CHAPTER EIGHT
( OVERSIZED CAT )

        DAVINA HADN'T BEEN sure Percy pulled through with his whole sneaking on the quest plan until he slammed right into her, knocking her into an Apollo space capsule in the National Air and Space Museum. Davina groaned and shoved him off of her, taking in his appearance. His dark hair was disheveled, like he'd flown there, and his eyes were wide in panic.

"What happened?" she immediately demanded.

"You!" Zoë snarled, aiming her bow at Percy's chest. "How dare you show thy face here!"

"Percy! Thank goodness," Grover grinned. Zoë shot him a nasty look and he shook his head. "I mean. . . gosh. You're not supposed to be here!"

"Luke," Percy panted. "He's here."

Davina's face hardened while Thalia's softened. "Where?" both girls questioned at the same time, quickly glancing at each other before looking back at Percy.

Percy barely breathed when he told them about Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General that everyone had been talking about and had been in her dream.

"The General is here?" Zoë's face paled. "That is impossible! You lie!"

"Why would I lie?" Percy looked annoyed. "Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors–"

"What?" Thalia cut in. "How many?"

"12," Percy answered. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a playmate, to distract you over here. A monster."

Davina, Thalia, and Grover all looked at each other.

"We were following Artemis's trail," Grover explained. "I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent. . . She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet."

"Zoë," Bianca started carefully. "If it is the General–"

"It cannot be," Zoë snapped. "Percy must have seen an Iris Message or some other illusion."

"Illusions don't crack marble floors," Percy pointed out.

Zoë inhaled deeply. "If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors, we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible. . . we must leave now."

"Good idea," Percy nodded.

The Hunter's eyes narrowed at Percy. "I was not including thee, boy. You are not part of this quest."

"Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!" he argued.

"You shouldn't have come, Percy," Thalia stated. "But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van."

Zoë's gaze snapped to Thalia. "That is not thy decision!"

Thalia scowled and Davina sighed. The whole drive had consisted of the girls bickering. Thalia wanted to listen to the radio, Zoë didn't like the music playing. Thalia wanted to roll the windows down, Zoë said no. "You're not the boss here, Zoë." Davina resisted the urge to point out how ironic that sounded. "I don't give two fucks how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"

"You never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoë retorted. "You never could leave them behind!"

Davina rolled her eyes and went to remind everyone that they didn't have time for petty fights when she was interrupted by a loud growl. She slowly turned, seeing a lion the size of a truck with silver claws and glittering gold fur.

"The Nemean Lion," Thalia announced. "Don't move."

The lion roared once more, its fangs reflecting the light of the museum.

"Separate on my mark," Zoë instructed. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Until when?" Grover asked.

"Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!"

Davina unclasped her bracelet. She and Percy both moved to the left while Zoë and Bianca climbed the Apollo capsule and fired useless arrows. The lion knocked the capsule over, sending the Hunters to the ground. Grover played a frantic tune on his pipes, gaining the monster's attention.

Thalia stepped in, holding up her shield, Aegis. The lion recoiled at the sight. "Back!"

While Thalia did that, Davina climbed on top of one of the displays. "Hey!" she waved her sword to get its attention. "Come here, fur ball!" The lion's gaze turned towards her, making her jaw clench. "Come on! Come get me!"

She had a plan.

Kind of.

The lion crouched, ready to pounce. Davina took a deep breath and braced herself. She watched it carefully, prepared to jump. . .

"Hey, fur ball!" Percy called out. The lion's head snapped to him and he charged, swinging Riptide. Much like Bianca and Zoë's arrows, the sword didn't do anything except send sparks flying when the blade hit the monster's fur.

Davina cursed when the lion ripped off a chunk of Percy's coat. She leaped off of the display, onto its back. The lion growled again and flung her off, sending her over the railing.

"Fuck!" she screamed.

Her fall was broken by an airplane hanging from the ceiling. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs and her head hit the metal. She inhaled sharply, adrenaline dulling the pain as she stood.

Davina's eyes widened when she saw how far away the floor was. She looked around, trying to figure out what to do. She looked up when she realized there was nothing she could jump onto, finally noticing the cords holding the plane up.

Please, she begged no one in particular. Let this work.

She used her right hand to grab onto one of the cords and stretched her left arm out, slashing the other cord with her sword. The side of the plane dropped. She took a moment to prepare herself before she cut the other cord.

Another scream ripped through her throat as they went falling. The plane softened the impact once again, breaking, Her head smacked it again and she groaned and lay still for a moment. It was better than dying.

Davina stood and turned just in time to see Percy fall onto a model of the earth while the lion tried to steady itself on a spaceship above them. One of the cords broke and the lion jumped off onto the earth.

Thalia then jumped onto the globe. Davina looked up, watching as Zoë and Bianca tried to get a good angle to shoot at the lion while Grover attempted to clear the area of any mortals.

"No clear shot!" Zoë yelled. "Get it to open its mouth more!"

"Thalia, keep it occupied!" Percy shouted, jumping down from the globe. "Davina, come with me!"

Davina followed him into the gift shop, ready to accept any idea. She was getting really fucking tired of that oversized cat.

"Grab as many of these as you can," Percy instructed, motioning to the glittery silver packets that held freeze-dried astronaut food.

"What the fuck is this going to do?" she hissed.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Just do it."

Once the two of them had as many packets as they could grab, Percy and Davina rushed out of the gift shop. Zoë and Bianca's arrows were still flying at the Nemean Lion and shattering because of its fur. It roared and swatted Thalia away, sending her flying into a rocket.

"Hey!" Percy hollered. He threw his sword at the lion, gaining its attention.

Percy charged at the monster and tossed a packet into its mouth. Its eyes went wide as it began to choke.

"Fuck, this might actually work," Davina mumbled, hoping Percy didn't hear that. He didn't need to get a bigger head.

"It's snack time!" Percy declared, throwing more of the packets in its throat.

Davina chucked a freeze-dried mango into the lion's mouth, followed by strawberry ice cream. Her packets paired with Percy's had the lion's eyes bugging as it tried to swallow them down.

"Now!" Percy screamed.

Arrows fired at the lion from Bianca and Zoë. Davina took a deep breath and threw her sword. It pierced the lion's throat along with the arrows, and the monster fell backward, unmoving.

Alarms wailed throughout the museum, making Davina wince. Grover moved over to Thalia and helped her up as Zoë and Bianca landed next to Percy and Davina.

Zoë eyed Percy. "That was. . . an interesting strategy."

Percy shrugged. "It worked."

"Take it," Zoë told him, looking at the fur coat left behind from the lion.

Percy blinked. "The lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?"

"It's a spoil of war, Jackson," Davina held her head. Now that her adrenaline was starting to wear off, the throbbing pain magnified. "It's yours."

"You guys killed it," Percy looked between them.

Zoë held a ghost of a smile on her lips. "I think thy ice cream sandwich did that. Fair is fair, Percy Jackson. Take the fur."

"We have to get out of here," Grover announced after Percy gave in and picked up the coat. "The security guards won't stay confused for long."

Davina hadn't realized until then that the guards hadn't glanced in their direction once. She turned to look at them. They appeared to be desperately searching for something, causing them to bump into each other and the walls.

"You did that?" Percy asked.

Grover nodded. "A minor confusion song. I played some Barry Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds."

"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoë pointed to something. "Look."

Davina's eyes followed Zoë's finger, which was directed right at a group of men walking across the museum's lawn.

"Go," Percy turned away from the group of men. "They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."

Davina shook her head. "I don't like you, Jackson, but we're going to find Annabeth together."

"You are part of this quest now," Zoë agreed reluctantly. "I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the sixth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."

𝒎𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍
short chapter