Chapter Text
Frank hadn’t thought it was possible to be excited about your impending doom, but Annabeth’s face when Aeolus had revealed their trial proved otherwise. Her eyes had looked brighter and the hard set of her jaw had loosened into something that was almost a smirk.
Frank suspected that the only thing stopping Annabeth from laughing in victory was the fact that she (and Frank and Leo) had to spend almost ten minutes getting a piggyback ride from a harpy while they prepped the next set.
It wasn’t that Frank wasn’t also relieved that they were actually doing a game show thing and not a demented Greek torture chamber thing, but he had enough reservations not to get his hopes up about trivia lacking life-threatening peril. Hopefully they’d find a way to escape before they had a chance to find out what else lay in store on Aeolus’ Wheel of Quests.
Since their ten minute break was closely monitored by Sesame the harpy, none of the demigods had gotten a chance to strategize about what might await them. Leo had muttered something about hoping for a pop culture round and Annabeth had spent the entire break with a look of pure concentration on her face. Frank spent his minutes of contemplation trying to recall what things he knew that could count as trivia. Maybe there would be a Chinese cultural history round? Or a cities of Canada bonus question?
The usual calls that signaled the start of filming went off all around them. Sesame dropped Frank and Leo unceremoniously on a new platform that at least looked sturdier than what they’d been standing on before.
When she didn’t drop Annabeth with them, both boys started to protest, but a fanged hiss from Sesame shut them up. Instead, she flew Annabeth to her own platform about 15 feet away. This one had a simple red podium with Annabeth’s name written neatly on the front.
Leo and Frank exchanged an uneasy look. There weren’t any podiums where they’d been tossed. Leo opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but one of his fidgeting hands brushed against the red X marker on their new perch and his eyes widened. Leo moved into a hunched crouch to run his hands along the floor.
Unsure of what to do with that display, Frank followed his lead into a low squat as lights flashed and voices yelled all around them.
“Why are we squatting?” Frank whispered.
“There’s something here,” Leo muttered unhelpfully. “I can feel the mechanism, but I can’t work out what it’s for.” His brow was furrowed in concentration. “It’s almost like—“
“Quiet on set! Bring out the sphinx!”
And that was why Frank didn’t trust the concept of an innocent round of trivia.
Two nymphs wearing wispy jumpsuits flew onto the set, a smirking person propped up between them. At first glance, she looked like a normal mortal woman with a cat ear headband on, but the more Frank looked, the more he started noticing strange details, like the oddly fiery quality of her hair or her unnaturally piercing red eyes. Her legs were covered by the bottom half of what looked like a tiger costume but there was no mistaking the fangs practically dripping out of her mouth. It seemed their sphinx was actually an empousa . And she looked hungry.
The nymphs flew the “sphinx” to a throne made to accommodate the cumbersome tiger costume in between Annabeth’s podium and their platform. It was gilded with Imperial Gold, inset with symbols of heroes being killed in various ways. Frank resisted the urge to shudder when the empousa’s claws brushed against a golden demigod being burned alive.
Annabeth stared at the monster across from her with a scowl. Frank tried to catch her eye, maybe to see if she had some semblance of a plan, but her focus was entirely on the empousa . Getting Leo’s attention was also no use, as he was muttering about gears and hinges while his hands continued to roam the floor underneath them.
Well, he was supposed to be a plans guy, right? Frank could think for himself. What were their obstacles? Fake sphinx that looked like she wanted to eat them, a gaping void between Annabeth and Frank and Leo, and some mysterious mechanical trap that would undoubtedly spring soon right at their feet. Not bad odds for a demigod.
Not for the first time that night, he wished he had his bow, or any weapon really. Annabeth had slipped her switchblade into her pocket during the most recent set change in case a harpy tried to grab it off of her, but he and Leo were still defenseless.
A sound like a lighter clicking open stung in Frank’s ears and he amended his thought. Fire powers and shapeshifting equaled not entirely defenseless, even if there wasn’t any way to permanently dispatch the empousa without a weapon. Could empousai fly? Maybe they could let gravity take care of her.
The real problem wasn’t the demigod-hungry monster facing them down, it was the amount of unknowns piling up by the minute. He couldn’t plan around a trap he didn’t know about or rules to a game that weren’t explained yet.
Aeolus calling, "Action!" interrupted his increasingly-desperate thoughts. Frank's torturous television premiere was underway once again.
“It’s time to see how much Annabeth Chase takes after her mother! For this challenge, I’ve invited a guest to host our heroes. I’ll turn it over to our very own terrifying sphinx: Tori!”
Aeolus gestured to the throne and the empousa gave the camera a half-hearted wink. In an almost monotone valley girl accent, Tori said, “Happy to be here. I can’t wait.”
There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Tori blinked and straightened on her throne. Frank saw a teleprompter click on behind the camera.
“Oh, right,” Tori continued. “Uh, welcome to the Sphinx’s Trivia of Doom. I’ll be asking ‘insert contestant name here’ a series of questions about,” she squinted, “stuff that I can’t pronounce. The more she gets right, the closer she is to victory or whatever. But every wrong answer spells doom for her companions—Oh, now we’re talking! If the contestant gets more than three questions wrong, Tori gets to pig out on demigod flesh today!” She cackled.
“Wait, what?” Annabeth asked, just as the floor that Leo had so closely been inspecting sprung up and away to encase him and Frank in an Imperial Gold cage. The shock of their new prison startled Frank so much that he turned into an iguana, clinging to Leo’s shoulder with his claws.
Leo himself was groaning with his head in his hands. He didn’t seem to notice Frank’s new lizard form when he said, “Of course it’s a cage, how the Hades did I miss that?”
Shaking his tail out, Frank took a little iguana breath and willed himself to shift again. A fully-formed 17 year old crashed onto Leo’s side and threw them both off-balance. They tumbled against the side of the cage, the thick metal bars digging into their faces.
“Sorry about that.” Frank said. He backed away, lifting himself up against the cage wall so that he was standing again. When Leo didn’t move with him, Frank tapped his shoulder and stuck out his hand help him up. After a few seconds pressed awkwardly against the edge of the cage, Leo seemed to shake himself and grabbed onto Frank’s arm. When they were both standing, he looked meaningfully into Frank’s eyes.
“I think they’re gonna put us on a conveyor belt,” Leo whispered. “To get us closer to the freaky cat lady and the cameras.” He continued to stare at Frank, like he was trying to say something without saying anything.
Whatever it was, Frank didn’t pick up on it, and soon they both realized that Annabeth and Aeolus had been negotiating this entire time.
“You said it yourself, Miss Chase, danger is very good for ratings,” Aeolus was saying.
“Right,” Annabeth nodded agreeably, “but maybe it’d be better if Tori was the one in danger. You could pioneer a new kind of godly programming—one focused on the excitement of monster killing.”
“No, no, our market research showed us that it’s specifically demigod danger that brings in the viewers. I’m sorry, Miss Chase, but we’ll be going forward with the segment as planned.” Aeolus shook his head, “I would’ve thought you’d be more confident in your abilities. It’s not every day that a daughter of Athena backs down from a test of knowledge.”
Depending on your perspective, that was either the very wrong or the very right thing to say. For Frank and Leo, it meant that there was no convincing Annabeth not to go along with Aeolus’ challenge, but for Aeolus, it guaranteed him a cutthroat contestant in the form of a 5’8” daughter of Athena in pajamas.
A fire lit in Annabeth’s eyes, burning hot and electric all at once. She scowled like an appraiser in a room full of fake antiques.
“I’m not backing down,” she said, “I’m sure I can answer any of your questions. In fact, I doubt I’ll get a single one wrong.”
A resounding, “OOOH” echoed through the studio. Frank would bet money that they had a soundboard somewhere in the throng of nymphs and harpy grips.
“Well, well, well,” Tori cackled again, sitting up on her throne. “Let’s see if the spawn of Athena can put her money where her mouth is. Since I’m the host here, what I say goes, and I say that if the dumb little demigods miss a single question, then I get to eat all of them!”
“Uh—” Frank started, but Leo put a hand on his shoulder.
“Oh, yeah? How’re you gonna get us from all the way over there?”
“We shouldn’t be taunting her,” Frank hissed.
Leo tapped him on the arm a few times, “Just trust me, man.”
Aeolus took this as a cue to get his show back on track. “Why, we’ll be delivering these demigods to our mighty sphinx on an Imperial Gold platter! Naomi, activate the delivery system,” and he clapped his hands, letting a gust of wind chill Frank right through his t-shirt and shorts.
The far-end of their cage began creaking and groaning. Gleaming metal planks shot out from seemingly nowhere and wove together in a straight line towards Tori’s throne. Frank had to work to keep his balance as ridges lined the path and he felt the structure supporting them get shoved forward.
So this was the conveyor belt that Leo mentioned.
“And just to keep things interesting, we’ll be timing Miss Chase. The longer she takes, the closer to peril her companions will be!” Aeolus splayed his arms wide. “Tori, please ask your first question.”
Tori’s red eyes flashed hungrily and Frank gulped as her gaze steadily became closer. Nice going, Valdez , he thought, but there wasn’t any bite to it. Most of Frank’s energy was spent trying to figure out how fast he could go from an elephant heavy enough to break the cage to something that wouldn’t immediately fall to its death. With Leo’s fingers tapping nervously (and loudly) along the bars, he was having trouble focusing.
“Question one: Who designed and built the Labyrinth for King Minos?”
Annabeth actually laughed . Frank wished they had a way to communicate beyond just looking really hard at each other, because he didn’t think she was getting his message of Please stop antagonizing the monsters holding us hostage from just his eyes.
“Are they all going to be this easy? Daedalus, obviously,” she said, her voice confident.
DING DING DING , a cowbell clanged from somewhere behind the camera. The lights on Annabeth’s podium flashed in the colors of the aurora borealis, the conveyor belt slowing down almost imperceptibly. Okay, maybe they had more of a shot than he thought.
Tori looked unamused by Annabeth’s success. “ Tch , fine, you got that one right. But I’ve got a lot more questions, and they only get harder. Question two: what is the name of Hermes’ staff?”
Instead of laughing this time, Annabeth just smirked directly at the camera in front of her. She shrugged as if to say What are ya gonna do? And answered, “Traditionally, it’s called his caduceus, but the snakes wrapped around it prefer George and Martha.”
“Trick question, the snakes are actually called—Damnit, Athena-spawn! I’m just trying to treat myself to lunch here. They wouldn’t shill out for mortal meat at craft services.”
The conveyor belt slowed down incrementally once again. Leo’s tapping became more insistent, but Frank tried to tune it out in favor of listening to Tori’s next question. They were about 20 feet away from her throne at this point, and despite her frustration, Frank and Leo would be within eating distance sooner than he’d like.
“If you wanted to win, you should’ve asked harder questions,” Annabeth taunted. She didn’t even look towards the frantic expression on Frank’s face.
He still hadn’t worked out what the next step would be after breaking open the cage. They were surrounded by fast-flying wind spirits and an empousa with a direct footpath to him and Leo. Her having to tear off her costume to walk would buy them some time, but not enough to avoid the mobs of harpies that would descend. They needed something that would distract Aeolus’ minions long enough to dispatch Tori and book it out of there.
“Oh, I’ll show you hard , you wretched little loser,” Tori said, her voice exasperated and her dripping fangs giving her a bit of a lisp. “Question three: Who was the first Bachelor on the ABC television reality show The Bachelor ?”
“The—what?” Annabeth’s stunned face would’ve been funny if Frank and Leo weren’t rushing closer to being demigod shaped Happy Meals by the minute. “What does that have to do with Greek mythology?”
Now it was Tori’s turn to smirk, though hers looked much more evil than Annabeth’s had. “Ah, ah, ah, little demigod. I’m afraid that’s not an answer.”
“No, wait. I know I can figure this out. Sally watches that show all the time. How old could it be?”
“Time is running out!” Tori said gleefully. A helpful hourglass appeared in the air above them, grains of sand rapidly draining to the bottom.
Annabeth’s eyes were trained on the conveyor belt now. Leo’s fingers sounded like a one-man band at this point. With a desperate pitch to her voice, she started rambling.
“I remember visiting Percy’s a few years ago, and Sally was watching it on the TV and tried to ask me about it, but I told her that there wasn’t any cable at camp, and she said something about missing out on the season finale for—” Annabeth snapped her fingers. “It was something white and generic, like Brad, or Sean, or—Charlie! The first Bachelor’s name was Charlie! Final answer.”
“Hm, Charlie was it?” Tori’s red eyes glowed impossibly brighter. Her fangs seemed to grow in her mouth, and Frank could hear the sound of her costume tearing around her mismatched legs. “What an interesting answer…especially because it’s wrong!”
A loud trumpet noise descended through the scales and the lights around Annabeth’s podium turned a deep red. Golden ropes sprung from the platform she was standing on to twist around her body. Frank couldn’t see her switchblade, but if there was one thing he knew about Annabeth, it was that she wouldn’t have sheathed her blade until they were all safe. At least, he hoped so.
The conveyor belt started moving at a pace that would’ve sent most groceries flying. Soon they were 10 feet—8 feet—5 feet away. Within seconds, all Tori had to do to start ripping them apart was sit up in her chair. Off to their left, Aeolus was saying something in his thundering voice, but Frank could hardly hear it.
He was moments away from going elephant regardless of the consequences, when Leo’s hand came to grip his shoulder and his fingers squeezed a pattern into Frank’s tense muscles. Squeeze, squeeze, pinch, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
Oh man. Frank was an idiot. All this time, Leo was the only one using the single plan they’d actually managed to make together, and he hadn’t even realized.
Nodding his head at his friend to show him he’d finally understood, Frank didn’t transform into an elephant and plummet through the air. Instead, he clenched his fists and waited for the moment Leo wanted them to spring into action.
He didn’t have to wait long.
The cage practically landed in Tori’s lap a few seconds later. Her costume was torn to pieces and drifting to the ground far, far below them now. Her breath was hot against the Imperial Gold bars. With another ear-splitting cackle, Tori pounced.
And then all Hades broke loose.
The conveyor belt (now behind them) crumpled like it was made of paper. As it fell against the howling wind of hundreds of spirits realizing their production was about to fall to pieces, bright red flames shot out from the bottom of the cage in all directions. The Imperial Gold bars folded and bent into one thick rope that whipped towards Tori’s hunched form. And the final nail on the coffin was a single stream of flames that Leo sent directly to the camera positioned behind Tori’s dented throne.
The exasperated clipboard-wielding nymph from earlier in the night flashed in Frank’s mind. Apparently, Leo had taken her berating him about the expensive equipment to heart, because he knew exactly how to concentrate his fire to cause the fancy camera to explode like it was meant to do that all along.
Frank wasn’t going to waste brain power on trying to figure out how Leo managed to rewire things to cause this much chaos. All that mattered to him was the demigod in question flashing a smile and fingerguns his way, his satisfaction at his success evident when he said, “That’s how you win Leo-style, baby!”
Without the cage keeping them imprisoned, and with Tori currently wrestling with solid metal holding her captive, Frank was free to launch himself off of Tori’s throne as a giant eagle. Leo was still cheering for himself when he took hold of Frank’s feathers and pointed forward.
“Let’s ride!” He said, shooting more streams of fire at more cameras as Frank banked right across the studio. Cloud nymphs and harpies alike screeched and screamed as their equipment exploded around them. The bright bursts of flames caught on other props and set pieces, leaving a line of burning curtains and charred craft services in their wake.
He didn’t have time to feel weird about the pyrotechnic display. At least, that’s what Frank told himself to ignore the way his heart raced at the heat singeing his feathers. Escape now, panic attack later—a famous demigod proverb.
Frank landed himself on Annabeth’s platform, only to find her cutting the last of the golden ropes trying to capture her. The bronze-handled switchblade glinted in the fires starting across the studio. He must’ve been more distracted than he’d realized, if he hadn’t even noticed her successfully evade another death trap.
“I assume Leo had something to do with this,” Annabeth said by way of greeting.
Frank couldn’t talk, but he squawked in agreement as Leo winked at Annabeth. “Setting things on fire is my signature move, Chase. And you know how much I like putting on a show.”
“Let’s just hope making a lifelong enemy of the master of the winds won’t come back to bite us in the future,” Annabeth said. Frank inclined his head and she climbed astride him next to Leo. He made as much of a scoff as he could manage as an eagle.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, “I know, there’s no way this isn’t going to ruin a quest or two one day. I’m too tired to worry about that right now. Frank, let’s get out of here.”
And with that, he took off.
After about ten minutes of fussing around with a prism that they’d stolen from the Pikes Peak Summit House gift shop (which they’d conveniently landed just outside of —er, more of a tumble really, considering how rough the winds were to navigate on their way back to the ground), Frank finally managed to get a rainbow going and he offered up all the spare change Leo had in his glittery tool belt pockets. (Apparently, the belt was a gift from the daughter of the two women he was staying with, and he hadn’t taken it off since she’d given it to him a day and a half ago).
Iris accepted their meager sacrifice of 83 cents, even if the message took a bit longer to form than normal. An exhausted looking Hazel blinked at him. Her hair was wrapped in a silky black bonnet patterned with skulls (a gift from Nico) and there was a dried trail of drool slashed across her cheek. After the night he’d had, she was the best thing Frank had ever seen.
“Huh, wh—Frank? Why are you calling? I live right next to you.” She blinked blearily, yawning. “And it’s like five in the morning. Could it not wait until breakfast?”
“Um, about that…” he smiled sheepishly. “I might be a little late to breakfast. How fast do you think you could make it to Colorado right now?”
Hazel’s eyes widened. “Oh gods, what happened? Is it another prophecy? Are you on a quest? Are you injured? Are you alone?” She looked much more awake now.
“No prophecy, no quest, and no injuries,” Frank reassured her. “And I’m not alone either, I’m with Annabeth and Leo.” The two demigods in question waved at Hazel from where they were standing behind Frank. He shrugged, “We got mixed up in a godly game show. Nothing too different from the usual mythological mayhem. I’ll tell you all about it when you shadow-travel us out of here.”
Before Hazel could reply, roaring winds howled through the mountainous woods surrounding them, and the Iris Message fizzled like a TV with a bad signal. Frank gulped. “Please hurry. I think the Master of Winds might be trying to book us for a spin-off soon.”
“I'm going to pretend like that made sense and save my questions for later. If there's three of you, it’s not gonna be a one-and-done trip. I don’t think I can handle shadow-traveling that many people on my own.” Hazel tilted her head. “Give me a few minutes to IM Nico and we’ll jump straight to you. I would say don’t go anywhere but my death-sense has been getting better, so I’ll find you no matter what.” She paused and a hint of humor twinkled in her eyes. “Don’t fall off anymore mountains though, okay?”
“You trip off a sheer drop when taking your girlfriend hiking up Mount Tam one time, and she never lets you hear the end of it,” Frank said lightly. “I’ll see you soon, Hazel. Love you.”
“Love you too, Frank. See you in a bit!”
With that, the message fully dissolved into the frosty morning mist. Frank looked at his companions, both of them looking back at him with weary expressions. He and Annabeth had only gotten an hour’s worth of sleep if their math was right, and Leo hadn’t gotten any at all.
The sun peaked shyly over the horizon and cast the Summit House in shades of pink and orange. Birdsong and rustling trees filled the silence of the moment so that it felt more peaceful than awkward. After coming off the migraine factory that was Aeolus’ palace, the idyllic setting was a breath of cold, fresh air.
Of course, then all three demigods’ stomachs growled at record-breaking volumes in unison, and the moment broke in half like a KitKat bar. Mhm, KitKats…
“Did that gift shop have any snacks?” Leo asked.
Frank and Annabeth glanced at each other and they both shrugged.
“Let’s find out.”