'The day I have a conversation with the gods is the day I get claimed'

Percy waited for someone to speak after he decided to take the quest. "Well? When do we leave?" He asked them. Chiron looked at Corey, who was clenching her fists tightly and looking at a plant with venom in her eyes. "Cordelia, will you show Percy to the Oracle?" Chiron asked her, but Corey didn't respond. Grover tapped her shoulder, making the half-blood flinch. "Sorry...what?" Corey asked them, her whole body shifted as she looked at the centaur still dazed from whatever was running in her head.

"The Oracle" Chiron told her gently,

Corey nodded before smiling at Percy, "Come on Sea Pup, follow me" She told him walking to a different door in the room. Percy looked back at Grover who also nodded before walking up to Corey. She opened the door which led to a hallway with a connecting staircase. Pictures hung on every wall, some looking old and others more recent. There were paintings that got older the further up the staircase.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked Corey as they reached the top floor of the Big House. Corey turned to him, her eyes still red from the crying she had done moments ago. "I'm fine Sea Pup, now you need to go up these steps. Only the Oracle can determine if this quest is a necessary one" Corey changed the topic as she pulled the string that hung on the ceiling.

Once the attic was opened, Corey stepped back for Percy to go up. Percy stood on the first step, taking a moment before turning to Corey. "You'll be here when I get back?" He asked her. "I'm not going anywhere, I swear" She answered as she fixed his hair slightly.

~Ψ~

Percy, Corey, Chiron and Mr D stood in the Pavilion, campers selected by Chiron surrounding them. "You shall go west and face the god who has turned. And you shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned" Chiron repeated the prophecy that Percy was told by the Oracle of Delph. "The Oracle has confirmed what we expected, that this quest will proceed toward the Underworld, where you will confront the god who has rebelled against his brothers. Hades" Chiron explained.

"Way to set the mood Chiron" Corey coughed into her hand. Chiron only shook his head at her comment. "The entrance to Hades's domain lies under the city of Los Angeles. This is where you will journey to. Time is short. I have selected our most compelling candidates, from which you will choose two to join you on this quest and ensure that we succeed" Chiron looked at the campers that have the best chances in helping with this quest. But before he could introduce them as options, Percy spoke without missing a beat. "Annabeth" He chose without hesitation or doubt.

Corey saw how Annabeth's eyes lit up at the chance of a quest, knowing from Percy's rants about how Annabeth was stalking him and why that she'd been at camp since she was seven and has been waiting for a quest since. "Customarily, one waits to at least hear a name or two before choosing. Are you sure you don't wanna hear more?" Chiron suggested, knowing how impulsive a half-blood could be.

"This thing, Zeus's master bolt, we need to get it back, right?" Percy asked him. "Yes" Chiron answered. " And it's gonna be hard to get, yes?" Percy asked him again. Corey snickered at him, "You have no idea" She told him while Chiron kept his answer simple, "Extraordinarily".

"And if the mission required someone to push me down a flight of stairs for it to succeed... you'd want someone who won't hesitate when they do it" Percy explained to him. Chiron seemed to agree with his choice and nodded. "The first quest-mate shall be Annabeth Chase!" Chiron announced it to everyone officially. But as he then questioned Percy about his second quest mate, Corey left the pavilion quietly away from everyone's gaze.

"Grover" She heard Percy answer before disappearing from everyone's eye.

~Ψ~

Corey rummaged through the drawers under a dark wood desk. Shuffling papers and moving journals. "Where are they?" She mutters to herself, slamming the drawer close. She opened another drawer, sticking her hand in without looking. She hissed in pain, looking in to see she pricked her finger off a very sharp nail.

"The drawer under the painting, furthest to the window"

Corey gulped before standing up, seeing Chiron in his magical wheelchair. He had a disappointed look on his face. Corey nodded, quickly sucking the blood that was dripping on her finger. "I guess after seventy years your system changed" Corey tried to lighten the room. Chiron raised an eyebrow at her, not impressed.

"I told Mr D that you would come to me with these concerns...not break into my office, Cordelia Cesel". The full name move, Corey was screwed. "I would have but... I was afraid you'd stop me" She admitted to him, hands behind her back and biting her lip. Chiron sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I remember the day you came here, five years old and you had just lost your mother" Chiron rolled up next to her, gesturing for her to sit in the empty chair she had unintentionally knocked over in her search. "I don't remember it much...just that when I came here you know who my father was...and now I don't even know who I am? I can't remember what happened after I finished my quest...It's like I only left it" Corey told him, holding her camp beads close to her heart.

"But I know that the world has changed. They're children! I know that Grover only looks like that but it doesn't matter. I can't just sit here and wait for one of them to be killed! Look I know that it's not the 1930's but...they're twelve!" Corey shouted at him as her tears fell. "Not again...not after..." Corey caught herself in a sob, noticing her tears that fell onto her fingers. "Elise, I know my child" Chiron placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I also know that I cannot stop you" He added, looking into Corey's eyes.

Corey looked hopeful, for the first time in a long time. "Are you saying that..." She questioned him softly. "It is against the rules but I know that you will do everything in your power to help them. So you must make me a promise" Chiron told her more sternly than before. Corey sat up, wiping her tears as she waited for him to tell her the conditions. "They cannot know about your powers or your father. Under any circumstance, do you understand me Cordelia?" Chiron's words were heavy on Corey's mind. Corey was hesitant for a moment Chiron was certain she'd say no.

"I promise"

~Ψ~

Corey walked to the border's of camp, she was wearing a green and black thick striped sweater with a grey t-shirt underneath, a light pair of flared jeans which mostly confused her greatly at the pants, thick black leather boots that she was sure the Aphrodite girl called 'Doc Martens' and an oversized black leather jacket. Chiron had given her both mortal money and mythic money to help.

She spotted Percy and Grover a few feet away from Annabeth and a tree. "Boys, it's rude to stare" She spoke up, scaring them into looking at her. "Seashell? What are you doing here?" Percy asked her, seeing she was in more normal clothing and not her camp attire. "I'm coming with you three" Corey shrugged off, seeing Grover's face morph into fear. "Wait what? Chiron agreed to this?" Grover asked her. "He did and even if he didn't I would have come, fuck the rules" Corey answered before looking out to see Annabeth still by the tree.

"She's really gonna miss that tree, huh?" Percy questioned, not understanding why Annabeth would have an attachment to a tree. Grover shook his head at his best friend, "When Annabeth first arrived here with Thalia and Luke, they were being chased by monsters. Agents of Hades. Sisters. Furies" He began to explain to Percy and Corey. "Mrs. Dodds?" Percy made the connection, while Corey just stood there confused. "Yes! One was our algebra teacher. Alecto" Grover was a bit proud of Percy making the right connection. "Thalia turned back to fight to buy her friends some time. Her satyr Protector tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. So, at the last moment... Zeus intervened to save her life and... changed her form" Grover finished explaining.

Both Corey and Percy furrowed their eyebrows. "The most powerful being in the universe's best idea to save his daughter's life... was to turn her into a tree?" Percy seemed unconvinced and convinced at the same time. "I would have Demeter kill me if my dad did that" Corey commented, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

Annabeth gave them both an angry look, hearing Percy and Corey's comments about her fallen friend. "She was the bravest demigod I ever knew. She fought valiantly, and she met a hero's fate" Annabeth defended Thalia, her voice stern and laced with disapproval of their opinions. "She met a pinecone's fate" Percy shrugged at Annabeth. Corey tried no to laugh at his comment while Grover shook his head in distaste at his rudeness. Annabeth didn't take it lightly either. "Forbidden children are always in danger, even the strongest ones, even Thalia. And you are not Thalia" She compared him harshly. "Do exactly as I say, and maybe you survive this. Especially you" Annabeth looked at Corey specifically. She knew what she was doing, that Annabeth was sure of but she wasn't sure of Corey's disregard for rules. "Are we clear?" Annabeth didn't allow an answer, turning her back and walking toward the border.

Percy didn't really like how Annabeth just took charge, "Does she think she's in charge?" He asked Grover and Corey, the three of them following Annabeth. "Who'd you think would be in charge?" Grover asked him. Percy shrugged, "I guess I assumed we'd do a show of hands or something" He assumed.

~Ψ~

In the taxi ride to the bus station, Corey was in awe. The city was so different from when she saw it last. Buildings were higher, shinier and had these huge windows that had colourful short movies on them. Cars were in various colours and sizes, she could see women hold hands with other women while wearing less clothing and men hold hands with men. It was amazing.

Once they got out of the car, Corey thanked the prepaid driver. "Okay kids, stay close and try not to start a fight" Corey warned them before walking in. Even the bus station was different, huge windows with destinations and times. "You might wanna close your mouth, you'll catch flies" Percy told her, looking up at the screens too. Corey turned her head and raised her eyebrows at him, "Watch it Sea Pup" She warned him, smacking his shoulder gently.

Once they were aboard the bus, Annabeth practically dragged Percy to the back where the toilet was. Corey sat next to Annabeth, taking out a ball of yarn and knitting needles. "Wait, you knit?" Grover was slightly shocked as Corey looked up at him, still moving her needles to create her knots. "Yeah...why is that so surprising?" Corey asked them, earning 'really girl' faces from the kids.

Corey huffed and trained her eyes back to her yarn. "If it helps, this yarn is ethically sourced from the wild and I always send Athena a prayer of respect before starting" Corey told them, knowing Annabeth and Grover would understand. "I still don't understand why Chiron allowed you to go on this quest?" Annabeth grumbled next to her, crossing her arms and pouting.

Corey shrugged, "I have the most experience. I've been at Camp since I was five. Got my first quest at nine, someone stole Persephone's enchanted ring that helps preserve life when she's in the underworld" Corey explained softly, not knowing if monsters were on board. "So you've been to the underworld?" Percy seemed to have his hopes up a little more. "I never said I was in the underworld Sea Pup '' Corey answered him as the bus began moving.

Percy groaned loudly, slouching in his seat. "Why are these quests so important?" He grumbled. Grover seemed to be a little too happy to explain, "Hero's quests are world-defining events. They have made and broken empires... altered the course of human civilization... changed the balance of power on Olympus. A quest is a sacred thing. And to be charged with one is to be in conversation with the gods themselves" Corey rolled her eyes at him fondly. "The day I have a conversation with the gods is the day I get claimed" Corey commented softly.

The toilet behind them flushes and when the door opens, the smell is horrific. Corey could feel her nose hairs trying to recoil back into her skin. "There is no way this is what sacred smells like" Percy wrinkled his nose in disgust. Annabeth seemed more agitated by Percy with every sentence that came out of his mouth. "We're soldiers on a mission. It's not a vacation" Annabeth snared at him. "Thank you for clearing that up" Percy gave her a tight lipped smile. "But if this is so important, why didn't Chiron spring for plane tickets? This seems kind of low priority, doesn't it?" Percy complained, hating the smell of this bus more than anything. Annabeth rolled her eyes once more while Grover and Corey looked at each other.

"You didn't tell him?" Corey hissed, still knitting as she gave Grover a small glare. "No, I thought you did!" Grover hissed back at her. "I thought you did!" Corey mocked Grover with a silly voice. "Grover, I was planning on hitchhiking this quest if Chiron didn't catch me looking for money. So I didn't exactly have time to tell him" Corey grumbled at Grover.

"What are you two arguing about! What was I supposed to know!" Percy stopped their bickering. Corey just slouched back into her seat, focusing on her knitting. "Percy, it isn't just the monsters who are gonna be trying to stop us. You're a forbidden child. Zeus might decide to take a shot at you himself" Grover told him. "The sky is his domain. We'd be serving you up on a silver platter to try to travel through it" Corey added, still a little ticked off as she aggressively looped her stitches while cursing in Korean. Percy matched her mood fluidly, "Yeah, no one mentioned that" He mumbled.

"Welcome to Half-Blood 101, where no one tells you shit and makes you question everything" Corey smirked light heartedly, seeing Percy give her a small smile from the corner of her eye.

The bus pulled into a rest stop, passengers ready to get out of the bus for some fresh air. Annabeth stood up first. "Okay, I'm gonna go get us some snacks" She decided, grabbing her bag. "I'll come with you" Percy spoke up, trying to leave but only to be pushed back by Annabeth. "No, you'll stay right there" She ordered him, giving him no choice in the matter.

Percy was fed up at this point, both Corey and Grover shared a look of pain as he scoffed at Annabeth. "Why? It smells terrible back here" Percy protested. "Monsters can't smell you through that, so that's where I want you" Annabeth crossed her arms at him, impressing Corey with her blunt sass. "I wanna vote. Who thinks that we should all go get to breathe fresh air and buy our own snacks?" Percy suggested, disregarding Annabeth's orders.

Corey hit her head off of her seat, "Can you both just not argue for like two minutes" She muttered but her comment was lost in their arguing. "There's no voting. Chips and sodas okay for you guys?" Annabeth disregarded Percy's opinion. "I don't think you should just get to decide we don't vote" Percy stated. "I'm sorry to hear that" Annabeth brushed off casually. Percy got even more pissed at this, "Okay. I wanna vote on whether you get to decide we don't vote" He suggested, getting sick of Annabeth taking charge.

Annabeth sighed, "Grover, please, can you help your..." Annabeth was cut off by Grover clapping slowly with Corey joining in with her knitting needles following the beat that Grover was doing. " ...friend?" She dropped her arms. "I really don't wanna be a tiebreaker. I have a better idea" Grover smiled awkwardly. "How is this still a thing?" Corey groaned as Grover picked up the pace of his clapping.

"Oh, golly, the road's gettin' bumpy 'cause I got me some friends Who just can't get along" Grover began to sing, along with Corey who didn't seem as upbeat as the satyr. "Oh, dear! When the team's gettin' grumpy The trick to gettin' through it is singin' this song–"

"Dude, what are you doing?" Percy asked them. Stopping them both from singing. "It's the consensus song. Verse two encourages us to say nice things about each other" Grover happily explained to Percy and Annabeth. "You get a few rounds in and you'd be amazed at how disagreements just kind of... fade away" It was very clear that neither Annabeth or Percy wanted to know the consensus song. "Chips and sodas okay for you guys?" Annabeth asked once more.

Percy had given up at this point, "Whatever" He huffed. "Yes, please" Grover smiled at Annabeth. Corey looked at the girl, "Can you get me some chocolate?" Corey asked nicely. "Okay" Annabeth nodded before leaving the bus. "Our voting system's broken" Percy mumbled as Annabeth disappeared from sight. "I swear, bathrooms inside buses are the worst invention to man" Corey scrunched her nose at the lingering smell. "How does smell attract monsters?" Percy asked them, if he was gonna sit by the smelliest bus toilet in the world then he wanted to know why.

Grover looked at Corey, silently asking if she wanted to explain, she shook her head. "Monsters can't be avoided entirely. They're more common than you think. The trick is to spot them first before they spot you" Grover began to explain. "It's true they are more likely to sense a more powerful demigod. A child of the Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades,is at the most extreme risk. But it isn't your power, exactly, that draws them" Corey turned to him with crazed eyes.

She faced palmed, putting her knitting away, "It's more complicated than that" She interrupted and noticed the small sigh of relief form Grover. "They smell fear" Percy seemed pretty sure in his thought. Grover shook his head lightly, "That's bees" He told him. Corey looked out the window she was next to, "What a monster senses kinda depends on the monster. Some are better at sensing your inadequacy. Some, your need for glory, your shame" Corey explained softly, looking at Percy's reflection through the glass. Her eyes were soft, filled with melancholy.

Grover spoke up, catching Percy's attention from the older half-blood "It's important to remember that if you've ever gotta confront one...wherever your armour is weakest, that monster's probably coming right for it" He told him until Corey looked back at the boy. "Nothing will stop them, not even death" She finished.

Grover held his hands to start clapping until Corey shot him down, "No. Don't you dare" She scoffed at him gently, pointing her finger at him too. She turned back to the window, allowing the boys to talk among themselves. But she couldn't help but watch Percy's reflection, her heart feeling ten times heavier. He looks like her.

"Guys, you need to open that window! Now!" Annabeth shouted at them. Corey stood up, looking for danger."I don't think these windows are supposed to–" Grover was cut off by the sight of Alecto, the Fury that attacked Percy. "The fire window! Now!" Corey shouted at them, pulling Annabeth closer to her. Annabeth and Corey watched as a mortal was stopping Alecto from coming closer.

"Annabeth, we need to go" Corey told her, turning to the boys to see if they were okay. One of Alecto's sisters broke the glass behind them. Without hesitation, Corey slammed the Fury into the back seats, "Percy! Grover! GO'' Corey screamed at them. Annabeth was quick to stab the Fury, her body disappearing in a cloud of golden ash. Annabeth grabbed Corey's arm, "Come on lets go!" She lifted her up from the floor of the bus.

The girls ran to the boys, panting as the bus was evacuated behind them. "We were attacked on the bus!" Percy exclaimed, still in shock from the attack. "Yeah" Annabeth nodded, looking back. "We need to lose Alecto now!" Grover told them, looking around. Corey noticed a path, it foggy in her sight for a moment. "Grover look!" She pointed behind him.

"A satyr path!"

~Ψ~

Corey walked behind the kids as they ventured through a forest path that led into a sacred satyr path. "Somewhere up ahead, this turns into a satyr path" Grover told Annabeth and Percy. "What's a satyr path?" Percy asked him. "It's a road through the wilderness. Satyr explorers use them. Harder to track us" Grover explained to him, looking around in case a monster appeared out of nowhere. "That's great, but if we stay in the wilderness, how are we gonna find a phone?" Percy questioned all of them.

"You think I'm just carrying an 80 pound telephone in my bag?" Corey tilted her head at him. Annabeth scoffed at them both, " Phones don't weigh that much anymore. What do we need a phone for anyways?" She went ahead of them as she asked. "So we can call camp. T-- To get help" Percy told, in shock that Annabeth questioned the need for a phone.

"We don't need help. We're fine" Annabeth brushed off the obvious fact that they had no clue what they were doing,that not even Corey who is highly experienced in this had faced something like this. "We're fine? We haven't even gotten to Trenton, and we're wandering through a forest. I didn't even know they had forests in New Jersey, but we've found one. I would say we're the opposite of fine" Percy snapped at Annabeth, stopping everyone in their tracks.

Corey and Grover gave each other pained looks as Annabeth glared at Percy. "We were sent on a quest by the Oracle, by the gods. What'd you think, it would be easy? It's supposed to be hard. That's why only certain people are chosen. If we call camp, we're basically saying it was a mistake to choose us" Annabeth snapped back at him. Percy shrugged at Annabeth, " I'm completely comfortable with that. Everyone makes mistakes".

Corey looked at Percy like he had grown two head, "Did I just hear that correctly?" She asked no one in particular. Only Grover seemed to hear her, nodding and sliding in next to her. "Why are you so afraid of who you are?" Annabeth questioned Percy. "What?" Percy spat at her, confused and slightly offended by Annabeth's question.

"You know, what's interesting about this particular satyr path is it's actually the one my Uncle Ferdinand took when he set out on his own quest" Grover spoke up with a painfully optimistic voice. Corey's face palmed loudly at him, "Why do the Fates hate me?" She mumbled as Annabeth and Percy didn't leave their bubble of negativity.

"What was that supposed to mean, afraid of who I am? I'm not afraid" Percy stood his ground, glaring at Annabeth. However Annabeth could see through the mask Percy was wearing as if it was invisible. "Yes, you are. You aren't just a kid. Just a kid doesn't do what you did to Clarisse back at camp. Just a kid doesn't have Hades sending top lieutenants to retrieve them" Annabeth stated the very obvious to Percy, making him lose some of his confidence. "You know, you are a part of something so much bigger than we can understand right now. We have to move forward, whether you like it or not, whether you want to or not" Annabeth's voice was sharp with every world she spoke, her tone rivalled any adult who could make it seem scarier

Percy waved his arms, "You don't want to call camp, fine. Then, at least let's call your mom" He suggested brashly. Corey looked at Grover, yet her gaze didn't leave Percy or Annabeth. "We're gonna die aren't we?" She asked him, watching as Percy called out Athena's name thinking that Annabeth could ask her for help.

"I'd call my father, but we aren't exactly on speaking terms. You know, because of the lifelong neglect and all, but you and your mother seem close. So, why don't we ask her for help?" Percy elaborated without a second thought. Annabeth was seething as she turned her deathly stare to Grover, "Grover, will you explain to your friend that he needs to pull himself together?" She told him, not even sparing Corey a glance, which the older girl thanked who knows what. Annabeth might be twelve but Corey found her more terrifying than a Hellhound at this moment.

Percy sneered at Annabeth with a hint of realisation, "You can't ask her, can you?" He asked. "When was the last time she talked to you?" Percy questioned even though he knew that answer. "Grover" Annabeth clenched her jaw as Corey walked closer to Percy trying to see if she could defuse the situation, "Percy I don't think you wanna go down this rabbit hole". But her attempt was useless. "I don't know why you keep pulling him into this. He's on my side" Percy claimed, making Annabeth roll her eyes and cross her arms at him. "What makes you think that?" She squinted her eyes, waiting for Percy's predictable answer.

"He's my Protector, it's his job" Percy's voice was soaked with that common 'matter of fact' tone. "He was my Protector first" Annabeth refuted at Percy, making him even more confused than before. "First? What do you mean first?" Percy turned to Grover for an explanation. Grover gulped nervously, "Very exciting, getting to walk in Uncle Ferdinand's footsteps. Next best thing to getting to talk to him again" He smiled nervously at them, wanting the ground to swallow him whole.

That's when it hit Percy, like a tidal wave washing over him and connecting the dots. "Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth had a satyr Protector. That was you. Why didn't you tell me?" Percy asked Grover. Corey could see the hurt in Percy's eyes, her heart dropped. He knew what Grover did to protect Percy and how much it hurt him, so knowing he hid something again about something that was a huge deal seemed even worse in her eyes.

But Grover didn't answer, instead he sniffed the air. "Do you guys smell that?" He walked ahead of them, sniffing the air again but more intensively. Percy was fed up at this point, "Grover, I'm not kidding–" and Percy was shushed by Grover. "No, neither am I. Just shush" His voice wandered off as he continued to sniff the air. Corey walked up to him, tapping his shoulder gently. "Is it a monster?" She asked quietly. Grover shook his head, his voice coming out like someone had surprised him and he was too stunned for words.

"Hamburgers"