A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Chapter 680: Non-Canon Omake: The Little Spider,

Arachne let out a sigh.

"Roll up thy window!"

"No, it's my window, I can keep it down if I want."

"The temperature is too cold! Thy inconsiderate boy, stop thy selfishness!"

"It's hot!" Luke countered. "If you're cold, put on a sweater."

Luke and Zoë had been arguing for well over twenty minutes at this point.

Arachne sat behind the wheel, and much to everyone's surprise, she was in fact a good driver. They expected her to start zooming down the highway, nearly crashing into everything on the way, maybe running over a few people by accident.

But no, she carefully and meticulously adhered to every rule of the road, and she was even careful about speeding.

If anything, they were a little annoyed that she wasn't going past the speed limit.

Percy sat shotgun, just hanging out with her up front, while the other three sat in the back.On one side was Luke, on the opposite side was Zoë, and Annabeth sat in the middle because Zoë refused to sit next to a boy, in her words.

"Mine 'sweater' is in the back, and the loathsome girl driving refuses to pull over to allow me to acquire it," Zoë seethed.

"Maybe you should have prepared better."

"Thou art the same as every boy! Inconsiderate and selfish."

Annabeth sat silently between them, her face blank, feeling too awkward to say anything as her eyes dashed back and forth while they shot barbs at one another.

"And you're the same as every girl!" Luke shot back. He was getting ready to continue, but then he smirked. "Just kidding. I'm not an asshole that insults half the planet because I didn't prepare beforehand."

The older huntress wanted to retort, but the response she planned had sort of died in her throat.

However, she wasn't one to give up.

"Thou art—"

"A swear to whatever gods you believe in, a will pull this car over and make both of ya walk if ya both don't shut yer mouths!" Arachne finally butted in.

The two of them scowled but went silent at the threat.

The funny thing was, they both fully believed she would do it.

"Mooo~"

Arachne looked up, seeing Mr. Blueberry's head peek over the top of the car and over the windshield.

"A know, Mr. Blueberry, a know," Arachne sighed again.

And of course, Mr. Blueberry had come along and was laying on top of the car, happy just to be included on the trip.

Percy reached into his bag and pulled out an apple, rolling his window down and holding it up over the side of the car.

Mr. Blueberry happily grabbed it with his mouth and chomped on it, letting out another joyful noise.

Arachne smiled brightly.

She could ignore the idiots in the back. She was more content seeing her only friends getting along. "Percy, do ya have the map?"

"Yeah, I got it right here." He pulled it out of the side compartment of his door. "Do you need directions?"

"Mmm, yeh. Let's try going southwest first. A don't want to pass by the capital 'cause of the traffic, but a don't know if we should."

In truth, they had no idea where they were going.

The prophecy was vague, basically saying go west.

"If thou makes proper offering, mayhaps mine lady will bequeath blessing upon thee to actually direct us the proper direction," Zoë grumbled. "Instead of thy mindless driving."

"Or you could make an offering to my dad, since he's, you know, the god of roads and travel," Luke pointed out.

Zoë's nostrils flared. She knew he was technically right, but she didn't want to admit it.

"Mine Goddess is of the Hunt. We hunt for a missing item, you stupid boy."

Luke rolled his eyes.

Arachne's eye twitched.

She started to understand some things regarding her own parents.

Was this how they felt with her?

It was humbling to the young girl.

The two in the back started to argue again, but Arachne blocked them out.

"Oh hey, a rainbow," Percy pointed out. "It's really bright, and it looks like it's touching down over there too. Never seen that before. Neat."

"A rainbow!?" Arachne blurted out, looking to where Percy was, her eyes widening.

Before anyone could say anything, she jerked the steering wheel. Everyone lurched inside the car as it swerved on the road.

"Hold on, Mr. Blueberry!" she laughed happily.

"What art thou doing!?" Zoë screeched.

"I don't want to agree with her, but holy shit, a little warning!?"

Annabeth let out her own exclamation as she nearly fell on top of the huntress too.

"What's wrong?" Percy panicked a little bit.

"Good job, Percy! Yer actually helpful. A wouldn't have noticed if ya didn't point it out!" Arachne grinned.

"What, the rainbow?"

"Yup!"

"Art thou insane? Thou art chasing a… a rainbow? We are on a quest!"

"We're not chasing the rainbow, you moron. We're chasing the Leprechaun that made it!" She quickly avoided crashing into another car as she took the next exit on the highway.

"A Leprechaun!?" Annabeth repeated. "Leprechauns are real?"

"O' course they're real," Arachne shot her half-sister an incredulous look. "Yer mother is a goddess. Why wouldn't Leprechauns be real?"

"Awesome! I've never seen a Leprechaun before!" Percy said excitedly.

"It noticed us. The game is on," Arachne said darkly. "Get ready. We gotta stop it from gettin' to its rainbow and running away."

"I have no idea what's going on," Luke muttered, looking at the others, who wore similar expressions.

"No time to explain. Catch the Leprechaun!" Arachne ordered. "It's mah order as the quest head, or whatever."

"This is ridiculous…" Zoë groaned. "There be not such a thing as—"

"Oh shit, is that it!?" Percy pressed his head against the window.

They all turned to see a little man dressed in green running down the sidewalk, weaving between other pedestrians.

"What in Hades…?" Zoë stared blankly, as did the other three.

"Stop him!" Arachne shouted, swerving the car again to follow him down a side street.

The Leprechaun—the picture-perfect image one would think of when imagining the mythical creature—turned to look at them and waved his hand. Out of his sleeve, hundreds, if not thousands, of little pieces of confetti flew out and covered the windshield.

"Bastard!" Arachne cried out, nearly hitting another car as she swerved again.

"I don't know what's going on, but I shall hunt this creature then!" Zoë grabbed her bow and leaned out the window, knocking an arrow and aiming.

Arachne hit the windshield wipers to knock the confetti away and, just in time, swerved the car to make Zoë miss the shot as the arrow narrowly avoided the Leprechaun's head.

The Leprechaun turned around, eyes wide, and let out a string of curses that was honestly impressive, even as he continued to run.

"Are ya daft!?" Arachne shouted at Zoë. "Ya almost killed 'em!"

"Thou art the one who said to catch him!" Zoë screamed back.

"A said catch, not kill, you daft idiot!" Arachne scoffed. "A swear, yer supposed to be thousands of years old!"

"I don't know what's going on, but I got it!" Luke called out, climbing out the window and using his Winged Sandals to fly forward faster than the car.

He nearly caught up with the Leprechaun, intent on tackling it, but just as he wrapped his arms around the small figure, it turned into a ceramic garden decoration.

Luke hit the ground with it, confused, as the decoration cracked and shattered.

Not far away, the real Leprechaun hopped out of a trash can like he had been there the entire time and continued running.

The car zoomed past Luke as Arachne narrowed her eyes.

"Percy, take the wheel."

"On it!"

"Can you even drive!?" Annabeth blurted out in panic.

"Uh…" Percy glanced at her, then turned back to the road. "It can't be that hard, right?"

Arachne ignored them, rolling her window down and climbing out onto the roof of the car.

"Mooo~"

"Don't worry, Mr. Blueberry, a got this," Arachne said, licking her lips as she took out another of her spears. It was red and black, but it wasn't Gae Bolg. She didn't use this one often, but like all her spears, she treasured it all the same.

The wind blew through her hair as she held the spear back in a throwing stance, biding her time.

The car sped up as Percy did his best to keep it straight. Even so, it wobbled back and forth slightly as it was the first time Percy had ever been behind a wheel.

The rainbow was up ahead. The Leprechaun was getting close. At this pace, it would reach it before they could stop him.

Just as he leapt through the air, Arachne's muscles bulged as she used her full strength to throw her spear.

It slammed into the ground—specifically into the Leprechaun's shadow—just inches before he touched the rainbow. His body froze, losing all forward momentum before hitting the ground.

The car came to a screeching halt as Percy slammed on the brakes.

Arachne went flying off the hood, hitting the street and bouncing a few times.

"Holy shit, are you okay!?" Percy called out.

"A am fine!" Arachne held up a shaky thumbs-up. She didn't blame him.

The others got out of the car, and Luke jogged back to them as they looked at the small figure lying prone on the ground.

"No fair, I almahst won! Why does this spear taste like de damn Church!? C'eaters!" the Leprechaun cried out, throwing a tantrum.

The kids—bar Arachne—were stunned into silence.

"Is… is that really a Leprechaun?" Annabeth asked.

"Am I really a Leprechaun? Are ye some kend av idiot?" the Leprechaun shot back.

"Ah, a am sorry," Arachne apologized. "She's not very smart."

"Hmph! Get this damn spear out av me shadow!"

Arachne grabbed the spear and pulled it free, letting the Leprechaun stand as he brushed himself off.

"Hey, Mister Leprechaun, here's your hat." Percy picked up the hat that had fallen and rolled away in the chaos.

"Ah, yer a good lad. 'Ere, have a coin." The Leprechaun flicked a gold coin to Percy as he took his hat back.

"Uh… thanks?" Percy blinked.

The Leprechaun shook his head. "Don't be thankin' wan av de Fair Folk, lad!"

"Um… sorry?" Percy furrowed his brow.

"They don't know no better. They're Greek," Arachne informed him.

The three others felt insulted by that but kept their mouths shut.

"No wonder dey be a bit touc'ed in de 'ead." He pointed at Zoë. "Dat wan tried ta shoot me in de 'ead!"

"She's more dumb than the others," Arachne nodded.

Zoë made a noise of complaint, but Arachne hushed her.

Arachne put her spear away. It had served her well. A spear made from a Black Key—while not anywhere close to her most powerful—often came in handy in situations like this.

"Ah, don't worry. A can explain now. It's a game they play. If ya catch the Leprechaun before he makes it to his rainbow, ya can take his pot o' gold," she nodded to herself. "But if ya lose, then he steals some of yer luck. If ya hurt him, then ya get punished the same—but worse."

"Darn demigods. A ought ta consider it c'eatin'. De game ain't supposed ta be played with yer types," the Leprechaun harumphed.

"Hey, me mum is Scáthach," Arachne huffed, hands on her hips. "A know de rules of de old country. Ye can't just call foul 'cause ye lost."

"What!? Yer mum be de Immortal Witch!? Of all de bad luck!" The Leprechaun startled. "Fine, fine! Take me pot o' gold an' be done with it!"

"Is your mom a big deal?" Percy asked.

Arachne nodded and preened. "Me mum is the best."

"Hmph. Greek brats don't even know de Immortal Witch," the Leprechaun scoffed.

"So, uh… a pot of gold?" Luke asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry, old man. We don't want yer pot o' gold," Arachne said. "Though, a do want a coin fer everyone as a memento."

"Sparin' me pot o' gold? Den what do ye want from me, lass? A don't want ta tangle with no daughter av dat scary witch."

"We're stuck on a dumb quest. Can ya give a hand? We don't know where we're supposed ta go," Arachne sighed.

The others looked at her in confusion, not even considering that this mythical creature could help them with the quest.

The Leprechaun blinked. "Directions?"

Arachne nodded. "If ya be so inclined. Percy, can ya get the map outta the car?"

"Sure!" Percy ran back, grabbed the map, and unfolded it.

The Leprechaun took a pipe from his sleeve and stared at the map. "Hmm. A quest, eh? A never cared 'bout no Fates or prophecies, but a can feel both av 'em 'ere. Wan coin each, an' I'll give ye directions."

"Deal!" Arachne confirmed.

He flung one shoe into the air. It landed awkwardly a few feet away. He muttered, stared at it, flipped a coin, and puffed smoke onto the map.

Ash settled into a perfect circle.

"Dere ya go, lass. Go dere, an' ye should find a path forward."

He stuffed coins into each of their hands and vanished into his rainbow.

The rainbow disappeared.

"…What just happened?" Luke asked.

"We caught a Leprechaun," Percy said helpfully.

"I feel like I just had a fever dream," Annabeth muttered.

Zoë said nothing.

"Looks like we got a destination," Arachne said. "New Jersey."

"....is the Leprechauns words…trustworthy?" Annabeth hesitantly asked. "I mean…even our parents didn't know where we were supposed to go?"

"The Fair Folk don't work by the normal rules. Their magic comes from te other side o' the fence, so they can do stuff even gods can't." Arachne said simply.

Annabeth blinked and her mind blanked.

Stuff that even a god can't do?

That didn't compute with her.

Gods were gods…how could a….Leprechaun do something the gods couldn't?

[Line Break]

Arachne yawned as she continued onward.

The others were asleep, and the moon hung in the air.

For some reason, Arachne felt like the moon was glaring at her the entire time it was in the sky.

That feeling only intensified when she raised her middle finger toward it.

It was a mystery.

She checked the gas gauge and saw they were close to empty, so she pulled into the next gas station.

Coffee would also help.

Her mum was always scolding her for how much coffee she drank, but she didn't think it would be bad if she had to keep driving for a while.

The gas station was what you would expect for a place like this. The town they arrived in was something Point—she didn't quite remember the name—but it wasn't very large, somewhere in New Jersey.

The gas station was small, with only a few pumps, but luckily it was still open this late.

As she came to a stop and turned the car off, the others slowly woke up.

"Bathroom breaks. Go in pairs in case o' monsters. And get some snacks," Arachne told everyone.

She felt like she was a good leader, even if she didn't want to do this whole quest thing. At the very least, it was a fun little road trip adventure.

At least she was with her two best friends, and she could ignore the others.

Zoë grunted. "Daughter of Wisdom, come. We shall use the facilities."

"Yeah, one sec. Let me grab my glasses…" Annabeth put them on, yawning. She barely took a few steps before she let out a yelp. "The statue!"

All of them immediately followed where she was pointing.

In front of the gas station, near the entrance, stood a stone statue. It looked weathered, but it appeared to depict a man in Greek-style armor.

"What about it?" Luke asked.

"There's a huge amount of Mist swirling around it."

Arachne blinked and focused. The Mist parted to her eyes, but the statue remained just that—a statue.

"That's… strange?" Percy looked to Arachne. To him, she always seemed to know everything. "What's wrong with it?"

Arachne shrugged. "Looks like a statue to me."

Both Annabeth and Zoë hesitantly approached it.

It didn't move.

It didn't come to life.

Even as Zoë poked it with her bow, nothing happened.

The doors to the gas station suddenly opened.

"Hey! You kids, stop messin' with that," the store clerk scolded. "If you break it, you're payin' to replace it."

"S-sorry," Annabeth said quickly, relieved the mortal couldn't see the strangeness. "Um… where did you get it? We were just curious—it looks really nice."

The clerk rolled his eyes.

"The old man who owns the place picked it up from the lady who makes 'em up the road. You can't miss it—big glowing sign on the roof."

He grunted and walked back inside.

Everyone shared a look.

There was a silent understanding of where they were going next.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was paying close attention to their journey.

Well—many someones were.

Most of the gods had been watching them the entire time, including their little Leprechaun adventure.

While many of the gods weren't happy about the children interacting with something so explicitly outside their pantheon's sphere of influence, they bit their tongues in favor of the quest being completed.

For a quest, it was both the best and worst time for gods to interfere in the world.

They were allowed more wiggle room to be assertive and directly involved.

However, there was also a far greater chance that overt interference would come back to bite them.

Thus, they had to be careful.

Calculating.

That was why Ares waited for this exact moment.

While everyone's attention was on the children, he knew it was time to strike.

Careful.

Calculated.

The "seller" of the statue was already one step ahead.

He found her easily at a place called 'Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium'.

Medusa.

If he had more time to consider it, he might have called it cliché. About half of the statues were from her eyes, the others…it looked like she actually made them in her spare time. He might even admire the work if he wasn't in a hurry.

But that was beside the point.

Using his immense godly might, he descended upon the monster.

Before she could even turn around, he struck her in the back of the head, knocking her unconscious.

Then, he dropped Zeus's and Hades' divine symbols at her feet and disappeared.

Originally, he had intended to pull the little girl aside and quietly ask her to take them.

But how could he pass up such a perfect opportunity?

He was proud of himself.

Athena always gloated about her superior schemes and planning.

Now look at this. The kids would show up, kill the monster, find the items, and the quest would be over. Sure, the question of who stole the divine symbols would go unanswered.

No one would ever believe it was Medusa of all people.

But what did that have to do with Ares, the God of War?

It was the perfect plan.

And absolutely nothing could go wrong.

[Line Break]

A/N

Truly, nothing bad could possibly happen, I'm sure it will be a short and easy quest.

If you want to read 4 chapters ahead of this, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.