𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐔𝐏.
she huffed, and looked around at her friends.
grover was facedown a few feet away, snoring into the rug.
annabeth's shirt was too big for her.
percy's face was unusually small.
in fact, everybody looked small.
cherry pulled a mirror out of her purse, and looked at her reflection.
all of the makeup had been removed from her face, and her hair was black. in an instant, the color transformed to a deep shade of red.
"hebe younges us." percy realized.
cherry immediately burst out into laughter at the sound of his high-pitched voice.
"stop laughing." percy demanded, which only made her laugh harder.
"holy shit." cherry held her stomach.
"blaaaaahhhh!" grover sat up and rubbed his head.
his horns had shrunk to tiny stubs. "i don't feel so good. oh, no. i don't want to be a kid again!"
"maybe we'll change back if we leave the building?" percy suggested.
annabeth stood up shakily. "worth a try."
they made their way back through the amusement center.
when they passed the coop, the chickens looked at them with renewed interest.
one of the chicks in particular, which had pink fluff around its eyes and beak, followed them along the fence, strutting and peeping.
"wow, rude," grover said.
"what?" percy loooed over.
"she's threatening to tear the flesh from our bones." grover huffed.
percy glanced nervously at the chick. "okay, lil killer. calm down. we're leaving."
"fuck you." cherry replied, and then her eyes widened. "i haven't been this mean since i was nine. i'm nine!"
suddenly, grover rounded on percy, lowered his head, and butted percy in the chest hard enough to push him back a step.
"ow!" percy complained. "dude, why?"
"get off me." cherry shoved percy back, after he'd shoved right into her. "oh wow. i was a cunt."
"sorry, sorry!" grover rubbed his horns. "i-i need to play. i'm practicing social dominance in the herd."
he butted percy in the chest again.
"this is going to get old real quick," percy said.
"right now, i'd love to get old real quick," annabeth said. "let's keep going."
none of the other patrons paid them any attention.
they just looked like more children in the crowd.
percy's eyes began to water. he looked nervous.
"are you crying?" cherry questioned, and percy swore he was about to burst into tears.
percy shoved the door of the exit.
no one had chained the doors.
the group stepped back into the afternoon sunlight of times square, and they were still little kids.
percy grabbed grover's arm to keep him from head-butting a street performer in a mickey mouse costume.
"so, what now?" annabeth asked, her voice tight. "we can't just go home like this."
"it'll be okay," percy said.
annabeth scowled. "you think so? then you're a dummy! sorry, percy. i-i can't think straight. i think hebe changed more than just how we look. i'm not doing nine years over again."
"let's go back in and find hebe." percy stated, confidently.
"and then what?" grover bleated. "she might turn us into babies!"
"stop it!" annabeth said.
"no, you stop it. meanie!"
"am not!"
"are too!"
"oh my god, shut up!" cherry spun around, leading them right into the store.
almost immediately, she ran into sparky, who looked much more cheerful without her wheel o' prize tickets.
"hi, welcome to hebe jeebies!" she said. "do you know your wayaround?"
"where's hebe?" cherry ignored her words.
"what, you want to be even younger? when hebe blesses you, you shouldn't get greedy. i'm sixty-five myself. it took me months of working here to get this young again!"
"that's not my problem! i don't wanna be a little girl."
"hold on.. are you lodging an age-based complaint?"
"can you hear? does it sound like i'm asking you for more of that plastic pizza?"
sparky pulled a bullhorn off her belt and announced to the entire arcade, "we have an age-based complaint!"
the crowd erupted in cheers, hoots, and jeers.
many of them grinned in a malicious way, like they expected a good show.
"cherry!" percy yanked the girl back.
"unleash the predators!" sparky screamed. "let the chase begin!"
bells clanged.
money changed hands.
a few customers speculated as to who would fall first.
"we just want to talk to hebe!" percy insisted. "she didn't mean it!"
"i did mean it." cherry interrupted him.
sparky lowered her bullhorn and strolled off.
in the depths of the arcade, someone screamed.
a chair went flying.
a pin ball machine toppled over.
annabeth drew her knife, which looked bigger in her small hand.
grover yelped. "here they come! i can smell them!"
"smell what?" percy demanded. "i don't see-"
the chickens from the henhouse were rampaging through thearcade.
dozens swarmed over the game cabinets and knocked over furniture, ripping the upholstery with their claws and beaks.
some flew over the heads of the customers, strafing their hairdos.
others snapped hot dogs out of people's hands.
the hebe jeebies patrons didn't seem to mind. they squealed in delightas they ran from the hen-pocalypse like those crowds at bull-running events in spain, as if they were thinking, these animals might kill me, but atleast i'll die in a really cool way!
the hens headed straight toward them, violence in their beady little eyes.
percy pulled out his ballpoint pen.
when percy uncapped riptide, it remained a ball-point pen. no sword sprang into his hands.
"that was embarrassing." cherry grinned, as if she was doing her absolute best to stop laughing.
"maybe it doesn't work for kids," grover suggested. "you're too young now."
"you mean my sword has a childproof cap?" percy huffed.
"hey, guys?" annabeth said, sheathing her knife. "argue later. right now, i have a different plan: run!"
the birds were small, but they were fast, vicious, and surprisingly strong.
they stormed across the space in a wave of feathers and claws, shredding more furniture, scattering the customers, and driving up the highscores on the dance dance revolution machines.
annabeth and grover were running ahead.
"hurry!" annabeth yelled back at percy. "over here!"
cherry took percy's hand, and forced him to run faster towards the play structure with big plastic crawltubes.
"guys, grab that table!" annabeth pointed to a high café table.
"cherry, do you still have your powers?" grover asked.
"no shit." cherry replied, and almost gasped. "sorry. sorry. i'll stop. i'll try to stop, at least."
grover grabbed the top of the table.
cherry and percy helped him to barricade the entrance of the play structure.
annabeth plunged into the tunnel first, then the rest followed.
a moment later, the flock slammed into the play structure, making the plastic tubes shudder. the chickens screamed in outrage. but for the moment, they were safe.
"how long until they figure out there are other ways into the tube?" percy asked.
"not long." annabeth's eyes blazed with intensity.
"why chickens?" percy grumbled. "of all the animals.."
"would you prefer jaguars?" annabeth asked.
"i doubt it. it's just lame to die by chickens." cherry almost shuddered.
"it's because of hebe's temples," grover said, chewing his knuckle. "the priestesses always kept hens and chicks. roosters were kept in hercules' temple. the birds only got together on hebe's holy day."
"oh, right," annabeth said. "hebe married hercules when he became agod. i almost feel sorry for her."
"hold up," percy said. "grover, how do you know about the hen/roosterthing?"
"daycare," grover said miserably. "hebe sponsors daycare centers for young satyrs. we used to sing 'happy the holy hen' every morning."
"you're a member of the council of cloven elders," percy said. "can't you ask the chickens to back off?"
"i can try." grover bleated something in goatenese.
the chickens slammed into the play structure with even more force.
"i guess that's a no," grover said.
"hebe's holy day," annabeth mused.
"baby chicks." percy frowned. "what are you thinking? some kind of distraction? i don't have any roosters handy."
"no, but there were chicks in that coop.." annabeth trailed off.
"really young ones." cherry agreed.
"so?" percy yelled as another beak almost gave him a thigh piercing.
"so we need to get back to the coop. and grab a chick." annabeth planned out.
"killer hens are chasing us," grover said, "and you want to run to their coop and steal their babies?"
"yes. and then run again." annabeth raised her hands defensively. "i know you guys are going to say this is a terrible idea-"
"this is a terrible idea." percy nodded.
"but you have to trust me. let's go." she crawled deeper into the play tube.
nobody else had any great ideas.
the tunnel angled upward until they were crawling just below the ceiling.
"grover, cherry, go left," annabeth said. "distract the flock while percy and i go right and make a break for the coop. we'll rendezvous back at thekaraoke bar."
cherry high-fived her best-friend.
"dude, just yell at them," percy suggested. "do you know any fowl insults?"
"this is a family amusement center!" grover gasped.
"ugh, i'll tell you what to say!" cherry yanked grover ahead.
cherry and grover ran across the play structure, shouting insults at the chickens that chased them.
they blinded across the skeeball machines, throwing the wooden balls behind them, making the hens trip and weave.
"squawk!" grover yelled. "cluck! cluck!"
they ran into the arcade, where a roar of cheering came from the customers.
finally, the duo reached the lounge at the same time annabeth and percy did.
"that was super fun," grover wheezed.
"get the doors!" annabeth said.
grover and cherry grabbed the big mahogany panels and started sliding them together.
the flock slammed against them. the hens squawked in outrage. the mahogany panels shuddered and creaked.
"what now?" grover asked, gasping for breath.
he looked so young and terrified.
"now comes the hard part," annabeth said.
"that was the easy part?" percy demanded.
annabeth winced as she yanked lil killer off her finger and set the chick on the floor.
lil killer ruffled her blood-speckled feathers.
she looked up at and peeped in a smug sort of way, then wandered off, contentedly pecking pizza crumbs off the carpet.
"bitch." cherry seemed to huff under her voice.
"harsh words for a chicken." percy commented.
annabeth wrapped a napkin around her wounded finger. "this karaoke bar is hebe's temple, right? her inner sanctum? on hebe's holy days, petitioners used to come to her altar."
"that's right," grover said. "they'd ask forgiveness, and hebe would give them sanctuary."
"but this isn't her holy day, is it?" percy asked. "no way we could be that lucky."
"probably not," annabeth said. "but we'll have to try."
the doors shuddered, bending inward under the weight of the evil poultry.
"grover," annabeth said, "you and i will do what we can to barricade the doors. percy and cherry will look for the right song."
"a song for what?" cherry questioned.
"an apology song, cher! we beg hebe for forgiveness. once she shows, we ask for sanctuary and a second chance." annabeth instructed.
"what if she refuses?" percy wondered.
"then we probably die. might as well try. but this is really embarrassing." cherry scrolled through the list of songs.
lil killer made herself at home, rummaging underthe tables for crumbs, moldy pizza, or fresh fingers to bite.
"how about jealous guy? by john lennon?" percy suggested, as he grabbed two microphones.
"smart." cherry searches, and landed on the song.
the first bars of the song started to play.
cherry didn't make any comments on how to name of the song fit percy's personality.
the teleprompter started scrolling.
the song started out slow, like a funeral dirge.
percy started mumbling the verse, and the chickens battered against the doors even harder.
to make things worse, cherry sounded great.
finally, a whirlwind of glitter and prize tickets materialized in the middle of the dance floor.
hebe appeared, her fingers wedged in her ears. "stop it! stop it, already!"
the karaoke machine died. lil killer disappeared back under the booth.
the doors stopped shaking as the army of chickens ceased its assault.
"o great and extremely young hebe!" percy said. "we are so sorry!"
"very sorry." cherry agreed.
"please forgive us!" percy cried out.
hebe glared. "if that song was supposed to be an apology, you should direct it to john lennon."
cherry giggled.
"please, grant us sanctuary from your wrathful hens!" grover called from the doors.
"and please return us to our proper ages!" annabeth said.
"whoa, whoa, whoa!" hebe t'ed her hands in a time-out sign. "first you desecrate my karaoke machine, then you barrage me with requests? why should i return you to your former ages?"
"because.." percy faltered. "because you are generous and good, and also super young."
"we are petitioners at your altar," annabeth said."
"your holiest of holy karaoke stages!" grover said. "most sacred of disco boogie venues!"
hebe stared at him.
"too much?" grover asked.
"please stop." cherry nodded.
"all we want is to leave here in peace, at our normal ages, so we can spread the word about the wonders and terrors of hebe jeebies!" grover pleaded.
"and with a little information about the chalice of the gods, please," percy said.
cherry made a face at percy.
hebe bared her teeth. "there it is again. that insolence. that slander. perhaps i did not send you far enough back into your childhood."
"forgive him!" annabeth cried. "we would never try to run out the clock on you!"
"it's true!" percy said. "clocks are bad!"
"i agree." cherry nodded her head, though confused.
hebe seemed to he getting younger.
"what is happening?" she shook her now-tiny fists. "i don't like it! don't look at me like that! you're a big dummy!"
lil killer peeked out from her hiding place to watch.
hebe always had to be the youngest one in the room. her powers werereacting to the presence of the chick.
she fell over, unable to walk. she started to crawl toward, but then she fell sideways, squirming, and began to bawl.
the goddess of youth was now the youngest in the room, a cranky newborn with a bright red face.
"what just happened?" grover asked.
annabeth strolled over and picked up the baby, swaddling her in hebes paisley dress. "lil killer pulled juniority on hebe. but you are so adorable."
hebe squirmed and grunted.
she tried to bite annabeth's finger, but she didn't have any teeth.
"now hold on," annabeth told the baby. "i know you're fussy, but i'm sure you're not making an age-based complaint, are you? the chickens wouldn't like that."
baby hebe became very still.
"great," annabeth said. "then here's what i suggest. we agree that some young ages are just too young. then we remove lil killer from the room so you can age yourself back up to at least elementary school. then you accept our apology, put us back to our normal ages, tell us whatever you know about the chalice of the gods, and we all go our separate ways. gurgle once for yes. poop yourself for no."
cherry had to look away to stop herself from laughing.
hebe gurgled. annabeth seemed to accept it as a promise.
"grover," she said, "would you ask lil killer to return to her pen, please?"
grover made a couple of bleating noises. lil killer peeped, then trotted to the doors and wriggled through one of the beak holes the hens had made.
judging from the clucking sounds outside, the hens welcomed the chick as a conquering hero.
then their cackling got fainter as they retreated to their pen.
immediately, hebe began to grow.
annabeth quickly set her down. the baby fast-forwarded into a kindergartner, then a fifth grader, and finally stood as the angriest-looking high schooler anybody had ever seen.
"you three.." hebe growled.
"we apologize, great hebe," annabeth said. "and ask for sanctuary."
"and information," percy added. "please,"
hebe snapped her fingers, and suddenly they were their normal ages again.
"you're lucky i like john lennon," the goddess muttered. "sit, and i will tell you what i know. but you aren't going to like it.
« ───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ───── »
"you must go to the farmers' market," the goddess told them.
grover swallowed a mouthful of greasy paper plate. "what's so badabout a farmers' market?"
the goddess wrinkled her nose. "iris got it into her head that her organic store in california wasn't sufficient. now she has to share her wares with the whole world! you'll find her hawking crystals and incense and zeus knows what else this saturday in front of lincoln center."
annabeth narrowed her eyes. she studied hebe as if the goddess might attack us with glitter again, though cherry had enjoyed it. "you think iris took the chalice, then?"
hebe shrugged. "that's for you to determine. all i can tell you is that it wasn't me, and iris is the only other person who has ever served as divine cupbearer. perhaps, behind that rainbow peace-and-love facade, she hates ganymede more than she lets on."
"i've met iris," percy said. "she didn't seem spiteful."
"and i do?" hebe asked.
percy kept his mouth shut.
"thank you for your guidance, great hebe," annabeth said. "we ask your permission to leave here in peace."
"hmph." the goddess crossed her arms. "very well. but no prize tickets for you."
grover cleared his throat, as you do when you've been eating greasypaper plates. "and, um.. you won't tell anyone about the chalice situation?"
hebe scoffed. "of course not. i can't wait to see ganymede fall on his face at the next feast and get blasted to ashes by zeus. but mark my words, if you offend iris the way you offended me, you will not escape so easily.you're going to wish you stayed small children."
all the way through the arcade, the costumers and staff seemed to eye the group.
somehow, they made it back to times square.
cherry went her separate way when her chauffeur picked her up.
that night, her and percy used an iris message to communicate, because demigods couldn't use cell phones.
each time cherry wanted to be around her friends, she'd either have to leave her cellphone at home, and destroy it. the latter was very expensive.
every night, cherry would help percy with his assignments, and they'd discuss whatever happened that day.
"annabeth said it'd be easier if we got someone to introduce us to iris." percy fell back into his bed.
"i know. she called me off a pay phone to tell me blanche is meeting us tomorrow in exchange for some pictures." cherry sat up in her red bedsheets.
"creepy. of what?"
"probably somebody. i like blanche."
"you like everybody."
"i like you especially."
"that was horrible."
"i'm blocking you. how do i block you on this?"
"you can't. i'll have aphrodite take a message for me."
"she's aphrodite. she'd never do that."
"but she loves you, so she has to love me."
"why do you need another woman to love you?"
"that's not what i meant!"
"i was joking!"
"i know!"
"did you?"
"of course. i just have to make sure you know."
"does your mom miss me?"
"she talked about you today."
the two spoke into the night until percy fell asleep, resting beside a couple sheets of homework.
cherry smiled, and ended the connection.
she couldn't help but keep smiling to herself; she'd never get over the crush she had on her boyfriend.
« ───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ───── »
grover was thrilled.
"blanche is coming?" he patted his goat horns as if to make sure they weren't crooked. "do i look okay?"
cherry made a face, as if she was threatening to tell jupiter.
"you look good," percy said.
"besides, grover," annabeth chided, "this is blanche. it's not like she's your girlfriend."
"no, i know." grover blushed to the roots of his goatee. "it's just that she's such an artiste."
"not this again," percy muttered.
"she's so cool!"
"are we talking about the same blanche?"
"both of you hush." annabeth peered down broadway.
blanche, daughter of iris, wore a trench coat the color of night, jeans, and tactical boots, all of which matched the makeup that made her eyes sparkle like black diamonds.
her head was shaved except for a white-blond topknot.
around her neck hung a nikon camera the size of a shoe box.
"hi, blanche." cherry waved, with a grin.
"hello." blanche greeted, and percy was sure that was as enthusiastic as she could get. "wow, uptown."
"lots of stuff to photograph!" grover said, leaning not-so-casually against a mailbox to give her a profile angle.
blanche seemed more interested in the sick little tree on the median. "this is dying. that's cool."
she took the lens cap off her nikon and started to play with the focus.
annabeth and percy exchanged looks.
"thanks for coming," annabeth told her.
"eh." blanche snapped another shot. "you made me an offer i couldn't refuse. let's go find mommy dearest."
the group of four followed blanche into the chaos of the farmers' market.
the day was sunny and mild, so the crowds were out in force.
shoppers milled between rows of produce stands, rummaging through baskets of berries and artichokes. the whole plaza smelled of warm tomatoes and onions.
vendors sold milk, eggs, cheese, honey, all from local farms.
as they got deeper into the market, the stalls started to offer stuff that didn't have much to do with farms. a leatherworker was hawking handtooled pouches, wallets, and knife sheaths.
blanche stopped suddenly. "okay, there's my mom."
she pointed downthe aisle, past a linen-towel salesman and a display of macramé planthangers. and there was iris.
her booth was decorated with thousands of crystals, some hanging from embroidered cords, some set in bronze holders, all flashing in thesunlight and sending a riot of rainbows across the market.
"just relax," blanche told them. "let me do the talking."
"as long as i look all right," grover said, turning his face to the sun in his best impression of a dying wildflower.
blanche paid him no mind.
she marched up to the booth with us in herwake.
iris's eyes lit up. "my dear, what a lovely surprise! andyou brought.. friends!"
"they're fellow campers," blanche said. "they wanted to meet you."
"how wonderful. and i see you're still wearing all black. didn't you like the scarf i sent you?"
"yeah, it was great, the pink hummingbirds were totally style.
"and i don't suppose.. i don't suppose you have started using color film?"
"black and white is better."
"i see."
"so, anyway, you said you'd be happy to do me afavor?"
"yes, of course, my dear! a new dress? a better camera? a trip to see the northern lights?"
"i want you to listen to them, they're going to sound like they're accusing you of theft."
"excuse me?"
"but they just want information. don't zap them. don't curse them. just.. try to help them, okay? that's the favor."
"very well, dear. for you. and then maybe we could do something together? binge wandavision?"
"sounds great, ma. i'll message you."
cherry seemed to be interested in the family drama.
blanche turned to them. "i'm outta here, then. good luck. and remember our deal."
annabeth nodded. "grover will be there."
grover yelped. "be where?"
"my studio." blanche handed him a business card. "next week. for a series of still shots. been trying to line you up forever, but you play hard toget."
grover's jaw dropped down to basement level.
blanche trudged off through the market, no doubt looking for sickly weeds and dead rats to immortalize with her lens.
"well then," iris said to them, "let's hear what you supposedly think i stole. and i will do my best to help. or at least not kill you."