seventeen
never meet your heroes

BRIARES WASN'T AS AMAZING AS TYSON had described him. When they reached the cell, the weeping got louder.

Briares was human-size and his skin was pale, like the color of milk. He wore a loincloth and his feet seemed too big for his body, with cracked dirty toenails, and eight toes on each foot. But the top half of his body was the weird part. His chest sprouted more arms than Lennon could count, in rows, all around his body. The arms looked like normal arms, but there were so many of them, all tangled together, that his chest looked kind of like a forkful of spaghetti somebody had twirled together. Several of his hands were covering his face as he sobbed.

"Either the sky isn't as tall as it used to be," Percy muttered, "or he's short."

Annabeth elbowed Percy and hissed, rubbing his ribs. The blonde only sent him a glare.

Tyson didn't pay any attention. He fell to his knees. "Briares!"

The sobbing stopped.

"Great Hundred-Handed One!" Tyson said. "Help us!"

Briars looked up. His face was long and sad. He had deep brown eyes, that had no black pupils, like eyes formed out of clay.

"Run while you can, Cyclops," Briares said miserably. "I cannot even help myself."

"You are a Hundred-Handed One!" Tyson insisted. "You can do anything!"

Briars wiped his nose with five or six hands. Several others were fidgeting with little pieces of metal and wood from a broken bed. The hands seemed to have a mind of their own. They built a toy boat out of wood, then disassembled it just as fast. Other hands were scratching at the cement floor for no apparent reason. Others were playing rock, paper, scissors. A few others were making ducky and doggie shadow puppets against the wall.

"I cannot," Briares moaned. "Kampê is back! The Titans will rise and throw us back into Tartarus."

"Put on your brave face!" Tyson said.

Immediately Briares's face morphed into something else. Same brown eyes, but otherwise totally different features. He had an upturned nose, arched eyebrows, and a weird smile like he was trying to act brave. But then his face turned back to what it had been before.

"No good," he said. "My scared face keeps coming back."

"How did you do that?" Percy asked.

"Percy," Lenon frowned. "Don't be rude,"

"The Hundred-Handed Ones all have fifty different faces," Annabeth informed him.

"Must make it hard to get a yearbook picture," He commented. Lennon's mouth upturned slightly at his comment.

Tyson was still entranced. "It will be okay, Briares! We will help you! Can I have your autograph?"

Briares sniffled. "Do you have one hundred pens?"

"Guys," Grover interrupted. "We have to get out of here. Kampê will be back. She'll sense us sooner or later."

"Break the bars," Annabeth said.

"Yes!" Tyson said, smiling proudly. "Briares can do it. He is very strong. Stronger than Cyclopes, even! Watch!"

Briares whimpered. A dozen of his hands started playing patty-cake, but none of them made any attempt to break the bars.

Lennon watched sadly. Briares was terrified. After all, Kampê had imprisoned him in Tartarus for thousands of years. Lennon knows for a fact she would never be the same if she'd been imprisoned like him.

The Hundred-Handed One covered his face again.

"Briares?" Tyson asked. "What...what is wrong? Show us your great strength!"

"Tyson," Annabeth said, "I think you'd better break the bars."

Tyson's smile melted slowly. "I will break the bars," he repeated. He grabbed the cell door and ripped it off its hinges like it was made of wet clay.

"Come on, Briares," Lennon said, putting on her brightest smile. "Let's get you out of here." She held out her hand.

For a second, Briares's face morphed into a hopeful expression. Several of his arms reached out, but twice as many slapped them away.

"I cannot," he said. "She will punish me."

"It's all right," Annabeth promised. "You fought the Titans before, and you won, remember?"

Lennon nodded. "You'll be safe,"

"I remember the war." Briares shook his head, his face morphing again. "Lightning shook the world. We threw many rocks. The Titans and the monsters almost won. Now they are getting strong again. Kampê said so."

"Don't listen to her," Percy said. "Come on!"

He didn't move. Lennon knew it was only a matter of time before Kampê sensed them like Grover said she would.

"One game of rock, paper, scissors," Percy blurted out. "If I win, you come with us. If I lose, we'll leave you in jail."

Lennon furrowed her brows at him, and Annabeth looked at him like he was crazy.

Briares's face morphed to doubtful. "I always win rock, paper, scissors."

"Then let's do it!" They started the game, pounding their fist into their hands.

Briares did it with all one hundred hands, which sounded like an army marching three steps forward. He came up with a whole avalanche of rocks, a classroom set of scissors, and enough paper to make a fleet of airplanes.

"I told you," he said sadly. "I always—" His face morphed to confusion. "What is that you made?"

"A gun," Percy told him, showing him his finger gun. "A gun beats anything."

"That's not fair."

"I didn't say anything about fair. Kampê's not going to be fair if we hang around. She's going to blame you for ripping off the bars. Now come on!"

Briares sniffled. "Demigods are cheaters." But he slowly rose to his feet and followed them out of the cell.

Tyson froze. On the ground floor right below, Kampê was snarling at them.

Out of instinct, Lennon sent a beam of light toward her.

"The other way," Percy said.

They bolted down the catwalk. Luckily, Briares was happy to follow us. In fact, he sprinted out front, a hundred arms waving in panic. Behind them, Lennon could hear the sound of giant wings as Kampê took to the air. She hissed and growled in her ancient language, probably about how she planned to kill them.

They scrambled down the stairs, through a corridor, and past a guard's station—out into another block of prison cells.

"Left," Annabeth said. "I remember this from the tour."

They listened to her instructions and burst outside and found themselves in the prison yard, ringed by security towers and barbed wire. Tourists were milling around, taking pictures. The wind whipped cold off the bay. In the south, San Francisco gleamed all white and beautiful, but in the north, over Mount Tamalpais, huge storm clouds swirled. The whole sky seemed like a black top spinning from the mountain where Atlas was imprisoned, and where the Titan palace of Mount Othrys was rising anew. It was hard to believe the tourists couldn't see the supernatural storm brewing, but they didn't give any hint that anything was wrong.

"It's even worse," Annabeth said, gazing to the north. "The storms have been bad all year, but that—"

"Will have to wait for another time!" Lennon said frantically, glancing behind her.

"Keep moving," Briares wailed. "She is behind us!"

They ran to the far end of the yard, as far from the cellblock as possible.

"Kampê's too big to get through the doors," Percy said hopefully.

Then the wall exploded.

"Oh, that's great," Lennon mumbled.

Tourists screamed as Kampê appeared from the dust and rubble, her wings spread out as wide as the yard. For a moment, Lennon found herself wondering what the tourists saw. Kampê was holding two swords—long bronze scimitars that glowed with a weird greenish aura, boiling wisps of vapor that smelled sour and hot even across the yard.

"Poison!" Grover yelped. "Don't let those things touch you or..."

"Or we'll die?" Percy guessed.

"Maybe they heal you," Lennon said with a hopefulness that poorly concealed fear. They all gave her a look.

"You'll die," Grover confirmed. "Well...after you shrivel slowly to dust, yes."

"Let's avoid the swords," Percy decided.

"Most definitely," Annabeth said.

"Briares, fight!" Tyson urged. "Grow to full size!"

Instead, Briares looked like he was trying to shrink even smaller. He appeared to be wearing his absolutely terrified face. Lennon was sure her face probably matched his.

Kampê thundered toward them on her dragon legs, hundreds of snakes slithering around her body.

They all knew there was no chance of fighting. That's why Annabeth said what they were all thinking: "Run,"

They ran through the jail yard and out the gates of the prison, the monster right behind them. Mortals screamed and ran. Emergency sirens began to blare. They hit the wharf just as a tour boat was unloading. The new group of visitors froze as they saw them charging toward them, followed by a mob of frightened tourists, followed by... whatever the mist made them see.

"The boat?" Grover asked.

"Too slow," Tyson said. "Back into the maze. Only chance."

"We need a diversion," Annabeth said.

"I could blind her?" Lennon offered.

"No," Percy said immediately. "That's too dangerous,"

Annabeth nodded. "Percy's right. Besides, what would do when she recovers?"

"Run like hell?"

Tyson ripped a metal lamppost out of the ground. "I will distract Kampê. You run ahead."

"I'll help you," Percy said.

"No," Lennon said immediately. They each glanced at her for more but she didn't have any reasoning.

"You go, brother," Tyson said, looking at Percy. "Poison will hurt Cyclopes. A lot of pain. But it won't kill."

"Are you sure?" Percy asked worriedly.

"Go. I will meet you inside."

Lennon could tell Percy hated the idea but he turned to the rest of the group. Annabeth, Grover, Lennon, and Percy each took one of Briares's hands and dragged him toward the concession stands while Tyson bellowed, lowered his pole, and charged Kampê like a jousting knight.

She'd been glaring at Briares, but Tyson got her attention as soon as he nailed her in the chest with the pole, pushing her back into the wall. She shrieked and slashed with her swords, slicing the pole to shreds. Poison dripped in pools all around her, sizzling into the cement.

Tyson jumped back as Kampê's hair lashed and hissed, and the vipers around her legs darted their tongues in every direction. A lion popped out of the weird half-formed faces around her waist and roared.

As they sprinted for the cellblocks, the last thing Lennon saw was Tyson picking up a Dippin' Dots stand and throwing it at Kampê. Ice cream and poison exploded everywhere, all the little snakes in Kampê's hair dotted with tutti-frutti. They dashed back into the jail yard.

"Can't make it," Briares huffed.

"Tyson is risking his life to help you!" Percy yelled at him. "You will make it."

As we reached the door of the cellblock, they heard an angry roar. Lennon glanced back and saw Tyson running toward them at full speed, Kampê right behind him. She was plastered in ice cream and T-shirts. One of the bear heads on her waist was now wearing a pair of crooked plastic Alcatraz sunglasses.

"Hurry!" Annabeth said.

"Oh, really?" Percy said sarcastically as they ran.

Annabeth groaned in annoyance. "Just shut up!"

They finally found the cell where we'd come in, but the back wall was completely smooth—no sign of a boulder or anything.

"Look for the mark!" Annabeth said.

"There!" Grover touched a tiny scratch, and it became a Greek ∆. The mark of Daedalus glowed blue, and the stone wall ground open.

Too slowly. Tyson was coming through the cellblock, Kampê's swords lashing out behind him, slicing indiscriminately through cell bars and stone walls.

Percy pushed Briares inside the maze, then Annabeth, Lennon, and Grover.

"You can do it!" Percy told Tyson.

Kampê was gaining. She raised her swords. Percy slapped his wristwatch and it spiraled into a bronze shield. Then he threw it at the monster's face.

SMACK! The shield hit her in the face and she faltered just long enough for Tyson to dive past Percy into the maze. Percy was right behind him.

Kampê charged, but she was too late. The stone door closed and its magic sealed them in. Lennon could feel the whole tunnel shake as Kampê pounded against it, roaring furiously.

They didn't stick around. They went back into the Labrinyth's darkness, and for once, Lennon was glad to be there.

Eventually, they stopped in a room full of waterfalls. The floor was one big pit, ringed by a slippery stone walkway. Around them, on all four walls, water tumbled from huge pipes.

Briares slumped against the wall. He scooped up water in a dozen hands and washed his face. "This pit goes straight to Tartarus," he murmured. "I should jump in and save you trouble."

"Don't talk that way," Lennon frowned. "You're free from Kampê now,"

Annabeth nodded. "You can come back to camp with us. You can help us prepare. You know more about fighting Titans than anybody."

"I have nothing to offer," Briares said. "I have lost everything."

"What about your brothers?" Tyson asked. "The other two must stand tall as mountains! We can take you to them."

Briares's expression morphed to something even sadder: his grieving face. "They are no more. They faded."

Tyson stared into the pit and blinked tears out of his eye.

"What exactly do you mean, they faded?" Percy asked. "I thought monsters were immortal, like the gods."

"Percy," Grover said weakly, "even immortality has limits. Sometimes... sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."

"I must go," Briares said.

"Kronos's army will invade camp," Tyson said. "We need help."

Briares hung his head. "I cannot, Cyclops."

"You are strong."

"Not anymore." Briares rose.

"Hey," Percy grabbed one of his arms and pulled him aside. He spoke to him, probably trying to convince him. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

Briares looked at Percy with shame then he turned and trudged off down the corridor until he was lost in the shadows.

Tyson sobbed.

Lennon patted his shoulder. "It's okay,"

Tyson sneezed. "It's not okay, sun girl. He was my hero."

Lennon's heart hurt for him. She wanted to lift his spirits but she had no idea how. She knew empty optimism wouldn't help him because it wouldn't be true. That's why all she can do is pat his shoulder comfortingly.

Annabeth stood and shouldered her backpack. "Come on, guys. This pit is making me nervous. Let's find a better place to camp for the night."

Annabeth had taken the first watch so Lennon had rolled out her bedroll and fallen asleep. Unfortunately, it seemed dreams followed you into the maze.

She saw the dark confining walls of the maze. There was a cacophony of muffled voices speaking all around her. They all overlapped. The most common things she heard were goodbye and sorry. There was so much pain in each of the voices.

Then there was a blazing fire and crashing waves. She could almost feel it on her skin. A blazing fire heating her skin, like stinging pins covering her body.

Then there was a deep rattling voice. You can't escape your fate. It said. Those words echoed in her brain over and over and over.

Then there was another voice. The words were a whisper like a last breath. Goodbye.

Child of Apollo, Child of curse. The oracle's prophecy rasped in her ears. Echoing and repeating countless times.

Lennon woke with a start. She sat up in her sleeping roll, a hand over her heart to control her breaths. It didn't stop her from hyperventilating.

She was all alone in the dark. She had no idea where she was. Walls were starting to close around her as her throat constricted.

"Lennon! Len!" Percy's voice reached her ears as he whisper-shouted, careful not to wake the others.

Her vision cleared a bit, she was no longer in the dark. But her breathing was fast. She choked up, her ability to breathe disappearing.

"Should I— What can I do? Should I talk... do you need a hug?" Percy asked desperately as his face came into view, sitting in front of her.

Lennon needed to be brought back down to Earth. She managed to choke out the words, "hug,"

As soon as she said it, arms wrapped around her tightly. It reminded Lennon that there was ground beneath her. The walls inched away from her, going back to where they always were. Lennon let out a smooth exhale, her breath slowing.

"Thanks," she breathed out as Percy pulled away from her.

"Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "It was a dream,"

He looked at her worriedly. "A really bad dream,"

Lennon waved it off as if it was nothing. "One of the worse ones I have, yeah. It's normal though," she takes another breath, savoring the air. "Lee usually hugs me when it happens. Apparently, It grounds me,"

Percy nodded in understanding, though the worried look didn't leave his face. "Do you want to talk about the dream?"

She shook her head. She glanced over at Annabeth's sleeping form and frowned. "I'm worried about Beth. I don't want her to exhaust herself trying to solve this maze,"

Percy hummed in agreement, ignoring the way Lennon changed the subject. "She's seemed so stressed, with good reason of course. It's just... I don't know,"

Lennon played with the edge of her sleeping roll. "The best we can do is be there for her and support her,"

Percy nodded. Lennon watched as he glanced around the cave wallas awkwardly. There was little light in the labyrinth, so she could just barely make out his features.

Then Lennon let out a little laugh. She didn't notice the way Percy studied her smile or her laugh. She smiled with a shake of her head. "I can't believe you beat Briares in rock, paper, scissors with a gun,"

Percy grinned proudly. "It was smart thought, right? I got it from Paul,"

Lennon hummed in agreement. "It was smart,"

They fell into a bout of easy silence. Lennon toyed with the edge of her sleeping roll.

For a moment, she considered telling Percy her prophecy. She wouldn't have to carry the weight of that knowledge on her shoulders. But she knew it cause more harm than good. There were too many things they had to worry about. Her prophecy was something for another time.

Percy yawned and Lennon raised a brow.

"Tired?"

Percy nodded, albeit a bit embarrassedly. Lennon had a feeling that if they had more light, she was would see a tint of red in his cheeks.

"I'll take the next watch. You should get some sleep,"

"But—"

"You're so stubborn," she rolled her eyes. "Go to sleep. It's my turn anyway,"

Percy frowned. But, Lennon could see the drowsiness slipping into his bones. The boy sighed. "Fine,"

He got up and went over to his sleeping roll. To Lennon's surprise, he pulled it next to her. She saw what he was doing. Making sure she had some company after her dream. The girl made a small smile to herself as Percy lay down.

"G'night," he mumbled, sleep already taking over.

"Night," she replied. And then, quietly, she whispered mainly to herself, though the words were meant for him. "Thank you,"

The next morning—or, not really morning since there was no sun underground— they continued traveling, of course with a breakfast of granola bars and juice boxes. As they traveled, the old stone walls turned to wooden beams, like in a mine.

"This isn't right," Annabeth said, agitatedly. "It should still be stone."

"Maybe it's part of it," Lennon provided. She hoped she was right because she wouldn't want another wrong turn. She tightened her ponytail as they continued.

She felt eyes on her and looked over at Percy, who had this weird, awestruck look on his face.

She frowned. "What's wrong?"

The boy blinked. "Huh? Nothing,"

Lennon scrunched her brows in confusion but continued, hearing Grover and Percy mumbling near the back of their group.

They came to a cave where stalactites hung low from the ceiling. In the center of the dirt floor was a rectangular pit, like a grave.

Grover shivered. "It smells like the Underworld in here,"

Lennon wasn't exactly sure how something could smell like the underworld. The girl shined her flashlight at the cave's ceiling, glancing up at the stalactites.

"Nico, he was summoning the dead again," Percy said. She looked over to see him shining his flashlight into the hole where there was a half-chewed cheeseburger floating in brown carbonated muck.

Tyson whimpered. "Ghosts were here. I don't like ghosts."

"We've got to find him," Percy said. Then he started to run.

"Percy!" Annabeth called.

"What are you doing?" Lennon called after him.

The remaining four glanced at each other in confusion then chased after him. By the time they caught up to him, he was staring at daylight streaming through a set of bars above their heads. They were under a steel grate made out of metal pipes. Lennon could see trees and a blue sky.

"Where are we?" He wondered aloud.

A shadow fell across the grate and a cow stared down at them. It looked like a normal cow except it was cherry red. Lennon stared at it, she recognized those cows. The cow mooed, put one hoof tentatively on the bars, then backed away.

"It's a cattle guard," Grover said.

"Huh?" Lennon wondered.

"They put them at the gates of ranches so cows can't get out. They can't walk on them."

Percy tilted his head, looking at the satyr. "How do you know that?"

Grover huffed indignantly. "Believe me, if you had hooves, you'd know about cattle guards. They're annoying!"

Percy turned to Annabeth. "Didn't Hera say something about a ranch? We need to check it out. Nico might be there."

The blonde hesitated. "All right. But how do we get out?"

Lennon looked up at the grate. She tried to think of a solution using her powers but she was coming up blank.

Tyson solved that problem by hitting the cattle guard with both hands. It popped off and went flying out of sight. There was a CLANG! and a startled Moo!

Tyson blushed. "Sorry, cow!" he called.

Then he gave them a boost out of the tunnel.

They were on a ranch. Complete with rolling hills that seemed to stretch on forever. A barbed wire fence ran from the gate in either direction. Cherry-colored cows roamed around, grazing on clumps of grass.

"Red cattle," Annabeth said. "The cattle of the sun."

"What?" Percy asked in confusion.

"They're sacred to dad—" she paused, feeling the need to clarify. "Uh, Apollo,"

"Holy cows?"

"Exactly," Annabeth nodded urgently. "But what are they doing—"

"Wait," Grover said. "Listen."

It was quiet but then Lennon heard it: the distant baying of dogs. The sound got louder and then the underbrush rustled, and two dogs broke through. Only, it wasn't two dogs. It was one dog with two heads. The dog(s?) looked like greyhounds, long and snaky and sleek brown, but its neck V'd into two heads, both of them snapping and snarling.

"Bad Janus dog!" Tyson cried.

"Arf!" Grover told it and raised a hand in greeting.

The two-headed dog bared its teeth. Not that impressed by the fact that Grover could speak animal. Then its master lumbered out of the woods, and Lennon realized the dog was the least of their problems.

He was a huge guy with stark white hair, a straw cowboy hat, and a braided white beard— a mix of Father Time and redneck. He was wearing jeans, a DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS T-shirt, and a denim jacket with the sleeves ripped off. On his right bicep was a crossed-swords tattoo. He held a wooden club about the size of a nuclear warhead, with six-inch spikes bristling at the end.

"Heel, Orthus," he told the dog.

The dog growled at them once more and then circled back to his master's feet. The man looked their group up and down, keeping his club-ready.

"What've we got here?" he asked. "Cattle rustlers?"

"Just travelers," Annabeth said. "We're on a quest."

The man's eye twitched. "Half-bloods, eh?"

Lennon narrowed her eyes as Percy started to say, "How did you know—"

Annabeth put her hand on his arm. "I'm Annabeth, daughter of Athena. This is Percy, son of Poseidon. That's Lennon, daughter of Apollo. Grover the satyr. Tyson the—"

"Cyclops," the man finished. "Yes, I can see that." He scowled down at them. "And I know half-bloods because I am one, sonny. I'm Eurytion, the cowherd for this here ranch. Son of Ares. You came through the Labyrinth like the other one, I reckon."

"The other one?" Lennon asked. "Do you mean Nico di Angelo?"

"We get a load of visitors from the Labyrinth," Eurytion said darkly. "Not many ever leave."

"Wow," Percy remarked. "I feel welcome."

The cowherd glanced behind him like someone was watching. Then he lowered his voice. "I'm only going to say this once, demigods. Get back in the maze now. Before it's too late."

"We're not leaving," Annabeth insisted. "Not until we see this other demigod. Please."

Eurytion grunted. "Then you leave me no choice, missy. I've got to take you to the boss."

Eurytion walked alongside them with his club across his shoulder. Orthus the two-headed dog growled a lot and sniffed at Grover's legs and shot into the bushes once in a while to chase animals, but Eurytion kept him more or less under control.

They walked down a dirt path that seemed to go on forever. It was hot and Lennon could see the heat lingering above the ground. It reminds her of California but without the breeze. Insects buzzed in the trees. Flies swarmed them and every so often they'd see a pen full of red cows or even stranger animals.

At some point, they passed a corral where the fence was coated in asbestos. Inside, a herd of fire-breathing horses milled around. The hay in their feeding trough was on fire. The ground smoked around their feet.

"What are they for?" Percy asked, looking over his shoulder as they passed them.

Eurytion scowled. "We raise animals for lots of clients. Apollo, Diomedes, and...others."

"Others?" Lennon repeated cautiously.

"Like who?" Percy turned back around to look at the cowherd.

"No more questions."

Eventually, they came out of the woods. Perched on a hill above them was a big ranch house—all white stone and wood and big windows.

"It looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright!" Annabeth said.

They hiked up the hill.

"Don't break the rules," Eurytion warned as we walked up the steps to the front porch. "No fighting. No drawing weapons. And don't make any comments about the boss's appearance."

"Why?" Percy wondered aloud. "What does he look like?"

Before Eurytion could reply, a new voice said, "Welcome to the Triple G Ranch."

The man on the porch had three bodies, in addition to weathered, tan skin. He gave them an amused smile, the kind that told Lennon he probably wasn't good news.

His neck connected to the middle chest like normal, but he had two more chests, one to either side, connected at the shoulders, with a few inches between. His left arm grew out of his left chest, and the same on the right, so he had two arms, but four armpits. The chests all connected into one enormous torso, with two beefy legs, and he wore an oversized pair of Levis. His chests each wore a different color Western shirt—green, yellow, red, like a stoplight.

Lennon nervously said hi, then the others, except Percy, each said their greetings.

The cowherd Eurytion nudged Percy. "Say Hello to Mr. Geryon."

"Hi," Percy blinked. "Nice chests—uh, ranch! Nice ranch you have."

Lennon grimaced at his words.

Before the three-bodied man could respond, Nico di Angelo came out of the glass doors onto the porch. "Geryon, I won't wait for—"

Nico looked a lot different than how Lennon remembered him. He couldn't have been older than eleven but he looked like he'd aged years. His hair had grown longer and his skin pale. His once cheerful, eager eyes were shadowed with hate and a thirst for revenge. He wore an oversized aviator jacket that was definitely no good for the hot weather. The jacket was dusty from traveling in the Labyrinth.

Lennon couldn't help but wonder if this was her fault. She had failed to save Bianca and now all of Nico's happiness and innocence were gone. It broke her to know that this could be her fault.

Nico froze when he saw them. Then he drew his sword.

Geryon snarled when he saw it. "Put that away, Mr. di Angelo. I ain't gonna have my guests killin' each other."

"But that's—"

"Percy Jackson," Geryon supplied. "Annabeth Chase and Lennon Hart. Also a couple of their monster friends. Yes, I know."

"Monster friends?" Grover said indignantly as Lennon made a scoff of irritation.

Monster friends? Really?

"That man is wearing three shirts," Tyson said like he was just realizing this.

"They let my sister die!" Nico's voice trembled with rage. "They're here to kill me!"

Lennon looked at the boy in confusion, and a bit of hurt that he'd think that of them. "Why would we—"

"Nico, we're not here to kill you." Percy raised his hands. "What happened to Bianca was—"

"Don't speak her name! You're not worthy to even talk about her!"

"Nico, we wouldn't kill you," Lennon insisted. The boy turned his fiery glare on Lennon as she spoke.

"Wait a minute," Annabeth pointed at Geryon. "How do you know our names?"

The three-bodied man winked. "I make it my business to keep informed, darlin'. Everybody pops into the ranch from time to time. Everyone needs something from ole Geryon. Now, Mr. di Angelo, put that ugly sword away before I have Eurytion take it from you."

Eurytion sighed, but he hefted his spiked club. At his feet, Orthus growled.

Nico hesitated.

Reluctantly, he sheathed his sword. "If you come near me, Percy, I'll summon help. You don't want to meet my helpers, I promise."

"I believe you," Percy said.

Geryon patted Nico's shoulder. "There, we've all made nice. Now come along folks. I want to give you a tour of the ranch."

AUTHORS NOTE:
hello!!! it's been a while but welcome back. i put a playlist in the first chapter so go check that out. if u pay attention to the songs you may find some hints for this act and act three!
anywho, are the chapters to long or too short? let me know
don't forget to comment and vote! and don't be a ghost reader or i'll kill off lennon... just joking