━━ chapter four
thieving scoundrels

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    CONSIDERING Sam went through some real shit to help Nico, he felt as though he was a little lacking in his gratitude. Sam never asked for thanks, mainly because he was too anxious to. But his pride that he got from his mother (thank you, Athena) made him a strange mixture of wanting Nico to thank him and appreciate him, but also too scared to speak up about it.

    All he did was sit up on top of that mast, looking out, not sleeping, and brooding. Very son of Hades. He rarely talked to anyone aside from Hazel, and Sam hated the part of him that wanted to climb up there, sit next to him and risk being pushed off by shadows to get something out of him.

    Sam fiddled with his fingers at the table the morning they were getting closer to Bologna. The tension was as thick as ever; all of the demigods were unsure of what to do without Percy and Fiona around. He sat beside his sister, glancing at her briefly. Annabeth tried to stay strong, she tried to be what they all expected her to be, but she was limp in her grey gaze. She didn't know what to do, and it was destroying her. 

     Sam glanced over at Nico sitting near Hazel. He looked better than he had a few days ago, but still was like a walking ghost. His dark hair hung over his dark eyes as if he wanted to fall asleep, but wouldn't. Maybe he was scared of sleep. Sometimes Sam was━sleep was always a quest of its own for demigods, with horros and gods and monsters. 

     His gaze moved to the walls that showed real-life time from Camp Half-Blood. He missed the only home he felt like he belonged in. His siblings and friends that were better family than his father ever was. 

     Don't think about him, he grumbled to himself. You'll be in a mood for the rest of the day. 

     Sam picked up Fiona's pugio and twisted it in his fingers, finally bringing himself to listen to the conversaiton happening around him when Nico spoke up. He hated how he intrigued him, purely because he was the reason Sam was here in the first place. The son of Hades sat forward and stated, "I communed with the dead last night," like it was a casual thing everyone did now and then. "I was able to learn more about what we'll face. In acient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek pilgrims. They would come to speak with the dead and honour their ancestors."

    Leo frowned, "Sounds like Día de los Muertos. My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously."

    "The Chinese have that, too," grunted Frank. "Ancestor worship, sweeping the graves in the springtime," he glanced at Leo. "Your Aunt Rosa would've got along with my grandmother."

     "Yeah," muttered the son of Hephaestus. He sounded bitter. "I'm sure they would've been best buds..."

    Nico cleared his throat. "A lot of cultures have seasonal traditions to honour the dead, but the House of Hades was open year round. Pilgrims could actually speak to the ghosts. In Greek, the place was called the Necromanteoin, the Oracle of Death. You'd work your way through different levels of tunnels, leaving offerings and drinking special potions━"

    "Special potions," Leo said. "Yum."

    Annabeth and Jason both shot him looks to say quiet. "Nico, go on," said Sam's sister.

    "The pilgrim's believed that each level of the temple brought you closer to the Underworld, until the dead would appear before you. If they were pleased with your offerings, they would answer your questions, maybe even tell you the future."

    "And if they weren't?" Sam asked the question hanging on everyone's tongue. 

     Nico glanced at him briefly before looking away. Sam felt that flicker of annoyance again. "Some pilgrims found nothing," he said. "Some went insane or died after leaving the temple. Others lost their way in the tunnels and were never see again."

     "The point is," said Jason quickly, "Nico found some information that might help us."

    "Yeah," he didn't sound enthusiastic. Though, when did he ever in the short time Sam has known him. "The ghost I spoke to last night ... he was a former priest of Hecate. He confirmed what the goddess told Hazel yesterday at the crossroads. In the first war with the giants, Hecate fought for the gods. She slew one of the giants━one who'd been designed as the anti-Hecate. A guy named Clytius."

    "Dark dude," guessed Leo. "Wrapped in shaodes."

    Hazel turned to him, gold eyes narrowed. "Leo, how did you know that?"

    "Kind of had a dream."

    No one was suprised by that. They all have had their experience of nightmarish demigod dreams. Sam paid close attenion as Leo explained, telling them about a dark giant and a strange woman on Half-Blood Hill, offering him a multiple-choice death.

    Annabeth sighed, pushing her food away. "I remember reading about Clytius. He's going to be waiting for us, I'm sure, guarding the Doors of Death."

    Sam decided to take her food himself, eating away. He rolled up one of the pancakes, stuffing it down his mouth. He was hungry when he was nervous. Sam was nervous and scared and angry━about a lot of things. But he learnt never to show it. He was better off to people happier, and positive; it made him feel better to focus on better things. If he didn't, Sam didn't think he'd be here today. Positive thoughts and daisy crowns distracted him from how uncomfortable he felt━with everything. In the way he moved, and looked, and felt. He knew who he was, and he was comfortable with who he was inside. But outside ... Sam hated to look at it. It was like he was in some stranger's body, trapped and unable to break free. If he focused on that, focused on these feelings, Sam couldn't keep moving; he couldn't keep hoping. He was strong, he was a demigod━he will keep his chin up high and make things as good as he could in his situation. Otherwise, what use was he to himself or to others? He wanted to feel good, and so he thought good. He hated feeling sick and lost, and so he refused to let those thoughts hit him. Maybe it was something horrible in itself, but did he even have time? What time was there to think about all of that on this ship against monsters after monsters. Fiona and Percy didn't have time for him to sit and think about his problems and past. 

    "And the woman in Leo's dream?" asked Frank as Sam tuned back in.

    "She's my problem," said Hazel, passing a diamond between her fingers. "Hecate mentioned a formidable enemy in the House of Hades━a witch who couldn't be defeated except by me, using magic."

    "Do you know magic?" frowned Leo.

    "Not yet."

    "Ah ... okay, any idea who she is?"

    Hazel shook her head. "Only that ..." she glanced at Nico, and some sort of silent argument happened between them. Sam knew they were keeping secrets. "Only that she won't be easy to defeat."

    "But there is some good news," said Nico. "The ghost I talked to explained how Hecate defeated Clytius in the first war. She used her torches to set his hair on fire. He burned to death. In other words, fire is his weakness."

     Eyes settled on Leo.

    "Oh," he murmured. "Okay ..." He looked as though he didn't like this idea. 

    "It's a good lead for now," said Annabeth, trying to sound positive, but her heart wasn't in it. "At least we know how to kill the giant, now. And this sorceress ... if Hecate believes Hazel can defeat her, then the rest of us have to, as well."

    Hazel dropped her gaze, "Now we just have to reach the House of Hades, battle our way through Gaea's forces━"

    "Plus a bunch of ghosts," Nico added grimly. "The spirits in that temple may not be friendly━"

    "━and find the Doors of Death," Hazel continued. "Assuming we can somehow arrive at the same time as Percy and Fiona and rescue them."

    "Yay," let out Sam, swallowing his pancakes. "Ghost Busting!"

    Nico didn't appreciate his attempt to lighten the room. He just scowled at him. Sam gave him his best smile, feeling a little smug he could make him annoyed like he annoyed him. 

    "So," spoke Leo again, "with this detour. I'm estimating four or five days to arrive at Epirus, assuming no delays for, you know, monster attacks and stuff."

    "Pfft," Sam spread some maple syrup onto Annabeth pancakes he stole. "Monsters? Never."

     Annabeth nudged him, and he sighed, deciding to stay silent for now. 

    "Hecate told you that Gaea was planning her big Wake Up party on August first, right? The Feast of Whatever?" Leo turned to Hazel.

    "Spes," she answered. "The goddess of hope."

    Jason turned his fork, "Theoretically, that leaves us enough time. It's only July fifth. We should be able to close the Doors of Death, then find the giants' HQ and stop them from waking Gaea before August first."

    "Theoretically," Hazel agreed. "But I'd still like to know we make our way through the House of Hades without going insane or dying."

    "Well, some of us are already insane," Sam offered. "We're halfway there━" others scowled at him. "Right, sorry ... wrong time." He went back to fiddling with Fiona's knife, tracing the etchings with a deep frown on his face. He wished she was here. He wished she and Percy were here ... everything would feel more achievable. 

    Frank realised something horrible. He set his food down and said, "It's July fifth. Oh, jeez, I hadn't even thought of that."

    "Hey, man, it's cool," said Leo. "You're Canadian, right? I didn't expect you to get me an Independence Day present or anything ... unless you wanted to."

     "It's not that," said Frank. "My grandmother ... sh ealways told me that seven was an unlucky number. It was a ghost number. And July is the seventh month."

    "Yeah, but ..." Leo tapped his fingers, looking nervous. "But that's just a coincidence, right?"

     The look on Frank's face wasn't reassuring. "Back in China," he said, "in the old days, people called the seventh month the ghost month. That's when the spirit world and the human world were closest. The living and the dead could go back and forth. Tell me it's a coincidence we're searching for the Doors of Death during the ghost month."

    No one had an answer. Sam wasn't so hungry anymore. He pursed his lips, frowning back at Camp Half-Blood, the campfire flickering. Annabeth glanced at him and took a deep breath. She managed to come up with a small plan, "Let's focus on the things we can deal with, okay? We're getting close to Bologna. I say we'll get more answers once we find these dwarfs that Hecate━"

     The ship suddenly lurched. Sam's breakfast plate slid across the table. Nico fell backwards out of his chair and banged his head against the sideboard. He collapsed on the floor with a dozen magic goblets and platters crashing down on top of him. 

    "Nico!" Hazel ran to help.

   "What━?" Frank tried to sand, but the ship pitched in the other direction. He stumbled into the table and went face-first into Leo's plate of scrambled eggs.

    Annabeth spun around, frowning. She grabbed Sam as they almost went stumbling. 

    "Look!" Jason pointed at the walls. The images of Camp Half-Blood were flickering and changing.

    "Not possible," murmured Leo.

    "Well, guess it's possible now!" Sam managed to quip as the visions of camp began to morph and change. Amongst it, a huge, distorted face filled the entire port-side wall: crooked yellow teeth, a scraggly red beard, wary nose and two mismatche deyes. The face seemed to be trying to eat its way into the room. 

    The other walls flickered, showing scenes from above deck. PIper stood at the helm, but something was wrong. From the shoulders down, she was wrapped in duct tape, her mouth gagged and her legs bound to the control console. At the mainmast, Coach Hedge was in a similar situation. A bizzare-looking creature danced around him, doing his hair into tiny pigtails with pink rubber bands.

    The huge ugly face on the wall receded and they could see the entire creature. A gnome sort of beast with horrible fashion sense. It began to leap around the deck, stuffing things into a burlap bag━Piper's dagger, Leo's controllers. Then he prised the Archimedes sphere out of the command console. 

    "No!" yelled Leo.

     Nico groaned from the floor. 

     "Piper!" cried Jason.

     "Monkey!" Frank yelled.

     "Not monkey," Annabeth recognised them, pale. "Kerkopes."

    "Stealing my stuff!" Leo shouted and ran for the stairs. 

     Sam grumbled, finding this a very bad plan of his, but at Hazel's shout of, "Go! I'll take care of Nico!" he took after him. 

     Bounding up the stairs after Leo, Jason, Frank and Annabeth followed in behind him. The situation on the deck was worse than what it looked like from the screen. Coach Hedge and Piper were struggling against their bonds while one of the Kerkopes danced around the deck, picking up whatever wasn't tied down and sticking it into his bag. He was a mismatch of bright, eye-searing clothes that he must've stole, like everything else; far too big on his short, four-foot-tall figure, but he still manged to prance around with it on springy feet. 

    Sam wondered, however, where his friend was until there was a click behind them. 

    "Duck!" Leo shouted and they all hit the deck as the explosion lit up behind them. 

    Sam glanced back, groggy. "Why━why would you keep the grenades out?"

     "I didn't think dwarf-monkey's would steal them!" snapped back Leo. 

     There was ringing in his ears, which told Sam the flash-bomb had been denotated. But it was also filled with a rare vial of Apollo's music, pure liquid extract. It didn't kill, but it left Sam feeling like he had just done a belly flop off a cliff. He tried to get up, crawling to reach Piper and Coach Hedge, but his eyes were spotted with black dots. 

     Around them, the Kerkopes stole more of their things. Leo's tool-belt, explosives ... but worst of all, Sam felt one of them snatch Fiona's pugio from its scabbard on his arm. 

     "No!" he shouted, but it came out weak and strangled, watching the creature jump onto the ballista and was launched into the sky by his friend. The remaining Kerkope bowed to Leo, doffing his zebra cowboy hat and did a backflip over the edge.

     Sam felt like something had been ripped away. The one thing of Fiona he still had with him to keep going, to find her. Someone he looked up to, someone he had gotten attatched to, latched onto like others before. Her pugio was his fuel, his determination. 

     And it had been taken away from him like it meant nothing.

    He took a deep breath, furious and managed to push himself to his feet. He was going to get that blade back from these stupid Kerkopes, that was for sure. 

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    a/n: sorry for the terrible chapter. i've been putting a lot of work to write the rest of these episodes for valkyrie before i lose them all together so my mindset has been focused purely on that. i managed to get this sort of filler out, though, so i hope it's okay for now. 

     i'm trying really hard to make annabeth fit in and make sense, but god is it hard ahahaha. just please bear with me, i'm trying my best to give her development, as well as try and make her character as realisitic as i can while also keeping to canon *screams in stress*. it's okay. i'm okay. we're okay.