Percy Jackson, Son of Hades

Chapter 6 - " If I Die Young .... "

"The Nemean Lion" ,said Percy as he readied his spear, getting into his throwing stance as he saw the lion slowly approach them while snarling, same way it approaches it prey. 

"You four, get out. The General has sent his fifteen Sparti which have Zoe's scent. I'll meet you by the train" ,said Percy as Zoe and Phoebe exchanged troubled looks with each other on the mention of the name 'General'. 

"Hey we are not leaving you behind" ,said Thalia as she got out her own spear and tapped her bracelet as her Aegis came out. 

"No run for the train, go through that back door. I will join you all, I can shadow travel while you cannot. You all will just be extra burden" ,said Percy as he willed the shadows to catch the legs of the Nemean Lion to prevent it from running and pouncing in their direction. "You promise" ,asked Annabeth as Percy nodded. "All right let's go, one male less in the world it's not much of a problem for me" ,said Phoebe smirking as all four of them bolted for the door and went away, while Percy just clenched his jaws at the comment. 

The Nemean lion let out a roar on being restrained. "SHUT UP YOU MUTT" ,screamed Percy with murder in his eyes, as he threw his spear with deadly aim straight into the mouth of the lion into it's soft pink skin, as he shadow travelled and kicked the spear deeper into the mouth when the lion tried to roar, the light in it's eyes going out and it dissolved into a pelt.

"The Nemean Lion's pelt huh" ,said Percy as he picked it up and felt the soft fur in it. Using his pocket knife, he cut off a part from the pelt from the inner sides, putting it over the small kitten to make it feel more comfortable. "A new dress for you.... Bob" ,said Percy in ancient Hades dialect as the kitten purred and jumped on Percy's head. Taking up a dustbin, he put the pelt in there as he struck his knife against the spear head, making up a spark and setting it on fire.

"For Goddess Artemis, may she be provided with the strength to endure her hardships" ,said Percy as he saw the pelt get burned away, the smoke coming off a little silvery. Making sure that the pelt was fully burned, he sensed to where his four quest mates were. Just as he was about to shadow travel away, he was met with a sword swing he just missed, as a Sparti kick him in the gut.

Making his spear vanish, he pulled out his Stygian Iron Katana as they both started circling each other. The Sparti attacked suddenly, as Percy jumped back to avoid a downward slash as the Sparti used the momentum to jump and spin in the air, as it brought his foot down, which Percy blocked using his left hand, pain flaring in it as he saw the Sparti's toes sinking deep in his arm as the Sparti started dragging them sideways to enlarge the wound. 

Catching him by the leg, Percy swung it around as he threw away the Sparti into a stall, making him tangle under debris. Percy this to his strength as he darted forward and stabbed him in the head, the Sparti shaking rapidly as it exploded into pieces, the heat from the explosion burning Percy a bit on his injured arm. Percy just looked at it once, ignoring the pain in his arm as well as in his heart, as he sheathed his katana back to his side and shadow travelled away.

"What a waste, the male survived" ,spat Phoebe as soon as she saw Percy coming out of the shadows. Ignoring her yet again, out of the corner of his eye Percy saw a sparti come into view. Quickly scanning, he saw a few freight cars labelled as SUNWEST RAILWAYS. "Change of plans, we are taking that" ,said Percy as he sprinted towards the car, leaving no room for arguments as he already was regretting his decision of coming on this quest.

Percy opened the door with his uninjured right hand as all the ladies stepped in. After the last one, Percy himself jumped on as the train started moving. Looking around, he saw the train car to be a neat small hotel, with four beds and a refrigerator filled with plenty of food and good air conditioning to cool the place. "This was a good choice" ,said Thalia as she jumped onto a bed, sinking into its softness as the three others did the same.