Vida landed onto the ground where Grover and Annabeth were and hid behind an ambulance to changer back to her old self, "where the hell did you go?" Annabeth shouted at Vida, "i needed to save Percy, but then he fell and —" Vida tried to catch her breath but she was unable to say words in a full sentence without gasping for air.
Grover grabbed her inhaler from his pocket, he kept it safe for her in case of an emergency, he passed her the inhaler and she used it. she finally caught her breath, "come on, lets go get Percy" Vida said, "he's alive?" Grover said with relief, "yes. well i think so. i dropped him in the river so the fall damage could've killed him. but i was an eagle" Vida said casually, "is this like a daily occurrence now? you just start shapeshifting?" Grover asked with confusion but curious.
the officers looked toward the three like they were suspicious, "lets go, before we go to jail" Vida said as they looked around, "Percy!" Annabeth and Grover shouted repeatedly, "fish boy!" Vida shouted, in search of Percy. the other two looked toward her direction, "what its a cute name" Vida shrugged.
Vida turned one way but immediately stopped. Percy was hopping onto the pier, "hi" he squinted but trying to defuse the tension, "look, i'm sorry about shoving you in the stairwell. even hearing myself say that sounds really bad, but i just— i knew you'd never agree, and there wasn't enough time-" Vida walked until she ran, she wrapped her arms Percy. his arms then reach toward her back, he tightened his grip while she gripped hers tighter.
"you moron!" Vida yelled at him and pushed him slightly, "why did you do that?! you scared me! you're so lucky i can shapeshift" Vida said, "okay, im sorry. thank you for saving me" Percy said, Vida wrapped her arms around again but then Grover and Annabeth cleared their throats, "so...you're not as dead as we thought you'd be." Grover said as Vida stepped away from Percy.
"surprise" Percy smirked, "what happened?" Grover asked, "short version, we need to go to Santa Monica" Percy said, "what, like now?" Grover exclaimed, "my father's gonna meet me there. he's gonna help us." Percy looked at Vida as she was thinking. she needed to think. "okay. uh, just one problem with this plan. the police think we crashed an Amtrak train and then did that." Grover explained as the four looked up at the arch.
"im hungry. ill meet you guys in a little. i'm going to go get some food from that cafe" Vida said as she gestured to the cafe near them. "here. be careful." Percy said and gave her US dollars out of his pocket since she only had a few drachmas, "its a bit wet but you it will dry" he shrugged, "thank you" Vida smiled, "do you guys want anything?" the boys shook their heads and Annabeth said, "let me go with you" she said.
the two girls walked into the cafe, "so, what was that with Percy?" Annabeth asked, "nothing, i swear. it was just a friendly hug" Vida tried to hide her smile, "friends dont hug like that, also so much has been happening with you two today, do you like him?" Annabeth got excited, "i dont know. im with Luke but i cant like Percy" Vida explained, "thats okay. do you want me to read the menu for you?" Annabeth offered, "yes, please"
Annabeth read the menu out loud for Vida since she can only read a few words, not many. Vida ordered some food while Annabeth did too. the two walked out to see Percy and Grover arguing over something, "i dont know, man. i think i like her. shes so pretty. she just gets me, being the daughter of a goddess and all" Annabeth and Vida overheard Percy say to Grover. Annabeth turned to Vida, she knew what girl he was talking about. he was talking about Annabeth.
"he's totally talking about you" Annabeth had a big smile on her face, "no, Beth. hes talking about you" Vida's face was white. "i dont think so" Annabeth's smile dropped. "'being the daughter of a goddess and all' hes talking about you." Vida said, "but your also a daughter of a goddess too." Annabeth said, "he would've said the daughter both a god and goddess"
"that doesn't mean anything. you know that. you just don't want to believe that he likes you" Annabeth said, "come on, lets go" Vida tried to change the subject and they walked toward Percy and Grover. Percy's face turned red when he saw Vida, she could've heard their conversation.
the four started walking on a road. not knowing where to go, or where they were. "hey, guys. i think this quest might be harder than we thought. i've been thinking. i didn't steal the master bolt. you guys didn't steal the master bolt. we're pretty sure Hades has the master bolt, but he couldn't have stolen it himself. i mean, we don't even know who actually stole the thing, or why, or how deep this goes. i'm the last person to realize this, aren't i?" Percy realized
"yeah." Annabeth said, "okay, so...maybe when we started, my head wasn't fully in this, but since the river...it all feels different somehow. he saved me. my dad. he healed me. i guess i just really never thought that's something he's do for me. so maybe i gotta take things mote seriously now." Percy continued but they all heard an engine revving. "car" Grover said.
"that's not a car, its a bike. just let it pass. come on." Annabeth said as the four hit behind the barriers. "im saying, we're not just trying to retrieve a thing. i think we might need to be detectives here, too." Percy said, "yeah" Vida shifted uncomfortably, "why are you being weird with me again? i thought we weren't doing that anymore." Percy said, "im not being weird" Vida shook her head.
"yes, you are. you've been weird since we left the arch." Percy said, Vida looked away trying not to share eye contact with him. "oh...i get it. it doesn't have to be a thing, you know. that you hugged me." Percy thought thats what she meant. the other three sighed on how clueless he was. "oh, boy. thats not-" Vida tried to explain, "i mean, we're like friends now. that seems like a thing friends do. at least i think they do" Percy interrupted her.
"i saw the fates. back at the arch, i saw the three fates, and i saw Atropos cut a piece of thread." Annabeth spoke up for Vida to cut the tension, "and thats bad or...?" Percy tried to understand, "the fates weave the life strand of every living thing. when you see a string cut-" Grover tried to explain, "it means one of us is going to die" Vida blurted out. "we're all gonna die eventually." Percy said
"soon. its a warning. an omen." Annabeth finished, "okay. guys, we need to talk about this whole fate thing. three old ladies with a ball of yarn cant know what's gonna happen. what i choose to do changes what's gonna happen, and i can choose to do anything i...want." Percy stopped, as the motorcycle engine stopped near them. "need some help?" the biker asked, Vida stayed behind the barrier, scared to show her face if it was a monster.
the other three peaked their heads out, "beg pardon?" Grover asked, "i asked if you could use some help." the biker repeated, "nope. no. we're—we're good. appreciate you asking, though. so long." Grover tried to get the guy away. they hit back behind the barrier, "you don't seem too good." the biker continued, "we don't want anything from you" Annabeth said.
"you sure? because you guys are so behind schedule. i mean, summer solstice is just a few days away. and as much as i'd love to see a good war to pop off, as your big brother and cousin, i feel like, maybe, i wanna give to a hand." the man says. the kids all peaked from behind the barrier "cousin?" Percy asked "Ares?" Vida asked. "hello sister" he smiled. Vida ran up to him and they hugged "i missed you. its been so long. "i know, since i snuck out of camp that one time and went to Maine and saw you there" Vida said.
"you must be Athena's kid. always gotta be the wisest one in the bunch." Ares said to Annabeth, "why would you help us? how do you even know about what we're doing out here?" Annabeth asked, "because i'm doing exactly the same thing as you. Zeus sent all of his kids out looking for the master bolt, too. listen, dummies. i'm hungry. there's a halfway decent diner up the road. if you want my help, you'll meet me there. but don't dawdle. won't wait forever." Ares said. "Vida, hop on" Ares said.
"ill walk with them" Vida said, "no, come on. im not letting you walk" Ares said, Vida listened and started walking towards the motorcycle, but Percy called out, "no! Vida is perfectly fine where she is" Percy didn't trust Ares. he knew something is off about him. and he didnt want Vida going with him and possibly getting kidnapped. "you dont speak for me" Vida argued, Percy gave her a look, begging and pleading for not to go. she understood and said, "im just gonna walk. ill see you there"
Ares rode off as they all watch his lead, "thats my cousin? what kind of family is this?" Percy asked, "come on" Annabeth said as they started walking.
AUTHORS NOTE:
i might do a surprise chapter in this. so theres gonna be a change in Vida's ending.
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