𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋

꧁𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐜𝐡𝟒𝟏꧂

A/N: sry it's late x

Percy

"How many fingers do you have, Jackson?"
"Uhhh. Eight?"
"Haha. You're so funny. You didn't count the thumbs, did you?"
"Nope..."
"Hmph. Eight it is then. Out of those eight, how many do you intend to keep?"
"Uhhh."
"Think about this, Percy."
"Eight."
"Good. SO SHUT UP BEFORE YOU LOOSE SOME!"
"Okay!" I squeaked, "Yes, Ma'am!"

I had literally only been talking about Calypso's awesome baking skills, to pass the time. Baking! Annabeth was mad about baking!

I took another swig of the phlethagon water we were sharing, and the fire was running out quicker than anyone would have liked. The water burned my throat and I grunted. Guess I'm gonna have to get used to that, I thought. I had no idea how long we'd been walking, but it had been a while. It was weird, there weren't many monsters in sight. We'd only had a couple of run-ins, but they'd been little things, not even a dracanae or a harpy.

We'd decided we'd get some sleep soon, too. Despite my protests, Annabeth would take first watch as I was more injured. Neither of us trusted Kelli to, and the obnoxious monster didn't even offer. My girlfriend came up with the awesome idea to use the shoes to carry the backpack, as they should do as I say. We tied the laces around a back strap each, and the shoes floated the bag in the air behind us.

The hyper-aware sensation was gone at that moment, but it was like it came in a package with adrenaline. I had it during the empousa fight, and also in the river, when Annabeth first grabbed my ankle. But now it was gone, as if it had never happened. I wanted to talk to Annabeth about it, but I also really, really didn't. It made me uneasy, the fact that everything felt so easy to feel, to touch... to control.

"Do you know how far away from the Doors we are, Kelli?" I asked, changing the topic.
"Uh. I don't know, like, one or two hundred american football pitches?"
"Soo roughly around 27-54 kilometres?" Annabeth said, calculating the distance without a thought.
"Girl. I have no idea," Kelli said, yawning. "Also, I still don't have a clue what's going on here. I'll cut you guys some slack, as you both looked pretty dead, I mean, you do now as well but that's not the point-"
"-Why, thank you, Kelli-"
"-But saying you're on vacation? I mean, I reckon my  IQ is about 290 but I'm not that stupid."
"Uh. Kelli, you can't have an IQ that high unless you're, like, Athena," Annabeth said.
"Ah, whatever. My point still stands."
Annabeth and I looked at each other cautiously.

Man, an empathy link woulda been pretty dam handy right about then.

We came to the same telepathic but not actually telepathic conclusion. "Kelli, we're down here because we're saving the world."
"Okay. Why? Who or what from?"
Me and Annabeth exchanged a look.
"Uh-" Annabeth started.
"Thanos!" I blurted. Annabeth raised an eyebrow.
"Who is this Thanos?" Kelli frowned.
"A titan."
"I like titans."
"Uh, no you don't."
"Yeah I do. I'm so confused. Why am I still with you guys right now?"
"Because we're friends."
"Whatever. I don't care enough to argue more, I just wanna get out of this place."
"That makes two of us," Annabeth sighed reluctantly.
"Three!" I inputted.

"Four," a voice hissed behind us.
Aw, man.

We turned slowly to see a singular empousa.

"Kelli!" the monster screeched. The empousa was also in her misty human form, with tan skin and long blonde hair. She wore it in a high ponytail, while wearing a beige mini skirt and a crop top, like a teen would wear to the mall. Her makeup was thick, her eyeliner little flicks on her face, the highlighter of an amount that would almost rival Drew.