⋰☆✄♘➶⋱
【𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬】
ᵍʳᵒᵛᵉʳ❦ⁿᵒᵃ

Grover carried Percy up to the cliff first before going back down for Noa, bringing her to the top and setting her down gently.

"Annabeth!" Percy called out when they heard her wince, Ceberuses' paws stomping around. Noa looked over the side frantically, her eyes darting around for some type of movement or sign of her friend. She jumped back quickly when the red bell came flying up, Percy grabbed ahold of it as the trio stared.

Noa swore her soul left her body when the three headed dog jumped high for the ball, revealing himself from the foggy shadows. Grover grabbed ahold of Noa in a frantic panic as she pulled Percy with her.

"Guys?" Annabeth questioned, the three running to the ledge where they saw her holding on.

"Annabeth!" Noa smiled widely down at her. "Just hanging out?"

"Is it really the time?" the Chase girl questioned.

"Maybe not." Noa backtracked her words, helping Percy pull her up as the four collapsed onto one another in a minor group hug. Noa's face lit up as she shut her eyes at the large embrace.

"Excuse me." Annabeth backed off some, walking to the edge once more. Percy joined her side immediately, Noa watched the pair before looking back at Grover. He'd still been slimy and smelt of puppy breath, but he smiled at her with the soft eyes she felt like maybe she could stare at forever. Noa gave him a soft smile back, pulling her bag off and finding her camera. "Tell the camera what it was like being eaten by a three headed dog."

"Dark...and slimy." he exhaled, rubbing the gunk off his arms. "But, his teeth were pretty white for a dog from hell."

"Well, you've never looked better." Noa joked, shutting the camera off and looking back at Percy and Annabeth. She chunked the ball off into the distance to keep the dog far away from them, his feet echoing away.

"Wow!" Grover exclaimed. "That was really...I mean, how did you-"

"My father had a dog when I was little," she explained, Noa took a few photos with her necklace at the depths of hell. "I guess I remember the tricks."

"Oh, wow. Look at that." Percy's voice caught their attention, all looking back. Noa dropped her necklace as it smacked her chest, looking out at the view her brother was talking about.

"Hades palace." Annabeth confirmed at the sighting. "That's where he'll be keeping the master bolt. And your mom."

"Hope you're up for a little family reunion." Noa nudged Percy with an exhale of defeat. "Don't worry....they hate us all the same."

"And here I thought we'd be competing for attention." he matched her sarcasm.

"Oh no." Grover's voice made Noa's heart drop. She knew whatever he was about to say, it wasn't going to be good. He felt over his body frantically. "The pearl. I lost the pearl. I think it's...it's in the dog."

"Take mine." Noa quickly held hers out.

"Are you crazy? It's your ticket out." he shoved her hand away.

"I'm a goddess now, Grover. I think I can conjure up something to get me out of here." the girl rolled her eyes in response, her red glove extending again with the pearl outreached.

"Don't go getting a big head now that you're a goddess." Grover pushed her hand away with a knowing look. "I like the size of your head now."

Noa frowned, yet blushed at his comment, realizing he wasn't going to let her win this one.

"If we don't move, it's not going to matter how many of us have pearls or not." Annabeth cut in quickly, encouraging all of them to take off quickly. They heeded downhill with dread and fear within all their hearts.

•

"We can't ignore this." Grover spoke a few minutes into entering a creepy forest, or so it appeared to be.

"Stop." Percy huffed.

"It's just math." the curly haired boy kept on.

"Math that I am a mathematician in but that's the part you ignored." Noa rolled her eyes.

"No, Noa. You were trying to do science." Grover argued with her. "The four of us, plus Percy's mom, is five people. And only four pearls. Someone is staying behind and it should really be me."

"And now he's speaking spanish." Noa shrugged her shoulders. "The one language I never learned. Too bad, guess I'll never know what he said."

"It wasn't your fault, Grover." Percy began to wonder when his sister and best friend began to argue like an old married couple, as Luke liked to call him and Annabeth. Was it when Grover refused to let Now sacrifice her life for his? Or was it when whatever happened to her body only happened when he was seconds from horrible danger? Percy sure hoped Noa didn't think he'd forgotten about that, the thought lingered in his head. "And even if it were, Noa is right. You're not getting left behind. Period."

"Period." Noa mocked him in a way that was actually agreeing with him.

"After we get the bolt and stop this war, you guys are leaving." Percy went on, looking to each of them. "With my mom."

"What about you?" Grover shook his head at him, Noa stared at the side of Percy's face intensely. He walked off quickly. "Wait, wait, wait. Percy, what about you?"

"Percy, I will throw you over my shoulder and walk out of hell with you that way if you don't shut your mouth." Noa caught onto his logic, mainly because it was the plan she tried to make for herself as well. After all, they did have the same father.

"Quest aren't linear, right?" Percy question, trying to shrug the both of them off. "I'll figure something out-"

They froze in terror at the bald man just a few feet before them, going completely unnoticed until just now. Noa had seen a lot of creepy things in her life...but this was definitely pushing the top of the list. She backed up on instinct, Grover noticed her fear through his own panic and stood infront of her.

"Sorry." Percy mumbled to the creature staring him down, its black eyes entirely sunken in and far from visible.

"They can't hear you." Annabeth confirmed as she studied whatever stood before her.

"They?" Grover question, Annabeth looked around and making it known there'd been multiple all around them. Noa grabbed onto Grover's arm in fear, standing so close to him that he felt her heartbeat against his shoulder. Living as long as she did, Nos grew to not be so scared. She'd seen almost everything there was, and she simply couldn't die even if she wanted to. But, whatever the cult of creatures were around her, would haunt her dreams for years upon years after their visit to that forest....Noa just didn't realize it then.

"This must be Asphodel." Annabeth stated, knowing it from memory rather than experience. "I read a book about this place."

She began to walk quickly, Grover gapped. "Wait. No, no, no, no. What are you-"

Annabeth ignored him, leaning down and uncovering the shaw at the creatures feet. "Are those...roots?"

Noa didn't move a muscle as she stared, wishing more than anything for them to get out of there. "Souls here are bound by regret. Haunted by choices they made in life...or never made."

Noa gasped loudly as Cerberus growled in the distance, making the four take off in a sprint once again. Despite being hunted, Noa was more than happy to get out of there. She ran alongside the group, wincing quickly as she collided with one of the people. She fell at their roots, huffing at the impact. She looked up in fear at the creature infront of her.

"Noa!" Grover yelled out quickly, but he'd been too late. The roots formed and took her underground in less than two seconds, the ground mending back together over her body long before he had the chance to get to her.

•

kylie speaks

are we ready to see some
noa memories or what?!?