A few minutes later, Argus and I drove out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Argus and I sitting next to each other as if we were normal carpoolers.
If you gave us both baseball caps, I could almost imagine that a distant relative was taking me into the city for a Yankees game. We'd get some hot dogs, maybe one of those little souvenir hats, and he'd drop me right back home to my mom in time for us to eat some blue tacos. Wishful thinking.
I tried to distract myself by looking out the car window. After a week at Half-Blood Hill, funnily enough, it was the real world that seemed like a fantasy, not the world of demigods and monsters. I found myself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parent's car, every billboard and shopping mall.
These people just lived in peace. They had no idea that the gods existed; and no worries that a monster could come to find them and kill them. They just lived their sweet, boring lives, going to school and work. I had been one of them.
A few weeks ago, my only worry was passing my algebra test and trying not to get expelled. Now, I was going to travel to the Underworld and hopefully find a thief capable of stealing two symbols of power from the elder gods. I held back a sigh.
This was likely going to be the toughest thing I'd ever done, but if it meant getting my mother back, it was more than worth it. The both of us were long overdue for a few conversations. Traffic slowed us down in Queens.
By the time we got into Manhattan, it was midnight and starting to rain. Argus dropped me at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. I bet Gabe didn't even care about the fact that we were gone. He was probably just playing some more poker, eating dip as if we'd never even left. Maybe after all of this was over, I could go back and teach him a thing or two.
I was drawn out of my thoughts by a little nudge from Argus. He'd already unloaded my bags. A couple of minutes later, he made sure I got my bus ticket and then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch me as he pulled out of the parking lot. I shook my head and boarded the bus, tossing my bags into my inventory.
I had to bring a bag or two in case Chiron got suspicious— I didn't really want anyone finding out about the Game. I was just going to go to Jersey, catch a train, and then it would be smooth sailing to LA, where I was informed the Underworld was.
My plan?
Well, I had a feeling I'd meet the true thief along the way. I'd bet you anything he or she was looking to frame me for all of this, so I'd definitely meet them along the way, and they'd try to be my friend so that they could pin all of this mess on me.
Whoever they were, they were in cahoots with Luke. It didn't take much brainpower for me to figure out Luke had a hand in all of this, but I'd deal with him later.
I walked over to the back of the bus and settled in my seat, my detecting skill popping up, a red light blowing up my vision from outside of the bus.
I deactivated my sight, waiting patiently to see who would board, and not a moment after, an old lady boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse.
When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and my heart skipped a beat. It was Mrs. Dodds.
Older, more withered, but with the same, easily identifiable, and undeniably evil face. What the hell was a fury doing on this bus? I thought Hades was supposed to be on my side, for crying out loud!
Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise, they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds—they had the same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, and wrinkled velvet dresses. Three furies?
Di Immortales, this was turning into a rough situation. I was confident in my ability to take out one, maybe two, but the whole trio? Screw it, I'd do what I had to do in order to survive. They sat in front of me. Heart hammering, I leaned back in my seat.
[Gamer's Mind] seemed to kick in, dispelling some of the nervousness I'd felt just a few moments before. Not all of it, mind you, but enough of it that a small sense of confidence actually started burning in my gut.
"Are you going to try to kill me, or do you finally know what's going on?" I said casually, staring her down.
"Do not be a fool," She hissed back at me. Her black eyes stared at me balefully, like she wanted to do nothing more than rip my throat out. "I always knew what was going on. I merely wished to test you." Hey, look, I get it. If I got vaporized by a twelve-year-old who had no battle experience, I'd be pretty mad, too. I'd probably come up with some excuse like that. No judgment here.
"Your quest has been updated," Mrs. Dodds spat at me as if she could read my thoughts. She raised a wrinkled hand towards the front of the bus, pointing at a girl. "That girl, there. She's Aphrodite's child. She will accompany you on this quest."
"What? You're insane! This isn't a fun Spring break-type trip to Los Angeles!" Now it was my turn to hiss. Here I was, on a quest to save my mom, a quest where I'd likely encounter multiple gods, and they wanted me to bring a demigod who was barely even aware of her heritage with me. "I can't do that. Why do you even care? Lord Had —your boss doesn't particularly have connections with the girl's mother."
"Silence, insolent boy," The Fury on the left snarled at me. My slip-up seemed to piss them off, though it was hard to tell. They seemed pretty pissed off already. It was like their natural emotion. "While he normally does not, he was approached specifically by the girl's mother."
My eyebrows scrunched together for a moment. Did Aphrodite visit Hades? But…why? Why would she do that? Gods couldn't visit other gods' domains unless they were invited… but why would Aphrodite seek out Hades? Why would he allow her into his palace? I don't know much about Hades, but he isn't the type to do something like that unless he gets something out of it. I'm sure Aphrodite isn't dumb, either. She wouldn't go to Hades of all people unless she'd truly exhausted every other option she had. My brain started to hurt. Whatever was going on here, it was huge— and I was thrown smack dab in the middle of it. "I see now that your puny brain has begun to comprehend the gravity of the situation before you," Dodds taunted, revealing her yellow fangs.
"We were sent here to inform you of the change. You can do what you would like, but the goddess of love would not make a good enemy. Our lord recommends that you heed our warning."
"Yeah, yeah," I said, rubbing my chin in thought. I looked back up to ask the Furies a question, and they were already gone, disappearing as if they'd never been there in the first place. Great. Dodds was as useless as a Fury as she was as a math teacher. Actually, she was more useful was a Fury. Yeah, I definitely preferred her like this. As the bus came to a stop, I shuffled up with the people who were beginning to leave and sat down next to the girl.
She was a very beautiful girl. She had tanned skin, with chocolatebrown hair that was cut choppy and unevenly, and had thin strands braided down on the sides. In a sort of deliberate way, she looked like she was trying to make herself seem way uglier than she actually was. She looked at me, and her eyes seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope, going from brown to blue to green. I could tell she was prepared to be on the run for a while—she was dressed in a fleece snowboarding jacket, faded jeans, and hiking boots.
"Are you the one my mother said would find me?" She asked critically before I could even introduce myself. Her stare was sort of intense. I've been stared at quite a bit in my day, but hers was nothing to sneeze at. I frowned to myself as I noticed the bags under her eyes. I sneakily activated some of my powers from Hestia—mean, it might've been a bit ethically questionable to use my powers on someone unknowingly, but I couldn't have her falling asleep in the middle of a fight.
No offense to Aphrodite, but her daughter was already sort of a liability. I needed to boost our already flimsy chance of survival. I needed her to get her rest. "That's right," I answered, trying to keep my voice level and devoid of the negative emotions I was feeling. It wasn't her fault I had to drag her with me. Plus, I could tell it was starting to work. "I'm told you're coming to do my quest with me."
"Yep," She replied, yawning loudly.
I deactivated it.
The [MP] cost was starting to get a little too steep. Plus, it already kind of did the trick.
She blinked a few times as if she wasn't expecting to be tired. "I'm Piper. Piper McLean."
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Okay… Percy barely makes it out of camp before three freakin' Furies show up on a Greyhound bus Like, can the guy catch a break? And then—boom, you didn't see that coming—Piper's here way earlier than in canon! What do you guys think? Is she gonna be a help or a headache on this quest? Let me know in the comments, I'm curious what y'all are thinking.
Also, don't forget to hit me with a Power Stone—every one helps the story climb up. And remember, for every 300 stones, I'll drop a bonus chapter as thanks.
If you wanna go even further (and get early chapters + some extra goodies), my Patreon is always open. You guys are the reason I keep this rolling, so seriously, thank you
Next chapter's gonna be fun—Percy and Piper on the road bwith a suprise guest, buckle up.