to them. " excuse me. Can I see your tickets, please? "
Annabeth nodded, reaching into her bag, pulling out tickets.
The man looked at the tickets before looking at the four. " your in cabin 17B? "
They all looked at each other.
FEW MINUTES LATER
The police officer took them to their cabin
As soon as they looked in, they saw the window had been smashed in, the couch and some of their stuff was ripped up.
The transit officer looked at them. " you wanna explain? "
Percy looked shocked until his expression went to confusion as he looked at the officer. " wait. Wait, you think we did this? "
The officer looked at him. " did you? " he was obviously done with them.
Percy looked fiercely at him. " how and why would we do this? "
Grover spoke up, interrupting percy. " sir, when we left to get breakfast, everything was intact. We don't know how this happened. "
Tara gazed at the scene in shock.
The officer turned around. " we got a witness here, who says she heard the window smash and then heard children's voices. "
Percy rolled his eyes. " oh come on. "
The man looked back at them. " can you tell me what time you left the cabin? "
Annabeth kept staring at the busted window. " are we under arrest? "
The officer looked at her, retorting. " I don't think you wanna take that tone with me, little girl. "
Tara quickly looked back at the man, her voice was harsher than normal and everyone was shocked when she spoke up. " answer the little girl, are we under arrest? " she glared.
Even the officer was a little shocked.
FEW MINUTES LATER
They sat at a table, 2 officers around them.
Percy looked at the lady behind Grover and tara. " so we're just killing time til we find out that guys like a werewolf or something, right? " Percy said.
Grover and tara looked behind each other in sync, staring at the lady and man that they were talking to a few minutes ago.
Annabeth looked behind them as well, whispering. " I don't think he's a monster. "
Tara looked back, scrunching her nose. " I think it's the lady. "
Grover looked at tara. " hard to say. "
Percy looked confused. " well, if she's the monster then what monster is she? And what's going on here. Why would anyone tear our room apart? "
Grover wouldn't stop gazing at tara as he answered percy. " maybe they were looking for something... "
Percy snapped his fingers in his face. " snap back into reality and stop daydreaming over Tara. "
Grover snapped his head towards percy, his face going red.
Tara looked over at Grover, a smirk forming on her face.
Grover saw Tara's smirk, quickly changing the subject. " the people who think you stole Zeus's master bolt may be looking for us. "
Percy sighed. " right. "
Tara looked at the three. " well, look at it like this. They aren't gonna find something we don't have. "
Annabeth shrugged. " either way, we aren't spending the day answering questions in the St. Louis police station. We need to get out of this before we get delayed. "
Someone tapped on Tara's shoulder as she turned around.
The women stood there, tara looked a little frightened as the brunette lady spoke. " d—do you mind if I sit? "
Tara looked her up and down, Grover noticed this which made him a little nervous.
Nobody answered her.
She sighed, setting her pet carrier down. " ah, you poor dears. " she sat down, looking at the four. " your parents aren't here, are they? "
An animal started whining as she looked over. " isn't that right, precious? " the animal started growling a little. " don't children get scared when they're all alone? "
Tara scooted back into Grover a little.
The women looked back up to the four. " it's okay. I'm a mom. I know how scared you must be. " she smiled, looking at the officer. " excuse me. Would you mind giving us a little space? " she paused looking at the four. " I think.. I think you're making them nervous. "
The officer nodded, walking away.
The women grinned huge as she turned back around. " I want you to know.. I don't actually think that you made that mess back there. I just wanted a moment alone with you. "
The four looked at each other, they were basically thinking the same thing.
She continued. " there are some things I need you to understand— "
Grover looked closely at her jacket. " you have something on your jacket. " he paused. " it looks like.. it looks like glass.. "
Everyone looked at her jacket.
Tara cleared her throat. " no one smashed out the windows from inside our cabin. Someone smashed them in from the outside. "
The women stopped smiling as her dog started whimpering more, it started to go a little crazy.
She bend down to the pet carrier. " yes sweetheart. I know, I know. Your impatient. " the animal started snarling at this point.
The women sniffed. " oh! But we're almost there. "
The women stood up, looking at the three demigods. " this isn't your fault. But sadly, you're going to have to bear the burden of your parents mistakes today. "
Percy spoke up. " listen, lady. I don't know who you are, but I think I know what you are. " he nodded. " we've run across a few monsters like you and we've sent them all packing. "
The women scoffed. " monsters like me? " she grinned, shrugging. " well.. of course they're like me. They were my children. " she fiercely said.
Percy looks confused. " children? "
Tara and annabeth look at each other.
Grover's eyes widen. " the mother of monsters.. "
Tara finished his sentence. " echidna.. "
Echidna chuckled softly, the monster started growling, she shushed it. " oh! shhh.. " she pet the carrier, looking back at the four. " monster is an odd word. Considering my grandmother is your great-grandmother and this has always been a family story. But.. to my eye, the demigod is the more dangerous creature. " she sighed, shaking her head. " disruptive. Violent. If I exist for anything, it is to stand in the way of monsters like you— "
Tara interrupted. " just get to the point, echidna. "
She quickly looked at tara. " oh well... if you say so. " she bent down. " my little one here. She's just a pup now. Bless her heart. " she chuckled, suddenly she stopped smiling. " today.. you will be her prey. " she stood back up, turning around to look at the four. " are you afraid yet? " she grinned again. " oh. It's all right. Fear is natural. It's also essential to the hunt. "
Annabeth pulled out her golden dagger, hiding it in her bag.
Echidna continued. " your fear. Your doubt. Your confusion. " she chuckled as the monster growled, it sounded less like a puppy now. " I needed you to understand what was happening so that she could track the scent. So that she could learn and grow because.. "
Tara and percy looked terrified of what the growling was, their eyes shown it all. The bag started shaking violently, it started unzipping as echidna finished her sentence. " that's what a good mother does for her children. Not that you would know. "
The growling started to intensify, the zipper was off as echidna said. " you should run now. "
The bag opened, percy stood up as tara yelled for him to watch out but instead she quickly jumped infront of him.
The tail of the monster stabbing her in her chest, annabeth grabbed the tail, stabbing it with her dagger. She yelled. " go! "
Grover and percy stood up, grabbing tara as they all ran.
The officers saw them run and started to chase them.
WHILE RUNNING FROM THE COPS AND THE MONSTER
Grover had ahold of tara as they all ran into the cabins.
The officers were on their heels, the train shuddered and creaked.
A dog came running through the smashed in doorway.
The four continue to run and open doors.
They ran through like the fifth door and annabeth turned around, locking the door with a chain.
The officers tried to get in, the door was stuck.
They all stopped as grover looked at tara. " Tara! "
Everyone looked back at the two, Grover picked something from Tara's gray hoodie.
Percy looked confused. " what is that? "
Annabeth looked shocked and concerned. " it's a stinger. " annabeth looked at Grover. " Grover, do you know what kind of monster has one of those? "
Grover looked at it. " I don't know. I mean, nothing good probably. "
Annabeth looked back at tara. " do you feel okay? "
Tara looked a little confused. " I think so. Why? Do you think it's poisonous or something? "
Annabeth sighed. " I'm not sure.. "
Tara shook her head. " if it is I'm glad I took it instead of Percy. "
The officers were yelling as the train shook again, everyone looked back.
The doors were getting smashed in.
Percy's eyes widen, they saw the huge monster through the window.
Grover yelled. " we gotta move! "
They started to run again.
WHEN THEY STOPPED
They got off the train, running on the tracks.
They stopped, looking back at the train.
Tara panted. " why isn't it still chasing us? "
Annabeth shrugged. " echidna said whatever she was hiding in that carrier, it's young. It won't venture too far from her mother. She's learning to hunt.. and this seems like the hunting part. "
Tara sighed, Grover was obviously concerned for her. All of them was but Grover the most.
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hii author here ! Sorry for really slow updates I've been busy. I hope this chapter is okay. Thank you for all the votes I appreciate it! If you want vote and comment some ideas I can add in next chapter!