Everything seemed to be going okay, at least from Lux's perspective, until someone ran into Sylvia and knocked her into an Apollo space capsule.

Grover yelped in surprise.

Before the offender could regain their balance, Zoe, Lux, Sylvia, and Bianca all had their arrows notched and aimed at their chest. Lux vaguely registered how Zoe and Bianca's bows appeared out of nowhere.

That's when Lux realized who it was.

What is Percy Jackson doing here?

Lux lowered their bow, and Bianca did the same. Neither Sylvia nor Zoe seemed anxious to follow suit, though, and Thalia looked ready to throw hands.

"You!" Zoe shouted. "How dare you show thy face here?"

Sylvia didn't say anything, but she did shoot Percy a venomous look full of unspoken threats.

"Percy!" Grover said. "Thank goodness."

Sylvia and Zoe both glared at him, and he blushed. "I mean, um, gods. You're not supposed to be here!"

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

Luke? The evil son of Hermes Sylvia told me about?

The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately faded. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?"

Percy told them about things he saw/heard in the Natural History Museum, including Dr. Thorn, Luke,  and the General.

"The General is here?"  Zoe looked stunned. "That's impossible. You lie."

Lux glanced at Sylvia to see her reaction. She was staring at Percy as if trying to read his mind. Lux couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She lowered her bow, though.

"Why would lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors--"

"What?" Sylvia demanded. "How many?"

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

Thalia, Sylvia, and Grover exchanged looks.

"We were following Artemis's trail," Grover said. "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."

"Zoe," Bianca  said nervously, "if it is the General--"

"It cannot be!" Zoe snapped. "Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion."

Bianca didn't look convinced, and Lux shared that feeling.

"Illusions don't crack marble floors," Percy told her.

Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Lux didn't know why she was taking it so personally, or how she knew the General, but they figured now wasn't the time to ask. They had to act quickly.

Lux hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I-if he is telling the tru-truth about the skelet-ske-skeleton warriors, I don't think w-we have time to argue."

Zoe nodded. "You are correct. They are the worst, the most horrible...We must leave now."

"Good idea," Percy said.

"'We' does not include you, Jackson," Sylvia said. "You aren't a part of this quest."

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

"That is not thy decision!" Zoe snapped.

Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"

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

Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoe. Then everyone froze. Lux heard a growl so loud they thought their dads were back, playing the loudest noises possible to try to kick the other one out.

Below them, a few adults screamed. A little kids voice screeched with delight: "Kitty!"

Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. Lux had seen that monster once before. A few years prior, Leo and them had glimpsed it briefly from a police car. Now, up close and personal, it looked even bigger.

"The Nemean Lion," Sylvia said. "Don't move."

The Lion roared so load it parted Percy's hair. Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel. Lux could feel terror clawing its way into their heart.

"Separate on my mark," Sylvia said. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Until wh-when?" Lux managed to squeak.

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

Lux ran to the right, loading their crossbow and trying to keep their panic at bay. Sylvia stayed behind them. Arrows whistled past Lux, and Grover played a sharp tweet-tweet cadence on his reed pipes. Lux aimed the arrow and shot it, narrowly missing. Sylvia continued to fire arrow after arrow at the beast. Lux turned and saw Zoe and Bianca on the Apollo capsule. They were shooting arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against the lion's metallic fur, just like Sylvia and Lux's arrows. The lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on its side, spilling the Hunters off the back. Grover played a frantic, horrible tune that hurt the child of Apollo to their very soul, and the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. "ROOOAAAR!"

"Ha!" Thalia said. "Back!"

The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire.

For a second, Lux thought Thalia had it under control. Then they saw the lion crouching, its leg muscles tensing. They'd seen enough cat fights in alleys of big cities. Lux knew the lion was going to pounce.

"Hey!" they yelled in sync with Percy, who must've had the same idea. The lion paused for a moment, as if unsure which demigod to have as a delicious snack. Sylvia stepped in front of Lux and drew a knife.

Percy made the lion's decision easy as he charged the lion.

He's insane, Lux thought.

Percy slashed with his sword, a good strike to the flank that should've cut the monster into Meow Mix, but the blade just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.

The monster raked Percy with its claws, ripping off a chunk of his coat. He backed against the railing. It sprang at him, one thousand pounds of monster, and Percy seemed to realize he had no choice but to turn and jump.

Lux and Sylvia rushed to the edge of the railing. Percy landed on the wind of an old-fashioned silver airplane, which pitched and almost spilled him to the floor, three stories below.

Lux took aim and shot at the lion, but their hands were shaking too much, and the arrow whizzed harmlessly by Percy's head. The lion jumped onto the aircraft, and the cords holding the plane began to groan.

Can that quote unquote superpower I have appear right about now? It'd be very helpful! Lux thought as their arrows glanced off the lion's mane.

The monster swiped at Percy, and he dropped onto the next exhibit, a weird-looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter. The lion roared and Lux caught a glimpse into its inside. It had a pink tongue and throat that seemed vulnerable.

Sylvia, who must've been thinking along the same lines as Lux, shouted, "Target the mouth!" and began to aim for it.

The beast lunged at Percy, and Sylvia's arrow zipped past it, missing completely. Percy dropped from the spaceship onto the top of a floor exhibit, a huge model of the earth. Percy slid down Russia and dropped off the equator.

Sylvia grabbed Lux's arm, startling them, and dragged them down the staircase to a lower level. They ran to the railing there and notched their bows.

The Nemean Lion growled and steadied itself on the spacecraft, but its weight was too much. One of the cords snapped. As the display swung down like a pendulum, the lion leaped off into the model earth's North Pole.

"Grover!" Percy yelled. "Clear the area!"

Sylvia shot another arrow at the lion and turned to Lux. "I'm gonna help Grover. Stay put." She rushed off before Lux could protest.

Lux's eyes widened as they watched Sylvia run to Grover and attempt to corral groups of screaming kids.

No, no, this can't be happening! What do I do? Do I keep on shooting the lion? That'd be ideal, right? But I don't have any experience, and Sylvia isn't here to help anymore! Maybe I should try using my photokinesis? Can I even use it when I want, or is it just random?

Before Lux could come to a clear decision, the other cord on the spaceship snapped and the exhibit crashed to the floor. Thalia dropped off the second-floor landing, which happened to be the floor Lux was on, and landed across from Percy, on the other side of the globe. The lion regarded them both, trying to decide which one of them to kill first.

What just---did Thalia just--- Lux shook their head to clear their thoughts and raised their crossbow again, but Thalia was too close to the lion from where they were standing. Bianca and Zoe both seemed to be having the same problem of having to move around to get a good angle.

"No clear shot!" Zoe yelled as Lux ran to a different part of the railing only to have no luck with that angle, either. "Get it to open its mouth more!"

The lion snarled from the top of the globe. Lux tried to shoot an arrow at its open mouth, but it was shut long before the arrow got even close.

Percy said something to Thalia, who nodded and pointed her spear. A spidery arc of blue electricity shot out, zapping the lion in the tail.

"ROOOOOOAR!" The lion turned and pounced. Thalia rolled out of its way, holding up her shield to keep the monster at bay. Lux looked at Percy expectantly, waiting for him to strike, only for him to turn and run to the gift shop.

"This is no time for souvenirs, boy!" Zoe yelled, voicing Lux's thoughts.

Lux decided to take a different approach, and aim for its eyes and nostrils, but it was no good. The lion kept its eyes narrowed to tiny slits and its nostrils were angled too far down. It crouched, ready to pounce at Thalia and end her life, then suddenly turned and stared right at Lux. Everyone did. 

What's happening? Why is everyone looking at me?

Lux's vision began to blur, so badly they had to strain to see anything. It's a good thing they did, though, because if they didn't, they wouldn't have seen the lion run forward, jump onto the wall right below them, dig its claws into it, and start climbing.

Lux backed up and aimed their crossbow, though their entire body was shaking too much to be able to shoot properly. The lion roared and leaped at Lux.

This is it, Lux thought, vaguely hearing Sylvia's screams and the CLANG of arrows bouncing off of the monster's pelt. I'm dead. At least I'll never have to see my dads again.

Halfway through the pounce, everything blurred twice as bad, and the lion ricocheted off some invisible forcefield. Or at least, that's what Lux thought happened. They weren't really sure, though, as everything went black right after.

Poor Lux.

Guess what? This is actually sorta edited! I probably missed a lot of stuff, but shh...

Sorry for not updating in forever, btw. I kinda forgot about this tbh.

Also, this book tied for first in WiseGirl739's fanfic competition called Artemis, and I'd really appreciate it if you went there and voted for Lyrics to be in first! Or the other one, called Adira, because it's really hecking good

QOTD: Favourite drink?

A: Probably Cherry Coke Zero or Mountain Dew. Or peppermint tea because IT TASTES SO GOOD.

Sidenote: My friend Solangelo2KOTLC told me about SPARKLING LEMONADE? APPARENTLY THAT'S A THING YET I'VE NEVER HEARD OF IT! I n e e d to try it! Has anyone else had it before?

See y'all!

-Eevee