Dr. Chase stared at her. "How do you know that?"
	"I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible and foolish war was, the way mortal men fight each other."
	Dr. Chase's mouth dropped in shock. "You–"
	"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia explained. "But that's not why we're here. We need–"
	"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said. "How many were there? What formations did they fly?"
	"Sir," Ash broke in. "Annabeth is in danger."
	That got his attention. "Of course. Tell me everything."
	Percy looked uneasily at the two little boys, who were each sitting tucked under one of Ash's arms on the couch. "Should they be here?"
	Dr. Chase looked at Bobby and Matthew, who in turn looked up at Ash, who looked back at their father.
	"We've had... issues in the past trying to keep Annabeth's world away from ours. Inadvertently, we may have shut her out. So we thought we'd try dealing with... things... as a family."
	There was a small smile on Ash's face as the group attempted to convey the story to him. Meanwhile, the afternoon light faded outside. When they'd finished, Dr. Chase collapsed back in his leather recliner, lacing his hands together.
	"My poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry."
	"Yes, sir. We will need transportation to Mount Tamalpais immediately," Zoë said.
	"I'll drive you. Hmm. It would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."
	"Whoa, you have an actual biplane?" Percy asked.
	"Down at Crissy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here. In exchange for restoring it, my sponsor–"
	"Just a car would be great, sir." Ash spoke up. "And I'm really sorry, Dr. Chase, but I'm afraid it would be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous."
	The man frowned. "Now wait a minute. Annabeth is my daughter. Dangerous or not–"
	"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She came through the door with a tray full of sandwiches and cookies fresh out of the oven. The three demigods dug in while Zoë said, "I can drive, sir. I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car."
	"What's this about?" Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows.
	"Annabeth is in danger," Dr. Chase explained. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but apparently it's no place for mortals." It sounded like it was hard for him to get that last part out. Ash gazed at him with eyes as soft as Mrs. Chase's chocolate chip cookies. 
	But Annabeth's stepmom nodded sharply. "Then they'd better get going."
	"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys..."
	His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside your aviator hat. They're hanging on the peg by the front door."
	"Right!" Dr. Chase said again.
	"Ashy gotta go?" one of the little boys asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.
	"Yeah, buddy," she responded, patting them each on the head fondly. "But I'll be back soon with your sister, and then I can take y'all to the Exploratorium like I said I would."
Satisfied with that answer, the two boys released her and they made their way to the door. 
"We must be going now, but thank you both," Zoë said to the adults.
"Of course," Dr. Chase said. "Good luck."
"Save Nanabeth for us, 'kay?" One of the boys tugged on Ash's sweater and she kneeled to give the twins one last hug.
"It was nice to meet you, Percy," Mrs. Chase said. "We've heard a lot about you. And Ash, remember you're welcome here any time."
	Ash nodded gratefully. Thalia and Zoë had already made it down the stairs to the street when Annabeth's stepmother called one last thing after the girl's two best friends.
	"Ash! Percy! Tell Annabeth she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that."
	Ash smiled and Percy nodded. "We will," he promised. And so Mrs. Chase watched them drive off into the ever-setting sun with her only daughter's life in their hands.
₪₪₪
	In hindsight, listening to Zoë and Thalia argue like an old married couple wasn't the worst part of the drive. Nor was it Zoë's ominous warnings about the "Mountain of Despair" and Kronos's General as they summited Tam. It wasn't even when Ash rolled down the window in order to take deep breaths of the eucalyptus-scented fog, making the inside of the car freezing.
	No, the worst part was when they spotted Luke's big white cruise ship in a rare break in the mist, docked where the cliffs dropped off into the ocean, and then got fucking struck by lightning.
	Each one of them sensed something was coming. Zoë slammed on the brakes, making the yellow VW convertible they were driving spin twice towards the edge of the cliff.
	"Out!" Thalia shouted. Percy leaned over Ash, roughly slamming open her door and pushing her out. They rolled onto the pavement. The next second: BOOOOM! Electricity flashed, and the Chase's car erupted into flames. Ash's reflexes kicked in and she smashed her hand against the face of Percy's wristwatch, releasing his shield just in time for several pieces of shrapnel and part of the car's fender to impale themselves, quivering, into the bronze.
	The two demigods looked at each other in shock for a moment. Percy was on one knee, face just a few inches from a seated Ash's. One arm was tight around her waist, holding her up, while her hand still gripped his other wrist. "You saved my life," they both muttered at the same time. Their little moment was interrupted by bitter cursing from somewhere nearby.
	"For one Death is a father's hand," Thalia was muttering. "Curse him. He would destroy me? Me?"
	"Thals, that wasn't Zeus," Ash said, sitting up fully and letting Percy go. "Maybe Kronos was trying to trick–"
	Thalia shook her head, looking angry and stunned. "No. That wasn't it."
	"Zoë did say Kronos's name. Maybe–" Percy started.
	This time Ash interrupted. "Zoë. Where's Zoë?" She stood up so quickly she staggered a bit. "ZOË!"
	The others followed her around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing either direction down the road. They looked down the cliff. Nothing.
	"Zoë!" Ash shouted again, a little more desperately. Then she was standing beside them, hand on Ash's forearm.
	"Silence, young one! Do you want to wake Ladon?"
	"You mean we're here?" Percy asked.
	"Very close," she told them. "Follow me."
	She stepped into the sheets of fog rolling across the road in front of them, and when it passed, she was no longer there. 
	"I've never felt Mist this strong," Ash murmured to herself, taking a step forward to follow while Percy and Thalia held back. Within seconds, her form was enveloped in the blank, cool white wall where the SF fog met the Mountain of Despair's Mist. 
Taisho Secret
Seeing Ash with Annabeth's little brothers made Percy think for one millisecond about kids before panicking and shoving a sandwich in his face. Grover felt his friend get all mushy, had sudden baby goat fever, and has absolved to have a chat with him at some point because damn boy....