Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

Percy couldn't agree with him more, not only did Hades know about him now, but so did Zeus. The explosion of glass windows still rang in his ears. But Annabeth kept pulling them along, saying, "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

"All our things were back there," Percy reminded her.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—"

"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed? I may not like you very much, but that just would've been low."

"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."

"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover chimed in, "but fine."

"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.

Grover brayed mournfully, muttering about tin cans.

After a few minutes of sloshing around in the mud, Annabeth fell in line next to Percy. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave. And now I can't believe I just said that."

Percy chuckled. "I can't just leave my companions behind, can't I? Besides, you saved me from that hellhound."

"Because you helped me beat Clarisse. And technically I didn't save you from it. Chiron did. I just warned you to run which you didn't do because your stupid ass wants to prove you can be a hero or whatever."

Percy snorted. "That sounds weird. But still, I owe you twice for that, I guess. They were fur—"

"Don't say their name."

"Right. Sorry."

She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just, well...it would suck for you to die, obviously, but most importantly it would mean the quest was over."

"How considerate," Percy said sarcastically.

"Well, why else would I volunteer? This may be my only chance to see the real world. I haven't left since I was seven."

The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind, leaving them in almost total darkness

"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" he asked her.

"Are you deaf?"

Percy cocked his head. "I don't know. But you've told me once or twice."

She shook her head. "To answer your question, no. Only on short trips."

"At least we have something in common."

Annabeth made a face. "Ugh. No, actually. You just became a poxy prince. I ran away."

"Oh. Damn, that young?"

"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half Blood is my home." He was surprised by how much she was willing to open up, the words just rushed out of her mouth. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."

Annabeth sounded doubtful, but to Percy there was truth in what she'd said. "You're pretty good with that knife," he admitted.

"You think so?"

"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Kindly One is okay by me."

Percy couldn't really see, but he thought he might've finally made her smile.

. . .

They stopped by a small warehouse with stone statues.

"I smell monsters," Grover said nervously.

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

"As long as it isn't fish then I'm fine with it," Percy said. He couldn't believe he agreed with Annabeth on something.

. . .

They hadn't listened to Grover. And that had been the fatal mistake. Apparently the lady who had made them the delicious food was none other than Medusa. And she wanted to keep Percy as a statue.

Thwack!

Percy slashed.

The next thing he knew, a warm liquid oozed into his socks. Disgusting.

. . .

You're such a pretty prince. Do not be a pawn of the gods, my dear. You're better off as a statue.

Part of him knew Medusa had been right. He was angry at the gods for fighting over stupid shit and making heroes do all the dirty work. He was only doing it for his father, and even Poseidon wasn't spared. Percy knew that his father loved him in the end, but still. Why did Percy have to leave home and become his dad's lackey?

So he put Medusa's head in a box with a note that said: With best wishes, Percy.

"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent."

"I am impertinent."

. . .

In his dream, he stood by a pit so wide and completely black, that Percy had a feeling it was bottomless. There was something evil trying to rise over the abyss.

Little hero, an amused voice rasped. It sounded cold and ancient, and immediately Percy wanted to run far, far away. Why are you bringing Zeus that bolt? He has done nothing but leave you without a mother. Your father took you in, but it was only to save himself from his brothers' wrath.

He tightened his jaw. "Leave me alone." Spirits of the dead tugged at his clothes, but he pushed them away. "Who are you, anyway?"

You'll know soon enough. Then the voice paused, as if thinking about what to say next.

I will give you what you really need back. Your mother. Immortality. Help me rise, boy. Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!

One of the spirits rose above them all. An ethereal glow appeared out of the darkness. A woman stood with a baby in her arms. She smiled kindly at Percy, a smile that seemed familiar to him but at the same time so foreign. Suddenly her face contorted to a look of horror.

Go! She screamed. Wake!

Someone was shaking him.

His eyes flew open, daylight streaming in.

"Well," Annabeth said. "Sleeping Beauty awakes."

. . .

Traveling through land was crazy. There were so many ways to do it, and frankly, he much preferred swimming. But now, they were on a train to Los Angeles, apparently heading west. But the train didn't look like it was moving too much.

Annabeth said it had to do with physics and that they were moving fast, whatever that meant.

He fell asleep multiple times, and finally Annabeth plopped down next to Percy and questioned him about his dreams. Percy was so bothered by the voice from the pit that he told her about it.

"But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?" she inquired.

Percy shook his head, mystified.

Grover had reminded him of something similar the furies had said: "Where is it? Where?"

They were screwed if the master bolt hadn't been stolen by Hades.

"Percy, I don't care if the Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time, but Hades—"

"This time?" Percy asked. "You mean you've met them before?"

She looked away, her expression turning to stone. "Let's just say I have no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be making deals."

"If it were your dad, you wouldn't want to bring him back?"

Annabeth looked him dead in the eye. "That's easy. I'd leave him to rot."

. . .

They sat in comfortable silence, listening to Grove's snores. "I want to do something permanent like that," Annabeth said wistfully as she gazed at a huge arch thing completely dwarfing the buildings around it.

He laughed. "You? An architect?"

Any ice that had been thawing around them completely froze again. Her cheeks flushed. "Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention."

. . .

They jumped off the train at St. Louis, the place where the huge arch was. And now, after plummeting down said arch and into a dirty river, fighting Echidna and her ugly son and getting poisoned, saving some mortal family, and talking to Zali the sea nymph—Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were back on the train.

Denver, Colorado? Huh, there are so many cities.

. . .

The woman serving their booth plopped down a shiny piece of paper in front of Percy.

"We, um, want to order dinner," Percy said. He had never felt hungry in his life, and now all he wanted to do was eat the paper like Grover was doing.

"You kids have any money to pay for it?"

Grover's lip quivered while Annabeth looked ready to pass out.

A rumble distracted the woman from questioning them again. A large machine pulled up to the curb. The huge man riding it stepped out and entered the place.

Ding.

All conversation stopped. The man was muscular, with a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster. A knife was strapped to his thigh. The man had the cruelest, most brutal face Percy had ever seen, but it somehow looked familiar.

The man said, "It's on me." He slid into their booth, crowding Annabeth against the window.

. . .

"So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?" He grinned at Percy. "Everyone's talking about you. They can't believe Barnacle Beard hid you away this whole time. Zeus didn't take it very well."

Percy should've been surprised, or scared, but instead he felt himself wanting to strangle the guy.

Keep a hold of your temper, Eldoris' voice whispered in his head.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Shut up.

"What's it to you?"

Annabeth's eyes flashed Percy a warning. "Percy, this is—"

"S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

Suddenly it clicked why he seemed so familiar to Percy. The man looked like Clarisse. "You're Ares, god of war."

The lady came back with heaps of food. Right away, they dug in.

"That's right. I'm here to help you out, ya know? But first...I need a favor."

. . .

The sun was sinking behind the mountains by the time they found the water park. Percy didn't know what he'd expected to find in a place called a "park," but this was not it. The letters from the sign were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D.

The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry slides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty holes in the ground. The place looked outright abandoned.

"Wonder why he'd take Aphrodite to this hellhole," Percy muttered.

After a couple of minutes of searching in the abandoned park, they'd found Ares' shield in a deep hole with mirrors all around it. The sign read Thrill Ride O' Love.

"Grover, I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."

Grover puffed up his chest a little. "Sure. But what could go wrong?"

"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me—"

"Are you kidding?" She looked at Percy as if he'd just told her Nereus smelled nice. Her cheeks were bright red.

"What's the problem now?" he demanded.

"Me, go with you to the...the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"

Annabeth sounded ridiculous. "Who's going to see you?" But Percy's face was flushed too, for some reason.

Girls are so complicated. Athena girls are worse.

"Fine," he sniffed. "I'll do it myself." But soon enough, she was following Percy down the hole, muttering about how boys always messed things up.

They reached the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf.

. . .

It's a trap.

Too late, as they tried to climb out, metallic spiders came out of the mirrors.

Annabeth screamed with terror. "Spiders! Sp-sp-aaaah!"

Percy had never seen her so helpless. He quickly dragged her into the boat.

The speakers started a countdown, most likely for them to get broadcasted and look like fools. He groaned internally. Of course Hephaestus would do this.

Now the spiders were spitting thread, and after futile attempts from Grover to get them out, Percy knew they'd be seen on Olympus anyway. Great.

Think , he thought. Think.

Water.

He could feel it, and this place had most likely been covered with water when it wasn't abandoned. Percy felt the familiar tug on his gut, summoning the entire ocean, and—

Whoosh.

. . .

Annabeth and Percy were inside a tunnel now, going faster than he anticipated. Out of the rushing darkness, something darker loomed, and as they got closer, Percy could see it clearly: a dead end.

Annabeth was screaming her lungs out, cursing him and saying how crazy he was. The gods were probably having so much fun.

"Okay, shut up! We're going to jump on my mark!" Percy shouted.

"On your mark? You don't even know physics!"

"Fine! On your mark!"

Annabeth calmed down a bit and narrowed her eyes. "Okay, one...two...three!"

. . .

They jumped a little too far, but luckily Grover caught them. Percy turned back to the cameras, which were still trained at them.

"Show's over! Have a great day!" he yelled, flipping them off.

"Uh, Percy? Maybe we shouldn't do that," Grover warned.

Percy shrugged. "Eh, I don't care. They'll always say the same things about me."

"Which are?" Annabeth asked.

"That I'm just the bastard, mortal, and spoiled prince that Poseidon had no business in keeping. But everyone's too scared to say it to my dad's face. Anyway, we got the shield. Let's go."

They stared at Percy, dumbstruck, but still they nodded and followed.

Then.

The little boy could not sit still for the life of him. Already five years old and still Perseus wasn't able to fend on his own, forcing Triton to babysit the runt when the merman could easily be in lake Tritonis surrounded by beautiful people.

But the boy was missing. Again.

This job was going to be the death of him, and he wasn't even mortal, unlike his younger brother. Triton was set to find him, though. If Perseus got lost for too long...let's just say it would not end well for Triton.

After hours of searching and grumbling to himself, he found the boy. But he wasn't alone; that much, Triton could sense. Perseus was peering over a chasm that went deeper into the ocean, he had to get to him before it was too late, but something made him stay back.

" My brother says I can't have a pretty tail like yours."

"And why would that be, little prince?" an amused voice replied from the depths. It sounded familiar, but Triton couldn't pinpoint why.

"Because daddy says I need to stay a boy."

"Oh, but little prince, I can give you a tail. It isn't so hard. If you join me and my brother someday, we'll gift you what is rightfully your own."

Who was this creature and why did he want his younger brother? He was most likely a god, and one of Poseidon's enemies at that. But before Triton showed himself, he wanted to know more.

Perseus cocked his head to the side. How innocent he was. "What d'you mean?"

"They are scared to make you a god like the rest of your family. Someday, you might not be loyal to them. Why should you be? You are safest here. With me," the voice assured. Triton could practically hear it smiling, knowing he was succeeding in lurking into the boy's head. Frankly, he'd heard enough.

Triton swam out of the shadows and snatched Perseus before the godling could blink. He peered into the abyss and what he saw made him catch his breath.

It was Oceanus.

"Well, well. Hello, Trumpeter. No time no see," said Oceanus. With what little light there was, he could still make out the crab horns and the long, navy blue tail.

"Great uncle," Triton snarled. "You and your horrid pet snake are not welcome here."

"So heartwarming to know you are still the snobs that feel superior to the first rulers of the sea."

Triton tensed as Perseus squirmed in his arms. "You have no power here, not anymore. I am the ruler of the depths. Not you."

The titan smirked. "Oh, but I will, once the youngling makes his choice." Oceanus' eyes fell on Perseus.

The boy turned to his older brother. "What choice, Tee-tee?"

Triton shook his head. "Nothing for you to worry about. Don't listen to that slime ball."

Oceanus grinned toothily. "He even calls you Tee-tee? How sweet. Come, my boy. Your sorry excuse of a brother has done nothing for you. What a life that awaits you if you only choose to come with me."

Triton knew that heroes could do anything, go anywhere. Oceanus knew this, too; he'd probably been speaking to Perseus for some time now. But Triton would not allow it, and it wasn't only because of The Great Prophecy. For some reason, he felt a surge of protectiveness.

"You stay the fuck away from my brother, you hear me? Like I said, there is nothing for you here."

The titan growled while his snake's eyes glowed green. "Come on, boy. We've talked about this. I can give you what others cannot."

Only Perseus was afraid of him now. He clutched Triton tighter and shook his head.

Oceanus sneered. "Very well." Then he looked at Triton and bared his teeth. "I have had enough of peacefulness. Someday, we shall have our revenge."

His eyes were the last to disappear. Still watching, still waiting.

Now.

A smelly cart with caged animals was not what Percy had in mind when Ares gave them transportation. At least he had a new backpack.

Annabeth and Percy sat in silence as Grover talked to animals in goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly.

After helping the animals out and promising to do more in the morning, Annabeth softly said, "Hey, I'm sorry for freaking out back there."

"It's fine."

"I just..." She shuddered. "I hate spiders."

"Because of the Arachne story, right?"

She nodded, but didn't elaborate. "Kinda owe you for that one."

"Grover saved us in the end, though. He did the flying."

He wasn't as asleep as he looked, because from the corner he mumbled, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"

Something was tugging at Percy's mind now. "Earlier in the day, when we IM'd camp, Luke told me you guys and him went way back. He assured me Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would be turned into a pine tree."

They were quiet for some time, but finally Grover spoke. "I should've told you from the beginning. That's why I needed to go on this quest, but if you knew, you'd never want me along," he said, voice trembling.

Percy's eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

Grover didn't seem ready to talk about it, so Annabeth rested her hand on his shoulder and took over. "When I told you about coming to camp, I said I wasn't alone. Athena had given me two companions. One was Luke, and the second was..." Her voice faltered. "Thalia, daughter of Zeus."

"Zeus broke the oath? Where is she, though?" Percy said, disbelieving.

Annabeth lowered her eyes. She recounted the story of her, Luke, and Thalia and how the daughter of Zeus had made her last stance on half blood hill to save the others, only to be turned into a pine tree by Zeus. Now, the boundary was protected thanks to her.

"I was supposed to escort Thalia back to camp," Grover sniffled. " Only her. We had to protect any children of the big three." He glanced at Percy apprehensively.