chapter two
with special guest star, sadness!

THE DOOR PERCY HAD PULLED HER THROUGH led down a dark hallway. They heard sounds down the hall, something like scuffling followed by a pained grunt.

Lennon looked to Percy, about to ask whether they should get out their weapons but her question was answered when he let go of her hand and uncapped his pen. It grew into a bronze sword that glowed faintly in the dark hallway.

She pushed up her sleeve, taking her dagger from its sheath and brandishing it. The dagger was a basic one, given to her by Lee Flecther from Athena cabin's shed of weapons. The words κρυμμένο were engraved on the side. Roughly translated to Hidden One. Which she guessed was a pretty good description since they'd found the dagger tucked away in a corner of the shed.

Lennon knew that one thing was clear as the two ventured down the dark hallway. There would be a fight.

"Do we have a plan?" She whispered to him.

"Find the Di Angelos and go from there,"

Lennon glanced at him. "That's not much of a plan,"

He shushed her again, "Just follow me,"

"Fine... but don't shush me again,"

Eventually, they reached a door and when they opened it they saw the Di Angelos. They stood there frozen in horror, staring straight at them.

"We're here to help you," Lennon said. "Are you okay?" There was no response from them.

Percy lowered the tip of his sword saying, "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

Their eyes were full of fear and that just worried Lennon. She hadn't actually imagined what they would do if they refused to come with them.

"My name's Percy, this is Lennon. We're going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

The girl, Bianca, widened her eyes. Her fists clenched. Lennon only realized what was going on a second too late. There was a loud sound and Percy was slammed into a wall.

A cold laugh echoed and Dr. Thorn spoke. "Yes, Perseus Jackson," Okay Lennon knew they were in a serious situation but, Perseus? She'd never actually heard his full name. "I know who you are."

This Dr. Thorn guy was very fast, very annoying, and very inconsiderate.

"What are you doing, Jackson?" He hissed. "Keep moving!"

Lennon looked at him incredulously. "You injured him and now you're mad he's not moving fast enough?"

Percy winced, "It's my shoulder, it burns." He sounded miserable.

"Bah! My poison causes pain—"

"Oh really? Who would've thought?" Lennon mumbled.

"And who are you?" Dr. Thorn said, except the R sounded long because of his accent. "I've never heard of you,"

"Lennon Hart, but I doubt you would have heard of me," She dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper for show, "I don't usually fight low-level monsters like you." She was lying of course. The only monsters she'd fought were definitely low-level—and she didn't even know what monster Dr. Thorn was— but she was fed up with all his annoying shouting and she was getting pretty impatient.

His nostrils flared. "Silence girl!"

He herded them outside and Lennon looked over at Percy. He looked deep in concentration and she hoped he was figuring out a plan. Lennon wouldn't rely on him though. They needed to get away safe and Lennon was confident in her abilities. She hadn't been training for years for nothing.

See, what Lennon truly admired about Annabeth was her tactical genius, even if it was the little things. She made a mental reminder to give Annabeth a big hug for the save.

She was invisible and had completely tackled the four of them. Dr. Thorn's volley of missiles zipped over their heads. Lennon was kind of frustrated she didn't put together that Dr. Thorn was a Manticore sooner.

Thalia and Grover advanced from behind and Thalia had her shield, Aegis. To be honest, Lennon hated looking at the shield, it creeped her out.

As Thalia blocked one of Dr. Thorn's enormous claws, Lennon charged in, slashing at his tail as he finished throwing a volley of missiles at her. It was a scorpion-like tail and the impact of the missiles knocked Thalia down.

The tail then swayed, meaning to hit Lennon and swing her elsewhere. She saw the move a split second before and slid in the snow, ducking it and rolling over, out of his reach. She barely registered the cold as her instincts took control.

Grover began to play his reed pipes and thick weeds wrapped around Dr. Thorn's legs. He roared and began to change. He grew larger and transformed. He still had a human-like face, but his body was that of a lion.

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible.

"Who are you people? And what is that?" Lennon could hear Bianca say.

And Nico gasped saying, "A manticore? He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!" Lennon had no idea what he was talking about but she didn't think much of it.

Dr. Thorn sent another round of thorns towards the di Angelos, Percy, and Annabeth before throwing Grover across the snow next to them.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

Lennon had aligned next to Thalia as she yelled, "Never!"

"Yeah, fat chance," Lennon nodded.

They both charged at the monster, Lennon ready to slip behind Dr. Thorn and slash at his tail. But there was a thunderous noise and a helicopter appeared out of the mist. Lennon blinked through the intensity of the bright searchlights before she and Thalia were swatted away by the manticore.

She felt her dagger fly from her hands and looked just in time to see it fall straight over the cliff. She'd had that dagger since her first year at camp and now it was gone.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

They were stuck between an armed helicopter and a monster and Lennon had no weapon. She wished her light power was a little more help because now it was the only thing she had.

Then there was the call of a hunting horn blowing through the woods. The manticore froze and for a moment, everyone was silent.

"No, It cannot be—" His words were cut short when a silver arrow shot past and straight into his shoulder. He staggered back, crying, "Curse you!"

There were dozens of them. Silver arrows shooting towards the volley of thorns the Manticore sent, perfectly slicing them into. None of her siblings had that sort of accuracy. Which only meant one thing.

The manticore pulled the arrow from his shoulder and Lennon watched as Percy took a swipe at him with his sword. He dodged and knocked Percy aside. The archers came from the woods, dozens of girls at a range of ages.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Thalia muttered, "Oh wonderful,"

An older archer stepped forward. A tall girl with copper skin. She said, "Permission to kill, my lady?"

Lennon couldn't tell who she was talking to because her eyes were glued to the manticore.

Dr. Thorn wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the ancient laws.

"Not so," said another girl, who seemed younger than Lennon. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and silvery, yellow eyes. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my spear. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked to the older girl who spoke before and said, "Zoë, permission granted."

"If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!" The manticore growled.

He lunged at the three of them— Percy, Thalia, and Lennon— knowing they were weak. Instinctively, Lennon threw her hands up, gold blazing light shot from her hands.

Dr. Thorn staggered back from the light but Annabeth yelled, "No!" and charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife through its mane. The manticore howled and turned in circles, leaving Annabeth to hold on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoë ordered.

Percy screamed, "No!"

The Hunters let their arrows fly. They hit the manticore and he staggered back, wailing, "This is not the end, Hunters! You shall pay!"

And with those words, he leaped off the cliff, Annabeth still on his back.

Lennon could faintly hear Percy yelling Annabeth's name but she wasn't paying attention. Lennon had broken into a run towards the cliff.

She could hear the sound of gunfire as she neared the edge of the cliff however she never reached it because Thalia pulled her back. She dragged her away from the cliff's edge. Thalia was probably saying something but she wasn't paying attention. Her closest friend had just disappeared off a cliff.

Lennon looked up when the helicopter dissolved into a flock of birds. The Hunters advanced on them. The Hunter named Zoë stopped short.

"You," she spoke with distaste.

"Zoë Nightshade," Thalia's voice was trembling with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

She scanned the rest of them. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

"Annabeth! You have to let us save her!" Percy said.

The auburn-haired girl turned to him, "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help."

Lennon wanted to speak up, provide a more optimistic option but she was too busy repeating positive affirmations in her head, trying to distract the more pessimistic thoughts swirling in her head.

"You are in no position to be hurling yourself off cliffs,"

"Let me go! Who do you think you are?" Percy demanded.

Zoë stepped forward but the younger said, "No, I sense no disrespect Zoë. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."

The younger girl looked at him and said. "I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt."

Now, it's obvious that Lennon has placed Percy Jackson on a pedestal. In her eyes, he was this amazing, smart hero who had accomplished many feats. But her perception of him definitely began to crack when he said to Artemis— a literal goddess, "Um... okay." Lennon mentally facepalmed.

Grover gasped and knelt in the snow, a bit dramatically. "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... you're so... Wow!"

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

Lennon winced at the remembrance of Annabeth's absence.

"Whoa," Bianca said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everyone looked at her. She pointed a finger at all of them. "Who... who are you people?"

Artemis' expression softened. "It might be a better question, my girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

She glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe of Artemis. "Our parents are dead, we're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..."

She faltered, obviously taking in their reactions that they didn't believe her. "What? I'm telling the truth,"

"You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian." It was then that Lennon noticed she had an accent. It was really old-timey like she was from medieval times.

"An Olympian... athlete?"

"No, one of the gods."

"Cool!" Nico said.

"No, that is so not cool!"

Nico danced from foot to foot. "Does Zeus really have lighting bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

Lennon felt sorry for the two kids. She understood the confusion and hopelessness you feel when you discover that gods exist and monsters will always be after you. Especially at such a young age.

"Bianca I know it's hard to believe," Thalia said. "But the gods are still around, trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well... Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said. "Like the girl who fell."

Thalia looked away and even Artemis looked pained. Lennon had half the mind to come up with a witty reply but she remembered that Bianca's reality had just been shattered.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," Artemis said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

"Then, can't we go look for her?" Lennon spoke up.

"Why won't you let us look for her?" Percy asked and Lennon narrowed her eyes at him a bit, she wasn't sure it was the best idea to speak to a goddess like that.

"She is gone. Can't you sense it? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."

Lennon held onto that. Artemis said she'd vanished, not died. There was hope that she was alive and that meant they could still find her.

"Ooh!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore. Hopefully, he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted when they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia added.

Bianca shivered. "That explains... Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"

"And that bus driver," he nodded. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover, you're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr actually." He kicked off his shoes to display his goat hooves. Bianca looked like she was going to faint on the spot.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said.

"Yeah, you're freaking her out," Lennon added.

"Hey, my hooves are clean!"

"That's not what..." Lennon just trailed, shaking her head a bit.

"Bianca," Percy started. "We came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?"

"Half-blood," Lennon provided.

Percy nodded his head. "Camp Half-blood. It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" That was Nico.

"Wait," Bianca shook her head. "I don't—"

"There is another option," Zoё said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia said.

Lennon watched as they stared each other down. She didn't really understand their hatred for each other.

Artemis was the one who ended their staredown, declaring their next course of action and asking Bianca to come with her. Grover got put with Nico and so that left Thalia, Lennon, and Percy by themselves.

Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so... Argh!"

"I'm with you," Percy said. "I don't trust—"

"Oh, you're with me?" she said furiously and Lennon took that as her cue to get away. She had no interest in getting caught up in an argument.

After Thalia walked away, Lennon made her way back to Percy. Thalia was pacing in the snow at the edge of camp. The Hunters had set up their camp rather quickly.

She looked to the boy, "We'll find her. Artemis said she'd vanished which means that she's still alive. All we have to do is find her and—"

"Half-assed optimism isn't gonna help us find Annabeth."

"A little optimism is exactly what we need in a time like this,"

"Can you stop? You don't understand how it feels when your friend is missing."

She raised her eyes at him, quickly becoming annoyed. "Look, I get that you're struggling with the fact that Annabeth is gone but don't forget, Annabeth is my friend too. So get your head out of your ass and stop thinking the world revolves around you!"

He was left in silence and Lennon crossed her arms in frustration. She knew everyone dealt with grief in a different way but that didn't mean he needed to snap at her, especially when she was trying to help him.

They stayed there in tense silence until a Hunter brought them the backpacks they'd stashed in the school earlier. Grover had also come over to heal Percy, bringing Nico along with him.

Nico had begun to rummage through his own bag. He brought out a bunch of figurines that looked like replicas of Greek gods and heroes. Lennon recognized a few of them. She even spotted her dad and his sun chariot.

"Big collection," Percy said.

Nico grinned at that. A big, happy smile. "I've got almost all of them plus their holographic cards! Well except for a few really rare ones."

"You've been playing this game for a long time?"

"Just this year. Before that..."

"Before what?" Lennon cocked her head.

"I forgot. That's weird." He looked a bit unsettled but he brightened up quickly. He turned to Lennon. "Is that knife you had real?" He asked her.

"Well, it's a dagger but..." She looked towards the cliff it had fallen off of. "It kinda fell off the cliff,"

Percy looked at her confused. "It doesn't come back to you?"

She shot him a glare. "No, Percy, not everyone has a magical weapon gifted to them."

"You have a magical weapon?" Nico asked Percy excitedly.

"Well," he brought his hand to his neck, shrugging. "My sword is magical,"

"Can I see? The sword you were using?"

Percy showed him his sword and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword by uncapping it.

"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"

"Um, well, I don't actually write with it."

"Are you really the son of Poseidon?"

"Well, yeah."

"Can you surf really well then?"

Lennon covered her mouth to prevent herself from laughing and Grover was doing the same right next to her.

"Jeez, Nico. I've never really tried."

Then Nico whipped his head to Lennon, who raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What about you? Your parent is one of the gods too, right?"

Lennon nodded slowly. "Yeah, my dad is Apollo."

"The sun guy! Cool!" Nico gushed.

He went on asking them questions. Did Percy fight a lot with Thalia since she's a daughter of Zeus? (He didn't answer that one) If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't she know better than to fall off a cliff? (Lennon cringed at that and Percy looked like he was fighting the urge to lunge at the kid) Since Lennon was a daughter of Apollo, was that blast of light her sun powers? (Both Grover and Percy looked at her expectantly but she just kind of shrugged) Was Lennon Percy's girlfriend? (Lennon only cocked her head in confusion, wondering where he would've gotten that from)

Before he could ask anything else. Zoë Nightshade came up to them.

"Lennon Hart, Percy Jackson." She studied Percy distastefully like all Hunters did whenever they encountered a boy. "Come with me, Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

AUTHORS NOTE:
young nico was so cute :( anyways, we got to see lennon fight, very fun. then she lost her dagger, very not fun
any thoughts? questions?