Working With The Thief

by bekebep

Summary:

By the time Percy's 17 years old, he admits to himself that he could start to understand Luke Castellan, the Olympian traitor who'd died only a year prior in a war that Percy fought against the demigod in.

But what if Luke was just a little bit nicer to Percy?

What if things with Gabe hadn't always been bad?

What if Percy allowed himself to be angry at the gods from the start? After all, they did kidnap his mother and hold her for ransom that he didn't have.

What would've happened then?

REWRITTEN THROUGH:
The Lighting Thief ✓
The Sea of Monsters ✓
The Titans Curse ✓
The Battle of the Labyrinth (in progress)

Chapter 1: Avoiding Parole Is Hard When You Get Attacked By An Old Hag

Percy Jackson

Look, I didn't want to be a half blood.

Hey. My name is Percy. Jackson. Percy Jackson. I'm 12 years old, and I live with my mom, Sally Jackson (a queen amongst humans) and step-dad, Gabe Ugliano (who's last name tells you everything you need to know about him) in Manhattan on the East Side in an apartment that's barely big enough for the three of us. 

During the school year, though (or at least this school year), I'm not at home. I just started at Yancy Academy for Troubled Kids. 

Because after getting expelled from 5 schools in 5 years, adults consider me troubled. Which, on paper, I can understand, but they expelled me for reasons that we're totally out of my control. Or, mostly, at least. 

I was determined to be good this year, though. While there was no hope for me to get good grades- it's a miracle if I ever get above a C-, I was determined to not get expelled because of some stupid accident or behavior. 

Having teachers who don't understand that having ADHD and dyslexia makes school hard means that I don't always make friends with my teachers. 

Or other students. 

Most kids don't like me. 

Which, maybe some of that is self inflicted because I befriend the kids who the popular, annoying, rich white kids pick on, but the people getting bullied are usually cool and actually have a personality. 

This year's friend was my roommate, Grover Underwood. He must've hit puberty early or something because he had some sort of weird goatee and he loved enchiladas (only cheese one, though, because he's vegetarian) and he's excused from gym for the rest of his life because of some weird muscle disease he has. He walks with a limp, so watching him try to run to the cafeteria on enchilada day was always kind of funny. 

He's also super nice, though, and doesn't have dyslexia so I'm doing better in English and also Latin than I usually would be. I don't know much about his family or any of his life outside of school, but maybe it's for the better. 

After all, the chances that we'll hang out after I probably get expelled from here are slim to none. None of my others friends have ever talked to me after I was expelled, after all. 

But only time will tell, right? I usually just try not to think about it.

Right now, my class was currently heading to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (or just the MET, if you're a normal person), and I was determined to not get in trouble on this field trip. 

Boy, how wrong was I to hope that. 

You see, this field trip was being led by my Latin teacher, Mr. Burner, who was actually cool like 75% of the time because he actually made class interesting enough to stay awake in. He'd always bring in these swords and challenge us sword to chalk point to name all of these people who's names I can't spell and can hardly pronounce- but he's not hard on spelling so that's cool. Despite being disabled, he's also a mean swordsman. 

Chaperoning with him, though, was the devil herself: Mrs. Dodds. She was our long term pre-algebra sub who just kind of showed up in December and decided that she hated me and loved Nancy Bobofit, the girl who was currently chucking bits of her lunch at Grover's head from three seats back. 

"I swear to God, if she throws another piece..." I warned before Grover placed a hand on my arm. 

"It's alright, dude, I like peanut butter." He insisted, which wasn't the point, but I know what he meant. He took another piece of sandwich out of his hair. "And plus, if you get in trouble again, it won't be good- you're still on parole, Percy."

"Well... Yeah," I couldn't argue there, though, because I've known Andrew, my parole officer, longer than I've known Grover. We meet frequently. "But if she comes up to us and I punch her, that's her fault."

Grover just sighed. 

"Whatever you say, Perce."

The tour of the MET, even though it was led by Mr. Burner, wasn't all that interesting. Maybe if Nancy Bobofit and her posse weren't talking constantly throughout it, it'd be more interesting because I'd be able to focus on what Burner was telling us. It's not like I'd be able to keep what he was talking about straight, though, so it didn't matter. 

There was one instance that I did take notice of during the tour. Chiron had been talking about Achilles and Patroclus because their urn was on display, and the way he looked at the urn...

It was like he knew them personally. 

"Wait, their ashes are both in there?" Nancy questioned, her face scrunching in disgust. "What were they, gay?" 

"They were," Mr. Burner confirmed before backtracking. "Or, most historians believe they were. It's hard to ever say for certain."

Her face contorted. 

"Ew."

I looked down at my sneakers.

She wasn't quiet enough, thankfully. Bruner is one of the only teachers that ever seems to hear Nancy Bobofit, and the only one that ever calls her out. 

"What was that, Ms. Bobofit?"

"Hm?" She responded. "Oh. I said oh, because I didn't know that before."

More like because you're homophobic.

"I see. Well I'm glad you learned something here today, young lady."

Nobody bought it, but we continued the tour until we reached a painting that I didn't know but vaguely recognized. Nancy was still throwing bits of her lunch in Grover's hair. 

Grover was eating it. 

I should punch her. 

Not now, but... Later. Maybe when we have lunch, or on the bus. 

She was being really annoying and there was a lot of noises going on, so when she was snickering and making comments to her friends about a naked guy on a stele, I had enough. 

"Will you shut up?" 

The room fell silent, and I realized too soon what happened. 

I was louder than I meant to be. 

"Mr. Jackson," my Latin teacher promoted. "Did you have a comment?" 

"No, sir."

But that wasn't enough for Mr. Bruner because why would he be. He raised an eyebrow. 

"Perhaps," he suggested. "you could tell us what this picture represents?" 

And thank God, after looking at the picture being referenced, I was able to figure out what it was because we talked about it in class the other day. 

"That's Kronos eating his kids, right?" 

"Correct! And he did it because..."

Shit. 

"...because he uh-" but just because we talked about it doesn't mean I remembered the details. "Kronos was king of the gods-"

"Gods?" 

"Titans." I corrected myself. "And he didn't trust the gods because they were his kids, so he ate them, right? But his wife his Zeus and gave him a rock so he threw up the others and-" 

"Ew!" One of the other girls yelled. 

"There was a war between the gods and titans," I wish I'd known the irony of having to answer this question at the time. "and the gods won."

And even though they probably couldn't have answered that themselves, some kids snickered behind me. 

"Like it's going to say on our job applications, please explain why Kronos ate his kids." Nancy Bobofit muttered to her friend- not quiet enough. "Like we need to know this."

"And why, Mr. Jackson, to answer Nancy's question," Mr. Bruner asked as if it wasn't his job to answer our questions. "Does this matter in real life?" 

"Busted," Grover muttered.

"Shut up." Nancy returned. 

At least she got busted. Mr. Bruner is the only teacher who seems to hear anything she says- all the other teachers love her. I don't get it. 

Sadly, her being busted didn't help me. 

"I don't know," I admitted, shrugging and looking at the painting again. 

"I see, well... Half credit," Mr. Bruner decided before recalling the story to us. "Zeus did feed him mustard and wine to disgorge the other five children. After which, they defeated their father, sliced him into small pieces, and sent him to the depths of Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch!" 

Starving, unlike Grover, I was more than ready to eat when I was denied the pleasantry. 

"Mr. Jackson."

Really? Now? 

I thought Bruner would talk to Nancy before me. 

Telling Grover I'd meet him outside and turned around to face my Latin teacher, who, being in a wheelchair, I was taller than. 

"Sir?" 

And again, he had that look in his eyes - intense brown eyes like he'd actually witnessed Kronos being cut up or Achilles and Patroclus being buried together. 

Like they'd witnessed everything. 

"You must learn the answer to my question?" 

"About the titans?" I asked, confused because I answered the question. 

"About real life." He clarified. "And how your studies apply to it."

"Oh."

"What you learn from me and in my class is vital for you, Percy," but I didn't like that he singled me out. As if I'd remember what he taught me in a year because it's my best class right now, but it's still a C-. "I expect you to treat it as such. I will only accept the best from you, Percy Jackson."

The best? 

As if I wasn't already giving his class my best? 

Sure, you could call me out in math. You could insist I could try harder in English and you'd probably be right. 

But not Bruners class. It's the one class I actually enjoyed and at least tried to pay attention in and usually could because he was energetic and fun- even if I couldn't remember all of those names and who came first and why it's important. 

Why is it important? 

Sure, it's a story, and I guess it can teach about like, abusive families and stuff (trust me, I would know), but at the end of the day it's a myth, right? A story. 

I'll only accept the best from you.

Then I guess my best wasn't good enough, right? 

I wanted to get angry. To punch a wall or knock something over. He pushes me so hard and I don't get it. Mr. Bruner has pushed me since day one. 

Sure, it's cool to have a teacher believe in me for the first time in years, and it's fun to go chalk point to sword point trying to list all of the heroes and where and what and everything about them, but he expects me to be as good- no, better- than the other students, as if my highest grade isn't a C-. 

After making up something about trying harder, I went outside to have lunch with my best friend. 

Sitting on the steps outside of the MET probably looked weird- a bunch of juvenile kids in front of a prestigious museum, but it was nice out for once. Ever since December, the weather's been weird- freak storms, flooding, forest fire from lightning, hurricanes, the works- and while it looked like it might storm soon, it was nice right now. I wouldn't be shocked if it ended up as a hurricane later, though. 

Either nobody cared or noticed the weather, though. I sat down next to Grover at the edge of the fountain. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket a lady's purse, her lunch either in Grover's hair or stomach by now, and naturally, Mrs. Dodds didn't notice.

"Detention?" Grover asked.

"Not from Bruner," I told him. "I just wish he'd lay off sometimes- I'm neurodivergent, but that doesn't make me a genius."

And after a moment of silence, just when I thought Grover was going to make some deep meaningful stuff up in response, he just motioned to the food in my hand. 

"Can I have your apple?"

But red delicious apples were named by a liar, so I gave it to him, looking at the cars drive down Fifth Avenue. 

My mom's apartment wasn't far from here. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about hopping in a taxi and saying hi- maybe staying there, but between the risk of Gabe also being home and his disappointed I'd know my mom would be, I stayed. 

She's remind me that, even though Yancy is my sixth school in six years, I need to give it a fair shot and give me a sad look that I didn't want to be the cause of. 

It's okay, though, I'll probably get expelled anyways. 

Mr. Bruner parked himself at the top of the steps with a book and a little umbrella that he'd managed to get on the back of his wheelchair. It made it look like a cafe table, which made me feel a little better about not being able to go home. 

Sadly, that feeling didn't last long. 

I was about to unwrap the rest of my lunch when Nancy Bobofit, evidently unsuccessful in her pickpocket attempts, walked over to Grover and I and 'accidentally' dumped her lunch onto Grover's lap. 

"Oops." Her Cheeto orange freckles brightened like a masochists. 

And you know what? I tried to stay calm. I tried to take my counselors advice and count to ten or my parole officers advice of regrounding myself to my surroundings. But between the bus ride, the snarky comments during the tour, Bruners comment, and now this I... 

My mind went blank. I heard a roar in my eyes and that's the only thing I could tell you happened between then and Nancy Bobofit being in the fountain that we'd been sitting by. She was drenched and furious. 

Then, even though I literally didn't, Nancy Bobofit pointed like a toddler and screamed "PERCY PUSHED ME!"

And when the princess is in distress, Mrs. Dodds was there. She materialized next to me as the other kids started to react. 

"Did you see..."

"... Like the water just... Did it..."

"Like it grabbed her."

I didn't know what they were talking about, but as soon as Mrs. Dodds told me to follow her and started with her classic Oh, honey in that sweet southern tone you know is anything but, I knew I was in trouble. 

"Now, honey -"

"I know, I know." I insisted. "A month erasing workbooks after school."

I was incorrect. 

"Wait!" And kudos to Grover, who was afraid of Mrs. Dodds and agreed with me that she's some sort of monster, for trying to stand up for me. "He didn't do it! I pushed her in!"

But he's also an awful liar. 

"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood."

"But-"

"You will stay here."

Grover looked at me, more pleading, but also somewhat mournful. 

"It's chill, man," I insisted. "Thanks for trying."

Before I knew it, Dodds and I were back inside the museum and we were walking towards... 

Wait. 

How did she did get so far ahead of me? 

Even though we just walked in, she was already at the end of the hall. That made no sense. 

I guess my ADHD just made my mind go blank again. It happens a lot, the counselor says that it's a normal ADHD thing, so I wrote it off as that and kept following my pre-algebra teacher. 

Looking back, Grover still seemed worried, but he's always worried, so I kept going and Mrs. Dodds vanished even further. 

I guess she's going to make me buy Nancy a new shirt? It would make sense, since it's a bit cold to be outside in wet clothes. 

Very quickly, I found out that that wasn't the plan. It wasn't until we were back in the Greco Roman section of the museum that Dodds stopped walking or vanishing or whatever and she stood there. 

We were alone in the gallery, and that alone was enough to put me on edge. 

The weird noises, almost like growling, made it worse as I think they came from Mrs. Dodds and was starting to suspect she might be a cannibal looking for new meat. 

Sadly, I wasn't far off. 

"You've been giving us problems, honey."

Hoping she wouldn't skin me alive, I played it safe. 

"Yes, ma'am."

"Did you really think you'd get away with it?" She tugged at her leather jacket, but the question made no sense. 

I'm here because I didn't get away with something I don't even think I did. 

The look in her eyes, unlike the kindness in Bruners, were evil. 

She's a teacher. I chided myself. She won't hurt you. 

Unless she's a cannibal, I retorted. 

"I- I'll try harder, ma'am."

The storm finally stirred. Thunder shook the building. 

God, I hated storms. 

"We aren't fools, Jackson," but it was weird that she knew my last name since she'd only been subbing for a few months- if that. "confess and you'll suffer less pain. It was only a matter of time before we found you."

Is there somebody else here? 

Who is we?

Did they find my illegal candy stash that I was selling? I thought it was untouched this morning. 

That didn't warrant a scare like this, though. From Dodds, no less. 

Unless they found out I copied my English essay- I think I'd rather be eaten by Dodds if they were going to make me actually read the book. Ideally, I'd just take an F on it. 

"Well?" She was growing impatient. 

"Ma'am, I don't..." 

And as her eyes glowed like magma and her fingers grew into talons, she informed me that my time was up (I always figured I'd die young, though I imagined it differently) and dived towards me as wings sprouted from her back. Opening her mouth, there were now yellow fangs and her breath reeked. 

She was old before, sure. 

Now she was officially a hag and definitely not human. 

Tragically, it only got weirder. 

Mr. Bruner wheeled into the room, yelled "WHAT HO!" as he always does when he raises his sword in class, and then his pen was in my hand but it was also a sword and as Dodds lunged again, I slashed as a natural defense and missed. 

"Die, honey!" 

I probably will, I thought to myself, slashing again, this time landing a hit and... 

And suddenly I was standing in a pile of sand. I was covered in sand. 

Where did Mrs. Dodds go? 

Did I kill her?

But there's no blood, I tried to reason, just... an excessive amount of sand. 

I could still feel her evil eyes on me, red dots boring into me, but a scan of the room just confirmed that she wasn't here. 

Did I imagine the whole thing?

It wouldn't be the first time. 

I went back outside. As the thunder indicated earlier, it was raining now. Grover was still by the fountain, as was Nancy Bobofit, still drenched in water.

"I hope Mrs. Kerr kicked your butt."

But I couldn't have imagined that much.

"Who?" 

"Our teacher, dumbass."

I blinked, not having a good response. I'd never heard of a Mrs. Kerr, and I asked Nancy what she was talking about. 

She just rolled her eyes and walked away, though. So I turned to Grover and asked where Mrs. Dodds was- if he'd seen her leave. 

He paused, and he didn't look at me, but he responded. 

"Who?" 

Maybe he was just messing with me? Who knows, maybe Mrs. Dodds middle name was Kerr. 

"Not funny, man," I insisted. "this is serious."

Thunder boomed again. 

Looking over, Mr. Bruner was where he was before I went inside: reading on what may as well be his portable cafe table. 

I walked over and he took notice of the pen I'd forgotten I was holding. 

"Ah, that would be my pen," he noted, taking it back. "please remember your own writing utensils in the future, Perseus."

I internally rolled my eyes at my full name. I hated it. 

"Sir," I figured I'd ask him because he wouldn't play a joke on me. "Where is Mrs. Dodds?"

But he stared at me blankly. 

"Who?" 

So maybe he would. 

"The other chaperone, our algebra teacher," I insisted. "Mrs. Dodds."

And as if my diagnosis were psychosis and not ADHD, Mr. Bruner looked at me with concern and confusion. 

"Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip." He informed me. "As far as I know, there's never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Perhaps you're confusing her with an old teacher of yours- are you sure you're okay?" 

But that couldn't be. 

Did I make the whole thing up?

As if confirming the thought, thunder boomed once more and another teacher whom I'd never seen before, Mrs. Kerr, called all of us to the bus to go back to the school. 

There was no sign of Mrs. Dodds.

None of the kids recognized her name. 

But Grover wouldn't look at me and I wasn't sure if I could take that as confirmation for her existence or not. 

Did I imagine the whole thing? 

•••

omg hiiiiiii guys this has been in the drafts for a minute (I've written like 20 chapters as I'm publishing the first ones) so hi!!! I graduated college since I posted last !!!! have fun with this

 

Chapter 2: The Only Thing Stopping Me From A Psychosis Diagnosis Is Not Having A Psychiatrist

Percy Jackson

The rest of the year was really weird. 

I'm used to the occasional weird experience, but they usually ended almost as soon as they started. 

This felt like I was hallucinating 24/7, and it was driving me nuts. I'd gotten a psychiatrist referral from my counselor a month after the field trip because "there was no Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy". It was like she vanished, and when she turned to dust, so did everyone else's memories of her. 

I was almost convinced myself. Maybe I did make her up. Why else would everyone state at me like I'm psychotic? 

Why would my counselor and my parole officer refer me to a psychologist that specializes in hallucinations? 

Grover couldn't fool me, though. Every time I mentioned the name Dodds, he'd claim she doesn't exist only after hesitating. He's never been a good liar, and that hasn't changed. 

Something happened at the museum. Something was going on. 

Something Grover knew about. 

I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, the closer to the end of the school year that we got, but at night, the memories haunted me. Mrs. Dodds charging me, her talons and fangs (how did she have those?) trying to slice away at me. To kill me, probably. 

Her screaming give it back, but I hadn't stolen anything. I wasn't a thief. 

The freak weather carried on the rest of the semester— there was a really big tornado in the Hudson Valley only a few days after the wind blew one of my windows out in the dorm. A lot more boats were going down in the ocean. 

Between the bad weather and the constant hallucinating I was doing, I became more irritable and cranky. I fought with kids more— mostly Nancy. Got sent into the halls for most classes at least once a day. My grades started to slip from Ds and Cs to Fs and one D (thanks to Mr. Bruners generosity). But that didn't stop me getting kicked out of class daily. 

Sometimes more. 

In May, my English teacher, Mr. Nicoll asked me why I was too lazy to study for our spelling tests, and I snapped. I didn't know that it meant, but I called him an old sot and excused myself. 

Sure, I'd failed the last half dozen spelling tests we had, but between three ADHD, Dyslexia, and Schizophrenia or Psychosis or whatever it is, maybe his expectations shouldn't have been so high. 

After that, the headmaster sent the letter to my mom to confirm what we all knew was inevitable: I wasn't welcome back at Yancy Academy for Troubled Students next year. 

I was expelled. 

Which made six schools now. In six years. 

Fine, I told myself. Just fine. I didn't like Yancy anyways. 

I was homesick.

I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if it meant putting up with my obnoxious, awful stepfather, Gabe, and his stupid poker parties. 

And yet, there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods from my dorm, the smell of the pine wafting through the whole school. 

I'd miss Grover, who had been a good friend, even if he was a bit odd. I was worried about how he'd survive next year. 

Latin was probably the last thing I'd miss. It was the only final I studied for, and while I'm sure I bombed it, I couldn't not put in at least some effort after what happened at the MET. 

It pissed me off, but I guess it worked. I tried harder in Bruner's class than any other one. 

I hadn't forgotten what he mentioned about this knowledge being life or death. I didn't understand it, but I didn't forget. 

The night before the exam, I got so frustrated with my dyslexia and with education as a whole while studying they I threw our textbook across the dorm and decided to take a lap around campus to calm down. Grover had been gone for a while, as well, and I was starting to worry that someone had happened to him.

I'll only accept the best from you, Percy Jackson.

Stopping, I took in a breath, picked up the book and made my way towards faculty offices. Mr. Bruner would be crazy to still be working, but he's nothing if not dedicated to his job.

Maybe I could get some pointers from him, or maybe I could at least apologize for the big fat F I was going to get on the test.

Walking downstairs, most of the rooms we're dark with the exception of one: Mr. Bruner's office. His light was on, door ajar, but there were some... Sweetie shadows being cast down the hallway.

I was three steps from the door handle when I heard a voice that made me stop.

"—worried about Percy, sir."

Grover?

Did he...

Did he leave our room to talk to Bruner about me?

Looking down, I tried to focus on their conversation. I'm not usually an eavesdropper, but I dare you to not do it when your best friend mentions your name to a teacher. 

I inched closer to hear better. 

"—alone this summer," Grover continued. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school!? Now that we know for sure, and that they know, too..."

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him." Mr. Bruner insisted. "He needs more time, Grover. He needs to mature more."

Are... 

Me? 

Am I not... I know that I've caused fights but I'm not... Mature? 

Should I be mature? I'm only 12. 

"But, sir, the summer solstice—"

"Will be solved without him," our teacher said. "Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can, Grover."

"But he... He may not have time, sir, he—" Grover cut himself short. "He saw her."

"What? His imagination," but it was as if Grover confirmed my suspicions that Mrs. Dodds was real and Mr. Bruner was still insisting on gaslighting us, which made no sense. "The Mist and the others will convince him of that."

Because they've done a wonderful job at that, I thought to myself. 

"Sir, I..." Grover's voice cracked (which it did a lot, but this was more of an emotional crack, not a puberty crack). "I can't fail my duties again, I... You know what would happen if..."

"You haven't failed, Grover," but the more I listened, the less things made sense. "I should have seen her for what she was. For now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"

So Bruner admits she's real. 

Just not around me. 

My book slipped from my fingers, hitting the ground and forcing my heart to speed. 

Bruner and Grover fell silent. 

I picked up the book and backed down the hall, hiding by the staircase. 

After that a weird shadow slipped across the light— way too tall for a normal person, holding something that resembled a bow rather than Bruner's usual sword. I heard the clop-clop-clop of hooves, saw a dark shape pause by the door, and then go back from whence it came.

I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my neck. 

"Nothing." Mr. Bruner said from somewhere in the hallway. "Hm. My nerves haven't been right since the solstice."

"Me neither," Grover agreed. "but I could swear..."

"Go back to your dorm," Mr. Bruner instructed. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

There was a pause just long enough for me to roll my eyes. 

"Don't remind me." Grover said. 

The lights went out in the office, and I waited a few moments before bounding up the stairs. 

Grover had beat me to my room, sitting on his bed looking bleary-eyed and tired, as if he'd been studying all night. 

That little liar (that I'll miss a lot). 

"Hey," he welcomed me. "you gonna be ready for the test?" 

I didn't answer. 

"You look... Awful." Grover added on. "Everything okay?" 

I wonder if he'll ever think about me again after this spring. 

"Just... Tired." 

I turned away so he couldn't read my expression and got ready for bed. It's a tactic I use frantically. 

Not always with Grover, but just... In general. 

Maybe I do have another mental disorder. Maybe they're right and I am more fucked up than I realized I am. 

I didn't understand what I'd overheard downstairs, and I wanted to believe I'd made the whole thing up like everyone insisted I did with Dodds, but I couldn't shake how real it felt. 

One thing was clear, though: Grover and Mr. Bruner were talking about me behind my back. Because they thought I was in some kind of danger. 

•••

I hope the person who implemented 3 hour class and test sessions is rotting in hell. 

By the time I finished my Latin exam, my eyes were like a pool with all of the names and dates of Roman and Greek heroes and events I'd misspelled floating inside. As I went to leave, though, Mr. Bruner called me back inside. 

My initial fear was that he found out about my eavesdropping, but that wasn't the problem. 

"Percy," Mr. Bruner said in a tone that could've been quieter, considering the other test takers. "don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's... For the best."

Really? I thought to myself. You want to have this discussion in front of everyone right now? 

His tone was kind, sure, but it was still embarrassing. Nancy Bobofit smirked and made a little kissy noise (ew). 

"Okay, sir."

As if that changed the reality.

"I mean..." He wheeled his chair back want forth, as if he didn't know what to say. If he should say more. "This isn't the place for you. It was only a matter of time."

It was only a matter of time.

Before I got in trouble.

Before I went insane.

Before I got kicked out.

Before my will to live ran out.

My eyes stung.

Here was my favorite teacher of all time, of all six schools I've attended, telling me that I was destined to get kicked out of school. In front of the class.

After spending nine months telling me he believed in me, and almost six months of insisting he'd only accept the best from me, it suddenly didn't matter. I was destined to get kicked out.

It was another lie.

"Right," I agreed, my voice trembling.

"No, no," but too late he realized the intent of his words. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"

Like I don't fucking know? 

Like it doesn't taunt, haunt, and follow me everywhere I go? 

"Thanks," I blurted, cutting him off. "Thanks a lot, sir. For reminding me."

I hate it here.

"Percy—"

But I was already gone. 

I'll only accept the best from you— you're not normal. 

Because it wasn't enough that those thoughts prevented me from sleeping late in the night.

It's not like I'd been told the latter my entire life.

Getting back to the dorm, my frustrations boiled over in the form of me punching the wall.

I'm surprised it didn't break my hand, being brick and all. 

Grover walked back into a pity party. I was just laying on my bed, feeling sorry for myself as I iced my hand with ice that somehow hadn't melted yet after a half hour. 

"Hey, I'm ba—" Grover announced as he closed the door to our room and fell silent, probably seeing me. 

He's never going to talk to you after you leave Yancy. 

"Percy?" But because he's my best friend, he didn't even think about that before limping over to the space between our beds and crouching down. "Hey, man, what happened?"

I shrugged. 

"I punched the wall."

Assuming I'd elaborate, Grover took a while to respond. 

I didn't elaborate. 

"...why?" He asked. "did Nancy or any of the kids... I'm not a great punch, but if I need to—"

And I don't know if he was trying to make me laugh or smile by insisting that he could hold his own in a fight, but I cracked a smile and rolled my eyes. 

"Please don't hurt yourself, Grover," I reassured him as he placed a hand on my shoulder that made too aware of the physical contact. "Nancy always makes comments, but it wasn't..."

I shrugged again, feeling useless. Helpless. 

You're not normal, Percy... It was only a matter of time. 

Before what? My expulsion? My psychotic break? Before everyone gave up on me? 

"After I finished my Latin test, Bruner just... Yeah. I don't know."

But obviously Grover and Mr. Bruner are buddy-buddy, so he wanted to know more instead of leaving it be the way it was. 

"Yeah?" And maybe it would kill me if I never had another friend that seemed to care like Grover did. "Did he say something about how you did on the test or...? 

I shook my head, sitting up and scooting over so Grover could sit next to me, because while I may get in my fair share of fights, this was not the first time Grover's seen me like this. 

It's not often, and usually it's right before I have to go home, but... I doubt he's noticed that pattern. 

"So you know how he said that thing at the MET about only accepting my best?" I reminded my best friend. "and he's always been super adamant with me since the start of the year about being able to do well and always reminding me that he like, believed in me?"

Grover nodded. 

"He..." My voice strained because it was stupid, but what Mr. Bruner said hurt me. "He told me to not be discouraged by being expelled, because it was, and I quote, it was for the best. It wasn't the place for me, and it was only a matter of time before I got kicked out. Because I'm... Not normal."

My friend stopped breathing momentarily, and a part of me wondered if what Mr. Bruner said has to do with his conversation with Grover. 

"Oh." Grover responded, seeming at a loss for words. "I'm sorry, Percy, that's... I'm sure he didn't want to sound bad, but that's... Bad. But hey! On the bright side, you'll get to stay with your mom next year, right?"

I shrugged.

"If a school will take me." I answered. "Even though I'll probably have to retake sixth grade, which is... Dumb."

What I wouldn't give to have a working brain. 

"School is dumb," Grover told me. "Go take a shower, those always make you feel better. I'll be right back."

I sighed, too dramatically. 

"Fine, I'll take care of myself." I said as a half joke and stood up. "do you have another exam this late?"

"No, just late work to turn in," he insisted, holding up his bag. "I'll be back!" 

And Grover's a bad liar, so it wasn't hard to tell that that was a lie, but I didn't want to fight him on it— especially if he was going to try and do something that would make me feel less shitty. So I just nodded and went to shower. 

•••

On the last day of the term, I shoved all of my clothes in my suitcase. 

The other guys in my class were talking and joking about their summer plans. Going on cruises, long road trips. One of them was going hiking in Switzerland. Like me, they were juvenile delinquents, sure. 

But they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, bankers, actors. CEOS. 

I was a nobody from a family of nobodies. 

I hadn't thought of it much, but Grover must also be a delinquent if he's here. 

What did he do? Steal enchiladas? 

I have no clue. 

Maybe he planted something on private property. 

Despite rooming together for nine months and being best friends, I was realizing that I knew surprisingly little about Grover's life outside of Yancy. 

When they asked me what I was doing for the summer, I said I'd be going back to the city. 

I left out the fact that I'd probably be looking for a job somebody would hire a 12, almost 13 year old for. Dog walking, maybe. Worrying about where I'd be going to school in the fall. 

"Oh," he responded. "That's cool."

It was a lie worse than that of Grover Underwood's, but he turned back to his conversation like I didn't even exist, so it didn't matter.

The only person I dreaded saying goodbye to was Grover, but it turned out that we were riding the same bus back into Manhattan, so I didn't have to do it as soon. 

As we sat on the bus, I'd taken to trying to relax. Originally, I'd tried to lean against Grover since he'd be a comfier pillow than the seats were, but he was really jittery. 

I've noticed in the past that when we leave Yancy, he can be anxious or jittery. Like now, looking around the bus and up and down the aisles, as if he expected something bad to happen because we weren't at school. I'd assumed it had something to do with worrying about who would pick on him but... There was no other students on the Greyhound to pick on him. 

Finally, I caved in to my curiosity.

"Looking for Kindly Ones?" I asked.

Grover nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Wh—what do you mean?"

Sighing, I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Bruner the other night. 

After I finished, there was a beat of silence. 

"How much did you hear?"

"Oh.. Not much," I insisted, though thought that it was more than I should've. "What's the summer solstice deadline?" 

He winced. 

"Look, Percy... I was just worried for you and about you and I knew that you were closer to Bruner than other teachers and I... I mean—" he took a breath. "hallucinating math teachers and—"

"Grover."

"And so I was telling Mr. Bruner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because Mrs. Dodds never existed and—"

"Grover." I repeated. "You're a really bad liar."

Embarrassed, his ears turned pink, but he stopped rambling. Instead, he fished a card from out of his pocket— a business card, which seemed odd.

"Here," my best friend offered the card to me. "Just take it, okay? Just... In case you need me this summer."

In case I need him?

The idea was almost ironic, since most of the year had been me trying to protect Grover from other kids and yet... I sensed that I might need it. 

Anything to get out of the apartment when it was just Gabe and I at home. 

Looking at the card, I almost thought it was a prank because he gave a dyslexic kid a card with fancy cursive, but I was eventually able to make out what it said. 

Grover Underwood 

Keeper 

Half Blood Hill 

Long Island, New York

(800)009-0009

"What's half—"

"Don't say it out loud!" Grover yelped. "It's my uh... Summer address."

Oh. 

My heart sank. I felt my body decompress. 

Grover had a summer home. We'd spent so much time together that I'd never considered the fact that his family probably had money, like every other family at Yancy. 

Every family but mine. 

"Okay," I said glumly. "so if I, like, want to visit your mansion or whatever?" 

He nodded his head. "or just... If you need me."

But between the conversation with Bruner and this new development, I felt slighted by my best friend. 

"Why would I need you?" 

It did come out harsher than I intended, but it still sent the message: it would've been nice to know. 

Grover blushed, turning the color of a strawberry. 

"Look, I—" he stuttered. "Percy, the truth is I— I kind of have to... Protect you."

The idea was laughable, but I contained my honor and just stared at him. 

I spent all year fighting his bullies. I'd lost sleep over worrying about what would happen to him next year when I wasn't there to keep at least most of the bullies at bay. 

Yet here he was, acting like he was the one who protected me. 

Sure, he helped me, but that's not the same as protecting. Unless he maybe protected me from myself, but that's... Not the same. 

"Grover," I said. "what exactly are you protecting me from?" 

As if on cue, a grinding noise halted the bus as the vehicle started to smoke. After a minute, the driver announced we all had to get off. 

I had a bad feeling about this. 

Chapter 3: It's Just A Pair of Socks Dude

Percy Jackson

We weren't into the city yet, so we at least didn't get jumped or mugged. On our side of the road, it was just a bunch of maple trees and litter. Across four lanes was a little fruit stand with three old ladies sitting out front, knitting what might be the biggest pair of electric blue socks I'd ever seen. Nowhere you would notice if you didn't stop.

The fruit stand didn't have any customers, just the old women sitting in the shade. The two ladies on the outside each held massive ball of yarn while the middle lady was knitting the socks that looked to be about the size of a sweater so far. 

Who needs socks that big? 

Maybe she didn't realize she was knitting the wrong thing. The ladies did look ancient. Their pale skin wrinkles like fruit leather, with silver hair pulled back by a white bandana. They were so bony and thing that a part of me thought about offering them a drink from the apple cider filled claw foot tub that was next to them if I weren't on the other side of the highway. 

The oddest thing, though, was that it felt like they were staring right at me. 

I turned to point out the weirdness to Grover, who looked like he'd gone just as pale as the ladies. 

"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"

"Please tell me they're not looking at you. They aren't, are they?"

"I mean, it's hard to say, but I think so?" I told my best friend, who must've overestimated these three grannies. "yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me? Maybe like a sleeping bag? We could each it use one."

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."

Frowning, thinking that it was funny, I looked back towards the old ladies who were definitely looking at me now. 

Just then, the middle lady took out a huge pair of scissors— white and gold, almost the size of gardening shears. I heard Grover catch his breath next to me.

"We're getting on the bus," Grover informed me, sounding frantic as he grabbed my hand, which— I don't think he's ever done that before because it had my attention as I still kept an eye on the ladies. "Come on."

"What? Dude, it's like a thousand degrees in there. We'll probably melt if we go back in—literally."

"Come on!" And even though he's grabbed my hand, Grover went on and pried the door open without me next to him. He crawled in, I stayed back. 

Across the road, the middle grandma cut the yarn and I swear I could hear the snip from across all four lanes of traffic. Her two friends cleaned up their yarn and put it all into a basket that could only make me wonder who the socks would be for— Sasquatch or Godzilla. 

From the rear of the bus, the driver threw a hot piece of metal out before the engine shuddered and came back to life. 

Like white people tend to do, they clapped. 

"Damn right!" The driver yelled. "Everyone back on board!"

Once we got going, I'd started to feel feverish, almost like I'd had the flu. Which was odd, since I almost never get car sick, but Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering, his teeth chattering. He seemed even more anxious than usual.

"Grover."

"Yeah?"

"What aren't you telling me?"

He dabbed his forehead with the shirt of his sleeve. 

"Percy, what... What did you see back at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "What about them, man? They're not like... They're not like Mrs. Dodds, are they?"

But by Grover's expression, by his reactions and behaviors in the last hour, I'd had a feeling that the ladies were much worse than Mrs. Dodds. 

"Just— tell me what you saw."

"After you left?" I figured and he nodded his head. "the middle lady took out some scissors and cut the yarn, why?" 

Closing his eyes, Grover made a gesture that was similar to crossing himself, but it looked a little different. 

Is my best friend seriously religious?

I feel like I would've learned about that sooner seeing as we lived together this year, but maybe not. 

It was something else, though. Different from crossing, almost— almost older. 

"You saw her snip the cord."

"...yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I started to buy into this superstition that was freaking Grover out. 

"This is not happening." Grover said to himself, starting to chew at his thumb and making me worry that he'd have a panic attack on this Greyhound. "I don't want this to be like the last time."

The last time... 

Grover mentioned that when he talked to Bruner the other week, what... 

"What last time?" 

"Sixth grade," he muttered to himself. "They never make it past sixth."

I'm sorry, what? 

That was slightly more alarming.

"Grover," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder because he was starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me walk you home from the bus station," Grover insisted. "Promise me that you'll let me walk you home from the bus station."

"Wh... Sure, yeah, you can walk me home if it makes you feel better." I reassured my best friend, thinking the request seemed odd. "is this like a superstition or something?"

He didn't answer. 

"Grover," I repeated. "The snipping of the yarn, does that mean that somebody's going to die? Like cutting they're life line?"

Finally raising his gaze, Grover looked over to me mournfully, as if he were already picking out the kind of flowers I'd like best with my coffin. 

•••

Complete transparency: I considered leaving Grover at the train station when we got back since he had to pee, but I wanted to still have a friend this summer, so I did the nice thing and waited. 

The weather was surprisingly nice out, so we walked most of the way since Grover has an odd fear of subways (or of just being underground in general), and while he was scaring me a little for the first few blocks, talking about "why is it always sixth grade" and things of the like, he calmed down a little after I had us pop into a little corner shop and get a piece of cheesecake to split. The food seemed to calm him down for the rest of the walk. 

As we walked, I tried not to think about the fact that this might be the last time we ever get to hang out. That after this, Grover would see how poor I am compared to him and he wouldn't want to hang out again. 

Him having a summer home bothered me more than it should.

"This is it," I told Grover as we reached the corner of East 104th and First Avenue. "Thanks for braving East Harlem to walk me back— you really didn't have to do that. If you want to, you can come up, but it's... Nothing fancy. You don't have to."

"I— I mean it would be nice to meet your mom. Are you sure?"

Not at all, I thought to myself, before insisting that it was fine. My mom did ask about him over Christmas break. 

A word about my mother, before you meet her.

Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma. The only "good break" she ever got was meeting my dad, and he left her, so that's debatable at best. 

I don't have any memories of him, but I'm pretty sure he was around when I was born. At least at the hospital, because I just remember a warm glow and a trace of a smile. We don't have any photos of him and my mom doesn't like to talk about him since it makes her sad. 

You see, they weren't married and based on how my mom talks about it, they weren't together for that long. She told me that he was some rich and important person, so their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic and just never returned. 

He's not dead, though. To her, he isn't. 

Lost at sea, my mom always told me. Not dead, just lost at sea. 

After he left, she started to work odd jobs so she could take night classes for her diploma while still getting to raise me on her own. She never complained. She never got mad, not even once. But I knew that I wasn't an easy kid. 

I wasn't a normal kid.

Eventually, when I was a toddler, she married Gabe Ugliano. While his last name currently tells you everything you need to know about him, it wasn't always like that, but things happen. Him and my mom were friends in high school and he was there for her after my dad left. I'd always known of him, and for the longest time I thought he was my dad. I called him dad until right after I started 3rd grade. I'd known by then that he wasn't my biological father, but in every way that mattered, he was my dad. But early in third grade, he started to drink after losing one of his best friends and he hasn't liked being called Dad ever since.

He's angry most of the time now, and I try to tell myself that he'll get better, but maybe he won't. It's only gotten worse, despite my mom's efforts to help him. I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe a couple of years ago because I'm sorry, but it's true. He reeked of old food left in a gym locker room. 

Between the two of us, we make my mom's life pretty hard nowadays. The way he treats her, the way our relationship has fallen apart... Well, Grover was about to see it firsthand. 

Not that I've told Grover a lot about Gabe, but it's not like there's a lot to say about it anymore.

Walking into our little apartment with Grover behind me, I was hoping that my mom would be home to greet us. Instead, it was just Smelly Gabe in the living room with his smelly friends, playing poker while ESPN played on the TV. Some chips and beer cans littered the floor around the four of them. 

Hardly looking up, Gabe didn't even take notice of the extra kid (well, one with a goatee) in the apartment. 

"So," my stepdad said with a drag of his cigar. "you're home."

"Where's mom?"

"Working," he answered. "Got any cash?"

That was it. No welcome back, good to see you, how was the last six months of your life?

Since Christmas, he'd put on weight, so he now resembled a tuskless walrus in thrift store clothes. What little he had left of his hair was combed over, but it didn't help him look any better. He manages the Electronic Mega Mart in Queens, but it was a miracle that he hadn't been fired yet since he mostly just stayed home and collected paychecks to spend on cigars that made me nauseous and beer. Always beer. 

His gambling funds, on the other hand, came from me when I was home. He called it out "guy secret", meaning that if I ever told my mom (or anyone) that he'd take me out of this world faster than I was brought into it. 

"I don't have any cash," I lied, not wanting to be humiliated in front of Grover (even though the state of the apartment had already been embarrassing). 

Gabe raised an eyebrow, and I knew I was fucked. 

You see, as a gambling addict, Gabe has learned to sniff money out. It was a skill that used to be beneficial when we'd try to save for trips or a new TV, but now it was just so he could gamble.

"You walked back from the station based on your friend with a 20," Gabe chided. "Stopped for a snack or lunch maybe, got 10, 12 dollars in change. If somebody wants to keep living under this roof, he should pull his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"

Eddie, the only cool friend Gabe has, who also happens to be our landlord, gave me a sympathetic look. 

"Come on, Gabe." Eddie insisted. "The kid just got here, and there's guests."

"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.

Eddie scowled into a bowl of pretzels. The other two poker players passed gas in unison— which was both disgusting and impressive. 

"Fine," I dug the $10 bill out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."

"Your report card came, brain boy!" He called after me as Grover and I walked back to what was probably no longer my bedroom. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"

Trying to stay calm for Grover's sake, I let out a forced breath and closed my bedroom door behind us to discover that, as I predicted, my bedroom had once been been renovated into Gabe's study during the school year. 

To clarify, the closest thing he did to study was look at old car magazines in here, but he loved to destroy the place. Putting muddy boots on my windowsill, making it smell like his cologne mixed with stale beer and cigars. 

I put my suitcase down next to my bed. 

Home sweet home. 

"This is it." I repeated myself for my best friend, who seemed cautious to touch or move at all, which I don't blame him for. "Sorry that it's not clean, Gabe isn't exactly a tidy person."

He looked worried.

"He... Does he usually do that sort of thing?"

"Do what sort of thing?"

"The uh... The drinking and taking your money and like... Talking to you like that. Is that normal? You never talked about him a lot."

I could see the question that Grover was holding back: has he ever hurt me? 

I didn't know how to answer it. 

"Um... No," I decided. "He drinks a lot, but not like... no. Not like that. Gabe is still my dad, dude, he's better than just, he's just gotta get used to me being home again, you know?"

Based on his expression, Grover did not know, but he let it go so I took that to mean that he wasn't going to report Gabe just for having an addiction.

It's not like Mrs. Dodds, who...

The memory sent a shiver down my back. It's dumb, but I was worried that there might be somebody after me like her, talons barrelling up the stairs—

"Percy?" My mom's voice cut my paranoia off. 

She opened my bedroom door, and my fears melted away, at least for a while. 

My mom can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her smile warms me like a comforter, her eyes twinkle in light, and she has a few grey streaks in her hair thanks to Gabe and I, but she's not old (and I'll punch you if you call her old). When she looks at me, it's like she only sees the good in me and none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word, not even to me or Gabe. 

Basically, she's an angel. And the best person in the whole world. 

"Oh, Percy!" She said, pulling me into a hug that smelled like chocolate, taffy, and everything else you could imagine they'd sell at a candy shop. She was still in her Sweet On America uniform of red, white, and blue. "I can't believe it, you've grown since Christmas!"

I smiled, a little embarrassed that Grover was here, but at least he could see that my parents do actually love me. 

"And you must be Grover!" My mom figured, also giving him a hug, which threw my best friend off. "I've heard so much about you— all good things, of course. It's so nice to finally meet you! I'm Sally, Percy's mother. Sorry if Gabe gave you a hard time at all, the last few years haven't been kind to him. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Dinner?" Grover asked. "If you would be willing to have me, Ms. Jackson, I'd love to stay for dinner, but if it's too much, I can also head home."

Is Grover avoiding his home? 

"Your parents don't want you home for dinner?" I asked. 

"They aren't home tonight," he insisted, which was... Weird. "My dad always has this work trip that either ends right before or right after I get out of school. This year it's after. But uh, where's your bathroom?"

Telling him it was at the end of the hall, Grover left Mom and I in my room, which I was glad for.

Not that I don't enjoy Grover's presence, I just missed my mom a lot. 

"Is it okay that Grover's here for dinner?" Mom asked me and I nodded my head. "You're sure? I didn't realize he'd be coming over."

"It was last minute," I told her, sitting on the edge of my bed. "Our bus broke down for a bit and he was kind of paranoid after that, so he insisted on walking me to the apartment. I invited him up. I don't think he likes Gabe but... He didn't say anything to Grover. Just gave me shit because of my report card and stuff. I'm assuming he's still not interested in AA?"

Taking a breath, Mom told me that he's mentioned going a few times, but by the time the day comes around that he says he's going to go, he forgets or something happens. The first time wasn't his fault, the car broke down half way to the meeting. After that, though, he kind of avoided it. 

Maybe me being home this summer would help motivate him. 

"Regardless of that, though, are you doing okay?" My mom asked, not even asking about what happened with my grades or my expulsion. "Did you have any fun field trips this semester?"

Telling her about our trip to the MET, but leaving out the part about Dodds, I assured her that I'm okay and that she was smothering me. 

I enjoyed it, but she didn't need to know that. 

"That's good! I—" Mom started as Grover walked back in the room, cut off by my stepdad. 

"Hey, Sally!" Gabe called from the living room. "How about some of that bean dip?"

I gritted my teeth. Grover looked ready to murder my dad. 

She pursed her lips. 

"In a moment!" She told her sorry excuse for a husband before turning her attention back to me. "I have a surprise for you, also: we're going to the beach!"

Considering the weather, I don't blame Grover for looking a little taken back by that. 

I didn't care, though, the weather could wait for a weekend or even just a night with my mom on the beach. 

"Montauk?" I asked with wide eyes and she smiled, nodding her head. 

"Three nights— same cabin."

"When?"

"Tonight, after we eat," she told me. "We'll have dinner, make sure Grover here has a way to get home, and head to the cabin. Does that sound—"

I couldn't believe it. The last two years we weren't able to go to Montauk in the summer because Gabe insisted that we didn't have the money for it. The year before that we went without Gabe and the year before that, we all went as a family, but Gabe got frustrated and left early for some reason that I was never really told. He had been drinking then, but not as heavily as he does now. 

It didn't affect him like it does now.

"Bean dip, Sally!" Gabe reminded us. "Did you not hear me? You haven't gone deaf already, have you?"

"I was on my way, honey," Grover looked like he might gag when my mom called Gabe that, and I kind of agreed. It's not a good nickname for him, especially now. Teddy Bear would even be better. "I was just telling Percy about the trip."

"The trip? You were serious about that?"

I knew it. 

He won't let us go. For whatever reason, Gabe has a vendetta against Montauk now and doesn't want us to go. 

If it were any other trip, he'd be hesitant, but wouldn't not let us go. 

It's just Montauk.

"Yes, sweetie, remember?" Mom tried to recall a memory he probably drank away weeks ago. "we talked about it last month and last week— I saved for it with money only from my job, okay?"

He sighed, obviously not pleased. 

"Whatever you say, Sally." Gabe flatly responded, a giveaway that he was going to be in a bad mood soon. "It's not like he's paying for it."

Why or how I would pay for a trip to Montauk, I didn't know, but I could hear mom's lack of response from the bedroom while she was almost to the kitchen already. 

I closed the door again. 

"Happy couple." Grover noted. I shrugged, and then sighed. 

"They used to be."

Chapter 4: Either Somebody Slipped LSD Into My Dinner Or I Need A Diagnosis

Percy Jackson

There was no way in hell Grover believed me, but it was the truth. 

After that, Gabe was quieter, which was almost scarier. It was worrying, without a doubt, he's always been a loud person, so for him to barely say a word during dinner...

Maybe he was just trying to be civil since Grover was here, and the only way he could do that was by being quiet. I don't know.

I didn't miss the tension, though. I'd be shocked if Grover didn't tell Mr. Bruner about this by the end of the week and we'd find out by a CPS showing up. 

Hopefully they'd just court order him to get treatment but... You never know.

And I'm not willing to risk what I don't really know. 

After dinner, I walked Grover back to the nearest station in mostly silence, having accepted that if we ever hang out again, it won't be at the apartment. 

If. 

I had a feeling it wouldn't happen. 

"Th— thanks for having me over and letting me walk you home." Grover said once we got to the station. "Your uh... Your mom makes really good... Food. She's a good cook, though I don't know why it was blue?"

I cracked a smile.

"It's a long story." I insisted. "Um, sorry that you had to be introduced to Gabe like that. If you ever want to hang out, though, you know where to find me."

"Uh— yeah!" But he seemed nervous, and I couldn't tell if it was from what I said or because he was about to have to take the subway. "I'll see you around! Have fun with your mom this weekend."

And with that, he was gone, so I went home. Where Gabe was griping and groaning about losing my mom— more like her cooking— for three whole days and about also losing the '78 Camaro that he can almost never drive anyways because of how much he drinks.

"Not one scratch, brain boy." He warned me as I put mom's suitcase in the back seat, as if I'd be the one driving.

Spoiler alert: I wouldn't be. Because I'm 12. 

Not that that mattered to Gabe. A seagull could poop on the car and it'd probably be my fault.

What does he have against Montauk anyways?

He used to love it.

I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it after Gabe sauntered back to the apartment.

Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded cur-tains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.

I loved the place. We'd been going there since I was a baby, and my mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I had a feeling it was special to her for more reasons than just family tradition. 

I'm pretty sure it's where she met my dad.

The deadbeat, not Gabe. 

As we got closer to Montauk, the years always seemed to slip away from her, looking younger and happier than she ever is at home. 

We got there not long after sundown, opened all of the windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. After that, we walked around the beach, feeding blue corn chips to seagulls while we munched on blue jellybeans and blue taffy. 

I should probably explain the blue thing, huh? 

When I was little, my mom and Gabe had a really stupid spat about the fact that, as Gabe claimed, blue wasn't a naturally occurring color in food. Blueberries weren't even blue, after all. 

After that, she started bringing home blue foods almost like a joke. Some taffy, maybe chips. She'd make cake and cookies blue. For new years she'd buy Blue Curacao for her and Gabe and get me blue Hawaiian punch. For a while, he'd just roll his eyes and act humored by my mom's rebellious streak. 

And then one day, not even immediately after he started drinking, but a year later, he suddenly didn't find it funny anymore. 

She still does it because no man has ever stopped my mom, and I love that she still does it because it's our thing, but now it's just our thing. 

Once it was dark, we made a fire and had roasted a few marshmallow. Mom told me stories from when she was a kid— what she remembered from before her parents died and when she lived with her uncle after that. Meeting Gabe as a kid and starting a book that she wants to finish writing when she has enough money to quit the candy shop. How many books she would write if she could. The amount of times her and Gabe used to bounce ideas off of each other because he'd always wanted to be a comic book writer, apparently, so they always talked about mom writing the story and Gabe drawing it. 

She smiled as she talked about it, which she doesn't always do when she talks about him anymore. 

So I asked my mom the question that I was always afraid of asking at home. 

"Why won't he go to treatment?" 

Her shoulders dropped with the rest of her expression, and I was reminded of the fact that, even though she deserves the world and then some, my mom still loved Gabe. 

Her eyes glazed over, but she didn't cry when she met my gaze. 

"I— I don't know, sweetheart." Mom answered, handing me a smore. "I think that maybe he's afraid of what might happen if he stops because it's been so long now— maybe he's worried that he'll feel worse if he's sober, but I don't know. I don't know if he knows, either, kiddo, I just know that I can only push him to do so much."

"I know, I just... Wish he would."

For a moment, a blanket of silence fell over my mom and I before I got the courage to ask the question that I'd been curious about for most of my life. 

I asked about my biological dad. 

Mom smiled, but it was a different smile than the one she'd used moments before talking about her husband. It was more nostalgic. 

"He was kind, Percy. Tall, dark, handsome, and powerful," Mom told me, which wasn't exactly new, but different than the usual script she'd told me before. "But he was also gentle. You have his black hair, you know. And his green eyes."

Mom fished for some blue jelly beans. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He'd be so proud."

Because there was a lot to be proud of, right? 

I didn't understand how she could say that. My sperm donor was probably some rich or elusive sailor who had tons of other kids that he also didn't care to return to. How can a dyslexic, hyperactive kid who's gotten kicked out of every school he's ever gone to make their deadbeat dad proud? 

"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean... When he left?"

Looking at me, mom's expression turned from nostalgic to confused. 

She looked at the flames. 

"He was only with me for one winter, Percy." Mom told me. "Right here at the beach, at the cabin."

"But... He knew me as a baby."

"No, honey," she broke the news to me, which somehow made my father both a better and worse person. "He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never met you. He had to leave before you were born."

I tried to reason with that, despite the fact that I could swear I remembered his warm glow, but... Maybe not. 

I always assumed he'd known me as a baby. Mom had never said outright, obviously, but I figured that had to be the case. 

But no. Now, being told that he's never seen me...

I felt angry at my father. 

Maybe it's stupid, but I hated him not for going on the ocean voyage, but for never coming back from it. For not having the guys to marry my mom like the queen mom said that he treated her like. For not even sending us help to compensate for the fact that he abandoned us.

It made me mad, but it also made me want to cry because what sick person gets somebody pregnant, knows that their partner is pregnant, and then just vanishes? 

Like he didn't want the responsibility. 

Like he didn't want me. 

"Are you going to send me away again?" It wasn't the best topic change in hindsight, but I didn't want to talk about my sperm donor anymore. "to another boarding school?"

She pulled a marshmallow from the fire. 

"I don't know, honey." She admitted. "I think... I think we'll have to do something."

"Because you don't want me around?" 

Did I regret the words as soon as they left my mouth? Mostly. 

It was a shitty thing to say to my mom, especially seeing her eyes tear up after the fact. She took my hand and squeezed it right. 

"Oh, no, no, Percy," Mom pleaded. "I— I have to, honey, for your own good. I have to send you away."

It was a line that hadn't bothered me when she said it last year, but now it sounded a little too similar to what Mr. Bruner told me after my last day in his class. That it was for the better, me leaving Yancy. 

"Because I'm not normal." I recalled from a conversation my mom didn't even know about yet. 

"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."

"Safe from what?"

She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.

During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.

Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.

In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.

I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.

"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it.

"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"

"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."

Now I don't know about you, but as somebody who was never been to summer camp both because I didn't care about summer camp unless it was a skateboarding summer camp and also because we couldn't afford it, this piece of information felt extremely odd. 

But if it's so important, like she said it is, why only mention it now? 

"I'm sorry, Percy, I... Can't talk about it," she told me, noticing my growing confusion. "I couldn't send you to that place, it might... It might mean saying goodbye to you. For good."

"For good?" I questioned. "But if it's just a summer camp..."

Looking back at the fire, Mom's expression was more than enough to tell me that she couldn't answer anything else tonight. 

I had a really weird dream that night. A very vivid one, at that. 

It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuck-led somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.

I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, "No!"

I woke with a start.

Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There were no horses or eaglesnon the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.

With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."

On one hand, I wanted to insist that no, even in early June, that was crazy. New York never got hurricanes this early in the summer, if we ever got any.

But like the last six months, the weather seemed to have forgotten about that. 

A sound much closer than the storm grabbed my attention, though— the sound of mallets in the sand immediately followed by a frantic voice outside, somebody pounding on the door. 

Jumping out of bed, Mom raced to the door and threw open the door, where my best friend stood against the backdrop of the storm, but he wasn't...

He wasn't exactly Grover.

"I... Searching all night..." He gasped for air. "what were you thinking?"

My mother looked back at me in terror— not of me, but of why Grover came. 

Which I didn't know for sure, but I could take a few guesses. 

"Percy," she said, having to shoot over the rain. "what happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

I was still frozen, though, looking at Grover. I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at. 

"O zeu kai alloi theoi!" He yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"

I was too shocked to realize that I understand that not only had Grover cursed in Ancient Greek, but that I'd also understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover got here in the middle of the night or how he knew where to find us, because where his pants would be... Where his legs should be...

"Percy!" Mom said over the rain in a tone I'd never heard before— stern and loud. "tell me now!" 

I stammered something about the old ladies and the fruit stand and Mrs. Dodds as my mom stared at me, her complexion deathly pale in the flashes of lightning. 

Towards the end of my stammering, she grabbed her purse, threw me my rain jacket, and told both of us to get in the car. 

Grover ran for the Camaro, and I took off after, but he wasn't exactly running. He was trotting, his furry hindquarters shaking, and suddenly his story about a muscular disease started to make sense. I could understand how he could run so fast but still limped when he walked. 

It wasn't because of a muscular disease. 

It was because, where his feet should be, there weren't any. There were cloven hooves. 

Getting into the car, my mother has never driven more wrecklessly. Especially in a car that wasn't even hers. 

Gabe would never forgive me for any damage done to his car. 

We tore through the night along dark country roads, and while it felt like a miracle that mom could see the road at all, she kept her foot on the gas. Meanwhile, every time lightning flashed to allow me to see better, I'd wonder if Grover was wearing some weird kind of fur pants, but the smell of lanolin mixed with the actual hooves I saw running to the car helped proved that I might not be completely insane. 

Just, you know, a little. 

All I could think to ask is if Grover knew my mom before today— there's no other way he'd know where our cabin was at Montauk, after all. 

Grover's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no other cars on the road (reasonably so).

"Not exactly." He told me. "I mean, we'd never met in person, but she knew that I was watching you."

"W— watching me?" 

Is my best friend a stalker? 

"Keeping tabs on you." He corrected, which wasn't any better. "Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added with sternness. "I am your best friend."

The fact that he still wanted to be my friend after this afternoon was reassuring, at least. I cracked a nervous smile before pointing out the barnyard animal in the room. 

"What uh..." But there's no way to ask without it sounding rude. "What are you, exactly?"

"That doesn't matter right now."

"That doesn't matter!?" I repeated back to him so he'd understand how ridiculous that sounded. "from the waist down my best friend has the legs of a donkey!"

Grover let out a sound that I'd always assumed to be a weird laugh, but more started to realize was a more irritated bleat. 

"Goat!" He cried.

"What?"

"I'm half goat!"

"You just said it didn't matter!" 

"Blaahaha, there's satyrs who would trample you for an insult like that!"

"Woah, woah, woah, wait." I said, slowing the conversation down because this was the kind of talk I got called crazy for all year. "A satyr? Like... Your mean from Mr. Bruner's myths?"

But instead of just giving me a straight answer, Grover felt the need to be a smartass, which...

It's why we're friends, but I didn't need it right now. 

"We're the old ladies at the fruit stand myths, Percy?" My best friend questioned. "Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"

"So you admit she exists?"

"Of course she exists!"

"Then why—"

"The less you knew, the better." Grover answered as if that made sense. "It meant you'd attract fewer monsters. We shielded the mortals eyes with the Mist hoping you'd forget about it or... Or just... But it didn't work because you started to realize who you are, which isn't your fault it just attracts more monsters and when you start to realize who you are..."

"Wait, hold on." I stopped his ramblings. "What do you mean by that?"

A weird bellowing noise came from behind the car, closer than it was when we'd left. Whatever it was, it was on our tail and gaining on us. 

"Percy," Mom insisted, looking back at me through the mirror for a moment. "There's too much to explain and too little time. We have to get you to safety."

"Safety?" I asked, now a lot more worried about whatever was chasing after us. "from that? Who's after me?"

"Oh, nobody much," Grover said in a sarcastic tone. "just the Lord of the Dead and some of his bloodthirstiest minions."

"Grover!" Mom said. 

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson, can you drive a little faster?"

Mom made a hard left, swerving onto a narrower road with a sign that said Pick your own strawberries! 

If only we had the time. 

They weren't my favorite, but Grover really likes strawberries. 

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight, trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."

"As in the place you didn't want me to go?"

"Please, dear," my mother begged, taking a breath. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."

"Because some old ladies cut yarn?"

"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."

And sure, I'd seen Mrs. Dodds. Sure, Grover had goat legs right now, but it wouldn't compute that the Fates...

When you're... 

"Whoa. You said 'you.'"

"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"

"You meant 'you.' As in me. "

"I meant you,  like 'someone.' Not you, you."

"Boys!" my mom interrupted, steering hard to the right just in time for me to notice what she was trying to avoid— a dark silhouette that was almost lost in the storm. 

A silhouette that was a lot bigger than us. 

"What was that?" 

"We're almost there," Mom said to herself, ignoring my question. "Just another mile, just one more mile. Please. Please."

I had no idea where there was, but I still found myself leaning forward in anticipation, hoping to see some sort of change from the rain and storming outside that might indicate where our destination was. The countryside suggested the northern tip of Long Island, but I wasn't sure. 

Suddenly, Mrs. Dodds flashed in my mind again, and I realized that maybe I wasn't psychotic or hallucinating after all, and she did actually intend to kill me. 

That thought brought me to Mr. Bruner and the pen he threw that suddenly was a sword in my ha—

Before I could ask Grover about it, there was a blinding flash, a rattling sound, and a car explosion. 

Our car. 

Gabe wasn't going to let me live to turn 13 if he ever saw me again. 

I just remember feeling weightless, as if I was being crushed, hosed down, and fried all at the same time. 

"Ow," I managed as I peeled my forehead from the back of the driver's seat. 

"Percy!" Mom shouted, sounding panicked (which in hindsight, is fair). 

"I'm okay..." I responded as I tried to shake off my daze. 

I wasn't dead, which was good. The car hasn't actually exploded, but we did swerve into the ditch. The driver's door was wedged into the mud and the roof had cracked like an eggshell. There was rain starting to pour in. 

It must've been a blast of lightning that drove us off the road. That's the only reasonable explanation. 

To my left, Grover was laying slumped over in his seat. He was passed out and I felt a surge of panic go through me when I noticed a trickle of blood coming out of his mouth. 

"Grover!" It was my turn to yell as I grabbed him by the shoulders thinking to myself. "Grover please, even if you are half barnyard animal, you're still my my best friend, please..."

Twitching a little, Grover murmured something about enchiladas and I've never been more relieved to hear about the Mexican dish. 

"Percy," my mom placed a hand on my own shoulder. "we have to..."

Her voice faltered as lightning flashed, letting us see the silhouette of the thing chasing us again. Tall, very muscular, and possibly wearing a blanket on his head. His raised hands made it look like he had horns. 

I swallowed. "Who is—"

"Percy," my mom's voice was deadly serious. "Get out of the car."

"Wh—"

There was no simple way to do that, though. Neither of our doors budged, and the roof would've caused me so many cuts I would've bled out. 

After getting the back passenger door open, I had to spend multiple seconds to convince her to come with because I'm just going to leave my mom behind to die and I also wasn't leaving Grover, who I couldn't get to the pine tree (what was so special about it? I don't know) on my own. 

Once we were out of the car, everything became a blur. It didn't take me long to realize that it wasn't a person that followed us, but rather a... A monster, literally, that followed us. 

It was the Minotaur. 

I remembered getting separated from my mom because she said she'd distract it, and then I remember it grabbing her and she... 

And then she was gone. 

After that, everything turned red. Somehow, I ended up with it's horn in my hand as Grover started waking up again, and after talking my mother, I gave it the treatment it deserved and stabbed it with it's own horn before the adrenaline started to wear off. I vaguely recall hearing Bruner's voice and a girl talking about somebody being "the one", but I was too far gone to know if it was actually Bruner or just a voice similar to his. 

I don't remember making it to the pine tree, but Grover must've gotten us there. The next place i came to in was a room with other cots, but I was separated from most other beds by a sheet. I could only see one other bed, which Grover had been laying in.

Before I could process where I was, a voice interrupted my thoughts. 

"You droll in your sleep."

Chapter 5: A Horse And A Goat Walk Into A Bar

Percy Jackson

One other time that I woke up, the girl who told me I droll in my sleep asked about something being stolen and the summer solstice and what would happen, but I didn't have much of s response before I fell back asleep. 

When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, just that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a chair on a huge porch that overlooked a meadow. The smell of strawberries cut through the air, and with a blanket over my legs and a cushion behind my neck it felt nice, but my mouth felt like the Mojave Desert. 

On a table next to me was a glass filled with a drink that looked like apple juice  with a green straw and one of those paper umbrellas. At first I wondered if it was a beer, but it didn't smell like any kind of alcohol. 

When I went to grab it, my hand was so weak that I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it. 

"Woah! Careful," a familiar voice said. 

Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw Grover standing against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Under one arm he had a shoe box, and he was wearing normal clothes. Blue jeans, converse, and an orange shirt that said Camp Half Blood. Just plain old Grover, not the goat boy. 

And if Grover wasn't a goat, then maybe it was all a dream after all, right? If Grover was still just Grover, then my mom would still be alive and that thing would've never chased us and it just...

It was just a really bad nightmare. 

"You saved my life," Grover said, which was a little bit of an exaggeration in my opinion. It's not like any of the kids at Yancy would've killed him. "I... Well I, uh... I figured the least I could do... I went back to the hill and I uh— I thought you might want this."

Even though it wasn't close to my birthday and he didn't even know my shoe size, Grover put the box in my lap, so I opened to see what kind of shoes there were and it wasn't...

It was a horn. The tip of which was stained with blood. 

So it wasn't a nightmare. 

"The Minotaur."

"Um, Percy, I wouldn't—"

"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, right?" I felt bad for cutting him off, but in my defense it was a lot to process after waking up. "The Minotaur? Half man, half bull."

He shifted, visibly uncomfortable.

"You've been out for two days," but next to everything else, losing two days to sleeping was the least of my worries. "How much do you remember?"

It started to come back, though. 

"My mom," and even though I was holding proof that it happened, I was hoping it wasn't true. "is she really...?"

Looking down, Grover's silence spoke volumes. 

Looking across the meadow, I saw groves of trees around a winding stream that gave way to acres of strawberry fields under a brilliant blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, the tallest of which held a huge pine tree. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight. 

It made me angry. 

My mother was gone. The world should've looked cold and gray. It wasn't supposed to be this beautiful. 

"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I— I'm the satyr out there, I should've been able to..."

Losing his voice, Grover moaned and stomped his foot so hard his foot came off. Or, his converse came off to expose the goat hooves that I remembered seeing on the beach at Montauk and in the car on the way here. 

"Oh, Styx!" He cursed, which was met with the sound of thunder. 

As I watched my best friend struggle to put his red converse back on, I just stopped trying to understand it and came to terms with it. Well, I thought to myself, that settles it. Grover's actually a satyr. 

I bet if I had some scissors to cut his hair, or even clippers, I'd find some small horns on his head, but I didn't care all that much to ask or find out. I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even Minotaurs, all it meant was that my mom was really gone. She'd been squeezed into nothingness and dissolved in a yellow light.

Leaving me alone. I was alone and... I wasn't an orphan, but there was no way I could live with Gabe in his condition and if he didn't get better...

Then I guess I live on the streets. I'd do it until I was old enough to pass for a 17 year old to join the military. But if losing his wife didn't make Gabe realize that drinking doesn't make things better... If it made it worse, I can't go home to that. 

Grover was still sniffing, poor... Kid? Satyr? Whatever the term, he looked like he was expecting to get hit.

"It's not your fault," I told him, not completely convinced that it wasn't my fault.

"Yes, it was," Grover stammered. "I— i was supposed to protect you, and—"

"Did she ask you to protect me?"

"Well, n—no, but it's my job as a— uh, as Keeper," my best friend went on. "At least I... At least I was."

"But why..." And as soon as I attempted to reposition, my vision began to swim and I felt lightheaded. 

"Woah, woah, hey, don't strain yourself." Grover reminded me and he walked (trotted?) over and helped me hold the glass I'd almost dropped earlier to my lips, which was embarrassing because I needed help holding a glass and not because Grover was a lot closer to me than he normally is. 

Initially, I recoiled at the taste because I thought it was apple juice or maybe even grape juice, but it wasn't anything like that. It tasted like cookies— liquid cookies, but it wasn't just any cookies, it was my mom homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were buttery and hot, the chips still melting, making my whole body feel warm and good, full of energy. 

It didn't make the grief go away, but it made it fell like she'd just given me a really big hug, brushed her hand on my cheek like she always did when I was little, and then gave me the cookie after promising me that everything would be okay. 

Before I knew it, the glass was empty. I stared at it because I could swear I had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted yet. 

"Was it good?" Grover asked as he put the glass back on the table. 

I nodded my head. 

"What's it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, that I felt awful realizing I didn't offer him any. 

"Sorry," I said, feeling guilty. "I should've let you try some."

His eyes went wide. 

"What? Oh, no!" Grover insisted. "That's not what I meant, I just... Was curious."

"Oh," I tried to take him at his word. "Chocolate chip cookies. My mom's."

"And how do you feel?"

I smiled. 

"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."

He smiled back. 

"Good," my best friend offered me a hand to get up. "because I don't think you could drink any more of that stuff. Come on, Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."

The porch wrapped around the entirety of the farmhouse, and while I made it, my legs felt pretty wobbly during most of the walk. Grover didn't hold me up or anything (given his size, I'm not sure he could), but he stood close to me the entire time just in case I did start to fall. He offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I insisted on carrying it. After all, I paid for it the hard way. It was mine. 

As we came around the opposite side of the house, I caught my breath. 

We must've been on the North Shore of Long Island, seeing as the valley seemed to end at what had to have been Long Island Sound a mile or so away. Between here and there, I could barely process everything I was seeing. The whole place looked like it was from Ancient Greece— an open pavilion and amphitheater, even a circular arena. It all looked new, though, the white marble glittering in the sunlight. 

In a nearby sandpit, a bunch of high school aged kids and satyrs played a game of volleyball, while other kids in orange shirts like Grover were doing other activities: archery, riding canoes, riding horses (some of which definitely had wings). 

Much closer, the girl who'd asked me about the solstice leaned against the railing on the porch, and next to her were two men sitting on a table playing some kind of card game that I prayed wasn't poker. The man facing me was small, but porky, almost like a middle aged cherub. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and hair so black it almost looked purple. He would've blended right in as one of Gabe's poker buddies, but something told me that he'd even be able to out-gamble my dad. 

"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured as we walked closer to them. "He's the camp director, so please be polite. Annabeth Chase is the one leaning against the rail. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than almost all the other campers. And you already know Chiron..."

"What do I mean I already know..."

Grover pointed to the guy who had his back to us, and the first thing I noticed when he did this is that the man was in a wheelchair. 

And then I recognized the tweed jacket and the thinning brown hair and while I didn't connect the dots from what Grover just told me, I did know one thing:

"Mr. Bruner!" I cried. 

My (now former) Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. He had that mischievous grin that he had at times when he decided to give a pop quiz and make all of the answers b. 

"Ah, Percy, wonderful," but he sounded like he actually meant those words, which was... Nice, after our last conversation, but did serve as a reminder for our last conversation during finals. "Join us. Now we have four for pinochle." 

Offering me a chair to the right of Mr. D, I sat down as Grover took the last empty seat, leaving the girl— Annabeth, still standing. 

Mr. D heaved a sigh. 

"I suppose I should say it," he said out loud. "Welcome to Camp Half Blood. There. Now don't expect me to be happy to see you."

That was my cue to scoot just a little further away from the camp director. If I've learned anything from Gabe over the past few years since he's started drinking, it's how to tell when an adult has had a little bit too much to drink. 

And if Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr. 

"Annabeth?" Mr. Bruner called as the girl walked over to stand between him and me so we could be introduced. "This is the young lady that nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, won't you go check if Percy's bunk is ready? He'll be staying in Cabin 11 for now."

"Sure, Chiron." Annabeth said, glancing at the Minotaur horn in my hands. 

Annabeth Chase was probably around my age and a few inches taller than me. She was a whole lot more athletic looking, though, with a deep tan and box-braided blonde hair that reminded me of the stereotypical California princess— the only thing different being that her eyes were startingly gray instead of blue or green. They looked steely and analytical, like she was wondering what the most efficient way to best me in a fight would be.

I wasn't sure we could get along if she was already wondering that. 

After glancing at the horn, then back at me, I thought she might be impressed. 

Instead, she reminded me of something she's already told me once before: 

"You droll when you sleep."

And then she was gone, making her way to a ring of buildings not too far from the house. 

"So," I said, hoping to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Bruner?" 

"Not Mr. Bruner," my Latin teacher corrected me. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym— an alias, if you will. You may call me Chiron."

"Okay..." And as that started to sink in, though it didn't make sense considering the wheelchair, I looked over at the camp director. "and Mr. D. Does that... Stand for anything?" 

Daydrinking? I thought internally. Drunk? 

Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly.

"Young man, names are power-ful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."

"Oh. Right." But nobody's ever told me that, so it felt unfair to be lectured about it. "Sorry."

"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Bruner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."

"House call?"

"My year at Yancy Academy," he said, as if he wasn't normally a Latin teacher. "to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to, uh... take a leave of absence."

To take a leave... 

Did I have another Latin teacher?

The memory was fuzzy, but I did vaguely remember having a different reached at the start of the year. He was only there for a week before Br— Chiron arrived, though, so I assumed that he'd just been sick or had an emergency that first week of school. 

"You came to Yancy just to teach me?"

No wonder his expectations were so high. Why would he do that? 

That seems stupid. 

I mean, he said that Grover alerted him, but what would that even mean? That he just told him about it, that he talked about me or...

Was Bruner at the school to make sure I didn't like, poison, Grover?

Not that that's how that works, but adults don't always realize that. 

Either way, it didn't make sense. 

He nodded his head anyways. 

"I was skeptical at first— we contacted your parents, or... Your mother, to tell her we were keeping an eye out on you." Chiron explained. "It seemed that you still had a lot to learn, but nevertheless you made it here alive. That's the first test."

"Grover," Mr. D interrupted impatiently. "Are you playing or not?" 

Grover basically jumped out of his seat.

"Yes, sir!" He insisted as he actually sat down in the fourth chair, though I don't know why he'd be so afraid of a pudgy man in a leapoard print shirt. 

I mean I could think of a reason, but... He seemed so baffled by Gabe that I doubted those reasons were valid. 

"You do know how to play pinochle, right kid?" Mr. D asked, eyeing me suspiciously. 

"I'm afraid not."

"I'm afraid not, sir."

He has a disease, I reminded myself, resisting the urge to punch his pudgy, red nose. 

"Sir." I repeated. 

"Well," the director continued. "it, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, is one of the best games humans have invented in the last millennia. I would expect all civilized young men know how to play."

Because I've ever had an adult call me civilized before. 

"I'm sure the boy can learn." Chiron responded as if those two were an old married couple. "Though I am surprised to know that his step-father never taught him.

Was that a pass at Gabe?

"Please," but there were too many things happening for even my AHDH brain to follow right now. "what is this place? Also, how do you even know that my dad plays card games? What am I... Why am I here, Mr— Chiron. Why would you go to Yancy just to teach me?"

Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same thing."

The camp director dealt the cards, causing Grover to flinch whenever a card landed in his pile. 

Chiron gave me a sympathetic smile, like the one he used to give me in class that said that no matter what average i had, he expected me to have the right answer. 

"Percy," my teacher intoned. "Did your mother tell you nothing?"

"She..." I looked over to the sea and back to the deck of cards in front of me. "She said she was afraid of sending me here. That it might... Mean goodbye. That my dad, or... My biological father, not Gabe, wanted me to go here, but she thought she'd lose me forever if I came here so she wanted me to keep me as close as she could."

"Typical," Mr. D said after taking a second to think. "That's how they usually get killed. You said you got a dad, too, kid? You bidding or not?"

"What? Oh, uh..." I didn't know how to bid in pinochle, though, only poker. "Step-dad technically, but he's been around my whole life so I usually call him Dad since my bio dad has never been around, um... Yeah. How do i bid in pinochle?"

But I'll give it to the director— he was a lot more patient about explaining bidding than I expected him to be. So I bid. 

"I'm afraid there's too much to tell, our usual orientation film won't suffice," Chiron said to himself. "Well, Percy, you know that Grover here is a satyr. You know that you've killed the Minotaur—which is no small feat, my boy. What you may not have yet realized it's the forces at play— the forces you call the Greek gods— are still very much alive."

And while Mr. D called out a hand and Grover took his Diet Coke can to eat the aluminum (no wonder I never had to take out our recycling), I just... Stared at Chiron because I couldn't decide if he was messing with me or not after this year. 

Because if one of them exists...

"Wait," I said, slowly coming to a realization. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God? Like... Actually?"

"Ah, God with a capital G is a little different," Chiron said as if that made any logical sense. "God is a different matter all together. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."

"But you just said—"

"Gods, plural, as in the Olympian beings who control nature and other things in the world. The Olympian gods. That's a smaller matter."

"Smaller?"

"Quite," he confirmed. "The gods you learned about in Latin class."

"Zeus, Hera, Apollo?" I recalled, hearing the distant roll of thunder once again, despite the blue sky. "All of those guys?" 

Mr. D flinched. 

"I'd be careful about those names, boy," he told me. "I wouldn't be so casual about names so powerful."

"But th— they're myths." I stuttered, because I didn't defect from religion with my parents to just find out that were wrong and God might really exist, or at least Jesus. "Stories to... To explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before science was like... Science."

"Science!" Mr. D set his new Diet Coke down hard enough to make me jump with Grover. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson—"

"Who told you my name?"

"—what will people think of your science in two thousand years?" He continued on, ignoring the question. "Hm? They'll call it primitive mumbo jumbo, that's what. Oh, how i love mortals and their inability to have any sense of perspective. They think they've come soooo far, but have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."

Now, I was liking Mr. D less and less by the minute, but the way he said the term mortals... 

Like he wasn't one. 

What would the D stand for then? 

"Percy," Chiron said, breaking my thought. "You may choose to believe or not believe, but immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment? Never dying, never fading, existing as you are for eternity?"

"You mean whether people believed you or not?"

"Exactly." Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth? What if I told you that in a hundred or a thousand years Perseus Jackson would be a myth told to help show little boys how to get over the loss of their moms."

And maybe his argument started strong, but he pushed multiple buttons after that first sentence. Almost like he wanted me to be mad.

I didn't have the energy to explode, though, so I remained civil.

"But l... Don't believe in gods."

Mr. D scoffed.

"Well you better," he told me. "Before one incinerates you during your next bet."

"Pl— please, sir, he just lost his mom," Grover said as if I needed the reminder. "He's still in shock."

"And a good thing too, for him," Mr. D responded as he waved his hand and made a goblet appear next to his Diet Coke can. "It's bad enough I'm confined to this stupid job where I have to deal with boys who don't even believe. I'd think that you of all children would believe, but no, I guess not."

Why would I of all kids here believe...?

The goblet filled itself with red wine, halting my thoughts. My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.

"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."

Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.

"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"

More thunder.

Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.

Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."

"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.

"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time—well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away—the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tear-ing them down.' Ha. Absolutely unfair."

And if that read as a childish thing to say, trust me when I say it sounded like he was a kindergartener who was told he couldn't have candy for breakfast.

"And your father is..." Because if he didn't go by Mr. D, maybe I'd be able to figure it out, but I couldn't.

"Oh, di immortales. I thought you taught him the basics, Chiron," the camp director chided. "My father is Zeus."

And with that, running through D names didn't take long. 

The tiger skin, the wine, the way Grover flinched like he were his master in some twisted way...

"Dionysus," I pieced together. "You're Dionysus, the god of wine."

"What do the kids say these days?" Mr. D rolled his eyes. "Grover, what do they? No shit, Sherlock?"

"Y— yes, sir."

"Well then no shit, Sherlock." But I really didn't appreciate being sworn at by the god who created the thing that got my dad sick in the first place. "Did you think I was Aphrodite perhaps?"

"You're a god?"

"Yes, child."

"A god. You."

Because after watching him throw a toned down fit, he didn't fit the bill very well.

Turning to look me straight on, I saw a purple-ish fire in his eyes and a hint of that this whiny, plump man was only showing me a hint of what he truly was. I saw visions of grapevines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their body elongated until they had fins and a dolphin's snout. 

I knew then, that if I challenged the man— the god in front of me, that he'd plant a disease in my brain that would leave me in a room, bound in a straight jacket, for the rest of my life. 

"Would you like to test me, child?" He challenged. 

"N— no, sir."

The fire died down slightly, he turned back to the game. "I believe I win."

At first I thought he meant in our standoff, but Chiron out down a straight and tallied points. "Not quite Mr. D. The game goes to me."

I half expected Mr. D to vaporize Chiron out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed as if he were used to losing to the Latin teacher, and stood up. Grover stood at the same time. 

"I'm tired," the god announced. "i think I'll take a nap before our sing along tonight, but first, Grover—"

My best friend flinched, and I made an awful connection to Grover's relationship with Mr. D to my relationship with Gabe. 

Except I doubted that Grover's ever seen a good side to Mr. D. After all, Mr. D isn't sick. He is the sickness. 

"We need to talk about your uh, less than stellar performance." The god finished. "on this assignment."

"Y— yes, sir." Grover said, sweat beading on his face as the two of them walked into the house. I flashed him a quick question: will you be okay? But he just smiled and looked down, which wasn't an answer.

Which wasn't reassuring. 

"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron. 

"Ah, old Dionysus isn't actually mad, he just hates his job." The Latin teacher told me. I guess you could say he's been grounded from Mount Olympus, and he can't wait to finish his century here to go back."

"Mount Olympus," I repeated. "You're telling me there's a palace there? And you never showed us that in class because...?" 

"Well not anymore," he insisted, putting all of the cards into one pile. "There is the location of the mountain called Mount Olympus, which where the gods originally convened, of course, and is still named that in honor, but Mount Olympus moves, just like the gods do."

"The gods... Are here?" But that was a lot. "In America? Shouldn't they be... In Greece? Or Italy? And the like, Cherokee and Lakota gods be here?"

Chiron smiled. 

"I'm sure they're here as well, but the gods are free to move as they please, Percy." He insisted. "did you think the concept of western civilization was just a theory? It's a real power force, it moves with the gods. The heart of the West moves with them. It started in Greece and has slowly moved here— the gods are so tightly bound to it now that they could never fade without getting rid of all of western civilization. Just look at what you have here, Percy. Zeus's eagle is an American symbol, there's a statue for Prometheus in Rockefeller center. Like it or not, and trust me, Rome wasn't all that popular either, the Olympians gods have planted the heart of the West in America. So the gods are here, and so are we."

"So who..."

But this was so much and it felt like my brain might explode because I spent so long being confused about God as a kid and adamantly denying his existence. 

Just to be told that, even if it's not capital G God, gods do exist. 

"Who... Who are you, Chiron? Who... Am I?"

Chiron smiled and shifted his weight like he was going to get out of his chair, though I knew that was impossible since he was paralyzed from the waist down. 

"Who are you?" Chiron mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, my boy, you should get to your bunk in Cabin 11. There will be friends to meet and plenty of things to learn tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at campfire tomorrow night and I simply adore chocolate."

Doing what I just stated was impossible, Chiron stood from his wheelchair, but it wasn't his legs that hit the ground (or even his face). 

It was a set of horse hooves, four in all, connected to white horse legs, which connected to a torso, which connected to... 

"What a relief," Chiron said out loud, now much taller than before. "I'd been cooped up in there so long my fetlocks fell asleep. Now come, Percy Jackson. Let us go meet the other campers."

Chapter 6: Mama Raised A Bitch, But She Didn't Raise No Coward

Percy Jackson

Once I started getting used to my Latin teacher also being half not human, the tour he gave me of the place was nice. I was careful to walk next to him or in front, because I didn't trust his back end like I did his front. 

I've worked the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade before on pooper scooper duty. 

Never again. 

Most of the kids were older than me and all wore the same orange shirt that Grover and Annabeth had been wearing. As we passed the volleyball pit, some kids nudged each other and pointed at me or at least motioned towards me. I heard one kid whisper that's him. Another pointed at the Minotaur horn. 

I'm not usually shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable, like when I have to introduce myself to my class on the first day of school as a transfer. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something. 

Looking back at the farmhouse, I realized just how big it was- four stories tall and baby blue. Just as I was looking away, I saw a shadow from the top floor move. 

"What's up there?" I asked my old Latin teacher, his smile fading at the question. 

"Nothing." He insisted. "Just the attic.'

"Does somebody live up there?"

"Not a single living thing."

And while I could sense that he was telling the truth, I know that something moved the curtains up there. 

Maybe Mr. D or Grover had to grab something. Attics usually are used for storage, right? Maybe Mr. D kept kegs of Diet Coke up there. 

"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone almost forced. "lots to see, so little time to do so."

He showed me the strawberry fields, which apparently paid for any expenses the camp had and were super easy to grow thanks to the satyr and Mr. D- who wasn't allowed to grow grapes, just strawberries. 

I watched a satyr playing reed pipes, causing leaves to sprout and bugs to flee from the plant. I wondered if Grover could do that. 

I bet he could. 

I was kind of worried about him, though, being alone with Mr. D. Hopefully he wasn't getting chewed out by the pathetic excuse for a god. 

"Do you- do you think Grover's going to be alright?" I asked. "He won't get into too much trouble, will he? I mean, he was a good protector. He even walked me back to my apartment from the bus station."

Chiron sighed, like he was debating his answer. 

"Grover has big dreams, Percy- perhaps too big. To reach his goal, he must show courage and successfully complete a keeper position."

"But he did that! I'm right here, and it's not his fault that the Minotaur ran faster than we could drive. That's like... Whoever controls the weather. I want to say Z- the one that controls lightning, but I don't know for sure. There's a lot of small gods with weird jobs."

"I might agree with you on Grover's success, but it's not our decision." Chiron agreed with me, ignoring the comment about the weird weather. "it's up to Mr. D and the Council of Cloven Elders to decide if it was a success- between the fate of your mother, and the fact that you were passed out and he passed out within moments of getting inside the border, they may decide it's not enough."

"But he- but he can get a second chance, right?" 

Chiron gave me a sad smile. 

"This was his second chance," the centaur informed me. "After what happened five years ago... I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready to, Olympus knows, but I advised him to wait longer. He was anxious, though, and insisted that he was ready. Maybe he'll find another career..."

"But that's... That's not fair."

"Life hardly is. Let's move along, shall we?"

After that, we made our way to various other spots around the camp: the canoe lake, the armory, the amphitheater, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem fond of), the pavilion (which didn't have a cover for bad weather, and Chiron looked at me weird when I mentioned that), and we ended at the cabins. 

There were twelve of them, arranged in a semi-circle around a hearth and all looked very different from one another. At the fire, a girl that was younger than me- maybe 9, was tending to the flames. She smiled at me and I waved.

The cabins were crazy, though. Cabin 9 had smokestacks, cabin 2 had pomegranates and flowers. They were arranged with what seemed to be gods (odd numbers) on the left and goddesses (even numbers) on the right. The biggest two cabins were cabins 1 and 2, though, and they also looked more traditional. 

"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed, looking at those two cabins. 

"Correct."

"They look empty."

"Also correct," Chiron confirmed for me. "many cabins are empty, but nobody ever stays in the first two cabins."

Okay, so each Olympian gets a cabin- that explains why Hera's would be empty and then cabin 8, which, based on the moon and the silver, was Artemis' cabin. 

As we walked closer, though, I felt compelled to look at cabin 3. It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one- it was low and sturdy, with a lot of seashell and abalone decoration. It smelled of seasalt, but the closer I got the more desolate it seemed. I was kind of glad when Chiron geared me away after noticing that I was walking towards it. 

Almost all of the others cabins were crowded. Cabin 5- Ares, had an ugly bright red paint job and barbed wire along the roof. The loudest kid in the was a girl that was either 13 or 14 wearing one of those XXXL shirts that aren't actually an XXXL but more like a large or extra large under a camo jacket. She was still very built in a way that I knew was muscles, but not as visible as it was with Annabeth. She gave me a sneer before we kept walking. 

"We haven't seen any centaurs." I noticed, Chiron nodding his head. 

"I'm afraid my kinsmen are most often wild and barbaric folk. You may see them yet in the wild or at major sporting events. They're especially fond of American football. You won't see any here, though."

"Oh," I responded, then asking the question that's been bothering me since I learned Mr. Bruner's actual name. "You said your name is Chiron. Are you actually...?"

"The Chiron from the stories?" He finished my question. "who trained Achilles and Heracles? I recall you being quite interested in Achilles' story." The centaur recalled, which was a little embarrassing. "But to answer your question, Percy, yes, that is I. Like the gods, I too can not die so long as heroes are in need of training."

"Does that... Not get boring?"

"Never." Chiron told me. "Incredibly depressing, at times. But never dull. Never boring."

"What do you mean depressing?"

And, a master at adversion, Chiron looked over to cabin 11, the most basic cabin. 

"Oh, look," he noted. "Annabeth is waiting for us."

Walking over to cabin 11, Annabeth was sitting outside reading the book that I couldn't make out the name of, probably because the letters were Greek. Based on the photos, it looked like it had something to do with buildings. Architecture maybe?

"Annabeth," Chiron said. "i have master archery class to teach at noon, would you be able to take Percy from here."

Looking up, Annabeth slowly closed her book and nodded her head. "Yes, sir."

"Cabin eleven," my former Latin teacher motioned towards the cabin in front of us. "Make yourself at home."

Because I'll be allowed here long enough for it to feel like that. 

As I said, cabin 11 seemed like a standard cabin. It's only defining feature was the symbol above the doorway: a staff with snakes, which is also a sign usually at hospitals. A cadecus?

Inside, the cabin was filled with more kids than there were bunks, evident by the sleeping bags that littered the ground.  It looked like a building that the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center (and trust me, I knew from experience). 

Chiron didn't come in with Annabeth or I, the doorway a bit short for him, but a lot of the campers still bowed to him (should I he bowing to Chiron? That feels weird). 

"Well then," the centaur announced. "i should be going. Good luck, Percy, I'll see you at dinner."

Standing in the doorway, I looked around at all of the kids as I heard Chiron gallop away. They'd stopped bowing and were now just staring at me, something I was used to. They were sizing me up, something I'd dealt with in all of the schools I'd gone to. 

"Well?" Annabeth asked impatiently. "Go on."

So naturally I almost tripped stepping inside. 

What can I say? Kids were staring at me that we a lot bigger than I was and it made me kind of uncomfortable. There were some snickers from the back and s few people whispering to each other.

"Regular or undetermined?" A guy closer to the front asked. 

"Undetermined."

Now, I had no idea what that meant, but it must've been bad based on the sea of groans it was met with. 

As the others groaned, an older kid came forward in the crowd. 

"Now, now, campers, relax," he insisted, stopping not far from me. He gave me a warm smile "This is what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have a spot right over there, on the floor."

The guy was about 17, maybe 18 years old with short-cropped blond hair, blue eyes, and a warm smile.  He was around 6' and had a muscular build and he seemed really cool, even wearing the same orange shirt and bead necklace (where was everyone getting the necklace from?) as everyone else. The only unsettling thing about him was a scar that he had that ran down the right side of his face, from his eye down to his jaw, like a cut. 

"This is Luke," Annabeth introduced me, her voice changing ever so slightly around him. I could swear she was blushing, but the moment she realized I was looking, she steeled her expression. "He's your counselor. For now."

"For now?"

How long would that be?

"You're undetermined," Luke repeated, which felt par for the course looking at the rest of my life. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. We take all newcomers in cabin 11 seeing as our patron, dad, whatever, is Hermes— god of travellers."

Looking at my tiny section of floor Luke had designated for me, I thought about trying to physically claim it before remembering that Hermes was also the god of thieves. 

I looked around at the campers all behind Luke. Some looked sullen, others suspicious, some were way too excited to pick my empty pockets. 

"How long will I be here?"

"That's a great question," Luke told me, shrugging. "Until you're determined."

"And how long does that usually take?" I followed up. "just like... On average?"

Before Luke could answer, the other kids laughed. 

"Come on," Annabeth told me, her fingers wrapping around my wrist suddenly and pulled me outside the cabin, even though I wasn't done talking to Luke yet. "I can show you the—"

I pulled my hand away, hugging myself with the arm she just tried to grab. I could hear the cabin 11 kids laughing as we left.

"Don't touch me." I cut her off, stopping in my tracks. "I don't like being touched."

She raised an eyebrow at me like I was an annoying obstacle in her way. 

"You seemed to have no issue with Grover touching you at the Big House earlier."

"I—" I stopped myself, balling my fists and looking down. "I've known Grover for ten months. We've been around each other for like 10 minutes. I didn't let Grover do it at first, either. Trust me, you can ask him."

"Gods, I can't believe you were the one," the smartass said to herself. "You have to do better than that, Jackson."

I let out a breath, trying to remember what my parole officer always tells me after I get into fights. 

"What's your problem?" I demanded, now angry. "All I know is that I kill some bull guy and—"

"Don't talk like that," she snapped right back at me. "you're so lucky. Do you know how many kids would kill to have that chance?" 

"What?" I asked. "to get killed? To have their mom be killed?"

"To fight the Minotaur, dumbass! What do you think we train for?" 

"I don't know!" I reminded her, feeling the blood rush to my face again. "I just got here! I..."

The statement died in my throat. 

"Look, even if what I fought was really the Minotaur, that thing died like....thousands of years ago. It's dead."

She sighed, annoyed (which is something I'm glad we could be on the same page about). 

"Monsters can be killed, Percy. They can't die."

"Oh, why thank you, Einstein, that makes it crystal fucking clear."

She groaned. 

"They don't have souls like us, so when they die, they go to Tartarus and can come back to life." She actually clarified as if it were that hard to say the first time. "Being killed is like being forced to take a nap for them. Annoying, but they'll come back. Usually not for a while, though. If you're lucky, a while lifetime."

"So if I accidentally killed one with a sword...?"

"The Fur... Your math teacher? I'm sure she's still alive. Just really irritated. She's still out there, I promise."

"Wait," I noted. "you almost called her something else. A Fury? Like Hades torturer's?"

Annabeth glanced at the ground nervously, as if she expected it to swallow her whole. 

"Don't call them that," she lectured me, as if she were my mom. "If we have to speak of them at all, we call them the Kindly Ones."

The names didn't make logical sense, torturing isn't all that kind, but I decided to not comment on it because of my growing frustrations with other things. 

"Is there anything we can say without it thundering?" And maybe I sounded like a kid asking the questions, but you know what? I am a kid, so sue me. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven anyways? It's cramped and crowded and there's so many empty bunks right over there."

I pointed to the first three cabins, all vacant. 

"You don't choose a cabin," she said, as if that was supposed to be obvious. It depends on who your parents are. Or... Parent."

She looked at me as if what she was referencing should be obvious. 

"My mom is Sally Jackson," I told Annabeth. "she works at a candy shop in Grand Central Station or... She did. My dad is Gabe Ugliano, he manages an electronics store in Queens."

Her reaction made it clear that Annabeth didn't expect me to tell her as much as I did, though. 

"And I'm sorry about your mom, but—" she cut herself short. "Your dad? You know both your parents?"

I crossed my arms. 

"I mean, he's technically my step dad, but it's not like my bio-dad's ever made an appearance, much less lived up to the title." I explained. "I'm pretty sure he's dead."

"He's not dead."

"And you know this how?"

"Because you wouldn't be here otherwise,"Annabeth told me. "You wouldn't be here if you were one of us."

One of us. 

Something about that phrase upset me in a way that i didn't want Annabeth to see. 

I'm one of them. 

But for how long?

How long will I be in cabin 11? 

Probably long enough to start to feel comfortable and at home and then be forced out.

How long will I be at this camp?

Probably long enough for the same thing to happen. 

"You don't know anything about me."

"Oh, really?" She took it as a challenge, which wasn't what it was. "i bet you bounced around school to school. ADHD and dyslexia? Usually sure signs that you should be here. ADHD makes you battle ready, dyslexia means your brain is hardwired for ancient Greek, not English. I'm sure most teachers wanted you medicated, right? They didn't want you to see what or who they really were."

But her description of that made me take a step back. 

Did she watch me with Grover?

"You... Sound like you went through the same thing."

"Most kids here did," she confirmed for me. "Face it, Jackson. If you weren't like is, you wouldn't have survived the nectar or ambrosia used to heal you, or the Minotaur. You're a half blood."

A half blood.

Now maybe, because she was visibly white, she didn't mean it in the way that it came across. 

But it's a term I'd heard more than enough of growing up. 

A term that I despised. 

A half blood. 

I was a guest in one culture, and a guest in another, and I didn't have a home in either. 

I was reeling with so many thoughts that I didn't know where to start when the girl in the XXXL shirt from cabin 5 came hurling towards us.

"Well, look! A newbie!" She yelled with a husky voice. 

Looking over, she had three girls with her, all wearing matching camo jackets like it was some sort of fashion statement. 

"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go, oh I don't know, polish your spear or something?"

"Sure, little Miss Princess," and for as much as this reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, I couldn't argue with her on Annabeth's nickname. "That way I can run you through with it in Friday."

"Erre es krokas!" Annabeth cursed, which I somehow understood was Greek for go to the crows, and then realized it was the Greek version of go fuck yourself. "You don't stand a chance.'

"Well pulverize you," she retorted before turning to me. "who's the runt?"

"Percy Jackson," Annabeth introduced us. "meet Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares."

"The war god?"

She took it way too personally. 

"You got a problem with that, newbie?"

But she wanted to pick a fight, and I was angry about how vague everyone was being about everything, so it wasn't beneath me to take it. 

"No, it just explains the bad smell."

She growled like a dog. 

"We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."

"Try Percy, dyslexia isn't auditory, La Rue."

"Mhm." The daughter of Ares hummed. "Come on, I'll show you."

"Clarisse—" Annabeth tried. 

"Stay out of it, Wise Girl."

And miraculously, she listened. It seemed to pain her, but she stayed quiet, which was fine. 

After all, I'm the new kid. I have to earn my reputation, and if it takes a fight, it takes a fight. I shoved the Minotaur horn into Annabeth's hands, but instead of throwing a punch, Clarisse grabbed me by my neck and started to drag me away towards a building i knew was the bathroom.

The hand around my neck was bigger, almost burly like... 

What did I do this time? 

Why is Gabe dragging me to... Is he going to throw me in my room? Or lock me out to get something that mom or I forgot or...?

Why can't I breathe?

Knowing it risked making it worse, I started to kick at Gabe, but it did no good. I could hear laughing and it sounded girlier than Gabe's poker buddies, but maybe it was the lack of oxygen. I tried to summon the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it wasn't there. 

"Like he's Big Three material," Clarisse's voice snapped me out of what I would later realize was not what was actually happening. It was some sort of episode caused by the daughter of Ares grabbing me by the neck and hair. "I bet the Minotaur fell over laughing, he looks so stupid."

Her friends snickered, and the worst part of this was the fact that Annabeth seemed to have followed us. She was standing in the corner, looking at us through her fingers. 

Clarisse kicked my knees from behind, forcing then to give out and kneel over the toilet, which smelled of rusted pipes and well... Shit. She pushed my head towards the bowl and I thought to myself I won't have this happen to me again before I felt a tug in my gut. I tried to resist her, but it wasn't working. I assumed the tug in my gut was strain. 

Then the pipes started to rumble, and then they shruddered, causing Clarisse's grip on me to loosen just in time. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc over me. The next i knew, Clarisse was no longer touching me, but rather screaming behind me. 

I turned around just in time for another blast of water to come out of the toilet and blast Clarisse in the fact, knocking her to the ground. The spray stayed on her like a fire hose, forcing her back towards the shower stalls. When her friends went to help, it was odd— the other toilets and showed started to act up as well and push them back with the current of water until they left the bathroom. 

As soon as they were gone, I felt the tug in my gut go away and the water stopped as suddenly as it started. 

The bathroom was flooded, and Annabeth was still standing there. She hadn't been spared, she was soaking wet, but she still remained where she was. Little Miss Princess looked shocked. 

Looking down, I realized that I was the only dry person or thing in the room. Even my clothes and hair weren't wet. 

I stood up, my legs shaky like they usually were when my mind framed back in after my ADHD makes it tap out. 

"How did you...?" Annabeth asked. 

"I don't know."

The two of us walked outside to see Clarisse and her friends sprawled in the mud, surrounded by other campers gawking at the sight. Her camo jacket was sopping wet and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of pure hatred.

"You're dead, new boy." She threatened. "You are totally dead."

And I should've let it go, but I'm bitter by nature, so I didn't. 

"You wanna gargle some more toilet water, Clarisse?" I threatened. "Shut your trap."

Her friends had to hold her back from jumping me as they brought her back to Cabin 5. Other campers had to avoid her flailing feet.

Meanwhile, Annabeth was still staring at me and I couldn't figure out if it was because she was angry at me for dousing her, grossed out by it, or intimidated by it. 

"What?" I demanded from her for the millionth time that afternoon. "what are you thinking?" 

"I think," she answered, the most straightforward she'd been all day, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag." 

Chapter 7: Do I Really Have To Share My Dinner With Mr. Deadbeat Dad?

Percy Jackson

Word spread fast about the bathroom incident, and as Annabeth showed me the last couple of places around camp, kids were staring at us. By the time wee made it back to the canoe lake, I was over the looks. 

"I have training to get to," Annabeth told me. "Dinners at 7:30. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall, they'll show you."

"Annabeth I— I'm sorry about what happened in the bathroom," I apologized, sensing that that's why she'd been less snarky since we left the latrines. "It wasn't my fault, but I'm still sorry."

She gave me a skeptical look as I started to realize that maybe it was my fault. I don't know how I did it, but I'd become one with the plumbing.

But it wouldn't be the first time, right?

Is that how Nancy ended up in the fountain? 

"Whatever," she pushed the topic aside. "You need to talk to the Oracle."

"Who?" 

"Not who, what. I'll talk to Chiron about it."

And once again, I felt a familiar sense of frustration rise in my chest. 

Why can't anybody give me a straight answer here? What's so hard about just answering a simple question with a real answer. 

Looking out at the lake, I was shocked out of my frustration when I saw a face in the water that wasn't my reflection, and realized there was a whole... Not quite person in the water. She waved, so I did the polite thing and waved back.

"Don't encourage them," before I could even process what I was seeing, Annabeth stopped me. "Naiads are terrible flirts."

"It's not like I found her attractive, why would you—" i started before my brain decided that it had reached its weirdness threshold for the day. "naiads?"

I paused, taking a breath. 

The girl in the water was gone. 

"That's it." I decided. "i want to go home."

Annabeth frowned like that statement made no sense. 

"Percy, don't you get it?" She asked, when it should've been obvious that I didn't. "This is home now. This is the only place on Earth that's safe for people like us."

"Who? Mentally disturbed orphans?"

She sighed.

"I mean not human." And once again, she really knew how to make me feel better about everything. "Or at least, not completely. Half human, half not."

"Half human and half what?"

Like she'd tell me. 

"I think you know."

And I didn't want to admit it, mostly because of how vague Annabeth had been all day, but I had an idea. A tingling feeling surfaced in my limbs, a feeling I'd sometimes get when my mom talked about my bio dad. 

"God." I spit it out. "half god."

"Your dad isn't dead," she reminded me. "He's one of the Olympians."

And yet he still couldn't pay child support?

"That's crazy."

"Is it?" She challenged. "What's the most common thing they did in the old stories, Percy? Run around and fall in love. Do you think that's really changed in the last millennia?"

"But they—" I stopped myself before I called them myths again. "But if all of the kids here are... Half-gods..."

"Demigods."

"Hm?" I hated saying the term half-blood, but the correction still caught me off guard. 

"The technical term is demigod. Or half-blood" 

"Okay. Then why didn't you say that earlier? Who's your dad or... Parent?"

Annabeth looked at me as if I'd just called her a slur. 

"Are you really assuming that it's my dad that's a god?"

"I— no!" I insisted, catching myself balling my fists again. "i said parent and I... You haven't said anythung about it until just now and my bio dad is the one that's not involved in my life so it's just like... Easier for me to default to dad. Who are your parents? Is that better?"

She clenched her jaw. 

"My dad is a professor at West Point," Annabeth answered. "He lives in Virginia, I haven't seen him since I was little. He teaches American History. My mom is Cabin 6."

I gave her a lost look, and realized that she greatly overestimated my memory. 

"I... Who? I don't have the cabins memorized yet. I've been here for less than a day."

She rolled her eyes. 

"Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."

So that's why she's a smartass. 

Got it. 

But fuck it, I figured. Why not try. 

"And my dad?"

But again, she shrugged. 

"Nobody knows besides him and maybe your mom would've known," the daughter of Athena reminded me. "you're undetermined. So until one of the gods claim you as their kid, it's up in the air. We just have to wait to see if he sends a sign claiming you as his own. Sometimes it happens."

That last sentence caused a weight to drop from my chest down to my stomach. 

"So you mean sometimes it doesn't?"

I thought about the kids I'd seen in Cabin 11— not the really excited ones, but the sullen ones. They must've been undetermined kids who have been here for a while. Gave up hope on ever hearing from their godly parent. On waiting for a message that would never come.

I'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy. Rich kids who were sent away by their parents to get a phonecall once a semester, twice if they were lucky. Shuffled away to boarding school because their parents didn't have time to deal with them. 

Their parents weren't gods, though. 

Gods should behave better. 

Would I be one of those sullen cabin 11 kids in two years time?

"So I'm stuck here." I concluded. "This it it? For the rest of my life?"

She shrugged. 

"It depends," Annabeth decided to actually answer the question. "some kids are only here in the summer— if you're a child of Demeter or Aphrodite you're probably not a super powerful force and could get away with training in the summer and surviving the rest of the year in the mortal world. For the rest, though, it's too dangerous to leave. Camp has borders so monsters can't get in. Sometimes you can go on quests, but... They're rare."

"So you're a year-rounder?"

She looked down. 

"I've been here since I was seven." She said, playing with her necklace. "every year, at the end of summer, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and a lot of them are in college."

"Oh." And sue me, I'm nosy. "What made you come so young?"

She looked down. 

"None of your business."

"Oh. Alright." I took the hint. "So I could just walk out of here if I wanted to?"

She chuckled. 

"It'd be suicide, but you could," Annabeth told me, looking back up. "If you had permission from Chiron and Mr. D, which they have no reason to give a newbie with no training. No offense, but you don't even have a weapon and you don't look like you throw many pinches."

"It's more than you'd think," I corrected the daughter of Athena, who looked surprised. "Um, it's usually bratty rich kids, though, not people like Clarisse, so... My parole officer's cool, though."

"You have a parole officer?" 

"When teachers label you as troubled, it doesn't take long. When would Chiron and Mr. D give permission to leave, though?"

"Just... For a quest." Annabeth said, refocusing. "But it doesn't happen often. The last time..."

Her voice trailed off. 

"What about the summer solstice?" I questioned. 

"Huh?"

"When you fed me that uh... Ambrosia? In the infirmary," I went on. "you mentioned something about the solstice, like you thought I'd known something about it."

"Yeah, so....you do know something?"

"Well... No." I admitted. "Back at Yancy, the school I went to with Grover and Chiron, I overheard them talking about a deadline and that we didn't have much time. Something about the solstice, but that was it. What do you think it meant?" 

Annabeth clenched her fists. 

"I wish I knew." She told me. "Chiron and the satyrs know, but they won't tell me what it is. Or any of the counselors for that matter. Something is wrong in Olympus. Something major. The last time I was there, though, everything seemed normal."

"You've been to Olympus?"

"Some of us year-rounders," she filled me in. "Luke, Clarisse, me, plus a few others— took a field trip during the winter solstice, when they have their big council."

"But..." I was having a hard time taking this in. "How did you... Get there?"

"The long island railroad, how else?" The daughter of Athena responded. "Get off at Penn Station, walk to the Empire State Building and go up to the 600th floor." She looked at me like I was a dumbass. "You are a New Yorker, right? From Manhattan?"

I decided not to point out that the Empire State Building only had around 200 floors. 

"Yeah, from the Upper East Side."

"So you're familiar with the area." Annabeth said. "anyways, not long after our visit, the weather started getting weird. Closest we can figure is that something important was stolen and if it's not returned by the solstice... Things will go sour. I was hoping you'd know something. Athena gets along with almost everyone— well, besides Ares and the like, longstanding rivalry with Poseidon, but I thought if we could work together and get a quest..."

I also decided not to point out that she was contradicting herself by saying we should get a quest after saying that they'd never give me, a newbie, a quest. 

Smelling the barbeque smoke in the distance, my stomach threatened to complain as I realized how hungry I was. Annabeth told me that she'd catch me later and we parted ways. 

Walking back into cabin 11, I started to notice similarities between a lot (though not all) of the campers: upturned eyebrows, sharp noses, and mischievous smiles. All kids that would've been pegged as trouble makers as a kid. 

I didn't fit the mold. 

I mean I was pegged as a troublemaker, but I didn't look like them.

Thankfully, nobody paid me any attention as I sat down in my space with the Minotaur horn. The counselor, Luke, came over holding some stuff in his hands. 

"Hey, I got you a sleeping bag," the older demigod said, setting it down in front of me as he sat down next to me. "Also stole some toiletries from the camp store for you."

I wasn't sure if he was serious about the stealing part, considering his dad. 

"Thanks."

"No prob!" He told me, pushing his back against the wall. "Tough first day?"

"I shouldn't be here." The words fell out of me. "I don't... Want to be here. I don't even know if I believe in gods."

"Most kids don't when they arrive," Luke reassured me. "It doesn't get any easier once you do."

His voice turned bitter at that last statement, which surprised me because he seemed like such a nice guy. An easygoing guy, more accurately. I wondered if watching kid after kid lose hope of being claimed had something to do with that bitterness. 

"So your dad is Hermes?" 

Luke took out a switchblade and at first I thought he might cut me with it, but he just scraped some mud off of his sandal. 

"Yeah. Hermes."

"The uh, wing-footed messenger dude, right?"

He nodded. 

"Messengers, medicine, travellers, merchants, thieves," Luke listed off. "That's why you get to enjoy the hospitality of the Hermes cabin. He's not all that picky about who he sponsors."

Taking it with a grain of salt, I tried to tell myself that Luke didn't meant that in a way that was supposed to make me feel bad about being here. 

After all, he seemed to have a lot on his mind.

"You ever meet him?"

There was a three count of silence. 

"Once."

I waited for a story or any sort of elaboration, but Luke didn't provide any. Either it was a bad memory, or it just wasn't worth telling— like all they did was say hi or something. 

Maybe it had something to do with how he got his scar. 

Looking back up, Luke managed a smile. He put his guard back up— his mask, if you will. 

"Don't worry about it, Percy," he tried to reassure me once again. "The campers here are mostly good people. We're all extended family, right? We have to take care of each other."

With that sentence, it seemed like Luke understood how lost I felt, which I was grateful for. Even being an older demigod, he should steer clear from dumb middle schoolers like me, but he actually welcomed me to the cabin. Put in effort to make me feel comfortable. 

Or at least, more comfortable. He stole toiletries for me, which was nice. 

Not having any other filler questions, I decided to ask him the one that's been bugging me since I'd woken up, more or less. 

"Clarisse, from the Ares cabin." I spoke up. "She was joking with her friends about me being "Big Three" material, and then Annabeth was talking about... She said I might be the one and then started talking about an oracle and... What was all or that about?" 

Luke folded his knife, tucking it away. 

"I hate prophecies."

"What do you mean?"

Luke's face twitched around his scar. 

"Let's just... Say I messed things up for everyone else." The older teen told me, glancing down for a moment. "The last two years, after my quest to the garden of Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't issued any quests. Annabeth's been begging him for one so much he finally told her that he knew her destiny and that she wasn't meant to go on a quest yet and she had to wait for somebody special to come to camp, so every time we get a new camper..."

"Somebody special?"

"Don't sweat it, kid, she thinks every kid who comes in is the one," he told me, as if she were talking about crushes Annabeth's developed and not about her key to leaving camp. "Now, come on, it's dinner time, and I'm starving."

As soon as he said it, Luke stood and a conch horn sounded from outside. 

Luke yelled. "Eleven, fall in!" 

I flinched at the change in his voice, then mentally scolded myself for letting myself flinch, then stood up as the rest of the cabin joined us.

He wouldn't hurt you. 

The whole cabin— about 20 of us in all, filed in line as we walked towards the mess hall. We had to line up by seniority so I was dead last, but once we got to the hall and had to line up by cabin, I wasn't in the very end. It turns out Mr. D had two kids— Pollux and Castor. They were a year, maybe two, older than me. 

"So you're the newbie who's been in the infirmary all weekend?" 

"Hm? Oh, uh, yeah. Hi. Are you guys the only kids in cabin 12?"

The one closer to me nodded his head. 

"It's not like our dad really has time to have more kids right now," he told me. "Name's Pollux. Castor and I here are twins, our dad is Mr. D."

"Your... Oh."

"Yeah," Pollux responded. "He's not as bad as he seems, I promise, it's just... A thick skin."

But then I realized that I might've casted a slightly incorrect message from my tone. 

"Wh— oh, no! I get it, my step dad is like... Similar, that's wasn't..." I said, stumbling over my words. "I just wasn't sure how long he's been here so I wasn't sure he'd have kids. I know that like, the first three cabins are empty, but others all seem to be empty so..."

"Yeah Zeus and Poseidon can't really have kids because of some weird pact they made with Hades after World War II," they filled me in. "so those cabins are empty, and Hera never had demigods being the marriage goddess and all so.... Artemis doesn't have kids, obviously, but sometimes the Hunters stop by to visit and kick our asses in Capture the Flag so the cabins not always empty."

"Oh. Interesting.'

"Mhm." Castor hummed. "Also, we heard that you doused Clarisse with toilet water? Nice one, man. Grover was right about you."

"He..."

Was Grover talking about me behind my back?

"What did Grover say about me?"

"Oh, just that if anyone could take on Clarisse, you could." Castor clarified for me, which was relieving to hear. "he thinks you're really cool."

Now, Grover's told me that I'm cool before, and is that true? It's debatable.

But hearing somebody else tell me that Grover thought that I was cool made me feel really good about myself and really happy about the fact that he wasn't lying when he said he was my friend.

If nothing else, at least I have Grover.

Marching into the pavilion, I noticed a bronze brazier in the middle the size of a bathtub that was currently lit. In total, there was around 100 or more campers, a few dozen satyrs, and then around the same amount of naiads and nymphs combined. Grover was seated next to Mr. D at the Mr. D table, Chiron to the side of the table as there wasn't room for a centaur to properly sit (which felt like an oversight, since Chiron runs the camp). When he saw me, Grover smiled and waved at me. I smiled back, seeing Pollux roll his eyes as he was seated next to Grover. 

Annabeth was sitting at the cabin 6 table with around 10 other kids. She wasn't the only blonde, though most of the kids had darker hair and all of them seemed to have grey eyes (gods genetics must be insanely strong). Clarisse was at Cabin 5 with a bunch of kids that just... Looked mean. She must've gotten over being hosed down, though, because she was laughing and joking around with her siblings. 

Though most of the cabins tables seemed fairly empty or at least suitable for their size, my ass hung halfway off the bench the entire time. I noticed an empty chalice in front me, which felt oddly formal. 

And empty. With no pitchers in sight. 

"Speak to it," Luke whispered to me. "It'll give you any drink you want. Non-alcoholic, of course."

"Cherry Coke?" I felt felt talking to a cup, but before I knew it, the liquid materialized. 

Which gave me an idea. 

"Blue cherry Coke."

Ignore the fact that that would technically make purple, because it worked. The drink turned a dark shade of cobalt.

Finally, Chiron stood and pounded his hoof on the marble floor and raised his chalice, calling for a toast. "To the gods!"

"To the gods," everyone repeated as the nymphs started to walk around with serving platters of food: strawberries, rolls, apples (no grapes), asparagus, and yes, the barbeque I smelled earlier. 

I took a sip of my blue drink, a silent toast to my mom. 

She's not gone. Not permanently, not forever. She's in the Underworld, and if that's a real place, then one day...

"Here you go, Percy." Luke said, handing me the platter of smoked brisket, which felt weird to take after living with Grover all year. 

You see, Grover's vegetarian, and while he never asked me to give up meat, I slowly ended up giving away the ones that have a stronger smell to them. Barbeque being one of the more obvious ones. He always tries to hide it, but he doesn't like the smell of it and I think it makes him nauseous. I still ate the occasional hamburger or if he had cheesy enchiladas, I'd have chicken or beef ones, but I didn't realize how long it'd been since I had something like barbeque until Luke handed it to me and the smell overwhelmed me. 

Don't get it twisted, though: I was still going to eat it. 

Loading my plate up, I was about to take a bite when I noticed other kids all getting up and walking towards the central brazier like they were going to get flambee for dessert. 

"Come on." Luke said, standing up and motioning for me to follow. 

At the brazier, Luke explained the burnt offerings to me, and while I didn't know who to give my offers to, I still did it. Afterwards, Mr. D spoke to the camp about capture the flag on Friday and introduced me to the camp (which I hated) before dismissing us for campfire. 

Campfire was the thing I'd needed all day to get my mind off of everything that's happened since I left Yancy. We were able to sit wherever, which meant that I was able to sit next to Grover. Even Annabeth sat by us for a few minutes, though not long. 

Overall, the tone was light. Everyone was laughing and singing and it finally felt like people weren't staring at me anymore. The only people who i noticed occasionally looking at me were people that i knew were doing it to make sure I was okay, not because they were weirded out by me. 

It was one of the rare times I felt as if I belonged somewhere. 

That night, once we all returned to our cabins, I curled up in my contraband sleeping bag with the Minotaur horn and drifted asleep easily, positive thoughts about my mom lulling me to sleep. 

And that was it. That was my first day at Camp Half Blood. 

The rest of the week was fairly similar to that afternoon. I started to fall into a schedule that I liked. Chiron had originally suggested I do both hand combat and a weapons class, but between the fact that Clarisse and one of her brother's teach hand combat, combined with my jumpiness, made Chirons hopes go down the drain.

I won't even lie, it was fun. Once I allowed myself to have fun, it was fun to be at camp and be in Cabin 11. 

If only I'd known how briefly I'd get to enjoy my new home. 

 

Chapter 8: Who's Your Daddy

Notes:

sorry I just have the humor of a 12 year old boy sometimes

Percy Jackson

I continued to do not great at most activities. Foot racing? I was slower than the nymphs. I was bad at wrestling the one time I tried it.

Did it help that I was matched with Clarisse? Not really. She pinned me almost immediately, and immediately, I could feel my throat close up as a wave of panic rose through my chest as I realized that I couldn't do this. 

At least the ref didn't make me suffer for long.

"There's more where that came from, punk." Clarisse said with a certain tone to her voice that sounded eerily similar to my step-father late at night when Mom isn't home.

I need to get out of here. 

Scanning the room, I could see the rest of cabin 11 sitting on the benches or on other wrestling mats, either bickering with or wrestling with kids from cabin 5. 

Maybe if I get some water... The water was around the corner. 

I think it's in the hall. I'm pretty sure the water fountain was around the corner in the hall. 

Looking at my feet as I walked, trying to steady my breathing, I walked towards the hallway and I got out of the door and I walked and if I can make it to the water fountain, even if my knees are starting to wobble—

SLAM. 

My knees gave out from under me, like a rug was swept away, and my ass hit the ground. 

Is he here?

But he's not a demigod. I tried to reason with myself as my breaths became heavy. And even if he was, there's no way he could drive here. You destroyed his Camaro. 

Taxis exist, though. I argued back. He could've realized that you destroyed his precious car and now he's here to—

"Percy?" 

Snapping my head up, I saw Luke standing a few feet away from me, near the door I must've walked through to get to where I am now. 

When did I get here? 

Why am I...?

SLAM. 

I flinched. 

He's here. 

"Percy, hey." Luke rushed towards me, and kneeled down to try and provide physical comfort that I immediately pulled away from because it shouldn't be that hard for people to understand that I don't want to be touched, but I have to remind them constantly. 

When I put my hand on my arm, I realized that Luke sounded concerned because not only was I on the ground, but I was shaking. 

"Oh, right, sorry, you don't like being touched." Luke reminded himself out loud, putting his hands in his lap. "Did something happen during your match? Are you hurt? Do you want me to bring you to the infirmary?"

Frantically, I shook my head. 

"Please... Don't... Get anyone else... Involved." I managed between breaths. "I'm fine, I'm... I'm fine, I—"

SLAM.

He's right behind me. 

Trying to shrink into myself, I craned my neck down and hoped that the shaking would stop, even though I knew it wouldn't. 

I heard a man speak and then I heard footsteps and I was surprised it wasn't followed up by the sound of leather hitting itself. By a can being crushed. 

By a bottle being broken.

I heard footsteps that weren't followed by anything. Initially. 

After a while, what could've been five minutes or fifty, i heard those same footsteps getting closer now with hooves following at a similar pace— rushed, but not running. 

"Percy? Percy, hey, it's just me, it's Grover, it's okay." My best friends voice sounded distant, but I could feel his hand on my shoulder— a hand much smaller than Gabe's. "it's alright, it's just Luke and me right now. What's going on? Do you know why you're shaking?"

"I—"  before I could start to form an answer, there was another slam that made me jump and recoil into myself. 

He's angry.

"Is it the loud noise?" My best friend questioned. "Are you overstimulated and the loud noises are making it worse?"

But I wasn't even overstimulated— I was just paralyzed in fear and having a panic attack, so I shook my head, desperately trying to still feel Grover's hand on my shoulder. 

I know it's there but I can't... Feel it. 

Hoping it'd help ground me, I moved my left hand so it'd be over my right shoulder (where Grover's hand was), but within microseconds of making contact with his hand, I realized how bad of an idea it was to make that kind of physical contact.

At least I knew the hand was still there.

The slamming must've stopped for some reason, because eventually I was cognisant of my real life surroundings again, and realized, unmoving, that Grover eventually went from giving my shoulder a squeeze to holding my hands. 

When did we start holding hands? 

Has he done that before when I have... Moments? Panic attacks, breakdowns, episodes, whatever you want to call them. 

I don't remember him doing that. 

Not that it was a bad thing but... It must be bad if he feels the need to do it in order to comfort me. 

"Where... Where did Luke go?" I asked Grover, pulling my arms back into myself as I sat up a bit more. Grover frowned, though I wasn't sure why. 

"He left a little bit ago to help wrap up everything in the wrestling room, which is why the slamming noises stopped." My best friend answered. "Are you okay? You were out of it for a while there. You were also shaking."

I nodded my head, which was a lie. 

"Let's head outside." Grover suggested when I didn't give more of an answer. 

I nodded my head again and accepted help from my half goat friend to stand up. 

My knees still wobbled, but didn't seem to threaten giving out for now.

For the remainder of the afternoon Grover brought me to a place on the lake to relax in the sand where there weren't many people. 

I tried to ignore the looks a lot of kids in cabin 11 gave me when I joined them again before dinner, but that was harder said than done. Especially when Luke approached me after I got back and had sat down in my little area against the wall.

"Hey, welcome back," the son of Hermes said with a smile as he sat down near me. "Feeling better? You were out of it for a while."

I just nodded my head.

"I guess my dad isn't Ares." I said as a half joke. "If he is, i doubt he'll ever claim me."

"Hey, maybe you're a Hermes kid," Luke suggested. "Jack of all trades, master of none."

But I'm pretty sure he was just trying to make me feel less shitty about the days events and the fact that I have no idea who my dad is, just who he isn't. 

"Maybe." 

"Can I ask about what happened earlier today?" Not dwelling on the topic, Luke exposed his real motive behind talking to me. "were you just overstimulated or did something happen? Nobody hurt you, did they? I know Clarisse can get... Intense sometimes, she didn't hurt you, did she?"

Sighing, I looked down.

I don't want to be here.

"Not... No, she played by the rules," I recalled. "She didn't do anything wrong, but it was just... Being put in a head lock and then there was a lot of loud noise and slamming and yelling and I just needed to step away from it, so I went to get water, but then I fell and... Yeah."

There was a beat of silence. 

"Then you found me."

But I don't want to know how much worse it might be if I go home. 

"Okay. Has that happened before?"

I shrugged, not wanting to go into it.

"Not often."

Thankfully, he took the hint. 

"I see," Luke responded. "Well if there's anything me or the old man can do, let us know, alright? I know you don't want me telling anyone, so I haven't mentioned it to him, but still." 

The counselor hesitated as a new thought entered his mind. 

"You're not supposed to be taking any meds, are you?" He asked. "We can send Argus to a pharmacy if we need to, he does it once a week already. "

"Am I— no." I insisted, hearing the horn for dinner go off. "I've never gone to the doctor about it before and even if they diagnosed me, it's not like we could afford the meds."

Is it sad that I knew that? Maybe. 

The look Luke gave as he stood up made me think that it might be bad that I was aware of that sort of thing at my age. 

It's hard not to be aware, though. Walls are thin. My parents usually saved those conversations for after I went to bed— but I wasn't actually asleep for most of them. 

When I was 6, before Gabe started drinking, his doctor prescribed him a medication for stress or something like that (I was 6, cut me some slack) and he was only on it for less than a year before he couldn't do it anymore because we couldn't afford it. When I was 8 or 9 we found out that Mom was pregnant, which was super exciting because I always wanted a younger sibling and I still kind of do. 

But they found out like, super late, that Mom miscarried and she still has to give birth to the kid. 

To a kid that never got to live. 

A kid they still had to pay the medical bill for that I think they're still paying.

They never tried to have a kid after that. That was Gabe's final straw. 

His best friend dying was definitely a tipping point, but that was during Mom's pregnancy and so he still had some hope that he was going to be a dad, like, biologically, so he could put all of his energy into the kid. 

And then the kid died and he was inconsolable. 

Ever since then, we've mostly been living paycheck to paycheck. Montauk trips aren't nearly as often, and they're shorter. 

My parents don't think that I've noticed, buts it's hard not to. 

If Gabe loses my mom... 

I've been here for two days and I already was starting to understand Luke's bitterness towards the gods. Or at least, towards Hermes, his dad. 

Sure, maybe gods have important things to do, but why can't picking up a phone be one of those things? Dionysus can make diet coke appear out of thin air, why can't the others make sure that their former lovers and kids can live comfortably? 

They're gods. That doesn't feel like too much to ask for. 

I'm not saying that my dad should be paying child support (well, I kind of am), but making random nice surprises happen: the utility bill is cheaper now, there's a random extra coupon that we found, I got a scholarship for a school that costs money, etc... Can't be that hard for a god to do. 

"Come on," Luke interrupted my thoughts as he stood up and the rest of the cabin started to gather. "Let's go eat."

•••

The next afternoon, Thursday, my third day at camp, I learned that I wasn't awful at sword fighting. 

The part of that that sucked was not being to find a sword that felt balanced, though. The one I settled with felt slightly too long and heavy, but it at least fit in my hand okay. Luke said that I might grow into it, even if it didn't work perfectly now.

Thankfully, even though he was the instructor, Luke said he'd be my partner when we started to work in pairs. 

One of the guys wished me luck, saying Luke was one of the best swordsman in camp. 

I said that he might go easy on me. 

The kid laughed. 

Rightfully so, actually. He definitely wasn't going full out, but he was going more intently than he needed to with somebody who's never had a lesson before today. He'd tell me what to do before attacking and then I'd do it correctly but in the wrong spot and he'd hit me and it hurt. 

A lot. 

By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat and everyone was surrounding the water fountain. Looking over, I noticed Luke dump some water on his head so I did, too, and it instantly made me feel better. I got another burst of energy and almost forgot that I needed to also drink some water if I didn't want to faint.

"Alright, everyone, gather around!" Luke called before motioning me to come up by him, which felt like an awful idea. "If Percy doesn't mind, I'd like to give you guys a demo."

Great. I initially thought. Let's all watch Percy get pummeled.

But what was I going to do? Say no? 

No. 

I walked up to where Luke stood with my sword. 

Once I was next to him, Luke started to explain a de-arming technique. After he summarized it once, he had me hold my sword out so he could demonstrate it in slow motion and talk through it until— sure enough— my sword skiddered away. As I retrieved my weapon he repeated himself a little faster about how to twist the enemies blade with the flat of your own to make theirs drop. 

"This is difficult," Luke insisted as I walked back over to the group. "I've had it used against me before. No laughing at Percy, now, most swordmen take years to master this. In a real match, or real life, we'd go until one of us performs this move. Ready, Percy?"

We're sparring? 

I barely know how to perry! 

I've always learned by doing rather than hearing, though, so I guess I was doing It. I nodded my head and we started. 

Somehow, I was able to prevent him getting a shot at my hilt, and the further we went, the more my senses seemed to open. I could detect his moves and see what he was about to do before he did it. After a few minutes, Luke narrowed his eyes and his expression changed slightly before he started to press harder and I struggled a bit more, but still evaded his attacks. 

After a few more minutes, my sword not being balanced was starting to get to me and it was getting heavy. I knew I didn't have much more time left, another 30 seconds at best, so I was trying to think of what I could do to not be totally embarrassed by this when I saw the opening. 

Looking at it, time almost froze, and I thought what the heck? 

I tried to disarming maneuver, not expecting it to work, but hoping it'd at least throw him off his rhythm to give me a few more seconds. 

The flat of my blade hit the hilt of Luke's sword and I twisted, putting my while bodyweight into a downward thrust. 

Clang. 

Luke's sword clattered to the ground, leaving my sword within an inch of Luke's chest— currently unarmored. 

Silence fell over the group as I looked at my sword, up at Luke, who seemed as shocked as the rest of us were, and back to my sword. 

I lowered my sword. 

"Um... Sorry."

I wanted to rip my vocal chords out.

"Sorry?" Luke repeated, coming to his senses. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!" 

I didn't want to— the brief burst of energy and clarity had drained me, but Luke insisted. 

This time, there was no competition. Almost as soon as our swords made contact, Luke was able to disarm me and send my too heavy sword across the floor. 

After a long pause, one of the kids in the audience suggested, "Beginners luck?"

"Maybe..." Luke raised an eyebrow, unsure. "But I wonder what you could do with a balanced sword..."

•••

Friday afternoon I'd been sitting with Grover at the lake resting after a nearly failed attempt at the hellish contraption they call the climbing wall. 

Naturally, being half goat, Grover climbed up with no problem. I, on the other hand, had a few holes in my shirt from lava spraying. The hairs on my forearm were singed off, and if I had any chest hair before, I definitely didn't now.

We'd been sitting and watching the naiads basket weave for a while until I got up the nerve to ask him how the conversation with Mr. D went after I woke up. 

His face turned a sickly shade of yellow.

"Fine." He said. "Just great."

"So your career is still on track?"

"C—" my best friend stuttered. "Chiron told you I want my searchers license?"

"Well, no," I clarified, not sure what a searchers license would even be. Maybe searching for new species? Or checking in on ones that are almost extinct? "He just said that you had big dreams and that you needed to like, get credit to complete with a protector assignment. So did you get it?"

Grover looked down at the naiads. 

"Mr. D suspended judgement." He explained. "he said that the current one isn't done yet. Our fates are still tied together. If you got a quest and I went with and we both came back alive, he'd call it a success but..."

"But...? That sounds like good news, Grover. Or, not bad, at the very least right?" 

Grover chuckled.

"He basically transferred me to stable cleaning duty. Percy, the chances of you getting a quest..." Grover began. "And even if you got one, why would you want me along?" 

"Of course I'd want you along!" I insisted, nudging my best friend, intruiged by the idea of our fates being tied together. 

It sounded like something you'd say during your vows. 

Grover just stared glumly into the water. "It must be nice to have a useful skill."

I tried to reassure him that he had a lot of useful skills, but it just seemed to make him more depressed, do I finally changed the topic to ask about the cabins. Mr. D's kids kind if explained why we have four empty cabins, but I'd taken in so much information my first day that I couldn't remember and it was topic that seemed easy for Grover to talk about after we weighed the pros of cons of each god as a dad seeing as I could canoe and fight with a sword so far. 

"So the first three cabins are always empty," I said. "Are they the Big Three you guys reference then?"

"Hm? Oh, no! Two of them are, cabins 1 and 3— Zeus and Poseidon, but cabin 2 is Hera. She doesn't have any kids since she's the god of marriage." Grover explained. "The Big Three are those two and then Hades. The most powerful of the Olympians."

"But Hades doesn't have a cabin."

"He doesn't have a throne, either, it would be... Odd if he did."

Not wanting to question the stigma against Hades right now, I brought into question the other thing that's been bothering me. 

"But Poseidon and Zeus had like, a million kids in the myths." I asked. "Why are their cabins empty?" 

Grover looked down. 

"About sixty years ago, after World War II, the two of them and Hades made an oath on the Styx to never have children with a mortal again to prevent a war of that scale from happening again." He explained to me. "So far, Hades and Poseidon seem to have kept their promise, but around 17 years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. Some TV starlet with an 80s hairdo got his attention and he couldn't help himself. When their daughter, Thalia was born... Styx is serious about broken oaths. Zeus got off easy since he's immortal, but made an awful fate for his daughter."

"But that's not fair," I insisted. "She didn't ask to be born. It's not her fault."

"She didn't," Grover agreed, leaning against me. "But children of the big three are a lot more powerful than most demigods, and their scents to monsters are a lot stronger. When Hades heard about Thalia, he sent monsters after her. All three Kindly Ones and a pack of hellhounds had been chasing her and her protector, not to mention the two other demigods that were with at the time. It was too much, she... Thalia insisted that the others get across the border while she stayed behind to fight the monsters."

He paused. 

"She died on the hill," he pointed out the tallest pine tree that currently stood on the hill. "Zeus took pity and turned her into a tree to protect the camp. That's why it's called Half Blood Hill. That's why we have the protective border now. Because she died."

I stared at the pine tree in the distance, slowly realizing who Thalia's protector would've been. I didn't know how to respond. 

The story left me feeling empty. Guilty. Suddenly my victory against the Minotaur didn't feel so big. 

Could i have saved my mother if I acted differently?

"Grover?" I asked softly. "Have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes." My best friend confirmed for me. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."

"Houdini?"

I didn't allow myself to dwell on the fun fact. 

"Anyways," I focused on what I wanted to know. "Have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"

Grover pulled away slightly. 

"Percy..." He began, sounding extremely skeptical. "No, never, Orpheus never even brought... You're not thinking about..."

"No," I lied to try and reassure him. "i was just wondering. So... A satyr is always assigned to protect a demigod?"

Studying me warily, Grover didn't seem convinced that i dropped the whole Underworld thing yet. Which was fair, since I hadn't. He relaxed eventually, returning to his rightful spot of leaning against me.

"Not always, we're usually put in schools and then if we notice a kid that might be more powerful, like a Big Three demigod, then we alert Chiron. Keep an eye on them since they can cause larger problems."

"And you found me." I concluded. "And told Chiron that you thought I might be somebody special?"

I won't lie, when I first heard those words, I assumed a different meaning that I had much more interest in. 

This meaning wasn't as cool. 

"What?" Grover responded, adjusting to face me as he held my arm once again, a pleading look in his eyes. "Oh, no... I didn't... Please don't think like that, Percy. If you... If you were, you'd never be allowed on a quest and I'd never get my license and... You're probably the son of Hermes, right? Or maybe even a minor god, like Nemesis! Don't worry, okay? Please don't worry."

But his expression and the tone of his voice made it sound like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to reassure me. 

•••

That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement buzzing in the air. It was finally time for capture the flag. 

Once the plates were cleared away, the cabins all stood at their tables and six kids ran in holding long, silk banners— Annabeth and two of her siblings with a silvery banner and an owl on it. Clarisse and two of her siblings with a gaudy red banner that had a spear and a boar's head painted into it. 

"Are those the flags?" I asked Luke, who nodded his head. "Do Athena and Ares always have them?"

"Not always, but often." 

"So do we... Paint it when we get it?" 

"You'll see," he promised. "First we have to win it."

"Okay. Then... Who's team are we on?"

He let off a sly smile, his scar reflecting in the firelight making him almost evil with that expression. 

"We made a temporary alliance with Athena." The son of Hermes explained to me. "we'll get the flag from the Ares kids tonight. You'll help."

Is he... 

Did Annabeth and him make a plan? 

Are they... Talking about me?

The teams were announced. Our team only consisted on the Hermes, Athena, and Apollo cabin— but those were also the three biggest cabins so it was more fair than it sounded. The rest of the cabins that had kids were with Ares— Dionysus, Demeter, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite. 

To get our attention, Chiron stamped his hoof on the concrete.

"Heroes! You know the rules," he announced, which wasn't true because I sure as hell didn't. "The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be unarmed, but not bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves."

I'm sorry. 

What kind of capture the flag were we playing? 

Chiron spread his hands and suddenly the tables filled with equipment and weapons: helmets with blue plumes for our team, red for the Ares team. 

"W— woah." I said, still taking this new version of a gym class game in. "we're supposed to use this stuff?" 

"Unless you want to get skewered by your friend in cabin 5," Luke said, looking at me like I was insane. "Here, Chiron thought this would fit. You'll be in border patrol."

The shield Luke gave me was the size of an NBA backboard and easily big enough for me to go sledding in. I could carry it, but hopefully nobody expected me to be fast when I ran. 

From up front, Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

We all cheered and shook our swords, following her down the path towards the woods and headed south. The red team went north. 

Miraculously, I caught up to Annabeth without tripping on my equipment. 

"Hey."

She kept marching.

"So uh, what's the plan?" I asked, mostly not wanting to die during this. "Any magic items you can loan me?"

As if I were an actual Hermes kid, Annabeth's hand went to her pocket, like she thought I'd taken something. I wasn't sure if I should've been honored or hurt by that. 

"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she told me. "You don't want to get hit by that thing. Don't worry, we'll take care of the banner. Did Like give you your job yet?"

"Uh, yeah, border patrol. Whatever that means. Seemed kind of ironic."

She rolled her eyes, obviously not satisfied by my joke.

"Just stay by the creek and make sure the other team doesn't cross. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."

Now, up to this point, I didn't mind Annabeth. 

Well, that's not totally true. She got on my nerves when I first woke up and she like, invaded my space. But after that, she seemed okay. 

The way she said that Athena always has a plan rubbed be wrong, though. A little too prideful, if you ask me. 

She ran on ahead. 

"Okay," I mumbled. "glad you wanted me on your team."

It was a warm and sticky night out. Annabeth stationed me at a part of the creek that was somewhat rocky, and then her and the rest of the team disappeared into the night, until I could only see what the fireflies allowed me to see. 

Standing there alone, wearing bulky armor, a massive blue plume helmet, holding a bronze sword that weighed me down like it was a bowling ball, I felt like a complete idiot. 

There was no way anyone would actually attack, would they? Olympus had to have liability issues.

Far away, the conch horn blew and I heard whoops and yells followed by metal clashing. Kids fighting. An Apollo kid, an ally, rushed past me like a deer and leaped over the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory. 

Great, I thought to myself. I'll miss all the fun, per usual. 

Then, from behind me, I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine. A low canine growl was coming from what was supposed to be friendly territory, low and nearby. 

Instinctively, I raised my shield, feeling like I was being stalked.

Then the growling stopped, and I felt the presence vanish for a moment, but not long enough to lower my guard. 

On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded and five kids from the Ares cabin all emerged, yelling and screaming as they raced towards me. 

"Cream the punk!" Clarisse yelled. 

Through the slits in her helmet, Clarisse glared at me as they charged. Her siblings only had the standard bronze swords (which didn't help— I wish they'd had none), but Clarisse's weapon was a five foot tall spear that seemed to sizzle on the end. 

There was no help in sight. I had two options: Run away, or defend myself against half of the Ares cabin. 

Amazingly, I managed to sidestep the first swing from the closest Ares kid, but they weren't as dumb as the Minotaur was and I was almost immediately surrounded.

Clarisse went to jab at me, and I deflected with my shield, but it wasn't enough. I felt a tingle run through my body, my hairs standing on end as...

Electricity. 

Her dumbass spear is electric. 

I stumbled back as another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword, sending me into the dirt.

They could've beat the shit out of me just then, but they were too busy laughing at their work: bullying a middle schooler. 

"Give him a haircut," Clarisse told one of her brothers. "Grab his hair."

Before they could get to me, I got to my feet and raised my sword. 

"Oh, I'm really afraid of this kid." Clarisse mocked me, knocking my sword out of my hand with her spear, making my arms go numb. "Really scared."

Punch her. 

Numbness is only a mindset. I reminded myself, wiggling my fingers.

"The flag," I informed the daughter of Ares, walking closer, knowing she wouldn't raise her weapon because she wasn't afraid. 

I punched her square in the jaw in the direction of the other side of the creek. 

"Is that way."

I heard anther growl, but this one wasn't like the one I'd heard earlier. This one was lower, more animalistic, from Clarisse.

"You see, we don't care about the flag, punk," Clarisse spit into the creek, straightening. "We care about the fruitcake that made the Ares cabin look bad. The same fruitcake that, what, can't even handle a wresting match?"

"Oh, you don't need my help to look stupid."

Two of the other cabin mates came at me, and soon enough Clarisse's spear knocked me in the chest. Had i not been wearing armor, I would've been turned into a kebab. 

The impact felt like it shocked my teeth out of my mouth as I fell back into the stream. As I laid there, I debated how bad dying would be. I could taste blood in my mouth and my vision had started to blur. One of her cabin mates slashed a cut across my arm, which didn't almost send me into another panic attack. 

Not at all.

"No maiming." I reminded them. 

"Oops," the kid kicked me deeper into the stream. "guess I lost dessert privileges for a week."

They laughed again, and their laughter wasn't any sort of music to my ears, but it provided enough time for me to get another surge of energy like I had when I sparred against Luke the day before in class and dearmed him.

Clarisse and her cabin mates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them, and I knew what to do. 

I swung the flat of my sword at the first guys head and knocked his helmet off, shaking his single brain cell around enough to cause some damage. He crumpled into the water. 

Ugly Number Two and Three came after me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and cut the others plume off with my shield. 

Not being complete idiots, the two of them backed off pretty soon after. 

Ugly Number Four, maybe the smartest of the Uglies, didn't look excited to attack, but Clarisse kept inching closer to me. As soon as she got in range and thrusted her spear, I grabbed the shaft and snapped it like the stupid twig it was. 

"Ah!" She shrieked. "you dumbass! You corpse-breathed worm!" 

Had I not slammed the butt of my sword between her eyes, she probably would've said more, but I didn't want to hear it. She went stumbling back with the rest of her idiotic siblings. 

Soon after, I heard yelling and elated screams as Luke came into view with kids from our team behind him, fighting off a couple Hephaestus kids. Luke was carrying the banner, running for his life. 

The Ares kids stood up, Clarisse muttered a curse. 

"A trick!" She yelled, as if I didn't tell her where our flag was. "It was a trick!"

She staggered after Luke, but it was no use. He made it to the creek, where the flag shimmered and turned from the gaudy red into a silver banner that had a cadecus on it, for Hermes. Everyone on the blue team picked up Luke and started cheering and I saw him smile and give me a thumbs up. Chiron made his way over and blew the conch horn. 

The game was over. 

We'd won. 

I was about to join the celebration when a voice startled me to my right. 

"Not bad, hero." 

It was definitely Annabeth's voice, but where I heard her come from, she wasn't standing. 

"Where the hell did you learn how to fight like that?" She asked, and the air shimmered around the source of the voice and she materialized, holding a Yankee cap in her hat that she shoved into her pocket. 

But it frustrated me. I felt myself get angry, not even fazed by her sudden powers or invisibility. 

"You set me up." I said. "you put me here because you knew Clarisse and her friends would come after me while you sent Luke around to the flag."

She smiled a shit eating grin that I could've smacked off her face. 

"Like I said, Athena always has a plan."

"Oh, yeah? To what? Get me murdered?"

"I came to help," she insisted, which sounded like horse shit (no offense to Chiron). "I was about to jump in but... You didn't need it. Evidently. It's not often somebody lands a punch on Clarisse."

She looked at my wounded arm. 

"...how'd you do that?" 

"It's a sword cut." I told her. "Because I got cut. With a sword."

"No, it was a sword cut, I'm not an idiot." The daughter of Athena informed me. "Look at it."

Looking at my arm, the blood from the cut was gone. There was only a white scratch in its place, but even that was fading. Which I guess... Wasn't new. 

I never got injured often as a kid, but when I did, Mom always told me to take a shower to wash away the wounds. I ever questioned it, but that was a... Big cut. 

"I— i don't get it."

Annabeth looked like she might've, though. She looked at my feet, then to Clarisse's broken spear. 

"Percy," she advised. "Step out of the water. Please."

Wow, even being polite. 

"What—"

"Just... Do it."

Figuring I'd play into her theory, I stepped out of the water and instantly felt the exhaustion hit me. I nearly collapsed from the tiredness. Annabeth steadied me when I nearly fell. 

"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is bad. I thought it would be Zeus's not... I didn't want..." 

Before I could ask what she was talking about, I heard the canine growling again, and this time it wasn't just me. 

The camp fell silent, looking over at a black hound the size of a rhino with lava red eyes and fangs like daggers. Chiron was the only one who initially responded in Ancient Greek, which I realized later I understood perfectly as yelling to stand ready, and requesting his bow. 

Annabeth drew her sword. 

The hound was looking right at me. 

Nobody moved except for Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"

She tried to step in front me, which was a sweet gesture, but didn't do much in the end. The animal jumped over the daughter of Athena, a shadow with teeth, and slammed into me, it's razor sharp claws ripping through my armor. 

Before I could so much as react to being jumped, a series of thwacking noises seemed to stunt the animal as a number of arrows— maybe 40 sprouted from it's neck and it fell to the ground, dead. 

By some miracle, I was alive. I didn't want to look under my armor, able to feel the wetness of my shirt from my blood. 

Chiron trotted up to us, a bow in hand, looking from. 

"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "that was a hellhound from the Underworld! They're not supposed to..."

"No, they're not." Chiron agreed. "Somebody summoned it. Somebody within the camp."

And because she was having a pissy day, Clarisse called out, "Percy did it! Percy summoned the hellhound!"

Because I was best friends with Hades, right? 

"Shush, child," Chiron didn't believe her, thankfully. 

We watched the hellhound melt into shadows and vanish before our eyes, much like my teacher had crumbled to dust. 

"You're wounded," Annabeth told me, which seemed obvious. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

"I'm— I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Humor me," she argued. "Chiron, watch this."

Too tired to argue, I stepped back into the water and once again felt energy surge through me. The camp gathered around as I felt my wounds washing away. Some campers gasped though I don't know why, since my wounds weren't even visible. 

Standing back near Mr. D, I saw Grover look like he was deciding what size coffin I would be. 

"Look, I— i don't know..." But before I could finish, I realized they weren't looking at me. They were looking directly above me, at a new source of light. 

"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing above me. "Um..."

It may be the only time she was at a loss of words. 

By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make it out: a green, circle was a three-tipped spear in the middle. A trident. 

"Your father." She voiced, her voice shaking. "this is... Really not good."

All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin (though they didn't look happy about it), which made me uncomfortable. I didn't like being the center of attention. 

"My father?"

"Poseidon." Chiron announced as I felt my life shatter before my eyes. "Earthshaker, stormbringer, father of horses. All hail Perseus Jackson, son of the Sea God."

Chapter 9: If Gods Don't Have DNA, Can We Just Ignore Who My Dad Is?

Percy Jackson 

Middle schoolers (and teenagers) are the meanest motherfuckers on the planet. 

The morning after I was claimed, Chiron moved me to cabin 3, though I was basically shunned out of Cabin 11 that night. Luke had to lecture another kid to let me sleep in my spot. He apologized for them, but it didn't stop what had happened. 

Cabin 3 was pretty big. I was the only one and didn't have to share. I got to sit at my own table at dinner, pick all of my own activities (goodbye wrestling), and call "lights out" whenever I wanted to. 

In other words, I was miserable. 

Just as I was starting to feel accepted, to feel like I had a home in cabin 11 and like I might get to be a normal kid— or as normal as you can be here— I was ostracized. Separated like I had some sort of disease. 

My second night in the cabin, when I hadn't called light outs yet even though it was well past any reasonable bedtime, I heard a knock on the door.

"It's open." I called, not having the energy to get up. I just hoped it wasn't a monster.  

Thankfully, it was just my best friend. 

"Hey, you're still up." He said, closer the door behind him. "how uh— how are you liking the new cabin?" 

I shrugged. 

"It's cool."

Which was really code for I haven't fallen asleep yet because I have a knot in my chest that I think might be another mental breakdown. 

"Cool?" The satyr questioned, setting down a little gift baggie by the door as he walked over and sat at the edge of my bed. "Percy, our dorm was cool. You look... Depressed."

I shrugged again. 

"The only people that will talk to me are you, Annabeth, and Luke," I reasoned with my best friend. "And even Annabeth is hesitant. What's there to be happy about?"

"You know who your dad is now." But as he said it, Grover knew that that was a weak selling point. 

"Oh, yeah," I said half-sarcastically, because I didn't know how else to cope with it. "now I know who I'll probably never meet and will never receive anything from because I'm not even supposed to exist. That's wonderful. Wonderful enough to be treated like a freak by the rest of camp. Because I haven't been treated like that enough already for a million other reasons."

A blanket of silence fell over Grover and I for a moment after the claim i made, because it was true, but he didn't know how to address it because he obviously didn't know everything there was to know about it.

If you can think of a minority group, I probably apply—with the exception of being a man.

Over the course of my life, both children and adults—grown ass adults, have used these things as excuses to treat me like I'm special. 

Trust me, when you're not a child prodigy, special isn't good.

I remember when I was in kindergarten or first grade, a kid in my class started using an eraser on my arm to "erase the color from my skin." Being half Brazilian and half... Greek, I guess, I was darker than a lot of kids in the schools i went to. A teacher once told me it was important to know how to find surface area and volume if I wanted to be good at laying concrete one day.

Gabe laid into that teacher and I think might've gotten them fired for saying that. Because Gabe is white, so he has that kind of power. He defended me against many teachers, back when he cared.

Mom would, too, obviously, but as a woman of color, they usually didn't take her seriously.

Growing up poor and going to schools where kids weren't poor? They didn't even have to try to make me feel bad. Yancy was awful for that, especially first semester. 

Somehow, everyone knows when you're a scholarship kid. If I had a nickel for every time I heard "if your parents can afford it..." I'd probably be rich. 

Have you ever gone to a Christian school as somebody who doesn't believe in God? 

Wouldn't recommend it.

This last year alone, rumors started circling around Yancy Academy that I uh, didn't like girls, and while that was a rumor Nancy Bobofit never seemed to pick on me about, most other kids did once they got over the fact that I'm poor. 

Grover never asked about it, but I know he heard the rumors because he was with me when the students would occasionally throw slurs at either of us.

He's never asked, so I've never confirmed or denied. But it made me feel spectacular when Clarisse somehow clocked me and called me a fruitcake during Capture the Flag.

The cherry on top? Being dyslexic and having ADHD, which aren't drawbacks here, but cause me hell in the real world.

I guess the Fates decided that making my dad be Poseidon was compensation for that. 

"Percy..." Grover said, his expression saddened. He placed a hand on my shoulder. 

"It's fine." I insisted. "I mean it's not, but it's not like I can do anything about it without seeming like an asshole."

I paused, taking a breath. 

"I'm sorry." I apologized with another sigh. "I just—it's been a whole week. You shouldn't have to listen to me vent when you have your own stuff going on, right? Mr. D's been on your ass, hasn't he? And now that we know who my dad is... I'm sorry if that makes getting your license thingy even harder."

"Wh— hey, don't apologize," Grover told me, squeezing my shoulder as he spoke in a soft tone. "You have no control over that, Percy, and neither do I. Mr. D has backed off a little. Right now, were just waiting. And waiting is something I can do because it's usually easier than doing something."

"Usually." 

For a while, another blanket of silence fell over the two of us as I started to get lost in thought: thinking about my mom, about Gabe, and about my dead beat dad, Poseidon. About how I wish I'd been claimed by a different god. About how I wanted to understand what seemed to scare kids so much about me. 

It couldn't just be that I punched Clarisse. Something about being claimed as Poseidon's kid...

Children of the Big Three demigods have stronger powers. 

But that doesn't make us evil. 

I missed my mom. 

I missed Gabe, even. 

Not necessarily the Gabe I'd met at home currently, but my dad Gabe. The one who seemed to die with mom's miscarriage. 

I missed a family that never was. The kid they never had, the little sibling i never had. 

And now, will never get. 

I wonder where in the Underworld my mom ended up— if she really is gone.

Would I end up in the same place as her if I somehow...

"-Percy?" Grover's voice cut through my thoughts once more, pulling me back to reality. "Earth to Percy? Dude, what's going on up there?"

But I didn't know if I wanted to even try and articulate that last thought for him, so I only half lied. 

"Just... Thinking." I said, which was true. "about my mom and dad and— Gabe, not Poseidon."

"What about them?"

I looked down. 

"I miss them."

"Even Gabe?"

I nodded my head. 

"What about you?" I asked, not knowing how things worked for satyrs when it came to like, living with parents and stuff. "I don't think I've seen your parents around. Do they not live at camp?"

Feeling Grover's hand and watching the rest of his body decompress, I was worried that I'd hit a soft spot.

"Um, in theory, they do," my best friend answered. "But Chiron, Mr. D, and I are all pretty sure they died years ago. Like... I don't even know when. My uncle took me in after that, but he went out on a search after that and never returned so... It's just me."

"It's just..."

Holding my breath, I propped myself up on my elbow to better look at Grover, who seemed so... Okay. 

He just told me that his parents were gone, plus his uncle, and yet he sounded perfectly fine. 

"Grover," I said, forcing the satyr to look up at me. "Are you okay? That's... A lot. You've never mentioned that before. I mean, you never talked a lot about life outside of school and I understand why now because it'd be a lot to have a consistent lie for this but... Are you okay?"

"I'm alright, Percy," he told me and I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "seriously, I'm doing okay. It's been years and I have friends here. Plus, Chiron and Mr. D, even if Mr. D isn't always the nicest person. How do you think your dad is handling your mom..."

I shrugged. 

"I don't know." I was honest. "I've thought about it a few times, but I'm not sure if I want to talk to Chiron about it. Part of that is also just me hoping that she isn't dead yet, either, and that like... I don't know, she was just kidnapped or something. Mostly because Chiron hasn't said she's dead, which is weird."

"It is weird." Grover agreed. "maybe if you go talk to him about Gabe, he'll tell you. You look tired, though, and I'm also tired, so I'm going to head to my place to get some rest."

"You're gonna—"

But as Grover stood up, I felt a wave of panic wash through me that I had to fight down and swallow before I could say anything else. 

I don't want to be alone. 

"Wait," I said, as if he weren't half way to the door already. "It's super late, G-man, you'll never make it back in time. Where do you even sleep?"

"Just in the woods," he insisted, which was concerning. "Not like— not out in the wild, I have a little cabin. Most of the satyrs do.  I promise I have a bed."

Grover looked outside as the sun was definitely down, though I doubted it was time for curfew.

"Is it really that late?"

But for the first time in my life, I was trying to prevent myself from spiraling into a crisis at 3am, so I lied and nodded my head.

"Hm. Odd. Are you sure it's alright that I crash here?"

Once again, I nodded my head as Grover sat down where he had been moments earlier, at the end of my bed. 

"Hey, Grover."

"Hm?"

"Can you tell me more about camp?" I asked my best friend, hoping it'd be a good distraction. "You've lived here like, your whole life, right? Do you have any good stories?"

Smiling, Grover launched into a story about trying to help the strawberries grow as a kid with his parents, which tied into a story about how bad he was at playing reed pipes. I feel asleep to Grover telling me how to play a reed pipe, though I doubted I'd ever actually play one. 

•••

The next morning, I woke up to find Grover also asleep in my cabin, which confused me until I remembered that I basically asked him up stay over.

Didn't think he'd fall asleep in my bed, but I guess I feel asleep pretty early last night, so it works. 

It's not like it's the first time that's happened, but it's one of very few. Once a month or so, Grover and I would do a movie night in our dorm at Yancy and a few times we'd fall asleep before the movie ended and wake up really confused. 

Looking towards the front door of the cabin, I realized that the sound that woke me up was a newspaper coming in through the mail slot (which I didn't realize existed until now). It was opened already. 

I wasn't sure what was more odd: the fact that i got a newspaper delivery, or that it was already opened. 

Slipping out of bed, I tried not to wake Grover as I approached the New York Post newspaper, seeing it opened to an article that I didn't want to read.

Thanks to my dyslexia and the fact that I was still waking up, it took a minute to make the title out. 

BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER FREAK CAR ACCIDENT 

by Eileen Smyth

"Hm? Oh, Percy, hi," Grover's voice spoke from behind me, still in my bed. Looking back at him, he smiled, making me feel a little warm in my chest. "Good morning, did you sleep well? What are... Is that a newspaper?"

"Yeah, somebody just dropped it off," I explained. "Good morning to you, too. Do cabins usually get a newspaper delivered to them?"

Shaking his head, Grover told me that he's never heard of that since they live too far out of the city to get anything delivered. Plus, kids are dyslexic.

"Speaking of which," he offered. "Do you want me to read out the article you have open?"

That was my reminder that he wasn't dyslexic.

"Oh, yeah, that would save me a headache." I agreed, walking back towards my bed and handing him the open paper. "I've only read the title."

Sitting up, Grover took the paper and his eyes immediately widened, which seemed concerning. 

"BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER FREAK CAR ACCIDENT. 

by Eileen Smyth

Sally Jackson and her son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. Their family's 1978 Camaro was found badly burned last Saturday on a Long Island Road with it's front axle broken and roof ripped off. Officer's say that the car rolled several time and slid a a few hundred feet before exploding. 

Sally and Percy had gone for a vacation to Montauk, but left hastily Saturday night under mysterious circumstances. Traces of blood were found in the car, but no other signs of the Jackson's have been found. Nobody in the rural area reported seeing anything strange, and some suggested the severe thunderstorm Saturday night could have been reason for the accident. Officials haven't completely ruled this out, though the chances seem unlikely. 

Mrs. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that Percy is a troubled kid who's expressed violent tendencies in the past, though also insisted that "Percy would never raise his voice to Sally, much less hurt her." Police would not say whether Percy was a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but foul play hasn't been ruled out. 

Below are some recent photos of both Sally and Percy Jackson. Police urge anyone with information to call the number below."

As Grover read the article, I had to be conscious about not getting visibly angry. I balled my fists and took a stiffened breath. 

"They... They think that I could've done that?"

Before Grover could respond, there was a quick knock and somebody opened the door. 

"Wh—" 

"Hey, Mr. D wants to see...." Annabeth's voice faltered, as she looked between Grover and I. "You. What are you doing here, Grover?"

Grover held up the newspaper. 

"Helping Percy read a paper somebody dropped off!" He smiled. "Which one of us did Mr. D want to see?"

"Percy," she answered, skeptical of his answer. "What's the paper about?"

"Mine and my mom's disappearance." I answered. "What does Mr. D want?"

"To k— talk to you." Annabeth corrected herself partway through. "I don't know what about, I'm just the messenger. Can I see the newspaper?"

"Can you read it?"

She rolled her eyes. 

"Grover, what did it say?"

"I, uh, I'll tell you later." Grover said, sensing that I didn't want to have to explain Gabe's whole situation to Annabeth before I've even had breakfast. "Or Percy can if he wants to, but we should get to breakfast."

Sighing, Annabeth said something under her breaths about boys being stupid before leaving the cabin, as if what the New York Post says about my mom and me being MIA is any of her business.

Fun fact: it's not.

"Sorry," Grover apologized for the daughter of Athena as I got dressed and we left the cabin for the Big House. "Annabeth can be... Judgemental. She doesn't mean it."

I had a feeling that, to at least some capacity, she did mean it, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. 

Outside, there was a nasty storm not far from camp, and while I knew that it wouldn't actually rain or storm here because of the barrier, it still made me anxious. Of course, I wasn't the only one. A lot of the kids around camp seemed to be busy multitasking with their normal activities and then eyeing the storm and eyeing me. 

Getting summoned to the big house wasn't that big of a surprise. Ever since I was claimed, I'd expected it. Most of my life I'd felt like I wasn't supposed to be born, but now it wasn't just a feeling. It was a fact.

Like they were my first day, Chiron and Mr. D were sitting on the porch outside, playing pinochle together like an old married couple. There were also two sets of cards, floating like invisible players. 

"Well, well," Mr. D said, not even looking up. "Our little celebrity."

I bit my tongue. 

"Come closer," the god told me. "and don't expect me to kowtow to you just because barnacle brain is your father, half-blood."

"I—" 

If another person calls me a half-blood, I'm going to lose my barnacles.

"Now, if it were up to me, I'd just cause your molecules to erupt in flames." Mr. D said, which seemed to be pretty on brand for him. "We'd sweep up the ashes and be safe from a lot of trouble. But Chiron feels like that goes against my job here to protect you brats from harm, and some... Others have insisted on keeping your particles the way they are."

"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D." Chiron reminded the god, as gently as he may remind him that he has a dentist appointment later today. 

"Nonsense, the boy wouldn't feel a thing!" The god argued. "Regardless, I've agreed to restrain myself. Maybe if I turn you into a dolphin and send you to your father—"

"Mr. D." Chiron lectured.

"Fine!" Mr. D said as he stood up. "There's still one other option. I'm off to Olympus for a meeting. If the boy's still here when I return, I'm sending him home—to his father's palace, not to whatever pathetic excuse of a residence he was in before now, do you understand? If you have any sense, kid, you'll see that that's a much better option than what Chiron has to offer you."

Snapping his fingers, Mr. D went from a god to a hologram, to a faint glow before disappearing, leaving behind the smell of fresh grapes.

Chiron smiled at the two of us, but it seemed strained. He looked tired. "Have a seat, you two. Please."

As the two of us sat down, Chiron laid his cards on the table— a winning hand he didn't get to use. 

"Tell me, Percy," the centaur began. "What did you think of that hellhound?"

Now, I'm sure that Chiron wanted me to brush it off like almost getting killed by a hellhound wasn't a big deal. Especially since I'd taken on the Minotaur, right? 

But I didn't think this was a good time to lie. When it involved possibly getting turned into a dolphin. 

"It... Scared me." I said, shrugging. "I probably would've died had you not shot it. Why do you ask?"

"Because," he reasoned. "You'll face far worse by the time you're done."

"Done? With what?"

"Why, your quest, of course," my old Latin teacher said, as this was something he taught me in a unit. "will you accept it?"

Would I accept...

Was Chiron already kicking me out?

I just got here. 

I just got here, why would he just send me away to somewhere that wasn't my apartment? 

Camp is supposed to be the safest place in the world for me and I've only been here for like, a week, and he's going to send me away and...

Is it because I haven't given him my best?

Or, at least not his definition of best.

"My quest? You haven't..." But maybe I missed a meeting last night. "You haven't explained what it is, sir."

Chiron grimaced. 

"Well, that's the hard part, isn't it? The details."

They're the important parts, I thought to myself.

As if in response, thunder rumbled. Across the valley, I could see that the clouds had reached the end of the beach, and it looked like the sky and seas were boiling into one.

"Poseidon and Zeus," I realized as the events of the last six or so months since the weather got weird clicked into place. "They're fighting, right? Something valuable that was stolen or something? That's why the weather's been so weird."

Grover and Chiron exchanged looks, Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. 

"How did you know?"

"I mean it's not... Hard to see," I figured, motioning to the weather. "But I've also had a couple weird dreams."

"I knew it!" Grover said. 

"Hush, satyr." Chiron ordered, which caused me to give him a stern look because you don't talk to my best friend like that. 

Mr. D is the only exception, sort of, because he's a god who could kill me in about four seconds. And he's also technically Grover's like, manager, I think? It seems weird. 

"But it's his quest!" Grover's eyes lit up as I recalled what we'd spoken about earlier, before I was claimed. "It has to be, sir!"

If I go on a quest and come back alive, Grover gets his searchers license. 

If I come back alive. 

I wonder how long Luke had to train before he went on his quest.

"Only the Oracle can say." Chiron insisted, effectively shutting Grover down. "But, yes, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries."

"My... Please don't call him that."

Ignoring my request, Chiron explained to me that Zeus's Master Bolt had been stolen at the solstice, and if nobody returned it by the summer solstice, there would probably be a civil war. Zeus currently assumes that my dad has it, and since he just claimed me and gods can't steal each other's token of powers...

"Stolen? By who?"

"By whom." Chiron corrected, which made me want to tip his wheelchair over. "By you, of course."

"But I wasn't on Olympus."

"Zeus doesn't seem to think that matters."

Oh, so he's like every teacher I've ever had. Good to know. 

"I didn't even know the gods existed then! He's crazy!"

Grover glanced at the sky nervously. 

"Percy, I wouldn't use the c word to describe the Lord of the Sky."

Oh, I'll call him that to his face, I thought. 

"Neither do many people who encounter them," Chiron insisted. "You must be the one who returns in, child. Based on the monsters you've witnessed, one can assume that there's another god behind the scene who would've taken it: the brother often forgotten. That isn't me."

"Ha..." Not wanting the storm to get worse, I paused before finishing the name. "The Lord of the Underworld? But how would I get it from him? Or even get to the Underworld? Why won't Poseidon just admit that he didn't do it? Why..."

"Your father is too proud, Perseus. If the gods go to war, the world will fall into chaos, and you'll be the first one to feel Zeus's wrath."

Beyond the porch, rain started to pour down across camp. Games of volleyball came to a standstill as everyone stared up at the sky before making their way indoors. I caught a few kids look my way. 

Because this was my fault. 

Because I was born, this was suddenly my fault. 

And because it's "my fault", I don't deserve to be or feel safe. I don't deserve to reside in the one place in the world where I'm safe. 

What wonderful parents the gods were.

"Consult the Oracle." He insisted, which wasn't helpful and only played into the issue at hand: us not knowing the actual thief. "In the attic. It'll tell you all you need to know. After you've heard it out, return to us and tell us what it said."

To say I was furious would be an understatement. 

"So I have to find the fucking thing? And return it?"

"What better peace offering, no? Consult the Oracle, child, before I wash your mouth out with soap."

"So where is it?"

"I... Believe I know. But you must formally accept and consult the Oracle first."

Glancing at Grover, I caught him nodding his head at a rate that might give him a concussion. 

Easy for him to say, right? He's not the one Zeus wants dead. 

"Alright." I sighed. "I guess it's better than being turned into a dolphin, right? Fine. Sure. I'll take it."

"Then head to the attic." He repeated for the millionth time. "Consult the Oracle. If you're still sane when you return, we'll discuss details."

I hope this sends me to a psych ward. 

Up in the attic, which was five stories up, it smelled of mildew and something... Reptilian? Like the smell of snakes. 

I hated snakes, but I continued on anyways. 

The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: bits of armor, keepsakes and spoils of war— faded shields, pickled eyes, claws and so forth. Some stickers with ancient locations on it. 

On the far end of the room, placed on a tripod stool was what I assumed was some sort of mummy they called the Oracle. She wasn't some sort of Halloween costumed mummy, though— she was... Deceased. Wearing a dress that must've dated her to the 1960s and hair that barely existed in patches. Her eyes were clear and glassy, like her real eyes had been replaced with marbles years ago. Looking at her sent a chill up my spine. 

And then she sat up and my soul nearly sprinted out of my body. A green mist flooded out of her body, coiling on the ground in thick tendrils and hissing like thousands of snakes. 

I stumbled backwards, hoping to maybe find an exit, but the trap door snapped shut. 

Inside my head, I heard a voice slither into one ear and wrap around the tendrils in my brain in the most invasive way you could imagine.

I am the voice of Delphi, the voice informed me. speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask. 

I'd rather not, I tried to think in return but it apparently didn't hear or just didn't care. 

Forcing myself to take a breath, I reminded myself that she wasn't alive. She was... Something, but not alive and her presense also didn't feel malicious or evil like Mrs. Dodds and the Minotaur did when I was around them. It was just... Intense. Invasive. 

Very invasive. 

Swallowing, I took a step forward and asked the question that I hoped would get the answer I needed. 

"What is my destiny?"

Slowly, the green mist started to change until I was seeing a familiar sight: Gabe and his poker buddies around our kitchen table. 

Seeing them made me clench my fists before remembering that they, too, aren't real. Gabe wouldn't just... He has to be worried about us, right? He wouldn't just drown himself in gambling and drinking and...

And if he did, I guess I wouldn't blame him. 

Before I could think any more about that, Gabe turned to face me and spoke with the voice of the Oracle.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. 

His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: you shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned.

To Gabe's left, somebody threw in two poker chips and chimed in: You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend. 

Lastly, our landlord Eddie delivered a line worse than any eviction notice he could think of writing: and you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end. 

Before I could react, the figured began to dissolve. But as the mist recoiled back into the horrific mummy from which it came, I cried, scrambling forward in a desperation. 

"Wait!" I called out. "What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save? What...?"

As I tried to reach out and grab it, the last of the green mist slithered into the mouth of the mummy and she slumped over as she had been before. Her mouth sealed, as if it hasn't spoken in a hundred years. 

The silence in the attic became deafening. 

My audience with the Oracle was over.

Having a feeling that, no matter how long I stood here, I wouldn't learn any more than I already had, I walked back to the trap door and found it open— ready for me to return to my party downstairs. 

"Well?" Chiron asked, sounding impatient as I returned. 

I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. 

"She said I'd retrieve what was stolen."

Grover sat forward, seeming excited by the news as he chewed on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great, Percy!"

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed, making me more stressed than Grover was able to relieve me. "This is important."

Then why didn't you tell me to bring a pen and paper? I thought to myself, knowing that it's a miracle that I even remembered what she said. 

"She..." I held my breath for a moment. "she said I would go west and face the god who turned. I'd retrieve what was stolen and see it returned."

"I knew it." Grover said to himself with a little smile. 

"Anything else?" Chiron asked, not looking satisfied. 

But I didn't want to tell him. Chiron, sure— but I didn't want to tell Grover. 

Does that make me a bad friend? What friend would betray me? I didn't have many. 

And the last line— why would you send someone on a quest when the prophecy always says that, oh, by the way, the person is going to fail? 

How could I confess that to Chiron, who will only accept the best from me?

"No." I insisted. "That's about it."

For a moment the centaur studied me, and I don't think he bought the lie, but he decided to give in to it. 

"Very well." He decided. "But remember, Percy: the oracles words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth often isn't clear until the events come to pass."

Was the old man trying to make me feel better? Maybe, but it was only making me feel worse.

"Okay," I responded, anxious to change the topic. "so now what? Where do I go? You said out west, right? Hades or whatever? He'd like... Gain a lot of Zeus and Poseidon went to war, right?"

"Wo— woah." Grover cut in. "Chiron, you're not suggesting... It couldn't be in Maine? Maine is very nice this time of year."

"I'm afraid you'll have to endeavor to the Underworld." Chiron apologized in tone. "He must have a spy within the camp, I'll investigate more once you have departed, Percy. I don't pretend to understand his motives, but it's clear to me that you must go to the Underworld, retrieve the bolt, and restore peace on Olympus."

Now, dear reader, I personally wouldn't charge a hyperactive 12 year old who is currently a wanted suspect for possible manslaughter, or at the very least, arson charges, with this responsibility. 

But Chiron seemed confident about it, and theoretically the two thousand something year old trainer would know more than the 12 year old trainee, so I just nodded my head. 

The weird thing was that I got a sinking feeling in my stomach that wasn't fear, but rather anticipation. If my mom was in the Underworld...

"Wait." I said. "If we know it's Hades, why can't we just tell the gods again?"

Chiron heaved a sigh.

"Suspecting and knowing aren't the same, Percy." He reminded me. "plus, gods can't cross each other's territory. Furthermore, no god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods usually operate through humans?"

And just like that, my anticipation twisted into something more intense. Something closer to anger. 

"You're telling me I'm being used?"

He shrugged.

"I'm saying it's no coincidence you were claimed when you were."

I looked at Chiron, realizing something that I could hardly believe after everything I'd learned from him over the last year since we'd met. 

"You knew my dad was Poseidon all along." The sentence left a sour taste in my mouth. "and you didn't say anything."

He had the audacity to give me a smug smile. 

"I had my suspicions— I've spoken with the Oracle as well, previously." The centaur insisted. "Claiming you was a risky gamble, Percy. He needs you."

My dad needs me. 

Emotions rolled inside of me like a kaleidoscope and I didn't know which one to settle on— frustrated, angry, grateful, resentful. 

I needed my dad for 12 years and he didn't care. And all of a sudden he needs me and I'm supposed to care?

And you know what? I do care. 

But I don't care because of him. 

I care because of my mom and because of Gabe. Because I don't want to see my actual dad, my real dad, get worse if she truly is gone. I want to have a fighting chance at getting her back. 

I care because if I don't return the stupid fucking lighting bolt, my world will fall apart and I'll never get the chance to be happy. 

I care for a number of reasons, and none of them are related to the guy my mom had sex with almost 13 years ago. 

"Alright." I steeled my expression. "So now what? We... Don't fly, right? That would be like, really expensive."

"You're the child of the Sea God, Perseus," Chiron risked my full name as he spoke. "Zeus would know where you are immediately and you wouldn't survive the flight."

"Mhm." I hummed, suppressing my growing frustrations with the centaur. "So we travel overland?"

"Correct. You can bring two others with you. Grover would be one, and another has already volunteered— if you'll have her."

"If I'll have her?" I repeated the phrase back to him. "It's a quest, Chiron, not a wedding. And who on Earth is dumb enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

Making herself visible, Annabeth put her Yankees cap in her back pocket and smiled.

"I've been waiting for a quest for a long time, Seaweed Brain," she said. "Athena and Poseidon aren't exactly best friends, but if it's your job to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

Thanks for the vote of confidence. 

"If you say so," I suppressed the urge to call her a smartass. "I suppose you have a plan, Wise Girl?"

Her cheeks turned pink. "Do you want my help or not?"

Want and need are two very different words, but in this case, they ended in the same outcome, so I settled for a yes. 

"A trio." I said. "That'll work."

"Excellent." Chiron smiled. "This afternoon we can take you as far as the Manhattan bus terminal. After that, you three are on your own."

Lightning flashed and the rainfall became even heavier across a camp that was never meant to experience this type of weather. 

"Well, no time to waste." He excused the three of us. "best get to packing and I'll see you all shortly."

Chapter 10: I Didn't Need Another Reason To Hate Math Teachers

Percy Jackson

Packing didn't take long, seeing as I didn't have much to my name. I met the other two at the top of the hill. Grover was in his mortal disguise (which meant he was wearing his fake feet, pants, and a hat), while Annabeth was in her usual camp outfit, her baseball cap tucked in her pocket. Camp had given each of us a bag that had enough money to travel from here to California (barely) and some ambrosia and nectar (god food), along with some golden drachma (god money). 

As Chiron was explaining to us that Argus would bring us into town, I heard footsteps approaching from behind and turned to see Luke running towards us with a shoebox in his hand. 

"Hey!" The son of Hermes panted. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushed as she always did when Luke was around. I caught Grover smile, but I also did. I was glad to see that he came to say goodbye. 

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I um... Sorry, I ran a lot... I thought you might want to use these."

Handing me the sneakers, they looked pretty normal. They even smelled like normal shoes. 

Then Luke said, "Maia!"

Suddenly, white bird wings sprouted from the heels, startling me so much I dropped them. The shoes floated and flopped around on the ground until eventually the wings folded back in and seemed to vanish. 

"That's awesome!" Grover said, reading my mind. 

"Gift from Dad." It was maybe the only time I'd heard Luke speak positively about his father. "They served me well on my quest. Of course, I don't use them much these days..."

At the last statement, his expression turned sad for a moment before he steeled his expression. I didn't know how to respond. I'd been worried the last few days that Luke might've been like, jealous of the attention I'd been getting or something. But he came to say goodbye and he even gave me these magic shoes and...

It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth had earlier. 

"Thanks." I managed, barely meeting Luke's eyes. 

"Of course," he smiled, though it seemed a little masked. Like he also seemed worried. "Look, there's a lot riding you, Percy, but I'm sure Chiron already gave you that speech, right?"

"He's been doing it for a year now."

The son of Hermes smiled a little more genuinely. 

"Figures." He said, placing his hand over my shoulder and pausing, recalling what happened when Annabeth grabbed me my first day here. "just kill some monsters for me, alright? May I?"

I nodded my head. "I'll try my best."

He gave my shoulder a squeeze before patting Grover on his head between the horns and giving Annabeth a hug, making her look like she might pass out. 

Once he was gone, I pointed it out. 

"You're hyperventilating." I informed the daughter of Athena. 

"Shut up."

I rolled my eyes. 

"You let him catch the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

"Why do I want to go with you on this quest again?" She questioned before stomping off to the other side of the hill, closer to where the white SUV was parked with the strawberry farm's logo on it. 

Looking down at the shoes, I had a stark realization. 

"I'm not going to be able to wear these, am I?" 

Chiron gave me a sad smile. 

"Luke meant well, but I'm afraid it wouldn't be a wise choice to risk flying at any heights, Percy." The centaur confirmed, but that gave me another idea. 

"Hey, Grover," I said. "Do you want some magic shoes?" 

At the offer, Grover lit up and smiled, making me smile back. 

"Me?" 

Pretty soon we laced the shoes to his fake feet and made sure the shoes and feet were secured to his hooves. 

"Maia!" Grover yelled, and as they had before, wings sprouted from the shoes. 

To his credit, he did get off the ground alright. But almost immediately after, he fell sideways and so his backpack dragged in the grass as the shoes continued to fly him towards the van. 

"Practice!" Chiron called after my best friend. "you just need practice!"

Grover yelled back a response that was lost to the dirt.

Before I could take off after Grover and Annabeth, Chiron grabbed my arm, which made me jump. I turned to face him and pulled away from his touch. 

"I—" me pulling away seemed to confuse him. He frowned. "i should have trained you better, Percy, I'm sorry. If only we had more time. Hercules, Jason— they had more time."

"It's... Alright," I said, recovering my wits from the sudden physical contact. "I just wish..."

I decided against saying it out loud since I didn't want to sound selfish, but I wish I'd had my own magical item. It'd be a lot more reassuring if I'd had something more than a weapon that doesn't even feel right in my hand and a backpack that isn't slash or bulletproof.

"Oh! What am I thinking," Chiron said to himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen that looked like the one he'd given me back at Yancy. "I can't let you leave without this."

And it was that old pen, but it didn't seem... Magical. In fact, it looked like a piece of junk that costs a quarter and didn't even work properly. 

"Gee. Thanks."

"It's a gift from your father," but a pen that costs a quarter wasn't exactly compensation for all the child support Poseidon hasn't paid us yet. "I've kept it for centuries, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now— you are the one."

Because that didn't make me feel any kind of stress at all. 

Looking at the pen, I thought back to our field trip earlier this year when I could swear Chiron threw a pen, but when it landed in my hand...

Risking it, I took the cap off the pen and watched as it transformed into the sword I'd used against Mrs. Dodds. Long and gold, with a little trident near the hilt. 

It was the only sword that felt balanced in my hand. 

"The weapon has a long, tragic history, but we needn't go into that now." He informed me. "only use it in emergencies. It won't harm mortals— being made or celestial bronze means that it'll harm only monsters, demigods, and other celestial beings. It's name is Anaklusmos."

"Riptide." I automatically translated. "Can it..."

Putting the pen cap at the tip of the sword, it shrank back down into a pen.

I had to admit it was cool, though I'd never do so out loud. Not to Chiron or any of the gods, that is. It was cool, but i didn't want them to think that that meant that Poseidon was also suddenly cool in my book.

Hesitantly, I put the pen in my pocket. I was worried I'd lose it— I was natorious for losing pens in school.

"You can't." Chiron said as if he was reading my mind.

"I can't?"

"It's enchanted. Try throwing it, it'll return to your pocket."

Skeptical, I did as he said and sure enough, after a few moments, the pen returned.

"Nice." I said, keeping it in my pocket. "Uh... Thanks. I should probably catch up with the others."

With a nod, Chiron dismissed me and as I walked away, the reality finally sank in. 

I was leaving for a quest. 

There was no adult with us. We didn't have phones. There was no way to easily contact us if something were to happen. 

The fate of Olympus depended on me.

The fate of my mother depended on me.

Meeting the other two at the bottom, Grover had managed to get the shoes to calm down and was no longer being dragged through the dirt. 

"You ready?" I asked them.

"For Maine? Of course," Grover insisted. "for the West Coast? As ready as I'll ever be."

Rolling my eyes, the three of us poured into the SUV as Argus started the car. A small part of me wondered about what things must look like to the many eyed security guard, since literally every inch of his body was covered in eyes, but the thought didn't last long before it threatened to give me a headache.

Walking into Grand Central Station without my mom felt weird. Sure, I'd gone through it tons of times before without her, but I usually didn't enter from the street without her since she works here. Sometimes Gabe and I would come to surprise her, but even then we'd take the subway in. 

"Our train won't be here for another few minutes." I told Annabeth and Grover. "So uh, I guess we just wait."

Not looking at me, Grover seemed distracted, which made me worry that it was some sort of monster. Or worse— a kid from Yancy.

"Percy," my best friend said after Annabeth announced she was going to get a snack and left. He motioned towards a shop behind me. "Is that..."

Turning around, I saw that he was looking at the shop my mom usually worked at, Sweet On America. It didn't seem super busy, all things considered. There were two people working, but only one actually getting candy. The manager, Abby, was talking with two guys by the end of the counter.

"The shop my mom works at? Yeah, why? She... Isn't there."

"No, not that, I... I know." Grover insisted. "I mean the guys standing there. They seem familiar."

And before I could even process the question, one of the guys turned around and I realized that Grover was right. The person who turned to face is was Eddy, our landlord. And standing next to him...

I almost didn't recognize him from behind wearing a black shirt and dark jeans, looking like he'd showered recently, but not long after Eddy turned to face our direction, so did Gabe.

I didn't know how to react. 

They definitely didn't see me—not immediately, at least.

I couldn't hear them, but i could still tell that Eddy was there in order to support Gabe. My dad looked tired, like he hadn't slept much in the last few weeks, but he also looked cognisant. Like he wasn't drowning himself in liquor. He wasn't swaying, either. He also looked anxious as he held onto a paper that I wouldn't doubt was a missing poster for mom and I.

Eddy saw us first. Annabeth walking must've caught his attention because as she joined us and asked what we were looking at, my landlords eyes fell onto the three of us and he started to rapidly tap Gabe's shoulder.

"Are they monsters?" Annabeth questioned, but I was too stunned to give her an answer. 

I didn't think I'd see Gabe before the summer ended. 

But yet as soon as he found where Eddy was looking, my dad called my name out and started to run towards us. 

"Percy!" Gabe called out. 

"Line 7 bound for 34 St-Hudson Yards now boarding," the intercom said as our train arrived. "Line 7 bound for 34 St-Hudson Yards now boarding."

Annabeth started to walk towards the train before realizing I wasn't moving. 

"Seaweed Brain, hello?" She asked, grabbing my arm even though I've told her multiple times that I don't like it when she does that. "Percy, come on, we have to go. These trains only come every 20 minutes. You said it yourself."

"Percy! Is that you?" Gabe called out again as Annabeth started to pull me with her. Grover stood between us like he wasn't sure what was better: leaving now or staying the 20 minutes. 

"Percy, come on." Annabeth persisted. 

"I— I'm sorry." I whispered too quiet for anyone to hear, much less Gabe. "I have to go, I'll... I'll be back."

I started walking with Annabeth towards the platform, Gabe still following with Eddy. 

"Percy!" Gabe called once more as we boarded the train and the doors closed in front of my step-dad. 

It took a lot for me to not break down in those short moments between the doors closing and me seeing Gabe try to run after the train until we disappeared from sight of the platform. 

I couldn't even walk to a seat, I just... Stood there, focusing on not thinking about the fact that it probably looked like I was running away to Gabe. 

Like I was leaving him. 

"Hey," Grover whispered to me. "We'll make it back."

"I— I know," I said, not fully believing myself. "But he doesn't know that."

"I know." Grover said. "I'm sorry, but all we can do is make sure we come back, right? Come on, let's get away from the crowd."

Walking towards a spot Annabeth reserved for us, I held onto the handrail. I was too anxious to sit down.

The ride to the Greyhound station wasn't long, and once we got on the bus, I started to relax. 

That was, until I saw a familiar face walk onto the bus. 

The face of my math teacher, Mrs. Dodds, with two other old ladies with her that looked just as leathery and evil as she did.

"Is that..." Annabeth asked. 

"All three of them?" Grover responded as the Kindly Ones sat down in the back of the bus. "Mhm."

"Do we get off then or—"

The bus lurched forward and announced it's departure. 

"How likely is it that we'd survive jumping out the window?" I questioned. 

"Shut up." Annabeth told me. 

"I'm sorry, you have a better idea?"

"Just— maybe, but it depends on what they do." She insisted. "for now just try to relax. Act normal."

Trying to do as she instructed, I laid back into the seat and rested my head against the window, keeping my body angled towards the aisle so I could keep an eye out. The cold of the window helped keep me grounded, as did Grover eventually leaning against me as I could see him thinking about a lot of different things all at once. He was also looking at the aisle pretty consistently, anxious. Annabeth sat in front of us with the row to herself, occasionally looking to the aisle or to Grover and I while it looked like she was drawing in a sketchbook.

For a while, the ride was nice and peaceful. I eventually asked Annabeth what she was drawing and she told me it was just some building designs and we didn't even snap at each other so I'd call that conversation a win. 

Not long after crossing the border into New Jersey, though, the math teacher collective all rose and announced that they needed to use the bathroom.

Which I figured was code for needing to either kill or kidnap me.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, sliding her Yankees cap between the gap of her seats so I could see it. "Take the hat. They're after you, if you get to another part of the bus with this on, they might leave us alone."

"And if they don't?"

She shrugged. 

"Then we don't have much of a choice but to fight." The daughter of Athena insisted, then hesitated. "Where's your sword?"

"Oh, uh, Chiron traded me for it," I said, showing the pen before stuffing it back in my pocket. "This works a lot better."

"It—" she stopped herself. "okay, whatever, just... Go be invisible."

The long and short of what happened when I tried to "be invisible": the harpies still found me and we ended up in a bus explosion in the middle of nowhere in New Jersey. 

We sent them back to the Underworld, don't worry there. We won the fight. 

Not without causing collateral damage, though.

The moment I heard sirens, I realized we couldn't stick around and grabbed the other two and hauled them into the woods since there was no other good place to go. 

"Wait, our backpacks—" Grover said. 

"Grover, the bus is in flames," I reminded my best friend. "The backpacks are gone, were gonna have to find a new way to get out west that doesn't involve getting noticed by the police."

"What do you have against the police?" Annabeth questioned. 

"Well, a lot of things," I admitted as we ran off. "but right now? The fact that my mom and I are both missing means that they'll send my ass back home if they get me in custody. They'd probably send you home, too."

Annabeth scowled at the idea of going home as we found a clearing in the woods to sit down and catch our breath. 

"Okay, but who would declare you as missing?" She questioned. "Well.... Actually, on that note, who was the man back at the subway station? Should we be worried about him?"

"Those questions have the same answer," I told the daughter of Athena as I sat down against a tree. "My dad, Gabe. Grover, Mom, and I didn't leave for camp from our apartment, we left from Montauk, so he doesn't... Know what happened."

"Your dad?" Absence asked and I nodded my head. "wait, so... Two dad's and a mom? Which one isn't related to you by blood?"

"Which... Gabe, he's technically my step dad, how... Can the gods have kids with same sex partners?"

"They can!" Grover piped in. "Kayla Knowles from the Apollo cabin has two dad's. I don't think Gabe and Poseidon would get along, though."

"Gabe doesn't like him." I confirmed, taking a breath. "not that... They've never met, I don't even know if Gabe knows his name, but he might since he knew my mom when they were together. Because he knew my mom when they were together, though, he knows that he left after she found out she was pregnant and like... Yeah. I also never had an interest in meeting him, though, so it was never an issue."

Surprised, Annabeth blinked before refocusing on me.

"You never wanted to meet your dad?"

"I mean not never, but I never thought about looking for him." I admitted, shrugging.  

It's such a weird thing to admit to other people, that I never cared about my biological father. People always seem shocked and sometimes even offended on his behalf when I tell them that, as if he's not the one who decided to get my mom pregnant and then leave immediately after. 

He made the choice. I was going to let him stick by it. 

"After all," I reasoned out loud. "it's not like i didn't have a dad— woah."

Halting to a stop, Grover and Annabeth nearly knocked me down as we came to a stop to see the weirdest shop that I'd never expect to find in Jersey. 

"What does that say?" I asked, my dyslexia unable to read the sign. 

"You're asking the other dyslexic?" Annabeth reminded me. 

"Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," Grover translated for us. 

As advertised, two little stone gnomes stood outside the entrance, waving like they were about to have their photo taken. 

Starving, I crossed the street towards the smell of the hamburgers. 

"Hey..." Grover warned. 

"The lights are on inside," Annabeth noted. "They might be open."

"Snack bar?" I suggested. 

"Snack bar." For the first time on this quest, Annabeth and I agreed on something.

"Are you two crazy?" Grover asked as he ran up to us anyways. "This place is weird."

"Because we're normal people," Annabeth retorted as we walked into the sea of statues out front. 

They had everything: cements animals, kids, creatures, and even a satyr that was playing the reed pipes. That statue seemed to creep Grover out (which, I didn't blame him). 

"Blaahaha!" He bleated. "That's looks like my... Uncle Ferdinand."

We stopped at a warehouse door. 

"Don't knock." Grover told us. "I smell monsters."

Monsters have a smell, too?

How can he tell?

"Your nose is just stuffed up from the Furies," Annabeth said. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry!" 

"Aren't I— Annabeth!" 

"What?" 

"He's vegetarian." I reminded her. "Even though he eats cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans."

"Those are... Technically vegetarian." He insisted. "Vegetarian and vegan are different things— milk is a natural product made from cows that can be obtained without hurting the cow. Aluminum has nothing to do with animals. Come on, let's get out the here. The statues are... Looking at me."

Before we could debate leaving, the door creaked open and a woman stood in the doorway. I assumed that she was Muslim or practicing some sort of religion that endorsed physical modesty. She was wearing a long black dress with long sleeves so only her hands were exposed. She wore a hijab and her face was veiled. 

"Children, it is too late to be out on your own." Her voice was smooth, with a slight Middle Eastern accent. "Where are your parents?"

"Our parents?" The question threw Annabeth off. 

"We're orphans," I filled in, which wasn't a total lie right now— I don't know anything about Annabeth's dad, my mom is probably in the Underworld, and Grover's parents are MIA. "We got separated from our caravan, our uh— our circus caravan. We must've misunderstood where our meeting spot was, we were told a gas station and evidently it's not here, so we're sort of lost. Is that... Do I smell food?"

"Oh, my dears, yes, please come in." She insisted, ushering us into the shop. "There's a cafe in the back of the shop, let me get something for you."

"Ma'am, we— we don't have money." Grover said as I noticed his nervous glances around the room. 

I'll give it to their artist: they're good. Most of the statues seemed to be life size and the details were insane. I couldn't help but feel I was being watched as we walked through. Being from the city, though, it's a feeling I was used to. I ignored it. 

"Nonsense, dear, it's on the house." She told us. "I would never expect such nice orphans to pay for a meal. Come now, sit. I'll be right out with some food."

Chapter 11: If I See Either of Our Parents, It's On Sight

Percy Jackson

Spoiler alert: the state that looked like Grover's Uncle Ferdinand? 

That was his Uncle Ferdinand. 

Aunty Em, or as I like to call her, Medusa (yes, the Medusa), fed us dinner before noting Annabeths gray eyes and then immediately trying to kill us via statue-ification. 

It didn't work. Grover got use his flying shoes to kick her in the head. I lopped the head off and the three of us managed to get it wrapped in a box because fun fact, the head of Medusa still works after death. 

Also! Medusa exists because my sperm donor had an affair and his girlfriend of the time, Athena, cursed her.

So you can imagine how much she loved us.

After digging around in Medusas office, I managed to find some useful stuff: some drachmas, a bit of money, and the address of two very important things: The Underworld and Mount Olympus. 

But you know where the Empire State Building is, I hear you ask. Why do you need the address?

After putting the head in the box, I grabbed a marker and proceeded to write on it: 

 

The Gods 

Mount Olympus

20 W 34th St., 

600th Floor

New York, NY 10001

With best wishes,

Percy Jackson

 

"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They're going to think you're impertinent."

I smiled an almost shit eating grin at my best friend, dumping a few drachmas into the box and seeing it vanish for Hermes to deliver to his buddies up in the clouds. 

"I am impertinent." 

I glanced at Annabeth, daring her to challenge me, but she seemed resigned to the idea that I may exist solely to spite, tick, and piss the gods off.

"Come on." She insisted, walking back towards the entrance. "We have to make a new plan, before the gods smite you for being smug."

•••

We found a clearing in the woods to sleep in that night. We took some blankets and food from the emporium, but we didn't dare light a fire. 

We may be stupid, but we're not that suicidal.

After the monsters, it seemed smart to take turns sleeping and I was still wound up from the day, so I offered to take first shift. It'd give me time to think, at the very least. Something most people don't think I'm capable of.

"It makes me sad, Percy" Grover's voice caught my attention maybe twenty minutes after him and Annabeth were supposed to be asleep. Annabeth was decidedly out cold, but Grover hadn't fallen asleep yet. 

He turned to face me, and I saw his eyes gloss over. 

"What does?" I asked, feeling like there was a lot of things he could answer with. "the fact that you signed up for this stupid quest?" 

"Gods, no, not that," he said before motioning to the general area we were in. "just... This. The garbage and knowing that Uncle Ferdinand is actually gone and like... You can't even see the stars, Percy. Have you ever seen the sky full of stars? This is an awful time to be a satyr."

"Oh, I... Suppose it would be." I said, suddenly aware of an issue I knew existed but never thought about because of how sparingly i left Manhattan. "I uh... Maybe not a full sky, but sometimes there were stars at Yancy or just upstate in general. I guess I noticed it but never... Thought about it?"

Grover sighed. 

"Of course not, most humans..." He let the thought die. "Sorry, it's unfair to lecture you on the pollution that humans have caused. I just get frustrated and at this rate I'll never find Pan."

"Pan..." But my brain didn't compute the statement. "As in like, a frying pan? Or pansexual? Are you pan?"

"Am I... I mean, yeah, I am pansexual," Grover confirmed for me. "i thought I mentioned that earlier on at Yancy, but maybe not. Either way that's not... What I'm talking about. I'm talking about the god Pan. Why do you think I want my searchers license?"

Feeling a gust of wind roll by, I couldn't help but feel a sort of nostalgia for what never was.

"Tell me about it."

With that, Grover launched into a mini lecture about the great god Pan and his disappearance and search. Some of it sounded familiar from Chiron's class this year, but it was a hazy memory at best so I was more than happy to learn from Grover. He sat up after a few minutes before slowly, but surely slumping over and falling asleep as he told me about all of the things he would do if he ever found Pan. 

After a half hour he was fully asleep, and I was his pillow. 

Not that i minded, I've done the same thing to Grover in the past, but it made waking Annabeth up for second shift a little harder and a lot more awkward.

"Hm...?" She hummed, rubbing her eyes before sitting up and looking in my direction. "when did you and Grover..."

She stopped herself, looking around the area to make sure nobody else was around (as if it wasn't like 3am in the woods) before looking back at me and leaning forward. 

"Are you and Grover a thing?" The daughter of Athena whispered, still groggy and waking up. She almost seemed like she was drunk asking the question. "Like are— are you guys together or...? It's cool if you are, gay people are cool. I know gay people. I'm not gay, though. I don't think so, at least— I haven't thought about it much. Are you gay?"

Her string of questions and statements nearly launched me into a panic attack, overwhelming me for many reasons that were causing my fact to turn redder than a firetruck, but i managed to control my breathing.

Was Annabeth going to be the first person I actually came out to?

"I— no," I insisted, deciding that other people needed to know before she did. We've only known each other for a week. "No. Grover and I aren't like... That. He couldn't fall asleep so he started talking about pollution and then he was telling me about Pan and his searchers license and then he fell asleep like this, so... We're friends, I swear, we just were also roommates so the physical contact doesn't bother me anymore."

"Oh, yeah, you hate being touched." Annabeth recalled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before passing me a blanket. "I'd ask more about that, but you look exhausted and I'm not awake enough to process a story, so I'll ask later. Get some sleep, cuddle with your not-boyfriend. I'll let y'all know if anything happens."

Y'all? 

Is Annabeth southern? 

Well, okay, her name is Annabeth, but... I feel like she might get mad if I ask her personal questions so I just fell asleep. 

And woke up to a poodle in my face. 

•••

Gabe Ugliano

"Mr. Ugliano, can you please tell us about—"

If I got another call from a news outlet, I was going to smash our landline, which would just make Sally mad, but she wouldn't actually show that she's mad and...

"Are you sure I can't just have one drink?" I asked Eddy, who sat on our couch. "Just one?"

"Gabe, one drink will turn into one pack," he reminded me, throwing the coin I was given the other day to me. "That's how it happened last time, remember? Have you tried calling either of them recently? Have you tried your dad?"

"Percy doesn't... Have a phone." I reminded our landlord, crossing my arms. "Sally's is either dead or off, if it didn't get destroyed in the explosion, I don't... I don't even know how I'd get ahold of my dad anymore."

I closed my eyes and tried to swallow my emotions. 

"It's... It's been over a week, Eddy," I rationalized as the grief sank another level deeper and I itched for the cabinet that no longer held the liqour I would use to drown the despair. "What are the chances that she doesn't... Don't they say that after three days it's almost impossible to..."

I let the thought die. 

"We saw Percy, Gabe." One of my longest friends reminded me. "With that boy and a girl I've never seen, but we saw him!"

"W... But what if he..." I went on as my brain continued to spiral in the same pattern it has ever since I got the call from the police that my car was destroyed and Percy and Sally weren't anywhere to be seen. "What if they left or if... If he's running away because she's gone and... If he's going to try and find his real dad or—"

A knock at the door cut my spiral off. Eddy offered to see who it was.

"Hey, can— oh! Amelia, Leah, Owen, hi!" Eddy said. "What's up? I didn't know you guys would be in town, it's... The start of June. Where are your kids? Spouses?" 

"We uh... We heard about what happened." Amelia, Sally's best friend from high school, said. "Is he here? Is he... Okay?"

"I'm here," I answered our friends, Eddy stepping aside to let them in. "I'm even sober. It's been... 10 days? Can't say it feels great, but... I'm here."

"I dumped his liquor the day he got the call," Eddy them filled in. 

"That's good?" Owen ventured. "That you're not drinking, that is. It's not... I'm so sorry, Gabe, has there been any word...? I know they were investigating the possibility of foul play but have they come up with anything?"

I shrugged again. 

"The car rolled and eventually started on fire," I told them. "there were no remains in the car. Sally may as well have vanished from thin air, I don't... I saw Percy."

Their eyes may as well have popped out of their heads. 

"You saw him? Where is he?"

But once again, I shrugged. 

"Not fucking here," I balled my fists, trying to stay calm while also trying to cope with the fact that I may have lost my family for good. "I was at Grand Central trying to see if Sally's coworkers knew anything and I turned around and he was... There with a friend he made this year and a girl I've never seen before and he looked at me but he got on the subway and I couldn't get to it and time and I... I called the metro to have them look for him and I called the police again and they say that he might've gotten onto a Greyhound that was bound for Los Angeles but it was only eyewitness accounts and the bus also fucking went up in flames and... I don't know. I don't know where either of them are."

"Do you think he caused any of it?" Leah asked as if that wasn't my fucking kid she was talking about. 

I laughed, which probably came off as psychotic, but I was too far gone to care. 

I just want them home. 

I want to apologize and I want to rebuild what we had and I want to have a serious conversation with Sally about therapy and about AA and about us. I want to make sure that Percy knows that I still love him because he's my kid and I can't stand the thought of losing him.

"If Percy were to harm either of us, it would've been me," I reminded our friends who we've known since before Sally's uncle died in high school. "You know him, he has bad luck, I just don't... Know why he'd be going west."

"His bio dad maybe?" Owen suggested as Eddy brought out some waters for them. "What was the dudes name again? Did Sally tell him about him yet?"

"Has she— she hasn't told me about him, and Percy's never cared to ask about the guy." I told them. "trust me, I've tried getting info on him since they disappeared, but he didn't sign any paperwork stating he's Percy's dad and Sally seems to have nothing about him— I can't even find a photo of them from that winter to go off of. Did she tell any of you about him?"

"Just that he was handsome and like, wanted to give her everything in the world." Amelia told me. "she never said a name, but I remember her telling me a joke that he said he'd build her a whole underwater mansion if she wanted it. He worked at sea, right? Maybe he's in the navy."

I shook my head. 

"He's not navy, I did ask about that once because we've never gotten child support." I recalled. "He also just... Vanished. It's... Weird. I haven't had any luck—" 

The phone cut me off.

I, very reluctantly, answered it. 

"Hello?" I started. "If this is a news outlet, I'm not giving a statement or doing an interview."

"Hello, Mr. Ugliano, I'm sure they've been pestering you non-stop." A familiar voice said over the line. "but don't worry, it's just your case officer, Officer Sibbons with the NYPD. I'm calling to inform you that Percy's been spotted in St. Louis, and police forces in St. Louis and surrounding cities are currently searching for him to take into custody."

"He— St. Louis? Where in St. Louis?"

"At the arch!" She answered. "Sadly, there's no new updates for Sally and we couldn't confirm if Percy was with the other children that you described to be over the phone. We've also informed the LAPD that he may be heading towards the city based on the Greyhound that he might have been on. His missing poster and current information as you provided is also being broadcasted nationally. Are you considered a legal guardian, Gabriel? I understand you're not Percy's biological father, correct?"

"Yes, I adopted him shortly after Sally and I got married." I told the officer. "I don't have any information on his father, him and Sally were only together for a short amount of time and he never signed the birth certificate."

"Perfect, thank you, I just wanted that confirmation since it'd take much longer to dig the files up ourselves." Officer Sibbons explained. "Do you have any updates for us?"

"Do I— no. Just what I told you yesterday."

"Sounds good. Thank you for you time, Mr. Ugliano. We'll inform you as soon as he's in custody."

Before I could thank her, the call ended and the despair returned. 

Why is he going to LA? 

"Gabe?" Eddy asked. "Who was it?"

Why won't he come home?

"Just the police." I answered. "They spotted him in St. Louis, but they haven't gotten him into custody."

Where was my family?

Notes:

All of my homies HATE Poseidon

Also guys I'm basically screaming I ordered the first edition US Hardcover (the silvery one with the fun Medusa and minotaur Illustration on it) and it came today and I'm !!!!!!!!! Basically in love I love getting silly new book covers

Chapter 12: Mental Stability Is For The Weak and Non Orphaned

Percy Jackson

"I can't believe you jumped off the St. Louis arch."

"Okay, but did I or did I not survive and get us our way out of the Underworld?" I retorted the daughter of Athena. "And no police spotted us, either, at least... Not well enough to take us into custody."

"No, but now our faces are all over the news and—"

"I'm sorry? It's only been my face on the news."

"But we're also constantly being described with you, so—"

"Guys, as much as I love that you're actually talking somewhat civilly with each other," Grover pointed out. "I'm starving. Can we just get some food somewhere that isn't run by monsters and regroup with food in our stomachs?"

"I don't know, not run by monsters might be a high bargain," I joked, pointing out a diner that seemed relatively safe. "there smell okay?"

Nodding his head, Grover led the way to the 50s themed diner that we almost got to eat at without any large issues.

Almost. 

Sure, a few people definitely whispered about us, possibly recognize us, but it was while we were eating that Annabeth really just... Seemed to get on my nerves.

"So to get to California, unless some smartass has a better idea," she began, pointing a look at me. "it's too dangerous to take public transportation, but that doesn't have to include taxis."

"Some smartass—Annabeth, we don't have the money for a taxi," I pointed out to her. "We're in Denver, that's still over 1,000 miles away from where we we need to be. Even if prices for a taxi here are half of what they are back home, that's still almost $1000 to get there."

"Well do you have a better idea?"

"Not yet, but one can be thought up," I insisted. "It's not a bad plan, but we don't have the money for it. Also, we'd be a lot more productive if you stop feeling the need to call me a dumbass or a smartass or Seaweed Brain or whatever other name you've called me. You're smart, we get it. You don't need to drag me down at every other sentence just because you feel the need to make that fact clear."

"Then why do you constantly feel the need to argue? To correct my plans as if I'm not smarter than you?" She challenged. "Why, o wise one, can you not just let things be?"

"Because!" I argued, feeling my frustration intensify. "You're smart, Annabeth, but you've lived at camp for five years so you don't know everything! Just like how I don't know a lot about camp because I've barely been there. I'm not calling you stupid for the taxi plan or any plan, I'm just trying to tell you why it won't work because of things you have no reason to know about until now. I'm not trying to argue about—"

"Woah," a man said as he approached our booth and I just balled my empty fist because he interrupted what was starting to become a conversation, and he wasn't even our waiter. "Take a breath, you two, I haven't seen an argument like since... Well ever since Dad's Bolt was stolen, which wasn't that long ago, but that's not important."

I scowled as he sat down next to Annabeth. 

"Who the hell are you?" 

He flashed me a look like a warning, not too different than Mr. D's. 

"I'd watch your fucking tone around me, kid, or you'll be a smudge in the floor before you can even digest your lunch," he told me. "name's Ares. Yes, the one and only, shut up. I hear you three are heading for L.A.? It's a suicide mission, but I get you part way there if you're willing to help a god out."

"Why—"

"What is it you need help with, sir?" Grover stopped me from responding to the god of war. "We're kind of on a tight schedule, but if you can get us a good portion of the way there, we might be able to help each other out."

Telling us the situation at hand, it turned out that Ares' girlfriend, who i eventually realized was Aphrodite, had left something at an abandoned amusement park nearby and he wanted us to retrieve it for him so that way Hephaestus, Aphrodite's husband, doesn't humiliate him on live TV. In exchange he'd get us to Vegas, which was over half of the remaining distance to get to L.A..

In hindsight, we should've said no and hopped and risked riding the nearest Greyhound out west, but we didn't do that. 

"Oh, also," he piped in. "if you survive this little job, I have info on your mom."

We took his offer.

The amusement park was creepy. Recently abandoned, but empty and eerie. We stole some stuff that had been left in the gift shop because our clothes were all destroyed between the monster attacks, travelling, and sleeping outside. They also had a really cool skateboard and I didn't need it, but I took it anyways. 

"Percy!" Grover said after he came out from the men's bathroom in a new Waterland t-shirt that said something about recycling water and a pair of jeans to hide his goat legs.

"What?" I asked, motioning at the blue Waterland shirt i was wearing and black jeans I'd stolen. "I already changed."

"No, not that," he insisted. "The skateboard! What are you doing?"

"...taking it?" I suggested as Annabeth joined us in a white Waterland shirt and jeans she's cut into shorts with her dagger. "It's not like they're going to miss it, Grover, and there's not even a tag on it!"

"Are you stealing a skateboard?" Annabeth asked, suddenly panicked by the idea of theft. "Percy, you can't do that! Your face is already everywhere, what if they pin you for theft too?" 

"Wh— guys were literally stealing clothes already," I pointed out to the two of them. "Do you really want me to list all of the crimes we could be charged with on this quest or do you want to just get Ares' shield and haul ass to Vegas?"

"But if they recognize the skateboard..." Grover said. 

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed one of the fat sharpies that they had behind the desk and held it out to them. 

"I'll personalize it on our ride to Vegas," I promised. "I'm taking the board, end of discussion."

Strapping it onto my bag as I threw in a few other random items (mostly water bottles, a little notebook, some pens and also a magnet for my parents), I asked if the others wanted anything since we'd probably never get free water or snacks again, but they seemed pretty against stealing more so I shoved some snacks into the bag, too. 

I'll do a lot of things on this quest, but I'm not starving, and I'm not going home without my mom.

After some investigating around the Tunnel Of Love (really Ares?), we spotted the shield in the ride's cart, which, naturally was a trap, even though Grover claimed he smelled no monsters.

"Okay," I said. "Is it really that easy? You're sure there's no monsters? It's not like Echidna at the Arch?"

"I said that was because we were underground!" Grover insisted. "i don't smell anything, I promise."

"Then I guess I'll just... Go get it." The entire situation felt too easy. 

"I'll go with." Grover offered. 

"N... No," I vetoed, noticing an etching on the shield that could mean nothing or could've been a trap that the god of war set for us. "You're our flying red Baron, I'd rather have you able to fly for backup in case anything happens."

"Like what?" 

I shrugged. 

"Just... I don't know, a feeling." I figured. "Annabeth, come on."

"Wh— I'm sorry, what?" 

"Come on, please," I assumed she took my tone as rude and tried to correct that aspect of it. "If it's a trap, two of us should go."

"If... Are you kidding me?" she said again. "You want me to go with you into the Tunnel of Love? How embarrassing is that? If somebody saw us—"

And after this entire almost week that we've had together travelling across the country, I was going to lose my mind at the fact that this is where Annabeth drew the line of things she would do.

"Annabeth, the amusement park is closed." 

"Okay, but if it's a trick and others see..."

Letting out a breath with my teeth gritted, I tried to remind myself that we need to operate as a team for another number of days before the solstice.

"If others see, Annabeth, you can tell them all that were not dating or a thing because were twelve and met two weeks ago," I managed, swallowing my ever growing frustration with the daughter of Athena. "Don't worry, you're not exactly my type, either."

Regardless of if she'd follow, I took off down the slope towards the ride. 

I love making new friends. 

Especially when they somehow always make you feel like shit without even having to try. 

And because we can't catch a break, it was a trap. Set by Hephaestus, none the less, in hopes of catching his cheating wife with the boyfriend she may as well be married to. 

Spoiler alert: that's not what they got on their broadcast to Olympus. 

Instead, they got Annabeth freaking out while I suppressed the urge to either jump out of the ride or punch something (possibly her).

I did flick off the camera when we left, which both of my friends scolded me for.

I could have cared less.

What are they gonna do? Strike me down? Most of them are waiting to anyways, so they can take a number and wait in line for the chance. 

We met Ares back near the diner where he'd arrived, and if I was frustrated before, being around him did not help.

He was having us ride in the back of a circus truck. With the animals.

"You knew it was a trap." I said to the god, who smirked.

"Bet that old blacksmith was surprised when he caught a couple of stupid kids instead of me," Ares confirmed my suspicions. "You guys we're cute together. You got a fire in you kid, though I don't know if I'd want to make that kind of impression with the gods. Like i said, they're not as forgiving as I am of rudeness."

"Yeah, whatever," I retorted, shoving the shield in his arms. "You're a dick."

Annabeth and Grover froze.

Ares pointed to the truck. 

"That's your ride." He said. "Straight ride to LA with a stop in Vegas."

I cackled. 

"You're joking."

"It's a free ride out west, punk," he spit, as if challenging me. "Stop complaining. Here's something for the job."

He slipped the blue nylon backpack he was wearing off his shoulder and threw it to me. It had some cash, ambrosia, drachmas, and some Oreos inside. Nothing we didn't already have. 

"I don't want your lousy—"

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving me an obvious warning look. "Thank you very much."

The waitress inside seemed distracted by our interaction happening outside. I saw her nudge to somebody sitting at the bar, who snapped a photo of us.

Oh great. I figured. We'll make the news again tomorrow. 

Or sorry, I'll make the news again. The headline will be something like Twelve Year Old Outlaw Beats Up Buzzcut Biker in Denver.

I wonder how my parole officer is doing. 

Probably stressed. That is, when he watches the news. 

I'm sure they questioned him. 

"You owe me one more thing," I reminded the god of war. "My mom. What do you know?"

He smiled.

"Think you can handle the news?" He asked. "She's not dead, kid. She disappeared in a golden shower, yeah? That's metamorphosis, not death. She's being held by somebody."

I stifled out a breath. 

She's alive. 

"So what? She's a hostage?"

"It's an easy way to control somebody."

"Nobody's controlling me."

The god of war laughed. 

"Yeah, whatever you say. See you around, kid." He told me, revving his Harvey. 

"You know, you're pretty smug for a guy that runs from Cupid statues." I sniped back, balling my fists to keep myself in check. 

"Watch you back the next time you're in a fight, punk," he said as he drove off. "We'll meet again."

And like an unwelcome fart in the wind, Ares was gone. 

"Prick." I said. 

"Percy that..." Annabeth finally spoke up. "That wasn't smart."

Because you're so smart, I thought to myself, feeling overwhelmed with my frustration. Because I deserve to be disrespected every waking moment of my life. Because I don't deserve kindness from other people, much less strangers.

I crossed my arms, trying to warn her that I didn't have another argument in me. 

"I don't care." 

"You don't want a god for an enemy," she pointed out what was already fucking obvious, which made the frustration swell in the back of my throat, pushing it's way out. "you really don't want that god as an enemy."

"What part of I don't care—"

"Guys," Grover, once again, had to play the role of peace maker. "I hate to interrupt, but if we want to take the animal express, we have to go."

Looking over, he was right. The animals we're now in the truck and it looked like they were getting ready to leave. 

Trying to take a breath, I followed Grover to the truck and pushed my feelings down because that's what I'm supposed to do. 

To put it simply, the truck was cruel. The animals were more or less starved and some of them were in cages that weren't taken care off. If I wasn't so overwhelmed with frustration, it would've made me sad, but sadness is a part of the frustration so it just added fuel to the fire. 

Since she'd taken first shift last night, we let Annabeth sleep once we got going. Grover technically took first shift, but I was so wound up that I'd probably be more likely to have a meltdown tonight than actually sleep before my shift. 

Sitting in the dark truck, I tried to use the notebook and pen I got from Waterland to doodle or do anything to let some of my energy out in a way that wasn't self destructive, but in a big truck driving on a highway, its bumpy snd I couldn't actually draw or hold the pen steady or do anything I wanted to do and— 

Why am I still here? 

I threw the pen and small notebook as the frustration overwhelmed me and I just... I....

Why haven't I died yet? 

"Percy?" Grover's voice cut through the though as I could feel myself suffocating, grabbing at my hair because maybe if I could feel the pain of pulling at my hair it would distract me from the meltdown that I was about to have because I shouldn't be alive. 

"Percy, hey, what's going on?" I heard my best friend approach, which wasn't hard since we'd only been maybe 10 feet from each other. He sat down next to me as my chest continued to collapse in on me and the frustration swelled and spread across my whole body, infecting me from head to toe. "Did something happen? What's going on? It's just me, it's just Grover."

And while I know he was trying to reassure me it was him and maybe even comfort me, Grover's hand on my shoulder still made me tense up as a wave of panic shot through me, momentarily short circuiting my nervous system. 

"I'm s— sorry," he stuttered, pulling his hand away as my body registered the fact that it was Grover and not somebody else that wasn't a safe person and just leaned against him because if Grover sees this, it's... Acceptable. "Oh, why hello there."

It's not okay. It's not okay for anyone to see this, but Grover's seen it before so he already has low expectations from me.

I'll still fail to meet them, but I'm sure he always expects disappointment by now. 

I wonder if he'll ever want to talk to me again after this quest. 

Probably not. 

I wouldn't talk to me.

"Percy, hey," my best friend said for the like, third time as I couldn't help but continue to spiral. He adjusted himself to face me. "What's going on up there? You haven't had a bad night like this since we left New York. Did Ares get to you?"

"It's..." I choked on my words, taking a forced breath. "It's not just Ares, it's.... It's this whole thing and it's like i don't fucking deserve to be treated like a person because I'm mortal or because I'm not the smartest person on the quest or gods forbid people are surprised when I disrespect them because they did the same thing to me but because I'm me it shouldn't matter that people don't... That I'm being accused of something I didn't even fucking do for the millionth time in my life because if they don't know did it, blame Percy, right? Because I finally found somewhere that i was supposed to be safe but as soon as I got there I basically got kicked out because I'm not even supposed to be alive and I don't..."

Running out of air, the frustration swelled up and again and I stifled out a near silent sob because she's been getting on my nerves all week, but Annabeth still deserved to sleep. 

Plus, she didn't need to wake up to this shit show. To me wondering how bad it would be if one of the gods really did strike me down. 

After all, when you've been told that you're not supposed to be alive, the suicide note basically writes itself. 

"Percy, that's not what..." And i knew what Grover was going to say, but he couldn't finish the statement because we both knew that it was a lie. That I'm not supposed to be here. He placed a hand, this time slower, on my shoulder. "Look at me, Percy."

Doing as instructed, I looked at my best friend because maybe if he was a good enough of a liar (even though he's the worst liar I've ever met) I'd have the will to turn 13 and go through another pointless year of life that I'm not supposed to be living. 

Grover cupped my face and brushed a tear away. 

"Your dad broke an oath when he got your mom pregnant," he said, which we both knew. "But if you weren't supposed to be here, the gods or the fates or somebody would have made sure that your mom never gave birth and never got to raise you with Gabe."

"But if they didn't know—"

"Percy," Grover's voice was calm, steady as he spoke to me. "It's okay that you're overwhelmed, but if kill yourself on this quest, your mom can't go home. Annabeth and I can try and return the bolt, but we're not who Zeus wants it from. We can't do it without you, Percy. You have to do this. If you weren't supposed to be here, Percy, the fates wouldn't have let you make it this far, okay?"

"I..." The frustration started to flood away as the sadness— the emptiness that I was much more familiar with, settled in. I attempted to relax against satyr. 

He's an amazing friend, though not the comfiest bed. 

"How'd you know?" After a few moments of silence, exhaustion starting to creep up on me. "That I was thinking about... You know."

"Because I know you," my best friend reminded me, a hand playing with my hair as I'd taken to using one of his thighs as a pillow. "between how frustrated you seemed to be today coupled with the stunt in St. Louis... I thought you were going to kill yourself when you jumped off the arch."

"That... Was the plan." I admitted as I felt him let out a breath of what I'm sure was disappointment. "I didn't think I'd actually survive the impact, if I made it to the water, so..."

I shrugged, a shitty feeling washing over me, with a trail of guilt behind it. 

"I'm sorry," I apologized for what Grover now knew was a suicide attempt. "not that it's the first and not that it'll be the last but... I'm sorry. You deserve so much better from a best friend."

"Percy, I'd never dream of having a different best friend," Grover reminded me because he's just that cool and that sweet of a person. "I know you feel like shit so you may not believe that, but it's true, and you know I'm an awful liar, so you'll have to take my word for it. I'm your best friend, and as your best friend, I don't want to see you get hurt or hurt yourself."

"Are you sure that's not just because you're also my protector?"

Moving his hand down to my face, Grover gently turned my head so I was looking up at him.

"Percy," he insisted. "You are always my friend, my best friend first, and an assignment last. You were my friend before I even realized you were a demigod and called Chiron. Being your protector just means that i can get to be your personal sidekick wherever we go."

I smiled at that idea. Traveling with Grover.

It'd be fun.

"I don't deserve you." I insisted, but he smiled back at me.

"You deserve the world, Percy." Grover corrected. "Try and get some sleep, alright? I'll be right here if anything happens. I'm not leaving."

Taking a breath, I allowed myself to try and drift to sleep, hoping for a dreamless night as I'd had the night before. 

That wasn't what I got. 

Instead, I got a dream of a conversation between a voice I couldn't pin and a voice I've never heard before: who the familiar voice called the crooked one.

One thing was made the clear from the dream, though: whoever was speaking to the Crooked One was the thief. The one who framed me. 

The dream also glimpsed my mother, stuck at a dias in a room decorated with fused bones. 

I tried to run for her, but I couldn't move. 

And then I woke up. 

 

Chapter 13: Why Is Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" Playing On Loop?

Gabe Ugliano

Have you ever lost somebody?

Was it painful for you, to lose that person?

I think it's supposed to be painful, to lose a person, though every time it happens I'm shocked by the sorrow it brings.

Grief is a monster. A monster that I haven't faced sober in years.

"Are you sure we can't have just one drink?"

Looking at the folded up newspaper Eddy has just brought me, being a newspaper that wasn't local, I knew what could lay inside.

A million bad things. Evidence of my shortcomings. Worries about my family.

A family I may no longer have.

Somebody called me yesterday from our insurance company.

"No alcohol or I'm sending you to rehab," Eddy reminded me. "Look at the paper."

They were wondering if I wanted to claim her life insurance.

"Is it just more bad news?" I asked one of my oldest friends. "Because if it's just more bad news, I don't want to read it."

I didn't claim the insurance. I told them I wouldn't until she was declared dead and there was a death certificate and body to prove it.

"It's not bad news," Eddy told me. "If it was, I wouldn't have just dropped it on the coffee table."

Sighing, I picked up the newspaper and unfolded it to see the big headline that I'm sure the rest of the country took in like stupid fucking entertainment.

MISSING TWELVE YEAR OLD BOY FROM NYC SPOTTED IN DENVER, CO

Percy Jackson (12) was spotted with two other unidentified children of similar age outside a diner in Denver, Colorado last night seemingly harassing a biker, also unidentified. The worker and customer at the diner stated that they'd seen Jackson earlier in the day, but hadn't recognized him until he later returned. Jackson and the man seemed to have a standoff in the parking lot, though no physical altercation happened before the man drove off on his motorcycle. The waitress called the police on Jackson and his friends, but Jackson disappeared once more from the Denver area before police arrived.

The NYPD have been investigating Percy and his mother's disappearance for nearly 2 weeks now and currently believe that Jackson is headed towards Los Angeles seeing as he originally boarded a Greyhound from Manhattan that was bound for L.A.- the Greyhound exploded in New Jersey. Since, he's been spotted in St. Louis when he was believed to have jumped off the St. Louis Arch and now in Denver.

If you see any three of these children, please call your local police station. Jackson is currently wanted for potential manslaughter, potential first degree murder, domestic terrorism, arson, and fleeing from a crime scene. Police speculate that the other two children may also be missing children from the New York area, but this theory is yet to be confirmed.

"So they think he..." my voice faltered for a moment as I continued to grapple with the news coverage. With how they talked about my kid. "They think that he did all of that? That he..."

Eddy shrugged.

"That's what the paper says," Eddy confirmed. "What the cops think. The kid would need a damn good story to have those charges dropped. But he's alive! Do you have any idea why he'd go to L.A.? You think the man outside the diner might be... You know?"

"His real dad?" I finished Eddy's theory, but shot it down. "No. Sally never said much about him, but she did say that he looked a lot like his dad. Plus, he was an ocean man, and Denver is in the middle of the country. I just... That's the most recent article?"

"Came out this morning, he was spotted last night," he confirmed with a sad nod. "Sorry. It's not the best news, man, but it's not bad news, right? It's confirmation that the kid's alive and that he's not alone. You don't know either kid, though?"

I shrugged, looking at the photo.

"The girl? Not at all. But the boy looks a little familiar," I recalled, thinking back on the last time Percy was home. "I'm not sure, but it could be the kid that came home with him from Yancy. I only met the kid once, though, and it was pretty brief. I don't know anything about him, so I haven't mentioned it to..."

The phone started to ring, and after this week I was ready to rip that landline out of the wall.

"Who is it?"

I sighed.

"The NYPD," I told him. "Hold on."

Taking the call, I leaned against the wall.

"Jackson residence," I said.

"Mr. Ugliano, hello," the primary case officer for Percy and Sally, Officer Ramirez, said with a kind tone as she always does. "It's Officer Ramirez. How are you?"

I shrugged.

"Fine as I can be, why?"

"It's important to check in on the family in times like this," she insisted before taking a pause. "but also, I was calling about a new lead. I'm unsure if you've seen the news report, but Percy was spotted in Denver last night with two children that match the descriptions you gave us from the subway."

Nodding, I told her I'd just finished reading the article. I didn't recognize the man in the photo.

"Okay, perfect, that was one of my questions." Officer Ramirez responded. "Secondly, though, I wanted to tell you that he was just spotted in downtown Las Vegas with the other two children. They were seen entering the Lotus Hotel and Casino, and the LVPD have sent men to detain them seeing as their ages should see them be rejected from the services at such a place. We're currently unsure as to how they got to Vegas, it wasn't through public transportation."

Taking in the new lead, I had a sudden, stomach clenching realization.

"You don't..." I began, horrified at the connection my brain just made. "have you guys uh... Considered the possibility that the kids are being... That's they're being trafficked? They wouldn't even have the money for a hotel, so unless somebody told them to meet them..."

It was silent for a count of three.

That was possibility the loudest silence of my life.

"We... Haven't ruled it out, especially after last night's spotting." She admitted and I felt my whole body sink one level deeper into despair. "I'll call you once he's been detained, okay? It should be soon. You'll get to see him again."

"O... Okay."

"Drink some water, get some sleep." She reminded me. "You'll see your son again, Gabe."

"Yeah."

She ended the call.

But she didn't say anything about my wife.

•••
Percy Jackson

Whoever was in charge of the aux at this place deserved a raise for playing Lady Gaga during pride month.

They were so right for that.

It was a nice hotel, I won't lie, and I was glad that they didn't seem to know who we were. They still had a room for us that was very nice.

I'll never take a nicer shower than the one I took in that hotel.

Based on how she's acted today, Annabeth seemingly didn't hear me have a breakdown last night, which I was very happy about. I wasn't ready to have a conversation like that with somebody I felt like I barely knew.

The food at this hotel was definitely from a different tax bracket than one my parents could afford to get back home, but it was delicious. I devoured as much food as my stomach could handle, ending with a weird, but fun dessert they offered: a 'lotus flower', which basically was like a dyed baklava somehow shaped into a flower. It was crumbly and sweet in all of the correct ways and none of the wrong ones.

They even had fresh clothes for us to change into! After Annabeth came out from her shower and getting changed, something seemed... Off about her appearance that I couldn't place.

"...what?" Annabeth asked as she opened her bag. "Do I have something on me?"

"What?" I asked in return.

"You're staring." She informed me as I started to piece together when it was when she turned and I got a side profile of the daughter of Athena. "Why?"

"Oh I just... Something seemed different about your appearance, but I couldn't place what it was besides the clothes," I insisted, debating if I wanted to ask the other half of my question.

Was it any of my business?

"...and?" She pulled it out as Grover walked back into the room with ice for us in one or those plastic bins hotels always give you. "I can tell you're holding back something, Percy. Something seems different about my appearance and...?"

I saw Grover's mouth open and then immediately shut, leaving me to believe that he knew what the difference was.

"Are you wearing and uh.... What is it called?" I forgot the name of it, naturally. "Not a compressor, a uh.... Binder! Are you wearing a binder?"

"Am I..." Annabeth repeated back to me, the question seeming to shock her and at first I thought she was going to be mad that I made a comment about her appearance with her chest because I know that that can be a sensitive topic for people, according to what mom told me, but Annabeth asked, so... "Am I wearing a binder?"

"Yeah," I confirmed my question. "I don't know a lot about them, but I imagine they're hard to breathe in during like, fights so it'd make sense if you didn't wear it until now while on the quest, right? That's how that works, right? One of the seventh graders tried explaining it to me this year but it's been a while and I like.... Don't have a lot of knowledge because I have nothing to bind, but that's how I understood it."

"You're..." But she hadn't moved past the question yet. She cracked a smile. "You're asking me if I'm binding? Like, right now?"

I nodded my head, and before I could ask what was so weird about that, the daughter of Athena bursted into a fit of laughs as Grover walked up behind us and stood next to me.

Grover put his hand on my shoulder.

"I think you just made Annabeths entire year." My best friend told me.

"Wh... Why? What's so funny about that?" I asked, now suddenly very aware of the fact that I don't know a lot about Annabeth and the name Annabeth...

Isn't common in New York, but in the south...

Is Annabeth transphobic?

She's definitely not homophobic, but if she's transphobic that's... Going to be weird because I'm cis but I have no tolerance for people that are transphobic and homophobic.

With a smile, she wiped away the tears from laughing and took a breathing.

"Sorry, I... I've never been asked that before," Annabeth told me as she placed a hand over her chest. "I'm not wearing a binder, I uh..."

She looked down at the hand she had in her backpack.

"I also don't have anything to bind," she answered, which, based off of observation, seemed incorrect. Annabeth looked into her bag, her free hand inside of it. "I just came out here because I forgot to, uh, grab these."

Taking her hand out of the bag, Annabeth brought with it a little ziplock baggie that had two silicone lumps with what looked like a glue stick, but the silicone was colored like...

"Ohhh..." I realized, seeing a moment of fear wash over the daughter of Athena as she waited for me to say more. "But how do they stay? Do you still wear a bra if they're silicone? Do they stick to your skin?"

But before she answered any of my questions, she posed one of her own ones.

"You... Had no idea?"

I shrugged.

"Never would've guessed," I confirmed for her, which got her to smile. "I mean, I was literally assuming the opposite, so... That's cool that you get all that stuff from or through camp. Good to know, actually. Um... You can not answer it, but is that why you don't really... Go home?"

Surprisingly, Annabeth shook her head.

"It's not! I didn't realize it fully until being at camp for a while," she explained. "Do you want me to show you how they work? It's pretty simple."

"If... If you're comfortable, sure, but i don't want to make you feel like you have to."

"No, I don't mind!" Annabeth reassured me. "You seem genuinely curious."

"If you insist."

Insisting that it was alright, Annabeth took her shirt off and started to apply the silicone breasts as she explained my other question.

"I don't think I really understood what i was feeling until a few years after I came to camp," the daughter of Athena explained. "I made friends with a lot of the guys at camp because I was perceived as a guy when I came- I think Chiron's still in the process of trying to change my camp files so they say Annabeth on them, but around the time I turned 9 or 10 body dysmorphia really hit me hard and my counselor and Luke would ask me what was wrong and why I hadn't been taking care of myself and Luke had me talk to Mr. D and Chiron and also the now former counselor in the Aphrodite cabin, Manny, who is non-binary. Ever since then Chiron and I have regular check ins and they were able to get me hormones blockers so I'm not going through male puberty. I continued to grow my hair out. You're the first person that I've talked to that hasn't like... Just known."

She paused, indeed putting a bra on for extra security.

"But it also makes sense that you may not know right away because you weren't there when I wasn't... Me yet," Annabeth figured. "I'm just very happy to hear that you didn't think I was a boy at all. Grover's right, you basically made my year. Are you...? Not necessarily trans, but...?"

"Annabeth are you asking Percy if he's queer?" Grover clarified exactly what Annabeth's question was as she put her new shirt back on.

"What? It's just nice to know," she insisted, which is true and all.

But to put it out in the world...

"Me?" I asked. "No, I'm not. I've just met and befriended a lot of people in the community because I'm from New York and my mom had some friends in high school that came out to their families and they didn't take it well so they're like, our family now. It's weird to explain to people, but I just call them my aunt's. They're sweet."

I miss them. It's been a while since we've seen them.

"Oh, nice," Annabeth said as she threw a shirt on. "I don't think I have any gay family members? My uncle has a wife and my aunt had a kid with some dude when I was like... A toddler, so. They all kind of suck, though."

"And now you have a god and a centaur for dads," Grover commented, which was a funny thought: Chiron and Mr. D trying to raise a kid together. "do you guys want to check out the arcade?"

•••

The arcade was massive, and Lady Gaga's discography in the background made it feel like a fever dream to walk through.

It was an entire floor— casino style, with every game imaginable inside. Arcade cabinets, first person shooters, skeeball (I always beat Grover at skeeball), virtual reality setups, among a plethora of others games.

To Annabeth's credit, it only took her ten minutes to find a world building simulator that I'm sure she'd be at until her body gave out and she'd be forced to stop. Every time I'd walk by, she'd be building something new or decorating another room and I only made the mistake of asking about it once.

Not long after we lost Annabeth to her virtual dream, Grover found a first person shooter that was a reverse of those hunting shotgun games that they always have in bars for some reason— so instead of hunting animals, you shot at the humans. Grover liked it a lot.

Enough to make me a little anxious, as his human best friend, truth be told.

Then again, I've never held a gun, and the only animal I've ever killed was that snake in preschool that did probably wanted to kill or bite me. It was probably self defense.

I don't remember, I was like 2.

I floated through the games, and it wasn't until I ended up in a conversation with another guy playing Pac-Man that I started to notice how weird people were dressing here.

After all, it's a hotel and also Vegas, so I hadn't thought about it but...

"Did you just call me groovy?" I asked the man who was wearing a tie-dyed shirt with a date on it that was older than my mom.

My mom is pretty young, admittedly, but this guy couldn't have been older than she was, so for him to have a shirt from 1969...

He couldn't be in his 30s yet.

"Yeah, man, I like your vibes. You got good energy, it's groovy."

My vibes?

"My... Thanks." I said, allowing my Pac-Man game to end. A lady walked by and offered us each another lotus flower, but I was still full so I declined. The man took one. "hey, do you happen to have the date? I forgot to look at my calendar this morning."

"Hm? Oh yeah, January twentieth," and that alone already made me worry for this man. "1969, but I'm sure you knew that. Did you watch President Nixon get sworn in? It was pretty cool to watch, my family just got a color tv so we got to see it in color."

"Did.... Uh, yeah, we watched it at school in my social studies class," I lied. "I'm gonna go find something else to play, though. You have fun with Pac-Man."

Walking towards some older games, I tried to calm myself and insist that maybe the dude was just crazy. Or maybe, even better, he was joking around with me because I judged his vocab.

That would be great.

Maybe skee-ball would help me focus and calm down. It never has before, but I was hoping it would now.

Have they already cycled all of Gaga's songs?

Why is poker face still playing?

As I was focusing on skee-ball, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation happening next to be between what appeared to be a set of siblings. The older sister was around my age, and her brother was a few years younger than her.

"No, Nico, Papa said... pick up... school... next week. What... you... dinner tonight?"

Please excuse the rough translation, but they were speaking in what was either Italian and Spanish, neither of which I could speak. That's just what I could recognize thanks to my (bad) Portuguese.

I wonder if Mom's still thinking about putting me in an immersion school for middle and high school.

Not that I'd last longer than a year, but... she's definitely talked about it.

I miss my mom.

"Hey!" The boy speaking in English threw me for a loop after he'd been talking to his sister in a language that wasn't English. "Your shirt is really cool, do you play mythomagic, too? I didn't know they had a summer camp for it! Where is it?"

"Oh, uh... Thanks?"

"Nicollo!" His sister scolded as she walked closer to us, placing a hand on his shoulder and flashing me a smile. "Sorry for my brother, he is very social. Whenever he sees anything that could do with mythomagic, he uh... Talks."

"It's okay!" I reassured the two of them. "it's cool that he's interested in something. I honestly don't know what mythomagic is, but it sounds fun. How long have you guys been here?"

"Oh, we checked in a few weeks ago!" The little brother answered with a little jump. "It's really fun here, the games are like, super cool. I didn't even know they made stuff this fancy in America. Are you here for New Year's? Do you have any 1940 New Year's resolutions? Bianca says that mine is to stop asking strangers so many questions, but I think mine is really that I want to finish my mythomagic figurine collection. I only need one more!"

1940?

I'm going to be sick.

"Nico," his sister, I'm assuming Bianca, chided once more. "You are causing the nice boy stress, stop. Come on, you might miss the mythomagic game if we do not go now."

And, his questions all forgotten, the boy ran off with his sister.

They've been here for sixty five years?

And yet he says it's only been, what? A few weeks?

If we got here a couple hours ago, how long...

"Sir? Lotus flower?" Another worker offered, but the sticky sweet smell started to overwhelm me as the intro to Poker Face started once again.

I'm going to throw up.

"Wh— no, thank you, I'm full."

"Are you sure? You don't look well."

"I'm sure, thank you. I've had one already."

And, with the knowledge that I already ate one, she perked up and backed off almost immediately.

What's in those flowers?

I need to find the others.

Trying to retrace my steps back to where my friends were was nearly impossible but I asked a lot of people the dates on the way and got a lot of interesting answers.

The oldest date I was told was 1926, by somebody who started living here because it was cheaper than rent. Said they'd been here for a little over two years now.

The most recent date was two weeks ago, and then he asked if I'd seen any photos of that missing kid from New York because we looked similar.

I said I hadn't, but that believed I him.

Why are there so many first person shotgun games?

It took me what felt like twenty very panic filled minutes to find my best friend because of how many times I'd run up to a shotgun game and he wouldn't be there.

"Grover!" I called out, the panic in my voice grabbing his attention almost immediately. "Grover, thank the gods, I... We have to find Annabeth."

"I— woah, Percy, hey." My best friend said as he put the gun down and gave my shoulder a light squeeze. "Breathe, dude, it'll be alright. She's probably still at that world building game. Did you see a monster? I haven't smelled anything, but with so many mortals..."

"No, no monsters, just uh... I'll explain when we find her." I insisted, grabbing his wrist. "Come on, let's go."

"Woah! Okay, we're in a rush."

After composing himself, Grover managed to stay caught up with me as we found Annabeth exactly where we'd left her— only now she's built an entire neighborhood.

"Annabeth!" I yelled with no response. "annabeth, come on! Wise Girl!"

Why she responded to Wise Girl and not Annabeth? Don't ask.

I don't have the answer.

"Hm... Oh, hey!" She smiled at the two of us, putting the headset down. "What time is it? Is it already time to head to bed?"

"Uh, yeah, more like time to leave," I corrected her question as both of them gave me confused looks. "look, I... I was talking to this guy and he said the date was January 20, 1970."

"... okay?"

"And there was... And there was these siblings and they said it was New Year's, 1940," I went on. "The brother had a lot to say, but he said it was around New Year's since he asked about my resolution for 1940. And then somebody said it was the 20s and another person said they were staying here for some big event for turn of the millennium and then a guy told me it was two weeks ago and then asked if I knew about the missing kid from New York because we looked alike and... And the siblings said they've only been here for a few weeks, and if they've only been here a few weeks..."

Slowly, I watched my friends realize the enormity of our issue.

"Shit, of course," Annabeth said as we started to (calmly, as to not seem suspicious) make our way back to the elevator. "The Lotus Hotel... Like the Lotus bed from the Odyssey. Why didn't I think about that?"

"Because we were starving and the food was amazing," Grover insisted with a bleat. "gods, I knew it was too good to be true!"

The three of us absolutely pillaged our room to make sure we had everything (and then I took all of the free stuff and then a few others) as fast as we could before denying 17 lotus flowers from different workers on our journey from our hotel room to the front door.

I've never been so relieved to not hear Lady Gaga once we exited the hotel and stumbled into the street, where it was decidedly rainier than it was when we entered.

Also, darker.

I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to Poker Face ever again.

"Here, a paper!" Annabeth said as she pointed out one of the newspaper dispensers on the curb. "It says that today is..."

She faltered.

"Annabeth," the ball in my chest that I liked to call anxiety wrapped itself around my heart's pulling it towards my stomach. "what's the date?"

She took a breath.

"June 20, 2006."

There was a beat of silence.

"We have 24 hours to finish our quest."

•••

Hiiiiii sorry there was such a long pause between last chapter and this one but I forgot that the second half of it didn't save so I had to ✨rewrite it✨

Also how are y'all doing? Bc I'm going feral now that we got a date announced for the first season

Chapter 14: It's A Good Thing I Work Well Under Pressure

Percy Jackson

With an unlimited credit card, getting from Vegas to LA was easy. We got a taxi and the guy didn't even seem to recognize us, which was cool.

Once in LA...

If I ever have to return to this dreadful city, it'll be too soon.

But Percy, I hear you think, it's just another big city, right? You're from New York.

And while that's correct, it's also very wrong.

Manhattan is set up very easily. It's a grid system that you can't get lost in. If you actually get lost in New York you're probably a fucking idiot. You're at 3rd and 16th and want to get to 8th and 23rd? Go over 13 blocks and up 7. It's basic math.

Hermes had to of been on acid when he decided he was going to make L.A.

It wasn't just a big city because of it's population, it was massive. It was sprawled, spread out, and so chaotic that I wasn't sure there was a real method to the madness.

We found the address that was listed for the Underworld at Medusas lair, but it wasn't easy to get to. While monsters weren't a big issue, it was late when we got there and we were aware that the police were after us (read: me, they were after me, even if I'd been assumed dead while in the Lotus according to the newspapers) so public transport was a joke alright, so we basically had to walk across the L.A., using the free bikes and scooters when we coild find rhem.

Fun fact: when it's dark in a city you're not familiar with, you don't know which neighborhoods are the good ones, and which ones are the bad ones to be in.

We had to run into a water mattress store when a gang of teens tried to come after us.

That water mattress store? Run by a man who I call Crusty because it's true and easier than his actual name.

He sold beds, to his credit. But once Annabeth and Grover had laid down on some, he yelled Ergo and they were immediately strapped down.

Their spines started to stretch, and when he told me his full name, I realized he was one of the monsters Theseus had killed. The stretcher.

"I mean, who can say Procrustes, am I right?" He asked me. "now Crusty? Anyone can say that."

"You have a point," I played coy with him. "it's got a nice ring to it."

His eyes lit up. "You think so?"

"Oh, absolutely," I reassured the salesman. "And the workmanship on these beds? Absolutely spectacular."

His ego elevated, Crusty smirked and walked towards one of his better models, a hand still firmly on me as he made me walk with him. "Thank you! After all, how many built in lava lamps do you see?"

"Not many."

"Exactly! You get it."

This is too easy. I thought to myself. I've had harder times convincing English teachers that I did my homework.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "What are you doing?"

"Don't mind her," I told Crusty. "She's impossible."

He laughed. "Don't worry, all of my customers are. So inconsiderate, never being exactly six feet and then they just complain about the fitting."

"Ah," I noted. "So what do you do if they're longer than six feet?"

"Oh, that's easy. It's a simple fix."

He let go of me, that hand grabbing a double blades axe.

"I just center them and lob off whatever hangs off either end."

"I see," I swallowed, keeping myself in check. "sensible."

Behind us, I could hear my friends struggling. Grover was making a gurgling sound, Annabeth was going pale.

"Yes! I'm glad I've finally come across a sensible, intelligent customer."

Is it fucked up that the first person to call me intelligent since crossing the border to Camp Half Blood and embarking on this quest is a psychopath giant who sells beds as an excuse to maim people?

Probably. But I was going to use it to my advantage.

"So," I motioned towards the bed with the lava lamps. "does this bed really have dynamic stabilizers to stop wave motions?"

"Why of course, it says so right on the plate!" Crusty insisted. "Try it out."

"I'd love to," I reassured him. "but would it work on somebody as large as you? No waves at all? As you can see, I'm not that big, it wouldn't be that much of a demo."

And I don't know if I'd call manipulation intelligence, but I'd agree that the two can be very hard to tell apart when you're the one being manipulated.

"Guaranteed."

"No way."

"Way."

"Show me."

Eager to show me his good workmanship, Crusty sat on the bed and patted the mattress.

"See?" The giant showed me. "no waves."

"No waves." I agreed, snapping my fingers. "Ergo."

The same ropes that had my friends entangled found themselves wrapped around Crusty's wrists and ankles. And like he promised, the person trapped couldn't get out.

"Hey!" He yelled, panic flooding his expression.

"Center him just right..." I repeated the instructions back to him. The ropes even responded to my voice, centering Crusty for me.

"No!" He begged. "please, this is just a demo!"

I uncapped Riptide.

"A few simple adjustments..."

I had no qualms, no issues with what I was about to do. After all, if he was really mortal, he wouldn't get hurt and if he was a monster he deserved what was about to happen. To turn to dust for a bit.

Even if he was mortal, he deserved what was about to happen for the others he'd assumedly killed for no other reason than their height.

"You drive a hard bargain," he insisted. "I'll give you a good deal— 30% off all floor models."

"I think I'll start with the top."

"No money down! No interest for six months!"

Lifting Riptide in the air, I swung down and heard a familiar sound: a head hitting the ground and rolling. The only difference between Crusty and Medusa is that after a few moments, his body and head started to crumble and turn to dust.

"Like I'm going to transport a mattress from L.A. to Manhattan."

Turning to my friends, I cut the ropes from their beds and I've never heard a bigger sigh of relief in my entire life.

"You look taller."

Annabeth visibly rolled her eyes.

"Very funny." She chided. "A little faster next time?"

"Oh, you're very welcome," I told the daughter of Athena, grabbing a map from Crusty's desk that has the Underworld labelled on it. "Manipulation done well isn't done fast, Wise Girl."

"You're insane."

"I just know how to kiss ass when I need to." I corrected, noting how close we were to our destination. "shall we?"

"Give us a second," Grover requested. "We almost got stretched to death."

"Then you're ready for the Underworld," I told my best friend. "because it's only a block away. If we had five days I'd say we rest, but we have closer to 15 hours. Let's go."

Thank the gods we had drachmas with us.

Charon, the ferryman, didn't seem all that convinced that all three of us died via drowning in a bathtub, but he did seen convinced by the bag of drachmas we could offer him because he needed a raise.

Which, considering the era he said his suit came from being the early 1900s, seemed to be true.

Insane how even the god of wealth couldn't pay his workers a fair wage because he was essentially making him life off of tips from the deceased.

As we ferries across the River Styx, I tried not to think about how many times I've almost taken this ride. While the number isn't astounding, the fact that a number exists at all is wrong, isn't it?

Looking at the Styx, the River of Lost Hopes and Dreams, of Loathing and Shuddering, it was polluted. Toys, photos, clothes, keys. You name it, you could carry it, and it was probably there.

Leaning against Grover, I looked out to the River Styx and wondered what I would leave behind when I crossed it one day.

"Hey," my best friend whispered. "Don't start thinking about it, okay? We're here. We're gonna see your mom."

Nodding, I tried to clear my mind by listening to Annabeth ask Charon about the architecture of the Underworld.

Getting to Hades palace wasn't an easy feat, but thanks to Annabeth's ability to figure out how to play fetch with Cerberus, we managed to set off a lot of alarms and sneak in.

We almost fell into Tartarus, as well, thanks to Grover's flying shoes.

If I never have to see that pit again it'll also be too soon.

The alarms didn't make us very stealthy, but it worked. We made it to what seemed to be the throne room— where Hades had my mom kept. Where Hades himself was.

Where Hades unknowingly revealed the fact that Ares had framed me for stealing the bolt by charming it to have the bolt appear once we crossed the River Styx and entered Eberos.

When I tell you that I was one comment away from snapping the gods of war's neck, I meant it.

Thankfully, I was able to convince Hades that if Ares framed me, he'd also probably stolen the missing Helm of Darkness, but to find out, he had to let us go and confront the god under the agreement that if I was right, he had to send my mother home.

I forced him to swear it in the Styx.

And wouldn't you have guessed: when we returned to Santa Monica Pier, Ares was there to confirm out suspicions and push all of my buttons.

I didn't snap his neck, but I did get him into the pier so I could stab his foot and get him to flee like it fucking baby he is. We grabbed the Helm and sent it with the Furies, who had apparently come to observe the fight.

Of course, when you fight a god... On a public beach... It garners some attention.

There were a lot of police, a lot of paparazzi, and a lot of confused beach attendants trying to wrap their minds around what was going on.

Thankfully, when they found is, they fed their version of the story to us for us to amend or confirm as needed.

So as far as the media and the police knew:

Percy Jackson (12) was kidnapped and trafficked after a car explosion that occured in his stepfathers vehicle on the Northern Tip of Long Island, New York. To avoid press and police suspicions, his unnamed kidnapper(s) kept Percy in a location near the explosion for roughly a week before begging to transport with two other children— Grover Underwood (12) and Annabeth Chase (12).

The children were first spotted by Percys step father, Gabriel Ugliano in Manhattan at Grand Central Station, where his still missing wife, Sally worked. He claims that he ran after them, but couldn't catch up in time. Percy confirmed these claims. In New Jersey, Jackson and his friends try to escape their kidnappers after a bus explosion caused by an engine failure occured, but are once again captured and taken by their unidentified kidnapper.

In St. Louis Percy is once again spotted with the other two, though to avoid suspicion his kidnapper forces him to ride separate of them on the Gateway Arch. After getting in a confrontation with another member of the party attempting to kidnap Jackson, he jumps out of the Arch and manages to survive as he's spotted later that evening once again with Chase and Underwood at a diner in Denver, Colorado, where a waitress sends in an image and statement of the trio.

While the waitress claimed the trio seemed to be harassing a man who rode a Harley, the kidnapper, it's since been concluded that the trio was trying to escape from their kidnapper once again, arguing in defense of themselves. The man is seen driving off and the kids seem to vanish until they're spotted the next day in Las Vegas entering the Lotus Hotel.

Another attempt to lay low, the trio is kept inside the hotel for nearly five days under unknown circumstances. Jackson is assumed dead, but is found six days later with Chase and Underwood at Santa Monica Pier defending himself against their kidnapper, who caused considerable damage to the water front. After their standoff, the kidnapper flees and the trio is taken into custody, though only Jackson and Underwood are able to be identified.

With this, the trio is absolved of any accused crimes and are treated by medics on site before being flown back to Manhattan to turn to their homes.

"Return to their homes" was a fun way of saying that I sent Grover and Annabeth back to camp since Zeus didn't want them returning the Bolt, and I went to Olympus.

Olympus itself was beautiful. Stunning white marble and really cool structures that made me understand how Annabeth could be interested in this kind of stuff. It was fairly quiet, which I hadn't expected, but nobody paid me much mind as I walked through the home of the gods.

The throne room was massive and also beautiful. I learned walking in that the reason it was massive wasn't only for show, but because the gods like to be 12 feet tall for some reason.

Inside the throne room, there were only two gods present: Poseidon slightly off to the right, and Zeus right in the middle. I walked forward and knelt to my father first, planning on turning to Zeus next.

"Oh, look," Zeus said as I entered the throne room, ending his conversation with my father. "the bastard arrives. Do you not think to address the master of the house first?"

"Zeus." Poseidon chided. "Peace, brother, the boy defers to his father. It is only right."

"Hmph," Zeus said. "So you still claim the child, who you sired, breaking our sacred oath?"

"I have admitted my wrongdoing. I'd like to hear the boy speak."

Wrongdoing.

Is that all I was to Poseidon? A wrongdoing?"

"Hush." The kind of the gods ordered, focusing on me. "Well, child? Do you confess to me your crimes? Are you here to return what is rightfully mine?"

"I'm here to return it," I confirmed, opening the backpack for him to see. "But I wasn't the thief."

The idea seemed to bore him.

"Oh, really?"

"Well considering the fact that I didn't even know you guys actually existed until about ten days ago, yeah, really," I told the King of the Gods. "I was framed by Ares. I'm not sure who he got to take it or how he did it, but he's the one who gave me this bag in Denver to have your weapon materialize once I entered the Underworld. It's him you should hold issue with, not me. I already gave him a uh, preamble to whatever punishment or lecture you decide to give him for it."

"Oh?" But that intrigued both of them because I clearly wasn't afraid of them. I'd sent them Medusa's head with the message of best wishes. "What sort of preamble?"

"I stabbed him. In the foot, near his ankle. But he didn't act alone. I— I don't know who helped him or who encouraged him to do such a thing, but I could sense another presence nearby when we fought."

Both of them seemed to perk up a little at the news.

"Oooh, interesting," Zeus observed. "it's not often a mortal can place such a hit on a god. Especially Ares. Very well, then, consider the quest complete. I don't trust you, boy, and I don't like what your existence means for the future of Olympus, but for now I'll let you live. If I find you here when I return, or if I ever find you in the sky again, don't count on my kindness."

With that, he vanished similar in matter to how Ares and my mother did in the last few weeks.

I was half way through turning around to leave when he spoke up.

"Perseus," the use of my full name made it feel even more superficial than it should have been. "wait a moment."

Shrinking in size to be a normal human height, Poseidon approached me. He was fairly tall, around 6', but being able to see our resemblance made me mad.

Mom always told me my whole life that i looked just like my dad and I always took that to mean that because I had the green eyes eyes and more black than brown hair from him, it made me look like we were actually related, but no.

She was right.

There was no way to deny, physically, that he was my father.

I hated it.

I hated knowing that every time I looked in a mirror from now on, I'd only see him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, as if that made up for his lack of involvement in the last 12½ years of my life. "Zeus can be a bit... Cold, if you will. I wanted to tell you that your mother is home."

"My mom?"

He nodded.

"Even Hades must repay his debts," Poseidon said this as though my mother's life was a simple loan for Hades to pay off his mortgage. "She returned home not long before you arrived here, I'd suggest you go say hello."

Once again, I just nodded, unsure as to what I could or should say to him.

Unsure if I even wanted to say anything to him.

"Your mother is a queen amongst women, Perseus," the use of my full name almost made me cringe. "I haven't met such a women in a thousand years, though...."

His voice drifted.

"I'm sorry you were born." My biological father said with a tone that sounded half convincing. "By giving you life, I've brought down upon you a tragic fate. The fate of a hero."

Yeah, I said in my head. You should be sorry.

"Okay." Being my mother's son, I told him at least part of the truth. "I don't forgive you, but okay."

"Forgive me? For what? We've just met, son."

When he called me his son, he tried to reach out and touch my shoulder.

I pulled away and took a step back.

"Don't... Touch me," I insisted, crossing my arms to protect myself. "Please. I'm tired of strangers or people I've just met thinking that they can do that."

"But Im— I'm your father, Perseus."

And you just called me a wrongdoing.

"Percy." I corrected him. "never Perseus. You may be my father, but I don't know you. I trust that you're good at your job as an Olympian, but I don't know you as a person yet. Until I do, please don't touch me."

"O— oh." He responded, I'm sure not being used to being told no. "I see. Well I'm sorry that you don't feel you can trust me yet. I wanted to be there for you, as a child, but it wasn't allowed. Know that I am proud of you, though, child. You've gone great work. Now go, see your mother. I'm sure she misses you."

I've never heard a dumber excuse in my life. It wasn't allowed? You're a literal god who could've at least visited in disguise.

"Yeah." I responded, not meeting his gaze. I couldn't read it to see if he really meant any of it anyways. "I think I will."

Turning around, I left my father in the throne room for what I secretly hoped was the only and last time I'd have to talk with him.

It was weird, being bowed to and acknowledged in near silence as I left. Wherever I went on Olympus, people and creatures would stop what they were doing and bow to me as if I were some sort of hero.

News flash: I wasn't a hero. I was a kid who was accused of a crime he didn't do. A kid who had to fix the problem of somebody who's never even met him before.

I wasn't a hero. I was a pawn.

For now.

In a slight trance from my walkthrough back down to the streets of Manhattan, I caught a taxi back to my parents place and had to take a second to calm down and remind myself that my parents weren't going to hate me for making national news for the last two weeks because of things I couldn't do a lot about.

Thankfully, I still had my key so I didn't have to wait for anyone to answer the door. I just... Unlocked it.

"H... Hey," I said as I closed the door behind me, seeing Gabe walk down the hall as he must've heard the door. Mom turned around as she'd been in the kitchen. Based on the smell, I assumed she was making some type of dessert to go with lunch.

There was a beat of silence as I held back a sob.

"I'm home."

Notes:

hi sorry I was busy but another chapter is here now

Chapter 15: What Is A Dad At The End Of The Day?

Percy Jackson

My parents pulled me into the most desperate hug I'd ever received.

"You're... You're alive," Gabe said aloud as we dispersed from the hug. Mom took a step back, allowing room since she did see me what would've been this morning (gods, it's been a long day), but Gabe only moved an arms length away. He cupped my face with his right hand, his left hand on my arm. "you're here, you're home, you're alive.... Are you okay? I know that you're like, safe, because the police let you go but are... Are you okay? Where are your friends? Are they okay? One of them was your roommate from Yancy, wasn't he? Is he doing okay?"

And although the millions of questions did leave me slightly overwhelmed, I couldn't help but smile as I myself realized something that I'd only had an inkling about the last time I saw my dad.

"You're sober."

The comment confused him.

"Wh... Yeah, it's been almost two weeks, why?"

So I was right. I thought to myself. Us vanishing would either make him go off the deep end or it would force him to sober up.

I wondered if Eddy had anything to do with it.

Seeing Gabe, seeing my dad, sober for the first time in multiple years made me want to cry out of sheer relief. So I did the thing that I hoped he wouldn't find to be weird or too much since I'm not a little kid anymore, and I pulled my dad back into a hug.

"Just... Cuz." I insisted, feeling him chuckle. "I missed you. I'm proud of you."

He gave me a squeeze.

"Thank you, kiddo," Gabe said before I let him go. "And I'm sorry for everything that happened while I was drinking. That obviously doesn't change what happened, but you still deserved an apology. But enough about me: are you okay? When the cops called to say you were missing... Who was the kidnapper? Was it somebody we knew?"

"Was... No, it wasn't." I promised my stepdad. "I wasn't kidnapped, actually. We only met the person they labelled as the kidnapper, Ares, in Denver when he offered us a ride if we got something for him that his girlfriend forgot. He got us our ride to Vegas and then he basically framed me for a crime I didn't commit and that's what happened in LA. Just confronting him."

"Confronting... Did he give you a last name? If he framed you for something..."

Sighing, I looked over to Mom, who I'm assuming was going to tell Gabe about my father tonight.

Maybe even during the meal it seemed like she was in the middle of cooking.

"I think you might want to sit down, Dad," I told him. "Mom and I have a lot to catch you up on."

"Wh—" confused, Gabe followed directions as he sat down on the couch, followed by me as Mom said she'd be right back, the food should almost be done. "What's going on? I mean I know you just back from... A cross country trip? If you weren't kidnapped, what...?"

Looking down, I took a breath.

"I met my bio dad," I broke the news to Gabe, who looked... Almost saddened by the news and I think I knew why.

For my whole life, Gabe has been my dad and I've said that a lot. He was the one who raised me, and he was the one who was there to watch me grow up and support me as I grew up.

As I am growing up still. I'm still a kid.

But when he started drinking, when his friend died and 9/11 happened and Mom miscarried all very close together, I think he became as lot more envious of Poseidon than he ever had been before he started drinking and he started to worry that he wouldn't be enough for either my mom or I and that we'd leave him for my bio dad. I can't count the number of times I heard "if he wasn't dead..." from Gabe in the last three or four years.

Then Mom and I vanished for two weeks, and he sobers up, but maybe it's too late.

Because I know who my bio dad is now.

Gabe's expression only dropped for a moment, but it was enough for me to know that he was afraid that this was a permanent goodbye.

"You... You did?" He asked as Mom walked in and set down a platter of food for us to eat from on the coffee table. He feigned a smile before looking to mom. To his wife. "That's... Great. Did you know that he was alive still? You weren't with... Were you?"

Because he's sober, but he's had almost 4 years worth of anxiety and envy built up inside of him that he bottled up, and I don't blame him for asking Mom that knowing that those thoughts have been in the back of his mind for years.

"Me? Sweetie, no," Mom reassured him, placing her hand on top of his and squeezing. "I was the one that was actually kidnapped and held for ransom. Not by Percy's father. I haven't seen him since he dropped by Montauk like.... That was the last time you went with, so six years ago? And before then, I hadn't seen him since he left. I knew he was alive, but it wasn't because we were in contact— he would've paid child support if that were the case— but just because of who he is."

"You were kidnapped?" I could not only see, but hear my dad's stress levels rising as he learned things. "Is that why the car... What? By who? Are you sure you're okay?"

Letting out a chuckle, Mom gave his hand another squeeze. Gabe looked at the their hands before looking back to Mom. She smiled.

"I'm okay, Gabe, I promise." She told him. "All things considered, it could've been a lot worse. I was given food and water. Like, a normal amount of food and water. The room was nice, even if I had to sleep on a floor. It was still stressful, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't harmed."

"You're sure? Because we can bring you to a doctor or a therapist if you want to see one."

"I'm okay, sweetheart," mom repeated, taking a fry to eat. "I should've talked to you about Percy's biological father years ago, probably when he came to Montauk if we're being honest, but I just... I was selfish and I wasn't ready to let Percy go yet and I knew that telling you would speed the process up so I... Never did. I'm sorry."

"Letting him go?" But nothing either of us were saying seemed to soothe Gabe's anxiety.

My dad looked back at me as an idea started to swirl in the back of his mind.

"Are you not staying?"

"I'll..." I lost my voice when he looked at me in the same way he looked at Mom when she miscarried.

Like he didn't know if he should cry or not. Looking almost lost. Confused.

And seeing him like that made me decide what i was going to do very quickly.

"I'll be back at the end of summer," I promised my dad, which seemed to surprise Mom. "I'm not... I'm not staying with him. I'm at a summer camp full of kids who are... Like me."

"Like you? That's good, right?"

I took a breath, filtering my response to that last question.

"Yeah," I confirmed, not wanting to worry him any worse. "It is good. It's safe, up on the Northern tip of Long Island. It's a summer camp full of other kids like me— demigods. Some younger, but mostly older."

"Demigods?"

"Demigods."

"In... What do you mean by that? In what sense"

Mom and I had a whole debate in about 3 seconds before she decided that, as the person who fucked the man, she could tell Gabe.

"The literal one," Mom told her husband, who didn't even seem to know how to process that (which, fair. Me, too, honestly. I'm just rolling with the punches if we're being honest). "The person Percy ran into in Denver and LA was Ares— the god of war. I was kidnapped by Hades— the god of the Underworld. That happened because Zeus— king of the gods, accused Percy of stealing from him back in December."

"Even though I didn't even know he existed in December." I added.

"This is true." Mom went on. "And he blamed Percy because Zeus and Percy's father, Poseidon— god of the Sea, fight a lot. Gods can't directly take from each other, so they usually get their kids to do it."

"Except that it ended up being Ares and somebody else who did it," I filled in for the both of them. "we don't know who the demigod was that did it yet, or why they did it because Ares acted as a cover— it wasn't his idea. Ares framed me after I left on a quest to retrieve the thing from who I thought had it— Hades. I assumed that he'd have it since he'd taken Mom. When I returned the thing, I met Zeus and Poseidon and..."

"You met him?" Both of my parents asked in unison.

I sighed.

"I met him." I confirmed. "Trust me, if I was leaving to stay with him, I wouldn't do it. I was in the same room as him for like 20 minutes and in that span of time he managed to both call me a wrongdoing, say that he was sorry that I was born, and then insist that he was proud of me and wanted to be there for me as a kid as if that changed the fact that he wasn't there and that he evidently isn't going to be around still because gods arent supposed to have personal contact with their kids, which is the dumbest thing I've ever heard, regardless of how true it is."

"That's what he said when he left," Mom confirmed for me. "It was pretty new— they passed some law about it like four or five months before you were born, which was when I saw him for the last time. We... Shared words about that."

"Shared words?" Gabe asked.

"I cussed him and all of the gods out," Mom clarified, which means that my annoyance and lack of patience with them must be genetic. "And then I did it again when he came to Montauk because he didn't want to see Percy yet, nor did he want to respect our marriage. He didn't get far, obviously, but he tried."

Taking this all in, Gabe looked at Mom and you know what, when you don't know personally, it's a fair question:

"You turned down a god?"

Mom just rolled her eyes and placed a kiss on Gabe's temple.

That kiss was the first real show of affection (besides the fact that she was holding his hand) that I'd seen between my parents in at least two years.

The first real something that meant anything in two plus years.

And sure, as their kid, it meant a lot to me to see my parents still be affectionate even after everything we've gone through both in the short and long term. It was like a little symbol of hope that things would be okay when I got back in August.

But I don't think it meant nearly as much to me as it did to Gabe, who looked to Mom after she gave him a kiss like he was astounded by the fact that she would still do that. It seemed to shock him.

"And I would do it again."

The rest of lunch went pretty well. I translated the news' story into what actually happened, leaving out some details i either wasn't ready to talk about or one that really weren't that important for how much they'd make my parents worry. After lunch, I was able to actually pack a small bag of my stuff to bring with to camp (including my skateboard) and my parents walked me to the station so that way they could say goodbye.

It wasn't an easy goodbye. I won't lie, I felt bad leaving Gabe and Mom, but watching them hold hands again as we walked to the station reminded me that it'd be okay because at least they have each other.

Plus, we can write.

We will write.

"Love you, sweetie," Mom said as she gave me a hug. "tell Grover and any other friends you make— and you better make others— that they're welcome any time."

"We could throw a big birthday party when you get home to meet them all!" Gabe agreed, joining the hug. "But no partner before the end of summer. You're still too young, you hear me?"

I couldn't help but smile.

"Loud and clear, Dad. Loud and clear."

Notes:

Are you guys ready for some canon divergence?

Chapter 16: Who's Your Daddy (The Sequel)

Gabe Ugliano

How do you grieve for somebody you know you're going to lose?

"Hey, Sally," I said as we stood by the subway stairwell.

"Hm?"

"There are twelve Olympians," I told my wife, because she definitely knows stuff about them— Hades kidnapped her, for fuck's sake. "Not even including any of the minor gods or Hades. And you... Had a kid with one of the three that aren't supposed to have kids?"

I felt her grip on my hand loosen, and I realized something terrible:

"What do you mean not supposed to have kids?"

Poseidon didn't have the decency to tell her about the oath.

To warn her about the prophecy that was burned into our skulls as kids.

"What do you.... Gabe, what do you mean by that?" Sally questioned, because similarly to how she hasn't told me about Percys dad being Poseidon, I haven't told her about my dad. Or Eddy's, for that matter. "How would you know that? Percy didn't say anything about... That."

I held my breath.

"Do you remember," I asked her as we started to walk back towards the apartment. "When we were younger, in middle and high school, Eddy and I always left for the summer?"

"Yeah! You guys always sent us photos and letters. We did dramatic readings of them whenever we'd get them. Why?"

I smiled, remembering back on our friend group from high school.

I missed them. We still talk to Eddy, obviously, but after everything happened to Sally in those two years between her uncle dying, us (though not Sally) graduating, everyone else going to college, and then Sally getting pregnant, we kind of... Drifted. Eddy took over one of his dad's properties, which is why we were able to get an apartment, and the three of us stayed close.

I wonder how our friends are doing. If they have any of their own kids.

I wonder how my friends from camp are doing.

If they're alive.

"We... Went to summer camp," I confirmed. "The same summer camp that Percys going to."

"The same—"

She stopped in her tracks.

"You have to be lying."

"He's not," a voice I haven't heard in a few years now said from behind us, making both of us jump before I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw my dad wearing his usual leapoard printed Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts. His only giveaway of not being mortal being his eyes, which were violet. "You didn't want to bother telling me that you were sending me a little shit? You're making me feel old, Gabe."

"You're like four thousand years old, Dad."

"And yet I almost never get grandkids," he insisted, starting to walk with us. "Where we going, the box you live in? Will your dad be there?"

"Wh... He can be," I told my dad. "He should be in the area, his clinic isn't open on Wednesdays since nobody scheduled on Wednesdays anyways. Don't you have... A meeting on Olympus? It's the solstice, is it not?"

"Oh it is, but I'm trying to be there for as little time as possible," he explained. "You raised a feisty one, Ares is... Well, I surely don't want to be there when he gets to Olympus. I'm sure Zeus will have some punishment for him, though I'd argue what Percy did to him is more than enough punishment based on embarrassment alone."

"Based on what Percy did?" I questioned, because Percy mentioned confronting Ares, but he didn't explain what that entailed. "Oh also Dad, this is my wife, Sally. Sally, this my other dad, Dionysus."

"Sally Jackson? An honor," the god of wine insisted, which has Sally's attention. "Poseidon talks about you a lot. Well, a lot more than most gods talk about their lovers. Anyways, you guys raised a sassy one. I'm excited to see how it plays out— he sent the Olympians Medusa's head early on in his quest. In a box, saying best wishes."

I may have cackled. My other dad, my mortal dad, texted back telling me that he could be to the apartment soon.

"That's my kid," Sally confirmed. "But you mentioned Ares? He told us that he confronted Ares, but he didn't say how. What happened? To anger the god of war..."

"Oh, confrontation is putting it lightly," Dionysus did not reassure us if that was his goal. "From what Grover and Annabeth, the two that escorted him, told us, he asked nicely for the Helm of Darkness back and when Ares refused, Percy challenged him to a fight."

"He did not. He wouldn't... Be alive if he did." I insisted. "he's had no training!"

"That's what I said," Dad agreed with me as we walked into the apartment building. "I assumed they returned without him because he was dead, but no. Before they could finish the story, Chiron came in to warn me that I might want to be slow leaving for the meeting today because Ares was going to be mad."

He paused.

"Your son stabbed Ares through his ankle," Dionysus told Sally and I, and I don't think words exist that I could use to express my shock when he told us that. "with like a week's worth of training. He also killed the Minotaur and a Fury before he even entered camp, though, so. I'd get him into therapy, too, by the way. I haven't spoken to him much, but Grover seemed concerned and being a satyr, he's usually good about reading into that."

"Oh," I responded, taking all of that in, especially the last comment.

True, Percy did go to a few therapy sessions when he was younger because his doctors noticed early stages of anxiety and depression, at least one of which runs in Sally's family, and we wanted to try and curb it. Stop it before it got worse.

But insurance only covers so much, so he only did therapy for about 3 months and he was medicated for about a year before our insurance changed and no longer covered the meds he needed.

And while therapy helped a little, that was right before I started drinking, and once I started drinking...

I'm surprised Percy still calls me his dad. That he seemed happy to see me today because that definitely hasn't been his it's been the last year or so.

"We can look into it," Sally told my dad. "He was in therapy for a very short period of time a while back, and it definitely slowed down the progression of his anxiety, but it wasn't enough. Insurance doesn't cover therapy, so we'll see what we can manage. Thank you for the heads up."

"It's my job," he told her as we approached the apartment door, where my other dad, Peter, was standing. Dionysus flashed him a smile before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Hi, darling."

It made me smile, seeing my parents together. Unlike Percy, I got to grow up with my godly parent being around at least most of the time. When he was gone, it was never long and we knew about it.

Hell, even now I still get to see him. It's not often, since he's camp director and all, but I still get to see him and my dad still sees him. For most of my life, starting around the time I entered middle school, my parents have been in an open relationship. They're both people that like newness and change and whatever else so they agreed after like 10 years of being monogamous that they wanted to see other people while still being together.

Trust me, they talked with me for an hour about it when they made the decision so that way I didn't think they didn't love each other anymore.

But anyways, the point is that I know they still see each other when they can. I'll be talking with my dad and he'll casually mention that him and Dionysus went on a date a few days beforehand and that he says hi.

It's weird sometimes, but it's... Nice.

It gave me a good example of what I wanted to be for Percy, even if these last few years went off the tracks a bit.

Especially since I'm not Percys biological father (as much as he doesn't seem to care about that at all), I want him to know that I do love Sally and I do love him.

"Di, I— oh, hello." My mortal dad responded. "I didn't know you'd be here. And Sally! Hi! You're alive! It's good to see you, we've been worried sick, where were you?"

"Oh, you know," Sally told my dad, shrugging as we walked into the apartment together. "Just in Hades' palace, being held hostage. Normal summer vacation."

"I'm sorry," he said. "what?"

"Come on, Dad," I told him. "We have a lot to catch you up on."

•••
Percy Jackson

By the time Mr. D got back from his meeting on Olympus, I was already drained. I wasn't in the mood to be crowned with a laurel wreath in front of the whole camp with Annabeth and Grover and then celebrate our success for the rest of the night.

Like I wanted to celebrate, but I just wanted to do it in the form of watching a good movie and sleeping in a bed. Maybe getting to pick what we'd have for dessert.

During campfire, I was just trying to stay away from the crowd. After a million people congratulated me and Clarisse basically declared me as her enemy, I wasn't in the mood to socialize. At one point in time, Grover had been sitting with me, but some dryads pulled him away so I guess we'll see if he has a girlfriend when he gets back.

Despite my social battery quickly draining, though, I didn't mind it when I noticed Luke Castellan approaching.

"Hey, there you are," the counselor of the Hermes cabin said as he sat down next to me. "How's it feel to be back?"

"It's... Fine?" I figured, shrugging as a thought popped back into my mind from earlier today when I was on the way back from my parents apartment. "I don't know, I just feel like something isn't done. Like the prophecy isn't complete?"

"Really? How so?"

I shrugged again, not wanting to get into it.

"Just... A feeling." I insisted. "Who knows, maybe it's just the anxiety. Outside of that, it's nice to be back. Clarisse officially hates me, but at least I won't be sleeping in a circus truck tonight."

"A circus truck? Seems luxurious," Luke joked. "And what'd you do to piss her off this time? It can't be that bad."

Rolling my eyes, I told Luke about what happened at Santa Monica earlier today (if today gets to be much longer I might lose my mind) before my visit to Olympus.

"Oh, that's right, you went to Olympus on your own," Luke commented. "How was that? Meet your old man?"

I sighed.

"Yeah," I confirmed, looking down. "I don't know, I guess it was fine— I'm sure he thought it was all fine and dandy, but I just..."

Trying to collect my thoughts, I lost my voice for a moment.

"It felt like he just wanted to act like he didn't actually choose to not be there for my entire life until it was convenient for him that I was there," and of course that line earned Luke's attention. "and I mean, I know that there was a law, but he's a god and he already broke an oath to have me so like, he could've stopped in once or twice."

My opinion definitely seemed to catch Luke off guard, but he nodded his head.

"I... Hear you, yeah. I get that." Luke told me. "I remember when my dad left for the last time, I was really mad at him because my mom wasn't in position to raise me on her own and he knew that when he left. We've only spoken once."

"Oh," I said, connecting dots. "Is that why you don't really like the gods?"

"I wouldn't say that I don't like the gods," Luke insisted as he reached into his bag and pulled out a water bottle. "I just don't like how easily they all abandoned their kids— well, except for Mr. D, but that's different since he's here. Did your old man say anything nice?"

I looked down at the pen in my hand. At Riptide.

"He said he was proud of me," I told Luke. "But that just made me more mad because he said that right after calling me a wrongdoing to Zeus and then telling me that he was sorry I was born, so it didn't seem very genuine."

I shrugged.

"It's whatever, right?" I figured, knowing that the look of concern on Luke's face was warranted. I wasn't doing great, even though I should be on top of the world. "I already have a dad who's in treatment and who actually cares about me and about my mom. I've never cared about my bio dad, and while it's nice to know that I don't have to wonder about it anymore, I still don't care."

After all, I just completed a quest where I came back alive from the Underworld and defeated a god in combat. I was successful. I did what I wanted to: I got both the bolt and my mom.

Maybe it's just because of how long today has been, but despite all of that, I just wanted to curl up in bed and watch a movie and go to bed. Maybe with Grover or Annabeth or Luke since they're cool.

"It's better to not let it bother you," Luke agreed with a smile. "Well I'm glad you hear that your dad is in treatment for whatever he was dealing with. I should go wrangle in the Stolls before they try to steal from Clarisse again. Welcome back, Percy."

•••

I left campfire not long after that. I was going to try and wait for Grover, but after another 15 minutes it was pretty clear that he was lost to the crowd of nature spirits and I was exhausted, so I figured I'd head back to my cabin.

Once I got to my cabin, I took a long shower in an attempt to wash away my thoughts (which didn't work) before getting into my comfort hoodie that I stole from home along with a pair of shorts to sleep in.

I was also excited about sleeping with my actual blanket tonight.

Not long after my shower, though, there was a knock on the door.

"Percy?" Grover's voice made me smile a little as I was sitting in bed, doodling a little before bed. I heard him clop in. "Hey, there you are! You doing okay? You just sort of vanished."

"Hm? Oh, hey, yeah, I'm alright," I reassured my best friend, who had like a million different flowers in his hair mixed into the laurel wreath. It was cute, I wonder which dryad did it. "just like, tired. It's been a long day and parties aren't really my thing anyways. Maybe if we'd done it tomorrow night I would've stuck around for longer, but I'm tired."

"I'm exhausted, too," he sympathized, flashing me a small smile. "I tried to leave like three different times before I was actually able to go. Annabeth is still there. I just figured I'd make sure you're doing alright since I didn't get to see you for longer than 30 seconds at a time after you got back. Everything go okay? Is your mom back yet?"

I nodded my head.

"She got back before I did, and Gabe is sober," I told Grover the good news, which seemed to excite him. "yeah, it was really nice. We told him about all of this before I left home to come back here. My parents say hi, by the way. And that you're always welcome over."

Grover smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind," he told me. "Would you be interested in watching a movie before going to bed? If not that's fine, but I know that you sometimes like to fall asleep with something on."

This time, I smiled at the fact that Grover remembered that I like to have something on when I go to sleep. I usually slept with one earbud in at the dorms because of that.

"Can we watch Wall-E?" I asked.

"Only if you're willing to listen to what I have to say about the people during the movie."

So that's what we did, and as the movie played and I started to fall asleep, my mind drifted towards the prophecy that still seemed incomplete.

You shall go west and face the god who has turned— we thought it was Hades, but it was Ares. We did that.

You shall find what was stolen and see if restored. The Helm, the Bolt, and my mother are all back in their respective places.

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend. This is the line that I don't feel like.... Like I guess Ares could've been considered a friend for giving us a ride to Vegas, but something about that didn't sit right. There had to be more.

And you shall fail to save what matters most in the end. I wasn't able to save my mom initially, so again, that line makes sense.

One who calls you friend...

"Do you think I could convince the Hephaestus cabin to make a little Wall-E for the camp?" Grover asked, pulling me away from my train of thought. "Like we don't have a lot of littering here because the nature spirits will just beat you up if you litter, but for things like plates at dinner and scraps and stuff. Things that get lost. Wouldn't that be cool? It could be our mascot."

I cracked a smile.

"It could do cabin inspection," I agreed, causing Grover to laugh. "It just picks up everything that's not supposed to be on the floor and if it can make a whole cube you fail inspection."

"So you'll never pass cabin inspection?"

"Hey!" I responded as the tiredness started to take over and I could feel myself fighting it. "Do you think the Hephaestus kids can understand the sounds machines make like how you can talk to squirrels and I can talk to fish?"

"Okay, now you're just asking ridiculous questions," my best friend said, which was true. "ooh, yes! The plant reveal!"

With that, Grover was tuned back into the movie as I could vaguely hear the scene where the captain sees the plant for the first time.

And you know, for the amount of times I've seen the start of Wall-E, I've only seen the ending once.

One day I'd watch it again.

But tonight was not that night.

Notes:

Luke really went 👁️ "oh?you say you don't like the gods?"👁️

Chapter 17: You'd Think That Going On A Quest Would Make Me Cool

Grover Underwood

Was I planning on sleeping in my bed that night?

Yes, yes I was.

Did I fall asleep ten minutes before the movie ended and wake up really confused because I was sleeping on Percys floor wrapped in a blanket, with a pillow and an empty bowl of popcorn next to me?

Yes, yes I did.

Seeing it was still pretty early, I got up and figured I'd let Percy sleep. Went to my little cabin, got dressed for the day, and started towards the Pavilion for breakfast when I ran into Michael Yew, the counselor for the Apollo cabin. He was only a year older than Percy, Annabeth, and I, but he was the next oldest in the cabin after their old counselor left for college last summer. He's been here for a few years now, maybe four? He's a nice guy.

"Grover, hey!" The son of Apollo called out. "How did the quest go? I mean, you're all here so it couldn't be awful, but... Mr. D told me that if I see you that he wants to talk to you, and same for Percy and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, especially for Percy? I haven't really talked to him much, but he got the bolt back, right? Because he didn't steal it."

"He didn't, Ares had it," I confirmed, nodding my head. "I... Don't know why Mr. D would want to talk to him, actually. Maybe just checking in since quests can be stressful and he's new?"

Michael shrugged.

"Beats me, man," he said. "Good luck— don't get turned into a dolphin."

With that, I veered course to the Big House, where Mr. D and Chiron seemed to be debating back and forth about something as Chiron grabbed his stuff for archery class since he teaches the morning section.

"Who— oh, Grover, hello!" The centaur greeted me with a smile. "Good morning, we were hoping we'd get to grab you for a few minutes today. Do you have time before breakfast?"

"Yes, sirs," I responded. "Michael told me you guys were looking for me. Is everything okay?"

"Well—" Mr. D's voice made me stiffen up. "Oh, take a breath and relax, Grover. Sit down This has nothing to do with your searchers license, we'll talk about that later."

"It doesn't?" I asked, sitting down. "What's going on then?"

"We're in a little bit of a... Conundrum, I suppose you could call it," Mr. D told me as he leaned back into his chair. "Percy's been claimed by one of the eldest gods, which means that the Great prophecy is in motion."

How does Mr. D always manage to tell me the things I least want to hear and be reminded of?

I swear to gods, Dionysus is the god of wine, parties, leapoards, and ruining Grover's day.

"...this is true." I said. "He's only 12, though, so we have... Time, right? To prepare for whatever will happen when he turns 16?"

"If he turns 16," Chirons supplemented, which I didn't need or want to hear.

"If the kid doesn't turn 16, I—" Mr. D began in a defensive tone before the door of the Big House opened again, Luke and Annabeth stood in the doorway.

"We— oh, tense atmosphere, alright," Luke commented as he stepped inside with Annabeth. "What's going on? Michael told us to stop here before breakfast."

"One moment," Mr. D said before returning his attention to Chiron and I was wondering what kind of lovers quarrels they'd had about this in the last three weeks since Percy was claimed for Mr. D to become so defensive about a kid he's threatened to turn into a dolphin already. "I'm going to be crystal clear about this: the kid is turning 16. I don't care if we have to wrap him in bubble wrap and put baby gates around his cabin, he's turning 16."

"He has almost four years before then, Dionysus," Chiron reminded him as I looked at the other two demigods and mouthed Percys name to them and saw their expressions drop because we all knew. "Even in bubble wrap, fate will find him. Sure, he's been claimed, but until he's older, we don't know that he's the child of the prophecy."

"And we also didn't know that Thalia was the child of the prophecy," Luke piped in. "She had a little brother, I still don't know why we haven't sent a satyr to look for the kid. He would be old enough for camp by now, maybe he's older than Percy is, we don't know."

"And how do you suppose we track him down?" Chiron questioned, weirdly opposed to the idea, which made me make a mental bookmark to ask the Counsel if we could send a protector out for him— even if I have to do it myself. "Beryl Grace has passed into the world of the afterlife, Luke. We have no way of knowing where she left her son or who she might've handed him over to."

Mr. D looked down in annoyance.

"I could take a guess."

"Dionysus!"

"What? He was the second kid of Father's to Beryl, it's not unrealistic—"

"Do you wish your sentence here be prolonged by your assumptions?" The centaur questioned. "I understand that you want the boy to live, that you wish for Percy to stay alive, but four years is a long time. If Fate doesn't see him as fit for the prophecy, he too will pass."

"What do you mean he too will pass?" Before Mr. D could even steel himself to form a response, Luke spoke up. "do you hear yourself right now, Chiron? He's a fucking kid, you're talking about a child. Will you even continue training him when I leave for college? Or are you deciding now that he's a lost cause because of his dad? Because of what his existence could mean. He's a child, Chiron. Not a ticking time bomb."

With that, Luke dismissed himself.

"I agree with Liam," Mr. D confided, which... Sure, Mr. D cares about the demigods here more than he actually lets on, but his interest in Percy seemed very odd. Annabeths facial expression confirmed that she seemed to agree with me. "The children are already aware of the oath that was broken, and I'm sure some of them will treat Percy differently because of it, assuming they don't already. We shouldn't model that behavior for them when we know so little. He will survive, mark my words, I will personally see to it, Percy will turn 16 and the prophecy will unravel whether or not he is the center of it, but we shouldn't treat him as some sort of explosive because of that. Many children here will have tragic ends, I'm sure. That doesn't mean we treat them any differently. That being said..."

The god turned towards Annabeth and I.

"Abby, Gunther, did either of you notice anything particularly... Concerning on the quest with Percy?" And as the camp director spoke, I realized something. "Anything we should be aware of?"

Mr. D was calling Percy by the correct name—something he never does with the kids. Done on purpose, as well, which made this conversation all the more interesting.

And as badly as I wanted Percy to get help, I wasn't comfortable disclosing what I knew in front of Annabeth or in front of Chiron, in all honesty.

He's a wise trainer, but sometimes he loses empathy and it makes it hard to talk to him. That's why we also have a camp director.

"I mean he did try and pick a fight with Ares, but I don't know if I'd call that him being reckless with his own life or just him being a teenage boy in a stressful situation," Annabeth figured, shrugging. "I was concerned, but I think we were all concerned for each other. He seemed okay last night, right? Tired, but okay."

"He does seem to have a shorter social battery than most demigods," Chiron agreed before looking to me. "Grover? Anything to add?"

But it wasn't my battle, as badly as I wanted to fight it for him.

"No, I agree with Annabeth," I told the camp supervisors. "He just seems... Tired. It'll take him a few days to recover. Maybe just keep an eye out to make sure it doesn't get worse?"

I hoped Mr. D understood what I meant by that, but if he did, he showed no change in his expression. The two of them simply nodded.

"We'll ensure that if we notice any decline, one of us will speak to him about it," Mr. D told us before being hit with some sort of realization. "Oh! Before I forget..."

The god reached over to the desk they had in the Big House, grabbing a small envelope with some writing on it, and extended it out to me.

"Congratulations, Gio," Mr. D announced with the smallest shred of pride in his eyes. "on obtaining your searchers license. You are on probation for the rest of the summer as you will require training before searching, and currently you are only approved for one search mission, but you've finally done it. By returning alive and successful with Percy, you've secured your searchers license."

•••
Percy Jackson

I forgot how lonely it was to be a one man cabin.

I got up on my own. Got dressed. Walked to breakfast on my own.

On the way to the pavilion, I was hoping to run into at least one of my three friends, but I didn't see any of them despite the fact that I saw their siblings and other satyrs in the area.

I ate breakfast alone, trying to tune out the other conversations going on but ultimately overhearing bits and pieces of each of them.

Kids didn't seem to care about the quest that I went on anymore, but they still cared about the decisions I made a little too much.

"Why is he still here?" I heard somebody from Annabeths cabin question. "Doesn't he hate the gods or something? I heard he sent them Medusas head in a box."

"Do you think his mom was actually kept alive?"

"It looks like he's starving himself— unless he broke the rules and got seconds already."

From the Hermes cabin, I heard a voice that I recognized but couldn't name.

"I hope we don't have to train with him," a kid said. "he's probably psychotic, going around challenging gods like that."

"Do you think he'll challenge Mr. D next?" One of their siblings asked, which got the table to laugh before the subject was dropped.

I tried to focus on my breakfast.

After traveling for ten days on a quest where we almost never had three meals a day suddenly made the idea of breakfast feel... Overwhelming.

Or maybe that was just the people talking, I don't know.

Usually I inhale my food until I'm not hungry, but I just... Didn't have an appetite this morning.

"Doing alright there, Perce?" Luke's voice caught me off guard as I looked up to see the son of Hermes with a fresh plate of food. "Bacon isn't going to eat itself, you know."

"I... Yeah," I tried to brush it off, but I felt like I could hear people whispering about me still. "I just grabbed too much, debating if I want to throw more in to the fire"

I looked up at the blonde demigod.

"Do you know where Annabeth or Grover are?" I asked, probably sounding worried. "It's... Weird that the rest of the Athena cabin is here but not her."

"Yeah, they'll be here shortly," Luke reassured me. "Mr. D caught them on their way to breakfast, probably just to check in after the quest. I'm sure he'll do the same with you later today."

Luke put a hand over my plate.

"May I?"

I pushed the plate towards him.

"Go for it."

And then, blatantly breaking camp rules, Luke sat down to grab a piece of bacon from my plate.

"Thanks, man," he said, taking a bite of the pork. "Oh, speaking of later today, do you do want to do one on one stuff for training? You don't wanna get sliced in half at the next capture the flag, after all."

"Uh, yeah, sure."

It wasn't a great response, but Luke decided against fighting me on it. He did raise an eyebrow, I'm sure suspicious of why I would be so dismissive right after doing what was supposed to be the coolest thing in my life.

"...sounds good," he responded carefully. "Well, I'm going to join my cabin for breakfast before Mr. D and Chiron get here and zap me for sitting here, but if you need anything just let me know, alright? Coming back is always a little weird— you'll adjust."

I just nodded my head, trying to believe what he was saying.

It was harder said than done when the kids wouldn't shut up.

Not long after lunch, though, I did get summoned to the Big House. Passing by Michael Yew, he told me that Chiron and Mr. D wanted to see me sometime today, and I changed route from my one on one lessons with Luke (which is the worst thing for me to blow off) to head towards the Big House, where Chiron and Mr. D we're... Arguing?

I don't know if I've ever seen Chiron argue with anyone.

"Mr. D, it's just not in the budget." The centaur told the god, who didn't take the news well.

"So we make room for it!" Mr. D insisted as he tapped the pen he had in his hand into the small pile of papers that were between the two of them. "It's that easy, Chiron. If we don't have room for it yet, we make room for it. We can make more crop, we can figure it out."

"But what good will it do, Dionysus?" My former Latin teacher asked in return as I now no longer knew if I should even be in the room with them while they had this conversation. "I understand where the concern comes from, but what's with the sudden concern? Only a few kids will use these, and how much it costs—"

"A few kids that we can save, Chiron!" The retort silenced the centaur. "Kids that need somebody to save them! These kids don't have at least one of their parents anymore, Chrion! They don't have families or homes to go back to! It's not just a couple of them, it's all of them! They're angry and they're bitter and they deserve a chance to live, and this is the only way I can think to give it to them!"

"Mr. D, this whole camp is their chance," Chiron tried to reason with somebody too stubborn to listen. "We train them for as long as we can, and when they leave, if it wasn't enough... There's nothing we can do."

Mr. D let out a stifled breath.

"There's nothing... So there was nothing we could have done about the three demigods who have killed themselves in the last two and a half years while staying here?" The disgruntled god questioned. "We couldn't offer them counseling? We couldn't talk with their parents, if they had any, about what they do at home that helps? Two of them wrote letters, Chiron. Letters that said that if the gods really cared, they wouldn't let that happen again! They're our kids, Chiron! Maybe not yours, not biologically, but some of them are mine! And if—"

"Perseus, hello," and I don't know if Chiron noticed me just then or if he chose then to act like he did for his benefit, but it shut Mr. D up very effectively. Not happily, but effectively. "Apologies. You haven't been waiting, have you?"

"N... No," I crossed one arm across my body, grabbing my other arm. "Michael said you guys wanted to see me?"

"Yes!" The centaur nodded. "I must go teach this afternoon's session of archery, but Mr. D will handle it."

The way Chiron worded it, along with him leaving suddenly, made me much more anxious. Because as I might've said before, Mr. D reminds of Gabe, but like... That can be a good thing and a bad thing and so far it's mostly been the bad stuff.

Also, I've never been alone with Mr. D before and since I've spoken with him last, I stabbed Ares in the foot and I was worried that this might be about that.

"Okay," I said before Chiron managed to escape. "It's not... You're not kicking me out again, are you? Of camp? Because I needed to do better on the quest?"

And while, on one hand, it was a genuine question because I was worried that I'd wake up to a note telling me to get out of camp this morning, it was also a slight jab at Chiron, which wasn't fair, but...

I don't know. It felt warranted.

For a moment, I felt like my body might just give out on me. I was so tense that it seemed like if I relaxed I would end up as a puddle on the ground and every time I tried to breathe in that moment, my lungs failed me.

Do I even want to be here?

"Wh— kid, no, you're more than welcome to stay here for as long or as short of a time as you want," Mr. D told me, which a was nice thing to hear— even from the wrong person because the person I wanted that reassurance from just exhaled and walked out of the Big House. "technically you're only supposed to leave at the end of summer or on quests, but if you don't want to be here, we can't really stop you. Just send Grover after you."

Until he leaves, my brain immediately jumped to that, slightly overwhelming me because I wanted to be happy for my best friend, but it was really hard to do that right now. Until he leaves to go look for Pan and he probably dies and then it's just another friend you don't have anymore.

"But we do recommend that you stick around for a bit," Mr. D summarized. "You okay kid?"

"Yup."

It's not like I was still against the wall and I was fighting down some sort of emotional response (what kind of response? I don't know. To what? I'm not even sure) right in front of him.

And he's no god of wisdom, but the D in Mr. D didn't stand for dumbass.

"Percy?" Getting called my actual name by the camp director was a little unsettling, I won't lie. It kind of scared me, even if his tone leaned towards concern. "come over here. Sit down."

But I felt like if I moved, my whole body would implode, so I didn't do what the god asked.

"Please?" The fact that he said that was shocking, but it wasn't the issue right now.

It might be another day, but it wasn't the issue right now.

Why can't I breathe?

"Percy?" Mr. D repeated, standing up as I started to slide against the wall because maybe if I sit down I'll be able to breathe even though sitting in a ball is going to confine my lungs and make it harder to breathe. "Hey, kid, I know we didn't start on the best foot before you left, but I'm just trying to..."

His voice drifted off as I sealed my eyes shut, silently begging my lungs to do their job.

Are they going to kill me?

Is that why... Is that's why Chiron said Mr. D could handle it? Because they're just going to kill me so that way they don't have to worry about me fighting more gods or... Or sending then monsters heads or....?

If that's their plan, why didn't they just let me do it in St. Louis?

"Help," Mr. D finished his statement, and when I felt his hand on the outside of my arm, I pulled away, wishing I could melt into the wall.

"Please don't touch— hurt me." I didn't mean to say it out loud, but it came out anyways because when my eyes are closed, Mr. D feels and sounds a lot like Gabe and I know... "Please don't hurt— don't..."

I know, realistically, that Gabe has been sober for over a week now and that he's going to AA and that he's going through treatment this summer, but it...

It hasn't been that long.

I don't know how long I sat on the floor against the wall near the door of the Big House.

I know that I dissociated for a while. I know that I probably had a panic attack. I think I might've heard Mr. D ask a kid to come back later.

I know I came out of it feeling like I wanted Mr. D to put me out of my misery.

It was quiet for a while, after I came to.

A few minutes went by, at least.

"Percy?"

Or maybe it was only a few seconds.

I looked up at who I realized was the god of wine and not my drunk dad.

"Hi," he said in a gentle tone. "I'm sorry that I touched you. Do you want to talk about what just happened?"

I shrugged, looking back down.

"I'm not going to hurt you in any way, Percy," the camp director told me, even though it didn't completely ease the anxiety. "I just wanted to check in since you just got back from a quest. I did the same with Annabeth and Grover earlier today. That was the purpose of this, yeah? To see how you're doing after your first quest."

Another wave of silence fell between us as Mr. D allowed me space to think and to form a response.

Which, I had one, even if it took time to get it out.

"So you're...." And as I said it, I felt like a fucking dumbass. "Not going to kill me or threaten to kill me for Medusa's head and what happened with Ares?"

I caught the god roll his eyes.

"Kill you for having a sense of humor and doing what you had to do to get the job done?" Mr. D asked in return. "I personally thought it was funny that you sent us Medusa's head. Hermes and Persephone also got a kick out of it at our solstice meeting. Even if somebody wanted me to kill you kid, I'm not doing it. I'm too busy arguing with Chiron right now about how we can keep more kids alive. He's... Oddly stubborn."

"His expectations are really high." I agreed as the drowsiness of coming down from a panic attack started to settle in. "I can only accept the best from you, Perseus Jackson. Jokes on him, I don't remember the last time I was at my good, much less at my best."

"Yeah?" Mr. D responded and I nodded my head. "Do you want me to make a cup of blue raspberry lemonade and we can talk about it?"

Notes:

the girls are fighting 🫣

Chapter 18: Blue Is Usually A Sad Color, But It Makes Me Happy

Notes:

we're now at 69k words 😗✌️

Percy Jackson

It didn't take me long to realize something weird after Mr. D set down a glass of regular blue raspberry lemonade for me on the table (which was his bribe for me to get up).

(The bribe worked).

"How did you know that I like blue raspberry lemonade?" I asked Mr. D, noticing that my cup was also blue. "or just... The color blue?"

Sitting down, the question seemed to confuse the god.

"What do you mean how do I know? Because of your dad."

But that made no sense based on who I assumed Mr. D would call my dad.

"How does Poseidon know?"

"P— no, not him," Mr. D amended as I took a sip of the sweet drink. "Gabe, technically your step-father. The one you call dad. Right? You still call him Dad most of the time, don't you?"

"What...." But the answers were only raising more questions. "I mean, yeah, but how... Yeah, he's my dad. How do you know him?"

This question also seemed to confuse the camp director.

"How do I know him?" He asked and I nodded. "I'm Gabe's dad, Percy."

There was a pause.

"Did he never tell you that?"

But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

Mostly as it pertained to how similar Mr. D and Gabe were, but still. It made some stuff make sense.

Also, how he wasn't all that shocked about my dad being my dad. The god part didn't surprise him just... Which god it was.

"N... No." I told who I guess was my grandpa. "But I don't think he knew about my godly parent, either, so...but can't you guys also not talk to your kids now? Unless you're here while they're here?"

Mr. D seemed to ponder that question.

"I mean, technically, you're right," he conceded. "And as I'm sure you observed, I wasn't visiting Gabe all that frequently after they made that stupid law— either way I'm mostly stuck here, but he wrote to me and if I could sneak it by without Hermes or Zeus noticing, I'd send a reply. Sometimes I'd give it to Peter to give to him. Though I did get to physically see Gabe and your mom for the first time since their wedding— which I wasn't at for long, thanks to Zeus, but I got the blue food story throughout the years."

"But to backtrack a bit, what's going on up in the noggin?" Mr. D returned to the point of the conversation. "Mom and Dad mentioned that you were getting preventative treatment for anxiety and depression for a while but couldn't stay on it long. Do you think it's that, or is something else going on? How you feeling?"

I looked at my glass of lemonade, trying to stay stable enough to talk about my mental state for longer than a minute or two without crumbling again.

"I feel like I... Never want to wake up again, but I do anyways," the way I said it of course made Dionysus take a moment to realize what I meant when I said it. "I'm tired almost all of the time and at first I debated talking to Chiron about it, but no matter what I do, it'll never be good enough for him I'm sure and it didn't seem like he'd offer real help so.... I'm tired."

"That's reasonable after such a big change in life."

"No, it's not..." I tried to elaborate. "I've been tired for years, Mr. D. Sure, it's a little more exhausting right now, but I haven't felt whole since probably before I met Grover. I... I keep waiting for something to happen that's going to get me kicked out or just..."

My voice drifted.

"Do you think Grover will come back?" I asked one of the only adults I've opened up to about anything that's been going on in my brain lately. "when he leaves to look for Pan, do you think he'll come back or...?"

Before Mr. D even had a chance at answering, I kept on rambling.

"Like I know it's his dream and I don't want to stop him because it's his dream and he deserves a chance to try," I kept on as a ball of frustration that was comprised of more sadness than it was anger started to well up in the chest and bubble into my throat. "But I'm so fucking tired of making friends that I only can manage to keep for a year because I get expelled or they move or they weren't actually my friend or they die or...."

I choked on my words.

"He's my only friend, Mr. D, and if he vanished from thin air I..." I took a shaky breath, trying to keep my sentences coherent. "Like Annabeth and Luke are nice but... Grover's one of the only people I actually trust. He's the person who notices when I have a day that's worse than my normal days and he's the one who will offer to stay with me so I don't hurt myself or... I don't know, do something stupid that I would do if I was alone even if I've never physically hurt myself before and I'm... I'm lonely and it feels like I can't make other friends because it feels like the other kids don't want me here. Like when I was claimed by my father it just... Felt like a wall went up between me and everyone else and I don't get why and I don't know if I want to know why or if I just want to suffer through it until Grover goes missing and I kill myself because I lost my best friend and I'm the furthest thing from mentally stable and I can't get any real help for it because everything is so fucking expensive because some millionaire doesn't think that I deserve to feel like a person and maybe they're right, but I just...."

My voice drifted off as I started to realize how many things I just confessed to Mr. D that I never thought I would tell an adult about any time soon.

"When I jumped off the St. Louis Arch," I concluded. "I didn't... I didn't think it was a survivable jump."

"You didn't think it was survivable?" He repeated back to me. "We're you trying to kill yourself? Did you jump out of the Arch hoping that it would end in suicide?"

But it was bold of him to assume that I had an answer to that.

"I don't.... Know? I don't think so?" I tried to explain. "Like, I didn't jump to jump, I jumped in order to escape the Chimera because I had no fighting chance and I knew that, but I also thought that the water was way too far away for me to make it to the River so... No, but I didn't rule it out? I don't know, Mr. D, yes and no, I guess? Does me saying that mean that you have to send me to a place with white rooms and no door handles?"

"Does it... It doesn't have to mean that if you don't want it to," Mr. D reassured me. "But if you think you could benefit from an inpatient stay somewhere this summer, I can talk to Apollo and make it happen. Do you want me to do that?"

Slowly, I shook my head.

"Not like... I just got back," I related. "It'd be nice to be here for longer than a day at a time without a big change."

"Alright," and thankfully, Dionysus didn't push me on it. "Then how about this: in a week I'll check in again and if you need to talk sooner, we can, but we'll plan for a week. Give it time to see if just opening up and talking seemed to help, or if you need something extra. If that's the case, we'll get somebody here that actually knows stuff to give us options that would actually help. If it's something like a long term stay at a facility or starting meds, we'll let Mom and Dad know so that way they won't freak out if they have to sign any sudden paperwork from the hospital that comes in the mail. Sound like a plan?"

Nodding my head, I agreed that I liked that plan.

"Okay, cool," the god confirmed. "then your homework for next week— yes, I'm giving you homework— is to talk to Grover about your worries about him leaving so soon. Maybe not today, he just got the license today, but before next week."

Repeating that to myself, I nodded my head and stood up after finishing my lemonade.

It was a good lemonade.

"Oh, also, Percy," Mr. D said as I was about to leave.

"Hm?"

"If it helps," the god confirmed something for me I'm glad wasn't against the rules. "You can have overnight guests in your cabin— just not any girls. I'm sure Grover would be more than happy to have a sleepover in your cabin, or to have you over for a sleepover. Believe it or not, he also doesn't have many close friends."

Nodding again, I thanked Mr. D for everything and started to head towards the swordfighting arena, where Luke was sitting and shining his sword.

"Hey, there you are!" The son of Hermes called out. "I was wondering if you got lost somehow— everything okay? You look like shit, I won't lie."

"I— yeah," I insisted, unsure how much I should or could tell Luke. "I was just summoned to the Big House and then I like... Had a sort of breakdown or panic attack— I think it leaned more towards a panic attack, and then I had to talk to Mr. D about it and yeah. Sorry, I felt bad just going but..."

I shrugged.

"I was kind of worried that they were going to either expel me from camp for stabbing Ares or like, kill me maybe, I don't know." I explained. "So yeah, um... That didn't happen. Mr. D was very persistent that he wasn't going to hurt me or kick me out of camp. Sorry again, I didn't mean to blow you off, my brain just... Isn't very good at doing what it's supposed to."

"It's alright, it's important to talk about that kind of stuff," Luke reassured me. "Mr. D is usually pretty good to go to if you get past the fake apathy— I talked to him a bit after... Thalia died. Do you wanna take your emotions out on some straw dummies? I can show you some new moves that Ares will never see coming next time."

Smiling, I told him I'd love to do so  because I had a lot of emotions to let out.

And you know what? It was a good training session. I really liked Luke as a teacher and like, as a person. He was nice and he was one of the only people that I felt like I could actually talk to about quest stuff and about my frustrations with my dad and he... He gets it.

Towards the end of session, I was helping clean some of the dummies I had sliced when two kids that I recognized from the Hermes cabin came into the training area, each with a backpack in.

"Hey, Luke, wh—" the one who I think was Travis Stoll said (I can't tell the Stoll brothers apart). "Oh, Percy! Hi!"

Looking over, I just waved.

"Hey."

As Connor (I think) walked over to Luke and started talking about something, Travis approached me and started to help with clean up.

"Did you just get done with training?" Travis asked as he threw a dummy head into the scrap bin.

I nodded my head.

"And you don't train with any other cabins?" He continued, which felt like a weird question. "I know that Mr. D's twins train with like, the Demeter cabin or something. You're not with another cabin?"

Throwing a few dummies in the bin, I shrugged.

"Nobody really... Wants to train with me," I told the son of Hermes that was closer in age to me than Luke. "I'm like a walking bomb to most campers it seems like, so... It's just me. I was with you guys for a few days, but..."

"Yeah, the unclaimed kids are kind of weird once others get claimed," Travis seemed to understand that, at least. "Which I get, because some of them have been here for a long time, but... I don't know. How was the quest, by the way? I'm sure you've been asked that a million times, but I know that Annabeth has been wanting a quest basically since she got here."

"It was fine, I guess? I don't know how quests are supposed to be, but we got it done," I told him, not knowing what to do now since we'd cleaned up all of the dummies. "It was nice that Grover could come with, and Annabeth... She's nice, but she also gets on my nerves a lot. How long have you been here? She's been here since she was like 7."

"Connor and I came when we were in preschool— or, I was in preschool, he was 3," Travis confirmed his identify, nodding his head. "We've been here longer than Luke, but we haven't been on a quest and he's also older so he's counselor. Our mom is a flight attendant so she's not home much, so she sent us here when we were little. She sometimes let's Chiron know when she has a long layover at one of the airports in the area so we can visit, but it's not super often."

"Oh," but I didn't know how to respond to that. "I'm... Sorry?"

The son of Hermes shrugged.

"It's alright, we still get to see her, which is more than some kids." He figured, which seemed to be an optimistic view of the situation. "And she's still cool, unlike Annabeth or Luke's parents."

"Unlike... What's wrong with their parents?"

Travis looked to me in surprise.

"Annabeth hasn't told you about her parents?"

"Travis, the only things I know about Annabeth are that she's a daughter of Athena, she really likes Architecture, and she's trans," I admitted, before remembering one another thing. "oh! And that she has a crush on Luke."

"She's had a crush on him for almost a year now," Travis confirmed for me. "I'll give him credit, Luke is very good at ignoring it, especially with how much everyone teases her."

"I believe it," I felt the need to add more to the conversation when I honestly could have and should have ended it there. "Luke's nice and all, but I... Don't know. I guess he's not really my type?"

Suddenly very interested in what I had to say, Travis raised an eyebrow at me, almost enthusiastically.

"Oh?" The younger son of Hermes asked me. He leaned towards me, arms crossed. "What's your type then, Jackson? Scrawny brunettes?"

All of the blood in my body defied gravity, going to my cheeks as I tried to respond, crossed my arms, and closed my mouth.

"No."

Travis bursted out laughing, a sound so abrupt and joyful that it shocked my system and caused another rush of blood to flow to my cheeks. The corner of my mouth twitched up in a smile at the contagious sound.

"You're an awful liar, Percy Jackson," Travis Stoll told me with a shit-eating grin that made me worry that he'd taken a wallet I don't even own. "Connor and I are gonna go steal some stuff from the camp store, but I'll see you at campfire, right?"

"Y— yeah."

He flashed me one more smile.

"Good. I'll see you then."

The brothers ran off, leaving me with a warm pool seeping into my stomach that I wasn't sure how to handle.

"Percy!" Luke called out as he threw a water bottle that I almost didn't catch. "you look like you're gonna vomit, hydrate. I have to haul ass if I'm going to make it to my afternoon session, you don't want me to call one of the cabin 7 kids, do you? You gonna be fine?"

"Hm?" I responded, his voice slowly pulling me away from the shock of my entire conversation with Travis. "oh, yeah, you're good to go. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

I nodded my head, still conscious of the warm pool in my stomach.

"Alright, if you insist," Luke conceded as he put his sword back into it's holster. "I'm off to make sure the rest of my cabin doesn't kill each other during archery. Well, except for the Stolls, apparently. Go do something nice for yourself, kid. I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight." I returned as the eldest son of Hermes left me to my devices.

A few moments after he left, the puddle started to dissipate as I came to a slow, but sudden realization.

Did I make a new friend?

Notes:

Canon deviation? Canon deviation.

Chapter 19: If I Can Waterbend, Why Can't I Control Where The Blood In My Body Goes?

Percy Jackson

I did make a new friend.

Travis and I actually ended up hanging out quite a bit after that, and it was really nice to have another friend, even if most of the campers were still really standoffish around me.

Oh, also, that first day that he broke into the camp shop with Connor, he stole a blanket that he gave to me that's actually very soft.

After a few weeks, though, maybe three weeks after we spoke in the training arena, I had another bad day. It wasn't as momentous of a bad day as that day had been— I didn't have another big break down in front of Mr. D, but I just generally felt like shit. I had a panic attack when I woke up because of a nightmare that I don't even remember and it just set me up for failue the rest of the day.

I think I laid on the floor of the lake outside for almost an hour after breakfast just to try and clear my brain a little, but it didn't do much.

Unlucky, this day happened on a fucking Thursday, which had become the night that I show Travis shit he's missed by living at camp. Last week we watched some cult classic movies, and this week we were going to watch high school musical, which is a good movie series, but I just... Couldn't focus. I kept getting pulled away from the movie by my brain.

"Percy?" Travis said for what I don't think was the first time. "Hey, I was just going to go get more popcorn between films, but are... You okay?"

"Hm?" I asked, pulling myself out of my daze just enough to talk with him. "oh, yeah, sorry. I'm fine."

But he's not an idiot, so he didn't believe me.

"You seem sad," Travis told me, which was probably true. It's hard to tell my emotions apart a lot of the time when most of them just make me feel somewhat like shit anyways. "What's going on? Why are you sad?"

And because he's a caring person, Travis wasn't going to let this just slide. He put the empty bowl down and turned to face me so I had his undivided attention.

Really making tonight worth his time, I just shrugged. He offered me a hand, I took it.

"I don't know," I answered, feeling like an idiot as I did so. "I'm always sad."

That sentence seemed to confuse him.

"You're not always sad," and at first, I was worried that Travis Stoll was going to undermine my mental health. "Even if you're sad a lot, I've seen you angry before, which is different than sad, and you've been embarrassed and I've heard you laugh more than I'm sure the other campers have, and while you can laugh while sad, not all of those were sad laughs. What's going on, though?"

Once again, because I'm good at talking about myself and my emotions, I just shrugged.

"Just... Depression doing it's thing, more than likely," I confided to the son of Hermes, who seemed a little surprised by that. "Yeah, uh... Yeah. Please don't worry about it, it's just my brain."

"Well I think," Travis responded, placing his lips in the form of a kiss against my temple— something that surprised me I think as much as it did him. "That your brain should not do that. I know it's not that simple because if it was they'd have like, no more mental illnesses that lasted any longer than a common cold, but if you need me to, I can break into a pharmacy and steal some depression meds for you so then it's free. I uh..."

And slowly, Travis realized what just happened. He stopped for a second, blinding a few times before speaking again.

"Yeah." The son of Hermes concluded, his slightly confusion and embarrassment making me smile just the tiniest amount. "sorry, I just... Don't know why I did that. Sorry, I know that physical contact isn't really your thing, I shouldn't have..."

"It's okay," I promised Travis, squeezing his hand to get hit attention back and flashing him what I could manage for a smile, which was more than it had been a few minutes prior thanks to the slightly older demigod (Travis is 4 months older than me). "I like scrawny brunettes, remember? It's a bonus if they've already stolen a really nice blanket for me, too."

Dear readers, I hope you enjoy that. Because it's the only time I'll ever be that smooth.

Travis blushed.

"And you don't have to break into a pharmacy for me," I promised him. "I'm getting meds soon, because according to Mr. D, I shouldn't feel like I want to die when I wake up in the morning."

"I think for like, the first time in my life, I agree with Mr. D," the son of Hermes commented, which was fair. The wine god isn't exactly the most agreeable person at camp. "Would you be interested in a sleepover in that case?"

But Travis staying over here would be an inconvenience for him.

"You don't have to do that, Travis."

Because then he has to get up earlier to meet his cabin and then Luke might get mad that he was out past curfew without notice and I'm just one person.

"Well I know I don't have to, I don't have to do anything," Travis told me after rolling his eyes. "But if you want me to, I'll stay."

Plus, I'm sure he'd want to sleep in his actual bad.

"Travis, you don't..." But Mr. D's voice popped back into my head from the first time we really spoke: you're allowed to have sleepovers.

My voice faltered.

"Do you not want to sleep in your bed?"

Travis cracked a smile.

"It's too late for me to get a bed tonight, I'd be on the floor," but hearing that, I felt bad that I'd kept him late for the last three Thursdays and made him sleep on the floor just because I wanted to spend time with him. "hey," he interrupted my guilt. "Don't feel bad— I get a bed like every other night, some of those kids almost never get to sleep in a bed, so I'll give them a night to have a better chance at getting a bunk. Also, this isn't about me. Do you want me to stay the night?"

But guilt is a hard monster to kill. It stuffed my chest up and made it just hard enough to breathe that I couldn't let myself say what I should.

"I— if you want to."

And maybe it's because he's a good person, or maybe it's just because he's very perceptive, but Travis wouldn't let my guilt win this battle.

"Percy," the son of Hermes broke the situation down. "Would it be helpful to you if I stayed the night so you aren't alone when you wake up?"

Feeling bad about it, I shrugged and nodded.

"I mean... Yeah. Probably."

He smiled like it wasn't a big deal that I was making him stay over.

"Then I stay," he insisted, grabbing the popcorn bowl and standing up. "I'm going to go make another bowl of popcorn, do you want to help?"

And I didn't know how one could help make microwave popcorn, but I wanted to be around Travis, so I took the offer and quickly realized as we walked out of my room that this might've just been a ploy for him to get me out of bed for a few minutes so I couldn't wallow in my own misery.

That or maybe it was a ploy to continue holding my hand.

We were still holding hands.

Or maybe it wasn't a ploy at all.

Either way, I was happy that I could at least try to be useful as we made another bag of popcorn before watching the last high school musical together and falling asleep on my bed.

•••

The rest of summer seemed to dredge on, but around the end of July I was able to start meds and that helped a lot. I felt like I could actually have fun for the first time in weeks, even if I still didn't feel great about other kids at camp.

Between Grover and Travis, I didn't sleep alone in my cabin most nights, which was good. There were a lot of nights that I needed somebody there, and luckily, I had that support. Luke and Annabeth also checked in pretty regularly and we still hung out, but they're both counselors and Annabeth is also a girl so they can't really... Sleep over.

Travis and I ended up developing this weird 'not quite boyfriends' relationship that carried on most of the summer—being touchier in private, cuddling, maybe even stealing a kiss here or there.

It was fun, I'll admit, to have somebody that I could be intimate with, but by the end of summer, I had gotten the notice from the Big House that I had to let them know if I was staying or going home for the year. And obviously, I was going home, and I had told Travis that. But I also said that I planned on visiting over breaks and he could visit if he wanted and if he wanted to, he could meet my parents, but... He wasn't ready for a relationship.

So that was that.

Not that I was asking for us to be official. That wasn't the case, but I guess he figured it was all or nothing, right?

It made me sad, but I tried to not let it show too much. I was just... Glad that he was honest about it, I guess?

Annabeth and I slowly developed a friendship over the summer as we learned to not fight every single time we were around each other.

Grover and I continued about the same throughout the summer—almost inseparable whenever our schedules allowed us to hang out. We had a lot of sleepovers both at my cabin and at his.

Now, at the end of summer, he was packing to leave for his search that would put him... Not in the area for an unknown amount of time.

I was just trying not to think about it.

Luke continued to give me one on one lessons all summer and be the big brother I never had. Eventually, he told me a story or two about Thalia from their time on the run together, but it wasn't a lot. I could see that the stories hurt him still.

Which I get, seeing as he's leaving camp this fall for the first time since his quest. He turns 18 soon, and Chiron was able to get him into a public college in Manhattan.

"Will you be back next summer?" I asked Luke, who gave me a sad smile.

"I don't think so," but I didn't blame the son of Hermes for wanting to have a life, so the news didn't anger me. "I'm sure Chiron will give you lessons— he did them with me, but who knows: maybe by next summer the kids won't be so weird about doing activities with you. I'm done, but I'll be in the city so I'll definitely come say hi from time to time. You live in the city right? In Manhattan? If you're going home this fall, that is."

"I'd rather die than stay here all year," I confirmed, then paused because Luke was a year-round camper. "No offense. I just... Miss my mom. And Dad. But more my mom than my dad."

Luke smiled.

"None taken, I'm frankly sick of this place," the older demigod reassured me with a sigh. "tired of being a pawn of the gods— good for you for going back home, honestly. I know Chiron can put pressure on kids to stay, but like... We're kids."

"Yeah, I don't know how to talk to him half of the time anymore since the quest concluded." I agreed with his last statement. "I wonder at times if he didn't think I would come back from my quest but like... It's stupid, I don't know."

"Hey, it's not stupid," Luke insisted. "I felt the same way when I got back from mine, and mine was something that's... Been done before. At first it felt kind of shitty that I couldn't even manage to like, do what's been done before but eventually I realized that..."

His voice drifted.

"I mean what's the point, right? Where's the glory in repeating what others have already done?" He asked, his tone shifting as he crumpled his can of coke in his hands. "All the gods seem to know how to do is repeat their past, so my heart wasn't in it and I... Got this scar. The dragon got me, whatever. I'm... Just tired of it. Of them."

Luke motioned vaguely towards the sky.

"I don't expect you to get it, but if you ever need somebody to complain to about this place, I'm a call away. IM, whatever." The son of Hermes told me, which would be good to know in all honesty. "Annabeth... Doesn't get it. She's still defensive of the gods."

I rolled my eyes.

"You're telling me?" I responded, remembering her responses every time I'd talk negatively about the gods. "She was always on me whenever I'd say something that might not appease the gods as if my very existence doesn't already do that. But that's a different story for a different time. I should go finish packing— I don't want to leave my parents waiting."

Luke flashed me a smile, the look in his eyes sad, yet content.

"Have a good year, Percy." Luke Castellan concluded. "I'll see you around."

Notes:

no scorpion 🦂

Chapter 20: I Wish People Would Stop Lying To Me

Notes:

you might want to grab a tissue for this one sorry

Percy Jackson

To nobody's surprise, Grover's was the hardest goodbye.

"You have all of your supplies, right?" Annabeth asked him. "Enough tin cans?"

Grover rolled his eyes.

"I should be asking you that," my best friend told the daughter of Athena. "Do you have all of your stuff?"

Confused, I realized that there was an extra suit case behind Grover's stuff— a gray one.

"Wh... Where are you going?" I asked Annabeth.

"Where? Oh uh... I'm going to try going back to my dad's again." She told me, which seemed like it could be great news.

I hoped it was great news.

"I thought about what you had to say about your stepdad on the quest," Annabeth went on. "About forgiving him and about how family is sometimes worth the effort so... Wish me luck, I guess? They'll be here soon and I haven't seen them since I came out and changed my name."

I raised an eyebrow, noticing a few other things about her appearance.

"Is that why you're wearing baggy clothes?" I questioned, knowing that Annabeth likes to wear more form fitting clothes, because it makes her feel more feminine when she does. "And why your hair is up in your hat so it looks short?"

Her expression confirmed my theories.

"Better safe than sorry." She insisted, which, after living with Gabe, I could understand. "I'm going to tell them right away, but I don't even think they'd recognize me if they saw me regularly."

"Well if they don't accept you with open arms, we'll beat the shit out of them for you."

"We will?" Grover asked.

"We will." I confirmed.

She smiled.

"Thank you, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth responded with a soft smile before looking down the hill at a car that had just arrived. "That would be my queue, though. I'll see you guys in June!"

Giving Grover a hug and me a high five, Annabeth raced down the hill to reunite with her family.

And then it was Grover and I.

The goodbye I didn't want to say.

"Do you have all of your stuff?" Grover asked, I think trying to carry out the conversation as long as he could.

"My— yeah." I responded, trying to not let my anxiety overwhelm me as I looked back up at him, arms crossed. "You're coming back, right? I'll get to see you again?"

I could still feel my eyes water, betraying me.

"Oh, Perce, man," Grover frowned, pulling me into a hug that I was terrified might be the last. "I'll come back, okay?"

He placed a kiss on the very top of my forehead— a motion that warmed me as much as it terrified me because I'm not out to Grover and I don't know why he would do that.

He's never done that before.

"Plus!" The satyr told me, grabbing at straws for me. "I won't be around physically, but I'll still have drachmas and some mortal money and I already have a whole sheet of stamps from the Hermes cabin, so you'll still hear from me. I promise."

"You promise?" I could hear my own fear. "Because if you say that and then I don't hear from you..."

Grover squeezed my arm and flashed me a smile.

"I swear on the River Styx that I'll send you an IM once I make camp for myself tonight," but the River Styx was serious business, which calmed my nerves slightly. "I don't plan on being gone all nine months, Perce— searching in the winter is not fun, but I promise to keep you updated. Please take care of yourself."

I'm sure my smile was pathetic, but I can't say I didn't try to smile.

"Me? Take care of myself." But Grover did not like the joke. "I... Sorry. I'll try but... You know me. I make no promises. I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you, too."

I paused, trying to think of ways that I could keep him here for just a few more minutes.

"I..." My voice died in my throat. "Can you tell me why? Why the other campers pushed me away?"

His expression turned down.

"It's like Annabeth said, Percy, I don't..."

"Yes, you do." I challenged, knowing he wouldn't meet my gaze because he never can when he lies. "I know you, Grover, I know when you're lying, and I don't get why... Is it me? Did I scare them or something? Why..."

I looked down as Grover's hand still loosely held my arm near my wrist.

And the thought that's been in the back of my mind since Grover told me he got his searchers license and was planning on leaving as soon as he could (which eventually became the end of summer) just fell out of my mouth.

"You're not leaving because of me, right?"

Grover froze.

"I'm not... Percy, no no no no no no," my best friend insisted, pulling me into another hug before pulling away just enough to look me in the eyes. "I stayed because of you, Percy. I was originally planning to leave as soon as I could once Mr. D gave me my license, but it was so soon after the quest that I didn't want to just leave you. You're my best friend still, I was worried about you. I am worried about you. But this is something that I just... Have to do."

"I know, I know, I'm just... My anxiety is working overtime," I tried to reprimand the message I was sending to him. "I'm proud of you, it's only right that they finally gave your license, I'm just also worried. You're gonna do great, though."

He smiled.

"And you're going to be amazing at whatever new school you'll be at this year," Grover reassured me. "just try to not have to talk to your parole officer again, okay?"

I smiled back.

"I make no promises."

"I know you don't," my best friend insisted, taking a step back. "Just please try to not make any deals with the devil while I'm gone. Argus is waiting, though, and there's a line behind you, so..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I need to go home," I responded, taking a breath to steady myself. It sort of worked. "See you next summer?"

He smiled so bright it rivaled the sun.

"I'll be back next summer." Grover Underwood promised me. "I'll survive 'till then. You'll see me again, Percy. I'll IM tonight."

"You better."

With that, I headed down the hill to meet Argus and soon realize that I didn't have to wait for the many-eyed chauffeur.

Similar to Annabeth, I had my own ride.

"There's my little hero," Gabe's voice interjected after Argus told me I wasn't on the drive list for him. I felt my dad's hand on my shoulder, which made me tense up initially. "Oh, sorry, I meant to... yeah. How was the rest of your summer, kiddo?"

He's still sober.

I might cry again.

I pulled my dad into a hug, which probably confused him a lot since I'd just flinched when he touched me.

"It was... Okay," I told him as I heard another set of footprints walk closer to us. "I made a couple new friends, but a lot of kids don't like me still. I'm going to miss my friends, though."

He returned the hug.

"Oh, I know, but I promise you'll make it through the year," Gabe reassured me. "is that why you're a little red? Saying goodbye?"

I nodded my head, pulling away. Mom ended up being the other footsteps I heard.

"Grover's also leaving to go on a really big search, so it was... Really hard to say goodbye. But I'm excited to go home."

Mom smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"We're happy that you're coming home, sweetie." She said. "Now come on, let's get your stuff loaded into the car. That blue cake isn't going to eat itself."

Chapter 21: Has Something Ended, Or Just Begun?

Percy Jackson

Gabe came with to Montauk for the first time in years that day.

Usually, we go to Montauk over the fourth of July, but since that was so close to when my quest ended (and because Gabe knows how cool the fireworks are at Camp Half Blood), we decided to go right after leaving camp since I still had a bit of time before school started.

Not a ton of time, but there was a couple weeks left of summer. Enough time to get some clothes, skate around, talk to Grover, and begrudgingly find another school to attend.

The quietness of the cabin was nice. While I didn't make a ton of friends this summer, I was still around a lot of people, and that made things overwhelming at times.

There were some days where I'd just have to sit at the bottom of the lake or in my cabin for a bit after breakfast because of how loud or energetic kids would be during breakfast on random days here or there. It was a lot.

So I was more than glad to sit in our little living room while a record played in the background and just eat my lunch after our weekend at Montauk.

"Is the food good?" Mom asked and I nodded. "Good. Did you have fun this summer? Did you like camp?"

But those are both complicated questions, and I'm bad at articulating my feelings, so I shrugged.

"I liked hanging out with my friends," I told my parents, suddenly conscious of the fact that Gabe also went to Camp and probably also has opinions about the place. "Swordfighting was cool but my instructor just left for college, so.... We'll see. It was... Fine, I guess?"

"You guess?" Gabe questioned.

I shrugged.

"I just don't think the kids really want me around," I insisted, even though it's a theory Chiron and Mr. D have both shut down before. "After I was claimed it was like I was... Suddenly some kind of ticking time bomb and I assumed it'd get better after the quest, but it..."

My voice drifted as I thought back on my summer.

"It got worse, I think." I went on. "Grover and Annabeth insist that they don't know why, but Grover's a bad liar and Annabeth just... Yeah. I don't know."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sure the kids don't not want you there," Mom insisted, but I saw Gabe think to himself— almost like he was pondering how he should respond. "I don't know why they would seemingly shun you after you learned about your dad, but..."

I locked my sights on my dad.

Do I ask?

Brfore I could even consider it, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Mom told us, being the closest to the door. After a minute, she returned to tell me that I had a visitor. A friend from camp.

Which, considering the number of friends I have since I didn't think Travis and I would be hanging out much, didn't give me many options.

Especially factoring in the fact that almost none of them are in this state currently.

"Who..." I started as I walked over to be greeted by somebody that I never actually expected to see again.

"Luke! Hey!" I greeted the older son of Hermes. "What's up? I thought you were moving into your apartment."

He smiled back at me.

"I'm in the process of unpacking everything, it's... More than I expected." He admitted, holding up a small box. "I found some of your stuff mixed in, though— assumedly that probably got mixed in with Travis' stuff? We bunked by each other so we always got our stuff mixed up."

"Oh, yeah! I thought I was missing some stuff," I said aloud, stepping out of the way so he could step inside. "come in, sorry. We just finished having lunch, I can show you where to put the box."

So, slipping his shoes off, Luke Castellan followed me into my bedroom and put the box of stuff on the edge of my bed, taking in all .2 feet of space there was to observe.

"Those are cool photos," Luke pointed out the Polaroids I had around my desk. "you have a camera?"

"I used to, it broke last year." I explained, opening the box, which felt... Weird. "before Gabe sobered up, he got mad and... He didn't break it specifically, but he knocked some stuff over and it was in the pile."

The clothes smelled like Travis now.

Why did he want to suddenly end things?

We didn't have to be official, we're still young after all, but I liked what we had. It was nice and relaxed and I thought he really liked me.

"Oh," Luke responded after a beat of silence. "How are you doing with that? I know he's sober now, but it hasn't been long, has it? He wasn't sober when we met, right? That's why you had that panic attack at the start of summer."

"Yeah, he went sober after Mom and I went missing." I confirmed, shrugging. "it's fine so far? I just learned he's a demigod, so it's just a lot of weird, new stuff. I'm glad he's sober, though. I missed him."

"I bet." The son of Hermes said. "If my mom was... Well, she's not on anything, but if she was in her right mind, I might've gone back home, but she's not. Which is fine, I'm over it. How are you and Travis doing?"

I hugged one of the sweaters as the unfiltered thought escaped my lips.

"I don't know why people don't want to be around me."

"You wh— what?"

And then I realized that I said that out loud.

"I just... We're not," I explained to Luke, sitting down on my bed. "Last week I went to ask him about what he wanted to do this fall and the answer to that was nothing, apparently. He officially friend zoned me, which wouldn't be an issue, but he was talking about taking a break from hanging out and he didn't know if he'd even be able to leave camp because of the rules, even though those have never stopped him before and it just..."

Hugging the sweater turned into hugging myself.

"I just feel like if my dad was literally anyone else this wouldn't be happening." I went on. "Because before I was claimed it didn't happen. Kids we're nice to me and they didn't try to avoid me or be short with me or just... I don't know, Luke. You noticed it, too? I'm not crazy, am I? Because Mr. D insisted that it was just anxiety and Grover and Annabeth insist that they don't know why and I just... I don't get it. I don't get why people don't want to be around me anymore."

"Aw, Perce, I'm sorry man," Luke apologized, being mindful of the fact that I was already anxious so physical comfort wouldn't be helpful. He just flashed me a saddened smile. "You're definitely not crazy, and despite what he said to you, Mr. D and Chiron both noticed it. Personally, I think it's dumb."

"You do?"

He nodded.

"So do you know why it happened?"

Luke opened his mouth and closed it again, debating.

"How well can you keep a promise?"

"I'll take it to my grave."

The son of Hermes took a breath.

"So there's this great prophecy that was issued like, decades ago," he began, which I might have heard of. "It's the real reason why the big three stopped having kids—not just because they're powerful. The prophecy basically says that when a child of the eldest gods turns 16, there will be some sort of conflict that could destroy Olympus and that a hero will die that day. And a lot of people assume that the child of the eldest gods will also be the hero, so..."

His voice drifted.

"At first we assumed Thalia since she was your age when we got to camp, but then she... Never got to camp, so..." Luke shrugged. "Ignoring cabin 4, amongst others, you're the only other big three kid. So you're right, and you're not crazy— it's literally because of your dad, and it's stupid because a lot of kids don't live that long at camp and also it doesn't say that you're the hero. Kids are just... Mean. I'm sorry that Travis ended things suddenly. Chiron and Mr. D didn't want us telling you about the prophecy, though, so don't... Don't bring it up to them."

"I..."

My voice drifted.

"They don't want me knowing?"

Luke shrugged.

"Their words, not mine," the son of Hermes confirmed. "Chiron I'm sure doesn't want you to try and avoid the prophecy, even though avoiding prophecies never works. As for Mr. D, maybe he's just worried it'd cause you to like, off yourself, but I'm not sure. The others are also forced to hold their tongues on Chiron and Mr. D's orders."

"The oth... Grover and Annabeth?"

He nodded.

"I don't doubt Grover possibly telling you when he returns from wherever it is he's going now to look for Pan," Luke went on. "Since he won't be on thin ice with Mr. D anymore, he'll probably tell you at least some of it. I honestly don't know how much he knows, just that he knows about the prophecy's existence and that he knows that you're a contender for it."

"I did make him pinkie promise to tell me," I conceded Luke's point, hugging my sweater as it morphed against the lower half of my face, muffling my next question. "does everyone at camp know? About the prophecy?"

Luke went quiet.

"Um... It's hard to say," he struggles to answer. "A lot of the campers who have been there for a long time know because of what happened with... With Thalia, um... We weren't sure if she was considered dead being a tree and all so we kept track of her age, but she turned sixteen— would've turned sixteen, last year and nothing happenened."

Not knowing how to respond, a silence fell between us as I noticed a sort of nostalgia that Luke was grasping for.

It was obvious that the son of Hermes missed the daughter of Zeus—painfully, it seemed at times. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they were dating, but I haven't had the nerve to ask.

"Regardless," Luke cut the silence. "I should probably head out—lots of unpacking to do."

"Oh, yeah!" I responded. "I'll walk...."

But as he turned, the gleam of his sword (what did mortals see where his sword was?) caught my eye.

It was a silver gleam, rather than bronze.

"Is that a new sword?"

"Hm?" Luke hummed and then smiled his classic, cynical grin. "oh, yeah! I call it backbiter, I got it at the very end of summer."

"Is.... Is it a normal sword? Like, is it made out of normal metal?"

"Oh, no. Well... Yes and no," he told me, taking it out of the holster for me to see. "It's half mortal steel, half celestial bronze, so it can cut through anything."

"That's..."

Holding the blade, it was a bit too heavy for me (after all, I've only trained 3 months, Luke has for 5 years), but as I ran my hand along it's hilt, slowly recalling something Chiron told me one day while he'd been telling me more about Riptide.

"I didn't... Realize you could make a sword like this."

Luke smirked.

"You like it?" He asked and I nodded my head, because it was just... A cool weapon. It looked cool. "They can make weapons like this, they choose not to. I had it custom made from a friend. You want one?"

"But wouldn't that be like, super expensive?"

Luke shrugged.

"You know how to paint a wall?"

Confused by the question, I told him that of course I can paint a wall.

"Then come by sometime this week when you're not busy," Luke wrote down his address for me, handing it over. "I'm repainting one of the rooms in my apartment. Help me out with it and it'll cover the sword. It's not that expensive, don't worry—you'll save me a lot of money on painters. I'll tell him to scale it after riptide for weight— unless you want a different type of weapon?"

Asking if a dagger was an option, Luke assured me he should get a set for the same cost as a regular sword.

After all, Riptide always returns to me, but it's not immediately and I'd like to have a good back up if I lose Riptide in the middle of a fight where I won't be close enough to the water to ensure I can fight and survive.

"Then I'll see you later this week, I'll let you know what he says about the daggers," Luke resheathed his sword and put his shoes on. "also, you might want to talk to a child of Hecate or something like that about putting a charm on your apartment to mask your location. Between you and your step dad both being demigods and your mom being clear sighted, it's really not all that safe here."

With that, the son of Hermes left the apartment, and as if he called it, a small monster did try to get into the apartment from our window that was cracked open.

Luckily, Gabe had a faster reaction time than the monster and he was able to hit the thing with the butt of his knife that I was just now realizing wasn't a normal knife, but rather a celestial bronze one.

The monster hit the asphalt and crumbled to dust.

"Hm," Dad commented. "Your friend was a bit on the nose there. Are you hungry still? There's some food left."

Feeling my stomach growl, I took my dad's offer to finish the soup off and returned to my spot in the living room.

I was glad to be home.

"Oh!" Mom said as something must've come to mind for her. "I got a call back from the Immersion School down the road, and they said they'd take you this year!"

But that didn't mean I was excited for school to start again.

•••

Later that week, I went to the address Luke gave me, which was a small apartment in Hell's Kitchen.

"Hey, you survived the commute!" The son of Hermes greeted me at the door, stepping aside to let me in. "I just finished laying all the tarps, so your timing is perfect. Do you want anything to drink before we start?"

"Uh... Do you have a coke?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Do I ever not?"

He had a point.

As we started painting the walls, Luke asked me about any updates I'd gotten from Grover (which was just that he'd made it upstate his first night gone) before we started to talk about school and then eventually camp.

After all, it's the one thing we have in common.

Oh, that and we also vented about our bio dad's because they suck.

"You said you met him once, right?" I asked Luke. "After your quest?"

"Hm?" Luke hummed back before processing the question. "Oh, no, it was way before then. He wouldn't even look at me after my quest."

He paused.

"It was right before I ran away," Luke explained, but that surprised me and he was able to see that. "yeah, it surprised me, too. I'd wanted to meet him my whole life because my mom wasn't in the right mental state to be taking care of a kid, so I always hoped he'd come and either take me away or heal her and he just... And it's not that he couldn't help her or help or check in he just.... Wouldn't... he refused to."

"He refused?"

Luke shook his head.

"The one time we met, it was... Before I left," he reminded me, his shoulders dropping. "Not long before, though. He'd seen my mother and of course she went manic seeing him and I asked him if he could like, heal her or help her in any way, even if that was like, paying for the medication that might help and he just... He asked why he would do that. He didn't do it to her, so why would he cure it?"

"He did not."

"You're right, he didn't, but he did say that." Luke confirmed, putting his paint brush in the water cup as we'd just finished the room he wanted painted. "The gods are awful parents."

"You can say that again. I'm the son of Mr. I'm sorry you were born— like if you really were you would've told my mom to have an abortion."

"It's dumb," he agreed as I put my brush next to his and wiped the paint off my hands. He pulled out a small box from the closet. "It's alright, I might have a plan to make them at least pay child support. But first, your blades."

Carefully, Luke handed me the wooden box.

"Open it."

Doing as he said, I opened to see a dagger and a knife both sitting on top of their own scabbards.

Unlike Luke's sword, which had a clean split between the metals, the bronze, gold, steel and iron in my blades were all fused together so it made really cool swirls almost like marble.

"It's made out of celestial bronze, imperial gold, stygian iron, and regular steel," the son of Hermes informed me. "Nothing's gonna survive a stab from those things— I wouldn't use them at camp, if I were you."

"Because Chiron doesn't like the metal mixing, right?"

Luke nodded.

"Do you like them?"

"These are the coolest things I've ever seen, Luke."

He smiled.

"I'll tell my guy that you like the work," Luke responded. "There's one more thing, though, if you want to keep them."

Curious, I raised an eyebrow..

"Like what?"

"Oh, nothing big." He reassured me, crossing his arms. "Let's make a deal. I'll teach you how to use those, and I'll keep teaching you how to not kill yourself with your sword."

He paused, extending his hand towards me.

"You help me do something so our parents finally pay their child support."

But it was almost too easy.

I shook his hand.

"It's a deal."

Notes:

y'all ready for mr double agent Jackson or what

Chapter 22: In Which I'm Forced To Sign An NDA

Percy Jackson

The good news: the prophecy finally made sense.

Luke, technically, was the friend who betrayed me— though I'd argue that we weren't friends when it happened because I was framed before he really knew I existed.

Also, he wasn't the one who framed me.

Zeus was still the one who did that by blaming it on me before I was even at camp.

So spoiler alert: Luke was the lightning thief. Mystery solved. He told me about me not long after I agreed to help him on plan Pay Child Support.

I'm sure in another universe, that fact angers me and drives me to like, hate Luke or something. But my irritation and frustration towards my dad and the gods as a whole (but mostly my dad) was exponentially larger than the slight betrayal I felt towards Luke when he initially told me about it.

We trained a couple times a week after school, just depending on when our schedules worked out since Luke was going to school while he was also the current de facto leader of what will hopefully be some sort of uprising against the gods.

My parents didn't know that part. They just knew about the fact that we train a few times a week because he was my original instructor.

They like Luke. They think he's really nice. Sometimes mom and Gabe invite him over for dinner to make up for how often he'll feed me after we get done training.

Schools been mind-numbing this year, though. My only real solace has been that I can actually take an art class where I'm not doing the same thing as all of the other kids this year, so I could actually feel creative. All of our assignments were just very general (self-portrait, landscape, non-traditional, etc...) so we'd keep the same themes, but have different projects.

The one I was proudest of was definitely my "ethereal" assignment, in which I painted myself falling from 'heaven' (Mount Olympus) down into the River Styx. It was done on three old skateboard decks I had— one which I did have to glue back together for this assignment.

If only my teacher knew how non-symbolic that assignment was.

As it is almost every other year, I made one (1) friend at the Portuguese Immersion Middle School of Manhattan: Tyson.

And, as it is almost every other year, being Tyson's friend did mean I had no other friends.

In a nice turn of events, however, the kids here didn't call me any slurs for being gay.

Called me the r word a few times, and in Portuguese no less.

After all, it is an immersion school.

I would personally argue that it being a Portuguese immersion school made it pretty weird that that's the slur they decided to call me there, though, since at least half of the schools population was Brazilian. And I mean, Brazilians aren't necessarily light or dark skinned, but still. 

It was fucked up. 

You should've seen the look on my parents face's when I asked them what that word meant in English because I didn't know and the teacher didn't hear it.

You learn something new every day.

As for Tyson, though, he was nice. He was there on a scholarship as some sort of research because he's homeless and while he's gone to school before, he hasn't been able to go every year because he's not just like, living with his parents in a shelter.

He literally lives in a cardboard box like three blocks away from the school.

After we found that out, Mom and Gabe tried to get ahold of child protective services and of the school counselor and like a million other people to try and get Tyson into a shelter or maybe a foster home or somewhere that wasn't on the street.

But according to everyone they talked to, Tyson didn't exist. For one reason or another, Tyson doesn't exist on paper.

And yet it doesn't bother him. True, he's clueless a lot of the time and I don't think he really understands how shitty it is that his parents just... Abandoned him (he has no memories of them), but he seems perfectly content in his cardboard box— even in the middle of winter (when we tried to get him to stay with us, but he refused to, so we supplied him with a lot of blankets and heat packs) .

The one really cool thing about Tyson is that we skateboard together. He's not super good at it yet, but he thinks that "flat cars" are the coolest thing in the world. If only Grover had shared that attitude last year, I think Yancy could've been a lot more fun.

(Grover's really bad at skateboarding).

Speaking of Grover, I haven't... Heard from him in a while. After he called that first night, we set up a system where he called every other week and he also wrote so usually I'd get his letters on the weeks he didn't call and it was working out really well.

And then one day about a month ago, it just... Stopped.

Like, I didn't get a letter and we just wrote it off that it could've gotten lost in the mail or maybe he just hadn't had time to find a post office yet. It happens.

But then he didn't call.

And then he missed another letter.

And that's when I... Started to realize what might've happened.

Today was supposed to be another Iris message day—usually he would've called three hours ago, but he didn't.

So now I was just sitting at my desk, trying to distract myself with my sketchbook, and falling to do so.

I barely registered the knock on my door before I hear it open to my left.

"Hey, you are here!" Luke's voice was a quick reminder that we were also supposed to train today because we always do after Grover calls. It's my usual routine on Fridays: school, swim, Grover, Luke. "You feeling alright, Perce? You never skip out on training without a heads up."

I looked at the time, realizing that we were supposed to meet almost an hour ago.

"Shit, sorry, I..." It was a bad apology, but whatever, right? "I was waiting for Grover to call and I just... Didn't look at the time. Sorry."

"He hasn't called yet?" But Luke knew our routine, so he knew that that was weird. "do you know where he is, or where he said he was going? If it's a different time zone, maybe he just forgot about the time difference."

But even Luke seemed to know that that was a very optimistic hope for what Grover's trying to do.

"He was... He was down by Florida last I heard from him, but that was... A month ago now?" I figured, which evidently concerned him. "yeah, it's... I haven't gotten any letters and he didn't call two weeks ago and if he'd only missed one of those things I wouldn't be as worried, but now it's been four weeks without any contact and I'm just..."

You'll see me again, I promise.

"I miss him."

Luke gave me a sad smile, hesitating before putting a hand on my shoulder in order to allow me time to tell him that I don't want the reassurance.

"Let's just hope he only ran out of drachmas and stamps, okay?" Luke insisted. "Do you want to come with to see the ship? I got the call earlier today that they just finished building it, so we'll set sail pretty soon. After Silena sends me an all clear from camp."

"After she sends... Silena's helping out, too?"

Nodding his head, Luke and I walked out of my room so I could leave a note for me parents to tell them I'd be gone for a little longer than usual tonight.

"I ran into her a few weeks back, she'd snuck out of camp to get some stuff for her cabin," the son of Hermes explained. "We got to talking and it turns out that she doesn't really like her mom and the way her mom treats both the people she's been with and the kids she has. She'll be a spy while you're not there— she would probably die if she left camp without Clarisse, so."

"Are... They friends?"

Luke nodded his head, telling me that Clarisse and Silena have always had an oddly strong friendship, though he doesn't know why.

They just have always hung out and their cabins are usually allies in things like capture the war since they're both counselors.

"Oh, also, speaking of friends," Luke reminded me as we headed towards the harbor. "I'm sure I mentioned it before, but don't mention this stuff to Annabeth or Grover. Unless they take sudden turns in their attitudes towards our parents..."

"I'd never dream of it, Luke," I reassured the older demigod. "Annabeth would like... Get really mad and then definitely snitch to Mr. D, which is dangerous because like... He talks to my parents since he's Gabe's dad. As for Grover... I don't think he'd be mad, I just don't think he can lie convincingly enough to not end up telling somebody else. Who else at camp is there that's joined?"

"Um... Not many others, Chris Rodriguez, one of my brothers," he told me, shrugging. "There's a handful of demigods who are closer to my age who left camp in the last few years that are helping. The only other person you might know would be Ethan Nakamura. He's like a year or two younger than you, his mom doesn't have a cabin but he was claimed. He's no longer at camp. I'm unsure if Chris will be there or not."

But had I ever spoken with the kid, it didn't ring a bell, so I just shook my head.

"So Silena as a spy, and then Chris and Ethan," I vocalized. "Us, obviously. Do you think Thalia would join? If the plan works?"

"I hope so, she's... She was always bitter about her parents, both sides. I'd be a little surprised if she didn't. The only tricky thing will be the age thing— nobody knows how she's aged, if at all. If she hasn't, then she's 13 and you'd turn sixteen before she would since her birthday is in December."

"And if she's aged?"

"Well if she's aged normally, then she'd already be 18, turning 19, so... We just have to see if her aging slowed down, I guess. If so, then our timeline might change, but hopefully she just aged normally."

I rolled my eyes.

"Why? You miss your girlfriend?"

He nudged me.

"Shut up, Jackson, I could ask you the same thing about Grover. Or Travis, for that matter."

"Travis— you know that Travis and I haven't spoken since I left camp," I reminded the older demigod who's more or less taken on the role of my big brother. "it's going to be really awkward if he's on the counsel this summer, I'm not looking forward to it. Also, Grover's my best friend, you can't hold that against me."

"A best friend that cuddles with you and gives you a kiss on the top of the head?"

I rolled my eyes as we approached the harbor, seeing a number of docked yachts in the area.

"What boat is ours?"

•••
Clarisse La Rue

I hate almost every kid in this stupid fucking Camp. I can't stand them most of the time.

There is one exception, though.

"What if we just like, don't go to the counsel meeting?" Silena proposed as we relaxed in the woods together after skipping both of our archery classes today. As of now, I sat against a tree as Silena used my right leg as a body pillow.

The things this girl does to me is unfair.

"I mean, I hate those meetings as much as the next counselor," I began. "but we already skipped archery with Chiron, so we'd definitely be in trouble, and I'm not cleaning stables the first week of summer."

"You say that like you and Percy won't both get in trouble within the first week anyways because one of you might punch the other on sight."

I rolled my eyes.

"We barely even talked the last half of summer, and it's bold of you to assume that Chiron even has it in him to punish the kid." I reminded the daughter of Aphrodite. "Like, I feel bad that he's probably gonna die like.... Young, but that doesn't make him less annoying, nor does it mean he should get out of trouble when he breaks the rules. Does anyone even know when the prophecy would unravel? That feels important."

"Annabeth probably would, she's read the prophecy."

I groaned at the prospect of having to hold a conversation with the daughter of Athena.

"But I can't stand Annabeth."

"You can't stand most people, darling," Silena reminded me as she sat up and made my heart squeeze itself as a way to threaten to kill me. "Come on, I'd rather not smell like pegasi poop for the better part of a week."

Walking towards the Big House with Silena, it was obvious that summer had just started: all activities were running, and new kids could be found with their protectors and older demigod getting tours of the camp or getting sized for armor and fitted with a weapon.

Try as I might, though, I couldn't spot Grover Underwood anywhere.

Then again, he's friends with Percy and Annabeth, so maybe he was at the Big House with them, catching up after the school year.

I wonder how Annabeth's parents took the news about her.

I guess it couldn't be awful if she didn't come back until the start of summer.

Walking up to the old farm house, I immediately spotted Annabeth talking with a few other counselors on the porch: Travis Stoll (Connor and Travis ended up taking over after Luke left last summer), Katie Gardener (counselor of the Demeter cabin), and Lee Fletcher (counselor for the Apollo cabin). Basically, the counselors who have been here for as long as you can be here.

No satyrs, though.

"Clarisse, Silena, hey!" Travis called as we walked up the steps to the porch. "we were wondering if you two were coming, usually you're earlier to meetings than this."

"Because I want to sit through another probably pointless meeting to talk about campers I don't even know yet," I stabbed back to the son of Hermes. "Where's Aquaman and his sidekick? Summer session starts today, does it not?"

"Percys school year runs a little later, he'll be here Friday," Annabeth filled me in. "As for Grover... Has anyone heard from him since he left? Last I heard from him was right around New Year's."

"New Year's?" Lee commented. "And you're sure he's not dead?"

Annabeth shrugged, nudging the new cabin 11 counselor.

"You're friends with Percy, right? Has he said anything to you about Grover? The last time we talked, Grover didn't get brought up."

"I— I mean I wouldn't call Percy and me friends." Travis immediately disclaimed what was so well known last summer, though. The entire Hermes cabin knew they they were friends and always gave Travis shit for it, so most other campers also overheard. "We're not that close and we haven't... We haven't talked since summer ended anyways, so I have no idea."

"The fuck you mean you guys aren't friends?" I called Travis out. "You went to his cabin all the fucking time last summer— I would know, I'm his neighbor. Is friend not the right term? Do you want us to call him your boyfriend instead?"

As Connor walked over, Travis took one of the Coke's from him and took a sip to calm down before answering— his cheeks definitely a little pinker than before.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"So he denied you?"

"So he denied you, shut up, Clarisse, no, he didn't." But Travis was either feeling snarky today or I hit a soft spot, or maybe even both. "even I'm not dumb enough to invest in somebody who's gonna die in what? Two years?"

"If he doesn't kill himself first, yeah." Annabeth confirmed. "Two summers from now. If Chiron is dumb enough and Mr. D chills out enough to send him on another quest, he'll probably just kill himself, though."

"He..." Silena hesitated. "What makes you say that?"

Annabeth shrugged.

"He doesn't know that I know, but he didn't think he'd actually survive jumping from the St. Louis Arch when the Chimera attacked him," but for as mean as I might be, actually telling another person that somebody else you mutually know tried to kill themself, without permission of that person, just felt cruel in a very different manner. "There was one night on the quest where we were in this circus truck and I woke up because I heard something get thrown and I didn't move since it'd just startled me, but Percy has this big overreaction to a lot of what'd been happening during the quest and in general and Grover coddled him or whatever, but he told Grover about that when he was freaking out. He didn't care about that quest at all—that's why he was stupid enough to fight your dad, Clarisse. I thought we were gonna get zapped in Denver because of how Percy spoke to him."

I wish you were, I thought to myself. Then I wouldn't have to listen to you dig out other people's skeletons.

"He.... Okay, you didn't have to give us that much detail, but good to know," I reminded her. "I'm heading in—who knows, maybe we'll go over respecting boundaries during this meeting. Some people evidently need it."

If Annabeth was a daughter of Hecate, she probably would've killed me with the daggers she glared into me as I walked into the Big House and went back to the room behind the lobby/living area, where the tennis table resided for us to sit around during meetings.

I've never seen a single person actually play table tennis in here.

I don't think we even have the paddles or balls or it anymore.

That is, unless Mr. D hides them so he can play non-alcoholic beer pong with Chiron at night once we've passed curfew since him and the old man don't actually have to sleep.

As people filtered in, I noticed Mr. D and Chiron share some... Tense words, which made me nervous about the meeting.

Like, this meeting isn't out of the ordinary. We usually have one during the first week of summer just to like, make sure we're on the same page if anything going on— usually if any campers are in the middle of punishments or like, last year, we talked about the bolt being missing. It wasn't new, though, and Chiron and Mr. D weren't as stressed about that as they were about this.

So maybe WWIII was about to happen. Maybe Percy brought a fake bolt to Zeus somehow and they just figured it out, I don't know.

"Alright, we should get started," Chiron annnounced as Mr. D closed the door. "Thank you everyone for.... Coming. Summer campers, counselors, welcome back. I hope you all had a wonderful time at your homes and with your families. Welcome back, Annabeth, we missed you this year. Have you heard from Grover recently?"

Shaking her head, Annabeth thanked him and insisted that she hasn't spoken with Grover in a few months now.

"Aw, that's alright, I'm sure he's spoken with Percy, who we'll see later this week." Chiron continued before looking at the camp director. "Right, Mr. D?"

"Hm? Yeah, end of the week."

Across from me, Annabeth and I both shared a look of confusion when Mr. D said that because why...

Why does he know that?

"Anyways, that is besides the point, I was just curious," Chiron went on. "Once again, I'm glad to see you've all made it here safe and sound. But once again, we go into summer this year with some.... Unfortunate news, I guess you could call it."

"What? Are Olympians fighting again? Is there another world war to prevent?" Beckendorf, the counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, questioned. "It can't get much worse than that, can it?"

I sat Mr. D bite his tongue.

"Well it... On a larger scale, it's not as severe, but we worry that it may spread and cause larger issues over the summer if we can't stop it now." The centaur continued, taking a breath. "as many, if not all of you know, the magic pine tree that ensures the borders to Camp Half Blood are secure and exist in the first place, Thalia's Tree, was created from the spirit of Thalia Grace, a demigod who was recruited many years ago and died on the hill during her recruitment. It is the very veil that separates our world from the mortal world."

He took a breath.

"So it is with great disappointment," Chiron concluded. "that I inform you all of the fact that, as of this morning, somebody has poisoned Thalia's Tree."

There was a beat of silence as all 13 counselors in the room fell into a state of disbelief, the shock setting in.

Why would somebody poison our border?

"We believe it may be some form of rebellion that could be linked to the stealing of the Master Bolt," Mr. D informed me, which I guess makes sense, but... "Seeing as we still don't know who did that, however, we don't know where to begin, or moreover, who to begin with. Zeus is allowing 72 hours for the traitor of either or both incidents to step foward, so if you see any suspicious behavior, please let us know."

"And if nobody steps forward?" I asked.

Chiron looked down, unable to meet our gazes.

"Then I will."

"Wh— but Chiron, you can't," Annabeth argued one of the few things I'd be able to agree with her on. "We have to find out who did it—are there any leads? It's only fair."

"We haven't singled out any demigods that are present, we're asking you all to let us know if you think anyone should be," Chiron responded calmly. "Ideally, we will find them, but if we don't, accountability must be taken, and as the camp supervisor, it falls to me."

There was a beat of silence.

"And plus, if I must go, you all won't be abandoned," he tried to justify something nobody wanted. "Mr. D will remain here as your Camp Director and somebody, I'm unsure who, will fill my position as well. But as I said, we have 72 hours to find the demigod responsible. I know many of you have done much harder things in less time than that. I believe in all of you. Do you have any questions? Once our full council arrives, we'll have our annual start of summer meeting, but until then, please keep eyes and ears open for any odd behavior."

As a few people started to get up and stretch, a hand shot into the air— Connor Stoll.

"You got something to add, Cornelius?" Mr. D asked.

"Sir," Connor confirmed as everyone paused to look his way. "it's just an idea in the back of my mind right now, take it with a grain of salt, but I can't help but thinking if..."

He bit his tongue.

"What if the person who poisoned the tree and the person who stole the bolt, assuming they're the same person, or at least working with each other," Connor Stoll suggested. "What if they're older demigods, or demigods who never went to camp?"

And to their credit, it's not like a lot of kids live that long here, so I didn't blame Mr. D or Chiron for being surprised by the idea.

"Do... You have a demigod in mind?"

Connor shrugged.

"I could list a couple."

Notes:

finally updated the ships and tags

Chapter 23: I Thought Arranged Marriages Were Illegal

Notes:

Welcome to the Sea of Monsters rewrite bby

Percy Jackson

Do you ever have a dream so deliriously fucked up that you wonder how your brain can come up with that shit?

After having an almost identical dream for three nights in a row, do you also then realize that maybe it's not a dream that came from the fact that you miss your best friend and and are worried that he hasn't called or written in a month?

Yeah, I was talking to Gabe about it and was reminded very gently that demigod dreams are sometimes not dreams but visions, so...

"Percy?" It was my fourth night of what I now realized wasn't a dream. "Percy, hey! I don't know if you can hear me or sense me or.... Anything at all, I assume you're asleep? Sorry if it's getting repetitive, but I haven't felt any sort of response and I just um..."

There was a loud bang that made Grover jump as I started to notice what it was he was wearing because it was so different from his usual camp shirt and jeans.

"I'm alive, I'm okay, I'm... I'm alive," my best friend reassured me. "I'm sorry that I went AWOL, it wasn't by choice, but I was following a scent off the coast of Florida and then I blacked out and I woke up and had no drachmas, no money, and no writing supplies. I finally was able to create a mental link between us which I can... Explain more of later, but—"

There was more stomping.

"But I found out why a lot of people haven't come back from the search, I'm... Trapped, more or less, and I... I'm biding time, which is why I'm in a wedding dress, but I can't... I can't do this forever, Percy, please..."

"FOOD IS DONE?" A booming voice said not too far away from where Grover sat, making him jump.

"In a few minutes, dearest!" Hearing my best friend try to sound like a girl was maybe the most alarming thing about the situation. "I'll let you know when it's done, as I promised."

The footsteps walked away and my best friend looked like he exhaled about ten years of his lifespan away.

"Not to sound like a damsel in distress, but please come save me," Grover pleaded. "If you... If you can hear me, please let me know somehow."

Trying really hard to become telepathic, I prayed Grover got the message: hi.

It was very simple, but if I can't send more than that, trying more would be useless.

He smiled.

"I miss you, too," and while that isn't what the message said, maybe he could sense my relief from knowing this was him or my sadness from the fact that I haven't been able to talk to him in a month now. "I'm somewhere off the coast of Florida— I don't know where exactly, but the closer you get, the stronger our connection, okay?"

Unsure if he could see me, I nodded my head.

"I'll see you soon, Percy," he promised with a smile that was sad, scared, and hopeful all at the same time. "Please don't make me a child bride."

The fact that I had to go to school after I woke up from that was a load of bullshit.

It was the last day, though, and since Tyson wouldn't be accepted back to the school next year for 8th grade, I wanted to say goodbye in case we never hang out again.

"Hey, sweetie," Mom said as I walked out to try to eat my feelings away in the form of blue pancakes. "Feeling okay? Aren't you excited that schools done after today? You get to go to camp tonight and see your friends!"

I shrugged.

"Did Grover reach out again?" Dad asked me as I nodded in response. He passed me a plate.

"He's in trouble somewhere in Florida," I summarized for my parents. "I'm going to talk to Chiron and Mr. D about it when I get to camp. He says he lost a lot of stuff, so... I don't know where he is exactly, just that he... Is. In trouble. He's in trouble."

"That's the best thing you can do for him right now," Mom tried to reassure me, but there was already a plan in motion that I didn't have the heart to share with her. "Chiron and Mr. D will make sure Grover makes it back alive— after all, they can't just let you guys die, right?"

But she didn't have to know about that yet. About the plan Luke and I have made for this summer, or the falseness of her statement.

I faked a smile.

"Yeah." I agreed, even though I saw Gabe's expression falter when Mom insisted that. "right. They can't."

But they do anyways.

"Do you want a ride to school?" Gabe asked me. "I have an appointment today, I'll be driving by the school anyways."

I shook my head, pointing towards my backpack.

"I want to skateboard while I still can," I reminded my dad. "I feel like I haven't been able to break my new board in this year."

"Oh, yeah! Where did you get that board from? I don't remember seeing it before this fall."

I smiled.

"Just uh... A place in Denver," I answered vaguely. "Grover and Annabeth didn't think I'd actually carry it around for the rest of the quest, but I did."

"Hey, that's a good spoil of war if I've ever seen one." Gabe insisted, slowly moving to mess with my hair. Cautious, if you will. "Have a good day and tell Tyson and also D that I say hi, okay?"

Nodding my head, I promised to send the message along.

My relationship with Gabe this last year has been... Slowly reforming. While we talked a lot after I got home and there wasn't any sort of harsh change there it was...

Like, he's healing now and he's my dad again and that's great.

But it was a couple of months after I got home before I regularly let him initiate physical contact between the two of us because it... It was hard to unlearn.

He didn't hit me frequently, but the few times he did...

We're working through it.

Once Gabe was gone, Mom smiled at me.

"We'll miss you this summer," she reminded me for the millionth time (a fact I'd die before telling her I was glad about). "Thank you for not pushing Gabe away, I... I know it means a lot to him that you still call him Dad. Do you want more food? Are you still hungry?"

"Hm? Oh, uh, maybe just a little." I responded, handing her my plate. "And I mean, it's not like Poseidon ever... Acted like my dad. Just because I know him now doesn't mean Gabe isn't my dad. He should know that like, better than anyone. He's also a demigod."

"Oh, he knows that, sweetheart, but I mean more about... The last few years, before Poseidon." Mom clarified, which I guess made sense. "He was really worried those few hours between me getting home and you stopping in that you were done with him or that you'd run away or..."

She shook her head, giving me my plate back.

"Sometimes he still gets worried, but I think it's more guilt than anything now," Mom went on. "How uh... I know we asked when you were little, but how would you feel about having a younger sibling?"

The question, I think reasonably, stunned me.

"A younger sibling?"

It brought back memories of the excited 7 year old kid that I was, before the school system started to turn against me being only in first grade then. The little ball of joy that Gabe taught how to skateboard and Mom taught how to bake.

It brought back memories of my sixth Christmas— my parents asking what I wanted and me telling them I wanted a little sibling to play with.

To their credit, they tried. Mom got pregnant not long after that.

But hearing Mom and Gabe's cries after she lost the baby...

I didn't understand it at the time, but I understood it when they came home without my little brother.

If the question were do I want a younger sibling, the answer would be easy: of course I do. I always have, and hopefully if I do get one, when I die it won't be... As hard for them.

Is that a bad thing to think about? How they'll react to my death?

It's sure to happen before theirs— regardless of if I'm the hero of the prophecy or not.

But the question wasn't if I wanted one, it was how I felt about the possibility of one.

"I mean, are you..." My first thought fell out of my mouth. "Can you still like, have a kid?"

And the moment it was out, I knew Mom didn't take it as intended.

"Wh... Of course, sweetheart, I'm not that old." She promised me. "Trust me, I'll have a lot of hot flashes when I am, but that's not for a long time."

"Hm? Oh, no, I didn't mean like... I don't know, I don't understand how pregnancy works besides like, sex, pregnancy, birth, kid. I meant just because you... Since you couldn't last time. I didn't know if there was a reason for that or..."

My voice faltered.

Mom frowned, realizing my point.

"Oh, Percy, no, that wasn't..." Mom took a breath, cupping my face in her hand. "That wasn't because of anything we should control, he just... His lungs and his heart couldn't fully develop."

"I know, I just... Like, having a little brother or sister would be really cool, but I don't want you to go through that again. That was really hard."

"It was hard," she agreed. "But it's been a while now, and with Gabe working more again and being in treatment, we've talked about it a little and just wanted to talk to you about it to make sure you didn't feel left out. You don't want to miss your last day of school, though, so you should get going. I'll see you when you get home, kiddo."

Giving me a kiss on the forehead, Mom sent me to school with a bag of cookies and very little motivation.

The fact that I didn't crash on my way to school was almost as much of a miracle as the fact that I didn't fail any classes this semester. Between the dream, what Mom had asked me, and what Luke was planning this summer, my brain has reached it's capacity of intense topics for the day.

It was Tyson that pulled me out of my head.

"Percy! Percy, you're here!" Tyson exclaimed as I skated towards the front entrance of the school. "Guess what I just heard!"

His voice reminded me of a little kid sometimes, especially when he got excited. Based on his tone right now, I wouldn't have been surprised to hear that he was going to a candy store after school today. Or that his non existent parents were bringing him to Disney World.

"What'd you hear?"

"That we—" he started to bounce up and down as I hopped off my board and walked into the Manhattan Portuguese Immersion Middle School for one final day of hell (that is, until next fall, because I miraculously was also not expelled). "Mr. Nunley says that we get to play dodge ball! In gym!"

"Oh, nice, how—"

"Ei, bicha!"

But even on the last day of school, I couldn't be free from the homophobes and their secret desire for British cigarettes.

I was blissfully ignorant most of my year when the 8th graders would call me that because I thought it meant bitch for the longest time. Until a few weeks ago, actually, when Tyson asked me what that meant and somebody else responded for me and I learned that it was a slur.

The more you know.

"It's the last day of school, Sloan," I reminded the kid, Matt Sloan, as he walked past. "Don't you have better things to do? Like, I don't know, punch a locker or something? Fail a math test maybe?"

He scoffed at me as a few other big kids walked to him, one that I recognized as a friend of his, but the other two...

"Just wait, Jackass," Sloan threatened me. "Me and my new friends will destroy you during dodgeball today— and if you live to see the end of it, we'll do it all next year."

"Next year?"

"Every day."

I blinked.

"So you're being held back?" I pointed out because we are at a middle school. Which is grades 5-8. "What? Spend too much time trying to make yourself feel powerful that you forgot to study?"

He scoffed.

"Have fun with your slimeball friends," I dismissed Tyson and I, walking towards our first class of the day. "I'm going to go pass my classes and graduate on time."

•••

I got expelled.

Or, I'm assuming I got expelled.

After Matt Sloan and his new friends got desperate enough to turn into Lastrygonian Giants during gym class in order to win a game of dodgeball, they turned the dodgeballs into steaming hot balls of metal that I couldn't even touch (but Tyson could) and managed to light the entire gym on fire to win a game they didn't even win because Tyson and I killed them.

So, considering that, and then considering my previous records in schools, I'll probably have to find a new middle school next fall.

If I survive the summer, that is.

After the explosion, I noticed Annabeth outside, which confused me since we haven't spoken in over a month.

"Wh— Wise Girl?" I asked as Tyson and I hauled ass away from the school as I could hear the emergency sirens start to sound. Cops would be here soon. "What are you doing here? We didn't make plans and I forgot, did we?"

"Hm? Oh no, I just had to run into town to get some supplies for the Athena cabin," she explained, holding up her backpack. "saw how close I was to school and figured I'd wait the 20 minutes and we could go back together to save Argus a drive but... What happened? Who..."

Visibly trying to mask how uncomfortable she was, Annabeth motioned to Tyson.

"Is he?"

And you know, I understand that Tyson isn't the model student or a model kid. He's freakishly tall, he doesn't have the best hygeine because he sleeps out of a literal refrigerator box in an alley, and he has some type of learning disability so he doesn't get everything all the time.

But he's also a really nice and well-intentioned person. He's very excitable and willing to try new things.

So I tried to not let Annabeth's reaction to Tyson bother me, but I'd be lying if I said that it didn't annoy me.

"Oh, yeah, sorry," I started as we ducked into Tyson's alley. "Annabeth, this is Tyson, a friend from school. Tyson, this is my friend Annabeth from camp."

"I am Tyson from this alley, " he agreed, nodding his head. "Annabeth is pretty."

"Thank you..." Annabeths voice lingered as she flashed me an urgent look. "can we talk for a second?"

"In private? I guess."

We walked towards the other end of the alley, and even though she requested he not be a part of this conversation, Annabeth kept glancing back at Tyson.

"If him calling you pretty made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry," I apologized ahead of time. "he's just trying to be nice and he doesn't always know—"

"You befriended a cyclopes?"

"What do you mean I..."

Looking over towards Tyson, I took a second to actually look at him. Most of the year, because of how tall he is (at least 6ft tall) and how long his hair is (being homeless meant no haircuts, and even when Mom cut it for him, he was afraid of going short), I wasn't always looking him in the eyes when I spoke. Often times I'd just look in the general direction of his face because I couldn't easily see it half of the time anyways.

So sue me for being persuaded by the Mist until just now when I focused on Tyson's face and noticed that, rather than two eyes, he only had one big brown eye right in the middle of his head.

"Okay, so maybe he's a cyclopes," I reasoned with the daughter of Athena. "he's still nice, and he helped me kill the giants!"

"Yeah, probably before he was going to kill you," she whisperer lectured me. "He's a monster, Percy."

As if on cue, Tyson sat down in his box as a stray cat walked into the alley and started to run against Tyson's leg.

"Cat!" Tyson exclaimed with a smile. He pet the cat very gently before calling out to us. "Percy! An... Ann-a-beth, there is a cat! Look! It likes me!"

"That's cool!" I responded as Annabeth was visibly unsure about how to respond to him. I shot her a pointed look. "It probably knows how nice you are."

Annabeth sighed.

"We have to get to camp, people are going to freak out if we're not back in time for dinner." The slightly older demigod insisted, crossing her arms. "so stop being an ass, Jackson, and let's go. Argus is waiting."

And as the daughter of Athena started to walk away, I remained where I was.

"Wh— Percy, come on." And as much as I could see she was anxious about the time, I didn't like that she called Tyson a monster and then proceeded to call me an ass immediately after. "We have to go, Seaweed Brain, before one of his friends or the cops find us."

By his friends, Annabeth definitely meant other cyclopes Tyson could know, but she seemed to manifest the cops getting nearer.

"I—oh my gods, let's just go," I said as Tyson caught up with us, of which I was glad for.

"Where we going?" The gentle giant asked as the car was also with, staying on his shoulder. "Away from cops? Cops are mean."

"You're not—"

"Yeah, Tyson, we're going far away from the cops," but if Annabeth wanted to be that way with Tyson, she could find a different way back to camp. I could just drive in with my parents, like we originally planned. "We're—"

Mom was supposed to pick me up from school to go straight to camp. I wonder if she's—

"PERCY!" Gabe's voice got all of our attentions as we rounded a corner where my dad was— just walking out of an office building that I think might've been his therapist's office. "WHAT HAPPENED? I JUST—"

Taking advantage of the chaos, a monster came out of the alley closer to Gabe and grabbed his shoulder.

"MR. JACKSON!" Annabeth screamed as we ran for my dad (for slightly different reasons).

I wanted a ride.

Annabeth thought the monster was going to kill him.

"Wh— oh, you motherfucker," Gabe snarled as he pulled his knife out and stabbed the monster behind him, kicking it away as to not get the dust on him when it started to disintegrate.

It was far from Gabe's first monster kill. That was probably his third one this month.

If not week.

He said it's gone up since I went to camp.

"Thank you for the warning, Annabeth," Gabe said, putting the knife back in it's holster. "Do you need a ride to camp? Sally was going to bring Percy after school, but seeing the situation..."

Looking at Tyson standing behind us, Gabe also seemed to register what I learned today for the first time as well:

"You only have one... Are you going to camp as well, Tyson?"

"No." Annabeth said.

"Yes." I said.

Gabe looked between the two of us and took a breath.

"Get in the car."

As to avoid too many fights, I sat in the back with Tyson as Annabeth took shotgun and tried to give directions to camp.

I say try because Annabeth can't drive so she doesn't know the actual street names, which is fair. I also can't give directions to camp.

"It's alright, Annabeth, I know how to get to camp," Gabe reassured the daughter of Athena. "I've driven and have been driven to camp many times in my life."

"You... But Percy's only been to camp one summer." She pointed out. "And mortals can't get into camp, so why would you... Go?"

"To see my dad, of course," my dad answered her question, merging onto the highway. "Percy must've not told you— he may not have realized it the last time he saw you, but I'm also a demigod. Mr. D is my dad. Percy met him when he was young once, but it was very brief."

"Oh," Annabeth responded, and then looked back at me.

She looked dumbfounded.

"And you still didn't believe that the gods were real?"

"How was I supposed to know that the D in Grandpa D stood for Dionysus when I was never told that?" I spit back at her. "I didn't know my dad was a demigod until Mr. D told me that he was his kid last summer, which explained why he reminded me of him. That was like, well after the quest."

"That was... That's why Mr. D likes you? You're his grandkid?"

"You say that like you're not basically his and Chiron's kid," I retorted. "How long have you been at camp? Did you stay home all year? If you left because of something your parents did, I'm still down to punch them in the face for you."

"Percy!" Gabe chided.

"What? You'd punch a transphobe if you had an excuse and wouldn't go to jail, too."

He couldn't argue with me about that.

Promising me that I didn't have to punch anyone in her family, Annabeth told me that she only got to camp at the start of the week like most of the other summer campers. She came out to her family after about a week.

"A week?" I asked. "I thought you were going to do it once you met them at the hill."

She shrugged.

"It ended up being harder said than done," Annabeth insisted, which I could understand. I'm still not out to... Anyone that isn't Luke and Travis, so. I was supposed to do that this year. "I was going to, and then getting called Andrew again just... Hit me right in the chest and I couldn't talk myself into doing it until a week later. They were okay with it, though. I think my step-mom likes me better as her step-daughter than as her step-son, which is fucked up, but.... Yeah."

"Yeah?" I responded. "That cool that were nice about it."

I looked at my dad.

"If... So I know Mom asked me about it this morning, so it's relevant," I promised. "If you and Mom have a kid, will they also have to go to camp?"

"If we..."

Gabe went quiet, thinking to himself.

"You know? I don't know." My dad answered. "I haven't asked any of my friends from camp if their kids are at camp. Eddy doesn't have kids so I haven't... Thought about it."

With that, we cruised towards camo and away from the police cars and ambulances gathering around the middle school I doubted I'd be able to return to in the fall for 8th grade.

If I survived long enough to start 8th grade, that is.

I'm not sure I'll be able to save Grover if I don't know where he is.

Not that I won't try, but... Florida is a big state. That's a lot of space to cover with no license and basically no money.

I'll see you again.

Yeah, I thought. In the Underworld.

Notes:

Take a shot every time Percy and Annabeth can't get along for longer than a chapter

Chapter 24: Place Bets On When They'll Give Me My Date of Death

Gabe Ugliano-Jackson

It's funny how some things never change.

For instance, we walked into the Big House to witness my dad and Chiron in a heated discussion that I would personally call an argument.

I'd say they fight like an old married couple, but D doesn't argue with my dad nearly as much as he does with Chiron.

"Somebody must go, Dionysus." Chiron insisted as I noticed Annabeth somehow already connect the dots about their argument.

"We haven't even talked to all of the kids yet, Chiron! It's the middle of the day, and Father clearly insisted that the deadline was midnight." D snapped back at him. "Connor gave us names of kids who he suspects and we haven't spoken with any of them yet, why don't we call them to—"

"Why, Gabriel, what a pleasant surprise!" Chiron cut their fight where it was. "I see you've brought Percy and picked up Annabeth along the way, that's kind of you, thank you for saving Argus the trip. If you just give us a minute, Mr. D can talk with you and Percy about anything he'll need to know about Percy this summer."

But as the person who makes the schedules, it didn't make sense that Chiron wouldn't be apart of the start of summer check in for Percy. He was always at mine when I was younger.

"Without you, sir?" I questioned. "If it's a meeting or a class you have to get to, I can wait or come back tomorrow. I know we're here a few hours earlier than planned."

"No, no, Gabriel, I wouldn't want to leave you waiting." The centaur insisted as he picked up his travel bag from the other side of his desk. "if you waited, only the Fates know how long you'd be doing so. I was just waiting to make sure Percy and Annabeth returned safely. So if you'll excuse me, I must be on my way now. My brother is quite displeased, and somebody has to calm him down."

"Wh— no, Chiron, you're not excused," Mr. D returned to their argument. "Unless you did it, you're not turning yourself in to leave me to run the camp alone. You're mad if you think I'm dealing with these brats on my own."

"You won't be alone, Mr. D, I'll ensure somebody is sent to take my position." Chiron responded. "perhaps one of the vets out west would be interested— I can reach out and ask."

Mr. D scoffed.

"Yeah, no, because they would love to work here," he responded with enough sarcasm dripping from the statement to fill a goblet. "We have until midnight, Chiron, just... give it until midnight."

"Give what until midnight?" Percy finally spoke up. "Sorry, I'm lost, what... where are you going, Chiron? Why is— I assume— Zeus mad? It doesn't have anything to do with me, does it?"

"You're correct that it is Zeus, but as for your other question," my old mentored answered. "I don't know, Perseus. Does it have anything to do with you? We don't—"

"Oh, don't scold the boy who hasn't been around for something he obviously doesn't know about," my dad snapped at Chiron. "We have a list, you old man, stick to it. He's not on it."

The god sighed.

"Let's go sit," he figured. "I'll catch you up on what you've missed while Chiron tracks down the demigods on our list."

"On the..." Percy repeated, processing what my dad just told us as we walked out onto the porch and sat down. "where is he going? What happened while I was gone? Is somebody in trouble?"

Dad sighed, dealing cards and summoning a Diet Coke for himself.

"If we can find the person who did it," he admitted. "but considering the fact that we somehow still don't know who stole Father's Master Bolt last year... the chances of us finding either perpetrator are slim to none— if they're not the same person."

"If they're not— what happened?" I asked. "It doesn't have to do with Grover being gone, does it?"

"Hm? Oh, no, he's off doing his own thing right now," my dad insisted, waving his hand away from the Big House. "I'll touch on that in a second. This is different, it's... weird."

There was a moment of silence as Mr. D set down two cards, face down.

"Somebody poisoned Thalia's Tree, effectively weakening our border." The god announced. "At the moment, I give it a week until the border completely gives. Healing magic isn't doing much, but we don't know who did it or why they did. Two aces."

"And you guys have no idea who did it?" I questioned, putting down a card on the pile. "One two."

He shrugged.

"We questioned a couple of kids, but we had a camper recently tip a list of kids he was suspicious of. Some of them aren't at camp anymore, though, and Chiron has been... hesitant to consider them. I'd question them myself, but..."

"You can't leave?" Percy recalled, putting four cards down. "who do you think did it? Four threes."

Thrown off by the bold call, Dad examined his hand and scowled.

"Honestly, kid? Couldn't tell ya. You and your friends are safe, though, don't worry."

Percy returned a look of confusion.

"My friends?"

"Annie and Gerald?" He responded, and— having forgotten that my dad purposefully fucks the names of kids up, I almost choked. "Neither of them were in the state of New York when the tree was poisoned. You do remember your friends, right? One four."

"Wh— I— of course I remember my friends!" Percy insisted. "I wasn't sure if you were also like, talking about Beckendorf or Travis or like... I think that's it."

"Hm? Oh, yeah. They're fine."

"They— okay, but Grover isn't fine." Percy told the Camp Director, stumbling over himself to get the words out as I set down two more cards. "He— he's been in my dreams all week and at first I thought it was just a dream because I haven't had a lot of demigod dreams this year, but after like two days my dad reminded me that that might not be a normal dream and it happened again and he's in trouble down like... he fell into a trap. Not literally fell, but... he's trapped. He's in danger."

He paused, realizing it was his turn.

"One six."

Dad raised an eyebrow.

"BS."

Percy flipped the card, showing one six.

The god scowled and took the cards, swearing in ancient Greek as he did so.

"I'll pass the message to the old man when he gets back," Mr. D responded while sorting his cards, not looking at Percy. "Tell me more at dinner. Until then, your girlfriend is waiting."

Dad motioned to Annabeth and I almost choked again.

"My— no." Percy insisted, which made me smile. "Annabeth and I are not dating."

He rolled his eyes.

"Go tell her that. Go have fun."

Somewhat flustered, Percy gave me a high five goodbye (there were too many people around for a hug) and reminded us that Annabeth wasn't his girlfriend before running down the valley to meet with her and Tyson.

"His friend of the year was a cyclopes this year?" Dad asked me, sounding concerned. "Sorry— a baby cyclopes?"

I shrugged.

"I don't think he realized Tyson was a cyclopes until the end of the year," I explained. "Especially with their height difference. His name is Tyson, he lived in a refrigerator box in an alley, so I wouldn't worry. He's probably like, a toddler."

"Oh, if Percy befriended him, I'm not worried about him being a threat." He responded. "A little more about the potential of him getting hurt by being close to Percy but... whatever. I'm not the fates. Do you..."

He looked up at me.

"Did Percy give you any specifics about Grover? I know he's worried about him so maybe it's just hard for him to form the words— he's also only 13, but it seems really vague."

Nodding, I gave him the report Percy gave Sally and I this morning about Grover's current bridal shower that he's planning in case he can't get out of wherever off the coast of Florida he is.

"So basically, he's going to want to leave to go get him himself." Dad summarized and I couldn't help but sigh as I looked down to my son as he talked with Annabeth, I think giving her the same update I just gave my dad.

Watching the anxiety creep up when he talks about how frantic Grover seemed and how worried he gets...

Don't get me wrong, Percys been worried all year about Grover. Last month, when Grover stopped calling and writing regularly, it was hard to have to watch Percy cope with what that could have meant without being able to give him any answers or point him in a direction that would actually help.

Like, thank the gods that Grover isn't dead.

But he could die soon, and that's spiked his anxiety again, and I'm worried for Percy all over again.

"Grover did ask him to."

The god of wine groaned, running his hands down his face.

"Of course he did," dad insisted, not masking the stress very well. "Who do they think they are? Romeo and Juliet? Orpheus and Eurydice? Have they never read the end of those stories?"

There was a beat of silence.

He sighed.

"I'll figure it out," he promised me. "Go home, spend time with your wife. It's a long drive back on your own."

Smiling, I stood up and pushed my chair in.

"Will do, Dad. Promise to take care of him for me this summer?"

"If he lets me." My dad announced as he stood. "come— I'll walk you to the border. I should check the trees conditions. It's been quiet, and I don't like that."

"Maybe the healing is working," I suggested as we walked down the steps and away from the farmhouse."maybe it just needed time to let the magic get in the root system and—"

He jinxed himself.

"BULLS!" yelled a kid that so obviously belonged to Apollo that it astonished me to see him wearing a cabin 11 shirt. "THE BORDER ISNT.... DIDNT STOP... THEM..."

The boy stopped in front of us, maybe only a year or two older than Percy.

"Where is Chiron?"

My dad sighed and looked at me.

"Go home, kid. I'll take it from here."

•••
Percy Jackson

The fact that monsters (machines?) exist that can't be killed with celestial bronze is something I wish I never would've had to of learned.

Like, I get that the Colchis Bulls are literally made out of bronze so it's hard to be destroyed by bronze, but it's still dumb.

At least Tyson was able to subdue one of them. I was going to try to, but Annabeth stopped me because apparently their skin is burning hot, and I'm a lot of things, but I'm not fireproof.

Tyson is, though.

"BAD COW!" Tyson yelled as he smashed the face in of the nearest bull.

The bull stopped in it's place, and it's friend seemed to hesitate just in time for a spear to smack it across the face and stunt it as well.

What followed wasn't cheering— it was hysterical laughing.

"Bad cow?" My least favorite daughter of Ares questioned, showing herself from the other side of the bull shed evidently just subdued. "what are you, five? Stupidity must run in the family, holy shit."

"Wh— shut up, Clarisse," I retorted back to her. "Would it kill you to be nice to somebody once in a while? Maybe a thank you for distracting the bull you were trying to deal with?"

I stopped for a second.

"Also, what do you mean by it runs in the family?"

As Clarisse, and most other campers and people in general tend to do, she looked at me like I was a dumbass.

"What do I— he's a cyclopes, Jackass," she pointed out. "I don't know why he's here, but cyclopes are children of Poseidon, just like satyrs are children of Pan— which makes him your brother, kelp for brains. Seems like both of you have about three pieces of seaweed up there that you share. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bring these to Cabin 9 so they can figure out what to do with them and tell them to childproof cabin 3 while they're at it."

"Because Beckendorf is clearly going to want to make a baby gate that's taller than he is," I snapped back. "why don't you go worry about your siblings not losing a leg on the land mines around your cabin and I'll worry about my own problems."

Clarisse eyed Tyson as she walked away.

"It's a pretty big problem, if you ask me."

I just looked down, trying to control the shitty feeling that was slowly filling my body.

"Why she mean?"

His voice earning my attention, I glanced back at Tyson, who was frowning in the direction that Clarisse had walked away.

I just signed, not having a ready response because Clarisse seems to be mean for the reason that water makes things wet and fire makes things hot: it's just the way she is.

"Because her dad is Ares, so she thinks she has to be an asshole to keep her chair in that council," Annabeth answered for us, shrugging. "She wasn't always an ass— though she's never been super nice. It's just a part of who she is, as annoying as it is."

Kind of like how you always act like you're the smartest person in the room, I thought strictly to myself. Even if you have no idea what you're talking about.

Hey, you made it to camp! Grover's voice was an unwelcome intrusion in my mind that made me flinch. Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Tell Annabeth I say hi! But also, before I lose the ability to talk with you, I found some numbers that seem important: 30, 31, 75, 12. I don't know what they mean, but I found them etched into one of the cave walls. Please tell me somebody is leaving soon.

And even though my best friend wasn't physically here, I still looked down, unable to meet his nonphysical gaze.

I'm going to talk to Mr. D and Chiron about it as soon as I can, I literally just got here.

You're an actual godsend, Percy, I don't know what I'd do with a different best friend. Grover thought to me, which made me smile. Please don't let me get married to a cyclopes—he'll probably eat me after the ceremony. I probably will taste like aluminum cans to him!

I'll be there soon. I promised him, trying to push my thoughts away.

He was trapped by a cyclopes?

In my dreams, the cyclopes sounded really big and gross and like some sort of... monster.

Annabeth told me about a bad run in she had with a cyclopes before coming with to camp and now one has trapped Grover, but Tyson can't...

Tyson can't be one of those, right? He can't be a monster.

"Percy?" My apparent half brother asked, planting a hand on my shoulder that made me flinch from the contact. "Percy okay?"

Or maybe he can be.

I don't know.

Chapter 25: It's A Stretch To Say I Have More Than One Friend Here

Percy Jackson

If I had a dollar for every time somebody made fun of me or Tyson or both of us by the time we got to dinner that night, I could've bought a train ticket to go to Florida and save my best friend.

Tyson, naturally, didn't always understand that people were making fun of us, so he was mostly unbothered by it.

I wish I had that same luxury.

"Aw, look," a couple of Annabeth's siblings mocked as they walked past our table. "Looks like the old man decided to take on another charity case since he found out the old one might expire."

One of Annabeth's siblings chuckled.

"What a bunch of sorry sea urchins."

And then they walked away, and I didn't have it in me to fight a child of Athena because I'm not a masochist, so I just rested my head on the table and sighed.

I miss not knowing who my bio dad was.

"Big brother sad?" But that's the other thing that's gotten on my nerves— ever since Annabeth confirmed that Tyson and I would be brothers, technically, Tyson has taken to calling me big brother, which... "Why sad?"

It shouldn't bother me, but it does.

"Just... Nothing, Tyson," I insisted, lying straight through my teeth. "Don't worry about it."

He frowned.

"But... you are sad."

I shrugged.

"So?"

"You are sad much this month," but I guess Tyson was going to stand in as my therapist until my next appointment. "And always say to not worry, but school ended and you still are sad. Why?"

But even for who I guess would be the child equivalent of a cyclopes, Tyson was pretty smart.

Looking away, I couldn't help but drift my gaze towards the Hermes cabin table, where Travis looked like he was trying to explain to one of his possible siblings why the goblets won't make alcohol.

It made me smile, but it made me sad.

"I just... Miss my friends," but knowing how that sounded, I added more. "my friends from last summer, not... you're still here. I mean... Other people."

I still don't understand it.

I wish I could wrap my mind around why Travis cut me off at the end of last summer so abruptly, but I don't.

"Mail?" I questioned as I saw a piece of paper get dropped through the mail slot of my cabin. "Your siblings aren't doing some sort of prank via postal service, are they?"

Travis smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Nothing that I've heard of," he promised as I got off the couch and grabbed the letter. "It's probably just the old married couple in the big house wanting to know if you're staying here this year or if you're going home. They send them out every year towards the end of summer."

He paused as I opened the envelope addressed to me in a handwriting that I did recognize as Chiron's.

"You are staying, right?" The son of Hermes asked me. "I know you plan on going home for you birthday and you've talked about Christmas, but... you're staying to train, right?"

"I'm... I wasn't planning on it," I corrected him as I sat back down on the couch, leaning against him again. "I said I might visit here for Christmas break, but as long as I can get into a school this fall, I'm planning on going home. I'd still visit, though, and I'll come back next summer. You could come see the apartment and meet my parents! If your mom is ever in town, we could even meet up with her! If you'd be okay with that, I don't want to assume that like... I mean I'm not out to my parents yet, so I get it. I don't know what we'd want to tell them if they meet you after I come out, but..."

I shrugged, nudging him as a form of affection.

"We'll figure it out, right?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Travis responded, sounding caught off guard as I could tell he was looking at the letter. The final date for summer camp was August 16, which was in a week. "Sorry, yeah, uh..."

His voice drifted away, so I put down the letter and sat up again so I could see the slightly older demigod's face.

"Are you good?"

"Hm? Yeah, Percy, I'm fine, don't worry," Travis insisted, taking a deep breath that felt like a lie. "I just... I think it would be good if we took a break from hanging out when you go home. Then we don't have to worry about our parents, you know?"

He doesn't want to be with you anymore .

The suggestion from Travis mixed with my brains first thought stunned me.

Has he been looking for an excuse to stop hanging out for a while now and I never noticed?

I thought things were okay.

Okay, that's a lie— I thought things were good between the two of us.

I liked what we had between the two of us.

I was looking forward to telling Grover and my parents and even Annabeth about it when we were both out and like, official.

But maybe I was just stupid about this entire situation all summer and he never wanted that even though he always made it seem like he did and...

"Then we..." I could barely think coherently, much less speak logically at the moment. "I mean, I guess if you want to break up then it's... why would I argue? That would be stupid."

I felt a ball form in my diaphragm, slowly starting to suffocate me.

"I mean, I wouldn't call it a break up," but that wording just gave me hope that he meant that he didn't want us to worry about travelling the physical distance to see each other because that can be dangerous. "it's not like we're officially boyfriends or anything, right? I don't want to hold you back from finding a boyfriend or some sort of partner this year in the city. I'd feel bad if you rejected somebody because of me."

And I wish I would've articulated any of my own problems with that theory, but I was so frustrated on not letting Travis see how deeply this was hurting me that all I could offer was a one word response.

"Okay."

It's not like I asked Luke the other day for ideas of dates I could bring Travis on in Manhattan this fall.

It's not like I didn't think he cared about me the same way I cared about him.

It's not like we had nothing when I thought we had something.

And just as I suspected: I didn't meet a mortal at school that I had any feelings for because most of the kids at school hate me or at least don't seem to care for me.

Travis had left my cabin after that, insisting he had to go do something with Connor, and that was it.

He avoided me for an entire week after that. Luke asked me about it the next day since he'd noticed that both of us seemed off from usual.

We never spoke after that. Since he doesn't go home, he wasn't around when everyone was leaving camp so I didn't even get an awkward wave or anything.

Once I make sure that Tyson's bunk is set up for the night, though, I have to go to the Big House for some stupid council meeting that I probably won't even contribute to because I'm now only a 2 person cabin.

And with Luke being gone, I would bet a few drachma on Travis and Connor being the new counselors for the Hermes cabin.

•••

The walk to the Big House Conference Room was harder than it should've been.

Not physically just... mentally.

I'm only on the council because I was the only person in my cabin until today, it's not like I earned the position like almost everyone else.

It's not like most of the people in the council even like me anyways.

There's maybe 3 people in that room that actually find me tolerable right now, and triple that of people that hate me, can't stand me, or have said that they don't like my existence.

Walking into the farmhouse's main room, I could see Mr. D talking with his son while Clarisse and Silena were talking a few feet away from the director. Just inside the conference room, I spotted the group that might give me an anxiety attack after the meeting: Annabeth, the Stolls, Katie Gardener (who I don't know that well), and Beckendorf (who I didn't know well, either, but who was nice to me last summer). Chiron was also inside, but he still had his suitcase packed, which felt like a bad omen.

I didn't want to go to this meeting.

I didn't want to walk thru the opener doorway into the conference room.

I didn't want to be here right now.

I don't belong here.

"Jackliano?" Mr. D's stupid blend of my parents last names got my attention (even though Gabe is in the process of changing his to Jackson). "Earth to Jackliano."

I glanced in his direction to see him raise an eyebrow.

"You okay, kid?" He asked, sounding worried but like he want others to think he was worried because of his reputation here. "you just got here. You okay?"

I dropped my gaze, not knowing how to make any response I'd try and give him be believable.

"I'm here."

I miss my friends.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clarisse and Silena head into the Conference Room as I heard another demigod walk in behind me.

"...Okay," Mr. D didn't push it at least. "why don't you head into the conference table and say hi to everyone? The old man and I are just waiting for the last couple of kids to show up, we'll be in there in a minute."

I just nodded my head.

"I'm gonna... go pee first." I figured, taking a breath. "before we uh... start the meeting, you know."

I shouldn't be here right now.

"Oh, okay, that's fine." But he's a god, so Dionysus isn't fooled by my calm and cool exterior. "just... take your time. We'll see you in a minute."

Nodding once again, there was nothing if value I could've added to the conversation (not that I ever say anything if value as it is), so I just tightened my arms that were crossed around me and walked to the bathroom.

Nobody wants me to be here anymore.

•••
Travis Stoll

Seeing Percy walk into the Big House and just kind of stop was concerning enough to get my attention for a moment, but not super long.

Watching Percy walk to the bathroom looking visibly overwhelmed after a short exchange with Mr. D had almost all of my friend's attention, along with mine.

"What happened to him?" Clarisse broke the quiet of the room after we'd all watched Percy walk into the bathroom looking like he was on the verge of a panic attack. "he seemed fine earlier, it's only been like... a couple hours since he got here."

"It probably has something to do with Grover," Annabeth told us, which was new information. "Grover managed to make a mental link between them sometime this week and Percy only realized in the last day or two that he wasn't just having an anxiety dream but that it was actually Grover trying to talk to him. He's probably just anxious about that."

But that news meant a few things.

"Grover's alive?" Beckendorf asked and Annabeth nodded her head. "That's great! Where is he?"

Annabeth just shrugged, saying that Percy was supposed to share details during the meeting.

To his credit, Percy was slightly calmer when he eventually walked in, and he wasn't even the last one to show up. There was one other person that walked in after him with Chiron, Mr. D, and some mystery adult man that I'd never met before.

I tried to say hi to him, but he wouldn't look up at me.

The only people he said hi to were Annabeth and Katie Gardener, since they were both sitting across from him so it was hard to avoid them.

"Alright, you measly brats, let's get this over with." Mr. D started the meeting as formal as ever. "Trust me, I hate this just as much as the rest of you. First, council changes: Luca is gone for good so the Stolls are now both on and off season counselors. Also, Gravy is still looking for Pan so Gleesen Hedge has resumed his old position sitting in for the nature spirits. Be respectful or he'll probably make you do pushups. Speaking of which, Percy can start us off with an update about Gravel."

Based on how he responded to his name, I doubt Percy heard what Mr. D had said prior to his name.

"Hm?" The son of Poseidon responded, flinching at his name. "oh yeah, Grover, sorry. He uh... Is alive. Somewhere near Florida. He gave me some numbers that might help if we send a search party, but I'm still trying to like... figure out what they mean. He's also trapped in a monster liar, so time is limited but..."

Percy shrugged.

"He's alive. That's all I got."

I'm not convinced he comprehended or even heard a single word after he got done telling us that.

Not everyone seemed to notice, but by the time Chiron started talking to tell us that he was stepping down seeing as they haven't found the person who infiltrated camp and poisoned Thalia's Tree, Percy was three worlds away in his mind.

Mr. D definitely noticed, though, along with Michael Yew. So hopefully something would get done about it.

After Chiron left, we were introduced to Tantalus (who seemed like he would suck at Chiron's job already) and that was it. Most people left immediately after. I was still here just because Connor had a question for Mr. D, so I had to wait. Michael and Clarisse were also here, talking to Tantalus about weapons training classes.

Percy was also here, eyes glossed over.

He hadn't moved since he'd finished speaking at the start of the meeting.

I was about to say his name when Michaels quiver bumped the table and got Percys attention enough for him to realize that the meeting was over and he could leave.

A few seconds later, Connor walked over and we headed back towards cabin 11— home sweet home.

When we entered home sweet home and I grabbed my pajamas to get changed for bed, Connor made a comment that threw me off.

"Are you not going to Percy's tonight?" My little brother questioned. "Or are you getting changed and then heading over?"

"Am I... why would I go to Percy's cabin, Connor?"

And maybe it was stupid of me to ask that because I knew what the answer was.

"Why... I'm sorry, what?" Cecil Markowitz, one of our younger brothers interjected as he poked his head out from his bunk. He's been here for three summers now. "did you just ask him why you would go to Percy's cabin?"

"Yeah," Julia Feingold, one of our older sisters agreed. "Why is it weird that he's asking you if you're going to your boyfriend's cabin on his first night back at camp all year?"

"My..." but I lost my voice.

Did people think we were together?

"Percy isn't my boyfriend." I told them.

"Yeah, okay, and Annabeth never had a crush on Luke." Connor rebuttaled, rolling his eyes. "you were there most nights last summer, dude, even if you didn't spend the night, you can't tell me you're not dating. We've all seen you two together.  We're not idiots."

"We're not... I'm not lying. Percy and I aren't dating— we were never boyfriends."

My older sister threatened to rip her corneas with how far back her eyes rolled in her head.

"Okay, so you aren't official, but the point stands." Julia told me, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Since Luke isn't here to tell you to do it anymore, I will."

She shoved my emergency go bag into my arms.

"Go hang out with your not-boyfriend," Julia ordered as if she were the counselor of the cabin. "I'm not letting you back in the cabin until you do. So stop acting like you don't miss him and go cuddle or be gross or do whatever whatever y'all do in his cabin."

And then she shut the door on me.

So, not having any other option, I started walking towards cabin 3 because Julia wasn't wrong, but she also wasn't right because they wouldn't let me tell them that I like, stopped things with Percy.

"Aww, are you back to simping for the Jackass?" Clarisse a voice caught my attention as she stood outside her cabin, one of her siblings just walking inside. "Is it more than a summer fling, Stoll? Did you catch feelings for the bastard?"

"I— shut up, my siblings wouldn't even let me tell them that we're not together before Julia kicked me out to go to his cabin." I told the daughter of Ares.

"Yeah, because you made this exact walk almost every night last summer," she reminded me and it was my turn to roll my eyes. "it's not a bad thing, Travis, it's just an observation. Why do you want to act like you guys aren't friends? Did you guys get into a fight? He wouldn't look at you during the meeting."

"He didn't look at anyone during the meeting."

"Before he started dissociating," Clarisse clarified for me. "I saw you try to say hello to him. He didn't look in your direction. I expected y'all to have this big sappy meeting— even if it was more private after the meeting— and you guys didn't even speak."

I shrugged.

"We didn't get into a fight," I tried to explain, doing a poor job at it. "It's just... with the prophecy and whatever it felt like a bad idea to actually, you know..."

And if she wasn't such an aggressive person, I'd be convinced that Clarisse was a daughter of Aphrodite.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Date?" She finished my sentence and sighed, walking down closer to me. Being careful of the land mines as she did so. "Travis, does he even know about the prophecy? I thought Chiron and Mr. D didn't want him knowing."

I shrugged.

"He knows some stuff, but not most of it," I filled her in. "He knows that there's a prophecy and that it's probably about him."

"Okay," she reasoned. "So whenever you decided and told him that you didn't want to date, did you tell him why?"

"What makes you think I told him I didn't want to—'

She killed my question with a stare as if she were my mother.

"Oh, please," Clarisse responded. "I don't think he has an ounce of stability in his life, Travis, why would I think he'd decide to end things when they were going so well?"

Her eyes bored into me.

"Not to mention the fact that he was suddenly a lot less social the last week of summer, when you coincidentally stopped going to Cabin 3." The older demigod pointed out. "Not that other demigods would've noticed that since cabin one doesn't have any campers, but it doesn't take a genius, Travis. Between that and then you denying that you guys were even friends because you haven't talked all year? What happened?"

"What... if you're so smart, then you already know what happened, Clarisse," I snapped at her. "Holy shit, why do you care? I thought you couldn't stand Peecy."

"I can't, but if he's lonely all fucking Summer and decides to kill himself or whatever, both Annabeth and Grover are going to be miserable and insufferable if Grover doesn't also die this summer." She insisted. "and Mr. D is also going to be weird about it and I don't like it when Mr. D suddenly seems to have empathy or whatever, it's weird. Just because I can't stand him doesn't mean I want him to kill himself. Just... go talk to him, assuming he's on this planet up in his head. I need to make sure my siblings are actually showering and getting ready for bed."

And similar to Julia, Clarisse shoved me towards the Poseidon cabin, where I found myself holding my breath as I stood outside the door.

Here goes nothing, I thought to myself.

It was harder to knock on the door than it should've been.

After a painful few moments of silence, the door cracked open to show me Percy in what seemed to be an oversized hoodie and shorts, meaning he probably just showered.

"Who—" Percy started before his eyes momentarily widened and then fell to the ground, his mood shifting back to what it looked like at the Big House. He took a step back, opening the door a little wider. "Oh. Hey."

"Hey." I returned, trying to sound a little more upbeat than him (which was a low bar). "Sorry, I know it's late. Can I come in? Or can we talk?"

He shrugged.

"If you don't think it's not a good idea, then sure. Come on in."

Chapter 26: The BDSM-5 Had a BOGO Deal

Travis Stoll

I did kind of deserve that.

Upon further observation (aka seeing him in better lightning) it was easy to tell that he looked like shit because it seemed to be that he was feeling like shit.

Walking into his cabin, the two of us stood in the entry room/commons of the Poseidon cabin as Percy leaned against the couch he had in here, arms crossed, staring at the floor. It was hard to tell, but it looked like he was concentrating on not having some sort of emotional reaction.

"Percy, I..." but being at a loss for words wasn't exactly helpful at the moment. "I'm sorry. I..."

"For what?" He asked in return, but I couldn't gauge what it meant. "Did you and your siblings hide a stink bomb in here or something? What's there to be sorry for, I've only been back for a couple hours "

I shrugged.

"I... I think I hurt you." And even though he wasn't looking up at me, I could see Percys expression change. I could see him shift from a saddened state to a more frustrated state, which only confirmed what Clarisse just lectured me about. "I didn't meant to, that wasn't what I was trying to do, but based on how your expression just changed, I'm pretty sure I hurt you last summer by accident when that wasn't my goal. I just..."

"You just what, Travis?" Percy questioned, crossing his arms. "You just decided that one day you didn't want to be my friend or my... my whatever we were anymore or that if I wasn't going to be here all year we couldn't be friends or..."

The son of Poseidon stopped himself, taking a breath.

"I don't get it," he admitted, sounding more overwhelmed by the second. "I've spent the last nine months trying to understand why or trying to remember what happened that would've changed and I don't..."

"No, no, Percy, it wasn't that I didn't want to be your friend, it was just—" and as I'm trying to put this in a better perspective for him, I reach out to put a hand on his shoulder.

But for the first time, he pulled away.

"Please don't..." Percy asked, crossing his arms even tighter and sealing his eyes shut. "If you're going to do the same thing, I can't..."

For a second, I didn't know how to respond.

"No, Percy, I'm not..." I took a breath to steady myself. "I'm sorry that I hurt you, I wasn't thinking about how it would sound because I just... I was afraid."

He let off a half assed smile.

"Of what? Taking a taxi? My parents? Me?"

And while I think the first two were more jokes than not, the last one was not something I was okay with him joking about.

"Losing you," I admitted, which got the son of Poseidon's attention. "It's stupid, I know it's stupid now because a lot of us will die young anyways because we're demigods and that's life, but having a date..."

I took a breath.

"I don't know what Chiron or Mr. D or anyone else has told you about the big prophecy, and like I said, I've never heard it myself, but I just... I know that it says that when you turn 16 something will happen and you'll probably die and I didn't let it bother me until you said you were going home and then I just... I was worried that if you went home you wouldn't actually come back, even though you'd just said that you had plans to visit over Christmas and that if you never came back it could've because you killed yourself and died early or just... I didn't want to hurt you, I just... was rash and didn't want to get hurt, either. I'm sorry."

"So you..." Percy responded, sounding a hair calmer. "You didn't want either of us getting hurt, so you thought that if you just cut ties without any explanation as to why you wanted to cut ties so suddenly, it'd be fine?"

But there was a crucial piece of information missing from this.

"I never claimed to be smart."

He chuckled, which I'd consider a win right now.

"No, you're a fucking idiot sometimes," he agreed. "Not all of the time, just... sometimes."

And I didn't know what else to say, so I put both of my hands out so he could see them. Palms up for him to take, if he wanted.

"I was a very big idiot at that point in time," I agreed, feeling a swell of anxiety bubble inside of me. "can we try again? I promise that I won't get cold feet again."

"You—" Percy looked at my hands and held up his own, but hesitated. "Travis, I can't... I can't do the grey sort of together sort of not thing again. We can be friends or we can be together, but I can't be your friend who you cuddle with and maybe give a kiss. I know we said we were taking it slow, but I can't just be sort of both."

I smiled, even though I wasn't sure he could see it.

"Then can I interest you in a date during breakfast tomorrow?" I suggested, keeping my hands held out because I was hopeful. "I fucked up, so it's on me, okay? You just have to wake up and look pretty, which is never hard for you to do."

He blushed and smiled, taking my hands.

"I missed you." The son of Poseidon admitted, causing my heart to practice it's audition material for the US Gymnastics team.

"Can you look up at me?" I requested softly, squeezing his hands.

Upon him looking up, I could see how tired Percy was. He had bags under his eyes and his eyes were also a little red, like he'd been crying earlier.

Hopefully not alone, but it probably was alone.

"I missed you, too." I returned. "Clarisse gave me a mom lecture on my way here tonight because she noticed that I stopped coming over at the end of last summer and she also basically called me an idiot, so you guys can agree on something for the first time like, ever."

Percy rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Truly shocking," he responded. "Do you want—"

"Big Brother," a new voice in the cabin made me jump. "Where b—"

Looking towards the voice, I saw a six foot tall cyclopes wearing flannel pajama pants and an old white shirt, eye wide as he looked at the two of us.

"Tyson, hey!" But I just was now remembering how Connor had pointed out another kid sitting at Percy's table during dinner. "What's up? I was just uh... talking... with Travis from the Hermes Cabin."

We were still holding hands.

"Big brother has boyfriend?" Percy's half brother, who I assumed was named Tyson, asked a very good question.

But it was apparently rhetorical, because the cyclopes didn't wait for an answer from either of us.

"Cool!" He continued and smiled at me. "Hi, Travis from Hermes Cabin! I did not know that Big Brother had boyfriend. I am Tyson. Do you or brother know where um... blanket! Where blankets is?"

"Oh, yeah. I thought there was already one on your bed," Percy said as he let go of one of my hands to grab the blanket from the couch behind him and threw it to his little brother. "there. Breakfast is at 9 tomorrow, but I might be busy. You remember how to get to the pavilion?"

Nodding his head, Tyson told Percy that he remembered how to get to the cafeteria and said goodnight, going into his own room, which was insane to think that Percy and Tyson get their own rooms.

Every cabin has a few rooms that have a few bunks each, usually to keep kids or similar ages together or some cabins split by gender, just depending on what's most logical for their cabin size (cabin 11 is split by age, but we have so many kids that it really doesn't mean much), but since it's just Percy and Tyson they can both have a room.

Lucky bastards (I say as if I probably won't spend the night here most nights this summer).

"Sorry, I'm... not used to having another sibling here." Percy explained to me, taking a breath. "He's nice, we went to school together so we're not strangers or anything, I just... feel weird about it, I don't know."

"It's alright, it's only been a day," I reminded him, squeezing his hand. "a long day, it seems like, but a day. You'll get used to it. Do you want to cuddle and tell me about all of the cool shit I missed this year because we still don't have Internet here?"

He smiled again.

"You know me so well."

•••
Percy Jackson

I missed Travis a lot.

It was going to be hard to not tell him about everything going on with Luke and Kronos and whatever, but I also can't tell Grover about that, so it's not like I'm just hiding it from certain people that I'm close to at camp. It's everyone.

Luckily, we had a lot of others things we could talk about.

"Are you feeling alright?" Travis asked as I laid across the top of him like he was a body pillow. "You seemed kind of out of it at the meeting, I was worried. I tried to say hi, but couldn't get your attention."

I just shrugged.

"I'm alright at the moment— happy that you were just an idiot last summer and not that you didn't want to hang out ever again." I figured. "Everything else has just been a lot—realizing that Grover's in danger and we have a mental link. Bullies at school turning into giants and trying to kill us. Learning Tyson was a cyclopes. Arguing with Annabeth about him coming to camp. Kids being asses once we got here and they realized he was technically my half brother. By the time the meeting started I was just... I was anxious because you and Annabeth and Clarisse would be in the meeting and I had a small panic attack right before it, dissociated through most of the meeting, and then came back here and finished the panic attack."

Frowning, Travis moved the hair from my face.

"I'm sorry that kids were shitty here," he apologized. "and that I made you anxious. Would a kiss on the forehead make it a little better?"

I couldn't help but smile.

"It would make it a little better." I agreed as Travis placed his lips ever so gently against the top of my forehead. "but you want to know what would make it a lot better?"

"What would make it a lot better?"

I smiled again, lifting my head just enough to be a little closer to his face.

"A kiss on the lips," I informed the slightly older and lankier demigod with a grin that I knew he loved to see. "If that would be okay, of course."

Rolling his eyes, Conner just smiled and closed the gap.

"And turn down a kiss from the the most beautiful person I know? I would have to be insane."

I may have blushed.

"I feel like that's a lie, but I'll take it." I insisted. "I am many things, Travis Stoll— but I don't know if I'd go as far as saying that I'm the most beautiful person you know. Haven't you like, met Aphrodite?"

"I've seen her, we've never met, and she's a goddess, so she doesn't count," he rebuddled and I felt his hands run down by spine and brush against one of my pant pockets. "Plus, beauty is subjective, so it's not even a lie because it can't be a lie if it's subjective."

Sighing, I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever you say, Travis," I gave in. "You know you talk a lot for somebody who should be kissing a lot right now, right?"

He shrugged.

"What can I say? It's a good thievery technique. If you're busy looking at lips—"

"Then I won't notice that you tried to see if I had anything in my back pockets?" I finished his sentence. "Just give me a kiss."

The son of Hermes rolled his eyes and pulled his lips back into that devious smirk that I'd become quite fond of last summer over the nights spent alone in my cabin with Travis.

"Whatever you want, Jackie-boy."

I smiled as Travis and I shared our first kiss of the summer, trying to let it wash away my worries from the last nine months.

It didn't get rid of all of them, but it got rid of a few, which seemed like a good start.

Like it was with Gabe, it would be hard to fully trust Travis again this summer.

After all, he seems genuine and he's been very persistent about everything he's told me tonight. It's nice to know that I still have somebody here, because I've never known where I actually stand with Annabeth, and I'm still feeling conflicted about Tyson being my brother.

At least he's not homophobic.

I knew that already because we both beat up a kid towards the start of the year for being homophobic, but it was a nice reminder.

Back to Travis, though, as genuine as he seems to be, it also seemed genuine last summer and he pulled the rug out from underneath me in the blink of an eye at the end of summer like it wasn't something we could've talked about before then.

Not to say that I'm the best at talking about things— unless I'm actively having a breakdown, I'm really shitty at it, but still.

When I asked if things were okay between us with him, he could've said no.

Now I just have to trust him, though. So we'll see how that goes.

It's nice to have somebody, at least. Or, somebody that doesn't talk at the level of a kindergartener in the body of a large teenager.

I'm hoping to leave in the next day or two to find Grover anyways, quest or no. I zoned out when the new guy who's taking Chiron's spot introduced himself so I don't know how willing he'd be to let me go on a quest, but regardless of what I'm permitted to do, I'm going.

What are they going to do? Kick me out.

Mr. D wouldn't dream of it. He'd never say it to anyone else because he likes to pretend he's a heartless bastard, but because I'm Gabe's kid, he's weirdly protective of me.

Which means I'm not going to him for a quest because the god would never give it to me.

My dream that night was uncalled for.

"Hm?" Grover said as he must've somehow sensed I'd entered the fucked up reality of demigod dreaming. "Percy! Hi! Oh my gods, are you okay? Did you make it camp? You weren't attacked again, were you? I should've been back by now to make sure you got back safe, I'm sorry."

I just smiled, having forgotten how worried Grover can get.

"I made it camp," I promised, trying to walk closer to him. "it was a weird first day back, but I'm back. I have to figure out how or if they'll let me have a quest. Chiron isn't here right now, some weird dude is subbing for him until... I don't really know when, I zoned out during the meeting."

"Chiron... is gone? Why? Is camp okay?"

Trying to think of the best way to catch Grover out without him freaking out even worse, I only managed a shrug.

"Outside of the border being down right now, I think the camp itself is fine," I reasoned. "Somebody poisoned Thalia's Tree, we don't know who. I only got here this afternoon, so I'm still figuring stuff out because people are either frantic, mean, or don't like me. All I know outside of that is that Chiron and the like, Demeter and Apollo cabins weren't able to heal the tree. I think the satyrs are trying now?"

"Somebody..."

Grover balled his fists, a sign of aggression he almost never used but I think picked up from living with me.

He looked towards the mouth of the cave he was in, thinking to himself as if he knew who poisoned the tree or who could heal it.

And considering the fact that I know him and Luke haven't spoken since we all left camp last summer, the former seemed doubtful. The only person I could think of that Grover would think of to heal the tree is also rumored to be dead, so maybe he's just staring into the distance. I couldn't tell since I couldn't see that far.

"For that person's sake, I really hope we never run into them," Grover expressed, stifling out a breath. "I might have idea, though. Where I am right now, I— outside of the numbers I gave you, I don't have any other leads, but there's a fleece blanket thing that I can see from where I am and I could be too optimistic considering the fact that I'm currently in a wedding dress to get married to a literal cyclopes, but if that's the Golden Fleece..."

Non-dream me distantly felt Travis adjust to rest his hand on my back, causing me to smile very lazily and adjust my head to be more comfortable as a warm surge passed through me that sometimes happens when Travis and I hang out and are affectionate.

For a moment, Grover looked overwhelmed. Stunted.

"Woah." My best friend out both of his hands out in front of him, but there was nothing to stop. He was standing in the middle of the cave, and the wall was like 10 feet behind him. "For Pan's pipes, pause. What was that?"

"What was what?"

He placed a hand on his back.

"I... felt a hand on my back," Grover explained. "but just for a second, like it was... I don't know. You're asleep right now, right?"

Nodding my head, I confirmed that I was asleep.

"So there's not like, anyone else around you, right?" He followed up, which would relieve a slightly different answer. "I know that sometimes in mental links you can sense what the other person feels, and usually that's emotional, but every once in a while I've heard that you can feel physical sensations. But you're asleep, so it's not you, right?"

"Well, I... am asleep." I reminded my best friend who I know for a fact is pansexual because he said so last summer. So he can't be homophobic because he wasn't homophobic last year and people usually don't become homophobic. "but there... Might... Be somebody else here besides me.'

Am I really doing this in a dream?

"Might?" But if nothing else, I'm really good at dressing Grover out. "Might as in you pissed Clarisse off and she vowed to kill you in your sleep might, or might as in you know somebody is in your room and they're sleeping in close enough proximity to accidentally touch you?"

I guess I am.

"The uh... second one?" I figured, which only got his jaw to drop. "I'm sorry! I didn't know how to bring it up and I was really nervous so I just... didn't. It's weird, I'll tell you about it when I see you in person, okay?"

"You better!" My best friend insisted. "I have a lot of questions, but they'll have to wait until you get here. Which, if you tell them about the golden fleece, they should issue you a quest in like three seconds. So you should do that like... tomorrow. Because otherwise I'm going to become a bride at a very young age and I don't think you have a speech written or a tux to wear as my best man."

"Because I want to be here when my best friend is MIA," I responded. "but where is the golden fleece? Where are you?"

"Just..." Grover paused. "I don't know what kind of numbers they are— definitely not house numbers, but the numbers I gave you... I think they're some sort of location? The Fleece is here. I can see it. Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"They don't need to know the kind of part."

This goat might give me an aneurysm sooner rather than later.

I still miss him, but sometimes he's really good at making me stressed and worried.

This last month has been a good example of that.

"I— yeah, of course, I'm leaving to figure it out whether or not they give me a quest." I promised Grover, who seemed worried by that idea. "Don't worry, I'll ask for a quest or a rescue mission first— as annoying as she is, Annabeth knows a lot about monsters and whatever so she's always useful on a quest."

"Okay, good, because otherwise we'll both get in trouble, and I personally don't want to deal with that. I like, just got on Mr. D's good side. That's no easy feat."

"But I'm... on his good side."

"Yeah, but you're basically his grandkid, that's different."

I sighed.

"Don't remind me."

Grover smiled.

"I won't. You should get some actual sleep, though. See you soon?"

"Not soon enough." I agreed, allowing myself to relax enough to slip out of the dream and into a deeper sleep.

I wonder if Travis would go on a quest.

I wonder if he also has enough of a hatred or annoyance or even indifference towards the gods to still like me if he did. I've been afraid to bring it up.

But maybe I should. Maybe over breakfast tomorrow it'll somehow come up and I'll ask him about it, when there aren't a bunch of other people possibly overhearing our conversation.

It'll make for an interesting meal if he doesn't hold some sort of anger or indifference towards our shitty ass parents, but hopefully he does.

Relaxing into Travis' touch, I just tried not to think about it.

I missed him a lot.

Chapter 27: And He Looks At Me... And I Look At Him... And He Looks At Me... And I LOOK At Him

Travis Stoll

Sneaking out of a cabin that isn't even yours when somebody is using you as a body pillow isn't an easy task, but it's possible if you're a child of Hermes or just very careful and determined.

I made it to the camp store before it opened, though, to steal some stuff for a breakfast picnic (as well as an extra sweater for Percy), and to be tested on my ability to lie believably.

Because while I was there before the store opened, I wasn't the only one who had the idea to steal from the store.

"Where would—" hearing a voice without seeing a body made me jump because while I wouldn't be surprised if Camp was haunted, the store isn't a place I'd expect to have ghosts.

I pulled out my knife.

"Woah, woah, Travis, relax," but the second time around, I recognized the voice as Annabeths and relaxed. On the other side of the stock room, she took her Yankees cap off, making her no longer invisible. "sorry, I didn't see you over there. What are you..."

She tilted her head, surveying me and the items I'd evidently taken as my own thus far: a sweater, blanket, and a some some strawberry jam.

"Doing?" She finished her sentence.

"Um..." I looked at my pile and back to the daughter of Athena. "the same as you, I think? Robbing the camp store?"

Now, I knew that that wasn't really her question, but I was hoping she would lay off if that's the answer I gave her.

Sadly, Annabeth knew that I wasn't a complete idiot.

"Well no shit, Stoll," she responded. "I mean why are you robbing the store? It looks like you're..."

She looked at my items again and narrowed her eyes.

"Like you're going on a picnic," Annabeth concluded, taking notice of the mini muffin container I had in my hand, along with a basket. She crossed her arms, accusingly. "You romantic piece of shit, who are you bringing on a picnic for breakfast?"

"Wh— nobody," but like Grover Underwood, I'm an awful liar.

I dropped the container of muffins.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I told the daughter of Athena. "I'm not bringing anyone on a picnic date. I don't even know what a picnic is."

Her jaw dropped.

"You— it's a date?" She may as well have screamed that from the stock room for all of camp to hear. The embarrassment is it made me turn red almost immediately. "How have I not heard about this yet? I've been here all week, since when—"

She cut herself off, looking once again at the sweater that was next to me.

The blue sweater. Because Percy's favorite color is blue, and blue looks really nice in him with the warm, caramel hues of his skin. It also makes his eyes pop and makes it impossible for me to say no to his adorable expressions.

Shut up, I'm allowed to think the person I'm dating is attractive.

"Travis."

"Annabeth."

"When Clarisse asked you at the start of the week if Percy was your boyfriend, and you said no," but I've always hated how smart she is. "was that a lie? Because you guys did hang out a lot last summer."

I let out a breath.

"It... no." I insisted, because that was the truth. "it wasn't a lie."

"So you finally got the guts to ask him out yesterday?"

I didn't even have a response to that. I just closed my mouth.

"It's okay if you like him, Travis," Annabeth told me a reminder of what Luke told me last summer. "I know he has a tentative death sentence, but I don't think he knows that. And with how he looked at the meeting yesterday... he could definitely use somebody that cares about him— especially without Grover around. He's not homophobic, if you're seriously worried about that. Or transphobic, for that matter."

"I know he's not—" but Annabeths latest addition threw me off guard. "I mean I knew that but... how do you know? Did you tell him? He's never misgenered you."

"Wh— oh, no, he never has." the daughter of Athena reassured me. "I wasn't planning on telling him explicitly since he'd never misgenered me or anything, but then on the quest I walked into the hotel room after a shower with like, a towel on, and he looked so confused."

"Why?"

"He thought I was binding." Annabeth finished the story, trying to hold back a smile. "Apparently I uh, pass well enough now that he trying to figure out if I was transmasc. It made my like, whole summer. We don't really get along, but he's nice. Usually. He drives me insane usually."

I smiled, throwing the food I'd collected for breakfast into the basket.

"Aw, does Annie have a crush?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Maybe," she confessed. "But it's okay, because I don't think he even likes girls. I'll get over it, and we can just be friends. You've been a lot nicer to him anyways. I don't think I'd be a good girlfriend for him."

"He's often confused about your guy's friendship," I confirmed, standing up with my treasures. "Just don't go telling everyone about what you saw here, Chase. I have to go make sure Percy woke up, but unless you hear that we're together from him..."

"Your secret is safe with me, Stoll." Annabeth promised with a sad smile. "Go get your mans."

•••

I felt kind of bad waking him up.

Laying in bed still, Percy looked content. Relaxed.

If I wasn't starving, I would've just crawled right back in bed with him. But as I could see demigods make their way towards the dining pavilion, I knew now would be prime time to wake him up so we could sneak away while almost everyone would be at the pavilion and away from the cabins.

"Hm..." Percy hummed when I opened the shades in his room, letting the light in.

He looked really confused for a second, pushing himself up slightly as if checking to see if I'd somehow become one with his mattress last night.

It was cute.

After a few confused moments, the groggy demigod looked in the direction of his light switch and then smiled, effectively turning my heart into a puddle.

"Hi!" Percy said with a smile that lit up the room better than any light could. "There you are. I was starting to get worried that you like, shape shifted into my mattress. I didn't even notice you get up. I didn't sleep through our date, did I?"

I couldn't help but smile back.

"You didn't sleep through our date, I just got up earlier to get it ready. I have a present for you."

He pushed himself up, smiling even wider.

"Another one?"

"Another one," I confirmed, holding the blue sweater out. "it's a little warm out, so I don't know if you want to wear it but—"

Percy took the sweater and smiled, putting it on.

"I'm never taking this off."

I couldn't help but smile back and give him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're precious," I reminded my date. "You might want to put some pants on, though. I don't know if all of camp wants to see you in your boxers."

"Pffft, they're at breakfast anyways," Percy said as he put on a pair of pants. "It's fine. Hopefully people don't notice we're gone."

"Oh, Annabeth already has," I promised, which of course had his attention. "Yeah uh... I stopped by the camp shop before it opened to get some stuff and while I was there, Annabeth showed up and scared the piss out of me because she used her Yankees cap to sneak in."

"She... what did she say?"

"Well," I explained as we started to head towards the lakeshore. Not the beach— I wasn't dealing with sand for breakfast, but some other areas where it's more grassy along the shore. It's also more secluded, which I thought Percy might appreciate because I can't tell if he's okay with being out or not.

On one hand, he was excited to tell his parents about us last summer.

On the other hand, when Annabeth asked him if he was gay last summer, he said no.

"First, she saw the basket and asked who I was bringing on a picnic," I recalled the events of earlier this morning to him. "but I was nervous so I said that I wasn't bringing anyone on a picnic date and that I didn't even know what a picnic was. And then she asked me who I was going on a date with and why she hasn't heard earlier and then she cut herself off and asked if I lied earlier this week about us being together."

But that last comment through Percy for a loop.

"About... what?"

I shrugged.

"Before the counsel met on Monday for the start of summer, somebody had asked where you were," I said, switching which arm I held the basket in just in case he wanted to hold hands or something. "Annabeth told us you'd be here Friday since your school ran later this year, and then she asked if I had any updates from you about that or about Grover since we were friends and I told them that we hadn't spoken and Clarissa chided me asking if we were boyfriends and not just friends. I said no. Because we weren't."

"So people already thought we were together?"

I shrugged, setting the basket down as we found a little clearing by the lakeshore that was at least sort of remote from the rest of camp. There's no activities in this area.

"I don't think so," I lied. "Clarisse just likes being nosy because I swear she's a closeted lesbian, and Annabeth must have some weird hunch that you're gay. Nobody else said anything."

"She did ask me about that in the Lotus after I found out that she's trans," Percy concurred. "I said no, because I wasn't out to anyone at that time and we'd only known each other for like two weeks by then. I wanted to tell my parents and like, Grover, before I just randomly came out."

"And have you told them?"

He shrugged.

"My parents? No. Grover? He knows that somebody was in my bed last night because of the mental link, but the dream didn't last enough for me to be able to tell him who it was. Luke knows, though, he brought a few sweaters and whatever that got mixed up between your guy's stuff right after summer and he asked how we were doing. Haven't really talked to him since, though. I'm assuming your siblings know, though."

"Well... not everyone," and I didn't get it, but I could sense that the idea of coming out intimidated Percy, so I tried to downplay it. "just like, a few of the older kids in the cabin who I usually bunk near. Conner basically kicked me out because of it last night, though."

But as soon as I said it, I realized how bad that sounded.

"Not like— he's not homophobic," I promised. "He just uh... saw that you were sad during the meeting so he insisted that it I should go do my job or whatever. Connor is extremely supportive, I promise."

Percy nodded his head.

"I figured— he was last year, too." He said, reassuring me that he didn't take it the wrong way. "People don't usually become homophobic, so... sorry that I'm not out."

I shrugged this time, opening the basket and setting some of the food out.

"You'll get there," I promised him, hoping it'd be sooner rather than later after how last summer was. "Are you hungry? I packed enough food to feed a hellhound."

Notes:

should u get back together with ur ex? vote down below find out in the next chapter

Chapter 28: Being Gay ≠ Being Soulmates

Percy Jackson

Something about how Travis responded to me apologizing about not being out just rubbed me the wrong way.

I don't know why, it just did.

Maybe it's just because I feel guilty for making us have to be sneaky. I want a relationship, but I'm not mentally ready for the entire camp to know about it— and I can tell that if we're going to be together, he wants to tell everyone about it.

Maybe after I come out to Grover it'll feel easier.

I hope so.

I miss him.

For the remainder of our first date, I tried to not think too hard about the things that Travis said that sounded a bit off or sounded not quite truthful to me (because I guess I'm called Seaweed Brain for a reason), and I think I was convincing enough for him.

The hoodie was nice, though.

The apology was nice.

Knowing that Connor had to kick him out for it to happen wasn't.

During morning activities, I felt pretty sluggish and kind of shitty still. I could vaguely sense that Grover was stressed, but Mr. D and the new dude were both busy with new campers so I couldn't just ask for a quest at the moment.

Also, Tyson was really excited about all of the new things he could do, which was just... a lot. For me.

After metalworks, I was slowly packing my things up before I'd have to head to lunch. I told Tyson he could run ahead and I'd meet him at the pavilion.

I just needed a minute.

"Hey, Perce," Charles Beckendorf's voice pulled me away from my thoughts. I looked up at the larger demigod. "you doing alright, man? I know getting a new sibling can be a lot— I was an only sibling before I came to camp. Tyson seems cool, though."

"Hm?" I responded, his statement taking time to process. "Oh, yeah, um... yeah. Tyson's cool, we went to school together this year, so I know him pretty well. There's just... a lot going on. Right now."

"Yeah?" He responded, helping me clean up. "you did seem kind of out of it at the meeting last night— anything to do with that?"

Struggling to form a thought, much less a sentence, I shrugged before I nodded.

"I— guess, yeah." I figured, worried that the more I thought about the events of the last 36 or so hours, the harder it would be to not have a panic attack or a mental breakdown or something along those lines. "I don't know, I... don't want to be here. I shouldn't be here."

But the fact of the matter seemed to surprise the counselor of the Hephaestus cabin, who told his cabinmates— who were all finished cleaning up, to head to lunch.

Which meant it was just us.

Which made me even more anxious.

My heart was going to explode in the worst way possible.

"What do you mean you shouldn't or don't want to be here?"

But that's a question only my therapist should be able to ask. It initiated my fight or flight because Beckendorf is far from the first person to ask me that question.

"I... don't know." And it was half a lie, because there were reasons, but suddenly talking was a lot harder to do than it was a couple minutes ago. "just... yeah. It's stupid."

But that wasn't going to work on the son is Hephaestus.

"It... Percy, whatever it is that's making you feel like you shouldn't be here isn't stupid. What's going on?"

But the thought of opening my mouth prompted another thought:

He's not going to care by the end of summer.

"Percy? You're not having a panic attack, are you? Do you want me to get Mr. D or Lee?"

"Hm? Oh, no, you don't have to... do that." I insisted. "Sorry, it's just... not easy. To talk. Um..." I took another breath, trying to not have a panic attack. "sorry. Walking into the Big House for the meeting last night was a lot because I felt really out of place and like nobody actually wanted me there because I don't really have any friends here now that Grover is like, in danger and I'm just... it's just still there. People also have just... been really mean about Tyson and it just makes it worse."

I could feel my bones vibrating.

"Oh," but I don't think Beckendorf expected me to actually say anything about it. He seemed surprised. "I'm... sorry that we made you feel that way. I know we haven't hung out much, but I think you're cool. Clarisse is just an asshole. I thought you and Travis were friends, though. Annabeth? You guys went on the quest together."

"And spent like half of it arguing with each other," I explained. "she's really nice sometimes, but other times we can't stand each other so I don't know... where we stand. As for Travis, it's... a mess, I guess you would say?"

"A mess?"

I took a breath, crossing my arms and leaning against the wall.

"We were friends last summer," I confirmed Beckendorf's suspicions. "but we were also like... kind of more than friends? He was really flirty when we started to hang out and I didn't mind it and I rolled with it and I was okay being like, friends with benefits. We'd do like, movie nights and he'd stay over a lot. Luke gave us shit a lot because he was one of the only people that knew about it."

Humming, the counselor prompted me to go on.

"And obviously I'm not like... out, so I was fine with the arrangement of just hanging out in my cabin," I went on, feeling a ball start to form in my ribs. "but when they sent out the letters about staying year around or going home, Travis asked me what my plans were for visiting home and I corrected him and said I was going to stay at home and visit camp when I could— for sure over Christmas break, but hopefully like once a month. And if he ever came into the city, we could hang out and I could like, introduced him to my parents, so that was I could actually come out to my parents. I know they're supportive, but I haven't come out because I just... haven't had a reason."

"Makes sense." Beckendorf responded.

"Yeah," I agreed. "but after I said that I wasn't staying here, Travis like, pulled away and insisted that we should take a break from hanging out and it just... felt like it came out of nowhere."

Nodding his head, Beckendorf agreed that that seemed pretty random.

"So fast forward to after the meeting yesterday," I continued to explain. "Travis comes knocking on my cabin door and he starts to apologize for what happened and he insisted that it's not like he wanted to break up, even though we weren't dating, but because of the stupid fucking prophecy that I might be apart of, he was worried that if I left camp I might never come back and so I insisted that if he wanted to continue things, which he did, we were either only friends or we're dating because the ambiguity of it was going to drive me crazy and he seemed really genuine and long story short we went on a date this morning, which was nice, but then during it he mentioned that Connor basically kicked him out of their cabin last night because he noticed that I was in a shitty mood so like he..."

I held my breath for a moment.

"On one hand, his apology seemed genuine and it's nice to have somebody to lean on," I concluded. "On the other hand, he didn't go on his own will, and I keep thinking about the possibility that he's going to do the same exact thing at the end of this summer even though Ive only been here for a day, so I don't know how to actually feel about it because I want to trust him, but what happened last year really hurt and I don't want to go through it again. And just to make matters worse, my best friend is in danger and Mr. D and the new guy are too busy for me to ask for a rescue mission or a quest or whatever would be needed to see him again because I miss him. Travis has nothing to do with that, it just... makes me even more anxious."

"You do seem to be extremely anxious right now," Beckendorf responded, thinking to himself. "It's not an easy situation, man. I'm sorry that you're like, stuck in the middle of all of that. It's hard to know for sure what Travis' intentions are, but if you're anxious enough that you're seriously worried he's going to pull the same thing this year, regardless of what he tells you, I don't think it's smart to continue dating him. You'll just spend the whole time wondering when he's gonna pull the rug out. But after the chariot races tonight, Mr. D and Quintus should have some free time! You could ask about a quest during campfire!"

Who the fuck is Quintus?

"Chariot races?" But I'd definitely missed that in the schedule. "Wh... when is that? When did they add that to the schedule?"

Based on his expression, Beckendorf seemed concerned that this was news for me.

"When... at the meeting, last night." He told me, which explained why I didn't know about it. "you and Annabeth are on a team for cabins 3 and 6. You responded saying yeah when somebody asked you and Annabeth if that was okay. Do you not..."

I shrugged.

"I zoned out pretty badly at the meeting," I admitted. "I had a panic attack in the bathroom beforehand so I wasn't really... all there. I don't really remember any of it. The new guys name is Quintus?"

"Y... yeah." But now it was obvious that I had made Beckendorf worry, which wasn't my goal, but it was stupid of me to think that that wouldn't happen. "come on, let's go get some lunch. Maybe food will make you feel better."

•••

Food did not make me feel better.

Well, it did, temporarily. But then I got overwhelmed by the amount of people and noise at the pavilion for lunch and the healing affect that the food had on me went to waste.

On the bright side, Tyson was able to tell that I still felt like shit so he wasn't being overly talkative. Just a regular level of talkative. Filling the silence.

After Tyson had finished eating, Annabeth walked over with a few books and a pencil case, scooting in to sit across from me.

"You're not..." I began, because that was against the rules.

"Lunch is basically over," the daughter of Athena insisted, ignoring the looks she was definitely getting from other campers that I was also getting that made me not want to be here in a different kind of way than before. "it's fine, Chiron's not even here. We need to talk about what we're doing for this afternoon."

"For... what?"

"For the chariot races?" She said in that slow, obvious tone she uses when she's debating if she should get away with calling me stupid. "we're on the same team, remember?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, Beckendorf told me about that."

"Beckendorf... Percy, you were at the meeting when Quintus announced it," she pointed out, which, objectively, was true. "you verbally agreed to be on a team with me, what do you mean Beckendorf told you?"

I shrugged.

"I also was checked out for the entirety of the meeting," I pointed out. "I know I told you guys about my mental link with Grover and after that it's a blur at best. Luckily, Beckendorf mentioned it to my on our way to lunch from metalworking today."

"So you had no..." Annabeth stopped herself, exhaling. "Are you okay, Percy? Between that and now you seem... I thought you'd be in a good mood today, all things considered."

"I've... been on the verge of a panic attack or maybe a meltdown, I'm not sure, since half way through breakfast," I admitted, which had her attention like it caught Beckendorf's earlier. "Mhm. I'm doing great. Definitely want to be here. Definitely am not worried about Grover. Definitely am not worried about stuff with Travis. I'm doing wonderful. I've never been better."

But I wouldn't mind never waking up again.

"You— okay," Annabeth took another breath, probably because I'm a lot to deal with right now, and I'm too much of an idiot to know how to handle myself right now. "How about the three of us go to your cabin and we can talk about the race there, okay? I already have my cabin building something, so we just have to discuss a plan for the actual race. But at least if you have a panic attack, you can have it in your bed."

And you know what? That was the nicest thing Annabeth has ever done for me, because I did eventually have a panic attack when I tried to read the blueprint Annabeth had for our chariot.

The fact that I didn't turn blue was a miracle, considering the fact that I felt like I couldn't breathe for about twenty minutes.

"—brother?" Tyson's voice eventually broke me from the episode, as I found myself hugging a blanket that Travis gave me last year, my knees held against my chest.

"Hey, you can hear us," but somehow, Annabeth noticed my change in awareness almost immediately as I set the blanket down because I... don't know how to feel about it about. "sorry that the blueprint overwhelmed you, I figured that it was fine since I wrote it all in ancient Greek but... I suppose it's still a lot. Are you okay?"

I shrugged.

"I'm here."

She looked at me skeptically.

"You... sound like you don't want to be here."

But what can I say?

"I mean, it's not like I jumped off the St. Louis Arch for fun last summer."

That apparently wasn't the right thing to say. It visibly overwhelmed Annabeth for like two seconds as I remembered that she didn't hear that breakdown in the circus truck— it was just Grover.

Meaning Annabeth wouldn't have known that I was so fucking irritated on the quest last summer because of...

"Oh." She sounded overwhelmed, and I guess I don't blame her. "You're suicidal, okay. Cool. So that wasn't just you hoping to land in the water, got it, um... that explains why you didn't care about arguing with a literal god. Do you—"

She stopped herself.

"Not that it's any of my business," the slightly older demigod prefaced. "but since Grover isn't here and you don't have any siblings that are emotionally developed enough to understand, I'm going to ask and make it my business: did something happen this morning with you and Travis? I know you also felt like shit at the meeting, but I ran into him at the camp store before breakfast since a few new kids needed shampoo and towels and he was like, a very bad liar about it. But he seemed excited about a breakfast date. A little nervous because I figured it out, but excited. Did it not go well? Is that making you more anxious?"

"It... was fine? I guess?"

"You guess?"

Taking a breath, I told Annabeth what I told Beckendorf— how I was happy and excited to go on the date, but the moment Travis mentioned that he was kicked out of his cabin the night before, it kickstarted my worries that he was only doing this because he just wanted to be able to be kind of affectionate and not because he actually wanted to be together, and that he only apologized because he felt like he had to and not like he should have or wanted to and that he might just do the same thing again this August.

Oh, and then there's everything else.

I haven't said much about it because what's there to say, but the kids continue to be asses about Tyson. They wouldn't shut up about it during lunch, which is what pushed my anxiety to the levels of finally having the stupid anxiety attack.

Oh, and the entire camp is on high alert because the borders are down.

And Chiron is gone. And Mr. D is busy. And a million other little things that make me wish I could go into a coma tonight.

You'll get there. Travis told me.

Not that it was okay. Not that we'd figure it out.

Just that I'll get there.

But if every day feels like this, I don't think I will.

I miss my best friend.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked, standing up. "Come on, let's go talk to Mr. D."

Hopefully he'd be able to give me a quest.

Notes:

The verdict? Probably not

Chapter 29: I Thought Nepotism Was Supposed To Be Helpful

Notes:

congrats on reading 100k words 😗✌️ we're so normal in this fandom istg

Percy Jackson

We didn't make it to the Big House to talk to Mr. D and Tantalus (Chiron's sub), because we ran into them on the way there and they ushered us to the chariot races.

The chariot Annabeth planned ended up being nice, but between how on edge everyone was with the issues with camps borders, how generally dangerous chariot races tend to be, and the fact that we got attacked by Stymphalian Birds during the race, people weren't exactly in a good mood afterwards. A few of the kids in other chariots were definitely hurt, Clarisse's head was too big considering the fact that she won by technicality, and then Tantalus blamed Annabeth, Tyson, and I (the three people who got rid of the birds) for the attack and sentenced us to washing dishes for dinner.

"You mean after dinner, sir?" Annabeth asked, as if he deserved the respect of being called sir.

"Wh— that's not what I said, son of Athena," but the son of a bitch was lucky that I didn't wail him the moment the word son came out of his mouth. "you and your prettyboy friend here caused harm to the campers, you have lost dinner privileges. The rest of you, go prepare a feast for the daughter of Ares."

And just like the sick son of a bitch can't move fast enough to grab anything to eat, he couldn't move fast enough before I saw red and slammed the old sot against the bleachers, holding him by his jaw.

"Percy!" A mixture of voices yelled out in the distance.

"Say that again." I warned, tightening my grip near the top of his throat just enough to scare him. "And I will do so much more to you than I did to Ares."

"I don't know what you—"

"Her name is Annabeth." I informed the man. "You will address her as such. I don't care who you were in your last life— you don't misgender somebody in this one, and you don't force children to starve unless you'd like to wake up to something more cruel than any punishment Zeus could ever imagine for you in the Underworld."

"Percy, please," I felt a hand grab my left hand as it hung by my side, my right one holding Tantalus in place. "before Mr. D turns you into a bunch of grapes or something, please don't hurt him."

Suddenly overwhelmed, I stepped back, letting Tantalus breathe again.

Not that he deserved it.

Looking down at my left hand, I recognized Travis' fingers as being wrapped around my own.

I'm sure it was a well intended action from Travis— I probably wasn't listening so he resorted to physical affection to earn my attention and it worked.

But we haven't talked about physical attention in public.

Because I'm not out to the public. And I'm not ready to be out to the public right now.

So, I felt shitty about it, but I pulled my hand away from Travis. My anger settled once again into a saddened state of frustration.

I don't want to be here right now.

"What are you brats all looking at?" Mr. D addressed the rest of the camp. "get to dinner. Scram."

And, in vain, Tantalus escorted the rest of the demigods to a meal he wouldn't get to eat at.

"Hey," Annabeth said, straggling behind with Travis, Mr. D, and I. "thanks. You definitely didn't have to do that— he could've hurt you if you'd been any slower, but it means a lot. See you in the kitchen after dinner?"

I just nodded my head.

"She's right, by the way," Mr. D reminded me. "Tantalus could've hurt you if he wasn't so surprised. You shouldn't be so careless, kid."

"He deserved it." I told the camp director. "what? Was I just supposed to not do something about what he said?"

"Hm?" He hummed. "Oh, no, he absolutely deserved it— the man's a bastard that I don't care for, but we technically have to talk about it. So go get some food in your belly and then come find me and we'll figure out... Something."

And just like that, Dionysus vanished in a flash that left a lingering smell of grapes behind.

"Hey," Travis said in a quiet tone as I saw him offer a hand once again. "you okay?"

Hesitant, I took his hand.

"Sorry, I just..." I started, leaning in towards the son of Hermes. My mind was going to fast to pull any one thought forward. "it's a lot. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

I took a breath.

"I know that we're like, dating now," I started with the thing that's actually related to Travis. "but I'm not ready to like... Tell everyone yet? I should've said that earlier, I'm sorry, but it just makes me anxious and it's not like it's going to be the whole summer of hiding away and be secretive but just.... A couple weeks? Probably more like, a week. And I know that some people already know— Annabeth asked me about our date before the chariot races, and it's okay that those people know for now, but just..."

"Keep it to them?" Travis finished, smiling as he squeezed my hand.

I couldn't tell if it was a sad smile or not.

"That doesn't bother you, does it?" I asked, and immediately recognized confusion on Travis. "I'm sorry, I've been anxious and in my head all day and Annabeth told me to talk to Mr. D about it and I was going to but he's been busy and maybe it's a stupid question because it is but I'm anxious and I already said that, but you still like me, right? You're not going to end this at the end of summer? You didn't just come over last night because you felt bad?"

"It... I mean, I'd love to be able to be affectionate, but I'm not going to pressure you into it if you need some time to get used to it." Travis insisted, which was nice to hear. "and I'm not leaving at the end of summer, how many times do I have to tell you that? I fucked up last year, I'm not going to do it again. I came over for a lot of reasons. Sure, one of the reasons was that I felt bad, but I was also worried, and I also missed you. I wouldn't have taken you out on a date if I didn't like you. Did something happen to make you anxious?"

I shrugged.

"Just another dream message from Grover," I confirmed his suspicions. "And it's stupid, but the way you talked about Connor basically kicking you last night just... Made me worry. Again, it's stupid, but I'm just naturally anxious."

"About Connor... Oh yeah. Do you want the full story?"

I nodded my head as we started towards the pavilion.

"So last night, after the meeting, Connor and I got back to our cabin and we were getting ready for bed, but I was a little out of it." My date mate explained as I consciously continued to hold his hand. "I was worried because you were so out of it at the meeting, but when I'd try to say hi, you were already not really there. As I got into my pajamas, one of my siblings asked if I was going to your place or not. Or, more accurately, if I was going to my boyfriend's cabin."

"Your— huh?"

"My boyfriend's," Travis said again, testing out the word. I wasn't sure how I felt about it. "and originally I said no because it was your first night back, you had a brother that was brand new, and you seemed to be in not the greatest of moods. I figured you probably didn't want to see me because I was a dumbass at the end of last summer but I'm not a complete idiot. But before I could explain that we weren't dating and that you probably weren't in the best headspace to talk to me about what happened, Connor made a comment about how you looked like shit at the meeting, and one of our younger siblings overheard and asked why I wasn't at your cabin comforting you as my boyfriend and the three of them told me to collectively go comfort you, Connor definitely knowing that we weren't together, because if I didn't that would make me a shitty boyfriend."

"It would make you a shitty boyfriend," I agreed. "If we had been boyfriends."

"Which they didn't let me tell them," he went on. "So on my way there, I ran into Clarisse and she teased me because she's watched me walk to your cabin every night basically, and you know the rest. I wanted to talk to you, but with how everything was going... I figured I'd wait. Give you a day or two. Adjust. Then we'd talk. I don't know how good of an idea it was, but that was my idea."

"It's an awful idea, your siblings are sometimes smarter than you are, Trav." I told him, squeezing his hand before letting go as we were now in visible distance from the pavilion. "It's okay, though, you still came. Um... Yeah. Do you want to hang out again tonight?"

"It's my night to be on duty, but I can tomorrow!" Travis told me. "unless Connor is willing to trade, or you're maybe willing to come over...?"

I thought about it for a minute.

"Where do you sleep?"

"Me and Connor bunk, I'm on the bottom bunk." Travis told me. "Julia and Cecil are on the other side of the room— that's why they suspected we were together. We share a room, so they knew I was always gone."

"I see," I responded, debating on how okay I was not only with sleeping with Travis with other people around, but with leaving Tyson alone tonight. "um, can I give you an answer later? I'm... Going to ask Mr. D and Tantalus for a quest tonight. Either at dinner or campfire, whenever they're available. If I get it, then I'll probably stay over? Because then I'll be gone for a bit."

"A quest? What for? You've already saved the world once, Jackie-boy, you shouldn't have to do it again."

I let myself smile as the nickname.

"Well one, it'd be a rescue mission for Grover," I explained. "But he has an idea that I think can help the campers borders. I'm not sure, though, which is why I have to talk to Mr. D. It should be fine, though! Mr. D loves me. He has to."

"Oh, yeah, he's Gabe's dad," Travis recalled. "Can't believe you're a nepo baby. Just let me know, okay? Good luck. I'd offer to go with but uh... You've seen me fight."

I smiled again.

"You're much better at stealing and sneaking around than fighting." I agreed. "go have fun with your siblings."

Rolling his eyes, Travis figured he'd have a blast as we both left some food in the fire for our parents to enjoy like a Yankee Candle they got on sale.

Separating to our own tables, I spotted Tyson talking with Annabeth— who was standing next to our table as she ate so it technically wasn't against the rules.

That was, until I sat down and she also sat down.

"Wh— Annabeth! What are you doing?" I yell whispered. "We're already in trouble and you're breaking another rule in front of Mr. D and Tantalus?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Mr. D doesn't care, and Tantalus is too busy trying to play catch with his food to notice." She promised me, which, looking over to the head table, was very true. "do you still want to talk to them about a quest?"

"Do I— yeah, I was planning on it, why?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know, you and Travis were slow waking back, I wasn't sure if you guys talked about what was bugging you and if that changed your plans." The daughter of Athena explained her thought process to me. "Have you mentioned the quest to him? Would he come with? Because if so, I'm teasing you the entire time. It'll be worse than it was with Grover, which... Still can't believe you two weren't together."

She stopped.

"Unless you lied about it because you weren't out?"

"Unless I... No, Annabeth, Grover and I were never together." I insisted. "and Travis wouldn't come on the quest— as good as he is at being sneaky, and as useful as that could be to get Grover out of the cave or whatever it is that he's in, he'd have to be a good enough fighter to survive long enough to find Grover."

Annabeth chuckled, probably having witnessed Travis in multiple capture the flag games and swordfighting classes.

"Okay, yeah, you have a point. He's a better archer than swordfighter, but he's still not the best. Who would be the third person then?"

"Are you assuming you're one of the two people?"

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Do you have other friends?"

I forced myself to not make a snappy comment back.

"That was low," I insisted. "Maybe I'll just go on a solo quest. You don't know."

But that would never happen for a few reasons that Annabeth now knew all too well thanks to what happened after lunch today.

"Because Mr. D would let you go in a solo quest when you have suicidal tendencies and have tried to kill yourself while on a quest before," the daughter of Athena mentioned. "He's not letting you leave alone, and you know that. I'm not trying to be smug, Jackson, I'm just being realistic. That besides the point, though, how are you going to sell it as a quest and not a rescue mission?"

"I... Have a plan, but I don't want to have to explain it twice." I insisted. "just trust me, okay?"

Sighing, Annabeth said okay and got up to go back to her own table.

"Big Brother leaving?" Tyson asked, sounding sad. "Is Big Brother okay?"

I attempted a smile, but being asked if I'm okay never has a good answer.

"Hopefully, but I'll come back," I promised him. "My friend is in danger and I need to go help him. I'll be better when he's back."

"Can I come with?"

"Can..." But for a few different reasons, I shook my head. "No, Tyson, no, you... We'll see. It'll depend on if they count Grover as a third person or not, okay?"

I kind of hope they do.

Tyson just smiled.

"Okay!"

•••

Did I want to go to campfire that night? Not really, I was exhausted.

But was it also my only chance to get a quest and get the hell out of here without getting in even more trouble?

Yes. Yes it was.

After the attack during the races, there was still a buzz in the air and most kids were somewhat on edge. Rather than the tall, bright flames, they were lower tonight, and more of a purple color to reflect the camps anxiety.

"We can't keep letting this happen," another camper said.

"I mean, duh, but how do we fix it?" Another asked. "Even Chiron couldn't heal the poison— the satyrs and dryads are also having no luck."

"Well I don't know, but..."

"I have an idea." I cut in, which had most people's attentions: namely Mr. D, Clarisse, and Travis.

"You... You do?" Travis asked as he sat next to me, turning in towards me as the rest of camp seemed to tune in.

"I, uh— yeah." I confirmed, nodding my head. "I've been trying to get to the Big House all day, but it's been busy so I haven't been able to. Um... So, as I shared at the council meeting I believe, Grover and I have a mental link now."

One of the older satyrs sitting near Mr. D started to cough, looking surprised.

"Sorry, sorry." He apologized. "Keep going."

"Okay...? Anyways." I continued, taking a breath. "he's sent me a few different messages in my dreams, and the other day he gave me a series of numbers— I think they're coordinates? I have them written down in my school bag in my cabin, so I have to double check. But I'm fairly sure they're coordinates. And last night he appeared in my dream and I mentioned the issue with the border and he was like, worried about the camp, of course. But then he mentioned that where he's currently trapped— in a cyclopes liar somewhere off the coast of Florida, there's a large fleece and he's pretty sure it's the Golden Fleece, which..."

I took a breath.

"Polyphemus had the Golden Fleece, right?" I tried to recall, wishing Chiron were here to help with that knowledge. "So it makes sense that he like... Somehow got it back? Not saying that this cyclopes is the Polyphemus, but maybe he's related to Polyphemus? Like it was his dad or something?"

A blanket of silence settled over the camp as people looked between Mr. D, Tantalus, and myself.

"If Gary is right," but gods forbid Mr. D refers to somebody by their correct name more than once. "And it is the golden fleece that he's spotted, that should be able to heal Thalia's Tree and restore our borders. Would you be suggesting another quest, Perry?"

"I— I mean that or even just a rescue mission?" I figured, shrugging. "either way, Grover and the Fleece are in the same spot, so..."

"So if you have the coordinates, anyone can go." Tantalus interrupted my conversation with Mr. D like the bitch he is (completely unbiased observation). "Any takers? It's only once in a lifetime you can go on something as exciting and dangerous as a quest."

"I—"

But gods forbid the person who had a mental link with the missing person open thier mouth.

"I'll go!" Clarisse stood up, still wearing her laurels because she needed her ego to be stroked even more by Tantalus tonight. "it's only a rescue mission, so I don't need a party of three, correct? I'm one of the camp's top fighters, I wouldn't want to worry about watching after others."

"Well... That is correct, you don't need to have others with, but it's always encouraged." Mr. D agreed. "You wouldn't want anyone else with you? Are there any volunteers to go with Clara?"

She bit her tongue at the nickname.

"I'll g—" Annabeth tried, for what it's worth.

"No." Clarisse snapped. "I refuse to go with you or Jackson. You guys had your chance last summer— it doesn't always have to be about you."

No, I thought, but it is about my best friend that you don't get along with.

"The girl has a point," but big surprise, Tantalus sided with Clarisse. "and after tonight's incident with the bird attack, I don't think it'd be wise for you two or the one eyed toddler to embark on a quest— not unless you want to secure the death of the tree and your friend, that is."

"Unless we..."

And as I could feel the anger swell at the fact that he assumed we would fail this quest, even though we were successful last summer, I also knew that I didn't have the energy for another fight.

"Hey, you don't have to cut at them like that," Travis spoke up, which was sweet was him. "if you don't want to get them the quest for the sake of another person having one, that's fine, but you don't have to make it sound like they're walking doomsday clocks. They did successfully complete their quest last summer."

"Probably by a miracle," Tantalus ignored Travis, looking at Clarisse. "Go consult the Oracle, dear. You'll leave at first light. I officiate the quest. Good luck, and may the gods be with you. The rest of you, get to bed."

And that was it.

Clarisse walked to the Big House, and the rest of the campers started to head back towards their own cabin.

This was stupid.

"Percy?" Travis asked. "You okay?"

I shrugged.

"I'll... Manage," I lied, knowing what my next step would have to be. "you'll be in your cabin tonight, right?"

"That's the plan currently."

"Okay." I said, thinking very slowly to myself. "I, uh... I'll be over in a bit, okay? I'm going to make sure Tyson is okay on his own, but I'll definitely... Need support."

After all, maybe it was stupid of me to think that being Mr. D's grandkid would get me anywhere with this plan.

"Sounds good, I'll make sure the room isn't a total mess." Travis reassured me as he stood up. "I'll see you in a few."

With that, Travis ran to catch up with his siblings and make sure he wouldn't completely embarrass himself when I showed up later.

He definitely would embarrass himself, and it would be cute, but for now I'll let him clean and rush around his cabin in vain. In the hopes that he'll get to keep his dignity after today.

I couldn't even get a quest.

"Hey, Percy," Mr. D's voice pulled me from my thoughts. "I know it's late, but do you want to tell me about what happened with Tantalus—"

"I promised Grover." I interrupted the god, which wasn't the smartest thing I've done.

But it was also far from the dumbest.

"Hm?" The god hummed in response.

"I promised Grover." I repeated, not really looking over at the camp director. "I promised Grover that I would rescue him."

There was a beat of silence.

"I... I mean, okay, but you don't always have to save others, kid," Mr. D insisted, as if my best friend being in danger and MIA wasn't killing me inside. "Sometimes you have to let other people do the saving for you. Trust Clara."

I cackled.

"Mr. D, I could trust a lot of people in camp," I told him. "Clarisse isn't one of them. She tried to kill me on my like third day of camp and hasn't lightened up since."

He sighed, considering my point.

"Just... Whatever ideas you have, try to sleep on it first?" He suggested. "it seems like you and the older Thief brother are back on good term— go watch a movie or something. Just keep it pg-13 and tell me when your parents know about it so that way I don't shock them half to Asphodel with the news."

"So you don't... Huh?"

Mr. D rolled his eyes, standing up and summoning a Diet Coke.

"I'm a god, Percy, not a dumbass," he reminded me. "You guys both skipped breakfast, sat by each other at campfire, and Travis also grabbed your hand like it was a normal reflex when you launched at Tantalus which... Nice job, but don't do it again. I don't know what's your guy's deal this summer, but just don't let me hear any noise complaints about it."

"Don't... Mr. D, we're 13!"

He shrugged.

"I don't know what kids do when these days!" He defended himself. "go to bed. I have a bratty immortal to lecture in the big house."

Oh, you're going to look in the mirror?

But before I could say anything, he vanished. So, with nothing else to do, I headed towards the cabins.

Hopefully Mr. D won't get any if it's my last night here for a few weeks.

Notes:

are you ready for how embarrassing Mr. D is gonna be this summer?

Chapter 30: Your Dad Famously Sings About Columbia And Yet You're Pasty

Percy Jackson

Because I'm not a fucking idiot, I left my wallet in my cabin before going over to Cabin 11 to cuddle with Travis.

I also grabbed the box that Luke gave me the last time we hung out because it was a good excuse to go to Cabin 11 without people being too suspicious and making me anxious.

"Wait, you... Want me to give this to your siblings?" I asked Luke after he'd given me a tour of the Princess Andromeda— a little fucked up, but he was trying to work with Kronos and not get killed, so it could've been much worse. It was mostly monsters on board. He handed me a brown box that was around two feet wide. "Should be I be careful when I give it to them? There's not like, a stink bomb inside?"

Luke rolled his eyes.

"No, no stink bomb, just gifts." The older demigod reassured me. "Not liking our dad doesn't mean I don't like my siblings. I miss some of them, but camp is a... Distance aways, and with school... It's too much. There's also something in there for Annabeth and uh, for Grover. It's mostly just little things that I've seen that reminds me of people. I'm not evil, Percy."

"Well I know you're not evil," I agreed to that last point. "I wouldn't be here if I thought that, I just want to make sure I don't smell like rotten eggs for a week like I did last summer when one of your brothers sent me a fake package from my parents."

Luke chuckled as we got to the dock entrance.

"It was kind of funny, but I've never been one for pranks." He promised. "get to camp safe, alright man? I'll probably see you this summer, right? You're still down to find the cure all?"

"If it gets me away from the assholes at camp? Count me in."

"Cool," Luke responded, sighing. "I... Wasn't happy when I heard the order to poison the tree, but... That's what the cure all is for."

He paused.

"Which Kronos doesn't know we're getting, by the way."

I smiled, noticing how much softer he spoke when he told me that.

"I assumed. Miss your girlfriend?"

"Speak for yourself, Jackson. While you're in the cabin, remind Travis that he's a dumbass. I expect a full report of his response whenever we cross paths this summer— in code, of course."

"I'll write it in shitty Portuguese for you to Google translate."

"I better install better Internet then." He joked and I rolled my eyes, starting to walk towards the subway station a few blocks from here. "see you around, Percy. Tell everyone I say hi."

Walking up to the most plain of all the cabins here, I wasn't even able to fully knock on the door before Connor swung it open; leaving me standing there with my fist up and my other arm holding the box with Luke's handwriting on it.

"Percy, hey!" Connor said, moving to let me in. "Travis mentioned that you might be here tonight! Finally, dude. What uh.."

"What brings the sea scrum crawling back?" One of the other kids around a year or two older than me (unclaimed, jealous) called out from the designated living room area of cabin 11. Where most of the new kids sleep when they don't have a bunk yet.

Trust me, I'd know.

"Luca, shut up." Cecil, one of the younger claimed demigods snapped back. I think he the one that Travis said theorized about our relationship. "You'd literally die three seconds into a quest because you can't fight worth poop and you have zero sneaking skills. He was literally claimed so his dad could blame something he didn't do on him— be better."

Luca rolled his eyes and returned to whatever game he was playing with some other people from cabin 11.

"Whatever."

"Sorry, Luca's... envious of most kids who have been claimed," Travis appeared by his brother, which was a sigh of relief. He knit his eyebrows at the brown cube in my arms. "what's the box for? You moving in for the summer?"

I smiled, rolling my eyes at his joke.

"Uh, no, my overnight bag is on my back," I pointed out, turning slightly so they could see my bag. "this is from Luke, actually. I don't know how he got my address— from Chiron, maybe? But he dropped it off one day on his way back to his apartment and asked me to give it to you guys. He says hi, misses you all. Camp is just a really far drive and he's apparently super busy."

"You've talked to Luke since he left?" Julia asked me, sounding curious.

I shrugged, letting them open the box and disperse the goods.

"Like three times," I definitely lied, but it was an important lie. "He ran into me one day since our schools weren't too far from each other and he gave me a couple of things that were mine that I'd forgotten here last summer. And then he stopped by for like 4 seconds around Christmas just to say hi and drop off some cookies he made, and the last time was when he dropped off the box."

They eyed the box.

"How many smoke bombs do you think are inside?"

"This is Luke, not Connor or Travis." Julia reminded her siblings. "if he did anything, he put glitter in our boxes, but if he's a broke college student now... I think we're safe."

She took the box and thanked me.

"Come on," Travis told me. "While they look through the box, I'll show you where my room is. You look tired."

I rolled my eyes.

"Just a bit exhausted," I agreed as the two of us started down at hallway. I knew where his room was— I'd been in there once before when Luke gave me some toiletries before I was claimed, but it has been a while. "Is it stressful now? Being counselor?"

Travis shrugged as he opened the door to his room— it wasn't hard to figure out which bunk was his based solely on the fact that he still had one of my sweaters , laying on the bed.

"It's not that bad with Connor to share, but the last week or so has been busier than I like." He told me, which made sense. "hopefully it chills out now that we won't be getting more new kids. But Connor just... I don't know."

Are Connor and Travis not getting along?

They've never not gotten along. Or at least, not for longer than a day. Travis has always been proud to be Connor's full blooded brother.

"You don't know what?" I asked in return as the older of the two brothers put my sweater on and sat down on his bed.

Joining him, I set my bag down at the foot of his bed. Seeming to need the comfort, Travis leaned against me, so I wrapped an arm around him, hoping it would help.

"I... Ever since Luke left, his attitude has just changed, and sometimes I don't like it, and other times I don't know how to feel about it." The son of Hermes explained, keeping an eye out for his brother. "He got to be more serious, which doesn't bother me usually— we're counselors now, after all, and he does more than I do with it. Which is great for him— I wasn't going to originally take up being a counselor, but the cabin really wanted both of us to be counselors so I said I'd help."

Nodding my head, I urged him to go on.

"But now... Luke and Connor always got along." Travis elaborated. "Luke was our big brother— he helped raise us just as much as he helped raise Annabeth. But towards the very end of last summer, after Luke had decided that he was going to go to college, and this entire year so far, Connor has acted like he doesn't like Luke and like he's not our family. At first I thought he was just upset that he was leaving after so long, but then he... At our first meeting, he listed Luke as one of the people who he thought might've poisoned Thalia's Tree."

What does Connor know?

Did he overhear Luke talk to somebody?

But if it started last summer... That doesn't make sense.

"He what?" I asked. "Why? I thought Luke like... Loved Thalia, or something?"

"He did!" Travis confirmed for me. "I don't know if they were actually dating because, duh, never met her and it was a sore subject for Luke, but he definitely liked her. Connors whole reasoning was that Luke seemed to not really like the gods his last year or so at camp— after his quest and whatever, but even Mr. D seemed to disregard it because a lot of people don't like the gods. They kind of suck if you're a demigod, right? Or at least, they're sucky parents."

"My sperm donor isn't receiving any father of the year awards soon," I agreed. "Has Connor met your guy's dad?"

Shrugging, Travis shook his head.

"We've seen him on field trips, but we've never spoken to him." He confirmed my suspicions. "I'm pretty sure Connor like, idolizes him, and I... Don't? Like, if he dropped by to say hi, I wouldn't start yelling at him or anything, but I wouldn't want to give him a hug or anything. He's just... There. Or technically, he's not there. But he exists. He has a job to do, and he makes sure that that job involves not having the time of day to see us."

Travis paused.

"I try not to think about it too much," the son of Hermes concluded. "It makes me angry, and I don't like being angry so... Yeah. I still kind of have my mom, and Chiron isn't always great, but... He's there."

"I think a lot of demigods feel that way," I tried to reassure him. "Even summer campers— I'm lucky that my mom actually cares, but that's not the case for all kids that go home, right? They just get sent to a boarding school or whatever? Annabeth was nervous about her dad sending her away when she went home."

"Oh, yeah, it's definitely not a unique thing to us." Travis agreed a little too easily for comfort. "the only decent parent is Mr. D, and even then... He doesn't do a lot with his kids. Enough of that, though, I don't want to get sad or angry. That would be stupid. Is there anything you want to watch tonight? I still haven't watched Camp Rock."

•••
Julia Feingold

"I'm sorry," Alice Miazawa, a camper younger than me, but older than Travis asked. "why is Percy still here? He has an... Entire cabin?"

"Because Travis has a hard on for Seaweed Scum," and personally, I didn't know what to smack Connor for: calling Percy seaweed Scum, or basically outing Travis to the cabin when him and Percy have obviously been trying to stay secretive.

I smacked him regardless.

"What!?" Travis' little brother asked. "Like most of camp doesn't already know? I thought we didn't like Percy like, as a cabin."

"Well we... We're kind of mean to him after he was claimed last summer," Cecil Markowitz admitted, sounding guilty about it. "but he seems nice!"

"He threatened Tantalus after the chariot race." Luca, the vice president of hating Percy (the president being Clarisse, of course) pointed out. "And tried to ask for another quest. Like, dude, share, what the fuck."

"Okay, to be fair, his best friend is the one that they're supposed to rescue," I was trying to be nice because I knew that Travis cared about Percy, but I was worried that Connor would disregard what I'm saying as counselor. "And he has like, no friends. I would also want to go rescue one of my only friends."

"Oh, yeah, he's really fucked up about it, I think." But thank the gods, Connor didn't completely disagree with me. "He was physically at that meeting last night, but mentally? He's not okay, and I'm sure that Grover being MIA has a lot to do with it. Apparently Grover created a mental link, so like... He knows he's alive. That's how he knew what he did tonight."

"A mental link?" Cecil asked, startled by that. And reasonably so. "is that like... Dangerous?"

"Super," I confirmed, nodding my head. "if either one of them die, the other will die soon after. And if Grover's in danger..."

"Hey, nobody ever called Grover the smartest of the satyrs." Connor figured, shrugging as he handed Alice her box from Luke. "Not that he's stupid, but... He's the one who insisted on getting his searchers license after it killed both of his parents and his uncle. I don't get it."

As I handed him his little package from Luke, Connor hesitated before taking it.

I wonder why he changed his attitude about Luke. At first, I thought it just had to do with him leaving and Connor not wanting to admit that he'd miss him, but... It's been nine months.

Maybe because he hasn't visited?

It's not like he promised he would.

"Maybe he wanted to understand why his parents wanted it so badly," Cecil guessed. "To feel closer to them. I think it'd be nice to feel closer to Dad."

Connor shrugged.

"It would be, but you know the rules, Cecil." My younger brother reminded him. "gods aren't supposed to have contact with their mortal kids. Maybe the next field trip to Olympus they'll let us talk, yeah?"

And I wasn't sure if Connor was lying for Cecil's sake, his sake, or if that's what he truly believed, but I knew better.

Unless something bad happens— something that will threaten the very way the Olympians choose to exist— it won't make them talk to us. To suddenly decide that they want to be our parents.

And even if that happened, I don't know how sincere it would be. How okay I would be with that sudden change.

I'm sure for the younger kids, it'd be great, but... I would know that they're doing it out of obligation.

Because it's not like they care.

I think the number of unclaimed demigods we have in our cabin is proof enough of that.

•••
Percy Jackson

The fact that the Jonas brothers weren't my gay awakening is crazy considering the amount of times I watched Camp Rock as a kid.

The other shocker from that is that I'm not a child of Apollo.

The Apollo kids, though nice, annoy me a lot of the time because they're way to happy way to early in the day. I need like, one of them to admit that it's a charade.

"Okay, but don't all of these people play characters in different shows?" Travis asked like a half hour into the film. "I know for a fact the Jonas brothers had their own show."

"That's capitalism, Trav," I reminded him, giving him a kiss behind his ear as I was currently sitting behind him, Travis sitting between my legs. "the less people they have to pay, the better. And the more likely they are to go batshit insane. The lead in this overdosed on like, meth or something before sobering up."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Disney sucks," I concluded. "but their movies were good."

Sighing, Travis leaned back into me and looked up— I'm not sure he was able to actually see my face due to the angle, but it was cute.

"Percy."

"Hm?"

"So you like, weren't able to get a quest," Travis pointed out, which is not what I wanted to talk about right now. "which sucks and all, but..."

His voice drifted.

"You said that you'd stay over if you got a quest," he recalled, which was true. "and that you probably wouldn't if you didn't. But... You're here still."

I shrugged.

"Still had the box."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to be at camp tomorrow night? We're you planning on going with or without permission?"

My silence might've been a good enough answer for him, but I needed a second to think about a good answer.

"Is that shitty?" I finally asked in return, exhaling. "I'm sure Clarisse could find the Golden Fleece—I'll let her take the credit for it, I don't care, I just... He's one of my only friends and he's reaching out to me and I promised him that I would try and save him."

Adjusting, Travis turned around so he could sit up again and look at me.

"And you're sure you don't want me coming with? I know I'm not a great fighter, but..."

"Travis, you have people and responsibility here," I reminded him, looking down for a second. "I don't want you to get hurt. And plus, Grover's somewhere off the coast of Florida—which means on an island, probably, which means water. And with water, it's just... Easier if I'm alone. I'm sorry."

The son of Hermes exhaled, thinking hard about it.

"Don't apologize, I... Kind of figured you were leaving either way." And I saw him have a thought that I wish he wouldn't have jumped to. "um... Sorry, I'm just... Yeah."

"You're just what?" I questioned. "Travis, I'm not going to kill myself on this quest."

He gave me a skeptical look.

"Are you sure?" I know he had good he had good intentions, but that question frustrated me almost immediately. "With nobody else on the quest, being far away... You've done it before, Percy. Remember? You did it last summer on your quest."

"I... Things have changed since then, Travis!" But he wasn't supposed to know about the St. Louis Arch, so I got defensive about it. "I don't even know where you heard that, but I didn't jump off the St Louis Arch in order to kill myself— I jumped off because I had no fighting chance against the Chimera and figured that if I died, I died. I wasn't even sure if my mom was alive and I was feeling guilty that my dad thought we abandoned him, it's not like... I didn't do it to do it."

"But you also had other people with you then, Percy." But that wasn't the point, and I don't know how Travis was missing it.

"I— Travis, if I kill myself, it defeats the whole purpose of leaving in the first place." I reminded the older Stoll brother. "I get that you're worried about my mental health, but if I kill myself, Grover would also die in the process, and I refuse to kill him! I'm leaving so that I make sure he doesn't die— so why would I do something that I know would kill him?"

"Because you're mentally unstable!"

I didn't even know how to respond to that.

It's not that he said it in order to frame something else. It's not that he even used those words— because if you take those words at face value, it's true. I've been unstable for a while now.

A lot of it has to do with Gabe's drinking and the impacts it had on me. Sure, Dad and I get along now, but those few years that he drank felt like hell. It's why he's paying for my therapy, not Mom.

The way that Travis said it, though, is what silenced me. Telling me not that my mental state is unstable, but that I, in my core, in my soul, am unstable.

Last summer when Travis came over for the first time and watched me struggle to hold it together enough to at least try and have a good time, he told me that it was okay to not be okay.

Travis always seemed so supportive of me feeling my feelings.

Did he think that therapy just made all of that go away like it was never there?

"I..." But if Travis couldn't trust me to not kill myself for a week after I just explained to him why it'd be idiotic for me to do so, I wasn't sure I wanted to stay here tonight.

If Travis thought that going to therapy would somehow make the mental illness and childhood trauma go away, I didn't want him to comfort me through the panic attacks and breakdowns.

"I'm going for a walk," I informed the son of Hermes, stifling a breath, standing up and grabbing my backpack from the end of his bed. "enjoy watching the rest of Camp Rock on your own— don't let me hold you back from finding somebody better and not mentally ill."

"Percy, don't be—"

But I wasn't going to listen to him try to justify the fact that he just yelled that I was unstable loud enough for basically the whole camp to hear.

I closed the door, and, as I didn't think about, was faced with the rest of Travis' siblings.

Almost none of which like me.

"Damn, I didn't know Travis was capable of yelling, what—" Alice Miazawa started before Julia nudged her, noticing me.

Alice turned around.

"... Do you think is going on." She finished her sentence much slower before giving me a sympathetic smile. "Hi, Percy. Sorry."

"Mhm," I hummed, trying to stay calm throwing my shoes on. "it's fine, I get it. You're right, he doesn't yell much."

"Are you... Are you guys okay?" Connor sounded afraid to ask, and I guess I don't blame him. I wasn't exactly the most approachable at the moment.

"I was an idiot for thinking that things could be fine again," I answered, weaving through them to get to the front door. "I'm leaving. Thanks or whatever for not killing me as soon as I walked into the cabin. I'll probably never be back."

And that was it. I left the cabin.

Nobody came after me. Travis didn't call out or try to track me down. Nobody else left their cabins to see why the hell I was storming out of Cabin 11.

I honestly thought Beckendorf or Silena would come out to see what was happening— since I told Beckendorf about what was going on with Travis, and Silena just loves to know things.

She won't gossip to the whole camp, but she herself wants to know. It's how she ended up joining Luke to work as a spy.

Nobody came, though. I ran out of energy pretty fast, since today's officially been the longest day of my entire life, and I decided to sit on the beach outside of my cabin.

Is that all I am to Travis? A mentally unstable pretty boy?

"He'll realize how stupid that comment was eventually," the unfamiliar voice next to me made me jump and grab for Riptide. The man next to me chuckled. "Don't try kid, I don't have the same temper or motives as Ares."

"Who...?" But looking at the dude who was standing next to me (as I was sitting), there were no dead giveaways. He was just wearing a tank, some shorter running shorts, and then sneakers. He was wearing a crossbody bag.

"You don't recognize me?" He asked, sounding almost humored rather than insulted. "Damn, I guess they don't look as much like me as I thought. I'm Travis' father. And Connor's. And Luke's."

"You... You're Hermes?" but based off what he just said when he got here, I wasn't sure what the god wanted. It wasn't for me to go crawling back to his son. "Sorry, you don't..."

"Look the part?" He suggested, and I nodded. He shrugged. "Run around a lot— I'm the god of a lot of things. Me and Apollo are both catchall gods, it's weird. Keeps us busy. But I don't have much time— I have a favor to ask, if you're planning on leaving anyways."

"How did you...?"

"You said it in my cabin, kid, I'm all ears." The god explained what I think was a new concept to me that I'd definitely have to remember from now on. "I'm not stopping you, but if you're going, I'll make you a deal so you can tell my little brother that Hermes sent you on a quest—you didn't sneak out of camp and break the rules."

Slowly, very confused, I just said okay and nodded my head.

Hermes motioned towards a boat in the distance— a cruise ship, by the looks of it.

"See the ship?" The god asked. "It's got a lot of weirdness radiating from it that your old man is too busy to look into. After last summer and now with his kids tree being poisoned, Zeus is paranoid that there's something stirring. I'm not expecting you to like, sink the ship or anything, but..."

He shrugged, grabbing something from his bag that shouldn't have fit in there.

"Scope it out maybe? You'll want this. It'll help you guys on the way there. Good luck!"

"What do you mean by you guys?"

But the god was gone, leaving behind the smell of freshly pressed paper and gasoline.

It didn't make sense to me either.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice, sounding tired, had my attention. "What are you doing out here?"

But one thing was apparent.

"Big Brother?"

Hermes had summoned a party for my quest.

Notes:

Percy Jackson 🤝 Lucy Gray
Dropping men after the first red flag

Chapter 31: Friendship Is Making Fun Of Each Other's Taste In Men

Percy Jackson

All things considered, it was extremely easy to sneak on board of the Princess Andromeda and find a vacant room to set up camp in for the night.

Tyson passed out almost immediately, and I don't blame him. I'm sure his young brain is exhausted.

It's still weird to think that we're technically brothers.

"Why is he with, by the way?" Annabeth asked as she got ready for bed. Ever since she came out to me at the Lotus last summer, she's seemed fairly nonchalant about getting changed around me, which I think is a good thing but I don't know how to feel about it because she's changing and sometimes I don't get a warning and accidentally see her boobs. "No offense, but he's a... You know..."

And I know that the boobs are fake and all, but they're still boobs. It feels very personal.

"Still what? New?" I responded, not wanting to have to defend my brothers existence. "I didn't want him to get hurt, but Mr. Mailman must've thought it was necessary if he summoned him."

"Mr. Mail— oh, yeah, duh." She figured, throwing some stuff in her bag. "I was going to say more that he's like, a child, but if Mr. Mailman says he has to be there, then I guess we'll figure out why. Sorry, I just..."

"Have a bad history with cyclopes? I know," I reassured the daughter of Athena that I didn't forget what she'd told me. "I promise that Tyson isn't a kidnapper or anything— like you said, he's still a kid. I'm getting used to it, too. We'll definitely get to spend a lot of time with each other this summer."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, joining me on the edge of the bed.

"Oh yeah, when your boyfriend isn't over eating your face off." And had it been the night before, I might've smiled at the joke. "Why were you out at the beach tonight anyways? I thought you were staying in cabin 11?"

But the fight wasn't that long ago, and I couldn't get it out of my head.

"Yeah, well... I guess after witnessing enough breakdowns and panic attacks, Travis no longer thinks of me then being more than mentally unstable, so... Not boyfriends." I broke the news to Annabeth, who froze. "Yeah, so um... We got in a fight and I ended things and then I went on a walk and ran into his dad. It was... Weird, especially since I don't know how to feel about the gods."

"Aw, I'm sorry, Percy. I thought you guys would be a cute couple. That's shitty, though. We all have our fair share of issues, yours are just more... Visible, I guess? It's probably good that you don't bottle it all up. But what do you mean that you don't know how to feel about the gods? They're the gods."

Was Annabeth a bad person to test these waters with?

"Wh— I mean, yeah, they're the gods, you're right." I responded back, wanting to avoid a fight that I didn't have the energy to have. "I just mean like... Like so far, Mr. D is chill, but my dad and Clarisse's dad both kind of suck. Since I hadn't met him before, I didn't know how to feel about his presence."

"Oh, like personally!" But she took it in a way that I was glad didn't anger or frustrate her. "that's understandable. I was worried for a second that Luke rubbed off a little too well on you last summer— after he failed his quest, he really didn't like the gods. Like, as a whole. He didn't talk a lot about it, because of Mr. D, but there's a reason the unclaimed kids liked him so much, and that was it. I loved him and all, but he was not without flaw."

Nodding my head, I insisted that I could get that vibe from him, but that he never went into it around me.

Also, I'm definitely not anti establishment (I definitely am, and Olympus is not an exception to that rule).

After all, our goal here isn't to kill the gods— Luke may have been slightly idiotic when he took on a deal with Kronos, who does want to kill the gods, but that's not our goal.

Our goal is to make them realize that they're awful parents and to scare them enough to make them realize that if they don't change their ways, they will be killed.

Luke has found a lot of homeless, orphaned, and angry demigod this year. Some who used to go to camp, some who were at camp, and some who only knew that their parent was in New York and worked on the 600th for of the Empire State Building.

He still hasn't found Jason Grace.

He's been looking, though. That's what he spent most of his Christmas break doing before he came back to New York and ended up spending Christmas dinner with us.

"Oh, thank the gods," Annabeth responded with a sigh of relief. "you made me nervous last summer with that, you know? But it's good to know you don't want to like, destroy Western civilization. You seem tired, though, and your day was definitely longer than mine, so I'll take first watch, yeah? Get some sleep."

Just nodding my head, I agreed that I was exhausted and laid down, falling asleep before I could even get under the covers.

Tonight's dream was another update from Grover: compromising with his to be spouse about the wedding date— he got it up to seven days from five.

So, in order words, we had a week to save his ass.

Which, as long as we don't fall into some weird time trap again? I think it's very doable.

I miss my best friend a lot.

I'm going to give him the biggest hug when we find him.

•••
Annabeth Chase

I almost shit my pants when my phone started to ring a half hour into my night watch shift.

Demigods aren't supposed to have phones technically. They're basically rocket flares for monsters, but I ended up getting one this year because my dad was worried about a field trip I went on for a whole weekend with my school (as if I hadn't fended for myself for almost 6 years). It's supposed to be for energies only, being a demigod and all.

But, being a demigod, I'm the only person in my family who seems to understand that.

"Wh— Dad?" I whispered as I answered the call, not wanting to alarm the others. But both boys seemed to be dead to the world. "what time is it at home? Why are you calling? Did somebody get hurt or die?"

"Wh— no, Annie, everything's okay," my dad reassured me, calm and collected. "Sorry, I forget that there's a time difference now, I just figured I'd call and see how your first week was. I didn't wake you, did I? The boys also want to say hi, they're showering and getting ready for bed."

"O... Oh, okay." I figured, shrugging as I set my dagger next to me in case footsteps got too close to our door for comfort. "It was okay. Um... This is the first summer without Luke, which is weird, but not bad. I just miss him. And then Chiron also had to leave because somebody poisoned the camps border and we don't know who yet and it's kind of a mess, but I'm not at camp right now, so... Yeah."

"You're not at camp?" I could see a flash of panic surge through my dad when he heard that. "what do you... Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Am I... Yeah dad, I'm fine." I promised him. "I'm on a quest/rescue mission. Percy's also here, but he's asleep right now because it's super late. I'm just on first watch. Grover's in trouble, so we're going to help. Clarisse is also on a separate quest heading to the same place, but she leaves in the morning so... We'll see how it goes."

But upon hearing a certain boy's name, my dad had the audacity to raise an eyebrow.

"Ooooh, another quest with Percy?" The professor of history asked me. "Is he still impossible and annoying and idiotically, irritatingly attractive?"

If he wasn't a little picture in my phone, I would've punched my dad for bringing that up.

Yeah, woe is me and all that, because I somehow only develop crushes on people who I know I have no chances with. Luke? Too old for me and also basically my brother.

Percy? Well...

"Dad!" I snapped at him, but he only laughed. "it's not like that, okay? I promise that it'll never be like that."

My dad just smiled.

"Aw, sweetie, don't be down on yourself," but he took it differently than I meant. "I'm sure if you asked him out, he'd definitely agree."

"No, not like... If things were different, maybe," and I felt like an idiot talking to my dad about my impossible crushes, but here we were. "But it's not like I think he doesn't like me as a person— we're friends and whatever, but like... Percy's gay. I don't know if you remember him, or how much I told you about him, but Percy and Travis were kind of a thing last summer and then Travis was an ass and ended things super suddenly without a real reason, and then he apologized and they went on a date this morning apparently and then tonight they got in a fight so it's not going anywhere."

I paused, worried that Percy was secretly awake and eavesdropping.

After a moment without a response, I finished my thought.

"I'm pretty sure he has like, a massive crush on Grover," I admitted, watching my dad's jaw drop open. "I know, it's crazy, but I thought they were a thing last summer the first night on our quest. Percy insisted that they weren't, they just lived together for nine months because of school so he didn't mind physical touch from Grover. He hates it from almost everyone else— I don't really know why. He lets me give him a hug sometimes, though, which is improvement. He definitely has feelings for Grover, though— whether or not he's willing to admit it."

"And do you think Grover likes him?"

I groaned.

"Maybe? It was so hard to tell with Grover and I don't know if he's bi or straight or gay or what, so... Maybe I'll find out when we find him. If they like, have some dramatic reunion and something gay happens, I'll let you know. Also, have you sent my doctor's note yet?"

"I'm doing that tomorrow!" Dad promised me with a smile as I heard my little brothers run up to where he was with the phone. "your doctor was on vacation, so I just got the note after work today, but when you get back, you'll be cleared to go to whatever provider Mr. D recommends for your HRT Check in. He'll send another cycle to the camp pharmacy at the end of the month, as well. But I think two goofballs here are waiting to say hi to you before they have to go to bed."

"Anna! Hi!" Matthew said, waving as him and Bobby came into view before looking really confused. "Did somebody cut your boobs off? Where did they go?"

For reference, my brothers are only about 6 or 7 years old, the age I was when I ran away from home. They're both mortals, and their mom (my dad's wife and my stepmom) still doesn't really like me. While my brothers and my dad have been cool about the trans thing, she's been really weird and standoffish about it.

She dead names me regularly enough that it made me consider going back to camp over Christmas break.

My brothers are great, though. They don't have any memories of me when I wasn't Annabeth, so they really confused when my stepmom misgenders and deadnames me.

Also, their bedtime was before mine, so I don't know if they actually know that I'm trans.

"My— they're just in my bag, Matthew, it's okay," I promised him as I saw my dad try to hold it together and not make my brother feel stupid for asking a good question. "they come off at night because otherwise I'd be hard to sleep with them on. Silicone kind of like, sticks to things like blankets and bedsheets."

"Boobs can come off!?" Both of them asked, absolutely floored before Bobby continued. "But Mom's never taken her's off before!"

I couldn't help but smile.

"That's because her's don't come off," I tried to calm them down. "mine do because they're fake boobs, remember? That's why I have to go to the doctor every month, so that way I can eventually have boobs like mom's."

"Oh, yeah! Because sometimes Mom calls you a weird, different name," Bobby recalled, thinking to himself really hard. "so if your boobs aren't real... How do you pee?"

And I don't know how long the bastard has been awake, but even Percy wasn't able to hold back a giggle when he heard my brother ask me how I peed without boobs.

"How... Bobby, women don't pee through their boobs," I educated the two kindergarteners on basic female anatomy. "Do any of the girls in your classes have boobs?"

"Well... Just out teacher."

"Exactly." I pointed out. "The other girls in your class still have to pee, so they don't do it from their boobs. They pee just like you, but they don't have a penis. They just have two holes, and one of them is for peeing."

"What's the other hole for?"

"For little idiots like you to come out of."

"Oooooh," and unphased by what I just said, the two of them stood in deep thought next to dad. "Wait."

"Hm?" I asked.

"So if your boobs can come off," and bless their little hearts for thinking this is how it worked. "Do you also have a penis that can come off?"

Percy and my dad were trying real hard to keep it together.

"It... Doesn't come off." I broke the news, which seemed to disappoint them. "I know, it makes me sad, too. But it's bedtime, okay? For me, too."

"Okay!" They both exclaimed. "Goodnight, Anna!"

Saying goodnight back, I ended the call and could feel Percy shake from holding in the laugh.

I kicked his arm.

"I know you're awake, asshole." I insisted. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Hm? Oh, not much," Percy promised me, which felt like a lie. "just uh, enough to hear your brothers ask if your penis can come off and also to hear your dad mention a doctor's note and um..."

He sat up and looked at me.

"You're still bent on Grover and I being a thing?" He questioned as if he wasn't wearing a sweater that I know used to belong to Grover two years ago. "even after Travis?"

I rolled my eyes.

"If Travis resembles your type at all, Percy, physically," I pointed out. "then Grover is also your type. It's not my fault you guys act like newlyweds with each other."

"Okay, so? He's my best friend."

And, being related to my father, I think I'm pretty good at the eyebrow raise.

"What!?" He asked.

"He's your best friend," I responded. "You were going to sneak out of camp, which is super against the rules, to rescue him like a Prince Charming."

"I was sent on a quest, you were literally summoned by a god to help," the son of Poseidon reminded me. "Also, he asked for help! He's in a wedding dress right now, Annabeth!"

It was cute how defensive he was of the person he obviously had feelings for.

"So you're bringing rings?" I teased Percy, his face turning red. "I hope you packed nice clothes, I'll take photos on my phone if it's not dead by then."

"We're not—" he choked on his words before forcing an exhale. "We're not together, and we're not getting married. We're literally saving him from marrying a monster that would eat him otherwise. Also! Even if I had a crush on Grover— which I don't— at least it's not weird. You had a crush on Luke. Who's what? 19?"

"I... Like you've never had a crush on an older boy?"

"Not one that I actually knew." He denied. "Travis was technically older by like, a few months, but that's nothing like 6 years. It was painful watching you talk to him sometimes."

"I— I know, I never thought we'd actually get together." I gave in. "But that doesn't mean that you can't ask your crush out!"

"I don't have a crush!"

"You literally are in love with Grover."

"In what universe?"

"In the one where you leave camp without permission to go find him because you're so worried about losing him that you can't sleep for longer than an hour at a time." I answered, motioning to the clock where he could see that we only got on board an hour and a half ago. "Also, the universe where you're a walking ball of anxiety because your other half has been gone for nine months and he's one of the only people who knows how to effectively calm you down."

Percy sighed, debating if he'd admit defeat.

"Okay, look," but it was hard not to laugh when he finally relented. "It was fine and normal last summer and everything was platonic and I had my thing with Travis and told nobody about it and then that ended and I was sad and Grover noticed and then on the last day of camp when we were saying goodbye he just like... Nonchalantly gave me a kiss on my forehead and we haven't talked about it since but I think about it lot, okay? It was very gentle and I was very emotional and very sad at the time, but it made me feel less sad, but still emotional because emotions are stupid."

I just smiled.

"Glad to see your able to at least address the fact that those feelings exist, Seaweed Brain," I told the son of Poseidon, who looked pretty tired again after the small defensive admission. "Try to get some more sleep, alright? I'll wake you up to switch shifts in a couple hours."

"Are you sure? If you're tired I can take over."

"Percy, I'm okay," I promised him. "You're exhausted and had a very emotional day, especially after lunch. Get some sleep."

"Okay, okay," he gave in, slowly settling back in. "But if you need me..."

He was out cold.

"Goodnight, Seaweed Brain. Try not to drool all over the pillow."

Chapter 32: Do You Think They'll Give Me A Deal On My Headstone If I Order It Two Years Ahead Of Time?

Grover Underwood

This cave floor does not get more comfortable night after night, despite my hopes.

On the bright side, however, I get the privacy of having my own cave to sleep in because of the sanctity of marriage or whatever? I didn't even know that was a thing in the Greek Pantheon.

Like, sure, Hera is the goddess of marriage and all that, but she's marrked to Zeus.

Zeus.

You know, the god who will fuck whatever breathes?

Yeah, him.

I'm not complaining, though, because I don't have to sleep with a cyclopes.

As I was struggling to fall asleep, I could sense somebody else struggling to fall asleep: my best friend, who I could swear I'd sensed earlier.

Can't sleep, either? I thought towards the link, hoping he'd hear and not also scream from hearing my voice in his head. Is there nobody with you tonight?

It was hard to get a really good read on Percy from so far away, but I could tell he was sad. Tired.

I can't wait to give him a hug again.

Oh yeah, I forgot that you were able to sense that last night. Percy returned my message. There was supposed to be, but things happen. So I no longer have news for you, sorry. Um, on the bright side, we're on our way! Me and Annabeth and Tyson.

I smiled lazily.

I knew they'd give you a quest. Are you feeling okay, though? You sounded sad. Did you go on a bad date or something with somebody you liked?

This time, I was able to feel the twlnge of sadness twist in his chest.

No, my best friend told me. The date was okay. Being yelled at and being told that I'm mentally unstable like it was my only personality trait didn't go so great. So I left. They didn't give us a quest, by the way. Or, we got one, but not from Mr. D. The normal quest was given to Clarisse by Chiron's sub. So she might show up, but she leaves in the morning so I don't know.

You— I'm sorry, Perce, that's actually awful. I responded in the only way I knew how to, hoping he could feel me try and send him a wave of comfort. Not knowing what exactly he could sense, I tried to reach a hand out, but there's no way he'd be able to take it when he's so far away. You're an entire person, Percy, I'm sorry they reduced you down to that and made you feel bad about yourself. I miss you. I can't wait to hang out again.

I'm not sure which is us it came from, but I found myself fighting a wave of emotions.

I miss you, too. I've been a walking ball of anxiety for the last like, two weeks. I'm going to give you the biggest hug you've ever been given in your life.

I couldn't help but smile.

That better be a promise.

A pinkie promise.

In response, I held out my pinkie and mimicked the action of a pinkie promise.

I'd see my friends soon.

I'd see Percy soon.

I missed him so much.

•••
Percy Jackson

I didn't sleep very well, but I was able to sleep after making my pinkie promise with Grover, which I guess is better than not sleeping at all.

It was around 9am the next morning when I received an IM. With how busy the ship was (and since it was travelling in the direction we were heading), we were planning on waiting out the breakfast rush before trying to sneak off again.

Very hesitant, I took the call.

"H— hello?"

It was my dad.

Not like, the sperm donor. I mean Gabe.

"Oh, Dad, hi!" But it's only 9am, so I was honestly hoping that he was calling me for the same reason Annabeth's dad called her lady night. "What's up? Everything okay at home? Is Mom okay?"

"Is... Yes, everything okay." But he didn't even say hello, which made me nervous. "I just ended a conversation with Grandpa D."

"Okay?"

Dad paused.

"Percy," he questioned, his voice neutral. "Where are you?"

I glanced at the bedframe and pillow behind me.

"In bed."

But this wasn't Mom, so Gabe was able to call my half-lie bullshit.

"That's not what camps beds look like, kiddo," my dad reminded me that he's also a demigod that also went to camp. "where, on a map, are you?"

I debated that answer as I saw Annabeth start to wake up from the sound of a strangers voice.

"Wh... Will I be in trouble if I tell you?"

"With me? Probably not." He promised, which was nice to hear for a whole three seconds before he followed it up. "with Grandpa D? I can't promise he won't turn you into a dolphin."

"Are you going to tell Grandpa D where I am?"

Gabe took a moment to respond, thinking to himself.

"Probably not, but I will tell him if I think you're safe or not. If I can get ahold of him again. The Big Man doesn't like us talking, after all."

Sighing, I closed my eyes and felt where our coordinates were.

Yeah, it's a weird power that I discovered this spring when my class went on a mini cruise around the Harbor. A student asked me where we were when we were docking, and I instinctively responded with the bearings or coordinates or whatever you want to call them.

The scary thing? They were right. So thank my bio dad for that, I guess?

Makes being "lost at sea" the most unbelievable bullshit he could tell somebody, though, so he's still an idiot.

"We're uh... Around the Delaware/Maryland area?" I figured, trying to best imagine a map with latitude and longitude. "closer to Maryland, I believe."

My dad blinked, looking down for just a second.

"Did you leave to go on a rescue mission to save Grover?" Dad questioned, though I couldn't tell how he felt by it, which made me anxious.

It's not like I'm a model citizen or anything, he shouldn't... Like, his expectations aren't that high, but I feel like this is a moral high ground or something.

My best friend is in danger, after all.

"It's technically an authorized quest," I corrected him, and of course that had his attention. "it just wasn't Mr. D that authorized it. That was uh, Mr. Mailman. So if Mr. D is upset that Annabeth, Tyson, and I are all missing, he can—"

knock knock knock

I reached for Riptide, accidentally swiping through the Iris Message and ending the call. Annabeth grabbed her dagger.

"Yeah, no, this room should be empty," I heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door, only being able to place it because I knew he'd be here. "there shouldn't be..."

And, stepping inside the room we'd taken up residence in last night, Luke Castellan seemed to be at a loss as Silena Beuaguard and Clarisse La Rue stood behind him.

Let me really paint this scene for you, reader: Luke was standing in the doorway with a closeted butch/fem lesbian couple behind him who were definitely holding hands (while Clarisse held her new spear in her other hand). In the room itself, Tyson is tinkering with something small on his bed, looking up when he hears the door open. I'm sitting on top of the other bed, in a sweater and shorts, holding a sword.

I'm not even standing.

Meanwhile, on the far side of the room from the door, Annabeth is wearing all of a sports bra and short shorts, holding a dagger in her left hand (she's not left handed) because she'd been in the middle of getting dressed.

Processing the sight of it all, Luke took a step back into the hall and closed the door.

"What... Are they doing here?" Annabeth asked the million dollar question.

"Probably the same thing we are?" I assumed, deciding that it was definitely time to get up now. Annabeth grabbed a shirt from her bag. "Knowing how Silena and Clarisse are, I wouldn't be surprised if Silena somehow convinced Clarisse she needed another person along for the quest."

"Well I'm sure, but that's not..." Annabeth started, at a loss for words. "who I was referring to."

Annabeth, now dressed, walked over and opened the door again. The three older demigods all stood there, Luke looking slightly embarrassed.

"Hi, sorry, I didn't realize anyone was in this—"

"What are you doing here?" The daughter of Athena questioned.

"We could ask you the same thing, smartass." Clarisse jabbed at Annabeth. "You didn't get a quest— why are you here? Not everything is about you and Prissy."

"We got one from Luke's dad last night," I answered. "He pointed out the ship, wanted us to investigate and see if anything was up on our way down to rescue Grover. Failed to consider that none of us have ever been on a normal cruise, though, so I don't know how many monsters is a normal amount of monsters on a ship."

Luke seemed taken back by what I said.

"You talked to my dad?"

I shrugged.

"It was kind of weird, I won't lie," I confirmed, nodding my head and putting Riptide back into my pocket. "I was going to go on a walk after Travis and I uh, shared words, I guess— yesterday was very long and very weird— but on the walk after I'd just gotten done arguing with one of his kids he showed up and offered me a quest."

But Silena had a very important question about the situation.

"You and Travis still hang out?" She asked, which I could see Clarisse also wondering about. "he insisted like, adamantly, that you guys weren't friends. Like, not that long ago."

"Yeah, because I'm supposed to like, die or something, right? So he doesn't want to deal with it or something like that?" I asked, and Annabeth took a step back when I just vaguely mentioned the prophecy. "what? I'm not deaf, I've heard Chiron talk about it before. There's some prophecy or whatever that they think might be about me? Because of my dad, right? Is that not why everyone's also freaking out about Thalias Tree? Because she was a kid of the Big Three?"

"Wh... I mean, no, it's mostly because of the border situation." Annabeth said. "when did you hear about a prophecy?"

"Wait, hold on," Luke said, tuning into his theatrical abilities. "What's going on with Thalia's Tree? Is the camp okay?"

Annabeth looked at the lesbian couple.

"You guys haven't said anything?'

"We've been here for like 10 minutes," Silena insisted. "We were about to explain the situation, but then we found you guys. How long have you been here?"

I looked at the clock and shrugged.

"10 hours?" I guessed. "We got here well after campfire last night."

"Again, because we were asked to investigate," Annabeth pulled the conversation back closer to where it had began. She looked at Luke again. "I missed you, but what are you doing here? I thought you lived in the New York City now."

And I'll admit it: Silena and I shared a look of panic for a good half second there when Annabeth asked Luke that.

"What... Oh, yeah, I'm taking a summer course on ecology and marine biology so theres like me and four or five other students here. We're supposed to go and observe stuff whenever we dock I think? I don't know, we boarded yesterday and our professor just told us we can do whatever until we dock either tomorrow or the day after. The monsters have been weirdly nice so far, but I also have kept my sword on me so maybe that's why they're nice."

"Yeah, none of them tried to confront us," Silena agreed, looking at me. "Did any of them run after you last night?"

I shrugged.

"Not really, no— I'm not sure they really noticed us." I added on. "Then again, Tysons also here, so maybe they assumed we're in disguise?"

"You have— oh! I see. Cool." Luke said, nodding at Tyson. "Hi."

Tyson waved, a big smile spreading across his face.

Luke looked back to Annabeth and me as I could see him take an extra moment to relax and calm down.

He must have the same issue Annabeth does with cyclopes.

"Anyways," Luke said. "what's happening with Thalia's Tree? And Grover? Is he not back yet from his search?"

"Somebody... Somebody poisoned Thalia's Tree," Annabeth broke what she thought was new news to the son of Hermes, who— I'll admit, looked shocked enough that I would've thought it was his first time hearing about it. "the camp borders are broken now, more or less, and Chiron had to take the blame so somebody's subbing for fkr him. It's been a mess of a week."

"Somebody... Why did Chiron take the blame?"

"We don't know who did it," Silena, the person who did it, explained to the person who gave her the idea. "but uh, big Z or whatever you want to call him was like, pissed and wanted somebody to blame, so he gave us a time frame. Chiron basically gave up by then."

"Yeah, him and Mr. D were arguing like a married couple about it." Clarisse agreed. "It was tense. Now I've got a quest and a plus one to find the Golden Fleece to heal the tree and hopefully our borders. You wouldn't happen to know anything about the Golden Fleece or it's current location?"

Luke just shrugged.

"It's with Polyphemus, according to the stories," he recalled. "Where's Polyphemus? For all we know, he got relocated to like, an island in Hawaii when the gods moved."

"I— we know where he is," I reminded the others. "Grover gave me coordinates and he said that he can see the Fleece from where he is."

"Okay, but do you even know how to read coordinates on a map? Even so, we're all dyslexic as shit, who's to say if we'll be able to actually locate based on coordinates."

"We're at 37° 15 minutes North and 71° 53 minutes West right now, travelling at around 25 knots, but we were going faster overnight— probably because most people were asleep."

"There's no way..." Annabeth started as I saw Silena pull out her phone and open Google Maps to our precise location.

"You're... You're right." Silena confirmed what I already knew. "Well, I can't confirm our speed, but... How do you know that?"

"What... Guys, he's a son of the sea god," Luke reminded the others. "You're shocked that he's able to locate where he is when on a boat in the ocean? Give Percy some credit, my gods. Thalia was basically a master in meteorology because clouds were her dad's domain. She was never wrong about the weather. I'm weirdly good at giving directions because my dad deals with travelers and transport. Is this really the power you guys are going to doubt?"

"That's why you always asked Thalia about the weather?" Annabeth asked, baffled by this new fact.

Luke just nodded his head, confused at her shock.

"I thought she just would steal the newspaper or look at the news forecast when she'd get our breakfast in the mornings," the daughter of Athena insisted. "I didn't know that was just a demigod thing!"

"Did you... Ever see Thalia read a newspaper, Annie?" The oldest demigod here questioned. "because I certainly never did— even when I told her to because her face was on the front page as a missing child. She told me that unless the article said that they found her brother, she didn't care. Which, did they sent a satyr out for him? The kid has to be around your age."

"Thalia had a brother?" Clarisse asked. "Like, full blooded?"

Nodding once more, Luke explained what little he did know about the youngest and possibly deceased child of Zeus—how Thalia basically had to raise him, and then one day Thalia went to get something from the car when she was out with her Mom and her brother and when she returned her brother was just... Gone. That was her last straw.

She met Luke like three months later, and they found Annabeth two years after that. Grover found them within six months of Annabeth joining their little party.

"And now you're as old as she was when we got to camp," Luke concluded, ruffling Annabeth's hair as a sort of bell started to ring. "Oh, shit, that's breakfast. I gotta go make sure my professor knows I'm not dead, but I'll see you guys later, yeah? Be safe on your quests— kill monsters, get the fleece, and tell Grover I say hi. I don't know what coordinates you were given, but if we're sailing in the wrong direction for you guys, there's definitely some lifeboats you could steal. You didn't hear that from me, though."

Waving a goodbye, Luke had started to walk away, but was quickly stopped when Annabeth ran over to give him a hug.

"Wait, Luke!" Annabeth called, grabbing him in a hug as she buried her head into his chest. "I missed you this year. Do you think you'll be able to visit camp after your class is even? Even for a day?"

Luke returned the hug, but it definitely pained him to think about going back to camp again.

"I'll... See if I can extend my vacation another day or two at work," but Annabeth is Luke's baby sister, so it's hard to just say no. "just let me know when you're back from your quest and I'll try to get a weekend off, okay? No promises, but I do really have to go. I missed you too, Annie."

Waving once more to the rest of us, Luke said he'd see us around and made his way towards the the main sector of the cruise ship.

"Now what?" Silena asked. "I mean, we're all going to the same place, right? Do we... Combine missions? You know where we're going?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, Grover gave a set of coordinates. If we could get on a boat that went a bit faster, it might help."

"No wait, hold on." Annabeth said, her tone changing too much for my liking since her expression was now pointed at me. "Before we debate or do anything else: what prophecy did you hear about that you mentioned? You didn't get a prophecy yesterday, Clarisse did."

"Wh... Yeah, no shit, Wise Girl," I agreed. "It's the prophecy that apparently a lot of people think is about me or that will happen because of me existing— however you want to view it."

"What did it say?"

I shrugged, noticing Silena's confusion behind the daughter of Athena, but Clarisse seemed to understand. She looked torn about how to feel.

"I don't know, Annabeth, something about a hero dying and a kid of the eldest gods turning a certain age— I don't know how old." I went on, not wanting to fight about something I honestly try not to think too much about. "Why do you care, Annabeth?"

"Because it's... Because I do," she articulated. "When did you hear about this? Who... Who told you?"

"Sometime last summer after the quest?" I recalled. "Nobody told me— well, when I asked Travis, he said that he knew that a prophecy was the reason the elder gods stopped having gods, but he didn't know anything else. I'm just not deaf. When you don't have a lot of friends to talk to, it's pretty easy to overhear conversations. But again, why do you care? It's not about you. Do you think I don't deserve to know something that's supposedly about me?"

"We don't even know that you're the person they're referring to in the prophecy, don't make this about—"

"No, I think he's allowed to make this one about himself, Annie," Clarisse interjected, which shocked me, in simple terms. "We treated him like shit after he was claimed last summer because we all assumed that he will be the hero of the prophecy. Don't act like that that's not what happened. You said it yourself at the start of the summer— as long as Percy doesn't kill himself, it'll be him."

She said what?

"As long as I don't..." I looked back at the blonde demigod, feeling a weird sense of betrayal. "As long as I don't what? Why would you say that, Wise Girl? What makes you think... What made you think that I would...?"

But she saw absolutely not issue with what she told everyone else.

"What made me think that? You jumped off the St. Louis Arch content with the idea of killing yourself and then proceeded pick a fight with a god and then have a breakdown about it in the back of a truck." She confirmed the thing that I never knew and had assumed the opposite of when she never seemed to treat me different the next day: Annabeth had heard my breakdown on in the quest. She was awake. "Sure, you could be demigod of the prophecy, but you'd have to live long enough to turn s— to turn however old you have to be for the prophecy to unravel. Would you really let that happen? Or would you kill yourself because you'd at least go out on your own terms?"

She knows the prophecy.

"I'm sorry, back up." I said, breathing through my teeth as I clenched my fists. "When I turn how old? You were going to say it, you were going to say a number. What is it?"

"Wh— no, I wasn't."

"No, you were," I corrected her, feeling a ball start to form in my chest because I don't understand why people can't just tell me things. "if you feel like it's more than okay to tell everyone about how I was having a crisis because I wasn't sure if my mom was alive last summer, then you can tell me about the fucking prophecy that gets me treated like a fucking ticking time bomb at Camp."

"Percy, even if I knew, why would I tell you? It'd just make you—"

But listening to her make excuse after excuse about why she got to know about it and I couldn't caused the rubber ball to push against my chest and start to rise into my throat and it was overwhelming and I couldn't...

"Because it's my fucking death, Annabeth!"

The room fell silent.

"Because I have people in my life, Annabeth," I went on, the frustration boiling over and causing my eyes to water. "I have parents who have already lost a kid and it almost fucking destroyed my dad— I want them to be prepared and I want them to feel a little less lost when I eventually die. This isn't your death, Annabeth, you don't get to..."

"But it doesn't have to be your death, Percy." Annabeth relented. "If we find Thalia's brother or if something happens, maybe it won't even be you. We don't—"

"It's sixteen." Clarisse spit out, her arms crossed. "the first line of the prophecy says that a child of the eldest gods will turn 16. I haven't heard the rest of it, but I know the gist of it. It's hard not to, when you live at camp for so long."

A blanket of silence fell over the five of us as I let that settle in.

"Sixteen?"

The daughter of Ares nodded her head.

"Sixteen."

So I won't graduate.

Probably won't have time to get my license, either. Or go to prom. Or see my mom publish her first novel.

I won't get to see a lot of things.

But I have a little over two years to do what I can.

"If you're—"

"Annabeth, unless you're going to personally find Thalia's little brother and find out that he's my age or older, shut up." I snapped at her. "Come on— we have a Golden Fleece to retrieve and a satyr to rescue. If I only have two years to live, I'm not wasting my time arguing with you anymore."

Notes:

The answer to the chatter is no bc the funeral industry is actually sickening

Chapter 33: Lesbians Ain't Slick (Or Subtle)

Notes:

hi sorry sometimes i forget I have to actually copy and paste the chapter into ao3

Clarisse La Rue

Annabeth hadn't spoken to any of us since Percy snapped at us, but I honestly could've cared less. If he wanted to know, and he did, Percy deserved to be told about the prophecy.

We'd summoned a boat full of workers thanks to a mix of mine and Percy's powers. One of my powers as a child of Ares is that I can summon soldiers from the losing side of any previous war and they will listen to me.

Which basically meant that we had a crew so we could just worry about getting to the island where Grover and the Fleece were.

Annabeth disappeared belowdeck not long after we boarded, probably to read or check out the architecture and engineering of the boat. Tyson, after giving Percy a hug that almost broke his ribs, found a spot belowdeck to continue tinkering with whatever he's been carrying with him.

I still don't know how to feel about the cyclopes. He seems... Weirdly innocent.

But then again, he's probably a child in cyclopes terms, so maybe he is actually innocent. It's hard to know. To trust what you see on the surface.

Silena told me she was going to go take a breath and maybe meditate up in the crows nest, so that left Percy and I.

The son of Poseidon was standing at the side of the boat, looking in the general direction that we were sailing in— based off the coordinates he gave the undead crew. He was messing and a little ball of water that he must've summoned from the ocean— making different shapes and forms around the pen.

And although I assumed this is something he'd have to focus to do, it seemed like his eyes were almost glossed over as he looked to the horizon.

So, knowing Annabeth wasn't about to check in any time soon, I walked over to the slightly younger demigod and leaned against the railing next to him.

"Hey, Jackson," I started when he didn't respond to my presence. The last name got his attention, and the water dropped back to the ocean. "you feeling okay? I know the prophecies are a lot to process— shits intense, am I right? You look a little spacey."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm alright with that," it sounded like bullshit, but I didn't want him to have a meltdown, so I decided not to push the matter. He sighed. "I just... Yeah. I'm... I'm worried about Grover, among other things. But I don't need to burden you with that— we're not friends after all, right? We're enemies or whatever."

"Wh... No, dude, it's chill, you can talk about it." I insisted, because I knew that his only sort of friend here was Tyson, and Tyson (no offense) doesn't have the social emotional development or understanding in order to be of any help to Percy. He's a child. "Clean slate or whatever. It's like, totally fair for you miss Grover. He's one of your only friends at camp, outside of Travis, but Travis is... More than a friend maybe?"

Percy shook his head.

"No, we went on a date, but after last summer I guess he couldn't see me as more than a walking manifestation of mental illness and I couldn't trust him not to suddenly hurt me again." He reminded me, which made me frown because I thought Travis really liked Percy. He definitely did last summer.

Percy smiled sadly.

"Yeah," he agreed with my reaction. "it was bad. But now I can at least not feel bad when I feel bad and I can also not feel guilty or stupid about missing Grover. We'll see him soon, and I know that, but..."

He sighed.

"You and Silena are friends, right?"

I don't think Percy understood how complicated of a question that was.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

We're friends but we also cuddle and sometimes hold hands and apparently (this is new) we also don't let each other do extremely dangerous and potentially life threatening things alone.

After all, this was supposed to be a solo quest.

Silena wouldn't let me leave alone, though, so if we include Grover as a quest goer once we rescue him, we have the magical 3 people needed for a quest.

"Has anything ever happened with you and Silena," but the most Percy spoke, the more I worried that he'd installed hidden mics on the two of us. "Where you like, start to do things that friends normally wouldn't do, but neither of you says anything about it because you either don't want to make things weird or you just don't know how to feel about it?"

"I... Think so? What do you mean? Did something happen with you and Travis? You said you got into a fight."

Rolling his eyes, Percy looked again out to the horizon.

"I mean that is exactly what happened last summer with Travis, but we did talk about it pretty regularly so it wasn't an issue until the end of summer," the son of Poseidon expressed. "But that's not what I'm..."

His voice drifting, he took a breath.

"Grover and I lived together for like, a year before I knew about my sperm donor," and something about Percy never calling Poseidon his dad was a little funny, but I kept it to myself. He's actually met his dad, so he's definitely allowed to have an opinion on the guy. "and so we eventually ended up being sort of touchy with each other because I don't like being touched by people when we first met, but Grover's my best friend, so I learned to trust him and like I said, fairly touchy. I'm not out to him yet because I was anxious last summer so I try not to think into it, but at the end of last summer he..."

Percy sighed.

"When we were saying goodbye on the last day, we hugged, which is normal." The young gay mess continued on. "But then he also like, gave me a kiss on the forehead, which wasn't normal and he also seemed surprised by it but neither of us brought it up and we still haven't but I think about it a lot because I don't know what it was and now we have this mental link and... And if Grover also knows about the prophecy, I don't know why he'd create a mental link with me, which is a separate but also somewhat related point and I just... It's been a long year and I miss Grover but I guess I don't really know how I miss him? If I miss him because he's my best friend or like... Have you ever gone through this with Silena? Maybe it's different because you guys are girls, I don't know if it's normal for girls to be more physical in their friendships. It just reminds me of Grover and I."

I couldn't help but give Percy a saddened smile because the more he spoke, the more it became obvious to me that Percy is heartsick and definitely crushing on his best friend.

That being said, he called my ass out.

"Well... Yeah." I glanced towards the crows nest, where Silena was currently meditating. I tried to suppress a smile, but it might've snuck out. "We're definitely the same way— though Silena's never given me a kiss. We've held hands, though, so I guess that's about even? To me, it sounds like you got uh, big feelings for Grover. A crush, some would call it."

Percy sighed, seemingly stressed that I called it out.

"Is that bad?" He asked me. "Like... We're best friends. Is it bad that I... Like him?"

"Is it— No!" I insisted, but he seemed doubtful. "Seriously, Jackson, it's not bad at all. Grover's definitely not straight, either, if you're worried about that."

"That's not... I mean, I know that, he told me that he's pan." Percy responded as I saw Silena come down from the crows nest and make her way over to the two of us. "I mean more like, if it becomes weird then..."

"Oh my gods," I said, setting my sights on the younger demigod. "Percy."

"What? I'm just saying that —"

"And I'm saying that you're a walking ball of anxiety." I countered, nudging Silena. "Tell him, Silena."

"Tell— what are we talking about?"

"The fact that Percy's a walking ball of anxiety."

Silena opened her mouth, closed it again, a sighed.

"You are anxious most of the time," Silena phrased it a little softer for Percy, who didn't seem offended or surprised by the observation. "Why is this relevant to the conversation?"

Rubbing his hands down his face, Percy crossed his arms and sighed again.

I wonder when the last time he got a good night's sleep was.

Sure, it's normal for demigods to have weird, vivid dreams about things going on in the world. I get dreams probably a couple times a week. Two, maybe three nights a week.

But even when I have them, I wake up and I get some water or I go for a walk and I can go back to bed.

Percy looked like he hasn't really slept in about a month.

"Just... Stuff with Grover. About Grover? I don't know." He told the daughter of Aphrodite. "He's been gone for nine months and I miss him and for the last month until literally earlier this week I hadn't heard from him and I was worried that he died and then he showed up in a dream saying that he made a mental link, asking for help. Which is fine— I literally was going to sneak out of camp this morning if Mr. D didn't give me permission to leave. But things happened at the end of last summer that I just don't know..."

Silena glanced to me for help.

"Grover gave him a kiss on the forehead but both of them reacted weirdly to it and haven't talked about it since so Percy doesn't know how to feel about it because he has the world's fattest crush on Grover."

Silena scoffed as Percy turned more pink than I've ever seen him before.

"You did not have to phrase it like that!"

My best friend rolled her eyes.

"Grover has had the biggest crush on you since well before he brought you to camp," Silena reassured Percy, who seemed unsure about the information. "No, seriously, anyone at camp that year could vouch. He came back over winter break with Chiron and he literally did not stop talking about you the entire like, 2½ weeks he was there. Clarisse and I gave him shit the entire time. The only reason we didn't assume you two were a thing last summer is because he was adamant about the fact that you weren't a thing because you were straight. Which was a lie, I guess?"

Percy let out a breath, definitely trying to suppress a smile at the idea of Grover talking so much about him.

"From Grover? No, I wasn't out to him then." But the idea of Percy not being out sounded weird. "It's probably just an anxiety thing or a living in the real world thing, but I tread lightly when it comes to like, coming out? I think Grover knows now, via the mental link and all, but I didn't tell anyone last summer. Well, Travis, and because he's Travis' counselor, Luke knew, but... The first real chance I had to do it is when Annabeth came out to me as trans and then asked if I was gay or trans or anything, and I didn't know her well enough to feel like I could say it so I lied."

He paused.

"She knows now. Travis told her yesterday. I'm like, basically out at camp now, I guess." Percy concluded. "But did he really never shut up?"

"Oh my gods, it was almost insufferable," I confirmed for him, rolling my eyes. "for how much he talked about you, we thought you had to be related to Silena and had somehow like, charmed him without knowing it."

The son of Poseidon raised an eyebrow.

"Accidentally charmed him? What, is that what Silena did to you?"

Is that...

I'm sorry, readers, but how am I supposed to respond to that.

Please tell me now, because I didn't have a response for that. I just opened my jaw and probably looked like a dumbass because it's not like it's a secret.

I'm just bad at articulating my emotions so I've never brought it up to Silena because I'm pretty sure she knows and is just letting me stumble through my emotions like a fool or something.

After all, we cuddle a lot and I'm not the touchy type.

But that may never happen again because I'm about to melt into a puddle of embarrassment aboard the CSS Hopeless Romantic or whatever the boat was named.

I punched his arm.

"Fuck you, Jackass," I knew he was a bad comeback, but I still said it. "I'm going to go see what's belowdeck. Have fun pining or longing for your best friend or whatever."

•••
Silena Beuaguard

I just smiled as Clarisse made her way below deck, leaving me with Percy.

"Damn, Jackson, you got her good," I said, nudging him. "It's hard to get Clarisse worked up like that— maybe she'll talk to me about it tonight now that you've said something about it."

"Wh... What? You knew?"

I chuckled.

"Percy, my mother— as much as I can hardly stand her— is one of the goddesses of love." I reminded the younger demigod, looking back towards the door to belowdeck to make sure nobody else was coming. "I've known about your crush on Grover since I've met you—whether or not you knew it was a crush at that point. I can sense how people feel about each other, but it's harder to tell if they're aware of what those feelings mean. Clarisse and I have slowly become more than friends, but she's awful at talking about her feelings and with the stuff with Luke and you know what else..."

I shrugged.

"I just figured it'd be best if I waited for Clarisse to persue it." I figured, taking a breath. "And who knows? Maybe after this quest, something will happen and she'll also hate her dad or something and she'll join us. I don't know if Grover will, though. Sorry."

Looking back to the distance like he had been earlier (he's so lovesick), Percy thought to himself for a moment before responding.

"That's okay," he concluded. "after all, isn't the whole point of it that were technically not on either side? I don't want a Titan controlling the world again, but I certainly don't want things to continue as they are. Plus, I sort of have to stay with the camp for the plan."

"That's true." I agreed. "Also, don't forget what Luke said— just because the prophecy happens when you turn 16, it doesn't mean that you'll be the hero that dies. Those are two separate lines."

He flashed me a somewhat sad smile.

"I know," Percy promised me. "trust me, I wasn't upset with Annabeth because I didn't know the prophecy. I was upset because she knew it and refused to tell me about it after it was made clear that I knew there was a prophecy. Sorry that you had to see that, by the way. Annabeth and I just don't..."

"Get along? I thought you two were friends."

Annabeth definitely has a crush on him, as much as he can annoy her at times.

"We get along for like, 3 days," he explained the pattern to me. "and then something happens and we bicker and argue and one of us explodes— usually me because she's more levelheaded— and then the timer basically resets the next day. I'm sure tomorrow or even tonight she'll act like everything is fine and like we're best friends because she just wants to use me to get her mom's attention, right? It's not a sincere friendship."

I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean it's not sincere?"

Percy rolled his eyes.

"She decided that we could get along and do stuff together when I blasted Clarisse with toilet water last summer," the son of Poseidon went on. "before that, she had no problems disrespecting my boundaries and treating me like a dumbass. Even after that she continued to treat me like an idiot— she still does, as times. She came on the quest last summer because we'd need brains or whatever. We argued almost the whole time. After we got back, we talked a little, but we honestly didn't hang out much outside of activities. We didn't talk all year. Yesterday she watched me have a crisis and while she was nice about it, it just felt weird, especially knowing that she will tell anyone about other people's problems without their permission."

"Oh, yeah, she definitely told at least half of the counsel about St. Louis at the start of summer meeting before you were at camp," I informed Percy, who seemed more annoyed by that fact than anything. "yeah, Clarisse slighted her for it and mentioned to Chiron that she's been airing out laundry that didn't belong to her, but you know Chiron."

"Annabeth is his little girl," Percy conceeded my point. "Also, sorry to push you and Clarisse into the weird conversation, she just... Well no, that's not right. But the way I've seen it and then also the way Clarisse said that you and her kind of mirror how me and Grover are... I assumed you guys were like, unofficially a thing or whatever after you two were holding hands on the Andromeda. So sorry."

I shrugged.

"Somebody had to help her realize her emotions, I don't think she's mad." I promised him. "Just a little embarrassed maybe. She'll probably just get you back when we find Grover, so... Maybe just greet him with a kiss?"

Percy rolled his eyes as the sun started to set.

"Because I have the guts for that." He insisted. "You okay to take first watch tonight? I'm fucking exhausted. I got like four hours of bad sleep last night."

I smiled at him, knowing there was a secret question hidden in his request to sleep.

"Go talk to your best friend. Just let us know if he has any important updates for us, okay?"

Nodding his head, Percy made his way towards the door to head below deck.

"Only if you give Clarisse a kiss goodnight tonight." Percy insisted, and I honestly couldn't tell if it was a joke or not. "night, Silena. If you send a message, tell Luke I say hi."

Chapter 34: If She Wasn't My Crush's Mom, I'd Fistfight Aphrodite

Clarisse La Rue

Percy did stop by to apologize for saying what he did in front of Silena, which was appreciated, but I told him not to worry about it.

It's definitely not a secret, I just have the same fear Percy does: what if it becomes weird?

A couple hours after Percy poked his head into the room I'd adopted as my own, I heard somebody come down the stairs and another person go up. Cautious, I moved closer to my spear as I threw a sleep shirt on.

Moments later, there was a knock at my door.

"Clarisse?" I heard Silena's voice from the other side of the door. "Are you still up?"

Sighing, I knew what had to happen.

"You're the early bird," I reminded the daughter of Aphrodite who somehow always manages to get my heart in a chokehold. I opened the door to let her in. "Not me. I'm surprised you're still up."

She shrugged.

"Percy asked me to take first watch since he, you know, looks like he hasn't slept in a month." She told me. "Annabeth was up, so she's on watch now. Apparently she fell asleep super early reading on accident, so it works out. Are you doing okay, though? Percy got to you for a minute there."

I sighed, knowing that there was a lot of motives and other questions behind that one question.

"Yeah, I wasn't mad, it was mostly just embarrassing. He came by and apologized before he went to bed so it's chill."

"Embarrassing? Why?"

"Wh..." But being able to articulate my feelings is my worst skill. "It's just that like..." As I continued to lose my words, Silena offered me her hands.

And like always, because she does things to me that nobody else can, I take her offer.

"We're like, not together or whatever," I started to explain to Silena. "We're friends and we're super touchy and we hang out all the time and for fucks sake, we're literally holding hands. We also cuddle like, most of the time."

She hummed in agreement, urging me to go on.

"And it's not like I don't want to do this things," and so I continue. "I do- a lot, actually. But we're just friends, you know? And yet we do all of these things that friends don't really do."

Silena smiled, which reminded me how gorgeous she was. But it didn't help how anxious I was about this exact conversation.

"Yeah?" She squeezed my hand. "I suppose that's true- I don't really hold hands or cuddle with any of my other friends."

"Exactly," I responded without really thinking but also somehow thinking too much. "but we're just friends, we're..."

Silena hummed a response.

"We're friends." I repeated like a broken fucking record before letting the words stumble out of my mouth the same way I've had to stumble over the course of the last year or two in order to get to this conclusion. "But I don't... Want to be friends."

And then I realized how awful that sounded.

"Not that- I don't mean that I want to stop hanging out or stop any of this. That's definitely not..." Having a mini heart attack as I tried to restate my confession, Silena just smiled, rubbing her thumb along the back of my left hand.

"I mean that I want to be more than friends," I confessed, feeling like I might explode at any given second no matter how this goes. There was a ball of tension in the spot where my heart should should be, and I'm now just realizing how long it's been there. "so that way we can like, still do those things without it just being kind of weird or putting us in a gray area or... Like if you don't want to, that's okay and obviously you're my best friend so I'm going to respect it and probably ask that we stop holding hands because it makes my heart feel like it's about to go into cardiac arrest, but-"

"Clarisse."

Focusing again, I looked at the daughter of Aphrodite with what I'm sure is more fear than I've ever had before.

But once again, she just smiled at me.

"Hm?" I hummed back.

"Take a breath and finish what you want to tell me." But of course she wants me to say it, so she won't do it for me.

I hate her sometimes (I love her a lot).

So I did what she asked and I took a breath.

"I still feel like I'll go into cardiac arrest, but this is like..." I took another breath, trying to control the grip that Silena had slowly possessed on my heart. "this is basically a super long winded way of telling/asking you that I don't want to be just your friend because I like doing these things together and it makes me feel weird and vulnerable but also safe and you can say no but this is an even longer winded way of me asking if you want to be my girlfriend."

My heart felt like it might fall out of my ass.

And then I suddenly felt a set of lips place a very gentle kiss on my right cheek.

"I was starting to worry that you'd never ask," Silena told me, which promptly caused me to smile as the pressure around my heart eased. "I'd love to be your girlfriend, Clarisse La Rue. May I give you a proper kiss?"

The question made me smile even wider as a rush of relief and joy surgery through me.

"You could've done that months ago," I consented. "But I'll happily take it now, Silena Beuaguard."

And, leaning in, Silena's lips were soft and tasted like cherry and vanilla.

I did get a little chapstick from her, though, which would explain why her lips were so soft.

It wasn't a heated kiss or an aggressive one. It was gentle, and dragged out just a little because I think we deserved it.

Silena placed another kiss on the top of my nose, which was so sweet but so silly at the same time.

"I've wanted to do that for like, a year."

"You should've." I told her, resting my forehead against hers. "It would've saved us like, an entire year and this whole conversation."

"Yeah, probably," my girlfriend (that's the most insane part about this) responded, goaning down at my lips and then back up to my eyes. "But I wanted to hear you say it. Also, it's hard to tell when people know that they have feelings vs. When they don't know. I didn't want you to feel forced it anything because of that."

I rolled my eyes.

"Has anyone ever told you how kind and considerate and also how impossible you are?"

She chuckled and my heart fluttered.

"Maybe a time or two," my girlfriend (I'm going to say that all the time now) told me, snaking her arms around my waist. "But I'd love to hear more."

This girl might be the death of me.

•••
Grover Underwood

I was perhaps a little too excited when Percy showed up in another dream considering the fact that I've been able to communicate with him over the link literally all week.

He was extremely anxious yesterday and today, though, so I was worried and wanted to check in.

I also wanted to ask for more details about the hand I felt the other night because I'm starting to now realize that it could mean he has a girlfriend now and I don't know what I'll do when I eventually meet her.

"Grover? Grover, hi!" Percy said as I saw dream him sit up and wave. "Are you still okay and alive? We're like... Getting closer. We're on a different boat now that's going faster than the other one. I miss you."

I smiled.

"I miss you, too, and I'm doing alright- cyclopes have a bad sense of time and even worse vision." I promised him, which prompted Percy to take a visual breath of relief. "Are you still okay and alive? Also, what was that hand about the other hand? I've been thinking about it but I don't want to assume anything."

Percy sighed.

"I'm anxious, but okay otherwise." My best friend reassured me. "as for the hand, it... Doesn't really matter anymore."

But he said that in a way almost like it annoyed him.

"Are you sure? It sounds like it's does."

He shook his head.

"Travis was over for the night to watch movies and whatever like last summer and we fell asleep," but the way he made it sound, it wasn't like it was a total accident. "which happened a lot last summer, so it was... stupid for me to let him do it again. We're not together or anything, I promise."

But his tone throughout the whole thing confused me for a few different reasons.

"Well... No," I agreed with his very last statement with a harsh truth (for me, at least). "because you're straight, right?"

The look Percy gave me was not a confirmation.

It was closer to an "oh, shit" look, actually.

"Um..." The son of Poseidon pursed his lips. "No, actually. I uh... No."

Naturally, I froze.

"I... Huh? No?"

After all, I am no son of Aphrodite.

"W... No." My best friend confirmed for me, seeming a little anxious about it, which I could understand since he mostly lives in the mortal world. "I uh... Surprise. I'm gay. I uh, wanted to tell you last summer and then Annabeth put me on the spot and I didn't feel comfortable telling her so I just... Lied, I guess? It's shitty, I'm sorry, it's been a really weird process that makes me way too anxious."

"You... Oh!" But as it settled in, my brain back tracked and I started to realize something else. "Wait, so... Sorry, back up. One, congrats on coming out. The mortal world makes that a really hard thing to do. Two- does that mean you and Travis are...?"

The question definitely made him anxious.

"Um, no." Percy informed me. "Last summer? Sorta. Kinda- it was really weird and it was a gray area and I didn't mind it but he did so he ended it very suddenly at the end of summer which is why I was really sad. And then he apologized the other day because I had a panic attack right before the counsel meeting because I didn't feel welcome at the counsel meeting without you there because I didn't really... Have any other friends and so I accepted his apology on the stipulation that it was a hard line of were either together or were not and said yeah and then the next day it just... Fell apart very fast and then he said some things that I refused to tolerate so like... No."

He forced a breath.

"Sorry, I should've told you a lot sooner," Percy apologized when he most certainly didn't have to. "I've just been really bad about telling people. Annabeth only knows because Travis told her about the one date we went on and then Silena and Clarisse know now because we're all stuck on a boat together and I was anxious and Clarisse was being... Weirdly nice after Annabeth and I kind of went at it this morning."

"Went at it? About what?"

Percy shrugged.

"Just... Shit. It's too much to explain in a dream." He insisted, which was code for I'm not ready to talk about it. "I miss you."

How did he know how to pull at my heartstrings?

"I miss you, too, Percy. Get some actual sleep tonight, okay? We can't hang out if you pass out in the middle of a fight from exhaustion, right?"

Percy frowned, extending his hand towards me, though he was too far away to physically touch.

"I know," he relented. "I just miss you and the like, dream cave is nice. But I'll get some sleep tonight, just... Live another day? Please."

I couldn't help but smile at his concern.

"You'll know if I don't." I reminded him. "and I'll know if you don't. Goodnight, Perce. I'll see you soon."

•••

baby chapter <3

Chapter 35: This Might Bite Me In The Ass In About Four Years

Percy Jackson

In case you were wondering, I did not get a good night's sleep that night.

Shocking, I know.

It's almost like I'm on a quest or something.

I'd barely fallen asleep on my own when there was a bang from up on deck, which was more than enough to wake me up.

Getting up, I threw my shorts back on and grabbed the first weapon I could reach— not even thinking about Riptide being in my pocket. I opened the door to see Silena and Tyson both running up to the deck as well, though Clarisse was still down here.

Why...?

"Did a child of mine really lower defenses to a level of letting an attack in?" But I know a bastards voice when I hear one. He sighed. "I can't believe you child! I bless you with the powers of summoning the defeated and you use it for what? So you can relax and not do anything? You've been hanging around with that Aphrodite girl too much, Clarisse. You've gone soft, kid, too damn soft! If you continue like this, you're sure to fail. Even an idiot can see that."

I stopped myself in the hall. Poking my head into the room, I'm glad I ended up not knocking on the door.

Although Ares wasn't physically here (which is good for his safety, let's be honest), he was on an Iris Message with Clarisse.

And if I remember correctly, Clarisse has never gotten the chance to talk to her dad before. This would be the first time she's properly met him. Spoken with him, really.

But all he was doing was lecturing her and telling him that he's disappointed in her choices. In her choices of friends.

Telling her that she was bound to fail.

It pissed me off enough to hear it, but it pissed me off even more to see that Clarisse was struggling to keep herself together the longer he spoke.

She was crying.

"Y— yes, Father, I'm so—"

"Don't call me Father." He cut her off, which was cruel even for a god. "you've earned no such right."

"Yes... Yes, sir." She went on as I grabbed a pillow that had gotten tossed on the ground. "S— sor... Sorry, sir, I won't—"

"Speak, child! If you're blubbering and muttering, it's no wonder you can't get anything—"

I threw the pillow, narrowing missing Clarisse in order to go through the Iris Message and end the call.

"Says the half ass of a man who won't go into the tunnel of love because he's afraid of a net and a camera." I announced my arrival, hoping that story would make Clarisse feel a little less bad about what just happened with her father. "For the person having an affair with the goddess of love, he's pretty fucking awful at showing it."

As she turned towards me, something on Clarisse's face caught my attention.

There was a little red smudge on the top of her forehead, near her hairline. Which, for a split second, I was worried it was blood, but the shade of it...

Did Silena actually give Clarisse a kiss goodnight?

"Hey!" Clarisse tried to argue, but even Mr. D could've acted more caring than she did right now. "He's still... Well, I guess he doesn't want me to call him my dad or my father, but..."

"He's a bully, Clarisse," I insisted, watching her take a breath. "Don't let him convince you that he's really done stuff for you— especially if that's the first time you've spoken to him, okay? What's the uh... What's the mark on your forehead?"

"The mark..." The older demigod's voice faded as she felt right around where the red spot was. "oh uh... So you know how you said that you and Grover are a lot like me and Silena?"

I nodded my head in anticipation.

"We..." She took another breath, trying to steady herself. "We aren't f— okay, bad wording. I was stupidly nervous the entire time when I was talking to her about it, but we aren't just friends anymore."

Clarisse paused, smiling just a little bit.

"Silena's my girlfriend now. She gave me a kiss on the forehead, I guess her lipstick left a mark."

I couldn't help but smile back.

We're gonna have to get them a U-haul by the time this quest is completed.

"That's great, Clarisse, what—"

BANG!

"Oh shit, they need help," she realized very suddenly, grabbing her spear. "Come on, Mr. GPS, let's go."

Shoving my spear into it's holster, I opted to grab Riptide from my pocket and followed the daughter of my number one personal hater upstairs.

"What's going—"

"DUCK!" Annabeth, Silena, and Tyson all yelled as we opened the door and immediately noticed the most grotesque creature I've ever seen— which is saying a lot considering the fact that I've fought both leathery old ladies and a half bull man who was in a pair of tighty whiteys.

Hitting the deck and looking up at the creature once again, it was grotesque in a way that was different than the Furies or the Minotaur.

From one of it's many heads (did it really have six heads?), there were these wiggly, dangly bits of skin that just reminded me of a gross beard that had caught food in it from eating. But rather than being humanoid, it had six serpent like head and necks.

Oh, and it was almost as big as our ship.

So when it came diving down towards the ship, trying to grab one of us to have for a midnight snack, we didn't scream at all.

Not even a little bit.

"Bad hungry monster!" Tyson yelled, which... I couldn't fault him on the claim, though I didn't love how he called for the monsters attention. "Leave us alone!"

It screamed/growled something back, which only really resulted in some spit falling onto the deck.

"Here!" My weird little half brother responded, even though I'm sure he couldn't understand the thing.

Opening his bag, Tyson grabbed his last peanut butter sandwich and threw it to the monster, who uh... Didn't even care enough to try and catch it.

The sandwich fell into the ocean.

News flash readers: don't throw your lunch into the ocean. It was more enough to piss the Atlantic Ocean off, which is something I didn't even realize was possible.

Please explain this to me: how did the ocean grow teeth.

"Tyson!" I yelled out, unsure myself if it was out of annoyance or out of concern. "Go... Go check the boiler room, make sure nothing explodes on us, okay? If we're stuck here..."

The ship shuddered.

"She won't steer for me, Ms. La Rue!" The zombie manning the wheel yelled out. "If we can't subdue the big mouthed monster, we'll have to jump!"

"We— speak for yourself, you guys already died!" Clarisse responded. "Annie, do you know anything about this monster?"

"Oh, so now you guys want to hear what I have to say?"

I groaned, letting Tyson pass as I bit my tongue.

"Annabeth, there's no time for arguing right now," Silena cut between the two of them. "if we live, you guys can argue all you want afterwards, but if you know anything, it'd be good to know. That's why you're always on quests, right? You're Athena's daughter, you know stuff. Teach us."

"I'm not... Okay, whatever," Annabeth started, taking a breath as the monster in the air tried for another swipe but just got a mouthful of wood and bullet casings. "these monsters are Charbydis and Scylla— basically the gatekeepers for the sea of monsters or the Bermuda triangle or whatever you want to call it. I don't know who set the path to go by them, but it's virtually impossible to pass them— they're where the phrase being stuck between a rock and hard place comes from. Unless we can somehow subdue one of them, and I don't know how we could do that, we might want to try and get on another route."

"Wouldn't we have to enter the triangle no matter what?" I retorted. "we're so close to where we have to go, we'll have to get in somehow. So we have to subdue them."

"Then how do you suggest we do that, Seaweed Brain?" But the nickname was back and I was worried that it would stick. "None of us have long range weapons for either of them! And none of us have any mixed metal weapons because Camp doesn't make those!"

"Mixed metal?" Clarisse asked. "What? Like Celestial Bronze with Iron or something?"

Annabeth nodded her head.

"They're extremely dangerous weapons, Chiron doesn't provide or let kids wield them at camp because of how dangerous they can be."

"Because of how dangerous..."

I saw Silena look at me, knowing I had at least one of these weapons (I had two, but still), look at Clarisse (maybe debating if she had any as a daughter of Ares), and then back to Annabeth.

"It's a weapon." The daughter of Aphrodite figured. "It's going to be dangerous no matter what."

"She means that Chiron doesn't like them because they can hurt everyone, including mortals." Clarisse clarified for who I think might be her girlfriend now. "We have a couple in our cabin, but they're on display and they're enchanted so we can't use them— I tried to hold one of them when I was younger and got burned by the handle. Is mixed metal a weakness of these two?"

"Mixed metals is a weakness for anyone that gets hurt by it— that's the whole point of it's existence." Annabeth repeated herself. "for some reason, their skin is resistant to celestial bronze— we'd need to mix it with something. Or find another pure magical metal that isn't Celestial Bronze."

As she spoke, I could feel the weight of the two small blades on my thigh, just waiting to be used.

How do I make this look like the blades aren't mine?

I can't just say I found them in the last day or so— Annabeth knows I didn't find shit on the Princess Andromeda. We were together the whole time.

What can I do?

Maybe if I grab some of the bullet casings and go downstairs, I could pretend like Tyson melted them down to—

"Look out!" Clarisse yelled as the flyer, Scylla, got a little too close to Silena.

Tackling the daughter of Aphrodite to make sure she didn't get eaten, it just left a path wide open for the monster to grab Annabeth.

"Hey!" I yelled, running towards the pair and struggling to summon water, but ultimately getting just enough to pull the monster back down near deck as I pulled out the knife (praying Annabeth was too shocked to notice anything) and slashed the grotesque rooster/snake, causing it to drop Annabeth, who promptly passed out as the monster started to disintegrate.

Another of it's remaining five heads/bodies did respond by trying to capture me, but a slash to the face helped it learn it's lesson.

Not that that solved the whole issue, though: the ocean still had a mouth that had the gravitational force of a black hole. We were currently stuck in the whirlpool of said black hole.

Sitting next to the daughter of Athena as I heard Clarisse start to bark out commands to her crew again, now knowing that Silena was okay, I closed my eyes and tried to focus.

We need to get out of here.

I need to find Grover.

Feeling the boat shift and lean to the right, I felt a tug in my gut as sails and ropes moved around on board.

"I didn't touch it!" Silena claimed almost immediately, which is how I knew, besides the sounds, that things were moving.

"Then keep not touching stuff!" Clarisse yelled back. "I don't know how... Is Percy... Keep doing whatever you're doing, Jackson! We're starting to break against—"

Feeling a hard pull on the boat, I opened my eyes in time to see us start to tip towards my left (starboard) and hear what sounded like wood getting ripped through.

Which, in a wooden boat? Isn't a sound you want to hear.

"I PROMISE WE DON'T TASTE THAT GOOD!" Silena yelled out to the monster, I think trying to use charmspeak to convince it not to eat us, but ultimately sounding too distressed to mKe it work.

Grabbing Annabeth's bag as it had been next to her limp body (she's alive, I promise. She's breathing), I rummaged through the little quest bag Hermes had given each of us within our supplies.

The multivitamins wouldn't be of much help now, though Annabeth might need one when she gets up (the bottle says they're not ambrosia, but they're powerful and healing so I'm treating it like ambrosia), and neither would any of the money we were given. But if we've truly blown a hole in our ship, which it seems like we have, then there should be one last thing to help.

"HOLD ON!" I yelled out to the others, praying this would work as I scanned the horizon to spot the nearest shore and turned around 180 degrees. "I WOULD SIT DOWN JUST IN CASE— WE'RE GOING TO GO VERY FAST."

"We're— Percy that's a jar of j—"

But as I cracked open the jam jar, Clarisse's words were cut short by the fact that she fell on her ass thanks to the sudden change in speed.

Jolting out of the whirlpool, we sped into the Sea of Monsters, waking Annabeth up in the process.

"What... Hey! My bag!" Annabeth insisted as she struggled to sit up. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Sorry, Wise Girl, I needed the jar of wind," I apologized, sliding the rest of the belongings over to her. "we uh... We're going to have to dock ASAP. We were able to throw enough metal and shit at the monster that grabbed you to get it to leave us alone, but not at the teeth monster. It ripped a hole in our mast."

"So we're just going to any old island to dock?"

And maybe it's just because she has just woken up from being knocked out or fainting, but the way she said it...

"Oh, I'm sorry," I began, motioning with my one free hand towards the great expanse of sea around us. "but do you see another option, O Wise One? Do you want to drown? Because if you couldn't figure it out, that's our ONLY OTHER OPTION!"

"I'm just asking if you know where we're going or not!" She yelled back over the wind. "I'm not saying that I have a better idea, Seaweed Brain, I just want to know more about the one you have! I don't know how long I was passed out for— it could've been minutes or hours! You don't have to yell at me. It's not going to get us to Grover any faster, right?"

Closing my eyes, I tried to steady my breathing.

"Please stop calling me that."

The request caught Annabeth off guard as she seemed to take a moment to respond.

"Stop... What? I don't know what you're talking about, Seaweed Brain, but—"

"That!" I stopped her so that way she couldn't claim ignorance again as the ship started to slow and we neared the island. "That is what I'm talking about, Annabeth! I asked you to not call me that last summer and it stopped for maybe a day and then it was like you never even heard me! So I'm asking again to please stop."

"Wh..." But she didn't seem to get it based on the fact that she was visibly confused. "Seaweed Brain? It's a nickname, Percy— because your dad is Barnacle Beard? It's not like I'm making fun of you."

But for a daughter of Athena, she's pretty dumb when it comes to this specific topic.

"It... But it feels like you are." I tried to explain to her, feeling my body force itself to slow down as Clarisse and the man steering got the boat to shore. "And as somebody who's been called dumb, stupid, or idiotic the entirety of his life, it makes it hard to believe that you actually think of me as an equal or a friend or anything that isn't a complete dumbass the more you use it. I'm sorry that I yelled— I'm stressed and I'm tired and I'm just trying to do what I think is best for everyone on the ship and for Grover and for us to the find the Fleece and it's not a good excuse but I just..."

I lost my voice, hearing them drop the anchor and hearing Tyson start to bound up the stairs.

"Want you to stop calling me that." I finished. "And if you want me to stop calling you anything, I will, okay? But I think we'd be able to get along a lot better if I felt like I could actually talk to you about important things without worrying that you'd dismiss it and call me stupid."

"Wh... You don't actually feel that way, do you?" And yet she dismissed the feelings I just told her about. "Come on, Seaweed Br— Percy."

I balled my fists, reminding myself that she at least corrected herself.

"Yes, Annabeth, I do." I insisted, sterling my expression as I tried to calm myself. Silena and Clarisse were waiting by the ladder to leave. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go see if our boat is even fixable. Come or don't— I don't know how long it'll take."

Turning around, I tried to exhale my frustrations and went to join Clarisse and Silena down on shore— making sure I had all of my blades on me just in case any type of attacker came out way.

"It... Looks like some type of resort," Silena commented as I hopped off the ladder, looking inland. "We're not near the Bahamas, are we? I thought we went East, not South."

"We're definitely not in the Bahamas," I said, pointing to one of the road signs. "That's not English. I... Don't know what language that is, actually."

"Not French." Silena said. "Or Greek."

"It's not Spanish." Clarisse added. "Or Arabic, but... Arabic uses a different alphabet, so duh."

But that posed a question for me.

"You speak Arabic?"

The daughter of Clarisse shrugged.

"Not very well, but I'm learning it." She explained. "Camp requires you to learn at least one language so I started taking Spanish when I was little because I already knew French— my mom grew up in France, so she raised me bilingual, but Chiron said last year that since I'm conversational in Spanish I had to pick another language, so I chose Arabic. There's a lot of stuff happening in Middle East with military and stuff so... Arabic."

"That's... Weirdly cool," I said, realizing how many languages she must know. French, English, Spanish, Ancient Greek, and now Arabic. "it's also not in Portuguese."

"You know Portuguese?" Silena asked me in return.

I nodded.

"Mom's Portuguese, moved here when she was young. I went to an Immersion school this year and it was interesting but the kids kind of sucked." I informed the two of them, assessing the damage our boat took as I noticed Annabeth start to descend from the boat. "Learned the word for faggot. Sounds a lot like bitch."

"No!" The two of them both responded. "That's awful, Percy! Did you at least punch them?"

"Oh, it was worse," I promised. "They were definitely monsters, so..."

Crossing my arms, I looked at the boat again.

It was virtually unrepairable with the abilities we had with us. The hole stretched through half of the boat and there was already a lot of water inside— we'd need Beckendorf here if we had any hopes of fixing it.

"Hey, what.... Here?" A girl's voice said from behind us, causing us to turn. "Is your.... Water... Or something? Did you... Book... Here... CC's Spa?"

It wasn't until Clarisse responded to the girl that I realized the reason I wasn't hearing all of what she was saying was because she was speaking Spanish— not because I was framing in and out.

"Yes, sorry, our.... Hole... Lots of water inside. Would we.... Here for...? Also, my friends do not all speak Spanish, do you know English or Greek?"

"Oh, yes, sorry! Most people that crash here either speak Greek or Spanish, but Spanish is more common." She said, her tone changing as she spoke in English now. "Let me escort you inside— I'm sure the owner would be more than willing to help you out. My name is Hylla— I will be assisting you with anything CC insists upon. Follow me."

Notes:

yes hold your applause I can sometimes write action scenes too

Chapter 36: I'll Punch A Transphobe, I Don't Care

Percy Jackson

I'll never forgive Hylla for what happened after she said hi to us for a number of reasons.

Well, okay, not Hylla— I don't think she had much say in what actually happened. But I'll never forgive the owner of this bullshit resort and spa for what happened.

"Hylla! Do you— oh," a girl closer to my age said as she ran up to us, stopping as she noticed people with Hylla. "Sorry, I didn't know you had a group currently. I'll ask later."

"Hm? No, Reyna, relax," Hylla reassured the younger girl who was wearing the same outfit as Hylla. "I found these five at the docks— their ship sustained some bad damages, so we're going to talk to Ms. CC, but if you would be able to tell the first unoccupied spa group that we have visitors, I think they'd appreciate some freshening up before we figure out a plan to send them on their way, yeah?"

Slightly confused, Reyna nodded her head.

"Uh, yeah, I can... Do that." She told who I assumed was her sister, the closer I looked at the two of them. They seemed similar. Reyna met my vision and flashed me a smile. "Hi, sorry, I'm Reyna. The attendants like knowing the names of their clients— can I ask your names?"

"Our names?" I asked in response and she nodded. "Percy. Jackson, but I assume you don't need last names? So just Percy."

"I Tyson!" Tyson said from right behind me, waving and smiling.

She smiled.

"Well hello, I've never met a Tyson before."

"Annabeth."

"My name is Silena." The daughter of Aphrodite flashed Reyna a smile. "Thank you for your hospitality thus far."

Silena nudged her girlfriend.

"...Name's Clarisse."

Reyna smiled again, but her mask was starting to slip— this was definitely a job.

But then again, retail and service industries aren't usually luxurious jobs, no matter how old you are.

"I'll make sure to tell the attendants— I hope you all have a good rest of your time here."

"Thank you, Reyna, that's very sweet." Silena said, most definitely using a little bit of charmspeak to get on her good side.

Walking into one of the larger buildings in sight, Hylla seated us and told us to wait a moment while she summoned the owner.

She closed the door behind her, walking out of the other side of the room.

"This is sketchy, right?" Clarisse asked almost immediately.

"Oh, definitely," Annabeth and I agreed before Annabeth continued. "Reyna had started to speak another language when she approached Hylla— it almost sounded like Latin to me. Which Hylla didn't mention and isn't... Spoken anymore, really."

"Maybe they're just pretentious," I half joked, sighing. "I mean, probably not, but I don't have a better idea. Did..."

I stopped myself, wondering if the question was stupid.

"Did what?" Tyson asked.

"Did Romans speak Latin?" I kicked the question out of my throat. "Maybe it's stupid because I assume the Greeks and the Romans are virtually the same gods just with different names because of the language difference, but... Do we have any Roman demigods? Has Chiron ever talked about that?"

"Has..." The three longest attending campers all looked at each other, trying to recall anything.

"It's not a dumb question, actually," Annabeth surprised me by saying that, I won't lie. "I've never really... Thought about it. Chiron definitely speaks Latin, but I'm pretty sure immortals can speak almost any language. There were some Roman gods that didn't exist in Greek times, though, and we... Don't have..."

She stopped.

"Any demigods." The daughter of Athena concluded. "that would belong to those gods."

The five of us sat with that realization for a minute.

"Do you think that Reyna might be a Roman demigod?" Silena questioned.

"With how she looked at and responded to Tyson? I'd bet money that she's at least clear sighed, so the older one probably is, too." Clarisse confirmed. "They're definitely not safe here— in the middle of the sea of monsters."

"Not at all," Annabeth agreed. "But if they don't know it, how can we get them agree to leave? Especially with two of them, it's not just—"

The door handle turned.

"Five guests? How wonderful!" A younger woman, maybe around my mom's age or a little younger said as she stepped inside the room with Hylla.

The woman gave us the fakest smile I've ever seen.

"Hello, dears, it's wonderful to meet you— Hylla caught me up to speed on your little issue. You're in need of a new boat?"

"We do have life boats we were originally intending on using, but if you so happen to have an extra boat lying around, we'd truly appreciate it." Silena said, visibly catching the woman off guard when she spoke. "Your girls have been so nice, by the way. Reyna is truly a sweetheart."

After a moment, the woman collected herself and smiled.

"Sorry, thank you for the input, they do work very hard around here." The owner responded, taking a step closer. "It's been quite a while since I've heard such powerful charmspeak from a young lady such as yourself, daughter of Aphrodite, but I assure you, you don't need to use it here— I believe you regardless. My name is CC, I'm the owner of this resort here. I'll see if we can have any of our workers here patch that hole, and if not, perhaps we can trade a few lifeboats for a slightly bigger vessel? The amount of wood on your vessel alone would be more than enough to trade— it would help us sustain for quite a while. But come, you and Clarisse look like you could use some time together to talk it over and relax. I have a couples package that I think the two of you would love. You'll feel refreshed within the hour, guaranteed."

But for somebody who critiqued Silena's use of charmspeak, CC was using a fair amount of it herself.

Why would she separate Clarisse and Silena from us?

How could she tell they were together?

"W... We could, now that you mention it, it's been quite a day." Silena agreed hesitantly after sharing a look with Annabeth. "Can I ask why the others aren't invited along?"

Is she also a daughter of Aphrodite?

"Oh, I have separate packages for them, don't worry, dear." But I was quite worried, let's be honest. "Young love at a resort at your age doesn't happen often, take advantage of it. Singles packages are slightly different than the couples is, so I have to ask them a few questions first. See you soon, darlings! Hylla will show you where to go."

It's not as if she's separating us by boys and girls.

Clarisse and I shared a glance, and I'm pretty sure she was worried that she was about to get hatecrimed in the spa.

The name CC...

It sounds familiar, but like it's a little off of what I'm used to hearing.

Because if she's split us up by boy and girl, there was this one woman in ancient history who would train woman, but she hated men. If a man ever showed up, she'd turn him into a pig or something like that. Sell them or kill them or....

"Fancy a snack?" CC asked, now with a small platter in hand that she placed in front of me. "You look awfully tired, child. This is no sleep replacement—even nectar and ambrosia can't replace sleep, but it'll help you feel more energized."

"I'm... Good for now, but thank you." I insisted, not trusting anything she had to offer that I had to ingest. "Maybe after the treatment?"

"Oh, yes! The treatment for you three is... Slightly different," the woman went on, taking her long, dark hair out of the bun it had been in moments ago. It was a stark contrast from her skin, though it suited her. "I doubted you'd want the mani-pedis that the girls are getting, but how would a facial sound? I can talk you through the rest of what's possible after that— it'll help open up those follicles so your facial hair will grow in faster."

Or maybe CC wasn't homophobic, but she was evidently transphobic.

When she'd mentioned girls, I almost let it slide.

"What if you don't... Want that to happen?" Annabeth asked as I could see her self-esteem waver.

CC scoffed.

"Don't be silly, child, every boy wants that to happen," the woman chided, causing the blood to drain from Annabeth's expression. "It's a natural part of—"

"She's not a boy," I informed her, which seemed to have her attention. "No offense, ma'am, but you must know that her name is Annabeth and if you have eyes you should be able to see that she has boobs. Aka, not a boy."

CC gave me a doubtful look.

"I can see, darling, and I can tell that what's on his chest is but a ball of silicone. Don't play smart with me— he wouldn't be the first to try and sneak in with the ladies in my resort. I have to have good eyes to tell."

Annabeth crossed her arms.

"Go undercover? We got here ten minutes ago because our ship was sinking. We didn't even ask for a spa treatment! We didn't ask for anything! She's not a fucking creep, how dare you assume—"

She smacked me for the first time since before I knew who my father was.

It stunned me.

"Watch you tone, Mister," but now I had virtually no doubts about who she was— with how hard the misgendering seemed to hit Annabeth, I don't know if she's connected the dots yet, but... "In my resort, I will make any assumptions I wish to about you, son of Poseidon— and I will assume what I please about this son of Athena, and you can't—"

I decked her.

She screamed, falling backwards, and you know what? It's stupid that they didn't disarm us.

Being a sorcerer, I'm sure that she could heal a cut from regular steel or from Celestial Bronze in the blink of an eye. Those are easy injuries.

But sitting up to a blade of mixed metals being pressed to your throat makes figuring those healing spells out a bit harder.

From what I've heard, Stygian Iron is a beast on its own. But combined with other metals?

Who knows what it'll do.

Take forever to heal, at the very least.

"You cocky bastard," she insisted. "Zeus should've smited you last summer once you were—"

Pulling down, I cut across the top of her chest towards her left arm.

She fell back again, cursing from the pain.

"Heal! Why won't it..."

Getting the cue, Tyson stood up and walked out of the room. As Annabeth got up, the sorceress went for another grab, though.

Luckily, me being between the two of them still, all she was able to do was catch and then quickly let go of my dagger.

"Come on," I whispered to Annabeth. "let's get out of here."

Nodding, Annabeth followed me out of the waiting room that we'd been in and the three of us got out of the building— intercepting the love birds, who were walking with Reyna and Hylla towards what I assumed to be the next station on the indoctrination train.

They did look very nice and refreshed, though, I do admit. If this were a normal spa, I'd leave a good review.

"Wh— Percy, Tyson, Annabeth! Hi!" Silena called out with a smile. "How's it going? What did she say?"

"We need go," Tyson said before Annabeth or I could answer. "Reyna and Hylla can show us boats? We leave boat for wood."

"Oh, uh, sure! We can do that!" Hylla said, sounding a bit off guard by the new call. "follow us then— sorry that you don't get the full experience."

"It's alright, I'm sure we can't afford it anyways." I insisted, knowing that none of them get paid because nothing here costs money. "We're on a bit of a tight schedule as well, so the sooner we leave, the better. There's people waiting on us."

"I understand— sorry for taking your afternoon then," Reyna apologized as we approached the docks once more. She motioned to an older, though decently sized ship that that just slightly smaller than our old navy vessel. "This ship was abandoned by guests a few years ago— they ended up staying here and never left, so the ship stayed. Will this be sufficient?"

Glancing at the boat, I noticed no issues. I'm sure the story— for what she's been told of it, is true. The men of the ship died and the woman were convinced to stay.

I nodded to Clarisse, who seemed to want a vote of confidence from me.

"It'll do." She assured the slightly younger possible demigod. "Would you two be interested in joining us? We could bring you back to somewhere where you wouldn't have to work all day."

"You... What? But if we leave the resort..."

"She'll survive," Hylla cut her sister off. "where would you bring us, exactly? Four demigods and a cyclopes..."

"Well first we have to stop at an island about a hundred miles or so west of here," I explained. "We're currently on a quest to retrieve an item that were hoping will help with some issues back home. But once that's done, we'd return to New York to a camp for demigods. You two could train there if you'd like— or you could go elsewhere."

"For demi... Oh." Reyna said, taking the information in. "Is that why Father never spoke of our Mom?"

"Probably," Hylla figured. "I have no memories of her, but if there's a camp for us to train..."

The two of them held a silent conversation.

"We'll come." Hylla informed us. "Is there anything else we should know? Five is an odd number for a quest, is it not?"

"Well, there will be one more— a satyr," Annabeth informed them as the color slowly returned to her face. "Technically speaking, those two are on a quest for the Fleece and we three are on a rescue mission for him, but it's all to the same location, so we're traveling together."

Hylla seemed to ponder this news, though why Grover being invited along would change anything, I'm not sure.

Maybe she's just thinking about space on board.

"Very well," she concluded, extending a hand for Clarisse to shake. "We will board with you— and we will do all we can to aid you in these coming days. Thank you for your consideration— we will remember it for as long as we shall remain in contact."

Hylla motioned towards the ladder.

"After you."

Notes:

this was fun to write ngl like pop off king punch that bitch

Chapter 37

Percy Jackson

You'd think that, considering the fact that I punched and then proceeded to cut the person that misgenered and was possibly about to kick her ass, Annabeth would just be grateful and not ask me any questions about it. Maybe besides asking why I did it if I didn't know what she'd do back.

But no. I don't get that kind of luck.

"Where'd you get that dagger, by the way?"

Coming around the corner, Annabeth sat down next to me on deck. I'd offered to take first shift since I was restless after what happened with Circe. Annabeth seemed well rested, though— I supposed she's been up the longest. She took the last shift last night.

"Hm?" I hummed back.

"The dagger," she repeated. "That you used on Circe? You don't usually fight with a dagger. Why the change of heart?"

What do I tell her?

"Oh, yeah!" I responded, nodding my head. "I found it while I was digging through the boxes and throwing whatever metal I could find at the monster that had grabbed you— seems pretty cool. I figured that if that monster couldn't be hurt with normal celestial bronze, then a sorceress might also be immune to it, so... It was just a safer bet. I don't like it as much as Riptide, but it works."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Can I see it?"

"The dagger?"

"Yeah! It looked cool."

Hesitantly, praying that there wasn't a noticeable signature on the blade that would trace it back to whoever Luke got it from, I took the blade out from it's scabbard and handed it to the daughter of Athena.

For a moment, it was silent as she observed and seemed to admire the blade— running her hand along the hilt before raising it to the setting sun to see the reflection it would make.

"This is... The coolest think I've ever seen." She decided, which surprised me after the warning Luke gave me about using it this summer. "Do you think Beckendorf could make one of these? What's even in it? Celestial Bronze and steel, obviously, but..."

"Some sort of gold maybe? There's some brighter streaks," I pointed out to her. "And like... Onyx? Do they use onyx in blades?"

"Stygian Iron probably— it's an Underworld metal," Annabeth decided, handing it back to me. "that's a super cool find. I didn't even know they could make blades like that."

"I didn't either." I agreed, sighing. "Speaking of which, you doing okay? Circe... said some awful stuff."

Annabeth shrugged.

"I've... Gotten used to it, I guess," she responded, which felt wrong on a lot of different levels. "My family was cool with it, but kids at school... Not as much, and the school admin was also fucking annoying because most of the kids didn't even realize that I'm trans until I had gym second semester and the school forced me to use the boys locker room, which... Yeah. I've gotten used to it, but it did come out of nowhere, which... Sucked. I'm going to go to a different school this fall— one that's a little more friendly, hopefully. Understanding. How uh..."

She paused.

"How are things with your dad? I know he called, but... How is that?"

Exhaling, I tried to think back on how things have progressed with Gabe and I.

"It's been... Good, overall, but some things are still weird." I started, pulling my legs in and sheathing the dagger once again. "him being a demigod is both nice and not nice at the same time because I know that he knows what camp is like, generally speaking, and I don't have to explain every little thing to him, but I... Think he knows about the prophecy."

Annabeth opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.

"At first, I wasn't sure," I went on, wondering how much is too much to say. "He wasn't shocked when I told him who my sperm donor was, but he still had a... Visible reaction to it that I couldn't place at the time. I'd assumed it was shock. But then when I got home from camp, he really wanted to start doing more father/son stuff together— which, don't get me wrong, it's fun and I was glad. But I had to ask him to slow down because things were still kind of touchy, and he apologized and backed off a little. He's insisted that he wanted to make up for lost time, but hearing him talk to one of his other demigod friends... He definitely mentioned that he didn't know how much longer I would be with them before camp took me again or before the prophecy decided to unravel."

Annabeth blinked.

"He... He said that?"

I nodded my head.

"I'm not sure he knows what the age is, but I think he assumes it'll be sooner rather than later. I think it's part of why him and Mom have been talking about trying to have another kid, too— they won't have to be alone if I die."

"If you die," the slightly older demigod emphasized, nudging me. "it's a very devicive topic, and Chiron really doesn't want you knowing about it yet, which... I don't really know why, but that's why I was kind of stubborn about it yesterday. Sorry, by the way. Mr. D wanted to tell you, I'm surprised he didn't once Chiron left. He thought that if you knew, maybe you'd be more careful. Maybe you wouldn't die then, even if you are the birthday that starts it."

I shrugged, trying to relax as I leaned back.

"In all honesty? I don't think it changed much," I figured. "I'm still like, super anxious and I have bouts of depression that can sometimes turn into suicidal thoughts so... You know? If anything, Grover's mental link is my driving force to not die or anything because like, then he also dies and I'm not trying to be like Romeo and Juliet, so."

The daughter of Athena smiled.

"You are so in love with him."

I nudged her.

"Shut up," I insisted, even if my cheeks were a little nore pink. "there's literally a brand new couple on board, why don't you pick on them?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at me, asking if that was a serious question.

"Because Clarisse and I have never been able to stand each other? Also, they admitted their feelings and are together now, so it's boring." She informed me. "But you two, on the other hand, have been functioning like a borderline couple for the last year, but every time somebody asks about it it's all 'no, Annabeth, we're not together! We're just really good friends— we lived together so it's not weird I promise, it's strictly platonic.' As if you're fooling anyone."

"It was platonic!"

She pointed a suspicious glance at me.

"That's what they all say," she insisted. "go get some sleep— I'll take watch for a couple of hours. You definitely need it before reuniting with your boyfriend."

And, defeated to the fact, I just sighed and got up, telling her to wake us up if she had any issues.

I was going to go tell Grover how much she teased us.

•••

Call it a miracle: I actually got to sleep for longer than 3 hours that night.

No connection or vision from Grover, though, so I guess you win some you lose some.

I hope he's not married yet.

The next morning, I'd just been trying to relax and doodle as I stood near the railing of the deck.

We should get there today.

"What are you looking for?"

Jumping at the sudden noise, I noticed that Reyna had managed to sneak up on me. She was standing next to me now, looking in the same general direction I had been.

"What... Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you coming," I apologized initially. "And I'm just... Looking, I guess? Hoping that maybe the island we're stopping it will come into view, but it's kind of like watching paint dry. I'm just anxious."

"You seem anxious," she agreed, giving me a once over before looking back out to the ocean. "what part of the mission are you on? The rescue mission or the item retrieval?"

"Rescue mission, but I was intending on getting the Fleece if we somehow ended up in different places since we didn't all leave together." I clarified for the younger demigod. "I was going to leave regardless of if they wanted me to go or not."

Reyna crossed her arms, thinking to herself for a moment before asking me.

"And how did your girlfriend feel about that?" She questioned, but I couldn't even think of who she would assume to be my girlfriend. "I'm assuming she came with for a reason, right?

"You're assuming..." And I really must be gay if I couldn't even fathom who Reyna was talking about. "what?"

"Your girlfriend?" She repeated, motioning towards the other side of the deck, where Annabeth and Hylla were talking about gods knows what. They've been getting along fairly well today. "the Blondie? You punched an immortal sorceress for her, dude, she's gotta be your girlfriend."

"Hey, now, I punched Circe because she was a bigot," I insisted, rolling my eyes at the assumption. "I would've done the same if she'd been homophobic towards Silena or Clarisse. Trust me, Annabeth is not my girlfriend. She's here because she was like, chosen for the quest and she has experience. We're sort of friends?"

Reyna raised an eyebrow.

"Sort of?"

I shrugged.

"We get along for like a week at a time before something usually happens and we argue or fight or whatever," I summarized, looking back out to the sea. "We're just very different and sometimes that works out well and sometimes it causes us to argue. I wouldn't want to be with somebody who I argue with as much as I do with her. I'm also gay, though, so.... It wouldn't work out regardless."

"Oh, you're gay?" The younger girl asked. "so what I'm hearing is that you have the hots for Mr. Rescue Mission?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, whatever, maybe." I tried to not let myself blush to insanely when I admitted the news. "why are you asking? Do you have the hots for Annabeth?"

Reyna avoided eye contact before giving me the worst lies ever to insist that she didn't have a small crush on Annabeth.

•••
Clarisse La Rue

"Hey, Babe," I said, breaking the silence as we both laid in Silena's makeshift bed—too lazy to get up since the other five were all on deck already. "What do you think Luke was actually doing on they cruise ship?"

For a moment, Silena tensed up at the question, before relaxing again.

"He said he was there for a college course, right? Marine biology or whatever?"

"Ecology, but yeah," I confirmed, sitting up so I could look down at the daughter of Aphrodite, who's head rested in my lap. "but the whole situation... It was almost like the monsters brought him to us. It felt really weird."

Silena shrugged.

"I guess, I didn't think too much about it," Silena said as I sensed her pour just a few drops of charmspeak into the statement, which she... Shouldn't have to do.

It resurfaced an idea that I'd had a few weeks ago, though, that I'd quickly dismissed as soon as it came to me.

"After all, I don't know how college works or where he even goes to college," my girlfriend elaborated. "so I didn't worry about it. It's a little weird, but... I don't know."

Running my fingers through her hair, I debated how to word this without this possibly escalating into a fight that I really don't want to have with Silena so soon after finally getting together.

"Well duh, none of us have gone to college," I responded, thinking to myself for a moment before continuing. "Um, so you knew that he was lying, right?"

Silena sat up, the question catching her off guard, which seemed fair.

"I... What?"

"Well not like..." I started, offering a hand that I was extremely glad she still took. "Do you remember a month or two ago now when you went into the city for the day?"

Confused, Silena nodded her head.

"Of course, Chiron wouldn't let you get out of your activities for the day. Why?"

"Yeah because he's homophobic," I said back, which got her to smile. "Not actually, but... Not long after that, a week or two later I think, we were hanging out between dinner and campfire near Thalia's Tree and you did this really... Weird thing when we'd been leaving and I can't even describe what it was because I didn't see half of it because it took me a second to realize that you weren't walking next to me, but it was..."

I lost my voice for a moment, not knowing what I wanted to hear for an answer.

"Not long after that was when we started to realize that the tree was sick and that monsters had started to get in," I finished the thought for my girlfriend to hear. "And I didn't think anything of it at first because like, a lot of people go over by the tree, but then after running into Luke... He didn't seem all that confused or thrown off until he saw that I was with you, and maybe I'm just connecting things that don't need to be connected but did..."

Pursing my lips, I looked down at our hands before looking back up.

"Did you poison the tree?" I questioned. "Did you and Luke somehow plan to poison it because like... I don't even know why, maybe because he thinks that would somehow let her soul rest or... Why?"

Taking a breath, Silena exhaled and relaxed. Definitely thinking a little too hard about what she could say.

She opened her mouth, maybe debating if she could lie about it, before remembering that she's talking to me— the one person she can't really lie to.

"I... Remind me about how you're feeling about your dad again?"

I raised an eyebrow because that was definitely not relevant to the question at hand.

"That's not relevant right now, babe," I pointed out. "I promise I won't get mad, I just... Want to know. I'm not going to snitch— I'm not Annabeth."

Silena smiled, but I couldn't tell if it was a happy smile or not.

"It's more relevant than you'd think," she promised me, squeezing my hand for reassurance. "As for Thalia's Tree..."

She let out another breath, rolling her eyes.

"It wasn't Luke's idea originally, but he brought it up," my girlfriend confessed. "he insisted that he knew that there was a cure for it— he wasn't going to just let the camp get overrun by monsters and let everyone die. He told me about the Fleece about a week or so later— apparently Percy mentioned it to him when Grover first made their mental link. Told me to make sure that either Percy or I got a quest to go get it— but probably Percy, since... You know.'

But for a totally different reason, I found myself unable to respond.

It was a lot to take in, sure. Knowing that Silena did poison the tree with the intention to heal it again...

"Wh... Percy and Luke still talk?"

Silena shrugged.

"Apparently Luke found some of his stuff mixed in with some of stuff that got mixed between him and Travis, so he brought it to Percy's apartment not long after summer ended and Luke agreed to keep training him during the off season," she filled me in, which did actually make sense, knowing the two of them. "But then Percy didn't get the quest, and you're too stubborn to agree to somebody helping you, so I'm here now. I still adore you, but you're stubborn."

"I— okay and?" I responded, which got her to smile a little more happily this time. "If Luke had a cure ready, why poison the tree? What's the point? I don't get it.'

Silena sighed, looking at our hands as she spoke.

"He thinks, or maybe was convinced, that if the tree is poisoned and then healed again, it might... Revive Thalia? Like, basically bringing her back from the dead?"

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out, though.

Why would somebody else want to bring Thalia...

Like I get that Luke misses her, but he had seemed content with what had happened in the last two or three years I'd known him. It was still sensitive, but it felt like it had turned into a nostalgia thing.

And if it wasn't originally his idea, then what would bringing back the daughter of Zeus...

"Oh." I said, the dots starting to connect. "They... Who's... They're trying to speed the prophecy up?"

Silena shrugged.

"It's a gamble, but maybe? That or they're really hoping that she'll join them, because if they can get a child of the Big Three on their side..."

"On... Hold on, back up," I said, glancing to the door that leads above deck, making sure nobody was coming for this conversation. "Who's side? Who's trying to speed this up? It's not my dad, is it? I know he was involved in stuff last summer, but... He was a middle man, wasn't he? A demigod stole..."

I connected another dot.

"... Luke." I solved that mystery. "Luke stole the Bolt and framed Percy. Wh... Does Percy know that?"

"Oh, yeah, he learned that a long time ago, apparently," but Silena confirmed that she knew Luke stole the Bolt as well. "I didn't know about that while it happened, I only learned about it last month but... Yeah. Luke took it, your dad intercepted and Luke was able to convince him to hold onto it for a while. And Luke didn't get the chance to frame Percy— Thalia's dad did that on his own."

"I— okay. But why? Why steal the Bolt or poison the tree or... Continue to train Percy? What's the point?"

With a sad smile, Silena gave me a kiss on the temple before answering my question.

"I don't know if you'll get it," she started, which I... Didn't like. "You've like, always worshipped your dad, but it's just... Our parents suck, Clarisse."

Our parents?

She paused, looking down before meeting my gaze again.

"They... They have us and then make up a law so that way they can be deadbeats," she continued on. "So they can dump us onto our mortal parents to give them absolutely no support and set us up for failure in almost every feasible way— just to be told we'll be lucky to live long enough to go to college. And once we're in college? We get no more help. It's..."

She swallowed, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Our friends die, and we're supposed to just... Be okay with that?" My girlfriend said, which was a decent point. "Or we're supposed to just accept that we'll probably die or that... That were dogs to them. Pawns in games they should keep to themselves. It's not... Fair, it's not..."

I squeezed her hand.

"It's not like we want to tear down Olympus, I promise that that's not the point of this," she promised me, sounding desperate for me to understand that. "We're not... We're not destroying Olympus, because without it, we don't have Western civilization and as bad as it is, it's also good and we just... Want the gods to realize that they've made some shitty decisions and to change those decisions so that way kids don't like, feel like they should kill themselves because not only have they never met their godly parent, but once they're claimed, they learn it's hopeless to ever meet them. And if they do meet them... They're not parents. Luke met Hermes once, before he ran away, and his dad managed to both say that he was proud of Luke and that he didn't care enough about Luke to help him and his Mom out because it wasn't his fault that she was fucked in the head. Percy met his dad and the dude called Percy a wrongdoing in front of him and then apologized for the fact that he was born, to him. I met my mom once and all she did was make me feel dirty and like, wrong, for not wanting to be a serial dater and like it... She wasn't homophobic, but sometimes I think the conversation would've been better if she just was. I've never... Heard of a good story about demigods meeting their parents— maybe with the exception of Mr. D's kids."

"But Mr. D is also forced to be at camp," I concluded that thought. "Yeah, my dad wasn't... Super nice when we talked yesterday. I hadn't really thought about it since we were attacked and then the island stuff happened but... You guys have a plan then? Who is Luke working with?"

"Who... Well, a decent amount of demigods who either aren't at camp anymore for one reason or another," she listed off. "And then uh... You could call him Father Time, I guess? It's weird because the goals of Kronos and our goals aren't the same, but we don't... Have the ability to get the gods attention on our own so... There's also a financial backer to the whole situation, but Luke doesn't deal with that, so..."

When I tell you my eyes damn near popped out of my head when she said the name that started with a K, I'm serious.

"You... Like, the Titan? I'm sorry, is he crazy?"

Silena debated the idea.

"I mean... I can tell you that he has a plan that'll keep Percy alive if the prophecy unravels on his birthday," Silena promised me. "Or will keep him alive regardless. Trust me, the Titan won't like it."

I raised an eyebrow, afraid to hear more, but desperate to know how Luke intended on keeping the son of Poseidon alive.

"Tell me more."

"Promise not to tell anyone else?"

With my free hand, I held out a pinkie.

"Pinkie swear," I insisted. "And if you guys need more support... I'll see what I can do."

Silena smiled, intertwining our pinkies and touching our thumbs together.

"I'll pass the message along— but you might hate this idea."

"It can't be that bad."

"Oh, no," my girlfriend promised, leaning against me once more. "it's a lot worse."

•••

let's go lesbians let's gooooo (ao3 won't let me insert so here's a link to them):

Clarisse + Silena Drawing

Chapter 38: You Are Your Mother's Daughter, But I'm Not My Father's Son

Percy Jackson

I had to stop Annabeth from jumping overboard and potentially drowning herself.

To her credit, she didn't do it for the same reason I would've tried to have done that if I weren't a son of the sea bastard. But the reason it did happen is the same reason why we can't get along for longer than a week at a time: she's convinced that she's built different.

Spoiler alert: she's not. Which is why I had to stop her from jumping overboard. If Hylla and Tyson hadn't noticed her walk by them, I probably would've had to of gone in the water to get her.

For context, we'd been sailing near some sirens on an island not too far from where we should be stopping to get Grover and the Fleece. When we'd heard the music, Annabeth said that it must be sirens, and so we all started to plug our ears: grabbing wax or actual ear plugs to do so.

Annabeth, on the other hand, asked us to tie her down so she could listen to the song.

After reconfirming that she really wanted to do that about five times, we agreed to tie her down and then plugged our own ears so we couldn't hear it. Annabeth confirmed for us that she was stuck and couldn't get out just by wiggling.

So, after all that, you can imagine my surprise when I saw her walking towards the railing of the boat, passing by Hylla and Tyson— the two of them playing a game of Uno together.

What is she doing?

Running to the daughter of Athena, I managed to grab her arm as I saw her lift a leg as if she were going to climb overboard.

Turning around, looking absolutely enchanted, Annabeth seemed confused by the physical contact. She said something, but I wasn't well versed enough in lip reading to decipher the message.

"I can't hear you!" I reminded the slightly older demigod. "what are you doing? The currents are too fast and the water is insanely cold, you can't swim in that for long. Even if you don't drown, you'll get hypothermia! There's no way to crawl back up, and we're miles from the shore."

The music she mouthed very slowly and dramatically for me.

"Wh— Annabeth, it's sirens!" I reminded her. "They historically eat men, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind eating a woman. You've already heard some of the music, plug your ears or go belowdeck."

She protested, backing again near the railing while she spoke too fast for me to understand.

"Annabeth, you can't jump overboard! You'll die if—"

She jumped.

And, being possibly the only person who wouldn't try going to save her (Tyson might also survive, but we haven't tested his ability to breathe underwater), I was forced to jump after her.

Thankfully, we did never hit the water: Hylla was able to grab my ankle as I was able to get a grip on Annabeth's arm.

The daughter of Athena looked up at me as she dangled in the air, ten feet above the water. Her expression was desperate— but not for me and Hylla to save her from falling.

Desperate for us to let go.

As she tried to thrash away, a scene flashed in my head— what I imagined Annabeth was envisioning thanks to the sirens song.

In a park that looked similar to Central Park, Annabeth was having a picnic with her parents (Athena and her Dad, no step-mom in sight), her two little brothers, Luke, and a girl closer to our age than Luke's with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. She didn't look familiar, and for half a second I debated if Annabeth had a girlfriend back at home that I would know about before I noticed the knife that was strapped to her thigh.

It wasn't unique, but it was made out of celestial bronze, which meant she was a demigod.

And although we'd never met, something about her seemed familiar. The dark hair and those eyes...

It was Thalia Grace.

This was the family Annabeth wanted to have.

As the ate together and enjoyed each other's company, I was able to see what surrounded them: a city that I was able to recognize only thanks to a few buildings.

Annabeth had redesigned New York— leaving a few landmarks and buildings that she must've enjoyed. The Empire State Building being one of them.

As Hylla and Tyson helped pull us back on board, I immediately found myself collapsing on deck as the adrenaline rush from jumping overboard left my body. I lost Annabeth's vision as well, no longer making contact with her, but I could still imagine it.

Did Annabeth come on this quest for Grover? Or for Thalia?

Does she think the Fleece will bring Thalia back?

Regardless of the answer to that, which I tried not to think too much about since I really don't know a lot about the Golden Fleece, one thing was abundantly clear: our opinions on our parents are very different.

With Clarisse, after what happened between her and her dad, I'm sure that Silena could eventually tell her about what's happening with Luke. If Clarisse ever mentions being upset or irritated with her dad or the gods after this quest, especially.

But Annabeth definitely worships her mom still.

It amazes me, honestly. That after six years and two quests, Annabeth still wants to meet her mom and make her mom proud.

I couldn't wrap my mind around it.

Maybe, when I'm older, I might feel different about my birth father. I'll be less angry.

But I don't ever see myself wanting him to be in my life.

After all, I've never wanted him to be there. He chose to leave and to not show himself in the ways that he could, and for that, he lost his son.

If he cared, I wouldn't have to be here right now.

If my father gave a rat's ass about me, he wouldn't have left us poor and he wouldn't have let me go on a quest with no training, knowing that it was a suicide mission.

If he cared at all, he would've at least wished me a happy birthday.

I'm not even sure he knows when my birthday is.

Does Annabeth realize how little our parents care?

Or does she just think that she could somehow make her mom care?

But, Percy, I can hear somebody asking. Isn't that what you, Silena, and Luke are trying to do? Make your parents care?

And honestly? No. It's not.

Because here's the thing: you can't force somebody to care. We're not asking the gods to care about us because we know that they never have and probably never will.

Instead, were reminding them that when they don't care, and when they decide to treat us like disposable pawns in their games, we won't think of them as our parents. And with that bond gone, they then become a system that we must up-end.

For the gods that only have one or two kids, I don't doubt that they have the ability to care for their kids. And I hope that what we eventually do allows them to once again show that love to their kids.

But for most of the gods, it's going to be a rude awakening. One that's centuries years overdue.

•••

"Hey," Annabeth said, earning my attention a while after we'd sailed past the sirens. "sorry about the scene earlier— we probably should've de-armed me. Thanks for jumping after me."

I shrugged.

"It was that or let you get hypothermia and drown," I reminded the daughter of Athena as she sat down next to me in the crows nest. I'd been up here for the last hour or so, just hoping to see the island my best friend was stuck on. "And no matter how much or what we argue about, I'm not just going to leave you to die. I have to admit, that's not what I pictured Thalia looking like, though."

Annabeth did a second take at the mention of the daughter of Zeus.

"You... You saw my vision?"

I nodded.

"I didn't hear any conversation or anything, just saw the scene. The city looked cool."

She smiled, but seemed reluctant to do so.

"Thanks?" Annabeth responded. "I uh... Yeah, sorry. I didn't realize you saw it, too. It's stupid, really, but it's just... My family, you know? In some alternate reality, that would've been my life and I just... Keep thinking of ways that I could make it happen. That's the hubris, I guess. Pride. Whatever you want to call it. Thinking I could have all of that, even though Thalia isn't even... Alive anymore."

"Your step mom wasn't there." I noted.

This was met with an eye roll.

"Yeah, because my step mom and I get along famously," she retorted. "We can't stand each other, she hated that I went back home this year. You never wanted your parents back together?"

"My par..." But in my brain, my parents are my mom and my dad— no gods in that picture (well Gabe is a demigod, but still). And they are still together. In couple therapy, actually, and trying to have a kid. "oh, like my mom and my bio dad? No, never. But I also always thought of Gabe as my dad, not my stepdad, so... Different situations."

"Oh." She she responded flatly. "I guess that makes sense— you didn't know who he was until last year. I just know that a lot of demigods want that at least at some point in their life. That was Thalia, though, you recognized her. I'm sure that if she somehow came back to life she'd look a little different—older, obviously. She was two years younger than Luke, so she'd be 17 now. We're... We're older than her now."

I raised an eyebrow.

"We are?"

Annabeth nodded, looking in the distance.

"She was 12 when she died." She told me. "That's why Grover made those comments about you being in sixth grade and being 12 when you got to camp— if you remember any of that, I'm sure you heard him say it to himself before then, too. She was 12, Luke was 13, turning 14 soon. I was 7. Now I'm 13, almost 14, Luke is 20, and she's still 12."

There was a pause.

"Unless the Golden Fleece somehow resurrects her," Annabeth finished. "but I'm not letting myself think about that seriously. It's a fun idea, but... It's not very realistic. She was my big sister, and now I'll forever be bigger than she ever was. It's... Unfair."

"Most things are," I agreed with her last statement. "It's okay to miss her, though. To hope that some miracle could happen. We're literally the children of gods, miracles aren't unrealistic."

"Just uncommon," she said, taking another breath before fully calming down. "Like I said, it's an insane dream, but... It's a dream. Some of it is real, and some may never be. Who knows, maybe one day Luke and my dad will meet each other. I don't know if my parents would get back together— even though my dad is obviously still in love with her, but we could still have a meal together, right? Maybe when I'm getting ready to leave camp and move on to college or something."

"If we live that long," I commented, which earned a side eye from Annabeth. "What!? I'm just saying— we're demigods. Things happen. You probably shouldn't be as concerned as I should be, but like... You're also on this quest."

Debating, Annabeth conceded my point before reminding me that the prophecy doesn't mean that I'm going to die in two years.

Just that I could.

As convincing as she tried to be, it was fairly obvious that she thought that I was going to die, though.

"Who else knows?" I asked the daughter of Athena. "About the prophecy?"

"Generally speaking? Most kids know there's a prophecy involving a kid of the Big Three," she answered, standing back up. "who's actually read it? Me, Luke, and Grover. Maybe Clarisse, but I don't think so. It's hard to tell how much people have overheard over the years because we're not supposed to talk about it, but... Yeah. The three of us. Why?"

"Okay, so..." But the answer really only raised more questions. "I was just wondering. I assumed Luke knew, but Grover... Hm. He read all of it?"

She nodded her head.

Which raised the question: why would he create a mental link with me if he knows when I'm supposed to die?

"Speaking of which," Annabeth said, pointing in the direction we'd been sailing all day. "we're here. Come on, let's go reunite you with your boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes.

"One day I'll find out you have a crush," I insisted, standing up myself to get down from the crows nest. "And when I do? You're never going to hear the end of it."

She responded with a shit eating grin.

"I know." She said. "But until then, you and Grover aren't going to know a moment's peace between me, Clarisse, and Silena."

"Or," I suggested. "You could stay out of it."

"We could," Annabeth agreed. "But we won't. Come on, let's go kick some cyclopes ass."

Chapter 39: Nobody Is Able To Stop The Wedding

Notes:

this chapter goes out to the fact that Percy canonically calls Grover his lifeline in chalice of the gods (I read all of it today)

Grover Underwood

After being trapped in a cyclopes lair for weeks, it was extremely alarming to hear a female's voice.

Sure, I knew that Clarisse was given a solo quest for the Fleece, and I knew Annabeth was with Percy so I knew that eventually, I should expect it.

It didn't change the fact that I didn't recognize the voice initially, without a face to go off of.

"You know, I'm just so weak," the voice said from the other end of the cave. "and you don't want a little lady dying to Nobody, do you? That would be a horrendous fate to give to a helpless girl."

Who is that?

I knew them, obviously, but I couldn't place who it was.

"No, that would be really bad," Polyphemus agreed. "I hate Nobody! Here, let me let you into my cave. You can talk with my bride! We're getting married tomorrow! I'm protecting her."

Grabbing my bag, I walked closer to the cave entrance, hoping that I understood what the plan was right now.

"Oh, of course. I'll make sure to introduce myself. Don't let Nobody get to you, okay? You're a strong cyclopes."

"I am! Look!"

Polyphemus for the cave door/rock half way open before I heard somebody else yell.

"POLYPHEMUS! IT IS I, NOBODY. I'M BACK TO SETTLE A SCORE WITH YOU."

It was Annabeth.

"Wh— NO! GET OUT OF HERE, NOBODY!"

And just like that, my captor marched towards the sound of Annabeth's voice.

"NEVER! YOU'VE TAKEN WHAT WAS RIGHTFULLY MINE, POLYPHEMUS! AND NOW I, NOBODY, AM HERE TO TAKE IT BACK!"

"Wh—" I tried to figure out what was happening as I realized who stood in front of me now. "Silena, oh my gods, hi. What... Are you doing here?"

"Making sure you make it back on board," she insisted, motioning to a ship docked on the far end of the island— across the rope bridge that I really didn't want to have to cross. "Come on, the bridge isn't as bad as it looks. The others are getting the Fleece."

"Wh— the others? Who exactly? Are you here with Clarisse?" I asked, following her out of the cave, staying out of sight from Polyphemus.

"Hm? I mean, yeah, technically, Clarisse and I are on a quest." She confirmed for me as we stopped for a moment behind a large boulder to map out the route back to the ship. "Clarisse was given a solo quest, but over my dead body was she going alone so..."

I smiled, sending the pool of warmth that inhabitated Silena when she talked about the daughter of Ares.

"Aw, how sweet," I said, genuinely. "Have you told her yet?"

"Have I...?" The question confused her at first, but after a few seconds, Silena got the meaning. "oh, yeah, I did. I'm sure you get it, being a satyr and all, but it's hard to tell when other people are aware of their own feelings since I can just sense them so I waited for her to figure it out herself. It's only been a few days, but it's been nice. Clarisse is my girlfriend now. If you want, I can tell you more later, but here's the plan."

Pointing to some blind spots, Silena mapped out the plan from here to the ship for me. In the distance, I could see Clarisse, Percy, and a... Baby cyclopes trying to manage the sheep quietly enough to get the Golden Fleece. The baby cyclopes was able to distract most of them, but Percy was having to fend off a couple of them while Clarisse got the glittering hide of gold from the tree it'd been placed on.

"Where are—" Polyphemus began as he turned and saw the herding show happening by the Fleece. "MY SHEEP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY SHEEP!?"

Silena grabbed my arm.

"That's our cue," she insisted. "Let's get out of here."

And off the two of us went— around the field, across the bridge, and up the ladder to the ship.

I've never climbed a ladder that fast before.

Or run, for that matter.

"Oh, hey, you got him b—" but on deck stood two girls that I for sure had never met before, and I was worried that we somehow got on the wrong boat.

They both paused.

"Back," the younger of the girls finished. "Were you always half goat?"

"Was... Yes, I'm a satyr," I answered. "Can I ask who you two would be? I don't believe we've ever met."

"Your beliefs are correct," the older girl confirmed. "I'm Hylla, this is my sister Reyna. Your friends found us on an island, we'd been working for a sorceress with no means of escape. They offered us refuge, implying that we are half god. You guys have quite the crew— a satyr, a cyclopes, and some demigods."

"Yeah..." I agreed, looking at Silena. "What's the cyclopes bit about? Last I checked, Annabeth still hated them. They freak me out."

Silena just smiled.

"Well this one is uh... Different," she promised. "A child, actually. Maybe like 7 in terms of human development? I don't know how he got to camp really, but he's technically a son of Poseidon so... He's Percy's brother. He'll probably tell you—"

"GRAB THE MEDIC KIT!" We heard the others yell as they started to cross the hanging bridge— Percy and Tyson carrying Clarisse between them as Annabeth ran behind them, still keeping Polyphemus at a distance.

"We'll lower the ramp so it's easier," Reyna told Silena and I. "go grab a pillow and blanket for her as well— it looks like she might have to lay down."

Not having any other direction, Silena told me she'd grab the medic kit and told me that all of the sleeping supplies were below deck.

Running down, I grabbed the first pillow and blanket I could before going back up. Hearing footsteps on the now lowered ramp, I made it back just in time to provide Clarisse was a place to very slowly lay down.

She winced a lot in the process.

"What happened?" Silena asked as she rushed back over. "Are you okay, Clarisse? What hurts?"

"It... It's fine," Clarisse insisted, going for a smile that she seemed to be hoping would melt Silenas fears away, but it didn't quite do the job. "it's just a couple ribs, I swear. They'll heal— but I might not be able to do for the rest of the quest. Not alone, at least."

"Are you sure? We obviously have ambrosia and nectar and we'll get you some, but if you need anything else—"

Clarisse put a hand on her girlfriend's arm.

"Sil, I'll be alright," she promised. "just help me get belowdeck and then I promise to have as much ambrosia and nectar as my body will take. We have to get going."

The daughter of Ares looked at Percy.

"Oh, yeah! On it!" He insisted, closing his eyes as some of the sails and gears on the ship started to move, sailing us away the beach we'd been docked at.

"Come on, Tyson," Annabeth said to the baby cyclopes (he's so much smaller than any other cyclopes I've encountered). "Let's go see if there's any peanut butter in the kitchen. We can get this bad boy stored away, too."

Peanut butter?

"Oooh! Peanut butter! Tyson likes peanut butter," but I guess the idea worked. As Hylla and Reyna helped Silena get Clarisse downstairs, Annabeth and Tyson (did I forget that he was a cyclopes? Percy definitely mentioned Tyson to me before) made their way below deck in front of the group as I'm sure that's where all the food was. They also had the Golden Fleece with them, carefully folded up in Annabeths arms.

That left Percy and I.

After a moment, he opened his eyes, the ship probably on course, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Hi." I said.

The son of Poseidon blinked, definitely processing the fact that I was on the ship.

After a count of three, I was tackled onto my back by my best friend who was hugging me tighter than I've ever been hugged before.

I missed him so much.

He's here he's here he's here he's here oh my gods he's actually here, he's—

"I'm here," I responded out loud as the two of us sat up, though not moving far from one another. "How does it feel to have crashed your best friend's wedding?"

Percy laughed, because yeah: I was still in a wedding dress.

"I think you look wonderful in that dress," he respond, his mind running at a million miles an hour, but with happy thoughts. "It's a shame I don't have a suit with me."

It was nice to know he was happy. That didn't happen a lot last year.

I smiled again.

"We could've made fake wedding invites," I joked, putting my hands out because it just... Felt like a natural thing to do. "Instead of saying just got married or engaged or whatever, it could say just avoided marriage."

He laughed, and I realized how long it had been since I'd heard him laugh.

It's not like I've never heard him laugh— we're best friends and we lived together for an entire year after all.

But it wasn't something I came by often.

As I'd sensed in Silena earlier, I could feel a warm pool start to flood in my stomach, spreading throughout the rest of my body. As it rose, it threatened to drown me as the pool filled my lungs, but I was okay with that.

It was a nice feeling.

Scary, but nice.

I'm pretty sure this is what love is supposed to feel like.

"You're too much, Grover," Percy insisted, taking my hand as he leaned towards me. "in all of the best way possibles. I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too, Perce," I responded, feeling the pool rise around my heart— causing it to speed up. "thank you for coming to save me. I'm sorry that I was gone so long— it definitely wasn't the plan."

I caught him glancing down before looking me in the eyes again.

"I'd do it a million times again if I had to," he told me, which... Sounded a little fruity, if you ask me. I could see him searching for something as he looked at me, though I couldn't tell you what it was he was trying to find. "you were following a really big lead— you'll find him next time."

Looking down, I realized that that was going to have to be a discussion with Mr. D.

"If they give me a next time."

"Hey," Percy said, rubbing his thumb along my cheek, which was both a wonderful and terrifying thing for him to do at the present. "they'd be idiotic not to, okay? You've recruited some of the most powerful demigods ever and you survived being trapped by a cyclopes."

"You had to come save me."

He rolled his eyes.

"You could've dug your way out if I wasn't able to come," my best friend figured, which was true. "You still went multiple weeks without getting injured at all— that's huge, right? You should be proud."

Percy paused, allowing time for that idea to set in.

"Plus," he added on. "if they don't let you go, you can always just sneak out. What are they going to do? Stop you? You're already gone."

I chuckled at the idea, knowing that that's something he'd totally do.

Or, technically, it's something he did do. He wasn't granted a quest from Mr. D.

"You have a point, though I don't know if I'm very good at sneaking out," I reminded him, tilting my head into his hand because I enjoyed the feeling of it there. "I tried to be slick about it once at Yancy and you overheard me talking to Chiron, remember?"

"It's okay, I'd help." Percy promised me, still searching for something in my expression. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"The mental link," he said, which is a topic I knew we'd have to talk about because it's a... Very personal thing to have with another person. "You created it, right? Like, on purpose?"

I nodded my head, telling him that I'd created it between us seeing as I had no other way to contact him since I had no way to IM.

"Okay, that makes sense," Percy figured out loud. "But why... It can't be severed, right? It's like, a lifetime thing, isn't it?"

Again, I nodded.

"There's no way to get rid of it that I know of," I confirmed. "sorry, I know it's a lot and I should've asked beforehand. Our souls are kind of intertwined now. But I'm sure we can ask the other satyrs if they know—"

"Wh— what? Oh, no, that's not my question, Grover." My best friend reassured me, which stopped me from rambling very effectively. "I think the mental link is nice."

"O... Okay. What's the... Question then?"

Percy looked down and closed his eyes for a moment before returning his gaze towards me.

"Why did you make a mental link with me?" He questioned in a tone that was much calmer and more curious than I'd expected from what would eventually happen with this subject. "if you knew that I was more than likely going to be dead in two years?"

"If you were..."

I lost my voice, our hands dropping together from my face back down near the floor.

Did he hear the prophecy?

"Who told you that?"

He gave me a saddened smile.

"I... Sort of figured out that there was something about me a while ago," Percy explained as I cupped his face in my right hand. He smiled not as sadly, but only briefly. "That why I asked you about Thalia last summer, but I figured nobody would say anything. Travis mentioned a prophecy, but he didn't know anything outside of the fact that one existed. At the start of the quest I was able to get the info from Annabeth, Luke, Clarisse, and Silena. And obviously, I might not be the hero that dies because those are two different lines apparently, but there's still like... A higher than normal chance."

He paused.

"So why?" He asked again. "you've heard the prophecy, Grover, right? Why would you basically give yourself a death sentence by making a mental link between us?"

"Because," I insisted, turning the reasoning around on him. "I've heard the prophecy, Percy— and as depressed and as careless as you can be, I'm not going to let myself mourn you until you actually die. I'd be a really bad best friend if I treated you like a walking corpse. Plus, Thalia did have a younger brother— we don't know how old he is. So you may not even be the prophecy child. And even if your birthday is the one that unravels the prophecy, Percy, I'll be there with you the whole day."

"And if it kills you?"

I smiled.

"Then I'll spend my entire next life looking for you again. It wouldn't be worth living it without you."

Percy looked like he couldn't decide if he wanted to cry or laugh when I said that.

It's okay though, because I was trying to decide the same thing for myself.

"That is... The gayest response could've possibly had," my best friend told me as a tear or two might've come out because big feelings sometimes pull that out of you— even if it's not necessarily sad. "I can't believe you right now."

Taking a breath, Percy seemed to steady himself.

"Do you remember at the end of last summer," he recalled. "When we were saying goodbye, you gave me a kiss? On the top of my head."

I may have turned a bit pink at the memory.

That had definitely surprised both of us, but I couldn't tell how Percy felt about it beyond the surprised factor so I just... Never brought it up.

"It's hard to forget. I was mortified and very surprised. Why?"

"I think about it a lot," he admitted, and I was pretty sure I knew what he meant by that, but I didn't feel safe to assume anything right now. "It also surprised me, but not in a... Bad way, I guess you would say? I wasn't really out, though, so I get why you might've been kind of anxious. It was an interesting time, that's for sure. I don't really know..."

Stopping, Percy took a breath.

"I don't know how any of this stuff actually works," Percy confessed, placing his open hand over the one I'd been using to cup his face. "I don't know how to bring it up nonchalantly after that— can I please just give you a kiss?"

I couldn't help but smile, squeezing his hand.

"Only if I can give you a million of them afterwards."

He smiled back at me.

"I think I can work with that."

Notes:

Another piece of art for this chapter <3

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzSoAr3u9uj/?igsh=ZG1jMjNsOHB4ZnBk

Chapter 40: Why Are Romans And Greeks Different?

Percy Jackson

We shared so many little kisses that afternoon it was sickening. A younger version of me would've been embarrassed and covering his eyes every time we kissed.

Oh, and when we docked at Camp Half Blood the next day, Clarisse threw our asses into the lake because of tradition or whatever.

Annabeth was two steps ahead of me, thankfully, and shoved Silena and Clarisse in after us.

As the two of us went underwater, I made sure to create an air bubble around Grover's head so that way we could share what I'm sure was the best underwater kiss of all time.

I'm going to be so insufferable to everyone else this summer— they're about to have a reason to hate me and to be homophobic.

Getting back to shore, we joined the camp as they made their way towards the other end of camp. Now soaking wet, Clarisse carried the Golden Fleece towards Thalia's Tree.

After all, it was her quest.

I don't always have to be the hero.

Approaching the pine that was dropping needles at a rate that we all knew wasn't healthy, Clarisse took a breath.

"I... I don't know why this happened to you, Thalia," Clarisse said, which was an interesting way to word it— I'd assumed she was going to mention that we didn't know who did it, but we'd continue to search for them. "But we're here now to heal you. Please accept the magic of the Golden Fleece to heal and protect our boundaries for years to come."

Gently, the daughter of Ares rested the Fleece along a handful of lower branches.

The camp fell silent as she stepped back, only the sounds of branches rustling and pine needles rushing to the ground filling the air as we all seemed to collectively catch our breath.

It's a fun idea, Annabeth had told me the other day when talking about Thalia coming back to life. But it's not realistic. I'm not letting myself think about it too much.

Yet, standing in front of me, she looked like she might explode if the daughter of Zeus didn't appear before her.

At first, the effects were subtle— the branches seemed to droop less and less needles were falling.

But then the color returned to them.

And, very rapidly, the needles started to grow as I caught Grover smile— even if the smile didn't make it all the way to his eyes.

"The borders have been restored!" Mr. D announced, fighting a smile if only to keep his façade up. Walking over towards the Tree, he placed a laurel wreath on Clarisse's head. "Clara returns victorious and successful— as we all knew she would."

He turned around to face the rest of us and I remembered something very suddenly:

We snuck out for this quest.

"As for the rest of you... Well, not Garfield. Welcome back, by the way. We'll discuss your mission later."

Grover nodded his head anxiously.

I need to talk to Mr. D about how anxious he makes Grover literally all the time. It's kind of mean.

"Sir, wait—" Clarisse interrupted the god of wine, stepping in next to him. "I know that the others weren't issued and approved to go with me in this quest, but I wouldn't have gotten both Grover and the Fleece back without them. Also, Percy was given an official quest by Hermes, so he shouldn't be in trouble regardless. But we should... Talk about this in the Big House."

"And why is that?"

"Well, you see, Mr. D," Silena picked up Clarisse's point, taking a step to the side to motion towards the two girls she'd been standing near. "We brought more than just Grover back with us."

The two of them stepped forward. Hylla bowed her head.

"It's an honor, sir, I've come to understand that you are Bacchus, one of the twelve Olympian gods." She began, which peaked the camp directors interest. "My name is Hylla, and this is my sister— Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. We come here seeking refuge and possible training."

For some reason, Mr. D's response to Hylla's introduction was to look at the Diet Coke he'd summoned into his hand moments before. He then looked back at her.

"Dionysus, not Bacchus— though I guess I'll excuse the misunderstanding," he responded. He made eye contact with the lot of us from the quest— which never gets to be less terrifying when you're reminded that his eyes are definitely purple, and returned his gaze back to Hylla. "Why do you all follow me back to the Big House. We have a lot to talk about."

Before walking, the god looked at Chiron's sub, who was presently trying to grab a donut that was running away from him.

"And you, get out of here." He insisted. "Tell the old man to come back— at least he knows how to play pinochle."

Tantalus scoffed.

"What? Why would I leave now? We just got the chariots—"

Mr. D snapped his fingers, and Tantalus vanished.

"What are you all looking at? This isn't new!" The god insisted, urging everyone behind us away. "go, scram! Afternoon activities and chores won't do themselves. We'll keep guard duty on just in case anyone tries to steal the Fleece or something happens to the tree again. Get out of here."

And, afraid of getting turned into a dolphin or a pinecone, the rest of the camp dispersed.

"Come on, brats," he insisted. "I have questions about what you've been doing this week and embarrassing conversations to have with most of you. Let's go, before my Diet Coke gets cold."

•••

Sitting around the ping pong table has never been something I've enjoyed doing.

Yet here we are. All around the table. Waiting for Chiron to return any moment now because I think Mr. D missed him more than he let on.

"So you're familiar with who I am, though we've never met," Mr. D said to the two new recruits. "Can you two some more of the gods for me? In my Pantheon."

"Hm? Uh, sure." Reyna said, sitting up a bit more. "Jupiter is the King of Olympus, his brothers are Neptune and Pluto. He's married to Juno."

"He's your dad," Hylla picked up. "Along with Apollo, Diana, and Miverna's. Oh, and Vulcan. Maybe Mars, though I don't recall for sure. Definitely not Venus and I'm also unsure about Mercury. Then there also like, Ceres and Bellona and a bunch of others. Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity," he insists as a centaur trotted in, definitely judging the atmosphere of the room before doing or saying anything. "What's your last name again? Who's your mortal parents?"

They shared a look before deciding that Reyna would answer.

"Well, our father is dead, but our last name is Ramirez-Arellano. We're from Puerto Rico. Bellona was a patron to our family, though, for many generations, if that helps."

He raised an eyebrow.

"A patron?"

Nodding their heads, Hylla insisted that centuries ago, one of their ancestors did something in military that Bellona approved of. She's helped their family every since, from a distance.

"Fascinating," the god responded, looking at his common law husband. "Do you hear that, Chiron? Bellona's patrons."

"Wait, sorry, pause," Silena interrupted the conversation. "Maybe I'm just drawing a blank here, but who is Bellona's Greek equivalent? I know we're like, using the Roman names right now, and I know a lot of them but..."

The old married couple shared a look.

"Don't worry, Silena, you're as wise as ever," Chiron reassured her. "Bellona doesn't have a Greek equivalent."

The centaur addressed the two new demigods in front of him.

"I don't know how," he insisted. "But I'm afraid we've found ourselves two Roman demigods."

"What... What do you mean Roman demigods?" A few of us asked.

"It's as plain as it sounds, children," he told us, which really didn't help the confusion. "You've somehow found and brought back two demigods who were meant to find another camp— I'll have to contact your recruiting services and warn them that there will be two demigods coming their way. I'm afraid we can't train you here."

"You— but why?"

"No, hold on, wait a gods damned minute," Clarisse interrupted, the language earning everyone's attention, but most notably Chiron's. "What do you mean find another camp? There's more than one camp? I thought this was the only place in the world where we were safe! Have you been lying to us?"

Chiron sighed.

"I haven't been lying—"

"Yes you have been, you old horse." Mr. D stopped him from digging his own shallow grave. "not maliciously or anything, but you have. Don't lie to them even further."

"So where...?" Annabeth asked.

"California, in the Bay Area to be exact." The god answered, instantly noticing Clarisse and Annabeth's reactions because that's so much closer to them than New York is. "BUT! Don't get excited. You're not welcome there. So don't even try."

"Wh... But we are?" Reyna questioned. "Why?"

"You're Roman," he filled in as I saw Chiron bite his tongue. "what? It's true. After the civil war, which was a massive fight between the Greek and Roman demigods, both demigods and gods agreed that some time apart would be needed for each side to heal. So even if the Roman campers believed your claims about being Greek, they wouldn't treat you kindly— Rome never liked Greece, after all. Their training is also extremely different than ours—you would all hate it."

"Wh— so we can't even try?" Annabeth asked. "Not even like... I live in the Bay Area. Or my dad does but... How would they even know I'm Greek? I know all the names of the Roman gods."

Mr. D scoffed.

"Minerva is a maiden goddess, Annabeth," Chiron filled her in. "we can't stop you from trying, but if you get in trouble with the Romans... The fundamentals of their camp are very different. I don't know if you'd enjoy it."

"Would I?" I asked. "Just like, out of curiosity."

"Percy, with your track record, you'd probably get arrested or put on probation in the Roman camp." Chiron told me, which was an interesting concept. Getting arrested at camp. "please, for everyone involved, never go to the Roman camp."

"But—"

"Romans also don't respect Neptune like the Greeks respect Poseidon," Mr. D added on. "so if you think kids don't like you here, they're going to hate you there. Just... Stay here, guys. What's so hard about staying at the camp that's made for you?"

"Oh, I'm not going— I don't like California," I reassured the camp director. "I just wanted to know why I wouldn't like it. If they treat satyrs shitty, though, I already wouldn't want to go. That's like stupid. I just spent like ten months without Grover and I'm not doing it again."

Mr. D just rolled his eyes before telling Reyna she Hylla that they could stay here for the night until Chiron and him got travel arranged for them to go to California.

"As for you, Amelia, you're free to do whatever you usually do at this time." The god told Annabeth. "Just don't sneak out again, it's really a hassle to call your parents and tell them you're missing. Serena and Cornelia, Chiron will talk to you guys in the entrance."

He locked sights on Grover and I.

"There's a talk that I need to have with my grandchild."

What does he want to...?

"Sir, should I—" Grover began, ever so softly.

"Oh, you stay, Gio." Mr. D answered immediately. "This is a conversation for both of you."

There was a beat of silence.

"Did I hesitate? Go away."

Following suit, our friends left us alone with a god that I think had malicious intent, if we're being totally honest.

But, as if my blood pressure wasn't continuing to rise, he just sat on the end of the ping pong table. I was a little surprised it held up, I won't lie.

I didn't dare say that out loud.

But the silence was unbearable.

What does he want to talk about with Grover? If it has to do with the mental link...

"If this is about me technically sneaking out of camp—"

Cutting me off, Mr. D— my grandfather, threw me a small box no bigger than a phone box or a small box of tampons.

"Those are for you," he told me, which felt like an odd victory gift since he seemed opposed to the quest and didn't have any wreaths or anything for us when we got back. "I'm pretty you took health class this year, yeah? It's not rocket science but—"

Why is he talking about health class?

Looking down, I was tasked with the burden of realizing what this box was for and why the logo looked somewhat familiar.

I dropped them on the ground.

"Oh my gods, Grandpa D!" I exclaimed, not even knowing how to properly respond to this because I'm not even 14 yet. "Wh... We're like, 13 and 14. Why?"

"Wh— I'm sorry that I don't know when it's normal for kids to start anymore," he responded defensively as I looked at Grover, who had read the box by now and was redder than the strawberries in the field— embarrassed. "I help run a camp of teenagers, Percy, I'd rather give you the box and have you not use it than to have to make an awkward phone call back home. But speaking of which—"

He pointed at the two of us.

"You can still have sleepovers— it's technically not against the rules," the god clarified, which I was glad to hear because that's a rule I would've broken anyways. "but if anyone reports anything; if I hear anything, I'm telling your dad every single detail."

And although it doesn't show as well being my complexion is darker than Grover's, make no mistake: I was just as red as was.

My jaw dropped.

"You wouldn't."

He smiled.

"I'd love to," my grandpa corrected me with a smug smile. "Not just getting to embarrass you, but to also embarrass my son with the details? I relish in the idea, so don't make me do it. So go, have fun or whatever. Don't forget the box if you're going to have that kind of fun."

Sighing, I made a point of grabbing the box off the ground and putting it in my bag because I'd rather die than have the whole camp see me carry this gift from Mr. D around for everyone to see.

"Anyways, welcome back," the god concluded. "We'll talk about your search at a later time, Grocery. I'm sure that Counsel with have plenty of questions, so I won't bother making you repeat yourself. Go be in gay love."

And then he vanished.

"Says the man who's in an open relationship with a man," I retorted, which got Grover to chuckle and relax a little. "Sorry that he's... Like that. I'm pretty sure Gabe paid him money to have that talk with me so that way he didn't have to do it. I didn't expect him to just give us a whole box of condoms, though."

Grover shrugged as the two of us walked out of the meeting room to witness Chiron giving the lesbian lovers that looked a lot more embarrassing and thorough than ours did with Mr. D.

Then again, Chiron is a teacher— he doesn't care if things are awkward. He'll just continue talking through it like he wasn't demonstrating how to put a condom onto a strap on at the moment.

Grover and I didn't stick around.

"I mean, Chiron and Mr. D always give the talk to most kids once they get word of a relationship," my best friend and now possibly more person said. "but I uh... Didn't expect it to be so soon? Like, I figured that in a week or two they'd pull us aside but... Nope. Did he not... Talk to you last summer then? Like, it was all new for me, but you mentioned that you and Travis were like, vaguely together, weren't you?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, but we were never official and Mr. D was also like, my sort of therapist last summer," I explained. "he knew the whole story and knew that we definitely weren't going to be having sex because like, we were 12. 13. I think he— Mr. D, like, softly asked about it once and I uh, said no and couldn't look him in the eyes for about three days after that. It was awful."

"He's the worst," Grover agreed as we made our way back to the cabins since campfire was already starting to wrap up. "But I uh... It feels weird to ask because we're literally best friends, but also like..."

For a moment, Grover lost his voice. Steering to the right, we headed towards his cabin not too far away from the demigod cabins— I've only been to it a few times before.

"Like we're holding hands. Right now," he continued, the nerves in his voice causing me to smile. "And also I sort of know the answer because we're literally at a camp that gives us a general daily schedule that we are supposed to follow, but I still want to ask because it feels like the nice and proper thing to do and like..."

He took a breath as I squeezed his hand for support.

"What are you doing tomorrow afternoon? Like, during lunch and in the afternoon."

I flashed him a smile.

"Well, if I'm understanding the question correctly, I think that I'm going on a date with my best friend." I responded, causing him to light up. "But regardless, there's really no way he's getting rid of me for the next week or so, so he'll have to get used to it."

Grover returned the smile.

"I think he'd love to have you as a guest for as long as you like to stay," Grover responded, opening the door to his cabin for me. "if you're willing to help dust his cabin."

Notes:

they're in gay love or whatever <3

Chapter 41: I'm Not The Only Demigod Who Will Mouth Off To A God

Percy Jackson

When I heard the words "emergency counsel meeting" at breakfast the next morning, I debated jumping in the lake and pretending to drown.

But seeing as Lee Fletcher, the counselor for the Apollo cabin, was already gone with Michael Yew— their head medic, I figured it might actually be important. So I scarfed my food down and made my way to the Big House with Annabeth and Grover.

"Somebody remind me how long ago we got back?" I asked the satyr and daughter of Athena.

"Um... 13 hours ago?" Annaberh estimated. "What did Mr. D want to talk to you about, by the way? After I left with Reyna and Hylla to show them the Hermes cabin? Oh, also, Travis was... Wanting to talk to you, Percy."

I groaned at both topics.

"Mr. D basically just threw a box of condoms at us and told us that he didn't want to hear it," I answered. "And what does Travis want to talk about? Because if his siblings pressured him into wanting to talk, I don't want to hear it. I already don't want to deal with it."

But whether it was because I forgot to mention it, or because he forgot about it, Grover looked confused as he stood between us.

"Wh... What happened with you and Travis? I know you guys were weird last summer but..."

"His siblings talked him into going to my cabin and like, he apologized for being so abrupt at the end of last summer," I filled him in. "basically asked to resume things as they were and I agreed to a date that went weirdly because that's when I found out that his siblings pressured him into it and then it was the world's longest day in existence and we had a disagreement that turned into a fight and he said some stuff that upset me, so I told him that I was leaving. After that, I ran into his dad, who gave me the quest. It's... Stupid and annoying and I don't want to go back and forth with him when you're literally right here. I swear there's nothing going on, I'm so over it."

Grover smiled.

"I can sense your dread, don't worry," he reassured me. "I think you might've told me about some of that, but I think I convinced myself it was a dream."

"I mean, it technically was, but it—"

"Wait." Annabeth said, dots connecting at an extremely delayed rate. She stopped where she was.

"What?" I asked her.

"Wh... Why did Mr. D give you a box—"

She cut herself off, stopping where she stood before just... Looking at us.

"I was joking when I called him your boyfriend the other day," she informed me. "You whores!"

"Hey! I've never been in a relationship before, you can't call me a whore." Grover insisted. "And why are you surprised? You've teased me, like, every single time we've talked in the last two and a half years about this exact situation."

"Because after it didn't happen last summer, I assumed you guys like, would never do it," Annabeth insisted, which was actually a fair point because had Clarisse not told me about how much Grover talked about me during our time at Yancy, I wouldn't have had the courage to kiss him on the boat. "That or after like, five years, you'd finally confess and get together and it'd be this whole thing after so long but..."

"But then I'd have to live another five years, and none of us have that kind of security in our lives." I finished. "Anyways, why do you think they called an emergency meeting? We just got back, I'm not missing our first date to save the world."

The other two shrugged, insisting that they've never been called in for an emergency meeting before.

Walking into the Big House, I'm starting to feel like I've spent more time here than in my own cabin this summer. We were the first counselors to arrive— Lee Fletcher wasn't in here, but Michael Yew was trying to bandage somebody's leg.

"Wh... Where's Andrew? Or Luke? Or Grover? I don't know how long I've been out, but they're definitely alive still. They have to be."

Annabeth froze in the doorway— my yearly reminder that she used to go by a different name.

But in comparison to with what happened with Circe, I don't think getting misgendered is what made her freeze up here, because Grover did as well— though only for a moment.

Sitting in a chair next to the couch in the Big House common area was a teenage girl with black hair and piercing blue eyes— dark blue, though. They weren't pale. She was wearing a leather jacket that looked really cool and some jeans that had rips in them. If they were ripped on purpose? I couldn't tell.

Basically, she was me but in a slightly different font.

"Who— Grover!" The girl recognized Grover almost immediately, shaking her leg so Michael would move. "I'm fine, leave me alone."

Running over, the girl pulled my best friend into a hug, and I caught a single thought from the link as Grover took the hug and slowly returned it.

How is she...?

And that's when it hit me.

"Thalia, I.... Oh my gods, you're here," Grover started, taking a step away to breathe. "You're here, you're..."

He exhaled.

"Luke isn't here anymore," the satyr told the daughter of Zeus, who seemed extremely confused. "he's fine! He's okay, last I heard, he's just... Older. He just turned 20, so he's doing college stuff. We can try and IM him, but if not, I trust your abilities to track him down. As for the other person you're looking for..."

Visibly overwhelmed, Grover motioned to Annabeth, who was in shock and also looked like she might break down at any moment.

"It's been a long time so some stuff has changed," Grover went on. "But this is the other person you're looking for— she goes by Annabeth now."

Thalia smirked, looking at Annabeth.

"Oh, hell yeah, dude," she said, not questioning it at all. "I always wanted a little sister. Get your ass over here."

The daughter of Zeus held an arm out for Annabeth, who managed to stumble towards her and get pulled into a hug before she broke down in tears.

"Grover, Perseus," Chiron said, motioning towards the conference room. "why don't we give them some space to reconnect?"

As I started to walk towards the conference room, I realized that Grover wasn't following initially.

He was just... Looking.. At Thalia.

Processing the fact that this wasn't a dream— that she was alive.

"Hey, G-man," I said, pulling him out of the trance. I held my hand out for him to take. "Let's give them some space. I'm sure you'll be able to talk to her after the meeting, okay?"

Taking a moment to process, Grover nodded his head and took my hand, though still seeming to be somewhat in his head as we walked into the room where Mr. D threw a box of condoms at me not too long ago.

•••
Annabeth Chase

Thalia wiped away a lot of my tears.

By the time I came to, Grover and Percy weren't in the room anymore, and I could hear a handful of people in the conference room chatting. The meeting hadn't started, though, because Chiron was talking with Conner Stoll at the front door, so some counselors weren't here yet.

"Are you good?" Thalia asked me after I had calmed down significantly.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded my head.

"Yeah I just... You're here." I responded, trying to steady myself. "I never thought I'd... Get to actually see you again, but... You're actually here! It's been like, a super long time, but you're here!"

She smirked, and I started to realize why I'd been initially drawn to Percy when he first came to camp (besides y'know, the fact that he defeated the Minotaur without a weapon):

Him and Thalia are a lot alike. Percy is just somehow more in touch with his emotions.

Then again, being a missing kid on the streets... You kind of have to develop a harder shell. To survive.

"I'm back," my big sister confirmed, messing my hair up. "How long has it been? Have you saved the world a bunch of times since I... Died? It felt more like a coma— I was never in the Underworld. Something definitely happened, though, because I almost died at the end. And then I... Woke up."

I sighed.

"Yeah, uh... Your dad turned you into a tree— we weren't sure if you were dead, but in every way that it mattered you were so... Luke was furious that your dad didn't just heal you." I started to explain, shrugging. "he's not here right now— he's on a like, cruise for college. But he misses you a lot. As for the almost dying bit, somebody poisoned your tree. We... Don't know who yet. I assume that's what this will be about. Also, so that way you can meet other campers that are like, in charge of the cabins. You're the only person in your cabin, so."

"My cabin?"

"Oh, yeah, were sorted by godly parents." I explained. "so I'm in the Athena cabin. You'd be in Cabin 1."

Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Because I want more attention because of who my dad is," but that sounded too familiar. "So did Jason never...? He's younger than you, I don't know how old people are when they usually come here. He would be... 12? 11, turning 12."

But before I responded, I tried to remember what Thalia had told me and Luke about her baby brother, Jason.

It wasn't much, because she didn't like talking about him, but there were a few stories.

"Wh... Same dad, right?"

She nodded.

"He called himself Jupiter the second time around, but yeah. Why?"

I opened my mouth.

"So we... That would make Jason Roman technically— which means that he's at a different camp." I answered. "We uh, accidentally found two Roman demigods and then were told that Roman and Greek demigods aren't the same apparently. They have their own camp out west in California. Chiron and Mr. D don't have an exact address, but it's in the Bay area. We're... Sending two demigods there because we found them on a quest and we found out they were Roman so... Yeah. Chiron might know."

"The Bay Area... Okay." She said, nodding her head. "I'll talk to him about it later. Where's the meeting were supposed to go to? Also, who was the boy with you guys? Your boyfriend or something?"

I rolled my eyes.

"If I was still cis, maybe," I retorted because I hate the fact that he's cute, even though he's incessantly annoying to me most of the time. "he's the other demigod Grover's recruited— a son of Poseidon, they're best friends and also a thing now, I think? It's his second summer here. He's... Annoying and stupid but also very nice."

She gave me a look as I realized I forgot a key detail.

"Oh, his name is Percy. He's from Manhattan. And the meeting is just in this room— I can show you because I also have to go."

Walking into the conference room, the normal groupings had gathered to talk and what not before the meeting: Silena, Clarisse, Beckendorf, and Michael Yew were all talking— primarily teasing the new couple, I imagine.

Grover and Percy were sitting next to each other, being subtle and as physical as they always have been with each other (Percy was currently resting his head on Grover's shoulder) while talking with Pollux— one of Mr. D's twin boys. They rotate who comes to meetings since it's just the two of them in the cabin.

Travis was talking with Katie Gardener in a way that made me feel bad for both of them— it was clear that he was sort of flirting and she was into it.

But he also kept glancing towards Percy, who didn't notice him at all.

So if he actually liked Katie or not was debatable.

"Wh... Yo, Annie," Travis called over to me. "Who's the girl with the uh... Creepy shield. The new Hunter of Artemis rep? Zoë too good for us?"

"I'm not deaf or mute, you can ask me yourself." Thalia answered Travis. "and ugh, not in the Hunt. I have a..."

She looked at me.

"Annabeth, how old am I?"

I did the math in my brain.

"Well according to your birth certificate you would be 17, turning 18 later this year, but... I don't know if you're actually that age."

"You don't... Fair, I suppose it's not like I know." she figured, turning her attention back to Travis. She put a hand out for him to shake and smirked.

"Name's Thalia Grace— daughter of Zeus."

The room fell silent as Travis' hand went limp in Thalia's.

"I'm sorry, you're... You're Thalia Grace? Like, the third person that Grover escorted and... You're Luke's girlfriend?"

"You must be his little brother?" Thalia presumed. "I wouldn't want to assume we're still an item— it's been quite a while since we've seen each other. But I was Luke's partner. Have you spoken with him lately? Annabeth mentioned he's in college?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, we just saw Luke a few days ago on our quest!" Clarisse cut into the concersation as Connor and Chiron walked into the conference room. "We ran into each other on a ship we snuck onto— he was on it for a class for his school, ecology or marine biology or something? It sounded really cool."

"And you believed him?" Connor questioned the daughter of Ares, who rolled her eyes.

"No shit, Stoll, why shouldn't I? That's a dumb thing to lie about."

"Are you still convinced that he's the one that poisoned the tree and stole the Bolt and whatever else?" Silena asked, which was a fair question because he wouldn't give it up.

"Do you have a better candidate?" Connor asked.

"Uh, yeah— anyone that was actually near the camp in the last 9 months," Silena snapped back at him. "maybe he could've stolen the Master Bolt, but I highly doubt it."

"Ditto," Percy backed Luke up, which was sweet since they aren't very close from what I saw. Not anymore, at least. They were last summer. "He gave us enchanted flying shoes to use on the quest, which ended up being a lot more useful than I expected. Why would he help us if he stole it?"

"Why— Percy," Connor reminded him, taking a breath. "Do I need to remind you that you were sent on that quest because you were framed."

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "Before I met Luke. He didn't frame me, Connor— Thalia's dad did. It's why Grover had to bring me here when he did. Or maybe it was Hades, I don't know, he sent monsters after me— but Luke didn't know about me yet. And on that point— why would Luke poison Thalia?"

"Well I suspect he'd do it for the outcome we've reached," Chiron spoke on the matter. "In hopes of bringing Thalia Grace here back to life. He knew somebody would have to find a cure, and probably bet that the cure would be strong enough to wake her up. Speaking of, welcome back, child. I am Chiron, the trainer and coordinator of Camp Half Blood."

Thalia nodded her head.

"Yeah, I heard," she said before spilling some news that she wasn't supposed to mention yet. "I was told that you might know where my brother is? In some Roman camp in—"

"We will discuss the matter of your younger brother later, Thalia."

But Chiron was about to learn a lesson for the first time in many years: you don't shut Thalia Grace down.

"No, we're going to discuss it now," she corrected the centaur, crossing her arms and silencing the others campers who'd started to converse with each other again. "This meeting is about me, isn't it? If you want to talk about me, you're going to do it on my terms, and you're going to tell me everything you know about Jason Grace."

Chiron smiled at her.

"Thalia, as I said, we can discuss the matter after this meeting," he repeated himself. "Please, take a seat."

She remained in her spot.

"No," she insisted. "From what I understand, this is a camp for children of the Greek gods, no? So at the very least, you can tell me where children of Roman demigods train. Or, if you know, and I'm sure you do if you want to avoid the topic, you could even tell me who took him when he was a toddler."

You could've heard a pin drop as the centaur and the only daughter of Zeus store at each other.

"I have no idea who—"

"Oh, give it up, old man." Mr. D cut in, rolling his eyes. "We don't know for sure, but I'd bet money that it was Juno. Two kids with the same mortal woman? That's an insult to her, she'd want something. And plus, she was fond of the original Jason. She's never confessed to the matter, though."

Thalia regarded him with a nod of the head.

"Thank you," she said. "do you know where he is now?"

He shrugged.

"I've been trapped here since before you died, girl— beats me. Chiron deals with that sort of stuff, not me. I just visit Olympus for meetings."

She looked back to Chiron.

"So where is he?"

"Honestly? I don't—"

"Lie to me again and I will leave to go find him myself."

The centaur pinched the bridge of his nose, saying something to himself in ancient Greek that wasn't loud enough for me to catch.

"If I were to guess, somewhere out west, but I don't know where he was brought or why he was taken." Chiron answered her question. "but you will stay for this meeting because it is important. Now please, child, seat yourself."

Though she was visibly not satisfied with his answer, Thalia followed his request and sat down between me and Grover.

"Well, I suppose there's no need for an introduction anymore," Chiron said. "But if you somehow missed it, this is Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. The Golden Fleece seemed to have worked a bit too well— we found her this morning at the base of the tree. Thalia, this is camps counsel— which you are a part of, being the only member in your cabin."

Going around the table, everyone introduced themselves with their name and parentage.

"Hey, important question," Percy threw out after he introduced himself since she already knew Grover and I. "how old are you? I know you're supposed to be like 17, but you were also a tree, so... How does that affect aging?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know, why? It's not that important, is it?"

"Oh, no, it's actually extremely important," Percy said very nonchalantly, which of course had the counsels attention because not everyone knows the prophecy.

Some of us do. More than before this quest, since Clarisse and Silena also now some of details now.

But I know for a fact that at least three of them have no idea. Charlie, Michael, and Katie Gardener are all clueless. It's probably why they weren't rude to Percy last summer.

"It is? Why?"

"It's not—" Chiron started.

But I think I'd die of shock if Percy or Thalia ever let somebody in authority actually speak, so Percy ignored him.

"Oh, yeah, there's this whole Prophecy that is the whole reason that our dad's aren't supposed to have kids," Percy filled my older sister in on this matter and I've never seen Grover as stressed as he was when he realized that Percy was just going to make this public information. "basically predicts what could be Olympus getting overthrown and the prophecy says it'll happen we turn... How old is it again?"

"Percy, you don't know—" Chiron tried again, and I'll give him an B+ for effort.

"Hm? Oh, sixteen." Clarisse answered.

"Sixteen, thank you," Percy said without a care in the world as the rest of the counsel looked like they were going to get ready to write their own wills after this meeting. "And so if you're older than me but not 16 yet, that's kind of important, you know? I don't know what'll happen, but if Olympus is threatened... it'd be nice to at least know when it'll happen so we can prepare. I'll be 14 in August. We also might die, but we might not, it's kind of up in the air."

"We..." Thalia said, processing this.

"Perseus Jackliano, who the hell told you about that?" And I don't know what threw me off more: the fact that Mr. D seemed to care, the fact that he not only got Percy's name right, but that he got his full first name right, or that he got his last name wrong.

"Who... Do you think I didn't figure most of it out myself?" Percy questioned his grandpa. "My dad, your son, looked at me like a walking corpse when I told him who my sperm donor was. Everyone in the camp excluded me from everything only after I was claimed. That was enough to figure out that I was a ticking time bomb of some sort to them. That there was a reason I was the only child of the Big Three at the time. It wasn't rocket science— you hear a lot when you don't have many people to talk to."

He paused.

"Nobody told me directly," he promised the god, which was a lie, but I didn't want to get in trouble, so I kept my mouth shut. The others did the same. "I overheard conversations and connected the dots. But regardless, it was my death date, so I feel like I should've been told about it. That's past us now, though. How old is she? You're a god, you can sense those sort of things, can't you?"

Thinking to himself, Mr. D looked between Percy and Thalia, putting Grover on the verge of a heart attack.

"You're 17, Tayah, the tree didn't slow or accelerate your aging," Mr. D answered, crossing his arms. "It more or less acted as a really long nap. But that brings us to at least our main question for you for this meeting: do you remember anything as a tree? Somebody has been causing mayhem these last two years, and while we have a small list of suspects, none of them seem all that guilty. So anything you have is helpful."

Thalia leaned back in her chair, matching Mr. D.

"And what do I get for telling you?"

"You get to continue living, Ms. Green," Mr. D said, agitation creeping back into his voice. "Your mother is dead, you know, so I'd have nobody to call if you want to keep fighting."

She raised and eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, nobody? I thought we had the same father," she pointed out. "The dad who turned me into a tree so I didn't fully die? You'd want to tell him that you killed your baby sister?"

He scoffed.

"That's what I thought." Thalia said with a smirk. "I'll offer a wager to you two: I tell you what I know from my time as a pine and you tell me everything you know about my brother, including his current location and contact information."

She extended her hand to the wine god.

"Do we have a deal?"

Having a silent conversation with Chiron, it seemed to get a little heated between the two of them before Mr. D took Thalia's hand.

"We have a deal."

Notes:

this was fun to write ngl

Chapter 42: Chiron vs. The World (Nobody Agrees With Him On Anything)

Percy Jackson

After that very intense meeting, most campers dispersed. While Chiron talked to Thalia about her younger brother, Mr. D took the chance to touch base with Grover about his search, so I was waiting for him since it was time for our date.

But because I was waiting, somebody decided to be slow leaving the Big House, and it wasn't Annabeth.

It was Travis.

I'd been sitting at the couch in the main atrium/living area of the Big House, sketching in my travel sketchbook that I try to keep in my pocket for times like this.

And then there was a shadow blocking the fireplace that somehow wasn't creating any warmth but had been s nice light.

"Wh-" I started, almost assuming it would be either Thalia or Grover.

Only to be disappointed and and made to be slightly anxious when I saw that it was Travis.

"Travis." I concluded. "Hi."

"Hey!" He said back. "Welcome back from the quest or rescue mission or whatever it was that you ended up doing. I'm sorry for what happened before you left- would you want to get some dinner tonight or tomorrow and have a movie night?"

Did he not see Grover and I in the meeting today?

Or yesterday?

I don't want to deal with this.

"I mean I'd love to have dinner tonight," I lead in, which might've been an asshole way of phrasing it. "But I don't think that I want to have it with the person that doesn't think that I'm more than my diagnosis. So thank you, but no thanks, Travis. I'm done."

"You're... But I mean, we could still hang out at friends, right?"

I looked at him.

"No, I don't think I want to be friends right now," I laid that boundary. "Because if we hang out, I don't think it's going to be good for either of us if we want different things out of it. Maybe later this summer we can be friends, but for now I'm going to hang out with my best friend and try not to dwell on my own death too much."

And he just... Stood there.

"But what about...?"

"What about what?" I questioned. "I thought you didn't want to invest in somebody who's going to be dead in two years? You've said it multiple times, so start acting like it."

But he wouldn't move, so I did- stepping onto the porch oitside, where Annabeth was sitting on the stairs. As I sat down next to her, she gave me a weird look.

"Where's Grover? I thought you guys had plans this afternoon."

"Still talking to Mr. D," I insisted. "I'm uh, trying to get away from Travis. He wouldn't leave, so... How you doing?"

Annabeth just shrugged, thinking to herself.

"Um... I'm still shocked, but in a good way," she promised, which I was glad to hear. "I'm glad that she was chill about the whole new name and whatever, but I was worried that she was going to try and like, chop Chiron's head off, so... Probably sucks for you that she's aged normally, though."

Looking off towards Manhattan, I tried to not dwell on that fact as much as I did think about it.

"I mean, it doesn't change anything," I reasoned, hearing the door open behind us. "the prophecy will happen when I turn 16 and maybe I'll die, but it's not a given, right? I'll still make sure to have a will written so my parents aren't completely lost if I do die, but... It's not like they act like most of us will get to go to college, am I right?"

Annabeth smiled in response, but it was far from meeting her eyes.

"You got me there." She agreed as I heard the heavier clops of horse hooves behind me, accompanied with regular footsteps. "I think we'll make it, though, if whatever happens then doesn't kill us."

"You do?"

She nodded.

"I mean, look at what we've done already," the daughter of Athena reasoned, standing up to meet Chiron and Thalia. "We've traveled through the Sea of Monsters and all the way across the country to the Underworld and come back alive. You fought a god in an actual fight and won, dude. That's like, insane. Even Luke didn't do those things and he's thriving. Hell, he failed his quest. We'll be fine."

"You fought a god?" Thalia questioned as I noticed her shoulder a backpack. "Who?"

"Who? Ares." I answered, which she appropriately responded to by covering her mouth. "yeah, he kind of sucked last summer. Helped frame me for stealing something from your dad by planting it on me, among some other things. I stabbed him through his ankle or foot or whatever it is."

Chiron just shook his head.

"And you'll never do it again." He insisted.

"Well yeah, I sure hope not," I half agreed with his point. "if he's idiotic enough to challenge me again at a waterfront, he has it coming. I don't know what he was expecting, with my sperm donor being who he is."

The centaur once again rubbed the bridge of his nose, letting out a long breath.

"Please show Thalia around camp and help her get settled in, Annabeth," Chiron said, dismissing the two of them before sitting down in his wheelchair.

He gave me a look I didn't like. Like he was disappointed or let down or something.

"What?" I asked the centaur.

"You need to stop calling him your sperm donor, Perseus. He's your father, whether or not you like it."

"Uh, no, but you should stop calling me Perseus, you know I don't like it." I rebuttaled. "I have a father, Chiron. A dad. If my biological father wants the honor of being called anything else, he can put in the effort. I'm not asking him to be dad of the year, Chiron- I'm asking him to send a card for my birthday. Or to pay child support. Or to do literally anything that Mr. D- who's not even related to me by blood- is doing. In every way that it matters to me, Chiron, he's not my dad. Sure, were related by blood, but he didn't want me and I don't want him."

Chiron gave me a confused look, tilting his head a bit.

"What do you mean you don't want him?"

"I mean that I want nothing to do with him beyond Camp," I clarified as Mr. D and Grover emerged. "Everyone else in my life outside of this place knows that I call Gabe my dad because I never cared about meeting my biological father. Most people think that Gabe is my biological father. After all, he has dark hair- though not much, and his last name is Jackson now. If I survive this place, it's not like Cabin 3's patron is ever going to talk to me again, right? Not like I know my dad will. Or that I'm sure even Mr. D here will come around and say hi because my dad is his kid. He's been in my life for most of my life and I had no idea he was a god. Why couldn't my sperm donor do the same?"

There was a beat of silence.

"He could've." I affirmed, holding my hand out for Grover because I didn't want to frustrate myself even more about this subject. "He just didn't want to. Now, if you don't mind, I have plans this afternoon that I've waited 9 months to go on."

•••
Dionysus

Maybe I should sneak out and try to go on a date tonight. Chiron wasn't in a very good mood, and I didn't want to deal with it.

"These half-bloods recently..." He said aloud to himself, turning his wheelchair to face me. "they're so bright and yet so stubborn- what happened, Dionysus?"

"Well they completely lost the potential to have a functional family," I spit-balled, shrugging. "Not that were known for being domestic, but twenty years ago we could at least try to make an effort with our kids. Now my father acts like it's treason to admit the fact that our kids are human and need to have a good relationship with their parent if they're up develop normally. Hell, I lived with Gabe and his father for over ten years. Poseidon was in love with Sally- I'm sure he would've stayed, had he could."

"Then you tell the boy that. He won't believe me."

I summoned a Diet Coke, thinking that it might be better to visit Gabe and Sally tonight. Tell them Percy is back safe.

"It didn't matter what his father would've done, Chiron- that's his whole point." I struggled to reason with him. "It's what old Sea Barnacle did do and what he will continue to do- ignore Percy until it's convenient for him not to. He's not the only one that does it- almost all of the Olympians do it- Percy's just one of the few demigods who talks about it and let's it bother him. He only has one sibling who's technically not Poseidon's blood so..."

I shrugged.

"He has time to think- there's no comoderie or solidarity or even pride when there's nobody else to share it with." I concluded. "Just you wait- I'm sure Thalia Grace will be the same. Her and Luke were close, and I'm honestly shocked Luke didn't cause us more trouble in his time. But with all three of them? Who knows what'll happen."

Chiron sighed as I took a sip of the sweet aspartame.

"Do you think they're powerful enough?" The old trainer asked. "The prophecy is set to unravel in two years, and somehow, Percy is aware and he's now told Thalia as well. Are they a duo we should we worried about?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Should we be? Absolutely," I confirmed. "But I don't think Percy would be the type to simply try and overthrow Olympus, Chiron, and neither is Thalia, for that matter- they both have family they care about that relies on the system of Western Civilization."

"Oh? So then what's the worry?"

I set down the can.

"That they'll force us to change our ways."

After all, numbers are down this year, and it's not due to a lack of recruiting- it's a lack of kids returning.

Year around campers that would run away or leave in the middle of the night, summer campers who just haven't shown up. Their families insist they're at home. That they wanted to take the summer off.

We're going to have a big problem on our hands soon enough- but if it's the demigods themselves that create it, I'm not sure the Olympians will know what to do with themselves.

"I'm heading into the city."

Before the old man could complain, I teleported to the alley next to the Jackson's apartment, walking into the lobby to see Eddy, one of Sally and Gabe's friends, get off the phone.

He's also a demigod, so he knows me.

"May I- oh, Mr. D, hello, sir." Eddy said, getting just a little nervous. "Can I help you? Is everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah, you can breathe, kid." I reassured him. "I'm here to see my son and his wife. Do you know if they're home?"

"Do I... Yes! I was just about to go upstairs to their apartment, as a matter of fact," he told me, which was very convenient. "They invited me and a few other friends over for dinner tonight- high school friends, most of them are demigods, I believe. Are you joining for that?"

I debated the possibilities, because Sally is a wonderful cook.

"If they have enough food, I might ask if I can stick around. After you."

Following Eddy upstairs, he knocked on the door and Sally answered pretty quickly, holding a spatula in her hand.

"Eddy, hey, you made it!" She exclaimed. "We're just waiting on Amelia, but she let us know that she's running a few minutes behind. Who do you have-"

She noticed me standing next to him.

"Dionysus, hello." She said, anxiety immediately spiking. She stepped to the side. "come... In."

Letting us in, Sally called for her husband.

"Yes, dear?" Gabe asked as he walked over, slowing down when he realized who I was. "Oh, Dad, hi... What's going on? We're just about to have dinner, if you'd want to join."

"I mean, if you have enough to spare, I'll have supper." I agreed on those terms. "I just figured I'd stop by to tell you two that Percy made it back to camp just fine- he was apparently issued a quest by Hermes that the god forgot to tell me about. He went with Annabeth and Tyson- they were able to bring Grover back to camp. But Eddy told me that you'll have a lot of demigods here tonight?"

Confused by the question I posed, Gabe nodded his head.

"I mean, yeah, our only mortal friend cancelled- his wife went into labor early." My son insisted. "So everyone here is either a demigod or knows of the gods because they're married to demigods. Why?"

I shrugged.

"Oh, nothing, just curious," I tried to help them relax, though the news I delivered didn't seem to help. "Percy and Chiron got in a bit of a spat before I left to come here- though I also argued with the centaur, don't worry. Percy isn't in trouble or anything, they just had a disagreement surrounding Percy uh, sperm donor, as he calls him. Has he always called him that?"

"Has he... Once he realizes that Gabe wasn't his dad technically? Yes." Sally answered as we gravitated towards the kitchen. Her statement got a friend's attention. "Percy's never cared about his bio dad because he was never around anyways. That attitude hasn't really changed at all- if anything, meeting him made him want to actively not be around him. Why? Is there an issue?"

Sighing, I sat down on one of the kitchen stools as some of the other friends of Sally and Gabe started to recognize me and definitely debated within themselves if they should be treating me like a god or like Gabe's dad because Sally was here.

"I wouldn't call it an issue, but Chiron definitely is going to." I answered, hoping my annoyance was audible. "Long story short, Thalia Grace is alive once again and she's a very stubborn and rebellious young lady- she forced classified information out of Chiron within an hour of meeting him. And based on how close she was to Luke Castellan, and how similar she seems to be to Percy- though she is slightly older, Chiron posed concerns about them today."

I stopped for a moment.

"He's worried that they'll somehow try to overthrow Olympus."

Sally dropped her spatula.

"I'm sorry," Tyler, who I believe is a son of Apollo cut in as he'd been standing near us.

It was then that I realized the apartment had gone quiet.

"Excuse me if I misunderstood this, Mr. D," Tyler went on. "But Chiron is worried about who overthrowing Olympus? Is there going to be a war?"

I sighed.

"A small group of demigods- one of which just so happens to be Sally and Gabe's kid," I repeated for the group. "I told Chiron that I don't think they'd completely work over turn Olympus, but if they wanted to, I have no doubt in my mind that those three alone could do it. as for the war bit... Well, my father won't have the matter discussed, but there is a war on the way."

"He won't discuss it?" Eddy asked, reasonably worried. "Why."

"Because there's a demigod working with his father," I broke the news to the older demigods who, luckily for them, wouldn't have to deal with this. "The issue is that we don't know who the demigod is- only who it isn't."

I looked around the room.

"Unless any of you guys have any information that would be useful?"

•••
Take a shot every time somebody has a disagreement with Chiron

Chapter 43: We're Cute Or Whatever

Grover Underwood

As Percy and I made our way towards the strawberry fields, he was definitely a little annoyed with Chiron.

"Hey," I said, squeezing his hand. "Don't let him get to you- it's stupid that he doesn't get how you feel about your dad considering the fact that he also has a shitty dad."

"Who..." Percy began before remembering that Father Time was the old man's dad. "Oh, yeah, duh. Yeah, that is stupid. Sorry, I just..."

Exhaling, his shoulders slumped.

"I wish that people would understand that it's not like I don't like my bio dad for no reason," he went on, looking down at our hands for a moment. "I've met him and I've spoken with him- and I spent a lot of time after it happened wishing that it never happened. I don't know if you ever went through that, but... We don't have to talk about it. Sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," I insisted as we found a spot in the field and sat down. I pulled him into a hug. "you don't have to apologize. I don't talk about my parents much because there's... Not a lot to say. My mom died when I was a little and I don't blame her for that. It was out of her control, we couldn't heal her. But my dad... I get it. I was angry with him once I realized that he left me knowing that he'd probably never come back."

"You... You were? You've never told me that before."

Nodding my head, I thought back to the days where I'd started to learn about the different careers a satyr could go into and I was told that the job of a searched was a noble cause- one you'd almost certainly die for.

"I mean, yeah, I try not to go back to it too often." I explained as Percy leaned into my touch, settling in as he rested his head in my lap. It was cute. "You know me, I really don't... I don't like being angry. But when he left, I was just told that it was an important job because he'd gotten his license. I assumed it was another recruiting job, but when I was a little older and they told me about the different jobs satyrs go into most often..."

I exhaled.

"Sometimes I wonder what I would say to him if came back," I told who was arguably the most important person in my life. "If I would just keep it to myself and try to be grateful that he lived, or if I'd get angry enough to like, explode on him and demand what he thought he was doing leaving his toddler with his brother who he knew was going into the same field of work without even saying goodbye. Without even leaving anything behind to explain to that toddler why he wasn't home a week or a month or a year later. It..."

Taking a breath, I reminded myself that getting mad now would just be wasted energy.

"It angered me, but it's why I was so insistent that I would come back," I explained to Percy, smiling down at him. "Because I didn't want you to feel that kind of anger and frustration. I am sorry that you had to come rescue me, though- I promise that wasn't in the plan. I'm not going on a search any time soon again."

But rather than seem completely relieved, my news that I was taking a break seemed to worry Percy.

"You're not? Why not? Obviously, you wouldn't search in the same area, but... You're not planning on going? It's your dream, Grover."

I shrugged, heart warmed by the idea that Percy was so worried that I was just going to give up my dream.

I'm so glad our feelings were reciprocal.

"I probably will, just not right now." I reworded the news, which seemed to relieve him. "First of all, I'm not approved to go on another massive search yet. Secondly, I have no leads to start with anyways. Third, and most importantly: I want to spend some time here, at home, with you. And some other people. But mostly you."

Percy blushed, burying his head as if I couldn't sense it through the link. And also just with my general senses as a satyr.

I care about him so much and in some capacity, I'm sure that I love him. For most people, I'm sure that that realization would be something that would terrify them.

But as a satyr, and as his best friend, it's so easy for me.

I know he feels the same way.

Not only because I can sense it or hear it or feel it in the link or thanks to my additional sixth sense of sending emotions.

But because he's my best friend and I know him. I can see it in the way his eyes light up when he sees me coming, or in the way he relaxes when I approach him.

Sure, I couldn't figure out whether or not his feelings had been romantic for the longest of times, but that's because, even platonic, his feelings were strong and they were deeply rooted. I was terrified of ruining that strong platform of trust and ease when I realized that my feelings had turned into something more than platonic.

But here we are: being sappy and open and maybe a little cheesy while we laid in the strawberry fields at Camp Half Blood together.

"Stoooop," Percy said jokingly as he recovered from what I said. "That's like, stupid. There's no way hanging out with me is your biggest priority."

"Percy," I reminded the demigod, resting my right hand on his face, rubbing his cheek with my thumb. "You are, without a doubt, the most important person in my life. There's a definitely a way that hanging out with you is my biggest priority."

But, looking down, I could see the hesitance in his eyes.

"Are you sure I'm the most important person in your life? I don't doubt that I'm like, Top 10, but... The most important?"

"I'm certain of it," I insisted, leaning down to give him a kiss for physical reassurance. "You're my best friend. And you've saved my life a million times. And you're the reason I was able to get my searchers license at all."

I paused, mostly for comedic affect.

"Oh, and I also have had a crush on you for at least a year now and am currently on a date with you. And our souls are intertwined now thanks to the mental link."

The son of Poseidon smiled.

"That last part is a little important, I guess," he conceded. "Has it seriously been a year?"

"Silena insists that it's been longer, but about that, yeah. Why?"

He shrugged.

"Just curious- I'm pretty sure Annabeth was onto something last summer when she asked me if we were a thing, but I didn't want to admit it so... It took me a while. Sorry."

I returned his smile from earlier.

"It's okay, it's not a race." I promised him. "But can I ask you something that I've been thinking about ever since we spent the afternoon on the ship looking up at the sky?"

"Of course, what's up?"

I let out a breath, steadying myself for what felt like a really big question.

He travelled through the Sea of Monsters for you, I tried to remind myself. He's not going to just say no.

"So now that you're like, coming out to people," I prefaced it. "Which is super cool and I'm really proud of you for that. But now that that's like, becoming public knowledge, would it be okay if I..."

Just spit it out, Underwood.

"I know it hasn't been long," I concluded. "But would it be okay if I started to introduce you as my boyfriend to others?"

Sitting up, I could feel the jolt of energy fly through Percy in a wave of shock when he processed the question.

"Would it be okay?" The son of Poseidon repeated back to me, and I nodded my head, confirming the question. "Grover, it would be the best thing you could introduce me as to others. As long as I can tell people the same thing about you, that is."

And with that, Percys excitement washed away any worry I had about where our relationship stood.

Not that I had many, but I think it's natural to have worries before things have been made official in a relationship. Especially a romantic one.

I couldn't help but smile.

"Well, of course, we're competing with Silena and Clarisse to be the most insufferable couple at this gods forsaken camp," I responded, which got him to laugh. "They don't know it's a competition, though, so we're already winning."

Keeping a smile on his face, Percy gave me a kiss.

"As long as no U-Hauls show up at camp, I think we'll remain in the lead." Percy said, and I didn't get the joke, but that's okay. "what do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," I responded. "What do boyfriends do on a warm June day?"

"Well," he reasoned. "There's a lot of things they could do. It's almost dinner time- they could sneak out and go to a nice restaurant with outdoor seating and then uh, do something in the city. Skateboard maybe?"

I opened my mouth, more than content with the first option, but debating the second.

"Dinner sounds lovely- if we can get money for it," I told my boyfriend. "As for skateboarding... What if I break my knee?"

Percy rolled his eyes.

"We can stop by my parents place to get my protective gear for you to wear," he reassured me, which made the idea a lot less intimidating. "It wouldn't be the only protective gear an adult would want us to wear this week."

I couldn't help but laugh as I playfully pushed Percy away for that comment.

"Percy!"

"What?" He asked, chuckling himself as he stood up. "I'm not wrong. Mr. D literally gave us a box of condoms. It was mortifying for both of us?"

"Oh, it was the most terrifying moment of my life," I agreed, taking a hand he offered to stand. "I wasn't able to look him in the eye the entire time we talked about the search. But if we're getting even more protective gear, then I guess I'll learn how to skate. But you have to teach me how to do a jump on it."

Percy smiled.

"As long as you can stay on the board, my little leaf."

Dear reader: I folded.

I was the same color as the strawberries that surrounded us, I'm sure of it.

Not even phased by what he just called me, Percy had started to walk towards the street where mortals can come and park to pick strawberries, but he didn't get far because I couldn't move.

Concerned, he looked back at me.

"Everything okay?" The son of Poseidon questioned, sounding worried. "I didn't say something I shouldn't have, did I?"

But before I could gather myself to tell him that everything was fine, he jumped to one of the sweetest and silliest ideas I've ever heard.

"It's not racist to call you a leaf, is it? I was trying to be cute, I'm sorry if-"

I just laughed, running to catch up and give him a kiss.

"It's not racist, Sweets," I promised him, which is something I never imagined I'd say about a leaf. The nickname elicited a similar reaction out of him, though, which might've been a little victory for me. "I love it, it is very cute. How um..."

I looked to the expanse of Long Island.

"How are we supposed to get into the city?"

Promising me he had a plan, Percy told me to follow him.

•••

The plan was to lie to Argus about the fact that he forgot his meds at home.

I couldn't fault Percy on this plan, though, because here's the thing: Argus didn't doubt or question him at all. He just nodded and grabbed the keys, walking to the camp van with us. And, being a form of magical transportation, it only took about ten minutes for him to drop us off a block or so away from the Jackson apartment.

"I can't believe that worked." I said once the van drove off.

"Compliments of the Hermes Cabin- they do it all the time apparently." Percy explained, shrugging. "and since I'm technically a counselor, I guess he's supposed to assume that I might have to get stuff in the city for my cabin? I don't know. It's technically not against the rules, Annabeth explained it to me one time. But that's besides the point."

Stopping, Percy motioned to a little restaurant that we'd been standing in front of.

"So I know that enchiladas are like, your favorite thing in the world," my boyfriend started. "And we're only like, a couple blocks from Central Park. So if you want to get some food here, we can get it to go and eat in the park so that way we can still be around nature and enjoy the weather. The flowers are really pretty this time of year. Oh! They also sell carbonated water here."

And with how many little details he seemed to think of, I wonder how long he's been planning this date in his head.

Enchiladas, the park on a nice sunny day. My weird fascination with sparkling water.

"You had me at enchiladas," I promised Percy, who was so kind as to open the door for me.

The park was beautiful, as always, and it was good weather to eat outside.

We spent some time people watching as we ate our dinners and talked. And only one monster tried to bother us, and a small one at that. Percy took out a knife that I didn't recognize and killed the thing pretty fast.

"Is that new?" I asked the son of Poseidon, who was wiping the knife off with a napkin. "When did you start carrying a dagger?"

Did he... Lose Riptide somehow?

I thought that was impossible.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, it is kind of new," he told me, putting it back in it's sheath which I was only now noticing because it was the same color as his pants. "It's just for little cases like that when I just need to quick draw it if something's too close. This is only the like, second or third time I've used it."

"Oh, like a backup!" I responded. "That's smart. Where did you find it, though? It looks like... Is it all Celestial Bronze?"

"Um... I don't think so?" Percy said, shrugging. "Annabeth said it looked like there might be some Stygian Iron in it as well? I found it on the ship we were originally on. It ended up being helpful, though. Do you want to see it?"

Nodding my head, Percy took the knife back out and placed the blade in my hand.

Like I'd said earlier, it was a cool blade. Not too long, just being a dagger. Maybe a inch or so shorter than Annabeth's dagger. The metal is what kept my interest, though. Rather then just be divided by Celestial Bronze and Stygian Iron, all of the metals were swirled together in an almost marble like affect- which was both gorgeous and terrifying.

"Oh, that's definitely Stygian Iron." I confirmed for my boyfriend. "There's also some steel in this. Did you... Know that?"

He frowned, looking at the blade.

"I was hoping it was another type of special metal," the son of Poseidon sighed. "Celestial Bronze exists, I've heard about special gold- it seemed reasonable silver would also exist. But I guess steel would make more sense. Is it... Bad that there's steel in this?"

I shrugged.

"Depends on who you ask, it... Isn't something that's normally crafted." I said. "Chiron, and I think most other trainers, discourage from steel in general because it can hurt mortals but.... If it's mixed with other metals, I don't know what it'll do. I wouldn't bring it to classes with Chiron, though, if you want to avoid a lecture."

"Because I've ever wanted to be lectured by the old man," my boyfriend retorted. "Do you think it's weird that he like, kept the existence of an entire other camp from us?"

He also thinks that Chiron's secretiveness is weird?

Finally!

Excited, I slapped my hands on my thighs, which made him jump.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," I apologized. "I just didn't realize anyone was irritated or confused by Chiron's decision making, especially when it comes to what things he thinks we can and can't know. I was starting to think I was just getting annoyed with him because I've been around him for so long. Thank the gods I'm not alone."

We spent the rest of dinner talking about the disagreements we've both had with Chiron over the course of our times at camp.

It was a wonderful meal.

Chapter 44: We Need More Protective Gear (NOT Condoms)

Percy Jackson

Honestly? Thank gods Grover and I can complain about camp together.

I've always been a little nervous about complaining about camp to him because it's literally his home, but I guess if most people get to be sick of their hometowns by the time they're graduating high school, then it makes sense that Grover would get sick of camp as well.

Not that I'm going to tell him about Luke's plan or anything— not yet, at least. There's still a lot of signs and steps before that.

But this is a start. It's a relief, honestly.

From Central Park, we walked to my parents apartment, which wasn't too bad. It's not that long of a walk, but in the cold it's kind of miserable. So I'm glad it was still warm out.

Heading upstairs, Grover did a double take as we got closer to the apartment.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh yeah," he promised me. "I always forget that your dad is a demigod, so the change in scent always throws me off. It smells... Stronger than usual?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe Eddy's over— he's a demigod, too. I don't know who his godly parent is."

Shrugging in agreement, Grover insisted that it wasn't like he sensed any monsters.

Heading upstairs, I was able to dig my keys out (thank gods I haven't lost them this summer) and open the door to the apartment before even realize how much louder it was than normal inside.

I realized it because once the door started to open, the voices all went silent.

"Hey, I'm h—"

And you want to know what greeted Grover and I in my own home?

Around 8 or 10 adults, one of which included Mr. D, all staring at us and holding their own respective weapons in hand (well, besides Mr. D— he's a god so he doesn't need a weapon). It varied from the kitchen knife my mom had in her hand, a couple of them had some sort of celestial bronze blade, somebody had a bow and arrow—one arrow in hand. The was a spear or maybe it was a staff in the mix.

And then one person had a lyre.

Just... Randomly.

"HOME!" I yelled in surprise upon seeing weapons pointed at me. "What is going on?"

Mom sighed, putting the kitchen knife where it belonged— on the kitchen counter.

"Oh, sweetheart, thank the gods it's just you." She insisted, walking over and giving me a hug before also giving Grover one. "Sorry, a small monster got into the apartment not that long ago— we were a little on edge. I didn't know you'd be coming home. Is everything okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, things are alright," I reassured my mom as Gabe walked over and said hi to Grover, saying he was glad to see that he made it back in one piece. "I just... Know that Mr. D told you guys that I was gone and so since I was in the city anyways, I figured I'd stop by and tell you guys that I'm back. I got sent on a rescue mission by Hermes to rescue Grover. Also, it'd be nice to have the stuff I actually packed for this summer."

"I suppose you can only wear those orange shirts so many times before you go crazy," Gabe figured, offering a hug that I willingly took. "I'm glad that both of you are okay. What are you doing in the city outside of stopping by, though? The other two aren't with, so I presume it's not a celebration of safe return?"

"Yeah," Grandpa D, as I occasionally call him, made me hold my breath as he decided to join this conversation. "What are you doing in the city?"

"Wh— we're getting some stuff for Thalia, sir." But thank the gods, Grover was on the ball. "While Annabeth shows her around camp and helps her get settled in Cabin 1. She's grown slightly, and we don't have any of her stuff anymore, so we offered to run into the city and get some stuff for her since Percy needed his backpack from here anyways."

He didn't believe it. I could see it in his eyes, the way he raised an eyebrow at the two of us.

"I see. Well, isn't that kind of you two." The god commented. "and is that the only reason you're in the city?"

We both nodded.

"Okay, well I'm sure I'll see you two again at campfire." Mr. D concluded, and his calmness didn't scare me because he's a god. "enjoy your outing."

It was because he's basically my grandpa.

Leaving the apartment regularly, I heard him chuckle and I realized that the last thing he'd said had a double meaning to it.

"Wh... That was weird, okay." Gabe said, cutting the tension in the room. "Is there... Some other reason he'd think you guys would sneak into the city?"

Because I'm not out to my parents.

Before I could even think about how I'd start that conversation, though, Eddy raised a hand in the dining room.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt the conversation," he started, sounding a little worried. "But did your... Friend... I forgot your name, I'm sorry— but did you say somebody is getting settled into Cabin 1?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, Thalia Grace." I answered, nodding my head. "You don't have to worry, though— she's 17, so the prophecy won't unravel when she..."

I saw the blood drain from Gabe's face, which confirmed 2 things for me:

1. Gabe knows the Great Prophecy. Or, he knows it as well as a lot of kids do at camp now.

2. Mom doesn't know the prophecy yet.

"...turns 16." I finished my statement, suddenly wishing I could crawl out of my skin and never return. "um, there is a potential child of the prophecy, though. There's possibly one other one as well, we're not sure, but either way he's younger, so..."

The others back near the dining room and the kitchen all shared this look as my mom looked between them and then the four of us near the door.

"Wh... Can I ask how old this kid is?" Amelia, one of my mom's best friends asked, sounding cautious.

Crossing my arms, I looked down for a moment.

My impending death will not cause a panic attack on my first date with Grover.

"He uh... Turns 14. This summer." I answered, feeling my mom's hand on my shoulder. She looked worried. I don't blame her. "End of summer."

I paused, trying to push the anxiety back down my throat.

"It's me." I told the group of who must've been older demigods (which feels like a contradiction, but they somehow survived) that I knew and never realized their parentage. "I'm the next child of the Big Three that will turn 16."

It went silent.

"I'm... Going to go get my backpack," I said after a second, dismissing myself from a dozen eyes staring at me like I was a walking corpse because I basically am.

I can't breathe.

At least Grover came with me.

"Percy?" Grover whispered, softly closing my door behind him as I pushed my palms into my temples because I'm supposed to be having a good time, but the way that everyone was looking at me... "Hey, Percy, you don't have to push it down. What's going on? I can only... I can only sense so much. I can tell that you're anxious, but that's all I can tell."

"I..." I pushed out from my voice box, seeing a blurry image of Grover put his hands over mine as my eyes watered. "I can't... Breathe... I can't..."

And although I could see his lips moving, I couldn't hear Grover and so I tried to close my eyes to listen and I still couldn't... I could feel him here, but I couldn't hear him.

Somebody cut away at my heels, causing me to fall to the ground, taking Grover with me as it hit me for the first time since I was told about it.

I'm probably going to die in two years.

Sure, Luke says that he has a plan that should keep me alive, and people have said that being the child of the prophecy doesn't make me the hero of it, but...

But he also doesn't know.

And neither does anyone else because everyone either wants to argue about it, like Chiron or Mr. D, or they don't want to talk about it.

Or at least, they don't want to talk to me about it.

But based on how everyone looks at me... Based on how they look at me like a walking time bomb, I don't...

Know if I'll survive.

I'll never watch my little sibling grow up (if Mom has a kid by then). I'll never graduate high school or drive a car on my own or vote or... I'll never get married.

I'll never get to build my life.

"Percy?" Hearing Grover's voice again momentarily overwhelmed me as I took in the scene around me: Grover and I were still on the ground, I was leaning against my bed, balled up, and Grover must've wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. It was soft. In front of me, Grover was sitting down with one hand on my knees.

And, overwhelmed, the words fell out of me.

"I don't want to die, Grover."

Before I could completely unravel, my boyfriend moved closer to my side so he could pull me into a hug.

"Percy, look at me," Grover said, moving his hands to cup my face, resting his forehead against mine. He looked worried, but determined. "Do you remember what I said? When you asked me why I would make a mental link with you knowing what I know?"

And even though I couldn't pull the memory to surface right now, I remember that it was very sweet, so I nodded my head.

"We don't know what's going to happen in two years," he insisted, rubbing a tear away from my cheek. "But you already survived two quests, and both of them were successful, so I think your odds of survival are really good, okay?"

I nodded my head, sniffling and trying to get my breathing under control again.

"Prophecies are never straightforward or easy to understand," the satyr reminded me. "But you're really good at making them go your way, so let's not mourn yet, okay?"

Gathering myself slowly, I nodded my head.

"Okay."

He smiled, giving me a kiss, which made me smile.

"It's okay to face the potential reality of it," Grover concluded. "But don't assume it's the only reality— Mr. D and Chiron wouldn't argue like the married couple they are if they didn't see multiple outcomes to this. Also, Mr. D wants you alive— wrapped in bubble wrap on your birthday, if needed."

I chuckled, imagining how that argument would play out.

"Only if I get to roll around and pop the bubble wrap." I responded, which got him to smile again.

I liked knowing that I was the one making him smile.

"Also," I said, motioning towards the door, which was still closed, thankfully. It would be awkward otherwise. "What do you... Want to tell my parents?"

Grover raised an eyebrow.

"About the prophecy or about the actual reason we're in the city?"

"Um... Well, mostly the second one," I figured. "Though I'm sure my mom will have questions about the uh, big deal around me turning 16. If Gabe hasn't answered them. But mostly I was wondering about the second one because that's a topic that shouldn't cause me to have more panic attacks."

"Avoiding panic attacks is one of my favorite things to do," Grover responded, helping me stand up and offering me a sip from the drink I'd gotten at dinner. "and I'm okay with telling them whatever you're comfortable with— they're your parents. I personally don't know if they can embarrass us worse than Mr. D did and we didn't even tell him, so..."

I rolled my eyes.

"If my parents give us condoms, I'll just jump from the fire escape."

"And I'll follow," Grover promised, giving my hand a squeeze. "because I don't know if I'll be able to look your parents in the eye if that happens."

"I don't think I could live with them," I said jokingly. "Also, sorry that like... This was supposed to be a quick in and out thing and I had a panic attack instead."

But if Grover's ever been good at anything, it's been not letting me apologize or feel extra bad for my feelings.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Sweets," he promised me, the nickname from earlier making me blush. "The Prophecy can be stressful and anxiety inducing to think about, even for people who aren't children of the Big Three— you're grappling with the different possibilities and outcomes and it's okay to have big feelings about them because it's big things. We didn't know other demigods would be here, much less Mr. D— dinner was already great, so I think we're still at a net positive for the day. Do you still want to try and teach me how to skateboard?"

I smiled, nodding my head.

"Then we have to talk to them so we can leave before it gets dark out," he pointed out a very good thing—you shouldn't learn how to skate in the dark. "Come on— let's grab your stuff and go get ourselves embarrassed."

•••
Gabe Ugliano

I think I just stood in our living room for at least a minute after Percy excused himself, Grover following him, before I myself could move.

"Gabriel, sweetheart," Sally said in a quiet voice as she stood next to me, looking between me and our friends. "Why... Why is Percy turning 16 a big deal? I mean, of course it will be a big deal because it's when he'll be able to drive if he wants to, but... Why are you pale right now?"

I exhaled.

"Do you remember last summer, after you two told me about Percy's bio dad?" I mentioned to Sally. "When I told you about the pact that the Big Three made to not have more kids?"

She nodded her head, recalling that that pact was made because the children of the Big Three are powerful.

"They are," I confirmed for my wife. "but there's... More to the deal that I didn't want to... I didn't want you to worry about it unless we knew for sure that it would affect Percy."

"Okay." she said, urging me to continue.

"After World War II, a prophecy was foretold," I explained. "We call it the Great Prophecy because... I don't know why, because it's important. And the first line of the prophecy, though I don't know it word for word, says that it'll happen when a child of the eldest gods— usually referencing the Big Three, turns 16."

"Makes sense why they'd make the deal then."

"Mhm," I confirmed. "And later in the prophecy, it says that a hero will die. Which, it doesn't say that the child of the Big Three is the hero, but..."

"A lot of people assume it is," Sally finished as I could see the gears in her head work. "Which means that when Percy turns 16..."

"We may or may not lose him." I concluded. "I don't know what he knows exactly— if it's more or less than that, but he already seems to know quite a bit. That being said, he seemed really anxious, so I'm going to go check on him. Are you going to be okay?"

Slowly, Sally nodded her head.

"It's a prophecy, not a death sentence," she reminded me, which I did need to hear after learning that Percy knew at least some details about the prophecy. "I'm sure that's why Poseidon never told me about it—after I'd get done lecturing him for being irresponsible, I'd realize that we can't change it anyways. We'll figure it out."

Gods I love this woman.

"We will." I agreed. "I'm going to go make sure our son knows that."

Walking to Percy's bedroom, the door was closed, but I didn't hear anything drastic going in inside. No crying or yelling or anything. Grover and Percy might've been talking— it was hard to tell. If they were, it was quiet.

Softly, I knocked on the door.

"Percy?" I said. "It's Dad— is it okay if I come in?"

"Wh— oh, yeah! It's open."

And, with permission, I opened my son's door to see him standing next to his desk, packing a few more shirts into his backpack. Grover was standing near him, helping fold stuff.

"Hey," I said, stepping into the room. "You doing okay? It looked like you were really overwhelmed right before you left for your room."

Taking a second to process, Percy nodded his head.

"I'm alright now," he promised me. "um, I had a little, short panic attack when I first walked into here, but Grover calmed me down. It's not like it's new or anything, I figured it out a while ago and just got confirmation at the start of the summer, but sometimes it hits me and it's overwhelming. I try to not think about it too much because there's a chance that I also won't die, but it's just... A lot. I'm assuming Mr. D told you not to tell me?"

Shrugging, I nodded.

"We haven't discussed it directly, but I've never even read it, so I couldn't tell you anything most other kids at camp couldn't tell you, I'm sure." I clarified for him. "I've been wanting to ask him who there are for campers, because I remembered hearing about Thalia a while back because of her dad and her dying seemed to make people worry because they didn't know how she'd age? I wasn't able to talk to him, though, so... I didn't want to worry you or your mom if I didn't have to. She's 17? How'd the prophecy not happen?"

Percy shrugged.

"She was a tree?" He guessed. "I don't know, but it didn't happen. Is Mom okay? Does she know... Anything?"

"She does now," I filled him in. "so far she's choosing to be optimistic because, as she said, you can't change the future."

"That's what I said!" Grover responded, handing Percy the last shirt he'd folded. "Well, not exactly— I told Percy that I wasn't going to mourn until he was actually dead."

"But then you... Like, fair point," Percy started. "But then wouldn't you also be dead? That's how this thing works, isn't it?"

"Then I don't have to grieve, all the better."

"You don't— hold on, back it up, you two." I cut in. "please don't tell me you have a death pact. After you were gone for nine months, Grover, I feel like I shouldn't have to explain why that would be a bad idea."

"What? Oh, no, no death pact." Percy promised me as the three of us made our way back out to the kitchen and dining room area. "just a mental link, which provides the risk of dying at the same time, but it's not like, a guarantee. That's why I kept having those dreams."

Nodding my head, I tried to not think about that too much.

Who knew being a dad to a teenager would be so stressful? Now I have to worry about both of their lives— not just my kid's.

"Grover, hi, it's wonderful to see you back in New York!" Sally said, giving both him and Percy hugs. "Are you boys hungry? We're just about to start eating."

"We had dinner before coming, but thank you." Percy told her. "I'll take a roll if there's any? We have to go soon. But we uh, wanted to tell you something quick before we left."

"If it's about Montauk, Grover can come with. You'll have to share a room, though."

Percy smiled.

"That wasn't it, but that's good to know," he told his mom, taking a breath, almost like he was trying to make sure he wasn't too nervous. "Um, I don't think sharing a room would be an issue at all since like..."

Now, reasonably, I figured Percy was going to mention the fact that they've shared a dorm before and have gone on what is now multiple quests together.

That wasn't what I was informed of.

"Since we're like, dating now," but today, my son made me feel officially old before he quickly added on the rest. "And also because we've lived together before and we're still best friends."

He paused.

"That's why Mr. D was suspicious earlier." Percy explained, which made sense knowing my dad. "he just sort of... Knew about it before we even really told anyone so... Yeah."

There was another beat of silence.

"I'm gay, by the way." He added on at the very end. "I was going to tell you guys this last year and then it just... Never came up and I felt weird saying it randomly. So yeah." Percy motioned to Grover. "boyfriend. I promise we only like, do small things like hold hands and stuff. You don't have to give us a box of condoms unprompted. We're only 14."

I had to cover my mouth to prevent laughing.

"We don't... I'm glad you told us, kiddo," I responded, blown away by the number of things he just kept adding on. "We trust you, it's okay. Why... Can I ask why you feel the need to clarify the condom thing?"

"When Mr. D basically told us that he knew, he did so by throwing a box of condoms at us and telling us that if he ever heard anything, he'd call you guys." Grover answered, which....

Was definitely my dad.

Sally and I definitely got that talk from him the first time he met Sally.

"It was mortifying," Percy promised us. "Save the condoms for yourself, please— unless you're trying to have a kid, in which case I guess save them for later? That's the thing we wanted to tell you, though. You can have dinner now."

Smiling, I gave Percy and Grover both hugs as Sally smothered the two of them, giving each of them a roll and a cookie before letting them leave the apartment.

"Wait, Sally, before we start eating," Eddy said, leaning towards her and plucking a hair from her head that most certainly was it's normal color. "You're going gray."

Sally rolled her eyes.

"I'm still in my 30s, Eddy, you can't pull that joke until I'm at least 45," she insisted. "Percy makes me feel old as it is— you don't need to make it worse."

"You can take my gray hairs," I offered, leaning my bald head to my best friend.

He smacked the top of my head.

"Maybe that'll cause them to start growing," he said. "What did he want to tell you guys? It couldn't have make you feel that old."

Sally and I shared a look, because it definitely did.

"Our baby boy is dating now," I answered. "When you said 'your.... Friend?' earlier, you we're absolutely right, Eddy. That's his boyfriend now."

The others all laughed.

"We take it all back," Alison concluded, raising her glass. "You two are officially old now."

I raised my glass.

"Cheers to that."

Chapter 45

Grover Underwood

I will not disclose how many times I fell off of the skateboard.

"Jackson, hey! What are you doing here in June?" One of the kids around our age, maybe a year or two older, asked Percy as he set down his bag. "The sperm donor lose custody of you?"

Percy rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm just in town for the day," he told this guy, motioning to me. "Grover just got back, so I finally convinced him to try getting a board."

And Percy must talk about me to some of his mortal friends, because the dude smiled, visibly excited as another guy and girl came up behind him.

"Oh my god, you're Grover!?" The dude asked me. "I'm so glad you're not dead, dude- Percy was like, very worried about you. It's so cool that we finally get your boyfriend, Perce."

How did he know?

We're not even holding hands right now.

The girl elbowed him.

"Best friend, dumbass." She corrected, which led to believe that these guys must've thought that Percy and I were dating at one point in time. "Sorry about Logan- he's been joking with Percy about you two ever since you were sharing a dorm. I'm Li, by the way, and this is Keaton. We've been skating with Percy since we all started to learn how. He's like, a master. You got a real good teacher here."

"And if you maybe tipped him for his service with a kiss, that'd be cool," Logan added on, making Percy have to cover his face. I couldn't help but smile. "Some of us would get a couple bucks out of it. No pressure, though."

And, out of curiosity, I sent a thought to my boyfriend.

Are you out to them?

No, he responded, which I think made this even funnier. But Logan's idea is really good, you should do that. I don't think I... Have to come out to them. They just kind of... Know.

I rolled my eyes.

"I'll consider it- for a cut, of course," my response got a hearty laugh from almost everyone, which made me feel nice. "What's the deal, exactly? I need to make sure we fulfill it exactly as is."

"Hey!" Keaton cut in. "That's unfair! We'll leave you guys to doing questionable things together- and if you do kiss, it better be genuine! I'm not a charity."

And with that, the group of skaters went back to where they'd been skating a little ways away on the other end of the park, leaving Percy and I back together to continue our date.

"I have a plan," I told my boyfriend, who just smiled at he handed me some wrist guards to put on. "So, when were almost ready to go, I'm probably going to fall off my board."

"Okay?"

"And when that happens, you help me up, because you're a thoughtful boyfriend," I continue. "But also, one of us makes a super dramatic confession and then we kiss and split the money that I'll get from Keaton."

Percy laughed.

"It's a wonderful idea, Grover," he told me, handing me a helmet, hesitant. "This... Won't hurt your horns, will it?"

Looking at the inskde of the helmet, I shrugged.

"I guess we'll find out."

Putting it on, I thought I was okay to wear the helmet. It was a little uncomfortable, but bearable.

And then I actually clicked it into place and had to take it off immediately.

"Okay, no helmet, no helmet." I insisted, giving it back to Percy. "I will just put my hat back on because that's like... More than having literally no protection. I don't know if I can go into the hole without a helmet, though."

"The ho... Oh! Don't worry, I wasn't going to have you do anything in the bowl," Percy promised me, holding his hand out. "now, first things first: hold my hand."

I took his hand.

"Easy."

He smiled.

"Next," he continued, making sure my skateboard-or, really, his board that he was letting me use, was in between us on the ground. "Put one shoe right here," he motioned towards one end of the skateboard, where four little dots were grouped together.

Lifting one hoof, I placed my shoe onto the board.

If the other four were watching us, I hope they were being decent enough to at least take photos.

"Then," Percy instructed. "Put your other shoe here."

And fun fact: if you lean too far while trying to get on skateboard, your board will fly out from underneath you.

Don't ask how I know that.

But the speed at which skateboards can go is kind of terrifying for the ankles of everyone everywhere.

The second time, I actually was able to get my other hoof onto the board and was suddenly very off balance, realizing that I'm on a piece of bent wood with four wheels.

"Woah, hey, it's okay," Percy reassured me, keeping a firm grip on my hands. "that's why I'm here. Bend your knees. I'm going to start walking very slowly."

"You're going to-"

And then my whole body lerched to the right as the board started to move under me.

"OH MY GODS WE'RE MOVING!" I yelled out, surprised that my grip hadn't turned Percy's hands blue yet.

"We're moving! You're doing a great job," my boyfriend reassured me. "Just breathe and bend your knees- I don't want you to pass out on me. You're not a fainting goat, are you?"

"I'm not- only when you do really cool things like defeat the Minotaur bare handed." I defended myself, though I don't know how well it worked. "That's the only time I've ever fainted."

He smiled.

"Then I better find some hot girl shit to do," Percy joked. "I can't have my boyfriend thinking I'm lame. Would showing you a trick on the board constitute being hot girl shit?"

I couldn't help but chuckle, accidentally leaning too far towards Percy and falling off of the board- this time actually falling and knocking Percy down with me.

I only screamed a little.

"Oh my- hi," Percy said as he propped himself up on his left arm, tucking a little bit of hair back into my hat. "I didn't realize I was attractive enough to fly off of a board for. I'll be much less attractive if I break my nose."

And because I couldn't help myself, I gave his nose a kiss.

"I do like your nose."

He gave me a quick, soft kiss on the lips.

"And I like you." He responded. "Come on, you can practice standing on the board while holding onto the railing and I'll show you some cool stuff, okay?"

•••

We got 20 dollars from that bet.

Which means that we actually had enough money to stop into the nearest punk shop and buy a shirt that Thalia would hopefully wear.

"I mean, it's Green Day," Percy reasoned as we started to walk down to the subway- my grip on his hand tightening because I hate being underground. "Everyone likes Green Day. That's like, required, if you want to be a citizen."

"Really?"

"Duh-you would get deported or whatever it you didn't like Green Day. Those are the rules."

"I'm sure," I said. "I'm sure she'll like it-it seems like her style. And your style. I think you two will get along."

He looked at me, surprised (I think jokingly, but it's hard to tell sometimes).

"You mean I can have more than 3 friends at the same time?"

I rolled my eyes.

"What do you call the people at the skate park? They said that they've known you for forever, are you guys not friends?"

"I mean, we're friends," Percy figured, picking at something on the back of his skateboard. "But we're not close. They're their own group and when I'm around they might let me join them, depending. I've never been able to stick around anywhere long enough to really make any close friends. I mean, you, obviously, but..."

He shrugged again.

"It's kind of exhausting to always be the new kid," he went on, leaning against me to rest his head on my shoulder. "To always be moving and whatever, even though we haven't moved. Makes me feel anxious if I'm in one place for too long, which is even more annoying. We don't have to go into it, though. I'm just tired after our really fun date, and when I get tired... You know the deal."

"Your brain does evil things to you."

"The evilest."

I placed a kiss on the top of his head.

I like being able to do that without it having to be weird or tense afterwards.

It's nice.

Especially because when I get to do it, were literally right by each other, which makes the mental link stronger and makes it easier to sense his emotions.

So when I give him a kiss on the top of his head, I can feel his bad thoughts get washed away and it makes me kind of giddy because it's confirmation that I'm the source of that feeling and I really like Percy and I was so worried when I made the link that things could've gotten weird because he'd eventually have to figure out that I had the world's biggest crush on him, but for some reason he reciprocated those feelings and—

What if he leaves again?

Feeling my heart stop doing it's job, I moved to be able to wrap both of my arms around him.

Looking up at me, Percy smiled, though it was more of a masked smile than a genuine one. It didn't go all the way to his eyes.

"Has anyone ever told you how sweet and nice of a person you are?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe, but I think it was you," I somewhat recalled from last year. "What do you want to do after campfire?"

"If Mr. D and Chiron don't summon us for some cruel and unusual punishment for something that's not even a rule?" My boyfriend responded. "I... Should probably stay in my cabin tonight? You can stay over if you want to, of course, but I feel bad leaving Tyson alone. I've only really been there with him for one night— but I've also only slept at camp for three nights this summer, so... I promise he's not like Polyphemus at all— he's literally a toddler in cyclopes years. A young child. I know you guys didn't really interact on the ship, but..."

"But that's because we didn't really know each other," I tried to justify. "I know he's not like Polyphemus. I'd be willing to stay over, if it's okay, but if you want to spend time with your brother, that's okay, too."

Nodding his head, Percy insisted that he'd talk to Tyson about it once we got back to camp.

"How did you guys meet?" I asked him, starting to mess with his hair. "like, I know you mentioned that you went to school together, but how did you guys become friends?"

Percy shrugged.

"Some kids were asses to him, I defended him. He latched on after that." He told me, which was weird wording, if you ask me. "I didn't mind it at first, but after awhile always hanging out with him got to be kind of... Exhausting, I guess? Is that bad to say? There were days that it just felt like I was an unpaid babysitter because he's technically like, a young child. But we also have a couple common interests so it wasn't always like that. He's even worse than you are at skateboarding, but he likes to do it. Likes to swim. It was just..."

He took a breath, closing his eyes.

"Even now, I still don't know how to feel about the fact that he's technically my brother." But as Percy spoke, I could sense the weight bearing down as him as he thought about his new half brother. "guilty, maybe? We haven't hung out a ton after our first day at camp. I mean, we were on the quest together, but even then he was usually doing his own thing when we were sailing. In a way, it felt like my bio dad was mocking me, too, which is... Something, I guess."

"Mocking you? How so?"

"I was supposed to have a younger sibling, before my dad got drunk. Not long after 9/11— Gabe had lost a friend during it and then like, a few weeks later, Mom miscarried. It was his final straw."

He paused, taking a breath.

"Maybe it's stupid that I think my sperm donor would do this purposely, but If Tyson is around the age of a toddler or a young child... It's been six years since Mom miscarried, give or take," he summarized, putting his hands over mine. "they would've been the same age. And knowing that just... Like, did he know that Mom was pregnant? Or that she miscarried? Did he just not care that it destroyed our family for like, years? Does he think that Tyson somehow makes up for the fact that my mom never got to have that kid? I don't..."

"I know know," I told my boyfriend as he took a long breath. "With gods, it's hard to say— I've heard like, more than one god tease your bio dad about your mom because he apparently never shut up about her for like, a lot of time, so I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow kept tabs on her without making contact, but it's almost impossible to know unless you just ask, but... That's not exactly something we can do."

"I'd also rather stab myself in the foot than have to talk to him again," Percy figured, which I understood, even if it seemed like a slightly extreme thing to compare it to.

A hand I could see, but a foot? The healing process for that is brutal.

Ask Ares, he would know.

"Oh, this is our stop." Percy said as the subway started to slow down. "come on, we have weird songs to not sing and an old married couple to get lectured by."

I smiled.

"I can't wait."

Chapter 46: Why Is My Dad Here

Thalia Grace

For being king of the gods, my dad's cabin kind of sucked ass.

There was a statue of him in here. Right when walked in—he was in the center of the common room.

I immediately requested to have it taken out.

Once it was taken out by some of the Hephaestus kids, I just set my bag of stuff on a bed and... Looked around.

"Are you excited?" Annabeth asked as she walked into my cabin with a bag in her hand—stuff from the camp store, I assume. "If you want to redecorate at all, you can. We can get paint or furniture or whatever—it's your cabin."

My cabin.

"It's... Weird," I told the daughter of Athena, taking the bag from her and putting it next to mine. "To have a place to stay. I haven't slept in an actual bed in... Years. It's quiet."

"Yeah, having no siblings makes it pretty quiet," she responded. "I have a handful of siblings, but it's not that bad. Also, I know that you don't really... Have anything anymore, besides whatever is in that backpack, so I stopped by the Aphrodite cabin and asked them for some clothes in what I hope is your size. That's what's in the bag. Oh, that and hair products. Gel and hairspray."

"Oh, thank fucking gods, you're a saint, Annie," I insisted, ruffling her hair, still somewhat amazed by the fact that she was the same person as the little boy (rip to that) that Luke and I found with a frying pan behind a dumpster. "Also, is there any way to get ahold of Luke? It feels... Odd, that he's not here. I know normal calling is super fucking dangerous so I'm not expecting that, but.... Anything?"

Annabeth shrugged.

"I think Mr. D is trying to call him, but the only other way would be to use an Iris Message." Annabeth told me, which is what I figured. "he should be back from his summer class soon, I think? He wanted us to let him know when camp was doing okay again, and if you're tree wasn't getting better to call him. So I'll probably check in with Mr. D later today and tell you whatever he tells me. But he lives in New York City so I'm sure you could figure out where he is if you have a phone book to reference. I'm pretty sure he has to have some kind of phone, even if he doesn't use it."

And as fun as it could be to track down Luke Castellan, I found the idea of him coming here more realistic.

"Nah, I think if we can get him here, it'll be a lot easier."

After all, I had that man wrapped right around my finger.

It was cute, though. I miss him.

I wonder if he had anything to do with bringing me back. Whether it be thinking that the poison was revival fluid or being the first person that figured out where the Golden Fleece was... Even though he's not here, it's seems like the stupid sort of shit he'd try and pull to do something romantic.

One time when we were on the run together, not long after it had been established that he was pathetic and unable to say no to me (because he liked me), but before I had it in me to give him the satisfaction of returning those feelings, he told me that he was going to run and get us some food while I set up our camp for the night.

And while he did return with food, he also had a handcuff on one hand because he didn't get caught stealing from the stores (one of which was a floral arrangement store, he'd also brought flowers with the food). But apparently, it was after curfew and he wasn't old enough to be out without an adult escort.

Luckily for him, somebody got into a fight while they were putting the cuffs on, so he was able to make a break.

I had to take the handcuffs off of him. It was a good night.

"A child of Hermes that can't even pick the lock to a pair of handcuffs?" I teased him. "Come on, Castellan, this is child's play."

"I can pick the lock! I just need both of my hands to do it," he insisted, shaking his wrist. "And as you can see, I can't use this one to do that because it's on my wrist. And you know that I'm better with maps and fighting than I am at breaking and entering anyways. You do that more than I do."

"Yeah, because you're a freak who can memorize a map in like four seconds—it's the weirdest perk your dad gave you."

"And you're welcome for finding the alley with that exact power," Luke responded and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Oh don't act annoyed, I know you love me, Thalia Grace. You wouldn't be here anymore if you didn't."

They rolled far enough back that I had to close my eyes.

"You can believe whatever the fuck you want to believe, Castellan," I teased him, setting the flowers down next to me with the handcuffs. "but I'm hungry enough to eat those flowers, so tell me what we got for dinner. Who knows, maybe one day you'll actually be able to bring me on a dinner date."

He just smiled and chuckled.

"Yeah, when we're able to sleep on an actual bed. Or when pigs fly." He figured, unbagging our dinner. "First you'd have to agree to a date, and I think one of us might die before you're able to acknowledge that you can feel things that aren't anger or annoyance."

"Hey!" I punched his arm. "I can also be irritated."

"Another form of annoyance."

"So what are you going to do, huh? Try and make me feel a new emotion?"

And even though he rolled his eyes, Luke Castellan was definitely blushing.

"Well, not without consent."

Fucking hell, of course he knew the exact thing to say for me to cave.

I threw a flower from the bouquet at him, an awful attempt at hiding the fact that I was blushing from him.

"You're an awful person, you know that?"

"For what? Making you blush?"

"Yes!"

Luke just laughed, a sound that warmed my heart due to how infrequently I heard it.

Being on the run and on the streets usually means that you don't make a lot of friends, and even if you make a friend, you don't trust them for a long time. It took me six months of traveling with Luke before I let myself start to genuinely trust him.

But now the bastard has me blushing during a meal that I let him choose and obtain and present to me with no suspicion or worries, teasing him because I know he likes me. That he wouldn't hurt me on purpose.

"Oh, well if you need help coming to terms with having a heart and feeling emotions, I can try to help you with it. Though I'm no better a therapist than a locksmith so... I can't promise it'll be good help."

"You'd be an awful therapist."

"Well then what's a better role for me?"

"Literally anything."

"Anything?" He questioned, leaning forward.

"Well, you'd probably be a lousy attorney because you've never been to law school," I figured, resting my forehead against his. "And I don't know if I'd trust you in a white coat, but... I could think of a few roles you'd play well."

"Like what? Will it make me rich?"

I smiled.

"Oh, no, you might actually lose money on it." I told the son of Hermes. "But you'd unlock a plethora of knowledge that only I hold right now."

"A plethora? You know I can't resist a plethora of anything."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that," I promised him, glancing down for a moment before meeting his gaze. "May I?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

And that was it. That was the start of my relationship with Luke that would eventually sort of maybe end with my not quite death.

I miss him.

A knock at the door pulled me out of my memories.

"Who...?" I asked, walking over to the door and opening it to see Grover and... Perry? No, that's not it.

Annabeth's crush. It was Poseidon's kid.

"Hey, you're still up!" Grover said with a smile. "Sorry if you're trying to wind down or just be alone. Percy and I just got back— figured most of your clothes won't fit you anymore, so we stopped and got you a couple things. There's a gift receipt if it doesn't fit."

Handing me a black bag, I didn't even know how to respond.

"I... Thank you?" I figured, looking inside and seeing an insane amount of pins. "how much were the pins? That feels like a lot."

Grover gave me a weird look.

"Pins? I don't think we got any pins."

"They were free," Percy told me, which peaked my interest. Especially since Grover didn't know about the pins. "Well, not free, but I stole them, so they were free for me."

"Percy!" Both Annabeth and Grover immediately chided.

"What? The CEO of Hot Topic isn't going to miss like a handful of pins," he insisted. "The fact that they don't make them free is crazy— everyone steals them."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you sure your dad isn't Hermes?" I asked Percy, who rolled his eyes.

"Tragically. But then again, Hermes is also a bad dad so... And most of the kids in that cabin don't really like me."

"Why not?"

Percy shrugged.

"I was claimed. I had a thing with Travis last summer that ended weirdly, too. Luke was cool, though. We've talked like, twice since he left for college since he's in Manhattan. I gotta head over to my place for the night, though— I promised my little brother that we could hang out tonight. Have fun doing whatever you were doing before we got here."

"I should head out, too, and make sure my siblings aren't killing each other before lights out." Annabeth added on quickly, walking over by Percy and it was almost painful to see how much she just wanted to be around him for literally any reason. Something I could see that Grover was about to notice as well. "Let me know if you need any, okay?"

"I think after years on the streets, I can survive one night of sleeping in a cabin with a bed." I promised my baby sister. "Go get some sleep, I'll be fine."

"Okay, okay, I will! Goodnight."

As Annabeth started to walk away from the cabin, Percy said goodnight to me and then gave Grover a kiss on the top of his head, squeezing his hand before he went to catch up with Annabeth.

Grover was definitely a little pink.

"Aw, you guys are cute." I told the satyr, who just rolled his eyes. "No, seriously, man, you are! I almost feel bad for Annabeth looking at you two. You're not worried about them at all?"

Grover shook his head.

"I know that Annabeth likes him, but she's well aware of the fact that he's gay and that their friendship is usually rocky." He assured me, leaning against the doorframe. "They argued a lot last summer. They get along for a while and then something happens after a week or so and they argue and it's weird. Percy has said a few times now that he doesn't really know if they're actually friends or if they just tolerate each other because they've gone on two quests together and Chiron wants them to be friends. I've known Percy for three years now, I'm not worried. We've also only been on like, one date, so it's a new thing. From what Luke's told me, it kind of like how you two started off?"

I rolled my eyes.

"We knew each other for like two years before we got together." I confirmed what Luke told him. "You're not worried about him dying in what? Two years?"

Grover shook his head again.

"The prophecy doesn't say that it will be him that dies— just that a hero will. I don't want to grieve until he dies. And even when he does die, eventually, I will also probably die— we have a mental link. I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing, though. Let me know if you need anything, Thals."

"Will do, Underwood. Will do."

Chapter 47: Breaking And Entering (My Heart)

Thalia Grace

I was laying in bed, in my pajamas (because I could wear those now since I actually have a place to change) and about to fall sleep.

And then I heard my cabin door open, followed by the sound of labored breathing and the door closing once again.

Who was here past curfew?

"Where..." And from my bedroom, I couldn't make out the voice. I grabbed my knife just in case and threw a shirt on. "Are they emptying the place out? Where did the statue go?"

It was silent for a second.

"Whatever, that's not... Important. Where..."

I opened my door to the main atrium, prompting the intruder to freeze as he was crouched down in front of a box that I hadn't even noticed had Luke's handwriting on it.

The intruder was older than me, but not by much— maybe two years? He was taller with a slightly toned, kind of average build. He was blonde and on his left side, a scar ran down his face. Seemed pretty nasty. With the angle he was at, it was hard to get many other details. I could barely see the scar from where I was.

"I'm just grabbing some old stuff to decorate with," he promised me, but his voice hit me before anything else did. "I don't know why you're in here, but—"

I dropped my spear.

Turning to face me slowly, the intruder's voice stopped dead in its tracks, shock hitting him.

And after the shock hit him, it almost looked like he was... Afraid of me or something. Like I was going to hurt him, even though I'd dropped my weapon as I processed what was happening.

It was barely a whisper as his emotions started to take over.

"... Thalia?"

I nodded my head, feeling a wave of overwhelming emotions start to build.

The intruder was Luke.

Stumbling over to the son of Hermes, I fell to the ground in front of him, allowing him to reach out and cup my face.

"Are you really...?" He started, losing his voice again. "You're not a ghost, are you? You're not going to disappear or... Or..."

I put my hand over his.

"I'm real," I promised the son of Hermes, leaning in to rest our foreheads against one another. "I woke up on the hill this morning. I'm really here, I promise."

His lip quivered.

"I missed you."

And, in a move that I only thought of as risky in hindsight but obvious in the moment, I cupped Luke's face and kissed him ever so gently.

"I missed you, too." I responded, the kiss at least helping his breathing steady. "do you want to sleep over and we can catch up? It seems like there's a lot I've missed."

Luke nodded his head.

"If it's okay with you," he said. "you aged regularly? Or did you die and get revived with your age just... Adjusted?"

"I was never dead," I promised the blonde, helping him stand up. He's grown a few inches, but I had as well, so our height difference stayed. "It was basically like a coma— I don't remember much, but I was definitely poisoned."

I gave him a knowing look.

"Do you know anything about that?"

"I mean you're here. Annabeth and Percy told me about it last week since they were leaving on a quest. So it definitely happened."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Luke?"

"Getting our parents to pay child support is a lot of sneaky, underhanded work," Luke insisted, which I couldn't help but smile at because he's always had stuff against his dad. Fairly so. "The person that I'm working with wanted to like, destroy camp and get rid of the border but I didn't want you to die so I might've done a shit load of research to figure out where the Golden Fleece was. I had no idea it'd bring you back to life, though."

"No idea?"

"I refused to let myself be disappointed."

I rolled my eyes.

"And yet here I am." I squeezed his hand. "Who are you working with?"

"I'll get to that," he insisted. "But I think I should probably catch you up on stuff a little older than that: I don't know if you've seen her yet, but An... Andy came out as trans a few years back. She goes by Annabeth now— long blonde hair, counselor for Cabin 6?"

"Grover told me right away," I said, sitting down next to Luke on the bed. "the first three people I saw besides some Apollo healers were Grover, Annabeth, and then Percy, who seems cool. Poseidon's kid, begrudgingly."

"Percy's a cool kid, he's one of the few people that I have to put in a real effort in with when we'd spar. I still teach the kid in the off season— don't tell Chiron."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell him? Why?"

Luke sighed.

"The old man and I don't really see eye to eye anymore," he explained, leaning into my touch. "on some matters we will, but the more I learned, the less I agreed with him. He like, refused to look for your little brother or to send a searcher out last summer and the summer before when I suggested we try and find him for like, a lot of reasons. And then Percy came along and we've disagreed about almost everything since then."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Chiron just wants to shield him and act like there's no heightened chance that he's going to be at the center of a major prophecy and probable war in two years time." He started, which Percy did tell me about. "and it's not because he thinks the kid will live— and I get that he doesn't want Percy to try and avoid the prophecy or try and change it, but it's still insensitive. Also, he sent this kid on a death quest with a week of training and his expectations of Percy are just so high that it is destroying Percys relationship with him. But also, Percy is one of a few demigods that are working with me on the child support plan— Annabeth and Grover are not apart of it."

"They're not?" I responded, intrigued by something that Luke would do that Annabeth wouldn't try and follow him with. "Tell me more."

•••
Gabe Ugliano-Jackson

"Sally?" I asked, walking into our bedroom not long after our dinner guests had left.

Looking up, Sally was sitting at the edge of the bed, visibly overwhelmed as she held her sleep shirt in her hand. She'd taken a shower after everyone left and by the looks of it, something came up in her mind between getting her pajama pants on and her shirt. She was currently in a sports bra and her pajama pants.

If it didn't look like she might go into crisis mode, it would've been a cute look.

"Sally, hey," I said, trying to pull her away from her thoughts. I placed one hand on her shoulder, moving a piece of hair from away from her view with my other hand. The second thing got her attention. "what's going on?"

She smiled, but it was far from getting to her eyes.

"It was nice to see everyone, but now I'm... Worried, I guess?" My wife explained as I sat down and wrapped an arm around her. She leaned against me. "I was always worried about monsters attacking Percy before he went to camp, but after learning that most of our friends were demigods that lived, I was relieved because it wasn't as severe as I thought it was, but now there's this prophecy that..."

She stopped herself.

"I told myself that it's not a death sentence, but... It's like, there's still going to be some battle or war that he's going to have to fight in and even if he survives that... Will he want to survive it?" Sally asked the million dollar question. "if he survives, how do we even..."

Her voice quieter for a moment, thinking to herself as an idea came to her.

"Did you ever have to fight in a battle that I never knew about? When we were younger?"

Being a tough pill to swallow, I sighed.

"Most demigods do— we were far from an exception." I told Sally about something that I don't think I've talked about, even with my friends from camp, since Percy was born. "Our main conflict never escalated into a war, but there were a couple battles. Do you remember when your uncle died? When I came to your apartment?"

"Yeah, of course— you were the first person I saw after it happened. Why?"

"I didn't go there because Eddy told me that your uncle died— none of us knew yet," I broke the news to her. "I figured it out when I saw a cororner was driving away with an ambulance that didn't have any lights on, but... I'd been there to try and say goodbye or maybe tell you that I loved you or something because we knew that we were going into battle with days of that. When I realized that your uncle had just died, though, I decided to keep it early subtle and to keep the love-y emotions out of it since you'd just lost your only family."

"You were going to..." Sally started. "Gabe, darling, we weren't... We weren't together when my uncle died. We didn't get together until after Percy was born."

I nodded my head.

"I know," I reassured her that my memory wasn't that bad.

"Did you... Did you know that long beforehand?" But since I've never talked about the fact that I was there for a different reason than Sally originally assumed, I guess we've never talked about this. "That you loved me?"

And even though I'm in my 30s, it's still embarrassing to remember the days when I had already fallen head over heels for Sally Jackson and she was so busy staying alive that she never noticed.

"Sally, I... Our friends bullied me profusely in high school when we were at camp because I wrote you letters." I broke the news to her. "I think the first time I realized it was when Ms. Jacobs paired us together as dance partners to learn how to swing dance."

"That's why you were so awkward the first day we did that!?" Sally responded, leaning back, looking surprised. "I thought you were just embarrassed because you had no sense of rhythm."

"Hey!" I responded, nudging my wife as she bursted into a fit a laughter. "That only made it worse. I promise that if we went dancing now, I'd be the tiniest bit better."

"Only a tiny bit?"

"I still have bad rhythm."

She smiled, giving me a kiss.

"You do," she confirmed. "We never did get to have a first dance at our wedding."

"Because we didn't have a reception," I agreed.  "Does that bug you? That we never had a reception?"

Sally shrugged.

"Not really, but I think it would be fun to have a really big, fancy party one day." She told me, giving me that look like she had an idea. "You know, our ten year anniversary is coming up."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Do you want to throw a fancy party for our ten year anniversary?"

"I think it would be fun."

I smiled, considering the idea.

It was a big deal when we officially decided that we weren't going to have a reception after our wedding because we just... Couldn't afford one. Percy was still young and it was either have a honeymoon or a reception, and we really wanted to get out of New York for a few days.

"Can we renew our vows if we do it?" I asked. "We don't have to— I haven't exactly been the world's most amazing husband, though you've been a wonderful wife. You didn't even leave my ass when you definitely should have."

"Hmm maybe, but I'm glad I didn't." Sally reassured me, letting me breathe a little easier. She gave me another kiss, the topic of Percy's possible death now far from her mind. "I wouldn't mind renewing our vows."

I gave her a kiss, moving my lips closer to her ear.

"How would you feel about being pregnant during this party?"

Wrapping her arms around my neck, Sally placed another few kisses around the edge of my mouth and near my ear.

"Now you're speaking my language, Mr. Jackson."

•••
cishet couple chapter :) they can be cute too

Notes:

When I published this this story had exactly 11,111 hits which is crazy bc that's so many ones

Chapter 48: You Can't Be Prosecuted Without Any Proof

Luke Castellan

Since I had an impromptu sleepover in Cabin One last night, I figured I'd take my time and hang out for the morning. Get some breakfast, maybe do a training session, say hi to my siblings.

Tell me why this was my cabins reaction to me visiting:

"Why the fuck are you here?" Connor asked as soon as I went to sit down with my plate with food. "I thought you were never coming back."

I had to stop and look at my little brother, because that was not the attitude he had when I left last summer.

"And good morning to you, too," I told him, confused. "What's with the fucking attitude? Missed you, too, my gods."

Connor rolled his eyes, getting up.

"I'll be back."

And he took his plate and went over to where Chiron was sitting with Mr. D.

"Sorry, he's been weird ever since you left," Julia apologized, handing me a goblet. "I just don't think he likes being counselor, but he's been... I don't even know. He acts like you're the devil or something now, which is odd?"

"Like I'm the devil?"

"Oh, yeah, he's convinced that you're the one that poisoned Thalia's Tree and stole the Master Bolt," Travis told me, which was...

Wonderful news.

I don't know how he got to that conclusion, but if he believes it and he's told other people that he believes that...

Did he hear something last summer?

"He... Thalia's Tree was poisoned?"

"Exactly! I knew you didn't know!" Travis insisted. "Did you see Percy and Annabeth on their quest? Or Clarisse and Silena?"

I nodded my head.

"I was on a cruise for a college class, talking about ecosystems and whatever." I explained. "they mentioned that they were on a quest because camps borders were being messed with, but they never mentioned Thalia's Tree. Is that's why... Is that why Thalia's here? They healed the tree and she woke up?"

Travis confirmed my theory of what would happen with the Fleece by nodding his head.

"She woke up yesterday," Travis told me. "She's like... Very fiesty. I thought she was going to bite Chiron's head off at the meeting last night. Her and Percy are very similar."

"They are," I agreed with my little brother. "they'll either be best friends or they'll despise each other, I'm sure. Thalia said he seemed cool so far."

"You saw her!?" The older Hermes campers all asked at once and I smiled.

I missed them.

It's a little weird that Chris and Ethan aren't at the table, though. But I get to see them more often, outside of camp.

"I came to camp at the end of campfire last night to grab some stuff from Cabin One— old photos and what not," I explained, since my siblings knew that I had kept a couple boxes of random stuff in Cabin One for years with Thalia's stuff. I'd go through it every once in a while when I missed her. "And then she came out of her bedroom with her spear and scared the shit out of me."

"Aw, is Luke still in love with Thalia?" Julia teased me.

And speak of the devil, Thalia, who I assumed didn't know about the table rule yet, walked over and sat down next to me.

"He is, it's kind of pathetic," the daughter of Zeus confirmed, sliding in next to me. After the amount of arguing she did with Chiron last night, she was more than willing to join Operation Child Support— though she called me a fucking idiot for making a deal with Kronos. "What's up? I'm Thalia."

She's not wrong, but it's not like I had anyone else that was willing to financially support the plan.

"Oh my gods, you're sitting at the table." Travis said, verbally stressed by that fact. "hey, Thalia, sorry to be a cock block or a buzz kill or whatever, but you're not supposed to sit here. This is cabin 11 members only."

Thalia looked around the pavilion.

"Is it against the rules?"

"Very." Julia said, but Thalia just smirked, taking a bite of the waffle on her plate.

"Then if they decide to reinforce it, I'll move," she promised my siblings. "Gods, it's been so long since I've had a good waffle. Do you guys have any embarrassing stories about Luke? He wouldn't tell me any of them last night."

"You didn't even ask!"

She waved me aside, like the loving girlfriend she is.

"Details, details. Give me the dirt."

And you know what? Fuck my siblings, because they gave her every embarrassing story they could.

They also told her about how Annabeth used to have a crush on me, but I guess she has one on Percy now.

"Speaking of Percy," I said, slapping the table in front of Travis. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Trav? You end things in the most bullshit matter last summer and then you guys go out and you tell him that he's unstable during a fight? What made you think that that was a good idea?"

"What... I never claimed it was a good idea, it just... It came out wrong." Travis insisted. "He was basically suicidal, Luke, and wanted to go on a solo quest. I tried to explain to him why it was a bad idea, but he said he'd be fine."

Travis shrugged.

"It's not like it would've lasted long, anyways," my little brother went on, resting his hand on the table. "Grover would always come first and then I'd get jealous or he'd realize that Grover's in love with him or whatever or that he wants to be with Grover instead because they're inseparable and it would've just been bad no matter how things ended between us. I tried to apologize and ask if we could hang out again— whether it be a date or not, but he said no because, and I quote, I don't think it's going to be good for either of us if we want different things out of it. So we're like, not even friends, I guess."

Did Percy finally realize that Grover's had a crush on him since Yancy?

"I mean, you said some mean things this off season." Julia didn't let Travis play the victim card in their break up, though. "Multiple people heard you say that you'd have to be stupid to invest in somebody that's going to be dead in two years. If I were Annabeth or literally anyone that heard that that was at all friendly with Percy, I would've told him about that. Especially after you guys were hanging out again. You're lucky his ass took you on a date."

"And that he didn't beat the shit out of you afterwards, by the sounds of it," the daughter of Zeus agreed with my younger sister.

"Percy wouldn't start a fight like that—he can't take a hit," Travis insisted. "Not without having a panic attack, at least. He's a great swordsman, but he's awful at hand combat."

"And yet he could still probably take your ass." I told him. "Love you, Trav, but you made a series of poor decisions with Percy."

"Okay, but—"

"Luke Castellan, it's a pleasure to see you back here," Chiron interrupted our conversation as he placed a hand on my shoulder, which I didn't love. "I'm sure your time here is limited, but would I be able to speak with you for a minute? We can go for a stroll, just like old times."

Did Connor rat me out?

Probably.

"Um, yeah, I guess." I figured, grabbing my plate that was empty and standing, putting it in it cabin 11 bin. "I'm just here for the day if that answers any questions."

He smiled that smile that never reaches his eyes.

"Then I'll try and make it quick. Follow me, son."

Following the old centaur, I tried not to gag at the nickname he'd just called me, because he hasn't used it in a long time.

"Please don't call me that, Chiron." I requestion. "Everything alright? I heard there were some issues with the border, but Thalia's alive now so...? I assume it's fixed?"

He nodded curtly.

"Yes, the Golden Fleece was able to heal not only the Tree and it's magical abilities, but it brought Thalia Grace back to us in her human form." Chiron confirmed for me. "Did you know she was back? Did somebody tell you?"

I shook my head, honest.

"I stopped by last night to grab some of my stuff from Cabin One and she scared me," I explained. "We spent most of the night catching up and I accidentally fell asleep. She said that she argued with you a lot last night about Jason?"

Chiron just sighed, shaking his head.

"She's stubborn like you, Annabeth, and Percy all are—no wonder you treated Percy like your little brother." He told me, and I couldn't help but laugh. "Those two are identical. What have you been up to this last year? Is Manhattan treating you well? Or college?"

Shrugging, I nodded my head.

"It's been alright— I got to go on a cruise for one of my classes, which was cool," I told the old man. "that's where I heard about what was going on with the borders. I'm scraping by. I rent out a storage shed where I still train when I can. Also, unrelated, but are Chris and Ethan not at camp anymore?"

Chiron sighed, stopping for a moment as he looked in the direction that Manhattan was.

He looked old.

"Chris... Left, but said that he wanted to try school, so it wasn't a shock." He explained to me. "His mom says that he's struggling to make friends, but doing okay otherwise. Ethan on the other hand... Just left one night. His father passed right before he came to camp, as I'm sure you remember, and we have no way of finding any other family of his. You haven't heard from him?"

I shook my head.

"Sorry, no. Have you made any progress in finding any of the missing demigods?"

But because the well-being of campers and of literal children has never actually been Chirons concern, he confirmed for me that nothing has been done.

"With what time?" The centaur asked me in return, which was the worst thing he could've said to me. It caused me to stop dead in my tracks. "And what leads? Maybe if somebody could give us a tip, we'd be able to dedicate the manpower to look for them, but until then..."

Chiron turned around, realizing I was no longer following him.

"Should I slow down, boy? Sorry, sometimes I forget the speed at which humans walk."

Realizing how tense I was, I unballed my fists.

"With what time?" I repeated back, hoping that with his four thousand years worth of knowldge that he'd hear how insensitive he sounded. "Chiron, every second those kids are gone is another chance for them to never be found again! What do you mean with what time? Your satyrs are trained to find demigods! Send them! How many of those kids are sleeping in alleys and surviving on pennies, if they haven't been slaughtered by monsters on the streets?"

He crossed his arms.

"And what makes you think they'd come back, Mr. Castellan?" But because he's old, he has to act like he's always right, and that's what's always created tension between us. It's what sparked my rebellion. "They ran away, Luke. You ran away from your home, Luke— would you return?"

I could've grown to become indifferent about my father, the way so many other campers here are.

But after working with the old man and trying to act like a big brother to so many kids who would never be lucky enough to meet their parent, some of them not even lucky enough to get to learn who their other parent was— and to slowly see how Chiron just treated them like a number.

Like they weren't children.

Seeing Mr. D have more empathy for those kids than Chiron could ever care to is the first thing that got me.

"Well? Would you?" The centaur pressed.

"If I believed that my mother was fit to take care of me, and that she cared for me, I would have gone back to her in a beartbeat," but I wasn't going to allow him to be right about something that he can't understand. I could feel my eyes sting and my chest rise. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was aware that somebody else was able to see or hear us, but I didn't care enough to stop, because Chiron needed to understand this. "I could never hate my mother, you old sot. I loved my mother! I hate what that thing in the attic did to her, and I hold no respect for the people who knew what would happen and let it persist anyways."

I stopped myself, taking a shaky breath.

"Maybe if demigods felt like they mattered, they wouldn't run away, Chiron." I told him what seemed to be the million dollar idea that nobody has the money to invest in. "maybe if they felt like they were important or if they had somebody in their life they could depend on..."

"Well, the counselors—"

"THE COUNSELORS ARE CHILDREN!" I yelled at him, a little surprised to see him take a step back. "AND SHAME ON YOU FOR PUTTING THAT RESPONSIBILITY ONTO THEM. They're children."

"But you didn't have to—"

"Raise children? Chiron, I raised Annabeth and the Stolls and every other kid in cabin 11." I tried to relay information to him that he keeps ignoring. "I was 14 when I was brought here with Annabeth. She was 7. And even though I was only 14, I ended up raising her. I was a counselor at 15 and raising all of my other siblings. Annabeth has been a counselor since she was 10, Chiron, and she's basically the mom to the younger kids. Same goes to Clarisse and Silena and Beckendorf. They're 13, 14, and 15. I don't even know if all of them have gone through puberty! Why are they being put into positions where they're the parent figure for their siblings?"

"I mean, who else is going to do it?"

"YOU ARE!" I yelled, feeling hot tears start to pour down my cheeks. "IT'S YOUR JOB, CHIRON! IF THE GODS REFUSE TO SEE US, REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE WE EXIST, AND IF YOU WANT TO STAND WITH THEM IN THAT SCHOOL, IT IS YOUR JOB TO BE THEIR DAD! NOT A CHILD, YOU."

But gods forbid he listened to one of his longest standing cabin 11 counselors.

"My job is to train them, Luke, not coddle them."

My frustration started to boil over as I closed my eyes, wishing I could understand how he couldn't wrap his mind around this.

"Then hire somebody who can coddle them." I suggested, and not for the first time. "because if kids, if children think it's more viable to run away or to kill themselves rather than stay in the safest place on the planet for them, something is deeply wrong and I... I can't keep having this argument with you, Chiron. You're playing with children's lives like they're pieces in a chess game."

The centaur looked me up and down.

"And that's all the gods have done for a millennia." But he says it as if it was something that shouldn't change. Not that couldn't change.

Shouldn't.

I sniffled.

"The next time you go to battle, I hope the warriors you're so inconsiderate of refuse to fight." I dismissed myself from our walk. "Children are not pawns in a game of war— they are not numbers, nor are they immortal. Until you learn that, I will not return to train, to teach, or to visit. And I promise: I will not fight for you."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you suggesting you'd fight against the gods? Against Olympus?"

I kept my tone steady.

"No," I said, a half lie. "I'm suggesting that, until my family is treated with respect, I will not fight for you. I never said anything about the gods or about going against anyone."

I turned away from the mentor who I can't believe I once looked up to.

"Goodbye, Chiron," I told him. "I hope this conversation haunts you enough to change you. I hope we never speak again."

Chapter 49: How Do You Confront Somebody Who's In The Right?

Dionysus

At the end of last summer, when Luke left, I was a little surprised that there was never any fight between him and Chiron about it.

But once he was gone, once he'd decided that he was leaving, I assumed I'd never see him really blow up at the old man in the way I knew he was dying to for years.

Tracking the son of Hermes after the fight wasn't too hard— he'd said a quick goodbye to Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and his cabin. Met Thalia near the border of camp for a longer, harder goodbye.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with?" Luke asked the daughter of Zeus, the two of them standing at the top of the hill, where they last separated. "I'll find a way to get you to California. My bed is a lot more comfy than the beds here."

Thalia rolled her eyes.

"I'll be okay, Luke." She promised him. "I'll come visit as often as I can, but I want to train for a little bit and get to know Annabeth again. When I leave for California, you'll definitely know. And plus, we'll have weekly date nights."

Luke smiled.

"Yeah, good luck getting either of them to agree to that."

She shrugged.

"If they don't approve it, I'll just sneak out."

He smiled again.

"Oh right, that's why I like you so much," the son of Hermes said jokingly, giving her a kiss on the temple. A sweet gesture, I have to admit. "I'll see you soon, Thals. Love you."

"Mhm," she hummed, even though I could tell just by watching that she returned the sentiment. "Don't die on me in the next week, Castellan. I gotta go train so I can kick your ass again—not that it'll be hard."

Rolling his eyes, the two of them say their goodbyes before Thalia walked back towards camp and Luke took a moment, not just watching her walk, but watching the camp as a whole.

"I'm a little sad to see you go, kid," I admitted, emerging from the woodwork and nearly getting a knife thrown at my head— a fair response, though maybe a little intense if you ask me. "Hey, breathe, it's alright. I heard you talking to Chiron and figured I'd track you down before you left."

Luke paused.

"You heard Chiron and I?"

I rolled my eyes.

"It's a miracle half of camp didn't— I'm sure the old man knew that you might get frustrated if he brought up anything too sensitive. I don't think he expected that, though. For some reason."

I paused, debating how much I wanted to say to him.

"You know, you're not wrong, Luke." I went on, intentional about using his correct name. "We're not good parents, and Chiron is an awful stand in for us. Mostly because he's not meant to be a stand in— it wasn't that long ago that we were able to talk to you guys. Not that we always did, but we could. And I can't speak on all of us, but I miss my kids. My older kids, who aren't here."

Luke nodded his head.

"I... It wasn't really a dig at you, Mr. D," the son of Hermes insisted. "I've watched you defend Percy, who's not even your kid, among many other demigods over the years. My qualms are with Chiron and the gods who truly think that what is currently going on is a good idea— I don't know why Chiron is so bent on things staying the same. I never have."

I shrugged.

"Because change is hard, and for us, things are always changing," I tried to explain without defending the centaur who I often disagreed with as well. "I... I don't know what you're doing, Luke. I can't quite put my finger on what it is you're planning. But whatever it is, please don't act too rash."

Luke raised an eyebrow, giving me a skeptical look.

"What do you mean what I'm planning?"

I sighed, leaning against Thalia's Tree.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that you chose to leave just as shit started to hit the fan," I worded the accusation very careful. "Or that you were adamant about protecting Percy. And I have no proof that you have done anything, nor do I have any intentions on sharing my hypothesis with Chiron or my father, but I just... Have a feeling."

He gave me a skeptical look.

"You think I poisoned Thalia's Tree? And stole the Bolt? Or just one?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe it wasn't you," I went on. "Who's to say you aren't working with somebody? I think this problem is bigger than my father or Chiron wants to realize it is, and it's one that was bound to happen eventually."

Looking cautious, Luke crossed his arms.

"And you're not going to do anything about it?"

Once again, I shrugged.

"About what?" I asked. "It's not like you're dethroning us, right? You don't seek to destroy Olympus, because it's not leadership you seek. You want change that won't happen without force. Just be careful: I'm in a very unique situation where I see and I understand your frustrations and your motives— other gods will not do the same."

"And this is all on a hunch?" Luke asked me, obviously skeptical. "You're assuming a lot of things about me and about my possible team. What makes you think we wouldn't wish to destroy Olympus?"

I sighed, looking the demigod up and down.

"It's not often a demigod gets to go to college," I asked which confused him initially. It wasn't exactly on topic. "it's even more rare that a demigod gets to have a worth while conversation with their godly parent. Your angle isn't world domination because your goal isn't to change the world— it's to change the lives of demigods. For the better."

Luke debated the idea.

"You have a point."

I conceded with a nod.

"I know," I insisted. "Trust me when I say that not all gods have been happy about how my father has chosen to rule these last few decades after breaking his own rule— Apollo is especially upset about the rule, but most of the gods will be harder to pursue than him or I. That being said, if you ever require assistance, ask me for a scholarship."

Luke scoffed.

"I'm not coming back, Mr. D."

"But you have people here, don't you?" I reminded him and he rolled his eyes. "Hey, maybe I'm wrong— I'll only know if one of them start asking about scholarships."

I put my hand out for the son of Hermes— a demigod that I've watched grow into his anger and frustration ever since he lost the person who meant the world to him six, almost seven years ago.

Skeptical, Luke looked at it like I might have a shock buzzer in my hand.

"Be careful, Luke Castellan— if we ever see each other again, I hope it's on the stipulation that change is being made."

Hesitantly, the demigod took my hand, shaking it without any harm done to him.

"You, too," he said, and I'm not sure what he meant by it, but I think it had good intentions. "Keep an eye on Percy and Thalia for me, yeah?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"What about Annabeth?"

He let go of my hand.

"Chiron is her father, not me," Like insisted, and it's almost tragic, but I understood what he meant. "she's grown up into the bright young woman that Chiron wanted her to be. I'll see her when she's older."

Giving him a sad smile, I wished the son of Hermes well as he made his way down to Argus, who was politely waiting for him at the bottom of the hill.

Most demigods grow out of the anger and resentment that they find themselves with not long after coming to camp. It's a natural emotion to feel— to learn that your deadbeat parent is not only alive, but is an immortal Olympian.

Luke Castellan was different, though.

Not only did he come to Camp Half-Blood angry, but after losing Thalia, he learned how to use and embrace his anger, rather than let it go.

He used that anger to become the counselor of the Hermes cabin because he was one of the few campers that actually wanted the unclaimed demigods and the Hermes children to be treated as the same, rather than excluding the unclaimed. He sympathized with them. What other campers viewed to be unlucky he viewed to be unfair.

And he was right.

As the son of Hermes walked away, I knew that I'd see him again.

I could only hope that time wouldn't be at his funeral.

•••
Percy Jackson

The afternoon a few hours after Luke left camp, I was doing a mandatory check in with Mr. D (which wasn't that bad anymore— I'm supposed to do them at least every other week), when Chiron walked (trotted?) into the Big House seeming... Upset.

Which wasn't normal for the centaur.

"So on the ship—"

"I never want to see that blond-haired bafoon in this camp again." Chiron interrupted me in the middle of a sentence, effectively shutting me down.

"You— I'm sorry? I'm in the middle of a one-on-one, Chiron." Mr. D pointed out as I crossed my arms, now uncomfortable for a couple reasons. "Which I told you about this morning before Luke seemed to get your panties in a twist. We can talk about whatever he said to you later, this is a personal meeting."

Chiron glanced at me, and I looked down.

I will not completely shut down because of this.

It won't happen.

That would be stupid if I let something that small and insignificant get to me.

"Fine. Let me know when you're done. I'll be at the archery range."

Closing his eyes, the god sighed, not speaking until he heard the door close again.

"Sorry," Mr. D apologized for something that wasn't his fault. "Luke and Chiron shared... Words earlier. He struggles with criticism. You were saying about the ship?"

Luke and Chiron got into an argument?

Luke was only here for like, 12 hours.

And he was only around people that weren't Thalia for like 3 of those hours.

Maybe I'm more like Luke than I thought, my gods. I didn't think he was that prone to fighting, but I guess so.

"Wh... Oh, yeah," I said, remembering what we were talking about. "Annabeth and I didn't talk for a while once we got on the ship, and then Clarisse decided to be nice to me, which was... Weird, but nice? I think we're friends, but it's hard to tell."

"You and Annabeth or you and Clarisse?"

I shrugged.

"Me and Clarisse," I clarified for my grandad. "I accidentally helped her and Silena get together, so I guess that makes us friends? Annabeth and I..."

Looking down again, I let out a breath.

"I don't hate her or anything, but I don't think we're actually friends." I tried to elaborate for him. "Or at least, it's not genuine— she didn't start to have an interest in me until I used my water powers to soak Clarisse. Before then, she had like, no respect for me or my boundaries. Even after that, it was shaky."

Nodding, Mr. D encouraged me to continue.

"And we argued constantly on our first quest— almost every day. I felt bad for Grover." I continued. "Sometimes it was stupid shit, sometimes it wasn't."

"Okay," he responded. "Do you think it's because of the rivalry? I know it's an odd idea, but..."

I shook my head.

"Not on my end, at least." I answered his question, crossing my arms again. "On my end, I just don't think she actually believes that I'm capable of doing anything on my own. She invited herself on this quest. She really likes to call me idiot-esque names, even though I've asked her to stop multiple times. And now that we're done with the quest, I'm sure we'll barely hang out and next summer, if something happens and the chances of there being a quest given out is there, she'll want to act like we're best friends again. Because she wants to go on quests and get her mom's attention in order to become a great architect which... I applaud the fact that she thinks that her mom could genuinely care."

Slowly nodding, Mr. D shrugged.

"I don't talk to her mom often, so I wouldn't know her opinion on her daughter." Mr. D commented, which seemed weirdly neutral for what I said to him. "how are things with Tyson?"

"With Tyson? It's alright," I reassured him. "Um, we didn't get to talk a bunch on the quest, which I feel kind of bad about. We hung out last night, though, which was cool. It frustrated me at first, just because of the timing that he's as old as my younger sibling would've been had Mom never miscarried, but it doesn't anymore. It's also not fair to be mad at him for that— that's a sperm donor frustration."

He smiled.

"You could just call him your dad, Percy."

"Ew, no." I stopped that idea. "I have a dad, you know that. We even have the same last name now! He got it changed this year. I think it's because they want to have another kid."

"Really? Gabe hasn't mentioned that to me yet." Grandpa D told me, which I guess didn't surprise me after the miscarriage. After last time. "how do you feel about that? Do you want a little sibling?"

I sighed.

"It's... Complicated." I tried to explain. "I want a little sibling, don't get me wrong. I always have. But I don't... Want my possible death to have a negative impact on their life because they won't be old enough to really have long lasting memories or me or... I don't want Mom and Dad's grief to hurt them."

I paused, knowing that I should add it because people always say it if I don't.

"If I die."

But the more I think about it, the harder it is to think that I won't die.

A silence fell between the god and I as both of us sat with the uncomfortable truth: that I might die in two years, regardless of what anyone wants.

"What makes you think you will?"

I looked down.

"Because if I don't die, somebody else has to."

And that's the truth.

Sure, it's tragic, but my sperm donor said it himself— he cursed me with a hero's fate.

Somebody has to die in two years.

And I don't care how it has to happen and what I have to go through to make sure it happens, but if somebody is dying, it will be and only me.

That's the only way this can happen.

•••

That evening, I was relaxing in my cabin between dinner and campfire, when Tyson knocked on my open bedroom door.

"Can come in?" He asked and I couldn't help but smile.

I hope he doesn't have to fight in whatever war might break out in these next couple of years. That he'll get to still be a kid for a while longer.

"Yeah, come on in!" I insisted, sitting up on my bed. "I'm just relaxing before campfire— you know how big crowds are."

He nodded his head.

"Big energy." He agreed, putting his hands out. "I have present for you."

"A present?" I asked, putting my hands out so he could drop it into my hands— it was a small box. "Thank you, Tyson. I don't have anything for you, I'm sorry."

"It's okay!" He insisted. "Big brother shows me cool things. That is present."

I smiled. "Can I open it?"

He nodded with more enthusiasm.

Carefully, I opened the box to see a wristwatch inside— definitely made from celestial bronze.

"Oh, nice! I needed a watch. Thank you, Tyson."

He pointed to the button that's usually used to adjust the time on the watch.

"Press button."

And even though the time was accurate on the watch, I did as my little brother requested and pressed the watch.

It didn't stop the time to change it— it caused the watch to turn into a shield.

On the shield, there were four different things depicted: the first was of our dodgeball fight right before leaving for camp. The next one was Tyson, Annabeth, and I riding the hippocampi away from camp. Then, the third scene: us retrieving the Fleece with the others. And lastly, all of us on the ship together after getting the Fleece, Grover, and the Ramirez-Arellano sisters.

"This is... Amazing, Tyson." I told him, realizing that this is the thing that he must've been tinkering with these last few weeks. "seriously, this is really cool."

He smiled.

"Wanted to give to you before I go."

I stopped, looking back up at my little brother.

He hasn't mentioned anything about leaving before. This was... New.

"Before you go where?" I asked, feeling a familiar sense of dread and slight panic wash over me. "to campfire or...? Did you make a friend that you're hanging out with tonight? Because if so, I'm glad you're making friends."

But Tyson shook his head.

"Daddy call me yesterday," he explained, and I suddenly didn't know if I wanted to scream or if I wanted to break down crying. "said good job and told me I could live by him and work with other cyclopes! Make weapons and sticks and eats lots of peanut butter!"

Because just as I felt things were going good with Tyson— when I'd just let go of my frustrations with how I found out he was my brother— he's leaving.

"Oh." I said, trying to not make it look or sound like I might lose it because if he wants this, I shouldn't take it from him. "When are you... When are you going?"

But he's just not leaving.

He's going to stay with Poseidon. He was invited to stay with Poseidon.

"Now. That why I gave you shield."

"Oh. Yeah. Makes sense." I said, biting my lip, attempting to swallow my emotions for another five minutes. "Well if you ever want to skateboard or play war or... Hang out. You know where I am. Here or... In New York."

Tyson smiled, pulling me into a nearly rib-breaking hug that threatened to break my wall.

"I promise I'll come visit!" Tyson insisted, letting me breathe again. "once I make lots of cool stuff with Daddy, I'll come and tell you lots!"

I nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak.

Tyson looked at the clock.

"Okay, I gots to go!" He told me with a smile still in his face. He waved, opening the back door the our cabin. "bye bye, Big Brother!"

Waving back, I felt a dam start to crack inside of me as Tyson closed the door behind him and it hit me like a flying shoe to the head:

I'm alone again.

END OF PART II (SEA OF MONSTERS)

 

Notes:

How y'all feeling? We're 2 parts deep now and from what I've written so far part 3 is gonna be longer than parts 1/2 were

Chapter 50: When You Try Your Best, But Your Xanax Doesn't Work

Notes:

Welcome to the Titans curseeeeeeee

Percy Jackson

(his mental health is not getting better)
(it's actually getting worse, so you can imagine the things that might come up)
(this is a trigger warning)

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Mom asked me as we waited in the car for Thalia and Annabeth at the bottom of Half Blood Hill. "I know you want to be helpful, sweetie, but you just got home."

"It's okay, Mom," I insisted, not completely believing myself. "At least this way I get to see Grover for longer than a few hours, and Thalia's pretty chill, too. We're bringing a couple demigods to camp. It's nothing crazy, Grover just needs help because it's more than one kid and he suspects a monster or two in the school."

"Are you sure?" She asked again. "Because I can drop you off at home and bring the girls to Maine if you're not."

"I swear it'll be fine— if it wasn't Grover, I wouldn't go. It's only been like two months, but I miss him. It won't take us long. I promise I'll have time to be at home and relax before school starts again. And before the party."

"Okay," she said, handing me one of the blue cookies she'd brought with for our long drive today. "But if you change your mind at all, tell me, okay? If you don't want the girls knowing, we'll make it seem like something else."

Nodding my head, I promised I'd let my mom know if I changed my mind at all, though I doubted I would.

You see, after Tyson left, it was a rough summer. I got like, really into my head that night and skipped campfire because I was spiraling. I was trapped in the mindset that I was alone and that as soon as things felt okay, somebody left again and it was this feeling that, even though I had a boyfriend and I'd made a new friend during the quest, I was going to be alone forever because, eventually, everyone would leave.

Having the mental link, Grover could sense the fact that I was spiraling, but he wasn't able to get to my cabin until towards the end of campfire because he'd been presenting the findings of his search to the Counsel of Cloven Elders that night right after dinner, and by the time he got there...

By the time he got there, it was too late.

I was alive, and I didn't try to kill myself (because of the mental link), but it was the first time that I cut myself. On purpose.

Or at least, the first time in a while.

I honestly don't know what felt worse: actually cutting or watching Grover realize that the wounds couldn't have been caused by any type or monster.

The rest of summer, I was kept on close watch. Grover stayed over or I went to Grover's a lot.

It wasn't required that I had somebody else in the cabin at first, but in late July there was a night where I was alone and it wasn't anyone's fault. People were busy and I thought I'd be fine so I didn't go to the Big House.

But then I had a nightmare that Grover found out that I was working with Luke and he hated me because of it and I had to go to the infirmary for the things I did to myself that night. Because I thought the dream happened for a little too long.

When Grover came by way too early in the morning— at like 4am (I'd gone to the infirmary around 3 and Mr. D and Chiron both insisted I had to stay the night just in case), it took me too long to realize that he didn't hate me.

I did have to ask him.

Thalia and I hung out a little bit throughout the summer— we get along pretty good, though she can annoy me in a sort of sister-like way at times. Since we're both alone in our cabins, she'd stay over pretty often. Sometimes it'd just be the two of us (which is technically against the rules but Mr. D and Chiron both know I'm gay and depressed so they let it slide), or sometimes we'd do bigger sleepovers with Grover and Clarisse and Silena or Annabeth. A combination. Even Beckendorf came over a few times this summer!

By the end of summer, things weren't awful, and since Grover wasn't approved to go on another search yet (mostly because he hasn't asked yet because he had to spend a lot of his summer worrying about me), I didn't have to have a crisis about him leaving.

School is what kicked my ass this year.

For the 8th time in 8 years, I had to start at a new school— another immersion school that my parents hoped would be better than the last one.

But unlike every other year, I didn't find that one friend that I usually make sometime in the first few weeks of school.

I tried to. I joined the swim team this year because my therapist says that exercise helps with depression and I tried to befriend a couple kids on the team, but... I don't know if it's that my Portuguese isn't as good as theirs or what, but they didn't want to hang out outside of practice.

Luckily, I was able to hang out with Grover, Luke, and Thalia outside of school. Not all at once, obviously. Grover and I called at least once a week if we weren't visiting each other, and Thalia usually stopped by for a bit either on her way to or from Luke's. I still train with Luke and every once in a while we'll do other stuff together.

Even with them, though, school was just hard in general and not being able to understand why I couldn't make friends made it even harder.

And then Grover got assigned to a keeper job. Which isn't the end of the world, we still talk once or twice a week and my parents are super cool so there was one day last month where got to hang out in person for an afternoon. Go on a date.

But with him being around less, some of my motivation dies.

And then fall turns into winter.

And it gets cold.

Seasonal depression sets in on top of the regular depression.

And without somebody who can possibly notice it because he's laying in the same bed as me, I have a bad night and I cut again.

But this time, I don't tell anyone about it. Because I don't want them to worry.

So I do it again. And again. And again.

Until one night, when my parents are out on a date and they come home before I can pull myself together and bandage my wounds because I refuse to heal them with water or ambrosia.

That night was two and a half weeks ago. 19 days ago, to be exact.

Because I was covered in blood, they ended up bringing me into the hospital, initially thinking I'd been attacked by a monster because of the placement of the cuts.

What I told the doctor automatically got me an overnight hold in the hospital to be transported to an in patient mental facility the next morning after breakfast.

Fun fact: the mental facility had a demigod on staff so Iris Messages were included in the whole "limited phone calls and texting" thing.

Limited meant that I couldn't make them.

So, after a few weeks, they said it's was safe for me to go home. I got home two nights ago and Thalia stopped by yesterday afternoon to ask if I had talked to Grover and if I was going with to Maine.

I said that I've been having issues with IM so we haven't been able to talk this week, but if he needs help, I'm going to Maine.

Mom heard the conversation and offered to drive immediately.

Which brings us to now. Winter break.

None of my friends know that I just spent two weeks in an in patient facility because the only thing keeping me from killing myself was knowing that if I did it, Grover would die as well.

Yes, Grover was able to tell that I wasn't doing well, but I didn't want him to freak out so I tried to make it seem not as bad as it was and I think it worked.

Oh, also, I haven't seen or heard from Tyson since he left.

I try not to think about it.

"Hey! Thank you again for driving, Ms. Jackson," Annabeth said as her and Thalia got into the back seat. She nudged the back of my seat, sitting behind me. "Hey, Seaweed Brain, you're alive!"

Go back to calling me that all the time and I'm going to go back to wishing I wasn't.

I let off a weak smile.

"Sure am." I said, which I guess was fair to see my mom look a little concerned in response to that. "you sound surprised."

"Grover's just been super worried that his calls aren't going through," the daughter of Athena explained, which made sense. That's what Thalia had mentioned the day before. "We had to calm him down and convince him that you weren't in a coma one day—he's been freaking out. What happened?"

"Wh..." I started, debating what I wanted to tell him.

But then again, looking down at my wrist, I was still wearing the bracelet because I always wear bracelets from places until they like, fall off.

It's weird, but I've always done it.

"I haven't been able to make or accept IMs," I started off, deciding that I didn't want to go into what really happened with the girls sitting behind me. "I uh... I haven't figured out why yet. I sent him like two letters, but maybe I have the wrong address for his dorm? It started like, 2½ weeks ago."

"And you guys will get to see each other soon." Mom promised me, holding the Tupperware container of sweets between the seats. "Would either of you like a snack? It's a long drive to Maine—  I figure we'll go through a drive through for dinner? It'll be around 7 when we get there."

"Ooh, yes! I love your cookies, Sally." Thalia said, taking the container almost immediately. "Also, I've been meaning to ask, but I don't want to sound rude: are you pregnant?"

"I am!" My mom told the others news that I found out about a month ago. "We haven't made a big announcement about it yet, but we will be in a few weeks. We were originally going to announce it on our anniversary, but some plans fell through, so now we're going to do it at New Year's. We're throwing a party if you want to come! I feel like it's not often you get to dress up at camp."

"Oh, I'd love to go!" Thalia insisted. "Would Luke be able to come as well? I don't know if you've met him or not, he was at camp Percy's first summer."

"Hm?" Mom asked initially, and I gave her a look reminding her that Annabeth doesn't know that Luke and I train together. "Oh, yeah! I've met him a couple of times— he's brought over things from time to time to see if Percy likes or wants any of it. We'll bring him sweets or food occasionally since he's a broke college student right now. He's more than welcome."

"I'll be there, too!" Annabeth told my mom as we started to drive away. "it's been a long time since I've seen Luke and I'm curious about that a Jackson party looks like."

You and me both, I thought, because this is definitely the first time my parents have hosted a large party.

They're both really excited, though, so I'm also kind of excited.

We're looking at getting a new apartment (probably in the same building) as well because having a baby sibling means we'll want another room for her to have. So it's a lot of exciting, big things happening right now.

I'm trying to stay chill and relaxed and okay through it and I'm barely managing, but it's okay.

That's why I have a therapist.

•••

The drive to Westover Hall in southern Maine was way too long, even for a gay teenage boy being in a car with three women who are almost all straight.

I say almost because I think Thalia's bi but I have no proof.

She's just too punk to be cishet.

The school itself was in the middle of fucking nowhere, which started to make sense when I realized that it was a military school.

"Thank you, Mrs. Jackson!" Annabeth said as her and Thalia got out of the car. "See you in a couple weeks!"

"It was my pleasure, dear," Mom told Annabeth, looking at me pointedly, a silent question: will you be okay?

Nodding my head, I gave her a hug.

"I'll be back in time to help with the party," I promised her. "love you, Mom."

"Love you, Perce." She said, giving me a kiss on the top of my head. "Go kick some monster butt."

Grabbing my backpack, I got out of the car and caught up to Thalia Grace and Annabeth Chase, standing in front of the entrance of Westover Hall.

"Alright," Thalia said. "Let's go track down some demigods."

Chapter 51: FDR Ain't Your President No More

Percy Jackson

Is it better or worse for us that there was a school dance happening at Westover Hall tonight?

I'm really hoping it's better, but if it's not, we're going to find out the hard way.

It's not like we really fit in to the military school vibe. Thalia has liberty spikes and is wearing a leather jacket and combat boots with her jumpsuit (which she was only wearing because Grover apparently gave a heads up that there would be a dance tonight). Annabeth is way too tan for living in Maine (because she lives in California), though she was in an actual dress that was appropriate for a school dance. Because she's not delusional, she also had tan tights on and some shorts under the gray dress, because the chances of fighting monsters is at least a 50/50 shot, but with two children of the Big Three? Closer to 80/20.

Was I dressed for the occasion?

Sort of? If this wasn't a military school, it'd be perfect: I was just wearing a pair of black pants, black vans that I've had since I grew into my current shoe size, a plain shirt, and a jean jacket.

At a normal school dance, it's a pretty typical outfit. Nobody dresses up for dances.

At a military school? I was walking a fine line. So was Thalia.

"Excuse me," a woman said, stopping us in the hall. "Can I see your IDs? I don't recognize you children, and this dance is closed to students only."

"What do you mean you don't recognize us?" Thalia questioned, causing the teacher to look confused. "These two were in your class last year. You had me four years ago, Ms.... Belle."

The teacher did a double take, her eyes fogging over.

"Oh, right," she recalled something that never happened. "I'm so sorry, I work with so many students. Please forgive me. Have fun tonight."

And she let us go.

I leaned over to the daughter of Zeus. "What was what?"

"That?" Thalia asked. "What, Chiron hasn't taught you how to bend the Mist yet?"

Chiron knows how to bend the Mist?

I guess it makes sense— he has his wheelchair, and I've never thought about that works realistically, but...

Why would he teach Thalia how to bend the Mist and not me?

"He... No." I insisted. "I... Didn't even know that was something you could do."

"What did you think Charmspeak was, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked me as we rounded the corner into the schools main gym.

I shrugged.

"Persuasion? I knew that immortals could change the Mist, I just didn't realize we could, too. I guess it makes sense."

"You guess?" Annabeth repeated back, which I didn't appreciate. "I'm sure that when Chiron thinks you're ready, he'll show you. When he thinks you're good enough."

Dear reader: why did she feel the need to add the last sentence?

There was no use for pity, or for an argument right now, though, so I just bit my tongue and hummed.

"Alright, let's head in." I told the two of them. "Find Grover, try to keep a low profile, find the other demigods, and get out."

"Yes, sir," Annabeth commented sarcastically. "Is this your job now?"

Thalia punched her arm.

"He's just making a to-do list for all of us, he's not delegating jobs," the daughter of Zeus insisted. "You never say things to yourself? Sometimes it helps to say things out loud, be nice to him— you won't get to go to the party if you're an ass."

"I— sorry." Annabeth apologized. "Let's go."

Walking into the auditorium, we were once again stopped by a staff member, who asked for our school IDs.

Thankfully, Thalia was able to convince him to let us pass as well, though it took a little more work on our end— he didn't like our outfits.

Scanning the room, it was undoubtedly a middle school dance— way too many kids wearing too much perfume and cologne, with a mix of high school volunteers and staff members seeming to be working and supervising. The lights were dim, and the music was very loud.

"Where do you think—" Thalia started to ask.

"Thalia, Annie!" Grover found us long before we even could start to look for him. He trotted over, smiling. "Thank the gods, you—"

Turning to look at my boyfriend, I didn't even know what to do.

It's not like we haven't been separated for longer before— there was a whole month where I hadn't heard from him and thought he was dead after 8 months of only being able to talk like once a week.

But we weren't boyfriends when that happened.

Initially, he also seemed to not know what to do, because he stopped in his tracks, just... Looking at me.

And before I could even say anything, he ran (trotted?) and tackled me to the ground (which is impressive because I'm a bit taller and bigger than he is).

"You're here!" Grover said, the task of tonight completely forgotten as my ass hit the ground. Luckily, we were by the door, so there weren't too many people in the area. Grover cupped my face. "I was so worried that something happened, none of my messages were getting through to you. How did you find out about tonight?"

"I'm here," I promised him, placing my hands over his and trying for a smile. "I'll explain more later, but I couldn't accept or make messages, it was annoying. Thalia came over yesterday to tell me about the plan for today— my mom drove us here. Are things okay here? I'm sorry to make you worry."

"No, it's okay, I'm just glad you're okay," the satyr promised, giving me a kiss before standing and helping me get up— not letting my hand go once we were both standing. He took a breath. "I'm glad you're here."

"Okay, lovebirds, as sweet as it is to watch you guys reunite for the second time this year, we need to keep this PG-13." Annabeth insisted, and I hated that she was right. "How many demigods are we dealing with, Grover? You sounded... Worried about it."

Grover motioned to the bleachers not far from us, where a handful of kids were sitting.

"The two kids at the end of the bleachers," he told us. "it's just them, but they're... Powerful."

"Big Three powerful?" Thalia questioned. "do we have more siblings?"

Grover sucked in a breath.

"I'm... Not sure. Because there's two of them, it's hard to tell. Their names are Nico and—"

It hit me like a freight train.

"Bianca." And I think I scared the shit out of my boyfriend by knowing the older sister's name.

Naturally, all of my friends just... Look at me. Because there's no reason why I should know that.

"...yeah. Nico and Bianca." Grover confirmed. "How do you... Know that?"

Debating how I wanted to word this, I opened my mouth, closed it again, and then took a breath. Looking over at the Italian(?) siblings, there was no mistake: it was the same kids I met a year and a half ago.

"Do you remember when we were in the Lotus Casino," I began. "and I told you guys that people were telling me wildly different dates? Like, anywhere from the 1700s to current times?"

"Yeah, that was why we left the casino in the first place." Grover remembered. "I'm terrified of that place."

I motioned to Nico and Bianca.

"They were in the casino," I explained. "You want to guess what year Nico told me it was when we were there?"

Nobody guessed.

"He said it was New Year's Eve," I told my friends. "Of 1940."

And, understandably so, nobody knew what to say.

"That... Makes sense, I guess," Grover figured. "I'm not that close to Nico, but Bianca and I had a few classes together. I just... Figured that because she's an orphan, she's missed a lot of school. We'll figure out how to deal with that once we're at camp. First, we need get the two of them and get to camp. There's... Definitely a monster here, but I can't sense where with how many smells there are."

"It's chill, we'll figure it out," Thalia insisted. "Let's go meet the little punks first."

Making our way across the Gymnasium, I was able to figure that Nico was making his sister play a game with him— myths and magic? It was similar to magic or Pokemon, but he'd told me the name of it when we met.

Myth...

Mythomagic! The game is called mythomagic.

"Grover, hello!" Bianca said as the four of us approached them. "Oh, your friends made it here! That's wonderful. Is this the uh..."she snapped, trying to think as she looked at me. "Fidan... The boyfriend! Is this..."

She paused.

"Wait a second," the demigod insisted. "I know you. You were... You were at the hotel, no?"

I nodded my head.

"I was at the hotel, very briefly, but we did talk." I confirmed, not remembering if I actually introduced myself of not when we met. I reached my right hand out, my left still holding Grover's. "My name is Percy, I don't know if I told you that last time. What brings you guys to Maine all the way from the hotel?"

"A guy in a suit picked us up!" Nico told me with way too much energy for what could be a kidnapping case. "He said that our Papa sent him because we needed to go to school and learn to be strong and then he said that the year started with a 2 now instead of a 1 now, which I thought was silly at first, but then I remembered that you were asking about the date and—"

"Nico," Bianca said, effectively shutting her brother up. "he doesn't need every detail. But he's correct, our father enrolled us at this academy."

"Your father?" Thalia questioned. "Do you know him?"

Bianca gave Thalia an odd look.

"Well, of course I know my father," she insisted. "We haven't seen him since before the casino, since our mother died, but we know him."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom," I empathized. "I think she meant to ask if you know who he is— like, his name."

"Oh! Um... It starts with an H, I think?" She told us, thinking to herself. "I always called him Papa, but it'll come to me later. We're you all looking to play a game with my brother? It's not my thing, but he likes it when people play with him."

Looking down at Nico, I couldn't help but admire how happy he was for a child who'd lost his mother: he was smiling from ear to ear as soon as his older sister asked if anyone wanted to play with him.

"You know what, I'll make you a deal, Nico," I told the younger di Angelo sibling, crouching down closer to his level as he sat on the bleachers. "Let's get out of this lame dance, and we'll get you guys somewhere safe, and then I'll play a game with you, okay? I bet that Grover would love to play, too.

"I would?" Grover asked and I nudged him. "I mean, yeah! That sounds like a great idea."

"Get us somewhere safe?" Bianca questioned as her brother started to immediately pack his cards up. "What's that supposed to mean? Are we not safe here?"

"Well—" Grover started, because it's his job to explain this to kids.

"No, you're not." Thalia cut in, eyeing the teacher who almost didn't let us into the dance earlier— Dr. Thorn. "There's only one place that's safe for you that will also let you inside their premises— it's our job to get you there. If you want to stay here and die, be my guest."

"Thalia!" All three of us said, Annabeth nudging her.

"We're not safe?" Nico asked. "Are monsters going to attack us?"

Bianca groaned.

"Monsters aren't real, Nicollo, how many times do I have to tell you—"

"No, they're real," Grover promised the two demigods, rapidly tapping my shoulder. "We have to go, now. It's him, he's the—"

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell us what you mean—"

"He means that if you don't start walking, you're going to die," I told Bianca, a bit more firmly. "We're going to New York— come on, we can walk and talk."

Trying to not cause a scene by being too rushed, we managed to get out of the Gymnasium without getting spotted or stopped by Dr. Thorn.

The hallway proved to be a bit more of a bitch.

"Okay, if we go out—"

"Children, what are you doing out here?" Dr. Thorn asked as he seemingly just... Appeared across from us in the hallway. "you three just arrived— why leave so soon?"

"Dr. Thorn! Sir! Hello!" Grover yelped, stepping forward— something I recognized. It's how he used to react to Mrs. Dodds around me. "My friends and I were just helping the di Angelo's get back to their rooms— it's awfully dark outside, and it's dangerous to—"

And before any of us could react, a tail like that of a scorpion jumped out at Grover, stinging him in his leg and making him collapse.

"GROVER!" We all yelled, and I could feel a sting in my legs as I crouched down momentarily to make sure my boyfriend wasn't going to die of poison in 2 minutes.

"Oh, hush, children." Dr. Thorn said as Thalia knelt down next to me. "I don't need to hear the lies. Nico, Bianca— come with me. The General requires your attendance."

The general?

I know that nickname.

Thalia knelt down next to me.

"I'll take care of Grover," she promised. "You and Annabeth get the brats. All three of 'em."

"You—" I stood up, looking Dr. Thorn head on— who I was now realizing is the manticore. "Who is the General?"

He snarled.

"I thought you of all demigods would've known, Perseus Jackson," Dr. Thorn taunted. "or— oh. Thalia Grace?"

He paused.

"Oh, I see." He insisted. "Hm, interesting. Still, I think the General would be overjoyed to have more options beyond the runts."

"You're not touching them." I informed the monster.

"What do you mean I'm not—"

Slamming my forearm against the monsters throat, I uncapped Riptide to go through his tail as he tried to sting me.

"Y— Ow! Son on a bitch!" The manticore swore. "What..."

"These demigods are going to make it safely to Camp Half-Blood if I have to give my life in order for it to happen," I informed the manticore. "If you know so much, what happens when I die? Do you lose your job?"

He glanced over at the di Angelo's.

"Not for long."

I went to grab for my dagger, but before I could, an arrow lodged into the Manticore's head, and he crumbles to dust.

Bianca and Nico both definitely screamed.

Looking at where the arrow came from, a girl around 12 years old stood in the doorway of the school, ushering us to her.

"I had it under control," I told the girl, helping Thalia carry Grover as Annabeth ushered the di Angelo's outside. "You nearly shot me."

"Oh, I was inches away from your arm, child." She said as if she weren't younger than me. "Sorry to startle the lot of you— we've been tracking the Manticore for a while now."

"The Manticore?" Nico asked, the monsters name pulling him out of his fear induced crying. "the— the Manticore has an attack power of 300 and a +5 saving throw! It's... It's really powerful, but it's really... Really bad at defending long range attacks because it's... It's..."

"Because it's only defense is it's tail, yes, child." The girl said. "Where did you learn this information? I didn't realize it had a limited amount of power."

"I... I learned it from mythomagic!" Nico told her. "It's um... It's a really cool game and I play it a lot and the manticore is a rare card and I only have one, but it's more powerful than the Minotaur or the... The gorgon's, but Medusa is special so her attack power is really high and... They also have gods and—"

"Nico." Bianca interrupted, looking to the girl. "sorry, he gets carried away when people ask him about his favorite game."

The girl slowly nodded her head.

"I see, so somebody has created a game about battling one another using cards to symbolize different characters— an interesting way to educate the youth on our Pantheon." She said as I looked back to see a handful of young girls, all wearing the same thing this girl was wearing: athletic pants, some sort of hiking, hunting, or combat boots, and a silver parka.

I started to realize who she was.

"Well, I can't say it's any weirder than musicals or whatever silly things my brother is into now." She summarized, taking a moment to look at all of us individually before looking again at me. "And Perseus Jackson, how I have heard things about you from my brothers."

Is this going to be how I learn what my reputation with the gods is?

"Lady Artemis," I stuttered out. "may I ask which brothers? I haven't met your twin."

"Oh, no, but all the others," she assured me. "Very mixed reviews, I must say— Dionysus and Ares can never seem to agree on anything about you. I'm sure I'll have my own opinion, soon enough. Go bring your friend to my Lieutenant's tent— they'll be able to heal him."

I hadn't realized how cold she was towards me until she turned to Thalia.

"And Thalia Grace, my baby sister," I'm pretty sure Thalia wanted to vomit when she heard that. The goddess smiled. "what an honor to finally meet you. And you as well, Annabeth Chase. Come— let's get our two young demigods to camp. I have much I'd like to discuss with you two, and Bianca di Angelo, as well."

Chapter 52: Not All Men? Try Not Any Men

Grover Underwood

After fainting, I woke up in a tent with Nico, Percy, and two girls I recognized as Hunters of Artemis, though I couldn't place their names.

"Hm..." I hummed, sitting up, earning everyone's attention pretty quickly. "What happened? Where are the others?"

I moved to get up, but Percy put a hand on my leg, stopping me.

"Woah, G-man, relax." He insisted. "The girls are fine- they're talking with Lady Artemis. Are you okay? You're the one that took a hit."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm okay." I insisted, stretching the leg that got stung earlier. It felt okay. "the hunters are good healers. I'm a little surprised they let us stay in here after they finished making sure I wasn't dead, though. What... Why is Lady Artemis speaking with the girls?"

Percy shrugged.

"Beats me, it's a girls-only conversation." My boyfriend insisted, sliding a hand of cards to me. "Nico's been teaching me how to play Mythomagic."

"He's really bad at it." Nico told me, which I couldn't help but laugh at. "I've beat him three times already."

"That's just because Percy's awful at most card games," I told the young demigod, earning the punch I got from Percy. "Hey! I'm not wrong."

"I got my mom to drive like six hours to bring me here," Percy told me. "And you're going to be mean to me?"

Percy played his turn, placing a character down.

"I don't think being objectively honest is being mean right now," I insisted, watching Nico as he drew and played two different cards— one for land mass, one for a character. "But I will thank your Mom when I see her. Did you come straight from school? Is that why you guys didn't get here until the dance started?"

Shaking his head, Percy let Nico explain the general rules of Mythomagic to me and help me put my first card down— a land card.

"No, I haven't... Been in school." My boyfriend told me, which was concerning enough on it own. "for a few weeks now. Um, I'll explain why later, but... Yeah. We just had to pick Annabeth and Thalia up from camp, and Mom worked this morning so... Dad says hi, by the way."

"O...Kay." I said, audibly worried about what happened over these last few weeks that we haven't been able to talk. I offered him my hand. "Are you okay right now?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Percy promised me, motioning to Nico before taking my hand— a gesture the young demigod seemed to notice this time. "I'm bad at it, but Mythomagic is kind of fun."

"Wait," Nico said, delivering a play that killed half of Percy's current playing field. "I have a question."

Both of us looked at him.

"So I—" he stopped himself, looking like he was trying to find the right way to ask his question. "You guys are holding hands?"

"I..." Percy started, looking at me, then back to Nico. "is this your question? Or just an observation?"

Nico shifted, and I suddenly recalled something that Percy himself told us earlier:

The last time this kid was in the normal world, it was 1939.

"Well it... I thought that boys couldn't do that with each other." The young demigod articulated, and I think if my face doesn't turn blue from holding my breath, it'll be a miracle. "Bianca and like... Not just Bianca, but Bianca said that boys can't hold hands or kiss boys and girls can't hold hands with or kiss girls. It like..." And it shouldn't have been funny, but Nico pointed his two pointer fingers towards each other and bumped them together. "Doesn't work."

In order to not completely shame this kid with my hysteria, I used my free hand to cover my mouth and let Percy handle this conversation.

"It..." Percy took a moment, collecting himself. He was blushing harder than I've ever seen before. "I mean, it can work. Um... I know that before you went into the casino, people thought that people couldn't be gay, but they can be. Some people are weird about it still, but it's okay if you're gay or if you're bi or straight or ace or whatever now."

Nico nodded his head, taking in the information.

"I don't know what any of those other words meant besides gay and straight."

Percy smiled.

"That's okay, you're still young, you have to learn sometime." My boyfriend reassured the younger demigod, and I couldn't help but smile at how nice and gentle he seemed to be with Nico. "Bi, or bisexual, is just if you like both boys and girls. Being ace, or asexual, means you don't like anyone. The hunters are ace."

Percy turned to one of the girls in the tent behind us.

"Right?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess so." The girl said, shrugging. "I've never heard of a term for it, but that would be it. Asexual, you said?"

"Um, I guess if you give up dating and relationships completely, you could say ace-aro," Percy informed her. "Aromantic, so no romantic attraction, and asexual, no sexual attraction."

She nodded.

"Interesting." She commented, looking at the girl next to her. "Did you know of that, Phoebe?"

"I'd heard of the term ace, but I never knew what it meant." Phoebe answered, standing up. "we're going to check in on Lady Artemis— don't touch anything."

The two hunters exited the tent, leaving the three of us.

Nico remained silent for a moment, processing this new information, seeming to have another question that would go with it.

"So wh..." Nico began. "what if I don't know what I like?"

"That's okay!" Percy promised him. "You're not old enough to date, so you don't have to know yet. And even when you are old enough, you don't need to know. Just date the person you like. And if your sister thinks it's gross, then she's lame, because look at how cute my boyfriend is when I embarrass him by actually calling him my boyfriend and complimenting him."

I hate that he was able to make me blush.

Well, I don't hate it, I enjoy it quite a lot. But you get my point.

"Oh, whatever, now you're just showing off." I said, nudging him. "play your turn— if there's anything you can do to save yourself."

•••
Thalia Grace

Lovely day to have an identity shattering revelation, isn't it?

As I predicted, Artemis was trying to recruit the three of us into her Hunt because we're all "young girls with a lot of potential".

She lost me at girls, which I quickly realized isn't where she should've lost me.

I should've lost interest soon thereafter, when she mentioned that the huntresses must swear off any romantic interests and pursuits. Because you know, I have a boyfriend.

Not that any of the gods besides Mr. D know about that boyfriend, which is how it's going to stay for another year and a half or so, but still.

Furthermore, she could've lost me when I'd realized that I'd have to always be around a goddess.

But no. She lost me at "girls".

"What do the three of you think?" Lady Artemis asked in closing as we sat inside her tent, her lieutenant standing at the 'door' of the tent, which felt weird to me. "No pressure, and it doesn't have to be at this very moment, but know that we always accept newcomers to the Hunt. If they are serious."

"I... Think it sounds awesome." Bianca said, and I forced myself to hold my tongue. "No responsibilities, immortality, getting to travel? How soon can I join? Do I have to go to camp still if I join?"

"We can have you take the vow momentarily," Artemis answered. "as for the camp question, I'll answer that later. It's a bit complicated. Annabeth? Thalia? Thoughts?"

"As enticing as the benefits are, Lady Artemis, I can't take the offer." I told her. "I just got my life back, and taking a vow feels like it would tie me down right now. My mother had a very exciting life— I don't know if I want the same."

Artemis smiled.

"Maidenhood isn't for everyone," she admitted. "My twin, for instance. I sense there may be a man in your heart, Thalia— I'm sure you'll find him one day. And when you do, you'll make a fine couple."

I smiled back, trying to not think about how she would never think that if she knew what was happening behind the scenes right now.

"Thank you for understanding."

The goddess looked to Annabeth.

"And you, dear?"

Annabeth remained silent, deep in thought. She played with the ring on her camp necklace, the way she often does when she's thinking.

"I... I would love to, but I have questions that might change that." the daughter of Athena finally answered.

"Okay! That is logical, being Athena's daughter," Artemis responded and rose. "let us honor Bianca's wish to take the vow and you and I can discuss more one on one while we wait for your ride to camp. This way, Thalia may be free to socialize as well."

Ushering the three of us out of the tent, the hunters outside all seemed to stand at attention as I walked over to where Nico, Percy, and Grover were sitting— just outside the medic tent where Grover had been set down earlier. He was up now, which seemed like a good sign.

"Hey, what did she want to talk with you guys about?" Percy asked in a quiet voice.

I motioned towards Artemis and Bianca, standing next to one another.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Bianca di Angelo." The goddess of the hunt began. "She wishes to join us in our ranks. Zoë— would you be able to do the honors?"

Her lieutenant, Zoë Nightshade (what a YA/middle grade book name to have) nodded curtly and stepped forward.

"Raise your right hand." Zoë instructed, and Bianca followed suit. "And repeat after me:

"I, Bianca di Angelo—"

"I, Bianca di Angelo." Bianca said with a slightly heavier Italian accent.

"Pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"Pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

Glancing down at the boys, I saw Grover's expression slowly drop— the first to realize what she was doing.

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt."

There was no hesitation from Bianca di Angelo.

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt."

Then it clicked for Percy.

Nico leaned towards the two older boys.

"Why is Bianca repeating the scary girl?"

"Congratulations, Bianca di Angelo." Zoë Nightshade said as a silvery light seemed to sharpen around Bianca. Immortality— although a fragile form of it, setting in. "by morning, we will have a new bow, quiver, and arrows for you, along with anything else you may need as a huntress. For tonight, sleep well knowing you have a new family."

I don't think any of us had the heart to tell the young boy what had just happened to him.

"Um... You know, Nico," Percy said, holding his breath. "I think that's a great question to ask your sister. Why don't you go do that and Grover, Thalia and I will figure out how we're getting you back to camp, okay?"

"Okay!"

As Nico walked away, Percy and Grover stood up, facing me as if I could explain the whims of a 12 year old orphan.

Like, sure, I could— but not that 12 year old orphan.

The only 12 year old orphan I could explain the whims of is 12 year old me.

But even that's walking a fine line. I don't know what was going on in my brain when I was 12 outside of the fact that I desperately needed to survive and that the boy I was on the run with was kind of cute and really annoying.

"Look, I don't know, I don't get it." I told the two of them. "Annabeth is also considering it, but I guess she had more questions? Probably about camp or how long she can wait before joining or whatever. It doesn't look like there's a single fully formed frontal cortex in this entire group, so."

Percy stopped himself from laughing.

"Hey, be nice." Grover told me. "The Hunters do come to camp occasionally, they're... Friendly enough. A little stand-offish, but friendly. I just don't understand how Bianca barely trusted me, somebody she's known for months now— but she trusted somebody claiming to be, and is in all fairness, a goddess in less than an hour."

"I mean she did witness a monster get killed," Percy piped in. "though I expected her to at least talk to Nico before she just... Pledged herself. Also, just... Why? Immortality sounds awful."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Says the person who can't be left alone overnight." I reminded the son of Poseidon that we had to take Percy-duty throughout the summer so he didn't try to kill himself. "I just can't believe Annabeth is seriously considering it—she must be giving up on her taste in men, because it's not like she's not attracted to them."

"Oh, yeah, she used to have a crush on Luke." Percy recalled. "That was... Weird."

We all nodded in agreement, seeing Nico finally earn his sister's attention.

"Oh, Nico, hello." Bianca said, seeming surprised that he approached her. "I see that you were playing Mythomagic with Grover and Percy. Was it fun?"

Nico nodded his head.

"Mythomagic is always fun!" He reminded his sister, and my heart broke for him. "Percy is bad at mythomagic, but nice. Grover said that Percy's bad at card games."

The older di Angelo sibling smiled down at the younger one, messing with his hair.

"I'm glad you're having fun with them," she told him, her tone sweet. "you're going to get to spend a lot more time with them at camp."

"Yeah!" Nico agreed, sounding excited about the idea. "then all four of us can play together!

Bianca exhaled.

"Yeah, about that, Nico... It'll just be the three of you." She told him. "I'll visit from time to time, but I'm going to be busy with the other hunters. Isn't it great that they let me join? We can each have our own spaces now!"

A silence fell over the group, Nico's feelings clear on his expression, but his response still being debated.

"Uh, yeah, I was thinking that like, we'd each get our own room, but yeah. That's... Great. For you." Nico told his sister, no longer looking at her. "So you're not coming to camp at all?"

"Rest assured, young one, you'll have a bit more time with your sister before she must bid you adieu." Artemis assured him, then addressing the rest of us. "your ride to Camp Half Blood will arrive shortly— all of you are to go to Camp Half Blood until further notice. I have a mission I must take alone."

"But, Lady A—"

"You will all remain at camp until I call for a summons— or my hunters, that is," the goddess continued, looking at Grover, Percy, and I with a slight distaste. "I can't control those not within my ranks. When I call for summons, I will communicate that with Zoë, as usual. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" The hunters all called out as the moon seemed to be getting way too warm and bright for a December evening.

Looking up, I was just able to catch the end of Led Zeppelins Immigrant Song before a Ferrari crashed onto the cliff we'd been using to camp out on.

From the fiery rubble, a handsome man not much older than me (maybe a year or so older than Luke) stumbled out and steadied himself against the blazing vehicle.

"Hey, little sis." He said. "I definitely meant to do that."

Artemis sighed.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered to herself. "Turn your chariot into something more realistic for a large group of adolescents. And stop calling me your younger sister— we're twins."

He sighed, walking over and wrapping an arm around his sister as one thing became painfully clear to me.

"Okay, fine, twin sister, I'll transport your little gang to Long Island," the god said, snapping his fingers and turning the burning Ferrari into a normal school bus. "But you owe me— big time."

This was about to be the worst bus ride of my life.

Chapter 53: They REALLY Need To Hire A Camp Therapist

Percy Jackson

Nico got really quiet after that.

Apollo was what I expected him to be based on the rest of his siblings: egotistical and annoying, but he did it in a narcissistic way that made me want to punch him about five minutes into meeting him.

"Is anyone unable to fly?" The god asked us.

"I mean, I can, but your dad might blow us out of the sky." I warned the patron of Cabin 7. "He kind of... Wants me dead and told me to never enter his domain again, so..."

Flicking his wrist, Apollo pushed that matter aside.

"Pfft, Father would never cast me down from the heavens, much less the sky- I'm sure you'll be fine."

"My brother and I were also told we shouldn't ever fly if we don't have to," Bianca chimed in, which was... Interesting.

"By who?"

"By our Papa!" Nico answered. "He made us take a ship to America even though Mama wanted to fly. He said it wasn't safe and that we shouldn't fly if we don't have to because if his brother found out that we were in a plane, he'd get really mad and we might get in trouble."

"He said..."

Seeing the two gods make eye contact like the world might end with the next answer they recieve felt considerably bad.

Apollo knelt down to be closer to Nico's height, looking more stressed than a god should be.

"Do you know your Papa's name?" Apollo asked him.

"Ha..." Nico started, trying to pull at the memory of his father- a father that he knew. "um... Sorry, it's um..."

"Is it Hephaestus?" Artemis asked, sounding hopeful. "it's a hard name for some people."

Nico shook his head.

"No, not Hephaestus."

"Hermes? Hermes is a pretty cool guy, you'd be lucky to have him as your dad. Not as cool as me, but close." Apollo suggested.

Once again, Nico shook his head.

"Um, no, it was... Ha.... Ade." Nico settled on. "Papa's name was Ade."

"Ah-day? Ade?" Apollo questioned, because it did sound a little like a kid saying daddy, but cutting the first letter off. He looked up at Bianca. "was that his name?"

Bianca nodded her head.

"Sometimes he spelled it with an H for some reason, but we always heard Mom say Ade. A-D-E."

"And where were you guys at before you came to America?"

"Italy!" Nico answered with a bit of excitement. "We're from Venice, but we're here now because our mom died and we have to go to camp because it's apparently the safest place in the world for us."

"It... Oh, fuck me with a flute," Apollo said. "yeah, we need to get you to two to camp as soon as possible. Um..."

Apollo scanned the group, looking at me and Grover.

"Y- oh my gods, no wonder you can't fly, you must remind my father of his brother." Apollo said. "Ever teleported before, kid? You or your satyr friend?"

"Have I... I've used the pearls that you need to escape the Underworld." It was when I said that that Apollo seemed to realize who I was. "So has Grover and Annabeth."

It looked like he might pop a vein if he found out one more questionable thing.

"You... Are Percy Jackson, got it." But I definitely have a reputation based off of that reaction. "yeah, my father might blast me out of the sky if he senses you with me. Um, I'm glad you could see that I'm cool and that you don't have to stab my foot or my ankle or any part of my body. The Medusa thing was funny but also not cool, man- I had to de-stone like three people. It was really annoying."

"It was also really annoying having to go on a quest as a wanted federal fugitive to retrieve something that I didn't even know existed when I was accused of stealing it," I snapped back at Apollo. "What's that saying? An eye for an eye? You inconvenienced me, so I inconvenienced you."

Grover nudged me, his silent way of trying to tell me that maybe I shouldn't mouth off to an Olympian.

Maybe.

I usually take it as a first of three strikes.

The god took a step back.

"Fiesty, too, gods damn." He said. "No wonder Mr. D likes you. I'd watch that mouth of yours, though, kid- your satyr friend here has every right to be nervous if he's your protector or whatever. You say the wrong thing, one of us might just zap you and that can put your friend's job info jeopardy."

"It wouldn't just be his job," Thalia whispered behind us.

"But that being besides the point," the sun god carried on. "I'm sending you two with the two new kids. Tell Mr. D and Chiron it's a GP Emergency. I'll fly the rest of the crew in."

A... Great Prophecy Emergency?

Real creative.

"Okay, what do we-"

And then Grover and I were standing in the Big House with the di Angelo siblings.

Once I was standing, I started to feel the affect of getting transported in the way that gods often do when they leave in a flash of light- mostly, I was lightheaded.

"Mmmm, I didn't like that." Nico said, sitting down on the ground and pulling his knees in. "Please tell me we don't have to do it again."

"We don't have to, we're at camp." I promised the younger demigod. "Wh-"

"Where... Did one of you learn how to teleport while you were away?" Chiron asked as him and Mr. D walked in from the porch. "oh! And you have new recruits as well!"

Mr. D looked a little concerned. He did a head count.

"Did you trade Andrea and Tanya for these two?"

"Did we- no, Grandpa D." I told him with a sigh. "they'll be here in a bit with the Hunters of Artemis- Apollo is bringing them. He sent us because your dad would zap me out of the sky the moment he realized I was there."

I motioned to the other two.

"He also said that this was a GP Emergency," I told the camp director. "Which, if I'm not a complete dumbass, mind my language, means a great prophecy emergency, yeah?"

"That is the code we use for that, yes, though you really should watch your tongue around young children," Chiron confirmed for me. "Did he mean these new recruits are the emergency?"

I shrugged.

"Nico," I said. "Did your dad have a different name in English than he did in Italian?"

"Um... I think so? We didn't speak much English, but a lot of people talked to him in English."

"No, it's okay, I know all of the Italian names." Mr. D insisted. "Nick, was it? What's your dad's name?"

"Our father's name is Ade." Bianca answered, which naturally had Mr. D's attention for two reasons.

"I'm sorry, is your name Nick or Nate or Norm or whatever?" But I think it might kill him to just say the right fucking name. "No, it's not."

Mr. D redirected his attention to Nico.

"Is Ade your dad, too, Nick?"

Nico nodded his head, not correcting the god.

Standing up, the Camp director looked like he could punt Seymour across the lake right about now.

He would never do that because I think he loves Seymour, the mounted leopard head he found at a garage sale that is now somehow alive, more than he loves Gabe's dad or Gabe or me.

"Okay... Um, Chiron, dear."

"I am half horse, Mr. D, not deer. We've talked about this before."

Dionysus gave him a warning look.

"Please get our two new recruits set up with the orientation film." The god said through gritted teeth. "and when they're done, you can give them a tour while you're at it. I'll tell the Stoll brothers to expect two new campers."

"Sir, I'm a Hunter of Artemis," Bianca informed Mr. D. "I believe I'm meant to stay in the cabin reserved for Lady Artemis."

He exhaled.

"I'll tell the Stoll brothers to expect one new camper." He corrected himself. "It's late, so you might want to hurry."

"Yes, yes, Mr. D, I'm going." Chiron insisted, wheeling himself into the Big House fully. "Come, children, there's lots to learn about. We're going to watch a film together."

"A film? Does it have sound?" Nico asked, his energy starting to come back as Chiron's ushered them into the conference room, shutting the door behind him.

"Does... What kind of question is that?" Mr. D asked as he took a seat on the armchair near the fireplace (and Seymour), motioning for the two of us to sit in the couch across from him. He summoned a few Diet Coke's and regular Coke's.

"A less weird one than you would think," I promised him. "those two were in the Lotus Casino for a while- I met them briefly when we were there. When we met, Nico asked me if I had a new years resolution for the year 1940, so... They're here now, but I don't think they're caught up on everything yet."

Mr. D took a sip of Diet Coke, contemplating.

"I see." He said, which is unfair because I didn't see. "So, Grover, tell me: how do always manage to find children of the Big Three? I'm a little afraid to send you on another job in case you somehow find more."

"Wh... Big Three?" And while I know what he was referencing, I think Grover and I were both really hoping that the idea in the back of our minds was just far from the truth.

Slowly, he nodded his head.

"Ade is what they call Hades in Italy- the H is too hard for them to say, so they shortened it." But he confirmed what might be my worst fucking nightmare, in all honesty. "However, if they went into the casino in 1939 and were born... In what? 1929? 1927? Then Hades didn't break the oath. It still creates the potential issue of both of them being younger than 16, though. Or, I guess of one of them being younger and also aging. How old is he?"

"10." Grover answered. "I think he'll be 11 soon, though. He was talking about this restaurant that he wanted to go to for his birthday not that long ago."

"So quite a bit younger," the god figured, tapping his can. "Well, as of now, the prophecy will still revolve around your birthday, Percy, but it's good to know that if anything happens, we're not in the clear. Thank gods the kids knew their dad."

"Wh... Why are you saying thank gods?"

He shrugged.

"Old Death Breath has never been good about claiming his kids- mostly because it can cause problems with his wife because they refuse to just be in an open relationship." He insisted. "It's the reason he doesn't have a cabin- he also doesn't have a regular throne but... That's an ongoing argument with Chiron."

I raised an eyebrow.

"To give Hades a throne?"

He rolled his eyes.

"No, Percy, a cabin." The wine god clarified, sounding like he needed a drink when he said it. "what do they teach you in school, kid?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know, it's been a few weeks since I've been."

"What do you mean you haven't been to school?"

I put up a finger, not wanting to have this conversation with more than one person at a time.

"That's a check in session question," I told the camp director.

"Which we will have tomorrow morning, if you're still here after breakfast." He informed me. "If you wake up for breakfast. I'll go see how the two little Dr. Who's are doing with Chiron- you two can go do whatever gross stuff you want to do, but tell Travis and Connor about the two of them on your way there."

Do I really have to talk with Travis?

"I thought you said you were going to talk to him."

"Yeah, but it's easier if you guys do it- talk to your peers. Make friends. Maybe you'd be less depressed if you had more friends."

"Okay, I think we should go stop by cabin 11 before getting ready for bed." Grover said, not giving me a chance to argue with the god about the fact that Connor and Travis were two demigods that I was friendly with, once upon a time. "Let us know if you guys need any help with Bianca or Nico."

Insisting that, with the Hunters visiting, there was sure to be a meeting tomorrow, the camp director dismissed us and walked towards the conference room.

The walk to the cabins wasn't long, but I did take a moment to collect myself outside of Cabin 11.

It felt weird to approach the cabin with Grover.

"You okay?" Grover said.

I nodded my head.

"It's been a while." I said, a soft reminder that Travis and I have a complicated history. "Let's just get this over with."

Knocking on the plain door of cabin 11, I heard a series of people yell out that it was open, unlocked, or that I could come right in.

Hesitant, considering this was the Hermes cabin, I opened the door.

"Hey, are either of the Stolls in here?" I asked, instantly noticing a handful of kids either roll their eyes or groan when they saw me. Connor being one of them.

"Yeah, we're both here," Connor told me in a harsh tone. Following the sound of his voice, I saw Connor and his brother sitting with Julia and another sibling I didn't know that well. They were playing some sort of card game. "What do you want? Travis isn't giving you another chance, if that's what you want to know."

Travis, with nothing to add on, was just looking down.

"I'm not... I have a boyfriend, Connor," I reminded the son of Hermes. "who is able to hear you. Please don't... I'm here because Mr. D sent both of us, not because I miss sharing a bunk with you."

"He sent you?" Travis piped in, finally looking up, seeming anxious. "Why? Is everything okay? What are you doing at camp in December? Are both of you okay?"

I smiled, touched by the fact that he asked about both Grover and I.

Connor didn't seem as pleased, nudging his brother with a stern expression on his face.

"Oh, I just went with Annabeth and Thalia to help Grover with a recruit job," I reassured my sort of ex. "It went pretty good- everyone's alive. Mr. D is just too lazy to walk from the Big House to here, so he sent us to tell you guys that you have a new kid who will be here in a little bit- 10 year old kid named Nico di Angelo. He's really into Mythomagic and his sister will be in cabin 8. He is... A very curious person."

"That's it?" Connor asked. "We could've figured that out when Chiron dropped the kid off. In case you don't remember, he did that with you because he does it with every new recruit. We don't need extra priming- we know how to do our jobs, Jackson, because some of us actually have siblings to look after and responsibilities to take care of as counselors."

And, while I appreciated Julia kicking her brother and Travis whispering something I couldn't hear, it's not like I had it in me to fight with Connor without possibly giving into bad habits and hurting myself immediately after.

"You know you could stand to be a little nicer to him."

Taking a step forward, my boyfriend looked like he could punch Connor Still, such surprised me.

I know that Grover cares about me, but his love is usually a quiet love. Always offering to hold my hand and to cuddle when I'm having a bad day that I'm not ready to talk about yet. Reminding me after confrontations like this happen (without him suddenly stepping in like now) that Connor doesn't know what he's talking about, or that I shouldn't let him get to me because Grover knows me, not Connor. And he still loves me and wants me to know that I'm loved.

It's only natural that his love is often quieter- as determined as he is, my boyfriend is soft in every good way and is also very anxious, like me. Lately, he's gotten better at managing it, but he gets worried quite a bit.

So for him to step in and defend me was new.

Mostly because it didn't need to happen before, but still. It was new. It surprised me.

Connor raised an eyebrow at my boyfriend.

"You talking to me, Underwood?"

"Well, duh, who else? The wall?" But sometimes my attitude can rub off on him, which made me smile. I noticed Julia and Travis smile at the comment as well. "it's been six months since Percy and Travis fell out, Connor, and from everything I've heard, it had absolutely nothing to do with you, so you can drop the attitude. We came here so you wouldn't be scrambling to get this new kid a sleeping bag. Because Mr. D told us to. It's people like you that make me realize why so many kids at camp request to see a therapist every year. Being quiet costs you nothing- grow up and learn how to be civil."

Connor put his cards down.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said, not sorry whatsoever. "does goat boy wanna go? Now that you have a big, strong boyfriend, you think you can have a big mouth? How's he going to keep you safe, huh? He can't even take a hit."

Closing my eyes, I tried to stay calm.

Please don't fight please don't fight please don't fight.

I knew this was a bad idea.

I should've just let Grover talk. It would've been so much easier if he talked to them while I went and got ready for bed.

"No, I don't, because I don't think it would solve anything." Grover said, thank the gods. This is why he's my boyfriend. "I just think that you've been really mean to a lot of people ever since you became counselor, and so I called it out because it was uncalled for. I don't like confrontation, but somebody had to do it. Now, if you don't mind, my boyfriend and I are going to go get ready to relax and go to bed. Have a good night, Connor- I hope you're kinder to Nico tonight."

Taking my hand for the first time since walking into the Hermes cabin, Grover guided us out of the tension, his shoulders dropping as soon as we got to the bottom of the steps outside.

"Sorry, I wasn't meaning to start anything with Connor, he just... He's so mean to you." Grover apologized, sensing my anxiety. "why didn't you say anything back to him? You're usually so quick to things like that."

I shrugged, the late night phenomenon of me feeling like shit starting to settle in, just like it does every other night when I'm starting to get ready for bed.

"I just... I don't know, I didn't trust myself to fight with him." I insisted as we turned to make our way towards his little cabin. "It would probably just make me feel like shit and it'd probably make Travis feel guilty or awkward and you'd feel awkward and I just... Don't want to know what Connor really thinks of me. Or why. I'd much rather just get in, get out, and try not to think about it while I get ready for bed."

"Yeah? That's fair," my boyfriend figured, squeezing my hand as we walked inside his place. Stopping in his living room, Grover looked at me intently. "Are you doing okay? It felt like you were okay earlier tonight, but it's been slowly going down from there. From what I can sense, that is."

I sighed, trying to keep my mind off of what Mr. D and Connor said tonight, but struggling to because my brain wants me to die before the expiration date it was explicitly given.

"N... No." I settled on, feeling myself tense up. "I'm not, um... Doing great. Which has been normal. Especially at... At night. Um..."

I felt my nails, which were just starting to grow back thanks to the fact that the people at the hospital made me cut them short, scratch against my upper arm.

Nobody else will ever love you.

I closed my eyes, pursing my lips together as a wave of guilt washes over me and I want to cry but I also don't want to cry and it's hard to decide which I should do.

"I'm sorry..." I apologized to my boyfriend, who noticed the scratching before it could draw any blood. Placing one hand on the hand that had taken to scratch. Feeling a tear escape, Grover was quick to wipe it away for me, cupping my face with his other band. "We haven't... We haven't gotten to speak in like 20 days and I should be happy right now because we get to hang out for the first time in almost three weeks, but instead I'm just..."

"Shh, hey, don't apologize for what you're feeling right now," Grover said, slipping back into the quiet, gentle love that I was used to and that I desperately needed. He placed a kiss on my forehead. "it's good to feel it, but I don't want you to hurt yourself because of it. Would a hug help? Or would it feel like you're suffocating?"

Putting my arms out, Grover took that as a sign that I wanted a hug (which was correct).

Burying my head carefully between his horns, I tried to focus on how he always managed to spell of pine and strawberries, even in the dead of winter. Feeling his arms around me, I tried to memorize how it felt to have him hug me.

"We'll get through it, okay?" Grover whispered to me. "I'm going to help you get through it, and it'll be okay. And when it's not okay, we'll figure it out again. Do you know why?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you deserve happiness," my boyfriend reminded me. "But at the very least, you deserve to feel okay."

He paused.

"Also," he added, moving his arms to settle around my waist, looking up at me, causing me to move my head and rest my forehead against his. "And maybe the most important reason: because I love you."

He placed a kiss on the corner of my mouth.

"Come on," my boyfriend told me. "Let's lay down and if you're ready to talk about what happened these last three weeks, you can, and if you're not, we can just relax and talk about anything and everything else."

I nodded my head, but then quickly realized something.

"Wait," I said, giving Grover a kiss on the top of his head. "I love you, too."

He smiled.

"I know."

Notes:

Percy's really out here giving every single god he meets the most bombastic side eye and also giving his boyfriend a borderline aneurysm every time it happens

Chapter 54: The Cabins Make No Sense

Grover Underwood

He was in a lot of pain, and naturally, the winter months were of no help to the matter.

"I just... I wanted to talk to you," Percy told me as we settled in to bed, him basically laying on top of me. "These last few weeks, but I couldn't do IMs. It's um..."

He stopped himself, taking a breath.

"So, a few weeks back, my parents went out on a date night " my boyfriend explained as I used one hand to draw patterns down his back. "And I was... Working on homework for my Portuguese Literature class, and my dyslexia was frustrating me and I couldn't focus and then I started to spiral—alone, in our living room. And I don't... I don't remember most of it, but I can't forget hearing my mom scream because she initially thought that I got attacked by a monster and Gabe rushed to get ambrosia and nectar that I didn't want and it..."

"They were able to talk me into going to the ER, where they cleaned me up since the actual cuts and wounds weren't that bad. No stitches or anything." He went on, resting his head on my shoulder. "but because it's the ER, they have to ask that really long list of questions, and I said yes to some of them, obviously, so they like... They held me overnight and sent me to an inpatient facility the next morning. There's a demigod on staff there who managed to put a block on IMs, so I had no way to tell you about it. They let me go home two days ago."

I lifted my head, shocked by the details of the story.

"Two days ago?" I said and he nodded his head. "Sweets, why would you go on a distress mission two days after getting out of a mental health facility?"

He shrugged.

"Because I missed you," but of course that was his answer. I couldn't help but smile. "And Thalia told me what you'd told her yesterday, so I knew what to expect. That's why Mom drove us— in case I changed my mind. I haven't... Told the others about it yet."

"You haven't? Is there a reason?"

Taking a breath, Percy tried to relax into my touch, as though we could melt to become one person.

"I haven't." He confirmed, sounding troubled. "I don't know, it feels like one thing to tell people that you go to therapy and that you have a mental illness— it's another thing to tell them that you had to go to treatment."

I considered his point.

"I mean, yes, it is a different thing. But it's a good thing, right? Since you got help you need."

Once again, he shrugged.

"In the long run? Probably, yeah, it's a positive thing." My boyfriend goes on explaining. "But the attitude around mental facilities and treatment is that like... When you tell somebody that you were in a mental institution, your illness suddenly becomes your entire identity to them and I just... Don't want that to happen. It's hard enough for me to make friends here, and I don't want them to think that I'm just one comment away from killing myself or anything, because I'm not. Which, you know that because of our mental link, but I just... Am afraid of people thinking of me as just the depressed, anxious kid in Cabin 3."

But the situation sounded familiar, and it took me a moment to recall why.

"You don't want to have another Travis situation?" I summarized.

He nodded softly.

"Then I won't say anything." I promised my boyfriend. "How do you think Bianca and Nico are doing in their cabins?"

Percy thought for a moment.

"I'm sure Bianca's fine, the others are probably back by now," Percy figured, which was true— I forgot that she wouldn't be alone tonight. "as for Nico... I don't know. There aren't any kids in the Hermes cabin that's his age. Anymore. I'm sure somebody is trying to be welcoming, but he's probably lonely without his sister."

Nodding, I thought back on the young demigod that Percy referred to who was no longer in the Hermes cabin— Ethan Nakamura.

Ethan was a son of Nemesis who stayed in the Hermes cabin for the same reason that Nico will have to now. He came to camp at a very young age— he was in Kindergarten when his mom found out she had stage IV cancer in her end-of-life plan, it said to send Ethan once she was put on hospice. They had no other family.

Or, they had family, but not family that associated with them.

So half way through Kindergarten, Ethan had to say goodbye to his mom.

Nemesis went to the funeral, apparently. That's how Ethan got to camp— Nemesis brought him to the funeral and then to camp immediately after.

She didn't come into camp, though. Just... Dropped him off.

That was six, almost seven years ago. A few weeks later, I left on my very first keeper job to bring Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth to camp. He'd be 11, turning 12 in the spring.

"I hope Ethan's okay."

According to Clarisse, Ethan Nakamura vanished on his 11th birthday. He'd gone to train in the woods and he just... Never returned.

They searched the woods for three days straight. No weapons or body remains were ever found.

Chiron declared him missing after that, insisting that it seemed that he'd run away from camp rather than gotten himself killed training in the woods.

Nobody's heard from him since.

"Me, too." Percy agreed. "They would've been good for each other."

There was a pause.

"Who knows," my boyfriend mused. "Maybe he'll come back. Him and Chris and... The others."

I wrapped my arms around him, blinking the tears from my eyes.

"Maybe." I responded, knowing in my gut that it was a false hope. "But probably not. What do you want to watch to fall asleep to?"

•••
Nico di Angelo

Hermes (the god) is really cool.

The Hermes cabin is not really cool.

All of the kids here were older than me— the youngest one being 12. The two counselors, Connor and Travis, 13 and 14, we're both nice, but I just...

Everyone looked really sad when they looked at me, and I didn't know why.

"We got a bed set up for you," Travis told me, showing me the bed that had my name written on a piece of tape that was over a different name. There was stuff under the bed that wasn't mine. "We didn't have time to take care of the stuff under it, sorry— it belonged to another kid not that long ago."

I set down my mythomagic cards and backpack on the bed.

"Is the kid okay? What happened to him?"

The older demigod shrugged, which made me worry.

Would something happen to me?

"I hope so— he just... Left, one day." Travis explained. "On his birthday, actually. Said he was going to train for a few hours and he never came back. Some people have been trying to track him down, so we haven't had the heart to get rid of his stuff. We'll move it to the Big House in the morning. Do you have any questions?"

I nodded my head.

"How old are you?"

He smiled. "I'm 14, same age as Percy, Grover, and Annabeth. Anything else?"

I nodded again.

"Why do I have to stay in this cabin?" I asked the older demigod.

Travis sighed, looking relieved that it wasn't a hard question.

"Oh, that's easy! Hermes is the god of travellers, and you just got here and you're on the journey to finding out who your godly parent is, so we take any kids who aren't claimed yet. I guess I don't know why they don't give you guys a separate cabin, but they don't. I kind of like having a mix of claimed and unclaimed kids, though. It's cool."

I looked at Travis, then at the name tag that was in my bed: nico (u)

"But... I know who my dad is."

This seemed to surprise him.

Travis raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

For the third time in this conversation, I nodded my head.

"Yeah! His name is um... Well, Bianca and I called him Papa and his friends and our Mama called him Ade because we're Italian and that's his name in Italian because the English is kind of hard to say in Italian, but the English is H—" I stopped myself, having to force the new name out. It didn't come naturally like Ade did. "Hay-deez. Hades."

And then Travis looked sad and shocked again.

"Hades?" Travis asked, sounding really scared. "Well, if your dad is Hades we don't... Have a cabin for Hades kids since he doesn't have any other kids. We only have cabins for the gods who have thrones on Olympus— the Olympians."

That didn't make sense to me.

"But... There are more gods than that." I informed Travis, worried that I'd have to stay here for the rest of forever. "like my dad and like... Like Nike and Hypnos and Persephone and um... There's also Eros and Nemesis and... Why don't they get cabins? That's not fair. You guys get your own cabin."

Travis smiled, but it wasn't happy. It was sad.

"Honestly? I don't have a good answer for you, Nico, but I'll ask Chiron and Mr. D about it at breakfast tomorrow, okay?" But it didn't feel like a promise, it just seemed like he wanted me to stop saying things. He was on edge now. "Get settled in, lights out is in 10 minutes."

"Okay." I said, looking back down at my bed.

I didn't have any pajamas to change into since those got left at school, so I just took off my pants so I was in my boxers and a shirt (which I didn't like), feeling like a million googly eyes were fixed on me as I put my Mythomagic deck onto my bed stand and moved my backpack so I could lay in bed.

But as soon as I got into the bed, I got really sad.

It was the first night of my entire life that I didn't get to say goodnight to my sister.

Why doesn't she want to stay here with me?

I don't want her to go.

I don't want to be alone.

I started crying and nobody else talked to me for the rest of the night.

I want to go home.

We can't go home, Nicollo, Mama's voice reminded me from our second night in America. It's not safe for us there anymore.

But this time, Mama wasn't here to give me a hug.

I miss her.

•••
Percy Jackson

At breakfast the next morning, I realized how many kids were summer-only campers.

Usually, I think there's somewhere around 100 kids at camp in the summer. Around 10 kids per cabin, some have a lot more, like the Hermes or Aphrodite cabin, some have a lot less or none at all, like my cabin or the honorary cabins.

Now? There was probably 30 kids here. There definitely weren't 50. With the Hunters, it could've been closer to 40.

Because of so many kids being gone, though, I guess they don't enforce the table rule during the off season. Not that it changed anything initially— Grover and I sat together like usual, I could see Nico sitting with his sister, who was trying to ignore him while she talked with the other hunters.

For a few minutes, Annabeth had been sitting with the hunters before she ended up moving back by her siblings. Thalia was sitting with Silena Beuaguard.

"Where's Clarisse?" I asked Grover, motioning towards the daughter of Zeus and daughter of Aphrodite.

"Hm? Oh, she's never here during the off-season." Grover told me, which I never would've guessed. My surprise must've been evident. "Yeah, I know, she doesn't talk about her mom a lot. They have an okay relationship, but she goes back for her friends more than anything. Her brother, Sherman, is the counselor when she's gone. Silena and Clarisse IM a lot— Silena even went out to visit once, not long after I left for Westover. Thalia and Silena are pretty close, though, which surprised me. Since Annabeth hasn't been here until now, they've been talking."

"Hm, weird." I said. "was Silena close to Luke?"

My boyfriend shrugged.

"They weren't best friends, but they might've hung out? I don't know."

"I guess what you don't know often surprises you," I commented, knowing that Silena and Thalia got close towards the end of summer after Silena found out that Thalia was working and going out with Luke. It's easy to hang out with people who are on both sides (or working as a double agent really) because then you don't have to filter yourself as much.

I love Grover with my whole heart, which means that lying to him is progressively getting harder and harder to without feeling guiltier and guiltier every time.

Trust me, I know where Ethan Nakamura is. He's been living with Chris Rodriguez in an apartment not far from where Luke lives. Chris is a year younger than Luke, but his mom is dead, so it wasn't hard for him to get an apartment.

"Peeercy Percy Percy Percy Percy Percy Percy," a familiar voice said from behind me.

Turning, I spotted Travis Stoll, who now had it in him to look at me apparently. He was alone currently, just holding his breakfast tray until he set it down at the edge of the table— not next to either of us.

What does he want?

"Wh— oh, Travis." I said. "hey."

Please tell me he's actually moved on.

"Hey," he said, sounding a little alarmed. "Um, first of all, sorry about what Connor said last night. Not that I should have to apologize for him, but he'll never do it and some of it was about me— I swear that I don't like you anymore. I've moved on."

"You— okay?" I responded, not knowing why he'd come over during breakfast just for that. "thanks for letting me know, I guess? I always expect Connor to say shit like that after what happened between him and Luke."

"Yeah, it takes a lot to get him to not be the absolute worst during counsel meetings," Travis agreed with me, still talking very fast. "But that's besides the point, I just wanted to put it out there before I forgot. I uh... Nico came last night. Really nice kid, said that you were really cool and played some game with him. But he's not..."

Stopping, Travis' body forced him to take a breath.

"Him and his sister know who their dad is." Travis explained, and suddenly his anxious, but very fast past energy made a lot of sense. "He said... He said that their dad is Hades. Like, the same one who kidnapped your mom for ransom."

Grover chuckled.

"Sorry," my boyfriend apologized. "It's just funny to me that that's the first thing you associate him with."

I smiled at Grover, then looked at Travis.

"He sucks," I agreed, talking about the god, not the kid. "But I already knew that. We figured that out right before we got to camp. Why rush to tell me about it?"

"Why? Percy, that makes him and his sister Big Three kids," Travis explained to me, which, again, I already knew. "Why do we have a great prophecy that could possibly revolve around one of their birthdays because neither of them are 16 yet either, but we don't have a cabin for them to stay in?"

"I know—" I had started to stay before Travis added the last statement.

"I don't know," I corrected myself. "I mean, it's because their dad doesn't have a throne, but I don't really get why that's what dictates what cabins we have. Aren't there a ton of kids in your cabin that are either unclaimed or have other parents?"

Travis nodded his head.

"Only a third of our cabin is Hermes kids— well, probably a quarter now." He insisted, finally sitting down at the end of the table. "Half of it is kids who are claimed by gods who don't have cabins, and the other quarter is unclaimed demigods. We have two entire cabins that sit empty most of the year— three, if we count your's since you're only a summer camper. Why can't we at least build one cabin for minor gods, if not give them their own cabins? Has nobody ever thought of it before?"

I chuckled.

"Oh, they have," I promised the son of Hermes. I looked at my boyfriend before focusing my attention back on Travis. "I'll meet you at the counsel meeting. Let's go for a walk and I'll tell you about it, Travis."

Chapter 55: How Long Should You Wait Before Befriending Your Ex?

Connor Stoll

I was honestly a little surprised that Grover didn't come with on the walk. He didn't ask or protest at all, even though I'm pretty sure he knows that Percy and I used to be a thing. He just said sounds good and let us go.

"You... Told him about us." I started off as we left the pavilion. "Right?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I told him about it when we rescued him last summer." Percy reassured me. "having a mental link means that it's really hard to have secrets— you can usually tell when the other person is lying or feels guilty."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Usually?"

Percy shrugged.

"It's a mental link, not a mind reader." He told me, which I guess made sense. "It also just helps that we trust each other. He's not going to randomly decide that long distance won't work or that I'm too mentally unstable to be trusted."

I opened my mouth to respond, but failed to find a good way to do so.

For a moment, a blanket of silence settled on top of the two of us, and I couldn't... Tell what he wanted me to do with that claim.

After a minute of debate, I conceded his point with a short nod.

"Well... Yeah, you got me there." I said, feeling the guilt of the entire situation pull down on me yet again. "I..."

I took a breath, stopping. We were near the stream where Percy was claimed right now. The spot where I vividly remember feeling my stomach drop because it meant the possible end of the world.

Now my stomach clenched because, for a while, I let Percy become my whole world.

"Look, I don't know if you want to hear it or if you even care anymore, but based on what you just said, it seems like you do." I began, crossing my arms in front of me. "But I am sorry for what I said— it was uncalled for, especially when I knew that you'd had a bad day so you had every reason to feel and act the way you were. I know that you're capable of doing crazy, cool, and amazing things, I just... I didn't really know you all that well when you left on your first quest, so having you leave for another quest when I knew that you were feeling awful scared me. I knew you wouldn't kill yourself, but I was terrified that you'd be more careless in fights or something. I just..."

I exhaled.

"Genuinely," I prefaced, because it felt important. "I am happy that you and Grover are together. Connor doesn't believe me when I tell him that every time he points you out to me, but I am. I assumed that you had a crush on him before we really became a thing, and I think the fact that you were leaving to rescue him subconsciously made me jealous. Which, again, it's shitty and I'm sorry. You've heard me apologize about a billion times for what I did that first summer, but I still feel like an idiot for that. And we don't..."

"...we don't have to be friends." I continued, knowing that he wasn't open to hanging out this summer. "I'm not approaching you now or apologizing because I think it'll end in us being friends— I'd still like to be friends, to start fresh, but I know that as of this summer, you didn't, and that okay. I get it. I just... Don't want things to feel awkward anymore. We're both counselors, right? So we kind of have to work together."

I stopped for a second, knowing there was one other thing I'd wanted to say to him because I've rehearsed this apology roughly two thousand times since we stopped talking.

"Also, my mom called me a complete dumbass when I told her about what I did," I finished. "Or, those weren't her exact words, but that was the meaning. She said that if we ever started hanging out again, she'd like to meet you so she can like, embarrass me and tell you awful stories about me to make up for what I did to you."

Processing everything I'd said, Percy just stood there for a moment. His arms also crossed, he looked down for a few seconds before looking up.

"Yeah, if she's ever in the city, that... Could be okay." Percy decided, speaking slowly. "And you're right, it was shitty, but it wasn't that I didn't know why you said it— I always knew your reasoning. Well, maybe besides the subconscious jealousy, but it's not like you were wrong. It was just... The way you said it."

There was a beat of silence.

"In a place where almost everyone, if not everyone, has a mental disorder, it's surprisingly hard to be open about your mental health." My ex told me, his eyes glossing over. "You, Luke, and Grover were the only people I really opened up to my first summer. Towards the start of this summer, I opened up to Annabeth a little, but it's still very limited. And after you said what you did..."

His voice fell off.

"It felt like I couldn't be a normal demigod and also still struggle with everything else that I struggle with," Percy voiced for me. "I know that I'm mentally unstable— I currently have a bracelet that proves that, but I don't want people to think that I am only my mental illnesses. And when we fought, that's what it felt like you were saying. Like I was only as much as my mental illnesses made me worth."

Pausing, Percy looked down again, trying to keep himself composed.

"You know, for the last two and a half weeks, I've been in an inpatient mental health facility." The son of Poseidon told me, causing my heart to stop. "That's what the bracelet is from— I had a bad night almost three weeks ago and nobody was home and I didn't want to call anybody, so my parents came home to what they thought was the aftermath of a bad monster attack and they rushed me to the hospital, where I told the doctor what really happened and he sent me to treatment. Because I needed it, even if it meant I couldn't talk to anyone for multiple weeks and it scared them because I suddenly dropped off the face of the earth."

"I..." But before I could respond, I realize he had more to say.

"I got home three days ago," Percy continued. "I'm now going to therapy twice a week and my parents bought me an electric razor so I can't use them to hurt myself. I'd just gotten back from therapy when Thalia showed up to tell me that Grover had called for help and that he was also freaking out because I haven't answered any calls in two and a half weeks and we usually talked at least once a week after he left for Maine."

Percy put his hands out, as if trying to emphasize a point.

"And when she asked why I hadn't talked to him in so long, I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth." The slightly younger demigod said, which... Was a sad fact. "when Annabeth asked me the same thing yesterday, on our almost six hour drive to Maine, I couldn't tell her, either. Because I'm so fucking worried that if I open up like that and I tell them that I was off the grid for two weeks because I was getting help because I felt like I deserved the pain I was causing myself, physically, and then refusing to heal those cuts, that they wouldn't think of me as anything more than that. As a pathetic boy who had to go to a mental hospital for two and a half weeks. Annabeth already thinks that I'm stupid— I don't want to know what she'd think of me if she knew that I was more suicidal than not a lot of the time. I... I'm terrified of people suddenly thinking that I'm not good or capable enough because of my mental illnesses. Sure, it can hinder me at times. But I can still fight monsters and go on quests and be as normal as any other demigod kid is."

"You..."

And the more he talked, the clearer his point became to me: because of one thing that I said, the connotation of which I didn't mean, Percy felt like he couldn't be honest with people.

He felt like he couldn't open up to people in the same way he opened up to me.

Which, by the way, was something he needed to do in order to keep himself alive that first summer. Especially after he found out that Grover would be leaving at the end of summer.

I managed to unknowingly turn my care, my worries, and my love for Percy into harm that's expanded far beyond the reaches of just me.

What I did has possibly affected every single type of relationship— platonic or romantic, that Percy will ever have after me.

What do I say?

How can I respond to that? No matter what I respond with it... Won't feel or seem as genuine as it should. As it is.

"I'm..." I began, the words tumbling off my tongue as soon as they came to my mind. "Percy, I don't even know how to properly apologize for that, but know that I am really sorry that... That what I said hurt you more than just our relationship, but that it's seeped into everything else. You shouldn't have to feel like your mental health has to be this big secret, and I... I'm sorry, genuinely, sincerely sorry, that I made you feel that way."

After all of that, I wouldn't forgive me for what I said.

He shrugged, which felt like a really tame response.

"I know you're sorry," Percy Jackson insisted with a sad smile. "And, in hindsight, I knew that wasn't what you meant. I'm not..."

Pursing his lips, Percy sighed.

"I'm not mad at you for what you said, Travis." My ex told me, which I think made him an angel. Or Jesus. "And I... I forgive you for what happened, because I know that you were coming from a place of concern and worry and you were well intended. I just... Want you to know the impact it had on me so you don't accidentally do it again. But I do forgive you, so—"

He put his right hand out.

"We can start new-ish— we don't have amnesia so it can't be completely new."

Looking down, I couldn't even think because I was so amazed by the fact that he just...

Said that he forgave me.

I put my right hand in his, shaking it— a very different context than what used to be normal for the two of us.

He has a boyfriend, I reminded myself, though it wasn't like it was a desire I felt when I held his hand momentarily— it was simply nostalgia. A boyfriend who's been much better for him apart and together than you ever were for him.

"To starting new-ish." I confirmed as he let my hand go. It was a tiny bit awkward, but not as bad as it used to be. "I think you might be Jesus if you're able to forgive me for that."

Percy smiled, rolling his eyes.

After hearing what he's been through this last month, I was glad that he was still smiling.

"I mean, it took a long time." Percy insisted as we started to walk again. "and a lot of conversations with my therapist and Mr. D. But the actual reason why we're here— when did you become so passionate about cabins at camp? Did Nico just like, spark something in you last night?"

I sighed, looking off in the direction that a certain son of Nemesis had vanished toward not that long ago.

"Nico just... Was a reminder." I started to explain, the names and faces of dozens of unclaimed and minor demigods flashing through my mind— none of them here anymore. "It really started back when Ethan either ran away or was taken or died. On his birthday, of all days— I don't know how much you know about it. But he was a son of Nemesis, his mom actually brought him to camp after his other mother died. He never had to be claimed because of that, but..."

I shrugged.

"There wasn't a proper home for him, so he lived with us." I went on, seeing Percy's expression shift ever so slightly as he listened. "And the older he got, the more it seemed to bother him—if Hera could have a cabin, why couldn't his mom? Luke insisted that he asked Chiron and Mr. D about it on multiple occasions, but nothing ever came of it, so I don't know if he ever did. And seeing Nico, he reminded me of Ethan— similar build, though Nico's a bit lankier, dark hair, quiet. They're around the same age. And he... He knew who his dad was, like Ethan knew his mom, and it just... Nico asked me about it and I couldn't give him a good answer and it feels wrong."

Percy nodded, putting maybe too much thought into his response.

"It... I mean, it is wrong." Percy agreed with me. "And Luke did talk with Chiron and Mr. D about it multiple times— I witnessed it a few times, Chiron shut it down pretty fast. The old man insisted that there weren't enough minor god demigods to go through the hassle of remodeling the cabins and then rebuilding the area— or he'd insist that camp doesn't have the money."

"Doesn't... Do we even spend our money?" I questioned. "Like, sure, we get basic supplies, but... We make and do most of our own stuff. It's not like we'd have to build them all at once! We could just start with a cabin for the kids who aren't children of Hermes but have been claimed by other gods— maybe each god gets their own room or something, I don't know. They'd figure that out themselves. But we don't have staff to pay or like... We have to have enough money from the strawberry farm for at least one cabin."

"It wouldn't even cost much if we sourced a lot of the supplies from camp!" Percy said, which was true— I didn't even consider that. "we have a lot of wood— not that we'd use living trees, but there's enough dead trees in these woods to at least make the bedframes and have some left over. That will still save us at least a thousand dollars. I'm sure the Hephaestus cabin has enough scrap metal hanging around to melt it into door handles and whatever else. The Athena cabin could easily build a model that kept camps resources in mind. Chiron just... Doesn't want to do it."

"But why?"

He shrugged.

"Change is hard or something, I don't know. It's the same bullshit answer to why our parents don't talk to us: it's just easier for them if they don't have to."

I rolled my eyes.

"I mean, yeah, but our parents still appear occasionally," I insisted. "not that I've ever gotten to talk to my dad but... That's a Zeus thing, not an Olympus thing. Luke was always really mad about it, which I get, but..."

I shrugged.

"There's only so many things I can be mad about." I decided, watching Percy exhale and shift his body language back to what it'd been earlier— my response must've answered a question for him that I didn't know he was asking. "maybe if we get more cabins, I'll be more mad about it."

"Yeah?" The son of Poseidon asked. "What are you, a one-issue candidate?"

I rolled my eyes.

"For what? Camp president? I'd never survive the primaries."

He smiled.

"You definitely wouldn't because the CIA would take you out before you could become a nominee." He agreed, I think referring to Chiron and Mr. D as the CIA here. We heard the conch signaling the end of breakfast go off. "Alright, let's go see what the old man wants to talk about while the girl scouts are here— maybe we can bring up cabins again just to get under his skin."

I smiled back, a refreshing, freeing smile.

A new-ish smile.

"You're too much, Percy Jackson. Let's go."

Notes:

queer culture is being friends with ur ex

Chapter 56: What Do You Mean We Lost A God

Percy Jackson

The Hunters of Artemis did not respect the counsel rule.

They were all here.

Not just one or two of them.

All of them.

Thalia already looked annoyed when I walked in, which seemed promising for how this might go. I sat down between her and Grover, earning a weird look from Thalia.

"Trying to get your face to stay that way forever?" I asked the daughter of Zeus.

"Oh, shut it, Jackson," she told me. "Since when do you and Travis hang out? I thought Annabeth told me you guys purposefully don't hang out."

"I mean, we don't hang out, but he was wondering about cabins and some of the stuff that Luke really pressed Chiron on, so I talked to him about what I knew." I insisted. "He also apologized for what he said to me when we fought and when I told him that I forgave him he said that I must be Jesus if I could forgive him for it, so... Who knows if we'll actually hang out, but we cleared the air. He feels bad about what happened."

I nudged my boyfriend.

"He also definitely knew that I had a crush on you before I was willing to admit it. He knows my type."

Thalia scoffed.

"You're type?" She asked me. "Pray tell, Percy, what's your type?"

"Percy's type?" Travis heard from the other side of the table. "scrawny brunettes who can't fight worth shit in combat."

"Hey!" Grover, my loving boyfriend, went to defend himself. "I can fight."

"You don't even have a normal weapon, Grover," Annabeth reminded him. "your pipes could be considered weapons with how you play them at times but... Even Gleeson has a baseball bat."

"And yet I'm the only satyr who has gone to the underworld and come back without dying. And that came back from looking for Pan."

"Grover, you did not do those things alone."

"I never said I did." He agreed. "the facts are still facts, though."

"Okay, children, calm down," Chiron said, wheeling himself into the meeting room with Mr. D. He nodded at one of the hunters. "Zoë Nightshade, it's an honor to have you here, as always. Out first order of business: can you explain to the counsel how yesterday's recruiting efforts were? When did your group intercept the recruiting? Was it coincidental?"

"You as well, Chiron," Zoë responded, her accent sounding... Old. Like, I couldn't even place it. "We only saw the tail end of the regular recruiting process— the group leaving the school. Our arrival was coincidental, for you see, we were hunting the same monster that had been targeting the di Angelos. Upon arrival, the group has been in... Well, the group wasn't really in combat, though one of the demigods had been fighting the monster."

"Oh?" Chiron asked, sounding intrigued. "We're you able to witness Thalia Grace's capabilities against the monster, then?"

Annabeth and I shared an immediate look when Chiron said that— the same exact look you would share with a friend or a cousin or even a sibling at a group event when somebody is saying something unbelievable.

"Hm? Oh, no, it wasn't Ms. Grace fighting." But at least Zoë didn't just nod her head and agree. "it was... Much more terrifying. Or, perhaps a better wording is that it was a different type of terrifying than what I'd expect to feel from the daughter of Zeus."

Zoë looked at me, then back to Chiron.

"Honestly, I was going to let Percy have the kill— for as skinny as the kid is, there was no doubt in my mind that even without a weapon, he has the brute force to crush the Manticore. He'd had him pinned against the wall. When I saw his sword, though... Regardless, Lady Artemis herself took the shot. Only then did we notice that the satyr had been stung in the leg— nothing lethal, he simply needed some nectar before resting for a while. The girls escorted him down the hall and we all set up camp until Apollo arrived."

The immortal paused, thinking.

"Considering the circumstances, I'd say it was an extremely successful recruit, Chiron. Even us maidens received a new party member." Zoë confided, as if they needed her opinion to figure out that my boyfriend is good at his job. "though I'd appreciate more action from the women, they were still pleasant to speak with and showed potential."

Mr. D looked at me.

"You have a sword," he insisted. "and your first instinct was to choke the monster against the wall?"

I shrugged.

"It's good for shock value so I have time to get my sword out," I answered, half of the answer being bullshit. I was just angry. "I did the same thing to Tantalus last summer, why are you surprised?"

"You..." Chiron's voice faded, and I could read his expression as clear as day; why is this kid still alive? "Perseus, need we have another discussion about respecting your elders and mentors?"

I raised an eyebrow, challenging that notion.

"Need we have another conversation about how I've asked you to stop calling me by my full name?" I responded. "I respect the mentors until they do something to lose that respect. It's not my fault your replacement decided to be transphobic, but it is your fault for assuming my malice. Which, by the way, isn't the point of this meeting. Call me crazy, but isn't there something actually important we're supposed to be talking about while we're here?"

"There is," Zoë agreed with my last point. "we never received a check in with Lady Artemis last night, or this morning."

Nobody understood the problem.

"...okay? She's on a solo mission right now, isn't she?" Thalia questioned. "What's the big deal?"

"Lady Artemis checks in with us at least once every 24 hours when she's on a solo mission," one one of the hunters to the right of Zoë explained. "She told Zoë and I explicitly that she would check in before camp's curfew went into affect to make sure we'd settled in here. If she hasn't reached out to us yet, unless somebody accidentally intercepted the call..."

"We had no interception in the Big House." Chiron responded.

"Yeah, nothing in our cabin, either," Conner added. "We were all busy cleaning off an old bunk for the new kid."

"Who's been claimed, by the way," Travis said, using the chance of relevance to bring this up. "and not to change the topic or anything— Artemis not contacting you guys sounds important, too, but this is important for our demigods here, specifically in my cabin."

Travis took a breath as I saw Mr. D hold his breath, wondering what fight he was going to try and have.

"The new kid, Nico," Travis began. "Doesn't have a cabin to stay in."

Mr. D got up to go get a Diet Coke.

Chiron looked confused, as did many other counselors.

"What do you mean, Trav? He's literally in our cabin." Connor reminded his older brother like he was an idiot. "we cleared off Ethan's bed for him? Is your brain okay?"

Travis elbowed his brother.

"That's not what I mean— I know he wasn't sleeping outside last night," the slightly older demigod went on, causing Connor to roll his eyes. "I mean that his dad doesn't have a cabin. Why do we not have a cabin for Hades? He's one of the Big Three gods."

"Well, Travis, when we originally built the cabins, we modeled it after the throne room on Olympus." The centaur informed Travis of nothing new. "Hades doesn't have a throne and isn't an Olympian, thus he didn't recieve a cabin. As it stands, it would be a one person cabin, Travis— he isn't meant to have children any longer. Would you like to spend the money and resources to build an entire cabin for only one little demigod to reside in?"

Travis looked at me, looked at Thalia, looked at Castor, and then returned his attention to the centaur.

"You're joking, right?"

Chiron scoffed.

"Well, child, I know you don't have the funds to build a cabin, but my point is true. Why go through the effort? In the end, it's a waste of time and money."

"Be—no, it's not." Travis insisted as I could hear his emotions start to kick into high gear. "Chiron, you have two entire cabins dedicated to goddesses who can't have children! Sure, the one for Artemis makes sense— the Hunt does come and stay occasionally, but... Up until two years ago, cabins one, two, and three were vacant and expected to never have somebody live there again. Cabin 12 has two people in it! I don't care if it's because Mr. D can't have kids if he's stuck here, it's still two people! Castor, would you still want to be living in the Hermes cabin?"

"Wh— I mean, Pollux and I never had to since my dad is literally right there, but it'd be weird if we had to."

"I know I'd hate still being in the Hermes cabin." I supplemented, which seemed to surprise a lot of people. "What? Even taking away the fact that I don't get along with everyone in the Stoll's cabin, I wouldn't feel like I belong in that cabin after being claimed. Is that not why Ethan Nakamura ran away last year? Because he didn't have a place that he felt like like he belonged."

Mr. D crossed his arms.

"You're suggesting that little brat ran away?" The god questioned. "I thought we'd decided that he'd been kidnapped or killed."

"It's just an idea," I defended my knowledge (and appearance of ignorance). "I wasn't at camp when he left, but from what I've heard from others, it sounds like he ran away. He wasn't the first kid to do that, even since I've been at camp. Why do you think demigods are leaving? Even Chris Rodriguez left, and he only had like a year left."

"Chris was claimed, he was a Hermes kid," Connor told me. "Him and Luke were always close, nobody was surprised he left. Not in our cabin, at least. And you know what? Good riddance."

"I agree with Connor." Sherman Yang, Clarisse's brother, added on. It was the first time I'd ever really heard the kid talk. He was a little younger than me, maybe 13. "If the kids don't want to be here, let them leave. They're just going to die anyways."

"Okay, but that's not what either of them are suggesting." Silena joined the conversation. "they're saying that if more gods have cabins, less kids will leave because they feel like they belong here. Right?"

"Exactly," Travis confirmed. "And I mean, it's not like we have to do it all at once— we can literally just start with one cabin for... What would they be called? Minor gods? Non-Olympians? And then once we build a second cabin, it can be assigned a god or goddess. Hell, I'm sure some cabins wouldn't mind sharing with each other— especially if it's temporary. But we've had six kids either vanish or tell us they're never returning to camp again between Ethan's disappearance and now. And all of them are either unclaimed demigods who have been unclaimed for years, or they're demigods who don't have their own cabins. It's a problem."

Chiron appeared to consider this idea, but I knew that that was all it was: an appearance. A mask. A façade.

It angered me, but I bit my tongue.

"And what possesses you to believe that they wouldn't have left if they had their own cabin?"

I saw Mr. D roll his eyes.

"Well, for starters, the only claimed and cabined demigod who left prematurely was Chris," I threw in. "Who, like Connor said, was close to Luke and left around the same time Luke did, not prematurely. Has anyone else has a kid vanish or possibly run away since this spring? Or last fall?"

"We had one, but I'm pretty sure it was a suicide, not a runaway." Charlie Beckendorf, the counselor of the Hephaestus cabin told me. "His mortal sister died recently and he wasn't coping well. We tried to get him to go home for the year so he could go to therapy, but he refused. One day he said he was going to talk to Chiron about visiting home and he never made it to the Big House. We've never confirmed what happened."

"Same here— suicide, not a runaway." Both Silena and Katie Gardener added.

"So you're suggesting these kids commit suicide?" Chiron's gathered. "That that is a better alternative?"

The room fell silent because...

Well, honestly, because that was a fucked up conclusion.

"Wh— no, that's not... That's not at all what I'm suggesting," Travis insisted, getting worked up at the topic. "I just think that these kids deserve to feel like they belong in a place that doesn't seem to care about them right now. It's not..."

Mr. D and Chiron shared a silent conversation. For a first, Mr. D lost it.

"Look, kid," Mr. D began. "I get what you're saying, but the fact of the matter is that we don't have the time or money to take on a project that big. It's nice that you care about your cabin mates and whatever, but there's a reason we have the systems we do when it comes to where you guys stay."

"But... There isn't anything that could help?" Travis asked. "what about a scholarship? I'm sure that if we approached the gods that we'd be building cabins for, they'd give us a few dollars, right? They love attention and being honored— that's why temples exist."

Would a god really give camp a...

Oh shit.

"A scholarship?" Mr. D questioned.

And, not knowing the code behind that word, Travis repeated himself.

"Yeah, a scholarship." The son of Hermes said as I could feel the life drain out of me. "You know, money that doesn't have to get paid back? It usually requires some kind of action to be done— in this case, building the cabin."

Mr. D thought for a minute, looking to the centaur for any objections. Chiron didn't respond.

"Well, it doesn't solve the time issue, but I suppose it's not like the job has to be done immediately." Mr. D figured, sighing. "you and whoever else concocted this idea can talk to me after the meeting— I'll need a list of who I have to sweet talk at next weeks meeting. We can discuss the terms of the scholarships then."

And Travis, thinking that this was something that was actually going to happen, was content with that and agreed to meet with Mr. D after the meeting.

Thalia, Silena, and I kept our mouths sealed— knowing what Mr. D was really going to talk to him about.

"Thank you." Travis said. "anyways, sorry— I didn't mean to take away from Artemis. You guys were saying that you haven't heard from her yet?"

"Hm? Oh, yes." Zoë responded. "We have had no contact with her, and no visions of where she could be. All we know is that she mentioned the name The General, but none of us are familiar with that term. Would any of you happen to know who the general is?"

We all shook our heads, half of us lying.

"I suspected as much." She said, sighing. "well, then, please keep an ear or eye out for any sort of communication from Lady Artemis, and if you have any prophetic dreams, do let us know as soon as possible. As difficult a task as it may be, it is not impossible for gods to die— I'd hate to hear Lady Artemis met a fate we weren't able to prevent."

"We all would, child." Chiron concluded. "If that is all that you wished to speak of, Ms. Nightshade, then I believe this counsel meeting is dismissed. And, of course, welcome to Camp, Ms. Di Angelo. It's been a pleasure meeting you."

As people started to disperse, Chiron and Mr. D had a short conversation before Mr. D looked back towards the campers still here.

"Are you okay?" Grover asked me, sounding worried. "You seem anxious— do you want to go on a walk?"

Travis walked over to Mr. D, the god giving him a weird look.

"I—"

"Is nobody else coming with you, Steel?"

The son of Hermes thought about it for a second, looking back to me.

"Do you want to come, Percy?" Travis offered as I saw my step-grandpa look like he might need another Diet Coke with a little something-something in it to calm him down. "You're going to be better at articulating than I will be."

Luke's going to be pissed.

"Uh, sure." I said, slowly standing. "I don't know if I really helped, but... Sure. I'll be there in a second."

I squeezed my boyfriend's shoulder.

"I'll meet you at your place," I told the satyr, feigning a smile. "A walk would be nice."

"O...kay." Grover responded, sounding a little confused as he stood up. "See you soon— don't kill your grandpa."

"Or my brother!" Connor said, walking out of the room.

As if I have it in me to kill another human being.

Rolling my eyes at Connor, I faced the rest of the demigods left in the room once Grover and Connor were gone— the undercover crew, as we call ourselves.

You know, Silena, Thalia, and myself?

"I'm going to kill myself." I told the other two and Thalia looked like she could smack me.

"With that bracelet on? Shut the fuck up." The daughter of Zeus told me, and my jaw dropped, because how does she... Know? "You're not going to kill yourself— you're going to act like a fucking dumbass because Travis didn't know what that word meant when he said it. Go play stupid, I'll see if I can call Luke— he said he had to meet somebody in California this week, the General, so... I don't know if he'll answer. Go. Act dumb."

I sighed, taking a moment before opening the door to Mr. D's office.

Here goes nothing. I thought, turning the doorknob.

"There he is, finally." Mr. D said, lounging in his chair as Travis sat across from him on a purple couch.

"Sorry, Thalia was wondering about my bracelet." I apologized. "What exactly do we want to talk about? I just reaffirmed Travis' idea about building more cabins— it's a stretch to say I helped with the idea."

Mr. D raised his eyebrows, taking a swig of his favorite soft drink.

"Oh, cut the shit, kid." He told me, slamming the can down, causing me to flinch. "riddle me this: the summer you two were a thing, were you actually a thing, or did you just need an excuse to be in Cabin 11 so you two could conspire with Luke?"

"Wh... What?" Travis asked, completely lost not. "Conspire? About what? We spent most of our time in Percy's cabin."

"And we were definitely a thing— you therapised me most of that summer." I reminded my grandfather. "I would not have begged you to not tell Dad about it if it wasn't real."

Mr. D hummed, looking between the two of us as if there was an actual riddle to solve in what I said.

"I— sorry, sir, I'm still confused." Travis insisted. "What would we conspire with Luke about? Did Luke do something?"

The camp directed considered Travis' statement.

"I don't know," the god lied. "What do you think he did?"

"W... Well Connor thinks that he was the one behind the Master Bolt getting stolen and behind Thalia's Tree getting poisoned, but I don't... I've never believed him. Are you suggesting he... Did those things?"

There was a moment of silence.

Mr. D didn't respond, redirecting his attention to me.

"Remind me again, where the son of Hermes lives now?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know, I've never—"

"Oh, bullshit." Grandpa D cut me off, making me feel very similar to how his son did for a good few years after he lost his best friend and unborn child.

"What, I don't—"

"Percy, your parents know Luke," he pointed out to me, which of course had Travis' attention. "Not know of him, they personally know him. I've stopped by your apartment more than once before and your parents have told me that you're hanging out with Luke."

The camp director leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk.

"So, that's begs the question," the god continues. "What does hanging out mean? And why are you so nervous about it?"

"Wh— no offense, Grandpa D, but your behaviors are reminding me a little too much of your son." I defended myself for starters. "which puts me on edge. Also, you're giving me the third degree and accusing me of doing... Something? Being an accomplice? Sure, Luke and I have seen each other since he left camp— he brought some stuff over that was mine after he left camp. It got mixed in with Travis' stuff, which got mixed in with Luke's. After that, he offered to continue giving me lessons if I wanted, and I didn't want to get rusty, so I took the offer. We don't train at his apartment, though— we train at my parents storage shed. He's a good swordman, and there are things that he's willing to teach me that Chiron isn't. Demigod stuff can make my mom nervous, though, so I just say we're hanging out. Is that a crime now?"

"Hm? Oh no, not a crime," he promised me. "just an observation. Was it a coincidence that Grover went missing the same week we noticed Thalia's Tree had been poisoned?"

My eyes damn near popped out of my head.

"Are you... Are you accusing me of putting my best friend— my boyfriend in harms way for the sake of convenience?" I said, seething through my teeth at thought. "I hadn't spoken to him in a month when he created the mental link on his last stretch of hope— how dare you accuse him of helping poison the same demigod he couldn't help but feel like he could've saved. He had been in that trap before I got to Camp— don't try connecting dots of different colors."

Mr. D leaned back, seeming to be unsure if he should he intimidated or impressed by my sudden shift in attitude.

It intimidated Travis.

"And yet he's the one who found the Golden Fleece," the god persistent against my warnings. "I'm not saying he helped poison the Tree, Percy— I'm saying that the plan the whole time was to heal the tree. Or really, to heal Thalia. Bring her back from her coma."

"What... Then why poison it?" Travis asked.

Mr. D chuckled.

"Why poison it? There wouldn't have a quest without the poisoning." Mr. D told Travis, who slowly nodded. "I don't know who pricked the pine, but whoever did it surely did their research to find a poison that the Demeter cabin and Chiron couldn't cure. It's hard to believe they'd do that without knowing where a cure would be."

"Wh— who's they?"

He rolled his eye.

"Well, the obvious one: Luke." The god figured. "He wasn't the one to do it physically, but I'm sure he had a lot of say in it. Grover, possibly. You, probably. I doubt Annabeth is involved— she worships her mother too passionately. Too authentically. Somebody else— whoever actually pricked the pine. I haven't reduced them yet. Oh, and now that she's alive, Thalia. It's not secret how much she hates both of her parents."

I opened my mouth, dumbfounded.

"What... How did you go from the fact that I occasionally train with Luke to accusing me of helping poison Thalia's Tree?"

He shrugged.

"Just... A vibe." He insisted. "Your anxiousness. Your willingness to fight with literal gods. Your reputation preceedes you amongst the Olympians, Percy— none of them want you on their bad side after what you did to Ares."

I scowled, feigning confusion.

"When did the turn into an issue with the gods?"

Mr. D chuckled again, sounding almost too calm about the matter. He leaned back again, crossing his arms.

"Hasn't it always been about the gods, Percy?" My grandfather asked me. "Even before you knew about it— before you were involved, that's what this was about. Not that you aim to destroy Olympus—even you can see the faults in a plan like that. But poisoning the Tree was a scare tactic. One that had a 50/50 chance of earning you guys another player. And now? A goddess is missing."

He paused.

"So who gets to go on the quest this time?" Mr. D said, almost taunting. "You or Thalia Grace?"

"W... What quest? There hasn't been one issued yet."

The god shrugged, standing.

"I don't know, though I'm sure you already do, even if you don't want to admit it to me." He said, sounding so sure of himself it made me want to serve him a knuckle sandwich. "I'm not asking you if Luke stole the Bolt or had an influence on Thalia's Tree being poisoned— I know he did. Luke and I have spoken on the matter. I'm asking you if you're acting in compliance with him. But if you're unwilling to talk about it, that's okay."

He placed his hand on the door handle, reminding me of the fact that he likes to be dramatic at times.

"Only time will tell."

Chapter 57: It's Crazy How One Fight Can Destroy A Relationship

Percy Jackson

"I... Think I'm going to leave, if we're not going to actually talk about the cabins." Travis said, dismissing himself. "Just um... You know where to find me, sir, if you want to discuss it further. Sorry that I caused some... Confusion."

The son of Hermes left the room.

And it's like Mr. D became a completely different person.

"Percy, regardless of what you know and what you and Luke do or talk about, know that it isn't going to upset me or—"

"Really?" I snapped at him, my frustration of being interrogated by the one god who I though could've had some empathy for us campers boiling over. "Now that Travis is gone, you're going to change your tone? How can I trust that!? And no matter what I say, you've already assumed and seem to believe your own reality, so it doesn't fucking matter! You wouldn't believe me anyways!"

Mr. D pursed his lips, closing his eyes momentarily.

"Percy... It's complicated, I'm sorry." He apologized, but I doubt it'd mean anything in the long run. "I didn't mean to accuse you of corroborating with Luke's team, I was just... Trying to ask you if you knew about anything that he's done."

"You didn't mean... You directly said that it was probably me, Thalia, Luke, and somebody else!" I yelled at him, too careless to even consider the fact that he could zap me if he wanted to. Turn me into a dolphin like he wanted to do so desperately when we first met. "Luke was one of my only friends my first summer! Why can't we just continue to be friends without there being some other scheme!? Why can't I have friends without it being about some bigger plan!? I'm just a KID, MR. D! I KNOW THAT MY PARENTS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BURY ME, AND I JUST WANT..."

I slid down against the wall, wondering how the hell the staff are the mental institution thought it was okay to send me home.

"I just want the others to feel like they have a chance." I whispered. "Like they belong and like... Like no matter what, they'll never have to go through what I'm going through."

The god put his can down again, making me jump.

Why would we bring children into this environment?

Walking around his desk, Mr. D knelt down next to me.

"Percy, you—" He reached a hand out, causing me to tense.

"Please don't..." I said before realizing that I just ordered a god. "don't... I'm so.. sorry, I'm sorry that I... I can't... I can't..."

Feeling my nails, as short as they were, dig into my arms felt like a better focus for my brain than the thoughts and ideas it was sending me at the moment.

It felt like somebody was holding my breath on a rope that it kept tugging on, forcing my chest to fall in on itself as I choked and prayed that one of the tugs would just pull my soul away and let me rest.

I'm so fucking tired.

•••
Thalia Grace

As I expected, Luke didn't answer the call, so I joined Grover and Annabeth on the steps of the Big House. Grover seemed a little on edge, Annabeth seemed to be talking in order to calm him.

"I wonder how the meeting is going," Annabeth commented. "It seemed... Weird. Like they weren't actually talking about cabins."

"If it wasn't Mr. D, I'd be walking in to figure out why he's so anxious," Grover added on. "Percy's been anxious since the meeting, which I get since he didn't really want to go, but... It seems to be getting worse."

"How— oh, mental link." I recalled, looking down. "Think it has anything to do with Travis? They used to be a thing, yeah? Before you two were?"

Grover shrugged.

"They were, but Percy said they patched it up. And it hasn't made him anxious like this before. He's usually annoyed, not anxious, when it comes to Travis."

"He was really quiet in the car yesterday," Annabeth noted seemingly randomly. "maybe it's seasonal depression. Or anxiety or whatever. Seasonal mental illness. I used to get really sad this time of year."

"Used to?" I questioned.

"Between your birthday and there being less things to do? Yeah." She confirmed, which made me smile. It was sweet. "Not being home with my dad for the holidays. A lot of things like that. It's been better this year, though— you're alive and I talk to my dad now."

"Well I'm glad that me coming back to life has served your mental health well. What—"

The Big House doors opened, Travis stepping outside.

"Hey, sorry," Travis apologized. "If you're waiting on Percy, it'll be... Some time, I'm guessing. Things are kind of tense in there, you might want to head in, Grover. I think he'll need it."

"He— I mean, yeah, okay," Grover responded, moving to get up. "What's going on? Did Chiron interrupt the conversation?"

The son of Hermes shook his head.

"Surprisingly, no, I don't even know where the centaur is," he answered, taking a breath. "Mr. D uh... Well, he accused both of us with conspiring with Luke by having a fake relationship our first summer, which like... No. Not at all. And when he realized that I actually have had no contact with Luke since he left, he completely shifted to Percy and like... He accused Luke of stealing the Bolt and poisoning your Tree in order to revive you, Thalia, and then he accused both you and Percy and he said probably you, too, Grover, of helping Luke do these things, even though Percy insisted that they've just spoken and hung out because Luke offered to train him in the off season. But it was like... It was very accusatory and not very inquisitive, so I don't know how well he's going to handle it if Mr. D continues to press him."

He thinks Grover helped Luke?

"He... Thinks we helped? Why? How?"

"Well, Thalia and Luke are like, dating." Travis pointed out the obvious. "he brought her back to life, in this theoretical situation. And you made the mental link with Percy at the like, perfect time to find the Fleece and heal the tree. Says it's a weird coincidence."

"Wh... Yeah, because it was a weird coincidence. I didn't mention it until after Percy told me about the Tree." Grover insisted, sighing. "I'm... Going in. Thank you, Travis."

As Grover walked into the Big House, Annabeth looked up at Travis.

"Did he not mention me in the list of suspects?"

Travis just shrugged.

"No."

•••
Grover Underwood

Walking into Mr. D's office, it was abundantly clear to me that Percy didn't want to be comforted by the god who I assumed caused him to spiral in the first place.

The aforementioned god, Mr. D, couldn't seem to get a hint.

"Oh, Grover, thank the gods," the camp director said upon noticing me. "I don't know what happened, we were talking and he suddenly got really frustrated and then he started crying and..."

"Talking? Sir, Travis just told us you accused him of being an accomplice to a crime that's considered treason. That's not casually talking. Just... Please go get a medic, he's bleeding. I'll calm him down."

"...oh, okay." He responded. "I'll go see who they have on staff. Just keep him alive, Grover."

I'm sure I'll do a better job than you, I thought to myself, then mentally chided myself because I just lectured a god.

Sitting down across from my boyfriend, who's mental state was currently fogging up my own clarity and ability to stay calm, I wondered what the best way to pull him away from his mind would be.

"Percy?" I whispered, putting my hands out so he could (theoretically) see them, but so I wasn't touching him. "hey, sweets, it's just me, Grover. I sent Mr. D to go get a medic because you're bleeding on your arms. Can you hear me?"

There was no response, physical or verbal.

So I did my next idea— one that's a little harder to not notice.

Percy?

The thought made him jump, causing an arrow of guilt to go through me.

Hey, I'm sorry that I scared you, it's alright, it's only me. I promised him via mental link. I sent Mr. D to get a medic. Did you know that you're bleeding?

Confused, Percy moved his hands to see if there was blood on them.

And it wasn't much, but there was. On his fingers.

"I'm sorry." He apologized out loud, his voice swelling. "I just... He was loud and reminding me of my dad but like, when he would drink and it just... I got frustrated and then I got mad and then I was scared and...it's just easier to focus on something physical than it is on my brain sometimes. I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't want to scare you or..."

"What? Percy, you didn't scare me," I insisted, holding my hands out again. This time, he saw them. Took them. "Worried me? Sure, but I was worried that you seemed anxious earlier because you've had a bad couple weeks. From what Travis told us outside before I came in, I'm not surprised that what Mr. D was doing or saying stirred up bad memories. It's not okay that he did that. What's going on in your brain right now?"

Percy looked down at our hands.

"It like... It feels like mud, or maybe quicksand." my boyfriend told me, leaning forward, exhaustion evident in his voice. "right now, the bad thoughts are just kind of on the surface and with you here and Mr. D being gone I can just like, quickly walk over them and move on, even if it slows me down, but if I stop and..."

His voice drifted. I squeezed his hand.

He appeared to be lost before looking back at our hands, his current reminder that I'm here.

"Like that." Percy said. "If I stop, it pulls me in and I don't... Know how to get out. Like I'm... Is that what drowning feels like?"

"I'm not sure, but it sounds similar," I confided in my boyfriend, gently placing a kiss on his forehead. "We can definitely do things to try and keep you out of your head, but is there anything else besides Mr. D that could've caused it?"

Percy shrugged.

"Well, you had breakfast." I voiced, since we were both at breakfast and ate together. "You had water. What time do you usually take your meds?"

"I take them... Fuck, I didn't bring them with me." Percy realized, which explained the more sudden spiral today. "I usually take them not long before bed because they make me tired, but I didn't... Take them last night. I'm not even sure they're in my bag, I'll... Have to look. Even so, I think I need a refill. I needed one before I went to the hospital, so... Does camp have a pharmacy?"

I shook my head.

"It doesn't, but Argus and sometimes kids from the Apollo cabin will go into the city to get stuff like that for demigods," I answered. "we only have ambrosia and nectar, but that hasn't proved to help with mental health besides just giving demigods a little more energy."

Percy smiled briefly, the first sign that he was starting to pull himself out of the quicksand of his chemical imbalance.

"If only it were that easy," he responded, looking at our hands for a third time. "I think I would've been cured like, before I even jumped off the St. Louis Arch and you had to comfort me in the fucking Circus Transport Truck."

I smiled at the memory— of course I'd been worried about Percy, he'd been acting so carelessly the entire quest, but I was just glad that he still trusted me enough to let me see him having a bad time. That he was still open to talking about it with me, even after everything that happened bringing him to camp.

Trust me, I was extremely worried that he wouldn't want to be my friend when he came here because I'd technically been lying to him for nine months.

Thankfully, that's not what happened.

"That was a bad night," I recalled out loud. "but we still got through it. You still got through it. You'll get through this one, too."

The son of Poseidon nodded his head.

"Did you know that Annabeth heard that?" Percy asked me, a fact that surprised me. "I don't know if she heard all of it, but... Enough to know."

I raised an eyebrow.

"She did? I had no idea." I insisted, shrugging. "She never said anything about it to me. Didn't ask about you or anything. Did she talk to you about it?"

This time, he shook his head.

"No, she told a bunch of campers about it on the counsel at the start of summer, before I was here." My boyfriend elaborated which... A foul move on Annabeth's part, dare I say. "Travis told me about it that like, one day we talked at the start of summer. They were talking about me because I wasn't there on the first day of camp and Annabeth said that my school went longer, because it did, and then somebody mentioned you and then somehow the prophecy came up and then somebody asked Travis if we were friends or boyfriends and he said none of the above, because, as either Clarisse or Silena told me, why would he invest in somebody that would die in two years."

My eyes going wide, I didn't even know how to respond to that.

No wonder he asked me about why I would make a mental link with him— Travis said that a week before trying to get back together with him.

That's fucked up.

Maybe I should like, put a rat in his bed tonight. What's wrong with him?

"Which is fucked up," Percy added, reading my mind. "and is why I didn't want to talk to him when we got back, among the other things I told you. But then Annabeth commented on what Travis told everyone and said that that would only happen if I didn't kill myself before then because she heard me in the truck or trailer or whatever you want to call it and she told everyone that me jumping off the arch wasn't stupid, it was me trying to kill myself, which..."

He exhaled, closing his eyes. I squeezed his hand.

"Isn't even true," he concluded. "Like, I didn't care if that happened as a consequence, but that wasn't the reason I jumped, and I literally told you that that night, so she... Should've known. I don't..."

Percy let out another breath.

"If we go on another quest together, I might ring her neck," my boyfriend insisted, which... Seemed extreme. "Or not... Maybe I wouldn't, but she just... She says that we're friends, but when we hang out, all we do is argue. And she doesn't respect my boundaries that I set time and time again and it feels really shitty, but when I call her out, she tries to make it seem like she didn't know or that I should feel bad for feeling bad and just... Like, if I thought she actually valued our 'friendship' it wouldn't bother me as much, but it's never felt genuine and that just frustrates me even more that—"

"Grover? Percy?" Thankfully, Mr. D wasn't with Michael Yew and one of his little brothers, Will Solace— a recent recruit from the satyr Maron. He's around the same age as Nico, he showed up sometime this summer. It's impossible to claim he's anyone but Apollo's kid— he's a little ray of sunshine who's been training in the infirmary since he's almost as bad at archery as Percy is. I'm sure that's why he's here now. "Is it okay if I come in?"

And behind the two children of Apollo we're the other two who had been waiting outside with me earlier: Thalia and Annabeth. Thalia kept a bit more distance, staying in the doorframe, whereas Annabeth walked into the room with Michael and Will.

"Wh— oh, yeah. Sure." Percy said, looking at his open hand and seeming to remember that his fingers had blood on them. "sorry, Michael, I'm sure you were busy with Will. Mr. D just... Knew what to say, I guess. All of the wrong things, but... He still said it."

He paused.

"I also forgot to take my meds last night." He added on. "I have to see if I forget them at home, but if I need a refill, do I tell you or somebody else?"

"Just let me know and let me know what pharmacy we have to pick them up from. You live in Manhattan, right?"

He nodded his head as Will handed him an alcohol wipe for his hands.

"Thank you." Percy said, letting go of my hand momentarily to wipe his hands. After seeing that we were holding hands, Will hesitated, and then handed me as one, which was sweet. "And yeah, we live on the Upper East Side."

"Okay, then we don't have to call in to a different pharmacy— I think you're on our med list already, so you must have to stop by the infirmary and either tell one of us you need a refill or you can just put a check by your name on the list. Your medication isn't listed, don't worry— it's a list of all campers."

Nodding his head, Percy said he'd definitely look after this. Michael gave will the disinfectant for the cuts.

"Wh... What kind of monster did this?" Will asked maybe too innocently. "It looked like it tried to grab you by your arms."

The room went quiet. Michael looked apologetically at Percy.

I'm sorry, the older son of Apollo mouthed. He hasn't dealt with this sort of thing yet.

Percy didn't respond to Michael, focusing on the young demigod.

"One that you can't see, Will." He informed the medic in training. "It's not a normal monster, so it isn't going to attack you. It's stuck in my brain."

Making the shape of an o with his mouth, Will grabbed the go-bag of ambrosia and nectar.

"Ooooh, like how my mom would be really sad sometimes but then would stay awake for like two days at a time at other times? She never called it a monster because my mom is mortal, but she said that that was because of something in her brain."

Percy nodded.

"Exactly like that, except I don't stay up for long periods of time." He confirmed for Will. "And um, it might be a weird request, but could you just bandage it up instead of using ambrosia and nectar? I... I don't want to have to take it unless I really have to, you know? Plus, you can have more practice then! You did really good with cleaning the wounds."

And while him saying that worried me because I recognized it as an extended form of self harm, and I think Michael did, too, Will got really excited.

"Ooh, yeah!" Will insisted with a smile. "I'm a super good bandager, you're not even going to realize it's on!"

As Will dug around, Percy and I made eye contact, having a silent conversation that went something like this:

Me: is that really why you didn't want the nectar or ambrosia?

 

Percy: okay but what if there's a quest and we get sent on it because it's a quest and then something happens and I get hurt but I can't have enough nectar or ambrosia because I had it now?

 

Me: Percy, I love you, but that's not know that works

 

Percy: okay and?

 

Me: so why reject the nectar and ambrosia? It'll heal you a lot faster.

 

Percy: well what if I don't want it to heal faster?

 

Me: why wouldn't you?
Me: do you think that you don't deserve to heal faster?

He shrugged.

Percy: not really. For monster and battle injuries, sure, but... I did these ones to myself. It's my fault, so I should deal with the consequences.

Me: can I at least put some healing gel on them tonight?

Percy: ....maybe.

Taking that as a small victory, Will finished wrapping up his second arm, and even put a little sticker over top of the tape on each bandage.

"All done!" He announced with a smile. "they shouldn't bleed through, but if they open up again and start bleeding through, I can bandage you again."

The son of Apollo paused, grabbing something from his bag.

"I'm sorry that your brain makes you do that kind of stuff," he apologized to Percy, which I think might make him cry later on, when he's not surrounded by a bunch of people. Will held out a little Tupperware container filled with candies— all blue. "Michael told me that you always get something blue when they let you pick, so I got all of the blue candies. You can have a couple, if you want. There's also more stickers."

Percy smiled— a smile that threatened to have tears get mixed into the equation, as genuine of a smile as it was.

"I love blue candy," Percy confirmed Michael's keen observation— which honestly had to be pretty good if he figured that out based solely on infirmary visits. He took a couple pieces and a sticker. "Thank you again. You're going to be a really good medic, Will."

Michael nudged his brother.

"That's what I've been saying."

The son of Apollo lit up again.

"You think so?"

"I know so." My boyfriend confided. "But I don't want to keep you and Michael from anything important— if I need my meds refilled or anything, I'll stop by the infirmary later. I think Grover can handle the rest."

"I'd probably be the world's worst boyfriend if I couldn't." I commented, getting him to roll his eyes as the two of us stood up, Michael and Will taking their leave but the other two sticking behind. "Did you still want to go on that walk?"

"Um... Later." He decided as I could see the bags darkening under his eyes. "I'm really tired, I think I might take a nap if you want to like, watch a movie? Even if I don't sleep, I just want to lay down."

Nodding my head, I promised him that that seemed like a good idea. He seemed tired.

He agreed.

"What happened, by the way?" Annabeth asked, coming from a place of concern, but ultimately running into the issue of bad timing. "Based on how your arms looked before Will wrapped them up, it almost seemed like they were scratched at or like..."

But she wouldn't just say it, either, which I could see annoyed Percy a little.

"Like I cut them? Yeah, I probably opened some cuts that haven't fully healed along with scratching a few new ones into place," he figured, not looking at her as we left Mr. D's office and the Big House, heading towards my cabin. "After this summer, I don't know why you're surprised."

"I mean I'm not shocked, Seaweed Brain, I just figured that you'd stopped after like, the start of August." The daughter of Athena admitted, and I saw Percy clench his jaw. "Or whenever it was that you were in the infirmary for a while. Figured it'd been a one or two time thing."

Percy sighed.

"Well, it wasn't." He insisted, and I felt bad because I knew he didn't want to talk to her about this because he didn't trust that she would keep it to herself after what she told everyone at the start of summer. "So I guess do with that information what you will, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell half the camp about it."

"Well what caused it?"

Stopping for a moment, Percy tried to wrap his mind around what Annabeth meant by that question, because it wasn't easy to answer.

"Wh... My brain?" My boyfriend answered, sounding confused even as he said it. "Are you my therapist now? Either way, Annabeth, it's none of your business— I'm on meds and I'm in therapy, so you don't have to suggest either one to me. Sometimes, bad days are just bad days. I forgot to take my meds last night, which makes me more prone to feeling shitty. But again, it's none of your business."

"I— okay, damn." She responded, sounding a little offended. "I hear you loud and clear, Seaweed Brain, you don't want to talk about it with me since I'm not your girlfriend or your doctor or whatever. Just trying to see if there was any cause that we could get rid of, but I'm sure you don't want a lobotomy, so I'm just going to go train with my cabin since I'm obviously not wanted in this conversation. Let me know when you're ready to talk without the sarcasm."

So never? I thought to myself, knowing that my boyfriend comes pre-loaded with sarcasm.

When he has the energy to use it, nobody is safe from it, and I think it's really funny and kind of cute at times.

Unless he's using it on a god, which he tends to do.

Then I'm scared.

For him, not of him.

And the crazy thing is that as Annabeth walked away, Percy relaxed.

"Damn, she really was on your nerves," Thalia commented. "What? She's got a history of blabbing?"

Percy nodded his head.

"She told half of the counsel that I tried to kill myself my first summer even though that wasn't the goal and she knew that," my boyfriend filled her in. "She also just acts like we're best friends even though we argue most of the time and she will not stop calling me Seaweed Brain, which..." Percy groaned.

"Does she know you don't like the nickname?"

Again, he nodded as we reached my place.

"I've asked her two or three times to stop— if I had the energy for a fight, I would've done it again now." Percy told the daughter of Zeus. "I already hate being associated with my sperm donor and the nickname just makes me feel like a fucking idiot, which I've told her before. I'd say she just has shit memory, but I know that's not true, so it just means she doesn't respect the boundary. Which is annoying. But I'm exhausted, so I didn't pick the fight and I'm going to lay down. If Mr. D tries to interrogate you later... Sorry, but he seems to be pretty stubborn right now."

The daughter of Zeus shrugged.

"Can't be worse than me— I'll brawl with a god. What's he gonna do? Kill me? My dad won't let him."

Wishing Thalia a good afternoon, the two of us headed into my place, where Percy immediately stripped down to his underwear and my hoodie which actually used to be my Uncle's hoodie, which is the only reason it can fit on him. Most of my stuff is too small for him.

It's okay, though, because it just means that I usually get to steal his stuff instead.

Crawling into bed, Percy draped himself over me, resting his head in the crook of my neck. I decided to put on Ratatouille because I learned recently that it was one of his favorite movies to watch with his mom as a kid.

He has other favorites now, but this one was a staple in their apartment when he was young. It's a comfort now.

"Oh, Mr. D might try and question you, too," Percy told me, which was a surprise but not a shock after what Travis mentioned earlier. "He's like, convinced that the two of us worked with whoever poisoned Thalia's Tree, he thinks Luke, in order to get a quest to get the fleece to revive Thalia. Scare the camp or Chiron, I guess?"

"He... So does he think that I faked going missing? Or that I planned almost becoming a child bride?"

Percy smiled, looking up at me with a stupidly adorable grin on his face.

"You were a pretty bride, though."

And even though he was referencing what might be the most terrifying time of my life, I could help but smile. I may have turned a little pink.

"Yeah, but I would've been married to the wrong person." I pointed out. "then I'd have to figure out how to get divorced, and that sounds like way too much work. Anyways, that's a crazy theory, considering the fact that none of us were here."

"It's weird, he's pretty sure there's a fourth person involved that he hasn't figured out yet." Percy agreed. "he was very insistent about it. And then Travis left and he tried to change his attitude, which is why I snapped, so... Don't be taken off guard if he summons you."

"I'll try my best to stay calm," I promised my boyfriend, running my hands through his hair that's gotten slightly longer than usual thanks to his in patient stay. "Thanks for the heads up, sweets."

He smiled into my neck, giving me a kiss as he put his head back down and closed his eyes.

"Any time, My Little Leaf. Any t..."

He was out like a light.

Chapter 58: Dots Are Being Connected (Like Actually)

Thalia Grace

Being a one person cabin, my training sessions usually get doubled up with other cabins. Today, that meant having Arts and Crafts with the Hermes cabin after Percy and Grover had gone to relax.

Well, not before getting questioned by Mr. D, but he really had nothing to accuse me of besides hanging out with my boyfriend, so it didn't last long.

As usual, I sat at the same station as Julia Feingold and Travis Stoll, seeing as they were the closest to Luke before he left. Travis is Percy's age, Julia is turning 16 sometime soon.

"What'd Mr. D want?" Julia asked me as I walked in- Mr. D catching me on the way to arts and crafts meant that he just walked with me here. So everyone saw us talking.

I shrugged.

"He had a couple questions for me- I don't think he got the answers he wanted."

Travis raised an eyebrow.

"Stuff to do with Luke?"

I rolled my eyes, grabbing the canvas I'd started painting on the other day.

"You know it," I confirmed for the son of Hermes, noticing Julia's confusion. "sorry that he tried to drag you into that- have you even talked to him since he left camp?"

Travis shook his head.

"No, which is why it confused me so much- did I like, somehow say something I wasn't supposed to? Did Luke actually... Do that stuff? Do you know?"

I glanced around the room, checking to see if any narcs were listening in, or even in earshot.

Thankfully, almost everyone had headphones on or were too far away to hear us. Most importantly: Connor was wearing headphones.

Not that anyone has believed him thus far, but... We're sort of trying to get this done with as little panic and as few casualties as possible, which means that Luke's been operating in the shadows still. And that I'm still here until Luke's lease runs up and we can move in together.

"Yeah, he did," I confirmed, watching Julia connect the dots in her head as the color drained from her face. "He wasn't the person that actually poisoned my tree, but he sent out the order knowing that a cure-all existed somewhere that wasn't within camp."

"So Grover...?" Travis asked.

I shook my head.

"It was actually a coincidence that he found the Fleece. Apparently multiple satyrs have found the Fleece looking for Pan and they were killed after getting trapped by Polyphemus. Grover was just able to survive long enough to tell somebody about it after Percy mentioned the poisoning."

"He... Wh..." Julia responded, processing this. "I mean I get why he'd want you to be alive, he like, missed you a lot, but that's... Why didn't he do it before? Or why... Why? Why steal the Bolt? That one doesn't make sense to me."

Before I could respond, Travis realized something very suddenly.

"The Great Prophecy." He realized, and it was right on the mark. "He stole the Bolt after Grover called Chiron to the school he got Percy from. If Luke figured out there was another child of the Big Three that early... But why would he want to kickstart that? Doesn't it fortell like, awful things?"

I shrugged.

"I haven't heard it, so I wouldn't know for sure." I told the children of Hermes, looking down for a second. "as for why... We talked about it even before we got to camp. Not as much around Annabeth because... Well, I love Annabeth, but she is her mother's pride. Also, she was 7, and she was so focused on the issues with her dad that I don't think she could've handled thinking critically about her mom's actions."

"Thinking critically... Well okay, yeah, she does worship her mom." Travis figured. "You don't worship your dad then?"

I cackled.

"My father was with my mom twice- once before I was born, and once before my little brother was born." I informed them. "If I tried to talk to him, he'd call our nanny to take me away and do a better job at entertaining me."

Travis' jaw dropped.

"He did not."

"Oh, he did." I confirmed. "And then when my mom got pregnant? He begged her to get an abortion- which is why I know what an abortion is, and when she refused because she wanted him to stay and be with us forever, he left. Mom asked if he was coming back, and he said that when she got rid of 'that kid' he'd show up."

I paused.

"My brother went missing when he was a toddler- my mom brought us to the park explicitly to 'lose' him. At the age of like, 2. I ran away after that. Searched for him for a while before starting to head east. After a year or so, I ran into Luke. We both hated our parents, so we trusted each other. The rest is history."

"He... That's awful, Thalia, I'm sorry." Julia apologized. "My mom and I were on okay terms, but it's hard living at home so we haven't talked in a while. I've never met our dad, though. Have you, Travis?"

He shook his head.

"None of us have in the cabin," Travis told me, which wasn't surprising. "Luke had met him before apparently, once or twice. Absolutely hated him. The only other person I know that's met him now is Percy, and Percy seemed pretty neutral about it. I never expect we'll actually meet him."

Julia nodded, thinking to herself.

Would the two of them be interested in joining Luke and the others?

"Yeah I... Try not to think about it." Julia seemed to agree with her little brother. "it usually just makes me mad. Like, he has a lot of kids, and the only one that has been at camp in our time that knew him personally didn't have a good impression of him. It's like... Like, we're supposed to worship them, but no matter how much we pray and try and get like, honor or whatever, they don't care. No signs, no messages, no gifts... Nothing. And we're supposed to devote ourselves to them until we die, and we'll probably die before we go to college."

"Yeah! I don't get how our life expectancy is literally like, 17." Travis added on. "It's so fucked up because like, most people in ancient Greece lived longer than that. Didn't they live until at least 20?"

"They lived into their 30s at the very least." Julia confirmed.

"That's stupid, then. If most of the great heros lived past 18, we should get to, too! Maybe if we actually had more than one trainer in camp and had enough cabins to sort all of the campers into..."

And there it was.

The resentment that Travis didn't realize he had until today.

Until a son of Hades came to camp and asked him why he doesn't get a place in camp.

Travis looked down at his hands, then looked back up at me.

"What's Luke planning?"

Skeptical, I raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you want to know?"

He pursed his lips.

"Because." Travis told me in a near whisper. "If there's a spot open, I might want to help."

•••
Grover Underwood

Despite not inviting anyone over, I still got a knock on my door a half hour before lunch started.

Percy, who had just woken up from his nap and was still a little groggy, glared at the door like it was his algebra teacher about to hand him a test that only had word problems on it.

"Did you invite somebody?" Percy asked.

"Um... No." I said, confused by the fact that somebody knocked. "Let me check to see who it is- maybe Mr. D wants to talk to me? Or maybe Nico needs help with something and he couldn't find anyone else."

Percy groaned.

"I guess I'll put pants on, then."

Smiling, I kissed the top of his head.

"I love you." I reminded him. "I'll be right back."

Walking to the main entrance of my cabin, I opened the door at the start of a second knock to find...

The weirdest trio in the world.

Standing at my door currently was Thalia Grace, Silena Beuaguard, and Travis Stoll.

Dear reader: what do all three of them have in common? Because I can't think of a single thing besides being demigods.

"Wh- oh, hey, guys!" I said, trying to not appear too confused. "what uh... What's up? Percy and I didn't miss anything insane, did we? We haven't heard anything."

"Hm? Oh, no, nothing crazy. Is he awake?" Thalia asked me. "I know his plan was to take a nap, so I don't want to wake him up if he's asleep but... If he's awake, it's kind of important."

"Yeah, he's up," I told the three of them, still trying to figure out what all three of them could have in common. I stepped out of the doorway. "come on in. I'll go get him."

Walking back to my room, I poked my head in to see Percy drinking some water and checking his band aids. Still secured with a blue sticker, thanks to Will Solace.

"Hey," I told Percy, earning his attention. "Thalia, Silena, and Travis are here and asked about you. Said it was important?"

Nodding his head, Percy almost seemed to have no qualms with the group.

"Thalia, Silena, and...." But repeating back Travis' name brought visible confusion to my boyfriend. "Oh, weird, okay."

Putting his water bottle down, Percy walked back out with me, hesitant.

"Hey, guys," he said to the group. "what uh... What's up?"

"Sorry, we know it's been kind of a hellish morning for you." Silena began out of the gate. "but we uh... We have a new recruit. Well, potential recruit."

At this, Percy's eyes widened.

A recruit for what?

"Oh?" The son of Poseidon asked, looking at Travis and then at Silena. "Would that happen to be...?"

"Me? Yeah." Travis confirmed for his ex, who seemed nervous about the news, and made me worry as his current boyfriend. "Um, I'm basically on board, but I have a couple of questions and Thalia and Silena both said that you're the best person to ask since you've been involved the like, longest out of everyone at camp right now."

Percy clenched his jaw, tensing up in general.

"Wait," I said, not wanting them to continue this if it made my boyfriend uncomfortable, which it seemed to. "Sorry, I'm lost: what's Travis being recruited for?"

Silena looked at me, confused.

"What do you mean what's Travis being recruited..." But as she looked at me, then looked at my boyfriend, who was visibly anxious (his poor brain needs to give him a break), and back to me, Silena realized that my question was genuine.

And then I realized that Percy was definitely hiding something from me. But it wasn't just him- Thalia was, too.

"Oh."the daughter of Aphrodite finished her sentence. "you actually don't know. Sorry, I thought that you were like... Yeah. I'm so sorry, we came here because we thought that both of you knew."

Percy closed his eyes.

"What's your question, Travis?"

"When we talked about Ethan earlier, I think you'd mentioned that he could've just ran away." Travis started. "do you know where he is?"

Percy squeezed my hand.

"He's alive." My boyfriend told the son of Hermes, which... When did he hear about this? And why hasn't he said anything to Chiron or Mr. D? "Chris Rodriguez offered him a room in his apartment- they live in Manhattan, not far from Luke."

He stopped.

"He said he won't come back until his mother has her own cabin."

I opened my mouth, shocked at the news we were all just given.

"Wha... Did you run into them? How do you know that, Sweets?"

Again, Percy squeezed my hand.

"Let's sit down." He suggested. "there's a lot to go over."

Chapter 59: I Should Not Have Left the Mental Institution

Percy Jackson

After telling Grover and Travis the ins and outs of our current plan with Luke and what we've been doing these last two years, Travis was definitely on board (which I didn't expect after this morning, honestly). But Grover was... Really quiet.

Silent, actually. Thinking.

Even worse, I couldn't sense what he was thinking or feeling right now. The mental link was mostly quiet— though maybe my anxiety was making it harder to hear him.

I need to find something for my anxiety. My meds work well for my depression, but the anxiety? Sometimes I think it makes it worse.

"So..." Grover said after a minute of silence. He looked up at Thalia. "you're not mad that Luke could've killed you?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow, questioning his logic.

"Grover, as far as anyone knew, I basically was dead." She reminded him, which he seemed to consider. "I mean, I was in a coma, basically asleep the whole time. I honestly would not have cared if that happened because it was that or be asleep forever, and as nice as that sounds, it gets old fast. Percy, Luke, and Silena have all told me that they did it to bring me back, not to kill me. Sure, it was risky, but it worked."

"O...Kay. I mean, I guess if that was the intention." My boyfriend (hopefully) said. "So poison the tree. How'd they know they'd issue a quest?"

"I mean, I was sneaking out to find you regardless." I reminded my boyfriend. "But we were hoping that Chiron would give me a quest for convience sake. Annabeth offered to go, too, which was crazy because she doesn't know anything."

Grovers eyes widened.

"Annabeth doesn't know?"

"Grover, she's the pride of Athena," Thalia pointed out. "Do you think she'd ever do anything that would question her mom?"

"Well... Okay, yeah, you got me there." Grover said, sighing. "I guess she idolizes Luke too much to think he'd do that kind of thing, even though it's... Exactly the kind of thing he would do. He's always hated his dad, so I'm not surprised or anything by him but..."

His voice drifted for a moment before his Iris Message contraption (a mini fountain he has with a few small glass pyramids mixed in near the window) made a noise, alerting us that somebody was calling.

"Who... Oh, duh." Grover said, sounding very monotone as he noticed who was on the other end of the call.

"Hey, Silena I got your— oh! There's a group." Luke Castellan said, immediately shifting gears. "Hey, guys! How's it going? Thalia told me that you guys just brought two new demigods, yeah? Did they make it okay? And Travis, hi! How's counseling going?"

"It's okay, Luke, they both know," Thalia reassured her boyfriend, who seemed to be a bit surprised. "But since you asked, they both made it here without injury. One joined the hunt as well, since we ran into them. I tried to call you earlier and it didn't go through, but on top of what Silena messaged about this morning, Travis said that he's wondering if there's a spot open for him to help out."

Luke's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"You... Seriously?" Luke asked his little brother. "I didn't think I rubbed off on you that bad."

Travis nodded.

"If it's possible, I'd like to stay here and be undercover like Silena." The son of Hermes requested. "Because of our mom's job, Connor wouldn't believe me if I said I wanted to stay with Mom for a while because she's never home. I want to keep an eye on the unclaimed and claimed but not Hermes kids in the cabin as well."

"We can definitely arrange that—" Luke insisted as the first conch for lunch eng off, signaling to camp that people should head for the pavilion. "Oh shit, is that lunch? Do you want to talk about this later on?"

"I'll sneak some food later, I won't have another time where I'll be away from other kids today." Travis told his brother, looking at Grover. "if that's okay? I have my own drachmas on hand."

Contemplating it, Grover grabbed his container of drachmas and put it in his pocket.

"If you steal anything, I'll put worms in your bed."

I just smiled.

Walking back to where I was still sitting, Grover reached his hand out, and like a dumbass, I just... Looked at it.

"Shall we?" He asked, but I still couldn't read his tone. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Mostly, I was baffled that he even offered to hold my hand.

Or that he wanted to talk to me at all.

"You're always starving, My Little Leaf."

Travis threw a small pillow at us from Grover's couch.

"Y'all are gross," Travis told me, and at first I was worried that we shouldn't have done anything in front of him. That it's sensitive still. "The pillow throw was Luke's idea, though, not me."

"Oh, like you and Thalia aren't a million times worse," I chided Luke seeing as Thalia and Silena had already taken their leave. "need I remind you how I learned what a sock hanging from a door handle means?"

"Wh—" but luckily for them, Travis and Grover had yet to learn, so Luke had a chance to defend himself. "That's why we locked the door! Also, we're adults! Go eat your lunch."

Walking out of the cabin with who I really hoped was still my boyfriend, it felt like I had cotton wads shoved in my mouth, stopping me from talking.

Seemingly content, Grover started to hum to himself.

Is he trying to think of how to break up?

"Ah!" Grover said very shortly, stopping in place. "Stop."

Am I annoying him?

I didn't think I was doing anything annoying, but maybe the way I'm breathing or the pace I'm walking or...

Because we were holding hands, I also stopped.

I can't lose him.

"Your even more anxious than you were this morning," Grover pointed out, which was very true. "And it feels like it's getting worse. So before you think yourself into a panic attack: what's going on? Are you going to be okay or do you need a second to focus on breathing?"

Opening my mouth proved to be useless seeing as nothing came out. So I closed it and then felt his thumb run along the back of my hand and it caused my anxiety to swell, but it wasn't in a nervous way: it was in a sad way.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to breathe, but it felt like being smothered at the bottom of a dresser drawer, and that caused the panic to swell.

"Oh my gods, okay, you can't breathe," Grover quickly realized as he immediately pulled some lavender oil from his pocket. Carefully, he put some on his finger and then rubbed it under my nose so I'd breathe it in and it was so sweet and I... Don't deserve somebody like him.

After a minute with the lavender, my brain slowed down. My lungs opened back up.

"Better?" The satyr asked very quietly.

I nodded my head, taking a breath to prove that I could breathe.

He smiled, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"Good, I'm glad," he insisted, squeezing my hand. "Your thoughts seemed to be getting really intense— do you want to talk about it?"

Why is he still being so nice?

I looked down at our hands, which I've done a lot today for a lot of different reasons.

After practicing the question a few times in my mind, I was able to form the words.

"Are... Are we okay?" I asked who I don't think I could handle getting broken up with right now. "i— I'm sorry that I didn't... That I didn't tell you or say anything or anything or... Like, I felt really bad the longer it went on, but I was worried because I don't really... Really know how you feel about the stuff we talked about in there because you grew up here and you yourself aren't a demigod, you're a satyr so it's different I think and I didn't want to risk losing you and I don't want to lose you and I love you and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Are we..." The questioned seemed to stun him. He went quiet before giving me another kiss on my forehead, wrapping his arms around me. "Please don't apologize, sweets. We're okay, I promise. I get why you didn't feel like you could tell me about it, it's... A big deal, honestly. I'm still wrapping my head around it and just, processing it, but that doesn't mean that I don't love you still. I get where you're coming from, I do. And I'm honestly... I'm not surprised."

"You're not?"

He kissed my temple, taking a step back, but taking hold of my hand again.

"I mean with you and Thalia being alive at the same time? You two would've done something eventually— though I thought it might take a year or two longer. But if Luke started it, which... Also doesn't surprise me, it makes sense that he'd ask you to help because he was one of the first people that saw it right?"

"Saw what?"

"Your anger." He answered as if it were the only answer in the world. "Towards your bio dad. The only other people who really saw it were me and your parents, and I was... Worried about other stuff at the time. I'm sure in another world, one that's a lot different from this one, you guys end up on opposite sides of history from one another. I'm not sure what happens then— maybe your bio dad was nicer or your mom actually dies— but I don't think he'd be able to succeed in that world."

"You don't?"

He shook his head and smiled at me.

"Not without you." My boyfriend confirmed as the second alarm for lunch went off. "do you want to go get food somewhere else and talk about it more? I'm like... I don't have an answer yet on if I'm joining, but I still have a lot of questions."

Nodding, I agreed that that plan sounded wonderful because:

1. I missed going out on dates.
2. This meant he still wanted to be my boyfriend.

So, as we talked towards the edge of camp, just figuring we'd ask Argus to bring us to my parents place, we went up passing the Big House.

And you would think that since it's meal time, Chiron and Mr. D would be at the pavilion. Eating. Supervising.

Generally doing their jobs.

But no. The married couple was sitting on the porch, seeming to be having a lovely conversation for what seemed like the first time ever.

We did nothing to earn their attention. I wasn't wanting their attention, especially Mr. D's, so I was focused on making it to the Tree.

"Who... Oh, Grover and Percy, good afternoon." Chiron said, his voice like nails on a chalkboard— the chalkboard being my hopes for today. The centaur furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "Perseus, child, what happened to your arms? Are you okay? You weren't attacked, were you?"

Sighing, I debated if it was worth getting in a fight with the old sot.

Probably not.

"Oh yeah, couldn't be better." I promised. "Wasn't physically attacked so much as I was verbally accosted, which caused what you see here, but Will did a pretty good job bandaging it up."

"Who the hell is Will?" Mr. D asked.

I ignored him.

"Also." I reminded the centaur. "Please stop calling me by my full name."

"Buy why? It's such a lovely name."

I looked down. Grover squeezed my hand.

It's not a lovely name when the only time you're used to hearing it is when you're in trouble.

"I just... Don't."

"Sir, with all due respect, he's asked you a lot of times to call him by Percy and not his full name." My boyfriend spoke up, which was really sweet of him. It made me feel a little better. A little less anxious about us. "And I feel like if you can always call Annabeth Annabeth and not her dead name without any problem, you can call Percy just that. Percy. It's actually quite easy if you're mindful about it. Please respect his boundaries."

And, shocked by how well said it was, Chiron struggled to respond.

"I... Suppose." Chiron responded to Grover. "Boundaries are important. Very well. Where are you two off to at this hour? Trying to sneak out of camp?"

Are they going to stop us from going?

"Sir, Chiron, Camp is an open campus per day during the off season— there is no way to sneak out. But if you're asking if we're leaving camp, then yes, we are. Just for a few hours, though— Percy forgot his meds at home and we were probably going to get something to eat to make the trip worth it. We should be back in time for dinner. Or, I will be for sure. I'm not sure about Percy, since it is the off season."

"...oh. well, I suppose you have a point. Alright." The centaur conceded. "Have fun on your outing."

And thank the gods, they let us leave after that.

Mr. D gave us a weird look, though.

After that, it was fairly easy to get to Manhattan. Most of the car ride we listened to the radio as I rested my head on Grover's shoulder, using my finger to draw shapes and write stuff on his thigh and knee.

"Did you just write GU + PJ and draw a heart around it?" My boyfriend asked maybe five minutes into me doing specific things.

I smiled.

"Yeah."

He kissed the top of my head.

"You're cute." Grover reminded me, which felt like a lie most of the time, but whatever. "How did I get so lucky?"

That turned me into the inside of a watermelon.

"Grover, you had to calm me down from a panic attack like a half hour ago," I reminded him. "And you had to pull me out of a breakdown this morning because I was stupid and forgot my meds at home. I would not call that lucky."

"But I'm dating my best friend," he pointed out. "My best friend, who is the prettiest boy I know, who is so much better at skateboarding than me, and who can kick ass. He's like, a whole catch, if you ask me."

"I think your judgment is a little biased."

"Oh it's extremely biased." He smiled, still sounding pleased with his analysis and summary of his boyfriend (me) as we pulled up to the apartment building. "I bet your parents would agree with me, though."

"Oh my gods, please don't bring them into this," I begged, which was met with a chuckle as the two of us slipped out of the car and thanked Argus for the drive. "I don't think I could survive all three of you talking about me like that."

"I won't." He insisted as I grabbed his hand, using my other one to unlock the door to the apartment complex. "Unless..."

I gave him a stern look.

"Okay, okay, I won't." Grover promised me, pressing the button for the elevator. He put his head on my shoulder and smiled widely— seeming to be a lot happier than normal. "I love youuuuuu."

"I love you, too, Grover. Are you excited to see my parents? You seem to be really happy, you have a lot of energy."

He shrugged, walking into the elevator.

"A little, but I'm mostly just excited to go on a date." My boyfriend insisted, and I couldn't help but smile at his excitement. "We haven't been able to go on one in like, forever. Also, I'm paying for this one."

"You— what, why?"

"Because," Grover told me as we walked down the hall to the apartment. "Our six month anniversary was earlier this month, but we were both busy so this is our six month anniversary date. You paid for our last anniversary date."

"Our... Oh my gods, it was." I said, a rush of guilt going over me because I didn't even think about it when I saw him yesterday. "I'm sorry that I was in the hospital for that. I tried to IM, but... They didn't have a way to IM that was like, allowed."

Not that I completely forgot about it— I woke up the day of our six month anniversary and was initially excited because it was the day of the week that they allow people to text or make calls, but there was no way to make an Iris message, so I was just majorly depressed for the rest of the week.

"What? Oh, no, Percy, don't apologize for being in the hospital— I wouldn't want to take you from there if it's what you needed. I'd rather go on the date in the city, anyways— there's a lot more options."

"I suppose— I just feel bad about the entire situation," I responded, opening the door to our apartment. "if I could've sent IMs while I was there just like, during the allowed technology time, I think it would've been a lot better. Just to talk to my parents and you. I think that if it ever happens again, because... I mean, my track record isn't great, but if it happens again, I'm going to tell the doctor that I need to be somewhere where I can either have visitors or where I can make IMs."

"It would've been nice to come and visit on the weekend."

Looking around the corner from the kitchen, Gabe flashed us a while.

"Hey, you two are back already!" My dad said as he finished something up in the kitchen before walking over to us. "Where are the girls? Did everything go okay? The kids made it back? Or are you here because you need a lift?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, Dad, everyone made it to camp last night." I promised him. "just one monster that I almost killed and then was actually killed by Artemis. Annabeth and Thalia are back at camp."

"Oh, thank gods, I'm glad it seemed to be smooth." He responded as Mom came out from either their bedroom or the bathroom wearing the dress that she'll be wearing to the party next week as long as her baby bump doesn't get to be too big.

I'm sure that's why she was trying it on now— to make sure it still fits.

"Hey, sweetheart, can you zip this please? I can't get it." Mom asked Gabe, realizing we were home after turning for Gabe to zip her up. "oh! You're home already! How was it? I didn't expect you to be home for at least a couple days based on what Thalia was saying."

"It was a lot smoother than we expected," Grover said, accepting a hug from my mom before she gave one to me as well, which... "We got back last night. There was some godly intervention due to the monster we'd been fighting, but it ended up being helpful in the end."

The hug made me want to cry a little bit, but she was wearing her nice dress, so I didn't.

"Apollo was kind of annoying, though." I noted. Grover nudged me. "What? It's true. Not like, overly annoying, just... Enough to get on my nerves."

"Percy, sweets, if a god does so much as breathe near you, you're annoyed with them."

I rolled my eyes.

"Details details."

My parents smiled for a moment before I saw Gabe's fade away, noticing the bandage that was on my arm since I'd taken my sweater off walking into the apartment. It seemed like Mom or Dad were baking, so it was warm in here.

"What... What happened to your arm? Or arms, I guess. Plural." My dad asked, sounding hesitant but concerned. "Was that from the monster you guys were fighting? Did it try to grab you or something?"

"My... Oh." I responded, looking down because I hadn't thought about having to tell them about what happened.

It's not like I just had a breakdown or a bad night and I cut because of that. Or, scratched technically. Broke my own skin open.

The meltdown happened because of my dad's Dad. Who he seems to have a good, close relationship with.

Which is what I want demigods to be able to have with their godly parent.

Which is why I'm doing the exact thing that Mr. D interrogated me for this morning.

"Um, it wasn't the monster— that didn't really touch me." I promised them, feeling Grover rub his thumb along the back of my hand for support. "it was like... It was me, but I wasn't cutting with Riptide or any kind of blade or..."

I swallowed a breath.

"After our meeting this morning, Grandpa D wanted to talk to me and Travis about building more cabins, but once we were actually meeting with him, he completely changed gears and started accusing us of working with the person or people who like, stole the Bolt and poisoned Thalia's Tree and he was interrogating but he also wasn't because if I denied anything, he'd just tell me that he knew shit that he didn't or like... It was really intense and his voice and attitude and stance and everything just reminded me of how you were when you got angry before camp and so it just..." I stopped myself for a second. "It got to me and then Travis left and Grandpa completely changed his attitude, which freaked me out and then he tried to act like he didn't just incite a panic attack on me and he tried to touch me and I had a breakdown and I didn't feel myself doing it so it wasn't on purpose, but I scratched at my arms for a while, apparently. Until Grover walked in and took my hands so I'd stop. It was... Really bad. I took a nap after."

And it felt relevant, so I figured I'd add it on.

"I also forgot my meds, so I wasn't able to take them last night. Which is half of why we're here."

"What's the other half?"

"Lunch date."

"Hey, that's a pretty good reason, if you ask me." Dad insisted, thinking to himself before going on. "Can I give you a hug? Are you feeling a little better?"

I shrugged.

"A little— being away from camp helps, and Grover never lets me think ill of myself for longer than 30 seconds, so. You uh..." but I knew that a hug from Gabe would overstimulate me and make me anxious. "You can like, ruffle my hair or whatever, but no hug, please. Sorry."

He ruffled my hair, which felt nice.

"Don't apologize, Percy, it's why I ask." He said, even though I could tell that it hurt his feelings, at least a little, which in turn makes me feel guilty. "Where are you guys going to eat? Do you need money? Or did you want to eat here?"

After many years of struggling with grief and alcoholism, Gabe sobered up last year and I was and still am really happy that he was able to that.

Being at home last fall was harder than I anticipated when it came to my relationship with my dad. Not only were we re-learning what is and isn't okay with each other, but there was the extra factor of our dads: my dad is also a demigod, but we have very different relationships with our sperm donors.

For instance, my dad still calls Mr. D "Dad". Poseidon is my sperm donor. My bio dad.

He's not my father. He's not my dad.

And even though it's been over a year since we learned about each other's parents identities, it's not a topic I'm always comfortable talking about with him.

Because he has bias. But not just because he knows one god that he had a kid with who then left him, like my mom. He was at camp.

He grew up with his dad.

That's a fact I try not to think about too often. Sure, Camp wasn't the first time I'd met Mr. D, even if I didn't recognize him because of how rarely I saw him. Mr. D not only helped raise my dad— he lived with my dad and my Grandpa. He was there to watch Gabe grow up and to help him and...

And I don't want to admit it because that feels awful, but Gabe having his dad around makes me resent him at times because he knows so much about camp, but he doesn't understand it at the same time.

It's not like I resent him in a way that makes me want Poseidon to suddenly show now or even to have been more present in my childhood. It's not like I wanted him to marry my mom and be there as a dad.

Maybe in another universe that's what I want. That's what happens. But that wasn't what I wanted.

I wanted Gabe to be my dad.

And in every way that matters, he is my dad.

But a year and a half ago, Poseidon forced his way into my life without even saying hello and I just... Want him gone.

I don't want to be a half blood. I want to be Gabe Ugliano-Jackson's son. I want to live a life where I was never told that Gabe wasn't my biological father because my biological father never shows up anyways. Where that fact only matters in hospital rooms when they ask about my medical history.

Not when it determines the fate of Olympus.

"I think we're going out to eat, I just needed to grab my meds." I told my parents. "And a change of clothes, too."

Mom gave me a concerned look.

"You're going back?"

I looked down for a moment, trying to swallow my guilt.

"Just for a few days— I'll come back this weekend." I promised my parents. "I'm just a little worried about the new recruit who's actually staying at camp— he's only 10 or something and he seemed pretty sad about the fact that his sister joined the Hunt, so... Just to see if he's making friends so he won't be lonely."

"I'm sure the kid will appreciate it," Dad said, handing me a $50 bill. "You guys have fun tonight. Are you coming to the party, Grover?"

Grover nodded his head.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Mr. Jackson."

Dad smiled.

"We look forward to seeing you, then."

Excusing ourselves, Grover and I walked to my room where I grabbed my meds and threw them into a bag and then sat down on the floor to get some stuff out of my dresser and I just...

Stopped.

With one hand on the dresser handle, it felt like vines had come up from underneath the flooring and wrapped around me, effectively rooting me.

My relationship with my dad is never going to be the same.

What if he hates me when he finds out what I'm doing?

Would he kick me out if he somehow convinced Mom that I was like, evil or something? That because I wanted change, I wanted destruction.

If that were the case, I'd probably want to kill myself but ultimately wouldn't.

After all, it's not just Grover that risks getting hurt if I end my life earlier than the pre-determined date. There's another demigod— there's a child who would be put on death row.

A child who just lost his sister to a cause that he may feel is worse than death.

Not that the Hunters are bad— I know that I've said a lot of negative things towards them, but they still provided us with hospitality and first aid. I'd trust them on a battlefield, I just... Don't like them personally. Like, the individual people that I've talked to so far.

I'm sure some of them are nice, but since I'm a man, I think the feelings I have towards them are mutual.

"—you there?" Grover's hand on my leg pulled me away from my thoughts, sounding worried again and again it was another shot of guilt down my throat.

Smiling softly, I saw that Grover was sitting next to me, but facing me.

I didn't even realize he moved.

"Hey," he said, again, softly. "You froze up for a moment. Are you sure you want to go out to eat and go back to camp? It's okay if you want to stay at home, Percy— I could stay the night, if it made a difference."

I smiled back at him, though even I could tell it didn't match my eyes.

"Sorry, I'm just... Thinking about things. Sitting down was a bad idea." I explained and he rubbed his thumb along my leg. "mostly just about my dad and his dad and... Yeah. I do want to get food, because the quieter it is... You know. And I do want to go to camp. I don't know if I'll be up for regular campfire, but maybe we could hang out with a few friends or with just us? Sorry to like... Yeah. I probably shouldn't have left the mental institution. I don't know why they let me leave. They just... Did. Said I could go home."

"Did it help?" Grover asked. "Being there?"

"Well... Not really."

"Then maybe they realized that if being there wasn't helping, they shouldn't force you to be there." He pointed out. "what do you think might help?"

"Having a different sperm donor," I said, and I wish it could've been a joke, but it wasn't.

Grover couldn't seem to tell if I was joking or not. He didn't respond.

"Sorry."

"It's okay— being a demigod sucks," he related, kissing my temple. "Let's go for a walk and figure out where we're going to eat, okay? The hungrier you are, the worse you're going to feel."

Nodding my head, I threw a pair of clothes in my bag and accepted Grover's hand to stand.

"I'm going to run to the bathroom before we go, okay?" He said as we left my room again. "I'll meet you by the door."

I nodded my head.

Getting to the end of the hallway, right before the apartment opened up into the kitchen, I froze again.

I'm not really sure why I froze. Maybe I was worried that my parents were doing something and I'd interrupt or that they'd want to talk about something I didn't want to talk about or...

I don't know.

But with staples in my feet, I was stuck there.

What if I never get to come back here?

What if I go to camp and I'm sent on a quest and...

And I freeze like I'm frozen now and I can't thaw myself out and that's it.

If I never came back, my parents wouldn't...

"Percy?" Mom's voice snapped me out of my trance, making me flinch. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She looked like she'd been soaked in concern, searching my expression for something she couldn't find.

Seeing my mom like that causes my throat to swell, closing my lungs off.

Her life is going to be so much easier when I'm gone.

"S— I'm sorry."

When you kill a monster, it's doesn't bleed out. It doesn't die in a way that mortals do, or even gods for that matter— assuming a god can die.

When you kill a monster, there's a moment of shock before it starts to crumble to dust as the wind takes it away and spread it's ashes upon the earth for it to eventually return.

That's what it felt like every time I froze. Every time somebody that cares about me found me like this and looked so worried and so concerned for reasons I don't think I'll ever understand.

"Sorry? For what?"

The only difference is that I'm not dying.

Chapter 60: When Does One Start To Grieve?

Notes:

Omg also congrats this chapter marks 200k words

Gabe Ugliano-Jackson

Before Percy went to the mental hospital, we had witnessed him have a couple bad nights here and there. Panic attacks or more minor breakdowns, usually related to school.

When he froze in the hallway, I barely recognized him as my son.

His eyes glossed over and he looked... Like he was lost or like he was empty and he was trying to find something to fill himself with.

Knowing that unexpected contact with me might push him over the edge from unstable to actively suicidal after what happened this morning, Sally walked over to our son, and even her voice made him flinch.

What did my dad do to him?

I mean, Percy told us the summary of what he said... Accusing him of some insane crimes, but what...

How could he use that tone with Percy? How could he intimidate him and terrify him into spiraling so rapidly that I didn't feel safe sending him to the safest place in the world?

Within a minute of Sally approaching him, Percy was on the ground, against the wall and hysterical because he couldn't breathe.

Unlike most of his meltdowns or attacks, he wouldn't even let me, Sally or Grover get close to him. He'd pull away and try to make himself even smaller, like he was trying to become one with the floorboards.

And I'll give it to Grover; he was handling it a lot better than somebody should when I know he can feel everything Percy's going through.

Knowing that a normal EMT wouldn't be able to do shit for Percy, I ended up calling an old friend from camp who Eddy and I still talk to, Andrea, a daughter of Apollo, praying she wasn't working this weekend.

"Gabe, hey!" Andrea's voice said, reminding me that I had to breathe in order to talk to her. "What's up? More insurance questions?"

"More... Uh, no, I think we're covered there, thank you." I insisted. After Percy was hospitalized, I'd asked her a few questions about our insurance so that way Percy could be there for as long as he needed to be and our insurance would cover as much as possible. "Are you um... Are you busy right now? I know it's like, a Saturday afternoon, so if you're busy it's totally fine, but... Yeah. Are you busy?"

"Am I... No, I'm just at Eddy's right now with Winston and Leah, why? We were going to get lunch soon, did you and Sally want to join us? We haven't decided where we're going yet— are you and Sally okay?"

I exhaled.

"Sally and I are okay," I repeated back to the demigod, looking over to Percy, who had ripped his bandages open, looking like he was wondering when Thanatos was going to arrive for him. "Percy um..."

My voice faltered. Closing my eyes, I tried to blink the tears away.

"The hospitalization didn't... Really help him. All that much." I forced the words out as panic started to wrap around my heart, threatening to stop it at any minute. "And he... And I can't lose him, Andrea, and I'm worried that... I don't think normal EMTs are going to help because it's..."

"Oh, okay, okay, Gabe, breathe for me." Andrea said as I heard her moving. "I'll be there in a couple minutes, okay? We're coming up from Eddy's apartment. Do I need to grab ambrosia and nectar?"

I shook my head, telling her that we had some here.

A minute or two later, Andrea came into the apartment with her little med bag she's always carried with her. Eddy, Leah, and Winston were with her, I think for moral support.

"Where is he?" Andrea asked me, slipping her shoes off.

I pointed to where Percy was— Sally and Grover sitting as close as Percy would allow them to.

"Oh, okay," she said, immediately clocking Grover's horns. "Is that his protector?"

"His boyfriend, Grover," I clarified, seeing her connect a few dots. "He was originally Percy's protector, though. They do have a mental link so... I don't really know what he's feeling or thinking, but he's calm."

"They have... Got it, good to know. I'll do what I can to get him calmed down. Is there anything in the kitchen we should make sure doesn't start a fire?"

"Um... There's cookies in the oven I think. Sally was making them earlier."

"I'll go check." Winston offered, walking to the kitchen.

"I'm going to go see if Sally needs anything." Leah said, which made sense because her and Sally have become a lot closer over the years. They're friends.

"Gabe," Eddy said, forcing me to focus on him. "Sit down and take a breath. Andrea's going to calm him down, but if you're freaking out over here, you're only going to freak him out again because he sees that his dad is freaking out."

And he was right, so I did as he told me to. Sitting on our couch, I took a few breaths and looked over at my son, lost in the labyrinth of his mind with no string to lead him out.

Leah was able to convince Sally to give Percy a little bit more room to breathe— her, Sally, and Grover all ended up coming over to the living room to give Andrea room to work and Percy room to breathe.

Grover seemed to be exhausted, which wasn't a normal thing to be at 1 in the afternoon.

"This is worse than what happened this morning," Grover told us, which I hated hearing, but was glad to know. "This morning, it was more of a panic attack than a breakdown. He scratched, obviously, but he insisted afterwards that he didn't feel himself doing it."

"Did he say anything else?" Sally asked, leaning against me on the couch.

Grover looked down, clenching his jaw for a moment before continuing. Percy's pain started to affect him, I assume.

"He said... He said that it's like he's doing okay when things are happening but then he'll randomly just get like, pulled away by his brain and even if there's no thoughts, it's just... Not good. He froze up in his room getting his clothes, and I asked him if he still wanted to go out or go to camp and he insisted that he did, even if we didn't go to campfire. He also said that he didn't know why the hospital let him leave and that it didn't really help him. Last night he seemed to be feeling okay, though. Like, a little down because he was talking about it and talking about who he was and wasn't okay with knowing different things about all of this, but like... Outside of that, okay."

"Was he okay waking up this morning?"

Grover nodded his head.

"He was in a good mood this morning until he had to talk to Mr. D."

Walking over with a platter of cookies, Winston walked around and offered each of us one before walking over to Percy and Andrea and setting it down by them.

Eating the cookie did help to calm my nerves, but the more I thought about what Percy and Grover have told me today, the angrier it made me.

How could my dad do that to him?

Maybe I'd have to visit camp myself.

"I like your dress, Sally," Leah chimed in, changing the subject. "Is that what you're wearing to the party next week?"

Sally smiled.

"It is, thank you. As long as I don't gain any weight, that is. The zipper barely goes right now— I should've ordered a size up. I was trying it on tonight to make sure it still fit. With the money I spent on it, I'm wearing it more than once."

"You look wonderful, Sally," Winston agreed with his wife. "I'm sure you'll get to wear it to Percy's wedding, whenever that is."

"His wedding?" Eddy asked. "The kid's 14, who's he getting married to?"

"Who...? Grover." I said, surprised that his name didn't get the satyrs attention. He was currently chewing on an empty can that I think Leah had been drinking from earlier. "If both of them live long enough, they're getting married. They're like me and Sally, but if I wasn't a coward for all of high school."

Sally smiled.

"I still can't believe you were going to tell me you loved me the night my uncle died."

"Hey, I thought I was going to be next," I reminded my wife. "your uncle probably would've come back to life just to slap me if I went through with it. He did not like me."

"He probably knew you liked me— but he also didn't like most of the guys I was friends with. He was very traditional. He also probably hated the fact that your dad is gay."

"Oh definitely."

Resting my head on top of Sally's, I wrapped an arm around her but resisted the urge to put my hand on her belly because around this time of day, the baby has started to be more active.

Our friends don't know Sally's pregnant, though, and while she's showing a little, the dress completely masks it. If anything, she only looks a little bloated. Even when she was pregnant with Percy, her bump was never big.

After all, the pregnancy is a surprise for next week. For the party.

I'm so excited to meet our little baby.

I'm excited for Percy to meet them, too.

After a few minutes, I got up and walked over to Andrea and Percy— Percy still unable to breathe, but slightly less hysterical.

Slightly.

"Do you know if anything else happened recently that would've triggered this?" The daughter of Apollo asked me. "Also, he's going to have to eat after this, if you guys have any comfort food for him."

"My... Dad basically Interrogated him this morning." I explained, which had her attention. "Yeah, uh, Percy said that his demeaner reminded him of.. of me. When I was still drinking. He also had a panic attack then, which is where the bandages were from."

"He... Your dad? I thought he loved Percy."

I clenched my jaw.

"Yeah, well he's getting a visit after this. Once we know Percy's stable for longer than 10 minutes at a time." I insisted, and I could see Andrea debate if she wanted to challenge my motives with going to visit my dad. "What? I don't care if he's my dad, this is my kid. I fucked up with Percy once, I'll admit it. It wasn't okay and we're working through it. But I'm not letting other people do it to him, and I'm not going to excuse their behavior just because we're related."

"Just... Be careful when you talk to him, okay?" Andrea reminded me. "He's your dad, but he's still a god. And because he's your dad, your powers won't do much against him."

"Could get him in a lot of trouble." I figured. "Is there anything you need to help him? Water? Ambrosia? Nectar? Essential oils?"

She thought for a moment.

"Do you have any lavender?"

•••
Percy Jackson

I woke up on my parents couch underneath a blanket to the sound of the door closing.

When did I fall asleep?

Grover wasn't even...

Well, okay, upon further examination, Grover was here. He'd fallen asleep on the ground, one hand resting on the couch that I was sleeping on.

But seriously, when did I go to bed? I had just gotten here and was getting some clothes and my meds from my room before...

What did I do after that?

"Hey, you're up!" Mom said quietly, holding a paper bag in her hand as she walked over and put it down on the coffee table. "how you feeling? Hungry?"

Did Grover and I go out on our date and decide to stay here for the night?

"Wh... I started as I moved to sit up, suddenly realizing that I had new bandages on. Both of my arms like they had been earlier, but there was also one on my torso. "What time is it? When did I fall asleep?"

"It's around 2:30," Mom answered, taking a few containers out of the paper bag that I recognized from my favorite Mexican restaurant down the block. "You only slept for around an hour, but you had a really really bad episode and exhausted yourself to sleep after Andrea gave you some lavender. She redid your bandaging as well."

"Andrea?" I asked, knowing she was a friend of my parents. "I thought she was a psychiatrist."

Mom shrugged.

"She's also a daughter of Apollo, so she knows general first aid as well." She explained. "Grover fell asleep a little after you got bandaged up— he insisted he was going to lay there and watch you to make sure you didn't wake up in a panic or anything and he fell asleep like five minutes later."

I smiled down at my sleeping boyfriend.

"That sounds about right— I feel bad putting him through that," I told my mom. "It's nice having the mental link, but I wish there was a way for it to be less intense for him. He doesn't complain or say a lot about it, but I know he feels it. I know it hurts, even if it's not as much, and on days like today... The fact that he's still here is crazy. I don't really get it, but he's really stubborn about it, so."

"About what?" Mom asked, offering me a fork with a to-go box.

I shrugged.

"Just like, being really nice and making sure that even if I'm feeling shitty, I'm not alone. He's very adamant about the fact that I'm the like, best boyfriend ever, which I don't believe most of the time, but it's still sweet that he says it."

Mom smiled.

"You two are wonderful together," she reminded me. "And you are a great boyfriend to Grover— you always make sure we have cans and silverware in case he stops by unannounced, and you're honest when talking to him, which is so important. You also bring him a lot of sweets and make sure we have ingredients for enchiladas here, so I think I can see where he's coming from. I might have to agree with him."

"Wh— he likes food and I like to make food. I'd be an awful boyfriend if I didn't know how to make his favorite dish. Enchiladas are easy."

"Well—"

Grover's hand moved, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"Did somebody say enchiladas?"

Mom put a to-go box in front of him.

"Both of you feel asleep around an hour ago," Mom filled Grover in. "We were all pretty hungry, so I ran to the Mexican place down the street. There's rice if you want them with your enchiladas."

But as Mom got Grover up to speed, who moved to sit next to me on the couch, I realized there were 4 boxes.

But only 3 of us.

"Where did Dad go?"

"I'm still here, kiddo," Dad's voice said from the place where I'd had my meltdown earlier. He smiled at me as he walked over and sat down on the opposite side of the coffee table from us, Mom handing him the last box. "Thanks, sweetie. How you feeling, munchkin?"

I shrugged.

"A little groggy still, but okay." I figured, taking a bite of my food. "Like a 4.5/10?"

"Hey, that's better than normal!" he pointed out, which was true. "Usually you're at like a 3, so that's really good, Percy. I think we might have to have some cookies to celebrate that when we're done eating."

"Now that is a great idea," Grover agreed with my dad, which made me smile. He's so food motivated at times, it's absolutely adorable.

"We'd have to make more, the ones from earlier are all gone." Mom told us with a knowing look. "Is that something the two of you can handle?"

"I think Grover might blow the kitchen up," I told Mom, knowing that Grover almost never cooks since he doesn't have a kitchen in his cabin. "but I'll be there to make sure the cookies are at least the right shade of blue."

My parents laughed, Grover scoffed.

"Do you want us to call camp to let them know you're here for the night?" Dad suggested, noticing my initial hesitation. "Just for the night— I know you're worried about the new recruit, Percy, but let his counselor handle him for today? Then you can head back tomorrow with a new prescription just in case you're there for longer than 3 days. If you really really really feel the need to go back tonight, though, I am going to camp after lunch, but your mom and I talked and agreed that having the day to relax and be away from my dad would be good."

What does my dad have to do at camp on a Saturday afternoon?

"I mean, it would be nice to relax here tonight." I figured, looking to my boyfriend. "If that's okay with you— I know you also haven't been home recently besides yesterday, so I don't want to like, make you stay. You could go to camp if you want to— I'm okay with either."

Grover rolled his eyes.

"And miss two meals at the Jackson's? Pfft, I'd have to be crazy." My boyfriend responded. "plus, even if it's a little noisier since you live in the city, your room is cozier than mine."

"I do have a lot more blankets than you," I conceded, looking back at my dad. "What are you doing at camp?"

He smiled.

"I'm going to talk to talk to the camp director who thought it was okay to cause you to have a panic attack this morning." Dad informed me, and I... Almost felt bad for Mr. D with how calm Dad was right now about it, because that meant he was pissed enough to compartmentalize his anger. "We spoke the other day over an Iris Message about the fact that you'd be at camp so soon after coming home, but I guess his ears weren't clean, so I will have to tell it to his face."

The idea made Grover nervous. I didn't even need the mental link to know that.

I myself, didn't know how to feel.

"But that's... He's your dad." I responded, the only thing I could manage to say to that.

"And you're my son," Dad told me. "And he hurt you. I don't care if it was Zeus himself or your biological father or my biological father— the fact that he hurt you isn't okay and he needs to know that. Being a god should not excuse him from consequences."

"But what if... What if he turns you into a dolphin?"

Dad chuckled.

"Then he'd probably lose one of the only mortals he's ever married and would also have to face your mom's wrath." He informed me. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make a huge scene in front of the camp. I'm going to talk to him in the Big House, preferably without other demigods there, okay? I won't be gone for long— Grover's right, I'd have to be crazy to miss a meal here. I'll be back in time for dinner. Okay?"

Slowly, I nodded my head.

"Are you okay?" Dad followed up, which was nice.

Again, I nodded.

"Yeah, just... I don't know, it's weird. I never thought you'd actually do something like that to Grandpa D because you two seem to be close."

Setting his fork down, Dad wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up.

"My relationship with my dad is better than most demigods, but it's still far from perfect, kiddo." He insisted, taking our empty boxes and stacking them together. "you and your well-being will always be more important to me than my relationship with him. Our relationship was basically non existent for most of your childhood for a reason."

"It was?" Mom asked.."I thought it was just because he was stuck at camp? You said he traveled for work."

Dad squeezed Mom's shoulder.

"That just made it easier not to have to see his face," the oldest demigod here told his wife, kissing the top of her head. "but at the end of the day he's still a member of an outdated, harmful system that needs to change. I'll be back in a few hours, don't have too much fun without me."

The door closing behind him, there was a beat of silence.

"Well," Grover said. "I think your dad might be overjoyed when he hears what Mr. D think you did. Should we make some cookies?"

Notes:

I had so much fun writing this next chapter guys you don't even know

Chapter 61: Daddy Issues (Trying To Break Generational Trauma)

Travis Stoll

"Why do you think Mr. D wants to talk to us?" Annabeth asked as the two of us made our way to the Big House after lunch.

I shrugged.

"Maybe he wants to actually talk about the cabin idea- you do draw a lot of designs."

"But then why not invite Beckendorf? We'd need a builder from the Hephaestus cabin."

"Not if we're just talking about concepts and whatever. He'd probably come to the next meeting." I pointed out, hearing footsteps rapidly approach from behind me. "It could just be-"

"Travis! Travis! Travis!" A voice I already recognized as Nico di Angelo called out, running up to Annabeth and I, out of breath by the time he caught up to us. "Do you know where Chiron is? I have... I have a question."

"Uh, yeah, probably in the Big House," I told the new recruit, noticing something small in his hand- a photograph, maybe? It was hard to tell. "we're heading there to talk to Mr. D right now. We can see if he's there. If not, Mr. D will know where he is."

"Okay!"

As the three of us continued walking, Annabeth to my left, Nico to my right, the daughter of Athena took notice of what was in Nico's hands as well.

"Is that a photograph?" She asked.

He nodded his head.

Didn't say anything. Just nodded his head.

Giving him a moment to elaborate, we realized he had given his answer.

"What's the photo of?" I added on.

"Oh!" The son of Hades (I'm trying to not think about that too much) said, realizing that Annabeth wanted to know what when she asked. "It's um, it's me and my sister, Bianca, and our baby sister, Elena, and my brother, Camillo and our Mama and Papa right before we left home to come to America."

And while his accent didn't make it all that surprising that Nico didn't grow up in the area, I had assumed he was just Italian-American.

"When did you come to America?"

He thought about it for a second, maybe doing the math in his head.

"Um... That's a hard question." Nico started, still thinking. "Like, it was um... I was 9 and I'm almost 11. It was summer."

"So a year and a half ago?"

He shrugged.

"Something like that, yeah."

"And your dad went with you guys?"

Looking down, the young demigod nodded his head.

"He didn't want to take the photo, but Mama insisted." Nico told me, looking down at it. I couldn't make out much of it, but I could see that it was black and white- maybe a vintage camera? "Papa always hated taking photos or being painted, but Mama always made him do it."

I smiled, even if it didn't reach my eyes.

I wish I had that kind of relationship with my dad. To know if he liked being in photos or not.

To not feel weird calling him Dad.

"Are your parents still together?" I questioned, because if they had four kids...

Again, he looked at the photo.

"Yes." He said, making me a lot more envious of his situation (though not of his sister leaving him for the hunt). "They're together."

I saw Annabeth's expression tighten.

Approaching the Big House, I wasn't able to ask Nico where they lived now before Chiron and Mr. D took note of us, the two of them sitting on the porch at the Big House.

"Aria, Telemon, you made it!" I don't think I've heard Mr. D butcher a name as badly as he did just then. "And you brought Nolan with you? Why?"

"I um... I'm here because I have a question for Chiron, sir. I don't want to interrupt you, sorry."

Mr. D brushed the kid off.

"Fine by me, bother the old horse all you want. Andrea, Trevor, inside."

Did he find out that I'm helping Luke and the gang now?

But Annabeths also here, so it can't be that.

Can it be?

Opening a Diet Coke (how Mr. D hasn't gotten cancer from the amount of carcinogens he consumes daily is a medical miracle), the camp director sat down on the arm chair underneath the guise of Seymour, giving us an odd look.

"What are you- sit down. Don't be complete idiots. You're not even in trouble."

"We're not?" Annabeth asked, hesitant in tone as we followed directions from the god, sitting on the couch perpendicular to him. "I mean, I haven't even been at camp long enough to be in trouble so yeah, but then why summon us, sir?"

"Because my job is more than just giving out consequences- even though that's fun to do." He responded, making me wonder if he somehow had an alcoholic Diet Coke based solely on his slight change in tone and posture. He set the can on the end table to the left of his chair, making me jump after this morning. "I have to make sure all you brats are safe, which means talking to you every once in a while. I already talked to Tay, but there's a few things I want to talk to you about, Annabelle, so I figured it wouldn't hurt if he heard some of it. It's nothing new to him."

"Okay?" Annabeth responded, audibly confused, as she should be.

"When was the last time you talked to Luke?" But I guess because he lived to go to college, Mr. D decided that he could use Luke's actual name. "You two were really close-have you talked to him since he left? Outside of the day he visited, of course."

The question seemed to catch Annabeth off guard.

"Have I... No, I haven't." She answered, looking down. "Well, we crossed paths early in in our quest, but Clarisse mentioned that. Those two days are the only time I've seen him."

There was a pause.

"I- I want to go visit him," the daughter of Athena seemed to say as if she needed a reason for not visiting Luke. "But living in California in the off season makes timing tricky and then in the summer I always think about going with Thalia, but I also know that those are their date nights and I don't want to invite myself to their date or interrupt their plans or just... Yeah. I haven't seen him or gotten to speak with him one on one. Why? Is he okay?"

Mr. D shrugged.

"I'm sure he's fine, I don't fucking know how he's doing, kid. I haven't talked to him either." The god responded, standing up to go grab something from the other side of the room- a mint maybe? Chiron and Mr. D always have little snacks right by the entrance to the Big House. "Either way, with Artemis missing, people like my father are suspecting that there's a team working together to make these things happen and that's it's not just one person anymore- if it ever was one person."

"What like, with the Bolt and the Tree?"

Mr. D nodded his head.

"Now, I now you're not the type to participate in that, which is why I said you aren't in trouble." The wine god elaborated as the cogs started to turn in her head. "But you know how Connor is- always insisting it was Luke, and while I don't believe he did, it's still my job to ask you if you've seen or spoken to him and noticed anything suspicious."

"If I've... Sir, you know that I would report anything suspicious and I would never... I'd never tarnish mine or my mother's image like that. To go against the gods in such a matter... I couldn't imagine it."

"I know you wouldn't." Mr. D repeated himself, turning to walk back towards us. "It's simply my job to ask. We believe there's a larger force helping the demigod, but without proof, we don't know. Have you-"

SLAM!

Barging through the front door, a man around Mr. D's (appeared) age bounded in, slamming the camp director against the wall before he had a chance to respond, holding him by the throat and knocking the wind out of him in the process.

"What did you say to him?" The man asked in a voice I almost couldn't hear- his rage calm. I felt a chill run down my back despite the fact that he didn't even know I was in the room. "What did you do to him?"

There was no response.

Being held by the throat, Mr. D couldn't breathe, much less speak. He opened his mouth, but the only thing that came out was a cough.

Realizing his hold was limiting the gods actions, the man loosened his grip and slammed Mr. D back against the wall when he tried to move away, holding him up so his feet weren't on the ground.

Being slammed against the wall on the other side of the desks from us for the second time is what seemed to break Mr. D's act- his eyes widened, fear seeming to set in.

Who could scare the god of insanity?

Furthermore, who was insane enough to physically challenge an Olympian? From what I could tell, this man might be a demigod (though most of them don't live that long), but he definitely wasn't divine, immortal, or a god. He was a little taller than Mr. D and just a little skinnier, but they had the same general build. He was wearing a winter coat, which insinuated that he came to camp recently from somewhere else.

I was sure that we'd never met before, but he still seemed familiar. Like I'd seen him in photos or perhaps saw him on Olympus on one of our field trips there. He also has the same nose as Mr. D, which seemed weird.

"I said," the man repeated himself, a murderous glare in his eyes. "What did you do to him?"

"I... I'm sure whatever he told you is a misunderstanding." The god defended himself. "You know how kids are- they overexaggerate stuff all-"

He tightened his grip on the camp directors throat, forcing silence out of him.

I leaned over to Annabeth, who looked almost as stunned as Mr. D did right now.

"Do you know who that is?"

Slowly, she nodded her head as the front door of the Big House swung open again, Nico di Angelo and Chiron standing in the doorway.

"Gabriel!" The centaur scolded, taking a step towards the two men. "What do you think you're-"

Mr. D put a hand out towards Chiron, effectively stopping him where he was.

"I can handle this, Chiron." He insisted, coughing from his limited oxygen intake. "Go finish your conversation with Nemo. I'll be okay."

Hesitantly, Chiron looked at the two of them, then looked back at the son of Hades and left the Big House, closing the door behind him.

"That's Gabe," Annabeth whispered to me, which I knew now. "Percy's step-dad."

She paused.

"He's also Mr. D's son."

Oh.

Oh.

Percy and Grover must've gone into the city to get his meds, and if something happened while he was at home...

Is he okay?

I don't know if his dad would come here like this if he was.

"Gabe, kiddo, I was just..." The god coughed, trying to excuse his actions. "I was just trying to do my job. How could I have known that he would react like that? It's not-"

"How could you have known that?" The demigod furiously asked, throwing his father to the ground. "How about when I called you to tell you that he was getting sent to rehab because he was hurting himself again. How about when I updated you at least twice a week while he was there, if not more? How about when I called you the day he was released not because he was ready to leave treatment, but because our insurance wouldn't approve another day and both you and his useless excuse of a sperm donor refused to help cover the cost for another week! How about when I called you because he insisted on going to help Grover recruit the two new demigods because he missed his boyfriend and his friends and I needed you to understand that he was still fragile. How could you have known? How COULDN'T you know?"

Taking a shaky breath, Mr. Jackson's expression shifted from pure rage to a mix of frustration and betrayal.

"I called you because I trusted you to look after my son in what's supposed to be his second home." The son of Dionysus continued, his fists clenched. "When Percy arrived at camp, I trusted you to care for him like you promised you would, but after this summer, it was foolish of me to believe that you had an ounce of empathy or care for any child, much less your own grandson."

There was a beat of silence, Mr. D slowly moving to stand.

"Gabe I... You have to believe me, I didn't mean to cause the kid any extra distress." The god of wine insisted, but it wasn't justifiable in his son's eyes (nor mine, if we're being honest). "I'm not sure what he's told you, but big things have been happening, and if we don't find out who did it-"

"You didn't mean to? You actively chose to ignore his well-being by trying to fear-monger information out of him, none of which is okay." Percy's dad continued, and as Mr. D tried to close in on him, the older demigod forced the god back against the wall, kneeing him in the cut before grabbing him by his jaw. "Guess what, old man? Your intentions mean nothing when your impact put my son's life into question."

"Oh, it did not-"

But Gabe wasn't hearing him out anymore.

"I spent my afternoon praying to any god besides you that Percy wasn't going to let himself go." Gabe informed his father. "That... That whatever was going on in his head, it wouldn't drive him to try to kill himself. I felt safe sending him here because of the improvements he made over the last three weeks, and in less than 72 from being released from in patient treatment- no, in less than 12 hours of coming to Camp Half-Blood, you single handedly derailed every bit of progress that he spent weeks trying to get. I don't care what your intention was- you will live with the consequence of your impact."

Mr. D pursed his lips, visibly anxious.

"Gabe, kiddo, you wouldn't make a villain of your dad now, would you?"

Mr. Jackson looked the god up and down, releasing his hold on him, causing another coughing fit from Mr. D.

"I don't see my father here. I only see a man with no room in his heart for anyone besides himself and the people who give him pleasure."

"Gabe-"

But he wasn't done talking.

"You will be responsible for every single bill and charge that comes from this." Mr. Jackson informed the man he just disowned. "And if I hear that you cause my son any more distress, I will ensure you recieve a punishment worse than anything Hades could dream of."

"But son," Mr. D begged, the look in his eyes becoming desperate. "Please, as your father, I'm telling you it doesn't have to-"

"Don't call me that." Gabe snapped. "I don't care who you are to me- you hurt my son. You risked putting his life into jeopardy over a job you claim to hate. You ignored his mental health and his well-being, and both of those things are inexcusable, and for that, you are less than nothing to me."

Gabe turned to leave, stopping only when his hand was on the door handle.

"This should go unsaid, but you are uninvited to any family event I am hosting," Mr. Jackson told him. "If I see you at the reception, or any family gathering, I will have you arrested and escorted out. You are to leave my family alone, and if you don't, I will tell your father that you are breaking the rules of your punishment."

He looked back at the god of madness and wine.

"Goodbye, Dionysus. I wish for us to never again cross paths, and hope that my brothers too see your black heart and choose freedom for themselves."

And just like that, he was gone, leaving Dionysus to stand near the entrance of the Big House, looking like a child who wasn't ready for his first day of school.

Moments later, Chiron broke the silence.

"Dionysus?" Hearing Chiron use Mr. D's full name was a slight shock to my system- he usually only uses it when the two of them are arguing or when things are serious. "Dio, darling, are you okay?"

Since when did Chiron call him Dio?

And despite the bruises forming around his neck and jaw, Mr. D shoved his companion off.

"I'm fine."

He obviously wasn't.

Annabeth leaned over to me.

"Let's give them some space," she suggested, an idea I was more than eager to agree with. "if whatever else he wanted to talk about was important, Mr. D can summon us after dinner."

Nodding my head, I carefully followed Annabeth out of the Big House, leaving through the side door that connects to the infirmary and orientation room.

The last we saw Chiron and Mr. D, the centaur was trying to comfort the god who refused to open his heart to the centaur.

Chapter 62

Percy Jackson

Getting an IM like an hour after Dad left wasn't something I anticipated. Grover, Mom and I had been making some popcorn when I suddenly looked up from the microwave and saw Annabeth and Travis.

The call coming from those two of all people confused me even more.

"Oh my gods!" I said, my heart jumping out of my chest from shock, earning the others' attention. "Warning next time? Please?"

"Sorry, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, causing me to clench my jaw. "We just wanted to see if you were okay— you both missed lunch and we assumed that you'd just gone on a date or something, but then your step-dad showed up and..."

They shared a look.

"It was in the Big House, so it was only Travis and I that saw it because I don't think he knew we were there," Annabeth continued. "But he um... He sort of beat the shit out of Mr. D and then proceeded to like, unclaim him as his father and lectured him enough that it honestly like, made me wonder exactly what happened, but if it's too much, I don't want to make you recount what happened this morning. I think he's on his way home now but... Are you okay? I feel like he wouldn't show up if something didn't happen."

"Well, okay, he didn't beat the shit out of him," Travis inputted. "He mostly just slammed him against the wall so he wouldn't run away. It was a terrifying way to meet him, though. He uh... He cares about you, though. A lot."

I sighed, running my hands down my face.

"I... Can't even say I'm surprised." I told the two of them, seeing my mom softly nod in agreement. "he was like, trying to mask his anger when he left. As for what happened..."

Shrugging, I felt Grover slip his hand into mine, giving it a squeeze.

"You know how sometimes this summer I would just freeze for a minute?"

Both of them nodded their heads.

"That happened, but I couldn't like... Pull myself out if it." I tried to explain, looking down at mine and Grover's hands. Mom rubbed my back as she walked by to grab a bowl for the popcorn. "Which has happened a few times today, but for some reason the thoughts behind it were just... Worse and I spiraled really fast. Gabe had to call one of his demigod friends to help, though I don't remember almost any of it. I'm staying here tonight."

"We're staying here tonight." Grover corrected, causing me to smile. "so please keep an eye on Nico until we get back."

Travis and Annabeth looked at us, then at me, surprised.

"You're coming back to camp after that?" Travis questioned, which seemed like a fair question. "Your Grandpa thinks you committed treason, dude."

"I don't want to leave Nico— I feel awful that he doesn't have a cabin, and I don't want kids to start to treat him like they treated me after I was claimed. He's literally like, 10 years old, it's not fair if he's treated like that. I know you guys are there, and I'm not saying that that's not good, it's just... It feels different if I can at least try to connect with him as somebody who went through things that are very similar to that he's going through right now."

"Well trying to care for him without caring for yourself will only make things worse," the daughter of Athena insisted, as if I didn't know that. "So don't come back unless you're actually able to do that. I refuse to attend your funeral before you turn sixteen—and even then, I'll still be mad."

Groaning, I rolled my eyes.

"I'm... Not going to kill myself." I reminded her. "Between Grover and Nico and also my parents? No. One of them might drag me back out from the Underworld, if we're being honest. At least two of them have been there before and come back alive."

Both of them somewhat aggressively wishing me well, the IM was ended and I just...

Didn't even know what to think of the situation.

On one hand, I'm glad that my dad cared enough about me to stick up to his own dad for me, especially since he's also a god. His dad is.

On the other hand, I don't want to be the reason they fall out. I don't want to ruin their relationship that they seemed to be building ever since I started at camp.

Not wanting to think about it, I followed my mom and Grover to the living room, where we watched Wall-E for I think the nine millionth time because it's my favorite movie to watch with Grover. This time, I even stayed awake for the entire thing (which almost never happens). Dad showed up during the end credit scene while Mom was throwing the popcorn bowl in the dishwasher and Grover and I were relaxing on the couch because that's all I had the mental capacity to do right now.

"I'm back!" Dad announced, in a better mood than he left in.

"Welcome back, Sweetie." Mom said as she came back to the living room, giving him a kiss before sitting back down. "How'd it go with your dad?"

Dad shrugged.

"It went." He answered, taking his shoes and jacket off before walking over to join us with a small bag of a blue candy, setting it across from me on the coffee table. "I figured you might like some sweets, if more sugar won't make you throw up."

I smiled softly, taking a blue tootie frootie from the bag.

"Thanks."

"Of course, kiddo. And he shouldn't... Cause you any more distress or trouble." Dad told me, which had Mom's attention, naturally. "if he does, let me know, but he won't be at the reception or new years or anything. He can do whatever he wants with my dad, they're still married of course, but I told him to leave the three of us alone."

"You did?" Mom asked, sounding worried that he made a rash decision.

Dad placed a hand on her thigh.

"Sally, sweetheart, my relationship has been rocky with him ever since I hit middle school." He explained. "He's not even supposed to talk to me anyways— it's technically against the current laws in place. I was hoping that things might work after learning that Percy's also a demigod, but if he wasn't willing to admit any fault in what he did today, I can't continue to try with him. You guys are more important than he is. If things change— if he's willing to admit at least partial fault and offer a genuine apology, maybe I'll consider reconnecting but..."

He shrugged.

"I honestly want nothing to do with him."

Dad looked over at me, a slight guilt in his expression.

"And I'm sorry if that makes camp hard for you— remember that you always have the choice to go or not go. Please don't feel bad either way, and don't blame yourself for what happened— this would've happened between the two of us eventually. Probably after you graduated, if this never happened. Can I ask you what exactly it was he accused you of? All he would say when I was there was that you were probably over exaggerating which... Is the worst excuse I've ever heard in my life, and you had some awful excuses to not do your homework when you were little."

I chuckled, remembering the shitty things I'd say to get out of doing homework that usually didn't work.

"A hellhound did eat my math homework once— that was never a lie." I insisted, which got him to laugh back. "and what he accused me of..."

Do I tell them?

Feeling Grover adjust to a slightly more comfortable position, I was reminded of a very simple fact.

It might kill me if I don't tell them.

"Wasn't all that incorrect, actually." I admitted up front. "And again, that wasn't the issue— it was his tone and demeaner and energy that caused the attack or episode or whatever you want to call it. But um... You guys know that I like, never cared about my sperm donor. And that I don't really like him after meeting him."

My parents nodded their heads.

"And you guys remember Luke, right?"

They nodded again.

"Of course we do, he's really nice," Mom responded. "why?"

I rested my hands on Grovers back.

"Because," I began. "this all started out as his idea."

•••
Dionysus

I'm not sure when Travis and Annabeth left, or how much they saw of any of that, but when I looked back at the couch, it was unoccupied.

I called you because I trusted you.

"Dionysus?" Chiron said once more as I felt his hand on my forearm.

I don't see my father here.

"I think I lost him."

"You... What? What are you talking about, Dio?"

Looking at the door, then back at Chiron, it was hard to meet his gaze.

"Gabe," I explained to my companion as we moved towards the fireplace so I could sit. "I... I think I lost him. For good this time."

The centaur gave me a skeptical look.

"You and Gabriel have had plenty of scuffles and arguments in the past— I'm sure things will smooth over. Eventually."

I shook my head.

"He's not a teenager anymore, Chi (Kai), this was different." I insisted, grabbing my diet coke once again, wishing it had something else mixed with it. "one, he got physical, which he's done in the past with me, but he... He had no remorse, no mercy, no... He didn't care about our relationship because this wasn't about him."

Chiron scowled.

"Then what was it about?"

I glanced there centaur a knowing look, because if he decides to come back to camp with Grover, these next few days might be hell as I walk on eggshells.

"Percy." I answered, which of course earns his attention since he was completely removed from what happened earlier today— he wasn't in the Big House after the counsel meeting, so he didn't know anything. "yeah, it's..."

But then again, I've been working towards not telling the old horse anything involving Luke and whatever it is his plans may be.

"There's a lot to the story that you don't know, but after the counsel meeting, I ended up having to question Percy, and while I might've been a little hard on the brat, it's not like I was expecting him to have a panic attack. But I guess at home he had another severe breakdown and I'm to blame or whatever because I was just trying to do my job and keep the rest of camp safe. It's not my fault the kid needs a higher dose on Xanax."

"Sally did call to inform me that Grover and Percy were staying at their residence tonight," Chiron first said, thinking to himself. "She didn't explicitly mention anything happening, but based on her tone I assumed something was amiss in the Jackson's apartment. When Gabe arrived, I was honestly worried that he'd started drinking again."

I shook my head.

"He was sober— has been since Percy and Sally went missing." I reminded him. "And now that Sally is pregnant, they're a completely dry household. Speaking of which, I could use a drink right about now."

Chiron gave me a stern look.

"No alcohol, or else your punishment is extended." Chiron chided me, though extending my time here might not be completely awful— if I was allowed to take vacation, that is. Or drink while being here. He lifted my hand, giving it a kiss, which shouldn't have surprised me at much as it did. "let me grab the wine glasses, Dio, and I'll pour us some sparkling cider."

It's not as if that was the first time Chiron did something like that, but I guess it's been a while. Sure, the old horse gets on my nerves at times, but who doesn't when I'm sober?

After working together for a little over 30 years now, I think it'd be more surprising if we were cold or strictly platonic towards one another.

Chiron may or may not be the reason I suggested an open relationship with Gabe's dad.

Not that that's something any of the campers need to know. It's quite literally none of their business.

Wheeling over to the drawer near the Big House entrance, Chiron pulled out our secret stash of sparkling cider.

It's secret because the only time a brat saw us pour out of it, they prayed to my father and snitched on me for a rule I didn't even break.

That kid got stale drinks in his chalice for the rest of the summer.

"Here you are— one drink," the centaur said as he handed me the wine glass of fake rosé, giving me a kiss on the cheek before clicking our glasses together. "Tell me more—why'd you have to question Percy? I'm surprised I haven't heard more about this."

He cocked his head to the side, connecting two dots I didn't even know we're visible to him.

"It wouldn't have something to do with Luke Castellan, would it?"

I froze.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked the centaur. "Did Luke... Please don't tell me Connor is getting to you again, because he annoys the piss out of me every time we must speak."

Chiron rolled his eyes, sighing.

"He's simply concerned for his siblings, Dionysus." He reminded me, relaxing back into his wheelchair. "And it wasn't just Connor, I promise— it was Luke himself."

He looked at the drink in his hand, then looked at the fire.

"I'm unsure if Luke is the thief or if he was the one who poisoned Thalia's Tree, but I suspect that he's planning something now that the daughter of Zeus is back."

Chiron took a sip of his drink.

"The last time I spoke with the son of Hermes, he'd gotten quite frustrated with me over something that I frankly have no control over, but he seems to believe that I do," the centaur reminded me. I rolled my eyes, but not for the reason Chiron would've assumed. "And those specific arguments aside, how he closed his argument is what raises my concerns— he said that he hoped the next time we had to fight, none of the campers would do it and that our argument would teach me a lesson, basically. He'd said that he would never fight for me and I questioned that he was turning his back on the gods and fighting against them, but he quickly shut the idea down and insisted that this had very little to do with the gods and mostly to do with me and that he wasn't fighting against anyone, he simply refused to fight for them which..."

He took a breath.

"I'm not sure I fully believe." He admitted. "But it my suspicions are true, then he can't do it alone, and he'd need allies— both mortal and divine."

I scoffed.

"Because what god would back their own downfall?" I questioned.

"Oh, Dio, dear, I'm sure there are hundreds of minor gods who would love to have a throne on Olympus, right beside you. I'm sure there's too many options for us to pick from, but I just think about it now because if you had to question Percy this morning, and if it has anything to do with Luke Castellan, that could be bad news— especially if Gabriel is now upset with you. He may choose to support the young demigods, and he still has a considerable number of friends that are alive, doesn't he?"

I shrugged.

"He does, but I don't know what any of them think of us anymore." I admitted, setting my glass down. "I remember you telling me about that argument the day it happened— his main point had been that it was our job to parent the kids, not the counselors, right? Since the other Olympians aren't around."

Chiron exhaled.

"Something like that, yes."

"Honestly, Chi, I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it at this point in time." I went on, which surprised him. "I mean, what's Luke going to do? I guess we could prepare for an assault, but do you really think he'd come here to try and kill the people he spent most of his life advocating for? Somebody would almost have to possess him in order for that to happen. It's not like him."

"Regardless of how he persues it, Dionysus, he's still hoping to change how we run our camp and how we train our heroes," Chiron insisted with the tone as if that was a bad thing. "Like no matter what we do, it'll never be enough. He wants more adults, more resources on quests, more cabins, more, more, more. If we concede to him now, when does it stop? It never will, Dio."

I crossed my arms, debating how I wanted to approach this topic with Chiron.

"Chiron, when was the last time you trained a child of your own?"

The question seemed to surprise the old horse, who looked taken aback by the question. Which, considering how long he's been in this camp, I suppose I could understand.

"I believe the last hero I trained that I had any relation to was Achilles. Why? You know that I don't have any mortal children, Dio."

I nodded my head.

"I know, but how would you feel if you had a child, or if your daughter, Thetis, had another child that came here, and they had nowhere to stay?"

But perhaps because of how long it's been since Chiron's bore any children, he didn't seem to understand what I was getting at.

"What do you mean nowhere to stay? They'd be in Cabin 11."

"Chiron." I said, my voice firm. "What did Nico want to talk about earlier?"

He shrugged.

"He just... Wanted to ask about his Dad, since he... Since he's my brother." Chiron told me, looking down for a moment before looking back over to me. "Showed me a photo from when him and Bianca were young with their parents. Then he asked about why his dad didn't have a cabin and I simply explained to him that his father has taken a vow to have no children, so it wouldn't be logical to have a cabin for demigods to reside in."

Did he just say that it'd make no sense for Nico and Bianca to have a cabin?

"And what did he say after you told him that?'

"He just said okay and apologized for interrupting me. Went back to join the other kids of cabin 11. I honestly don't know why Travis was so insistent earlier— Nico di Angelo seemed perfectly fine."

"But— I'm not having this argument right now." I insisted, biting down on my tongue. "regardless, when I spoke with Percy earlier, I was simply asking what he does when he talks to or hangs out with Luke. It's not often, but his parents have mentioned Luke's name a time or two when I've visited. Percy just said that Luke simply offered to keep training him in the off-season so he didn't get too rusty with Riptide between summers. Says sometimes him and Grover will go on a double date with Luke and Thalia. I ended up stressing him out, though, which..."

I sighed.

"Wasn't my intention, and I do feel bad that he had a panic attack." I continued, taking a drink of the non-alcoholic drink. "But if Luke is working with some other power to steal the Master Bolt and to destroy camp's border and if he has a spy within camp, it's kind of important that we know that. I also questioned Thalia, but since she's sort of come after everything... She didn't know anything. She said the only camp related thing they really talk about is how they can try and find her little brother, and then he'll ask her about Annabeth or some of his siblings from time to time. I've questioned Grover multiple times, his answers never change, so he's definitely not involved."

"And we're sure it's Luke?" Chiron asked, as if this wasn't his suggestion in the first place. "I know I mentioned it, but I just... He was such a bright, strong young man, and I'd hate to have to kill him."

Who said we were killing him?

"Wh... No, Chiron. I can't believe I choose to share a bed with you sometimes. It's just the closest lead we have." I reminded him. "Let's just see what happens with Artemis, and perhaps it'll give us another lead, yeah? Who knows, maybe he's doing nothing and he was just mad that day. We still have another almost two years before Percy turns sixteen— let's just see what happens."

Finishing his drink, Chiron set his glass down and turned his wheelchair around to leave the living room.

"You'll miss me when you're done with this place," the centaur told me. "Don't worry about Gabriel, Dio— he's mortal, just as the rest of them are. They'll pass eventually, and we'll still be here. That will never change."

"But he's my child, Chiron."

He gave me a skeptical look.

"And when did you start caring about that?"

Chapter 63: Speedrunning Gender

Thalia Grace

"What do you mean Mr. D questioned you before you left?" Luke asked me after I'd given him the run down on my day. "What would he even question you about? Being my girlfriend?"

I rolled my eyes, sitting down next to him on the couch as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Basically, yeah— it wasn't that serious, but Travis..." I started, the name of course having Luke's attention since Travis just agreed to help us out as an extra set of eyes around camp. "So the hunters are at camp right now, which apparently means we have to have a council meeting and during the meeting, Travis asked Chiron and Mr. D about the number of cabins we have because the two new demigods are children of Hades and one of them is asking why he doesn't get a cabin. But anyways, when he was talking about it during the meeting, he said that we could ask gods for grants or help or scholarships or whatever for these cabins and Mr. D... Yeah."

"Knew that was the code word?" Luke responded and I nodded my head, leaning into him, wondering if I should even go back to camp after today. "so what'd he do? Question Travis?"

"Yeah, but he told Travis that whoever helped him with the idea should come with for the meeting, and I guess he talked to Percy about cabins earlier in the day since he helped recruit Nico, the new kid, and so Percy went into the meeting as well and it was... Really bad, evidently. Mr. D didn't ask too much of Travis— realized early on that Travis was being serious about what he was talking about, but he caused Percy to have a really bad panic attack that they had to call Michael Yew in for. At the end of the meeting, Travis came out of the Big House, where we were waiting for Percy, and he told Grover that he might want to go in soon and make sure Percy's okay. Which, he wasn't. He took a nap after that with Grover, and then Travis was talking with me and Silena because he was curious about the whole thing, and then we called you and after lunch, I left. Annabeth says hi, by the way— she almost came with to say hi, but then Mr. D summoned her to probably question her as well so..."

"They're closing in on me." Luke summarized, thinking to himself. "That's alright— it's not like I was ever going back. I mean, Mr. D knew that I was planning something, but if he's questioning you guys... Other stuff must be going on that he thinks I'm helping with."

"Oh, yeah," I confirmed. "Artemis is missing. Know anything about that?"

"Artemis... Was she taken?"

I shrugged.

"Beats me— she went on a solo mission out west and now she's missing."

Luke exhaled.

"Weird," he figured. "if it's got anything to do with us, I sure as hell didn't organize it, and I spoke with Kronos earlier this week, so it's something else— maybe another god or titan? Anyways, why is Percy even at camp? He was just in a mental hospital, he shouldn't be there right now."

Telling him that I had the same question myself, I closed my eyes and tried to relax after the weird day I've had at camp so far, feeling something nag at me in the back of my mind.

Luke kissed the top of my head.

"You feeling alright, Thals?" He asked me, wrapping his other arm around me so he was now hugging me more or less. "Sleep okay last night?"

What would he even question you about? Being my girlfriend?

"As okay as I ever do." I promised my boyfriend, feeling a ball of rubber start to rub against my chest, making it harder to talk for some reason. "it's just um..."

It's not like I have anxiety, so why is this happening?

If this is how Percy and Grover feel almost all of the time, I don't think I'd ever want to trade lives with them— even if I got Sally Jackson as a mother from it.

I don't like this feeling.

"You just called me your girlfriend."

Nothing I could've said would have confused Luke Castellan more than that sentence.

He took three seconds to come up with a response.

"Y... Yeah." Luke confirmed. "I did call you my girlfriend because it's... Because it's true. We've been back together for six months, Thalia. Why...? I've called you my girlfriend like a billion times."

I tried to swallow the rubber ball.

It didn't work, so I closed my eyes for a moment to try and keep it from ejecting strsight out of my mouth, or worse— getting lodged in my throat.

Opening my eyes again, I looked down at the floor.

I've argued with gods and fought monsters and literally basically died.

Why is this the scariest thing I've ever done?

"What if you... Didn't... Call me your... Your girlfriend." I suggested, feeling the ball roll up my esophagus, which goes against physics completely, and settle at the bottom of my throat. "What if you just like, didn't call me that?"

"What..."

Releasing his embrace, Luke leaned back and I could feel him looking down at me.

What if he doesn't want to stay together because of this?

I don't remember if Luke is bi or not, and if he's straight but is uncomfortable with dating somebody who probably isn't cis...

What would I do without him?

"Thalia, what..." Luke said, pulling me back to the fact that this is happening right now and I'm desperately hoping this doesn't end in us breaking up because he is the most important person in my life for a lot of different reasons. "What do you mean? I didn't... Did I do something wrong? If I did, can we talk about it first? I'm sorry. I don't... I really don't want to break up, but if you want to..."

Why would I want...?

Oh.

"What? Oh, no, no no no no." I stopped that line of thought, turning to look at Luke, who looked completely shocked and a little dejected from my not very clear request. I cupped Luke's hand in my face, terrifying him. "You didn't do anything, I promise, I don't... I don't want to break up, either, okay? I really don't want to break up. That sounded awful, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that."

Seeing him scared kicked my body into overdrive, I'm pretty sure. The ball started to move back down into my chest, letting me breathe a little easier.

Not much, but a little.

He was still very confused.

"O... Okay." Luke responded, searching my expression to find an answer I'm not sure he'd be able to find. "Then what...? I'm glad we're on the same page about not breaking up, but what... Do you mean?"

I opened my mouth and then nothing came out, so I closed it.

"I just, um..." I started off horribly, but that seemed to be par for the course right now. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, wishing that the anxiety would stop spreading throughout my body. It was flooding my stomach, and I hated that. "Don't like it."

"Don't like what? When I call you my..." And because I asked him not to, Luke hesitated to finish the question, which I appreciated. "My girlfriend?"

I nodded my head, wondering if my torso could explode if it vibrated enough.

"It... Makes me feel weird and kind of gross." I tried to explain something that even with a clear mind I couldn't do a good job of articulating. "Which isn't completely new, but I didn't think about it until recently when we ran into the Hunters of Artemis and they asked me if I wanted to join and I asked them why I would want to, mostly thinking about the fact that we're together, and Artemis told me that all girls or ladies or whatever word she used was welcome to join her hunt and it just..."

I sucked in a breath.

"Like, for Annabeth, it was obviously super validating that Artemis also offered her a spot in the Hunt." I rambled on. "But it made me feel weird in a bad way, and not just because we're together, it like... It felt similar to how it does when you call me your girlfriend, but I don't know... Like, I've been called the daughter of Zeus and that usually doesn't bother me, but every once in a while it does, and the same thing happens with like, being called Annabeth's sister. Like it's not... It's not wrong, but it's also not right, and I don't know... I don't know. I literally realized this was an actual thing yesterday even though it's definitely been an unconscious thing for probably most of my life."

Luke smiled, wrapping his arms around me again and giving me a kiss, this time on the temple.

"You know, Annabeth told me a lot of similar stuff when she started to realize that she was trans." My boyfriend told me, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear so he could see my face better. "do you think you might be trans? Because if so, you'd make for a very handsome boyfriend."

I grimaced.

"Uh, boyfriend? No." I insisted, sure enough about that one. "That isn't... No. Bad contender. I don't mind being called handsome, but do not call me your boyfriend. I'm not like... Like, I don't feel like I'm the wrong body or whatever like Annabeth says she does. I don't have anything against my boobs and the only thing I have against my uterus is my period, but it also lets me know that I'm not pregnant, so it's a love-hate thing. As fun as it is to peg you, I also have no desire to actually have a dick."

Luke smiled.

"Could've fooled me," he joked, which was met with a light elbow. "Sorry, sorry. Okay, so— girlfriend is bad, boyfriend is bad."

I nodded my head as he thought of other possibilities.

"Okay." My boyfriend began after a moment of contemplating. "I have two ideas— one or them is like, pretty normal, and the other one I personally think is kind of cute and funny, but this is literally not about me, so you can obviously turn the idea down."

"Wh... What is it?" I asked, only minority afraid of what his mind could've come up with.

"So the normal one is that I could just tell people that you're my partner," Luke told me, which I actually didn't mind. "It leaves a tiny bit up to the imagination because I feel like partner is used in a lot of different ways, but this is also a good way to use it. The less ambiguous and more fun thing that I could tell people, if you don't hate and detest it, is that I could call you my date mate."

I may have immediately busted out laughing, but in the best way possible. I couldn't tell if Luke was 100% serious about the title, but a small part of me hoped he was.

It made me smile.

"I... Sorry, you're right, it is kind of funny," I agreed with his disclaimer. "But it's kind of nice. I like it. Date mate. Partner. Both are good, but date mate has a better ring to it."

"It does rhyme." He pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "Do we have a winner then?"

I nodded my head.

"Okay, good, because I don't want to continue to make you feel weird or gross about yourself just because I like to tell people that we're together." Luke insisted as I could feel the tension in my chest start to go away. He gave me yet another kiss, this time a peck on the lips, because no affection is too much affection from Luke (and I'll never admit how much I like it). "so as your boyfriend, as your date mate, if you want to switch it up a bit, I think I have to perform a pronoun check with this new development."

"A... I'm sorry, a what?"

"A pronoun check!" My date mate (it was really fun to say) repeated himself. "I used to do them with Annabeth like, once a month, because I know that it's hard to just like, bring it up unprompted. You were just super anxious about telling me that you didn't want to be called girlfriend or boyfriend. So, with that, if I'm like, talking to Percy or Sally or Silena or Annabeth or whoever about you, what's the consensus if I were to say yeah, Thalia's great and she's really cool. Did you know that we're together? She's my date mate. And then I'd promptly explain what a date mate is if it's not obvious."

Opening my mouth, I tried to think of a good way to respond to that.

"I... If those people don't know we're together, Luke, I think they need to get tested for amnesia." I pointed out. "but I don't... Mind it, why? It seems a little weird, but I think that's because you're just referring to me in the third person when I'm right here."

"It seems a little weird?" He questioned.

I shrugged.

"Sort of, but I don't hate it. Why?"

"What about this," my boyfriend posed as an alternative. "Thalia's great and she's really cool. Did you know that we're together? They're my date mate, we've been back together since they were revived. I'm pretty sure she's in the middle of a minor gender crisis, but it's okay because I helped Annabeth through her's, so I'm pretty sure I'm qualified to help them through theirs. It's kind of my job as her boyfriend."

He paused, allowing me to react to what he just said.

I think my confusion was visible.

"What do you think about that?" He asked after a moment. "it was longer, but I think it demonstrated the point a lot better."

"I... You used two different pronouns for me."

Luke nodded.

"Did it feel weird? Or bad?"

"Wh... I mean, weird, but not like..." I tried to answer as my brain worked through the possibility that Luke was helping me speedrun my gender crisis, which is not what I thought was going to happen. "it's not bad weird like the first one was, I'm just not... Used to it, I guess? It's not bad."

"Okay." He responded. "What if I just said that Thalia's great and they're really cool. They're my date mate and we've been together since they were revived last summer. I'm currently helping them try to figure out pronouns because they're having a little bit of a gender crisis."

I just shook my head.

"That's too much." I insisted, slightly overwhelmed by it. "I like the other one more."

"I could tell— you tensed up a little bit towards the end." Luke responded, thinking. "This one might also be a miss, but there's one more contender, okay?"

Nodding my head, I promoted him to give me the idea.

"Okay, so, Thalia's great. We've been over this." My boyfriend repeated himself for the fourth or fifth time now, making me smile. "She's really cool and we've been together for like six months now. It's been established that they're my date mate because he doesn't like being called boyfriend or girlfriend— it makes them feel weird. Sometimes he doesn't mind being called the daughter of Zeus, but sometimes it gets to her. As their boyfriend, it's kind of my duty to help them through this gender thing because I want him to feel comfortable and validated and happy in her skin. If it means talking about them in the third person like a bazillion times until we land on the right pronoun combination, I'll do it."

Reacting to the last sentence, I couldn't help but smile.

Smiling back at me, Luke squeezed my shoulder.

"How'd that feel?"

I smiled again.

"I like it." I decided, because it did feel weirdly nice when he'd use the different pronouns and keep changing them as he spoke. It was cool and it still felt like he was talking about me. "I have absolutely no idea how I would tell anyone else that that's how they should talk about me, but I like it a lot."

Leaning forward, I gave Luke a kiss and effectively made him fall backwards so we were laying together on the couch.

"I'm pretty sure you'd just tell people that you're okay with any pronouns, but we might want to ask Annabeth just in case." Luke told me, which I guess made sense. "as for a label, if you want one, there's like... A few options, I guess? You could be trans in terms of like, just using it as a general phrase? So not being a trans man, but just being trans. There's also non-binary and genderfluid or genderqueer. I don't know the difference between the last two, if there is one. There's also like... Other things, probably. That's as much research as I was able to do and ask people about at camp before Annabeth settled on trans, but I can definitely research more and Annabeth might know more. Also, weirdly enough, Mr. D might know. He had like, cults of queer followers back in the day. He still might."

Resting my head in the crook of Luke's neck, I debated the options as I mentally introduced myself to people.

I was at least somewhat familiar with the things Luke had said— I was pretty sure that gender queer was just another way to say that you're generally trans, but because queer is a word that is kind of controversial for people to use whether or not they're in the community, so it might be common to tell another queer person that you're queer, but not another person who was cishet.

Nonbinary was pretty common, but didn't feel right. It almost felt too feminine, which is weird because the whole point of non-binary is that you exist outside of the binary.

I don't, though, because I still like it when people use she and he pronouns, just not all at once.

Not that that would disqualify me from identifying as non-binary. I know that's not how that works, but in my brain, that means that I'm not non-binary, if that makes sense.

"I kind of like genderfluid," I decided after a minute of internal debate. "but then again, I also just kind of like the term queer in general, even though it's like... Weird, depending on how people say it? It's still kind of a slur, but I don't think our friends would use it as a slur."

"If they use it as a slur, they'll be slurring their speech from the amount of times I punch them." Luke promised, making me smile and cackle. "What!? I'm not just going to let them sit there and like, mis... Monogender you, I guess? It's hard to misgender someone that uses all pronouns, but I feel like using only one pronoun is kind of rude."

I rolled my eyes, kissing his chin.

"And I love you for that." I told my boyfriend. "I was worried for like, 30 seconds that you were going to be weirded out or weirdly straight and want to break up because of this, so thank the gods that that's not the case because I was kind of stressed about it."

Placing a finger under my chin, Luke forced me to look up at him.

"Thalia, babes, I'd have to be the world's biggest moron to ever consider breaking up with you." He said, which was the most accurate thing he's said all day—and that's saying a lot because he just helped me speed run my gender crisis. "Especially over something like your gender. As much as I don't like them, look at our parents— they probably change their gender every like, four seconds. This just makes you a better version of your dad."

"I've been a better version of my dad since I came out of the womb." I insisted, placing another kiss on his lips. "Thank you for helping me through that, though. It would've taken me a long time to figure out the three pronoun thing otherwise."

He gave me another kiss.

"That's what the pronoun check is for— it's done wonders for demigods over the years." Luke told me, and I couldn't help but soften a little when I noticed how completely infacuated Luke appeared to be with me. "regardless of how your answer might change, I'm still going to love you— though it might take me a day or two to get used to using the correct pronouns, especially if they change, so please allow me a tiny bit of wiggle room."

"Even if I did eventually decide that I wanted to chop my boobs off and have a dick installed?"

He chuckled.

"With how you use that strap on, babes, I don't know if I'd be able to tell the difference. I could get used to the lack of extra cushion when we're cuddling if it means that you're happy."

Rolling my eyes, I could feel the warm pool inside my stomach expand— something Luke was very good at doing, especially when he's being genuine and caring.

Which is like, most of the time.

"Then I'll keep you updated on if that ever happens." I told my boyfriend. "Don't get your hopes up, though— what do you want to eat for dinner?"

Placing a kiss on the corner of my mouth, Luke hummed.

"I think," he suggested, placing a second kiss on my jaw, lifting my head just a little higher to do to and causing the pool in my stomach to spread further south. "That for dinner," he went on, placing a line of kisses down my neck before coming back to my mouth, placing a kiss on my lips before putting his lips next to my ear and whispering. "I would love to eat you out."

Pulling him up by his collar, I wrapped my arms and legs around the older demigod, pulling him into another kiss— this one deeper, longer.

"Then what are you waiting for?" I questioned, speaking into his mouth because I think it's fun to torture him just a little bit, and he more than enjoys it. "I'm on the menu, after all."

Notes:

Pronoun check 🔫

Chapter 64: Family Is Usually Anything But Blood

Luke Castellans

Name somebody more in love with their date mate than me.

Trick question: you can't.

Recently, Thalia and I developed a little post-sex routine that I love almost as much as I love them- we'll relax for a while and maybe watch an episode of something on TV or YouTube to cuddle and wind down (and occasionally fall asleep) before we'll shower and throw everything that needs to get washed in the hamper and then lastly we'll make something to eat together because it's important to eat after a workout.

We were half way through getting dressed and throwing everything in the hamper when we heard a scream from the window.

"AH!" Thalia and I both yelled in response as Thalia turned away from the yell seeing as she had a bra on, but no shirt yet. Thankfully, I already had pants on, and was about to put my sweater on when I was more or less forced to jump out of my skin.

Looking at my window, I was thankful that it was just an Iris Message and not an actual Peeping Tom at my apartment. In the mist of the Iris Message, Percy and Grover were both sitting around his desk at his parents apartment, covering their eyes with their hands.

"Sorry!" Percy said, his eyes still covered. "We didn't mean to interrupt anything."

I hate it here, Thalia mouthed to me, throwing the shirt I was wearing earlier on.

I'm sure I'd never get that shirt back, but that's okay. I liked how my clothes looked on her more than on me most of the time.

Maybe I'm just the world's biggest simp.

I did help bring him back to life. I think that gets me infinite points in the down bad/simp category.

"It's okay, you just called like 30 seconds too early." I promised the son of Poseidon. "We're dressed now, it's okay. You guys can look."

"Are you sure?" Grover asked. "because if you guys were doing like, stuff, we can end the call and like... It's not that important, we promise."

I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, it's fine. We just showered, so we were getting dressed." I explained, seeing Percy start to slowly move his fingers and then drop his hands all at once, seeing that we were decent. "What's up? We're you guys not at Grover's earlier when you called with Travis?"

Percy nodded his head, moving his boyfriend's hands down so he could see.

"Yeah, we came here right after we left his place- I forgot my meds here, so today was kind of shitty, but it's whatever." The younger demigod insisted. "I've had way too many breakdowns and panic attacks today, but it's chill because we're staying here tonight so Mr. D doesn't cause a second panic attack. But with that being said, my parents were wondering if you two wanted to come over for dinner? They somehow know that it's your birthday month, Thalia, and my dad also wants to talk to you about god stuff, Luke. It's not an emergency, obviously, but... Yeah, I don't know. Sorry. If you guys already have plans, it's okay, we can do it when you get back from looking for Jason. Which you leave for tomorrow, right?"

Thalia and I shared a look with one understanding that has become a core rule in our relationship: we can't turn down food from the Jackson's.

"Yeah, we're leaving in the morning so we'll be back in time for the reception." Thalia confirmed, which was my reminder that I needed to make sure that I had something to wear to Sally and Gabe's reception party thing next week. "but we'd love to come for dinner! We haven't even thought about dinner yet, so. What does... Gabe want to talk to Luke about with the gods?"

Percy shrugged.

"That's a great question, but according to Annabeth, he did kind of beat the shit out his dad like two hours ago." He told us, which caused me to freeze because I thought Gabe had an amazing relationship with his dad, all things considered. "Yeah, I was surprised, too. Like, he did it in my defense- Mr. D caused me to spiral this morning and it got worse as the day progressed and I had a really bad breakdown at home that freaked everyone out apparently- I don't remember any of it, but between me and Grover, Dad got the story that this started with his own father and well... Let's just say that I get my rebellious streak from both of my parents."

"Your... Percy, Gabe's not related to you by blood." Thalia reminded him.

"And that's literally only mattered one time in my life and it will matter one other time in my life, when I turn 16 years old," he insisted, which... Was kind of true. "Nature vs nature Thalia, come on. Poseidon has probably caused multiple wars, so you could also say I get it from him, but I don't want anything from him, so... Yeah. I don't know exactly what kind of questions he has, but he seemed more interested than disappointed or stressed when I gave him the most basic rundown of everything like 20 minutes ago. We're having Cabeça de Galo."

"We're having... Percy, love you, man, neither of us know any Portuguese." I reminded him. "I know like three words and it's all from your family. What's for dinner?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. It's uh... Soup." He translated. "It's called rooster head soup but there's no rooster in it- it's a vegetarian soup. And then also we have the cheese bread and some farofa, which is like... Not granola, but you'll see, and then coxinhas, which is sort of like a stuffed pastry or bread. It's all really good, I promise- it's like, all of my comfort foods."

"I can confirm that there is no rooster in the rooster head soup," Grover backed his boyfriend up. "I've helped make it before and no animals were harmed in the process."

"You did cut yourself on accident." Percy commented. "I usually help make the soup and the coxinhas but I'm not allowed to be around knives right now so... I'm going to help with the other stuff in a couple minutes, but dinner will be ready in about an hour!"

Telling them we'd see them then, I ended the IM and Thalia immediately fell onto the bed.

"That was way too close of a call," she insisted. "Those two do not need to know what color my bra is. The only person who should ever know that is you."

I chuckled.

"I'm honored," I responded, causing her to smile. "But since Percy mentioned Jason, did you hear anything from Reyna or Hylla? They said they'd call today, right?"

"Reyna said she would, yeah- Hylla is doing something else that isn't at Camp Jupiter." My date mate confirmed, taking my hands to help her stand back up. "she also said she'd call around dinner time, though, and they are four hours behind us, so... I don't know if she meant our dinner time or hers. We'll find out, I guess."

"As long as she calls by the time we make it California, that's all I'm worried about." I insisted. "What do you think he's doing right now?"

"I don't know." Thalia said. "hanging out with his own best friend, maybe? We'll find out soon."

Almost as if on cue, I heard a sound from behind us.

"Oh, cool, it worked!" A girl's voice said, probably around Percy's age, through an Iris Message in the window. "Oh! Sorry, I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I didn't want to call too late and make you two come here on a bad nights sleep."

"You're okay, Reyna, we were just talking about you— wondering when you'd call." Thalia told the daughter of Bellona. "are we all good for tomorrow?"

"Yes! I'm going to let the senators and centurions know that we will expect visitors at lunch tomorrow." She reassured my date mate and I. "I'd say I'd do it at breakfast, but things are always happening at breakfast, so lunch is much more realistic. I've cleared Jason's schedule as much as possible. The only thing he has to do is morning rounds and then he has to walk the elephant before lunch. Is it just you two coming?"

I nodded my head.

"Percy and Grover are the only other demigods that know we're leaving, and from what I understand, Percy said he couldn't go to Camp Jupiter because of how they treat satyrs? I've never asked for elaboration, because he also just needs a pause right now."

Reyna sighed.

"It's kind of awful, he's right— I'm friendly to them, but I get weird looks because of it. The satyrs here, we call them fauns, are basically just beggars."

"It's odd." Thalia concluded. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow then, Reyna. Thank you for confirming that he's alive for me. I'm sure I will be very emotional— I've spent most of my life looking for him. But we have a train to catch if we want to make it to our dinner plans on time."

"Oh, yes! It is dinner time for you two, I suppose." She said. "you two have a good evening, and we'll see you tomorrow— remember, it's Mercury and Jupiter, not Hermes and Zeus."

Because we're definitely the type to introduce ourselves by our parents, I thought to myself before saying goodbye to the daughter of Bellona and slipping my shoes and jacket on to make the journey to the Jackson's apartment.

A word on Sally and Gabe Jackson: they're wonderful parents and wonderful people. Sally actually reminds me of my mom from time to time— they both really like to cook and bake and before my mom went crazy, she loved to read.

I remember as a kid, my mom would get me into bed by bribing me with stories— most of them were either modern childhood fairy tales or stories, but some of them were about mythology. And not just Greek— there was a fair share of Norse and Egyptian stories mixed in as well.

I vividly remember the first time Sally gave me food to bring home after I'd dropped Percy off at home after some training, and I thanked her for the food and left the apartment.

And then I got home, and as soon as I opened the container and the smell of a home cooked meal hit me, I sobbed.

In ways she'll never know, Sally has helped me grapple with what happened to my mother and the choice I made to run away because of it. She's helped reaffirm my reasons and my motives for doing what I'm doing now.

As for Gabe, he's the father I never had. Oftentimes, if the food is overwhelming for me because of memories or my mental state that day, I'll spend more time talking with Gabe, and he's just... He's a guy who is trying to be genuine and nice and he's honestly helped me so much with Thalia.

It's not like we go out and play catch or any cheesy shit like that, but if I need advice for a date or if something breaks down or I just need somebody to tell me how it is, I can always reach out to him, and that's something I'm still not used to.

He also randomly gives me money, which feels like a dad thing. Not every time when I'm over, but occasionally he'll just give me anywhere between $20-$100 completely unprompted.

I've been going to the Jackson's for dinner around once or twice a month now over the last year— it's gone up to twice after this summer because Percy had an awful summer, so we were all worried for him. That and Thalia has also been basically adopted by them, so she has to see them at least once a month as well.

Not that I'm complaining, though. Again, the Jackson's are like second parents to me.

Or just, parents, I guess? Since I have nothing to do with either of my parents.

"Luke, Thalia! Come on in!" Gabe said, opening the apartment door to let us inside. "We hear you're leaving for California tomorrow— what's out west?"

"My brother," Thalia explained as we took our shoes and jackets off. "He went missing right before I left home, and I spent like a year looking for him when I left, but another demigod found him at the Roman camp in California, so I'm going to go see him. I doubt he'll come back with me, but he's a year younger than Percy."

"He went missing?" Gabe asked as Sally walked over and offered each of us cookies. "How long has he been missing then? A few weeks? Months?"

"Wh— oh, no, I didn't go home after summer ended, Mr. Jackson." My date mate clarified. "I ran away from home... 10 years ago?"

They looked at me.

"How long ago did we meet?"

"Um... 9 years ago?" I guessed based on the fact that it's been almost 8 years since we found Annabeth— it'll be 8 years in like, February. "Because we travelled together for over a year before we found Annabeth. We were 'dating' well before we found Annabeth, and I'd been on the road for a year by the time I found you, so... Yeah. About nine years ago."

"So I ran away ten years ago." She confirmed. "Because we met when I was turning 11 and you were 12."

I shrugged.

"Something like that." I told him.

"Oh!" Gabe said, taking that information in. "so it's been... A while. I guess I knew that you'd been on the road at one point in time, Thalia, but for some reason I thought..."

His voice trailed.

"I'm thinking of Annabeth— she went back home to stay with her dad. That's what it is." The older demigod concluded, which made sense. Then he looked at me. "You don't talk to your mom, do you? I know you said you lived at camp year round and you obviously live in the city now, but... I guess a better question might be if she's still alive."

I shrugged, taking a seat at their dining room table as I could see Percy and Sally try and teach Grover how to cook.

Try.

The satyr loves food, but he's never been a good cook.

"Honestly? I have no idea." I answered, noticing that he seemed unsure of how to respond to it. "um, I left home because she was unfit to take care of me. She was clear sighted, a see-er, and she attempted to take over as host for the Oracle of Delphi and it rejected her. She was never the same after that. I tried to stick around, I made it work for like six months, but it was too much."

I paused, feeling Thalia's hand on my thigh.

"I hope she's alive— it wasn't like Thalia's or Annabeth's situation." I added on. "I still love my mom, but it wasn't healthy or safe for me to be there, and we had no other family that was really close to us, so I left. I haven't gone back since, though maybe once this is all done... We'll see."

Walking over with a smile on her face and a pot in her hands, Sally set down a  delicious smelling soup on the table before squeezing my shoulder.

"Well you're always welcome here, Luke— you too, Thalia." She insisted, which made me smile as much as it wanted to make me tear up. She gave Thalia a hug, since he was sitting on the outside of the table. "I know it's not easy to be in your late teens and early twenties without any family— it makes your friends and their family that much more important."

We both nodded.

"If you don't mind me asking, Mrs. Jackson," I questioned, not completely registering the wording she'd used when consoling us. "Where are your parents? Obviously, we've met both of Gabe's dad's, but... We're you the first generation to move here from Brazil?"

Sally shook her head as Percy and Grover each brought over some of the other food and set it in the table.

"My parents and my mom's siblings were the ones who moved here— a few years apart." Percy's mom answered my list of questions, sitting down in her typical spot across from Thalia, Gabe sitting down at the end of the table, next to them. "My dad came here for school, my mom came here with her siblings, and they met in um... The summer between high school and college. Mom was helping run a bakery while Dad was in school, and they got married after a few years and had me once he was graduated and had a job."

She paused, Gabe offering her a hand.

"I was... I was three years old when they died." Sally told me, which... I couldn't even respond to. "I uh, I don't try to think about it too often. They were going on a business trip with my dad's work, and they almost took me, but my aunt offered to babysit so I didn't go, and I guess thank the fates because they died on the plane ride back— it crashed. Um, so I got to live with my aunt and uncle after that. My aunt died when I was around 10 years old due to a failed surgery— or really, a terminal illness that the surgery wasn't able to cure. A few years later, when I was 17, my uncle died of cancer and I had to drop out of high school because I didn't have any other family."

She looked at Gabe and smiled.

"And then Gabe showed up at my door within 24 hours to confess his love to me."

Percy covered his mouth, this story evidently new for him.

"Hey!" Gabe defended himself. "When I showed up, I didn't know that he died— I was at camp because it was summer and I thought that I was going to die, and I didn't want to die without telling you. I didn't tell you, though, because I'm able to read a room."

"I—" Percy started, visibly shocked. "I've never heard this story. What... Why did you think you were going to die?"

Percy's dad shrugged.

"There was a battle that was happening later that week at camp— it never waged into a full war or anything, but we were attacked. A handful of demigods died, one of which was a friend of mine. But speaking of that—"

As food started to get passed around, the son of Dionysus directed his attention at me.

"I'm curious about your uh, child support plan, as Percy calls it."

And although Percy told me that his dad beat up a god earlier, it's basically my job to be skeptical when people show interest.

"Curious?"

"Hmmm, interested might be a better word." He corrected himself. "Percy kind of gave me a general run down of what's happened— the bolt, Thalia. Do you have anything to do with the fact that Artemis is missing?"

Moving my head back and forth, I debated how to answer that question.

"So... Yes, and no." I began, dishing myself up some soup because it's cold outside and soup will hopefully warm me up. "I didn't organize it, but working with Kronos means that he wants other Titans freed. Artemis was kidnapped by Atlas, in California at Mount Othyrs, what the mortals call Mt. Tamalpias, in order to basically lure somebody in to take Atlas' spot holding up the sky."

I paused, taking a sip of the soup.

It transported me to Elysium for a good five seconds.

"Technically, I'm supposed to be there to lure in a demigod because I'm a demigod and my work has mostly been undercover— the gods haven't figured that I've been pulling strings." I went on, noticing that Grover was also listening intently, I think still gauging and debating if he wanted to help us or not. "But because my goals and Kronos' goals don't completely align, I've chosen not to go and to have this mission fall through— somebody will still have to find Artemis and unchain her, but there shouldn't be any risk that Atlas is freed from his job. It hasn't been easy, but I'm trying to do with with as few casualties as possible, and as few titan resurrections as possible."

"So you're... But Kronos is currently like, diced up in Tartarus." Grover reasoned. "So how like... Is he making demands?"

I took a breath.

"He's been... Able to reach other for a number of years now." I explained to the satyr. "He's been in my dreams since I was like, 16, after I failed my quest. I didn't respond until I was 18, right before I stole the Bolt. This summer, though..."

I looked down at the delicious meal.

"He'll take somebody as a host." I told the group, something that only Thalia knew up until now— I was going to announce it at the solstice, when our group met next. "He isn't strong enough to materialize in his own body, but he's strong enough to potentially control another one."

"He— I guess I didn't know what I expected," Percy admitted. "But who will host him, then? That's like... Would we have to kill them to kill Kronos?"

I shrugged.

"I've been going back and forth with him about it, ever since I realized how soon it would be," I answered, taking a bite out of the stuffed bread, which was amazing. "He really wants it to be you or Thalia or I'm sure he'll want to persue the two new recruits since they're children of Hades, but I have told him time and time again that it's not happening because I'm not losing Thalia again, and if I die, you two are the ones who probably have the best chance of surviving. Even with the prophecy."

"So who do you want to be the host?" Gabe asked.

I opened my mouth.

"He's been in my head for almost five years," I told them. "and the older I get, the more frequent it is. I know how he thinks, and plus, I'm the one who started this— it wouldn't be right to put the burden on another person."

Sally looked at Thalia.

"And you're okay with this?"

Thalia shrugged.

"I'm not ecstatic, but we can't just let anyone volunteer for the job— if the demigod isn't strong enough, it will kill him." My partner voiced something we've talked a lot about this month, since I got the time estimate. "And Luke is right— he has endured the Titan being in his head for years, and unlike a handful of the followers, he's adament about not wanting Kronos to take over and overthrow Olympus. It's his mess, and he has to help keep it clean. I'll be there to hopefully keep Luke alive." She squeezed my thigh. "even if we can't hear from him all the time."

Gabe looked between the two of us, then at me again.

"And you have a plan? To survive being a vessel for a titan?"

Slowly, I nodded my head.

"It... Might be a suicide mission," I admitted. "But if I survive becoming his host, then yes, I'm currently working on a plan that should work as long as there is a medic around."

"I'm sure that camp will have an entire infirmary set up, and I imagine there's also places where you can find nectar and ambrosia lying around on Olympus." Percy added on. "I'll make sure to keep Will Solace or Michael Yew close by. Because I'm assuming we'll talk about this at the solstice, but is your plan that if you're the host and it's my birthday that the prophecy unravels on...?"

I nodded my head.

"Being a follower, I don't think the Titan would kill you— though he may impair you." I confirmed Percy's theory. "he's seen you argue and fight with gods, so your loyalty isn't in question, even as you continue to train at camp. Um..."

Thinking to himself, Percy hummed.

"So, theoretically," the son of Poseidon prefaced, setting his fork down. "If, when Grover and I go back to camp tomorrow or the day after, they issue a quest to go rescue Artemis..."

Gabe gave him a firm look.

"I'm not saying it has to be me!" He immediately defended himself. "It could be Silena or like... Travis now, I guess. But do you think it'd be good if we went on this potential quest just to make sure that Atlas doesn't actually get fired from his job?"

"I mean, the more eyes and control we have over those things, the better," I agreed. "I'd suggest Thalia goes, but we'll be in California for other things. We're hoping to be back for the solstice, but we'll let you know if it'll be later."

"It better not be much later," Thalia insisted, motioning to the married couple besides us. "we have a party to go to later that week."

Sally and Gabe smiled.

"We appreciate your enthusiasm," Gabe said. "Is there any way that me or any of my friends could help you guys out, Luke? We're old— well, not that old, but in terms of demigod lives, we may as well be dust. But we all kind of detest or just despise our parents so..."

He shrugged.

"Take it from me, kid." The son of Dionysus reassured me. "I uh, threatened my father's life a few hours ago after he caused Percy to spiral earlier today, which was more or less just my last straw with him. We've been at each other's throats since I was a teenager, and only had some peace right after Percy got to camp because... Well, I didn't want his experience there to be even worse because of me. I'm far from the only one of my friends who has done things to a god or goddess that should've gotten us killed. What you're doing has been a long time coming, Luke Castellan. Even if it's just keeping you all fed and helping pay the electricity bill from time to times, if there's anything we can do..."

I nodded my head.

"If you guys aren't busy around dinner time on the night of the solstice, we'll be having our big meeting then to discuss timeline and plans for this next year— or at least, into summer." I confirmed. "Percy should be there. You're welcome to come with him. We appreciate any kind of support."

He smiled, placing another piece of stuffed bread on my plate, because you're not allowed to to hungry in the Jackson's apartment.

"I'm just happy to stick it to the man, Luke." He assured me. "What do you guys think about dessert?"

•••
Jason Grace

I'm going to punch Octavian in the mouth.

Not that I hate him or anything, don't get the wrong idea, Octavian is great.

But sometimes he doesn't know when to shut up and I just want to finish walking Hannibal the Elephant without being forced to think about the fact that I'm probably going to die in like 3 years when I turn 16.

"But what if there's this other person that shows up and like, they end up being the hero and so you don't even end up dying?" Octavian said, which was a cool idea, but improbable. "Then like-"

"PRAETOR GRACE!" Dakota, one of the Fifth Cohort Centurions called out as I heard the emergency sirens start to go off around the camp, which has only happened one other time in my life, which was... Before I was even in the ranks yet. I'd been living in the city with an adopted family who takes in a lot of very young demigods.

"Centurion Dakota, what's going on?" I asked, handing the elephant off to Octavian to get armored up. "Where's Reyna? What's going on?"

"Praetor Ramirez-Arellano is... Is with the first cohort... Making sure defenses are okay." He told me between heavy pants. "Michael has the Fifth, but there are... Intruders... Coming in through the tunnel."

"Intruders?" I asked, grabbing Dakota. "were flying, come on. Tell me about the intruders."

"There's two of them at the very least, um... Human, probably demigod, but we're not sure." He told me as I lifted us into the air. "And— AH!— Sorry, I'm not used to flying. Um, they're older? Like, 18? 19?"

"Have they gotten past the fauns?"

He nodded his head.

"Hank, from the Third, spotted them because they'd been speaking with the fauns. He said they're both armed, though neither of them have their weapons drawn."

I raised an eyebrow.

"So why are we pulling alarms?"

"Their weapons aren't Imperial Gold, Praetor," he informed me, which was an interesting note. "And they're definitely not steel. We're worried that they're—"

"From Krios' Army." I finished the thought as we landed with the First and Fifth Cohorts besides the Caldecott Tunnel Entrance to Camp Jupiter, where archers where stationed, waiting for the call from any centurion, Reyna, or I to fire at the intruders, who had...

Well, intruded the camp.

Where is Reyna right now?

The intruders stood opposite to the rest of Camp Jupiter, Michael Kahale, Centurion of the First Cohort, acted as our current defense. He held the tip of his sword to the throat of the first intruder— a girl about 18 years old who carried a shield on her back and a knife at her side. Behind her was a boy who might've been slightly older than her, carrying a sword at his side, still in it's scabbard, though his hand was on the hilt as he seemed to stare down Michael, the son of Venus.

Unfazed by the weapon putting her life into question, the girl pushed Michael's sword aside, shoving him to the ground and putting her foot on his chest.

Raising my hand, I started to make my way to the front of the crowd, telling the camp to hold their fire.

Who are these two?

"If you're going to hold a sword to somebody throat, you should have the decency to either just slit their throat or start giving a useless monologue to prove to me that you're stalling." She insisted. "We come in peace, but if you want a fight, I'll give it to you."

Glancing up, the girl quickly scanned the two cohorts in front of her before digging her boot a little deeper into Michael's sternum.

"Where is Jason Grace?"

I froze momentarily.

What does she want with me?

"Praetor, we don't know their intentions," I heard Octavian say from behind me, grabbing my wrist. "If they have ill intentions and you get hurt..."

Looking up at the augur, I could see concern in his eyes, which was touching.

Octavian was a decenscent who grew up in New Rome until he was old enough to join the auguries. We're the same age, so we grew up together, more or less. His parents have become a second family to me over the years as I've learned to accept the fact that I was an orphan.

Being brought to camp before I could even remember, I've always had a weird definition of what family is. I have maybe three memories of my mom and of... A sister, maybe? Somebody else lived with us, but for all I can remember, she could've been my mom's assistant.

I was fostered when I was brought to New Rome until I was old enough to train with Lupa and return to Camp Jupiter to begin probatio and eventually climb the ranks over the course of the last 3 years, becoming praetor as of September.

"If they have ill intentions, they'll rip through our camp until they find me." I argued with him, his grip loosening on me. "Are there any prophecies about this?"

Slowly, he shook his head.

"Then let's hope I don't die."

Walking to the front of the crowd, I could see Michael still on the ground, the others all keeping an eye between me and the situation with weapons at the ready.

"Why would I tell you where he is?" Michael questioned.

I held my hands up, taking a moment to try and detect any malice in the blonde behind the girl, but I saw none. He seemed to be alert and on edge, but given the fact that he had at least two dozen arrows aimed at him right now, I figured I could excuse it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did that sound that a question?" The girl said, her voice lowering as she leaned down slightly. "Let me rephrase it for you: tell me where Jason Grace is."

"I refuse—"

"I am Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, Praetor of the Twelth Legion Fulminata." I announced, keeping my hands in the air as I spotted Reyna rushing in with the other three cohorts, then suddenly stopping at the scene. "If I am the only person you seek, please remove your boot from my centurion's chest. I don't know who you are or what business you hold here, but—"

The girl froze momentarily, her eyes enlarging like a deer in the headlights.

Then, slowly, she stepped off of Michael Kahale, and before anybody could throw a spear, fire an arrow, or yell a curse, she ran up to me and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me to the ground as she collapsed in a fit of tears.

In shock myself, I looked to the blonde boy, who was currently kneeling, asking Michael Kahale if he was okay. Offering him nectar and ambrosia.

Who are these people?

"You're alive," the girl muttered as I just... Sat there, because I didn't know who she was and I didn't know how to respond this. I've never been hugged like this before— and never by a stranger. "Oh my gods, you're alive, you're... And you're okay and you've been here, I've been looking for you for so long and you've been..."

Pulling away just enough to look at my face, the dark haired girl cupped my face, tears streaming down her cheek.

"LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!" I heard Reyna yell in the distance as I tried scour my brain for who this girl could be. "THESE PEOPLE ARE ALLIES, NOT INTRUDERS. THEY COME WITH WARNING IN ADVANCE, AND THEY COME IN PEACE."

I heard some soldiers lower their weapons, but not all.

The girl searched my face, desperately trying to find something that I wasn't sure she'd be able to find.

"You're... You've grown so much." She insisted, starting to calm down, but still tearing up. From behind, I could sense demigods start to back away, probably at the orders of Reyna. "You're... You're alive! For years I wondered if Mom... If she'd drowned you in the lake or if..." She rubbed her thumb along my cheek, then over the scar on the corner of my mouth. "But she didn't, you're... You're alive. You got to grow up."

She knew my mom?

No, I quickly realized. She didn't just know my mom— she also called her Mom.

It was her eyes that have always been too startlingly blue that brought her name back to the surface— a name that's always bothered me when I hear it for reasons I didn't understand until now.

"Thalia?" I whispered, once again feeling like a little kid being comforted by his big sister.

Nodding her head, Thalia Grace, my older sister, pulled me into a hug.

And this time, once I processed what was happening, I returned the hug.

My sister is here.

"You're... You're real." I said as Reyna manager to get the rest of camp to clear out— I could see her and Octavian speaking with the blonde who had come here with my sister. "I was never sure... I was never sure if those memories we're real or if I'd just like... Imagined them. What... What happened? Where have you been? Where's Mom?"

Taking a breath, Thalia squeezed my shoulder.

"It's a long story," she told me. "Some of which you may not believe, but... The last update I was given on our mother is that she died in a car accident. She was driving drunk and there was a collision."

My heart sank.

"She... What? No, she can't... Be gone."

Although I only had a couple memories of her, I always hoped that one day, my mom would show up. That we'd cross paths and I'd get to see her again and...

And I never got to know her.

"Jason," Thalia said firmly. "I know it's hard to wrap your head around, but try to not let it bother you, okay? She was... She was a bad mom, okay? She never cared about us— she only wanted our dad's attention."

"But she... She was our mom."

"And she still gave you away like a door prize," my older sister informed me of something I've never had a good memory of—my adventure to Camp Jupiter the first time. I just kind of... Was here, it felt like. "Jason, she spent my entire childhood trying to get our dad's attention again, and when she did she was so happy, but then they had you and he left again and she just went back to doing whatever she could to get his attention and... And that included getting rid of you. She brought us to the park, which was already an odd thing for her to do, and then she asked me to grab something from the car and by the time I got back you were gone and she was... She was hysterical talking about how she had to do it for our dad and..."

She took a breath.

"She wasn't the mother you would've wanted or deserved." Thalia promised me. "I myself ran away from home after that because she went off the deep end and I couldn't... I couldn't live in it anymore. I went searching for you for a year in the California area before starting to head east, thinking that if Mount Olympus was in New York, you'd be near there but... Evidently, I was wrong. You're okay, though, and that's what matters."

Her stomach growled. I chuckled.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I haven't eaten since before our flight this morning. Do you guys have a dining hall we could eat at and continue to catch up?"

I nodded my head.

"Yeah it's just... Yeah." I told my sister, motioning towards New Rome since Camp Jupiter's lunch wouldn't be held for another half hour or 45 minutes. "Follow me— there's a lot of places to eat in the city."

•••
INSANELY long chapter that could've been 2 chapters but I wrote the Thalia and Luke apartment bit and then the Jason bit and then wrote in the dinner after so uhhhhhhh yeah here y'all go it was like 6500 words

Anyways say hiiiiii to Jason Grace :)

Notes:

"Octavian is older in the books" don't even worry about it ok this is my canon

Chapter 65: I'm Going To Force Chiron To Quit His Job

Thalia Grace

Riddle me this: why the fuck does the Roman camp have an entire city attached to it?

"In the... The what?" I asked my brother as Luke, Reyna, and the other, shorter blond boy ran to catch up with us. "Do you mean like, in San Francisco?"

"Hm? Oh, no, in New Rome." He explained to me. "We don't go into the mortal world unless absolutely necessary— it's extremely dangerous. As I'm sure you know— you've been there for a while. New Rome is our city that it attached to Camp Jupiter— so when demigods or legacies are old enough, usually around your age, they can choose to leave the service and start their own life. We have some businesses, a university, and like, basically anything a town needs. The only drawback is that you do act as backup reserves, but it's pretty rare that we ever need them. Also, if you're like me, and you come here before you're old enough to train, there are some families that will foster or adopt kids until they're old enough to train with Lupa and then come back and join the service."

I opened my mouth as I looked in the direction we were walking in, and sure enough, just a few minutes walk away, I could see what looked like an old Roman City, with people walking and biking around.

"You guys..." I said, at a loss for words. "How long does an average demigod live?"

Jason shrugged.

"Whatever the average life expectancy is minus probably five years," he figured as if that wasn't something we'd only ever dreamed of on the east coastx at Camp Half-Blood. "Those five years being because of like, the occasional attack or battle or quest that you partake in during your time in service. If you survive service, which I think most people do, you live a pretty normal life. Why? Are you interested in moving?"

Looking back at Luke, it was definitely a consideration for the two of us.

"Not right now, but... Maybe in the future." I told my little brother. "Also, who's the other Blondie behind us? You got a boyfriend or something?"

"Wh—" and he blushed, which was kind of cute to see, because he carried himself as a very calm, nice, level headed person. "No! No, Octavian and I are not dating. We're just... Best friends."

He so has had a crush on him before, if he doesn't still.

I smiled, nudging him.

"That's what they all say."

He scoffed as the trio behind us caught up to us— Luke standing to my left with Jason to my right. Octavian stood behind Jason, Reyna besides Luke.

"Well, okay, I can ask you the same question." Jason insisted, which was very true. "Who's the Blondie with you? Your boyfriend?"

Very simply, I nodded my head, offering my hand for Luke to take.

And, because he'll die if he goes an hour with affection when I'm around, he gladly took it.

"Yup!" I confirmed my baby brothers suspicions. "This is Luke, my boyfriend, partner, date mate— whatever you want to call him. We've been together for six months but also for a number of years, depending on how you look at it."

"Oh?" Octavian asked, sounding intrigued. "How... Wait."

He looked between Jason and I.

"Sorry, maybe I'm behind, or maybe just deaf— but how do you know Jason?"

"Oh!" Jason said, realizing that our conversation earlier probably wasn't audible to most other people. "Octavian, do you remember how I told you about the like, four memories I have of my mom from before I was brought here, and how I mentioned that I was pretty sure I had a sister but I was never sure because of how much older she was than me?"

The other demigod nodded his head.

"This is my sister, Thalia!" Jason introduced me to his best friend, which... Made me feel a certain kind of way that wasn't amazing. I looked down, which Luke immediately picked up on.

He squeezed my hand, reminding me that it's okay to be myself.

"Sibling." I corrected my brother, still looking down as we walked, feeling that rubber ball return to my chest. "I'm his older sibling, Thalia."

Is it going to feel like this every time I come out?

"You— oh my gods, I'm..." Jason said, stopping as he covered his mouth with both of his hands, looking both shocked and terrified. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, sounding guilty. "I didn't mean to misgender you or... I just assumed that it was the same as before and I'm... Sorry. Older sibling, so..."

He raised an eyebrow.

"They/them? They/she? I really don't want to misgender you again."

I smiled, the rubber ball melting away.

"Any pronouns are fine, just like... Mix them up. Keep it fresh."

"Any pronouns, got it." Jason said to himself, then looked at Luke. "He/him?"

Luke nodded his head.

"Yeah, he/him," Luke confirmed. "I'm kind of boring like that."

I smirked.

"Yeah, loser." I insisted in the most loving way possible. 

"Anyways, this is my sibling, Thalia." Jason corrected his former statement as we continued to walk. "after I was brought here, they looked for me for like, a long time, and found me... How, exactly?"

"I was given a tip that you might be here, but I didn't have the means to come here myself without getting into a shitload of trouble." I explained to my brother. "But I met Reyna right before she was sent here, and so I asked her if she could let me know if you were actually here or not. I accidentally showed up too early in the day, though, so she wasn't able to warn the camp that we were coming."

Jason looked over at his coworker, shocked and a little betrayed.

"You knew he was coming? And didn't tell me?"

Reyna rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Superman, I've known for maybe a week that Thalia would be here today." She defended herself. "Figured you'd appreciate the surprise of seeing your older sibling for the first time since you were a toddler. But since you're here now, Thalia, I have to ask—how did Jason get the scar on his lip? He refuses to tell me."

"Because it's not—"

"Oh, that? He tried to eat a stapler when he was two."

The group breaking out in a laugh, Jason looked like he was debating if he actually wanted to be related to me.

"He has always chewed on pencils, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Octavian commented, Jason rolling his eyes as we reached the border between Camp Jupiter and New Rome, where a limbless statue was talking with a little girl who couldn't be older than 5. Octavian nudged Jason. "I guess you just like your stationary, huh?"

"Oh, can it, Octavian," my little brother told his best friend, even if he was smiling while saying it. "So, Thalia, Luke, just so you know, no weapons are allowed in New Rome— whatever you have on you, you just leave with Terminus and Julia here and and if you try to bring anything in, you won't get in, so don't bother trying. You'll also have to show IDs."

Why do they need my ID to let me into a city?

"Hi Praetor Grace!" The girl, Julia said as we approached the duo. She gave him a hug, then gave Reyna and Octavian high fives. "Are you showing new demigods around? I don't recognize them."

She glanced at Luke and I.

"They look kind of scary. Will you be okay?"

I covered my mouth, not because I was surprised that she called me scary— a lot of new demigods at camp this summer had a similar impression of me.

But the only scary thing about Luke is his scar.

But maybe I'm just biased. I guess to a five year old, he would be super tall, but... He's got a scar.

That's it.

"We'll be okay, Julia, they're very nice people." He insisted, and I admired his patience with her, I won't lie. "we're just going to—"

"Praetor Grace, why have you brought grecus scum to my city?"

And, even as Jason had been in the middle of a conversation, it went dead silent.

Do the Romans really think of the Greeks like that?

I shot a look over at Reyna, who look apologetic, to say the least.

Jason looked back at the four of us, then to the talking statue.

"Terminus, sir, what are you talking about?" Jason questioned, sounding on edge himself. "You know just as well as I do that Greek demigods haven't existed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. After the gods transitioned to Rome, it wouldn't make sense for them to exist."

Julia stared up at Luke and I, and maybe I am the worse of the Grace siblings because I debated punting her like a field goal would win me the Superbowl.

Is that how football works? I don't watch football, but you get the point.

I looked at Reyna again.

They don't believe we exist? I mouthed to her, because the least she could've done when she realized that is said that, hey, she knows Greek demigods.

They called me crazy when I said you do. She informed me, which...

Was amazing news.

Like, I know they mentioned that they don't like Greeks, which I guess is fair (well, not really) after a war that apparently happened over a hundred years ago, but to not even believe we exist?

Who got ahold of their textbooks?

"Augur Octavian," Terminus, who I was scouring my brain for any information in right now. "Your great-grandfather, Cassius, the son of Apollo, fought in a war. Did he ever tell you about it before he passed?"

Octavian casted a glance at Luke and I, then at the piece of stone with a consciousness.

"He simply described it as a civil war between demigods. One that shed a lot of blood. Why do you ask, sir?"

"Because," Reyna chimed in, surprising Jason and Octavian with that bit of knowledge. "that was a war fought between Greeks and Romans, but in the textbooks given to campers here, it falsely claims it as a war between the Twelth Legion and another Legion that never actually existed."

The stone smiled.

"And pray tell, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano," Terminus requested in a sweet tone. "Why would you bring Greek demigods to my border? If you know that information, which you must've learned prior to your admittance to Camp Jupiter, you must also know that we have a strict no-contact order with grecus scum. Are you trying to incite another war, young lady?"

Even though I couldn't get myself to even look up right now, I could feel Jason staring at me like an animal at the zoo. Wondering if I'd attack, retreat, or just lay down.

"Terminus, they are not—"

"Greek? Don't lie. News travels fast in our realm, Praetor, and I'd have to be a fool to not recognize Thalia Grace or Luke Castellan. So why—"

"Because I asked her to." I spoke up, avoiding looking at Jason and directing my attention onto the statue. "It's been over a hundred years since that war took place, and unlike you guys, we have no surviving fighters to tell us about it. We didn't know about it until a quest party found Reyna and her sister, Hylla, this summer and brought them to our own camp because we didn't know there was a Roman specific camp."

Octavian scoffed.

"What? You thought we didn't exist?"

I gave him a questionable look.

"You and Jason just said that I didn't exist," I reminded him. "And no, it was never a conscious thought, but I think most people just assumed that regardless of if it was Jupiter or Zeus, the camp used the Greek names just because it was commonplace. I had to tell Luke about it because he wasn't even at camp anymore. But Terminus, if it makes any difference, we're not here as representatives for any Greek anything. If you know so much, you must know how our camp works, and shouldn't be surprised to hear that Luke has been out of camp for over a year and I'm currently in the process of getting ready to leave as well. I actually left the camp against our directors' wills."

"So why ask the Praetor for access inside the camp? Don't you think you're pushing your luck, missy?"

"Pushing my... I'm here because it's been ten years since I last saw my little brother, you inconsiderate slab of stone." I informed him. "We came here as peaceful visitors because Reyna was able to confirm that my brother, who is standing right in front of you, was alive for me— don't blame me for the fact that my mother fucked two versions of the same man."

I paused, allowing him to argue back, but the statue, who I assumed had to be their version of Mr. D, remained silent.

"Now, if you would please let us check our weapons in, I'm fucking starving and don't want to argue with a god about whether or not I should be allowed to have lunch with my brother."

Terminus thought to himself.

"We were given clearance to visit," Luke chimed in. "by a praetor, which is one of your highest ranks, isn't it? Just let us visit— we're entering a no-weapon zone. I can't speak on Jason because I just met him, but this is really important to Thalia. And I promise that this isn't a threat because you are a god, but I don't think you want to see him get angry."

"Terminus, it's okay," Jason insisted, which calmed me down slightly. He looked back to the god of the line or whatever, having decided that I was no longer an animal in an exhibit. "I've spent basically my entire life here, I want to be able to talk to my older sibling and at least establish a way for us to communicate without having to cross into each other's territory if it's going to cause legal issue. They're willingly complying with our rules. If we can allow mortal family into New Rome to visit, I believe you can let two demigods pass."

The Roman god glanced at Luke and me with a scowl on his face.

"Fine." He resigned from his argument. "But if anything happens, Praetors, you will be single handedly cleaning up the mess, and you'll be lucky to keep your positions. Do you understand?"

"Sir." They both responded, placing their weapons into the box, motioning for us to do the same.

And because this already hasn't gone according to plan (getting exposed as Greek while in camp and also getting targeted upon walking in), we complied.

"Sorry about him, it's... Kind of his job to be skeptical about who enters New Rome. God of borders and all." Jason apologized "but um... There's another camp? Like... You've been there? Is that where you two live? Or, I guess you would live in the city attached now, right? Athens 2.0 or something?"

Luke laughed.

"Ha, yeah, Athens 2.0." he said, confusing my brother. "I was at camp for what? Five years? Before moving to Manhattan. We don't have a city attached to our camp."

"You don't?" Octavian questioned, scowling. "Why not?"

Luke opened his mouth.

I gave him a warning glance, reminding him that we were in a place where gods may be able to eavesdrop a little easier than usual.

He closed his mouth, reconsidering his words.

"We function more like a summer camp rather than a military base." Luke explained to them. "kids are welcome to stay all year, but many of them still have mortal parents that they like to see and friends in schools or whatever. I stayed year around during my time there since my mother wasn't in a good enough mental state to care for a child anymore, but..."

My boyfriend shrugged.

"Our trainer doesn't seem to care," Luke continued, trying to keep his tone not furious. More sad than angry. "I spent years arguing with him on building more cabins for demigods and getting an in-house therapist or a shuttle line to a therapist office or just... Something to help because they've been dealing with a mental health crisis there, but their way of dealing with it is basically to just say that you should be able to tough it out and..."

Luke sighed, I squeezed his hand.

"If he doesn't care enough about if his students live and die now, I don't think he'd ever consider giving them a place to become adults."

"So where are you expected to go?" Jason asked. "And more cabins? Like barracks, or?"

I nodded my head.

"I'm not sure how you guys divide your demigods, but we're sorted by godly parent— currently we have 12 cabins for the 12 Olympians. All unclaimed demigods or demigods of minor gods live in Cabin 11— Hermes, or Mercury."

"What about legacies?" Octavian asked.

I shrugged.

"We're told that it's a miracle if we live to graduate high school— I don't think we have any legacies." I told the augur, who seemed saddened by the news. I wonder if he was a legacy rather than a demigod. "I suppose there could be— it could be why some demigods have never been claimed, but the closest thing we have to a legacy is our friend Percy, who is the stepson of another demigod. Most demigods, if they live long enough, just either move into New York City or move back home with their parent. Maybe go to college."

"That's... Weird that you sort by parents but don't have enough cabins for all of them." Jason said, thinking that through as he guided us towards a small restaurant on our left. "Can you guys like, call for a new vote for your like... Whoever the equivalent of your praetor is? Whoever is in charge? Does the 11th Cabin not get really full?"

Both of us chuckled.

"I wish— but he's immortal, and it's not really a democracy." Luke explained. "our activity director is Chiron, and the camp director is uh, Dionysus, but we call him Mr. D to avoid giving him a splitting headache. But even Mr. D's say in things is... Pretty minimal because he's only there for a certain number of years on a punishment from Zeus. As for cabin 11, there are almost always more campers than beds, and you were lucky if there was a path to walk through to get out of the cabin if anything happened in the middle of the night."

"That's awful— not that our systems are perfect, but we at least have enough beds for everyone." Jason said, which I could agree with. "But if you have cabins for all Olympians, doesn't that leave like, 4... No, 6 of them empty? Our father and Neptune, Juno, Diana, Minerva, and... Okay, 5, not 6. That's half of the cabins."

"Athena does have children, born in the same way she was." I corrected his count. "and the Artemis cabin is occasionally occupied when members of her Hunt come to visit, but Hera is always empty. I'm the only member in my cabin, and Poseidon only has two children, one of which doesn't even attend anymore, so."

"You— wait." Octavian said, a pang of realization hitting him as a waiter dropped off some water for us, insisting our server would be with us soon. "You and Jason have the same father?"

I nodded my head.

"And you're older than he is?"

Once again, I nodded.

Trying to stay calm, but not succeeding, the young blond crossed his arms.

"How old are you, exactly?"

I took a sip of water.

"I uh... I just turned 18." I answered for the Roman demigod, who looked puzzled by my answer. "You're asking about it because of the Great Prophecy, right?"

"Yeah... How are you...?"

"Alive?" I suggested, leaning back into my seat. "well, you see, I almost died when I made my way to Camp, and instead of letting me die, our father turned me into a pine tree, which... I could go on a whole rant about, but basically I was not dead but also not alive, it never unraveled. Thanks to my tree getting poisoned this last summer, the same group on the quest that rescued Reyna was able to find and secure the Golden Fleece, which actually revived me, so I dodged it."

Jason looked down, and I realized what his assumption was because of that.

"You're not going to be the child of the prophecy, though, Jason." I said, which naturally had both of their attentions. I took a breath. "There's um... There's a son of Poseidon who's a little bit older than you are, he's 14, and he's pretty determined to not let anyone else have to bear the prophecy."

Octavian scoffed.

"What, does the kid have a death wish or something?"

Luke and I shared a look, knowing that he did just get out of the mental hospital because his mental health is continuing to decline.

"Not a wish, but more of an indifference." Luke answered. "He's been through a lot, as far as demigod lives go, but his boyfriend and his parents help a lot. They're nice people— basically adopted Thalia and I."

"Yeah, Octavian's parents are basically my parents now." Jason commented, nudging his friend. "Is there any way I'd be able to visit you guys? Or would it forbidden because I'm like, Roman? I'm curious to see how your camp functions— it sounds a bit messier than ours, but... I don't know, I'm intrigued."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, you could come back with us." I told my little bro. "If you want to come, too, Octavian, you're more than welcome."

"It won't bother Chiron or Mr. D?" Jason questioned, sounding skeptical. "You won't... you won't get in trouble?"

I rolled my eyes.

"In trouble for what? I found a demigod, I brought them to camp— that's what we're supposed to do." I insisted. "plus, what are they going to do? Take away dessert for a week? Oh no— I'm moving out soon, I don't care if I get in trouble with that old horse. Didn't respect him before, not going to start now."

"You don't respect your trainer?" Octavian asked, with a little bit of an attitude behind it. "what did he ever do to you?"

I looked at Jason, then at his best friend.

"He refused to tell me where Jason was." I said, crossing my arms. "And also refused to tell me about the great prophecy during the short period of time where we didn't know how old I was after being revived. I had to argue to get him to admit that he knew you were alive and that he knew your location, but he refused to be more precise than telling me it was in California. Told me that I shouldn't come or try and communicate with you. And that's just from the first day we met— the list goes on."

"My final straw with him was when he sent a demigod on a quest to the Underworld with less than a week of training." Luke chimed in. "The kid lived, by the way, but he was 12 and thought his mom had just died when he was sent on this quest."

Jason's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"A week!?" He asked, sharing a look with Reyna and then with Octavian. "I... It sounds like he needs to quit his job. I thought Chiron was meant to be an amazing trainer."

"That's the sad part." My boyfriend told my brother. "he is an amazing trainer—he taught me almost everything I know, but he's an awful caretaker, and he refuses to hire somebody to be a caretaker. That's the issue. If he was just a trainer, just a teacher, and somebody else was there to help manage the business side of the camp, to help manage the campers mental health and transitions, to deal with parents, it would be a wonderful place to be. But he won't do it, so after four or five years, it becomes miserable. But again, not many kids make it five years, so..."

He shrugged.

"Maybe he'd listen to you, as a praetor." Luke half joked. "but if he doesn't, don't say we didn't warn you."

Notes:

Canon deviation is deviating so hard RN I hope y'all are enjoying it

Chapter 66: I Will Not Become My Parents

Notes:

you guys are gonna love me or hate me for this one <3

Octavian Augustus

Is it wrong that I was still skeptical of Thalia Grace and Luke Castellan?

The couple departed from Camp Jupiter shortly after lunch— Jason gave them a walk around tour before returning to the Caldecott Tunnel. They gave Jason the information on where they're staying and some Greek coins with instructions so he could get ahold of them if he wanted to talk or meet again before they leave California. If he was busy, they also gave him the address of Luke's apartment and of the Greek camp.

And like, as soon as he was off duty for the night, I noticed Jason in his room, packing a bag.

"Dude," I said, knocking on his open door. "What are you packing a bag for? It's after dinner and you're not on duty tonight."

"For New York," he told me, which made no sense initially. "Where Thalia lives? I want to get to see what my sis... Sibling's life looks like, and the solstice is next week! We could go there together and then get to go see Olympus before flying back! Luke says that sometimes Chiron brings the students on a field trip to Olympus for the solstice. Wouldn't that be cool? We could actually talk with our parents! I could meet my dad!"

Slowly, I nodded my head.

"Jason..." I started, wondering what I could say to not hurt him too severely. "I am glad that Thalia was able to come and you tell got to connect— he seems nice, but... You guys have known each other for a day. Olympus is cool, but I think you should sleep on this."

He narrowed his eyes, looking at me with skepticism as if I'm the one who suggested he go across the country with a pair of people he just met.

"What, do you not trust them?"

"Do I— that is not what I meant by that, Sparky." I defended myself. "I just mean that you should get to know the two of them more before you have to stay with them. I'm not talking months or years, but like, another day? Plus, you still have responsibilities here— you're praetor, you can't just run off whenever you want to. It doesn't have to be Senate approved, but Reyna deserves a heads up before you just decide to leave."

"I'm going to talk to Reyna about it at breakfast— I'm not just taking off in the middle of the night, Octavian." He promised me, which calmed my nerves slightly. "I still want you to come with, and I'm not going to tell you that we're leaving in an hour. I just... I don't know, I'm excited. Thalia and Luke aren't even leaving California for another day or two, so we have time you want... If you want to come. As messed up as their living situation sounds, I asked Reyna, and she said she had fun when she was there. Said the people were mostly nice. I want to..."

Looking down at his bag, Jason's voice trailed off.

"I mean, she's my only family, right?" The son of Jupiter figured, which I guess I hadn't thought of. "Like, my mom is dead, and I don't really... Remember much about her, and I don't think Thalia likes talking about her, but I still want to get to know Thalia. Like..."

He swallowed.

"Your family and your parents are wonderful, Octavian," he told me, getting into his head like he does almost every time family is brought up. "But if I have the chance to learn about... About where I'm from..."

How am I going to tell my parents where I'm going?

Would Reyna excuse me to go with Jason? I guess if not, Jason would. I could just say we're staying at Thalia's apartment.

They wouldn't want me staying in the Greek camp.

Which means I might have to lie to them about a lot of this.

I must've looked down or deep in thought on my own as I tried to think through the logistics of a trip like this without the entire camp freaking out, because Jason looked back up and tilted his head.

"You're not mad, are you?" His question cut through my thoughts. "That I want to go to New York?"

"What? No." I insisted, walking closer to Jason, pulling him into a hug. "I'm not mad, I think going to New York would be fun."

"But?"

I sighed.

"But this is something I'll never be able to actually understand." I explained to my best friend. One of my only friends, really. "so I'm skeptical, sure, but I know that this isn't my sibling randomly showing up after like, 10 years. I grew up with my family, Jace, you grew up with my family. Even if my parents and I aren't best friends, they've always been there. If I seem skeptical, I'm just trying to be reasonable, even though you've probably already figured out 90% of what I'm skeptical about because you're just good at being like 8 steps ahead of me, which is why you're packing your bag now and not in two or three days when we're getting ready to leave."

I could feel Jason smile as he took a moment before responding

"I know you're trying to look out for me, I'm just... In my head." Jason insisted, taking a step back and steeling his expression because gods forbid he feels a negative emotion for longer than 30 seconds. He flipped the emotion switch in his brain off. "Thank you. Sorry that I got so anxious for a minute, I'm good now. I'll talk with Reyna tomorrow and I'll attempt to get ahold of Thalia to confirm when they're going back to New York. Once I have confirmation from both of them, I'll let you the plan. Sound good?"

Nodding my head, I wondered how to bring this up to Jason.

It's not a new issue— hell, he doesn't see it as an issue because it's what got him up climb the ranks so fast, but every time I see it, it worries me.

"Sounds good." I confirmed. "And you're sure you're good? Your sibling showing up is kind of a big deal, man, it's more than okay if you're still anxious or confused or nervous."

Jason shook his head, and for a moment I thought he was going to admit that he was anxious still.

"Hm? Oh, no, Octavian, I'm fine." My best friend told me, and the worst part is that I couldn't tell if he was lying or not because he's too good at concealing his emotions. "I had time to be anxious, you just saw it, and now it's over so I'm okay. Don't worry about me."

Is this man fucking insane?

"I... I mean it's my job as your best friend to worry at least a little, but I'll try." I responded, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Make sure you get some sleep, man— I should head to the Barracks before I get yelled at by one of the centurions. The last thing I need is to be put on probatio right before we leave."

Leaving the Praetor House, I made my way towards the barracks, where I ran into the other, also new Praetor, who seemed to have just finished a conversation with Dakota from the Fifth Cohort.

"Octavian, hey!" Reyna said, waving as she approached me. "Did you just come from a Jason's?"

I nodded my head.

"Yeah, why?"

"Just curious." She insisted. "How's he doing? I haven't seen him since Thalia and Luke left, and I'm sure it's a lot for him. It was a lot for Thalia— she's been anxious about this every time I've spoken with them about it."

I shrugged.

"He says he's fine, but I think he's a little anxious— both nervous and excited." I answered the Praetor's question. "But he's always been that way— he lets himself feel his emotions for like five minutes and then he basically bottles them up. Did he talk about what his sibling suggested?"

"That he comes to visit? Yeah, Thalia mentioned it briefly during lunch as well, when I was still there." Reyna reminded me. "I assume he's going?"

"Yeah, he said he was going to talk to you about it tomorrow, but I'll probably go with just to make sure he like... Comes back? Not that he wouldn't, but..." I began. "Neither of us have really left camp for longer than an afternoon, and our skills with the mortal world aren't exactly great. Hopefully with two of us we can at least help each other. Plus, I'm curious about where they get their prophecies. We have all that remains of the Sibylline Books. But also why..."

I looked up at the daughter of Bellona, who has managed to climb the ranks faster than any other praetor in my entire lifetime.

"Why didn't you say anything before today?" I questioned. "Like, I get the surprise factor for Jason when it came to Thalia specifically, but why never mention that you were at the Greek camp before you arrived? That you like, knew they were still around?"

Reyna raised an eyebrow.

"I did, Octavian." She insisted, as if I should know that. "my first Senate meeting after getting off of probatio? I tried to tell the Senate about it after getting introduced and nobody took it seriously. Multiple senators told me that that couldn't be true because it's been hundreds of years since Greek demigods went extinct— as if they were an animal— and that they must've been toying with me. Jason was the one who nicely explained to me that they didn't exist due to the Pantheon shift. The Lares refused to talk to me. It wasn't difficult to get the message: don't talk about it, don't acknowledge it exists. I think you'll enjoy the camp, though— even if it's feels a bit unorthodox. Chaotic."

Crossing my arms, I tilted my head.

"What? Do you miss it?"

She shrugged..

"Sometimes, not always." She said, which I appreciated the honesty of. "I feel more at home here, but I think it would be... Beneficial if campers were able to rotate between the camps. I don't know how realistic it would be— a lot of attitudes would have to change before it happens, but... It's a goal."

"And is that why you were so determined to become praetor?"

Reyna seemed to debate her answer as we approached the doors or Cohort One's Barracks.

"One reason, yes." The daughter of Bellona confirmed. "I believe that peace is obtainable between the camps, and I think that Jason and I prove that it's possible to have positive connections with them."

"Oh? So you were banking on the fact that Jason would become praetor?"

Reyna chuckled.

"Octavian, Jason's the son of Jupiter and is meant to be the "pride of Juno"— the camp was always going to make him praetor. Our Camp is named after his dad— there wasn't any chance for any opponents of his. Why? You want my job? Envious that I get to spend time with Jason?"

I rolled my eyes.

For the last year or so, people have started to tease Jason and I, and even though Reyna wasn't here when it started to know why it started, she picked up on it pretty quickly.

The summary of what happened is that I came out as bi to my parents, and it went... Not great, but word spread about their reaction pretty quickly.

Their initial reaction was asking me if I was dating Jason— that's what spread around camp. Somebody overheard and misconstrued it to sound like I had a crush on Jason.

Before I could tell them we weren't together, my mom asked if Jason was the one who caused me to think I was gay (which isn't what I said I was) and it just turned into a long night of me trying to explain my identity to them and then them telling me that I shouldn't be that and that I shouldn't hang out with people who make me feel like it's okay to be gay or whatever.

But aren't you living in a city that worships gods who are all bisexual? How are they homophobic?

I don't know, but they are.

Obviously, Jason heard the rumors almost immediately. The next day I thought he was being more distant, but I didn't think about it because I'd spoken with my parents over dinner in New Rome. I hadn't been able to talk to him about how coming out went.

It was the day after that when we were hanging out, but he wouldn't look at me that I realized he heard something.

"Jace, dude," I said, well aware that he could see me standing right in front of him. "I never thought I'd have to say this, but my eyes are up here. What's going on? You're acting like we got in an argument or something. What's wrong?"

"What... I'm not even looking at your chest, don't say that." Jason insisted, looking up for a single second before looking back down towards the floor. "I just didn't know if you wanted to talk about it."

I gave him a weird look— not that he could tell.

"Talk? About what? Nothing's happened, dude. Unless you have something you want to tell me?"

"About the fact that you have a crush on me?" Jason pointed out, which made me want to fall through a non-existent hole in the floor. "over half of camp has heard about by now, Octavian— we're you just planning on not telling me? You even told your parents."

Who said I have a crush on him?

I mean, sure, it's not wrong, but I haven't told anyone...

"Wh— what?" I asked, crossing my arms as I could feel the shame burn inside of me. "That's not what... That's not what I told them."

He gave me a doubtful look.

"I didn't!" I insisted, because Jason was right: I wasn't going to tell him about my crush because I didn't want to have this conversation. This confrontation. This tension between us. "I don't know who told you that, Jason, who started it, but it's not..."

I lost my voice, biting down on my lip.

Don't lose it, Octavian. I told myself. He doesn't know.

"When I came out, the first thing my parents asked me is if we were together— if we were dating." I informed the son of Jupiter. "and then they immediately asked if you made me think I was gay or if you made me think it was okay to be gay and I told them no because we're not together and you didn't influence me or whatever they think you did."

Still skeptical, Jason actually looked at me, which felt like a miracle.

"So you don't like me?"

And it was a lie, but I never intended on telling him with truth, so I nodded.

"Oh, thank the gods, I didn't know what I was going to do if you did." Jason said, breathing easier and just confirming everything I didn't want to be reminded of after the other day. "I didn't want things to have to be weird between us because of that. Glad we're on the same page. Your parents didn't take it well, then?"

I shook my head.

"Aw, man, that sucks." Which again, was something I didn't need to be reminded about, because I didn't want to talk about it yet. "Do you want to go slash some dummies and then get some hot chocolate afterwards?"

And as fun as that idea was, the addition of going for hot chocolate afterwards made it sound like a date, and thus made the entire thing sound like torture.

"I'm good, but thanks. I should probably go check on inventory in the auguries." I pulled that excuse directly out of my ass, and to this day, I don't know if Jason could tell. "I'll see you later, Jason."

Plus, I was a lot more sad about the rejection than I was mad about my parents.

The next month after that was pure hell, more or less, because people kept asking if we were together and we had to keep explaining to them that, no, we weren't together. We were just friends.

That's all Jason could see me as. A friend.

After a month or so, it became a running joke around the camp that were the couple that never happened or that we are secretly an old married couple, and it makes me feel like shit, if I'm being honest, but Jason just flushes or rolls his eyes and laughs it off. If he blushes, it's because he's embarrassed that somebody is asking, not because it has any truth to it.

And try as I might and try as I have, I can't fucking get over him, so I've just been tortured and teased by the majority of camp for the last year or so and I try not to let it get to me but...

But sometimes it hurts that the first thing Jason said was oh, thank gods, when I told him that I didn't have a crush on him.

Sometimes, like today, he suggests things that best friends can do but couples definitely would do, like go on a trip across the country together, and I have to remind myself that he's not trying to lead me on.

Sometimes people still insinuate or make jokes about one of us liking the other and it causes a ball to get stuck in my throat because it just reminds me of what he said that day.

"Yeah, whatever, Reyna." I told the daughter of Bellona, trying to remind myself that she doesn't even know the story behind the joke. She's just trying to be nice.

And, in a further effort to try and be nice, she furled a brow and tilted her head to the side. I wasn't looking directly at her, but I could still sense her concern. Her confusion.

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry." She apologized, which is the first time somebody has apologized to me for assuming or joking about Jason and I. "I just meant that because you guys hang out a lot... I know that people sometimes crack jokes or make comments because you guys are like, attached at the hip. I didn't mean to... To hit on something sensitive. My bad. I'm sorry again."

I shrugged.

"It's fine," I insisted, closing my eyes because it shouldn't hurt to think about it, but it does. I crossed my arms again, trying to hold all of my emotions inside of me because Reyna and I aren't that close. Our connection is Jason. "You weren't here when that started, so I don't expect you to know about it. It's just... It's fine."

Please have somewhere else to go, I thought to myself, which I know was horrible, but I really just wanted to be alone so I could release the ball in my chest and then feel like shit about this entire situation all over again and then go to bed way too late because I stayed up overthinking everything that I've ever done.

If I ever meet Venus, I might have to fistfight her.

"Octavian," Reyna said in a soft voice as I jumped, feeling her hand touch my shoulder. It didn't seem to phase her. "You just got done telling me that Jason always represses his feelings— you don't have to do the same thing."

But if I move, I thought, I'm going to fall apart.

"Come on," the praetor insisted, pulling on my shoulder just a little, taking a step away. "Let's go on a walk— I'll make sure you don't get in trouble with your centurion."

Taking a minute, I forced a breath and started to walk with the daughter of Bellona.

For a few minutes, Reyna and I walked in silence. Being a couple hours after supper now, most campers were getting ready for bed, so we didn't see anyone out and about around camp besides one or two people who seemed to be coming back from New Rome or were getting things from places like the armory. Nobody came up to ask Reyna or I any questions.

"So I definitely hit a sore spot," Reyna said, breaking the silence as we walked past the mess hall. "Which again, sorry. But do you want to talk about it? I always assumed the joke just came from the fact that you two were best friends and hung out all the time, but is there an actual story to it?"

At the bank of the Little Tiber, I sat down, letting my feet relax in the water. I nodded my head as Reyna sat to join me, crossing her legs so as not to get her feet wet.

"About a year ago, I came out to my parents as bi, a few weeks after I came out to Jason and a couple other campers." I retold the story for her. "And my parents took it terribly, which is another story, but their first reaction was to ask if Jason and I were dating."

I paused.

"We weren't, so I said no, and we just spent the rest of the night arguing about the fact that I was bi." I summarized. "but somebody from camp must've overheard us and then also misunderstood our conversation, because the next thing I knew, rumors were being spread that I had a crush on Jason."

"But you... Didn't?" She guessed.

But it was only a guess. I looked down.

"I did, but I literally hadn't told anyone about it, which is what made it so frustrating." I told Reyna, who just nodded her head, encouraging me to continue talking. "I knew he didn't reciprocate the feelings because I'm pretty sure that he's straight, which is... Is fine."

"But?"

I sighed.

"But he still heard the rumor." I went on, hugging myself again. "and the first day, I didn't think about the fact that he was being distant, but the second day he like, wouldn't look at me, and so I asked him why he wasn't looking at me and..."

Looking down, it was hard to see because it was dark out, but I could just barely see myself in the reflection of the water.

"And he brought it up, and I told him what actually happened between my parents and I, and he asked if I liked him regardless of the rumor and I... I said no, I didn't, because I didn't want things to be awkward or to just... Change for the worse, you know?"

In the corner of my eye, I could see Reyna nod her head.

"But why... How unlovable do I have to be for his first response to be oh, thank gods?" I asked Reyna, seeing her shoulders drop as mine tensed up. "For the idea of us being together, of me just having a crush on him— for that to be unthinkable to Jason?"

And there is no response, so when Reyna opened her mouth, I expected the silence that came with it.

"For a month after that, kids would constantly be asking if we were together or they'd be asking why we haven't gone out yet and it was like getting rejected for a month straight and it's like..." I went on, pulling my legs in so I could rest my head on my knees. "like, people have asked us or teased us about it so many times that Jason just got used to it and he'd roll his eyes or correct them quick or..."

I shrugged.

"It's not like I can be mad at him— I chose not to tell him about it because I thought it would be easier to deal with," I rationalized, wondering if that was a bad call from the start. "but it's been a year and I'm still not over him, as much as I've tried to move on, I can't, and even though it's been a year, people haven't stopped joking or teasing us and when they do that, it just reminds me of what he said and everything else he's said that's related to that and I try to not let it get to me, but sometimes it makes me feel like shit because if my best friend can't even fathom the idea of us being together in a reality where he's into men then like..."

I shrugged, wiping my face with my forearm.

"Then who could, you know?"

Taking me by surprise, I felt Reyna's arms wrap around me from behind, her head resting on my back.

"Oh, Octavian," the daughter of Bellona who probably had better things to do with her time responded. "I'm sorry that Jason's caused you this much pain just because you were trying to protect yourself. For what it's worth, we've only know each other for six months, but I think you're really nice. I've literally never had a crush on anyone, and dating and romance honestly confuses me, but I think that one day, you'll find somebody who appreciates your waryness and talkativeness and everything else that makes you, you."

I cracked a smile, appreciative of her words of wisdom— even though she has no experience.

"Thanks, Reyna." I said, feeling my body calm down thanks to her hug. "I don't know if they're here, but... Maybe one day."

After all, being a descendant from a family that's well off... Has it's pros and it's cons.

The obvious pros are that I was immediately accepted into the first cohort and admitted to work in the auguries. I was able to start off on a better foot than a lot of campers. Also, I can see my parents basically whenever I want to, since they live in New Rome.

The cons are that almost all of the other campers hate me because I don't have to try to work for anything and I don't blame their frustration but like...

It's lonely.

Jason's my only friend, and I'm terrified of losing him.

I looked back at the daughter of Bellona, the rest of her response processing in my mind.

"You've never had a crush on anyone?"

Chapter 67: I Become An Older Brother ((Again) (Sort Of))

Percy Jackson

Against everything my brain was telling me the entire time I was home, during which I was able to schedule a last minute therapy appointment, Nico and Bianca did not die while Grover and I were gone.

I also haven't died, and my therapist recommended a higher dose for me to really make sure that doesn't happen anytime soon.

The new, higher dose didn't stop me from panicking when I saw that Clarisse was at camp now, when she wasn't here when I left.

"Hey!" I said as Clarisse bumped me as she walked by, talking with Silena and Beckendorf. The three of them stopped, Clarisse looking at me. "What are you doing here? I thought you went with your mom in the off season?"

"Okay? Says the person who went on a quest for his mom instead of his dad," she pointed out to me. "It's winter break, dude, I'm here to see my girlfriend and my friends and train and go to Olympus and whatever else. What are you doing here?"

"Well this guy needed help with—"

"PERCY! GROVER! PERCY! GROVER!" The shrill voice of Nico di Angelo killed the conversation at hand, sprinting up to the four of us as I could see some little brats from Cabin 5 running not far behind him. "Where did you go? You were gone at dinner and there's... There's kids who said they're going to... Teach me... A lesson... And I don't know what that means but it's... It sounds really mean and..."

"Run all you want, di Angelo!" Sherman Yang, the off season counselor for Cabin 5, who is around 12 years old, yelled out, causing Nico to jump and then run behind me like I was a human shield. "We'll still get you— you still have a lesson to learn."

"I don't know what that means." Nico muttered to himself, sounding absolutely terrified of the new wave of Ares bullies, and it was just then that I realized how strong his Italian accent was.

Like, sure, a lot of kids are camp have a variety of accents— we come from a lot of different places and kids have definitely made comments about my New Yorker accent before.

But Nico's Italian accent was still very thick.

"Aw, are you hiding behind your protector and his wittle boyfriend?" Sherman Yang mocked, which I didn't appreciate. At all. He scoffed, walking even closer. "you group of freaks."

Wow. I thought to myself. How original.

And Clarisse, who had initially let her brother walk by her, seemed to instantly changed her mind on the situation, grabbing her little brother by the back of his collar and picking him up.

"I'm sorry, Sherman, do you want to run that by me again?" The daughter of Ares questioned, eliciting fear in the younger of the two of them. "would you like to explain to me exactly why you're calling Jackson and Underwood freaks?"

"Oh, Clarisse, you're... Here." Sherman said as the other two siblings who were with Sherman just kind of stood and watched this go down because in the Ares cabin, Clarisse is definitely the top dog. "When did you... Get here?"

"Doesn't matter because I'm here, now cut the shit, Yang— answer the question."

"Be—because they're faggots, Clarisse, do I really have to—"

Lifting him up in the air for momentum, Clarisse threw her brother face first into the dirt, undoubtedly losing any loose teeth he had, along with possibly breaking his nose for what I think would be his second time.

He rolled over to be met with a boot on his chest, dangerously close to his neck.

"Say it again," Clarisse dared in a low voice as Silena grabbed one of her hands to keep her girlfriend from commiting murder. "And you'll lose the ability to say anything ever again. Got it?"

With limited motion, Sherman frantically nodded his head.

Clarisse shoved him away with her foot.

"Get out of my sight."

And just like that, Sherman Yang and Co. took off running like they had a race to finish— to get to the infirmary, based on his injuries.

For a minute, it was quiet between the five of us as Clarisse seemed to calm down and take notice of her girlfriend's hand.

"Sorry," she apologized briefly. "I wasn't going to do much, but then he just straight up called you guys a slur and... He can throw out a lot of insults, but not that. I'll have to talk to Mr. D about that later."

She motioned towards me.

"Who's the kid cowering behind you? You got another brother or something, Jackson?"

"There's another sibling on the way, but this isn't them." I told the daughter of Ares as Nico slowly walked out from behind me, seeming a little scared but impressed by Clarisse. "This is our newest camper, Nico di Angelo— his sister is around here somewhere with the hunt, as well. Thalia, Annabeth, and the two of us brought them here the other day."

"Oh, new blood, sick!" Clarisse insisted, offering Nico a high five. "Have you figured out who your godly parent is? Or are you still unclaimed? It usually takes a couple weeks, so don't feel bad if you don't know— it took my dad a whole two months to claim me."

"Oh um..." Nico started, looking down at his shoes. "I do not know what claiming is or what it looks like, but my parents are A... Hades and Maria di Angelo, but my mom dies a long time ago. I'm still in Hermes cabin because my papa doesn't have a cabin."

Nico looked up at Grover and I, not even giving the two of them time to process the fact that we had doubled the number of Big Three kids overnight.

"Can we play Mythomagic together until dinner time?" He asked the two of us. "You promised we could play Mythomagic when we got here, but I couldn't find you at all yesterday or today until now."

I smiled at the young demigod.

"We can go play Mythomagic— sorry that we went missing." I told the son of Hades, relieved that he was okay. "Do you want to play it in Cabin 11, Cabin 3, or Grover's cabin?"

His expression lit up, one again making it hard to believe that this child was an orphan who was about to be abandoned by his sister— another child who just wants the freedom to be a kid.

"Grover has a cabin?" He asked. "Can I see?"

Grover nodded his head.

"Sure thing, Nico." My boyfriend confirmed, motioning to the lesbians behind Nico. "Do you want Clarisse and Silena to come with? Then we could play in teams and you could beat all four of us at once!"

"Who are Silena and Clarisse?"

"The two behind you."

Nico looked back at the couple, Silena waving to him, and then back at us. He nodded his head.

"What are we doing?" Clarisse asked.

"Losing a card game to a ten year old." I informed her as Nico and Grover started to walk towards the cabins. "It's fun."

She gave me a skeptical look.

"You have a weird definition of fun."

•••

Grover and I actually won a game of Mythomagic before dinner. It was a miracle.

It was only one, and we played six, but we still won one! Nico won four of them, and the last game Silena and Clarisse managed to win.

Regardless of how terribly we did, Nico seemed to have a lot of fun, and I even was able to enjoy it for a while, which is what mattered. He's not just wallowing in pity or whatever, he's having fun.

Now if I could get some other younger campers to join us and have Nico make friends his own age...

That's a later thing, and maybe he'll manage that on his own. But for now, I'm just here to help him transition and not fall apart when his sister leaves.

After game number 6, Nico thanked us for playing his favorite game with him before dismissing himself to get ready for dinner with the Hermes cabin.

"Seems like a nice kid," Clarisse commented, casting me a glance. "Why's he so attached to you?"

I shrugged.

"I mean, I helped bring him to camp." I reasoned with the daughter of Ares. "I don't know, the three of us just ended up getting grouped together when the Hunters of Artemis showed up, and Grover was passed out, so... He's nice, you're right. Talkative. But nice."

"Is he the one Travis was talking about in the meeting?" Silena asked.

Nodding my head, I confirmed that he was the one that prompted Travis to suggest we build more cabins.

"And I'm assuming Chiron immediately shot the idea down?" The daughter of Ares questioned.

"I wish." I told her, groaning. "Mr. D fucking... Asked to talk to me and Travis about it afterwards, but instead of talking about that, he decided to literally interrogate us and cause me to have a really bad panic attack. And after Travis left, he tried to act like he didn't just push every single one of my buttons and cross all of my boundaries and like..."

Grover rubbed my back.

"It was a whole thing that eventually spiraled into an even worse meltdown when I went into the city to get my meds from my apartment." I summarized. "Um, you weren't here, Clarisse, but fun fact: Travis is now on our side."

"Our...?" She questioned, looking between Grover and I. "and you're saying this now, so I assume your boyfriend is, too?"

I smiled at him.

"I'm kind of fighting for nature?" My boyfriend insisted, taking hold of my hand with both of his, leaning against me. "Like, as satyrs, we haven't talked a lot about what we would do if a battle broke out at camp, but like... I know the plan. I'm a little skeptical of the plan, but I know it. I think I just need time to think about it, you know? Or like, maybe I should talk to Luke. Chiron does drive me crazy, though, so good on you guys for making a plan to create change."

"That makes sense— I also had to think about it before I joined." Silena assured the satyr. "Luke asked me if I'd wanted to go with him and Chris pretty early on— like right after your first quest, Percy, but I was on the fence until the end of summer, when I agreed to be what we thought would be the uh, only spy."

I chuckled.

"Yeah, now we're up to what? 6 people?" I guestimated. "The three of us, Thalia, Travis... Is that all? That's 5— 6 if you count Grover as somebody who is simply not saying anything."

The daughter of Aphrodite nodded.

"I've been trying to get a good read on Beckendorf to see if he'd be interested, but he's been so busy working out in the woods on that dragon that it's hard to track him down and talk to him for longer than 20 minutes right now." She insisted. "I don't know if Luke's officially mentioned it to you, but our goal was to get one person for each Olympian, at the very least. So we're like... Half way there? We have a lot of unclaimed and minor god demigods— not as many claimed ones."

Why would he specifically want one demigod from each cabin?

Like, I get that it would show that this isn't just the feelings of like, one cabin. It's a whole camp issue, but... It seemed odd.

"I don't think he has." I responded, thinking back to what he told us last night. "um, well, we might have a lot more soon— my dad is kind of pissed with his dad and is coming to the solstice meeting. With like, all of his adult demigod friends. So that's at least two more Olympians. Why one from each, though?"

She shrugged.

"Beats me, he's always said that."

"Hm." I hummed. "Odd."

•••
Annabeth Chase

The fact that Thalia and Luke left for their like, six month anniversary getaway or whatever it is they're doing right now, while I was at camp was transphobic.

Even worse: Percy and Grover also left camp to go on a date and haven't been at camp since before dinner last night.

Then again, who am I kidding— the three of us don't really hang out. If only Percy's at camp, we might hang out, and if only Grover is here, we will hang out. But all three of us? It never happens.

I guess there's always a duo in a trio, right?

Not that I try to let it bother me. I still have other friends here who live here year round— the Stoll brothers, for one, but I seriously thought Percy and I could be best friends and that didn't happen.

Maybe I'm just bitter because I'm still like, getting over my crush on him.

He doesn't make it easy most of the time, but I'd be lying if I said that watching him break down yesterday... I get it, but it was a lot.

Kudos to Grover for being able to deal with it, because I'm awful at managing people's emotions. I struggle enough with my own as it is.

Like he's... He's so angry and sometimes, I get it. I'll admit that it wasn't fair that he was framed for stealing the Master Bolt, or that Mr. D continued to question him for working with whoever stole it, as if he didn't prove his innocence.

Trust me, I was there— we were all shocked. It was Ares that gave it to us.

But sometimes he does stuff, like when he challenged Ares or punched Circe that just bewilder me because it's like he has no respect for the gods.

And with no respect, he's not going to get his dad's attention, much less his respect. And if he's acting out because he wants the attention, he should realize that. Learning from his step dad, I guess I can see where he gets it from, but... But I don't get it.

Sure, the gods aren't always great, but at least with the gods, you know the rules. They've always existed, and it's usually pretty clear to understand the rules. Chiron and Mr. D do a good job at explaining those rules to kids.

He's such a nice and caring person, but when Percy punched Circe, I thought she was going to kill all of us. It was the most terrifying moment of my life— even when he challenged Ares, I don't think I was as afraid.

If they issue a quest with whatever's going on with Lady Artemis and Percy is suicidal enough to go— which, I'm sure he is, I'm worried about what will happen to him. If he pushes Lady Artemis or even the hunters too much...

I mean, he's the kid that mailed Medusa's head to Olympus, so I wouldn't put almost anything past him.

Hopefully our friendship doesn't affect how my mother views me.

And on a related note, I miss Luke so much. He's my older brother, the closest family I had for like half of my life. But we haven't spoken since he left camp, and I don't take it personally because I know that drachmas are hard to come by and we don't have each other addresses to write each other, but...

But he talks to Thalia. Hell, they're dating. From what I've mostly overheard, he even talks to Percy because Percy's parents will invite him over for dinner.

Maybe it's partially my fault because I haven't reached out to him, but I sometimes wonder if there's a reason why we haven't spoken.

I miss being able to talk to him about things that don't really matter in the big picture, but feel important to me at the time. Things like what I've been reading about lately, what kind of strategy I'm thinking about for capture the flag next week, or even just venting to him about problems.

After all, he was a good listener. And sometimes he even gave good advice.

If it weren't for Luke, it would've taken me a lot longer to realize I was trans, and now I'm about to start estrogen in order to prevent my Adams apple from bulging or to prevent my voice from getting too low (it's already too low for my liking) and I want to be able to talk to him about it because he was there when I first came out.

I wonder when him and Thalia will get back.

Speak of the devil, though, and I guess it'll appear in the window where you have a prism set up explicitly for Iris Messages.

"Annie!" Thalia's voice called out as I, thankfully, had just finished getting dressed. Jumping at the noise, I looked over to my window, to see Thalia through the mist, sitting on a bed in a hotel room. "Oh, shit, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You got a minute?"

Does she think Luke's going to propose to her or something and she needs help with her wardrobe?

Where are they?

"Uh, yeah?" I answered, shrugging as I walked closer to the message so it was easier to talk and see each other. "Everything okay? Where's Luke?"

"He'll be back in a little bit, he just went to get some food downstairs that we ordered for delivery." She explained to me with a smile. "He's pretty determined on making it back upstairs in time to say hi to you— he misses you."

I smiled.

"I miss him, too— we haven't gotten to speak since he left camp. Well, besides the two times we ran into each other this summer, but... Those were really short. All things considered."

The daughter of Zeus nodded her head.

"Yeah, he said the same thing— he keeps mentioning that he needs to send you an IM or even just ask Percy's parents for your address because he assumes they have it, but... Adult life is busy."

"I get it." I responded. "Is that why you called? Just so that way the three of us can talk or...?"

Letting out a breath, I thought I noticed Thalia's nerves start to surface. Something that was extremely rare for my older sister because like I've said in the past: being on the run means making a harder exterior. You never show when you're nervous.

"I mean n— no." She told me, stuttering over the last word. Thalia looked down, closing her eyes. "There's a few reasons— Luke just had asked me if you were at home right now because he knows you live in California, which is why I thought to call now. Um..."

Crossing her arms, the daughter of Zeus reminded me more of Percy than herself in the moment.

"I found him." Thalia started, which made no sense initially, the detail of California not sinking into my brain yet because I didn't know where they'd gone this weekend— just somewhere, generally.

There was a pause.

"Jason." She clarified for me, and my heart stopped, because her expression made it seem like it might've gone terribly. "I found Jason. Or really, Reyna confirmed that he was at the Roman camp for me and told me how to get there. It's uh... Not far from where your dad lives. It... It went well."

"It did?" I questioned, skeptical for what I felt were obvious reasons. She nodded her head. "You're sure? You seem really anxious, sis, and that's not like you."

She pursed her lips together, almost like she was biting her tongue about something.

"Positive." The daughter of Zeus insisted anyhow. "There was a little hiccup with time— we got there earlier than planned, so they uh, thought we were enemy intruders and I did like, threaten one guy who held a sword to my neck, but the rest was good! Jason and I are like, very different— he looks a lot more like our mom, but we get along and I met one of his best friends and they're going to meet us tonight for dinner again at a location just outside of camp because their like, Mr. D equivalent did not like that Luke and I were Greek. But if dinner goes well, Jason and his friend, Octavian might come to visit New York until like, the solstice! Neither of them have ever been to Olympus before and they both seemed curious about Camp Half Blood, so..."

She exhaled, calming, but not much.

"Yeah." The older demigod confirmed. "Jason would be in my cabin, obviously, and Octavian would be in cabin 7— he's a legacy, technically, but he still has powers, I think. He trains. Camp Jupiter is way different, I'll tell you more about that when I get back so that way Jason can be there to answer any questions you have."

Excited at the chance to meet the final child of the Big Three, I smiled.

"That's great, Thalia!" I told her, hearing a door open and close, though I couldn't tell if it was the IM or my own cabin. "When would you guys get back here?"

"We fly back tomorrow morning, so we'll get to camp probably between lunch and dinner!" She promised me as Luke handed her a box from off screen and immediately I could feel my body buzzing because I missed my older brother so much. "Luke can't come to camp because he's lame and stupid, but the three of us will be there!"

"I'm not lame and stupid, I'm just broke and desperate for money." Hearing his voice after so long was reassuring. Giving Thalia some chopsticks, he then sat down next to his girlfriend and gave me the smile that used to keep me calm through every presentation and speech I've ever had to give, especially when explaining strategy for things like capture the flag. "hey, Annie! I'm sorry that I haven't reached out since this summer— I don't know what Thalia's mentioned, but it's been really busy. How are you doing? Things okay with your dad?"

I shrugged.

"With my dad? Yeah, I guess." I figured, thinking to myself for a moment. "my step mom and I still aren't on the best of terms, though, and Dad takes her side on like, dumb things, so... It's fine like 75% of the time. My brothers are really annoying but fun. How's college?"

"It's good!" My older brother insisted, which I was glad to hear. "Dyslexia makes it kind of hard, but I'm only taking two classes at a time right now instead of 4 so it's less homework so I feel like I can actually take the time to get it done. What are you, like, half way through your masters degree by now?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm still in middle school for another six months." I corrected him, and then remembered the thing I'd wanted to tell him about, perking up when the memory came to me. "Oh! Guess what!"

"Chicken butt?" He guessed.

I shook my head, chuckling.

"Not quite." I insisted. "I have a consult to start taking estrogen next month! Well, hopefully, that is— because I wasn't home when I realized that I'm trans, my dad obviously didn't witness anything until after I'd stopped going by my old name and was like, mostly passing. So he doesn't have a super good testimony for the doctor, but I might do therapy for a little bit so that way we can get it for sure. Because I uh, don't like male puberty so far. It's dumb. My voice is too low."

"I'm sure they'll give you the prescription, Annie," the son of Hermes insisted. "and if they need a letter, I would be more than willing to write one, and I'm sure Chiron or Mr. D would."

I shrugged. "Maybe. We'll see, and if I need it, I'll let you know."

Once again, Luke smiled and then nudged Thalia, who still seemed a little nervous.

"Wh— oh, sorry." She apologized. Luke assured her that it was ok, readjusting so one of his arms rested behind her. "You came in and we all started talking so I forgot to mention the other thing."

"The other— oh, the other reason you called." I responded, cocking my head to the side. "You okay?"

Seeing the two older demigods together again was a sight that made me happy. In the best way possible, it made me feel like a 7 year old on the run again.

The best way possible meaning that it felt like I was with my family— even if we were just talking over an IM right now.

Like our family was complete again.

Taking a long breath to relax herself, my older sister nodded her head.

"Yeah, Annie, I'm alright, just... I'm nervous, which is the dumbest things in the world, all things considered."

"Nervous? Why, because you're flying back here and you're afraid of heights?"

She shook her head.

"N— well, yeah, but those nerves won't set in until we get to the airport tomorrow." Thalia corrected me, closing her eyes again, setting her food down. "So you know how Artemis offered both of us positions in the Hunt?"

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"Please tell me you guys aren't breaking up."

"Wh— no!" Thalia shut that idea down immediately. "Fucking hell, Annie, no, we're not breaking up. I didn't survive what was basically a coma just to leave his ass. Immortality doesn't even sound that cool. Sounds depressing."

I shrugged, because I thought it sounded cool.

"Fair."

"Anyways." She went on. "What I was going to say is that Luke wasn't the only reason I decided I didn't want to join. It also wasn't the first reason."

But knowing Thalia, there could be a million and four different reasons she could have to not want to join the Hunt, so if she was trying to illude me to a specific reason, she was doing an awful job.

"O... Kay. I mean, makes sense— you're not exactly one to want to hang out with gods or whatever."

Conceding my point, Thalia nodded.

"That's... True." But based on her tone, it wasn't the primary reason. "That was reason #3. But reason number one..."

She stopped for a moment, collecting herself. Luke rubbed her shoulder for support.

I want a relationship like theirs one day.

"So you know how sometimes you call me your big sis?"

Why is this relevant?

Slowly, I nodded my head.

"Would it be possible," Thalia began as I could the anxiety creeping into her voice once more. "If you didn't call me that anymore?"

I opened my mouth to ask a question, but she had more to say.

"You're still my baby sister, don't worry," the daughter of Zeus promised me as my brain considered a possibility, but mostly disregarded it. "but I asked Jason and now I'm asking you: would you be able to call me your older sibling instead?"

"Older sib—" but half way through repeating it back to her, it clicked.

Thalia isn't cis.

Shocked, I went silent, which did anything but help her (their?) anxiety.

"I..." And because I was terrified that this is something I should've known and somehow forgot after Thalia died, I immediately picked up my response. "I mean, yeah, of course I can! You didn't like... Come out before tree time, did you? Did I forget or is this new?"

Seeing her shoulders relax slightly, Thalia smiled and exhaled.

"This is new— don't feel guilty for not knowing." Thalia promised me, which was a relief for myself. "I uh... Like, I've always had that not like other girls feeling, but I didn't think hard about it until the other day when Artemis offered us spots in the Hunt and she lost me at the term girl and I realized that maybe, just maybe, that wasn't where she should've lost me. Um..."

I chuckled.

"I just assumed you'd checked out immediately because you already knew who they were." I insisted. "But I was also busy on cloud 9 because after circe, I wasn't sure she'd offer. Is there any conclusion on like... Anything, besides changing sis to sib?"

Thalia smiled at my shortening of sibling.

"Um... Yeah," she answered, looking down again. "The conclusion is that gender is a construct and it's dumb, but also that maybe I'm genderfluid? The important piece that I figured out from Luke thanks to the fact that you came out as trans a long time ago is that if you use only one pronoun for me, I feel like I want to crawl out of my skin so like... Any pronouns, but that means all pronouns. No name change or anything, though— I like my name."

I smiled, knowing exactly what happened.

"I don't think anyone can walk out of a pronoun check cisgender."

Thalia agreed, nodding their head.

And then, slowly, the two of us turned to look at the son of Hermes.

"What?" He asked, eyeing both of us.

Putting my hand out, pointing two fingers and keeping my thumb up to resemble a gun, I raised an eyebrow at my older brother.

"Pronoun check, bitch."

Chapter 68: Fourteen Cans Of Diet Coke On The Wall (Seriously Is He Okay?)

Jason Grace

They weren't kidding when they said Camp Half Blood was like a summer camp.

Once we got into the city, we took... Well, it wasn't Luke's car, but a family friend's car to Camp Half Blood, which was in the middle of the woods a ways out from New York City.

"Thanks for the ride, loser," Thalia told their boyfriend, giving him a short kiss before grabbing her bag from the passenger seat and getting out of the car. "see you on the solstice? A while before the meeting?"

Luke nodded his head

"If anything happens and we have to reschedule, just let me know." He insisted as Octavian and I grabbed our bags. "you guys have fun! I feel like a dad sending my kids off to school right now."

Thalia rolled his eyes.

"We're moving in together in like, three weeks." She reminded him. "You could come in and say hi to Annabeth— I think she'd be overjoyed."

Debating his options, the son of Hermes messed with his bead necklace, which had six beads on it.

None of which matched Thalia's.

"Would you tell her to come to the Tree?" Luke compromised with his partner. "I'd love to get to talk to her more, but after this summer... It's probably not a good idea for me to show up without any warning. Also, if Chiron even tried to talk to me, I might start throwing hands."

Thalia chuckled.

"Yeah, I don't know if we want to deal with that right now— Mr. D might just turn you into a dolphin." My sibling insisted which was... An interesting consequence, I'll admit. "I'll track her down right away then. Love you."

"Love you, too, Thals. Nice meeting you, Jason and Octavian. Hopefully we'll meet again."

Returning the farewell, Octavian and I waved as the three of us walked the rest of the way up the hill, passed a sign that read Delphi Strawberry Farms, and then stopped next to a Pine Tree that had... A dragon guarding it.

"Hi, Peleus." Thalia said, petting the evidently friendly dragon on the head before turning to us. "Guys, this is Peleus— a dragon a child of Hephaestus I think it was tamed over the summer. He guards the Me Tree and the Golden Fleece— this is also the border to camp."

I furrowed my eyebrows, looking back at the field we just passed.

"Wh— so is the name of the strawberry farm a coincidence?"

"Hm? Oh, no." They clarified. "That's how the camp makes most of its money. Since Dionysus, or as we call him, Mr. D, is here but he's not allowed to grow grapes, they made a strawberry farm. It's a vine plant, it still grows really fast. Then mortals can come pick their own or we ship them out. Um..."

Thalia looked towards camp for moment, thinking.

"This is very important for your own well-being and safety," she continued as we walked further in the valley. "We don't have fauns, we have satyrs."

"There's a difference?" Octavian questioned, which was also my question.

"I don't know, but we call them satyrs and here they also aren't beggars," my sibling responded as the camp started to come into view, which made one thing very noticable. "They're very important to the camp— they help bring demigods and make the camp run smoothly. So be warned that if you call them fauns, you're probably going to get punched."

The camp didn't have a lot of kids. Or at least, not out and about.

"By the f— satyr?" I asked.

"Probably." She confirmed with a smile. "And trust me, if they decide to kick? Their hooves hurt, so I'd try being nice to them."

There was a message hidden in their tone: we'd be nice and not call them fauns or he'd beat us up.

And honestly? Thalia scared me a little bit, so I didn't want them to beat me up.

I know he wouldn't beat me up for no reason, but if I messed up? He wouldn't hesitate to mess me up.

She also carries the Aegis with her, which is... Terrifying.

"What else?" My sibling went on as we continued towards the one not-greek looking building: a big, white farmhouse. "Oh! It's Thursday, so we have Capture the Flag tomorrow night. Did you bring your armor with you?"

Her asking about armor in the same statement as capture the flag confused me.

"Wh... Yes. We both did because it's a training camp. I assumed we would train like you do or like the other Apollo campers would." I confirmed for the oldest of us three. "What's the big farm house? It seems... Out of place."

"This," Thalia answered as we got to the mentioned farmhouse. He motioned for us to go up the stairs. Sitting on the porch was three people— a boy a little older than me but younger than Thalia with curly dark hair and sharp features. Across from him was a girl who was the same age as the boy across from her. She had curly blonde hair, but based on how she was looking at the card game in front of her, I had a feeling she was anything but a dumb blonde. The man between them was older, middle aged. He also has dark curly hair but his features were a lot more round, including his torso, so I doubted he was related to the boy. He was wearing an atrocious animal print shirt, which clashed horrendously with the orange shirts the other two wore. "Is the Big House. Where we hold all of our meetings and where our Oracle is kept."

"Kept?" Octavian asked, audibly concerned by that last statement. "Like... Is it just their bedroom? They get to leave, right?"

Thalia gave him a weird look.

"Wh....oh. Yeah. I'll show you later."

Octavian and I shared a look, having a conversation in looks.

Do you think they just have a prisoner in the attic or basement?

Do you think their prophecy source is human?

Still seems sketchy.

True.

"Hey, Timothy, you're alive!" The adult man called out. I looked behind us, but nobody else was there. Thalia rolled his eyes. "Amelia told me you got new pronouns— find them at a thrift store or something? Where've you been? You usually leave for like, a night."

And then he shifted his gaze to Octavian and I, mostly focusing on me, making me feel like I might get struck by one of my father's lightning bolts for standing here.

Then, without a hello, he looked back to my older sibling.

"Do you just live to spite me and the horse?"

The horse... Would be Chiron.

And if that would be Chiron, then this is...

"Oh, you're not that special, old man," my older sibling said, taunting the god of wine who she said turns people into dolphins. "Don't give yourself that kind of credit."

I nudged them.

"Thalia, that's a god." I reminded her, stress rising because I didn't want this to be how I was introduced to a god for the first time. "You shouldn't talk to him like that."

And they chuckled, not saying anything else.

"A child of the Big Three that knows what respect is?" But being called out forced me to stiffen and stand at attention. "I really should send you back to California, but if I do, I'm sure Theodore here will just go back to get you, and plus I like you, you can stay. Maybe you can teach him and Peter a lesson or two about respect. What's your rank, kid?"

"Praetor, sir." I answered, which he seemed impressed by. "I was promoted early in the fall. This is a friend of mine, Octavian. He's with because we're curious about how this camp functions, and he's specifically curious about your prophecy source. He an augur."

Dionysus tilted his head, examining my best friend.

"Son of Apollo?"

"Descendant, sir, but yes. I'm also a descendant of Mercury, but it's less prevalent in me than it is my cousin's. I have connections to Phoebus Apollo on both sides of my family."

"How close is the connection?"

"My mother is a daughter of Apollo— my father's grandparents were children of Apollo and Mercury."

The god of wine hummed.

"Hm." He figured, looking down at the playing cards in his hands, throwing one on the table. "I suppose you can stay, too. I'm sure war is on the horizon, I don't want to start another one right now."

And just like that, Octavian and I could breathe again.

"Where's Luke?" The blonde haired girl asked. "I thought he'd come to introduce Jason."

Thalia shook their head.

"He didn't want to come into camp— he's still pissed with Chiron." Thalia supplemented, messing with the girls hair. "You should head to the camp border, though. There's a surprise for you there."

With that, the girl ran off in the direction we'd come from.

"Anyways," the god of wine said as he scowled at his cards and laid them on the table before looking back up at us, causing me to stiffen again. "You wanna know how camp functions? We'll start with the orientation video before you brats get a tour. Tyler."

Then he slapped the table next to him, causing the boy to jump.

"My name is Travis— there's another T name here, Mr. D. You could learn our names."

"Whatever, Timothy— go get uh... Go get Leo from Cabin 7 and tell him he has to lead archery lessons today. These two can stay in your cabin tonight since they aren't claimed, but they'll move to their cabins tomorrow since they seem to know who their ichor comes from. If you see Chiron, tell him to come here."

"Does that mean that what we talked about—"

"Shut up and go do your job, Mr. Robb."

Or not Timothy mouthed to himself as he stood up and shared an annoyed look with Thalia before exiting the Big House patio.

The god scowled at us.

"What are you still doing here?" He asked the three of us, putting a can of something called Diet Coke on the table he was sitting at. "Go give them a tour of show them the orientation film or something. I'm busy."

"Oh, yes, sorry to interrupt your fourteenth diet coke of the day," Thalia insisted, urging me and Octavian inside the Big House. "Come on, I'll show you guys around— you don't need the orientation film."

The inside of the Big House seemed cozy— there were some desks, but also a fireplace with some couches.

"So this is a where Mr. D and Chiron stay— don't ask what rooms are who's, I don't know." My older sibling began. "It's three stories— the Oracle is apparently in the attic but I've never been. We also have our counsel meetings in that room over there."

She pointed to a room, and while I couldn't see all of it, I could tell that it wasn't a hall big enough for a Senate.

"Are you sure that's not just a room for table tennis?" Octavian questioned.

Thalia rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, I don't know why it's a tennis table, but that's the table we sit around for meetings. There's only a dozen of us at most, so we don't need much space."

"A dozen of you? Older members don't come in for meetings?"

"Older... Jason, remember how I was shocked that you guys had an entire city to live in? We don't live long enough to want to come back for meetings." He reminded me, which... Yeah. It was one of the reasons I'd wanted to come and investigate. "There's one, maybe two counselors per cabin in special situations, one cabin for each Olympian."

"And counselors are elected?" I asked as we made our way out of a side door that went right into the camps infirmary.

Thinking to herself for a moment, Thalia said hi to somebody in passing.

"Um... I guess in most cabins, there is probably some sort of vote." He told me, shrugging. "I've been a one person cabin until now, so I was just automatically counselor. If there's multiple people in the cabin, I know there's a list of requirements that can automatically promote you to being counselor if you want, but I don't know that that list is."

"If you've been on a quest or you've been at camp for longer than like, three years." One of the workers chimed in. He was a little older than me— maybe 16. "I've never been on a quest, but I've been here the longest, so I just sort of took over after Celeste left for college. Did you find more demigods or something? I thought it was just the uh, Italian kids that you brought with Grover."

"Hm? Oh, these two aren't brand new, they know their parentage and whatever." My sibling filled this dude in, then nudged my best friend. "this one will be staying with you— names Octavian. This other loser is my little brother. They're just here for... Not forever, I assume, but a week or two? They're from out west."

"Out... Oh, yeah! I remember you asking Chiron about that when you first woke up. That's cool you found him!"

He shifted his attention to Octavian and I.

"I'm Michael Yew, by the way." He introduced himself with a smile, and with how bright he smiled, I had no issue believing he was the son of Apollo. "Counselor of the Apollo cabin. If you have any questions, Octavian, just let me know. I'll leave here soon to get a bunk set up for you in the cabin."

"Oh, thank you." Octavian responded, sounding a little put off by this kids friendly attitude. "Is there... Is there anything I have to do in order to like, be accepted into the cabin?"

Michael shared a look with one of his siblings before looking back at descendant of Apollo.

"To be accepted... Do you think we like, haze our siblings?" Michael asked, confused. "Because we don't."

"No, not like that," Octavian clarified, shaking his head. "I mean that you guys don't need any letters or recommendation? Any referrals?"

"N... No. You've met the requirements already, Octavian. We're all dyslexic, why would we want to read letters of recommendation?"

"Do you guys need letters of recommendation at Camp Jupiter?" My sibling questioned.

I nodded my head.

"Well, you don't need them, but it's really hard to progress through the ranks if you don't have any." I explained. "Your referrals and recommendations will determine which cohort you join— first being the best, fifth being the worst."

"And which cohort are you guys in?"

"Octavian's in the first, I'm I'm the fifth."

"You could've been in the first or second," my best friend reminded me. "My parents said they'd write you each a letter and I'm sure at least one of our teachers would've."

"They still would've knocked me down to third or fourth with how my introduction speech went— oh, and also because they all figured I was a walking time bomb." I pointed out, shrugging. "It's not like the Fifth Cohort is bad, it's just full of people who don't have connections to other demigods or descendants. And either way, it doesn't matter anymore."

Octavian rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Mr. Praetor Grace."

Is Octavian upset that I got promoted before he did?

It's not like he's been aiming to become Praetor— he's focused on becoming the primary augur of camp. But I guess that doesn't change the fact that we always joked about becoming praetors once we were both at Camp Jupiter.

But even then, it's not like I can control the fact that Reyna showed up and flew threw the ranks.

"...anyways." Thalia said after a beat of silence. "This is the infirmary, so if you get hurt, come here— the Apollo kids are pretty good at their jobs. Let's go outside— I'll show you the training grounds."

•••

The camp was really nice, though the cabins looked a bit odd. Like, on their own, they made sense.

But together? It was almost an eyesore to look at them.

Walking up to one of the few normal cabins, the only indication that it belonged to any god was the cadecus on the banner above the door.

"This is where you'll stay tonight," Thalia informed us, knocking on the door. "Cabin 11— Hermes."

"I thought we stayed with the cabin that aligned with our godly heritage."

He nodded.

"You do, but you guys haven't been claimed." She explained. "And you said you wanted see how camp runs here— almost all demigods stay here before being claimed by their godly parent."

"But... Why Hermes?" I asked.

"God of travellers," Octavian reminded me. "How long are they usually here?"

Thalia shrugged.

"Depends on the kid." They insisted, sighing. "I have to go, but you guys can meet some other kids and get set up for the night. I'll see you at dinner. You'll train with the Hermes cabin today— don't be an ass."

And with that, my older sibling left us to our devices as Timothy answered the door.

"Can we— oh, new kids." He said, opening the door the rest of way for us to step in. "Travis mentioned you'd be here. Come on in— I'm your other counselor, Connor. Find a spot for your stuff and then you guys can come with us to swordfighting. Did Thalia get you guys any weapons yet?"

Who's Travis?

"We have weapons." I assured the demigod.

Octavian looked around the cabin and asked what I'd argue was a vital question.

"Where... Can we put our stuff?" And at first the question seemed dumb since Connor just told us to put it wherever. "is there multiple rooms or...?"

But looking beyond the counselor, I understood what he was really asking: is there room for us here?

In the middle of the common area in the Hermes cabin there was a hearth, which was cool. There was a couple kids sitting around it. To the left there was a big TV with some random chairs and next to the TV stand there was a handful of rolled up sleeping bags. To the right was a couch against the back side of the wall, and to the right and left of the couch there was a bunk bed. Behind the hearth I could see around 6 beds, all of which had stuff or people on them. All together, assuming the couch pulled out, I spotted sleeping spots for around a dozen kids.

There was easily 2 dozen in here.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, but the rooms are all full right now." Connor answered Octavian's question. "Just... Put your stuff down and we'll figure out sleeping arrangements when we get back after campfire— there's a couple other kids coming today and one that left for Christmas, so we'll figure it out then. What are your guy's names?"

"Oh, yes, sorry!" I apologized, extending my hand out to shake Connors. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter."

Connor froze.

"Grace?"

I nodded my head.

"You're Thalia's little brother?"

I nodded again.

"Yeah!" I confirmed for the son of Hermes. "Thalia and their boyfriend came to Camp Jupiter this last week. I'm just here to see how your guys' camp works compared to ours. Try to re-establish a positive relationship between the camps."

"Oh." Conor responded, never shaking my hand, his expression dropping before looking over to Octavian. "And you are? Luke got a long lost brother or something?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm not related to Thalia or Luke at all." My best friend defended himself. "I came here with Jason— my name is Octavian. I'm a descendant of Apollo."

"A descendant... So you don't know who your parent is?"

He shook his head.

"No, I know both of my parents— my mother is a daughter of Apollo."

Connor opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Got it." He said, looking back to the rest of the campers. "Cabin 11, fall in! We're going to be late for swordfighting!'

Octavian and I shared a look, and it was pretty clear between us:

Connor of Cabin 11 didn't like us.

Chapter 69: Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me

Octavian Augustus

There we're 3 people in the Hermes cabin who were actually nice to us.

One of them was Travis, who's name is not Timothy. Apparently Dionysus just gets everyone's names wrong on purpose for reasons nobody really knows. Another was a girl named Julia who was a couple years older than us, closer to Thalias age. She brought us to the camp shop so we weren't sleeping on barren floors tonight.

The last one was a kid a couple years younger than Jason and I. His name was Nico, and he talked a lot.

Walking into the training arena, I have to admit that their architecture was pretty cool. There was a couple people already here- Chiron the centaur, who was speaking with Thalia on one end of the arena. Closer to us, sitting at the edge of one of the platforms, was a boy around our age with dark hair and tan skin. He seemed to be polishing his sword while he talked to a fa... Satyr that was sitting next to him. They were leaning against each other.

"Oh! These are my friends!" Nico told me as we walked in. He pulled on my sweater sleeve. "Come on! They're really cool, I'll introduce you guys!"

And just like that, Jason and I were dragged off by this 10 year old to meet two strangers.

"Percy! Grover!" Nico yelled to the two boys. They looked up and stopped their discussion. The satyr smiled at Nico. The boy tried to.

He looked exhausted. The bags under his eyes were dark and the smile he went for didn't make it to his eyes.

"Hey, Nico, what's up?" The boy on the left asked him, sitting up. "Make some friends in Cabin 11?"

Excited because I guess we're friends now, Nico nodded his head.

"Mhm!" The younger boy confirmed, his happiness almost contagious. I caught Jason smile at his excitement, causing me to smile a little. "They're new like....not new new but new here and they're like me because they know their parents but they have to stay in the Hermes cabins and um... Yeah. This is Octavian and this is Jason. They're also together like you and Grover are! Isn't that cool?"

We're also...

Looking down, I noticed a small detail I'd missed when first observing the two boys in front of us.

They were holding hands.

My hand flew to my mouth because a lot of people have assumed or joked that Jason and I are together.

But it's never been a complete stranger before.

Like, I wish, but...

"Oh, no, Nico, not..." Jason said, placing a hand on the younger demigods shoulder, the statement finally processing for him. My best friend let a breath out. "Octavian and I travelled here together- we're not dating."

Nico looked up at the son of Jupiter, confused.

"You're not?"

What if I just kill myself?

Like an hour ago when Michael Yew told me that all you had to do to be accepted into a cabin was be a demigod, I was really hoping it'd be like a fresh slate with kids. They can't automatically despise me for coming from a family of demigods. They don't know anything about me.

But no. Without knowing anything about us, this ten year old still made the same assumption that every other Roman camper made last year after I came out to my parents.

"No, Nico." Jason said softly, and it's like getting my heart pulled out of my chest at the hands of my best friend, who I can't even let myself be mad at. I looked down. "We're not. Octavian's my best friend, not my boyfriend. I can't imagine a world where he's anything but my best friend. Plus, I'm straight."

You could've just said you were straight, I thought to myself. You didn't need to add the other stuff.

Nico frowned.

"Oh." The short demigod responded. "okay. I thought you guys could go on double dates together, but I guess not. That's okay, sorry that I thought the wrong thing. Jason, this is Percy, he's really cool and almost killed the manticore before Lady Artemis showed up and this is Grover, his boyfriend who is really nice and better at Mythomagic than Percy."

Percy rolled his eyes before looking to my best friend.

"Jason? Thalia's brother?'

Skeptical, the son of Jupiter nodded his head.

"Does Thalia have some sort of reputation here or...?"

"Oh, come on!" One of the kids from Cabin 11 yelled, apparently just noticing us even though Nico literally yelled Percy and Grovers names out when he dragged us over here. "Do we really have to train with Jackson?"

Not answering Jason's question, Percy looked down and pursed his lips. He closed his eyes.

"Yeah!" Another kid called out. "What is he even doing here? It's the middle of winter."

"It's bad enough he came back this summer," a third demigod agreed. "I mean, how hasn't he killed himself by now? I thought he-"

A hand wrapped around his throat silenced the third demigod before he was thrown to the grown and held there with the tip of a spear being held to his throat and a boot on his chest.

"Would you like to finish that statement?" Thalia Grace threatened as I looked back and forth between Percy and Thalia because I didn't... Know what to do. "or would you like to live to see dinner? I'd think very carefully about it if I were you, ass hat."

"Oh, what's he going to do? Kill himself?" The kid snapped back at the child of Zeus. "it would be a joy, the camp would cel-"

Jason turned his head to me.

What is wrong with this kid? He mouthed to me. I shrugged, because I didn't know.

He had some gaul, I'll give him that much.

And I'll even give it to Thalia: he didn't bluff.

Although her spear didn't draw any blood (yet), she stepped down a little harder and with how quiet the rest of the campers had become, it was hard to miss the sound of his rib breaking.

"Thalia!" Chiron and Connor both interjected.

They didn't move.

"Well?" She challenged. "do you have something else to say?"

This time, the centaur grabbed the child of Zeus to pull them away from the demigod on the ground. Connor rushed to his sibling's side while I realized Travis was walking towards us.

"You... You guys are dismissed." Chiron decided. "I now have matters to discuss with Ms. Grace here, so you have some free time before dinner. Please don't set the camp on fire- I'll send a medic."

Walking (trotting?) away, the immortal trainer more or less dragged Thalia with him, which I think answered Jason's question about her reputation.

Looking back to Percy Jackson, his head still hung low. His eyes remained closed as Grover held him close.

"Percy?" Travis asked, worry evident in his voice as he looked down at the demigod that I think was the same age as him. "Are-"

"Fine." Percy forced out, not looking up at the son of Hermes. "I'm fine, Travis. I'm still wearing the grippy socks they gave me, but it's fine. I'm totally fine."

What are grippy socks?

Whatever that are, they seemed to indicate that he wasn't doing well.

"O...kay. Got it, loud and clear." But despite his obvious lies, Travis didn't push Percy's claims. "Just wanted to... Yeah. Sorry. I'll go... Talk to the others. Sorry that they... Said... Those things."

Percy scoffed but didn't respond.

"Come on, Nico," Travis told the young demigod. "Let's head back to the cabin, okay?"

"But-" Nico started before realizing that it was a command more than it was a suggestion. He frowned "Okay."

After a few moments more, Percy pulled himself together as if a kid didn't just tell him to kill himself. Or that he should've killed himself, I guess. He looked back up at Jason.

"Sorry about that, the Hermes kids really don't like me," he insisted, which I could tell. "Um... Thalia's cool, but does have a bit of a reputation. I guess when the first thing you do is argue with Mr. D and Chiron after being in a coma for like seven years, it makes sense. You guys know Reyna and Hylla then?"

"Hylla never came to camp, but we know Reyna." I confirmed. "Are you guys friends?"

He shrugged.

"Sorta? We were, but we haven't spoken much since she left New York." Percy said, which seemed fair. "I suppose drachmas are hard to come by since you guys use a different currency, right? But we were friendly, at least. I was one of the demigods that helped her off Circe's Island."

"Oh!" Jason exclaimed. "Which one exactly? Sorry, she hasn't talked about it in detail so I don't know names."

"I'm the one that punched Circe."

"OH!" The son of Jupiter said, louder this time. He looked Percy up and down, now with some caution. "W... Why?"

"She was being transphobic." Percy explained, which was a good excuse, for as much as I didn't expect it. "made one of our other friends feel like absolute shit, so I punched her and we left. Figured it was better than getting turned into pigs."

"Didn't you also cut her?" Grover asked him.

"Well... Yes, but that was mostly to keep her down and distracted. It wasn't like what I did to Ares or anything."

Jason and I shared a look.

"I'm... I'm afraid to ask," I started. "What did you do to the god of war?"

Percy debated his options.

"Um... It's a long story." He insisted, which wasn't much of a surprise. "We just... Don't like each other. What are you guys doing here, though?"

Filling him in on our hopes for the trip, Percy assured me that I didn't want to see the camps source of prophecy.

"Wh... Why not?" I asked.

He sighed.

"You'll... You'll see."

A little terrified by that prospect, Jason and I dismissed ourselves to find Cabin 11 back in the cabin.

As she said earlier, Julia just brought us to the camp store once we got back.

"Are you sure there's room for us in the cabin?" I asked the daughter of Hermes, who was opening the back door to the camp store which I suspected to be illegal. "I know that Connor said we'd figure it out, but if it's too much, Jason and I can sleep elsewhere."

"It's fine, don't worry." Julia insisted, taking a breath. "I mean it's... It is what it is. It's cool having new people in the cabin, and it's not nearly as bad now as it is in the summer, but..."

Crouching down, Julia grabbed a blanket and handed it to me. It was soft.

"You guys are here to experience the camp experience, right?"

We both nodded our heads.

"Then this is important," she insisted. "95% of the kids at camp stay in Cabin 11 for at least a day or two- we try to make it fun and to keep those kids distracted from how much their life is about to change, but... There's always more kids than beds in the cabin. Our old counselor, Luke, was really good at welcoming new kids. Connor and Travis are... Still learning. Travis wants to run the cabin like Luke did and Connor doesn't. I usually end up being their mediator."

"Then why not build a larger cabin?" Jason questioned. "I know it's not always that simple, but... It would solve the bed issue."

Julia laughed.

"Travis is trying to get that to happen, but I doubt it ever will." The daughter of Hermes answered, which sounded awful. "You guys said you met Luke, right? Thalia's boyfriend?"

We both nodded.

"Yeah, he spent almost his entire career here trying to convince Chiron to let him do exactly that- the centaur never budged." She explained something that put into perspective how Luke and Thalia talked about the camp. "Luke and Chiron argued a lot about how unclaimed and minor demigods were treated, but nothing actually changed. Luke made them feel as welcome as he could, but most of them still had to sleep on the floor and were never treated equally to the Hermes kids. Connor and Travis... Travis wants them to get their own cabins because he wants them to be viewed equally as demigods. Connor wants them to get their own cabin so that way he doesn't have to deal with them in the cabin."

I opened my mouth before quickly closing it again.

After Michael told me I'd met all of the requirements to stay in Cabin 7 tomorrow, I thought it was nice that I didn't have to do anything extra to just be accepted into the place where I belonged.

But I guess there were still demigods that got the short end of the stick.

"How long does it usually take?" I asked. "For a demigod to get claimed?"

Julia shrugged.

"It's hard to say. It's usually either within the first two weeks or it might take years." She answered my question, frowning. "Um... Yeah. It's hard to say. We've actually lost a lot of campers that we're either unclaimed or claimed by minor gods. After Luke left they just... Didn't feel at home anymore. So it's not as crowded as it used to be, but it's still overpopulated. How are you guys sorted out west?"

"Oh, it's... A cohort system based on like, a lot of stuff." Jason insisted. "There's five cohorts and the more recommendations or referrals you have, the better of a cohort you get into, which... It's not the best, but everyone does have a bed. Is it nice to live with your siblings?"

The daughter of Hermes nodded.

"It makes it feel more like family in a kind of fucked up way." She told us, which made sense. She gave each of us a sleeping bag. "plus, it usually makes for mostly friendly competition between the cabins. The Ares and Athena cabin are always going at each other for whatever reason. As I'm sure you noticed, most of the kids in our cabin really don't like Percy- he's a one man cabin."

"Really?" I asked. "Which cabin?"

"Three!" She answered, pointing it out to me as we left the store. "Poseidon. I doubt he's staying the cabin right now- I'm sure he's been staying in Grover's cabin since he's just here for a little while until he goes back to school. But the other kids are pretty mean to him, especially after him and Travis were sort of together for a while and they broke up. They've been mean since he was claimed, though- when he was still here, Luke had to do one-on-one training with him because everyone else refused to."

No wonder the kid thought he would've killed himself. I thought to myself. If I was ousted that explicitly, I wouldn't handle it well.

Not that I have many friends at Camp Jupiter but... People are nice.

"That's... Awful." I commented.

She nodded.

"Why are they so mean?" Jason asked, but then it hit me.

"How old is he?"

"14." Julia answered, confirming that Percy was at least a year older than Jason, making him the child of the prophecy Thalia had mentioned. "Most kids don't know the prophecy, but they know enough to know that a child of the Big Three... Brings trouble."

"I suppose... Does he know the prophecy?"

She nodded her head, waving to the demigod we were talking about as he stood outside cabin 9, talking to a bigger, dark skinned guy who was probably a year or two older than him. His boyfriend was there as well.

"He's known for a while, I think? He doesn't talk about it much because nobody talks about it much." Julia told us, which made sense. Jason has also known for a while. "Chiron didn't want him knowing- I don't know about Mr. D. But he figured out some of it on his own and the rest of it he got between like three different people who knew different things about the prophecy. If there's a quest issued with this whole Artemis thing that's going on, I'm sure he'll go on it."

"What? Is he like unable to share the spotlight?" Jason asked.

Julia looked to Percy, then to her cabin.

"No, that's not it." She corrected the son of Jupiter. "I think he's trying to save the rest of us from the pain that we don't realize comes with the quest. That or maybe he thinks that is he goes on the quest and dies, then at least the prophecy won't happen for another year."

"Seems selfless." I commented.

She nodded.

"Very. Come on, I'll show you guys the best sun spot in the cabin."

•••

We played a lot of Mythomagic that night with Nico di Angelo, our sleeping bags not far from his bed in the back half of the cabin.

Sleeping next to Jason was low key hell, I won't lie.

He's not touchy or cuddly or anything, I could just feel every inch that was in between us since we were right next to each other and we haven't had a sleepover like this since we were kids.

The next day, Jason moved to Cabin 1 with Thalia, but I decided to stay in Cabin 11 for at least another night. After all, Julia said that most kids are here for anywhere from two weeks to multiple years. If my trip here is a week, I can spend a couple days here.

Also, I'm technically not a half blood, and I have never been claimed by Apollo because my family is so well known, so according to the fine print, this is where I'm supposed to be.

We actually got to train the next day, which was cool. I learned that the Greeks fight very differently than we Romans do, so my sparring partner and I both did awful with each other. I had a good round or two and they kicked my ass the other times.

Archery I was okay at. I've never had a supernatural ability to be good at it, but it's always made sense to me. I just don't usually use it because we never use long distance weapons.

The rock climbing wall is where I debated the sanity of the Greeks.

It's not like it was just any old climbing wall. If it's was, that wouldn't be the issue.

The wall had lava on it.

Like, actual lava.

And despite that, I saw people shoving each other to be next in line.

There was even a betting corner where kids were trading their version of denarii (it also starts with a d) over people racing besides each other.

Some of the contestants included satyrs, which I found odd when I saw them trading money because my initial thought was that the satyr would take the money.

But then I saw one of them climb up the wall and was reminded of the fact that goats are insanely good climbers and I felt bad for my initial judgement.

I think that's one of the weirdest things to me so far: seeing how their nature spirits interact with the camp. The satyrs are always out and about and friendly with the demigods (hell, Percy's dating a satyr) and from what I've gathered so far, they're important to bringing demigods here?

Plus, the harpies that hold curfew are terrifying but effective. And having a dragon to guard the Golden Fleece and nature spirits helping at meals...

Thalia was right- it feels a lot more like a summer camp and less like a military camp.

But so far, I liked that.

As she herself admitted, there's definitely downsides- the cabin sorting system isn't great at the moment is the biggest thing I've heard of.

But I was actually having fun, even as somebody staying in an overcrowded cabin full of mostly strangers.

I think part of that was the lack of formalities. Sure, they have a counsel made up of a dozen demigods, but they're still just regular campers. There isn't any title to call them.

Don't get me wrong, I still love Camp Jupiter.

But we could stand to have more fun.

After rock climbing, we had lunch, and Nico basically dragged me to sit with Percy and a handful of other demigods.

I'm not sure how long Nico's been here, he didn't have the beaded necklace that everyone else did, but he seemed to be like the little brother of the table we sat at for lunch.

Thankfully, Thalia was there, which meant Jason was there.

"Hey! How's the Apollo cabin?" Thalia asked as Nico and I sat down. Next to Thalia was Percy and Grover, the couple we met yesterday. "I know they get up stupid early every day, so good luck with that."

"Hm? Oh, I haven't gone to the Apollo cabin yet." I told them, initially confusing the Grace siblings. "I might in a day or two, but since I'm a descendant, Apollo never claimed me, technically speaking, so I'm... Just testing the cabin out. Travis is cool, Connor..."

Speak of the devil, and I noticed him giving us a weird look from the table he sat at.

Thalia looked to where my gaze landed and flicked him off.

"Yeah, that's probably my fault." The child of Zeus explained the son of Hermes' coldness towards Jason and I yesterday and today. "It's not that he doesn't like you- he literally doesn't even fucking know you. But for whatever reason after Luke left camp to go to college, Connor convinced himself that he's an awful and evil person, so he automatically hates me, and by extension, probably doesn't want to trust or like you guys because Jason's my brother and you're his best friend."

I looked down at my plate of food, Jason groaned because it wasn't the first time his sibling had illuded to that.

"Makes sense, but... How many times do I have to say it, Thalia? Octavian and I are not romantically involved whatsoever."

Thalia rolled his eyes, looking at their brother, then at me, then back to their brother.

"It's not about how many times, Jason, it's about saying it in a way that I'll believe it. You're doing an awful job so far."

He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, Thalia."

"It's alright, you guys can join the group of people Connor Stoll and, by extension, half of the Hermes cabin doesn't like." Percy added on. "Travis is cool, though, and so is Julia."

"Yeah..." I said, recalling what happened at the training grounds yesterday. "Wh... Why do they hate you?"

Percy shrugged.

"I was born."

I could relate to him about that.

Again, I get some great things out of my family being my family.

Friends is not one of those things.

Towards the end of dinner, Chiron rose and stomped his hoof on the pavilion floor, earning everyone's attention.

"Campers and hunters!" The immortal trainer called for attention. "As you finish your meals, we draw near to the time most look forward to as we have visitors- Capture the Flag. We will begin in 20 minutes, so make sure you have any desired weapons and magical items ready. That is all."

"What are the teams this week?" A kid from another table asked.

"Hm? Oh! Yes! I suppose some of you have never participated while the Hunters are here." Chiron responded and smiled. "Since it's the off season, it will be campers versus hunters."

And while I don't know what that really means, I can tell you one thing: people started to freak out (in a good way).

As everyone's freaking out, a girl a little older than me walked over to our table and nudged Grover.

"Hey, guys, where's Annabeth?" She asked. "She told me she was strategizing for capture the flag all week."

Percy shrugged.

"I haven't... seen her all day." Grover told the girl, a wave of panic hitting him and Percy. "um... Yeah. I don't know where she is."

"Relax, Grover, she's fine." Thalia insisted. "Let me IM Luke- he dropped us off at camp yesterday and she went to talk to him, I think she might be in the city with him. If nothing else, she can give us the strategy."

Pulling a small mirror and a bronze coin out of her jacket pocket, Thalia gave Percy a look.

"Hm?" He hummed, and then realized what she had in her hands. "Oh, right. Sorry."

Without anyone moving, the liquid in Thalia's cup started to mist.

"Alright." They said, taking a breath. "o, great Iris, please accept my offer and show me Luke Castellan in Manhattan, New York."

Throwing the coin into the rainbow that appeared from the misting liquid, it disappeared and a few moments later Thalia's boyfriend was in the rainbow.

I'm not going to lie: that's a crazy thing to have in comparison to our scrolls.

"Wh- oh, hey, Thals." Luke said with a smile. "Everything okay? What's up?"

"Hey!" Thalia said back. "and I hope so, but I just wanted to check: did Annabeth go into the city with you yesterday?"

But against our hopes, Luke seemed confused by her question.

"Wh... I mean yeah. We went out for dinner and I showed her the apartment." The son of Hermes insisted, his expression slowly falling. "She stayed over, but left this morning at like... 7:30? Not long after I got up. I offered to drive her to camp, but she said she'd be fine. Did she not...?"

Luke stopped himself.

"Did she not make it back to camp?"

I raised my hand slightly.

"Sorry, I just... Want to ask in case I've seen her." I cut in. "who's Annabeth?"

"Annabeth is... The girl who was at the Big House when we got here." Thalia confirmed my suspicions. "Taller, blond hair, gray eyes."

"I'm... Going to go check the Athena cabin." Percy insisted, looking like he was having a hard time breathing. "um... Yeah... I'll meet you guys... For capture the flag..."

"I'll check the library and the classroom," the girl who walked over volunteered. "Thalia, can you ask Chiron or Mr. D if they know anything?"

As Percy walked away, Grover following him, Thalia slowly nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'll... I'll ask. Thank you, Clarisse." Thalia voiced, clenching his fists. "Um... Yeah, cool. Thank you."

"I'll try to call her, okay?" Luke suggested. "She has a cell phone for emergencies that her dad got her- I'll try calling it and if she answers, I'll call back, okay? I'll see if the Jackson's heard from her at all."

There was a pause, Thalia not responding or moving as Clarisse left for the library.

"She'll be okay, Thalia." Luke promised his date mate, who took a breath at the reminder. "She's been on multiple quests and we literally found her on the streets- she can hold her own."

Insisting that they knew that, the child of Zeus told their boyfriend that they were just worried before ending the Iris message.

"Okay," Thalia started. "I'm going to go talk to Mr. D and Chiron- if you guys want to do anything quick before Capture the Flag, now would be the time. Just... Follow the crowd."

"O... Okay." Jason responded. "are you sure you don't want any help? Is there anything we can do?"

Shaking her head, Thalia insisted that there were already multiple people looking for her so we should just focus on getting ready for capture the flag.

With the child of Zeus heading to the head table (which was a normal table but Chiron and Mr. D were sitting at it), Jason and I took a second to look around the pavilion before deciding that we might as well follow the crowd.

After all, who knows- maybe Annabeth was in it.

Usually, during a case like this, Jason would be talking to other demigods along the way, trying to spread awareness or learn more about the situation. That's his whole job as Praetor in these cases.

But right now he was quiet.

"Hey," I said, nudging my best friend. "You okay?"

Slowly, he nodded.

"Sorry," he apologized, even though he didn't have to. "I was just thinking about my mom- Thalia seems really worried about Annabeth. Makes me wonder how worried Mom was about us before she passed."

I flashed him a sad smile, knowing that that worry stemmed from a larger issue for Jason.

"I'm sorry that you never got to meet her, Jason." I said, and he wouldn't meet my gaze. "Or, that you couldn't meet her in memory. Parents are... Complicated. But you still have Thalia, and you know how much they missed you."

In the time I spoke, Jason steeled his expression, making me sad.

"Yeah. I suppose."

I frowned.

"You're still allowed to feel sad or nostalgic for it, Jace." I reminded the son of Jupiter, who seemed skeptical of the idea. I considered offering him a hand, but it felt like a bad idea. "you being Praetor doesn't mean that you have to lock all of your feelings away. Plus, we're not even at Camp Jupiter right now- these kids don't care about our ranks. If you're sad about learning that your mom's dead, be sad. If you're worried about Thalia, be worried. You don't have to force it away. It'll come back eventually if you do."

And, as always, Jason just rolled his eyes.

"I'm perfectly fine and capable of managing my own emotions, Octavian," but I've heard much better lies even from Jason, who rarely lies. "I let myself feel them for a little bit and then I move on. It's fine."

Not knowing if he'd do anything with it, I put my hand palm up in between Jason and I was we came to a stop with the crowd near the edge of the woods.

"No, it's not." I insisted upon something that he refuses to listen to, my hands remaining empty. "Only letting yourself feel it for a little bit and then forcing yourself to move on isn't healthy. I'm worried, Jason."

My best friends expression turned sour, looking me up and down.

"Worried? For what?" He asked, as if I didn't just get done telling him. He took a step away from me. "I already said I'm fine. I'm going to go talk to some of the others here and ask them if there's any strategy yet to see how I can help. You should go see if the Apollo cabin needs help."

"But I'm..." I said as Jason walked away, putting my hands back to my sides. "not in their cabin. Or a healer."

He didn't hear the end of it, though.

"Woah, there, Octavian, you doing alright?" Travis asked as he walked up to me with the Apollo counselor. "It looks like you just got rejected. You and Jason okay, or do we need to find you guys a relationship therapist?"

"A..." I shook my head. "I mean, we're not together, so no. And I guess you could call it a rejection, but it's not that kind of rejection- he's just rejecting the fact that, as his best friend, I have the right to be worried when he's doing things that aren't good for him."

Travis raised an eyebrow.

"You sure? Because if you're worried about getting judged, I'm bi. Percy and I used to be a thing. If you guys are together, it's okay."

Running my hands down my face, I wondered if I had somehow died on the plane ride here and was now in the fields of punishment.

"What... Makes you think we're together?"

Travis shrugged.

"You guys seem close in a way that like, slightly different than normal best friends, I don't know." He insisted, which was a fair analysis. "It could also just be that you guys are the only people here that know each other, but I thought I noticed something last night. Like a tension or something, I don't know. Maybe that's just me."

Rolling my eyes, I sighed.

"Oh no, don't worry, there's a tension." I promised the counselor of the Hermes cabin as more kids started to roll in. "The tension is just that a year ago a rumor went out that I had a crush on him after I came out to my parents as bi and he literally can't imagine a world or a reality where we're together because we're just best friends and he told everyone that and most of the time he can laugh or just roll his eyes when people ask or joke about us being a couple, but lately it's been irritating him and I never know how to handle it. That coupled with my genuine concern about him repressing his emotions just... Makes him really pushy at times."

Travis and Michael shared a look.

"Oooooh." The two of them said in unison before Travis went on. "I see. So it's unrequited."

"It's-" but I honestly didn't have it in me to lie about it and argue with someone I barely know. "I mean, yeah, whatever, but that's still not the point. The point is that Jason doesn't engage in healthy behaviors and refuses to listen when I try to help him with them or when I point out that whatever he's doing isn't good for himself."

"And yet he's still a man," Michael insisted, which... Is barely true. "Come on, Travis and I will show you the best places to hide for an ambush on the Hunters and we can trade awful romance stories."

Smiling slightly, I was hesitant, but took the offer once I saw that Jason was talking with some other kids from either the Ares cabin or the Athena cabin, smiling himself.

I wasn't sure if I believed his smile, but I couldn't say mine was the most authentic, either.

After Chiron announced the rules and the start of capture the flag, I took off with Travis and Michael into the woods, keeping a sword in my hand just in case we get jumped by a hunter.

"Don't worry, man, the hunters won't come for us." Michael insisted. "They only ever go for the Ares, Athena, and any kids that look super strong. Which, no offense..."

"No, it's fine, I've always been kind of scrawny." I reassured the son of Apollo. "What's the point of Capture the Flag anyways? I thought that was like, a child's game."

"Played normally yeah, but we use it to practice fighting in battles and whatever." Travis agreed. "That's the point of using weapons and magical objects. It's usually fun- especially when we get Clarisse and Annabeth against each other. But neither Michael or I are big fighters, so we usually observe and maybe sabotage the other team. You're not a fighter, are you?"

I shook my head.

"I mean, I'm still decent with my sword, I can definitely hold my own," I insisted, hearing a group to our right start to collide with one another. "but my primary focus, I guess you could call it, is working in the auguries."

They shared a look.

"In... In where?"

"In... I'm training to be the primary camp augur." I told the two Greek demigods. "So if people need a prophecy or if there's a funeral that needs rites done or... anything like that, I'm in charge of it."

"You're an Oracle?"

"An Oracle? I guess technically— I give the prophecy, but not in the same way as a one of Apollo's priestesses or Pythias would."

"Then how do you get prophecies?" Michael asked. "You don't have the gift of prophecy?"

"Well I... I do, but I'm not the host of one of Apollo's oracles. We primarily get our prophecies from the Sibylline Books— or, what's left of them."

I paused.

"So you guys don't have the rest of the Sibylline Books?"

"I— no." Michael confirmed. "I... Thought they were all destroyed."

"So how do you get your prophecies?"

"We have— OH MY GODS WHAT IS THAT?"

Looking behind me, it didn't take long to see what caused the 16 year old to scream, because there were even more screams coming from that directions.

An... I couldn't call her and old lady because I'm not sure she was alive, but some sort of skeleton covered in what might've once been a dress seemed to wander through the woods, green smoke crowding it's feet and billowing out of its mouth and eyes as it left a trail behind it.

"Follow it." Travis insisted, and we did because... Because I guess we had a death wish.

Reaching a stream, where most of the demigods, along with Chiron were, everyone had fallen silent, staring at the skeletal mummy.

"Is that...?" A camper asked, losing their voice.

"Im... Impossible." Chiron insisted, looking mildly horrified. "it's never left the attic before."

The mummy turned in my direction, sending a chill down my back before looking past me.

Or, I think it looked past me.

It didn't have eyes.

Before I could process where it came from, a needle flew threw my ear, a voice following it even as I covered my ears.

I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice rang through the camp, deafening anyone within the woods. Speaker of the Prophecies of Phebous Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

The mummy stepped towards one of the hunters who wore a silver circlet.

Approach, Seeker, and ask.

The girl— a hunter that must've been 15 for the last 1500 years, stepped forward.

She swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

Opening its mouth wider, the green smoke coming from the Oracle (is this the original Delphi?) started to take shape, forming into a mountain ridge, where a young girl was in chains. She was kneeling, hands raised as if she was fending off an attacker.

The girl opened her mouth, but it was the Oracle's voice that spoke.

"Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in a land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parents hand."

And, as if it has always been there, the Oracle stopped billowing smoke and sat down on a rock.

As everyone slowly removed their hands from their ears, I saw Thalias expression fall as her and Percy shared a look before looking back to Chiron.

"I need all councilors, Senate members, and former questers to the Big House immediately," Chiron announced, and I realized that Senate members would mean Jason and I. "the rest of you can head to campfire— we will call the game a draw."

"But sir—"

"Percy and Grover can carry the Oracle back to the Big House." The centaur cut the demigod off. "You're all dismissed."

•••
BIIIIIG Update (I needed to get the ball rolling on titans Curse omg)

Chapter 70: How Long Cam We Keep This Under Wraps?

Percy Jackson

Tell me: what did I ever do to Chiron?

Or Grover, for that matter, because the Oracle is all bones, but she could've easily been draped over his horse half.

I may have accidentally slammed her head on the attic door trying to keep her from dragging on the ground.

"Shit!" I called out. "did I break anything?"

"Her heads still on, so I think it's fine." Grover insisted, thinking to himself as we put her back in her chair (we should chain her down if she's going to be walking around). "Do you think..."

His voice drifted. I reached out, offering him a hand.

Looking down, Grover smiled and took it.

"Thanks." He said. "I just was wondering... With these ancient powers and beings awakening or becoming more powerful, I guess... Maybe they're not all bad. Like... Delphi isn't bad."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you thinking about Pan?"

Slowly, my boyfriend nodded his head.

"I... I've let the trail go cold." The satyr insisted, which was true. "And I know that last time... Last time, things didn't go as planned and you were super worried and I just... I feel like I'm missing something, but..."

"But what?" I asked as we started to make our way back downstairs.

"But I... Don't want to go if it means you'll get hurt." Grover said, which is one of the sweetest things he's ever said, but it also concerned me. "Finding Pan is important, but you are too, and you just like... You just got out of treatment. I don't want to propose going on a quest if it'll hurt you that I'm gone."

I smiled, squeezing his hand again.

"Has anyone ever told you how sweet you are?"

He smiled back.

"Maybe."

"Because you're the sweetest satyr I know." I went on as we emerged in the common room of the Big House, seeing counselors trickling in, now out of their armor. "But I don't want to hold you back from trying to achieve your dreams. Sure, I've been pretty shaky lately, but that's not new, right? It's been that way for like six months now, and if you get to go on the quest and I don't..."

I shrugged.

"Mr. D couldn't keep me here last time," I decided. "And with Annabeth vanishing..."

"Are you boys joining us?"

Looking over, Chiron was wheeling into the meeting room, probably indicating that everyone else was here.

Well, everyone that wasn't Annabeth.

Where could she have gone?

"Oh, yes, sir." Grover said as we walked into the meeting room, presuming our usual spots between Thalia and Clarisse. "Sorry."

Soon after us, a couple others walk in— a handful of hunters, along with Jason and Octavian, who were...

"It's a council meeting, not a cosplay meeting," Clarisse told the two Roman demigods. "What are you guys wearing?"

"Wh... It's a... Meeting." Jason defended himself as he walked over by his sibling. "You guys don't have togas or robes? We always wear them to Senate meetings."

"I'm sorry, Senate meetings?" Katie Gardener questioned across from Thalia and I, giving Jason and Octavian a weird look. "Who are you guys? Junior representatives for the state of New York?"

Chiron cleared his throat.

"These young men aren't politicians in New York, Katie," the old man insisted as the two of them sat down near the councilors of the cabins they technically belong to— Octavian sat near Travis, while Jason was behind Jason and I. "These boys come from our... Alternative camp, I suppose you could call it, for Roman demigods. Thalia Grace was... So kind as to bring them here until the winter solstice meeting to see how we function here at camp. Why don't you two introduce yourself before we get into business?"

"Of course," Jason said with a smile that even I could see was fake. "My name is Jason Grace, son of Jupiter and Thalia's younger brother. I'm younger than Percy is, so no panic there, but I am one of Camp Jupiter's Praetors, along with Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, who isn't here but I recently found out was here before she found us?"

"Wh... Sorry if this is a bad question," I started. "What's a Praetor? Like a councilor or...?"

"A praetor is one of the primary leaders of a legion— in our case, of Camp Jupiter." Octavian told me. "There's usually two of them— one recently passed on a mission, which allowed Reyna to be promoted from Centurion to Praetor, and another retired last year, which is how Jason got promoted."

"And you are....?" Charles Beckendorf asked.

"Octavian Augustus, descendant of Apollo." He introduced himself, but the descendant but was... New for me. "Thalia mentioned it's not really a thing here, but my mother was a child of Apollo and my grandparents on my father's side were both demigods, so I still get to train. I'm currently in training to become the primary augur at camp, which is like... We give out prophecies and help officiate ceremonies or funerals. That sort of thing."

"Wait, hold on— your parents were demigods?" Silena questioned. "Are they... Still alive?"

Octavian nodded.

"Yeah, why wouldn't they be?"

"Let's save the cultural differences and those sort of questions for after the meeting, shall we," Chiron very purposefully redirected the conversation. "I'm glad to see conversations here are civil between you all, but we have a much larger issue at hand— the Oracle gave a prophecy to Ms. Zoë Nightshade, meaning Lady Artemis must be in real danger."

"Yes, we've discussed it amongst ourselves," Zoë told Chiron. "We'd prefer to leave as soon as possible."

"Who's we?" Clarisse pointed out. "The prophecy clearly said it has to be 5 people and that it has to be a mix of campers and hunters, so you can't just do this on your own."

"We have ex campers in our ranks, thank you very much— unless you're interested in joining the hunt?"

"Bleh, no thank you, I like my girlfriend too much."

"Kendall is right," Mr. D chimed in, causing me to look down at Grover and my hands. "Usually Daphne isn't that clear unless it's important— you need to have a mixed party. Any volunteers?"

Naturally, Thalia, Grover, and I all raised our hands.

Mr. D could not have rolled his eyes further back in his head if they were disconnected from his brain.

"Really?" He asked us.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Thalia argued our case, thankfully. "Are you really delusional enough to think I'm not going on this quest? Annabeth is missing— do you really think it's a coincidence that that happened the same day the Oracle decided to go for a walk? Or is the alcohol still influencing the only brain cell you have left even though you've been sober for like 30 years?"

Dear reader: there was no way for Mr. D to come back from that.

"Thalia, we understand that you're worried about the daughter of Athena, trust me." So his husband swooped in to save the day. "Mr. D and I worry for her safety as well, but we don't know that her disappearanxe has anything to do with this mission. Besides, your brother is here. Do you not want to spend some time with him?"

"I mean, if a demigod is missing, and from what I understand, a demigod that's like Thalia's little sister, then Thalia should be allowed to search for her." Jason defended his older sibling, which made him about 10% cooler in my book. "I'm here at least until the solstice, and Thalia knows where to find me if I have to return before the questers do. Please don't let my visit trump over the well-being and safety of other campers."

Oh don't worry, I thought to myself. Disregarding the safety and well-being of demigods is nothing new for the centaur.

"I'll accept the company of Thalia Grace, but my hunters and I refuse to travel with two men— even one is questionable."

As Zoë said this, I could only think of one thing: can you be misogynistic but against men instead of women?

Like, theoretically, you can. But is there a term for it?

After all, I get that the Hunters of Artemis is an all girls group— good for them to empower women and to stick it to the man and whatever. I have no interest in their group because I shouldn't have an interest in their group, but I understand why Annabeth did.

Well, mostly. I don't understand the appeal of immortality.

But to refuse traveling with a man? For a quest?

Grow up a little. We don't have cooties.

"Wh— that's a little rude, but alright." Beckendorf called out. "you're turning down help from two of the most experienced questers at Camp right now— both of them have traveled to the Underworld and through the Sea of Monsters without severe injuries, much less dying— but suit yourself."

With this news, Zoë seemed to second guess herself.

The maiden looked between the two of us, first at Grover, then at me, then at Riptide (I was playing with it in pen form), then back at me, then to Grover again.

"Ever killed a monster before?" She asked my boyfriend.

"Yes, but I usually try to trick them or outsmart them." He admitted. "I've killed a handful, but I also kicked Medusa in the head to knock her out and convinced Polyphemus that I was his bride so he wouldn't eat me."

The huntress exhaled.

"Hmph." She said. "I suppose having somebody who can sniff our monsters could be beneficial, but your boyfriend isn't coming— we'll have Phoebe, myself, and Bianca with for our party. You and Thalia make five, correct?"

"Woah, woah, hold on," I interrupted before Mr. D could sanction it without thinking. "Bianca? She's brand new."

"Says you, Jackson." Connor pointed out.

"Okay, but nobody wanted me to go on that quest— myself included," I rebutted. "I only went for my mom, that's no secret. But Bianca's even newer than I was— I'd been at camp for like a week when I went on my quest. Bianca has been here for like three days."

"It's been longer than that." Chiron insisted. "And this quest is a simple rescue mission, not a prevention of war like your quest was. If Bianca wishes to go, there is no reason for us to stop her."

He paused, allowing for more criticism.

"Perfect." The centaur said with a smile I wished I could smack off his face. "Then with that, I authorize the five members listed by Zoë Nightshade to depart on this quest at first light tomorrow. May the gods be with you. This meeting is dismissed."

The only people who left the meeting room? Chiron, Mr. D, and Zoë Nightshade, who was talking with Chiron.

Travis looked at me because he already knew. I could see it in the way he slowly closed his eyes and sighed.

"Are you going to sneak out to join the quest?"

I smiled.

"You know me so well." I told the son of Hermes, noticing my boyfriend roll his eyes. "What? Worst case scenario, I die, and you guys get another year to prepare for whatever will either preserve or raze Olympus. Plus, they already have kids for two of the three Big Three on the quest, I'm basically destined to be there."

"It also makes the quest an even six people instead of 5, so you guys can stay in groups of three if you have to separate." Silena pointed out.

"Plus, I'm technically a resident, not a camper since I'm a satyr," Grover added on, which is something I've never thought about, but I guess satyrs can live here their entire lives. "So unless somebody else feels strongly about going..."

There was a collection of no thank you's from the council.

"Wait, sorry," Jason said from behind me. "You're going to sneak out on a quest? Will that not get you in a lot of trouble?"

I shrugged.

"If it's a successful quest, probably not," I figured. "I mean they'll probably make me clean stables or something, but with whatever's happening right now? They're not getting rid of any campers."

"Wait, what's going on?" Octavian asked. "I know that we've been having issues with stuff going on in Mount Othyrs, but... What's happening here?"

"Kids have been... Leaving, one way or another, I guess you could say." Connor spoke up. "Our cabin has been hit the hardest, but it's been a mix of run aways, random disappearances, or just... Kids killing themselves. Committing suicide."

I thought Octavian's eyes were going to pop out of his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "kids are killing themselves? And this isn't like, a camp emergency or crisis? I can't even..."

"You want to try and convince the horse that it's a crisis or an emergency? Be my guest." I told the Roman duo. "Luke tried to. I've been trying to— Travis has talked to Mr. D about potential solutions and resources. We've talked about this as a council multiple times. It doesn't change the fact that, fundementelly, he does not care about our lives."

"Percy—" Grover gave me my first warning.

"What? It's true." I insisted. "I almost died this summer because I wanted to kill myself— you were in the infirmary with me. I wanted to kill myself and Chiron refused to let a crisis counselor into the camp because 'we have Mr. D.' who many demigods are uncomfortable talking to or approaching."

"Chiron's never liked hiring people from outside of camp for things, even if they're demigods." Beckendorf backed me up. "When I was newer at camp I remember my cabin mates were working on something in the off season, but we needed another set of hands or two to like, do something or another, and we asked Chiron if he knew any kids of Hephaestus that were like, adults, and he basically thought it was a joke. Another time, we had a kid in crisis, nobody could get through to him so I suggested calling in a crisis counselor or a therapist or even just an older child of Apollo who specialized in mental health treatment and he said no. I ended up sending an IM to the kids living parent, but outside of trying to comfort the kid over what is basically a video call, they couldn't help and we tried to get enough money together to get them to either go to a therapy session or even just take a day in the city to have fun and get away from here and before we could get the money together, the kid killed themselves. I ended up having to travel to his mom's place in Mexico to tell her that her son took his own life because Chiron only let Mr. D send her a letter because she should know what she was getting into when she had a child with a god."

"When she... I don't even know what to say about that." Jason insisted. "We haven't had a kid kill themselves or attempt to recently within the camp, but if there was an attempt... Reyna and I are trained to handle them and we have counselors in New Rome that we would call in and like... There's an entire multi day procedure that the camp would go through if that happened— even if they survived the attempt. If they do survive it, the first thing Reyna and I are supposed to do is make sure the child is removed from service for a minimum of 6 weeks in order to go through proper counseling, treatment, and to rebuild positive habits before taking another 4 weeks to slowly re-enter the camp. The same is true even in New Rome, after they complete their service time at Camp Jupiter."

Clarisse opened her mouth momentarily, then closed it again.

"I'm... Afraid to ask." She admitted. "but I'll bite: what exactly is New Rome?"

"New Rome? It's the city that's attached to Camp Jupiter for demigods and their families to live in after they complete their service." Octavian answered. "Just... A average, smaller city, but built to resemble Rome. There's homes and businesses, a university. Some places to eat. Most demigods go there after camp unless they really want to get into a specific University or work somewhere specific outside of camp."

"And you guys... Usually live long enough to go to college?" Castor questioned.

"Yeah, demigod deaths aren't super normal unless there's a war or they go on a quest. I'd say 90% of us live as long as any other human would."

"90..." And in that moment, I saw a shift in every single demigod in the room. "90 percent?"

Most importantly: I saw Connors attitude shift.

"Why... Does Chiron know about this?" Silena asked as I noticed her communications bracelet was on— I imagine it has been the whole meeting.

"He's well aware— he didn't want me going to the Roman camp because he knew it'd enrage me." Thalia spoke up, sighing. "Trust me, we shared words about it already— he finds the idea of an entire city or town being added to the camp even more repulsive than building more cabins for the kids we already have here. He won't discuss it any further."

There was a beat of silence.

"Then why are you guys continuing to serve under him?" Octavian asked the million dollar question. "Just saying, but if Reyna and Jason started to tear the city down and stopped providing campers with resources they need to stay healthy and happy... They would be voted out of office immediately."

"Yeah, my position as praetor and essentially as one of the camp leaders is to elevate the lives of the campers, not make it worse."

For a moment, some councilors shared expressions. Clarisse and I made eye contact, a little stressed.

Can it really be this easy to recruit the entire council?

"I... Don't know, actually." Beckendorf broke the silence. "We've never had to go into battle, but the way Chiron has been training us lately..."

"Makes it seem like we will be soon." Clarisse agreed with him. "I guess the closer Percy is to 16, the harder he'll train us, but..."

"But Octavian and Jason are right." Connor voiced, visibly shocking his older brother. "We've spent multiple meetings trying to tell Chiron that there's an issue with how camp is operating right now and he just doesn't listen. So why is he still in charge, or why... Why haven't things changed yet?"

"Luke tried to get things to change," Michael told the son of Hermes. "They argued with each other for at least half of all meetings. Chiron wouldn't listen to him."

"They argued until he left basically." Grover agreed.

"Yeah, and then he left and like... I guess he probably just gave up, right?" Katie continued. "He's busy with college, isn't he? He can't be bothered with us anymore or with the camp, really."

Connors expression dropped, sealing his lips as a wave of realization hit him.

"What?" Castor asked from across the table.

"Luke... Didn't give up." Connor said, and I saw a few councilors fight to roll their eyes because Connor has always insisted that Luke stole the Bolt and whatever else. "He just changed his strategy."

The group stayed silent, encouraging Connor to continue.

"He stole the Bolt to get the gods attention," and the moment he said it, there was hesitation. "no, no, hear me out: if a god can't steal from another god, then a demigod has to do it, right? Even if they do give it to another god. After all, Ares did eventually end up with it. Right, Percy?"

"He... Yeah, Ares was the one who planted it on me, why?"

"Because maybe war wasn't his goal, like Chiron and the others assumed." Luke's little brother went on and honestly, I might faint from holding my breath. "Maybe his goal was that our parents would be forced to talk to us and realize how unhappy a lot of campers are. If a demigod stole it, maybe he assumed our parents would have to talk to us about it. When that didn't work..."

He took a breath.

"Thalia's Tree wouldn't have been poisoned to kill you and the camp borders." Connor concluded, looking at the child of Zeus. "he did it because he knew Chiron would take the blame and lose his job and that Thalia would come back to life."

Everyone looked at Thalia.

"What? I wasn't conscious when I was poisoned," they defended themselves. "I don't know who did it."

"But if it was Luke, then he has bigger plans," Malcolm, Annabeth's sit in, spoke for the first time. "If his goal is to get Chiron to lose his job, or for some fundamental change to happen here at camp, he isn't going to stop just because Chiron was gone for two weeks."

"He won't stop until the centaur is gone," Beckendorf agreed, looking again at Thalia. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

And, naturally, Thalia was taken aback.

"What do you mean is there anything you can do to help?"

"To help Luke's cause, duh." Castor spoke. "You're leaving soon, right? Does he not want a pair of eyes on the inside to help him out? Update him on how the camp is running or on anything going on with Chiron or the gods or...? With you gone from here, he'll want more help, right? Preferably somebody on the council."

The child of Zeus analyzed the expressions of all of the councilors.

"You're serious?" They asked.

"Thalia, if it means we don't have another run away like Ethan Nakamura, I'll be his right hand man if I need to be." Connor insisted. "I know I've spoken ill of Luke in the past, but had I known that this was an operation against Chiron and not to overthrow Olympus..."

"The gods still won't get off easy." I told them, and I think Katie Gardener almost shit herself in shock. "What? You're surprised that I know? We have no intentions of overthrowing Olympus or killing gods or anything like that, but they will start paying their child support."

"Wait you..." Beckendorf voiced the question half of the council had. "You've been working with Luke?"

Leaning back, I nodded my head.

"I had no idea he stole the Master Bolt until after summer ended— he agreed to help train me since we live near each other. Eventually, he started telling me his plans. Why do you think I wanted another quest so bad this summer?"

"Your boyfriend was missing." Clarisse reminded me.

"Okay, besides that," I rolled my eyes. "That just meant that I was sneaking out of camp no matter what. Luke and I had organized the whole thing already— I'd get the quest, get the Fleece, and restore Thalia's Tree. If she came back to life, all the better."

"But you didn't get the quest." Travis pointed out.

"No, I ended up receiving a rescue mission quest from Hermes." I confirmed.

"That's why I went with Thalia," Silena explained. "Unlike Percy, I did know that Luke stole the Bolt— but I also knew his plan. He's had inside eyes since before he left, but I mean, the more the merrier. He did say it'd be ideal if we could get kids from as many cabins as possible so..."

"Silena? Wait, so how many of you... Are working with him already?"

Thalia, myself, Clarisse, Silena, and Travis all raised our hands.

And then, slowly, so did Grover.

"Travis?" Connor asked his brother, shocked. "Since when...?"

Travis did the mental math.

"Like... Four days ago?" He figured, shrugging. "I've just been given the summary of what happened so far behind the scenes, I haven't actively helped do anything yet. Well, besides try and see if Michael was interested."

"That's why you asked about if I've ever met my dad?"

Travis nodded his head.

"Either way, if you guys are seriously interested, our next group meeting is on the solstice, before the Olympian meeting." Thalia told the counsel. "Chiron allows us a free day in the city that day, so if you're interested, just follow Percy and I. Luke will be overjoyed to see you all there."

She paused.

"Oh, and this goes without saying," he added on. "But keep your fucking mouth shut until then."

•••

Weeheehehehehehe the cat is out of the bag (70 chapters later)

Chapter 71: I Make A Pinkie (Pinky?) Promise

Notes:

Concept: we reach 22k kudos for my 22nd birthday (taylor swift age bby)

Percy Jackson

I more or less missed campfire due to the meeting and then leaving a note for Chiron.

C + D:

Going back home tomorrow so I don't freak out about the quest/being in my cabin alone, also have to help parents with upcoming party. Will be back for solstice field trip

-percy

Yeah, those two sentences took me way too long to write, but I did it, and then immediately left for Grover's place.

On my way there, I waved hi to a couple other campers, but didn't stop until I noticed a little son of Hades hiding around the corner from the Artemis cabin, where a couple of girls, one of which was Zoë Nightshade, was outside talking.

Stealthily, I sat down next to Nico.

"What are we spying on the Hunters for?" I asked, offering him a piece of candy that I stole from the Big House.

He jumped.

"Don't scare me like that!" Nico whispered yelled. "I heard that Bianca is leaving for a quest with the mean girls but I haven't seen her yet. I think those two are talking about the quest."

"The mean... You mean the hunters?"

The son of Hades nodded, making me smile.

Of course that's what Nico would think of the Hunters of Artemis— they took his sister away from him. In his eyes, at least.

"It's not just hunters going," I informed Nico. "Grover and Thalia are going as well."

Nico frowned.

"Your boyfriend is going without you?"

I ruffled his hair.

"That's what I said," I went in. "No, I'm sneaking out to meet the group— I wasn't officially offered the quest, but now that Annabeth has gone missing... I wouldn't do very well if I stuck behind. We won't be gone long, though. We'll be back by the solstice because I'm sure there will be some deadline that comes up that is the winter solstice. It's just how it works."

"So you're..." Nico's voice drifted.

Is he worried about us leaving and not coming back? I thought to myself.

I know I would be.

Hell, the reason I am going is because I am worried about that.

"Hey," I whispered to the younger demigod, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to me, dark brown eyes wide with wonder. "We'll be back soon, okay? And when we get back, the two of us can play a game of Mythomagic, yeah? I'm sure Grover will have to help me if I stand any chance of winning."

I hope nothing kills his sense of wonder and curiosity.

Nico smiled.

"Promise?" He asked.

I put out my pinky.

"Pinky promise." I insisted, now knowing that this meant that I can't drown in the sea if we end up in California or any of the coastal states.

Well, okay, regardless of where we are, I can't drown, but... You get what I mean.

"Okay. Mythomagic. Good." Nico said, thinking to himself as he looked at the hunters then at me again. "You said you're sneaking out to be with the quest right?"

I nodded.

"So you'll be with everyone?"

Once again, I nodded.

"Can you promise me one more thing?" Nico asked me, which terrified me in all honesty. "I need you to... Can you promise me that you'll protect Bianca? That you'll watch over my sister and protect her?"

Those two lines of prophecy echoed in my brain.

One shall be lost in a land without rain... And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

The definition of perish, while I don't know it word for word, kind of cements the fact that at least one of us isn't surviving this quest.

Who's parent we could run into, I don't know, but it's also not to say that it's the actual parent that kills one of us. It could be a number of things, including anything that they might've created.

Plus, I don't know who Phoebe or Zoë's parents are.

Grover has no parents, and even if it were to apply to somebody like Pan, Pan isn't exactly the type to kill one of his followers (I hope), so I feel safe in thinking that Grover will survive this quest.

But with Grover out of the question, the chances of any of the rest of us dying...

"I..." I lost my voice momentarily, looking down at our pinkies. "I promise that I'll try to protect her today? I'll keep an eye out."

"Pinky promise?"

I smiled, but I know it didn't meet my eyes.

"Pinky promise."

After all, why would Hades kill his only living daughter?

•••

The "dream" I had that night made me wish I couldn't dream.

To the far right, Artemis was chained up as she had been in the image from the Oracle, but it showed me more than just the missing goddess.

In the center of my dream, Annabeth was kneeling on the ground as if there was something heavy on her back that I couldn't see. Her face was nearly into the ground, and if I wasn't mistaken, a strand of her hair was losing its color, but in the moonlight, it was hard to tell. After all, her hair is already blonde.

"Let her—" Artemis tried to speak, but was thrased by somebody out of view, silenced.

"ANNABETH!" Luke's voice yelled from out of my sight before running into view. "oh my gods, Annabeth, you're alive, I..."

Luke leaned over, panting.

"Thalia called to ask if you were still at the apartment and I told her no, that you'd left this morning, and she told me that you never made it camp and... And... And so I tried to think of where you could end up and I checked at the Jackson's and then—"

"How did you know where to find me?"

Stunned, the son of Hermes failed to speak.

"How do you know where this place is, Luke?"

He opened his mouth, struggling to find words.

"My... My quest," he insisted, motioning in the direction he'd come from. "At the bottom of the mountain is where... Where the tree was."

"That's not what I mean, Luke, how—"

The weight pushed her further into the earth.

"Oh my gods!" Luke yelled out, hitting the ground and moving next to Annabeth without a second thought. "Annabeth, please, this is going to kill you. Let me take it."

"How do you..." The daughter of Athena choked out with a cough. "That you can..."

A force kicked Annabeth out of the position she was in, forcing the invisible weight onto Luke, which...

"HEY!" Annaneth yelled. "NO FAIR! I was doing fine until—"

Hush, child. A voice, omnipresent (my least favorite kind) said as a set of chains wrapped around Annabeth in a position similar to Artemis, rendering her unable to speak. This task was never meant for you— we only needed you so he would come. So we can see if he's ready. I didn't think he'd take it so willingly, though. He must really care about you.

"Don't touch her," Luke threatened through gritted teeth. "We made a deal, you can't—"

Our deal? Your deal isn't with me, young man. The voice continued, confirming my suspicions. Your keeper is still in a box, still just a voice in your head; whereas I am very, very real. But if you can't handle this task, you will be meeting him very soon— you're not his first choice, after all.

Wriggling herself around, Annabeth wasn't able to free herself, but was able to get one of the chains out of her mouth so she could speak.

"What is he talking about Luke?" The daughter of Athena demanded out of her older brother. "Who did you make a deal with? What kind of person is in a box that would...? What kind of pre-test is this would be overlooked by... What have you gotten yourself into?"

Luke looked up at far as he could to the younger demigod, and in his eyes I recognized what I saw: guilt.

Sorrow.

Desperation.

"I'm sorry, Annie, I didn't..." Kronos' future host stifled out. "I didn't want you getting involved, I didn't... I just wanted to try and make things better for the others so they didn't have to... So they didn't have to go through what we went through and... And Chiron wouldn't listen and neither would our parents and you have to know, you... I need you to know that I didn't want you to get hurt or kidnapped or..."

Annabeth's expression dropped, the dots connecting in her mind, but without the crucial details to open her mind to further understanding.

She looked down, her eyes losing focus as the shock settled in, devastation closing in from behind.

"No." She began. "No. It can't... Connor was right? You... You were the one behind it all? That... You stole the Master Bolt and you you... Poisoned... You poisoned Thalia?"

There was a deathly quiet still in the air, and even Artemis remained still because she may not understand what it is to love in a way that is romantic.

But she understands maybe better than anyone what it is to love a brother.

To feel like you haven't just been stabbed in the back by them, but rather that your whole spinal cord has been ripped body from your body.

Luke's expression went numb, because he knew this would happen.

"Annie, we weren't trying to—"

"YOU COULD'VE KILLED HER!"

There was another moment of quiet, Annabeth struggling against her chains to occasionally break the silence.

"Annie, I would never—"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT, YOU... YOU MONSTER!"

And, in front of my own eyes, powerless to stop it because no matter how fast I tried to run or how loud I tried to yell, nothing worked— I watched the family that Luke so desperately fought to keep together fall apart in an instant.

Only a second later did I see the hope of forgiveness drain from Luke's face as all of his worst fears came true.

He had lost Annabeth Chase.

•••

"Percy? Sweets, hey, it's time to get up, we have to—"

I shot up, still a little dazed from a dream.

"Time to go?" I asked my boyfriend.

"Almost— you have time to get dressed and then we have to meet everyone at the border near Thalia's Tree." Grover confirmed for me. "Thalia and Bianca apparently talked Zoë into stopping in Manhattan for breakfast before we officially head out so that way we can formulate a plan. Do you want to stop at your parents or anything?"

"Do... No, I'll uh.... I'll send an IM when I can, but I don't want to... To make them worry too much."

Grover cocked his head to the side.

"Are you feeling alright, sweets? Did you sleep okay? If you're having doubts about coming with, that's okay, we can always IM or—"

"I'm coming with." I insisted, taking my boyfriend's hand as he helped me out of bed. "I... Had a nightmare vision thing. I'll tell everyone about it at breakfast, it's... Important."

Getting dressed, Grover and I left his cabin within twenty minutes of getting up, but ended up getting stopped by Connor Stoll, which was definitely new since he couldn't stand me the other day.

"Percy! Grover!" The younger Stoll brother called out as we passed by the main cabins. He ran up to us near the hearth. "Sorry, I just... Saw you guys so I figured I'd try to catch you. Travis told me that Nico tried to stay up all night so he could give Bianca a hug goodbye, but he fell asleep and neither of us could get him up, so..."

Catching his breath, Connor took a deep breath, holding a hand out that I just realized had something in it.

"He really wanted her to have this," Connor insisted, handing me a Mythomagic card. "he wouldn't tell us why, but Nico said that Bianca would know why it's important. Honestly, I don't know if it's actually important, but I think he just wants to feel like he can still be with his sister somehow."

"We'll be back in less than a week," Grover reminded the son of Hermes. "If he's going to activities and talking to the other kids, I think he'll be okay. A little sad, but okay."

Connor nodded, agreeing.

"I uh... I'll make sure to give this to her." I promised the younger demigod. "Thank you, Connor, I'm sure it'll mean a lot to him."

Walking away from the son of Hermes, I made sure the tuck the card into the inside pocket of my jacket for extra protection.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" I asked my boyfriend.

Grover nodded.

"Like you said, I think he'll be sad for a while, but he'll be okay." He insisted. "It's never easy to feel like you're losing somebody, but kids are supposed to like, super resilient, aren't they? He'll get through it."

Hoping that we were right, we continued on to meet the non-boys near Thalia's Tree.

The only one actually at the tree was Thalia, who seemed to be having a connection with his past "life". The three girls were standing about twenty feet away and observing.

"What are you guys looking at?" Grover questioned.

"She's been like that since we got here a few minutes ago," Phoebe told us, giving me a weird look before looking back to Thalia. "Is she... Dating the nymph of the tree or something?"

"Or the girl that died and became the tree?" Zoë added on, then paused. "that is what happened, isn't it?"

We nodded.

"Oh, yeah, no, Thalia is the person that became the tree." I caught Artemis' lieutenant up to speed. "Last summer the tree was poisoned by somebody— we still don't know who for sure, but the only thing able to save the camp border and the tree was the golden fleece, which brought Thalia back to life."

"They do this a lot when they're leaving camp," Grover insisted, which I didn't know— I didn't notice her do it the other day when we left for Maine. "Usually for longer than a day, that is. I think it's like her version of saying goodbye to family since he doesn't really have family here. Well, Jason is here now, but not regularly. Helps them stay calm."

After another moment, Thalia turned around to see the rest of us.

There was a beat of silence.

"What are you looking at?" The child of Zeus questioned. "We're all here, let's get going."

"Wait," Zoë said as soon as I crossed the border with them. She looked at me. "We said that you're not coming with— the prophecy said 5 people."

"And if we have to split up then we're in two groups of three, which keeps the sacred number." I insisted. "You're not getting rid of me."

"What do you even bring to the quest?" She responded, rolling her eyes. "You think we need some man to protect us or something? Think one of you isn't enough?"

"Wh... Zoë, you could shoot me point blank and I wouldn't even have time to think about deflecting." I pointed out to the immortal huntress, seeing Phoebe agree on the other side of her. Zoë scoffed. "What? It's true. I have a lot of information that I think is important to the quest, and while I have no worries that Artemis will be grateful or at least approving towards you three, I have my doubts about Annabeth being so trusting and returning."

"And what makes you think the daughter of Athena would follow you so blindly? Is she blinded by lust because of your foolishness?"

It took me a full five seconds to process and understand what Zoë was suggesting.

"If she is, then I've been blinded by... What would you call it, flaming homosexuality?" I retorted, and the moment I said it, I remembered what Nico told Grover and I the first day we formally met and I watched Bianca's drop and wish I'd said literally anything else. "Um... Yeah. It's not like that, I promise. She just... Has a hard time trusting people, and after a recent falling out, I don't know if she'll trust Thalia right away. Or Grover. I'm just another person who's had time to earn her trust, and, no offense to any of you, but I'm probably the person with the most modern day mortal world experience."

I paused.

"Oh, I also know who we're up against and who kidnapped both Artemis and Annabeth."

The group stopped and Thalia smacked my shoulder, which I guess seemed fair enough.

"AND YOU DIDN'T START WITH THAT!?"

Notes:

22k hits my b

Chapter 72: Trauma Bonding Does Not Guarantee Friendship

Thalia Grace

After Percy gave us the summarized version of his dream, it was an understatement to say I was worried and anxious for so many reasons that I couldn't fall asleep, so I offered to take the first shift that night once we set up camp in Pittsburgh.

When I heard footsteps approaching from behind me, I immediately pulled for my knife, but relaxed upon seeing that it was just Bianca di Angelo.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to scare you." The daughter of Hades began as she sat down next to me. "you just seemed anxious and somewhat lonely and I can't fall asleep, so I thought I'd join you if that's alright."

I hummed a response, insisting that was fine.

Should I have said a better goodbye to Jason when I left?

He was adamant that we'd see each other again and that I'd survive the quest, and while it's anyone's guess who will or won't survive this quest, even if I do survive...

If Annaneth gets to camp and tells everyone the connections she's made about Luke— about what he confessed to and what Atlas I'm sure basically spelled out for her, the camp won't call her crazy like they did Connor. After all, it's Annabeth Chase, and while the council won't mind because they all seem to be on our side currently, and even though Jason's included in that...

Will Kronos change that?

Furthermore, if word gets out and it gets to Chiron and Mr. D? There's no chance of me visiting in the future.

Sure, I'm moving out after this is all done— Luke and I move in together at the New Year. That doesn't mean that I wasn't hoping to stop in occasionally to stay low on Mr. D's suspicions and to get to see the people I actually give two shits about— primarily Annabeth.

Now I'm sure she'll want nothing to do with me based on how she reacted to Luke.

How ironic is it that a daughter of Athena is the only one who isn't willing to hear us out?

"Are you feeling alright?" Bianca questioned further, pulling her legs in to sit criss cross. "If you're tired, you can sleep. Quests are a big deal, right? That's what the others all told me."

I shrugged, then shook my head.

"No, I couldn't sleep anyways." I assured the younger demigod. "I'm just... Thinking a lot, I suppose. Wondering if I should've given Jason, my brother, a better goodbye or not."

She cocked her head, confused.

"Why? Do you think you'll die or something on the quest?"

Once again, I shrugged.

"I don't know, but a lot can happen, and I just..." I started, looking down at the knife I held in my hands— Luke made it for me right before I'd been brought back to life and gave it to me one of the first times I went to his apartment. It was a beautiful blend of imperial gold, celestial bronze, and stygian iron. It's not my primary weapon, but it's one I like to keep on hand because it reminds me of Luke, and it's a lot easier to keep under my pillow than an entire spear is. "I just wonder if I should've said a better goodbye to my brother. Before we left."

Bianca frowned.

"Oh." She responded, seeming to realize something to herself. "I... I mean, your goodbye was probably better than mine. I didn't... Tell Nico goodbye before we left. I just assumed he was asleep and he hates being woken up, so I just didn't."

There was a pause as I could see the anxiety start to sink in for the young demigod. Realizing what she's gotten herself into.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Bianca asked me, holding her green hat in her hands. "At camp? I know we don't have a cabin, but seems to enjoy talking with Percy and Travis and... I know this isn't what he wanted, I know..."

"Bianca." I said quietly to pull the hunter back to reality. "it's okay— you don't have to explain yourself."

"I don't?"

I sighed.

"The fact that you have had to spend years thinking and worrying about Nico's needs is unfair, Bianca," I told her, trying to keep my tone gentle because I'm not sure if she's ever been told this before. "The fact that your father put you in that position is unfair. You're still a child. You shouldn't have to be a mother, too."

Looking down once more, I ran my hand along the blade.

"Regardless of how he reacts to you being away, he has a system of demigods that are going to support him— Travis and Connor would hate to see him go, and Percy..." My voice drifted, glancing at the son of Poseidon as he slept with his boyfriend. "I think that no matter where you are or what happens to you, Bianca, Percy will be there for Nico."

"You do?"

I nodded.

"Percy... He's hard to read at times, but he struggles to take care of himself because he cares so much for everyone else." I went on, seeing her face twist for only a moment. "I mean, he's on the quest for Annabeth and even a little for Grover, not for Artemis. Even if Zoë had argued further with him, he would've found another way to get there. The way that Nico has attached himself to Percy, I think that Percy's going to do everything in his power to make sure Nico doesn't end up like him."

The brunette gave me a confused look, trying to piece together the intention of that message.

"Like him? Like what?" She asked. "He isn't..."

She lowered her voice.

"He isn't gay, is he?"

I debated ripping her eyes out and pointing them towards Percy and Grover, but I kept that annoyance in check.

She's uneducated, Thalia, I reminded myself. Not a bigot.

"He..." I pursed my lips together, turning to more directly face Percy and Grover as they slept. "Yes, Bianca, he is gay— you can see him sleeping with his boyfriend. But that wasn't what I was talking about. I was talking about his mental health."

"His... What?"

I pointed to my head.

"The stuff going on up here?" I tried to explain, trying to remember that she is from the 1920s/30s. "Percy's brain is his worst enemy, and while it's none of my business to tell you anything specific, a lot of us worry about him because of it. He doesn't want Nico to feel lonely or out of place and he doesn't want him to dread getting up in the morning or going back to whatever cabin is meant to be his home. He's going to try and make sure that Nico can just be a kid."

Thinking about that, I saw the younger demigod look over at the son of Poseidon before looking back to me.

"But... If it's unfair that I was doing all of those things before, how is fair that he's going to do it now?"

I shrugged.

"It's not— but neither is anything else in our lives." I reasoned. "You'll get used to it."

There was a beat of silence.

"Well hey," Bianca tried to reason. "at least if anything happens to you, your brother still has your guy's mom, right?"

I grimaced.

"He has no memories of her." I told the daughter of Hades, who seemed unable to respond, and I don't blame her. "She died a couple years ago, but it doesn't even matter because she was a shitty person."

My anger seemed to confuse the demigod. And I guess if she had a good relationship with her mom and then watched her die, it'd make sense.

"But... That's your mom, Thalia."

I scoffed

"Could've fooled me."

Initially, Bianca didn't respond and I assumed she'd just let it go. It's not like I wanted to talk about my mom— it's one of my least favorite things to talk about, actually.

"Don't you think she missed you guys, though? Or that she might've gone crazy after you just... Vanished?" But no, she couldn't let it be. Instead she had to defend my mother— a woman she's never met. "I mean, she was your mother— just because she appeared to be busy or distracted by your dad doesn't mean that she didn't love you and your brother. I would give anything to have my mother back, how could you say that you don't regret leaving yours? What's wrong with you? Does family mean nothing to you?"

"Does family..."

I looked back down at my knife.

"I have a family." I told the younger demigod, who was the same age I was when I almost died. "She's just not a part of it."

Despite not looking at her, it wasn't hard to tell that Bianca rolled her eyes before standing up.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess."

And she walked to the tents (which only the hunters had by the way), crawling into hers without another word.

It's not like I hate my mother. I mean, I sort of do, but it's not like it was when I left. I've gotten a lot better when it comes to her, but I'm still angry and I think I deserve to be angry.

For the first 7 years of my life, I watched my mom desperately hope for my dad to come back, but I actually got to watch her do it. She brought me to auditions and on set and there was even a few times where she brought me with to the bar and she'd get too wasted and I would have to call our driver. His number was the first number I ever memorized.

When "dad" came back as Jupiter, I was hopeful for maybe a day that things would get better because he was there. Because that's all that mom wanted was for him to come back— after all, being a single parent (even if we had a butler, a maid, and a nanny) must be hard and if dad was here, things would get better.

That hope only lasted for a day. I didn't see her most of the time that dad was in the area, and he avoided me like the plague.

He avoided her, too, once she found out she was pregnant.

He wanted her to get an abortion, and she almost did, but between my grandparents not wanting her to get one and this premonition that she had one night (which, thinking back, could've been Hera sending her a vision) she didn't and my dad left.

I'm honestly shocked Jason didn't get FAS because Mom didn't stop drinking with him, she just would do it at home instead of at the bar.

Maybe it's because Hera or Juno or whoever needed to make sure he was born for retribution. Maybe demigods can't get FAS because we're half god, who knows.

All I know is that the moment dad left the second time, he took my mother with him and she drowned herself in liquor and work, but this time she wouldn't take me anywhere and the public assumed it was because I'd started school, which played a role— but not much of one.

Once Jason was born, it was like I no longer existed. It was like neither of us existed. Being a Hollywood celebrity meant that we had money, and they meant that we had a nanny who mom could pay to do her job for her.

I wasn't Jason's mom, but I was the one who would have to try and keep him busy while Mom brought home another suitor or came home with another bottle of liquor because gods forbid we wanted to talk to our mom.

We had a mom, but every time we reminded her that we existed, she'd remind us that she wished we didn't.

Jason tried to eat a stapler and the only thing Mom could say as we drove to the hospital to get him stitches is that this wouldn't have happened if she'd gotten an abortion.

He wasn't even old enough to walk.

I don't know if Jason has any memories of our mom, but I don't want to share mine with him because it's one thing to know and wonder if your godly parent ever wanted or loved you.

It's another thing for your mortal parent to wish you never existed.

We had a nanny, but as soon as Jason was born, it suddenly became my job to take care of him— especially if the nanny wasn't around.

Our nanny quit a few years after Jason was born, and a month later, Mom gave him away, but the month between the nanny quitting and mom bringing us to the park...

It was one of the worst months of my life, and I spent multiple years on the run after that, which says a lot.

After all, it's not like I don't know that alcoholism is a disease that my mom was struck with. That she struggled with multiple forms of addiction, from drinking, to smoking, to cocaine. That she was lonely because she worked with so many people in a day but never had any friends. That she missed my dad because she craved the attention he gave her.

But, even knowing those things, I know that I came second to every single one of those things in her life, and I think that warrants some anger.

It's not like Annabeth's step mom who was malicious and exclusionary towards Annabeth. While my mom sometimes said things that could be rude, that could only happen if she was home long enough for us to talk to her.

It's not even like Luke's mom, who just couldn't physically take care of him anymore. Like I said, she still watched me before Jupiter arrived and even afterwards, we still had a nanny.

It's that she chose neglect. She would've rather paid anyone and everyone else in the world to watch us grow rather than suck it up and do it herself because that's the choice she made when she didn't get an abortion with either of us.

My mother never wanted me, and while I'm not angry at her for that fact alone, I'm angry that she made sure that I knew it.

Annabeth went back home and was able to rebuild a relationship with her dad and stepmom. She loves California.

Luke hasn't gone home, but he's always said that if his mom could be healed, he would go. And even if she isn't, who knows? He's mentioned once or twice this year that is he survives everything, maybe he will go home because he won't have to stay.

But I can't say I'd do the same.

After all, why would I want to return to a home where love never existed in the first place?

I looked back down at my knife, running my hand over the end of the blade that was closest to the hilt where Luke had inscribed a heart that was from the back of a photo of us that I'd drawn years ago.

To think that were going to save both Luke and Annabeth, and they I'll have to confront Annabeth...

"Hey." I'd been so lost in thought that I didn't even hear Grover's hooves sneak up from behind me. He knelt down in front of me, and it wasn't until he wiped away a tear that I realized I'd started to cry. "what's wrong?"

But suddenly, everything hits me all at once and it terrifies me more than battling any monster ever has.

"I'm going to lose them, Grover." I said, struggling to push the words out. "We... We were supposed to be a family and I... I'm going to lose both of them."

Struggling for air, I gasped, desperate to get ahold of myself but unable to.

No matter what, if Luke lost Annabeth, there's no chance she'll ever hear me out. Like Percy said, either him or Grover are going to be the only ways that Annabeth actually trusts us enough to go back to camp. Being so fiercely loyal to her mom, she'll probably want my head on a plate and I'm not sure how I'll handle it when she lashes out.

Luke on the other hand... Either Luke is unable to hold the sky and it slowly kills him and that's it.

Or he survives the trial and in six to nine months he lets himself be possessed by the Titan King who will probably kill him in the process.

Either way, his chances of survival are miniscule. I've been trying to talk him out of hosting Kronos, but... He won't let anyone else do it. To go through that kind of pain.

Either way, I lose him.

"I can't lose them, Grover."

And once they're gone, I don't know if I'll have it in me to find another family.

Chapter 73: It's Just A Pen

Percy Jackson

Waking up to a hellhound attacking our camp was a great way to set up the rest of my day.

Or, honestly, my dreams set up my day because I got to watch another episode of What's Happening On Mount Othyrs, and let's just say that if Annabeth talks to any of us after this is over, we'll be lucky.

The hellhound was just the cherry on top.

We took an Amtrak after we got some breakfast from a local bakery, and since we'd be on the train overnight we were able to get a room in the sleeping car. Or, two rooms, because it only sleeps four to a room and the hunters also would die if they shared a room with a non-girl.

Phoebe seems to be really nice, but Zoë still gets on my nerves and I seem to get on hers all the time.

So once we got in the car, the hunters said they were going to scout the train and Thalia and Grover said they were getting food, so I took it as a chance to call my parents.

After all, if Chiron or Mr. D randomly decide to check and see if I am actually at home like I said I told be, it'd be good for them to know that they should lie rather than panic about where I am.

I can't wait to go home after all of this is over.

"Wh— hi, kiddo!" Dad said, noticing the call first since it was facing towards him but away from Mom as both of them were sitting at the table, probably eating lunch. "How's it going? Everything okay at ca..."

His voice drifted, but only for a second.

"You're not at camp." He realized. "Where... Are you?"

"I'm not," I confirmed for my parents as my mom turned around to see me, looking worried. "I'm alright, though, I promise. I'm currently on an Amtrak train heading towards California— the Bay area specifically. Annabeth and Luke are both like... Sort of being held hostage— well, Annabeth more than Luke because Atlas is sided with Kronos so I doubt he'll actually hurt him more than he's already hurt, but those two are there and so is Artemis and um... Oh! I'm not alone. That's probably really important."

"You're not alone?" Mom asked again.

I nodded.

"The others aren't in the room with me now— but it's a 6 person quest." I reassured my parents. "Grover and Thalia are with, along with 3 Hunters, one of which is one of the demigods we just recruited, so..."

"Hunters?" Dad asked me. "Who else, besides the new recruit?"

"Um, a girl named Phoebe— I don't know her last name." I insisted. "And then their Lieutenant, Zoë Nightshade."

"Oh, I know those two!" Dad responded which... I guess the Hunters are immortal, so it makes sense, but I didn't think they actually lived that long. "Phoebe's close to my age— I remember when she joined. Zoë... Is old."

"Old?"

"She was born well before World War II, I just remember that she was older than Grandpa." He explained, which made sense if she's Artemis' right hand woman. "I don't remember much else about her, but I don't think she's a regular demigod? If she tolerates you long enough to have a conversation, maybe she'll tell you. We only spoke during counsel meetings, which wasn't often. She's... Not fond of men."

"I'm pretty sure the only reason she's tolerating me and Grover is because we're gay," I agreed with my dad. "And because I've also had dreams or visions or whatever that is kind of important to the quest. But speaking of that, um..."

I looked down, then back up at my parents.

"So maybe, perhaps, it's a possibility that I wasn't actually issued on this quest," I admitted, watching my parents try to conceal the fact that I just took another year off of their life by saying that. "But I'm already multiple states over because somebody— probably Atlas or Kronos or whoever, decided that I needed to know what was happening and not anybody issued on the quest. Also, because Annabeth is like, being held hostage. And Luke."

"O...Kay." Mom said slowly. "I'm glad that you're doing what you think is right to do, but are you sure it's also the thing that's good for you right now? I know it's hard to separate those things, but I'd hate to see you in the hospital after this done."

I smiled, and although it didn't go all the way to my eyes, I still tried.

"I'll be okay," I promised her, as empty as it was because I don't know what will happen on this quest. "It's just another quest, right? It's appreciate it if you didn't tell Chiron or Grandpa D about me being here, though, because it... Well, I'll explain why when we get back, okay? Just try not to worry and finish getting stuff ready for the party. I'll be home before you know it."

"Percy, we're your parents," Dad reminded me. "It's our job to worry about you— and your friends. But if you suddenly decide that you need to come home, just let us know and we'll make sure it's paid for. Stay... Well, as safe as you can."

I smiled, this time a little more genuinely.

"Will do, Dad. I'll talk to you guys soon."

•••

I'd like to personally give a shout-out to the two headed snake guy who didn't attack us that day— he's a real one.

That night, I was too restless to fall asleep, so I decided to go get something from the snack cart, which is exactly where I found Zoë Nightshade.

Zoë was sitting at a booth in the food cart that was otherwise empty (there seemed to be a worker coming in and out but that was it), looking out the window as the night rolled by.

Initially, Zoë jumped upon hearing the door open and close, but when she saw me and relaxed, I was almost honored.

"What are you doing awake at this hour?" Zoë asked as I took a piece of pumpkin break from the cart and walked over to her, sitting across from her. "We're on a train, there's no use for somebody to stay up on watch."

"I could ask you the same thing." I insisted. "I just couldn't sleep— figured I'd stretch my legs before trying again. What about you? Why are you up?"

The huntress looked out the window, stole a glance at me, then returned her gaze outside.

"Soaking it all in." She admitted. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Uh, sure."

"Have you heard of the Great Prophecy?"

I fought a groan.

"I... Yeah. I'm familiar with it."

"How does it feel?" She asked, not looking at me.

I ate a piece of the pumpkin bread, wondering how I could answer that.

According to Gabe, Zoë has been around for longer than the Great Prophecy has, and I'm sure she'll be around long enough to forget I ever existed.

I don't get it.

It seems sad. To live so long and have nobody by your side to make it just a little bit more bearable.

Not even in a romantic way, just... A partner. Platonically.

Then again, as lieutenant, I suppose that's what Artemis would be to Zoë.

"I uh... I'm not sure I understand exactly what you're asking." I admitted, catching her smirk at that. "How does what feel? Knowing the prophecy?"

"Knowing that you exist within such a limited amount of time." She corrected me, which... Was the pleasant reminder I needed this December night. "because you'll die, right? When the prophecy unravels?"

I looked down.

"It's... Probably. Yeah."

Why does she care about my life?

"How do you do it?" Zoë Nightshade asked, and it was then that I realized her expression was more wistful than it was wise. "Your lives are so fragile, and yet you still demanded on coming with us. Your time is only getting shorter. So why risk it even more?"

"Why?" I repeated back, and the hunteress nodded.

For a moment, I wondered how to answer the question. It's not that I didn't have an answer, there were just... Too many answers. Too many reasons.

"I... I don't know. There's a lot of reasons." I started. "but this... Isn't about me. Whoever is sending me the visions— probably Atlas, I guess wants me to be involved, but this isn't about me. This is about the fact that two of my closest friends are missing and also there's a brand new demigod on this quest and I..."

"You what? Did you not go on a quest within weeks of beginning training?"

I could hear the judgement in her voice, assuming I was holding Bianca to a double standard. Or really, that I didn't think she was as good.

But that was far from the case.

"Did I? Yeah, sure, but it wasn't willingly." I explained, which had her attention as the words fell out of me faster and faster. "I went on the quest because my mom was being held captive in the Underworld— it had nothing to do with my dad. I shouldn't have survived that quest— I didn't want to survive that quest. I jumped out of the St. Louis Arch on a whim that I could maybe jump into the river and it'd still probably kill me and then it didn't and I fought a god thinking I'd probably lose and then I didn't and I... I got my mom back and my dad even sobered up, but I was miserable and I'm still..."

Losing my voice, I swallowed.

She doesn't care, the voice in my head reminded me. Why did you just tell her all of that?

"Miserable?" She suggested.

I nodded, not looking directly at her.

"The point is that I don't know what Bianca's been through and I don't know what it's like in her brain— maybe she's perfectly stable, I don't know." I tried to summarize. "But being a child of the Big Three and being sent on a quest so soon... Plus, Nico is so worried about something happening to her so I said I'd keep an eye on her— not that she can't fire an arrow at anything that I couldn't slash with my sword, but... It's more about the promise to him than worrying about her abilities and..." I tried to take a breathe, but found myself unable to, "...then there's the whole thing with Annabeth and Luke getting kidnapped but they had a falling out and it's going to be a mess and Artemis is also there, obviously, which creates a different issue because a titan managed to contain a goddess and if I turn sixteen in a year and a half than there's probably something else going on and..."

Zoë put her hand on top of mine, an action so jarring it caused me to flinch.

"Percy Jackson." Zoë Nightshade addressed me, the use of both names freaking me out a little. "You need to breathe."

"You're touching my hand." I said, which was really stupid and I immediately wanted to shoot myself for saying it. Fall on my sword. "Why are you touching my hand?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Because I've seen enough of my sisters have panic attacks to tell when somebody is going to have one, and you're anxiety on two feet right now." She informed me, which was far from new. "I worried that without physical contact, I'd completely lose you to an attack. Can I see your sword?"

"Can..." I slowly echoed, grabbing riptide from my pocket with my free hand. "I mean sure, but why... Why? You have your own weapons."

"I just want to make sure you don't..."

But whatever Zoë was going to say, it never fully came out as she looked at the pen now sitting on the table.

Slowly, she moved her hand from over mine to hovering over Riptide.

"Where did you get this from?"

I shrugged.

"Chiron gave it to me before my first quest, why?"

Placing her hand down onto the pen, it transformed from the shitty 79¢ pen into an old hair pin that was made of black stone and had a crescent moon on it.

"It— did you just change my sword into a hairpin?"

She smiled.

"Breathe, it will be a pen when you hold it next." Zoë insisted, but I wasn't convinced. "It simply recognizes me, so it changes it's shape to reflect that."

"It... What?"

"Anaklusmos used to be my sword, millennia ago," but she told me this as casually as you would tell a friend you guys had the same teacher a year apart from each other. "My sister's and I— biological sisters, were all trained to fight with a variety of weapons. Because we were female, however, it was controversial, so one of my sisters charmed our weapons to be disguised. I wore a hair pin every day, so it made sense."

Did Chiron steal her sword when she visited the last time before this visit?

"Oh!" I said, suddenly feeling guilty for having the sword. "then why do I have it now? I'm so sorry, I didn't know it belonged to anyone else— you can have it back."

The huntress chuckled.

"No, no, no, I don't want to keep it anymore," she promised me. "I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't hurt yourself while we sat here. I gave Anaklusmos to another a millennia ago, Percy, shortly before joining Lady Artemis and her hunt. It no longer belongs to me— it is yours."

I looked hesitantly at the hairpin.

"Are... Are you sure? Because I do have a spare knife that I keep with me just in case, so I can always use that if we get in a fight."

She put riptide back in my hands, causing it to return to it's form that I'm used to— a shitty ballpoint pen.

"Anaklusmos is yours, Percy." Zoë repeated. "When I was young, I gifted Anaklusmos to somebody that was near and dear to my heart— somebody that I loved. But it... It costed me my family. I was exiled when they found out that I had helped him. His... His quest succeeded, but like a typical man, he gave me no credit and completely wrote me out of the story. I joined Artemis not long after. Eventually, Chiron was in possession of Anaklusmos and insisted that he'd only pass it on once there was another hero worthy of wielding it."

"Another hero?" I asked out loud. "But I'm not..."

She placed her hands over mine once more.

"Yes, Percy Jackson, you are." She informed me. "I'm unsure what Olympus thinks of you— Lady Artemis does not always agree with the majority of the Pantheon. But wield Anaklusmos proudly knowing this: for over two thousand years, I have stood firm next to Lady Artemis. In those two thousand years, I have assumed the same out of all of you male heroes— that you were all selfish and greedy, even if you were acting or fighting for a bigger cause."

Artemis' Lieutenant paused, taking a breath.

"I've have met generation after generation of heroes, Percy Jackson, and you are the first hero that I have seen a difference in." She informed me before letting go of my hands, allowing me to soak the information in. She stood. "I don't know if you'll be the hero in the Great Prophecy, Percy— if it will truly be your last day to walk upon this earth. But if it is, remember that you are proof that change is possible, and if anything is going to scare our parents, it's the ability to change."

She looked at me.

"Will you be okay if I leave for the sleeping cabin?"

I nodded my head.

"Then I'll take your word for it. Sleep well, whenever you are able to, Jackson. I'll see you tomorrow."

I waved a goodbye, looking back out the window as her statement repeated in my mind.

You are proof of change. Zoë's voice echoed. And if anything is going to scare our parents, it's the ability to change.

Hopefully she remains that encouraging when she learns about what kind of change I'm hoping to bring to Olympus 20 months from now.

Chapter 74: Why Does Amtrak Hate Us?

Percy Jackson

Fun fact: if you're considered a missing person and an Amtrak employee notices, they're required to take you and your entire party to the closest police station.

In our case, that was the Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico.

What an introduction to New Mexico, right?

You'd think that being called New Mexico and being in the south and, oh I don't know, a state that borders Mexico, I wouldn't get as many weird looks as I did in places like Indianapolis when we stopped there for gas or even in Denver when Grover, Annabeth, and I had been there.

But no. Actually, I heard one of the officers call me a slur while we were stuck waiting at the precinct.

If we weren't surrounded by cameras and a dozen police officers, we'd just leave, but... It's not always easy to do that.

Plus, then that means we'd actually committed a crime, and I'm not trying to get my parents called right now.

I just told them they didn't have to worry.

Against my expectations, they took the six of us back there together to be questioned initially, which I assumed wasn't legal, but wasn't sure if it was worth questioning.

It was a big room they brought us into— there were two couches and a few other chairs in the room with a table in the middle. If I didn't know better, I honestly would've assumed it was some sort of break room, but the double sided mirror gave it away as an interrogation room.

Not that I'm an expert on interrogation rooms or anything but... They're also not a foreign concept to me.

"Sorry for the wait— crime doesn't stop, even around Christmas time." The shorter of the two officers that walked in with us said, motioning to the couches. "Please, take a seat. My partner and I just have some questions for you kids, okay? You're not in trouble."

"We're not?" Bianca asked, making me want to ring her neck out because everyone knows that you don't tell cops anything.

They're not your friends, trust me.

"Not unless you've done something wrong." The officer confirmed what I'm sure was a lie. I sat down at the end of a couch, Grover to my right, Bianca at the end beside him. On the other couch Thalia sat nearest to me, Zoë and Phoebe next to them.

Also important to note is that Grover and I sat together, but we were making no indication that we were together. If these officers might be racist (which, one of their coworkers are), I'm sure they're also homophobic.

After all, there's a reason you never see the police at KKK rallies.

"Our first question, which may be obvious, is what a group of students from the east coast are doing all the way in Albuquerque, New Mexico, headed for San Francisco only a few days before Christmas? Where are your parents? They must be worried sick about you. Don't you think they're besides themselves right now, looking for you six?"

"That's three questions." Zoë told the officer. "not one."

The officer bit back a retort, forcing a smile.

"Apologies, young lady, but a half dozen unaccompanied children on a train heading towards California naturally creates many questions. Why don't we start with the oldest."

He turned to Thalia, his bald spot reflecting the florescent lighting in the room.

"Tell me, dear, what's your name? How old are you? You look like you're almost old enough to be done with school."

Thalia crossed her arms, leaning away from the officer.

"Go to hell."

The officer next to him scoffed. He was a bit skinnier, with brown hair that actually covered his entire scalp.

"Interesting attitude from a girl who's been missing and presumably on the run, oh, what, ten years now?" He piped in, which naturally had everyone's attention. "what, you thought we didn't have your IDs? We couldn't question you without them— sorry that our facial recognition took so long to find all six of you."

He leaned forward.

"How've you been, Thalia Grace?" The rat bastard of a man questioned with a cruel smile on his face. "Going to visit your mom's grave? Look for your little brother? Or do you already know where he is— you went missing very close to one another, after all. Your poor mother drank herself to death and Hollywood watched her the whole way. Tristan McLean ended up paying for her funeral because there was no family to do it— how awful."

Thalia bit back a comment.

"What? Did that strike a nerve? You abandoned your mother after she lost her son—"

"Don't talk like you knew who the fuck my mother was."

"Woah, girl, we don't need the attitude," the same officer went on as if he wasn't purposefully antagonizing Thalia. "Do you—"

There was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, officers, sorry for interrupting your interrogation." A woman in a white coat apologized. "Would I be able to borrow Perseus Jackson? Our records currently state he is not cleared for questioning yet."

Why am I not cleared for questioning but the others are?

Furthermore, why bring me back here if that's the case?

"Oh, uh, yes, apologies. We weren't informed of that. You can take him now."

Now, did I want to go with the strange lady? Not at all.

But when she locked her sights on me, it was painfully obvious that I didn't have a choice but to go with her.

Could she be a monster?

"Hello, Perseus," she said in a tone that was too nice for somebody who works in a police station. "My name is Dr. Hernandez. Please, come with me, I just have a few, private things to ask you."

Reluctant, I followed the woman out of the room and down the hall to another room that was more obviously an interrogation room. An officer stood in the corner of the room.

"Please, take a seat," she began, sitting herself on the far side of the table from the door. She sensed my hesitation, though. "Don't worry, Mr. Jackson, all of your friends will get pulled aside to be questioned individually. You were simply the first person they were able to identify, so you were first on the list, okay?"

I crossed my arms, sitting down across from her.

It's not like I've never been questioned by police before, but this lady wasn't a cop. But I could see that I was being recorded, meaning she has connections to the cops.

"Now, as I'm sure you've figured out by now— you're a smart kid, after all, but I'm not a police officer of any variety." She confirmed for me. "I am a crisis counselor that works with teens and young adults, and one or the officers called me in to talk to you before they question you. Do you have any idea why?"

I looked at the recording device in the middle of the table.

"If you're not a police officer then why is this conversation being recorded?"

"Hm? Oh!" She said, taking notice of it as well before looking to the officer who stood near the doorway, behind me. "Officer, would you be able to turn the recording device off for the time being? You can turn it back on when you begin questioning, but according to HIPAA, my consultation with any patient is not to be recorded if that recording is to be stored outside of the hospitals database."

Not saying anything, the officer turned off the recording device and then proceeded to throw it in the garbage, which felt excessive, but I guess eliminated any suspicions we'd had that it was still going.

"Sorry about that, Perseus, it was off earlier, so I assumed it still would be." The doctor apologized to me with a smile that I didn't believe. "Can I ask when the last time you spoke to your parents was?"

But with a cop still in the room, I didn't want to answer anything.

Once again, she looked to the officer, who took a moment to respond before stepping out of the room.

"Last night."

"Both parents or just one?"

"B... Well, my mom and step dad— my bio dad and I aren't on speaking terms."

And as it does with any adult I talk to, this had the doctors interest. She leaned forward.

"You're not? Why?"

I shrugged, looking down.

"Because I was a mistake." I began, knowing that sounded awful. "more or less. Unplanned, I guess. Him and my mom were only together for a short while before he left and he was never around when I was a kid. It's why I call my step dad my dad. I didn't meet my sperm donor until I was 12 and we've only spoken once. I don't want him in my life. I never have."

"You don't? Simply because he wasn't around? You were never curious?"

"I mean he's also just made my life a lot harder since he became involved," I added on. "but I was never that curious because I like, already had my dad. I didn't care that he's not blood related because he was literally there when I was born. Sure, not everything has been perfect, but... At least he was there."

"I see." She responded. "Well I'm sorry that that relationship with your biological father has caused strain in your life. Now, Perseus—"

"Percy." I interrupted her. "Never Perseus."

"O— oh. I see. My apologies, Percy." The counselor went on. "Anyways, once again, I'm sorry about your father. But I have to ask about something that happened recently that was a concern for me when it was brought to my attention."

"O...Kay?"

Sliding over a manilla envelope, she opened it for me to see a few photos of the group at Westover Hall— specifically when Grover fell and I pinned Dr. Thorn to the wall. The first photo was me running to him, the second me pinning him to the wall.

"According to the security personnel, nobody spotted or reported the incident, but after Dr. Thorn didn't return for his duties that night and Nico and Bianca di Angelo went missing, they decided to check the cameras." Dr. Hernandez explained as I held my breath, waiting to hear her assumption before I reacted. "Now, we're unable to hear what was said between Dr. Thorn and your group before you pinned him against the wall— we can only see that your friend here seemed to fall before you approached him."

Waiting for a question, I remained silent.

"Now, some people may chalk it up to teenage aggression— sometimes outbursts like this happen." She continued. "And while you do have a considerable record already, along with a parole officer assigned to you at such a young age, I couldn't help but notice something else that popped up on your other record."

"What other record?"

She smiled.

"Your medical record." And maybe I should've seen it coming, but the moment she mentioned my medical record, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. "If I may ask, Percy— did you try to end your life or seriously harm yourself with the potential outcome of ending your life earlier this month?"

I looked down.

"If you have access to my medical files, you should know that already."

There was a beat of silence.

"I just want to make sure I didn't pull the files for the wrong Percy Jackson," and while I understand that, it didn't make me any less uncomfortable. "If what I read is correct, the same file tells me that you were sent home from a mental health facility, where you stayed for over two weeks, the day before this incident."

I simply nodded.

"So what were you doing in Maine?"

"It's a long story."

"Did you mean to lash out and attack Dr. Thorn? Or was it more like an impulse that you couldn't control?"

"It..." I started, trying to regulate my breathing. "he attacked my boyfriend, so I stopped him. Sure, I was mad, but I wasn't... I'm depressed, not psychotic."

"Your records state other concerns about that." She said, as if I needed the reminder that everyone had thought of me as being clinically insane throughout my entire life. "there's many notes, including one made during your most recent hospitalization, that state concerns over your rampant imagination."

I exhaled, trying my best to stay sane.

Ironic, I know, but it wasn't going very well.

"What? So you also think I'm crazy?" I asked, which sounded awful, but it was an awful accusation. "I just told you that I'm not psychotic or schizophrenic or anything like that. You want the full truth? My dad, my biological father, is a god. We're going to California right now because we're on a quest. We have two demigods and a goddess to rescue, which is why there's so many of us, and I don't think they'd appreciate it if they get stuck being prisoners or hostages or whatever for hours or days more because we got stuck in Albuquerque, New Mexico."

And because claiming that your father is a god when there are worries that you're schizophrenic in your medical file, this claim had the crisis counselors attention.

"Oh!" She responded, sitting up a little straighter. "okay, I see. May I ask which Pantheon?"

"Pan... Oh, Greek." I answered, wondering if that meant there were more than just the Greek and Roman gods out there. Somewhere. "my sperm donor is Poseidon. The di Angelo's are children of Hades, Grover— the one that fell, he's a satyr. Thalia is Zeus' kid. And then the blonde with us in the group, Annabeth, is the daughter of Athena."

"And Dr. Thorn?"

"A monster in disguise." I told her simply. "The uh, ne... Nemean, Nemaen Lion? However you say it, I'm not great with names and stuff. I usually learn as I uh, end up having to fight them."

Softly, Dr. Hernandez nodded.

"And what did he do to Grover to cause him to fall?"

"Poisoned him with his scorpion tail."

Once again, she nodded.

Does she just think I'm crazy for having this many details?

"I see." The counselor responded, pulling the file closer to her to look at something under the photos— what looked to be my actual record. "Hmph. Interesting— that would explain a couple of these reports, though not all."

I shrugged.

"I'm still depressed and can be easily angered with little regard for my own life."

She smiled.

"I'm glad that you're aware." Dr. Hernandez insisted, closing the envelope. "Then, with that explained, I just have one major question for you: why are you on a quest so soon after being released from treatment?"

"Why?" I repeated back.

"Yes, why." She confirmed. "Also, if you wouldn't mind telling me who your trainer is, I'd be interested in speaking with them on their decision to send you on a quest."

I smiled, but it was not a happy smile. It was a nervous smile.

"I... Wasn't issued on the quest." I told the doctor. "Well, not formally, but I'm the only person who's having dreams and visions about what's going on, so... That sort of elected me for the quest regardless. So if you want to lecture them about sending me on a quest during a crisis, go for it, but use my first quest as an example, not this one."

"And... Who is sending you these visions?"

"We think it's Atlas, but it could be Kronos."

The doctor hummed, writing something down that I couldn't read even if it wasn't upside down from my perspective.

"Well that is a bit of a doozy," she admitted. "Atlas and Kronos are very powerful titans."

Going quiet, I wondered what the counselor would do. One on hand, she seemed to believe me, but on the other hand, it's her job to make me feel like I'm not crazy.

"Would you be willing to tell this to one of my coworkers who works in California?" She asked me, which was a... Weird question. "I can't guarantee that I can send your friends with you, but I can send you right to the Bay Area."

"Tell who about what exactly?"

"Just a fellow coworker of mine— we worked together before I moved out here, you see." She explained to me. "Very nice man, he specializes in all things... divine, I suppose you'd call it. He'd be able to help you on your quest."

But the way she worded it solidified my suspicions of what was really going on.

She's trying to send me back to a facility.

"We don't need help."

"But you need help, Percy. We will determine if your friends also—"

"I have a therapist." I snapped at the crisis counselor. "And as long as we don't get stopped like this again, I will get to see her and talk to her next week, and then again the week after that. I don't need your help. I have my medication, I have my friends, I just want to finish this job and go home, okay?"

"And my friend—"

"If you're trying to send me to a mental health facility you could just say that." I went on, which caught her by surprise. I'm sure not everyone realizes that what she's putting on is an act to make me feel comfortable. "I was released from the facility I was just at for a reason, and that reason was because they knew that I could handle going back home. I'm not schizophrenic, and I guess I don't blame you for not believing me when I just answered all of your questions, but you have to believe me when I say that. Call my therapist or my regular doctor and tell them your concerns— they're the ones who can make a final verdict and diagnose me if they want. But if all you're going to do is ask me questions that try and corner me into saying something that could technically get me sent to an Institute, I'm done answering your questions."

Leaning back, I crossed my arms and remained silent as she asked me a couple other questions before giving up and calling the officer back in, who escorted me back to the group.

Well, the group minus Thalia.

Where's Thalia? I asked Grover over the mental link as I sat down next to him.

Talking to a lawyer. Grover told me as the officer that escorted me spoke with the other two that were still in here. I think he has a plan.

You think?

It's hard to talk when there's two police officers sitting right there, sweets.

Okay, true.

"Officers, I don't know how else to explain it to you," Bianca told the two of them. "There is no family for you to contact of mine— I've been trapped in time for the last 70 years. Even if my cousins or aunties were alive, they wouldn't be able to take care of me. That's all there is to is."

"Young lady, I don't know what kind of dreams you've been having in that little head of yours, but you can't just be trapped in time." The bald officer responded. "This is the real world, missy, not one of those YA brain washing books you kids love to read now a days. I need to know—"

The door to the interrogation room swung open once again, this time Thalia walking in with who appeared to be a lawyer and then the questioning officer that would've gone with her.

"Let's go, losers," Thalia said, holding a pair of car keys. "We have friends to see and paparazzi to avoid."

Chapter 75: Cars Are Dumb Anyways

Percy Jackson

They weren't kidding about the paparazzi.

We left the police station with very little protest from the officers, though one of them did try to hold me back at first, and we we're immediately bombarded with paparazzi as we were escorted to a black SUV by the lawyer that was with Thalia.

Thankfully, there was just enough room in the SUV to fit all 7 of us. The three hunters sat in the back (by choice), then Grover and I sat in the middle while Thalia got shotgun with the lawyer driving.

"May I ask where we're going?" Zoë questioned as Ms. Lawyer started the car and slowly drove through the crowd of paparazzi.

"California," Thalia told the lieutenant of Artemis. "You know, where the quest says we have to go? I might not be able to go back to New York with you guys, but I'm seeing this through. Annabeth is my little sister, and there's no way in hell I'm not going to try and help her."

"Wait, you won't go back with us?" Grover asked. "Why?"

"Ms.... Mx. Grace, excuse me," the lawyer answered my boyfriend. "has quite a few things to deal with as soon as possible back in Pasadena. They won't be there forever, but there's a lot of paperwork and legal stuff to go through, so I imagine it'll take a couple days. Are you 18 yet, Thalia? I can't recall if your birthday is before or after Christmas."

"I will be in a few days, on the 22nd." Thalia told her. "But I have to be in New York for a meeting on the 21st, so if that causes any issues, I might have to come back after the new year."

"I suppose your expected to be on Olympus for the solstice," the lawyer commented, surprising the lot of us. "What? Of course I know who Thalia's father is— I worked for Beryl long before Thalia was born, and let me tell you— even gods don't like paying child support. Regardless, Thalia, we will come up with a plan for you to make it to everything you have to. For now, you and your friends can just lay back and relax— it's a long drive from here to San Francisco."

•••

I'll give the monsters credit— they let us  cross over from New Mexico into Arizona before attacking the car.

We had stopped at Petrified Forest National Park (they really need to get more creative with the names for these places) to stretch our legs and have some lunch when the skeletons attacked.

The skeletons in question had literally come out from the ground— leaving behind cracks and craters that would leave even the world's best archeologists scratching their heads for the next few hundred years. But even weirder: they were in clothing.

Military clothing, at that. Similar to Hades' security, but these were just skeletons— not ghosts.

"PERCY!" Bianca yelled out as I turned around to see the skeleton she was looking at, promptly kicking it away from me.

Since it's a skeleton, it fell to pieces. I relaxed.

"Since when do skeletons—"

The skeleton stood back up, it's body coming together like it was made out of magnets. It grabbed it's head, brushed some sand off of the hat it was wearing, and carefully placed it back on it's head before looking at me.

Now, because it has no lips, the skeleton couldn't speak. But when it's jaw moved, I could imagine that it just cursed me out for ruining the outfit it just had dry cleaned for the civil war reenactment it was going to after this.

And then it summoned two other friends.

As you may be able to guess, these three skeletons all attacked me. So I took out Riptide, thinking that surely this would be the key to killing the skeletons. Even though I didn't understand how they were alive in the first place because they're just bones.

Slicing through the three of them in one go, I watched as the bones all clattered to the ground. I'm not sure what the mortals around us saw, but it must've been something relatively normal if they weren't crowding us yet.

Before I knew it, the skeletons had re-connected itself, once again calling for more friends.

One of which managed to get into the SUV and drive away while all of the other ones continued to multiply and attack my friends and I.

"WHY AREN'T THESE THINGS DYING?" Thalia asked after crushing the skull of one of them in hopes that it wouldn't reform.

"What do you mean they're not dying?" Bianca asked as she used her knife to cut through two of them while I cut down another one to my right.

The difference, I immediately realized, is that Bianca's stayed on the ground, turning to dust.

Mine, on the other hand, still had that go getter attitude and got back up.

"What... Is it a number of times they have to be striked down?" I asked, seeing one near Phoebe get back up as my amazing boyfriend and Thalia's lawyer walked out of the restaurant/Cafe we were eating at before, both of them holding drink trays in their hands and looking very worried. I knocked the same skeleton down. "This is the fourth time I've gotten this one! How many times did you strike those ones, Bianca?"

"I don't know! I'm just killing them as they get close."

"Well keep doing it!" Zoë yelled out, kicking a few in mine and Bianca's direction. "WATCH OUT!"

Seeing the skeleton about to swing a knife at me, I ducked.

Bianca nearly shaved the top of my head with her knife as she slashed through the skeletons that Zoë pushed to us. And, like before, they started to crumble to dust.

"Bianca, wait!" I yelled, an idea coming to me as I saw she was about to stab another one. I ran closer to her, slashing the body of bones and watching it clatter.

But not wither.

"Wh— I had that!" The daughter of Hades yelled at me.

"Sorry! It's an experiment." I insisted, moving out of her way. "Get it now."

As the skeleton got up, Bianca did exactly that— slicing through the spine of the skeleton, causing it to crumble to dust at her feet.

Looking around, I could tell that the other three were still in trouble with the skeletons, but unlike Bianca, they had no sand at their feet.

"Bianca, go help the others," I told the new hunteress. "I'm going to go tell Grover and the lawyer what's going on."

"But—"

"Just go! You can do this!" I yelled out to her. "You're the only one that can, okay?"

Taking a sharp breath, Bianca nodded her head and ran to help the others.

"Hey, what's going on? How did I not... I still don't smell monsters." Grover insisted as I saw the lawyer looking around frantically. "Are those skeletons?"

I nodded.

"They can only be killed by Bianca— probably because she's a daughter of Hades." I explained to my boyfriend. "We can knock them down, but they put themselves back together really fast. Bianca can make them crumble to dust. Um... One of them did get away."

"Get away? How so? Is everyone okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, everyone's fine so far." I promised the two of them, gladly taking a hot chocolate that Grover offered me with a smile. "Thank you. Um, were okay so far, but it did take the car. So..."

I shrugged.

"We don't have a car."

The lawyer's eyes went wide.

"It took my car?"

Once again, I nodded my head.

"And I mean, we don't need a car— I've never used a car on a quest before now," I reasoned with the Grace family lawyer. "However, you might have to call roadside assistance if you want to get back to wherever it is you'd be going without us."

Closing her eyes, Ms. Lawyer took a sharp breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I'm going to step inside to make a call. Please don't leave before I'm back outside."

I looked back to the group fighting.

"Behind you, Bianca!" I warned the daughter of Hades.

After a few more minutes, the skeleton army had turned to ash being spread across the Petrified Forest. The group joined Grover and I, Thalia punching my arm.

"Lazy piece of shit."

"Hey!" I defended myself. "it's not like I could've killed any of the skeletons anyways, and somebody had to tell your lawyer that one of those skeletons decided to play real life grand theft auto."

"Real life... What?" Zoë questioned.

"It's... A video game, don't worry about it," I insisted. "Point is: our car is gone."

"And you couldn't kill the skeletons why?" The child of Zeus asked.

"Because the only one that actually could was Bianca," I pointed out to the group. "It took me a minute to figure it out, but none of the ones I slashed stayed dead— the ones Bianca did turned to dust immediately."

"But why?" Bianca said.

"Probably because you're Hades' kid— skeletons are sort of his thing." I went on, a little surprised that nobody else noticed that. That's something Annabeth would've noticed immediately if we we're on a quest. "So if we see them again, you'll have to deal with them. Sorry. But we're still, what, almost a thousand miles away from San Francisco? Does anyone have a way for us to get there that won't take an entire week?"

"I could steal a car." Thalia suggested.

"That isn't illegal, please." Grover added on, taking a sip of the coffee he had— which surprised me, because he's never been much of a coffee drinker. But the cup clearly said it was some sort of latte. "You'll be an adult in a couple days, Thalia— if they find us in a stolen car, you'll go to jail."

They groaned.

"Fine, you're right." He agreed, crossing her arms. "so what do you propose? If we can't do illegal shit, that gets rid of most of my ideas. And all of the fun ones."

"You have an... Interesting concept of fun." Bianca commented.

"Did somebody say fun?" A woman's voice said from behind Grover and I.

Turning around to see who had just spoken, I was faced with an adult woman with very short, brown curly hair. She was a little taller than all of us, and more on the skinny, almost scrawny side. Her eyes were a muddy green, and freckles covered her pale skin.

For half a second, I wondered if I'd just misgendered this person in my mind. If she was actually transmasc.

For another half second, I wondered if this was Grover's mom because it took me a whole second to realize how similar they looked to one another.

The next half second, I went back to my first consideration because I don't know if Grover's mom would look this young, if she's even alive right now. She could be dead— Grover doesn't know for sure.

"Grover," I whispered to my boyfriend, momentarily forgetting that I could've asked him this privately, through the mental link. "Your mom is dead, right?"

"My... I think so, why?" He whispered back.

"This lady looks a lot like you," I pointed out to my boyfriend, who initially seemed confused by my simple observation. "You sure you don't know who she is?"

The woman covered her mouth with both of her hands, giving the same expression that my mom gave me the first time I asked to have a friend come over for a sleepover: a mix of shock and happiness.

"Oh, the lot of you will be fun to travel with." The woman said as a man came out from the building behind her, and I immediately realized how embarrassing I just was. "You six do need a ride, don't you?"

I'd just asked if the goddess Aphrodite, who's appearance changes based on the viewer, was my boyfriend's mom.

"What's up, ungrateful punk?" Aphrodite's man whore asked as if I didn't just embarrass myself in front of his girlfriend, who I'm sure would tell him the story later. "Itching for round two?"

"Ares, dear—" Aphrodite warned.

"Round two?" I repeated back to the god of all talk no action. "what? You want me to humble you in front of your girlfriend this time so she leaves your sorry ass? Or did you forget that you're her side piece?"

Grover squeezed my hand.

"Why, you little—"

"Darling." The goddess of love interrupted our dispute, placing a hand on his shoulder. "these are the demigods that are going to save Lady Artemis, along with two other demigods that are in danger. Isn't it wonderful that their love for their friends and the hunters devotion to their patron is so strong that they're willing to risk their lives to try and save them?"

Ares did a once over of the six of us.

"I suppose."

Wow. I thought to myself. Aphrodite really does mellow him out.

"Come, children," the goddess of love said, motioning to a limo that wasn't there moments prior. "You can ride with Ares and I for a short while— there's matters I'd like to discuss with some of you, privately, while we're together."

Chapter 76: Love Is Often War

Thalia Grace

I debated doing things that would earn me a matching bracelet with Percy when Aphrodite said she wished to speak with me as everyone was getting into the limo.

After she finished touching up some makeup that I didn't even realize she had on, the goddess turned her attention to me as we sat in the back of the limo, separate from the rest of the group.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Thalia." She began with a tone that sounded nice enough that I wondered how real it was. "Seriously— it's not every day a demigod basically dies and comes back to life years later. Have they figured it out yet?"

"Figured... What out?"

"That you were poisoned in order to be brought back to life," the goddess said as if it were so obvious (and, if you knew who did it, I guess it was). "I mean, come on, talk about romantic."

"Romantic?"

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Darling, you're the one dating the person who was responsible for the poisoning— though don't tell Chiron or Mr. D that." She said, causing me to freeze in shock because if she knows, who else does? But she seemed to be able to read me like a book. "oh, don't worry, darling, I'm sure I'm one of the only gods that have put the pieces together. And either way, it won't matter once the solstice has passed, correct? Now that Annabeth Chase knows that it was Luke's doing, she'll do what she's supposed to do and spread word of not just that, but I'm sure everything she learns over these next few days. Even if she never found out, you'd be leaving after the solstice to go with him, correct?"

"Lady Aphrodite, I—"

"Ah, ah, ah," the goddess of love cut me off and smiled softly. "There's no need to explain your actions to me, Thalia Grace. Your entire life you've acted out of love, and love is my specialty. You insist that it's because you hate— you hate your mother, your father, your upbringing. But in reality, it's because you love— your love for your younger brother, for Annabeth and Luke, for so many demigods that you will never even meet. If you can learn to love yourself, Thalia Grace, you will do wonderful things. You and Luke both. Among many others, I'm sure."

I looked down, carefully considering my next words.

How much does she know?

"Among others?" I decided to question the end of her statement. "What do you mean by that, Lady Aphrodite?"

She smiled again.

"It's not often my children take an interest in politics," the goddess told me, which sounded right. "They're often times written off as dramatic, idiotic, or self centered, and whether it be because it's true or because it's what they've been told their entire lives, most of my kids tend to lean into that by the time they've figured out how camp works. That usually means that they don't care about any battles or war or quests going on— so when one of my kids starts to care, so do I."

Aphrodite paused.

"I have to admit, Silena's frustrations are correctly placed— I've never been very involved in any of my children's lives, and ever since Zeus decided that we were to go no contact with our children, I hadn't thought much about ways I could bend that rule." She went on, messing with a ring that was on her ring finger— a ruby heart. "your lives are so short to us, such an insignificant amount of time, that it's hard for us to understand how important we are to your lives— even though most of you hate to admit it."

I rolled my eyes at her last comment.

"Either way, I understand why my daughter is so passionate about this cause that you and Luke are fighting for," Aphrodite told me. "For the last year and a half, Zeus has refused to speak of his father stirring in the depths of Tartarus, but after this quest, I don't think he'll be able to keep it to himself. News will have to spread."

"It will?"

She nodded.

"I know it will be hard, especially considering your relationship with Annabeth Chase, but I suggest you not attending the solstice meeting if you plan to remain by Luke Castellan's side." The goddess of love warned me, which was actually good to know. "my daughter can tell you all of what happens after the fact. But speaking on that matter: the current plan is for Luke to become the host of Kronos?"

Not a fan of the reminder, I nodded my head, still looking down.

"Do you have a plan?" Aphrodite asked. "to keep him with you while he hosts the Titan Lord?"

"Do I... Not really, no." I admitted. "I'm just... We're going to talk about it more. Why? You don't think he'll survive?"

She flashed me a saddened smile— one that reminded me of Luke.

"It's hard to know, dear, but I believe he's one of the only demigods that could handle it." The goddess assured me, though it didn't help much. She put her hand out— the left one, with the red ring on it. "you know, a few hundred years ago, Ares gifted me this ring— it's nothing too flashy, and I never knew how much it cost, but he insisted that the ring reminded him of us— the heart shape for me, the ruby red color for him."

"It's not a lot, and it's not the only thing he's bought me over the centuries." Aphrodite continued. "But when we go through spats or arguments or, gods forbid, one of us gets jealous over a mortal lover, it's this ring that reminds me of Ares' love for me, and my love for him."

I looked at the ring. It was a gorgeous ring, I'll admit. I never would've known it was hundreds of years old.

Then again, a god's sense of time is never good.

"I'm not saying it has to be a ring," Aphrodite summarized. "but if you want to keep Luke Castellsn, and I hope that you do, I'd suggest finding something to remind him of the two of you. Even if you don't get to see him all the time— even if it's not him that's facing that day, it will increase his chances of survival."

But one thing troubled me about this entire situation, as sincere as it seemed to be.

This meant that Aphrodite knew a lot of our plans.

"But Lady Aphrodite," I began, growing tired of the word Lady. "if you know so much, why tell me ways to keep him alive? Wouldn't you want him dead?"

"Why would I want to kill one of the most love-filled, passionate demigods of this time? And pre maturely end your two's story?" She asked in return. "like you, Luke is filled with so much love and equally so much anger. After all, it's hard for one to exist without the other— to have war, we must have love, and to love is often a war. Anger is but a brother of war, a cousin of passion, and both of you have so much of both that it would pain me to strike you down now— especially knowing that what you crave isn't power. If you and Luke sought to destroy Olympus and dethrone us, my reaction may be different, but I have watched and listened over the years, and I know better than that. Continue to love, Thalia, and remember to love yourself. You don't need to understand somebody in order to love them, and you don't need to understand yourself in order to love yourself. Clear?"

I nodded once again.

"It's been a pleasure talking with you, Thalia Grace." The goddess of love said with another smile. "Go join your friends and send Percy back here, will you? Him and I need to have a long conversation about self-worth."

•••
Baby chapter :)

Chapter 77: Papa (Derogatory)

Percy Jackson

When two of the most unbearable gods of Olympus said they'd be dropping us off, it was wrong for any of us to assume they'd leave us somewhere helpful.

Like, you know, somewhere with public transportation or even somewhere where we could hijack a car.

But no, they dropped us off in the middle of a literal ghost town. The only thing in sight was a junkyard, and since it was after sundown, we decided to set up camp for the night because none of us wanted to go dumpster diving in the dark.

As I'd been laying down, appreciating the quiet, I was looking up at the sky. It was a clear night, so you could actually see the stars.

"Percy," Thalia said.

"Hm?" I hummed, well aware that the whole group could hear us.

I'm not sure she was aware of that.

"Did you seriously ask Grover if Aphrodite was his mom?"

I might've punched them for asking me that, feeling the blood rush to my face as I heard Grover chuckle to the other side of me.

"Oh, fuck you, Grace," I said, rolling my eyes. "We get it, I embarrassed myself and will never live it down. We don't need to talk about it."

"I have a boyfriend that does that already, thank you very much."

Grover opened his mouth, and immediately closed it. Bianca covered her mouth with both hands, looking absolutely scandalized.

"I was going to say that I thought it was very sweet," my boyfriend added on after a moment of silence to mourn the innocence that Thalia I'm sure never actually had. He grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. "but you are never living it down, sweets."

I tried to ignore the look Bianca gave Grover and I when she followed the movement of Grover's hand.

She was born in the 1920s, I tried to remind myself. She doesn't know any better.

"The stars look nice." I decided to change the subject, laying down as I pointed up to the sky. "There's Orion's Belt."

"I don't know if I've ever seen that one before." Bianca commented. "The sky is so clear out here, though- it's kind of beautiful."

"This is nothing." Zoë said as she looked up to the sky. "you used to be able to see so many stars in the sky... Whole constellations that are no longer visible, even on nights like tonight."

"It makes me sad," Grover sympathized with Zoë's observation. "to think that even out here's, where humans hardly touch the Earth, the pollution is still this bad..."

His voice drifted.

"It would make Pan angry. And sad. Really, really sad."

"You'll find him." I told my boyfriend, hoping it would be true. "Have you sensed anything, since we left New York?"

He nodded.

"I have a theory that I need to test out when we get back to New York." The satyr explained. "Depending on how that goes, I might have a lead. But until then, we should figure out who's taking first shift because it looks lost most of us are ready to crash."

Nodding in agreement, Zoë and Grover offered to take first watch. I fell asleep to my boyfriend messing with my hair and talking to the lieutenant about all of the stars no longer visible in the sky.

After last night's pause from being tormented while I sleep, I probably shouldn't have been surprised when I had a nightmare vision.

Luke was still holding the weight of the sky, seemingly exhausted as a new figure stood in front of him. It was a man with a slight hunch to his back and black hair. With his back to me, that's about all I could tell. He stood close to Luke, leaning down towards the older demigod as Annabeth remained chained at the edge of my vision, as well as Artemis.

I couldn't help but notice that the chains that held the two girls down were different, though. While Annabeth's resembled some sort of either bronze or iron- it was hard to tell in the night if the chains were rusted or just supposed to be that color, Artemis' chains had a faint glow to them. Without a doubt, they were golden, and they provided the faintest light source.

"Getting tired, Luke Castellan?" The man who I could only suppose was Atlas or somebody who worked closely with Atlas seemed to tease the son of Hermes, who wouldn't look up. "You know if you would like to take a break, I'm sure Athena's daughter could-"

"No." Luke said through gritted teeth. "I don't care... Care what... Or how long I have to be here. You won't touch her, or anyone... Else..."

The Titan chuckled, sending a chill down my back.

"Oh, Luke, I'll be fascinated to see what will happen if you survive this little trial." Atlas insisted, turning slightly towards where I was in the vision, motioning directly at me. "now that we have the sarcophagus- and what a stunning sarcophagus it is, it's only a matter of time. I'm sure that if you waved at it, he would say hello in return."

He paused.

"Oh, wait," but it was a cruel set up for a bad joke. "That's right, you can't wave because you're holding up the sky. My bad."

Sauntering over to where my view of the mountain seemed to come from, Atlas placed his hand on something that was right outside of my vision. He leaned to his right, looking at Luke, then at whatever it was he was leaning against, then back to Luke.

"What do you think, Uncle?" The Titan asked, which threw me for a loop. "Think he'll be ready? His father is only Hermes, after all."

As if I'd disclose that information out loud in front of a goddess. The Titan Lords voice rang in my ears for the first time in over a year- harsh and cold. I would much prefer you as my host, Perseus Jackson, but Luke Castellan is awfully stubborn. Has he even mentioned the idea to you?

"Nothing? Fine." Atlas responded, standing up straight once more to approach the goddess Kronos mentioned. "You have no idea the things that are about to happen. Even now your hunters, as devoted and as idiotic as they are, rush to come rescue their lady in waiting."

"When I get out of these chains, Atlas, you-"

"Woah, woah, woah," he cut her off. "The jar, please."

Snapping his fingers, Atlas summoned a young boy who held a jar that seemed to hold some sort of liquid that reminded me of molten lava. He was young, around Nico's age, maybe a little older. He had shorter black hair and-

"Ethan?" Annabeth recognized him before I did, trying to move towards the young runaway but ultimately being unable to get near him because of the chains. "Ethan, what are you... Have you been here the whole time? How long...? Whatever happened, it's okay, others will be here soon and somebody can get you back to camp, okay?"

Ethan glanced at her, then at Luke before looking back to the daughter of Athena.

"And what makes you think I'd want to go back to camp?"

Why would you take Annabeth? I mentally questioned either titan, knowing only one might be able to hear my thoughts. When she's the one that will foil your plans and rat you out to Olympus? Why not take somebody like Thalia or I?

Because, Kronos said in my mind. My nephew is a fool.

"Why wouldn't you... Ethan, it's the safest place on earth for people like us, why wouldn't you go back? You were kidnapped, it-"

"I wasn't kidnapped."

There was a beat of silence as Atlas carefully ladled some of the liquid burning gold out of the jar.

"Just to remind you who's in charge here," he said with a stick smile on his face, pouring the contents over the shackles of Artemis' chains.

With the steaming gold seeming to soak into the chains as some of it ran down her hands and arms, the goddess screamed- a deafening and terrifying sound.

Is that ichor?

Does ichor even glow? I know it's golden, but I haven't seen it often enough to know if it glows.

But even so, why would Atlas have that on hand? It makes no sense.

Waking up because of the scream, I sat up and looked around, not able to see much since it was obviously night, but able to see enough to tell that Grover and Zoë were still on shift so I hadn't slept long.

Probably sensing that I woke up as I was still getting my bearings, Grover turned his head suddenly to look over at me.

"Percy?" My boyfriend whispered. "You okay?"

Looking around, I settled my sights on Grover and Zoë, who were both sitting not too far away from the rest of us.

"Hm? Oh, uh, yeah, just..." I motioned to my head. "The usual. I have a question, though."

Neither of them said anything, allowing me to speak.

"So you're immortal, Zoë." I recalled. "Do you bleed ichor or blood?"

"Me?" Zoë asked, I nodded. "I bleed ichor, but not all the hunters do. If they bled blood before joining, they still do, and if they bled ichor, they still do. Why?"

"If... Okay, interesting." I responded slowly, trying to think of why Zoë would've been born with ichor blood rather than the mortal variant. "Sorry, that gave me another question, but I'll save that for later. Random follow up question: does ichor glow?"

She gave me a weird look, which I guess I deserved, but I prefaced it by saying it was random.

"No, Percy, it does not glow." She answered for me very simply. "it's ichor, not lava. Why? Have you never seen it before?"

I shook my head.

"No, I have," I clarified what I meant by the action, getting up to move closer to the duo, sitting next to my boyfriend, who wrapped an arm around me. "but it's been a while and when it happened, I wasn't focused on the ichor- moreso on the injury I'd just caused. But I had another dream or nightmare of vision or whatever you want to call it and like..."

My voice drifted.

"One line of the prophecy is starting to make sense." I began, which had their attention naturally. I exhaled. "yeah- I'm pretty sure I know who's sending me the visions, but again, we can talk about that later. I ask because in the vision, Atlas currently has Artemis chained up and he has this jar full of glowing golden liquid and I couldn't think of what else it would be besides literal lava or ichor, but he put some on her chains to like, make her compliant, basically? I didn't see anything after, that was the end of the vision, but it hurt her a lot. She screamed and it seemed to soak into the metal rather than just make it hot which... Seemed weird."

Zoë thought to herself for a moment, looking down at the ground.

"Did he do or say anything before he did it?"

I nodded my head.

"He said just to remind you who's in charge here before pouring it."

Zoë's expression dropped.

"Just- oh." She said, which felt really bad. "Oh. Wow, okay, I didn't know he... Wow."

"I'm sorry," Grover interjected. "Maybe I missed something, but what is it? Do you know what the golden stuff is?"

Zoë nodded, looking at me.

"We're there any other Titans in the vision?"

"A sarcophagus that I couldn't see but he mentioned, but none that were living. Why?"

She swallowed.

"Just... Curious." She insisted. "I think that glowing stuff may have been another titan- one who m- who Atlas and other Titans weren't very happy with after the war."

There was a beat of silence as Grover and I didn't even have to share a look, communicating with the empathy link.

Did you hear that too? I asked.

The correction? Yeah.

It's weird, right?

Very.

"I'm sorry," I responded, sitting forward. "What were you going to say instead of Atlas?"

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

I closed my eyes as to not roll them.

"What... I think that glowing stuff may have been another titan, one who m-" I repeated back. "who's m?"

As Zoë struggled for an answer, I tried to think about what she's already told me about herself- if she'd already have some sort of connection to Atlas.

Like, she's super old so I wouldn't doubt that they've seen each other. If she was alive millennia ago... She helped a hero with a quest.

But which hero? A lot of women helped lots of heroes in the old stories.

Suddenly, a bit of my first vision popped into my mind: Luke told Annabeth he knew where she was because of his first quest, which was when he was supposed to retrieve the golden apple from a tree.

But who did that originally? It wasn't Perseus and it wasn't Odysseus.

Regardless of who did it, though, she was able to help this person get an apple, and if her and her biological sisters lived where the Tree was, which is now at the base of Mount Othyrs....

"Oh."

That's why she asked me about the great prophecy, I realized.

"What?" Grover and Zoë asked- Zoë out of fear, Grover out of confusion.

I looked up at Artemis' lieutenant, making eye contact, wondering if Phoebe or any of the other hunters back at camp knew.

If they asked her not to go.

"Your father is Atlas."

If they're back at camp now, discussing who will take her place if she doesn't make it back.

There was a moment of silence as Zoë refused to break eye contact, pondering her response.

"You don't know that. I haven't told you anything about my parentage."

"No," I agreed. "But you told me that you helped a hero out on a quest- the hero that had my sword before I did. The person you gave the sword to, which helped them complete the quest against your sisters and family's wishes. The hero- Heracles, gave you no credit, so you joined the hunt."

"How would you know-"

"Luke was given the same quest as him," I filled the daughter of Atlas in. "To retrieve a golden apple- it's where he got his scar from."

"So?"

"So when he went to help Annabeth he said that he knew where she was because he'd been there before, on his quest." I went on. "To find the golden apple."

She chuckled.

"That's still a big stretch, Jackson."

"Then why did you ask me about how I coped with the great prophecy and with my own mortality?"

She didn't respond.

"You also said you bleed ichor," I added on. "meaning that you either have two godly parents or you'd be the child of something like a titan."

The huntress looked over at the three sleeping members of our party, mostly focusing on Phoebe.

"So what?" Zoë Nightshade conceded to my deduction. "you don't trust me now? Whatever it is my father's doing, I have no part of it. We haven't spoken in... Decades, probably, and we haven't had a conversation in centuries. My priority is Artemis, that is where my loyalties lie."

"Wh..." I stopped, realizing that my tone might've sounded harder than I meant it to. "no, Zoë, I... I still trust you. I wasn't trying to accuse you of sabotaging the quest, I was trying to make sense of the prophecy that says that somebody is going to die by a parents hand. And marching straight to your father seems like a tactic even more suicidal than me joining this quest without permission."

"It would've been nice to know." Grover piped in. "not that it's a guarantee that it'll be between you and him, but... It does make the line seem a lot less random."

Zoë Nightshade pursed her lips.

"Whether you were familiar with my lineage or not, it will not change what happens when we arrive at Mount Othyrs." Artemis' Lieutenant pointed out, which was true, but didn't change the moral of it. "Besides, trying to figure out a prophecy before it unravels is like trying to guess lottery numbers. It's a foolish endeavor. I'm assuming that's the line you think you figured out then? One shall perish by a parents hand?"

"Hm?" I hummed in response, forgetting about that with this development. "oh, no, I figured out a different one before I figured out who your dad was. But before that- what did you think the glowing stuff was that Atlas had?"

She sighed.

"It is not a guarantee, simply a hypothesis," the demititan (is that a term?) prefaced. "But it could be the essence of Helios- Titan of the sun. He was initially on good terms with the gods, but eventually Apollo took over his job and... Well, I'm sure he was quite frustrated by that. Similar to Kronos, we haven't heard from him in centuries. If he's in Tartarus but not powerful enough to exist physically, Atlas could have extracted some of his essence to use. He... Wouldn't be the first person to try. Some Roman Emperor tried the same thing- Caligula. He was... Weird. He wasn't able to pull it off, but he was also mortal. You said there was a sarcophagus, right?"

I let out a slow breath.

"It... Was definitely not for Helios, but there was one, yes."

Tilting her head, Zoë gave me a questionable look.

"Then who do you suppose it was?"

I looked down.

"The bane of Olympus." I answered, quoting the prophecy. "My grandfather, your great uncle."

"My what?"

"Kronos." I said more clearly. "I know because I heard him speak and he called Atlas his nephew. He's definitely not physical, but he's sentient. I think he might the one sending me visions."

"Why you?"

I shrugged.

"The great prophecy maybe?" I said, which wasn't a lie. "I'm not 100% sure."

Zoë Nightshade sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I guess it's useless to try and figure out on our own- they call him the Crooked One for a reason, so I doubt his reasoning is straightforward." But as she said it, an idea came to her. "Or maybe it's because you're the bane of Olympus."

I smiled.

"I try my hardest."

"It's a miracle Ares didn't zap you in the limo." My boyfriend agreed, "I suppose he didn't want to zap his future step son in law."

I elbowed him. Zoë smirked.

"It's because he would've lost," I half joked, catching Zoë look stressed at the claim. "Don't worry, I speak from experience, not pure ego."

"That's what somebody speaking from pure ego would say."

"That's quite homophobic of you to say that."

"This has nothing to do with your sexual and romantic preferences, do not make such preposterous claims about my prejudices."

I sighed, tiredness hitting me once more.

"It... Was a joke." I clarified. "I'm going to go back bed. If I see your dad again, I'll tell him you say hi."

She rolled her eyes.

"Keep up the quips and your chances of waking up will significantly decrease."

I smiled, walking back to where I'd fallen asleep, dragging my boyfriend with me because it was Thalia's turn to be on watch.

"It's okay," I promised the huntress, laying down as Grover woke Thalia up and walked over to join me. "that's not the threat you think it is."

Cuddling with Grover, I fell asleep to him running his fingers through my hair once again- it was really long right now. I was meaning to get it cut like a month and a half ago, but then I was severely depressed and kept forgetting to make an appointment.

And then, you know, I was sent to the mental health facility for like three weeks. So now my hair is longer than Thalia's, I'm pretty sure.

After overworking my brain for what was a post nightmare adrenaline rush, my body gave me one victory that night: I slept through the rest of the night without any visions, dreams, or nightmares.

Notes:

Any predictions for how the lines of the prophecy are gonna play out (I've already written it so you can't influence my decisions sorry)?

Chapter 78: I Break A Promise

Percy Jackson

I don't want to talk about what happened after I woke up the next morning, but I suppose that I have to, right?

Waking a few hours after I'd fallen back asleep, Thalia told me that it was my turn for watch and that she was going to sleep. It was me and Bianca for the next however long until everyone woke up.

Nodding, I slowly woke up and made my way towards the daughter of Hades, who seemed to be playing with something small in her hands as she kept watch.

"What you got there?" I asked the younger demigod, sitting down besides her.

"Just an old ring that my mom gave me when I was younger - I was polishing it." Bianca explained to me, showing me the ring- it was a silver ring that was embedded with what looked to be a pearl that was carved into the shape of a skull, being held in place by two skeletal hands. "It didn't fit her anymore and our father had gotten her a new ring, so she gifted me this one, but..."

She took a breath, sliding it onto her pinky finger.

"I don't know, it feels so weird knowing that my dad is Hades," she tried to relate to me. "as in the Hades. I've never really... Had an interest in death or anything. I never would've realized that our father was a god, much less the god of death. He was so... Warm. He cared about us and our mother so much, I... I miss him. Do you feel that way ever? About your father?"

"Feel what way? Like I miss him?" I asked, then looked towards the horizon. The sun would be rising soon. I let out a breath. "no, but... Well, not my biological father. Not Poseidon. He's never really been there, so there's nothing to miss, you know? But I guess it's weird to think about at times- that I'm related to him. I get what you mean, though- it wasn't easy my first few weeks."

"Your father wasn't around?"

I shook my head.

"No, but I never cared." I reassured Bianca di Angelo. "I have a dad- he's technically my step dad, and he's far from perfect, but he raised me and he's trying. There were a couple years where things we're... Rough, you could say. He lost his best friend and kind of lost himself, did some not so wonderful things to my mom and I, but nothing to put us in the hospital and nothing that he hasn't apologized for profusely."

Bianca frowned.

"What, did he hit you guys?"

I nodded.

"He doesn't anymore," I clarified, seeing her concern lessen, though she didn't seem very concerned. I suppose that 70 years ago hitting your kids was pretty normal. "Um, it started when I was a little younger than Nico- like 8 or so, and ended around the time I turned 13. His best friend died and then my mom miscarried and it pushed him over the edge so he drank a lot and he got violent when we got drunk sometimes. Not always. But yeah. He sobered up almost two years ago and..."

Pausing, I took a breath, hoping that I'd get to make it back home in time for their vow renewal party.

"We're still figuring some stuff out," I admitted, thinking back to my last therapy session in November. We'd talked a lot about Gabe and Mom being pregnant and my worries at that appointment. "I've forgiven him for what happened and I do trust him still, but after four or so years of... That, some things are still weird or hard. Sometimes when he's mad, which isn't often, but it happens, my brain will convince me that he's mad at me even though he isn't and it'll start to shut down on me and I'll freak out. Or like, if he hits something or if there's just a loud bang or whatever, the same thing can happen. Sometimes I flinch when somebody goes to touch me unexpectedly. But we're... We're getting there. He's in therapy. I'm in therapy. Him and Mom went to couples therapy and..."

Then I realized that I'd just trauma dumped on Bianca.

"Yeah." I stopped myself. "Sorry, you probably didn't... Want to hear all that."

"Hm? No, it's alright." The huntress promised. "I'm glad to hear things are improving with your step father. May I ask what therapy is? It sounds important to your family. Is it an American tradition?"

I smiled, amused by the random things the di Angelos didn't seem to know about.

"What? Oh, no, it's not... Not specific to America." I explained. "Therapy is where you talk to a doctor that specializes in mental health- how you feel and how healthy your brain is- for an hour or so at a time. Based on what you tell them, they help you figure stuff out you yourself might not be able to figure out to help you eventually feel better. I've been going to therapy for quite a while for an abundance of reasons."

"So your mental health is bad then?" Bianca assumed, a question that was worded in such a way that I couldn't help smile. "Can you get sick if your mental health is bad?"

Looking down again, I nodded.

"Technically, I am sick- just not in a way that's contagious." I tried to explain something I didn't fully understand to the daughter of Hades. "Because of the stuff I've gone through between camp and my dad and school and whatever, mixed with the fact that my brain isn't completely normal, I've been diagnosed with a couple of things. Mental health doesn't always affect your physical health, but it can- I lost a lot of weight this month because I just couldn't get out of bed some days so I wouldn't eat and it sounds so stupid when I say it like that, but..." I shrugged. "My brain wouldn't let me take care of myself."

Bianca frowned, seeming to ponder her next question. It took a moment to gather the courage to ask it.

"Is that why you have cuts all over your arms?" She asked gently, the question naturally grabbing my attention because I didn't even realize she noticed them. "Because your brain doesn't want you to take care of yourself? So it tells you to do things that hurt you?"

I flashed her a saddened smile and just nodded my head.

"But therapy helps?"

Again, I nodded.

"That and I have some medication that I take that helps with some of the more physical parts of the mental illness- chemical imbalances or whatever. But therapy does help, yes. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged.

"Just curious- there's so much that's happened in the last like 70 years that I have to learn about." Bianca insisted, looking back at the ring in her hands. "I uh, I don't know how much I'll be able to see Nico after this quest is completed. The others make it sound very busy, which I'm excited for because it's just been so long since I've been to able to do anything on my own without worrying about him, but... I mean, I'll still worry about him. He's my baby brother. But if he needs therapy, which... I think one day, he will- can you help him to make sure he finds a doctor, if I'm not there?"

"Can I..."

I lost my voice.

Over the last few days since I'd formally met Bianca, I'd been very critical of her decision to join the Hunters of Artemis. And while a small part of me is still upset on Nico's behalf...

I had to remember that she was the same as us. A kid.

And, like so many other kids at camp right now, she was a kid who was forced to raise her younger sibling before she was old enough to have that kind of responsibility.

Bianca di Angelo was the exact kind of person Luke, Thalia, me, and so many others wanted to fight for. The literal children who were taken advantage of and then given no thanks for all their work.

She became a mother the moment her own mom died, I'm sure not giving her time to process that loss. Now, years later, she has a chance at independence while knowing her brother is safe.

So I guess I don't blame her for wanting to join the hunt- just for not talking to Nico about it first.

Then again, she's like 12. She makes mistakes.

"Would you be able to give this to Nico?" Bianca asked me, handing me the skull ring. "it's... Not really my style, and I have a necklace from our mother. I'm not sure if Nico has anything of hers. Maybe having it will make it easier for him to get used to being at camp without me, you know?"

Taking the ring from Bianca, I decided to put it on my necklace for safe keeping, kind of like how Annabeth does with her dad's college ring.

We spent the rest of the morning talking about less heavy topics. She told me a lot about Nico and about the neighborhood they lived in in Venice. She also apologized for how often I'll have to play Mythomagic with Nico in the future if he doesn't make other friends.

The concept just made me smile.

Once the others woke, Zoë gave us the low-down on what she knew about the junkyard we'd have to go through to get to the highway and somehow find a ride: it was called the Junkyard of Gods. Gods, usually Hephaestus, threw stuff out there, and under no circumstances were we to take something out of the junkyard.

"What? Why not?" Thalia asked as we approached the junkyard. Surprisingly, it didn't smell, but I guess if gods don't eat human food, they can't dump it out to rot away and smell.

It seemed to be a lot of metal from what I could tell. Spoils of wars, old weapons, spare parts.

"I'm not sure what happens exactly, but Lady Artemis is always insistent that we don't take anything with us when we must cross it." Zoë answered, picking something up. "you can grab it, but don't take it outside or the junkyard."

She set the item back down. Nothing happened.

"I mean it's all junk anyways, right?" I pointed out. "So it's probably here for a reason."

"But why dump it in the middle of the desert?" Grover questioned, looking a little upset by the matter, which made sense. In an already barren land, the junkyard was taking up quite a bit of space for possible life. "They can't recycle metals on Olympus? This is a waste."

"Maybe he pulls from it to melt and he just ran out of storage," Bianca insisted, picking up a little statue. "Aw, this is the only statue Nico doesn't have in his collection."

Zoë gave her a hard look.

"What?"

"Put it down."

"I wasn't going to take it," Bianca insisted, putting it back on the ground. "I just thought it was cool that it was here, relax."

Combing through the junkyard, I had to admit there was some cool stuff: old swords, some cool boots that could've easily been cleaned, and a bunch of scrap metals or spoils or war like we have in the attic of the Big House.

After twenty minutes or so, we came across a big slab of metal, which had some writing on it.

"What... Do you think it says?" Thalia asked, squinting at the red writing.

"Prototype," Grover translated for us, not because it was written in another language, but just as a reminder that he wasn't dyslexic. "it looks like it could be a leg, but if that's a leg..."

"We should... Walk around." Bianca decided before Phoebe could crawl over the giant metal leg. "Even if that's just a prototype, I'd hate to find out... If it runs."

"If what's runs?" Bianca asked as we started to take a wide path around the prototype. "Do you know what it's a prototype for?"

She nodded.

"It looks like Talos, but I'm not sure. Either way... Very big, very dangerous. It's better if we avoid the trouble."

After a few close calls with what we thought were monsters but would just turn out to be things like a rat or squirrel trying to find some breakfast to eat, we made our way out of the junkyard and near the highway. My internal clock isn't the greatest, but I was guessing it was almost time for brunch/lunch based off of my stomach's need to eat.

"How do we want to get to the next city?" Phoebe asked, looking down at the traffic below us. It was pretty busy for a... Day of the week (how many days have been gone? I'll have to check the TV or newspaper once we're near one), so maybe it was rush hour based on traffic. 9am? "It's at least a few m—"

Creak.

Turning towards the sound, we wrote it off as another squirrel running over something metal.

"Miles away." Phoebe finished. "So we could walk, but—"

Creak.

Turning back again, this time it wasn't the squirrel or a rat or even something bigger like a raccoon.

Oh, no. From the junkyard, we saw a leg bend.

A leg that was roughly three times the size of me, mind you.

A leg we saw earlier.

And then, slowly, desperately in need of some WD-40, another leg bent.

There was a beat of silence as slowly, we watched the prototype for one of Hephaestus' creations rise.

"Who took something?" Zoë asked.

My boyfriend looked at me, which prompted everyone else to look at me.

"What!?" I asked defensively. "I'm not a thief!"

"You literally stole the shirt Thalia's wearing right now." My boyfriend reminded me.

"Okay, but I only steal from multi million dollar companies," I reminded him. "not from places that could kill me— I swear it wasn't me."

I looked at Thalia.

"Rude!" They said, opening their hands to reveal nothing. "I'm not dumb enough to mess with anything Hephaestus makes— been there, done that."

"Well if wasn't either of you, then who..." Zoë started to ask as the machine stood fully, scanning it's surroundings.

Bianca looked down, and opened her hands: revealing a small Hades statue.

"I thought you put that down." Zoë scolded the young demigod. "We watched you put it down, how could you..."

"I... Saw another one later on and I thought that if I saw a second one, then it couldn't be a coincidence because I didn't see any other statues and..." Bianca explained very rapidly, not looking up as she spoke. "and so I thought that it was a sign from the universe that I was supposed to take it, but... I was wrong, obviously, I'm—"

It took a step towards us.

"Apologize later," Thalia insisted, "for now, we need to either find a way to escape this thing or beat it."

Looking up at the creation, it wasn't hard to see why Hephaestus had scrapped it— it's face was half melted and it looked like it had taken a beating at least once before, but that didn't stop it from working well enough to kill a half dozen demigods.

"Is it... Is it alive?" I dared ask, knowing that regardless, it could still kill us.

"It doesn't have a heart, but it's sentient." Zoë answered, firing a bow towards its head, and although it struck, it seemed to only annoy the creation. "It's an automedon— there's a bunch of them in New York, but they're usually asleep. They're machines, basically. Talos was... This is a prototype, but I think Jason fought it."

I looked back at Thalia.

"Your brother fought this thing?"

"I don't know!"

"The original Jason." Artemis' Lieutenant clarified. "with the Argonauts. I don't know much else, though. If regular weapons won't work..."

The prototype stepped towards us, chasing us to separate to avoid becoming a short stack of pancakes. Bianca, Grover and I rolled to the left while the others went to the right.

Just to say I tried, I took out Riptide and tried to cut it as it came by, but all it did was cause the awful sound of metal scraping metal.

I suppose being made from celestial bronze (or so it appeared) meant that celestial bronze couldn't hurt it.

Which meant we were kind of fucked.

It's a machine, I reminded myself, trying to focus on what I could see of the monster. There has to be a way to turn it off.

What's the word for off in Ancient Greek?

If I just yell that out would it work?

What is it though?

Off... I know Chiron has mentioned—

"Apo!" I yelled, knowing just hoping that it would work. "Apu! Ap—"

"Percy!" Bianca called out, placing a hand on my shoulder, making me turn towards her as she pointed to the prototypes ankle.

It took me a second to realize what she was pointing to, but once it came into focus, I felt like a dumbass for yelling at the robot.

There was a control panel. Bianca had found the door.

"A control panel!" I realized. "Maybe if you can shoot it from here, then—"

She placed something in my hands.

I looked down, seeing the small statue of Hades— the one Bianca had taken from the junkyard.

Does she want me to try and return it?

"This is my fault," the daughter of Hades said in a voice that was calmer than it should've been for what she was about to do. "I have to make it right."

Looking up, a part of me knew what was about to happen.

But an even bigger part of me remembered the promise I made to an eleven year old boy almost 2,500 miles away. An even bigger part of me wanted to deny the fact that more than one person was destined to lose their life on a quest to save the same amount of people.

A part of me knew her plan.

The other part of me knew that I'd been on many quests before, and it never required a sacrifice.

"What?" I asked, feeling my expression fall. "Bianca, what are you talking about?"

She smiled.

"Please give this to my brother when you return to camp." Bianca di Angelo instructed. "Tell him that I'm sorry, and that I love him."

And it was like Kronos had weaseled his way into my brain, using magic to slow time down, but only for my body.

"What do you...?"

As Bianca turned and ran, I slowly realized what she was doing, and as desperately as I wished for my body to run the daughter of Hades and stop her, it was like moving through molasses.

"Bianca!" I yelled after the huntress, desperate to catch her, but even without the curse of Kronos being pushed down on me, I'm not sure I could've caught her— I've never been a fast runner. "BIANCA!"

But, unable to move, I could only watch as Bianca climbed up the side of the foot of Talos and opened the door, the others only realizing that she'd ran towards the monster when the door closed behind her.

"Bianca!" Zoë yelled as I heard the group come closer to Grover and I, though if I'll be able to hear for much longer, I'd be surprised. "What is she doing? She's going to get herself killed, what—"

"She's going to turn it off from the inside."

"What do you mean she's—"

Do you know that moment when you think you're sitting in complete silence, and then your furnace turns off or your power goes out and you realize just how much noise the things in your home make?

With not much nature around and the only background sound being the highway, which was still quite a ways away, the lack of sound coming from the Talos prototype was deafening for the few seconds that it made no noise.

And then, as we quickly realized, it started to fall.

"Run!" Thalia yelled out, pulling my arm so I wouldn't stay frozen as we ran closer to the highway as the automedon fell in our direction, hitting an electrical line on the way down.

Running towards the highway, I clutched the statue of Bianca's father to my chest, hoping that when I turned around the daugter of Hades would be running up behind us, yelling at us to slow down so she could catch up.

I'm not sure how long we ran for— but each time I turned around, she wasn't there.

It wasn't until we reached a rest stop and got into an empty car that I found myself able to speak.

"What about Bianca?" I asked the others as Thalia hotwired the car and put it in reverse. "We can't just leave her."

"If she survived the fall, then she'll have to manage on her own for a day or two until we rescue Lady Artemis." Phoebe told me, which seemed cold to me. "Don't worry, if she survived, she's immortal— she may feel hungry, but she can survive without food or water if she can't find any. Lady Artemis or one of us will pick her up on our way back to New York— we must go regardless."

"But—" I said, feeling Grover place a hand on my thigh as I looked out the car window, barely able to see the junkyard in the distance. "Yeah. I know. Let's go."

As Thalia reminded us of the fact that she doesn't have her license (not verbally, but with his actions), I desperately searched the desert landscape for any sign of a young girl running for her life until the junkyard was no longer visible and the ring on my necklace and statue in my hands became heavier than what I could bear to hold.

"Percy?" Grover whispered, sounding a million miles away as I grappled with this new reality.

I looked down at the little figurine that was small enough to fit in my hands.

The god of the Underworld looked angry.

I let his daughter die.

But there was an even worse reality, stemming from the same action.

After all, Hades and I aren't exactly best friends.

I broke my promise to Nico.

And as the hum of the vehicle and blink-182 on the radio lulled my brain into feeling like it might go numb, another thought broke through— one that no longer surprised me when it happened.

Why couldn't I have died instead?

Notes:

Sorry guys it's a canon event 🫣 it has to happen

Chapter 79: Humor Is A Wonderful Coping Mechanism

Nico di Angelo

Arts and Crafts was my favorite class so far, but swordfighting was definitely a close second.

Yesterday we started a pottery unit on vases to give to people for the winter holidays, and I was excited to see if mine survived the kiln. It was really hard to make it the right shape, but Travis was able to help me since he's done this before and the Apollo kids seemed scared of me.

I don't think they wanted me to know that they were scared of me, but I could tell that they were nervous whenever I asked a question or tried to ask for help when Travis was busy.

It's not like they were ever mean to me, they just... Weren't really nice, if that makes sense?

Anyways, after breakfast we went to arts and crafts, and my vase survived getting fired! So I was able to take it and start painting the first layer of glaze on it.

"Excuse me," I said to an Apollo camper who was standing in front of the glaze that I wanted to use. "Can I please..."

The child of Apollo gave me a side eye, then crossed their arms and walked over to another sibling of theirs.

Looking down, I tried to not think about it as I grabbed the underglaze.

I was excited that my vase had survived the kiln— I've never made anything that had to get fired before, but after I opened up the glaze and got my supplies ready to start glazing, I like... Couldn't.

I mean, I could do it. But when I sat down, my head started to feel tingly or staticey and my head's never done that before so it was really overwhelming and I know that you need to see to make art but the lights were really bright and everyone was talking and so many things we're happening and it's just making the static fuzzier and my hands started to feel fuzzy—

"Nico?" Travis' voice cut through some of the static, though my brain was still on the wrong channel as he spoke to me. He looked worried. "Are you okay? You zoned out for a bit there."

But the hand on my shoulder was almost unbearable, so I pulled away from the son of Hermes. It made me feel bad.

"I am buzzing but like in a really fuzzy and staticey icky bad kind of way."

Travis squinted his eyes, but I couldn't tell if he was confused or annoyed.

It's hard to tell those two apart.

"Buzzing? Did you drink something with a lot of caffeine or sugar in it for breakfast?"

Sealing my eyes, I shook my head.

"Did you sleep okay?"

I shrugged.

"I... I thought so," I tried to answer his question while also trying to block out everything else because it was really overwhelming and it made me want to cry a little bit. "I was... I was okay this morning and at breakfast and the I was okay coming here and I was okay and I was excited to see that my jar survived but then I got my glaze and I sat down and when I sat down it like... It started to tingle and now it's really a lot and I don't remember this happening before because usually when I'm overwhelmed it feels different and not like this but I'm also overwhelmed so—"

"Woah, woah, slow down there." Travis cut me off. "Let's go for a walk, okay? Maybe if you get some air away from a lot of people, it'll help."

Nodding, Travis told me to just get outside and he would make sure my stuff was cleaned up.

And as nice as the walk was, as much as it helped with not being as overwhelmed, it didn't make the feeling go all the way away.

Is this what anxiety feels like?

Maybe it's anxiety because that kid acted weird when I was just trying to do something that everyone else was doing.

I'm not sure.

All I know is that I spent the rest of the day doing the normal activities and routines, but feeling like I was a half step off from everyone else for the rest of the day.

It sucked.

•••
Percy Jackson

Since the car we'd hijacked was almost out of gas and we were starving, we decided to stop at the Hoover Dam on our way towards San Francisco.

A part of me was sad that we were here or at any big piece of construction without Annabeth— the one person who would enjoy it and appreciate it for what it really was.

The other part of me was still in the isolated desert, watching Bianca run back into the junkyard.

It's been... Hours. I'm not sure how many, but the sun would be going down in a few hours, so quite a few of them. I slept on and off on the way here— when my body would let me.

Thankfully, I didn't dream while I slept, but I still felt sluggish and exhausted when we abandoned the car in the Hoover Dam parking lot.

"Alright, so that car is done." Thalia said, closing the drivers door behind them. "What's next? Get food? I could go for a dam meal right now."

Grover cracked a smile, and I didn't get it at first.

"I'd like to check out the dam snack out." He agreed. "And use the dam bathroom."

I didn't laugh, but the joke was able to pull me away from my head for a minute.

"I wonder if there's anything good in the dam gift shop." I added on, trying to prevent myself from getting worse today.

After all, it's only been around a week since I got out of treatment.

There's a party to go to when I get home. A meeting on Olympus and one with Luke and... That's if Luke survives holding the sky for much longer and then if Artemis lets him live after the fact, but then my little sibling is going to be born soon and...

And they're probably not going to have any memories of me, but I'm trying to not think about that.

I can't go back to the hospital so soon. I told myself. That's not fair to my parents.

They can't find my body in southern Nevada. There's people that are relying on me to get all the way to California and all the way back to New York.

You might as well throw yourself over the dam wall.

As Grover and Thalia laughed at the awful pun, I squeezed my eyes shut, feigning a smile.

"Wh— what's so funny?" Zoë Nightshade asked as even Pheobe seemed to get a kick out of the joke. "I don't understand what everyone besides Percy is laughing at. Are you all so hungry that you're becoming hysterical? If so, then we must find whatever food is served here at the Hoover Dam."

The other three calmed down after another minute of laughing. Thalia smiled.

"Yeah, more or less," he figured. "let's go get some dam food."

Walking away from the scene of our most recent crime (the car), Grover gave my hand a squeeze as we stayed back a little further from Thalia, Zoë, and Phoebe, who were trying to explain the joke to Zoë.

The daughter of Atlas didn't understand it at all.

"Hey," my boyfriend broke the silence between us, forcing my brain to give him a fraction of its attention. "Are you okay? You've been... Quiet since we left the junkyard."

I tried to smile, to reassure him, but I couldn't even fake it anymore.

"I'll... I'll live." I answered his question in what may be the worst possible way to break the news to him. "Not because I want to. Not because I think I deserve to. But... Because I just... Have to."

Stopping where we were, Grover seemed to know that words didn't exist that could magically stop me from having a mental disorder, so he just pulled me into a hug.

Stopping let the quicksand take hold of me again, though, and I could feel it rising in my chest, threatening to fill my lungs until I couldn't breathe anymore.

"I'm sorry that you felt obligated to come on this quest." Grover apologized for something that wasn't his fault. "Or to Maine, even. As much as I loved that hug, you should be at home right now, baking Christmas cookies and going to therapy and healing after spending multiple weeks in the mental hospital. Not... Here."

Resting my head between Grover's horns, I smiled a little when I felt them just barely poke into my skin.

"Our friends were kidnapped, Leaf, I wanted to come," I reminded him, taking a deep breath as I focused on how it felt when he hugged me. "but if my therapist could Iris Message, that would be cool. My parents will owe her a lot of money after this."

He smiled into the crook of my neck.

For a minute or two, we stayed there, holding one another while Grover helped me calm down.

While it didn't make things better, it made it less frantic.

"Better?" Grover asked as if he couldn't sense how I was feeling through our empathy link.

I nodded slightly.

"Calmer." I answered, grabbing his hand for comfort. "let's go raid the dam food court, I'm starving."

To the credit of any monsters in the area, they let us eat despite four half bloods and a satyr sitting together, somewhat defenseless with so many mortals around.

Yeah, it was packed inside.

As Grover and I joined the other three, Zoë Nightshade looked up, casting me a look that I could barely recognize as concern.

"You good, Jackson?" Thalia asked.

"Good's a relative term, Pinecone Face," I reminded them, sitting down and eating one of my fries. I was glad to be able to eat some greasy food again— a classic cheeseburger and fries. "As long as Poseidon doesn't try and end my life in San Francisco, I'll make it back to New York, if that's your worry."

Usually I don't eat meat around Grover, but they were out of their vegan burgers and I haven't had a burger since before I was admitted to the hospital, so I was letting myself do it this one time.

Not that Grover ever seems to mind when I eat meat around him— I'm not sure if he notices that I try to avoid it when we're together, but I still try to be mindful of it when we're together.

"You better," the child of Zeus responded, taking a bite of her taco. "if not, I'll get Uncle H to bring you back from the dead so I can kill you again."

"Uncle...? Thalia, I hate to break this to you," I said. "but Hades is not exactly my biggest fan. I doubt he'd bring me back from the dead."

Thalia shrugged.

"Ok, and? Then I'll just get Bianca or Nico to do it."

I rolled my eyes, taking a bite out of my burger and letting the others chat amongst themselves.

After eating, Zoë said she was going to get some air with Phoebe, while Thalia, Grover and I figured we'd hit up the gift shop and see if there was anything worth stealing*.

*legally buying (maybe).

After all, if Annabeth isn't here, it might be nice to bring her something. Shed some light after being kidnapped.

Of course, almost all of the merchandise was tacky, which meant that Grover loved it and so would Annabeth.

"Do you think they'd accept drachmas?" Grover asked as he held up a yellow sweater that had some sort of writing on it (I don't know what it said, I'm dyslexic). "What's the conversion rate from dollars to drachmas?"

"Babe, if they don't accept pesos, I doubt they'll take drachmas." I said, pointing out the sign that said, in big, bold letters PAY WITH: VISA, DISCOVER, CITI, CHASE, OR USD (CASH). NO PESOS.

He frowned.

"Here, let me see the sweater," Thalia said, taking the sweater and walking towards the cash register, which is the last place I expected them to go.

Before I could figure out the scheme she was conspiring, I looked at a magnet they had here and decided that my parents would like it.

So naturally, I took out my wallet, checked how much cash I had, and put the magnet in the wallet when I put my wallet back.

"Did you just pocket a $10 magnet?"

And because my boyfriend wasn't the one who asked that, I might have assumed ill intent and panicked by taking Riptide out, turning to face the direction of the voice.

Which was met with a muffled scream as a red headed girl who I had never met before covered her mouth, staring at me.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I was going to offer to pay for it, please don't turn me into a shish kabob."

"Please don't—" and it was at this very moment that I would appreciate being able to control the Mist. So thank you, Chiron, for not teaching me or even mentioning that it was a possibility. You would think that as a demigod who's gone on multiple quests, the old horse would mention it at least once.

"I'm sorry," Grover cut in, looking at the red headed teen who was around the same age as us, then at Riptide, then at her. "You can see that?"

"What do you mean can you see that? It's a fucking sword, of course I can see it. The real question is why I can't feel it right now. You got an answer for that, Wise Guy?"

She had a New York accent, and while I filed that in the back of my mind, there was a larger issue at hand. And it wasn't just that she was clear sighted.

"Hey, don't talk to my boyfriend like that. He's just asking you a—"

She looked up, and at first I couldn't figure out what she was looking at.

"Do you have horns?" The red head asked a very personal question, I'd argue. "What are you, half goat? You some mythical creature trying to kill me?"

But sure as shit, Grover had taken off his hat earlier because it's warm in here and it's easier to shove a hat in a pocket rather than carry a coat around.

"Oh my gods, I—" I began, before feeling a hand grab my shoulder that felt a little too thin to be your average grandma.

Whipping around, Riptide slashed through a skeleton that fell to the floor, but was quickly reassembling itself.

"Where's Thalia?" I asked Grover, scanning the shop for the child of Zeus.

I can't go back to being the only human child of the Big Three.

Well, okay, Nico is camp, but... Still.

The only one on this quest.

"Outside," Grover told me, pointing towards the door, where Thalia was dealing with a few skeletons. "Let's go— the others are probably having the same issue."

The skeleton started to stand, and I kicked it in the head, cracking it's skull.

I looked back at the girl.

"You saw nothing, by the way." I let her know. "We were never here."

"Like hell, but if you think I'm telling any pigs about this, you're crazy." She insisted, following Grover and I as we left the gift shop. "You got any extra weird swords? Where are we going?"

"What do you mean where—"

I opened the door right on a skeleton, which took care of that one.

For now.

A few minutes of slashing and knocking skeletons away went by before they all seemed to settle, needing time to recollect themselves. Not being complete dumbasses, we took this chance to run towards what Thalia and Zoë had apparently decided was the rendezvous point earlier, when Grover and I had straggled behind the group.

It wasn't until we got there that Thalia registered this random teenage girl who looks nothing like our other quest members.

"Wh— who is this?" Thalia asked us. "You make a friend in the two minutes we were separated? You think Annabeth needs a girlfriend or something when we meet up with her?"

"You could ask me yourself," Ms. Red said. "Names Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and I wouldn't call us friends— your friend here tried to turn me into a shish kabob and his boyfriend looks like he might be part barnyard animal, but a sentient skeleton decided to attack us before I could get any answers, so I followed you guys because I'm tired of this happening to me without getting answers."

"Of what happening? You just followed two boys out of the gift shop because you thought one of them was cute."

Rachel Elizabeth Dare did a double take before looking at Thalia.

"I— that is the literally the farthest thing from the truth that I've ever heard." Rachel insisted, which meant that bending the Mist didn't work on her. Which, if she's clear sighted... Would make sense. "why would I do that? They're dating and I'm a lesbian. Don't pull a fast one on me, I know what I saw. Why do this keep happening?"

"Why..." Thalia began, noticing Zoë and Phoebe running towards us from behind Rachel. "You said your last name is Dare right?"

Slowly, the girl nodded her head.

"Like from Dare Enterprises?" Thalia continues, which is something I had never heard of before, but Rachel seemed put off by the fact that Thalia knew the name. "Your dad has a car here for you?"

"We... Well, yeah, my dad owns the company, but he's not here. Him and my mom are in Vegas, so—"

"Doesn't matter." Thalia insisted. "You want answers? We need a ride out of here. Call the car and we'll answer as many questions as we can— we're heading for San Francisco."

The two of them shared a hard look.

"The skeletons—" Phoebe said as the two girls caught up to us, but quickly cut herself off. "who is this?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow.

"Your ride out of here," Rachel Elizabeth Dare caved in to her curiosities, grabbing a phone out of her pocket, turning it on and typing something in before putting it back in her pocket. "Let's go."

Chapter 80: We Need To Stop Picking Up Strays

Notes:

you might want tissues for the end of the chapter (sorry)

Grover Underwood

I was mentally preparing to step foot in Las Vegas once again after we ended up in the Lotus Hotel a year and a half ago, but was delightfully surprised when Rachel Elizabeth Dare told her driver we were going to San Francisco.

Even more shocking: the driver seemed to have no qualms about this. He just told us how long of a drive it would be and then insisted that we had control over the lights in the back and that we could stop for food any time we got hungry.

Being in what was essentially a crossover between an SUV and a limo— the two rows of seats in the back could turn to face each other, which is how they were now, I wasn't sure how to feel about the situation at hand, but Percy definitely did.

As he has been for so much of today, my boyfriend was anxious, but on top of that, I could sense a blanket of guilt that was settling over him.

Mostly, I was just tired.

On the bright side, though, Thalia got that sweater for me (I didn't ask if it was legal or not), so I was currently wearing that. It was nice and soft on the inside.

"Nice ride you got here," Zoë commented. "win the lottery or something? Or do you just normally let a bunch of strangers ride with you that you want to impress?"

"You got in the strangers car," Rachel Elizabeth Dare responded, shrugging. "and it's my dad's money, not mine— I don't like spending it. The only thing I really enjoy is the fact that I can take rides when we're not at home without having to navigate the trains and whatever. What business do you guys have in San Francisco?"

"That's none of your—"

"Three people were kidnapped and are basically being held hostage there," Percy cut Zoë off. "We're the rescue party."

She gave my boyfriend a skeptical look, and I don't blame her suspicions.

"A group of five teenagers?"

"Hey, I'm almost 250," Phoebe said, which I can't say I expected. "Zoë is like... What, 3000? 4000 years old? And Thalia turns 18 next week."

Rachel Elizabeth Dare chuckled nervously.

"You... You're joking, right? There's no way you're that old."

"December 26, 1761," Phoebe insisted with a small smile, nudging Artemis' Lieutenant, giving her a look that... "I met this one at a summer camp my Ma sent me to not long after the Revolution started in 77. She offered me immortality and I couldn't turn it down."

I'd noticed it a few times on the quest, but I accounted the sensation to Percy.

Being a satyr is really cool. While I have an empathy link with Percy, I can still generally sense the emotions and well-beings of other people and creatures around me. Sometimes it's exhausting, but sometimes it's fun or interesting. Makes it really easy to tell if somebody is lying.

Or to tell if somebody has a crush.

It's not like I can completely sense and understand everything that somebody is feeling, but if I focus on the energy they're exuding or if their emotions are really strong, I can typically decipher what those emotions are.

If I'm smart about it, I can also figure out what they mean.

So when Phoebe smiles at Zoë Nightshade, it reminds me of the feeling that I receive from the son of Poseidon who was seated next me, or the sensation I get when Luke and Thalia would talk about one another and hang out together.

It even reminded me, gods forbid my powers off empathy let me pick up on this, of Mr. D and Chiron.

Yeah, that revelation was somewhat painful and I try not to think about it.

"I was not the one that offered you immortality, Phoebe," Zoë reminded her fellow huntress with a smile of endearment. "But if you keep talking like that..." She sighed, and I could sense her hold back a second smile, an emotion very similar to Phoebe's being restrained. "Lady Artemis would have an intense look to give you. As for me age, I stopped keeping track decades ago. I'm older than the use of the Gregorian calendar, and that makes things exhausting to figure out, so I simply don't anymore."

A small part of me wondered if they knew about each other's feelings.

But a millisecond later, I realized that was a foolish question: of course they did. Zoë more or less just confirmed it with her warning to Phoebe about Artemis.

So that led me with a follow up question: why hadn't they done anything about it?

Or, more appropriately for them: how had Artemis not done something about it?

Perhaps it's new and so there hasn't been time for the goddess to notice such things, but I doubted that. I've known the Hunters of Artemis my entire life, and even if we didn't speak and interact directly, I still observed them a lot growing up at camp and visiting Olympus. And my whole life, for as long as I can remember, Phoebe and Zoë were virtually inseparable. One time when I was 8 or 9 I remember people in the Aphrodite cabin arguing over whether their bond was sisterly or romantic.

Because they were hunters, I always assumed it was sisterly. Platonic. After all, that's the whole point of the hunt, right? To swear off romance. To be a maiden forever and go on crazy adventures.

But I guess after 200 years... It might be hard to separate platonic and romantic feelings for somebody.

For their benefit, though, I don't think I'll say anything.

If they want to do anything about it, they will. They literally have all of the time in the world.

Until they don't, but... They get to choose when the clock starts ticking, so it's basically all the time in that world.

"That's... Interesting." Rachel Elizabeth Dare commented on the Hunters ages. "And you mentioned Artemis?"

Zoë Nightshade nodded.

"Like, and I'm just guessing here since you're thousands of years old and I'm choosing to believe that because it's not crazier than a sword that I can see but can't hurt me. That's Artemis like the goddess?"

Rachel paused.

"Which means you're immortal because you're one of her Hunters?"

"Hey, you even got background knowledge!" Thalia said, nudging Rachel as she sat across from her. "you cracked the code."

The mortal girl tilted her head.

"But you aren't in the Hunt."

Thalia scoffed.

"Pfft, no, they asked, but it's not my style." The oldest (sort of) demigod here explained. "I'm a regular old demigod— child of Zeus. Grover here," they elbowed me, which kind of hurt, "is a satyr, and to his right is his boyfriend, Percy, which you already know, but his sperm donor is Poseidon."

She looked at Percy.

"Sperm donor?"

"The gods are all deadbeats," my boyfriend explained to her. "I got a dad already, the dude my mom married. Poseidon doesn't even pay child support. You know both of your parents, though?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, and there's plenty of proof that they're both my parents— my dad thought my mom cheated on him, but she never did." Rachel Elizabeth Dare confirmed. "So I guess I'm not a demigod, but... Why can I see things other people can't?"

"You're just clear sighted, like my mom is," Percy reassured her, leaning against me. "I doubt you're related to any gods, but who knows, maybe it's just because the fates really wanted you to give us this ride or something. I'm not sure if there's a reason why."

"He means that you can see through the Mist, the veil that separates the mortal and the magical world." I clarified, sensing a little confusion from the new recruit. "The typical mortal mind can only comprehend so much weirdness, so the Mist is just a way for them to comprehend what is normal for them. For instance, my legs usually just look like shag pants or like normal, really hairy legs if I'm not wearing pants. As for Percy's sword, people will either see a pan or maybe a baseball bat. Your brain, however, is able to take in and soak up all of the weird shit it wants without going into overdrive and making you go crazy. Could mean you're eventually destined to work and do stuff with the godly world, could also just mean the fates wanted to make sure we got this ride. It's hard to tell."

"Hmph." Rachel hummed, thinking about it. "and it's just Greek gods? Well, I guess with them, the Romans, but... Just that Pantheon?"

"There are other pantheons, but we hardly ever deal with other ones." Zoë answered, which made sense but... Was someone I honestly hadn't spent much time thinking about. "things get weird and messy when pantheons start crossing into each other too much. Gods are awful about time, after all— things would never get done if there was only one of them for each thing they were the god of. Not that they dictate everything that happens but... If Apollo had to ride the sun chariot 24/7, modern medicine wouldn't exist, you know?"

"I thought the gods could split themselves to exist in multiple places at once." Percy commented.

"They can," I confirmed for my boyfriend. "but if they split themselves too much, they get headaches. Trust me, it's usually why Mr. D gets headaches. And then Chiron has to take his Diet Coke away for the day, which is a terrifying sight."

"It's almost like he's an alcoholic who can't drink alcohol anymore, so he just replaced it with another thing." Percy said, something that I'm sure came word for word from their few sessions of family therapy they did last year. "instead of addressing the actual problem."

Thalia gave Percy a sinister look.

"You speaking from experience there?"

Percy shrugged.

"No," he said. "my dad just used to be an alcoholic."

•••

Percy, Thalia and Phoebe fell asleep within the next hour, Rachel also seeming to be on the verge of taking a nap since we had quite a ways to go still. At least another 6 hours if nothing goes wrong.

If.

For the past hour or so, Percy had been leaning against me, and I'm sure there was a little trail of drool on my coat sleeve. It's waterproof, though, so it wasn't a big deal.

He's cute, so I can't get mad.

Thalia was leaned back, legs spread exactly like the lady he's recently discovered she isn't. They weren't snoring or anything, though.

Rachel was leaning against the window, eyes closed, trying to fall asleep as she put her coat on top of her like a blanket. I think she had earbuds in as well but I couldn't tell with how much hair she had.

Then, in the middle of the girls, Phoebe had seemed to take a note from Percys handbook, leaning against Zoë Nightshade as she slept. Zoë was also awake, looking out the window.

I thought about what Percy told us this morning, and his connection to the prophecy.

For somebody riding to what could very well be her death, Zoë was awfully calm.

"Is she always like this?" I asked Zoë Nightshade, quickly earning her attention. For a moment she looked confused, then registered the sleeping maiden against her.

"Hm? Oh, um... Not necessarily," she answered my question, letting a breath out that she seemed to have been holding for a while. "It goes in spurts, I guess— we might joke around, and then things like this will happen, and then Artemis will make a comment or lecture us and it stops for a while. Until the joking starts again."

She smiled every so slightly.

"And Artemis has never caught on?"

"To what?"

I raised an eyebrow at the Lieutenant.

"You're talking to a satyr, Zoë— and I know Aphrodite spoke with you on the ride." I reminded her. "You can't lie and expect me to believe you. If it's been going on long enough for it to become a cycle, why stay in the Hunt? Wouldn't you guys be happier if you could actually like, be together?"

Zoë looked down, and for a moment I felt bad pushing the subject. She shrugged.

"Grover, I've been in the Hunt for so long now that... I don't know who I would be without it." Artemis' Lieutenant admitted to me, which I guess I could understand. "I've been a hunter essentially for as long as Chiron has been alive, I remember when he was a baby, which is weird to think about sometimes but..."

She sighed again, looking at Phoebe.

"If we were to leave, where would we go?" Zoë asked me, though the question was aimed at a sleeping Phoebe. "sure, we've discussed it here or there— but if we leave, the chances of us being happy are... I mean, of course we would be happy that we were together, but to do the normal things... To get married or have kids... It's not even legal to get married in New York, much less the United States as a whole, Grover. We always joked around that if it was legalized then maybe we would consider leaving, but..."

There was a pause.

"Maybe it's because I've always been immortal, so I just don't get it," she continued. "Sure, we can't act on all of our desires or our impulses, but what's 60 to 80 years on those impulses compared to 600 or 800 years as we are? Not that that's what we'll get... And who knows, maybe after this quest, things will change. We both love the Hunt, though, and we've found a system that seems to work. Until Artemis finds another hunter she'd have as a lieutenant, I'm sure, but it's been a thousand years or something since I've taken over as her lieutenant, so it's not an easy thing to find. I think she'd been hoping that your friend would want to join— she'd make an excellent Lieutenant."

"Who, Thalia?" I asked, Zoë nodding. "I guess she would, but he's been in love with Luke basically since they were kids— it's an insane love story. I wouldn't be surprised if Annabeth joined though— even if it's not until the Great Prophecy is completed. Do you think... Slightly off topic, but do you think Bianca...?"

Zoë just shook her head, looking back down.

"There's no way she survived both the fall and being electrocuted," the demititan confirmed my suspicions. All of our suspicions. "Phoebe and I tried to IM both camp and Artemis while at Hoover Dam— nothing went through. I'm sure Hades will tell Chiron, though— it was his daughter, and he's typically good at informing camp about random demigods springing up down below. If he doesn't break the rules and go tell his son himself— Bianca said they were a close family."

"Yeah, 80 years ago." I commented. "not that it doesn't mean he could still go, but... If he does, it'll probably be the day of the solstice, and at this rate, who knows if we'll be back in time for the solstice meeting."

"If you guys will be back in time." Zoë echoed, looking up to me. "I'm not coming back with you guys, Grover. This quest was always a one way ticket for me— I'm just upset that it was a brand new recruit that died as well."

Suddenly, I realized something.

"You knew you'd be the one to die," I said, nothing new. "Did you ask Phoebe to come because you thought she might die as well? So you'd get to cross the Styx together?"

Her eyes watered.

"Is that an awful thing to hope for?"

My heart shattered.

"I— no, Zoë, no it's..." I lost my voice, wondering if she cried the night she heard the prophecy because she knew exactly what it meant. "does Phoebe know?"

Zoë shook her head, a tear escaping.

"Gods no," Zoë Nightshade insisted, focusing on her breathing. "she would never have let me go on this quest if she knew, but... I don't know, I couldn't just let it be somebody else— that's why I didn't want Percy joining the quest. Not only did it go against the prophecy, but it risks another person dying, and if he dies, I believe you die as well, and that just..."

She stopped herself.

"Phoebe and I have lived long, wonderful lives." Artemis' Lieutenant choked out. "And I wouldn't trade it for anything, but we've both had our time to live— you guys are still so young and as demigods your time is so limited. I didn't want any of you to die. I'm sorry that Bianca is gone— I shouldn't have let her come."

Flashing a saddened smile at the demititan, I reached into my bag and pulled out the little notebook and pencil I always keep in my travel pack. Percy will draw in a lot on quests, but I also keep it for any notes or anything of importance that happens. I wrote down Bianca's death date and tentative time just in case it's information Chiron, Hades, or Nico want. There's some stuff about espresso and coffee that I'm theorizing about with Pan in there as well.

I flipped to the next clean page and handed the two items to Zoë.

"You might not want it," I prefaced. "but as we get closer to San Francisco, if there's anything you want anyone to know after you pass, you can use as much of the notebook as you want. I think Phoebe would appreciate it, if nobody else."

Zoë looked down at the pencil and notebook, then back out the window. The sun was going down— I'm sure we'd stop for dinner soon.

"I— I'll think about it." She insisted. "thank you, Grover. You've been a wonderful protector on this quest— I hope that you'll be the one to find Pan."

I smiled, less sad this time.

"Thank you, Zoë— it'll be hard to see the hunters without you at the head of the group. I'm sure your pyre will burn bright."

With that, I rested my head on top of my boyfriend's and closed my eyes, just trying to be thankful for the fact that he was here, because one day, he won't be.

And when that happens, it's over. Satyrs are nature spirits, so we don't go to the Afterlife when we die— we reincarnate.

But even so, I hope that when Percy dies and I die as well, that he's reborn into a happier life and I'm reincarnated to be with him again.

I would like that quite a lot.

Chapter 81: Why Is Your House So Big?

Notes:

Sorry hi I was working on other stuff I'm alive

Percy Jackson

I don't know why, but I didn't expect Annabeth's house to be so big.

Like sure, she lives in a house, which is already massive on its own. I'm from New York— people don't live in houses there. It's just not the norm.

However, her house had multiple stories. 3, I think?

I was in awe when Grover confirmed for the driver that, yes, this was the right place.

"Thank you for the ride," I said to Rachel Elizabeth Dare as we got out of the car. I handed her a little piece of paper that I'd taken from Grover's notebook not long before we got here. "You said you're from New York, right?"

She nodded her head, hesitantly taking the paper.

"I am, too," I said, which has her attention. "I live with my parents in Manhattan— if you ever have any questions or need a place to run away from a monster, just swing by, alright? My mom will probably send you home with a platter of sweets."

Rachel Elizabeth Dare smiled, as confused as she still seemed to be.

"I'll... Keep that in mind." She figured, thinking to herself. "Are you guys sure you don't want me sticking around? Even to just bring you from here to wherever your friends are?"

"You are sweet to offer, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, however I refuse to allow another person to risk their life joining us on this mission." Zoë interjected, which was a fair point. "You have done more than enough getting us from Nevada to California, and we thank both you and your lovely driver. Please, let him rest before you return to Nevada as to not raise suspicion."

"Pfft, I'm not even staying at the same hotel as my parents." Rachel insisted. "It's just me and my driver— my parents wouldn't notice for another day or two. I get what you mean, though. Travel safe, guys! It was a fun ride!"

Waving to the two of them as they drove off, the five of us turned to the Chase house and took a moment.

"Remind me again why we're stopping here?" Phoebe asked.

"To see if Mr. Chase has anything that might help us possibly fight against a Titan," Grover clarified as we approached the door. "Annabeth said he was a history professor, and I believe he specializes in military history, and since he knows who Annabeth's mom is..."

The door swung open, revealing a women that was slightly older than my mom, wearing a black and red pantsuit. Her hair was a dirty blonde, but not natural— some of her dark roots were showing.

She also didn't look very happy.

"Can I help you?" Who I presumed to be Mrs. Chase, the stepmom that Annabeth has yet to leave a positive review for, asked, leaning against the doorway and crossing her arms. "I've never seen any of you before in my life, what are you doing in my front yard?"

"We— apologies, Ms. Chase, I know it's early." Grover spoke because I'm sure he knew it'd be a bad idea to let Thalia or I speak with this woman. "we're friends of Annabeth—"

Mrs. Chase scoffed.

"Andrew doesn't have any friends, but regardless, he's not home. Left like two weeks ago for some family emergency in New York with his mom. So sorry, but I have no idea when he'll get back— the last time he left that suddenly, it took him years to get home."

What if I commit battery before breakfast?

Sensing my thoughts, Grover squeezed my hand.

"We're aware that Annabeth isn't home right now," Grover responded, pointedly using the correct name and pronouns like a decent person. "We were hoping to speak to her father, your husband. Is he home?"

Letting out the biggest, most inconvenient breath in the city of San Francisco, Mrs. Chase looked in to the house and rolled her eyes.

"FREDERICK!" She called for her husband. "I'M LEAVING FOR WORK, THERE ARE GUESTS HERE FOR YOU!"

"Drive safe," Frederick Chase said as he came down the stairs to the entryway, looking a little less ready for work: wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a hoodie from... I'm assuming a college, but I'm dyslexic so I can't tell you what one. "Who is..."

Annabeth's father raised an eyebrow, cautious as he approached the door.

"Here?" He finished his question, holding a cup of coffee in his hand. "Hi. Are you guys friends of Annabeth? If so, she isn't..."

And then the history professor noticed something about my boyfriend— I'm not sure what.

"Are you Grover?" Frederick questioned, a nervous undertone in his voice.

Is Annabeth's dad clear sighted?

"Am I— yes." My boyfriend confirmed for our friends' dad. "my name is Grover Underwood— I'm one of Annabeth's friends and also her protector. Next to me is Percy Jackson, a demigod and friend from camp, and behind us is Thalia Grace, another demigod and basically older sibling to Annabeth."

"O... Kay. Come in, please." Frederick insisted, moving out of the way so we could enter their mansion. "so if you and Percy and Thalia... Is there a reason Luke isn't here? Or is he old enough to be done with camp now? Is Annabeth okay? She said she was going for some sort of emergency or... I mean, she wanted to go for the solstice meeting anyways, but she left early because of an emergency."

"She's going to be okay." Grover promised the man as he led up upstairs to their living room. "She came to help recruit two powerful demigods, and that went well, but after it happened, she was somehow taken. We're not sure how— but we know where she is and the five of us are on the way to rescue her and the goddess Artemis. As for why Luke isn't here..."

"He's been out of camp for a year and a half now," Thalia picked up on the topic of his boyfriend. "When he heard that Annabeth was missing, he has a suspicion that she'd end up where she is, and basically he also managed to get captured. According to the visions Percy's been having, they're both there."

She gave me a speculating look.

"Right?"

I nodded my head.

"Yeah, they're getting held captive by Atlas," I confirmed. "Initially Annnabeth was being forced to hold the weight of the sky, but when Luke arrived he took it for her and she was chained to the ground. Not like— it's her hands and ankles, so she's been able to sit up and lay down I believe. Artemis is in the same thing, but her chains seem to be a little different—I'm not sure how. She's alive, though. All three are."

Frederick let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank the gods," the history professor said, his body relaxing slightly. "I just... I worry about her when she's gone, even moreso now that she's slowly starting to transition and there's so many people out there so have so much hate and so is that and demigod stuff so I'm... Glad to hear that she's okay, all things considered. Do you think like... Would it be a good idea if I scheduled an appointment with her therapist for when she gets back home? She's been a lot already, but getting kidnapped and being held prisoner..."

"Therapy never hurts," Grover figured. "as long as it's a therapist that knows of the gods, but if you're able to make the appointment so quick, I assume that's already been figured out."

The mortal nodded his head.

"Annabeth has been seeing this therapist ever since she came back home," he confirmed. "It helps. I think."

"You think?" I asked, my tone maybe not the best.

I'm not known to have a great reputation with adults anyways. It's fine.

"My wife, Elizabeth, is still struggling to... See Annabeth as her daughter." But after meeting the bitch, it wasn't very hard to tell that much about her. "Their relationship has been rocky for quite a while— it was a major reason as to why Annabeth ran away. That and the fact that I just worked way too much and wasn't home enough for her. But my wife doesn't seem to want to understand that Annabeth being trans isn't just a phase because according to her and Chiron, this has been going on for multiple years and even before she ran away, there were certain things she would do that I thought were funny at the time, but now make sense knowing that she's trans. We're trying to get into a family therapist, but Elizabeth doesn't think it'll do anything, so..."

He shrugged.

"Sorry, that was a lot," Mr. Chase stopped himself. "I'm sure you guys hear enough about this from Annabeth, I don't need to make you feel bad for us or anything, I'm sure your families have their share of issues. You were... And pardon me if this rude, but you were also a runaway Thalia, weren't you? That's how you and Annnabeth met?"

Thalia nodded.

"Yeah, I haven't been home since I was around 10 years old." The child of Zeus confirmed. "I only stayed that long for my little brother, and then Mom gave him away, so I left. Met Annabeth like two years later. A little less than maybe.  Her and Luke are my family more or less, but I just reconnected with my little brother so we'll see what happens."

"Okay, so you do know Luke! I couldn't remember if you died and then she met Luke or if Luke was there beforehand. She's only told me the story once, after she told me you were alive again."

Thalia let out a hint of a smile and nodded.

"I knew Luke well before we found your little girl," the child of Zeus clarified.

"You've been eating his face off for just as long, though." I thought it was a whisper.

Thalia punched my arm, proving me wrong.

"Shut up, punk. What Luke and I do in private is none of your business."

"It is when you don't do it in private."

"Anyways," Grover said, forcing the topic change as Thalia very politely pinched me. "We were here wondering if you'd be able to help us out, Mr. Dare."

"If I— but I'm just a mortal." He insisted. "I mean, I can certainly give you all a ride if that's what you mean, taxis can be expensive for five people, but... How?"

"Annabeth mentioned that you're a history professor," Grover explained. "she told me when she was younger that in your office you had a bunch of stuff related to your work, but she specifically mentioned weapons because you specify in like, wars, right? Military history?"

"I— yes, World War I is what I wrote my thesis on— about the collapse of all of the old empires." He said, and I could sense him holding back a tangent on the topic, knowing that the longer he talked, the longer Annabeth was in danger. "And also like, the modernization with weapons and planes. Planes specifically. But I have some weapons. I'm assuming you're looking for celestial bronze?"

"Or imperial gold or stygian iron— any of the magical metals."

Nodding his head, Frederick offered each of us a banana muffin and told us to follow him to his study.

Answer me this: how is his office big enough to have a model airplane hanging from the ceiling like a chandelier.

Don't get me wrong, it was cool because he made it cool— it basically was a chandelier. It looked like a plane that the Wright Brothers made, so there was a lot of exposed beams or support rods or whatever they're called, and around those beams he had fairy lights and then where the person would sit he had a normal lightbulb so he could choose if he wanted the big light or ambient lighting.

I appreciated it when he put on the ambient lighting.

It's still early, okay? And my dream last night was just a mix of watching Bianca die and of Mom when she miscarried and of Mr. D and Dad being really mean so... I slept like shit.

I'm surprised I don't feel worse.

Maybe because I'm trying to not think about the nightmares.

Is that repression?

Maybe.

That's for my therapist to figure out.

"Okay, so I know this isn't common from what Annabeth has said, but if you are going against a Titan, it might be worth a mention," Frederick began, picking up a small metal box, opening it up to show us the last thing I expected to see, if we're being honest. "this is a box of bullets that I have that's been melted down all from Celestial bronze— it's how I kept monsters away when she was little and the boys were newborn. Since the gun is also made from celestial bronze, they never have seemed to notice it— even Annabeth. She knows now, but she didn't when she was younger. I just use a handgun typically, but there's some more heavy duty stuff if that's what you're looking for."

I looked at my boyfriend, at Annabeth's father, then back at my boyfriend.

"They make celestial bronze guns?"

He nodded his head.

"Yeah, of course they do, sweets." He insisted. "They're just not common at camp. There's like, one Apollo camper who uses a sniper, but because bullets are deadly, he can only use it in an actual battle."

"Oh yeah, I suppose you can't really train with a gun during things like capture the flag," Thalia commented, humming. "Hm. Never thought about that— I guess you could use a paint gun or something, but still. Weird."

"It would be useful to have a handgun against Atlas, though," Phoebe commented. "he isn't the strongest, but he's still a titan, and he won't let us leave without a fight. If we could have something like that to pull out..."

"I'll take it," Thalia offered, which surprised me because they seemed like the type of person that would be anti-gun. "I'm not a fan of guns, but Phoebe is right— we'll want to give ourselves every possible chance if we end up fighting a titan. Also, I'm the only one who looks anywhere near old enough to have a conceal and carry. We're not getting stopped by the cops again."

"What... Is a conceal and carry?" Phoebe asked.

"I'll... Explain later, we don't have time," Thalia insisted as Mr. Chase carefully handed her the unloaded gun, holster, and a pouch of bullet rounds that clipped onto his belt. "Would you happen to have any extra knives?"

Supplying us with a few other supplies— some that can cause harm, others for healing or snacking, Frederick Chase seemed torn between thinking of more and more things to give us or ask about so he didn't have to send us to our possible demises and getting us out as fast as possible because his daughter was in danger.

I can't say I blame him— he's lost her once, so I'm sure he'd feel guilty sending us and putting other parents through that.

Well, okay, putting my parents through that— but I'm (well, my brain is) working really hard right now to have them go through that anyways, it's just not by choice.

My brain is a cruel thing.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Annabeth's father asked as we put our shoes back on. "I can still give you a ride if you'd like— we have a big enough car, it seats 7 people."

"It's alright, sir, we'll make it on our own— Annabeth is already in danger and we don't want to put you in danger, too." My boyfriend insisted. "We appreciate everything."

"Of course! Is there... Any way you could let me know that she makes it out alive?"

Thalia nodded, looking to us.

"You guys go get our rides secured," they insisted. "I'm going to talk to Frederick for a moment in private. I'll catch up with you."

"Are you sure? Zoë Nightshade challenged the child of Zeus' notion. "We can wait here for you. It's no issue."

But, my dreams coming back to me, I could sense what this conversation might be about, and I knew that nobody was going to be happy about it.

"Let's give them some space," I told the hunters, stepping outside into the cold December air. "I have an idea for how we can get to Mount Othyrs a lot faster than a taxi."

Notes:

Pro: Creative juices going insane (art, fanfic, and regular fiction)

Con: these items are all produced at a slower rate bc I am working on all of them + working a normal job

PS. Does anyone wanna beta read a regular fiction story for me (pretty please <3)

Chapter 82: Everything Is Falling Apart

Thalia Grace

Even after the others left the house, I wasn't sure if I was doing this because I actually thought Frederick Chase would like the warning, or if it was because I knew that the longer I was here, the longer it would be until I had to face Annabeth.

"Is everything alright?" Frederick asked me, a question so vague I couldn't even provide a good answer.

"I..." But as I looked around the Chase residence, something hits my chest that I don't know how to respond to. I could feel my eyes begin to water, and there were so many reasons that it could be for that I couldn't identify which one it was. "for now."

I'm not ready to face Annabeth.

"I, um... I imagine that Annabeth will go back to New York with the party." I began, which I think we told him earlier, but it felt like a good lead in. "I know she was invited to Percy's mom's anniversary reception thing. She's really excited, last I saw her, but..."

I lost my voice.

"I've known Annabeth since she was a little girl— Luke and I found her hidden in an alley with this frying pan as big as she was for her weapon of choice, and... admittedly, I had wanted to bring her to child protective services at first, but Luke promised that she could travel with us, and I mean thank the gods. We we're like... We were a family."

I paused, crossing my arms at a desperate attempt to keep myself composed. Mr. Chase simply listened and looked at me attentively.

I wonder how much Annabeth told him about us.

"And then... Well, I was turned into a tree and in a coma for years, but Luke and Annnabeth were still close." I reasoned aloud. "But now... I've tried to be as close to Annabeth and as caring as I could be ever since coming back, but the next time you see her it won't... Won't be the same. Anymore."

Softly, Frederick set down the mug he'd had in his hands. "Why not?"

"Our family is falling apart and I'm not... Ready for it." I admitted, feeling the tears well. "Gods know Luke isn't ready for it— losing his baby sister, but things have come to the surface this week that drove Annabeth to choose that for herself and while I... I get it, she is her mother's daughter after all and that has a lot to do with it, it's still hard and I just... Want you to know that when she comes next, if this seem off, it's because they are. Because I think she feels like Luke and I are turning on her or stabbing her in the back when this has nothing to do with her, like... It's bigger than that. I just want you to know that she's going to need you more, even though she hates admitting that she needs anyone."

I paused.

"That being said, I'm not going back with the party," I elaborated. "I'll be going back to New York on the solstice, but I have way to much paperwork to look at for inheritance and whatever else in Pasadena, and Luke will be with me, so if you want to meet him or if you have any questions for either of us at any point in time about Annabeth, don't be afraid to send an IM."

"I... I'm sorry, Thalia," Frederick Chase apologized, placing a hand on my shoulder for comfort. "I'd love to meet Luke— we would certainly have you over for dinner tonight. I think the twins will have a million questions for both of you. Can I ask what... Why this is happening?"

I shrugged.

"Political differences, more or less," I reasoned. "stuff to do with how camp is operated and some of the laws and whatever else that the gods made themselves to basically allow themselves to be shitty parents, but... Sorry, I know you loved Athena, but I don't know how you feel about her as a parent."

His lips tightened into a smile.

"I fear we don't have time to unpack that right now— let's discuss it over dinner." He insisted, handing me a business card. "I know you can't use phones, but my office address and email are on there as well in case you want to get in touch after today. You shouldn't keep the others waiting much longer, though— tell her I say hi."

Nodding, I promised I would before putting my boots back on and taking an extra breath, stepping outside to see four dumbasses with three pegasi— something that wasn't reassuring for my fear of heights.

But your dad is Zeus! Yeah and he sucks, shut up.

"Everything okay?" Percy asked as if he's not the one still wearing a bracelet from his luxury excursion to the mental hospital.

I nodded.

"It's not like putting it off will make it any better." I responded. "Can I ask where the Pegasi came from?"

The white one near Phoebe huffed. Percy's and Grover's eyes widened.

"They haven't been at camp for that long, Guido," Percy responded, I think to the horse, which made me question how much sleep he got last night. "sorry, he can't believe you didn't recognize him. Guido and the brown one, Porkie, are from Camp Half Blood. Blackjack was on a, uh, cruise ship that I went on over fall break and I guess he really likes the sugar cubes I gave him there because he's calling me his boss now. He's been hanging out at camp as well, apparently convinced the other two to follow us here. I whistled and they showed up."

How many animals are on the Princess Andromeda?

"And you knew they were there?"

"Oh, no, he was hoping to summon Cerberus or another tamed hellhound from the Underworld with the dog toy he picked up from the yard," Grover told me, which seemed like a far fetched idea at best. "Cerberus really likes red rubber balls, and he can teleport, so..."

I gave him a questionable look.

"Hey, I wasn't opposed to stealing another car," the son of Poseidon defended himself. "But the ball was right there so I thought it was worth a shot. Is it that hard to believe that crime isn't my first thought?"

"Yes." I said as a half joke.

"Yeah, alright, then you might have to take a look in the mirror in Pasadena," Percy insisted, helping his boyfriend onto the winged horse with him. "because last I checked, you hotwired that car— not me."

"You hotwired that car, not me," I mocked Percy. "Maybe it's because I'd prefer speeding on ground rather than in the air. I thought you weren't supposed to fly like, at all?"

"I mean, we're riding pegasi, so it's like probably neutral." Percy reasoned with me. "Horses are Poseidon's thing, flying is your dad's thing, so... Plus, it's like 2 miles. We're not flying across the country or even across county lines. What's the worst that happens? I die? We should get going."

Taking a breath, I gave Guido a stern look that he hopefully understood to mean don't let me fall and die when we're in the sky before mounting the pegasus.

If I can just focus on my breathing it'll be okay.

It's okay, Thalia, Annabeth's voice popped into my mind, but her voice when she was little and we hadn't know each other very long. Just breathe and it'll be okay.

In my gut, I knew that that wasn't the case. I knew that once Guido got into the air, he wouldn't let me fall to my death, but he would bring me to a moment that's going to fundementelly change my life and my relationships with people that I care about.

Realistically, though, I knew that even if I refused to go, it wouldn't do anything— this is something that was always going to happen.

And lives are on the line. This is more than just me. It always has been.

So, knowing the outcome, knowing that I might cry myself to sleep in an empty mansion tonight, I got on Guido's back and held tight to his reins, preemptively apologizing as we took off towards the mountains on the other side of the city.

Notes:

Baby chapter to get back into it but hiiiiiiii guys I'm alive I'm just drawing a LOT and haven't had a ton of writing motivation but you best be prepared with a box of tissues for next chapter.

Anyways shameless plug for my art Instagram @ achillesandanarchy.png, I recently finished a series drawing the 12 main Olympians plus a few more so uhhhhh yeah check that out (you could even buy my art if u wanted...)

Also low-key if any of you want to beta read a non-fanfic story for me... I'd love u forever <3

Chapter 83: All Things Must Die (Which Is Stupid)

Notes:

I hope you bulletproof for this about to hurt <3

I hope you have those tissues I told you to grab

Zoë Nightshade

After more than 3000 years of living, I somehow didn't expect the emotions that hit me on what I knew to be my last day of living.

Phoebe had taken the reins coming here, so I was able to take the time that it took to get from the Chase household to my old home (sort of) to try and keep my emotions in check.

It's not as if I haven't lived a good life, it's been wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but...

"Zoë?" Phoebe's voice cut through my thoughts as we made our way towards Mt. Othrys, and I realized that I must've stopped or slowed down based on how far ahead the other three were.

I've spent hundreds, if not thousands of years wondering what I would do if I ever had to return to this place again. How angry I'd get and how many things I'd want to say to my dad and my sisters about how wrong they were about me and about how much I'd changed.

And yet, I couldn't summon the anger that I've held onto for so long.

Looking at Phoebe, a girl who managed to worm her way into my life what felt like so long ago but, in my reality, wasn't that long ago, I just wanted to run.

Because I knew the alternative, and I knew she wouldn't want to live through that.

But she'll have to.

She'll have to because the alternative just kills another person and I'm not sure if I could live with myself if I let another person die, especially for my own, selfish reasons.

There is no winning here. If I leave, if I run away from the home I was never meant to return to, I'm selfish for wanting to stay alive. For wanting to spend the rest of my life with another person.

If I continue, and I die, I'm selfish because how could I not consider Phoebe's or even Lady Artemis' or any of the other Hunter's feelings?

I knew this would happen. I was prepared to sacrifice myself for the greater good.

So why then am I paralyzed?

The goddess I devoted almost my entire life to is at the top of the mountain, in chains, and I'm stuck at the base.

Looking beyond Phoebe, I could see the trio from Camp- they'd noticed that we hadn't caught up to them, but I guess thanks to what I told Grover in the car last night, they also weren't running back to us.

"Zoë?" Phoebe repeated herself, her tone softer now as she took a step towards me and offered me a hand- a token of affection and support that I wish had been more common between us- a gesture that really only took place in private until now. "Hey, what's-?"

For a moment, my hands hovered over hers, and then I did the most impulsive, possibly idiotic thing I could've ever done in my entire existence.

Well, besides giving my sword away.

The most impulsive thing I've done since then, I guess.

Looking at our hands, I glanced up at Phoebe, who is a little taller than I am, and I cupped her face because that was the only way I could think to pull her down just enough to kiss her.

It was everything I thought it would be and maybe even a little more- evidently, I'm more emotional than usual, so that could be why. Or maybe it's just because Phoebe is just that spectacular and so kissing her is that much more wonderful. I don't know, but I do know that I finally got confirmation that her chapstick was cherry chapstick and not strawberry or pomegranate.

Through the kiss, I felt Phoebe smile, and as she rested her forehead against me, I wondered if it were possible for time to stop right here. For us to just... Stay here. Forever.

It beat the alternative, right?

"I love you," I confessed something both of us have known for so long but have been terrified to admit because of the changes it would put into motion. With one hand still cupping her face, I rubbed my thumb along Phoebe's cheek, trying desperately to commit every sight and touch to memory for the years to come where I won't get to experience her anymore. "I've wanted to do that for so long."

Phoebe smiled, melting my heart, allowing me a small breath of fresh air.

"I know," she promised me, making me roll my eyes. She put a hand over my own. "I love you, too."

And then there was a pause.

"Lady Artemis is going to kill us." Phoebe said immediately afterwards, causing me to laugh.

"I think she'll be happy, although annoyed to have to find a new lieutenant," I reasoned. "she might try and kill Aphrodite, though."

My love smiled.

"Let's go tell her the good news, then," she insisted, taking a step towards the mountain. Doing so, though, our fingers remained intertwined, and it made me feel weirdly giddy. "maybe she'll be happy enough to send us to like, the Netherlands or somewhere where we can actually get married."

And with that, we bounded up the mountain together to catch up to the others before they'd do something stupid and get themselves killed.

•••
Annabeth Chase

If whoever is on the quest doesn't show up soon, I'm throwing hands with Atlas myself.

I will admit that there was one good thing about the Titan - he still fed us each day.

Or so, I thought he did. Each day I'd woken up to a plate of food in front of me. Not full by any means, but the fact that he even bothered to plate it was more than I expected.

Well, okay- the fact that I was given food at all was more than I expected.

This day, however, I'd woken up earlier than usual- the sun was barely up when I heard the sound of a plate clattering on the stone ground.

Opening my eyes, I could see Ethan Nakamura standing above Luke. Not maliciously, though, which I guess makes makes sense seeing as they... Work together?

Looking down towards Luke, there was a plate of food around ¾ of the way full in front of him, but he evidently hasn't eaten. He's been trembling for the last day and a half, but I'd accredited it to holding the literal weight of the sky on his back all week.

"Eat." Ethan insisted, nudging the plate closer to Luke with his foot.

"Give it to Annabeth."

There was a beat of silence as I started to realize something I had considered throughout the week.

"You haven't eaten all week," the son of Nemesis pointed out, confirming my theory. "Are you-"

"It's not a question, Ethan," Luke snapped with a scratchy, hollow voice that he's developed over the course of the week. "Give her the food."

I was the only one out of the three of us being held hostage here that ever woke up with a plate of food.

"Give her the food," Ethan mocked the older demigod, sliding the plate in my direction without looking at me. It caused an orange slice to slide off the plate, but the rest was okay. "Fine. Kill yourself with starvation- why do you still care so much about her? She'll never hear you out."

I looked down, biting my lip.

I never realized Ethan didn't like me.

Given, we never interacted much at camp since he was just... Another kid in the Hermes cabin, but... I guess if he also thought of Luke as an older brother, then it could be some silent competition, right?

Or maybe it's purely political and I'm reading too much into this.

"I know," Luke Castellan confirmed Ethan's suspicions. "She's going to hate me for what could be the rest of her life, or at least the rest of mine- but just because she wants nothing to do with me doesn't mean that I can't at least try and still take care of her."

And I should've kept my eyes closed. I should've pretended to still be asleep, because I knew that he'd look over at me.

But I froze, so we made eye contact for the first time all week.

Then, for whatever reason- maybe to not tip Ethan off that I'd woken up, Luke looked back to the son of Nemesis.

"I never thought she would hear me out, Ethan," he went on as I could feel my brain screaming at him to stop because my brain and my heart were saying very different things and I didn't like it and it was overwhelming. "That's not the point- that's never been the point. If I thought there was any chance in hell that she would hear me out and maybe even agree with me, I would've left camp years before I did. But if I would've left before then, she would've spiraled because I would be abandoning her just like her parents did to her and then there would be no chance of us ever reconnecting if I survive this by some... Insane chance. I know that she won't hear me out, Ethan, trust me- I know that I lost her the moment I stopped arguing with Kronos. Just... Let me take care of her while I still can."

So the plate of food sat in front of me.

Meanwhile, my mind raged, wanting to break out of my shackles— but if it was to run over and sob into Luke's arms or to run over and beat the absolute piss out of him, I couldn't tell.

Because Luke's been starving himself for a week straight while under extrenious conditions for the same exact reason him and Thalia always made sure I ate first after they found me behind a dumpster in Virginia: because I'm younger than him.

I'm his little sister. And I'm still growing.

Not to say that he isn't, but to him, his growth and development and care will always come second to me.

We're on opposite sides of what I've convinced myself will turn into a war.

And he's still starving himself to take care of me.

"LUKE! ANNABETH!"

Hearing a roar of footsteps, Thalia was the first person we saw come over the crest of the plateau- bounding to Luke with Percy and Grover not far behind (because why wouldn't Percy be on a quest) them.

"Thalia?" Luke muttered as Ethan Nakamura took a step away, looking like he didn't know how to respond to the situation at hand. As I spotted Zoë Nightshade and Phoebe crest the mountain, I wondered where the rest of the hunt was.

"Luke, oh my gods you're okay, you're... Well, not okay, but you're alive." The child of Zeus said, cradling his face as I wondered how much she knew about what Luke's been up to. Where his priorities lie. "We have... We have a plan, okay? We're going to get the three of you out of here, but for that to happen, you need to give me the sky."

"Wh- babe, if I forfeit this-"

"He doesn't care." Percy chimed in, and I initially assumed he'd been talking about Atlas or even about Thalia- not caring about whatever reason Luke had for not complying. "You're the only one here skillful enough to pick a lock in under 30 seconds, and that's kind of what our whole plan is reliant on, so just let them take the sky- preferably before your captor arrives."

After another moment where something was said between the group that I couldn't hear- said in hushed tones, Luke forfeited the weight of the sky to his partner. Then, instead of going to the goddess who was closer to him and arguably more important than me, Luke ran for me, panting after exerting so much energy.

"Hi, sorry, I know you're pissed with me, but please let me get these shackles off you," my older brother requested, which caught me off guard for some reason. He held a hand out. "Once we both escape alive, you can scream at me all you want, okay? I promise."

He thinks I'd scream at him?

"O... Okay."

Hesitant, I gave him my right hand, and he started to work at picking the lock.

"Why?" I tried to keep my mouth shut, but if it's not life or death, I'm really bad at doing that, so it escaped anyways. "Why would you come here if you knew....? If you know what they would do to you and make you do and I don't get how you... How you're working with them and Ethan is also... And you didn't say anything about it when we talked and you showed me your apartment and... How? Did you know they were going to take me? Or try and take one of us, at least?"

"Wh- slow down, Annie," he insisted, the name causing mixed feelings in my chest. He released my first limb, I gave him the next. "First off- I didn't know that Atlas had any intention of kidnapping anyone- least of all you, okay?" My other hand was freed. "I would never have allowed or approved of such matters- it's why I rushed here after Thalia called to ask me if you were still at the apartment." He unshackled my left leg. "As for the other questions, it's... A lot of things, but we can talk about it afterwards, okay? For now, I have a goddess to make awkward small talk with while I free her from her chains."

He's going to free her? I thought to myself. But he's working with the Titans.

Before I could ask more questions, Luke ran off (well, hobbled- he's going to need to go to the chiropractor after this) in the direction of Artemis, allowing Grover to run to my aid while Percy seemed to be holding Ethan off, which was working... Better than it should have.

I thought Ethan hated Percy.

Weird.

I guess he's also a twelve year old boy, so his mind is somewhat of a mystery, but it still seemed odd.

Like, they both had weapons drawn, but they weren't attacking each other.

What is Percy holding?

Squinting my eyes, I couldn't make out the blade exactly, but I could tell that it wasn't Riptide.

"-to Annabeth." Grover said, gaining my attention back. "hey- are you okay? Do you need ambrosia or nectar before we go or can you run?"

"Hm? Oh sorry, I was just... Seeing who was is here, scanning the area and whatever. I can run, sure, but... We're not just leaving, are we?"

Grover raised an eyebrow at me.

"You've been in chains and half starved for multiple days, Annabeth, we're getting you out of here as fast as possible," my old friend pointed out, which was true, but still felt cowardly. "Annabeth, neither you or Luke are in any condition to fight, and we're trying to get out of here without a fight if at all possible anyways, because honestly? None of us are in good fighting conditions. You can help me get the pegasi prepped for bringing so many of us back to camp, okay?"

"O-"

"Thalia Grace, what a pleasure seeing you in my position!"

Atlas' voice halted Plan A from the quest-goers, kneeling down to the child of Zeus, who rolled her eyes at the Titan.

"What? Miss it?" They taunted.

Atlas chuckled.

"Hardly." He said. "Did your boyfriend come to his senses and finally realize that you should be the one hosting my uncle? Because if so, there's no trial for you. You're powerful enough."

And, in a move that I can only describe as insanely suicidal (but very in character, I must admit), Percy snuck up behind the Titan and lodged the thing in his hand- the non-Riptide weapon, into Atlas' kidney, forcing the Titan down onto one knee as Percy pulled the blade back out. Ichor began to soak the Titans toga.

But it didn't matter.

The Titan turned as he stumbled, grabbing Percy by the arm, but Percy kicked the god back, allowing time for Ethan to sneak up behind him.

"Percy!" Zoë Nightshade yelled, in an attempt to get him to turn and face her- the same direction Ethan was coming from.

After that, it was only thanks to my ADHD that I was able to process what was going on. Percy was able to dodge Ethan's strike, though he did get a cut from it. Meanwhile, Atlas pushed his hand in the direction of Zoë Nightshade, throwing her against the mountain as Grover had made his way over to Artemis, offering her a few squares of ambrosia as Phoebe was undoing her final shackle, Luke...

Where did Luke go?

"Come on, Annie, let's get you out of here." The son of Hermes said as he raised me up like he used to when I was little and wouldn't want to admit I was awake so he would carry me to my bed.

Against what you're imagining, it wasn't the princess carry- it was more or less an assisted walk as he wrapped an arm around me and took my arm around his shoulders.

I may have yelped when he grabbed me.

"Zoë!" Phoebe cried out, abandoning the goddess (which I feel like is a federal crime in the Hunt) to run after the Lieutenant of Artemis.

"Wh- stop! I'm fine," I insisted, disentangling myself from Luke's carry. "I can walk- I ate like, every day- you didn't, you... They gave you food every day! Why would you turn that down!?"

Sure, it was a dumb thing to get mad about, but I was becoming angry about a lot of things as all of the information began to process in my brain and I was suddenly realizing a lot of things that I didn't like. So I guess pick from the pile, and this subject was at the top.

"I- sorry, I assumed that you hadn't gotten up because you couldn't- you were here before I was, Annie, I didn't know what they did-"

"How did you not know!?" I demanded, throwing a hand out, unsure if it was to slap, punch, or grab him. "You knew... Atlas knew you! He knew you would come here and... What, did you help them plan to kidnap Artemis? You're already working with them, right, so I'm sure they told you everything, even when you should arrive to do your stupid pre-test. How..."

"Aw, what a pity, truly." Atlas said as he trudged towards the one person here who was definitely out of fighting commission, Zoë. "You had so much potential, darling- it's a shame to see you waste it. Your welcome party could've been so much nicer. Too bad your sister's aren't here to witness this."

Raising his arms high in the air, which I imagined hurt due to the cut in his side from Percy, the Titan raised his sword.

"NO!" Zoë Nightshade yelled, but it wasn't at her father.

As the blade raced to rock, Phoebe pushed Zoë away from Atlas. The blade going through her thigh caused a pool of blood to form, essentially paralyzing the huntress.

"Oh, you pain in the-"

"Hey," Artemis spoke loud enough for me to hear for the first time in multiple days. "pick on somebody your own size for once."

Turning to face the goddess, Atlas was met with an arrow at his feet, causing him to stumble back and fall to the ground next to Thalia Grace.

"Oh, perfect, it's your turn."

"It's-" Atlas began, panicking as Thalia began to move in order to give him the sky once more, a small strand of their hair having lost it's color in the short amount of time he'd been in that position. "What? No! You can't just-"

The Titan grunted, Thalia stood and shook their legs out.

"I can do whatever I please, asshole." She insisted, and then...

And then Ethan and Percy just stopped fighting. Like, neither of them won. There was no conclusion.

They just... Stopped, both looking to Thalia.

"Let's get out of here," the child of Zeus insisted, turning to the hunters. "can you walk, Zoë?"

"I can-" Zoë began before her leg gave out under her, Grover barely catching her before she fell.

"Woah there- I'll help you down the mountain," Grover insisted. "Can somebody-"

"I've got Phoebe," Artemis insisted, grabbing her huntress, who had seemed to pass out from the blood loss. "Let us depart, children- we can reconvene and discuss our next steps at the bottom of the mountain, where it is safe."

"No, you can't just-"

Thalia kicked the Titan in the head, effectively silencing him before following the rest of us towards the bottom of the hill.

Well, everyone besides Ethan Nakamura. He went back the way he'd came every other day- through the doors that led to the dining area. Making his decision that he definitely wasn't on our side.

But why is Luke walking with us?

He's no longer besides me, but I can hear him talking to Thalia in hushed tones closer to the front of the group. Presently, Percy and I walked side by side, but he wasn't saying much.

"So," I tried to break the silence. "Chiron and Mr. D let you have another quest?"

Looking up and over at me, it took him a moment to process the statement. Seemed tired.

"Hm? Oh, no, they... Don't know that I'm on this quest." Percy told me, which was just like him. It made me smile, knowing that he hasn't changed. "I told them I was going home until the solstice meeting."

I smiled again.

"Makes sense."

He nodded.

"Met your dad, by the way," he added on, which was one of the last things I expected him to mention about the quest. "He seems... Nice. Or at least, a lot nicer than your step mom. She's still misgendering you?"

Shrugging, I nodded my head.

"He's a lot better now than he used to be- more involved, I guess," I told Percy, wondering why and how they ended up running into my parents. "He tries to talk to her about it, but she just sucks. Thankfully, she also just doesn't like me, meaning she ignores me as much as possible, so she doesn't misgender me that often. Around me, at least."

"Still shitty, though. How are you feeling after this week? Holding up the sky..."

I looked down at my dagger- the one Luke gave me before we ever arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

For a moment, I looked forward to Luke and Thalia as they held hands down the mountain as if nothing had happened between the two of them since we first met.

Has Thalia not realized what's going on?

I looked back down at the dagger.

"Yeah." I began as we found a clearing at the bottom of the mountain. "I'm okay, all things considered. The sky isn't what hurt, after all."

Percy opened his mouth, but decided against following up, and closed it again.

The look he gave me said that, eventually, there would be questions- just not yet.

I was grateful for that.

Especially since Luke was still here.

The goddess set Phoebe down, Grover easing Zoë down next to her.

"How is she?" Percy asked, naturally caring for every other person but himself.

To me honest, I'm not sure if he was talking about Phoebe or Zoë- both of them were in rough shape. Zoë's ankle was shattered and I'm sure she had some bruising on her ribs or something from the toss. Nothing that would kill her, but it wouldn't be a pleasant healing process if it weren't for ambrosia and nectar.

Phoebe... Was worse.

Unconscious, the girls' pants was soaked in her own blood, and if it wasn't so cold outside, I wouldn't be able to tell she was breathing.

If we could run her to a hospital for a blood transfusion, it may not be lethal. But even I know that there weren't any in close enough proximity. Ambrosia and nectar can mend things easily, but it's much harder for them to create things out of nothing, and with how soaked those pants are...

"She's lost a lot of blood." Artemis answered the son of Poseidon as Zoë cupped Phoebe's face, possibly not hearing the rest of us, and touching their foreheads. "While we can feed her ambrosia and nectar to close the wounds, it won't change how much blood she's already lost."

I saw Luke bite his tongue- Thalia squeezed his hand.

"Please, Lady Artemis," Zoë said, her voice hardly above a whisper as she looked up to the goddess, desperation clinging at her soul even though it couldn't be heard in her voice. "Heal her."

"My Lieutenant, ambrosia and nectar cannot-"

"No, but you can." Zoë Nightshade corrected the goddess- I'm sure one of very few people that are allowed to do so. "Please, Lady Artemis, I cannot..."

The huntress didn't finish her statement, looking down to her companion's face, still cupped in her hands, and a tear fell.

"This was supposed to be my fate," she continued, her gaze fixed as she spoke through tears. "Not her's. Please, Lady Artemis, I beg of you- I ask you as your lieutenant, something I so rarely do, to heal her. The hundreds of years we've known each other is nothing compared to the millennia I've served at your side, but I can no longer imagine a world where Phoebe is not beside me. If I were to survive this and not her, then I am not to survive at all. So once again, I ask, I beg, and I plead for your powers, Lady Artemis- allow her another breath."

The goddess sighed- everyone's sights fixed on the two maidens.

"You have served by my side for millennia, Zoë Nightshade," Artemis responded, thinking to herself. "you have walked upon this earth for longer than I. Do you understand the consequence of what you're asking?"

I'm sorry, I thought to myself, how old is Zoë Nightshade?

"It is an inevitably, my Lady- even for beings such as you and I."

A silence hung in the air after that, like a wet blanket tumbling around in the dryer- deafening and heavy.

Eventually, the goddess nodded her head.

"Very well, Ms. Nightshade," Artemis conceded as she knelt down besides her maidens, Zoë moving back to allow Artemis to do what she needed. She placed a hand on Phoebe's forehead, another on the bloody leg. "I am not my brother, but after all you have done for me over the millennia, it is only fair I return you this one last favor. Please, close your eyes everyone."

Closing my eyes, I was about to see a bright light- what I imagined to be the goddess' true form lighting the clearing before dimming again moments later.

Opening my eyes, the first thing I'm sure we all noticed was that the goddess had disappeared.

The second is that Phoebe still wasn't moving.

The silence settled back in as everyone focused on the young girls- I myself wondering what I could say to comfort Zoë if it was too late even for an Olympian to heal somebody she obviously cared so much about.

I looked over to Percy.

Would I feel the same way if he passed?

Then I looked to Luke, Thalia, and Grover.

Would I feel that way if any of them passed?

I'd like to believe I would- I was crushed when Thalia died the first time. But it's hard to know how you'll react when somebody close to you dies.

Silently agreeing to give the duo a moment alone before we'd have to fly back to New York, we broke off into two little groups - Thalia, Grover, and Percy talking to each other in a quiet tone, leaving Luke and I together.

"Why are you still here?" I asked the son of Hermes, not currently facing him. "Why didn't you go with Ethan or stay behind with the Titans? Don't they have another test for you?"

There was a beat of silence.

"Annie-"

"Don't," I warned him, staining my voice. "Call me that anymore. I'm not your little girl."

Was that too much?

Maybe it was too aggressive, but maybe it was too aggressive that he was working with somebody who probably wants to kill all of our parents just because he doesn't like his dad.

"Annnabeth," but he wasn't stupid or suicidal, so he just listened to my request without pushing. "I'm sorry that this is how you had to find out- I don't know how to make you believe me when I say that I didn't know anything about you or Artemis being kidnapped because I don't serve Atlas. If I knew his plan, I wouldn't have let you leave my apartment alone- hell, I wouldn't have suggested you leave camp borders. I'm not sure where Ethan's going, honestly- he's supposed to be in New York, but he's here. As for me..."

His voice drifted as I saw Luke look over to his partner.

"I can't leave without Thalia, and I assumed you'd want to say goodbye or give them a hug or something before we left."

I scoffed, asking a question I didn't want to admit I knew the answer to.

"And why would Thalia go with you? If I wouldn't leave to help you, why would she?"

Luke didn't say it, but I heard his answer: Thalia knows their dad.

That's what always separated me from them, right? Besides just age, I never met my mom. We never had a falling out because she's never done anything to me besides send me a gift and nod to me while we're on Olympus.

It wasn't like Thalia's dad, who abandoned them twice.

Or Luke's dad, who... Has said things to Luke, I think.

I'm not sure because he doesn't talk about it a lot around me. Since he hates talking about it anyways and I have a good relationship with my mom, the topic is easy to avoid for us.

Didn't think it would cause him to leave me, too.

"I mean, technically, I am going with Thalia first." My older brother tried to ease the impact of what was going on, but it didn't help. "He has some stuff that needs to get done with his mom's estate since she's turning 18 now- I assume most of it is paperwork, but they want me there just in case. We have to go back to New York eventually, but I'm not sure how long this will take. I'm between semesters, so it's the best time for it. Maybe if we're still in the state when you get back, we could all have dinner together."

Looking down, I crossed my arms as my heart tried to take over. My chest swelled. I hated it.

"Yeah. Maybe."

If you remember I still exist.

"Does Thalia know?" I followed up, working to keep my voice level. "About what you're doing? I know Atlas made that comment, but since they're a child of Zeus, I don't... Want to assume it meant anything."

As I finally looked back at Luke, I caught him looking at Thalia as he processed my question before looking back to me, conflict evident in his expression.

"Thalia always knew," he broke the news to me. "I told her about it the first night we reunited."

And even though the dagger he gave me all those years ago was still in it's holster, Luke somehow managed to drive it through my chest.

"Kronos wants her as a host- wants any Big Three kid, truth be told, but he's been keen about Thalia since they're the oldest."

"Okay, so? Why didn't she have to do a test or anything?"

Luke glanced up at me like it was an insane question.

"Because," the older demigod answered as if it were so simple. "I won't let them do it. Thalia, obviously, but even the others- if Kronos somehow convinced Percy or whoever the new kids are or Thalia's brother to both join and become his host, I wouldn't let them."

"What? Because you're stronger or something? They're children of the Big Three, Luke- it's almost impossible to compete with them."

"Because this isn't their mess, Annabeth," Luke corrected me, which isn't what I expected him to say. "this isn't their problem to come in and solve, it's mine. Not necessarily alone- I appreciate Thalia for how much he's been there to support me as I try to figure out how this is all shaping out, but it's not Thalia's mess. I'm the one who's been arguing and negotiating and begging our parents and Chiron and Mr. D for years to do something- to do anything for us, and I know this seems irrational and crazy and extreme and whatever other word you want to use to describe it, because trust me, I know it is- but what other options do I have? If you have an idea, I'm all ears, but I've exhausted all of the ones I have."

But he was right: it was crazy. It made no sense to me.

"So you went to a titan for help? Luke, he's just going to use you get back at the gods and kill our parents! Is that what you want?"

"Wh- no, Annabeth, this isn't about overthrowing Olympus. And I didn't go to Kronos for help. He's been... He's been in my head for years, Annabeth." Luke clarified, but it still didn't make sense because if it wasn't about overthrowing our parents, why does he need a titan on his side? "I tried to ignore him and I argued with him for years in my dreams or in visions, even after my quest, but eventually..."

Luke looked at Percy.

"But eventually, it was clear that just talking and asking wasn't going to get the job done." He insisted. "So maybe it seems crazy, but that's the point. If they didn't want to listen to me while I played by their rules, then I'll force them to listen. And I won't be alone, but I don't expect you to follow me."

"You don't?"

He smiled at me.

"You've grown into a wonderful young lady, Annabeth— you're still growing into that lady." My big brother told me as I realized he was holding back tears. He blinked, trying to get them to go away. "You are your mother's daughter, and that's okay. After all, who knows, maybe she'll be proud of you whenever you get to meet her. We still need councilors who love Camp and our parents— the place would be miserable without councilors like you. But I couldn't be that anymore, and I haven't been that for a long time."

He paused.

"That being said," Luke concluded as Thalia walked over to join us, taking their partners hand. "if you're ever curious or you have a change of heart, you know who to talk to. After all, it's not like I'm making Thalia sleep in the spare room in my apartment."

"Wait," I said. "Is this... Goodbye, then?"

Thalia smiled, messing my hair up.

"Only if you want it to be one." The child of Zeus insisted, which wasn't reassuring at all. "It doesn't have to be a goodbye if you don't want it to be one. I mean, I'm not going back to New York right now, but that's because I have some stuff to deal with at my mom's place. But after that, we should be in the city if you ever want to swing by, okay?"

"If Chiron ever lets me leave to visit."

Thalia rolled their eyes.

"True— maybe if you said you were visiting the Jackson's, he'd let you. Sally and Gabe would definitely cover for you."

I just nodded my head, wondering if I could manage to lie to not just Chiron and Mr. D about that, but everyone at camp.

After all, what Luke is doing...

What both of them are doing, I guess, doesn't sound like a good idea. And I think it might get them killed, but I don't want to think about that right now.

So I just nodded my head.

Pulling me into a hug from the side, Thalia squeezed me half to death while Luke messed with my hair, and I smiled because I couldn't afford to break down right now.

Looking at the two lovebirds next to one another, I noticed that each of them had a little streak of hair that had lost its color. It was cute. Both of them were holding back tears because I think they understood what was going on a little bit better than I did— something that doesn't always happen.

"Whatever you do next, you'll be wonderful, Annie." Luke said and I didn't have it in me to snap at him the same way I had earlier. The couple took a step away. "I'm sorry that we're on different sides of this conflict. Maybe when it's over we can go back to the way things used to be. But until then, we love you, okay? Never forget that— no matter what happens, Thalia and I love you so much and we want what's best for you— whether that means staying at camp and visiting or keeping your distance or joining the hunt or... Whatever that needs to mean, know that we support you and we love you and we'll miss you. Okay?"

Biting my tongue, I nodded my head.

If you cared that much, you wouldn't leave in the first place. I thought to myself, but even in the moment I know it was a selfish thought. It was the exact kind of thing that I am supposed to talk to my therapist about that I usually avoid during our sessions.

"Okay."

And then, just like that, the two of them turned around and disappeared into the California landscape.

"Annabeth?" Hearing Phoebe's voice was reassuring— knowing that she was alive.

But the concern in her voice ripped me apart. As I faced away from the group, I felt a tear blaze down my cheek— the last thing I wanted to happen right now.

"We should get going," I insisted, sniffling as I gathered my composure to face the group. "New York is a long journey from here— I'd hate to miss the Winter Solstice field trip."

"Are you sure?" But it was honestly bold of Percy to be the one to ask that question since he's famous at avoiding taking care of himself. "Because if you need a minute, we have to get the Pegasi—"

"I'm fine." I cemented my stance on the situation. "Let's go."

Notes:

what are y'all thinking of Annabeth rn?

anyways let's go lesbians let's go <3 not a single star in the sky is visible tonight

Chapter 84: I'm Not A Grief Counselor (But I Need One Now)

Summary:

*cocks gun* this one's gonna hurt (this is your warning that people are unwelllllll this chapter)

Percy Jackson

I wonder if Annabeth realized she has a matching grey streak with Thalia and Luke.

After what happened, I didn't dare bring it up— she seemed even more fragile than the two girls who almost died today.

For the most part, it was a quiet flight back to New York. The Pegasi can fly a lot faster than I remember, and with the incentive of a few sugar cubes, didn't even complain about it.

As soon as we landed, campers were running up to us, I'm sure having seen the pegasi from a distance. At the front of the group was the Hunters, Jason (who was technically flying), and then Chiron with Nico on his back, Octavian running alongside the centaur (or, trying to).

Getting off Blackjack, I thanked him again and gave him one last sugar cube before he flew off (I wonder if Chiron eats sugar cubes). The other three dismounted, though Phoebe and Zoë were essentially mobbed by their now ex-comrades.

Meanwhile, Nico almost broke his leg jumping off of Chiron and Jason almost tumbled as he flew down faster than he should've. The two of them were tripping over themselves as they ran up to us.

Only for both of them to see that their sisters weren't with us.

"Where's my sister?" Both brothers asked in unison.

The sons of Jupiter and Hades just... Stared at me as if they didn't just suck all of the air out of my lungs.

Sure, I expected the question from Jason. If Thalia originally assumed she'd come back here until the solstice, they wouldn't have given him a suitable goodbye.

I looked back at Chiron and Mr. D, because they knew about Bianca.

According to what Zoë said on the flight back, after we told Annabeth about Bianca, she said that Artemis knew about the daughter of Hades before we arrived. She said that Hades had sent her a vision the same day it happened.

She warned Zoë and Phoebe that the Hunters may be in mourning when we arrived because they should know about Bianca.

Chiron should have told them.

Chiron was supposed to tell them.

Yet, the centaur wouldn't meet my gaze and Mr. D did for a moment, but just looked down after that.

Before I could summon what I'm sure would not be the right words for this because I'm not a crisis counselor or a grief counselor or a therapist in any capacity and this isn't supposed to be my job, Annnabeth took a deep breath.

And then she ran off.

Grover squeezed my hand, stifling a breath out, seeming conflicted about what to do, our anxiety feeding into each other.

I'll go try to handle her. He informed me through our link.

"Annabeth!" Grover yelled, chasing after the daughter of Athena, who ran towards the cabins.

Which left me with Nico and Jason.

"Thalia... Sorry." I apologized, collecting myself. "Thalia will be back in New York for the solstice, I think— we sort of had a run in with the police in Albuquerque, so he's no longer considered missing, which means that there's a ton of stuff they have to figure out at your mom's estate. They just wanted to see how much it was before coming back. She's okay— you could probably send an IM, if you know how to, but she's just in Pasadena."

Jason breathed the biggest sigh of relief, but it came pretty close to that of Octavian's behind him— I'm sure if Thalia passed, he'd be the one who would have to comfort Jason, so it made sense.

"Oh, thank the gods, thank you." Jason said, visibly and audibly relaxed. "I'll try and IM them tonight. Pasadena isn't that far from Camp Jupiter, maybe I could take a day or two to help her out after I go back."

"He'd appreciate it, I'm sure."

"Is Luke not with her?" Octavian questioned. "Not saying that you shouldn't go, Jason, just... If Reyna vetoes it since you've already been gone for so long."

And suddenly, Mr. D and Chiron had the gaul to stare daggers into me.

"Is he... I think so, but I'm not sure." I half lied. "He was with Thalia when we left California, but I'm not 100% sure what their plan was, besides that Thalia was going to Pasadena."

"But you don't know for sure?" Chiron questioned.

I shook my head.

"I can't say for sure."

Feeling a tug on my jacket sleeve, I looked down to see the son of Hades— the only living child of Hades, looking up at me, trying very hard to be patient, but reaching his limit.

"What about my sister?" He asked. "Where's Bianca?"

The younger demigod paused.

"Is she with Thalia, too?"

At first, I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. A block of ice seemed to freeze inside of me, causing a wave of goosebumps to cover my skin despite the winter jacket I was wearing.

What am I supposed to tell him?

"Is she... No." I said, feeling the tone of the camp dampen as everyone but Nico seemed to be able to read my expression. My reaction. "she didn't go with Thalia."

One last time, I looked back at the director and trainer of the camp, but it was pretty fucking clear that they were going to be of absolutely no help because, once again, it's like they couldn't see me.

How many times did Luke have to do this?

Closing my eyes, I took a breath and put in the least believable smile known to man and tried to ignore the extra weight of my jacket pocket.

"Why... Don't we go for a walk, Nico?" I suggested, not wanting either or both of us to break down in front of the entire camp. "We can find somewhere to play mythomagic and I'll tell you all about your sister, okay?"

And, at the mention of getting to play his favorite game in the entire world, Nico nodded his head and practically jumped in excitement as we walked away from the group.

How do I even begin to describe what happened?

"So," Nico said. "Where is Bianca?"

She never said goodbye to him.

"She's..." I nearly lost my voice, losing against the despair as the events of this week sank in. I grabbed the figurine from my pocket and crossed my arms. "She's with your dad."

"She got to see him again!?" Nico exclaimed, which was my reminder that they knew their dad, personally. He was there for them as kids. "Lucky! Can I go, too? How long will she be there? How do you get there? I miss my papa."

I stopped at the amphitheatre, Nico looking back at me once he realized I'd stopped.

"Nico, you can't..." I began, feeling my voice shake as I couldn't stop the vision of Bianca running to her death from repeating on a loop in my mind, the guilt of not catching up to her eating me alive.

I reached my hand out to him— the one that held the statue of his dad.

The last thing he would ever have of her.

I felt a tear fall.

"It's not... That kind of visit, Nico." I broke the news to him, my voice shaking in the process as I fought against the voices in my head because they can wait for this to be done before they convince me to try and not wake up in the morning. "She isn't... She isn't coming back."

Stepping closer to me, Nico's hand hovered over the statue of Hades.

"Bianca sacrificed herself two days ago," I elaborated as he just... Stared at my offering. "She... Wanted you to have this. She said it was... The only one... One you didn't have left."

Very gently, the son of Hades took the statue in his hands, eyes still fixed on it.

"She loved you so much, Nico," I went on as he began to process what had happened. "She wanted me to tell you that she loved you and that she was sorry and she's... She's dead now, Nico, and I'm... I'm sorry."

And he just... Stared at the statue. Silent.

For a moment, I was worried he didn't hear me, so I just kept talking, and in hindsight, I should've kept my mouth shut.

But I told him everything. About how Zoë had warned us to not take anything, and Bianca did anyways because it was special for Nico. How she entrusted me with it once she decided what she was going to do and knew the dangers.

How she ran and I couldn't run fast enough.

How, after the fact, they had to drag me away because I couldn't believe that she would sacrifice herself so soon after being granted immortality.

How I stared out the window of the SUV we stole for hours, begging to see her run or somehow fly after us.

Getting confirmation that she was gone from Artemis.

I told him everything.

"But you... You said you would protect her." Nico finally responded, looking up at me with tears in his eyes. "You promised! How could you!? How could you let her...?"

He lost his voice temporarily, swallowing the rest of the sentence, but him yelling caused me to jump back.

"Nico, I tried to stop her—"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER, BECAUSE IT DIDN'T WORK!" His shrill voice made me step back, as silly as it seemed to be to be afraid of a ten year old child. "You were supposed to protect her, but now she's dead. She was all I had and you just let her—"

Hearing the sound of bones clicking together is something that I'm going to hate hearing in health class for the rest of the year.

Turning around, the most annoying creatures to ever have tried to kill me were suddenly back—the skeletons that can only be killed by a child of Hades.

"DIE!" Nico yelled, a crack opening in the cement of the amphitheatre, causing the skeletons to fall in before I could even think of pulling Riptide out.

Almost as soon as the hole appeared, it closed again.

And Nico was running.

"Nico—"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He screamed as I tried to run after him, but tripped and fell. "I WISH YOU DIED INSTEAD— YOU SAID YOU WOULD PROTECT HER, YOU MONSTER!"

Cool. I thought to myself ironically. The voices in my head don't even have to tell me to die, Nico did it for them.

Struggling to get up, I realized I had tripped over a new crack in the flooring of the amphitheatre, where the hole had formed.

Looking in the direction where he ran off, I couldn't see any signs of the young demigod.

I wish you died instead.

You and me both, kid.

Carefully stepping over the crack, I ran to try and catch up with Nico because surely somebody has to intercept him along the way.

Chiron and Mr. D had to have somebody stationed at the camp border or at the Hermes cabin to stop him from doing something stupid, right?

Right?

I followed what I think was Nico into the woods of camp, which is insanely dangerous for somebody with very little training (suicidal, some may say).

Eventually, pretty quickly, Grover joined me with Annabeth, who was probably calmer but I couldn't tell because I was frantic and on the verge of having a panic attack.

For hours, I searched and scaled and scoured the woods of Camp Half Blood, desperately hoping to find a young Italian boy curled up by a tree or in a small cave, crying in the safety of a nymphs or driad's arms because he missed his sister and just wanted to get away from people for a little bit.

"Percy," Annabeth said after I looked into the same cave near the stream for the third time ten minutes after the dinner alarm had sounded — I had already missed lunch before the others found me. "I think it's time to rest, maybe tomorrow—"

"Maybe tomorrow he'll he dead, too, Annabeth, we can't just let him—"

"Percy," Annabeth repeated my name, this time cupping my face in her hands in a way that was firm, which matched her expression. "You need to stop. The sun is already down. If we're out here much longer, monsters are going to find us, and in our states, it's a suicide mission."

"But if he's out here—"

"If he's out here and Grover can't sniff him out, monsters won't be able to, either." the daughter of Athena pointed out, letting go of my face. "You're going to kill yourself if you keep this up any longer, and you have a party to attend in like 2 days— snap out of it. Let's go get some food and we can tell Chiron and Mr. D what happened. Who knows, maybe they found him somewhere else or maybe they can send a searcher after him. But looking under the same rock every hour isn't going to help."

And while she had a point, and her stubborn tone made me less frantic, I didn't want to admit that she might be right and that we might not find him tonight.

"He's going to be just fine, wherever he is." Annabeth added on as I paused, wondering what would take longer: for the guilt to consume me, or a small monster. "who knows, maybe it's a good thing— there's no doubt now that he's Hades' kid, right? Maybe between him and Jason, you don't have to take the prophecy on. There could be a loophole that—"

"He's a child, Annabeth!" But her insinuating that I should cheat death by assigning somebody else to die left an awful flavor in my mouth. "he's a child who isn't from this time period that just lost the only family he had left! If he survives, Annabeth, I don't think he's going to be just fine! He didn't even have a weapon on him! How could you insist that I try and give him or even Jason a death sentence! Do you realize how fucked up that is? Did you suddenly forget about all of the times that I've already tried to kill myself? All I'm doing is waiting for one of those times to work, and I'm sure that when I turn 16, it finally will! I'm not giving that to Nico! He deserves better than that! He..."

He wishes I were dead, I reminded myself.

That makes two of us. I responded to myself, feeling all of the energy finally drain out of my body as I just sat on the ground.

Annabeth, probably hungry, walked away.

"Percy?" Grover whispered as I could feel my tear ducts reactivate. He squatted down across from me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Sweets, hey. Are you going to be okay?"

Even though he'd know if I tried to lie, I couldn't even surmise the energy to try and lie about my mental state to my boyfriend.

Unable to form words, I just shook my head and felt the dam slowly crack before flooding all at once.

You said you would protect her.

Look after Nico for me, would you?

I failed both of them.

Both of them could be dead, and it would be my fault.

Grovers arms wrapped around me, a feeling so distant I wondered if I'd get to find out Nico's di Angelo's fate the next time I "woke up."

I wouldn't mind it, after all.

It's what he wants.

Chapter 85: Before and After

Grover Underwood

The real miracle is that the extent of self harm that he was able to do while on the floor or the forest not too far from camp was that he managed to scratch at his arms and legs a little, but since his clothes were thicker being winter, it didn't draw blood.

Jason found us when Percy was like, five minutes into a panic attack/mental breakdown. Apparently, since he didn't see Nico at dinner and he'd kind of figured out what must've happened, him and Octavian split up to check the basic spots for him- Jason figured he'd fly to check, Octavian would be on the ground.

"Hey," the son of Jupiter said in a quiet tone as he touched down. "is he... Okay or...? Sorry, Octavian, the Stolls, and I are looking for Nico. Have you seen him? Does Percy need to go to the infirmary?"

I shook my head.

"The infirmary will make it worse, but if you could let one of the on duty medics know that they should stop by my place after dinner, that would be great." I responded, exhaling. "I guess while they were talking, Nico freaked out and ran off- Percy tried to chase him down with no luck. We've been searching the woods for hours- Annabeth called it for the night and they got in a small argument before she left for dinner, which is what... Made this happen before we got back to my place and not after."

"So I assume he's not okay?"

I shook my head in confirmation, rubbing my hand along Percy's arm.

"His mental health has always been shaky, but this month has been really bad- I've been worried." I admitted to the Praetor. "I won't go into details because it's not my place, but he shouldn't have gone on the quest. The only reason we all let him was because he was having visions sent to him that were important, but..."

I exhaled.

"Yeah."

"It's okay, I'm not asking for his life story or anything- I'm sure watching somebody younger than you die is pretty intense. I'm surprised the rest of you seem to be alright. Well, besides Annabeth, but I think that's different? I don't know. Do you want me to help get him back to camp? I won't fly him, obviously, but I can help carry him."

Telling him it would be appreciated since Percy was essentially unresponsive right now (and would be for a while, from what I could sense), Jason carried my boyfriend as I led us out of the woods.

After some debate, we ended up going to the Big House rather than to my place. Jason was able to get Octavian to meet us there with dinner for the two of us (thank gods), but Chiron and Mr. D were also there, and I can't articulate how much I didn't want to see them right now.

Before we left on this quest, I was skeptical of Chiron's methods, but tried to believe that he at least usually had the best interest in mind for the campers.

After this quest, I couldn't look him in the eye.

So much for a father figure, right?

"Grover, Percy, thank the gods you're-"

I wish the daggers I stared into Chiron had been real as I ignored the ancient lovebirds and grabbed the camp's cell line that we had for the strawberry farm and emergencies.

As Jason set Percy down on the couch by the fire, I dialed the only number I have memorized: Sally Jackson's.

She answered immediately, thank the gods.

"Hello?" My boyfriend's mom said, sounding a mix of anxious and skeptical.

"Hi, Sally, it's Grover, not Chiron or Mr. D." I said, hearing her take a breath of slight relief. "don't worry, Percy's not dead or seriously injured or anything like that. But um..."

I looked over to my boyfriend- Chiron and Mr. D I think whispering about him.

"I know it's late, so I apologize for that, it's been quite a day since we got back from our quest earlier today." I went on. "But would it be possible for you or Gabe to come and pick Percy, if not both of us up? I just don't... Think that he'll get through the night alone, and I'd rather give him more options of people he can go to in the middle of the night than less, you know?"

"Oh my gods, of course! We just finished eating, we'll be there soon, okay?" Sally insisted, which was a relief. "I know you said he's not injured, but did something happen to cause it or was it just... Too much for him so soon after getting back from treatment?"

Octavian handed me my food, I thanked him and Jason quick. They insisted they'd be on the porch until campfire was over if we needed anything, which was sweet.

I wonder if Jason knows about Octavian's crush on him- I can't tell if it's reciprocated.

"That definitely played a role, I'm sure, but no." I broke the news as I could tell Sally put me on speaker, probably since her and Gabe got in the car. "One of the quest-goers, the older one of the two new recruits, didn't make it back with us. She... Died the other day, and Percy was managing, but..."

I looked over at our shitty management team.

"But instead of doing their jobs, Chiron and Mr. D forced Percy into the position of telling the girl's ten year old brother that it happened today, instead of telling him two days ago, like they were supposed to." I finished. "Reasonably so, the kid freaked out and he ended up running off and we spent the entire afternoon and evening looking for him until Percy and Annabeth got in a spat about it and Annnabeth left to go eat and Percy sat down on the ground and had a melt down or a panic attack that he's still having. Another demigod found us looking for Nico and helped me get Percy to the Big House, which is where we are now. If he comes to and is able to eat before you guys get here, we'll meet you at Thalia's Tree. Otherwise, you'll have to come to the Big House."

"Are either Mr. D or Chiron there?" Gabe asked, surprisingly calm.

"Yeah, they are."

"Good to know." The son of Dionysus responded. "Thank you, Grover, we'll be there shortly."

Ending the call, I could see that Chiron was seeing if he could get through to Percy at all, but Mr. D kept his distance- which, after what happened the last time Percy had an episode like this, I guess I don't blame him.

"Will he be alright?" Octavian asked me as I took my first bite of food in over six hours- it was amazing. "I remember Thalia mentioning that he wasn't exactly stable, but..."

And I wish I could've given him a better answer, but even my thoughts were muddled because of his breakdown, so I just shrugged.

"I... Don't know." I admitted. "He just got out of the hospital before all of this happened and after the solstice and his parents' reception, I'm sure he'll have to go back. And hopefully, it'll help, but..."

"But who knows." I concluded with a sigh, wishing I had it in me to be more optimistic like I usually am, but I just couldn't right now. "We'll figure it out, somehow. What about you guys? Are you and Jason doing okay?"

Initially, my question seemed to take Octavian by a mix of surprise and confusion.

"Jason and I? What do you mean by are we doing okay?"

And then I realized that I accidentally made it sound like I was asking about them as a couple.

"Oh my gods, sorry, no, I mean like, you guys as separate people- how are you guys doing being here? Like it, hate it? Homesick or dreading to go back?"

Octavian sighed, visibly relaxing at the change in connotation.

"Oh, thank the gods, I didn't have it in me to explain Jason's heterosexuality to another person." The descendant of Apollo said to himself. "We're good, I think. I'm doing alright- the Hermes cabin is kind of fun, but I'm worried about Nico vanishing. Hopefully he turns up tonight or tomorrow, but if not, I'll keep an eye out for him in California. As for Jason..."

He paused, looking over at his best friend and definite crush, who was outside the Big House on the porch right now, talking with somebody I couldn't see.

"I think he enjoys it, but he's freaking out about both Nico and Thalia not being here." But I could've been fooled had Octavian not mentioned this now. "Which, I don't blame him, but he refuses to act like he's actually worried or in a bad mood, so I'm not sure what I can do besides help him look for Nico and just offer to hang out."

"Sometimes that's all you can do-sometimes it's all they need." I said, looking over at Jason before looking at Octavian again. "you're sure he's straight?"

The augur rolled his eyes.

"If he's not, he's never coming out of the closet." He figured, rolling his eyes. "To be fair, for him to come out, he'd have to acknowledge his feelings for longer than 5 minutes, and he's kind of really bad at that, so who knows. He's kind of bent on being straight- as ironic as that is to say- because it's what he tells everyone any time they ask or tease us about hanging out."

And although that wasnt the vibe I had sensed from Jason when we initially met, I didn't say anything about it. After all, it's none of my business, and Octavian was there when we met as well, so it could've been his feelings I sensed rather than Jason's.

Plus, Octavian didn't seem all that thrilled about the subject, so I decided to leave it where it was.

"That sucks, I'm sorry," I apologized. "Annabeth used to tease Percy and I for the same reason. And like, we are together now, but at the time, it was platonic. So like, I get it. It's annoying and can be a lot when you like them and they don't like you."

Octavian raised an eyebrow.

"So you fell first?"

I rolled my eyes.

"He wasn't even at camp yet, the others never stopped teasing me once he came." I confirmed, remembering the conversations Clarisse, Silena, Beckendorf and I had while playing pinochle the day after Percy got here. They were just teasing, but it felt super embarrassing because he could've woken up at any minute and heard. "I knew he wasn't straight, but he wasn't really out when he first got here. He ended up dating Travis for most of that summer, but it sort of crashed and burned and honestly? Thank gods, because it meant we got together this last summer."

"Okay, so it's been, what, six months?"

"Yeah, we just had our six month like, last week." I confirmed, nodding as I looked over at the calendar. "we weren't able to do anything for it day of, so as long as he doesn't end up in the hospital, we're going to go out the day after Christmas, I think."

The descendant of Apollo tilted his head.

"Makes sense, but why didn't you get to celebrate day of?"

I looked at my boyfriend, then looked down.

"He was in the hospital." I said, catching his mouth form an o shape, unsure of how to respond. "Yeah. It's been... Bad. I'm sure that now, after Bianca..."

My voice trailed off as I processed what I just said.

After Bianca.

Just as, when we were younger, things used to exist in the timeframe of before Thalia('s Tree) and after Thalia, a new name has taken that place.

No matter what happens, there will always be a before Bianca and an after Bianca.

And a small part of me knows that the differences in those periods of time are going to be much more intense than before and after Thalia.

As a camp, we're entering a new age. A new chapter.

One where, I fear, many demigods will die.

And, no matter what, it will be after Bianca.

She was the first.

But I doubt she'll be far from the last.

•••
Octavian Augustus

Letting Grover go sit with his boyfriend until Percy's parents arrived, I went back outside to join Jason and maybe even try to get him to give me any indication for how he's feeling.

It's kind of weird, though, because before today Jason and I haven't really hung out since the questers left. Just whenever Nico tracked Jason down for Mythomagic and brought him back to cabin 11.

I guess we've eaten a few meals together, but usually Nico or somebody else was also there, so we didn't talk a lot during them.

Either way, I don't want to think too deep into it. We're at a new place with different schedules- meeting new people for the first time since we joined the legion, more or less. Just because we're best friends doesn't mean that we have to hang out all the time. We're still best friends.

As I walked up to the son of Jupiter, the blonde girl who had gone missing- Anna? said a goodbye to Jason and motioned towards me as she walked away, causing Jason to turn and look at me.

"Octavian, hey," he said, almost as if he wasn't expecting me. He was tense. "what's up?"

"Just walking out of the Big House- gave Grover his dinner like you asked me to." I answered, shrugging. "Are you doing okay? It's okay if you're worried or stressed, Jace- a lot has been going on today. What did Anna... want?"

"Annabeth?" Jason repeated, crossing his arms like he was giving himself a hug. "Oh, she was just... Telling me some stuff- mostly about Thalia. A lot of which I already knew, but I guess the details..."

He sighed.

"Yeah." And then he steeled his expression as if this wasn't still bothering him. "Just stuff about Thalia. Nothing to worry about."

I frowned.

"Jason-"

"It's fine, Octavian." But for the first time in quite a while, Jason cut me off. Snapped at me. "I'm fine. I would tell you if I wasn't, right?"

But the aggression in his voice caused me to take a step back.

"I don't... Think you would, Jason," I attempted to reason with the praetor, who seemed caught off guard by my resistance. He looked shocked. "what, am I wrong? Jason, you never tell me me you aren't okay because you refuse to feel not okay for longer than 5 minutes. You used to tell me- when we were younger. Now all you ever are is fine, no matter how much of an obvious lie that is at times, like right now. Why is that? I don't get why you stopped telling me- I haven't stopped asking. Is there something I did that I missed? If so, we can talk about it, Jason- I miss the days when you'd just tell me whatever was on your mind and it didn't feel like a fight to get more than just small talk out of you."

"Something... Octavian, everyone assumes we're dating when they first see us," but of course that was the issue. It just had to be, right? "What are they going to think if I'm crying on your shoulder or we're hugging for longer than normal or..."

But the fact that it was really about that made me want to both scream and sob all at once.

"Or what!?" I snapped back at him. "Jace, it's none of their fucking business, and it's not like it would change that assumption. You're straight, right? You've told every single person at both camps that, so why does it matter?"

"I- because I... don't know, Octavian, it just does!" My best friend insisted, crossing his arms and exhaling. "you wouldn't get it, 'Tav- I have to work so hard towards everything in camp just to keep my head above water at times. Part of that is how other campers look at me and view me."

And while, no shit, being in politics means being aware of your public image, the way he said it made me stop because it felt so conflicting.

On one hand, he used the nickname that he hasn't used since before I came out- Tav.

I missed hearing it.

But on the other hand...

"Are you serious?" I questioned, my expression dropping as I stopped in my tracks. "You think the camp actually cares if you're gay or not? All of our parents are bisexual except for the ones who don't have kids!"

Jason looked back at me, confused.

"Wh-" but the meaning of what he said in and the son of Jupiter panicked, more or less. "oh my gods, no, Octavian, I would never insist that... No. Just no, dude. I don't mean it like that, I mean it more like if I'm crying on your shoulder, they'd think I'm weak, and being praetor..."

He paused.

"I worked really hard to curate a reputation and an image at Camp Jupiter," my best friend insisted, which was very true- who he is on duty and in the barracks used to be very different. "I wasn't... Born into a family that would guarantee me a position at camp- for gods' sake, I went through the fifth cohort."

But his last point didn't stick.

"You... Chose to enter the fifth cohort with no letter." I reminded Jason, because that wasn't a minor detail- it actually caused a bit of stress when we transitioned from New Rome to Camp Jupiter. "My parents and my grandparents all wrote you letters to get into higher cohorts- you chose to go to the fifth. And also, your family isn't in New Rome, but you're still the son of Jupiter- that's always had an influence, even if you don't like to think about it. After all, people would never take campers like Lavinia or Dakota seriously if they suggested half of the things you do- hell, Jason, they don't take it from me, and I almost have more ichor in me than blood."

Before he could insist that those things meant nothing, I piped up again.

"Not to say that you haven't worked hard, Jace- you have, and you've changed a lot over the last year or so." I continued, silently wondering to myself if he really changed or if he just shifted his attitude around me. "The fact that you and Reyna are both praetors is insane and you deserved that position because you do have great ideas and I hope that, eventually, the Senate is a lot more receptive to it. But... Those other things don't mean nothing. Not that they're bad things- I was also raised by my parents, and I know that that gave me a head start at camp. But I don't understand why you think that you can't show negative emotions when they come up."

"Octavian, if I look weak-"

"Jace, I'm not just talking about in public." I clarified as we walked into his cabin. "Or in the public eye- I mean in situations like right now, or like last week when we spoke after you met Thalia for the first time. When we're alone and I try to check in because I get worried and you just brush it off and tell me you're fine. I ask because I'm worried, Jason. You're my best friend, and the sibling you just met is at large and the kid that was attached to us all well is MIA- it's normal to feel emotions about that. It's not healthy to ignore all of those feelings and to pretend like they'll just go away on their own. That's how you end up like my dad."

"I'm not..." Jason closed his eyes and sucked his lips in, a futile attempt at staying calm. "I'm not ignoring what's happening, Octavian, I'm just trying not to freak out because what good does freaking out do? What good does it do for me to be sad or mad or frustrated or..."

"But you are frustrated, aren't you?" I pointed out as he lost his voice. "If you are, or if you're mad or worried, that's okay, Jace. I'm not saying that you need to tell me why you're feeling like that, I'm just asking that you tell me that you are frustrated or worried or mad and that you either just need a minute or that you'd like help to not be worried or frustrated or whatever it was. I know that, eventually, you're going to be fine, Jason. You usually handle things pretty well- but if you continue to just say you're fine when you're not, that will change. I'm just worried, okay?"

Exhaling, I collected my thoughts.

"I know that things have... Changed," I went on, unsure myself or what exactly that word meant. "For both of us over the last year or so. And like, big changes, right? Or, they feel big. But I don't want those changes to mean we stop talking, and right now, I'm afraid that that's what might happen. Like, very slowly, but still. You're one of my only friends back home- I don't want to lose you."

The last line caused a silence to fall in between the two of us- deafening in a cabin that felt vacant, even with Jason and Thalia's stuff inside.

Jason opened his mouth, then closed it again, processing our conversation. He didn't seem as frustrated now, but he seemed confused. A little frustrated, but more sad than mad.

He put his hand out, then dropped it almost immediately.

"...lose me?" Jason repeated the phrase after struggling to form the words for a few seconds. His tone had toned down, but it sounded... Sad and confused and... Disappointed. My best friend looked me up and down as I crossed my arms, realizing that maybe he didn't even notice how distant he's been. Maybe it wasn't on purpose. "Octavian, you could never lose me as your best friend- it would impossible for either of us to find somebody else that could know us as well as each other. I'm-"

He stuttered.

"I'm sorry we didn't really hang out this week," the son of Jupiter apologized, maybe assuming that that was what made me worry in the first place. "I just got... Caught up in everything and doing one on one lessons for like, the first time in my life and getting to meet new people and... It was kind of weird to sleep in an empty cabin. But I also thought you were just... Going with the flow, right? You were in a really big cabin, and it seemed like you, Travis, and Lee were getting along really well. I didn't want to like, intrude on that."

Opening my mouth, I debated my own response to that.

"I know..." I began to attempt to articulate a year's worth of worries as it rose in my chest, making it a little hard to breathe. And, you know, talk. "...that we were both caught up... This we- week. It's not... Not... Start- didn't start this week, it..."

I can't fucking breathe.

The only person I've ever sort of talked to about this is Reyna, and that conversation was talked about Jason specifically, but it's... Bigger than that.

A lot bigger, actually.

And it's eating me alive now.

"Octavian?" Jason's tone turned frantic, which made sense, because I was also kind of frantic now. I could feel the floor vibrate as he rushed closer to me, putting his hands on my shoulders, which was suffocating in its own fucked up way, but also comforting because at least he didn't leave. My body didn't know how to react to it, so it kept depriving me of air. "'Tav, hey, it's going to be okay, what's going on? Whatever it is, we're going to figure it out, yeah?"

I think I nodded my head, the words getting strangled in my airway.

"I..." The first word fought it's way out as I squeezed my eyes shut as the scale and the severity of my anxieties all culminated from the last twelve months into one big breakdown. "Can't... Breathe... I can't..."

"Okay, okay, then just focus on your breathing instead of focusing on words," the praetor insisted, something I'm sure he's done at least a couple of times before- coaching other demigods and legacies through panic attacks and breakdowns. Until a medic shows up, at least. "You can't talk if you can't breathe. Do you want something to squeeze or like, a blanket or something?"

Would he just let me hug him for until I regained control of my body again?

How could I even ask?

I don't think he'd do it anyways.

Not for as long as I'd need it for, that is.

Paralyzed by the dilemma, I couldn't offer any kind of response, so I didn't say or do anything.

From there, my brain seemed to go numb as I could feel myself slip away from consciousness, unable to even process my own thoughts.

When I regained awareness, I was on one of the beds in Cabin 1, which confused me because I was definitely standing near the door before I went numb in my brain.

Where's Jason?

He didn't leave, did he? Was this like, a last straw? Me having a panic attack when we're supposed to be on a vacation in his cabin?

"Octavian?" The son of Jupiter's voice snapped me the rest of the way out of my panic attack, startling me as I realized he was kneeling on the ground in front of me so that way he wouldn't be hovering over me when this happened and risk making things worse. "Oh, shit, sorry. You okay? Or, better, I guess? Able to breathe? Able to hear me?"

And then the fact that I just had a panic attack set in as some of the thoughts that propelled it into a paralyzed state started to process in my mind.

Things that I've tried to ignore for a year.

Things that scared me.

I opened my mouth, became overwhelmed by embarrassment for what just happened, and then closed my mouth.

Letting him know that I could at least hear him, I nodded my head before pulling my knees in, wondering if I'd start crying next.

"Hey, that's good! Thats better than five minutes ago." The praetor commented as I heard him stand up and felt the bed shift next to me as he sat down. "I'm not sure if curling up like that is going to help you relax, though. Here- at least use this."

He handed me a pillow, which I took to hugging instead of my knees.

I'm not sure if it helped or not, but at least he cared enough to suggest it. He probably knows better than I do. I've never had a panic attack before now.

Really hope to never have one again. I felt like I was dying.

No wonder Percy wants to kill himself. If he's going through that like, constantly, I would, too.

"Alright," Jason prompted after I'd accepted the pillow. He faced me, even though I stayed facing forward. He sat to my right. "So I know this started because of me not talking about shit, but you've never had a panic attack before- that I know of. What was that about?"

"I've never had one until now," I buried my head in the pillow so the words were slightly muffled. "and it's just... A lot of things, I guess. Over the last like... Year or so. Your brain realizes stuff when there's like, physical distance added, apparently."

Jason tilted his head, his expression dropping.

"The last year?" He questioned and I nodded. "What's been... What did you realize?"

I shrugged, the reality of it setting in.

"I don't think my parents like me anymore." I began, which is a big claim to make. "we haven't... Been doing stuff together. They weren't even like, mad, that I wouldn't be home for the solstice. They were just mad that I was like, going somewhere with you that wasn't just into the city."

There was a pause as Jason hesitated to connect the dots.

"We didn't do anything for my birthday or for either of their birthdays as a family this year," I went on. "Every time we had a family gathering and one of my cousins would mention a friend that was a girl that was single, they'd nudge me or give me a weird look. Oh, and gods forbid I mention your name in a conversation- they just... Glare at me."

"They glare? Why would..." But as he said it, Jason recalled what happened that started the first rumor (well, with some credibility) about us dating. "oh, right. They assumed I like... Made you gay? Was that what they said?"

I nodded my head, confirming the quote.

"I thought they'd get better about it with time, but I honestly think it's gotten worse," I admitted. "they outed me to my grandparents at the summer solstice after you were on duty for the night. My grandparents don't think we're together, but they still aren't really nice or understanding about any of it. As for the kids at camp..."

I shrugged.

"They didn't really enjoy my presence in the first place, but once the rumor got old, I think it's just been another reason for them to like... Not want me around, even though the gods are all bisexual unless they're aro or ace. You and Reyna are like, the only two people that willingly talk to me, but you're so busy with praetor duties, which isn't bad inherently and I don't want you to feel bad for getting the position you wanted and deserved, but you're busy and then it's been like pulling teeth to get you to talk at times, it feels like, and I'm just..."

Trying to stay calm, I closed my eyes.

"Afraid." I admitted. "Of ending up alone. Because ever since I've started to come out, it feels like nobody wants to be around me anymore. And I'm... Tired of pretending like it doesn't bother me and like it'll just get better with time."

There was a brief moment of silence, Jason allowing me time to add more on if I needed to.

"I'm sorry," my best friend apologized for at least the second time tonight. "I didn't realize that your parents had gotten worse or that their reaction like... Still weighed on you like that."

I shrugged.

"I didn't, either, until this week." I insisted. "When Travis and I compared coming out stories with our parents. And I didn't even like... Completely connect it all together until just now."

Rubbing my back, Jason flashed me a saddened smile, which was comforting from him.

"I know I can't do much about that, but I'm still sorry." The son of Jupiter repeated himself. "I didn't... Well, besides becoming so overwhelmed with work that I felt like I didn't have time to not feel okay for long enough to talk about it, I didn't do anything that made this worse or harder, did I?"

But that question is almost impossible to answer without giving away top secret information that I don't have the energy and willingness to expell.

"Um... You did." I began, clinging tight to the pillow. "Not like... Maliciously or anything, obviously. But I think it would feel less shitty if you'd just say no when people question our relationship status."

"Wh... But I do say no."

I raised an eyebrow at him, because he was mostly full of shit.

"Yeah, and then you take it upon yourself to elaborate when nobody asks," I pointed out. "The first time you told a random person that you could never imagine a world or a timeline in which we held any sort of attraction towards each other, I debated what would hurt more- that statement or getting hit by a car going through the Caldecott Tunnel."

"You- what?"

I sighed.

"It's just... The moral of it, Jace, I guess." I tried to explain without again outing myself. "It would be fine if you just said no, because no shit we're not together- but when you add everything else on..."

And maybe it was a shitty thing to say, but it was a shitty thought to have, so I shared it with the world.

"I mean, if your best friend can't even imagine an alternative universe or reality where you, somehow, end up dating, who in this universe would even want to consider going on a first date, much less actually dating, right?"

For a moment, Jason struggled to respond, realizing the impact of his repeated words over the year.

Again, it's not that he said it once- it's that he says it all the time.

"'Tav, I didn't mean..." He started to say before temporarily losing the thought. "fuck, man, I'm sorry. I never meant to like, hurt you by saying that, I just... You're my best friend, and it's hard to imagine you being anything but by best friend, you know?"

Are you sure he's straight? Grover's voice rang in my ears.

Thanks for getting my hopes up. Even if it was just for an hour.

"...yeah." I said, burying my head again.

It was stupid to think things might change, right? That all of the teasing Thalia did was rooted in any sort of truth.

"Plus, I'm just like, a guy." Jason added on. "I don't know if you'd like dating me all that much."

You'd be surprised, I thought to myself.

I just shrugged.

"Who's to say," I responded. "Everyone else seems to think that it makes sense that we'd be a couple."

"Yeah, true," the sun of Jupiter agreed, leaning against me and resting his head on mine. "Can I ask a sort of weird question since we're on the topic?"

"Hm?"

"What made you know that you're bisexual? Or... Realize might be a better word. You don't like... Have to tell me, if you don't want to, obviously. It's personal. But I'm curious."

I let off a half smile at the question.

"I think I'm more surprised you didn't ask like, eons ago." I insisted, wondering how dangerous this question was to answer for our friendship. "And I mean, the short answer is that I had a crush on a girl once and then I had a crush on a guy."

Jason's eye roll was audible.

"But I did talk with one of the old Augurs about it because I wasn't sure if I was gay or bi or just like, lonely," I continued, trying to not think too hard about how Jason and I were positioned- but also trying to appreciate the fact that it was happening at all. "and it was Albert so he was like, old and gay, and he eventually just told me to get over it and admit that I swung both ways. He's the one that got me the pride pin on his last day of work."

My best friend chuckled.

"Of course Albert had to be the one to knock some sense into you." The son of Jupiter commented, sounding humored. "I think everyone needs to have one good conversation with Albert before finishing their time at Camp Jupiter."

I laughed.

"They should just give him a therapist office- I'm sure it'd go swimmingly." I agreed, finally relaxing. "Why ask now? It's been an entire year since I came out to my parents and even longer since I came out to you."

He shrugged, which I could tell was a half lie.

"I don't know, I just... Don't know." He admitted, remaining where he was against me. Beside me. "the more people talk about it, the more I wonder if they notice something I don't. I've never really had a crush to know, so. I'm unsure, I guess, which is why it annoys me when everyone assumes stuff. I'll let you know when I figure it all out."

"Does that mean you're going to start acknowledging your feelings?"

Jason groaned.

"You're impossible."

I smiled to myself, knowing he couldn't see it.

"You wouldn't take me any other way."

•••
BIG update hiiiiii guyssssss

Anyways for the one (1) person that asked, I have an Etsy now!!! The shop name is @ achillesandanarchy - I have a Greek god print series, along with some other lino cut stuff!! I'm moving soon so if you checked it out... 

Chapter 86: The Rose Tinted Glasses Are In The Garbage

Percy Jackson

By the time I was awake and conscious again, I was in the Big House— laying on the couch across from the fireplace as Grover sat next to me. To my right, Chiron sat in his wheelchair, Mr. D to my left in the chair. They were having a conversation with somebody behind me, but I wasn't positioned to see who it was.

"—even know what could've brought this on." Chiron insisted. "the questers have only been back for a handful of hours now, but surely enough, right around the start of dinner, Grover and Jason Grace brought Percy in, completely besides himself. Perhaps it was something that during the quest— we haven't been able to gather as a council to hear the story yet. I know I'd love to hear what possessed your son to go on this quest."

"Wh..." I started to sit up, looking at Chiron, then behind me, seeing my parents. Neither of which looked all that happy— but my dad looked a lot more mad than my mom did. Mr. D was making a point of not looking at him. "You're joking, right? You sent an inexperienced, untrained demigod on a quest where one of my friends and one of the pillars of camp was missing— and you didn't think I was going to go?"

"Go and do what, boy? Protect her?" The trainer questioned. "Because I can't help but notice that she hasn't returned with you. So what were you trying to accomplish? I mean, really, Perseus?"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know exactly what happened to her," I snapped, noticing my boyfriend tense a little since I usually don't argue this directly with Chiron. That was Luke's job, and he proved it didn't work.

But I didn't care about it working— I cared about telling him and my parents how it was, because knowing the centaur, he's been downplaying everything for the last 15 minutes so my parents don't worry.

"Excuse me?" Chiron challenged, leaning forward as I heard the door to the Big House open and close. "Would you like to reconsider your tone, young man?"

"You refused to tell a 10 year old boy that his sister was dead," I ignored his warning. "Bianca has been dead for days and you knew that and yet you still subjected another child— a teenager, whatever, into telling this kid that he had no family left. And I know that you knew, because when he asked me where his sister was, I looked at you, and you refused to look at me."

"I would never—"

"You have and you did." I cut him off. "I don't care what you would do, Chiron— what you did is what matters. A 10 year old child is missing. He's gone! I searched the woods with Grover and Annnabeth for hours before I couldn't do it anymore. A child is missing because you couldn't do your fucking job. With his scent, he is as good as dead out there unless you send searchers out, and you know that. But you won't send searchers out, right? Because he chose to leave?"

Chiron gave me a smug smile.

"I'm afraid family affairs and campers status' are Mr. D's responsibility, last I checked," he insisted, as if it wasn't the morale of the point. "your anger is misdirected, child."

"Don't get me involved in this— you were the one that decided he wouldn't get told, not me." Mr. D quickly defended himself. "You took over my meeting with Nico so I couldn't tell him. Your anger is perfectly placed, kid."

I scoffed, a little surprised that Mr. D even cared to defend himself with my dad here, but I suppose it wasn't a matter that directly involved me.

"Oh, I know my anger is perfectly placed," I reassured the god of wine. "I know it because I'm talking to person who would rather let demigods kill themselves, run off on suicide missions, or just plain run away— instead of take any recommendations from a god or demigod on how to make those things not happen anymore."

I paused, standing as I leaned in towards the centaur.

"We now know for certain it's possible to have a life after camp," I reminded Chiron, who seemed almost intrigued by the notion. "Did you know— one of the most common causes of death for Romans is old age?"

Chiron sealed his lips.

"Funny, isn't it?" I concluded, standing straight up again and walking back to where my parents stood. "You better have a plan set in place for what happens if Hades doesn't know his son's whereabouts on the solstice."

Chiron chuckled.

"Perseus, you are but a young demigod." My former Latin teacher tried to level with me, even though he refused to let go of any of the power. "What will you try and do if I don't have a plan devised?"

I looked at my boyfriend, then back to the centaur.

"I won't return to Camp Half-Blood." I threatened, knowing that he has to know about the Titan stirring in Tartarus by now. "Until you can put together a search team and prove to me that you put in proper effort to find a child that is supposed to be under your care for the next eight years, I will not consider stepping foot inside Camp."

"Perseus, the Great Prophecy—"

"Will become your problem." I finished his sentence, grabbing my backpack from next to the couch and throwing it on. "I may be the one that dies, but whatever tries to raze Olympus will be your problem. After all, I'm just a young demigod, right? What do I know about helping save the world?"

With that, I left the Big House, set on keeping my promise to Chiron, not looking back for the entirety of the walk to our car.

We have plenty of spies within camp now. I'm no longer needed here.

It's not like I ever wanted to be here in the first place, right?

•••
Luke Castellan

I don't know how I was more nervous now than I was when I met with Kronos for the first time and we devised the plan to steal the Bolt.

But yet here Thalia and I were, standing outside the Chase residence with a pan of brownies in hand (that probably aren't very good— Thalia and I aren't great bakers or cooks), waiting for Mr. Chase to answer the door.

For Annabeth's dad to answer the door.

"Hello!" Said a tall, blonde man as the door swung open. "Sorry for the wait, I'm so glad you guys could make it tonight! Please, come in."

"Thank you for having us," I said in return as we stepped inside a house that was much nicer than the one I grew up in— though maybe not as nice as Beryl Grace's estate. "I'm sure it was a difficult, deciding if you wanted to invite two strangers over for dinner, more or less. I'm Luke. I presume you're Annabeth's father, Mr. Chase?"

He smiled, shaking my hand.

"Please, just call me Frederick," the blonde insisted, his resemblance to Annabeth somewhat shocking— the only large difference I could spot between the two would be Annabeth's eye color being gray, whereas her fathers' was a dull blue. "And I got the chance to meet Thalia earlier today, and Annabeth has told me so much about you that you're hardly a stranger, Luke. I'm sure she told you plenty about us?"

"Well..." Hesitantly, I nodded as Mr. Chase said a quick hello to Thalia again and led us up the stairs towards their dining room. "Yes. But not after she went home for the last time. That's due to me no longer being at camp, though, so we haven't been able to talk like we used to. She mentioned to me that she was staying at home for most of the year now the last time I saw her, but when I asked how it was going, she just shrugged and said that it was fine. She was going back, after all."

Frederick sighed.

"Yeah, that's a... Good word for how things have been." But oddly enough, Annabeth's dad didn't seem confused or concerned by my report. "Things have been, I think, good between Annabeth and I. We have moments here and there, but they're getting smaller and more spread out. But with my wife..."

There was a pause, the mortal man losing his voice before asking us if we'd like anything to drink, telling us we could sit wherever at the table.

"She just doesn't seem to want to connect with Annabeth, and it's super frustrating— as I'm sure you noticed earlier, Thalia." Frederick Chase went on, sounding troubled as he sat across from us. "and a part of me understands why, when Annabeth was young, she didn't want to connect with her— Annabeth appeared on our doorstep 18 months after Athena and I had separated. Elizabeth, my wife, and I were already together by then and had been for a for almost a year by then. Just under. So she... Assumed, initially, that I had cheated on her."

He took a breath as we shared to dish the food.

"And, although to this day she doesn't believe who Annabeth's mother is, I was able to convince her that I never cheated. Once I did, she warmed up to Annabeth and tried to act like her mother, and did for a while. But after she got pregnant with the boys..."

Frederick shrugged.

"To this day, I don't really know why Elizabeth changed her attitude around and about Annabeth." Athena's ex-lover concluded. "at first, we all chalked it up to pregnancy hormones or nerves about giving birth and being worried that it would be a mixed family, but... It never got better, and so much of it I never saw because I still had to work while she was pregnant and on maternity leave. Annnabeth left not long after the boys were born, once she realized it wasn't going to magically get better, I'm sure, and the rest is history. Now at home Elizabeth hardly acknowledges Annnabeth and misgender and dead names her, which has caused tension with the whole family now, but...'

He let out one last breath.

"I'm just happy she chooses to come home at all," Mr. Chase finished his story. "Family is a messy thing. But I'm glad to finally meet the people that raised her after she left us, and kept her safe and alive for six years— it couldn't have been busy, even within the camp. You guys are what? 18? You aren't that much older than Annnabeth, correct?"

"I'm 19, Thalia turns 18 in a couple days," I confirmed his assumption. "And it was hard in the beginning, being on the streets and constantly worrying about monsters and also a seven year old, but we... I figured it out. We didn't really have it down at all before Thalia was turned into a tree. It took me a while after that, and once I figured it out, it was easy since we were at camp— it's the safest place in the world for demigods, after all. But... Mentally, it was a lot. Emotionally."

I paused, realizing how awful that could potentially sound.

"Not that I wouldn't do it again— I love Annabeth like a little sister and if she ever needs a place to crash, my— our apartment is always open." I immediately back tracked, seeing Mr. Chase smile. "Annabeth herself honestly made things easier at times, but I myself was just going through a lot so it made being there for her her at times. I think growing up at camp was perfect for her— she loves it there more than anyone else I know. Not that that's a hard marker to beat anymore, but..."

"I do occasionally wonder if she thinks of Chiron as more of a father to her than me," Frederick commented, which didn't surprise me. "did you not like camp? Or, are there a lot of kids who don't?"

Thalia chuckled.

"Sorry." My date mate apologized.

"I... Liked it. Initially." I explained, trying to be careful about how I sounded to a god's former lover. "Um, there was some initial tension with my siblings because I had met our dad before I ever got to camp and let's just say I never want to see him again. But I liked it as a camper, until I became a councilor and learned just how badly Chiron sucks at his job."

"Oh?"

Nodding my head, I put my fork down.

"I spent years arguing and bantering and bickering with the old horse." Telling an almost complete outsider about my frustrations with camp was weird, I'll admit, but refreshing. "I can't count the number or solstice meetings where I, as the like, defacto camp leader, begged our parents for anything to help. More workers or more facilities or anything— to claim their kids. They'd just point me back to Chiron, and he wouldn't listen to me. Over the years, I got fed up, so I left to work and go to college, among other things."

Frederick raised an eyebrow.

"Something to do with political differences, as you said, Thalia?"

My partner nodded their head.

"When asking nicely doesn't work, you have to try other options to get things done." Thalia confirmed what they must've said when she was here with the quest party earlier. He put a hand on my thigh. "Our parents suck. The goal isn't to kill them or anything— immortality sounds fucking awful. But how they treat their children and how Chiron treats demigods is awful. Something needed to be done about it, so that's what we're doing."

"And this upsets Annnabeth because...?"

"She idolizes Chiron and the gods," I knew that answer. "Or, most of them, at least. Which, it's not completely her fault— she was raised at camp, Chiron is like a dad to her, and she's never... Actually interacted with her mom. She has no negative experience to criticize, and while I think she agrees with the things that Thalia and I want, she doesn't agree with the route that we... Well, okay, I chose to take."

"I see— can't say I'm surprised." Frederick said, thinking through what I just told him. "I can't speak much on the gods— I'd love it if I had received child support from Athena, but we managed. Once I got tenure, it was a lot easier, but... We don't talk about Annabeth's mom around the house. I think I've talked to my sister about it more than I have with Annabeth— though that's because my sister also has a demigod child. From a different pantheon, though. So we used to help each other out, but it's been a few years since we've seen each other now. Like I said, family is messy."

Agreeing with his last statement, I wondered what kind of blood the Chase family has in order to attract two different gods to the same generation of people to have kids.

And from different pantheons, too.

"You can say that again," Thalia agreed, raising her glass and taking a sip. "What—"

"We're home!" Two boys yelled from the front door, who I assumed to be Annabeth's younger brothers. "Mom is going to the store, we're starving. Is there any food?"

Mr. Chase sighed.

"Sorry, they both just got back from their sports," he apologized before calling out to his sons. "Come on in, boys, you might need to warm up your plates. We have guests, so be polite."

The two boys came in and immediately shot Thalia and I to the past.

Of course, they're twins, so the two boys looks similar, but...

"It's crazy, right?" Mr. Chase seemed to know what we were thinking. "how similar they look to Annabeth, even with a different mom? Obviously that'll change as they get older, but..."

The two of us nodded our heads.

"Or who knows, maybe it won't," their dad speculated. "Maybe all three of my kids will end up being trans and then when I'm old and senile I'll barely be able to tell them apart because Annabeth's gray eyes aren't very different from the boys' blue eyes."

I laughed at the idea as the twins sat down at the table with their warmed up plates.

"Boys," Frederick began, earning their attention as he motioned to us. "this is Luke and Thalia— they're the people who took care of Annabeth when she wasn't staying at home. Thalia, Luke, this is Bobby and Matthew, my two son's."

Bobby squinted.

"But you're not old enough to be parents." The younger Chase said, which was true. "Well, maybe now you are, I don't know how old you are, but there's no way you were old enough to have kids when we were babies."

I smiled.

"You're right Bobby, neither Thalia or I were or really are old enough to have kids." I agreed with him. "Think of us more like Annabeth's older siblings rather than her parents."

"Oh, okay." He said, taking a bite of his food. "Why are you guys here? I thought you lived all the way in New York."

"I'm originally from California," Thalia answered the curious boy. "I had some things to do at my childhood home before we gave to go back home, to New York. Your dad invited us over for dinner tonight when he heard he would be around so we could get to know each other and fill each other in on what we've each missed out on with Annabeth."

"They're only here for dinner— they fly back tonight." Mr. Chase reiterated for the twins. "Do you have any questions for them about themselves or about New York or about your sister?"

The two of them remained silent for a second, focusing very hard as they tried to think of a question.

"Oh!" Matthew piped up. "I know you might not know because she's not here, but why does Mom call Annabeth a different name? Did something happen when she was gone? Did she used to have a different name?"

Frederick and I shared a look, me silently asking him how much the boys know about Annabeth's identity.

"She did, but I won't say what it was because it makes her feel really bad when people use it," I explained to them. "That name is called a deadname because you're not supposed to use it. When we met Annabeth, she still went by her deadname. I believe she was around your age, 6 or 7. It wasn't until... A couple years later that she started to insist that we call her a new name. It wasn't Annabeth at first— it took a year or so of trying out different names before Annabeth really stuck. The people in New York were, for the most part, really nice about it, so she was worried about coming home and having everyone call her the wrong name and calling her him."

"And everyone in New York calls her Annabeth?" Bobby followed up.

We both nodded our heads.

"So why doesn't Mom?" Matthew repeated his question. "do you think she just thinks we're talking to somebody else when we say Annabeth? Because it's been a super long time since Annabeth came back from New York."

"Your mom..." We let their dad answer that question. "your mother doesn't think that Annabeth is old enough to know or understand her identity—who she is as a person. And even when Annabeth is older, and that can no longer be an argument she makes, your mother doesn't believe that you can feel differently from what was written on your birth certificate. Your mom knows that Annabeth's name is Annabeth, Matthew— she chooses not to use it."

And, at this, the two of them seemed troubled. Frustrated by what they were learning about their mom— the person who is supposed to love them unconditionally.

"But... That's like, really mean, because the other name makes Annabeth feel bad." And it's almost like it's a miracle that an 8 or 9 year old can understand this concept very simply, and yet a 30 year old woman refused to even consider it. "And like, parents aren't supposed to make their kids feel bad. They're supposed to help them and be nice to them. What if I said that I was still a boy but I wanted my make to be Billy instead of Bobby? That's different than my birth certificate."

Mr. Chase put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"I'm not sure what your mom would think of that, Billy-Bobby," he admitted with a sad smile. "it's more about Annabeth transitioning into becoming a girl, a female would be a better term, physically, rather than just the name. Using the wrong name is just your mom's way to try and convince Annabeth that she's wrong. Which is not something that I enjoy your mother doing— we've argued about it in the past, and we talk about it at therapy."

"Oh, okay." Bobby said, then looked at the two of us to ask us the most important question of the night. "does Annabeth have a secret boyfriend or girlfriend that she hasn't told us about?"

I smiled.

"If it's a secret from you, it's a secret from us," I answered. "I'll get my spies to look into it, okay?"

Chapter 87: Family Drama

Gabe Ugliano-Jackson

We got the boys back home without any issues, and I did praise Percy for sticking up for himself when Chiron tried to sugarcoat the severity of the situation at camp.

After the long week the two of them have had, Percy and Grover slept most of the car ride home, which allowed Sally and I some time to process and debrief about the situation.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" I asked Sally, looking in the rearview mirror as Percy definitely got some drool on Grover's shirt. "I mean, relatively speaking- his version of okay."

Sally debated back and forth for a few seconds, tilting her head as she put a hand on her stomach.

"If we can get him a therapy appointment, I think that'll help," she said, which I had already assumed- he was supposed to go to therapy anyways after he was released. "Depending on how tonight goes and how the solstice goes tomorrow, we might want to see if there are any volunteers besides just Grover for Percy duty- especially if we still want to honeymoon. Which we have booked everything for."

"That we have," I agreed, knowing that we couldn't get a refund on most of those things. Not full refunds, at least. "we can talk to him about the honeymoon after the solstice meeting is over. I have to double check with Dad that he can watch him anyways- if not, Eddy also offered to check in on him since he's at the complex all the time. Plus, we have the ability to IM, so it's not like we also can't check in on him."

Saying that she always forgets about Iris Messages, Sally seemed somewhat swayed by the last point I made.

"That being said, if he's at a point of hospitalization, we're obviously staying home," I concluded, wanting to make sure that it didn't sound like I just wanted to go and vacation and leave our son to suffer at home. "We'll talk to him about it tonight or tomorrow- see if Grover has anything concerning or reassuring to add on as Percy's other half."

Sally chuckled.

"I hope they never break up," my wife told me as we got off the highway. "I know they're still young and a lot can happen but..."

"But it would be nearly impossible for Percy to find somebody that cares about him the way Grover does," I finished her sentence. "hey, who knows- both of us were only in like, one relationship before we got together and look at us."

I paused.

"Not that I was always the best husband," I disclaimed, and she smiled, which made me smile. "but we got through it. Or, the worst of it, at least. I mean, shit, we're getting married twice. Most people do the opposite if they do anything else after getting married, relationship wise."

"Then it's a good thing we're not most people," Sally said, giving me a kiss on the temple as we parked the car. "Does your dad know about the baby yet?"

"My dad...? No, we agreed that my parents would find out with everyone else at the party, since they said it would've been more exciting to do it that way the first time." I reminded her as the boys started to stir and wake up. "My dad was there when you told me that Percy was going to be a boy, and we were basically dating by then, so I think that's his grandpa experience taken care of. Hell, he was there the day Percy was born. But why do you ask now?"

Sally pointed to the car in front of ours. My dad's car.

"Because if I go up to the apartment and start eating peanut butter pickles, he's going to connect the dots."

And, speak of the devil, my phone started to ring.

"Hey, Dad," I answered the call, getting out of the car. "We'll be up at the apartment in a minute, okay? We just got back from camp, we had to pick Percy and Grover up. Everything okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, kiddo, I was just worried that you guys weren't home- it's late." My dad insisted, taking an audible breath. "but if you had to get Percy tonight that would make sense. I just had some last minute questions about the party that I didn't want to stress you out about the day before or day of. I also thought it would be nice to see Percy since he's home again, which is why I came, rather than called. I'll just wait for you in the hall, see you soon!"

"Is Grandpa okay?" Percy asked as we walked inside.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, he wanted to make sure we were okay since we weren't answering the door." I reassured my kid. "He must've been working late or something and swung by on his way home to say hi- we didn't have any plans with him. Do you want to watch an episode or two of X-Files since he's here?"

"Um... After I shower." He answered, then hesitantly looked to Grover. "Is that okay with you?"

Nodding, Grover said that that sounded like a good idea.

Heading upstairs, the boys said a quick hi to my dad as we all went into the apartment, telling him they'd be back out in a minute, but Grover needs to change and Percy needs to shower.

As they walked away, my dad turns to Sally and I, visibly worried.

"What happened to them?" Dad questioned. "I mean, I know Percy just got out of the hospital, but... Rough would be sugarcoating how they look."

I sighed.

"I can't say you're wrong." I agreed with him, offering him a cookie from the kitchen. "Percy went to help bring two demigods to camp after he got out since Grover was the protector assigned and Annabeth and Thalia were also going- Sally drove him in case he decided against it, but he went and ended up getting roped into a quest."

"Another quest?"

"Another quest," I confirmed. "Before the quest happened, he did have a meltdown, and he didn't really want to go on a quest, but when you're the one getting sent visions..."

"It's not really a choice." Dad finished my statement. "Did the quest fail?"

I shook my head.

"No, they rescued the three people who were kidnapped- one of which was a goddess." I explained as the three of us sat down in the living room. I leaned against Sally. "But one of the quest-goers- one of the demigods they'd just recruited, died. I'm not sure how, Percy hasn't talked about it. But she had a little brother, and instead of telling him about it when it happened, Chiron forced Percy to tell him about it when they got back today. Kid freaked out, ran, and is now missing. Percy and Grover searched for the kid for hours around camp before he had a really bad panic attack and then Grover called and asked us to come get them early. So it's... Been a week."

"Oh my... Oh my gods." My dad said, putting a hand over his heart. "is he... Did you ever... Sorry. Dad didn't give you any other details before you left? He didn't give you a heads up or...? He would've known immediately."

"Wait— before you answer that." He stopped himself. "Sidebar since it might answer my question, actually: do you know why your dad isn't coming to the reception anymore? He called me yesterday and asked if I was busy before the solstice meeting tomorrow since he wouldn't be able to come out for the reception anymore— said it was a long story and that he'd tell me about it tomorrow."

Sally and I shared a look. My wife raised an eyebrow at me, because this was completely my call and doing.

And you know what? I still stand by it because as one of the main gods who deals with mental health stuff, he should know better than to trigger a kid who just got out of a mandated multi-week in-patient stay.

Him and I and Sally had extensive conversations about his mental health not just after he got to camp and after I sobered up, but I know that Sally and my dad talked to him about it when I was drinking.

I know because I'd hear it and insist that it's fine, even though it wasn't.

I myself just was also not fine, and I didn't want to think about how that affected Percy or Sally for longer than a few minutes at a time.

Eventually, with a sort of slap to the face, I was able to address it and stop drinking.

But my dad is immortal— so who knows when his slap in the face will be, if this isn't it. It could be tomorrow, talking to his husband, or it could be hundreds of years after we die.

"Yeah..." Sally squeezed my hand, which I appreciated. I hadn't really thought about the fact that Dad would know about this before the party— since his date couldn't go anymore. "I uh— I told him he couldn't come."

And, of course, because things were going pretty well lately, now that Percy's at camp and all, the news was met with confusion on my dad's part.

"Wh... What? You confirmed our RSVPs like two weeks ago, and you asked me if I listed him as my plus one or not since you sent him a separate invite. Why..."

"Did you guys get in a fight?"

I chuckled, the idea of what happened between us being a "fight" humoring me.

"It wasn't a fight," I promised my dad, almost feeling bad that he seemed relieved by that. "If he was mortal, I probably would've killed him, Dad. Until he can get his head out his ass, I'm not talking to him and he is not talking to Percy."

"You—" but my last sentence has his attention. "Percy? Did something happen between them? You never get that mad anymore, Gabe."

"Correct, I don't." I agreed, taking a breath and closing my eyes. "Do you remember the first meltdown I mentioned that Percy had after going to camp?"

He nodded his head.

"So first, he had a panic attack in the morning." I retold that days story of events. "A panic that, naturally, was caused by dad. Who brought Percy and a son of Hermes to his office to, as he had said, talk about some ideas Percy and this kid have."

I paused.

"Instead of doing that, he interrogated the kids and got extremely hard on Percy," I went on, seeing my dad's demeaner change to realize that this wasn't something that just happened on accident. "Didn't interrogate but accused him of some big things and then wouldn't hear out Percy's defense, and I guess he'd slammed his can down a few times and I don't think he raised a hand, but with how Percy was reacting later, I wouldn't be surprised. But the other kid left after Dad decided he was innocent and dad's tone immediately shifted with Percy to a like, fake level of nice and sympathetic, on a dime. And it freaked Percy out because everything that happened reminded him of me when I was not doing hot and so he had a panic attack. Didn't hurt himself on purpose— scratched a few scabs, but that was it. He calmed down eventually, him and Annabeth got a spat and then he took a nap and him and Grover came here after that. Percy had forgotten his meds, so he came to pick them up before they were going to go on a date and..."

I sighed, looking over to the hallway where Percy had frozen earlier this week.

"And according to Grover, he had seemed to freeze for a moment in his room." I told him, leaning against Sally again. "Grover asked if he was okay and if he still wanted to go back to camp or if he still wanted to go out to eat and he said yes, he did. Then he apologized and said that he didn't understand why the hospital had released him because it didn't... It didn't help."

My dad was speechless.

"It didn't help? He was there for over two weeks, Gabe, how did it not...?"

"I don't know, Dad," I responded, trying to not think about that particular comment too hard after what's happened today. What happened this week, and how it's probably a miracle that he's here still and that in another year he'll mention something about this quest where he almost or where he thought about killing himself and I'll be left to wonder if he'll even live long enough to be the child of the Great Prophecy. "but it didn't. After that, he eventually went to make his way out here so they could go on their date and again, he just froze in the hallway. By the kitchen. And Sally walked over to check on him, and that was it. Within seconds, he was on the floor in hysterics and we couldn't get near him. We had to call Andrea because Sally and I were starting to panic and he wouldn't let any of the three of us near him. Like an hour later, if not longer, he slipped out of hysterics and fell asleep. But whenever somebody got close to him, or when we spoke too loudly, he would flinch and apologize profusely— as much as he could, at least. It..."

I shrugged.

"Dad knew that Percy in the facility for multiple weeks, and he knew that he'd be at camp, and he knew my concerns about that." I concluded, frustrated. "We talked about it two days prior. Two. He knows Percy's triggers, but more importantly, he can tell when Percy's not handling something well, and yet he still pushed him into a panic attack that fueled the biggest meltdown he's had in months. If Dad can't see why that's a big deal, if he isn't willing to give Percy a genuine apology and actually change his behavior to match it, he doesn't get to come to the family gatherings or to insert himself into a family that he's only ever been, at most, half a part of. If his presence and the way he wants to carry himself worsens Percy's mental health, I'm not allowing them near each other. Percy's mental health is so much more important to me than Dad is, and I know that as his husband, you might have suggested doing something different, but..."

Looking down, I composed myself and finished my statement.

"But I saw Percy looking like he was waiting for Thanatos to arrive, and I wasn't going to let it happen again." I finished. "He's been suicidal on and off for months now, if not years— if I have to cut something out for it to get any better, I will. And if that's Dad, then it's dad. He's got other kids he can worry about now, right? Now he doesn't have to worry about us."

As I said it, I could hear how bitter it sounded, but in all and total honesty, I didn't care. If it's petty or if it's totally justified, I don't care, because Percy seemed at least a little relieved by it (after I clarified that I wasn't ruining a good relationship with my dad) and he fucking deserved it.

"I..." After a while, my dad collected his thoughts well enough to respond. "You're right, I would suggest something different. If that's what happened then I don't blame you for wanting to distance you and Percy from him— I get why you took back the invite then. I'd personally suggest that instead of nearly murdering him by all mortal standards, waiting the next day and then talking with him more civilly. That being said, you are his son, with his slow temper, so I understand why it didn't happen. I am glad that you're prioritizing Percy's mental health, though, especially now. Are you guys still planning to travel now that this has happened?"

"We're going to talk to Percy about it probably tomorrow— it's late tonight, and he's emotionally and mentally drained." Sally answered his question as I heard the bathroom door open and Percy's bedroom door close. "If he can manage, we will. After all, people will be staying and checking in with him every day. But if not, and I feel like it's leaning towards not, were either going to see if he can come with us and it turns into a family vacation— maybe Grover could come, too, and we could just upgrade to joining rooms or something so it's private but not isolated. And if not, we just cancel and eat the money that's non-refundable."

Agreeing with us that talking to Percy would be the best way to move forward, Dad followed it up with the most logical question.

"Do you guys have any popcorn?"

"Wh— yeah, of course we have popcorn." I insisted. "why do you ask?"

As the two boys emerged from Percy's room in comfortable, not camp clothing, Dad stood up and offered both of them hugs.

"Hey, Munch," dad said, reminding me of the old nickname he gave Percy as a toddler— not even because he was a fat kid, but just as a shorter version of munchkin. "I'm glad to see you back. You too, Grover— the recycling was overflowing without you here. Do you guys want to watch an episode of X-Files or Golden Girls?"

Both boys smiled, which felt like a major victory.

"Can we make popcorn and then watch some golden girls?"

Dad ruffled Percy's hair.

"You read my mind— I'll go get the popcorn made while you to set up and figure out which episodes were on. Deal?"

They nodded.

"Deal."

Notes:

Hiii guys I'm curious: what's your favorite non Percy pov to hear from?

Chapter 88: If Only Who We Liked Was Our Biggest Worry In Life

Annabeth Chase

Nico still wasn't anywhere to be found come breakfast the next day, and the councilors of cabin 11 looked exhausted, as did Jason Grace and his friend, Octavian.

But, more concerning for me, was that cabin three's table sat notably empty.

Is it worth asking about? I thought to myself. Percy probably just slept through breakfast since he was basically having a panic attack the whole time we were looking for Nico yesterday.

He did sneak out on a quest to help rescue you, though, another voice in my head reminded me. You should at least ask Chiron if he's still at camp or not.

Not that Percy would tell him if he left, the first voice pointed out.

Sighing, I admitted defeat to my curiosity of my sort-of-friend's whereabouts, walking over to the main table, where Chiron and Mr. D sat with Gleason Hedge, one of the older (like middle aged) satyrs here. He's the one that recruited Clarisse, which is... Very fitting.

He's an aggressive dude.

"And— Annabeth, hello!" Chiron said with a smile as he noticed me approaching the three of them. "I hope you slept well last night. Everything alright? Anything we can help you with?"

I smiled back at my second dad— the one who I feel closer to most of the time than my actual dad.

"I slept good last night, it was nice to have an actual bed again." I insisted. "And nothing that requires any action, I was just wondering if you've seen or heard from Percy or Grover this morning? Or since dinner last night, I guess— I left the two of them for dinner last night, and I don't think I ever saw them show. Just... Want to make sure they're not also missing, you know? We just had a quest, it'd be a hassle to do another one so soon."

"Ever so thoughtful, as always," the centaur commented. "Percy and Grover are alright— Sally and Gabe picked the two of them up last night. No special reason, he just wasn't supposed to stay at camp as long as he did, from what I understand. I'm... Not sure when he'll be back— Percy, not Grover, but he should be at the meeting on Olympus this afternoon."

But Chiron's wording about Percy threw me off.

"He— why wouldn't you be sure when he'd come back? He'll be back in the summer."

"You're right, Annabelle," Mr. D said very pointedly, looking at the Camp Trainer. "he will be back in the summer. Unless he chooses to visit sooner, but he will be able to visit."

"Mr. D, he is more than capable of handling himself, I don't see why—"

"I don't either, to be frank with you, Chiron," the wine god cut him off, making me take half a step back. Hedge paused before taking a bite of the can he had in his hand. "but if we don't have any proof for the brat, what do you think he's going to do? Seriously, Chiron, what do you expect is going to happen?"

The centaur rolled his eyes, as if they've had this argument before.

"If you're trying to illude to something to do with my father—"

"I'm not illuding anymore," Mr. D put his chalice down, leaning forward. "Your father is in his head, Chiron— you heard what Zoë told us about how Percy connected the dots on who her dad is— Atlas was not the one sending him those dreams."

Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Even if what you're suggesting is true, Mr. D, it doesn't mean they're in communication with one another— he may not even know who it is. It's a dangerous assumption to make that there's even anything happening with my father."

"Chiron, the sticking point isn't that it has to be your father— somebody is in his head." the god reworded his worries. "And like or not, but he is not Luke. He's not just going to keep arguing with you or I about things until he's old enough to leave. He's going to do something about it— whether it hurts him or us, he won't care. If he leaves, whatever is going on is going to be ten times worse. Gleeson is going to search for the kid, and that's the end of it. He'll leave after the meeting— I'm sure the punk won't believe us if he isn't there to confirm."

With that, Mr. D stood up and excused himself. Moments later, Hedge did as well, since he now has to pack.

"Apologies, Annabeth, you shouldn't have to see Mr. D and I bicker so," the only remaining person at the table apologized. "Mr. D has been quite tense this winter, especially considering the Jackson's. Did you have anything else for me?"

Slowly nodding, I thought back on the argument between the two immortals.

"I... Do." I concluded. "I learned some things about the titans this week while I was being held captive."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what did you learn, my dear?"

•••
Octavian Augustus

"Hey," Jason said, earning my attention as I was leaving breakfast. Stopping, I backtracked to his table. "You're going to the meeting today, right? Like... You know the one?"

"Uh, yeah, we both agreed on going to it since we'd also get to see your sibling." I reminded the son of Jupiter. "Why? You're not seriously having second thoughts, are you? This is like, right up your alley. It's basically all of your campaign."

"Hm? Oh no, I'm not having doubts, but..." Jason throwing the but on there made me nervous. He finished his food and stood up to walk with me back to the cabins so we could get packed up before leaving for the city. "So, last night before the whole Nico thing happened and before we had our like, talk, did you see Annabeth talking to me?"

I nodded again, saying that I saw her point me out to you before she left.

"Yeah, she made the boyfriend comment before walking away," he filled me in there, and for the first time, didn't say anything afterwards, which was progress. "Which... Wasn't the point of the conversation. The point was that she told me basically everything that Percy told us about Luke and, what Annabeth thought would be important for me, Thalia."

"Okay...? So what, is Annabeth coming with?"

My best friend laughed.

"Is she— no," he emphasized, but his humor got me to smile. "She broke it to me like bad news because she isn't like... Siding with them. She wanted to tell me because she felt bad that I'd just met them and would be losing them so fast, in her own words."

Hopefully he didn't notice the smile. Or, if he did, he didn't assume it happened for the reason it really did.

I like his laugh, sue me. I never get to hear it anymore because he's always stressed.

"So she feels bad?"

"More or less, but Thalia was also like, their sibling as well, I guess? They were super close, so she's kind of crushed and she asked what I was doing before the meeting on Olympus and I didn't want to give away our plans so I just said that I assumed me and you would be sightseeing New York, and then she offered to show us around and I tried so hard to tell her that she didn't have to change her plans for us and..."

He sighed.

"It didn't work." The son of Jupiter concluded. "She asked if we were like, going on a date, and I said no, so she said there shouldn't be any issue then and I just... I wanted to go the meeting, but now she's expecting us to meet her and hang out with her and..."

"Jace, dude, breathe." I reminded him as we walked into cabin 1. "Just tell her that you want to like, stop and say hi to Thalia to 'ask a few questions' about what Annabeth said, and that you'd prefer her not to be there since it might be weird. Also, she can be butthurt about it all she wants, but I don't want her tagging along with us between the two meetings. I know you like, hate telling people no— but sometimes you have to. And also, we made these plans before we even left California to to sight seeing, I am not letting you bail on me."

"I know, I know, that's why I wanted to mention it— I knew you'd think of a good excuse to get out of it." My best friend reassured me that, despite what he was initially saying, that wasn't his plan. "She was just really persistent, and after the whole Nico and then Percy thing, I didn't have the energy to keep pushing. Speaking of, I hope both of them are getting help. Not that it's my business, but..."

He shook his head.

"Yeah, sorry, just worried." He concluded. "I'm going to pack quick and then track down Annabeth to tell her that our plans are non-interupptable, and then I think I'll head straight into the city, okay? I want to talk to Thalia one on one about like, family stuff, before the meeting... If that's okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, Jace, of course that's fine." I reassured him. "it's the last day you'll get to see them for a while, I'm sure, unless they come to California for whatever stuff with your mom's place. I'll just hang out with Travis and Michael until we leave. Are her and Luke back yet?"

He nodded, telling me that they flew in early this morning.

"Okay," I said, heading towards the door. "Nothing I should be worried about?"

The question, as it always does, caught Jason off guard. And this time, he even pushed his annoyance with my concern away, I think reminding himself that I'm worried because I'm his friend— not because I'm suspicious of him or anything.

"What? No, nothing you have to worry about. Nothing at all." And the way he worded it, his fast paced speaking... I was curious, but I decided not to push on it. "mostly it's just stuff about our mom."

"Okay." I took him at his word, figuring that if he seemed off during or after the meeting at Luke's today, I'd press a little more. "Well, then, I'll see you in the city. Don't get lost."

He smiled.

"You, too, 'Tav. Tell the others I say hi."

•••
Jason Grace

I immediately crumbled onto Thalia's couch when I got to their apartment.

Why did my brain have to do this now of all times? It should've done it like, a week ago, when we were coming here. Not when we were leaving.

"Yo, Drama Queen much?" Thalia connected as he sat down on the arm of the couch, messing with my hair. "what's got you all like this? I thought you like, barely felt emotions."

"You thought... Shut up." I told my sibling, sitting up so they'd have room to sit on the couch. "Octavian and I got in an argument about that literally last night, I'd appreciate not hearing it again."

"I— okay. Got it. Sorry, didn't realize it was so touchy." He apologized. "You guys argued last night? Does that happen a lot? You sound annoyed."

"Not... I mean lately, yeah, I guess," I figured, letting out a deep sigh. "Last night was just a whole thing between the quest people getting back and then Nico went missing because Percy has to tell him about his sister and then I found Grover and Percy in the woods because Percy was having a really bad breakdown, so I helped get Percy to the Big House and then Annabeth tracked me down to tell me about you and Luke, which I already knew and like... I know he's just trying to check in and whatever because he's my friend, but when Octavian asked how I was doing it just... It got to me for some reason, so we got in this big argument about how he's always asking me how I'm doing and like, not taking me at my word when I tell him I'll be fine and... And he's right, and I know he's right and I've been so shitty this last year, and it's been worse since I got promoted because I've been so busy and—"

"Jason." Thalia reminded me. "You need to breathe when you talk. If the argument was resolved— and if you're admitting that he's right, it sounds like it has— why are you so worked up?"

I looked down at my hands.

She won't care. I insisted. Or, she will, but in a good way.

"I... So, a little over a year ago— maybe two years ago now? Octavian came out to me as bi." I filled my sibling in on the lore, if you will. "It was kind of a big deal since I was like, the first person he came out to and he wasn't confident about it yet. New Rome is weird, some people are still homophobic, so he felt weird about it himself."

"Okay..." Thalia said, urging me to continue.

"Anyways, we didn't talk about it a lot, but it came up casually when we talked— when crushes came up, as rare as it was, I'd ask what girl or guy had caught his eye, and when we'd talk about us after camp I'd always say his husband or wife, his partner, whatever... I don't know if it actually helped him feel more comfortable as saying he was bi, but that was my way of helping, and like... And then, a year ago, he came out to his parents."

I sighed.

"It... Didn't go well." I recalled. "I wasn't there when it happened, but I guess they just didn't get it and they blamed me for like, making him gay, which obviously isn't true and it kind of hurt to hear because they are like, the closest things I ever had to parents, and... They asked Octavian if we were together, and he says no."

Pausing, I collected myself, feeling shitty about how I handled everything after this.

"Somebody from camp overhead it, but also misheard it, and a rumor started going around that Octavian had a crush on me." I explained to my sibling, whose mouth just formed an o shape. "Yeah, this is where things... So, obviously, I heard the rumor almost immediately and I didn't know how true it was or how to feel about it because he's my best friend and... So I just like, kind of avoided him for a couple of days. Which is bad, I know, because I knew he was coming out to them and he was so worried about it, but... It just seemed a lot and so I confronted him a few days later about it—"

"Woah, hold on. Pause." Thalia stopped me, raising an eyebrow. "confronted? How so?"

I looked down again.

"We were... We were hanging out, and I wasn't looking up at him because I felt weird about the situation because he like, wasn't talking about the coming out or about anything like that, but I didn't want to bring it up or he didn't want to talk about it yet." I went on, crossing my arms and closing my eyes. "Eventually, he asked me what was wrong and why I was acting like we had gotten in an argument or a fight recently. And so I fucking pointed to the elephant in the room and started off by saying that I didn't know if he wanted to talk about it, but why didn't he tell me that he had a crush on me? That feels like... It just feels important, you know? Like, if it has been important enough for his parents to be told, it felt like I should've at least like, noticed it, even if he never actually said it."

"But he didn't like you?"

"That's what he said," I confirmed. "And on one hand, I was like, so relieved because I didn't want things to be weird. And I said that out loud, and maybe I shouldn't have— I think it came off poorly. But it was true, and then he told me about what actually happened and I offered to train with him and then get some like, hot chocolate after, and he like... Turned it down. Which... Made me feel weird."

"Weird?" My sibling questioned.

"If I had a better word, I would use it— it just felt like that added distance between us and it's been... Hard to get it back." I tried to explain something I myself didn't completely understand. "Because after that everyone started to ask if we were dating like, incessantly and it got annoying and we always said no, because we weren't and he doesn't like me and sometimes I would add on, if the person was really annoying me, that Octavian is just my friend and there isn't a reality that I could see, since he doesn't like me, where we'd be anything but friends and... And I shouldn't have said that because, as I learned last night, it made him feel shitty because he took it a very different way than what I meant by it. He took it as like, I would never date him in any universe ever because he can only ever be my friend, and... And then I got promoted and became super busy and stressed, so we weren't hanging out as much and because I was trying to appear as like, professional and reliable for the campers, I didn't realize that I wasn't telling Octavian things like I used to. Which is why he was constantly asking me how I was doing, because I didn't realize it, but I wasn't telling him and... And we got in this argument last night because of that I didn't think it was a big deal but he was worried that like, when we go back to camp I was gonna like, continue to slowly cut him off and that we weren't going to be friends anymore and..."

I ran my hands down my face, wondering how I could be so ignorant to my actions for this long. To a point where my best friend is worried that I'm just going to leave him.

Because, sure, we talked about it last night and I said I wouldn't do that.

But I wouldn't believe me, either. My actions haven't been very telling of a good friend.

"And we talked about it and I tried to reassure him that I'm not trying to cut him off, but I mean, I wouldn't believe me." I insisted, frustration evident in my voice. "And I don't like... Want him to feel shitty about himself because of things I've done and said, but I know that he does and I don't know how I can fix that, if I can fix that or..."

Running my hands through my hair, I couldn't articulate how much I hated the timing of all of this.

"Last night, he was telling me about how shitty he feels about us and... How me saying what I did about the only being friends in another universe thing eventually became like, so instilled in him that he feels like he's unlovable and that's like not... That's not true, he's not.... He's not unlovable, he's my best friend and... And sure he can be annoying and a skeptic at times, but I..."

I choked on my own words.

Thalia looked at me expectantly.

"But he had his first panic attack last night because of it, and I was trying to help him and to comfort him and I..." Once again I lost my voice, holding my head in my hands because I'm the world's biggest idiot. "Obviously he couldn't breathe during it, so I wasn't being physical, but after we were talking and he was explaining things to me and I just... Like something shifted because I wanted to physically comfort him, but I was worried that given the topic he wouldn't take it well and... And I don't even totally know what I mean by physically comfort him besides like, I was tempted to give him a hug until he stopped feeling bad, but I didn't obviously and... Like, Luke never annoys you, does he?"

Thalia laughed.

"Oh, only every day, Jason," my older sibling surprised me with that information, though. "He would not stop referencing the movie we watched on the plane ride here, it was awful. The difference between Luke annoying me and somebody like Percy annoying me is that when Luke annoys me, I still find it endearing or sweet— most of the time. Sometimes he just doesn't shut up. When Percy or somebody else annoys me, I just want to smack them and I want them to go away. Don't tell Luke, but most of the time, I don't want him to go away when he's annoying me."

I let that idea sink in.

I don't want him to go away when he's annoying me.

"Why? Does Octavian annoy you daily?"

I crossed my arms, suddenly very insecure in myself.

"Well not... Not daily."

"Okay." He responded. "well, when he does annoy you, do you feel like you want him to leave? Or like you want to smack his mouth?"

"Do I... I mean, sometimes, but that's when I'm stressed about other things and just want to be away from people in general." I insisted, wondering if that made this different somehow. "If it's just him doing the annoying, though, not usually."

"Jason." My sibling said in a very calm, almost gentle voice. Which, for them, was kind of scary to hear. "when you confronted Octavian about the rumor that he had a crush on you, was there a part of you that secretly hoped that it was true?"

I thought about that, because at the time, I didn't really know.

After all, I was so shocked by the rumor itself that I never considered how I felt about it besides like, blindsided.

"I... Don't know, but wouldn't it be shitty or like, selfish if I did?" I tried to reason out loud. "like, I've thought about it— when people are constantly asking if you're dating your best friend, it's hard not to think about it, you know?"

They raised an eyebrow.

"Think about if you guys were dating or about it he had had a crush on you?"

"Well... Both, I guess? The second more than the first, but they sort of go hand in hand."

"I suppose they do," she agreed, thinking for a moment. "putting that aside for a second, what do you imagine happening when both of you finish your time in Camp Jupiter and end up moving to New Rome? Assuming you both live that long, which, you guys tend to out west, what does post-camp life look like?"

But I've had a clear image of that in my mind for a very long time. That was an easy question.

"After camp? We'd both be going to New Rome University," I explained. "I'm not sure what for exactly, but both of us want to go to school. I imagine we'd probably share a dorm if we're required to have roommates, and if not, we'd live in the same building. We'd get to hang out and help each other with homework and after we graduate we'd probably still be roommates— splitting rent on a two bedroom apartment or something like. If it's ever considered not illegal, we would maybe even get to travel to the ancient lands to see some cool historical stuff."

"Yeah?" She questioned.

"Yeah." I nodded my head.

"And what happens if Octavian has a partner in college that he wants to live with instead of you?"

"Well..." The question caused a feeling similar to squeezing a ball in my chest. It was only one squeeze, but I didn't like it. "then... He would... live with them instead."

"He would." Thalia agreed. "And is that something you'd be okay with?"

"Well I mean he's my best friend, of course I would support him in any relationship—"

"Ah ah ah ah," my sibling interrupted me. "That's not the question, I know you would support him regardless. I'm asking if the idea of him living with another person— sharing his life with another, random person, is something that you yourself would be okay with. Is that something that would bother you? To go to his apartment and have somebody else potentially be there that's also very important to him."

I looked down, trying to deny the point they were getting at, as if it would help anything to deny it.

"Wouldn't that bother anyone? It their best friend like... Chose somebody over them?"

But even as I said it, I knew how it sounded.

"Jason." Thalia said as the ball squeezed one more time. "If there is no reality, no universe where you two end up together, how is he choosing somebody over you?"

And I didn't want say it because the reality of it was currently petrifying me, so I just shrugged.

"Jason," he said my name one more time, even though I didn't trust myself to look up at my older sibling. "It's not selfish to wonder what would happen if he did have a crush on you, or if you guys were dating. To want to comfort him more than usual."

"It's not?"

"No, Jason— as long as you don't explode on any partner or crush he has in the future." They clarified, but like, I'd never do that. "It's normal to think about those things— if you like somebody. Like, like like. If you have a crush on them."

And that was it.

The revelation that made me want to scream and cry all at the same time because 12 hours ago I learned that me repressing those thoughts for at least a year— ever since the rumor started, made Octavian feel unlovable.

Because I'm uncomfortable with my own sexuality, I caused what might be permanent damage between me and the person that I can't imagine living my life without.

And after saying that there's no reality where we're together for a year straight...

There's no way he would believe me, right?

"Jason? A—"

"But I can't—" and because I've repressed it for so long, I didn't know what to do now that I was faced with it. "I've been saying the exact opposite thing for a year, I can't just turn around and... Even if I did tell him, why would he believe me? Why... If I tell him and it ruins our friendship... He doesn't even like me, Thalia."

"He doesn't?" And even though I already told them that part of the story, it was like they chose to forget it. "I could be fooled, but if you never tell him, Jason, I guarantee that he'll find somebody else, and then what happens? Do you think you'll be able to handle the jealousy without him ever noticing?"

"But if I tell him and things are weird—"

"You'll learn to get over it together," she insisted. "It'll probably suck and things will change between you two for a while because there will be new boundaries that weren't there before, but if you really want him in your life in whatever way you can have him— not to sound possessive, but you get what I mean. To still keep him as a friend, you and Octavian will learn how to manage a friendship where one of you has a crush on the other."

"Or," Thalia followed up almost immediately. "You tell him and there's a chance that he either has developed feelings for you, always had them and denied it because of the same exact thing you just said, and you guys get over yourselves and actually date. Whichever one happens, if he likes you or not, he deserves to know, Jason."

Nodding my head, I insisted that I knew he deserved to know, especially since it wouldn't be like it was for him— not saying anything because I swore up and down I was straight.

"Oh, Jason," Thalia said, rubbing my arm as they stood up. "is that why you wanted to come over early? So your big sibling could talk you through the fact that you have a big ol crush on your best friend?"

"I— shut up." I said, elbowing them as they stood up. "I also wanted to see if you had any pictures of me from before we were separated."

He rolled his eyes.

"Sure you did— and I only have two photos of you as a kid." My sibling told me. "There's a ton out in California, though— you can have whatever ones you want."

She paused.

"After you tell Octavian about your crush— you'll have to bring him with so I can embarrass you in front of him."

"WHAT!?"

Thalia smiled, walking over the kitchen.

"You heard me," they insisted. "Go clean yourself up— you look like a nervous wreck. The others will start showing up in a few minutes."

Notes:

He's so stupid <3

Chapter 89: Fuck Our Parents (Not You, Gabe)

Luke Castellan

"Dude, are you alright?" Chris asked me as we walked upstairs from his apartment to my apartment. "You look like shit, man— where were you all week?"

"Holding up the sky— Atlas kidnapped Annabeth after she left my apartment," I explained. "As for why I look like this though, I've had a migraine most of the day."

"A migraine?"

I nodded my head.

"Mr. You Know Who must have a calendar because he popped into a dream last night and just... Hasn't left." I went on, opening the door the apartment and immediately turning off the big light. "And I don't know if it's because he's becoming more powerful or what, but it I get this shooting pain when he tries to talk to me now. That, or maybe this is him normally and I just feel worse because I didn't sleep this week."

"I'd bet money that it's because you didn't sleep." Chris insisted as Thalia walked over, setting a snack tray on the coffee table and then giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Headache still?" They asked.

I nodded my head.

"Are the Jackson's here yet?" Chris asked my partner. "I don't know what they put in that blue food dye, but it's like crack. I—"

Very quickly, my brother cut himself off.

"Thalia," he said in a much quieter voice. "Are you... Aware of the person sitting in your fire escape?"

"The..." At first, Thalia looked concerned, which worried me, because they were home. I wasn't. They looked over to the window. "Oh, yeah! Sorry, I thought he was still in the bathroom— that's my brother, Jason! He's been at camp all week, and he just made a really big revelation that is a little upsetting for him, so he's just destressing before everyone shows up."

"Oh, you found him! Cool." Chris exclaimed, taking a piece of cheese from the snack platter. "I'm glad Reyna tracked him down for you guys. He... He knows why everyone is coming, right?"

Thalia nodded, which was reassuring for me.

"Yeah, most of the council is coming— minus Annabeth," my partner confirmed. "Jason and his... Friend were at the meeting where at the meeting where most of the council decided they were coming today, and they agreed to come as well. They're both Roman, so I'm not sure if it'll do much, but... Learning about their camp operations radicalized a lot of people here, so it helped."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Does his upsetting revelation have something to do with Octavian?"

Thalia nodded.

"I'll give you one guess."

"Oh! Does he have a crush on his friend?" Chris asked, and Thalia chuckled.

"It's not just a crush," my partner told the two of us, lacing his fingers between mine. "He wants to live a domestic life with him after they leave Camp Jupiter. The only way I could get him to admit that it was more than platonic was pointing out the fact that he wouldn't be okay with Octavian eventually living with a partner that wasn't him."

I scoffed.

"You're joking— he's like, 13 or 14." I insisted, looking over to see that Jason did indeed look like he was trying to cope with the fact that he could lose his best friend because of this— as if Octavian isn't obviously in love with him. "That's almost as bad as me domesticating you."

"Oh, fuck you, you were like, worse than he is when you were 14."

"How was I worse than your brother?"

"You bought me flowers and dinner regularly after I said I didn't like you."

"Okay, and?" I asked in return, moving to the couch so I could put a blanket over me to help my headache. "You're literally moving in with me, so my strategy obviously worked."

"What was the strategy? Desperation?"

"Yes."

"He did help bring you back from the dead," Chris helped both of our arguments there. "Sorry, Luke, but it was a little pathetic talking to you the day you found out about the poison— I didn't think it's possible, in the nicest way possible, to find somebody more down bad for their partner than you."

"What can I say," I take that point with pride, though. I pulled Thalia closer to me. I missed her this week. "I know what I like."

I couldn't see it because of the blanket, but I heard Chris roll his eyes.

"You guys are gross," was my favorite thing for my brother to call us. As he spoke, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it— just don't make me an uncle in the 30 seconds it'll take me to walk over there."

•••

Within the next half hour to 45 minutes, everyone that we'd been expecting was here for the meeting and also for lunch, thanks to the Jackson's.

"Are you... Sure he should be around knives right now?" I asked Grover, because looking at Percy... You could tell he wasn't doing good lately. "like, I know the facility let him go home, but..."

"Cooking has been helping him stay calm and focused today," the satyr reassured me. "And plus, his dad is in there with him. If he accidentally got cut, I might get a little worried, but he's been calm today."

"Okay, just... Checking." I said as the others were filtering in— I noticed that Octavian was hanging out with Travis and Lee, which was interesting.

I also noticed that, maybe because Octavian seemed to have made friends this week, Jason was sitting on his own in the living room. Sometimes he would look over in Octavian's direction, but he'd see that his friend was still busy talking, so he'd just go back to writing or drawing something in his notebook.

It almost reminded me of Annabeth when we were new at camp and she was struggling to make new friends.

Not long after I took notice of it, I nudged my partner, who nodded and went to play the big sibling role of making sure he was doing okay.

"Luke!" And, speaking of siblings, Travis nearly tackled me in a hug as he walked away from Octavian. "Oh my gods, I missed you so much— how were you a councilor for so long? This shit is frustrating and exhausting and there's two of us doing it now."

Grimacing from the loud noise, I did return the hug.

I missed the Stolls. I'm glad they're in charge of the cabin now.

"I missed you, too, little dude," I said, the age-old nickname, but he's not little anymore (well... He is only 5'6"). "Sorry, I have a migraine. And trust me, the frustration doesn't go away, but you'll figure out a better way to handle it soon— both physically with sleep, and mentally. How do you and Connor split that up?"

"It depends," Travis told me. "Sometimes, if one of us wants to go do something, then the other will just cover for the whole cabin like a regular counselor. Usually, though, when we're both there, he's helping our siblings and I'm helping all of the unclaimed or non-dad kids. Oh! Speaking of that."

"Speaking of that?"

"We had a kid go missing yesterday— a son of Hades named Nico around 10 or 11 years old," my brother explained. "You haven't seen or heard from him, have you? I don't think he'd have a way to really know demigods outside of camp, but you never know, and I figured that if Ethan and him are the same age... He ran off into the woods."

Shaking my head, I told Travis that I haven't seen the new demigod they recruited, but promised that we'd keep an eye out for him.

He, too, would be a powerful host. My favorite great grandpa pointed out, causing me to have to close my eyes to focus on the pain. Though I would still prefer your partner.

We've been over this, I reminded the Titan. Thalia lives, meaning they aren't hosting, and Percy is too unstable to even be in the running right now. You're stuck with me.

Hmpf. We'll see when the times comes.

"Hey," Clarisse gave me a hip bump, her and Silena walking over. "How's it been? Do we get to go to a wedding any time soon?"

"Do you..." I repeated back, rolling my eyes. "Clarisse, Thalia is just moving in, we're not getting married yet. Plus, the general public knows they're alive now, so like... We have way too many other things to deal with."

"Sounds like an excuse to me."

"You're impossible. Is the entire off season council seriously here?"

"You know it!" Malcolm, Annabeth's brother, who's around the same age as her, called out from the dining room, where he was devouring some olives. "Lee, how many kids in your cabin wanted to come today?"

"How many... Like four or five?" he figured, which surprised me since Apollo's cabin was usually more content. "We figured that would be too suspicious for everyone to come, though, so it's just Michael and me. We're kind of overworked, so it wasn't hard to coax it out of the infirmary workers. The entirety of Cabin 12 is here, though."

"There's two of us, Lee, don't say that like it's an impressive number." Pollux pointed out. "I think we might have another sibling, though— I heard a rumor about somebody beating our dad up? I'm not sure how real it is, but..."

"Oh, it definitely happened— me and Annabeth were there when it happened."

"Really?" Castor asked my little brother. "Who was it?"

"This guy right here!" One of Gabe's friends, Eddy, who I think might also be my brother, answered the question as he put a hand on Gabe's shoulder. Gabe rolled his eyes. "He has no mercy for your guy's dad— wouldn't reccomend trying to do what he did."

"Aw, lame, I want to drop kick a deity." Clarisse said, I think as a joke.

It's hard to tell with her.

"Unless your mortal and godly parent are still together, I can't say I'd recommend it, kid," Gabe insisted, a fair point to consider. "If him and my dad weren't still seeing each other, I would've been turned into a dolphin or whatever sea creature he's fixated on right now. He knows that if he hurts me, he hurts his relationship, so he wouldn't do it. It's what he gets for fucking with my kid."

"Wait, you have a kid?" Katie Gardener, the councilor of the Demeter cabin piped in. "So you like... Actually got to live a regular life after camp? How old are you?"

Gabe smiled as Sally walked over to her husband and her son.

I'm so glad those two are supportive of the cause. It's going to mean so much to a lot of demigods that they can know somebody just like them that does survive.

"I'm 33, but for the most part, yeah— I'd say our life is as close to normal as it can be, besides the occasional monster attack." The eldest son of Dionysus confirmed with a nod. "I'm Percy's dad. Not biologically, obviously— Sally, my wife here, is the one that gave birth to him, but I was there when he was born and I've been around ever since. I, however, didn't know he was a demigod until he went to camp."

"Hey!" Percy called him out. "We also didn't know you were a demigod. And all of your friends, for that matter."

"That's just because he sucks at making friends," Eddy poked fun at his best friend. "And at meeting new people. Why do you think he married the first girl he ever dated?"

Gabe rolled his eyes.

"Oh, whatever, Eddy, it's not my fault you're still single." The husband of Sally Jackson retorted, looking to me. "Are we expecting anybody else before we start?"

•••

"Wait, so... You're going to host Kronos?" Charles Beckendorf asked as we gave everyone the summary of the plans for this next phase. Of the next summer, more or less. "Like, he'll possess you?"

I nodded my head.

"But... Why you?" One of Gabe's friends asked me. "No offense, kid, I know you're the one heading this whole operation, and I commend you for it— nobody in our day had the guts. But you don't got any powers, do you? How do you expect to handle the soul of a titan being in your mortal body when your connection to him is so minute? Why not a demigod more closely related to him?"

"Because," I began. "first of all, this is my mess— whatever happens, I'm the first person that will take any and all blame. Nobody else was involved when I responded to Kronos the first time. And second of all, he's already in my head pretty constantly now. If you see me pinch the bridge of my nose ever, it's because he likes to yap. Plus, while our goals overlap, they don't completely align— why would I give him a better chance of going to the extreme when that's not our plan? He's a fear tactic, not a solution. If I die or my body burns up or something, we'll have a backup plan set up— Thalia, Silena and I have been talking about it. It'll be ready by the summer solstice."

"And if there's an attack on the camp?" Malcolm questioned. "What should we do then?"

"Fight, just like you would regularly," I explained as Thalia pulled out one of those green disposable cameras you get at Walgreens. "We have a list of everyone who's here right now— before you leave, we'll snap a photo of you if you're still interested, and we'll keep the list for the people on our side to study. They'll still attack you, but they won't fight to kill, they'll fight to exhaust or do minor damage to you. We'll discuss details as we get closer, but that news will come from Percy or Silena for campers since we probably won't be able to meet like this again."

"What? Why not?"

Thalia motioned towards our window. Towards the empire state building.

"You'll see when you get to the solstice meeting— now line up, you two faced bastards." My amazing partner said, waving the camera. "it's picture day."

Chapter 90: What Is Said Out Loud

Octavian Augustus

Jason was acting weird.

When I got to Thalia and Luke's apartment, he was sitting on their couch, which was fine, but he wasn't talking to anybody.

Or, if he was, he wasn't iniating the conversation like he usually does. Jason's an outgoing person- it's how he became praetor at such a young age compared to the people he ran against.

At one point in time, I saw Thalia walk over and talk to him, but it looked almost like a check in, and he looked...

Overwhelmed?

It was hard to pinpoint the emotion on his face, but it wasn't a positive emotion. If he was tired or overwhelmed or anxious, I couldn't tell.

My real worry started when Percy's mom, Sally, walked over and offered him a cookie before the meeting started.

Sure, that's just a mom thing to do, but she offered it to him before anybody else- like she was hoping it would comfort the son of Jupiter in some way.

My conversation with Michael and Travis carried on to the start of the meeting, but I did make a point of sitting next to Jason during it because I think he was sad, and I was hoping that my presence would help.

I don't think it did, but I don't think it made it worse.

Once Luke and Thalia started talking, Jason tried to focus in, but even I could tell that something else was tugging at the back of his mind.

Luckily, a lot of the talk in the meeting centered around Camp Half Blood and things here in the east (which makes sense since that's where Luke and Thalia are located), so whatever information he might've missed by being distracted wasn't much of a loss.

As Thalia took people's mugshots, Luke did talk to us and to Percy's dad about what we can do to help and what to do if we find more people who are interested in the cause and want to show solidarity.

Our responsibility is to primarily keep an eye on Mount Othrys, since we're much closer than the Greeks are.

After that conversation, Thalia snapped our photos and we left the apartment.

"Hey," I said, earning Jason's attention as we got into the elevator and clicked the button for the first floor. "Are you doing okay? Did the conversation that you and Thalia had before everyone showed up not go how you thought it would? What did you guys talk about?"

"Hm?" But my speaking seemed to startle him for some reason, showing me that he was tense at the very least right now. "Oh uh, I asked if they had any photos of me or of us from before I was taken and she said not here, but there's definitely a bunch at our mom's place in California that he can sort out for next, so that... I sort of figured they'd only have a couple anyways because I was little and they ran away right after I was brought to camp, so um... That part was fine."

Stepping outside, I raised an eyebrow at my best friend, motioning for him to continue.

But he was hung up on it, so he didn't say anything.

"What was the other part?"

"The other part?" Jason repeated back to me, crossing his arms. "Oh. We uh- I told her about what happened last night after everyone got back. About the Percy and Nico thing and also about the like, argument we had because I just felt like I needed to word vomit, but then they did the big sibling thing and made connections and logical conclusions about what I was saying and thinking and like, I wanted somebody to bounce off of, but the conclusion like... Like I knew, but I didn't know, and I just... Yeah. Sorry, I'm not making any sense, am I?"

"It's alright, Jace, I get it- you knew but didn't have a word to describe it?"

He nodded his head, but again, he didn't elaborate.

As I debated whether or not I should push him on the matter, we walked down into the subway- going underground seeming to make him even more anxious now (which I guess makes sense since his dad is the sky god, so this might technically be Pluto's territory).

Honestly, I was a little worried he might combust.

"Dude," I said, putting a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Do you need a hug?"

Again, he nodded.

As I pulled Jason into a hug, he buried his head in my shoulder, sounding like he was trying to focus on his breathing, taking in big breaths.

"I just..." The son of Jupiter explained with little context. "Don't want things to be weird or for everything to suddenly change and..."

"Woah, woah, show down," I interjected. "What would be weird or change? Based on what you guys talked about, I assume it's not about going back to camp?"

He shook his head.

"I mean sort of, I guess, but it's not like I'm worried about how the camp will react to us telling them about the trip- I'll worry about that later, probably after talking to Reyna." My best reasoned. "But between us, what if things change? This trip like... I feel so bad about this week and just this last year in general for saying or not saying the things I did and..."

But why is he still hung up on that?

"And what?" I asked, pulling to half an arms length away, keeping my hands on his arms. "We talked about this last night, Jason, it's okay now. Unless you have something to add on, we don't need to rehash it out- it's why we're hanging out, right? Because even though this week ended up being a little weird and different, we're still best friends."

Opening his mouth, it took Jason a moment to find what he was trying to say.

"I- yeah, I mean that's..." But just as soon as he found it, Jason's voice faded away. He wasn't looking up at me, focusing on our shoes. "What if I don't want to be best friends?"

I froze, my circulatory system turning to ice.

Did Thalia or Luke figure out my crush?

Was it too much that I actually like him?

"What?" I barely whispered, lost in this sudden change.

Change that I thought he said he didn't want to happen between us.

Should I stop touching him if he doesn't want to friends anymore?

Probably.

I took a step back.

It wasn't even 12 hours ago that he reassured me that he still wanted to be friends after I had my one and only panic attack, what could Thalia have said that...?

I don't want to lose Jason.

"Wh..." Jason hummed before recognizing my expression as one that might lead into a breakdown because I thought we just talked about this and we're on the same page, and he immediately switched from being anxious to being worried and apologetic. "Oh my gods, no, no, no, no, no, 'Tav, I'm not saying I don't want to be your friend, that's not... Gods, for being such a good speaker, I'm so bad at wording things, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Catching his breath, Jason swallowed a really big breath. The anxiousness still there, but now playing a supporting role instead of a lead role.

The son of Jupiter put his hands out, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I meant that I don't want to just be your best friend," he corrected his former statement. "I was talking to Thalia about the argument and conversation we had last night and about how things have been ever since you came out to your parents and really ever since I confronted you about the rumor that you had a crush on me and then they asked me questions about what I imagined life would be like when we finish our service at Camp Jupiter and so I told her and he basically had to spell it out for me that the reason I did all of the things I did was to like..."

He exhaled.

"Was to like, protect myself from getting hurt, even though it ended up hurting you anyways because I..." But again, he's anxious, so we're both just anxious and it's almost like a replay of last night but somehow both worse and better all at once. "because I didn't have a good enough understanding of how I felt to realize that when you told me that you didn't like me and that the rumor was misheard, that when I kept reminding myself that you didn't like me when others suspected we were together, that when I slowly stopped telling you things, it was because I felt rejected, and I felt rejected because when I confronted you about the rumor, I was frustrated because I knew that if you said no, I would be upset because of the rejection and if you said yes, I'd be upset in like, a different way, because you didn't feel like you could tell me unless it was a brand new thing and..."

His words faded. Jason wrapped his arms around himself again, closing his eyes.

"And I felt that way because I liked you," my best friend admitted, keeping his eyes sealed. "I didn't understand if at the time and I couldn't articulate it because of that, and I just excused all of it to being best friends, but I... Did all of the shitty things I did because I liked you. And I still do, and I know that you don't..."

But because I rejected him a year ago, Jason wasn't framing this as a possibility for us.

He was waiting for me to stick the knife in the coffin.

He was waiting to get hurt- the thing that he just explained to me that he was trying to avoid happening for the last year.

He doesn't want things to be weird between us.

He doesn't want things to change between us.

But he likes me.

He...

Wait.

Jason likes me.

After standing in at least 5 seconds of silence, my brain finally processed the statement.

How do I tell him that I also...

"Jason." I whispered, stepping forward and wiping away the tears of frustration that had started to slip out after he closed his eyes.

He was afraid of looking at me.

"Jason, hey," I repeated myself, still whispering. "Can you look at me please?"

And, hesitating, Jason followed my request.

He looked just as scared now as he did when he had to go train with Lupa when we were kids.

It nearly killed me.

"The rumor was spread was because they misheard my conversation with my parents," I reminded the son of Jupiter. "My parents didn't ask if I liked you- they asked if we were dating or if you were the one that made me gay because they knew that I liked you. I told them you were straight and they seemed to understand right away why I'd say that."

I paused, letting him process the information.

"When you confronted me about the rumor, I told you that I didn't like you because I was under the impression that you were straight," I admitted. "And I figured that we had been friends for so long that, eventually, I would move on. It was more important to me that you were still my friend and I didn't want things to change because I liked how things were between us because I figured it could never get any better since I thought you were straight, but..."

I shrugged.

"I was wrong." I continued, seeing the hesitation in his eyes because I admitted to the fact that I liked him as of a year ago, but I haven't spoken on the present day. "you're not. But it made you telling people we would never be together so much harder because I was trying to move on, and then eventually that warped what happened last night, but... I've talked to Grover and to Reyna about it, along with Travis and Michael and..."

Taking a breath, I bit down my fear of rejection.

He already said that he likes you.

"I never figured out how to move on," I concluded. "I was so pushy and was so insistent on making sure you were okay or that you were just talking about how you were doing because I liked you and I was terrified of you slowly ending our friendship because I like, can't imagine a world where you're not always there, somewhere nearby, because I like you, and I have for... I'm honestly not sure how long, but a very long time. A painfully long time."

"A..." Jason started to repeat as my words sank in and he went from scared and anxious to shocked. He trembled, his knees giving out, causing both of us to fall on our asses on the most disgusting floor in the world.

But I could care less about the floor, because right now I was holding the face of the person who I've had a crush on for over a year.

The person who also has a crush on me.

"So we can still be roommates in the future?"

"We... What?" I asked in return, helping Jason stand back up.

"We... When Thalia was connecting dots, he asked what I thought would happen after our service at camp, and I mentioned that I always assumed we'd room together if we had to have roommates in the dorms at the university." Jason filled me in, not letting go of my hand after standing. "And if not, we'd probably share an apartment after."

"Yeah?"

He nodded as we examined the subway map and figured out which like we had to get on to stop in times square before going all the way to the Empire State Building.

"Yeah- I didn't think it wasn't normal until Thalia asked if I would be okay with you living with somebody else if you had a partner because like, people usually live with their partner, and then I... Realized why I always imagined it as a two bedroom apartment, but one of the rooms was used as an office."

Shut up why is he the most oblivious and cute person ever.

"That... I love that." I pondered what embarrassing daydream I could tell Jason, because there was maybe too many of them. "um... When Reyna got promoted, I remember somebody talking about how it was like, inevitable that you two would start dating, and after that, I had a dream about objecting at your wedding."

"My wedding?" Jason's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Is that why you asked me if I had a crush on her?"

I closed my mouth, glancing at the demigod.

"...maybe."

•••
Percy Jackson

I barely made it back to the apartment in time to meet Annabeth. She'd sent an IM before I left for Luke's to ask if Grover or I wanted to hang out before the meeting, which was... Weird, but not bad.

After the things she said about Nico, I just don't know how to feel about Annabeth.

Well okay, I've never known how to feel about Annabeth, if we're being honest. I would like to be friends or at least friendly with her more consistently, and I know that she can be testy and pushy because she's so used to people leaving her- and I try to give her the benefit of the doubt when things happen.

But we're both stubborn, so we clash.

A lot.

"Hey!" Annabeth said as I met her down in the lobby. She smiled. "No Grover?"

I shook my head.

"He was going to talk with some nature spirits and a few of the searchers about a lead he think he might've gotten on the quest," I told her. "He'll meet us on Olympus. Nobody else is with you?"

"No," Annabeth shook her head. "I invited Jason, because I'm sure he's feeling weird about Thalia not coming back and I thought he'd appreciate hanging out with people that were kind of close to her, but him and O... Oliver...? Him and his friend had plans."

She gave me a suspicious look.

"They're just friends, right?"

I rolled my eyes as we exited the apartment complex onto the upper east side of Manhattan.

"They're friends, but Octavian definitely had a crush on Jason, and I can't tell if Jason's either so repressed that he doesn't acknowledge the fact that he probably also likes Octavian, or if he's just generally a clueless straight guy. Apparently everyone teases them and asks if they're together, and Jason is pretty insistent that they're not, and it's hurts Octavian, so..."

"So it's like you and Grover, but you and Grover had a mental link so it was a lot harder to be oblivious about it?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, shut up."

"Hey, I'm right, and you know it." The daughter of Athena told me. "If you liked anybody else, it would've taken you at least until like, now, or next summer to ask them out."

"Hey!" I protested. "I dated Travis before Grover."

She raised an eyebrow.

"And who made the first move?"

"I... Don't remember." I admitted. "It was very gradual and was never official and it made me kind of anxious and then we broke up and I was devastated."

"Mhm," she hummed. "So you never asked him out on a date?"

I glared at her, not wanting to admit that she was right.

Annabeth just smiled.

"That's what I thought," the daughter of Athena accepted her victory. "also, I heard that you might not be going back to camp in the summer? What's up with that? Who's going to be my quest buddy whenever they finally give me a quest? Me and Grover will need somebody."

Sighing, we walked into the Mexican restaurant that was a few blocks away from my place because I really wanted chips and queso and Annabeth was hungry.

"Take it up with Chiron and Mr. D- mostly Chiron, I guess," I insisted, taking a breath to not get too worked up about it. It half worked. "I told him that if he didn't have a plan to try to find Nico or if he didn't have searchers out looking for him, or even if he didn't just notify the active searchers that Nico is MIA, that I won't go back until he puts in the effort. If he doesn't have a plan at the meeting, I won't go back until he has one."

Opening her mouth, Annabeth debated her options.

"He..." Annabeth sighed. "I know you're worried about the kid, Percy, I get it- I get worried about my younger siblings when they get themselves into trouble. But it hasn't even been a day since he ran off- give Chiron like, another day to figure something out. 72 hours from when he went missing. And it's... I don't want to say it's one kid, but other kids have gone missing. Why is Nico different? The same thing happened to Ethan and... I guess we know where he is now, but...?"

"It's not just... It's not that it's just Nico going missing." I tried to explain as we were seated and ordered two waters to drink. "It's the fact that Chiron doesn't seem to care about the well-being of campers and of the camp- Nico was just the final straw. I..."

I choked on my own words, knowing that if I didn't phrase this the right way, Annabeth would get defensive of Chiron and would also be suspicious of me.

"I know he cares about a lot of people and campers individually, and he cares about our training," I went on. "But he doesn't seem to care about like... Our ability to survive beyond the camp and our mental well-being. There have been so many kids that have run away, and while I'm sure some of them probably have some connection to Luke- based on the fact that Ethan did. But some of them left notes that they left because they didn't feel like they were seen at camp. There have been a string of suicide attempts- I'm one of them, for fucks sake, and Chiron offered me nothing while I was under 24 hour supervision in the infirmary because the only thing I could think about was the endless number of ways I could try to end my life. He was in my room, and his only concern was how long it would be until I could start training again, to which Michael told him that if I get my way, it'll never happen, but regardless I shouldn't be around swords or any blades of I'm alone after what happened."

"Yeah, you... Didn't train with riptide for like a week after you got out," Annabeth recalled.

"But I had riptide on me the entire time," I pointed out. "I heard Michael tell Chiron, Mr. D, and then Clarisse because she's the person who would be like, most likely to be able to intercept me in my cabin, that I shouldn't carry it on me for the rest of summer. He gave it to me the day I got out, and I gave it back to him, but he had put the charm on it, so I found it later on that night and..."

I shrugged.

"It wasn't my proudest moment, and I told Chiron about it the next day, and he just said that I should learn better self control, which..." I let out a heavy breath. "no shit, but it's a lot easier to not hurt myself if I don't have a magical sword on me at all times. He wouldn't listen- Mr. D was the one who eventually removed the charm for the rest of the summer. That entire situation, mixed with what little concern he seems to have about kids going missing and attempting... It just rubs me wrong and I don't like it."

Annabeth seemed to debate my criticism of Chiron, because I haven't vented to her or most people about what happened with Chiron when I attempted. It makes me mad.

"If Nico was somebody like you or me or even like, Connor, I wouldn't be as pressed as I am." I clarified as we received the nachos that are about to rescue my soul. "It's because of how little training he has and how young but powerful he is that I'm pressuring Chiron about it- also, because we know that he has nowhere to go. If he had training or if he was older or if he still had any kind of family, I would give Chiron more time. But he doesn't, and it's well known that if you don't find a missing person with 24 hours of them going missing, their chances of being found dead are a lot higher. Sure, demigods have survived on the road- you were younger than Nico was- but if the end of the world happened, your dad was alive. And you also had Luke and Thalia."

The daughter of Athena nodded, conceding my point.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't wish the alleys of Boston or New York on anybody," she said. "I'm sorry that Chiron was so careless about your recovery- I didn't know about that. I guess if you're still in like, a shitty headspace, I can understand why you'd want to be at home instead of at camp. I just... Chiron was the one who raised me outside of Luke after I got to camp, so it's... Hard for me to not to try to justify his actions, but the Riptide thing is messed up, especially if you told him about what happened and he still refused to get rid of the charm. I think he's just like, so numb to the concept of death after thousands of years and also being immortal that it's hard for him to understand why he should care about campers choosing to leave or choosing to end their life. As for after camp stuff..."

Annabeth just shrugged.

"Luke used to argue with him about that-that and the non Hermes kids all in cabin 11. You guys are a lot alike, you know that?"

I smiled.

"Yeah, I've heard a few people say that," I said, shoveling a chip into my mouth. "and I guess so, but he's a little more... Intense than I am? Saying crazy feels mean, but conspiring with a titan is insane."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at me, and I noticed her suspicion.

"You don't... Know much about it, do you? You and Luke don't hang out?"

I shook my head, lying.

"No, we just hung out between my first and second summer because I was sad about the breakup with Travis, and my parents liked having another person to feed." I explained. "And even then, it wasn't often- usually we'd just walk together because we both got off at the same station around the same time. He never told me about any plans for anything, it was always mundane stuff. School, work, he'd talk about Thalia and I'd talk about Travis. A couple times he showed me some moves with Riptide just to keep me sharp off season, but once summer came, we kind of stopped talking naturally. My parents invite him and now Thalia over for dinner like once a month because again, they love to feed people, but... Again, mundane stuff since they're not at camp. I would have never guessed that he was working with a titan."

Thank the gods, years of not finishing my homework on time made me a believable liar when it truly mattered.

"Thalia going to a family dinner sounds so weird." Annabeth didn't press the matter at all. "Does that mean that they'll be at your parents party?"

I nodded.

"Unless a god smites them, they'll be there- I think Gabe is like, the dad neither of them ever actually had, so Luke really wanted to go and he talked Thalia into it."

"Yeah, I'm nervous about telling the Olympians about it since their dad's are both there," the daughter of Athena commented, which had my attention. "What? Did you not plan on saying anything?"

"I... I figured that if at least 2 of the major Olympians knew, we wouldn't have to say anything." I corrected. "After we found out on Mount Tam, Thalia told us that Aphrodite talked to them when her and Ares gave us a lift, and that the goddess already knew the situation. Artemis knows for sure, and Mr. D basically knows, so that's 3 Olympians. If they have questions, I'll answer them, but it seemed like word already spread, so... But then again, I haven't had much time to think about it, so that's why I just kind of assumed the easy thing. I've been preoccupied with my seasonal and regular depression combo."

Annabeth smiled at that last joke.

"I suppose you've been thinking about other things- sorry that I was so harsh yesterday, by the way," she apologized, which I was honestly taken aback by, but in a good way. "I was starving and hangry, and I didn't consider how young Nico was either, which aren't good excuses but... It's the truth. Also, I didn't want you to metaphorically kill yourself over searching for him because the sun was almost down. It's just... Been a week."

"You were kept prisoner for most of it," I agreed, shrugging. "I get it- everyone was stressed and in a bad mood. I just..."

I closed my eyes, resting my head against the back of the booth, trying to keep my breathing stable.

"I... I'll never forgive myself if Nico ends up dead because of this." I tried to articulate the guilt that's been gnawing away at me all day. "After what happened to Bianca..."

Annabeth just flashed a sad smile.

"They'll find him," she said without much conviction.

But it was enough to keep me calm throughout the rest of our lunch.

•••
Hermes

As the messanger god, it's rare that I don't already know everything that's going to be disclosed into our bi-yearly meetings on Olympus. After all, Athena and I are the ones who create the itinerary for each meeting, and from there we hope that all of the points are discussed before we open the floor to whoever is present.

When the youngest of the Olympians came into our writing session, I thought Athena might let one of his sons die if they ever go into battle.

"Dionysus, you drunkard, what could be so important that you are deliberately choosing to interrupt Hermes and I less than an hour before the meeting begins?"

Dionysus scowled, grumpy as usual.

"You know just as well as I do that I've been sober for way too long because of our father." Dionysus reminded her. "But for your information, it's very important. Add your daughter to the itinerary- the start of it, not the end. Our usual updates and catch up can happen later."

Athena gave him a skeptical look.

"My daughter? Dio, baby brother, you'll have to be more detailed than that- I have multiple children. Most of us do."

"The one that runs your cabin."

But Athena pointed out a very important detail.

"Yeah, you're the only Olympian that knows who the counselors are- I need a name."

"Annabeth Chase."

Athena leaned back, putting her pen down.

"I don't have a daughter named Annabeth."

But I even knew about Annabeth- I sent her on a quest with Poseidon's two kids last summer after one of my kids failed at dating the son of Poseidon.

"Wh- yes, you do." The god of wine said with certainty. "You claimed her when she was 7? She helped rescue Dads Bolt?"

Athena raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mean Andrew? The child I had with Frederick Chase was named Andrew."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Dionysus let out a long, controlled breath.

"Did I stutter?" He looked back up at us. "Her name is Annabeth- she has gone by Annabeth for more than 5 years now. That's why she grew out her hair and also why she has boobs now- cis boys usually don't have those."

"Almost all of my children have blond hair and gray eyes, Dio, forgive me for not being well acquainted with somebody I've never met." She piped up, writing the name down on the schedule. "What does Annabeth want to talk about? If it's the same nonsense that Luke wanted to ramble on about every meeting, forget it- it never goes anywhere. It's pointless."

Dionysus exhaled once more.

"No, this is different. Just... Write down that she has to disclose some findings from our most recent quest. Be warned that the disclosure will upset most people, but especially Father. With that, I'll leave the rest to you two- would you happen to know if Hades and Persephone have arrived?"

"Oh, yeah, Persephone and Aphrodite were speaking when I arrived- perhaps some affair is happening? She seemed upset. I'm sure Hades is just waiting for somebody to get him away from Demeter, who is probably beating his marital abilities."

Mr. D rolled his eyes.

"Some things never change."

And with that, he allowed us to finish our duties before socializing with the others.

"Anything else to add?" Athena questioned.

"No, all of the points I've gathered are listed," I responded, knowing that my largest priority was to find out why and how Atlas had kidnapped Artemis. "Did you seriously not know about Annabeth?"

"I'm a busy goddess, Hermes, I tend to not keep track of my children until they won't shut up about needing my help." She insisted, which was a common theme amongst the gods. "I have a million other things to do, and assisting two quests is hardly anything to be noteworthy of. Perhaps when she has her own quest, I'll get to know her better. Plus, she's friends with that sea spawn Odysseus reincarnate, and I've never met him, but his existence already drives me insane. Do you know all your children?"

I shrugged as we sent the itinerary and emerged out into the hall of the gods, where the others had begun to arrive- gods and demigods alike.

"Personally? No, but I at least know their current names and who their parents were. It's not that hard when our memories are flawless."

Rolling her eyes, Athena dismissed herself to go speak with Chiron before the meeting began.

"Hermes! Long time no see, bro."

I rolled my eyes this time.

"Hello, Apollo."

•••

Come time for the solstice meeting to begin, everyone had arrived, and I was glad to see that Percy and Travis seemed to get along, though they obviously weren't together.

Furthermore, I was intrigued by the two boys in Roman senatorial robes.

"Romans?" I heard Hades whisper to my left. "what are they doing here?"

"One of them appears to be a praetor," I pointed to the more muscular of the two blond boys. "Mount Othrys is in California, is it not? Perhaps the quest party ran into some Romans while they were there."

But my uncle shook his head.

"No, no Romans were present, unless it happened after Bianca passed into my realm." He told me. "which could be possible, she didn't die in California."

"Bianca?" I question, unfamiliar with the name.

"My daughter," the god of the Underworld answers, meaning that him looking more tired than usual wasn't just me being crazy. "Not that I broke the oath-I'm not my brother's, these kids have been in the lotus hotel for quite some time. But Bianca perished earlier this week, and my other one, Nico, should be with the camp."

"Should be?"

"Should be." He repeated. "But he's not there, so I'll have to speak to Chiron later. Do you-"

A thunder boomed through the throne room, Father taking his seat at the center of the U of thrones.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Father prompted. "As my children tell me, there are some interesting matters on our itinerary this year. But first, I am inclined to ask Chiron and Dionysus a question."

Across from me, I saw Dionysus barely turn his head to look at Zeus.

"Yes, brother?" Chiron stepped forward from the crowd of demigods.

"Why are two of your kids in Roman senatorial robes? You run a Greek establishment- Romans are meant to train out west."

"Two of your kids? One of those kids is yours, even if he is technically Roman." Dionysus answered in his typical blunt matter, not allowing Chiron to dance around the answer for 5 minutes. "As for why the two of them are here, it's because of your other kid. First thing they did coming back to life was demand to know where Jaden was and where there would be a Roman camp. Our mouths stayed sealed, but she still figured it out. They're leaving after today- it was a family trip, more or less."

Father pondered this story, looking between Chiron and the two blonde teenagers, who both looked extremely nervous due to the attention they were receiving.

"I suppose I'll accept it for now- one of you is a high ranking member of the Senate, so I suppose you won't be in trouble when you return." Chiron and the boys all exhaled when Father let them off the hook (for now). "Then let's move on to the actual meeting. Who's speaking first this year?"

"That would be me, sir." Annabeth Chase spoke up, stepping forward so she could be distinguished from the crowd. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. I have important information from this previous quest that I think will be of everyone's interest to know."

"What? Is there a new species of owl or something?" Ares chimed in, only to be immediately silence by our sister's glare.

Take your pick on which sister it was- you'd be right no matter what.

"Is - no, not that I'm aware of."

With that, Annabeth Chase began to recount the previous week or so of her life to us. Eventually, Percy Jackson also joined in, offering perspective from somebody who was actually on the quest (though he wasn't supposed to be- something I admire him for and wish I'd been able to claim him for).

When I heard that Luke had gone to try and rescue Annabeth on his own, I had to admit that I was proud of my son. And that, when he wasn't able to rescue her, he saved her from the torment of having to hold the sky.

After all, he was always an amazing older brother to Annabeth. That was always easy to see on the campers field trips here.

"Although a part of me wants to believe that Luke was truly there to try and rescue me, a mission that he was unsuccessful at," Annabeth went on. "by the end of the week, and by the time that the rescue party arrived, it had become abundantly clear that he could have had other motives."

"What do you mean by other motives?"

She took a breath before answering my father.

"Luke Castellan, although denying to have been working or conspiring with Atlas, is working with Kronos."

Immediately, the throne room broke out in a craze- both gods and demigods having strong reactions to the news.

But I couldn't process it.

"Luke?" I questioned, scavenging my memories for anything that Luke did that could've indicated his unhappiness with the pantheon as a whole. "My Luke? You must be joking, he wouldn't... Why would he...?"

And sure, he often times had requests that Father would shut down.

But he cared so much about the kids in his cabin. Both the ones that I sired and the ones that I didn't.

He cared too much to put them through the stress of a war.

"Your Luke?" Percy Jackson took the lead on this answer, doubt dripping in his tone. "I can't speak on why he would go as far as to work with a titan- I think we all can all agree that that's very extreme. But can I ask when the last time you spoke to Luke was?"

"The last time?" I repeated back. "We only ever spoke once- not long before he left home for the last time to start his journey to camp."

"And how did that conversation go?"

"It... Wasn't pleasant, but it's been a long time since then." I reasoned, thinking about the last time I was at May's home. "He wanted me to heal his mother- it wasn't something I could do without speaking with Apollo. It upset Luke. But since then, he seemed to have left the topic of his mother behind. He was a wonderful councilor for my cabin, and while his requests were excessive at times, it showed he had heart."

Percy crossed his arms, letting out a long breath.

"And do you think that, between his only experience and conversation with you ending in upset, and his constant rejection of requests that he made for, as you just said, other campers that he cared about, maybe got to him?" The son of Poseidon speculated. "I stayed in your cabin for a very limited amount of time before I was claimed, but Luke's disdain for you wasn't some secret amongst the camp. His tension with Chiron and Mr. D was well known. So sure, be surprised by who gave him the offer, but are you- any of you, going to genuinely act shocked that Luke decided to rebel? He tried to do the nice and proper thing his entire time at camp. And it didn't work, so now he's going to get it by any means necessary."

"You're not insinuating that Luke's defection is Hermes' fault, are you?" Athena questioned. "I'd consider your wording very carefully, son of Poseidon."

Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Hm? Oh, no, of course not." But that answer let me take a breath. "Not that he would get no credit for it- he does hate you, as much as I understood with how little he spoke of it."

The current wild card of Chirons army turned to face the immortal trainer, a challenging expression of his face. One that dared the centaur to correct him, knowing that he couldn't do it and still remain honest.

"But I do believe that Chiron could be to blame." Percy crossed his arms. "Luke didn't like the gods, but he hated your apathy towards campers. I wouldn't join him, but I can't blame him for that."

The son of Poseidon turned towards us again, looking to the god who sat left of me.

"Hades, always a pleasure," I think there was sarcasm in his voice, but it was hard to tell. "Glad to meet you without my mom in the mix. How many living children do you currently have?"

The question threw Hades off.

"Living children? Only one- you should know this. You helped escort both of my children to Camp, and you were there when Bianca perished."

"Yeah, just double checking," Percy reassured us that he's not a complete idiot. "I know news travels fast for you guys, but I'm never sure how fast. Do you know where Nico is right now?"

Hades opened his mouth, scanning the crowd.

"He... Is supposed to be with the camp." My uncle answered. "Is there a reason he isn't with?"

Percy smiled.

"There is! Your son, Lord Hades, is at large somewhere in the United States- hopefully still in the state of New York, but we don't know his powers, so it's hard to say for sure if that's true." Percy explained as I saw Dionysus cover his mouth to hide a smile of amusement across from me. He must've known this would happen. "Your son, who is only 10 years old and has essentially no training, ran when I was forced to break the news to him about Bianca. Grover, Annabeth, and I, along with a couple others, spent hours searching the grounds for him, only for Chiron to reject sending out a proper search party for your son, who will be a target for Kronos, not only as a child of the Big Three, but as a young demigod who's very impressionable and very angry."

The son of Poseidon paused.

"I want to be very clear, because I can see that some of you look like you're wondering if you should turn me into a dolphin." Percy turned so he faced all of us. "Despite my complicated and mixed feelings about a lot of you- despite the run ins we've had, I understand how integral your existence is to the world we live in. Because of that, I would never do what Luke is doing."

He glanced at Chiron.

"But when demigods believe that it is better to run away or kill themselves than to reside in the safest place for them on the planet, change needs to be made." And I couldn't help but hear my son's voice in Percy's. "I don't know what Luke's plans are, what Kronos' plans are. But I do know that if demigods continue to disappear, refuse to return, or die via suicide at the rate that they are, then there won't be enough of us to fight them when the Great Prophecy unravels in a year and a half, almost two years. Not that I expect you to care about us, but I do expect that you care enough to know that, without enough of us, the risk of you ceasing to exist is heightened."

"Well naturally, Perseus, demigods have fought battles for us for thousands of years." Poseidon spoke to his son, though the name seemed to strike a bad chord. He must not like it. "But if Luke is already working with our Father, what can be done until a battle ensues? There aren't many ways of handling celestial beings."

"He's working with Kronos," Percy told his father. "But Kronos hasn't been fully resurrected yet- his sarcophagus was on Mount Othrys."

Father leaned forward, suddenly intrigued by his nephew.

"And what are you suggesting, sea spawn?"

"To meet Luke's requests," Percy answered very simply. "I don't know what they all were, but I could guess. Meet with him and Thalia, because she is also with him, and discuss what his demands are. If it's not too late, grant what you can- not what you want, because that's what got us into this mess in the first place, right? Grant what you can, or put an action plan in place for those terms to be met so that way Kronos never has to be fully resurrected. His sarcophagus can get destroyed or whatever has to happen to keep him in Tartarus and then we prevent a war and numerous deaths from happening. Is that not the most logical route to take? If somebody has a better idea, I'm all ears- as much as I want to die, I'd like to decide when that happens instead of a prophecy telling me when."

As a blanket of tension covered the throne room, I saw Father and Athena have a silent discussion, I think both of them not wanting to admit that this might be the best plan we have to prevent a war from breaking out.

Especially since it came from Percy's mouth, and not Annabeth's or Jason's.

"Fine," Father concluded. "Within reason, we will meet with my daughter and Luke Castellan to discuss their demands. All Olympians, along with Chiron, will be required to attend this meeting. If council members would like to join, they are also welcome. Once we're able to track down the two of them, I'll have Hermes issue a notice for everyone to know when we agree to meet. Do either of you have anything else to say?"

Both Percy and Annabeth shook their heads.

"Does anyone else have any comments?"

Silence.

"Then consider the matter closed for today." Father said. "What else is on our roster that must be discussed?"

As the meeting continued, I found myself stuck in my own thoughts.

The next time we met, we would be meeting with my son.

The son that apparently doesn't like me.

The son who was willing to end my life in the name of the demigods he cares about.

I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Sure, it was a noble cause, but at what cost? Surely, the wrecklessness has to weigh out the benefits at the end of everything.

Did he know that? He must've.

Then why would he have agreed to it in the first place?

I suppose we'll find out.

Just not today.

Today is for me to sit and wonder why. A question that also won't get answered today. A question that has a million answers, none of which will be as satisfying as we want them to be.

Why?

Notes:

An almost 8k chapter for u <3 ur welcome

Anyways BIIIIG plot changes happening how are we feeling

Chapter 91: Thank The Gods That Worked

Percy Jackson

A negotiation was not in the plans that we discussed at Luke's apartment. I just realized that, if I shut up, it would seem suspicious, so I kept talking.

Chiron was far from happy, but that's okay, because I don't have to return to Camp until summer— if I return at all.

I have to admit that the feast after the meeting was delicious, and I was in such a good mood from the food and from getting to be attached to my boyfriend's hip for reasons that weren't related to having a mental breakdown that I didn't know how to react when my sperm donor approached us.

Can you blame me? I was having a good night, and the last time we spoke...

Well, okay, the only time we spoke, he called me a mistake and apologized for the fact that I was born.

"There he is, my little hero," Poseidon's voice cut through the air as he approached, a smile that said he would be proud of me if this wasn't an expectation of me to meet (what this is, I'm not sure). It just seemed fake. "Three successful quests is no simple feat, Perseus, you should be proud."

With that, and before I could answer, my bio dad attempted to pull me into a hug, or maybe he was just going to put a hand on my back, I'm not sure.

Regardless, and just like last time, I didn't like it, so I pulled away. Stepping closer to Grover, my boyfriend was able to sense my discomfort. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he provided a barrier for me against Poseidon that I was grateful for.

Poseidon's smile turned strained.

"Still odd about personal space are we?"

I didn't say anything.

"That's fine." He said, even though it was obviously not fine. "This one of your friends? I didn't realize satyrs hung around with humans more than they have to. Keeping Perseus company? I know he's always had a hard time making friends."

How would he know that?

"Percy." I corrected him, just like I did last time, meaning he was choosing to ignore it. "Never Perseus. And I have friends— Grover is my boyfriend, so you don't need to act like he's my escort or something. It's not his job to keep me company."

This fact seemed to surprise the god.

"Oh! I see— my appoogies, it's not everyday that I see nature spirits date non-nature spirits." Zeus apologizing to Hera for having an affair would've sounded more genuine than my sperm donor did. "I suppose you're still young, so those differences still seem meaningless in your life. But then again, you lot don't tend to live all that long. Which, really, is a shame. Maybe we'd get to know each other better if you lived longer."

And maybe I won't wake up tomorrow. My brain retorted. You wouldn't even care.

"Yeah, well, you guys have the power to make that happen." I chose to extend my life until sometime around the middle of the night instead of having it end right now my pissing off the god of the blob fish. "The Romans live pretty long lives compared to us, so it's not like there's not a way for it to happen."

My father chuckled.

"Yeah, well, we'll see what Luke and Chiron have to say— I'm afraid that's Chiron's department more than it is ours, kiddo." And because he always wants to think we're buddy buddy, he decides to call me kiddo. "trust me, I'll argue for it. The only thing I can do besides go to the meeting is offer you a room in the palace— it would be safer than New York City, but something tells me you wouldn't want to leave your mom. You'd be miserable?"

I shrugged.

"More miserable than I already am? That's no easy feat to manage, but you're probably right." I could agree with the Olympian on that much at least. My initial comment seemed to peak his interest as somebody dragged Grover away, leaving me alone with my bio dad. I crossed my arms. "I wouldn't want to move out of my parent's place."

"Your parent's... That's right, your mother married Dionysus' son." The god recalled, tilting his head and refocusing his gaze. "But you're miserable? Percy, son, you've just accomplished an amazing feat: returning from a third hero's quest alive. I understand that a young demigod is missing, so I could understand why you may be worried or stressed about this child, but miserable? You should be thrilled not only about the quest, but that you and that Annabeth girl spoke with such conviction during the meeting. You should want to celebrate those victories like your peers are. You and your boyfriend, as odd as I find it that you're dating a satyr, should be singing and dancing together. What is there to be miserable about? You're so young."

I looked down, wondering if he deserved the truth.

If he actually wanted the truth or if he was putting up an act.

It's hard to tell with gods. If they're acting or not. If their care is genuine or if they just want to get you to stop talking as soon as possible so they can talk.

Trust me, I've started to notice how many gods and immortal beings are just... Selfish.

So is Poseidons concern genuine? I don't know.

But if it's not, maybe he'll go away if I make things uncomfortable.

"Yeah, well, I guess there's just something wrong with my brain." I knew it was a shitty way to phrase it as it came out of my mouth, but I honestly don't care about my relationship with Poseidon, so I didn't care about how I sounded right now. "Probably because I tried to kill myself like three weeks ago after also trying to this summer, so..." I shrugged. "At least I'm here, right? Might not be tomorrow, or maybe in a few weeks I'll try again and see if it goes anywhere, who knows. Mom and Gabe are renewing their vows later this week and they're finally throwing the wedding they always wanted, so I should at least pretend to be happy during it. Not that I'm not happy for them, I'm just... Kind of numb most of the time until things become overwhelming, so."

There was a pause as my sperm donor took the news in.

"Oh." He said, his lips staying in the shape of an O for a few seconds before he continues. "I didn't realize you... Tyson didn't mention that when he moved in. He didn't mention anything of the sort, actually."

"Yeah, well that's because it happened after he left, so he wouldn't have had any way to know because we haven't spoken since he left." I tried to bite back my bitterness about Tyson leaving because I know that nothing about Tyson was meant as a jab at me or to mock me or to hurt me, but him leaving camp early... Did a lot damage. Mostly because I was alone in my cabin again, which is historically very bad. "Not that— I'm not mad at him, even though that's how it sounds, it's just the truth. It happened after he left. After..."

But it's a question that drove me insane last summer. It's the question that pushed me over the edge. The question that put my in the infirmary.

"You called Tyson after the quest?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I called not long after you guys returned to congratulate him and to mention him staying with me. Since he didn't even have the option of staying with a mother. It wasn't a very long conversation."

But it wasn't the length of their conversation or the topic of it that I cared about.

"You've never called me before."

Because it's not that I care about my relationship with Poseidon. It's the fact that I don't want to care about it.

For over twelve years, I didn't care about who the man that my mom fucked was. Because I had a dad, and I still do. Gabe always has been and always will be my dad.

And after meeting Poseidon for the first time, I tried to push it off like it was nothing. Like him saying that he wished I'd never been born didn't hurt— like it didn't feed into my depression because I shouldn't care about what he thinks about me.

He's never been there, so why should I care?

My second summer, I started with that same attitude, until...

Until Tyson left.

Until I found out that he did seem to care about one of us. That he wanted to talk to one of us. That be wanted to see one of us.

But only one of us.

And that wasn't me.

That person wasn't me, and suddenly I was alone again and I couldn't understand how Poseidon could tell me the only time that we'd ever met how he wanted to be there for me growing up, but he couldn't even be bothered to send me an IM. To write me a letter.

To actually show that he cares about me.

I don't want to care about what my bio dad thinks of me because for most of my life, I had no reason to care. Because he was a nameless man with no face. It's easy to not care about somebody you know nothing about. It's easy to dismiss somebody you don't know.

But now I know him.

Now I know him and I don't understand why he doesn't want to know me.

Is it because of how mean I was the first time we met?

Is it my fault?

"I... I mean, that's the only time I ever sent Tyson an IM," he tried to justify. "And we had already met by then, Pers— Percy. Sure, we hadn't called, but we'd spoken in person. Again, I didn't think you'd want to move out of your mom's place, so an IM didn't feel warranted. Why? Did you want an IM from me?"

But it's such a complicated question that, for somebody like me who is so easily set off by the littlest things now, it got to me.

It's ridiculous, but I was barely folding it together while standing in the middle of the coolest party I'II probably ever stand in my life because there's something wrong with me.

"I don't know if...." Not trusting myself to hold it together if there was a trace of disappointment on his face, I kept my face angled down towards the floor, my eyes sealed shut, my arms wrapped around me tight. "I don't know. I don't know if I wanted an IM, but I... I spent weeks after Tyson left wondering why you seemed to care about him more than me— why you claimed him immediately, why you called him, why you invited him to live with you and I was... And I was mad because I didn't want to care, but I did. I didn't want to care what you thought because I spent almost my entire life not caring about you, but now it's like I have no choice but to care and it's exhausting and I just... I couldn't understand why you were so willing to be so involved with Tyson to just leave me hanging, and I didn't know if it was my fault because of how hesitant I was when we met— if it was my fault, or if I did something and... And that's why..."

Feeling like my lungs would collapse on me at any second, I pressed my palms into my temples, struggling to maintain control of myself.

Why doesn't he care about me like he says he does?

•••

The next time I was conscious, I was no longer in the party room on Olympus.

Based on my surroundings, and on the amount of white marble, I'm pretty sure I was still on Olympus, but I couldn't see or hear the party.

When did I get here?

Also, how did I get here? How long...?

"Percy?" And, as always, Grover was able to sense my return with our mental link. His voice made me realize that he was sitting next to me, holding my hand.

My hand, which was connected to an arm that had a fresh bandage applied to the forearm.

Cool. I thought to myself. I had a complete meltdown in front of my father.

I guess it got the point across, right?

Feeling drained, I just responded to my boyfriend by readjusting to rest my head on his shoulder.

"Hey, Percy," Michael Yew said, which made me realize that he was sitting across from me, though a little to the left. Glancing up, I could see Michael, but I could also see Poseidon and Apollo towards the back of the room, sitting and talking. "Can you hear me?"

I nodded.

"Can you talk?"

My silence was answer enough.

"That's alright, I know it takes a while for you to come around after a breakdown like that, I'm just checking." The son of Apollo said. "I also know you don't like to heal with ambrosia or nectar if it's not absolutely necessary, so I bandaged you up, but there's some ambrosia and nectar on the table right here if you need or want it at all, okay? There's also some water."

I nodded my head again.

"Okay, then I'm going to head back out with the others," he insisted. "You can obviously tell that Grovers in here with you, but both of our dads are in here, and at one point in time so was Mr. D, so we're not leaving you alone, because I don't think it's a good idea to leave you alone, right?"

Agreeing with the last statement, I shook my head to confirm that, no, it would be an awful idea if I were to be left alone right now.

Mom and Dad are going to hate hearing about this when I get home.

For a minute, Grover and I just sat there as he rubbed my back and I felt awful and guilty for subjecting him to another breakdown because I know that he can sense and feel them probably a lot more intensely than he let's on.

He also gave me a kiss on my temple, reminding me of how much he loved me.

What did I do to deserve somebody as good as Grover?

"Percy Jackson, hey, glad to see you back with us." One of the more annoying gods that I've met interjected before Grover and I could have a sappy moment together. "Also glad to see that my son seems to be an expert at handling things like this. How you feeling? Not 100%, I'm sure, but... Mr. D mentioned that you were in the hospital not that long ago when he saw us coming in here? Was that hospitalization related to what just happened now?"

I nodded my head.

"Okay, that's good to know," the god continues in a really soft voice, which I appreciated. "We're you only in the hospital, or were you somewhere that you spent the night? Like a facility or a treatment place?"

I nodded, but that doesn't completely answer his question.

"He was in a mental health facility." Grover clarified for the god of medicine. "For 19 days before you saw us in Maine."

"And how long had you been out when I saw you in Maine?"

I shrugged.

"Like a day."

Apollo's hands dropped to his side, a slight look of disbelief crossing his face.

"A... A day?"

I didn't respond, my silence confirmation for his question.

"Percy, why would you go on a mission a day after getting out of a mental health facility?" The god asked as if I wasn't sitting next to the reason why. "And then you stayed at camp after that? Why?"

"Because... Because I was fine at the school," I insisted, looking down. "And I wanted to hang out with my friends. I was also a little worried about Nico, but mostly I missed my friends after being basically isolated for three weeks. I was mostly fine until Mr. D like... Triggered a really bad panic attack. It's just been downhill since then. I have a party to go to tomorrow and then probably I'll end up back in the hospital."

"For the same reason as before?"

I shrugged.

"Probably."

I felt awful admitting that in front of Poseidon, and while I was sitting next to the person who's life quite literally relies on me staying alive.

After all, I don't want to feel like this. But I can't think of a better way to get the feeling to stop.

I know it hasn't been long, but therapy hasn't done much for me, and I'm worried that it won't help. Or, that it won't be enough. That eventually my therapist could reach the same conclusion as me— that suicide is just the easiest answer.

Even if it's not the right one, and I know it isn't, it would be easy.

The god stood, and just like any other deity that's heard about this issue, he offered no real help.

"I see." The god of medicine rose. "Well, as of right now, I can only encourage you to pursue therapy and to speak with your pediatrician or a psychiatrist about these feelings in a setting that isn't mandated— maybe ask your mom to schedule you an appointment. You might even benefit from having a service animal, depending on how frequent your panic attacks are. If they're as severe as the one you just had, I'd recommend it. That's about all I can suggest or do without my father threatening to zap me to bits, so start there— who knows, maybe after this meeting with Hermes' son, I can offer real help. Sorry kid. I know you're struggling but... My hands are tied."

Looking down, I tried to contain my frustration.

"Yeah." I stifled out. "Thanks."

My hands are tied— you can't even tell me which antidepressant would be the most effective for me?

This is stupid.

With that, the sun god vanished in a burst of light. When I looked up, my father was still there, looking like he didn't know how to start a conversation again after I clearly wasn't able to handle our last one.

"Percy?"

Why did I have to find out you existed? The thought remained in my head, luckily. Life was so much easier before I knew who you were.

The only good thing to come out of finding out who my dad was, I guess besides the fact that I made friends, is that Gabe stopped drinking. But even then...

Even then, it was fine when I was at camp before I was claimed.

Before the majority of camp pushed me away in self defense.

Not that I blame them, but... It hurt.

It still hurts. Watching kids give me looks of pity, and other kids steering away from me because they're scared.

Not many kids are scared of me, but there's a few of them who heard the fight I had with Ares and so... There's more than 0 campers who I can tell are afraid of me.

I try to not think about it.

"I'll... Leave you to recover." My sperm donor decided, which seemed appropriate for him— to find me in a state of disrepair, only to do nothing about it. "We can talk later, when you're... More stable."

No check in.

No signs of concern or worry.

No words of encouragement.

Hell, not even a "I hope you feel better soon" that even Chiron had the decency to give me when things got bad this summer.

That was it.

Poseidon got up and walked out of the room.

I was pissed.

Notes:

Heyyyyyy sorry guys I got writer's block and then I started hyperfixating on spy family and have been working on a fic for that as well but I'm back!!!

Chapter 92: It's Been A While Since We've Spoken

Notes:

"I'm back" *proceeds to neglect uploading for a month even though this chapter has been written for quite some time now*

Sally Jackson

I wish I knew what to do whenever I visited my parents.

Mostly because they're dead and I only have a couple memories of them. When they died in that plane crash, I wasn't old enough to understand death or to have a lot of memories of my parents that would stick with me into adulthood. But I was old enough to know how wrong everything felt when they were gone.

I'm pretty sure that the older you get, the more "at peace" you're supposed to become with things like the death of family members, but the older I get...

When Hades had kidnapped me and told me that Zeus wanted my son dead, I wondered if it was Zeus that killed my parents or if it really was some freak accident.

Could Zeus have known that I would give birth to Percy when I was that young?

It's hard to tell what the gods know. But ever since Hades told me about Zeus' hatred towards Percy, I can't help but wonder about the true cause of my parents' death.

I don't visit their graves that often. My uncle and I visited regularly when I was young, but when he started to get sick we had mostly stopped.

Now he's buried next to them.

I wish I knew where my grandparents were. If they were still alive.

My father's parents are dead, I know that much, because that was my uncle's parents. They died not long before my parents did. Or, one died before I was born, and the other died before my parents did.

But I can't say I ever knew much about my mom's parents. Both of my parents immigrated here, but my dad immigrated with his family— my mom immigrated on her own once she was an adult.

It would've been nice to try to track them down for the reception, but after Percy ended up in the hospital... Things got hectic. The idea got away from me.

"Hey, Mom. Dad." I said as I set down some flowers— the same kind as the ones that would be decorating the reception. "sorry that I haven't visited in a while, it just... Got away from me. Things have been hectic again."

Even though they've never once responded to me talking, because they're dead, I still paused as if they might decide to show up today.

"Percy was in the hospital again." I told the three people that collectively raised me. The three people that never got to meet Percy. "he was managing for a while getting to call and write Grover and to see Thalia and Luke around, but it slowly just... He spiraled and he didn't do anything, but he admitted to wanting to and... He was there for three weeks, give or take, and now he's out and I think he might be worse."

I swallowed.

"I know he's worse," I rephrased, placing a hand over my stomach and closing my eyes. "He got out of the hospital just in time to watch a girl his age sacrifice herself and to have her little brother blame him for what happened before running away and... He blames himself for it. He came home the day before the solstice nearly inconsolable, and either his boyfriend or Gabe's dad has been staying at the apartment every night since he's been home, just because having another person means he's less likely to attempt, and I..."

I sealed my lips, taking a breath.

Stay calm, Sally. Breathe.

"I hate that that's something we have to actively think about now," I went on, feeling myself tear up. "but it's... It's our everyday now. If we're up later than him, we check to make sure he's okay when we go to bed, and if we get up before him, we check, and I just... I'm afraid that we'll lose him. He's my baby, and I... I know that because of his father, the chances of him dying younger are higher, but I don't want that to happen because he wants it to. I don't want you guys to get to know him before you get to know me, like..."

"I'm worried that I'm doing things wrong." I admitted out loud to somebody that wasn't Gabe for the first time since Percy met his dad. "The only thing I'm confident about right now is my relationship with Gabe— he stopped drinking, I don't know if I mentioned that. We're renewing our vows tonight and finally throwing the reception we always wanted. Alcohol free, of course— he's sober and I'm pregnant, which is something we're going to announce at the party. But how I... How do I introduce another kid into our family when so much of our time and energy is spent on worrying about Percy right now? I want Percy to have a younger sibling— we both do, and he also said that he would like to be an older brother, but that was... That was before everything happened."

Thinking to myself, I wiped away the couple of tears that had fallen. Feeling the baby kick, I exhaled.

"I just don't want him to feel like we're replacing him or that we're pushing him away from home because of the baby." I concluded. "I mean, I hate it now when he has to go to camp— I'm only going to hate it more this summer if he decides to go, because if gods forbid something happens... He's alone in his cabin most of the time, what if they don't realize something happened?"

But now I could hear my uncle's voice in my head— the things he always told himself and told me after he got his diagnosis.

"But what if things get better?" I echoed his motto— the one I try to remind myself of in times like this. "I was so worried that Gabe would never be about to sober up, no matter what happened. That he'd completely lost himself to it, but he's been sober for over a year now and it's the best thing that's happened to our marriage. So maybe Percy gets better, but right now it's just the worst years of his life. It's hard to say."

Knowing I didn't have much time to hang around if I wanted to take a nap before I had to get ready for tonight, I stood.

"I suppose only time will tell. I should head, out, though— sorry that I didn't have a better attitude. I'm excited for Gabe and I to renew our vows and I'm excited for the baby, but I'm also worried. I'll talk to you guys— oh my gods!"

Looking beyond the graves, I was jumpscared by one of the only people I didn't expect to see today: Poseidon.

"Poseidon." I said, skeptical as I took a few steps towards him. "hi."

"Hello, Sally," the god returned with a soft smile— one that used to make my stomach turn into a billion knots when I saw it. Now it makes me nervous. "Sorry, I wasn't intending on scaring you. I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I know your parents are buried here."

How does he know my parents are buried here?

I mean, standing here, he can read the tombstones. But how did he know I'd be here?

"Hm? Oh, no, I was just about to head back home." I answered his question. "I just try to visit from time to time. Everything okay? Something didn't happen to Percy, did it? He just got back home."

"Our son is fine as far as I'm aware," but the way he called Percy our son felt weird, not because it was wrong, but because I know Percy doesn't necessarily return the sentiment of thinking of Poseidon as his father. "Or, at least, he's alive, and nothing has happened that I would've been informed of either by Chiron or by my brother. While the subject has to do with Perseus, it has nothing to do with concerns of his safety— I don't think."

"You... Don't think?"

As we walked in the direction of the apartment, a part of me secretly worried that Poseidon knew about how closely Percy and Luke have been working with each other these last 18 months or so. If that's what this was about.

"It's... Hard for gods to understand mortal issues." My former lover reminded me, which is something I knew perhaps too well. "Which is what this seems to be. But Perseus and I spoke the other day, during the winter solstice, and it went not nearly as well as I expected it to."

Percy talked to his dad?

He didn't mention that when he got back.

Maybe it was before he had the panic attack or break down or whatever it was, so he didn't think to mention it. Maybe it was just small talk so he didn't find it important enough to mention.

But if that's the case, why is Poseidon here?

He paused.

"Not that I expected our son to run up to me and ask to play catch— if that's something that mortals fathers still do with their sons." I chuckled at that clarification, because it was such a silly idea: Percy and Poseidon playing catch together. "I understand that I am not around, and that he takes that personally. That, for him, it makes our relationship appear to be strained, even if I don't share that same sentiment. He was very cold the first time we met, and I had mostly excused it seeing as our world was still so new and you had nearly died in his eyes and he had just completed a quest, so it was understandable that he was tense, but... He was still very cold. At the solstice, I mean. He was very guarded and closed off until suddenly he wasn't, and when he wasn't..."

Poseidon paused, debating his next statement.

"Did Percy ever talk to you about Tyson this summer? I know that you knew of him, being the boys went to school together before camp, but did he speak of what happened at camp after the year ended?"

"Did he... About Tyson being his brother, or about the quest the two of them went on with Annabeth?"

"Either, I suppose."

Thinking back on what Percy has told me about this last summer— or Grover, for that matter, I realized how little Percy told me about the actual events of camp.

Like, he talks about his friends quite a bit and we get the basic story of a quest if he goes on one, but... That's it.

"He uh... I know he was really sad after Tyson left camp," I told the god, racking my brain for any more details from my son's summer. "I don't think he ever told us, or at least me, why Tyson didn't stay, just that he hated having his own cabin because it felt empty and lonely. We made a couple visits to camp after that, since he wasn't doing well. He'd mention that he missed Tyson. That he felt bad for how he treated Tyson their first few days at camp. Why?"

"He never mentioned me when he talked about Tyson leaving?"

I shook my head.

"No, why? You didn't have something to do with that, did you? Percy doesn't really... Talk about you that much."

Averting his gaze, Percy's father informed me of the fact that he had a heavy hand in Tyson leaving camp early because he had invited Tyson to live with him.

"Oh." I said. "So you invited the boys to stay with you instead of stay at camp for the summer? Without... Mentioning it to anybody else?"

Poseidon sealed his lips.

"It... Wasn't a summer thing." He clarified. "and because it wasn't a summer thing, and because our first meeting went so well, I didn't even consider giving Percy the same offer. After all, he'd never leave you, Sally— he went to the Underworld for you. Not for me."

"Yeah, well... You were never there for him," I pointed out. "Even if it's because of rules you had no control over, you still weren't in his life, so that shouldn't surprise you. So Tyson left because you gave him a place to stay— did you talk to Percy at all after the quest this summer?"

"Well... No."

"So why did you feel the need to track me down? Is Tyson worried Percy's mad that he moved?"

"No, Tyson isn't... Tyson's doing great, I think he's sent a few letters to Percy, but I don't really know." The god continued as we waited a few blocks away from the apartment for a signal to turn green for us to continue walking. "I was just wondering if you've heard anything about this from Percy because I think he's upset or mad with me. We spoke the other day at the solstice meeting, and he went on this long tangent that turned into this crying episode where I really couldn't understand him, so I got Apollo to help and his goat boyfriend came to help as well— weird relationship those two have, but once he calmed down again, he was tired and didn't seem like he wanted to talk. So we didn't. I just wanted to make sure things are alright with Perseus and I, because things were intense the other day."

"You wanted to..."

As we crossed the street, I pondered the number of ways that I could to explain to the father of my son that he was delusional.

"Poseidon," Stopping at the corner, two blocks from the apartment, I rested my hands on my stomach. An instinct I'll have to fight until we make the announcement during the party tonight. "Listen to yourself talk. Unless something drastically changes, things are never going to be alright between you and Percy. Yeah? He never wanted you in his life, and his mental health has only declined since you and your family became prevelant. That's enough to be at a disadvantage with him, but if you invited your other kid to stay with you and not him? It'd be more than reasonable for him to be upset about that— especially if you didn't talk to him at all, much less about it."

"But I thought he wouldn't want to..."

"He probably wouldn't want to stay with you, you're right," I agreed with his point there. "But you're still supposed to offer it to him so he has the chance to say no if he wants to. You not offering, you not even saying anything to him, but having Tyson move in with you immediately, sends a very clear message to him that you either don't want him or don't care about him. I don't care how true the statement is, that's how he perceived it. So if you want to fix things, you have to figure it out with him, not with me."

"Sally—"

Reaching out as I unlocked the apartment door, Poseidon went to grab my hand.

Immediately, I pulled away.

"I have a husband, Poseidon," I reminded my ex, who's expression dropped at the rejection. As if that rejection were anything new. "A husband that I'm renewing my vows with tonight. So if you don't mind, I have a party to get ready for. Don't reach out to Percy until at least tomorrow, if you do at all— he needs a fun night, and he deserves for you to not ruin it for him."

"E— woah, sorry." Eddy said as he was sneaking out of the apartment complex, instantly clocking the tension between Poseidon and I. He was probably meeting Gabe down the block at wherever they're getting ready for tonight. "everything okay?"

Poseidon didn't move. I looked him up and down.

"Fine, Eddy, thank you." I reassured one of Gabe's oldest friends. "Go home, Poseidon— or anywhere that isn't here. Your company isn't wanted."

"But—"

"Did I stutter?" I repeated myself. "go."

•••
Luke Castellan

When I saw Hermes in my closet mirror, I seriously pondered if Kronos had somehow sent a vision to see if I'd go crazy or not.

My first reaction upon seeing the god of thieves in the mirror was to move the mirror so he'd be out of frame and then move it back, thinking he'd vanish. After all, there's no way my father would come visit me.

Not after the things Annabeth was supposed to tell them that Percy and co. would've had to back her up on. Verify.

But no. He was... Still there. In the mirror.

Very funny. I thought to the Titan.

What? He thought in return, sounding offended.

Maybe if I ignore Hermes, Kronos will make it go away and—

"Luke." The voice caused me to pause because it was identical to how he sounded the only time we ever spoke personally. "I am no vision— I know you can see me in the mirror."

Hesitating, I turned around to face the father who was really good at doing anything but be there for any of his kids.

"Sorry for being skeptical— it's not like we've spoken since I left Mom's. What do you want?"

Opening his mouth, Hermes considered his words carefully. Closing it again, he reached a hand out.

"I..." but for being the god of messengers, my father struggled to find his own words. His hand dropped. "Annabeth Chase told us during the solstice— what you've been up to."

I shrugged.

"And?" I prompted. "What, did Zeus hearing his dad's name scare him, so he sent you to talk to me? The last time we spoke, I lived in Connecticut with Mom. So again, why are you here?"

My aggression caused him to take a step back. He looked down, noticing something on my hand. His expression turned from apologetic and sad to confused.

"You're... Engaged?" My dad asked, pointing out the ring that Thalia gave me the other day after I gave them their birthday present. "apologies, that's off topic, and I swear I'll answer the question, but... You're engaged? To who?"

Looking down at the band, I moved it around with my other hand.

"It's more of a... Promise than an engagement ring." I clarified, seeing him take a breath of relief for some reason after that. "so I hopefully don't... Forget things later on. It was Aphrodite's idea, apparently— she mentioned it to Thalia on the quest. Thalia bought them after we got back to New York."

"So you don't forget..." My father lost his voice as his expression slowly dropped, an expression I've gotten used to ever since it's become public knowledge that I won't let somebody else clean up my mess for me. "You're not..."

Hermes mouth hung open. His eyes glossed over— somebody that both angered and saddened me all at the same time because he should be sad that this is what it came to, but he never acted like why he cared before, so why start now?

"I thought she was just speculating— Luke, if you try to host a titan, you'll burn up, you can't... No mortal body could handle the physicality of that, and the mental load... He'll kill you, Luke." But this is a warning I've been given before. It has little affect on me by this point. Taking a step towards me, my dad put his hands on my shoulders. It startled me. "Hell, I could barely handle the mental load of something like that. If, by some miracle, you survived that, Luke, you'll be so much worse than your mother was after her incident with the Oracle."

But the way he looked at me...

Hermes seemed desperate for me to understand his point. For me to reassure him that I wasn't stupid enough to do this.

He looked at me like he was wondering if I was already gone.

He looked at me the way I used to look at Mom.

It terrified me.

"Luke, you can't... Look, I know I'm an awful father," the god admitted straightway. "I didn't come here to convince you I'm not because I get it, I always have, but this..."

My dad's eyes softened, a layer of confusion washing over them.

"I watched you advocate for every kid in that camp for what? Five years? Six years?" He reminded me, a point that nobody has ever mentioned. "And I know the point of this is that we didn't listen to you— Chiron didn't listen to you. But if you do this, Luke, what are you forcing those kids to go through? Possible battles? A war? One that, if you don't have control over yourself and your body, you might not even get what you want out of. Who benefits from that, Luke? How many ideas did you exhaust before you settled on this?"

He paused.

"Or was it not your idea in the first place?"

Confused, I asked what he meant by that question.

"Stealing my father's lightning bolt," Hermes elaborated. "Poisoning the borders of Camp Half Blood. Planning to go to war. We're those your ideas? Or was it... Somebody else's?"

Gah! What right does he have to know who's created our plans to reclaim the power of the Olympians. Kronos said in my mind. This god hasn't been there for you like I have, Luke. Don't let him get to you.

I looked down.

"Some of it was mine, some wasn't," I lied. "That's what happens when you work with somebody— you have to compromise."

"And the lives of the demigods you fought so hard to protect get stuck in the middle of that compromise?"

"Who said there would be a war?"

"Luke, you nearly incited a civil war by taking the Master Bolt," he reminded me, which I hated to admit was a good point. "You know what Kronos wants— that won't happen without a fight. The question is if it's all of us against him, or if you remain with him."

There was a pause.

"It's just something to think about." The god of messengers insisted, taking a step back. "remember what you're fighting for— who you're fighting for. Percy and Annabeth, well mostly Percy, talked Zeus and the rest of us into arranging a meeting with you to discuss demands so we don't have to go to war with your great grandfather. Chiron will be there as well. After hearing about the situation at camp, I think a lot of us— or, at least half of us, are a lot more open to being critiqued as parents. Just remember— we're made to be perfect at some things, but we're not perfect parents."

Opening my mouth, I choked on all of the possible responses I could've given my dad to that.

"I didn't... None of us expected perfection." I pointed out, trying to stay calm, knowing that if he pushed this subject, it wouldn't last for long. "It would be stupid if we expected gods to be perfect parents, but we expected you to still be there— we have entire cabins devoted to you guys. Hell, we're sorted by our parents at camp, so it would be so easy to see all of us at once. But no— the last time we spoke was before I went to camp. You issued me a quest without ever talking to me about it. Do you know how pissed off I was about that?"

Hesitating, Hermes asked how pissed I was about the quest.

"I was furious!" Raising my voice, I told a controlled breath. "Everything changed for the worse after that quest. I mean, it was a quest that's already been done before— what kind of honor was in that? You're one of the fastest gods, as well, so there was no reason you couldn't get an apple if you wanted it, so I threw the quest— figured that if you couldn't show your face to give the quest, even in a dream, then you wouldn't do it no matter how the quest ended, right? Getting back and becoming counselor immediately... It's no wonder that every other councilor steps down as soon as they can because being the counselor of cabin 11 is exhausting. Nobody gets along, the older unclaimed kids are always angry and envious of everyone else in the cabin, the claimed kids who don't have their own cabins feel out of place and like they don't belong— like they shouldn't be there, and the actual Hermes kids don't want the others there because it's so cramped in that cabin, it's... A miracle there hasn't been a civil war in that cabin before now. Plus, the new unclaimed kids require so much attention and... I spent years after that arguing with Chiron and Mr. D about how camp operated— or at least, how Cabin 11 operates and it... Never went anywhere. So fine, I wanted something to get done because I was angry and I was stressed and I was exhausted all the time— Kronos was in my dreams for a long time before I engaged with him. He said he could help fix the camp, he said he could bring Thalia back. So shoot me for caving, but what other option did I have? How many times did I beg and plead and talk and ask nicely for the things that we needed? It obviously wasn't working."

Taken back by my outburst, Hermes opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He looked stunned.

"I have no issue with how you do your job— I have absolutely no interest in overthrowing Olympus because I don't know a single demigod that would seriously want to ascend." I clarified, crossing my arms. "I have an issue with how you and every other god just decided one day that it was okay to abandon your kids like you aren't our parents. We don't expect perfect, but we expect something. Anything. You don't have to come out and play catch or whatever, but send the cabin a message or poke your head in if you're making deliveries anyways. I know that right now, technically, your hands are tied because of the no contact thing is a law, but why? That's such a stupid law, I... It's stupid and it hurts everyone. Both kids like Travis and Connor who have never gotten to meet you, I presume, and kids like me. You were around when I was little. Not a lot, but I knew you and you were there enough that I could always picture you in my mind. Until one day you stopped coming around, and I didn't understand why because Mom didn't understand why, and then the Oracle thing happened and..."

My voice trailed off as I was starting to lose steam.

"Luke, I am sorry about what happened to your mother," but the issue has always been that sorry doesn't do anything. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I am, and I couldn't... The Oracle is out of my control, as is health. Both of those things belong to Apollo. I couldn't fix your mother— I would've if I could've."

And that's it: the core misunderstanding.

"I never expected you to fix her instantly— I know that's out of your realm." I said in return. "If you could've, it would've been great, but I wanted you to help her if you couldn't fix her. Whether that was helping her go to therapy or sending her money because she couldn't work or... Something. Something so I could've gone to camp when I wanted to, not when I had no choice but to. I miss Mom. I miss cooking with her and helping her with restorations around the house and I miss going to the station with her to see how much stuff was needed to run a transit system and I... I don't know if I'll ever get that back, but I want to get those back, even if it's not the same."

Sucking his lips in, dad took in what I was saying.

"Then why don't you go and talk to her." Hermes suggested. "It's been ten years— see if she's made any improvements on her own. See if she's open to therapy or to seeing a psychiatrist. If she is, then we can talk about it before or after the meeting with the rest of the Olympians. If you agree to meeting with us, that is. Regardless, let me know, and we'll figure something out."

"Let you know? How am I supposed to track you down? I've never been able to get ahold of you before, how would I know how to now?"

He gave me a skeptical look.

"Did you ever try to?" But that was a good point. "If nothing else, you can always pray to me. It's not really prayer since you're my kid, but I'll hear it. I'll come find you. Okay?"

Hesitant, I nodded.

"And I'll meet with you guys— or, we will, I'll have a few people with me." I told the god of messengers. "And tell Mr. D that I'll need him to back me up when I talk with Chiron."

My father raised an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued.

"Oh? I'll pass the message on." He smiled. "I'm proud of you for sticking up for what you believe in, Luke— even if I don't like how you're doing it. Tell your mom I say hi."

"Tell her yourself." I returned, raising up the tie I had in my hand when he's gotten here. "I'll... Talk to you later. I have a not-wedding to go to with Thalia. You might want to console Mr. D about that when you see him— I heard he got uninvited."

"Getting denied of any reason to get out of that camp is enough to get his panties in a twist, I'm sure." Dad commented, pulling something out of his messenger bag. A small box with my name on it. "for you. You don't have to open it now— I was going to give it to you years ago and just... Never got around to it. So I'm sorry. I'll see you later, Luke— have fun tonight, and good luck with your mom."

Saying goodbye, I watched the god vanish as soon as he had appeared.

Leaving me with a box.

A box with my name on it. A box that wasn't a shoe box.

Convenient timing, Kronos piped in, sounding annoying. What, does he want to buy your love or something? Just throw it away.

But my dad's words rang in my ears, like they were stuck there, unable to make it all the way to my brain.

I'm proud of you for sticking up for what you believe in, Luke— even if I don't like how you're doing it.

I threw the box under my bed.

What on earth are you—

"I have a party to get ready for." I said out loud, hoping it'd shut the Titan up. "We can worry about the box later."

Notes:

Ok I'll double upload tonight to make up for abandoning this immediately after saying I was back that's my bad

Chapter 93: To Begin Again

Thalia Grace

Sally and Gabe's ceremony was gorgeous.

They renewed their vows at an indoor/outdoor venue, so the outside portion was in a glass dome where just a handful of us were there to watch them renew their vows. Me, Luke, Percy, Grover, and then their close friends and Gabe's mortal dad. There were also 3 seats left open for Sally's parents and uncle.

When Sally told Luke and I after the others left to go to Olympus that they wanted us at the actual ceremony because we were basically their kids by now...

I did not cry.

But I did have to take a really deep breath when I gave Sally a hug.

It was beautiful, though. Very blue, which was fitting for them. Sally still fit in her dress this morning, which made her a lot less stressed once she got it on.

After the ceremony, we helped convert the ceremony space into a memorial space that had a bunch of photos and moments from all of their years together. Some stuff even older, from when they were in high school but weren't dating yet. It'd be a designated "de-stress" zone if anybody needed to get away from the party tonight, which I thought was sweet, because I can guarantee that Percy will need it, and they know that.

As Sally and Gabe went to go talk to a vendor, I caught Luke looking at a few older photos of Sally with Percy— photos that Gabe must've taken. Percy looked like he was probably 3 or 4 years old, sitting on Sally's shoulders on the subway, acting like he was hanging from the top bar.

"You doing alright?" I asked my boyfriend, earning his attention. He smiled, but I could see something tugging at the back of his mind. Hopefully it wasn't Kronos— he's been talkative lately, according to Luke.

"Just thinking about my... Parents." He explained as I took his hand. "My dad came over earlier."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head.

"He... What? Hermes?"

Luke nodded, explaining to me what happened when the god visited the apartment earlier. The various things that were said between the two of them.

"He also gave me a box that he said he was going to give me like, years ago, which I just put under our bed because I don't... Know how to feel about it." My partner confided in me. "I mean, I don't know how to feel about any of it because it seemed genuine, but he's the god of deceit and like... But he's my dad and he was there, at one point in time. I was like... Little, but he still checked in on us until he suddenly stopped and..."

His voice trailed off, still looking at the photo of toddler Percy and Sally.

"Would it be stupid if I went to go see my mom?" Luke asked out loud. "I have no idea if she lives in the same house. I would assume so, but..."

"Luke, you've been talking about eventually going to see your mom ever since I've been back." I reminded the son of Hermes, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "it's still early in the day if you're thinking about going today— but I would definitely tell Sally and Gabe you're going if that's what you want to do. I think Sally would tell you to bring your mom back here for the party if she wanted to come so they could talk about you. And if you want me to come, I will. I know it's... A lot. To go back."

Thinking to himself, Luke nodded.

"Yeah." The taller demigod agreed. "Um, I think I might do that. Then I can at least try to be back for dinner? Unless things happen, but... Yeah. It's going to drive me crazy all night if I don't go."

I smiled.

"Then go talk to Sally and go see your mom." I insisted. "Do you want me to come with?"

Thinking about it, Luke eventually shook his head, insisting that he should do this on his own. He promised to keep me updated, though, which he would've done regardless, because I'm not letting him go back to Connecticut without giving me timely updates.

After I gave him a kiss for luck, Luke walked in the direction that Sally and Gabe had gone in, a little anxious, but with a purpose in his step.

"Where's he going?" Grover asked me. "Bathrooms the other way I thought."

"To his mom's," I said, causing Grover to stop in his tracks. I chuckled. "Right? He's been talking about it for a while, and I guess some stuff happened this morning so it's just... Nagging at him. He should be back tonight, though."

"Hmph." Grover hummed. "Good for him."

•••
Luke Castellan

Sally and Gabe virtually pushed me out (in an excited, encouraging way) the moment I mentioned my mom to them.

And, as Thalia predicted, Sally told me to let somebody know if I was bringing my mom back with me tonight.

I appreciated the extended invitation.

Walking towards Grand Central Terminal, I pulled out my cell phone along with a fully celestial bronze dagger (so there was no chance of mortals seeing it), typing in one of the only numbers I have memorized besides our home phone and Thalia or Annabeth's number: my best friend's parent's number.

Well, okay, maybe it's a stretch to still say we're best friends. Max was my best friend before I ran away— we were basically attached at the hip and he was the only person I warned about me running away. We were kids the last time we saw each other.

Now I was just hoping that he went to college and that he was home for winter break.

The phone rang twice before there was an answer.

"Hello? Geiger residence." A voice I still recognized as his mom's said over the phone. "Can I help you?"

"Amara, hi!" I began, adrenaline rushing because a part of me didn't think anyone would actually answer. "Sorry to call the home line, but I don't have Max's number. Is he home by chance?"

"Um..." She hesitated, her voice falling off. "Yes, he is. Can I ask who I'm speaking with? I don't think any of Max's college friends would have our home line."

"Oh, yes! Sorry, I... Forgot that my name doesn't appear when calling unknown numbers." I apologized. "It's Luke."

There was a beat of silence.

"Castellan." I finished. "Luke Castellan, like—"

I heard the landline drop out of Amara's hand, hitting the floor before she quickly picked it up again. Somebody in the background, I think her husband, Winston, asking if she was okay.

"Luke?" Her voice was almost desperate, and in hearing it, I realized how hard it was going to be to face not just my mom, but everyone else that I left behind in Westport. "You're alive? You're...? Are you okay? How did you end up in New York?"

Taking a breath, I forced the ball forming in my throat to stay down while I was in public.

"I'll... Explain and answer questions later. It's a long story, but I'm fine." I promised one of my mom's closest friends. "Can you put Max on please?"

Insisting that she could absolutely do that, Amara called out for her son, who seemed very confused when he was told that somebody was on the landline for him because "who still calls that thing anyways?"

A fair question, I'll admit.

"Hello?"

His voice jumpscared me because it was like his dad but not as low or as angry sounding.

He did not sound like that before puberty.

"Max, hey," I said, feeling stupid for leading with that. "what are you doing in like... Two hours."

"Wh... Eating lunch, probably? That's lunch time." My old friend figured. "Why? Who is this?"

"Who? Um... Luke." I introduced myself once again, stepping into the train station and looking to see when the next train towards New Hope takes off, since that line stops in Westport. "Luke Castellan, from elementary school? I know it's a been a while since I've been in town, but—"

"Wait, hold on." Max cut me off as I heard him walk away from where his parents must've been. "sorry, I'm just... You're alive? Dude, how? It's been what? Ten years? CPS didn't take you, did they?"

I might have paid for a cheaper ride than the one I was actually taking to get through the turnstile and wait at the platform for the next train.

Some things I get from my father, you know?

"CPS? No, they... No, they never came by as far as I knew." I promised my old friend. "but yeah, it's been about ten years now. I uh... I ran away. Mom couldn't take care of me anymore and my dad came by and there was a fight and it's a long story, but I ran away. Was on my own for a little while before meeting somebody else like me, a runaway who left because their parents couldn't take care of them, and eventually we found some long term shelter in New York, which is where I've been ever since. As of right now, though, I'm at Grand Central Station, about to get on the train headed to Westport, so... If you're not busy in roughly 96 minutes..."

I could hear Max roll his eyes, but smile as well.

"Did you call because you need a ride from somebody with a car?"

"...maybe, but I also wanted to talk to you." I leaned against a pole, seeing the south-bound train go by. "I've been thinking about going back for a while now, but doing it today was sort of a last minute thing and I'm trying not to freak out because my partner isn't coming with because I told them I'd be fine on my own and I'm fine but... It's also been ten years since I've seen my mom and I don't know what will happen when I do so I wanted to talk to somebody that seemed like a lot safer of a bet to be like, understanding and sane. Which is you. I don't know if that makes it better or worse that I called you, but..."

"Our moms are also like, best friends." Max pointed out. "I assume you haven't talked to your mom yet?"

"No, just you guys."

"Okay." He said in return. "well, my mom was going to head over there for lunch today anyways, so I'll tell her that you haven't talked to her, but maybe to like, try to prepare her to have you there? Are you going to stay here for a while or...?"

Again, even though he couldn't hear it, I shook my head.

"Not tonight I can't, I uh... Sort of ditched a not-wedding for this," I explained to my friend. "a friend of mine, he's more.like a little brother to me. But his parents, who have been looking out for me since I moved out on my own last year, never got to have a big fun wedding, so they're renewing their vows today and are throwing a big party tonight. I was there for the ceremony, but I'm missing the lunch and probably dinner for this. I said I'd try to be back for the party, but if things go well, I probably will visit. Bring my partner with. Make a week or a weekend of it. The train is almost here, though— do you want to text me so that way I can let you know when I've arrived? I'm uh, like 6 feet tall, still blonde, and have a scar on my face. I'm also dressed for a wedding."

Promising that he was sending a text as we spoke and that he'd make sure his mom didn't spoil the surprise for my mom, Max ended the call and I filed onto the train headed north.

I did have to kill two monsters not long after ending the call, but their remains got swept away after the Greenwich stop, and I was left alone after that. I texted Thalia that I secured a ride from the bus station and that the ride was going as smooth as could be expected for a demigod traveling solo.

At the Darien stop, a half hour or so away from Westport, two monsters did board the train, but they were dressed in professional clothing. It was some sort of serpentine creature, but it just sat down on the bus and talked on the phone for a stop, and then got off in South Norwalk. I don't think it even noticed me. The other one also paid me no mind as I exited the train in my hometown of Westport, Connecticut.

Getting off the train... I sat down on the first bench I could find, trying to soak everything in. The sight of the terminal hitting me harder than I expected.

My mom used to work here, until she couldn't work anymore. She loved it and I loved the days where I got to go with her.

After taking a moment for myself, I opened my phone to see that Max had texted to let me know he'd just parked and was heading inside. I texted Thalia to let him know I'd made it.

"Luke?" A voice that I now recognized as Max's earned my attention. I looked up, tucking my phone away. "Hey! Oh my god you.... Weren't lying about the scar. What happened to you?"

I rolled my eyes, standing up and letting out a nervous breath.

"Thanks, I know. I uh... I went on this trip a few years back, and a dog got me good. Owner said it was friendly, and it... Wasn't. Luckily there wasn't an infection or anything, but... It was a bitch to heal. Look at you, though! You're not blonde anymore."

"Oh, yeah, I got bored of being blonde," Max said, running his fingers through his hair which was now green. It suited him, I had to admit. "I've been dyeing it for a while now. Are you going to school now? I know Mom mentioned your number rang up as a New York number— going to NYU or something?"

"NYU? Gods no," I insisted as we stepped out of the station. "I'm taking one or two classes a semester at a community college— just one this semester. There's been so much other stuff going on and it's expensive and up until this last week, I lived on my own, so... I'm just taking it slow. I also have no idea what I want to major in."

"I get that— when I started school, I wanted to go for like, marketing or something, but I switched to graphic design with a minor in printmaking after my first year, so like... You'll figure it out. Even if figuring it out means realizing that you like, don't want to get an actual degree. Do you want to go straight to your mom's or do you want to take the scenic route?"

Knowing that I was on a slight time crunch, I told Max that we could go straight there.

"What about you?" I asked. "Outside of school, what have you been up to?"

He shrugged.

"Not much— the usual, I guess." My childhood friend answered. "Um, I try to come home on the weekends to give my mom a break with stuff around the house— work has been getting to her really bad. Dad tries to help, but he also works full time, so..."

"That still has to be a lot for you, though," I remarked. "Is your mom still an in home nurse?"

Max nodded.

"Yeah, she's a home health aid— works for herself now, rather than for a company." He confirmed as we turned off of the highway into my old neighborhood. "She still likes it, but... It's hard getting close to clients and whatever. When they start to get worse, health wise. Are you working right now, since you're only in school part time?"

"Uh, yeah, I work with a... Social justice program in Manhattan," I'll admit that that was an interesting way to lie about working with Kronos, but I don't know what Max or his parents know about my dad, so it was the safest answer. "helping kids that are homeless or kids with negligent parents. Trying to get them better resources and what not, make sure their caretakers are being held responsible for what happens under their care."

"Shut up, that's so cool. How did you even get into that?"

"Well..." I shrugged. "I was homeless and my dad is like... We've spoken twice in the last 10 years, despite him knowing where I was the entire time, so... If it sounds like a duck and it quacks like a duck... I was a perfect recruit to be a consultant for them."

"Your... Your dad?"

As we pulled into the driveway, Max put the car in park and looked at me, perplexed.

"Yeah?"

"You know him now?" Max questioned.

"I..." But I guess when I was younger, it was easier to say he wasn't in my life at all instead of saying that he cherry picked when he was in my life. "I always knew him— he's just never been around for longer than a day or two at a time. By the time we met, he wasn't in the picture more than a couple days a year, which is why I probably said I just didn't know him. It was easier to explain, and it's not like Mom was in a state to say any different, so..."

There was a moment of silence as he killed the engine.

The house still looked okay from the outside. Some paint on the door had chipped off, revealing the wood, and the siding was a little beat up, but it wasn't in complete shambles. Mom still had the same car— a black four door sedan that looked like it might be on its last leg. Behind it there was another car parked— I'm assuming Max's mom, based on what he said earlier.

"You gonna be okay in there?" Max's voice interjected my thoughts. "Do you want me to go in with you? My mom is inside— she knows you're coming. I think she told your mom that she was getting a surprise visitor, so she hopefully won't faint or anything."

I swallowed.

"Yeah." I reassured him. "Probably. Um... How long will your mom be here?"

Max shrugged, telling me he didn't know, but that she'd probably stay for a little while unless I wanted her to go.

Taking one last breath, I got out of the car and walked to the door.

For the last ten years, I never knew if I'd come back here. When I left, I had no intention of returning until I got my dad to promise to fix my mom. Until it would be safe to be with her again.

And then I realized that he couldn't do that if he wouldn't speak with me. If he avoided me at events on Olympus and never came to camp, it would never happen.

If he couldn't even speak to me to issue a quest, it wasn't going to happen.

So then I decided that if he wouldn't do it, I'd have to do it itself. Only issue: I didn't know how to fix it.

I didn't know if there was a way for mortals to fix it.

I annoyed the former Apollo counselor about it to no end, and mostly to no avail. I tried speaking directly to Apollo, but that god is so self centered it's sickening.

So I've saved money— not a ton, but what I've been able to. Trying to get the courage for this exact moment to see what state she's in— if she just needs the money to get by, or if she'd want it to pay for therapy or meds or something.

It'll never solve how severely the Oracle shattered her mind, but it could start to mend it. Allow her to control her mind again. To be herself again.

I knocked on the door, holding my breath.

What if she doesn't believe me? What if she believes I died or that—

"It's open!"

Opening the door, I barely got one foot in the door before being stopped by my own nostalgia.

The house... Hasn't changed.

At all. To my right, there was a hanging rack that still had my winter jacket on it, along with my rain jacket. From when I was 9.

Below it, a pair of my old sneakers were still mixed in with mom's shoes. My school backpack was also on the hanging rack— on the last hook, where I always kept it so Mom always knew where to put my school lunch.

Has she not touched any of my stuff? I thought to myself. Since I left?

"Oh, May, look!" Amara Geiger said, wiping her hands off as she stepped away from the kitchen, motioning for my mom, who was sitting at the island across from her, to turn around. "It's not Max— It's the surprise visitor I told you about."

Seeing my mom for the first time in a decade, I felt like that 9 year old boy again. I wanted to fall and weep.

Because I missed her.

Because she was still alive, and a part of me was terrified that she wouldn't have been able to survive without me there to remind her that humans had to eat and sleep.

Because I've had a decade to think about what I was going to say to her at this very moment, and in 10 years, I've come up with nothing.

To date, I don't know what they thought about my disappearance. If it was labelled a kidnapping or not. If I was assumed dead or not.

"Hi." My mom's the one that broke the silence, not recognizing me. "Are you one of Max's friends? We're just about to have lunch, if you're hungry."

She's speaking clearly.

"I..." Losing my voice, I wondered if she was just having a good day, or if she's gotten better since I left. "I— guess so, yeah. You could call Max and I friends."

Mom raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, boyfriends?" She corrected herself, a question that caught me off guard. "I know Max has one, I'm just surprised that he wouldn't be here to you introduce you. Come sit— I'm sure Max will be here soon. You didn't have to dress up to meet us, though. I'm not even Max's mom."

"Wh— oh, no, I'm not... Max and I aren't dating." I insisted, slipping off my shoes and stepping inside. "I um... I didn't know he wasn't straight. I was at a vow renewal before this, and I'm supposed to go to the reception tonight, which is why I'm dressed up. Um..."

Balling my hands into fists, I decided to extend my right hand out to my mom, who had just stood up, but was still next to the chair she was sitting in.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other," I elaborated, all of my nerves standing on end. "My name is Luke."

I paused as she had just started to shake my hand, when she stopped to look at it, and then look at me.

"I'm your son." I confirmed the thought that I could see sitting in the back of her mind, and I struggled to meet her gaze, suddenly terrified that she was going to be furious with me. "I uh... I'm home. Sorry that it took... 10... years."

A blanket of silence fell on top of us as Mom seemed to take the news in, I think debating the truth of it. She seemed to examine my hand before she cupped my face— a motion that terrified me, shame burning through me because now shitty of a son am I for doing what I did to her? How could I—

"Luke?" Mom asked, her thumb tracing the bottom of my scar. I don't know if she said it for her sake or for mine, because I was a little overwhelmed with emotions. My eyes misted. "Hey, it's okay, sweetheart, you're home now. You're alive. Are you okay? What happened?"

But it's one of the only things I could think of, so it fell out of my mouth before I could even think of how it sounded.

"You're okay." I said, processing her mental state. How clearly she's been speaking. "You... You've gotten better."

She smiled.

"It took most of the neighborhood's help, but I'm still healing." Mom confirmed for me. "When CPS showed up because you hadn't been in school for multiple days, and they realized you were missing, they forced me into rehab, which... Didn't work the greatest, but it was a step in the right direction. After that, Amara and a few other neighbors agreed to help take care of me which... I resisted. A lot. Because I'm an adult and I didn't think I needed it but... I did. I still have bad days and weird dreams, but it's a lot better than it was. I'm sorry that I put you through what I did growing up— I should've sent you to camp when you were young, like your dad wanted me to do. What... What happened when you left? I haven't seen your father since you left, despite my best efforts to get ahold of him. He didn't take you, did he?"

"He... No, he didn't— I've only spoken with him once since the last time he was here." I explained as she pulled me into a hug. "I uh... I left. The last time he was here, I asked him for help for you— I figured if anybody could fix it, he could. Or Apollo. But he said there wasn't anything he could do. After you had that last meltdown before I left, I decided that I was going to like, track him down and convince him or somehow get him to help, even if he couldn't just snap his fingers to get it done."

I paused.

"Turns out, he's really hard to track down— I was on the streets for like four or five years before making it to camp." I went on. "Eventually I gave up on that and when I got older, started to save money, figuring that I'd come back just... Eventually. If Dad wouldn't help, I would. A small part of me wishes I would've just stayed on the streets— camp was kind of miserable for me. But some good stuff came out of it, I guess. Dad appeared in my apartment when I was getting ready this morning, and he... He agreed to possibly help, but I'm not sure I believe him. If you feel you need the help. If not, then I'll tell him to forget it and get lost or whatever."

Mom rolled her eyes.

"I think I'm okay, but he is 19 years behind on child support, so if you need anything, I'd say he owes you." Mom told me. "Who's reception are you going to tonight? You said they were renewing their vows, so they can't be your age."

As we sat down, I told my mom about Sally and Gabe and how they've helped take care of me ever since I left camp. That Sally insisted she could come to the reception tonight if she were interested.

"In Manhattan?" Mom asked. "Is she sure? We've never met, Luke."

I shrugged.

"She insisted, saying that way you could meet her, Gabe, and I'm quoting her here, other important people in my life. You could sleep at the apartment tonight, if you wanted to come. The couch isn't a pull out, but it's still comfy. Thalia's little brother accidentally fell asleep on it the other day before him and his boyfriend had to catch their flight back to California. I've taken plenty of naps on it."

But something I said during that caught my mom's interest.

"I think I might have to go to that reception," she insisted, tilting her head. "who's Thalia?"

"W—what?"

"You said Thalia's little brother," Mom pointed out. "But who's Thalia?"

She leaned closer to me.

"Is Thalia one of the other important persons in your life?"

"Mom!" But even though I'm usually so proud and unashamed of my relationship with Thalia, it was embarrassing for my mom to ask about it with those exact words. "Why would you say that?"

I fear I was blushing.

My mom laughed.

"Well, Luke, I don't know if your dad or Chiron had time to tell you about this." She began, setting her fork down. "But when two people love each other very much..."

This was going to be a very long lunch.

Notes:

Hiiii may welcome to the plot <3 only one chapter left of this part guys it's been literally over half of this entire rewrite how did I do this (and then we're on to battle of the labyrinth)

Chapter 94: Some Things Never Get Easier (And I Hate It)

Notes:

yeah fuck it why not let's finish this part out

Percy Jackson

I wanted to have fun tonight.

"Luke said he'll be here in like 20 minutes with his mom," Thalia said as they joined us at the 'kids' table (which consisted of me, Grover, Thalia, Annabeth, and then Luke, when he gets back, and an empty seat— since Annabeth didn't have a plus one). "So things must've gone well. Has the server come by yet?"

"No, I think they just started taking orders." Grover told the child of Zeus. "Do you have Luke's order?"

"No, but I know what he likes."

I saw Annabeth resist rolling her eyes— something that got on my nerves more than it should've.

But I let it go, because she was able to control it. To stay civil.

When Luke arrived, though, with his mother in tow to meet all of us (which, for Luke and May both, I assume was a big deal), she didn't keep the same restraint.

"Hey, sorry, we weren't able to make the right train, so we had to wait an extra couple minutes." Luke said as he approached us. "Guys, this is my mom, May. Mom, these are my friends— my second family, more or less."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Oh, grow up," I told the daughter of Athena after she's been doing the same stuff all morning when we'd been getting ready for the ceremony and helped set the dome area up afterwards— because gods forbid she had to do something with Luke or Thalia, but especially with Luke. "You came here knowing who was on the guest list— be civil or go somewhere else."

I smiled at the Castellans.

"Sorry."

"That's Percy, Sally and Gabe's kid." Luke simply introduced me to his mom, not commenting on the scuffle that just happened. "Poseidon's his bio dad. He came to camp during my last year, it's a little bit of a miracle that he doesn't hate me— long story. Next to him is Grover, his boyfriend. He's also a satyr, if you can't tell. He was also assigned as my protector, so he brought us to camp, which is crazy because he was like 7. He's cool."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Grover said, waving to the blonde mortal.

"Aw, thank you— and thank you for getting my baby to camp as safely as I'm sure was possible."

"And in the middle is Annabeth— Thalia and I found her not long before Grover found us when we were still on the run," Luke explained to his mom. "Her mom is Athena— she went back home for the first time after my last summer at camp. Her, Percy, and Grover have all gone on at least 2 quests already, all of which have been successful."

"Quests that wouldn't have had to of happened if you just minded your own business."

"Annabeth!" Thalia and I both scolded, because as... True as the statement is (well, not for this most recent quest, but the first two it's absolutely the truth), she did not have to bring that up in front of his mom.

Annabeth gave Thalia— the person she was nearly attached to the hip with two weeks ago, the nastiest look I've ever seen.

"Like you have room to talk?" The daughter of Athena challenged, scooting her chair out. "I'm going to the bathroom."

There was a beat of silence.

"That's Annabeth." Luke repeated, May giving him an understandably skeptical look. "It's a part of that long story, but things are... Like that now. She's like my little sister, but I'm more or less a dead man in her eyes. So..."

Now anxious, Luke took a step towards Thalia, putting a hand on his partners shoulder.

"This is Thalia, my—"

"You're Luke's partner!" May recalled, catching Thalia off guard. "He loves you a lot. You guys met before camp, right?"

Thalia nodded.

"Yeah, I also ran away from home," Thalia confirmed. "We'd both been on our own for a while before we met and decided to travel together. I know he loves me— he's been kind of pathetic about it since before we found Annabeth."

Luke squeezed his partners shoulder, even if he was trying not to smile.

"Thanks, babe." The son of Hermes said in a flat tone, making the rest of us chuckle. "Love you, too."

Grover looked at me.

"Should I start staying stuff like that in front of your parents?"

I promise you I turned red.

"Please don't— my mom doesn't need more ways to embarrass me."

May smiled.

"I'm sure I'll hear all about these long stories as time goes on— though I hope things get better with Annabeth. It's a tough age she's at. I'll try not to overstep my boundaries. I'm going to go find a spot to sit— have fun tonight, okay? I'm sure I'll see you around. It was wonderful to meet you all. Thank you for being there for Luke."

As she walked away, Luke visibly relaxed, taking his seat again across from Grover and next to Thalia.

"You good?" I asked the son of Hermes as he rested his head on Thalia's shoulder.

"Yeah, that was just a little mortifying," Luke nodded, which I could understand. I was scared when I told my parents Grover was more than just my friend. "She's doing a lot better than I expected— because I ran away, she got put into inpatient stuff, so I guess some good came out of it. But yeah, petrifying. At lunch, after she learned that I was dating Thalia and that we live together, she uh... Gave me the talk."

I covered my mouth, Thalia laughed, Grover snorted out some of his water.

"Didn't both of my parents give you the talk?" I recalled. "After they met Thalia?"

Luke nodded a confirmation, telling me that he and Thalia got talked to at the same time by my parents— they traded spots after giving one talk to one of them.

I think that was the day my parents officially became adoptive parents to Luke and Thalia.

•••

I wanted to have fun tonight.

But I kept on seeing Nico out of the corner of my eye when he wasn't actually there.

There was somebody here that was shorter than me— a kid of a friend of my mom's, I think, who had short dark hair, and every time I caught him out of the corner of my eye...

Any time anybody with dark straight hair appeared in the corner of my eye, I'd turn my head, thinking that somehow, someway, Nico di Angelo tracked us down. Maybe a monster lured him here. Maybe he saw a party and remembered that my parents were throwing one of those this week, so he came in to see if we were here.

And every time, it wasn't him.

For the dinner, more of Gabe's family had arrived— family we're not super close with, but that I've met once or twice before. Because Gabe's dad is married to a man (well, by common law), my great grandparents weren't around much when I was little. According to Gabe, they weren't in his life almost at all until Mr. D was at camp all the time. And even then, things were tense because my grandpa's parents didn't actually accept him, they just... Tolerated it. Dealt with it. Grandpa's siblings had mixed feelings about it. I don't know how any of their kids, or their kid's kids felt about it, but they were here. Not all of them, but some of them.

Plenty of them that I've never met before. That I wouldn't know or recognize.

So, after an entire night of thinking that I was seeing Nico di Angelo out of the corner of my eye, my anxiety was scattered.

I was scattered, and the night had barely started. The dinner ended an hour ago, and the party was supposed to go on for another like 5 hours. Annabeth was still here, but dinner was tense with her there and I... Couldn't relax.

The venue was dark, but the lights were colored and bright and it was hot because there were so many people all moving and dancing and singing to music that was loud and the floor felt like it was vibrating and...

Is that Bianca?

Immediately tuning out of the conversation happening around me (let's be real, I couldn't hear it anyways because I couldn't focus on it with everything else going on), I snapped my head in the direction of the daughter of Hades, who was walking away from me, towards a group of people that I vaguely recognized as grandpa's family (mostly because I didn't recognize them).

Does she think she would know them because they might've been alive in the same era?

Is she looking for Nico? Does she know where he is?

Walking towards the Huntress of Artemis, I tried to keep my pace in check as to not cause a scene. Running would get people's attention, but if I'm just walking with a purpose, it's fine.

Every person I slid by and accidentally bumped into felt like a dull knife getting dragged across my skin, but I persisted on to the other side of the event hall.

I wonder how Grover didn't sniff out a child of the Big Three.

Then again, with me and Thalia both here, maybe he chalked it up to the fact that there were multiple demigods around. Plus, there were so many things going on, I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to think about smells. Because now that I'm thinking about it...

For what I think are obvious reasons, this party was a sober party, but the bar was still stocked with a bunch of non-alcoholic stuff that smelled as good as the real stuff, at least when it came to the beer and... And it was so stuffy in here, but maybe I can go to the bathroom after I figure out what Hades only daughter is doing here.

"Bianca!" I called out, trying to yell over the music, but not doing a very good job at it because seriously why are my bones rattling on beat?

Another few strides, and the younger demigod had stopped, setting a drink down on the table and saying something to somebody next to her.

"Bianca, hey!" I repeated myself, now caught up as I placed a hand on her shoulder to earn her attention. "What are you—"

Thanks to me grabbing her shoulder, the girl turned around, and I saw her dark hair and eyes— her Caucasian complexion that could be olive toned, but it was hard in this light. I saw a teenage girl who could've been Italian.

But she wasn't Bianca di Angelo.

If this isn't Bianca, then where...

You promised you would protect her.

The girl pulled away from my touch.

"Uh, hey." She said, sounding cautious. She had a slight New Yorker accent— not Italian at all. "sorry, do we know each other?"

I can't breathe.

Where would Bianca go if she... If she isn't...

Stepping back, I looked for the nearest exit, seeing one to my left. The exit for the dome— not outside where it's freezing, but away from people.

Maybe she got distracted by the photos in there. Maybe she's comparing them to their old family photos, so she hasn't gotten this far yet.

Feeling my shirt grate against my skin as I rushed for the ceremony hall, the compression of my socks became overwhelming as the vibrations in the floor sent tiny shards of glass flying across my skin and if I get away then maybe I can rip it out and make the feeling go away, and then I can find Bianca and we can get her back to camp to figure out where her brother is and then—

Why is there a hand on me?

Retracting my body into a ball, I prayed that whatever monster or diety that stood before me was quick to take me out of my misery.

If I could breathe— if I could talk, I would just beg it to do it and do it fast, but I can't tell if I'm sitting on a floor or if I'm in the grass, and if my hands are touching the ground, I can't feel it and I don't know where I am, I don't know...

"Percy." My grandpa's voice broke through, as I looked up to see him with two older people— his parents, I think, but couldn't be sure. I know of them, but I don't know if I've ever actually met them. "Hi, can you hear me now?"

"I— y... Ye..." But I could still feel the vibrations in the floor, and it sent another panel of glass through my skin as I sealed my eyes shut, struggling to nod my head.

"Okay, good— I'm going to go look for your parents or for Luke or Grover, okay? Or even the friend of Gabe's that helped you last time, okay?" My grandpa told me. "You aren't alone, Percy— my parents are going stay here with you until we get someone else that knows more about what's going on. Just try to get your breathing under control, okay? I'll be back."

If I could get my breathing under control, I thought to myself. I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

As he ran off, every time my grandpa's foot smacked on the ground, I felt another bullet get lodged in my spine.

Looking around the room, it was empty besides us, meaning one thing: Bianca wasn't here.

Could she be hiding?

"Kid, hey," my great-grandfather said in a voice that was just loud enough for me to hear, but quiet enough to not scare me— just startle me a little. I probably looked like a deer caught in headlights right now. "what are you looking for? You need water? I can send the missus to get some if you need it."

But as I opened my mouth, it felt like my tongue was glued in place. All I could get out was a noise with no meaning, drying my mouth up, before I closed it and proceeded to try again.

My great grandfather said something I couldn't hear to my great grandmother before she took off her high heels and walked away as if she were trying to be graceful about it.

"Where...?" I stifled, my brain cutting off the words somewhere between my brain and my mouth. "she— going? L... Is... Find— finding Bi... Where...?"

Pulling at my collar, I felt like I was suffocating, but I couldn't... I couldn't get my shirt off, but it was suffocating me.

Where did Bianca go?

"Whoa, kid, it's okay," my great-grandfather insisted, pronouncing both syllables in okay. "She's just going to get you some water, your grandpa went to go find somebody to help. We're you trying to find somebody?"

Why can't I get my tie off? It's making my skin rub on my shirt, and the more my throat rubs against the shirt, the harder it is to breathe, and I can't... I can't breathe, but I can't do anything to make breathing easier because I can't rip this stupid tie off. Why do ties even exist if all they do is make people feel like they're suffocating at formal events?

"Here— let me help you get this thing off." Feeling my great grandfather's bony hands on my arm sent a chill down my spine, causing me to tense.

Unlike most people's reactions when I tense up because of being touched, he ignored my reaction and put his hand dangerously close to my neck.

Is he going to try to strangle me?

Why would he—

"There." He declared as I felt the hold on my throat relax. In his hands was a floral orange and blue tie.

My tie.

How did he get...?

Hovering my hand just over my chest, I realized that he hadn't meant to throttle or strangle me at all— he'd taken my tie.

Why did he want my tie?

"Feel a little better?" My grandpa's dad asked, setting my tie down next to me on the ground. "Ties are never good if you're having a hard time breathing. I'd help loosen your collar, but I'm afraid my fingers aren't as coordinated as they used to be. Maybe one of the others can help with that when they get here."

But looking at the glass, I could just see the winter countryside— a lot of nothing covered in snow, but it looked like there was a... Was that a hill?

Could it be the junkyard? Are we...?

"Percy." My great grandfather's voice barely registered. "Who are you looking for?"

"I... B— Bianca, I..." My voice wandered as my eyes scored the white wasteland for a head of dark hair and olive skin against the background. "I thought... I saw her, I thought..."

Did she find us?

"Bianca?" The old man repeated the name back to me. "Sounds like a lovely girl. Where'd you see her last?"

"She..." I clenched my fists. "She was walking away and... Into the junkyard and..."

Tell Nico that I'm sorry.

"A junkyard? Kiddo, we're nowhere near a junkyard. When was this?"

You promised you would protect her.

"It... Last... I don't know exactly but it was... At the junkyard and she... And she walked into it and it..."

This is my fault. Her voice rang in my head. I have to fix it.

"It's my fault," I continued to stammer on, wondering if I was crazy or if I could actually see Bianca walking towards the hill in the distance— walking towards her doom. Once again, too far away for me to reach her. To stop her. "I promised... Promised Nico I would prot... It's my fault, I can't... I can't stop her, I can't... I couldn't move and she just kept on... She kept walking and... Then she was gone, she..."

Feeling the last wave of panic flow out of my body, I nearly went limp on the floor of the ceremony hall of my parents not-wedding, the reality sinking in.

A reality I thought I knew.

"I thought I saw her, just now, before I... Came in here." I voiced out loud, feeling my eyes begin to well. "But it wasn't... Her, it wasn't..."

Bianca's dead.

"She's gone." I went on, wondering if my great grandpa would make fun of me for crying in front of him (as if I probably wasn't crying during my panic attack just now). "She's gone, and I... I know she's gone. I knew she was gone, so why I did I...?"

Offering me a hand, my great grandpa helped me stand up as his wife re-emerged, holding a plastic cup of water.

"Here, drink this," the old man, who was somehow still very calm insisted as his wife handed me the glass. "And let's go for a short walk, yeah? I think the quiet and the cold will do you some good, and if you're willing to, we can talk about what just happened."

Nodding, I finished the water in just a few seconds since it was a small cup (though it helped me feel less confused, which was nice), and then shoved my tie in my pocket before following my distant family member outside.

It was freezing outside— but not snowing at the moment. Grandpa's dad was right about one thing, though: it helped to be outside. I had been overheating inside during my panic attack and felt suffocated, so being basically alone outside, in the cold, was like a nice breath of fresh air (even if the air hurt my lungs).

After a minute, or maybe only a few seconds, I couldn't be a good judge of time, my great grandfather broke the silence.

"How long's it been? Since the junkyard?"

I took a deep breath, trying to count the days

"It's um... 10 days?" I guessed. "11? Maybe 12, like... A couple days before the winter solstice. It was early morning and I'm not sure if it's midnight here yet or... Yeah. Less than two weeks. Why?"

He rubbed my back.

"Kiddo, it takes time for your brain to fully understand and comprehend the fact that somebody is gone." The old man explained to me. "A lot longer than two weeks. I don't know how close you were with her, but the closer you are, usually the longer it takes because you recognize them and you see them in everything."

"Everything?"

He scoffed.

"Oh yeah— not just people, but in the shows or music or food or places you used to go to together." He explained to me. "You may not see them physically like you do if you mistake somebody for them, but you get reminded of them. You'll know your body is ready to let them be at peace when those things that remind you of them start to make you smile instead of make you want to cry."

I looked down, wondering how long that would take for somebody who rarely smiles.

"Let me ask you, kid: Is this the first time you've lost somebody?"

"I mean..." I shrugged. "For a couple days, I thought my mom was dead, but she ended up being okay. So yeah, I guess so. Why?"

"Because." He told me. "The first one is always the hardest: you don't know what to expect, and you have no experience in coping or in grieving to know what you should do. My first time losing somebody after I understood the concept of death, I was a little older than you. 18? 19? Fighting over in Korea, I was a medic, but a buddy of mine was out there fighting on the frontlines. All of a sudden one night, couple of ambulances come with him and some of his battle buddies. One of them had stepped on a mine— we operated for hours on all of them, but it was a lost cause. I still remember hearing him flatline and having to call our lieutenant so we could get him wrapped up and sent to the mortician so he could go home."

He paused.

"I heard and saw him for weeks after that around the camp— they gave me a weekend off after a week of me being completely useless." My grandpa's dad admitted to me. "I didn't understand why I was so unfocused and why I felt like I was hallucinating until they called the psych in on me and he told me that it was normal and that it would go away once my body processed the loss. Took me months before I was back to 100%, but I got there. In that time, other people died— people I wasn't as close to, but still, and I had to grieve them too. It sucked. I felt like I was going crazy seeing ghosts sometimes, even after getting back to Korea. Hell, sometimes I still see them— but not often. Usually when I'm tired, or if I see family members. When there's a resemblance."

And I wanted to get something positive out of this, but I was only hearing one thing:

"So it never gets easier?" I asked, a feeling of hopelessness setting in. After all, the Korean war happened like 50 or 60 years ago, and if he still sees them from time to time... "You just have to go through it again and again? And it doesn't get easier?"

Pondering the idea, the old vet and I rounded the corner of the venue. I could see the main entrance, and I was starting to get cold since I was only wearing my tux.

"I don't know if gets easier." My great grandfather confessed. "But I know that you get better at handling it every time it happens. Think of it like reading: when you were just a baby, you couldn't read at all. Then, when you start school they teach you the alphabet and you have to learn how to read and write real basic stuff, but now you can probably read and write long essays and books with ease, right? And when you get to a new word, it don't frustrate you as much as it did when you were in kindergarten. Because you learned how to read and write and how to ask for help when you didn't know a word, all of which took you years to learn— you're still learning. Hell, you'll probably never stop."

I smiled a little.

"I'm dyslexic, so I'm not sure reading is the greatest comparison, but... I get what you mean."

He smiled back— it seemed genuine.

"It's just a metaphor kid, apply it to whatever subject or hobby you see is fit." He commented. "Grieving is a lot like learning."

"It never ends?" I asked.

"No, but you grow around it, and you get better at it with practice."

Trying to process that idea, I paused outside of the entryway to the reception.

"What if I don't have enough time? To get good at it?"

And maybe it's because he's known a lot of people that have thought the way I do, or maybe he didn't understand what I meant by that, but my great grandfather took me for my word.

"Unless you got some terminal illness, kid, you have all the time in the world to get better at it." He promised me, putting a hand on the door. "The people who leave before you don't want you visiting any time soon, I promise— don't sell yourself short. You're what? 13? 14? You got a couple more hard years ahead of you, but trust me— your 20s and 30s can be a lot of fun, but you have to let yourself have fun for that to happen, you hear me?"

I nodded my head.

"Alright, then enough of that." He opened the door, motioning for me to go inside. "Lets go have fun, kid."

END OF PART III

Notes:

Wow guys congrats this part is literally like half of the entire rewrite so far this was a MARATHON but literally soooo many things happen and get set up in titans curse so it makes sense.

Thoughts feelings or predictions for part four?

Also ty for sticking with me this long <3 y'all are real ones— new cover art coming soon (will be linked in the next part)

Chapter 95: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Notes:

Welcome to part four!! I'm not sure if you guys have noticed or not, but my chapters are gradually getting longer— not on purpose, the events that happen in them just feel like they should stay together so anyways enjoy this 7k word chapter to kickstart battle or the labyrinth.

Percy Jackson

It may be hard to believe (or perhaps by now, it's expected), but things only went downhill for me after the reception.

The next morning, Grover had briefly woken me up to say goodbye since he had to go back to camp, but when I woke up on my own later, it was to a conversation that I'm not sure I was supposed to hear.

"Is Percy not joining us?" I barely recognized Gabe's grandma when she spoke, especially since she's so rarely here. "After last night, I was hoping to see how he was doing."

"He should be— I'll wake him up in a little bit to see how he's feeling." Dad told his grandparents. "Did something... Happen last night that we didn't hear about? How did you guys hear about it and we didn't?"

"We were there with your father when it happened— your dad had gone looking for you, but I suppose you must've been busy or hard to track down." My great-grandfather explained. "Percy um... He came into the dome very frantic and struggling to breathe. I sat with him while your dad went to find somebody to help, your grandma went to go get him some water and a snack. We got his tie off and the top button of shirt undone, and he calmed down before your dad got back. Said that he thought he had seen a girl that he knew who died recently? He went after her, only to realize the wasn't the same person, which I think confused him a bit, you know? We went for a walk after that and I told him about how it takes time to adjust when you lose people like that. Didn't think I'd be relating to a young teen about stories from when I was in the service, but... I guess there's a first for everything. He said she just... Walked off and that was it? Do you know more about that?"

There was a beat of silence.

"A little, but not much— the girl had just been brought to Camp Half Blood with her little brother." Dad filled them in. "When she was issues on the quest and Percy decided he was going on the quest, he sort of promised the older brother he'd keep an eye out for her and so when she died... I think the little brother blamed him before the kid proceeded to like, run away with no weapon and almost no training, and they still haven't found him, so Percy just... Feels guilty, I think? For what happened?"

"But he... Wait, hold on." My great grandmother interjected. "Percy isn't your kid? Or is he there as a legacy?"

Gabe sighed.

"Percy's my kid, just not biologically." He explained what I suppose would probably be new information for them since we haven't seen them in a while. "Sally and I didn't get together until after Percy was born, remember? Percy's sperm donor, as he calls him, is Poseidon."

Gabe's grandfather chuckled.

"Sounds like you and him have similar relationships to your godly sides." Great grandpa commented. "Your dad didn't say much about it to us last night, but he seemed awfully annoyed that your father wasn't present. All I got out of it is that he couldn't be there because of something you said or did?"

Nodding, Gabe told them that he'd uninvited Dionysus after some things that happened earlier in the month. As of right now, they weren't speaking unless absolutely necessary (aka if I have a crisis at camp and Mr. D has to report to them about it).

"Understandable— it was hard learning to accept your dad when he came out, but your father did not make it any easier." Gabe's grandpa told him, pausing to think. "um, also, and I know this might be a hard concept since you went through everything and came out mostly fine, but I'd get your boy checked for PTSD if I were you."

PTSD?

What's PTSD?

I think my therapist at the facility might've mentioned it once, but it was in passing and I was so out of it that session that I don't... Remember what it is.

Gabe must've nodded before he responded.

"We're hoping to get him in for a re-evaluation before summer." Dad told them, which was news to me, but I have also been in the hospital a lot and haven't been home, so maybe the doctor told them to do it. "It's just been... Hard, lately. For him. Stuff with his bio dad, camp stuff, but also school and just... He has a hard time making friends at school, and Grover was in Maine for most of this last semester, so they couldn't really hang out. He is in therapy, though, which helps. I think."

There was a pause.

"Thank you for handling him last night, by the way." Dad said as I decided to finally throw some pants on. The food smelled good, and I was hungry. "I'm sure he appreciated it a lot. There's... A lot of things going on in that world right now. Big things that... I think are just starting."

"Yeah?" Dad's grandma asked. "You don't seem optimistic. Are you guys still planning on honeymooning? Your dad said you were on the fence about that?"

I paused at my door.

Why would they cancel their honeymoon?

It's like... Probably the last chance they'll get to travel or do anything on their own before the kid is born.

"Gods I..." Dad started.

"We... Have to decide in the next few days." Mom picked up what Gabe was saying. "Gabe's dad and Eddie have both offered to stay here with him, and Grovers back in New York, and I believe Luke and Thalia will be here for a while, so it's not like he'd be alone, but... I mean, gods forbid anything were to happen to Percy while we were gone..."

My hand went over the bandages on my arm, wondering how long they've been debating cancelling their honeymoon because of the fact that my brain can do anything but its job.

Was it because of the hospitalization? Or was it after, when I had a meltdown at home?

"But if we stay behind, and he knows why we stay behind, he's going to feel guilty, so there's no winning." Mom concluded. "he blames himself for what happened to that poor girl and her brother last week, and before that he'd just gotten home from an inpatient stay, so either we go and risk that he'll be alone at the wrong time or that something happens that we can't help him with. Or we stay and risk him beating himself up even more because we stayed. Our original idea was to see if we could upgrade our stays to get a second room so him and Grover or him and somebody could come with, but a couple of the hotels are completely booked out and it just... Wasn't feasible. I guess we could reschedule, but it would be after the baby is born, so it's just... There's no good answer."

You're right. I thought to myself. There is no good answer.

Kind of hate myself for putting them in that position.

Maybe if I try to act like I'm getting better... I don't know how much of it they believe, but they should still go.

Because if they push it back, I don't think it'll actually happen, and they deserve a break from me and from everything else going on.

Not that there's much else since the reception is done, but... It's mostly just been stuff with me.

I crossed my arms, hugging myself.

"You should talk to him about it," Great Grandpa insisted, and even I could sense some hesitation about it, even though I wasn't in the room. "You'll probably have to be very insistent about why you would stay so he doesn't feel as guilty about it, but if it's his mental health you're worried about, talk to him about it. If you guys need it, we can watch him as well. Hell, he could come out to the property if he wanted. The country is nice and quiet, though I know that nice and quiet can be both a bad and good thing. We'd keep him busy, though."

"If you want to mention that while we eat lunch, you can. I'm sure he'd appreciate the offer." Dad insisted. "Speaking of, I'm going to go to the bathroom real quick and then we can get the table set."

After hearing Dad go into the bathroom, I took it as my cue that I could leave my room to join the people in the kitchen and dining room.

How do I act like I'm okay? Do I just like, pretend to smile when people say stuff or...?

How do people usually act when they're okay?

"Morning, sweetie," Mom said even though it was definitely afternoon. She gave me a kiss on the top of my head. I liked that she could still do that. "Great Grandma and Grandpa are here for lunch, but it's just them and the three of us. I made Feijoada— does that sound good?"

I nodded.

"Feeling okay?" She asked as Dad's grandparents were setting the table. Mom rubbed my back a little, naturally picking up on how I was feeling because she's my mom. "Your dad's grandparents were telling us that you had a panic attack last night?"

"Yeah, I... Thought I saw Bianca, but it was just like, a cousin or something that has a similar haircut and is around her height." I insisted, not even considering rejecting it when my mom hugged me. "I was like, convinced it was her because we never actually found her body, so... I was hoping that maybe she survived and that she found me to ask or tell me about Nico and... Yeah. Once I realized that the person I thought was Bianca wasn't her, I had a panic attack. Great grandpa was cool, though. Helped me feel less like, bad, about having the panic attack. We walked around the building after it, and I was calm and mostly okay by the time we made it inside, which is why I didn't think to mention it at all. It's in the past."

"Okay, well I'm glad that he was able to help you out. Do you have any plans today?"

•••

I was able to convince them that they should go on their honeymoon, barely.

The stipulation for that was that I couldn't be alone overnight in the apartment and that they'd be checking in daily.

A few days into their honeymoon— a week or so after that conversation, Grover was sent to help search for Nico. Apparently, he had been talking about his lead for Pan, and instead of approving or even considering letting him go on another searchers missions, the Cloven Council said they they could use another searcher for Nico. Somebody to look out of state, further west towards the entrance to the underworld. The only other searcher looking for Nico, Gleeson Hedge, was focused on staying around New York and Long Island to find Nico.

When Grover asked about his proposal, they said that "he was lucky to even get this after what's happened. Who knows, maybe you'll find Pan with the son of Hades."

So now my boyfriend isn't around anymore, and he has a limited amount of drachmas that are supposed to last him 6 months— unless he finds Nico sooner than that. So we can call like, once every other week.

If he doesn't call anybody else.

Grandpa and I watched a lot of MASH and ate a lot of sweets the night after Grover stopped by to say goodbye and take me out for dinner because who knows when we'll see each other again.

If we'll see each other again.

The day after that, I slept until sometime around lunch. Grandpa woke me up so I could eat. For dinner, we went to a restaurant I like down the road.

I think we went out so that way I wouldn't be in my room and wallow the entire day. So I'd have to leave.

The day after that, Grandpa knocked on my door an hour or so after lunch, when I had been attempting to work on all of the work I missed when I was at the psych ward (and not getting far, since most of it was math).

"Hey, Munch," opening the door when I didn't protest, Grandpa poked his head inside my absolute mess of a room. I don't blame him if he didn't want to come in— even if he did earlier today to ask me what I wanted to eat. "there's somebody here to see you. They're at the door."

Nodding, I insisted that I'd be out in a second. Throwing on a sweater, I put down my pen (not Riptide) and walked out to the living room and entry way. I assumed that it could've been Luke or Thalia just checking in— maybe even Eddy planned something for today. He's like... Sort of my uncle? He's always been around, and he's the one that would watch me when Grandpa couldn't as a kid.

But to my surprise, it was none of those people.

"Travis?" I asked, caught off guard by the son of Hermes (the one I wasn't expecting) standing in the entryway, with a backpack on. He was holding a small paper bag in his hands, as well. "What... What's up? What are you doing here? Is everything okay at camp?"

"Hey!" The brunette smiled, extending the paper bag towards me. "camp's alright, don't worry— Connor and I visited our mom this morning since she just got done with a long couple weeks. After that, we stopped at Luke's, and now I'm here. Connor's visiting somebody else, I don't know. I got this for you."

Hesitant, I grabbed the paper bag, keeping the top closed.

"If I open this, will something alive come crawling out?" I questioned, reasonably so, because when I was there last somebody from the Hermes cabin left a gift box full of daddy long legs in the Athena cabin.

Travis scoffed.

"I would never," he lied, turning the bag in my hands to expose a logo. "It's from a candy store."

I raised an eyebrow.

"And you paid for this?"

He shrugged.

"Most of it." Travis admitted, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "What!? It's a small business, I can pay for some stuff, but if a few small things go missing... How would they even notice?"

Conceding his point because I do the same thing, I open the bag to see exactly what he had said there would be— a bunch of candies.

And then I noticed something:

"They're all blue."

Looking up, I could see Travis look like he didn't know how to respond to my observation, because I never told him about the blue food.

At least, I don't think I did. So he wouldn't know.

"...yeah." Travis crossed his arms, nodding. "I um... I sort of noticed the blue thing here or there, but when I told Luke that I had to stop at the candy store on my way here, he told me to make sure it was all blue. He..."

The son of Hermes paused.

"He didn't just say that to make me look stupid, did he?" He doubted his older brothers advice.

I smiled a little.

"No, he's not pranking us or anything— it's a running joke with me and my parents." I explained. "It started a while before camp, persisted because my mom is stubborn, and now it's a joke. If it can be blue, my mom usually makes it blue. My blood is probably purple because of it. Um... Yeah. Thanks."

After the thought bugged me for a few seconds more, I asked the question again because he hasn't answered it earlier.

"Can I ask why...?" I questioned, raising the bag of candy. "like, I'm glad to make your list of people to visit when you're in the city, but... You've never been here before."

"We've never been on good terms during the off season." Travis said in return. "I uh, I heard yesterday that Grover is going to be out west for like, what, six months? Or just generally not around, I guess. Thought that you might be sad because of that since he also wasn't around this last semester because he was in Maine for most of it. And if you weren't sad, I thought you'd like the candy anyways. It's no blanket from the camp store or anything, but..."

I smiled, remembering when Travis would steal random items for me from the camp store. It was sweet. I appreciated it a lot.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." I repeated myself, unsure of how much he wanted to hear me talk about my boyfriend. "he came by yesterday on his way out of the city and we went out to eat. I've been kind of depressed and on edge anyways, so it just like... Enhanced it, I guess? I don't know, mental illnesses are stupid, and I'm kind of over the "it will get better" bullshit now, and—"

He's not your boyfriend. I reminded myself. He doesn't want to hear about how close you constantly are to taking a nap in the dirt.

"And you probably don't want to hear about it." I cut myself off, crossing my arms in a desperate attempt to keep the anxiety inside of my body. "Sorry. Um... Do you want to come in? I'm not sure what your plans we're, but I'm just like, pretending to understand my math homework and not actually getting anywhere with it, so you're more than welcome to hang out."

"You sure?" Travis questioned. "I'd love to hang out, but if you're having a family day or something, I don't want to intrude. I don't know who answered the door, but it definitely wasn't your dad."

I nodded.

"That's my Grandpa— the one who's married to Mr. D." I explained. "He's here because my parents are on their honeymoon right now. They're gone for another week or so."

"Ohhh, that makes sense— Luke mentioned going to a party or something like that recently. Was it a fun party?"

As we walked back towards my room, I shrugged and then nodded.

"I thought I saw Bianca at one point in time and then had a panic attack afterwards, but besides that, yeah." And as I said that, I knew that I should've just said it was fun. Because again, he doesn't care. "It was fun. I guess. Whatever fun is, like..."

Opening the door, my lack of an object permanence reminded me that my room was nowhere near clean right now.

"I guess it was fun." I concluded. "Sorry that my room's a mess. Again, depression."

"Because the Hermes cabin is ever not a swarm of chaos?" Travis reminded me, as if his counselor room wasn't tidy the few times I'd gone into it. "don't worry, Percy, it's fine."

"But—"

"Percy, I stopped by unannounced when I figured you would be sad." The son of Hermes persisted as I set the bag of candy down on my desk. "I expect a little bit of a mess. I'm just glad you're still here and not in the hospital or trying to bribe Charon."

I let out a breath, not really knowing how to respond to that.

"Are you trying to say that you're glad I haven't killed myself?"

"Or attempted to, or hurt yourself badly enough to go to the hospital." Travis added with importance. "I don't know how much better or worse it's gotten since this summer, but I know the end of summer really sucked for you. I'd like to hope that it's gotten better, but I know depression usually gets worse in the winter, and a lot has happened these last few weeks so... I'm just glad you're still here."

I'm not. The thought broke in before I could even think to counter it. But it would physically kill Grover and emotionally kill my parents if they were right about what I would do when they're gone, so...

It's fine. I lied to myself. It'll be fine.

You're not going to cry because somebody said they're glad you're still alive. I told myself. You're going to keep it together because it would be rude to be emotional because of that.

"Yeah." I said to the shorter demigod, and it nearly killed me because I could tell that he saw through it immediately.

I could feel my chest begin to shake, and I tried to tighten the grip of my crossed arms, because if I just keep it all inside...

"Percy?"

As my anxiety and depressed pushed on the bottom of my lungs, I struggled to get anything in or out of my lungs. It felt like the air was moving through honey or molasses— there was movement, but it was painfully slow, and it was heavy.

"Sorry, I... Fine." I insisted, closing my eyes to try and breathe, but failing to do so. "I'm fine."

I can't keep going if there's going to be another episode today.

The thought stopped me, sucking the air out of my lungs like a deflated balloon, because that wasn't my thought.

That was Grover through the mental link.

Do my episodes take that much out of him?

He's never... I know that sometimes he can be a little more tired when I finish having a breakdown or a panic attack, but he never made any comments about it. I always assumed it was because he was worried or panicking while trying to comfort me, and sometimes worrying and panicking can take a lot out of somebody.

Sorry. I tried to project the thought to Grover, but I don't think I had the focus to actually do it. I'll try to not have this one.

But only one issue: my body still isn't letting me breathe regularly and now I feel even more guilty about my mental health and I don't think Travis would believe anything I tried to say right now besides the actual truth.

If I admit the truth, though, I'm going to have a breakdown, and I can't do that now, because if I have a breakdown, then Grover has to stop and...

"Hey, Percy, do you need help breathing?" But by not being able to breathe, I just accelerated the rate at which I was bound to have this episode at. Frozen, Travis took my silence as a yes. "Do you have any lavender? You're already wearing your comfort sweater, so I'm not sure what else besides lavender that would help without physical contact."

Opening my mouth to tell him that there was a roller stick of lavender oil in the drawer of my bedstand, I may as well have jumped out of the window, because nothing came out. It would've been just as useful.

As the TV static that some would call anxiety began to eat away at my brain, I felt a cold point below my nose before I could start to smell a faint whiff of lavender.

When the TV static subsided and my brain could process its surroundings again, I was on my bed, and I felt like an empty husk of myself.

It wasn't a new feeling by any means— hell, it happened twice yesterday.

But every time I feel hollow, it seems to shock my system. Like I can't process the actual feeling of being hollow.

At least I was hugging my stuffed sea turtle— it's probably the only reasons I couldn't feel any stinging on my arms right now. It's big, so I can't get my hands to scratch my arms when I hold it.

"Percy?" A minute or two after I regained consciousness, Travis broke the silence. He must've said it earlier with no response, though, because he seemed surprised when I shifted in reaction to my name. "Hey, cool, you can hear me. How you feeling?"

I buried my head in the turtle.

"I tried to kill myself last month," I gave him the worst possible answer. The answer nobody actually wants to hear when they ask how you are. "but I think it's somehow just gotten... Worse. Since then."

There was a beat of silence as Travis processed what that meant.

"You were right, by the way," I went on, remembering a specific memory from the end of my first summer. Travis tilted his head. "about long distance. And how it sucks. And it's not even like... Like, he's not even at camp. It's fine when it's just camp because camp isn't that far, but being in Maine or... Or wherever he is, like..."

I pulled my knees in as much as the turtle would let me. Travis frowned.

"We have this mental link, and I thought it would be so nice to have it when things had to be long distance." I admitted to something I've never been able to voice out loud before, because I couldn't articulate it until now. "It gave me comfort to know we had that when Grover got the assignment in Maine, because even if we ran out of drachmas or a weekend trip couldn't be made, we could still talk. We could still easily check in and say hi. And sometimes it was nice, but..."

Resting my head, I looked at Travis Stoll, wondering if he had a sensation similar to this with Connor or not.

"But now I can't have a panic attack without feeling guilty because I know he can feel it," I continued, biting down on my tongue. "He doesn't say anything out loud, but I know my constant breakdowns and attacks and episodes exhaust him, but I don't know how to sever the link and I also don't know how to stop having the attacks because it's... Not that easy."

"Aw, Percy, I'm sorry. That is hard." The more stable demigod said. "How do you know those things if he's never said them, though? You're not just assuming, right? Letting your anxiety assume those things?"

I pointed at my temple.

"Usually I can just physically tell that he's more tired after I come to, but sometimes thoughts get projected when you don't want them to." I explained. "I didn't read too deeply into him being tired until I heard a couple thoughts. They seem to... Really take a toll on him. Even though he's mostly fine, mentally."

Travis raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by the dynamic between Grover and I right now, which is fair.

"And because you know that, it makes you feel guilty and like you can't or shouldn't have a breakdown or a panic attack, even when it's nearly impossible to fight it? So when you fight it, it just makes it worse, and the cycle repeats itself?"

I looked up, surprised by how well Travis put those feelings into words.

"How do you...?"

"Know?" He finished, and I nodded my head. "Percy, you put a lot of effort into telling me you were okay when both of us knew you weren't. Also, I've helped you and a lot of kids in my cabin get through breakdowns. You shouldn't have to feel like you can't have a panic attack, though— have you talked to Grover about it at all?"

I shook my head.

"It's a... Newer realization." I clarified that I wasn't keeping this repressed, I just haven't had the chance to bring it up yet. "I couldn't put it into words until now, so I haven't been able to ask. He only has so many drachmas, though, so... I don't know how long it'll be. Before we can talk again."

Once again, the slightly older demigod frowned.

"He didn't say when he'd try to IM next?"

"Not an exact time, just... He has enough drachmas to make an IM once every other week. And he only left yesterday, so..."

I shrugged.

"It's stupid," I pivoted, not wanting it to sound like Grover was a bad boyfriend, because he's not. He's an amazing boyfriend. "If my brain just like, worked, or if my meds would do their job, this wouldn't be an issue."

When he's here.

And as his own person, Grover is allowed to have goals and dreams and aspirations and he should chase after those things.

But I'm starting to realize that him chasing those dreams means he won't be here. Physically.

And I need somebody who can be here, physically. Consistently.

If my brain worked, this wouldn't be an issue.

But that'll never be a reality I live in.

"Not that..." Before Travis could interject about the phrasing I chose when talking about my mental illnesses. "I shouldn't talk about my subscription to the DSM-5 like that, but I just... yeah. It feels like it's controlling my life right now, and I... Don't know how to stop it. I don't know if I can stop it right now."

"Aw, Percy, I hope your therapist can help you figure that out." The son of Hermes told me, which I appreciated. He didn't try to belittle how hard it's been. He didn't try to insist that I haven't changed because I don't want to or because I haven't tried to. "Do you want to play a game of Uno or something? That or... I don't know what you guys have, but something."

Slowly, I nodded my head.

"We can... Look at the game cabinet." I liked the idea, because focusing on a game was better than focusing on my awful mental health. "We definitely have Uno, but there's some other games as well. Um..."

Debating how to say this, I stood up and carefully set down my stuffed turtle, opting for a smaller shark stuffed animal to carry out with me to the living room.

"Thank you," after practicing it in my head a couple times, I managed to say what I wanted to. "for being so patient and hearing me out and helping me and stuff. I know it can be hard or taxing, and I know you expected me to be sad, but I still had a breakdown in front of you, which feels kind of rude and inappropriate and I'm sorry again."

Travis smiled, putting his hand up like he was going to touch me, but then he reconsidered it, and put his hand down.

"You don't need to apologize for having an episode." He said. "Remember? Because the more you apologize—"

"The more I'll feel guilty when it happens." I finished the statement, remembering what Travis and Michael always told me my first summer when I'd have attacks and would apologize for having them. "I know, I know. Do you want to check out the games we have? I think I'm going to try to IM Grover."

Seemingly surprised by the idea, Travis raised an eyebrow.

"I can do that. You'll be okay in here?"

I nodded.

"I mean, I might feel shitty, but I just had an episode, so I won't have another one." I reassured the son of Hermes, who didn't seem reassured. "the game will give me something to focus on afterwards, too."

"Okay. Just..." Travis stepped part way through the door. "Holler if you need me in here?"

Promising that him and my grandpa would know if I needed anything, I nodded my head once again. Once Travis was out of my room, I set up my small humidifier and flashlight to create a rainbow for the call.

Digging through my drawer, I found a couple drachma (we have a lot of them here between Gabe, Grandpa, and I), and took a breath.

He's not going to be mad. I tried to tell myself. He's probably stressed and tired, but he won't get mad.

"O, Iris, please accept my offering," I recited. "And show me Grover Underwood in the Northeast United States."

Throwing the gold coin in, it took a few seconds before an image of my boyfriend sitting against a tree in the woods came into focus. He looked a little out of it— tired, snacking on a couple of dried strawberries and pieces of silverware.

A pang of guilt snapped at my chest as I realized that I was the reason he was wasting precious hours of daylight having to sit and rest and recharge in a place where he should be at his best— in nature.

Looking for a moment, I could see a look of confusion cross over Grover's face when he realized there was a new presence.

"Where..." He whispered to himself before noticing me in front of him slightly to his left.

"Percy!" Grover exclaimed, and I couldn't tell if his smile was genuine or feigned because of how tired he is. "hey, sweets. Is everything okay? I'm in Connecticut right now. Do I need to come back to New York? Are you okay?"

I attempted a smile, not knowing how believable it was.

He's so sweet.

Too sweet, sometimes.

"Grover, if you come back, they'll probably never give you another job to do, much less give you your searchers license." I pointed out what I felt like was an important note. "Without Nico, that is. Um... I've been better, been worse. I just..."

Pausing, I practiced what I was going to say in my head before saying it out loud.

He won't be mad.

"I know that you have a limited amount of drachmas, so I'm sorry for calling so soon, but I like... Forgot to mention it yesterday."

Grover smiled again.

"It's fine, Percy— if I run out, I'll figure it out. What's going on?" My boyfriend asked, although I could even tell that he didn't have it in him to hear the answer if it was actually something bad. "You're okay? Generally speaking?"

"As okay as it gets," I confirmed the sad truth. "okay, um..."

I looked down.

He won't be mad.

"Is there a way to sever the mental link?" I asked the satyr who created it in the first place. "without one of us dying?"

And, understandably so, the question made him pause.

"Is there... Why do you ask?" Grover asked with a bit of hesitance in his voice. "You're not thinking about...?"

What would I be thinking about for him to be worried about the mental...

"Killing myself?" I finished the satyrs question. "No, no, that isn't... I'm asking because I think the empathy link is making things... Hard. Harder. On both of us. And if there's a way to make it less hard... Yeah."

A wave of guilt still washed over me.

Processing the question, Grover took a while to respond. I watched the initial shock hit him before he seemed to debate something, thinking to himself. A little confused, maybe?

"I mean... Yeah. If you talk to Apollo or Mr. D, they can reverse it. Wh... I know you sort of explained it, but can I ask why? Did something happen? If so, we can talk about it."

I looked down.

"It's just... It's not fair." I tried to articulate to Grover what I said to Travis earlier. "It was good that we had it when we did— it saved your life, and it helped me for a little while, but... I think it's just hurting both of us now?"

"Hurting us? Sweets, how?"

"H— Do you like feeling every breakdown and panic attack I have?" I tried to point out. "they exhaust you, Grover, and they're only draining you more now because I'm having them so often. And you tell me to not feel bad— everyone tells me to not feel bad for having them, and I don't feel bad that I have them, but I feel guilty because I know it affects you, but you conceal it because you're trying to comfort me, and I appreciate that you care about me, but I... I feel it coming on, and then I feel like I can't have it because if I have one, then we'll both just feel like shit, and then by trying to not have it, the panic attack I eventually have is just so much worse and... And it's not fair to put you through that. Relatively speaking, your mental health is fine. You shouldn't have to basically have anxiety and depression because of me."

Considering my point, Grover gritted his teeth.

"I... I mean, yes, I see your point— I do get like, shockwaves from your episodes. But I don't mind it, Percy. It's not that bad."

That tingly sensation in the back of my mind went off, though. The sensation that tells me when he's lying.

"Grover, we still have the link— it tells me when you're lying." I pointed out. "I'm not mad or upset that you mind it, Grover— I'd hate to have more panic attacks than is normal for me. I hate having panic attacks period. You don't need to go through this."

"Well I..." But he seemed to want to hold onto the link, which I sort of get, but struggled to fully understand. "Okay, I know that. But what happens to us if we don't have the mental link anymore?"

And because I didn't have a good answer, I shrugged.

"We try to be a normal couple?" I suggested. "We didn't get together because of the link, Grover— that just made it easier and helped it happen a lot faster. If we don't have a link, then we IM and we do normal couple things."

"But if you have a breakdown and—"

"Grover I just had a panic attack before I called you— you couldn't help then because it was affecting you. At least this way one of us gets to be healthy."

"You really think it's for the better?"

And I know Grover kept asking these sort of questions because he cared and he was worried about me, but it was beginning to get on my nerves because, with the link in tact, he should be able to easily tell that I'm being honest.

"Yes. I do."

"And if one of us gets in trouble?"

"We figure it out, like we have in the past."

"But what if—"

"What if I don't get better!?" I felt shitty for snapping, but I hated hearing what-ifs because they never end. "What if this is only the start of it, Grover!? I don't know if I'll ever get better, okay? But I'm pretty sure that if we keep this link, it won't get better."

"How do you know, though?"

"I don't!" I admitted, frustration starting to boil over. "I don't know anything, Grover, but I know that right now things suck for both of us because of an issue that can be fixed, and I want to fix it!"

"But I..." His voice trailed off, sad. "I liked the reassurance of it. We won't be able to IM for another two to four weeks after this, Perce— how do I know that you'll be okay? That you'll... Be there to call?"

And sure, the wording was different, but the message felt the same: Are you sure? You've done it before. Because you're mentally unstable.

Are you sure you won't kill yourself? You've done (attempted) it before. Are you sure you won't kill yourself because you're mentally unstable?

I know that I don't have a good track record. My medical record can prove that. Anybody that has known me for longer than 24 hours can vouch. I know that.

But I'm trying to make things better.

For the first time in like, weeks, I'm putting actual effort and thought into the idea of doing things that will make me feel less shitty.

But my boyfriend doesn't want me to go forward with it.

Because he doesn't trust me.

Or, he doesn't trust my medication. He doesn't trust my therapist. He doesn't trust my grandpa or my parents or Luke or Thalia or anybody else in my support system.

But that boils down to me.

He doesn't trust me with my own life.

Unlike Travis, though, Grover has a way to guarantee I won't kill myself: create a link with me that would kill both of us if one of us dies.

And while I can't kill myself with the link, I also lose the ability to get better, so it leaves both of us miserable.

"Why wouldn't I be here to call?"

But it's a hard topic, so he doesn't meet my gaze when he says it.

"You... I mean you only got out of the hospital a few weeks ago."

"And I just told you that I wasn't asking about this because I plan on doing anything that would send me back," I reminded the satyr, trying to hold back a groan. "I can't believe... I'm going to talk to Mr. D about it. Trust my reasons or don't, but I'm tired of feeling like this. If you're that worried, write me a letter."

"Percy—"

But I was too upset to continue the conversation, so I ended the call.

Walking into the living room, Travis and Grandpa were talking as they played some sort of regular card game, uno dealt and ready to go for the three of us.

"Hey!" Travis perked up when he saw me, patting the seat next to him. "Your grandpa and I were just playing a game of war while we waited for you. How'd the talk with Grover go?"

I shook my head, picking up my Uno hand.

"Are you sure? How do I know you still be there to call in a couple weeks?" I repeated my boyfriend's words, and Travis seemed to immediately connect them to his own. His expression dropped. "Yeah. That was after I tried to explain in like 6 different ways that I think this would be better for both of us. He said he liked the reassurance of it. That I'm okay, that I'm alive. I told him he could write a letter to find those things out— Hermes delivers without an address."

"You... Sorry, pause." Grandpa said. "what's going on? Are you and Grover okay? You two have never fought before."

Catching him up to speed on what Travis and I discussed earlier while also making my grandpa draw 8 cards, I thought it was cute how he tried to tone down his excitement when I mentioned going to see Mr. D at camp, probably when Travis left to go back.

"And you're right, we haven't fought before." I agreed with his object of concern. "But there's always a first for everything, right?"

•••

new part = new cover: 

Working With The Thief Part 4 Cover

Notes:

welcome to the shitshow <3 any predictions for battle of the Labyrinth?

Chapter 96: What Is Right And What Is Just

Dionysus

When that Trevor Robb kid got back from his visit to Manhattan, I wasn't surprised to see that Percy had come back with him. The two have been friends on and off, and they even dated at one point in time.

What did surprise me is that Percy brought his mortal grandfather with him. And wanted to speak me.

I'm honestly not sure which of those two things surprised me more. Sure, I'm married to Gabe's dad more or less, but he's mortal. It's been years since he's come to camp, and never with or because of Percy.

On the other hand, I caused Percy to have a really bad panic attack the other week and have been basically forbidden from having any contact with him because of it.

"Hey, Grandpa D." But having Percy call me Grandpa always made me feel weird for various reasons, and this one wasn't an exception: it wasn't a bad weird, but it definitely caught me off guard. "can I talk to you for a little bit? I have... I have a few questions."

Why is he nervous?

It's not just because he's around me, is it?

"Of course you can, kid, but your dad might bite my head clean off if he hears about it." I pointed out. "Have you been feeling any better, by the way? I know I resurfaced some bad triggers and memories- sorry about that. If you want to talk about it, we can. If you don't want to, we can leave it there. But what's going on that your parents and Grandpa can't figure out?"

Sitting down, I realized just how tired Percy's been lately. The bags under his eyes were dark, his hair looked like it's been in the bun that it's in for a couple days now, and I don't think he even likes it that long.

"It's an up here..." Percy began, putting a finger up to his temple. "The link. It's the empathy link. Is there a way for you to get rid of it? Without killing us?"

He wants to get rid of his empathy link with Gerald?

Why?

"What? You two break up?" I questioned, because I couldn't imagine another reason why this would come up now and not 6 months ago when they got back from the stupid quest. "I thought you loved him or whatever."

My grandson blushed.

"I- no." He insisted. "Or, I do, but we didn't breakup. I just... I've been steadily been getting worse and I don't know if I'll be able to get better if we have the link. Grover's great, I just... Feel guilty, knowing he feels a lot of what I do, and that guilt makes everything worse."

For a while, Percy went on to explain a couple different scenarios where he noticed that his link with the satyr was dragging either or both of them down. That he knows and understands the benefits of having it, but the cons are overpowering the pros right now.

And although he didn't say anything about it, my mind immediately went to the great prophecy when he started talking about how what's happening to him is affecting Giovanni.

Hate to say it, but if Percy dies in a year and a half, so does Ginger.

"Okay, seems reasonable. You've thought it through more than most teenagers would." I responded. "I can make the link to away, sure, but why come to me? Grant should be able to do that on his own since he made the thing. You... You talked to him about this, right? Before coming to me?"

"Wh- yeah, of course. It didn't go the greatest, but... We talked about it. He's the one who told me to talk to you or Apollo." Poseidon's spawn promised me. "I think he may be worried that if he tries to do it, he'll kill us, which defeats the purpose, but... He also doesn't want to get rid of the link. That's why it didn't go great. Again, he told me to talk to you, so I'm here now."

"He doesn't want to get rid of it? Did he say why?"

Percy looked down.

"I'll give you one guess."

I thought back on the interactions I'd witnessed between Geoffrey and Percy since they started dating this summer. How worried he was when the demigod was in the infirmary this summer, and then the two times they left here to go the Jackson's during winter break...

"He's worried you're going to try to kill yourself again?"

Exhaling, Percys shoulders dropped, as his entire demeaner.

"Precisely." The son of Poseidon admitted. "And I... It's hard because I get why he's concerned. My track record isn't great, and as of recent it's been even worse, but... I don't know how to convince him that that isn't my intention. That I actually think that this will be a way for me to start to actually make progress for the first time in... Way too long. But we don't... We don't need his permission to sever the link, right?"

"We... Don't, no." I responded, silently wondering how soon Grover would be back in New York.

Not at camp, since that would end his search, but in New York.

"But it will probably upset him that you're doing this without reaching a mutual consensus." I added on. "Not that I think you're in the wrong at all- I see both of your sides, and with how limited Gladice is on communication resources, I understand that it's hard to reach a consensus in either direction. But just... If you're sure, know that your next conversation with him might not be the most pleasant. Not that it'll be that way forever, but the only way you can prove to him that you don't have any intentions of attempting is to live and work on yourself until he gets back. You understand?"

Percy nodded.

"You still want to do it?"

Hesitating for a mere second, Percy nodded again.

"Alright," I said. "lay down, close your eyes- it's a lot easier to do this if you're asleep than awake."

•••

When I arrived at Luke Castellans apartment for our negotiation meeting, I didn't expect almost all of the lights in the apartment to be turned off with the shades drawn.

"Mr. D, hi," Theodore said in a quiet tone as she opened the door and stepped aside to let me in. "Come on in, you're a little early. Chiron isn't with you?"

I shook my head.

"The horse had some other plans before coming here with some cat lady, I don't know." I explained. "He'll be here later. Why is it... Dark? You going to throw a rave? Because that would be fun, to negotiate with neon lights."

"Uh, no, Luke just has a migraine, and our room doesn't have black out curtains yet, so he's laying on the couch until people start to arrive." Zeus' kid explained to me. "Is there a reason you're here early?"

Sitting down and setting the Diet Coke I had with me on the coffee table in the living room, I smiled at Tina.

"Well, I don't have a specific agenda to go over, but I figured I'd see if you needed any assistance." I told the demigod. "we had a bit of a false alarm this summer with the code word, and there hasn't been a chance to discuss a new one since."

"Oh." Timmy responded, pausing for a moment to think. "Does that mean you're on our side? Or are you just bored out of you fucking mind and want to annoy Chiron?"

I thought about that.

Was I on their side?

That's a good question.

"I'd have to know more about your side to answer that- I can't say I'm all that fond of my grandad, but based on what Percy said at our meeting, I don't think you do either?"

"What Percy said? I mean, sure, he has a point- if we don't have to summon a titan, we'd love to stop the process. But Percy isn't... With us, if that's how you want to word it. He's not sided with us."

Was it bad that I laughed?

"Oh, you're funny, Tyrone," I told my younger, mortal sibling. My laugh seemed to make them uneasy, which... Fair. It's not often I can genuinely laugh while at Camp Half Blood. "Even if he's not acting with you two, you can't tell me that Percy doesn't act as a spy at the very least- Sally and Gabe have functionality adopted you two, right? Even if he's not acting, he knows everything. Plus, Kronos is in head."

"Kronos is what?" Leon announced his entrance, sitting up to show me that the lump of blankets on the couch next to me wasn't just blankets, but blankets over a human. Putting a hand on his forehead, he slowly laid back down. "Shit, ouch."

"Well I don't know if they're sharing anything, but the Titan has managed to send a number of visions and dreams to Percy- primarily during their most recent quest." I clarified my statement. "A few weeks back now, Percy willingly came to speak with me while his parents were on vacation, asking if I was able to sever his empathy link with that satyr boyfriend of his. While he gave a different reason, obviously, a part of me wonders if Kronos could've had any influence on that. He hasn't mentioned this to you?"

I turned to look at Todd.

"You were on the quest. You didn't know this?"

The child of Zeus shrugged.

"He said he got visions, not who they came from- are you sure it was Kronos, or are you speculating?"

"Well, Chiron and I recieved a summary visit letter about Percy when you all were stopped in New Mexico," I explained with a shrug. "claiming that his visions were sent from either Kronos or Atlas- and based on how Zia described them during the follow up meeting, I'd be willing to bet money it was Kronos. My concern is why my grandfather is in his head."

Lithium said something under the blanket, muffled by the thick fabric.

"What?" I questioned.

"Kronos wants one of the Big Three kids to host him," Linus repeated himself, pulling the blanket down just enough so I could see his scarred face. "don't worry about it- he's not getting any of them. If it comes to it, he gets me, or he gets nobody. Percy's too self-sacrificial for me to trust him with that anyways. He'd get himself killed."

"Like you won't?"

"Stealing the Bolt wasn't my idea-" Lennox tapped his temple. "He's been in my dreams and in my head for a long time- I'm probably one of very few demigods that could host him and not let him push me out of my own body. He's pissed that this meeting is happening, by the way. He's throwing a titan level tantrum right now."

"Oh, of course, I'd expect nothing less of him." I responded, thinking to myself for a moment about what important questions I should ask. If Chiron were here, he would've had a list or itinerary made of topics to cover because he's annoying and organized like that. I just rely on my brains. "You haven't seen a young Italian boy around, have you? Around 10, dark hair, olive skin? His name is um... Nadine... Nile... Nico! Nico di Angelo."

Both rebels shook their heads- or, I think Leo shook his head. It was under the blanket again.

"No spottings of Nico, but we're keeping an eye out." Telly told me, looking down to the floor. "Has Chiron come to his senses yet, or does he think the kid should fend for himself with no training still?"

Unable to help myself, I rolled my eyes.

"We have a search team, but it's pathetic. I had suggested 7-10 satyrs search for the demigod, some only looking for him, some while on recruitment missions. The horse agreed to 2, which was generous because he seemed to only want to send Gio out as a punishment, so."

"A punishment?" Lincoln questioned.

"For losing two demigods, technically three that were all under his care?" I pointed out. "Not that Chiron should've held you or the son of Hades against him- you left, you weren't taken or lost, but... With your defecting, the di Angelo disappearance... Annabelle is considered his only "successful" recruit. Percy is on thin ice."

"Wh... But Grover had no influence over either of us leaving for the reasons we did." Landon continued, sitting up and pushing through his migraine. "I can understand Thalia's reasoning since they did die during the initial recruiting, but I left when I was supposed to. Percy has no control on if a titan is sending him visions- he didn't reach out to the Titan."

"But did he reach out to you?"

"Wh-" the son of Hermes stopped at the question. "No, he didn't. I stopped by the Jackson's place to drop off some stuff off his that got mixed in at cabin 11 that first summer and he wanted to train and I needed help painting this place, so... That's what started that contact. He didn't know anything when we started to talk outside of camp."

"But he knows now?"

The couple's lack of response was more confirmation than I needed.

"Will he be here today?" I continued on, unsure of who exactly Luke Castellan and Thalia Grace would assemble for a negotiation meeting. "is he working with you? Is that why he suggested the meeting?"

"There's only 3 other demigods coming to the meeting- none of which are Percy. But besides the 3 who will be here, we won't confirm nor deny who exactly is working with us. For their safety, naturally. The meeting wasn't our idea, though- I presumed you all were tired of listening to me."

"I was also under the impression that that most of the Olympians were-"

A knock at the apartment door effectively silenced the three of us.

Giving her boyfriend a look, he nodded his head and the child of Zeus turned the lights of the apartment on. Answering the door, my grandson didn't stand there, but somebody else did.

Somebody that I was hoping wouldn't get involved in this. Not firsthand, at least.

Somebody that, in hindsight, I should've expected, given our history.

I stood, unsure if I should address him. Not knowing why he would be here if he knew I would be here.

Was this meeting neutral territory for us?

Or would Chiron have to treat my wounds if we spoke to each other? If I so much as looked at him for longer than I am currently.

You're a god now, Dionysus. I reminded myself. He's still mortal, and he doesn't appear to be angry. You've gone soft.

I stood, facing the person who Thalia let into the apartment, accepting a large paper bag of what appeared to be food.

"Gabriel." I addressed my son, earning his attention. The smile on his face melted away. "What are you doing here?"

He looked me up and down, as if judging my outfit.

"Dionysus." He said in return, which hit me right in the chest, just like he did last month. "I'm sure you're smart enough to connect the dots."

With that, he looked over to the demigod on the couch next to me.

"Do you need any help setting up before the meeting?"

•••

The meeting, as was prophesized by me in my mind, was indeed a shitshow.

Maybe the most embarrassing part of it was that the fighting didn't even start between Luke's team and the immortals. It just started between two of my siblings. Between Apollo and Athena, strangely enough. Those two tend not to argue too much, since their spheres are generally very different from one another but...

The god of prophecy arguing that we should create a peace treaty today, while the god of battle strategy insists that that's a dumbass idea to have when talking about warding off a titan isn't exactly reassuring.

"We don't have to fight," Lance said, the same thing he's been repeating like a broken record since he was Percy's age and first came to camp. "That's why we're here, remember? To make peaceful negotiations."

"When speaking of the Crooked One? Do you think we're that foolish, child?" Athena asked. "He's already within the mind of that wretched Perseus Jackson, it's much too late for peaceful negotiations. He's stirring."

"He's been stirring for years," Luke countered the goddess. "He sent Percy a dream or a vision, to my understanding, but the titan is not in his mind." He tapped his temple. "I would know. He's not in anybody yet— he still isn't in one piece. Percy is the only person he's been able to send anything to besides me, and I've been keeping him at bay for years. Fine, yeah, he is stirring— but would you rather the demigods fight with you or against you when trying to deal with him? Because that's your choice right now. We're really not asking for a lot— and most of what we want hardly affects most of you. It's things that are possible because you've done them before. Because they're being done now, in the Roman camp."

"Don't listen to him— the requests are absurd." The horse next to me insisted, which I was really tired of hearing.

"No, they're not." I corrected the centaur, who seemed appalled. I looked at my absolutely fucked up family, Father looking expectant as I'd made my opinion known when I usually just go with the status quo in matters involving war. "The kids want to have basic resources at camp, and eventually out of camp, so that way they can live past the age of 16 or 18. They want access to a counselor or a therapist that isn't the same age as them. Somebody who's actually qualified. And for the kids who are shoved into your cabin, Hermes, even though they're not your kid, they want their own cabin."

"Every god having their own cabin?" Hades, who currently doesn't have a cabin, seemed intrigued by the idea.

"Well, to start, we'd just have a cabin for all unclaimed kids and for kids who don't have their parents cabin yet." Luke reasoned. "But eventually, yes. And it would be an amazing project for the campers— the Athena kids can design the different cabins, Hephaestus kids can help build them. The Aphrodite cabin can decorate. The list goes on. But cabin 11 is overrun and overcrowded and it's the stem of so many issues in camp— especially mental health issues— because every single kid who enters camp goes through cabin 11. And there's only so much that I could do or that Connor and Travis can do now or that the councilors after them will be able to do if they're not properly supported by the actual adults in the camp and by the structures that the camp is built upon."

"So build the fucking buildings—why am I supposed to care if Hades or Tyche or whoever get cabins? I already have one." Ares insisted, which was an excellent point: we should just build the buildings. It's that easy. "Fuck, while you're at it, make my cabin cooler. These are all issues with the half horse, kid— why are the rest of us even here?"

"Because we also want you to lift the ban on seeing and visiting your children." Thistle looked very pointedly at Zeus when she said that. "Because it's not like it achieved what you wanted it to, right? Me and Jason, and your brother's kids all made it to camp. So there's nothing to hide anymore."

And you know what? For looking at our father so pointedly and in such an accusatory manner, I had to admire my mortal sibling.

But tragically, it was a misplaced accusation.

"Don't look at me, that was Poseidon's bidding and idea, not mine." Our father informed Tenaya, motioning to his brother, who he just threw under the bus. "You think I'm an idiot? I knew it would've been pointless to hide you— your mother was a Hollywood star. My brother is the one who suggested we stop visiting you mortals, though."

Glancing towards the three demigods that were here besides Lin and Trixie, I saw my son's expression fall, and then steel in contained anger.

"As if we hadn't all suggested it at one point or another."

"Uh, yeah, jokingly." Aphrodite cut in, surprising even me because she so rarely spoke at events like this. "Because we have multiple kids and if they're not at Camp, we have to split into a million parts to visit them all."

"Yeah— why do you think we've all had less kids since the ruling?" I agreed with my sister's point. "What's the point of having a kid if I can't even say hi from time to time? Not that any of us are..." I glanced again to the son who hated my guts. "Perfect parents. But at least Gabe knew me and who I was before he went to camp. Castor and Pollux didn't remember me because I couldn't see them after they were six months old. And because I wasn't allowed to see them before they came to camp, they don't think of me as their dad— they think of me as their camp director. And I'm lucky, because I get to see them at camp! Only benefit to this bum ass punishment is that I get to see my kids, but because I couldn't be there when they were little, they'll probably never think of me as their dad. And personally, I'd rather have a son that I know that hates me than a son who I don't know very well that barely tolerates me when we're forced to socialize."

"So talk to your kids more." Poseidon insisted.

"That's not his point." Gabe interceptes, his arms crossed. "The point is that because he was around when I was growing up, I had the choice once I was grown if I wanted him around or not. My brothers don't get that choice because they have a fatherless childhood, and since he wasn't around when they were kids, they don't want to treat him like their dad now. Sound familiar?"

"My relationship with Perseus is none of your business."

"Brother, even I know that that's a ridiculous claim." Hades interjected in the family argument. "Unless you're really that out of touch with your son and that woman you insist you love so much and is a queen amongst woman, you'd know that this man is your queen's husband and the man that has been raising your son since he was delivered in the hospital. Making him more of a father to the boy than you ever have been."

"Because you're a much better father? Where's your son right now again?"

"I don't know, but that's why I have minions looking for him right now." My uncle answered. "I was still there for both of my kids when they were young. The only reason we were separated is because Zeus tried to kill them and instead killed their mother, so I had to put them in hiding to protect them. If it were up to me, I would still be able to see and speak with Nico, but you didn't want to admit that you broke our oath, so you ruined it for everyone by saying that we can't see our kids anymore."

"And you all agreed with me!"

"No!" Apollo snapped very aggressively. "We didn't! But you convinced Father and Hera that it was a good idea, and we'd all be idiots to go against both of them in a vote because we'd all get punished for not listening to the king, so we voted for it. But in the discussion before the vote, most of us didn't agree with the idea of never talking to our kids."

"Apollo is correct," Athena stood with her brother, naturally against Poseidon. "While our children can be quite annoying at times, I'd much rather choose to not speak with them than to be barred from any communication with the little demigods."

"So you should've voted against the ordeal."

"And been punished?" I challenged my uncle. "I voted against it— and had my punishment at Camp extended another ten years."

"Regardless, the law passed, but we should talk about if we want to get rid of it, not why we voted it in in the first place." The father of Litch Conrad added on. "Technically, according to those rules, at least 3 of us aren't supposed to be here right now. And we shouldn't have allowed all of those demigods onto Olympus for the solstice. But we did, and we do— every year. So why keep the law if we only follow it sometimes?"

"All you ever do is follow laws sometimes." Artemis jabbed at our brother. Hermes rolled his eyes, but it was true. "But I agree— not that I have kids, but it's getting old listening to your kids complain to me about the fact that they haven't heard from you in over a decade. They're your kids. You could at least pretend to like them."

"Precisely my thoughts, sister," Apollo agreed. "My children pray to me day in a day out about how they would appreciate— no, no, no— how they need more help in the infirmary because of the number of kids who need psychiatric help that they can't always supply. Since they're children and all. And wouldn't it be amazing if I could help train them and they could learn from the best? But no, I can't, and because of that, all of our little brats continue to suffer."

Apollo looked at Chiron.

"It's really fucked up that you won't put in the effort to give them therapists or actual counselors, though."

"Effort? Apollo, if it were only a matter of effort, it would be a different story all together, what resources the children could recieve." The horse next to me defended himself in vain. "Things like councilors and therapists are quite expensive. How do you expect us to pay for such things?"

"With the money we get from the strawberries, Chiron." I reminded the fool. "You know, if we provide an in-house counselor or therapist food and housing, it really wouldn't be that expensive. But even if we pay them full salary, we have enough money for that between the strawberries and the fact that we make these kids pay for the items in the camp store. Or maybe we connect the demigods with mental health services here in the city, and then we don't pay a dime unless they don't have parents that can pay. Why do you even care about the money? You run a training camp, and the bills are paid with more than enough to spare."

"Yes, exactly, I run the camp, Dio." Chiron bit back, choosing an awful time to use his little pet name for me. "Not you, and certainly not those kids. I've been training heros for millenia, and they survived just fine without the borders and the fancy cabins and all of these extra things they're asking for. I've given them plenty. It's my job to train them, Dio, not parent them." He began to wheel away from the group, audibly frustrated. "I'm tired of having this conversation and this same exact argument with you and with whatever big-headed egotistical camper decides to stick it the man for some noble cause. It's not in the budget. It's not happening. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have actual important meetings to attend. Not ones where we decided what would happen months or years ago."

And just like that, the centaur left the apartment.

There was a beat of silence as everyone looked at the door, then looked at me.

"Well?" Aphrodite asked me. "What are you doing? Aren't you going to go after him?"

I glanced at the cup of tea Chiron left behind.

"And say what?" I asked my sister in return. "In case you missed it, sis, we've had this exact argument before, dozens of times. You think I like to sit around at that awful camp and listen to kids talk about how they'd rather be dead than go on to live another day? You think I like how he runs that place? Fuck no, and I tell him that all the time. And so do our kids. But it doesn't matter how many Gabe's or Luke's or Percy's there are— it won't change his mind. Because it's his camp, and he runs it how he wants to. I have been waiting for some kind of resistance to form because of it."

I sighed.

"Look," I concluded. "I know I'm not a great father, and I definitely don't have the most kids at Camp right now." I tried to level with my family. "But I'm the only one here— that's immortal— that actually talks to these kids and works with them because I have to. Why don't we just agree to meet the demigods demands on our end about actually talking to our kids, and I'll work with Chiron and with the camp about cabins? Maybe, Apollo, you can help us find demigod therapists. Clear sighted mortals."

"It's dangerous, to contact our children." Poseidon insisted.

"Oh, yeah, rich coming from the guy who's kid's birth meant that ol' grandad would try to come back and destroy us all." Ares piped up. "Fucking hell, man, no more dangerous than you impregnating that brats mother."

Ares glanced at Gabe.

"No offense to your wife— full offense to your kid, though."

Gabe shrugged.

"You framed him for a crime, I don't know what you expected."

"Basic fucking respect."

"From somebody raised by one of Dionysus' kids?" It made me proud, hearing Hades say that about my legacy and reputation. "Fat chance. Regardless, I'd appreciate an opportunity to speak with my son. If you didn't want the responsibility, brother, you shouldn't have had the boy and broken our oath. So boo-hoo, live with the consequences: it's not like he likes you anyways, so maybe you'll get lucky and he won't even want to see you and you'll get what you want in the end. I'm shocked the boy isn't here, if I'm being honest."

"And why would Perseus attend such a meeting as this?" Poseidon, dumb as the rocks on the bottom of the ocean floor, asked.

"Because he doesn't like you, Po, even I know that, and I've interacted with the kid twice. Thrice, if you count him addressing all of us as another time, but it was the same day." Apollo insisted. "On top of that, getting involved with a titan that could kill him upon being possessed seems to be like an idea he'd just love in his current mental state. Or, maybe not current— consistent mental state. You really don't care about that? About the fact that three of my kids have dealt with your son's meltdowns and breakdowns so frequently that they're considered experts with him? Do you realize how fucked up that is?"

"Yeah, and what can I do about that?" Poseidon snapped at his nephew. "Try and talk to him? He doesn't want me in his life, Apollo, he's made that very clear. He'd rather have him—" Poseidon pointed to my son. "Than his actual father in his life. What am I supposed to do? It's not my fault his brain doesn't work."

"You're supposed to care about him anyways." Gabe told his son's biological father. "You're supposed to respect the fact that he wants you to call him Percy and not Perseus— he's told you that no less than 3 times, and you've spoken what? 3 times? Neither of us can control how his brain works, but when meetings like this happen, and we have the opportunity to tell people like Chiron and Mr. D— who have control over services he can get every summer at camp— it's our job to advocate for him so he can get what he needs in order to want to wake up every day. He doesn't want you around because in the same exact sentence you'll tell him that you're proud of him, and then you'll call him a mistake. He doesn't want you around because he can tell that you didn't want him. He's mentally ill, not dumb, and certainly not blind."

There was a beat of silence.

"He's right." I agreed with my son, who seemed caught off guard by my backing him up. "Percy's life was easier before he found out who you were, so he wants that simplicity again, and the only way he knows how he can kind of get that is if he insists that he doesn't want you in his life. And while he doesn't, he knows that at least for these next few years, you're going to be around, so in trying to not care, he ends up caring way too much about what you think about him and what you do when he gets brought up. And while he's certainly not the only demigod who that remains true for, he's the one that it's the most obvious in because of the quests he's done and because he's a one man cabin. So he doesn't have siblings to quell and soothe his anxiety and self-destructive tendencies that you bring to him every time you guys have to interact. Or every time you choose to ignore him when he's right there. Do you know how badly it fucked him up this summer? When you invited Tyson to live with you, and didn't even say hi to him?"

"Oh, it couldn't have been that bad."

"He tried to kill himself." I countered. "And sure, he was already unstable before then, but when I asked him what was going on, he asked me, Poseidon— he asked why you cared about Tyson and not him. And he's not..."

I lost my voice, looking at the other gods.

"He's not the only kid who's confided those thoughts in me." I broke the shitty ass news that none of them wanted to hear: that their kids were hurting. "And he's also not the most recent. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who did or didn't vote to cut contact with our kids some 15 years ago— because it hurt all of our kids. We wouldn't be in this meeting right now if we didn't cut off contact from our kids, guaranteed."

"It's true," Luke agreed, shrugging. "Our issues with Chiron wouldn't be as severe as they are if we could've seen you guys growing up. The whole reason Kronos reached out to me in the first place is because he knew how angry I was with Hermes for leaving my mom and I when I was a kid. Had he never had to leave, I never would've run away, I have no idea how I would've gotten to camp, and I'd have no justifiable reason to be angry, meaning that Kronos would've never spent years trying to reach out to me."

"Years?" Dad questioned.

"Years." Luke confirmed. "But again, I don't want to be possessed by a titan, so if you guys would just sign the treaty... We can avoid an entire war— there's an entire year until Percy turns 16 and the Great Prophecy probably happens. I don't know if I can promise that he'll be stopped at this rate, but regardless of if it's Kronos or another being that rises and tries to destroy Olympus in a year, would you rather the demigods fight for our against you? That's your option. Because what you decide here will send a message to all of your kids, loud and clear."

Father leaned back in his seat. "Fine, let's take a vote then: I'll even go last, so that way my vote can't impact other's, like it apparently did last time. Do you want contact with your mortal spawn or no?"

The vote went as follows:

Zeus: No
Hera: No Vote (no children)
Poseidon: No
Demeter: Yes
Ares: Yes
Athena: Yes
Apollo: Yes
Artemis: No Vote (no children)
Hephaestus: Yes
Hermes: Yes
Me: Yes
Hades: Yes

It was a little embarrassing that my father and uncle were the only ones to say no, especially after the vote when Hera and Artemis both insisted that they would've voted yes if they had a vote to cast.

After that, a treaty was drafted to overrule the law created to cut contact with our children. And that was it.

More meetings would be had, later this summer, to discuss things specifically with Chiron and to talk about representation for minor gods at camp and on Olympus, but there was a level of peace between the demigods and the gods.

For now.

After the meeting, I lingered behind for a few minutes since we hadn't been able to actually discuss what I came here for before others showed up before the meeting. Gabe also seemed to linger as the two of us stood near to one other, both watching Luke and Hermes have a sort of awkward, but somewhat endearing exchange.

"Thank you." Gabe said, his initiation of the conversation shocking me. "For backing us up, and for backing me up against Poseidon."

I nodded.

"I'm the only god who works with those kids day in and day out— I'd be an idiot to deny the things Luke and Percy constantly bring up." I returned, crossing my arms.  "I'll keep arguing with Chiron about it— maybe it won't change his mind, but maybe it'll keep him distracted while we begin to just do it anyways. I am sorry for what happened with Percy, and I've told him as much. I've been trying to support Luke and Thalia in the background for quite a while, and while I'm uncertain how exactly Percy factors into their plans, I shouldn't have acted so aggressively in the first place, much less changed my demeanor so quickly after the fact. I deserved getting my ass handed to me, after the distress I put him through."

He scoffed.

"Yeah, you did— Percy told me about the apology already." My eldest living son informed me. "You got rid of his mental link with Grover?"

I shrugged.

"He asked, and when I questioned, his reasoning was pretty solid to me. Why? Has he gotten worse since I severed their link?"

Gabe shook his head.

"No." The older demigod informed me, which was a sigh of relief. "It's hard to know if he's getting better, but he's not getting worse. He says that he's sleeping better most nights. He hadn't had to go to the hospital. I think the worst thing right now is that he hasn't been able to talk to Grover since it's happened, so he's a little worried both for Grover's livelihood and for their relationship, but..."

This time, he shrugged.

"I think that once they talk, he'll start to show more improvement, so it's just a waiting game. He's managing, though."

"Good— I'm glad." I said, concluding our conversation as Hermes finally left the apartment. "I'll see you around, one way or another, kid."

I nodded to him.

"Just keep doing what you've been doing."

And went to speak to Luke and Thalia on the matter of codes and emergency words for the approaching summer.

Notes:

happy new year <3

Chapter 97: Loved Ones (Minus The Love)

Dionysus

I can't say I expected to return to Camp Half Blood to packed bags and a cleaned out office.

After talking to Luke and Thalia, I stopped by a vending machine to get a real Diet Coke (there is a difference between actual diet coke and the stuff I conjure, and I don't know what it is to this day, but Chiron won't let me have a soda fountain in the big house so I make do), and then returned to Camp Half Blood, where I was immediately tracked down by a few campers wanting to know how the meeting went.

"Okay, okay, relax, let me brief Chiron on what he missed after he left and then I can—" I told the campers, including Connor Stoll, my kids, and Clarisse La Rue, my statement being cut off by the new addition of luggage that hadn't been in the main room of the Big House before we'd left for the meeting today.

"Chiron." I said, alarmed by the luggage that surrounded the centaur. "What on earth are you doing? Just because some of us disagreed with you at the meeting doesn't mean you have to—"

"Oh, these bags aren't mine, Dionysus." Chiron told me with a flat expression. "They're for you."

"They're— what? Chiron, even if I wanted to leave, I can't."

"Yes, you can." The centaur pushed a single suitcase towards me. "I'll speak with my brother on the matters of your punishment, but until you come to your senses about how this camp operates, and until you stop supporting those foolish children, you are not welcome within the borders of Camp Half Blood."

"I'm not welcome... What if I want to see my kids? You can't bar me from seeing Castor and Pollux."

Chiron scoffed.

"If your boys wish to see you, I'll personally see to it that they can do so, safely, outside of camp borders. Until then, have fun doing whatever drunken, ridiculous activities you'll take part in, now that you're free from the shackles of this camp."

Not even allowing me the chance to argue, Chiron used his divine powers (which he rarely does for purposes not related to healing) to whisk me away.

The next thing I knew, I was on Olympus.

Not too far from where I stood, in a vineyard filled with grapes, I could hear Apollo flirting with a dryad through song— the most insufferable way to flirt with somebody.

Actually, I lied— his on the spot poetry is worse.

"Lord Dionysus, welcome home." A vine dryad greeted me— Violet, or something along those lines. She's been on Olympus for a few centuries now, her root's strong. She offered me a can of diet coke. "To what do we owe the honor of your presence before the solstice? Is your unjust punishment finally at is conclusion? Shall I trade this for a glass of wine?"

Considering my drink options, I decided against the wine and just took the faux Olympian Diet Coke— I didn't want to hurt one of my few loyal servants if the wine turned to water in my hands like a cruel prank from J.C. over in the Abrahamic pantheon.

Me and him used to be buddies, but we haven't spoken in a while.

Maybe I should take away his power to turn water into wine. If I do that, maybe I'll get the power back myself.

"My punishment is... On pause, at the moment. Knowing my father, I'm still barred from my own creation." I answered her questions. "I won't be here long."

After all, it felt strange to be here. As the god who became a god later than all of the others— or, better phrased, as the god who was not given immortality or godhood as a birthright— I've always had mixed feelings about being on Olympus.

My addition to the pantheon— being forced to ascend— ruined the balance on Olympus, more or less. I'd been given Hestia's seat, and although my aunt insists that it is a non-issue, I've always felt that it is an issue: I didn't even want her seat. But I also can't give it back because of divine rules or whatever.

Trust me, it was the first thing I tried to do as a god. I panicked a little.

The second thing I did was make my wife immortal, because I had no idea how fast time was passing and I was afraid she'd die if I wanted to take a nap, even though I no longer felt tired ever.

Yeah, there's a reason I'm the god of madness and not Apollo— I went crazy as I was ascending.

Regardless, I always feel odd about residing on Olympus. I go through phases where I'll stay on Olympus and party for years, if not decades and it's amazing, I love it.

And then after I party for so long, I get lonely and so I go through the phase that I'm going through right now: missing my mortal life. Wanting to have something that means anything at all.

Apollo calls those phases my feral and my domestic periods, which...

Is mean because he's annoying.

But domestic isn't completely off, because I was on Olympus now, right by my temple and my like, home, more or less. My crazy and insane mansion.

Despite being home, though, I wanted to go down to the surface. To Manhattan.

So I did. I summoned a bottle of wine— Gio's (Gabe's dad) favorite— and went down to Manhattan.

Being truly domesticated, as my brother would phrase it, I even walked to the apartment and knocked on the door instead of just appearing inside, to be greeted by my husband.

"Hello?" Gio asked as he opened the door before realizing who was here and perking up (something I enjoyed every time it happened). "Oh, Di! Hi, Darling." He kissed my cheek. "We didn't make plans today, did we? I thought you were stuck at camp for... Until the summer solstice."

I smiled.

"We did not." I confirmed my partners suspicions. I extended the bottle of wine towards him. "Care for a drink?"

He rolled his eyes, taking my hand instead.

"Like I could ever say no to that."

•••
Percy Jackson

I was... Caught off guard when the first person to get to my apartment after Gabe left for the meeting at Luke's wasn't Gabe.

Or even mom coming home from work, for that matter. Or anyone I expected.

"He—" seeing a head of red hair when I opened the door certainly threw me off. I shifted, wondering why she was here. "Oh, uh, hey. Rachel, right? Rachel Elizabeth Dare?"

"Percy, hi!" She said, giving me a hug as a form of greeting, which felt odd. I heard Travis's footsteps from behind me— we'd been hanging out for the day, both anticipating the review my dad would give us when he got back in a bit. "Sorry that I haven't called or swung by to say hi or hang out or anything until... Well, now, but... Hi! How you doing? You're alive, which seems like... Good. You survived the quest."

"I did survive the quest— everyone that you met survived." I said, still a little confused by her presense. "Are you... Okay? You're not here because something is chasing you and wants you dead or something, right?"

"No, no monsters or anything," Rachel Elizabeth Dare reassured me as I let her inside the apartment, hoping Travis wouldn't be upset by somebody else being here. "I was just at the MET earlier, which isn't far from here, and I really don't want to deal with my dad right now, so... I thought I'd say hi. Make sure you didn't die on me. Maybe tease you and your boyfriend, if he was here."

"Oh, yeah, I'm... Alive." I said, trying to not sound regrettable about it because I don't want to actively kill myself, but I still hate waking up in the morning. "Grover isn't here. He's actually out of state right now— will be for... A while. But my friend Travis is here," I motioned to the demigod behind me, who smiled. "He's also a demigod— his dad is Hermes. Travis, this is Rachel, the uh... The clear sighted girl we met on the quest who helped us get to California."

"Yo, no way! You're the one Percy almost sliced in half?"

Travis offered her a hand to shake, but she must've brushed up on her mythology, because Rachel didn't take it.

"That would be me," she confirmed, giving him a high five instead. "No offense, but if your dad is the god of mischief, I'm not shaking your hand."

The son of Hermes chuckled. "Smart choice. The fact that Percy lets me into his apartment every time is a miracle."

"I woke up to you trying to break in to the apartment through my window."

He smiled. "And you still let me in."

I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, maybe I won't next time." I said, knowing it was a lie. "Come on, let's go play some uno."

We spent the afternoon playing games and later on watching some TV while we all did some drawing or sketching (Travis recently decided to pick up drawing and coloring as a mindless hobby to destress after dealing with campers) because sometimes it's just nice to be in the presence of others without having to talk or do something as a group.

Hanging out with others— being social, takes a lot out of me right now, so I was glad that Rachel liked the idea of doing our own things in the same area.

It was a good sign, I think. That we could be good friends.

She also got along with Travis really well— we all spent like twenty minutes talking about the different stores we've stolen a lot of our shit from.

Spencers is always half off if you're sneaky enough.

Trying to steal more than double what you actually purchase is hard, though— unless it's dumb shit like car fresheners or stickers. For the cool shit, though, clothes and whatever, I usually get at least an extra shirt and maybe a beanie.

The update from Gabe on the meetings outcome was... Roughly what I expected, just based on how the solstice went a while ago now. The fact that Chiron straight up left the meeting early felt like a really bad sign, though.

Dad getting a call from Grandpa that night to tell us that Chiron had suspended Dionysus from camp for the foreseeable future made it even worse.

I had to admit that I thought it was cute that the first place Mr. D went to after getting kicked out of camp was to grandpa's place. I really hope that I end up with a relationship like theirs or like my parents when I'm an adult— with Grover or somebody else.

There's a long time before I'm an adult, after all, and my chances of living that long are super low.

At therapy the next week— I'm currently having to go twice a week— I told my therapist about the meeting and how I was glad that the gods have gotten their heads out of their asses at least a little, but that I was worried about camp.

The idea of going back this summer...

"I don't even know if I want to go to camp this summer, but I don't know if it's an option to like, not go?" I tried to explain. "Not without raising suspicion that I've completely defected, that is. Plus, if I don't go to camp, I won't get to see Grover..." I looked down. "If he's back by then."

"You still have quite a while to figure out your summer plans— there's no use in stressing about them quite this early in spring." My therapist reminded me. "How are things between Grover and you, now that it's been a few weeks since the empathy link was severed? Has it been helping in the way you hoped?"

"Well, it... Yeah." I confirmed, nodding my head. "I don't feel as guilty when I have panic attacks now. I still feel a little guilty, but that's usually because of how much it makes the people around me worry and panic, which is like... Better, because I'm not trying to stop myself from having them and making them worse because of that, so... Yeah. It's helped. As for Grover and I..."

I shrugged.

"We haven't gotten to speak since the link was broken." I told my therapist, who seemed a little saddened by that, because she knew of our plan to call at least every other week. "Um, he's... Like, he's alive. Mr. D promised to tell me if he dies. So I'm not worried about that, but... We were supposed to call last week, and we'd agreed that, unless it was an emergency, he'd make the calls so that way I can't interuppt him doing something like needing to be stealthy around a monster or whatever. So I don't put him in danger. But he never called, so I'm worried that like... He's still upset about the link or he's mad or something that I actually did the thing I said I was going to do, which was talk to Mr. D about severing the link. I might call like..."

I groaned.

"I don't know, I'm worried, but I also don't want to risk putting him in danger, so I also am scared to call him and I just... Long distance is hard. I don't even feel like I have a boyfriend half the time anymore."

"You don't?"

Shaking my head, I pulled my legs in, knowing it sounded bad.

"Mostly because like... He's never here. In the..." I motioned around the room. "Greater New York area. If he was just at camp or like, upstate, it wouldn't be bad, because we could actually make plans to see each other like... Even if it's not super often, we could make the plans. But he was in Maine all last semester, which was... Okay, because we still talked semi regularly and I thought it was temporary because he'd done with it in December or January, but..."

"Now he's gone. Again." I continued. "And he... Deserves to be able to chase his dream. To try and find Pan, but..."

"It makes it a lot harder to be his boyfriend?"

Nodding, I confirmed her point.

"I just... Need somebody who can physically be there, I think." I went on, describing things I've sort of spoken to Travis and to Rachel about, along with Luke and Thalia these last few weeks. "For now, at least. Even if they're not around all the time, because I know that's not healthy either, but if we can talk at least once a week..." The other side of this also sucked, though. "I also don't want to break up, though, just because Grover's doing the thing that I told him I wanted him to do. To chase his dream to get his searchers license and find Pan, because he's gotten good leads, and he shouldn't have to stay behind because of me."

"It's hard, when your needs and your abilities in a relationship don't match." My therapist said in return, bouncing off of my point. "Have you considered talking about this with Grover? Or anyone?"

"I've talked about it with Travis, along with Luke and Thalia. Just to get like... A different point of view from somebody who's single and people who aren't." I confirmed. "They all said that I should talk to him, which I agree with. It's just... Waiting for the call. Maybe if he doesn't call after today, I'll IM because I think today marks one month since the link has been severed. Either today or tomorrow."

"I think that's a good idea— who knows, maybe he's anxious like you are about how things will work now as well, so he's been hesitant to call. Or maybe he's been in an area with bad reception. Can that happen with IMs? I've never had to make one myself."

"Um... I guess if he's in a desert-y area where it's dry, then it could be hard to figure out a way to make a rainbow, yeah." I tried to keep that in mind. That maybe that was just it. "We'll see. I'll tell you next week how it goes."

Making a note, probably to ask about our call next session, my therapist shifted the conversation to something less stressful and anxiety inducing to close our session before we spent the last five minutes on my positive affirmations before I was allowed to leave.

Like normal, I skateboarded home since it was nice enough outside. Nobody else was home when I got back, since it's a weekday, so I took a chance to just lay down and de-stress after therapy. It makes me pretty tired, after all.

And I was almost asleep in bed when I questioned my sanity, hearing my name.

"Percy?" I sat up, hearing my name, but knowing it wasn't either of my parents, I looked around the room. "Percy!"

My eyes landing on my diffuser (which currently had lavender in it), I realized that I wasn't crazy— just receiving an IM. Which hasn't happened in... A while.

After all, Travis and Rachel just sort of... Show up when they think I'm not busy and I've only actually been busy once so far when they've done that, so if the methods not broke, don't fix it, right?

And, as exciting as it was to get an IM, it... Really wasn't the person I wanted it to be from.

"Oh, Annabeth." I said, crossing my arms, trying to let the lavender calm my nerves because the last time we saw each other was my parents reception, which went... Weird. Half good, half bad. And we've briefly spoken once since then, after Luke met with the gods and Chiron to tell her what Mr. D told us— the gods agreed to see their kids, but Chiron was stubborn. It was a super short debrief with Dad there, though, and Mr. D, so we didn't... Actually talk with each other. "Hey."

The daughter of Athena frowned.

"Hey." She returned. "Bad day?"

I shrugged.

"Aren't most days?" I reminded her, then felt guilty for saying that. "Sorry, no, it's... I just got home from therapy, and I've been waiting on an IM, so... Yeah. Sorry. I doubt it'll come soon anyways. What's up?"

"No, it's alright, I get it— my step mom's gotten really good at ruining my day ever since I've been back home." Annabeth told me, which I hated to hear, because her step mom majorly sucked the one time we met. And is definitely transphobic. "I just..." She groaned. "Wanted to talk to somebody from camp, because somehow gods and monsters and magic don't drive me insane, but my mortal step mom does, so... Who are you waiting to IM you? Grover, or...?"

I nodded, pulling my knees in.

"He's on another search— technically for Nico, but he's basically looking for Pan based off a lead he got on this last quest." I filled her in. "I don't know if he told you or if you've heard, so he'd been gone since basically right after the vow renewal. We called like... The day after he left because of..."

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes, still not completely used to my thoughts being just mine again. Not having to share my head.

"I had Mr. D sever our empathy link." Annabeth's jaw dropped when I said that. "Yeah. And I called him before I went to Mr. D to talk about it, and he... Didn't want to sever it because he doesn't really— it was basically the same thing Travis said when we broke up. Well, not that we were really together. But he wanted me to keep it because otherwise he wouldn't have a way to guarantee that I won't kill myself until he gets back... Eventually."

"Wh— I mean, like you didn't try to kill yourself when you guys had the empathy link?" The daughter of Athena made a wonderful point as she processed what was apparently baffling news to her. "So what? Did you guys fight and you just did it anyways, or...? You didn't break up, did you? I feel like I would've heard from Grover if you guys broke up. That was like, what? A month ago now?"

"We didn't... Okay, we kind of fought." I confessed, sighing. "I was trying to tell him that while I understand his concern because... I have a track record, there were other ways to make sure I'm alive and okay— IM and also like, Hermes delivers and picks up without an address. He'd just have to trust me like, a little bit. And I don't think he really does yet. We haven't... Talked since Mr. D severed the link later that day. We were supposed to IM last week, and the agreement was that he'd send the call so I don't accidentally put him in danger, and he never called, so... I'm giving him until tomorrow before I gamble the time of day to call. I also sent him a letter with the results or the meeting and stuff that we told you about, and he never responded, which sucks because I said other stuff in the letter as well. Took forever to write because of my dyslexia— Rachel basically wrote most of it for me."

Annabeth frowned. "Rachel?"

"Oh, a uh... She's mortal, but she's clear sighted." I explained. "We met her at the Hoover Dam this winter on our way to you guys, but she's originally from Brooklyn, so we've been hanging out these last two weeks. Travis, too. Since we're on good terms again."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Hanging out with Travis again? And how does your boyfriend feel about that?"

"He..." Sighing, I bit my tongue because Mr. D asked me the same question last week. "Hasn't contacted me since he left for me to tell him about it, so I don't know, but it's platonic. Plus, Rachel is also there half of the time. I'm anxious because I'm worried about things with my boyfriend because I already did one thing he didn't want me to do, I'm not... The goal isn't breaking up with Grover."

I paused.

"Hopefully. It will probably depend on how the IM goes." I admitted, seeing Annabeth's expression sadden. "I don't want to break up. I like Grover. I miss him, but..."

"You don't know how he feels anymore?" Annabeth suggested, and I nodded a response. "You regret severing the link? Why'd you even do it in the first place? The... The Prophecy, or...?"

"Surprisingly, no— though I would've, eventually, had I not done it when I did." I said, playing with my camp necklace. "I just... I had a breakdown and a super bad panic attack the night or the reception because I thought I saw Bianca and obviously, it wasn't her, so that... Was weird, in a bad way. And then I was just doing bad because I'm still worried about Nico and grieving for Bianca because I feel guilty about her death and then Grover told me that he was going on a search probably on the other side of the country until whenever he decides to either give up and come back or he finds Nico or Pan, so... My mental health was just like, perfect, you know?"

"As it tends to be after quests, of course." I appreciated her sarcasm, genuinely.

"Yeah exactly." I agreed. "Anyways, Travis popped by the day after Grover left since he'd been in the city to see his mom or something and Connor wanted to visit somebody else, and he'd heard that Grover was going to be gone for a while, so he dropped off a goodie bag and I..."

I closed my eyes.

"I was so anxious and so unwell that the moment he asked how I was doing— how I was holding up between Grover and Nico and Bianca, that I... I lied." I continued on, Annabeth nodding along to urge me to keep going. "I said I was fine, relatively speaking. Because once my anxiety spiked, a thought came in from Grover that I... It wasn't directed as me, but it was him thinking to himself, and accidentally to me, that if I was going to have another panic attack or episode that day, he couldn't keep going. He'd have to stop and take a break wherever he was, which...

"Was why I lied, more or less." I tried to explain the trainwreck of that afternoon to the daughter of Athena. "It wasn't the first time that I'd noticed that my mental health influences Grover, obviously— I can tell that my episodes make him tired, but when I'd apologize not because of the attack, but because of how it had to affect him when he doesn't even have anxiety, he'd just like deny it and... So this just confirmed it. And because I didn't want to hold him back from making progress, I tried to push my anxiety down, which is infamously a horrible thing to do, so my panic attack was so much worse than it would've been originally, and I felt so guilty the entire time because I knew it was impacting him and it wasn't the first time it happened, so..."

I shrugged.

"When I talked to Travis and to both Mr. D and my grandpa about it, they all agreed that severing the link was a logical thing to do." I reasoned. "Because, even if it guarantees that I'm not dead for Grover, it was making both of us miserable. I... I couldn't get better because I felt like I couldn't let myself feel my depression or my anxiety, and by trying to push those things away, I just made them worse. And because I was worse, Grover felt it more, basically giving him second hand anxiety and depression. And while I had no way to promise that getting rid of the empathy link would make my mental health better, I figured it was nicer to at least have a chance at getting better and risking that one of us gets hurt than keeping it and just... Staying miserable."

Nodding, Annabeth thought through that for herself.

"Yeah, that... I honestly don't know why Grover made the empathy link with you in the first place." The daughter of Athena told me. "I mean, it's because you guys were best friends and he was in danger, but... He knew about the Great Prophecy, so I don't know why he didn't sever it during the summer. Especially after your attempt this summer— it disproved his theory that you wouldn't try to kill yourself with the link. Which... No shit, depression is a literal disease that you weren't being treated for, so an empathy link isn't going to stop a disease. Regardless, he did it and it's gone now. Has it helped?"

But that's a wonderful, great, and extremely hard question to answer.

"I... Think? It didn't make it worse, at least." I answered. "I feel less guilty when I have panic attacks, which was like... One of the main things. So I'm pretty sure it's helped by at least not making it worse."

"That's good, though, because you were like... Bad, this last year." Annabeth responded, which I couldn't argue with at all. From her end of the call, I could hear somebody yell. Annabeth groaned.  "Ugh, sorry, my step mom is home. Gods, sometimes she makes me want to run away again."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, I don't blame you, she kind of sucked the one time we met. Have you considered just... Moving back to camp full time?" I suggested, knowing it sort of went against my own words that I told her like two years ago when she was debating if she should try to go home again, but...

That was two years ago. Before I knew the absolute horrendous person that Elizabeth Chase is.

And not for any external reasons like it had been for Gabe. When it came to my dad— my step-dad, technically, his issue was the alcohol. When we were finally able to remove that from the scenario, things got better. It's been almost two years since he sobered up now, and after it hit one year, things... We're pretty normal between us. Or, as normal as anything can be between two demigods who are father and son when the son is a teenager. 

I already hate one of my dad's— I'd rather continue to work on forgiving Gabe for what happened when he was still an alcoholic. He hasn't had a drop of alcohol since mom and I went missing, so he's yet to lose my trust again.

Mrs. Chase isn't on drugs, though, nor is she an alcoholic or anything. She just... Has shitty beliefs.

One of those beliefs being that Annabeth will never be Annabeth, but instead will always be... Whatever her name was on her birth certificate.

I've definitely heard it because I've heard her get misgendered and deadnamed, but I usually forget about it within 5 minutes of it happening because that's just Annabeth. And if you don't call her Annabeth, you're weird and suck and— if you're like Circe— I might have to sucker punch you for it.

In the throat, ideally.

"I... I mean, yeah, I have." My quest buddy admitted. "But I don't want to like... I don't want to leave my dad, and as annoying as school is, I've made a couple friends that I don't want to up and leave. Plus, I've started to visit Camp Jupiter to see Reyna and sometimes Jason, but usually Reyna, and if I live at Camp Half Blood full time again, it would be so much harder to visit."

I frowned.

"You... Are you and Reyna friends?"

Annabeth shrugged.

"I think so, yeah." She answered, pausing for a moment. "We try to meet once a week or once every other week somewhere in New Rome because Camp Jupiter itself is still... Weird about me being there for some reason? It's alright, though, since I'm a lot more interested in New Rome. The architecture there is beautiful and it's like they pulled old Rome out of a history book, installed some new tech, and then... That's it. Have you been?"

I shook my head, telling her that I haven't been, but I've heard a little about it from other demigods.

After all, it'd be cool if we could have something like that at Camp Half Blood.

"It would be cool." The daughter of Athena agreed with me, looking down and opening her mouth, but nothing came out. She seemed to consider her words carefully. "Who's told you about it? Reyna, or...? You guys don't talk that often, do you?"

"Reyna and I? No. There's no reason to, really." I said, rubbing my hands together. "Um, you weren't there for the start of it, obviously, but Jason and Octavian were at camp the week leading up to the solstice. You know that, obviously— Jason definitely talked to you. So he mentioned some stuff, but also like..." I looked down, knowing it was a sensitive subject. "Thalia and Luke have... talked about it a lot."

Annabeth closed her mouth.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"They didn't mention it at all at the vow renewal."

Again, I shrugged.

"My parents feed them at least once a week." I tried to fill in some blanks for my sort of friend. "I see them... Pretty regularly. Not that camp stuff always gets brought up, but... It's four demigods and one mortal who had a kid with a god and married a demigod, so..."

"Oh." She said again. "I mean, I know you mentioned that back in December but...That must put you in a... Weird spot. With our parents and camp and all. Now that word is out that they're working with a titan."

I chuckled.

"Yeah, well I don't think the god's distrust of me comes from the fact that I still talk to Luke and Thalia after they defected." I insisted, because the gods can believe whatever they want about me, but I know what it stems from. "The gods and Chiron don't trust me because I wasn't supposed to be born and my birth might mean the end of their world, so if they don't like me anyways, I'll take family dinners with them and swordfighting lessons with Luke while I'm home over... Not having those things. I think it keeps both of them sane."

"The idea of Thalia willingly going to a family dinner is still weird to me." The daughter of Athena pointed out, making me feign a smile. "I guess the three of us usually ate together on the streets, but... It feels different. It doesn't bother you at all? That they still come over and I assume your parents act like nothing's different?"

With that question, I considered the possibilities.

Considered how much Annabeth could handle hearing about what Luke and Thalia (and I) are really trying to do.

Not alone. Not with just one or two others. But with... Dozens of other demigods, if not over a hundred now.

After all, Gabe has spread word amongst demigods closer to his age. We have the entire counsel, and Jason said he would try to get some sort of petition made at Camp Jupiter for the gods to reinstate contact with their children, because that's their primary issue.

"Annabeth..." I lost my voice initially, trying to phrase this just perfectly. "It can't be weird if it wasn't... News."

I paused, noting her confused expression in the IM.

"I knew about Luke." I confessed. "Before the quest— before the meetings. The entire counsel knew— Thalia told them, you just... Had been kidnapped, so you weren't there. I myself have known... For a while. And like I said, partnering with Kronos is fucking insane, but—"

"Woah, woah, woah, hold on." She cut me off. "You knew for a while? How long is a while?"

Glancing down, I opened my mouth.

"It— um..." I tried to remember how long I'd been home before Luke came over that first fall after we met. "Like... Two weeks after summer ended?"

"So you found out this last September?"

Nervously, I chuckled.

"Hahaha, no, not... The September before then. Or maybe it was still August— I'm not sure, it was like immediately before school started." Annabeths jaw dropped, which was reasonable. "Yeah, um... He came over to give me some of my stuff that got mixed in with Travis' stuff that got mixed in with his stuff, and I noticed he had a different sword, so I asked about it and we started to talk and... Yeah. He didn't mention Kronos immediately, but I... I knew well before summer."

Stunned, Annabeth didn't have a response. She looked at me, trying to figure something out.

My role in this potential war, probably.

"Luke isn't after the gods, Annabeth." I told her, a point that I hoped she would understand. "And neither is Thalia. Sure, they want them to start paying child support— say hi to us from time to time. But there's no plan to overthrow Olympus because that's not what anybody wants. Well, Kronos, but... The point of the meeting that the gods just had with Luke was to try and reach a peaceful agreement so that way when Kronos rises, the gods and demigods can work together to take care of it instead of try to kill each other because we're angry and don't trust each other. It's..."

I put my hands out.

"It's Chiron, Annabeth." Because of her relationship with the centaur, I knew it was hard to hear it, but it was the truth and she needed to know that. "Luke was able to convince the gods that being able to say hi to your kids would be a good thing for everyone. From what I've been told between Mr. D, my dad, and then Luke and Thalia, there was barely any push back about that idea. There was maybe 2 or 3 gods, but... They voted and majority won so we can see our parents outside or the solstices again. Eventually I think they're supposed to discuss things involving minor gods on Olympus, but I'm not sure. The thing that that meeting didn't resolve, though, is what's going on at camp itself."

"Thing... Like what things?"

"The same shit we tell Chiron and Mr. D about at least once a month." I explained. "That campers are miserable and our average life expectancy is way too low and there are pretty simple ways to fix it, if he'd provide us with the proper resources. Other gods agreed, after Mr. D backed Luke and Thalia up on what they were saying, that Chiron should offer us something, and he got so... Hell, Ares said that if we built more cabins, he just wanted us to remodel his to look cooler, because why else would he care how many cabins there are? But Chiron went on a rant about how it's not that easy and not that simple and Mr. D called him out saying that, as complex as a task as it may be, it's doable with how much money the farm makes and how he wouldn't have to pay any of us for labor, but Chiron..."

I sighed.

"Just left the meeting when he realized that people weren't going to take his side. Said that he was tired of having this argument with Mr. D, left the meeting, and when Mr. D got back to camp, Chiron had packed his bags and effectively kicked him out of camp. Because he wouldn't take his side. Literal people are dying, and he doesn't..."

Letting out a breath, I felt my body go limp.

"Camp Jupiter and New Rome have a combined life expectancy that averages in the late 60s or early 70s." I pointed out. "Ours is what? 16, 17? Now with the borders it's up to 19 or 20? And the only reasons that they are so much higher than us is because they have a place for every single camper to belong, even if I don't completely understand the system—and they have a place for adult demigods to be. An entire city that's safe. And while yeah, a while city is asking for a lot... It doesn't have to be all at once. Just... Somewhere. Something. Anything, at this rate, because if multiple gods are agreeing with Luke...

"We need change, and everyone knows it. Apollo and Ares and... I think our parents agreed at one point in time, according to my dad? The change doesn't have to be violent." I reminded her. "It'd be great if it wasn't, actually, but if Chiron wants a fight, then I guess he can enjoy almost the entirety of the counsel fighting against him."

"Almost the entirety of the concil?"

I shrugged. "Well, besides you."

"Besides... Even Clarisse?"

"It's hard to worship your dad after the only thing he seems to be able to do is criticize and berate you the few times you've spoken."

She conceded my point.

"I suppose—and, as you said, the true issue isn't our parents. Or at least, not for now." Annabeth reasoned. "So what's the plan then? How can we fight against Chiron?"

"Wh—" her willingness surprised me after we've pushed on each other about the gods and camp for years blue. "You want to know?"

"Well, of course, Seaweed Brain." I still hated that nickname. "How am I supposed to help out if I don't know what's going on?"

Notes:

Teehee dominos are falling everyone say hi Annabeth welcome to the team

Chapter 98: It's Always "I Love You" And Never "I Trust You"

Percy Jackson

Grover finally called the morning after I talked to Annabeth, waking me up at the bright and early hour of 11AM.

"Percy?" Hearing my boyfriend voice for the first time in a month was enough to wake me up almost instantly, though it did confuse me. "Are you awake?"

"Hm...?" I hummed, sitting up and rubbing my eyes before realizing that it was an IM and not my boyfriend actually being in my room. Not that he's the type to sneak in, but still.

I smiled, because for as worried as I've been, I also missed him.

"Oh, hey, Grover." I said, noticing his anxiety even without the dumb empathy link. "Sorry, I just woke up. As you can probably tell. What time is it for you?"

"It's uh— well I don't know the exact time, but I picked up a coffee and a small breakfast around 5:30 and I went searching for a few hours before finding a good clearing to rest for a little bit before I figure out brunch and my afternoon route. I'm in Southern California right now, so I'm... Four hours? Yeah, four hours behind you. I didn't mean to wake you up, sorry, but... At least you woke up."

That statement rubbed me wrong.

"I did wake up." I responded short, because I thought that he just wouldn't say anything based on the fact that I was alive and not in a hospital or visibly hurt or anything. "Is there a reason why I wouldn't? You seem a little surprised."

"Well..." But of course, he wouldn't say it, because nobody wants to say it out loud. "You... Know. You never know. We don't have the empathy link anymore, so it's hard for me to know those things now that it's been a whole month."

I shrugged.

"You could ask." I suggested, because it was that simple. "You could respond to my letters or send an IM when you say you're going to. Then you would know— or at least, have a better idea. Hermes doesn't even charge us for letters."

And sure, I felt bad being so hostile towards my boyfriend almost immediately after not being able to speak with him for a month, but...

But now that I can see him, it's not even a relief— it's just validating my feelings right now.

Or, more accurately, my frustrations.

"Are you... Upset?" Grover asked, sounding confused.

"Yes!" I crossed my arms, taking a large breath. "Because it's been a month since we've spoken, Grover, and you said you would call in two weeks, and that IM never came. I know that it's harder to know things without the empathy link, Grover, but that's why I want you to respond to my letter or call when you say you will. I know you're busy and on the go, but... If you say you'll call in two weeks, I expect an IM or something during that week. Not a month later. Because we agreed that you should make the calls so I don't put you in danger on accident. But if things came up, and I get that they do, you could've sent me a letter. Hell, it could've been a note on a napkin for all I care, I just..."

I lost my voice.

"I miss you." I concluded. "And I've been so worried that you haven't called because you were mad with me about the link not being there anymore, but I don't want to make you waste drachmas, and we agreed that you'd call, so I don't call to make sure that things are fine and I'm... Anxious and a little upset, yeah."

Grover looked down.

"So it... Hasn't helped? To get rid of the link?"

"Wh— that's not what I said."

"You said you were anxious, though."

"Yeah, because I don't know if things are okay with us." I clarified, crossing my arms. "Not... Not because of my clinical anxiety that shows up randomly. This is for a reason. Getting rid of the empathy link has helped— or, at least, it's stopped things from getting worse. I'm still going to be anxious and depressed, Grover— I have a disease. I had it before the link, and I still have it after. Has it helped you? To get rid of the link?"

My boyfriend shrugged.

"Not really." Without the link, I could still tell it was at least a half lie. "I guess I was able to make more progress each day since I was stopping less to recharge, but..." The satyr closed his mouth, perhaps realizing he'd just contradicted himself. "I don't know if I'd take an extra mile or two a day when I was just constantly worrying that my next call would be Mr. D or Chiron or even Gabe telling me that you were in the hospital again or like... You know. I was worried, too."

I glanced at the photo I had of Grover and I from the vow renewal. The only photo we've been able to take together since last summer.

Finding the words I needed, I looked back up at my boyfriend.

"Then why didn't you call?" I challenged his statements. "Or send something back? You got my letter, didn't you?"

"About the meeting and Rachel and stuff? Yeah, I— I got it. I still have it."

"So why didn't you respond?"

He shrugged, not meeting my expression.

"I don't know."

It was a shitty answer to hear. Mostly because I couldn't concern how true it was. I could tell that he felt guilty— at least a little, but I couldn't tell if it was because he was lying or if it's because he just felt bad about the situation.

Maybe it's both.

I don't really want it to be both— I don't want my boyfriend to lie to me, but...

Here we are, I guess. Maybe.

"Grover, if it's because you were upset or angry, that's fine— you can say that," I reminded him. "But if that's why, I don't want you just avoid or ignore me every time something happens or every time we disagree about something. I know that what I did was kind of rash— I'm sorry that I brought it up and acted on it so suddenly, but..." My voice died in my throat. "I was desperate for anything that would help, Leaf, and the link was one thing that I knew I could control to try and make things better. If you were or you're still upset about it, I get it, but we can't move on from this if you don't talk to me. We can't be much of anything if we don't talk to each other— especially because we're so far apart right now. Physically and like... Emotionally, I think."

Considering this, Grover crossed his arms, resting his chin on his knees as he pulled them in.

"I just... I knew that, eventually, the link would go away." My boyfriend admitted. "But I assumed we had another year before then, you know? If we ever got rid of it— I... Made my peace with what would happen if we didn't. I just wanted to make what little time we have left count, you know? It's not like we'll get to grow old together or anything, so the link was like... It felt like our way of making up for that. Now that it's gone... It feels like you're gone already. Even though we were supposed to have another year and a half together before that happened."

And like last time, he didn't need to say it word for word for me to get the message:

Grover already thinks of me as a dead man.

Or, at the very least, a ticking time bomb. Something so temporary that, in his mind, there's already an end date. An expiration date for my life. And with that, our relationship.

After all, nature spirits don't go to the underworld when they die, so we won't be together there.

Because of this stupid fucking prophecy, Grover's only question seems to be when I'll die. If it's next week or next year. Because of that question, he's already started to check out of our relationship.

After all, why else would he go a month without calling? Unless he already thought I was as good as dead...

That's not the conclusion— that's not the way of thinking that I fell in love with.

"And what happens if I live, Grover?"

The wall between us that I unknowingly unveiled when removing the empathy link completely blocked that idea, though.

He looked at me like I was foolish.

"It's a prophecy, Percy. Not... It's not something we should tempt the Fates on. I— I wish we could, but... It's fate."

My expression fell.

"Fate." I repeated back to him. "Right."

There was a pause as I felt my anxiety settle. My frustration subside, replaced by a content sadness.

A peaceful sadness. A sadness I... Expected. Shitty as it is.

"I don't think we can do this anymore,"

Grover frowned.

"Do what?"

I sighed.

"Grover..." My voice died. "We haven't talked in a month, but even before then... We barely talked when you were in Maine. Even through or with the link, it was... Maybe once a week? Maybe? And I spend—" I stuttered. "I spend so much of my time and energy constantly trying to find reasons to live that I can't..."

Looking down, I don't know why, but I wasn't crying. My eyes weren't misty yet.

It felt like they should've been, but they weren't.

"I can't be with somebody who looks at me like I already have one foot in my grave." I told him in the nicest way I could figure out. "And, even if I do, acts like there's no way for me to get that foot out. I'm... I'm so happy for you, Grover, that you're chasing your dreams. You deserve your license. To be able to look for and find Pan, but..."

I hugged myself.

"But I don't think that I can be your boyfriend while you do that."

"You... Don't?"

I frowned.

"Grover, you're so sweet and I know you mean well— I miss you." I reminded him. "But I need somebody who I can see more than two or three times a year. Somebody who I can talk to more than once a month. If I even need somebody— maybe I need to be single for a while, I don't know. But I can't keep doing this long distance thing if we don't talk, and I can't, in good faith, stay with you if all you wonder is how soon I'll die when I'm trying so hard right now to stay alive. I'm... I'm sorry."

It was silent for a moment as Grover, who just got demoted to ex-boyfriend, processed the news.

I couldn't tell how it made him feel.

"Yeah," he said in a flat tone. "I guess so. I should... Should probably go then. Lots of ground to cover, you know? Go have fun being single or whatever you need that I can't give you. Tell Travis I say hi."

And just like that, he ended the call.

Just like that, I was alone with my thoughts again.

•••
Travis Stoll

You don't realize how good you have it until you lose it.

In my case, I didn't realize how miserable camp would be without Mr. D, so I was taking every chance I could to escape into the city. Chiron's replaced Mr. D with this dude named Quintus who is just like... Kind of insane.

He's a demigod himself, which seems cool until he is borderline torturing us with his training methods, so. Now most of us are too tired by campfire or by the time we have a council meeting to even think about complaining to Chiron about anything that isn't how hard Quintus is pushing us.

I mean, we've only met once since Quintus has joined the camp, but... Still. It was not productive at all.

That being said, I try to leave at least once a week now. So does Connor. We usually leave on different days, as to not leave our siblings stranded, but this morning our mom wanted to meet with us for breakfast before she had a flight to take, so we both took it as a chance to take a break. Julia offered to watch the cabin, and I trust her, so we had all day.

After breakfast with our mom, Connor and I stopped at Luke's apartment, since Silena had something for us to give to him.

"Travis, Connor, hey!" Luke greeted us at the door, stepping out of the doorway. "Come on in. What's up? Everything going okay, or...?"

"Yeah! We just met our mom for breakfast and Julia said she'd watch the cabin for today, so we figured we'd swing by here before we go off to do our own things for the day." I told my brother as Connor handed him the envelope.

"Oh, nice— what's this?"

"It's from Silena." Connor explained, shrugging. "Not sure what it is. Spy stuff, probably. The dude who is filling in for Mr. D sucks ass, by the way. Is there a plan in place yet for what we're going to do about Chiron? Because I can't take another month of this Quintus guy."

"He sucks." I agreed. "I can't believe I'd ever say it, but I miss Mr. D."

Connor raised an eyebrow at me.

"Is that why you're hoping to marry into his family?"

"Wh..." I paused. "What? I'm... I'm single, Connor. And have no interest in the twins."

My younger brother rolled his eyes.

"Not the twins, dumbass." He jabbed me with his elbow. "Percy. You go to his place all the time."

Honestly, I didn't even know how to respond to that call out.

"I— we... We broke up, Connor." I reminded him. "Like... A year and a half ago? At the end of summer. And this last summer we were going to go on a date, and then... It never happened. He's dating somebody else now. He's dating Grover, you know that."

Connor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you still like him."

"I... What?"

"Dude, it's obvious." My little brother broke the news to me as Luke nodded in assent. "So obvious that it's why Katie never went on a second date with you, remember? You're down so insanely bad for him, Travis."

"It's kind of obvious." Luke agreed with Connor as Thalia walked into the apartment with a few grocery bags. "Not that it would be obvious to him— Percy will assume and write it up to anything besides that because his self esteem is... In Tartarus, basically, but it's kind of obvious. It's not bad, though."

"It's not..." And sure, fine, they're right, but that doesn't change the reality. "But we... Broke up. Twice, technically. I don't... We're on good terms for once. I don't want to risk ruining it again. Plus, he's dating Grover."

"Percy?" Thalia asked, joining the conversation as he set down the groceries in the kitchen. We all nodded in response. "Oh, no, he isn't..."

They lost their voice for a moment.

"Grover finally called him the other day." Thalia led with what was good news, because when I was at the Jackson's place last week, Percy was getting worried about Grover because he hadn't called in three weeks. "And I don't know the details because it was Sally that told me about it— I swung by the candy shop on my way home. But Percy and Grover like... Broke up."

"They did!?" The three of us all asked in unison, because as of last week...

I mean, yeah, Percy had his concerns. He doesn't talk about Grover a lot around me because we used to be together so it can be weird, in his mind, for him to tell me about his boyfriend and relationship problems.

But as of last week, despite the worries he had about Grover not calling or writing, he was still... He still wanted to be with Grover.

As hard as the distance is for them, he told Rachel (who told me) that he didn't want to break up with the satyr, even if there was an argument or if Grover was still super upset about the empathy link.

He wanted to figure it out.

"Wh... Sorry, I know you said you don't know many details." I prefaced. "Who... Broke up with who?"

Thalia shrugged.

"I don't know, sorry."

So, with that knowledge, I detoured on my way to the Jackson's after leaving Luke's to build him a little break-up basket— some snacks, a new set of skateboard wheels (to hopefully get him out of his room since the snow is basically gone now), a little sketchbook with a couple pens from the brand he likes, and a gift card to an arcade not far from his place (the only thing I paid for besides the wheels).

Getting to the apartment, I've never dealt with a locked door in my life (thanks to my dad), so it was easy to get into the building.

I did knock on the apartment door out of respect. But after a minute with nobody coming to the door, I let myself in because if Percy was home, he might've been in the shower or taking a nap or something. The least I could do is make sure he's alive and drop off the care package before finding another way to waste my day away.

"Percy?" I called out, slipping my shoes off and walking in to the apartment. I couldn't hear any running water, so he wasn't showering or in the bathroom, more than likely. "Are you home?"

Something fell from one of the bedrooms.

"Percy?" I asked again, walking through the living room and into the hallway. "Sorry to swing by unannounced, but I thought you might—"

Turning to his bedroom, I found the person I was looking for. 

(tw: suicidal meltdown)

Sitting at his desk with crumpled up papers, Percy was nearly silent as he sobbed; holding an open bottle of painkillers on one hand, his other hand over Riptides handle.

The blade was covered in blood.

The papers touching the sword had blood splotches on them.

His arms were bloody.

"Percy?" I whispered before realizing what was going on, dropping the care basket and rushing to the son of Poseidon. "Percy! Oh my gods, what's..." I took the pill bottle away from him, hoping it was still as full as it was before he grabbed it. Turning his chair to face me, I also pushed Riptide a little further away on the desk so it wasn't under his hand anymore. "Percy, hey, it's just me, it's just Travis. What's happening? What's going on?"

But it was too late.

Not to save him. Not to keep him alive. But to calm him down or talk to him sensibly...

The only thing I understood out of his lips over the next ten minutes was the word sorry. His sobs made everything else indiscernible.

And every time he apologized, it killed me a little more.

Until eventually, he stilled. Fell silent.

Here physically, but gone mentally.

"Percy?" I whispered, barely able to earn his attention. His eyes flickered to me, but quickly returned to Riptide, as he just... Looked. "Hey, I'm going to try and bandage you up, okay? Since I know you don't like taking ambrosia or nectar."

He pulled his arm away.

"Percy, please, you're bleeding." It was the first time I'd seen him so blatantly refuse assistance. "Even if it's not lethal, it's going to get all over your room. Your clothes."

The son of Poseidon uttered a response I couldn't manage.

"Hm?" I hummed in return.

"It doesn't matter." He said in a voice just hardly above a whisper. "I'm already two feet in the grave, right? It's fine."

I frowned, not just because of how blatantly he dismissed the situation at hand, but because I had no idea where this idea of having both feet in a grave came from.

"Percy, you're bleeding." I decided to take the most objective thing to lead with. "I don't know how it happened, okay, I wasn't here, but if you're bleeding you're not fine physically. So can I please help bandage you up so that way you don't get infected?"

Thinking for a moment, Percy looked at his arm, then at Riptide.

Mentally, I prepared myself to race to grab the magical sword because I could see the idea sitting in the back of his mind.

But then he looked in my direction and down before letting me see his arm, conceding defeat to life.

"Thank you." I said before very carefully taking his right arm and grabbing the gauze and bandage that is kept in the bottom drawer of his desk, in a regular first aid kit for instances like this.

He still flinched when I touched him. He was trembling— weak from blood loss and depleted energy levels.

The light behind his eyes was gone.

"See?" I said as I finished up his left arm. "It's not so bad. You did good—thank you for letting me bandage you. Do you need something to keep your hands busy so you don't try to scratch at your arms?"

He nodded.

Handing him his stuffed sea turtle, Percy took a big breath from the back of it's plush shell.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" I asked. "Did you take any pills before I got here?"

This time, the son of Poseidon shook his head.

"Hey, that's good." I insisted, carefully placing a hand on his outer arm to try and comfort him. "I'm glad that you were able to restrain yourself, even if you were thinking about it. Can I ask if something happened to trigger this? You've been doing so good this last month, Percy. What's going on in that brain of yours?"

He shrugged.

"Grover finally called," he told me in a quiet, shaky voice. "And we... We argued and then we broke up and— because he..."

The son of Poseidon lost his voice.

"I'm already a walking corpse in almost everyone's eyes, so I don't get why... Why they won't just let me..." His chest caved. "I'm basically already dead to them, so why..."

(ok the worst of it is over end of tw)

"You— no, Percy, you're more alive than ever." I reminded the slightly younger demigod, running my hand along his arm. "A lot of people worry about you killing yourself, sure, because you have depression and you've had a really hard year. But you're still alive. You're still here, and you'll be here for as long as the Fates want you here."

He scoffed.

"Yeah, another year and a half. They basically made me a ticking time bomb."

"Hey," I interjected, because I've known about the prophecy for quite a while now. Standing, my movement was able to get him to look up at me. "Nobody knows that for sure, Percy. We can speculate all we want, and maybe it doesn't hurt that any of us have our wills written with our average life expectancy, but if I've learned anything growing up at Camp, it's that we shouldn't assume the words of Delphi. The line linking it to your sixteenth birthday— it it's even yours and not like, Jason or Nico's— is not the same line as the one saying that a hero soul will be reaped. And," I added on. "It doesn't say anywhere that the sixteen year old child of the Big Three is the hero. Right?"

The black haired boy nodded.

"You are still more alive than ever, Percy." I promised him, wishing that I'd be able to give him a kiss, but knowing it was one of the worst things I could probably do right now. "And you are going to live for as long as the Fates see fit— which, based on your last few quests and attempts, is a long time because they wouldn't let you die yet."

The idea scared him, though. He was skeptical.

"It's not your time, Percy." I said with finality. "I know you're struggling. I know your depression is kicking your ass, and I know that break ups suck. But it's not your time. If it was your time, I wouldn't have anybody to beat me in Uno or show me cool movies or allow me to escape the insanity of camp right now. You're not replaceable, you know."

The son of Poseidon shrugged.

"You and Rachel could hang out."

"And do what? Be sad that you're not there? We need you, Percy." And I knew how suspicious it sounded. How risky it was to say out loud.

But it was important because he is important. To me, at least. And I don't know if I've made that clear enough.

After all, I've been afraid of him realizing that I still liked him— that I never stopped liking him. Because of how bad our falling out was... I didn't want to scare him.

I wanted him to know that I've changed since that argument. That I feel awful about the things I said— not just by telling him (which I have), but by showing him that I don't think of him as this walking eventuality of suicide anymore.

He's so much more than that, and I've learned that. And he knew that himself, when we broke up.

But now I'm worried that he's forgotten.

"I need you." I confessed. "Okay? You're my closest friend, Percy. I don't know what I would do if you died in any capacity— whether it be a monster attack or suicide or getting killed in battle... I would be lost. Sure, I might meet other people, but they're not you."

Percy's expression as he looked up at me was mystified, but I think it was having a effect, so I kept talking.

"You are so much more than the inevitable." I reminded him. "Okay? We're all going to die eventually. And I know that I've said shitty fucking things in the past, and I know that I've apologized for them, but I'm still so sorry that I was so scared of losing you that I resorted to trying to keep you at camp for in one of the shittiest ways I could've— you are so much more than this," I gingerly placed a hand on top of his bandages. "And you always have been, and you always will be. You're an amazing skater, you're a really good artist, you can make a mean chocolate chip cookie, and you always have the perfect show or movie for me to watch to make up for all the time I've been at camp. You have a bleeding heart of gold, and in a few months, you're going to be the best big brother there is. You're already an amazing friend, after all, and that's half of the job of being a brother. The other half is being mortal enemies, of course."

He smiled, and I restrained myself from pointing out how much I liked his smile.

"Careful, Travis, or you're going to make it sound like you like me."

And yeah, it's embarrassing to admit. It made me worry about what would happen with our friendship, because right now, that's what was important to me. That I can him in my life in literally any friendly capacity.

But for his self esteem and for his mental health, I think he needed to know.

So it scared me, but I said it anyways.

"Would that be so bad?" I questioned, earning his full attention again. "If I never stopped? You make it awfully hard not to like you, after all. Not that..."

I let out a breath.

"I'm okay with just being friends." I insisted, hoping he believed me. "We had a bad falling out, and I know that I said some really shitty things and I've apologized because I am sorry and I feel awful, and I... I hope that you can see that I don't think of you like that anymore— like this eventuality that is coming sooner than later, because you are so much more than that, and I can't state that enough, but... You needed a friend this winter, and I knew that that's all it was, and I'm okay with it. Eventually my feelings will go from this weird mix of romantic and platonic to just platonic... Probably. I'm just glad that you don't hate me, honestly. That we can still hang out because you're important to me and I'm okay with meeting you wherever you're comfortable being as friends or... Whatever."

"But..." Percy seemed to consider his words as he held my heart in his hands, and I think he knew that this time. "But all I've done is prove you right, Travis."

I frowned, confused.

"Travis, since we've broken up, I've tried to kill myself no less than half a dozen times." He explained— a statistic I hated to hear. "You're right, I am more than a walking manifestation of depression and anxiety. Barely, and sometimes it doesn't feel like it, but I am. But your concern was also... Valid."

He paused.

"I wish you wouldn't have tried to use it to keep me at camp." The son of Poseidon insisted, which was totally fair. "But had it been a reason to make sure I'd send you an IM sometime during the week or to mail you a postcard, I probably wouldn't have blown up like I did. I just..."

Percy looked down at his arms.

"I'm tired of everyone treating me like I already have one foot in the grave." He admitted. "And I know that I don't give them a good reason not to— I have a horrible track record. But I'm... I'm alive. And to see my dad or Mr. D look at me like they're already mourning losing me, or like..."

The son of Poseidon sighed.

"I broke up with Grover because he was already starting to check out of our relationship because, in his eyes, I'll be dead in a year and a half." And because of how distraught he'd been, I was a little surprised to hear that Percy ended things. "He said that what we had was temporary. That we had at most a year and a half, and I reminded him that we didn't know that. That the prophecy doesn't have to mean that, and he... Thinks it does. I couldn't change his mind, so..." He shrugged. "I don't want to be with somebody who thinks I'm already dead when I spend most of my time trying to convince myself to stay alive, so I told him that I couldn't be his boyfriend anymore. Which sucks, because I know he means well, but..."

One last time, he shrugged.

"I need somebody who can be here physically, and who doesn't think I'm already half way into my grave." It was promising, but I didn't let myself hope for anything. "If I even need somebody right now— I mean, friends. But... You know what I mean. Grover doesn't check either of those boxes anymore."

"You need time to move on." I agreed, Percy nodding. "Be single. Hang out with your friends."

He smiled.

"Yeah." He said, then nudged me. "But maybe this summer, if I'm in a headspace where my therapist wouldn't give me a disappointed look if I tell her about it, we can go out on a date."

This news, of course, had my attention.

"Percy..." I began with a small smile. "That's so sweet, but you don't have to say that for my sake."

"No, I... I know." He insisted, uncurling himself a little from the ball he'd been in. Relaxing. "But that doesn't change the fact that you're still the like, sweetest guy I know. Oh, and you're cute, and I would ask you out right now, but..." Percy exhaled. "I think I need to be single for a little bit first. To just... Take it slow. If that's okay."

I smiled, squeezing his upper arm, hoping it wasn't too much.

"I'll meet you wherever you need me to." I repeated my earlier statement. "I have something for you."

Suspicious, Percy raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Walking back to his doorframe, I grabbed the care package that I had dropped when I'd walked in and realized that I had to talk him off of a mental cliff.

I handed the little bag to him.

"I uh... Heard about the breakup." I told the son of Poseidon, who's expression melted when he saw the bag. "From Thalia, before I came over. And I mean, I was planning on stopping by anyways since I was in the city, but... I thought that you could use a pick me up, so I stopped at a few stores on my way."

Looking through the items, Percy slowly broke out into a smile that I was happy to see, because I could tell it was genuine.

"I'm not sure if you use hard or jelly wheels, so sorry if they're not the right ones, but—"

He pulled me into a hug.

"They're the right kind," Percy reassured me, burying his head into my shoulder. "Thank you."

Smiling, I returned the hug.

"Anytime, Percy."

Notes:

Relationship are healing<3

 

(At the expense of other ones being destroyed)

Chapter 99: Political Gain Is Often A Falsehood

Annabeth Chase

I have to admit that receiving an IM from Travis Stoll wasn't something I expected this spring.

"Annabeth!" The voice cut through my earbuds that I'd been wearing as I studied in my bedroom at home. I took an earbud out, looking around the room because that surely wasn't my brothers' or my dad's voice. "Annabeth!"

Locating the voice, I frowned. "Travis?"

"Hey, sorry, you don't have to panic or anything, I'm just calling a few different people." He filled me in, which still didn't seem great. "You have a minute?"

"Um... Sure. Is something going on at camp? Did Chiron find a replacement for Mr. D?"

"Hm? Oh, camp is... Exhausting, but not in danger." The son of Hermes explained, letting out a tired breath to prove his point. "Chiron replaced Mr. D a while ago with this dude named Quintus— dude sucks, works us to the bone. That's not why I'm calling, though, because I'm sure that if something isn't done soon, you'll get to expierence Quintus when you get here."

"Okay... So why are you calling?" I tried to examine where he was, and I couldn't tell much, but I could tell one thing: "are you in a hospital?"

"Waiting room, yeah," he confirmed, which was worrying. "Not for me. I don't know... How much you've heard, how much you've talked to either of them, but Grover finally called Percy yesterday and it... Didn't end well."

My heart stopped.

He couldn't have...

"Travis, please tell me that Percy didn't kill himself over a fight with Grover."

"Please... What? No, he didn't... He didn't kill himself." The demigod who I grew up alongside reassured me. "Him and Grover broke up. Percy ended it, because Grover said something about their relationship being temporary— because of the prophecy— because they can't change fate, so Percy ended things. He didn't want to be with somebody who already though he had one foot in the grave, but..."

Looking down, Travis shrugged.

"It still got to him. I was the city today to see my mom, and afterwards I swung by to drop off stuff and say hi to Luke, and then Thalia told us about the breakup, and we didn't know who did what, so I figured I'd..." He put his hands out, trying to find the words. "Make him a little basket to feel better. Things to do that would maybe get him out of bed or out of the apartment. And when I got to the apartment he was... He was bleeding and there were like a dozen torn up and shriveled up unfinished notes and he was holding a bottle of pills that, thank gods, still had pills in them, and I... Talked him down. I got him to stop. To let me take the pills away and bandage him up, but..."

Travis lost his voice.

"It got to him. Bad." He insisted. "He didn't take any pills, so I didn't rush him into the hospital right away, but after watching him space out and then immediately start to scratch at his bandages or do something else to hurt himself... I sent Luke a message to pick us up because he needed to get help. Professional help that we can't give him. So that's where we are now. Luke is... Talking to doctors and trying to get ahold of Sally and Gabe because they're both at work today, but... I saw your name on a couple pages, and you guys have gone on multiple quests together and what not, and I know you talk sometimes, so I figured I'd let you know what's going on. He's back in the hospital, but he went willingly. I'm not sure how long he'll be there, but after this winter, who's to say if his parents will let him go straight from the hospital to camp, if he's here that long."

"Oh, yeah, no, his parents... Should've kept him home this winter." I agreed with Travis' point on that. "Um... Yeah. Thanks for letting me know, I was going to call him sometime this week to see how his call with Grover went, but I... Guess I know. Who else are you calling?"

"Well, I called our friend Rachel before I called you," the son of Hermes told me. "And then I'm talking to you now, and then I'm... Going to call Grover, but I'm saving that for last because I don't know how I'm going to talk to him without one of us getting mad, even though I barely have it in me to be mad right now."

"I... Yeah, I don't know if Grover would want to hear it from you, Trav." I remarked, thinking about the handful of conversations that Grover and I had about Travis Stoll when Travis and Percy were sort of together his first summer. "Honestly, I would ask Luke to make that call, because if they just broke up and you showed up..." I let my voice lighter. "I know it's platonic because Percy told me that you two and Rachel all hang out, but Grover... Might not believe it, you guys being exes and all."

"Yeah that's why I.... Haven't called yet. I'm stalling, hoping his parents will show up so Luke can call Grover." The son of Hermes reassured me that he's at least not a complete dumbass. "Because I don't think he'll believe that I was there as just his friend, and I don't know if I'll be able to stay calm. I'm kind of worried sick right now, so it wouldn't take much for me to snap, and Grover doesn't deserve that, even if it was his words that propelled this forward and..."

Pointedly, Travis exhaled.

"It's fine. I'm chill. I'm cool. I'm so chill right now."

It was pretty clear what was causing him to worry and rattle him so intensely, though.

"You still like Percy, don't you?" I put it out there in the open. "You never really moved on?"

The son of Hermes sighed

"He just needs a friend right now." By providing a non-answer, Travis confirmed my theory. "He's just needed a friend all winter— that's why I stop by. I don't care if it goes anywhere or not. Fine, I still like him— sue me, he's sweet and attractive. But lately he's just needed a friend, and I knew that that was all it was. So I stuffed my emotions down just enough to do it, because he needs a friend, and at the end of the day, my feelings for him don't matter if he can't convince himself that waking up tomorrow is worth it. My feelings will fade and change—or maybe they won't, I don't know. But it doesn't matter how I feel about Percy if Percy isn't here anymore, right? Not that...

"I mean, he nearly attempted earlier today, but I'm not saying that he's just.... He's more than this, and I know he is, and somewhere in his brain, he does, too, but he's losing it." Travis went on, a confession so heartfelt without saying the words themselves that I had a feeling that these emotions weren't going to fade any time soon, if they ever do. "For fuck's sake, he completely ended things between us last summer because I hadn't realized yet, or I had forgotten over the year when he was gone, that he was more than his disease. He ended it because I forgot, but he didn't, and now he attempted because he's starting to forget that, and until he knows..."

He sighed.

"Until he knows, I'll be here, as he needs me." There was a short pause. "As his friend. Because I'd rather shove down an impulse to hold his hand or give him a kiss when we hang out than like... Not be able to have him around at all. You know?"

But once he said it out loud, he realized how deep it ran in him.

"Gods, I'm in deep shit." Travis summarized, still not saying the words. "Fuck, Chase, why does it suck so bad?"

Letting out a breath, I frowned.

"Afraid you're asking the wrong demigod," I responded, feeling a little bad that he was confiding in me about the one thing I can't help him out with: feelings and emotions. "But it probably has something to do with it being hard to control, I don't know. I've never really... Had a real crush, I don't think."

Travis tilted his head. "I thought you had a crush on Percy for a little bit?"

"I don't... Think so?" But that whole conversation and rumor still confuses me, honestly. "I was talking to somebody from the Aphrodite cabin after our quest, and she asked me if I also thought Percy was cute and like... He's conventionally attractive, so I said sure, and that's how that rumor started. Same thing with Jason Grace—figured that he was conventionally attractive and seemed smart, and like a good leader, so I asked him out and he said no, but...."

I shrugged.

"After I did it, I kind of realized that I didn't actually want to do it, so... Thank the gods he said no. I seriously have no experience in the relationship department, but it sounds like you're in some pretty deep shit with Percy. That's a kind of love and care that most people our age can hardly imagine. It's good, though— it's proves how much you've matured since you guys broke up, even if it hurts like a bitch because you're worried sick about him right now."

"It... Yeah, it does. I am." Travis agreed, groaning. "I... Gods, and now all I can do is wait until his parents show up to find out if the facility he'll be at will accept calls or visitors from people that aren't family. If they don't, I think I'll be going insane until he gets out."

Internally, I chuckled to myself at this sight.

Our entire lives, Travis has been the 'cooler' of the two Stoll Brothers, and even when him and Percy were together, you didn't see him outwardly showing those emotions around other campers. For the most part, their relationship was secret, and I didn't really hear about it until after it was over.

Regardless, Travis was always too cool to be held down by something like a relationship. He's a person that's almost always on the move, in the background, probably stealing shit to prank people with later. He was cool, but he was never overly serious.

So to see him so shaken up about Percy was refreshing.

It proved he wasn't just the scumbag that Grover and I thought he was Percy's first summer at camp.

It showed that he was undoubtedly in love with him.

So I did the only thing I could: rolled my eyes.

"You'll survive, Cinderella, I promise." I told the older Stoll brother. "One thing at a time, yeah? I should get back to my homework— this essay won't write itself. Tragically. Good luck with Grover."

Travis rolled his eyes in return. "Thanks, I'll need it. Good luck with the headache you're about to give yourself."

•••
Reyna Avila-Ramirez-Arellano

I'll give it to my fellow Romans: they could be creative when they wanted to be.

"You and Annabeth are meeting around dinner time today, correct?" Jason asked me as we confirmed our schedules with one another over breakfast in what was essentially our office. It's our daily routine— 45 minutes away from the chaos before we both have to tackle it from different angles.

"Yeah, she said she'd arrive around 6pm." I confirmed. "We'll be in New Rome, as usual, as to not cause any comeuppance here in Camp. Thalia's visiting soon as well, aren't they? For your two's birthdays?"

"In a couple weeks, to celebrate the halfway point between our birthdays, yes." My fellow Praetor responded with a nod. "When do you and Annabeth plan on announcing your relationship?"

Very gently, trying to not let the shock be evident in my expression because I didn't know where the question came from, I set my mug down on my desk, laced my fingers together, and looked at Jason Grace.

"Our what?"

He frowned, confused.

"Your relationship?" The son of Jupiter stated once more, as if it were an obvious thing. "You two meet weekly, if not more frequently when you have to go into the city for errands, and don't like others around when you meet. I'm sorry, Reyna, but if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck... Most campers have started to notice. Word is spreading very rapidly, so if I were you, I'd make an announcement soon."

And while what Jason said was true: Annabeth Chase and I do speak weekly and we oftentimes try to escape public eye during these meetings, it wasn't for the reasons my fellow praetor was illuding towards.

"Jason, I hate to disappoint, but there is nothing going on between Annabeth and I." I broke the news to him. "The campers can speculate all they want, but it's untrue. We're only friends."

"Really?" Jason asked, and I nodded a confirmation. He hummed. "Hm, alright. Well, in that case, I'd still suggest making an announcement— before they start to try and get pushy about it. If you like her, though, now would be a good time to come out and tell her, I'm just saying."

I rolled my eyes. "Not everyone has a crush on their best friend, idiot. Stop worrying about my love life, and go bring your boyfriend on a date for lunch. Gods know you both need it, you horny bastards."

"It was one time!" Jason defended himself, referring to a day a few weeks ago when I walked into our office to grab something, only to find Jason and Octavian making out as Octavian was sitting on Jason's desk without his shirt on and Jason actively working to unzip his pants, also shirtless. "And the sign was on the door! Dozens of praetors have done it before— that's why the sign exists!"

Yeah, I screamed and closed the door again when I saw that the little do not disturb sign that hangs off the door handle had fallen to the floor, so I didn't see it.

"They— I'm sorry, that's why we have a do not disturb sign?"

Jason shrugged. "I mean... Yeah. Guaranteed, it was because a lot of those praetors were sleeping with each other so the office and the Praetor quarters were the only places they could get away from everyone, and they usually didn't have enough time to get back to the quarters so... They made the sign."

Not wanting to think about the details or that, I simple hummed a response and changed the topic.

Some things are just better left unknown.

That evening, Annabeth did arrive precisely when she said she would at 6pm, meeting me at the entrance that connects New Rome to the greater Bay Area.

After talking to Jason earlier, though, I felt... Weird.

Annabeth was wearing a nicer outfit than usual today. Usually, Annabeth shows up in some kind of t-shirt and jeans or maybe shorts, if the weather allows.

Today, however, she was wearing an off-white sweater with a button up underneath it, a yellow plaid skirt (the first time I've ever seen her in one), and then she had some accessories and a belt. It's a little chilly, so she was also wearing tights.

No heels, though. She had on black loafers.

"Hey," the daughter of Athena smiled at me, and I panicked (internally— externally, I'm much better at controlling my expression, so it shouldn't have been noticable). "I'm not late, am I? If so, sorry— today's been busy."

"No, you're right on time, not to worry." I reassured her, returning the smile as we began to walk to our normal spot, grabbing food from the cafe to go as we passed it, and as we went, I couldn't help but feel as though I were underdressed. "Anything important happen today? You're dressed... Nicer than usual."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "My dad wanted to get family photos done, so that's what we did after school. My step-mom threw a royal fit about me not wearing the same thing as my brothers. Why? It's not too much, is it? I never dress up— I never have a... Reason to. It's not practical at camp, and kids at school are usually dicks, so I just..." She shrugged, trying to not let it show that it bothered her, how others cared about what she wore. "Stick to t-shirts and pants. It's easy, at least."

"But you'd like to be able to dress up more often?" I summarized based on her tone, and she just sighed. "If you like it, you should do it, Annabeth— you look nice. Why should your step mom care, or any kids at school? You guys don't have a uniform, right? I'm sure a bunch of other girls wear similar stuff, and nobody cares about them. What makes you different?"

Annabeth stopped in her tracks as we reached the Garden of Bacchus, looking at me in disbelief.

"What?" I asked.

"You're... Joking, right?" The daughter of Athena asked me.

"Wh... No." I insisted, confused by her sudden pause. "Why should other people care what a girl wears to school or family photos or whatever. You look nice, and it's not like your ass is hanging out or anything. If you like it, wear it. Why do they care so much?"

Opening her mouth, then closing it again, Annabeth seemed to consider her words. She crossed her arms, causing me to frown.

Did I somehow hit a sensitive spot? I wondered to myself. Has she been berated for her wardrobe before? Or did something... Happen, and the excuse the prick gave was her clothes?

It wouldn't be the first time I've heard of it happening, as shitty as it is.

"Why..." The daughter of Athena repeated the question back. "Probably because my step-mom still refuses to call me Annabeth— and so do a lot of my classmates, because my school won't let me use the women's restroom. So... That's why they care."

They won't let her use the women's restroom? Why wouldn't they...?

"Oh." I responded, trying to recall if I knew this or not, but I'm pretty sure it's the first I've heard of it. "I... Didn't know you were trans. Or, are trans. That's still stupid, though, it's none of their business." I stepped towards the daughter of Athena, sensing her skepticism and hesitation, a defense mechanism because coming out causes vulnerability. "It's not like you don't pass— I never would've guessed in a million years that you're trans. You look nice, so fuck everyone else, wear what you want."

Huffing, Annabeth rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, if only it were actually that easy." She bit back, closing her eyes for a moment to get a grip. "My step mom has made me change for things before, and on a bad day when it gets past her, so has the school. Or the kids try to do it themselves— it's a miracle none of them tried to rip my shirt off today during gym."

"To rip off... Have they done that before?" I asked, disgusted with the implications of that. "You— you have breasts, what are they trying to prove?"

"They're fake," Annabeth broke the news to me as we sat down, looking out at the city. "Silicone. I'm on HRT finally, so I don't have nothing underneath it, but it's not really enough for a bra yet. During gym, the school doesn't want me wearing it, which I... Used to. Until one Friday, when I'd been dressed up for a school game, and during gym, were split up by sex, so I'm with a bunch of guys, and one of them grabbed my shirt and ripped it off, and then grabbed..." She lost her voice for a second. "The silicone. And pressed his body up against me from behind."

Annabeth paused as I processed the horrors that apparently we're American public schools.

Or maybe it's just men. 

I think it might just be men.

"He never got in trouble." Was the worst thing she could've added on. "The security camera that would've caught it had been broken earlier in the week, or so they say, and the teacher wouldn't back me up on it because he's the transphobic prick that put me with all the guys. The kid denied it. All of the guys denied it, but mentioned that it made them uncomfortable that I was 'wearing those knockers' in school, so instead of putting me with the girls, or punishing any of them, the school told me that I couldn't wear it during gym anymore. Which... I didn't want to anyways, because I didn't... Want that to happen. Again."

She shrugged.

"It's so stupid, but I can't control it." She concluded, resting her head on my shoulder. "80% of the time when I show up to school wearing anything more girly than what would be considered androgynous or tomboy-ish, kids just want to prove that I'm something that I'm not. Or that I want to be something that I'm not, I don't know."

I nudged the daughter of Athena, hoping she knew that she was saying bullshit.

"What do you mean something you're not?" I questioned. "You're Annabeth fucking Chase, daughter of Athena, and that's how it'll be written in textbooks, because I'm pretty sure you've already made some kind of history between escaping the underworld, Circe's Island, and being imprisoned by Atlas. You're one of the most kick ass girls I know."

She smiled, nudging me back. "What, besides you?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's not easy holding your own amongst pirates, you know. They don't know how to shower."

That got her to laugh.

"And you're funny, too," Annabeth commented, taking a sip of her chai latte— a review few people have ever left me. "You're the whole package, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano, you know that?"

I chuckled, unable to help my cheeks turn a little pink at the remark.

"Oh, yeah, and how's that?"

"Well, we've finally established that you have a sense of humor," the remark was backhanded, but I couldn't fault her for it. "You have to be very strong to survive amongst pirates at sea, and you're extremely charasmatic. It's no small feat that you became Praetor so quickly, right? Oh, and you're also attractive, but that's insinuated in the package."

"We've finally established my sense of humor? Wooow." I responded jokingly, elbowing her. "You're mean, Chase, you know that?"

"And yet you still ask if I'll be here every week," she called me out, smiling in return. It made me feel... Like there was something in my gut. "Admit it, Praetor, you like having me around."

I'm not sure what, but... Something.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Chase. Do you want to hear something insane?"

"Knock my socks off, Praetor." She took a bite of her sandwich.

"So I was talking to Jason this morning— as I do every morning, when we debrief our schedules for the day to make sure we have full coverage." I began. "And he asked if you were coming tonight, to confirm, and I said yes, that you'd be here around 6. And then, as a follow up, he asked me when we planned on announcing our relationship to the camp."

Coughing, Annabeth put a hand over her mouth so nothing would accidentally come out.

She forced herself to swallow.

"When we're what?"

"That's what I said!" I validated her shock. "Apparently everyone thinks that we're dating. He told me that I should announce something either way before the rumors get too crazy, but I... It took me off guard."

"Uh, yeah, I'll say." The daughter of Athena responded. "I... Yeah. Where do they even get the idea from? Nobody ever sees us when I'm here— that's why..." As she said it, she realized their logic. "Oh. Got it."

"Mhm." I hummed back, unsure how to steer the conversation, mostly because I was unsure how Annabeth felt about the topic. "Jason does it with Octavian, so they assume I would do it as well."

There was a beat of silence as I could feel Annabeth's eyes on me, only momentarily.

"Huh." The daughter of Athena said, truly giving me nothing to work with here. "Well, you know,—" she placed a hand on top of mine, the physical touch earning my attention, but her words keeping it as she leaned in closer. "A relationship would benefit the both of us."

"Oh, yeah?" I responded, figuring I'd bite at this game of chicken. I cupped Annabeth's face with my free hand. "I suppose there would be a lot of political gain with a relationship between a member of the Senate and the Greek council. My guys might even start to tolerate your guys."

"Now don't get ahead of yourself, Praetor," the Greek demigod warned me, readjusting as she swung a leg over mine so she ended up straddling me on her knees, her other hand finding my waist as we made eye contact. "If we want that to happen, we'd have to be awful convincing. How do you propose we'll manage that?"

"If we continue to act like we don't want people to see us, that's half of the job done." I insisted, moving a piece of hair out of her face. "The rest we're doing right now, even without an audience. You're the one who called me the whole package earlier— you're sure you're not only suggesting this for personal gains, Chase?"

"The personal gain of me being able to order my chai latte without an eye roll maybe." She returned, glancing down at my lips. "I believe both of us know better than to put too much personal stock into one person, don't we?"

"It's a lesson everyone has to learn the hard way, sooner or later." Running my hand down her side, I let it rest on her thigh so she'd sit in my lap rather than straddle over me. I interlaced our fingers. "But what's a little white lie for political gain?"

"My thoughts precisely," Annabeth responded, leaning in a little closer. "Mind if I test a theory out, Praetor?"

"Just as long as you can own up to it later, Chase."

•••
Annabeth Chase

As Athena's daughter, it's not often I find myself thoughtless, but I was pleasantly surprised to find my mind begin to clear or wander as I brushed my lips against those of Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano.

Or, I think the surprise was pleasant. It was new, so I was unsure, but a part of it must've felt pleasant because we kissed one.

Only to kiss again. And again.

Until we were doing the very thing most Romans must assume that we get up to by escaping the public eye: making out, trying to make sense of each other's touch and of these new boundaries and rules we'd just given ourselves.

After all, it was awfully clear as both of us established this: although the primary focus of this relationship would be political gain to help the larger relationship between our camps, there could be some personal gain to be had.

In order to figure out how possible that personal gain would be, though, we had to be willing to try new things. Push some old boundaries in order to find the new ones in our relationship.

Because honestly, the thought of kissing Praetor Ramirez-Arellano hadn't crossed my mind until she mentioned Jason's question this morning, but once the seed had been planted...

Well, Reyna is the one who brought up the idea of us being together in the first place, so I figured one kiss couldn't be all that risky.

And when she went in for a second, it was clear that both of us were willing to fool around for a little while.

The idea of a relationship— a falsehood to share with the praetor is something I hadn't completely disregarded since my last conversation with Percy, but I hadn't expected it to happen this soon. I'd still been laying down seeds and debating if this was truly the best way to get the Romans on our side.

After all, it didn't feel bad to kiss the Roman leader. I'm not sure if it felt natural, but it felt right. It felt appropriate, at the very least. Something I'll definitely be doing again, though won't be obsessing or daydreaming over in the same way that Grover used to, before those two shared their first kiss.

Then again, guys are different, so I'd hate to compare our expierences.

For now, as Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano and I traded kisses in the Garden of Bacchus, I was okay with our arrangement. An experiment— an agreement for political gain.

After all, if we want to bring a real fight to Chiron, we'll want the Romans on our side.

Notes:

Writing a complete rewrite of a franchise/universe/series is fun because I can pull out the craziest ships and head canons ever but they make sense here <3

anyways you're welcome for more lesbians (is anyone surprised that this is how Annabeth gets her first girlfriend?)

Chapter 100: When The Found Family Finds Itself Again

Notes:

welcome to the hundredth chapter!!! if you're still here THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I've been working on this story for literally a year and a half now it's actually insane this is by far the BIGGEST thing I've ever done ok anyways love you all here's chapter 100

Luke Castellan

I was actually having a good day, with Mr. Annoying As Fuck being pretty quiet today, which allowed Thalia and I to be intimate for the first time in like, a month. It was nice.

What wasn't nice was hearing somebody ring our doorbell while we were laying together on the couch after having showered together, only half dressed.

Thalia groaned, getting up. "I'll go cover my nipples."

"Wait, before they're gone," I said, stopping them from going to our room, putting a hand on his forearm. I kissed each of her nipples. "Okay, now you can go, I've said my goodbyes."

He rolled his eyes, walking to our bedroom as I threw my sweater back on that had been conveniently stripped off of me and placed on this very couch earlier. "You're ridiculous."

"You love me!" I reminded them, getting up and just hoping that it wasn't the Jackson's with bad news at our door, because I honestly...

Don't have that in me today.

Today's been good. I'd like to keep it that way.

Walking to the door, I grabbed one of my mixed metal daggers just in case and opened it up.

"Can I help—"

It was the last person I expected to see at my door.

But suddenly, ripping me back 3, 4 years ago, she wrapped herself around me in a hug, effectively stunning me.

"A—" I started, confused, pulling away for a moment to make sure Kronos wasn't making me hallucinate right now. It hasn't happened before, but who knows. He is getting stronger (and more annoying?), after all. "Annabeth?"

She smiled. "Sorry that it took me this long to put something together after I realized that you weren't evil. Is it alright if I crash here for a few days?"

And with that, I pulled my little girl— my baby sister, back into a hug, because she didn't need to see that my eyes were watery.

Day and night, I tortured myself over the fact that I knew that me leaving camp to then work against camp would hurt Annabeth. To her, it would be a betrayal because camp was our home. It was where she grew up, it's where I was there to help her through every tough decision, and it's where Thalia was (well... Until recently).

I knew that, at least initially, there wasn't a shot in hell she'd ever join us. To undermine and scheme against the other person who, in all fairness, helped raise her.

For Annabeth, me leaving was like making her choose between her brother and her father.

And, as I expected, she chose Chiron.

But now, for some reason, she's here.

"Annabeth?" Thalia's voice came in from behind me. "Oh my gods, Annabeth! You're here, you're actually here, you..."

And now, for the first time since Thalia came back to life, we got to have a family group hug.

Annabeth sniffling as she buried her head in my sweater was the first domino to fall before all three of us ended up in a puddle of tears because the last time we were all together, peacefully— happily, Annabeth didn't even know her name yet.

That's a long time to go without your family. The time making it harder every day, ever so gradually, until it finally comes to an end and it's just...

And I'm crying, but it's because I'm happy. It's because I'm relieved.

Because after two and a half years of thinking and believing that I may have lost Annabeth for good— that I may never get my little family back again, she came back.

It was the only thing I've ever wanted since losing Thalia, and I finally got it.

So excuse me if a couple tears were shed.

"Are you okay?" I asked her as our hug dispersed. "You're not here because of something that happened at home, are you? Regardless, you're more than welcome to stay for as long as you want or need, but... Are you okay?"

Sniffling, Annabeth steeled her expression and nodded.

"Home has been... Eh, my step mom sucks, but it's not quite to run away levels yet." She told me, which was good to know. "No, I uh... I came because it's spring break and I have some updates that I think will help us out a lot to fight the old man."

"To fight— wait." Thalia paused. "You want to help?"

"I— yeah. Did Percy not... Tell you guys that?" She asked, seeing our expressions drop. "Before he was hospitalized. I know he's not... Reachable right now, but we talked like, a couple days before Travis called to tell me about the hospitalization. It was the day before him and Grover broke up. Did he really not... Tell you guys that he finally persuaded me to help you guys out?"

"He— no, the last time we got to talk to Percy before the hospital was a couple days before the breakup." I explained to my little sister as we moved to the living room, Annabeth setting her bag down next to the couch as she settled into the loveseat and Thalia and I settled into our usual spots on the couch. "What's your plan, then? You always have one— or do you need our input?"

Annabeth smiled.

"Well, I'll need information soon, but not quite yet." She told the two of us. "It took me a few days to figure out a plan to get us a lot more support en masse without raising red flags to Chiron or the gods, but it's been set in motion and is going exactly as planned, so far."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "And what's your plan? You sound a little more coy than usual."

She smirked. "I'm getting the entirety of Camp Jupiter as allies to back us up."

I scoffed. "How so? Jason's been trying to work on that, last I checked. It's been a while since he's sent an update, though."

"Jason hasn't gotten very far because his and Octavian's visit to Camp Half-Blood was seen as rash and unpopular in the eyes of many roman demigods and legacies." The daughter of Athena filled us in on context that Jason himself probably wouldn't admit, if he was even aware. "The Romans need to learn to trust us again— know that we aren't a threat to them. And my existence in New Rome on a weekly basis didn't seem to be enough, so I took things up a notch."

Setting down the New Rome Reporter, Annabeth showed us the front page, the headline of which read Praetor Ramirez-Arellano Announces A New Relationship: It's All Greek For Her

Below the headline was a photo of Annabeth and Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano holding hands in front of the Senate.

"And before you think about giving me some talk or lecture about relationships or whatever, it's purely political." Annabeth shot down Thalia's hope of helping her get ready for her first ever date. Then she tilted her head. "Eh, mostly, that is."

"Mostly?" Thalia asked, a string of hope for him to hold onto.

"Well neither of us have ever been in any sort of relationship before, and there's a level of physicality that's expected betwixt us while in public, so we've agreed to use it as a way to... Learn. Experiment." She figured, and somehow I could not be less surprised that this was how Annabeth got her first partner. "There's nothing all that substantive or emotionally binding between us as more than friends, but both Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter would benefit from an ally ship, so until one of us finds any interest in someone else... We'll figure out how to stage a peaceful break up. By the solstice, Reyna will be able to confidently command Camp Jupiter to provide us back up, and Camp Jupiter should trust me enough to go along without complaint."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "I can't believe... Well, I can, but you're way too calm for a 14 year old girl who just got her first girlfriend, you know that? Your mind is a boggling thing, Annie."

"Yeah, but you missed it." She pointed out. "Where am I sleeping, by the way? The couch, or is that where you sleep, Thalia? Because I can sleep anywhere."

"Where... No, the couch is all yours," Thalia told our baby sister, caught off guard by the statement. "I sleep in the bedroom, Annie— both of us do. That's how it works when—"

"Oh, gods, I have to deal with you guys being gross again." The daughter of Athena groaned, being way too overdramatic. "Don't finish that sentence— I don't want to think about what you guys do when people aren't around."

"What, you don't want to hear that I kiss my partner?" I teased Annabeth, who flashed me a warning. "That Thalia and I cuddle? You'll survive, Annie, I promise. We've yet to kill Percy from embarrassment. What do you want for lunch?"

•••
Travis Stoll

Shout-out to the Jackson's for telling me that the institute that Percy was in did allow visitors outside of immediate family, so I was allowed to go see him almost a week after he got there.

I hadn't realized how worried I'd been all week about him, after the initial wave wore off, until they escorted him into the visiting section and he gave me a hug.

"Percy!" I said with a smile, standing to meet him, only for the son of Poseidon to crash into me, wrapping his arms around my body and burying his head in my shoulder. It was surprising, but in a good way.

Returning the hug, I buried my face in Percy's hair, and for a while we just... Stayed there.

"Sorry," Percy apologized, still hugging me after taking a few breaths to steady himself. "I should've asked before hugging, but I just..."

Shushing the slightly younger demigod, I tightened my hold on him, for reassurance. "It's okay. I like hugs, remember?"

"Yeah, I... I know." He responded, turning his head, but still keeping it on my shoulder. "I forgot how nice your hugs are. Thanks for like... Being here. You're my first visitor, besides my parents. Not that I ever expect visitors— most places don't allow them, but it's... Nice."

I smiled, giving him a squeeze.

"I know both Rachel and then Thalia and Luke mentioned visiting you a day or two apart." I mentioned, figuring that mentioning that ahead of time would probably be good for him. So he can prepare. "They all say hi. Rachel and Connor have been my damage control all week, I was more than happy when your parents told us that you could take visitors, though."

"Damage control?" Percy questioned, finally pulling away from the hug, but not stepping back, so we still stood in a sort of embrace. "For what? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," I reassured the hardly shorter demigod as we sat down on the couch they had in here. "Just..." I shrugged. "Worried about you. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," he admitted, hugging my arm and resting his head on my shoulder again. I'd forgotten how touchy Percy could get, especially when he's sad, but I welcomed the reminder. "But I've also been a lot worse. I haven't thought about killing myself since I got here. Not that I was really... Thinking when I was going to attempt, but... I haven't had the impulse or anything. My therapist is also cool, which helps. And she knows about the gods, so they won't keep me extra long because they think I'm psychotic. Besides that, I'm just doing a lot of the same old same old. They let me draw, though, and I even got to send out a couple letters yesterday, after my therapist confirmed that none of them were suicide notes."

"That's good! Both that you haven't had an impulse, and that your therapist knows about the gods." I responded, resting my head back on top of his. "You'll be out of here in no time."

"Mmm I don't know about that," the son of Poseidon countered. "They want to keep me for longer to try and see if I can break my pattern of being okay for a few weeks and then just having horrible breakdowns after those couple of weeks, which keep sending me back here. They also upped my meds last week, and the effects are just starting to show, so. It'll probably be at least one more week. If it's a good week. And if I have a meltdown... Probably two. Maybe three. It depends on me, and I'm... Unreliable at best lately, so."

"Yeah, but that's why you're here, right?" I pointed out. "And hey— you are getting better, because you're here willingly. That's a big step. And whenever you get out, in a week or in a month, me and Rachel and everyone else will be there to help you out. Maybe we could even throw you a welcome back party at home."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Please do not throw me a welcome back party," he requested, taking a breath and nuzzling his head against me. "When I go home I just wants things to be normal. And I don't want to go to camp immediately after getting home, so hopefully I'm not here for like, months."

"I think that if you're still here in two months, there's something wrong with the facility," I commented. "What do you want to do when you get out, then?"

The son of Poseidon shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know." He began, thinking to himself. "Skateboard, probably. Eat some pão de queijo. Maybe some Feijoada, too— Mom usually makes that before I leave for camp for the summer. I don't want to, but I'll probably stress about school. Start looking at what high schools will even take me. Hopefully there's an immersion school— there's a lot of Spanish ones, but..."

I frowned. "I thought English was your first language."

Once again, Percy shrugged.

"I mean, sort of— I grew up with both Portuguese and English, but Portuguese is... Easier for me. Not as easy as ancient Greek, but it's easier. Academically, at least." He reminded me. "If nobody else is around, Mom only talks to me in Portuguese and my dad only talks to me in English. They both know both, though. The only time mom uses English with me is when another person is involved in the conversation, though, and they don't know Portuguese. Because her and her parents and uncle all came from Brazil, so even after they moved here, they spoke Portuguese at home, and mom learned English at school mostly."

"Ohhh right— I always forget that they speak Portuguese in Brazil, not Spanish." I commented, putting a hand on one of his arms as he remained hugging my arm. "Do you have family there, then? I don't think I've ever heard you talk about them."

"Probably, but I don't know any of them." Percy answered my question. "I'm not sure Mom does, either— it was just Gabe's family at the vow renewal, so... But her parents died when she was young, and her uncle died when she was a teen, so that was probably all of the close family. I'm not sure about grandparents or cousins or... Anything like that. Do you know your grandparents?"

I nodded. "I do— they live in Vermont, so we usually see them like once or twice a year. At big family gatherings. Christmas and Easter, typically."

Percy chuckled. "You guys celebrate Christmas and Easter?"

Once again, I nodded. "Yeah, because the rest of my mom's family does."

"Is that not... Weird? Do you have to go to church for it? Does your... Dad know? Or Chiron, even?"

Unable to help myself, I chuckled.

"Uh, yeah, it's—"

But we were interrupted by a knock on the door, before a worker stepped inside the room.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," the woman said. "But visiting hours did end a few minutes ago, so I'll have to kindly ask you leave the premises, Mr. Stoll— thank you for visiting Perse— Percy today. If you would like to return another time, you're more than welcome."

"Oh! Okay." I said, sitting up, noticing the time— a few minutes after 4pm. "Sorry, I thought visiting hours went until 5, not 4."

"It's alright, you're not the only visitor who's made that mistake." The worker reassured me before looking to the demigod who was glued to my side still as we stood. "Ready to go back, Percy? I believe you have one on one therapy before dinner."

Freezing for a moment, Percy nodded. "Yeah, just... Give me a second to say goodbye."

She smiled. "Of course— I'll be in the hall when you're ready."

With that, the woman closed the door part way, and once she did, Percy pulled me into a proper hug. One that, obviously, I returned.

"Thanks." The dark haired demigod said as his head was still in my shoulder. "For coming. It... Means a lot."

I gave him a squeeze. "Of course, Percy. Like I said, I was worried. And plus, you're my friend— even if it's not good, I want to know how you're doing. Want to hang out with you— even if that just means sitting on a couch together for 20 minutes. I'll try to visit one more time before you leave, but I'll give you at least a week, okay? That way you have some breathing room between people, and if they let you out in a week, then I'll swing by the apartment when you get back or I'll come with your parents to pick you up. Whatever you prefer."

Feeling the son of Poseidon smile into my shoulder made me smile in return.

"I think all of those are good options," this time, Percy picked his head up, looking up at me (well, okay, "up" is a exaggeration, there's less than 2 inches of a height difference between us), arms resting on my waist. "Maybe when I'm out we could have a movie night in my room, like we used to at camp. Just us, without Rachel. I think that would be nice."

But that almost sounded like...

"I think that would be a great idea," I agreed with Percy as old habit (and slight impulse, I'll admit) took over and I kissed his forehead. "There's still a ton of movies that I haven't—"

And then I realized what I did and completely stepped back, seeing a confused Percy.

"Sorry." I apologized, knowing that that was too much. "We're just friends, I shouldn't have done that. That was... Too much. But a movie night would be nice, yes. Sorry."

For a moment, Percy seemed to digest what I was saying. Looking at me quizzically, he tilted his head.

"It... It's okay, Travis."

"But we just talked about this before you were admitted, Percy, and—"

Stepping forward, the son of Poseidon grabbed my hands. "And it's okay, Travis."

I frowned. "It is? Are you sure?"

"Travis, it's okay." The boy who deserved the whole entire world and then some promised me, squeezing my hands. "Look, we're not boyfriend's. We're not dating or anything like that, but we're friends and we both know that we like each other, so like... Maybe we're a little bit more than friends, and that's okay. If we're a little bit more than friends, we can still do everything that friends do, but the occasional hand holding or forehead kiss or cuddling or whatever can also happen. Just..." He shrugged. "Whatever feels right, you know? We don't have to label it. I don't want to label it right now."

I smiled, squeezing his hand in return.

"If you insist, then more than friends it is." But those limits made me really happy, and I was hoping that my smile was getting that message through to him. "I'll be back in a week or so, okay?" I kissed his forehead again. "Now go, kick therapy's ass."

With one last smile, Percy Jackson stole a kiss from me and wished me safe travels before leaving the room to go back into the ward— leaving me alone with the reminder of how his lips felt against my own.

It had been a long time since I'd shared a kiss with Percy Jackson, and once he left for his quest to save Grover, I kind of gave up hope that I'd ever feel the sensation again, but...

But he just kissed me. As I was visiting him during inpatient treatment for his mental health, Percy Jackson kissed me again.

I couldn't stop smiling the entire walk back to the parking lot.

Notes:

and it was even a happy chapter— you're welcome

Chapter 101: I Don't Want A Party, But I'll Accept A Calm Gathering

Percy Jackson

They let me leave the facility three weeks after Travis' initial visit, meaning that he visited me one other time, and was there with my parents to pick me up, since he was originally going to visit that day until we found out that that's when I was getting sent home.

Trying to explain my situation with Travis to my therapist proved to me difficult after his first visit. I don't know if it's because he's the first person who wasn't my parents to visit or if it's something another worker saw or heard, but she originally asked me if Travis was my boyfriend, which...

No, but he almost was in the past. We were never official, but we were together.

But then we broke up and had some time apart to grow as people, and now we're friends again but we both know that we still each other so it's...

Friends with benefits, I guess? Friends plus?

I'm just a very physical person, especially when I'm not doing great, and Travis is great at handling it and he's also very physical, so like... It maybe isn't the wisest thing I've ever done, to kiss him while I was still in the hospital, but...

I don't know. Like I told Travis, it just felt right.

After all, I don't think I'm ready for the stress of dates and the different milestones and the other expectations that come with dating, but I like being able to just lean against Travis and not worry about it being weird.

Getting back home, Mom and I taught Travis how to make the pão de queijo (cheese buns, basically) that I'd talk about wanting as a few others showed up that I'd been warned about: Rachel, and then Luke and Thalia.

Annabeth was going to come, apparently, but school things came up so she sent me a letter, which was still cool.

I appreciated it, because sometimes I worry that we're like... Not actually friends. That she doesn't like me or something like that.

But we are. We are friends, and this letter proves that.

Oh, Grandpa and Mr. D also came over with a 12 pack of blue coke as a welcome back gift for me.

I'm not sure where they found blue coke, or if it was even consumable, but... I appreciated it. I've had half of a can so far, and it hasn't killed me yet.

Not that Grandpa D is the god I'm most worried about killing me.

That would probably be Ares. Maybe Zeus.

Not him, though.

As we were sitting down and eating some pão de queijo while the stew we were having for dinner was cooking, though, there was a knock on the door.

Which was weird, because this was all of the people my parents warned me about. The people that they said would be here today.

"Did Annabeth make it after all?" Thalia questioned.

"No, she told us yesterday that she couldn't be here." My mom said as I got up to answer the door, squeezing Travis' hand under the table before getting up. "It could just be a neighbor, or maybe Poseidon swinging by."

It better not be my sperm donor. I thought to myself. Or else I'm losing it.

Opening the door, I didn't know who to expect on the other side. Honestly, I was kind of hoping it was just like, Eddy or somebody like that. Maybe a neighbor asking if we needed anything from the grocery store or wondering if they could borrow an egg.

What I wasn't expecting— who I wasn't prepared to face, was my ex-boyfriend, holding a bouquet of flowers.

You know, the ex-boyfriend who's been out of state and out of reach for the better part of like four months now?

The one that I broke up with just over a month ago?

Yeah, that ex-boyfriend.

"Grover!" I said, shocked by the fact that he was... Here.

"Oh, thank the gods, you made it home." Grover said, pulling me into a hug, his horns poking the sides of my face since I wasn't expecting it, so I didn't move my head to make it more comfortable. "When I heard that you were in the hospital, and then I got your letter... I don't know how long you've been back, sorry, but I just got into the city and I just... Was worried that something happened or that they weren't letting you come home so I ran back as soon as I could and like... I mean, I can't stay super long because the counsel would probably pull my job, but..."

The satyr held out the bouquet of flowers. Irises.

"I tried to find something blue, but these were the closest I could get. Sorry. Forgive me? I know I said... Some not great things. I just... It's prophecy, right?"

That last line caused my expression to drop, though, because I...

As much as I've more or less moved on from Grover in these last two months, I still wanted to be his friend. Or quest buddies, at the very least.

Now here he was, giving me flowers after coming back to New York after seeing me, but still telling me that he didn't believe in a future where I would get to graduate high school.

The two actions effectively cancelling each other out. The flowers making it awkward.

"Yeah, um..." And, unprepared, I didn't know how to respond. "Thanks. I'm glad that you like... Got my letter and stuff. Make it here okay. But we're still, um..."

I took a breath, reminding myself that it's okay to reinforce my boundaries.

"We're still broken up." I clarified for the satyr. "I'd love to hang out like, as friends, but... That's it. Just friends. I don't know if the flowers are supposed to be romantic or not, but if so... No."

"Oh!" Grover said, retracting the flowers. "O... Okay, then. Um... Yeah. Friends."

"Friends." I agreed, even though I knew that that might take a while to actually happen. "Do you want to come in? We're just in the middle of eating, um... Well, it's not vegan, it's a stew, but... We have silverware?"

The satyr, one of my closest friends, seemed to consider this idea. Maybe trying to decipher the meal from the smell or determine who's inside with his crazy satyr nose.

"I... I can't stick around long, sorry." My ex boyfriend apologized, looking down at the floor, and I wondered how long he'd been planning this for. If he'd planned some amazing date for the two of us tonight when i said I forgive him and took the flowers and... "I have to meet Gleeson before sunset. I'll uh... I'll send you a postcard. There's still a lot of places to look for Nico. Assuming he's still alive, which... Hopefully. It's... Weird. I can swear I'm like, so close to him or Pan sometimes, I can sense it, but then it... Just disappears. But I should... Get back to it, so."

Grover put a hand up, to wave.

"See you round, Perce."

I simply nodded a response, feeling my vocal chords tighten at the awkwardness of our current interaction.

Once he was gone, I closed the door behind Grover, and heard everyone exhale at once, reassuring me that I wasn't making up the tension between us just then.

It was... Definitely there.

And I expected it. Not today— not right now, but whenever it was that we interacted next, I knew there would be some tension. I thought I was ready for that, but...

I'm not going to have any friends at camp this summer.

"Kiddo?" My dad's voice cut through my sudden anxiety spike. He carefully placed a hand on my shoulder, making me tense before I reminded myself that it's fine. "You okay? Or do you need a minute?"

I forced a breath, trying to explain to my nervous system that I wasn't about to die, even though it thought I might and was reacting accordingly.

"I'm..." I exhaled. "Fine. Just... Please tell me the food is ready."

Nodding, Dad told me that Mom had just gone to check on it since it should be ready to eat.

And thank the gods that it was, because I needed to shove something into my mouth so that way it would seem normal that I wasn't able to say much.

Wandering back to the table, I sat back down next to Travis. My mom would sit on my other side once she sat back down (as would Luke diagonal from me, who refused to let my mom carry the heavy pot because she's going to be giving birth any day now).

Travis, sensing I needed it, put his hand on my leg, rubbing his thumb back and forth for comfort.

As my anxiety started to wash away, a wave of tiredness hit me. Not knowing, but also not really caring what others around the table thought or knew, I leaned against Travis, closing my eyes for just a moment.

It's fine. I told myself. Even if things with Grover are weird all summer, you still have Travis and Annbeth and a few other people who are probably your friends even if you don't hang out much outside of camp, like Clarisse or Beckendorf.

It'll be fine. I insisted. It'll be fine and then eventually things will stop being weird.

Things like that just take time and also like, exposure. And while it's been a while now, even though we definitely weren't on the same page about it, Grover and I haven't had the exposure we need to each other for things to stop being awkward.

Hearing (and smelling) the pot be set down on the pot holder on the table, I opened my eyes to see Mom sitting down and passing the silverware and bowls around for everyone. Luke walked back to seat, sitting between Thalia and Mr. D.

"Feeling alright, sweetheart?" Mom whispered to me as everyone began to serve themselves. I nodded. "Tired?"

Once again, I nodded. "Kinda, yeah."

With that, the ladle got passed to me, so I dished myself up some stew and Dad even refilled my coke, which was nice, before Grandpa D raised his glass.

"A toast," my godly grandparent announced as the rest of us raised our glasses. He looked at me the same way he looked at his kids or at grandpa— like I was somebody he might actually care about. "To being more alive than ever— welcome home, kid. Cheers."

Clinking our glasses together, we all took a sip of our beverages before digging into the meal.

It was delicious, obviously, and with warm food in my belly I was both less tired (since the food gave me energy) but also much more tired (it was warm food in my belly), so it's needless to say that I didn't have a ton of energy once we were done eating.

"Hey, don't eat too much, there's still more." Dad informed me that this was indeed a three course meal as the people on both sides of me got up and went into the kitchen, which was... A dangerous combination of people to go into a kitchen.

Travis definitely can cook up some things, but I'm not sure any of it is edible.

He can make like... Anything that will blow up on purpose probably. Or anything that isn't actually edible, but he would do it on purpose.

As she sat on the other side of Travis, I looked at Rachel, but she just shrugged.

"Okay, so I know you said you didn't want a party and you didn't want a big cake or anything." Travis prefaced as he came up behind me, holding something in his hands. "And originally I was going to get you some candies or something, but yesterday when I got here your mom was stressed and I still wanted to do something nice for you to enjoy tonight, so..."

Very carefully, Travis reached over my head to set down what was indeed not a large cake, as per my request.

Instead, it was a small cake, and while Mom was definitely in charge of making the frosting and getting the icing, Travis was definitely the one who put it on the cake.

How do you know that for sure? Not only was the frosting not completely smoothed like it always is when my mom does it, but the message he wrote on the cake was in Ancient Greek.

And my mom is only one of three people here that can't read Ancient Greek.

In Ancient Greek, Travis wrote you're home now!!! now we can cuddle without the bourgeoisie listening in <3 proud of you

It made me smile. I was also kind of glad that the two people next to us couldn't read Ancient Greek, so it was like the message was just for me.

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it time and time again: Travis is so sweet that it brings me to tears sometimes.

Like right now.

"Your mom baked it, but I put it all together." Travis said, sitting back down next to me. "Sorry that it's not the prettiest, I don't have the experience that your mom does, but—"

Not really wanting to cry in front of everyone, I pulled Travis into a hug.

"It's perfect," I insisted, taking a breath and getting a waft of strawberry from the son of Hermes. "I mean, you definitely couldn't sell it in a bakery but..."

I looked at the cake again. I smiled.

"It's perfect."

And even I knew at that moment how obviously it probably seemed to everyone else at the table that Travis and I were a little bit more than friends.

Because at that moment, I'm sure that my expression provided a clear painting for how loved I felt by the son of Hermes next to me.

It's one thing to love another person. Or to care about them at all. It can be draining at times, emotionally and mentally, to try and make sure that you're at least trying to show them that you care about them. To be with somebody who you think loves you and cares about you because they say it.

But it's a completely different thing, in a good way, when you're not even entirely committed to a person, and yet everything they do reminds you of the fact that they care about you.

It's not that Travis is constantly telling me that he loves me or that he cares about me. Sure, sometimes, he does. When I'm feeling overly anxious or get paranoid about friendships and relationships and stuff like that, then he will tell me directly that we're okay, he cares about me, he visits and stops by so much not just because he worries, but because he likes being around me. He hasn't said that he loves me, though. Probably because we're not... Together.

But for as rarely as he says those things, I'm still constantly flooded with this feeling of love in the things that he does for me.

Every time he comes over when he expects me to be in a bad mood, and he's constructed some sort of basket or goody bag, I can't help but smile because not only did he bring me a gift, but he bought all the right things. The right kind of candy in the right flavors and the right brands of pens or highlighters.

When we go out to eat— either just us or in a group, and I see him take physical notes of what I order at different places in the notes app on his phone, and then use those very notes later if we ever get takeout from somewhere when I don't know what I want to eat or if I don't have the motivation to cook.

I don't understand how he has that phone, if I'm being honest, but he has one and can use it regularly. It baffles me.

To be loved is to be known, and Travis knows me well.

Not because he naturally observed everything. Not because I told him everything or because of some empathy link that we share. We don't have that, and while some things he notices on his own, and some things I have told him, that's not what makes the difference.

Travis knows me so well because he puts an effort into knowing me.

He doesn't just talk to me about these things— he talks to my mom and dad and to Luke and Annabeth and Rachel and Thalia and even my grandpa, all of whom know slightly different things about me, and he gathers the information he has from all of them and shows it to me in ways that make me feel seen.

In ways that make me feel loved, even if that's not a word that either of us are ready to say out loud right now.

After all, one of the presents I've cherished the most from Travis thus far was when he gave me a sketchbook, and on the first page there was a bunch of attempted drawings of the different characters in MASH— one of my favorite TV shows, but one that I almost exclusively only watch with my grandpa.

Kind of like the cake, the drawings were far from perfect in the technical sense, but it made me so happy that I wanted to melt when I saw it.

Giving my mom a quick hug as well, I let everyone take a photo of me with the cake before we cut it into equal parts and finished our last course for tonight's larger than usual meal, migrating to the living room to do the only thing we could ever do when I'm this tired and Grandpa Gio is here: put on MASH.

It was a nice evening, and after two episodes almost everyone left the apartment besides the people who lived here, and then Travis, because these plans were predetermined.

"By the way, kid," Mr. D said as him and Gio were on their way out. "I'm not gonna make you do it tonight because I can tell you're exhausted, but whenever you're ready to talk about what happened, swing on by and I'll have a diet coke waiting for you— Gio will probably feed you, too. I ain't any good at that. But I can give you a cold diet coke— I'll even make it blue."

I gave my godly grandparent as much of a smile as I could muster. "Sounds good."

Having nothing else to say, I waved my grandparents goodbye and led Travis back to my room, choosing to ignore the look I saw my parents share when they saw us go back.

Going back into my room was... Harder than I thought it would be, but I was able to do it without Travis needing to talk me through it. I just hesitated before opening the door, suddenly remembering that the last time I was in my room, I was going through the motions of ending my own life.

Once we were in my room and the door was closed behind us, Travis seemed to notice my slight hesitation to enter. He tilted his head. "You okay?"

I nodded my head. "It's just... Been a while."

He smiled at me. "Do you want a hug?"

But duh, of course I want a hug, I almost always want a hug. So, once again, I nodded, allowing the skinny brunette to pull me into a hug. Or maybe it was an embrace, I'm not sure.

When does a hug turn into an embrace? Because as I relaxed into his touch, Travis and I stayed there until we got a knock on my bedroom door a few minutes later.

"Boys?" Dad's voice came from the other side of the door. "Can I open the door?"

"Hm? Yeah, it's open." I responded, taking a step back as Travis sat down on the edge of my bed, my dad opening the door. "What's up? Mom's water didn't break, did it?"

"No water has broken yet— we have a week a half before the baby gets evicted." Dad reminded me, which was actually a good reminder because I knew that Mom was near her due date, but since I've been in the hospital I didn't realize just how near it was. "You're staying the night Travis, right?"

Travis nodded his head. "Yeah, that was the plan. The harpies would definitely eat me by the time I got back if I left now, so."

"Good, I don't want you fighting those harpies off— had a friend do it once after he fell asleep at his girlfriend's place. That scar never healed." Dad commented, providing me with the obligatory monthly reminder that he used to attend camp as well. "Do you need any extra blankets or pillows or anything like that?"

"Um... A pillow would probably be good— I think blankets are okay, though." Travis insisted as Dad popped back into the hall before Dad returned seconds later, throwing him a pillow. "Thanks. This should be more than fine. And if not, Percy and I will figure it out."

"You sure?" Dad asked, both of us nodding. He put his hands up in defeat. "Alright, if you say so. If you need us, Sally and I will be in the living room for just a little bit longer before we go to bed." Dad looked at me. "Do you need or want anything for tonight? Any breakfast or brunch requests for tomorrow?"

"Um... Pancakes?"

"Aye aye, captain," Dad told me with a two finger salute. "Get some rest, kiddo. You look exhausted."

Insisting that that was the plan, Dad let us to be after that, and I took this chance to get one more hug from Travis before he reminded me that he's no son of Athena by asking me the dumbest question in the world.

"Where do you want me to sleep?" The son of Hermes who I've kissed multiple times this month questioned. Although no longer hugging, Travis held my hands as he looked up at me. It was cute, if not a little tempting. "As you may recall, my cabin has prepared me to sleep anywhere. Couch, floor, bed—" he paused. "Desk, dresser. I'm not sure I could pull off the nightstand, though. I would probably roll off in the middle of the night."

I'm not sure if it was his goal, but that still got me to laugh.

"I'm not subjecting you to the floor, much less an even harder surface than the carpeted floor." I reassured the slightly older boy, kissing the top of his head because the current height difference (of me standing and him sitting) made it awfully tempting to do so. "I would suggest the bed— with me in it, of course— but the final decision is yours to make."

He raises an eyebrow. "And reject a chance to cuddle with the most amazing boy ever? I'd have to be stupid."

I rolled my eyes at his flattery. "Well now I know that you're just trying to get in my pants, Stoll."

"Pfft, what? I would never." It was stupid, but I smiled when he denied the claims with heavy sarcasm. Using me as leverage, Travis stood up and gave me a kiss. "I would try to get in your sheets, though— clothed... Well, Mostly. I usually sleep in my boxers or shorts, which you already know. Speaking of, I'm going to go shower and change. I'll be back."

Letting Travis escape the confines of my room with his shower bag, I changed into my own pajamas just in time for my mother to knock on my door as the water in the shower started to run.

"Sweetheart?" Mom asked. "Are you decent?"

Telling her that she could come in, Mom opened the door, her presense more... All knowing than dad's usually is.

Which, being the mortal parent, is probably ironic, but it's true.

"What's up?" I asked Mom. "I'm just slowly getting ready for bed— Travis is showering."

"I know, don't worry," she reassured me. "Your dad told me that you guys are all situated for sleeping tonight as well, so I won't bother asking. But can I ask you something else?"

I paused. "Can my answer get me in trouble?"

"Percy, you just got home, you're not in trouble." My mother reminded me. "It's nothing you can get in trouble for with me or your dad. It's simply a curiosity. An observation I made, if you will."

"And I... Will?" I responded, confused. "What's your question?"

Mom leaned against the door frame of my bedroom, crossing her arms. She smiled a little, as if she knew something.

Which was honestly terrifying, because she probably did know something.

"Is there something going on between you and Travis?" Mom questioned, and I tried to play it off.

"Something like... What?"

Rolling her eyes, mom walked over and sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to her for me to join her.

"Sweetheart," Mom said as I hesitated to join her. "I love you, I hope you know that— but you're really bad at hiding when you like somebody."

"I—" and I guess Travis was the one who initiated things this time around, so I hadn't thought about that. After all, I wasn't worried about him finding out that I like him. "I am?"

She nodded her head.

"It's not a bad thing— I think it's sweet," my mom continued, rubbing my back for support. "But if you don't want Travis knowing you like him, then it could be an issue." She paused. "Does he know? Is there something going on between you two? I know it's only been a month since you and Grover broke up, but... You hardly got to really see Grover after summer."

"Yeah, we barely got to talk after summer," I agreed with my mom there, thinking about how I wanted to explain us. "As for Travis, um..."

I shrugged.

"We're not... Dating." I began as Dad poked his head in. "He's not my boyfriend, there's nothing official, but..."

"But?" Mom asked.

"But we do know that we like each other." I continued, noticing my dad raise an eyebrow. "So we're not dating, but we're... More than friends, I guess? Travis told me about it during my meltdown before going to the hospital, or... Technically after the meltdown when I was still not doing great, before the hospital. He was super chill about just being friends, though, because he knew that I just needed a friend and I agreed because I needed to be single for a little bit. When he visited me in the facility is kind of when I realized that I wanted a little more than that, but not the... Pressure that comes with dating, I guess? We might start actually dating this summer, but until then we're... Friends with benefits, I guess?"

My parents smiled.

"He seems like a sweet boy— even though I'm pretty sure he steals stuff from our pantry to bring back to camp with him." Mom commented, which made me smile because it was probably true. "He was so excited to help with the cake last night— and for your release, obviously."

"Oh my gods, you would've thought your mom was offering him a million drachma when she asked if he wanted to helped decorate the cake." Dad added on. "Definitely a little nervous once Rachel left, though— I think your mom and I make him nervous."

Mom nudged me. "Probably because he likes you."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, maybe. He is sweet— he always brings me things when he thinks there's a chance that I might be in a worse mood than usual."

"Does he pay for it?" Mom asked as she stood up, hearing the water in the bathroom turn off.

"I don't know— probably not." I figured, glancing at the basket he gave me that I never got to actually look at when I had my meltdown before looking back at my mom. "His dad is Hermes, so... The chances are low. Unless it comes from a small business— he usually only steals from corporations."

She sighed. "I suppose I can excuse that." She squeezed my shoulder. "Dad and I are going to head to bed— sleep well, kiddo. Love you."

"Love you, too. Night."

My parents leaving allowed me just a minute to actually look at the basket that he put together for me a month ago when he rightfully supposed that I'd be having a bad time when he stopped by.

It wasn't a big basket by any means— technically, it was just a gift bag. But he'd gotten me some snacks: blue sour candies, blue corn chips, and a small container of blue m&Ms in different shades of blue. Then there was a set of skateboard wheels with a cool design on it, and the last thing was a gift card for the arcade down the street from here.

Meaning that, yes, he paid for at least something in here.

"I forgot how nice it is to shower without 12 other kids yelling about towels and dibs the whole time." Travis announced his entrance as he closed the door behind him, wearing a loose tee and shorts. He smiled at me, walking over. "The gift bag! Oh my gods, I almost forgot about it, you never got to open it. Do you like everything? I hope I got the right kind of wheels—" as he stood besides the chair I was sitting in, I looked up at the son of Hermes as a warmth rushed through me. "I'm assuming you ride a trick board, but if they're not the right—"

And, because I really wanted to and it's a boundary that we've both established were okay with, I stood up to kiss the brunette before me, pulling him into me by cupping his face.

The spotenanity of it caught Travis off guard, taking a half second to realize what was happening, steading himself by placing his hands on my waist.

Which, arguably, is kind of what I wanted him to do.

"W— hi." Travis said, recovering from the surprise of our kiss.

"Hi," I smiled, my voice calmer than his was. It was so damning and so gay, but I couldn't help but rub my thumb along his cheeks, just... Looking at him. "I love the gift bag, thank you."

"Of course, I'm glad— otherwise the crime wouldn't be worth it."

Cracking my smile even wider, I found myself drinking in Travis' presense, the warmth that Travis often times brings with him slowly spreading throughout my body after flooding the pool in my stomach.

So I did the only thing I knew how to in order to convey that feeling to Travis: I gave him another kiss.

This time he was able to return the kiss, both of us smiling into it. He placed a kiss on my forehead as well before pointing out the obvious.

"Somebody's very smiley today." The son of Hermes commented, as if he wasn't smiling as well.

I placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I'm happy." I told the slightly older, slightly taller brunette. "Or at least, I'm pretty sure I am— it's been a while, so I forget sometimes, but..."

Once again, I kissed Travis— this time resting my forehead against his instead of pulling back.

"I'm home." I began to list the things that seemed to contribute to my good mood. "And I got to have my comfort meal for dinner with everyone, and then I got to have an amazing cake that almost made me cry and we all got to watch one of my favorite TV shows and I was finally able to open one of the most thoughtful presents I've been given, and now you're here."

"And all of that made you happy?" Travis asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Especially the last thing."

I got him to blush.

"Aw, come on, now you're just trying to get in my pants."

I cracked a smile, wrapping my arms around his neck, leaning in for yet another kiss. "You're not even wearing pants." I pointed out before our lips met. "But maybe, yeah. Just not tonight."

"Oh? Is that so?" Travis raised an eyebrow, kissing me. "I have to admit that I'm not sure we'd be able to convince others that we're not officially together or that we're just friends if we had sex. Just saying. That one might cross that threshold."

"Yeah?" I asked, looking at the rest of him and running my hands down his arms, then back up, resting them on his chest. I met his gaze once again. "This isn't very just friends of us— even with clothes on."

"Well... You have a point, but the door is closed, so the others don't know that." The son of Hermes insisted as I felt his thumbs trace my skin between my shirt hem and waistband. "We're alone now."

It took all of my self control to not shove Travis back onto my bed and rip his clothes off at that moment.

The feeling of his skin against mine... It was such little contact, but it was addictive, and I needed more. It provided me with this high that I can only imagine coming with Travis. A high I don't think I've ever felt before— it was new. Exciting. 

"We are alone," I agreed, backing both of us up a few steps until I felt my desk behind me. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"What am I doing tomorrow?" Travis asked in return, giving me a kiss before I hopped up just enough to sit on my desk. "I'm fairly certain that you're my only plans tomorrow, Jackie," and oh my gods I usually hate nicknames but Travis calling me Jackie made me want to melt into him. "So I'm not sure because we haven't talked about it. Why, do you have something you want to do?"

I nodded. "We should use that gift card to go to the arcade, and then maybe we can grab a bite to eat or something. Walk around together."

"A hang out outside the apartment?" He questioned, sounding intruiged. "Exotic."

Feeling myself soften, it so went against what I just told my parents, but Travis and I had an agreement: to do what felt right.

And for me, this felt right.

"No," I corrected Travis, keeping his undivided attention. I slid one of my hands up to his neck, keeping the other on his chest, wondering if I'd ever get enough of him. "I was thinking more like a date— if that's okay."

Being it was me who set the boundary of just being friends for a while, my suggestion surprised Travis, but in a way that I could see excited him (even if he tried to cover it with concern).

His eyes did nearly pop out of his head when I mentioned it, though.

"A date?" The son of Hermes asked, making me the tiniest bit nervous because a date is what ended things the first time (well, sort of). "I... Are you sure? You just got home, Percy, we don't have the rush anything if you want or need time to adjust."

I smiled, wondering how I got so lucky that the fates gave me somebody so considerate.

"Travis, I'm sitting on my desk because I'm secretly hoping that you'll take my shirt off." I confessed, looking the brunette up and down. "We agreed to do whatever felt right, and this feels right to me. I'm happy because you make me happy, Travis— even when you're not trying to. I don't want to dance around it anynore, I want to take you on dates and be able to kiss you in public and hold your hand without everyone giving us the side eye. If it's too much, I'll tell you," I promised him, knowing his wordy. I gave the son of Hermes one more kiss. "But honestly, Travis? I don't think I'll be able to get enough of you."

"If you insist, then I'd love to go out on a date with you." Travis swallowed, this time checking me out. "You're awfully tempting right now."

I put my hands over his, guiding them underneath the hem of my shirt and up.

"Then give in."

Chapter 102: Families Come Together, Families Fall Apart

Travis Stoll

We spent most of the night making out and trailing kisses along each other's torsos. Once we were settled in bed, I was more than happy to cuddle with Percy as he laid on top of me, head on my chest, our legs intertwined.

Oh, and because I sleep shirtless, he'd stolen my sweater to sleep in.

I may have snapped a photo or two of us together to commemorate the moment because if I couldn't tell everyone about this immediately, I wanted something to look back on and smile at.

The next day, we slept in and woke up around 10:30. For a half hour or so, we just laid in bed as I played with Percy's hair as he pretended to still be asleep before admitting defeat to consciousness around 11— mostly because we were both hungry.

He gave me a good morning kiss, though, which I had to admit I really liked.

For brunch, we made ourselves some pancakes. His parents weren't home at the moment— today was one of Sally's last days to work, and Gabe had left a note for us saying that he went to help his friend Eddie with something and would be back in like an hour or two. There was leftover pancake batter for us to make up, as per Percy's request last night.

A small part of me was glad that we had the apartment to us for a little bit, though, because Percy's parents scare me.

Not in the way that like, Clarisse scares me— well his dad, a little. I'll never forget how Gabe beat the shit out of his dad in the Big House. But mostly, it's just because him and Sally are Percy's parents, and I know that as a son of Hermes, I don't bring the best... Reputation with me, and I know Percy's parents are important to him, so like...

It's ridiculous, but a small part of me is worried that the Jackson's wouldn't let me come over anymore if they found out we were together because they'd want Percy dating somebody better than some kleptomaniac son of Hermes.

I'm hoping the cake thing gave me some brownie points with them.

The date went well, even if Percy beat me at every single game besides the car racing one (my dad being the god of travellers really came through on that one). He made up for it by buying lunch for both of us, though, and it's not like I could ever stay mad at him anyways, so I forgave him for absolutely annihilating me at the arcade.

I knew that Percy's parents saw right through our "just friends" bullshit when his dad suggested having my mom over for dinner sometime soon, though, which was... Scary.

Mostly because they had me call my mom to see what her work schedule was.

"Hi, Travis sweetie." Mom answered the call as I sat in the living room with Percy, his parents both in the dining room. "Is everything okay? Is there an emergency? Do I need to come to camp?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm okay and I assume Connor is, too." I reassured my mom. "I'm in the city, though, so I don't know for sure. What's your work schedule this week and next week?"

"This week and next week? I have an afternoon transatlantic flight tomorrow, and then I work six days on, and I'm hoping to get two days off after that, but I might end up on call. Why? Do you and your brother want to spend the night or meet for dinner or something? If so, I can meet you, but I can't get you back to camp by a reasonable hour if we meet tonight, so you'll have to sleep over."

"Um... Hold on a second."

I put my phone down by my shoulder, looking at the Jackson's. "She's off until tomorrow afternoon, and then she works for six days before she has another day off."

Gabe looked at his wife. "I'm alright having a guest over for dinner if you are."

Sally nodded an agreement.

"Can we cook it?" Percy asked.

Sally smiled. "As long as you don't hurt yourself or each other or blow up the kitchen."

Percy put a hand on my knee. "I'll make sure he doesn't blow anything up."

I rolled my eyes, putting the phone back to my ear.

"Okay, hi,  I'm back." I told my mom. "Do you remember my friend Percy?"

"Percy?" Mom asked in return. "I don't believe I've actually met him, but I've heard you and Connor talk about him, yes. He's the one that's a demigod, right? Percy's a demigod, Rachel is mortal?"

"Mhm." I confirmed, nodding. "I'm at his apartment right now, and his parents were wondering if you would want to come over for dinner because they haven't gotten to meet you yet since I usually come here from camp or Luke's place."

"Oh, I'd love to meet the Jacksons!" Mom insisted. "What time should I come over? Where am I going?"

"I'll uh, text you the address, but they live on the upper east side." I answered, looking to Percy's parents. "As for time..."

"We usually eat around 6 or 7, but she's welcome whenever." Sally told me.

"We'll eat around 6:30, but they said you can show up at any time."

"Okay! I'll be there between 5:30 and 6 then, alright?"

Nodding, I told her I'd pass the message along and then immediately sent her the address because otherwise my ADHD would make me forget about it.

After that, Percy dragged me to the nearest Asian market to get the ingredients for my mom's favorite meal in the whole world: ramen.

It's always been her favorite meal, and I get that it's good, but I've never understood where it comes from because my grandparents don't really like it, and we're not Japanese or anything. We're very white.

She just... Likes japanese food. I ate a lot of onigiri growing up because of it.

"Are you sure this is the right kind of seaweed?" My cuddle buddy asked, a nervous hint to his voice as he held the pack of seaweed that my mom always uses to put in ramen or to snack on. "Because we can get the more expensive one if that's what she usually uses."

Rolling my eyes, I took his hand.

"It's the right brand, Percy, I promise." I reassured the son of Poseidon, kissing his temple and throwing the seaweed into the basket. "And if she's changed her seaweed preferences in the last two months, it's okay— it's just seaweed. What's wrong? Are you worried about meeting my mom?"

"Uh, yeah, of course I am!" Percy told me as we headed towards the vegetable section. "I never met your mom the first summer we were like, not quite together, and Grover didn't even have parents for me to meet, so like... I know that you didn't tell her that we're together, but... We are, so it kind of feels like a big deal. What if she doesn't like me? I have a bad reputation with adults."

"My mom is going to love you, Percy— you're making her favorite meal from scratch for dinner." I pointed out, squeezing his hand for support. "Even I've never done that before. And hey, I also have a bad reputation with adults. That just makes us more fun."

I paused, debating one of his points.

"What... Do you want to tell our parents, though?" I questioned, putting a green onion into the basket. "Because knowing your parents, they'll figure it out and tell my mom if we don't tell them."

Percy sighed. "Yeah, trust me, they already figured it out."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "They did? When? It's been... Less than 24 hours."

The slightly shorter boy cracked a smile.

"It was before we actually planned going on a date, while you were in the shower." He filled me in. "Mom popped into my room to ask if there was anything going on between us, and if not, to tell me that I should tell you about my feelings because apparently I'm super bad at hiding them. So I told them that we were just like, really touchy friends, but... That's changed now."

He glanced at me for confirmation, his anxiety speaking to him. "Right? This afternoon was good?"

I smiled back, squeezing his hand again, this time giving him a normal kiss because I can do that in public now.

"It was amazing, and we're definitely doing it again— both going back to that arcade, and going on a date." I clarified, enjoying seeing Percy smile in response, his anxiety ebbing away. "If you want to tell our parents tonight, we can, but if you want to wait a little bit, that's okay, too— I'll tell my mom whenever you tell your parents."

"I mean, my parents will figure it out by like, tomorrow if we don't tell them tonight." Percy pointed out. "But what exactly do we tell them? Just that we're dating or...?"

"Well," I figured as we headed towards the checkout. "I think the easiest way to do it, if you'd be okay with it, would be to introduce you to my mom as my boyfriend instead of my friend."

My date stopped where he was, looking at me in shock.

"B— boyfriend?"

Slowly, I nodded, worried that I crossed a boundary. I went too fast or suggested that label too soon.

"Y... Yes?" I confirmed what he heard, speaking much slower. "Unless that's too much, sorry— we've literally been on one date, but we've also been kissing for a month so I wasn't sure... Too much too fast?"

But after a moment, Percy's brain catches up to what's going on.

"Wh— no! It's not..." He took my hand again, trying to convey his message without being able to use all of his words. "It's not too much, I just... Wasn't expecting it in an Asian market. I like it." Percy kissed my cheek, making me smile this time. "And I like how it means I'll be able to cuddle with you not just in my bed, but on the couch. Boyfriends."

I kissed his forehead. "Boyfriends."

•••

More or less, I was emotional support in that kitchen.

I did make sure to take the soft boiled eggs out at the right time, though, and I also cut the meat into the right sizes so that way Percy could focus on the vegetables and noodles.

Besides that, I mostly just rinsed dishes off so there was less of a mess and stood there looking pretty.

I'm very good at doing that.

That is, until there's a knock on the door and suddenly I'm standing there looking stressed because the reality of the situation is starting to hit me that I'm about to introduce my mom to my boyfriend and, as Percy said himself, it's kind of a big deal.

But then I smiled to myself because I remembered that he's my boyfriend now.

Had you asked me two months ago, I would've told you that you were crazy for suggesting that not only did Percy and Grover break up, but that Percy still liked me.

Here we are, though— making ramen together for our parents, because we both want this meal to go well.

I just hope my mom gets along with everyone.

"I'll get it!" Sally said as she walked to the front door from the dining area, and I suddenly tuned in to the fact that Percy had frozen.

"Hey," I whispered as Gabe walked over to join his wife, allowing me to put a hand on Percy's lower back without a side eye. It was enough to get him to exhale. "It's alright, my mom is cool."

"And you're sure she's not going to hate me or like... Not want us to be around each other anymore?"

Rolling my eyes, I rubbed his lower back to try to comfort him. "She's going to love you, Jackie— she already thinks you're super cool for tolerating me as often as you do. Just because you've never met doesn't mean she knows nothing— Connor has spent many hours ruthlessly teasing me in front of our mom every time I mention your name when she's asks what I've been up to. It's going to be okay, even if it's awkward for a minute or two. I promise."

I glanced at the noodles that were getting to be a bit long. "Do you want me to cut the noodles while you push them through the strainer thingy?"

Nodding, Percy handed me the kitchen shears and we were able to finish making the noodles while our parents talked near the entry way, giving both of us (but mostly Percy) time for our anxiety levels to go down.

Once the noodles were in the boiling water, I noticed his anxiety begin to climb again.

"Hey," I said, gently taking his hands now that they were free. The slightly younger boy turned to face me. "Breathe, Percy, the food's going to taste amazing, and my mom's going to be so chill and she's going to love the meal. She's already getting along with your parents," I motioned towards the entryway. "But you have to breathe. In," we took a deep breath together. "And out."

Exhaling, we took two more breaths together before Percy was able to return his attention to the noodles, but this time still holding my hand with the hand that wasn't stirring the noodles.

Once the noodles were done, I cut open the soft boiled eggs and caught Percy smiling as he put the soup and noodles in the bowl, leaving the eggs and seaweed to me.

"What?" I asked.

"You did a good job," he told me, referencing the eggs. "For somebody who is usually a fire hazard in the kitchen."

I rolled my eyes as if his comment didn't make me smile. "Says the master chef."

"I'll teach you how to cook yet, Stoll," the son of Poseidon insisted. "As good as you are at it, you have to be able to do more than stand there and look pretty if you don't want to starve."

"Aw, but I like standing here and looking pretty." I jokingly complained, putting the egg halves on top of the soup. "It's one of my favorite things to do."

Once more, Percy just rolled his eyes, but he did have a little smile on his face that I considered a win.

"Dinner's almost ready!" Percy called out. "What do you guys want to drink?"

The adults telling us their requests, Percy had the audacity to make me get their drinks for them (which isn't a big deal, but it meant that I couldn't just stand there and hold his hand anymore) and put them on the table as Percy brought the bowls of ramen over, prompting the adults to see what we had cooked up.

"Hi, Sweetheart," Mom said as she gave me a hug since it's been like three weeks since I've seen her. Since the day I went to visit Percy for the first time in the facility. "If I find any bugs in my food, you're grounded for at least a week."

I chuckled, because she may or may not be speaking from expierence— something Connor and I have done in the past.

There's a reason why I can't cook well, and it's mostly because I'm no longer allowed in the kitchen at home.

"There's no bugs in the food," I promised my mom. "If there are, I didn't put them there— I didn't put it together, I just cut everything to the right size and took care of the eggs."

"I'll hold you to that." She joked back with me as Percy set down the last bowl, standing besides me. Mom smiled at him. "Hi!"

"Oh! Right." I remembered the reason for this dinner in the first place. "Percy, this is my mom, Alina. Mom, this is Percy."

I paused, taking his hand because I could feel my heart leap into my throat.

"My boyfriend."

•••
Annabeth Chase

I should've skipped my high school entrance exams and just stayed in New York after I went to Luke and Thalia's.

On my last day in New York, Luke popped a questionable amount of Excedrin so that he could come with Thalia and I to buy me more clothes that I would actually like to wear.

Even though I've been out for years, I never had a reason to buy girly stuff for camp— the only difference was really the type of shorts I'd wear— but at home, although I own a few femme outfits...

"What..." My step mom said as she noticed me unpacking from my spring break trip, hanging up my clothes that were clean. She groaned, picking up a white skort that I'd gotten because it was cute and practical enough for a fight. "And here I was thinking you'd finally put your head on straight. Why do I get my hopes up if all you ever do is let me down, Andrew? I don't understand why your father won't keep you here year round, rather than sending you off with... Whoever the woman is that allowed you to think that this," she waved the shirt around. "Is okay. She's obviously not a good influence on you."

I bit down the bile in my throat

"Because you care so much about my well-being," I retorted as I hung up another blouse. "You don't even know where I stay in the summers, or whenever I go to visit people. You get your hopes up because you're transphobic, but I don't get it, either— you didn't like me before I started to transition, and you don't even want me in family photos with you guys."

"What do you mean I don't like you?" Elizabeth pried, and thank gods I wasn't looking at her, because otherwise she would've thrown a fit for me rolling my eyes. Outside my bedroom, I could hear footsteps approach and stop— one of the brothers eavesdropping. "I raised you, Andrew, how—"

"Uh, no, you didn't raise me." I corrected my dad's wife. The mother of my brothers. "My dad raised me, and you always asked him why he wouldn't just get rid of me. You raised Bobby and Matthew, and you made sure that I couldn't be around them. You refused to believe anything that came out of my mouth, and for what? Because I'm my dad's kid, and not yours? I've spent just as much of my life away from home as I have home, and when I'm here, you're the last person who deserves credit for raising me. Don't even try."

"Excuse me?" My step mom questioned, sounding angry. I heard another set of steps, heavier than the first ones— meaning my dad was home. "I too did help raise you, you don't get to spread this false narrative that I didn't or that I'm some horrible step mother. As for Bobby and Matthew, are you seriously attacking me for protecting my children? They've turned out much better than you at their age."

"How could you possibly know that? I wasn't even here at their age!" I shouted, becoming beyond frustrated myself, hoping that my dads and brothers were listening. "You had no idea where I was at their age, and you want to know who's fault that was?"

"Yours?"

"No! Yours!" I responded as my door cracked open a bit further, Matthew and Dad standing there. Matthew behind our Dad. "I ran away because of you! I didn't want to leave my dad, I didn't want to leave my cousins and the friends I had just made in school, but Dad worked long hours to make up for the fact that you hadn't gone back to work yet, so he wasn't home most or the time, and you treated me like I was some... Parasite. And you still do! Gods forbid I'm included in anything you guys do as a family— you throw a fit!"

"Because you look ridiculous, Andrew! Once you grow out of this phase, you'll under—" My step mom moved to either touch or grab me somehow, and I wasn't having it.

"MY NAME IS ANNABETH!" And I knew it wouldn't sink any deeper into her brain no matter the volume I used, but sometimes it feels good to yell. "It's been Annabeth for years, you're the only person that doesn't call me by my actual name. This isn't a phase, this isn't something I'm going to 'grow out of', and even if it was, that doesn't mean you get to ignore it! Matthew and Bobby go through loads of phases and you spoil them for it! Why am I..." But I knew the answer to that question, so I changed it. "Why do I have to be different?"

Because that's what stings, right? Going from camp, from my mom's world, back into the mortal world, suddenly I'm different.

Nothing about me changed. But they treat me different.

My dad doesn't. My brothers don't.

But she does.

She does, and she always has, and she isn't the only one, but she's the constant. Her and those dumb boys at school and the teachers and even at people in New Rome (not for the same reason) all treat me like some kind of anomaly. Some kind of phase or freak or... Or they just ignore it, like my step mom does.

And when they ignore it. Deny it. Tell me that I'm wrong... That hurts the most.

So after having a fun, happy, validating week with Luke and Thalia, I didn't want to hear it.

"Andrew—"

"That's not my name."

"And yet you still responded." She retorted, providing a special kick to my gut. "You aren't different, Andrew, you're—"

"That's not—" but she wouldn't listen, so why waste my breath? I grabbed my emergency bag, shoving past my dad's not very loving wife. "I'm going out."

"What!? Andrew!" She yelled after me. "Where? When will you be back?"

I walked past my dad and brother, trying to steel myself long enough to get through the door.

"I don't know, and it's not like you actually care anyways."

And just like that, I was out the door and on my bike before any of them could run after me, if they even tried— I didn't listen for footsteps or yelling or anything. I just... Pedaled until I couldn't anymore.

And when I couldn't pedal anymore, I found myself near the botanical gardens— one of the first places I went to when I ran away as a kid, and a place that I go to a lot to study and walk around.

I hadn't come here on purpose, though, and I only stopped when I did because I couldn't stop the tears from falling anymore, so I crashed by a tree and just... Laid down, slowly feeling myself unravel.

At least I didn't do it in front of the while family, right? I was able to hold it in until I was alone.

Or, as alone as anyone can be in a public park.

"Annabeth?" But I wasn't left alone for long, and the worst part was that I didn't know if I wanted somebody else here or not.

Footsteps came from around the tree, though, and there was my dad, frantic and worried because he's my dad.

It's his job to worry about me.

"Annabeth, munchkin, oh my gods, sweetie, are you okay?" He lead with the dumbest question in the world considering the fact that I was in tears at the moment. He sat down in front of me. "You didn't get hurt at all on your bike, did you? I didn't bring any ambrosia or nectar, do you need any medical attention?"

I shook my head, closing my eyes as more tears escaped, my body starting to shake.

"Is this because of your fight with Elizabeth?"

I nodded, my emotions swelling up in my non-existent chest as my dad readjusted and pulled me into a hug, which made everything feel that much more intense.

"Shhh, it's okay, you're going to be okay." Dad reassured me, rubbing my back, talking me through my first breakdown in quite a while. "Just focus on your breathing, Annabeth, I'm right here."

A few minutes later, the worst of my breakdown passed, and for a moment it was just quiet between my dad and I as he continued to rub my back.

"There you go," Dad said. "Feel a little better now?"

I shook my head. "Calmer doesn't always mean better."

There was a pause.

"You got me there," he admitted, because neither of us are great with emotions. "What's going on in that brain of yours? What are you thinking about?"

But it's a shitty thought to tell my dad, so I went back and forth on if I should vocalize it or not.

On the other hand, though, he literally asked.

"I don't... I don't know if I want to go back home." I confessed, feeling my eyes water as I said it, my voice shaking.

My dad stilled. "Do you mean like... You want to go back to living at camp full time?"

"No," but I knew that answer because even camp couldn't be easy for me anymore. "Gods, no, I don't want to live at camp year-round anymore, I just..." I lost my voice, my head resting in my dad's lap. "I don't want to live with her."

For a moment, there was just silence between the two of us as I sat on another question that I knew was horrible of me to ask— making a suggestion that isn't really my right—until the silence overwhelmed me into putting it out there.

"You still think of me as part of the family, right?"

I felt my dad's entire demeanor drop.

"Do I... Annabeth, baby girl, of course I do." My dad insisted, a fact I haven't been all that convinced of since the twins were born. "You're my eldest daughter, of course you're a part of the family. Why on Earth would you think that I thought otherwise?"

Looking down, I shrugged.

"Elizabeth doesn't." I tried to reason with the college professor. "And you're still married to her. You've been with her longer than you've had me, right? You didn't want me, Mom just... Gave me to you, and because of that, Elizabeth thought you cheated on her. And she wanted you to get rid of me for whatever reason she'd come up with, and now she doesn't want me to be part of the family because of... Everything. About me."

"Annabeth..." Dad's voice drifted as a small part of me wondered if this was how Percy felt like, all of the time. Because if so, I'm giving him a hug the next time I see him. "Munchkin, just because you were a surprise doesn't mean that you're any less important to me than the boys are. You are just as much family as they are. You have just as much of a right to be a part of the family as they do."

And he can say it all he wants.

"It doesn't feel like it."

But it doesn't make the problem go away.

Another silence fell upon us as my dad struggled to respond because, again, we're both bad at emotions.

"I can't..." I started to articulate a thought that had popped into my mind this week. An idea. "I can't live with her for another year, Dad— much less two or three until I graduate."

Pausing, I gave him time to respond. "What are you saying?"

"I'll... Stay home until summer." I gave my dad the ultimatum. "And then I'll go to camp. And if by the end of summer, she's still here..." I shrugged again. "I'll stay in New York with Luke and Thalia, or I'll stay at camp. But I won't come home."

I paused one more time. This time, he didn't speak

"I don't want to leave again, alright? I don't like living at camp anymore, that's why I came home, but I can't live with a woman who's supposed to be my mom, who refuses to call me by my name and properly hates me." I concluded, standing up. "It's her or me, Dad. Your choice."

With that, I got back on my bike and started pedalling north, towards a certain place that was bound to be closed off from the rest of the world: Camp Jupiter and New Rome.

After all, they might treat me like an anomaly there, but anything was better than home right now.

Chapter 103: Making (Or Destroying) A Family

Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano

"Hey, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano?" Dakota, a son of Bacchus from the Fifth Cohort said in a nervous tone as I was going through and doing cohort inspections, walking between the second and third right now. "Your um... Girlfriend is here? Well, not here here, she's currently in New Rome, but... The blonde girl is here, and people are kind of confused as to why because she's usually... Not alone ever. Some of the residents are a little nervous."

I frowned slightly, Jason noticing my expression as he stood besides me.

"You didn't mention Annabeth coming today, did you?" The son of Jupiter questioned. "You didn't this morning when we went over our schedules."

And he's correct, I hadn't, so I shook my head.

"No, we... Hadn't planned anything for tonight. She was going to come in two days— I think she flew in this morning from visiting some friends out east." But an unsolicited warning from Annabeth felt bad. It made me uneasy, honestly. I glanced at Jason. "Think you can handle the rest of inspections on your own?"

He scoffed. "If I couldn't, I shouldn't have this job." He reasoned with me, taking my clipboard. "Go make sure your girlfriend's okay. Just make sure you're back in time for War Games."

"If she wants to, you could invite her to join war games," Dakota commented, a point that interested me. "I know I'd be interested in seeing how a uh... How a Greek demigod fights. If it's different than us or... Or not."

I smiled, just a little. "I'll mention it to her. Thank you, Dakota, you're dismissed."

With that, Dakota went back towards the Fifth Cohort and I went towards New Rome, annoyingly dearming myself at the border before making it to the cafe where Annbeth and I usually get our food from before heading to the Garden of Bacchus.

And, as I predicted, she was there. Just sitting at a table with a drink and half eaten pastry, sketching or maybe writing something in a journal of sorts.

The daughter of Athena seemed focused in on whatever she was doing, but she also didn't seem to be happy. My partner appeared tired, maybe even a little sad. She had a bag with her that wasn't her normal school bag, either.

"Annabeth?" I asked in a gentle tone, putting one hand down in front of her sketchbook so she'd see it, and another one on the back of the chair.

She looked up at me, caught off guard by my presence. By her work being interuppted.

"Hi," I continued. "What are you doing here so soon? Do you want a hug?"

The daughter of Athena nodded, and as she did so, I realized one other very... Notable difference.

I frowned, pulling the other chair for this table over to be at Annabeth's side and not across from her, keeping a hand on her forearm for comfort (and public image). "Your chest is..." But then I recalled a joke we made right before she left that I thought might bring the mood up a little. "Where are my pillows?"

And I was right, it did get her to crack a smile.

"At home, still in my suitcase." Annabeth explained with a sigh. "I don't wear it when I fly because TSA thinks it's a bomb. Sorry to stop in unannounced— I know you're busy, I honestly wasn't even expecting you to come. Or, if so, not for a while. I just..." My partner took a breath. "Needed to get away for a little bit. To somewhere where my family can't chase me."

"Oh?" I questioned, worried by her phrasing. "Did something happen, are you okay? I know people are still a little iffy, but you're welcome to stay here if you need to, Anna."

Taking a breath, Annabeth seemed to honestly consider that option.

"Um... I mean, nothing new." She explained. "I got home, my step mom freaked out over some clothes I bought, we got in a big fight." She paused. "I left home, but my dad followed me and I had a whole moment, it was horrible. I cried in a park and then told my dad that if he doesn't divorce Elizabeth, then I won't come home in the fall, so..."

Annabeth shrugged. "I just got fed up, and didn't want to be around my family, so I thought I'd come here to try and relax. Sorry if that caused some confusion or displeasure for your people."

I rolled my eyes.

"My people will get over it— according to Dakota, they mostly just seem to be confused why you were here and I hadn't joined you yet. " I explained, placing a kiss on her temple before figuring I'd make the offer. "Would you be interested in joining us for War Games this evening? I've had at least 2 of my campers express interest in seeing you fight. I believe tonight we're playing siege, which is very similar to capture the flag."

Annabeth seemed to consider this. "I can, but I'm unsure of how well I'll be without my chest— as heavy as it is, I'm so used to training with it that it throws my center of balance off when I don't have it."

"Oh, we definitely have a shop that would sell those in New Rome," I insisted. "It's next to the apothecary, I believe. I'll purchase it for you, if it means you'll play with us."

"You'll... Reyna, they're not cheap."

I shrugged. "So? What else am I spending my money on? Plus, as your partner, I believe I'm supposed to spend at least some money on you. Don't worry about it."

"If you insist," she didn't fight me on it, taking a bite from her pastry. "Is there somewhere I could warm up before the games start— maybe beat up a few straw dummies?"

Nodding, I brought Annabeth to the store first so she was comfortable (and she was not lying— that slab of silicone was expensive), then to the training grounds, where she was definitely given a few looks, but she didn't seem to let it bother her.

"They're just curious," Annabeth insisted, flashing me a little smile, then giving me a kiss for show. "It's okay, I'll give them a show. Go focus on your job, I'll see you later."

•••
Jason Grace

Annabeth Chase already had my respect. The people at Camp Half Blood spoke highly of her and she's basically Thalia's little sister.

She earned the rest of Camp Jupiter's respect when she came up with a battle strategy that most of us wouldn't dream of doing because it was so... Different than how we're conditioned.

"Okay, so if their base is here, and the flag is in here," she began as we started to share strategy ideas. "Here's my idea, and I need you stay with me, okay?"

"And we would do that because...?" One kid from the second cohort asked. "You've never trained with us before, how do we even know that you know what you're talking about?"

Annabeth glanced at the kid. "How about I explain the strategy and then you can ask all the questions you want afterwards, yeah?"

After that, the daughter of Athena goes on to describe a battle strategy that could definitely work, but there was a key difference: she was dividing the tasks by godly parents and powers, not by cohorts.

With that, she wasn't assigning large groups. There were people working in pairs, maybe a group of three, but no larger than a group of 5, and that was only for the retrieval team.

"But how... How can we advance against a large formation if we're working in small pairs? If they take a dome formation..." The centorien of the third legion questioned. "What's the point of putting us with our siblings?"

"Well, not all of you are with siblings," Annabeth pointed out. "The retrieval team has to be stealthy, but ready to defend— while our child of Mercury sneaks to grab the actual banner, the Vulcan child makes sure that traps or locks aren't of any issue— and if you have any smoke bombs or anything, that'd also he good to keep on you to distract the enemy. The people with them work as their defense so that way they don't have to fight. Meanwhile, we'll send a rowdier group of other Mercury children, along with our charm speaker to convince the team that you're heading to the banner when in reality you're going to the wrong end. I'll be with you— the team will assume that I'd want to be with the retrieval team, and even if they don't, there will be kids who will want to pick a fight with me anyways. We're just decoy. Most the rest of you, besides the remaining Vulcan kids, along with our singing group and our Terpsichore team, are the distraction. Holding their formation back by nickel and diming away at them. Here's the thing about the formations you're talking about: most people can't see inside those formations, and it only takes one or two good hits to get them to unravel. They know how to fight against other formations, not against rogues. Not only do we have the advantage of camouflage, we have the element of surprise: if one child of Bacchus or Ceres can get one of them to trip and fall because of a vine wrapping around their ankle, everyone they're holding up falls, and they won't have enough time to regroup. And if they do regroup, you do it again— it's annoying, but it works. Eventually they have to break formation, and when they do, it's an indivual fight, but we outnumber them almost two to one."

"I... I mean, it's a good plan," Dakota admitted. "But isn't it a little... Low to use our powers like this?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "If Medusa tried to turn you to stone because you were hungry, would it be low of you to use your powers then?"

"Well... No."

"Then it's not low here, either," she argued. "Learning fighting patterns and techniques and formations are great, and they can certainly help in a battle or in a war against another army who doesn't know what you're going to do— but these guys all know the same moves you do, so it's time for something new. You can't just neglect your powers— if you receive a quest or you want to leave these borders one day, even just for a day trip, and you've never trained your powers, you're only putting yourself in danger. It's not enough to just know your strengths and abilities. You have to use them."

The Roman demigods looked to me, but I had no counterpoints to Annabeth's statement.

"She has a point," I agreed. "And the best time to try out something like this would be now, when it's friendly fire."

The three Centurions shared a look, then nodded. "We'll do it."

•••

Annabeth proved to be a beast on the battle field.

Her plan worked out exactly as she expected it to. The retrieval team escaped without an issue thanks to her team and the frontline defense fighters. Eventually, although it took them a few minutes to figure out how exactly they'd do it themselves, a daughter of Mars eventually spotted a free ankle and slid on the mud to deliver a side kick, so that way when they stammered and moved directions towards this fighter, a child of Ceres caught their ankle in a root and they fell face first, taking roughly a third of the formation down with them.

I won't lie, it was beautiful. Reyna and I, who act as spectators for the War Games, laughed out asses off as we watched unfold from in the air.

"This is... So unhinged." Reyna said aloud as the retrieval team disabled the alarms in the fortress they had to get into, the child of Vulcan leading to make sure there wasn't anything else. As they disappeared, people caught up to Annabeth's team, and I learned what kind of weapon a daughter of Athena fights with: a dagger.

A dagger and no hesitation to cause bodily harm.

As they fought, as Annabeth predicted would happen, a small group from the offense team that we were against broke off towards the fortress, and they walked right into the trap.

Because suddenly, there was singing.

Not super loud. Just loud enough that I could tell somebody had heard it, but not all of them.

Did you guys hear that? One kid would ask.

Hear what? Dude, you're crazy, we have a banner to retrieve. Let's go. His teammates would say.

But then the singing gets louder and here's the kicker: it's not Latin, it's not English, it's not even Spanish.

So, to all of these kids, it's a foreign language. And it's not scary, but it doesn't have to be scary, because it stalls them just long enough for the children of Terpsichore to rush out and grab them in a dance that they can't easily escape because as soon as they get their bearings, they end up being twirled, flipped, or swung into the air and they're disoriented again.

All the while, our three defenders of the banner? Are doing nothing. Waiting, maybe a little nervous because three seems like such a low number of defenders.

But here's the thing: as the rest of the formation falls apart and kids start fighting, and as Annabeth's team makes it just a little closer to the fortress— close enough that the defenders of that fortress have come over to help the first line of defense, it's too late.

As the song goes into it's second motion, the retrieval team swings around the back end of the field, on the outskirts of where the dance was taking place, and by the start or the third act, a colored firecracker is set into the air: the indicator that a team has returned an enemy's banner to their home.

"How... I don't know what I just... Witnessed." Reyna confessed, making me cackle as the singing stops and cheering erupts, children of Terpsichore dropping their partners to the ground, all of whom are exhausted and dizzy. "Who... Who the hell came up with that strategy? I've never..."

I rolled my eyes. "You know who did."

"I'm certain I don't know anyone who could plan something so... Out of pocket."

I smiled.

"Then why don't we go ask?"

Heading down, it was perhaps the most chaotic and confused but also excited that I've seen the camp since I've become Praetor.

"Our formation just... Fell apart, I don't know..." One kid began.

"Dude, I almost made it to their fortress, and then I was pulled into a swing dance routine." Another kid responded. "Who..." He turned to the kid who had been dancing with him. "Who came up with that idea? I never would've expected a dance during a battle. I didn't expect it! None of us did."

"Uh.... I don't know her name," the kid insisted, shrugging. "Sorry. We were also kind of skeptical, though, because it sounded insane. I'm kind of shocked it worked so well."

"I've yet to make a plan that hasn't worked out." Annabeth announced herself as the mastermind behind the plan, walking over to stand besides her girlfriend. She smiled, looking to the banners defense team on her side. "Sorry you guys didn't get to get any punches in— I hope the scene was exciting enough to make up for it."

"Uh, watching Bryce literally get swept off his feet? I'd pay to see that again."

Reyna scoffed, nudging her girlfriend. "You did not orchestrate that madness. How did you come up with that?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, Praetor, that's a normal Friday night where I'm from. The dancing usually happens after our combat games, though— we don't have any children of Terpsichore, I wanted to see how they'd dance."

"Where you're from?" The Centorien of the first cohort questioned. "I thought you were from the Bay Area, and you just... Came to visit Praetor Ramirez-Arellano. Who... Are you? Who are your parents? What's your name? I don't think I've ever seen you here."

Annabeth cracked a smile.

"Name's Annabeth Chase," she introduced herself to the entirety of Camp Jupiter for the first time. "I do live in San Francisco most of the year, but I spend my summers and spent like 6 years as a kid in New York at Camp Half Blood— the uh, Greek Training camp. My old man's Frederick Chase, a college professor. My mother, on the other hand, is Athena: goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. Oh, and I'm the reason your precious praetor isn't still on some island in the sea of monsters in the first place."

"The Sea of Monsters?" Dakota asked as he stood with his cohort. "Does that mean you've been issued on a quest before?"

She put two fingers up. "Twice."

"And do they both succeed?"

She nodded.

"Well, what we're they?" Another kid asked, a bit younger. "Did you have to fight a monster?"

"A monster? Like one?" The daughter of Athena repeated back. The young demigod nodded with excitement. "I've fought a handful, yeah."

"Is that..." The kid who had questioned the usage of powers during the war games piped up. "Is that why you mentioned Medusa? Was that...?"

"Something that actually happened to me? Yeah." Annabeth confirmed, which was... Fascinating. "First monster on the first night of our first quest. She offered us food, and we knew it was sketchy, but there was nothing else in the area and we were starving, so we went in. Ended up beheading her and never paid for that food."

"And what did you do with the head?" Reyna questioned, reasonably.

"You know... I don't know where it is now." She admitted, thinking. "The first thing was we put it in a box, and then the person who I was on a quest with um... Has a sense of humor, I guess you could say? He wrote down Olympus' address on it, addresses it to the gods with kind regards, and Hermes took it, so... I don't know what the gods did with it. They didn't use it on my friend, he's still alive. So I'm not sure."

After that, the signal for dinner sounded, and I truly realized the shift in Camp's feelings towards Greeks (or at least towards Annabeth) when they asked her if she was sticking around for dinner.

It made me smile, realizing that getting these guys to cooperate with the Greeks and with Luke might not be as hard as I thought it would be.

It might be quite easy, if Annabeth decides to stick around.

•••
Annabeth Chase

Thank the gods that that worked out in my favor.

Although the Romans fighting techniques were much more organized than ours were, their dining hall was much more chaotic.

The food was still delicious, though, and I even got to see where Reyna sleeps afterwards.

The Praetor quarters were pretty nice, all things considered, and much nicer than anything a counselor at camp would get for just being counselor. Jason and Reyna both had their own little studio apartments away from the main cohorts, so nobody had to witness the things Reyna and I do or don't do in private.

Because here's the thing: a few weeks ago when I told Travis that I'd never had a crush before, that was true at the time.

But things have changed, and I'm not sure if it's because it's simply the new normal or what, but I had to admit that I enjoyed getting to lay in Reyna's bed with the daughter of Bellona a bit more than just a friend would.

As she ran her fingers through my hair, telling me about her day, there was a level of comfort instilled in me that I hadn't felt before. This odd sense of safety that I think was tied to the demigod I was laying with, not the fact that we were within borders of one of the safest places on the planet for us.

It was something I could get used to, as dangerous as it was: after all, the longer she played with my hair, the closer I was to falling asleep.

"Anna," Reyna paused her story to earn my attention. "Are you sure you don't have to return home tonight? Because if you do, that's okay, but curfew is very soon."

Shaking, I nuzzled my head into Reyna.

"I'll probably go home after breakfast." I insisted. "Give my step mom time to chill and my dad time to think. It's fine, tomorrow's Saturday. Now tell me more about these... Inspections."

Yeah, I fell asleep right around the time that Jason told her to go track me down.

It's okay, though, I know the highlights of the rest of the day.

I was too comfortable to hear it again.

•••

Going home the next day still sucked.

"Annabeth!" The boys yelled as they both ran up and almost tackled me in a hug as a felt a menacing third presense enter the entryway. "You're home!"

"Yeah, look at who came crawling back." Elizabeth passed her snide remark. "What, you couldn't even last 24 hours this time? I was hoping for closer to 6 years, like last time."

I frowned. "I... Wasn't trying to run away. I just went to somebody's for the night so that way we wouldn't get into another screaming match in front of everyone."

"Somebody's? What, like you actually have a friend?"

"A girlfriend, yeah," I confirmed, walking past her towards my room. "You'd know that if you paid attention to anything I've said in the last month."

I could practically hear her roll her eyes.

Walking into my room, I initially thought that it had been unchanged. It looked the same.

That was, until I open my closet and I notice things are missing.

Lots of things.

And then I open my suitcase and see that it's... Full of ashes and burnt cloth.

Of all of my feminine clothing.

"Annabeth? Is that you, are you home?" Dad's voice chimed in as he must've been in his office when I got home. When he turned the corner, he saw me holding one of the few burnt rags that seemed to survive a fire, debating if I wanted to scream or sob or both. "Hey, what's—"

"I want her gone."

"W— I'm working on it, sweetie." Dad insisted, but that didn't matter anymore. Not when I was holding the literal scraps of one of the few things I could use to freely express myself and be comfortable in my own skin. "Did something happen? You just got home, and I didn't hear any yelling. Surely something couldn't have..."

Walking further into my room, Dad saw the suitcase.

"What was in there?" He asked.

I re-opened my closet, showing him that there was only like four items in there.

"All of my clothes." I explained, shocked that I had to. "You didn't notice it yesterday?"

Slowly, Dad shook his head.

"Her and the boys were... Having a bonfire... By the time I got home." He explained, his expression dropping and voice slowing as he said it. "With the neighbors, and there was wood and papers to burn with them, so I didn't..."

The college professor lost his voice.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth."

But his apology doesn't mean anything.

After all, this wasn't his doing.

"Sorry doesn't make up for the two hundred dollars Luke and Thalia spent on clothes for me last week." It wasn't acceptable, though, and I wasn't going to let him think it was. "Or the hours that Silena put towards making my formal dress. Or even the money that you and I have spent on those clothes. I don't want sorry, I don't even care about an apology because I know it won't be genuine, I just want her gone. I want her gone tonight, or I'm leaving, I don't care. I'm not dealing with this, I..."

Feeling myself start to crash out, I slowly sat down, holding onto the burnt top of the dress that Silena had made for me as a parting gift when I decided to go home.

But it's just clothes, Annabeth. It's about so much more than the clothes.

"O... Okay, I'll—"

"Oh, what is he whining about already?" Elizabeth's voice cut through, lucky that my dagger couldn't hurt her, because I heavily considered throwing it at her head. "It's been five minutes—"

"Elizabeth, get out," Dad snapped at her, something rare for him. "You're just going to make things worse— we'll talk in a little bit."

Making a mocking sound, my dad's wife left us alone as I struggled to catch my breath because my chest was heaving as I wondered what I would tell Luke and Thalia or Silena or even the Jacksons the next time I see them.

Which might be sooner than I was prepared for, mentally. In person, that is.

"Annabeth, hey, shh..." Dad hushed me as he sat down next to me, pulling me into a hug like he did yesterday so I could mourn the loss of my things, for just a little while. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart, yeah? We'll figure it out, me, you and the boys. We'll go shopping and next fall you'll get to start at a better school— maybe even the same school that your girlfriend goes to, and it'll be okay."

After a few minutes, I managed to calm down enough to breathe regularly and not profusely cry.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, knowing that my demands weren't exactly great or easy for him. "That I'm like... Ruining your marriage. Your family."

Dad sighed, giving me a squeeze. "You didn't do anything wrong, Annabeth— you being trans isn't the only reason we were in couples therapy. I'm just sorry that it didn't help."

"Yeah, well," I shrugged. "You can't change somebody who doesn't want to change."

Resting his head on top of mine, my dad took a breath as I realized that this hug was just as much for him as it was for me. "Gods, when did you become so wise? It's unnatural at your age, you know that?"

I sighed. "Yeah. Camp does that to people. Mom being mom just amplifies it."

"Yeah?" Dad asked in return, rubbing my back. "You know, for as much time as you spent there, you haven't told us a lot about what you do at camp, or what you did. All I know is that one day you went missing, you found Luke and Thalia, and you eventually made it to camp because Chiron notified us that you were there and you were safe. You came out, and then eventually you decided to come home. And you were kidnapped last winter."

"Basically, yeah." I responded, not knowing how much I wanted to tell him, because I didn't want to scare him more than I know I already do when it comes to my life on the demigod side or things. "Went on a couple quests these last two summers. Watched Thalia die and get turned into a tree when we got to camp the first time. Bottled that up for a long time, and now she's alive again, so. Now we're just..."

But I knew that I finished that sentence, my dad probably wouldn't sleep tonight. Can't say I blame him.

If I found out that my daughter would become a war between before she's even allowed to drive a car, I'd also stay awake at night worrying about her.

"Just what?"

I shook my head, but it pained me to do so.

"Nothing." I answered, a terrible lie when coupled with the sniffle I couldn't help myself from doing at the same time.

No 14 year old girl should have the literal weight of the world on her shoulders. No 14 year old girl should have to worry about what she tells her dad in fear of scaring him.

In fear of upsetting him or letting him down, sure—that's normal.

It's normal to feel the way I do at my age, but it's for all the wrong reasons, and that's the part that I'm now struggling to cope with, because before, it was normal. After all, I was surrounded by other demigods who all lived at camp, who were all just as stressed as I was constantly. It was exhausting, honestly.

But now I've come home, and I expected it to be different with mortals.

What threw me, though, was Camp Jupiter.

Another training camp for demigods, but those demigods are happy. Sure, they still worry about things, but I can guarantee that most demigods at Camp Jupiter and in New Rome don't have a living will yet because not only is the camp safe: it feels safe as well.

The same can't be said about Camp Half-Blood.

It may be the safest place on the planet for us, and yet as soon as we turn 12, Chiron teaches us how to write a will. He teaches us how to do the funerary arrangements. How to set up the pyre, the appropriate ways to burn it, things that you should or shouldn't say during the procession.

Camp is the safest place in the world, but when everything is framed as life or death, there's no way for you to catch your breath while you're there.

"Annabeth, sweetheart, what is it?" Dad asked as I thought about my will— I haven't updated it since Thalia's been resurrected. I should. "Whatever it is, you can tell me, I can handle it."

For a long while, I thought about my response. Considered the plethora of other ways I could change the subject while knowing that he'd never let me get away with it.

Because after all, he's my dad.

"I'm scared." I began, leaning into my dad's touch. "There's this big Prophecy that's getting closer and closer, and things are just getting worse by the day it seems like because if it. And you know, I was kidnapped by Atlas, but I was lucky. I was lucky because..."

I took a breath.

"There's these two kids we brought to camp— Nico and Bianca." I explained to my dad. "Nico is so young— 10? He's not much older than the boys. And the girl, Bianca, she was maybe 12 or 13? A little younger than us. And I didn't get to know either of them all that well because I was taken, but Bianca joined the Hunters of Artemis and got issued on this quest and..." I lost my voice.

"Bianca?" Dad asked, sounding confused. "There wasn't a Bianca here when the quest party stopped by before going to save you."

My disposition dropped.

"Yeah." I confirmed. "I know. She died like a day and a half before they made it to California— Percy blames himself for not being able to stop her and for the fact that the little brother ran away when Chiron forced him to be the bearer of bad news, and they still..." I shrugged. "Grover's still looking for the kid four months later. He's... Probably dead. By now. And I just have this bad feeling that Bianca was only the beginning. That this summer and the following summer are going to be so brutal, one way or another, that I just... I don't know. I don't know how I'll respond if one of my friends die or if I lose Luke or if Grover just never returns from his search or... And they're going to shove Percy and I to the front of it like we're not kids, but we are. Percy's spent the last like, 9 or 10 months trying to convince his own brain that he shouldn't just kill himself at any minor inconvenience, and he's trying so hard to get better, but they're going to shove him to the front lines anyways and probably destroy all of his progress, and I really don't... Want to spend my days visiting him in the infirmary because he can't be trusted alone when he's like that, but I'll do it if I have to because he's my friend and I just..."

Once again, I lost my voice.

"I'm too young to realize how horrible everything around me is." I confessed, because it was true— there's a reason Luke didn't snap until he was 17 or 18 with Kronos. "But it's impossible to ignore at the same time and I just... Don't want to scare you and I don't want to have to tell the twins that when I leave every summer, there's this super high chance that I just don't come back because they don't deserve that stress. They deserve better than what I had."

"But they do worry, sweetheart." Dad insisted, a pointed that I hated her was right about. "Sure, they were too young to remember when you left the first time, but when you left for camp this last summer, I couldn't get them to calm down for days. They were so worried that you wouldn't come home because they heard the fights with Elizabeth. They noticed the tension between us initially, and it made them worry that you'd never come home again. When you were gone longer than planned over winter break? They freaked— I couldn't get them to go to school on the first day back until we called you for confirmation on when you return flight was. And they're probably going to freak out again this summer. I'm sure they'll outgrow it, but probably not until you're old enough to be done with camp."

Dad paused. "There is an age limit on that, right?"

"18, or just whenever you leave for college." I confirmed. "I could stay in New Rome maybe for safety after, though— which I'm starting to consider, because it's still in the Bay Area, and there's everything there. A while city with a university and gorgeous landscape and buildings, and it's all protected with magic borders, so no monsters. I don't know if you guys could visit, though— I should ask Reyna about that, she should know."

"Safe and within driving distance? I like the sounds of that." Dad responded before raising an eyebrow at me, pulling away from the hug. "How are things with Reyna? I know it's only been a few weeks, but you've been there a handful of times. You should invite her sometime, I'd like to meet your girlfriend."

I cracked a smile. "It's going good."

"Good?" He questioned. "That's all you're going to tell your dad is it's going good?"

"It's going better than I expected." I elaborated, rolling my eyes bedside he's ridiculous sometimes. "It's not really a... Normal relationship, I guess, because it just started as an agreement to form an alliance between the Greeks and Romans but..." I shrugged, blushing because this is embarassing. "I don't know, I think I like her more than just a friend, but it's hard to tell sometimes. We were more physical than usual yesterday just because we were around more people who expect us to do little things like hold hands and whatever, but even when we were alone we were more cuddly and... I mean, I liked it."

"Sometimes feelings take time to develop— gods know I wasn't head over heels in love with your mother the first time we spoke." My dad reminded me, smiling and squeezing my arm before he stood. "There's nothing wrong with taking your time. After all, the faster you go, the older I feel, and I'm trying to avoid that. I don't think getting a divorce is going to help, but I'm going to do it anyways. Who knows, maybe it'll make me feel young again— maybe I'll finally try to get some child support out of your mom, too, while I'm at it."

I scoffed. "Yeah, because you have a lot of use for the drachmas she'd send."

"Pfft I'm sure the bank will exchange them for me." Dad joked in return. "Probably got a good exchange rate, too— those things are made out of precious metals, after all. It would probably pay for two new wardrobes for you."

"And yet it's one drachma for five minutes of an IM call." I pointed out.

"Collect calls were never cheap." He reminded me, putting his hand on the door handle. "You'll be okay in here while I go talk to Elizabeth? We'll go shopping tomorrow to get you some stuff to get by until I get paid next week, okay?"

Nodding, I told my dad that I'd be alright.

After all, I'll never have to deal with my bitch of a step mother again.

Notes:

to the person who found my fic in the last 48 hours and commented on almost every single chapter: I love you

Chapter 104: Promise Me, Okay?

Thalia Grace

I don't think I realized how desperately I wanted all of this to be over with until the week after Percy got home, when I got sick on one random morning seemingly out of nowhere.

So, on a whim and mostly because it was on my mind since Sally's due date is later in the week, I took a pregnancy test. Two of them, just in case.

And when both of them came back positive— when both tests said that I was pregnant, I went to tell Luke as a wave of excitement rushed through me when I saw it, because we're young, but we also know that we want kids. Eventually. Our agreement was that we'd use protection, but if it happens, it happens, and we'll figure it out.

Walking into the living room, where Luke already was since he naturally wakes up earlier than me, I rushed over to tell him the news and he just...

Physically, he was there. It was his body sitting on the couch.

But mentally, he was lost.

Although it's not the first time it's happened, seeing it was so jarring that it forced me to stop in my tracks, because every time this happens, it looks like he's having a seizure.

Most seizures only last a few minutes, though: this doesn't. The last time it happened, it was a half hour.

"Luke!" I exclaimed before realizing what was going on, and my expression dropped. "Luke?"

But with no response, I kind of figured what sort of day it's going to be, so I sit down to my boyfriend as I thought about what Aphrodite told me last winter. Her suggestion about the rings.

For almost an hour, I stayed besides Luke before he started to come back to me, taking nearly 15 minutes before he spoke once that process started.

"Thalia?" Luke asked, sounding confused. "When did you wake up?"

"When..." But him not realizing that he'd been out of it was new, and felt really bad. "I've been sitting here with you for an hour, Luke. I woke up a half hour before that, but you were already awake by then. Do you not... Remember the last hour?"

And for as hard as he seemed to try and recall anything that just happened, it didn't change the fact that he couldn't come up with anything.

"N... No?" He answered. "An hour, really? What was I doing?"

"Just... Sitting. Not responding to anything." I explained. "You'd twitch every once in a while. You did it once last week, too, but that wasn't as long. A half hour? And you... Knew it had happened after. You don't remember anything?"

"I sat down." The son of Hermes began to explain. "With my coffee. And I was going to just... Do something— read Silena's reports, I think? And now it's an hour later. I think it's..."

Momentarily, Luke thought to himself.

"I think it's my body trying to prepare itself for hosting you know who." He explained. "That or I'm subconsciously fighting him, I don't know. Are you doing okay? I know it's freaky for you when I get like that."

"A bit, yeah." I agreed, knowing there wasn't a point to lying to Luke about that. "I'm... Okay. Um... Do you remember when we said that if I get pregnant, we'd figure it out because we want kids eventually?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

"I'm pregnant," I told him, all my excitement gone. Sapped away after this last hour. "But I don't think it's a good idea to... I mean, what's the point of having a kid if one of us ends up dead before it can even remember us? I sure as shit don't want to be a single parent."

"Oh, yeah, no, Kronos would probably murder the kid or use it as like, a hostage." Thankfully, Luke understood what I was getting at. He kissed my temple. "We can go to Planned Parenthood before we meet up with Chris and Silena. We'll have a kid one day, though— when things calm down."

"Because our lives have always been so calm," I responded, Luke smiled. "If we both survive this whole ordeal, we should get married."

"Yeah?" Luke asked, sounding interested. "Is that a formal proposal, Thalia Grace?"

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I don't know how formal it is since I don't have rings and we're on the couch, but it's a proposal. An idea, if you will."

The son of Hermes smiled at me, then gave me a kiss.

"And I will." He promised me, giving me one more kiss. "If we both survive the Great Prophecy, I will happily marry you, Thalia Grace."

He paused.

"Does that mean we're going ring shopping after the meeting?"

Smiling, I confirmed that we would get to go ring shopping after our meetings today as long as he's mentally all here, and I'm not feeling too shitty after getting an abortion.

I've never had one before, and I also don't know anyone that's had one, so I'm not sure if it'll hurt or not. I've also never had any kind of surgery before, and I assume that they have to like... Go in to get it out.

"Hey," Luke said as the two of us got dressed and I looked in the mirror for a few lingering seconds, still processing the news. He kissed my temple. "You feeling okay?"

"Kind of weird, but fine, yeah."

"Weird?" He questioned. "About what? It's been a big morning."

"About..." And for the first time since I got the positive test, I put my hand on my stomach. "How there's something inside of me. And how we were so certain that, no matter when it happened, we'd... Figure it out."

Tilting his head, Luke stood behind me, thinking about his response as he wrapped his arms around me, placing his hands on my stomach as if he was trying to sense the new clump of cells.

"Why don't we just take a day to think about it." My boyfriend (or, fiance now, I suppose) suggested. "We can still go to Planned Parenthood, if you want— maybe they have a way to tell us how far you are or... I don't know, they probably have a ton of resources. And after our meetings, when we'll know more about things moving forward, we can sleep on it and come back to it tomorrow. Plus, we have that meeting with Chiron in a few days, and we'll know a lot more after that. Would that help?"

I nodded my head.

"I think I'm going to stop by and talk to Sally before we go to Planned Parenthood." I told him, putting my shirt on. "She'll definitely know things. I guess I don't know if she's ever gotten an abortion before, but... She's about to have a second kid."

"I think that's a good idea," Luke reassured me. "Do you want me to come with, or is this an AFAB discussion?"

"It's definitely an AFAB discussion." I decided, turning around to give him a kiss as I grabbed my tote bag, phone, wallet, and keys. "I'll text you when I leave, okay? If I don't leave early enough to come home, I'll meet you at the cafe a little early so we can debrief."

"Sounds good," Luke squeezed my hand before letting go of it. "Let me know if you need anything— you're the one carrying the thing, this is your decision. Whatever you decide, we'll figure it out together."

I cracked another smile. "Annabeth's going to freak out if she ever hears about this."

Luke laughed. "It's okay, she has to learn about the birds and the bees eventually."

Rolling my eyes, I told Luke that I loved him and that I'd see him later, heading out of the apartment and towards the Jackson's place. It was a Tuesday, so Percy should be in school, and Sally's last day of work was Friday, so she should be home as long as she's not actively in labor.

Most of the commute to the Jackson's was filled with me going over everything I've done and eaten since the last few times that Luke and I had sex— Luke turns 20 later this summer, and I turn 19 later this year, so we don't have alcohol in the apartment because it's honestly not worth the effort to get, meaning I haven't drank. I took a gummy once, but depending on how far along I am, that could've been before I got pregnant.

Besides drugs, I didn't know the foods that pregnant people shouldn't have, though, so my list ended there.

"Thalia, hi!" Gabe greeted me at the door as I saw Sally sitting on what appeared to be a yoga ball in the living room— something I didn't think they owned. Stepping aside, he let me into the apartment. "Everything going okay? Is there anything I can get you to drink, or do you need help beating a monster up?"

"What? No, there's no monster." I reassured the person who's sort of become my defacto dad over the nine months or so. "Tea would be great if you have any."

"You got it," Gabe responded before helping his wife up from the yoga ball so she could give me a hug, which I appreciated.

I had to hold back a chuckle when our stomachs touched and my brain interpreted that as our babies high fiving.

"It's always so good to see you, Thalia," Sally began before tilting her head in concern, perhaps noticing the question I'd neglected to answer for her husband. "Everything okay with you and with Luke? I know you mentioned that last week was rough."

Sighing, I conceded her point.

"Yeah, his mental... Availability, I guess, isn't getting better, but the pain doesn't seem to be as drastic, so..." I shrugged. "You win some, you lose some. Things with him and with us are good otherwise, though. Because his episodes are getting longer, we're going to go ring shopping after some meetings this afternoon, just to... Give him a reminder. So I guess technically we are engaged now, but that isn't why I came."

At this news, Sally and Gabe both seemed to beam, Sally giving me a wide smile.

"You're engaged? Oh, kiddo, congratulations." Gabe said as he handed me a glass of Arizona iced tea— the best iced tea. "It may not be the greatest situation, reasoning wise, but that's still great. You guys were talking about it for a while, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we knew that we'd get married sooner or later, it was just a matter of who asked first. We won't get married until after everything is done and settled, though. As of right now, that is. Other things definitely take priority right now, and weddings are expensive, so..."

Taking a large breath, I looked at Sally.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

Gabe, very smart, dismissed himself to continue working on building baby furniture.

"Of course you can, Thalia," the sweetest woman I know reassured me. "Hold on, help me down," she had me hold her hands as she slowly sat back down on the yoga ball. She patted the couch, urging me to sit. "What's going on? Sorry if this seems ridiculous, by the way— I'm trying to kickstart labor in any way possible right now."

As I sat down, Sally turned to face me, very gently bouncing on the yoga ball.

"It's fine, I figured." I responded, trying to think best of how I could tell her this without her like, screaming out of excitement. "How old are you again?"

"34!" Sally answered with a smile. "I'll be 35 this fall. Why?"

Doing the math in my head, I was able to deduce that Sally would've been the same age that I'll be when she gave birth to Percy: 19 years old.

"I— I woke up morning earlier than usual because I didn't feel good." I began to explain, focusing on my explanation. "And we had takeout last night, so initially I didn't think much about it. I threw up once, and while I was throwing up I was trying to think of other reason I might be sick: if anyone around me has been sick or what, because I've never gotten food poisoning from this place before. And as I go to grab some toilet paper just to wipe my mouth off before I got up, I accidentally knocked down my tampons, and I realized that I haven't... Needed them in a while, but my period has never been reliable because of the stress of being on the run and then I was kind of dead, and it hasn't really stabilized yet, so I don't..."

I shrugged. "I don't track it to the day or anything, but I try to write down when I do get it just for when I go to the doctors and what not. And according to the sharpie writing on the box, it's been almost three months, so I grabbed two pregnancy tests just to make sure I wasn't pregnant and..."

My voice trailed off as I saw her connect the dots, but not want to assume anything.

"They both came back positive." I confided the life changing news into one or the only people, besides Luke obviously, that I felt comfortable telling right now. "And initially, I was a little anxious, but really excited because Luke and I made an agreement not that long ago that like, obviously we're using protection and we're being safe, but if I got pregnant, I got pregnant and we'd figure it out. So I rushed to living room to tell him about it, and he was... Having an episode. And I don't know when it started, but it lasted for around 45 minutes after I got out there, and another 15 for him to fully recuperate, which was scary. So we talked and I told him the news, and both of our like, initial responses because of the episode he just had, was that we were going to go to Planned Parenthood before our meetings to get an abortion and that would be it because things probably won't be done in nine months, right? It'll be like, 18 months, and that's if both of us survive."

Carefully listening, Sally hummed and nodded, which wasn't what I was expecting— I thought she'd be overly excited when I said I was pregnant. Now she was just focused on what I was saying, though.

"So we went to get dressed for the day, and while we were getting dressed, I just... Felt weird about the whole thing." I confessed. "So we're not going to get an abortion— or so least, not today.. Today or tomorrow we're going to go and see what Planned Parenthood can tell us, both about how far along I am, and just about abortions in general because I... Don't know what to do, and Luke told me that he'd support me regardless because I'm the one who would have to go through the pregnancy and childbirth and my chances of dying because of everything are lower than his, so if one of us gets hurt or dies, it would probably be him, so I'd be raising the kid on my own and..."

I exhaled.

"And I don't know what to do." I repeated, able to hear the stress in my voice, which isn't like me. "But I figured that like, you're pregnant now and I knew that you aren't that old, so you were probably young when you had Percy and you probably also know people that have had abortions. I don't. So... I don't even know what exactly I want to know. Was it hard? Having Percy at such a young age?"

"Was it hard? Of course it was hard, Thalia— newborns are far from easy." My defacto mom insisted, and I was glad that she didn't try to sugar coat it for me. "Mostly because the only way they know how to communicate is crying, and they also don't realize that they're not separate from you until they're like six months old. But it wasn't my age that made it hard," she paused. "It was the fact that I didn't have a support system when Percy was born."

I frowned. "Really?"

"Really," Sally confirmed. "There were advantages and disadvantages to the age: on one hand, I had more energy than I do now. On the other hand, I didn't know what I didn't know. But those things I could figure out. What was hard were the days when I was exhausted or burned out, and my only other support, Gabe, was busy or out of town that first year. Poseidon wasn't around obviously, and after my uncle died when I was in high school, I slowly lost a lot of my friends because I had to drop out to start working. Gabe was the only person that made an effort to stay in contact with me, and he made things a million times easier sometimes, but when he was the only person I could rely on, it was hard. You won't have that issue, though."

"I won't?" But with a dead mom and a brother that is way too young to raise a kid, I was skeptical of her statement.

"Of course not, sweetie," she insisted, placing a hand on my knee for support. "As long as everything goes okay, you'll have Luke, which is the most important person both for you and the baby besides yourself. But outside of Luke, you have us, and I'm sure May would be thrilled to visit and help out with a grandbaby. Plus, Percy will have fresh experience in handling babies, and so will Travis. Annabeth isn't around all the time, but she has little brothers, so she knows a few things I'm sure. But regardless, if anything, gods forbid, happens to the two of you, you'll have us, and so will the kid."

Taking that in, I didn't know how to respond because again: I didn't know what I wanted to do.

"Like Luke said," Sally must've noticed that I couldn't find my words yet, so she carried on. "Whatever you decide to do, it'll be okay, and Gabe and I will support you guys 100%. There's no right or wrong thing to do because there's so many factors that play into having a kid. But I don't want you to think that if you have the kid, you're going to be alone in raising it. Far from it, okay?"

I nodded.

"As for abortions, I can't personally speak on the matter, but from what I've heard, it's usually like having really bad period cramps." She answered the other part or my question. "If you're still in the first trimester, which I assume you are if you just started getting morning sickness, they'll probably give you the pill, which will force you to have a period, basically. If you're further along, they'll do the operation, but it doesn't take long— couple hours start to finish, and the pain is about the same, I think."

She raised an eyebrow. "Does that answer your question?"

Once again, I nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

"Of course, Thalia— that's what I'm here for." Sally Jackson reminded me, then thought of something. "Hey, maybe meeting baby Estelle will help you decide. As long as you're not super far along, you don't need to rush to decide. Think about it, sleep on it— it's a big decision. I'll make sure to let you guys know as soon as I go into labor and give birth, though, so that way you can see what it's like. That way—"

But, suddenly, there was a pop and a small splash on the floor, stunning both of us.

"Did your... Did your water just break?"

Slowly, Sally nodded.

"It did," she confirmed, putting a hand on her stomach as she closed her eyes, grimacing. "Yeah, that's a contraction. Can you help me up and go tell Gabe while I get my shoes on?"

"I— yeah!" I responded, slightly panicked as I stood up and took Sally's hands, being very cautious to help her up. "Are you sure you don't need anything besides me getting Gabe or...?"

Sally smiled. "What time is your meeting at?"

"2:00, why?"

"Would you be able to pick Percy up from school?" She asked me. "Gabe or I will call the school to tell them you're on the way, but if you could... You'll just have to sign him out, he knows how to get to the hospital. I think we'd both appreciate it."

"Can— yeah, of course, I can sign him out." I confirmed. "I'll go get Gabe then."

Thanking me one last time, Sally made her way towards the entryway as I myself rushed back to their bedroom, where Gabe was just sorting through a box of baby clothes.

"Wh— oh, Thalia, hi!" Gabe said, clearly having expected his wife and not me. "You okay? You seemed stressed."

"I'll be fine, I just... Needed advice." I explained to my defacto dad. "But um, Sally's water just broke, so... Do you need help packing a bag or anything? She asked me if I could sign Percy out from school after you guys called, and I said I would, but before I leave is there anything... Anything I can do? Sally's just getting her shoes on."

"Oh my gods!" Gabe jumped up at the news, rounding to the other side of their bed and grabbing a diaper bag. "I have a pre-packed bag, but thanks for the offer. Can you just um... Find a decent spot for these boxes that isn't on the floor in our room? I'll call the school while you do that, I was going to figure that stuff out tonight, but... Tonight we'll be in the hospital. That should be it, though, you're amazing."

Nodding, I started at my task as Gabe dialed Percy's school and went to help his wife get ready to give birth.

The boxes didn't take long to relocate, but the Jackson's left before I was done, so I might've taken an extra minute to put away the last box of baby clothes because my mind couldn't fathom something both that small existing, but that big being inside of me.

Well, obviously, it wasn't that big yet, but...

Theoretically, you know?

I might have thrown one or two of the things that Gabe had designated as donate into my tote bag before leaving to get my favorite sea spawn out of hell (no offense to Tyson, I just don't know him that well).

Because the news made him kind of panicky, I ended up escorting Percy to the hospital, and it was the least chill I've ever been around the son of Poseidon, and he noticed it by the time we got on the subway.

"What's going on with you? You're looking like me, and that can't be good." Percy pointed out. "You're not also panicking because of my mom being in labor, right?"

"What? No, I got over the panic pretty quick when your mom was almost way too chill about her water breaking." I insisted. "It was just a weird morning and now Luke and I have to meet up with a couple people, so I'm trying to refocus, but it's stupidily hard."

"ADHD does that to you," but thankfully the demigod chalked it up to our shared diagnosis and not anything else. "Who are you meeting with?"

"Just Chris and Silena— our usual catch up meetings. Make sure we're on the same page." I answered, knocking my knee against his. "You doing okay? Been a big week and a half for you— getting home, getting a boyfriend, and now you're getting a baby sister."

"A little anxious, but I'm good." Percy promised me, which was good to hear, genuinely. "I'm more excited than nervous about Estelle, and Travis doesn't let me be anxious enough to think that we're not okay, so that's also good. I'm just kind of worried about camp stuff, and about Luke. Is he doing okay?"

Hesitant, I nodded.

"Mostly yeah, but his episodes are getting longer." There was no point in lying to Percy about Luke, though. "I think that if things get even worse, I might just go singlehandedly fight Chiron so that way we can put the whole Kronos thing behind us. Also—" I knocked his knee again. "You didn't tell us you were able to convince Annabeth to help us out, nice job."

"Oh, yeah, we were talking about when I found out about the prophecy and eventually she just... Listened, it was weird." The younger demigod told me, pausing. "I'm assuming she IMed or something then, or...?"

"She came over, actually!" I said, surprising Percy with the news. "Yeah, we were shocked, too, since we didn't know. At the start of her spring break, she came to the apartment and gave Luke a hug and apologized for taking so long to come around. She has a crazy plan to get the Romans to help us out."

Percy frowned. "I thought that was Jason's job."

I shrugged. "It is, but Annabeth's been more productive. She's got a... Maybe fake girlfriend now because of it? The way she talked about it, I wasn't sure how fake it was, but... Her and Reyna agreed to stage a relationship."

The son of Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"Of course they did— I'm still shocked Annabeth didn't join the hunt. It seemed like it'd be right up her alley." He commented, which I could kind of see, but she's still young. Percy stood up as the subway came to a stop. "Alright, this is the stop. Thanks for helping me not lose my mind, Pinecone Face. Tell Luke I say hi and that I also might not be able to do our regular training tomorrow."

Promising him that I would, I rode the train for one more station before getting off and taking my time to walk to the cafe where we agreed to meet with Chris and Silena. I was considerably early— an hour early, but I was also hungry, so I thought I'd get something to eat.

Apparently, Luke must've either had the same idea or been anxious at home on his own, because he was already here, sitting at a booth, sipping on something.

After ordering, I slid into the booth across from him. "Fancy seeing you here."

The son of Hermes smiled, because this man is the biggest simp I know— I breathe and he's happy, I swear. It's okay, though, I like it.

"You're early," Luke commented, offering me one of his hands to take. "Everything go okay with Sally? Was she home?"

"She was, yeah, but her water broke while I was there, so our conversation was cut a little short." I broke the news, Luke's eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Yeah, it was crazy. That was like, an hour ago? They had me go check Percy out of school, which is why it took so long to travel such a small distance. Her or Gabe or Percy or somebody will let us know when they'll open her up for visitors, so that way we can like... See everything. She promised not to tell anyone else, though, so only she knows, and she was still able to answer my two main questions, so... It helped."

"That's good— I'm so glad we have the Jackson's so close to us." Luke commented, sighing. "Not that my mom is too far, but it's not walking distance. What did you ask her about?"

"Just about what it was like to have Percy at such a young age—she was 19 when he was born, and apparently it was really hard, but it was hard because she didn't have family or a support system besides just Gabe, and they weren't together at the time so they weren't living together or anything. She was pretty insistent that it'd be a lot easier for us because we'd have them and your mom, plus our siblings and stuff. I also asked about how much abortions hurt, and she's never had one, but from what she's heard from people she knows, they're just like... Really bad period cramps, which I guess makes sense. She said she'd support us either way, though."

"Well, of course, it's Sally." Luke persisted, a point I couldn't argue. "Also, I was looking at the Planned Parenthood locations in the area, and they all do ultrasounds that will tell you how far along you are. Do you want me to make an appointment for tonight or tomorrow, so that way we... Know how long we have to decide, I guess?"

I nodded. "That's probably a good idea. How late are they open tonight?"

•••
Silena Beauregard

I love my girlfriend because she's always there to remind me I'm not insane.

Meeting with Luke, Thalia and Chris went as it usually does: the biggest update we got was that Annabeth was actually helping us out now, so the entire council was on board, more or less, which actually made our jobs much easier. Luke and Thalia also meet to try and negotiate with Chiron in a few days, but that's not new. They set that date up a while ago.

For us at camp not a lot has changed, unfortunately— with this Quintus dude or whatever his name is, most of us barely have free time to breathe, much less work towards our plans to try and dismantle Chiron this summer before Kronos finishes forming.

Chris has some updates about younger demigods he'd located around the city— he was fairly certain there was a family of them somewhere in Midtown that he keeps seeing around because they have fighting abilities, but he doesn't recognize them at all.

"Did Thalia and Luke seem a little off to you?" I asked Clarisse after the meeting as we walked to a nearby park to relax at for the afternoon.

"Yeah! Or, Thalia did, I didn't notice anything not new about Luke." My favorite daughter of Ares confirmed. "I thought Thalia seemed kind of stressed or something— not enough for me to worry considering everything going on, I guess, but... Luke, too? I know he's been having episodes, so I didn't think about it. Did your love powers pick up something I can't?'

I rolled my eyes at the term Clarisse has used to coin my abilities to sense certain types of emotions in people.

"Hm, I'm not sure if it was my love powers or just me being more in tuned once I noticed it with Thalia." I told Clarisse, thinking. "Their bond still seems as strong as ever, so I don't think it's relationship issues. Just... Something else. I was expecting them to be happier about the Annabeth stuff— they said they were happy, but..."

"But they still seemed to have something on their mind?"

I nodded.

"Whatever it is, it's probably none of our business." Clarisse reasoned as we found a spot in the grass to put our blanket down to lay in the sun. "They're adults who have their own place and probably do other stuff. If it's important, they'll tell us when they have to. Who knows, maybe Thalia missed his period. Those two definitely get freaky."

Once again, as I laid my head on Clarisse's abdomen, I rolled my eyes, looking up at her. "Yeah, because now would be an excellent time for those two to have a baby— when our plan is slowly falling apart and Luke's super close to doing a body share with a titan."

"It'd explain the stress," Clarisse commented, raising a brow. "Keep looking at me like that and I'll get you pregnant, though."

I chuckled. "You and what dick, Amour?"

She shrugged. "I could buy one."

That got me to laugh.

"I hate to break it to you, but I don't think a strap on is going to get me pregnant."

"Weirder things have happened in our lives." The daughter of Ares insisted, a point I had to agree with as she leaned forward. "Is that..."

"What?" I asked, turning my head to look at what she'd been looking at. It couldn't be a monster, since she didn't grab for any of her weapons.

"Grover!" Thanks to the pants and shoes, though, I couldn't pinpoint who my girlfriend had noticed before she yelled out to the satyr. Turning his head, Grover found us quickly, running (trotting?) over when he did so.

"Silena, Clarisse, hi." Grover said, looking like he hasn't slept great recently. He had eye bags and he seemed... Sad, almost, but he was masking it. "What are you guys doing in the city? It's the middle of the week."

"We met up with Luke and Thalia for lunch," I told the satyr, frowning. "You doing okay? You seem down— what are you doing in the city?"

The satyr shrugged. "My search expires this week, and I've burned every single lead I had for both Nico and Pan, so..." Sounding defeated, Grover looked down. "Figured I'd come back. I technically have another day and a half, until sundown tomorrow, but... I don't know. I was thinking about just going back today."

"Why don't you go bug your boyfriend if you don't have to be back until tomorrow?" Clarisse asked, punching his shoulder as he sat down next to us, and the way I felt his heart clench when she suggested that...

"I would if I still had one," but Grover was still upset about the breakup, which made me feel awful because I know he really cared about Percy. He always did. "But I don't, and I guess we're still friends, but if I go to the apartment and he's hanging out with..."

The satyr let out a long sigh.

"It's so stupid that I'm still upset about it." He confessed, shaking his head, trying to mask his sadness. "I should've expected it— I should've seen it coming when he had Mr. D undo our empathy link, but... He said that it was for other reasons, and I trusted that it was, even though I wanted to keep it and..."

He huffed.

"Dude, if you got broken up with, you're allowed to be upset." My girlfriend promised our friend, nudging him. "You liked him a lot— like, an annoying amount sometimes. You don't think he did it because he was..."

Clarisse paused.

"I hate to make the assumption, but with his track record, I feel like I have to ask," she prefaced. "You don't think he got rid of the empathy link and ended things because he was planning on... Ending things? Like, killing himself? Has anyone heard from him since?"

"As the other week, he was home and fine." Grover reassured the two of us. "It was... I was skeptical of the same thing with the link, which kind of upset him I think, but we didn't like... Fight really. He said he was doing it because he thought it was slowing me down and it was stopping him from getting better because I guess it make him feel bad about having panic attacks and episodes, so he'd try to not have them, which made them worse. Which I mostly understood, and the next time we spoke after that, he said he at least wasn't worse. He thought it helped, and he noticed I was kind of upset about it still since it had been like a month and—"

"Wait, pause." I cut in. "A month? You guys didn't talk for a month?"

"I— things happen, I only had so many drachmas." The satyr tried to reason, which didn't work well. "But anyways, I had told him that I'd made my peace with what the empathy link meant for both of us. We wouldn't have long together, another year and a half or so, but at least we'd be happy in that year and a half, and he..."

But as soon as it came out of Grover's mouth, I knew why Percy ended things, and I couldn't...

I mean, I couldn't blame him.

"He told me that he needed somebody who didn't think he already had one foot in the grave— oh, and somebody who could physically be there." The satyr seemed to take a little offense to that last one. "Even though he said he was happy for me and excited for me that I got to go on searches. A couple weeks later, I got a letter from him from the psych ward— he didn't say why he was in, just that he was. Wanted to apologize if the breakup seemed really sudden or if it hurt me, but he just needs to take things slow now and...  The way it was worded made it sound like he regretted the breakup, so between being worried about him and that, I rushed back here and bought flowers and had this entire speech planned and it..."

He lost his voice.

"Didn't matter." Grover concluded. "I got to the apartment, and he seemed... Surprised that I was there. They had like, a bunch of people over, though? Thalia and Luke, Mr. D and Gabe's dad. Rachel— the girl we met at the Hoover Dam, and then..." he bit down on his tongue. "Travis. And I told him that I got the letter and came as fast as I could, and I offered him the flowers. Asked if he'd forgive me for the comment I made about the prophecy. I had planned a whole speech and date night, and he just like... Looked at me and at the flowers and said that he was glad to see me and glad to know I got the letter, but that we were still broken up. And that he'd love to hang out as friends, but... Just as friends."

The satyr paused.

"And maybe if Travis wasn't there, I would've agreed to stay, but I just... I know they've always been just friends," Grover lied to himself. "Well, they we're... Weird for like a month his first summer. And then the start of this summer. But I know they're just friends even though Travis likes him, and I just... I didn't want to deal with that, and there was so much tension and I felt sad for getting re-broken up with, basically, so I made up some lie about having to meet up with Gleeson and I left. Been chasing empty leads ever since. Decided the other day that I'd just come back. How's camp been without Mr. D, by the way? Is it just Chiron now?"

Clarisse and I shared a look, debating who should answer that question.

"Yeah, camp sucks ass." Clarisse took the lead. "You'll probably be okay, it's the training that sucks— and that's saying something, because I usually love training, but we don't have time to do anything else anymore, and we're so exhausted by the time we have meetings or get done with our new schedules that we don't have the energy to argue or conspire. It's annoying."

"And has set our plans back," I added on. "We we're hoping to be over and done with this whole dismantling Chiron thing before Kronos finishes reforming this summer, but..." I sighed. "I doubt that's happening, no matter how optimistic Luke was trying to be about his meeting with Chiron next week."

"Oh, and Chiron definitely knows that his old man is stirring because this training is to prepare us for battle." The daughter of Ares popped in. "Except they're not considering the fact that it's burning us out because there's no time to rest, so if we go into battle like this, we're fucked. A bunch of kids try to sneak out when they can, but if you're not super stealthy or if you don't have an in with the dryads and nature spirits... Lots of kids have gotten in trouble for trying to sneak out. That border doesn't just keep things out anymore— it's keeping us in. We had to have Silena's dad tell Chiron we were meeting him for lunch today for him to let us leave."

Grover frowned, looking at me. "I thought your dad lived in France."

I nodded. "He does."

Scoffing, the satyr rolled his eyes. "I suppose you don't get your charmspeak from just your mom, huh?" He stood up. "I think I'm going to continue making my way back to camp. I'll see you guys around."

Wishing him luck with the meeting he'll have to have with the Cloven Elders when he returns, Clarisse and I waved to Grover before going back to laying together in the spring sun, trying to ignore the stress and the strain of the home we'd eventually have to go back to.

It didn't work very well.

Chapter 105: I Really Don't Want To Host A Titan Anymore

Luke Castellan

We found out that Thalia was roughly five weeks along, meaning that we had a bit of time to decide if we'd keep the baby or not, but here's the thing: neither of us wanted to get rid of it.

But that doesn't mean that it's a good idea to have it.

That doesn't mean that we don't go into battle this summer if this meeting doesn't go well and we lose the baby anyways because Thalia gets hurt.

Oh, and my episodes aren't getting better. In the three days, I've had at least one a day. The shorter ones— the good days— they're 15 or 20 minutes and I realize that I'm having them. I can recognize it, but I can't do anything about it.

My longest one was yesterday— apparently, I was out for almost two hours. Almost the entirety of the movie we were watching together, and the movie is the only reason I realized it.

Today, I haven't had one yet, but Mr. D would be here soon to help us prepare for our meeting with Chiron to try and negotiate so we don't have a war on our hands. So I don't have to lose control of my body.

If Thalia's pregnant, I'd hate to subject her to going through that alone, because there's no way Kronos will help her. Will support her.

The titan has seemed pretty neutral to the pregnancy, but that almost scares me more than him being against it.

At least he's stopped requesting her as his host.

Mr. D showed up ten minutes after he said he would (which, for the god, was right on time), bringing a bottle of wine with him.

"Alright, Lincoln, Tammy, let's get this shit over with." The god of wine began as three wine glasses appeared and he popped the bottle open. "Hope you like red."

"Oh, I'm g—" Thalia began to say before the smell of the wine hit them and I recognized the wave of nausea that hit them because of it. "Hold that thought."

And with that, my lovely fiance rushed to the bathroom to empty out her stomach.

The refusal of alcohol, paired with the throwing up, was enough for the god of wine to connect the dots. Mr. D raised an eyebrow as the bathroom door closed, then glanced at me, pouring his own drink and leaving Thalia's empty.

"I see." The god commented, swirling his drink around before taking a sip and then grimacing. "Ugh, grape juice again." He commented to himself, looking back at me. "You really think that now was the best time to knock him up? Or do you want to traumatize your kids? If so, I could help scare the brat a little."

"H—" but not drinking and morning sickness are the two biggest giveaways of an early pregnancy, so I didn't question his logic. Plus, as a god, I wouldn't be surprised if he had some way to just... Know. Sense it. "It... Wasn't planned. We don't know if we're going to keep it or not. Like you said, it's bad timing, but..." I sighed. "We'll see how today goes. Maybe I won't have to share my body with a titan after all."

Mr. D cracked a smile. "What? You having regrets, kid? It's not too late to back out, you know— Chiron could care less. Let down a shit load of kids, though."

I sighed.

"About trying to change things? No." I prefaced. "About getting manipulated by a titan in order for it to happen? A little. Not completely— Thalia wouldn't be alive if that were the case, but... Enough, yeah. I can admit that."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm trying to stay optimistic."

"And how's that worked out for you so far?"

"Shut up " I told the immortal as Thalia re-emerged with her comfort water bottle that is now the only thing that they can drink water out of.

Yeah, that started two weeks ago, before we knew he was pregnant, but more or less the summary of what I've learned this week is that pregnancy is kind of weird.

Or, it does weird things to people. Pregnancy is normal, but it has weird side effects.

"Sorry, I'm still getting over a stomach bug." Thalia excused, sitting down next to me. "I probably shouldn't drink, it'll make it worse."

"A stomach bug is an interesting way to describe a fetus, but I concur." The god responded, putting his hand up. "Don't worry, Leo told me you're still deciding if you'll birth it or not, so your secret is safe with me and Gio."

Thalia frowned. "Gio... Isn't here."

"Well no, but I need somebody I can that I can gossip with— don't act like you two don't tell each other everything." Dionysus got us there. "That's what I thought. Anyways, I have a grandchild to meet after this if my son so allows, so let's get this over with. Here's the thing: Chiron doesn't think there's a problem."

Sharing a look, Thalia and I debated how dumb Mr. D thought we were.

"Well yeah, no shit, otherwise we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place." Thalia commented. "Anything else obvious you want to point out?"

"Wh— no, that's not..." The god grumbled. "I wasn't done. The old horse doesn't think there's a problem with how he runs Camp Half-Blood because he's not used to demigods living long enough for there to be problems like this. The border is extremely new— a decade is nothing compared to a millennia, and Chiron's been alive and training heroes for a few of them now. So he understands that there are demigods with issues, and I'm sure he's smart enough to know that those issues are because of camp's structure. We argued about it frequently. But,"

Mr. D paused.

"He doesn't feel that it's worth changing because first of all, heroes survived in the past." Dionysus continues. "Not all of them, obviously, but... Enough in his eyes. Second of all, and no offense, but you guys are mortal, and if you think the gods hold no value in your guy's lives, Chiron's a ring above us— after all, with how many kids he deals with, and how quickly some of you brats die off, he learned a long time ago how to emotionally distach from his pupils. But third, and most important: he isn't wanting to give in to your suggestions or demands because they're vague."

"They're... What?"

"Vague." The god repeated himself turning his juice into diet coke before taking another sip. "He believes that if he agrees to your terms, it'll never be enough. You'll just keep demanding that he does or provides more and more and more until i's too much. If you want this meeting to go well so you can focus on getting rid of ol' granddad, you need to have specific peramaters for him, probably in the form of a contract. Even if it's not a pretty contract, it should be on paper, yeah? Then if or when he doesn't follow through, you can also sue him for breach of contract."

"We... We can do that?" I questioned. "Sue him for breach of contract? The government doesn't even know he exists."

Dionysus scoffed. "Not the government kid— what do think happens when somebody swears on the Styx and then breaks that oath? Write into the contract that, on the Styx, he agrees to do the things in the contract. Styx will keep him in line, trust me— even I wouldn't want to mess with the nightmares or madness that woman would give me, and madness is my whole thing. Not by choice, but... It is."

"Not by choice?" I questioned, tilting my head.

"Hephaestus wasn't the only one who was handicapped by my stepmother." He insisted with a coldness to his tone that I'd never heard since it was usually washed over with a layer of apathy. "I've been in a perpetual cycle of madness for thousands of years because she felt it was appropriate to punish me for being born and not her husband for having the filthy affair. Why do you think prohibition happened right around the same time as the two biggest wars in modern history? The other gods fighting just made it worse. It was a horrible 30 years."

Mr. D looked at my fiance.

"I probably wouldn't mention the kid to any other immortals, by the way." He pointed out. "If our bitch of a stepmother hears about it, she'll probably do everything she can to make sure you can't give birth, but you also can't miscarry."

"Can she..." Thalia responded in horror at that idea. "I thought marriage was her realm."

He shrugged. "Eh, it's family in general, which is kind of ironic, and I honestly don't think she even wanted to do it. But I mean, that's why the twins were born on Delos— she found out Leto was pregnant and wouldn't allow her to give birth on any ground that touched the earth. Not that I was born yet, but Apollo talks about his birth so much that I know... Way too much about it. More than my own birth— I'm so glad I don't remember coming out my mother or out of dad. Sounds gross."

"H... Oh, that's right, you were born mortal." I recalled from my many many history lessons from Camp Half Blood. "This might be a stupid question, but do you ever miss it?"

"Being mortal?" The god asked in the return, I nodded. "Yeah, sometimes— like the madness, it's a cycle. Apollo labels the two phases as my party phases and my domestic phases. You'd think a god of medicine would have better terms for it by now but..." He sighed. "He's not wrong, either, so I can't fault him. I wouldn't be married or be staying with Gio now if I didn't miss it. Once he passes, though, I'm sure that'll change and I'll go crazy and mad and party for a few decades or so before getting tired of it. It is odd, though, being the only Olympian who wasn't born this way. You know, for as long as I've spent residing there, it never really feels like home because of that."

There was a pause as I took that in— the fact that Dionysus being born mortal and turned immortal more or less against his own will still had impacts on him to this day, thousands of years later.

How, in my time at camp, I was a lot more like the god than I ever realized.

I spent 5 or 6 years at Camp Half Blood, and even though I had a lot of friends and got along with everyone and enjoyed myself more often than not, after going on that quest...

Camp never felt like my actual home before the quest, but I realized after I returned that it never would, and that was a hard reality for me to grapple with. It was the first step in the road I eventually found myself on that is now leading me to try and wager over safety and health resources for younger kids with a centaur who I know doesn't care.

"But enough of that mopey shit, you two have a meeting to get ready for and I have a granddaughter to meet." The god of wine cut the topic off there, standing and nodding to us. "Good luck with the old horse— I'm sure I'll hear about how it went sooner rather than later."

And just like that, he vanished, as gods tend to do.

•••

After spending the next hour and a half making sure our contact didn't have any loopholes in it, or any spelling errors (which wasn't too hard since we wrote it in Ancient Greek, not English), Thalia and I were picked up by Argus and escorted to Camp.

Yeah, when you're known allies to a titan, they don't let you just walk into Camp Half Blood. When we arrived, we were handcuffed and escorted to the Big House by Silena and Beckendorf, which...

I understand Chiron's logic. Silena the charmapeak to influence us to listen and Becknedorf would have the intimidation factor. He's a relatively good fighter.

But we know both of them, so the effectiveness of them being our escorts is ruined by that.

Oh, and by the fact that both of them are working with us and act as double agents.

I couldn't mix those metals in all of those weapons without a child of Hephaestus on my side, right? Beckendorf likes the artistic aspect of it.

I like that I don't have to think about what weapon I grab if somebody breaks into my apartment in the middle of the night— because that was honestly what prompted me to ask him about it. Once I knew I'd end up living in New York...

Manhattan is very different from Westport, okay? Mixed metal blades are very practical for demigods who live in the mortal world most of the time.

I'm definitely not the only demigod in Manhattan that owns one, and I wasn't the first to have one. At least two of Gabe's friends have had weapons of their own that mix metals for years— one of them has a handgun and the gun is normal, but the bullets are a mix of celestial bronze and regular steel or whatever it is they make bullet shells about.

Regardless of the effectiveness of Silena and Beckendorf being our escorts, Thalia and I played along with the game Chiron wanted to play, allowing the two demigods to parade us through what is arguably the longest direct route they could take us on to get to the Big House.

As illogical as it may seem, to have us here for any longer than need be if he truly views us as a threat, Chiron definitely had them do this because it was also the route for the most demigods to see us. It was his way of trying to ensure that people didn't trust us.

Which would be a really good plan— if we didn't already have every single counselor on our side.

It didn't stop the shock value of seeing us escorted in such a manner, though. The kids who were training, those who were eating all stopped what they were doing as we walked by, just... Looking. For the kids who were training, ignoring their new instructor who was yelling at them to stop gawking like they were at the zoo.

The new trainer— Quintus, Silena and Clarisse has called him— was certainly in the same age bracket as Gabe and his friends, though, which was good to know because they said he was a demigod. A son of Athena.

Meaning that that's actually what he is, just an adult demigod, Gabe and his friends would know him. They would've trained with some overlap.

And if he's not who he says he is, he's probably some sort of god or immortal in disguise.

Being led through the front door of the Big House, Chiron allowed our handcuffs to be taken off.

But only when we had one ankle cuffed to the table that was built into the floor.

"Does this not seem like a little overkill?" Thalia questioned as Becknedorf and Silena undid our handcuffs, Chiron sitting across from is. "We're here to talk, not take it out on the table."

"Hm? Yes, perhaps, but I'd argue that it's better to be safe than sorry when dealing with my father's allies." The centaur responded, dismissing the two campers. "The fact that my brothers allows you to wake up every day is quite honestly baffling for me. You wanted me to protect the campers, no? This is important for me to do that."

"Because we already negotiated with them and came to a peaceful agreement." I pointed out. "So they know and we have a written agreement stating that we mean them no harm. We have terms, they have terms. Your father was going to stir regardless of my involvement— the Great Prophecy said so. What we're here to discuss is your choice in this matter."

The centaur cackled. "I'm not joining my father, Luke Castellan."

"And I wasn't suggesting you do." I reminded my old mentor— a centaur that I almost looked up to, at one point in my life. "We can fight against your father together, but if we're to do that, we have stipulations— some of which are negotiate, some of which aren't, but all of which I know from my own expierences of helping you and Mr. D with the day to day activities of keeping this place running that you and the camp are able to do."

Leaning back in his chair, Chiron crossed his arms.

"And what are these stipulations?"

•••
Travis Stoll

"Travis! Travis!" One of the newest members of Cabin 11 called out to me after we finished rock wall training, heading towards lunch. Bounding up next to me, the young girl was filled with a childlike wonder.

"Hi, Maggie," I said as I coild hear my siblings talking to each other— whispering and glancing towards the Big House. "What's up? You didn't get burned, did you?"

"Nope! Not this time." She said with a proud smile, reminding me of the son of Hades who's been gone for almost four months now. "I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Who were the two people that the other counselors were walking through camp earlier?" Maggie asked, causing the entire cabin to halt. "The ones that were in handcuffs? I've never seen them before— did they do something bad? Does camp have a jail and they've been staying in it?"

And if I didn't know the severity of today's meeting, I think I might've laughed at the idea of having a jail within camp.

"There's no jail here, Maggie." I insisted, as if we weren't trapped inside regardless, rendering the entire place to be one large prison. "Their names are Luke and Thalia— they're older demigods who don't live at camp anymore, but they're not bad people. They haven't done anything wrong. Luke was actually the counselor for our cabin before Connor and I were. Chiron just doesn't trust them, and he doesn't want us to trust them, so he handcuffed them."

"But..." Of course, us agreeing with Chiron on something confused the new recruit. "Why are they here then?"

"Because they want to help us," Luca piped in, unusually optimistic. "Want to make sure we don't have to sleep on the floor every night and that we actually have a place to belong."

Here's the thing, though: Luca's not... In on anything. He's never come to any briefing or meeting or anything of the sort about Kronos.

And while I was able to conceal my shock at how much he had realized on his own, Connor was visibly surprised, which the longstanding unclaimed demigod picked up on pretty fast.

"What?" Luca challenged Connor's expression. "Just because I'm not on the council doesn't mean I don't hear you guys talk about it— doesn't mean I didn't hear Luke argue with Chiron all the time. That's why Mr. D vanished, right? Because he sided with them and the horse got mad? What's this meeting about? Finally getting us another cabin?"

"I wish I knew, Luca— I didn't even know they set the meeting up." Connor insisted, shrugging. "Sorry."

Luca looked at me as I debated how much information to spill. Thanks to my closeness to the Jackson's and also to Luke and Thalia, there's not much I don't know at this point.

Opening my mouth, I struggled to find the words that wouldn't scare them.

"This..." I lost my voice. "This is the meeting that will decide if we go to war."

My siblings fell silent.

"What?" Julia was the first one to speak. "Are you sure? Who told you? How do you... Know?"

I looked down.

"This is the meeting that will decide if Thalia and Luke will help Chiron take Kronos down, or if they'll focus on taking Chiron down using other methods." I tried to explain things that I didn't quite have all of the details to. "It isn't just Thalia and Luke, though."

"Well yeah, Ethan and Chris are with them, too, right?"

"Among others, yeah." I confirmed, nodding. "I shouldn't give away names just in case, but it's a lot of people. Both in camp and out of camp. Depending on if Chiron, Luke and Thalia can come to some sort of agreement, you might fight out sooner rather than later. We should get to the pavilion, though, before Mr. You Know Who notices."

•••

So here's the thing: the meeting went as I think almost everyone expected: Chiron listened and negotiated and heard the two of them out.

But in the end, he agreed to nothing. Claimed to not have the means to meet their demands.

As we ate, Silena and Beckendorf once again walked past with the two demigods in tow, handcuff and appearing pretty rejected— Luke looking messed up enough that I couldn't tell if it was an act or not.

After all, this might be the first nail in his coffin if it turns out his body can't handle hosting a titan.

As they walked past, though, Luke was very subtle about it— acting like he was trying to crack one of his knuckles, he flashed us a three: the confirmation that Chiron refused to cooperate.

I'd been hoping for a one, or at least a two— either that he agreed to all of their terms or to some of them.

But no. Nothing's changed.

And not only has nothing changed, but we no longer have a voice that will challenge the centaur. Mr. D isn't here.

"What does the three mean?" Cecil asked, having picked it up after years of watching for signals in capture the flag from Luke.

I sighed. "It means that Chiron refused to agree to anything."

Luca put his fork down.

"Crazy idea." He piped in. "What if we kill the horse?"

"What?" At least half of the table asked.

But it seemed like he wasn't the only one with that idea.

As he went to open his mouth, Luca was cut off by the sound of a wheelchair falling on its side and more than one body crashing to the ground.

Before I could process what was happening, though, I was whisked away by somebody grabbing my wrist and hauling me in the direction of the woods.

"Hey!" I yelled out at the sudden contact, because just because these people don't know I have a boyfriend yet doesn't give them the right to grab me like that. "What's the big—"

"Shh," the person told me, pulling their hoodie down as we entered the woods and oh thank the gods it was my boyfriend. "Sorry to grab you so suddenly, are you okay? This plan was sort of... Spontaneous."

"Am I— oh thank gods it's you." I gave the son of Poseidon a hug to calm my nerves, hoping the nymphs and dryads didn't think too hard about it. "I'm okay, bur aren't you supposed to like, be at the hospital with your parents right now? Isn't your mom in labor?"

"She gave birth the other day," my boyfriend insisted as we started to walk, approaching Charles Becknedorf, who appeared to be waiting for us. "I'll go back after this is done and over, but I wasn't missing this, and neither was my dad— he's here, too, somewhere, since Mom and the baby had a few visitors anyways. You said you've never had to deal a lock a day in your life, right? That's how you always break into my place?"

"Um, it's not breaking into somewhere if I don't break anything to get in." I argued. "It's just entering. But yeah, locks just... Undo themselves when I touch them. Why?"

"Because there's a lock I need you to bust," Beckendorf joined in. "One for sure, but possibly more, and we don't have time for me to try and fiddle with a lock pick."

So, figuring that if there wasn't time for Beckendorf to pick a lock, there also wasn't time for me to ask questions, I just followed the two demigods as we made our way in the direction of Zeus' Fist, but instead of veering north and following the stream like you usually would to get to the pile of rock, we crossed the body of water and continued west into parts of the woods that I'd never been in before.

I won't lie: if I wasn't dating of these two, I'd debate if they were bringing me out here to kill me.

Maybe a ten minute hike later, we stumbled upon what appeared to be some sort of bunker, though, that had a door made of celestial bronze. It was partially covered in debris, but Beckendorf cleared it fast.

"The floor is yours." The much taller demigod prompted, stepping out of the way as I saw Percy pull Riptide out, keeping guard while I noticed for the first time that he had a second weapon on him— a smaller blade that was strapped to his leg.

Flashing me a smile, Percy calmed the nerves that I didn't even realize had been building on our journey here when we ventured into unfamiliar land.

It was an odd role reversal for us, but one I didn't mind because it meant Percy was smiling.

Taking a breath, I stepped forward and put my hand over the doorknob.

Why I was worried my powers would suddenly fail me, Indoor know, but when the door opened with no issues, I was able to breathe easily and relax again, walking into...

"Woah." I said as Beckendorf and Percy rushed in, closing the door behind them, Percy staying near the door while Beckendorf began to search the premises. "What... Is this place?"

"Bunker 9, an old Workshop my cabin used to use way back when, before any of us were born." The son of Hephaestus told me as Percy handed me his knife. "I wouldn't have known about it if it wasn't for Percy's old man and Mr. D, but when I went to check it out and get it ready for today, I couldn't get in and I barely made it back to the cabins before curfew. There's bound to be tons of information in here that we've been missing."

But there was something I'm missing.

"And we need the information for something?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm just looking through to see if I can find anything that sticks out right now." Beckendorf explained, grabbing two different scrolls and shoving them in his bag. "We needed the physical space more than we need all of the blueprints, but I will be taking as many as I can."

"And we need the space for...?"

"Holding Chiron and maybe that other guy, if he turns out to be immortal." My boyfriend filled in the gaps for me. "Mr. D had a bad feeling about today's meeting and usually he wouldn't care that much, so I don't know what came over him, but after he got to meet Estelle, he pulled my dad and I into the hall to tell us his plan."

"Which is...? I mean, topple Chiron, obviously, but."

"More or less, yeah— before getting all the way to the border, Silena and Beckendorf took Luke and Thalia's handcuffs off and let them into the Big House while Mr. D, my dad, and whoever of his friends were able to come last minute— along with Ethan and all of them got into camp and to the pavilion, where one of the councilors distracted the new dude just long enough for the adults to subdue Chiron, more or less, and then I'm assuming most of the camp jumped the new guy after that. Once Chiron is out cold, they'll bring him here so we can make sure he doesn't have anything on him wet might need— passwords, information, papers, whatever— and then I believe Mr. D will bring him to Olympus or... Somewhere to keep him until we can figure out how to rig the border so he can't get in."

"Oh!" I said, suddenly understanding what happened in the pavilion. "And Mr. D just... Planned that this morning?"

Percy shrugged. "I think he's been sitting on it for a while, but he definitely wasn't planning on doing it today. Something happened for him to change his plans, I don't know what. Regardless, he'll stay here once Chiron is situated, and there are currently one or two licensed counselors on the way, and there should be a new trainer as well, along with a few other people to help oversee the changes— older demigods, I think? Regardless, Chiron is out of the picture, so your cabin can celebrate."

I smiled. "I think the whole camp will celebrate. Will you stick around for it?"

"I wish," my boyfriend sighed. "But if I miss one more day of school, they can threaten to hold me back a year in school. The only reason they haven't yet is because the only class I'm failing right now is an elective. I really don't want to go to court for truancy. That's just annoying to have on your record— I think my parole officer would make fun of me."

But this information caused Beckendorf and I to both pause and look at the son of Poseidon.

"What?" He asked.

"You have a parole officer?" The eldest demigod questioned.

Percy shrugged. "I used to get into a lot of fights, and adults also thought I was like, kind of insane." He explained before getting cut off but a knock at the metal door. "They're here— hide just in case Chiron wakes up."

Following instructions, Beckendorf went into a storage closet as Percy and I went under a table that was covered by a very dirty and oily cloth.

And yeah, we were stealthy, but I still took my chance to cuddle with my boyfriend while we listened to what was happening, I think Percy listening for a specific cue.

It was cute, seeing him so intent and focused on something.

Immediately after I made that observation, I realized that I needed to refocus and not let myself be so easily distracted by my boyfriend literally just sitting on a dirt floor with me.

I'm admittedly a simp, so I have to remind myself of these things occasionally.

Honestly, it also reminds me that, as fun as it might be, my ass would not survive going on a quest with my boyfriend because I'd get distracted. By him.

Then again, I'm also not the world's greatest fighter, so a quest isn't my forte anyways. Never has been, never will be. I like what I have going for me between camp and the Jackson's right now. I don't need to be a hero.

I just want to be there for Percy when he gets back from wherever it is the Oracle sends him.

After all, somebody has to hold the fort down while the heroes are off saving the world, and I'm okay being the person doing so.

"Do you recognize him?" Mr. D questioned, which seemed a little alarming— that the director who's been here for a few decades now didn't recognize somebody here.

"I have no idea who this dude is," his son answered. "The only son of Athena that was around our age died a few years back in an accident."

"Yeah, I've never seen this guy before," the person who I believe was Eddy, a demigod friend of Gabe's agreed. "Think he's immortal?"

"It'd make the most sense, but he's not radiating any sort of divine energy. If he's immortal, he must mind his own business, I don't recognize him or his presense."

"Hm." A female voice joined the chorus. "Mind if I try something?"

"By all means, go for it."

For a moment, there was a beat of silence.

"Ichor?" Eddy asked.

"Oil." The lady corrected him. Then, "there's a child of Hephaestus in here, correct? One of Percy's friends?"

"Mhm, the current counselor." The camp director confirmed. "Beckendorf, Percy, Travis! You guys can come out."

Emerging from under the table, I was amused to see the son of Hephaestus looking so taken aback by the god of wine. Like he was skeptical of him.

"Did you just decide that you know everyone's names while you were gone?" But being around the Jackson's and seeing Mr. D in that context, I'd gotten used to hearing correct names from Mr. D, so I didn't even think about it until Beckendorf question it.

"Yeah, Brick, whatever." The god retorted. "Come check this out and tell us if it's an automaton or not."

"Quintus? How the hell would somebody made out of flesh... Oh my gods those are wires, not veins."

"I'm sorry what?" My boyfriend questioned as we stepped in closer. "Chiron replaced you with a robot? How?"

"Because a robot won't challenge him, probably." Dionysus told his grandson, sighing. "But I'm not sure he would even know this dude was an automaton. Did he tell you guys anything about himself?"

Travis shrugged. "Just that he was a son of Athena, and he likes inventing things. Which I guess would explain how he could make himself into an automaton, but that's like... Crazy."

"He mentioned a son once, too," Beckendorf added on. "Said he died years ago in a crash, though. The plane or whatever it was went up in flames and..."

Percy was the one who connected the dots.

"This is Icarus's dad." My boyfriend claimed, to everyone's shock. "What was his name? The guy who made the Labyrinth and like... Didn't he also make crazy spheres or something?"

"He... Daedalus?" Eddy asked. "He wasn't a demigod, was he? Archimedes made the spheres, though, different guy."

Percy shrugged. "Same difference."

"Daedalus wasn't a demigod," Mr. D confirmed for is. "He was one of Athena's chosen inventors of the time, though, like Odysseus was. He was her mentee until he... Vanished and we assumed died, but... Well he must've died once, at least, because this wasn't how he looked back then, but I don't know of another inventor that could pull this off. Not a mortal one, and the only immortal one would be my brother."

"So what do we... Do with him?" Beckedorf asked. "If this is the Daedalus, he has to have workshops and blueprints and... Does that mean the Labyrinth is still around?"

"Oh, yeah, there's an entrance to it not far off in the forest here." The woman answered with no qualms. "My ex and I fell in once and almost broke an ankle. Never adventured around, though. Never told Chiron about it, though. It's not really wheelchair accessible. Time also works differently in there, it's odd."

"Time works differently in most parts of the underworld— including places aren't a part of Hades' realm." The god provided an explanation. "The Labyrinth hasn't had much activity since the Minotaur was released from it so us gods haven't bothered with it, but if this is Daedalus... I suppose it would make sense for him to live inside the maze still. He was the only one who could navigate the deathtrap, after all."

"So what? We're keeping him alive?" Percy's dad questioned. "Keeping him here? Throwing him into the Labyrinth? He'll wake up soon if we don't decide."

The adults looked to the three of us, which is when it hit me.

We were starting a revolution.

Or, at the very least, a very large protest. But this wasn't the adults' idea— they're just here to help.

This is our revolution. It's our decision.

Beckendorf, Percy and I shared a series of looks before Beckendorf ultimately looked to Percy for the answer, because although he's never had to deal with Quintus's or Daedalus' grueling training, he was probably the closest person to Thalia and Luke besides Silena that would know what they would decide.

And Silena wasn't here.

"Keep him alive for now, but we'll want him somewhere where he can be restrained just in case." My boyfriend decided. "If this is actually Daedalus, I think Annabeth would murder me if she found out we met him and then killed him without allowing her to ask him any questions. The council can make a final decision together with Luke and Thalia there." Percy looked to me. "You and Connor will still be there, too, don't worry. And tell Luca to come also— for all of the unclaimed and kids without their cabins."

Percy glanced down at the mechanical and flesh body of the ancient inventor.

"It's about time we let them have a seat at the table."

Notes:

yeah we've like completely derailed from the canon hope y'all are enjoying this

Chapter 106: Being Crazy Doesn't Always Mean Being Heartless

Thalia Grace

Here's the crazy thing: Luke and I didn't plan that.

Being rushed into the Big House, Silena and Beckendorf reassured us that there was a plan and that they'd tell us what was going on later, but that it was important that we didn't leave the Big House until counselors came to tell us what was happening.

Until then, they advised, just trust them and wait.

And while we trusted both of them, waiting proved difficult— especially because we told Sally we'd be at the hospital around 3 today, and it was already 2:30.

This hospital visit was very important for us, okay? After Chiron refused to sign any sort of contract or treaty, we...

I'm not emotional— usually, I'm not an emotional person, but I had to be careful to not let it show how ruined I was when he led us on for over an hour, just to deject us.

I let my hopes get too high because the old horse pushed them higher and higher, and suddenly they just came... Crashing down.

Luke tried to not show it, but I could see that it hurt him, too, but even worse: it scared him.

After ten minutes, our initial wave of impatience died out, and Luke's fear started to settle in.

Sitting with him on the couch, I was grateful when Luke wrapped his arms around me from behind— one arm around my waist, the other with a hand carefully placed on my stomach.

Because there was an understanding that we had made, silently, this morning.

"I wanted it so bad, Thalia." My partner confided in me with a shaky voice. "I'm so tired of this— of trying to explain to immortals why our lives matter. I..." He heaved, digging his head into my shoulder. "I wanted this to work."

If Chiron agreed to even a single thing, we'd keep the baby.

It didn't have to be everything. But it had to be something— a cabin, a therapist, even plans for a follow up meeting to give Chiron time to assess which of our things would be the best for him to implement if he wouldn't agree to all of them.

But if he agreed to none of them— if he refused to listen to us, it'd be too dangerous to keep the baby.

After this, everything changes. Or, it continues to change in a way that both of us have been trying to put off. The plans for Luke to host Kronos go into affect, and there's probably no way to get out of it. And it scares me, yeah.

It's Luke's body, though. It's his body, it's his life— so naturally, it scares him more (even if he pretends like it doesn't most of the time).

The other thing I didn't consider, though, is how long this has been going on: I've only been back for just under a year. Luke, on the other hand, has been arguing with Chiron for years— ever since he became counselor, and I'm pretty sure he got that role after a year or so of being here.

So that's what? 5 years of fighting the good fight? Six?

I wasn't sure exactly how long it's been, but it was long enough that I couldn't blame him for feeling defeated at this moment.

"I know, babe," I responded with the only thing I could, putting a hand over his. "I did, too."

Closing my eyes to just soak in the moment, I could hear some chaos happening outside the Big House that persisted for another ten minutes before I heard footsteps outside the front door, and Luke and I instinctively moved to grab our weapons.

Thankfully, it wasn't a monster or even a centaur that came inside, though— it was the council— on season and off season by the looks of it, minus Percy, Travis, and Beckendorf.

But including Jason, Reyna, Annabeth, and a few other faces I recognized from Camp Jupiter.

"Luke, Thalia!" Annabeth called out, rushing over to the two of us and pulling us both into a hug. "What's the plan now?"

"What's the plan— more like what in the hell is going on? This wasn't Luke and I's plan." I responded, looking to the daughter of Aphrodite. "What's going on? Why'd you tell Luke and I to stay in here when there was clearly stuff going on out there? Who planned this?"

"I'm not sure who planned it, but Mr. D appeared at Camp Jupiter stating a state of emergency, and that he needed whoever was willing to go east with him, but he claimed we wouldn't be gone too long."

"Mr. D told Beckendorf and I to make sure you two weren't spotted by Chiron or Quintus once things started— to... Keep you safe." Silena explained. "He was... Pretty insistent about it, even though we both told him you'd be upset about being taken out of a fight. Sorry."

Dionysus...? I thought to myself, slowly piecing things together. I understand removing me, but why would he keep Luke out as well?

"On the bright side, they're taking the horse out to pasture now." Clarisse told us. "Not... He's not dead— he's still immortal. But he's out cold and severely injured... More than usual. Mr. D is transporting him to be kept out of camp until we can implement the changes that literally everyone wants. Percy, Travis and Beckendorf are with him, along with Percy's dad and some of his demigod friends who were able to come help out. We also beat Quintus within an inch of his life."

"Yeah, because he sucks." Katie Gardener commented. "Anyways, Mr. D will come with the last three guys and then we'll have more details."

"This was definitely planned by our dad," Pollux added on. "He didn't tell us that directly, but the sudden chaos and the fact that Quintus was blind for a few seconds before getting jumped... The only other god that I think would make somebody blind is Apollo, and I'm pretty sure he has nothing to do with this. Did you guys talk to Mr. D recently?"

"This morning, before we came, but he didn't mention any sort of plan for after the meeting." Luke confirmed, thinking to himself. "He just helped us to try and frame things so Chiron would be more likely to agree to our terms. Not that it did anything, but... He didn't even mention missing his job."

"Because he'd ever admit that?" Annabeth pointed out.

"If he ever told someone that, he'd turn them into a dolphin so they couldn't tell anyone else." Grover agreed.

Octavian nudged the satyr. "Your boyfriend could translate for us."

And before anyone could break the news or Percy and Grover's breakup to the Roman demigods, the aforementioned boyfriend appeared at the door with Mr. D, Travis, Beckendorf, and his dad.

"He— oh my gods you really did call in everyone." Percy said, taking in how full the primary room of the Big House was.

"Everyone that could make it on short notice," Mr. D confirmed, looking to all of us. "I have to make a call quick— once I'm done, we'll get started with the meeting just to make sure everyone's on the same page. Until then, hang tight and maybe don't try to kill each other."

Disappearing into his office, Mr. D left us to our own devices as people began to chat amongst themselves. Seeing Percy and Grover standing near each other, I decided to turn around and talk to my brother because I'm not sure I could be paid enough to expoerence the tension between the satyr and son of Poseidon a second time.

•••
Percy Jackson

I was trying really hard to keep my anxiety in check, but Grover being here did cause it to spike a little more than I'd planned.

I mean, it was good, because I had something I needed to tell him and it was a lot less dangerous to do it in person rather than trying to IM while he's on a search, but...

With no word about Nico, I'm pretty sure it means he failed his search.

It didn't help that the kids who didn't know about the breakup nearly shoved us together. Thankfully, Travis didn't seem to mind— he smiled at me when I got pushed in Grover's direction, while he'd been talking with Luke, Thalia, Annabeth and Jason.

"Hey!" I said, trying to break the tension, unsuccessfully. "You uh... You're back already."

Grover nodded. "It was a 100 day search, but I came back a couple days early since my leads just..." Looking down, Grover avoided meeting my gaze. "We're useless. The Council hasn't decided what they'll do about my searchers license yet, but..."

He shrugged as I realized how hard coming back with nothing must've been for him.

"They'll probably take it away."

"Because those rules have ever stopped you?" I asked, trying to make him feel better, even if I knew that Grover was a lot more of a rule follower than I ever was. "If you get a lead, you should look into it. Not to say that I wouldn't miss you while you go to search and stuff, but..."

Grover scoffed. "Miss me? I thought we we're over."

My chest clenched— guilt.

I know I didn't have to feel guilty for ending things, and I didn't feel guilty for that. But I did feel guilty, at least a little, because some of Grover's pain that he was trying to hide was probably my fault.

Actually, scratch that, it's definitely my fault: based off what he just said, he's still moving on from the breakup which...

I get it. It's not like he didn't like me or I didn't like him anymore. It's not like we argued constantly or didn't get along.

We just... Didn't talk. And for him, it wasn't an issue, but for me it was.

Plus, I also kind of rejected him not that long ago, so...

Yeah. I feel a little bad.

"We— I... Still think of you as my friend, though." I tried to remind the satyr, wrapping my arms around myself. "You were my best friend before we got together, I'd like... Hate to lose you entirely. That's why I still wrote you a letter. Sorry that it sounded like something else, I just... I miss my friend."

Grover didn't respond, thinking. Processing.

Maybe even trying to keep it together.

"If you... If you need space, too, that's okay." I offered. "I get it. I just... I'm sorry for making you feel bad— you still deserve to be able to chase your dreams, regardless of what the old goats say. I might have a lead to help you out, though! It's not great timing, but it came to me like 20 minutes ago, so..."

"Hm?" Grover hummed.

"So we just found out from one of Gabe's friends that there's an entrance to the Labyrinth within the camp." I started to explain, earning Grover's interest. "And I know you're going to hate this because you don't like going underground, but you said that you'd get super close to Pan or Nico and then they'd just... Vanish, right?"

Nodding, my closest friend confirmed that theory. "Yeah, it was super frustrating. Why?"

"Well, apparently, according to Mr. D," I went on. "The Labyrinth is like, massive. It's under most of North America, if not most of the world by now, because it's um... Well, I can't think of the world, but it's semi-alive, kind of like how Tartarus or Gaea are."

"I... Guess that makes sense."

"Yeah," I agreed. "But because it's semi alive, it can move and shift around where different parts of the maze are at any time— both in the maze, and based on where it would be coordinate wise. So if you're getting really close, and a lot of satyrs have all gotten close to Pan but then suddenly all lose trails... And if you're looking for a son of Hades, who is the god of the underworld..."

Grover realized my point. "It makes sense that he'd flee to whatever kind of underground he could get to. But how would we even begin to look for Nico then? The Labyrinth is like... Notoriously impossible to navigate."

Being honest, I shrugged.

"I don't know, I haven't been able to think that far, I just... Figured I'd mention the labyrinth bit since I'm assuming most satyrs don't like to think about it, so they wouldn't consider it. Assuming any satyrs around camp even know that the labyrinth is still around— I definitely didn't until just now."

Considering that, Grover nodded. "Yeah, I... Don't think I knew that either. Thanks."

There was a pause. I debated if that was the end of the conversation, but it looked like Grover had something else to say.

"Any time." I returned. "Like I said, you deserve to chase your dream. I wouldn't hold out a lead like that from you. You're still my friend."

"Yeah." He repeated, taking a pause before going on. "I uh... I appreciate it. I... I don't want to lose you, either, but I think I still need time. Can I ask you a question, though? It's been on my mind, and I just... Want to know."

"Of course you can. What's up?"

Hugging himself, I was pretty sure I saw Grover glance in another direction, but I couldn't tell where.

"When I stopped by your place last time, after you got out of the hospital, I um... Noticed that Rachel Dare and Travis were both there." My stomach dropped when he mentioned it, though, because I knew he noticed it, and I also knew he might not handle it well. "Do... Do you guys hang out again? You and Travis? You were like... On pretty not good terms last summer."

"We... Yeah." I confirmed, nodding my head. "After you left on the search, Travis popped by after visiting Luke because he assumed that after we didn't get to see each other for four months, I probably was really sad about you being gone for another multiple months, and I was, so. He just brought me like, a bag of candy and apologized for being a dick about my mental health last year. I was a little skeptical at first, but..."

I shrugged.

"He proved himself trustworthy." I continued, trying to be careful about my words. "Him, Rachel and me hung out a lot, especially on bad days. Rachel's super cool, by the way. But yeah, we hang out. That's why he was there— that was my first day back home, so a handful of people came over because I didn't want a party, but after a month of being in there, everyone insisted on some sort of celebration."

"I see." Grover responded. "Makes sense, a month is a long time. Longer than it was the last time. I kind of freaked out when Travis called to tell me you were in the hospital."

But, unaware of this, I paused. "Travis told you I was in the hospital?"

The satyr nodded. "He just told me that he knew I was probably upset about the breakup, but that he thought I deserved to know that you were being sent to inpatient again, but it was willingly so I didn't have to like, panic about you killing yourself or something."

He paused for a beat.

"I still did panic, a little." He informed me, which made sense— everyone did, from what I heard. "But the call helped. I was... Surprised that he called and not like, Luke or your parents. Kind of hard to fully take advice from somebody not telling you to panic when they're panicking a little bit themselves, though. He was worried, but I was... Really confused when he mentioned stopping by your place."

"Yeah, he... Heard about the break up from Thalia that same day." I filled Grover in there. "Same thing as when you left for the search: wanted to make sure I wasn't insanely sad or whatever and I wasn't sad, but... I was unwell. I wasn't even thinking about it, I just... Was going through the motions until he showed up to stop me from overdosing after I'd already failed to write a note and cut. No explicit reason— it wasn't like the breakup caused it— I seriously wasn't planning on it, it just..."

I shrugged. "Happened."

"I believe you," Grover reassured me, which I was glad to hear. "That's how Travis made it sound, too. He was like... He didn't tell me about it, obviously— I actually think he was trying to avoid the topic as much as possible for my own sake, but he was kind of freaking out about it. Worried about you."

Grover glanced up at me.

"He cares about you." My best friend insisted. "A lot— I mean, he has to in order to change enough for you to forgive him and what not, but... He cares about you. I don't know if he's ever told you— I don't know how he cares, if it's platonically or not but... In case your anxiety was worried about it, my satyr senses are here to tell you that he does actually care."

Wondering how I could respond in a way that was both honest and not possibly hurtful towards Grover, I took a moment to think. I glanced towards Travis, who was still talking with his brother.

I bit back a smile at the sight of seeing him happy and not stressed out from camp.

Usually when he comes over, he's a bit stressed at first, or he's exhausted. The stress doesn't stick around for long, but it was still nice to see him smiling and happy for a reason other than me giving him a kiss.

And although we don't have an empathy link anymore, Grover still knows me.

"I wouldn't blame you if he weaseled his way back into your heart." Grover told me, something that did surprise me. He noticed my surprise, smiling. "What, do you think I'm going to be mad at you because of it? You just got done telling me about how he's been there for you all winter and spring and how he's shown you that he's changed from the line of thinking that caused you guys to never really stay together last time. And like you said, you... Need somebody that can be there, right? Physically. I know you said you thought you might want to be single for a bit but... He's still most definitely into you, if that's what you're worried about. And I'm not going to stop being friends with you just because you... Move on faster than I do."

Grover looked at Travis, then at me.

"Just maybe refrain from being super touchy around me for a while?" The satyr requested— a request I planned on fufilling regardless. "I know how touchy you can get— if you guys want to pursue something, I won't be mad. If I deserve to chase my dreams of finding Pan, you deserve to still have somebody that makes you happy, and the empathy link may be gone, but I can still see you holding back a smile."

That finally got me to crack a smile.

"See! I knew it was there." Grover said as I felt a lot of the tension between us release— not all of it, but maybe 80% of it? The worst of it. "You like him, dude, that's okay. Just... Give me a few weeks before you start to vent to me about it."

Once again, Grover looked between the son of Hermes and me. "Does he know? That you like him again?"

After a half second's worth of debate, I repeated the words Grover just said back to my in my head: I won't be mad at you.

I nodded.

"He visited during inpatient, and it came up then." I explained. "He told me about his feelings when he was like, trying to make sure I wouldn't kill myself, but he was also super insistent about knowing that we were just friends and that I just needed a friend and somebody to hang out with, so he wasn't telling me because he had any expectations or... He just thought it might give me another reason to think that I shouldn't be dead. Um... Yeah. I'd told him that I just needed to be single for a bit, as sweet as the whole ramble was. But during inpatient, he visited and it came up and..."

Exhaling, I forced myself to breathe.

"Nothing officially happened until I got out because I needed time to focus on me and my health— which did help. It was a long month, but it's the first time that it felt like inpatient stuff actually worked." I confided in my best friend. "When you were there, nothing official had happened still, but it was like... We both knew, and we'd both been kind of touchy. Our first date ended up being the next day, and he seems to understand that distance makes my anxiety worse, so we are currently trying to hang out or go out or something like, once a week. Not that it's been that long, but..."

I shrugged once again. "It's nice. I'll refrain myself from being too touchy, though, I get it. Thanks for like... Not being upset, I guess? We haven't really told anyone besides our parents yet because I didn't want you to find out from somebody else and then think that something was going on before the breakup or like... I just didn't want you to get even more hurt."

Grover smiled. "I appreciate it." He nudged me. "You should go be gross with him. I'm going to bug Silena and Clarisse for a minute. See you around?"

"As long as you're able to tolerate a crying baby," I confirmed.

Walking over to my boyfriend, I announced my entrance by simply holding his hand, because I think that was an acceptable level of PDA for the current situation.

"Hey," Travis whispered as Jason and Annabeth were talking about some sort of building plans. "How'd talking with Grover go? Feeling okay?"

I nodded, because mostly, I did feel okay.

"A little weird, but I'm mostly good yeah." I reassured him. "It was... Tense, at first, but it mostly went away by the end of the conversation. I told him about my idea for a lead for him, and then we talked a little bit about me and him and then about you and me and you and even without an empathy link, he noticed my famously bad to hide feelings, so... Yeah. He wasn't mad or anything, just asked that we're not like, insanely touchy around him since he's still moving on. Asked to just give him a couple weeks before we can be gross or whatever. So we're still friends, but he needs a little time still, and I think like 80% of the tension is gone now."

"That's good! 80 is a big number." Travis insisted with a smile. "I'm glad it went well, I know you've been really worried about it— based off the fact that you're holding my hand now, I'm assuming you don't mind that others know?"

Confirming his observation, I nodded. "I just didn't want Grover to assume the wrong thing because he heard about it from somebody else. I don't care about anyone else."

"Makes sense— I was a little worried he'd be upset with me for making a move so soon, but it went well, so I don't have to worry." The son of a Hermes said. "Do you want to go out after the meeting tonight? To celebrate? There's like... Multiple things to celebrate."

I smiled, rolling my eyes.

"I think tonight I'm going to stop by the hospital to say hi to mom and Estelle and then go home and crash." I broke the news of my evening plans to my boyfriend. "But if you want to come with you can— meet Estelle, stay the night, and we can go out tomorrow for like, brunch?"

"That works for me," Travis smiled again, giving me a quick kiss on the temple after I caught him glance to make sure Grover wasn't looking (which was both sinister and sweet, at the same time).

But since we did this in front of others— people we knew and friends we have, there was a response, naturally.

"Oh, thank gods," Annabeth commented. "I was worried I'd have to spend all summer with you two dancing around the fact that you like each other."

"Wh— you haven't even been here!" I pointed out, a half lie since she was in New York somewhat recently, but when I was in the hospital so it doesn't count (for the sake of observing Travis and I). "How could you possibly notice that?"

"Because your boyfriend is down so bad, I'd mistake him for Luke if he wasn't multiple years younger and a scrawny brunette." The daughter of Athena called out my type bad. "Is that a secret trait of children of Hermes? Being a simp?"

"No, Luke is just desperate for me to be with him." Thalia commented.

"Hey!" Luke retorted, defending himself. "One, it worked. Two, who proposed to who? Huh? I didn't do it."

"WHAT!?" I particularly felt blindsided by this announcement because Thalia and Luke tell my parents everything. So for them and me to not know about an engagement...

"We were sitting on the couch and I had no rings, it was hardly an actual proposal," the child of Zeus defended themself. "You're the one who asked if that meant we could to ring shopping that afternoon."

"Well it wouldn't be very simp behavior or desperate of me to say no." Luke had absolutely no shame in his obsession with his partner, though, which I admired. "Gods forbid a man get excited because he loves his partner."

"I can't believe you guys got engaged without me there." Annabeth commented.

"I can't believe you never mentioned it to me." Jason agreed with Annabeth, nudging his older sibling, who shrugged a response.

"We were on the streets together for like, multiple years and have been plotting against Chiron together since I've been back— we weren't going to not get married eventually." She pointed out. "It was just a matter of who actually asked. Like I said, we were on the couch— it honestly could've been a hypothetical."

"I can't believe my parents didn't say anything." I said. "Did you tell them?"

"Sally knows, I don't know if Gabe does— the day it happened was also the day she went into labor."

I frowned. "Wasn't that's the day you met with Clarisse and Silena, too?"

He nodded. "It was a busy day."

"Wait, wait, hold on, I heard my name." Clarisse, nosiest child of Ares there is, joined our two groups of conversation. "What happened the day we met for lunch?"

"Oh, just—"

"Luke and Thalia got engaged." I ratted them out. "Before the meeting."

"You WHAT!?"

But before Clarisse could beat the shit out of the newly engaged couple, Silena placed a hand on her girlfriends forearm to calm her down and Mr. D emerged from his office, announcing it was time for us to get started.

As we arranged around the primary room of the Big House since there were too many of us for the regular meeting room, everyone introduced themeleves since there were some new faces. It was interesting to see where people chose to sit when we weren't constrained to our usually assigned seats. I personally was seated between Travis and Thalia— with Luke and Annabeth on the other side of Thalia and then Connor and Luca on the other side of my boyfriend.

The most interesting area, to me, was that Grover was sitting on the ground in front of Annabeth, who's with her girlfriend, and with Reyna are all of the other Romans.

And the way they looked at Grover...

I don't know what their opinions on satyrs are, but they must have a different role at their camp than ours, because they seemed put off by him.

Obviously Jason and Octavian were fine, but the newer Romans were confused.

They also definitely gave me a few different weird looks after I introduced myself that I'm trying to not think about.

Trying.

My dad introducing himself seemed to confuse them even more, along with any other demigod here on the council that didn't know that Gabe was my dad.

"Jackson?" Luca questioned, trying to find a resemblance. He looked at me. "I thought you had a mom— you like, thought she died when you first came here, didn't you?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah, that happened to my mom. Gabe's a Jackson because he married my mom when I was like... Basically a baby still."

"Oh. Hm. Interesting." Luca responded, concluding the introductions.

"Alright, with that out of the way, the most important thing is that Chiron is no longer within camp borders." Mr. D told all of us, speaking the most fluently I've ever heard him. "For now, he's at an infirmary on Olympus, and thanks to his leg, it'll be a while before they let him go."

"What about Quintus? Is he alive?" Malcolm asked.

"Please say no." Clarisse added.

"Quintus is within camp borders, but he's restrained and there are two older demigods watching over him." The god answered. "As for his status..."

"He's an automaton." Beckendorf chimed in, explaining to them what we deduced within Bunker 9 earlier. "Bleeds a golden oil, not ichor or blood. Based off of what we know about him, plus finding out that he's an automaton, we believe he might be Daedalus— the creator of the Labyrinth. We don't have confirmation since he's knocked out, but if it is Daedalus, we didn't want to short circuit him without talking to you guys first. I know I'm interested to see what he might have, just from an engineering standpoint."

"Daedalus?" As we knew she would, Annabeth perked up, as well as her brother. "If it's Daedalus, then why... Quintus... Gods, I know it means something. What does it mean?"

"Quintus? As a whole, nothing specific, but quin means five in Latin." Jason supplied. "Maybe it's his fifth name or something? I imagine he must've spent a long time in the Labyrinth before having to come up with a name for himself after they assumed he died."

"That or a fifth body." Malcolm figured. "If he made himself into an automaton, I'm honestly not sure we can kill him— even with no body, he'll probably still live on until he can possess something or someone long enough to build another body."

"Regardless, we should talk to him, even if he ends up being who he says he is, just with bars instead of bones." Silena pointed out. "He was a brutal trainer, but we don't know if he was brutal by his own volition or if it was one of Chiron's ideas."

"Yeah, it wouldn't hurt to get more information." Connor said, then looked around the room. "Speaking of, who masterminded this ploy? I know there were plans for revolt later in the summer, but either I missed a meeting, of this was out of nowhere."

As they had earlier, people looked at Thalia and Luke, who raised their hands in defense.

"Our plans were for later in the summer, since that's when we'd have the most amount of people on our side to help." The eldest son of Hermes insisted. "We were just as shocked as everyone was."

"It was my plan— why else would I go through the effort of summoning you all on such short notice?" Dionysus admitted, and although it didn't shock me given what I knew, there was also something I felt like I was missing. "I had a feeling that today's meeting wouldn't end well, and knowing the old horse, I knew he'd feel righteous in what he was doing, meaning he'd let his guard down. The perfect time for an ambush. It's what he deserves for trying to control when and how the hell I get to see my kids. Now we just have to figure out the settings on the Golden Fleece to keep him out until we get your behind built and support systems put in place."

Luca nearly jumped out of his seat. "We're building more cabins?"

Frowning, the camp director gave him a confused look. "Yeah, kid, no shit— why do you think we exiled the old horse in the first place? There's two adult, certified and licensed mental health specialists on their way here that'll arrive by the end of the week and another counsel member to help with non-mental health things. There's also one trainer who's agreed to come and teach, but they're finishing another job currently, so we'll have to self-sustain for a few weeks until then. As for the safety of older demigods..."

Mr. D motioned to the Roman crew.

"We'd like to offer our assistance in building your own city." Reyna announced, grabbing Annabeth's hand. "As I know many of you have heard, at Camp Jupiter we're connected to our own small city of New Rome, where demigods are able to live normal, safe lives after they graduate from service. And although you're welcome there— right now with a lot of stares and snide remarks, but welcome— we can't accommodate for everyone and we also know that for some of you, New York and the east coast is important to you. So we'll work with a team to talk about what works well in New Rome, and to help with anything you guys need to build your own city."

"We would... Would it be protected by the border?" Lee Fletcher questioned.

Annabeth nodded. "Those sort of technicalities we'll have to figure out, but it'll be a sanctuary city, so it'll be monster free, yeah."

Grover looked up at the daughter of Athena. "What about all of the nature spirits and animals in the area?"

"You'll be involved in the planning process, Grover, don't worry." Annabeth reassured our friend. "We'll consult you guys to make sure as few spirits get displaced as possible, and that those who do get displaced get compensated and have fair warning. There are a few dead patches around the woods, but chances are it'll be on the other side of the woods. I'm going to work with city planners from New Rome after we figure out the best place for it to go, and my siblings will be in charge of designing the details— buildings and homes. Eventually, Beckendorf and his cabin will start to help build, and other cabins will be assigned jobs to help pitch in wherever makes sense."

The daughter of Athena paused.

"That's a ways away, though," she reassured everyone. "We'll start planning ASAP— I'll stay here for the weekend so we can figure out a good location, but we probably won't start building until closer to summer, because building the cabins will be the priority. The goal is to have at least 3 more cabins for this summer, I believe?"

Beckendorf nodded. "Cabin 13 will be for Hades, and for now 14 will be claimed children of minor gods and 15 will be unclaimed kids. That'll be for this summer, and next fall we'll probably rebuild all the cabins to have... I think based off of our population, we said 20 or 21 cabins. This summer, you and your cabin will meet with Annabeth and Malcolm, and then with me and whoever ends up leading on design to tell us what you want the cabin to look like. Within reason— a project this big will cost money and take time, after all, and we don't know exactly how much money we're working with yet."

"We'll figure that out during planning." Annabeth said. "First things first: planning cabins 13-15 and where on camp's property the new sanctuary should go."

"And interrogating Daedalus." Her younger brother mentioned.

"And interrogating Daedalus."

After setting up a plan for keeping an eye on and interrogating who may be an immortal inventor, we closed the meeting and that was it.

Chiron never gave in, but he was gone so that didn't matter.

We did it.

Chapter 107: Things Are Changing

Thalia Grace

When Mr. D said he wanted to talk to us quickly after the meeting, I was a bit confused.

Luke and I, naturally, had questions.

"You didn't think about telling us about this plan this morning?" I questioned.

The god shrugged. "Didn't really come to me until after I left, so no. Plus, I knew you'd be angry I didn't let you fight."

"Uh, yeah, what was that about?" Luke confirmed.

"Chiron has no idea who's working with you guys." Mr. D explained to us as he sat down and summoned a diet coke. "For everyone's sake, he had to think this was a regular uprising, not done by working with you guys, if we want to keep him gone for as long as possible. And my plans we're not going to be responsible for any miscarriage. Gabe would have my head if so. Percy wasn't permitted to fight, either— or, only as a last resort— he was sent with as backup to open up the Bunker where we'll keep Daedalus for now, but the point was to keep him and Gabe away from Chiron's sight since he knows the Jackson's help you guys out in some capacity. So congrats on getting what you wanted— oh, and you're welcome."

"Yeah, I... Thanks, I guess?" I responded. "You don't have your own stipulations, do you? For doing this?"

"Hmm... I'd like to have real diet coke here at camp, not whatever this stuff is." He figured. "Maybe put a good word in with Dad if you ever see him? This is still a punishment, so I have restrictions. It'd be nice if Gio could visit, but I'll make that happen. Maybe help train a few kids before your kid shows up? I assume we're all fighting against granddad, yeah? That's the deal now?"

Sharing a look, Luke and I nodded.

"I think it's too late to stop him from finding a host, but... We'll help fight, yeah." Luke told the god. "Can we talk about that another day? We have somewhere to be like... An hour ago."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, by all the means, go." Mr. D remarked, waving towards the door. "We've done enough for the day. Go home and celebrate."

Doing not quite that, Luke and I left camp, dropping our weapons off at home and heading to the hospital nearest to the Jackson's apartment.

Most of our journey had been relatively quiet— not having a direct hand in what happened with Chiron and with the planning of it made it harder to process since we didn't see any of it.

Since it was later in the day— almost dinner time once we got there— the hospital wasn't too busy, and nobody questioned us when we just went over to the elevator since Sally and Gabe gave us the room number after she gave birth.

"Should we... Knock?" Luke asked as we approached the room. "I've never visited somebody in a normal hospital before."

"Maybe just knock once before opening?"

Doing just that, we heard Sally and Gabe both call out that we could come in as we opened the door, seeing Sally, Gabe, Percy, Travis, and a... A little bundle of blankets.

"Thalia! Luke!" Sally smiled upon seeing us, looking a little worse for wear but better than I expected considering the fact that she shoved an entire human out of a hole that is objectively too small to do so. "You made it! I was getting worried you wouldn't make it. Did your meeting go okay?"

"Well..." Luke began as I sat down on the last free chair in the room. "The meeting itself wasn't great, but the back up plan went well, so it worked out. Mr. D wanted to talk to us for a few minutes after the council meeting we had which is why we're so late, sorry."

"It's alright, I'm here all night." Sally reassured us. "Have you guys had dinner yet? The boys were about to head out to get us some takeout because the hospital food is not good."

"No, and I am starving." I knew the answer to that question, though. Sally and Gabe chuckled. "Are you doing okay? Your body's not secretly falling apart underneath the blanket?"

Sally laughed as the bundle in Gabe's arm let out a little burp, spitting on his shoulder by doing so (which explains why there was a towel on his shoulder).

"I'm doing okay, Thalia." The closest thing I have to a mom promised me with a little smile. "Still in a bit of pain, like you usually are after any major surgery, but that's what the painkillers are for. I can walk, which is good. Mostly, I've been tired."

"Yeah, because you pushed this bean out of you." Gabe said, motioning to their baby in his arms before looking to the younger couple, focusing on me. "Do you want to hold her?"

And, for a moment, I felt myself panic. "Do I— yeah, of course."

After all, that was the whole point of this visit, wasn't it?

Handing the baby to me, Gabe sat down next to wife, talking with her about something as I took the first few seconds to make sure I wouldn't accidentally kill Estelle Jackson by the way in which I held her: her head was supported and her body wasn't at a weird angle.

Once I wasn't worried about that, I realized that Estelle was just... Looking at me.

Usually, if something was staring at me, I'd size them up. Try and get them to back off. Obviously I wouldn't do that with a baby, but when I was younger and Jason did it, I remember that I'd stare back at him or I'd give him a weird look.

But with Estelle...

You insist that it's because you hate— Aphrodite's voice came back to me in that moment. You hate your mother, your father, your upbringing. But in reality, it's because you love.

Softened around the edges, I looked at Luke, who met my gaze. Who understood what that look meant.

Your entire life you've acted out of love.

He nodded.

A smile creeping on both of our faces, I looked back to Estelle, wondering what sort of games and mishaps our babies would get into in a few years time.

Coming from an unloving home, eventually becoming a run away, I learned at a young age— too young of an age, some would say, that you couldn't trust others. People were terrible; vain, selfish, and unconcerned with anybody's survival besides their own. After all, Luke wasn't the first person I'd tried to join forces with on the road.

He was the first one to keep my trust, though. The first one to not rob me and run while we slept in shifts. To not try and turn me in for the prize money they'd offered since my mom was famous.

The first one to believe me when I talked about not just my mom, but my dad and my little brother.

It took a while, to learn how to trust Luke, because in learning to be wary of others, I'd built these walls around myself. A hard shell that Luke, slowly but surely, picked his way at.

Once I'd let him in, and by consequence Annabeth, I'd hardened it once again. Grover Underwood had seemed to confirm my theories— somebody who called himself a protector, but couldn't hold his own in a fight? Wouldn't even try to veer us away from the cyclopes? From the monsters that nearly killed me? Even if he believed us, even if he listened to all of our expierences, when I died I felt validated in my initial distrust of our protector.

Over the years, as a tree, able to... Hear things, sometimes, my anger subsided. Besides Annabeth, Grover was my most frequent visitor, and he was rightfully riddled with guilt. He blamed himself for what happened, because yeah, it was his fault.

It wasn't malicious, though. Truly, it was an accident. So by the time I was revived, and upon hearing the circumstances of them being able to procure the Golden Fleece, I was able to forgive the satyr. To see that he wasn't as horrible as I first assumed.

Because, when I was younger, those assumptions saved my life. Secured my survival.

Even now, I remain suspicious of so many people— Octavian seems like a nice kid, but he gives me a weird vibe that makes me worry for my younger brother. Even Annabeth now: she says she's with us. That she's on our side against Chiron, and while she'd been at the meeting earlier today... What would she have done when it came down to facing off against Chiron, face to face? Could she have betrayed him? Her change of heart seemed sudden, considering how intensely she seemed to be against Luke and I in December.

After all, three months isn't as long as people think it is. For somebody to change.

We'll never know, though, unless the horse crawls back to camp this summer.

It didn't matter who it was— I'd learned to keep people an arm's length away until they fought their way closer. Sally and Gabe, between my trust of Percy and Luke both, didn't have to fight nearly as hard as others did, but it was the only way I knew how to interact with others. It's the way I've been nearly my entire life. A lesson I learned young— cemented when Jason was given away like an unwanted present.

In spite of this hard-wired lesson, of this way I had lived for so long, I couldn't bring myself to hold any coldness towards Estelle.

I'm not sure if I'd say I melted, but I certainly softened as I held the bundle of blankets who was no more than a few days old, unaware of the cutthroat nature of this world. Of its violence and injustices.

And as I held Estelle Jackson, I also knew that I'd do whatever I could in order to keep her from having to learn about them.

•••
Luke Castellan

It was taking a lot for me to not burst out in excitement and relief and joy about today's developments in front of Percy and Travis.

After all, it would be one thing if Gabe saw it— both Thalia and I figured that if Sally knew something, Gabe also did (and vice versa), but we'd also figured that Percy didn't know.

And, until Thalia was a little further along, we were hoping to keep it that way. Initially, and until literally minutes ago, we didn't even know for sure if we were going to have the kid or not. But that wasn't the only reason we didn't tell everyone— Thalia's still early in pregnancy, and if he miscarriages, we don't want everyone knowing. A few people, sure. We'll probably call my mom after this.

But if anything happens, we'd rather not be overwhelmed with everyone else responding to it. They'd mean well of course, but it's...

For now, it's none of their business. In a month or so when they're out of the first trimester, we'll tell everyone.

"Careful, Luke," Travis warned me as he walked past the two of us to fill up a water bottle using the sink in the attached bathroom here. "You're going to get him pregnant if you keep looking at Thalia like that."

The passing statement made Thalia and I freeze for just a moment— like any couple would when a comment like that is made, catching them off guard.

Or maybe it was too long. Either way, it didn't matter.

"No." Percy was the one to connect the dots, leaning so far forward in his seat that I worried he's fall out. The son of Poseidon looked at the two of us, then settled on Thalia as Gabe even seemed confused about the situation (Sally was making a point of drinking from her water).

"What?" Thalia questioned, trying to not give it away.

"That's why Mr. D wouldn't let you out of the Big House while everyone else took care of Chiron and Daedalus?" Our little shit of who was essentially a little brother questioned. "You're pregnant?"

"I— even if—" but Thalia stumbling over the response gave away our most recent predicament. She exhaled carefully. "How would Mr. D even know if I were pregnant?"

Percy frowned. "Because he's a god? And you met with him this morning so he would've had time to... Notice, I guess? I'm pretty sure most of the gods can sense those sort of things. Oh, and my mom's been super insistent that you guys visit, so I'm assuming that you guys are mean and told her and nobody else. Is that why you were freaking out the other day?"

"We—" Thalia and I shared a quick glance as I let them handle the start of this. "We didn't know if we were going to keep it or not." He paused as I heard Travis scurry back out here from the bathroom, visibly baffled. "I was freaking out the other day because I found out that morning— no shit I told your mom, my mom is six feet under and was probably hopped up on so many drugs both times she was pregnant that even if she weren't alive, it wouldn't be worth asking. If you'd given us like, a month, we would've told you."

"A MONTH?" Travis piped in. "That's so long."

"Well a pregnancy lasts around nine, so you'd still know plenty ahead of time." I reminded my little brother. "And we didn't want to say anything if we ended up deciding to not have the kid— until Mr. D did what he did, things were looking kind of grim. We honestly didn't come to an agreement to keep the kid until... Well, until we got here, more or less. Also, we found out three days ago— you're telling you've never had a secret for three days?"

"Plus, miscarriages mostly happen during the first trimester— we were going to tell everyone once that passed so that way we wouldn't have to then break shitty news if, gods forbid, that were to happen." Thalia defended, looking pointedly at our brothers. "So don't go telling everyone. It's our news, not yours."

"I can't tell Connor?"

"No." I looked at Percy. "And you can't tell Annabeth."

The son of Poseidon put his hands up in defense. "I wouldn't want to be caught in those cross hairs anyways. My lips are sealed."

"You can buy my silence," Travis wagered. "With one of those cool knives."

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I'll see if Beckendorf can make you a knife. What kind of metal—"

Before I could finish my statement, though, it felt as if thought there was a needle thrown at my eye and through my head, a searing pain erupting as I put my hands over the area, doubling down in pain.

"Luke!" I heard at least one person yell in the distance.

My grandson would appear to be in a condition considerably better than what you've mentioned previously. Kronos woke up after barely letting me get sleep last night. Are you certain he wouldn't be fit as my vessel? It would save you and your baby a lot of stress.

"You piece of..." I began before realizing that I was talking out loud to somebody that's in my head. You get me or you get nobody. Percy physically seems to be fine, but mentally he's still fragile.

Hm. The titan huffed. Very well. He's a bit too snarky for my preferences regardless, but I thought that I may as well inquire one last time. You've grown strong, great grandson. It is time to prepare yourself, for soon I will wake and you will have to decend into the maze to fulfill your oath. If only our related were any closer, this trip wouldn't have to be made, but we persevere.

And if I don't decend into the ma— I began to protest before another wave of pain rushed through me, making me wonder if my eye was going to explode from the pressure.

"You swore an oath to me, Luke Castellan." The voice of the titan Lord was so loud I wasn't sure if it was only in my head anymore. But there something else that I could sense in the back of my mind as he spoke. "And you wouldn't wish to cross Styx, would you?"

And just like that, my body gave out as I collapsed and blacked out, coming to with Gabe, Thalia, and Gabe's daughter of Apollo friend who must work at this hospital all around me as I laid on my side on the ground in front of the chair I'd been in before I blacked out. Thalia wasn't holding her anymore, but I could hear Estelle crying.

Thalia, becoming used to these, was the first to recognize my return. "Hi, babe," he whispered as I registered her hand in my hair. "How you feeling?"

I smiled as much as I could through the pain. "Besides the throbbing headache? I'm okay. How long was I out?"

"Almost a half hour," Gabe's friends answered for me. "Your eyes were open, but you were unresponsive. Is this normal for you? Because even for demigods, this isn't normal behavior, Mr. Castellan."

Not wanting to make the headache worse, I hummed instead of nodded my head.

"Yeah, it's been a few weeks now." I answered her question. "Headaches have been going on for longer, but it's. It normal, it's because of... Him."

"Him?"

"Kronos." I clarified, closing my eyes since the lights in here we're way too bright all of a sudden. "Even though things are going well with the gods, all things considered, Kronos is still stirring, and he's doing so in my head. The more talkative he is, the worse the headache. The black out is probably my body preparing to become a host or a vessel. That's still pretty new."

"I'm not sure it's just preparing anymore, kid." Gabe broke the news to me. "Before you crumpled, your eyes went yellow there for a minute and the way you were talking... Didn't sound like you."

I frowned. "What did I say?"

"It was Kronos reminding you that you made an oath to him, and threatening Styx if you didn't go through with it." Thalia said as I could see them fighting to find something remotely positive about this. "But hey, at least now we know there will be some indicator that he's all up in your business, right? Your eyes will change color."

Sitting up, I sighed. "I guess so, yeah."

But the silence that followed my response spoke louder than any words could, giving way to fear. Anxiety.

Feeling as though there was a layer of film over my brain, I was able to get back into the chair fine. The demigod doctor checked my reflexes, my ability to walk and talk. Answer basic questions. Said that I was fine.

Even great, considering the fact that I'd been possessed.

Using the p word killed the mood even more, somehow. When the doctor left, nobody asked me if I wanted to see or hold Estelle. I didn't dare ask.

After all, what would a toddler do with an infant in his hands?

Eat it, famously.

Saying something off to my side, I felt Thalia place a hand on my arm before taking my hand to help me up. Saying something else, I realized that we were leaving and I barely managed a wave, letting my partner take the lead out of the hospital as I mostly just focused on keeping one foot in front of the other.

We were supposed to celebrate tonight.

Celebrate Chiron being gone. Celebrate the family we were starting. Celebrate another step forward in our lives.

But, living up to his title, the Crooked One had other plans.

Rather than allow us a night of celebration, he did the one thing he could to ruin our night: take control of my body for the first time.

Which begs the question: were all of those episodes I had my body preparing to host Kronos, or was that just Kronos fighting to try and get control of my body when he didn't have enough power yet?

He's been in my head a long time, after all. Even before any oath was made, he was there.

He's always been there.

And now, slowly, he's pushing me out.

How do I even stop a titan from possessing me?

You don't. His voice washed over me. Or else I'll give you a front row seat to the most horrific things your body could handle. It's been ages since I've tasted flesh of any sorts— your child can't taste much worse than my own children.

I froze.

You wouldn't.

The titan cackled. Not if you keep your head down. Remember, child, that that half breed son of mine wasn't our only target. We've only just begun. Remember your mother. Remember Thalia. Remember your cabinmates.

Evidently energetic today, Kronos flashed old memories in my head. My mom losing her mind after my dad left for the last time. Thalia dying on the hill, them talking about Jason being taken as payment. The general misery that came partnered with the mischievism of cabin 11.

Standing in the apartment, looking out the window, I felt Thalia's arms wrap around me, resting her head on my back as he let out a sight, and that was it.

We stayed there for a while, neither of us speaking. So many things happened today that it left a lot to think about. A lot to take in, process, and try to come up with next steps for. Some in our power, some not.

The first thing was Chiron: now out of camp, leaving Mr. D in charge, which... Seems questionable, but better than the Quintus/Daedalus guy.

Regardless, it'll probably be fine for now. He seemed not just open to having other adults there, but he willingly called some in, and he was letting the council speak during the meeting. That's not a large concern, we'll just make sure that he doesn't get out of line with what the campers want and need. Chiron's injuries should make him a non-issue for at least a few weeks— ambrosia and nectar will heal a lot of his injuries, but Apollo and his medics can be as annoying about that limp Chiron's always had as they want to be.

The tension between Grover and Percy is getting better, but if it persists into summer, it could prove problematic if there's a quest.

Not that Percy should have to go on another quest— I doubt he'll be given another one after sneaking out on two of them, but depending on who's given a quest...

If Annabeth is given a quest, she'll probably bring both boys on it with her and that could cause issues. But that's also out of our hands ans theoretical right now.

Daedalus possibly being alive with proof of an entrance to the Labyrinth existing within camp... Would be exciting if it didn't happen at the same time as Kronos insisting that it was almost time for me to decend into the maze.

Assuming the Labyrinth has entrances to both the mortal world and the underworld, that would explain why the titan would mention it. To pull up your life force from the depth of Tartarus into the mortal world probably takes a lot more energy, but would also be riskier than going just under it's surface into the Labyrinth.

Would there be any other advantages to going into the Labyrinth besides the things that would benefit Kronos? We'd have to question Daedalus to find out, probably.

If I'm going to host Kronos, though, and now it's certain that I will, I'll need to come up with a plan to best him. To retain control of my mind or... Or somebody else to be able to pull the trigger when he wouldn't expect it.

Who would do it, though? I couldn't ask that of Thalia or Annabeth, and Kronos knows that.

I'll have to think on it.

Either way, Kronos still wants to go after the gods, meaning war is still likely, meaning...

Meaning that my death is still probable.

"Hey," Thalia whispered, urging me to turn around and face them. "Guess what came in the mail today."

"What?" I asked, hoping it wasn't our taxes, because I'm fairly certain we have to pay in for those.

Being an adult is annoying at times.

Grabbing something on the table behind him, Thalia presented me with a little velvet box and a smile.

"Our rings."

And even after being momentarily possessed and faced with my own mortality, I couldn't help but smile back, a droplet of excitement cutting through my anxiety.

"Our rings," I said in return, looking at the box, then at my partner. "Can I open it?"

"D— wait." Thalia stopped herself from saying duh, grabbing my emergency cell phone from the table and opening the camera and propping it so the camera could see us.

"Love, what on Earth are you doing?" I questioned.

"Making sure our friends and family don't kill us later." They told me in a lighter tone, giving me a kiss. "Anyways, Luke Castellan, I have a question for you."

I rolled my eyes, realizing what was going on.

"Yes, Thalia, I'll—"

"Ah!" He cut me off, putting a finger on my lips. "You can't answer a question I haven't asked."

Raising an eyebrow, I gave them the silence they needed to ask a question I already knew the answer to.

"Luke Castellan," Thalia said pointedly before her voice softened and they released his finger from my lips. "I love you so much, and I probably don't say it enough. I don't know how much time we have left, and I have no idea how these next few weeks, much less years are going to work out. But what I do know is that I could never fathom what would happen to my life if you weren't in it. I know we can't afford it right now, but with the things that we're going to go through together, I want to ask anyways."

As Thalia went down on one knee, though, this went from funny to making me cry after they gave that little speech.

With tears in his eyes, Thalia opened the ring box, causing my own tears to fall.

"Will you marry me?"

"I've already said yes twice, of course I'm going to say it a third time." I pulled my fiance into a hug. "Fuck you for making me cry. I love you."

Thalia cracked a smile into my chest.

"I love you, too," she returned, pulling out of the hug so we could put the rings on. "And you've already done the first part, there's a positive test to prove it— but I'm sure doing it again wouldn't hurt."

I raised an eyebrow, intruiged by this suggestion, giving Thalia a kiss and wrapping my arms around them. "Are you sure it won't hurt our little clump of cells?"

"Hmmm according to the doctor, our little clump of cells won't be able to know anything's happening." The child of Zeus informed me with another kiss. "I'm sure it won't hurt anything," they gave me another kiss. "So we can do it as much as we want. But I think I should stop recording before we subject anyone to seeing that."

Sighing, I let my partner go long enough for them to stop the video and set the phone on the table before wrapping his arms around me again, pulling my in for a kiss.

"Do you want to?" Thalia asked, looking into my eyes. She ran her thumb along my cheek. "I know that you know who can sometimes put you out of the mood, but there's still a lot from today to celebrate."

Smiling, I looped my fingers through his waistband, a wave of warmth rushing through me and settling into my boxers. Pulling them up, I spoke into their mouth. "I think you know who can look the other way while we celebrate. Promise to tell me if it hurts?"

"I'm not sure you're capable of hurting me, Luke Castellan."

•••

Laying in bed together after showering, both of us naked besides being in boxers (because sometimes Thalia will wear my boxers if they don't want to put on regular underwear) and wearing our rings, the two of us were beat, but I was kind of obsessed with the rings.

We'd ordered the rings from a local vintage shop, but had them re-sized and polished, which is why they came in the mail. I myself was just really excited at the prospect of having engagement rings and having a physical token of our relationship so I wasn't that picky about what the rings themselves looked like. After all, we'll wear them for a while, but it's the engagement ring, not the wedding ring, so it didn't have to be perfect.

Thalia, with more of a head on their shoulders about this than me, wanted to make sure that the ring would serve as reminders to each other who we are and who the other person is if or when things happen, though. Primarily when Kronos and I end up sharing my body and I'm not always the one in control, but even when we have to be apart for whatever reason or if we get into an argument.

That being said, at the third shop we'd wandered into, we ended up finding the rings we decided to get: Thalia's ring was a small darker gray band that had a little bit of texture, like tree branches, and the stone was an oval aquamarine— a light blue color, not too different from the color of my eyes. My ring was a band of the same dark metal, with leaves and twigs ingrained into the metal and a square electric blue Sapphire turned to be shaped like a diamond was set in my ring. On either side of the stone, where berries or something else might be on the actual tree, there were six much smaller sapphires— the color of which matched Thalia's eyes.

Originally, there had only been four of the small stones, but we asked if they could add two more. After all, six was the number of years in which I waited for Thalia to come back to life.

Seeing those rings together, even though they weren't sold as a pair because of their different stones, were too perfect for us to pass up.

So no, the engagement rings didn't have to be perfect.

But they were anyways.

For us, they were perfect.

I don't know what's going to happen this summer. Right now I have no plan on how I'll survive sharing my body with Kronos besides through spite, but I know that I'll do it because I have to do it.

I have to do it not just for me— hell, I have to do it for everyone but me. For Thalia, for our baby, for my mother and the Jackson's and Annabeth and for all of my siblings.

For all of the demigods who still aren't sure if change is possible.

For all of them, I have to survive.

Notes:

Y'all didn't forget about the actual primary antagonist of this series did you?