Echoes Through Eternity : Percy's Second Chance

Chapter 24

The quartet had run for quite some time before slowing down in the middle of the woods, now they were walking through the woods on the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

Percy and Rhea were considerably in better shape than Annabeth and Grover, if Annabeth's insistence at pulling them along repeating: "Come on! The further away we get, the better." was anything to go by.

"Okay, okay, stop." Rhea said, sharing a look with Percy to confirm if they were at a safe distance.

Annabeth and Grover stopped, turning to look at them with wide eyes, fearful if they stopped walking they would turn to monster food on the spot.

"You two are clearly in shock, so are we, but you are terrified. We are getting nowhere if we don't calm down for a moment and take a breath. I trust Grover enough to know that when he calms down, we will have some warning before more monsters descend on us." Rhea spoke, her voice level, a certain amount of power behind her words making the two relax, like a Siren Speak or Charmspeak type of effect taking over them.

Rhea had always had this ability, to infuse enough power in her words to make anyone do anything. While not as potent as Charmspeak performed by Lady Aphrodite, or the Siren Speak that drew the sailors in, it can cause people to do anything as long as there is enough power behind the words.

The first time she had used it was to ask her mother for blue cake, and after she learnt that her mother felt like she had no autonomy while making the cake, she had cried herself to sleep and refused to eat the cake because she had been so guilt-ridden.

When their Mama Amphy found out, she had taken Rhea to Atlantis for a month and a half, away from her twin and mom to have a control over her ability, a rare one and one never possessed by other children of Poseidon. Rhea had never used the ability to force anyone to do anything, other than calm down or relax, not having it in her to force another person to give up control of their own life.

Percy felt himself breathe, giving Rhea a grateful glance at helping him calm down, his heart beating at the speed of a hummingbird's. While this was not his worst battle, it was his first quest, the first fight, the first proper look into the Demigod life. This entire experience felt like a déjà vu for a moment, feeling like he was back to that scrawny little twelve year old body, with no idea if he was going to survive till tomorrow.

Now that he could breathe and think, his mind quickly calculated the best route from here.

He decided that there was no point in going towards Medusa's diner, or garden as she called it.

They had their bags this time, their money and food intact, and if it wasn't, they had backup bags. They had no Gabe for them to want to take Medusa's head, and their mother wasn't kidnapped for them to send a message. A part of him wanted to feel bad at all the other people Medusa might turn to stone, or the fact that Grover would never learn the truth about his Uncle Ferdinand, but Zeus would only retaliate as he was bordering on unhinged right now, and they already knew where to go to enter into their Uncle's realm.

They had even decided that Rhea would stay behind, a fact that Percy still wasn't happy with, but he understood.

"Rhea" Percy said, raising the water bottle that was still in his hands, and opening it Rhea lifted her cut hand as the water was poured out. Annabeth and Grover watched in fascination as the cut closed up, and Rhea closed her eyes as she felt energy return to her bones, cupping some and letting the water wipe her face. Percy offered to wash the others hands and let them wash their faces too, and used the remaining water to do the same, sighing slightly as he re-energized. Rhea was already passing the facial paper towels she kept to help with the drying up process.