Chapter III Hidden Worlds-Escaping-Pizza

Perseus sat on his dorm room floor, his back placed firmly against his door as he stared at the two beauties known as Annabeth Chase and Thalia Grace, both of whom were sitting across from him on his bed, waiting for his reaction.

The trio had made it to his dorm room safely and without being discovered after the events taking place in the gym had drawn the attention of the... 'Mortals'?

Perseus had been more than a little keyed up once they had come to a stop. How was it that he, a boy who had only just recently become something other than a midget, been able to move the earth as he had? Why had his math teacher, turned bat, wanted to kill him so badly? And finally, why was it that they, Mr. Brunner's 'nieces', seemed to find nothing shocking, amazing, or even out of the ordinary about what they had witnessed? These were just a few of the questions that he had 'asked' them and answer him they did.

Clearing his throat. he looked between the blonde girl who was looking back expectantly and the girl with a light scattering of freckles that seemed to be amused by him. "So, you're telling me that the Greek myths are very much real?" He knew that even though he believed them, he was more than likely wearing a look that said the opposite.

"Correct."

"Pretty much."

"And the both of you are children of... Gods?" Annabeth and Thalia nodded. "And so am I?" Again, nods answered him. "So you're telling me that all powerful beings run around getting and knocking others up?"

Thalia snorted, but didn't deny his words. "Yes, they tend to get distracted very easily." Annabeth had a look of disgust on her face.

"Haven't they ever heard of condoms... or pulling out?" Perseus asked seriously.

Thalia burst out in raucous laughter as her friend rolled her eyes at her childishness. "They see us, demi gods, as a gift to their mortal lovers," Annabeth informed him. From the tone of her voice Perseus could tell she didn't agree with the gods on that particular subject. "But more often than not, the child is seen as a burden and they suffer for the godly parent's indiscretion. It is very rare for demigods to have any semblance of a normal, let alone happy life."

Perseus didn't know what to say to that. While his life had never been normal, from trips around the world, to never wanting for anything that was within reason, he had always had a very good relationship with his mom and dad. Up until a year ago, the most he ever had to complain about was his height, and he was sure had there been any way for his mother or father to solve that problem they would have. He had always known that he was lucky, but only now did he realize just how lucky.

He left his musing to once again take in the appearance of his company. The feeling of acceptance and hunger he had experienced when he first saw them was back in full force. He had seen more than his fair share of pretty girls, hell, in the past few months he had even spent some very enjoyable one-on-one time with some of the better looking ones, but never before had members of the opposite sex effected him so. This puzzled him greatly and the only reason he could come up with for the strange feelings was that maybe it had something to do with their godly parent!

"If you don't mind me asking," Perseus said, getting questioning looks from the other two, "who are your parents - the god one? Aphrodite?"

An almost insulted look crossed Thalia's face, while Annabeth did look insulted and a little angry. "Gods no," Thalia groaned, wrinkling her nose. "What would give you that idea?"

Perseus' cheeks slightly tinged red as he glanced back-and-forth between Thalia and Annabeth. "Well, I just thought... I mean, with the way..." He stopped trying to talk and sighed, hating his own cowardice.

"Just look at the two of you," Perseus said, without hesitation this time. "You have to be the two most gorgeous girls I've ever met. It's only natural I would assume that the two of you were related to her!"

Annabeth shook her head at him, a small scowl on her lips as her cheeks tinted red, despite her best efforts to not show how his words had affected her. "No," she said sharply. "We are not daughters of Aphrodite. I am a daughter of Athena, Goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, useful arts, defense and battle strategy."

Thalia, whose face was still a pretty pink color, took this chance to tell about her own godly parent hoping to distract him from her blush. "My father is Zeus, God of honor, justice, lightning, and the skies."

"Nice," Perseus commented looking impressed. Thalia and Annabeth looked to be expecting something, what, he didn't know. "So, Athena huh?"

Annabeth and Thalia shared surprised looks. Both were impressed by the direction he was taking the conversation. Usually, when people first heard who their parents were, they would bombard Thalia with questions about her father.

"Yes," Annabeth said defensively, not used to people wanting to talk about the only parent who showed any sign of caring for her. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Perseus looked taken aback by the aggression in her voice. He decided that it would be best to tread carefully from here on out. "I meant no offense," he said, raising his hands calmingly. "I was just under the impression that Athena was a virgin Goddess. I'm guessing that a majority of what mortals teach is wrong if they can't get a goddess' maiden status right."

"Oh," she said, her surprise showing on her face. "Athena is a virgin goddess. And you'd be right about them being wrong about many things." Her shock gave way to a look that spoke of regret. "And - uh, sorry for snapping at you," she apologized sincerely.

Perseus looked at her as if she had grown a second head, before turning to look at Thalia who was wearing a knowing smile. "Um - I don't know how to tell you this Wise girl, but when a man and a women love each other very, very much, or they're both very drunk-"

Annabeth realized where he was going with the conversation, resulting in her blushing as she cut him off. "I know how children are created," she snapped, ignoring Thalia who was clutching her sides laughing at them. "Athena doesn't have children in the conventional way! She uses her mind to create her children, in the same way that she was brought into this world."

"Something tells me Zeus doesn't use the same method," Perseus said, turning to Thalia to see her sobering up at his words.

"No, he doesn't," Thalia scowled. Her father was a hot button issue for her; any time he was brought up it was like it would suck all of the fun out of the room for her.

Perseus seeing how Thalia acted at the mention of her father decided to change the subject to make things easier on her. "So where does 'uncle' Brunner and Grover fit in to all of this?" He couldn't help the disbelieving look that crossed his face as he spoke. There was no way they were related and he honestly felt a bit insulted that Mr. Brunner would think he would buy that they were.

"Well, you remember the camp we told you about?" Annabeth asked. He had just confirmed her suspicion that he hadn't bought them being related to Chiron. Getting a nod from the green eyed boy she pressed on. "Well first off, Mr. Brunner's name isn't Mr. Brunner. Nor is Grover who you think he is. They're..."

Perseus had sat back and listened to the girl for the better part of an hour as she had explained who his favorite teacher and best friend really were. He could honestly see why they had lied to him; it was not only to protect him, but to also make it easier to do so. However, even if all that was true it didn't change how betrayed he now felt. Was Mr. Brunner, or should he say Chiron so nice and understanding only because Perseus was a job for him? And what about his supposedly best friend Grover? Did he only hang out with him because he saw him as a way to get his searcher's license and nothing more?

Perseus let out a deep breath as he ran a hand through his hair, both signs of how tired he was. The day had thrown so much at him, from a sucktastic field trip; to learning his real father had more than likely not given two shits about his mother, and finally learning the truth about the people he was closest to outside his family. His nerves, to say the very least, were shot.

"I hope I don't come off sounding like an ass when I ask this," Perseus said, speaking for the first time since Annabeth had given him the run down on his favorite teacher and best friend. "But is it common for Satyrs and Centaurs to run around disguised as people with leg deformities? I really don't feel like being the guy who stares at those who are crippled, but I feel like I'll never be able to be in a room with someone on crutches or in a wheelchair again without expecting them to have a furry ass hidden somewhere!"

"Add smart ass to being a trouble maker," Thalia said laughing. "Sorry, but most satyrs do wear that type of disguise. It's the only way for them to get around unnoticed. Though it would be pretty funny to know what the mortals would see if he didn't hide his, as you say, 'furry ass'!"

Perseus and Thalia shared a laugh as Annabeth started muttering something about 'Big three children' and 'idiots'.

Perseus after calming down a bit decided to ask about something that had been worrying him since he had learned that the Greek gods and all that came with them were real. "I don't know if I should be worried about this or not, but seeing as you two know him and his kind better than anyone else I know, I'm hoping you can give me a straight answer."

"What would you like to know?" Annabeth asked, happy to bestow knowledge to someone.

"Well, in the Greek myths, they say that Satyrs were a bit... uh - aggressive in their sexual advances with women." As he spoke a look mixed with loathing and hopefulness crossed his handsome face. "Now I don't see Grover as being the type to do that sort of thing, but then again if you had told me he was a goat from the waist down a few days ago I would have taken you to a psych ward."

A look of understanding crossed both girls' faces. "First off, no, that is not true," Annabeth informed him, smiling lightly when he looked relieved. Most who knew of the old stories that mortals told, skipped over the supposedly dark history of the Greeks and focused solely on what they would gain from joining their world. To see someone, let alone a teenage boy, worrying about the safety of others gained him more than a few points in her book. "'Rape' doesn't mean today what it did back then. In these times it means a terrible, and tragic act has taken place against someone, but back in the time when Gods ruled openly, it meant 'to carry off'."

"Yes, it was common when a god, or satyr, was to 'carry off' a maiden, a child would result of it," she admitted, though how someone could do 'that' with a person who abducted them she would never know. "But more times than not, that was a result of the god, or satyr seducing the one they had kidnapped."

"Aphrodite is very vocal against such acts," Thalia put in, with a deep respect in her voice for the woman who she didn't otherwise agree with on many a view. "And while most of the gods and goddesses are against it, the only other two that I know of that take as strong a view as she does against such acts, are Athena and Artemis."

"That's good to know," Perseus sighed, his relief showing on his face, before a serious look showed up taking its place. "I was half expecting to walk into a world full of rapists," he said, shaking his head.

A deep silence fell between the three as they didn't know where to go from there. What could one say after having talked about such a heavy subject, especially when those discussing it were barely teenagers? When the quiet of the room was finally broken, it was done so by Perseus.

"So where are my two 'protectors' at any way," he asked sarcastically, a dark smirk playing on his lips. "By the way, I didn't say it before, but thank you both for saving me back there. I would have been heartbroken had something happened to my favorite person." His smirk turning into a cheeky smile as he spoke.

Thalia returned his smile with an equally cheeky one of her own. "Yeah, that would have just been tragic!"

"Now why does it feel like you don't mean that," he asked her with a fake pout that made both girls giggle.

"I didn't really do anything, but from how things turned out it didn't look like you needed our help in the end anyway," Annabeth mused, as she eyed him once more. "Chiron had to go back to camp, and asked Grover to go with him. Knowing you may need protecting, he asked Thalia and me to watch over you while they were away."

Perseus thought about that. From what the girls had told him, once you became aware that monsters actually existed, the more they would be attracted to you. If this was in fact the case then it was likely that once school ended he would be forced to go straight to camp half blood, if they didn't make him go right away. Meaning he wouldn't get a chance to see his mother and father for who knew how long of a time. Maybe if he was lucky, he could get these two to keep what had taken place a secret!

"From what I've gathered, when Chiron finds out about this he's probably going to ship me off to camp right away," Perseus pondered aloud, getting looks from them that told him he wasn't wrong. "And like you've said, I won't be able to see my mom and dad for a while."

"That's true," Annabeth agreed slowly, trying to figure out where he was trying to go with the conversation.

"I was wondering if it would be alright to keep what's happened today a secret." Perseus had hoped that he could persuade them, but that hope died as soon as he saw the look of rejection on both their faces.

"Sorry, but that's not happening," Thalia said apologetically. "Don't get us wrong, if it was as simple as lying it wouldn't be problem. It's just that now that you're aware of them, the monsters will be coming with a greater resolve than before."

"From what Chiron and Grover have told us," Annabeth cut in, "they're already having a hard time protecting you with you sitting still in one place. And while it won't happen right away, monsters will start coming after you faster than before. You only have a week of school left and I doubt by the end of that time you'll be able to walk down the street without some kind of trouble popping up."

"Is it normal for demigods to be this hunted?" Perseus questioned, it seemed to him that having one of the Furies after you made you a big target. "Or am I just being dramatic, when I say that I feel like the walls are closing in on me?"

"Dramatic," Thalia quipped, smiling to let him know she was just joking. "The reason we think the monsters want you so badly is that we think you're a child of one of the big three!"

Perseus was shocked to hear this. He had figured out his powers, if anything to go by from his earlier display, would be stronger than the norm for a demi god, but to be a child to one of the more powerful gods was something he would have never expected.

Scrunching his face up in confusion, he attempted to speak a few times as he tried to remember what they had said earlier about the ban on the big three having children. "I thought you said they made a vow to keep from siring any more children with mortals..." Then it hit him, if they had in fact followed the vow then that would have meant that Thalia wouldn't be in front of him now sitting cross legged on his bed. Looking her in the eye he could see that she knew what he had just figured out. "And I'm guessing that a vow between them is about as meaningful as a pinky promise to a convict!"

"That's putting it lightly," Thalia affirmed, looking sour about the whole thing.

"Since I was able to cause an earthquake, I'm guessing Zeus isn't my biological father," Perseus said sounding relieved. Annabeth gave him a questioning look, while Thalia just looked at him with amusement. "What? I don't like Zeus, or at least what think I know about him, and to be honest the other two sound just as bad!"

Annabeth didn't say anything to that, settling instead to give him a look of understanding. Though she would never voice it, she did agree with him; her mother, like many of the other gods, may have been very prideful, but Zeus and his two brothers took it to a whole other level.

"Your father could be Poseidon or Hades, either one. Both have had children with control over the earth, though from what history shows us children of Hades usually have better control than those Poseidon's sires."

"Great, I'm the spawn of the devil," he deadpanned, drawing a snort from Annabeth and a chuckle from Thalia. "What? Like it wouldn't be a little off putting to the both of you too, to know your father was red and has horns!"

Waiting for the girls to stop laughing, Perseus decided to try a different approach to get what he wanted. "How about this," he said garnering their attention. "Why don't I just go see my mom and dad now?"

"We're supposed to watch you," Annabeth said seriously. "It would be too dangerous for us to chance!"

"You just said that the monsters wouldn't start hounding me for at least another week," Perseus countered. "That means that when school lets out I won't be able to go near them, without chancing them getting hurt!"

"This way, I can go see them, say my goodbyes, then head straight to Camp Half Blood." Perseus tried putting on his best puppy dog look, but was shut down by the unaffected and bored look Annabeth gave him in return.

"You know, he has a point," Thalia said, turning to her best friend, smirking when Perseus perked up at her agreeing with him. "Plus, we never get a chance to get away from camp. This way we can help him out and see some sights at the same time."

Annabeth looked to be wavering under the combined assault. "But we... we don't have any money," she said weakly. She knew she had lost when she saw Perseus amazing green eyes light up victoriously.

"Money isn't a problem," he grinned. Digging into his pocket he pulled out a debit card, holding it up for them to see. "Have any other excuses you want to try, or are we going to go?" Annabeth glared at him with her arms crossed, looking the epitome of stubborn.

"Fine," she relented, to the cheers of the other two, "but I want to get a pizza! Eating the same things all the time gets annoying," she finished, smiling lightly, the good mood of the others getting to her.

Wanting to leave sooner rather than later, Perseus jumped to his feet only to fall to his knees groaning. The beating he had taken earlier coupled with not moving for such a long time had made his entire body sore. He was barely able to raise his head as the two girls kneeled beside him looking worried about his condition.

"Sore... everything sore," he moaned. It was too much for Thalia to not snicker at his condition. "Laugh it up, Barbie," Perseus tried glowering at her, but a spasm made itself known at that second, causing him to groan.

Annabeth ignored their back and forth as she dug through her backpack pulling out a baggy full of cubes and a water bottle full of what looked like apple juice before tapping him on the shoulder and holding it out for him to take. "Take this and you'll feel better." He had slowly been able to straighten out and was reaching for the offered food when she pulled it away with a serious look crossing her features. "But don't take too much, or it will kill you!"

Perseus fixed her with a dubious look. "You really know how to reassure someone," he quipped sarcastically.

"Just drink it, or you can forget about going to see your parents," she said evenly.

Taking the offered bottle and baggy he gave her a defiant look. "I was just making it seem like the two of you had any say," he told her smugly. He gained a mischievous smile at their shock. "I was going to go see my parents either way, I only offered for you to come along so that you two wouldn't be worried that you had lost me, and I had run off and gotten myself killed."

Popping three of the cubes into his mouth, he was pleasantly surprised to find that they tasted like his mother's chocolate chip cookies. The same could be said for when he drank the juice looking beverage. He was going to have to get hurt more often!

"Thanks," he exclaimed exuberantly. "That has to be the best medicine I've ever had."

Annabeth snatched it out of his hands as she gave him a black look. "That's to help us heal should we get into trouble," she barked, upset about what he had said seconds before.

Shrugging off her anger, Perseus slowly stood up, testing his body for anymore random pains and was happy to find none. In working condition once more, he quickly started packing all of his belongings, leaving his school uniform and other thing behind that he knew he would never use again. Having grabbed everything he would need or want, he turned to see the girls giving him sour looks. Guessing what they were upset about he thought it would be best to attempt to apologize to them.

"Listen, I was upset when I said that earlier," he told them staring at the floor, his dress shoe covered foot toeing his carpet. "My temper has a hair trigger attached to it. The smallest of things can easily set me off. So when you said that about not seeing my parents I just wanted a way to get back at you."

Neither Annabeth, nor Thalia, had been expecting him to come out and apologize the way he had. It made Annabeth realize how threatening him with not seeing his parents had made him feel and how she had gone too far in doing so.

"Don't be sorry," she said, biting her lip. "I should never have threatened you with keeping you away from your family. I can understand how that could have made you upset."

"Plus, don't worry about the anger issues," Thalia said, waving her hands as if she was shooing them away. "Most demigods have the same problem." An evil smirk crossed her face as she looked to her best friend. "You should see how snappy this one gets when she doesn't get her way."

Annabeth scoffed, though she looked more amused than upset. "Please! I'm not the one who runs around shocking people when they don't follow her orders," she shot back, looking triumphant.

Perseus chuckled at the two as he grabbed a change of clothes. "I hate to break up what I'm sure would be a very entertaining fight," he said, ending their bickering. "But I'm going to go change. It would draw more than a few looks if I were to walk around this dirty. I suggest you two change as well." He had started for his bathroom door when he saw the girls looking embarrassed.

"Okay, did I say something wrong," he asked looking puzzled.

"We only brought weapons and things of the like with us," Thalia muttered, not meeting his eyes. "We thought we'd be here an hour at the most, so we didn't bring a change of clothing."

"Oh, well that's no problem," Perseus said nonchalantly, while walking over to where he kept the clothes he couldn't fit into any more. "You can use some of the stuff I was going to leave behind."

Thalia and Annabeth stared at him incredulously. "I don't know if you've noticed it yet or not, but you're more than a few sizes larger than we are," Thalia stated, giving his arms and chest a longer than necessary once over.

"Believe it or not," he said with his back to them, as he pulled out an entire wardrobe, "at the beginning of the year, I was even shorter than Barbie is now!"

"I am not short," Thalia objected, crossing her arms fuming. "I'm the perfect height for someone my age! You're the one who's got the abnormal height."

Perseus chuckled as he laid their choices out for them on his bed. "There is nothing wrong with a short girl," he told her, standing back so she and Annabeth could look over what he had. "Some guys like girls that are shorter than they are... it's cute." Walking toward the bathroom he didn't see Thalia light up like a Christmas tree.

"Yell when you're dressed," he called over his shoulder while entering the bathroom. He was about to close the door when he stopped to smile cheekily at them. "Take too long finding what you want to wear and I'll have to come help you pick something out."

"You wouldn't dare," Annabeth hissed, her eyes turning to slits as she reached for the dagger on her side. Thalia had covered her hand in lightning, raising an eyebrow at him that clearly said 'Do you want to keep what makes you the opposite sex?'

Perseus slammed the door shut, fearful for his own safety. "It was a joke," he yelled through the door. "No need to get violent!"

On the other side of the door, Annabeth and Thalia smiled victoriously at one another, giving each other a high five for a job well done.

It only took the girls a few minutes to find acceptable clothing for themselves and had called out to Perseus that it was safe for him to return.

"You both look great in those... better than I ever did," he said chuckling.

"Well of course we do," Thalia replied impishly as she gave what he was wearing a look. "I can see your style changed with your growth spurt!" He had put on a simple pair of black skinny jeans with a white shirt and black vest on top.

"You could say that," he nodded. "I used to wear nothing but shorts." Both girls were dressed similarly to each other in cargo shorts and cotton tees Thalia's being black while Annabeth had gone with gray.

"It's almost completely dark out," Annabeth commented peering out the room's only window. "We should hurry up and head out if we're going to do this."

"Let's head for the front gate, while I'll call us a taxi-" Perseus began, only to be cut off.

"No!" Thalia and Annabeth exclaimed, the former checking his hands to make sure he hadn't started calling anyone yet. "Anytime a demigod uses a cell phone they alert all of the monsters near them of their location."

Digging in to his pocket he pulled out an expensive looking phone. "I guess this is nothing more than a paper weight now," he sighed, pocketing it. "We'll need to get off campus and then find a cab. Depending on what time it is, we can decide if we want to have some fun tonight, or head to my place and wait till morning before we do what you guys want to."

Perseus followed by his protectors headed for the door only to find Grover on the other side his hand raised to knock. The group of three stared at the half boy, half goat as he did the same to them, all of them wearing looks of surprise.

"H-hey Perseus... Annabeth, Thalia," Grover greeted nervously, his hand clasped in front of him fidgeting. "What are all of you doing here... together?" His eyes were flashing back and forth between his best friend and the girls he had known for years as he tried to communicate with the girls.

"Funny story actually," Perseus almost hissed as he wrapped his arm around the satyr's shoulder and steered him toward the exit of the school. "We just happened to run into each other and hit it off. They told me how you had gone off with Mr. Brunner somewhere and how you two left them to entertain themselves."

As Perseus' grip on Grover's shoulder became increasingly tighter, they traveled down the hall with Annabeth and Thalia silently following. "Me being the gentlemen that I am, I offered to take them out to dinner." Grover could tell his friend was barely containing his anger at the moment. What he couldn't figure out though was why he was angry in the first place. "Since you're back earlier than expected why don't you join us? I've heard of this nice little spot that serves mutton." Grover nearly lost control over his bladder when he heard this. "Now I know you're a vegetarian, but everyone likes a little bit of goat every once in a while!"

Grover was fighting to keep from losing the cans he had snacked on earlier and failed to hear Annabeth and Thalia's barely stifled giggles. Swallowing the lump in his throat he gave Perseus a forced smile. "I-I think I'll pass, but thank you for offering."

Grover attempted to pull away from his friend, failing to see that Perseus was leading him to his dorm room. "Nah, G-man you're coming with us," Perseus said, leaving no room for argument. "If you won't eat, then the least you can do is be there as we have that goatee goodness."

Grover whimpered from under Perseus' arm making the boy feel slightly bad for messing with his friend. Sighing to himself he decided to let him know that he knew what was going on. "And here is the best part," Perseus exclaimed excitedly, earning a dread filled groan from Grover. "Ms. Dobbs is coming with us." Ignoring Grover's look of shock, he continued, "Then when we're done eating she's going to take us to this really neat camp for special peopl-"

"Bla-ha-ha!" Grover laughed, not sounding amused as he shoved the taller boy away at the same time Thalia and Annabeth lost their fight against containing their laughter. "You're an ass Perseus! And you two," he said, turning to glare at the two girls he had known since they had been small little girls, "you just stand their making me think that you're going to make me watch that."

Perseus walked over to his friend and without any warning started digging in the other boy's pocket. Grover who didn't know what he was trying to do screeched as he attempted to get away, but before he could distance himself from his friend, Perseus had his room key in hand. It was at this point that he realized they had stopped outside his dorm room.

"What are we doing here, and why do you know about... what you know," Grover finished lamely as Perseus opened his door.

"We are going to go see my parents, have a little fun and then head to camp," Perseus told him as he entered the room and dropping the gym bag he had all his things in. Looking through the room he finally come across a back pack that he handed to the satyr with an expectant look. When Grover didn't move from his spot, just standing there looking at him, Perseus sighed. "Listen, I'm going and there's nothing you can do about it man. Now if you want to come along that's fine, but if not, then this is where we part ways."

Grover was at a loss for words, turning he looked to the females of the group both of whom shrugged their shoulders at him.

"Sorry Grover, but we hardly ever get a chance to get away from camp," Thalia explained, as she took the satyr's bag before heading over to Perseus who was pulling clothes from Grover's closet. "This way we get some free time, while Perseus gets to see his parents."

Grover, seeing a lost cause, turned from the stubborn twosome to Annabeth hoping to reason with her. "Tell me they didn't get to you too," he begged, but knew by the guilty look on her face that she was a part of their little rebellion. "Annabeth, you know how dangerous this could get. Why would you risk something like this?"

Annabeth wilted under Grover's, for once, stern gaze. "I wanted to get out for a while," she muttered, looking at the floor.

Grover shook his head in disbelief. "Have you two forgotten about Luke's sacrifice so easily?"

Perseus didn't know who Luke was, but he did know that Grover had stood – no, he had jumped on with both feet, a landmine. The girls had both tensed, and from how they were glaring at the awkward looking teen, Perseus was guessing barely keeping from beating him within an inch of his life.

"How dare you throw him in our faces like that?" Thalia's hands were sparking with electricity, so much so that everyone in the rooms hair was reacting to the static. "This situation is totally different from last time."

"Hades was angry about Zeus breaking the vow last time," Annabeth said, sounding strangely calm for someone who was shaking as much as she was. "This time, no one knows who his godly parent is, or if he even belongs to one of the big three."

"I'm sorry," he said softly, not meeting any of their gazes. "I should never have brought Luke up. But have none of you seen the weather lately," Grover continued, looking grim. "Something has Zeus beyond pissed! If he finds out about him," here he jerked a finger at Perseus who for some reason felt a bit insulted by the pointing, but said nothing, "then there will be hell to pay. Hades isn't the only god that can send monsters to do his bidding."

Thalia scoffed like she didn't care, but the others could still see the anger in her eyes even if the lightning had died away. "He wouldn't do anything if it meant risking me." She turned back to his closet grabbing the last few things he owned and stuffing them in the close to bursting backpack.

Letting the punk princess finish with the packing, Perseus turned to the only other male in the room. "You can't stop us from going," he told him bluntly. "But if you come with us, when we reach camp won't that look good on you? You might even get your searcher's license, and if it will help, the girls and I would be okay with you telling them that when you showed up we were already gone and that you had to track us down to make us come to camp."

Everyone has a price that can buy them and it seemed in that moment Perseus had found Grover's.

The whiskered chinned boy's shoulders slumped at that, knowing that his friend's plan would help him greatly. He hadn't said anything to anyone, but he had a feeling that the Council of Cloven Elders was not going to look at his time here at Yancy as a success. They were more than likely to point out that he had not been the only one protecting Perseus all this time, but that ultimately he had required the help of Chiron to do his job. And while Grover was sure the trainer of heroes wouldn't see the situation the same way, and would voice this to his fellow council members, he would undoubtedly be the only one to feel that way.

Grover was pulled from his musing by his backpack, which now resembled a blow fish in its shape flying into his stomach. Wincing, he looked up to see two smirks and an encouraging smile being sent his way.

"Fine," he sighed. "Let's go!"

"Alright, follow me," Perseus ordered, as he opened the door leading the group out in to the hall. "I know where a break in the fence is that everyone uses to sneak off the grounds."

The foursome where able to get outside and in to the woods unseen and without any hang ups. From there they moved alongside the same dirt road that one had to use when entering the school grounds. With Grover not having to pretend that he had to use crutches, the group was able to make good time and before they knew it they had come to a clearing where a number of the bars from the fence had been removed by students who wanted a way to leave the school grounds. The only problem being that as they exited the woods they found that they were not the only ones trying to sneak off campus.

Perseus and Grover groaned in unison when Nancy and her group exited the woods on the other side of the clearing at the same time as they did.

Nancy had been complaining to her friends when she heard groaning. Her eyes widened when she saw that the two she had been cursing just seconds before were standing before her. She was about to make a smart remark about their sexuality when she spotted the two girls standing next to them causing her eyes to narrow as she felt her anger rise.

"Who are the tramps, Jackson," Nancy sneered, not seeing, nor caring about Thalia and Annabeth's resentful looks.

"I'd be careful if I were you Nancy," Perseus warned, his tone sounding smug. He was hoping the girl would piss off the two female demigods to the point where they would kick her and her friends' asses. "These two don't go to school here and would have no qualms about beating the ginger out of you."

Nancy gritted her teeth loudly and painfully. "You can't find any girls that would look at you here at school, so you had to go find ones that would give you the time of day outside the academy." A cruel smirk had made its way to her lips as she looked Thalia and Annabeth over. She was unwilling to admit how jealous of their looks she was; instead she chose to lash out at them. "And from the looks of them, you and the cripple went to the local deaf and blind school to find them."

Annabeth's lips had thinned in distaste. How anyone could make such disgusting jokes, she didn't know, but right now wasn't the time to deal with ignorant people. They needed to hurry if they wanted to make it to Perseus' before midnight. Seeing that Thalia was about to snap, she grabbed her by the arm, pulling her toward the break in the fence and away from the mean girl.

"Come on," Annabeth ordered, in a forced sounding calm voice. "We don't have time to deal with little girls throwing hissy fits." Thalia bit her tongue as she allowed herself to be pulled away, but this didn't stop her from flipping the redhead off.

Nancy laughed mockingly, as the girls, followed by Perseus and Grover, made to leave. "I guess I was wrong," she called to the retreating group. "Even they won't give you the time of day! You've turned these whores into dykes!"

"Bitch, you don't know us," Thalia screamed, wrenching herself free of Annabeth's grip. Grover and Perseus were both shocked she hadn't fried them all with her lightning yet. "Annabeth might not think we have the time to kick your asses, but I'm more than willing to make the time."

Annabeth stood back, watching with the boys as Thalia was advanced on by three of the girls, none of whom were the loud mouthed redhead herself.

"You're not going to help her," Perseus asked, sounding worried about the girl he enjoyed calling Barbie. He was starting to think he should have stepped in before it had gotten out of hand.

"No," Annabeth answered negatively. "The one time I tried to help her in a fight that didn't include monsters she nearly bit my head off afterwards. It's just easier to let her work out her anger on her own."

Two of the three attacking girls reached Thalia at the same time. Without dropping into a fighting stance or breaking her stride, Thalia's right hand shot out, balled in a fist that caught the first girl across the face making a loud, nasty sounding smack, before she swung the same hand backwards and into the chin of the other girl, dropping them both in seconds.

"Damn, Barbie can hit," Perseus said, sounding impressed.

The third girl faltered only for a second, the sight of her two friends being knocked out so easily planting a small seed of doubt in her mind that made her question whether or not she could beat the girl before her. Shaking it off she told herself that the girl had gotten lucky and wouldn't do so again.

Thalia ducked under the wild swing of the third and largest girl yet. Rising up, she brought her fist straight up and into the girls chin in a powerful upper cut that snapped her head backwards violently, knocking her out before she even hit the ground.

Thalia was beaming as she turned to the wide eyed Nancy, giving her the 'come hither' motion with her middle finger. Nancy, showing that she actually had some sense, turned and booked it back to the academy leaving a pouting Thalia behind.

"Why are the loud mouths always the first to run?" Thalia asked, as a grinning Perseus and Grover walked over to her followed by a bored Annabeth.

"I think I might be in love with you, Barbie," Perseus said, giving the now lightly blushing daughter of Zeus a high five. "That was amazing! We've been waiting for someone to do that for ages."

Grover nodded excitedly at his side. "It's just too bad that you didn't get to do the same to Nancy."

"What can I say," Thalia said cockily, "this is one daughter of Zeus you just don't mess with!"

"Come on Ali," Annabeth called over her shoulder, as she once again headed for the break in the fence. "Grab your fan girls and let's go!"

Laughing at the looks of disgust on Perseus and Grover's faces, Thalia grabbed them by the wrist and led them toward the fence.

IDC:LT

"That cab smelled awful," Thalia grimaced, as Annabeth nodded beside her.

"What do you expect; he's a human who spends his entire day polluting the air with his car's fumes and his constant cigar smoke." Perseus raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristic sneer that had arisen on Grover's face as he spoke about the cabbie.

"Grover has a problem with humans that pollute the air," Annabeth answered his unasked question as she looked around for their destination. "Where is this pizza place you were talking about and how far away from it is your parent's place?"

"The pizza shop is around the corner and my parent's place is just a few blocks away." Perseus said, already heading for the corner.

"Isn't this part of town too nice to have a decent pizza place," Thalia asked, as she and the other two jogged to catch up with the green eyed boy.

"Normally I would agree with you, but this place is fantastic!" He could feel his mouth watering already. "I'll order a couple of larges then we can take some as a peace offering to my parents."

Turning the corner a very nice looking restaurant came into sight. The building was made of brick, like most of the buildings in the area, giving it a rustic feel. Out front under a stream of Christmas lights and naturally growing vines were two tables with couples enjoying their meals.

When they entered the place of business they found themselves in a hall way that split in two different directions. Following Perseus the group went down the right and into a sports bar like area.

"If we had gone the other way, we would have went into the nicer part of this place made more for quiet dinners and dates." Perseus explained, as he led them up to the counter where a middle aged man was standing using a cloth to clean out a row of shot glasses sitting before him.

"What can I get you kids," he asked, laying the cloth and one of the small glasses down before pulling a pen and note pad out of his hip apron.

Giving their order they each clamed a stool at the bar. Settling in for a wait the demigods and satyr people-watched as they lightly chatted with one another, joking about how scared Grover had looked when he thought he was going to have to watch them eat goat.

"You said the camp is in Long Island right?" The two girls and one goat boy nodded. "Well, since it's too late to do anything besides going to an 18 and under club and I'm guessing you don't want to go to a place like that dressed the way you are?" He asked, looking amused as Annabeth and Thalia shook their heads vigorously 'that no they didn't'. "Then we can stop at this amusement park I've heard about on the way to camp." As he had spoken Perseus had turned around to face the barman, asking him if he could get him and his friends drinks while they waited.

"I'll bring those right out to you," he said, heading down the bar a ways to get glasses. As the barkeeper moved, a window that peered into the kitchen became unblocked for the first time since Perseus and his group had arrived.

Perseus, remembering how he had once gotten the chance to watch pizza being made in Italy when he had gone there with his mother and father, felt an urge to do so once again. Gazing into the busy kitchen, he searched for the pizza makers until he sighted three old ladies standing side by side rolling a long piece of flowery dough. Perseus didn't know why, but he felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck and a cold sweat break out on his body as his eyes met three pairs of midnight black eyes. Something wasn't right about the three grannies that were staring at him and his group so intently.

"Um - guys," Perseus said, getting the others attention. "Does anything seem off to any of you about the granny triplets back there?"

Curious as to what he was talking about, the others turned to investigate the mysterious grannies. At first they thought he had been imagining it, but slowly as the old ladies worked the dough without ever looking away from their group they started to understand what had him so worked up. They were getting a feeling from the old women that was unlike any that they had felt from any monster that any of them had ever encountered before, but still somehow managed to hold onto the foreboding feeling.

"I'm a bit rusty on monsters that come in three," Perseus stated, never looking away from the elderly women. "Mind filling me in on a few of them?"

"There are numerous monsters that come in three," Annabeth informed him, though she, like him, never took her eyes off the threesome. "Three is a dangerous and powerful number in Greek culture, and if they were monsters we'd be in trouble right now. But I don't think they're monsters, powerful yes, but monsters, no!"

"She's right," Grover added, sounding like he wanted to leave. "They don't smell like monste-" Grover stopped talking at the same time the others stopped listening.

The three old ladies, who had up to that point been rolling one extremely long piece of dough, stopped. The two on the ends picked it up, the middle sagging under it its own weight as the grandma in the middle pulled out a pair of rusted old scissors that had no place in a working kitchen.

When the scissors came into view, Thalia, Grover, and Annabeth all gasped. Perseus, finally looking away from the trio, looked to see his friends looking as if someone had pulled a gun on them. Turning back to the grannies he was just in time to see the blades come into contact with the dough. It was then that it hit him as the barman came back into view, blocking what Perseus and the others were sure of as being the Fates cutting someone's string of fate.

"Here you are-" The barman had stopped speaking when he saw the pale faces of the four teenagers. "Are you kids alright?"

Surprisingly it was Grover who was the first to break the stupor they had all fallen into. "Yes sir, we're f-fine," he replied weakly. He waited until the man had walked away to rouse the others from their thoughts.

"That wasn't them," Perseus denied, though even he didn't believe his words. "It couldn't be... right?"

Thalia dropped her head loudly against the bar, drawing a few questioning looks from other patrons at the bar. "We're so screwed," she moaned. Trying to comfort the girl, Perseus reached out and rubbed her back soothingly causing her to give him a thankful smile.

"Maybe not," Annabeth put in. Her gray eyes looked unfocused as if she was lost in her thoughts. "Did any of you see them cut the string - or – um, dough?"

Thalia and Perseus both shook their heads negatively. "I didn't," Grover muttered, just loud enough for them to hear. None of the group checked to see what the three old women were doing now, they were all too afraid of what they might see.

"Then we might not have anything to worry about," she said, as her eyes once again came back into focus. "Maybe them appearing here, showing themselves to us, was a message of some sort!"

Perseus nodded, though he wasn't a hundred percent sure about anything at the moment. "I have a feeling that had they actually wanted one of us, or all of us, to see the dough being cut, then we would have." His words were met by a silence that lasted until the food showed up.

"I had thought about us grabbing a booth here, but with magic, killer grannies running around maybe it would be best if we go ahead and leave," Perseus suggested, earning nods and small laughter from the others.

As they made their way out of the bar area and back into the hallway leading outside and to the finer part of the restaurant, Thalia slowed down to walk beside Perseus who was carrying the pizzas.

"You know, all those smartass comments you like to make are going to get you in a lot of trouble if you're not careful," Thalia teased playfully, bumping shoulders with him.

Perseus smiled crookedly down at her as he held the door open for her. "Tell me something I don't know, Barbie!"

IDC:LT

"Ok, I'm going to need you to stand in front of me when we get up here," Perseus said to Grover as they rode the elevator up to the floor his parents' condo was on. "My mom is less likely to charge if she thinks there's a kid on crutches in the way."

Annabeth and Thalia shared a loaded look that Perseus couldn't read. Had his joke been that bad? "Your family isn't violent with you are they?" Annabeth and Thalia's fierce looks left no doubt that had his parent been that type of people they wouldn't have stood around and watched while it happened.

Hearing Annabeth's question, Perseus remembered that not all demigods had families as great as his own and that what he had just said could have been taken the wrong way.

"No," he exclaimed wide eyed. "I was just joking about her charging. She'll be upset that I left school without permission, but I doubt she'll even raise her voice." Both girls visibly calmed down hearing this.

The elevator came to a smooth stop and opened with a 'ding'. Following Perseus, which seemed to be a pattern popping up within the group, he led them to the only door on the floor where he knocked before stepping back to wait.

"Your mom and dad own the entire floor?" Annabeth asked, voicing Thalia's question at the same time.

"Yeah," he answered absentmindedly. "My mom's a successful writer and my step dad travels around giving lectures at different colleges around the country and in Europe. When we came to New York, we moved here because with my mother being so well known for her writing we needed a place with a lot of security. Or at least that's what she told me before... Now I'm guessing it had to do with who my father is and the chance that monsters would be coming for me."

Before anything else could be said the door was thrown open and Perseus was being wrapped in a tight hug by a pretty, wild haired woman. "Perseus, my baby," Sally said, tightening her hold on him before releasing him to take a better look at him. "You've grown so much since I last saw you. How are you doing? What are doing away from school and who are your friends?"

A blushing Perseus stepped back, ignoring Thalia's giggles at his embarrassment. "I kind of quit," he told her bluntly. She looked taken aback for a second before what he said set in and she started to look sadly at him. "Hey, there's no reason to be upset," he told her, pulling her into another hug where he buried his face in her hair, enjoying being held by his mother once again.

"And why, Perseus Jackson, shouldn't I be upset?" Sally asked, enjoying the hug as much as her son was.

"Because... I brought pizza!"