Always Protect

Chapter 26

The next day, before the sun had risen, a group of demigods and a centaur made their way to the top of halfblood hill. Three of them were about to leave the border and the rest were there to see them off.

Luke, Beckendorf, Silena, Travis, Conner, Malcolm, and Pollux were saying their goodbyes ("Not goodbyes, well wishes. Goodbyes imply you're not coming back and you are coming back so help me god." "What Silena means is good luck.") to the three kids. Castor was talking quietly with his twin off to the side. Malcolm was going through some strategies that may be helpful for almost any situation with Annabeth. Travis and Conner joked around a bit before running off toward the Demeter cabin. Percy figured it was better not to ask, plausible deniability was something his friendship with the Weasley twins had taught him to appreciate.

Percy's fellow Hufflepuff clapped him on the shoulder, his other arm around Selina's shoulders.

"I'm sure you'll do great. You have good friends watching your back and a well crafted sword in hand."

Selina snorted. It was already a bit of a running joke that Beckendorf loved Percy's sword. The daughter of Aphrodite stepped forward to pull the boy into a hug.

"Now remember, think like a Slytherin or Ravenclaw, maybe a Hufflepuff. Whatever you do, don't act like a Gryffindor. Don't get me wrong, they are perfectly good people, but the tend to run into danger even when it's unnecessary. Alright?"

Percy smiled wryly and nodded. With one last hug, the pair went over to share some last minute wisdom with Castor. Luke came over and put his hands on Percy's shoulders.

"Do you have the items I gave you? In retrospect, shoes to make you fly aren't necessarily the best things to give a son of the sea."

"Yeah, I gave them to Castor to wear."

"Alright, that's probably best. Now remember, be smart about this. Gods can be real dicks. They aren't supposed to interfere but they tend to only listen to their own rules when it's convenient for them."

Percy frowned at the bitterness in his friends voice which prompted Luke to smile quickly.

"Sorry, just... be careful about things you don't really have to do."

With one last hug for each of the travellers and a few words from Chiron, the trio ran down half blood hill to the road where Argus, the hundred-eyed surfer guy, waited to drive them to the nearest bus station.

Luke watched them leave, his gut lurching with a mixture of guilt and fear. He had just intentionally messed with the titan lord's plan and sent an innocent demigod to his death. He just couldn't let anything happen to Percy. He was his friend, a boy who had already been through so much in his short life. If the titan ever knew though...

Shaking off the what if's, Luke turned to go back to his cabin, resigning himself to the fact that all he could do now is wait.

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The three kids bought tickets and got on the bus, choosing seats at the back of the vehicle. Castor looked over at his dorm mate and the Ravenclaw as the pair looked tense. Annabeth was looking through her mini book of Greek monsters in an attempt to prepare for anything they might come across. Meanwhile, Percy was staring out the window, his leg bouncing frantically.

"You alright Perce?"

"Yeah, some Apollo campers were able to make me my potion and put it into unbreakable vials for my pack so I don't have to worry about that and Luke, Beckendorf, and Silena provided some mortal money as well as drachmas."

"So why don't I believe you?"

Ocean eyes peered up at him.

"I- I've never been on a bus before. Ha- my little brother always wanted to go on one but-. Our relatives..."

Castor looked down at Percy's arms, though they were covered by long sleeves and a light jacket he was well aware of the multitude of scars that covered them. The son of Poseidon had been very particular about wearing clothes that covered at Hogwarts but once he arrived at camp, there were times where he had to wear shorter sleeves. To think that he'd been through so much before he knew of his heritage.

Castor slid the straps of his pack off his shoulders and unzipped it. Reaching in, he pulled out a can of grape soda, offering it to his friend. The black haired boy stared at it for a moment before accepting the drink with a soft smile.

"Grape?"

"Well I am the son of Dionysus." Castor said, lowering the shades slightly to show off his purple eyes.

That got a laugh from the smaller boy. Mission accomplished. Now, Annabeth.

The blonde girl had taken her ponytail out and had her elbow trying to hold her book open as she put her hair up again so she could keep reading.

Castor reached over and put his hand on the top of the two pages, holding the book open without blocking the words. Annabeth smiled at him gratefully and finished putting her hair up.

"Thanks Castor, I'm just trying to prepare."

"I get that, but I'm sure you already know all that we need. There's only so much studying you can do."

He could tell that she knew he was right but the look on her face said the Ravenclaw wasn't happy about it. Percy was still just staring out the window, sipping his soda, but looked much calmer than before. So far, the quest didn't seem to be going too badly. It was only a few stops later when things went wrong. Three old ladies climbed onto the bus. One of which, was Mrs. Dodds.

Castor, the only one of the three demigods paying attention, tensed and elbowed his companions roughly.

"Hey!"

"What the heck, Marks?!"

When he stared forward, Percy and Annabeth followed his gaze.

"Oh bloody hell," the blonde girl said under her breath.

The trio sat, backs straight, watching the old women, the kindly ones as Annabeth so kindly supplied, as the bus started moving.

Mrs. Dodds turned her head and smiled sharply at them from where she sat at the very front of the bus, blocking the exit.

"Alright, we need to get off this bus." Annabeth said, grey eyes seeking any extra exits.

Unfortunately, either they'd have to go out a window or wait for the next stop. Neither option was great.

"Here, Percy take this." Annabeth said, passing him a Yankees baseball cap.

"Why do I need a hat? It's not going to do much."

She rolled her eyes, shoving the cap on his head causing him to promptly disappear.

"Bloody hell!" Castor exclaimed.

Ignoring him, Annabeth took the pack off her back, shoving it into the now seemingly empty space which gave an audible oof.

"Percy, take the packs and head to the front."

As she said this, the three old ladies stood and turned towards them with sickeningly sweet smiles. Thankfully there weren't many people on the bus so the smallest of their group was able to climb invisible over the seats and bypass the evil trio who were making their way down the aisle.

Reaching the front, Percy turned back to see Annabeth pull out her bronze dagger, Castor wielding a sword, and the kindly ones pulling out whips, fire dancing along the weapons. The scar on his arm from that same weapon earlier in the year.

He had many scars, culminated over many years. Scars that he'd learned no one should ever have. If he could stop it from happening to someone else, he would do whatever it took. It was this line of thought that led to his next actions.

Taking off the yankee's cap of invisibility, Percy turned towards the back of the bus.

"Oi! Mrs. Dodds! I'm over here, come and get me you old bat!"