Lucas led me to the big house, since they'd just gotten back.
Lucas: Okay, so... don't freak out. Bianca joined the Hunters.
YN: Um... okay? Why would I freak out?
Lucas shrugged and opened the door, just in time for me to hear this.
Nico: No way! You're... you're the wine dude!
I tried not to burst out laughing as Mr. D looked outraged.
Mr. D: The wine dude?
Nico: Dionysus, right? I've got your figurine!
Chiron: Ah, YN, you're here. You, Percy and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening.
YN: Capture the flag? Sarah and Annabeth are missing, and you want to play Capture the Flag?
Chiron: It is a tradition. A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit.
Thalia: Yeah. I bet it's real friendly.
Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points all the gods had in his game.
Chiron: Run along now.
We left the Big House, stopping by the armory and looking out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Thalia's pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power.
YN: You know what? Fuck it. I'm going to get them back.
Thalia grabbed my shoulder.
Thalia: YN... I know how you feel. But we can't rush out of here without a plan, let alone help.
YN: Fine. You guys go do what Chiron asked. I'm gonna talk to him.
Without waiting for an answer, I walked back to the big house, walking inside where I found Zoe and Chiron talking.
YN: Zoe, you're here, good.
They turned to me.
YN: Chiron. I'm calling for a quest.
TIMESKIP
Zoe, Bianca, Thalia, Grover, and I stood at the top of the hill.
Thalia: Tell me the prophecy again?
Zoe: "Seven shall go west to the goddess in chains, one shall be lost in the land without rain, the bane of Olympus shows the trail, campers and Hunters combined prevail, the Titan's curse must one withstand, and one shall perish by a parent's hand".
Bianca: So we go west. That's all we know.
Zoe: There's more. Lady Artemis should have sent us a message by now. In addition to that, I had a dream last night. She's in trouble.
YN: The goddess in chains... it's gotta be her, right? Then again, that would be the first time a prophecy ever meant what we thought.
Zoe: Regardless, we need to follow her trail. She told me she was going to Washington DC first.
YN: Then that's where we'll start.
TIMESKIP (SINCE WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO DC)
We were walking through the Air and Space Museum. I feel bad. I know Percy wanted to come, but I didn't want to argue with Zoe. She was hesitant to let me come. I wasn't going to push her any further and risk being kicked out. And besides, knowing Percy, he'll catch up. Hey, there he is. And Lucas is with him.
Thalia: What are you two doing here?
Lucas: No time! We're-
He froze, putting his hands up. Zoe and Bianca had arrows notched, aimed at each of their chests. Their bows had just appeared out of nowhere. When Zoe realized who they were, she didn't seem eager to lower her bow.
Zoe: You! How dare you show thy faces here?
Grover: Percy, Lucas! Thank goodness!
Zoe glared at him, and Grover blushed.
Grover: I mean, um, gosh. You're not supposed to be here!
Percy: Luke. He's here.
I balled my fists, and I held my key to my neck. I swear I saw lightning flash in Thalia's eyes. She put her hand on her silver bracelet.
Thalia: Where?
Percy and Lucas told us about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and some guy called the General. Zoe looked stunned.
Zoe: The General is here? That is impossible! You lie.
YN: Uh, who?
Percy: Why would we lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors-
YN: Skeleton what? Is the General Hades?
By the way Lucas looked at me, it was clear I was wrong.
Thalia: How many?
Lucas: Twelve.
Percy: And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a "playmate" to distract you over here. A monster.
Thalia and Grover exchanged looks.
Grover: 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.
Bianca: Zoe, if it is the General-
Zoe: It cannot be! They must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion.
Lucas: Illusions don't crack marble floors.
Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. I didn't know why she was taking it so personally, or how she knew this general guy, but I figured now wasn't the time to ask.
Zoe: 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.
Percy: Good idea.
Zoe: I was not including thee, boy. You two are not part of this quest.
Lucas: Hey, we're trying to save your lives!
Thalia: You shouldn't have come, but you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van.
Zoe: That is not thy decision!
Thalia scowled at her.
Thalia: You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little b-
YN: ENOUGH!
Everyone flinched. I rarely raise my voice, but I'm getting really annoyed.
YN: The prophecy said seven. I TOLD you not to try and fight that, but you ignored me, Zoe. Percy and Lucas are powerful, they can hold their own in a fight. They're here now, and if this General guy is as strong as you make him sound, then we'll take all the help we can get.
Zoe looked annoyed, but didn't protest. Then we heard a growl so loud, I thought one of the rocket engines started up. Below us, a few adults screamed. Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pickup truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur.
YN: Shit, is that-
Thalia: The Nemean Lion! Don't move!
The lion roared so loud it parted my hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.
Zoe: Separate on my mark. Try to keep it distracted.
Lucas: Um, for how long?
Zoe: Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!
I pulled out Kurve in it's sword form, spread my wings and flew up. Arrows whistled under me, and Grover played a sharp tweet-tweet cadence on his reed pipes. I turned and saw Zoe and Bianca climbing the Apollo shuttle. They were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against the lion's metallic fur. I tried to slash at the lion, but i couldn't get close enough. The lion swiped the space ship and tipped it on its side, spilling the Hunters off the back. Grover played a frantic, horrible tune, and the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled, letting out a deafening roar. Lucas pulled a jar of Greek fire from his bag, and threw it. The jar exploded against the lions side, and Lucas manipulated the flames to cover the lion, but it wasn't doing any good.
YN: Zoe! Bianca! The inside of it's mouth!
Kurve turned back into a key, and I pulled it back out as a scythe. They seemed to get what I was saying, cause they prepared arrows. I flew down, slamming the staff of my scythe into it's open mouth, pinning it against the ground. Almost too fast for me to see, arrows sprouted from it's mouth, and the lion collapsed. I sighed in relief, Kurve vanishing from my hand as the Lion disintegrated, leaving behind its pelt. I picked it up, and it turned into a brown coat. I tossed it to Percy.
YN: Where this. It'll make you basically invincible.
Percy nodded, putting it on.
YN: So... where do we go next?