chapter six
houston, we have a problem

AFTER THE COUNCIL MEETING, Lennon split away from Lee to find Julian in the strawberry fields. It was where he usually went to relax and Lennon desperately needed his level-headed wisdom.

She couldn't do this. An extraction was one thing, but a quest? She couldn't do that. Lennon still wasn't convinced that she was the right person for the quest. Sure, she fit the prophecy but that didn't mean she was capable. It didn't mean that she would actually contribute to the quest. Her power of light was useless and a mere party trick. Her curse of prophecy hadn't exactly been helpful. All it did was guarantee a future of tragedy.

When she gets to the strawberry fields, Julian is lounging on a lone bench reading his book.

He looked up, "Oh, hey Len. So how was your first council meeting?"

Instead of answering, Lennon dropped down on the bench next to him.

"Was it bad?"

Lennon ran a hand down her face, shaking her head. "No, it wasn't bad. Or, it was as good as it could be considering we were discussing dooming prophecies and whatnot,"

"Then what's wrong?"

Lennon exhaled. She turned to look at her brother. "So after the Oracle's prophecy, they decided Zoë would be leading a quest. Three Hunters, three campers. I'm one of the campers—"

"You're going on a quest? That's great, Len," He bumped her shoulder happily.

With all his enthusiasm, she couldn't help but return it with a weak, shaky smile. "We're supposed to travel west to find Artemis. And, there's the threat of death which is just peachy," she finished, the words were mostly to reassure her.

"Yeah," he nodded slowly. "Death. How very peachy,"

Lennon let out a little laugh, "Well, I'm trying to be optimistic about it,"

"Then, what's wrong? I mean, besides the possibility of death,"

It was a long bout of silence before Lennon finally said, "I shouldn't be on the quest,"

Julian immediately shook his head. "No, you were put on the quest. You deserve it more than anyone. Not to mention, the prophecy. We all heard it, daughter of the sun. That's you!"

She shook her head. He didn't get it. "I'm not good enough for this quest, not capable. What will I contribute?"

Julian frowned, looking at her hard. "Len, look at me," He put his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye. "You are more than capable. You're so amazing in so many things. Archery, daggers. You're incredibly honest and persuasive. You quite literally light up any room you're in. Stop second-guessing yourself. Stop doubting yourself."

"But that's what you see. You don't see the version of me that I see. I know who I am and I know that I'll never be good enough for the quest,"

"Len, you're doubting yourself. You'll never see the you that I see because you're so clouded by your own self-doubt. Let it go. Believe you're capable and you are capable. There's only so much I can tell you but you have to see it for yourself."

She looked at him, her eyes starting to get blurry with tears she's been holding back for a while. So she pulls Julian into a hug.

"You are freaking amazing, Julian. You know that?" She held onto him tight, her words slightly muffled by his shoulder.

He chuckled. "Woah there Lennon. That was pretty close to a curse word,"

She hit his back, laughing as a few tears rolled down her cheek. "Shut up, idiot,"

When Lennon had come to camp, she'd never expected to find a half-brother a few months older than her. But she was glad she did. Julian Benetiz was one of the best people in her life.

As planned, Lennon is ready to go at first light. Her backpack full of all the regular quest essentials is packed, her hair tie ready on her wrist. She's wearing her camp shirt— which is traffic cone orange by the way, who chose that?— and her hair is pulled up into a ponytail. Lennon, Thalia, and Grover meet up with the Hunters and pile into the camp van.

By now, they had been driving for a while and the silence in the van was driving her insane. Did they really have to drive in silence? (well semi-silence because Grover often randomly chimed in to tell stories, which were quite lovely)

Thalia had fallen asleep almost immediately, Zoë was their driver and Bianca had seemed content staring out the windows, taking in the surroundings. Grover was too preoccupied eating some food he had packed to tell another story.

Lennon was trying to take Julian's advice and stop doubting herself but unfortunately, there was no switch to turn it off. In the silence, she was alone with the worries and doubts in her head and they were driving her insane.

"Can we cut on some music?"

Zoë stares ahead at the road as she says, "No, we do not need music,"

"C'mon isn't the silence killing you?"

"Considering silence does not kill, no." Lennon would like to argue that it does.

Grover glances up, "I have my pipes, I can play something."

Lennon is about to respond when Zoë says, "Music will distract thee driver. Do you want me distracted?"

Lennon sighs. "You can choose if you want! Whatever old-timey music you like,"

Instead of answering, Zoë is silent as she continues to drive. Though by the second time Lennon asks to play music, Zoë relents and turns on the radio.

Thalia had woken up and with that came her and Zoë's mindless arguing. In an attempt to cease the arguing, Lennon suggested they stop at a rest stop. So now they were somewhere in Maryland. They'd mostly got snacks, Thalia got a coffee, Grover some trail mix. Lennon had elected for a simple donut.

They had rung up their items and were on their way out of the store.

Lennon tilted her head to Grover, "So how much longer have we got?"

"Not that long," he answered.

They walked out of the store as Thalia asked, "Grover, are you sure?"

"Well... pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent," That wasn't very reassuring.

"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked in disbelief.

Grover looked offended. "It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right."

"DC is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I..." She frowned. "We used to live there. That's... strange. I'd forgotten,"

"I dislike this," Zoë said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."

Lennon shrugged, "Well, I mean, the acorns said—"

"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.

Lennon sighed inwardly.

Zoë stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!'

"Oh, scullion. You're calling me a scullion? What the hell is a scullion?"

"Whoa, you two," Grover said nervously. "Come on. Not again!"

"Please," Lennon murmured in agreement.

"Grover's right," Bianca said. "D.C. is our best bet."

Zoë didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep moving."

"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do."

"Perhaps," Zoë snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."

That comment left Lennon wondering just how old Zoë was.

Lennon didn't know what she expected when she walked into the museum but it definitely wasn't for Thalia to suddenly fall into an Apollo space capsule. She whirled around to see none other than Percy on the floor. Zoë and Bianca had arrows notched in an instant.

Zoë realized who he was but didn't lower her bow. "You! How dare you show thy face here?"

"Percy," Grover said. "Thank goodness." Zoë glared at him, and he blushed. "I mean, um, gosh. You're not supposed to be here!"

"Luke," He said, trying to catch my breath. "He's here."

"What?" Lennon breathed in disbelief.

Thalia touched her silver bracelet. "Where?"

Percy told them about everything he'd found out. About the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.

"The General is here?" Zoë looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie,"

"Why would I lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors—"

"What?" Thalia demanded. "How many?"

"Twelve," I said. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate,' to distract you over here. A monster."

Lennon sighed exasperatedly, not paying attention to the looks Grover and Thalia were exchanging. "Well, that's just great,"

"We were following Artemis's trail," Grover said. "I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent... She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet."

"Zoe," Bianca said nervously, "if it is the General—"

"It cannot be!" Zoë snapped. "Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion."

"Illusions don't crack marble floors," Percy told her.

Lennon watched Zoë take a deep breath. She didn't know what her connection to the General was, but whatever it was, she was taken this news personally.

"If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," she said, "we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible... We must leave now."

"Good idea," Percy said.

"I was not including thee, boy," Zoë said. "You are not part of this quest."

"Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!"

"You shouldn't have come, Percy," Thalia said grimly. "But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van."

"That is not thy decision!" Zoë snapped.

Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoë. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"

"You never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoë growled. "You never could leave them behind!"

Thalia looked ready to fight so Lennon intercepted before anything could happen. "Look, you can't exactly get rid of Percy, so you might as well—"

Her words were interrupted by a deep, loud growl. For a second, Lennon thought one of the plane engines could be starting up. Below them, a few adults screamed and a kid screeched kitty.

Something bounded up the ramp. When Lennon saw it, her jaw literally dropped. It was the size of a pickup truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. Seeing the large creature definitely made Lennon slightly regret joining the quest.

"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move,"

The Nemean Lion. "Holy Hades," Lennon muttered under her breath.

"Separate on my mark," Zoë said. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Until when?" Grover asked.

"Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!"

Lennon's hair tie was already off her wrist when she snapped it. It elongated into a bow and Lennon lifted it as Zoë and Bianca's arrows whistled past her to the Lion. They did nothing against its metallic fur.

She drew her bow back and then cursed in greek when she realized she had no arrows. Her father gave her a bow with no arrows. The lion roared and Lennon snapped back to the scene ahead. No arrow? That was fine. Perfectly fine. She would just fight with her sword.

She tipped the bow down towards the ground and it glowed, morphing into a sword. She held it in her hands, testing its comfortability. She looked up to see Thalia holding up Aegis to the lion. Lennon ran to join her, sliding in front of Thalia and her shield, letting her sword slide across the lion's front legs. She was surprised to see that her sword did nothing. The lion lifted its claws to take a slash at her and she felt a hand grip the back of her shirt. Thalia pulled her back in time.

"You good?" Thalia asked looking down at her.

Lennon nodded and stood up. "Good,"

"Hey!" She glanced over to see Percy charging at the lion. He slashed its flank but just like her, his sword did nothing. The lion sprang at him and Percy turned and jumped straight off the railing to the wing of an old-fashioned airplane. The Hunters kept sending arrows the lion's way.

"Zoë! Target the mouth!" Percy yelled from over the railing.

If she had arrows she could help. Lennon felt useless. She was a child of Apollo who couldn't use her bow.

Thalia nudged her shoulder. "C'mon, let's get down there."

Lennon nodded and they jumped off the railing onto the second floor. She landed a few feet from Percy.  Zoë and Biance were above the three of them, bows ready.

"No clear shot!" Zoë yelled. "Get it to open its mouth more!"

She looked at the lion and assessed the situation. If she had arrows, she could probably find a way to make the shot.

"Thalia, keep it occupied," Percy said then grabbed Lennon's hand. "Come with me,"

It wasn't like she could really say no seeing as he was already pulling her with him. They both slid off the globe and took off with a running start. She looked ahead. Why were they going to a gift shop?

"This is no time for souvenirs, boy!"  Zoë yelled.

Lennon agreed. She looked at Percy as they dashed into the shop knocking T-shirts and jumping over tables. "She's right. How will a gift shop help us—" She trailed off when she saw it.

A wall full of racks of space food. She'd never had it herself but she'd heard about it. Percy scooped up as many as he could, pushing some into her arms as she collected the sliver packets. They ran out of the shop with full arms.

"Percy," Thalia called as she backed up from the lion. "Whatever you're going to do—"

The lion roared and swatted her away like a cat toy. She was sent flying into the side of a Titan rocket. Her head hit metal and she slid to the floor.

"Hey!" Percy yelled at the lion. Then he threw his sword like a throwing knife. Lennon looked at him with an are you crazy? look but he was too busy looking at the lion which turned and snarled at the both of them.

It didn't take Lennon long to realize that there was only one way to get close enough to the lion and seemed like Percy had the same idea. He looked at her and they silently agreed with just a look. They charged at the lion (the only thought running through Lennon's head was how crazy their plan was) and chucked a pouch of space food straight into the lion's mouth.

It gagged in a way that was almost comical. Lennon probably would've laughed if she wasn't standing before a giant lion that could kill her. Blood pumped through her veins and her chest was heaving up and down from adrenaline but she pushed all of it away and focused on the task at hand.

"Zoë, get ready!"

Percy grabbed her hand as they scrambled away, him pulling her out the way. Lennon looked over her shoulder, using her free hand to cup around her mouth and yell. "Snack time!"

The lion roared once more and Percy and Lennon took the opportunity to throw more space food in its mouth. Its eyes bugged and it opened its wide, rearing back on its paws.

"Now!" The duo yelled.

Immediately, arrows pierced the lion's maw. It thrashed wildly, turned, and fell backward. Then it went still. Alarms wailed throughout the museum and people were flocking to the exits.

Lennon glanced at Percy. As crazy as they were, his plans were really good. She was seeing the "amazing hero" image that she'd imagined Percy as. Though, she should probably stop holding him to that standard. He wasn't some amazing celebrity, he was a kid just like her. She wondered how hard those expectations were on him. Percy stood there catching his breath, his dark hair messy. He looked over at Grover where he was helping Thalia up. Then he looked over to Lennon who quickly whipped her head away, instead, looking at Zoë and Bianca who dropped down from the balcony and landed next to them.

Zoë eyed him cautiously, "That was... an interesting strategy."

"Hey, it worked." Zoë didn't argue with him.

The lion was melting away until there was nothing left but its glittering fur coat which shrunk to the size of a normal lion's pelt.

"Take it," Zoë said to him.

He stared at her. "What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?"

"It is a spoil of war. It is rightly thine,"

"You killed it,"

She shook her head, almost smiling. "I think thy ice cream sandwich did that. Fair is fair, Percy Jackson. Take the fur,"

Percy glanced at Lennon and she nodded her head in agreement. "It was your plan,"

He blinked then lifted the fur. The pelt shifted into a full-length golden-brown duster coat. He murmured something to himself.

"We have to get out of here," Grover said. "The security guards won't stay confused for long."

The guards were scrambling around, everywhere but them. She had only now just realized that they weren't attempting to arrest them.

"You did that?" Percy asked him.

He nodded, a bit embarrassed. "A minor confusion song. I played some Barry Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds."

"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoë said. "Look,"

Through the museum's glass walls, Lennon could see a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in camouflage outfits. Lennon assumed they were the skeleton warriors Percy told them about.

"Go. They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."

"No," Zoë said. "We go together,"

He stared at her. "But, you said—"

"You are part of this quest now," Zoë said grudgingly. "I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the sixth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."

They were driving across the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter, the same one from Westover Hall.

Lennon pointed at the helicopter. It was coming straight for them. "Uh, guys?"

"They know the van," Percy said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoë swerved into the fast lane with the helicopter gaining on them.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Percy said.

"Yeah, how is the General using mortals, anyway?" Lennon asked.

"Mercenaries," Zoë said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for? Don't they notice all the monsters around them?" Percy questioned.

Zoë shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than they were through D.C. traffic.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

Despite her pleas, there was no sign of a thunderstorm.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoë said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

Zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. They left the van behind and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," She said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind them for any signs of pursuit. Soon they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As their train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

The girl looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Grover frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

Lennon frowned in confusion and Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

Lennon blinked. "Are you... sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure,"

"Bianca," Zoë said. "How long ago..." Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," Percy said. "Next station."

They spent the next 30 minutes on trains, changing twice. After a while, they lost the helicopter. The only problem was when they finally got off the train, they seemed to have reached the end of the line. They were in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks.

They wandered through the tracks in hopes of finding a passenger train but they were unsuccessful. All they found were rows of snow-covered freight cars.

A homeless guy standing at a trashcan fire gave them a toothless grin and said, "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come over."

They huddled around his fire. Thalia's teeth were chattering.

She said, "Well this is g-g-g-great."

Lennon frowned, trying for optimism. "It's not that bad,"

"My hooves are frozen," Grover complained.

"Feet," Percy corrected.

"Maybe we should contact camp," Bianca said. "Chiron—"

"No," Zoë said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You kids need a train going west?"

"Yes, sir," Percy answered. "You know of any?"

He pointed one greasy hand. Lennon followed where he was pointing and noticed a gleaming freight train, free of snow. It was an automobile carrier train with steel mesh curtains and a triple deck of cars inside. On its side, it said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's ... convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh..."

She turned to the homeless man but he had vanished. The trash can in front of them cold and empty.

AUTHORS NOTE:
ik i've said this before but i love julian!!! him and lennon are the best sibling duo ever
so any thoughts? theories?