We were crossing Potomac when we spotted the Helicopter chasing after us. It was a sleek and black military model, carefully chosen so that the mortal militaries would have no idea the chopper wasn't one of theirs.
"They know the Van," Penny called out to Zoe. "We have to ditch it!"
Zoe swerved onto the fast lane, but the Helicopter was gaining on us fast.
"Any chance of the military shooting it down?" Uta asked.
"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Penny grumbled. "How can the General use mortals anyway?"
"They are mercenaries," Zoe told her, keeping her foot down on the pedal. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause so long as they are paid."
Thalia grit her teeth. "What are the chances of me hitting the chopper with a lightning bolt without the Mortals seeing it as me firing a rocket launcher?"
"Not fucking likely," I grunted as I chewed and swallowed some ambrosia. "Better not risk it, we don't want to end up on a 'most wanted' list."
"Yes, I'd like to avoid having that happen a third time," Penny quickly agreed.
"There!" Bianca cried out, pointing at a nearby parking lot. "The Parking Lot!"
"We'll be trapped," Zoe insisted.
"Trust me!"
Zoe hesitated but she relented to Bianca's words. We shot across two lanes of traffic and into the mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. I could feel a faint tingle of magics that weren't Greek as we left the van behind and followed Bianca down some steps.
We were wandering a bit close to the House of Life's territory.
"Subway Entrance," Bianca explained. "Let's go south to Alexandria."
"Better than letting them catch us," Thalia agreed.
Each of us took money out of our bags and hurriedly paid for six tickets. We made our way through the turnstiles, keeping an eye out for any signs that we were being followed. A few minutes later, we were aboard the southbound train and riding away from D.C. The Helicopter was visible as we came above ground, circling the parking lot but making no move to follow.
"Good job thinking about the subway, Bianca," Penny praised her.
"Thanks," she smiled. "I remember it stood out to me because it wasn't here the last time that Nicole and I were in D.C."
"Wait," Thalia frowned. "No subway at all?"
Bianca shook her head, convinced of her own words.
While the others all pondered that revelation- given the subway had existed for at least twelve years- I couldn't help but marvel at how Bianca had seemed to retain so many memories from before her dip in the River Lethe with Nicole. But then again, it wasn't known for how long the two were dipped in Lethe...
And, though it may have also been the Titan's own nature resisting the effects of Lethe, Iapetus was eventually able to regain his memories down in Tartarus.
Of course, that wasn't the end of our troubles. For the next half an hour, we only did our best to escape the Helicopter. We ended up changing trains twice. But thankfully we were finally able to escape the Helicopter that had been chasing after us.
However, we ended up in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere. An industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railroad tracks. Oh, and snow. A LOT of snow, to the point all of us were shivering from the cold.
"R- Right," Penny muttered as we walked around the area. "Wh- Who gets the coat?"
"I- It will be thee or the b- boy," Zoe answered. "O- Our arrows may have smote the beast, b- but it was the boy's attempts to ch- choke it that near k- killed it with Thalia's lightning. A- And it was thy strategy that granted an opening for us to kill it."
"You t- take it," I told Penny. While I would have loved the Nemean Lion's pelt, we'd need a sacrifice to Poseidon to get the Ophiotaurus to safety later on... Plus my world mostly relied on card games for its battles, so the Nemean Lion's pelt would do nearly nothing for me even should I keep it. It would be helpful in other worlds later on, yes. But there was more than one way to become Bullet Proof.
"A- alright," Penny agreed without much of a fight as she grabbed the Pelt- which had since transformed into a Duster coat- and put it on. She sighed with relief, visibly relaxing as the pelt helped defend against the cold of the wind and snow.
As we wandered through the railway yard, we eventually came upon a homeless man standing at a trash-can fire. All around were various freight cards covered in snow that looked as though they hadn't moved in years.
The homeless man gave us a toothless grin. "You look cold, kids. Come on over!"
We all slowly huddled around the fire, using it to warm up.
While we warmed up, I cast a glance at the homeless man... Because, of course, this was no normal man. This was Apollo disguised as a mortal man, in order to avoid suspicions and help us out on the quest.
Interestingly, I noticed Apollo's eyes almost seemed to glaze over me compared to the others. Almost as if he wasn't able to quite perceive me as well as he could perceive them.
Was it because of my Aztec Blood? Was the barrier that kept the pantheons from interfering with one another also making it difficult for Apollo to perceive me- and my nature- properly?
Or perhaps was it the System, ensuring there was minimal interference?
"You kids need a ride going west?" He finally asked.
"Er, yes," Penny nodded. "Do you know of any, sir?"
He lifted a greasy hand, pointing at a nearby freight train that had NOT been there before. It was gleaming, free of snow. It was a train meant to carry automobiles, with steel mesh curtains and a triple deck of cards inside. On the side were words printed bold: SUN WEST LINE.
"That's... Convenient," Thalia noted. "Thanks..." She was cut off as she looked back.
Apollo had already vanished. And he'd taken the fire with him- dick.
"Looks like the Gods are supporting us in this," Uta noted. "At least..." She hesitated. "My father is."
"Not a surprise," I spoke aloud as we made our way on the freight train, taking a look over the cars... We'd be sleeping in these tonight- I wanted to pick a good one. "If there's one person the Sun God cares for in this world, it is his twin sister- the Moon Goddess. He would never just sit back and do nothing while his sister truly needed help- even if it meant she'd hate him for a millennium."
"Indeed," Zoe nodded. "Loathe as I am to admit it... Lord Apollo's care for Lady Artemis is one of his few redeeming qualities. He would move mountains if it meant her safety. It is equal parts infuriating as it is admirable."
"Right, everyone choose a car then," I told them. "Share or don't, it's up to you. But we'll need to ride this out for as long as possible. Apollo is probably the one in control of the Moon Chariot at the moment, so we likely have until morning. So, get some sleep. We'll figure out our next plan of action in the morning."
"Agreed," Thalia nodded firmly. "You heard him... I'll be grabbing a car for myself. No offense, I want some time to myself."
With that, Thalia walked off- looking for a nice car to get in. The others all did the same, wandering off to find cars to rest in for a while.
I found myself behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, reclining the chair all the way back and taking a deep breath as I stared up at the ceiling of the car.
"Why'd you turn down the pelt?" Tez asked. "Sure, there are other ways to be bullet proof, but the pelt would have been useful. I could have used the residual energy within it to empower Ira."
'I could have used it, you're right,' I agreed. 'But you're missing the point of what that pelt is... It's another piece of manipulation for me. Penny is going to remember this kindness, remember how I gave up the pelt for her. Thus far, her opinion on me has been closer to neutral since she has feelings for Annabeth. That pelt is going to start colouring her opinion on me much more favourably...'
"And also means the more poorly Annabeth speaks of you, the more upset Penny becomes with her," Tez continued with a wicked chuckle. "I see, that's why you've never been confrontational or rude with Annabeth in the last six months... You've been building up to this, haven't you? You've been waiting to slowly work Penny over to add her to your harem."
I just smiled slowly. 'Tez, Tez, Tez...' I tutted. 'Did you think these six months made me go soft? Did you think I was going to give up such a hot piece of ass so easily? If I see something I like, I take it. Just like I worked over Akiza. Just like I've been working over Uta and Thalia... Just like I'm working over all the girls in the group chat. From the day the Group Chat began, I've been planning to make them all my women... I'm just a man with a lot of patience and knows better than to say these things out loud.'
Tez chuckled wickedly and clapped his small paws together in delight. "Hahaha! That's why you're my partner, Yuno! That is the true essence of a God- to take what we desire! Just like I will one day become the Sun again, so too shall you become the sun- the light- that lights up their worlds! Brilliant, truly brilliant!"
"Fuck..." Pandora bit her lip as her thighs rubbed together. "Seeing Master being so evil... It gets me so hot...~ Can't we please have our date now? I'll forego that date in the Spirit World if we can just have some fun right now~"
'Now, now, Pandora. Good girls should wait for their due rewards.'
"But what if I'm a bad, dirty girl, Master? ~"
'All the more reason to make you wait,' I told her, smirking at how needy she was.
Pandora pouted, but didn't argue further. She knew that I needed to get as much sleep as possible in for the problems ahead.
.
.
.
I felt as though I were floating, but my mind was frighteningly clear.
Instinctively, I understood that what I was currently experiencing was a dream- one of the infamous 'Demigod Dreams' if I wasn't wrong.
I recalled how sleep was a Gateway to the Duat in the Kane Chronicles- the Egyptian Gods as opposed to the Greek Gods... Sleep was a key factor, allowing one's soul- their Ba- to leave their bodies... It was a similar concept with Demigods- their very nature as being half-mortal, half-divine caused their souls to wander around as they slept. Giving them dreams of near prophetic nature, allowing them to witness the past or the present and- in very rare cases- even the future.
I found myself standing at the entrance to a deep, dark chasm of which there was no way to see the bottom. It was as though it went down endlessly, infinitely.
"They have misled you, little hero," a voice emanated from the pit. Deep, ancient, old. "But I can guide you to the truth."
Silence.
"They would have you sacrifice yourself for that goddess, and those who will never appreciate your efforts," it continued. "But should you follow me... You will finally be given the respect you deserve. Aren't you just so tired of sitting in that cabin, uncared for, unclaimed?"
Silence.
"Join me... Swear yourself to me. Turn your back on your fellow quest mates... Deliver them to me, and all you desire shall be yours-"
"Pft..."
"Hm?"
"Pfft- Hahaha!" I couldn't help it... I burst out laughing, holding my stomach in a full bellied laugh. All while Kronos, deep within Tartarus, was terribly confused.
"Th- this?" I snorted. "Some of them fell for this shit? How much of the weight of their existence did they put on their parents' acknowledgement for this shitty sales pitch to actually sway them? Honestly, I knew some demigods were just whiny bitches- but this? This is just hilarious!"
"I... What?" The Titan King had likely never been so confused in his entire immortal existence.
"I will determine my own fate, and follow my own path," I told Kronos, smiling wickedly. "And also... You made a mistake, reaching out to me..."
Wooooooosh!
"Because you aren't the only one with an army."
Standing behind me was a legion of spirits... Every spirit I had nurtured through my powers, every spirit given purpose by the energies of the Netherworld.
And they were ready to go to war should I give the command.
Silent stepped forward, tapping her staff on the ground. "Master, give the order."
I just smiled in amusement, staring down into the pit. "There's no need for that, Silent," I reached up and pat her cheek, the magician blushing softly under my touch. "Tez... Give this insignificant spec a lesson."
Tezcatlipoca's golden eyes shone with delight. He lifted into the air, his form twisting and changing as he grew to his full size...
This may not be the Underworld that Tezcatlipoca ruled over, but it was still the underworld. Its very nature as a realm of the dead was infinitely close to Tezcatlipoca's realm- to Xibalba.
Behind the God of the Underworld, heat burned and- for the first time in Hades- a sun began to shine... A Black Sun.
"First Sun Xibalba."
The dream faded away... With Kronos's screams of agony echoing in my ears.