Under The Moonlight

— Chapter 3 —

"I've found him!"

Thalia whipped around, palm slapping her bracelet. Only to see a winded Grover, nearly doubled over as he struggled to catch his breath. "I've—found—!"

"The Hunter the Prophecy speaks of?" queried Zoë. Her fists were clenched tightly. "Please tell me it's not Orion."

"It's not—or maybe he is." Grover blinked. "He said his name was Percy – could've been his alias – but he's a Hunter and he radiated worry when he heard about Lady Artemis' predicament!" The satyr got all this out in one fast breath. Thalia was grudgingly impressed. "But come quick! We need to back him up!"

"What happened?" asked Bianca urgently, rushing over.

"I went to follow Dr. Thorn – he took over – I followed anyway – and he attacked without subtlety!"

"That's not our problem," Zoë decided immediately. "We've no need for suicidal boys on our group."

"You want to defy a prophecy uttered by the Oracle of Delphi herself?" snapped Thalia. "C'mon, let's go, Grover. As long as it's something Zoë doesn't approve of, I'm going to do it."

"Daughter of Zeus!" cried Zoë in protest. But she hurtled after Thalia anyway, and Bianca followed.

Thalia shot up the steps to the Museum of National History – already she could tell this boy was going to be trouble, like, who goes to see ancient history? – and judging from where the screaming mortals were pouring away from, she went in that direction where the commotion was the loudest: a huge chamber of mastodons and other dinosaur skeletons.

Thalia heard the battle between the mystery Hunter and the manticore who'd gotten the best of her from afar. Her spear was in hand, Aegis readied in the other, and she could've leapt into battle without choking on air had it not been Luke.

The double doors had been knocked down, two unconscious guards laid in the wreckage, and up ahead engaged in combat with another boy was Luke. She leapt over to them, heart squeezing so that every heartbeat hurt.

"More to join the party!" boomed a voice that rocked the foundation of the building itself. Thalia's thighs trembled as she struggled to remain on her foot. "Is this the daughter of Zeus you speak of, Luke? How wonderful of you to join us right now, Daughter of Zeus. Before we discuss matters, would you not like to watch as we tear into this foolish intruder?"

Thalia didn't know why the man sitting hidden in the shadows was talking to amiably to her, as if he expected her to be on his side. She looked at the boy who fought Luke: dark auburn hair, pale moonlit skin, silver eyes: he was a whirl of black and silver as he clashed and overwhelmed Luke. When had the son of Hermes gotten so weakened?

Luke groaned as he crashed into the ground.

Thalia nearly screamed – Watch out! – and her only comfort was that the warning could've applied to both the son of Hermes and the Hunter: a Scythian dracaena lunged at the silver-eyed boy, forcing him to hold off a finishing strike for Luke.

"Don't just stand there, girl!" he spat at her as he whirled past, "Aren't you on that satyr's side?"

"Thalia!" As if on cue, Grover's voice pervaded the chamber, hooves trotting.

"You!" Zoë sounded as if she was being strangled as she gaped at the man on the throne; Thalia didn't have time to check on her. The Hunter's words had her exploding into motion – she had come here to help him after all – and she charged the Scythian dracaena, jabbing her spear at it.

(She pretended that she was not pretending to ignore Luke so she could spare him)

The dracaena was properly distracted by the daughter of Zeus: she spun and hissed, claws ready to rake through her, but the Hunter slashed upwards with his golden dagger and the dracaena was no more. Golden dust showered on them but it did not mask the silvery glare of the Hunter as he stood next to her, breathing hard.

"You're that Percy boy?" she gasped out.

"Just Percy." He grimaced slightly.

But Thalia didn't have the time for a further interrogation: the mortal guards on the second floor balcony had opened fire and bullets hailed on them; Luke was regaining his bearings, reaching for his sword; a lion the size of a pickup truck had roared into the chamber, nearly flattening Bianca; the man sat on the throne had leapt into battle to confront Zoë.

"You get the lion and I take the mortals?"

Thalia had been about to say the same thing, except in reverse. Then she saw that the Hunter had materialized a beautiful, glittery bow of silver from thin air; she decided in a split second he was the man for the job. "Go!" An unnecessary command: the boy pulled the bowstring, a silver arrow materialized, and he fired with deadly, inhuman precision: the arrow drove through bullets and struck shoulders, disabling the mortals.

(Was he even human?)

Thalia went to Bianca's aid first. Grover was blowing a jaunty, panicked tune on his reed pipes: the marble floor had opened up for roots to shoot through, temporarily restraining – and annoying – Luke. Good, she didn't have to deal with him.

Thalia skidded around a pile of clothes that might've belonged to Dr. Thorn before Percy had dealt with him and reached the young Huntress. At the sight of Aegis, it reared back, as if her shield was a blazing column of fire. She would've liked to say she had it under control but no, she didn't.

She saw the lion's muscles tensing – "It's about to lunge!" shrilled Bianca. The brunette tackled Thalia aside and the Nemean Lion soared across them, slamming into Luke. Bianca heaved a sigh of relief – that was cut short by the man above the balcony leaping down, cracking the marble.

Bianca lost her balance; Thalia had to steady her. The daughter of Zeus' blue gaze took in everything at once: the man was clad in a brown silk suit, but he was taller than any average mortal – great, they were facing down a Titan. Percy the Hunter was smacking a mortal guard into the ground, the last of them to realize a Titan had joined the battle.

Percy looked at Thalia. "Didn't you get what 'you get the lion' means?" he asked incredulously.

Thalia pointed at the Nemean Lion trying to maul Luke – her heart ached and damn it, she wanted to crush and smash something until her knuckles hurt more than the spot above her chest. "We've bigger problems to deal with," she muttered, jerking her head at the Titan.

"Zoë," boomed the Titan, "It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I see that you've bought me what I want – perhaps I'll make sure you die a relatively painless death." His smile was cold. The hairs on Thalia's arms bristled as she took in his appearance once more; the same volcanic rock eyes, the same bronzed skin.

"Zoë … this man – he can't be –?" Thalia looked incredulously at her traveling companion.

She'd never seen Zoë so pale, so cowed. "Yes," said the Lieutenant bleakly, "Atlas is my father."

The shocked silence was broken by the Hunter: "I'll be more sensitive if I was the one reunited with my lost parent," said Percy, "but as it is, I don't care. Where's Artemis?" His voice was as hard as gravel, eyes darkening in cold fury.

Atlas – wasn't he the dude supposed to be trapped under a rock? – let his (Zoë's) eyes trail to the Hunter. "Ah, yes, my successor. I'm sure Lady Artemis is enjoying her new job. No need to worry."

A roar and the Nemean Lion was reduced to a bristling wave of golden fur: Luke threw the fur away from him, cheeks red from his struggle, but oddly enough, aside from his torn clothes, he seemed to have avoided the raking claws of the monster.

"Not here," said Luke to the Titan. "We don't even know where the Ophiotaurus is yet—"

"All the more time to take her in and convince her!" Atlas' eyes fixed on Thalia, leaving them no doubts as to whom he was speaking of.

It gave her an unsuspected surge of courage. She stepped forward, chin jutted out. "I'm not going with you. Take your offer and fuck off!" she spat.

"Such courage," laughed the Titan. Thalia couldn't stop the goosebumps from rising on her skin. Before she could attack, a silver arrow sprouted on Atlas' forehead like a unicorn horn. She froze in disbelief. Atlas roared in rage.

That got Zoë moving: she aimed and shot arrows too. Atlas slapped her array of projectiles away but the Hunter's shots hit him. Barraged from both ends, he roared and it nearly brought the ceiling down: dust fell, Atlas drew a javelin and its reach was so long, it nearly smacked Bianca and Thalia away.

"Retreat!" shrieked Grover. "Go! Go, go, go!"

Thalia wasn't about to back down but Bianca, still holding hands, pulled her along. To her shock, Zoë sprinted out of the chamber after Grover. The Hunter seized Thalia's other arm and hurried them along. "Get them!" shrieked Atlas, the last of his roars shaking the ground they sprinted on.

"Why're we running?" she shouted.

"Kicking his ass is not our priority!" answered the Hunter, voice high. "We already got where Mo—Artemis is held captive!"

"You did?" asked Thalia, stunned. "Where? He didn't mention—?"

"Atlas used to hold the sky," Zoë cried. Shock stabbed Thalia when she saw the tears brimming in those eyes. She never thought Zoë could show such weakness before. "Thou dreamed of Lady Artemis bearing a heavy burden; she's under the weight of the sky! At the former headquarters of the Titans!"

"Where is it then?" Bianca asked first, eyes wide as they sprinted across the chaotic streets: human authorities were gathering and a crowd was forming.

"We'll puzzle that out later! We've got to get away from here first!"

"The van," Grover shouted, tugging them in that direction. Looking befuddled and doubtful, the Hunter allowed himself to be dragged along and loaded into it.

Thalia took one glance at Zoë's disheveled, upset state and plucked the car keys from the Lieutenant. "I'll drive," she said, giving no room for arguments and got into the driving seat. Grover had forced Percy into the back seat, with Bianca and Zoë, leaving him to claim the shotgun.

The door had barely shut before Thalia floored the accelerator.

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xXx

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"I'm sorry but I don't think I've catch your name," said Bianca apologetically, glancing awkwardly at the newest addition to their quest. She had an arm around Zoë in a show of companionship, to comfort the elder girl. Zoë had been worriedly silent ever since their encounter with her father.

The van's tires screeched like a dying owl. The boy winced, rubbing his ears in comfort. "I'm Perseus Jackson."

"Percy," said Grover from the front. He'd angled the rearview mirror so that Percy was in sight. Thalia smacked the satyr and readjusted the mirror, so she could look behind the van for pursuers. "That was very reckless," continued the satyr reprovingly.

Perseus—call him Percy—Jackson snorted. "I've got the manticore and dracaenae handled." He blinked, as if realizing something. Ignoring the girls beside him, Percy wrestled a thick, silver-covered book out of his beaten and old-looking backpack. Bianca glimpsed Greek writing before he flipped the yellowed and frayed pages open, humming as he perused it casually.

"What's that?" Bianca couldn't erase the awkward edge to her tone. She technically didn't know anything about him.

"Oh – a gift from my mother." Percy cleared his throat awkwardly, adjusting himself. "I fold the corner of the page that depicts monsters I've hunted before."

Bianca saw a lot of folded edges. "That's … cool," she settled for saying. "Really impressive."

Percy finally looked up at her, to really see her. Bianca tried not to squirm away beneath that penetrating, assessing gaze – the deadly concentration of a hunter dead-set on getting his prey. She hadn't noticed before – as she was too busy trying not to die – but his features were handsome and chiseled, framed by shaggy windswept dark auburn hair that gave him the look of a wild rebel. He was lean and pale.

Bianca tried not to blush because she had been taking stock of him – to be fair, he was doing the same as blatantly as she did.

Her self-imposed command went out the window of the speeding van when the Hunter broke into a smile. The shy, tentative edge to the corners of his mouth made her think that he rarely smiled and he found it awkward.

"Thank you," he said graciously, tone warm. She'd vaguely heard his shouting during the confrontation earlier; she didn't think he had such a gentle voice. Her face went even redder – this was wrong – but he didn't seem to notice. "Um, your name is…?"

"Oh," she fumbled for words, "I'm Bianca di Angelo. She's Zoë Nightshade—"

"Atlas' daughter," murmured the boy neutrally; a verbal realization than an accusation. His analytical gaze on the Lieutenant did not give away what he was thinking. Then he shifted his gaze to look at Thalia and Grover. "Grover the satyr and…"

"Thalia," said the girl in clipped tones, "Daughter of Zeus. Pleased to be of acquaintance."

"Same," said Percy stoutly. He settled back in his seat, occasionally flicking through the pages of his book. Bianca was sat beside him, in the middle of Zoë and Percy.

Silence cocooned them until Percy spoke again; he seemed to hate silence, breaking them every time he found himself in such situation. "Do y'know the way to San Francisco? That's where Mt. Othyrs is – the HQ of the Titans."

Thalia tried to scorch the street ahead of her with her eyes. "Of course I know where!" she spat. Out of the corner of her mouth, she muttered to Grover, "Do your tracker job."

Percy snickered. "I've enhanced hearing – I heard you." Slyly, "You've no idea where you're driving us to."

"Be quiet you infuriating quiver-wielding boy!"

Percy didn't retort immediately, choosing to wallow in his complacent smugness. Bianca nearly smiled. Her dark eyes were focused on the book in Percy's lap and maybe she wasn't being subtle because Percy lifted it for her to see. "You want to skim through it?"

"Er—y-yeah! I mean, we might be able to find the monster who's supposed to lead us to Artemis!"

That scored Percy's infinite interest. "Really?" He pushed the book halfway into her lap, budging up next to her. Bianca's face flamed so hot that she could've cooked bacon on it. She wasn't sure which part of her was warmer: the line of unintentional warmth where Percy was pressed to her side or where all the hot blood had rushed to her brain. "Help me look," he insisted. "Were there any hints the Orifice of Daphne—"

Grover snorted so hard he might've sneezed. Percy did not look up. Thalia barked a laugh, "Oracle of Delphi, Jackson."

Bianca suppressed a giggle behind pressed lips. Beside her, Zoë stirred back to life: she lifted her head and glanced over Bianca's shoulder to look at the Hunter.

"Why?" she murmured.

"Huh?" Bianca looked curiously at her fellow Huntress.

"Why are thee helping us?" croaked Zoë. She sounded terrible. Bianca's heart clenched in worry. A fire stirred in Zoë's eyes and it did not look friendly. "We don't know thee. Thou might be a dang—"

"Gosh, drop the 'thees' and 'thous'," snapped Thalia irately from the front, knuckles white on the driving wheel. "He's a part of the quest – he helped us!"

"We didn't need helping in the first place, until we chose to go to him." Grover swallowed at the look Thalia tossed him. "Just saying," he mumbled.

Percy closed his encyclopedia of monsters irately, apparently ignoring what Zoë had asked – from the shifty look in his eyes, Bianca thought he looked quite keen on avoiding the topic entirely. "We've got to ditch this box," he announced just as they crossed the Potomac. "They're on us – they recognize the vehicle. I think."

"This box is a van," said Thalia. "Have you lived under a rock all these years, Hunter?"

Percy scowled through his blush. "I know what it is! I just forgot what it was called for a second there, alright?" he spluttered. "Anyway, my point stands: we need to go! This can't carry us all the way to San Francisco."

Thalia swerved them into the fast line, the helicopter still on their tail.

"There!" said Bianca, pointing urgently. "That parking lot!" Thalia's shoulders jerked in hesitation. "Trust me," she pleaded.

"Fine," grouched the daughter of Zeus, turning the wheel.

Ten minutes later, after going through the subway station, they were on the train that carted them above ground. At first, the helicopter did not pursue. Then the chopping of blades grew increasingly closer. Bianca vibrated on the spot, worried.

"We've got to change—"

Percy held up a hand. "We wait," he said calmly. "We've only got so much mortal money to buy train tickets. We see where this train takes us and we'll pick another road. Satyr, tracker song."

"O-Oh, right!"

"In the midst of mortals?" asked Bianca incredulously.

"The Mist will shield us," said Thalia confidently. She waved her hand and the air rippled like water. Bianca blinked but she didn't see what was different so she let her gaze rest on Grover as he arranged five acorns on the ground and started playing his music.

She tensed when the mortals looked at Grover in interest. He finished the tune, the mortals clapped, and he bowed, a pleased smile on his mouth even though Bianca didn't quite like the music.

"Oh, hey – money!" Percy swiped the coins from the ground. The mortals had thought Grover was a performer and they'd paid him. "Play more and we might have enough to last us through the train rides to San Francisco!"

"How optimistic," noted Thalia drily. "Trust me. Nothing ever goes well for demigods like us—what did I say?"

Bianca tensed – an inhuman shriek split the air – and Thalia pointed to the window that was suddenly obscured of the scenery outside: something with feathers had plastered itself onto the window, clawing at it. Two heartbeats later, glass shattered as it invaded the train.

"Grover, get the mortals away!"

The din was deafening. Her bow was a comforting weight in her hands – she felt more confident the second time facing down a significantly outnumbered and weak monster – and as she raised it to aim, someone touched her shoulder.

She yelped; her arrow flew without true aim and harmlessly plunged through its tail feather.

"A griffin," said Percy quietly – he'd been the one to touch her. "Nothing to worry about." Thalia's Aegis scared the griffin away from pursuing mortals. "Did I startle you? I was just trying to teach you how to take up a proper stance."

"She doesn't need thy help," Zoë bit at Percy, slapping his hand away from her shoulder. "Bianca, take aim – I shall be the one to correct thee."

Percy eyed Zoë critically. "I assure you," his voice was very cold, "I'm more qualified than you are to teach – help – Bianca be a better archer."

"Thou have no qualifications," insisted Zoë. "For thy title of Hunter, thou do not have the experience as I do."

"I don't need experience," Percy huffed. "It's in my blood."

Bianca thought this was an inappropriate time to be arguing – and she didn't want to be sandwiched between them as they bickered – but Thalia seemed to have things under control already. So, she thought it wouldn't do any harm to say, "Um, your blood? You're a demigod right? Or something else entirely?"

Percy's eyes positively gleamed – the silver of his eyes glittered against the mundane white of his eyes.

"I'm the son of one of the Twin Archers; Artemis is my mother."

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xXx

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It's been too long. -.- Excuse: I've got no inspiration until today. So suggestions/inspirations - like which character you might want to see appear early, or pairings, or monsters - are wholly welcomed.

R&R