[Third Person's PoV]
After receiving their quest, it was time to choose their companions.
"I mean, I don't even need to do the whole ritual thing. I choose Annabeth and Thalia," Lucian said after Chiron explained to Percy that quests were traditionally undertaken by three people.
"Well, then I'm taking Grover with me," Percy said, flashing Grover a confident smile.
"Eh?" Grover responded, pointing to himself in surprise.
Despite the prophecy of betrayal, Percy was sure that Grover wasn't the one who would betray him. He trusted his gut, and his gut had proven to do magical things recently.
"You'll need one more person before you can go on this quest," Chiron said, standing up. "I'll gather the available quest takers."
Before long, Percy found himself standing by a ritualistic circle surrounded by various demigods. To mostly everyone's surprise, even Luke stood among them with his hands behind his back. Next to him was Chris, a cabin mate and sibling, followed by Pollux and Castor, Clarisse, Charles Beckendorf, and many others from different cabins.
Being surrounded made Percy nervous, but he didn't show it. He scanned the group, carefully considering whom to pick. 'If I choose Luke, I'll be constantly paranoid. It wouldn't be fair to him,' he thought.
Percy continued to look around until his gaze settled on Clarisse. 'The prophecy said I would be betrayed by a friend, so if I take Clarisse, wouldn't I prevent the prophecy from happening? She herself said we aren't friends…'
"I choose Clarisse to go with me on this quest," Percy said, looking at her with a serious expression.
Clarisse was taken aback. She hadn't expected to be chosen. 'What is fish-breath thinking, picking me? I seriously hope he doesn't think we're friends. I'd hate to hurt his feelings– You know what, I hope he does think we're friends,' she thought, a pleasant smile creeping onto her face. Those who knew her couldn't help but look at her strangely.
"It's decided!" Chiron announced. "Why don't you all pack what you'll need for the trip?"
Percy was the first to finish packing, and he met up with Lucian, who was waiting. "Say... If I wanted to go to the Underworld, where would I need to go?"
"Excuse me?" Lucian asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I still want to see my mother, maybe even take her out of there. Since she's there, she's technically dead, right?"
"Well, she's fully mortal, so yeah. But what part of 'there's a war brewing' did you not understand?"
"I understood that, but isn't the whole point of this quest to stop the war from happening? My mother doesn't need to be dead and in a scary place like that if I complete the quest."
"Whatever, dude. You're heading in the right direction anyway. It's west... The main entrance is in Los Angeles."
"Okay, then we'll take a plane—"
"You can't do that," Annabeth said, dropping down from above and landing between Percy and Lucian. "The Sky Father doesn't like it when children of the other two big gods trespass in his territory, so flying is restricted," she briefly explained.
"He's that petty?" Percy asked, just as thunder rumbled in the clear sky.
Lucian chuckled. "Does that answer your question?"
Percy blinked and looked up at the sky. "Yes... surprisingly, it does."
Clarisse and Thalia appeared then, walking side by side with backpacks slung over their shoulders. Thalia tossed hers toward Lucian, whose shadow extended and devoured it.
Percy turned to Thalia, curiosity evident on his face. "I'm sorry, but I'm curious. If you're his daughter, why hasn't he given you the quest to retrieve his bolt? Shouldn't you be the first person out there looking for it?"
Thalia scoffed. "He's not exactly thrilled with me or my choices. He probably thinks I'm in cahoots with Lucian, the other suspect in the bolt theft, and that I stole his bolt or something stupid like that to get back at him. Who knows what my old man is thinking."
"What's taking that goat so long?" Clarisse mumbled, crossing her arms. Percy, meanwhile, was surprised to learn that Lucian was also suspected of being the lightning thief.
Just then, Grover appeared, dragging a ginormous bag that was far too big for his body. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting! I had a few things to pack!"
"Ever heard of packing light?" Lucian asked, raising an eyebrow as he eyed Grover's oversized bag.
"I know, I know, but the world is a dangerous place. You never know what life might throw at you, so I like to be prepared," Grover replied proudly.
Lucian rolled his eyes and effortlessly controlled his shadow to swallow the giant bag. "Well, what are we waiting for, people? A grand adventure awaits!" Lucian declared as he began marching forward, the others instinctively following his lead.
"Wait!"
They all halted and turned toward the voice, spotting Chiron and Luke jogging up to them.
Luke reached them first, holding out a pair of basketball shoes. "Glad I caught you guys," he said with a charming smile.
'He's getting good at that,' Lucian inwardly scoffed.
"I wanted to wish you all good luck on this quest, and I thought these might come in handy," Luke said, handing the shoes to Percy.
Lucian sharpened his senses, focusing intently on the sneakers. 'That's odd… there's no hidden enchantment, mechanism, or sabotage. What's going on?'
"Thanks..." Percy mumbled, not too enthused about the shoes.
"Maia!" Luke called out, and wings sprouted from the back of the sneakers.
"Awesome!" Grover exclaimed, examining them with enthusiasm.
"I don't really use them. They were a gift from my dad, so I figured they'd be more useful to you than to me," Luke explained.
"Thank you..." Percy replied with a smile.
"And nothing for me? I can't help but feel hurt, Luke. I thought we had something special," Lucian teased dramatically.
"Dude... Ew," Luke scoffed in amusement. "As if you need anything that you can't already create yourself."
"But it's the thought that counts," Lucian sighed, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
After a few more well-wishes and handshakes, Luke jogged back toward camp, leaving Chiron and a new arrival—Argus, the camp's security chief with eyes all over his body.
"Argus here will drive you to the city and keep an 'eye' on things," Chiron said, with a subtle smile at his own pun.
"What's with this favoritism? Where was he during my quest?" Lucian asked, feigning exasperation.
"Maybe if someone had waited long enough and didn't dive headfirst into danger with little to no precaution, he would have had the same privileges," Chiron replied, giving Lucian a knowing side-eye.
Lucian just scoffed and rolled his eyes as Argus led them to a large black SUV.
"Got any candy inside?" Lucian asked curiously.
All of Argus' eyes focused on Lucian. "I don't... should I?"
Realizing Argus didn't get the joke, Lucian quickly waved it off. "Uh, no, you're good."
Once everyone settled into the SUV, Clarisse turned to Lucian, a hint of excitement in her eyes despite her tough exterior.
"Why are you coming with us on our quest? I thought you'd just teleport away or something," Clarisse asked.
"Two reasons. First, we're literally heading in the same direction, so I might as well enjoy the journey. My destination is also in the West, though I'm heading to Las Vegas. And second, when Percy finds the man who stole the bolt, we'll most likely find the person responsible for the helm as well. Even though finding the helm wasn't part of my quest, my intuition tells me it didn't need to be in the prophecy since it's my duty to retrieve it."
"Your duty?" Percy echoed.
"Yup. I'm the Prince of the Underworld. It's within my duties to recover what the Furies failed to retrieve for my father," Lucian said with a confident grin.
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