Part I: The Sky (Valerius)
The Chimera didn't wait for a bell to ring. It lunged.
It was a chaotic mess of claws, hooves, and fire. The lion head roared, spewing a jet of flame that turned the metal wall behind me into slag.
I dove left. The heat singed my eyebrows.
No weapon, I reminded myself. Just hands.
The monster spun, its goat hooves clattering on the deck. The diamondback rattlesnake tail lashed out like a whip, aiming for my neck.
I saw it coming. My reflexes were red-lining.
I reached out and grabbed the snake right behind the head.
It hissed, its fangs dripping venom inches from my face. It was strong—muscle against muscle—but I squeezed.
"Hercules strangled snakes in his crib," I gritted out, my boots sliding on the melted carpet as I fought for traction. "You're just an oversized garden hose!"
The Chimera roared in annoyance. It tried to stomp me with its lion paws.
I didn't let go of the tail. I yanked.
I pulled hard enough to jerk the entire beast off balance. As it stumbled, I stepped in. I ducked under a swipe that would have taken my head off and drove my shoulder into its goat-flank.
Impact.
It felt like hitting a brick wall, but the wall moved. The Chimera grunted, skidding sideways.
"You dare touch my child!" Echidna shrieked from the corner. She threw a ball of fire at me.
I swatted it away with the back of my hand. My skin sizzled, but the adrenaline numbed the pain.
"Your child is ugly!" I yelled back.
The Chimera recovered. It reared up on its hind legs, towering over me, preparing to crush me.
This was it. The weight class difference.
But I had something it didn't. I had Physics.
I dropped low. I grabbed the Chimera's front right leg with one hand and its goat leg with the other.
I roared. A sound that tore at my throat.
I engaged every muscle fiber I had—legs, back, core. The veins in my neck bulged. The floor plates beneath my boots buckled under the pressure.
I lifted.
For a second, the monster looked confused. Its feet left the ground.
I had a three-ton mythological beast over my head. My knees shook. My spine felt like it was compressing into diamond.
"Going down?" I strained.
I spun. One rotation. Two. Gathering momentum.
I aimed for the hole in the wall where Percy had fallen.
"YEET!"
I released.
The Chimera flailed, claws scratching uselessly against the metal floor as it slid out the hole. It let out a confused yelp that faded rapidly as gravity took over.
I walked to the edge and looked down. A few seconds later...
SPLASH.
A massive plume of white water erupted next to where Percy had landed.
I turned back to Echidna. She was staring at me, mouth open.
"You..." she whispered. "You threw my baby."
"He needed a bath," I panted, wiping sweat from my eyes. "Now, are you leaving? Or do I have to find a window big enough for you?"
Sirens wailed from the stairwell. The mortals were coming.
Echidna snarled, dissolved into smoke, and vanished through the floor vents.
I was alone in a burning observation deck. My hammer lay in the corner. I grabbed it, strapping it to my back.
The door burst open. SWAT team guys with shields poured in.
"Freeze! Hands in the air!"
I looked at them. I looked at the 600-foot drop.
"Sorry, officers," I said, stepping onto the window ledge. "I'm taking the express exit."
I jumped.
The wind roared in my ears. The Mississippi River rushed up to meet me like a concrete slab.
This is going to hurt, I thought.
I hit the water.
Part II: The River (Percy)
(Minutes earlier)
Being underwater was... quiet.
I wasn't wet. I wasn't drowning. I was breathing.
I sat on the muddy bottom of the Mississippi, holding Riptide. A catfish the size of a Buick swam past me.
"Percy Jackson," a voice bubbled.
A woman made of water—a Nereid—floated before me. She gave me the pearls. She told me to go to Santa Monica. She told me to trust my heart.
"Your friend," she added, looking up toward the surface. "He is... loud."
"Val?" I asked. "Is he okay?"
"He just threw a monster on top of a barge," the Nereid said, sounding amused. "And now he is falling."
"Falling?!"
I kicked upward. I shot through the water like a torpedo.
I broke the surface just in time to see it.
A body plummeting from the Arch. It wasn't flailing. It was in a perfect, rigid pencil dive.
BOOM.
Valerius hit the water about fifty yards away. The impact sounded like a cannon shot.
"Val!" I yelled, swimming toward the impact zone.
The water churned. A hand broke the surface. Then a head.
Valerius gasped, spitting out river water. He looked dazed. His nose was bleeding, and he had a massive bruise forming on his forehead.
"Ow," he groaned, treading water. "Surface tension. It's a real thing."
"You jumped?!" I screamed. "You're not a water kid! You could have died!"
"Cops," Valerius coughed. "SWAT team. Had to bail."
He looked around. "Where's the goat-lion-thing?"
"I think it washed downstream," I said. "Are you broken?"
"Everything hurts," Valerius admitted. "But nothing's snapping. I'm durable."
We swam to the shore. Annabeth and Grover were waiting for us under the arch, hiding behind a tour bus.
When we dragged ourselves onto the mudbank, Annabeth looked like she was going to kill us both.
"You," she pointed at Percy. "Fell."
"You," she pointed at Valerius. "Jumped."
"Tactical retreat," I wheezed, lying on my back in the mud.
"You destroyed a national monument!" Annabeth hissed. "There is smoke pouring out of the Arch!"
"Chimera did it," I said.
Grover sniffed Valerius. "You smell like burnt hair and wet dog."
"Thanks, G-man," I groaned, sitting up. I checked my hammer case. It was waterlogged but intact.
"We need to move," Percy said, his voice serious. "I talked to a spirit down there. She gave us a deadline. And pearls."
"Great," I said, standing up and wringing out my jacket. "We have a plot coupon. Now, can we please get out of St. Louis before the National Guard shows up?"
We ran for the train station, leaving the smoking Arch behind us.
As we ran, I looked at Percy. He seemed different. calmer.
"So," I asked. "You breathe underwater?"
"Yeah," Percy said. "It was... cool. I felt powerful."
"Good," I grinned, though my ribs ached. "Because I'm done carrying this team. You're up next."