"Don't be stupid." That was the one rule they had. That was the one rule they ever had to follow.

But unfortunately for everyone involved, Percy was never, ever one to follow rules. And when he turned around and saw Aurora was just gone, disappeared into thin air, he couldn't really tell what was stupid or not anymore.

He also couldn't shake the expression on Aurora's face when she saw the di Angelos, or the way her whispery voice cracked when she choked out an "Oh my gods," or the way her hands felt resting behind his neck—gods, were they really just dancing? Percy's hands around her waist, Aurora's arms around him... and that thought was definitely not the priority.

He knew Aurora had run after Nico and Bianca di Angelo. He knew it. So he did the only logical thing, and ran after her.

(I mean, if she was allowed to break the rule and be stupid, couldn't he as well?)

Uncapping Riptide, Percy allowed the warm, golden light subtly cast by the blade lead him through a door and down a corridor. However, when he got to the other end, there was no one there. He opened a door, and wound up back in the main entry hall, completely turned around. He didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there, on the opposite side of the room, were the di Angelos.

Percy let out a slight exhale, and almost felt relieved for a moment, until he noticed their horror struck expressions and frozen state. Advancing slowly, Percy lowered the tip of his sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

They didn't answer, staring blankly at him with terror in their identical brown eyes. Percy didn't think he looked scary, but then again, to young kids who just found out they were demigods, a random teenager holding a sword wasn't exactly a good look, was it?

"My name's Percy," He continued, trying to keep his voice level and patient as he attempted for an explanation. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

Bianca's eyes widened, her fists clenching. Only too late did Percy realize what her look meant; it wasn't fear. (Let's be honest, was he surprised that it wasn't fear? No.) She was trying to warn him.

Percy whirled around, and before he could fully process what was happening, pain exploded in his shoulder. A force, similar to a humongous hand, yanked him backward, slammed him to the wall.

Percy attempted to slash Riptide, but there was nothing to hit.

A cold laugh echoed through the hall. "Yes, Perseus Jackson," Dr. Thorn sneered, his accent mangling the J in his last name. "I know who you are."

Percy tried to free his shoulder. His coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of his shoulder as it passed through his clothes, and the cut burned. It burned bad.

Percy had felt something like this before. A couple summers back. And though it was delivered through a different culprit—a scorpion—he knew what it was: poison.

Percy forced himself to concentrate. I am not passing out. He chastised himself, blinking hard before refocusing his vision. That's so embarrassing if I do. Plus, I still need to help Aurora and Annabeth and Thalia and Grover. Yeah. Not passing out.

A dark silhouette now moved toward them, and Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of Riptide.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym," the monster said slowly, his words warping as his accent thickened. "I hate middle school dances."

"I do too," Percy snorted out weakly, trying to swing his sword again, but he was just out of reach. A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives. 

"Who the fuck are you?" He shot out, trying to hide his wince as the second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall. Bianca yelped, and just then did Percy realize that it had landed a mere half an inch from her face.

Maybe it was time to shut up. In Percy's refined experience, talking back never ended well.

"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn instructed forcibly. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."

ೀ⋆｡🌷

What a fucking idiot.

Aurora had run off too, but at least she had a plan. 

Or, really, concepts of a plan, but it didn't really matter. Catching Annabeth in the crossfire, Aurora quickly whispered jumbled up phrases that managed to form a coherent explanation, and the blonde handed the daughter of Perspehone her Yankees camp and sprinted off to find Grover and Thalia.

Being invisible had never felt more fun. She could make as many faces as she wanted to toward that insufferable French monster Dr. Thorn without him seeing. But she couldn't even appreciate it, because every time she looked at Nico and Bianca, she felt like scrapping her mental plan and simply murdering him right then and there.

Her heart physically hurt when she watched Bianca look at Nico, as if she was looking into a reflection of Aurora herself nine years ago.

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. She tried to put up a brave face, but her puffed up chest and lips pressed into a thin line was simply a false persona, one that would deplete as quickly as she managed to bring it up. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I..." Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

Aurora swallowed thickly, biting the inside of her cheek. She felt as though she was being held underwater, her head feeling like it was miles away from her body as her ears rang with the repetition of Bianca's last phrase. Gods, if she didn't keep them together... 

Okay, yes, her devotion to those two siblings was simply because she had met Nico two years ago, but it was also because of the amount of fallen families she'd had to face within the past couple years. If she had any power whatsoever, she would keep the two together.

"Aww," Dr. Thorn cooed, rolling his multi-colored eyes in a way that made her unbelievably angry. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

"Luke," Percy spat, and Aurora couldn't help but wince. "You work for Luke."

She too had thought the same. Knowing that she had secrets from Percy, especially regarding their former friend turned enemy, put a sour taste in her mouth, but oddly enough, Dr. Thorn's expression matched Aurora's own distaste.

"You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."

"The General?" Percy asked, repeating the word with an idiotic French accent that made him sound like a complete dumbass. Aurora loved the French language, just not on Percy. "I mean... who's the General?"

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation." Percy turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. A helicopter, its blades chopping vigorously, only a little spec in the moonlight. However, it was nearing them at an alarming speed, and Percy did not want to stay there long enough to see who was manning the aero machine.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said, his voice small yet curious. But Aurora couldn't help but admire his courage, the little boy speaking out against this very obvious monster.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—" Nico started, his eyes darkening as he clenched his fists around his Mythomagic figurines. Aurora tried to smother her smile of pride, the little boy she adored all those years ago standing up for himself against a monster making her feel wistful and somehow like an older sister, though she truly had zero siblings, yet she remembered she was invisible and beamed fully.

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well... there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" Percy asked. Although Aurora didn't know if it was intentional, she appreciated the fact that he kept Dr. Thorn talking. It was helpful, and maybe he was being slightly smart!

However, when the son of Poseidon leaned towards Bianca and whispered something that looked like "jumping off the cliff into the sea," Aurora knew she had to step in. Just because it worked with her off of the Gateway Arch did not mean they had to relive the situation.

And luckily enough, it was right before reinforcements arrived.

Aurora unsheathed Oleander, twisting the ring so that it formed a bow rather than a sword, the silver and nyx of the Stygian iron glistening underneath the moonlight. Grinning, she knocked an arrow and released, piercing Dr. Thorn directly behind his ear.

The arrow did nothing except act as a distraction, and Aurora knew it. Her arrows were simply that: arrows, mini pointy spears infused with metals that could kill monsters, but not this one. She had nothing but the pure intention of being a distraction. With an outraged roar, Dr. Thorn turned around, appalled and enraged to see nobody there. That allowed the perfect allocation of time for Percy, Bianca, and Nico to scurry to the side and Grover, Annabeth, and Thalia to advance from behind.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!" Immediately, everyone assumed Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. However, the attacks did nothing. Instead, it seemed to provoke him, as his hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia's shield modeled after the one her father used with the head of Medusa molded into the bronze, Thalia would've been sliced in half. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time Percy could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpion like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down. In this action, Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him. Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

Aurora snatched off Annabeth's Cap of Invisibility, tossing it to the daughter of Athena in a swift motion and running over to Percy, Bianca, and Nico.

"Is everyone okay?" The daughter of Persephone asked hastily, her hazel eyes darting over Percy in a quick once over to ensure his health before directing her attention to the di Angelos.

"Rora?" Nico's voice was quiet, but he murmured her name in a quick, awestruck breath.

However, Bianca, who didn't know any of them, went straight with the logical question. "Who are you people?" she demanded. "And what is that? Nico, how do you know them?"

"A manticore," Annabeth explained plain and simply, unsheathing her dagger.

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. Like most demigods, Nico most likely had ADHD, and he seemed to forget the fact that the very same monster he was shocked by was the one who had just tried to kill him. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five saving throws!"

Percy didn't know what he was talking about, but he didn't have time to worry about it. He also didn't know how the kid knew Aurora, of all people, but that was also a question for later.

The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward them with a snarl.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, Percy remembered his own shield. He hit his wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. And not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal.

After a thwack and a yelp, Grover landed next to the five demigods with a thud.

"Hey, Grover!" Aurora greeted the satyr calmly. 

He simply stared at her like she'd grown two heads. "Why are you so normal right now?" Grover screeched, and Aurora had to admit, that was the first time anyone had ever asked that. So, in response, she duly shrugged and dusted snow off of his jacket shoulders.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, they thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" Percy ran out to help her, parrying away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. Percy raised his shield over them, but he knew it wouldn't be enough.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

Aurora was the last one to give up, but the situation did seem pretty dire. However, as a clear piercing sound rang through the woods, her lips stretched into a smile, and she knew they would be okay. It wasn't just any horn, no. It was the call of a hunting horn.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn mumbled to himself. "It cannot be—"

"Yay," Aurora whispered giddily. Percy stared at her similarly to how Grover had earlier, mentally asking if she had gone insane. But before Percy could ask her, What the fuck?, the explanation came shortly with a grand entrance.

The monster's sentence was cut short when something shot past them like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder, causing him to stagger backward, wailing in agony. "Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply.

It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but Percy's eyes must've been playing tricks on him. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, or even Aurora, could shoot with that much accuracy. However, the strawberry blonde seemed to know exactly what was happening, and she stood with tranquil reverence.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with his sword—like an idiot—but he wasn't as injured as he looked. Dr. Thorn dodged Percy's attack with embarrassing ease and slammed his tail into his shield, knocking the demigod aside.

Then, the archers came out from the woods. All girls, all wearing silvery ski parkas, all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to Percy, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

Aurora scowled. "Hey," she protested. "Watch it, Grace."

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. Aurora recognized her as an old time friend, but in Percy's perspective, he was completely and utterly lost. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

The monster wailed childishly. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than them, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. And like the idiot he was, Percy also did not know who she was. But he didn't miss how Aurora gravitated towards this girl as she stepped out of the shadows, or how the girl looked at Aurora with an unreadable twinkle in her eyes. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast."

She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoë, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!" He lunged at Thalia and Percy, knowing they were weak and dazed. Aurora spread her arms out to protect Nico and Bianca, while Annabeth yelled a loud, "No!" and charged at the manticore.

"Get back, half-blood!" Zoë, the girl with the circlet ordered. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.

"Gods, what is she doing?" Thalia asked in a daze, concern seeping into her usual air of nonchalance and uncaring.

"Fire!" Zoë ordered, ignoring Annabeth's act of bravery.

"Zoë, don't—" Aurora tried, but the hunters didn't listen to Aurora, and instead let their arrows flay. The first caught the manticore in the neck, another hitting his chest.

The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Annabeth!" Aurora screeched, starting to run toward her, but the girl with auburn hair held her hand out. And for a reason unbeknownst to Percy, she halted in her steps. "Please," the daughter of Persephone begged quietly, reaching for the girl's hand. Surprisingly, the girl accepted Aurora's touch, but did not even spare a glance at her as she shook her head firmly, pointing towards the rest of the group for her group of Hunters to tend to.

Ignoring Aurora's state of being absolutely and utterly distraught, the Hunters advanced on them. The one called Zoë stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she spat with distaste.

"Zoë Nightshade." Thalia replied with the same bitter, hostile tone, her voice trembling with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoë scanned the rest of them, her look of repugnance never fading. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady. Your girl is here in addition, as you have seen."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

"Annabeth!" Percy protested, glancing quickly at Aurora's purely stricken face. She didn't take orders from