HEY EVERYONE! ALL MY POINTY AND NON-POINTY EARED PEOPLLLLEEEEESSSSS! I'M NOT DEAD! Buuuuut I'm probably gonna wish I was when I see all the angry reviews this is gonna get at my long absence. So let me just say... I'M SORRYYYYYYY! I could give you guys a whole bunch of excuses, but like, honestly it was mainly writer's block. I legit had absolutely NO idea how to continue this to end at the point I wanted it to. Since it's been so long, I'm not gonna do a review response for this chapter and I'll save it for the next one. BUT KNOW that I look at every review and if there's any important questions you guys want answered please send them to me in pm and I'll answer you privately. Also, I just wanna give y'all a warning. During my absence, I feel that my writing has evolved and I'm more comfortable to address topics that may be darker than that of the source material. So if you guys might find anything that's triggering this is your warning. So, without further ado, on with the chapter!

XX: I'm Like a Bird, I Wanna Fly Away

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The teens miserably made their way through the woods, trudging through the bush until they found a marshy clearing used by the local kids for parties. Flattened soda cans and discarded fast-food wrappers littered the ground. Percy looked around disdainfully as they started to set up camp.

They had taken some blankets and food from Aunty Em's, but they agreed not to light a fire. It was already bad enough that they had faced the Furies and Medusa in the span of six hours, they didn't wish to tempt the Fates any more than what they had to.

Instead, Percy took out his wand and muttered the incantation for the Hot-Air Charm; the stream of hot air jetting out from the tip and passing it over their clothes, effectively drying them. Annabeth said nothing about it, obviously too tired to question him, though she really wished to interrogate him. She wanted to know what he was currently doing and what were his intentions towards Medusa and the Furies.

"Tomorrow." He sighed. "Tomorrow I'll answer your questions."

The blonde nodded curtly and curled up on one of the blankets they had brought. She promptly fell asleep and was snoring softly. Luke chuckled slightly as Percy dried his clothes. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

Percy cracked a grin in response and stifled a yawn. Of course it didn't escape Luke's notice and he ruffled the younger demigod's hair. "Go sleep. I'll take the first watch, ok Perce?"

Too tired to argue, he blearily nodded and laid down on one of the blankets, wand resting on the ground next to him. In less than ten minutes, he was out like a light. Luke sighed heavily and sank to the ground beside him.

"So, do you want to tell me what happened earlier?" Grover questioned the son of Hermes.

The blonde gave him a look. "Depends, you wanna admit that you know more about Percy than what you've been letting on?" He responded.

The satyr fidgeted in his seat on a low hanging branch, toying with his reed pipes. "I honestly don't know that much. All I know is that he goes to some exclusively private boarding school in Scotland. Not even Chiron knows anything about it, and if Mr. D does, he's not saying anything. We tried to send a few satyrs over there, but they were all unable to find anything. Chiron reached out to some centaurs over there, but, no luck." He told him.

Luke hummed as he stared up at the smog-filled sky, laying back and folding his arms under his head. He had forgotten about this, the nights when sleeping was extremely dangerous as you never knew what was going to come out of the shadows and drag you away. It had been so long since his last quest…

"Now you." Grover interrupted his thoughts.

"Hmm?" He lazily turned his head to look at the satyr, who fixed him with an annoyed stare.

"I told you what I knew. Now spill. You've been on edge ever since Manhattan."

The son of Hermes sighed and sat up. "I told you I went back to Percy's apartment right?" At the satyr's nod, he continued. "When I got there, his stepdad was having a conversation with some people. I don't know who they were, but they were looking for Percy too. The guy… he talked about selling Percy to a guy. I may not have been in the mortal world for awhile, but I know that selling a kid to someone isn't right. And the way he said it…"

He hadn't noticed, but his hands had clenched into fists and he glared at the ground. Grover looked on at him and nearly winced from the anger the son of Hermes held for the mortal. If he was being honest, the satyr felt some anger towards the man as well, he would have to talk to Chiron the next time he had the chance.

The two of them continued to talk, neither of them feeling the slightest bit tired. Sometime during the night, Percy started to toss and turn in his sleep, mumbling under his breath. Neither of them paid any attention until the black-haired boy began to shake violently and began to talk louder in his slumber.

"No… stop… please…"

Both of them snapped their attention to the demigod. "Nightmare." Grover muttered, wincing at the intensity of the emotions he was reading from him.

Luke immediately rushed to his side and shook the boy slightly. "Perce. Percy, Percy wake up."

"No good. He's in too deep." Grover told him.

Percy curled into a ball and shook with silent sobs. "Mom…"

Luke felt his heart clench at the sight and let out a low exhale. Without thinking, he grabbed the son of Poseidon and pulled him close so that the boy's head was resting on his chest and he ran a hand through the black locks. Eventually, the boy quieted down and his breathing became even.

Luke glanced at Grover, who held a twinkle of amusement in his eye. "One word, and I'll have the twins shave your hair." He threatened.

Grover quickly looked away. "You should get some sleep. I'm sure Annabeth will be fine taking second watch."

Luke sighed, but nodded. He knew that he would need all the energy they could get, so he wasn't going to be unnecessarily stubborn and put them in a situation where they could get easily killed. He settled back on the blanket, Percy still curled up next to him.

"And… Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"I… I'm sorry, for what happened. I'm sorry about everything."

Luke clenched his jaw and let out a heavy exhale through his nose. "Grover…"

"No. I have to say it. If I was stronger, faster… better…"

"Grover. It… it wasn't your fault. We were pretty much doomed to fail. A daughter of Zeus, a daughter of Athena, and a son of Hermes, all chased by the hordes of the Underworld. Thalia…" He swallowed thickly. "Thalia made her choice. She went out fighting, like a hero should."

Grover was silent for a long moment before he started to play his reed pipes, Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12. Luke felt his eyes close as he relinquished himself to Morpheus.

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Percy stood before a gaping pit in a dark cavern. Gray mist creatures swirled around him, whispering rags of smoke that he knew were spirits of the dead. They tugged and pulled at him, desperately trying to pull him back, but he was compelled to walk forwards to the very edge.

Looking down, he felt extremely dizzy at the endless blackness that extended far beyond his sight. Though the pit yawned widely and was seemingly bottomless, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he sensed something, something so completely and utterly evil, something trying to rise from the endless abyss.

Ah, the little hero. A cold, chilling, malicious voice echoed in amusement from the deepest depths. Too weak… too young… but perhaps you will do. Perhaps you shall succeed where the other utterly failed.

The voice wrapped around his body and he felt himself unable to move.

They have misled you... boy. Barter with me. I will give you what you so deeply desire. It cooed.

A shimmering image hovered over the opening: his mother, frozen at the exact moment she'd dissolve into a shower of golden light. Pain was clearly evident on her face, as if the beefy hand of the Minotaur was still tightly wrapped around her neck. Their eyes locked and she silently pleaded with him. Go!

He attempted to cry out, to speak, to make some kind of noise, but no sound was able to come out of him.

Cold, cruel laughter echoed from the chasm as an unseen force began to pull him forward, towards the edge, towards his doom.

Help me rise, boy. The voice dripped with a hunger so insatiable it threatened to overwhelm him. Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!

No! The dead spirits whispered around him. Wake! You must wake!

The image of his mother began to slowly fade and the grip around him tightened until it threatened to make him completely burst. Percy realized with startling clarity that it wasn't trying to pull him in, it was using him to pull itself out.

Good. Good! It murmured.

My child! An old-sounding voice whispered in his ear. It was cold yet kind all at once, and Percy latched onto it like a lifeline. My heir! My legacy! You must wake! You must wake now!

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"Percy."

The black-haired boy's opened and Luke's concerned azure gaze met his. The blonde gave him a smirk and held him tighter. "Well, the sleeping beauty awakens. Pity you didn't need a kiss." He teased with a sly wink.

Percy was still trembling from the after-effects of the dream, so he didn't even bother to respond. Luke frowned and pulled his head to rest on his chest. "Nightmare?"

Percy nodded against him and sighed deeply, the beating of the blonde's heart grounding him and giving him an opportunity to focus. "How long was I out?" He mumbled.

Luke chuckled slightly. "Long enough for Annie to cook us breakfast. Although by that, I mean she found some chips we swiped from Medusa's snack bar. C'mon Merlin, up and at 'em."

Percy let out a small groan and nuzzled further into Luke's chest. "Don' wanna."

Annabeth sighed from where she was standing, arms crossed and a spike of jealousy rising in her chest at the fact that the son of Hermes was getting all cozy with Poseidon's son. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Luke try to rouse the slumbering boy, who obviously found Luke's chest to be a comfortable substitute for a pillow. She cleared her throat and glared at them, specifically Percy.

"Grover has something to show us." She reported before turning on her heel and walking towards the satyr, who sat cross-legged on the ground with a furry pink lump in his lap.

The two boys grumbled a bit before they rose. Percy stretched and sighed as his joints popped back into place. Luke had spotted the white piece of wood on the ground and picked it up, running his fingers over it and taking in every detail.

Percy had ceased his stretching and now turned to see Luke observing his wand. A momentary sensation of panic coursed through him as he saw the blonde give it an experimental bend before he hummed.

The son of Hermes looked up at him and grinned, tossing him the piece of wood. "You'd better prepare yourself for when Annabeth starts interrogating you." He warned him. "Once she finds that she doesn't know something, she'll stop at nothing until she's found out every little thing about it." He sounded like he had first-hand experience, so Percy took his words to heart.

He nodded as he caught his wand and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. "Good to know. Thanks."

Luke smiled up at him before a concerned expression came over him. "Are you ok Perce? Looked like you had quite the nightmare last night." He told him, standing up and placing his hands on his shoulders.

Percy schooled his face into a neutral expression and nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." Was all he said before he looked at Grover and raised an eyebrow.

Instead of being a stuffed animal as he had initially thought, it was a pink poodle. The poodle yapped at him in suspicion and Grover shushed it. "No he's not." He told it.

Luke chuckled slightly, arm still around Percy's shoulders as he smirked. "Looks like you made a friend, huh goat-boy?" He teased light-heartedly, earning Percy's elbow in his stomach.

"Be nice." He chided. "So, you can talk to animals too?" He could only imagine what Marcus Flint would say if he was here, as the Slytherin Quidditch Captain was quite enthusiastic about magical creatures, almost as much as Quidditch. Percy was sure that, had he not have his heart set on playing the sport professionally, he would've ended up being a fine magizoologist.

Grover nodded. "He's our ticket west and his name's Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy. Percy, Gladiola."

Percy gave him an amused look and inclined his head. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Gladiola. How is he our ticket west, though?" He questioned.

Grover, while Luke was introducing himself to the poodle, explained that he had encountered Gladiola in the woods and that they had struck up a conversation. Apparently, Gladiola had run away from a reasonably wealthy family and they had posted a hefty reward for his return. Percy hummed and didn't bother to question how the dog would know about the reward.

"So," Annabeth started in a voice Percy had begun to call her 'strategy voice', "We turn in Gladiola, get the reward money, and buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."

"Simple isn't really something to describe a quest, Annie." Luke commented from where he was petting Gladiola, flinching slightly at the fierce glare the daughter of Athena levelled on him.

"Don't call me Annie. And do you have a better adjective to describe our quest, Castellan? That is, if you know any." She snapped irritably.

"Hey now, no need to bring my intelligence into this. I'm just saying simple isn't really an appropriate word to use in this context." He replied, putting his hands up in surrender.

Percy, Grover and Gladiola merely watched as the two blondes went at it. As they did, Percy thought about his dream. The voice. The spirits. The chasm. All of that was waiting for him in the west.

"I honestly don't care, as long as we don't take another bus." Percy spoke up, effectively cutting off their banter.

Annabeth nodded while Luke sent him an appreciative look. "No." She agreed. She pointed downhill to some train tracks. "There's an Amtrak station half a mile that way. Gladiola says that the next westbound train leaves at noon."

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The teens spent the next two days on the train, speeding past hills, over rivers, and farmland. Thankfully, they weren't attacked once, but Percy refused to let false security comfort him, knowing that they were most likely being watched from above as well as below. It didn't make matters better that he was an unintentional national 'celebrity'.

With Luke's help, he was made nearly unrecognizable, though he still kept a low profile. His name and picture were plastered on nearly every newspaper. Somehow, a tourist had taken his picture when they had exited the bus during the Fury incident, and had captured quite an unflattering image of him. His expression was, to put it bluntly, one of repressed mania.

Fortunately, he had had the foresight to cap Riptide and stow his wand away before he had left the bus.

Twelve year-old Percy Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of his mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where he accosted several elderly female passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the boy may be traveling with three teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture.

That was the caption beneath the picture. "Don't worry." Annabeth soothed. "Mortal police could never find us." She didn't sound very sure, however.

Luke, on the other hand, was a bit more optimistic. "Of course they can't. Not with a badass daughter of Athena and a sexy son of Hermes helping him out." He chirped, looking positively full of himself and earning a pillow in the face courtesy of Annabeth.

When he wasn't answering their questions about his magic (of which Annabeth had many), and wasn't that a pleasant conversation that he had, so much so that he half expected a Howler from the ministry demanding his expulsion; he paced the length of the train or looked out the windows. One time, he spotted a family of centaurs galloping through a wheat field, bows at the ready in anticipation for their lunch. The child centaur gained his parent's attention and pointed at the train, right at Percy.

The adults raised their bows in salute while the little boy centaur waved. Not knowing what else to do, Percy waved back.

Another time, at the approach of evening; he saw something quite large move through the woods. He could've sworn it was a lion, but he was pretty sure lions weren't wild in America and that they didn't come that large. The thing was the size of one of the carriages at Hogwarts, if not bigger. A glint of gold fur was all he saw before it leapt through the trees and vanished.

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Unfortunately for them, the reward money for Gladiola was only enough to get them as far as Denver. They also couldn't afford berths in the sleeper car so they napped in their seats. Percy knew his neck was stiff and thankfully Luke said nothing about the small amount of drool on his shirt whenever Percy used his shoulder as a pillow.

Grover would snore and bleat in his sleep, hindering Percy from fully sleeping. Once, he shuffled forward and his fake foot fell off, causing the teens to hurriedly readjust it before anyone noticed.

"So, who wants your help?" Annabeth questioned once they had gotten Grover's shoe readjusted.

Percy sent her a quizzical look while Luke bit his lip. He had been planning to ask Percy himself, but the other blonde had beaten him to it. "What do you mean?", came the reply.

"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I won't help you.' Who were you talking to?", She pressed.

Percy really didn't want to say it, as it was the second time he had dreamt about that chasm. Luke placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it a bit. "It's okay Perce. You can trust us." He assured him in a gentle tone.

Percy bit his lip and finally relented, telling them about his past two dreams. The two other demigods were silent for a long time, both contemplating about what it meant. "That doesn't sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."

Percy thought about it as well. "But he offered my mom to trade. Is there anyone else who could do that?"

"I guess… if he meant 'Help me rise from the Underworld.' If he wants war with the Olympians. But, why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"

Percy nodded, there was something they were missing. Too many pieces that didn't fit. Plus there was the Furies had been rather intent on finding something. Like an object, not an individual.

Grover might have sensed the emotions he was feeling, as he snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables, and turned his head. Annabeth straightened out his cap so that his horns were covered. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if-"

"Have you ever met him?" Percy questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Have you spoken with him face-to-face and seen first-hand that he's everything you say? Or is that just what everyone else says about him and you've just decided to go along with it?"

He wasn't quite sure why he was defending the Lord of the Underworld, but perhaps it had to do with how unfairly Slytherin was treated by the other Houses in Hogwarts. He knew the power a bad reputation had. It certainly wasn't fun.

Almost instinctively, her hand went up to her necklace, where her fingers grazed along a particular clay bead, one with an image of a pine tree. "Let's just say I got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom." She told him.

'I can do whatever I damn well please.' He thought with a raised eyebrow. "What would you do if it was your dad?"

"Simple. I'd leave him to rot."

"Annie-" Luke started before Annabeth's intense grey eyes turned to him.

"Luke. Don't. You know how he's resented me since the day I was born. Him, his wife and her kids." She ranted.

"Yeah, but-"

"He asked Athena to take me back to Olympus because I interrupted his work!" She hissed, getting heated. "He tried to pretend I didn't exist!" She was getting red in the face and was becoming increasingly frustrated at the recollection of undoubtedly painful memories rearing their ugly heads.

Luke fell silent, knowing that there was nothing he could say that would make her feel better. Percy, for his part, looked out the train window, mindlessly taking in the lights of the town they were passing through. It seemed that she was on a roll, though, as it she had kept these thoughts and feelings inside her for so long, it no doubt felt like a release to finally address them with at least one person she trusted with her life.

"He doesn't care about me. His wife treated me like a freak, like dirt. She wouldn't let me play with her kids. My dad went right along with it. Whenever anything that involved monsters happened, they'd look at me resentfully, like, blaming me for putting their family, their perfect… normal family, at risk. Finally, I took the hint, I wasn't wanted, so I ran away." She revealed.

Luke reached over and squeezed her shoulder with a small, sardonic smile. "One of the most badass seven year-olds I've ever seen." He said with a small chuckle.

She rolled her eyes and looked away, but there was a small, hidden smile on the corner of her mouth.

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Towards the end of their second day on the train, which was June 13th, eight days before the summer solstice, the train passed over the Mississippi River and into St. Louis. Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch, which, to Percy, resembled a enormous shopping bag handle someone had stuck on the ground.

"I want to do that." She sighed wistfully.

"Hmm?" Percy questioned from where he was trying to ignore Luke incessant poking at his shoulder.

"Build something like that. You ever seen the Parthenon, Percy?" She asked.

he shrugged, smacking Luke's hand for the umpteenth time. "Only in pictures. My friend wanted me to go with him and his family to Greece last winter but I couldn't afford the ticket." He replied.

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person." She told him, as if not even registering his response. "I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years. Or more."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Here we go." He mouthed to Percy.

Percy had to admit, he admired her ambition. To do something like that, to have the passion and the drive to do that was something he understood well and respected her for it. If only something could be done about her attitude…

Annabeth hadn't noticed what Luke had done, her gaze glazing over as she thought about the numerous design ideas she no doubt had. "Since I was little I've known that that's what I wanted to do. Athena expects her children to create and build, not tear down and destroy like a certain god of earthquakes."

Percy said nothing, just looked out the window down at the churning brown water of the Mississippi. Luke gave Annabeth a stern look and she had the sensibility to look abashed. "I'm sorry. That was mean." She apologized.

The son of Poseidon let out a small sigh and looked at her with the expression of a person who was absolutely, unequivocally done with everything. "Can't we try to work together at least a little?" He questioned her in a pleading tone. "I mean, didn't our parents ever cooperate at least once?"

It took Annabeth awhile to think of an answer to that, and when she did it was tentative. "I guess… the chariot?" She said it in a questioning tone as she looked upwards. "My mom invented it… but your dad created horses out of the crests of waves. So they had to work together to make it a complete object."

"So we can do that too, can't we?" He pressed.

She didn't answer immediately as she turned her grey gaze out the window back at the Arch as it disappeared behind a hotel. Percy let out a small sigh and Luke placed his arm around his shoulders. "I suppose." She finally said in a low tone.

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At last, the train pulled into the downtown Amtrak station, allowing the teens to stand up and stretch after having been seated for hours. The intercom sounded and they were told that there would be a three-hour layover before departing to Denver. Grover stretched as he began to wake up. "Food." He moaned before he was fully awake.

Annabeth rolled her eyes good-naturedly and helped pull him up. "Come on boys." She told the three of them. "Sightseeing." She said it without leaving room for argument.

The three of them just looked at her and tilted their heads in unison. "Sightseeing?" Grover questioned her.

She turned to face the three of them and placed her hands on her hips whilst staring them down. "The Gateway Arch. This may be my only chance to ride all the way to the top. Are you coming, or not?" It was a question but the way she said it, they knew. They weren't getting out of it.

They looked at each other and shrugged. Percy really wanted to say no, but Annabeth was a woman on a mission and she would see it through. Plus, he couldn't very well let her go by herself, the needed to stick together, after all.

It was Luke who decided for them, shrugging and shoving his hands into his pockets. "Screw it. I'm down. As long as the snack bar doesn't have any monsters."

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The Arch was about a mile from the train station, and considering the hikes they had taken thus far, it wasn't that bad of a walk, especially considering that they weren't walking on forest floor anymore but on concrete. That late in the day, the lines to get in weren't that long, thank goodness. They threaded their way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other items from the 1800's, which might have thrilled history buffs or "intellectuals" (Annabeth), but to the common folk (Luke, Percy and Grover), it wasn't all that thrilling. Fortunately, Luke supplied the boys with jelly beans while Annabeth happily went on about how the Arch was built.

Percy subtly looked around at the people in the line, paranoid as hell, or, Hades, he supposed. "Smell anything?" He discreetly murmured to Grover.

Grover lifted his nose out of the jelly-bean bag Luke had passed to him just long enough to take a sniff. "Underground." He muttered in distaste, his lip curling slightly. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."

But something felt wrong to Percy, like he shouldn't be there. He wasn't sure if it was a Poseidon thing but he just felt off. Paranoia, maybe.

"Guys… you know the gods' symbols of power?" He questioned, seemingly randomly.

Annabeth, who had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade-" He began before Grover interrupted him by clearing his throat.

"We're in a public place…" He reminded him. "You mean… our friend downstairs?"

"Right…" Percy responded in unease. "Our friend way, way, downstairs. Anyways, doesn't he have like a hat or helmet like Annabeth's?"

Both Luke and Annabeth nodded. "You mean the Helm of Darkness." The daughter of Athena replied. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" Percy questioned in surprise, slightly shocked considering Hades had been restricted to the Underworld when the lots between him, Zeus and Poseidon were drawn.

It was Luke who answered his question. "Yeah. It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus, considering it's the darkest day of the year. His helm's more powerful than her hat, though, like way more. Annie you were doing some research on it not too long ago, no?"

She gave him a severe glare at the nickname, but nodded. "My hat just lets me become invisible. His helm lets him actually become darkness. He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, seen or heard. And he can radiate fear that's so intense it can drive someone insane or stop someone's heart. Why do you think all rational creatures are afraid of the dark?" She responded.

"Then… how do we know he's not here right now? Watching us?" Percy questioned.

Luke, Grover and Annabeth exchanged looks before Luke responded. "We don't." He told him solemnly, the light of the museum causing his face to become slightly ashen and his features grim.

"Brilliant. That makes me feel loads better." Percy muttered in sarcasm. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"

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Percy had somewhat mastered his nerves as they continued on through the museum, but once he saw the tiny elevator they would have to ride to get to the top of the Arch, his nerves returned in full force. He hated confined spaces. Loathed them, even.

The four of them were shoehorned into the car along with a heavyset woman with a pet Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. Percy silently questioned the presence of the dog, but thought nothing of it considering none of the guards said anything about it.

All questions were immediately brought out of his mind once the car started to move. He'd never been in an elevator that curved before, and his stomach was none too happy with the present circumstances. He let out a small groan and pressed himself against one of the rear corners of the elevator in order to give himself some form of stability.

"No parents?" The fat lady questioned.

"They're below." Annabeth lied fluidly.

"Scared of heights." Luke supported with a friendly and disarming smile.

"Oh, the poor darlings." The woman cooed before her dog began to growl. "Now, now, sonny. Behave." She chastised. Percy noted that the dog had the same beady eyes as its owner. Intelligent and vicious.

"Sonny. Is that his name?" Percy questioned innocently, more to keep his mind off his upset stomach than genuine interest.

"No." She answered simply, giving him a smile with her coffee-stained teeth as if that cleared everything up.

Once they had reached the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded Percy of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river over the other. The view was alright, but if there's one thing Percy hated more than confined spaces, it was confined spaces six hundred feet in the air. As such, Percy was jittery and fidgety, subtly looking for any exit.

Annabeth kept going on about structural supports and adjustments she would've made to the windows and floor. She most likely could and would have stayed up there for hours on end, but the park ranger announced that the observation deck was going to be closing in a few minutes. Percy mentally thanked the gods as he wasted no time in trying to get out of there.

He grabbed Luke and Annabeth by the wrists and physically pulled them across the deck towards the exit. He loaded them into the elevator and was about to get in when he realized that there were already two other tourists inside, which left no room for him.

"Next car, sir." The park ranger told him.

'No you think?' Percy thought to himself bitterly. His breath was already beginning to come out in short gasps and his expression plainly evidenced his discomfort at even being there.

"We'll get out." Annabeth suggested. "We'll wait with you."

She had already begun to exit when he shook his head. "Nah. It's fine. I'll see you guys at the bottom." He told her.

Luke shrugged and got out. "I don't do well wit tight spaces so I'll wait with you, Perce." He told him, grinning widely and throwing an arm around his shoulder. The gesture was simple, but it helped ground Percy just a bit.

Grover and Annabeth looked uneasy, but they allowed the door to slide shut. Percy watched with pursed lips as their car began to disappear down the ramp.

Now, the only people that were left were him and Luke, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua. Luke's arm remained across his shoulders, his fingers rubbing circles and nonsensical designs on the skin of his arm. Riptide in pen form was in his hand and he twirled it with his fingers, trying to get his mind off of his current situation.

He glanced off to the side and saw the fat lady staring in their direction. Uneasily, her gave her a shaky smile, which she returned with her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.

Wait.

Hol' up.

Rewind.

Forked tongue?!

Before he could decide whether or not he had actually seen what he saw, the Chihuahua jumped from her arms and started to yap at him.

"Now, now, sonny. Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here." She told the dog patiently, like a mother scolding her child.

"Doggie!" The little boy shouted in delight. "Look! A doggie!" His parents pulled him back and Percy's stomach began to sour even more.

The Chihuahua bared his teeth at Percy, foam dripping from his black lips. The fat lady let out a sigh and shook her head. "Well, son. If you insist."

Ice formed in Percy's stomach and he felt the blood drain from his face. "Um, did you just call that Chihuahua your… son?"

She gave him a sweet smile that all older women gave kids when they said something particularly incorrect and were about to correct them. "Chimera, dear. Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make." She told him sweetly.

She rolled up the denim sleeves of her dress and revealed that the skin of her arms was scaly and green, like a reptile's. Her smiling mouth showed off razor-sharp fangs, and the pupils of her eyes were slit, as well particularly reptilian.

The Chihuahua's bark began to grow louder, and with each bark, it grew in size. First, it grew to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. Then the bark wasn't a bark at all, but more like a roar.

The little boy began to scream from the sight. His parents moved quickly and grabbed him, pulling him back towards the exit and straight into the park ranger. Said ranger stood there, paralyzed, gaping open-mouthed at the monster.

Now, the Chimera stood so tall that its back began to rub against the roof. It bore the head of a lion with a mane caked with blood, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail. The serpent was a ten-foot long diamondback growing right out of the shaggy rear of the beast. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the tag that was now the size of a plate was very easy for him to read.

CHIMERA

RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS

IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS - EXT. 954

Percy hadn't had moved, hadn't even uncapped his sword. His already shot nerves decided that they were gonna quit and threw themselves out the nearest mental window and his hands were numb. He was literally ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and he knew that as soon as he moved a muscle, the creature would attack.

"You've got. To be. Bloody. Kidding me." Percy muttered too low for anyone but Luke to hear.

The snake lady made a hissing noise that may have been laughter or might've been a cough for all he knew. "Be honoured, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I… am the Mother of Monsters… the terrible Echidna!"

Percy blankly stared at her, holding Riptide in a loose grip. There were so many things he could've said in that situation, but his brain decided to supply him with this little gem. "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"

The snake lady howled, her scaly face turning green and brown with rage. "I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE SAY THAT! I HATE AUSTRALIA! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"

Luke pushed Percy out of the way as the Chimera charged, gnashing its lion teeth. Thanks to Luke, Percy was able to dodge the bite, with the blonde rolling to the side after.

Luke had pushed him next to the family and the park ranger. All of them were screaming at this point, and desperately trying to pry open the emergency exit doors. This didn't involve them, so Percy couldn't let them get hurt. Luke popped up next to him and Percy grabbed his arm.

The blonde looked down at him and they made eye contact for a few brief moments. "Get them out." He told him before he uncapped Riptide and made his way to the other side of the deck.

"Percy!" Luke hissed, but Percy ignored him and stood tall, face set and striding with determination.

"Hey! Chihuahua!" He yelled to the Chimera, who was looking at Luke and the others with no small amount of hunger.

Percy underestimated the speed of the Chimera. It whipped around and before Percy could swing his sword, the beast opened its mouth, emitting a stench similar to the world's greatest barbecue pit, and shot out a column of fire straight at him.

Percy dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames behind him and the heat was so intense that he felt his eyebrows nearly seared off. He looked back and saw that where he had been standing just a moment before was now a ragged hole on the side of the Arch, melted metal steaming around the edges.

'Bloody brilliant. We just blowtorched a national monument.'

Riptide shone a brilliant bronze in his hand, and as the Chimera turned, he slashed at its neck. Big mistake on his part.

He didn't take into account the collar the Chimera wore around its neck. Riptide impacted it and sparked harmlessly off of it. It caused him to fall off-balance, and while he was trying to defend himself against the fiery lion mouth, that he had completely forgotten about the serpent's tail until it had whipped around and sank its fangs into his calf.

HIs entire leg felt like it was on fire from the attack. He tried to jab Riptide's point into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent wrapped around his ankles and pulled him further off balance. He tried to keep a good grip on his sword, but it ended up being knocked out of his grasp. He could only watch helplessly as the bronze blade spun out of the hole in the Arch and down towards the Mississippi River below.

He struggled to his feet and felt himself already beginning to breathe heavily. He wasn't weaponless, but did he really want to take out his wand and cast a spell in a room full of Muggles? But it seemed he had no choice.

Chiron had told him when he gave him the sword that Anaklusmos would always return to him, but he felt no pen in his pocket. There were so many 'what-ifs' and 'whys' that it made his head spin ever more than the poison

He withdrew his wand from his pocket and held it at the ready. He knew his eyes were wide and frazzled as he backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera continued to advance, growling and stalking him like a cat stalking its prey while smoke curled from its lips.

Echidna the snake lady cackled at his plight. "They just don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"

The monster growled in response, obviously in no hurry to finish him off now that he was seemingly beaten. He glanced over at the family along with the ranger and Luke. The ranger and the father were slowly managing to pry open the doors while Luke was seated cross-legged on the ground, shoulders tense and his biceps twitching as he tried to play with the little boy in order to calm him down.

Percy's eyes narrowed as he tried to think and brought his wand to bear. His body was on fire. His head was dizzy. He was facing a massive fire-breathing monster… and he was terrified.

"Stupe-"

Before he could finish the incantation, the snake head once more whipped out and sank its fangs into his arm. A cry of pain left his mouth and both the pain and surprise caused him to drop his wand, the object rolling through the edge of the hole and following his sword into the river below. He held his injured arm close to his chest as he grit his teeth in pain.

There was nowhere to go, so he stepped into the hole. The river glittered far, far below. He looked at it and felt slightly sick, although that might've been the poison.

He trusted Luke to protect the mortals, and as he spied past the Chimera, he knew that that trust was not misplaced as he saw Luke usher the people through the doors. He looked up and once more he and Percy made eye contact. "Go." Percy mouthed to him.

Luke hesitated for a long moment. He was clearly not happy with the present circumstances, and his body was tense as he was torn between escaping and running to Percy's side. He exhaled with enough force to lift the tufts of hair from his forehead before he vanished through the exit doors.

"If you are the son of Poseidon… you would not fear water." Echidna hissed tauntingly as Percy looked out the hole and down to the churning waters below. "Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."

He could've scoffed at that. He knew that a fall into water from a high height would be akin to freefalling straight to the ground. But hadn't he always felt at home in the water? Can't think. Thoughts too fuzzy.

He noticed the Chimera open its maw once more. The interior began to glow red from the heat. It was about to unleash another blast and he had no more time.

"You have no faith." Echidna crooned. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless, and the poison has reached your heart."

He knew she was right. His vision was beginning to tunnel and his breaths were becoming more and more laboured. He was dying. He was dying, and no one could save him.

He stumbled back further and looked down at the water. He remembered the warm glow and smile from when he was a baby, a glow he was sure was his father's. He remembered the swirling green trident that appeared above him that night, when Poseidon had claimed him as his son.

But the sea, this was not. This was as far inland as he could be. There was no God of the Sea here.

"Die, faithless one." Came the rasp from Echidna. The Chimera unleashed a column of flame straight for him.

Percy closed his eyes in resignation. "Father… help me." He prayed in little more than a whisper.

With a single bound, he jumped backwards out of the hole. His clothes now on fire and the poison coursing through his veins, he fell towards the river.

.

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Whew! That's that! Yes I'm leaving you guys on a little bit of a cliffhanger, but I promise it won't be too much of a wait for the next chapter. As always, like it? Hate it? Wish I could crawl back into the dark hole I came from? Let me know! You guys are the ones who keep me motivated and keep me going in my writing! So, I love you all and have a wonderful night. Ja ne!