chapter eight
008. medusa's curse!

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    WENDY WISHED she had her map. 

    If she had her map, perhaps she might've felt a false security of direction▬of where to go next. She could look at it, point west and say: Here, this is the path we need to follow. But just like everything else, her map had been destroyed when the bus exploded. Everything Wendy had packed▬all of her preparation and her reassurance that she would succeed in this quest, was gone. Was burnt up. Was nothing. 

    Even the candy she bought she no longer had. Wendy thought it was a silly thing to be upset by▬random candy from some random service station store that had no practical meaning whatsoever. But that had been her first time buying something, not just for herself but also for people whose opinions mattered to her. Wendy felt like she had failed them, too. 

    (And she hated failing). 

     She was the daughter of Athena. She should have prepared for Zeus to attack. She should have prepared for the Kindly Ones. She should have known, she should have been ready, she should have▬

     But now it doesn't matter. Here they were, stuck in the thick of the woods on the riverbank in New Jersey, hungry, tired, the Hudson River making their noses sting and with no idea what to do next. They just had to keep walking. Walking was the only thing on Wendy's mind. They needed to move forward. Where? She just had to figure that out later. 

     She tried to lead them through the tall grass and the trees. Wendy never knew there was a forest in New Jersey. She never knew much about New Jersey to begin with. The world outside her globe ... she knew nothing, and deep down, that terrified her. 

     Behind Wendy and Annabeth, Grover was shivering. He was still recovering from the shock of it all, and it left him hugging his arms close to his body and braying. "The Kindly Ones. All three at once!"

     Percy didn't look much better, but Annabeth just kept pulling them along. "Come on!" she said, not letting the woods in front of them stop her. "The further we get, the better."

    "All of our money was back there," said Percy. They were all covered by the shadows of the trees and the cloudy night, but the yellow haze of New York behind them seemed to cast enough glow to see each other's faces. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

     Annabeth set her jaw. She clenched her hands, and she did her very best to not show how shaken up she was, too. "Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight▬"

    "What did you want me to do?" frowned the son of Poseidon. "Let you get killed?"

    "You didn't need to protect me, Percy," she forged onwards, taking sharp breaths of frustration through her nose. "I would've been fine."

    "Sliced like sandwich bread," muttered Grover, "but fine."

    "Shut up."

    "Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans..." However, Grover's mournful brays soon stopped when he noticed something at his feet. He sniffed and kicked the dirt with his fake feet. "Hey," he murmured, "guys, somewhere up ahead▬I think this turns into a satyr path. If▬" he rummaged into his pocket for his reed pipes. "I think I remember a 'find my path' song▬" 

     "What's a satyr path?" Percy cut him off, curious. 

    "It's a road through the wilderness," explained the satyr. "Satyr explorers use them. Harder to track us."

    Wendy pursed her lips and looked up at the treetops, squinting her eyes to try and see better. She lost all of her books, her pencil case, her notepads, her drink bottle▬everything. She shook her head and kicked some of the dirt, trying hard to not get annoyed by Grover's talk about satyr paths. He was trying to help. 

     "That's ... great," murmured Percy, as if not too sure how to take Grover's explanation. "But if we stay in the wilderness, how are we gonna find a phone?"

     "What do we need a phone for?" demanded Annabeth, shooting him an estranged look over her shoulder. 

     He stared back at her as if the answer were obvious. "So ... we can call camp?" Percy glanced at Grover, unsure. "T▬To get help."

    They were walking through the woods. They had no food, no water, and no money▬nothing to keep them safe or prepared except the clothes on their backs and the weapons in their hands, and yet, Wendy made a face and shook her head. She couldn't give up. She couldn't show that she was ready to give up. This was just another test. This was her mother, testing her so she could prove herself. This is what it had to be. "It's okay, we don't need help. We're fine."

    Percy stopped in his path, incredulous. He scoffed and Wendy glanced back at him, confused. "We're fine?" He glanced at Grover once again in disbelief. In front of them, Annabeth sighed and spun on her feet when she realised they were no longer moving. "We haven't even gotten to Trenton and we're wandering through a forest. I didn't even know they had forests in New Jersey, but we've found one! I would say we're the opposite of fine."

    Wendy grew a little perplexed as she turned to walk once more. Trenton? What's a Trenton? Annabeth rolled her eyes. She hid how her hands clenched under the sleeves of her jacket. "Of course, you would think that," she muttered. Grover pursed his lips. "We just need to keep moving. We'll be less fine when Alecto catches up with us because you're too busy complaining."

     Percy scowled after her and softly mimicked her under his breath. 

    "We are fine," Wendy repeated, though she wasn't sure whether she was reassuring the others, or just trying to reassure herself. "I mean, the Oracle sent us on this quest. The gods sent us on this quest. It's not supposed to be easy," she nodded, taking a deep breath. "It's supposed to be hard because it's our chance to show the gods what we've learnt. And we get chosen because the gods think that we are capable of making it through their tests. We are not going to fail. But if we call camp?" she glanced back at Percy once again, determined and stubborn. He was surprised. He hadn't seen this side of her. "That means we're basically saying it was a mistake to choose us."

    Percy shrugged. "I don't know about you," he said to Grover before facing Wendy again, "but I'm completely comfortable with that. Everyone makes mistakes."

    The word mistake made Wendy halt to an abrupt standstill. She didn't want to get angry. She wanted to be understanding. She wanted to be nice. But as soon as Percy said mistake, all she could think of was what Alecto said▬was what Athena thought of her. Her thoughts burned with so many things she wanted to say, so many things she wanted to snap at. So much boiled up inside her that in the end, Wendy couldn't get any of her words to leave the tip of her tongue. And after the anger, then came the doubt. And the doubt was worse. Much, much worse. 

     She could feel Grover watching her. She could feel his soft stare; his understanding and it made her want to hunch up and hide. Wendy had to be strong. That's what the daughters of Athena were. They were strong, they were witty, they were smart and they could use words as their weapons as much as they could with a blade. And yet, all Wendy could do was simply stumble on hers. It made her furious. She shouldn't care about feelings when she knew she was right▬when her plans were the better ones and her knowledge was what they should be relying on the most. She should speak up. She should say every raging thought in her mind and own it because her thoughts were right. How could they not be? She had trained since she could remember to be a jack of all trades to survive. Why could she not show it with the same confidence as the rest of her siblings▬as every other demigod? Why was she so sensitive and timid and soft? Demigods weren't soft. And yet, Wendy was. 

     Annabeth's set jaw and her scowl that spun onto Percy in Wendy's silence didn't help her mood. Annabeth Chase was the perfect daughter of Athena, and she knew it. She didn't hide it. She didn't run away from it. She didn't shy away from her trust in her abilities, and she didn't let anyone else demean them. Wendy felt horrible. She felt sick and she felt frustrated with herself▬ashamed, even, to understand that there was a slither of jealousy festering in the pit of her stomach to know that Annabeth was everything Wendy always wanted to be. 

     She stormed back up to them, stepping in front of Wendy. "Why are you so afraid of who you are?" she suddenly demanded of Percy. 

    Percy's surprise soon turned into a flicker of annoyance. His brows furrowed and he grew defensive. "What?"

    Grover could feel it. He could feel their frustration, their fear and their anger. The tension that billowed up like a cloud between them all also billowed into a suffocating cloud in his chest. He tried to step forward. "Y▬You know, what's interesting about this particular satyr path is it's actually the one my Uncle Ferdinand took when he set out on his own quest▬"

    "What was that supposed to mean?" Percy stepped closer to Annabeth, narrowing his eyes at her. "Afraid of who I am? I'm not afraid."

    "Yes, you are," she replied, annoyed that he was denying it. No, she was more than annoyed. Annabeth looked angry. She looked frustrated. She almost seemed disappointed. "You aren't just a kid. 'Just a kid' doesn't do what you did to Clarisse back at camp. 'Just a kid' doesn't have Hades sending top lieutenants to retrieve him. 'Just a kid' doesn't slay a Minotaur. 'Just a kid' isn't claimed by one of the Big Three." She stepped closer, a sharp, furious breath flaring up her nose. Annabeth held this piercing gaze▬like the glint of a freshly sharpened dagger blade, and it was pointed at Percy. "You know, you are a part of something so much bigger than we can understand right now. We have to move forward, whether you like it or not, whether you want to, or not."

     Those words held a deeper meaning; a weight on Annabeth's shoulders. She had expected a child of the Big Three to arrive at camp, Wendy knew this. Annabeth Chase had been more sure of it than anything else. Yes, Percy was a part of something much bigger than any of them could understand, but it seemed Annabeth held a slightly better understanding than the rest of them. Wendy didn't know why. 

     Percy sighed and clenched his hands, looking away for a moment before he glanced at Wendy and Annabeth. When he spoke, his voice had lost some of its edge. "Look, you don't want to call camp, fine. Then," he shrugged, "at least let's call your mom."

    A cold feeling washed over Wendy's spine, chilling the warmth she still had in her chest. Was he asking her? Or was he asking Annabeth? Either way, it did not matter, she still felt hurt. 

    She didn't tell him about everything with her Mom. Wendy thought she didn't need to. She thought of the conversations they had on the bench near the lake at camp for the few days she believed she would finally make a new friend. Wendy had felt listened to. And she had been, just not to the things she wanted Percy to hear. 

    She told him she wanted to be noticed. She had admitted to it▬to him, and to no one else. What did he think that meant? 

     Her gaze dropped down to her shoes. Whatever friendship she and Percy seemed to have▬whatever truce she had reassured herself with▬it was no longer there. This couldn't be all from Capture the Flag. One simple act that she believed they came to an understanding about wouldn't place a rift between them forever. There had to be something else. 

    (Wendy hated not knowing things). 

    (More than that, she hated being wrong. About things, about people, about herself▬about trusting someone to not let her down).

    "Excuse me?" muttered Annabeth, her voice thick and toxic. 

    "Athena?" Percy shrugged once again. "Your mother. I'd call my father, but we aren't exactly on speaking terms. You know, because of the lifelong neglect and all, but you and your mother seem close. So, why don't we ask her for help?"

     Wendy was so shocked she didn't know what she wanted to say. Her breath hitched, and that was the only sound she made▬it caught in the back of her throat where her anger tried to rise, blocking it from escaping. If Percy considered him and his godly parent not on speaking terms, if he believed he had been neglected by Poseidon all his life, why did he think that Athena was any different? 

    If Wendy asked her mother for help, that would be worse than asking camp for help. That would be her telling her mother, the goddess of wisdom, of battle strategy, of everything it takes to lead a quest that she was a failure. Her mother would be ashamed and embarrassed. Athena would find it one of the greatest insults her daughter could ever give▬if she didn't find Wendy an insult already.

     Annabeth looked like she was ready to unleash her knife on Percy. Instead, the first thing she did was grab Wendy's arm and pull her behind her▬as if the natural response she had was to somehow protect her younger sister and take the hurt from Percy's words all for herself. 

     "Grover," she said through gritted teeth and glanced at him, "will you explain to your friend that he needs to pull himself together?"

     Grover stammered, but Percy narrowed his eyes at Annabeth and Wendy. He realised something. "You can't ask her, can you? When was the last time she talked to you▬?"

    "Grover▬"

   "I don't know why you keep pulling him into this!" snapped Percy, and Wendy felt her throat close up. Annabeth didn't look so confident anymore. "He's on my side."

    "Your side?" scoffed Annabeth, furious. "What makes you think that?"

    "Because he's my Protector, it's his job▬"

    "He was my Protector, first!"

     "First?" Percy's anger stammered and he frowned at Grover, confused. He glanced between them. Wendy pursed her lips and looked down at her feet once more. "What do you mean first?"

     Grover hesitated. "I▬it's very exciting," he tried to change the subject, "getting to walk in Uncle Ferdinand's footsteps. Next best thing to getting to talk to him again."

     It was too late. Percy was slowly understanding. Wendy watched Annabeth set her jaw and look up at the sky▬she realised she was trying hard not to cry. "Thalia, Luke and Annabeth had a satyr Protector. That was you."

     His friend swallowed harshly. He glanced at Annabeth, the positive, happy energy he had tried to keep together the entire day until now withering to something broken and distraught. 

     "Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Percy, annoyed.

     "Why should he?" Wendy spoke up finally, annoyed herself. Percy's livid stare fixed on her. "What purpose does it have to you?"

     "Because▬" he went to say something, but his words cut off. She narrowed her eyes, analytical as she tried to decipher the lies he was keeping. Percy was afraid. Annabeth was right. 

    Before Wendy could figure it out, and before Percy could say anything else, Grover suddenly made a loud sniff into the air. They turned to him, incredulous, only to see his frown. He tilted his head and sniffed at the air once more. "Do you guys smell that?"

    "Grover," grumbled Percy, "I'm not kidding▬"

    "No, neither am I," snapped the satyr. They were all surprised. "Just shush." They listened. Not because they had no questions, but because they were all equally as quizzical at the way Grover stepped past them, continuing to sniff the area around them. He then stopped, bewildered himself. "Hamburgers..." he murmured. 

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    PERCY KNEW he was being strung along. It made him angry. He didn't like being used and he didn't like being left in the dark. He didn't like how his father suddenly wanted something to do with him after years and years of watching Percy's mother struggle and suffer. And now, he expected Percy to do something for him? To help him? When he was given a prophecy that put his mind in a twist and on edge▬words that told him he'll succeed, and then fail. A prophecy that told him the people he should trust could very well be the last person he ever should. You shall be betrayed by the one who calls you a friend. 

    And now, here he was, on a quest where Grover, who was the first friend Percy had ever had, had already lied to him more than once. He was walking behind Annabeth who told him to his face that because of the rival between Athena and Poseidon, they could never get along. And then there was Wendy, another child of Athena who had appeared in the same dream he had of Zeus and his father fighting, and the sand swallowing him whole▬A person he could not figure out, who had already shown him she was prepared to make a plan that would throw him under the bus if it would make whatever mission she had succeed. The mystery girl from his dreams ... Why would she appear in his dreams if she wasn't connected to this quest in some way? Grover and Annabeth didn't show themselves once in Percy's dreams, and yet Wendy had. 

    Did that mean that it was Wendy who would betray him? Was his dream a warning? 

    A warning of the same girl who overpacked her bag and warned him about his shoelaces. A warning of the same girl who glanced over her shoulder to check whether he was still following and the same girl who nearly tripped over when she did. Percy couldn't figure her out. How could he trust someone who was at the same time so secretive, and yet never failed to boast about a random fact she knew? And yet, how could he not trust the one person he was sure would shove him down the stairs if it meant seeing this quest succeed▬who would make sure they would save what mattered most in the end, no matter what the Oracle told him?

    But would that mean betraying him in the process?

    Percy felt horrible about being so suspicious. He felt horrible that he would doubt them▬especially Grover. He was angry. At these guys, at the Oracle, at the Gods. He was...

    He was scared. 

    He didn't want Wendy to be the one the Oracle meant. He didn't want any of them to be. He was sure that Grover wouldn't betray him. Even if he lied, and even if Percy was annoyed about the lies he had told him, all Grover had done since Mrs. Dodds attacked him the museum was protect him. He was his Protector. But more than that, Grover was loyal. He was here on this quest, even though he was terrified of seeing Hades. Percy didn't care, he just knew Grover wasn't going to ever betray him. 

    Annabeth might be standoffish and always annoyed with him. She might be curt and annoying herself, but she was so adamant about putting the barrier their parents created between them. If she didn't want to be his friend, then she wouldn't be able to betray him like the Oracle said. The prophecy stated very clearly▬Friend. 

    That left only Wendy. 

    And he was angry. Because he wanted to like her, and now some stupid Oracle and these stupid Gods are making him realise that he couldn't. If Percy pushed her away, she wouldn't get close enough to hurt him. And if he wanted to save his Mom from the Underworld▬the only thing he cared about, even if he had to choose her over the Lightning Bolt, Percy knew Wendy would do everything she could to stop him. 

    This might not be a game about flags and Clarisse with her electric spear, but the principle that motivated Wendy's choice was loud and clear. 

    Grover took the lead. He marched through the thick of the New Jersey woods. Even though it was dark and none of them could barely see a thing, he seemed to know exactly where to take them. 

     He still had yet to explain anything. Annabeth frowned at the back of his head. "Grover. What are you doing▬?"

    "Somebody's making hamburgers," he said, glancing over his shoulder at them. 

    "So, there's probably a snack bar back towards the road," shrugged Percy. He could do with some food right now. If Grover could smell hamburgers, that must mean the smell would lead them to other fried, greasy, excellent food. Unhealthy food. After a strictly healthy diet at Camp Half-Blood, Percy really needed a double cheeseburger. "That's great, right? I'm starving. I vote we go to the snack bar."

    "Snack bar," agreed Annabeth wistfully. Her rule against voting was long forgotten, she was just as hungry as the rest of them. 

    "Are you two crazy?" Grover frowned at them. "We're in the middle of nowhere, on a satyr path. Whoever's making hamburgers ... they're from our world."

    "Maybe it's the god of cheeseburgers," muttered Percy.

    "Are you always this sarcastic?" Annabeth frowned at him.

    "Yes, Annabeth," he replied, doubling the sarcasm on purpose. 

    "Demeter is the goddess of agriculture, which could include cheeseburgers since the buns are bread and bread is made from wheat, which is ..." Wendy's words drifted into a soft silence at her surprise when Grover led them right out of the woods and onto an old back road. 

    The road looked as though it hadn't been used in years. Trees had fallen over the tarmac, and the potholes looked ancient. In front of them, was a gas station▬it was closed down; fenced off and boarded up. Above it, hovered a large, but tattered billboard for a movie that must have been from the nineties. 

    "Is this Trenton?" asked Wendy, glancing around with a curious eye. "It's not very impressive."

     Percy didn't have the headspace to correct her. Grover smelt hamburgers. He wanted hamburgers▬and fries. Fries would be good, too. 

    They continued down the deserted road until they found the only business that seemed to be open. Now that they were closer, Percy could smell the food, too, and it came straight from the building with the neon sign. Though, it didn't look like a snack bar or a fast food restaurant. The ominous building with the neon sign lied at the end of a long, gravel road shaded by trees and guarded by over fifty stone statues at the very least. 

     Percy frowned. The building itself was a long, low-ceiling warehouse surrounded by acres of land filled with more forest trees. He was incredibly hungry, but maybe not hungry enough to feel a little bit weirded out by the tall, stone statue closest by in nothing but a loincloth, sharp claws for fingers and one, single eye on its head. Percy knew what it was▬A cyclops, but why would anyone want to sell a statue of a cyclops?

    Annabeth marched forward, too, frowning at the neon sign. Percy glanced over and stood beside her. He frowned at the sign, too. "What the heck does it say?" he asked her, unable to read it. With his dyslexia, reading neon words was even worse than trying to decipher regular writing. The neon words were red and cursive▬it was a dyslexic nightmare.

    "I don't know," she answered and Percy felt bad. He knew he had already made Annabeth mad when he asked her about Athena, and now he forgot that she was dyslexic, too. 

    Wendy and Grover joined them, too. All of them stared up at the neon sign, and the strange-looking statues set up down the length of the driveway. 

    "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," translated Grover. 

    "Hope she has cheeseburgers," Percy went to continue down the driveway, but Annabeth grabbed his arm.

    "No, wait!" she whispered.

   "What?" he turned to her, annoyed. 

    His frown lifted when he saw how rigid Annabeth had become. She glanced around them, her breath hitching and her hand gripping the hilt of her dagger. She took in all the different statues. They were all strange. Some of them were people, but the looks on their faces were ones of absolute terror. Others were creatures Percy could not even begin to know▬monsters with fangs, horns, claws and multiple arms. And yet, despite being stone monsters, they looked just as terrified. 

   Annabeth took a shaky breath. "Aunty 'Em' has a garden full of petrified stone folks. Yeah, this is someone from our world, all right. Anyone wanna guess what 'Em' is short for?"

    Wendy paled. She stared at the gargoyle-looking stone creature right in front of them just as they were about to reach the front door. Grover soon followed. His knees quivered. "Oh..."

    Percy frowned at the stone monsters, and he realised, too. 

    Aunty 'Em'. No, 'M'. His chest squeezed all the air out of his lungs, leaving only a painful ache of fear. 

    They had found themselves at the doorstep of Medusa's lair. 

    "We need to get out of here," Annabeth began to back up. Percy, Grover and Wendy didn't argue. "Please, while we still can▬"

     They spun around just as a large shadow descended from the treetops. Percy's eyes widened and he staggered backwards. Landing on the road and blocking their escape, with her leathery bat wings and her fiery whip, was Mrs. Dodds. She had caught up to them, and she did not look happy. She looked murderous. 

    Percy grappled for his pen and unsheathed Riptide. He held it out in front of him with both hands. 

    But Mrs. Dodds wasn't looking at him. Her wings folded behind her gargoyle, scaly body and she tilted her head, watching Wendy like a vulture after it found a new dead animal to feast on. "You should have accepted my offer when you had the chance, demigod."

    Percy's grip on his sword hilt relaxed slightly in his confusion. He glanced over at Wendy and he noticed Grover and Annabeth do the same. She didn't meet their frowns. "Offer?" asked Percy. "What offer is she talking about?"

    She still didn't look at him. The grip she had on her short sword was clammy.

    "Not today, friends."

    A voice as gentle as the bypassing wind echoed behind them. At the sound of it, Mrs. Dodds forgot all about the group of them and immediately turned to hide her head underneath her leathery wing. Percy's frown deepened. Curious, he looked over his shoulder and noticed a slender silhouette behind the circle of statues right out the front of the warehouse. At first, he thought he had seen a ghost▬The white fabric of the dress that appeared behind the cracks of the statues was elegant and bright; as if the moon had stepped down onto the earth. Footsteps clicked on the gravel as the stranger grew closer. "Not on my doorstep."

    "Oh, shoot!" cursed Annabeth under her breath and quickly looked down at her feet, facing away. Grover and Wendy did the same, either staring at the ground or clenching their eyes shut, holding their breaths in fear. 

     Just as the woman rounded the last statue, Percy spun to face Mrs. Dodds, too, focusing his stare on the loose tarmac at the edges of his sneakers. His heart pounded.

     "If you have something to resolve," said Medusa, getting closer to them with each soft scrape of her heels on the driveway, "why not come inside and I'll help?"

     It took everything to fight the urge to glance around. Something was compelling about the way Medusa spoke▬curious and intriguing. It lured Percy to risk it, to even just take a glimpse of what she might look like. He set his jaw and forced himself to keep his gaze down. 

     "Alecto?" he heard a smirk in her voice. "Will you be joining us?" The Fury did not move. She hiked her wings up higher to cover her face. "No ... well, I wouldn't think you would. She won't bother you as long as you're with me," then said Medusa. Percy tilted his head ever-so-slightly to check on the others beside him. Grover had his shoulders hunched and his eyes closed. Annabeth was so still she could be a statue herself. Wendy bit her lip to hide the shakiness of her breath, but she shifted uneasily▬her sneakers twisted the loose gravel. "But it isn't as though she'll leave, either, not if it means reporting that she failed to retrieve the son of Poseidon."

     Percy froze. He almost turned around and had to stop himself. "How did you▬?"

    "A forbidden child has been claimed," mused the legendary monster. Percy thought he heard a soft hissing sound in the dead silence of the night. And it was haunting because the forest at night was never silent. "How long did you think that secret would keep? It's a pleasure to meet you, son of Poseidon. I'm Medusa."

     The hissing sound, he was sure it was coming from her, now. And yet, it echoed all around him▬as if there were snakes in the trees and curling around the statue bases. He held his breath, feeling his head tilt as if on its own accord to look▬

    "Percy, don't!" whispered Wendy in a frantic tone. "You can't look. She's a monster. She's tricking you."

     Medusa chuckled at her words. "Oh, my dear, we all choose who we make our monsters, but right now, that one wants to tear you limb from limb. And I'm offering you lunch. The choice is yours."

     He heard the scrape of her heels slowly fade away. Once he was sure he heard nothing else, Percy glanced behind him and just like that, Medusa was gone. She had left the door to her warehouse open wide▬welcoming them to follow. 

     He pursed his lips.

     "I think we can trust her," said Percy. Wendy, Annabeth and Grover all spun to him.

    "What▬?", "▬No▬!", "▬Dude!" their voices echoed with the same shock and disbelief but Percy shook his head. 

     "I can't explain it," he said quickly. "I just ... My mom once told me her story, okay? The point was always that she isn't what people think." Percy stood straighter and placed the cap back on his sword. He made his decision. "And I definitely trust my mom. So, I'm going in. You guys do whatever you want."

     He left them there, marching down the rest of the driveway towards the warehouse door. When he heard footsteps, he glanced over and admittedly felt a breath of relief to see Grover only just a step behind. Percy smiled. 

     Just as he made it to the door, he eyed Wendy and Annabeth who still hadn't moved from where they were standing. He didn't give them another glance before he and Grover stepped inside.

     The inside of the warehouse wasn't a warehouse at all. Percy wasn't exactly sure what he expected▬maybe more statues, maybe something else sinister, but instead, they entered the hallway of a home. There was carpet at their feet, a staircase to the left and old, nineteenth-century furniture. They continued down the hallway, feeling warm and grateful for the glow of the hanging lights above them, even if the wallpaper had a musty smell to it. 

    Further down the entry hallway, another door was left open. Percy peered inside first, and stared, his mouth watering at the entire dining table full of food. Good food. Unhealthy food. There were chocolate cookies, brownies and colourful meringues. Lemon tarts, apple pie and shortbread. Stands filled to the brim with cupcakes and surgery goods, bowls of candy and chocolate enchiladas. Toffee apples, chocolate-coated strawberries and ... and assorted blue candy. Percy stopped at the foot of the table and stared at it, feeling his chest tighten once again. 

     The room around them was much like the rest of the interior. There were candles on the dining tables, old, patterned Victorian chairs and frilly lamps. Beautiful, crocheted tablecloths and intricate, old carpet mats at their feet. Everything about the room was warm and inviting▬nothing sinister about it.

     From a room to the left, Medusa called out: "You must be hungry. I left snacks on the table while I get something proper going. You poor things must be so hungry!"

     Grover hovered at Percy's shoulder. They both stared at the abundance of dessert foods.

     Percy leaned in close to his best friend. "You think it's safe to eat?" he whispered. 

    "Percy, I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm really hungry," said Grover, continuing to stare at the chocolate enchiladas. "And I'm ready to take that chance."

     The door to the room creaked open further. Percy watched Wendy and Annabeth silently enter, both of them stiff and on edge. He was surprised. "Thanks for coming," he murmured, not expecting them to follow. 

    Wendy eyed the food, as if she really wanted to grab some candy, but also was either too prideful or too suspicious of Medusa to try▬maybe both. Annabeth crossed her arms, the scowl still on her face. "This isn't the same for us as it is for you," she said to Percy.

    He tilted his head. "Why?"

    "You're concerned I would hold a grudge against you and your sister simply because you are daughters of Athena?"

    As soon as they heard Medusa's voice, they all adverted their gazes. Percy watched her feet move around the table, pouring glasses of lemonade. Though, he couldn't help himself but watch Wendy and Annabeth▬the sets of their jaws, the anxious clenching and unclenching of their hands. 

     The sisters stood close together, holding onto each other tightly▬and Percy saw Annabeth step in front of Wendy, even with Medusa so close. He had seen both of them hold their own against three Furies, and yet, even still, Annabeth was ready to take the brunt of whatever attack she expected would come their way. Some of her bronze armour chipped away and Percy saw not a blunt demigod praised for her potential, but instead someone brave and protective. 

    "You shouldn't be," went on Medusa. Now that she was close, Percy could see the long, flowy dress that reached down to her ankles and wrapped around at her waist▬like she was one step in the modern world and one step back in Ancient Greece. She wore a felt hat, like the ones women often wore at the races tilted down far enough to hide her eyes. All they could see was the brilliant red colour of her lips. "We're not our parents, after all. And us girls might have more in common than you think."

    "We don't have anything in common," muttered Wendy, not looking away from the flower pot in the corner of the room. 

    Medusa hesitated in pouring the final glass of lemonade. For a moment, her smile faltered▬or maybe Percy imagined it, because there it was again and she filled the last drink before setting the glass jug on the table. "You might be surprised. Please, my dears, sit and eat."

    Percy's stomach won any argument his mind might have. He sat down in front of the desserts with Grover beside him, immediately reaching out for one of the cupcakes. Grover filled his plate with a wide assortment and dived in to eat. Wendy and Annabeth weren't so trusting. They kept standing in a rigid stance, tense and on alert. 

     He tried not to be annoyed. They were being rude. If Medusa wanted to kill them, as they believed, then what was she waiting for? Instead, she was being kind, she was offering them food and drink▬She was saving them from Alecto outside who had done nothing but try to hurt them. "So," Percy sipped his lemonade. "You're not a monster, what are you then?"

    Medusa sat down at the head of the table, elegant and poised. She paused, considering her answer. "A survivor."

    "You must be a little more than that. There's a Fury out there that seems terrified of you."

    "Because she knows what I think of her," as Medusa spoke, Wendy glanced at them eating and then back at the table. When she noticed they had not dropped dead, she quickly reached out and took one of the blue candies and ate it before she thought any of them would notice. "I don't like bullies. When one shows up on my doorstep, they end up spending a lot more time there than they planned for." Medusa smiled. "The gift the gods gave me is that I cannot be bullied anymore."

     Wendy, who was eyeing the candy bowl to see if she could try and sneak another suddenly frowned. She looked up at Medusa. "What? No, that's not right."

     Grover stopped eating. He stared at Wendy as if she had gone mad. Annabeth looked surprised too. 

     Medusa's smile momentarily turned into a grimace. "Excuse me?" There was a new edge to her voice.

     "What happened to you wasn't a gift," said Wendy matter-of-factly. "My mom cursed you as punishment for the wrongs you committed to her in her temple. You shamed her."

     Percy's hands fell to the table, wondering what Wendy's problem was. He expected Annabeth to speak up, or tell her to be quiet, but she was silent. She agreed. Both of them stared Medusa down with the same steel gaze. He was stunned. At any moment, Medusa could take away her veil and turn them all to stone if she wanted to, and yet Wendy was not about to back down. 

     Medusa clasped her hands together, crossing one leg over the other. She watched the children of Athena for a long moment. "You are loyal to your mother."     

     Wendy chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Yes," she said.

     "You stand by her?"

     "Why wouldn't I?"

     "You love her?"

     She stared down Medusa with that same anger she had at the docks when Percy asked her about her father. "She's my Mom. Of course, I love her."

    "And so did I," said Medusa. "So did I. Do you know the story of how I came to be this way?"

     Wendy set her jaw and looked away. Before she could have gotten the chance to answer, Grover held up a hand. "I do," he blurted out. 

    Medusa tilted her head, suddenly sharp and miffed with her movements. "Do you?" she demanded.

    He hunched up. "Do I...?"

    She leaned back slightly in her chair, and still kept the same perfect posture as before. "Athena was everything to me," Medusa began her story. "I worshipped her, I prayed to her. I made offerings ... She never answered. Not even an omen to suggest she appreciated my love." Out of the corner of Percy's eye, he noticed Wendy stare down at her feet again. She was fuming. He had never seen her angry like this. Medusa saw it, too. "I wasn't like you, sweetheart," she snapped, the curtness and sudden malice to her voice making Percy stiffen. His hand slipped into the pocket of his jeans to wrap his fingers around his pen. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, or why he was so prepared to fight the moment Medusa spoke to Wendy, but he had been anyway. "I was you."

     "I would have worshipped her that way for a lifetime... in silence. But then one day, another god came, and he broke that silence," Medusa's head shifted to Percy. "Your father. The Sea God told me that he loved me. I felt as though he saw me in a way I had never felt seen before." The grimace returned to her blood-red lips. "But then Athena declared that I had embarrassed her and I needed to be punished. Not him ... Me. She decided that I would never be seen again by anyone who would live to tell the tale."

     "That's not true," Wendy clenched her hands, blurting the words. She seemed startled. Percy couldn't stop her▬none of them could stop her even if they wanted to. "You took Poseidon into my mom's temple. You violated her sacred space and so she punished you because she is just. Always."

    "Wendy▬" Annabeth was getting anxious now. It was one thing to agree with what she was saying, but it was another to watch her point fingers at someone dangerous like Medusa and call her a liar. 

     "You are wrong," continued Wendy, ignoring her, glaring at Medusa on the other end of the table. "You did this to yourself. My mom would never punish you if you didn't deserve it."

     The smile on Medusa's face was long gone now. Percy grew angry. How could Wendy say that? How could she be mean and dismissive▬just because Medusa's own story was not the one Wendy had been told; just because she couldn't admit to being wrong? "The gods want you to believe that, that they are infallible. But they only want what all bullies want. They want us to blame ourselves for their own shortcomings. Your mother couldn't punish the Sea God for doing what he did to me, and so she punished the mortal who had done nothing but love her, all her life. Just like your mother has punished so many because she, like you, cannot look past her blinded pride▬"

    "That is not what happened," Wendy cut her off and Percy was too shocked to say a word. She pointed a finger at Medusa. "You are a liar. And you are a monster."

    The silence that followed was tense and deafening. Taking a long breath through her nose, Wendy clenched her jaw and crossed her arms, glaring at the corner of the table. Medusa pursed her lips. If Percy could see her eyes, he was sure he'd see hurt. 

    She turned her head towards the kitchen. She sighed. "Something's burning." The smile returned to her lips and she stood up. Medusa turned to Percy. "Would you give me a hand in the kitchen? I think lunch is ready."

    She left through the open door. Percy stood up. 

    "Percy," Wendy whispered, her voice urgent.

    He just sent her a short look before following after Medusa. He couldn't believe her. 

    Percy stepped into a kitchen just as old as the rest of the house. floral wallpaper and rusty old wooden cupboards▬he wasn't exactly sure what time he had found himself in; modern, ancient and everything in between filled the rooms of Medusa's home, as diverse as the statues in her garden. 

    He heard the sound of something cooking over the stove. As he made it to the kitchen, he saw Medusa stand with her back facing him, holding a pan ... Percy wondered what she was cooking since it seemed as if she already had an entire lunch set out on the island bench. He stared at the hamburgers and one vegetarian burger, the lasagne in its tray and the bowls of fries. There was no way she could have cooked all of this, and all of those desserts, in the time it took for them to enter her home. And yet, she seemed to know exactly what they liked, she knew Grover didn't eat meat, and she knew about the blue candy▬as if she had been expecting them this entire time. 

    Percy hovered at the kitchen opening, feeling an uneasy twist in his stomach. He watched Medusa for a moment. "She's not usually like that," he said. "Wendy, I mean. Usually, she's kinda nice▬"

    "She's going to betray you," Medusa set the pan back down on the stove. His brows knitted together when he caught a glimpse of what was burning within it ... nothing. The twist in his stomach turned into a lurch. "Sooner or later, people like her, they always do."

    "I don't ..." he glanced back at the full table of food. Percy didn't feel so hungry anymore. His mind started to race and his limbs began to buzz as if he had been sitting down for far too long. He wondered how Medusa knew his concerns▬his thoughts about Wendy and the prophecy. He wondered why she was bringing it up. Something didn't feel right. The warmth of the home began to feel a lot colder. He saw four milkshakes near the kitchen sink. One for each of them. "Why do you care?"

     "Your mother and I," she shifted the pan against the flame. Until Percy realised there was no flame on the stove. "We're like sisters in a way. Targeted by the same monster. So I find myself feeling protective of you."

    The feeling in Percy's legs grew. His heart started to race and he felt the need to run. "I ..." he didn't think much of his father, but when she called Poseidon a monster, something in him stiffened. He remembered the way his mother's face would light up whenever they visited Montauk▬the way she suddenly looked five years younger, with no tired lines beneath her eyes and the slight ocean breeze in her hair, speaking about Percy's father with a soft smile on her face. She loved Montauk. "A monster? My mom never talked about my dad that way."

    Medusa let go of the pan. She didn't turn around. "Where is she now, your mother? Is she safe?"

    Percy swallowed the lump growing in his throat. He remembered the way she turned to gold mist at the squeeze of the Minotaur's fist. "No. She's not."

    "And do you trust your friends to help you to make her safe?" the feeling grew. Percy glanced at the food again. Medusa had been waiting for them. She had been waiting for him. "Will they let you make her safe if it conflicts with their quest? I could ... help you remove them from the equation so that you can be free of them. Free of betrayal. They would make lovely additions to my garden, don't you think, Percy Jackson?"

    She received no answer. 

    When Medusa glanced around, Percy was already gone. 

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    a/n: i don't like this chapter. the descriptions feel dry and repetitive, i'm sorry. i'm also sorry for complaining about my writing lol.

    medusa's scene is something as soon as i saw it i knew i wanted to switch from the book, because i love how they changed it and were more sensitive to her story which is why this chapter is also very tv show based. she was a victim, and i really wanted wendy to be the one to defend athena because i somehow managed to parallel their devotion to athena even before the show came out, so i will continue to do that. that's sorta why i had her snap at medusa, and it also shows her fatal flaw really well. wendy isn't an angry person and she isn't a mean person, either, but like most athena children, her fatal flaw is hubris, and that is directly linked to what she believes is right, and to athena. in her eyes, she is right, and athena can do no wrong, even if she's done wrong by wendy so many times. wendy devotion to athena is blind and unconditional because all she wants is to be noticed and praised for her work and her skills and her knowledge, and she thinks she will eventually be noticed by her mother if she sticks to this blind loyalty. and also, she's a twelve-year-old, and she loves her mother, even if athena doesn't exactly show unconditional love back. 

    and so, naturally, wendy becomes defensive and when she becomes defensive, just like everyone else, she becomes angry. and since she cann't admit she could be wrong, she has to be right ... we then get the sort of response she had with medusa, even if it is insensitive. but if y'all come at my girl like my readers came at claire for just being a twelve year old, i will get angry, too. i honestly get so disgusted when i look back on the first few chapters of sunshine and see readers blame how she acted with percy (which was not just because of her traumatic childhood, but just because she's twelve), on her being on her period. or joking that she's bipolar. or just calling her a bitch and blaming her on decisions she made as a six year old instead of apollo who friken listened to a six year old and gave her powers. this fandom is actually so toxic. i'm still mad at how my girl claire was treated. if sunshine/deep end!percy saw just one of those comments he would have sent a whole storm in his anger. 

     sorry if annabeth felt displaced in this chapter. i did try my very best to keep her a focus. she has more of a focus in upcoming chapters. if you squint, you do see her trauma with thalia, her knowledge of the prophecy and her fatal flaw, and development with her and percy's friendship as well in this chapter, its just subtle compared to the showdown wendy had hahah. 

    (percy doesn't know all he'll do for wendy yet. bro is here all like 'she could be the one to betray me' not knowing what she's already done to protect him *cries*). 

    (minimal editing).