Sam

"Absolutely not," Percy said.

Annabeth glared at him. "Percy, you know it makes sense. She hates my mom and me. She'll come after me."

He shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous. Dean nearly died today! If he wasn't dating an angel, he'd still be a statue."

Sam flinched at the reminder. His heart had practically stopped when he saw Dean's statue. That was way too close for comfort. Sam didn't even want to think about what would have happened without Cas.

Annabeth frowned. "And using helpless kids who don't know who they really are is less dangerous? You know this is a better option."

Percy crossed his arms. "Then I'll do it. She liked me the last time we saw her, remember? Because of my dad. She'll want me."

Sam raised his hand. "Your dad?"

Percy sighed. "She and my dad dated. That's how Medusa got turned into a Gorgon. They met up in Athena's temple, and Athena got mad and turned her and her sisters into Gorgons."

Dean snorted. "I don't blame her."

"Yeah, it wasn't the best decision on their part," Percy admitted. "But anyway, when we first ran into Medusa five years ago, she was still sweet on him. She didn't want to hurt me."

Annabeth scoffed. "And then you killed her. She probably hates you now."

"All the more reason for her to come after me!"

Annabeth sighed and stepped forward to take Percy's hands. "Percy, she's literally been hunting down children of Athena. My siblings. And she already doesn't like me for the part I played when you killed her. She'll come after me. And you know I can take care of myself."

Percy opened his mouth to continue protesting, but Sam spoke first. "She's right, Percy. This is better than endangering innocent children. Annabeth knows what she's getting into. If Annabeth's willing, we should do this." Sam didn't like it much more than Percy did, but it was the best option.

Percy growled and leaned his forehead against Annabeth's. She whispered to him, too quiet for Sam to hear what she said. Percy whispered back, and all Sam heard was, "Never again." After a moment, Percy raised his head and spoke to the room. "Fine. But let the record show, I'm not a fan of this plan."

"Noted," Sam said. "So how should we do this?"

Percy and Annabeth sat down at the table while Sam, Dean, and Cas sat on the edge of their beds.

 Annabeth twirled her knife on the table. "We need somewhere away from mortals. Someplace we can control, with only one entrance and exit. I'll wait in plain sight, while the rest of you hide. The three of you should be enough to hide Percy's scent from them. Once Medusa and Euryale show up, we strike. We take out Medusa first. Then we'll use Euryale to find the statues of the kids Medusa already turned to stone so that Cas can revive them."

"How do we get her to come after you?" Cas asked. "Sam and Dean tell me she's been going after your siblings in a pattern, moving from east to west. How do we make her break that pattern to come for you?"

Annabeth pulled out her cell phone. "With this."

Sam frowned, recalling something they'd mentioned earlier. "I thought you said demigods couldn't use technology, that it was like lighting a flare telling monsters where you are."

Annabeth smirked. "Exactly. I'll make a nice, long call and use Medusa's name as much as possible—names have power. Some monsters and most gods can sense when they're being used. She won't be able to ignore it, and I'll make sure to goad her into coming after me."

Percy reached out and took Annabeth's free hand, his face hardening. He didn't say anything, but Annabeth seemed to know what he was thinking and squeezed his hand. "It'll be fine. We'll all be there. We'll get them."

He nodded. "We better."

~

They found an abandoned barn on their way to the next city on Annabeth's list. They figured Medusa and Euryale had already left Sunnyvale, so it wouldn't make sense to lay out their plot there. But the barn was a good spot—only one entrance, a small second-floor loft, and dim lighting. Annabeth could sit right in the middle of the barn, in plain sight, while Sam, Dean, Cas, and Percy hid in the loft and waited for their moment to strike.

They settled in quickly after distributing their Celestial bronze weapons. Annabeth kept only her knife on her person, to make her seem like an easier target. It was the middle of the night, and none of them had slept since Sunnyvale, but they couldn't wait any longer or the Gorgons would take another kid. Once they were all set, Annabeth put the plan into action.

"Hey, Sally," Annabeth said brightly into her cell phone. "Sorry about the late hour. No, Percy's fine, we're both fine. We're hunting two Gorgons right now." Annabeth paused as Percy's mother responded. "That's actually why I'm calling. We're trying to draw them in. Would you mind playing along for a bit?" Another pause. "Of course, you know we're always careful. And we're not alone, we've got some new friends helping us."

Annabeth looked up at the four of them peeking down from the loft and gave a thumbs-up. Her voice changed tone to become exaggerated, confident, and bored. "Yep, we're hunting Medusa and Euryale. Medusa's been going after my siblings. You know, I'm surprised Medusa hasn't come for me yet. I'm Medusa's sworn enemy's favorite daughter and I helped kill her five years ago. I'm the reason Medusa spent those five years in Tartarus. And here I am, all alone while Percy is off trying to track Medusa down. Gods, I hope Medusa doesn't come after me while I'm by myself. Percy would never make it back in time. That would just be awful if something happened to me. Medusa would be so powerful if word got out that she killed the Annabeth Chase, savior of Olympus. It would be such a blow to my mother, Athena."

Annabeth sighed and then smiled up at Percy. He was smiling too, but Sam could see the worry waiting underneath. But she'd be okay—it was five against two. And from what Percy and Annabeth had told them, monsters weren't all that smart most of the time. This should be a piece of cake. And if it wasn't, they had Cas. Sam had to believe that would be enough.

"Okay, Sally, I have to go. I'm getting tired. Better hope Medusa doesn't come for me while I'm alone and asleep. Love you, Sally. See you when we visit in a few weeks."

With that, Annabeth hung up the phone. She glanced up at their hiding place again with a smile, then stretched out on the dirty old cot they'd found in the barn. She wasn't really going to sleep, but it would take some time for Medusa and Euryale to arrive. Plus, the more unprepared she appeared when they got there, the easier it would be to get the drop on them.

Sam, Dean, Cas, and Percy retreated deeper into the loft where the shadows hid them. Percy kept close to them so their scent would mask his, but Sam knew he was itching to be down there with Annabeth. He kept fidgeting, bouncing his legs and twirling his pen.

After twenty minutes passed without movement, Percy's fidgeting got worse and he looked over the edge of the loft like he was ready to jump down there and run away with Annabeth. Sam hurried to distract him before he did something stupid.

"So how did you and Annabeth meet? How long have you been together?" he asked.

Percy smiled. "We met when I first stumbled into Camp Half-Blood after killing the Minotaur. I thought she looked like a princess. I passed out, and when I woke up later, she told me I drooled in my sleep. We got together on my sixteenth birthday, two years ago."

"You've been through a lot together," Cas noted.

Percy nodded. "We've been through everything together. There's no one I'd rather have watching my back."

"That's nice," Sam said. It had been a while since he felt something like that—since Jess, most likely. He and Eileen were trying to make things work now, but it was slow going. Nothing like what Percy and Annabeth or Cas and Dean had.

"What about you two?" Percy asked, looking at Cas and Dean who were sitting as close to each other as they could. "How did you meet? How long have you been a couple?"

Cas didn't look up from the knife he was examining in his hands. "I gripped him tight and raised him from perdition."

Percy blinked. "Ooooookay."

Dean sighed. "When I died and went to Hell, he pulled me out. Technically, the first time I remember meeting him was in a barn like this one, and I tried to kill him. We've known each other for over ten years, but we've only been together a few months."

Percy barely seemed to notice the last part. "You pulled him out of Hell? Man, I wish you'd been around to do that for me and Annabeth a year ago."

Cas frowned and finally looked at Percy. "You two were in Hell?"

Percy cocked his head. "Probably not the one you're thinking of. We fell into Tartarus, the pit where monsters go to reform after they die. Definitely did not make the top ten of our Best Couples Vacations." His eyes became distant like he was reliving past memories—unpleasant memories. Sam wished he didn't recognize the look on a face so young.

Dean sighed, and Sam knew he noticed it too. "Look, I'm sorry for what we did earlier when we ditched you two. We've lost a lot of people in this life. I didn't want to watch two more kids die, no matter how prepared you think you are. All it takes is one wrong move. Sam and I would know. We've both died plenty of times. So has Cas."

Percy blinked. He looked down at his pen he was still twirling in his lap. "Okay, gonna have to come back to that 'both died' thing later, but . . . I get it. I never wanted to be a half-blood. This life sucks. Before I knew who I was, my mom was married to this awful guy—Smelly Gabe. At best, he was a drunk. At worst, he was abusive. But she stayed with him for years to protect me from all the monsters that wanted to kill me—side note: Cas, if you ever come across a statue called 'The Poker Player,' don't touch it."

Sam had no idea what that meant, and by the looks of it, neither did Dean or Cas. Before they could ask about it, Percy kept talking.

"Anyway, my mom kept me from this life as long as she could. And when she couldn't anymore, she knew she had to trust me to know what I was doing and keep myself safe. It's why she named me Perseus. Cause he's the only one in the old myths who didn't die in the end."

That was . . . depressing. But Sam understood it. Percy and Annabeth were making the best of their lot in their lives. So far, it seemed like they were doing a pretty good job. They'd been through so much pain, but they were still alive. That was a win in Sam's book. He and Dean knew how badly dying messed things up, with all their countless deaths. And it seemed more permanent in Percy and Annabeth's world, so the longer they kept it at bay, the better.

"I am glad we met you," Cas said finally. "It has been enlightening, even if you did get off on the wrong foot at first."

Percy chuckled. "That's one way of putting it."

Dean leaned toward Percy. "You gotta tell me where you got that sword. I—"

Cas put his hand over Dean's mouth, quieting him. Before Dean could protest, Cas put his finger to his lips and cocked his head, listening.

After a moment, Cas' face hardened. "They're here."