❛009❜

THEY RODE THE boar until sunset, which was about as much as her ass could take. imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. that's about how comfortable boar-riding was. she swore her ass was going to end up flatter than a board, which was concerning to her given that she quite like how it looked.

ivy had no idea how many miles they covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat dry land. the grass and scrub brush got sparser until they were galloping (is that the right word?) across the desert.

as night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. he started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.

"this is as far as he'll go," grover said. "we need to get off while he's eating."

nobody needed convincing. they slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. then they waddled away as best they could with their saddle sores.

after its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled round and galloped back towards the east.

"it likes the mountains better," percy said.

"i can't blame it," thalia said. "look."

ahead of them were a two-lane road half blown over with sand. on the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before zoë nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said gila claw, arizona hanging crooked above the door. beyond that was a range of hills... but then ivy noticed they weren't regular hills. the countryside was way too flat for that. the hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. it was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"whoa," ivy breathed out.

"something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," thalia said. she looked at grover. "i don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"

grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. he fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. they rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but grover looked concerned.

"that's us," the satyr said. "those five nuts right there."

"which one is me?" percy asked.

"the little deformed one," ivy and zoë suggested simultaneously. the two girls looked at each other and shared a high five.

percy glared at the gesture, rolling his eyes. "oh, shut up."

"that cluster right there," grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."

"a monster?" ivy asked.

grover looked uneasy. "i don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. but the acorns don't lie. our next challenge..."

he pointed straight towards the junkyard. with the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet.

they decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. none of them wanted to go dump-diving in the dark.

zoë and bianca produced six sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks. ivy knew it was some sort of magic that made it hold more stuff, because the packs were too tiny to carry the whole house they had packed. the hunters's bows and quivers were also magic, when they needed them, they just appeared slung over their backs.

the night got chilly fast. ivy, grover and percy collected old boards from the ruined house, and thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. pretty soon they were about as comfy as they could get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.

"the stars are out," zoë said.

she was right. there were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.

"amazing," bianca said. "i've never actually seen the milky way."

ivy sighed in delight, looking at the stars in a trance. "it's beautiful."

"this is nothing," zoë said. "in the old days, there were more. whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."

"you talk like you're not human," percy pointed out.

zoë raised an eyebrow. "i am a hunter. i care what happens to the wild places of the world. can the same be said for thee?"

"for you," thalia corrected. "not thee."

"but you use you for the beginning of a sentence."

"and for the end," thalia said. "no thou. no thee. just you."

zoë threw up her hands in exasperation. "i hate this language. it changes too often!"

grover sighed. he was still looking up at the stars like he was thinking about the light pollution problem. "if only pan were here, he would set things right."

zoë nodded sadly.

"maybe it was the coffee," grover said. "i was drinking coffee, and the wind came. maybe if i drank more coffee..."

ivy didn't want to tell him that the coffee probably had nothing to do with what had happened in cloudcroft, but she didn't want to break grover's heart.

"grover, do you really think that was pan?" percy asked. "i mean, i know you want it to be."

the brunette sent percy a look, silently telling him to shut up before he made the satyr cry.

"he sent us help," grover insisted. "i don't know how or why. but it was his presence. after this quest is done, i'm going back to new mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. it's the best lead we've got in two thousand years. i was so close."

ivy nodded and said softly, "i'm sure you'll find him, grover. if there's anyone who will, it's you."

grover gave her a grateful smile.

"what I want to know," thalia said, looking at bianca, "is how you destroyed one of the zombies. there are a lot more out there somewhere. we need to figure out how to fight them."

bianca shook her head. "i don't know. i just stabbed it and it went up in flames."

"maybe there's something special about your knife," percy said.

"it is the same as mine," zoë said. "celestial bronze, yes. but mine did not affect the warriors that way."

"or maybe she hit a certain spot," ivy offered.

bianca looked uncomfortable with everybody paying attention to her.

"never mind," zoë told her. "we will find the answer. in the meantime, we should plan our next move. when we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. if we can find a road, we can hitchhike to the nearest city. i think that would be las vegas."

ivy was about to protest against it, remembering her experience with the place, but bianca beat her to it.

"no!" she said. "not there!"

the hunter looked really freaked out, like she'd just been pushed off a fast moving car from hundreds of feet in the air.

zoë frowned. "why?"

bianca took a shaky breath. "i... i think we stayed there for a while. nico and i. when we were travelling. and then, i can't remember..."

suddenly ivy had a really fucked up thought. sharing a look with grover and percy, she got the feeling they were thinking the same thing.

"bianca," ivy said cautiously. "the hotel you stayed at. was it possibly called the lotus hotel and casino?"

her eyes widened. "how could you know that?"

"oh, fuck," percy slumped back on his sleeping bag.

"wait," thalia said. "what is the lotus casino?"

"a couple of years ago," ivy said. "percy, grover, annabeth and i got trapped there. it's designed so you never want to leave. we stayed for about an hour, i think. but when we came out, five days had passed. it makes time speed up."

"no," bianca said, shaking her. "no, that's not possible."

"you said somebody came and got you out," percy said.

"yes."

"what did he look like?" percy insisted. "what did he say?"

"i... i don't remember. please, i really don't want to talk about this."

zoë sat forward, her eyebrows knitted with concern. "you said that washington, d.c. had changed when you went back last summer. you didn't remember the subway being there."

"yes, but –"

"bianca," zoë said, "can you tell me the name of the president of the united states right now?"

"don't be silly," bianca said. she told us the correct name of the president.

"and who was the president before that?" ivy asked.

bianca thought for a while. "roosevelt."

zoë swallowed. "theodore or franklin?"

"franklin," bianca said. "f.d.r."

"like f.d.r. drive?" percy asked.

"bianca," zoë said. "f.d.r. was not the last president. that was about seventy years ago."

"that's impossible," bianca said. "i... i'm not that old."

she stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.

thalia's eyes turned sad. ivy guessed she knew what it was like to get pulled out of time for a while. "it's okay, bianca. the important thing is that you and nico are safe. you made it out."

"and you're not wrinkly," ivy pointed out.

"but how?" percy said. "we were only in there for an hour and we barely escaped. how could you have escaped after being there for so long?"

"i told you." bianca looked about ready to cry. "a man came and said it was time to leave. and –"

"but who? why did he do it?" percy pestered.

before the hunter could answer, they were hit with a blazing light from down the road. the headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere. ivy was half hoping it was apollo, come to give us a ride again even if she was still holding his attempt to make her fly against him, but the engine was way too silent for the sun chariot, and, besides, it was night-time. they grabbed their sleeping bags and got out of the way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop in front of them.

the back door of the limo opened right next to percy. before he could step away, the point of a sword touched his throat.

ivy drew her knife immediately. she heard the sound of zoë and bianca drawing their bows. as the owner of the sword got out of the car, percy moved back very slowly. he had to, because he was pushing the point under his chin.

he smiled cruelly. "not so fast now, are you, punk?"

he was a big man with a crew cut, a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a skin-tight white vest and combat boots. wraparound shades hid his eyes, but ivy knew what was behind those glasses – hollow sockets filled with flames.

"ares," percy growled in contained anger.

the war god glanced at the rest of the quest group. "at ease, people."

he snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground.

"this is a friendly meeting." he dug the point of his blade a little further under percy's chin. "of course i'd like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. and i never behead my enemies in front of a lady."

"what lady?" thalia asked.

ares looked over at her. "well, well. i heard you were back."

he lowered his sword and pushed percy away. ivy reached for him, grabbing his arm in case he got the idea to fight ares. again.

"thalia, daughter of zeus," ares mused. "you're not hanging out with very good company."

"what do you want, ares?" ivy had her eyes narrowed dangerously. "who's in the car?"

ares smiled, enjoying the attention. "oh, she'll definitely love that." he jutted his chin to where ivy had a hold of percy's arm, she retracted her hand. " but i doubt she wants to meet the rest of your friends. particularly not them." now, he jutted his chin towards zoë and bianca. "why don't you all go get some tacos while you wait? only take percy a few minutes."

"i'm not going anywhere, thanks," ivy gave him a sarcastic smile.

"we will not leave him alone with thee, lord ares," zoë said.

"besides," grover managed, "the taco place is closed."

ares snapped his fingers again. the lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. the boards flew off the door and the closed sign flipped to open. "you were saying, goat boy?"

"go on," percy told them, his eyes trained of the god. "i'll handle this."

"you heard the boy," ares said. "he's big and strong. he's got things under control."

ivy crossed her arms over chest, planting her feet. "i said i wasn't going anywhere. so i'm staying here."

ares scoff. "whatever, she likes looking at you anyway. you can stay outside."

ivy frowned in thought, likes to she her? she mulled over ares's words as their friends made their way to the taco restaurant. ares regarded percy with loathing then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur.

"get inside, punk," he said. "and mind your manners. she's not as forgiving of rudeness as i am."

ivy's eyes widened. she'll definitely love that. likes to see her. "no!" she went to pull percy back from her mother's clutches, but the limousine door had already closed behind him.

PERCY'S JAW WENT slack when he saw her.

he forgot his name. he forgot where he was. he forgot how to speak in complete sentences.

she was wearing a red satin dress and her hair fell in a perfect cascade of waves. her face was the most beautiful he'd ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that would've lit up the dark side of the moon.

the goddess's features shifted. her eye color, her hair, her nose. they changed so rapidly percy couldn't even point it out before it shifted again. after what seemed like forever or too little time staring at her, all those features settled.

she had doll-shaped blue eyes, so deep in color they resembled the ocean. contrasting the rich brown color of her hair that fell in waves in her shoulder. her skin took a tan-ish color, barely there freckled littered the top of her nose. she had prominent cheekbones, a roman nose, and full bow-shaped lips.

when she smiled, a switch turned in his brain. she looked like ivy. or an older version of ivy, at least.

"ah, there you are, percy," the goddess said. "i am aphrodite."

percy slipped into the seat across from her. he was completely overwhelmed, but he managed to form the coherent thought of realizing that ivy was the prettiest girl he'd ever met because she looked like a carbon copy of her mother.

"um uh gah."

aphrodite smiled giddily, her eyes twinkling with delight. "aren't you sweet. hold this, please."

she handed percy a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had him hold it up for her. she leaned forward and dabbed at her lipstick, though he couldn't see anything wrong with it.

"do you know why you're here?" she asked.

percy wanted to respond. why couldn't I form a complete sentence? she was only iv– a lady. a seriously beautiful lady who looked like ivy but wasn't her. with eyes like pools of spring water... whoa.

he pinched his own arm, hard.

"i... i don't know," percy managed.

"oh, dear," aphrodite said. "still in denial?"

outside the car, percy could hear ares chuckling. turning to look out the tinted window, he couldn't glare at ares since he was out of his limited line of vision. percy did see ivy, she was seated on the floor, away from the limousine. looking at her as she nervously tugged at her hair helped clear his mind, but at the same time made his hands grow sweaty.

the son of poseidon knew he wasn't the brightest. but it would take a blind person not to notice how ivy had changed since last summer. she looked more mature, even if she had stayed the same height. her figure that had once reminded him of a cheerleader had changed, now looking like... a model. the kind of model who the girls at his school gushed over wanting to look like.

when percy first saw ivy he had to hide the shock on his face. entirely grateful to have chosen to sit himself in the front seat of his mom's car, stopping him from wanting to sneak glances at her. she had always been pretty to him, the prettiest in fact, but now that word seemed too short for her.

'"i don't know what you're talking about," percy said, dragging his eyes away from the beautiful brunette.

aphrodite gave him an amused look, he felt heat spread across his face, feeling like she just read his thoughts. "well then, why are you on this quest?"

"artemis has been captured!"

the goddess rolled her eyes. "oh, artemis. please. talk about a hopeless case. i mean, if they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should be breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think? i pity the poor dears who have to imprison artemis. bo-ring!"

"but she was chasing a monster," he protested. "a really, really bad monster. we have to find it!"

aphrodite made percy hold the mirror a little higher. she seemed to have found a microscopic problem at the corner of her eye and dabbed at her mascara. "always some monster. but, my dear percy, that is why the others are on this quest. i'm more interested in you."

his heart pounded. percy didn't want to answer, but her eyes drew an answer right out of his mouth. "ivy's putting herself in danger."

aphrodite beamed. "exactly!"

"i have to help her so she doesn't get herself killed," he said. "i had a dream of her in–"

"ah, you even dreamed of her! so cute! were the dreams spicy?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"no! i mean... that's not what i meant."

the goddess made a tsk tsk sound. "percy, i'm on your side. i'm the reason you're here, after all."

percy stared at her. "what?"

"the poisoned t-shirt the stoll brothers gave phoebe," she said. "did you think that was an accident? sending blackjack to find you? helping you sneak out of the camp?"

"you did that?"

"of course! because, really, how boring these hunters are! a quest for some monster, blah blah blah. saving artemis. let her stay lost, i say. but a quest for true love –"

"wait a second, i never said –"

"oh, my dear. you don't need to say it. you do know ivy was close to joining the hunters, don't you?"

percy blushed, in both anger and embarrassment. "i wasn't sure –"

"she was about to throw everything away! and you, my dear, can change her mind. it's so romantic!"

"uh..."

"oh, put the mirror down," aphrodite ordered. "i look fine."

he hadn't realized he was still holding it, but as soon as he put it down, he noticed his arms were sore.

"now listen, percy," aphrodite said seriously. "the hunters are not only your enemies but now mine. forget them and artemis and the monster. that's not important. you just concentrate on making sure artemis doesn't take my baby away from me!"

at her last exclamation, the goddess sounded surprisingly hurt. it took percy by surprise, but it also calmed him in a way. he had been worried that ivy was the one to die at a parent's hand like the prophecy said. recalling the bear twins they'd met in the princess andromeda, he hadn't known if aphrodite was capable of hurting ivy. but now he knew that the brunette held a place in her mother's heart.

"do you know where annabeth is?"

aphrodite waved her hand irritably. "no, no. she has her own love story. but it's been ages since we've had a good tragic love story like you and little ivy's!"

"whoa, first of all, i never said anything about love. and second, what's up with tragic?"

"love conquers all," aphrodite promised. "look at helen and paris. did they let anything come between them?"

"didn't they start the trojan war and get thousands of people killed?" he asked

the goddess hummed in thought, before breaking into a smile. '"ooh! you guys are more like achilles and patroclus! you two would do anything for one another."

percy frowned. "didn't they both die?"

"well, that doesn't apply, of course. but you know what i mean, follow your heart."

"but... i don't know where it's going. my heart, i mean."

aphrodite smiled sympathetically. she really was beautiful. and not just because she had a pretty face or anything. in the same way ivy was, they both believed in love so much, it was impossible not to feel giddy when she talked about it.

"not knowing is half the fun," aphrodite said. "exquisitely painful, isn't it? not being sure who you love and who loves you? oh, you kids! it's so cute i'm going to cry."

"no, no," percy said, remember how heart wrenching it was to watch those blue eyes cry. "don't do that."

"and don't worry," she said. "i'm not going let this be easy and boring for you. no, i have some wonderful surprises in store. anguish. jealousy. indecision. oh, you just wait."

"that's really okay," he told her. "don't go to any trouble."

"you're as cute as ivy says! i wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you." aphrodite's eyes were tearing up. "now, you'd better go. and do be careful in my husband's territory, percy. don't take anything. he is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash."

"what?" percy asked. "you mean hephaestus?"

"and tell ivy i'll see her soon. oh, how i miss her!"

before he could question anymore, ares grabbed his shoulder. pulling him out of the car and back into the desert night.

percy's audience with the goddess of love was over.

IVY HURRIED UP from her spot on the pavement as ares pulled percy out of the limousine. she walked towards them, as expected they seemed to be arguing. just when she reached the two, ares snapped his fingers the world did a three-sixty, spinning in a cloud of red dust. both percy and ivy fell to the ground.

when they stood up again, the limousine was gone. the road, the taco restaurant, the whole town of gila claw was gone. ivy and her friends were standing in the middle of the junkyard, mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.

ivy immediately turned to percy, he was looking towards the floor, unable to look at her. she winced internally by just thinking what her mother could've told him. while she wasn't told anyone of her silly crush, her mother knew everything. the goddess of love didn't need to be told to know this stuff.

"you met my mother," ivy stated dreadfully.

"uh, yeah" he blushed furiously by just glancing at her. percy kept his eyes completely on grover. "i met aphrodite."

"what did she want with you?'" ivy asked.

"oh, uh, not sure," percy said, she could spot the lie by a hundred miles away. "she told me to tell you that she'll see you later, fitzy. and to be careful in her husband's junkyard, not to pick anything up or whatever."

zoë narrowed her eyes. "the goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. be careful, percy. aphrodite has led many heroes astray."

"for once, i agree with zoë," thalia said. "you can't trust aphrodite."

ivy cleared her throat irritably, glaring at the two girls. "i don't appreciate you talking shit about my mother. it's not like aphrodite is less of a goddess than the rest, so you respect her before i make you respect her."

thalia had the decency to look embarrassed, zoë opened her mouth to argue.

"so," percy interjected before ivy could lose her temper. "how do we get out of here?"

"that way," ivy said. "that's west."

"how can you tell?" he asked.

zoë rolled her eyes. "ursa major is in the north, which means that must be west."

the hunter pointed west, then at the northern constellation. chiron had taught ivy that if she ever found herself lost to look at the stars. her father had taught her to look where the sun sets and rises. either way, both lessons stuck with the girl.

"oh, yeah," the son of poseidon said in realization. "the bear thing."

zoë looked offended. "show some respect. it was a fine bear. a worthy opponent."

'you act like it was real."

"guys," grover broke in. "look!"

they'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines and computer monitors.

"whoa," bianca said. "that stuff... some of it looks like real gold."

"it is," thalia said grimly. "like percy said, don't touch anything. this is the junkyard of the gods."

"junk?" grover picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver and jewels. it was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "you call this junk?"

he bit off a point and began to chew. "it's delicious!"

thalia swatter the crown out of his hands. "i'm serious. ivy, back me up!"

"thalia's right," ivy agreed. "this place has a bad vibe."

"look!" bianca said. she raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. she picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "a hunter's bow!"

she yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "i's just like percy and ivy's weapons!"

zoë's face was grim. "leave it, bianca."

"but –"

"it is here for a reason. anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. it is defective. or cursed."

bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down.

"i don't fucking like this place," thalia said. she gripped the shaft of her spear.

"you think we're going to get attacked by mass murdering refrigerators?" percy asked.

"don't be stupid," ivy chided. "god's don't like their shit touched, perce. like zoë said, this is here for a reason."

thalia nodded, walking ahead of them. "come on, the faster we get out of here, the better."

"even after insulting aphrodite you agree with zoë?" percy asked rhetorically.

ivy ignored him.

they started picking their way through the hills and valleys of junk. the stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for ursa major, they would've got lost. all the hills pretty much looked the same.

ivy would like to say they left the stuff alone, but there was too much cool junk not to check out some of it. she found an electric guitar shaped like apollo's lyre that she just had to pick up. percy, being a skater he is, found a skateboard. while riding it it hovered in the air for a few seconds. grover found a broken tree made out of metal. it had been chopped to pieces, but some of the branches still had golden birds in them, and they whirred around when grover picked them up, trying to flap their wings.

finally, they saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. but between them and the road...

"what is that?" bianca gasped.

ahead of them was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. it was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. at one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.

bianca frowned. "they look like –"

"toes," grover said.

bianca nodded. "really, really large toes."

suddenly, ivy had a bad feeling. where there's toes, there's feet'. then legs, torso, arms and a person. big toes meant big person. she exchanged nervous looks with zoë and thalia.

"let's go around," thalia said. "far around."

"but the road is right over there," percy protested. "quicker to climb over."

ping.

ivy drew her kapsoura, while zoe dre her own bow and thalia hefted her spear. but then she realized it was only grover. he had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column were hollow.

"why did you do that?" zoë demanded.

grover cringed. "i don't know. i, uh, don't like fake feet?"

"you have fake feet," ivy remarked.

"come on." thalia kept her eyes on the toes, analyzing for danger. "around."

nobody argued. the toes were starting to freak all of them out. after several minutes of walking, they finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black tarmac.

"finally, we're out of that shit hole." ivy let out a sigh of relief. "thank the gods."

but apparently the gods didn't want to be thanked. at that moment she heard a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.

ivy whirled round. behind them, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. the ten toes tilted over, and her theory had been right. the humanoid thing that rose up from the metal was a bronze giant in full greek battle armour. he was impossibly tall – a skyscraper with legs and arms. he gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. he looked down at them, and his face was deformed. the left side was partially melted off. his joints creaked with rust, and across his armoured chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words wash me.

"talos!" zoë gasped.

"who... who's talos?" percy stuttered.

"one of hephaestus's creations," thalia said. "but that can't be the original. it's too small. a prototype, maybe. a defective model."

the metal giant didn't like the word defective.

he moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon. the sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. the blade was thirty meters long, easy. it looked rusty and dull, but ivy didn't figure that mattered. getting hit with that thing would be like getting hit with a battleship.

"someone took something," zoë said. "who took something?"

she stared accusingly at percy.

the boy shook his head. "i'm a lot of things, but i'm not a fucking thief."

bianca didn't say anything. ivy could swear she looked guilty, but she didn't have much time to think about it, because the giant defective talos took one step towards them, closing half the distance and making the ground shake.

"run!" ivy shouted.

good idea, except that it was hopeless. at a leisurely stroll, this thing could outdistance them easily.

they split up, the way they'd done with the nemean lion. thalia drew her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. the giant swung his sword and took out a row of power lines, which exploded in sparks and scattered across thalia's path.

zoë's arrows whistled towards the creature's face but shattered harmlessly against the metal. grover brayed like a baby goat and went climbing up a mountain of metal.

ivy, percy and bianca ended up hiding behind a broken chariot.

"you took something," ivy said. "that bow."

"no!" bianca said, but her voice was quivering.

"just give it back!" percy hurried. "throw it down!"

"i... i didn't take the bow! besides, it's too late."

ivy knitted her eyebrows. "what did you take to make that thing chase us around then?"

before the hunter could answer, ivy heard a massive creaking noise, and a shadow blotted out the sky.

"move!" percy tore down the hill, ivy and bianca right behind him, as the giant's foot smashed a crater in the ground where they've been hiding.

"hey, talos!" grover yelled, but the monster raised his sword, looking down at bianca, percy, and ivy.

grover played a quick melody on his pipes. over at the highway, the downed power lines began to dance. ivy understood what grover was going to do a split second before it happened. one of the poles with power lines still attached flew towards talos's back leg and wrapped around his calf. the lines sparked and sent a jolt of electricity up the giant's backside.

talos whirled around, creaking and sparking. grover had bought them a few seconds.

"come on!" percy told the two girls, grabbing ivy's hand to pull her alone. bianca stood frozen, bringing out a small metal figurine from her pocket, a statue of a god. "it... it was for nico. it was the only statue he didn't have."

"how can you think of mythomagic at a time like this?" percy said.

there were tears in bianca's eyes.

"throw it down," ivy said. "talos might leave us alone if we give back what we took."

the hunter dropped it reluctantly, but nothing happened.

the giant kept coming after grover. it stabbed its sword into a junk hill, missing grover by a meter or so, but scrap metal made an avalanche over him, and then ivy couldn't see him any more.

"no!" thalia yelled. she pointed her spear, and a blue arc of lightning shot out, hitting the monster in his rusty knee, which buckled. the giant collapsed, but immediately started to rise again. it was hard to tell if it could feel anything. there weren't any emotions in its half-melted face, but uvy got the sense that it was about as ticked off as a twenty-storey-tall metal warrior could be.

"crazy-idea time," percy said.

"your ideas are always crazy," ivy told him.

bianca swallowed. "i'll take anything."

percy told them about the maintenance hatch. "there may be a way to control the thing. switches or something. i'm going to get inside."

"what? you'll get crushed! no!" ivy protested.

"distract it," percy said. "i'll just have to time it right."

ivy studied the big tin can. "i'll do it. i'm smaller, i have better chanced of slipping in the hole."

percy shook his head. "no, i'm not letting you risk your life like that."

ivy opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by bianca.

"no. i'll go." the hunter had her face set in determination.

"you can't either," percy said. "you're new at this! you'll die."

"it's my fault the monster came after us," bianca said. "it's my responsibility. here." she picked up the little god statue and pressed it into percy's hand. "if anything happens, give that to nico. tell him... tell him i'm sorry."

"bianca, no!"

but she wasn't waiting for them. she charged at the monster's left foot.

thalia had its attention for the moment, leaning that the giant was big but slow. managing to stay close to it without getting smashed, play cat and mouse with it and bingo. at least, it was working so far.

bianca got right next to the giant's foot, trying to balance herself on the metal scraps that swayed and shifted with his weight.

zoë yelled, "what are you doing?"

"get it to raise its foot!" she said.

zoë shot an arrow towards the monster's face and it flew straight into one nostril. the giant straightened and shook its head.

ivy notched an arrow of her own, shooting it to the monster's armpit. it flapped his arm around like chicken.

"hey, junk boy!" percy yelled. "down here."

he ran up to its big toe and stabbed it with riptide. the magic blade cut a gash in the bronze.

unfortunately, whatever plan percy had worked. talos looked down at him and raised his foot to squash him like a bug. ivy didn't see what bianca was doing. she had to turn and run. the giant swung his sword at her while his foot came down right behind percy, they were knocked into the air. she hit something hard and sat up, dazed. ivy had been thrown into a limited edition godly microwave, percy was a few feet away in her same state.

the monster was about to finish them off, but grover somehow dug himself out of the junk pile. he played his pipes frantically, and his music sent another power line pole whacking against talos's thigh. the monster turned. grover should've run, but he must've been too exhausted from the effort of so much magic. he took two steps, fell and didn't get back up.

"grover!" thalia, ivy, and percy ran towards him, but she knew they'd be too late.

the monster raised his sword to smash grover. then he froze.

talos cocked his head to one side, like he was hearing strange new music. he started moving his arms and legs in weird ways, like gabriel dancing macarena after sneaking in too many wines during christmas. then he made a fist and punched himself in the face.

"go, bianca!" percy yelled while ivy whooped for the hunter.

zoë looked horrified. "she is inside?"

the monster staggered around, and ivy realized they were still in danger. thalia and percy grabbed grover and ran with him towards the highway. zoë and ivy were already ahead of the two. the hunter yelled, "how will bianca get out?"

the giant hit itself in the head again and dropped his sword. a shudder ran through his whole body and he staggered towards the power lines.

"look out!" ivy yelled, but it was too late.

the giant's ankle snared the lines, and blue flickers of electricity shot up his body. ivy hoped the inside was insulated. she had no idea what was going on in there. the giant careened back into the junkyard, and his right hand fell off, landing in the scrap metal with a horrible clang!

his left arm came loose, too. he was falling apart at the joints.

talos began to run.

"wait!" zoë yelled. they ran after him, but there was no way they could keep up. pieces of the robot kept falling off, getting in their way.

the giant crumbled from the top down: his head, pieces of his chest, and finally his torso and legs collapsed. when they reached the wreckage they searched frantically, yelling bianca's name. they crawled around in the vast hollow chest pieces and the legs and the torso. they searched until the sun started to rise, but no luck.

zoë sat down and wept. ivy was stunned to see her cry, but still offered her shoulder to the hunter as they both let it out.

thalia yelled in rage and impaled her sword in the giant's smashed face.

"we can keep searching," ivy sniffed, her cheeks stained with tears. "i– i can melt the metal. we'll find her."

"no we won't," grover said miserably. "it happened just as it was supposed to."

"what are you talking about?" percy demanded. the tensed muscled on his jaw haven't relaxed in hours.

grover buried his face on his arms. then the ugly truth dawned on ivy.

"the prophecy," she said barely above a whisper, looking at percy with watery blue eyes. "one shall be lost in the land without rain."

a's notes

i took the heart out bc bianca:(
sorry i posted this chapter so late i just changed it so many times im not convinced at how it turned out but wtvr.
aphrodite? the biggest fitzson shipper.
also im changing ivy's face claim lol she still fits the same describiction but i want to make edits for inspo so yea hehe

thoughts???