The Complicated Life of Emily Jones - Based off of Percy Jackson

Chapter Seventeen - Help Arrives

What. The. Hellhound.

Percy Jackson - the Harry Potter of the demigod world - was in my presence. No, I was in his presence.

He sat us down in the living room. It was a small apartment, and from what I could see, there were two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and what looked like a storage closet.

Percy smiled widely as he ran after a little boy that looked maybe...three years old? It's hard to tell with ages when you're an only child. Poor me.

"Mom! Mom!" Rebecca was calling.

"Bec, she's in bed still. You know she can't do much now...she's due any time this week," Percy said. Wait...'due?'

A door opened, and out stepped a blonde, beautiful, and somewhat huge woman. Annabeth...pregnant?!

My mouth was probably wide open, because so were Nick's, Noel's, and Gavin's. Who would've known Percy would knock her up, let alone three times!

"Honey, I am fine. Rebecca? Is that you?" Annabeth said as she tried her best to walk over to the kitchen where we all were. As soon as she saw her, she hugged her, squeezing tight. Rebecca's little brother joined; as did Percy. I was witnessing - firsthand - a Jackson family hug.

It. Was. Beautiful.

Noel cleared his throat, but Rebecca just glared at him and stuck her tongue out, not budging from the hug. For some reason, I feel like we'll be waiting here for a long time until the Jacksons catch up on things...

***

About ten minutes passed, which seemed like ten hours, of course. Rebecca told her parents of her adventures at camp so far; I could see Annabeth tearing up while remembering her endless years spent there, and Percy's wide with interest, paying attention to every little detail. That was big for him, since his ADHD has only gotten worse with age.

"So, Mom? Dad? Do you wanna know why we're here instead of at camp?" Rebecca edged on.

"Wait...were you given a quest already?!" Annabeth asked, surprised.

"Ta da!" Rebecca did sassy jazz hands to reveal her big news.

"What was the prophecy given to accompany the quest, Bec?" Percy asked; he seemed more concerned than surprised.

"Mr. - uh, Mr. Jackson?" Noel began, "The prophecy is: Three of power shall seek stolen treasure / to test one's love and faith they measure. / If the test does not withstand its all, / two maidens of the sun and moon will fall."

Percy was squinting hard, obviously thinking. He was about to open his mouth to ask something, but, like always, Annabeth interrupted him, "Even though you can't try to change the outcome of a prophecy by deciphering it, do you know any sons or daughters of Apollo, or any Hunters of Artemis?"

Gavin's face went bright red and sad in a matter of seconds, while mine was too frightened to move.

"Emily's a daughter of Apollo, and Gavin's sister just became a Hunter," Nick said.

Annabeth did not look too happy to hear that, but this time, Percy spoke, "Not to burst anyone's bubbles, but Emily, you're in trouble and you should have stayed at camp. But hey, I've been in trouble thousands of times and look where I am now!" He turned and kissed Annabeth on the cheek as she blushed.

"Wait," Nick began, "so, if Em is in danger, where on the...uh, metaphorical, food chain does that put us, since we aren't direct descendants of Apollo or Artemis?"

Annabeth smiled. "I like this kid," she said about Nick. "Are you a s-"

"Son of Athena? Yes, yes I am. Nice to meet another half sibling," Nick reached out and shook Annabeth's hand.

"Okay, I'm confused about something," Percy started, "Why on Earth did Chiron put three descendants of the Big Three all in one place at the same time in search of monsters to disintegrate?"

"Sir, I've been asking myself that question since I was chosen," Noel replied.

"The three of you have such a powerful scent that monsters will attract to you like iron filings attract to magnets," said Percy. "So, I have some precautions that may be necessary for all of you to take."

"Seaweed Brain, what do you know about safety?" Annabeth asked sarcastically.

"More than I did before I met Hazel and Pipes," Percy began. He got up and went to the sink, opened the cabinet underneath, and pulled out a small spray bottle that sparkled in the light. There was a word written on the side in smudged handwriting: mist. "Now, who here can I trust the most to not lose something?"

Rebecca tried to grab the bottle, but Percy snatched it high above his head. "Nope, sorry Becs. You can barely keep track of your shoes," he said. She looked down to see that she was not wearing shoes, so she went to go find some to put on.

"I've got this," Gavin said. He carefully held the bottle in his hands, then moved it slowly into his knapsack with such precision as if he were playing Operation and would have a heart attack if the little buzzer thingy went off.

"Okay, what is 'the mist?'" Nick asked.

Percy chuckled; the question was amusing somehow. "Oh, Nicholas, the mist is not something to be taken lightly. It is a spray, a magical spray. When applied, it bends reality into something mortals, monsters, and even people like us, cannot truly tell its trueness without looking with such great intensity-"

"In other words," Annabeth cut him off, "it's like a temporary magic mask. It lasts for a few hours to a day, but definitely long enough for you to hide from danger."

So they gave us this mist stuff, just so we can run away and cheat death?

As long as we're alive at the end of this journey, I'll be happy.

"Now, you should be going to start on your way," Percy said. "Do you need anything else before you go?"

"Actually, yes," Rebecca said, "Some cash would be nice. Also some drachmas, food, maps, water-"

"And you didn't prepare before you left because...?" Annabeth asked, annoyed.

"We did, but some extra stuff couldn't hurt..." Rebecca smiled as she spoke, trying to convince them to restock our supplies.

Her parents rolled their eyes and gathered what she asked for without arguing any further.

Wait, did she charmspeak? A descendant of both Poseidon and Athena...charmspeaking?!

Well, I guess I've witnessed everything. Well, everything but Nick intensely making out with me. Boy, I wish...

"Go on, get going. Good luck, Bec. And you, too," Annabeth said. She and Percy led us out their door, giving Rebecca hugs and each of us handshakes.

As we stepped through that door, I finally realized that we were actually out in the open. Vulnerable, naïve, kids in the middle of New York City in search of something stolen, in which we did not know what we're looking for.

We're going to need as much help as we can get.