Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series or any songs, names, or places that belong to anyone else.

AN: You have absolutely no idea how sorry I am that this is late. I've been working nonstop at my job and then I got sick and things have just been a blur. I don't feel like this is my best work, but I wanted to get something out there before we hit month three with no update.

To those of you who guessed Merissa is Persephone, the answer is . . . no. Merissa is not Persephone in any way. Keep trying! I want to see if anyone can guess who she is before I reveal her.

Title: Waiting For the End

Main Pairings: Percy/Apollo, Percy/Hermes, Percy/Ares, Percy/Dionysus, Percy/Hephaestus, Percy/Luke

Other Pairings: Silena/Beckendorf, Annabeth/?, Grover/Juniper, Clarisse/Chris, Zeus/Hera, Poseidon/Sally, Hades/Persephone (goddess)

Warnings: Language, violence, sexual themes. Set in pre-Lightening Thief all the way to my versions of the Heroes of Olympus, some Hera and Aphrodite bashing. Fem! Percy. Powerful! Percy. Demi-titan! Sally.

Chapter 4: In My Time of Dying

This was starting to get on her nerves.

They (her mother, Grover, and herself) had been driving in the car for twenty minutes and no one had said a word since they left Montauk. The only sounds that could be heard through the harsh rain and booming thunder was the windshield wipers and Grover's heavy breathing.

Seph let out a sigh and crossed her legs. Sick of the tense atmosphere, she pulled her knife out from her boot and began to pick at the dirt under her fingernails. Now how to get answers . . .

"We can do this two ways," she went for the direct approach. "Option one, you can just tell me what this is all about. Option two involves me staring at you, watching as you squirm in you're seat until you break. Your choice."

Grover winced. He knew that his friend would live up to her threat, but he also knew his orders were strict. If anyone at camp found out that he had told her before they arrived, he could kiss his license goodbye.

"The less you know the better . . ." he flinched back at the warning look. "Okay, okay, the truth is I've been keeping tabs on you since we've met."

A black brow rose. "Go on."

"When we first met, I knew there was something different about you," he continued. "You weren't like the other kids at Yancy. You were . . . special."

Seph snorted.

"Gee, I wonder how anyone could tell I was different," her voice was flowing with sarcasm. "How is it my fault those pricks from the Trust-Fund Babies club didn't give me a jacket?"

"You're taking this the wrong way," Grover was starting to sweat. This wasn't going the way he wanted. "Look, you have this air around you that I only see around a certain kind of person."

"Oh and what would that be?" Seph snapped. "Someone who belongs in an insane asylum. Sorry, but you were a bit slow on that one, Goat Boy. Pretty much everyone who meets me guesses that right off the bat!"

"Sephy!" Sally was shocked at her daughter's attitude. What had gotten into her? "That was not a nice thing to say. You need to apologize."

Seph bit back a growl- not just because she knew it wouldn't solve anything, but also out of respect for her mother. She felt betrayed by the male in the car. He had faked being her friend like so many before him had yet . . . yet this felt worse than the other times combined. Grover had wormed his way into her heart and the thought of him faking all of their time together pained her.

She risked a glance at him. Guilt beat out the anger when Seph saw the tears in his eyes, his nostrils flared in a failing effort to not cry. The betrayal vanished when she saw his chin wobble. In that moment, she felt five inches tall.

For the past nine months she had made an effort to protect him from the cruel people at Yancy, yet her she was, acting no better than the spoiled brats who teased him for being different.

"I'm sorry, Gro," it took some effort, but her tone was soft. "I know you didn't mean it like that. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

He didn't respond, but the tears dried up and his chin stilled. Exhaustion finally settled into the ravenette. Yawning, she went back to grooming her fingernails. What she wouldn't give for a couple minutes of shut-eye . . .

As if cued, an ear-shattering roar sounded behind them; the same one that had been going off at random intervals since they left Montauk. Each time they heard it, it got louder and louder, as if it were closing in on them. Her mother would flinch each time while Grover whimpered beside her. Something had them spooked and Seph wasn't too sure if she wanted to know why.

Sally made a sharp turn onto a gravel road. Rocks flew up behind them as the Ferrari sped into farmland.

"Can I at least ask where we are going?" the teen asked.

She caught her mother's eyes in the rearview. Terror shone in them, but underneath Seph could see uncertainty. It was the same look she got whenever her father was mentioned. A silent conversation passed between the two females.

"This is about my father, isn't it?" Seph asked.

"Yes," Sally didn't beat around the bush. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but please try to be understanding-"

Seph's face was void of any emotion. Of course her bastard father had something to do with this. All of the problems in her life seemed to trace its way back to him.

"I won't complain for now," she tried to keep her voice smooth. "I am by no means happy about this, but getting upset will solve nothing. I'll keep my mouth shut, but I want an answer when this is all over with."

Her mother's shoulders sagged (no doubt in relief) as the Ferrari became quiet once more.

Seph leaned back in her seat, arms crossed over her chest as she tried to see through the thick downpour.

There hadn't been much of a warning, only a blinding light and the teen felt like she had just got the hose turned on her. She was soaked to the bone, her head hurt and just the thought of opening her eyes made her want to groan. White noise played in her ears.

'Is this what death feels like?' she wondered.

She returned to earth, the powerful crash of thunder bringing her back to the land of the living.

"Holy crap," Seph groaned. Her head felt like it was breaking open from the inside.

When she opened her eyes, everything was blurred and shapeless. From the cold against her cheek, she could tell her head had smacked against the window. After a few more seconds of disorient, she saw that they had run off the road and into a ditch. Droplets of water fell off her nose and when she looked up, there was a smoking hole in the roof of the car. Had they been hit by lightning?

"Mom?" she called over a crash of thunder.

"Sephy!" her mother sounded relieved. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

A sharp pain was throbbing Seph's neck, but other than that she felt fine. At least she hadn't accidentally sliced herself with her knife.

"I'm alright," she said. She heard mumbling beside her and saw that Grover was unconscious. he wasn't moving and for a split second Seph was scared he was dead, but then he started mumbling about food.

'Leave it to Grover,' she thought.

"You need to get out of here," Sally said. "You don't have much time."

Seph didn't ask any questions and slid her knife into her boot before hauling Grover onto her back. "Alright, let's go."

"No, Sephy, leave Grover here," her mother said sternly. "I'll stay here with him. There's a tree up the-"

"What?" Seph spluttered.

"Sweetheart, listen to me. There's a pine tree at the top of that hill. When you get there, go down into the valley and don't stop running until you get the farmhouse. Help will be there."

"I am not leaving you here."

"Now is not the time to argue, Sephy. Run and don't stop until you reach the farmhouse. I'll take care of Grover."

The teen couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother honestly expected her to just leave them there? Whatever had been chasing them was closing in and she wasn't just going to run and leave her mother and best friend as first prize.

"I'm taking you both with me," Sally gave her a sad look. "No, mom! I am not leaving either of you. Climb out the side door, I've got Grover."

Her mother must of realized she wasn't going to budge in her decision, because she began to crawl over the console to the passenger side door. Within a few seconds, Seph was running up the hill with her mother, Grover's head bouncing on her shoulder with each step.

Out of sheer curiosity, Seph looked over her shoulder. It only took one glance for her to recognize what it was.

"That's the Mi-"

"It's Pasiphae's son," Sally quickly interrupted. "Don't say his name, Sephy. Names are powerful things."

Seph's mind was spinning. First Grover was a satyr and now she's dealing with the Bull Man? When exactly had she fallen into the Illiad and how the hell did she get out? Damn it, they were still a long way from the tree.

She looked at the horned monster again. He was by the Ferrari now, sniffing at it like a dog trying to catch a scent. He seemed to figure out that they weren't there and he let out a roar of fury. He picked the car up- their bags falling out of the trunk- before throwing into down the road. Then, like from a scene in a movie, the car exploded.

'Aunt Merissa is not going to be happy.'

"-charges jump to the side."

"What?"

Her mother's breathing was labored and Seph felt her own legs scream in protest as they continued to climb.

"When he charges at you, jump to the side," Sally repeated. "He isn't too good with changing directions."

Heavy footsteps sounded behind them. Seph didn't need to look to know that he was coming after them. With the heavily slick slope and the speed he was coming at, they would never make it to the top.

"Separate!" her mother said. She pulled Grover off her daughter's back before motioning her with a hand. "Go, Sephy!"

Another roar sounded through the rain as the bull-man closed in on them. The teen turned around and now that she was much closer, she could see just how ugly the beast was. He didn't seem to share the sentiments of examining, as he lowered his head and scraped his foot on the ground.

'Wait for it,' her leg muscles tensed. 'Now!'

Just a split second before he could grab her, Seph jumped off to the side. Her hair flew around her face as the monster raced past her.

The next time he attacked it wasn't at her. Her mother- who had been hiding Grover in the grass- was his next target. All Seph could do was watch as the monster charged at her mother, only this time her advice failed. He was not to be fooled a second time and he soon had his fist around her mother's neck.

Mint green met sea green. Sally smiled despite the pain and mouthed: "Go!"

And then she dissolved, literally dissolved in a shower of gold. The monster roared in victory of catching at least one victim and soon began sniffing the air for another.

Seph was frozen. Her mother . . . was gone. Her kind, innocent, would-never-hurt-a-fly mother had just been crushed like a bug in a child's fist.

Fury unlike any other she'd felt before flowed through her veins. Her heart craved bloodshed, a massacre, as red filled her vision. All that she could see was the thing that had killed her mother and her friend that he was now standing over.

The girl was so focused on her anger that she didn't even notice that the rain around her hover in the air, molding into a large blob. Leaning down, Seph picked up a rock and chucked it at the beast's head. It connected with the furred head with a crack! and the bull-man looked over at her.

The smirk she gave him was dark. "Bring it, you son of a bitch."

Another bellow and he was coming towards her. Instead of running or ducking to the side, Seph ran towards him as well. The blob followed behind her, more and more rain joining in as she sprinted.

She was about five yards from him when she pretended to jump to the side. He fell into her trap as he spread his arms out wide to catch her. The monster had no time to react as Seph jumped into the air, her hand reaching for the gleaming ring in his nose. Using it as a momentum, she swung herself over his head (mindful of the horns) and threw all of her weight down to the ground.

Rrrrip!

A horrific screech filled the air, like nails on a chalkboard but deeper. He flung himself to the ground, large hands going towards his snout. Seph took this time to look at her prize; a brass ring with bloody nasal septum trapped where the ends meet.

The sound of water sloshing around her made the teen look over her shoulder. The body of water was steadily getting bigger as more rain came down.

The bull-man roared in pained rage. The teen faced him again and their eyes met. The monster scraped his foot again in warning.

Seph was beginning to feel drained from all the running and dodging, and she didn't know if she could throw herself over his head again. An idea came to her- a weird one, but she didn't have too many options left.

Steadying her breathing, she pictured the water behind her shaping into a giant spear of ice. She didn't have enough time to see if it had worked as the monster charged at her. Grabbing at the air behind her, her hand touched something cold and solid. Without thinking, she threw the object at the bull-man.

To her amazement, it had been the ice spear she had pictured. It sailed through the air, clear and sharp, before landing in the place Seph had been aiming for- right between the monster's eyes. Well, with the size of the spear it actually went through half of his face, but it still made contact.

Like with Mrs. Dodds, he turned into yellow dust, and blown away by some invisible fan.

Seph was exhausted, the second she had thrown the spear any energy had left with it. All she wanted to do was fall over like her limbs begged her to do, but she knew she had to wait a bit. Stumbling over to Grover, she hauled the unconscious boy onto her back before making her way to the farmhouse.

She kept her face blank and emotionless as she knocked on the screen door. Three people answered, a bearded man and two kids; a young girl with curly blond hair and a boy with sky blue eyes.

"Help him," Seph whispered.

Praying that her mother was right about this being a safe place, the teen finally let sleep claim her. The blond boy caught her before she hit the wood floor.

"Chiron?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the girl in his arms.

The man stroked his beard silently. "Take them to the medical tent. I'll tell Mr. D that they have arrived."

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AN: Geez, this took forever to get out. Now I think I'm going to take a nap.

I have the next chapter written and I was hoping to get (at least) fifteen reviews within the next week. If I do, I'll post the fifth chapter on the Sea of Monsters release date.

Thanks for being so patient with me!