CHAPTER FIVE ━━ HOW TO AVOID CERTAIN DEATH

SO FAR, EURYDICE WASN'T HAVING A GREAT DAY. It was the opposite in fact. And she is not lying about this actually, things only seemed to be getting worse. And despite Percy's best efforts to comfort her over it, she still couldn't shake the horrified looks on Chiron and Mr. D's faces when they realized who her father was. Grover looked like he had swallowed a lemon with how shocked he looked. Even everything her mother prepared her for about her dad didn't prepare her for this. She hadn't even met him yet and he was already causing issues for her.

So now it was her fault that she was even born? And Percy too? How could that be fair? Their dads were the ones who decided to have them. She didn't ask to be born. She didn't want any of this, she would have done anything to run faraway and never come back. But when she thought of leaving Percy alone that left a sour taste in her mouth and she hated herself for even have thought of it. She wasn't sure if it was the guilt or how selfish she felt for thinking of just leaving. She couldn't physically do it, she didn't have it in her.

She doesn't why she is the way that she is, but it stuck. And the other thing that was making today worse. To make matters worse, she had discovered that her father had kidnapped her best friend's mother and was keeping her captive in the underworld. Which she didn't fail to understand the irony of. Chiron had sent her and Percy off to go find this oracle in some dark creepy attic while him and Mr. D spoke in hushed whispers.

First of all, what the fuck? Why did her father of all people have to kidnap Sally? Seriously, it could have been anyone else. Why does this always happen to her? She feels like her luck might be changing and then it's gone just like that! And then it takes a whole 180 leaving her completely mortified. So now she isn't sure if Hades kids attracts more attention or sheer unluckiness, cause right now it was the unluckiness.

Unfortunately for her, there aren't any other Hades kids who exist in the world. So she highly doubts that she is the only unlucky one if whatever happened to those other kids were anything to go off of. She sighed to herself as she and Percy made it up to the steps of the attic. She kicked a rock on the ground slightly ajar in boredom.

Percy coughed. "So... your dad kidnapped my mom. That's..." She frowned deeply in response. "Weird. It's... really weird. I'm... really sorry Percy." Eurydice had a guilty look on her face, somehow feeling responsible for this whole thing. Maybe if she had realized Sally hadn't died sooner or if she would have found out about her dad sooner he wouldn't have kidnapped her. She feels a lump in her throat at the thought of Hades, the man who kidnapped Sally at the assumption that Percy was the Lightning thief.

Percy narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. "Why are you apologizing?" He asked her in confusion. "You have nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault he's your dad, or that my dad is my dad." He muttered insistently. "I don't care who your dad is Eury." He said to her softly. "You're my best friend. And we're in this together." He smiled at her reassuringly. Despite the fear in her chest, she nodded slightly. "Yeah. We are in this together. Promise?" She asked hesitantly.

He tried to make an attempt to smile at her, even in their situation. "Yeah, always. See? Now doesn't that make you feel better? Let's hurry and find this oracle lady, this place is giving me the creeps." He shuddered as they finally stepped into the dark room. Percy pushed the door slightly ajar and it creaked as it slowly opened. The two demigods were completely silent as they stepped across the room. The floorboards creaked with old use with every step they took. She could feel the whole house creaking from underneath them. Clearly, this place was very old.

They kept walking forward in the darkly lit room as they approached a dead looking woman with unruly light hair grayed with age. Hesitantly Percy stepped towards her, Eurydice standing slightly behind him in hesitation. "Hi, I'm Percy. It's nice to meet you." He said to the dead looking woman as the window behind her illuminated her face. "Good talk." She muttered miserably under her breath as the old woman didn't answer them. Percy winced slightly. "We were told a quest isn't a quest, until you've said so?" He mutters trailing off in confusion.

She cleared her throat. "Chiron told us. And he's never wrong." She explained. Percy looked a little creeped out by the old woman, she kind of looked like a corpse by how still she was. "It's weird that we have to ask you that considering you're a Halloween decoration." He said without thinking. She immediately gave him a look of annoyance. "You and your big mouth." She murmured to him nervously as they heard the old woman suddenly start to move in her rocking chair. A light gasp of her raspy voice was heard as she started to move.

Percy and her stared at each other nervously. "Oh, geez." Percy muttered under his breath. "Oh god." Eurydice sounded equally as concerned. The old woman suddenly groaned softly, sounding like a wailing siren or ghostly one as her neck slowly snapped up to look at them. She stepped back fearfully, flinching slightly in fear.

Percy's eyes went wide as he worriedly muttering. "You seem busy. We'll be back—" He said frantically. The two were about to run out the door until the oracle's breathing started to shallow and rasp as dark green smoke floated out of her mouth and transformed into a cloud of green smoke.

That, what she had assumed guessed was the prophecy that they were looking for. In the dark green smoke, a face appeared. She blinked in confusion as she saw Percy's abusive stepfather appear as the face in the vision. "Oh, come on!" Percy complained, scoffing in annoyance. She felt bad for him that of all forms the oracle's message decided to take was Smelly Gabe.

She shuddered slightly when she recalled the smell of Percy's apartment with Gabe inside it. She made an uncomfortable winced and patted Percy's shoulder in sympathy. "That's rough buddy." She muttered to him as the vision became clearer. She watched the green smoke in concern. This probably would've been way cooler if the vision didn't have Smelly Gabe's face. Suddenly the vision of Percy's stepfather began to speak.

Honestly, it would have been funny if Percy's stepfather wasn't a piece of shit. "You shall go west and face the god who has turned." Percy nodded slightly, looking at her in confusion. "Your Dad?" He asked in confusion. She shrugged in response. "I guess so." She hummed in concern, her hand at the side of her chin. The vision continued, looking annoyed at them interrupting him.

Eurydice smiled apologetically at the vision as it continued. "And you shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned." It finished in Smelly Gabe's old new jersey accent. For a prophecy so foreboding it wasn't very horrifying coming from Percy's stepfather, a man her and her mother constantly talked badly about. She still wasn't sure why Sally had married him.

The two demigods went quiet again as the oracle sprout out more nonsense. "You shall be betrayed by one you call a friend. But your truest friend will be there to the end." She could feel her blood run cold at that. Betrayed by the one you call a friend? That's bad. That's so bad. Oh god. She felt the anxiety build up in her chest again. Someone was betraying them? But it made no sense! No way, she can't just believe that they'll just be betrayed like that. That.. that doesn't seem fair.

She knows she'd never betray Percy. But that didn't mean he wouldn't think that she'd betray him. She frowned deeply, a constricting feeling was weighing heavily on her chest now. Before she could think anymore the oracle started speaking again. The last few words of the prophecy. "And you will fail to save what matters most in the end." She could see Percy grimacing slightly. The silence that fell between the two demigods was deadly.

What the hell was that last part supposed to even mean? She didn't understand how she was somehow supposed to convince her dad to stop this war? Was she the one supposed to convince him to set Sally free? What does any of this even mean! She can feel the anxiety creep up on her as she swallows the lump in her throat threatening to build. She swallows anxiously, her heart thumping in her chest. Percy seemed to understand what parts of the prophecy meant, while Eurydice felt a lot more clueless than she had earlier.

There was a complete silence between the two demigods as they attempted to process what they had just heard when the vision disappeared into green smoke. "But what's the rest supposed to mean?" Percy said in confusion, sounding extremely lost and frustrated at the riddle. Eurydice winced slightly. "It's a prophecy, Percy. I don't think we're supposed to figure it out right away." She muttered with a sigh. "Also it makes no sense." She said quickly at the end.

Percy looked like he was deep in thought. "The truest friend, that must be you. Right?" He asked her for confirmation. She blinked in confusion, her eyes softening. "You think... you that I'm your truest friend?" She asked him, like she needed to hear it from his actual mouth. Percy looked confused. "Yeah? Who else?" Her smile softened slightly. She smiled widely at his words. "Thanks, Percy." She said softly to him. He smiled back at her brightly. "Of course. Always." He said.

Percy took a deep breath slightly. "Well now that we've got that part figured out, what about the rest?" He grimaced slightly. "Why wouldn't they make these things easier?" He complained. She only shrugged in response. "I have no idea." She muttered out miserably. "But I think that's the whole point of all of this..." She trailed off. And with a shared frown the two demigods left the room.

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A little while later, Percy and her were standing next to Chiron and Mr. D as they decided who they would be picking for the quest. "The oracle has confirmed what we suspected." Chiron said loudly to all of the other campers standing around them waiting for the two forbidden kids to choose another member of their quest. It was a little intimidating to see so many older demigods, who she assumed were the heads of their cabin. Annabeth was the only one out of all of them who looked significantly younger than the rest of them.

Interrupting her thoughts Chiron continued to address the demigods. "That this quest will proceed toward the Underworld. Where you will confront the god, who had rebelled against his brothers. Hades." Eurydice was slightly grateful for the fact that Chiron had chosen to not let the other camp know of her parentage just yet. He had told her it would be confidential to only him, Grover, Percy, Mr. D and to whoever got onto the quest with them. The half goat man had seemed stressed out about the fact that there was nowhere to put Eurydice at camp.

He had apologized sympathetically when he realized that camp didn't have a cabin that would take her. How could Percy have one but not her? It didn't seem really fair to her that only some of the gods got cabins and others didn't. Chiron himself wasn't even sure where they would house her. The Hermes cabin was getting too crowded, but making her a permanent resident wasn't an issue. Luke seemed to be all for the idea when Chiron brought it up to him as a possibility, so for now she still had all of her stuff on an empty bunkbed that had been pity given to her.

She continued to listen to Chiron's words as she fidgeted slightly in her spot. "The entrance to Hades's domain lies under the city of Los Angeles." So her dad had been only a 40 hour drive away from her all these years? She hadn't expected that. "This is where you will journey to. Time is short." He looked at Eurydice and Percy worriedly. Then he cleared his throat and continued. "I have selected our most compelling candidates, from which you will choose two to join you on this quest and ensure that we succeed." The old man finished.

Percy and her shared a look. They had already decided who they were going to bring. It just felt oddly right, to her at least. Percy had mostly agreed out of pity for Annabeth who had been promised the quest. It would just be sad if she hadn't been chosen after being promised for so long. "Annabeth." Percy said. Chiron turned to look at her and Percy in surprise. "We choose Annabeth." Eurydice said in agreement.

The old man frowned for a moment. "Customarily, one waits to at least hear a name or two before choosing." Eurydice winced slightly, looking at the other candidates. "Sorry." She whispered apologetically. "Are you sure you don't wanna hear more?" Chiron asked the two in concern. She already knew what she thought, now it was just Percy's turn to say it. He was the one being accused of being the lighting thief after all. "This thing. Zeus's master bolt. We need to get it back right?" The boy asked Chiron.

The man nodded in response. "And it's gonna be hard to get, yes?" Percy asked. Chiron nodded. "Extraordinarily." He muttered. "And if the mission required someone to push me down a flight of stairs for it to succeed you'd want someone who won't hesitate when they do it." Percy finished as Chiron's eyebrows raised up at him in surprise. That wouldn't have been the way she'd have worded it, but the sentiment was there. Eurydice laughed nervously. "No one's getting pushed down the stairs though. It's an analogy." She confirmed.

Chiron looked surprised, but nodded. "The first quest-mate shall be Annabeth Chase." The man announced as Annabeth stared at the two of them slightly. Percy stared right back at the girl, while Eurydice just blanked out for a second. The dark braided girl's gaze was sharp and piercing, like she was trying to scope out their intentions. She just gulped slightly, she could never handle anyone staring at her for too long. She wasn't equipped for scrutiny.

She'd assume the other girl would be suspicious of her for being Hades daughter of all the gods when she found out. Chiron was bound to tell her now that they were on a quest together. By the horrified looks on Mr. D and Chiron's faces she could already tell being a child of Hades wasn't a good thing at camp. She just hopes that doesn't tarnish any sort of friendship she could have had with the girl.

Eurydice never really had a lot of female friends. Sure, there were girls who included her in things just because she was another girl. But she never had a best friend who understood being female too. Sure, she loves Percy. But sometimes he just doesn't get it. He's trying to get it, but he really doesn't. The same with Grover. Neither of them really get her in that way. In all the other ways that it matters they are probably the people who understand her the most. But not on the topic of being a different gender.

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LATER THEY found Grover picking up what seemed to be poop from one of the horses at camp. Percy spoke first awkwardly. "Hey." He muttered. Grover turned around to look at them in surprise. "Oh, hey. Sorry I missed your selection ceremony..." He muttered apologetically as he attempted to pick up more of the horses remains. "I've been, you know... shoveling his poop." He sighed deeply as the horse whined. Eurydice winced. "That must stink." Her eyes widened as she realized she shouldn't have said that. "Not that it stinks- I mean it stinks!" She quickly corrected herself frantically.

Grover chuckled slightly. "It's fine." Percy tried to not laugh as hard as he could. He went back to look at Grover apologetically. "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess Mr. D wasn't too happy you don't me about my mom?" He asked in confusion. "No." Grover replied quickly, looking tired. "No, he was not." He replied sarcastically. "So. who's you choose to go with you two?" He asked them in confusion as he stopped shoveling the poop for a second.

Her and Percy shared a look. "You." Percy said suddenly. Grover laughed like he didn't believe them. "Funny, no seriously. Who'd you choose?" He asked them in confusion. Eurydice just smiled. "We just told you. We chose you." She muttered, his eyes widened in confusion. "Why..?" He sounded worried. They shared a look as they remembered was the vision said. "I trust you. Eurydice always did... but I just.." Percy trailed off, clearly an apology for having pushed their friend away on his lips. "And.. and right now nothings more important than that." He smiled hesitantly at Grover, hope in his eyes that'd he find some way to forgive him.

Grover's lips immediately changed from a frown into a big bright smile at his realization. "I'm gonna pack the best snacks." He grinned at them excitedly. Eurydice chuckled at his words. "We're counting on it buddy." She patted him on the shoulder as she smiled a real smile. One she hadn't done in a while. She was glad that she had Percy and Grover in this mess. But she was also glad that Percy and Grover weren't fighting anymore.

She didn't blame Grover for what happened, but she understood why Percy was upset. She just didn't want them to fight anymore. So she was glad. Back at the Hermes cabin she was getting ready to pack her bags. Some of the other Hermes cabin members stared at her curiously as she finished properly packing. She jumped slightly as she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Good luck on that quest, alright?" She sighed in relief when she realized it was just Luke. "Oh, yeah. Right, thanks." She muttered hesitantly.

Luke gave her a look of sympathy. "It's normal for a demigod to be nervous on their first quest. So, don't sweat it, alright?" She nodded at him. "Yeah." She finished zipping up her backpack as she managed to fit the last remaining items into it. "Oh, by the way." Luke muttered. "I've got something for you." She stared at him in confusion. "What?" She blinked. He chuckled as passed her a notebook. "Noticed you're not much of a talker. Maybe this'll help you. You know, put your thoughts down onto paper." She took it hesitantly.

She smiled at Luke slightly. "Thanks." He nodded at her. "And hey, when you come back. You'll always have a place here in the Hermes' Cabin, no matter who your parent is." He smiled her, patted her on the shoulder as he walked away. She stared at the notebook questioningly, but stuffed it into her backpack. She trusted Luke, and it was a nice gesture. At least until Chiron figured out where she would go at camp, at least she knew the Hermes cabin would still accept her with open arms.

Her mom had always told her to start writing her thoughts down to try and overthink less, maybe she was right. The notebook was a dark red book, with dark spirals on the side of it. It looked like a normal notebook. She shrugged to herself slightly and pulled her backpack onto her shoulders quickly.

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A WHILE LATER SHE FOUND Percy and Grover standing near the tall grass and trees. Percy was wearing a dark grey backpack and Grover had a brown bag and a bag of snacks. She waved over to the boys as she quickly ran up to them. She breathed in shakily. "I'm not late right?" Grover smiled at her reassuringly. "Nope, you're just one time." She sighed in relief. "Great." She mentally pumped her fiat up. She stared at the two boys in confusion when she noticed they were staring off into the distance.

She gave them a confused look. "What are we staring at?" She moved her head around in confusion. "Annabeth." Percy muttered. "She's really gonna miss that tree, huh?" He muttered in confusion. She stared out ahead at the dark haired girl who was staring intently at the large tree that was the boundary towards camp and the outside world. Grover sighed. "When Annabeth first arrived here with Thalia and Luke they were being chased by monsters." She looked over at the boy curiously in confusion.

She remembered Luke telling them what happened to Thalia. But she didn't understand why it was an explanation for why Annabeth was staring at a tree like it was her mother. Grover continued his explanation. "They were chased by agents of Hades, sisters. Furies." Eurydice immediately winced at the mention of her father.

Percy stared at their friend in confusion. "So, like Mrs. Dodds?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes!" Grover responded. Eurydice gasped slightly. "So that's why she didn't target me... she must have known." She muttered quietly. Grover nodded at her in agreement. "You're right. And one of them was our algebra teacher, Alecto." He took a deep breath as he continued his next words, like what he was about to say was hard for him to say. "Thalia turned back to fight to buy her friends some time. Her satyr protector tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen." He sounded as if he was there himself, and maybe he was.

Grover trailed off. "So, at the last moment... Zeus intervened to save her life and..." He stopped. "Changed her form." She and Percy stared at him in absolute confusion. "The most powerful being in the universe's best idea to save his daughter's life... was to turn her into a tree?" She tried her not to laugh at the idea of the last forbidden child's consciousness being inside of a tree. Grover stared at her exasperatedly. "Seriously?" He stared at her in annoyance. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She apologized quickly.

She jumped slightly when she heard Annabeth's voice from behind her. "She was the bravest demigod I ever knew." She said with frustration. Eurydice winced slightly. "And I meant nothing by what I said, I swear!" She defended herself slightly. Annabeth sighed. "She fought valiantly and she met a hero's fate." Percy cut in. "She met a pinecone's fate." He blurted out. For a moment she, Annabeth and Grover stared at each other too stunned to speak. She was trying really hard not to laugh, but it was hard.

She felt really bad, but Percy really needs to stop saying stuff like that so she won't start dying on the spot. She coughed slightly, regaining her composure as Annabeth glared at Percy. She was kinda grateful she wasn't on the other end of the girl's glare. "Forbidden children are always in danger. Even the strongest ones, even Thalia." Annabeth said. "And you are not Thalia." She looked at Percy. Eurydice and Grover shared an uncomfortable look, it was already five minutes into their quest and they were already fighting. So much for being friends...

Annabeth's glare didn't leave Percy's for a second. "Do exactly as I say and maybe you'll survive this." She muttered commanding. "Are we clear?" She stared at Percy. His complete stunned silence was an answer as the dark haired girl turned away from him. As soon as she walked away Percy muttered to the two of them. "Does she think she's in charge?" He asked in confusion. "I don't know." Eurydice shrugged her shoulders slightly. Grover gave him a confused look. "Who'd you think would be in charge?" He asked him in confusion. Percy sighed as the three of them started to walk, with Annabeth in front away from them. "I guess I assumed we'd do a show of hands or something." He shrugged as they continued walking silently.

They walked for a while, once in a while Percy would be rambling while Grover tried to explain to them that this quest was nothing to joke about. "Hero's quests are world-defining events." She had managed to tune out the sounds of her feet stepping on the grass a while ago. "They have make and broken empires..." She thought of the many demigods quest she had read about in the myths. It made sense in a way, their world was changed slightly as a result of it. Their victories and failures had become their stories in the human world. But it was, oh so very real in the mythological one.

"Altered the course of human civilization." Grover continued in the silence of their walk out of the camp. It was daytime so there was an assumption no monsters would come for them in broad daylight. She was going to ask Chiron if she could keep her phone, but it was dead already. So ultimately it'd be useless to her even if she could use it. Percy held onto the straps of his backpack tightly as Eurydice tried to remember if she packed water in her backpack. "Changed the balance of power on Olympus." Grover's voice continued on in the background.

It was daunting the fact that all the heroes she read about had been real in the mythological world, in one way or another. She thought of the real Eurydice and Orpheus for a second. She wondered if that boy ever did get over her. Whatever had happened to him, she hoped he was happy now. Wherever he was. "A quest is a sacred thing. And to be charged with one is to be in conversation with the gods themselves." Grover finished with a content smile that he finally finished.

By the time Grover had finished his rant, they had gotten into a taxi driving them to the heart of New York City. Percy passed the driver a coin as the four of them got in. Grover sat by the window next to Percy. While Eurydice sat in between Annabeth and Percy in the middle, which was awkward to say the least. At least Annabeth and Percy weren't sitting together, that would have been arguably worse. She stared out the window of the taxi as much as she could as they were driven in the concrete metropolis. The city looked somehow larger than she had remembered it being last time.

Maybe it was because she had been gone for so long that she had forgotten what the city was like.
It was 30 minutes later that the drive had finally finished and the four of them filed out of the car slowly. She stopped when she noticed Annabeth staying somewhat behind, looking like she was taking in the sights. If her assumption was right it was probably her first time back in the mortal world since Thalia, her and Luke got to camp.
The four of them walked across the street of one along one of the many buildings in new york.

She had really expected them to have better transportation than a stingy, dirty tour bus. She winced slightly as the guy passing Percy coughed grossly as he passed. Percy looked disgusted. "There is no way this is what sacred smells like." He sounded mortified. And she had to agree that this wasn't what transportation she expected on their big important quest to save Sally from her dad.

Eurydice covered her mouth with her hand ind disgust. "I think I hate this." Annabeth sighed from her seat next to her in the bus. "We're soldiers on a mission, it's not a vacation." She said expressionlessly. Percy just looked even more annoyed. "Thank you for clearing that up." He muttered. "But if this is so important why didn't Chiron spring for plane tickets?" He muttered in annoyance. "This seems kind of low priority, doesn't it?" Eurydice hummed in agreement. "That is true. If the world hangs in the balance and all- shouldn't we have a better
way to get around?" She shrugged slightly.

Grover looked confusion. "Oh, sorry I assumed that someone told you guys." He muttered apologetically. "Told us what?" Percy asked. Grover frowned. "It isn't just the monsters are gonna be trying to stop us. You two are forbidden children now. Zeus might decide to take a shot at you himself. Now that we know Eurydice is Hades kid, he suspects you're in cahoots with you. The sky is his domain, we'd be serving you up on a silver platter to try and travel through it." Percy looked shocked. "Yeah, no one mentioned that." He muttered with a shake of his head.

Eurydice gulped, sounding horrified. "Oh, okay. Now- here's a good idea, a smart idea. Let's avoid flying at all costs." She said frantically. "I really don't really wanna go down in a plane crash." She muttered darkly. "At least one of you has common sense." Annabeth muttered underneath her breath as the tour bus stopped.

The dark braided girl cleared her throat suddenly as the bus came to a stop. "Okay. I'm gonna go get us some snacks." She said quickly as Eurydice moved out of the way so the other girl could get into the aisle. Percy was about to get up immediately. "I'll come with you." He quickly said, getting sick of the air in the bus already. Annabeth pushed him back into his seat. "No, you'll stay right here." She insisted.

Percy stared in confusion. "Why? It smells terrible back here." He said miserably. Eurydice couldn't disagree but it was much safer to just stay in the bus. Annabeth gave him an annoyed look. "Monsters can't smell you through that, so that's where I want you to stay." She was right, though Percy seemed to not be tried of the arguing. "I wanna vote." He insisted. "Who thinks that we should all get to breathe fresh air and buy our own snacks?"" He looked over at herself and Grover for help as he put his hand up.

She shook her head at him quickly. "It's not a good idea Percy." She mumured worriedly. Annabeth scoffed. "There's no voting. Chips and sodas okay for you guys?" She smiled slightly. Eurydice nodded at her with a smile. "Yeah, could you get me lemonade? The cold brisk ones they make." Annabeth smiled back at her, nodding slightly. She looked proud of herself obviously thinking she had won the argument. And Eurydice was just really craving a sweet drink.

Percy gave her a dirty look. "Seriously?" He looked annoyed. "What?" Eurydice said in confusion to his glare. She looked clueless, and for whatever reason he wasn't happy with her going along with what Annabeth wanted even if she was right. "I don't think you should just get to decide we don't vote." Percy said with a shake of his head. Annabeth shrugged. "I'm sorry to hear that." She said.

Percy looked even more annoyed. "I wanna bite on whether you get to decide we don't vote." He muttered insistently. Annabeth groaned in annoyance. "Grover Eurydice, please can you help your—" She was interrupted by Grover starting to clap. "Friend." She sounded confused now. She blinked in confusion as she stared at Grover. "I really don't wanna be a tiebreaker." Grover insisted as he continued to clap his hands.

Annabeth and Percy then turned towards Eurydice instead. "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative." She said nervously under Percy and Annabeth's intense stares. She did not want to cause a fight already, and it hadn't even been that long into their quest. She winced slightly as they both frowned at her, she felt like she wanted to die on the spot. Seriously, why'd she and Grover have to take a side here? Grover cleared his throat. "I have a better idea." He said, clapping his hands together.

And to her surprise he had done something she didn't expect, he started to sing. "Oh, golly, the road's gettin' bumpy 'cause I got me some friends. Who just can't get along." He continued singing as the three demigod stared at him in absolute confusion. "Oh. dear! When the team's gettin' grumpy. The trick to gettin' through it is singin' this song–" He was stopped by Percy staring at him in disbelief. "Dude, what are you doing?" He asked him, completely done with his attempt at making them get along.

Grover looked at the two of them nervously. "It's the consensus song." He said like it was obvious. Eurydice's eyebrows narrowed at him in concern. "The what song?" She muttered in confusion. Grover shook his head at her. "Verse two encourages us to say nice things about each other. You get a few rounds in and you'd be amazed at how disagreements just kind of.." He stopped talking at the judgemental looks on Annabeth and Percy's faces. It was silent as he finished."Fade away.." She stared at Grover with a wince, he was just trying to help but it clearly wasn't appreciated."

It was silent again for a second until Annabeth spoke again. "Chips and sodas okay for you guys?" She asked again. Eurydice nodded silently. "Whatever." Percy muttered under his breath. "Yes, please." Grover said looking done into his lap. The girl nodded as she walked away out of the okay. "Okay." It was awkwardly quiet when she left. "Our voting systems broken." Percy muttered to the two of them as the braided haired girl left.

Eurydice sighed, breaking the silence with words. "So, the monster won't get us in here. Right?" She asked Grover worriedly. The satyr in question sighed slightly. "Not exactly." He muttered. Percy looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" He asked nervously. "Monsters can't be avoided entirely. They're more common than you think." He explained tensely. The two demigods were quiet, listening to their friend intently. Getting caught by a monster didn't seem fun at all if the Minotaur incident had taught them anything.

Eurydice nervously fidgeted with the bracelet on her arm. "The trick is to spot them first before they get to you." Grover muttered. "It's true that they are more likely to sense a more powerful demigod.

A child of the Big Three. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, is at the most extreme risk." Eurydice winced again. "So, that's me and Percy exactly." She muttered anxiously. Grover sighed and nodded. "Yeah. But it isn't your power exactly that draws them. It's more complicated than that.." He trailed off. Percy had a realization. "They smell fear." He said.

If they could smell fear, that wasn't good for them. "That's bees." Grover said with a shake of his head. "What a monster senses kinda depends on the monster." He added. "Some are better at sensing your inadequacy, some your need for glory, your shame." Her stomach dropped at the thought of that. "It's important to remember that.. if you've ever gotta confront one.." Grover went quiet again. "Wherever your armour is weakest. That monster's probably coming right for it. Nothing will stop them. Not even.." He stopped. "Death." She breathed in shakily at that.

Eurydice thought about the song Grover sang again. "I didn't know there was a consensus song. Where'd you learn that? Demigod therapy?" She laughed slightly. Grover just shrugged. Percy sighed, seeming a little annoyed. "Okay, look. I'm not against here the idea of consensus. I'm just not sure the song is doing what you it is, is all." He explained to Grover. Their conversation was interrupted by Annabeth coming back and yelling. "Guys, you need to open that window! Now!" She commanded as there was a squelching noise heard from behind them.

Grover looked at the dark haired girl in confusion. "I don't think these windows are supposed to—" He was interrupted by the squealing of a fury walking towards them, she looked exactly like the same thing Mrs. Dodds was.

Actually, wait. Oh gods, that is Mrs. Dodds! "Oh shit! Oh shit—" Eurydice whisper yelled frantically. Grover stared at the monstee in shock. "Oh. no." Then he turned to look at her in disbelief. "Eurydice! Language! Who taught you that?!" He yelled as the monster's cries got louder.

Eurydice yelled as she frantically picked up her backpack and went towards the window. "My mother did!" She yelled as the three of them got up and tried to frantically open the window. "Go, go, go, go!" Grover yelled as they attempted to pushed the window off. Together the three of the pushed it outside of the window, alarms sounded as the bus driver spoke in his radio. "Everyone, leave your belongings and exit the front of the bus." He informed as she started to panic. Mrs. Dodds, or what Annabeth had called Alecto was walking slowly towards them down the aisle. She breathed in shakily as she dragged her backpack with her.

Thankfully the fury was preoccupied by the other passengers keeping her from getting to them. She almost sighed in relief, but the battle wasn't over yet. Now they just had to jump out of the window. Everyone exiting the tour bus made her Alecto suspicious. Annabeth smiled smugly at the annoyance on the fury's face. "Annabeth let's go!" Percy yelled at her as the other three in the group started to prepare to jump out the window. "Annabeth hurry!" Eurydice yelled at her. She jolted slightly when they heard the scream of the another fury flying through the window.

Oh god, was this how they were going to die? Panic surged through her as she screamed, she heard Grover and Percy scream too. The loud screech of the fury as she broke the window was horrifying. She frantically hid behind Grover and Percy in their seats as they tried to move away from the monster's attacks. The fury shrieked and hissed as her breathing starts to quicken in fear.

At the exact moment the fury was about to grab onto Percy, Annabeth threw her dagger at it. As the monster dissolved into dust, the girl picked up the dagger and quickly said as she went towards the window. "We're done here. Let's go." She muttered as she jump down from the window. Eurydice shakily jumped out after her, dragging herself and Grover along sparing one last look to the monster. She sighed in relief as she jumped down. But the pounding in her heart didn't settle.

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GROVER WAS LEADING them down a path in the forest. It looked like the middle of nowhere, but Grover reassured them that the path was familiar to him. "Somewhere up ahead this turns into a satyr path." He said as the demigods continued walking through the large forest. It was midday now, and the sun was still out but not enough to warm them completely.

"What's a satyr path?" Percy questioned. Grover answered him quickly. "It's road through the wilderness. Satyr explorers use them. Harder to track us." He finished explaining with a nod. Percy didn't seem to understand. "That's great but if we stay in the wilderness how are we gonna find a phone?" He sounded confused.

Why would they need a phone? She had one, but it died a long time ago. Annabeth seemed to be asking the same question as she turned to stop and look at Percy. "What do we need a phone her?" She stared at him like he wasn't very smart. "So we can call camp." Percy answered. "T-To get help?" He questioned. Annabeth seemed more annoyed by him now. "We don't need help. We're fine." She insisted. Sure, they were lost in the wilderness in the middle of New Jersey and might never make it to LA but she insisted that they were fine.

Eurydice blinked at Annabeth in concern. "Wait. Seriously?" She muttered. Percy scoffed in annoyance. "We're fine? We haven't even gotten to Trenton and we're wandering through a forest." He ranted slightly. "I didn't even know they had forests in New Jersey, but we've found one!" He sounded stressed. "So I would say that we're the opposite of fine." Annabeth responded stubbornly. "We were sent on a quest by the Oracle. By the gods. What'd you think, it would be easy?" Well no, but it would be nice to have a semblance that they were doing something right. "It's suppose to be hard." Annabeth insisted.

Annabeth was ranting how. Seemed like she and Percy had something in common after all. "That's why only certain people are chosen. If we call camp we're basically saying it was a mistake to choose us." She stressed this. Percy, seemed okay with that. "I am completely comfortable with that." He said. "Everyone makes mistakes." He muttered. More and more of this argument that went on, the more that Grover and Eurydice felt awkward. Things were already tense enough, and they were making it worse.

Annabeth glared at Percy questioningly. "Why are you so afraid of who you are?" She asked him. "What?" Percy sounded offended as they all stopped walking. Eurydice and Grover made awkwardly eye contact, she swallowed slightly as Grover nervously tried to defuse the situation. "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." He rambled nervously.

Eurydice swallows as that only seemed to be making things worse. Oh gods. "What was that supposed to mean? Afraid of who I am? I'm not afraid!" Percy said to Annabeth, looking offended. "Yes. you are." Annabeth insisted with an emotionless look. "You aren't just a kid." She said harshly. "Just a kid doesn't do what you did to Clarisse back at camp." She informed him with hardness seeping through her voice. If she had been the one receiving those words she probably would have cried on the spot.

Eurydice quickly interrupted them. "Did you know that in 1973 William Afton and Henry Emily created Freddy Fazbear's pizza and in 1983 one their animatronics bit a kid's head off?" She didn't even register what she was saying until she said it. She blinked slightly as she realized what she just said. Her blurted out ramble had Grover staring at her in concern. "What?" He said to her in confusion. He looked like he wanted to put her in a physic hospital. In her defense she had just thought of the first thing that she could think of! And that was the fnaf timeline.

Percy and Annabeth weren't phased, despite Percy's odd mutter about the timeline not making sense. "Just a kid doesn't have Hades sending top lieutenants to retrieve them all dead or alive. Except his daughter who's coincidentally claimed the exact same day you got claimed." Percy glared at her at those last words. But she just kept on going. "You know. you are a part of something so much bigger than we can all understand right now. We have to move forward whether you like it or not. Whether you want to or not." She said intensely.

Percy scoffed. "You don't want to call camp fine. Then, at least let's calm your mom." He tried to compromise. She relaxed slightly, maybe this meant that their fight was over. She really hoped none of them would ask her about what she had said to attempt to distract them, explaining it would take a long time. Maybe her mom was right and the internet really was rotting her brain... Her internal monologue was interposed by Annabeth's annoyed voice. "Excuse me?" She sounded offended by Percy's response.

The blonde looked confused. "Athena? Your mother?" He said in confusion. "I'd call my father but we really aren't on speaking terms right now. You know, because of the lifelong neglect and all" He shrugged. Eurydice winced.  "We can't call mine because he's who we're trying to stop." Annabeth stared at her in sympathy for that. Percy nodded. "But you and your mother seem close. So, why don't we ask her for help?" He asked Annabeth cluelessly.

Annabeth stared at Grover. "Grover, will you explain to your friend that he needs to pull himself together." She said in frustration. Percy realized something. "You can't ask her, can you?" He blinked. "When was the last time she talked to you?" Annabeth looked frustrated, looking at Grover for help. "Grover." She muttered. Percy sounded frustrated now too. "I don't know why you keep pulling him into this. He's on my side!" He insisted angrily. Annabeth scoffed. "What makes you think that?" Percy answered like it was obvious. "He's my protector. It's his job." Annabeth glared at him even more. "He was my protector first!" She yelled at him.

Eurydice looked at Grover in shock. "Wait, really? Grover!" She couldn't believe that he didn't tell them that he was the satyr who was with Thalia, Luke and Annabeth when Thalia died. "First?" Percy tried to process this information as he stared at Grover. "What do you mean first?" The man of the hour laughed nervously. "Very exciting, getting to walk in Uncle Ferdinand's footsteps. Next best thing to getting to talk to him again." He smiles nervously, trying to deflect the situation.

"The bite of '87 was when mangle bite some guy's frontal lobe." Eurydice suddenly blurted out in the silence, covering her mouth in embarrassment. Percy stared at her in confusion. "Are you- are you okay?" He asked her worriedly. She nodded slightly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm- I'm okay." Even Annabeth looked concerned. "Are you sure?" She sighed deeply. "Yes, I'm sure." She muttered.

Percy's realization finally came. "Thalia, Luke and Annabeth had a satyr protector.." He trailed off. "That was you." He said. "Why didn't you tell me?" Percy asked him in frustration, one thing about Percy is that he hates being lied to. But instead of answering him, Grover sniffed. She thought he was going to cry for a second until he said. "Grover, I'm not kidding." He said seriously.

Grover shook his head at him. "No, neither am I. Just shush." He said insatiably. The satyr sniffled again as the three demigods stared at him in confusion and some concern. Grover blinked suddenly as he realized the smell. "Hamburgers." He said, walking towards the place where the smell was leading them too. She shrugged at Percy when he stared at her in confusion as they followed Grover through the forest.

It was significantly quiet, until Annabeth asked in confusion. "Grover- What are you doing—" She said in concern. "Somebody's making hamburgers!" Grover explained. "In the middle of nowhere on a satyr path." He muttered. "Whoever it is.." They came to more bushes and trees. "They're from our world." He assumed. "But what if it's a trap?" Eurydice muttered worriedly as they continued to follow the satyr. "Then we'll just have to see." He insisted as they continued walking along the path.

Suddenly they came across a clearing, with a bunch of monster statues situated around a strange building. "Oh come on." Annabeth said in worry. "What?" Grover said in confusion. "Aunty Em has a garden full of petrified stone folks. Yeah, this is someone from our world, all right." She crossed her arms slightly. Eurydice blinked in confusion. "Oh. I thought those were statues." She muttered as she took a better look at them. Maybe she really did need glasses.. Annabeth huffed. "Anyone wanna guess what 'Em' is short for?" She said with a shake of her head.

Grover suddenly realized just like she did. "Oh." He muttered dumbly. "Medusa." Eurydice muttered under her breath. Annabeth looked worriedly at them. "Let's get out of here please, while we still can." She insisted. Unfortunately for them, right at that moment. A fury had appeared behind them, Percy threw the shoebox he had been holding at Grover as he pulled out his pen. Eurydice quickly pulled her keychain out, her large black looking obsidian sword shining in the light.

She hadn't taken much of a closer look at her sword yet. But there it was, surprisingly it looked a lot scary than Percy's did. But that was a given now knowing her parentage. She held her sword out protectively in front of her as the fury spoke to them meaning. "You should have accepted my offer when you had the chance." The former Mrs. Dodds said. She was immediately confused by her words, she didn't remember being offered anything.

Percy held out his sword in front of him too, a more heroic looking sword compared to her own. "Offer? What offer is she talking about?" He said in confused. To which she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't remember her offering anything to us. And if she had we wouldn't have agreed anyways." She muttered. There was a silence between their group for a second as a woman's warm voice was heard from behind them. "Not today friends. Not on my doorstep." Her voice sounded soft and gentle, reminding her of her mother's for a second.

She was pulled out of that perpetual thought as the footsteps of the woman of the hour approached. Annabeth immediately began to panic, searching through her bag for her dagger frantically as Grover kept his head down in order to not make eye contact with the woman. She blinked in confusion when she realized the woman was wearing a hat hiding her face, or more specifically her eyes. She blinked in confusion, immediately Percy pulled her down with him making sure she didn't look into the woman's eyes even though they were hidden.

She felt a pang of empathy for the woman. She remembered when her mother had taught her the myth of Medusa. She was horrified at the thought of her being punished for something a god did to her. In some of the myths her mother had taught her, Medusa's virginity had unfairly been taken away by Poseidon. When in others she had been manipulated into it by the guise of the sea god loving her. But in each instance of the story, Medusa was always given the same treatment. A curse. Her mother had taught her the story as a warning, that sometimes even when someone promises you something they might not do it.

She had also taught it to her as a testament to how women were treated by the gods. She wondered faintly if her mother had been treated like that by Hades. She felt a lump in her throat when she thought of that. But by assuming how Hades treated his real wife, she'd assume he treated her well until Eurydice was born. He had stayed for a few years until he left, she had met hers. Although she couldn't remember him, she did meet him. Which begged the question of, why? Why her out of all of the demigods he could have fathered.

The woman's voice had sounded sweet enough. She watched the footsteps of the woman in white as she stared intently on the ground. Percy's arm was wrapped around her shoulder protectively. She was always a slow reactor, but he was always a lot faster than her. Which worked in her favour most of the time. They heard the woman's footsteps grow closer. "If you have something to resolve, why not come inside and I'll help?" She offered, but she wasn't honestly sure if she really meant it. She wanted to believe in her, that she really did mean helping them.

The woman's warm voice continued to speak. "Alecto? Will you be joining us?" She asked her. The monster curled in on itself to protect herself too. Seemed like she didn't want to be caught in Medusa's kill count as much as they did. "No, well. I didn't think you would." She muttered as the monster didn't respond. "She won't bother you as long as you're with me." The woman said to them, as a sliver of hope built up in her. "But it isn't as though she'll leave either." She muttered.

Medusa hummed. "Not if it means reporting that she failed to retrieve the son of Poseidon and deliver the daughter of Hades safely back to her father." Eurydice jolted in confusion at this. Her father was trying to get his lieutenants to take her to the underworld, safely? And not hurt her? Percy stared at her in confusion. "How did you—" He finally looked up hesitantly.

The woman interrupted him. "Two forbidden children have been claimed. How long did you think that secret would keep?" She asked him with a pleasant smile on her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you. son of Poseidon. Daughter of Hades." She smiled at them gently, reminding her of a mother's smile for a moment. "I'm Medusa." She finished with a kind smile at her ruby red lips.

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◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡ Words: 8637

Oooh, we left this one on a cliffhanger folks. I know you've all been wanting an update so here it is‼️ I hope you all enjoy this and genuinely thank you for all the comments and reads. I adore you all tremendously and reading your comments give me life and motivation. I've never had a fic get this popular before so I'm honestly really excited and pumped to write!

Medusa is one of my favourite greek myths. She is so sweet in the show and I'm really sad about what happened to her. Her story was told very respectfully in the show which is something that I love. I really hope you guys like my portrayal of her so far too! This was loads of fun to write and hope you all are excited for chapter 6! Where even more stuff are about to go down! This is the first half of episode four done. Only a few more to go!

I am feeling very inspired by the greek myths and stories rn. Especially Medusa's and the parallels between Orpheus and Eurydice's to other myths like Perseus's who end happily. It's been awesome to do this and I hope everyone has a great rest of their weekend! Next chapter will hopefully be up sometime next week!