Chapter Text
Percy was moved to cabin three the next morning, which gave him much more freedom then he'd ever had in his life. He didn't have to share his space with anyone, he sat at his own table for dinner, got to pick all his own activities, chose his own bedtime and he didn't have to listen to anyone else because he was now a counselor himself.
He'd never felt more miserable in his life.
He had just started to feel accepted, like he had a home in cabin eleven and was starting to be as normal as a half-blood could be. Then, he'd been singled out and separated from everyone in the blink of an eye
Nobody mentioned the hellhound to his face, but he had a feeling they were talking about it behind his back. The attack had sent two messages, that he was Poseidon's son - who wasn't supposed to exist - and that monsters would stop at nothing to kill him, and that scared everyone. Not to mention the fact that a monster had invaded a space meant to be safe. So, the other campers tended to avoid him.
Cabin eleven was hesitant to share a sword class with him after his skirmish with the Ares campers, so his lessons became one-on-ones with Luke who pushed him harder than before, and wasn't afraid to bruise him up in the process. Lee never seemed too pleased when the son of Hermes showed up in the infirmary with Percy, but he had this look of grim understanding in his eyes as he healed the younger boy without question.
Annabeth still taught him Greek in the mornings but she seemed distracted, scowling at him every time he spoke. She always left the lessons muttering about quests and plans.
Not to mention, Alabaster always seemed busy with two of the other unclaimed kids whenever Percy went looking for him.
Even Clarisse kept her distance, despite her clear fury with him for breaking her spear and her venomous looks whenever he passed by the forges while she was there with the Hephaestus counselor. He'd rather get into fights everyday then this weird isolation.
One night, when he returned to his cabin, he found a newspaper dropped on the doorstep. A copy of the New York Daily News opened to an article that took him almost an hour to read because it got harder as he got angrier.
The article was about his and his mothers 'mysterious disappearance' and how Gabe claimed that Percy was a troubled kid who had violent tendencies, and how he might be a suspect in his mother's disappearance. He threw it away.
The dream came again, the voice, that eerie, ancient voice that called to him from the shadows. He was on a beach in front a crackling fire crowded by fog, letting sand run through his fingers like an hourglass.
He waited patiently for the voice to speak, he knew it was there, could feel it's presence. There was something oddly comforting about it, in the fact that it had been what consumed his dreams for almost a month, the consistency made it a comfort.
"He left you here. Left you with nothing. Is that right? He expects you to clean up a mess that you did not make. To clear his name of a crime you have no part in."
Percy looked over his shoulder, staring into the fog as a light bobbed in the distance.. The voice didn't scare him anymore.
"I know how it feels. To lose everything you care about. To want it back. You want justice." The ground rumbled. "I can give it to you, Perseus Jackson."
He stared down at the ground as cracks fractured the sand in a way that should have been impossible. The sand shifted, falling into a the pit the cracks formed, it spread, swallowing more sand as it did, slowly inching closer and closer to him. Percy didn't move, stayed seated where he was, watching the pit grow towards him, feeling the sand shift under him until eventually, he fell into the pit.
A knocking jolted him awake. He pushed aside the disappointment at the interrupted dream; he never did get to see what was beyond that pit.
He looked at the door. "Come in."
When Grover opened the door and trotted in, he looked worried. "Mr. D wants to see you."
Percy frowned, getting up from his bed. "What does he want?"
"He wants to ki- er…I should let him explain."
He scowled but nodded and ushered the satyr out to get dressed. He'd been expecting a summons to the Big House for a few days now, having been claimed by a god who wasn't supposed to have a demigod child, he assumed it was a crime that he even existed.
The other gods had probably been debating how to deal with him, and now Dionysus would deliver the verdict. The sky above them was dark, and Percy could see a hazy curtain of rain making its way towards the valley.
"Shouldn't we grab an umbrella?" He asked, pointing at the rain.
Grover frowned. "No. It never rains unplanned."
"Then what is that?"
"It'll pass, the bad weather always does." He didn't look convinced.
Percy spotted a few of the Apollo and Hermes campers playing volleyball - he could see Luke showing one of his sisters how to serve the ball - the Dionysus twins were walking around in the fields, making the plants grow. Business as usual, but everyone looked tense, they kept looking up at the sky.
Dionysus was sitting with Chiron at the pinochle table playing against two sets of cards hovering in the air. Dionysus didn't look up as the two approached, only sighed as he shuffled through his cards. "Well if it isn't our resident celebrity." He murmured, Percy waited. "Come closer. And I hope you aren't expecting any special treatment just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."
Lightning raked across the sky as thunder shook the windows of the house. Dionysus waved his hand. "Blah, blah. If you have something to say to me, you can say it to my face you coward."
Chiron feigned interest in his cards as Grover paced anxiously beside the railing
"Now, if I had my way," the god turned to Percy, "your molecules would erupt into flames and we'd sweep away all the trouble you're bound to cause. Unfortunately, Chiron has deemed such an act against my mission at this miserable camp."
"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D." Chiron murmured.
"Oh, nonsense, he wouldn't feel a thing." The god responded waving a hand. Percy frowned at him, so casually talking about ending his life. "Regardless, I have agreed to restrain myself, instead I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin and sending you back to your father."
"Dionysus." Chiron warned.
"Oh, fine. You're no fun." The god relented, shaking his head. "The last option is, of course, foolish and fatal." He sighed, the floating cards dropped to the table as he stood from the table. "I am off to Olympus for an emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I return he will become an Atlantic bottlenose. Is that understood?" He looked to Percy and regarded him with an expression the demigod couldn't name. "If you're a smart boy, Perseus Jackson, and I suspect you are, you will see there is a much more sensible choice than what Chiron believes is your next step."
Having said his peace, he picked up a playing card and twisted it, in his hand it became something that looked like a security card. He snapped his fingers and the air bent and distorted around him in a way that reminded him of Alabaster from the night they played capture the flag. The god disappeared, leaving the lingering smell of fresh-pressed grapes in his wake.
Chiron set his cards down, smiling kindly at Percy though he looked tired and strained. "Sit." He said, waving at the empty seats. "Grover, you as well." The satyr hesitated, but stepped over to the table as Percy sat down. "Tell me, my boy," Chiron started, settling his hands on the table, "what did you make of the hellhound?"
Percy frowned, just hearing the name of the creature made his skin crawl. Chiron probably expected some speech about how he wasn't bothered, that he could've done it a hundred times over but Percy wasn't up for lying right now.
"It scared me," he mumbled, fidgeting with his fingers, "if you and Lee hadn't shot it I…I know I'd be dead."
Chiron nodded. "You will meet much worse, Percy, so much worse before you finish."
"Finish?" He asked. "Finish what?"
"Why, your quest, of course. Should you choose to accept it."
Percy looked at Grover who had his head bowed and his fingers crossed. "Uh, sir? You…you haven't told me what it is I'm supposed to be doing yet."
The centaur grimaced. "Well, the details are always the hardest, are they not?"
Thunder crackled across the sky, the storm clouds gathered at the edge of the beach, it looked like the sky and sea were boiling together. "Zeus and Poseidon are…fighting? Over something important." He recalled Annabeths words from his first day. "Something was stolen."
Chiron looked at Grover who looked anxious, then he sat forward. "How did you know that?"
Percy's mouth felt dry. How was he supposed to explain some voice in his dreams for the past month and a half? He'd sound insane! So, instead he told the partial truth. "The weather has been weird since Christmas. Annabeth mentioned she'd overheard something about a theft and I…may have heard Luke talking about it with Lee one night?"
"I knew it-" Grover said.
"Hush, satyr."
"But it is his quest! It must be!" Grover insisted.
"That is only something the Oracle can decide." Chiron sighed, drumming his fingers on the table. "That being said, Percy, you are correct. Poseidon and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries, fighting over something valuable that was stolen. A lightning bolt, to be precise."
Percy scoffed. "A lightning bolt?"
"Do not take this lightly, boy." Chiron warned. "I am not talking about something you would see in a mortals school play. I am talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze that is capped on both ends with divine-level explosives."
"Oh."
"Zeus's master bolt." Chiron stated. "His symbol of power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon the cyclopes made for the war against the titans, it sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne. The master bolt packs enough power to make a mortals hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."
Percy frowned. "And it's missing?"
"Stolen." Chiron corrected.
"By who?"
"By whom." Percy tried not to roll his eyes. "By you."
"Excuse me?"
Chiron held a hand up. "At least that is what Zeus believes. He and Poseidon had an argument during the winter solstice; the council of the gods. The usual nonsense, however, the next morning, Zeus realized that his master bolt had been taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon, but because it is forbidden by divine laws for a god to usurp the symbol of power from another directly, he believed your father convinced a hero to do so for him."
"But I-"
"Patience, and listen." Chiron said, Percy's eye twitched. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious, the forges the cyclopes work in are below the ocean, which means that Poseidon has some influence over the ones who made his brothers lightning. Zeus believes that because of this, your father stole his weapon and is using the cyclopes to build an arsenal of illegal copies, which could be used to topple Zeus from his throne. However, Zeus was not sure who Poseidon had used to steal the bolt, but now that Poseidon has claimed you as his son and you were in the New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus and Zeus believes he's found his thief."
Percy's face twisted. He expects you to clean up a that mess you did not make. To clear his name of a crime you have no part in. The voice echoed in the back of his mind, and it was right. Poseidon had claimed him knowing that he'd made an oath that made his existence a crime, knowing that the last time a child like him was born she'd met a horrible fate. For what? To make Percy play little hero and prove his innocence? Innocence that never should have been in question in the first place?
"I've never been to Olympus!" He snapped. "Zeus is crazy!"
Grover's head snapped up to the sky, the clouds weren't parting around the valley, rolling straight over and sealing them in like a coffin lid. "Percy…we don't use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky." Grover mumbled.
"Perhaps paranoid." Chiron amended. "And he has ever right to be, Poseidon has tried to unseat him in the past. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam." He gave Percy a look like he was expecting him to remember the question.
Percy rolled his eyes and looked to the side, carding through the information in his mind. "Something about a golden net?" He mumbled. "I don't know, they like…trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out or something."
"Correct," Chiron nodded, "and Zeus has never trusted his brother since. Of course, Poseidon resents the accusation that he'd steal the master bolt so the two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. You coming along has been the last straw, per say."
"I'm just a kid!" Percy shouted.
"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then he admitted that he broke the sacred oath you took and fathered a mortal hero who could be used as a weapon. Wouldn't that upset you?"
Percy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Who cared about some stupid oath? If Zeus was supposed to be all knowing or whatever, shouldn't he have known if some random kid happened to stumble across home. Like Percy hadn't gotten the snot beat out of him by the Minotaur, the Ares kids and a hellhound. How could he have located Olympus, snuck in, and stolen a gods weapon all without being noticed? It was insane!
"But I didn't do anything!" Percy stressed. "Poseidon didn't really have that stupid bolt stolen, did he?"
Chiron sighed, shooting Percy a look at the word stupid but said nothing about it. "Most would agree that thievery is not his style, but the god is too proud to try convincing his brother of that. Zeus is demanding that Poseidon return his bolt by the summer solstice in ten days, Poseidon wants an apology for being accused by the same date."
This time, Percy didn't try to resist the urge and just rolled his eyes. Sure, he'd heard Alabaster and Chris snickering about how petty the gods could be but this was ridiculous!
"I had hoped that diplomacy may overcome, perhaps one of their sisters would make them see sense but your arrival has struck down any chance at that. Now, neither will back down unless the bolt is returned to Zeus before the solstice then war will prevail. Do you know what a war between the gods would look like, Percy?"
Percy sighed. "Bad?"
"The world will be in chaos, nature at war with itself and the Olympians will be forced to choose between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction, carnage, millions will die and western civilization will become a battleground that will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."
"Bad."
"And you, Perseus, will be the first to feel Zeus's wrath." Thunder boomed, and rain began to pour down on the valley.
His head swivelled towards the volleyball pit, saw Luke staring at the sky with a scowl while Lee started ushering the other campers towards the cabins. In a way, Percy realized, he brought this storm upon the camp, Zeus was punishing everyone because of him.
He was beyond furious.
"So, I have to find the stupid bolt," he muttered, crossing his arms, "and return it to Zeus."
"What better peace offering," Chiron mused, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's stolen property?"
"Well, if Poseidon doesn't have the thing, then where on Earth is it?"
"I believe that I know." Chiron murmured, expression grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years go, some of the lines make sense now. However, before I can tell you, you must take up the quest officially. You must-"
"Can't you just tell me where it is?"
"If I do, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."
Percy's eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. "Okay…I guess…"
"Then, do you accept?" His eyes flickered to Grover who nodded excitedly. Easy for him, Percy was the one facing a mouthful of lightning.
"Fine. It's better than being turned into a dolphin."
"Then it is time that you consult the Oracle. Go upstairs, to the attic, when you come back down, assuming you're still sane. we will talk more."
Percy was sent into the house with vague directions that were lost on him as soon as he stepped foot inside. He looked around, trying to find the stairs, so focused on his task that he didn't hear footsteps approaching.
"Oh, Percy." He jumped, whirling around to find Luke standing by a doorway, drying off his hair with a towel, his shirt was wet, probably from the rain, the son of Hermes gave him a warm smile. "You were outside with Chiron, right? Did he send you in here for something?"
"Uhm." Percy fidgeted with his fingers. "He wanted me to talk to something? The Oracle?"
Luke's smile turned strained and his eyes darkened. "Ah. And you don't know where to find it, yeah?" Percy gave a sheepish look. "She's in the attic, it's up on the fourth floor. Come, I'll get you up there."
Luke brought him to the stairs, then up to the fourth floor where he opened a green trapdoor, a ladder fell down and clattered into place. Percy scrunched up his nose as the warm air gusted into his face smelling of mildew and rotten wood. "It smells bad."
The counselor only hummed, he was frowning up at the trapdoor like something up there had personally offended him. "Be careful, its messy up there, we keep meaning to clean it up but…" he shook his head, giving Percy a smile that was still warm but slightly strained, "don't worry about it. Just watch your step, try not to trip. Good luck, come find me if you need me after, okay?" He ruffled Percy's hair and turned to leave.
Percy looked up the ladder, steeling himself, he held his breath and climbed up. It was messy, just as Luke had told him, armour stands covered in cobwebs, rusty shields that had once been bright, old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers that said ITHAKA, ISLE OF CIRCE and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. There was a long table stacked with glass jars with various monster parts - severed claws, huge eyes and the like. There was a giant snakes head with horns and a full set of shark's teeth mounted on the wall with a plague reading HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK N.Y, 1969.
Something caught his eye, wrapped in a faded green cloth on the table. He walked over, picking it up and unwrapping the cloth to find a slightly curved talon tinted yellow. A tag fluttered to the floor, Percy bent down to pick it up. LADON'S CLAW, MT. TAM, 2004. RETRIEVED BY L. CASTELLAN(11) & L. FLETCHER(7).
He turned the claw in his hand as he thought back to the scars that marred Lee and Luke's faces, he wondered if this claw had caused them. Ladon was a name that he recognized distantly, a dragon, maybe? He wasn't entirely sure.
That's when he saw her - her? It? Whatever - sitting by the window was a gruesome looking mummy, not the wrapped in cloth kind but a human body that had been shrivelled to a husk. She was wearing a tie-dye sundress, lots of beaded necklaces and a headband over what used to be long black hair, the skin of her face was thin and leathery over the bones, eyes glassy white slits as if her real eyes had been replaced by marbles.
She'd been dead a long, long time and just looking at her sent chills up his spine. That was before she sat up and opened her mouth.
A green mist poured from her mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils and hissing like a million snakes. Percy scrambled back, trying to get to the trapdoor but it slammed shut and as he reached out to grab the handle to pull it open, a voice spoke in his head, slithering into his ear and coiling around his brain.
I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.
He swallowed hard, standing up again but his legs wobbled. He wanted to open the trapdoor - if it would even open - and head back down, tell Chiron he had a good ride but he was alright without the quest. But he couldn't, taking a deep breath.
This thing - the Oracle - wasn't alive, she was a receptacle for something else, for the power that swirled around him as this green mist. But, it didn't feel evil, like Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Fates that he'd seen knitting outside the highway fruit stand, ancient and powerful, but not human. But, it wasn't trying to kill him, so he stepped forward.
"What is my destiny?"
The mist curled tightly, gathering in front of him and around the table of trophies. Suddenly, there was a table with playing cards with four men sitting around, Percy snarled when he realized it was Gabe and his poker buddies. Realistically, he knew this wasn't real, it was an illusion made from this green mist.
Gabe turned to him, speaking in the same rasping voice of the Oracle. You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.
The guy on the right looked up. You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.
His friend on the left threw in a poker chip. You shall be deceived by one who calls you a friend.
Eddie, their building super, stared directly at him. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
The figures began to fade, and at first he was too stunned to say anything, but when the mist coiled and began to slither back into the mummy's mouth he panicked. "Wait! Wait, what do you mean!? What friend? What will I fail to save!"
The tail of the mist snake disappeared and she slumped back, her mouth clicked shut like it hadn't been opened in a hundred years, the attic went silent. An abandoned room full of mementos. The trapdoor creaked open and he sighed. His audience with the Oracle was over.
He made his way back down through the big house, looking at the door he'd seen Luke come from before he went up. Subconsciously, he wandered over to the door and nudged it open, peering inside. It looked like an ER, cots lining the walls and different medical supplies Percy couldn't begin to name scattered around.
Lee was sitting at a desk with files open around him, writing something, Luke was pacing behind him, seeming to be ranting. Percy couldn't make out what he was saying but he looked stressed. The son of Apollo lifted his head, looking over to the door and Percy ducked away. He figured whatever they were talking about, Percy probably didn't want to get seen spying on them.
"Well?" Chiron asked him as he stepped back onto the porch.
Percy slumped into a chair. "She said I'd retrieve what was stolen."
Grover sat forward, happily crunching on what used to be a can. "That's great!"
"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "Wording is important."
His ears rung with the raspy voice, and he let out a shaky breath. "She uhm…she said I would go west, face a god who had turned, retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."
"I knew it." Grover mumbled.
Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Is that all?"
Percy choked on the words. A friend deceiving him, he didn't have many of those, and failing to save what mattered most? What kind of Oracle would send him on a quest and then tell him, oh and by the way, you'll fail. How could he confess that?
"That's all." Percy mumbled.
"Very well, Percy." Chiron sighed, looking up as the door opened. "Lee."
"Sorry to interrupt." Percy looked over at the counselor who gave a guilty smile. "I have to get to an archery class but if I don't do this now, I'm going to forget. I need to you to sign this when you can, and just leave it in the infirmary." He handed a file to Chiron who nodded with a sigh.
Lee's eyes flickered to Percy and he gave a small smile. "I did hear a little about your prophecy," Chiron's eye twitched, "and I will say you shouldn't dwell on the words too much, prophecies are intended to confuse you, the lines won't make sense until the events come to pass. You'll do good kid." He pat Percy's head and turned away. "Okay! I'm off, sorry to interrupt."
Chiron sighed, setting the folder Lee had given him aside and focusing on Percy. "He is right, prophecies are never clear. So do not let that distract you."
"Okay," he mumbled, anxious to change topics, "so where do I go? Who is the god in the west?"
Chiron hummed, folding his hands on the table. "Ah, think, Percy, if Zeus and Poseidon are weakened by each other in a war, who stands to gain?"
"Someone who wants to take over?"
"Yes, quite. Someone who harbours a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the worlds was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with millions of deaths, who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath that both of them have now broken."
Percy hummed, thinking about his dreams, the voice that rumbled from under the ground. "Hades."
"The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility." Chiron nodded.
Grover dropped his can. "Woah, woah, woah. Hades?"
"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him, "she watched the young man until she was sure of his identity and the tried to kill him. Furies only obey one lord, and that is Hades."
"Well, yeah, but Hades- he…he hates all heroes," Grover protested, "especially if he found out Percy is a son of…"
"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued, raising a hand to silence the satyr, "those can only be summoned from the fields of punishment, it was summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here and he suspects that Poseidon will attempt to use Percy in order to clear his name, meaning he would very much like to kill this boy before he can take on a quest."
"Wonderful," Percy grumbled, "that is now two gods who want me dead."
"But a quest to…" Grover swallowed hard, "no chance the master bolt could be somewhere like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year!"
"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted, "he hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I could not pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld to find the master bolt and reveal the truth."
A strange fire burned in his stomach, and he was surprised to find it wasn't fear, but anticipation. The desire for revenge, Hades had tried to kill him three times so far, the Fury, the Minotaur and the hellhound. It was his fault that Percy's mother had disappeared, and now he was trying to frame him for a theft he never committed. Besides, if his mother was truly in the Underworld…
Grover was trembling, munching on pinochle cards like potato chips. The poor guy needed to complete a quest so that he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but now? Percy couldn't ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle said it was destined to fail, that was suicide.
"Okay, but if we know it's Hades," Percy looked to Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Couldn't they just go get it back themselves?"
"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron sighed, "besides, even if the other gods suspected Hades, which I can imagine that Poseidon does, they may not retrieve the bolt on their own. By ancient rule, the gods cannot cross into another's territory without an invitation. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere and challenge anyone, so long as they are bold and strong enough to do so. No god may be held responsible for a heroes actions. It is why they always operate through humans."
"You're saying that I'm being used." Percy deadpanned, crossing his arms. It wasn't a surprise but to have it said so bluntly to his face as though it was nothing? That rubbed him the wrong way.
"What I am saying, is that Poseidon has claimed you now by no accident. It is an extremely risky gamble but he is desperate, he needs you."
Poseidon needed him. Percy's lip curled. Poseidon had ignored him for twelve years, abandoned his mother with Gabe of all people. Now suddenly he needed help?
He frowned at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son this whole time, haven't you?"
"I had my suspensions. As I said…I've spoken to the Oracle myself."
Percy had a feeling there was a lot more the centaur wasn't telling him about the prophecy, but he didn't push. He was holding back information too.
"So. Let me get this straight." He sighed. "I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."
"Check." Chiron said, nodding.
"Find the most powerful weapon in the entire universe."
"Check."
"And bring it back to Olympus."
"Check."
"All within ten days."
"That sounds about right."
Grover swallowed an ace of hearts. "Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" He asked weakly.
"You don't have to go," Percy said, "if it's too much-"
"No. No it's just…satyrs and underground places are…" he shook his head, letting out a sharp breath and sitting up. "You saved my life, Percy. If you…if you really want me along, then I won't let you down."
Percy's shoulders sagged as he heaved out a sigh of relief. Grover was the only friend that stuck around longer than a few months, he wasn't sure how good a satyr would be against the forces of the dead, but he felt so much better know that Grover would be at his side. "All the way, G-man."
Grover smiled and Percy looked to Chiron. "So, where do we go? The Oracle just said go west."
"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west, it moves from age to age, just like Olympus, which means it's in America right now."
"Where?"
Chiron raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance is in Los Angeles."
"Right, naturally," Percy muttered, "so just get on a plane-"
"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy are you crazy! Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"
Percy rubbed the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed. His mom had never taken him anywhere by plane - they never had the money - not to mention a plane crash was how her parents died.
"You are the son of the Sea God, the Lord of the Sky wants you dead. Your mother knew better than to bring you into a plane, it would put you in Zeus's domain, you wouldn't live."
Lightning arched across the sky and thunder boomed.
"Okay." Percy swallowed had. "Travelling by land it is."
"Correct." Chiron said. "Three is a sacred number, meaning that you can bring along two companions. Grover is one, another has already volunteered should you accept her help."
Percy sighed, "gee, I sure wonder who else would volunteer for a quest like this."
The air behind Chiron shimmered and Annabeth became visible, shoving her hat into her pocket. I've been waiting five years for a quest," she told him with a glare, "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world? I'm the best person to keep you from messing up, seaweed brain."
"If you say so." Percy murmured. "Does that mean you have a plan, wise girl?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Do you want my help or not?"
His lip curled but he sighed because honestly? He did. He needed all the help he could get and Annabeth was smart, especially in battle. From what Alabaster had told him, she'd almost always led her team to victory in capture the flag. She was smart and he'd need her help if this quest was going to be successful.
"A trio," he said, "that'll work."
"Wonderful," Chiron smiled, "this afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."
Lightning lit up the sky, rain pounding down on the meadows that were never supposed to have this kind of weather.
"No time to waste. I think you should all get to packing."
Percy gathered what he had from his cabin, which was very little since he chose to leave the Minotaur horn in the cabin. That left him with a change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack that Grover found for him.
The moment he stepped out of his cabin, Annabeth was grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the big house. "Woah- where are we going?"
"Infirmary." She said. "Its a wing in the big house."
He didn't see the point in arguing, so he let her pull him along. Evidently, she pulled him into the room that he'd poked his head into earlier that day, the hospital looking one. It was nearly empty, save for a pair of Apollo campers who were shuffling through the cabinets.
Annabeth ignored them, making her way straight to the desk tucked into the back where Percy had seen Lee sitting earlier. Sure enough, he was there again, hunched over and scribbling in another file.
"Lee."
The son of Apollo lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Hey Annie. You need something?" He asked, offering a small smile.
"Do you still have those prepacked med bags? Like the ones you and Luke took on your quest?"
Lee tilted his head, humming softly. "The ones Luke and I took weren't prepacked, but I made a few up after just in case. I'll grab them for you, if that's all you need?" Annabeth nodded and he stood up, walking over to a cabinet tucked behind the desk, extracting a few white bags that he held out to Annabeth. "Ambrosia, nectar, bandages. Most of the things you'll need for field stuff. You remember how to do all that, yeah?"
She rolled her eyes, taking the bags. "If I don't that's on you," she murmured, handing one of the bags to Percy and tucking another into her bag, "you taught me all of it."
Lee chuckled, but ushered them out of the infirmary to finish gathering what they'd need with a final warning not to go overboard with nectar or ambrosia.
Annabeth instructed him to go to the camp store while she headed to the Hermes cabin, where Alabaster was waiting on the steps for her. The store loaned him a hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty drachmas, the coins as big as Girl Scout cookies with various images of gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. Chiron said the coins would come in handy for non-mortal transactions but Percy didn't know what that meant.
Annabeth brought her Yankees camp, Luke told him it was a birthday present from her mother, as well as a book on classical architecture written in Greek, to read when she got bored, and a bronze knife she hid under her shirt sleeve.
That knife would get them busted the second they went through a metal detector, he was sure.
Grover wore his fake feet and pants to hide his goat legs, a green cap because when it rained his hair flattened just enough to see the tips of his horns, his backpack was full of scrap metal and apples that he could snack on and he had a set of reed pipes that his father had carved for him despite the fact he only knew two songs and neither sounded particularly good on the pipes.
Percy saw Alabaster hugging Annabeth at the base of the hill before she came up to meet him and Grover. The other boy stayed at the base of the hill with a younger looking girl who tucked herself under his arm.
Chiron was waiting at the crest of the hill with a man Percy had seen while he was recovering in the sick room. Grover had told him the guy was the head of security at camp, apparently he had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. He was wearing a chauffeurs uniform, but Percy could see extra eyes on his hands, face and neck.
"This is Argus," Chiron told him, "he will drive you into the city and, ah, keep an eye on things."
Percy looked over his shoulder as he heard footsteps behind them, he saw Luke running up the hill with a pair of shoes in his hand. "Hey!" He panted, holding up a finger as he caught his breath. "Glad I caught you. Wanted to say good luck," he gave Percy a warm smile, "and I thought…uhm, maybe you could use these?"
He handed over the sneakers which…looked like normal sneakers. Or, they did, until Luke spoke again, "Maia!" and wings sprouted from the heels, the sudden transformation startled him so bad that he dropped them. They flapped around on the ground until Luke repeated the word and the wings folded up.
"Awesome!" Grover said, picking up one of the shoes. "I forgot you had these!"
Luke smiled. "They served me well while I was on my quest." He explained. "Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much now…" his expression saddened, "usually just during capture the flag."
Percy didn't know what to say, it was cool enough that Luke had come to say goodbye, he'd been a little afraid the son of Hermes would resent him for getting so much attention. But, here he was giving Percy magic shoes.
"Hey…thanks."
"Listen, Percy…" a look flashed across Luke's face and he sighed, "a lot of hopes are riding on you. So just…just kill some monsters for me, yeah?" Percy nodded.
Luke gave a smile, shaking Percy's hand. Then, his attention shifted to the other two, he pat Grover on the head between his horns, then gave Annabeth a hug goodbye, murmuring something Percy couldn't hear as he pressed a kiss to her head.
As he stepped back, Percy noticed his eyes lingering on the pine tree, his eyes flashing through too many emotions too fast for Percy to name any of them, but then, he nodded and turned around to head back down the hill where Lee was waiting for him. He took a deep breath, turning to Annabeth who looked determined, and he had a feeling that, despite the Oracles words, this quest wasn't going to be all bad.