The 600th Floor
For the next ten minutes, Gema had fully slipped into teacher mode as she scolded Harry and Percy for running away and setting off on a dangerous mission without their elders' permission.
And not only that.
Traveling halfway across the country from one end to the other, which for them was supposedly completely unfamiliar territory.
Accompanied by only two other kids.
For some reason Grover was standing together with Percy and Harry while they were being scolded, getting scolded like a child.
Even though he was supposedly twenty eight years old.
Almost the same age as Gema.
Who right now was absolutely furious.
She was honestly scarier than the Furies at the moment.
Annabeth barely escaped the scolding, and only because Luther had moved her away when they got caught.
Otherwise she probably would've been getting reprimanded together with them.
Percy and Harry kept their mouths tightly shut and their heads lowered as if they were already used to being scolded by Gema, repeating "we're sorry" every few seconds.
"Don't give me that. Do you have any idea how worried your mother is right now? If your aunt hadn't stopped her from flying here, she probably would already be on the first plane regardless of her own safety just to come get you. And we promised her we'd find you quickly. But these idiots…" she said while now turning her anger toward her companions, who had been watching Harry, Percy, and Grover get scolded.
Until suddenly the blame got thrown at them too.
Making them show completely confused expressions.
"One of them let himself lose on purpose so they could continue their adventure," she said while looking at Dorian, who still had a calm smile on his face. "Another one let himself get captured by this country's wizards, forcing us to deal with hiding from the Aurors. And then the other one decided to investigate the history of these monsters instead, only slowing down and getting in the way of our mission to catch them," she said while looking toward Sirius and then Adrien.
Strangely enough, the only one who hadn't caused problems during the mission had been Luther.
Who, just like her, had genuinely been worried about the boys' safety.
"Do you think I'm stupid and didn't notice?" Gema asked while staring at them carefully.
As if she were about to pull out her bow and shoot every single one of them.
Even Adrien couldn't help scratching his cheek while avoiding her gaze.
As Vincent's grandson, he should've noticed his grandfather's blatant deception, and yet he still said nothing, losing the last opportunity to catch Percy and the group.
And so the scolding no longer covered only Percy, Harry, and Grover, but now included a whole round of insults directed at her own companions too.
Luckily the scolding didn't last much longer, because to save the world from a possible global war, the Master Bolt needed to be returned.
And getting caught by the adults wasn't entirely bad, because thanks to that they were able to use Sirius' transportation method.
Which involved Sirius using Apparition to take Percy to the Empire State Building so he could return it.
Though because it was such a huge distance to travel, Sirius had to use multiple Apparitions.
And every single one of them made Percy's eyes spin and his stomach churn.
By the fifth one, his legs were wobbling like spaghetti.
So when they finally arrived in front of the building, Percy immediately stumbled toward a massive decorative flower pot and threw up absolutely everything he had eaten throughout the entire week, including Auntie M's hamburgers.
For more than five whole minutes.
While Sirius occasionally glanced at him as nearby people stared at them with expressions somewhere between confused and disgusted. Sirius even casually waved back at them with a friendly smile while waiting.
"At this rate, the end of the world will arrive because of your vomiting," Sirius said after noticing time was running out more and more.
Percy lifted his head from the flower pot while his face looked completely green and he struggled to breathe.
"Next time, even if the actual apocalypse itself is happening, I'm taking my sweet time delivering a damn weapon of mass destruction," Percy said weakly.
"There's not much to do about it. You'll get used to it when you grow older. The dizziness becomes more manageable. Though having your stomach twisted around still feels unpleasant. At least we didn't lose a limb during the trip," Sirius said calmly.
"Wait… what?" Percy said after realizing that had apparently been an option.
But Sirius didn't say much more and simply walked into the building.
Harry and the others had stayed behind in Los Angeles.
They could travel more comfortably, though calling it comfortable was a huge exaggeration, using Floo connectors.
And since they weren't in a hurry, they could take their time doing it.
Percy didn't have that option.
"Hurry up. Don't you want to save the world? After all, that's why you risked yourselves on an adventure that will probably end with you being grounded until you're adults once you get home," Sirius said with a faintly amused smile while walking and observing the building with obvious curiosity.
Percy let out a sigh while trying to steady his stomach and walked in behind him.
The moment they entered the lobby, neither of them could stop themselves from feeling how absurdly normal everything was.
In a non magical kind of way.
And without even the slightest trace of the Greek divine presence they had imagined.
There was only the guard at the front desk, who was reading a thick book with a wizard on the cover.
Making Sirius narrow his eyes before speaking, lightly tapping the counter with his finger.
"We need to go to the top floor. I think your boss is expecting something," Sirius said in a relaxed tone.
The man didn't answer immediately and even took his time lifting his gaze, clearly too entertained by the book.
His eyes landed on Sirius first before slowly lowering toward Percy.
"It's impossible that my boss would want to see a mortal wizard at all. Even if he's accompanied by a demigod, who, by the way, doesn't have an appointment," the guard said with clear disdain in his voice.
Far more toward Sirius than Percy.
Sirius frowned at that.
But Percy acted before things could escalate further.
"I don't have an appointment, but I think he might make an exception," Percy said while opening his backpack in front of the security guard.
Who merely glanced inside with an obvious look of contempt.
But that expression slowly disappeared, turning into exaggerated shock.
"That thing can't possibly be…"
"Yes, it is. Do you want me to pull it out and…"
"No, no!" he said while instantly standing up before Percy could reveal the power of the bolt.
Though Percy himself wasn't even sure he could actually use it.
But the guard trembled just imagining it while quickly pulling out a card from beneath the counter.
"You may enter. But only you. The wizard will have to wait outside," the guard said hurriedly.
Sirius frowned again, already about to refuse letting Percy go alone.
But before he could, the guard spoke again.
"It is impossible for a mortal to step onto Olympus without the protection of a god. It would simply cause his head to explode, just as it would if mortals saw the true form of a god. Though I don't know if the same would happen with wizards. But you're free to try, if you want," the guard added with complete confidence.
Percy gave Sirius a look.
Knowing him, he might actually try it.
But then Percy would have to explain to his brother how his godfather literally lost his head while accompanying him.
"I'll go alone. Don't worry, nothing's going to happen to me. At least I hope my father, who never even sent me a birthday card my entire life, will at least step in if the great lord decides to erase me from existence," Percy said.
Though from his sarcastic tone, he honestly wasn't expecting much. He was simply trusting that Zeus at least wouldn't smite him after he came to return the bolt they had stolen.
Sirius hesitated slightly, since the others had left Percy under his care and specifically asked him not to let Percy out of his sight.
But from Percy's expression, it seemed unlikely he'd allow Sirius to come along with that kind of risk.
Sirius let out a sigh.
"Fine. But remember to come back in one piece. If something happened to you, I wouldn't be able to face your mother or your brother," Sirius told him while looking at him seriously.
This time Sirius wasn't joking.
Percy nodded confidently, trusting that he would return in one piece.
At least.
Then he walked toward the elevator.
Where, just as the guard had said, he inserted the card and pressed floor 600.