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chapter eight ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
008. The Nemean Lion Gets a Nauseating Snack
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The daughter of Ares wiped away her tears. Jeez was this the most she's cried in a week.
Cassie went to the bathroom and got ready. She came out in an orange camp half-blood shirt, red flannel, and black sweat pants. Lacing up her red converse high tops, Cassie swung her backpack over her shoulder.
The brunette covered her already red, tear-stained eyes with her flame-shaped sunglasses. She took one last look in the mirror and was about to head out when Thalia walked in.
"You ready to go?" The daughter of Zeus asked.
"As ready as ever." Cassie shrugged.
Thalia threw an arm around her and the two left Ares Cabin. It was the crack of dawn so not many people were awake.
Cassie's siblings were healing in the infirmary after getting their limbs broken. Curtesy to the Hunters of Artemis.
The brunette had already bid Percy, the Stolls, and Nico goodbye the previous night. All that was left was finding with Zoë, Bianca, and Grover.
Speaking of which, the rest of their group was currently waiting atop Half-Blood Hill for the girls.
"Hurry. We must leave to find Lady Artemis as soon as possible." Zoë Nightshade called.
"Yeah yeah, don't forget about Annabeth too." Cassie reminded with yawn.
"And thy daughter of Athena 'just' friend." Zoë nodded.
The two were surprisingly civil but whatever grudge they held wasn't as serious as Thalia and Zoë's. The daughter of Zeus kept a heated glare towards the lieutenant.
"You know, I heard about what happened with Phoebe and was thinking—" Cassie got cut off.
"No that boy can't join us. Now come along." Zoë beckoned as they began down the hill, towards Argus' white van.
Cassie sighed and Thalia shot her a reassuring smile. "Fish face will be fine Cas. He needs to learn to fend for himself anyways."
"That's not what I'm worried about." Cassie knew Percy and he always found a way of getting involved even when he's not supposed to.
Thalia just shook her head in exasperation. "Well then stop stressing."
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Cassie was definitely stressing. She almost slammed against the left wall of the van as Zoë curved right.
"Where do you learn how to drive?" Thalia shouted as she also went flying.
"Did you even learn how to drive?!" Cassie yelped.
Zoë turned a hard left, earning herself a car horn from nearby. "Of course I know how to drive. How dare thee insult me."
"It's not an insult. You're just a terrible driver."
This time the lieutenant curved on purpose and Cassie smacked her head on the van wall.
"I hate you," she grumbled.
Zoë grinned back at her from the rear-view mirror. The daughter of Ares stuck her middle finger up.
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From up above on a pegasus named Blackjack, Percy watched the white camp van. He had lost them a few times but Percy knew his way around and could catch up easily.
Landing basically on top of the Chrysler Building, the son of Poseidon watched, thinking the van would pull into the bus station. It didn't.
"Where's Argus taking them?" Percy asked.
'Oh, Argus ain't driving, boss,' Blackjack informed. 'That girl is.'
"Which girl?"
'The Hunter girl. With the silver crown thing in her hair.'
"Zoë?"
'That's the one. Hey, look! There's a donut shop. Can we get something to go?'
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Back in the van, Cassie had a similar idea. "We should stop for food on the way."
Grover bleated in agreement. "Yeah, totally!"
"No. That would waste precious time. Does thee not want to find thy's maiden Annabeth."
"Of course she does Zoë, but stopping to eat will keep us from starving." Thalia snapped.
Zoë grumbled and Bianca looked between them all. "Maybe a little break won't hurt?" The di Angelo girl offered.
The lieutenant sighed. "Fine, one stop but not until we get farther."
Cassie and Thalia shared a look of success.
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As promised, they made a stop in Maryland. Zoë pulled over by some convenience store just as Blackjack almost collapsed on the building's roof.
The group got out of the van.
"Finally! I was ready to throw up." The daughter of Ares cheered.
Bianca looked a bit green in the face. Grover and Thalia were busy talking about... acorns? Cassie didn't wanna know.
"Well wouldst thee like to drive then?!" Zoë retorted.
"Yeah sure!" Cassie snagged the car keys and pushed the shop's door open.
Zoë's blank stare followed her every move before the lieutenant trailed after her. Thalia, Bianca, and Grover followed suit.
The daughter of Ares' eyes immediately went to the ICEE machine. She had to keep herself from running over there.
"Okay, any rules for shopping o' wise lieutenant?" Cassie quipped.
Zoë nodded, not picking up on the mocking. "Use the restrooms as fast as possible. Mortal bathrooms are... disgusting. Then grab a snack or two I suppose."
Everyone agreed and went their separate ways. Cassie and Thalia headed to the snack section first. The punk girl found some cherry sour straws and tossed them to Cassie.
The daughter of Ares caught them and pretending to dunk them into the cart. "Thanks Pinecone Face."
"Anytime Battle Lust."
Somehow, Cassie ended up in the shopping cart as Thalia ran down another aisle pushing it. They nearly hit a wall but thankfully Thalia turned.
The daughter of Zeus got her own chocolate bars and now the two were just goofing off.
"Woohoo!" Cassie laughed as she was pushed down the chips aisle.
Thalia almost sent her flying "Hang on!"
The cart came to a screeching halt. "What are thee two doing?" came Zoë's stern voice.
The two pretended to look at the selection of chips beside them. Cassie grabbed some flaming hot Cheetos and innocently read the nutritional facts.
"Wow these have barely any natural fat!"
"Really?" Thalia mocked surprise.
Zoë narrowed her eyes at them before dragging the cart with Cassie in it.
"Thee two art idiots! Go to the bathroom then meet us at the front. I shall take Bianca and Grover to pay."
"Yes ma'am." Cassie saluted as both her and Thalia disappeared in the direction of the bathroom.
On the way back, Cassie stopped to buy a cherry Icee. She slurped through the straw and caught sight of the other four waiting by the exit.
"Hurry up!" Thalia urged.
The daughter of Ares smiled and grabbed a bag from Bianca's hand as the group left.
"Grover, are you sure?" Thalia questioned.
Cassie quirked an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
"While you were taking thy sweet time, Grover did some strange charm." Zoë informed.
The satyr nodded. "Well... pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent." He finally settled.
"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca said incredulously.
"It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right."
"D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca hesitated, looking around dazed. "Nico and I... We used to live there. That's... that's strange. I'd forgotten?"
"I dislike this. We should go straight west. The prophecy said west." Zoë muttered.
"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia snarked.
Zoë moved closer to the daughter of Zeus. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!"
"Oh, scullion? You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"
"Whoa, you two. Come on. Not again!" Grover tried.
Bianca added on. "Grover's right. D.C. is our best bet."
Zoë half-heartedly nodded. "Very well. Let us keep moving."
"You're going to get us arrested, driving. I look closer to sixteen than you do." Thalia argued.
"Perhaps. But I have been driving since automobiles were invented—" Zoë was cut off.
Cassie spun the car keys on her finger. "That might not be necessarily good... but yeah c'mon! My turn to drive."
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Soon enough, they were back in the van crossing the Potomac River into central Washington. Cassie was surprisingly good at driving though she did cause a bit of road rage.
The daughter of Ares turned the vehicle right, switching lanes when a blaring sound came from behind.
"I think you've angered another one." Bianca stated, fearfully glancing back.
Cassie rolled her eyes. "Well they can go cry about it."
The same gray car that was behind them sped up on their left. The driver was a snobby-looking rich lady who glared furiously, rolling down her window.
She got the middle finger in return as Cassie rolled down her window too.
"You little brat! You almost—"
The window was back up before they could listen to anymore of the woman's complaints. Cassie turned up the music with a calm smile on her face.
Zoë grumbled, "And you think this is any better."
Thalia laughed and Grover let out a nervous bleat.
"Hey Gro, we're heading the right direction right?" Cassie glanced at the satyr through the rear-view mirror.
Grover watched the buildings blur as they passed. "Yeah we're close! Turn right."
The daughter of Ares listened and directed the van right. She opened her mouth and Thalia gave her another sour straw.
As the traffic moved slowly, Grover jumped in his seat. "There! One of those buildings near the mall!"
Cassie pulled a hard left and parked at one of the parking meters. Percy watched from the grass nearby, stunned they actually let the brunette drive.
The five piled out and Grover gestured to one of the bigger buildings. "That's the one."
Thalia and Cassie shared a look. The four girls followed after him holding their jackets tighter.
The daughter of Ares swore she heard a door closing behind them. She whipped around but no one was there.
"What's wrong?" Thalia asked, tugging Cassie's sleeve for her to keep walking.
"I just thought I heard something." The brunette replied.
Grover looked back at them. "This way!"
With the satyr directing, the group wove their way through the streets. Cassie was on edge, a feeling of danger settled in her stomach. But whatever it was, it was doing a good job at hiding itself.
NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian!
"It's here. At least according to the tracking spell."
Bianca was wary. "Are you sure? They've got Lady Artemis in a museum? Seems strange doesn't it."
"First thing you learn about being a half-blood, di Angelo, is that the world works in weird ways. You better get used to it." Cassie pat her shoulder.
Thalia stepped in front of the group, peering through the door. It was open and unsurprisingly not many people were entering.
"Ready?" The daughter of Zeus questioned.
She received nods of confirmation.
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Once they got through admissions with the help of the Mist, the group decided to split up. This time Zoë made sure not to leave Thalia and Cassie together.
The lieutenant when with the daughter of Ares herself. Rather her than Thalia at least.
After a few minutes of walking in silence past plane models and space probes, Cassie rocked on her feet.
"Sooooo, what exactly are we looking for?"
Zoë spared her a glance. "Anything that could tell where our mistress is, or where the ones who took her are."
"Right. Also, was Annabeth thinking of joining the Hunters?"
Zoë halted and Cassie swallowed the lump in her throat. "I do not know."
She didn't sound too convincing but the daughter of Ares decided not to ask further.
"What's it like? Being a Hunter and all." Cassie asked, maybe there was something about it she had missed. Something that Annabeth would like.
"Why doth thee want to know?"
"Just a thought." She shrugged.
Zoë was hesitant but after deeming that the area was clear she sighed.
"It's... something I wouldst not trade for anything. They are like a family to me. We take look out of each other and serve Lady Artemis. She cares about each one of our Hunters so much. Becoming a Hunter is offered at some of our lowest times. As to why thy 'girl' friend Annabeth wouldst wish to join, I do not know. I do not know why anyone wouldst not wish to as well."
Cassie nodded along. "It sounds fun." She admitted but her heart wasn't in it.
Was Annabeth really willing to leave them all to join the Hunters. It sounded like heaven but what about Percy? Grover? All her siblings back at camp.
What about Cassie...? Sure she could always join but she hadn't been planning to. Would Annabeth be okay with leaving her?
She was startled from her thoughts with Zoë yanking her forward.
"It's time to meet with the others."
The two regrouped with the rest of the five. Grover was anxiously gazing around, Thalia held a stern look and Bianca was a little timid.
Cassie mustered a small smile in Bianca's direction which the girl returned.
"You guys find anything?" The daughter of Zeus raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Her question was directed to Cassie since Thalia was still giving Zoë the cold shoulder.
"Nope, nothing. You?"
Thalia shook her head. They were standing in the Apollo Missions area.
"Maybe there's something upst—"
Cassie was knocked back into one of the Apollo space capsules before she could finish her sentence. Someone had slammed right into her. Thalia had fallen to the grown from the force and Grover yelped.
Zoë and Bianca were quick to draw their bows (which had appeared from thin air) and aim it at the person. Cassie was dazed with a pain in her back.
"Ow," she grumbled, closing her eyes.
"You! How dare you show thy face here?" Zoë accused, with her bow still pointing at whoever.
"Percy!" Grover spoke with relief. "Thank goodness."
Cassie's eyes snapped open. There on the ground was Perseus Jackson with Zoë Nightshade's bow inches from his face.
A glare from the lieutenant made Grover correct himself. "I mean, um, gosh. You're not supposed to be here!"
"Luke. He's here." Percy panted out. Cassie rose, anger coursing in her mind.
Thalia's fury dissipated and her hand went to her silver bracelet. "Where?"
Percy explained all about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General. Cassie reached out a hand to pull him up.
The son of Poseidon hoisted himself up and offered an apologetic look. "Sorry for running into you."
Cassie just shook her head amused. "You're lucky I tolerate you."
"The General is here?" Zoë was stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."
"Why would I lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors—"
Thalia interrupted. "What? How many?"
"Twelve, and that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate, to distract you over here'. A monster."
Cassie sighed in exhaust. "What a surprise."
Thalia and Grover locked eyes.
"We were following Artemis's trail. I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent... She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet." The satyr summed up.
Bianca seemed even more nervous. "Zoë, if it is the General—"
"It cannot be! Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion." Something about the general guy really set Zoë off. Cassie pulled a confused face.
"Illusions don't crack marble floors," Percy sassed.
The lieutenant tried to compose herself and Percy came to the same conclusion as Cassie. Zoë Nightshade knew this General guy and wasn't telling them something.
"If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors, we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible... We must leave now." Zoë gave in.
"Good idea," Percy agreed.
"I was not including thee, boy. You are not part of this quest."
"Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!"
"You shouldn't have come, Percy. But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van." Thalia said.
"That is not thy decision!" Zoë yelled.
Thalia glared at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoë. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"
"You never had any wisdom when it came to boys. You never could leave them behind!" Zoë argued.
Cassie had enough and stepped between the two. "Would you both shut up! Gods if me and Annabeth were this annoying you can hit me in the head with my sword. We're not leaving him Zoë so suck it—"
A loud growl erupted from behind them like a rocket's engine starting. Everyone went stiff.
On the floor below adults were panicking and a little boy clapped happily. "Kitty!"
Something huge rushed up towards them. It was climbing the stairs and the ground shook with each stride. The beast was the size of a pick-up truck and its sharp silver claws clashed with its glowing golden fur.
"The Nemean Lion. Don't move." Thalia warned.
The lion flashed its pointy fangs. They would easily tear through demigod flesh. It let out a booming roar blowing Cassie's hair.
Zoë took charge. "Separate on my mark. Try to keep it distracted."
"Until when?" Grover asked.
"Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!"
Percy took out Riptide, uncapping the pen and rolled left. Cassie went right once her sword appeared in its signature red flash.
The two Hunters released arrows at the lion and Grover blew out a pretty melody with his reed pipes.
Zoë and Bianca had scrambled on top of the Apollo capsule as they drew their bows. Each just fell to the floor, bouncing off the lion's fur.
The lion swatted and the capsule rolled. The girls fell off it causing Grover to start over-blowing into his pipes to get the monster's attention. It whipped around, baring its teeth. Grover nervously stopped blowing before Thalia came between the two.
She shielded Grover with Aegis and the lion backed up. "ROOOAAAR!"
"Hi-yah!" Thalia jabbed with her spear. "Back!"
Cassie advanced cautiously. The lion swatted again, but cowered from the shield.
Percy had the feeling Thalia had it under control until the lion crouched. Its muscles tensed and Percy's eyes widened.
"Hey!" The son of Poseidon drew the lion's attention. He had no clue what he was doing but anything to get the monster away from his friends.
Percy made a good hit to the lion's flank and if the creature wasn't indestructible it would have a clean cut. Instead Riptide drew some sparks as it clanged on the fur.
The Nemean lion managed to rip a part of Percy's coat as he backed up. The son of Poseidon could do nothing but jump as the monster sprang at him.
Landing on the wing of some old airplane, Percy managed not to fall three stories down. This time Cassie shot an arrow with her own bow.
The lion followed, leaping onto the plane making it rock. The cords swayed and groaned.
Percy dodged another swipe by dropping to the next exhibit. Some helicopter spacecraft thing.
When the lion roared, Percy noticed its vulnerable pink mouth. Maybe the skin was indestructible but no way the mouth was. If only he could land a hit. But he wasn't fast enough to stab while not get scratched up,
"Zoe! Target the mouth!" Percy shouted.
An arrow barely missed the lion as it lunged. Percy dropped again onto a model of the earth. He got down as the lion tried to balance on the swinging spacecraft.
Some of the cords were already snapping and the lion leapt down onto the globe.
"Grover! Clear the area!"
The satyr tries to herd kids out the door but they were running around and screaming in panic. With the snap of another cord the spacecraft came falling down.
Cassie and Thalia jumped from the second floor, landing beside Percy and the globe. The Nemean Lion whipped its head between the three of them, deciding which to kill first.
From above, Zoë and Bianca had their arrows notched but were trying to get a good angle.
"No clear shot! Get it to open its mouth more!" Zoë demanded.
"And how exactly? By letting it eat us?" Cassie retorted.
The lion growled as Percy scanned the area.
Something about the gift shop caught his attention and soon enough he was running towards it.
"Cass, Thalia, keep it occupied." The son of Poseidon left for the shop.
The girls nodded in understanding and shared a look.
"Hi-yah!" Thalia jabbed and blue electricity shot out of her spear's head. It hit the lion's tail.
"ROOOOOOOAR!" The lion sprang into the air and Thalia rolled right, still holding Aegis high.
Meanwhile Cassie came from the side and landed a hit just as the monster noticed her. Her electric sword bounced off but sent a shock down the lion's back.
"This is no time for souvenirs, boy!" Zoë called to Percy.
The son of Poseidon was sprinting through the store knocking over everything in plain sight. T-shirts were on the ground as well as little glow-in-the-dark planets and space ooze.
The sales lady was occupied hiding behind the counter and didn't say anything.
Percy found what he was looking for on the far wall.
These glittery silver packets which came in all kinds of flavors. He emerged from the store with an armful of them.
Zoë and Bianca kept their rain of arrows flying but the lion knew not to have its mouth exposed too long. It tried to bite Thalia and slashed at Cassie with its claws.
The beast's eyes narrowed at the girls. Thalia jabbed backing away as the lion pressed her.
"Percy, whatever you're going to do—"
The daughter of Zeus flew into the side of a Titan rocket with a decent hit to the head. Cassie landed a useless blow and was about to be smacked away as well when Percy yelled. "Hey!"
He threw Riptide at the lion, drawing its attention. It let out a snarl at him. Percy charged and lion raced to meat him, mouth open.
Percy took the opportunity to throw one of the space food pouches into the lion's mouth. Cellophane-wrapped, freeze-dried strawberry parfait.
The big cat began to gag like it had a hairball in its throat. You wouldn't blame it if you had tasted the space food.
"Zoë, get ready!" Percy warned.
In the distance, people were still panicking and Grover was furiously blowing away at his pipes. Percy got away from the lion as it choked down the packet.
"Snack time!" The son of Poseidon taunted.
The Nemean Lion roared and was silenced by an ice-cream sandwich this time. Percy had pretty good pitching aim and threw three more packets before the lion could swallow.
Soon the lion was the one trying to get away.
"Now!" Percy told the girls.
The arrows flew, landing right in the lion's maw. Two, then four, then six. The lion desperately tried to get away but its eyes rolled and it motionlessly fell onto its back.
Alarms rang all over the museum as people ran out security guards ran in. They ran every which way in a panic.
Cassie was by Thalia, helping the older girl to her feet. She held her head in pain but other than that seemed okay. Grover was beside them, gripping his reed pipes tightly.
Zoë and Bianca jumped over the balcony railing and landed beside Percy. The former inspected him cautiously. "That was... an interesting strategy."
"Hey, it worked."
The lieutenant made no effort to argue. The lion faded away and left nothing but its glittering fur coat. Cassie was disappointed when it shrunk to normal lion size.
"Take it," Zoë offered to Percy.
"What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?"
The daughter of Ares stiffled a laugh. "I think killing it got you your first violation Kelp Head."
"It is a spoil of war." Zoe corrected, "It is rightly thine."
"You killed it," Percy contradicted.
Zoë managed to almost smile as she shook her head. "I think thy ice-cream sandwich did that. Fair is fair, Percy Jackson. Take the fur."
He picked it up easily and ran his hand over the fur. So smooth and soft, not at all indestructible-feeling. The pelt became a full-length golden-brown duster.
"Not exactly my style," Percy admitted distastefully.
Cassie held her laughter for the second time.
"We have to get out of here. The security guards won't stay confused for long." Grover urged.
The group finally noticed that they hadn't been arrested yet. The guards were heading every which way except theirs. Some even smacked into the walls or each other.
"You did that?" Percy questioned the satyr.
"A minor confusion song. I played some Barry Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds." Grover bashfully informed him.
"The security guards are not our biggest worry. Look." Zoe nodded to the group of men outside.
In their gray camouflage outfits they stuck out like a sore thumb. Percy couldn't see their faces but he felt their eyes on him.
"Not these bitches." Cassie cursed, sword at the ready.
Percy's hero complex came into play. "Go! They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."
"No. We go together." Zoë denied.
The son of Poseidon blinked. "But, you said—"
Zoë begrudgingly answered. "You are part of this quest now. I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the fifth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."
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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ author's note
Yayyyyy, new chapter!! The cut scenes were fun to free write this time lol. Hope everyone was in character for the most part because Zoë was a struggle ngl!
Anyways not this week, but next week is spring break for me!! That means my mom will want me to be off my phone and yk enjoy where we're traveling.
Sooo no promises on a chapter next Sunday because i'll be on a plane/in the airport most of Saturday but i'll try and get it done but the Sunday after that. Not 100% sure if i will though.
But after all of that i'm aiming to have regular updates and be done with Act 3 by the time school's out for summer! Only 10 chapters left <3
As always, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!
—Just Another Overthinker