~TIME SKIP~
~PERCY'S POV~
Last night, when we got back to the cabin, Zoë explained why she picked the people she picked the people she did. She told me she had felt something, instructing her actions. I suspect this as the Fates doing, though I know they're on my side. After all, they changed the prophecy.
Now, I awoke with Zoë and Bianca on either side of me, sleeping peacefully. I smiled, and disentangled myself from the bed, and got ready for the day.
I entered the kitchen, and made breakfast for the two of them. Not a moment after I finished, I heard footsteps from the top of the stairs. I looked up to see Zoë and Bianca walking down, hand in hand. I looked at them curiously, but made no comment.
"Mornin', loves." I kissed them both on the cheek.
"Morning." Bianca rasped, still half asleep.
Zoë laughed cheerfully, "Good morning, Perseus."
"Breakfast's on the on the table, I'm gonna go wake Nico." I said, already halfway up the stairs. Zoë nodded, and I bolted the rest of the way up the stairs.
As soon as I arrived in front of his room, I knocked. "Nico!" I called, "Breakfast!"
A grunt was heard from inside, and I knew he was getting up. I turned, and walked back down the stairs to eat.
After breakfast, I summoned five bags, one for each quester. They're used to supply you with whatever you may need or want. As a plus, last night, four more infinity cards appeared on the table last night. I had given on to Zoë, Bianca, and Nico, but I held onto the fourth. I had a feeling it wasn't meant for someone currently staying in the Chaos cabin.
"You done there, Percy?" Bianca called to me from the table. I nodded in response, and gave one bag to each of my friends. They thanked me, and we began the walk to Thalia's pine.
Upon arrival, we found the final quester waiting for us. "Annabeth! How've you been?"
She rolled her eyes, "Percy, iI don't think all that much happens in twelve hours."
I shrugged, "You never know. By the way, I have something for you." I handed her the bag, "It can summon whatever you need or want."
She nodded in thanks, "Thanks, Percy. I'll go get Chiron to get the van." She walked off, looking in the direction of the big house.
As soon as she was out of earshot, I turned to Zoë, "If Nick is following what I did, though worse, he'll at least attempt to follow us."
Zoë nodded, "He won't be a problem."
I shook my head, "Have you met him? He's the definition of a problem."
Zoë laughed, "Just trust me. Who knows? Maybe he's the one lost in the land without rain."
It was difficult to contain my laughter, but I managed. Soon, Annabeth returned, Chiron in tow.
In no time, we were all loaded into the van, and I sat in front. Chiron handed my the keys, and I started the car. I wonder, how is Nick going to follow us? Last time, I used Blackjack, who thankfully returned to camp while I was in Tartarus. But Nick didn't have a pegasus, so how did he plan to follow us? I suppose a bike, or maybe on foot? Seems hard.
After nearly an hour, I eventually pulled into a museum. Annabeth raised her brow, "Fascinating location."
I shrugged, "I have a feeling."
She shrugged, and ran in ahead. I laughed, and we followed her. "Hey, 'Beth!" I called.
She turned, and I pointed to the nearby cafeteria. She nodded in understanding, and followed us in. I leaned over to Zoë, "Nick's coming in three, two...one." At the final word, the doors slammed open.
"We have to get out of here!" Nick yelped, running at us full speed.
Zoë whipped around to face him, "You followed us?"
Nick whimpered, "We don't have time-"
Suddenly, a large mound of golden fur leapt through the doors. The Nemean Lion. It seemed intent on killing Nick, and bolted towards him. I leapt out of the way, and ran to Bianca and Zoë, unsheathing my swords.
"You remember how to defeat it, right?" I asked hastily.
Zoë nodded, "But first, I want to see how the sea-spawn handles this."
I turned, just in time to see Nick charge straight to Nemean Lion, and swing his sword at its' leg. The sword bounced harmlessly off of the lion's impenetrable fur. Nick looked at the sword, clearly surprised, while the lion only looked at im with boredom. Nick's face filled with rage, and he swung again, and again, until the sword eventually broke.
I turned back to Zoë, "Happy?"
She looked at Nick curiously, "How stupid is he?"
I shrugged, "You'd be surprised."
The Nemean Lion grew tired of Nick, and batted him away with a giant paw. Nick went flying, and crashed into the nearest wall.
I had to contain my laughter, "Annabeth! In the gift shop, bring as much space food as you can carry!"
She looked at me, confused, but trusted my judgement. She bolted from the room, leaving us to hold the lion off until she returned. It didn't take long, and soon Nico and I both had armfuls of the space food. We began throwing them at the lion, and Annabeth looked at me strangely.
"Just watch." I told her, just as managed to land the food in the lion's mouth. It began hacking and coughing, choking on the horrible flavor.
Zoë and Bianca took the chance to let their arrows fly, hitting the exposed flesh of the lion's mouth. Annabeth's eyes widened in realization, just as the lion began to disintegrate.
"So that's what you wanted it for? How did you know that would work?"
I grinned at her, "A wizard never reveals his secrets."
She rolled her eyes, "Stop with that weird line, you're not a wizard."
I turned to what was left of the Nemean Lion, "Says you." Looking closer at the lion pelt, I noticed something. Something was underneath, something alive. I removed the pelt, to reveal a small lion cub, with sharp claws and teeth.
~THE IMAGE SHOWN IN THE ORIGINAL~
"Awww, it's so cute!" Bianca cooed, "Can I keep him? Please? Plllleeeeaaaaasssseeee?"
Zoë shrugged, "I don't see why not."
I caved, "Alright, sure."
Bianca squealed in delight, and stood to give us both a kiss on the cheek. Zoë's face turned a bright pink, and she turned away, flustered.
Bianca cradled the cub in her arms, smiling happily, while Nico looked at her oddly. I smiled, and shook my head. I picked up the pelt, and it immediately transformed into a leather jacket. Not really my thing, I'll give it to Thalia later. In the meantime, there's no reason to let it go to waste.
Not a minute later, Nick woke up, and saw me wearing the leather jacket.
He stalked up to me, "Hey! That was my kill!"
I shoved him away, "Please, your kill? you were sleeping on the job, like always!"
Annabeth looked like she wanted to yell at Nick, too, but was cut off by the group of zombies coming through the door.
I shot another glare at Nick, "I'm not done yelling at you."
With that, we bolted. The zombies chased us for a while, but we snuck into a subway,and got on a train. We switched trains a few times, to be safe. After what felt like days, I spotted a train called 'Sun West'.
I nudged Zoë, "We'll take that train west." She nodded in agreement, and we all boarded the train. We encountered 'Fred', who gave us some advice, but it was mostly for Nick.
~TIME SKIP~
We arrived in the junkyard of the gods.
"Remember, do not take anything, it's cursed." Zoë reminded us. We nodded in understanding, and entered the junkyard.
We nearly made it to the exit, but the ground seemed to not want us to leave. It shook and rumbled with such force I thought it would crack open.
I turned to face the group, and my eyes landed on Nick. He was trying, and failing, to conceal a rather large and flashy golden sword behind is back.
"Zoë told you not to take anything!" I shouted.
His face turned red, "It's only a sword. Besides, it was only a rumble. So-"
He cut off when the golden mound in front of us rose, revealing the great, defected Talos. Exactly what I need.
Nick frowned, "I got this." He bolted to the robot.
I rolled my eyes, his stupidity amazes me. "I have to do this, Percy," Bianca's voice came from behind me.
I shook my head, "No, you don't."
With a snap of my fingers, I teleported everyone to the other side of the junkyard. Everyone except myself. With a final look at the group, I bolted to the underside of Talos' foot, and climbed to the control panel.
I didn't know what anything did, so I did something else. I summoned some greek fire, and blast it onto the controls. With that, the robot exploded, and I was thrown into the air.
The last thing I saw before blacking out was the land, flying below me at incredible speeds.
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