Where could we even start?" Thalia asked as the group walked the streets of Detroit.
"Probably start asking the Authorities about a thief." Grover started nervously as they continued walking.
"Excuse me, have you seen a monster thief" Zoe asked a police officer, who seemed to be off duty.
"The only thief like that would be Ghost." He responded with glazed eyes as Zoe was manipulating the mist.
"Ghost?" The group asked as one, looking at the man as if he was crazy.
"Yeah, Ghost, we call him that for three reasons. One, he usually wears grey and black, making him look like a ghost or spirit, he was never caught by his crimes, so we can't put him in jail. Even though everyone knows he did it. The last reason is because; he always disappears in the sewer system. Whenever we chased him, because we knew he stole something. He seemed to just vanish there." The man explained to the shell shocked group as they heard more and more of the Ghost's story.
"Here is a picture of the man, you can't miss him." The officers said pulling out a picture of a grinning boy, dressed in black jeans, a grey T-Shits and black bandages around his arms.
"Well, you surly can't miss him." Grover stated dryly as they walked down the street.
"The problem would be trying to find him in a city like Detroit." Thalia muttered as they continued to walk on a curb, mingling with the hustle of the city.
They did happen to stumble on the strange boy, ironically after he was just finishing eating from Five Guys.
"Woah." Grover gasped as he caught a whiff of the scarred boy, who was walking down the street without a care in the world.
"What?" The rest of the group asked.
"He smells like fire, poison, ozone, and a freaking monster." Grover said, surprising the group.
"Well, let's go get him." Phoebe said eagerly, after all, the quest was pretty boring, until now.
"Hey, Ghost!" Phoebe called out to the grey and black clad boy, who turned around in surprise, then panicked.
He knew what those silver cloths mean, The Hunters of Artemis. 'Not good at all.' He thought, and took off running to the nearest sewer pipe.
'Crap, crap, crap.' Percy thought to himself as he slid down the sewer pipe, with his pursuer's right behind him.
'Why the hell are the Hunters of Artemis looking for me?' Percy thought as he ran through the miles of sewers Detroit has. Unfortunately, the Hunters were skilled in chasing down prey. They were said to be able to keep up with a startled deer for miles. Probably due to a combination of practice, and the immortality giving them a boost in endurance and speed, so unfair.
Transforming into a 7' giants, he quickly boosted his speed and strides distance, pulling ahead of the chasers.
"Well, I know how he evades the Police." Grover said, barely keeping up with the hunters, while Thalia and Annabeth were slowly lagging behind.
"He chose the perfect place to hide. We can't track him well, as the smell of sewage will override his own, and the darkness prevents him from being seen, unless we are closer." Zoe said with a hint of respect, after all, this boy was giving even her a hard time in keeping up, and was it just her, or did he grow a few feet in height.
"I'll just shoot him." Thalia said, charging up a lightning bolt and hurtling it at Percy. It wasn't powerful enough to kill, only to paralyze.
The bolt caught Percy in the back, but due to his father, he just absorbed it and kept on running.
'They have a daughter of Zeus with them!' Percy thought to himself as he sped up, twisting and turning through the sewers. Which he has memorized the layout.
"Well, that didn't work." Phoebe said snidely as the group tried to catch up.
"Maybe the diplomatic approach." Grover suggested quietly as the group started to tire, well the campers did, the hunters could continue for another mile or three.
"Fine, HEY GHOST!" Zoe yelled out to the shifter.
"YOU WILL NOT KILL ME. I WANT TO LIVE!" Percy called back as he kept running.
"WE AREN'T HERE TO KILL YOU; WE ONLY NEED YOUR HELP!" Grover yelled.
'That was a male's voice, and the Hunt hates males, so they may be telling the truth, I can always transform if they threaten me.' Percy thought, mentally shocked about the male with the hunt.
'Why my help though?' Percy thought, shrinking to his base form and turning around.
The rag tag group finally stopped running as they caught up to the boy, and Thalia, Annabeth and Grover sank on the ground.
"Why are you searching for me?" Percy said suspiciously as he warily watched the group. He didn't survive this long being trusting of strangers.
"We were issued a quest and the prophecy from the Oracle mentioned a Ghost thief in the city of the clouds." Annabeth explained as the three on the ground regained their breath.
"What is the prophecy?" Percy asked.
"Five shall go west to the city in the clouds
The Ghost thief there, shall break a vow
They will travel west to the goddess in chains
Campers and Hunters combine prevail
The Brother of the Forge shows the trail
The Titan's Curse shall one withstand,
And one shall perish from a friend's hand"
'Well, it seems pretty straight forward.' Percy thought as he mentally went over the words.
'Ghost Thief and the Brother of the Forge, are probably about me. Ares was never a brother to Hephaestus.' Percy thought to himself as he went over the words.
"Fine, I will join you, might as well go home. Come on." Percy said, walking off into the dark.
The quest group looked at each other and ran off to follow the boy into the sewers.
After a few minutes of walking in silence, Percy finally came across an ordinary wall, and walked up to it. Removing a brick, he inserted a key and a door opened.
Gesturing to the group, they all filed into the small corridor and came across a small haven.
The room itself was pretty spacious and well kept. A small kitchen with a refrigerator and stove and microwave, tucked in a small corner. The main area was taken with a couch and a table, along with a 30 inch TV, with cable and a PlayStation console.
In the far corner, a forge was seen, filled with racks of metal and weapons.
Last but not least a small bed was pushed up against a wall, along with workout equipment.
"Welcome to my home." Percy said as he walked over to the couch and sat down, with the rest of the group following.
"Now, what are your plans for this quest and where precisely are you going." Percy said as he gazed at each individual.