The Unexpected: Meeting Half Bloods: Book 1 The Lightning Thief

Chapter 9

Disclaimer I do not own anything all rights go to Disney, Marvel, Stan Lee as well as Rick Riordan!

Thank you "Tabris the 17th angle" for your review; He received some of his memories when Hestia blessed him, she was the fist one to bless him in that realm, in both timelines. However Peter has far too much memories to get at once, it was like a lightning bolt, it is brighter than the sun, but lasts not even a second, but he does have flash backs, and the dejavu moments. He remembers part of the Hunt at times, but like a dream. It is like when Hera stole Percy's memories, he COULD remember, but at the cost of headache and frustration. He IS full of anger,bitterness and grief. He holds a grudge worse than Hades and Tartarus combined. He is similar to Nico, he takes after Hades more so than he does Zeus. He has Poseidon's threats (not a threat, a promise), Hades's cold temperament and grudges, and he can have Zeus's anger.

Thank you "Man285" for your review as well; I am glad you liked the chapter.

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(Percy's Point of View)

We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.

We were not attacked once, but I did not relax. I felt that we were travelling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity.

I tried to keep a low profile because my name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers. The Trenton Register News showed a photo taken by a tourist as I got off the Greyhound bus. I had a wild look in my eyes. My sword was a metallic blur in my hands. It might have been a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick.

The picture's caption read:

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 travelling with two teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture.

"Do not worry," Annabeth told me. "The mortal police could never find us." But she did not sound so sure.

The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train (because I had a really hard time sitting still), or looking out the windows.

Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved.

I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. The adult riders all had their faces buried in laptop computers or magazines.

Another time, towards evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I could have sworn it was a lion, except that lions do not live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a tank. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone.

Our reward money for returning Gladiola the poodle had only been enough to purchase tickets as far as Denver Peter tried to pay, but I had a feeling that using his money may be a bad idea; it was my quest, not his.

We could not get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats. My neck got stiff. I tried not to drool in my sleep, since Annabeth was sitting right next to me.

Grover kept snoring and bleating and waking me up. Once, he shuffled around and his fake foot fell off. Annabeth and I had to stick it back on before any of the other passengers noticed.

"So," Annabeth asked me, once we had got Grover's trainer readjusted. "Who wants your help?"

I asked her "What do you mean?"

"When you were asleep just now, you mumbled, 'I will not help you!' Who were you dreaming about?"

I was reluctant to say anything. It was the second time I had dreamed about the evil voice from the pit. But it bothered me so much I finally told her.

Annabeth was quiet for a long time. "That does not sound like Hades. He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."

"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that!?" I asked convinced.

"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?"

I shook my head, wishing I knew the answer. I thought about what Grover had told me that the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something.

Where is it? Where?

Maybe Grover sensed my emotions. He snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables and turned his head.

Annabeth readjusted his cap so it covered his horns. "Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He is deceitful, heartless and greedy. I do not care if his Kindly Ones were not as aggressive this time-"

"This time?" I asked. "You mean you have run into them before?"

Her hand crept up to her necklace. She fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image of a pine tree, one of her clay end of summer tokens. "Let's just say I have got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."

"What would you do if it was your dad?" I asked.

"That is easy," she said. "I would leave him to rot."

"You are kidding right?" I half asked and half hoped.

Annabeth's grey eyes fixed on me. She wore the same expression she had worn in the woods at camp, the moment she drew her sword against the hellhound. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She was not happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."

"But how… I mean, I guess you were not born in a hospital…"My voice trailed off.

"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You would think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he would take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I did not exist."

I stared out the train window. The lights of a sleeping town were drifting by. I wanted to make

Annabeth feel better, but I did not know how.

"My mom married a really awful guy," I told her. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Maybe that is what your dad was thinking."

Annabeth kept worrying at her necklace. She was pinching the gold college ring that hung with the beads. It occurred to me that the ring must be her father's. I wondered why she wore it if she hated him so much.

"He does not care about me," she said. "His wife my stepmom treated me like a freak. She would not let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened you know, something with monsters they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk!' Finally, I took the hint. I was not wanted. I ran away."

I asked "How old were you?"

"The same age as when I started camp. Seven." She told me.

"But… you could not have got all the way to Half Blood Hill by yourself." I stated.

"Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me towards help. I made a couple of unexpected friends who took care of me, for a short time, anyway." She explained.

I wanted to ask what happened, but Annabeth seemed lost in sad memories. So I listened to the sound of Grover snoring and gazed out the train windows as the dark fields of Ohio raced by.

Towards the end of our second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St Louis.

Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch, which looked to me like a huge shopping bag handle stuck on the city.

"I want to do that…" she sighed.

"Do what?" I asked.

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

I answered "Only in pictures."

"Someday, I am going to see it in person. I am going to build the greatest monument to the gods ever. Something that will last a thousand years!" She started to get a little excited.

I laughed. "You? An architect?"

I do not know why, but I found it funny, just the idea of Annabeth trying to sit quietly and draw all day.

Her cheeks flushed with anger "Yes, an architect! Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."

I watched the churning brown water of the Mississippi below.

"Sorry." Annabeth said. '"That was mean."

"Can't we work together a little?" I pleaded. "I mean, have not Athena and Poseidon ever cooperated?"

Annabeth had to think about it. "I guess… the chariot…" she said tentatively. "My mom invented it, but Poseidon created horses out of the crests of waves. So they had to work together to make it complete."

I smiled and said "Then we can cooperate, too. Right?"

We rode into the city, Annabeth watching as the Arch disappeared behind a hotel.

"I suppose…" she said at last.

We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we had have a three hour stopover before departing for Denver.

Grover stretched. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."

"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing."

I asked "Sightseeing?"

"The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"

Grover, Peter and I exchanged looks.

I wanted to say no, but I figured that if Annabeth was going, we could not very well let her go alone.

Peter chuckled and said "I could go for a stroll. Besides I do enjoy high places."

I thought 'of course you do!'

Grover shrugged. "As long as there is a snack bar without monsters."

Peter chuckled when Grover said that as if he thought of a joke.

I sighed and said "I am not staying behind alone! I guess to the arch we go!"

The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in were not that long.

We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It was not all that thrilling, but Annabeth kept telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Grover kept passing me blue jelly beans, so I was okay.

I kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" I murmured to Grover.

He took his nose out of the jelly bean bag long enough to sniff.

"Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably does not mean anything."

But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we should not be here.

I looked to Peter he had an uneasy face as if he felt something like I did, as if something bad was going to happen.

"Guys," I said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah why?"

I began "Well, Hade-"

Grover cleared his throat. "We are in a public place… You mean, our friend downstairs?"

Peter rolled his eyes in an uncaring fashion.

"Um, right…." I said. "Our friend way downstairs. I thought he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that is his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there? I thought he was not allowed on Olympus!" I asked.

She nodded. "The winter solstice the only time he is allowed to visit Olympus the darkest day of the year. But his helmet is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I have heard is even half true…'"

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

Peter snorted and said "People fear the unknown, not always the darkness."

We looked at him and Grover murmured "True…"

"But then… how do we know he is not here right now, watching us?" I asked.

Annabeth, Grover and Peter exchanged looks.

"We do not know." Grover said.

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," I said. '"Got any blue jelly beans left?"

I had almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I saw the tiny little elevator car we were going to ride to the top of the Arch, and I knew I was in trouble. I hate confined places. They make me nuts.

We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I figured maybe the dog was a seeing eye Chihuahua, because none of the guards said a word about it.

We started going up, inside the Arch. I had never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and my stomach was not too happy about it.

"No parents?" the fat lady asked us.

She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much she looked like a blue jean blimp.

"They are below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings." The fat lady said.

The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave."The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.

I asked, "Sonny. Is that his name?"

"No," the lady told me.

She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.

Peter shot them a glare that made them flinch. Annabeth elbowed him in the ribs, forcing the air out of his lungs. He then gave a glare at Annabeth, she paled. Peter said coolly "I would not touch me again if I were you Miss Chase."

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other.

The view was okay, but if there is anything I like less than a confined space, it is a confined space two hundred meters in the air. I was ready to go pretty quick.

Annabeth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would have made the windows bigger, and designed a see through floor. She probably could have stayed up there for hours, but luckily for me the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.

I steered Grover and Annabeth towards the exit, loaded them into the elevator and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me and Peter.

The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."

"We will get out," Annabeth said. "We can wait with you guys."

But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I said, "Naw, it is okay. We will see you guys at the bottom."

Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.

Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, Peter, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.

I smiled uneasily at the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.

Wait a minute.

Forked tongue?

Before I could decide if I had really seen that, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me and Peter.

"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."

"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!"

His parents pulled him back.

The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."

Ice started forming in my stomach. "Um, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"

"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It is an easy mistake to make."

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green.

When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.

Peter snarled and said "Echidna!"

The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Dobermann, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.

The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back towards the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.

The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof.

It had the head of a lion with a blood caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a three meter long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA RABID, FIRE BREATHING, POISONOUS IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS EXT. 954.

I realized I had not even uncapped my sword. My hands were numb. I was three meters away from the Chimeras bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge.

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "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!"

I stared at her. All I could think to say was: "Is that not that a kind of anteater?"

Peter face palmed at me, he pulled out his chains and it grew to nine feet long, he had about four feet in each hand, with about a foot between.

She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green 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!"

Peter said with a shrug "Well you do hail from the land down under." Peter growled and said "A place where you will return!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. Peter managed to shove me aside and dodge the bite himself.

I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.

I could not let them get hurt. I uncapped my sword, ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!"

The Chimera turned faster than I would have thought possible.

Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.

I dived through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it seared off my eyebrows.

Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.

Great, I thought. 'We just blowtorched a national monument.'

Riptide was now a shining bronze blade in my hands, and as the Chimera turned, I slashed at its neck.

That was my fatal mistake.

The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. I tried to regain my balance, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.

My whole leg was on fire. I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down towards the Mississippi River.

Peter roared in rage he began a full on assault, the chains seemed to crackle with electricity.

The chains wrapped themselves around the Chimera's body before the chains themselves turned on fire, I mean a green fire that I could feel the heat from here.

The Chimera tried to escape but Peter brought the other end of the chain down on top if his head. It stopped struggling. Peter threw either his silver knife of his silver dagger. The blade went deep into its head, causing him to turn to dust.

I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost. I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest. I remembered Chiron saying that Anaklusmos would always return to me, but there was no pen in my pocket.

Maybe it had fallen too far away. Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form. I did not know, and I was not going to live long enough to figure it out.

I backed into the hole in the wall.

The snake lady, Echidna, went white from fear. Peter was ANGRY, anger management anyone?

I glanced at the park ranger and the family. The little boy was hiding behind his father's legs. I had to protect these people. I could not just… die. I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy.

And I was scared.

There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered.

If I died, would the monsters go away? Would they leave the humans alone?

"If you are the sons of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."

Yeah, right, I thought. I had read somewhere that jumping into water from a couple of stories up was like jumping on to concrete. From here, I would splatter on impact.

"You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."

She was right: I was dying. I could feel my breath slowing down. Nobody could save me, not even the gods.

Peter snarled and said "You are correct I trust no one, notanybody. I know the Olympians are faithless, but that is not why I am fighting. I am fighting for friends, for family. I am fighting for those who cannot fight themselves. Go back to the Pit from whence you came!"

I backed up and looked down at the water. I remembered the warm glow of my father's smile when I was a baby. He must have seen me. He must have visited me when I was in my cradle.

I remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above my head the night of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed me as his son.

But this was not the sea. This was the Mississippi, dead centre of the USA. There was no sea god here.

"Die, faithless one!" Echidna rasped.

"Father, help me," I prayed.

I turned and jumped. My clothes on fire, poison coursing through my veins, I plummeted towards the river.

I saw Peter with a look of pure rage and anger in his eyes, he pulled out his knives and that was all I saw before I hit the water below.

(Line Break)

(Percy's Point of View)

I would love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera. The truth that was Peter's thing.

What did I do? My only thought was: Aaaaggghhhhh!

The river raced towards me at the speed of a truck. Wind ripped the breath from my lungs. Steeples and skyscrapers and bridges tumbled in and out of my vision.

And then: Flaaa-boooom!

A whiteout of bubbles. I sank through the murk, sure that I was about to end up embedded in fifty meters of mud and lost forever.

But my impact with the water had not hurt at all. I was falling slowly now, bubbles trickling up through my fingers.

I settled on the river bottom soundlessly. A catfish the size of my stepfather lurched away into the gloom. Clouds of silt and disgusting garbage beer bottles, old shoes, plastic bags swirled up all around me.

At that point, I realized a few things: first, I had not been flattened into a pancake. I had not been barbecued. I could not even feel the Chimera poison boiling in my veins any more.

I was alive, which was good, very good.

Second realization: I was not wet. I mean, I could feel the coolness of the water. I could see where the fire on my clothes had been quenched. But when I touched my own shirt, it felt perfectly dry.

I looked at the garbage floating by and snatched an old cigarette lighter.

No way, I thought.

I flicked the lighter. It sparked. A tiny flame appeared, right there at the bottom of the Mississippi.

I grabbed a soggy hamburger wrapper out of the current and immediately the paper turned dry. I lit it with no problem. As soon as I let it go, the flames sputtered out.

The wrapper turned back into a slimy rag. Weird.

But the strangest thought occurred to me only last: I was breathing. I was underwater, and I was breathing normally, no, I was feeling better underwater than I do on the surface!

I stood up, thigh deep in mud. My legs felt shaky. My hands trembled. I should have been dead.

The fact that I was not seemed like… well, a miracle. I imagined a woman's voice, a voice that sounded a bit like my mother: Percy, what do you say?

Um… thanks. Underwater, I sounded like I did on recordings, like a much older kid. Thank you… Father.

No response. Just the dark drift of garbage downriver, the enormous catfish gliding by, the flash of sunset on the water's surface far above, turning everything the colour of butterscotch.

Why had Poseidon saved me? The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt. So I had got lucky a few times before. Against a thing like the Chimera, I had never stood a chance.

Those poor people in the Arch were probably safe with Peter. I could not protect them. I am no hero. Maybe I should just stay down here with the catfish, join the bottom feeders.

Fump fump fump. A riverboat's paddlewheel churned above me, swirling the silt around.

There, not two meters in front of me, was my sword, its gleaming bronze hilt sticking up in the mud.

I heard that woman's voice again: 'Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you.'

This time, I knew the voice was not in my head. I was not imagining it. Her words seemed to come from everywhere, rippling through the water like dolphin sonar.

"Where are you?" I called aloud.

Then, through the gloom, I saw her, a woman the colour of the water, a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword. She had long billowing hair, and her eyes, barely visible, were green like mine.

A lump formed in my throat. I said, "Mom?"

'No, child, only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica.' She said.

I asked "What?"

'It is your father's will. Before you descend into the Underworld, you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence.' She told me.

"But…" I was sure this woman was my mother, or a vision of her, anyway. "Who how did you-"

There was so much I wanted to ask, the words jammed up in my throat.

'I cannot stay, brave one.' the woman said. She reached out, and I felt the current brush my face like a caress. 'You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, do not trust the gifts…'

Her voice faded.

"Gifts?" I asked. "What gifts? Wait!"

She made one more attempt to speak, but the sound was gone. Her image melted away. If it was my mother, I had lost her again.

I felt like drowning myself. The only problem: I was immune to drowning.

'Your father believes in you.' she had said.

She had also called me brave… unless she was talking to the catfish…

I waded through the muck towards Riptide and grabbed it by the hilt.

The mortal police would be arriving, trying to figure out who had blown a hole in the Arch. If they found me, they would have some questions.

I capped my sword, stuck the ballpoint pen in my pocket. "Thank you, Father," I said again to the dark water.

Then I kicked up through the muck and swam for the surface.

I came ashore next to a floating McDonald's.

A block away, every emergency vehicle in St Louis was surrounding the Arch. Police helicopters circled overhead. The crowd of onlookers reminded me of Times Square on New Year's Eve.

A little girl said, "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."

"That is nice, dear," her mother said, craning her neck to watch the ambulances.

"But he is dry!" the daughter said pointing at me.

The mother said "That is nice, dear."

A news lady was talking for the camera: "This is most likely terrorist attack, we are told, but it is still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We are trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of someone falling from the Arch."

Survivors. I felt a surge of relief. Maybe the park ranger and that family made it out safely. But I thought gloomily 'no thanks to me…'

I hoped Annabeth, Grover and Peter were okay.

I tried to push through the crowd to see what was going on inside the police line.

"… an adolescent boy," another reporter was saying. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that is what we are hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities…"

I backed away, trying to keep my head down. I had to go a long way around the police perimeter.

Uniformed officers and news reporters were everywhere.

I had almost lost hope of ever finding Annabeth and Grover when a familiar voice bleated, "Perrrcy!"

I turned and got tackled by Grover's bear hug or... erm goat hug. He said, "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"

I looked around for Peter, I heard a voice in my head that sound similar to Peter, but a little deeper and older sounding "I am going to be busy, keep them safe. I will catch up with you guys as soon as I can."

Annabeth stood behind Grover, trying to look angry, but even she seemed relieved to see me. 'We can't leave you two alone for five minutes! What happened?"

I half lied "I sort of fell?"

"Percy! Two hundred meters?" Annabeth exclaimed.

Behind us, a cop shouted, "Gangway!" The crowd parted, and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher. I recognized her immediately as the mother of the little boy who had been on the observation deck. She was saying, "And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua-"

"Okay, ma'am," the paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."

"I am not crazy! A boy jumped out of the hole and the other boy killed the monster with his bare hands then monster disappeared!" Then she saw me. "There he is! That is the boy who jumped!"

I turned quickly and pulled Annabeth and Grover after me. We disappeared into the crowd.

"What is going on?" Annabeth demanded. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator? And where is Peter?"

I told them the whole story of the Chimera, Echidna, my high dive act, the underwater lady's message and Peter's message.

"Whoa," said Grover. "We have to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad!"

Before Annabeth could respond, we passed another reporter doing a news break, and I almost froze in my tracks when he said, "Percy Jackson. That is right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by the authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boy is believed to be travelling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."

We ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley.

"First things first," I told Grover. "We have got to get out of town!"

Somehow, we made it back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted. We got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St Louis skyline behind us.

I was wondering what Peter was doing….

(Line Break)

(Peter's Point of View)

We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain.

We were not attacked once, but we did not relax. I felt like we were being watched from above and from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity to strike when our guard was the lowest.

.

Percy tried to keep a low profile because his name and picture were splattered over the front pages of several East Coast newspapers. The Trenton Register News showed a photo taken by a tourist as he got off the Greyhound bus. His had a wild look in eyes. His sword was a metallic blur in his hands. It might have been a metal baseball bat or maybe a crowbar.

The picture's caption read:

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 travelling with two teenage accomplices. His stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to his capture.

I sighed because I knew Percy did not like the limelight and because this was the last thing we need, not only do we have to keep an eye out for monsters, but also mortal police! There is only so much the Mist can do!

While I was sitting in the caboose I saw a group of centaurs running across a wheat field, with their bows at the ready, as they hunted lunch. A little boy centaur, which was about the size of a second grader on a pony, caught my eye I gave him a gentle wave which he happily return.

I saw the Nemean lion, in its golden glory. It was running like a golden arrow shot from the bow of Apollo. The powerful lion was the size of a tank. It was there once second and the next second it was gone.

Of course, when there is one monster, there are usually more.

But to my surprise, there was nothing, but I had a sinking feeling in my gut, that something bad was going to happen. It only got stronger the closer we got to Denver.

The train pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we had have a three hour stopover before departing for Denver.

I quickly found the gang, I got there just in time to overhear them talking about the chariot.

Annabeth said "Come on, time for sightseeing!"

Percy asked "Sightseeing?"

"The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?"

Grover, Percy and I exchanged looks.

I and said "I could go for a stroll. Besides I do not mind the high places."

Grover shrugged. "As long as there is a snack bar without monsters."

I chuckled when Grover said that because I had a brief memory lapse of a time yet to be 'the dam snack bar'. I am sure they thought I was crazy (wait…. I am).

Percy said with a sigh "I am not staying behind alone! I guess to the arch we go!"

The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in were not that long.

We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other artifacts from the 1800s.

Annabeth seemed to love the history, I guess she cannot help but to love knowledge. She kept telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built.

Grover kept passing Percy blue jelly beans, so I guess he was tolerating it ok.

Percy was extremely and was looking around as if anyone of these mortals would kill him at any second. He leaned towards Grover and murmured "You smell anything?"

Grover took his nose out of the jelly bean bag long enough to sniff.

"Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably does not mean anything."

I had a bad feeling about this, I sensed a very sudden danger, but I could not let the others know otherwise I would cause a panic. I tried to hide it, but once Percy and I shared eye contact I knew he also felt it. He felt something was wrong, very wrong.

Percy asked "Guys, you know the gods' symbols of power?"

Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah why?"

Percy began "Well, Hade-"

Grover cleared his throat. "We are in a public place… You mean, our friend downstairs?"

I rolled my eyes because I knew people use 'Hades' as a cuss word, at least demigod did anyway. So what is the difference between saying it in a sentence or using it as a swear word? Not much to me!.

"Um, right…." Percy said. "Our friend way downstairs. I thought he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that is his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there? I thought he was not allowed on Olympus!" Percy exclaimed.

She nodded. "The winter solstice the only time he is allowed to visit Olympus the darkest day of the year. But his helmet is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat, if what I have heard is even half true…'"

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

I snorted and said "People fear the unknown, not always the darkness."

We looked at him and Grover murmured "True…"

"But then… how do we know he is not here right now, watching us?" Percy asked.

Annabeth, Grover and Peter exchanged looks.

"We do not know." Grover said with fear in his voice and dread coming into his eyes.

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," Percy said. '"Got any blue jelly beans left?"

I knew Percy would hate confined places. The sea does not like to be contained!

Me? Well spider tends to enjoy cozy places, that and I am not truly a son of the sea. True I am untamable and wild. It is true I am unpredictable and can be violent just like the sea and weather.

We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I had a bad feeling about that dog!"

We started going up, inside the Arch. I could tell Percy was not feeling too well, he was turning a bit green.

"No parents?" the fat lady asked us.

She had beady eyes; pointy, brown teeth that looked like coffee stains; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much she looked like a blue jean blimp.

"They are below," Annabeth told her. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings." The fat lady said.

The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave."The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.

Percy asked, "Sonny. Is that his name?"

"No," the lady told Percy. She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.

I shot them a glare that made them flinch. Annabeth elbowed me in the ribs, forcing the air out of my lungs. I then gave a glare at Annabeth, she paled. I said coolly "I would not touch me again if I were you Miss Chase." I had a sick feeling that these two were monsters. Danger powerful monsters at that! Yet Annabeth dared question my instincts? My instinct is what saved their butts not long ago! My instincts have yet to be proven wrong!

The rest of the ride was in silence, the tension in the cramped elevator.

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a cylinder with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other.

The view was pretty good. I could easily over look the city, but I could tell Percy hated the confined space; it is a confined space two hundred meters in the air. Percy was ready to go pretty quick. I was ready to leave with him.

Annabeth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would have made the windows bigger, and designed a see through floor. She probably could have stayed up there for hours, but luckily for me the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.

Percy steered Grover and Annabeth towards the exit, loaded them into the elevator and I was about to get in himself when he realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for Percy and me.

The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."

"We will get out," Annabeth said. "We can wait with you guys."

Percy said, "Naw, it is okay. We will see you guys at the bottom."

Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.

Now the only people left on the observation deck were Percy and I, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.

Percy smiled at the old fat lady, who smelt like serpents.

The fat lady smiled back and a fork tongue flickered in and out. I noticed Percy saw this by his shocked and stunned reaction.

The jumped down and started yapping at Percy and me.

"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."

"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!"

His parents pulled him back.

The Chihuahua bore his teeth at Percy, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."

Percy asked . "Um, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"

"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It is an easy mistake to make."

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green.

When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.

I snarled and said "Echidna!"

The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Dobermann, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.

The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back towards the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.

The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof.

It had the head of a lion with a blood caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a three meter long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA RABID, FIRE BREATHING, POISONOUS IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS EXT. 954.

Percy was so shocked he had yet to uncap Riptide!

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "You two should honoured, Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

I rolled my eyes at her dramatics. To be honest I was in no mood to fight with the innocent people around. If I can, I will try to do damage control and protect the people.

Percy said one of the worst things to say to her, unless you wanted to make her angry "Is that not that a kind of anteater?"

I face palmed at him, as I pulled yanked the chain necklace off my neck and the chains and it grew to nine feet long, I had about four feet in each hand, with about a foot of chain between them.

She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green 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!"

I said with a shrug "Well you do hail from the land down under." I then growled and said "A place where you will return!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing at Percy. I managed to shove Percy aside and deflect the bite myself.

Percy ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.

Percy uncapped my sword, ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!"

The Chimera turned far faster than Percy expected.

I remembered something… fire… oops.

I opened my mouth to watch its breath, but of course he was already going on attack.

Percy began to could swing his sword; it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at him.

Percy dived through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it seared off his eyebrows. The smell of burnt hair filled the hair.

Where Percy had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.

Percy went to swing his sword at the Chimera, of course he was going to try to cut off its head, and the problem with that is that stupid dog collar, Riptide bounced harmlessly off. That forced him off balance.

I really wanted to help him, but I needed to keep the people safe.

I forgot about the tail until it latched itself on Percy's calf. Percy tried to into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around his ankles and pulled him off balance, and his blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down towards the Mississippi River.

I completely lost my temper. I knew one thing, and only one thing. DESTROY!

With a roar of sheer rage I electrified the chains, they crackled with electricity. I whipped it around my head, before I cracked it like a whip at the Chimera.

Once it wrapped around the monster, I set the chain on fire, not just any fire, but Greek Fire. The green flames were scorching and warping the metal around the monster.

The Chimera tried to escape but I brought the other end of the chain down on top if its head. It stopped struggling. I threw my silver dagger straight into the monster's head, the blade went all the way to its hilt into the monster's head head, causing him to turn to dust.

Percy got to his feet, but he was weaponless. He was green and sick and weak from the poison in his body. He backed up into the whole in the wall.

The snake lady, Echidna, went white from fear. Because I was ANGRY! My rage was only controlled by the mortals who were in the danger zone.

"If you are the sons of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline." Echidna continued "You have no faith. You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."

I snarled and said "You are correct I trust no one, notanybody. I know the Olympians are faithless, but that is not why I am fighting. I am fighting for friends, for family. I am fighting for those who cannot fight themselves. Go back to the Pit from whence you came!"

"Die, faithless one!" Echidna rasped.

"Father, help me," Percy prayed. With that he jumped down into the filthy water of the mighty Mississippi River.

I pulled out my blades in anger. I threw the dagger full force, Echidna was just able to dodge it herself. I knew she was practically defenseless without her attack dog (pun intended).

I charged with only my silver knife.

She tried to s***h my face, key word there tried I raised my knife and she cut her own hand off. I threw the knife straight into her throat killing her instantly.

I looked at the shocked mortals.

I used the most powerful Mist manipulation I could muster.

I said to them "This was a terrorist attack; the fat lady was a suicide bomber. Percy Jackson was NOT here, you only saw me.

The mortals had a glazed looked in their eye and they repeated what I said.

I used it again, this time far more wide spread, where it would affect most everyone within the next 400 meters (or a quarter mile)

I knew I had to do something I hated, I would have to talk to some of the reports and do a interview or two. At least I could by Percy and the gang some time.

(Line Break)

(Peter's Point of View)

I acted weak, tired, and hurt. Actually no I was not acting. I just was not hiding behind my usual faade. I was not masquerading around with a plastic, stoic face.

The paramedics hooked me up to an IV and began to run tests on me. Reporters flooded to me. Truth be told, I was more nervous now than when I was during all of the fights I have gotten into over the past couple of days!

A reporter shoved a microphone in my face and asked "What exactly happened up there?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but a female reporter asked "Do you have any friends? Any family?

I coughed, a rough, coarse cough that actually hurt. I said in a hoarse voice "A large, old lady was up there one second, and the next second she was gone and there was a hole…" I acted as if I was going into shock.

The reporters started to swarm, but the paramedics pushed them back and said "That is all for today!"

I called in a raspy voice "Wait!"

They turned to me and a mic was pushed into my face. I said "The lady said something about another plot involving kidnapping children, and using them as weapons." With that I faked a black out.

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Well here is another chapter.

The story is actually coming along a little smoother than I expected (I hope I did not jinx it).

Please leave a review and or PM me if you have any ideas or suggestions.

Death Fury out!