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Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Two: Introduction to Atlantis

Beta: ShadowofAxios

Rhode was having breakfast with her father and her stepmother when the doors to the dining room were suddenly slammed open.

"Where is she?" Triton demanded loudly as he swam in radiating impatient excitement.

He was dressed in ornate armor, which made sense as according to what Rhode knew Triton had been out mobilizing their father's armies for the potential war that was brewing between their family and Zeus.

"Hello son. Welcome ba-" Father tried to say in greeting but Triton paid him no mind. Instead, he quickly zeroed in on Rhode and literally teleported to her side.

"Little sister, are you alright? Have the wounds from your fight with Electra been healed?" Her elder brother asked in quick succession as he took her hands and looked her over worriedly. "Do I have to go hunt that nymph down and introduce her to my trident?"

Rhode just blinked in shocked confusion. Not only because she was struggling to catch what the god was saying with how fast he was talking but also because she was confused by the sheer concern that he radiated. Sure, she knew her divine family cared about her wellbeing more than most gods did for their demigod relatives, but she never imagined it was to this extent.

"Triton," Amphitrite barked sternly. "Slow down. Can't you see you're startling your sister?"

"Oh," the god of navies said, looking chastised. "Sorry, Rhode. I was just worried."

"It's, um, okay. I get it." Rhode reassured her brother. "And I'm fine. All healed up. No need to go after Electra either. We don't need to escalate things into a war if we can help it."

Triton pouted at the last bit. "You are too merciful, but I understand where you are coming from. Though, if there is a war-"

"Then, son, you will have to wait in line." Dad said, shooting his son and heir a serious look. "I get first crack at Electra."

"Just leave something for me to smack around afterwards and we have a deal." Triton shot back with a grin.

Rhode felt heartened by the two gods' very serious declaration of intent to avenge her even as her stepmother rolled her eyes. Though since she didn't say anything the demigod imagined she agreed with the sentiment behind them even if not what they were saying.

Rhode was still getting over her brother's concern for her when said god turned to her once more.

"Rhode, does your wardrobe need updating?"

"I have handled that," Amphitrite said, chuckling with amusement at the pout her statement engendered from her son.

"Then has a welcome ball been organized for Rhode?"

"It's tomorrow night." Dad said, surprising Rhode who was hearing this for the first time. "We were waiting for some proper formalwear to be made ready for her."

If possible Triton's pout grew even more pronounced.

"Then… Ah! I know!" He declared, buoyed by whatever idea had struck him. "Why don't I take you out on a tour of our domains? I need to do a tour of them anyways as part of our preparedness review. Taking you along to see the sights would be killing two birds with one stone as the land dwellers say. What do you think sister?"

"Uh, I'm okay with that. Dad? Amphitrite?" Rhode asked, turning to her father and stepmother for their approval.

"You will have to keep a close eye on her, Triton, but you have my approval." Dad said easily enough.

"Yes," Amphitrite added. "An assassin already attacked her once where she should have been safe. We cannot let that happen a second time."

"Do not worry, Father, Mother." Triton assured his parents. "I will keep my little sister safe. I swear it."

Rhode's heart swelled at her brother's words.

In the afternoon later the next day, Rhode was talking to Luke and Annabeth over I.M. in her room. She had already caught them up on being in Atlantis etc. long ago. They weren't happy she was stuck in Atlantis but understood the necessity of it and hoped she could return to Camp soon, so right now she's just catching them up on the upcoming ball.

"All this getting you to pretend you're some kind of princess is bullshit, Rhode." Luke said with an annoyed shake of head. "I don't know why you're putting up with it."

"You do realize that I kinda am." Rhode reminded him.

"She is Lord Poseidon's daughter." Annabeth added. "And he is the King of Atlantis, so she is a princess in a way."

"Well, she shouldn't be forced to act like one if she doesn't want to." Luke declared with a roll of his eyes. "She's only doing it because Poseidon and Amphitrite are forcing her to."

"That's not the case at all." Rhode retorted with a frown. "Amphitrite explained why it would be a good thing but it was my decision to play along to not embarrass my family. I'm just helping them out while I'm here. Sure, it's kind of weird, but nothing I can't manage. Heck, it's even a little nice."

"Is that why you are always wearing those fancy dresses nowadays, Rhode?" Annabeth teased. "You're a regular reenactor now, dressing up in period dresses everyday."

"Hey, I make this corset look good!" Rhode mock raged with a small snort as she ran her hands over the corseted bodice of the dress she was wearing. "But to be honest… I actually do like dressing up like this. Not saying I'll dress up like this all the time when I get back. But sometimes? I think I'd like to."

"Ethan and Emily will love to hear that," Annabeth said with a smile. "But whatever the case, so long as you're happy. I'm happy for you too."

"Thanks Bethy."

"So~ Any other nice dresses you've got in your new wardrobe that you haven't shown me yet?" Annabeth asked, a sparkle in her eyes. "I want to see!"

"I think I saw one dress that was made out of seaweed! It's hilarious, but apparently it's highly fashionable down here."

"Really!? I've got to see it!"

"Sure, Estella- Oh, you've brought it over already. Thank you!" Rhode said, as the aforementioned Nereid handmaiden held up the aforementioned dress in front of the I.M. mirror so Annabeth could see it clearly.

"And you have handmaidens? You really are a princess now." Rhode actually blushed at this, but thankfully Bethy didn't comment and instead turned her attention to the dress. "And the dress? It looks actually nice, huh. Go figure. Guess with someone like Lady Amphitrite helping you pick it out, you couldn't go wrong."

"I know right? Anyways, there are a couple more nice ones I think you'd like to see."

"Really?"

"Yup," Rhode said with a mischievous grin as the discussion devolved into a chat between herself and Bethy about her new clothes.

Luke didn't add anything further to the discussion, just sat there looking pissed. Rhode didn't really know why. What got him so riled up? Was it because they had been talking about fashion and it was too girly for him? Surely not, right?

"Hey Luke," Rhode said, hoping to pull her friend back into the conversation. "What's been happening in Camp lately?"

"Not much since you checked in with Li yesterday," Luke said with a disinterested shrug.

"That's not true," Annabeth said with an raised eyebrow. "Chiron left Camp last night. Something about a new demigod that Grover found. Apparently he claims the kid is 'powerful' and he wanted a second opinion."

Luke had an odd look at the mention of how the kid was powerful. Rhode would almost consider it covetous. Like he somehow wanted the kid's power for himself.

Surely, he can't be thinking that. Rhode thought as she shook her head. I must just be imagining things.

"Well, I hope Grover has better luck this time. It's his last chance after going through training again, right? If he fails this time, he won't get another chance to get his Searcher's License, right?"

Luke and Bethy agreed with a shared nod.

"Apologies, my lady." Thekla, her other Nereid handmaiden, cut in. "But we need to start getting ready for the ball soon."

"That time already? Man, it flies." Rhode said with a sigh before she turned back to her friends. "Alright guys. I love you. Hopefully this whole thing blows over soon and we can go back to how things were. Tell Su and Lee I love them too and I'll catch up with them later. And help me drop by the infirmary to check on Jack too if you can find the time."

"We will," Bethy promises whilst Luke just gave a half-hearted shrug.

Rhode frowned at Luke's response, but guessed she couldn't get more out of him.

"Bye guys, Rhode out!" With that the daughter of Poseidon deactivated the I.M.

Rhode was dressed in a dark blue floral print, beaded dress made of tulle and satin and felt slightly uncomfortable.

She had been wearing a lot of dresses lately to fit in as the princess of the House of Atlantis that she was and she was somewhat used to them. They were a lot more feminine than she was used to sure, but those dresses and what she was wearing today were completely different. The stuff she had been wearing day to day since arriving in Atlantis at least covered everything or almost so and so made her feel safe. If she was to be put on display like a princess, she at least wanted that little bit of comfort at least. But the dress that Amphitrite had got her to wear tonight exposed her shoulders and the v-neck cut of its neckline showcased her bosom in a way that made her just a touch uncomfortable.

Now, don't get her wrong, she wasn't adverse to attention. Nor was it new to her. She'd had plenty of admirers since she started, ahem, growing into her figure but that was when she wasn't openly putting on a show for onlookers and could ignore them. But as a princess, like she said, she just couldn't do that. She had to give a good impression, in every way possible, so as to avoid embarrassing her family. Even if doing so made Rhode hyper aware of all the looks from the members of her Dad's court who were looking at her. Some of them, more than she would like to admit even, doing so like a slice of meat they'd like to devour. Some even literally.

"Relax, my lady." Estella whispered reassuringly into her ear as the three of them lurked in a corner of the ballroom where they had retreated to as soon as it was polite to do so.

Strictly speaking it wasn't exactly polite for the ball's guest of honour to hide away like this. But Amphitrite and Triton had assured her that it was fine to take a break after the introductions were done and had even escorted her to this very corner, so she supposed it was alright. If she was away too long, she was sure one of them would come fetch her.

"I'll try Estella," Rhode told the nymph with a grateful smile.

Both her handmaidens offered her reassuring smiles in reply and Rhode felt immensely grateful for their support.

Suddenly there was a burst of light accompanying an incoming teleportation and Rhode turned towards its source with a frown.

"I thought all the expected guests had already arrived?" Rhode asked as she swam/walked towards the new arrival.

"They have," Thekla said whilst exchanging a confused look with Estella.

They were just through the crowd and caught a glimpse of the unexpected guest when both of Rhode's handmaidens gasped at the sight of the woman that stood before Triton. Her hair was as dark as the abyss of the sea, her eyes a haunting blue that seemed to pierce the deepest of boundaries with a mere glance. Coral decorated her flowing black dress like little colored stars and she further accessorized her look by wearing a fishing net for a shawl.

She's got to be a goddess. But who though? And why would her showing up cause such a reaction from Estella and Thekla?

"Lady Despoina?" Estella said, blinking in confusion. "Why is she here? She never attends any events down here in Atlantis."

"Lady Despoina?" Rhode asked as she tried to place the name. "Isn't she the goddess of mystery? Dad's daughter with Aunt Demeter?"

"Yes, my lady." Thekla confirmed just as the goddess in question turned away from exchanging what looked like heated words with Triton and caught a glimpse of Rhode.

The look lasted only a few seconds, but somehow Rhode felt like Despoina had managed to see down to the darkest depths of her being with just that one brief glance.

It might have been the case too, as the goddess quickly looked away and with a victorious smirk she teleported away.

"Uh, what just happened?" Rhode said, giving voice to the confusion that permeated the entire ballroom.

"I do not know, Rhode," Amphitrite said as she drifted over, a frown on her face. "But I fear it is nothing good."

"Yes," Triton said in agreement as he too began making a beeline towards Rhode. "Nothing ever good comes with a visit from Despoina."

"You only say that son because Despoina won Eurotas' affections where you failed." Dad said with a laugh and a dismissive shake of his head as he too came over.

"And my concerns husband?" Amphitrite asked, with an arched eyebrow. "How are you going to dismiss them?"

Dad rolled his eyes.

"You're letting your feelings for Despoina cloud your judgement Amphitrite," Dad told her. "Everyone knows you don't like her."

Both Triton and Amphitrite frowned at Dad's dismissive attitude and Rhode was inclined to agree. While she wasn't sure Despoina meant her harm, Rhode couldn't shake the feeling that the goddess was up to something.

"Now enough of this foolishness," Dad said with a tone of mild rebuke. "This is a ball. Go mingle and enjoy yourselves."

"Yes Dad," Rhode said, even as it was the last thing she wanted to do.

Even as she said she'd go mingle, Rhode didn't know the first thing on how exactly she was supposed to do that. Thankfully, Estella and Thekla were there to guide her and with their help she made a circuit of the room and did her best to make herself look open to conversation.

Many approached her but generally did not make much of an impression on her. The nereids and various other daimons of the court all acted overawed in her presence. None of the gods present came over, seemingly content to just observe her from a distance.

They probably think interacting with a demigod is below them or something.

"It is more accurate to say my peers fear interacting with you and incurring Lord Poseidon's wrath." A handsome youth said as he came over.

"Greetings, Lord Palaemon." Rhode said with a curtsy, remembering the god's name from the formal introductions at the start of the ball. "Did you read my mind?"

"No, that would be rude." The Protector of sailors said with a grin that had most of the nereids, fortunately excluding Estella and Thekla, around them swooning. "But it was not hard to deduce based on your expression, Lady Rhode. It is a common misunderstanding demigods, especially those of the Big Three or the Olympians, make about us gods. That we universally look down upon half-bloods."

"My apologies, Lord Palaemon, it seems I have misjudged you and the other gods." Rhode said with an apologetic bow. All whilst thanking Lady Sophrosyne that she was able to manage any reply besides swooning.

Divinity really was unfair. Seriously, how could someone be so handsome? Rhode blamed her hormones. Her now highly questionable hormones.

"No offense taken. Like I said it is a common misconception to make. After all, your belief is not entirely untrue. However, it is often tempered and mixed with fear of a demigod's divine parent. It is not uncommon for such parents to take serious offense and exact retribution should they perceive a minor god has mistreated one of their children in any way."

"I see," Rhode nodded, feeling enlightened. "Though might I presume that you did not come over to teach me this, Lord Palaemon?"

"Oh, yes. When I heard about the vaulted daughter of our great Lord Poseidon had finally arrived here in Atlantis? I told myself I just had to see her for myself. My dear Princess Rhode, I know we have already exchanged introductions but let me do so again. I am Palaemon, god of sharks, harbors and sailors. I am honored to meet you."

Rhode felt he was laying it on thick, but then again in a divine court, these kinds of things were normal right? She nodded and offered her hand, which he readily took.

"Hello Lord Palaemon, it's a pleasure to meet you as well." Rhode curtsied with one hand as the god kissed her offered hand, his lips lingering a bit longer then she liked.

Pulling her hand away as gracefully as she could manage, Rhode took a step away from the shark god. It was a clear sign that she wanted to end the conversation but if the god perceived it, he chose not to acknowledge it.

"I would like to be friends with you, Princess, if it were possible." He said, offering her his supernaturally perfect smile once more.

"I would like that," Rhode said politely as she took another step away from Palaemon, even as he took one himself to close the distance.

Okay. This is officially crossing over into the uncomfortable category. Rhode concluded. Uh! I dunno if anyone can hear me, but Dad, Amphitrite, Triton? Anyone? A little help?

"Truly?" Palaemon said, his smile growing even more broad. "I am honoured. When is the next time that you are available my lady? I would very much like to show you my Megalodon."

Is he being literal or is that a metaphor? Rhode thought even as she suppressed a shudder. Either way she wanted no part in what Palaemon was offering.

"Palaemon! Ease off my sister." Triton said with a smile as he appeared out of nowhere and put an arm around the lower ranked god. "You're being too forward and making her uncomfortable."

"I was only wishing to show our Princess a proper tour of Atlantis. Nothing sinister, Lord Triton."

"Well too bad, Palaemon, because I've got that problem situated." Triton said, the smile that Rhode realized was forced never leaving his face. "It's my way of spoiling my sister. Father and Mother covered everything else."

"Is that so?" Palaemon said with a sigh. "That is disappointing. I had hoped to get to know Lady Rhode a little better."

"Well… Maybe you can help me on the tour of the sights? Join us for a bit even?" Triton suggested with just a tinge of frustration. "Tell you what! Let's go over there and discuss the details. We can give Rhode a breather in the meantime and surprise her with what we come up with. That sound good?"

"It sounds like a brilliant idea. After you, Lord Triton."

Rhode sent her divine brother a mental thumbs-up.

"Let us not let Lord Triton's sacrifice be in vain shall we?" A familiar voice said as Thetis of all people suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hooking an arm around one of Rhode's pulled her away. "He can't stand Lord Palaemon, so being so nice to him must be torturous for him."

Rhode winced and made a mental note to do something nice to repay her brother later. Now though, she had something just as, if not more, important to do. But first there was a minor mystery she had to figure out.

"Lady Thetis-"

"Just Thetis will do, Princess." Thetis said cutting her off, teasingly using Rhode's title as a mild rebuke as they stopped a safe distance away from the two gods.

"Thetis then," Rhode acknowledged with a nod as Thetis let her arm go. "What are you doing here? I didn't see you at the formal introductions."

"I wasn't one of the main guests," Thetis told her with an amused smile. "I am after all despite my fame, only a Nereid. I was not included in those you exchanged formal introductions at the start of the ball."

"Oh," Rhode said, blushing as she realized just how uninformed she was about court etiquette. Surely, knowing this was part of the basics.

"Don't worry about it, child." Thetis reassured her. "You will learn what you need to and Estella and Thekla will be there to assist you as you do."

"It is our honour to do so, sister." Rhode's two Nereid handmaidens said with a nod to their much more famous sister.

Well, I guess that's the mystery solved. Rhode thought even as she offered her handmaidens grateful smiles. Now comes the hard part.

"Uh, Thetis, there is something I need to give you."

"I have an idea of what you have in mind." Thetis said with a sombre expression. "It is my son's shield?"

"Yes," Rhode said with a grave look of her own as she turned to Estella, who presented the broken remains of the Shield of Achilles to the legendary warrior's mother.

Rhode had known that it was possible that Thetis would attend the ball and had made sure to have the remains of the Shield on hand for just the occasion, even going so far as to have contacted Su back in Camp via I.M. beforehand and had her ship it to her by Hermes Express.

Thetis' breath hitched in dismay as she looked at the wreck of her son's shield.

"I'm glad to have it back," Thetis admitted as she took the wreck back with shaking hands.

"I am so sorry." Rhode said, feeling saddened as if she had failed the Nereid in a way.

"No, no, it's not your fault." Thetis said with a shake of her head as she held the Shield to her chest. "I will have it repaired and returned to you as soon as possible."

Rhode didn't know if that was what she wanted. She knew how important the Shield was to Thetis and she'd already destroyed it once. Could she risk taking it back and putting it in danger of being wrecked again? Sure, it was a powerful defensive artifact but… She already had one of those already in the Pallas Armor didn't she? Did she still need the Shield of Achilles too?

Before she could decide though, Thetis departed cradling the Shield.

"Did you just make Thetis cry?" A burly man of a god said angrily as he stormed up to Rhode a moment after the aforementioned nymph had fled.

"She was crying?" Rhode asked, concerned. A pit forming in her stomach.

"Yes, she was." The god said, radiating anger. "Now tell me what you did, mortal, to bring one of the most kind-hearted women in all the world to tears!"

"I just was returning her son's shield to her, Lord Glaucus." Rhode told the god of fishermen. "It was broken in a battle…"

"Typical," the former mortal spat, sounding disgusted. "I suppose it was broken because of you?"

"Yes, it was. I-"

"And you waited till now to return it? Were you trying to embarrass Thetis in front of the whole Atlantean court?"

"I-"

"Didn't realize that's what you were doing?"

Rhode just kept her mouth shut, trying to keep her temper in check. The god would just talk over her no matter what she tried to say it seemed. Even she could see that he was just attacking her at this point.

"You mortals are all the same. I should know, I was one of you once." The god in the guise of a blue-skinned merman, with copper-green hair and a serpentine fish-tail in place of legs continued with his rant. "You get a smidgen of influence or power and you think you're above everyone. Just like you. Just because you're Lord Poseidon's favorite doesn't give you the right to treat people like Thetis like trash, you hear me?"

"I didn't mean to."

"No, you were just being a spoilt brat." Glaucus told Rhode, his eyes narrowed in loathing. "Just like the rest of you Western kids these days. All of you are 'rebels without a cause' while completely forgetting all the hard work society and your families put into giving you lot the space and freedom to be like that."

Why does he sound like one of those stereotypical 'back in my day' types? Rhode asked herself, as she settled herself in for a lecture.

"Just look at yourself, Lady Rhode." Glaucus continued, speaking Rhode's title with such disdain that spoke volumes of how little he thought she was worthy of it. "At that magical school of yours, you did things that should have got you expelled and you didn't get any punishment and was sometimes even rewarded. And then in your daily life, you do your best to defy norms just for the sake of it. What good does it do? Does it make you any happier? At whose expense? Your mentors' exasperation and worry?"

The only answer Rhode gave him was silence, her face looking as though it was carved from stone. Though even as she tried her best to ignore the god's rant. There was an uncomfortable feeling in her gut that his criticisms were at least somewhat valid. She was a rebel, but did she have a cause?

"Glaucus, I believe we've heard your thoughts loud and clear." Triton said, swimming over with a small frown on his face. "How deep in your cups are you to make such a spectacle?"

"You know I can hold my alcohol, Lord Triton." The god of fisherman retorted. "But I'll back off. Just wanted to give your sister a reality check is all."

"Of course, but perhaps we should return to the festivities instead of browbeating my half-blood sister with your 'wisdom'?"

"Ain't nothing wise about me." Glaucus said with a laugh as he turned away and began swimming away. "Just an old man being blunt about what he sees is all."

"Thank you for that, Lord Glaucus," Rhode said, offering the retreating god a grateful bow. While she didn't completely agree with him, if at all, his opinion did make her think and reevaluate herself a little. She was grateful for that if nothing else.

"Don't mind old Glaucus too much, Rhode." Triton reassured her once the other god was a good distance away. "He is just bitter because kids these days don't respect the old ways."

"Is that feeling common among gods?" Rhode asked, biting her lower lip worriedly as she felt she already knew the answer and didn't like it.

"It is," Triton admitted with a sigh. "But most say the good outweighs the bad about modernity."

"I see." Rhode said, feeling even more uneasy. "I need to think about this."

"Yes, but later." Triton said with a smile. "For now, you have a ball to enjoy. The dancing is about to begin. I actually came over to invite you to be my partner for the opening dance."

"Shouldn't I as the host have that honor?" Dad said as he appeared out of nowhere to loom over Triton's back.

"I asked first," Triton shot back immediately and the two gods quickly descended into an argument.

"Quick Rhode, while they're distracted." Amphitrite said as she teleported in, caught Rhode's hand and teleported them both directly onto the dance floor.

"That was cheating," Rhode observed with a giggle at her stepmother's little trick.

"Maybe, but all's fair in love and war." The Queen of the Seas replied with a mischievous grin. "Besides, since you're still new to our dances I'd avoid dancing with your father and brother as much as possible. They're horrible dancers and will leave your feet aching if you don't know how to avoid it which with your inexperience-"

"I get it, avoid dancing with Dad and Triton too much or get sore feet tomorrow."

Amphitrite nodded as the music began and she began guiding her carefully through the first steps of the barely familiar dance.

"Isn't this a little weird." Rhode managed to say even as she paid as much attention as she could on keeping up with the steps. "I mean we're both women."

"A mother teaching a daughter how to dance is perfectly acceptable," Amphitrite replied without hesitation, causing a surge of warmth to fill Rhode's breast.

As the night progressed, Rhode found herself enjoying things. The dancing and getting to know new people was surprisingly fun. And whenever things got too much her family or handmaidens would pull her aside so she could take a breather so she was never overwhelmed. All in all, by the end of it the daughter of Poseidon had to admit that maybe these kinds of things weren't so bad.

As part of the Atlantean court's activities, feasts were a regular thing. Not everyday, but at least once a week there was at least one feast for some reason or the other. At these regular feasts, Rhode tended to keep a low profile. She didn't know anywhere near enough about the court politics to get involved after all, so unless it was a conversation with her family or she was directly spoken to by someone else, she just kept quiet.

It was tough, but it was what Amphitrite recommended and she had come to trust her stepmother's advice. And it was working great. She'd been in Atlantis for almost a month already and she had survived her fair share of feasts and it was fully her intent to do so today as well. She was going to get a chance to spend the day with her Dad tomorrow and she was especially against getting into trouble today.

Unfortunately, Lady Tyche wasn't with her.

"Hey, I just noticed something," an old daimon said. He was a sponge type beast man that looked like a human with a giant glass sponge wrapped around his aged human face like an elaborate collar. "Doesn't Lady Rhode look a bit like Lady Rhea?"

"What nonsense are you spouting, Hexactinellid?" Another daimon, an octopus man that bore a somewhat unsettling resemblance to Cthulu sans the wings shot back. "Is that your age talking? Or are you just drunk?"

"I'll have you know, I've only had thirty six cups tonight!"

"Hmm… Actually, I think Hexactinellid has a point." One of the oldest Nereids said as she looked at Rhode critically.

"Really?" Rhode asked, surprised.

"I must agree," Dad said as he leaned over to give her a closer look. "There is a resemblance. You do have Mother's eyes."

There was a murmur of agreement among the gathered members of the Atlantean court inside the feasting hall.

"Aren't they your eyes?"

"I had to get them from somewhere." Dad smiled with a wink. "Besides I got the rest of my facial features from him, so that dilutes the similarities. Your feminine features on the other hand accentuates it."

"Oh." Rhode said with surprise, her face warming at being compared to her divine grandmother. She was a big deal after all, so it was a pleasant surprise.

"I wonder if that's the only similarity?" Hexactinellid mused. "Tell me, my lady, do you have an appreciation for the arts like Lady Rhea?"

"I do like to draw in my spare time." Rhode lightly confessed.

"You must show us sometime." Amphitrite said with a smile even as Triton nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll be glad to do so." Rhode said with a blush.

"This is pretty good, Rhode." Poseidon said with a thoughtful hum the next day as they stood in her room, the first stop in the one day her Dad had set aside from the hectic preparations for war to spend with her.

"I just sketch out whatever strikes my fancy. Though I do have to say, I never knew dolphins were so majestic on a pad. I mean, they've always been photogenic for me, but this seems nicer."

"Dolphins always take pride in looking their best, no matter the situation." Dad nodded sagely. "I could tell you a handful of times when a dolphin diplomat dressed in a suit helped smooth over a crisis."

"I have more back at Camp with the rest of my stuff." Rhode said as Dad picked up another of her sketches. "Uh, maybe, I can show them to you another time."

"I would like that." Poseidon said with a smile. "Let us hope that I find the time sometime."

"So how does my work compare to Grandmother?"

"Hm, she's more of a traditionalist. Then again she picked it up after the Titanomachy." Dad said with a nostalgic grin. "There was only what we'd call traditionalist styles back then."

"I guess you're right." Rhode said with a nod. "She into other arts?"

"Oh, all of them." Dad said with a chuckle. "She was very free back then and was exploring her options, falling in love with the arts in the process."

"That's cool." Rhode said with a smile.

"Anything else you want to show me?" Dad said as he put down the sketch that he was looking at.

"Nope," Rhode said with a shake of her head. "That's the last of the ones that I got finished."

"Then let's start the tour of the palace then." Dad said, offering Rhode an arm.

Giggling at her father's antics, Rhode happily slipped an arm into his offered one. "Lead the way, Dad."

Dad spent the rest of the day showing his palace off to her. She even saw her buddy Chomper doing some courtly business, namely herding some mackerel pilgrims. The shark had not only gotten bigger which only made what he was doing, wrangling a bunch of tiny fishes, look absolutely hilarious.

"You sure it's okay to spend time with me since things have been so busy?" Rhode asked, feeling a touch bad that she could be getting in the way of something.

"It's alright. I needed a break. Besides, Amphitrite has been spending so much time with you, I was starting to feel jealous!" He said with a hearty chuckle and flashed a reassuring smile.

Rhode blushed. She had been spending a lot of time with her stepmother lately. The goddess had taken her all over Atlantis. Mainly to its malls where they'd liberally added to Rhode's wardrobe and jewelry collection, much to the demigod's exasperation. Though she wasn't about to deny her stepmother. She got the feeling the goddess hadn't had a chance to spoil anyone like she was doing to her in a long time and was savoring the chance. Who was Rhode to deny her?

"Well, we can't have that can we?" Rhode said with a smile, even as she blushed. "You getting jealous of your wife, I mean."

"No, we cannot." Dad said with a chuckle.

"So where to now, Dad?"

"I was thinking perhaps the stables? Been a while since I was there, I heard a few new colts were born. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you."

"I think I'll like to too."

The Atlantean stables were worlds away from the stables of the surface world. It resembled more a coral reef than their terrestrial counterparts with small nooks in between the corals rather than standard stalls and giant clam shells on hinges acting as the stall doors.

"Man, now I wonder how the stable at Camp is." Rhode said as she petted a sleepy little hippocampus colt inside one of those stalls. "Usually during the summer I handle most of the equine lessons and take care of the stable. I wonder who they have covering for me? Plus Flóga must be worrying her big heart out."

"Flóga should be fine, she is a fine mare from what I recall, she'll handle things I'm sure. And having a talent for horses is always a good thing. I swear Chiron nudges most of my children towards the stable just to keep them from misbehaving." Dad snorted as he was inspecting one of the other newborn colts. "Which is quite a sacrifice for him, I suppose. I know how much stables make him nervous."

Rhode laughed at that, feeding a young mare some kelp. "Thanks for confirming that! We always joke about it, but it's good to know we were right on the money."

"Shh, don't mention me when it comes up." Her Dad said with a mischievous grin.

"...Is it wrong to just wish moments like this lasted forever?" Rhode suddenly asked as she stroked the mare.

She knew that right now, she was possibly one of the luckiest half-bloods around. Actually getting to live with your divine parent? How many at Camp wished for a single day of this?

Dad pursed his lips, looking thoughtful while stroking his beard. "Not really. It's times of peace that I think are what we should hope for most. It's such an important thing. I still remember Winston praying to me for such as if it was only a few days ago. Mortal peace is a good thing, divine peace I think is even more so. Hopefully my brother can hold his temper long enough before it escalates further."

"Wasn't Churchill advocating for war?" Rhode asked, blinking in confusion as she recalled her history lessons.

"I didn't say he was unwilling to fight. He was praying for the war to end in victory as quickly as possible. That and as many naval victories as possible too. Triton loved the boy for that." Dad explained with a light laugh as he put the colt back into his pen.

"I think we should make our move." Dad said with a grin for the hippocampi. "The colts and their mother need their rest."

Thank you for your consideration, my lord. The mare said with a respectful bow. But please take your time. My colts and I are at your service.

Rhode had a soft smile on her face as she looked at the new family. It made her heart feel a little lighter inside.

"It's alright," Rhode told the new mother. "Dad's right. You and your babies need your rest. We'll be going now."

Thank you, my lady. The mare said, bowing to Rhode.

Smiling happily, Rhode turned to leave with Dad following behind her.

"And this is the palace's alchemical lab," Dad said some time later as they stood outside a large lab where mermen and nereids were busy crafting all kinds of potions.

The idea of potions reminded her of the boy who had drugged her with a love potion during her 5th Year at Hogwarts and how she never found out about what happened to him.

"Hey Dad, random question but what happened to that boy from my fifth year? You know the one who tried to drug me?"

"I remember who you're talking about." Dad said in an angry growl.

Rhode felt like there was an earthquake somewhere going off.

"So, um, what happened to him." The brunette asked, wary of her father's anger. She really saw where she got it from.

"No one will ever find the family's bodies," Dad explained. "Triton turned them into sea monkeys after torturing them for a few days."

"You're kidding?" Rhode asked, horrified. "What did his family do to deserve that?"

"The boy's parents, grandparents and most of his aunts and uncles were in on the plan to potion you." Dad told her, his face twisted into a rictus of anger. "His parents even provided the potion. They aimed to drug you into joining their family. We were fair though and let the innocent go, even used the Mist to wipe their memory of their detention."

"That's, uh, fair." Rhode said lamely.

"Yes, it was." Dad said decisively. "Now then, let's continue the tour shall we?"

"Sure, Dad." Rhode said with a tentative nod, doing her best to shake off the unease of what she'd just learned.

"There you two are," Amphitrite called out as Rhode and Dad made their way through the palace's central courtyard back from a walk through the gardens.

"Amphitrite," Dad greeted his wife. "You were looking for us?"

"Yes, I was." The Queen of the Seas told them with a smile. "I heard you two were having a tour of the palace but have not made any plans to visit the baths? Shame."

"The baths?" Rhode said with a nervous blush. She had steadfastly been avoiding the baths since arriving in Atlantis. She knew full well that an old school Greek bath, like the one that the palace had, was as much a place to socialize as it was to get cleaned up. Socializing in the nude! Rhode wasn't really comfortable with that and so had avoided that, choosing to use the showers in her rooms instead.

"Yes," Amphitrite said with a nod. "You must have a soak in one of the mineral water pools. Just like with your shower between the different chemical content and magic, it's the same as a terrestrial bath like you might be familiar with. So no worries on that front."

That wasn't what I was worrying about…

"You haven't tried them yet?" Dad asked, surprised.

"Uh, no, Dad. Not yet!"

"Then you must." Dad said as he put a hand behind her back and began pushing her in the direction of the baths. "A soak in the baths is truly a fantastic experience, especially after a long day."

"And don't worry about being uncomfortable about having to be naked." Amphitrite said, leaning in to whisper into Rhode's ear. "It'll only be us there. Surely, you're not embarrassed to be naked in front of family."

Rhode blushed. So she knew my real worries too.

"Uh, yeah." Rhode said with a nod. "Of course, I'm not."

Even if she really was. A little. But it did make things a little better. I mean, they were family. So it was perfectly okay. Right?

"We can have seaweed wraps too." Amphitrite cajoled. "They are great for the skin."

"Dad too?" Rhode asked teasingly, trying to change the topic a little.

"I'll stick to a simple massage but I'll keep you two company as long as you'll have me." Dad offered with a grin.

"You're always welcome, Dad." Rhode told her father as they along with her stepmother continued their way to the baths.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Four: Enemies at the Doorstep

Beta: ShadowofAxios

As Tanya accompanied her business partner Paradigm as part of his entourage as they walked into the Atlantean throne room under a flag of truce to present themselves before their hosts, she had to force herself to remain in character. Why? Well, it was because, much to her annoyance, she was in disguise.

One that saw her dressed in an oversized old-school diving suit with a large, fully-functional conical drill attached to the right arm just forward of the elbow and masquerading as one of her partner's guards. Paradigm might have the support of some gods, but none of them supported her. Gods would be fools to support a god-killer after all.

As it was, she was itching to summon her carbine and open up on all the gods that stood all around the throne room. Killing any of them would be a prize but Poseidon was right there! Killing him would make her century!

"Greetings Lord Poseidon," Paradigm said as they reached the space directly in front of the dias that held the thrones of the Lord of the Seas and his Queen, both of whom looked down at them with open contempt.

"Paradigm," Poseidon returned, his eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to propose a deal for you." The bald man said with that smarmy smile that he was famous for.

"Oh? You have some nerve coming here after you assaulted my daughter previously. I've killed for less."

"And offend the rest of the Olympians?" Paradigm asked with a smirk that Tanya couldn't help but share. Exploiting the gods' own petty divisions to their advantage was just glorious.

"Don't play with me." The lord of the seas scowled. "Explain your presence before my patience wears thin."

"I have a way to bring back your beloved daughter, Rhode." Paradigm said with his salesman's smile.

Poseidon's eyes widened in shock, but he quickly recovered and glared down at Paradigm from his coral throne.

"You have my interest," Poseidon confessed. "Explain."

Paradigm grinned, knowing he'd hooked his prey. She had doubts he'd manage to reel him in but she'd enjoy seeing him try nonetheless.

"All I need is some of your divine essence. A specific specimen, as it were, of it, in fact." Paradigm told him.

"What specimen?"

"I need a daughter of your blood. A half-blood will do. And you happen to have one swimming around your court, do you not?"

Outside, the sea churned in reflection of its lord's utter fury. The castle shook from the rocking of the seafloor itself as Poseidon shot to his feet. His eyes had become balls of light and it looked as if his human guise would tear apart at any moment.

"You dare?!" He roared, sounding as if a volcano and an earthquake just went off at once. "You may take this faustian bargain and choke on it, Paradigm! Leave my domain at once. The only reason you live is for whatever small support you have left amongst the gods."

"And not to make enemies in light of your coming war with Lord Zeus." The faded god said as he smiled wickedly.

Poseidon only looked even more furious. Why wasn't Tanya surprised? Gods hated being called out after all.

"But before you kick me out, Lord Poseidon, I do have another offer for you."

"You think I would be interested in anything you have to offer after what you've just said?" The lord of the seas asked, his voice booming with his anger.

"If it means more support for you in the coming war? Yes." Paradigm said, his smarmy smile once more back on his face. "After all, you need all the help you can get don't you? You'll need it to keep your precious Rhode safe, won't you?"

Poseidon looked conflicted. It wasn't hard to decipher why. On one hand, he wanted to kick them out for Paradigm's opening offer but on the other… He was desperate for support in the upcoming war. He hated that they'd threatened his bastard daughter and yet he was tempted by Paradigm's offer precisely because it would allow him to better protect the same illegitimate child.

"Talk," Poseidon said, his anger cooling slightly. "But keep in mind that if I do not like what you're saying, for even a moment, I will do more than just evict you from my domain."

"I understand," Paradigm said with a bow as he began haggling with the son of Kronos.

It seems your prey isn't here, Tanya. Paradigm told her telepathically. I do not sense them anywhere within Atlantis city at all. It seems that my spies were correct.

Then I shall make my move. Tanya replied as a hungry smile spread across her face. I always did enjoy hunting.

Yes, you do. The faded god replied, sounding just a bit unnerved. Go then. I will keep Poseidon distracted as long as I can, but I don't know how much time I can buy you.

Noted. Tanya replied dismissively even as she teleported away, replacing herself with the diving suit's proper occupant, a twisted undead creature that usually animated it. All the whilst sporting a smile that threatened to split her face.

In the kelp forests off the coast of Newfoundland, Rhode was practicing with her magic amidst the 'trees' of kelp and under the watchful eye of her divine brother Triton.

The sea water fueled her, making her strikes all the more deadly and swift. She'd fought underwater dozens of times, but she never really trained under it for such a long time. It was a delightful new experience to be sure.

With a quick twist and a thrust, a Scorpionem Seras (Crossbow Bolt) spell erupted from the tip of Spellbound, hitting a boulder with an arcane bolt of such force that it caused it to explode into rubble.

"Okay, why does it feel like my trident channels magic better than a wand?" Rhode asked, as she eyed the effect of her spell and noted how it was significantly more powerful than when she used her wand.

"Divine metal is a powerful conduit." Triton explained simply. "How could a mortal foci match one of divinity?"

"Good point!" Rhode giggled as she stabbed Spellbound into the ground. "So at least I got some range options outside of my usual ice and water. I wonder if I can mix them all together, like one big hail storm of projectiles."

She pondered this, leaning against her polearm while rubbing her chin.

"Probably not a good idea," Triton said with a thoughtful frown. "At least not without a lot of practice. You'd have to juggle with a lot of different things at the same time if you do. Not sure it'd even be worth the effort to be honest. Might be better to just stick to one thing and just hit your target with more projectiles."

"True," Rhode said as she considered the matter more thoroughly. "It would've been cool though."

"Combat isn't about the rule of cool," Triton said with a chuckle. "Not many things operate on that. Best to bear that in mind, sister."

"I know," Rhode said with a nod, internalizing the advice. "Thanks for the reminder."

"Now then, let's get back to your training, shall we?"'

Rhode nodded and was spinning around to her chosen target to try out another of her spells. She was just calling on her magic when suddenly Triton slammed into her back and pushed her to the ground.

He was just in time as seconds later, an explosion engulfed the space just behind where they were.

"Aw~! Did you have to do that Triton?" A sickly sweet feminine voice said as Triton released Rhode and helped her to her feet.

Rhode's eyes shifted to the direction of the voice even as it sent a chill running up and down her spine like a xylophone. She didn't recognize the petite young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who couldn't have been older than eleven armed with a gun that was floating in the water a short distance away, but she definitely recognized the sense of power and the killing intent that wafted off her. It was so oppressive that all of her instincts were telling her to run and just get as far away as possible.

"Tanya," Triton said as he summoned his trident and leveled it in a ready stance at the girl. "I take it that you are here to kill me, god-slayer?"

Tanya, the god-slayer

Holding up Spellbound, Rhode asked while keeping her eyes locked on the powerful kid. "A god-what now?!"

Neither Triton or the Tanya girl even acknowledged her, instead the blonde just smirked.

"Did you kill our guards?" Triton asked, his eyes narrowed.

The blonde just shrugged. "If they weren't smart enough to run with the servants? Yeah. You know what they say about a fish's intelligence."

"You will pay for that," Triton said as he surged forward like a hypersonic torpedo and thrust his trident at their attacker.

"That's all you can do, son of Poseidon?" The Tanya girl's voice boomed tauntingly as she transformed into a mass of light and zoomed out of the way of Triton's attack.

Her brother was unfazed however and with a whip of his tail, he sent a vortex of water that spun around the god-slayer as she transformed back into her human form.

"Is this all?" Tanya said as she once more became a beam of light and shot out of the whirlpool.

"I am only just beginning to fight, sorceress." Triton shouted back defiantly, as he pulled out his twisted conch shell and proceeded to blow into it.

The sound that came out was so loud that it had Rhode slamming her hands over her ears and screaming out in pain. She tasted copper in her mouth and trails of blood floated out from her nose. And that was even though she was sure that Triton had protected her from the worst of it. Thankfully whatever injuries she got from his attack were rapidly healing thanks to the water.

Tanya was even more affected than her and she transformed back into her human form, bleeding from her ears, nose and mouth.

"You think sound can hurt?" She shouted despite the pain she must be feeling. Her face twisted with fury as blood streamed out of her body at her declaration. "Have a taste of what light can do!"

With that angry, defiant declaration, she pulled the trigger of her gun and a massive beam of light shot from the barrel of her gun that seemed to consume everything in its path and blinded Rhode.

As Rhode finally managed to blink away the spots in her burning retina, she found Triton struggling to stay upright and forced to use his trident to do so. Thankfully, their opponent looked just as worse for wear. Though worryingly, her body was visibly regenerating.

"How did you get here?" Triton asked, as he panted and his body glowed with his power and visibly healing itself.

"Paradigm," Tanya said with a smirk. "He's visiting your Father's court so I threatened him and got him to allow me to tag along. After all, I can't miss this chance to kill a bunch of the gods at once can I?"

"Triton, who the hell is she?" The half-blood asked as she moved warily to stand between him and their attacker.

"A powerful mage cursed with immortality by the gods for her crimes." Triton panted out, glaring hatefully at the child-like immortal.

"Like a monster? Last I checked immortality was a gift the gods handed out. Why curse an enemy with it?!"

"You'd be right, girl. Most of the time. Gods can get spiteful and creative when they want to. Look up what Apollo did to the Cumaean Sibyl if you ever get the chance. I might've got a raw deal but that woman has it ten times worse." Sneered the blonde immortal. "You see, instead of my soul going to Tartarus after I die, it's stuck to my remains as my body reconstructs itself. I'm aware the whole time but unable to do anything until my body rebuilds itself to a certain point. With no access to my body, I'll be unable to see, hear, taste or touch either. Basically it's total sensory deprivation. Possibly for months maybe even years at a time if I'm killed creatively like that one time when that sneaky half-blood burnt me to ashes and then scattered it all around the world."

"You're chatty," Rhode said, surprised and suspicious.

"Just trying to pass the time as I regenerate." Tanya said with a shrug as she righted herself and rolled her shoulders. "You done healing too, Triton?"

"Yes," Rhode's brother said as he put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her aside. "Ready for Round Two?"

"Yup," the immortal said as she dramatically leveled her gun at them.

"Rhode, leave. Now!" Triton commanded, his tone brokering no quarter.

"But-"

"No buts! Go!" Triton shouted, pushing Rhode hard and sent her hurtling away.

"Oh no, you don't Triton." Tanya said as she transformed into a beam of light and shot in front of Rhode's pinwheeling body and transformed back into her human form where she promptly kicked the daughter of Poseidon in the chest with both her feet, sending her shooting through the water back towards Triton.

"Would you risk your wittle sister~" Tanya cooed tauntingly. "I have to seal away your divine form somehow. And what better way than to use the little half-blood as a hostage. I mean, one look at your divine form and she'd be up in flames! Like a demigod fishstick!"

"Rhode!" Triton shouted, ignoring Tanya to catch the demigoddess' battered body and gently laying it on the ground and calling on his power to heal her. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Rhode said, spitting out a wad of blood, clouding her weakening vision. Her ribs felt like they'd been shattered into splinters. "I think you'll need to teleport me out."

"Silly girl, you think I didn't seal that first thing?" The child-like immortal said with a giggle. "I'm not stupid, ya know?"

"No, but you will be very dead when I am done with you." Triton said, his body surrounded with an aura of power that writhed angrily. "When this is over, you will take millennia to regenerate."

"It's cute you think that, Nemo." The sadistic immortal taunted. "After this, you'll just be another tally in my kill count."

"Big talk," Triton shot back angrily. "Can you live up to it?"

"I'm sure I can," Tanya replied with a vicious smirk and pulled the trigger on her gun, unleashing a storm of powerful laser beams.

Triton spun his trident, deflecting all the beams heading towards him and Rhode.

"Thekla, Estella, get my sister out of here." Triton said as Rhode's two Oceanid handmaidens materialized next to her and picked her up. "Quickly. I will need my full power to fight the god slayer and I cannot use it with Rhode here."

Am I really that much of a burden? Rhode couldn't help but think as she realized that her presence was holding her brother back.

"Yes, Lord Triton." The two nymphs said as they began to carry Rhode away.

"I like my audience to stay where they are!" Tanya roared with a demented smile on her face, baring her canines and pulling the trigger of her gun once more.

Again a storm of laser beams consumed everything around them.

"You'll need to try something new, sorceress!" Triton shouted back as his power smothered the entire area, snuffing out the immortal's attack through the sheer weight of his power alone.

"It got you distracted, didn't it?" Tanya declared with a demented laugh as she suddenly appeared behind Triton, the bayonet of her gun buried into his back.

"Triton!" Rhode cried out in alarm as she struggled against her handmaidens' firm hold, desperately trying to break free to aid her brother.

"Stygian Iron?" Triton asked out even as he coughed out a glob of golden ichor.

"That's right, I'm going to suck out your very soul, you fucking fish boy! Now die!" Tanya cackled like a lunatic, digging the blade deeper, her smile growing impossibly larger. "Die, die, die! Fade away, you fucking god!"

"Not without taking you with me!" Triton said, as he spun his body around, pulling it free of the bayonet, and stabbing at Tanya with her trident.

Unfortunately, the sorceress just transformed into a laser beam and shot away to safety.

"Too slow~!" The blonde immortal taunted as she shot a laser that blasted away Triton's entire lower body.

"Thekla, Estella, we need to go back! We need to save Triton." Rhode begged.

"We cannot, Lady Rhode." Thekla said, shaking her head. "He ordered us to keep you safe."

"But-"

"And the shot is lined up~" The immortal said as she aimed her gun right at Triton's head. It began to blaze with a blinding light as the immortal gathered her power for the killing blow and she threw her head back in a maddened cackle as she visibly savored her victory.

They were pretty far away now. Thekla and Estella had been swimming hard for a while now after all. And it was starting to be difficult to make out what was happening or what was being said, but Rhode's connection with the sea was strong and it told her what she wanted to know.

And part of her really wished it didn't.

The sight of Triton helpless before the god slayer filled her heart with immeasurable fear. Fear on a scale and scope that surpassed anything she'd ever felt. Even the fear she felt when she'd seen Thalia die. Part of that was because Triton was a god and yet here he was about to be killed in front of Rhode's eyes. But another part, one she struggled to fully admit, was because Triton was her brother.

He was Rhode's sibling more so, in many ways, than Thalia had ever been her sister. And she wasn't talking about blood. Where Thalia had forced Rhode into becoming a duplicate of herself, unconsciously or not, Triton had only ever embraced Rhode for who she was and loved her unconditionally, all whilst gently guiding her to be better and not forcing her.

It was something that had taken Rhode years of fighting her way out of Thalia's shadow and then the loving affection of her family this past few weeks to understand but she'd come to see just how a good, happy family was really like. Thalia had tried, but maybe because she didn't know what it meant herself, she wasn't as good a sister as Rhode's rose tinted nostalgia filled memories saw her as. Triton though… Triton was!

So seeing him brought low like this, of seeing this man who was the best sibling she'd ever known about to die, was terrifying in a way that seeing Thalia's last stand hadn't been.

"I can't let him die!" Rhode roared, pushing pass her fear to raise Spellbound. "Scorpionem Seras (Crossbow Bolt)!"

Empowered by the intensity of her emotion, the arcane bolt that shot from her trident radiated power on a scale far beyond the norm and streaked across the distance between Rhode and her target like a hypersonic torpedo.

Her target was still too distracted with cackling to even notice the incoming spell and did not react until the green bolt struck Tanya in her gun arm. It must have hit just as she was pull the trigger as it nudged the weapon to the side, causing her shot to miss its target and instead shoot off into the distance carving a deep trench into the seafloor as it did.

"You missed." Rhode murmured, feeling drained as she collapsed to her knees.

"You bitch! How dare you interfere with my kill!" Tanya shouted as she materialized in front of Rhode and her handmaidens in a burst of light, her gun leveled straight at them. "I'll kill you for that!"

"Get away from my daughter!" The furious voice of Rhode's father roared as his trident slammed right into Tanya from out of nowhere, impaling her on its prongs and sending her shooting away.

"Poseidon too? My, isn't it my lucky day today?" The crazy sorceress said as she transformed into light and freed herself from being pinned by the Lord of the Sea's symbol of power.

"No, just the day you finally die, you pest." Father said, radiating both anger and power as the water in front of Rhode and her handmaidens transformed into his body, leaving her to stare in awe at his broad, armor clad back as he floated protectively between her and the god-slayer.

He wasn't alone either as what seemed like the entire Atlantean court's worth of gods also materialized around him, each one armed with their symbols of power leveled threateningly at Tanya.

"Tch, too cowardly to face me alone Poseidon?" Tanya taunted as she eyed the assembled gods of the sea warily.

"Whatever, you fish are boring anyway!" Tanya sneered as she transformed into her light form once more, blitzing upwards to the surface.

A number of the gods tried to pursue her but she was literally moving at the speed of light so before they'd even moved, she had already long since made good her escape.

"Rhode, are you okay?" Father - Not Dad, not in the moment when he was being all badass. - asked, worriedly.

"I'm fine," Rhode reassured. "Triton. Father, you need to go help Triton! He's really hurt!"

Father looked up, glancing in the direction where Triton lay and his eyes widened in horror and his face paled in fear. Amazingly though, he kept his composure.

"I will," he told her, his voice wavering just slightly. "But in the meantime, rest daughter."

Rhode wanted to protest that she could do that after she knew Triton was safe but her exhaustion from casting the last overpowered Scorpionem Seras was taking hold and all she could manage was a tired smile as she drifted off into unconsciousness.

Rhode awoke back in her Atlantean bedroom with a start and immediately searched the room for her brother.

"Triton!" She cried out in alarm.

The door to her bedroom slammed open and the aforementioned god of the navy swam hurriedly inside, rushing to her bedside.

"I'm here, Rhode." The god said as he gently took one of her hands into his own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm alright."

"Oh, thank Grandmother Rhea!" Rhode said as tears freely flowed from her eyes. "I was so worried."

"Ssh, ssh," her brother said comfortingly as he pulled her into a hug and rubbed circles over her back. "There's nothing to be worried about. I'm fine."

"Bu- But I saw you get blown in half." Rhode cried out.

Now normally she wouldn't be acting like this. Being all emotional? It wasn't her style. But after what just happened? Her reputation as a bad girl could go stuff it.

"It was only half the Ichor in my body. I'm recovering. Amazingly, gods are made of stern stuff. Who knew." He jested with a wincing smile.

"Oh gods! Are you in pain?" Rhode shouted, alarmed by his wince.

"No, no, like I said I'm fine." Triton hastily reassured her.

"Triton, you are terrible at this." Amphitrite teased her son as she too swam into the room. "Then again, I hear Rhode has a terrible bedside manner too so you two must get it from your father."

"I'm pragmatic with my bedside manner..." Rhode trailed off, looking away from her step-mother.

"In other words, it's terrible." Dad said with a chuckle as he followed his wife into the room. "No shame in admitting the truth, Rhode. Besides, even if we can heal sometimes, the House of Atlantis have never and are likely never will be great healers. It is simply not in our blood."

"What does that have to do with bedside manners?" Triton asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Who knows?" Amphitrite said with a giggle. "Your father's reasoning is quite nonsensical at times."

"Hey! I take offense to that." Dad replied, mock seriously.

He maintained a facade of annoyance for a moment before smiling, earning a chuckle from everyone else in the room.

As the laughter died down, Dad turned towards Rhode with a worried look.

"How are you doing, Rhode?"

"Shouldn't we be asking Triton that?" Rhode asked, glancing over her brother to make sure he was alright.

"I'm fine Rhode, really." Triton reassured her again.

"He is," Amphitrite echoed as she came to sit beside them on Rhode's bed. "Just a little drained after having to regenerate the damage he received in his fight with the god-slayer but that's something a few days of rest will fix easily enough. How about you, Rhode?"

"I'm fine," Rhode told them, slightly confused by their concern. "Why is everyone so worried anyways? I just passed out from exhaustion right? I mean, I was training before this happened."

"Magical exhaustion," Triton clarified. "That can be very dangerous Rhode."

"It can?" Rhode asked, blinking in confusion. This was the first time she was hearing it.

"Depends on the circumstances," Dad said as he conjured a chair beside Triton and sat down. "And just how exhausted the magic user is. It's normally not really a big deal, but-"

"It can be serious," Amphitrite continued. "Think of the time you exhausted yourself almost to the point of death fighting Scorpio."

Rhode shuddered a little at the memory. She had really overdid herself that time. Calling on her practically non-existent earthshaker power simply devoured what energy she had left in her at the end. It had left her so empty that in hindsight she was honestly surprised she'd survived. Thankfully her Dad's conveniently timed rain had saved her.

"Oh." She said, shaking off the fearful recollection. "But it wasn't so serious this time, right?"

"Thankfully," Triton agreed. "But we were nevertheless worried."

"Well, I'm fine." Rhode assured them. "So don't worry."

"We're your family, we'll always worry." Amphitrite said with a gentle smile as Triton and Dad nodded.

The statement warmed Rhode's heart and she felt tears burn at her eyes again. Happy ones this time. But she held them back. If she did cry, she was pretty sure her family would freak out in worry and she didn't want that.

So to avoid anything that might set her off, she decided to change topics.

"So, um, how did that Tanya girl get into Atlantis anyways? She mentioned Paradigm-"

"Yes, the sorceress snuck in as part of that man's entourage." Amphitrite confirmed, shooting her suddenly furious Dad a warning look.

"Tch, so the bastard teamed up with this god-slayer chick? That's gotta put some hurt in his so-called business." Rhode felt a growl escape her as she frowned.

"Not really," Triton said with a resigned sigh. "To be honest, that they work together is an open secret. He has to collect the divine essence he uses to strengthen his clients from somewhere. Who better than the dreaded god slayer?"

"Besides, not many of those who work with him really care where he gets said essence." Amphitrite continued. "So, no, I doubt having proof that he is working with the God Butcher will change anything."

"God Butcher!?" Rhode asked, her eyebrow raised at that epithet. Just what had the Tanya girl done to earn something like that!?

"Let's just say, she is not always clean with her kills." Dad said with an angry growl.

"But enough talk of those two," he said, shaking his head as if to drive off all thoughts of Paradigm and Tanya. He even made a three fingered claw with his right hand and swiped at the air in the traditional gesture to ward off evil. "It's almost time for dinner. Rhode, you feeling up to joining us?"

"It's only us?" Rhode asked, leery of having a formal dinner with the entire court having just woke up. She'd need her full wits for that and she doubted she could manage in her condition.

"Just us family," Amphitrite confirmed.

"Then, I'm game." Rhode nodded. "Just let me get changed."

"I'll help you." Amphitrite said with a sweet smile. "Poseidon, Triton, why don't you go wait for us in the dining room?"

"Yes, Mother." Triton said with a nod as he stood, but not before giving Rhode's hand one last reassuring squeeze. "Come Father."

"See you again soon, Rhode." Dad said with a smile as he followed Triton out.

"Let's get you dressed now, shall we?" Amphitrite said as she gently pulled Rhode to her feet even as Estella and Thekla entered the room and hurried over to the closet to pull out some dresses for their mistress to choose from.

"Thank you," Rhode said to her stepmother. "For everything."

"No need for thanks, Rhode. We're family."

Rhode smiled so warmly at that, that she was surprised the water around her face didn't start boiling.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Five: New Sibling Blues, Envious Greens

Beta: ShadowofAxios

It was a few weeks since the incident with the godkiller and Triton’s unpleasantly close brush with death and Rhode was finally returning to Camp Half-Blood. They were in fact only a short swim from Camp’s seaside beach when Triton signalled for her and the honor guard of mermen and naiads that had escorted them there to a stop.

“You’ll have to go the rest of the way alone, Rhode.” Triton said as Rhode turned to look at him curiously.

“You can’t come with me?” 

“Normally it wouldn’t be an issue but with tensions only just simmering down it’s best we don’t do anything that might provoke our Uncle.” 

Rhode nodded. Zeus would see Triton escorting her back to Camp with an entire unit of armed mermen as provocative, wouldn’t he? Nevermind that it was a totally logical security measure considering recent events. The King of Olympus could be so unreasonable at times.

“So before I go, mind telling me now who succeeded in returning the Master Bolt?” 

Rhode had tried to get an answer to this question umpteen times in the past but had been deflected at every turn. Sure, she’d been informed that a Camper had helped return the Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness, which unbeknownst to almost everyone had also been stolen, to their respective owners thus averting war between the Big Three and lifting the death sentence Zeus put on her head. But! She had not been told who this mysterious hero was.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Triton said with a shake of his head. “Just know to be wary of this new hero.”

This was more than Triton, or anyone really, had told her so far about this new Camper so she couldn’t help the worried frown that spread across her face.

“Why?”

“You’ll understand once you’ve met him.”

“Triton~!” Rhode whined.

“You know acting cute won’t change my mind, Rhode.” Triton said with an amused grin. “You’ve tried that tactic already.”

Rhode pouted at that.

“Neither will pouting,” her divine brother added.

“Fine~! Be all mysterious,” Rhode said, crossing her arms in mock anger at her brother’s refusal to tell her anything meaningful.

Triton just laughed at her antics.

Rhode held out a minute but eventually laughed too.

As they both calmed down after a moment, Triton pulled her into a hug.

“Take care sister,” he said as he squeezed her tight.

“I will.” Rhode assured him. “You take care too.”

“I’ll try,” Triton said with an amused grin as they pulled apart. “Now go. It’s about time you returned to Camp Half-Blood. I am sure all your friends there are anxious to see you again.”

At that reminder, an intense desire to see everyone she loved at Camp washed over Rhode and she nodded eagerly.

“I hope to see you again soon, brother.” Rhode told Triton sincerely.

“You will,” Triton promised. “Now go already. Unless you want to stay down here in the seas forever…”

“I’m going. I’m going.” Rhode said with a roll of her eyes at the oft repeated offer. She might take her divine family up on the offer some day but that time was not now. For now, she simply had too many people on land that she cared about to leave it behind.

With one last wave goodbye, Rhode turned and began swimming the remaining distance to Camp.

Stepping out of the surf, the water sliding off of her body for the first time in months, Rhode took a deep breath of oxygen and felt it fill her lungs like a long lost friend. 

Her sea green eyes looked around on the beach, hoping to survey what she could of Camp and try to piece together what had changed while she’d been away only to find a sight that had her eyes widening in surprise. There, on the beach, was Su.

Their eyes met and Rhode felt her stomach curdle in shame at the beatific smile on the sweet daughter of Demeter’s face. All whilst a blush covered her tanned cheeks. 

“Rhode!” The petite girl cried out happily as she ran over and pulled the daughter of Poseidon into a hug. One that Rhode happily returned.

The happy reunion lasted for only a moment before things got awkward. And as Su pulled away, with her pale cheeks flush and a wince crossing her visage, an uncomfortable silence began to descend upon them.

Rhode felt pretty much the same due to how they had previously parted. She had no idea what to say, and neither, it seemed, did Su. As a result, the silence lingered and became ever more uncomfortable. 

Thinking quickly, Rhode spat out the first non-controversial thing that came to mind. “So, looks like I keep getting taller than you, Su. Hehe~” 

It was true, her stint in Atlantis had gifted her with a few more inches allowing her to reach 5’8 while Su stood at best 5’3. Yet Rhode found this to be fine, since a tiny Su was a cute Su to Rhode. 

Her joke was met with a slap across her face. 

Cheek stinging, she smiled awkwardly, and said. “Yeah, I deserved that.” 

“And more.”

“...I can’t even begin to say how sorry I am.”

“You could, but you’d bumble through it and end up not making any sense.”

“Yeah…” Rhode gulped, a deep unsettled feeling making itself at home in her gut. 

Footsteps drew their attention and they both turned to see Lee walking towards them. His eyes widened at sighting Rhode and he broke out into a light jog.

Lee Jordan, son of Hermes

“Rhode! Hey, welcome back!” 

Smiling, when he was close, she pulled the older boy into a tight hug. 

“I missed you too, Lee. It’s been surreal the past few months.” 

“We chatted via IM all the time,” Lee reminded her teasingly.

“It’s not the same,” Rhode told him as she pulled away to shoot him a glare.

“Yeah, I know.” Lee admitted with a grin. “It’s good to have you back in the flesh, Rhode.”

“So, um, I’d love to catch up more with you guys but, uh, I really want to check up on Jack.” Both her friends frowned so Rhode rambled out an explanation. “It’s not ‘cos he’s my boyfriend! I’ve decided I’m not ready for relationships right now. It’s just he’s hurt and unlike you guys I couldn’t IM him, so…”

“We get it Rhode.” Su said placatingly. “Go see him. He’s up in the Big House.”

“Thanks Su,” Rhode said offering the other girl a smile. “See you later. You too, Lee.”

With that she ran off to check on how the son of Khione was doing.

Well, there she goes running off to that jerk’s side. Again! Lee thought with a frown as he turned to his friend, fully expecting to have to comfort her over Rhode’s unfeeling behavior. He was thus thoroughly confused by Su’s reaction.

“So why are you so happy, Su?” Lee asked the girl who, despite her ex-girlfriend running off to check on her love rival, was smiling like a loon. 

“I’m the one she talked to first.” She told him, her smile transiting into a smirk. “And didn’t you hear her? She’s not in any relationships now. That means Jack isn’t her boyfriend at the moment.”

“That goes for you too.”

“Yes, but I can wait~” Su told him with a disturbing look. It radiated undying devotion and unending patience. It would’ve been great if Rhode was able to reciprocate the depth of feeling, but after the disaster that was her love life so far he honestly wasn’t sure the daughter of Poseidon could.

“Well, uh, good luck with that?” He said uncertainly.

“I don’t need luck,” Su said with a shy smile as she played with the pair of rings he knew she wore around her neck on a chain. “I will get what I want. I just need to be patient. Like any kind of gardener.”

Lee just nodded and backed away.

Oh no! She’s about to go all yandere isn’t she!?

“Right, um, sure. So, uh, now that Rhode’s back and you can stop spending hours of the day looking out at sea and pining for her, want to I dunno do something else? Have a go at the Climbing Wall? Spar?”

“Hmm,” Su said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “I kinda feel in the mood to whoop your ass today. The arena?”

Aw man, why did I suggest sparring? Lee thought with a shiver as Su’s pet tentacle monster poked its vines out from the collar of her Camp tee. I’m so gonna get violated.

After spending fifteen minutes sitting at the insensate Jack’s bedside just staring at him in dismay in the room set aside for him in Camp’s infirmary up at the Big House, Rhode couldn’t take it anymore and left.

She was barely out of the infirmary when Bethy ambushed her.

“Rhode!” The daughter of Athena cried out happily as she hugged her. “It’s so good to have you back at Camp. I missed you so much!”

Wrapping the girl in the tightest hug possible, the daughter of Poseidon buried her face in Bethy’s hair and kissed her crown. “Gods I missed you, Bethy.”

“I did not miss that name.” The blonde muffled out from the hug with a soft hiccup and laugh. 

“Can you two stop being all mushy and loud!?” Mr. D shouted from deeper in the Big House. “Some of us are trying to avoid doing work in peace here!”

“Sorry Mr. D!” Rhode shouted back.

“Let’s go to my Cabin and chat,” Bethy suggested. “I’ve got so much to tell you.”

“Me too.” Rhode told her with a nod.

The two shuffled off to Cabin Six, where they quickly sat down on Annabeth’s bed. Her spot in the cabin didn’t look too different. Her weapons, maps and sketching tools were all there. Her collection of snow globes that Rhode gifted her from all the spots the daughter of Poseidon had visited rested on their own shelf just like she remembered it. Even her pet puffskein Zaha’s little bed sat where it always had been near Bethy’s own. 

“So I got you something.” Rhode said as she pulled an Atlantis snow globe out of the magically expanded pocket of her dress. “Here, for your collection.”

“Thanks Rhode.” Bethy said with a pleased smile as she accepted the gift, her eyes sparkling with delight as she examined the architecture of the miniaturized buildings inside and probably comparing them to others she’d seen or read about.

Contrary to Rhode’s expectations though she didn’t focus on the snowglobe for long and instead quickly put it away on the shelf with the rest of the collection.

Returning to her bed, Bethy picked up Zaha and stroking it comfortingly she turned to Rhode with a serious look in her eyes.

“Rhode, there’s something important I need to tell you.”

“What is it?” Rhode asked, trying her best not to be intimidated by the grey eyes her little sister had inherited from Athena. “Did you get a boyfriend or something?”

“No, Rhode, this is serious.” Bethy said with an exasperated roll of her eyes. “Did you know that you have a brother? That your Father broke the Oath a second time?”

“Oh.” Well, that explained why Triton was all stiff and rigid. 

As a boy, this half-blood brother of hers could challenge his place as Dad’s heir in a way that she, being a girl, never could. Atlantis was like the Greek kingdoms of the Classical Age in that only sons could inherit the thrones. And whilst this boy was illegitimate… That he was Dad’s son made him a threat. And considering Dad had to have broken the Oath to conceive the boy, he must have loved his mother very much. A love that might have passed onto the boy himself… Love enough for Dad to legitimize him like he and Amphitrite had all but done for her? It might seem far fetched and she knew Triton knew that too, but she could totally see it at least making him nervous.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sighed. 

“Going to have to talk with the kid about that.” She muttered, they did not need family tensions right now. 

At the same time, Rhode was curious to meet her brother, since the only younger sibling she had all this time had been Bethy. She was actually a bit nervous since she actually had the responsibility to teach a cabin mate now. It wasn’t something she didn’t think she couldn’t handle. She’d been teaching Campers various things for years but this was a whole other level of responsibility and it was just a tad daunting.

“What’s his name?” Rhode asked at last.

“His name is Percy Jackson,” Bethy told her with a grin that had Rhode’s boyfriend radar pinging. “And he’s the Quester that recovered the Master Bolt-”

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon

Percy was just chilling in his Cabin. It hadn't always been something he had been comfortable doing. Especially not when he first moved in. Setting aside how he’d been grieving about his mom’s apparent death back then, it just hadn’t been a place he felt fit him. It had been set up like a loft for some art college student. But with some help from that girl from Demeter, Su, they had moved the uh, more girly items out of the way and set up one of the previously miniaturized beds with that magic wand of hers. That had made things a lot more tolerable for him and over the Summer, as he added stuff to the Cabin and moved things around a little, it had grown on him.

Back to the wand waving thing though. Apparently Su was a witch and so was his older sister. There was a school for magic that they had gone to too. The whole thing was just so weird . Though having a summer camp be the training ground for demigods was out there too so it probably wasn’t that strange. But it had still thrown him for a loop when he’d heard about it.

He admitted to snooping around a bit. Who would blame his curiosity? He had been an only child for all his life, so it felt very strange to suddenly have a sister. 

He had seen all the pictures on her wall. Seeing Annabeth and Luke so young was interesting. Even that punk girl from his dream during the quest. All the comic books, the collection of old cameras and the closet of weapons. Lots of weapons. The salt spring fountain with drachma in it. Even some of the trophies of the monsters the older girl had slain. It was… surreal in a way, but then again, this was a world of gods, so he guessed that it was par for the course.

He was pulled from his wandering thoughts when there was a sudden knock on the door.

Going to answer it, he found Annabeth outside with an older girl wearing a fancy dress standing behind her.

“Percy, this is-”

He didn’t need his friend’s introduction to know who the other pretty girl was. The moment he saw her, he’d felt a deep sense of familiarity with her. He had known instinctively who she was.

“Welcome home, sister.” He said, driven entirely by said instinct.

“Nice to meet you, brother.” The girl returned easily. Her voice was strong and proud, but there was a kindness in it as she addressed him. But beyond all that there was also a strange sense that she was assessing him somehow and he couldn’t help but think that she found him wanting.

Annabeth looked between the two of them for a moment before nodding to herself.

“I’ll leave you two to get to know each other okay?” She said hesitantly. “Rhode, Percy, don’t kill each other.”

“We won’t.” The two children of Poseidon said at the same time.

Percy winced at this, but Rhode just chuckled and shooed Annabeth away with a pat on her shoulder.

“So, Percy, how do you want to do this?” Rhode asked as she pushed Percy lightly back into their Cabin. “Talk? Or spar?”

She took a seat in her sea green beanbag chair, relaxing in it with a fond sigh. 

“Talk?” Percy replied uncertainly, unsure if he should even sit too. “I mean, you don’t look dressed for a fight right now.”

“You’d be surprised what I can fight in. Besides, being able to do so when you’re not dressed for it is important too. You never know when an enemy will strike.”

He felt like he should be taking notes, but shook his head. Now wasn’t the time for that. 

“But we can talk,” Rhode said with a shrug, snuggling deeper into her bean bag chair. “By the way, did my clothes show up yet? Amphitrite said she’d send over my wardrobe from Atlantis.”

“Yeah, there’s a box by the bathroom.” Percy thumbed backwards. “Hermes Express. And Amphitrite sent it over? You sure you don’t need to check it for poisons.”

Rhode sighed and muttered something about expecting that, before properly replying. 

“Okay, let me just tell you now, Amphitrite isn’t like Lady Hera in her more extreme moments. She might not like you much since you’re a boy, but-”

“What does me being a boy have to do with anything?!”

“I’ll explain another time.” Rhode said with a tired sigh. “Right now, let’s just chat about lighter stuff alright? Like what we like and dislike? Our life stories? That kinda stuff?”

Percy frowned, but a look at how exhausted his sister looked had him conceding to her suggestion. And though she was pretty damned good at hiding it, he could tell that she was a stone’s throw away from dozing off. In the face of that, he couldn’t help but agree.

“Okay. So, um, my favorite colour is blue.”

“Well, the color war has begun! Mine is green, if you couldn’t tell.” She snorted and he did note a lot of green items around the cabin on his first look around. 

The two siblings continued trading details and stories about their lives for the rest of the afternoon, stopping only when it was time to head over to the Dining pavilion for dinner. 

Percy loved it! Having been an only child until now, he didn’t know anything about having a sibling but as he and Rhode talked, he felt a growing connection with her. A connection of a type he’d never had before and like he said, he loved it!

“You sure you want to do this, Percy?” Rhode asked tauntingly as she walked with her brother into Camp’s arena on her second day back at Camp. “I’ve got years of experience on you.”

“Yeah, I know.” Percy admitted as he drew his magical sword, Riptide, by uncapping a pen he’d pulled out of his pocket. “But I won’t learn if I don’t practice against more skilled and experienced opponents.”

“Aw man, Chiron really gave you Riptide? I wanted that.” 

“I told you about it yesterday.” Percy reminded her with a quirked eyebrow.

“I know, but I can still pout about it.” She snorted with a teasing lilt in her tone as she picked up one of the few Celestial Bronze training swords. 

“Until yield, first blood, or disarm?” Percy confirmed.

“Yup,” Rhode agreed. “Standard Camp sparring rules.”

“Okay,” her brother nodded back. “On three?”

Rhode smirked and nodded. “Three!”

Without waiting for Percy to recover from the surprise of her little trick she charged him and swung at him in a powerful downward slash. To her shock, Percy moved with the fluidity of a master fighter and danced out of the path of her swing, even managing to lash out with a horizontal swing of his own that forced her to step back.

“You’re good,” Rhode conceded. “For a newbie!”

“Thanks,” Percy said genuinely as he stepped forward and went on the offensive.

He slashed and thrust like a pro, pulling off moves that Rhode barely countered. And easily parried or evaded the few counterattacks she managed to attempt. She could see some of Luke’s teaching in his swings and footwork but a lot of it was pure Percy. It wasn’t up to Luke’s level, but her younger brother certainly had a lot of potential. 

Oh, who am I kidding? Potential? He’s already a better swordsman than most of Camp! Rhode admitted as she desperately tried to keep her guard tight against Percy’s relentless onslaught. I honestly think fighting him would be a real challenge for Luke.

Luke would probably win. But it would be a close thing.

“I’m not going to lose to a novice, you know?” Rhode taunted, refusing to admit defeat despite the conclusion she’d just drawn. “Try this!”

With that she launched into a move that Luke had once taught her. One that, if it worked, would disarm Percy and win her the match.

Percy seemed to anticipate it though, and he easily deflected her blade with Riptide. The force of their blades meeting was enough to almost cause Rhode to lose her grip on her weapon, but Percy wasn’t done. The deflection had left her sword completely out of position and her guard open, something he moved immediately to exploit. Moving with a speed and grace that Luke, the best swordsman she knew, would’ve been hard pressed to match, he repositioned Riptide and dragged it along the top of her arm. 

Wincing from the blood drawn from the shallow cut that Percy’s move left in its wake, Rhode shook her wounded forearm. Her lips pursed as she looked at Percy with a more serious look. 

Guess he didn’t get carried on that Quest of his by Bethy after all. Rhode thought. Maybe he isn’t so wet behind the ears as I thought.  

“Okay, I’m going to call that a fluke. Let’s try that again.”

Twelve more matches and just as many losses later, Rhode and Percy’s sparring had drawn a crowd. One that despite her getting a few hits in, including busting his lip with a fist to the face, was bearing witness to Percy owning her. 

A crowd that was largely cheering for Percy , the Returner of the Master Bolt, not her. It was a bit rattling and it also kind of pissed her off. The only ones rooting for her were Cabin Five, with Clarisse literally calling for Percy’s blood. But she knew they were only doing that because they were pissed at Percy for humiliating their Dad at Santa Monica during his Quest.

The whole thing made her a touch furious.  

He finished one Quest and suddenly he’s Camp’s superstar!? And she’s suddenly yesterday’s news!? What the Hades!?

As a result of her anger, her form started to get progressively sloppier, causing her to again lose their latest bout .

“I’m taking a break,” she shouted, fury thundering in her veins and she stormed off to go cool her head even as the crowd cheered at Percy’s latest win. 

“Rhode!” Percy said running up to her. “I’m so-”

“Don’t apologize,” Rhode cut him off. “It’s not your fault. You won fair and square. It’s my own fault for not being able to accept losing graciously.”

Why did anger have to be my Fatal Flaw!? She cursed. And why the Pit didn’t Nemesis’ magic or whatever not step in and counter it!?

Not even my magic can fully suppress a FF, kiddo. An unfamiliar voice boomed in Rhode’s head for a moment giving her a splitting headache before withdrawing.

“You, uh, want to talk about it?” Percy, unaware of her new divinely induced headache, asked.

Rhode would rather not to be honest, but looking at her brother’s earnest face, she caved.

“I’m not really all that pissed at you winning. I’m bitter that I kept losing, but you’re legit super talented with a sword, so I can deal. It’s the bloody other Campers and their cheering that’s really pissing me off.”

“Why?” Percy asked, blinking in confusion.

“They’re cheering for you like you’re a superstar that’s why! And all because you finished one Quest!? Sure, it had a lot riding on its success, but it was still only one Quest! I’ve done lots of quests! Years worth of quests!” Rhode said with a growl.

Silence stretched between before Rhode pinched her nose. 

“And now I’m whining. Fuck.”

“Uh, I’m sure my popularity is a passing fad.” Percy offered. “I mean I’m sure they’ll end up hoisting up the next successful Questers as their stars of the moment too.”

“They will,” Rhode assured him with a nod. “They always do. It’s just I’ve never really been on the end of the stick where I’ve been reminded that I’ve been ‘forgotten’ in favor of the latest hero of the hour before. I don’t like it.”

“I can sympathize.”

Rhode shot him a skeptical look and Percy opened his mouth, probably to try and keep comforting her but she covered it with a hand.

“It’s fine Percy,” she told him. “Just leave me alone for a bit. I need a little while to brood. I’ll meet you back at our Cabin once I’m feeling better, okay?”

“You sure?” Her brother asked as she removed the hand covering his mouth.

“Yeah,” she insisted. “Just go.”

Percy frowned but reluctantly obeyed, leaving Rhode to go off and reorder her thoughts in peace.

Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares and Counselor of Cabin Five

Fifteen minutes later, Rhode was walking back to Cabin Three after taking a dip in the canoeing lake to cool her anger when she saw Percy in an argument with Clarisse.

“He’s a pig just like his sacred animal,” Percy said, glaring at the daughter of Ares. “Heck, he’s so much of one himself, he probably fucks them too. Probably eats them afterwards.”

“You piece of shit! I’ll kill you for that!” Clarisse said, pulling her spear off her back and looking ready to run Percy through.

“Clarisse, don’t do it! No fighting outside the arena!” Rhode shouted with such authority that it got the two to stop. “And you Percy, shut the f up!”

“But he-”

“I know what he said Clarisse,” Rhode said sternly as she moved to stand between the daughter of Ares and her own little brother. “I’ll punish him for it. Not you. Or do you want to get in trouble with Chiron for fighting with another Cabin?”

Clarisse considered the matter for a second before nodding sharply.

“Fine, but whatever you do to him better fit the crime. What he said was-”

“I know Clarisse, I know.” Rhode reassured the younger girl. “Trust me.”

Clarisse seemed satisfied with that and with one final glare at Percy, she turned and stormed off back towards her Cabin.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Rhode spun around to glare at Percy.

“Percy, you can’t throw shit around like that. You may not like a god, but that stuff can get you cursed or worse.”

“So what? He already cursed me. What else-”

Rhode put a hand over his mouth.

“Never. Ever. Ask that question! Seriously, it’s like asking for a monster to attack you from the toilet.” She chided him sternly. 

“Now, let’s go back to our Cabin and you can tell me what in the name of Grandma Rhea made you say something so stupid!” Rhode said as she pushed her brother in the direction of their Cabin.

“Please, you should have heard the things he said about you when I met him.” He scowled, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

“He’s a god Percy, he can get away with it. Or we leave it to Dad to stab him for being a jerk. We mortals stay out of it.” The brunette told him with an exasperated sigh. “That’s like the basics for the demigod life.”

“I know, but-” Percy said as he filed into their Cabin just ahead of her. 

“But what, Percy?” She asked as she closed the door behind her.

“My mouth, it’s just it runs off on me at times.” The boy explained, looking away and blushing lightly. “Especially when I get angry or...”

“Or when you’re scared?” Rhode suggested softly.

“Yeah,” Percy admitted as he collapsed onto his bed.

“Fear is something we all deal with in different ways. I just get angry at whatever scares me so I don’t have to think about it.” Rhode said with a shrug. “But I’ve been trying to be better about it and you need to do the same with your mouth.”

“I know,” Percy said with a groan before suddenly perking up. “But a motormouth helps sometimes too. It’s very distracting to some people I’ve realized. Ares for example.”

“Okay, maybe.” The daughter of Poseidon allowed as she walked to her dresser to grab a new set of clean clothes, only remembering as she pulled the first drawer open that she couldn’t just get dressed in front of her brother. 

“So it’s a mask? One you use to help yourself be brave and to trick your enemies?” She asked as she picked out a change of clothes and turned towards the bathroom, not giving any indication that it wasn’t exactly what she intended to do all along. Perfectly natural. 

“I guess?” The son of the sea replied with a thoughtful hum. “Never really thought about it.”

“Well, then be careful with it.” Rhode advised. “Or the mask might become too real. It almost happened to me. For the longest time I hid behind the mask of a punk girl, it made me feel a little braver. Almost thought it was who I really was too. But it wasn’t. I realized eventually that it’s okay to be honest. So I’m telling you that now. So you don’t need to repeat my mistake.”

“I’ll try?” He said, sounding a little lost. “I mean, I get what you mean, but I also kinda don’t.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rhode said as she stepped into the bathroom and began changing. “I’ll be here to help you out.”

“Thanks Rhode.”

“No need to thank me,” Rhode told him with a shake of her head as she stepped out of the bathroom in a fresh set of clothes. “It’s my job to watch out for you. Never had a little brother before, so I’ll do my best not to mess up.”

A nice silence filled the cabin as they smiled at each other, though Rhode’s quickly turned stern.

“Now, for a punishment. Go clean the Big House, tell Mr. D you’re there to do some extra chores for being a mouthy shit. He loves when we mock ourselves. The attic needs a dusting I bet and doing Chiron’s laundry should be fun.” 

“Aw man…”

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Six: Sweet Sixteen Shenanigans

Beta: ShadowofAxios

It was a balmy night and Rhode was unable to sleep, so whilst most of Camp’s occupants were enjoying a good night’s sleep, she found herself chilling with her Aunt Hestia by Camp’s central hearth.

Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, home and family

“I am glad you get along with Triton and Amphitrite.” The goddess of the hearth, home and family said as she passed Rhode a melted marshmallow on a skewer.

“Thanks Aunt Hestia,” Rhode said as she happily took the offered treat. “And yeah, I’m glad too. Amphitrite and Triton are great. Really, really wonderful people.”

Aunt Hestia smiled as she watched Rhode chow down on her gifted snack.

“It is truly fantastic when families get along,” the child-like goddess said with a happy grin. “And it looks like the other side of your family has just arrived.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Rhode asked as she finished her treat, but her aunt had already vanished.

Before she could ponder the question further though, the answer presented itself.

“Rhode!” An excited voice shouted from behind her.

Spinning around, she was shocked to see Emily running towards her with Gaige and Penny trailing behind her.

“Emily?” Rhode gasped as the daughter of Aphrodite literally pulled her to her feet and into a hug.

“Rhode!” Emily repeated herself as she shook Rhode demandingly. “Are you okay? Are you safe? Were the injuries you sustained from Electra fully healed?”

“Em, sweetie, I think you’re giving her brain damage from shaking her like that.” Gaige pointed out with Penny nodding in agreement. 

“Oh, sorry.” Emily said as she stopped but instead of letting Rhode reply, she kept talking. “But Rhode, answer me. I need to know. After Ethan died, I can’t lose you too!”

“I-I’m okay.” Rhode offered a shaky thumbs up. “And what happened to Ethan?”

Emily sniffled and letting go of Rhode, she began rubbing at her eyes.

Gaige sighed and pulled Emily into a hug, whispering comforting words to her lover.

“Uncle Ethan was killed in a monster attack while working at an internship,” Penny explained. “Creator Two was deeply affected by the loss.”

The daughter of Poseidon felt a small part of her die inside at that. Ethan was such a good guy. She walked over and wrapped Emily in a hug, Gaige joining in. Penny joined in shortly afterwards.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Emily. It’ll be okay. It hurts, I know. We’re here for you.” 

“It’s alright.” Emily lied, rubbing at the tears leaking out of her eyes. “It’s been months. I’ve had time to grieve.”

Rhode nodded skeptically, but knew better than to call her friend out on her lie.

“Thank you for coming to check on me. You’re the best.” She offered the older girl, her grip just a touch tighter in a show of her honest appreciation. 

“I’m sure you all had plenty of things to do. So coming down like this mustn’t have been easy.” Rhode said as they all pulled apart.

“It was nothing,” Emily deflected. “I had to see with my own eyes that you were alright.”

“No, it’s a something.” Rhode insisted. “I’m good, healthy and healing not just in body, but in other ways too.” 

“Yes, Creator Two. You should not downplay what you had to sacrifice to come back to Camp.” Penny insisted.

“Penny-” Emily began only to be cut off by the copper haired daughter of Hephaestus.

“Emily abandoned everything to make it back to see you. She’s going to fail and need to repeat an important internship because of this trip,” Gaige revealed with a tweak of her nose. “The only reason we weren’t here the day you got back was because Chiron went out of his way to keep it a secret from us, ‘cos he knew she would do something like this. We only found out when Clarisse let something slip the last time we IM’d Camp to check in.”

“Emily!” Rhode said, shocked by what her friend had done.

“It’s really nothing Rhode. I can always get another internship next year. It’s fine.” Emily reassured the daughter of the seas. “I would’ve been back for your sixteenth birthday regardless. Now, I’m just a little early. That’s all, really.”

Shaking her head, Rhode smiled kindly at the blonde. “I really appreciate it, Emily. You didn’t have to do that, but still, thank you. You’re the best.” 

“I wanted to.” Emily insisted as she pushed Rhode towards one of the benches that surrounded Camp’s central hearth. “Now why don’t you tell me everything that happened to you since I last saw you. And I do mean everything . I want to know all of it.”

Emily was looking at her so intensely that Rhode gulped nervously.

“You sure you don’t want to, I dunno, grab a bed in your Cabins first? I mean it’s pretty late.”

“We slept on the flight over.” Gaige said as she sat down cross-legged on the ground in front of the bench Rhode and Emily were sharing.

“And my batteries are fully charged.” Penny affirmed as she sat down next to her creator with her legs tucked demurely under her. “We are conversation ready!”

Rhode chuckled at the automaton’s enthusiasm.

“If you’re sure-”

“We are.” Emily said with a stern look. “Now, quit stalling and get talking.”

“Yes ma’am!” The daughter of Poseidon said with a playful salute before with a smile on her face she launched into her tale about all the things that she had gone through during her stint at Atlantis. 

“I still can’t believe Emily managed to put this together so quickly,” Rhode said to herself quietly as she surveyed the party her friend had organized to celebrate her sixteenth birthday.

She and her family had only been back in Camp for less than two days but she somehow managed to not only organize the party but also bake her an impressive cake shaped like a model Atlantis, one she guessed she consulted with Bethy on since it was remarkably accurate in regards to the city’s layout and architecture.

Truly, the daughter of Aphrodite was just made for becoming a professional baker and events planner like she was working towards! It was honestly a little frightening how good at this kinda stuff Emily was. 

Now, her party wasn’t some grand bash or anything. It was a modest affair being held in the part of the common area just in front of Cabin Three just like she liked it but that did nothing to detract from Emily’s achievement considering the limited time and resources she had available to her. She had even somehow managed to get in touch with those who would be sending her gifts to make sure they weren’t any duplicates! Which was no mean feat since beyond the host of gifts from her friends, Rhode had also got presents from her divine family. Heck, even Iraklis had sent her something!

The most striking of these gifts was the beautiful dress that was Amphitrite’s gift, which Rhode found herself staring at in stunned admiration.

It was an A-line off-the-shoulder long tulle dress. It’s skirts consisted of two parts, a mesh overskirt decorated with applique designs in the shape of various frolicking sea creatures and an underskirt that protected her modesty. It had a sweetheart neckline that she knew from experience, and because this was from Amphitrite, would enhance her bust wonderfully without exposing too much as to make her uncomfortable. The whole thing was green, predominantly sea green but with other shades here and there to create a nice contrast. 

The dress had even won the approval of Aphrodite Cabin! No mean feat considering just how insanely fashion conscious they were.

I can’t wait for the chance to wear it and wow a crowd! Rhode thought as she walked around the mannequin that the dress had come with one more time.

“Still kinda shocked how our stepmom is sending you gifts.” Percy commented as he ate some of Emily’s elaborate cake. 

Rounding on him, the elder sister raised a brow at him. “What makes you think that, Percy?”

“I just thought she’d give us the Hera treatment.” He confessed freely. 

“Percy! I already told you, she’s not like that!” The birthday girl fumed. Personally she found Amphitrite above such a thing, but she wasn’t going to say it out loud and disrespect Lady Hera about it. 

She learned long ago that she had to roll with the divines’ various quirks. It was the only way to survive as a demigod sadly. 

“Yeah, I kind of doubt that still. I’ll wait until I actually meet her.” He blithely retorted. 

Frowning, she put her hands on her hips. “You know nothing, Perseus. I’ve met her. Lived with her. And she’s been nothing but motherly to me.”

“Yeah, by giving you tons of fancy clothes.” Percy joked in an attempt at deflection, pointing at her new dress and the more plain, but still elegant open front dress accentuated with a jabot collar and a bow tie she was wearing for the occasion.

“Percy,” Rhode hissed. “And I explained that the dresses were for me to fit in while I was in Atlantis and that I wear them now because I like to. I like looking pretty once in a while, but don’t change the topic! Our stepmother is not our enemy.”

“Yeah, maybe not. But she’s not my mother either.” Percy said with a shrug. “I’ve already got a mother.”

“She isn’t trying to replace her!” Rhode insisted. “She’s trying to be kind.”

“Yeah, like I said, I’ll need to meet her to decide if that’s true. Sorry, Rhode, but I really can’t just take your word for it. Not on this.” Percy said with a shake of his head.

Feeling her anger rising, hoarfrost started to cover the grass around her feet in response. She was about to gift her baby brother with some harsh words when Bethy stepped in.

“Percy, chill. Why are you acting so hostile? It doesn’t pay to antagonize a god for no reason.” The wise blonde asked. 

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Percy said with a frown, put his plate down and walked away.

“I’ll talk to him.” Bethy said as she hurriedly followed after him. “You cool down Rhode.”

Rhode was about to ignore her little sister’s advice and follow anyways when her phone rang.

Frowning, she fished out the divine artifact and saw that it was Amphitrite calling and hastily answered the call.

“Hello Rhode. Happy Birthday!” The Queen of the Seas greeted happily.

“Hi Amphitrite, thanks.” Rhode said with a smile, much of her anger forgotten at the sound of her stepmother’s soothing voice. “But you didn’t call me just to tell me that, right?”

“Sadly no. As you know, Zeus is still not happy with you so we need to keep our contact as minimal as possible to avoid setting him off.”

Rhode sighed at her Uncle’s temper. Dealing with it was a pain but something that she just had to live with.

“So what’s up?”

“I’m calling to let you know why Percy Jackson is so tense today. I’ve just learned that Triton visited his dreams last night. What for, I don’t know but they ended up getting into an argument.”

A grunt of frustration escaped her at hearing that.

“Yes, so whatever the boys have argued about no doubt led to this. I’m sorry it ruined the festivities, my dear.” 

“No no, it didn’t go that far. Some drama during a b-day bash isn’t out of place here.” Rhode returned with a weak laugh. “It’s just building some tension is all.” 

“That’s good to hear.” Amphitrite said diplomatically even as Rhode could hear her disapproval of the notion of a tense birthday being a norm. “I nevertheless apologize on your brother’s behalf. I would make him do it personally, but I am worried he’d say or do something stupid and make it worse.”

“It’s fine.” Rhode said with a smile, thinking of the myriad ways she was sure Triton would manage that. For all that he was a god that had lived for millenia, he was a total goof a lot of the time. “I’ll deal.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Amphitrite said with an audible frown. “Next time you are having your party down here in Atlantis.”

“Sure,” Rhode agreed easily. “Can my friends from Camp come?”

“Of course. Any friend of yours is a friend of our House.”

“Then it’s a deal. Next year we’ll have my party in Atlantis.”

“Yes, we will.” The Queen of the Seas affirmed. “But for now, try to enjoy the rest of your party. Happy birthday Rhode.”

“Thanks Amphitrite,” Rhode said with a smile. “Love you.”

Something felt warm and fuzzy inside her as she said it. Like she’d got back something she’d lost.

“I love you too, Rhode,” her stepmother replied easily. “Now go enjoy your birthday.”

“I’ll try.”

Hanging up the phone, she looked to where Percy had marched off to. Hopefully she could at least try and talk with him to settle this issue with Triton. 

“Rhode, sweetie, just leave it for now.” Emily said with a soft smile as she came over. 

“Yeah, but-”

“Sometimes things are best left to friends rather than family. Especially when the issue is family. Friends will give a fresh perspective.” The daughter of love offered. 

Nodding in agreement, the brunette decided to change the topic. “How are Atlanta and Fergus doing? Hear from them?” 

“Not too sure,” Emily shrugged. “I haven’t been in touch with them as much as I’ve liked lately. But they’re probably swamped.”

Rhode frowned. She knew Emily was probably right but she wished her old friends had at least told her why they couldn’t come. Instead, all she’d received from the couple were a basic happy birthday card and a pair of generic gifts in the form of vouchers for Amazon.

“Rhode! Happy birthday!” Su said as she and Lee wandered over.

She was about to greet her and Lee, but seeing Su in that dark green floral maxi cheongsam she was wearing and how it really showed off the daughter of Demeter’s petite yet succulent figure left her just staring at the other girl in what could only be described as lust.

“Thanks Su.” Rhode said after some finally successfully fighting down the urge to pull the Chinese girl into a kiss and get her out of her dress, offered her ex-girlfriend a smile and pulled her into a tame hug.

“Happy birthday,” Lee said with a roll of his eyes as the hug dragged on and he grew impatient.

“Thanks Lee.” Rhode said as the two girls pulled apart.

“Su, you’re as thirsty for Rhode to water your soil as always I see.” Gaige said with a teasing chuckle as she came over with Penny to join their little group. “Thought you two broke up.”

“I have no idea what you mean!” Su huffed, her cheeks looking cute and rosy. 

Rhode’s were too. She was getting better at reminders of the cluster that was her love life but they still had her feeling like a heel at times. Or mortally embarrassed. This was one of the latter occasions.

“Gaige,” Lee said warningly, shooting the daughter of Hephaestus a dark look.

“Hey, didn’t mean anything by it.” The tinkerer said, raising her hands defensively. “Just teasing.”

“Sorry Su, Gaige is still working on her tact.” Emily apologized.

“Creator is still a work in progress.” Penny chimed in with a smile, patting her mother on the arm comfortingly.

“See what I have to deal with? My whole family’s against me.” Gaige said with a shake of her head, her pigtails going this way and that.

“No we aren’t,” Emily said with a giggle. “We’re just helping you improve yourself.”

Gaige pouted and everyone laughed at her expense.

“It’s great to have you back, Rhode. Percy’s fun, but Camp felt quieter without you.” Su told her with a soft smile that made Rhode feel like a terrible person. 

“And my life emptier.” The daughter of Demeter added before blushing furiously and scampering away.

Shaking his head, Lee shot Emily a glare.

“Your advice to Su sucked.” He told the daughter of love. “It’s following it that got her into the mess she’s in.”

“I told her to push herself, not force herself into being something she wasn’t.” Emily said with a frown. 

“What do you mean?” Rhode asked, looking at Emily suspiciously.

“Ask Emily,” Lee said as he left in search of Su. “It’s her fault.”

“Emily, what does Lee mean?” Rhode demanded, her hands on her hips.

“Before you left for Hogwarts last year, Su asked me for some advice on how to court you.” Emily explained with a weak smile and held her hands out. “I told her that she needed to be more forward, push herself outside of her shell a little if need be to do that. She might’ve overdone it a little though.”

“That or now that it’s backfired, she’s regressing a little.” Gaige suggested. “Either way, Lee’s blaming Emily’s advice.”

Rhode felt her shoulders go slack. “He shouldn’t. If it’s anyone’s fault then it’s mine. I was the one who broke Su’s heart.”

“Love is messy.” Emily pointed out comfortingly. “We’re all liable to end up being left or leaving others emotional messes pursuing it. It’s the risk we all take.” 

“Everyone is sad,” Penny observed. “This is sub-optimal. Perhaps we should change topics?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Rhode said, smiling at the automaton. “So anyone got interesting stories to share?”

“Oh boy, do I!” Gaige said excitedly, bouncing on the soles of her feet.

For the next ten minutes or so, Emily and company chatted amiably with Rhode about the things that had happened to them since the last time they’d all been together. Sadly, their little catchup session was interrupted when Luke walked over.

“Rhode, do you have a minute?” The son of Hermes asked.

Rhode exchanged a look with the others who all made motions of assent even as they shot Luke wary looks and walked away to give them some privacy.

“Sure, what do you want to talk about?” Rhode asked her brother in all but blood.

“Could we have a little more privacy?” Luke insisted, looking around at their friends that surrounded them sipping at drinks, nibbling on snacks, chatting and enjoying the music playing from Rhode’s stereo.

“Sure,” Rhode said as she led them a bit away from the party, still in view of the others but well out of earshot. 

“So, what’s on your mind, Luke?” She asked as the older boy leaned against a tree with a contemplative look on his face. 

“Look, we both know the gods are going to judge you soon.” The tall blond started off, a dark look in his eyes as he spoke. “We should run away from here. The gods, they might actually kill you Rhode. Camp isn’t safe.”

Rhode looked at him in shock, hearing him say that Camp of all places wasn’t safe? Some anger flashed through her and she glared at him for the insinuation. 

“Luke, this is our home! We have friends here, family! I’m not just going to uproot all I’ve got here to run when the gods could snap their fingers to get me to them wherever I am.” 

“Fools! All of them!” Luke shot back with surprising heat. “Maybe if we run, they’ll realize the folly of their ways and leave like us. Besides they wouldn’t dare to just smite you. After all you’ve done, they fear you. What you could do to their precious Western Civilization!”

“I doubt they’re scared of a teenager, Luke.” Rhode’s nostrils flared as she glared at him. “What could I even do to them?”

“You could decide their fate.”

The cold, dark whisper that left the son of Hermes’ mouth sounded like honey in her ears. And it frightened her to a degree. It sounded unnatural and evil!

“What?”

“ Shall reach sixteen against all odds . Which you have. Olympus to preserve or raze . That’s your choice. You have such unbelievable power over them, Rhode. They wouldn’t dare strike at you, not when you have a heel on their fate.”

Rhode took a step back, her heart hammered in her chest. 

She didn’t know the Great Prophecy. Practically no one at Camp did, yet Luke knew of it? 

A dark part of her was tempted to ask what the rest of it was, because prophecies were finicky even if you knew the whole thing.

“Luke, that’s not for me to decide.” She shoved those thoughts away into the darkest corners of her mind. Right now, she had a brother to talk out of doing something stupid. “Hell it could be about Percy, not me.”

“Him? Some rookie that got lucky? Annabeth had to hold his hand through that quest!”

Rhode frowned. She knew, heck all of Camp knew, that wasn’t the case. Percy had defeated Ares in a duel. That wasn’t just some rookie getting lucky!

So why is Luke saying that?

She was about to confront him about it when a booming voice interrupted her.

“Rhode Evans! Your presence is demanded by the Olympian Council at once!” Hermes said as he suddenly appeared in the middle of their conversation.

Hermes, Messenger of the Gods

Luke paled at the sight of his father and instantly turned and ran.

Hermes looked at Luke’s retreating form and bit his lip. But he otherwise ignored the other Campers who had all fallen to their knees in respect at his presence. Instead, he grabbed Rhode’s shoulder and proceeded to teleport them both away.

You’d think the Council would summon me first thing in the morning since me turning sixteen is supposedly such a big deal. Rhode grumbled in the privacy of her own mind as she stood at attention and watched Hermes staunter lazily over to take his seat on his throne inside the Hall of the Gods where the Olympian Twelve held council.

The Hall of the Gods

I’m buying you time to get your head together, Rhode. I hope you appreciate it. Hermes told her telepathically, sounding just a tad chiding. Oh! Watch your thoughts too. Remember everyone here can read your mind.

Yes, Rhode, police your thoughts. Father warned as he nodded gratefully to Hermes who was taking his own sweet time getting comfortable. As for the delay. It is a power play. We are ninety percent certain that the Great Prophecy is not about you and thus your Uncle is willing to risk it to assert his authority and show that he can summon you anytime. Even from your own birthday party.

Alright, I understand, Father. Rhode steeled herself as she prepared to greet the council.

“It is a pleasure to be in your presence,  Lord Zeus,” Rhode said, offering the King of the Gods a curtsy. He nodded and she turned to offer one and a polite greeting to his wife before doing the same in turn to every one of the Olympian Twelve.

“Yes, yes, now that you’ve greeted us all.” Zeus said dismissively once she was done. “It’s time we get this started. Let’s decide the fate of Poseidon’s bastard daughter.”

Rhode winced at being addressed that way but knew her place and held her tongue. Her Dad though had no such compunction.

“Really Zeus?” The Lord of the Seas said with a displeased frown. “Can’t you behave in accordance with your station? I never behaved as badly when I was the king of the gods back in the Mycenaean age. Rhode has been nothing but loyal to Olympus and has assisted us on many occasions, the least its king can do is show such a hero enough respect to address her by name.”

To Rhode’s surprise this was met by nods from most of the other Olympians and Zeus huffed in annoyance but nodded disgruntledly.

“Alright, now that Dad has been reminded of his manners for the day can we get this farce on the road?” Apollo said with obvious irritation. “I get barely enough rest from driving the sun everyday and this meeting during my nightly break is eating into it!”

“Mind your tongue, Apollo.” Hera chided with a wrinkle of her nose. 

“Oh come on, O Queen of the Heavens !” Apollo countered, addressing Hera by her title mockingly. “We all know Rhode here isn’t the child of the Prophecy.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Dionysus chimed in with a malicious little grin. “It could be her.”

“Did you not hear Apollo, D? It’s not Rhode.” Hermes insisted with a roll of his eyes.

“Or at least we are pretty sure it isn’t her. Besides, so what if she is? The kid’s done every quest asked of her. For Olympus’ sake let’s not ostracize one of our A-listers when we might need to bust more skulls down the road.” Ares grunted, looking bored as could be. 

“Oh? You feel that way about her brother too?” Dionysus mocked.

“Fuck you, Apollo’s sun was in my eye! The urchin got lucky.” 

“Let’s not get distracted here,” Hephaestus said, looking up from the gadget he was tinkering with. “If we do, we’ll be stuck here for days and I’d not rather waste that much time being away from my forges.”

“Hephaestus has a point,” Artemis said as Athena nodded in agreement as well. “Though I would like your thoughts on the matter as well brother. What do you think?”

“Like Apollo and Ares said, the girl is likely not the child of the Prophecy.” The god of fire said with a shrug. “I don’t see a point in punishing her just on the slim possibility that she might be.”

“I must agree.” Athena nodded. “It would neither be just nor wise. The injustice of such an act would engender anger towards us that is best avoided.”

“Besides, she’s such juicy entertainment.” Aphrodite tittered from her throne. “It’d be awfully dull to get rid of her!” 

“You only say that because she’s been corrupted by the taint of love.” Artemis said, sounding disgusted. “And not just your brand either. I hear Lesbos has got her claws into her as well?”

“You say taint, I say blessed~” The goddess of love countered. “And let Lesbos do her thing, she’s been nearly fading, the poor dear. So what if she’s playing the connection that Sappho girl’s poems made to her island hard? If it saves her from fading, it’ll be worth it no? Or are you cruel enough, Artemis, to want to see her fade?”

Is Lesbos why I have feelings for Su? Is nothing about my life natural?

Are anything wholly natural and without godly influence? Athena of all gods spoke into Rhode’s mind. Do not think too much about it, inheritor of Pallas’ armor. 

At least what she called her at the end there explained why the goddess of wisdom that was notorious for her feud with her Dad was being so generous to her.

“I make no such accusation!” Artemis said, jumping to her feet as she glared at the goddess of love either ignoring or having not heard Rhode and Athena’s telepathic conversation.

“Girls, please focus.” Demeter tutted at them. “We have more important things than for you to bicker over your clashing domains. While I am not pleased with my niece, I cannot damn her too harshly for her loyalty is sound.” 

“You’re saying that only because you want to see her and your own daughter married.” Hera said with an eye roll.

Demeter is rooting for me and Su?! What!? Is my love life part of the Olympian betting pool or something?

It was something to think about later when her life wasn’t being decided.

Zeus perked up at this seeming support for Rhode’s destruction on his wife’s part and looked at her with a grin. One that vanished as she continued.

“Now, I personally like the girl myself. Even if she is illegitimate. Amphitrite has accepted her into her House and though it loathes me to condone her birth, that all but legitimizes her and I can accept that.”

The King of Olympus looked as if he wanted to sulk, but kept his head held high. 

“Actually, speaking of that. Poseidon?”

“Yes, sister?” Father asked, blinking at Hera suddenly addressing him. 

“Why hasn’t she been legitimized yet? I spoke to Amphitrite just recently and am certain she would not object.”

Father just blinked as he searched for an answer and drew a blank.

“You just forgot to go through with it didn’t you?” Athena said with a deprecating chuckle.

“Ah, yes, it did slip my mind…” 

“If that’s the case. Zeus!”

“Yes, dear.” Zeus said with a put upon sigh. “Rhode Evans, by my authority as King of Olympus, I hereby legitimize you as a daughter of the House of Atlantis with the full rights and privileges a mortal child of that House is afforded. There.”

He said it with such petulance that the king looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. 

“Uh, thank you, Lord Zeus.” Rhode said, too shocked to be more polite.

“You’ve been awfully quiet, Poseidon, about whether your daughter should live.” Athena said, eyeing Father with a suspicious look. “Nothing to add?”

“Perhaps we should let Rhode speak her thoughts on the matter?” Father suggested. He waited for the other Olympians to object and when none of them did, he turned to Rhode. “Rhode, anything to say?”

Rhode stared up at the gods, brimming with resolve as she calmed her beating heart, "If this Prophecy is about me... I'll take it on. You might not have confidence in me, but I do. So does my Father. But it could be about my brother... Personally I hope it's me since Prophecies are kind of a pain in the butt as we all know." 

She casually shrugged and continued when no one so much as reacted to her statement. 

"You know where my loyalty is, it's with my family, which is Camp Half-Blood. Which means it’s towards you guys. That’s my piece."

“Anyone else got anything to say?” Apollo asked, radiating impatience.

He was met by a round of negatives from the others.

“Very well. Then we shall begin our vote for the life of Rhode Evans.” Zeus grunted with a furrowed brow. “All for killing her and eliminating the potential threat she poses?”

“Eloquent.” Hera said with a disgusted shake of her head. 

“Oh, shut up and just vote.” Zeus said, twitching in annoyance.

Dionysus lazily raised his hand. No surprise there. He hated all half-bloods that weren’t his own children on principle and thus naturally jumped at the chance to bump one off. 

The god king himself also agreed and thunder boomed as he raised his hand. Since he was the one that was gunning for her death in the first place, this wasn’t all too much of a shocker either.

The surprise vote came from Artemis, her childish face looking as if it was etched from stone as she raised her hand. 

“Arte? Why?” Apollo gasped, looking at his twin in shock.

“I have no need to explain my views, brother.” 

“She’s just upset that Aphrodite smacked her just now about Lesbos and is taking it out on Rhode,” Hermes surmised, shaking his head in disapproval.

The diminutive goddess’ pale cheeks turned a light gold as she blushed in embarrassment even as she glared at Hermes. 

“Anyone else? Anyone?” Zeus all but begged, staring at every god with narrowed eyes. 

Rolling her eyes, Hera pushed matters ahead.

“All opposed?”

All nine of the remaining Olympians put up their hands. Even Aunt Hestia, who didn’t have a vote, put hers up from her seat at the hearth in the centre of the room. The red hot fire poker she used to tend to the Flame of the West held aloft almost as if in warning.

Rhode couldn’t help but offer her Aunt a smile for that.

“Rhode Evans is permitted her life. Yada yada, etcetera etcetera. Now get her out of here.” Zeus glowered, dark storm clouds crackling above Olympus. 

“I’ll take her!” Hermes said. 

Before anyone could object, the messenger god teleported to her side, grabbed her arm and they were gone.

Instead of popping back to Camp though, they instead appeared on top of a mountain somewhere.

“Um, Lord Hermes? Where are we?” Rhode asked with a touch of nervousness as she looked at the god suspiciously. 

“Not important. Just some random mountain.” Hermes shrugged, he had a frazzled look to him, his sky blue eyes darting around before he calmed down. “Just needed a secluded spot to have a word or two with you.”

“Oh, okay,” Rhode said, nervously. Whatever had the god so anxious was making her worried. Very worried.

“First off, thanks for giving me an excuse to get out of the meeting. It’s boring as the Pit and any chance I get to get out of one even for a bit is wonderful.”

“You do have five thousand plus deliveries stacking up.” A voice hissed from his pocket. 

“You also have a meeting with the Amazons in twenty three minutes.” A second voice hissed from the same pocket. 

“Martha, George, hush.” The god said chidingly. “This is more important.”

There was the sounding of unintelligible hissing for a moment before there was silence and Hermes gave a satisfied nod.

“Alright, so the main reason I wanted to talk is about Luke.” Hermes said, looking serious. Sad too, but mainly serious.

“What about him?” Rhode asked with a frown. “Yeah, he’s been kinda weird lately, but nothing’s wrong, right?”

“Something is most certainly wrong, Rhode.” Hermes said with a shake of his head. “Luke has fallen under the influence of-”

“Uh-uh, Lord Hermes, no spoilers.” An ancient looking crone said as she materialized with a pair of scissors pressed against the messenger god’s neck and causing a bead of golden ichor to form on its blade.

Rhode froze at seeing the crone, gulping nervously. At least it was just a pair of scissors and not those bronze maces of theirs. 

“Greetings, Lady Atropos.” She stammered out. How else does one greet one of the Fates? 

“Hello dearie. Now, Lord Hermes needs to be going now. We need to have a talk . So why don’t I send you home instead.”

“Uh, sure?” Rhode said, uncertainly eying the very pale Olympian.

Without another word, Rhode was teleported away. This time, much to her relief, directly in front of Poseidon Cabin back in Camp.

“The fuck was that about?!” She asked herself, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She collapsed on her knees, feeling a cold sweat roll down her neck. 

Recovering her bearings after a few minutes, Rhode finally got back to her feet and made it into Cabin Three to find Percy sitting in a chair just by the door, snoring lightly. He was a light sleeper apparently as the sound of the door opening startled him awake and he shot to his feet.

“Rhode, you’re back.” He greeted her happily with some drowsiness in his tone. “How did it go up on Olympus?”

“They agreed to let me live.” she said with a dismissive shrug.

Percy breathed a sigh of relief and Rhode rolled her eyes.

Sure there was a chance they’d kill her but it was a tiny one. Dad had almost gone to war with Zeus to keep her safe once. Did anyone honestly think he wouldn’t be willing to do so again? Then there were all the patrons, she was wary of calling them friends, among the Olympians she’d made over her years of Questing as signified by their numbers saved into her phone. Surely, some of them at least would stand up for her. Between all that, she had never been too worried about the Council ruling against her.

“Have you been waiting for me to come back the whole time?”

“Yeah,” Percy said with a shrug. “I was worried. The others all reassured me that it would be fine, but I couldn’t really believe them, so I waited.”

“That’s sweet, Percy.” Rhode said whilst ruffling his hair, much to his annoyance. “So that’s the only reason you waited up for me? To make sure the Council let me live?”

“That and ‘cause I wanted to talk to you about the thing with Triton.” Percy confessed with a curled lip. “But you got back way later than I thought you would, so we can talk about that to-”

“It’s fine. Let’s talk about it now.” Rhode assured him as she grabbed a chair and sat down on it directly across from Percy. “But first things first, I’ve got to know exactly what Triton said during his dream visit that had you so riled up during the party. Otherwise, I won’t know what to tell you.”

“It was nothing really, just some sma-”

“Percy,” Rhode said, shooting him a stern look.

The boy startled, jerking back in his chair slightly as if scalded. 

“Fine,” he said in a whine. “He came into my dream to tell me to be good to you on your birthday.”

Percy started to get a little riled up at this even as he continued.

“Which is BS because of course I wouldn’t ruin your birthday!”

Rhode couldn’t help but smile at that even as Percy kept going.

“So I got a bit testy about that and we started low-key arguing with each other.” 

“About what?”

“All kinds of things,” Percy said with a huff of annoyance. “Mostly silly stuff. Triton was especially focused on warning me to not get too big of a head just because I had Dad’s favour right now, his words, and that he, not me , was Dad’s heir.”

“Like I want to be.” Percy continued with a shake of his head. “I just found out who he is. Between that and the whole Quest for the Master Bolt, does he really think I’ve had the time to even worry about that?”

“Fair,” Rhode allowed. “But consider things from his perspective. You are a threat to his position as heir.”

“But I don’t want it!”

“Doesn’t matter,” Rhode said with a shrug. “Like I said, you are a threat. One, you’re a boy and thanks to the rules of inheritance that Atlantis operates under, you could inherit Dad’s throne. Or have a much better chance at it than a girl like me.”

“But my mom isn’t Dad’s wife. That’s a big deal for these kinda things, ain’t it?”

“Usually,” Rhode nodded. “But getting you legitimized is easy. Dad could do it if he feels like it. Or Zeus might do it to drive a wedge between him and Triton and Amphitrite. Heck, Hera browbeat him into doing it for me just now when I was up on Olympus.”

“It can’t be that easy?”

“It totally was.”

The young boy looked thoughtful. “Okay, I can totally see Zeus doing something like that. The trying to drive a wedge thing. But he’d have to make me a god to have it work, right? I mean Dad’s heir can’t be mortal, can he?”

“Right again.” Rhode agreed. “You’ll at least need to be an immortal. Though turning a mortal into one or even a minor god is pretty easy for a god. They used to do it all the time, remember all the heroes who ended up as gods? Mr. D chief among them?”

“Wasn’t he like almost a god from the get go?”

“Okay, bad example.” Rhode shook her head with a frown. “But you get my point?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Good. So the next time you run into Triton or Amphitrite for that matter, be the bigger person and try not to take their coldness, if they show any, to heart. Okay?”

“I’ll try,” Percy said, looking just a little mutinous.

Is this what it’s like dealing with me when I’m being rebellious? Thank the gods that other people were as patient with me as they were.

“Try your very best, Percy.” Rhode encouraged with a tired sigh. “But for now let’s get to bed, okay? It’s late.”

“Sure,” Percy said, as he stood. “I’ll go to bed then. Night, Rhode.”

“Night, Percy.” Rhode said as she too stood and walked off to get changed for bed.

It had been a long night and she couldn’t wait to hit the hay.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Seven: Family Departures Suck

Beta: ShadowofAxios

Rhode was just getting out of the bathroom after her morning post-run shower and was still drying her hair when there was a knock on the Cabin Three door.

“Percy, mind getting that?” She asked her brother who was already showered- she’d forced him to join in her run- and was just lounging around as he waited for her to be done so they could head off to breakfast together.

“Sure,” the son of Poseidon said, already walking to the door.

He opened it to reveal Lee holding a copy of the Daily Prophet and fidgeting impatiently.

“Rhode, I need to talk to you.” Her friend said rather urgently.

“Sure, I’m drying my hair so come in.” Rhode called out to him, as Percy stepped aside to let the son of Hermes in. 

Lee promptly whispered a quick prayer to her Dad for permission and stepped into Poseidon Cabin.

“This came in after I got back from our run,” the wizard said, smacking the rolled up newspaper into his palm. “The wizards know you’re alive. It’s the headline on the front page.”

“You’d think they’d have something more interesting to write about,” Rhode declared disinterestedly as she continued drying her hair with her towel. “Anything defamatory?”

Percy being unfamiliar with the ways of Wizarding Britain boggled at the question, but Lee was all too aware of their bullshit.

“Nothing this time,” he said with a shrug. “Guess the new regime over there has finally reined in their yellow journalism.”

“Will wonders never cease,” Rhode said with a disbelieving shake of her head as she finished with her hair and tossed her towel into the laundry basket back in the bathroom. “So since you’re here, I’m guessing there’s something I should follow up on ASAP?”

“Yeah,” Lee said with a nod. “Unfortunately, there were plenty of comments in the article asking for you to go back to Hogwarts-”

“Not going to happen.” Rhode said emphatically.

“I feel you. And so does the new regime. They’re saying it’s up to you, but they want to hear your decision. But the public-”

“Are being their usual selves and demanding people do what they want, I’m guessing I should make things all official soon?”

“It’s for the best.” Lee agreed with a grimace. “Before someone does something stupid.”

“I’m betting someone does it anyways,” Rhode said with a sigh. “But I’ll write up a formal letter dropping out and borrow Wright from Bethy to send it over to the British- They’re still calling their government the Ministry of Magic?”

“Yup.”

“Right, I’ll send it to the Brits’ Ministry by the end of the day.”

“What’s with all this Owl mail?” Rhode asked, as what seemed like the hundredth post owl dived bombed her at the Poseidon table in the Dining Pavilion to drop off its letter before flying off at top speed.

“My guess? It’s gotta do with your withdrawal from Hogwarts. It did make front page news on the Prophet.” Su informed her as she put one of the letters she was helping Rhode look through into the pile designated ‘threats of death or gross bodily harm if she didn’t return to Hogwarts’. “And that’s the eighteenth death threat that I’ve read.”

“Making the total such threats number forty seven.” Bethy said as she marked the latest letter on the whiteboard she was using to tally things up. “These wizards really have nothing better to do, huh?”

“Especially this Sirius guy,” Percy said. “This one’s from him too. He’s switched back to begging in this one. How many do we have from him alone?”

“Six.” Rhode informed him as she took a bite of toast with jam. 

“At least the formal letter from the new Ministry of Magic looks legit,” Lee said as he finished reviewing it for Rhode. “Like you said Rhode, there isn't anything that’s designed to trap you. At least nothing that I can see. They’re just requesting a formal meeting with their rep. I know Percy Weasley, he’s the twins’ older brother. A bit of a stuffy bloke, but a decent guy. I think we can trust him.”

“If he has your vote of confidence then I guess that’s good enough for me.” Rhode said with a smile for her friend. “I’ll write them back and set up a time. That’s alright right, Chiron?”

“Of course, Rhode.” The centaur said distractedly as he looked up from one of the more inventive death threats that Rhode had received. “Just let me know what time and date you settle on and we’ll have Argus drive you into the city. On another note, can wizarding magic really do what this letter threatens? A disemboweling curse?”

“Yeah, it exists.” Lee confirmed. “It’s considered a dark curse but it’s real.”

The non-wizards all looked a little disgusted at that. Well, most of them anyways.

“How wonderfully creative of those wizards,” Mr. D complimented with a gleeful grin. “Be sure to leave the death threats over here, Rowan. I think I might have them framed!” 

“Sure Mr. D,” Rhode said with a shrug, used to the god’s casual hatred for half-bloods.

“I’m so glad you’re not going back to that school,” Percy said, still looking disgusted at the idea of a disemboweling curse.

“You and me both, Percy. You and me both.”

Rhode had to say it was nice to see New York again. There were some bad memories, but others were nice. The hustle and bustle just felt nice to see.

As she alighted the Camp van, she turned to Argus, the many eyed giant that worked as Camp security, and offered him a smile. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you in an hour?”

The giant nodded and started pulling out of the parking spot to drop off the shipments of strawberries the Camp had produced to some of the open markets in the city. 

Percy Weasley

Walking through the crowd, the brunette felt normal for perhaps just a few moments until she reached the cafe where Percy Weasley was waiting for her. Standing in front of the establishment in his wizard robes, he was getting a few odd looks, but it was New York. 

There were plenty of weirdos. 

To his credit, he seemed pretty uncomfortable dressed up like he was in a muggle city. Though if the very official insignia on his robes were any indication he didn’t really have any say in the matter. It was his uniform and since he was here on duty, he was likely required to wear them.

“Hey Weasley.” She waved as she stepped up to him.

The ginger looked at her, a professional look on his face as he offered a nod. “Miss Evans, a pleasure to see you hale and hearty.”

I guess working in politics has really helped that flowery speech of his. Rhode smiled crookedly. “Yeah, sorry for dropping off the map like that. Stuff happens.”

“Of course. I have reserved us a table, shall we?” He offered and Rhode nodded. 

He smiled and led them inside the small cafe where a waitress promptly showed them to a table. They ordered some drinks and waited in silence for a bit for them to be delivered before he waved his wand subtly. Whatever spell he cast created a small buzzing noise in the distance that Rhode just barely heard. 

“An anti-eavesdropping spell. Say what you will about my sister-in-law Hermione, but you cannot deny that she is truly brilliant.” He smiled and the daughter of the sea looked surprised.

“She and Ginny got hitched?”

Weasley nodded.

“Good for them.” Rhode said sincerely. “Your mum went nuts about it, I’d reckon.”

“She may have, but I like to think I’m more tolerant than my mother.” He smiled with a warm look.

“Well, like I said, good for them. It was a hell of a time, but I’m glad they’re happy.” She said and was honest about it. Granger could be annoying, but if marrying her was what Ginny wanted, then good for them.

“Yes. Now, let’s not get into my family’s business. I am here on behalf of the new Ministry of Magic to speak with you about your situation.” 

Ah, time for politics. At least it isn't divine politics. That was a death trap in the making. 

“Now before we get down to the specifics, I need to make it clear that the new muggle-led regime is nothing like the old Ministry. They aren’t as biased for one. For example, despite my deep connection to the old guard, I seem to have gotten on rather well as a bureaucrat. I guess father’s lessons on muggle studies helped me more than I thought.” He said with a wry smile. “Between that and the host of new policies that have been introduced, things have honestly been improving in Wizarding Britain.” 

“I guess out with the old, in with the new really helped. Starting to clean up the dusty old coggers in the old Ministry was probably a good thing too.” Rhode snorted as she took a sip of her soda. 

“You have no idea.” Weasley said with an exasperated look. One that Rhode shared and the two had a good laugh. 

“And I believe you. My friend Su’s dad is an Auror and he’s got nothing but good things to say about the new guys in charge.”

“Good,” Weasley said with a relieved sigh. “I was worried I might’ve had to spend longer trying to convince you that we’re not up to no good and that you could trust us.”

“Well, you don’t have to. So why don’t you move onto what you really came over the Atlantic to ask?”

“I see you’re as hasty as I remember you being from my time at Hogwarts,” Weasley said with a shake of his head. “But if you insist.”

“I do.”

“Very well,” Weasley said with a sigh. “The Ministry would like to know how you survived the attack on Hogsmeade and where you were? Many were of course worried about their Champion of Light and the Ministry is hoping that you can shed some light onto the matter, possibly with a formal statement, so we can reassure the masses.”

“Ugh, I still cannot believe they get away with calling me that. It’s so, so pretentious!” She fumed and took a long sip of her soda. 

“Sadly, yes. What can we do? So are you willing to elaborate?” 

“Let’s just say I got whisked away by some people I trust before I got killed and that they made sure I healed up.”

“And who are these people?” Weasley pressed.

“None of your business,” Rhode hissed, a dangerous look in her eyes. “Besides, considering everything that keeps happening to me, keeping an ace up my sleeve is just smart isn’t it? You think I’d just out my allies like that?”

“That I suppose is fair.” Weasley said with a frustrated sigh. “Can I take it that the time you were missing you were actually recuperating under your allies’ care.”

“Something like that,” Rhode said evasively.

Weasley frowned and with a shake of his head chose to change the course of the conversation.

“Let’s move on to my other order of business shall we?”

“Sure,” Rhode agreed. “So what else did you want to meet with me for?”

“Basically? The second thing I needed to do is to inform you on behalf of the Board of Education that since you never finished your O.W.L.s at Hogwarts that you’ll be obliged to do so and that until you attain such or an internationally recognized equivalent, you won’t be legally considered an adult wizard.”

Rhode blinked in confusion.

“Then what about people like Hagrid or beings like the goblins? You saying they’re not considered adults by the wizarding world?”

“Not adult wizards ,” Weasley said. “There is a distinction.”

“And what’s the point of becoming an adult wizard ?” Rhode asked, crossing her arms as she rebelled at the idea of needing to conform to the wizarding world’s standards in any way. Considering how they treated her in the past, she was inclined to ask them to take a hike to be honest.

“Mainly? It revolves around magic use. Basically, unless you’re a recognized adult wizard, any use of wizarding magic is still governed by restrictive child magic use laws which basically limits it to use for educational purposes only.”

“So I just don’t use wizarding magic.” Rhode shot back defiantly.

“That’s possible. Quite a few wizards like muggleborn who left the wizarding world before completing their education have successfully done so.” Weasley allowed. “Though I’m sure it’ll be quite an inconvenience.”

“I’m sure I can manage.”

“Of course,” Weasley agreed generously. “Might I make a personal recommendation though?”

“Sure,” Rhode nodded. 

Weasley had been straight with her so far, it was only fair she heard him out. “It’s probably easier for you to either enroll in a school in the States or self-study and sit for the exams as an independent candidate. It’ll save you a lot more trouble in the long run.”

He has a point. Even if between the Mist and the Trace not working on demigods, I’d have an easier time hiding my use of wizarding magic… Having to even do so is needlessly troublesome.  Rhode had to concede. A good chunk of the magic she knew was wizarding magic and she couldn’t just give up on using it, not when she might need it in a fight against a monster someday. That and I think Aphros and Bythos would literally come up from Camp Fish-Blood to kill me if they learned I gave it up just to avoid taking an exam.

That said, Weasley didn’t need to know she’d already decided to follow his advice.

“I’ll consider it.” She lied smoothly.

“That’s all I can ask.” Weasley said with a polite grin.

A week after the shocking news that Rhode was dropping out of Hogwarts, Sirius Black found himself in a forest somewhere in New York state. At least that’s where he thought he was. He honestly knew next to nothing about geography over here in the former colonies. All he knew for sure though was that he was in the general vicinity of the mysterious compound of the Delphi Youth Group where Rhode lived.

If he wasn’t… Well, that peddler over in Knockturn Alley who sold him the Portkey would have a very unpleasant appointment with his wand. He’d honestly preferred going to someone more reputable but the damnable creature - He was sure she wasn’t human. No human had flaming hair and a donkey leg. - was the only one he could find which even knew where the Delphi Youth Group’s compound was located. 

And risky as Morgana’s Tits or not, he was not missing out on the chance to convince Rhode to stop with the foolishness and go back to Hogwarts. And he tried convincing her via letter already and got nowhere. That meant he had to go talk to her in person.

He couldn’t fail! 

He simply couldn’t afford to. Not when it seemed like Rhode was completely slipping away from him. He didn’t want to lose this last connection to the only time in his life when he was happy, his days as a Marauder. If he did… It would kill him!

Which was why he was busy rehearsing his speech to Rhode for the thousandth time as he walked aimlessly through the seemingly never ending forest when a strange scuttling sound caught his attention. Spinning in its direction, Sirius was momentarily stunned to find himself looking at a giant ant-like creature that was the size of a full grown German Shepherd.

The giant ant

Acting on panic and instinct honed from the First War against Voldemoert, he reacted as was ingrained in him when facing an unknown creature and immediately drew his wand to go on the offensive.

“Incendio!” He belted out with a twitch of his wand, sending a gout of hot flames at the magical creature that engulfed the giant ant before it could do more than turn to look at him inquisitively.

It died with a monstrous squeal and Sirius felt himself sigh in relief. That unfortunately lasted only a moment before the bushes parted to reveal several more ant heads the size of his chest peeking out and glaring at him with obvious anger. 

Before a second spell could leave his lips, the massive ants swarmed him.

It was never fun having to explore the woods when strange reports came in from the dryads. Last night, the Myrmekes had acted up. Usually that meant either some other monsters were worming their way into the nest’s territory or some unfortunate soul, either a half-blood trying to make it to Camp or an idiot newbie Camper, crossed paths with the monster ants and foolishly attacked them.

Rhode was honestly hoping it was just monsters vying for territory. 

Leading a small scouting party of Campers, Rhode headed to the area marked on the map by the dryads as being the place where the Myrmekes had gone crazy. At least the forest wasn’t twisting itself again, the woods had a mind of its own during the worst of times. This excursion was bad enough already without adding that to the mix.

“Darren, what did I say about staying close?” Rhode shouted at the same boy for the tenth time as she led him and the rest of the squad of newbies she’d been assigned to lead on what Chiron described as a ‘chance to help familiarise them with the woods’.

“Um, to stay close?” The unclaimed boy smiled sheepishly.

“If you know, then stay close!” Rhode said, growling in frustration. “Or do you want to be eaten by one of the monsters prowling the woods. Because make no mistake, we might be within Camp’s boundaries but the woods’ monsters will not hesitate to eat you if they catch you.”

“Sorry.”

“Idiot.” Sherman, her second in command for the trip, snorted as the son of Ares continued on marching with the rest of the scouting party. Or more like herded the rest along. 

I already wish this was over. Rhode thought as she grabbed Darren by the arm and dragged him to the front of their little party where she could keep an eye on him. 

It took an hour, along with a small dragon issue and Darren almost wandering off another dozen times, but they finally arrived at their destination. 

Sadly, the grisly scene they found there wasn’t an improvement. At the center of a small clearing was a body that had clearly suffered an unpleasant meeting with plenty of Myrmeke acid. 

Of course, some of the newbies freaked out at the sight and Rhode had to calm them down. All the while making a mental note to make sure they got put through some desensitization training. Being a demigod meant they would be seeing a lot of death. Better that they got used to it ASAP.

As such, she left it to Sherman to examine the body.

“Doesn’t look like a Camper,” Rhode said as she added her two cents from where she was helping a girl hold her hair back as she finished vomiting. “Think they were a latecomer half-blood?”

“Maybe,” Sherman said consideringly even as a couple newbies gasped at the possibility that the corpse was a fellow demigod. “Don’t think so though. Very few half-bloods get as old as this person probably was before learning about Camp and making the trip.”

“Yeah.” Rhode concluded and proceeded to explain her reasoning for the sake of the newbies. “He looks like an adult. Most of us realize who we are as kids. My bet is that he was just an unlucky mortal with resistance to the Mist that keeps them from wandering into Camp and its surroundings. Judging by those acid burns, he pissed off a Myrmeke or two whilst lost.”

“Myrmeke?” One of the newbies asked.

“I explained this earlier. They’re giant acid spitting, gold loving ants. I’ll go over them again as we head back. But for now let’s pick this poor fellow up so we can give him a proper pyre back at Camp.” Rhode said, pointing to two of the other Campers who looked the least shaken up. 

They nodded in reply and without a word moved to pick up the corpse.

“Unfortunate mortal or fellow half-blood,” Rhode continued as she turned her little group around to head back to Camp. “This fellow deserves a decent funeral.”

Back in Camp, a little over an hour later, they were preparing the pyre for the Myrmeke victim when an owl appeared out of nowhere and dropped a letter right on top of Rhode’s head.

“Argh,” Rhode groaned as she picked up the letter from the ground where it’d fallen after rebounding off her skull. 

“Watch where you’re dropping these things.” She shouted at the already departing owl absently as she opened the newly delivered letter. 

“It’s from Weasley?” Rhode said aloud as she blinked in surprise at seeing who the letter was from. “What’s this about?”

Dear Miss Evans,

This letter is about a matter of great urgency so pardon me for the lack of any courtesies. I have just been contacted by the goblins at Gringotts informing me to contact you and to let you know that you’ve just inherited the Black accounts. That is to say, that your godfather, Sirius Black, is dead. Considering that the man was last heard saying he wanted to find you, I am obliged to inquire if you know anything about Black’s death. Do you?

The letter continued on from there outlining what Weasley knew but Rhode couldn’t bring herself to read it, instead she froze in shock as she made a horrified realization. 

The Myrmeke victim… He’s Sirius Black!

“Stop!” She shouted at the Campers working on the pyre. “Stop!”

“It’s all my fault,” Rhode said as she looked down at the urn containing Black’s ashes sitting on the floor of Cabin Three.

In the end, they had still cremated the wizard’s body. It had been so ruined by the Myrmeke attack that it was just the better option.

“No it wasn’t,” Percy said as she squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. “You weren’t the one who called him to come here.”

“No, but my decision to not talk to him motivated him to do it.” Rhode countered with a twinge of regret.

She struggled with how to deal with this. While the two didn’t get along well, Black still tried his best. Rhode didn’t and that felt like a failure to her. 

“I think… I’ll save some of the ashes out of respect. The rest I’ll spread along the Sound. I-It would be nice, right?” 

“I wouldn’t do that, Rhode.” Dad said as an IM formed in the fountain at the center of the Cabin. “That would be an insult to the man’s traditions. Wizards bury their dead. Bad enough that he had to be cremated because of the state of his body, but separating his ashes… That would be very disrespectful.”

“...I’ll write to Weasley then. See what can be done.” Rhode wiped her eyes and felt tired. She stood up and headed to her drawing table. 

“Why don’t I handle that,” Chiron said as he trotted into the Cabin and leaned down to pick up the urn. “You should talk to your father. How about that Rhode?”

“Thank you, Chiron. And yeah.” Rhode looked back at her father. “Maybe that would help.” 

She glanced at Percy. He seemed very eager to speak to Dad, but out of respect for her, he was keeping quiet. “It can be a family talk. All three of us.” 

Chiron smiled and carrying the urn, he left the Cabin.

“Rhode, Percy is correct, you know?” Dad insisted. “This wasn’t your fault. You might’ve contributed to his death but ultimately Black was the one who made the decision that led to it.”

“I know, but I still didn’t do my best and now a man is dead, Dad. That feels pretty shitty for a supposed hero.” Rhode confessed as she moved to sit on a beanbag chair. Picking up one of her old plushies, a pegasus, she held it tight for some comfort.  

“Listen to Dad, Rhode.” Percy said, sitting down on the floor next to her. 

Rhode offered them both a wan smile.

“I’ll try.” She said, tiredly. “It’ll take time to accept it, ya know?”

“We do,” Dad said with a nod. “And we’ll be here to support you while you do.”

“Yeah, we’ll be here for you.” Percy echoed.

“We are as well.” Amphitrite said as she shoved Dad aside in the IM and another materialized to show Triton nodding in agreement with his mother.

“Thanks guys. Thanks.” Rhode said, tears pricking her eyes. “I really appreciate it.”

“So you’re leaving too, huh Lee?” Rhode said with a sad smile. “It’s like everyone is leaving.”

“Can’t help it. We all have to grow up sometime.” Lee said as he patted Rhode’s shoulder reassuringly. “Besides, it’s not like I’ll totally be out of touch. I’ll always be just an IM or firecall away.”

“Fergus and Atlanta said pretty much the same but now they barely keep in touch with me at all.” Rhode said with a frown.

“I don’t think that applies here, Rhode.” Su countered. “The circumstances are totally different.”

“I know, it’s just-”

“I know, Rhode.” Lee said, giving Rhode’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “But I promise I won’t drift away. And if you ever feel like you miss my voice, you can just tune into my timeslot on the Wizarding Wireless Network. After all, who wouldn’t swoon to it?”

“I still don’t know how you managed to get a job with them as a DJ. Really, you!?” Su said with a disbelieving shake of her head.

“I’ll have you know my charisma is so great that if I was on a TV network, the girls would riot for me! I need to protect myself from my fans, Su.” 

“Wasn’t it because most of the other hosts retired in protest of the new management and how that opened up plenty of positions?” Rhode asked with a teasing grin.

“That is merely a coincidence!” 

The three former Hogwarts students all shared a laugh at that.

“Whether you stay in touch or not- and you better- I’ll miss you Lee.” Rhode told her old friend as she pulled him into a final hug that the son of Hermes happily returned.

“Same Rhode, same.” He said as he pulled back.

“I’ll miss you too Lee.” Su said, offering Lee a hand.

Lee rolled her eyes at that but nevertheless followed her lead and shook Su’s hand.

“Like I said, same with me.”

The three of them stood them in silence for a moment, etching this moment into their memory. As much as they all talked about keeping in touch, being demigods, this could totally be their last time together and all three of them were thus determined to remember the moment always.

“You better go,” Su said, her eyes shimmering with tears. “Or you never will.”

Rhode nodded. If they dragged this out longer, she was liable to stop Lee from leaving.

Lee nodded and turned towards Camp’s central hearth, its flames turning into the familiar green of floo magic as he did.

“DJ Jordan, stage left!” The wizard said with determination as he stepped into the flames and towards his working life.

While Lee had made the decision to leave Camp full of determination, Percy was a stark contrast to the older boy as he paced back and forth in Cabin Three, plagued by indecision as he faced the choice between becoming a Year Rounder at Camp or going home at Summer’s end. 

Watching him do so for the last hour non-stop had been a deeply frustrating experience for Rhode. He was being so bloody distracting that she couldn’t even just ignore him. She’d tried by doing some drawing but she’d barely managed working for a few minutes before Percy’s pacing caught her eye.

"Do you love your mom?" Rhode asked bluntly when her patience finally ran out, too fed up with Percy's indecision to be tactful

"Huh!? Of course I do!" Percy shouted indignantly. "Why do you even need to ask?"

"'Cos most Year Rounders are here for two reasons." Rhode explained, unfazed by her little brother's anger. "One, they either have no other home to go back to or their home life sucks. Two, they live too far away from any site of Olympian power."

Percy blinked in confusion at that, the feeling visibly displacing his earlier anger.

"Okay, I get the first part but what does the second part have to do with anything?”

"Simple," Rhode said with a roll of her eyes. "You live in New York City which means that if you run into monster trouble, you can realistically expect help from Camp or, if you're very lucky, Olympus itself in a speedy manner. But if you're too far from a site of Olympian power you're outta luck."

"But the gods can teleport-"

"And the Ancient Laws stop them from interfering.”

"Oh."

"Yes, oh." Rhode said with a tired nod. "So I ask again, do you love your mom?"

"Yes," Percy said with conviction.

"Then go home." Rhode urged. "And spend some quality time with her. Camp, grandfather rising, everything? It'll be there for you next Summer. Just remember to train when you get the chance. Oh, and a hint, you might wanna stop by on the weekends if you can too. Training on your lonesome can only do so much."

Percy nodded along.

"Thanks Rhode," he said, offering her a grateful smile when she was finished saying her piece. "I think that's the best advice anyone's given me about this."

Rhode just shrugged. "It's my job as your big sister to give you advice ain't it?"

“I just hope it’s all full of wisdom.”

“You cheeky brat!” Rhode laughed. 

Rhode was training in the arena a couple days later when Luke suddenly stopped by for a visit.

“Hey Luke,” she greeted him enthusiastically. 

Unlike usual, she was training alone today. She usually would be training with Percy, but her brother was currently busy packing his stuff in preparation for Summer’s end. So even if it was Luke, she appreciated the company.

He had been… distant, more so than he already was lately, after their talk during her birthday and Rhode was happy that he was approaching her but she still felt a need to be wary in his presence for reasons that she just couldn’t quite pin down.

“Hey, Rhode fancy a spar?” Her old friend said as he put down the duffel bag he was carrying at the stands.

“Sure!” The brunette smiled, glad to see there was at least something about the blond that hadn’t changed. “But, um, before we start, what’s with the bag? Are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah, I’m thinking of leaving Camp for a while.” Luke confessed as he drew his sword. Rhode felt her spine tingle as she saw the blade. Tempered steel and Celestial Bronze fused together in some twisted, unnatural amalgam of a double edge sword. 

It was a blade she remembered well. A cursed blade that she had once quested for so that the gods could destroy it.

“Where did you get that sword?” Rhode hissed as her grip of Spellbound became so tight that her knuckles turned white. 

“It was a gift,” Luke said as he suddenly charged.

He was so fast that within seconds, he was already at close quarters.

Since when was he this fast!?

“That’s not a gift, that’s a monstrosity!” Rhode shouted back as she barely managed to deflect the slash.

Luke recovered incredibly quickly too and ducked under Rhode’s sweeping counterattack, darting past her guard and lashing out with a powerful slash that should have cut deep into her flesh. Thankfully Luke held back and it only left a shallow cut on her arm

Yet the wound burned, it burned worse than anything she had ever felt before. Worse, just having the blade so close to her caused goosebumps to run up her arms. It was a weapon that was made for nothing but killing. It was like it wanted nothing more than to spill her blood. 

“Phew, this thing has a bit of a mind of its own. Glad I managed to hold it back.” The blonde said, flashing her a devil-may-cry smile but the daughter of Poseidon could see darkness dancing in his eyes. “But I guess that means I win.”

“Luke,” Rhode said as she skittered back from the young man. “You need to get rid of that thing. It’s dangerous .”

“No. I think it gets me, Rhode. It wants to reap the blood of the gods. I agree with it and my new lord.” He said, his voice soft and sure. Like when they were younger and he had a crazy plan to save the day. 

“Luke-”

“I was hoping to avoid this,” Luke said suddenly with a sigh. “But I guess my lord was right, you aren’t ready to join us yet.”

“Your lord? Who are you talking about?”

“You’ve met him, at least, in your dreams.” He shrugged and with a flick of his wrist, he threw a fistful of a powder at Rhode’s face, making her cough and blink her eyes. 

“Don’t worry, Rhode, just dream of a better world. You know I am.” He smiled, kind and reassuring as her vision blurred and she collapsed under the influence of whatever drug he’d just dosed her with.

“Damn you, you tra-” Rhode slurred as she finally blacked out.

When Rhode regained consciousness after her fortunately dreamless visit to the realm of Morpheus, she found herself inside the familiar confines of the infirmary in the Big House.

“Luke! Where is that traitor?!” Rhode roared as she jumped off the bed she had been laid down on.

“Escaped,” Chiron informed her from where he was tending to a sickly looking Percy. 

“What the fuck happened?” She hurried over and cast the Aguamenti to create some water. She put it against her brother whose skin had taken on a deathly grey pallor in a bid to boost his healing. Terrifyingly, it did nothing.

“Luke summoned a Pit Scorpion and had it attack Percy as he fled.” Chiron explained.

“Shit, I’ll keep his heart pumping and you focus on the wound Chiron. Thank Dad we have a hardy constitution or he’d be dead already.” Rhode stated as she got to work, nudging the water in her hands to focus solely on Percy’s weakly beating heart. 

“Yes, some help would be greatly appreciated.” Chiron said with a distracted nod as he moved his glowing hands to Percy’s hand where there was a patch of blackened skin, presumably where her brother had been stung.

Rhode nodded and conjured even more water, which she used to cover her hands before she placed them over Percy’s heart. The moment they were in place, she began channeling her power using the water as a catalyst and flooding her brother’s body with healing energy.

It was roughly two hours later that Chiron finally succeeded in drawing out all the deadly Pit Scorpion venom from Percy’s body and his condition stabilized. Following that, Rhode had conjured a whole tub of salt water and submerged him in it so as to accelerate his healing. The venom having done a number on his body while it had been coursing through his system. She had wanted him moved to the ocean, but Chiron had insisted he stay in the infirmary where he could better monitor his condition.

Through it all Rhode hadn’t left Percy’s side. Annabeth had joined her in her vigil. As they nursed and fed the boy Nectar and Ambrosia to speed up the recovery, a solemn mood hung heavy over Camp as everyone processed Luke’s betrayal.

It was a dark mood that both Rhode and Annabeth felt especially deeply. 

“Ugh, Luke!” Percy shouted as he finally regained consciousness.

“He’s escaped.” Rhode said as she pinned her brother so he wouldn’t raise out of the tub. “And you need to stay still. Bethy, get him some Nectar.”

“Sip slowly, Seaweed Brain. You need your strength.” Annabeth said, offering him a cup and straw to sip from. He did so, his pained expression easing as his skin gained more color. 

Rhode watched him down the Drink of the Gods for a moment, relieved that he was recovering. Breathing a sigh of relief at his visibly improving condition.

As he pushed the cup away, Rhode couldn’t resist her curiosity anymore.

“Percy, what happened with Luke?” Rhode asked. “He beat me in a spar and then hit me with some kind of sleeping drug. What about you?”

“He called me to talk,” Percy said with a frown. “Tried to sway my loyalty to Dad by saying you were his favorite child.”

“That’s nonsense,” Rhode snorted. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I do.” Percy agreed and even Bethy nodded. “I told him as much and then he drew this strange sword-”

“The one which mixed Celestial Bronze and Steel?” Rhode asked with a shiver. “Yeah, I know the one.”

“I reacted about the same to it. It had this weird aura-”

“Yeah.” Rhode agreed with another shiver.

“What happened next, Percy?” Bethy asked, pushing the conversation along.

“Then he asked me to leave Camp with him and I said no, then he caught me in a pit trap and then summoned the Pit Scorpion. I guess you guys know the rest.”

“Yeah,” The grey eyed girl said with a nod. “We found Rhode passed out in the arena first. Ares Cabin had a class. We raised the alarm after that. A few dryads found you shortly afterwards and Chiron brought you up here where he and Rhode, once she got up, healed you.”

“You’re not fully healed yet by the way,” Rhode informed and gestured to the tub of seawater he was floating in. “So stay in that tub until we give you the go ahead.”

“But Luke-”

“We’ll handle it,” Bethy reassured him with a weak smile. “Rhode, me, the rest of the Campers. We’ll stop whatever scheme he and his mysterious Lord have planned.”

“He’s working for the Crooked One.” Rhode told Bethy and Percy nodded in agreement.

“You’re both probably right,” The blonde agreed, rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly. “But until we have confirmation, we can’t make assumptions.”

“That’s smart I guess. Just what I’d expect from you Wise Girl.” Percy teased with a warbled chuckle.

“Why of course, Seaweed Brain.” Bethy shot back. “And don’t call me Wise Girl!”

“Only if you stop calling me Seaweed Brain.”

“Never!”

Rhode’s lips twitched, threatening to giggle at the little pet names they had for each other. 

“Should I leave so you can smooch? Or would you like to flirt some more?” Rhode couldn’t help but ask the two. 

Both younger teens blushed and whined, “Rhode~!”

That did it. Rhode couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out into laughter. Her little brother and sister were just too cute!

“Everyone really does seem to be leaving Camp this year, you know that?” Rhode observed to Annabeth as they waited at the top of Half-Blood Hill for Mr. Chase to come pick up his daughter for the first time in years.

“Yeah, I’m kind of nervous myself really.” The young blonde admitted to her as she held her duffle bag tightly. 

“You shouldn’t be,” Su told her from where she was seated in what Rhode could only describe as a walking throne made out of an animated tree. One of the results of Demeter Cabin’s latest experiments with crossbreeding magical plants. “If you run into trouble, either with your family or monsters, we’re all just a call away.”

Leave it to Su to go mad scientist with nature. What would she think up next? 

“Did you have to bring that thing along to intimidate Mr. Chase?” Rhode asked her friend with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s a show of power.” Su insisted. “Besides you nixed me using Helel to scare him.”

“I think Dad would be more likely to be intrigued by how that plant works than be scared by it.” The daughter of Athena snorted. “He’s weird like that. And Su, two words completely explain why Helel is not an option: Tentacle Porn.”

“How do you know about that?!” Rhode asked, shooting the young girl a stunned look.

“I am a healthy teenage girl,” Bethy said with a roll of her eyes. “And I have access to the internet. I have to find something for when I, uh, need some release. Found it by accident once.”

“I did not need to hear that.” Percy groaned as he joined them. 

Annabeth looked ready to die in a hole. In fact, she looked to Rhode, begging for death. Rhode just looked away, denying her a warrior’s death. Or more accurately was too busy stifling her giggles to help.

“If you tell anyone, Percy, they’ll never find your body.” Su said in defense of Bethy’s, er, maidenly honor. “A lady’s alone time is her business, no one else’s. Not unless they want it to be.”

“Su, for the love of the gods, stop halping!”

Deciding that Annabeth had suffered enough, Rhode changed the topic of conversation.

“You’re late Percy, packing up took longer than you expected?”

“Yeah. And mom should be here soon. You want to meet her?” He asked, looking unsure and awkward. 

“Sure,” Rhode said with a careless shrug. She honestly had no feelings either way about meeting Percy’s mom. Sure, she must be a wonderful person to have got Dad to fall in love with her, but beyond that well… It kind of felt weird to talk with a ‘mistress’ when Amphirite had all but adopted her. 

But she was going to be taking care of her son while at Camp, so she should at least introduce herself to Missus Jackson. 

“But for now, let’s handle the Chases.” Rhode said as she pointed to a group of blondes that were getting out of a car at the foot of the hill. “I think that’s them.”

“Yeah,” The blonde agreed as she waved at her father who was climbing up and waving back enthusiastically.

She heard Su’s plant titan’s bark creak and she shot her friend a quelling look. 

“Best behavior,” she warned her friend and she pouted but stopped her minion from doing whatever she had originally planned.

“Annabeth.” he smiled at her, looking nervous in an awkward dad kind of way. “Ready to go?”

“Just about,” Bethy said, sounding just as nervous. She gave him an awkward hug that he returned. “First, some introductions. You know Rhode from the photos I sent.”

“Rhode! Yes, you’ve told me all about Wonder Woman come again.” The handsome, athletic, middle-aged man, with intense brown eyes and sandy-colored hair that he had passed on to his daughter said as he smiled at her. 

“Dad!” The girl blushed, clearly embarrassed.

Mr. Chase just laughed at Bethy’s whine, causing Rhode to smile. It was only a first impression, but it seemed like he was a good dad. She hoped she was right.

“Yeah, it’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Chase.” Rhode said politely, she could threaten him after all the niceties were done.  

“And the girl with the Ent throne is Su Li,” Bethy said pointing to the daughter of Demeter and her minion. 

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Same.” Su said with a nod, before she narrowed her eyes into a glare. “If you hurt Annabeth, there won’t be a body to find.”

“Pardon her, she spent all of last night practising being menacing to intimidate you with one of our friends.”

“Gaige?” Percy asked curiously and Rhode nodded distractedly even as Su pouted.

“Yeah, that girl is crazy.” Percy said with a shake of his head. “Glad she and her family aren’t usually around anymore.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Annabeth hedged.

“It really was. Sometimes.” Rhode admitted. As much as she loved Emily and her family, and would miss them dearly once they went back to school in a week, they could be a bit much at times.

“You have to tell me all about it Annabeth,” Mr. Chase said with an amused, intrigued grin before turning to look at Percy with a sharp look. “Now who exactly is this young man? Your boyfriend?”

“S-Sure.” The youngest girl sputtered. “And he’s not my b-boyfriend. He’s just a f-friend. His name is Percy. He’s Rhode’s younger brother. We did a quest this summer, it wasn’t a big deal. He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Denial is the first stage,” Su said with a teasing grin. “Oh, it’ll be fun to see how this all plays out, won’t it Rhode?”

“Totally,” Rhode agreed as the two older girls and surprisingly Mr. Chase chuckled at the expense of the two madly blushing younger children.

“Let’s just go!” Bethy said, grabbing her father’s arm and pulling him down the hill. “Bye Rhode! Bye Percy! Bye Su!”

“Bye Bethy!” “Bye Annabeth!” The remaining Campers shouted in reply as they waved goodbye.

They stood there watching as the Chases drove off and as if by clockwork, or some god’s meddling, a cheap rented car pulled up where the previous vehicle had been and a strikingly beautiful woman with a smile as warm as a quilt, sparkling blue eyes and long brown hair with a few streaks of grey stepped out.

“Mom!” Percy shouted excitedly as he waved at his mother and she walked up the hill, waving back and eying Su’s minion with amusement.

“You have interesting friends, Percy.” Sally Jackson said as she pulled her son into a hug.

“Yeah. Don’t mind Su, she’s just trying to be weird and scary on purpose. She’s usually very nice.”

“I don’t know whether to be offended or pleased.” Su said with a pout and Rhode had to resist the urge to giggle at her.

Missus Jackson turned to Rhode with a stunned look as she looked between her and Percy. “And this is?”

“Uh, my sister, Rhode Evans.”

“Sup?” Rhode waved a hand casually. 

“So you’re taking care of Percy in Camp?” Missus Jackson asked. “Percy mentioned it in his call the other day.”  

“Yep. He’s pretty good with a sword, but I’ve still got some tips and tricks he can learn.” Rhode smiled, hands in her pockets. “I’ll do my best to keep him out of trouble, but well, it never worked out for me. Still, I can only promise to try.” 

“Thank you.” Missus Jackson said, giving her son who she had not released from her side till now a squeeze.

“So no comment on me being Poseidon’s daughter with another woman?” Rhode asked, curious.

“Is there anything to say?” The older woman said with a shrug. “He’s a god. And married to a goddess. If he cannot be faithful to Amphitrite, should I expect him to be faithful to his mortal mistress?”

“Mom.” Percy said, looking grumpy at the word.

“Oh hush sweetie, I’m not ashamed. Far from it. The love I shared with your Father was magical and it gave me you. That is what’s important. Nothing else matters.”

“That’s a good attitude,” Rhode said, blinking in shock. “Most women can’t have that about their lovers.”

“Tell me about it,” Su said, shooting a glare at the Big House’s infirmary.

“As good as meeting you two and talking with you has been, it’s getting late.” Missus Jackson said apologetically. “It’s best we get going.”

“We understand.” Rhode said, as she and Su both nodded. “Percy you’ve got everything?”

“Everything that I wanna take with me, yeah.” 

“Then say goodbye Percy,” Missus Jackson encouraged her son as she finally released him from her side.

“Alright, once you got school set up, give me a call Percy and I’ll come pick you up for training on the weekends.” Rhode told the boy, ruffling his hair with a soft smile. 

“Yeah, sure. Only if you help with my homework.”

“Hell no, I just finished my time at wizard school! Homework gives me hives.” 

Percy snorted and laughed as he grinned and walked off with his mom. “See ya soon!”

Rhode stood with Su watching the Jacksons’ departure until they completely lost sight of their car.

“So ends another Summer, huh?” Rhode said wistfully.

“Yeah,” Su agreed. “It was an eventful one, wasn’t it?”

“It certainly was.” Rhode nodded.

“I know you’re worried about people leaving you, Rhode,” Su said, causing Rhode to spin to her in shock. “First Nils, followed by Viridi, then Fergus and Atlanta, and now temporarily Emily, Gaige, Penny, Lee, Percy and Annabeth. The less said about Luke the better-”

Rhode growled at the mere mention of the name but otherwise let Su continue.

“-but I want you to know that I will never leave you. Ever .”

Rhode felt a tear trailing down her cheek at that declaration and soon was crying freely.

“Thank you. Thanks, Su.” She said through her tears. “I didn’t know how much I needed to hear it, but, I... Just, thanks.”

Su’s only reply was to jump down from her seat and pull Rhode into a hug.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Eight: A Totally Normal Year

Beta: ShadowofAxios

“Pass me the mashed potatoes would you, Percy?” Rhode asked as she sat at the Jacksons’ dining table enjoying Christmas dinner with the mother and son.

“Sure, here you go Rhode.” Her brother said as he handed over the requested bowl.

“Thanks,” Rhode said with a smile as she scooped out a spoonful of the side dish onto her plate to join the serving of mixed vegetables and slices of turkey that she’d picked out for herself.

Sally Jackson, Percy’s mother

“Mm, this is so creamy Mrs. Jackson.” Rhode smiled at the goodness before her. Camp’s food was of course amazing, but something about a home cooked meal just warmed the demigoddess’ heart. 

“I actually use cream instead of milk.” The older woman replied as she had some turkey. “It really makes it fluff like a cloud.” 

“Cool! Gotta try that next time I make mash,” Rhode said with a nod.

Horace Mann School, Rhode’s new school

“So how is school going for you, Rhode?” Mrs. Jackson asked with a smile. “You’re attending Horace Mann School to finish your high school diploma, right? It’s one of the best schools in New York. You’re coping well?”

Rhode hummed thoughtfully at the question. “I’m actually enjoying it. It’s been going surprisingly well.”

“Really?” Percy asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I was leery of going to such a prestigious school at first, especially after my experiences at Hogwarts and being behind in my studies thanks to the siege in my final year in Scotland. It was pretty tough to keep up with my distance learning, but it seems my tutoring while I was at Atlantis caught me up better than I expected.”

After shoveling down a forkful of carrots, Percy asked. “You pulling any crazy stunts? I heard you were nuts in Hogwarts from Annabeth.”

“Hey, hey, none of that was my fault!” Rhode quickly denied with a pout and growing blush. “Besides, I think I’ve matured enough to not get into zany trouble. Plus Horace Mann doesn’t have the madness Hogwarts had. At least it doesn’t have Basilisks in the plumbing.”

“I certainly hope not.” Sally said with a shake of head. “Considering how much I’m sure your Father is paying to have you attend.”

“About that,” Percy said, shooting his mom a curious look. “Why doesn’t Dad arrange for me to go to a prestigious school?”

“He offered,” Mrs. Jackson revealed. “Even wanted you to attend Horace Mann with Rhode, but I declined.”

“Why?” Percy whined playfully.

“One, I don’t want to be beholden to your Father.” Sally said, ticking the points out. “Two, you’ve not proven yourself capable of holding down a place in such a good school. I know it’s not your fault, but you’ve never managed to stay at any school for more than a year since preschool.”

Percy pouted.

Was the baby seal pout hereditary?! Rhode thought as she stared at the look on her brother’s face and let out a laugh. 

“Relax, Percy,” The older teenager said as she got her laughter under control. “You’ll get more comfortable with your powers soon then things should calm down for you at school. And as you get better trained, you’ll also be more able to cover it up when things do go pear shaped. That should help you hold down a spot at a school better.”

“I get it.” Percy said with a sigh and a nod. “Change of topic! Rhode, you joined any clubs at school?

“Yeah,” Rhode said after she swallowed a cut of turkey. “I joined the photography club as a casual member.”

“They differentiate between types of members?” Mr. Jackson asked as she carved up more slices of turkey for everyone. 

“Not officially.” Rhode shrugged. “But informally, they ask you what you prefer so they can better plan things.”

“That’s nice of them.” Percy said with a nod.

“Yeah, the photography club is super nice. The swim team though,” Rhode replied with a frown. “They keep pestering me to join.”

“And you don’t want to?” Percy asked curiously. “I’d have thought you’d have loved it.”

“Nah,” Rhode said as she accepted a couple new slices of turkey from Mrs. Jackson with a thankful nod. “I’d feel like I was cheating if I competed, being a daughter of Poseidon and all.”

“Guess, you’re right there.” Percy said with a disappointed frown.

“Don’t be disappointed, Percy.” Mrs. Jackson said encouragingly. “If you want to, you can. I think it’s fine.”

Rhode frowned. That wasn’t what Amphitrite had told her when she’d called her to discuss the matter. Her stepmother had told her it probably wouldn’t be a good idea and a little unfair against mortal competitors that she might face in meets. She guessed Mrs. Jackson was trying to be encouraging and didn’t consider that.

Let’s change topics though. I don’t want to start a fight over different parenting styles.

“Speaking of school, how has that new place been for you Percy? Meriwether Prep?” 

“ College Prep.” Her brother corrected with a grumpy look. “I mean, it’s kind of cool. Math is hard, but some of the kids are real jerks.” 

“You know, when I had a bully problem I sort of just judo flipped them when no one was looking. They’d run away from me after that.” Rhode snorted. 

Percy hummed at the thought while Mrs. Jackson gave both children of Poseidon chastising looks. 

Chuckling, Percy shook his head. “I doubt I’d do that. Though they do pick on this homeless kid the school picked up for PR. He’s a tall guy called Tyson. He doesn’t really fight back so I try to stand up for him when I can. Social pariah in a few months is a new record. At least he’s friendly enough.”

“We actually tried to call Social Services in to help Tyson, but apparently they can't find him after school hours. And whenever they come during school hours, he’s always missing for whatever reason.”

“Oh, I can totally understand that.” Rhode said with a nostalgic sigh. “Homeless kids all know to stay away from Social Services. They are all about trying to force you into a foster home or orphanage. That’s okay for most I guess, but sometimes you just want to be on the street, you know?”

“Why?” Percy asked, confused.

“Any number of reasons. Everyone has one. For half-bloods like us, we need to make it to Camp or keep mortals safe from monster attacks by staying away.” Rhode explained. “Or for something simple like keeping on the move to avoid getting others an idea of your habits so they can’t take your stuff. I can speak for the latter two from my experience being homeless for three years. It can be a dog eat dog world on the streets.”

Mrs. Jackson shot Rhode a sad look and Percy mumbled angrily under his breath.

“Hey, no need to get angry on my behalf.” Rhode told Percy. “You know getting to Camp is the first trail of any half-blood. Mine just took a little longer than most.”

“I know,” Percy said with a sigh. “It doesn’t mean I’ve gotta like it.”

“Okay, why don’t we talk about something less depressing.” Mrs. Jackson said as she took a sip from her wine - a luxury for the holiday, she said - and tipped her glass at Rhode. “How’s your romantic life going, dear? With your divinely inherited good looks, you must be fending off all the boys.”

Percy choked on some turkey and tried to pat his chest to help swallow it down. 

“I have been asked out quite a bit at school,” Rhode said with a wince. “But since my last relationship ended in a mess, I’m taking a break from dating to get my head on straight.”

“I understand,” Mrs. Jackson said sympathetically. “I hope you’re feeling better about it now and you’ll get over it in time. Romance can lead to all kinds of wonderful things.”

As she said that, she glanced at Percy with a look that radiated affection and both children of Poseidon could see how much the woman loved her son.

“Speaking of dating,” Rhode said with a sly grin as she glanced at Percy. “How are things going with Bethy, Percy? She mentioned in one of her letters that she was writing to you too.”

Percy’s face went to an adorable shade of red as Sally also looked at him with slight amusement. 

“I’m going to the bathroom.” Percy said, blushing bright red as he scampered off with the two women giggling at his paltry attempt to escape the question. 

“By the way, Rhode, is it a crush?” Mrs. Jackson asked, curiously.

“Honestly? I’m not sure.” Rhode admitted with a shrug. “But I don’t think so.”

“Really?” Mrs. Jackson said, sounding very pleased. “I hope they make each other happy.”

“Yeah.” Rhode agreed.

“I’m back,” Percy declared dramatically as he exited the bathroom and walked back to the dining table. “So, Rhode, how’s your magical studies going?”

Rhode exchanged an amused look with Mrs. Jackson, knowing he was just dodging the question but at his mother’s nod she decided to humor her brother.

“I’ve been practising some magic I picked up while in Atlantis lately and I’ll be happy to show them to you once I’ve mastered it.”

“Why can’t you show me now?” Percy asked with a pout.

“A, we’re at the dinner table and my spells might wreck your apartment,” Rhode told him with a teasing smile. “And B, I want them to be a surprise.”

“I remember you saying you needed to take some kind of wizard test, right?” Mrs. Jackson asked as she took a fork of turkey. “Mm, were you able to sit and get it done?” 

The teenage girl nodded, “Yeah, I was able to pop by the American wizarding school, Ilvermorny, shortly after Percy went home after summer.”

“Oh? Did they go well?”

Rhode answered with a shrug. “I did okay. Nothing spectacular, but enough so that the wizards and their paparazzi should stop harassing me about it.” 

Mrs. Jackson nodded in relief.

“We’re almost done,” she said, surveying the table. “Why don’t we save the chatting till after we’re finished?”

“Okay.” “Alright.” Percy and Rhode chorused in agreement.

Rhode had offered to help with the clean up after their meal but Mrs. Jackson said that she’d handle it all and that she and Percy should just chat. Percy seemed just as reluctant as she was to agree to it, but his Mom insisted so they had both ultimately agreed. They just couldn’t deny Mrs. Jackson when she shot them that motherly look of hers.

So that’s how Rhode and Percy ended up sitting on their couch continuing to chat as Mrs. Jackson cleaned up after Christmas dinner.

“So Percy, serious now, did Bethy tell you anything about how things are going with her and her family?” Rhode asked. “She’s being kinda vague about it in her letters to me or when I call her.”

“Same with me,” Percy said, now frowning slightly. “You think something is wrong and she’s hiding it? It would be just like her to do something like that.”

“It would.” Rhode agreed with a soft sigh. “So you think we should be worried?”

Percy hummed thoughtfully before shaking his head.

“I don’t think so.” He said hesitantly. “I mean Annabeth would let us know if she’s in trouble, right? She’s stubborn, but she knows to reach out to us if things get bad.”

“Yeah,” Rhode agreed with a swift nod. “Just worried is all. I think I might give a call to Mr. Chase directly just in ca-”

“Probably not a good idea,” Mrs. Jackson said from the kitchen where she was putting the dishes into the washer. “If you do, it’ll come across as accusatory. That alone will cause trouble for Annabeth. Better to just wait and see.”

“Alright,” Rhode said with a resigned sigh. “I’ll just be patient. It’s hard though.”

“I know it is, Rhode.” Mrs, Jackson said as she wiped down the dining table.

Wow, she’s efficient. She’s like a super homemaker!

“But it’s the best course of action you can take, so bear with it.” Mrs. Jackson said as she finished up and put the rag she used back on its hook in the kitchen.

“I’ll try,” Rhode told the woman as she saw her start to make them some hot chocolate. 

“Patience doesn’t come easy to children of Poseidon, does it?” Mrs. Jackson said with a knowing look at her son as she came out carrying a tray laden with three cups of steaming cocoa goodness.

“No, but I’ll do my best.” Rhode repeated herself as she took a cup. “Thank you.”

Mrs. Jackson just smiled.

“So now that Mom’s done with cleanup, gift exchange time?” Percy asked with a playful smirk.

“He’s been itching to ask that all day, hasn’t he?” Rhode asked the boy’s mother with a grin.

“At least he wasn’t asking it repeatedly like he would have when he was younger.” Mrs. Jackson said with a giggle as Percy whined at the tease.

“Oh! Don’t make me share stories about Bethy and chocolate frogs. You would die from laughter.” Rhode insisted with a giggle of her own. 

“Now, I totally want to hear those stories.” Percy said with sparkles in his eyes. “But later ! Gift time now!”

“I don’t have a death by blonde wish.” The elder child of Poseidon snorted. “And yes yes, gifts. Who’s first?” 

“Since you’re the guest, you can go first. Here Rhode, from both me and Percy.” Sally said, passing Rhode a box wrapped in green wrapping paper. “I sewed it and Percy helped me pick the pattern.”

“Open it,” Percy said eagerly as Rhode took the box from his mother.

Shaking her head at her brother’s enthusiasm, she carefully undid the wrapping paper and opened the box to find a handknit sweater. It was green, as she’d expected, and decorated by a smattering of snowflakes that seemed almost as if they were being blown across the surface of the sweater by the breeze. They were subtle, almost artfully done and gave the sweater a youthful but not childish flair.

“It’s beautiful,” Rhode said honestly before she slipped it over her blouse. “How do I look?”

“Wonderful,” Mrs. Jackson said with a grin and Percy shot her a thumbs up.

“Thanks,” Rhode said, blushing lightly at the praise as she turned to fish out the presents she’d gotten for the Jacksons from the bag she’d brought along to dinner.

“Here,” she said, passing the two boxes to her hosts. “These are from me.”

Mrs. Jackson opened hers first and gasped.

“Rhode, this is incredible.” The older woman said as she carefully took out the painting within. It was a framed watercolor painting of her and Percy. 

“It’s no big deal.” Rhode said, waving away the weeks of effort she’d put into the painting.

“You have talent Rhode. Real talent.” Mrs. Jackson said honestly as she held up the painting in different directions as if trying to figure out where to hang it.

“Maybe something to look forward to when college rolls around.” Rhode shrugged with a light laugh. 

“Maybe as an elective.” Mrs. Jackson paused in her thoughts of redecorating to tell her with a wince. “There’s no money in art. Better to major in something more safe.”

“True,” Rhode nodded, before turning to her brother. “By the way, Percy, you’re being strangely quiet.”

Said son of Poseidon just looked at her sheepishly, his mouth full of some of the blue sea salt candies that she’d gifted him.

Mrs. Jackson just laughed at him as she put down her new painting for a moment.

“Percy, mind your manners.” She said through her giggles. “And didn’t you just finish dinner?”

“I had to try and see if they were good.” He insisted as he swallowed his mouthful.

“Are they?” Rhode asked. 

“Yup, thanks Rhode.”

“Thank you for the painting as well, Rhode.” Mrs. Jackson said, echoing her son’s gratitude.

Rhode simply nodded, thinking of how she missed spending Christmas with Bethy and… Luke.

Her mind took a dark turn for a moment that had her trying to push back her mounting rage. 

“So, Rhode,” Percy said suddenly, pulling her from the dark direction of her thoughts. “Like Mom said, you have a real talent for art. You sure you don’t want to do it as your college major?”

“I never said I wouldn’t.” Rhode said, crossing her arms. “Your Mom just suggested I shouldn’t.”

“And I stand by that advice,” Mrs. Jackson said from where she’d already hung up her new painting in pride of place just across from the apartment’s front door so it would be the first thing any visitors saw when they opened it. “College isn’t cheap. Spending all that money on something that likely won’t earn you a living wage is a waste of it.”

“But what about all that ‘pursue your dreams’ stuff we keep getting told in school?” Percy asked, surprised by what his Mom was saying.

“Do it in your spare time,” Rhode chimed in. “Your Mom is right on this, I think. Better to get a college degree that can help you get a decent job first then think about maybe pursuing your dreams. That way you have a fallback.”

“Makes sense I guess.” Percy said, uncertainly. “So, um, what would you major in instead?”

Rhode shrugged. “I dunno. I’ll think about it more when it’s time to start applying for colleges. Right now, I’m leaning towards Physics though.”

“Physics?” Percy asked, sounding disgusted at the mere idea.

“Yeah, hydraulics is a Physics subject.” Rhode told him with a wink and he chuckled.

“Well, I think Physics is a good choice. Though if hydraulics is your interest then Engineering might be too.”

“I know.” Rhode nodded. “I’m considering that too.”

“Enough about me,” Rhode said, turning to Mrs. Jackson as she sat back down. “How’s college treating you Mrs. Jackson?”

They continued to chat all the way till late in the evening, talking about everything from tidbits about their daily lives to their interests and everything in between. It was truly a relaxing and enjoyable experience. It was just so amazingly normal! And for a girl like Rhode such moments were something she treasured beyond measure. All good things must come to an end however and as it neared midnight, Mrs. Jackson asked a question around a yawn that told Rhode that it was time to call it a night.

“Rhode, it’s getting late. Shouldn’t you be heading back to Camp?” 

“It is,” Rhode said, offering the kindly woman a smile even as she stood.

“You’re going already?” Percy asked, sounding torn between being sad that she was leaving and concerned with how tired his Mom was starting to look.

“Yeah,” Rhode told him with a playful ruffle of his hair that got him protesting loudly. “But I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay,” Percy said as he fixed his hair. “I’ll come by Camp one of the coming weekends.”

“I’ll drive him.” Mrs. Jackson assured on her son’s behalf, all but sealing the deal.

“Thanks,” Rhode said with a giggle at the almost betrayed look Percy was shooting his Mum. “Okay, I’m going now.”

“How?” Mrs. Jackson asked curiously, even as Rhode pulled out her wand. 

She’d have used Spellbound but swinging a trident around inside an apartment was just a bad idea. “Apparition. It’s a wizarding mode of teleporting basically.”

Mrs. Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. “I was worried you’d have to travel back the old fashioned way. It’s not safe for a young woman to be travelling alone this late, even if she’s a demigod.”

Part of Rhode, the old rebel without a cause part, was offended at that, but mostly she was grateful for the concern. It was unsafe for a young woman, anyone really, to be out and about so late. New York City was a lot safer nowadays, but street crime was still a thing. So she just offered the older woman a smile.

“Thanks for the concern.” She said before turning to Percy. “You know it sucks that I’ve gotta go. Between school and everything else, I don’t get to spend anywhere as much time with you as I would like.”

“It’s okay, Rhode. I get it.” Her little brother said understandingly.

“Thanks,” Rhode said with a grateful smile. “Bye Percy, bye Mrs. Jackson.”

“Bye Rhode.” The mother and son said in unison even as Rhode spun on the spot and apparated away.

“So I heard you kinda manipulated water pressure on your first quest.” Rhode said to Percy as they both stood by Camp’s canoeing lake about to practice their hydrokinesis. 

It was early spring so it wasn’t really that cold anymore and starting to warm up, the ice on top of canoe lake having finally melted and allowing them to use it for training. That it allowed them to just hang out in their Camp tees and shorts was another plus, walking around in winter wear got tiring after a whole season. 

Oh, and as they talked his sister was juggling some water behind her with her mind. 

She called it control training, but doing that while teaching him? It was a little nuts. 

Hearing her question, he fixed her with a grimace at the reminder of that event during his quest for the Master Bolt. Waterland had not been a fun time, at all. 

“I see you did,” Rhode nodded. “So that gives me an idea on something you can try.”

“Like what?” Percy asked, curious enough to forget his distaste of his experiences at the Tunnel of Love.

“Bolts of pressurized water.” Rhode told him with a slight grin. “Like bottling up the power and then shooting it out. It should make any water bolts you shoot pack an extra punch. Think of it like a bottle rocket.”

“What made you think of this? I mean, I told you about my quest ages ago.”

“One of my school projects involves hydraulic pressure.” Rhode said with a shrug. “It got me thinking. Now don’t interrupt, I’m trying to lecture here.”

“Sorry.” Percy said with a grin that had his sister rolling her eyes.

“Now, I’m fine with ice bolts but you can’t do ice. So this should be a nice way to make up for it. I have ice, you get more powerful water bolts.”

Percy was still trying to figure out how she could just turn water to ice with a casual thought. He didn’t say it out loud, but he had tried it a few times at home and got nowhere with it. He couldn’t even chill tap water. 

“Percy, are you listening?” Rhode chided and Percy hastily nodded.

“Good,” she continued, satisfied she had his attention again. “So let’s give this a try. Try making a water bolt like you normally do but just before you let it fly, try holding it back and letting it loose only after, I dunno, a second or two?”

“Okay,” Percy said as he did as she suggested, even as she created a few ice targets further out on the lake for him to hit.

As usual when he used his hydrokinesis, the water obeyed his commands like it was nothing. Even something as complex or abstract or whatever the word to describe it as what Rhode was suggesting, the liquid obeyed without any complaint. 

Thus, Percy wasn’t even a little surprised as the powered up bolt of water slammed into one of Rhode’s ice targets and shattered it. The whole thing was just a tad more draining than usual.

“I’m always surprised how quickly you get things when it comes to your hydrokinesis.” Rhode said with exasperated disbelief.

“I’m probably just good with water. Plus you’re a good teacher, you helped me with the flow of it during the summer a lot.” Percy told her and he was being honest. Chiron knew stuff, but Rhode just knew stuff. She knew the flow, the feeling and just the motions behind their powers. “And you always have the craziest ideas.”

“You’ve gotta think out of the box Percy.” Rhode said with a grin. “Now let’s see the limits of what you can do with this, alright. Do it again but take longer and build up more pressure this time.”

“Gotcha!” Percy said, as he got ready for a good ol’ training session. 

After about an hour of practising with his new pressurised water bolts and some general hydrokinesis practice later, Rhode had invited Percy on a trip into the woods with Su and her.

“I dunno, I’d feel like a third wheel.” He confessed, trying to decline. He kinda knew Su had a thing for his sister and didn’t want to ruin her chance for a date. 

“It’s not a date.” Rhode said, rolling her eyes. “Malcolm from Athena and Clarisse from Ares are going too. It’s part of keeping the monster population in the woods down. Something that’s part of us, year-rounders’ duties during Camp’s off season.”

“Oh,” Percy said, nodding in understanding. “Then I guess I’m okay with it.”

“Good, now prep for some woods exploring. I’ll go pick up some stuff we’ll need from the Camp Store.” Rhode flashed him a smile. “We can turn it into a lesson about outdoor survival too. Being able to dowse for water with your head is really useful.”

“So should I pack a shovel to dig it up?”

Rhode just looked at him like he’s crazy. 

“Percy… You can use hydrokinesis to summon the water.” His sister said with a shake of her head. “Just go grab your standard quest stuff. I’ll walk you through the basics of outdoor survival.”

Percy blushed at having made a fool of himself.

“Okay!” He said as he ran away, too embarrassed to say anything else.

A few weeks later, Rhode was just waiting for Argus to pick her up from the Burger King along Broadway where she’d just grabbed a snack after school when there was a sudden very localized earthquake.

“What the?” Rhode mouthed as she spun to its source - Minor earthshaker powers helped with that. - and saw a fissure had opened up in the carpark from which a throng of ghosts were hurrying out.

Rhode didn’t need them talking about “making good their escape” or “being careful of pursuing security ghouls” to recognise them as escapees from the Underworld.

“You lousy dead assholes.” She glowered and pulled out her wand from her wrist holster and hurried out of the fast food joint. Quickly, she hit as many as she could with the Seeker Charm. 

The spell was one of those she’d learned to pass her DADA OWLs and was a tracking charm that would let her track anything she tagged with a paired variant of the Four-Point Spell. Plenty useful in all kinds of situations and was thus one of only a handful of the spells she’d learned for the silly wizarding exams that she actually bothered to really commit to memory.

“Shit! The fuzz is on to us, break for it!” One of the ghosts cried out in horror. 

And with that, they fled like Cerberus was on their tails. 

“There goes my afternoon,” Rhode said with a groan. “And my extra fries.” 

Some time later, Rhode chased one of the ghosts through the 231st Street Metro Station. The accursed spirit she was chasing, a redhead woman dressed in a Victorian era dress, having managed to make it all the way here from the Burger King a whole station away.

“You’re not getting away,” Rhode said under her breath as she pulled out one of her Marble Grenades - one of the few items of her questing gear she could bring to school without raising a fuss or having to resort to hiding with her wonky control of the Mist - and tossed it at the fleeing spirit.

Her aim, built up over months of practice, was true and it hit the spirit in the small of her back and triggered. The handy anti-spirit effect immediately activated and shocked the undead woman like a lightning bolt. Stunned, the spirit couldn’t resist as she was pinned to the station floor with Spellbound

“Alright asshole, this is how it’s going down. You are going back to deadman wonderland and deal with the fact you don’t belong up here. Got it? Good.” 

The woman looked very sad, but nevertheless nodded.

“Uncle Hades, here’s another one of those escapees.” She invoked and the ground under her turned to shadow as the long arms of a security ghoul shot out of the portal and dragged the unresisting soul back into the Underworld.

Breathing out a sigh of relief as the portal closed and the ghost was returned to where she belonged, Rhode surveyed her surroundings whilst offering a silent prayer of thanks to her Uncle. 

Good, the job I did with the Mist held. She thought with a grin as she saw that her run-in with the ghost was being thoroughly ignored by the mundane commuters in the station. A few that Rhode sensed were more than what they seemed shot her a look but quickly dismissed her presence and went back to what they were doing. 

I really need to work on my Mist Control. Rhode reminded herself as she finished regaining her breath. It was true, she sucked at it. Well, not entirely but she was definitely subpar for a demigod witch who were all supposed to be decently talented with it.

Lady Hecate must be helping me to cover for this little slip up? She is an Underworld goddess, right? So helping to clean up runaway ghosts is within her doman. Gotta ask Chiron later.

“Either way, ain’t I lucky today,” she said sarcastically.

To be fair, she was. After all, despite the sudden nature of this ghost hunt, she’d somehow managed to keep things completely under wraps. She’d called Argus and let him know what was going on so he wouldn’t wonder where she went. Between that and a few hasty white lies to her school acquaintances she’d inevitably ran into whilst pursuing the ghosts so near her campus, she was pretty sure she was good. Though just having to deal with this mess made her too salty to look on the bright side of things.

“Rhode, I’ve been looking for you.” A familiar voice said from behind her and she spun around, Spellbound at the ready, to see… Cedric Diggory!?

Cedric Diggory

“Cedric?” Rhode asked, blinking at her former Hogwarts schoolmate in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” he said with a charming smile that just got him a raised eyebrow from Rhode. He sheepishly chuckled. “I’m here on behalf of the British Wizarding Resistance, a movement of wizards fighting to drive out the muggles from our world. We’d like to recruit you-”

“Good luck. Not interested.” Rhode said dismissively as she switched Spellbound back into its disguised form and started to walk away. She had no time for this, those ghosts wouldn’t catch themselves.

“Wait! Rhode, please!” Cedric asked, nay, begged as he jogged up next to her. “If I help you out with this ghost problem, would you at least hear me out?” 

Threading a hand through her hair, she gave him a stern look. “Fine, pull some weight on this and I promise to listen. But no more than that. I don’t feel like jumping into a war.” 

We’ve already got one of our own brewing.

Much to Rhode’s surprise, Cedric managed to more than pull his weight and so within a couple hours they were already tracking down the last of the ghosts that Rhode had managed to tag, a pack of them dressed in Classical age finery, in an alley.

“What is with those exorcism spells? I’ve never seen them.” Rhode asked Cedric curiously as he shot one of said spells, a grey beam, at the ghosts and herded them in the direction the two wizards wanted.

“I had a couple ghosts back in my family home and so everyone had to learn a fair few spells of the type to deal with them when they got out of hand.” Cedric said with a chuckle. “They’re pretty standard, though only taught at NEWT level since their utility is so niche.”

“I see,” Rhode nodded in understanding.

“By the way, why are you chasing ghosts, Rhode?”

“Dude, you’re asking me only now?” She asked with a brow raised skeptically.

The handsome boy shrugged. “We’re almost done, right? I didn’t want to distract you till now. You are scarily efficient when you put your mind to it.” 

That makes sense. Rhode thought with a nod.

This was the last of the group she’d managed to tag. If there were any others, they were none of her business. Chiron could send out someone else to deal with them. She was tired of playing ghostbuster.

“Well, then I guess I’ve built up enough goodwill with you for you to hear me out already. So no harm asking now?”

“Very Slytherin of you,” Rhode commented idly as she watched the ghosts huddle together fearfully at the wall that marked the end of the dead end alley.

A few tried to phase through it but a quick spell from Cedric prevented it.

“Since we’re almost done, I guess I can explain.” Rhode said as she relaxed a little. “These ghosts are fresh escapees from the Underworld. I think they exploited the instability brought on by the Crooked One’s rise to slip past Lord Thanatos-”

Cedric was about to say something, when suddenly there was a new figure standing in their midst. One that Rhode recognized.

Standing just in front of her and looking at her with a disapproving frown was Lord Thanatos in all his regal, ebony winged, brown skinned glory. And with him came the wave of utter dread and death that he brought wherever he went.

Thanatos, the god of peaceful death

Damn, he is still crazy good looking. Rhode admitted in her head. Just because she wasn’t dating, didn’t mean she couldn’t admire physical perfection when it presented itself.. 

Shaking the stray thought away, she gave the winged god a look as she steeled herself. 

Cedric, to Rhode’s surprise, despite turning pale as a sheet kept his cool too. Though she wondered what he was seeing the god as. The Mist might not work all that well on wizards but it did have some power over them.

“Rhode, I would have thought you would have invoked me sooner. Or even just called me.” He said in that sweet honey coated baritone voice of his. 

“Uh, I was worried you would be too busy.” Rhode admitted with a nervous smile. “You’re always so busy, Lord Thanatos.”

“Yes, I am.” The god said with a nod. “But dealing with escaped ghosts is my job, Or part of it.”

Whilst Rhode and Lord Thanatos were chatting and Cedric was distracted by the god’s presence, the ghosts had attempted to make a run for it. 

“Not so fast,” Lord Thanatos said, snapping his fingers and causing a surge of power to flood the alley.

Most of the spirits froze, but one managed to act quickly and unbeknownst to Rhode dive into Cedric. Who promptly broke into a run straight out of the alley.

“He ran off? Did your presence break his mind or something?” Rhode asked, eyeing the fleeing wizard in disbelief. “I thought better of him.”

“Don’t think too badly of him.” The god of death told her with a playful smile. “Or what he’ll do. It is not his fault. The Fates have interesting things in store for both of them.”

Rhode looked at Thanatos sharply at that but before she could ask what he meant, the god and the ghosts he’d captured vanished. 

“Great, now I’ve gotta decipher just what he meant there.” Rhode said with a tired sigh as she turned to exit the alley to begin the trip back to Camp. “Guess it’ll be something to occupy my mind for the hours long trip at least.” 

“So you wanted to meet us, servant of the Titans?” An emaciated stallion of a pegasus with a night-black coat, a huge head, fangs like vipers, membranous wings and malevolent dark eyes illuminated by red-hot flames said as he leaned down to glare at the hapless demigod son of Hecate that the Titans had sent to treat with them.

Thunderleg the Nightmare (left) and Tanya the God-slayer (right)

“Loosen up a little Thunderleg,” Tanya said, kicking one of her mate’s legs lightly. “He's so scared he can’t talk. And the longer he takes to say what he came here to tell us, the more time we have to waste on him.”

The monstrous former pegasus scoffed but backed off, trotting to the other side of the clearing they were occupying and leaving the demigod to Tanya to handle.

Lazy ass. The immortal sorceress thought affectionately even as she rolled her eyes.

“So what do you have to say, little boy?” She barked at the boy who looked at least five years older than she did.

“I-I, um, am here to extend an invitation,” the boy said, recovering his nerve as he kept going. “An invitation for you Lady Tanya and Lord Thunderleg to join the armies of my lord, the Crooked One, Lord Kronos, in our war against the gods.”

“And why would we do that, hmm?” 

“We have a plan, my lady.” The boy said with a smirk. “One that will allow my lord to complete his rise whilst also hurting the gods’ beloved Camp.”

“Boring,” Tanya said dismissively. “You know how often I hear that? Thunderleg, help me out? What once every month?”

“Fortnightly,” Thunderleg corrected.

“This isn’t some foolish monster’s ploy, my lady. This is a masterful plan crafted by Lor-”

“Enough,” Tanya said, leveling her gun at the boy. “We’re not interested. Leave before I kill you.”

The boy hesitated for a moment so Tanya gathered some light in the barrel of her gun. That broke his resolve and he turned and fled.

“Was that wise?” Thunderleg asked, trotting back over. “Angering the Titans when they are on the rise is risky.”

“It’ll be fine.” Tanya said with a shrug. “I’m aligned against all divinites. God, Titans, even Gigantes, I will not care. I will kill all of them!.”

As Tanya burst into maniacal laughter, Thunderleg shot her an affectionate look and rubbed his head against hers lovingly.

“Sorry to disturb, Devil of the Rhine, Nightmare of Pegasus,” a newcomer greeted and the couple spun in its direction with Tanya having her gun raised and light gathered for a powerful laser.

“Who are you?” She asked the handsome human that walked into the clearing without a worry in the world.

“My name is Cedric Diggory,” the boy said, though the way the magic around him shifted slightly at his words told her some very interesting things. “I represent the British Wizarding Resistance and I think we can help each other.”

“How did you find us?” Thunderleg asked, shocked that a mere wizard had managed the feat.

But the boy was no mere wizard was he?

“I’m listening, son of Aeolus.” Tanya said, an eager grin on her face.

One night just before the start of summer, Rhode was finishing off the last of her assignments for the school year, her last bit of schoolwork in general, inside Cabin Three when Chiron’s conch horn suddenly sounded.

Alarmed at what it could be about, Rhode leapt to her feet and ran outside. She wasn’t the only one. All the year-rounders were rushing out of their cabins and looking around for Chiron.

“Over there! On Half-Blood Hill.” Someone, Rhode didn’t catch who exactly, shouted.

Rhode spun in that direction and found Chiron, Argus and surprisingly Mr. D standing by Thalia’s tree having a tense conversation that was just shy of being an argument.

Rhode and the other Campers rushed over to the hilltop and as she did, Rhode could not help but notice the seemingly sickly color that had suddenly taken over the bark of Thalia’s tree.

“Poison!” Su gasped as she and her sister Miranda Gardiner ran over to the pine. “It’s been poisoned.”

“Yes,” Chiron confirmed. “With the essence of Lady Achlys’ death-mist. Some of the deadliest poison in the world.”

Rhode staggered to a stop and collapsed to her knees looking up at Thalia’s tree in horrified shock. She was too shaken by this to react, even as the others tried to figure out what had happened.

“Who?” Clarisse demanded. “How? Why?”

“The who and how are simple. This was the work of a traitor obviously.” Mr. D said lazily. “The why? Well, my guess is to weaken this Camp’s wards.”

“What do you mean?” Silena asked, sounding worried.

“Camp’s wards are tied to Thalia’s tree.” Chiron said with a deep frown. “Now that it’s been poisoned, as it weakens-”

“The wards around Camp will as well.” Su concluded, looking away from her examination of Thalia’s pine. “Judging by my guess, I’m saying we have at best till the end of summer before the tree dies and the wards fail.”

“Yes, and as it does monsters will start trying to test them. We will need to set up patrols to-”

“You won’t be doing anything,” Mr. D said, cutting Chiron off.

Chiron looked at the god questioningly.

“Someone has to take responsibility for this.”

“You want to make me the scapegoat?” Chiron asked affronted.

“You are the Activities Director.” Mr D. reminded flippantly. “And you don’t expect me to take responsibility do you?”

That managed to shake Rhode out of her stupor.

“No,” she hissed angrily, frost spreading out from her as she got back to her feet and she marched towards the wine god.

All her horror at the poisoning of Thalia’s tree, at there being a traitor in Camp, at Luke’s betrayal. At everything! Just poured into the anger she was feeling at the wine god’s hypocrisy. 

Mr. D for his part just turned to look at her with annoyance. 

“‘No’ what, Rebecca?” 

“No, you won’t be making Chiron the scapegoat for this.” Rhode said, her breath coming out in a cold mist. “ You’re Camp Director. You’re not going to shift the blame.”

Chiron, Su and what seemed like everyone spoke up, trying to get Rhode to back down. But it was like she was having tunnel vision. She couldn’t hear them. Briefly an image of a seashell appeared in her mind, but that was quickly washed away by the tsunami of anger that was consuming her. All of which zeroed in on Mr. D just like her attention had.

Dionysus, aka Mr. D

“Are you challenging me, girl?” The god asked, his eyes swirling with purple fire.

“Yes.” Rhode said defiantly.

Mr. D didn’t bother to respond verbally, he just slapped Rhode so hard that she crumpled to the ground like a ragdoll.

“Rhode!” Su shouted and tried to rush to assist her but Chiron galloped in front of her in a burst of speed and grabbed hold of her.

“Stay out of this, Su!” He ordered even as he restrained the struggling daughter of Demeter. 

Rhode wasn’t aware of any of that though as she rolled to her feet, wiping the dirt from her eyes and glowered at Dionysus as his purple eyes swirled with disdain and annoyance. 

“Are you still challenging me?” The god asked, his voice stern.

Rhode spat out some blood from her busted lip. “Nice love tap.” 

“Cheeky, and ever so predictable.” The god drawled. “Honestly, you aren’t as clever as you think. You brats are just all bark and no bite. Let me show you how an actual demigod can fight. Oh wait, I’m not one of you, I’m a god now.”

“And you talk too much!” Rhode shouted as she tried to tackle Mr. D only for the god to not move an inch no matter how hard she pushed as the ground beneath her peeled away from the force she was using.

“Pathetic,” he said with a snort as he picked her up by the waist and body slammed her into the ground.

It was like her brain was playing Pong inside her skull as she tried to understand where was up and which way was left as she ate dirt. 

“Does baby godling need daddy to get anywhere? Honestly, you brats whine and whine, but you don’t accomplish much these days.”

“Eat cold!” Rhode said, staggering to her feet once more whilst unleashing a blizzard on Mr. D.

“Thank you, it was getting hot today.” He said as he lifted an eyebrow and caused all the ice she’d conjured to disappear, leaving in its place a snow cone that he tauntingly took a lick of. 

“So shall we continue or will I have to start to break your twiggy bones? Maybe take a limb? You don’t need those, correct?”

“Mr. D! You are not allowed to maim the Campers.” Chiron reminded him from where he was still struggling with Su, now with the assistance of a couple other Campers.

“Bah, what’s a little maiming. It teaches the lesson, no?” The god scoffed. “But I guess the scolding from the Old Man and Barnacle Beard isn’t worth it.”

Even as he said that though, he stepped up to Rhode and punched her in the face. The blow sent her crashing down Half-Blood Hill.

“Still defiant, Renee?” Mr. D asked Rhode as he strolled towards her. “At least you have gumption if nothing else. I did put a little effort in that one. Enough to fracture your neck.” 

“You’ll never break me.” Rhode spat defiantly as she struggled to her hands and knees. Standing was out of the question at the moment, with how her head was spinning.

“Oh girl, I don’t need to break your spirit . Just your body .” Mr. D said with a menacing smirk as he cupped his fists together and brought them both down in a powerful blow to Rhode’s back.

Rhode screamed in agony as she was slammed into the ground so hard that it cratered around her body. Was that a rib in her lung? The gob of blood she just coughed up told her that yes, yes it was. 

With her swimming vision, she could see the god’s sneakers in front of her. Looking up, the god of madness loomed over her with a glare. 

“Anything else you want to say, girl ?” He spat.

Rhode was too busy hacking up a pool of blood - And possibly her other lung. - to even respond. Even still, she sank her fingers into the dirt, struggling to push herself up. 

Mr. D rolled his eyes and kicked her. 

All breath left her as the kick squeezed her leftover lungs like a balloon and sent her hurling right into the New York Sound. 

A distant part of her aching mind realized that the move probably just saved her life instead of splattering her into paste from the impact. 

“Now,” she heard the god’s angry voice despite the distance probably through some magic on the spiteful god’s part. “Anyone else want to challenge my authority? No? Good! Then scram! I need to go find me a new Activities Director.”

It was these last terrible words that wormed into Rhode’s brain as darkness took her vision as she passed out and slowly sunk to the bottom. 

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Nine: Tensions Abound

Beta: ShadowofAxios

Park Central Hotel New York

A few days after being kicked into New York Sound by Mr. D, Rhode was pacing in her hotel room in the Park Central Hotel New York and arguing with Poseidon and Amphitrite over her phone, all while glaring at her recently arrived lunch courtesy of room service that was waiting for her.

Do they have to do this every time I get back from school!? Rhode thought with a pout as she listened to her parents try to, in their own words, “talk sense into her”.

“Rhode, please just go back to Camp.” Dad pleaded over the conference call. “It’s not safe for you to be bouncing around hotels in New York City.”

“I agree with your father, Rhode.” Her stepmother added. “And I know it’s affecting you. You’ve not had a good night's sleep in days.”

Rhode couldn’t deny that. The hopping from unfamiliar bed to unfamiliar bed was making it hard for her to sleep properly. It made her almost wish she’d retained the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime that she’d had when she’d been homeless.

“I’m fine,” Rhode insisted. “Besides, I’m only bouncing around because staying at one place too long is inviting a monster to attack.”

“And that wouldn’t be an issue at Camp.” Dad insisted.

“It is.” Rhode said with an angry growl as she recalled why that was.

“Uh, less of one?” Dad tried lamely.

“And you wanting to try and hunt down the traitor who poisoned Thalia’s Tree against Dionysus’ orders has nothing to do with this? ” Amphitrite asked, ignoring the previous tangent their conversation had taken.

“And against Chiron’s advice too,” Dad added.

“And what am I supposed to do instead? Not try!? I can’t do anything to heal Thalia’s Tree. I can’t pull off some kind of divine botany Dad, but I can at least avenge her memory!” Rhode exclaimed into the phone as fire beat in her heart, her rage rising at the thought of eviscerating the traitor who would hurt Thalia’s Tree. 

Her dad sighed heavily, she could just see him rubbing his eyes with a disapproving look in his sea green eyes. “Rhode, sweetheart, you do not even know who the traitor is. Let alone if they foolishly decided to stay in New York. ” 

“And I can’t track them if they left because I still have school don’t I? Which I would totally ditch if you didn’t threaten to teleport and trap me in Atlantis if I stop going!”

“I do not regret making that ultimatum.” Dad said sternly. “You need to finish your education and I will not let you fail to do so just to go traipsing across the world on a potentially deadly and futile Quest.”

“And Rhode, sweetie, since you’re stuck in New York, then you should really just head back to Ca-”

“I love you but no, means no, Amphitrite.”

Amphitrite and Dad just sighed in resignation.

“Look, if you don’t have anything else to say, I have homework to do and then I've got to hunt down some neutral monsters to pump for information on the traitor.”

“Just try not to threaten them too much. ” 

“I don’t threaten Dad, I bribe.” 

“Anyways, like your mother said, Rhode, please try to sta-” Dad began only to cut himself off and gasp. “Rhode! Get over to Meriwether now! Your brothers need you.”

“Brothers?” Rhode asked, confused. “Dad, what are you-”

“No time to explain,” Dad said urgently . “Hurry! Before the Laistrygonians get them.”

“Alright,” Rhode said, her face going pale at the mention of Laistrygonians. They might not be the worst monsters running around, but the man eating giants weren’t pushovers either and tended to operate in pretty large groups. If Percy ran into them… That he would have trouble would be an understatement, especially if they attacked him at school and he had to fight them while protecting the mortals there.

“Got it!” She told her Dad as she rushed to her bags and quickly began putting on her questing gear. “I’ll be there pronto.”

It took only about fifteen minutes before Rhode was hopping out of a cab at Meriwether but it seemed she was already too late. Looking in through a hole that had been blasted out of the wall of the school’s gym, she saw Annabeth kill what seemed like the last of the Laistrygonians.

“Bethy, what are you doing here?” Rhode asked as she walked into the disaster area that was the Meriwether gym. “And what the hell happened here? Dad mentioned Laistrygonians and- Percy! Is that a cyclops standing next to you!?”

Tyson, the cyclops

“Yeah, uh, he’s Tyson.” Percy said nervously, moving to stand in front of the one-eyed monster. “You know, I mentioned him at Christmas? I kinda just noticed he was a cyclops though.”

Rhode could only nod numbly in shock. Her brother’s only friend at school was a cyclops!? What in the world!?

Before Rhode could ask any more questions, Annabeth walked up to Rhode and grabbed her arm.

“We don’t have time for this.” She hissed as she began dragging her back through the hole in the wall she’d just walked in from. “We need to get to Camp ASAP.”

“What’s the rush?” Percy asked as he, and his cyclops friend, trailed behind them.

Annabeth shot him a look like he was crazy. 

“Thalia’s Tree’s been poisoned and Camp is falling apart because of it. How can you not know!?”

Percy shot Rhode a look of shock.

“I didn’t want you to worry?” Rhode said sheepishly.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at that.

“Okay, whatever, we can scold Rhode later.” The daughter of Athena said as she pulled out a Drachma and tossed it into the street where it sank through and shouted. "Stêthi, Ô hárma diabolês (Stop, Chariot of Damnation!).”

“The Gray Sisters, Bethy?” Rhode asked incredulously as the taxi run by the trio of insane daimon oracles jumped out of what might have been warp speed to park on the curb where Annabeth had dropped her Drachma.

“I want to get back to Camp fast ,” Annabeth explained as she pushed Percy, and by extension his cyclops friend much to the blonde’s dismay, into the cab. “And it is the fastest way there.”

“Fair enough,” Rhode said with a shrug and walked over to the other side of the waiting Chariot of Damnation to squeeze in.

After an eventful ride in the Gray Sisters’ taxi which involved a lot more handling of the three immortal oracles’ lone eye than Rhode was sure Percy ever wanted and a cryptic message about some mysterious “location” being at a series of numbers, Rhode and the others finally made it to Half-Blood Hill to find a phalanx of Campers fighting a group of wolf headed warriors.

Cynocephali

“Are those cynocephali?” Annabeth gasped. “Aren’t they supposed to be super rare?”

“Guess they didn’t catch the memo.” Percy snarked back as they saw one of the bestial warriors armed with a pair of double headed war axes try to leap over the Campers’ shield wall only to be impaled on their pikes and dissolve into gold dust, but not before it threw both its axes into the heart of the phalanx, eliciting cries of alarm and pain.

“We can chat about where they came from later!” Rhode chided as she donned the Pallas Armor and pulled a stream of water out of the magical water bottle of her utility belt and transformed it into a barrage of icicles that impaled a few more of the cynocephali.

This seemed to catch the attention of the wolfmen and a dozen or so turned away from their frenzied assault on the Campers’ unyielding phalanx.

“Incoming!” Percy shouted rather unnecessarily as with a bloodthirsty wolf’s howl, the dozen cynocephali charged down Half-Blood Hill straight at them.

“No hurt Tyson’s friends.” The cyclops shouted suddenly as he tossed a chunk of earth that looked like it had just been ripped out of the ground at a trio of the wolfmen rushing Percy, only for them to leap out of the impact zone with lupine grace.

“Damn these things are agile.” Rhode cursed even as the first of the beastmen headed her way got within jumping range and did just that, leaping at her with its sword raised in a powerful overhead swing.

Rhode just summoned Spellbound and swung it at the airborne opponent even as she channeled a spell through it, “Confringo!”

The powerful wizarding spell sent a blast of fiery orange light flying from her weapon that exploded into a sizable explosion as it impacted with the monster, easily reducing it to gold dust.

Gotta thank Aphros and Bythos for getting me to relearn to use my magic in a fight. Rhode thought idly as she used Spellbound to parry the spear that the next cynocephalus engaged her was armed with.

Much to her annoyance, it was definitely more skilled with its weapon than she was with hers and caught her parry, managing somehow to knock Spellbound to the side in the process. This left her guard open for one of its fellows, one armed with twin daggers to charge in to attempt to gut her.

“Sagitta Infernum (Arrow Hell)!” Rhode cast even as she tugged hard on Spellbound and pulled it out of the lock the first cynocephalus had tried to place it in.

Arcane arrows fired off like a swarm of angry wasps, twisting and turning to nail both of the cynocephali she was fighting, skewering their bodies. Both of them howled in pain but much to Rhode’s shock actually shook off the pain and pressed their attack. The knife wielder slashing at her in a pained, feral fury whilst the spearwolf supported it with frantic thrusts of its spear. 

I can’t keep up with both of them at the same time. Rhode realized as she tried only to earn herself a nasty cut on her shoulder from the spearman, the bastard actually managing to hit her in the small gap between her neck and her shoulder that the Pallas Armor did not cover. Not if I only use Spellbound.

Thankfully, she wasn’t quite so limited. Calling on a little hydrochloric acid from the poison kit on her utility belt, she had it spin around her in random patterns.

The knife wielding wolfman was too caught up in its fury, the dude was even frothing lightly, that he didn’t react quickly enough and practically walked into the acid, upon which it yelped in agony and crumpled to the ground.

“That’s what you get for losing your head in a fight.” Rhode taunted as she used the surprise of the knife wielder going down to finally open some space with the spearwolf. “And what the hell did you put on that spear of yours?”

‘Cos the damned wound wasn’t healing, despite the healing powers that the Pallas Armor usually granted her.

The spearwolf shrugged and tried to move in. Rhode though was ready for him and as he closed, she had the puddle of acid that he seemed to have forgotten about to shoot up at him, but the canny guy just leapt back.

It used the distance to survey the rest of the battle and Rhode did the same, noticing that most of its cynocephali compatriots were dead or on the side of losing battles. Percy was strangling a pair with ropes of water whilst he helped Annabeth up from where she’d seemed to have fallen, looking like she might’ve sprained her ankle in addition to nursing a nasty cut to her arm. Tyson was using a tree he’d uprooted as a club and was winning a game of keep away with three more cynocephali. And the remainder were slowly being pushed down Half-Blood Hill by the Campers' phalanx, dozens dying by the tips of its pikes.

The wolf man let out a bark and saluted at her before bolting, fleeing the battlefield without a second thought, howling as it did and causing those of its surviving fellows with the ability to do so to join him in making their escape.

Rhode waited for the last of them to run out of sight and the others to finish off those who were at their mercy before finally releasing her Pallas Armor.

“That was anticlimactic.” Rhode grumbled as she used her Toxikinesis to draw out whatever poison the spearwolf had used against her.

“Rhode! Are you alright?” Su said as she ran out of the phalanx, it was splitting up anyways, towards her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just some poison.” Rhode grunted as she finished extracting it. She put it in a vail to look at later. “It wasn’t that strong. Nothing some ambrosia won’t fix.”

Su breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s really been poisoned.” Bethy’s pained cry from nearby had Rhode turning towards her.

“Uh, Annabeth, I thought you knew that already.” Percy said, looking at Annabeth worriedly.

“Yeah, but-”

“It’s okay Bethy,” Rhode said, walking over to her. “We’ll find a way to fix it. To save Thalia. But for now, let’s get back into Camp so I can heal you. Just in case there’s more monsters lurking around that might be thinking to take a shot.”

Annabeth frowned and visibly fought back tears but nevertheless nodded, allowing Rhode and Percy, one on either side of her to help her up Half-Blood Hill. Tyson and Su following after them like ducklings after their mother.

“I could summon my Ent golem.” Su suggested as she walked beside Rhode. “It might be easier for Annabeth.”

“No need,” the daughter of Athena said stubbornly. “I can handle this.”

“Leave her, she’s using the pain to distract from everything else.” Rhode told the daughter of Demeter. “Go get the Campers back to their Cabins or something. I’ve got these three.”

Su frowned but Rhode shot her a look and she compiled with a sigh.

As they came down the Hill and into Camp, Rhode spotted Tantalus, the new stand-in Activities Director that Mr. D had brought in to replace Chiron, waiting for them.

Tantalus, stand-in Activities Director of Camp Half-Blood

“Welcome back Campers,” the damned soul on loan from the Fields of Punishment greeted. “And oh! You’re brought back a pet cyclops so we can use it in training or perhaps as target practice! Thank you!”

Tantalus was barely finished speaking when suddenly a familiar hologram of a trident appeared over Tyson’s head, stunning everyone.

Even as everyone knelt and Rhode reflexively did so too, only one thought went through Rhode’s mind.

Dad, what the hell!  

Sure she’d figured out Tyson was her brother by what Dad had said over the phone, but to claim him!? That was... Rhode didn’t even have words for it.

I-I need time to think about this.

“Su!” She shouted as she stood up. “Can I crash in your Cabin tonight?”

“Huh? Uh, sure, Rhode.” Su said reflexively. “Just pray to Mum for permission before you go in, okay?” 

“Pretty Rhode?” Tyson asked, looking at Rhode in confusion but she just shook her head and ignored him, marching off to Cabin Four lost in thought.

Thankfully Lady Demeter accepted her prayer and the promise to burn her an offering during dinner and she was able to spend the night at Cabin Four. Still, the second she stepped inside, the teenager pulled out her divine cellphone. 

“Come on, pick up.” She muttered heatedly into the device as it dialed the number she’d called. 

A cheerful tune jingled into her ear. “I’m sorry, but I’m currently swamped. Please call back at a later time or leave a message. *Beep* ”

“Dad, Dad you pick up! You are able to screen your calls, I know you know it’s me. Pick up so I can yell at you!” 

There was no reply and she growled in anger.

Su and her siblings looked at her as if she was nuts. What? So she could yell at her Dad, how was that weird? 

“Well, if you’re not going to answer then I’ll call Amphitrite! See how you like Mum breathing down your neck for ignoring me!”

“She thinks of Amphitrite as her mom? And the goddess doesn’t mind?” Someone muttered, but Rhode ignored them to dial her stepmum’s number.

“Mum! You there?” Rhode all but shouted into the phone when the call connected.

“This is better than TV!” A voice stage whispered. 

“Shh, she might hear you!” 

“Yes, I am sweetie.” Amphitrite replied, sounding incredibly happy for some reason. “No need to shout.”

“Awesome, can you put Dad on the line. I have an issue to speak of with him.” 

“... He’s… tending to a thing.” 

“A thing?”

“A thing.” 

“He’s right there, isn’t he?” Rhode drawled. 

“Yes, but he’s giving us both the silent treatment.”

Both ladies of the House of Atlantis groaned in unison.

“So you know why I called? About Dad claiming Tyson, a cyclops, out of nowhere?”

“Yes, I am.” Amphitrite told her. “What’s the matter though?”

“He’s a cyclopes! A wild one!” 

“So were some of your other siblings you met while at Atlantis. You remember Iraklis? You seemed to get along with him famously.”

“He, he was different…” Rhode paused and palmed her face. “And I’m being a hypocrite aren’t I?”

“A smidge. I hope you haven’t said anything mean to your little brother.” 

“Little brother?” Rhode boggled. “How old is Tyson?”

“About seven to eight years old by human standards. Cyclopes age more slowly than humans. He’s basically still pretty much a child.”

“Oh,” Rhode said, feeling like a heel. 

Thankfully she hadn’t actually been mean to her prepubescent brother.

“Uh, so Dad claimed him to keep him safe from what Tantalus was threatening to do to-”

“Rhode, back up, did you say Tantalus? What is he doing in Camp?”

“Mr. D made him the stand-in for Chiron.”

Amphitrite growled in a way that Rhode had never heard from her. It was like the fury of the ocean made manifest.

“He goes too far!” She roared. “Dionsysus might not like heroes but Tantalus is likely a genuine threat to the Campers. He loathes heroes and the gods!”

“Yeah, we all kinda figured tha-”

“You misunderstand Rhode, Tantalus has actively orchestrated the death of heroes in the past. He’s dangerous.” Amphitrite added, her voice still radiating fury. “I’m going to have to give Thetis a call. She’ll hopefully talk sense into that boy! I swear, Tantalus? How petty can that boy be! And don’t even get me started on how Demeter must feel about having him at Camp!”

“Uh, sure?” Rhode said, uncertainly.

“Rhode, this is Dad.” The aforementioned god said over the phone suddenly. “Your mother has stormed off to find Thetis, I think. So, um, you’re not angry at me anymore?”

“No, Dad.” Rhode reassured him. “Sorry for overreacting.”

“It’s fine. Just, uh, take care of Tyson okay? And try talking sense into Percy about him too?”

“I’ll try. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you too, bye Rhode. I need to go stop your mother before she does something rash. Honey, put those stingrays down!”

“Go, Dad.” Rhode said with a chuckle as the line cut off.

“Rhode?” Su spoke up after the daughter of the sea put away her phone. 

“Yeah Su.”

“You are amazing.” She giggled while her siblings looked like Rhode was some kind of strange existence. 

She just had a conversation with her parents. How was she the weird one? 

Rhode might have calmed down after her talk with her parents but she had asked for a night in Cabin Four from Aunt Demeter and she wasn’t about to piss her off by backing out at the last minute so she’d stayed. It was like a sleepover with Su and her siblings and it was great. They talked late into the night and all around had fun.

By next morning, Rhode couldn’t put it off any longer though. She had to go settle things with Tyson. 

Amphitrite’s reaction to Tantalus had managed to put her concerns over Tyson into perspective. There were more important things to be worried about. Tantalus was a real danger and here she was pissed off about her Dad claiming one of her brothers to protect him from Mr. D and Tantalus abusing him. Heck, the spirit had even suggested using Tyson as a target for training! How could Rhode have forgotten that?

“No! You cannot go visit the pegasi! They're jumpy as is and you’ll freak them out!” Rhode heard Percy shout at Tyson as they both stepped out of Cabin Three and she walked towards them.

“Percy!” Rhode hissed as she speedwalked the remaining distance to her brothers. “You don’t need to shout at Tyson like that.”

“You’re taking his side? Really?” Percy asked incredulously. “What did I say was untrue?”

“Nothing,” Rhode admitted with a grimace. “But you didn’t need to shout it into Tyson’s face like that. He’s our brother, treat him like it.”

“Brother!? Since when were you okay with that? With being considered on the same level as a monster by Dad?”

“Percy,” Rhode said with a groan at her brother essentially thinking like she had yesterday. “Dad did that to save his life, not to insult us. And unless you’re forgotten your lessons, again, we have plenty of non-human relatives besides just Tyson.”

A loud clearing of the throat caught both their attention and the two half-blood children of Poseidon turned around to find a pair of Oceanids standing there carrying a number of bags

“Thekla, Estella?” Rhode gasped in surprise at seeing the two nymphs who had served as her handmaidens while she’d been in Atlantis. “What are you two doing here?”

“We went to collect your things from the Park Central,” Thekla informed her with a smile as she patted the duffle bag she was passing to Estella. 

“I’ll help you put your things away, my lady.” Estella said as she took the bag and pulled along the suitcase she’d had with her, as she entered Cabin Three. Tyson politely opened the door for her and earned himself a grateful smile from the nymph in the process.

“As for you Lord Percy, I would listen to your sister’s advice.” Thekla said with a scolding look on her face. “You have many non-human siblings. If you cannot learn to accept then, I fear things will be very difficult for you. For if you cannot trust family, then who can you trust?”

“Uh,” Percy said lamely as he was put on the spot.

“Just think about it Percy.” Rhode said with a sigh before walking towards Thekla. “You here long?”

“Only to help return the things you left behind I’m afraid, my lady.” Thekla said with a shake of her head. “We can’t be far from the ocean too long.”

“That’s a shame.” Rhode said as she led the Oceanid inside Poseidon Cabin. “But you and Estella are here now, let’s catch up for as long as we can.”

“We would like nothing better,” Thekla assured her as behind them she heard Percy apologize to Tyson.

The next day, deciding to help Tyson integrate into Camp a little better, Rhode brought him to the Camp forge.

“So Charlie, what do you think? Can Tyson help out around here?” 

Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus

Charles Beckendorf, the buff African-American son of Hephaestus, who was running the forge for the day nodded.

“We can always use a hand,” he said with a smile. “Especially one with the skill of a cyclops.” 

“Thanks Charlie. This means a lot. If you need me to do something-”

“Nah, Rhode, no worries. You just help keep the Campers in line. They need someone to listen to since Mr. D’s rather hands off about it. And without Chiron around and his stand in being who he is, yeah you’re basically in charge around Camp right now.” The tall teen waved his large palm dismissively. 

Rhode blushed at that but nodded. “I’ll try.”

“I can build things?” Tyson asked, pulling them both from their conversation.

Rhode tossed him a smile. “Sure thing big guy.”

The lovable lug clapped his hands together and pulled Rhode into a large bear hug. 

“Thank you!”

“N-No problem, big guy.” Rhode patted his arm. “Just listen to Charlie. He’s in charge when in the forge, okay?”

“Yes! I listen. Next time we maybe go pet ponies?” Tyson asked hopefully as they pulled apart.

Flóga and the other Pegasi like cyclopes only as far as they can throw them, which is not at all. Rhode thought with a wince that she only managed to hide from Tyson because he got distracted by Charlie showing him around the forge.

Getting the pegasi to agree to a visit from Tyson would take a lot of convincing. And bribes of food.

“Sure, I’ll talk to them.”

Tyson made a happy sound as Charlie began to show him the forge’s furnace and Rhode turned to them with a smile.

She was about to walk over to join them when the mood was ruined by the hated voice of Tantalus calling out from the door of the forge.

“Ah, there you are Lady Rhode.” The damned spirit said with a smarmy smile. “I have been looking for you.”

For some reason the former king of Tantalis just got a kick out of calling her by her title as a formally adopted member of her Dad’s court. All the time. And somehow made it sound dirty when doing so too.

“What do you want Tantalus?” Rhode asked, her arms crossed as she glared at the dead man.

“So cold! And here I was hoping you could look into getting the stables cleaned.” Tantalus said, sounding pained. “After all, you wouldn’t want to forget to do it and get marked down for it in the next inspection.”

“Already on the list, sir.” Rhode tensely. “Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion, dear.” The acting Activities Director said, his demeanour changing in an instant to one of cold contempt. “I expect them spotless before the dinner bell tolls. Oh, and no magic.” 

Bastard just wants to get back at me because of the complaint Amphitrite made to Mr. D about hiring him. Rhode concluded as she clenched her fists in anger.

“That’s in two hours,” Rhode noted through gritted teeth. “And ‘no magic’? That makes this a punishment. You really want to try that?”

“Oh, silly me! The concept of time just slips away when you pass on. And punishment? Heavens forbid! Nothing like manual labor to get one feeling like a contributing member of our fine Camp Half-Blood. Or what’s left of it.” 

“My father and Amphitrite will hear about this,” Rhode promised. “You know neither of them are happy you’re here. They might not be able to do anything to you while Mr. D has your back, but once you get back to the Underworld… Well, my Uncle Hades and my Dad actually get along quite well.”

The dead man flashed her a dark wicked smile. “Yes, but that is then, not now. Chop chop, my lady .” 

“Fine!” Rhode growled as she made to leave.

“I help Rhode,” her brother said as he moved to join her but Rhode held up a hand to stop him.

“No, stay here and enjoy yourself.” Rhode ordered. “I’ll settle the stables. Take the time to convince the guys to not freak out when you visit too, so you can come next time. That good?”

Tyson looked torn, glancing between the forge and Rhode so she pushed him gently back towards Charlie who had been watching everything that had transpired with an unhappy look on his face.

“Charlie, watch him for me?” She asked with a smile.

“Ahem! Time’s a wastin, as they say, Lady Rhode.” Tantalus chimed in venomously.

Rhode shot him a glare and turned to head towards the stables. 

Tantalus was not done being a dick though as demonstrated by his decision to reintroduce chariot races to Camp. Why he would reintroduce something that got banned for being too dangerous in a Camp that trained Heroes to fight monsters was beyond her. Well, not really. The dick, and Mr. D too, probably just wanted to see Campers die in a legal manner. But that no one on Olympus objected enough to stop him was just insane. She knew her Dad and Amphitrite had complained, again, but besides them none of the other gods seemed to care. Well, except for Demeter.

By Tartarus, Amphitrite had told her Demeter was going through a possible Grainzilla moment on Olympus over Tantalus being at Camp. Or close to one at least. But again, none of the other gods seemed to care!

But back to the upcoming races! Rhode, Percy, Annabeth and Tyson had decided to work together as a team. The plan was to have Rhode and Tyson help out with the construction and let Percy and Annabeth to actually take part in the race as the fighter and driver respectively

“Rhode, I still think you should compete with Percy in the race proper.” Bethy said as the two girls took a break while the boys put on the chariot’s wheels. The girls having finished their work on the carriage ahead of schedule had been waved away when they’d offered to help the boys. This despite the bags under Percy’s eyes he was getting thanks to all the strange dreams of Grover he was having. Something about some fleece, and a evil cyclops holding him captive? Percy couldn’t make sense of it all, much less explain it properly.

“It’s fine.” Rhode said, setting aside her worries over Percy’s dreams even as she waved Annabeth’s concern away. “I’m honestly not too interested in this race business. I don’t wanna give Mr. D or Tantalus the satisfaction. I’m only helping out ‘cos you guys are into it.”

Bethy frowned but nodded.

“Okay, but letting a cyclops help? Is that a good idea?” The daughter of Athena asked, eyeing Tyson warily.

“We’ve been over this Bethy.” Rhode said with a tired sigh. “I know you don’t trust cyclopes. After what we’ve seen they can do. After what they did to us, I can totally understand.” 

And the less said about that the better. Some of the things Rhode, Bethy and the others had seen evil cyclopes get up to whilst they’d been making their way to Camp Half-Blood was stomach churning. 

“But Tyson isn’t like those cyclopes.” Rhode continued after just barely managing to avoid shuddering at unpleasant memories. “He's, for lack of a better word, a good cyclops.”

“If you say so,” Bethy said uncertainly.

“Trust me,” Rhode assured her little sister in all but blood, giving the younger girl’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Is Annabeth venting to you about not trusting Tyson again?” Percy asked with a frown as he and their aforementioned monstrous brother walked over.

“Yeah,” Rhode confessed easily. 

“I’m sorry about other cyclopes being evil.” Tyson said, turtling in on himself, looking pained. “Again.”

Bethy to her credit just sighed. “I know. It’s just knowing something doesn’t make it easier to change my feelings, okay? Give me time.”

“Take all time you need.” Tyson said, offering her a big smile that Bethy, much to Rhode’s satisfaction, tentatively returned.

“So we’re done for the day?” Rhode asked Tyson. He was after all the chief engineer of their little project.

“Think so.” Her brother said after eyeing their progress critically for a moment. “We do good work today.”

“Great,” Rhode said as she leapt off the stool she’d been sitting on and stretched a little. “Then I’m gonna go. Su wanted me to help her with some potions making.”

All three of Rhode’s siblings exchanged knowing looks, yes even Tyson, and she couldn’t help but pout at them in reply.

“It’s not a date.” She insisted. “With the Hecate kids all gone and Lee too, the two of us are the last witches in Camp. Someone has to help Cabin Seven restock their supply of wizarding potions. And you can’t expect me to just let Su do it all alone.”

“Whatever you say Rhode,” Bethy teased. “Whatever you say. Just don’t mix too much together.”

Huffing in indignation that they didn’t believe her, Rhode stalked off to her totally not a date appointment with Su.

“Su, when did we get a potions lab?” Rhode asked somewhat incredulously as she stepped into an underground cellar set up as just that inside the Big House.

“Since Cabin Seven fell in love with wizarding healing potions.” Su said with a shrug. “It’s usually run by the Hecate kids but since they all ran off to join the Titans…”

Rhode growled at the reminder but quickly dismissed her anger. She’ll save it for when she could crack some Hecate kids skulls.

“So why am I learning about this now?” She asked instead.

“The Hecate kids treated this place practically like their sanctum. They never let anyone else in even other Campers who were wizards and witches.” Su said as she walked over to look at a cauldron full of a bubbling potion. “I only took over, like I said, after they ran off."

“And why wasn’t I let down here in the months since they did?” Rhode asked, her arms crossed and looking at Su questioningly.

“You suck at potions Rhode,” Su reminded her. “And you hate brewing. If I didn’t absolutely need the help today to meet Cabin Seven’s demand now that summer has started I wouldn’t have asked you.”

“Let’s start on some Wiggenweld Potion.” Rhode deflected with rosy cheeks, embarrassed by Su’s entirely accurate assessment of her brewing skills. “I’ll prep the dry ingredients and you can brew the batch.”

“Sure, they’ll need a new batch of it.” Su agreed even as she had Helel grow a few vines from out of her blouse and had them start bottling the potion she had been examining. 

“Is that Skele-Gro?” Rhode asked curiously as she walked over to a recognisable ingredients cabinet to start putting together what she needed for the Wiggenweld Potion.

“Yes, I’m just getting it prepared in case we have some maiming during the chariot races.” Su nodded with a grumpy pout on her face. “I think it’s stupid that that man reintroduced them.”

“Preaching to the choir here, Su.” Rhode replied as she walked over to a workstation with a basket full of the ingredients she’d just picked out. “But everyone else is totally hyped out about it. So…”

“Yeah, even my Cabin is somewhat enthused about it despite our Mum’s history with that scoundrel.” Su said with a sigh as she left Helel to his bottling and walked over to examine the contents of the cauldron next to it. “Katie has them building a chariot to compete too.”

“Katie is?” Rhode asked, surprised. “Not you?”

“I refused to participate.” Su explained  with a huff as she nodded at the potion she had been examining. “This Wound-Cleaning Potion is ready for bottling too. Rhode, help with that while I brew the Wiggenweld?”

“Sure,” Rhode agreed. “Let me finish the ingredients prep first.”

“Here, let me help with that.” Su said as she joined Rhode to do just that.

“So what else are we brewing today?” Rhode asked as they worked.

“Besides the Wiggenweld, I’m thinking a new batch of Skele-Gro and Wound-Cleaning Potion plus a Fire-Breathing Potion.”

“Are you really brewing a Fire-Breathing Potion?” Rhode asked, looking to her friend in surprise. “Who requested that ? Couldn’t have been Cabin Seven.”

“While I’m not a fan of fire, it could be useful to have.” Su reasoned simply. “And it was Cabin Five. Who else could it have been?”

“Of course they would ask for it.” The tanned girl chuckled as she went back to her prep work. “Have you been able to talk to your dad lately?” 

“Yeah,” Su said with a nod. “He’s not happy I decided to stay in Camp and not go find a job or pursue my NEWTs. Apparently, homeschooling for my high school diploma in Camp isn’t good enough for him.”

Rhode blinked. “He didn’t strike me as the type to make an issue of these kinda things.”

“He’s Chinese , of course he takes issue with me ‘not being serious about my studies’. The stereotype of us Chinese being obsessed about our kids doing well in their studies is totally true. For a lot of us at least. My Dad isn’t as bad as some, but he does feel that way too.”

“Sorry to hear you and your Dad aren’t getting along,” Rhode told her friend honestly. “So, um, anything else has happened to you lately that I don’t know about?”

Su shot her an amused look. “Rhode, we live in Camp together. You know almost everything I do, the same way I do about you.”

“Yeah, but there’s some things I might’ve missed?” Rhode asked with a nervous laugh.

Su just giggled at Rhode before shaking her head. “No, nothing that I can think of. You?”

Rhode considered the matter for a moment before she shook her head too. “Guess you’re right. We do know practically everything we each get up to.”

They worked in companionable silence after that until they were ready to start brewing.

“Hey Su, want to let me have a try at brewing?” Rhode asked tentatively. “Wiggenweld isn’t too difficult.”

“Sure,” Su said, offering Rhode a brilliant smile. “Let me help you with the stirring okay. You know how important that is to the Wiggenweld.”

Rhode blushed at that, but nodded.

Su’s tinkerbell-like giggle at her reaction just made her blush harder.

Rhode watched the chariot races from the stands in the hippodrome that Cabin Nine had constructed for the event. She was disinterested in the whole event and was just there to support Percy and Annabeth. She had Tyson near her, just in case. Tantalus had it in for him, and her to a lesser extent, and she wasn’t about to take any risks.

“Huh, what is that?” A son of Apollo asked as he pointed at something in the sky at about the halfway mark of the race.

Rhode was among one of the many others who turned to see what had caught the boy’s attention and spotted a churning dark cloud flying towards them. No, not a cloud. A flock of birds.

Birds which were now dive-bombing them. Literally. The whole front portion of the flock dived down like living arrows at the Campers. Caught completely off guard, many were unable to react in time and were hit. Metallic beaks piercing flesh and eliciting cries of agony from the pigeon-like monsters’ unfortunate victims.

The birds attacking Camp

“We’re under attack!” Someone, a Camper from Cabin Ten if Rhode remembered correctly, shouted, jogging the last few stunned Campers out of their reverie and into action.

“Bring the injured here!” Rhode heard Su shout as she summoned Spellbound - she never left her Cabin without it - and tried to fend off a trio of the birds attacking her, but the damnably agile things just flew around her attempts like she wasn’t even trying. Thankfully, Tyson- in a demonstration of incredible hand-eye coordination- swatted the trio into gold dust with just a couple swings of his huge hands.

“Thanks Tyson,” Rhode told her brother with a nod as she surveyed the beleaguered hippodrome where Campers, both charioteers out in the track and the spectators in the stands, were desperately trying to fight off the birds. “Watch my back.”

“Always,” her brother rumbled happily as he swatted at the birds coming at her, ignoring how they were trying and largely failing to pierce his own thick cyclops hide.

Rhode offered him a smile as she quickly catalogued what was going on. Mr D. was, of course, unbothered inside his VIP booth and was watching the chaos whilst looking giddy with amusement. Tantalus had vanished but who cared about that waste of space! Most of the charioteers, excepting the Ares chariot, had abandoned the race and were desperately trying to fight off the birds with whatever weapons they had on hand. Considering they’d all stocked up for the race, they were doing okay.

The audience however were not. Most of them had come unarmed and were thoroughly unprepared for the attack. A group of Hermes kids had made a break for the armory under the guard of some of those with their weapons, but mostly everyone was fighting unarmed with whatever powers they had. And generally doing a bad job of it. Rhode hated to say it but outside of a few exceptions most half-bloods rarely got powers that could easily be used offensively in a direct fashion.

“Bring the injured over here!” Rhode heard Su shout again and turned to see her wearing her Ent golem like the Hulkbuster Iron Man suit and Helel’s vines writhing around it as she used both to kill any bird that got close to her, while shielding a makeshift triage station run by a few Apollo kids.

She’s got that covered. Rhode concluded with pride at how badass her friend looked. Now, I just need to figure out what these damned things are and how to beat them!

Meanwhile, as she thought, she continued to help out as best as she could.

“Sagitta Infernum (Arrow Hell)!” She cast, sending as many arcane arrows as she could pump out of the spell flying and shooting down two dozen of the monstrous pigeons. This barely did any good though as the birds’ numbers barely took a hit, it did cause a small shower of metallic beaks to fall to the ground as spoils though.

“Tyson, what are those beaks made of?” Rhode asked her brother curiously as she tugged hard on any water nearby with her hydrokinesis and pulled together a small puddle from abandoned water bottles to use as ammunition.

“Celestial Bronze.” Her cyclopean brother informed her with barely a glance at one of the aforementioned beaks.

“Birds with Celestial Bronze beaks? These are Stymphalian Birds!” Rhode realized as her stomach dropped as she recalled from her lessons that if they didn’t fend these monsters off they would, in the words of Emily way back when, “strip their victims to the bone”.

“Tyson go grab me a son of Apollo,” she ordered even as she was busy firing off a barrage of icicles she’d made of her collected water with swings of Spellbound.

“But who watch your back?” Tyson asked worriedly.

“I’ll be fine,” Rhode reassured him as she pulled even more water from abandoned water bottles to her and had them swirl around her in a protective vortex. “Go!”

Tyson frowned but nodded and ran off, swatting at any Stymphalian Bird foolish enough to get within his range.

As he ran off, Rhode spotted one of the chariots riding away from the track and whilst sending another storm of icicles at the Birds turned to see Percy and Annabeth ride off towards the Big House for some reason.

They better have some kinda plan. Rhode thought with a growl, because if they were abandoning the fight. They would be having words after all this was over.

It was a few minutes and a couple refills to her dwindling supply of water when Tyson returned with a battered looking Micheal Yew.

“Michael, I need you to sing.” She told the boy without preamble. “We need music to drive these things off.”

“Uh, how am I gonna sing loud enough to manage that?” Michael asked incredulously as Tyson slapped a Stymphalian Bird going for a hit to the son of Apollo’s head right out of the air and into gold dust.

“Sonorus,” Rhode cast absently as she fired off another barrage of icicles. “That should fix the volume problem. Now sing!”

Michael looked skeptical but obliged and the Amplifying Charm did its job, transforming his voice into something straight out of a concert venue’s sound system, working wonders to startle the Stymphalian Birds and leave them vulnerable to the Campers’ counterattack. Things only got worse for the monsters when Percy and Annabeth drove back to the hippodrome whilst blasting Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin from Chiron’s collection at them from a portable stereo.

Thanks to their combined effort, the Birds were dealt with within minutes, just enough time for Clarisse’s Cabin Five chariot - the only one still in the race - to pull across the finish line.

It was at this point that Tantalus crawled out from under whatever rock he’d been hiding under throughout the monster attack and stood up.

“And the winner of the Chariot Race is Cabin Five!” The insane spirit said from out of the blue.

Everyone , even Clarisse and her driver, looked at him incredulously.

“What are you all staring at me for?” The former king snapped. “Applaud the victor!”

All the Campers exchanged confused looks but starting with those from Ares Cabin, one by one they all started clapping.

Tantalus needs to go. Rhode thought as she too clapped. We almost all got killed and he doesn’t care, and thinks his stupid race is more important? We need to get rid of him and fast. But how to do that and not piss off Mr. D...

As much as the god seemed to dislike the spirit. And his constant ribbing of the man was proof of that. Tantalus was still Mr. D’s hire and Camp was his domain. Doing anything against the spirit without the god’s approval would just get her pummeled. Again.

One time was good enough, thank you very much. Rhode thought with a wince as she recalled the beating Mr. D had given her the last time she had defied him.

The matter was taken out of her hands when suddenly a pillar of grain grew out of nowhere and out of it strode a furious looking Demeter who was glaring at Mr. D.

“Dionysus, enough is enough!” The goddess of agriculture roared, the corncomb crown she wore popping kernels, leaving a popcorn trail behind her. “I can understand, if not condone, if you want to use that wretch-” The angry goddess took a moment to glare at a trembling Tantalus before jerking away from him to level her fellow Olympian with her furious gaze. “-as some kind of statement about your authority here at Camp! But! You will not do so at the expense of its safety. Do something about its failing wards! Now!”

“And what exactly Aunt, do you want me to do?” Mr. D asked lazily, sipping from his Diet Coke without a care in the world.

“Send out a Quest to find something to heal that tree.” Demeter shot back.

“And what could do that?” Mr. D said with a shrug.

“The Golden Fleece!” Percy shouted suddenly. “Grover’s found it. I saw it through our empathic link. If we can just find him, we can find the Fleece. It’s got powerful healing magic, right? It can heal Thalia’s Tree!”

“The Golden Fleece? I suppose that would work.” Mr. D said, humming thoughtfully.

“Of course it would work.” Demeter sniffed at her fellow Olympian. 

“The question,” Tantalus started, earning a glare from Demeter that almost, but only almost, had him cowering.

“Were you given permission to speak, creature?” Demeter sneered. 

“I am, by Lord Dionysus' grace, Camp’s Activities Director, Lady Demeter, if we are issuing a Quest then it is my right to have a say.”

“Yes, the only thing preventing me from sending your soul back to my brother and needling him to make your afterlife worse .” The goddess of agriculture sweetly pointed out. 

“Regardless,” Tantalus said after a nervous gulp. “We have no idea where the Fleece or this Grover satyr Jackson speaks of are.”

“30, 31, 75, 12!” Annabeth shouted. “That’s where they are. The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. You know they can’t be wrong.”

“Bah, they could be sending you to a Starbucks for all you know.” Dionysus snorted. “Wouldn’t be the first time, I swear. You make one joke and they give you the wrong directions.” 

“Nephew,” Demeter said with a growl as she shot the younger Olympian the darkest look yet. “Stop playing games. Unless you want Camp to fall and your father to punish you for that , I advise you to take this seriously.”

Mr. D’s eyes narrowed in anger at the threat but nevertheless nodded.

“Tantalus, pick our Questers.”

It was a snub to Demeter. He knew it, she knew it. Everyone did. But besides the corncombs in Demeter’s hair popping even more violently and showering the ground with a new carpet of popcorn, no one said a thing.

“Hmm… I think the choice is obvious. Clarisse! As winner of the chariot race, you will lead this quest.” Tantalus said with a smirk.

“You can’t be serious!” Rhode shouted, no longer able to contain her anger. “I’m a daughter of Poseidon. I know nautical coordinates. Those were for the Sea of Monsters! And you aren’t picking the obvious choices for a Quest into it!?”

“The girl has a point.” Demeter said, as she pointed at Rhode and Percy, a look of disbelief on her face. “Seriously? Sea of Monsters, the ocean, and that’s how it’s going to go down?” 

Of course all the other Campers seemed to join in the goddess bandwagon and booed the choice. 

“If the sea brats want to go they can join if Casper chooses them as her Questmates,” Mr. D said disinterestedly. “But otherwise, the choice is made. Live with it. Claire, do you accept the Quest?”

“I do Lord Dionsyus.” Clarisse said enthusiastically.

“Good, good.” Mr. D said with a lazy wave of his hand as he stood to leave. “Then it’s settled. Tantalus, I leave the rest of this to you.”

With that he teleported away, Demeter following after him but not before shooting Tantalus one last glare.

“Now then Clarisse, why don’t you start getting ready for your Quest. Everyone else, clean up the mess and disperse.” With that Tantalus sauntered off, presumably towards the kitchen to try and fail at getting something to eat.

Rhode spat angrily in his direction before turning to help with cleaning up after the Stymphalian Birds.

After the Campers dispersed, Rhode was heading back to her cabin alone - Tyson had opted to go help Percy and Annabeth put away their Cabin’s chariot - when Clarisse ran up to her. 

“Rhode, wait up.” The daughter of Ares said, halting her quick steps. “Listen, I get you’re pissed, but I wanted to ask you to join me on the quest. I mean, out of everyone here, you’ve got the most experience for quests, so having you along would be kind of cool or whatever.” 

The rough daughter of Ares seemed to be shifting where she stood, looking incredibly nervous.

“Pissed?” Rhode asked, an eyebrow raised. “That’s putting it mildly. Did you know Chrysomallus was one of my brothers? You’re going to recover his fleece, to save my sister, in a sea and I’m not going! I’m beyond pissed.”

By the end of her little rant, the whole area around them was covered in frost but neither demigoddess paid it any mind.

“That’s why I want you along. You’re like the most badass bitch in the whole Camp. Who better to go on it with me?” The younger girl reiterated. 

“No,” Rhode said, shaking her head. “I have other plans. Besides, I will not give Tantalus or Mr. D the satisfaction of doing what they want me to. I have my pride dammit.”

That she was too angry at both of them to allow it went unsaid.

“You don’t think I can do it, do you?” The stringy brown haired girl grunted, a sour look on her face. 

Pinching her nose, Rhode said. “That’s not what I meant Clarisse.”

“No, but you’re thinking it. Just like how everyone booed me, thinking I’m not good enough…” The stocky girl balled her hands into fists, knuckles white. “Fine, whatever… I’ll just prove you and these other morons wrong. I’ll save Camp and show you what I’ve got.” 

“Clarisse!” She called out, but the daughter of war had already turned and ran off towards her cabin. “Fuck.” 

That night, Rhode along with Percy, Annabeth and Tyson made their way down to the beach with the full intention of sneaking out on an unsanctioned Quest of their own. 

“Okay, time to show off that Atlantean magic I was telling you about over Christmas Percy.” Rhode said with a grin as she stretched her hands out over the Sound. “ Επικαλούνται: Βασίλισσα του Αιγαίου (Epikaloúmai: Vasílissa tou Aigaíou/ Invoke: Queen of the Aegean)!”

At her incantation, a trireme made of ice sailed smoothly out of the water to anchor itself right by the shore where they were all standing.

“Wow! Cool!” Percy said, his eyes twinkling with awe. “We’re gonna sail into the Sea of Monsters in that!?”

“Yup! So get aboa-”

“Wait just a minute!” A voice said and they all spun towards it to see Hermes hovering in the air just behind them with his winged sandals.

Seeing the god, Rhode felt both heartache and fury at Hermes' arrival. “What in the Pit are you doing here, Hermes?” 

Fuck, why did Luke have to look so much like his father? It hurt just seeing that face right now. 

The god of travel held up his hands, “Rhode, I just want to-

“Talk? Talk about what? No, it’s time you listen ! You don’t get to weasel out of this!” Rhode hissed as she approached the god, jabbing her finger into his chest. “This! Luke! Thalia getting poisoned it’s all your fault. It’s all ‘cos Luke went off the deep end and the only reason he did that is because you didn’t take the time to give a damn and actually take care of him! You managed to do it for Sue Lilly, why couldn’t you do it for Luke!?”

Ice crystals clung to her cheeks as her anger was so potent her tears of rage froze on contact. 

Everyone else looked at Rhode like she was crazy to shout at a god but Hermes just stayed silent and took the scolding.

“You’re right. Completely so.” Hermes said with a tired nod. “But I did try. Not enough. Never enough. But I did. And I will keep trying.”

“Well good for you, but I doubt he’s taking your calls right now.” Rhode scorned as she resisted the urge to punch him just for having the same face as his son. Fuck, why did it hurt so much...

“Lord Hermes, what do you mean?” Annabeth asked, nudging Rhode and causing her to obligingly shut up. She was done anyways.

“What I propose is that I sanction your Quest to the Sea of Monsters, on one condition.”

“What condition?” Percy asked warily. 

“That you make a pitstop, of sorts, on the way there. You see that cruise ship out in the bay?” Hermes said pointing at a nondescript cruise ship further out in New York Sound. “That’s the Princess Andromeda, Luke is onboard that.”

The cruise ship in New York Sound

“You want us to go talk to him?” Annabeth asked with a frown.

“Yes, and try and convince him to abandon Grandfather and return to the side of Olympus.” Hermes said with a nod and looked to Rhode and Annabeth hopefully. “If anyone can hope to change his mind it’s his little sisters.”

“No. I’m not going. You can silver tongue them, but I’m not… I’m not going along with it.” Rhode said, glaring at the god. 

Hermes wore a frown at that, a sad glint in those eyes. Luke’s eyes. Fuck, just seeing the god was stirring up all these ugly emotions in her. Yet he nodded. “That’s fine, you are a half-blood Rhode, you can go wherever and challenge whoever. As is your right. Annabeth?”

Bethy looked at Rhode for a long moment before turning back to the god. “I’ll go.”

“And I’ll go too.” Percy spoke up quickly. “You’ll need the backup.”

“Me too,” the cyclops chimed in, raising his right hand eagerly.

“And what if he happens to kill them?” Rhode darkly asked the god. “I wonder how Dad and Bethy’s mum would feel about that.” 

“It is their choice,” Hermes told her. “Just as it is yours not to go with them.”

Rhode hesitated. Considering the matter. It would really be safer if they all went together but… She couldn’t bring herself to. One, this was a distraction from recovering the Golden Fleece. Two, she didn’t want to dance to Hermes’ tune. She might not blame him as much as her angry rant had seemed - She totally knew he’d tried his best and Luke still hated him - but that didn’t mean she absolved him of all blame. And most importantly, she honestly wasn’t sure she was ready to face Luke again. 

A part of her was too frightened to see how much further he had darkened because of her Grandfather’s machinations. 

“I’m still out.” Rhode reaffirmed for the second time.

Hermes breathed out a disappointed sigh but nodded in acceptance.

“Here take these,” Hermes said, handing Percy, Annabeth and Tyson a bottle of magical vitamins and a thermos. “You’ll need them.”

“Rated to cure all magical curses and ailments?” Annabeth asked, reading the label of the vitamins’ bottle.

Hermes just smiled enigmatically.

“A thermos?” Percy asked, looking at the thing curiously.

“It’s filled with wind. Just twist the lid slightly and be very careful about it.” Hermes warned before surveying his three Questers one last time before vanishing. 

“Uh, think you can make us another boat?” Percy asked as he looked at Rhode pleadingly.w

“No,” she said, affirming her decision for the third time. “I refuse to help Hermes with this.”

Percy sighed but nodded and turned to look at the sea.

“Uh, Dad, some help instead?”

As if they had been waiting for this as a cue, three hippocampi emerged from the waves at that moment and offered Percy, Annabeth and Tyson a ride.

Seeing them reminded her of Skittles, a loss due to the fucking sword Luke now owned. 

As they mounted the hippocampi, all three of them looked at Rhode one last time but she ignored them to board her own icy trireme.

She thus did not see her siblings leave. It wasn’t a problem. She was sure they’d survive and make it into the Sea of Monsters. She just had to do the same.

“Time to head to the Clashing Rocks.” 

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Ten: Winning the Campaign

Beta: ShadowofAxios

The Symplegades, also known as The Clashing Rocks

Rhode looked out at the infamous seaway known as the Clashing Rocks from the prow of her anchored icy trireme and could only think that it truly lived up to its name. Jagged mountains of rocks shot out of the water ahead of her like the uneven teeth of some fearsome monster. That alone would make sailing through the entry into the Sea of Monsters treacherous enough but add in the fact that the rocks moved without any discernible pattern and it made trying to sail through it suicidal. She might make it. As a daughter of Poseidon she was a supernaturally gifted sailor but even then… It was a major risk. One that thankfully since she was alone she did not need to take.

Glad I packed light. Rhode mused as she secured the last of her questing gear tightly to her person, including the mokeskin backpack she was using to carry her supplies. She couldn’t risk any of it falling off during what she would be attempting. If they did, there would be no recovering it and likely no chance of replacing it in the dreaded Sea of Monsters.

“Okay, all’s secure.” She said, as she took a deep breath and psyched herself up for what she was about to do. “Alright, here goes nothing.” 

Drawing her wand, Spellbound being just a little too bulky for this, she spun on the spot, apparating off the deck of her ship.

She reappeared in the skies above the Clashing Rocks, about mid-way through the deadly seaway and began falling towards the rocks below. Behind her she could hear the sky rumble thunderously as her Uncle Zeus expressed his displeasure at her presence in his domain, but she had too much to worry about at the moment to pay it heed. Besides, she wouldn’t be there long. So instead of worrying about that, she focused on a ledge on one of the moving rocks and spinning in the air apparated once more.

She reappeared just slightly off target and stumbled but quickly grabbed hold of a handhold on the side of the moving mountain and thus managed to keep from falling to her death. 

“When they said apparating onto moving objects was tricky, they weren’t kidding.” Rhode noted as she caught her bearings. “One slip up and I’ll be paste.”

That didn’t deter her though and having identified her next destination, she apparated once more. She repeated this thrice more in succession, each time teleporting further and further through the Clashing Rocks until she was on a rock spire at the very edge and looking out at the open water of the Sea of Monsters beyond. She might’ve managed to just apparate all the way across but she wasn’t going to risk apparating across such a dangerous and magically charged place in one go. Hence the need for multiple stops.

“ Επικαλούνται: Βασίλισσα του Αιγαίου (Epikaloúmai: Vasílissa tou Aigaíou/ Invoke: Queen of the Aegean).” Rhode cast, conjuring a new icy trireme from the sea, the deck of which she promptly apparated onto.

“Glad that’s over.” Rhode said breathing a sigh of relief. “That was nerve wracking.”

Her reprieve was short lived however and suddenly her ship was rocked by churning waves.

“What now!?” She grumbled as she ran over the starboard side where the disturbance was coming from, just in time to see the shark-like head of a sea serpent surface from the depths.

A head that Rhode recognised.

“Just my luck, the Ketos Troias,” she said with a groan as the dreaded Trojan Sea Monster let out a furious roar. “Guess he’s still unhappy about taking that job of being debt collector for Dad that ended up getting him killed by Heracles.”

As if in a sign of agreement with her statement, the Ketos roared again and lunged forward, its jaws wide and with the clear intent to swallow Rhode whole.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Rhode shouted as she reached out with both her control of her conjured ship and her cryokinesis at once to pull her ship back, narrowly avoiding the Ketos’ jaws.

The serpentine, flippered monster was largely unfazed and taking its miss in stride, just dove back underwater. It would’ve been too much to ask for it to just decide to call it a day at that and just leave, but no! The damned thing instead chose to pop its head out of the water on the other side of Rhode’s boat and started to coil itself around it.

“You damned persistent monster!” Rhode cursed as she stowed her wand and summoned Spellbound, which she immediately swung at the Ketos’ coils in a wide slashing motion. “Sectumsempra!”

The white light of her spell leapt from her trident in sync with her slash and cut a deep wound into the monster, causing it to let out a pained howl.

“Let go and get back to the deep, you pest!” Rhode warned. “Or there’s gonna be plenty more where that came from!”

The monster still didn’t seem ready to relent though and tightened its coils, causing the ice that made up Rhode’s trireme to crack under the strain. This just annoyed Rhode even more and reaching out with her cyrokinesis she had razor sharp icicles erupt from the ship, impaling the serpent’s coils. 

“Get lost already!” She growled as she leveled Spellbound at the Ketos’ head and let loose another spell. “ Scorpionem Seras (Crossbow Bolt) !”

The arcane bolt shot from the Celestial Bronze prongs of her weapon at high speed, aimed right for the monster’s left eye, but the thing ducked its head at the last second. This saved its eye but still nevertheless earned it a nasty wound along its crested head. 

This seemed to be the final straw for the beast and with one last pained roar, it released Rhode’s ship and retreated back into the depths.

“And good riddance!” Rhode shouted after it, as she used her magic to repair the damage to her ship caused by the Ketos Troias even as she shot its retreating presence the middle finger.

The sirens

“Okay, first I run into the Ketos Troias and now the sirens?” Rhode said with a tired sigh as her trireme exited a mysterious fog bank that appeared out of nowhere and neared an island of black volcanic rock and sand with a large cove that was filled with spikes, mines, broken wood, and shredded ships. Perched on the jagged rocks of the beach were the human sized vultures, with dirty black plumage, gray talons and wrinkled pink necks that were the greatest seductresses in all Hellenistic myth.

She couldn’t understand why people thought that learning their greatest desire was a good thing when it came with the risk of dying to the sirens. If she wanted to figure out something so deep and meaningful, she would search for it on her own. 

She, for one, didn’t want to almost die to find it.

Pulling out her wand, she held it towards her head and cast a spell to protect herself from the Sirens’ tempting song. “ Muffliato !”

Immediately her ears were filled with an unidentifiable buzzing sound that easily drowned out the sirens as they began to sing.

As she sailed past them, she waved to the former handmaidens of Persphone. Just because she was sailing past them, didn’t mean she had to be rude and ignore them fully. 

“Sorry, I can’t be your lunch today.” She shouted at them. “Better luck next time.”

The Sirens actually blinked at her at that before bobbing their heads on their long necks at her in what she imagined were respectful nods. Guess, not many escaped their wiles, and those that did earned their respect. Who knew?

She offered them a bow back even as her trireme sailed into the fog bank surrounding the island and she lost sight of it.

The next island Rhode encountered was thankfully not surrounded by what she belatedly realised was probably the Mist, but was a natural island. Well, as natural as seeing an island with a thriving bazaar on a beach being overlooked by a very active volcano was natural.

“I’m pretty good on supplies,” Rhode said to herself as she put away the spyglass that was Spellbound’s disguise. “But maybe I’ll find something that’ll be useful later. I doubt the gods or the Fates would send me here for no reason.”

Deciding that taking a look wouldn’t hurt, she mentally commanded her ship to head towards the section of beach that seemed to be the designated docking area, as seen by the dozen or so ships of all types, ranging from classical era triremes to modern motorboats were either anchored offshore or beached.

“Have you come to view Picha’s wares, little half-blood?” A telekhine barked out with a wide toothy smile as Rhode stepped up to his stall. It was the most well stocked, non-food related stall in the market. Since she was pretty set in the food department, she was pretty sure that wasn’t what she’d been brought here to buy.

“Aaahhh… So I’m not going to be killed because, you know…” She trailed off, directing her hand up and down herself.

“What? No no! How would Picha get his drachma?” The telekine looked scandalized. “Not many half-bloods stop by here no more. Shame shame, we have much to offer. Goddess Circe stop by once in full moon for baubles and wares.”

“Oh yeah, Lady Circe has an island around here, doesn’t she?” 

“Yes, yes, she run resort on nearby island. Used to buy groceries from us. Good business. But then she went all self-sufficient. Black day for market.” The dog-seal monster said, looking legitimately depressed. 

“I can imagine.” Rhode agreed with a sympathetic nod. “So, um, got anything you think I might need?”

“Ah, letting Fates show you what you need?” The monster asked knowingly. “Smart girl. Many half-bloods now so confident they know best. Bah! It’s why they get eaten!”

“Yeah…” Rhode replied, noncommittally and trying hard not to wince. “So, uh, anything useful?”

“Tell me what you in the Sea for first, then Picha can suggest something.”

“The Golden Fleece.” Rhode told him in a cautious whisper, looking around worriedly for potential eavesdroppers.

“Oh? Truly? Been long, long time since heard of Fleecey.” 

“Yeah, well, it’s what I’m after.” Rhode confirmed.

“Then you need something to help you with Polyphemus and his meat-eating giant sheepies.” The telekhine said, rubbing his scaly chin thoughtfully. “Picha got nothing for cyclops, but maybe- Yes, that’ll help with sheepies.”

“What will?” Rhode asked curiously as the sea monster rushed over to one of his shelves and retrieved a glass bottle.

“This,” the dog-like humanoid said as he handed it over to Rhode. “It is buffet-in-a-bottle. Like bargain bin cornucopia but for meat. Break it and huge pile of meat appear. Perfect distraction for Polyphemus’ sheepies.”

“That sounds perfect.” Rhode said with a smile. “How much?”

“A hundred drachma!” The telekhine pitched with an eager grin.

“You’re joking! Thirty!” Rhode countered, a grin of her own spreading across her face as she got down to the bartering game.

It took a good twenty minutes of back and forth, but Rhode eventually walked away with her buffet-in-a-bottle for a very reasonable price of sixty drachma. Considering how fun the bartering had been and the potential utility of the thing, she felt it was a very fair deal indeed.

She wondered if she could come back again some time. 

“Okay, where the hell am I now?” Rhode asked herself as her trireme sailed into the harbor of the latest island. One which unlike the others had modern looking piers that had an odd array of vessels ranging from an authentic pirate ship from the Golden Age of Piracy to a US Navy attack submarine docked.

She was just angling in to dock herself when she saw Percy and Annabeth fleeing down the docks whilst what looked like a group of bonafide Golden Age pirates chased them, led by a fearsome looking man in an outfit of a pirate captain with a thick black beard.

“Percy! Bethy! Over here!” Rhode shouted at her two siblings.

Both younger half-bloods looked startled to see her, but shook it off easily enough and changed their destination from the pirate ship they were previously heading for to Rhode’s trireme instead.

“You two are not getting away so easily! Not before ya hand over your loot and let us have a go with the girl!” The pirate captain roared.

“Fuck off Long John Silver or I’ll feed you your cock!” Rhode shouted back with a furious snarl. 

“You’ll be serving it soon enough wench!” The pirate shouted as he pointed his cutlass at Rhode’s ship and the cannons on the pirate ship barked. In an instant, twenty cannonballs from the guns facing Rhode’s ship flew at it, smashing the icy trireme to pieces in a single volley.

Thankfully though, Rhode had apparated off the moment she’d seen the muzzle flashes of the cannons. Rematerializing in front of the pirate, she lunged at him fully equipped in the Pallas Amour and with Spellbound in hand.

“I said, fuck off!” She roared as the prongs of Spellbound were about to bury themselves into the captain’s stomach, but he backed off at the last second, only earning a few gashes instead of spilling his guts. 

Unfazed by his injuries, he pulled one of the flintlock pistols from his waist and fired it point blank at Rhode’s face.

It was only the enhancement to her reflexes granted to her by the Pallas Armor and the runes she’d woven into the bodysuit she wore underneath it that allowed her to pivot her head out of the way of the shot in time. Even then the near miss burned her face badly and she winced.

She swung her fist, aiming to break his wrist, but only managed to break the flintlock to splinters as he pulled away.

“Got a fire in your belly lass. Hehe, it won’t be alone long though!” He smiled his crooked teeth as his piggish eyes bore along her body. 

“Stay away from my sister!” Percy shouted from nearby where he was owning a duo of pirates in a swordfight. 

His distraction almost got him shot by a third, but Annabeth had snuck up behind the gunman with her invisibility cap and smashed the mortal over the head with what sounded like a wooden board, knocking him out. Though the trio of pirates were soon replaced by another four more.

“She’s ya sister?” The pirate captain laughed. “I will make you watch as I break her.”

“By the Pit you will,” Rhode cursed as she gathered her magic for a spell, only for the pirate to pull another flintlock from his waist and shoot it at her.

Rhode was forced to abandon her casting and evade. The bastard seemed to expect it and even how she’d do it. As she dove to the right, she found herself running straight into a thrust from his sword that had the flat of his blade slamming into her wrist hard and causing her to drop Spellbound.

That wasn’t the end of his attack though, and he followed up with a powerful kick that sent Rhode sprawling. Before she could recover, he planted a boot on her chest and leveled a cocked pistol right between her eyes.

“I win girlie.” The pirate captain said as he leered down at her. “It’ll be so fun breaking ya. I can just te-”

He was cut off as a boulder slammed into his back, sending him flying out into the ocean. 

“Edward Teach! You will not defile a woman on my island!” A very beautiful woman with long dark hair braided with threads of gold and piercing green eyes dressed in a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric said. As she spoke, clouds began swirling above, crackling with green lightning. 

That’s gotta be Circe. Rhode thought. A badass magic caster in the Sea of Monsters? Who else could it be?

Unfortunately, for all that Circe was a powerful magic user, she was not a fighter. Which was why she made the rookie mistake of standing right in front of the pirate ship’s broadside. She was thus completely taken by surprise when no less than three cannonballs slammed into her and spilled golden ichor all over the dock as her body ragdolled into the water of the harbor.

“You are an idiot, witch.” The pirate captain, Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard apparently, said as he hauled his waterlogged body back onto the dock. There was a six foot long tiger shark gnawing on his arm, but with a single punch, he brained and dislodged the shark. That done, he turned to face Circe and twitched his fingers at the US Navy submarine that the immortal’s inert body had landed in front of, causing it to come to life. It rammed the body and began setting out to sea, with the immortal’s body acting as some kind of twisted figurehead.

Wait, he has command over ships? No, wait! It’s a warship. A weapon! That means he has command over weapons. He’s a son of Ares! Rhode realized and cursed. Of course Blackbeard was Ares’ child. 

“Now, where was I?” Blackbeard said, after he admired his getting rid of Circe for a moment before turning his attention back to Rhode who had by now gotten back to her feet and recovered Spellbound. “Oh right, breaking you little girl.”

“I am afraid that’s gotta wait.” A new but still familiar voice said, and everyone looked behind them at the stairs leading up to the island to see the cursed immortal sorceress Tanya emerge from a portal on the back of a Nightmare, a twisted accursed former pegasi who had been transformed into a twisted, monstrous version of its past self by the gods. “As entertaining as that undoubtedly will be, I’m afraid I have dibs on that half-blood.”

Well, I guess that explains how the sorceress got here. Rhode thought as she eyed the monstrous horse warily. Nightmares had the special ability to freely move between mythical realms.

“And what do you and your mate want with her, God Butcher?” Teach asked, his eyes narrowed and wary.

It seemed Tanya set even a monster like Blackbeard on edge.

“Mate!? They’re really-” Rhode heard Percy begin, only for Bethy to surprise her by elaborating.

“Yeah,” The daughter of Athena said, sounding disgusted. “I researched her after Rhode mentioned running into her. Let’s just say they’re the parents of many monsters.”

Rhode shuddered.

“By the way, where is Circe?” Tanya asked, conversationally as what Rhode recognised as wizards poured out of the portal behind her.

“I sent her out to sea,” Teach said, fidgeting nervously. “You got a problem with that?”

“A bit, yes. So be quiet as I go kill her, piggy.” Tanya said, before turning to look at Rhode and co. “As for you lot, I guess I can let you go this time. But if you’re here when I get back… Well all bets are off. Let’s go Thunderleg.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The Nightmare said as he broke into a trot that took him and his mate into the sky. “You’re such a taskmaster when you’re on a hunt.”

“You know I’ll repay you.” The immortal sorceress said lasciviously as she patted the monster’s flanks and they disappeared into the distance.

“I’m going.” Teach said suddenly. “Consider yourself lucky girl. If the God Butcher had not intervened, I would have had fun breaking a wench like you.”

With that he walked past Rhode as if she wasn’t even there and boarded his ship, shouting at his crew to hurry up and get ready to set sail.

Annabeth materialized at Rhode’s side and tugged on her arm.

“Rhode, we need to go now.” She hissed, pointing at the chaos of the island behind her where a mixture of pirates and wizards were ransacking the place. “Before someone tries to stop us or worse the Devil of the Rhine gets back.”

“She’s called what now?” Rhode asked, bewildered by yet another moniker of the infamous god-slayer. 

“The Devil of the Rhine! It’s because she’s from the Rhineland.” Annabeth explained, entering into a ramble like she always did when nervous. “And since that’s where she committed the crimes that got her cursed in the first place. At least that’s what I dug up when I researched her after you mentioned running into her in Atlantis.”

“What the hell did she do to get cursed so badly anyways?” Percy asked with a frown. “She spurned a god?”

“I wish.” Annabeth breathed out shakily. “I couldn’t find much! Just that it was heinous.”

“She hunted down and killed demigods then drained their blood so she could create a potion she then bathed in to maintain her youth.” Rhode elaborated. “Triton told me.”

“Was she Elizabeth Bathory or something?!” Annabeth gasped. 

“They were working off the same recipe, at least that’s what Amphitrite said.” Rhode replied with a tired shrug. “Anyways, it’s why she’s an immortal child . She wanted to be eternally young? The gods gave it to her but made her too young to enjoy said youth.”

“How did you know all this and I didn’t?” Annabeth asked with a pout.

“You weren’t the only one to research her, Bethy. Though I just asked Triton and Amphitrite and they never mentioned that nickname you dug up.”

“It’s what Chiron called her,” Annabeth confessed. “Said it’s a lot more respectful to the gods to call her that than her other more common epithets.”

“Yeah I’m sure the others offend them enough just by existing.” Rhode agreed with a wince as she recalled how Tanya was sometimes referred to as the god-slayer or God Butcher.

“Look, now isn't the time for a history lesson.” Annabeth insisted. “We need to leave now!”

Rhode nodded and cast Επικαλούνται: Βασίλισσα του Αιγαίου to summon a new trireme of ice, which they all hastily boarded.

As they began to sail out of harbor, Rhode turned around to see the madness behind her. It seemed the pirates weren’t leaving unscathed as the wizards, which she now noticed were being led by Cedric, were harassing them all the way. Heck, Cedric himself had somehow gotten into a fight with Blackbeard and was holding his own!

Why? Well, ‘cause the bloody pirates weren’t just loading their ship with items. Part of the loot they were carrying onto the ship were girls! Something that the wizards seem to take extreme offense with.

“Holy Olympus, is that guy matching Blackbeard?” Percy gasped, as they began to pull away from the island. “How!?”

“I dunno,” Rhode said with a shake of her head as he observed the crazy tactics and spells that her old schoolmate was using. It was like nothing she’d ever seen. “I know that guy from Hogwarts but I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Rhode, no offense, but your old magic school must’ve been one crazy place.”

Rhode could only nod.

“We should turn around,” Annabeth said, suddenly. “We need to help save those girls. You heard what Blackbeard was saying when he was fighting Rhode. Imagine what he and his men will do to them.”

Rhode was just about to do just that when the terrifyingly sweet voice of Tanya called out to them from above.

“Oh, so you guys are turning back?” 

“Tanya!” The daughter of Poseidon snarled as she spun around to find the demented immortal looking down at them with a smug look on her face. 

“Guess, I’ll get to reap you three too after all.” The monstrous sorceress said as she leveled her gun at them.

Rhode was faster on the draw though.

“Επικαλούνται: άβυσσα φυλακή (Epikaloúmai: ávyssa fylakí / Invoke: Abyssal Prison)!” She cast as the child-like immortal was still busy slowly charging up her own spell. 

The waters of the deep materialized out of nowhere and wrapped around the ancient sorceress and her mate, entrapping them with the dark waters of the ocean’s abyssal zone. It looked like nothing more than a black pearl, hovering in the air. 

“Percy, take control of the ship.” Rhode said through gritted teeth as she collapsed to her knees as the strain of keeping the two powerful entities inside her binding spell drained her strength. “Get us out of here!”

Thankfully her brother didn’t argue and soon they were sailing away from Circe’s Island as fast they could. Through it all they remained in tense silence, eyeing the black orb in the sky as it slowly disappeared from view. 

“Rhode?” Annabeth asked, as they lost sight of it. “You okay?”

“J-Just a little tired.” She confessed with a strained smile and shaking arms.

“I think we’re far enough away now, you can cut off the spell.” 

“No, Bethy. Not yet. We need as much distance as possible.” Rhode insisted. “They have a Nightmare.”

“Exactly, Rhode.” Annabeth countered. “That means that they can chase us regardless of distance. It can teleport to wherever we are in an instant if they want to.”

“No. W-We need to keep them there as long as possible. More time, n-need that time.” She mumbled as her knees buckled and she was covered in sweat from the strain. 

“Uh, Rhode, maybe you should listen to Annabeth?” Percy tried, but Rhode just shook her head at him.

She probably should’ve listened. Already the edges of her vision were fading into darkness but she didn’t. Couldn’t. She’d sacrificed those women the pirates had taken to make her escape. She had to make that count and actually succeed in getting away. And it wasn’t just her on the line was it? Percy and Annabeth were counting on her too! She had to keep going as long as she could. Buy them as much distance and time from the God Butcher as she could. She had to!

“Rhode!” Both Percy and Annabeth shouted worriedly as Rhode’s stamina finally gave out and she collapsed into an ungainly heap as she slipped into unconsciousness.

“Argh!” Rhode shouted, shooting up into a sitting position.

“Rhode,” Annabeth said as she hugged her tight, burying her face into Rhode’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re alright. When you passed out, I was so worried.”

Rhode blinked as she processed that and patted her little sister comfortingly.

“I’m fine, Bethy.” She said soothingly. “I was just exhausted. I’m fine now.”

“You’re sure, Rhode?” Percy said as he walked into the cabin where it seems they had moved her after she’d passed out. “You were asleep for at least half a day.”

“Almost eleven hours,” Annabeth said as she pulled away. “You had us worried.”

Rhode offered them both a reassuring smile. “I’m fine.”

Annabeth didn’t look convinced but Percy nodded as he came to take a seat next to the blonde by the bed Rhode was lying on.

They all sat in silence for a long moment that was finally broken by Annabeth.

“Those girls that the pirates captured…” She said, looking dejected.

“We couldn’t save them.” Percy added, his hand squeezing the pen that was Riptide’s disguised form in a white knuckled grip.

“Yeah…” Rhode said with a self-loathing sigh. “But we had to go. We wouldn’t have stood a chance against the God Butcher. We had enough trouble with Blackbeard already… I can’t imagine fighting her too.”

“Still…” Annabeth said, tears leaking out her eyes and streaming down her face. “What they were condemned to… That’s not something I’d wish on anyone.”

“I know, Bethy. I know.” Rhode said as she took one of Annabeth’s hands and gave it a comforting squeeze.

“Maybe the wizards saved them?” Percy offered. “I mean they were working with that Tanya girl, so, they have a chance, right?”

“Probably,” Rhode agreed. “But I wouldn’t bet against Blackbeard either.”

Everyone winced at that, silently agreeing with her.

“Hey!” Rhode said with a raised voice. “We can worry about maybe somehow rescuing those girls later. Get Chiron to send out a Quest or something, but for now we need to focus on the Quest we’re on right now.”

“Camp is at stake.” Percy agreed with a determined nod.

“Thalia’s Tree.” Annabeth added.

Rhode nodded.

“Okay, so we’re heading to Polyphemus’ Island?” Rhode asked. “Those coordinates you got from the Gray Sisters are for the island.”

“Yeah,” Percy confirmed. “I’ve set us on course for it. Polyphemus’ Island?”

“I figured out that’s who has the Fleece.” Rhode told them and Annabeth winced.

“A cyclops? The most infamous cyclops ever?” 

“Yeah. That was my reaction too.” Rhode lied.

“Don’t worry. We’ll manage it somehow.” Percy reassured them. “Grover and Camp are counting on us.”

“Exactly,” Rhode agreed. “So, um, where’s Tyson?”

Annabeth and Percy exchanged a look, before the blonde sighed and began to explain.

Rhode listened dutifully as her little sister told her of getting captured by Luke on the Princess Andromeda - thankfully without too many details that would piss her off, though it still had her growling angrily at the mere mention of the traitorous son of Hermes - and barely escaping thanks to the thermos of winds Hermes had given them. Then how they had run into Clarisse on the ghost ship, the CSS Birmingham, that her dad, Ares, had given her for the Quest. How the daughter of Ares had proceeded to sail between Scylla and Charybdis, only to end up with her ship getting blown up leading to them ending up at C.C.'s Spa and Resort on Circe’s Island.

“So you don’t know where Tyson or Clarisse are?” Rhode asked with a frown.

“We don’t even know if they’re alive.” Annabeth confessed with a shake of her head.

“They are!” Percy insisted. “If we managed then they did too.”

Annabeth frowned disbelievingly but nodded anyway.

“I am sure we’ll find them.” Rhode said with certainty. “They are on this Quest with us, the Fates are sure to send them in the direction of the Fleece too.”

“That’s if they survived the Birmingham’s explosion.” Annabeth added with a frown.

“They did!” Rhode and Percy chorused.

Annabeth sighed. “Okay, let’s just focus on getting ready to face Polyphemus alright?”

“What do we need to prep?” Percy asked, blinking in confusion.

“A plan at least.” Annabeth insisted. “Polyphemus isn’t a pushover. We’ll need to come up with something before we face him.”

“Good thing I did some shopping.” Rhode smirked, earning confused looks from her younger siblings. 

Percy and Annabeth watched as Rhode looked at Polyphemus’ Island through her spyglass. 

“Looks like the island is split into two parts by the gorge.” Rhode said, pointing at a deep chasm that separated the two tabletop mountains that made up Polyphemus’ Island.

“So lure the sheep onto one side and break the bridge to separate them from Polyphemus?” Annabeth suggested. “Then we can hopefully ignore whichever is on the side without the Fleece.”

“Let’s make it the one with the sheep.” Percy chimed in. “As scary as Polyphemus is, I’d rather fight him than a whole flock of giant, man-eating monsters.”

“The problem is luring them. I mean, if we do so we might end up getting Polyphemus' attention.” 

“Right. So, we’ll need to distract him first, then lure the sheep.” Annabeth added.

Hmm… Maybe planning things out is a good idea. I wouldn’t have realised we needed to do that if we didn’t.

“And we’ll need to hurry,” Rhode said as she saw something through her spyglass that had her tensing. “It looks like Polyphemus caught Clarisse and Grover and is preparing to cook them for dinner.”

“What? Oh man did Clarisse blow Grover’s bridal cover?” Percy winced. 

Yes, his best friend had been exploiting the fact that Polyphemus was blind to pretend to be a lady cyclops that wanted to marry him to avoid getting eaten. Something he’d managed to do for weeks now but it seemed Clarisse had shown up and acting like the bull in a china shop like all Ares kids were had blown his cover.

“...I guess so?” Rhode hedged. “So, plan?” 

Annabeth hummed thoughtfully before she spoke up. 

“Rhode, the sheep are out and about?”

“Yeah.” Rhode confirmed, as she checked with her spyglass. “They seemed to be grazing on the other side of the bridge.” 

“Good,” Annabeth said with a nod and turned to Percy. “I’ll use what Rhode bought at that bazaar to lure them away from the bridge while I’m invisible. Once I am on it, I’ll take off my cap. You stay here on the ship and once you see me you use a water tendril to grab me and rip the bridge apart. You can do that?”

Can I? Percy thought and felt a sense of certainty.

“Yeah, I think I can manage it.” Percy affirmed.

“Good, then we’ll leave distracting Polyphemus to Rhode.” Annabeth said with a pretty smile that had Percy’s stomach flip flopping just a bit. “Rhode, once I break the bottle, I want you to apparate to the Fleece and grab it but don’t apparate back to the ship. Not yet. Instead-”

“You want me to grab Polyphemus’ attention.” Rhode said with a nod as she put away her spyglass. “Got it.”

“You’re the most equipped to handle him if it gets worse case scenario.” Annabeth said as if it was the most obvious thing. 

“So we’ve got our plan. Let’s do this!” Percy said, pumping his fist in the air enthusiastically.

He received eager nods in reply.

“Good luck,” Rhode whispered to Annabeth as she apparated back to their ship after dropping her off on the plateau of Polyphemus’ Island opposite the gorge from where his cave was.

“She give the all clear?” She asked Percy as he peered through a pair of binoculars she’d loaned him out of her supplies. She honestly didn’t know why she’d packed it with her supplies since she had Spellbound but she had and it was proving useful now so she wasn’t complaining.

“Yeah, it seems the sound of your apparition didn’t catch anyone’s attention.” Percy confirmed. “She shot us a thumbs up and went invisible a minute ago.”

“I guess sight and hearing are Poly’s weakness.” Rhode giggled in amusement. 

“That and him and his sheep are like on the total other side of his island.” Percy added.

“True,” Rhode conceded with a pout.

They waited in tense silence then for a few minutes before the sudden appearance of a literal mountain’s worth of raw meat on the side of the island where Annabeth was signalled the next part of their plan.

“Don’t miss your cue.” Rhode warned Percy even as she spun on the spot and apparated to the tree that held the Golden Fleece.

“Time to go somewhere safer where you can be more useful, Chrysomallus.” Rhode told the Fleece as she pulled it off the gnarled tree where Polyphemus had hung it. It transformed into a golden letterman jacket as she did and Rhode smirked in amusement as she slipped it on.

“Now time for a distraction,” Rhode said as she once more spun on the spot.

“Knock knock!” Rhode called out as she appeared a good thirty feet away from the mountain of fat and muscle that was her cyclops brother. The bastard was roughly fifteen feet tall with arms as long as Rhode was tall. 

Polyphemus the cyclops

“Sheep! Where are you going!? Come back! It’s a trap! Mountains of meat don’t come out of nowhere!” He shouted after his herd as they wandered over to the heap of food that Annabeth had delivered for them before noticing Rhode and spinning to face her. “Who are you? And why you wearing my Golden Fleece!”

His milky sea green eye narrowed to focus on her as he bared his jagged yellow teeth at her. His large body clad in a faded purple tee-shirt labeled; GRAND SHEEP EXPO 2001. 

“Who are you?” He demanded again. “You one trying to trick me sheepies?”

“Yup,” Rhode said with a cheeky grin. “You can call me Nobody.”

“Nobody!” Polyphemus bellowed in utter rage. “I hate Nobody! I’ll kill you, Nobody!” 

“We’ll see about that,” Rhode taunted as she apparated out of the way of the boulder Polyphemus tossed her way. “ Επικαλούνται: Δύναμη του Δούρειου ίππου (Epikaloúmai: Dýnami tou Doúreiou íppou/ Invoke: Power of the Trojan Horse)!”

The earth rumbled at her spell’s invocation and Polyphemus toppled over like he was a bowling pin hit dead on by a ball. He screamed in agony as he did too and his monstrous blood poured from his orifices as he curled into a fetal position.

“How them bones feeling, Poly? Shaken up?” Rhode asked in the most condescending voice she could muster.

Polyphemus could only roll around on the ground, clawing at his head as if to try and stop the pain. 

“Forget the oaf, Rhode!” Clarisse shouted from where she was strung up like a hog alongside Grover over a roaring fire pit. “And get us down from here!”

“I’m coming, but I’m not turning my back on this fucker.” Rhode told her as she retreated to the spit slowly with Spellbound out. Though she did chance a glance at the bridge and was happy to see it was wrecked with all the monster sheep on the other side and a tendril of water was safely carrying Annabeth back to their ship. 

Suddenly a massive boulder came flying towards them.

“Shit!” Rhode cried out as she dive bombed out the way, tumbling along the ground and shot back to her feet. 

She needn’t have bothered as it fell far short of her and instead landed on Polyphemus.

“Huh? Wha-!” Rhode sputtered in shock. Clarisse and Grover making similar expressions of surprise.

“I help sister Rhode!” Tyson said as he vaulted over the lip of the tabletop mountain some distance away.

Rhode turned, eyes wide at the silly excited smile on Tyson’s face as he hefted another boulder. 

“Yeah, nice one big guy!” Rhode called out to him with a stunned expression. 

Surprisingly, the blow Tyson gave to his noggin hadn’t knocked Polyphemus out and he groaned before turning towards the younger cyclops.

“Traitor!” Polyphemus screamed as he pushed the boulder off of him. “You cyclops! Me smell ya! Why you help half-bloods?! You should help me, not them! Traitor! Traitor to us!”

“Fuck you!” The daughter of Poseidon snapped. “He’s ten times the cyclops you’ve ever been!”

“I help family!” Tyson replied defiantly to Polyphemus’ taunt as he tossed the boulder in his arms, this time aiming for the older cyclops’ blind eye and scoring a bullseye.

In fact, the force of his throw was so great it blasted straight through the eye and out the back of Polyphemus’ skull. 

“Olympus!” Grover gasped, giving voice to everyone’s shock. “Did he just-”

“Holy shit! Nice one, Cyclops guy!” Clarisse cheered and wiggled. “Now get us down, Rhode! I’m starting to cook here!”

“Yeah, great job buddy.” Rhode agreed with a proud grin as she ran towards the spits. “Now help me get them down before they really start cooking!”

“Coming!” Tyson agreed as he ran over to help.

“So how did you make it here?” Rhode asked conversationally as they freed Clarisse and Grover. With Polyphemus dead, there really was little need to rush anymore.

“Rainbow the sea pony helped me.” Tyson explained as he finished untying Grover.

“Sea pony?” The satyr asked, blinking in confusion.

“Hippocampi, huh?”

Tyson nodded with a bright smile on his face. 

“Are we taking those back to Camp?” Clarisse asked, looking uncomfortable with the idea. She got her. Riding on a beast of a god who wasn’t your divine parent or you weren’t exactly good with? Not the safest thing.

“Nah, we’ve got my ship. Though Rainbow can swim along with us if you want Tyson.” Rhode offered while Clarisse looked relieved. 

“Yay! Thank you, Sister!”

“So how are we getting down to that ship of yours?” Grover asked as he stretched out what must’ve been mighty sore limbs, he’d been hanging for a good fifteen minutes at least. “The only path down is on the other side of the island.”

“Grover, I can apparate us down but before we go.” Rhode said, turning to the pile of gold dust that had been Polyphemus and the pearl like bauble lying inside it. “Tyson, go grab your spoil.”

“Man, I missed you Rhode.” Grover said as he hugged her tight whilst Tyson went to grab the pearl.  

“Missed you too, Grov.” The teenaged girl said as she returned the hug and patted his back. 

The ride back through the Sea of Monsters wasn’t nearly as bad as Odysseus’ time trying to get home. With Rainbow navigating them through the sea like a more wet Rudolph they managed to get back to Miami in just a few hours. 

Rainbow the hippocampus

“Bye Rainbow! Bye!” Tyson said as he waved goodbye to his hippocampi friend as they sailed into Miami’s harbor, the legendary creature unable to stand the human stench of the city and being forced to leave. Though not before it waved its front flippers in goodbye to Tyson in return.

“So you sure the Mist will keep us from being noticed?” Percy asked warily as they sailed into the nearest free dock.

“Yes Percy, I’m manipulating it right now.” Rhode told him. 

“You absolutely sure?” Clarisse asked. “‘Cos, no offense Rhode, but you suck at Mist manipulation.”

“I do, but I have been practicing a lot lately.” Rhode stated as they managed to dock. 

“Okay, so how much time do we have till the Fleece needs to get back to Camp?”

“A few hours I think, at best.” Annabeth said with worry. 

“So we need to fly back to Camp.” Percy frowned, looking up at the sky. 

“Three of us have no flying clearance from our Lord Uncle.” Rhode sighed in frustration. Of course Zeus would happily zap them even if it meant saving Thalia’s Tree. 

“It’s my quest,” Clarisse declared. “I’ll fly it back.”

“That’s fair.” Rhode agreed, removing the Fleece and handing it to her. “You did get locked in Polyphemus’ cave for what? A few days? That must’ve been hell. You deserve this win.”

“Actually, it was only a day-” Grover started, but Clarisse elbowed him. 

“Yep. Total hell.” 

“You have money for the trip?” Annabeth asked.

“Uh, spot me? I’ll pay you back during the next CTF game. Alliance for the rest of the summer.” 

Rhode rolled her eyes but pulled out 500 dollars from her supplies and passed it to Clarisse.

“Here,” she said. “Just get the Fleece back to Camp ASAP.”

“You got it. Try to get back safe and whatever.” The daughter of war said, trying to sound cool. Kids these days, honestly. 

Grover looked longingly at Clarisse as she hailed a cab.

“You know, you could go with her.” Rhode told her old friend. “After being stuck with Polyphemus for so long, you deserve it.”

“Nah, I’ve got my friends right here. Besides, we totally need to catch up.” The young satyr smiled as the cab drove off. 

“Indeed, we do.” A voice that sent a shiver of fear and anger down Rhode’s spine said and she spun around to see Luke standing on the pier surrounded by a horde of monsters. “Hello, friends.” 

Luke Castellan, son of Hermes and champion of Kronos

“Luke!” Rhode hissed in such feral anger that Percy struggled to even understand what she’d said.

“Hello, Rhode,” the traitor greeted with a smile so bright it literally sparkled. “It’s a pleasure to see you.”

“Go to the Pit, Luke.” Percy spat, stepping to stand shoulder to shoulder with his sister as Tyson did the same on her other side.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Percy.” Luke said, glaring at him with eyes that looked golden for some reason.

A feminine cry from the side had Percy glancing towards its source and he spotted Annabeth being manhandled by Agrius and Oreius, the bear men they’d last met on the Princess Andromeda, her invisibility granting Yankees cap falling off her head.

“Trying to backstab me, Annabeth? Bad form.” Luke said, shaking his head at the daughter of Athena.

“Like Percy said, go to the Pit, Luke.” Annabeth shouted even as the two bear men forced her arms behind her back and onto her knees.

“I’ll pay it a visit eventually, but not yet.” Luke said with a shrug. “For now, where’s the Golden Fleece?”

“Gone.” Rhode spat out with a mocking smile. 

“Oh come now, do you expect me to believe that Rhode?” Luke said with a shake of his head. “There was no way you’d trust Thalia’s life to anyone else. If you’re here then the Fleece is too.”

“You think I’m so inflexible? If it’s to save Thalia I’d do anything . Not that you’d understand since you tried to kill what was left of her!” 

“Don’t be overdramatic, Rhode.” Luke said with a roll of his eyes. “I’d have given the Fleece back once I was done with it.”

“Give it back? Why wo-” Rhode began to say before her eyes blew wide in realization. 

“Rhode?” Percy asked, warily eyeing his sister.

“Fuck, Granddad’s good. The Fleece, it’s not just going to heal Thalia’s Tree, is it? It’s going to get her back to the land of the living. Just another means to control the Great Prophecy.” 

Luke smirked. “It is within its power, yes. As expected Rhode, nice and fast on the uptake.”

As the realization settled in, something else occurred to Percy.

“So that’s why you did it.” Percy realized even as he used his hydrokinesis to create a rainbow behind his back and discreetly tossed a drachma through it. “Camp Half-Blood! You were risking all of Camp just for that!? Even Mr. D?!”

“Percy? What do you mean?” Rhode asked, looking at him in confusion.

“He poisoned Thalia’s Tree.” Percy said. “Or arranged for it to happen. All so he could get us to go get the Fleece. Everything so far has all been part of his plan.”

Luke gave him a look as if he was a slow idiot. Shows what he knew. “Yeah, I did. Are we just going to rehash what’s going on or can I continue my actual conversation?” 

“ You poisoned Thalia’s Tree?” Rhode gasped and then snarled in rage. “I had hoped it was just one of your lieutenants or something. But you gave the order!?”

“Yeah, I did.” Luke confirmed with a shrug. “Like I said, I’d have given the Fleece back.”

“You bastard! I challenge you to a duel!” Rhode demanded stepping forward, revealing the still open I.M. and the face of an amused, almost impressed looking Mr. D watching on.

He had his hand up demanding silence on his end, but it seemed now that his presence was out in the open, the god felt it was time to chime in.

“M-Mr. D!?” Luke gasped, stepping back as the god leveled him with a glare.

“Dinner and a show? How nice.” The god turned an eye to Tantalus and sighed. Just as the man grabbed a donut. “Too bad old chap, looks like you aren’t needed anymore.”  

And just as the distracted Tantalus was about to sink his teeth into the donut, he disappeared, the donut landing on the table. 

“ As for you Castellan, ” Mr. D said, his voice a quiet, dangerous whisper. “ You will pay for causing me all the grief I’ve been getting from the other gods for Camp’s latest troubles. Evans, gut him. ”

“Happily,” Rhode shouted with glee as she leapt off the deck of their trireme, Pallas Armor equipped and Spellbound raised to stab Luke as she fell upon him. It might’ve just been Percy’s imagination but Rhode almost seemed to be surrounded by an aura of purple flame.

“You think just because Mr. D blessed you that you can beat me?” Luke taunted as he took a lazy step back to avoid being impaled. The insane enhancements to his reflexes his Lord’s blessings had given him allowing him to do so without any difficulty.

“I don’t care about a blessing. You betrayed us! Betrayed me!” Rhode roared with utter fury as she let loose a series of thrusts to stab him like a stuffed pig. 

“You can try,” Luke said with a smile as he casually sidestepped her attacks, before barking orders to his troops. “Don’t let the others interfere.”

“Evans, be careful.” Mr. D, of all people, warned. “Castellan is juiced up by the Crooked One. Even with my blessing, it will not be easy to beat him. But don’t you dare lose!”

“Got it, Mr. D.” Rhode replied distractedly as she blocked a swing of his sword.

Her block was textbook perfect but that wasn’t good enough. Not against him. So with a quick twist, Luke dragged his blade along the top half of her trident, aiming for her fingers. The daughter of Poseidon was quick though and flattened her hand just as his blade would have taken off her digits and pushed him away with a strong push.

As much as he loved the girl, damn her freakish strength. 

He got his footing back quickly though but instead of pressing the attack like he expected, she actually retreated back a few steps and aimed her pronged weapon right at him. It crackled with arcane energy and with a whisper of “ Sagitta Infernum (Arrow Hell)!” she fired several magical bolts at him.

Quickly, he dodged the first two and blocked the next two but found the force behind them made his arms shake. But the feeling faded quickly as all pain did nowadays and he easily swatted the remainder out of the air as well.

She exploited his preoccupation with her magical arrows though and charged. 

Now that’s the aggression I’d been expecting. Luke thought with a smile as he admired the beautiful look of fury that Rhode sported.

It did not stop him however from tilting the flat of his blade just right to reflect the light of the noon sun into her eyes to blind the girl for a second. She flinched and he went for a stab to her leg, going for a disabling blow. 

Just as he expected, she pivoted out of the stab, and snapped her fist out for a punch to his throat. The bracer on his quickly raised forearm deflected the punch and he stepped into her guard, looping his arm around her extended one to lock her in place. He raised his pummel back up to strike her in the face. 

She staggered back and Luke swept her feet from under her. 

He would have pressed the attack further but she used her trident like a pole and vaulted back to her feet, slamming her feet into his chin in the process.

It was his turn to stagger back and it gave Rhode the breathing room she needed to recompose herself.

“You’ve taken up gymnastics?” Luke asked curiously as he rubbed his tender jaw even as the pain from the blow faded away.

“I’ve always been flexible, dumbass.” Rhode scoffed as she stabbed her trident into the ground, its prongs quivering with arcane energy.

“So it has nothing to do with the gymnastics module you took at Horace Mann last semester?” Luke countered as he charged forward at blinding speeds thanks to his Lord’s power and slammed the pommel of his blade hard onto the trident, knocking it firmly out of Rhode’s hands.

He did not give her time to even process that before he kicked her hard in the chest, sending her flying straight into a shack on the pier, smashing it to bits.

“Done yet, Rhode?” Luke taunted even as a traitorous part of his mind pondered on the feel of his kick deforming her breasts. Even through her armor, he had felt her tender flesh. Or at least he thought he did.

Her response was to toss pebbles at him. Pebbles? His eyes caught the etches on them and cursed as he made to move out of the way.

Even with the speed granted to him by his Lord, it was barely enough and the back of his shirt was singed by the blast.

“You kicked me in the boobs!” Rhode shouted indignantly as whips of her poisons lashed out at him.

“You’re wearing armor!” Luke shot back as he bobbed and weaved around the deadly lashes. 

“It still hurts you pervert!” She countered as she pulled tendrils of seawater into the game.

“I can kiss it better later.” Luke said, offering Rhode a winning smile.

“Are you honestly flirting with me? Now?” She thundered as she gathered her poisons into a single blob from which she began firing droplets at his general direction in a deadly rain. He managed to get out of the way even as the torrent of poison followed him, but his monster followers weren’t so lucky. Dozens died as the acids and other deadly liquids killed them almost on contact.

This game has gone on long enough. The dark voice of his Lord whispered into his ear. Finish this!

As you command, my Lord. Luke replied, as calling on more of his Lord’s power than ever before he blurred towards Rhode.

She saw him coming and formed a deadly spiraling double helix around herself out of her poisons, raindrop sized bullets firing from it as it did so. Yet Luke weaved through them with ease, his incredible speed allowing him to slip between the deadly strands of poison without harm. There was little room between him and Rhode beyond them and so he didn’t try for anything elegant, just thrust Backbiter forward. 

Rhode let out a shuddering gasp as she looked down, the fractured scythe of his Lord easily going through her divine armor as he caught her dead center in the gut. It had even cut through the aura of protection that Mr. D’s blessing had granted her like it wasn’t there.

No heart, no lung, just a devastating blow. That and the immense pain that Backbiter gave whatever it cut. 

“This is a little early, but since I have you at my mercy...” He whispered to her as the poison around them splashed down to the ground. He ignored the burning feeling the bottom of his feet felt as the poison ate at him but he did admit, her scream of pain broke his heart a little. 

“Rhode!” Annabeth, Percy, Grover and the cyclops they’d been traveling with all cried out in alarm but Luke ignored them, choosing instead to lean into a shocked Rhode’s face and steal a kiss before kicking her off Backbiter’s blade.

She tumbled to the ground, clawing at her chest as she writhed in pain. The cursed blade certainly did a number on someone with divinity in them.

“Don’t worry Rhode, it’ll be fine in a bit.” He reassured his girl. “I’ll heal you up once I get the Fleece.”

Luke smirked and was turning to interrogate the others to figure out just where the thing was when an arrow pierced his right shoulder out of nowhere with such force that it literally blew it apart, causing him to drop Backbiter.

“What?” He managed before an arrow with a foam fist for a tip smashed into his face with enough force to knock him out.

“Grab Rhode!” Annabeth ordered as she surged to her feet, grabbing her Yankees cap as she did, in the midst of the confusion of the storm of arrows that had suddenly descended on the pier.

Tyson rushed to obey as Percy impaled Agrius and Oreius with lances of seawater even as the sea churned in the utter fury he must be feeling. He was pissed, no, beyond pissed at this point. As she saw him leap off the deck of their ship, he looked like nothing more than a literal manifestation of righteous fury as he swung Riptide around like a man possessed, leaving nothing but gold dust in his wake.

In any other situation, a sight like this would have had her gasping and needing a fresh pair of panties. And she probably still did. But right now, she shoved her hormonal lust at the glorious sight aside and took charge of the situation.

“Chiron! We need to go!” She shouted at her mentor as he and his Party Pony brethren materialized out of the insanely fast gallop that all centaurs were capable of. 

“The Princess Andromeda is right there,” she added, pointing at the cruise ship just a stone’s throw away. “It’s full of monsters. We can’t beat them all!”

As if to prove her words true, there were already literally hundreds of monsters pouring out of the ship to engage them.

“I see them, Annabeth.” Chiron replied as he turned to Tyson. “Rhode?”

“I’ve got sister.” The loyal cyclops declared as he cradled Rhode in a princess carry and shoved Luke’s body into the water with a powerful, angry kick.

“Then we’re going.” Chiron said with a nod even as he grabbed Annabeth like a sack of potatoes. It was somewhat demeaning but they were in a hurry so she didn’t complain.  “Someone grab them. Grover and Percy too.”

“We’ve got ‘em, dude!” A centaur with a beer hat shouted. “Go! Go! Go!”

“Party Ponies, retreat!” Chiron called out as they started to fly across the ground at the raw speeds that only centaurs could achieve.

At least they were safe for now, right?

The annoying buzzing of her phone was what woke Rhode and as she sat up, or tried to, she howled in pain.

“Fucker, it hurts!” Rhode gritted her teeth as she was laid flat. She lifted the blanket off her chest, showing only her sports bra underneath with bandages wrapped all around her torso.

“You should probably check your phone, Rhode.” Chiron said as he looked up from where he was mixing some herbs. “I believe Mr. D gave you his number.”

Rhode blinked, checked her phone and noticed he was right.

“Guess he was happy enough with my performance even though I lost?”

“I suppose so. I suppose he’s giving you a pass since the Crooked One enhanced Luke from what I could tell.” The Trainer of Heroes agreed. “Or maybe he got those boosts because that blade was enchanted somehow? We’ll have to investigate.” 

“However, he got it Luke was definitely powered up.” Rhode said with a nod. “He was moving like the Flash at times during the fight. A literal blur. He couldn’t do that before. Period.”

Silence filled the small tent they were in. Or well, she was in, Chiron was seated outside of the flap. 

“How bad?” She asked, as she put her phone down.

“It took my vitakinesis, nectar and some herbs my relatives had on hand. And the fact you are still in pain? The blade is as dangerous as I feared.” The bushy bearded centaur said with a frown. 

“And the herbs you’re mixing now?”

“You’ll need medication for some time I’m afraid.” The centaur informed her. “The power of that blade is not to be scoffed at.”

“So I’m benched for now?”

“If I had my way? For the rest of the month. Knowing your vaunted constitution and stubbornness? I’ll mark you down for five days.” 

“I’ll take it easy for the rest of the month.” Rhode told him and laid her head back down. “Half activity?”

“I’ll take what I can get.” Chiron chuckled softly. “But I must insist on at least five full days of bed rest.”

“Deal.”

“So what now?” Rhode asked, sounding just a little lost now that the Quest was over.

“Now we head back to Camp. I retake my position as Activities Director, while you rest and recover.”

“And Thalia’s Tree? The wards?”

“I’ve received word from Clarisse via I.M. that the Fleece has already begun to work its magic. Camp should be restored by the time we head back.”

“And Thalia?”

“That I do not know,” Chiron confessed. “Luke was not wrong that theoretically the Fleece can free Thalia from her tree but how long that’ll take is not something that I can be certain of.”

“Oh,” Rhode said, disappointed.

“But rest assured, Rhode.” Chiron said giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. “I am sure you will see Thalia again soon.”

“Thank you Chiron,” Rhode told her mentor sincerely. “For saving me. For being there for me. Just for everything, ya know? Please don’t leave us again.”

“I won’t, child.” Chiron said, offering her a smile. “Not if I can help it.”

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Eleven: Homely Healing

Beta: ShadowofAxios

“Chiron, thank you for meeting me.” Rhode said as she sat down across from him at the Ping Pong table in the Big House. “I know you’re busy settling back in and all.”

“Fret not, Rhode. I always have time for my charges.” Chiron reassured her. “What did you want to talk about?”

“It’s about something about the Quest for the Golden Fleece,” Rhode said, shifting uneasily in her seat as she recalled what she wanted to talk to him about. “Something that slipped my mind in all the, ya know, chaos lately.”

“I understand,” Chiron said, frowning slightly as he seemingly sensed her unease. “What is it Rhode?”

“Well, you know we visited Circe’s Island during the Quest, right?”

“You’ve mentioned it, yes.” Chiron said with a nod.

“Well, when I got there, Blackbeard was there. You, um, know him?”

“Yes,” Chiron said with a pained sigh. “I do have the misfortune of knowing Edward Teach. I take it that he was up to his typical unpleasant business on the Island?”

“Ya,” Rhode said with a nod, feeling sorry for bringing up what must’ve been a sore topic for Chiron. Blackbeard must’ve been one of his charges once. To see him become the monster that Rhode encountered in the Sea of Monsters? It’s gotta hurt. “Circe tried to stop him, but he beat her and then the Devil of the Rhine showed up and-”

“And he got away in the chaos?” Chiron asked expectantly and Rhode nodded.

“He looted the island before he did though. And he, um, took some of the girls there too.”

“Where did I go wrong with that boy?” Rhode heard Chiron mutter under his breath. “Yes, that was the way of the world back then but if he’s survived until now then he could at least learn to be more civilized.”

“Um, I heard from Annabeth that Circe had him and his crew imprisoned as guinea pigs, so maybe he still thinks it's the glory days of the pirates still?”

“That’s no excuse,” Chiron said with a sad shake of his head. “Even back then it wasn’t the most civilized thing to do. Taking prisoners as slaves, I mean. We weren’t in the Classical Age anymore. For ransom, yes, but outright slavery? That was on the way out. Mostly. At least, I tried to teach my charges not to engage in it.”

“I’m sorry Teach never seemed to learn the lesson.” Rhode said honestly, trying to comfort her unsettled mentor.

“Yes, well what’s done is done.” Chiron said with a tired sigh. “Edward has long since forgotten most of my lessons and is likely unwilling to hear anymore from me. What needs to be done now is to save those poor girls he’s taken. I’ll contact Aphros and Bythos immediately and ask them to have Camp Fish-Blood send out a Quest to rescue them.”

Rhode cocked her head, wide eyed at Chiron’s declaration. “Huh, I’m surprised you’d get Camp Fish-Blood involved in this.”

The Trainer of Heroes gave her a serious look. “With Blackbeard keeping himself no doubt on sea, it only makes sense to leave it to the experts to handle the task. While I believe in our heroes, the sea is treacherous as many have learned this summer.”

“Hm, makes sense. Plus with guys like Bill I’m sure they can handle it.” 

“I’ll go prepare the message. Thank you for informing me of this, Rhode.” He nodded and started to wheel away towards his room. 

Rhode moved to stand as well, but Mr. D appeared with a hand held up in a sign for her to wait.

“Evans, sit. We need to speak.” 

“What do you need, Mr. D?” Rhode asked, honestly drawing a blank as she sank back into her seat from which she’d half risen when Chiron left. 

“I want to talk with you about that little duel with Castellan.” The god said as he took a seat across from her.

Rhode winced, a hand going to her stomach where Luke had stabbed her. “Sorry for losing…”

She looked away, feeling a rush of disappointment in how it ended. 

“Psst,” Mr. D said, waving his hand dismissively. “I didn’t actually expect you to win. Not saying that I am not annoyed you lost, I am. But I know even with my blessing you’d not be able to keep up with someone who had received the Crooked One’s boon.”

“Really?” Rhode, asked surprised.

“Yes,” Mr. D nodded with a sour puckered look on his face. “Grandfather is a cheating cheater. You probably didn’t notice on account of being beaten up like a schmuck but he pumped up Hermes’ boy even more at the end. The cheat.”

“So we’ll need a means to match or maybe expel the blessing from Luke next time?” Rhode thought aloud, brow knitted. 

Mr. D shot her a look that told her he thought she was stupid.

“And how pray tell are you going to do that?”

“Research. Something has to be able to do it. Maybe an old ritual? There has to be something.” 

Mr. D just laughed at her, wiping laughter born tears from his eyes, making himself look like a drunken Santa Claus. 

“No,” the god said, shaking his head. “There is no way a mortal will be able to interfere with a god’s or Titan’s blessings so easily. No, there is only one option should you face the boy again. And you will.”

Rhode felt her shoulders tense, looking straight into the god’s mad eyes. “And that is, sir?” 

“Run,” the god said firmly. “You find yourself in a position to fight him face-to-face? You run. You’ve lived this long using that marble you call a brain, keep using it.”

“Why do you care if I die?” Rhode asked, with a frown. “I thought you hated all heroes.”

“Because despite being an annoyance, I’d hate to have the one hero I bestowed my blessing upon this generation to just up and die doing something stupid.”

Rhode’s frown just deepened. “Okay~ But why bless me at all?”

“Do you think you and your merry band would’ve escaped Castellan if I didn’t?” Mr. D asked with a roll of his eyes. “I may hate you brats, but I am no fool. If you and your group had ended up in his hands we’d lose some mighty important pieces on the chessboard before the game even properly begins. And that would lead to some trouble.”

Yeah, it certainly sounds like trouble. Rhode agreed with a nod. 

“I’m glad you understand my terrible position, Evans. I would be yelled at too if you got yourself killed. Ghastly!” Mr. D said with a shake of his head. “I’ve had enough of that this summer, please spare me a repeat.”

“I’ll try Mr. D.” Rhode promised.

Mr. D stands to leave but not before addressing Rhode once more.

“Be prepared for things to get worse, Evans.” He told her seriously. “From what I’ve heard the last Titanomachy was a horror show, I don't expect this one to be any less of one. And if Hermes’ boy’s little obsession with you is any indication-”

Rhode grimaced at that. She had been desperately trying to push out of her mind that Luke had stolen a kiss from her during their fight thank you very much and now Mr. D just had to remind her of it!? Argh!

Ignoring her disgusted reaction, the god continued. “-then you’ll be one of the stars of the show this time around. You best be ready for what that means.”

“I’ll try my best.” Rhode replied. 

Mr. D rolled his eyes at what he probably thought was a weak answer before turning around and teleporting away in a purple mist.

Rhode stayed where she was pondering the situation. She knew Mr. D was right but honestly what more could she do to prepare herself? She didn’t know.

Guess I’ll just have to keep going like normal and hope it’s enough. Rhode thought with a sigh as she finally stood and glanced at the clock.

“It’s almost time for when Tyson said to meet him at the forges.” Rhode noted. “Guess, I’ll go fetch Percy and head over.”

“Yo Tyson, you said you have something to show us?” Rhode said as she and Percy stepped into Camp’s forge.

“Yes, Sister!” Tyson cried out happily as he came over, a small spherical drone made out of Celestial Bronze hovering over his shoulder.

“Is that it?” Percy asked, eyeing the automaton as it made cute warbling noises in greeting.

“No, Percy.” Tyson said, shaking his head. “That my spoil for killing Polyphemus. Charlie helped me get it working.”

“Thanks for that Charlie,” Rhode shouted at the current Hephaestus Head Counselor. 

“Don’t mention it, Rhode.” The heavily muscled man said as he looked up from his work table where he was tinkering with some gears. “It was fun to work with and it's been a great help around here.”

“It has?” Percy asked, blinking in confusion.

“It has helpful laser.” Tyson explained pointing at a wall, which his drone took as a signal to fire a laser beam that scorched the plaster slightly. 

“And it has plenty of sensors that help us with the delicate stuff too.” Charlie added with a grin. “Like I said, it’s been super useful.”

“Wish the horn I got for beating the Minotaur was that useful.”

“Yeah, I got dud spoils in the past too.” Rhode nodded. “They’re a mixed bag a lot of the time.”

“I glad I got lucky.” Tyson said with a nod. “It help me make these.”

With that he held out a pair of wrist watches, both were rugged affairs but one was decidedly more feminine in appearance than the other.

“What are these?” Rhode asked curiously as she took the feminine watch and strapped it onto her wrist, whilst Percy did the same with the other timepiece.

“Press the adjust button three times and see.” Tyson said with an eager grin.

Both human half-bloods of Poseidon shot each other a look before shrugging and did as their cyclops brother asked.

Immediately sheets of Celestial Bronze unpacked out of the watches and quickly unfurled into shields reminiscent of the aspis used by Classical Greek warriors. Each was richly decorated, with each of the panels that folded out of the watch featuring a depiction of some scene representing their greatest achievements painted in the Classical style.

Some of Rhode’s included her defeat of the Caucasian Eagle, her defeat of the Lich Voldemort, her defeat of Scamander, her slaying of the Leviathan, and the successful recovery of the Golden Fleece.

Percy’s had the last one too but also had his killing of the Minotaur and his defeat of Ares.

“These are great Tyson!” Percy said, awed by his new shield.

“Who helped you with the art for these?” Rhode asked curiously. Since Tyson probably hadn’t known about some of these achievements, someone had to have helped him. That and despite being a great tinkerer, her brother didn’t have an artistic bone in his body.

“He got some of the kids of Apollo to help him with that.” Charlie chimed in. “He made them some custom weapons in exchange.”

“Fair deal,” Tyson added, nodding in agreement.

“Thanks Tyson!” Rhode said, sincerely tapping the centre of the shield instinctively and causing it to revert to its watch disguise. “Like Percy said, these are great.”

Tyson smiled. “Glad you like it. I saw you two didn’t have shields, so thought you should get some.”

“That’s so thoughtful of you.” Rhode said with a grateful laugh as she pulled him into a hug. “You’re the best Tyson. Really.”

“What Rhode said,” Percy said, shooting him a thumbs up.

In response, Tyson just blushed, something which caused his siblings to both smile happily at him.

Rhode was walking through a dream version of Camp. With the wispy edges to her vision and the unclear quality to the images in general, she could tell that much. It wasn’t a prophetic dream either. At least she didn’t think so since it lacked the weight of one.

Dreaming of Camp, huh? Guess my subconscious is out of ideas. Rhode thought with a laugh.

Laughter that died in her throat as she rounded the corner of Cabin Eleven to step into Camp’s central plaza and saw a scene of horror. 

Piled in heaps all around the dead central hearth were bodies. Familiar bodies. In one neat pile were the decapitated bodies of Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, Percy and Tyson. Stacked into a pyramid next to that were their severed heads. In less tidy arrangements were the others. Su, Lee, Jack, Emily, Gaige, Chiron, Thetis, Thekla, Estella, everyone… Just lying around in haphazard stacks, each bloody and staring out at Rhode with dead eyes set into horrified grimaces. But pride of place were a series of pikes planted into the hearth itself, from which the impaled bodies of Dad, Mum and Triton hung and under which stood the architect of all this carnage.

Standing under the bodies of Rhode’s family was Luke smiling invitingly at her, his golden eyes shining with the power of the Crooked One and with his accursed sword, Backbiter, slung casually over his shoulder.

Bile rose in her throat and her nose burned from the smell of decaying flesh. 

“Happy Birthday, my love.” The monstrous dream-Luke said as he vanished and appeared in front of her.

Rhode tried to lash out at him but he easily caught her arms and despite her fierce struggles pulled her towards him. Wrapping one arm around her to keep her restrained, he freed the other to grab hold of her face and pulled her into a kiss.

She tried to bite his lip but as her face got closer to him, she felt her strength flow out of her and the wind play across her skin. A quick glance down at her body revealed, to her horror, that her clothes had vanished, leaving her absolutely starkers save for a Celestial Bronze collar attached to a chain. A chain that Luke was now using to pull her the remaining distance to his lips.

“You’re mine now, sweetheart.” He whispered as he pulled her into a demanding kiss that sealed his dominion over her mind, body and soul.

Rhode woke up screaming, skin slicked with sweat, her arms flailing in her blankets to get free as she flopped out of bed and tried to get her bearings. 

“Rhode?” Percy asked sleepily, rubbing at his eyes as Tyson stared at her as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

Rhode, nearly huddled in a corner as she tried to calm her racing heart, was tempted to just brush them off but thought better of it, instead decided that she needed to share her worries a little

“Nightmare,” she said quickly as she pushed to her feet. “Meet me in the stables in ten minutes. I’ll explain then. I need to calm down a bit first.”.

Her two brothers exchange confused looks but eventually nod.

Satisfied, she offered them a shaky smile before throwing a robe over her sleepwear, a simple tee shirt and shorts, to fight the potential late night chill and all but ran out of the Cabin in the direction of the stables.

Flóga stood in her stall in Camp’s stables looking at her rider feeling confused about what brought Rhode over in the middle of the night.

Um, Bosslady, what brought you here? Isn’t it kinda late? Flóga asked, looking at her rider worriedly. 

“Can I wait to explain later?” Rhode said with a slightly haunted look. “I just want to talk about something else for the time being. Something to distract me and help me calm down.”

Flóga shot her rider the equine equivalent of a frown but obliged.

So did you know that Maple and Four-Leaf are having a foal soon? Flóga asked. We just found out yesterday.

“Really?” Rhode gasped, a small smile spreading across her face as she turned to the happy couple a few stalls down. “Congrats, you two.”

Thank you, my lady. The two sycophants replied as Flóga rolled her eyes.

Hey now! Blackjack, Lord Percy’s mount who he had rescued from Luke when he had been on the Princess Andromeda, shouted from his stall across from Flóga’s own. No need to be so formal.

And you can stop being so uppity. Flóga shot back, annoyed with the newcomer. I might think it’s silly but if they want to be respectful then let ‘em.

Oh, shut up! I’m just saying Lady Rhode probably likes to keep things informal. I know Boss does.

Argh! This idiot stallion is so, so annoying! The mare couldn’t help but think. Can’t he be less of a pain!?

“I do,” Bosslady said with a grin. “But like Flóga said, I don’t mind if anyone wants to be a bit formal too. I know it’s just them wanting to be respectful. Just don’t overdo it.”

Flóga shot the newbie a victorious grin, or the equine equivalent of one, even as the stables’ other occupants chorused their agreement to Bosslady’s order.

As was proper!

“So Maple, did the stablehands yesterday give you an extra serving of oats?” Bosslady questioned the newly pregnant mare.

Yes, my lady. The mare with a coat of orange, yellows and browns as befit her name said. They gave us some of those special oats that Miss Su makes. They taste great and I am sure my foal appreciates it.

I am sure it does. Four-Leaf said nudging his mate gently with one of his wings.

“Su’s oats, huh?” Rhode said with a smile. “They’re good?”

The best. Flóga said, nudging Bosslady with her wing. Just like she is. She’s a good partner for you Bosslady. Not as good as me, but still plenty good for a human at least.

“Flóga! What are you saying!?” Bosslady said with a pretty blush.

Ah, she missed when her Bosslady was so much younger and innocent. It was easier to get these kinds of blushes. 

“Rhode, we’re here.” Lord Percy said as he and Lord Tyson stepped into the stables.

Immediately, Flóga along with all the pegasi instinctively tensed at the presence of the cyclops, but she quickly relaxed as she remembered that her rider treated him like a brother and she trusted her rider’s judgement. Plus, Lord Tyson had never been anything but nice to them.

Yo Boss, what are we? Chopped liver? Blackjack chided his rider, who had the grace to blush as he greeted everyone else.

“Sorry guys, I forgot. Hi!”

“Hi winged ponies!” Lord Tyson chimed in after his brother.

The stable was filled with greetings for a moment as everyone greeted the sons of Lord Poseidon.

“So, um, sorry to spoil the mood and everything but Rhode, are you calmed down enough now to tell us about your nightmare?”

“Must’ve been scary, right?” Lord Tyson added, looking worried. “You woke up screaming, sister. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am Tyson.” Rhode said, stepping over to the cyclops to pat his arm reassuringly. “Thanks for asking.”

“You sure?” Lord Percy asked, looking at Rhode skeptically.

“Yeah.”

Wait up, Bosslady! You had a nightmare? Flóga asked her rider worriedly.

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t prophetic.” Rhode reassured them all. “Just my mind dreaming up a worse case scenario.”

That’s like totally not comforting, Bosslady . Flóga informed her rider firmly.

Rhode just shrugged.

“So what was it about?” Lord Percy asked, looking worried.

Bosslady sighed and began describing her nightmare.

“I saw Camp covered with corpses.” She said, hugging herself. “The corpses of everyone I care about. Both of you, everyone here in the stables, Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, Su, Jack. Dad, Mu- I mean Amphitrite, Triton too. Everyone . And in the middle of it all stood Luke.”

Bosslady shivered at that and Flóga did too. That sounded terrifying.

“And then Luke, he- He made me his slave.” Bosslady finished with a shudder, her face pale at the mere memory of her horrible dream.

Flóga felt her. That sounded absolutely ghastly.

“We won’t let any of that happen.” Lord Percy confidently reassured Rhode as Lord Tyson and Flóga both nodded in agreement.

“I’m sure we’ll all try,” Rhode said with a tired shake of her head. “But it won’t be easy. Luke was here at Camp for a long time, he knows it in and out. He knows all our weaknesses. The only person who knows it better is Jack and he’s still in a coma.”

That’s not true. Flóga said, scratching at the ground with her hooves disagreeably. You’ve been here in Camp as long as he has, Bosslady.

“Yeah, but I was away at Hogwarts for most of it.”

“Annabeth then.” Percy countered. “She’s been here just as long and was a Year Rounder. She knows just as much as Luke and then there’s Chiron. I’m betting no one knows Camp better than him. He’s been here as long as Camp has even existed.”

“Okay, you’ve got me there.” Rhode agreed and Flóga breathed a sigh of relief, though as she continued, the pegasus realized she’d counted her chickens before they hatched. “But we’re still in a bad place. Especially since Mr. D basically helps Luke with recruitment with his attitude to us half-bloods and how he’s the first god most of us ever meet.”

“He’s not that bad,” Percy insisted. “I’ve met worse. Clarisse’s dad is even worse.”

“That does not help things, Percy.” Rhode said with a groan. “It just proves that a lot of half-bloods’ grievances are probably justified. A lot of gods have done a shitty job taking care of their kids, like Hermes did with Luke, whether they wanted to or not.”

“You know I tried my best,” Lord Hermes’ voice preceded him as he blinked into existence in the middle of the stables.

Lord Hermes, welcome! Flóga and the other pegasi greeted politely, bowing their heads in respect to the god.

“Lord Hermes,” Rhode greeted more frostily even as Lords Percy and Tyson just bowed.

Rhode! Flóga hissed at her rider warningly, but the daughter of Poseidon just ignored her and proceeded to put her foot in her mouth regardless.

“Well, your best wasn’t good enough.” She told the god with a sigh.

“And neither was yours .” The messenger god countered, looking at Rhode with his eyes literally glowing with smoldering anger. “You lost to him in your little duel and failed to bring him back to the side of Olympus.”

“He just caught me off guard with that boost he got from the Crooked One that’s all.” Rhode shot back defensively, her hackles raised and her breath coming out in a cool mist. “I’ll be better prepared next time. And besides, I never accepted your Quest to get Luke to switch sides again. To me, he’s my enemy. No more, no less.”

With that said, Rhode stormed off and Flóga breathed a sigh of relief. Better that her rider run off in a huff than stay and let her Fatal Flaw get her more worked up, and Olympus forbid cause her to say or do something that would get her in serious trouble with a god.

As Lord Tyson ran off after Rhode though, Flóga wished she wasn’t locked in her stall. She wanted to be there to talk down her volatile rider and make sure she was alright too!

Something that Lord Percy could probably empathize with if the frown on his face was anything to go by even as Lord Hermes kept him from running after Rhode with a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m afraid you can’t leave yet, Percy.” The god said with a shake of his head. “Not until you take this.”

With that he handed the half-blood a letter.

“It’s from your father,” the messenger god said, causing Lord Percy’s eyes to widen in shock.

Before he could say anything however, the god continued.

“Oh, and tell Rhode I’m sorry.” The messenger god said, sounding genuinely apologetic. “I didn’t mean to upset her.”

Lord Percy looked at him in surprise, but before he could say a word, the god had blurred away in a burst of speed.

A furious Rhode stormed through Camp towards the direction of Thalia’s Tree with Tyson trailing after her trying to calm her down.

“Um, Sister, please no be angry. Face might stick like that.” Tyson gently pointed out. 

“It won’t.” Rhode shot back, shoulders tense as she stomped heavily. “And just let me be angry for a bit Tyson! I need to vent!”

“Oh… oh! You can hammer things at smithy. Lots of banging!” Tyson cheerfully pointed out. 

“Not my cup of tea, Tyson. But thank you.” Rhode said with a shake of her head as she made long, angry strides towards Half-Blood Hill.

“Hmm… swim?” He nervously asked. 

“Not in the mood for that either.” Rhode shot back as she began climbing the hill at a steady pace.

They reached the Tree where Annabeth and her brother Malcolm were on duty guarding it and the Golden Fleece which hung in its branches, a temporary measure until Chiron could hire some friendly monster to serve as the Fleece’s new guardian.

“Rhode?” Annabeth asked in surprise, but her face quickly turned worried at her furious look no doubt. “What happened? You look pissed off.”

“Tch, Lord Hermes stopped by. The guy accused me, me ! Of failing to turn Luke back to the side of Olympus. Can you believe that?! If Luke’s made up his mind, how am I supposed to stop him! Has he even met Luke?!”

Annabeth walked over, putting a hand on her shoulder which calmed the older girl somewhat. “That wasn’t fair of him. Heck, it was unreasonable to assume you had that much sway over Luke. The Crooked One’s held his ear for who knows how long. One talk can’t undo all that.”

“Like gods care about being reasonable.” Rhode huffed irritably.

Silena Beauregard, current Head Counselor of the Aphrodite Cabin

“Uh, Rhode? Is this a good time?” Silena Beauregard, current Head Counselor of the Aphrodite Cabin, said as she walked out of the darkness of the night into the small patch of light cast by the Golden Fleece. “I need to talk to you.”

“No,” Rhode told her bluntly. “I’m in a bad mood.”

“Please, I-I need to talk to you. Please!” Silena begged, tears building in her beautiful eyes. 

A frown marred her face as the daughter of Poseidon scratched her hair with a frustrated grunt. “Fine, talk.”

“C-Can we talk in private?” The brunette asked with a nervous gulp.

“No,” Rhode said, crossing her arms. “Like I said, I am in a bad mood. So if this is some petty secret nonsense save it for later. If it’s not, then nothing you say to me you can’t say to the rest of us here too.”

Silena turned to look between Thalia’s Tree and Rhode herself before sliding a glance towards Annabeth nervously. Nodding, she curled her hands in front of her chest. “Right, right, I guess Annabeth deserves to hear this too. Though I wish Grover was here also.”

Annabeth’s sharp grey eyes zeroed in on Silena’s, her voice soft yet held an underlining steel-like quality. “What do you mean by that?”

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, the daughter of love explained. “I-I can’t live with the guilt anymore. I need to talk to those that I hurt the most by doing what I did.”

Bethy let out a horrified gasp, taking a step back with shocked eyes. 

Rhode looked at her sharply, “What Bethy? What’s she talking about?”

Silena winced, looking away with shame all over her face. “I see Annabeth figured it out…”

Growling in frustration, Rhode said, “Okay, stop talking in circles and just speak plainly. Now.”

Closing her eyes tightly, Silena spoke in a soft whisper. “I-I was the Titan’s spy. I was the one who poisoned Thalia’s Tree.”

As Silena’s words reached her ears, it was as if something snapped in her mind. Her eyes dilating as she looked, looked at Silena. Icy fury flooded her veins and a great shout spilled from her lips as Spellbound somehow wound up in her hands. Her feet pounded the ground as she ran at the daughter of love with nothing but the intent to kill.

“Tyson, stop her!” Annabeth cried out and Rhode felt herself grabbed by large rough hands and lifted into the air. 

“Let me go!” Rhode thundered  as her arms were trapped in her brother’s large palms. “Tyson, put me down so I can kill her!”

“Rhode, Rhode calm down!” Annabeth ran in front of her, looking up with worry. “We need her to answer questions! If we want any information about Luke’s forces, we need her!”

Rhode’s thrashing halted, her sea green eyes looking into the hurt and worried stormy grey ones of her little sister. 

Seeing those eyes, her little sister trying her best to stay strong, calmed her. Even as her rage pulsed with intense cold, she took a breath and looked at Silena with nothing but betrayal and hatred. 

“ Fine .”

At least Malcom was behind the traitor, sword poised at her neck ready to cut her down if the daughter of Aphrodite decided to cut and run. 

“Alright Silena, you better tell us everything.” The son of Athena warned the girl, body tense. 

“I, I will. I promise.” Silena said, rubbing her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. 

As Percy finished reading the letter from his Dad, he just stood there in the stable confused.

It had been a little cryptic to be honest. “Brace yourself. And look after your sister.” That had been all it said. 

Which was weird since she had been looking after him. A lot. 

At least that had been Percy’s first thought before his brain caught up to him. The letter was a warning. One given to him that something was about to happen that could rattle his and more importantly Rhode’s world.

That was why their Dad had sent a letter instead of an IM via the fountain in their cabin or call via Rhode’s phone. Either of those options would’ve gotten Rhode curious. Something that he was sure Dad was trying to avoid. Percy knew she’d not like it if she found out Dad was deliberately asking people to watch out for her, so he was doing it sneakily.

Yo Boss, what did Lord Poseidon say? Blackjack asked, even as Flóga and the other pegasi looked on, eager to hear his reply.

Wait, I can read. I’ve been taking lessons! Flóga said as she tried to look over his shoulder. 

Percy quickly folded the letter, so Rhode’s nosy partner couldn’t read it.

“Nothing you guys need to worry about.” Percy told them. “It’s private, okay?”

That got him disappointed whinnies. Man, who knew pegasi were such gossips. 

“Anyway! I think I’ll go check in on Rhode.” Percy declared as he began to walk out of the stables. “You guys stay out of trouble.”

He was met with a chorus of acknowledgements, some more grudging than others.

How does Rhode keep a handle on all of them? Percy thought with a good-natured shake of his head.

As he surveyed Camp to look for where Rhode had gone though, any levity he might’ve felt vanished as he spotted the top of Half-Blood Hill which had been transformed into a fortress of ice. 

Rhode! Percy thought urgently as he broke out into a run. If she was angry enough to create something like that… Then whatever Dad’s letter had warned about had come to pass.

It took him only a few minutes of running before Percy reached the scene of the chaos but he couldn’t help but feel it was too late. 

He found Silena from Aphrodite Cabin frozen to a chair made out of ice with Malcolm holding a sword to her neck.

“And where did you get the essence of Lady Achlys’ death-mist?” Malcolm asked the daughter of love.

“Someone passed it to me.” Silena replied, eyeing the sword held to her neck nervously. “I didn’t recognize who it was. I think it was a half-blood though.”

“And when did this exchange happen?” Malcolm asked, leaning in to glare at Silena.

“On my way to Camp this summer.” Silena answered without hesitation. “I was waiting for a cab at the airport when someone just came up to me, passed me the vial of it and instructions. The note was from Luke.”

“What the heck is going on?!” Percy asked, bewildered by the sight before him.

“Percy!” Tyson greeted happily as usual, even with how tense the situation was. “Pretty girl said she hurt special tree. Said doing for mean guy because crushy crush she had on him.”

Well that summed up what was going on at least.

Still, Percy gasped in disbelief that Silena would do something like that. He thought she was Rhode’s friend.

The sound of galloping of hooves broke him away from his thoughts and he turned in their direction just as Chiron came on the scene, looking stern and in-charge.

“It wouldn’t be the first time someone did a foolish act in the name of love. Nor will it be the last. Or at least what they believe is love.”

He turned to Annabeth’s brother and said, “I’ll be taking over the interrogation, Malcolm.”

“You better make sure she pays for what she did, Chiron. This, this cannot stand. I refuse to let it.”

The sheer look of apocalyptic rage on his sister’s face made Percy let out a shiver. Or was that from all the frost covering the hill?

He couldn’t blame her for going all Ice Queen on them though. No doubt she was going through an emotional rollercoaster from everything that was happening tonight.

“I promise you Rhode, justice will be served. Rest assured.” Chiron told her with a soft timbre to his voice. No doubt trying to calm her down before she blew a blood vessel. 

Before Chiron could get started on his interrogation though, something in the corner of Percy’s eye caught his attention and he instinctively glanced towards it and gasped.

“Thalia’s Tree,” he said, pointing at the pine and the rippling waves of light that were suddenly playing across its bark.

“What now!?” Rhode hissed in furious alarm as she and everyone else spun around to look at the tree. “Chiron! The tre-”

Before she could finish her desperate cry, the building intensity of the light reached a crescendo and in a nearly blinding burst of white a figure literally fell out of the pine.

As Percy blinked the spots out of her eyes, he found the figure was a teenage girl with shoulder-length, spiky black hair. One which he was familiar with from the many pictures he’d seen of her in Cabin Three.

“T-Thalia!” Annabeth gasped.

It seemed Thalia Grace was back from her arboreal grave.

“So Chiron,” Su asked as she sat down across from Chiron in his office in the Big House. “Learn anything from your interrogation of Silena?”

She was here on Rhode’s behalf. The daughter of Poseidon was too distracted by looking after Thalia to follow up on things herself after all. Neither was Annabeth for the matter, though that had more to do with the daughter of Athena descending into a neurotic mess after recent events. Apparently the prospect of meeting Thalia again had rattled her more than she’d let on. She had been mumbling to herself about what she wanted and needed to tell the revived daughter of Zeus in practically every free moment since the older girl had emerged from her Tree. Thankfully, Percy was there to help distract his not-girlfriend by asking her to help him with mundane things.

Honestly, why were children of Poseidon so dense when it came to their feelings?

“Nothing new,” Chiron said with a shake of his head. “She wasn’t told much.”

“So besides the fact she was the spy ‘cos she had a crush on Luke, poisoned Thalia’s Tree and passed on whatever she heard, that’s it?”

“Unfortunately.”

“The note with the instructions to poison the tree?” Su asked hopefully. “Got anything useful from that?”

“Nothing,” Chiron said with another disappointed shake of his head. “Outside of the actual instructions, it was just Luke trying to charm Silena into doing what he wanted.”

“Which he succeeded in doing.” Su observed with a frown, arms crossed.

“Sadly.”

“So, there’s really nothing else?” Su asked once again. 

“I’m afraid not.” Chiron confirmed.

Su frowned but nodded and stood to leave.

“Alright, then I guess that’s that.” She said with a disappointed sigh. “Catch you later, Chiron.”

“Su, where are you going?”

“Oh!” The petite girl smiled as she twirled the end of her ponytail. “I’m going to cook some lunch for Rhode. Knowing that girl, she’ll miss her meals in the Dining Pavilion.”

The old centaur chuckled, an amused look on his face. 

“You’re being a very caring person for someone who isn’t your significant other.”

“For now,” Su tells him confidently, toying with the twin rings she always wore around a chain underneath the fabric of her Camp tee. “But I am sure we will be that and more someday.”

Chiron shook his head, “Playing the games of love like this is risky business, Su. Trust me, I have seen my fair share of it through the centuries.”

“It is a risk I am more than willing to take. Rhode is worth it.” Su declared as she turned and walked out of his office.

A couple days after Thalia had been released from her Tree, Rhode was sitting in the infirmary watching over the sleeping daughter of Zeus’ bed. Somewhere she’d barely left since that fateful night. Only having left to say bye to Tyson when he’d departed to take up the job he’d been offered in the Atlantean forges.

It had been laid out next to Jack’s, the two beds only separated by a screen. A decision made by Chiron because he was uncertain when either of them would wake and he wanted his two ‘coma’ patients in the same place for ease of access.

Though now that Thalia was out of danger, they were able to give the Golden Fleece to Jack so there was now hope for him to wake up too.

“Rhode, I brought you lunch.” Su said as she entered the room. The petite girl sounding as chipper as a chipmunk.

“Thanks Su,” Rhode said, offering her friend a smile as she came into the room laden with a wicker basket.

“No problem,” the daughter of Demeter said with a smile of her own. “Though you really should remember to go down to the Dining Pavilion to eat. Even Annabeth manages and she’s as tightly wound as you are.”

“I’ll try to remember next time,” Rhode said half-heartedly. “It’s just I wanted to keep watch here, you know? I want to be here when they, either of them, wake up.”

“I understand,” Su said as she pulled over a table to where Rhode was sitting and set the basket on top of it, before she began to lay out the food she’d brought. “Which is why I brought you lunch.”

“Thanks Su,” Rhode repeated as she stepped forward to help Su set up the food.

“I even managed to snag some chocolate cherries for dessert.” She winked playfully. 

“The satyrs and Dionysus Cabin let you?” Rhode asked, blinking in surprise. “They’re usually so stingy about them.”

“I’ve helped them out in the fields every so often. They owe me some.” Su explained with a shrug.

“That makes sense.”

“Of course it does,” Su said with a playful smile as she picked up a slice of pie. “Now open up!”

“Whut!?” Rhode asked, shocked.

Laughing, Su shoved the pie into Rhode’s open mouth.

Rhode hurriedly grabbed the pie slice and bit off a chunk, whilst shooting Su a pouty glare.

“Was that necessary?” She asked as she swallowed and wiped at the mess around her mouth with one of the napkins Su had helpfully brought along.

“No, but it was fun.” Su teased, her soil black eyes twinkling with mischief. 

“Fine. Your turn now.” Rhode demanded as she took a forkful of another piece of pie. 

“Well! If the princess insists~” Su giggled as she leaned forward, brushing her hair behind her ear to show her slim neck and gently took a bite.

Rhode felt her cheeks grow hot as she noted Su had left some pie left for herself on the fork and finished it off. 

“My, my Rhode, that’s an indirect kiss, ya know.” Su said, that damnably adorable teasing smile still on her face.

“I think you should be eating.” Rhode huffed, looking away.

“I would, but this is just too fun~”

“Argh,” a familiar male voice said and both girls spun around to look at Jack’s bed where he was pushing himself into a sitting position. “Li, stop flirting with my girlfriend.”

Su crossed her arms indignantly, ready to say something in reply but was cut short when another unexpected voice filled the room.

“R-Rhode?” Thalia asked weakly as she blinked at Rhode curiously.

Awkwardly swallowing the pie she’d been chewing, Rhode could only look between the two newly awakened half-bloods.

“Thalia? Jack?” She said, too stunned to say anything else.

This isn’t how I wanted them to see me when they woke up. Rhode thought with a blush as Su ran off to call Chiron.

“Um, hi?” 

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Twelve: Reconnecting with Ghosts from the Past

Beta: ShadowofAxios

Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus

“Rhode is that really you?” Thalia said as she looked at the raven haired beauty that was sitting at her bedside. 

She looked like a grown up version of her adopted little sister, but Thalia couldn’t even start to fathom how the heck this Sports Illustrated model was the same girl. When she’d imagined Rhode as a grown up, she’d seen her as a punk or goth or at the very least a rebel, but this girl was none of that. She wasn’t a girly girl, sure, but dressed in an orange tee emblazoned with the words Camp Half-Blood and a pair of shorts, she still fit the girlish mold as a sporty girl. The mannerisms were off too. Where was the defiance and standoffishness that Thalia expected?

This can’t be Rhode surely. Thalia couldn’t help but think.

“Hey Thals. Yeah, it’s me.” Her smile came so easily and she radiated an aura of sweet relief from her eyes that made her seem like some kind older sister or something. 

It was like being wrapped up in some kind of protective aura as the girl she knew so well sat across from her as a mystery now.

Nothing was making sense in Thalia’s world at the moment. Right was left, up was down and the sky was green. At least that was how Thalia was viewing it. 

“That’s Rhode alright.” The Su girl, who had introduced herself as a daughter of Demeter, said, backing the girl claiming to be Rhode up.

“Yeah, sorry, but your saying so is not really helpful.” Thalia told the Chinese girl with a shrug. “You being her friend and all.”

“Su, Thalia’s still got a street half-blood mentality. We don’t trust so easily, so I’m not blaming her for being cautious.” The apparent Rhode lamented with a sad smile as she turned to the Chinese girl. “Su, could you give us some space? I want to tell Thalia something private.”

The girl shook her head, “I’m sorry, Rhode, but no. You could say something wrong and she could lash out. I am not leaving you alone with a possibly volatile half-blood.”

The stern way she said that made Thalia bristle. Volatile? She wondered how chill she’d be after being a tree for however long! Thalia was being as zen as a monk here!

“Su, please.” Rhode pouted. Well, that was mostly the same baby seal look she remembered. 

“No, Rhode. Think of something else.” 

Rhode just sighing and admitting defeat was not however, causing Thalia to frown and her doubts to resurface. 

“There’s really only one big secret that I think can convince Thalia but it’s super private but since you won’t leave-”

“I’m staying.” The Chinese girl insisted despite Rhode’s pleading look.

“Then,” Rhode continued with another sigh. “I’ll whisper it to Thalia. Don’t try to eavesdrop, okay?”

“That’s acceptable,” the Su girl said as a couple of tentacles started to poke out of her shirt along the hem and collar.

What the Hades!? Thalia thought, eyeing the things warily.

“Stop trying to look all mean with Helel, Su. Even that freaks me out.” 

“I’m not,” Su insisted. “I’m just preparing in case she tries something.”

“No, you’re just tense.” Rhode shot back with a roll of her eyes, before turning away from the other girl.

Rhode stood and leaned in close, lips near her ear as she whispered so softly that Thalia barely heard her. “I still celebrate Jason’s birthday for you, Thalia.”

That felt like a punch to the gut. Only Rhode knew about Jason. She had told no one else, this… this was Rhode. 

Gods, how much have I missed? Thalia thought as her eyes stung as she looked at the once little girl she knew and who was now almost like nothing she remembered, feeling utterly lost. She felt like she was drowning, trying to understand what was going on.

She was still stuck in this mire of confusion when someone else entered the infirmary. 

“Thalia!” A blonde girl with grey eyes cried out joyfully as she raced into the room.

Thalia turned to the new arrival and recognised Annabeth immediately. Unlike Rhode she had grown up pretty much how the daughter of Zeus had expected, so there was no trouble accepting that the pretty, confident blonde was the little daughter of Athena she remembered.

“Hey Annabeth,” Thalia said with a smile, only for the blonde to throw herself at her and pull her into a tight hug.

“Rhode, you sure you don’t want to talk to Thalia more?” Su asked, shooting her a worried look.

“Let’s give Bethy some time with her,” Rhode said as they walked away from the infirmary. “In the meantime…”

“You want to see Jack.” Su finished for her as she trailed off.

“Yeah,” Rhode said with a hesitant nod. “I want to make sure he’s okay. Chiron dragged him off to get examined pretty fast. I’m worried.”

It was only natural, at least in Rhode’s mind. He had been injured because of her after all.

“I’m coming with you. You and that boy being alone lead to things, Rhode.” Her bestie affirmed with a glint in her soil black eyes. “Often bad things.”

“Fine, let’s just go.” 

The walk to Chiron’s office where the centaur had dragged Jack over to, bed and all, so he could examine him was tense but companionable all at once. As much as Rhode was leery of having Su shadowing her in this meeting, she appreciated it too. She needed the backup. 

“Chiron, can we see Jack?” Rhode asked as they reached the Trainer of Heroes’ office door and she knocked on it lightly.

“Yes, please come in Rhode.” Chiron said kindly as he swung the door open. “I was just about to push Jack’s bed back to the infirmary. I could use your help. Yours as well Su.”

“I don’t need to head back to the sickhouse, Chiron.” Jack hissed defiantly from his bed, shooting the immortal a glare.

“You were in a coma for a year , Jack.” Chiron reminded him as he let the glare wash off him like water off a duck’s back and he moved to stand behind the bed. “Even with ambrosia, your muscles have atrophied somewhat. You are not well. And will not be for some time. Or did you forget your attempt earlier to walk?”

Jack blushed and looked away. Clearly said attempt must’ve been plenty embarrassing.

Chiron smiled at that and began to push the bed towards the door, Su and Rhode rushing to either side of it to help him as they maneuvered it out his office door and through the halls of the Big House back towards the infirmary.

“Hey Jack,” Rhode greeted, catching the snow haired boy’s attention. The look from his icy blue eyes still made her stomach do flip flops like some hormonal tween. Damn his handsomeness. 

“Hi Rhode,” he said in that sexy cool guy voice she knew he’d been practising before his coma. “Miss me?”

“A little,” Rhode confessed, playing it cool herself.

“Ahem,” Su cut in before she could say more. “Rhode, remember your promise to Amphitrite?”

“Oh right.” Rhode said, blanching at how with Jack back she almost fell back into her old routine. 

“What does a promise to your stepmother have to do anything?” Jack asked, sounding confused.

“Mum,” Rhode corrected, causing Jack’s eyes to go wide in disbelief. “Made me promise to not be in any relationships for a while. Not until my counsellors cleared it. I’m not ready for it. Not after my recent screwups.”

“That’s malarkey! I’m your boyfriend!” Jack demanded, harshly grabbing Rhode’s hands on the sides of his bed.

“Not anymore,” Rhode said, forcibly pulling the boy’s weakened hands off her own. “Jack, I need time to get my head on straight.”

“As her counsellor, I agree.” Chiron said, adding his own pint of oil to the fire Rhode already saw smoldering.

“You?” Jack said, shooting Chiron a dark look. “This- This is- Rhode! We need to talk now. Alone! Please!”

“No.” Su crossed her arms, looking defiant and her shirt wrinkled as her plants writhed under the cotton fabric. 

“You still need medical supervision,” Chiron told him firmly as well. “And to be honest, in my capacity as her counsellor, you and Rhode being alone is something I would strongly discourage.”

Rhode could only look away, feeling scummy about all this. 

“Fine, whatever.” Jack said, the room dropped a few degrees in response to his anger. The bitterness in his voice made her heart ache. 

“You can throw a tantrum all you want Jack,” Chiron said sternly. “And be in denial as well. But your relationship with Rhode, at least in recent times, has been toxic. You’ve been emotionally manipulative-”

“I have not!”

“You have,” Su cut in, Helel waving its tendrils threateningly. “Don’t deny it.”

“Oh please, we all know you’ve been pining for her for years.” Jack retorted sharply.

“That does not make what Su said any less true,” Chiron cut in. “You were emotionally abusive to Rhode, or close to it. And Rhode, for whatever reason-”

Damn meddling gods. Rhode thought with a frown.

“-Is especially susceptible to it. As such, as your mutual guardian, it is my opinion that as far it is possible, neither of you should be allowed to be alone together.”

“...Fine.” Jack answered in a low whisper that carried like a chilling breeze. It sounded hurt and broken and it honestly took Rhode a lot of effort not to want to just… fix it. Her resolve to stand back though was helped along by the stern looks that both Su and Chiron shot her.

“Ah Rhode!” Bethy said excitedly as they arrived back in the infirmary, though Rhode didn’t miss the quick, dark glance she shot Jack. “Thalia was saying she wants to have a tour of Camp-”

“I did?” Thalia asked, blinking in confusion.

“Yes, you did.” Bethy said, nudging her shoulder and nodding towards Jack, “Remember?”

Thalia looked a little lost but nevertheless nodded. “Uh, yeah. That sounds cool.”

“Yes, it does.” Chiron agreed, also shooting a look between Jack and Rhode. “And according to my examination earlier, your transmutation from tree back to human has not caused your muscles any harm. As such-”

“Lucky you,” Jack hissed angrily but everyone ignored him. Even Rhode, though she did so with great difficulty.

“I think some exercise will do you good.” Chiron continued, offering Thalia a smile. “Rhode, why don’t you accompany them. I’m sure that Thalia will appreciate the company. As for you Su-”

“I’ll go to the potions lab,” Su said with a shrug. “I’m betting Jack will be needing some potions to help his recovery. I’ll go brew some up for him.”

“Thank you, Su.” Chiron said with a smile as the daughter of Demeter just shrugged and with a wave to everyone turned and left.

“Right then, let’s start that tour!” Bethy said with excessive enthusiasm as she all but dragged Thalia to her feet and hooked an arm around Rhode’s.

“Bye Jack,” Rhode said as she was tugged out of the infirmary. “See you later.”

“See ya.”

“Come on, we so have to show you the Lava Wall.” Bethy said.

“Sure thing, Annie. Just slow down.” Thalia said as the two daughters of the Big Three were led away. 

“Okay, Percy’s got Rhode all distracted over at the canoeing lake with their powers practice.” Annabeth said with a nod as she looked around the circle of friends that she’d gathered for this discussion.

Thalia was there, as was Su. Lee, Grover, Emily and Gaige too. The former through wizarding firecall channeled through a lit brazier that Lady Hestia had helpfully provided when Annabeth had asked her earlier whilst the satyr and the couple were connecting via old fashioned Iris Message.

“Still can’t believe Poseidon broke the Oath, again.” Thalia murmured, not looking pleased. 

“Now’s not the time, Thalia.” Annabeth chided the daughter of Zeus firmly. 

“Alright, can someone tell me what’s so bad about this Jack guy and Rhode? He’s an ex or something right?” Thalia asked with a grumpy look on her face. 

“Yes, he’s an ex.” Su said with a frown. “Same as me.”

“Wait!” Thalia said, shooting the Head Counselor of Demeter Cabin a shocked look. “You and Rhode dated?”

“Yeah, for the better part of a year.”

“Rhode’s into girls? That’s-”

“Not the point right now,” Emily cut in firmly, shooting Thalia a glare. “Stop getting distracted and dragging this meeting off on tangents.”

“Um, right, sorry.” Thalia said, relenting under the glares of varying intensities that everyone was shooting her. “So, um, what’s the meeting about?”

“Jack,” Grover said. “And how he’s a bad influence on Rhode.”

“He’s worse than that,” Lee countered. “Did you see them together in the last few months of their relationship? He was constantly manipulating her emotions to get her to do what he wanted. That’s abuse, plain and simple.”

“Hindsight is twenty twenty, huh?” Gaige said with a scoff. “Unlike us girls, didn’t see you doing anything about it back then. At least we tried an intervention that one time.”

Lee and Grover both looked away shamefaced.

Thalia looked ready to say something but stopped herself at the last minute.

“I read up more about his mother, Lady Khione. She’s a good manipulator but not supernaturally so.” Annabeth sighed at the weak points in her research. Minor gods really only had blurbs about them here or there, even here at Camp. 

“She’s a goddess,” Grover said with a shake of his head. “That makes everything she does supernatural. She might not have outright Charmspeak, but she’s still inhumanly good at manipulating people.”

“And Jack seems to have inherited it.” Lee observed.

“It doesn’t help that Rhode is super susceptible to it thanks to the mess of curses and blessings that she got hit with thanks to Amphitrite’s attempt to help her with her Fatal Flaw.” Annabeth said with a tired sigh.

“What did she do?” Thalia asked, her eyes narrowed in anger.

“Rhode’s Mum ,” Annabeth replied, emphasizing the relationship Rhode had chosen to have with her father’s wife so that Thalia would get the picture. “Used one of Rhode’s screw ups to get Nemesis to bless her with something to moderate her Fatal Flaw, but that just created an opening for other gods to mess with her too. At least that’s what Rhode told me her parents let her overhear whilst she was in Atlantis.”

Thalia mouthed the word “Atlantis” soundlessly for a moment as she probably tried to wrap her head around Rhode having visited her father’s divine home. Annabeth herself still had trouble accepting it so she wasn’t surprised, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

“It’s the root of Rhode’s problem with Jack.” Lee said with a sigh. “Or at least some of it is that the mess of blessings and curses has made her very susceptible to his manipulations.”

“Which is why we must try and make sure he doesn’t get a chance to use them.” Emily insisted.

“And that’s why we must do everything we can to keep them apart.” Gaige added. “Up to speed, daughter of Zeus?”

“Yeah,” Thalia said with a slow nod. “Is it that bad, though?”

“Is it that-Yes!” Gaige threw her hands in the air.

“Guys, Thalia just got out of a tree. She has the mentality of a twelve year old. I think.” Annabeth tried to at least defend the confused Thalia. “She’s never dated before if I remember.” 

Thalia however flushed with embarrassment and gave her another grumpy look. It honestly looked odd on her face. Thalia had the body of a fifteen year old if what Chiron said was right, but had the mind of a twelve year old. The oddly childish expression on her teenage face just cemented her odd situation. 

“Think of it this way Thalia,” Emily said, sounding both kind and stern all at once. “The Rhode you remember never takes any bullcrap from anyone, right?”

Thalia nodded.

“Well, Rhode still doesn’t.” Emily continued. “She’s less likely to jump to conclusions and is more open to let people convince her to do things but she’s still no pushover, but when it comes to Jack and his manipulations-”

“If he asks her to jump, she goes ‘how high’.” Gaige said with a frown.

“T-That bad?” A pale faced Thalia asked, looking at Grover and Annabeth for confirmation.

“At its worst, yeah.” Grover said with a pained nod.

“I’m afraid so,” Annabeth said with a sigh.

“So we keep them apart?” Thalia asked, looking uncertain. “Is that going to be enough?”

“That’ll be the first step.” Annabeth said as everyone nodded. “But that’s why we’re meeting now. To brainstorm what else to do.”

“Just tell me what I can do to help. If he’s bad news for her, I don’t want him near her.” Thalia frowned, some static dancing around her hands as she clenched them tight. 

“If only we could exile him somewhere,” Lady Hestia said as she materialized out of nowhere in between Annabeth and Thalia inside the little clearing they were using. “The two of them really could do with more time apart. Alas there is nowhere that we can send Jack. If there was, I would have sent him there already.”

“W-Who are you?” Thalia said, shooting the goddess a shocked and wary look.

“Hello Thalia, welcome back. I am your auntie Hestia.” Her small hand took Thalia’s and gave it a warm shake. “And you children better disperse. Rhode just had the brilliant idea to invite Thalia to join her training with Percy, she’s liable to find you all shortly.”

“Training nut Rhode at it again?” Lee grimaced through the flames. 

“I fear she’s taught young Percy how to solidify water to create barriers and wants to test them against Thalia’s electricity. Now Lee, shoo. I have a fire to tend to.” The goddess said as she nudged his face within the brazier’s flame with her poker, causing it to waver. 

“Yes ma’am!” The wizard said as his image faded.

“Bye guys,” Gaige said.

“Yes bye,” Emily said distractedly. “We’ll contact you with our ideas on how to handle the Jack problem. Either you, Annabeth, or Su, whichever is free.”

“I’ve got nothing to do after this,” Su said as she stood. “I’ll go to my Cabin and we can continue talking there. Annabeth-”

“Thalia and I will distract Rhode.” Annabeth affirmed as the couple’s IM faded away.

“And I’ll be their excuse for why they’re together.” Grover offered. 

“Good, good. Very quick thinking everyone.” Lady Hestia said with a smile for all of them. “I love when a secret cabal comes together. It’s so exciting!” 

With that the goddess vanished, taking the brazier with her.

“Is Lady Hestia, you know, always like that?” Thalia whispered nervously to Annabeth. 

“Friendly and helpful?” Su said over her shoulder as she walked off. “Pretty much.”

“Oh.” Thalia surmised, looking unsure what to think. 

Annabeth was going to have to give her a crash course over which gods actually do want to help them. Or how gods in general weren’t really quite as bad as they thought they had been when on the road. Rhode’s stories about Atlantis and its court had been enlightening as to how gods really operated.

“So, um, Thalia, how was it like being a tree?” Grover said lamely as he nodded behind them just as there was rustling in the opposite direction of where Su had vanished into the woods.

“Uh, quiet? I don’t really remember much. Just the battle, haziness and bam I was out.” 

“So that’s where you two are!” Rhode said happily as she burst out of the treeline behind them. “I was looking for you Thalia. Oh and hey Grover!”

Like the trainer from Hades her older sister strode forward with a battered, but still standing Percy walking behind her. 

“Grover, dude.” Percy smiled and waved at the satyr’s IM image. 

“Hey Rhode, Percy,” Grover greeted with a wide smile. “So I was just catching up with Thalia after all these years, ya know?”

“I can see that,” Rhode said, sinking onto the log that Su had been sitting on earlier. “Huh? Nice smell. Bethy, you used a new perfume? It smells heavenly.”

“Uh, ya?” Annabeth said lamely, caught off guard by Rhode’s question and more importantly the possible implications of her liking Su’s natural fragrance. Then again… They had dated, so why then did she not recognise it? The curses? Something to think about...

Seriously, Rhode’s love life was going to give Annabeth a headache soon. Still, as her little sister, it was her job to help her as best she could. 

“So Rhode, since you’re here too. Why don’t all four of us catch up?” 

“That’s a great idea Thalia.” Rhode agreed. “Hey Percy, sorry, but could we cut our session short?”

“Sure,” Percy said, with a sigh of relief. “I’ll, uh, go, um, hang out with Blackjack.”

“Thanks bro.” Rhode said, ruffling his hair with a cheeky grin. “Tell the stable I said hey and remind them that we’ve got flying lessons with the newbies later today before dinner. BJ’s been working on his aerial loops and I want to test them with you.” 

Percy looked like he just lost the lottery and Annabeth fought hard against a smile. The look he had was priceless! 

“Uh, okay.” Percy said with a stilted nod. “Catch you guys later.”

“Bye Percy~!” Everyone chroused.

“So, what’s what?” Rhode said, turning to her friends as their small family began catching up.

“Rhode, why do I have to worry about this?” Thalia asked as she adjusted the way the jeans that Rhode had got her to wear sat on her hips and looked over the outfit her sister had picked for her. It consisted of the aforementioned jeans, a Camp Half-Blood tee and her old jacket which Rhode had returned her.

It had apparently become a treasured possession of her sister’s. Something she kept as a memorial of her. It boggled Thalia’s mind a little - At least in comparison to everything else! - that she’d do that for a simple jacket. Sure she really liked it and it was a precious piece of clothing for a street kid which might have trouble replacing it, but they weren’t living on the streets anymore and so it was really just a simple article of clothing. Yet Rhode had treated it with reverence and so Thalia had hid her confusion and accepted it back whilst reciprocating the emotion as much as possible.

Had Rhode really clung onto anything that was hers just to remember her better or something?

“If you want to get the boys to look back at you like I saw you look at them then yes,” Rhode told her from where she was rummaging through the whole wardrobe worth of stuff Aphrodite Cabin had loaned them for their little makeover.

“B-boys!?” Thalia squeaked. “I’m not in-interested in boys!”

“So I didn’t see you checking Beckendorf out yesterday when we visited the forge to get you some new training gear?” Rhode asked teasingly, an airy laugh in her tone. “Or when you were admiring Michael Yew’s arm muscles at the archery range the day before that?”

Blushing terribly, Thalia hid her face behind her hands.

“Hey, no need to be embarrassed Thalia.” Rhode said, coming over and pulling her into a hug. “It’s perfectly natural for a teenage girl into guys to appreciate the male form.”

“But, but I didn’t do it before!” Thalia whined, pushing away from Rhode and waving her arms around. “But now I can’t help it! I see a halfway decent looking guy and my eyes just lock onto them without any input from me.”

“Yeah, that’s gotta suck.” Rhode said with a shrug. 

“But it can’t be helped, Thalia. Your body jumped in age while your mind hasn’t. You’re just reacting to it all, nothing is wrong about that.” Rhode said so firmly that Thalia felt her self-esteem bolstered from her confident assurance alone. “It’s basically the same thing that happened to your breasts just you know with your awareness of the opposite sex.”

At the mention of her boobs, Thalia cupped them and looked down at them with a frown. Before she’d woken up, they had barely even been bumps on her chest and a simple training bra had been enough for her but now? While they weren’t huge by any stretch of the imagination. Rhode’s and even Annabeth’s were bigger. They were certainly something ! If her sisters hadn’t helped her through the process of getting properly fitted for a set of new bras, the daughter of Zeus didn’t know how she’d handled having them. 

That and getting used to how having two things growing out of her chest now changed her balance. It had made walking that first day tough, but thankfully she’d gotten used to it quickly enough.

“Though,” Rhode continued, unaware of the tangent Thalia’s thoughts had taken. “I’m probably not the best person to talk to about relationships. If you have questions on that front, I recommend going to Chiron but if he’s not available then someone from Aphrodite Cabin.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Thalia nodded, trying not to get into that whole can of worms. “You sure you can’t help?”

It had been a slip of the tongue. Thalia knew not to get Rhode involved in any romantic relationships, or talk thereof, if she could help it.

Rhode just nodded, “Yeah, I’m sure. Unless you want to just do the opposite of what I do. At the rate I’m going, I might as well be celibate. I’m sure Dad would love that.” 

The laugh she gave hurt the daughter of Zeus at how self-deprecating it was. 

“Okay,” Thalia said, trying to change the topic. “So this outfit works. Any other suggestions?”

“How about this dress?” Rhode suggested lifting up a retro skater dress for her to have a look at. “I think it would work with your jacket. A bit of clashing styles can really make things work sometimes.”

“Um, not really?” Thalia said instinctively, recoiling from the idea of wearing a dress. “I don’t think I’m a dress kinda girl.”

“Hm, it never hurts to have it in the closet, but if you're sure?” 

At her nod, Rhode shot her a knowing smile that had Thalia feeling clueless. Then again there were plenty of things Rhode knew that Thalia didn’t. Just one look at her gorgeous sister could tell her that. Dressed in a cream silk blouse and a suede skirt, she looked amazing!

Rhode’s outfit

Thalia was honestly shocked that Rhode didn’t do modelling or something. So she trusted her sister’s fashion sense. It was better than hers anyways. 

She was better than her in a lot of ways. Her figure for example. Where Thalia was lanky and a little underdeveloped, Rhode had the figure or a surfer or supermodel. She was honestly every man’s wet dream! Heck, loads of guys just stared as she walked by them in Camp and a competitive part of Thalia felt annoyed by that. Thankfully it was largely silenced by the part of her that reminded her that Rhode was her sister, that she herself was still growing into her figure and that Rhode had promised to help her end up looking as good as she did.

“Try this instead then,” Rhode said lifting a denim skirt. “It’s basically the skirt version of your jeans. You have nice legs, you should show them off. Flaunt it if you got it, I say.”

Thalia was hesitant, but the eager look in Rhode’s eyes had her caving. 

“Sure,” she agreed hesitantly as she unzipped her jeans and began shimmying out of it to continue being Rhode’s dress up doll.

“Rhode, this is a bad idea.” Annabeth told the daughter of Poseidon as they watched the Campers trickle into the Sword Fighting Arena from the VIP section usually reserved for the trainers for the day or Camp’s leadership if they ever chose to make an appearance.

“Yeah, you mentioned it when I proposed it at the last Counselors’ meeting too.” Rhode replied tiredly. “But we all agreed-”

“Over my objections.”

“Which were noted.” Rhode continued with a sigh. “But we all agreed we need to have more whole Camp training to work on our teamwork with the brewing war.”

“Yes,” Bethy said with a nod. “But jumping from the occasional paired Cabin training straight to a whole Camp session just isn’t wise. Especially when there’s been tensions between Cabins lately.”

And isn’t that an understatement. Rhode thought with a tired sigh. She didn’t really know why but tensions between Thalia, Percy and Clarisse were bloody high lately. And the less said about how everyone was being leery of Jack, the better. Add that to the perennial tensions that existed between the Cabins of rival godly parents and Camp was very much a powder keg right now.

“The whole point of this training is to ease those tensions.”

“And I’m telling you it’s not going to work out like you expect.”

“Well, you were outvoted.” Rhode reminded her. “We agreed to at least give it a try.”

“I know,” Bethy said with a sigh. “Just wanted to remind you what I thought before this blows up in our faces.”

“Duly noted, Bethy.” Rhode said with a roll of her eyes. “Looks like everyone’s here. It’s game time.”

“Okay, everyone!” Rhode said as she stepped forward and raised her voice to address the assembled crowd. “Thanks for coming for our first Camp-wide joint training session. We’re going to keep things simple today and just practice the small unit tactics that we used to keep Camp safe when the wards were failing this summer. It’ll be a refresher for most of us but it’ll be new to some of you so those of you who know what you’re doing please help the newbies out, alright?”

This was met with a chorus of agreement and Rhode smiled.

Maybe this won’t be the bloodbath Bethy keeps saying it’ll be after all.

“Is that how I do this, Rhode?” Thalia asked as Percy watched her adjust how she held her doru spear and hoplon shield under his sister’s watchful eye.

“Mostly,” Rhode said as she eyed her stance critically. “Your stance could be tighter though. Try tucking your shoulders in a bit more and see if you’re comfortable. The smaller you make yourself, the better you can fit behind your shield and into the phalanx. But comfort is more important. You’ll need to hold the pose for hours at a time in the worst case scenario, so if you’re uncomfortable then it’s a no go.”

“Right,” Thalia said as Percy watched her adjust her posture, tightening it at Rhode’s suggestion. “This is just…”

“Odd?” Rhode said with a chuckle. “I get it. Just remember this isn’t solo or paired fighting anymore. Combat in a phalanx is all about maintaining cohesion. Lose it and the formation’s strength is lost.”

“Right, yeah, I got it.” Thalia nodded jerkily, face scrunched in concentration as she continued her practice. 

“Disgusting, isn’t it?” Clarisse asked as she collapsed into an ungainly sitting position next to where Percy was taking a break on the ground next to a water cooler.

“Well, she’s a rookie here.” Percy said, trying to play it off. “Can’t help it if she gets more detailed training.” 

“Oh, don’t try to act coy Jackson.” Clarisse said with a snort. “You know what I’m talking about.”

Percy did. He would have to be blind to not see how Thalia had done her best to monopolize his sister’s time lately. Sure, like he said she was a newbie. But the amount of attention that she was demanding from Rhode was excessive. It was tough just getting his sister to spend time with him nowadays. The only alone time they got since the daughter of Zeus escaped being a tree was when they were alone in Cabin Three and most of that time was spent sleeping . Almost every other waking moment, Thalia was there being Rhode’s constant shadow.

“Yeah, I do.” Percy admitted, pissing him off that he had to do so. He felt like an ass for it, but still felt justified in his bubbling annoyance. 

“Percy, are you being all jealous of Thalia again?” Annabeth said as she walked over to join him and Clarisse, flashing him a teasing smile as she did. “You’re looking like a sad puppy that didn’t get his scritches.”

Argh! Did she have to tease me again !? Percy thought, shooting Annabeth a pout that had the blond smirking at him. And why do I find her both irritating and cute when she does it?

“He’s got plenty of right to be, doesn’t he?” Clarisse shot back, surprising him.

Wow! Not only is she backing me up but she’s also ignoring the bit about me being a puppy? Percy thought, shooting the daughter of Ares a disbelieving look. Truly the world is coming to end. 

“It’s been a long time since the two were together. There isn’t a problem for them to want to hang out.” Annabeth shook her head at the two. 

“Maybe,” Clarisse said with an uncaring shrug. “But that’s no reason for Rhode to baby her so much.”

“Rhode isn’t babying me!” The aforementioned daughter of Zeus said suddenly, causing the three other half-bloods to turn to see her pause a short distance from them and sparking slightly at the insult. “She’s just-”

“Helping you with the stuff you’re new with.” Percy offered helpfully, shooting Clarisse a warning look. 

As much as he disliked how Thalia was being super clingy with Rhode, he knew that getting into a fight with the daughter of Zeus would just upset his sister. And she had enough things on her plate with Jack back in the picture to have to deal with her siblings fighting each other.

“She’s helping you a lot more than she ever helped any other newbie.” Clarisse spat, standing up and shooting Thalia a glare.

“She’s got you there Thalia.” Annabeth said with a shrug.

“Well, I need the help.” Thalia admitted, shooting the blonde a betrayed look.

“And others don’t?” Clarisse shot back, a snide grin on her face. “Back me up here Jackson?”

“Huh?” Percy asked, looking away from where Rhode was helping Jack with his stance with a duro and hoplon like she’d Thalia earlier. Thankfully, Su was there too to keep an eye on the situation. If she wasn’t…

“We were saying Sparkle Princess here is getting extra attention from Rhode. You think so too, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Percy agreed instinctively, still too distracted with thoughts about Rhode and Jack to remember he wasn’t supposed to inflame the situation further.

And by the way the sparks that Thalia gave off intensified and she gripped her doru so tight that her knuckles turned white, that’s exactly the effect his words had. 

“So what? It’s a crime to get some help or something?”

“When you’re shadowing her like a baby duckling, maybe.” The daughter of war said with an angry grunt. 

“Guys, come on. This is about training together with the other Cabins. No need for fighting.” Annabeth said with a subtle edge in her tone.

“Yeah, what Annabeth said.” Percy said, stepping in between the two furious girls.

“Oh no! I’m not letting this warmonger insult me and just walk away.” Thalia said, pushing Percy aside.

“So you want a fight?” Clarisse said, an eager gleam in her eyes. “Bring it!”

“Glad-”

“Enough!” Percy said in a low, hissing whisper. “Do you two want Rhode to get on our cases for fighting and defeating the whole purpose of this training session?”

Whether it was his tone or his words, this finally seemed to have an impact on both girls and they paused.

He was hoping for rationality to win out, but they were half-bloods, their parents’ egoes were pretty much embedded in them. So of course, they decided that the fight totally still needed to happen.

“Fine,” Thalia said with a frown. “Tonight after Singalong?”

“I’m good. Here in the Arena?”

“Fine with me.” Thalia agreed with a nod. “Annabeth, mind being our referee? I’d ask you Percy but if we’re gonna keep this from Rhode…”

Considering he slept in the same Cabin with her… Yeah, him sneaking out to play referee to them brawling wouldn’t work. 

“We could always get Rhode to watch, like some trophy princess of old.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Make this silly thing traditional.” 

“Nah, this isn’t about Rhode anymore.” Clarisse said with a shake of her head. “Is it Sparkle Princess?”

“No, it’s about me wanting to use you like a lightning rod. Try not to roast.”

“Big talk, Sparkle Princess.” Clarisse said with a snort as she turned to walk off, waving at her Cabin to form up as she did. “Let’s see if you can live up to it.”

Percy just exchanged a look with Annabeth who just sighed and shook her head. Silently communicating that there would be no talking these two crazies out of this. 

I’m so gonna tattle on them to Rhode about this.

“So we’re really not going to stop them?” Percy asked Rhode for the third time as she led her brother down to the Sword Fighting Arena after her evening counselling session with Chiron. “I mean, aren’t they breaking curfew at least?”

“All three of them are counselors,” Rhode reminded him. “Technically, curfew doesn’t apply to them. And a physical fight to settle differences is pretty much the norm for us half-bloods. We usually reserve it for spars, but a duel isn’t unheard of either.”

“We’re not that violent are we?” Percy asked with a frown.

“We are training to fight monsters,” Rhode told him with an amused grin. “A little predisposition to violence is a good thing.”

A bright flash of lightning caught their attention, putting a stop to their conversation as they both hurried to see what exactly caused it.

They found Thalia collapsed on her knees, her body emitting feeble sparks and breathing heavily as she glared at a smirking Clarisse. Said daughter of war was standing in the middle of a circle of swords that from the electricity arcing between them had just grounded the powerful lightning bolt they’d seen earlier. Worse for the daughter of Zeus was the fact that Thalia’s copy of Aegis was lying inside Clarisse’s circle and judging by the bruised and scratched up arm she was sporting, had been forcefully ripped off by her opponent.

For all her roughness, Clarisse can be stupidly clever when she wants to be. Rhode assessed with an approving hum, impressed with what the younger girl had managed.

“H-How?” Percy gasped, shocked by the scene.

“Children of Ares have Telumkinesis. We control water, Clarisse controls weapons. In a duel, Ares kids are bullshit.” Rhode snorted because she remembered all the times Fergus would pull that on her and then used his superior CQC skills to win. 

Though Clarisse is holding out on me if she’s gotten strong enough with her Telumkinesis to use it to disarm her opponents. 

“Still wanna keep going Sparkle Princess?” Clarisse asked her opponent tauntingly even as a dozen swords shot out of the Arena’s storage shed to hover around her.

“Thalia?” Annabeth asked, shooting the daughter of Zeus a look of concern.

“I-I can keep going,” the ravenette with electric blue eyes said as she staggered back to her feet.

“Yeah, sure. Don’t embarrass yourself more. I’ve got better things to do.”

“See if this is an embarrassment!” Thalia shouted as she unleashed a blast of electricity at Clarisse.

The daughter of Ares just snorted and safe in her circle of impromptu lightning rods, launched her hovering swords at the daughter of Zeus.

To Thalia’s credit, she didn’t seem to intend for her attack to hit but merely intended for it to be a screening action as she appeared unfazed by its ineffectiveness. She had not, however, accounted for the accuracy of Clarisse’s flying swords. 

The first hit her at the right hip and she grimaced. The second cut deeply into her left shin. A third hit her along her right ankle as she stumbled from the first two. These injuries caused her to trip and fall, and the remaining flying swords landed around her in a perfect silhouette of her body. A not so subtle show of how Clarisse had deliberately missed and held back from ending her life.

“The match goes to Clarisse!” Annabeth shouted as Thalia pushed herself back up, presumably to continue her futile defiance.

“N-Not-”

“Oh, shut up.” Clarisse said with an exasperated sigh as she had one of the swords shoot out of the ground and press itself into the side of Thalia’s neck. “This match is over, Sparkle Princess. Accept it!”

Thalia eyed the blade at her throat with fearful shock and gulping nervously finally conceded.

“I-I yield,” she said reluctantly.

“And now let’s get you healed up.” Rhode said, announcing her presence even as she began pulling water from the water cooler as she made her way to Thalia. Her sister looked at her, shame shining in those electric blue eyes as she turned away.

“I’ll get some ambrosia, Rhode. No need to act like my nurse.” The daughter of Zeus said. Her voice tinged with rage and embarrassment. 

Rhode froze with the water hovering her hands. “You sure?”

“Yes,” Thalia said firmly as she caught her Aegis as Clarisse tossed it back to her. 

“Good fight,” the daughter of Zeus said as she turned away from Rhode to address Clarisse. “And like we agreed I’ll try to be less clingy from now onwards.”

“Nah. That’s not the problem.” Clarisse said as she tilted her head towards the Arena shed, causing the swords she’d used in the fight to fly back into it. “Just be more aware of what you’re doing. I totally get why you need the help, but be conscious of the privilege you’re getting. Got it?”

“I will,” Thalia promised.

“Do I want to know?” Rhode asked, slightly confused about what was going on.

“They were fi-”

“Nothing, Rhode.” Annabeth said as she put a hand over Percy’s mouth, shutting him up. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

Rhode shot her and the other girls skeptical looks but they all just nodded back.

“Alright, if you just want to keep it a secret then I won’t pry.” Rhode said with a tired sigh and allowed the water she’d pulled from her canteen to flow back into the container.

Why did all her friends love their little secrets so much?

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Thirteen: Entering the Snowy Depths

Beta: 

Jack Overland, Son of Khione

The phone rang on the other end as Jack stood in the Big House.

With how things had turned around in his life. Again. He needed his rock, his only safe harbour in the chaos that was his life. He needed Rhode. So he decided to get in touch with her via the last option he had available to him, her divine cellphone. 

Isn’t like anyone else is letting me so much as talk to her without a chaperone. 

Rhode was his girlfriend. The others didn’t have a right to do this to them. To split them up! She was perfectly happy being with him!

Still, the fact Mr. D is helping me out here… no, he just wants a laugh. Like the rest of the gods. 

He honestly understood what Castellan was going on about with the gods. Even if he was a nutjob, Jack still somewhat got what he was on his soapbox for. 

Once the line picked up, he heard Rhode ask in a groggy tone. “ Chiron?”

“Nope, it’s me babe.” Jack smiled into the phone, her voice was so cute when she was dazed. Though it was about three in the morning, so it made sense.

“What? Jack?!” She hissed quietly into the phone before her voice was replaced by the sound of shifting blankets, footsteps and the closing of a door. She had probably sneaked into her bathroom. “Why are you calling me? ”

“I can’t call to have a conversation with you?” He asked innocently.

“You know we're not supposed to be talking, Jack."  She answered with a sigh.

He bristled at that and said, “Yeah, so you're being watched like a dog on a leash? Come on, Rhode. We all know it's just those busybodies messing with our relationship.”

Like Chiron and Su. Honestly, Su was just a desperate shit that wanted to milk being with Rhode. She was a sycophant during their time at that magical school of theirs and that’s all the girl was going to amount to. Chiron? Chiron was supposed to be there for him and he just kept failing when Jack had needed him most. And now he was ruining the one, final good thing he had left. 

Fuck that and fuck them. 

“Jack, n-no. I’m hanging up. We can talk in the morning when there are other people around.” Rhode shakily answered, but he wasn’t going to take that.

“Rhode, come on. Let me just talk with you… please? I-It’s been hard without you. Could we meet? Just to hang out. Like the good old days?” He asked sweetly. The line was still on, so she hadn’t hung up on him thankfully. 

“Jack, no. Come on.”

“Our special spot. Come on, just give me a chance Rhode. You know I’d never hurt you.”

And he wouldn’t. He’d rather die than hurt her. This was just for her own good. 

“...Where?” She asked in a sullen yet intrigued voice. 

“Canoeing Lake, fifteen minutes.” He said, preening with happiness. 

Dionysus watched as the blasted son of Khione raced out of the Big House of the accursed Camp for his rendezvous with the one demigod from this generation and who wasn’t one of his children that he liked. Honestly, if not for what he’d foreseen for the girl if he didn’t allow this, he’d have engineered a little “accident” for the boy already. The mortal didn’t realise it but he was as bad as his mother. No, he was worse. At least Khione was an unrepentant monster. Her son on the other hand still thought of himself as a victim.

“The lesser of two evils,” the god of madness said with a sigh as he emptied his can of Diet Coke and instantly replaced it with another. It wasn’t his beloved wine but since he was barred from that thanks to his Father’s ridiculous punishment, he had to make do. 

To think letting the daughter of Poseidon be used like this was the lesser of two evils just showed how unfair the universe was. And the mortals wondered why the gods were capricious and cruel? How could they not be when the universe they supported was exactly that?

Or maybe his heart just went out to young princesses getting screwed over? 

“Still better this than being reduced to that brat’s little living dutch wife.”

“Jack, meeting you like this is a bad idea.” Rhode told the son of Khione as she walked to the spot by the canoeing lake where they’d agreed to meet.

“Why would that be?” He asked with a devilishly handsome smile that had Rhode’s stomach doing flips. “You’re my girlfriend. It’s only natural that we meet up alone sometimes. And with everyone hovering around you all the time, this is the only way we’d get any time together.”

“Jack, I’m not your girlfriend right now.” Rhode reminded him. “We broke up remember?”

Jack’s face fell at that and Rhode felt like a heel.

“So you’re really dumping me?” He asked, looking devastated. “Are you abandoning me too? Betraying me and leaving me all alone just like everyone else?”

No, devastated wasn’t the word for it. Jack looked so broken as he spoke that it broke Rhode’s heart. His eyes looked so empty, the usual joy that burned in them snuffed out abruptly. His tone, usually full of youthful happiness sounded hollow. His shoulders had slumped and he was practically folding in on himself. He looked like he wanted to hug himself but just couldn’t bring himself to go all the way.

In the face of that, Rhode’s convictions crumbled.

“You can’t say it, can you?” Jack said, his voice hopeful. “You just can’t say that we’re not dating. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“I-I-”

“I know you’re unsure, Rhode.” He said, his words dripping with honey. “But I know how to make you realise the truth.”

“Wha-”

Before Rhode could even finish the sentence, he’d grabbed her arms and roughly pulled her into a kiss. Her first thought was to push him away, but as she tasted the almost forgotten wintermint taste of her lips that idea evaporated into so much vapour and she instead melted into the kiss. 

And as his hands let go of her arms and began wandering over her body, she allowed it, even wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck. It nevertheless surprised her when she felt his cold hands on her breasts over her Camp tee and she gasped, her face heating up as he began to tease her nipples through the fabric with his icy fingers.

This was too much and she began to pull away but he responded by giving her by now very erect nipples a firm twist that had her squeaking in a mix of pain and pleasure. Pulling away from their kiss, he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Do you want to stop?” He asked cheekily, sounding sure as to her answer.

Rhode opened her mouth to reply, not sure what she’d say, when he pinched her nipples again sending a shiver of delicious pain and pleasure shooting up her spine.

“M-More,” Rhode said, her voice slurred by pleasure.

“Gladly,” Jack said as he pulled back. “But I want to see what I’m touching.”

Rhode blushed and hesitated.

“You don’t want to?” Jack asked, looking sad. So very sad. So much so that it broke her heart seeing such a look. “Don’t you want more? Or is it because you don’t trust your boyfriend?”

Rhode wanted to say no, to stop. But she couldn’t. Not when Jack was telling her that if she did, she would be rejecting him. So offering him a shy smile that hid her anxiety, she pulled off her Camp tee and before she lost her nerve undid her bra too, tossing both aside.

Jack looked at her naked breasts for the first time with admiring eyes.

“So beautiful. Even a nymph would pale in comparison.” The son of Khione said, as he cupped her perfectly tanned breasts and began kneading them, his supernaturally cool fingers teasing her nipples as he did and his lips showering her neck and lips with kisses.

Her breath hitched and she squirmed as she was showered in affection to the point she started to feel lightheaded. She barely noticed as her hands drifted down to her crotch and she began moving them over her shorts in a desperate search for a release to her building tension.

Something which she achieved when Jack bit down lightly on her neck even as he squeezed her breasts and twisted her nipples hard. That coupled with her slipping a hand inside her panties to pinch her own engorged clit, pushed her over the edge and had her coming undone in a glorious surge of pleasure.

For a second she seemed to have lost her awareness of her surroundings because when she regained her wits they were both sitting on the ground with her body leaning heavily on Jack’s body.

“T-That- That was-”

“Since you came, I’m guessing it was good?” Jack asked, smirking proudly at what he’d done to her.

Rhode could only meekly nod.

He pressed his lips to her ear, kissing it as his cool breath tickled her earlobe.

“You could always return the favor you know? Want to try something new?”

Something new? Like letting him see and touch my naked breasts isn’t enough!? Part of Rhode thought, but which she silenced with prejudice. After all, Jack had just made her climax! Her returning the favour somehow was just her being fair. Right?

“What do you have in mind?”

Jack’s answer was to pull down his shorts and boxers in one smooth motion and present her with his fully erect member.

Rhode had seen a few in some porn she had watched. Even accidentally caught a few sights at Camp. Yet, her throat felt dry as nervousness ran down her spine at seeing one pulsing before her. One larger than her own hand. 

“Depends on how daring you’re feeling.” Jack said cheekily, whilst caressing the back of her head. “You could use your hands or… Your mouth.”

A blowjob? He wanted a blowjob!?  

Because he might’ve said he was okay with a handjob but the way he was touching her head, it was clear what he really wanted.

“I-I don’t know Jack.” Rhode whispered, nerves flaring as she felt all hot and cold and other such things inside her. Her head felt like a mess and she didn’t even know where to begin here. 

His hand pet her crown, loving and kind, his lips still against her ear as he coached her on what he wanted her to do. “Why not just touch it? Or aren’t you daring enough?”

That stung. Of course she was daring enough!

Without a word, Rhode bent down and brought her face down to Jack’s crotch.

“This is my first time, so, uh, I’ll try my best.” She said nervously as she tentatively ran her tongue over the tip of the boy’s penis. It was cool on her tongue, making her taste buds shiver like it was a popsicle.

The taste that filled her mouth wasn’t remotely good. No, in terms of pure taste it was patently horrible, but somehow it also tasted sweet. Sweeter than anything she’d ever tasted. And she wanted more.

“I-It’s fine,” Jack said, fighting a shudder. “First time for everything.”

Rhode’s only reply was to continue showering his member with attention.

Even as the son of Khione continued to talk the daughter of Poseidon into and guide her through their first sexual encounter, they were unaware as the winged god of love, Eros, watched them from his perch in a tree overlooking the couple.

Sometimes this job can be so unjustly cruel. The god thought as he watched the two youngsters with a frown.

“This is not how things should have developed.” The god said, sounding furious.

“Blame Electra,” his mother, the goddess Aphrodite, said as she materialized next to him. “Rhode isn’t the only one who’s been affected by the whims of the divine.”

“Yes,” Eros nodded. “The coma has changed things. Forcibly accelerated the development of their relationship in the only way that time will allow.”

“And thus turning him into an emotionally abusive monster.”

“Accelerated his growth into one you mean.”

“To-meh-to, To-mah-to.” The Olympian said with a shrug. “Besides, brain damage is a cause too. Chiron might be one of the best healers in the world but brains are tricky things.”

“He missed it?” Eros asked, honestly surprised.

“Oh, he healed the injury but not before it had permanent effects.” Aphrodite corrected. “Think what happened to Henry VIII from his jousting injury. It wasn’t fatal and it healed but it changed his personality completely.”

Eros nodded. “And the course of their relationship as we’d scripted for them did not help.”

“Nope,” Aphrodite said, tittering in amusement, eyes shining with monstrous love. “And now we have a wonderful love story to watch. Isn’t it grand?”

“I do not agree, Mother.” Eros said with a shake of his head. “I do not like this. Not at all.”

Aphrodite shrugged. “What’s done is done, son. There is nothing we can do. You remember the deal we made with Poseidon. No more interventions.”

“I remember. It is the only thing making me stay my hand at the moment.” Eros replied, clenching his fists in anger. “It feels wrong to do nothing as the curses’ on the poor girl reach their peak potency and perverts the natural course of things.”

“Just think of it as an amateur show, sweetie. I’m sure Rhode’s lovers will like how skilled she is~ After all, she has so many suitors, so many routes. I’m eager to see how it ends, be it forever after or tragedy.” The goddess tittered, hands holding her cheeks as she watched the show with rapt attention. 

Eros nodded, hiding his disgust with the ease of practice. He loved his Mother, he truly did, but oftentimes she was too monstrous for his tastes.

“Shall we go?” He said. “I fear if I stay any longer I will soon not have the restraint to not do something rash.”

“Oh, alright.” Aphrodite said with a pout and teleported away in a cloud of pink mist.

Throwing one last pitying glance at Poseidon’s daughter, with one powerful beat of his wings Eros likewise departed.

As Rhode walked back to Cabin Three after her rendezvous with Jack, she couldn’t help but feel disgusted with herself. All it took for her to agree to get back with him were a few words!? Worse, she’d let him sweet talk her into not just second but third base all at once!? She’d even given him a bloody blowjob !

She could still feel the taste of his cum on her tongue. It clung to her teeth and the taste just wouldn’t go away. It was like a thick jelly with a salty tinge. It didn’t taste sweet anymore for some reason. Now it just tasted awful.

What the Pit did I do? Why by Olympus did I let him talk me into doing any of the things we did!? Rhode thought, fighting back tears. She held her arms around herself tight, trying to wrap her brain around it all. Why am I so weak when it comes to him!? Why!? Why!?

Even though she knew what she did had set her on the path of spiraling towards her own self-destruction… She also knew that if put in the same situation again that she would have succumbed all over again. Jack was… She was… It was just impossible to say “no” to him. This dire realization caused her breath to come up short and her chest was overcome by an ugly tightness that made her just want to crawl into bed and never wake up. 

“I’m pathetic,” Rhode whispered as she reached Cabin Three and quickly adjusted her clothing just in case. Percy should still be asleep, but there was no reason not to be cautious. There was no way she wanted her little brother to find out just ho-how pathetic she truly was.

Chiron sat in his office in the Big House with Su, Annabeth and Thalia as they waited for Percy to bring the subject of their mutual concern over.

“What is taking so long?” Amphitrite asked via the IM she was using to attend this gathering. “They should be here by now.”

“It hasn’t been that long, Lady Amphitrite. Percy only went to fetch Rhode a few minutes ago.” The Trainer of Heroes reminded the anxious Queen of the Seas.

“Only? It feels longer.” The goddess admitted with a frown.

Thalia looked ready to make some kind of comment at that, probably negative, but thankfully Annabeth put a restraining hand on her shoulder and the daughter of Zeus held her tongue. Yes, this was the sixth time the goddess had asked the same question in as many minutes but pointing that out was just uncalled for. Firstly because Amphitrite was just being an anxious mother and secondly because she was a goddess . Pointing out the shortcomings of any divinity was foolhardy at best.

“Chiron, I’m here like you asked.” Rhode said as she opened his office door and stepped into the room with Percy trailing behind her, though she froze as she noticed who was waiting for her. “...Is this what I think this is?”

“If you’re thinking this is an intervention, dear, then yes it is.” Amphitrite said, crossing her arms and glaring at her adopted daughter. 

Rhode opened her mouth to say something, but the goddess was having none of it and continued before the girl could say a word.

“I know what you did with that Jack boy last night.”

“Y-You do!?” Rhode said, paling and stumbling back in shock. “H-How!?”

“Yes, I do. For the how, it does not matter. What is our concern is this boy has stepped too far, dear.” 

“O-Of course it matters,” Rhode said, hiding her face with her hands. “We were at the Canoeing Lake… The nereids! T-They saw us, didn’t they?”

“Among others,” Amphitrite confirmed. “A couple dryads did as well and a few gods who happened to look that way. All of whom were more than happy to regale your father and I about your tryst in the morning session of court.”

Rhode looked down, as if begging Hades to swallow her up. 

“Tryst?” Percy said, his voice sounding frigid. “What did Jack make you do, Rhode?”

A quick glance around the room showed that it wasn’t just Percy who was furious and curious all at once. Annabeth had drawn her dagger and was clutching its handle in a white knuckled grip. Thalia was sparking uncontrollably. And Su… Her shirt had practically exploded as Helel’s tendrils burst free from the fabric that usually kept the Devil’s Snare she’d planted along her spine hidden and were writhing around her in agitation. The daughter of Demeter was exposing herself somewhat, standing there topless save for her bra but she didn’t seem to care.

“Nothing. Nothing I d-didn’t agree to.” Rhode weakly informed, her shoulders slouched and anxiety written all over her face. 

“You mean you were manipulated into.” Amphitrite corrected. “Eros was quite clear on that being the case.”

“I-No! D-Don’t twist my words!” Rhode shot off with heat in her voice. Until she froze at what she heard. “W-What do you mean, Eros?”

“He was there,” Amphitrite told her. “He was one of the gods whose blessings are upon you. Did you think he would not be interested in keeping a watch over you?”

Rhode looked ready to bolt, like a startled doe. Her eyes shifted left and right as she took a step back. Her breath hitched as her shoulders shook. 

“Before we proceed,” Chiron said with a polite cough. “Might I know exactly what you two did , Rhode?”

“So you can punish us?” Rhode asked, shooting Chiron a worried look. “I know what we did are against-”

“Hardly,” Chiron said with a shake of her head. “Not unless you get pregnant and even then exceptions can be made. That said, you two did not go that far I hope?”

“No,” Rhode said in a small, relieved whisper. “Not yet.”

“And what do you mean by ‘not yet’?” Su asked, her voice dripping poison just like how Helel’s vines did the same.

Rhode looked at the floor, unwilling to meet anyone’s eyes. “Must I?”

“We are concerned and would really like to know what lines have been crossed,” Chiron said comfortingly. “And as your counsellor, I need to know so that we can talk about it.”

Forcing it out in front of so many people would not normally be a good thing, however in this case Chiron decided it was appropriate. Rhode needed to admit to what she’d done. Not just to a confidant but to her whole family. Only then would she be able to truly come to terms with it and work towards fixing it.

“I can’t, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Please.” She asked pleadingly, her chest heaving as if hyperventilating. 

“You will, young lady.” Amphitrite ordered, stern and unflinching. “Tell them or I will.”

“I...W-We-” Rhode’s eyes welled up with tears, holding herself as shame filled her face. She tried to speak, but her voice looked lost. 

“It’s okay, Rhode.” Annabeth said, walking up to the daughter of the seas and pulling her into a one armed hug. Though Chiron noted that she never once relaxed her grip on her dagger. “Take it slow.”

With a shuddering breath, Rhode explained in nary a whisper at just how far Jack took their moonlight rendezvous. 

“H-He had me show him my breasts,” she said, hugging herself and covering said breasts. “And t-touch them. We made out and I-I came.”

There were gasps at that but no one interrupted her as, to the shock of most of the room, she continued .

“And then he asked me to return the favour and so I did by giving him a, a b-blowjob.”

For a second the whole room was absolutely silent as they processed that bombshell. Chiron had known of course. The Atlantean court hadn’t been the only ones informed of what happened by the dryads and nereids.

Mr. D found it humorous, having enabled Jack. 

Chiron himself had been disappointed, but not surprised. He knew the power Jack had over Rhode. What did surprise him and give him hope was the clear regret and disgust with her own actions that Rhode radiated as she told them what happened. She honestly looked like she wanted nothing more than to die of shame. He could use that.

Before he could though, the room exploded into chaos. Percy had turned to make for the door he’d closed upon his arrival, one hand on the knob and the other on a drawn Riptide. He was restrained from doing so only by Annabeth who had still not sheathed her dagger. Thalia for her part was just staring at Rhode with horror. The only one who did anything remotely productive was Su who had practically teleported to Rhode’s side and pulled her into a comforting hug even as Helel’s vines growing from her back writhed ever more violently, now sporting vicious venus flytrap-like mouths lined with deadly looking teeth.

“It’s okay Rhode,” the daughter of Demeter said, running her hand comfortingly through the other girl’s hair and holding her close. “It wasn’t your fault. Jack sweet talked you into it. We all know thanks to the curses on you, you can’t say ‘no’ to him.”

It was at times like this that Chiron felt his age. He would have to have someone watch Jack at all times. If this turned any worse, Poseidon may do something drastic.

If you don’t do something, you will not need to wait for my husband. Amphitrite warned telepathically even as she shot her daughter a worried look and frowned in frustration at not being physically present to be the one to hug her. Triton already has a battalion of mermen building a base out in the Sound. If anything like this happens again, he’ll storm Camp. And that’s nothing to what I will do if there is a repeat of this.

I will keep that in mind, my lady. Though please stay your hand, marching on Camp could lead to strife upon Olympus. He advised in return. 

“Rhode,” Chiron said at last once Annabeth had managed to wrestle Percy onto the couch in the corner of his office, though she wisely kept him in a restraining hold. “Do you want to do those things with Jack again?”

Everyone shot Chiron a dark look for that question except for Amphitrite and Rhode herself. The former because she understood where he was going with it and the latter because she was too busy shaking her head.

“No!” Rhode blurted out, eyes shining with more tears. “I-I don’t want to feel like that again. I think a part of me died inside…”

“And can you say ‘no’ to him if he tries to get you to do it again? Or ask you to do more?” Chiron pressed.

Rhode looked away from him, hiding her face inside the crook of Su’s neck as she replied. “I-I don’t think so. Everytime I’m near him, it’s, it’s like my brain just shuts down and I just wanna do whatever he tells me. I-I don’t know what to do!”

“I vote we exile Jack,” Lady Hestia said as she materialised out of nowhere to sit on Chiron’s desk. “We can send him to work for Aeolus. It’s far enough removed from his mother and his powers can actually be a help to him, so it’s likely the Ancient Laws will allow it.”

“That sounds like something the Head Director should decide, Aunt Hestia.” Mr. D said as he held a hand over his mouth, yawning obnoxiously as he strolled into the room. “Oh, a private party and I wasn’t invited? Pity.” 

He strolled over to the free couch on the opposite side of the one occupied by Percy and Annabeth, sitting upon it and swung his feet to rest on the other end. “Now, what did Regina here do this time? Slip on her bum or something?”

“Don’t play games, Dionysus.” Amphitrite said, shooting him a warning glare. “We all know what Rhode did. Even you.”

“Fine, take the fun out of it.” Mr. D dryly retorted with a roll of his eyes. “So dramatic. So the little slip of a girl knocked boots with a boy. News of the century. Tell me why I should care a lick of it?” 

“If you don’t care then why would you be against banishing Jack?” Chiron asked carefully. 

He knew Mr. D well enough to know that the god was up to something. He’d helped set things in motion for this fiasco to transpire by enabling Jack in the first place, that meant he’d taken a personal interest in this. The question was why?

“Ah, but I find it funny. So… no exile. Subject over.”

“Not good enough,” Poseidon said, his visage suddenly appearing next to his wife’s in the IM. His eyes were churning with the power of a brewing storm and the earth was trembling slightly. Too weakly for humans, even half-bloods to feel it, but Chiron was sensitive enough to detect it. “The boy is a threat to my daughter. Why are you protecting him?”

In an instant, Mr. D’s guise fell away and in its place was none other than Dionysus, the Olympian god of madness.

“Because it is through the fires of pain and hardship that the greatest heroes are forged.” The youngest of the Olympian Twelve said fiercely. “Will she falter? Will she rise? You know full well Uncle that she will need to be tested to know that.”

At once the seriousness faded away and the god was once more Mr. D.

“Plus I like the drama, Uncle.” He said, popping open a can of Diet Coke that he’d conjured. “I’ve invested into this girl of yours and now I’m merely stacking the deck to make sure I make a profit from it.”

“You play with fire, nephew.” Hestia said, shooting Mr. D an angry look. 

“Rhode,” Dionysus said suddenly, ignoring the glares everyone was shooting him. “You think you can handle the crap this nonsense with Khione’s boy will cause you? It’ll be painful, but I assure you once it’s all done, you’ll be stronger for it.”

Rhode looked floored, so stunned was she, that all she could do was meekly nod. 

“There, good enough for me.” The wine god shrugged as if all was fixed. 

“This will not stop us from protecting Rhode,” Amphitrite declared firmly. “Everyone else agrees that we need to keep that boy away from her, correct?”

There were nods from everyone but the wine god, even Chiron and Hestia.

“Yes, yes. Huzzah, friendship and family. Now if we could quiet down, it’s my nap time.” 

“Enjoy your nap,” Hestia said sarcastically as the wine god teleported away, before turning to Rhode who was still being held protectively in Su’s arms. 

“As for you, Rhode.” The goddess of family said in a much more soothing tone. “Why don’t you let Su and the rest of your friends take you somewhere and relax? I think you need it.”

“Yeah, I think I do.” Rhode agreed in an uncharacteristically small voice. 

“Come on, Rhode.” Su said, guiding the daughter of Poseidon gently out of the room. “Let’s go hang out in the potions lab. No one goes there but us witches. You can unwind there in private.”

Rhode just nodded and let herself be led away, Percy and Annabeth both following after them radiating carefully contained fury. Thalia though stayed and shot the gathered gods a look.

“You can’t overrule Mr. D?” She demanded once the others had left, speaking in a deceptively calm voice that reminded Chiron warily of the calm before a storm.

“He is unfortunately Head Director here at Camp, so no.” Poseidon said with a shake of his head. “I could petition the Council but I doubt it’ll go anywhere. It is the Council’s general opinion, as we learned earlier this summer, that Dionysus should be granted free rein here.”

Thalia nodded and stood.

“Niece.” Poseidon said in a firm tone. “Please continue to be there for my daughter.”

Thalia offered a stiff nod and headed out of the Big House, with frightening purpose from the look of it.

“She’s going to find Jack.” Hestia said with certainty. “Chiron, I order you to have tea with me. Now.”

The Trainer of Heroes blinked in confusion for a second as a tea set materialized on his desk and the goddess took a seat in one of the chairs facing him. 

“Well played, Lady Hestia. Well played.” Chiron said, nodding appreciatively at his half-sister’s move. 

If he was preoccupied with her, he would not be in a position to stop Thalia.

“We’ll make sure the boy lives. No guarantees on the state of his health though.” Poseidon said as his image vanished.

“Remember my earlier warning Chiron,” Amphitrite told him sternly before she too departed.

Chiron just sighed. Getting caught in the middle of a divine tug of war like this was so draining. 

“There, there Chiron,” Hestia said with a smile as she poured him a cup of tea. “At least, you’re not the one being tugged on. That’s gotta count for something.”

“That’s hardly comforting,” the centaur said with a sigh as he accepted his tea. “I just hope this doesn’t evolve into a tragedy.”

Thalia had walked out of Chiron’s office radiating fury that manifested itself in the storm of electricity that arced off her body as she made her way towards the object of her ire. That her target was very conveniently making himself obvious courtesy of the large spire of ice he’d created at the edge of the canoeing lake while seemingly practising his cryokinesis just made things easier on her.

The asswipe is at the canoeing lake!? The place where he made Rhode do all those things!? Thalia thought, the mere idea that he was at the place where he’d violated her sister enraging her even more. I’ll kill him!

The call for judgement was ringing in her head and Thalia was ready to answer it. 

Breaking into a run towards the lake, she blitzed past gaggles of Campers looking at her warily and made a beeline for the pathetic excuse for a human being at the lake. All hyped up, she barely felt strained at all by the run and in only a couple minutes she was at the lake and ready to dish out some oh so righteous judgement.

“Overland!” Thalia shouted in lieu of greeting alongside a powerful bolt of lightning. “Stay away from Rhode!”

Acting on the superhuman instinct and reaction times that came from being a half-blood, the son of Khione pulled off what should’ve been impossible and despite not noticing she was even there somehow still managed to avoid getting electrocuted.

“Hey!” He shouted as he narrowly managed to throw himself out of the way of the electric bolt thanks to a blast of frigid air. “Watch where you’re throwing those around, Sparkplug!”

“The only one that needs to do anything here is you, you abusive asshole.” Thalia shot back as she summoned her Aegis and shot Jack with a healthy dose of fear. 

She’d learned from practising with it alongside Rhode that when used against courageous people, its effects could be resisted and loathed as she hated to admit it, the son of Khione was no coward. But its effect couldn’t be entirely ignored, at least not by anyone they’d tried it on, and he was no exception. 

As a result, he flinched and gave the daughter of Zeus the opening she was looking for, allowing her to blast him with a powerful lightning bolt that had him dancing on the spot from spasms. Sadly, the boy was a half-blood and like with his reflexes that meant he had superhuman durability too. So despite being hit with enough of a voltage to knock a grown man unconscious, Jack actually managed to counterattack.

Swinging his staff in her vague direction he sent a barrage of hail flying at Thalia and forced her to cut the current flowing into her opponent’s body so she could take cover behind her Aegis.

“I don’t know what’s your problem, Sparkplug.” Jack said as he used the breather to send a serpentine construct of ice shooting towards her.

“My problem is I want you to stay away from Rhode!” Thalia shouted back as she called down a bolt of lightning from the sky that consumed the construct in its entirety and covered her as she charged towards her opponent with blinding speed. It might’ve just been her adrenaline messing with her perception by it almost seemed like she was moving like she was a bolt of lightning.

Regardless of whether that was true, she certainly managed to move fast enough to catch Jack by surprise. He was still in the process of raising his guard when she closed into close quarters and palmed the Mace canister that was the disguised form of her spear. Triggering its expansion into its true form at the same as she thrust forward, she added to his disorientation thus allowing her to easily run him through with the pole arm.

“Argh! Are you trying to kill me!?” Jack cried out as he hastily pushed himself off her spear with a powerful blast of icy air that also served to force Thalia behind the protection of her Aegis.

“For what you did to my sister !? You bet I am!” Thalia shouted as she blindly fired a lightning bolt in Jack’s direction via her spear.

“What I do with my girlfriend is none of your business even if she’s your sister.” Jack declared defiantly as he shot into the air atop that silly shepherd's crook of his. “And I’ll have you know everything we did was consensual.”

Taking to the skies against a daughter of Zeus? Idiot!  

“Like you didn’t manipulate her.” Thalia snorted as she called down another bolt of lightning from the sky. 

To the son of Khione’s credit, he actually managed to evade the first bolt. He did not however escape getting hit by the second one and was knocked out of the sky, trailing smoke and his precious little staff reduced to a lump of charcoal. 

That wasn’t enough for Thalia though and she ran towards where the boy had made what she’d hoped was a very painful landing. One that he was still stumbling away from when Thalia smashed his face in with Aegis, sending him back onto his back. She was still not done though, she was not satisfied yet. Not by a long shot.

Stabbing down with her spear, she impaled the white haired boy through his stomach. Blood flaked her face from how hard she penetrated. 

“Stay. Away. From.” Thalia said as she channeled a surge of electricity through her spear and into the hapless boy’s body with each word, causing him to cry out and writhe in agony each time before pulling her weapon free.

“MY SISTER!” She roared as she sent the electrically charged spear down towards the abusive piece of shit’s groin.

“THALIA! STOP!” Rhode shouted, startling Thalia enough that she missed and the spear instead penetrated deeply into Jack’s thigh where it unloaded its stored electrical charge, causing him to roar with pain and spasm uncontrollably.

She turned, blue eyes glowing with electricity as she felt like her hand was caught in a cookie jar. Seeing Rhode’s ashen face, she clicked her tongue and pulled her spear free.

“Hey Rhode… what’s going on?” Thalia said, trying to sound casual as her shoulders felt heavy for a moment, and the exertion of the fight finally began to catch up to her.

Silence took over the field of battle before that Su girl stepped up. Pep in her step. 

“Rhode!” Jack shouted, sounding incredibly pained. Good! He deserved it! “Your sister tried to kill me!”

“After what you did to her, you’re lucky I didn’t get to finish the job!” Thalia said as she literally spat on him in reply. 

“Thalia-” Rhode began, but Su had one of the tentacles of the plant growing from her back cover her mouth, gesturing for the daughter of the seas to be silent.

“Let him defend himself.” The daughter of Demeter said. “And just for your information, Jack, we know what you made Rhode do. You manipulative piece of shit.”

Even Thalia found the smile the usually sweet natured girl wore to be… off-kilter. 

“We didn’t do anything that wasn’t consensual!” Jack shouted, trying to sit only for Thalia to use the butt of her spear to roughly force him back onto the ground.

“Oops.”

No one was fooled by her pretending it’d been a mistake but no one called it out either. The older half bloods - And yes that included Rhode, strange as it seemed to Thalia. - were too focused on the conversation to pay attention to her antics.

“Really now? And your ability to sweet talk her into anything thanks to your superhuman charisma and her curses didn’t play a part?” Su shot back easily, without once dropping that unnerving smile on her face. “Both of which are things you know about. That I know Chiron warned you about.”

Well, now it was turning into an interesting show and Thalia was fascinated how Su was lashing at the teenage boy with nothing but her words. 

“Rhode is not some hormonal teenager! She can make her own decisions, curses or not. If she consents, she consents.” Jack shot back as he used his cryokinesis to close his many wounds with a little frost. “What right do third parties like Chiron, you and the Sparkplug, or anyone for that matter, have to second guess her choices?”

“I’m her sister .” Thalia reminded the boy, glaring down at him.

“And she’s outgrown the time you had any say in what she did.” He replied, shooting her a glare just as filled with cold fury as her own. “Or did you forget that she’s older than you now?”

Blue arcs of static rolled off her shoulders in anger at the remark. 

“Enough!” Rhode said, suddenly as she pushed aside the vine covering her mouth. “Please! Enough! Let’s just not talk about this anymore!”

She looked so upset, so shaken that everyone else’s mouths snapped closed. In that moment she looked nothing like the confident young woman that Thalia knew her to be but instead was a girl who was on the verge of breaking apart. In the face of that, the words she’d been about to hurl back at Jack felt like ash in her mouth. 

Jack must’ve felt the same because he too was struck dumb. The only one who wasn’t was Su.

“You’re looking really beat up there, Jack.” Su said, with a malicious glint in her eyes. “Why don’t I help you to the infirmary.”

Without waiting for a reply from anyone, the still mostly topless Chinese girl had the tentacles of the plant she’d grafted to her spine wrap around the son of Khione’s battered body. Tentacles which were covered in thorns, dripping with poison and which proceeded to cover his body so completely that he looked like a Egyptian mummy, muffling anything that he had to say.

“Rhode, Thalia, I’ll be taking Jack to see Chiron now.” The girl said, turning to head to the Big House. “You two should talk.”

“Thanks Su,” Rhode said in a small voice, pointedly not looking at the bound form of her abusive boyfriend. “I really appreciate it.”

“I’m always happy to help you, Rhode.” Su said with a sweet smile before walking off. “Now please do talk to each other. You two really need it.”

Rhode offered her ex-girlfriend - And why the hell did they break up!? Su was loads better as a partner than the asshole Jack ever was! - a smile before turning to Thalia expectantly. 

The daughter of Zeus just dismissed her weapons back into their disguised forms and put them away, before she crossed her arms and stared back at her sister defiantly without saying a word.

“Well?” Rhode said when the silence stretched for too long. “Anything to say Thalia?”

“Are you gonna stay away from that piece of shit?”

“I-I don’t know if I can.” Rhode confessed, voice so small that it was like when she was so much younger. When things were just so much simpler. 

Hearing that really made Thalia want to hit something. She was almost tempted to make that something Rhode. Maybe she could knock some sense into her head. But she couldn’t do it. Her sister looked pathetic enough as is. So that just meant she had to find another outlet for her building anger.

“Where are you going?” Rhode asked as Thalia turned away from her and began stalking toward the woods.

“To find some monsters to kill!” Thalia shouted back. “I really need to let off some steam right now!”

The daughter of Zeus heard a sigh from behind her. She wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. Was it resignation? Exasperation? Relief? All of the above? She was finding it hard enough to read this grown up version of Rhode as is, but when she got all emotional like she did now? Yeah, Thalia was lost half the time. So she was just glad that Rhode didn’t insist on following her into the woods. 

She really did need to vent and the monsters lairing there would be the perfect punching bags to help her do so.

A Kopis

“Rhode, what do you think of this?” Thalia asked as she showed off the new Celestial Bronze Kopis that she’d commissioned from the Hephaestus kids of Cabin Nine. “I was thinking that since I’m not much of a sword fighter that I’d go with a Kopis over the typical Xiphos for my backup weapon since it’s more like an axe and is all about dealing maximum damage with every hit rather than technique.”

“You’ll still need technique,” Rhode commented idly as she examined the weapon. “But I understand your reasoning. You were always more about power than finesse anyway so a Kopis does suit you more than a Xiphos.”

“Thanks Rhode,” Thalia said, honestly pleased with the approval of her choice. “So you mind helping me with working on the technique? We could listen to some music as we do and I think I have some Skittles back in my Cabin that I bought from the Camp Store the other day, I can go grab them for snacks during breaks! You game?”

“Sure,” Rhode agreed easily. “But you know that I’m on to you, right?”

“What do you mean?” Thalia asked, acting innocent. Or as innocent as she could anyways. She was a punk rebel and she knew and loved it. Acting innocent was just not in her DNA.

Thankfully Rhode just rolled her eyes and did not press. 

“Why don’t you go grab those Skittles and I’ll meet you in the Arena? I’ll go grab my stereo and my IPod. We can listen to one of my playlists.”

Thalia winced. “Can I choose which one?”

As much as she loved her sister, Rhode’s tastes in music had changed so much from when they were children that she was honestly disgusted with it now. 

“Rap has its merits too. Give it a shot over Alt Rock.”

“Rap? Seriously?” Thalia snorted. “What? Like Vanilla Ice?”

“No, like more current artists.” Rhode responded waspishly. 

“Still think it’s silly.” Thalia shot back. “What happened to good ol’ Greenday?”

“I diversified my tastes.”

“Like you did with your wardrobe?” Thalia said with a roll of her eyes. “What are you going to tell me you like Classical music now too, just like you like all those fancy dresses your stepmother, wait you call her your Mum don’t you? Ya, your Mum sends you?”

“Keep my Mum out of this Thalia.” Rhode warned, tone growing frosty. “And yes, I do in fact have some appreciation for Classical music now. I’d have to or I’d have gone mad in Atlantis. It makes up at least half the music at feasts and balls there.”

“You’ve changed Rhode.” Thalia said with a frown. “And not in a good way.”

“Well, we all have to grow up some time, Thalia.”

“Yeah, and you grew up to end up being some piece of shit’s little bitch!” Thalia said without thinking, her anger getting the better of her. She knew she’d crossed a line there, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop. All her anger at what Rhode was doing to herself, both fair like what she let Jack do to her and unfair such as in reference to the changes to her tastes, had been simmering ever since they’d been reunited and she was finally getting a chance to express them. An opportunity that she wasn’t about to let slip away from her.

“Why the hell do you let him walk all over you! You’re strong Rhode! You could beat the shit out of him if he tried something stupid! Smart, pretty and you know how to dress nicely too! You could totally find someone better!”

“So this is about Jack after all,” Rhode said with a tired sigh. “Look, Thalia, my relationship with Jack is not something you, of all people, need to worry about.”

“I’m your sister ,” Thalia shot back, crossing her arms and glaring at Rhode. “You might have become older than me now but we’re still sisters! It's my job to look out for you! Ask Annie! She’d say the same!”

“Trust me, she does.” Rhode said, her voice narrowly avoiding being a whine. “So does Percy, Chiron, Su, heck even Aunt Hestia! And the less said about Dad, Mum and Triton the better! They call me every day to check in, did you know that!?”

“Just, I, we, just want to see you stop hurting yourself like this for that piece of shit.” Thalia confessed, teeth gritted as her hate for Overland  - He didn’t deserve to be called Jack. The asshole didn’t deserve the respect. - made her spark. 

Please Rhode! Please listen to me!

“I-I-!” Rhode began but found herself unable to properly formulate a reply. “Look, like I said yesterday, I don’t know if I can. I can only promise to try and even then…”

The way she trailed off told Thalia how little confidence she had in being able to succeed in doing even that and that made the daughter of Zeus want to cry.

“L-Let’s just talk about something else!” Rhode said, shaking her head as if clearing away all thoughts of her shitty boyfriend. “You wanted to practise with your new sword right? Let’s do that! We can listen to Alt Rock as we do too. How about that?”

Thalia frowned. She honestly would’ve preferred to keep pushing Rhode in the right direction but… She knew that pushing too hard could backfire and she definitely didn’t want to see where that might lead. So she grudgingly nodded to Rhode’s suggestion.

“Sure,” she said with a forced smile. “I’ll go grab those Skittles I was talking about and meet you in the Arena. See you in five?”

“Yup,” Rhode said, sounding relieved. “See you there.”

With that they parted ways, Rhode walking away so fast that she was just shy of breaking into a run as she practically fled. 

Thalia’s chest felt tight, from anger, sadness or something else. She just didn’t know. 

Though she did know that whatever she was feeling it was breaking her heart. 

Keeping to her promise to Amphitrite last year, Rhode’s birthday party this year was being held in Atlantis with her Camp friends receiving special dispensation, and magical assistance to survive in the watery depths for those who needed it, to attend. Though she was a little miffed that her parents had explicitly excluded Jack from the guest list.

“I know no one wants him close to me, myself included, but he is my boyfriend.” Rhode said with a frown to Thekla and Estella as they helped her get ready for the ball. 

“Is he really, my lady?” Estella asked as she helped Rhode lace up her corset. “From what we’ve heard that term hardly seems to fit the nature of your relationship with the boy.”

“Oh? Then what would?” Rhode asked curiously even as she breathed in a little to allow her handmaiden to secure the corset a little better.

“Abuser?” Thekla opined frankly from where she was waiting, holding a petticoat of her gown for the night. “Considering how he manipulates you into doing things, I honestly cannot call him anything else. Whilst not as bad as the worst the gods have done, what he does is most definitely not acceptable.”

“I know. But…”

“But you cannot help yourself.” Estella finished for her.

“Many a maiden can fall for the charms of rogues, my lady. I only ask you to rise above those before you end up repeating their tragic fates.”

“You know why it’s especially hard for me, right?”

“We know,” Thekla said as Estella finished lacing up Rhode’s corset and came over to help her put on the petticoat she’d been patiently holding. “But can you promise us to try?”

“I will,” Rhode told them honestly. “Just like I promised everyone else.”

“Then that’s all we can ask,” Estella said as she helped to secure the stays that kept the petticoat in place.

“Thank you,” Rhode said sincerely. “For always being there for me.”

Thalia stood in a corner of the Atlantean ballroom where Rhode’s parents, both Poseidon and Amphitrite, had thrown an elaborate ball to celebrate her sister’s seventeenth birthday and sulked. It wasn’t because she didn’t have a date for the ball, though that did suck a little, as no one among the Campers except the all but married couple that were Rhode’s friends Emily and Gaige had brought a date. No, what really had her all worked up was that she’d been forced to wear a dress for the occasion!

Yes, she was experimenting with her wardrobe at Rhode’s urging but she still wasn’t entirely comfortable with dresses yet but since this was a ball and a dress was required for the ladies… She’d had no choice. At least the bowknot collar, green and peach dress with its flared, pleated skirt reminiscent of 1950s styles - Or at least that’s how Rhode had described it to her. - was easy to move in. She’d have gone mad if it wasn’t. 

Thalia’s Dress

And she really needed all the help to avoid losing her cool tonight. Because not only was she in a dress but she also had to deal with various gods of the Atlantean court hitting on her which was just… Well, most of them were good looking. Super hunky and handsome but that’s gods for you. But her father was the same and he wasn’t about to win any awards for being either a good person, spouse or parent, so yeah… There was no way in the world she’d ever even consider dating a god.

Too many bad endings were listed on that front. 

Thankfully, Rhode - Or was it Amphitrite? Thalia wasn’t entirely sure. - had arranged for Thetis and a number of the court’s senior nymphs to keep an eye on her and help keep the sharks - Rhode’s words - away. And it had mostly been successful. Thalia only had four gods proposition her and one offer for her hand in marriage. Can you read the sarcasm?

“Announcing the guest of honour, the Princess Rhode Evans!” The herald for the evening shouted suddenly, pulling Thalia from her sulk and she turned towards the main doors of the ballroom and watched flabbergasted as Rhode swept into the hall dressed in a very elaborate, very feminine gown.

Rhode’s Gown

Holy Olympus is that Rhode!? Thalia couldn’t help but think as she admired her sister all dressed up in a dark navy, short sleeved, off the shoulder gown.

She really does look like a princess. Thalia couldn’t help but think at the natural smile her sister had as she floated down the stairs, the two Oceanids that served as her ladies-in-waiting trailing behind her. 

Seeing her like this, it finally sunk in for the daughter of Zeus that the Rhode she knew was gone. In the place of the street urchin that clung to her like a life preserver in the chaotic sea of half-blood life, there was instead a confident young woman that had become her rock instead. It was a role reversal which she’d acknowledged intellectually but until now, until seeing just how high Rhode had climbed, she had not truly accepted.

It was strange. This acceptance should’ve brought anger. Or at least melancholy. But she felt none of that. All she felt was pride and joy.

Rhode has grown up.

Percy had just had the pleasure to dance a waltz - Thank you Rhode for teaching him how! - with Annabeth at his aforementioned sister’s birthday ball and was now walking with his friend back to the little spot their group of friends from Camp had secured for themselves at the side of the ballroom for when they weren’t in the mood to dance.

“You’re staring.” Annabeth said, with a blush and looking away to avoid meeting his eyes. “Again.”

“Well, can you blame me?” Percy asked, honestly. “You look fantastic today.”

And he was totally honest about that. As befitting a ball, Annabeth had been forced to dress for the occasion just like he had. But where he’d just gotten himself a basic suit, she’d gone above and beyond and with help from Aphrodite Cabin had worn a blue ombre, off the shoulder, belted ball gown that was accented by sequins in the shape of the stars and moon. 

Now you might be wondering how a poor boy from Manhattan knew enough about fashion to describe a dress with that much detail. Well, he did spend his summers living with Rhode and despite what she said, she was quite a fashionista. She had a wardrobe of at least a hundred different gowns at Camp alone and he knew she had more down here in Atlantis! Plus it seemed Amphitrite sent her a new dress every week. Heck, it had gotten to the point that girls from Cabin Ten had started coming over to their Cabin to borrow a dress to wear when they were in the mood for something fancy.

Annabeth’s Dress (minus the crown)

Annabeth thumped his arm lightly. “Flatterer. You look good too, Percy.” 

Percy in a Suit

“Thanks. Rhode helped me dress for the occasion.” Percy informed her honestly.

“Yes, Sister, big help.” Tyson agreed as they walked over to join him in their spot. His cyclops brother having taken time from his job working with the older cyclops in the Atlantean forges to join the party. “She help me too.”

“And you look good too, Tyson.” Annabeth praised the suit clad cyclops. 

“Though I wish I could openly carry my knife too.” She added, pointing as Percy reattached  Riptide to his waist. He had taken it off to make dancing easier. “But it doesn’t go with my dress.”

“Yeah,” Percy said, nodding to one of the naiads nearby who had a sheathed sword hanging by a belt around her waist and which artfully blended in with the skirts of her gown. “Should’ve thought of that when you picked it out. Or get it a magical disguise.”

“I will,” Annabeth agreed. “It’s my own fault for not checking in with Rhode beforehand if it was alright for the ladies to open carry their weapons. It wouldn’t be allowed in a mortal ball.”

“Ah. But this ain’t a mortal ball, Annabeth.” Lee said as he came over with Penny, carrying between them trays with enough drinks and finger food for everyone and then some. 

“Yeah. Like I said, it was an oversight on my part.” Annabeth said with a sigh as she took a drink. “By the way, where’s Su? I saw Emily and Gaige dancing-”

“Creator and Creator Two are enjoying themselves.” Penny said with a pleased smile.

“They certainly looked like it.” Percy agreed. “But seriously where’s Su? And Thalia? They’re not causing trouble right?”

“Su managed to snag a dance with Rhode. As for Thalia,” Lee said as he put down his tray on a nearby bar table and gestured towards another corner of the ballroom where the daughter of Zeus was lurking and being watched over by a group of nymphs. “She’s off hiding from gods who want to proposition her.”

“That and watching Sister like shark on seal.” Tyson added. “She very protective. I approve.”

“As do I,” a voice that radiated authority said from behind them and the entire group of Campers turned to see a twin tailed merman floating behind them. A very familiar merman.

And Percy wasn’t saying that just because he recognised him as his godly brother Triton. No, it was because looking at him was like looking at a mirror. A freaky funhouse mirror that aged him up a few years, gave him blue-green skin and scales but… Yeah. The similarity in their features were uncanny. There was no doubt at all that they were brothers.

“Oh, oh my…” Annabeth said with the hue of a blush growing on her face, but she quickly hid it by offering a curtsy. “Lord Triton, greetings.”

“Oh? One of Athena’s children. While our sires may be rivals, it warms my heart knowing that my sister and one of Athena’s own are close. She was a handful as a child herself, but I’m glad she’s mellowed out over the years.” Triton chuckled as he sipped a drink of some kind. Probably Ambrosia and gin. 

“Brother Triton, looking for?” Tyson asked, tilting his head questioningly.

“Tyson, good to see you Brother. I was just taking a circuit of the party and happened upon you. Though, Perseus, a word?” The god of the navy asked. 

“Sure,” Percy agreed easily. “Uh, I’m guessing we should go somewhere private?”

“Yes,” the god nodded. “Have you had a chance to take a walk in the gardens? They are beautiful, at least our sister says so. Perhaps I could show you around and you might want to take your girlfriend later?”

“G-Girlfriend?” “He’s not my boyfriend!” 

Percy turned sharply to a blushing Annabeth as he realised she’d spoken the same time he had. They shared a look and blushing turned away from each other, earning laughs from everyone nearby. Even other guests.

Olympus! This is embarrassing. Was Percy’s first thought, only for it to be swiftly replaced by another. Wait! If Annabeth is reacting this way...

“Oh, don’t deny it, both of you. Cute as it is.” Triton said with a chuckle. “I can see the work of both Eros and Aphrodite upon you. You two have chosen each other already and it's been sanctioned by the gods of love, you just haven’t accepted it yet.”

Percy’s blush turned atomic red at that.

“I-I’m okay with t-that.” Annabeth stuttered out suddenly, causing Percy to look at her sharply. “T-That’s, uh, if, you’re okay with it, Percy?”

“Uh, sure?” Percy said, uncertain about what he could say in this situation. “So, we’re, uh, dating now?”

“S-Sure, b-boyfriend.”

“Right, uh, girlfriend.”

“You two are adorably awkward.” Triton said with a chuckle. “What’s the mortal word? Adorkable? Yes, that. Rhode will get a kick out of watching you two stumble through your relationship. But speaking of Rhode- Perseus, we must speak. Come.”

“Right,” Percy said, shaking off the awkwardness of abruptly learning that he had been dating Annabeth without either of them acknowledging it till now. “Lead on.”

I can get why Rhode’s so confused with dating. It’s nuts!

Triton led them out of the ballroom and into an attached garden full of exotic aquatic plants, sponges and corals that rivaled and outshone the most impressive terrestrial gardens Percy had ever seen, even those on TV. Though since he was a son of Poseidon, he was probably biased.

“The paths are actually color coded for our guests tonight,” Triton explained as he gestured to a set of angler fish swimming in a circle just off the path, each with a different color for their bioluminescent lures. “Green is for a casual stroll. Yellow is for those who want a longer walk. And lastly, blue is the longest walk but leads to a number of quiet spots. I recommend you take your paramour on the yellow path later. You two are a little too young for any hanky panky so avoid the blue one.”

Percy pulled at his collar. He felt that Triton was just doing this on purpose to get a reaction from him. “Um, yeah, t-thanks.”

“Let’s take the yellow one for now as well,” Triton said as he led them down the yellow path which Percy noted quickly branched off the green path as shown by the differing combinations of circling angler fishes along the route. “We can talk as we walk and I fear our conversation might take some time.”

“Right, um, so what do you want to talk to me about, uh, Lord Triton?” Percy asked nervously.

“Call me Triton or Brother. There is no need to be so formal.” Triton replied, though his tone remained somewhat cool. “And I am sure you have an idea, Brother. We need to talk about that Overland boy.”

At the mention of Jack, the water shifted somehow. It was like a weight was pressing down on Percy’s shoulders as Triton spoke. Like the sea was still with false calm and just waiting to unleash its wrath at the slightest provocation. It was a very familiar feeling. He felt the same way every time he even thought of the son of Khione too.

So far his family was pretty chill and then he remembered they were divinity. Big whoops.

How does this guy feel threatened by my existence again? Percy asked himself as he swallowed heavily. “Uh, yeah. Jack.”

“I heard from Father and Mother what he talked Rhode into doing for him. Tell me, Brother, why did you not run him through with your sword for it?”

“Trust me, I wanted to.” Percy confessed with a scowl. “But the others didn’t let me. Chiron, Mr D, the works. They even had Annabeth talk me out of it. Made her watch me too.”

“Yes I heard about Dionysus’ thoughts on the matter. I don’t like it, but he didn’t almost take over India with a slow mind. Even maddened machinations can yield results.” 

“Yeah, but if it was just that I’d probably still have done it. Or at least beat the shit out of him like Thalia did. But Annabeth pointed something out to me.”

“And what did your beloved daughter of wisdom tell you?”

“That if we killed Jack, it would hurt Rhode.” Percy said, breathing out a frustrated sigh. “As much as we hate to admit it. As much as he is a total asshole. He is important to her. If we hurt him, or worse kill him, she’d be devastated.”

Triton tilted his head in thought, pondering about something. Probably two hundred different things at once like gods do. 

“We could always send him on a suicide quest.” His divine brother effortlessly stated. 

“Already working on it, Triton.” Aunt Hestia said, rounding the corner with a dormouse on a stick. Hadn’t that been a popular street food back in Ancient Rome? Percy remembered reading about that in Classics class once. “I’ve even spoken to a cousin of mine to arrange things. It’ll be done. The General will make sure of it.”

Percy felt the wheels of his mind come to a crashing halt at the thought of the goddess of the hearth planning a hit!

It was one of many such moments he’d have to endure today, he was sure. 

“Thank you, Aunt Vesta.” Triton said with a smile even as the eldest daughter of the Crooked One just waved the thanks away and disappeared around a corner.

“Yeah, um, thanks Aunt Hestia.” Percy shouted after regaining his wits. Wait, Vesta what? No, nevermind, just focus on the more important thing.

“In the meantime though, keep an eye on him, Brother.” Triton warned Percy, his voice radiating his divine power. “Or I’ll be forced to do something extreme.”

Like what? Code Megalodon?  

“I will,” Percy nodded with determination. “I won’t let him hurt her again.”

“I can only hope we can keep that promise.” Triton said with a sigh. “But if Dionysus' words are to be believed, I fear we cannot. But we must try our best regardless.”

Percy frowned. Mr D. had made it seem like no matter what they did Jack would end up hurting Rhode somehow. But that just meant they had to try harder! Even if they couldn’t completely protect her from him, they could still keep the harm he could cause to a minimum!

“Yes, that’s a good approach to this, Brother.” Triton said with an approving nod.

They settled into a comfortable silence after that, broken only occasionally by Triton pointing out an interesting part of the garden that he encouraged Percy to explain to Annabeth when he took her for their walk later. Oh, and the god chuckling at every blush Percy had, which were many, at the mere thought of the fact that he and the pretty daughter of Athena were dating now. 

When did my life get so complicated? Oh right, when I found out that my dad was a god.

That thought brought to mind something about his relationship with Triton.

“Hey, Triton, question here. Are you, uh, worried that I might make or be used to make a claim on your status as heir to Atlantis?” Percy asked bluntly. He probably could’ve been more tactful but they were both sons of Poseidon and he was sure they both appreciated the direct approach.

“Rhode explained it to you?” Triton asked, surprised by the unexpected question enough to come to a sudden stop.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I cannot say I am completely unconcerned.” Triton admitted. “But I am also not overly so. You are not the first demigod brother that I’ve had, Perseus.”

“I know,” Percy nodded. “But I don’t want this issue to hang over my head. So-”

Percy paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

“I swear on the River Styx that I, Perseus Jackon, will never seek to usurp control of Atlantis from my father or my brother, Triton. Nor challenge the latter’s position as our father’s heir.”

As he finished speaking, their surroundings boomed with supernatural thunder as the Stygian Oath was sealed.

“So, uh, that good?” He asked awkwardly.

“Very much so,” Triton said with a warm smile. “Did Rhode word that Oath for you?”

“Annabeth actually.” Percy admitted with a smile of his own. “No way I could’ve come up with something like that on my own.”

“Yes, it is far too eloquent for a member of our House save perhaps one of the ladies.” Triton said with a nod. “We boys are a little too rough. They at least can control themselves enough to manage it if they put in the effort.”

“So true,” Percy nodded in return. “I dunno how Rhode can find the patience and be willing to put in all the effort to get dressed in some of her fancier dresses all alone. She’s in the bathroom for hours sometimes.”

“That is why we invented pants, Perseus. So we don’t wear dresses.” Triton chuckled and teasingly wagged his tails. 

“Uh-uh,” Percy replied playfully. “Didn’t we wear tunics a lot back in the old days? Those are practically dresses. Robes too.”

“No more than a kilt!”

Percy burst into a laugh at that and Triton joined him. It was fun! 

“Ah, we’re almost back to the ballroom.” Triton said as they turned around one last corner and caught sight of the doors back into the palace. “You remember everything about the garden I told you? Ready to impress your girlfriend?”

“Yes, Triton.” Percy said, rolling his eyes.

His brother was a matchmaking busy body it seemed. 

It wasn’t that bad if he was honest. 

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Fourteen: Wrath of the Faded Gods - Lilly Garden Assault

Beta: 

It was a balmy morning as summer transitioned to autumn that saw Tanya, the Godslayer, riding her mate, the Nightmare Thunderleg, as they flew through the skies off the coast of New Hampshire to a meeting with her business partner Paradigm and his faded gods allies.

"Don't fly so fast! I'm still sore damnit!" The child-like immortal cursed as her mate’s gait sent repeated bursts of pain through her aching body. And not the pleasant kind either.

"Whose fault is that? You're the one who insisted on getting it on last night."

"Shut up!” Tanya shot back with nary a blush. “You enjoyed it! You were so enthusiastic that I’ll have trouble sitting for days!"

"Never said I didn't. Just saying you have no right to complain."

"Fine.” The sorceress conceded. “Just cut it easy."

"And what'll you do to make it worth my while?"

"I'll let you up my bum tonight, that good? I know you like how tight I am in the ass."

"You've got a deal." Thunderleg replied with an excited whinny.

Damned pervert. Tanya thought with fond exasperation and a roll of her eyes.

“So we’re almost to Star Island,” Thunderleg said as the aforementioned rocky, windswept and sparsely populated island came into view. “Did he mention where he wanted to meet?”

Star Island, New Hampshire

“Along the beach behind the hotel.” Tanya informed her mate. “He said the place, the hotel I mean, is unmistakable. Supposedly it’s the only decently sized building on the whole island.”

“It’s gotta be that big white building over there then.” Thunderleg said, gesturing with his head towards the single large structure that dominated the island. It wasn’t really all that big but in comparison to everything else on the island, it was huge.

“Yeah,” Tanya agreed as she cast a spell on herself to enhance her sight, causing her eyes to glow gold. “Give me a minute and let me see if I can spot Paradigm.”

A quick survey of the area around the hotel showed the bald, tall, well built Paradigm standing on one of the many rocks that made up the beach a short distance from the building. As always he was dressed in formalwear consisting of a full blown tuxedo complete with coattails and, of course, that silly metal eyepatch over his right eye. He wasn’t alone either as he was accompanied by a trio of women that could have only been faded gods.

The first faded goddess

One of them was a stunning woman with long flowing brown hair, whose beauty stirred the old jealousy in Tanya’s blood that she ruthlessly suppressed. She literally glowed with a faint light that reminded the sorceress of the dawn. The fallen goddess was dressed in a light gold Victorian style gown with flared bell sleeves and a host of ruffles. It was an elegant thing as befit her beauty and Tanya disliked it on principle. Stuck as a child for eternity, she after all would never be able to wear anything like it. All in all, she hated the woman on sight alone. The only thing that stopped Tanya from summoning her gun and shooting her was the subtle burning smell that she could pick up wafting from the woman even from this distance as what was left of the faded goddess’ divine spark burned away at the mortal whose body she was commandeering.

The second faded goddess

The second of the faded goddesses struck a major contrast with her compatriot. Where the first faded goddess radiated elegance and sophistication, this one exuded primal fury. Dressed in a hooded cloak over hunting clothes and wielding a bow, the dark haired goddess looked every bit a hunter. Her aura also contrasted with her peer, being a soft silver colour that reminded Tanya of moonlight.

She looks like a savage. Tanya thought uncharitably as she looked over the second faded goddess searching for the telltale sign of decay that her mortal host was being destroyed by her divine essence. It was small, a sickly looking patch of skin on the back of her neck that she was hiding behind the veil of her hair and which Tanya glimpsed as she turned her head to track her and Thunderleg as they circled them whilst they came in for a landing.

The third faded goddess

The last of the three faded goddesses was a woman in an orange hard hat over a head of long hair she’d tied into a messy ponytail. She was wearing a red blouse and a set of denim overalls. She was also clutching a spade of all things. Despite looking like she’d just stepped off some construction site, she was smiling like a loon. Unlike the others though, she didn’t seem to show any physical signs that her host was deteriorating due to housing her divine essence, which probably meant that whatever it was it wasn’t physical.

Maybe it’s mental then because bleh, there’s no way anyone can look that peppy. I have the sudden urge to go to fundraisers and charities from just looking at her! Tanya thought as she resisted the urge to gag.

“All ladies this time huh?” Thunderleg commented with a chuckle. “Is Paradigm building a harem or something?”

Tanya snorted. “Not likely. That stodgy old fool is practically asexual. More likely it’s just a result of the luck of the draw. These are probably just the strongest of his allies among the faded gods at the moment.”

“Really? ‘Cos by how much he seems to desire that daughter of Poseidon…”

“Get your head out of the gutter,” Tanya chided with a roll of her eyes. “He just wants to harvest her divine essence.” 

“Could’ve fooled me. By the way he acts, he’s like a jilted lover or something!”

Tanya just sighed in exasperation at how ridiculous her mate could be at times. 

“Just drop it.” She told him, rubbing the bridge of her nose in exasperation. “Please.”

“Okay. I’m coming in for a landing,” Thunderleg informed her as they neared the rocky beach. “Hang on tight.”

Tanya promptly wrapped her tiny arms around her mate’s neck. “Go for it.”

He gave a positive neigh and dove in for the landing, Tanya holding on tight.

Paradigm watched as Tanya and her mate came in for a landing and smiled. 

Good, she brought Thunderleg along with her as well. The faded god thought. This will make things easier.

If the Nightmare was here as well, he’d be to convince him to aid the little plan he’d cooked up directly rather than having to use Tanya as an intermediary. Something which from experience was unreliable at best. And he very much desired his assistance this time. He was hoping to hunt two children of the Big Three and would need the firepower.

“Tanya, Thunderleg, good that you could make it!” Paradigm greeted the two new arrivals, his arms spread wide in welcome.

“Save the pleasantries, Paradigm.” Thunderleg said with a dismissive snort as he bent down slightly to make it easier for his mate to hop off his back. “Just tell us what plan you’ve cooked up this time.”

“Hush, Thunderleg.” Tanya chided her impatient mate as she straightened the smock she was wearing. “There is no need to be rude. We’re all friends here, aren’t we?”

Paradigm had to suppress a shudder at the predatory gleam in her eyes and the hungry smirk as Tanya said that, something that he thankfully had plenty of experience with. Though sadly his compatriots did not if the way Electryone and Bendis winced was any indication. Oddly, Soteria just returned Tanya’s bloodthirsty smile with a welcoming one of her own.

What is wrong with that crazy woman!? Paradigm couldn’t help but think as he looked at the faded goddess dressed up like a construction worker like she was insane. Has fading addled her mind?

“Yes, we’re all friends here.” Soteria said, that gentle almost ditzy smile never leaving her face. “And since we’re all friends let’s celebrate and build ourselves a great fort where we can be safe and feast to commemorate our friendship!”

At this Paradigm wasn’t the only one looking at her like she was crazy. Everyone was.

“Paradigm?” Tanya asked, turning to look at him questioningly.

“Uh, she is a little eccentric?” He offered helplessly as he inwardly cursed his decision to bring Soteria along and ignored the faded goddess’ pout.

“Ignore Soteria,” Bendis said, shooting their insane counterpart a glare and throwing up the hood of her cloak to hide the patch of decaying skin on the back of her neck. “We’re here to talk business, so let’s get down to it already. Some of us don’t have all day.”

“I guess no slumber parties.” Soteria pouted, looking put out as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her overalls and she used the toe of her right work boot to draw circles on the ground. 

“As inviting as that sounds, I’m afraid not.” Electryone said, eyeing Soteria warily. “Paradigm please hurry.”

“Yes, Paradigm please do.” Tanya added, her hands twitching as if she was seconds away from summoning her gun.

“Very well,” Paradigm said with a sigh. “I have called you two here today, Tanya, Thunderleg, to discuss a plan that I’ve come up with to draw Rhode Evans and if all goes well, Thalia Grace as well, into an ambush so that we might capture them and drain the godly essence flowing in their veins.”

“The daughters of Poseidon and Zeus huh?” Tanya said with a knowing smirk. “Don’t think you could take them on your own?”

“More accurately we do not believe we could stand the heat from Olympus and Atlantis if we did.” Paradigm corrected quickly.

“They don’t trust my ability to make fortifications that will keep us safe.” Soteria chimed in with a pout. “I already enchanted special bricks too.”

For the sake of their sanity, everyone ignored the deranged faded goddess of safety.

“A chance to beat up on two Big Three kids? Count me in!” Thunderleg said excitedly.

“Indeed,” Tanya agreed. “For the right price of course.”

“Ten percent of the essence we collect.” Paradigm offered without prompting.

“Thirty.” Tanya immediately counter offered.

“Fifteen.”

“Twenty. They are the Big Three’s children, stop being stingy. They have plenty of essence to go around.”

“And you only ever resale your share back to me anyways,” Paradigm pointed out. “At a markup. Why don’t I offer you what you really want instead?”

“No deal,” Tanya said with a shake of her head. “Divine essence is a readily tradable commodity. Just because I usually resell most of it to you to get stuff I need doesn’t mean I always do. Your prices for certain things aren’t that good.”

“You wound me,” Paradigm said, dramatically cupping his hands over his heart.

“Yeah? Then slash your prices for ambrosia down by half!” Thunderleg said with a growl. “Your stuff is overpriced!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Paradigm said with a shake of his head. “My stock is top quality after all. Straight from Olympus. Its price is well warranted.”

“I honestly could care less about the quality.” Tanya confessed. “It’s why I buy my supply elsewhere and why I want you to pay for our involvement in this plan of yours in divine essence. Twenty percent.”

Paradigm sighed. “Seventeen.”

“Eighteen.”

“Deal,” Paradigm said, offering Tanya both his hand and a smile.

“Pleasure doing business with you Paradigm,” Tanya said as they shook on the deal. “But at that price I won’t be contributing my new meat shields.”

Thunderleg snorted at that. “Really? I thought you’re leaving them out because they’re still too battered after the last fiasco on Circe’s Island.”

“Shut up!” Tanya said, kicking her mate in his nearest leg.

“Ah, a shame.” Paradigm said, ignoring their byplay and not letting on that he hadn’t wanted them included anyways. The wizards wouldn’t be much help in the plan he’d crafted.

“Now that we’re all onboard can we finally start outlining the plan?” Electryone asked, sounding annoyed.

“Indeed! We have a most genius plan to lure the child of Poseidon in. And with her, the daughter of Zeus will follow like a lamb to the slaughter.” Paradigm smiled, showing rows of sharp teeth. 

Susan “Sue” Lilly, daughter of Hermes

Susan “Sue” Lilly, daughter of Hermes, was in the dining room of the manor she shared with her wife Maud, daughter of Hecate. Having finished her breakfast she was reading the papers whilst her darling wife was busy chatting with their current house guest, Michael Yew, son of Apollo, about the adventures he’d gotten up to since discovering he was a demigod. 

After their eventful meeting with the daughter of Poseidon, Rhode Evans, Sue and Maud had set their house up as something of a safehouse for any half-bloods in the area and were in need. And as a result, they had entertained a fair few interesting fellow half-bloods in the past few years. Such as their current guest who had run into a spot of monster trouble whilst travelling through the area and had ended up seeking sanctuary behind their doors.

“-and so I was just finishing off that Dracanae when out of nowhere her two buddies showed up.” Michael said as he regaled Maud with the story of one of his most memorable battles. “I was exhausted from fighting one of them and now I had to deal with two of them? I honestly thought I was dead, but somehow I-”

He was mid-sentence when suddenly the entire manor shook.

Maud Lilly, daughter of Hecate

“Maud?” Sue asked, dropping her newspaper and turning to her wife.

“That wasn’t an earthquake.” The daughter of Hecate said as she stood and broke into a run for the control room where they managed their security system.

Sue and Michael immediately leapt to their feet and followed after her.

They entered the room and found Maud looking at the screens showing feeds from the security cameras looking out at the manor’s grounds whilst muttering to herself at a feverish pace. In response, the Mist that they’d enshrouded their home with began shifting rapidly into an army of monsters.

“What’s going on?” Michael asked, as he looked at the screens in confusion. “Who’s attacking us?”

“I’m guessing it’s those guys.” Sue said as she pointed over to a group standing by the gate to the property. 

There were six of them. 

Three of them Sue didn’t recognise. One was a woman in a champagne colored ball gown that radiated a weak golden light and who was shooting beams of light at the Mist constructs Maud were sending at them. She was supported by another woman dressed up like a huntress that possessed a silver aura and sporting a bow. Together, they effortlessly held the horde of constructs at bay all whilst a third woman in a hard hat and overalls worked some magic with a spade for a wand. Magic that Sue’s affinity for security systems told her was slowly undermining the magical protections Maud had layered around their home. 

That was worrying enough but paled in comparison to just who the three recognisable attackers were. Because standing at their gate alongside the other three were no less than Paradigm the Divine Essence Harvester, Thunderleg the Nightmare and Tanya the Godslayer. The only consolation of them being there was that they didn’t seem to be actually doing anything.

“Are those-” Michael asked with a gasp as he pegged the trio as well. The son of Apollo was a Camper at Camp Half-Blood and if Sue’s conversations with Chiron were accurate, the three of them were considered quite infamous among them thanks to Rhode’s run-ins with them in recent years.

“Yes, they are.” Sue confirmed absently as she put a hand on her wife’s shoulder and squeezed it. “Maud, can we take them?”

She didn’t think so, but she’d prefer a second opinion.

Without once stopping her muttering that was allowing her to shape the Mist and thus replenishing their army of constructs, Maud shook her head.

“Micheal, use our landline and call Camp.” Sue said as she pulled out her own cell phone. “Tell them we need reinforcements.”

“Right,” the son of Apollo said as he rushed towards the control room phone resting on the table below the bank of monitors. “Who are you calling?”

“Rhode.” 

“Help is on the way, stay inside here in the control room.” 

That had been what Sue had said after they’d both managed to get through to Camp and Rhode respectively and secured promises of help. But Michael was a hero . He wasn’t about to sit inside some panic room and cower when faced by enemies at the gates. He was going to meet them head on. Not that he thought Sue and Maud were cowering. Maud was working tirelessly to constantly replenish the army of Mist constructs and Sue was keeping her safe while she did as was her duty as the daughter of Hecate’s wife. That just left him to take the fight to the enemy and despite his hosts’ protests that’s exactly what he did.

Rushing to an upstairs window with a view of the front gate, Michael brought up his bow, arrow already nocked and began taking aim at the woman with the hard hat. However, before the son of Apollo could even line up a shot, a thin beam of light rippled through the air and blasted him in the face. The power was so intense it took mere seconds for his head to turn to ash, his hapless corpse dropping dead where it stood just as the fireplace in the room where he’d attempted to set up his sniper’s nest burst to life with green flames. 

“Electryone!” Bendis shouted angrily, turning to shoot her comrade a glare even as she loosed the arrow she’d nocked and it multiplied a thousand fold to become a deadly rain that dispelled dozens of the Mist constructs the mortals were throwing at them. “That was my kill!”

“He was a son of Apollo . As a child of that usurper to my father’s rightful place, he was mine to kill.” The faded goddess of the dawn retorted coolly as she waved a hand in the direction of the horde of Mist constructs and vaporised dozens of them in a wave of searing light. “Though I do say, Apollo has truly let the strength of his children wane. The fight has hardly started and he did nothing, but he’s already dead. In the old days they were far more formidable.” 

How the mighty have fallen. The southern belle looking goddess thought with a bored sigh.

“Michael!” Rhode shouted in horror as she stepped out of the fireplace in the closest of the Lillies’ guest rooms to their control room and saw the son of Apollo’s headless corpse collapse to the ground.

“Rhode, wha-” Annabeth asked as she exited from the fireplace just behind Rhode, cutting herself off as she saw Michael’s body. 

“I am going to kill them!” Rhode roared, anger flooding her veins and driving away all rational thought as she charged out of the room.

“Rhode!” Both Annabeth and the newly arrived Thalia shouted from behind her, but she ignored them as she raced down the stairs and towards the front doors of the Lillies’ manor.

“Rhode, don’t! It’s a trap!” She heard Sue shout as she raced after her but Rhode was in no mood to listen and kicking the fancy oak doors of the older woman’s house open, she charged out into the grounds beyond.

“Ah. It looks like we’ve caught the fish we were hoping for.” Paradigm said with a grin as he sensed the arrival of their targets and turned to his three fellow faded gods. “Ladies, I think it’s about time to let the expe-”

“Not yet,” Tanya said, cutting him off. “Tire her out first. You three can do that, right?”

The three faded goddesses exchanged a look before Setoria shrugged and the other two nodded. That said, neither Bendis nor Electryone looked happy about it. 

“Are we fodder to you or something, Godslayer?” Bendis sneered. 

“Pretty much.” Tanya smiled wickedly. “Do what you were bought along for. Chop chop! Here comes Poseidon’s brat!”

Charging through the ranks of the Mist constructs was indeed Rhode Evans as she made a beeline towards Electryone.

“Looks like she’s singling you out,” Setoria observed with a smile. “Electryone, you should do the right thing and entertain her.”

Electryone sighed but nevertheless nodded. “Very well. But if I die-”

“I’ll prioritize your revival.” Paradigm promised. “Just like I promised.”

“Thank you, now time for a family reunion.” The well dressed goddess said with a tired sigh as she teleported directly in front of the irate daughter of Poseidon and unleashed a shockwave of burning light as she did, clearing the area around them of the pesky Mist constructs. The half-blood however weathered the attack largely unscathed thanks to her Pallas Armor.

Honestly, handing a former Symbol of Power to a half-blood!? Has Olympus’ standards truly fallen so low?

“Hello, Auntie.” Electryone greeted warmly, they were family after all. “Did you know that you are the spitting image of my mother, your namesake?”

“Are you the one who killed Micheal?” The mortal asked, completely ignoring Electryone’s polite greeting and question, her tone full of cold fury as hoarfrost escaped the young woman’s lips. 

My, my, she had certainly inherited her Grandfather’s temper. Was the boy her lover or something? That couldn’t be the case, could it? Wasn’t her boyfriend that infamous son of Khione everyone was cursing lately? If so, how deliciously dramatic!

“Was that his name? He hardly seemed to matter, dear. But yes, I did. Now would you please hand yourself over to us?” The goddess clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. “I would ever so love to see Mother Rhodes once more. Mayhaps we could even make merry before you leave this realm?”

“I’ll have to deny you, niece.” The child of the sea declared as ice started to coat the ground, the moisture in the air chilling. 

Electryone sighed and breathed out. Instantly, the world around them exploded and her mortal aunt was sent flying.

“You do realise Auntie that even though I am faded, I am still a goddess ?” Electryone said as she casually walked over to her downed aunt who was struggling to get to her feet. “In fact, since I am faded, the Ancient Laws that limit the amount of power us divinites can wield against mortals are much, much looser. You can’t win this.”

“I beat you faded gods before!” The child roared as she surged to her feet and tried to stab her with her trident.

“Phooey Auntie, must you be such a bore?” Electryone asked as she stopped the weapon with a single finger, before flicking it and sending it flying, coincidentally breaking her Auntie’s arm in the process from the violent disarming. “And really, do not compare me to those fools. Unlike them, my current host fits me much better and thus I am much more able to wield my powers as well.”

“You talk too much.” A new voice said from behind her just as a dagger pierced through her flesh and exploded out of her chest in a spray of golden ichor. “Rhode, you alright?” 

“I’m fine,” Auntie said as she pushed herself to her feet. “Thanks for the save, Bethy.”

“I-Invisibility.” Electryone said in realisation as she glanced behind her and saw no one. “I see now. How… A-Athenian.”

“What was that?” Auntie flashed her a bloodied smile as Electryone looked at the blade sticking out of her heart. “I couldn’t hear you around you drowning on your ichor.”

The goddess of dawn tried to speak, tried to do something as one last hurrah, but her body was cold and her power left her as the blade buried in her body was twisted and spilled her once warm life fluids onto mother earth.

At least mortals still have their guile. Maybe the past wasn’t fully gone after all.  

Her vision blackened and just before she could raise a new dawn, her sun was setting once more it seemed.

Oh well. She thought as her connection to the mortal plane was severed. Guess, I’ll just have to find a new host. No harm done.

“Aw~! They took out Electryone,” Soteria observed with a pout. “What a shame. I liked her.”

“Yeah? Well, get your act together Soteria, because here they come.” Bendis shot back, sounding annoyed for some reason. “Keep the Mist constructs off me and I’ll deal with the half-bloods.”

“The others aren’t helping?” Soteria asked, shooting Paradigm and the others a frown.

“No, softening them up is the cannon fodder’s job.” The mean Godslayer said with a wicked smirk.

Why does she have to be so mean. 

“Okay Bendis,” Soteria told the other faded goddess. “I’ll keep the pesky construc-”

Soteria was still talking when suddenly a lightning bolt streaked out of the admittedly very pretty, very well fortified house and slammed into Bendis. 

How rude! The faded goddess of safety thought with a frown as the lightning transformed into a young teenager whose spear was piercing Bendis right through the heart. 

“I’m taking you with me!” The faded Thracian goddess roared in defiance as she shot her already nocked arrow from her bow, infusing it with her lunar power as it flew the short distance into the half-blood’s shoulder.

The mortal tried to dodge but it was point blank and she frankly looked exhausted and so barely managed to move out of the way at all and the shot hit home, blowing apart a good part of her right shoulder and causing her to drop her spear.

“Gotcha!” Bendis crowed as she staggered back, pulling the spear out of her and tossed it towards the collapsed demigoddess who was clutching her massive shoulder wound and howling in pain. 

Soteria honestly didn’t know how Bendis wasn’t doing the same with her ichor pouring out of her like a waterfall and the necrosis that was the sign of her host’s deterioration rapidly spreading from the wound on her chest. 

Sensing the other goddess’ weakness, the Mist constructs tried to pounce her, but Soteria just waved her spade their way and they were impaled on brickwork spires that dispelled them.

“Thalia!” The daughter of Poseidon they’d come here to harvest shouted and threw a massive icicle at Bendis. 

Said goddess was out of it from her injury and only managed to throw up a weak barrier of lunar energy and Soteria was a bit too slow in conjuring a stone wall to add to her defense, so the icy lance sailed over the latter and pierced through the former to skewer Bendis.

“Argh! Damn it! And I almost got myself some Zeus essence too. This sucks!” The faded goddess of the moon cursed as her host died and her connection to the mortal plane was cut.

Well gosh dangit, I’m all alone now. That stinks super bad! Soteria thought as she listened to the whisper in her head telling her how to stay safe and spun out of the way of the invisible girl with the dagger and swung her spade into her head. The blow knocked a Yankees cap off her head making her visible even as it also sent her straight into dreamland.

“It’s not nice to sneak up on people, young lady. What would your mother think?” She tutted at the unconscious girl. 

“There’s nothing nice about a fight, you ditzy ex-goddess.” The rude daughter of Poseidon shouted as she tried to run her through with her trident but Soteria just listened to her safety sense and twirled out of the way, whilst using her spade to tap the half-blood’s weapon.

The blow was enough to have sent it flying but the stubborn little mortal held onto it with a death grip and that caused her arm to be pulled in an unnatural direction that wrenched it out of her socket for the second time in this battle.

Not that the daughter of Poseidon seemed to care as the arm snapped back into place thanks to the sea water dripping from her armor. Poseidon kids and their water healing powers were just cheating! 

“Son of a-!” She cursed, before grunting as her arm finished healing.

“You're a meanie.” Soteria huffed as she waved her spade most menacingly! “Honestly, you were about to curse? You should eat a bar of soap!”

“Oi, Soteria! You let the daughter of Zeus and that other half-blood escape!” Paradigm chided from where he was standing being all unhelpful like. “The Mist constructs dragged them away while you were scolding the daughter of Poseidon. So hurry up and deal with her and then go get them back.”

“Slave driver,” Soteria said with a put upon sigh even as she heeded the latest warning from her safety sense and leapt out of the way of a rain of icicles that Poseidon’s daughter shot her way, retaliating as she did by conjuring four sturdy stone walls, worthy of even the greatest citadels, around the girl and having them move in to crush her.

“Fred, Tom, Phil and Paulie! Give her bonks on the head!" She cheered her walls on. “Go, go fortification rangers!” 

“Dean, don't be a straggler! But take your time too.” She added as she conjured a roof for her little kill box and had it rapidly descend on the mortal. “Make her into a pancake! I’ve got a craving for half-blood pancakes!”

“ Επικαλούνται: Δύναμη του Δούρειου ίππου (Epikaloúmai: Dýnami tou Doúreiou íppou/ Invoke: Power of the Trojan Horse)!” The trapped girl shouted, casting some kind of spell that caused an earthquake, one that instantly had Fred, Tom, Phil, Paulie and Dean collapsing into so much rubble and for Soteria herself to collapse to her knees, ichor flowing down from her nose, ears and mouth.

“Anti-fortification magic!?” She gasped, shocked that the daughter of Poseidon would have something so perfectly tailored to counter her abilities in her arsenal. She was the goddess of sanctuaries and safety. That meant fortifications, at least for Greeks like her. Well, it could mean temple sanctuaries too since killing on sacred ground was taboo but it was more the former, really! It had nothing to do with her personal preference! Nothing at all! Either way, in practical terms it meant that anti-fortification magic was especially effective against her.

The Fates were really mean today, huh?

“Yup, bitch. Now go back to being dead.” The foul mouthed little girl shouted as she thrust her trident at her, sending what looked like streams of deadly poisons shooting out from some kind of special fanny pack thing on her hips slithering through the air at her.

“Safety s-sense, save me!” Soteria practically begged as she ducked, jumped and rolled like her power told her to, avoiding every single one of the serpentine streams of death that was hunting her.

“Your power is bullshit.” The really, really rude girl said as she pulled back her poisons. “But I know what works. So have another taste of Επικαλούνται- ”

“No!” Soteria shouted, waving her spade desperately in the girl’s direction and conjuring a wall tipped with razor sharp battlements shooting out of the ground towards the daughter of the seas. Sadly, she had totally forgot about those pesky Mist constructs and a whole bunch of them suddenly popped into being in front of her wall, blocking it with their lives and giving the half-blood the time to finish her spell.

“- Δύναμη του Δούρειου ίππου !”

As the world shook from the daughter of Poseidon’s spell, Soteria felt her host’s heart and brain literally just explode, showering her ichor everywhere. Normally, she’d think about how that would create such a mess but sadly the death of her host also meant that her connection to the mortal plane was once more severed.

Huh, so this is what it's like to have your entire world, nay, being, tumble back down into oblivion. Just like last time, it’s cold and dark and scary… I’d almost forgotten. Soteria thought to herself sadly as her world went black. This was a silly waste of time. I could have used my time better, maybe built some animal sanctuaries or something.

“Guess, it’s our turn now.” Tanya said as she summoned her trusty submachine gun into her hands and began blasting away at the Rhode girl, suppressing her.

“Heh, maybe before we drain those babes, I could have some fun with them?” Thunderleg neighed suggestively. 

Tanya gave him a flat look. “Seriously? Honestly, have some tact, you perverse horse. And here I thought it was the Satyrs that were horny beasts.” 

“I’ll make it up to you later.” He snorted and shook his mane. 

“Fine,” Tanya said with an exasperated shake of her head. “Any objections Paradigm?”

“Not particularly,” the Essence Harvester said with a shrug. “All I really care about is the divine essence in their blood. The state of their mind and body is immaterial to me. Besides, we’d kill them by draining the essence so it’s not like not letting Thunderleg have his way with them beforehand would make their godly parents less upset.”

“Cool.” Tanya said with a nod. “So let’s go round up some half-blo-”

“I think all of you might want to reconsider.” The pretty dirty blonde owner of the house they were attacking said as the bank of Mist that had kept her hidden fell away and she put a 9mm pistol to Thunderleg’s head whilst chains of Mist conjured Celestial Bronze materialized around him, holding him in place. “Or he gets a Celestial Bronze bullet to the brain and takes a trip down to Tartarus.”

“Eh, you could do it.” Tanya said, looking bored, much to her mate’s irked look. “It’d be more funny then sad.” 

“If you let me have to go there and reform, I’ll not give you any nookie for a hundred years once I’m back.” Thunderleg threatened.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Tanya shouted, shocked. “You can’t possibly mean that!”

“I can always find some other mares to breed in the meantime, you know I can. I love you, but I will do it if you let me die.”

“Paradigm, say or do something!” Tanya shouted at her ally, only to find him very preoccupied.

“A little busy.” He shot back as he found himself busy fighting that pesky daughter of Poseidon, both of them tossing streams of liquid at each other. The girl using her poisons and Paradigm using good ol’ fashioned normal water. “You’ll have to handle your domestic dispute on your own.”

“Yeah I’m just going to shoot him for population control. And for demigoddesses everywhere.” The daughter of Hermes said, starting to depress the trigger of her gun.

“No!” Tanya shouted. “I will not lose a hundred years of my sex life! Fine~! Let him go and I swear on the Styx that we’ll retreat. I’ll make them do it too!”

Supernatural thunder boomed to seal her Oath and the dirty blonde woman just looked at her like she was crazy. The girl obviously was having no problems being satisfied in the bedroom if she didn’t understand the horror of going a hundred years without and she would have to too if Thunderleg stayed away from her, because unlike her promiscuous partner, Tanya refused to sleep with anyone else.

“Tanya, you can’t be serious!” Paradigm shouted from where he was engaged in a war of wills with the daughter of Poseidon, as his torrent of water battled against her torrent of toxins. Each struggling to push the other back.

“I totally am!” Tanya shouted back. “Now teleport out of here before I make you.”

“Argh! Fine! I cannot believe we let our targets go because of your stud horse!” Paradigm said, sounding incredibly disgruntled before teleporting away letting the Poseidon girl’s stream finally overwhelm his own and deluge the empty space where he’d been standing.

“Now release Thunderleg.” Tanya demanded.

“Sure,” the daughter of Hermes said as she stepped away from the Nightmare and the chains around him faded back into the Mist whence they came. “Now get off my lawn.”

“We’re technically not on your lawn .” Thunderleg said as she stretched his previously restrained wings. “We’re still outside your gate.” 

“We will. You are a rude hostess.” Tanya told her. “I like you though. What’s your name? I want to remember it so that if I run into you next time I know to not kill you.”

“She’s bad with faces,” Thunderleg explained to the gobsmacked daughter of Hermes, even as he flapped his wings and sent a pair of flaming tornadoes at the daughter of Poseidon who seemed bent on unnecessarily inserting herself into the conversation. “She’s okay with names though.”

“Susan Lilly.” The girl with the gun said, her eyes narrowed. “And just get lost already.”

“Okay,” Tanya said with a nod as she committed the name to memory. “Thunderleg, if you’d please.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He said disgruntledly as his eyes glowed a malevolent crimson as an ovoid portal ringed by cursed flames opened up next to her. “Let’s just go already.”

“Goodbye Susan Lilly, from one scoundrel to another, have a good life.” Tanya said as she teleported herself onto Thunderleg’s back as he trotted through the portal he’d created and away from the Lilly residence.

“I’m sorry about Michael,” Maud told Rhode as they and the rest of the half-bloods that had participated in her home’s defense watched as her Mistform servants carefully placed the late son of Apollo’s remains and the belongings he’d had with him at the time of his demise into the coffin she’d had them prepare. “He was a good kid.”

“It happens. It’s not great, but it’s the life sadly.” Rhode sighed with a frown on her face. 

“If there’s any consolation, now that Sue’s won the Devil of the Rhine’s respect I doubt your house will have any trouble from her. Or for that matter the faded gods, not after the beat down we gave them today.” Annabeth opined. “Its value as a safehouse just went up greatly.”

“That’s cold consolation for the loss of a life.” Sue said with a dark look on her face that had Maud wrapping herself around one of her wife’s arms and squeezing it comfortingly.

“Pragmatic side of things in war time.” Annabeth murmured, looking away. 

“It still sucks balls,” Thalia snorted with dismay, still clutching her healed shoulder gingerly. Maud was not much of a healer but her limited reality warping via the Mist could pull it off passably enough, though she’d urged the younger demigoddess to make sure she checked in with Chiron when she got back to Camp just in case.

“I agree, even if I would never put it so bluntly.” Maud chimed in. “But we must make the best of the hand that the Fates have dealt us.”

“Finding the silver lining huh?” Rhode said with a tired sigh. “Yeah, I guess that’s all we can really do.”

One of the Mistform servants walked over and bowed to the gathered demigoddesses respectfully, indicating that they were done.

“Thank you. We’ll take it from here. Muad, Sue, take care for now, alright?” Rhode asked with a small smile. 

“Of course. Thank you for coming so fast, Rhode.” Muad said gratefully.

“Hey, you’re one of us. We always help those in need.” 

“We still appreciate it.” Sue said with a nod, even as she snapped her fingers and used her powers to manipulate their wards to allow the use of floo magic, causing the central fireplace of the ballroom in which they were all standing to flare to life with green flames. 

“You two sure you don’t want to come back with us to Camp for the funeral?” Rhode asked as Annabeth and Thalia both moved to lift Michael’s now sealed coffin.

“We cannot,” Maud said with a shake of her head. “Michael mentioned that he has friends, other potential half-bloods, in the area. He was here to scout them out and see if they were truly like us and if they were-”

“To escort them to Camp since there were no signs that any Satyrs had found them yet. They’re too busy preparing for war, Michael said.” Sue finished for her. “Since he’s gone-”

“We need to follow up in his stead and as quickly as possible.”

“After that ruckus the faded gods kicked up, the local monsters will definitely be stirred up and if those kids are really half-bloods-”

“They will need our help.” Maud concluded for them both.

“I hope you get to them then.” Thalia said, offering them a melancholic look. 

“May Tyche be with you.”

“What Annabeth said,” Rhode added. “See you soon. Hopefully in Camp with a bunch of new Campers.”

“If the Fates are kind.” Sue agreed, offering Rhode a hand for the both of them.

“May Olympus bless you.” Rhode said as she shook Rhode’s hand.

With that the three Campers stepped through the green flames with Michael’s remains in tow, the magical fire smothering themselves as soon as they departed.

“Let’s go then,” Sue said, snapping her fingers and sealing their wards once again. “We’ve half-bloods to go save.”

“I would follow you to the Pit and back, love.” Maud told her wife earnestly. “Lead on.”

Omake: Barebacked

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

As she walked into a glade just off one of the most popular trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tanya, the infamous Devil of the Rhine turned to look at her mate, the Nightmare Thunderleg, that was trotting behind her with an eager grin.

“This is a good spot.” She said as she surveyed the area. “It’s got a decent amount of space and it’s far enough from the trail that we won’t be easily found.”

“Yes, it is.” The stallion said as he walked past her and into the centre of the clearing. “And someone’s excited.”

“Excited? Definitely. We’re going to have semi-public sex baby! You know I absolutely love it.”

“Psh,” He neighed, making his lips flap. “You are such a deviant.”

“I’m about to have sex with an equine.” Tanya deadpanned. “That’s a given.” 

“The things I do for you…” 

“Enough talking!” Tanya declared as she hurriedly pulled her dress over her head and tossed it to the side, revealing the set of classy lingerie consisting of a lace mesh halter neck chemise and panties she was wearing underneath. “Time to give me some lovin, love.”

Tanya’s Lingerie

“That getup doesn’t suit you,” Thunderleg told her even as his penis started to get erect. “Why couldn’t you do the school girl thing. Now that was sexy.” 

“Oh shut up,” she told him with a scowl. “It makes me look pretty and sophisticated.”

Feeling a flutter of debauched giddiness, Tanya leaned in, pressing her soft little lips against his horse ones. He opened his, letting her slip her tongue in, but his larger one easily shoved her own aside, going nearly into her throat! It was like he was fucking her throat with just his tongue! It was glorious!

Unfortunately, she needed to breath though. Well, technically she didn’t since she was immortal and death was a mere inconvenience to her but dying whilst having sex wasn’t fun. Not when they’d barely gotten started! So she pulled away, signalling to Thunderleg to do the same and he pulled his tongue back into his mouth.

“Your face,” Thunderleg said, sounding satisfied with himself. “Did you cum already?”

“Not yet,” Tanya confessed. The pseudo throatfucking had gotten her revved up yes, but she wasn’t quite over the edge just yet. Her shuddering knees just made her all the more ready to go for the next part. 

“But the day’s young yet,” she said as she fell onto all fours and crawled up to Thunderleg’s engorged penis. “Time for the main attraction.”

His musk was strong, it was a weakness she could admit that she adored. It was so primal and animalistic that it stirred her baser instincts and made her want to rut right and proper with her mate. Oh right! That’s exactly what they were doing.

“Let’s lube you up.” Tanya said as she kissed his shaft, letting her drool generously coat his wonderfully long and wide member. Truly no human could possibly compare to this work of natural beauty.

Her soft hands grasped his fifth leg that weighed nearly as much as her trusty gun. Slowly, her head dragged up and down its length, her saliva glands working overtime as she began to spit shine the erect phallus. Panting, she looked at it with love in her eyes as she moved her head to the base of it. Burying her nose into Thunderleg’s monstrous scent, she dragged her tongue flat until she reached the tip once more. 

Her one complaint about her mate’s organ was that thanks to his flaming aura she needed to use lots of lube or it would all just dry up and be useless. Thankfully, the reward of that heat was well worth it. A little magic that modified the consistency of her spit to make it heat resistant a few centuries ago had mostly fixed that problem anyways. Though its sheer size still meant she needed to spend a while coating it though, but that was fine. She loved being so close to it. It gave her more of a chance to savor his musk and enjoy the feeling of this organ that had fathered her children in her hands.

She pressed the fist sized head against her youthful mouth and pushed. Her jaw felt like it was nearly broken, but she had long since gotten used to such a feeling. So push ahead she did, gorging herself on his thick cock. Slowly, it pushed into her gullet, even tickling the top of her stomach with how effortlessly she fed on the horse meat. 

She choked and gagged on it deliciously, her breathing became labored as she continued down the pole. Only her magic distorting the proportions of her body allowing her to take him down her tiny throat. He was long enough that his shaft reached all the way down to her stomach. But that wasn’t enough, nowhere near enough, and she dug her fingers into the flesh of his hips and manually pulled herself upwards so more of it could fill her body.

“Why don’t you make the rest of your body resistant to the heat of my aura again?” Thunderleg asked as some of Tanya’s skin and her hair began lightly smoldering as he thrust into her mouth, making her squeal in delight at the delicious pain as he properly throatfucked her. Her flesh both inside and outside her body was literally melting from his aura and the pain was absolutely wonderful! Doubly so as her regeneration repaired the damage and let her get hurt all over again, giving her more chances to experience that delicious pain! It was glorious!

They went on like this for a while, him thrusting into her body and her desperately trying to suck more of him into her tiny body, until at least the stimulation proved too much for both of them. He came and flooded her body with his thick cum even as she squirted with her own synchronized orgasm.

As she came down a little from her high, she started to pull back and popped herself off his member and leaned to the side, coughing and spitting up her throat slop. It barely did anything to her engorged stomach though, full of her beloved’s cum as it was. Once her throat was clear, she smiled at him smugly as she twirled her tongue around the tip of his member like a lollipop. Enjoying the new additions to his taste, her blood and bodily fluids as well as his cum.

“Simple. I love the pain.” She told him in answer to his earlier question. “The heat, the bubbling of my skin, the feeling of my insides burning? I relish it.” 

Her mate shook his head, making his fiery mane spark around them. “You are a masochist.” 

“Yep~!” She grins with her damaged jaw and went back to sucking him. 

However, Thunderleg neighed and jerked his member out of her mouth before smacking her face with it.

“Enough foreplay!” He growled. “Get rid of those silly panties of yours and grab a tree. It’s time I got the real prize.”

Tanya pouted. She liked foreplay, but whatever. She stood up and smiled as she undid the ties on the sides of her panties, letting them go free. She held up her soaked through lingerie and waved it in front of Thunderleg’s nose. 

“Proud, sweetheart? You did this to me, you know?” She teased.

“Yes, yes, now bend over and grab a tree already.” He snorted impatiently, flames coming out of his nostrils. “Time I take responsibility.”

Boo, someone’s in a mood~

“Yes dear,” Tanya said as she walked over to the sturdiest looking tree in the clearing and wrapped her slender arms around it.

Wiggling her tush in the air, she sing-songed, “Come and get it~”

Her mate needed no such encouragement. With one swift motion born of long practice, he mounted her and began fucking her so hard that if she hadn’t been gripping the tree she’d likely have been sent flying. His every thrust sent her slamming into the trunk of the tree and her desperate grip on it sent splinters into her arms, all adding to the fantastically delectable pain of his member tearing her pussy apart with his sheer size and the ferocity of his thrusts.

“Please, yo-you know I love it.” Tanya hissed and grunted, feeling her flesh slice and flay from the rough tree even as she pushed back against her lover, impaling herself with each of his strokes in a signal of her own enthusiastic consent.

By the time they would be done, it’d be the smoothest tree in the States. 

“Ruin me! Defile this little girl body, you horny stallion! Make me your broodmare! Knock me up with your baby batter! Do it forever and ever!” Tanya rambled as the heady mix of pleasure and pain steadily built to a familiar crescendo.

One that as it grew nearer, her screams grew increasingly slurred. Until at last, she peaked and screamed her wordless ecstasy to the high heavens. Thunderleg came shortly afterwards, filling her abused womb with his cum. But even as they came down from their orgasms, they didn’t stop. 

With their passion filling the air of the clearing and acting as their fuel, they made love practically non-stop all the way into the night and until the sun rose the next day. By the end of it, Tanya was slumped against the third tree they needed to use, One that thanks to them, looked ready to fall over. Her stomach was a bloated pot belly from the amount of spunk filling her compact form. Yet even so, a near never ending torrent of white jizzum spilled from between her youthful legs long after they’d finished. Skin streaked in sweat, blood and raw flesh, Tanya’s face was that of the perfect ahegao. 

But despite her appearance, mad giggles escaped her as she luxuriated in the afterglow of the vicious trip to Pound Town Thunderleg sent her to. 

Her hand stroked her fat belly, softly cooing. “It’s so sad, that something so taboo is the only normalcy I can have in this cursed unlife.”

“You cool babe?”

“Just give me a good night kiss, you stud horse.” She demanded with a slight slur in her speech. 

And before she got it, Tanya passed out flat. The intensity of their lovemaking finally catching up to her. It was well worth it though, in her opinion.

Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!

Man, now this was a chapter huh boys and girls? Tanya and Paradigm really got some crazies in this latest batch. Soteria, goddess of safety, Electryone, child of Helios and Rhodes and goddess of dawn, and Bendis, the rustic huntress and one of the lunar deities before Artemis just swallowed that domain. FYI, Soteria was my fav. A little nuts, but still kind of nice, ya know?

Nameless: Same, she turned out great. Though, just so you know we didn’t set out for this set of faded gods to all be ladies. We considered a few guys like Attis but dismissed them for various reasons, such as Attis having in recent times become a demon associated with the occult which means that he wouldn’t have faded.

On another note, hope you liked how we handled the Lillies. They’re basically our version of the Waystation. And honestly I think it makes a little more sense. The Waystation seemed a little too contrived and OP (just look at the resources it had! They had a pair of Griffins!) for something that Campers had never even heard about. As such, our version starts off more humbly. Whether it’ll end up just as insane? Well, you’ll have to wait and see.

E4E: The fight was fun and honestly, it was sheer coincidence that we had made a fortification sundering spell for Rhode’s bigger enemies that she could use to make Soteria’s defeat happen. Like, we were mind blown after we picked her. 5D chess boys! That is how you fanfic! And once more, a salute to the lovely ladies of flowers, the Lillies! And peace to Micheal. At least we saw him die rather than him just being a statistic in canon. 

Nameless: So for those of you who are wondering what Tanya and Thunderleg got up to before the start of the chapter, you can hop over to the AO3 version of this fic as there is a canon omake that details what happened written over there. 

Before we sign off, I just wanted to address the anti-Su hate that the AN in the last chapter stirred up. Here’s what I have to say:

1. It seems like everyone is ignoring that Rhode has chosen two options for a romantic partner. Jack or Su. Jack is the “lesser evil” in that context. Unless her loved ones want to ignore Rhode's freedom of choice/free will, they've to work with what they've got. It’s not like Rhode didn’t have other options but she’s settled for these two. I don’t know about you but Rhode would be deeply insulted if any of her friends or family suddenly tossed someone new at her and advocated she get together with that person instead, which is what Su’s detractors seem to want them to do. Never mind that doing so is realistically going to lead to Rhode starting to lose trust in her friends and family. Is that what they want?
2. We’ve not received any convincing arguments for Su as being as bad as she’s described by her detractors. At worse she comes across to us as someone relegated to the friendzone that’s still hoping for a chance and taking steps to try to secure that chance. Even if Su is as bad as her detractors say, what has she done that makes her a bad romantic partner? All she’s really done is talk about how she wants and/or is destined to be with Rhode. When she has done anything to further her pursuit of Rhode it’s been perfectly acceptable for a romantic gesture. People smack talk all the time, it serves to foster their own confidence and hype them up. It’s what they do that really counts. Does that make her perfect? Of course not! Heck, there might have even been instances where she crossed the line that I failed to recall. But again, she’s not perfect. But that’s the point as I’ll elaborate next.
3. The Su detractors also repeatedly insist they prefer Rhode end up with someone “healthy” or “wholesome”. That comes across to us as sounding like they want her to have a perfect romance and partner straight out of a fairytale. If they want to see our attempt at a fairytale romance or close to it, go read TETW. With Rhode we want to write something else and so she ends up with a flawed but ultimately good, in our opinion, partner in Su. If that’s not what they’re here for, my best recommendation is to read something else.
4. Related to the previous point, let me just emphasize something that should be obvious. This is our story. It means we get to decide what we include or don’t include in the story. It means criticism must convince us before we consider whether/how to work any suggestion(s) into our story, after all please recall that we publish this fic for free and therefore have no obligation to kowtow to anyone but ourselves. If not and the criticism with the same reasoning is repeated then it is just undue, especially if it is repeated again and again thus becoming demands, and thus it is entirely reasonable for us to be defensive in the face of it.

This will hopefully be the last time we address this issue. We will attempt to ignore any further talk about how Su is supposedly awful for Rhode and as a character/person. We request that our readers do the same.

So if anyone was wondering, the AN is out here for this chapter because it got too long for the system. Hope nobody minds.

E4E: You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Fifteen: Path of Self-Destruction

Beta: ShadowofAxios

Trigger warnings: Dubious Consent, Rape(?)

“Alright, we’re all here. Let’s get this meeting started already.” Zeus grumbled as the last of the Olympian Twelve took their seats on their thrones in the Hall of the Gods on Olympus. “What is this all about, Poseidon?”

“It’s about time! You know , brother, that I have been trying to call for a meeting for months to discuss the situation at Camp Half-Blood.”

“Is this what this is about?” Zeus said dismissively. “We discussed this alrea-”

“And those discussions were hardly to my satisfaction!” Poseidon said, cutting his brother off bluntly. “And if that is the case again, I will do something rash.”

“I agree with Poseidon,” Demeter said, glaring at Zeus. “We need to discuss what happened and is happening in earnest and not just brush it aside as we have thus far.”

“You’re only saying that because of the Tantalus angle.” Zeus shot back at their sister.

“I will not deny it.” Demeter admitted. “But Poseidon’s point still stands. We need to discuss this properly.”

“Yes,” Poseidon said in a ominous hiss, Olympus shuddering at his barely restrained anger. “Unless Dionysus is held to account by the Council for his recent treatment of my daughter at last, I will be forced to gain my satisfaction through other means.”

“Poseidon,” Zeus said, his eyes narrowed. “Are you really threatening war over a half-blood?” 

“I damned well am!” Poseidon said, his voice glacial.

“You do realize that threatening Dionysus over this is tantamount to questioning my authority? Which means it’ll be a war with me as well and not just him?”

“I know.” Poseidon confirmed. “You put Dionysus in Camp after all and as self-centred and petty as you are, you’ll see questioning Dionysus’s actions there as an assault on yourself. So I made my ultimatum having already factored the likelihood of war with you into my calculations.”

“You have, have you?” Zeus growled, lightning arcing off his body as he glared at his brother.

Poseidon did not back down and met his brother’s sparking gaze with an unwavering one of his own.

“Oi,” Dionysus said, cutting in and interrupting the staring contest even as he rolled his eyes. “Why by the Pit are you so angry Uncle Poseidon?

“You beat up my daughter-”

“After she challenged me.” Dionysus reminded him, his eyes narrowed. “In a place that is under my authority, and hence is my domain . And even then all I did was smack her around a little, even had the courtesy to send her flying into the ocean so she could heal. Can you say you’d do the same Uncle to any foolish half-blood who behaved so disrespectfully towards you?”

“No,” Poseidon growled. “So, you were restrained then. But what about what you did setting Rhode up with that Overland boy. What you did there was unforgivable.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Aphrodite tittered even as Poseidon leveled a glare at her.

“Believe it or not, Uncle, I did that for the girl’s sake.” Dionysus said with a tired sigh. “Here, see for yourself!”

With a wave of his hand, the wine god sent a pair of images that Poseidon immediately recognised from their quality as prescient glimpses of the future. Something that all gods had from time to time. Though that understanding just filled him with horror as he processed just what the images were.

Poseidon felt like he had been struck in the gut by one of the Hekatonkheires. The first image burned in his eyes as he looked at his sweet, spirited daughter chained and collared like an animal. Naked as the day she was brought into the world and forced to kneel beside a throne of rubble that Luke Castellan sat upon, leash in hand. 

He trembled, rage, bile and even more rage warred within him as he felt his domain churn and a tsunami or two was created. He couldn’t care at the moment. 

The first, horrid image faded, thank Mother, and was replaced with Rhode, clothed, happy and looking barely any older than what she was now. Holding a swaddled babe in her arms with a tuft of snow white hair and sea green eyes. 

Hair that reminded him of that Overland boy. 

And that may have set off an earthquake in California. He’d have to apologize to Hades later. He still wanted to kill something though. Hopefully he could find someone dumb and needed punishment. Whalers were good targets for that. Yeah, whalers. 

Dionysus, the snide little asshole that he was, looked at him with a bored expression. “As you can see, it was either or. I went with the lesser of the two evils. You are welcome.” 

“Are there no other options?” Poseidon asked, practically begging.

“Sadly no, Uncle.” Apollo said, shaking his head. “I can vouch for Dionysus’ vision based on my mantle as the God of Prophecy.”

“I- Right, thank you for your vigilance.” He said, tone low as his heart felt like it was breaking. The hard path his little princess was on was a terrible one. 

And for him as well. 

“Jack, I told you that I wanted to stay away from you.” Rhode told the white haired boy as they stood across from each other in the empty Dining Pavilion late one night in winter.

“Yeah? Then why did you come tonight? Why didn’t you just throw the note asking you to come into the bin or a fire when you received it?” Jack asked with a knowing smirk. “You know you can’t stay away.”

Why didn’t I? Rhode thought to herself as she recalled how she’d instead hidden the note she’d received via one of the unclaimed Cabin Eleven kids from her friends. The moment she’d realised it was from Jack… It was like all her promises to stay away from him vanished and she just had to read it, and knowing her friends wouldn’t like it if she did, she’d hid it from them. Then when she’d found it was a request for them to meet up for a date… Rhode just couldn’t resist.

“I-”

“Ssh!” Jack said as he walked over and cupped Rhode’s face. “You don’t have to say anything. I know what you want.”

“W-What?”

“This.” Jack said with a smarmy smile as he pulled her into a kiss that despite her misgivings Rhode couldn’t help but enjoy.

This is wrong… But I just can’t resist him...

“Argh, why can’t he take a hint and just slow down a little?” Rhode griped to herself as she walked back to her Cabin from her latest date with Jack a month after their date in the Dining Pavilion. 

With everyone, except strangely Mr. D, actively working against their relationship, their dates, whenever Jack could wheedle her into one, had been clandestine affairs that saw them sneaking off to secluded parts of Camp, usually but not always the woods, together. 

Seriously, did he ever hear about how being pushy was a fucking turn off?

It was like he was trying to have them fail as a couple!

Though the things we get up to are wonderful! Rhode had to admit to herself. Despite what she’d promised her family and herself, and much to her own chagrin, Jack had repeatedly managed to get her into doing all kinds of things with him. 

Does this mean I’m slutty or just a bit raunchy? I mean, Poseidon is my dad so it’s not weird, right? It’s just a healthy appreciation. Yeah. Rhode concluded before shaking her head to clear it and focus on the important thing right now. That’s not the point! The point is he needs to cool it and just accept that I’m not ready to go all the way dammit!

“Rhode!” Su said suddenly and Rhode almost jumped out of her skin as she turned to face the daughter of Demeter as she stalked towards her from the direction of the woods. Though thankfully not from the direction where Rhode and Jack had their rendezvous earlier.

“Oh, hey Su.” Rhode greeted warmly. Even if things were a touch strained between them… Su made her feel jumbly inside. “What were you doing out in the woods so late?”

“Collecting some plants that only flower at night for potion-making.” Su said, lifting the wicker basket full of the herbs she’d picked. “What about you? Sneaking off to see Jack again?”

“I, uh, was just taking a walk.”

“Liar,” Su accused, a pretty pout on her face. “Rhode, honestly can’t you just stay away from him? Do we really need to charm your Cabin so you can’t get out at night?”

“Don’t you dare!” Rhode hissed, recoiling at the mere suggestion. One of the more extreme ones that had been raised by her friends and family to keep her away from Jack. “Besides, I know what I said before, but I can’t just give up on him okay? I just can’t!”

“Rhode, we know that. That’s why we’re trying to keep you two apa-”

“So we can’t be happy together!?” Rhode shot back, not really even believing her own words and driven mainly by a desire to just be right. To win the argument. 

It was petty. Extremely so. But after how downbeat Jack had made her feel, she needed the win. She needed to feel like she was in charge.

“And are you two really happy together, Rhode?” Su asked pointedly.

Rhode had no answer to that. None that wasn’t a lie anyway, so she just turned away from Su.

“This conversation is over!” She declared as she stalked away.

Maybe I should give in to Jack after all! That’ll show these naysayers! Rhode told herself, ignoring the quiet whisper at the back of her mind that asked whether that’ll be true at all.

Rhode was dreaming once more, she could tell as much through the blurred edges of her vision as she walked back from the Canoeing Lake to the courtyard between the Cabins in the dream version of Camp.

“Huh, what’s with the crowd?” Rhode asked, as she saw the gathering of Campers in the courtyard.

“Didn’t you hear? Jack’s dead.”

“About time.”

“Seriously, he was freaking out all the new kids.”

“Maybe we’ll get some peace.” 

“W-What did you say?” Rhode asked in horror as she turned to look at who was saying such awful things and found nothing but blank faces. Literally. Despite being dressed like Campers, the crowd of people she was standing in was full of nothing but faceless people.

So ignoring them and the increasingly hurtful things they were saying about Jack, Rhode muscled her way through them to the centre of the crowd and what they were all standing around. Something that to her horror turned out to be a pyre. 

A pyre with a very familiar body lying on top of it.

“Jack? Jack’s dead!?” Rhode cried out in horror as she saw her boyfriend’s dead body lying atop the pyre. He looked oh so handsome dressed up in his best clothes as he was and with the beautifully stitched cloak laid over his body. 

But Rhode hated it. Absolutely hated it!

Because it was Jack’s funeral clothes.

And then the pyre burned. And burned and reached high into the sky as smoke choked the air. 

Rhode could only watch, helpless, lost and fearful. 

“Jack!” She screamed as she shot awake inside Cabin Three.

Not that where she was registered immediately. It took her a moment of glancing around her for her to appreciate that the nightmare she’d just experienced wasn’t real. That said…

“I need to find Jack!” She declared as she threw off her comforter and hurried out of her bed.

Without so much as throwing on a robe over her bedclothes, a simple comfy nightgown that Triton had given her as a present, she rushed out of her Cabin to find her boyfriend. Thankfully, it was easy enough to do so. 

“Rhode!” He shouted the moment she stepped out of her front door and he ran over from Cabin Eleven. “Oh thank the gods that you’re okay!”

“I should be the one saying that. Wait! Why are you saying that?”

“I had a dream-”

“One where we'll never see each other again?” Rhode asked, horrified as she thought back to her own dream of his own death.

“Yeah.” Jack said with a pained look on his face. “We were out on a date in some city and we were at a pedestrian crossing. When the light turned green, you crossed just fine but when I tried to follow I found I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t follow. And as I struggled, my surroundings suddenly shifted and next thing I know I’m on Charon’s boat and sailing down the Styx.”

“It won’t happen. We won’t let it.” Rhode said with determination, ignoring the churning of her gut telling her she might not be able to do anything about it. 

If they both had a dream where Jack died… Then there was a good chance it was prophetic. And whilst the details of how the prophesied outcome might come about or even what that outcome might be wasn’t always clear, such visions were never wrong.

“You had one too?” Jack asked, alarmed. His pale lips puckered in worry. 

Rhode nodded and pulled Jack into a hug. 

He’s still here. He’s not dead. Not dead, thank the gods. Her mind rambled as her strong arms tightened around him. 

Her ears picked up at the soft pounding of hooves on gravel and the couple turned to see Chiron trotting over. A candy stripe night robe hanging over his frame and draping his flank.

“I am unsure why you two would be out this early in the morning, but no matter.” He said, judgement written all over his face. The daughter of Poseidon felt a flush of embarrassment take over her face. “Rhode, get dressed please. We need you at the Big House.”

“Uh, sure. Got it, Chiron.” Rhode nodded and headed off back to her cabin to dress with more modesty.

“So Chiron wants to send you on a mission?” Jack asked as he and Rhode walked out into the woods that night for their clandestine date.

“Yeah,” Rhode said with a nod. “He wants me to go over to some military academy in Bar Harbor, Maine called Westover Hall to help Grover pick up a pair of sibling demigods that he discovered there. Apparently, the Titans’ forces were spotted in the region and he thinks that Grover needs some backup.”

“You sure that you’re needed for this?” Jack asked skeptically. “It sounds like busy work that someone else could be doing instead. You’re a counselor after all.”

“It’s not my decision to make.” She replied with a shrug. “It’s Chiron’s and he’s already decided to send me. More importantly, I’m worried about our dreams last night. They might have something to do with this mission. The timing is worrying.”

“Yeah, it is.” Jack agreed with a frown.

“And that’s why I want to make tonight count.” Rhode said as they walked into a clearing that would be perfect for what she had in mind.

“What do you mean?”

Rather than answering, Rhode just looked around them and nodded when she saw that they were deep enough into the woods for it to be unlikely for them to have company. Just to be sure though, she pulled out her wand and quickly cast Protego totalum, the Muffliato Charm, Cave inimicum, and the Disillusionment Charm over the small clearing that they were in.

“Rhode, what are you doing?”

The right thing I hope. Rhode thought to herself even as she shot Jack what she thought was a comely smile.

Rhode dropped her wand into the pocket of her shorts and then grabbing the hem of her Camp tee, she pulled it off and tossed it aside.

"You wanted to go all the way, didn’t you?” Rhode said in answer as with only the slightest hesitation, she unhooked her bra and threw it on top of where her tee had landed. “Well, now I want to too.”

Nervously, she covered her breasts with her arm. Her throat feeling dry and her feet burning to leave. But she quashed the thought. If the dream she and Jack shared was prophetic like she feared it was, this might be the only chance she had to do this with him. She had to take it.

So instead of leaving, she kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her shorts. Her green eyes darted to look up at him, unsure if she should go fast or slow. Her heart pounding in her chest. 

“Rhode are you sure?” Jack asked, looking at her with a mixture of want and questioning. 

No. Rhode thought, even as she said the opposite. “Yes, I am.”

To prove that point, she let her arm covering her breasts drop and she grabbed the waistband of both her shorts and panties at once and pulled them off, tossing them to join the pile that the rest of her clothes had already made.

With her neatly trimmed pubic hair on display, she felt awkward, standing there completely naked and vulnerable. 

“Y-You’re overdressed, Jack.” Rhode said in an attempt at being coquettish, her hands behind her back as she leaned forward towards him and putting herself on display. Blushing all the while and just barely managing to fight off the urge to cover herself.

This is how it works, right? Fuck, magazines are so full of shit. I’m doing this wrong. 

“G-Give me a minute!” The son of Khione said with a gulp as he hastily began stripping off his clothes.

Rhode nodded, impatiently waiting for her boyfriend to get naked. 

The sooner he is, the sooner this gets done. A traitorous part of her mind thought and that once again Rhode ignored. She ignored it hard. 

It wasn’t easy to do so though, so when Jack’s penis popped out of his boxers as he tugged it down, she just had to act. She needed to do something. Anything. Or she’d run.

So she walked over, took hold of the already erect member in her hands, caressing it even as she knelt down in front of it and kissed the tip.

“No time for that!” Jack said, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her onto her back. “I can’t wait for foreplay!”

Oof! Rhode thought as a surge of mild pain rippled across her body as her back impacted with the hard ground. She bit down on her lip to silence the cry before it left her mouth though. She refused to let anything spoil the mood. As such she said nothing as Jack slammed her back into the ground again, sending another jolt of pain through her, as he pinned her to the ground.

“If that’s what you want...” Rhode said, with what she hoped was a sultry smile as she once more took hold of her boyfriend’s member and lined it up with her vagina. Her surprisingly dry vagina. Not to say, she wasn’t wet. She was. But it wasn’t anywhere near enough for it to be comfortable for even fingers, much less…

But I don’t want this to last any longer than it has to.

“S-Sorry, it’s just, fuck. Rhode, you’re way too hot.”

“Thanks, Jack.” Rhode said insincerely. “So ready?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Jack asked with a coy smirk that had Rhode’s stomach churning in disgust. He was acting like a Jack ass at the moment. “But if you are, then yes.”

Rhode offered him a reassuring smile and trembling slightly she guided Jack inside her.

Shiiit! Rhode screamed in her head, teeth grit in pain at the penetration. It was like she was having a friction burn inside her vagina. Her hymen had burst long ago from all the physical activity she got up to, so it wasn’t a problem but the whole thing was still uncomfortable as hell. Jack wasn’t the widest or longest dick Rhode knew about but it was the first inside her and it filled her out, stretched her body in a way that was unfamiliar and frankly didn’t feel good. And that rubbed her the wrong way.

“You okay babe?” Jack asked, actually sounded concerned. “I’m okay for you?”

“Yeah,” Rhode lied. “You can, um, move now.”

Jack smiled and began thrusting into her. Each thrust was more painful than the last. Their under lubricated genitals chafing against each other each time. But Rhode gave no sign of it, instead continuing to encourage Jack along.

“T-that’s it Jack.” She cooed, or tried to, as she hid a wince. “Harder. Pump harder!”

“As you command, Princess.”

She couldn’t help it, wincing in pain openly from each thrust but hiding it each time with some kind words for Jack instead. Thankfully, as they kept going her body started reacting and grew increasingly moist, easing the pain but Rhode could still feel the rawness inside of her. There was none of the pleasure that sex was supposed to be about.

Not with how frequent the gods went about it. 

In fact, things were just about to become okay when suddenly Jack called out.

“Oh Shit! Rhode, I’m cumming! I’m cumming!”

Rhode’s eyes widened and she shouted at Jack urgently.

“W-Wait, pull, ah, pull it out!”

“Too late!” Jack said as he tried to pull out but was only halfway when with a grunt, he unleashed his load. Whilst still inside her!

“Jack, the fuck!” Rhode shouted at him, eyes stinging with tears as she felt the churning warmness inside of her. It oozed, it was weird, slimy and she just did not like it. 

“Sorry, Rhode.” Jack said as he pulled out of Rhode fully. Like it was just a small mistake that he had just cummed inside her. “I couldn’t help it.”

She glared at him, upset and glowering. 

“You could have!” She shouted as she pushed Jack off her.

After the shock of Jack orgasming inside her, all her restraint evaporated. And ignoring as her boyfriend offered his apologies, feeling his cum dribbling down her legs, she went to grab her wand. 

Shit! Really should’ve learned how to cast the Morning After Charm. Rhode thought to herself angrily as she settled for a Vanishing Spell to clean the jizz off her body, before she hastily began getting dressed. I hope that’s enough.

“I’m going to bed.” Rhode said as she slipped on the last of her clothes, her Camp tee, knowing her spellcraft was not enough. She could still feel some of Jack’s cum inside her. 

“Rhode, wait! I’m really sorry! You don’t need to leave. We can-”

“No! No, I opened myself up to you, trusted you and, and-!” She stammered out angrily, but couldn’t say more. She just felt too confused and upset and really wanted to kill something! 

And I shouldn’t have done this at all! Or at least insisted he used a condom. 

She refused to accept blame for this though. This was Jack’s fault! All his fault!

It was his fault that she was feeling awful, used, dirty and just disgusted with herself.

This was a complete mistake. I-I can’t deal with this anymore. 

Thus ignoring Jack’s continuing pleas, Rhode fled back to Cabin Three desperate to get as far away from him as she could.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Sixteen: The Westover-Othrys Connection 

Beta: ShadowofAxios

Rhode had arrived at Westover with Thalia, Percy and Annabeth after a long trip by train and then a drive by rental car driven by Rhode just in time for the military academy’s winter dance. Thankfully, Grover had warned them about the event beforehand and they’d all brought formal wear and so managed to blend in easily enough.

“All right, now that we’re all changed and don’t stick out like a sore thumb. Here’s your orders,” Rhode said. Being the senior Camper on the mission, she was naturally in charge. “We go in there and mingle with the other dancers whilst looking for the di Angelo kids that Grover mentioned. Find him and liaise with him if possible. Keep on the lookout for monsters though. If the di Angelos are half-bloods like us then they’ll be here too.”

“Dance partners?” Annabeth asked, in full on quest mode, even if she looked cute as a button in her outfit. 

“Thalia and I, and my favorite little couple on their own. Try not to cow eye each other though. Got it?” Rhode teased as she smiled at the sputtering couple. 

It was just too precious. 

Shaking her head, Rhode got back into the game. She held out her arm to Thalia and smiled. 

“My lady~” She said with a courtly tone. 

Thalia rolled her eyes at that, but gamefully took Rhode’s hand and allowed her to lead her into the hall, Annabeth and Percy following behind them similarly hand in hand.

The hall inside was pretty big, about half as big as the Great Hall back in Hogwarts and was thoroughly decorated for the occasion with streamers and the like. Long tables had been set up along the sides of the hall laden with food and drink, whilst smaller cocktail tables were dotted around the edges to allow dancers to gather around. The whole central part of the hall had been left empty and was serving as a dance floor with the music provided alternatively by what looked like the student orchestra seated on the stage and a DJ set up to one side.

At the moment, kids and even some of the teachers were dancing to a classical number being performed by the orchestra, though many of them, mostly but not only the students, looked stiff as boards doing so. Some kids were drinking punch, awkwardly speaking with their same gender friends, almost frightened to go speak to the opposite sex. And most strangely there was a gaggle of girls running around, teasing some boys with kisses and beads like a swarm of piranha. 

I was never that nuts as a tween, right? Rhode pondered as she and Thalia headed for the dance floor. 

As the current song ended and the orchestra prepared to begin the next number, Rhode and Thalia slipped seamlessly into the throng of dancers as they arrayed themselves for a waltz.

Taking dancing lessons down in Atlantis had been a lifesaver, as Rhode was easily able to take the lead, pulling Thalia along slowly with easy to follow steps. Thalia fumbled a bit, but was quick on the uptake. 

“We’ll let Percy and Annabeth scout the perimeter,” Rhode told Thalia as she led her sister through the beginning steps of the waltz. “We’ll see what we can see from the dance floor. But try to be discreet.”

“Right,” Thalia said as she tried not to be obvious as she eyed their surroundings. And failing miserably.

Not helped, Rhode was sure, by the way everyone seemed to have eyes on them as they danced. Whilst it wasn’t uncommon for a pair of girls to dance together, as friends if nothing else, it wasn’t exactly normal either. Not for an intimate waltz at least.

Still. Thalia really needs to work on being more discreet. Rhode thought as she pulled Thalia closer, turning them around as she took her turn scanning the crowd. Succeeding to be much more discreet than Thalia had.

“Anything?” She whispered softly against Thalia’s ear. Her sister made a negative grunt in reply before they pulled apart and continued dancing through the crowd. 

At least she’s got her dancing down. Rhode mused, happy that Thalia wasn’t stumbling over her steps any more and causing her to accidentally step on her feet. Or trip them. Or any number of accidents the daughter of Zeus caused when she’d taught her to dance on the trip over to Westover.

“I’ve spotted them.” Thalia said as Rhode twirled her. “They’re over by the punch bowl on the left side. Close to the bleachers.”

“Good, we’ll blend with the crowd some more and dance our way over to them.” Rhode said as she eyed the two young children, a girl and a younger boy, with olive skin and silky dark hair.

According to Grover, who Rhode spotted watching the two kids from a short distance away and having a whispered discussion with Percy and Annabeth who had apparently found him, the two were the potential demigods they were here to assess and if they were like them, recruit. And at a glance, Rhode was feeling sure that her old friend had been right about the two Italian kids. They radiated power. Muted due to them not knowing who they were but it was still there prickling slightly at Rhode’s senses. The thin layer of Mist that clung to them was yet another dead giveaway. Rhode wasn’t much of a mystiokinetic to be honest but she had enough skill with the art to tell that much.

I’m not seeing many striking features on them that can let me guess at their divine parent though. So maybe a minor god? But they wouldn’t feel that strong if that was the case, not unless it’s a particularly powerful one. She thought, going over all the traits she knew from the various demigods at Camp. 

Rhode was still pondering the matter and carefully guiding herself and Thalia towards the edge of the dance floor nearest the di Angelos, hoping to make it seem like they were headed for the punch bowl the kids were standing next to when an adult walked over to talk to the two. He must’ve been a teacher. The way the already awfully uncomfortable kids got even more tense at his presence told her as much. 

Though Rhode couldn’t really blame them. The man would have had her on edge if he was her teacher too. He looked like he was trying too hard to act as a soldier and thus came across as what she was sure Percy would have called a "silly wannabe soldier". After a few brief words with the di Angelos, he began to lead the two away. Not, however, before he shot Rhode a malicious grin

Alright, subtlety is going out the window it seems. Rhode frowned at the man as her hand went inside her pocket. 

“Thalia, we have to catch up with them.” Rhode said, as abandoning the pretense of the dance, she let go of Thalia’s arms and began running after the di Angelos and what she was sure was the monster who had led them away, all the while thanking her foresight in picking a dress with a short enough hemline that it didn’t hinder her movement too much.

“That guy was a monster wasn’t he?” Thalia asked as she fell in beside her.

“Yeah, I think so.” Grover confirmed as he and the others likewise joined them as they rushed out of the side door to the hall the di Angelos and their captor had exited out of. “He’s masking his scent. Probably with some magic. So I can’t be sure.”

“Either way, it’s best that we follow them to be sure.” Rhode concluded as they found themselves in a long hallway. “You’ve the kids’ scent?”

“Yeah. It’s unmistakable. Smells like the underground.” Grover said with a nod as he pointed to their right. “They’re this way.”

“Then lead the way, Grover.” Rhode ordered. “We’ve a couple of half-bloods to save.”

The trail led them to Westover’s central courtyard. It was a pretty picturesque place which overlooked a cliff on one side but the scenery was ruined by the sketchy teacher from earlier and a group of men in black tactical gear armed with assault rifles manhandling the children and trying to force them onto a helicopter

Pulling out Spellbound, she pointed it at the slowly swirling blades of the helicopter and cast, “ Confringo !” 

The fiery orange light of her spell hit the rear of the machine, Rhode making sure to avoid the cockpit, and disabled it in a spectacular but controlled explosion. These guys might be kidnappers, but that didn’t mean she wanted to kill them. 

“Get to cover!” Rhode ordered as her hand reached for the belt around her waist. Her thumb was just about to touch the coin that was fitted into the belt buckle, the disguised form of her Pallas Armor. She was confident that it would be more than enough to protect her from the bullets the gunmen were about to shoot her way. 

She was forced to abort the motion though as her instincts screamed and heeding them she threw herself to the side as a small missile of some sort flew past where she was. However, her dive was a little too slow and her belt had been cut from her waist and dropped into the snow. 

She went to use the Summoning Charm to pull it towards her, but a hail of bullets changed her priorities and she instead turned to run for cover. 

No wait! She thought as she glanced around her for suitable cover. Those aren’t bullets shooting at me. They’re spines!

“Manticore! The teacher is a manti-” Rhode heard Percy shout just as the gunmen finally opened up with their guns and the sound of the gunfire drowned him out.

“Shit!” Rhode cursed as she ran for the nearest cover, a concrete neoclassical pavilion but strangely no gunfire was being directed her way. Not even more of what she realised must have been the Manticore’s quills. 

The reason why quickly presented itself as the aforementioned monster leapt in front of her in its full monstrous glory, cutting her off. His human face remained but everything else had changed, as he now sported the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion. All in all, making for a truly grotesque combination.

“Come godling, I wish to taste that flesh of yours. I’ve hadn’t had one of your kind for a long while. Come feed me, Dr. Thorn hungers!” The Manticore sneered with his leonine face. 

“You’re a doctor? I guess they must be giving out PhDs to just about anyone nowadays.” Rhode taunted as she used her Toxikinesis to send two streams of Hydra venom whipping towards the monster from the small fanny pack she’d hidden under the single large bow that decorated the back of her dress.

“My PhD speaks for itself. Now be laid low, child!” He roared and pounced forward and out of the striking arcs of Rhode’s poison whips, his powerful paws digging into the snow as he closed, clearly intent to maul her. 

She prevented his advance with several spear thrusts with Spellbound, managing to take an ear off the beast as she retreated backwards. 

He roared, pawing at his head while his tail flicked forward, sending several spines speeding at her. She pulled at the snow, making it turn to water and then into an ice shield in front of her in nary a second. The spines hit the shield with tremendous force, shattering it like so much glass and keeping their course would’ve pierced right through her if she hadn’t dove out of the way.

“What-?!”

“My spines are hypersonic, godling. Did you think such a thin barrier of ice would stop them?”

She spun her weapon towards him and channeled her powers. In response, shards of the broken ice shield flew at the manticore. He flicked his spiny tail again, most of the spines hitting the large shards of ice and shattering them into harmless pieces, but several sank into his flesh.  

He roared in pain and went to pounce once more, but Rhode was ready for him. She gathered up all the snow around her into large stakes as she turned them solid. It caught the Manticore mid-pounce, but his powerful forelimbs snapped at them, batting the icy stakes out of the way as he continued his course. 

“Not so easy, you fake doctor.” Rhode snarked as she leapt back, her jump assisted by the runes she’d stitched into the soles of her flats. She’d known a fight in her formal wear was a possibility and so had made sure to prepare them accordingly. It was this precaution that allowed her to avoid the vicious swipe of the Manticore as he landed and create a safe distance between them.

“My PhD is completely legitimate!” The Manticore roared angrily, sending another barrage of his spines her way that Rhode used a Protego to deflect as she ran at the Manticore from the side in a bid to flank it.

He cut her off by slamming his tail into the ground, forcing her to leap back from him once again.

Shit! I’m not having much luck with this guy. Though by the way that the sound of the nearby gunfire was dying down, her family was having much better luck. A fact that made the daughter of Poseidon smile. 

“Looks like my friends managed to take out your goons.” 

Thorn chuckled, making a sense of uneasy wash over her. “Do you think I only brought one team on this mission? Unlike you, girl, we have numbers on our side. And a sizable number of disposable troops!” 

As if on cue, which was total bulllshit, the veil of magical silence that had kept them hidden was broken and the roar of two new helicopters filled the air as they rose up from behind the nearby cliff. 

“Shit!” Rhode cursed as despite the risks, she turned her attention away from the Manticore and leveled Spellbound at the new arrivals whose nose mounted miniguns were already spinning up to spit lead at her family and the di Angelos which were all scampering for cover.

“Confringo!” She cast at the nearest of the two helicopters, blasting it out of the sky heedless of its human occupants. She was in no position to worry about the lives of those who had sold their services to the enemy. 

She was still turning towards the other machine when she felt one of the manticore’s poisoned quills stab her in the back. She felt the poison surge supernaturally fast through her body through her Toxikinesis but had no time to do anything about it, instead she focused her attention on casting the blasting spell on the other helicopter.

“Confrin-”

The green eyed girl never finished the spell as- seemingly too impatient to let its poison do its work- the Manticore swung its tail at Spellbound. Normally Rhode would have been able to react in time, but distracted as she was by focusing on her spell and weakened by the poison flooding her veins, she was unable to do anything as the monster’s tail knocked her weapon clean out of her hands.

Nor could the daughter of Poseidon do anything more than struggle feebly, the poison taking its toll as the Manticore knocked her over. She struggled but could do nothing as she felt the back of her dress be snatched up in the maw of the monster and she was lifted off the ground. Her head spun and the next thing she knew, she felt her body slam into metal, making her see stars.

The last thing she saw as the poison finally knocked her out was the sight of her family helplessly looking on, as they rushed out of their cover and the helicopter let up on its unrelenting suppressive fire to turn and fly away.

As the helicopter carrying his kidnapped sister disappeared from view as whatever magic it used to keep itself hidden until it made its appearance earlier was once more used to cover its getaway, all Percy could do was watch in cold, impotent fury.

“Dammit! Why can’t I hit it!” Thalia shouted from nearby as she shot yet another lightning bolt in the general direction of the long gone machine.

“Thalia, it’s gone. You have to stop.” Annabeth said, trying to calm the other girl down.

Percy ignored them, he had faith that his girlfriend would be able to calm her sister down eventually. In the meantime, he glanced at Grover who had gathered the di Angelos and was explaining things to the shellshocked siblings. 

Demigod 101. Talk about not fun.

That attempt at his typical humor felt hollow and weak even to him. But with his sister taken by the enemy, who could blame him?

Shaking his head to dismiss such dark thoughts, he walked over to pick up Rhode’s things. Her belt and Spellbound’s disguised spyglass form. 

“Rhode,” he said more to himself than anyone as he clutched his sister’s precious belongings in his hands. “I’ll rescue you. No matter what it takes. I swear this on the Styx.”

It was to the sound of the supernatural thunder of his oath that a small army of young women dressed in silver parkas suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Seated at the back of the bus that Lord Apollo’s chariot had transformed into after Lady Artemis had called him in and requested he give her family, the di Angelos and the Lady’s Hunters a lift back to Camp, Annabeth kept herself busy and away from dark thoughts by trying to glare a hole through Bianca di Angelo’s head.

Much to her utter fury, the stupid little girl had chosen to become a Hunter of Artemis!

Sure it was undoubtedly an honor, all Hunters were personally chosen by the goddess herself and she did not make the offer to just anyone. Annabeth herself had been greatly honored to have received it alongside Thalia and Bianca after Lady Artemis had belatedly shown up to help them with the Manticore and his mortal minions. But it was the reason that the younger girl had accepted that infuriated the daughter of Athena.

The Italian girl hadn’t outright spelled out her reasoning of course, but Annabeth was a daughter of wisdom and she could read between the lines. When Lady Artemis had made the offer to her, all Bianca had asked was about whether it would free her from her responsibilities. And since she had only one real responsibility, that meant freeing her from her brother .

Considering how Annabeth’s sister had just been kidnapped, that she’d take special affront to someone doing something as life changing as becoming a Hunter of Artemis for such a reason was no surprise. And that didn’t even take into account the fact that Bianca was a complete neophyte to the demigod life which just made the whole thing all the worse.

“Uh, Annabeth, not to interrupt your brooding or anything, but maybe you should stop Thalia?” Grover said, suddenly pulling the daughter of Athena from her thoughts.

“Thalia? What’s she doing?” Annabeth asked, blinking in confusion.

Grover nodded towards the front of the bus and Annabeth turned to see her sister being goaded into taking the wheel by Lord Apollo.

Her eyes widening at what was likely to happen if the daughter of Zeus did, Annabeth began to shout.

“Thalia, do-!”

She was too late though and before she could even finish her warning, Lord Apollo’s chariot swerved violently to the side and she slammed into Grover as they slid along their bench.

“Ow, ow, my hooves! Stop stepping on my hooves, Annabeth!” 

“I’m sorry, just, buckle up!” She screamed at the top of her lungs and lunged for a seatbelt. “Thalia! Whatever you do, don't kill us!”

“I’m trying!” Thalia shouted back as she had the chariot swerve to the other side as she overcorrected.

“Ah, don’t worry about it! She’s getting the hang of it.” Lord Apollo said airily, ignoring how practically everyone else was practically screaming in fear as Thalia’s erratic driving continued to send them slamming into each other and the sides of the bus with every jerk of the wheel.

No, she won’t! Thalia is terrified of heights! This is a terrible idea! Annabeth thought as she recalled her sister’s ironic and irrational fear. One that was causing her to drive the airborne Sun Chariot like a terrified madwoman as proved by them just blasting through a billboard! Oh gods, we might actually die.

“Lord Apollo, cease this madness!” One of the hunters screamed out from the back. 

“Madness? Come on, stop exaggerating!” 

“I hate heights!” Thalia shouted, sounding terrified. “Lord Apollo! Take the wheel! Please!”

“Nope. The only way to overcome your fears is to face them.” The god said, offering Thalia a very out of place cheeky smile.

“Can she do it when our lives aren’t on the line?” Percy shouted reasonably.

“Oh, where’s the fun in that?” Lord Apollo said, his smile turning mischievous.

Grover bleeped in fear and Annabeth gulped as they both tried to prepare themselves for what was ahead. Exchanging a look, they wordlessly shared a thought. 

We’re so screwed!

Sometimes Annabeth hated being right so often. This was one such occasion as what followed could only be described as some of the most uncomfortable and frightening five minutes of her life.

After a terrifying trip back to Camp thanks to a halpful Lord Apollo, Percy had been the most mobile of their little group. Grover was out cold from the turbulent flight and Annabeth was busy trying to keep Thalia from having a full blown breakdown after being needlessly forced to confront her acrophobia by the sun god. So it was up to him to debrief Mr. D and Chiron about what had happened, during which he’d discovered much to his dismay they already knew what happened and were helpless to do anything. 

Which just pissed Percy off! Chiron he could understand. But Mr. D was a god wasn’t he? Surely he could do something! But he refused and didn’t deign to say why either. The jerk! 

It had taken everything Percy had not to blow up at the wine god for his apathy and only the knowledge that he had to tell his Dad about what happened and he couldn’t do that if Mr. D turned him into a squirrel or some other ridiculous punishment stayed his hand. It hadn’t been easy though.

That was done with though and now was the real hard part.

“Poseidon. Atlantis.” Percy said as he activated an IM using the special spring inside his Cabin.

“Hello Percy.” Dad greeted as the connection was established and his image appeared in the rainbow. An image that showed he was mightily upset, if the angry set of his eyes and the deep furrowing of his brow were any indication. Oh, and let’s not forget how the waters around him were churning violently.

“Hi Dad, so I guess you’ve heard?”

“Yes, your sister has been captured by the Titans.” The Lord of the Seas acknowledged with a nod. “And before you ask, no, I cannot do anything. She’s been taken to Othrys. And unless I storm the mountain, I have no options. But as your dear uncle-”

The way Dad spat out the mention to Zeus told Percy more than he wanted to know about the animosity between them.

“-still refuses to declare war on the Titans, doing so will not only prematurely begin the Second Titanomachy but also spark a civil war between us Olympians. I think even in your anger you can see why that would be a bad idea?”

To hear his Dad confirm it, really made the blow hit all that much harder. Yet his anger surged at how helpless he felt. That Percy couldn’t do anything. It was only slightly assuaged by the knowledge that Dad and the rest of the House of Atlantis were just as helpless. He knew they would move heaven and earth to save Rhode if they could, and if they weren’t doing so then it meant that they couldn’t. So what could a mere half-blood like him do?

“We can’t do anything at all?” 

“For now? No.” Dad told him with an angry shake of his head. “But the opportunity will come, Perseus. It will come soon. And when it does-”

“I’ll take it.” Percy declared without hesitation.

Dad nodded with a hint of a proud smile. “I have faith in you, son. Bring your sister home.”

“I will, Dad. I swear it!”

After talking to his Dad, it was time to visit the stables. Rhode was pretty much the den mother to all of the Camp’s Pegasi. So they deserved to know. So Percy told them everything.

Impossible! Boss Lady couldn’t be captured so easily! She can’t! Flóga shouted in denial, stamping her hoof into the ground of her stall and flapping her wings furiously once he’d finished. She can’t! I don’t believe it! I refuse to believe it!

Rhode’s mount wasn’t the only one losing it though. All the Pegasi were.

Who’s going to feed us what we like!? One mare Percy didn’t know the name of cried out in alarm. Who’s going to spoil us!?

That’s not the big issue! A stallion said, shouting as he paced uneasily in his stall. Who's going to train us and help us pick good riders? Or help us deliver our foals!?

These and a thousand different cries of alarm echoed throughout the stables as the Pegasi panicked.

She does all that? How is she able to do all of that? Percy thought in stunned surprise. He had helped her at times, but it made his heart twist even more since by the way he was hearing about all this for the first time he clearly wasn’t helping enough. 

But now wasn’t the time for him to wallow in his inadequacies. 

“Calm down!” He shouted commandingly, pouring every ounce of the authority he could muster into his words. “All of you! Calm down right now!”

It was like a switch was tripped, immediately the entire previously panicking stable of Pegasi froze before obediently standing straight, as if awaiting orders.

“Now isn’t the time for us to panic. We need to focus on figuring out some way to save Rhode.”

But, Boss, how are we gonna do that? Blackjack asked, looking at him questioningly.

He wasn’t the only one. All the Pegasi were.

Percy really wished he had an answer for the. But he couldn’t.

“W-We’ll figure something out.” He said lamely as he spun around, too ashamed to admit he didn’t know. “Just be patient while we do.”

Without waiting for a reply he walked away. He couldn’t face them. Not without a plan.

Wise Girl, please have something up your sleeve. Percy begged as he headed off in search of his girlfriend. She always had a plan or was cooking one up, surely this time was no different. 

It had to be!

Thalia was dreaming. The blurry edges of her vision were the sure signs of such. Rhode had taught her as much. And the sense of foreboding and weight that surrounded everything told her it was likely a prophetic one. Normally she’d take pride in having mastered something her sister taught her but she couldn’t this time, not when the content of the dream was breaking her heart.

In front of her was Rhode, wrapped in chains and forced to hold up some massive weights over her head. All the while, parts of her were chipping off like she was some living ice sculpture due to the strain. 

Thalia tried to reach out to her sister, offer her some help or comfort or something. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, the scene shifted. Not that what it became was much better.

This time Rhode wasn’t in any visible pain. Instead, she was imprisoned, not that it was that big of an improvement, in a golden cage atop a mountain seemingly made out of raw darkness and looking forlornly out of the bars of the cage as she sung the opening verse of Madonna’s Rescue Me .

“ I'm talking, I'm talking. I believe in the power of love. I'm singing, I'm singing, I believe that you can rescue me.”

Waking up as the last line of the verse left Rhode’s lips, Thalia immediately threw off the sheets of the nice four poster bed that Rhode had bought for her and whilst still dressed in her pajamas consisting of a contrast stripe tee and pants which coincidentally were another gift from her sister, she raced up to the Big House. All the while ignoring how the gravel and wet dew covered grass irritated her bare feet.

Thalia’s pajamas

At the Big House, she was unsurprised to find Jack already there standing just next to its front door and shouting at Chiron who was looking down at him from the wraparound porch.

“Just organize a rescue mission already, you old horse!” The son of Khione demanded. “Rhode’s been the Titans’ prisoner for long enough! Who knows what they’ve done to her already!?”

“Yeah, Chiron. We need to hurry!” Thalia said in between gasps of air as she caught her breath from her run. “I just had a prophetic dream! She’s being tortured! We need to rescue her! Now!”

“A prophetic dream?” Chiron asked, looking at Thalia sharply. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Thalia insisted. “Rhode taught me how to spot the signs!”

“And you’d be right.” Mr. D said as he teleported out from a purple mist to stand next to Chiron. “But it changes nothing.”

Thalia and Jack both opened their mouths to call bullshit but no sounds came out of them.

“It’s too early in the morning for backtalk from a pair of wet behind the ears mortals,” the god said, glaring at them both with his beady bloodshot purple eyes. “So I’ve silenced you. Consider yourselves lucky that’s all I’m doing for ruining my morning.”

“Mr. D-”

“Oh, don’t worry Chiron. It’s just temporary.” The god said with a dismissive wave towards the centaur. “As for you brats, listen clearly because I will only explain this to you once . And you Chiron, better listen too before you go sending our Campers off on missions without consulting us again. Whether the gods decide there’s to be a quest or mission or whatnot is up to us . And any leaders we appoint. Not a pair of emotionally compromised spoiled children and never without our consent. And we’ve decided it’s not time yet. Got it?”

Before Thalia could do anything else, she found herself back in Cabin One apparently having been teleported back there by Mr. D.

“Damn you!” She cursed, her voice apparently having been returned to her as she picked up the nearest object, her pillow, and tossed it against a wall in her frustration.

It was the day before the Capture The Flag game, and Su hated the very idea that Camp activities were continuing unaffected even with Rhode kidnapped by the enemy, and the daughter of Demeter was attending a meeting of the Head Counselors as they brainstormed how they planned to face the Hunters.

“So everyone is clear on the plan?” Sherman Young, Clarisse’s stand in whilst the more senior child of Ares was missing doing who knows what, asked as he eyed everyone in turn, receiving eager nods from everyone.

“We’ll beat the Hunters, doing something Campers have never done before and prove ourselves to the gods and demand a reward.” Su said with burning determination flowing through her veins once everyone had nodded. “And ask that reward to be a mission to rescue Rhode.”

“For Rhode,” Percy said, his face dark and radiating menace as he played with the Pallas Armor coin between his fingers.

“For Rhode!” Everyone chorused with determination.

During the Capture The Flag game, Jack found himself assigned to the team led by Annabeth as they made their way as stealthily as they could towards the Hunter’s flag. And with him being the lynchpin of their plan to win the game no less. It almost made him giddy. That when they won, they’d be able to leverage the victory into a rescue mission for his girlfriend was just icing on top of the cake.

“Still no sign of them?” Jack asked as the daughter of Athena removed her invisibility granting Yankees hat and shook her head whilst stepping out of the undergrowth to join them huddled inside a concealing thicket.

“It’s an ambush.” Her brother Malcolm said with a frown. “But why wait till now to spring it? We’re almost at their flag.”

“Pride.” Travis Stoll, older of the Stoll brothers and co-counselor of the Hermes' Cabin said.

“They want to show off.” Connor, his younger brother and fellow co-counselor of the Hermes' Cabin added.

“Well, we’ll just need to turn the tables on them won’t we?” Jack shot back.

Everyone nodded, determination shining brightly in their eyes.

The remaining distance to the flag was as uneventful as the rest so far, but the group of Athena and Cabin Eleven Campers didn’t let their guard down. They knew full well they were walking into an ambush after all and were just waiting for it to be sprung.

As it happened, it was just as Annabeth, under the invisibility of her magical baseball cap, snuck cautiously into the clearing where the Hunters had planted their flag that the aforementioned immortals chose to fall upon them.

“Got you!” A short girl that didn’t look older than eleven said as the arrow she fired from her perch in the branches of a tree overlooking the clearing successfully knocked Annabeth’s hat clean off her head and made her visible. “You might be invisible but you’re noisy as hell! Your friends too! Get’em girls!”

At that dozens of previously concealed Hunters made themselves known, bows raised with arrows nocked and aimed at every single Camper there. Heck, just with a quick count Jack realised it was more like three arrows per Camper.

“Jack, now!” Annabeth shouted as she pulled out a Celestial Bronze boomerang, of all things, and threw it at the girl that was this group of Hunters’ apparent leader even as she dove out of the way of the Hunter’s arrows.

Jack didn’t need the prompting. As soon as he got a fix on the Hunters, something he’d gotten as soon as they finally dropped whatever bullshit stealth magic they used, thanks to his ability to sense things through the snow that blanketed everything this late in winter, he’d begun channeling his power.

“Get frozen!” He shouted as he flash froze all the Hunters. “It won’t hold for long, Annabeth! Toss me the flag!”

“Here!” The head counselor of Cabin Six said as she tossed the Hunter’s flag his way.

Deftly catching it even as he got onto his staff, he shot off into the sky the moment he had it secure under his right arm. Just in time too, as he was still climbing out of the treetops when the icy prisons he’d trapped the Hunters in shattered and without so much as missing a beat they began shooting arrows his way.

He wasn’t worried though.

This was his season, his element. The Hunters were worthless compared to how much power the cold crisp air granted him. It's my time to shine, suck it you Girl Scouts.

With the boost he got from the season, he was simply too fast and agile for them and he easily zipped and zagged his way through their fire, making a beeline for the creek and victory.

Whilst Jack and Annabeth were stealing the Hunter’s flag, Su was leading her Cabin as part of the team defending the creek that separated the two halves of the Capture The Flag play area and the crossing of which with the flag decided victory.

It was a boring affair so far and a number of her siblings’ attention had started to drift, but a few snaps of Helel’s tendrils had them back on full alert. Didn’t they know how important it was that they won this game? That Rhode’s life might well depend on it? How dare they slack off!?

“Uh, Su,” Miranda said warily. “A runner from the group at our flag just came by with a message. It looks like the Hunters got it and are making their way over here. We need to hold them off until the others can converge on our location.”

“Got it, Miranda. Thank you.” Su said with a brisk nod, before raising her voice to address the rest of her Cabin. “You heard Miranda. We’ve got incoming. Look lively!”

She got a series of acknowledgements as her siblings readied for battle, some drawing their swords and those with them calling on their plant allies. As for Su herself? She wrapped herself in her Ent armor and had Helel’s vines grow to their maximum extent thus surrounding her in a mass of writhing tendrils.

Su heard the plant song from the trees in her mind warning of the Hunter’s approach long before she heard anything with her ears. The power of flora wasn’t as strong in winter, but it was still there and still readily answered her call. 

“You shall not pass.” Su hissed like a viper as she commanded the plants to rise, to wake from their slumber and attack her current enemies that were in the way of saving Rhode. 

Whole leafless trees that had been hibernating the winter away awoke and began swinging their branches at silver blurs that shot towards Su and her siblings. But none scored a blow, the Hunters were simply too agile to be hit by the sluggish swings of the sleepy trees.

Her anger began to boil over at the sight. Su refused to just let them pass. And if anything, the anger of Demeter was to be feared . 

“Sunflower Cannon!” Su roared as the tips of Helel’s vines transformed into giant sunflowers and began firing their seeds at the incoming Hunters at hypersonic speeds, tearing whole sections off anything they hit.

It seemed this was at last something that the damnable Hunters could not dodge and most of them were knocked to the ground with serious wounds from Su’s deadly bullet seeds.

“Cabin Four! Get them while they’re down!” Su roared and for a moment her siblings hesitated, causing her to growl and turn to them in anger. “What are you waiting for!?”

“Oh Hades, she’s gone full Mom.” One of her siblings whimpered, but they all obeyed. 

As they should. 

“She’s nowhere as terrifying as Lady Demeter.” The familiar form of the Lieutenant of Artemis and the Hunters’ leader, Zoë Nightshade, said as she leapt at Su with her twin silver daggers drawn and the Campers’ flag strapped to her back.

Zoë Nightshade, Lieutenant of Artemis

Su’s soil black eyes cut to the Hunter, even as she sent Helel’s vines whipping through the air at her as her blood sang with the need to see the Hunter defeated and broken before her. 

“Though thee makes a good attempt. Well met, young harvester.” The tall, lithe girl with brown eyes, a slightly upturned nose, copper-colored skin, and a silver circlet braided into the top of her long, dark hair said as she spun and somehow transformed into a sliver dervish that cut any of Helel’s vines that got anywhere near her to pieces.

Su’s eyes widened marginally at this, especially as the silver blender got closer and closer to her by the second. Guess I might have to try something drastic.

Just as she was about to activate her next trump card though, a big black blur slammed into the Hunter from the side and sent her tumbling to the ground. A blur that as the Hunter, in a show of truly superhuman strength, kicked it off her was revealed to be Beckendorf.

“Cavalry’s here, Su.” The counselor of Hephaestus Cabin said as he rolled back to his feet as he promptly moved to tackle the Hunter once more.

“Do not touch me, boy!” Zoë screamed with cold fury as she stepped to the side, grabbed his arm and in one swift, graceful move managed to send him tumbling to the ground where she promptly stabbed him in the shoulder with an arrow that visibly dripped with some kind of poison.

Sedative. Su concluded when Beckendorf immediately passed out and she attempted to punch the nimble Hunter with her Ent armor’s massive fists. Not so much to actually hit her but to force her back a little so that she could work a little rapid alteration on Helel. With a little concentration, small pods grew rapidly along the vines that glowed a deep orange as they swelled. Their soft shells cracking and breaking as they grew to the size of golfballs. 

As they burst, they released a noxious, vile green gas from the broken pods. It hissed and spread the tiny particles it carried in the chilly breeze, covering the area in her poisonous pollen. 

“Thy ability of alteration is frightful. Thee would do well within the Hunters.” Zoë informed her, disturbingly unaffected by her poison.

“Sorry, but I’m already in love.” Su retorted as she tried to lash out with Helel’s vines. “I have it on good authority your goddess would disapprove.”

“Ah, a shame thy hormones affect thee so.”

“Don’t you dare cheapen what I feel for Rhode to mere hormones, you dried up twat! Unlike you, I don’t pretend to live in Neverland. I’m not afraid of the real world.”

“What Su said.” A cold, dark voice said and both Su and Zoë paused as they turned to warily eye the new arrival.

Su was unsurprised to find Percy stalking towards them, his whole body radiating barely restrained violent intent and as he did Riptide materialised in his hand even as he tapped the belt buckle of Rhode’s belt that he was wearing and the Pallas Armor formed around his body.

“Time to go down, Nightshade.” The son of Poseidon said, as the entire creek behind them seemed to explode as all the water shot up into the air as it transformed into a single gigantic serpentine construct. “I won’t let you stand in the way of rescuing my sister.”

With his statement made, Percy unleashed the full fury of the creek he’d seized control of by having the serpentine construct he’d shaped it into change into a literal tsunami. One that flowed harmlessly around the Campers but wrapped around every Hunter in its path towards Zoë in a spherical prison of water. 

Not to be outdone, Su added her own little addon to the devastating attack and sticking Helel’s vines into the flowing water, she had it pump contact based sedatives, of various different formulations, into it. 

“Lady Tyche, why hast thou forsaken me? To face a desperate sibling. Truly thou hast cast me aside.” Zoë managed to bemoan before she was consumed by the torrent Percy had unleashed and swiftly wrapped up in a watery prison.

One that young Nico di Angelo ran up to as his contingent of Campers arrived and spat into.

“And that’s for tricking my sister into abandoning me,” the little boy said angrily with a vicious look in his eyes, before turning and stalking off.

Su shook her head in amusement at the sight before turning to Percy who was just deactivating the Pallas Armor.

“Any news from the team we sent to take the Hunter’s flag?”

“No,” Percy said with a frown.

“Think we should send them some backup?”

“No need,” Lee Fletcher, counselor for Apollo Cabin said as he and his siblings arrived.

“I see Jack with their flag on the way. You guys should be able to spot him in three. Two-”

“I see Jack! I think he has the flag!” Someone shouted, pointing eagerly towards the opposite side of the creek.

Su turned in the direction the boy was pointing and sure enough, Jack was indeed on the way.

As much as Su hated it, at least the boy was good for something. 

If only once. 

“We’ve won.” Jack declared pompously as he landed on their side of the creek, causing the Hunter’s flag dedicated to Artemis to transform into one bearing the sigil of Khione.

He frowned at the sight of his mother’s symbol and tossed the flag away in disgust but it was quickly snapped up by someone else as Campers mobbed him, chanting his name and attributing their victory to him.

“Disgusting,” Thalia said as she arrived with Cabin Five which she’d grouped up with for the game. “It’s not like he was the only one responsible for our victory.”

“Does it matter who is?” Percy asked and Su nodded, transforming Helel back to normal and reabsorbing the Ent armor into the seeds she’d strategically embedded into her skin.

“All that matters is that now we can go petition the gods to let us rescue Rhode.” Su said as she returned to normal.

“Right, yeah.” Thalia nodded, but still shooting a dirty look Jack’s way. 

The sound of hoofs in the distance, barely audible even to her enhanced demigod hearing over the loudly celebrating Campers, meant that Chiron was on his way to declare their victory. Something that almost brought a smile to Su’s face, but even as her muscles twitched to do so, a sudden ill feeling washed over her.

Immediately, she and her siblings, and to her surprise the two di Angelo children, turned to see the mummified corpse of the last Pythia that was the respectacle for the legendary oracle staggering over to the group. 

“The Oracle,” Miranda shouted seconds before Su herself could, causing everyone to turn to face the stumbling mummy.

“What-!” Chiron said as he spun around just shy of the Campers and joined them in gaping as the undead horror shambled towards them from behind him.

Said undead abomination waited till it had everyone’s attention before it opened its mouth and released a cloud of sickly green smoke that wrapped around it and transformed its appearance into a simulacra of Rhode as it addressed them in the daughter of Poseidon’s voice.

 “Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the 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 parent's hand.”

“Well, that’s a thing.” Mr. D said with a smile as he teleported in and the mummy turned around to stagger back towards the Big House. “And now it’s finally time.”

“Time for what?” A particularly clueless Hunter asked. “And ‘the goddess in chains’? That’s not Lady Artemis is it? It can’t be, right?”

“Who knows? As for what it’s time for? A rescue mission, that’s what.” Mr. D said, shooting the girl a disgusted look. “Zoë Nightshade as the leader of the Hunters, you will liaise with the leader of the Camper contingent and make the arrangements.”

“Of course, Lord Dionysus.” The Lieutenant of Artemis said with a bow. “And who will that be?”

“Thalia Grace,” Mr. D said, looking at his half sister with his eyes ablaze with purple fire. “Make sure you bring Poseidon’s girl back, you hear me?”

“Of course, I will.” Thalia shot back with burning determination.

Now how am I going to convince her to take me on this quest.

Even as Camp prepared to mount her rescue, Rhode found herself being all chained up and dragged at sword point by a pair of Telekhines as they escorted her behind Luke to some place or other in the rebuilding fortress of the Titans on Mount Othrys. When she’d first been brought here, it was a ruin with only the lower levels fit for habitation but in the mere days since then it had magically rebuilt itself to the point that it was almost as if Lord Zeus had never blasted it into oblivion in the First Titanomachy. It only had the very tops of its towers left to rebuild and even those were well on their way to completion as stones magically floated into the air and into place.

“And here we are,” Luke said as they arrived at an open field outside the still partially ruined fortress. “The point where the sky meets the earth.”

“L-Luke, I-I can’t take this a-anymore! S-Switch! Please!” A kneeling girl about Rhode’s own age with bone white hair said as she held up a swirling mass of clouds on her shoulders. She was bleeding from her eyes and her voice was rasping as if she was dying. 

“Don’t worry, Pam. I’ve brought your replacement right here.” The son of Hermes said sweetly.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” The girl sobbed in joy. 

Luke offered the girl a smile before turning to Rhode. “You know what you need to do, correct, Rhode?”

Rhode felt for the girl. She looked like she was about to die. But despite that, she remained defiant. She refused to do what Luke or his Titan masters wanted her to.

“She joined up, it’s not my fault she is getting fucked over for it.”

The girl must’ve heard her because she screamed in despair at hearing that, causing Rhode to flinch in sympathy.

“See, you’re not that cold hearted.” Luke said with a victorious smirk, his hand ghosting along her shoulder and forcing her to jerk harshly to force it off. “Not as much as you pretend. But if you still want to act like it, well… Can you really do so even if Pam dies? She won’t last much longer, you know. And when she does die, without anyone to hold it up, the sky will impact the Earth. The world won’t end thankfully. But the impact will be like a meteor strike and since we’re just a stone’s throw away from San Francisco… Well, millions will likely die.”

“You’ll die too,” Rhode spat at him, her sea green eyes trying to bore a hole in his face.

“Really? You think Lord Atlas and our other allies won’t protect us? Will the gods do the same for you and the Campers? Or the mortals?” Luke said, with a smarmy smirk.

This had Rhode hesitating. The gods were bound by rules that prevented them from intervening too much or end up creating worse consequences for doing so. But would the Titans care about that? They were rebelling against the order of the world weren’t they? So why would they care about following the rules?

They might actually do it…

“Mommy!” The girl, Pam, cried out. Snot dribbled down her nose, mixed with blood as the girl looked like she’d pop like a water balloon. “Mommy, it hurts! Please make it stop! Mommy, make it stop! I’ll be good, please, just make it stop!”

Pam’s desperate cries broke Rhode’s heart and made her decision for her.

“Fine,” Rhode spat, disgusted. With Luke? With herself for caving? She didn’t know.

Luke just smiled and nodded to the Telekhines who promptly worked their magical craftsmanship and unshackled the lockless chains that had been wrapped around her, and using their swords nudged her to stand behind the by now all but prostrate Pam.

“Take it from her back, Rhode.” Luke encouraged in a sickly sweet voice. “It’s as easy at that.”

Rhode didn’t bother to respond, just picked up the mass of clouds, which felt deceptively light for the moment, off Pam’s shoulders and transferred it to her own back. It was only as the mass, the sky, settled itself on her shoulders that the weight hit her.

Holding up the sky was agony unlike anything else. The weight was one thing, the immeasurable weight of the heavens was incredible and if Rhode wasn’t in too much pain to think, she’d have been shocked that she wasn’t instantly crushed by it alone. Instead, as the incomprehensible mass of the sky pressed down on her shoulders, Rhode felt like her body was burning from the strain, a burning so intense that it numbed but never fully dulled her senses and mind, leaving her in a pain addled haze. She could feel parts of herself burn away in the intense blaze. Were they body parts? Parts of her psyche? She didn’t know and was in too much agony to care. All she could manage was a vague feeling of loss as they were crushed into nothingness by the immense weight of the sky pressing down on her being. Her only comfort was the unknown source of gentle cold that centred around her belly that fought against the fire coursing through her body but even that was struggling, growing weaker by the second.

It was as this strange comforting cold was beginning to truly weaken when a living statue of a bald man with grey eyes like stone, light brown skin, and a very muscular build teleported to stand beside Luke. Though he dwarfed the son of Hermes by at least two feet. This was the Titan of Endurance, Atlas.

The Titan of Endurance, Atlas

“Hm, I must say Castellan, I am rather displeased with this development.” The Titan frowned heavily. “We needed a maiden to attract Artemis, yet this woman’s already been bedded and is carrying a whelp too. We will need to rethink our plans” 

“Rhode’s not a virgin!? She’s pregnant!?” Luke said, sounding so flabbergasted as his face turned a dark red in his anger. “Who would dare touch her?! She’s supposed to be mine! That was the- Jack, that little fucker. I’ll gut him over his mother’s head!”

The news that she was with child shocked Rhode enough that it actually registered despite the all consuming pain that clouded her mind. Even managing to clear it somewhat.

T-The comforting cold… I-It’s m-my baby. Rhode realised in her moment of clarity even as it passed and her mind was once more completely frazzled by the incalculable pain.

“Wait! No matter!” Luke said suddenly before chuckling. “It doesn’t matter! None of that matters! All that does is that I have Rhode now! Now and forever!”

With that he grabbed hold of Rhode’s slack head and stole a kiss. A forceful kiss that left Rhode’s lips bruised.

Not that the pain registered through the agony of holding up the sky. Though if it had, she probably would’ve been thankful that the damn bastard didn’t want more. It would have honestly frightened her to her core that Luke had wanted a kiss. That he had romantic feelings for her at all. 

“I’ve formulated a new plan.” The Titan said suddenly, before looking to one of the Telekhines. “Go bring a new maiden.”

The dog-like sea monster nodded and scampered off to obey.

Luke, looking alarmed, turned to Atlas but before he could say anything the Titan cut him off.

“Do not fret, Castellan.” The Titan of Endurance said with a malicious grin. “Your precious toy is yours to keep, Lord Kronos promised, did he not? As for our plans, we will just see about using her in another way.”

Luke nodded, quelled by this reassurance, and fell silent as he and the Titan stood silently watching Rhode suffer. The cooling comforting of her baby’s power waning and her agony growing as a result.

“I have brought the replacement, Lord Atlas.” The Telekhine said, an indeterminate amount of time later.

“Sarah,” Luke said, addressing the young female demigod that the monster had brought. “Your mortal family lives in San Francisco, right?”

The previously confused demigod’s eyes widened in horror even as she nodded.

“Then you know what to do.” Luke sneered at the girl. “Take it now!”

The girl gulped but wordlessly nodded and willingly took the burden of the sky from Rhode, who collapsed feeling as if she was somehow lesser from even her brief time bearing the weight of the heavens. 

She was so weak that she did nothing as Luke picked her up in a princess carry and carried her away. All she could do was watch as the poor Sarah girl almost instantly crumbled to her knees under the burden of the sky.

“Ah, this will do nicely! Excellent!” Atlas crowed with a bloodthirsty smile. “Try not to die too quickly, child.”

The last sight Rhode saw as her exhaustion claimed her was of the near dead Pam lying by the side of the entrance into the fortress Luke was using and being tended to by one of her fellow traitor demigods. She looked like a living mummy. Not unlike the Oracle back at Camp. The only sign the poor emaciated girl was even alive was her shallow, labored breathing.

Do I look like that too? Rhode thought as darkness claimed her.

Maybe a day later, between the weakness from holding up the sky and the bouts of unconsciousness it caused Rhode couldn’t quite tell the time properly, the daughter of Poseidon found herself escorted at the point of their spears by a group of Scythian Dracanae to a large pool where Atlas and Luke were waiting for her.

As she approached the pool, the abundance of water tempted her to try something and she tentatively reached out to it with her powers. However, the moment she did, the golden collar around her neck turned burning hot even as red lightning arced off it and the magical artifact cut off her powers before so much as a ripple spread across the pool’s surface.

“Really, Rhode.” Luke said chidingly as Rhode writhed in pain, yet refusing to fall to her knees from the pain. “You know that the collar seals your powers and punishes you for attempting to access them. If we blocked Spellbound from returning to you like its enchantment was designed to, did you honestly think that we wouldn’t seal away your most powerful weapon too?”

“Yes, the God-Butcher does good work.” The Titan said with a smirk, apparently pleased with watching Rhode’s suffering. “Perhaps she might be worth keeping alive even after we win this war.”

Ignoring Luke and his Titan master, Rhode focused on shaking off the effects of her latest burn and electrocution.

“W-What do you want t-this time?” She croaked out at last.

“I want to test something.” Atlas said, looking at her like she was a particularly interesting insect. “I want to see if you can use your authority as a daughter of Poseidon to summon the Ophiotaurus.”

Rhode knew about the Ophiotaurus. She’d read all about it back at Camp. If the ancient monster was slain and its entrails burnt it would bring about the downfall of the gods. There was no way she would help the Titans summon the creature.

“I refuse.”

At this, Atlas looked at Luke sharply and he nodded in reply.

“Are you that hasty, Rhode?” Luke said, stepping towards her. “Think about your friends outside Camp, your acquaintances in the Wizarding World, the Lilies-”

“If you refuse,” Atlas cut in. “I’ll hunt them down, drag them before you and kill them in front of your eyes.”

Rhode felt her hackles rise as she glared nothing but death and hate at the Titan, who smirked at her.

“My, my, you really are your Father’s daughter. It’s in the eyes you know. Now, your answer?”

“Fine, I’ll do it.” Rhode said after a long moment of consideration, she was confident that it wouldn’t work anyways.

She’d never been able to summon ocean life before so why would she be able to now? Besides wasn’t the Ophiotaurus an ancient monster that emerged from Chaos with Gaea and Ouranos? Wouldn’t that make it powerful enough to ignore her power even if she did? She was pretty sure it was anyways.

“So how do I do this?” Rhode asked honestly.

“Just call out its name.” Luke told her with a smile that he probably thought made him look handsome but which Rhode just found demented. “We have reason to believe it’s tied itself to the fate of a half-blood child of Poseidon. If that child is you, then just calling its name should summon it.”

“And if it’s tied to Percy?” Rhode asked, worried for her little brother.

“Then we’ll-”

“Make alternative plans.” Atlas said cutting Luke off, shooting him a warning glare. “Now, attempt to call the beast, girl.”

“Ophiotaurus!” Rhode shouted, to absolutely no effect.

“Try again!”

Rhode shot Luke a raised eyebrow, wondering at his insistence, but just shrugged and did as he demanded.

“Ophiotaurus!”

Again, absolutely nothing happened.

“It seems she is not the one that the beast has chosen.” Atlas said with a nod that told Rhode he had already expected as much. “Take her away.”

The Dracanae began leading Rhode away, making ample use of their spear points to do so.

As she left, she heard the Titan speak to Luke,

“You really need not worry so much Castellan. Lord Kronos promised did he not, that you’d have your pet. Or do you doubt his promises? There is no need for you to keep coming up with these harebrained ideas to try and make her useful to justify us keeping her alive.”

“I know, my lord, but I worry. You cannot fault me for that.”

Judging by the angry tone that Atlas took as his voice became unintelligible due to distance, the Titan certainly could. Rhode almost pitied Luke for gaining the Titan’s ire. Almost.

She was a little too busy fighting the bile rising in her throat to have any sympathy for him. She felt sick and disgusted at his desire for her. Does he really think this is romantic? Keeping me as a prisoner and stuffed into a dark hole? Oh yes, please fucking feel me up! Fucking moron. 

“Don’t dawdle, godling!” The Dracanae behind her hissed irritably as she poked Rhode’s back with the tip of her spear, causing her to jerk forward and pick up her pace.

But it’s that sick lust of his that’s keeping them from killing me. Rhode concluded with a shudder, something that seemed to amuse her serpentine guards who chuckled at her expense.

It was tempting, very tempting to give these bitch lizards some lip, but she kept her fury in check. Without her powers, without her weapons, she was stuck at their mercy. The second I can get out of this though? Oh, you bitches better drop a spoil, because I’m going to make you into boots. 

But now was not that time. Getting beat up for defiance whilst satisfying wouldn’t be helpful.

I’ve gotta stay in as good shape as I can for when the others come rescue me. Rhode thought to herself with determination. That way, I won’t be a burden as we make our getaway. 

The thought that nobody was coming did not even cross her mind. Her family would come for her. She knew they would.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Seventeen: The Great Othrys Rescue

Beta: ShadowofAxios

Inside her cell in the dungeons of Mount Othrys, Rhode was sleeping. Or at least trying her best to do so. The cold slab of metal that masqueraded as her cot wasn't making it easy but even though she had been spoiled by years of having access to proper beds, Rhode had roughed it often enough in the past as a street kid and on Quests to deal with it. Nor was the total lack of privacy that big of a deal for her. Sure, even the small pit that passed for a toilet in her cell was visible to her omnipresent guards through the bars but she'd expected that and embarrassing as it was to have eyes on her even as she relieved herself, she could deal with it. No, what kept her awake was the gnawing fear that came with the uncertainty of not knowing what Luke and his Titanic masters had planned. She knew her family would come to rescue her but the enemy knew that too. Just what horrors did they have in store for them when they did?

They'll get through it. I know they will. Rhode tried to reassure herself as she pulled the thin sheet that her captors called a blanket around herself tightly. But at what cost?

"Master Luke, what are you doing here?" The leader of the Dracanae that had been assigned to be her guards for the evening hissed suddenly, pulling Rhode from her depressing thoughts. "Shouldn't you be at the feast?"

"I-It's none of your business." Luke said, his voice slurring slightly for some reason. "Leave."

For a moment the area was dominated by the sound of hissing as the Dracanae had a secret conversation in their indecipherable serpentine language. It seemed they agreed to follow Luke's command though as they soon quieted and the distinctive sound of them slithering away replaced it.

"S-Stupid Titans," Luke grumbled under his breath as the monsters left. "And to the P-Pit with their insane c-constitutions! Why, by L-Lord Kronos, do I have to drink!? I don't even drink! A-And now? I-I'm d-drunk! But that's a-alright. Drunk or n-not, looking at my Rhode is always a treat."

Rhode could easily imagine the lust filled look Luke shot her then and it sent a shiver down her spine.

"I-It's a s-sh-shame that you're asleep, my Rhode. I-I wanted you awake. You a-always looked better awake. B-Besides, I wanted to see your reaction when I t-tell you we succeeded! We did it, Rhode! We tricked that s-stupid goddess Artemis to take the b-burden of the sky!"

Rhode barely suppressed her gasp at that, she did not want to give away that she was awake, but thankfully Luke was too sloshed to hear her, instead he just continued on his drunken rant.

"Now we're one step closer, Rhode! One step closer to vic-victory! And being to-together wi-without anyone getting in our w-way. Not Jack! Not Su! Not any-anyone!"

Biting her lip to bite back the angry retort that she would never be his, Rhode huddled deeper under her pathetic blanket trying to play off her shivering as being from the cold and not the fury coursing through her veins at Luke's words.

She had expected the traitor to continue his gloating rant, but much to her surprise, he instead let out a sob.

"W-Why!? Why does the General's plans work but my plan fails!? Why? I-It's not fair! You should've been a maiden, Rhode! T-That's mine to t-take! N-Not that weakling Jack's! Y-You shouldn't need to be carrying his b-bastard! But d-don't w-worry Rhode, w-when the b-baby is born I, w-we, will r-raise it a-as our own! That'll be the u-ulti-, uh, the perfect middle finger t-to that n-nobody! B-But off track! Yeah, I-I g-got off track."

Luke was breathing heavily, like reining himself in had taken serious effort on his part. And Rhode hoped it did. Anything that gave the psycho discomfort was a-okay in her book.

"Y-you should've been a maiden, Rhode!" The man who had once been her brother said as he recovered. "Then you c-could've held up the sky l-longer! Be o-our trap for Artemis! If you h-held it l-long enough, it's weight w-would've broken you, b-broke your resistance! Then it would've b-been easy to make you mine!"

Again Rhode had shivered. As with every time that Luke mentioned wanting to make her his, it terrified and disgusted her.

"No, no, I shouldn't give up." Luke suddenly said, changing his mind and grabbing the bars of her cell, pulling himself flush with them so he could shout through them. "I've got you here! You're m-my prisoner! I just need to make you mine the o-old fashioned way without the c-cheat of the sky breaking you! And I'll do it! I will!"

He pulled back and seemed to calm himself somewhat by the sound of it before continuing again.

"Y-You will be mine, Rhode! Mine!" Luke shouted drunkenly, his voice trailing away as he left causing Rhode to sigh in relief.

Disgust rolled off of her as she gave a small shudder. Luke's obsession with her and how he expressed it each time they were together was nauseating and she was forever thankful when he finally left her be.

Every second away from him is a relief by this point. Rhode thought as she tried to conserve her strength as she sneaked a peek outside her cell and saw her guards return from wherever they went off to when Luke had sent them away.

I never thought I'd say this, but I prefer the company of these evil snake women to Luke.

Percy felt awkward sitting at the Ping Pong table. The tension between Thalia and Nightshade was thick in the air as they argued over what was needed or what they thought was needed for the Quest to save Rhode. And Percy was honestly relieved that Chiron and Mr. D were sitting in to serve as mediators. If they weren't, he was sure knives, not words, would be being used to stab the other side by now.

"Okay, let's just settle on who both the Hunters and Campers are taking shall we?" Chiron said diplomatically, eyeing both Zoë and Thalia warningly. "Zoë, if you'd please?"

The leader of the Hunters nodded at Chiron before speaking.

"I shalt has't Bianca accompany us." Zoë said, gesturing to the aforementioned young Hunter. "I wouldst taketh m're, but as we did agree I shalt only has't one of mine own sisters accompany me."

Damn! I know she's old as dirt and struggles to use modern English but listening to her use this old-timey English is making my ears bleed!

"Um, is that really okay Zoë?" Bianca asked, fidgeting nervously. "I'm so new to everything, surely it would be better to take someone more experienced?"

"This shalt beest thy trial of fireth, Bianca. Thy shalt cometh and learneth what thee shall needeth." Zoë reassured her. "There is nothing to feareth, sister. I hadst a vision last night of all. It hath shown yond thee hadst to accompany me. I trusteth in what I did see."

"Always trust in visions," Mr. D said, sounding disinterested as he drank from his can of Diet Coke. "They might save your life."

Chiron shot the god a warning look for some reason but Mr. D just ignored him like always.

"You done, Nightshade?" Thalia asked and received a nod from the older girl. "Good, then it's my turn. I'll be taking Annabeth and Percy with me. Any objections?"

"I doth not liketh the idea of taking a boy with us but-"

"It's non-negotiable," Mr. D cut in. "He swore an Oath to rescue his sister on the Styx. He has to do this. And boy-hating or not, you will help him. Understood?"

The Hunter grimaced, "Nay, I shant deny him this."

"Alright, then let's discuss the logistics of this Qu-" Chiron began only to be interrupted mid-sentence by a burst of light and the arrival of the familiar figure of Apollo.

"Hey hey hey, it's me. Sorry, need to borrow D for a second." The sun god smiled blindingly as he tugged on his brother's arm.

"Oh, fine." Mr. D said, standing up. "I know what you want. But let's talk in my office."

"Oh, good. So I only have to talk to you at half the length I needed to."

"Yes, save us both the discomfort. Come on." Mr. D said as he teleported away, Apollo following a second later.

"Uh, should we continue?" Thalia asked, looking at Chiron.

"Yes," the Trainer of Heroes nodded. "Mr. D will rejoin us once he's done. So where were we? Ah. Logistics? I trust all of you know what you'll need to bring for a Quest?"

This was met with nods all around, though Bianca's was a little hesitant.

"Then all that's really left is the matter of transportation. Hmm… Since the prophecy mentions going West and the Titan's Curse, it is likely you'll have to travel to where the sky is held up and that's on Mount Tamalpais in California. So I think rail passes are in order. Any objections?"

No one raised any objections.

"That'll help for a bit at least." Mr. D said as he teleported back to join them, sans Apollo.

"Mr. D, please!" Chiron said, shooting the god a glare.

"Oh, fine~! I'm just trying to help."

"Annoying the Fates by revealing details beforehand is not helping!"

Wait! Mr. D was trying to tell us what to expect!? Percy thought, gaping in shock and exchanging stupefied looks with Thalia and Annabeth. Since when was Mr. D helpful!?

Were things that serious? Or did Mr. D like Rhode that much?

"It's the latter, Peter. Like I've said, your sister is the only demigod outside of my own children that I've come to respect in a thousand years." Mr. D said, purple fire burning in his eyes. "I will see her rescued. Full stop."

"Mr. D, I, uh, dunno what to say."

"Just get the brat back." Mr. D said snappishly before turning to face the Hunters. "Apollo was here to tell us what the Pythia's prophecy already told us. Artemis is missing and suspected to have been captured by the Titans. If I was a betting god, I'd say she's been forced to bear the Titan's-"

"Mr. D!" Chiron shouted in exasperation.

The two Hunters strangely enough did not respond to the confirmation that their goddess was taken. And glancing at them, Percy could see why. They were literally frozen in place, unable to move.

"Alright, I won't spill any more beans." Mr. D said, looking incredibly put out. "And you Hunters, don't you dare throw a fit. We have no time for it. This Quest has now become a two pronged rescue mission. You'll need to rescue both Rhode Evans and Artemis, thus making it doubly important. And no, Hunters, you may not ask why the daughter of Poseidon is considered as important as your goddess. That is, as the saying goes, above your pay grade."

With his piece said, Mr. D nodded and the frozen Hunters were freed. Standing from his seat, he turned away and began heading off to do whatever he did on his own time.

Chiron sighed as he departed before addressing the rest of them.

"Go, prepare for the Quest everyone. I have to go remind Mr. D why revealing too much of a Quest ahead of times is detrimental to the Questers' survival. Hopefully, what he did say hasn't annoyed the Fates or the other side enough that they choose to make things harder than it already undoubtedly will be."

With that ominous statement, Chiron turned to trot off or at least tried to before Annabeth grabbed his arm.

"I have questions." His girlfriend said simply.

The Hunters turned to look at them then but Annabeth shook her head and with a nod, Zoë led Bianca out of the Big House.

"Chiron, why did the Titans capture Lady Artemis now? Does it have something to do with the Winter Solstice?"

"Indeed," Chiron said with a nod. "As expected of you, Annabeth, to understand the stakes. As you know, every Winter Solstice, the Olympian Council holds a meeting to vote on matters of great importance. This year, the main vote is about whether to formally recognize the war with the Titans. It is, by all accounts, a tight run affair and one in which Artemis was expected to vote for war. With her now captured-"

"If she is not freed and casts her vote, the gods will be unprepared for the war." Annabeth said, finishing the thought with a frown.

"Yes, that's why the stakes have gotten higher."

Annabeth nodded, worrying her usual pink lips to a ruddy red.

Percy reached over, his hand giving her shoulder a gentle comforting squeeze. "Hey, it doesn't mean anything. So what if we have to save one more person? We'll just save the both of them. I promise."

"Yeah," Thalia nodded, a confident smile on her face. "We'll just have to save them both. No worries, Annie."

"I pray then that you are successful, children." Chiron said, offering them all a tired smile. "May Tyche and Nike favour you."

Su would be the first to admit it, she could have found someone more qualified to accompany her on this mission, but sadly her chosen companion was without question the most qualified for sneaking out of Camp. At least during this season. Even if she hated his guts. So she had little choice but to wait patiently in the woods for Jack to make his move.

And it had taken him to around midnight the day the Questers had set off before he did. She didn't know why he waited so long, but with his powers boosted by winter, she trusted he had his reasons. So as she saw him fly away from Camp on his shepherd's crook, she mounted her Nimbus 2000 and silently followed after him.

The blistering cold nipped at her as she flew but she ignored it, focusing instead on catching up to him.

As much as she hated the idea of working with him, she couldn't ignore that their chances of rescuing Rhode were much higher if they worked together so she was willing to set aside her misgivings for Rhode's sake. For Rhode she was willing to do anything!

"So you did manage to catch up." Jack said with a frown as Su pulled up next to him.

"I walked." Su said as she rolled her eyes and bobbed her broom up and down a little. "My broom has a top speed of two hundred miles an hour. Did you honestly think you'd be able to shake me off? Your top speed on that staff of yours is what? A hundred and fifty? Plus, did you think you were the only one who'd sneak off to rescue Rhode?"

"Please Li, you just want to eat her carpet." Jack scoffed at her and Su felt her cheeks heat up with indignation.

"I-! That has nothing to do with wanting to save my best friend, you jerk! Unlike you, I don't think of sex 24/7!" Su said hotly, but calmed herself, taking a breath. "Look, can we agree to work together to help Rhode or not? You know going off on your own can get you killed."

"Like you've not been her obsessive stalker for years now?" The son of snow scathingly retorted.

"I admit that I come on strong sometimes." Su admitted. She was woman enough to do so. She had stupidly misinterpreted Emily's advice in the past and behaved like an idiot to Rhode. But she'd learned from her mistakes. "And I do pine to be with Rhode again. But that's secondary for me. Rhode, her safety, her wants. Those have always been what's most important to me. If that means she friendzones me and I stay as her best friend forever, then so be it. If by some miracle, we become more like I hope then I'd be overjoyed. But ultimately I'm just happy to have her in my life. Everything else is a bonus."

Jack just snorted. "Sure, sure. Like you wouldn't spread your legs for Rhode the moment she says she wants to eat you out."

"No, I'm not you. I don't have sex on my brain all the time. Now shall we continue playing childish games or should we actually save Rhode?"

"Tch! Fine~! It'll be better to have a helping hand anyways."

"You better not have meant that the way I think you did, boy." The familiar voice of Mr. D said as he materialized in front of them, causing them to both pull to a stop in mid-air. "Or I'll turn you into a squirrel and barbeque you right now."

What the hell was Jack thinking that got Mr. D so worked up? Wait! Helping hand? Don't tell me…

"You perverted asshole!" Su shouted, cheeks splotching red on her pale skin. She shot the son of Khione a glare. "Like Tartarus I'd ever touch you!"

"He better not." Mr. D warned, with a glare of his flaming eyes. "Or you'll have to answer to Demeter and that's if I don't get to you first. You got me, Overland?"

"Like I'd want to touch the carpet muncher anyways." Jack said with false bravado. The slight trembling of his shoulders gave away his fear at the warning. "And don't blame me for my thoughts. I'm a teenage boy, it's my hormones."

"So they all say." Mr. D said with a roll of his eyes. "Now that the warning is delivered, let's get down to business shall we? Here's your third."

Su didn't even have time to ask what he meant before Grover just suddenly appeared in front of her on her broom.

"Wha-"

"Grover! Grab the broom. Now!" Su shouted urgently as she tried her best to steady her Nimbus.

Thankfully, Grover was experienced enough to be quick on the uptake and he hastily obeyed.

"Whoa, whoa!" Grover gaped as his usually clumsy hands snaked around the front of the broom and held on for his goatie life. "Why am I suddenly in Jersey?!"

"To help these two lovestruck idiots to rescue your friend," Mr. D explained as Su leveled her Nimbus' flight and pulled Grover gently back into a proper tandem riding position.

"Oh, well, okay. Sure thing Mr. D. Uh, Su, could you land so I can get a proper seat. Please?"

"Of course, Grover."

The polite Satyr deserved as much.

"No time for that," Mr. D said with an annoyed glare. "Honestly, stop being a coward and adjust yourself in the saddle, as it were. Li can show you how. If you dilly dally any longer, the escape window I created for you three will disappear and the next god to stop you won't just send you back to Camp unscathed. They're liable to send you back in casts or worse body bags."

"Why are you helping us?" Jack asked, eyeing Mr. D skeptically.

"I like Evans. Unlike you. So I want her rescued and I don't mind stacking the odds in favour of that succeeding. She is my mortal champion and I have stock in her now. Therefore you will save her." Mr. D said, crossing his eyes. "This is my divine command."

He looked skyward then.

"So don't smite them, old man. They've got my divine sanction now."

Turning back to them, Mr. D continued.

"Now get out of here ASAP before Zeus changes his mind and decides to ignore my protection. You never know with him."

In a sudden explosion of purple mist, the god was gone. Leaving only a fruity grape smell to mark that he had ever even been there.

"Okay, that was a thing." Grover said with a nervous bleating laugh. "So, uh, what now?"

"We should be asking you that." Jack said, shooting the Satyr an irritated glare. "You're the one with the nose to sniff out demigods, right? Which way to Rhode?"

"Oh, right. Of course, your highness." Grover sarcastically retorted and began to sniff the air.

"Okay, why are we here again?" Percy asked irritably as he and the rest of the Questers walked through the disturbingly empty main exhibition hall of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

"We art here for a plane. We Hunters did hide one here amongst the exhibits, lest we ever did need it." Zoë said as they warily advanced. Even though it was nighttime there should've been security guards they needed to use Mist to get past but there had been no one and that was a sure sign that they were about to be ambushed. "'twill cutteth our traveleth timeth West down substantially."

"Zoë, I have no idea about what you just said." Bianca informed her senior with blunt honesty, her hands moving in animated exasperation as she talked. Percy had to admit, that took guts. "Like, I know you talked about it, but which plane is it?"

"The Douglas DC-3." The senior Hunter said as they came into view of the silver twin engined propeller plane. Because of course it would be silver.

"That one?" Bianca asked, pointing her bow at the plane. "I'm not up to snuff with planes."

"That's the one." Annabeth confirmed. "Now just how are we going to get up to it?"

That was indeed a problem, seeing as the plane was suspended from the roof of the exhibition hall by a set of wires.

"There is a rope ladder inside the plane. Alloweth me wend up to it and throweth it down," Zoë informed them as she leapt up onto the wing of another of the planes on display, clearly intent on wing hopping to the DC-3.

She was about to make another jump when suddenly something reached the DC-3 first. This took the form of a massive white bull crashing right through the machine, wrecking it as it leapt inside through a sizable hole it had made in the side of the building.

The Marathonian Bull

"Uh, guys, I think the plane isn't an option." Percy felt the need to point out as the bull landed, somehow staying on its feet as it did so and everyone scattered to give it a wide berth.

"No kidding, Knucklehead!" Thalia snapped at him as she broke into a run. Something he was quick to follow as the Bull charged towards them, smashing through everything in its path.

"Wise Girl! Any idea what monster this is?" Percy shouted as he jinked to his right and the bull charged past him. "There's too many bulls for me to know which one!"

"Marathonian Bull! You can tell from its coat!" Annabeth shouted back.

Percy could see why Minos wanted to keep the bull so much. It was seriously handsome like the stories said it was. It was the size of a school bus with horns that were polished and could probably stab through anything if it tried hard enough. Its coat was a perfect white as even debris seemed to roll off of it to keep it clean.

"Shit, that thing finally reformed?!" Thalia cursed as she aimed her spear at it and fired several static bolts. They splashed against the hide as the bull decided to charge the daughter of Zeus. Proving just as ineffective as the arrows Zoë and Bianca were shooting at it.

"It's hide is impervious to harmeth we can doth it. We needeth to targeteth its head. Tis weakest th're"

"Yeah, but how?" Annabeth shouted as she ran away from the monster who circling around had turned its attention towards her. "Getting close is suicide."

Percy glanced around quickly and spotting a fire hose, he had an idea.

Calling on his control of water, he had it flood the hose and transform it into a snake made of fabric and water. One under his absolute control.

I've got this. Percy thought as he had the hose first shoot out and trip the monster, which running as fast as it was, had it landing harshly enough to crater the floor a little and even skid forward a short distance.

The son of Poseidon wasn't done though and proceeded to have the hose wrap itself around the stunned bull like a constrictor. The monster struggled, using its prodigious strength to try and wrestle itself free, managing to tear the fabric of the hose in the process. But that was merely dressing for the real force killing it and did nothing as Percy tightened the hold of his construct's watery coils.

"Die, already, you bovine menace." Percy said as he lifted his hand in a gesture he belatedly realised strongly resembled the classic one used by the Sith for their Force Chokes in the Star Wars franchise. "Die!"

As if on cue, that was exactly when the Marathonian Bull lost its struggle and breathed its last, collapsing into a pile of gold dust and leaving one of its horns as a spoil.

Using the watery tendril that was still under his command, he snatched up the horn and brought it into his hands.

"Did he just pull a Sith Lord on that thing?!" Thalia asked, sounding a little disturbed.

"Well, it worked?" Annabeth said unsurely as she walked over.

Ignoring both of them, Percy examined his latest spoil.

Is it just me or is this one from the opposite side from the one I received from the Minotaur?

Seemingly drawn by his thinking about it, there was a sudden flash of light and Percy balked as the horn of the Minotaur he'd earned as a spoil back from the first time he arrived at Camp appeared in his free hand.

He looked at how much smaller it was to its parent's horn. One was like a dagger while the larger one more resembled the blade of a polearm. The real question was…

How did it appear here now? And why?

Even as Percy and his group of Questers fought the Marathonian Bull in the Smithsonian, Su and her own merry gang also found themselves flying to the renowned museum. Grover might not have been able to follow Rhode's scent, it was being masked by powerful magic, but there were scents that he could follow that might lead them to where she was being held. In particular, he was following the scent of the Manticore which went by the name of Dr. Thorn nowadays.

"He's in the Museum of Natural History." Grover informed them with a frown. "What could he possibly want there? He was a math teacher."

"Who cares?" Jack shot back snappishly. "What's important is capturing him and forcing him to tell us where the hell they're keeping Rhode!"

Su frowned at his utter rudeness, but Grover just nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, can't waste time. Let's go in. Quietly?"

"Fine, just keep up." Jack said. "Let me show you how living in Cabin Eleven taught me how to sneak with the best of them."

Arrogant prick. Does he need to puff himself up all the damned time? Su couldn't help but think as they circled down for a landing. Then again, he is the best here at sneaking around. Staying in Cabin Eleven does help a lot with that.

Jack landed and immediately wanted to get going, but Su had Helel reach out to grab his arm.

"What?" He hissed.

"Give me a second." Su said as she and Grover dismounted her Nimbus and pulling out her wand, she began packing it away.

"You done?" Jack asked irritably, as Su finished shrinking down her broom and stowing it and her wand away in her mokeskin pouch. "We don't have all day."

"It was only a minute."

"A minute wasted. Come on."

Who died and made you leader? Oh wait, your father. Su thought scathingly, but stopped herself from replying. She had better things to do than play Jack's petty games.

As they snuck through the building though, she had to admit that Jack was pretty good at being sneaky. The place was crawling with mortal mercenaries armed with submachine guns, probably in the employ of the Titans, who were patrolling the place. But somehow, following Jack's lead, they managed to make it to Thorn undetected.

The Manticore was in the centre of the museum meeting with a group of the mercenaries who were presenting him with a handful of fossilized teeth.

"Foolish mortal scientists." Su heard Thorn scoff from behind the pillar where she was hiding, waiting for the right moment to strike. "To mistake actual dragon teeth for mere dinosaur teeth."

Plucking the teeth from the mercenary holding them, he began to plant them, one by one, inside a planter of soil his men had apparently dragged into the building before a group of his men proceeded to drag a half-dead girl forward.

"Oh, Pam. Good." Thorn crooned as he knelt down, cupping the girl's pale face and asked softly. "Are you ready, my dear? Have you prepared yourself for the ultimate sacrifice?"

The pale girl nodded weakly. "Yes, sir."

"Excellent, most excellent." The monster smiled, a grotesque thing that was full of predatory menace despite his human guise. He reached into his pristine coat, pulling a long, glimmering ceremonial dagger. "Now, take it, my dear. Do your duty to your masters."

Shakily, the girl, Pam, took hold of the dagger and walked closer to the planter. Raising it high in the air, her hands firmly wrapped around the hilt, she aimed it downward. "Down with Olympus!"

And with a mighty thrust, she sank the eager blade into her neck and slid it across, spilling her life blood all over the dirt. She collapsed over the planter, dead to the world.

Su had to stifle a gasp even as she smothered Grover's cry of dismay. All whilst wondering how anyone could be that dedicated to a cause before an image of Rhode flashed across her mind.

No, wait. Su corrected herself. I can totally understand why someone would be so devoted to something.

As horrific as Pam's self-sacrifice was, the worst was yet to come. As even as they watched in horror, twelve Skeleton Warriors and one tiny kitten-sized Skeleton Cat pulled themselves out of the planter

The Skeleton Warriors rise

"Ah. Everything is going exactly as the General has planned." Thorn crowed as the undead creatures pulled themselves from the earth that had spawned them. "Well, except for that useless cat. Some unknown teeth must've gotten mixed in with the dragon teeth. Take that away and dispose of it for me, would you?"

The nearest human to the Skeleton Cat hesitated and shot one of his fellows, his leader most likely, a look but received a firm nod in reply. And so with a frown, he picked up the skeletal kitten and carried it away.

As he did, Thorn continued his little monologue.

"Now all I need is to set these Skeleton Warriors onto the scent of the foolish Questers and they'll be dealt with without us having to do anything on our own part." He said whilst pulling a piece of silver fabric from his jacket, one which looked remarkably like a piece of a Hunter's parka.

He stepped forward, intent on presenting the fabric to the Skeleton Warriors who were busy doing stretches for some reason when suddenly Jack shot out from behind his cover on his staff and flying past Thorn grabbed the fabric out of his hand.

"Yeah, no. We're here to ruin your perfect little plan, monster."

"Half-blood!" Thorn shouted furiously as he began to transform into his true monstrous form even as Jack blitzed past him.

The Skeleton Warriors weren't quite so slow though and one of them reached out, managing to grab hold of Jack's sleeve as he flew past and ripped a portion of it off. Even as Jack disappeared down the vast halls of the museum, the undead warrior proceeded to take a deep breath from the piece of Jack's torn sleeve before promptly passing it onto its peers to do the same.

"Jack! Run! Now that they've your scent they'll chase you to the ends of the earth!" Grover shouted in alarm even as the Skeleton Warriors began chasing the son of Khione.

"Move, move! Do not lose him! I want his head!" Thorn demanded with a roar.

"No you don't." Su whispered to herself as she leapt out of her cover, her Ent armor wrapping around her with Helel's tendrils slithering out of the specially prepared gaps in the armor to aid her in the fight.

"Sleep Dust!" Su shouted as the pustules she'd grown all over the outside of her armor as it deployed exploded and released a massive cloud of sleep-inducing pollen that proceeded to knock out all the surrounding humans.

The Manticore was of course not affected by this, and flicking his tail at Su sent a volley of his hypersonic, poisonous quills her way. Most of them ending up embedded harmlessly in the thick dead outer bark of her armor and the rest deflected off entirely, even as the daughter of Demeter brought her own 'guns' to bear.

"Sunflower Cannon!" She roared as a quartet of Helel's vines transformed into sunflowers and fired their seeds like bullets at the Manticore.

The monster's eyes widened in shock at the move and it leapt away, desperate to evade the barrage and mostly succeeded. Though its rear end found itself riddled with wounds from her bullet seeds, it had escaped being killed. Amazingly despite its injuries, it even avoided being slowed down as it proved by leaping at Su with its claws outstretched and clearly intent to maul her.

Su responded by punching it hard from the side with the massive fist of her Ent armor, sending the Manticore crashing to the ground.

Still undaunted, it leapt back to its feet. Or it tried to. As it attempted to do so, vines suddenly exploded from the wounds created by Su's bullet seeds earlier and proceeded to wrap its hind limbs together. Without their support, the Manticore crashed to the ground in an undignified heap.

"You sneaky little half-blood, don't think you've won yet." Thorn shouted back defiantly as he whipped his tail forward so fast that it looked like nothing more than a blur.

The volley of quills this launched were even faster than normal and a good number of them easily pierced right through Su's armor.

"You have to do better than that." Su shouted back as she shot herself out of her perforated armor like a cannonball, its bulk having hidden where her true body was located, saving her from being pierced by Thorn's spines.

Uncurling herself from the fetal ball she held herself in when inside her fully deployed Ent armor, she drew her sword from her mokeskin pouch and pointed it straight at a shocked Thorn's face as she crashed into the monster blade first through its skull.

"Well, that's that." Su declared as she used Helel's vines to pull herself out of the pile of monster dust her killing of Thorn had created and stowed her sword away. She pulled out some ambrosia wafers to nimble on to heal the light injuries she'd sustained from cannonballing herself at the Manticore. The pile of golden dust it had transformed into had cushioned her fall a great deal, but it still wasn't exactly a soft landing.

"Is that my spoil?" She asked curiously as she spotted Thorn's scorpion tail lying amidst the already disappearing gold dust.

"What by the Pit am I going to do with this?" She lamented as she had some of Helel's tendrils reach over to pick up her spoil. Only for the monster part to collapse into more golden dust upon contact and the vines of her trusty Devil's Snare that had touched it to suddenly transform to match it. "Oh! Nice!"

"Uh, Su, did anyone tell you that you're scary?" Grover said as he trotted over from wherever he'd been hiding the whole fight.

"Once or twice," Su admitted, causing Grover to shiver for some reason.

How odd.

Any further conversation was cut short when a shrill cry was heard from the direction Jack had flown off in.

"Make them go away!" Jack screamed in a pitch that Su hadn't known it was possible for boys post-puberty to reach, as he shot past at high speed, slammed into a wall and tumbled out of the sky.

Seemingly shaking off the effects of his collision in record time, he ran towards Su and Grover even as he fired off a cryo blast of awesome cold in the direction whence he came. A blast that by Su's estimation was more powerful than anything he had ever mustered.

Turning in the direction of the blast, she saw that it had created a huge block of ice that had trapped all the Skeleton Warriors inside a frozen coffin.

"We, we need to go. That won't stop them for long." Jack said as he all but collapsed to his knees at Su's feet, his staff the only thing keeping him from faceplanting. It seemed that the ice blast had taken a lot of him. He looked like he had just gone twelve rounds with Cabin Five.

What did those Skeleton Warriors do?! Su thought in worry.

The ominous sound of ice cracking served as a spine chilling proof of what Jack had just said.

"Right, let's get out here." Su said, as redeploying her Ent armor, she picked up the boy and Grover before breaking into a dead sprint out of the building.

"Grover, try and find the others. We need to regroup and warn them!"

"Percy, why are you just standing there and looking at your spoils?" Annabeth asked her boyfriend curiously as he just stood there looking at the Horn of the Cretan Bull in his left hand and the Minotaur Horn in his right in confusion.

"Um, just wondering why the Minotaur Horn just suddenly showed up is all." He confessed, turning to look at her questioningly. "Do you have any ideas?"

Annabeth looked at the two horns for a moment before.

"I might have an idea. It's probably so yo-"

Before she could elaborate on her idea though, there was a commotion in the direction of the museum entrance and they all spun towards it.

"Guys! We need to get out of here. Now!" Su shouted as she ran in fully armored up in her Ent armor and cradling an unconscious Jack and a nervous Grover in her arms. "We have unkillable Skeleton Warriors right behind us!"

"Su? What the hell are you three even do-"

Thalia's question was cut off as suddenly a mockup of a World War Two bomb that was probably ripped straight out of an exhibit was suddenly tossed her way, forcing her to jump out of the way as it crashed into the ground with a resounding crash that cratered the ground.

"Run!" Grover shouted as Su ran past them. "Just run!"

Thalia didn't seem inclined to agree with the advice though as she leapt back to her feet and leveled her spear at the twelve Skeleton Warriors that were running towards them.

"No, we cannot defeat those Warriors." Zoë said, even as she loosed a brace of arrows from her bow with a single shot and snapped the wires holding up Charles Lindbergh's the Spirit of St. Louis, which had been hanging from the ceiling as an exhibit, causing it to crash to the ground and block off the entrance into the exhibition hall they were in and creating a barrier between them and the Skeleton Warriors. "Skeleton Warriors are literally unkillable except in very specific circumstances which we cannot produceth at the moment. For now, we needeth to run."

"She's right. Thalia, Percy come on!" Annabeth shouted as she began to drag a reluctant Percy after her as she began to run after Su, Grover and Jack.

A quick glance behind her showed that Thalia was still hesitating, but thankfully that changed when a skeletal arm burst through the wreck of the Spirit of St. Louis and the two Hunters finally grabbed the daughter of Zeus and dragged her away.

"Zoë drop another plane on them to slow them down!" Annabeth suggested.

"Good idea, daughter of Athena." The ancient Hunter shouted as she took a shot, firing dozens of arrows at once and sending two or three planes crashing to the ground and creating more obstacles to slow down the Skeleton Warriors.

Let's hope that buys us enough time to get out of here.

Hours after their escape from the Smithsonian and shaking off the Skeleton Warriors through switching at least a dozen trains, Percy and the others found themselves in a trainyard belonging to the Sun West Line.

"I think we're safe for now." Grover said with a sniff of the air. "I don't smell them anymore."

"Then alloweth us to taketh the chance to relaxeth. We needeth the rest." Zoë said with a tired sigh as they all hopped off the latest train that they had got onto during their chaotic escape.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted." Percy admitted as he surveyed the trainyard for some place to sit down and take a proper rest. The whole day hyped by the unending pursuit of the Skeleton Warriors had been incredibly draining.

"Oh, there's a fire over there." Grover said, pointing to a fire in a barrel with what looked like a homeless man warming himself next to it. "Let's go see if that guy is willing to share."

"You go ahead, Grover." Thalia told him with a tired smile. "Now that we have a breather, I want to work on a plan for when the Skeleton Warriors do catch up for us. Annabeth, join me?"

"Sure." Annabeth agreed with a nod. "That's a good idea."

"Here, Grover, Percy." Su said, passing him a bag of ambrosia wafers and a packed enchilada to the Satyr. "Go eat by the fire and try to ask the guy there for some directions. I don't think any of us have any idea where we are."

This statement was met by everyone shaking their heads.

"Gotcha, Su. Are you going to join in on the anti-Skeleton planning?" Percy asked as he opened the bag of food the daughter of Demeter had handed him.

"After distributing everyone's dinner? Yeah." Su said with a nod. "We need a plan."

"Indeed. We shall joineth the planning too. Perhaps mine own experience wouldst offer some help." Zoë said, with Bianca trailing after her loyally.

"Me too," Jack chimed in, though everyone ignored him.

"Leave the gathering of local intel to me then," Percy said with a smidgen of his usual humor. Too tired to do any better. "Come on Grover, let's go see what the local knows."

"Sure, Percy, let's go."

"Yo, mind if we share your fire?" Percy asked as he and Grover walked over to the homeless man and his fire.

"Sure," the man in dirty, unkempt clothing said with a dismissive shrug. "Free country an' all."

There's something off about him. Percy couldn't help but think as he looked the man up and down. He was a toothless man who looked like a teddy bear that had been run over by a truck and was dressed in a ripped coat and worn-out almost-white jeans. But he didn't hold himself like someone who was down and out. Instead, he held himself with a confidence that was out of place.

"Thanks, man." Percy said with a grateful smile. "We've had a tiring day."

"You and your friends look it." The man said, eyeing Percy and his friends. "What's brought you bunch of kids out here anyways?"

Grover opened his mouth to spin some lie to mislead the man, but Percy had learned from Rhode that most of the time going with the truth, or at least part of it, was the best way to go about doing just that.

"We're trying to rescue my big sister." Percy admitted, cutting Grover off. "She's been kidnapped."

"Not gonna leave it to the police?" The man asked, shooting Percy an assessing look.

"No," Percy said firmly. "My older sister has always taken care of and taught me to do things for myself. Now that she needs my help, I'm not about to leave saving her to anyone else."

"Your sister sounds like a tough cookie."

"She is," Grover confirmed before Percy could, a fond smile on his face.

"Sounds like my big sister too. Not about the teaching me how to take care of myself bit, but she's definitely a tough cookie too." The man said with a fond smile, his eyes seemingly glowing a little. "She's missing too, you know?"

"Really?" Grover gasped, shocked by the revelation.

His sister is missing too? His eyes glowed. What are the chances…

"You're Lord Apollo, aren't you?" Percy guessed.

The homeless man blinked in surprise before chuckling and was surrounded by a golden glow as he transformed into an older teenager, maybe seventeen or eighteen, that had sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks dressed in jeans, loafers, and a sleeveless T-shirt.

"L-Lord A-Apollo!?" Grover stuttered, staring at the revealed god in shock.

"How did you know?" Apollo asked, offering them a blinding smile.

It was just a guess.

"I've spent quite a bit of time with gods lately. I've learnt to recognise the signs, I guess." Percy said with a shrug. "Plus with all the talk of big sisters, it wasn't hard to guess which god you were."

"I see," Apollo said with a nod. "Well, now that I've been outed I've to keep this conversation short or Father will make an issue of it. So listen carefully okay, Percy? 'Cos I won't have a chance to repeat myself."

Percy nodded dutifully.

"Good." Apollo said with a satisfied nod. "First things first, when you rescue Artemis, don't mention that I admitted that she was older. Or that I was here to Jack either. We don't have a good history."

"Whatever you say, Lord Apollo."

The sun god offered Grover a smile before he pointed at a train that was preparing to set out of the yard.

"You lot will need to take that train. It will take you to your next stop on your journey West."

"That tra-" Percy tried to confirm but before he even finished his question, the god had already vanished.

"Percy, come on! We have to get everyone on that train!" Grover said, pulling on his arm. "It's already starting to pull out of the yard."

"Right," Percy said as he pulled his arm out of Grover's grasp and broke into a run for the train. "Guys! We've gotta catch that train!"

"You okay there, Grover? Need some water?" Thalia asked her Satyr friend worriedly as he sat in the chair across from her in a cafe in some random small town in New Mexico where they'd stopped at his insistence.

"I'm fine." Grover said with a tight smile that said quite the contrary. "I just need time to acclimatize to Pan's presence. It's so strong here."

"Aye, it is. I senseth it as well." Nightshade agreed from where she was sitting with her fellow Hunter, Bianca di Angelo. "Tis liketh that Lord Pan is nearby."

Well, I don't feel anything. Thalia thought with a frown, as she looked between the two skeptically.

"It has to be." Grover agreed. "I've got to come back here when we aren't on a Quest. Pan has to be nearby. He has to be."

"Yeah, but another time okay." Thalia told her friend. "Remember what's at stake on this Quest?"

"Rhode," Grover said, his face turning grim. "Yeah, don't worry I didn't- can't- forget. But where do we go from here?"

"San Francisco." Annabeth declared from the table she was sharing with her boyfriend. "Percy got a prophetic dream last night."

"I think I need to go seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea." Percy said, picking up the explanation. "Then, and I don't know if this bit has anything to do with what we have to do next but after that the dream shifted to one where a vaguely familiar girl gives me tips on how to trick Atlas and then gives me her hairpin which transforms into Riptide."

As he finished describing the second part of his dream, Nightshade abruptly stood and stomped off without a word.

"I'll go see what's wrong." Bianca, the newbie Hunter, said as she stood and followed after her superior.

"Was it something I said?" Percy asked, blinking cluelessly.

Thalia was feeling him, 'cos she had no idea what had suddenly gotten the ancient Hunter upset.

Annie and Su might have an idea though as they exchanged a look but if they did, they chose to say nothing. Thus the rest of them were left thoroughly confused.

Unfortunately, they weren't given much time to be confused as just as Thalia was about to ask the other two girls just what the hell was going on, Jack suddenly stiffened and pointed off in the direction of the town's train station.

"Skeleton Warriors!" He shouted urgently as he leapt to his feet.

Spinning in the direction that the son of Khione was pointing, Thalia felt a shiver of fear go down her spine because not only was he right but the already unkillable monsters had also somehow gotten their hands on some handguns.

Just great! Like they weren't already tough enough to deal with!

"Scatter!" Thalia shouted as she shifted her spear and shield out of their disguised forms. "Focus on getting rid of their guns."

They couldn't kill the undead menaces but they could certainly do something about their firearms and hopefully reduce their threat level a little.

Putting that thought to action, Thalia dipped into her powers and shot towards the Skeleton Warriors in a bolt of lightning. The move was insanely tiring but she'd been practising hard with it and whilst she probably couldn't pull it off more than once a fight, at least it didn't leave her completely drained afterward. So she was willing to risk it to try and get close enough to disarm the Skeletons.

She rematerialised in front of the makeshift firing line the Warriors had made and quickly swept her spear in as wide an arc as she could, aiming for their hands. The Celestial Bronze of her spearhead shattered the bony hands of a half dozen of the gun toting undead, causing them to drop their weapons just like she planned.

It seemed her earlier suggestion to target their guns was being heeded as a fire hydrant a short distance to the side of the Skeletons exploded and a high powered jet of water shot from it and through the arms of four more bony gun arms. Only missing the undead who had been furthest away from the hydrant and thus had the most time to react to the water jet.

That just leaves two more. Thalia noted even as tendrils of water picked up the dropped pistols and tossed them as far away as possible.

Sadly before they could manage to finish disarming them, one of the Skeleton Warriors managed to get a shot off. Though it was in an unexpected direction, as it spun on its feet and shot at thin air to its right.

Or what appeared to be thin air. Instead of passing through thin air and shooting off into the distance, the bullet clipped and knocked Annie's invisibility cap off her head as she dove out of the way of what would've been a headshot.

"Annie," Thalia roared, her blood boiling at the near miss and tucking herself behind her Aegis, she rushed the disorientated Skeletons between her and their fellow who had shot at her sister.

The force of her sudden charge sent the three Warriors in her way crashing straight into the culprit almost responsible for killing Annie, and she ran all four of them through with her spear before channeling a powerful burst of electricity through her weapon. One powerful enough to reduce them to dust.

"Thalia watch out!" Annie shouted, even a shot rang out and only Thalia ducking behind Aegis at the last second saved her from eating lead.

The gunman didn't have a chance for a second shot thankfully as before it could pull the trigger again, Annabeth lashed out with her knife from the position on the ground where she'd landed after her frantic dive earlier and cut through its knees, sending it toppling to the ground.

"Thalia, below you!" Percy shouted from behind her where he, Jack and Su had engaged the other seven Skeleton Warriors.

"Huh?" Thalia asked, glancing down and watching in shock as a skeletal arm formed out of the remains of the Skeleton Warriors she'd killed and tried to grab hold of her leg.

Leaping back, she was even more horrified to discover that it wasn't alone. All four of the undead monsters she'd defeated were reassembling themselves as if being reduced to ash had been nothing more than an inconvenience.

Okay, I get why they're called unkillable now. Thalia thought as she grimly prepared herself for another round with the things.

She was just about to rush them when a hail of silver arrows suddenly flew in from the direction that the two Hunters had run off to earlier and with superhuman accuracy hit the Skeletons in the joints, causing them to stumble around drunkenly. Then exploiting the opening their disorientation created, Nightshade and Bianca leapt into their midst with their silver daggers swinging.

"We have to disarmeth them." The ancient Hunter shouted as she bisected a Skeleton Warrior. "It will sloweth them down."

"Right," her younger Italian counterpart said as she ducked under a wild swing by the undead monster she was facing and emulating her mentor, she swung her daggers to cut it in half. Her aim was a little off though and instead of catching her opponent in the small gap between the ribs and pelvis where the only thing keeping the Skeleton together was a thin section of spine, her slash instead came in high and cut into its ribs.

The Hunter's enchanted blades were sharp though and managed to cut through the monstrous bone like a hot knife through butter. Now, at this point, Thalia and the Questers all expected the two halves of the Skeleton Warrior to just topple to the ground temporarily disabled whilst it reassembled itself. They were thus very surprised when it instead burst into hellish flames, a wailing noise escaping its nonexistent throat as it turned to blackened ash.

And more importantly, after a moment, it didn't rise again.

What the Hades was that?! Thalia goggled at the sight of the unkillable being killed.

Now as if that wasn't the only crazy thing going on, Grover started bleating like no tomorrow. And it wasn't one of his fearful bleats either.

"Pan! I can sense his presence!" Grover shouted as the earth suddenly shook violently.

The source of which quickly revealed itself as in an explosion of dirt and other debris, a massive thirty feet high boar with tusks the size of the canoes back at Camp literally burst from the Earth.

"Holy-"

"The Erymanthian Boar," Su gasped, cutting off Jack's curse.

"As if we didn't have enough on our plate already." Percy groaned as he beheaded one Skeleton Warrior and had watery tendrils rip apart another three. "Now we have to fight Boarzilla too?"

As if offended by the unflattering nickname that Percy had given it, the Erymanthian Boar leapt in his direction. Or at least that's what it looked like before it landed right on top of the Skeleton Warriors directly in front of the son of Poseidon who was left blinking at it, confused and wary by its unexpected assistance. Though that faded to just confusion as the Boar proceeded to ignore him and stampede over to crush yet more Skeleton Warriors.

All while letting out an earthshaking squeal.

"It's asking us to jump onto it's back." Grover translated. "It says that it's here to help us and give us a lift to our next destination."

"Grover, you're sure?" Percy asked nervously.

"One hundred percent," Grover called out after scrambling on top of it, climbing the furry mass like he was a monkey. "Jump on the Boar's back!"

"Good enough for me," Thalia shouted as she broke into a run and leapt onto the Boar's back, helped along by Grover.

"This is insane." Jack shouted as he blasted the two Skeleton Warriors he'd been fighting with a cryo blast and froze them in ice before jumping onto his staff to fly onto the Boar's back. "We're trusting random monsters now?"

"No, not random." Grover insisted as he helped Thalia to catch Annabeth as Percy used some water tendrils to toss her towards them whilst he shot himself onto the Boar's back using a water jet. "This is a gift from Pan."

"Pan is dead." Jack said dispassionately.

"Oh, shut up Jack." Su said as she apparited behind him and had Helel stab him with a vine that she'd morphed into something that looked suspiciously like a scorpion's tail.

"Hey! What did you hit me wi-" Jack said before collapsing forward in a dead faint.

"Tranquilizer." Su said smugly. "At least this way, we'll get some peace and quiet for a while."

"Thanks Su," Grover said, offering the scary daughter of Demeter a smile.

"Aye, most thoughtful of thee. Thee hast our thanks." Nightshade said as she leapt onto the Boars back, with Bianca over one shoulder in a fireman's carry.

The moment the Hunters got on, the Erymanthian Boar grunted.

"Hang on tight, everyone!" The satyr translated. "The Boar is about to get going!"

Thalia heeded her friend's warning and grabbed on tight to the Boar's thick fur like everyone else. Well, everyone except Su who just had Helel's vines wrap around the beast's body like a belt and secured herself that way all whilst using a couple other vines to hold onto the unconscious Jack as well.

"All set, Grover. Tell the Boar it's time to-"

Before Annabeth could even finish, the Boar growled and suddenly burst into a run. Within seconds they were out of town and in the desert and seconds after that, they began moving so fast that their surroundings were reduced to a blur. Fighting the urge to hurl, Thalia closed her eyes and endured the wild ride as best as she could.

Let's just hope this isn't an out of the frying pan and into the fire situation.

The first impression the apparent daughter of Hades had of the place they had stopped at was that it was a dump. No, it was a literal junkyard. One filled with some of the strangest types of junk she'd ever seen.

Toppled robots, clusters of the most dangerous looking but broken weapons, cracked pots with masterful pictures on them, ripped clothes that looked like they were made with the finest silks. On and on it went, some of the most expensive things she had seen in her young life and it was all just… tossed away with little care.

It boggled Bainca's mind.

And then their ride snorted and shook itself.

Bianca felt she did her best not to cry out in surprise when the Boar shook them off like they were water. Or fleas. Yeah, they were probably closer to fleas.

Somehow despite that, Zoë still managed a graceful three point landing with her feet wide apart and one hand supporting her weight on the ground while the other hand was outstretched away from their body, pointed diagonally upwards

Damn. I wonder how long I'll need to train to become that graceful.

"Tis the Junkyard of the Gods." Zoë uttered to the group as she stood gracefully back to her full height and everyone else stumbled to their feet, a pensive look on her face. "Be weary, objects thrown here mayhaps be cursed or worse. Taketh nothing, for divine wrath may striketh thee down."

"That I am afraid, Zoë, isn't the problem you should be worrying about." A stunningly beautiful woman said as she suddenly appeared in front of them. She had luscious red hair and bewitchingly beautiful features. She was dressed in a flattering striped burgundy strapless ball gown with beading in a design across the bodice that emphasised her dress' sweetheart neckline before trailing down at a slight angle to disappear into the folds of the skirt at the waistline beside a single large bowknot. The sight of whom was doing funny things to Bianca, and if the blushes on the faces of all the other girls was anything to go by, she wasn't the only one.

"Lady Lesbos? What are you doing here?" Zoë asked, unaffected by the woman's charm but sounding surprised.

"Lesbos?" Jack said with a lecherous grin. "Is she who I think she is?"

Smirking at the boy, the goddess - What else could she be? - formally introduced herself.

"I am Lesbos, daimon of the island of Lesbos and newly minted goddess of lesbians."

Lesbos, daimon of the island of Lesbos and goddess of lesbians

"Why are you here, my lady?" Zoë asked again, looking wary.

"Can't you guess old friend? Is it not fitting for me to face you Questers here? After all, if not for exploiting my island's connection to the Sappho girl and her poetry and through it to the portfolio of lesbians to seize it for myself and you becoming a Hunter, we would both have faded. So it's just poetic, in my opinion, that my challenge for this Quest takes place here in the Junkyard of the Gods, a place we both narrowly avoided being metaphorically confined to."

"What do you want?" Percy said, his voice strong and unwavering before a goddess in a way that Bianca couldn't help but marvel at. "What's your challenge?"

Instead of being affronted by his blunt attitude, the goddess seemed amused.

"Oh, wait your turn Jackson. Let me catch up with an old friend first, would you? Such a serious little boy."

"You still have not answered my question, Lady Lesbos. Why are you here?"

"Honestly Zoë, you've been in this game long enough to know the rules." Lady Lesbos said with a roll of her eyes. "Obviously I took a contract to issue you and the little ones a challenge during the course of this Quest, specifically one from Lord Dionysus if you must know. He added three extra people to this five person Quest and had to hire someone to trim the numbers down before the Fates get all fussy. And since I wanted to have a word with a couple of the Questers involved this time around, I volunteered."

"And how do you plan to do that, Lady Lesbos?" Annabeth asked, seemingly having shaken off the goddess' influence.

The goddess just smirked and snapped her fingers. In response, junk heaps all around them suddenly exploded as dozens of statues, all of them with their once exquisite features and paintjobs weathered away, came to life.

"By using these poor discarded statues of my poor fellows who failed to escape the fate I did." The goddess said with a laugh that did funny things to Bianca's stomach even as the statues charged towards the Questers like a zombie horde.

"Bianca, use thy knives." Zoë advised as she drew her blades, Bianca quickly following her lead. "Arrows will do little against these enemies."

"Got it, Zoë." Bianca replied as she ducked under the reaching arms of the statue of a woman and lashed out with her knives aiming for the thing's shoulders.

Cutting with the magical sharpness granted to it by Lady Artemis' blessing, her silver knives easily cut through the animated but otherwise mundane marble of the statue and the detached arms fell to the ground in a thud.

Undeterred the statue tried to body slam her, but Bianca just kicked it hard in center mass. She expected this to send it stumbling back and give her some room to have another go at it with her knives but instead a small burst of unknown power surged out of her as her feet made contact with the statue and poured into it, causing it to shatter like a dropped wine glass.

"Ah, geokinesis. You must be a daughter of Hades." Lady Lesbos said with a chuckle. "A pity you've signed up with Artemis' handmaidens. I would've so loved to have mapped out a wonderful little romance for you. You do fall into my domain after all."

"Thanks but no thanks." Bianca replied as she leapt back to avoid the arrows fired at her by the statue of a bronze archer before she burst into a zig zagging run towards it. "I'm happy where I am."

"A shame. Truly a shame." The goddess said with a disappointed sigh even as Bianca decapitated the bronze archer, disrupting the magic animating it and reducing it to a mere statue once more.

"Oh, look! It seems my statues have gotten one of the two I wanted for me."

Spinning in the direction of the goddess even as she bisected a plump mini-statue that had tried to ambush her by jumping off the top of a particularly high junk heap, Bianca found Lady Lesbos looking intently at where a giant twelve-feet tall statue of a muscular man had Jack pinned to the ground in a submission hold. The son of Khione was freezing everything around him in a desperate bid to break free but if this affected his captor, it made no sign.

I've gotta help him. Bianca concluded. She might not like the Overland boy. Heck, considering his attitude both back at Camp and on the Quest so far, she would go as far as to say that she disliked him but that didn't mean she was about to let him die.

Unfortunately, she barely made it ten feet before a statue of a snake lunged at her from behind the cover of a junk pile, forcing her to roll out of the way or have her head crushed by its wicked looking basalt jaws.

Hang in there Jack, I'll come help you as soon as I can.

If Jack could read Bianca's mind, he would have urged her to hurry the damn up. Sadly, he could not and thus all he could do as he was held captive by the crazy goddess Lesbos and her magical statue was to glare impotently at her. He'd tried everything he could think of and nothing had worked. It was like the statue had been enchanted to be immune to his powers, to the extent that even when he'd tried using the kinetic force of a mass of ice to force his way free his ice had just sublimated away inches from touching the statue. Though the only reason it'd even been able to catch him was because he was still shaking off the aftereffects of the damned tranquilizer Li hit him with earlier.

"I have to say, Overland, you truly are the most divine comedy I've seen in a long while!" Lesbos said as she giggled merrily. "Did you know the so-called love of yours has been doomed from the start?"

"What by the Pit are you talking about?" Jack shot back, unable to take the insinuation that his relationship with Rhode, one of the last good things he had left in his life, was anything but perfect lying down.

"Oh, let's just say that I've influenced it."

"So you're the one who made Rhode go through that phase where she thought she could be with Li?"

"Phase? Is that what you think it was?" Lesbos said with a shake of her head. "You are truly blind aren't you. Let me let you in on a secret, mortal, we gods can exert a great influence over your kind yes but ultimately we cannot create something in your kind that isn't already there. To do otherwise would violate the Ancient Laws' protections on free will. So that I could influence your precious Rhode at all should tell you about whether or not her attraction to her own sex was just a phase."

"You're lying!" Jack spat. She had to be! Rhode couldn't have genuinely ever been attracted to Li! It was just a phase! It had to be!

"Believe what you will." Lesbos said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But know that even without my influence, you will never end up with your so-called girlfriend Overland. The sheer amount of gods who have influenced her love life against that outcome is frankly a little mind boggling. Her father and mother, Eros, even Lady Hera! You are that hated, boy. So hated in fact that if not for the protections offered to you by being a Camper at Camp Half-Blood there would be a queue of gods waiting to smite you a mile long!"

"I don't believe you!" Jack shouted defiantly, frigid cold spreading out around him.

It couldn't be true. He couldn't be that hated!

"Oh, so you haven't been insulting us gods every chance you get for years?" Lesbos asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did you think we wouldn't hear you disparage us in thoughts, words and deeds? Did you think we would forget? Did you think we would forgive?"

Jack felt a shiver of true fear run down his spine at that. He had insulted the gods on many occasions. After the shitty hand they'd dealt him, he'd thought it was only his right to do so. Apparently, the gods didn't agree. Typical.

"It's funny, since we never, ever forgive a slight. No matter how small, boy."

"You can smite him another day, Lady Lesbos." Li shouted as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere, most likely courtesy of her wizarding teleportation spell, and using the massive strength of her Ent armor punched the statue pinning him with enough force to not only send it stumbling back and free him, but also take its head clean off.

"Oh, little Su Li. One of my finest projects! Did you know the overabundance of lesbian couples amongst half-bloods were all from my influence? It was all part of my plan to secure my power and with it my rank as a goddess, you know. And you, my dear, are a big reason for my success."

At the confession, the air shifted and Jack had to close his eyes as his head was filled with a surge of all encompassing pain. At the same time, he inexplicably felt warm, cold, excited and very, very confused all at once.

Thankfully, the pain and surge of emotions only lasted for a second and when they passed, there was someone new in the Junkyard of the Gods.

Standing next to the already beautiful Lesbos now stood an even more beautiful woman that looked like the supermodel he had seen on a billboard while riding the Sun West Line. The one he'd made a mental note to look up for fodder for the late nights he couldn't convince Rhode to entertain him. Holy crap! She was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen. With her lush blonde hair and amber bedroom eyes, just the sight of her was enough to make him hard.

"How dare you!" The woman raged at Lesbos and the son of Khione felt like he was being suffocated by the shout itself. He wasn't the only one, Lesbos too was frozen in place as the beautiful woman ranted. "You dare to subvert the natural course of love and Poseidon's daughter's fate in particular?"

"And you used one of my arrows to do so… how you managed to sneak in my temple to work your magic into them baffles the mind." A beautiful man with white wings said, his voice filled with palpable rage, as he materialized next to the supermodel.

"As punishment for stepping into our domain and interfering with the carrying out of our duties, you'll be put under house arrest and sealed into your temple on Olympus for the next ten years." Aphrodite, the goddess of love - Who else could she be? - decreed with such authority that it left Jack shaking in fright.

"Come along now, Lesbos." The winged man, the god Eros most likely, said as he reached to grab the redhead goddess by an arm.

"Wait! I'll gladly serve my punishment. It's lighter than I expected anyways." Lesbos said, earning frowns from the other two gods of love, before hastily continuing before they could add to her sentence. "But I do have a contract to fulfill here first. Once that's done, I'll gladly report to Olympus and serve my term."

"Fine," Aphrodite said, sounding annoyed. "But you better show up or I'll pull some strings and have Hades send the Furies after you. You got it?"

"I swear on the Styx that I will do as I've promised." Lesbos said, causing supernatural thunder to boom all around them.

Aphrodite still didn't look happy and Eros looked downright furious but neither said or did anything before teleporting away.

Lesbos breathed a sigh of relief at this and turned back to Jack, who only now realized that the whole while she'd been there he'd been so mesmerized by Aprhodite's presence that he'd lost track of his surroundings. It was only with her gone that he noticed that Bianca had somehow fought her way over to join Li in fighting off the mob of statues that seemed hellbent on swarming him.

"Looks like you can't mess up my relationship anymore, you two bit goddess." Jack said, smirking as he conjured a lance of ice and sent it flying at a large bull statue that had been charging Li from the side, pinning it to the ground where Bianca kicked its struggling form and caused it to shatter into pieces with her geokinesis.

"Weren't you listening earlier, it isn't just me among the gods who are against you being with the daughter of Poseidon. Besides, even if it was, my work on her is already done. In fact, once Atlas adds his own contribution, the final product will be all the better."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Evans and the others will find out soon enough." Lesbos said with a malicious laugh. "But I'm done talking to you Overland. Time to kick things up a notch."

Bianca had been listening with a half a ear to the conversation between Jack, Lady Lesbos and whilst they'd be there Lady Aphrodite and Lord Eros as well, but mostly she'd been focused on fighting the seemingly never ending horde of animated statues. But as she heard that Lady Lesbos was about to "kick things up a notch", she couldn't help the shiver of fear that went up her spine.

Suddenly the earth began to shake, and her newly awakened geokinesis told her quite clearly that it wasn't an earthquake. Not that she needed it to do so, as its true source made itself clear soon enough as a particularly large junk pile exploded as a single massive scorpion statue burst out of it. It was at least the size of a whale and had pincers the size of cars and a tail with a stinger that was pretty much a lance, complete with a Celestial Bronze tip.

"Is that a statue dedicated to Scorpio?" Annabeth shouted in confusion. "It isn't a god! And it isn't Faded! Rhode killed it just a few years ago!"

"Semantics," Lady Lesbos said with a shrug. "But thanks for singling yourself out, daughter of Athena."

"Annie! Get behind cover! Now!" Thalia shouted in warning.

But she was too late. Even as she was speaking, the immense tail of the Scorpio statue shot forward in a blur and stabbed Annabeth right through her gut, its Celestial Bronze tip puncturing right through her body such that as it pulled out, blood and viscera, what might have been the blonde girl's intestines, spilling out in a torrent of gore.

"ANnaBetH!" Percy roared. It was so filled with rage that it sounded distorted and almost inhuman. And as if in sympathetic response to his anger, the ground shook violently as suddenly a massive pillar of water shot out from underneath the Scorpio statue, coring it.

He wasn't done though and had the water, drawn from an underground aquifer Bianca's geokinesis informed her, surge through the junkyard as a tidal wave. One that he rode as it swept away the Lady Lesbos' animated statues and brought them into the deadly path of Riptide as he ruthlessly and systematically chopped them to pieces.

It was like a wild wet dervish of death.

In the face of which even a goddess felt fear, as seen by how Lady Lesbos let out a very undignified terrified squeak before teleporting away. So could anyone blame Bianca for just standing there, stunned into silence at the display.

"Bianca! Come over here! I need your help now!" Su shouted, shaking the daughter of Hades from her stupor.

"On the way," Bianca shouted as she ran towards the Chinese girl.

Said older girl was hovering over Annabeth and running her wand in elaborate gestures over the gaping wound in the blonde's gut. Pretty lights shooting from the magical focus to shine over the daughter of wisdom as they began to heal her.

It's not enough. She's dying. A part of Bianca that she didn't know existed until now told her.

Ignoring the discovery, she turned to Su and asked, "What can I possibly do? I can't help with healing her."

Su licked her lips, trying to concentrate as sweat built on her brow. "You wait until the time is right. And then, then you call Annabeth back."

"Back? Back from what?!" Bianca asked in utter bewilderment.

"You'll know when the time comes. I trust you, Bianca."

Bianca didn't, she didn't even know what she was supposed to do!

"Dammit, come on, stay with us." Su cursed under her breath as Bianca watched her using her wizarding magic, as she'd been told it was called, to knit the blonde's flesh together. It was amazing to watch, but Bianca could feel the life draining from Annabeth's body. Like a sinking ship at sea, the girl was going under faster and faster despite her wounds being healed.

Bianca reached out, wanting to help but unable to do anything as the life continued to slip out of her.

What am I supposed to do!? Bianca fretted again, and was about to ask Su one more time when the unthinkable happened.

Annabeth died.

She didn't need to see her breathing abruptly stop. Bianca felt it, deep in her bones, that the daughter of Athena had breathed her last on this mortal coil. While upset, Bianca felt almost at peace with it, like it was perfectly natural to watch a possible friend pass away.

And yet, a part of her rebelled against that feeling and she wrestled with the spirit of the older girl and pulled with every ounce of her will before she could get far.

"No," she barked, power unlike anything she had ever felt flowing from her lips. "It is not your time yet, Annabeth Chase. Live!"

The world seemed to freeze at her words, and Bianca swore she saw a chocolate skinned, blacked winged figure offer her a smile out of the corner of her eye before suddenly everything around her snapped back into motion and Annabeth let out a wavering breath.

"Good work, Bianca." Su said gratefully, never once looking up from her spellwork. "Your revival bought Annabeth the time my magic needed. I think Annabeth will be fine now."

Bianca nodded, feeling too light headed after whatever she had done to say anything.

"So we're decided?" Annabeth asked tiredly from her seat in the chariot pulled by a pair of automaton pegasi that was the spoil that their defeat of Lady Lesbos' army of animated statues had earned them. "Grover and I will head back to Camp so Chiron can look over my injuries."

"Yes, my healing magic isn't that great. It can only do so much." Su admitted.

"Then why don't you go with her," Percy asked, looking dirty and all handsome. "Just in case her injuries open up again or something."

His concern is so cute. Annabeth couldn't help but think as she shot her boyfriend a loving look.

"I'm sorry but no," Su said, shaking her head and sounding genuinely apologetic. "Annabeth's condition is stabilized and I want to save Rhode."

"Percy, it's fine." Annabeth reassured her. "I trust Su's magic. At least that it'll hold long enough for me to get back to Camp and Chiron."

"Okay, but with your injuries, and no offense Grover, but shouldn't someone who can fight accompany you two back too?"

"None taken, Percy." Grover said, shooting Percy a smile. "And guys, isn't Percy right? I'm not much good in a fight…"

"Yeah, maybe I could go back with them?" Bianca offered. "I'm the least invested in this Quest. I'm the logical choice. Besides, we all heard what Lady Lesbos said. Three of us need to head back or we risk angering the Fates."

"We shall just needeth to risketh the wrath of the Fates." Zoë chimed in. "All of us that remaineth art needeth for the Quest."

Percy looked mutinous, so Annabeth reached out and took one of his hands, giving him a comforting squeeze.

"Zoë is right, Percy." She told him with a reassuring smile. "We just have to risk the wrath of the Fates. Everyone else is needed for the Quest. You, Thalia, Su and Jack all need to be there for Rhode. Zoë and Bianca need to rescue Lady Artemis. And besides, Bianca is the only one who can kill the Skeleton Warriors. We can't spare anyone."

Percy frowned, trying to think up a counter argument but ultimately just sighed in resignation.

"Fine," he said, radiating disappointment.

"Alright, now that's decided. At last." Jack, the asshole, said, sounding annoyed that we had the temerity to waste his oh, so precious time. "What are the rest of us going to do?"

"There's a river about a half a day's walk from here." Percy said, looking away from Annabeth to glare at Jack. "We make our way there and get our bearings from the local nereids. If we're lucky, they'll even help us by more than just giving us directions."

"Seriously? That's the best plan we can come up with?"

"Oh, save it Jack." Su cut in, shooting him a glare of her own. "It's a good plan."

"It is, Overland." Thalia agreed. "So shut it."

Jack looked furious for the girls piling on him but with everyone glaring at him, he was smart enough to shut up and stomp off in a hissy fit.

"Everyone, alloweth us go taketh stock of our supplies and giveth these two some space to sayeth their goodbyes." Zoë, of all people, said, as she walked away gesturing for the others to follow her.

"Good idea," Grover said as he and the others walked a short distance away, shooting her and Percy a smile even as they both blushed.

"Uh, um, stay safe on the way back to Camp, okay Annabeth?" Percy said after taking a calming breath but failing to suppress his blush.

"I will," Annabeth replied with a smile, her stomach doing flip flops as she admired how incredibly cute her boyfriend looked as he expressed his concern for her. "And you take care for the rest of the Quest, alright?"

"I'll try my best."

"You better," the daughter of Athena said as in a moment of daring she reached out and pulled Percy in for a kiss. It was just a quick, chaste peck on the lips. But it was their first kiss and that made it all the more meaningful. "And when you get back to Camp, there will be more of that waiting for you. So come back safe, got it?"

"Definitely," Percy said breathlessly.

Giggling and feeling full of pride at the effect she could have on her boyfriend, Annabeth looked towards Grover and raised her voice.

"Grover, we're done. Let's go."

"Alright, coming." Grover said as he sprinted over and jumped into the carriage of the chariot. "Uh, should I know what you did to Percy that has him looking like that?"

"Oh, nothing." Annabeth said with a smirk. "Right, Percy?"

"Uh, yeah." Percy said, shaking his head to regather his wits. "Bye, Grover, Annabeth. See you in Camp soon."

"If the Fates will it." Annabeth replied confidently. "Bye Percy. Let's go, Grover."

"Right," Grover said as he snapped the reins of the chariot, causing the automaton pegasi to come to life and beating their wings, pull them up into the sky.

Annabeth waved down at the other Questers they were leaving behind and just before they got out of sight, feeling daring, she blew a kiss at Percy.

"Uh, Annabeth, you sure you're okay? I mean you're acting a little out of character."

"Blame it on the concussion." Annabeth replied easily, ignoring her scarlet blush. It totally had nothing to do with the fact that she was feeling like a lovestruck teenager. Nothing at all!

"Wait, since when did you get a concussion?" Grover asked, blinking in confusion.

"Since now."

"Um, okay. Sure. Whatever you say, Annabeth."

The Hoover Dam

"It's really a damn shame that Annabeth couldn't be here." Su heard Thalia say with a sigh as their group of Questers sans Percy wandered the Hoover Dam which they'd reached thanks to the directions and canoes sourced from a group of nereids that had lived near the Junkyard of the Gods which Percy had convinced to help.

"Yeah, we've heard that like a dozen times already, Thalia." Jack said with a snort. "Please shut up about it. We got tired hearing about how the Dam is one of Annabeth's favourite architectural marvels hours ago!"

As much as Su had to agree with Jack's opinion, she also understood why Thalia and Percy had been saying it over and over again. They were worried about her. So she nevertheless shot Jack a glare. Not that it made any difference to him, with how hostile everyone was being to him throughout the Quest so far, he was probably used to it.

"Why don't you tell us where Percy ran off to instead?" Jack suggested.

That was a good question. Despite having been instrumental in bringing them to the Dam, almost as soon as they'd reached it Percy had wandered off from the rest of the group whilst muttering something about a Bessie and leaving everyone but Thalia confused.

"Oh, he went off to check on Bessie."

"And just who is Bessie exactly?" Bianca asked, showing the growing initiative that she had been steadily developing since the Junkyard of the Gods.

"It's a name he gave to some sea monster he befriended recently." Thalia said with a shrug. "Don't know why it would be here though?"

"Perhaps it hast some relation to the Quest we have yet to understand. In the meantime, let us discuss how we shouldst maketh it to San Francisco from here?"

"Hey Li," Jack said, pointing at her rudely. "You have any magic that can help with that?"

"I could create a Portkey if I actually knew how." Su said, with an apologetic shake of her head. "That's advanced though. And it's not something I ever picked up."

"Che, what good are you?" Jack spat insultingly.

"Why don't you shut up Jack and stop pissing everyone else off." Bianca said, glaring at him and fingering the hilts of her knives meaningfully.

"What was that, kid?"

"This kid was too busy saving your stupid hide. So you're welcome."

"And who hast someone who is more than willing to assisteth her in a fight." Zoë told him warningly.

"And Zoë wouldn't be the only one." Thalia said, palming her mace can.

"Okay, whatever." Jack said with a shrug. "If magic is out then the only option left is to take a bus, isn't it?"

"Is that a good idea?" Bianca said with a frown. "I mean wouldn't that put mortals at risk especially with Skeleton Warriors on our trail?"

"Yeah, even if we know Bianca can take them out permanently since she's a daughter of Hades, they're still super dangerous and shouldn't be taken lightly. Especially since they've started using guns. We shouldn't put mortals at risk if we can help it."

"Still wrapping my head around that one." Thalia rubbed her temple as they continued walking around the dam. "So Hades broke the Oath too. Man, could no one keep that Oath?"

"Lord Hades did not. Thee mention having lived for some time in the Lotus Casino, didst thee not, Bianca?" Zoë asked, earning a nod from Bianca. "Likely the birth of thee and thy brother was before the Oath. Though, if he hath sent you to the Lotus for thy safety why he setteeth you two free now is a mystery only he can explain."

"Probably so he has pieces in the game for the Great Prophecy," Thalia suggested. "It was why Granddad got me released from my Tree."

"Sounds like a god." Jack snorted. "We're all just game pieces to them."

"They aren't all that bad." Su insisted as they found themselves standing in front of a pair of giant metal angel statues. "But another topic. What's with these statues, Thalia?"

"They're actually commissions by Lady Athena in dedication to Lord Zeus." Thalia said, looking at the 30 feet tall two winged statues. "Mortals think if you rub their toes, you'll get good luck. It's just them knowing they're special, just not in the way they think. Or at least that's what Annabeth told me."

"Interesting," Bianca said with a nod. "But we still have to decide on how to get to San Fran, right?"

"There is nay choice. We must risketh taking a bus."

Everyone frowned at Zoë's observation. The idea of taking a bus and putting mortals at risk of a confrontation with Skeleton Warriors didn't sit well with any of them.

"Maybe I can grow something that can transport us?" Su suggested, running through the possibilities.

"Guys!" Percy shouted as he ran towards them. "We have Skeleton Warriors!"

"Really, Percy?" Jack asked, his eyebrows raised skeptically. "I don't see any."

"That's because there's a clear-sighted mortal buying us time by confusing them down inside the dam, but she won't be able to keep them occupied for long. So let's get out of here now!"

"How? We're up here with no way down except the elevator and they'd be waiting for that."

"Looks like that's not going to be a problem." Thalia said, pointing towards the direction where Percy had come from. "Look."

Glancing in that direction, Su felt a chill go down her spine as the eleven remaining Skeleton Warriors came running at them from the direction Percy had come from. Thankfully though, they'd failed to recover their handguns and were now armed with much more manageable swords and shields. Well, most of them anyways.

"Shit!" Thalia hissed as she leapt in front of Jack, shielding him with Aegis but getting her spear arm clipped by the bullet fired by one of the last of the Skeleton Warriors with a gun as it ricocheted off her shield.

Thankfully, Bianca was on the ball and sent an arrow through the eye socket of the lone gun wielding Skeleton. It wasn't enough to kill it but it did have it staggering back disorientated.

"A little lower, Bianca." Zoë advised as she drew her knives and prepared to engage the charging undead. "Thee needeth to hitteth them in center mass to dispel them."

"Gotcha, no head shots." Bianca shouted back as she corrected her aim and nailed the skeletal pistoleer in the chest and reduced it to inanimate ash.

Su only paid all that a passing mind though as she ran over to Thalia to check on her wounds.

"Episkey," Su cast healing the bullet graze even as she had Helel grow a pair of sunflowers and another three scorpion tails, to shoot bullet seeds and Manticore quills at the Skeleton Warriors' joints to disable them. All whilst, she deployed her Ent armor around her.

"Bianca, take the shot!" Percy shouted as he kicked a Skeletal Warrior that he had literally disarmed away from him.

"Got it!" The daughter of Hades shouted back as she sent an arrow through the armless undead's chest and reduced it to ash.

"This is getting very repetitive." Thalia asked, as she sent a lightning bolt at the cluster of undead that Su had disabled a second ago but which had already repaired the damage that they'd suffered.

"Guys! We have mortals!" Jack shouted as he froze the group of Skeleton Warriors that he'd been fighting and pointed to a group of tourists who had just appeared and were now busy taking photos and videos of whatever the Mist was making them think their fight was. "We need to get out of here!"

"But how!?" Thalia shouted back irritably.

"Thalia! The statues! They're offerings to your Dad, this is practically a temple to him. Pray to him for help." Percy replied as he trapped a pair of Skeleton Warriors in spherical watery prisons.

Su saw Thalia frown but the Skeleton Warriors they were fighting getting back to their feet and requiring them to disable them again via a lightning bolt and Su's various biological projectiles, seemed to make up her mind.

"Fine!" The daughter of Zeus huffed. "Dad! A little help!"

"Uh, Thalia, maybe you should try something a little more polite?"

"Nah, man!" The statue on the right shouted as it leapt off its pedestal and using one of its massive wings swept Thalia and Su up before depositing them on his shoulder before he turned to do the same for Jack. "Lord Zeus thinks it's more than enough. I'm Hank by the way."

"And I'm Chuck." The other statue said as he scooped up the others. "And Lord Zeus is totally cool with it. So no worries."

That's a surprise. Su thought, blinking in confusion. After all, there was no way that Mother would have accepted such an informal prayer.

"Got them all onboard, Chuck?" Hank asked as he kicked a whole bunch of Skeleton Warriors trying to attack him, smashing them into a pile of broken bones.

"Yup, Hank. Let's fly!" The other statue said as he leapt into the air.

"Right behind you, Chuck!" Hank said as a powerful flip of his wings sent him, and them, soaring into the sky.

"Wait! Fly!?" Thalia shouted fearfully, but everyone ignored her.

Now wasn't the time to worry about her fear of heights.

"Phew, looks like we got away." Jack said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, trust us, those bony boys won't be able to catch up to us!" Hank reassured them.

Su had a feeling that it wasn't going to be so easy, it was why she was only cautiously putting away her Ent armor. It was this caution that left her prepared when she spotted a glimmer of metal from the direction of the Skeleton Warriors.

"Gun!" Su shouted as she leapt in front of Jack, who as the Warrior's quarry, was of course the target.

She was just in time as the bullet slammed into her already half withdrawn Ent armor. It nevertheless was enough to save her from injury but it still proved strong enough to cause her to lose her footing and start to fall to the ground. She fell so fast that by the time her head stopped ringing and she got her bearings, Su was too far to grab one of the statues with Helel.

"No, no!" Su cursed and tried to figure out what to do.

And then she saw something else falling towards her, one growing closer to her. She blinked as she realised Bianca had apparently jumped after her.

What is she thinking?! Su panicked in worry for the younger girl. "Helel, catch her!"

At her command, Helel's tendrils reached out and caught the falling girl, pulling her in close.

Near breathless, Bianca shouted over the sound of the wind rushing past them as they fell. "Listen, we're going to take care of the Skeletons. I have Overland's spare jacket to get them to come after us. We can't let them follow the others anymore, okay?"

Su tried to get her Ent armor to cover Bianca, but the plant refused. Groaning in frustration, Su instead resorted to wrapping her armor's massive arms around the young Hunter, shielding her as moments later they made their groundbreaking impact with the Earth. It was harsh enough that Su was honestly surprised her bones weren't reduced to dust by it and she worried about whether Bianca survived.

"Su, you okay?" Bianca said, letting her know that her worries were unfounded.

"Yeah," Su said as she opened her arms, letting Bianca leap off her and onto the ground. "How did you get Jack's jacket?"

"Zoë snagged his spare from his pack when we were at the Dam," Bianca informed her as Su got back to her feet. "She wanted to use it to draw the Skeleton Warriors to me so I could kill them. Though I don't think she thought I'd do it quite this way."

"Yeah, I betcha she did a spit take when you just jumped off the statue like that." Su said, as she deployed Helel's tendrils and eyed the dust cloud thrown up by the Skeleton Warriors running towards them with supernatural speed where they stood on the banks of the Colorado river.

"Ha! Now that's funny." The girl awkwardly laughed, no doubt trying to ease her nerves.

"Totally." Su agreed, before she took a calming breath, her nerves flaring as she loosened herself for a tough fight. "Are you ready?"

After all, the daughter of Hades was the key to success here.

In response, the younger girl drew her bow and nocked three arrows at once, each of her arrowheads supernaturally gleaming with moonlight. Turning to Su, she gave a small nod, black eyes looking around as she wore Jack's jacket. Despite how nervous she seemed, Bianca also looked slightly eager.

"Let's do this." Bianca said as she fired her shot, sending the three silver arrows zipping through the air like shooting stars. The Skeletal Warriors tried to evade, but one moved just a little too slowly and took an arrow straight through the chest, causing it to crumble into black ash. It was the one that still had its pistol and Su couldn't help but wonder if that had been a deliberate move on Bianca's part.

"Let me slow them down for you." Su said as she slammed her armor's fists on the ground, causing hundreds of vines to shoot through the ground before they exploded out of the earth directly under the Skeleton Warriors where they proceeded to latch onto the undead.

Most of the Skeletons somehow still managed to evade her vines, using their swords to cut away the few vines that reached towards them. Three however were ensnared and Bianca capitalized on them like a cat on a fat bird. Three for three, her shots streaked through the air and nailed each of the Skeletons in the chest. Reducing them into nothing but black ash.

"Five left," Su counted. "They're almost in melee range."

"I think I can manage another one." Bianca said as she sent three shots in quick succession.

The first two herded the lead Skeleton into the path of the third, which soon punctured straight through the monster's chest leading to it collapsing into ash.

Damn! She's gotten very good with her bow.

"Here they come!" Su shouted as the rest of the Skeletons closed, Bianca however, instead of putting away her bow, tossed Jack's spare jacket over to her instead.

"Su, keep them busy. I want to try something Zoë told me I should be able to do." Bianca said as her shadow suddenly expanded into an inky black oval that she promptly stepped into, disappearing from sight.

"Uh, okay?" Su said as she used one of Helel's vines to grab the jacket and pull it into her armor where she proceeded to hold it close to her chest, more confused than anything but knowing better than to second guess her comrade's plan in the middle of a fight.

Plus she didn't exactly have time to question it anyway as she'd just finished drawing the jacket in when the Skeleton Warriors reached her position and she became too busy fighting them to think about anything else. Making Helel's vines as sturdy as she could, she whipped them at three of the Skeleton Warriors and sent them flying whilst she used the massive fists of her Ent armor to smash the last undead into powder.

Turning away from the temporarily disabled monster, Su prepared to deal with the other three only to see a cluster of silver arrows rain down on the closest of the Warriors from somewhere in the distance, several of which punched through its chest reducing it to ash. Heck! Bianca even managed to send one into the reforming chest of the Warrior that Su had smashed and put it down permanently too.

Okay, I think a correction is in order. Bianca isn't good with her bow, she's outright superhuman! Is this some blessing for being a Hunter!? I know they're good, but this is scary good!

The two remaining Skeletons weren't stupid and seeing that they were being picked off from a distance began turning around and started searching for their attacker. Only for another two arrows to fly in from their left, in a completely different direction from the previous barrage, that finished off yet another Skeleton.

The last Skeleton began to run, picking up speed supernaturally fast with each stride, as it dashed towards Bianca's last firing position. But the daughter of Hades seemed to have expected it and stepping out of a shadow, she appeared right behind the sprinting Warrior.

"Back to the Underworld with you," Bianca said with cool dispassion as she loosed her already nocked arrow.

It flew true even as the monster desperately spun around, raising its shield as it did to attempt to block the blow only for Bianca's glowing silver arrow to pierce right through it and into its chest.

For a moment, the Skeleton Warrior just looked down at its chest and the gleaming shaft of the arrow sticking out of it with what might have been disbelief. The moment didn't last long though and in seconds the undead monster crumbled into ash.

"That's all of them." Bianca smiled, sweat slicked her face as she panted a bit. From overexerting her power or fading adrenaline, Su had no clue.

Yet she did figure out one thing.

A teleporting archer? What a frightening concept. Talk about a tactical nightmare to have to deal with. Those Skeletons never stood a chance, did they?

Su felt rather useless. In fact, if she wasn't here, would Bianca have been able to win all on her own?

Probably. She concluded with a pout. What the Hades, just how terrifying can Big Three children be?

Most of a day after splitting up with Su and that new Hunter, Bianca - No great loss on either account -, Jack and the rest of the Questers were climbing up the side of Mount Tamalpais, the current location of Mount Othrys, following a path that Nightshade had insisted would lead them to where the sky met the earth, the Titan's Curse, was located and where the Oracle's prophecy seemed to be leading them towards.

"Nightshade, are you absolutely sure this is the right way?" Jack asked, earning himself glares from Thalia and Percy.

Seriously, what's their problem? It's a legitimate question. They might trust Nightshade implicitly, but I sure as the Pit don't.

"Aye, I am sure boy." The ancient girl said, seemingly utterly unable to talk like a normal person.

"Second guessing your Questmates isn't cool, Overland." Thalia spat. "Besides Zoë is hundreds of years old. I think she'd know her way around."

"Thousands," the oh so humble Hunter corrected. "And this is a path that I couldst never forget."

That statement seemed to catch the daughter of Zeus by surprise and she shot the Hunter a confused look but before she could say anything, Percy cut in.

"Leave it Thalia," Rhode's brother said firmly. "Just trust that Zoë knows the way."

Thalia frowned but nodded and they continued their hike in tense silence for a while until it was suddenly broken by the sound of a loud pop from just ahead of them that had them drawing and leveling their weapons warily at its source.

"It's just me guys," Su said with a smile as she put away her wand and broom.

"Su, glad to see you. If you're here then-"

"Bianca and I took care of the Skeleton Warriors." Su confirmed. "Well, it was mostly Bianca, but I helped too."

"Where is she then?" Nightshade asked curiously, probably worried for her fellow Hunter.

"She decided to head back to Camp to get us some backup just in case." Su said as they walked up to her and she fell in with their group. "That and with the Warriors gone, she didn't want to risk jinxing us with her presence screwing up the Oracle's prophecy about how many people made it West."

"That wast wise of her." Nightshade praised.

"Yeah, that was cool of her." Thalia agreed. "So how's she heading back to Camp?"

"Through the shadows. Apparently children of Hades can teleport through them."

"Tis called Shadow Travel. And whilst tis incredibly fast, it is not teleporting." Nightshade corrected. "Tis likely that using it, Bianca will reacheth back to Camp even before Annabeth and Grover."

"That's good," Percy said with a sigh of relief. "She can help tell Chiron what to expect."

"Yeah, we should have IM'd him before we sent them back." Thalia agreed with a wince.

"Don't worry about it." Jack said dismissively. "That old horse will manage either way."

For some reason his reassuring remark just earned him glares from the other Campers. Which was bullshit! He was just trying to be nice dammit! Why the hell were they all against him!?

Ignoring him, Su turned to address Percy.

"So what did you guys do in San Francisco while I was gone? Did you manage to meet up with Nereus like the vision you had suggested?"

"Yeah," Percy said with a wince. "I had to wrestle the guy into submission, but in the end he told me that Bessie, you know the sea monster that popped at the Hoover Dam?"

Rhode's brother waited for Su to nod in agreement before he continued with his tale.

"So apparently he was a she and her real name was the Ophiotaurus, the bane of Olympus, and whose entrails when burnt by someone will grant them the power to destroy Olympus."

"What!? You've handled it I hope."

"Yeah, I sacrificed both the Minotaur Horn and the Horn of the Marathonian Bull to my Dad and asked him to whisk Bessie away to safety back in the Sound by Camp. She's probably safe and sound there right now under Triton's protection. You know he built a base there, right?"

Totally omit the whole part with the Telekhines showing up and almost succeeding in using her Fatal Flaw to tempt Thalia to kill the Ophiotaurus in the name of power, huh? Or that you needed to remind her about rescuing Rhode to stop her?

Then again Fatal Flaws were very personal business so he could give Percy a pass this time. That part of the story was Thalia's to tell and since she was keeping mum, he was going to respect her choice.

"Yeah," Su nodded in agreement to Percy's question. "Rhode mentioned it."

"Well, after that we decided to pay Annabeth's mortal family a visit. You know, to tell them what happened."

"I understand. How did her father take the news?"

"Incredibly well," Thalia replied, sounding disbelievingly. Jack couldn't fault her, he felt very much the same. In his experience, a half-blood's mortal family tended to suck. "I'd never thought a mortal parent could be so understanding of a half-blood's life. Heck, even Annie's stepmother and half-brothers were genuinely super worried about her!"

Shaking her head, Jack barely heard her as she muttered away about how she couldn't understand why Annabeth didn't seem to get along with her family.

"Dr. Chase was really chill. He even lent us his car. It's how we made it here." Percy said, picking up the story once more. "Speaking of which, how did you get here? Don't tell me you apparited all the way?"

"No way," Su said with a shake of her head. "I'd be liable to get lost if I did that. I mainly flew, which is why I was carrying my broom just now. It's easier to navigate from the air. I just apparited the last leg once I spotted you guys off in the distance."

"Just checking here Su, but are you absolutely sure you got all the Skeleton Warriors before you flew off to join us?"

"Yes, Jack. I'm sure." Su replied, sounding exasperated.

Seriously, what is everyone's problem!? Can't I just double check!?

"And what you and Bianca didst is most laudable." Nightshade said before suddenly coming to a stop and paled.

"Zoë, something wrong?" Percy asked, shooting the Hunter a concerned look.

Did the kid get a kick about worrying about everyone or something? It was clear to Jack that Nightshade hated all men, yet for some reason Jackson was intent on making nice with her. Like he wanted into her pants or something. Didn't he already have Annabeth? Really what a scumbag Rhode's little brother was.

I'm so gonna get Rhode to scold him about it later.

"We're here." The Hunter said, her voice monotone.

"Where?" Jack asked with a frown, looking around them at the Mist shrouded mountainside. The damn fog having grown ever thicker as they'd climbed.

"The Garden of the Hesperides." Nightshade declared ominously.

"And that's a problem?" Thalia asked, tensing and drawing her spear and shield.

"Aye." Nightshade said, her voice still the uncharacteristic monotone. "The Garden belongs to the daughters of Atlas, we will findeth no friends within. Yet, it is the only way to proceed. There is no other path into Mount Othrys and the place where the sky meets the Earth."

"In other words, expect a fight inside." Su said with a sigh even as she began encasing herself in her Ent armor even as the Mist ahead of them cleared a little to reveal a large wrought iron gate featuring beautiful images of the sunset and evening.

Nightshade just nodded.

"What's the matter?" Jack asked dismissively. "It's not like this is the first time any of us have walked into a deathtrap. All we need to do is beat whatever is on the other side and be on our way, easy peasy."

Again everyone else shot him a glare and Jack just frowned. Why the hell was everyone picking on him!?

"Everyone ready?" Percy asked a moment later.

"No, but let us do this before I loseth mine nerve." Nightshade said as she pushed open the gates to the fabled Garden of the Hesperides.

As she did, it was as if the world had spontaneously shifted and they had not so much entered into the Garden as they'd been transported into it. Transported straight into what was definitely the most beautiful place that Jack had ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. At the Garden's centre, stepping stones of polished black marble led round either side of a five-storey-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with the golden apples of immortality.

The Garden of the Hesperides

Apples whose fragrance alone were so enticing that he knew that a single bite from one of them would be the most delicious thing that he had ever tasted. In fact, if it were not for the hundred headed dragon coiled around the tree and the warrior woman standing next to it, he would have stepped right up and plucked an apple.

Both of those under the tree gave him pause but in very different ways.

The dragon, the infamous Ladon, was terrifying, enormous and his one hundred heads were like a hundred pythons fused together. His serpentine body was thicker than a booster rocket, and his bright scales shimmered like copper. As if that wasn't enough, the dragon's breath smelled like acid, a stench similar to that of a dead rat, but a hundred times stronger which made the Questers' eyes burn, their skin crawl and hair stand on end.

Where Ladon was fear inducing, the woman in contrast was imposing. Her hair was as dark as the abyss of the sea, her eyes a haunting blue that seemed to pierce the deepest of boundaries with a mere glance. She was dressed in a set of hoplite armor made of coral and wore a fishing net for a cloak.

"Shit, I recognise that woman." Thalia hissed, tensing. "That's the goddess Desponia. Rhode told me to be careful about this goddess if we ever ran into her."

"Desponia?" Jack heard Percy whisper to himself. "Isn't that one of my sisters?"

"Ladon, destroy them." A group of gorgeously beautiful women said with eerie synchronicity as they appeared out of the Mist that pervaded the Garden. They were all wearing white Greek chitons and had caramel-like skin, glassy black eyes that were like volcanic rock and silky black hair that tumbled loosely around their shoulders.

Holy crap! They're almost as beautiful as Aphrodite! Jack thought as he felt a tightness down below.

"Jack! Stop thinking with your dick and pay attention!" Su shouted at him irritably as she used a set of Helel's vines to pull him out of the way of a stream of acid that Ladon breathed his way.

"Sisters! Wherefore art thee attacking us? We seeketh only passage through the garden, we mean thee nay harmeth" Nightshade cried out at the Hesperides, because seriously who else could those insanely beautiful women be, whilst she ineffectually peppered the hundred-headed dragons with her arrows.

"Sister? You are no sister of ours, Zoë Nightshade. Ladon, kill her along with the rest of them." The nymphs said in the creepy sync they had going, causing the dragon to roar in what Jack imagined must've been agreement.

"Yes, Ladon dear, do the heavy lifting for me please." Despoina said with a chuckle even as she snapped a finger and the lightning bolt that Thalia had thrown at the dragon suddenly arced away from it mysteriously.

"Did she just twist lightning?! How!?" Percy shouted in shock and almost failed to roll out of the way of a blast of Ladon's acid breath.

"She's a mystery! Literally. She can do stuff we don't understand!" Thalia explained even as she used her Aegis to deflect a swipe from Ladon's claws before hightailing away from the dragon before it could bring one of its many heads to bear. "Unless we figure out exactly how she does something, she can basically do anything."

"Lightning rods!" Percy screamed out.

Idiot! It can't be that simple. Jack thought derisively as he sent a hail storm at Ladon, only for his icy projectiles to bounce harmlessly off his scales. Though it did irritate him enough for him to turn a couple of its heads the son of Khione's way and breath beams of its acid breath at him.

Is its scales impenetrable or something!? Jack gripped even as he was forced to leap onto his staff and pull off some fancy flying to avoid getting melted alive.

"Do you see any lightning rods, silly boy?" Despoina said with a laugh as she took a breath before breathing a literal laser beam at her half-brother.

"Okay, that's just bullshit." Jack said as he created a wall of ice, that mostly instantly sublimated into steam, to shield the son of Poseidon.

"Aw, poor boy. Would calling up Mummy make you feel better?" Despoina laughed as fire blazed in her hands. "After all, you both just flap your mouths!"

"Damnation! Desponia is too much a thorn in this battle. We must taketh her down swiftly!" Nightshade said, pointing out the obvious even as she blinded a dozen of Ladon's eyes with an arrow barrage and caused it to roar and recoil in pain.

"Why the hell are you even fighting against us anyways?" Percy asked, as he charged at the goddess under the cover of a bullet seed and Manticore quill barrage courtesy of Li. Not that the projectiles did more than bounce off Despoina's armor.

Shit! Are all their armor super sturdy or what? This is totally unfair. Jack couldn't help but whine to himself as Ladon finally lost interest in him and stopped trying to shoot him out of the sky with its acid breath.

"Because I hate our Father." Despoina spat as she swung her arm in Percy's direction and somehow sent a brace of vacuum blades at him. "I may be one of his daughters. A full goddess at that. But does he care for me? No! Instead, he cares for that little whore more than me! More than our other sisters! Even Rhode, the true Rhode, is gone and when offered the chance to bring her back in exchange for that cheap whore, he refused! Where is that love for us? Where is his fury on our behalf? Nowhere!"

"You created a vacuum by swinging your arm at superspeed!" Li shouted, causing the blades about to cut Percy to pieces to dissipate harmlessly.

"Tsch. That's one more of my favourite techniques that I can't use again." The goddess said with a pout, even as she darted behind Ladon.

"Percy, watch out!" Thalia shouted as her lightning bolts did nothing to slow the dragon down as it barreled towards the son of Poseidon.

Jack could've shouted the warning, but he was more of an action speaks louder than words kinda guy so while she was wasting her breath, he tried instead to trap Ladon's legs in ice. But the monster just shook off his cryo blasts like they were nothing and easily broke free of even the thickest blocks of ice he created, not slowed down in the slightest.

"Daughter of Demeter, entangle his legs!" Zoë shouted as she tried but failed to take out more of Ladon's eyes, the dragon having learned from its earlier mistake and was keeping its eyes closed and relying on its other senses.

"Right!" Su shouted back as she slammed her armor's oversized fists into the ground and caused massive roots to shoot out of the ground under Ladon and wrap themselves around the strong rippling muscles of the dragon's legs. The strain of restraining such a massive beast was immense though and the daughter of Demeter clutched her head in clear pain from the effort.

And for all her trouble, she didn't manage to hold it for long before a few of his heads snaked over its back and used its acid breath to literally melt its floral restraints into so much mush. But the time she'd bought for Percy was enough and he wisely retreated from Ladon's wrath before it could bring its toxic breath to bear against him.

"Aw, he managed to get away? Guess, I'll have to kill him myself. After all, that's why I'm here."

"What the Hades did I do to you?" Percy shouted as she pulled water from a river running through the Garden and shaped it into a lance that he sent hurtling at Ladon only to have the dragon deflect it with a dismissive wave of its tail.

"You exist." Despoina said with a shrug even as she snapped her fingers and somehow sent the elemental attacks Jack and Thalia's were showering Ladon with flying back at them instead. "You are Poseidon's newest favorite. That alone is enough to want you dead. And nothing you or anyone says or does will change my mind. My millennia old bitter hatred will not be assuaged by anything less than the death of all of Father's bastards!"

"And that, Despoina, is why your Father can't stand you." A familiar voice shouted as suddenly an arrow of light, blinding and warm, illuminated the perpetual sunset of the Garden of the Hesperides and hit Despoina in the right shoulder, blowing it clean off and showering everything in her golden ichor.

"Ah! Damn you, Apollo, damn you!" The goddess of mysteries screamed and raged with eyes aglow with crackling energy.

Damn show off! Jack couldn't help but think as the Olympian manifested in the sky above the Garden. Probably didn't show up earlier just so he could make a dramatic entrance.

"The Titans miscalculated." Apollo said, his voice firm and radiating strength yet warm and gentle at the same time and his bronzed skin glowed with a soothing light that shined on all of them. "Deploying a god against these Questers? Stupid move! It means we get to send one of our own to even the odds. Guess who was picked?"

Ladon moved to stand in between Despoina and the sun god as he descended from the skies to loom protectively in front of the Questers, but Apollo just quirked a brow.

"You sure you want to try me Ladon? I defeated Python, you know."

"Yes, so we've heard since forever." Despoina said with a roll of her eyes as she healed her grievous injury. "Try something new, you Helium Headed Oaf. Oh wait, resting on your laurels is all you can do!"

"I could change up my taunts by beating you sad children today." Apollo warned. "Do you want that?"

"Ladon, Despoina, let us retreat for now." The Hesperides said in their unsettling unison. "And leave the mortals to Father. He will handle them."

"Run for daddy, girls, it's all you know after all." Apollo called out tauntingly and laughed as despite looking incredibly disgruntled, both the goddess and the dragon followed the nymphs' suggestion.

"This isn't the last you've heard of me, Percy Jackson." Despoina said as she turned translucent in a slow teleport away. "I'll kill you another time. And in the meantime, I will totally enjoy the suffering my own contribution to your precious sister's Curse of the Seashell has and will cause her."

"Great." Jack said with anger as the enemies finished their departure. "Glad that's finally over."

Ignoring him, which was just rude, Percy turned his attention to Apollo.

"Lord Apollo, what did Despoina mean by that? What did she add to Rhode's curse?"

Apollo shot Jack, of all people, a look at this but all he received was an uncaring shrug in response. After all, whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad. The god frowned in reply but nevertheless proceeded to answer Percy's question.

"She is the one who crafted the part of the curse that caused Rhode to latch onto Jack." The god said, proving that Jack had been an idiot and it could be that bad.

"W-What? But what about, what about our relationship? Was everything about it a lie? E-Even how we met?" Jack asked, his world rocking underneath his feet. He had to float a bit off the ground just not to fall over.

Apollo shot him a look, like Jack was something unpleasant stuck on the sole of his sandal. "Not going to tell you what to do, kid, but it's your right to question a lot of your so-called 'relationship'."

"Lord Apollo," Su simmered like a moron. "How many gods latched onto the curse?!"

Apollo snorted and shook his head. "I don't know. How many possible enemies do you think Uncle Posiedon has?"

They all either flinched or paled at the notion. Poseidon was a hothead back in the day, he had a list nearly as long as Zeus in the enemies department.

"Relax, it's not that bad. I think. It was probably only Lesbos and Despoina, and maybe another two or three. Probably. Sorta."

This was met with an uncomfortable moment of silence, that the god broke. "Okay, any more questions? Anyone in need of healing?"

Everyone exchanged a look. No one was injured, which was amazing and was probably because Apollo stepped in as quickly as he had. Not that Jack noticed much of that. He was still a little too shaken by the revelation that his relationship might've been based entirely on lies. Or manipulations by vengeful gods. That it was a lie.

It is, Apollo said into his mind. Though Jack wasn't entirely sure that wasn't just his imagination.

"If there's nothing you guys need from me, then I have to go." Apollo said out loud, sounding frustrated and apologetic. "The rest is up to you guys. The Ancient Laws won't allow me to interfere any further.

He turned to glare up towards where the sky met the earth.

"May Tyche and Nike favour you, Questers."

With those parting blessings, Apollo vanished completely uncaring of the devastation of Jack's heart that he left in his wake.

"Alright, let's keep going." Percy said, just as uncaring of Jack's suffering. "We have sisters to save."

Everyone else cheered their agreement, even bloody Nightshade! All except Jack who could only wallow in his confusion and heartbreak as he trudged after them like a lost lamb.

"They've just left the Garden of the Hesperides, Master Luke." Rhode heard one of the harpies in service to the Titans inform Luke. "They shall be here soon."

"Good, good." Luke mumbled to himself, before raising his voice to address the winged monster. "Go inform the Princess Andromeda to hurry. It's time to close the vice."

"As you command, Master." The harpy said with a bow before with a flap of its wings it leapt into the air and flew off towards the ocean.

"You brought me out here just to see your little plan get torn apart by the Questers, Luke?" Rhode taunted from where she was bound to a chair on a platform next to where the goddess Artemis was holding up the sky. She was managing it a whole lot better than Rhode had but even she was struggling under the immense strain, if the pained look on her face and copious amounts of sweat pouring off her body was anything to go by.

As for her question, just like the last few times she'd asked Luke since he brought her out here, he ignored her.

I wasted my breath asking again. Rhode thought with a frown even as patience frayed further. She'd been tied up here for over an hour by this point and she really wanted to know why.

Thankfully for her patience, the answer presented itself soon enough as Thalia, Percy, Su, Jack and a girl she didn't recognise reached the top of the path that led to the plateau at the top of Mount Othrys where the namesake fortress sat

"We brought you here to make you watch as we kill your friends of course." Atlas said with a laugh as he teleported in front of her, already clad in a set of Stygian Iron armor.

With that ominous statement, Atlas walked towards the new arrivals.

"These are mine, Castellan." The Titan said as he continued his advance. "You stay back."

"As you command, Lord Atlas." Luke said like the groveling worm he'd become.

"Too cowardly to face true heroes, Luke? Leaving it to your Titan master? You've really fallen."

"No, I am just patient." Luke shot back as he gripped the hilt of his accursed blade and eyed the brewing confrontation between Atlas and the Questers with bloodthirsty anticipation. "I'll get my chance at Overland. I just know I will."

"Welcome to Othrys, servants of Olympus. It shall be where you die!" Atlas shouted bombastically as he stomped his feet unleashing a shockwave of raw power towards the Questers.

They were prepared for him though and walls of ice and flora burst into existence and shielded the heroes, even as a bolt of lightning and a brace of silver arrows arched over these barriers to hit the Titan.

Atlas though was no pushover and batting the arrows out of the air with a careless wave of his hand and completely ignoring the lightning bolt even as it struck him, he made to intercept Jack and Su as they both flew out from behind either side of their barriers, one atop his staff and the other her broom, as they made a beeline towards the platform that Rhode and Luke were on.

"I am your opponent, mortals." Atlas barked as he raised his open palms in the direction of the two airborne demigods, energy gathering in his hands in preparation for some kind of attack.

"And the three of us are yours!" Percy shouted back as he leapt over the still standing barriers Jack and Su had created earlier courtesy of a pillar of groundwater he'd pulled from the earth.

"Eat Celestial Bronze, Titan!" Rhode's little brother roared as he thrust Riptide at Atlas.

The Titan was not so easily felled though and reacting quickly, he swung his open palms forward in Percy's direction and unleashed the twin beams of raw energy that he'd been gathering straight at the son of Poseidon.

"Percy!" Rhode shouted in alarm as the beams consumed her brother.

"Argh! That hurt like a bitch!" Percy hissed loudly as he fell from the sky, clad in her Pallas Armor.

"But you'll have to do better than that if you want to kill me, Atlas." Her brother taunted as the waters that flowed from her armor healed him and he leapt back to his feet, just in time to avoid the Titan attempting to smash him with his fist.

"Then I shall do just tha-" Atlas tried to retort as he prepared to punch at Percy with a glowing fist and probably unleash some kind of ranged attack by doing so, but was cut short, mid sentence and mid action, when a silver arrow with a rope attached to it embedded itself in his raised arm and transformed into a claw, which the archer promptly tugged hard on.

It wasn't enough to send the Titan toppling off his feet but it was enough to cause him to stumble back and send his building attack flying wildly off target whilst also leaving him open for the most powerful lightning bolt Thalia had summoned in the fight so far. One that, aided by him being unbalanced, was enough to send him tumbling to the ground.

"Percy! Get him!" Rhode's sister shouted and her brother rushed the downed Titan.

"Now this is a challenge!" Atlas roared as he unleashed a shockwave of power that sent Percy flying back before he even got close, whilst simultaneously disintegrating the claw attached to his arm and the last of the barriers that had saved the Questers from his opening move.

"Show me just how much of one you can offer, Questers." Atlas sneered as he stood back up, sporting an eager, predatory grin.

Rhode was drawn away from that particular fight though as she heard her name being shouted.

"Rhode!" Su cried out as she used Helel's vines to rip an unfortunate Laistrygonian into pieces whilst just a short distance away Jack was freezing a squad of Dracanae into ice sculptures with a cryo blast. "Hang in there! We're almost there!"

"Su! Jack!" Rhode shouted back, happy to see them and knowing that her rescue was finally at hand.

"Overland!" Luke shouted suddenly, reminding Rhode of his presence. She'd honestly pushed that fact out of her mind for a minute there so the reminder had her flinching and turning towards him in shock.

"You'll pay for defiling my Rhode, you scoundrel!" The traitorous son of Hermes roared as he tapped into the powers granted to him by the Crooked One and blurred towards the son of Khione, who only just barely managed to bring his staff up in time to block the powerful overhead strike Luke had brought down on him in a bid to cleave him in twain.

"Jack!" Both Rhode and Su shouted worriedly.

"Li, go rescue Rhode! I'll keep the psycho here occupied." Jack shouted back as reassuringly as he could manage whilst just managing to push Luke back and jumping back a few feet, narrowly avoiding the crazed traitor's follow up slash.

"Don't die!" Su shouted back even as she somehow transformed Helel's vines into scorpion tails and unleashed a hail of what looked like Manticore quills that killed the remaining monsters around the platform Rhode was on.

Spinning on her feet, Su apparited the remaining distance, no mean feat considering she was in her Ent armor and had to punch through the undoubtedly significant magical interference created by the rich ambient magic of Mount Othrys, and reappeared right next to Rhode.

"Su, get me out of here!" Rhode demanded even as she tried her best to keep track of the fight between Jack and Luke.

A fight that Jack was losing. Badly. Luke was dipping deep into the power her Grandfather had given him and was literally running circles around Jack in a series of blurred sprints, evading the son of Khione's desperate counterattacks be they cryo blasts or swings of his staff. All whilst, he dealt one deep cut with his blade after another and caused Jack to cry out in agony each time as the cursed sword worked its evil magic.

"Give me a sec," Su said as she threaded a hand grasping her sword through her armor and quickly and deftly cut Rhode's bonds. "Rhode, here!"

Rhode snatched Spellbound's disguised form out of the air as Su tossed it to her with her free hand. Acting as quickly as she could, she transformed the spyglass into its true form and using her trusty trident promptly snapped the collar around her neck.

Even as the broken remains of the hated device that had suppressed her powers hit the floor, the mixed sounds of a maniacal laugh and a pained scream had the two girls spinning to look at the fight between Luke and Jack.

The sight that greeted them sent a shiver of absolute horror shooting down Rhode's spine as she laid eyes on Luke with his accursed sword buried in Jack's chest, right where his heart was.

"Jack!" Rhode and Su both cry out in horror even as Luke pulled out his sword, sending a spray of Jack's blood shooting into the air.

"N-Not li-like t-thi-," Jack began as he collapsed forward, only for his last words to be brutally cut short as Luke swung his foul blade once more and in one stroke, decapitated the son of Khione.

Something inside her, something that had been barely clinging on even despite the crushing weight of having held up the sky, broke at seeing the head roll as she let out a howl of utter heartbreak that combined with Luke's roar of triumph in a cacophony of sound that drowned out her awareness of everything in the world except herself and the man who she was about to kill. With her hands gripping Spellbound so tight that her knuckles had turned white, she leapt towards the traitor she'd once called a brother with the intent to impale him. To kill the murderer of the father of her unborn child.

Luke spun around in surprise, batting her first thrust away with a parry, but Rhode spun her polearm, managing to crash the spiked butt into his side with enough force to break a rib. Even still, Luke sent a kick into her chest, making Rhode struggle to keep her footing.

Recovering, the daughter of Poseidon dug her pronged weapon into the ground and flung rock and gravel forward, aiming to blind Luke as she dashed forward. If it failed at that, then she'd hoped it would at least buy her enough time to close and allow her to land a blow before he tightened his guard. However, tapping into the boons his foul master had granted him, Luke blurred around the gravel and not only easily parried her thrust but managed to run his blade along her arm.

Pain that was grossly disproportionate to the shallow wound shot through Rhode's body and had she been a weaker person, it alone would've caused her to drop her weapon but she was made of sterner stuff and spinning out of the range of his blade she reached out with her powers and grabbing hold of as much ice that Jack's earlier cryo blasts had created, sent them hurtling at Luke.

"Rhode, it's over! He's gone!" Luke shouted at her with a twisted smile, as if he had won something even as he effortlessly blurred out of the way of the many icy projectiles Rhode hurled at him.

A feat that made Rhode see red. She wanted to see Luke's blood.

For all his speed though, Luke had seemingly forgotten one of the most basic rules of a fight. Keep track of all your opponents.

He was thus foolish enough to drop out of his superspeed right next to one of hundreds of Helel's vines that Su had extended all over the area. A tendril that promptly latched onto his legs before he could react and lift him into the air before slamming him back down into the ground with enough force to crater it.

The son of Hermes cried out in pain, but before he could be slammed down again, his sword lashed out like a flash of light and he cut himself free. Rolling away even as more of Helel's vines reached out towards him again, he frowned as he found himself beset from all sides by them.

"Pesky plants, die already!" The insane son of Hermes shouted as swinging his sword so fast it resembled a rotary blade, he began cutting any vine within reach.

"Rhode!" Su cried out as she ran towards Rhode's side in her Ent armor.

Her shout caught Luke's attention and he turned towards her with a mad glint in his eyes and a sneer spread across his scarred face. Abandoning his attempt at imitating a lawnmower, he blurred towards Su who responded by unleashing a hail of Manticore quills and bullet seeds at him, forcing him to engage in evasive maneuvers and slowing his advance.

"No more, you won't take anything more from ME!" Rhode roared as she charged at Luke, determined to stop him from killing another of her loved ones.

"Confringo!" Rhode cast, sending a fiery orange bolt of magic at the crazed son of Hermes.

Recognizing the threat from behind him, Luke spun around faster than should have been possible and using his blade slapped Rhode's spell away from him. Su tried to shift her fire to capitalize on him coming to a stop to do so, but he blurred away before she could. Instead, he took advantage of the distraction of her attempt to finish closing with her.

"Die you dyke!" Luke shouted as he reappeared atop Su's Ent armor, his sword raised and poised to stab her.

"No!" Rhode roared as she prepared to cast another spell, even though she knew she'd be too slow.

Su though was another matter entirely.

"Confringo!" Her best friend cast from inside her armor just as Luke was about to stab down, hitting the son of Hermes point blank in his right shoulder and literally blowing his sword arm off in a fiery explosion.

"You talk too much." Su said dispassionately as she had Helel's vines grab the stunned and mortally wounded Luke, both his body and his now cut off arm, and tossed them as far as she could.

Rhode watched, sea green eyes somehow catching the pain filled sky blue ones of Luke as the son of Hermes plummeted off the side of the Mountain of Despair, screaming all the while.

I hope you die and end up in the Fields of Punishment. Rhode thought as she turned away from the piece of shit to check on Su.

"Su, you alri-"

Her question was drowned out though by a laugh that literally shook the earth and caused both her and Su to spin around towards its source, Atlas. The Titan, seemingly having caught sight of Luke's fate, had taken a break from his own fight to show his amusement at it. Though since the earthquake his laughter caused seemed to have disoriented Percy and the others, he had plenty of room to do so.

"With that foolish boy gone, I guess we have no need to keep Poisedon's little whore alive." The Titan of Endurance declared as he reached down and sank his fingers into the ground. With no effort at all, he ripped a large chunk of earth free and tossed it in Rhode's direction.

Glaring, Rhode's fury poured into her magic as she aimed her trident at the incoming chunk of earth. "Bombarda Maxima!"

A white bolt of magic leapt from the trines of her trident and slammed into the boulder, causing it to explode into a cloud of dust that rained harmlessly onto the ground below. Using it as cover, the daughter of Poseidon charged the Titan.

"Ha! Foolish child!" The Titan mocked as he clapped his hands in her direction. So powerful was the force of his clap that it created a blast of air with enough concussive force that it sent Rhode flying back.

Rhode was saved from a painful landing as she felt herself caught in the soft tendrils of Helel.

"Stay away from my sister!" Thalia shouted angrily at seeing Rhode get sent flying, as she unleashed a storm of lightning at the Titan that was joined by blasts of pressurised water from Percy and a rain of silver arrows fired by the Hunter girl.

Not that Atlas even seemed to notice the fierce onslaught of attacks sent at him as he casually weathered them and turned to face the daughter of Zeus.

"Though Zeus' whelp may still have some use." He said, looking Thalia up and down appraisingly.

The Titan's words caused her anger to rise and Rhode once more saw red. Leaping back to her feet, she charged the Titan a second time. "You stay the fuck away from her, you bastard!"

"The only bastards here are you demigods." Atlas said with a disgusted snort as he stomped his foot, causing the whole mountain top to shake with an earthquake so powerful that it caused everyone save for Rhode and Percy to lose their footing. More importantly though, it opened up a fissure of earth that began heading directly towards Rhode which forced her to abort her charge and dive out of the way.

"So anger isn't only your Fatal Flaw, but also that which drives you in battle? Interesting." The General said, sounding genuinely curious. "I wonder how far you can go before the latter transforms into the former."

At that cryptic statement, he reached out behind him and with a casual air that spoke of just how utterly outclassed they were, he picked Percy up like he was nothing more than a toy. Her brother swung Riptide at the incoming hand but for some inexplicable reason, his swing was sluggish and he missed entirely. As such, Atlas lifted him with nary any resistance and proceeded to toss him with the force of a cannon in the direction where Artemis still held up the sky.

A scream tore from Rhode's throat as she saw Percy land in a crumpled heap. But channeling that anger into action, she focused her magic.

"Επικαλούνται: Δύναμη του Δούρειου ίππου [Epikaloúmai: Dýnami tou Doúreiou íppou/ Invoke: Power of the Trojan Horse]!"

The spell had the earth quaking once more but this time, it was the Titan of Endurance who faltered as he fell to his knees, bleeding from his stone-like nose.

"Time for some payback!" Rhode shouted as she flung herself at the downed Titan with an almost feral rage. Her blood screaming to take his head, to tear, rip and leave him in pieces for all the harm he had done to her family!

The others, having recovered, also joined in on raining blows upon the staggered Titan.

Blow after blow in the form of lightning blows, Manticore quills, bullet seeds, silver arrows and an array of destructive spells all landed upon Atlas. But he was unharmed by them all. Even Spellbound bounced off his rock hard skin leaving nothing more than a bruise.

As such as he finally shook off the effects of Rhode's spell, he simply swung his arm at her with the air of one trying to shoo away an annoying fly. Normally, Rhode would have easily evaded such a lazy swing but overcome by her rage she did not even see it coming and was sent flying through the air like a ragdoll.

"Rhode!" The daughter of Poseidon heard multiple voices cry out as her mind cleared, the red haze of rage lifting as agony replaced it.

Thankfully that lasted only a moment before Su apparited to her side and practically shoved a thick wafer of ambrosia down her throat.

"Swallow!" The daughter of Demeter ordered and, too disoriented to really do anything else, Rhode obeyed and let the food of gods heal her injuries.

They also helped her regain her senses a little. Just in time to see Atlas stagger to his feet and slam his clasped hands down into the ground, creating a titanic shockwave.

Caught unprepared, the wave sent Rhode and Su both flying. The daughter of Demeter wrapped herself around Rhode, using her armor to absorb the shock of their rough landing. It was still bone jarring though and the force of the shockwave itself had been intense enough to have burst Rhode's eardrums.

She was thus in no position to put up anything resembling a credible defense as she spotted a sneering Atlas advancing towards her and Su through her blurry vision.

"S-Su, g-get up! At-Atlas. H-He's coming." Rhode slurred, as she struggled to tell up from down all whilst desperately trying to wake her seemingly unconscious best friend.

"I will not allow you to harm them, Father." The Hunter girl shouted bravely as she suddenly appeared between them and Atlas, firing arrow after arrow at the Titan to little effect.

"Out of my way, you traitor." Atlas spat as he backhanded the girl, sending her flying with such force that her body folded in on itself at such an angle that if Rhode remembered her anatomy lessons right probably meant he'd broken her spine.

"NO!" A cry of sorrow and fury rang out with such force that left the whole of Mount Othrys shaking as Rhode turned to see the goddess Artemis charging towards the Titan. Daggers appeared in her hands from the aether as surrounded by an aura of brilliant moonlight, she swung at Atlas like a whirling dervish.

The Titan spun around to face her, clear surprise on his face. Despite that, he managed to raise his arms in front of his face as he used his vambracers to block the blades of the goddess as she slashed at him. However he didn't seem to expect her to turn mid swing into a massive elephant that seemed to resemble the Oliphaunts from the Lord of the Rings more than any real world pachyderms and proceeded to hit him like a battering ram.

To his credit, he kept up his guard even as he skidded backwards, the sheer kinetic force of Artemis' charge too much even for him. The moment they came to a stop, he even tried to go on the counterattack and pushed forward but the goddess of the hunt had expected this and had transformed once more.

This time she became a gigantic octopus, something that held itself much lower to the ground and Atlas found himself pushing his weight against empty air. Titan or not, physics dictated what happened next and he fell forward. But Artemis wasn't about to leave it at that and lashing out with her tentacles, she tripped her opponent and in the split second where he was entirely airborne she used her tentacles that were still wrapped around his legs to toss him right back towards where the sky sought to meet the earth.

Turning in that direction, it was only then that Rhode realised how Artemis had been able to join the fight.

Her little brother had taken the weight of the sky from her.

"Percy!" Rhode cried out in alarm, her mind clearing thanks to the horrible realisation of the torment her brother had willingly borne. She knew, from bitter experience, just how terrible it was to bear that immense weight.

"Boy! Now!" Artemis shouted at the same time as she reverted to her human guise and Atlas crashed landed next to him.

Percy seemed to get what Artemis wanted and dove out of the way, tumbling across the ground.

"No!" Atlas roared in feral fury as he fell into a kneeling position to better hold his burden once more.

"Serves you right, you bastard!" Rhode shouted at the Titan as she ran over to check on Percy, dimly aware of Su stumbling back to her feet behind her.

"Everyone! We need to get out of here now!" Thalia said, running over. "I just went to check on what happened to Luke and I saw a massive army of monsters marching up the mountain."

"I sense them too." Artemis agreed. "They come to answer the Titans' call. We must leave quickly. But first-"

Without finishing her sentence, the goddess of the hunt walked over to the broken, dead body of the girl who Rhode didn't know.

"You served me well to the very end, my lieutenant. Rest well, Zoë. You will be remembered."

With that she picked up the corpse which transformed into stars in her hands and she tossed them skywards where they flew into the night sky and took the shape of a constellation.

They all stood there for a moment, in silent memory of the life lost before the goddess broke it.

"Come, let us leave this accursed place." She said as she whistled, calling down a silver chariot pulled by four golden reindeer. "I depart for Olympus at once. I cannot take you there. If I did, I fear I will be seen to be biased and my vote on the war might be invalidated. The majority is tenuous as best as is, we cannot risk it. But fear not, help will arrive shortly."

"Help? Whose?"

"I hear their wingbeats already." The goddess said with a comforting smile as she shot up into the sky on her chariot. "Until we meet on Olympus, heroes."

"What the hell did she mean?" Rhode asked, too tired by what she'd been through to deal with the typical godly crypticness.

"I think she meant those." Thalia said as she pointed to the East and a pair of pegasi flying towards them being led by a flying chariot being pulled by a pair of what looked like automaton pegasi.

"Okay, since when did we get one of those?" Rhode asked, staring incredulously at the chariot.

"Lady Lesbos gave it to us as a spoil after we beat her army of animated statues in the Junkyard of the Gods." Su explained helpfully, causing Rhode to look at her in confusion. Something that was only added to as she saw Helel reach out to do something that she couldn't figure out. "We'll explain things later. Right now, let's focus on getting out of here before that army Thalia spotted gets here."

"Oh, before that. Rhode here. It's saved me a bunch. Even made bearing the sky, uh, not good but, um, bearable? Yeah, bearable. But it's yours." Percy said, handing her the Pallas coin.

Rhode nodded, taking her treasured armor back with a smile.

Boss lady! Flóga shouted at once joyous and filled with urgency as she dived down and landed right next to Rhode. You're okay! That's great! Now get on! We need to go! Like now! That army of monsters is like, just about to reach the plateau!

"Right." Rhode said as she hopped onto the fiery auburn mare's back. "Let's go, everyone! The monsters are almost here!"

"Yes, get on!" Bianca shouted urgently as she pulled the chariot to a stop nearby and Blackjack landed next to Percy. "We want to be gone by the time they get here. So hurry!"

"Right!" Su said as she leapt onto Flóga's back and wrapped her arm around Rhode's waist, something wrapped in Helel's vines being held on her back.

"Su, is that?"

"Jack's body." The daughter of Demeter confirmed. "Now let's go!"

"...Thank you." Rhode said, pain scratching in her throat as she looked at it.

"I may not have liked him, but the dead deserve basic respect." Su simply said, face stoic but exhaustion and pain laced her voice.

Okay, everyone ready to go? Flóga asked bossily as she looked to make sure.

"Everyone's ready." Rhode told her. "To the air everyone!"

With the sound of the powerful wingbeats of their mounts, the half-bloods leapt into the air and to safety. Only moments later did the first monsters reach the plateau of Mount Othrys and could only shout in impotent fury as they made good their escape. Something punctuated by the pained cry of Atlas as Bianca decided to take a passing shot at the Titan as they flew past him with her bow and scored a hit in his eye.

"And that's for Zoë!"

Huh, she got a spine fast. Rhode thought, blinking in surprise.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter

The Unrelenting Frozen Seas: Symphony of Tempering

Chapter Eighteen: And Christmas was Saved, Sorta

Beta: ShadowofAxios

“And we all agree to recognize the state of war between the Titans and ourselves?” Rhode heard Zeus address the rest of the Olympian Council, looking unhappy at the very words that were coming out of his mouth. Not surprising, since he was one of those who had abstained from voting for war.

This was met by agreement, some grudging but all ultimately accepting from the other Olympians. 

“Alright then, we will plan out our next steps and discuss them at a later date.” Zeus said, looking to Athena and Ares meaningfully and getting nods from both war gods before continuing. “For now, we need to move on to the next order of business today.”

“You mean, your first order of business.” Hera cut in with a roll of her eyes.

Zeus shot her a look and she quieted. He kept it up for a long moment to make sure she had nothing more to say before he turned back to address the Council and its onlookers.

"Thalia, my daughter, step forward.” The King of the Gods boomed.

Rhode saw Thalia gulp nervously and shoot the daughter of Poseidon a look, her nerves clearly doing a number on her.

“You can do this, Thalia.” Rhode reassured her, giving her sister’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Remember the plan that Bethy helped us come up with.”

Thalia nodded and taking a deep breath, she stepped into the centre of the Hall of the Gods.

“Father, my Lords and Ladies of Olympus,” Thalia said with a respectful bow to the assembled Olympian Council and Hades.

“You know why I have called you forward?” Zeus asked, looking at his daughter with a surprisingly gentle look.

“You worry that I might be the Child of the Great Prophecy.” Thalia said, her voice firm despite the faint trembling of her clenched fists.

Hang in there, Thalia.

“But you don’t need to worry.” Thalia said, keeping her voice steady. “Like my sister Rhode before me, I swear on the Styx that I refuse the mantle of the Child of the Great Prophecy.”

Supernatural thunder boomed as the Oath was sealed and the gods all exchanged a look.

“Can she do that?” Hermes asked, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Just renounce the mantle like that?”

“Not normally,” Aunt Hestia said from where she’d been tending the Hall’s central hearth the whole time. “But if the Fates didn’t intervene to stop her. Then-”

“She’s not the child of the prophecy in the first place.” Apollo said with a thoughtful frown. “Well played, Thalia Grace. Well played.”

“Thank you, Lord Apollo.” Thalia said as she breathed a sigh of relief. “My sister Annabeth came up with the idea.” 

“An idea worthy of my daughter.” Athena said with a proud little grin. “And one I think we can replicate.”

At this she turned to look meaningfully at Percy and Bianca.

Ares looked ready to say something whilst eyeing Percy with a glare of his flaming eyes but before the war god could speak, someone unexpected spoke first.

“No,” Zeus said suddenly. “That would be hasty, Athena. Or do you want to remove all possible candidates for the mantle within the ranks of our heroes?”

Athena seemed startled by her father’s astute observation. And she wasn’t the only one. Everyone in the Hall of the Gods was looking at the King of the Gods in disbelief.

“What!?” He barked, crossing his arms.

Wisely nobody said a word on the matter. Instead, Artemis cut in and changed the topic.

“We should reward these heroes.” The goddess of the hunt said, offering the Questers a smile. “For rescuing me.”

“Isn’t that your private business?” Dionsysus said disinterestedly.

“And you have no interest in rewarding those who rescued your champion?” Artemis asked the wine god pointedly.

“Well, she’s alive?” Dionysus shrugged. “Isn’t that a reward? I mean, raise a glass to the living!” 

“You just don’t want to reward them in front of the Council and give the impression you actually have a heart under that prickly exterior of yours.” Apollo teased.

Dionysus gave his half-brother an annoyed look. “Next time you need a good wine? Make it yourself.” 

Ignoring the byplay, Father cut in with a roll of his eyes.

“Yes, they have done a great service to Olympus. I second Artemis’ suggestion, these heroes should be rewarded.”

“Yes, they should.” Hera, of all goddesses, agreed. Though the way she was looking at Rhode and Su was making her just a little uncomfortable. Only the comforting hand her best friend put on her shoulder stopped her from fidgeting and appearing disrespectful.

“I concur.” Demeter said, shooting both of them a reassuring smile. 

“Me too.” Aphrodite said, looking up from filing her nails. “If not for them, Lesbos’ crimes against my domain would’ve never come to light.”

“Let’s just vote.” Hephaestus said, sounding annoyed at the delay. “Do we reward them or not? I vote yay.”

“Nay,” Hermes said, shooting Su in particular a glare. Earning himself one in return from Demeter whose wheat laurel popped threateningly. 

“You guys know how I’d vote.” Apollo said with a shrug. “Ares? Athena? Dionysus? Father?”

“Didn’t I make my stand clear enough?” Dionysus said with a groan.

“I vote yay and no, Dionysus, you did not.” Athena said with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh, yay I guess. What’s the harm this one time. My good deed of the century.” 

“Nay,” Ares said, still glaring at Percy like he had been all night.

“Not that it matters with a nine vote majority already, but I vote in favour as well.” Zeus said with a decisive nod.

“Yay.” Hades simply said from his seat in the far corner, his eyes never leaving his daughter’s, before Zeus could continue. 

“Ah, sorry about that brother. I had forgotten you get a vote at the Solstice meetings.” Zeus said insincerely.

“Clearly.” Hades scoffed. “Just move on to the rewards already.”

Zeus looked annoyed at Hades’ dismissal but he nevertheless complied.

“Now then, does anyone have particular rewards in mind?”

“I bless Su Li with the fate of a happy marriage despite the hardship her relationship will bring.” Hera said, surprising everyone. “Remember to use the rings, dear, when you get around to the ceremony.”

Clutching the chain she wore all the time through her Camp tee, Su bowed respectfully to the goddess of marriage. 

“Thank you, Lady Hera.” The daughter of Demeter said with a grateful smile.

Rhode gave Su a surprised look, confused as to what the goddess was talking about. 

Zeus shot his wife a suspicious look but shaking his head, he turned to Thalia.

“To my daughter, Thalia,” he said as with a snap of his fingers her spear suddenly appeared in front of her. “As your reward, I shall imbue your spear with some of my divine lightning. It shall now serve as an external store of your power. That should help with the trouble you’ve been having with that speed technique you’ve been working with.”

“That’s, um, very thoughtful, Father.” Thalia said, blinking in surprise as she grabbed her spear from the air. “Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it, Thalia.” Zeus said with a surprisingly gentle smile.

“And for Percy,” Father said, shooting her brother a smile. “I have the perfect gift. I know you worry for the Ophiotaurus. You have a kind heart, my son. So my gift to you will be to take Bessie, as you have named the monster, into my care.”

Bessie, the Ophiotaurus

“Thank you, Father.” Percy smiled, looking both happy and relieved at the news. 

“You want the Ophiotaurus?” Zeus asked, looking at Father suspiciously. “In your domain, brother? I think not.” 

“It will be kept here on Olympus, of course. And we shall all combine our powers to protect it.” Father said with a roll of his eyes. “However, it is a sea creature, as such who would be best equipped to be in charge of its care?”

“I can think of plenty of nymphs.”

“I’m sure you do, brother.” Hades scoffed. “But Poseidon is right. Let him take charge of the creature. It is a beast of his domain. That it will be kept here on Olympus should be enough of a compromise.”

The way the other gods were shooting Zeus looks of exasperation had him finally sighing and backing down.

“Fine,” Zeus said in a huff. “But Hephaestus, I want you to oversee the construction of the tank and its defenses. Athena, see if you can find the time to look them over as well.”

“Very well.” “Yes, Father.”

“Now, if there’s no other business-” Dionsyus began, an eager grin on his face.

“Actually, I have an announcement as well.” Artemis stood and walked up to the heroes. “As my Lieutenant, Zoë Nightshade, has passed and now lives among the stars, I find myself in need of a replacement.”

Shrinking down from her godly height to more human proportions, she came to a stop before Bianca.

“Bianca di Angelo, daughter of Hades, would you do me the honour of being my new Lieutenant? Despite this being your first quest, you succeeded in saving me. You aided this quest in ways no one else could. I’d ask no one else.” 

“Lady Artemis?” Bianca gasped, shocked and looking to her fellow Questers for guidance and receiving encouraging nods in reply.

“Do what you think is best for you, Bianca.” Rhode heard Su say from next to her.

Nodding, Bianca turned back to her matron.

“I humbly accept, my lady.” Bianca said, as she knelt before the goddess of the hunt.

Artemis smiled, white teeth shining like stars as a silver circlet materialised around Bianca’s head, and nestled itself on her brow, her hair flowing around it. 

In his corner, Hades sighed at the sight but managed a small smile for his daughter as Bianca turned to look for his approval.

“Now! We all make merry!” Zeus announced with a clap of thunder and the party finally got under way. 

“You’ll make sure he gets back to Camp alright? That his pyre will be ready for him by the time we are allowed back?” Rhode asked Flóga and Blackjack as the two pegasi prepared to escort Jack’s body back to Camp on the flying chariot the Questers had earned during their journey West.

No problem Bosslady. We’ll get him right to the centaur. Flóga promised as she nuzzled against Rhode’s neck. I’m just so glad you’re back though.

“I am too.” Rhode said, rubbing her mount’s neck comfortingly. “I am too.”

Even if it had cost Olympus two of its heavy hitters. First there was Zoë Nightshade, the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. A girl whom she’d met once before she’d made it to Camp all those years ago and hadn’t recognised when she’d shown up on Othrys, who had, if what she understood, served Artemis for millennia and whose death presented a loss of invaluable experience. And then there was Jack-

Rhode sobbed just thinking of his death. Thankfully before she could break down, Su interrupted her.

“Flóga, Blackjack, you two better go.” Su said, as she popped her head in from outside the stable where she was keeping watch so Rhode had some privacy. “The party is moving this way. If you get caught up in it, who knows when you’ll have the wherewithal to leave.”

Rhode winced. Olympian parties had that effect on people. Even in her absolute grief over Jack’s death, just being in the midst of its party atmosphere made her want to make merry regardless. If the pegasi got caught up in it, it was doubtful they’d maintain the presence of mind to do what needed to be done.

Gotcha, Miss Su. Blackjack said with a whinny before butting his head lightly against Flóga’s side. Let’s go.

Right. Flóga said reluctantly as she pulled away from Rhode. See you in Camp, Bosslady.

“Yeah, I’ll be back soon.” Rhode reassured her mount with a wave.

Offering her an equine smile, Flóga leapt into the air with a powerful beat of her wings followed shortly after by Blackjack and the flying chariot containing Jack’s body. Rhode watched them go, waving at them as they flew out of the stables and into the air over New York City.

“Rhode, you alright?” Su asked from her side.

“No, not really.” Rhode confessed. “But we have a party to attend.”

Su frowned but nodded, even as she put a comforting arm over Rhode’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze. One that Rhode deeply appreciated. She honestly didn’t know what she’d do if Su wasn’t here with her right now.

A short while later found Rhode sitting on a bench in a small plaza listening to a band that Rhode had never heard of before. Their music was unlike anything she’d ever encountered. Its sad beat wormed its way into her ear and she found it irritating, but it also somehow eased her heart. Though she was pretty sure almost everyone was hearing something else since they were enjoying themselves. 

The daughter of Poseidon felt solace with Su’s supportive presence near her. It made the hurt less painful, but her heart still felt like it was stinging. She ran a hand through her hair, catching the strands of white that ran down her curly black locks. 

Another gift from carrying the weight of the sky it seemed. 

“It reminds me of when you would dye your hair.” Su commented as she brushed the snow white streak. 

Rhode smiled at the fond memories. She laughed softly. “Yeah, a lot less confusion and far more straightforward times, huh?” 

“You mortals always say that about the past.” Dionysus said as he strolled over with his wife, Ariadne, on his arm.

Dionysus and Ariadne

“Hey Mr. D. Enjoying yourself?” Rhode asked kindly as she nursed a cup of nectar and punch. “Hello Lady Ariadne.” 

“It’s Dionysus right now, actually.” Dionysus corrected. “But you already knew that, didn’t you, you cheeky brat.”

“Guilty.” Rhode said, offering her patron a wan smile.

Ariadne looked between Rhode and her husband with a look of shock that soon faded into a smile. Her beautiful brown eyes radiating amusement as she reached some kind of epiphany.

“I can see why you chose her as your Champion now, husband.” The goddess of Labyrinths and Paths said with a chuckle. “You two have much the same temperament.”

“Bah,” Dionsyus said with a dismissive snort. “As if that’s the reason. I chose her because of chance. No more than that.”

“Whatever you say dear.” Ariadne said with a giggle as she pulled her arm free from her husband’s and walked over to Su. “Why don’t you come talk to me for a second, Miss Li. I believe our spouses have important things to discuss.”

“S-Spouse!?” Rhode sputtered, a blush burning across her tanned skin.

For her part, despite a blush of her own Su did not dispute Ariadne’s joke, though the slight widening of her eyes told Rhode that she was as shocked by this revelation as she was. She hid it better though and just nodded to the goddess’ request.

“Of course, Lady Ariadne.” The daughter of Demeter said as she turned to follow the goddess as she walked off.

“You’re married, by the way.” Dionysus said as he took Su’s seat. “Hera blessed the Li girl. That’s as good as marrying you two. At least in the eyes of the gods, so basically everyone else's too. Expect the mortal paperwork to show up in your Cabin when you get back to Camp.”

“I-I don’t think I can process that just yet.” Rhode rubbed her eyes, thrown by the latest curveball.

“You want a divorce?” Dionysus asked, serious. “If you do, I can make it happen.”

“What?! No! I, I just-! Who gets married right after a loved one dies?” Rhode struggled to get out. 

Dionysus shot her a look. “Remember your history, Rhode. A lot of people did.”

“Yeah, but weren’t many of those forced-”

“And what Hera did wasn’t?”

“I guess…”

“Just tell me, do you love Li?” Dionysus asked, sternly. “Because that’s really all that matters. Hera blessed your marriage, so it will work out. So the only stumbling block is whether you love the girl. Besides, you know how that girl is. She’ll be whatever you need her to be for as long as you need her. That means your marriage will be a paper marriage, if that’s what you want, till you say otherwise.”

“I do, gods I do love her.” Rhode said as she let a hand rest on her stomach, feeling the tiny life stirring within. “...I just feel like I’ve cheapened everything. To both of them.”

“Blame Despoina and the other idiots who cursed you.” Dionysus said with a sigh. “They sped up your love life to an insane degree. Even at this ending stage.”

“And I’m going to have to live with the consequences huh?”

“Unfortunately. You just have to make the best of it.” Her patron informed her. “However, take heart in knowing that thanks to holding up the sky, the curses have been dispelled. Though that came with its own price.”

The daughter of the sea swallowed heavily at that. “I’ll do what I can.”

“That’s all we can ever do. Trust me.” 

“What price though?”

“You’ll find out,” Dionysus told her with a shake of his head. “Aphrodite will literally skin me alive if I spoil it.”

“Lady Aphrodite? It’s about my love life, isn’t it?”

“Like I said, no spoilers.”

“That just makes me want to know.” Rhode deadpanned, which made the god chuckle.

“Well, as they say, tough. Just…” Dionysus trailed off for a moment before sighing and somehow adopting an understanding look that Rhode would’ve never thought possible for the god. “I know this situation is horrible. Hera really overstepped her bounds earlier but she is the goddess of marriage and no one can interfere with her domain. It’s why none of us said anything. That and we didn’t realise how serious she was about her blessing until we left the meeting and she sent out the bulletin about your marriage. I have it on good authority that your father and Amphitrite are over at her palace arguing with her right now. But Hera is stubborn. She won’t budge.”

“So she’s taking a page out of Despoina’s book?”

“Sadly,” Dionysus said. “Though in this case, it’s more Lesbos’. She’s using you to expand her influence. I swear it’s like India all over again.”

Rhode didn’t see how it possibly related but just nodded in understanding. 

“Argh, but enough of this serious talk.” Dionysus said as with a snap of his fingers, Rhode’s lost Questing gear appeared on the bench next to her. “I actually came over to return these to you. Had to trade a favor with Phoebe to get her to sneak them back but here they are.”

“A favor?”

“Don’t worry about it, Artemis and Apollo paid for it already. Their reward to you for your part, involuntary though it was, in Artemis’ rescue. Phoebe’s domains are oracles and the moon, so she wanted some of her power back. They gave it to her.”

Rhode just nodded, realising again the incredible complexity of divine politics. And how truly little she understood about it.

Ariadne and Su were walking back to them, the latter looking very nervous. Dionysus seemed to take this as his cue and leapt to his feet.

“Now if you will excuse me, there’s a fondue fountain with my name on it.” Dionysus, no, Mr. D said as he mozied on over to the refreshment table. Behind him Ariadne rolled her eyes but followed after him.

Su though sank down beside Rhode.

“So, um, Rhode, did Mr D tell you what Lady Hera’s blessing really means?” Su, her new wife, fidgeted nervously. “That we’re, uh-”

“Married? Yeah.” Rhode said with a tired sigh. “It sucks. I wanted to be given a choice in this, but when the gods choose to be capricious there’s nothing we can really do to stop them.”

“So you’re okay with it?”

“It doesn’t change anything between us, right?” Rhode asked, looking at Su uncertainly. “It’s just a piece of paper.”

“If that’s what you want.” Su said, unable to keep her disappointment entirely out of her voice.

“For now, yeah, I think that’s what I want.”

“Then that’s what it’ll be.” Su reassured her. “I’ll be whatever you need me to be, Rhode.”

Just like Dionysus said you would.

“Thank you, Su. Thanks.” Rhode said, offering her wife a grateful smile.

Even as Rhode, and Su, were busy coming to terms with Hera screwing with their lives. Thalia found herself in a private corner of some garden or other as she tried to make sense of something that she’d been putting off for ages but which she couldn’t any longer. With the Quest to rescue her over and Rhode safe, Thalia finally had a chance to come to terms with Luke’s betrayal.

Until she’d seen him on Othrys and all the horrible things he’d done there like killing Jack, fighting Rhode and Su, etc., she’d not believed that he’d turned traitor. Not fully. She’d held out hope that it was all a trick. Some ploy of his to destroy the Titans from within. But now…

“Why?” She whispered, tears rolling down her face as the music from the party washed over her in the form of sad melodies. “How could you betray our family like this? And what Rhode said you wanted to do to her… That was just…”

No words could describe how angry that made her feel. And sad as well. For it was a man who she’d once called brother who threatened to do those things to her sister.

“If he tries it, I’ll kill him.” Percy said and Thalia spun to her right to see him standing there, looking at her with concern. “You’d help me right, Thalia?”

“In a heartbeat.” Thalia said, wiping her tears away with her sleeve quickly. 

“But it hurts to have to think, much less say that, doesn’t it?” Percy confessed as he came to sit down opposite her in the gazebo she’d snuck off to.

“Yeah… it honestly sucks. This whole day sucks, Percy.” Thalia said, feeling tired from the stress of this Quest and the coming war. 

“Yeah, but we just have to keep trudging on.” Percy said with a sigh. “Make each action, each day count. And don’t let our hurt feelings bog us down as we do. Because if we do-”

“We’ll stop moving forward.” Thalia said with a nod. “I know.”

It was a sentiment that Chiron taught all Campers.

“But still…”

“It’s okay to cry, Thalia.” Percy said. “I won’t judge you. Nobody that matters will. Luke’s betrayal hurt me and I didn’t even know him all that well. You were his sister in all but blood. I can’t imagine how much it must hurt you.”

“How did Annie manage?”

“She cried. A lot. And cursed him a lot too.” Percy said with a shrug, a faraway look in his eyes. Just like Rhode’s eyes. “But she’s not you, Thalia. You need to figure out how you need to deal with it.”

“That’s a work in progress.” Thalia said, offering the son of Poseidon a bittersweet smile. “B-But I think I have an idea. Percy, could you hold me?”

Percy blinked in confusion for a second but did not otherwise hesitate to stand up and come over to pull her into a hug. 

Safe and secure in the arms of her new brother, Thalia let go of the last of her inhibitions and burst into tears. Of pain, loss, anger and everything in between. She let it all out into Percy’s strong, comforting chest. Her new brother comforting as she mourned the betrayal and lost of her old one.

“Daughter,” Bianca heard the unmistakable smooth voice of her father call out from behind her as she stopped by a refreshment table to get some nectar for Percy and Thalia. She’d just checked in on her friends, and they were busy crying it out over something. Bianca didn’t want to pry but she knew that crying like Thalia was doing left a person very thirsty afterwards so she’d decided to help them by getting some drinks for when they were done.

“Father,” Bianca greeted the god who she only vaguely remembered from her childhood and she’d only met again earlier in the Hall of the Gods.

The two looked at each other uneasily for a moment, as if both of them were struggling to come up with something to break the ice. 

“So where are your friends, Bianca?” Father said, awkwardly making the first move.

After their dismissal from the Hall of the Gods, Lady Artemis had all but ordered Bianca to spend time with her fellow Questers, pointing out as she did that Bianca had eternity to learn her new duties as her Lieutenant and that for now, she could afford some time with her friends.

“Uh, Thalia and Percy are having a moment. I dunno where Rhode and Su went after they headed off to arrange for Jack’s body to be sent back to Camp. Were you looking for them?”

“No, I was just- Argh! By the Pit! Small talk is not my forte.” The god growled in frustration. “Your mother was far better at it…”

Bianca almost giggled at her Father’s behavior but managed to hold her amusement in. She didn’t think the Lord of the Dead who prided himself on his intimidating reputation would like being laughed at, even by his own daughter.

“So you were looking for me? For what?” Bianca asked, offering her flustered father a helping hand.

“Yes, I wished to congratulate you on your new position.” Father smiled, though he looked sad. “You will have a difficult road ahead of you, daughter. And since Artemis is your matron, I cannot do much except give my blessings to you. Though I can at least give you a gift. All gods leave something for their children after all. You are no exception.”

With a dramatic swing of his cape, the god pulled a pair of Stygian Iron knives with serrated cutting edges and pummels made out of a pair of femurs from the shadows of his sleeves and presented them to her.

“These are yours, Bianca.” Father said as she took the weapons.

“They’re, uh, very morbid.” Bianca said carefully.

Honestly, what was with the bone for handles!? Yes, she was a daughter of the Underworld but couldn’t Father have come up with something just a little more feminine!? And less like something from a horror movie!? She was a girl, you know!

“You are my daughter, morbid fits you.” Father said with a shrug. “It is made from Stygian Iron so-”

“I know what Stygian Iron is, Father.” Bianca said with a roll of her eyes. “The divine metals are one of the first things we learn as Hunters. It’s part of the process of picking our favoured weapons. Point of fact, I’m more of a bow and arrow girl.”

“Oh, well, that’s good. It saves us time. I guess.” Father said as he awkwardly cleared his throat. “And sorry, I did not know your preference for the bow. Though Stygian Iron arrows would be difficult to manage. You’d need to recover them after every battle to get the most out of them and you could get around that with some retrieval magic but that can be blocked so-”

“Daggers are better,” Bianca said with a nod, narrowly fighting off the urge to roll her eyes at her Father succumbing to a nervous rant. “I get it. The daggers are lovely. They can do anything special besides being Stygian Iron?”

“With some practice you can fire darkness bolts from them, which I hope will fit in with your preference for ranged combat better?”

“It would.” Bianca agreed. “Thank you, Father!”

“I’m glad you like them, Bianca.” Father said with a tight smile. One that spoke of how little he had the chance to do so.

“Father?”

“Yes, Bianca?”

“You’ll look after Nico, right?” Bianca asked, a nervous flutter in her chest as she remembered her brother being all alone now. At least he’d have good friends at Camp.

“As best as I can.” Father said, a promise in his tone. He reached a bone white hand out, brushing her hair softly as if he was lost in nostalgia. “Live long, daughter. I’d rather not see you in Elysium too soon.”

She hoped she would get there on her own merits and not because her Father gave her an E-ZPass to the afterlife. 

Wow, she was good at morbid humor. Guess the apple didn’t fall as far from the tree as she’d thought.

“Hera! You go too far!” Poseidon shouted into his sister’s face as they sat in the Queen of the Heavens’ sitting room inside her palace.

“Poseidon, indoor voice please.” His sister said, as if she was acting reasonable! She sipped her nectar-laced wine and placed it down and smiled at him, like she was indulging him. “Now can we talk like gods or should we reduce ourselves to children?”

He resisted the urge to slap that fake smile off her face. 

“Considering what you’ve done, I am reminded how thin that distinction is.” Amphitrite said archly from her seat next to him, her arm on his own the only thing keeping him from leaping out of his chair to punch his sister.

“Sister-in-law, I thought this would be great news. After all, Rhode needs someone after this tragedy. What better than a spouse to bring comfort and warmth during the trials to come?” 

“Yes and taking away their agency in the matter will lead to a healthy start to their marriage?” Hestia said as she walked in, waving a fire poker that was glowing white accusingly at Hera.

Hera tilted her head, as if considering the notion. “Last I checked, many marriages in this family started off poorly but have become successes in the long term. Just look at yourselves, Poseidon, Amphitrite. You’ve flourished wonderfully. I can hardly see Rhode and her wife not emulating yourselves and achieving matrimonial bliss. I was even going to surprise you by gifting the dowry.” 

“Oh? And what is that exactly?” Demeter said excitedly as she materialised in a chair next to Hera. 

“I haven’t decided yet.” Hera said with a dainty shrug. “I was waiting to see how this discussion played out.”

“Come off your high horse Hera.” Zeus said as he flashed into the room in a lightning bolt. “You did this merely to expand your influence. Are you that threatened by the declining marriage rates and climbing divorce rates?”

“Honestly, Husband, Brother, I am only looking out for my Niece’s best interest. Well, both of them of course. Is there anything an Aunt would not do to help family?” 

She’s doubling down on the family angle. We might as well be going in circles. Poseidon thought as he flared his nostrils and tried to calm his heated ichor. 

“And I for one appreciate your efforts, Hera.” Demeter said with a smile. 

“Thank you, Sister. Of course the three of us should talk about the wedding ceremony, Demeter, Amphitrite. I think holding it off until after the war would be best. A wedding to commemorate a victory always gives the best results from what I’ve witnessed.” 

“You are not backing down no matter what we say are you?” Hestia said with an exasperated glare. “You never change Hera.”

“Why would I break up a happy marriage?” Hera said with a haughty smirk.

Poseidon moved to punch it off her face and only Amphitrite wrapping both of her arms around his right arm kept him in his seat.

“Hera, you leave me at a loss for words.” His wife said, shooting his sister a chilling glare.

“I have that effect on people.” 

And people wondered why the Greek legends were so messed up. Why couldn’t his fellow gods be more like the Bodhisattvas? At least they reserved their cruelty for their demons! 

“How about a compromise?” Hades said as he walked out of the shadows and shot Hera a glare. “Hera, we stop making an issue over what you’ve done so far and in exchange you stop interfering in the lives of our children.”

“I support Hades’ suggestion.” Zeus said with a nod. “It is a fair compromise.”

“Fine, fine, but can I still bless their marriages? Am I allowed my domain?” Hera asked, pouting as if robbed of her toys. How typical of her. 

“Yes, but no more arranging or forcing marriages.” Hestia demanded, pointing her white hot poker at their sister’s face. “For all of our brothers’ children.”

“I promise upon the River Styx.” Hera smiled broadly as if she were a devil, even as supernatural thunder sealed her Oath.

“Alright, with that out of the way.” Demeter said with an eager grin. “You mentioned a dowry, Hera?”

“Oh, yes! I was thinking of adding to that project that Rhode’s handmaidens are working on. Maybe a-”

Poseidon, leave this to Hestia and I. Amphitrite told him telepathically. We will make sure Hera doesn’t go overboard. In the meantime, why don’t you go with your brothers and have a drink to cool down? You need it, Husband.

Hestia nodded at him sharply, signifying that she agreed with his wife.

“Come on, brother.” Hades said as he pulled Poseidon out of his seat. “Let us go get some wine. I think after dealing with Hera we need it. You too, Zeus.”

Poseidon and Zeus both nodded. 

After what had happened, he wanted to be sloshed like a fish right now. 

So it was with a dark cloud literally storming over his head that he followed his brothers as they made their way out of Hera’s palace and into the partying Olympus beyond in search of enough alcohol to give a god a legendary hangover.

“Is this really necessary Chiron?” Rhode asked her mentor irritably as she, and for some reason Su and Su alone, were separated from the other returning Questers and ushered into the Trainer of Heroes’ private examination room inside the infirmary. “I’m fine!”

“You spent time holding up the sky whilst pregnant.” Chiron informed her pointedly. “You need an examination. For my ease of mind, if nothing else.”

“Rhode you’re pregnant?” Su gasped from beside her and the daughter of the seas just nodded at her best friend, before leveling a glare at Chiron.

“Who told you I’m pregnant?” Rhode demanded.

“I did,” Mr. D said as he teleported in, releasing a grapey scent that permeated the room as he did. “And we’ll need to talk about what your punishment is for that, but let Chiron examine you first.”  

“Fine,” Rhode conceded, recognising an order when she heard one and trusting the god enough to obey. “But must Su be here for this? No offense Su.”

Su shook her head distractedly, clearly still shaken by the revelation of Rhode’s pregnancy to say anything.

“She’s your wife. She deserves to be here.” Mr. D said with a shrug, causing Chiron to turn to him sharply.

“Wife?” 

“Hera’s meddling. She was making a power play. Again.”

“Um, I could go if you’re not comfortable with me being here, Rhode.” Su suggested, having found her voice again.

“No, it’s fine.” Rhode said with a sigh. “Honestly, I need the support for this. But before we do anything else, I’ve gotta know Su, are you upset that I’m pregnant with Jack’s baby?”

Chiron and Mr. D seemed to get that this was important to Rhode because they kept quiet as Su contemplated the matter for a long moment before replying.

“On one hand I’m overjoyed by the prospect of a baby and I’m already thinking about what I can do to prepare to help you raise the baby. On the other hand, I am angry that you let Jack knock you up.” Su said after a long moment. “But I think I can keep a lid on the latter and focus on the former. I’m ready to help be your co-parent or whatever else you want if you’d let me.”

“Of course I’d let you.” Rhode said with a relieved sigh. “I’m thinking I’ll need all the help I can get.”

“You two done?” Mr. D said, sounding exasperated. 

Rhode and Su exchanged a look, before Su nodded.

“Yes, we are.” Rhode said for both of them as they turned back to the two men.

“Good. Chiron get on with your examination.” Mr. D ordered and Chiron obliged.

About fifteen minutes and a thorough examination of Rhode by Chiron later, Rhode, Su and Mr. D sat patiently as they waited for the centaur to tell them his findings.

“Well, it looks like everything lines up with what Apollo said from his cursory visual examination of you whilst you were on Olympus.”

“Lord Apollo examined me?”

“He examines everyone when he looks at them. It comes with being the god of healing.” Mr. D told her dismissively. “Don’t think too much about it.”

“Indeed, but he doesn’t take the effort to remember what he learns much less share it with the attending physician of just anyone.” Chiron countered. “He likes you, Rhode.”

Rhode smiled at that. Glad that she had some people on Olympus besides just Mr. D and Father in her corner.

“Chiron, the results?” Su asked, nudging the conversation back on track.

“Ah, right.” The centaur said, sounding slightly abashed. “It seems that you’ve come away from your stint holding up the sky remarkably well despite your condition. The baby is fine. And it seems the burden has even served to shatter the curses that had previously been afflicting you with minimal effect on yourself.”

Rhode nodded, Mr. D had told her about the curses already on Olympus and she’d been feeling fine since her brief stint holding the sky so nothing he was saying was news to her.

“So besides the new streak in my hair, I’m fine.”

“Physically, yes.” Chiron said with a nod. “Though I did detect some small injury to you metaphysically with my vitakinesis, I cannot however say with any certainty what that is. Only time will tell what that is, I'm afraid.”

I think I might have an idea. Rhode thought as she recalled Mr. D mentioning a price she had to pay for coming out of her kidnapping so well. A price that would revolve around her love life.

Mr. D’s confirming nod was all she needed to know that she’d guessed correctly.

“Other than that, I’m pleased to announce that you are in good health.”

“Are you satisfied now, Chiron?” Mr. D asked, a touch impatient. “Reassured that Rhode isn’t just gonna drop dead?”

Chiron rolled his eyes but nodded. “Yes, I am. And I presume you want to move on to your favourite part of things? The punishment?”

“I’d hardly call it that. Not this time.” Mr. D said with a shake of his head. “But it must be done.”

“I get it Mr. D. Let’s do it.” Rhode said after taking a fortifying breath. Hands balled into tight fists as she steeled herself for what was to come. 

Mr. D gave her a searching look for a moment before nodding in satisfaction.

“First thing first, you need to decide what do you want to do with the baby? Keep it? Abort it? Put it up for adoption? I’ll need to know to decide what kind of punishment to issue that’ll keep the others off our backs.”

What did she want to do with the baby? That was a really good question. They were in the middle of a war, she couldn’t be carrying a baby at a time like this. 

Maybe I should abort it? Rhode thought even as the very idea repulsed her. She knew her baby was another life distinct from her own, she’d felt it as it fought to protect itself and her while she’d held up the sky. The mere thought of thinking it as a clump of cells or that killing it wasn’t murder like some abortion advocates said about foetuses was just abhorrent. 

And didn’t even take into account that the baby wasn’t just hers. It was Jack’s too. And killing it would be snuffing out the last thing he left in this world. 

But the idea of being pregnant, of giving birth and raising a baby during the Titanomachy? That’s madness, right?

Looking for some support she turned to Su and shot her a questioning look.

“It’s your decision to make Rhode,” Su said with a shake of her head. “Just know that whatever decision you make, I’ll support you all the way.”

“I know this is a tough decision Rhode,” Mr. D said, sounding surprisingly comforting. “But you need to make a choice. I need to know to issue a fair punishment. I hate putting you in this position, but other Campers have been punished for this in the past and so I can’t just give you a free pass or their parents will take their anger out on you. You’ve just got a clean bill on the curses front, so I doubt you want to rack up a new one. Do you?”

“No, I don’t.” Rhode acknowledged with a shaky breath. “And I’ve made my choice.”

“And that is?” Chiron asked gently.

“I’m keeping the baby.” Rhode declared strongly, her voice firm. “Aborting it is murder of an innocent and I’d never do that. Least of all to Jack’s baby. My baby.”

“That’s good and all but you do know that’s gonna mean the worst possible punishments right?” Mr. D asked with a frown.

“Not necessarily!” Dad said as he teleported into the room with a burst of blue green light and the sound of crashing waves and a hint of sea salt. “We pull a Zeus thigh trick.”

Mr. D grimaced at the reminder of his conception. “Uncle, you can’t be serious!”

“I am.” Dad said as he pulled an oversized amphora out of nowhere and placed it directly in front of her. “Rhode, with your permission, I can transfer your baby into this vessel where it will grow till it's ready to be born, whereupon it’ll break the vessel. This way, you won’t be pregnant and Mr. D won’t need to turn you into an animal and run you over in his SUV.”

“He wouldn’t actually do that, right?” Su asked, shooting Mr. D a worried look.

The wine god just whistled innocently.

“Unfortunately, he’s done similar to others in your situation, Rhode. So if you chose to be a pregnant teenager here in Camp, I’m afraid to uphold precedent he would indeed have to do so.”

“Dad, is this really the best way?” Rhode asked, feeling helpless. It was almost like she was back with the Dursleys all over again. She was just as bereft of any good options. Just as stuck in a hopeless situation with no way out. “I mean even if this saves me from getting run over, I’d still be putting a child through a war like Lily Potter did to me. I don’t want that. Can’t you, I dunno, put the pregnancy on pause?”

“That would require very specific brands of magic with prices too steep to contemplate, Rhode.” Dad said with a wince as he pulled her into a hug. “This is really the best option I can think of. Unless you’re willing to put the child up for adoption. If you did that and we cut ties to it, we could conceivably turn it fully mortal and then it would be safe from the war.”

“No!” Rhode wailed. “I can’t do that! I won’t abandon my baby.”

“Then I think that Lord Poseidon’s offer is your best option, Rhode.” Chiron offered reassuringly. “There is sadly, no ideal solution to this. Not with the Titanomachy upon us as it is.”

Rhode sobbed at that before pulling away from her Dad’s hug. She looked down at her still flat stomach and hugged it tight, metaphorically hugging her unborn child.

“Do it, Dad. Before I lose my nerve.” Rhode pleaded to her father while still hugging her womb. 

Without a word, Dad cupped his hands over her crossed arms, over her womb and a soothing sea green aura built around them, one that pulled out a brilliant orb of blue light from inside her. A light that she knew was her baby. 

Tenderly, Dad transferred his grandchild into the amphora he’d brought. As the blue light had finished squeezing its way into the vessel, it began to glow with the same blue light. Her baby’s light. And started to give off a slight chill.

“Sorry to rush you Rhode, Uncle, but that baby needs to go ASAP.” Mr. D urged, a grumpy look on his face. “The rules say it shouldn’t be here and unless we want someone to take offense-”

“I understand nephew.” Dad said with an understanding nod. “Rhode?”

“Go, Dad. Before any of the other gods decide to start flinging curses.” Rhode told him, fighting back tears. She felt something clawing up her throat as she tried not to reach out to the light. 

Rhode honestly didn’t know why she was crying. She had barely known the baby existed for a few weeks yet… It was breaking her heart to see it being separated from her.

How can I be so attached already?

“Bye bye, baby.” She said, rubbing a hand lovingly over the outside of her child’s amphora.

“See you soon, little one.” Su added, with a wave, her voice sounding choked like she was trying to hold back tears.

“Uncle-”

“Right,” Dad said, before offering Rhode a final apologetic smile before teleporting away, with her baby in tow.

Rhode couldn’t help it, she shrieked in grief at that and Su pulled her into a hug even as she too sobbed at the loss of the baby. The two of them held each other and cried their hearts out for an unknown amount of time, all whilst Chiron and Mr. D had a hushed conversation that they barely heard. Something about Hera? Perhaps they were implying that their strangely strong attachment to the baby was the Goddess of Motherhood’s doing? Rhode didn’t know and she honestly didn’t care. All she cared about right now was that her baby was gone and her heart was breaking.

“Okay, it’s been like a whole hour! Are you two done crying?” Mr. D said irritably, his uncharacteristic patience seemingly finally spent.

“Sorry about that, Mr. D.” Su said as she reluctantly pulled away from Rhode and rubbed at her eyes in a bid to stem the lingering tears. 

Rhode herself didn’t even bother simply hugging herself miserably. 

“Could we continue this another time?” Su begged. “I think Rhode needs a break.”

“Sadly, I’m afraid not.” Mr. D said with a sigh. “But I’ll get it brief. Thankfully, I’ve talked things over with Chiron while the two of you were weeping and we’ve agreed on something that should work to satisfy everyone.”

“What is it?” Rhode asked. Her voice was strained from all the crying and she sounded so, so tired but she nevertheless shot the wine god a determined look, ready for whatever punishment he meted out.

It’s that unbeatable determination of hers that’s one of the many things that made me fall in love with her.

“Are you sure you’re ready to hear it Rhode, we could delay your punishment for a few hours I think.” Chiron offered.

“Chiron,” Mr. D hissed angrily. “You know the others wi-”

“It’s okay Chiron,” Rhode cut in. “Mr. D, I’m ready. What’s my punishment going to be?”

“For the punishment of having underage sex here in Camp Half-Blood.” Mr. D began, sounding more officious than Su ever remembering him being. It wasn’t quite him shifting into his full Dionysus persona as she’d seen him up on Olympus but it was pretty close. “You, Rhode Evans, shall be confined to the form of a doe till an hour before the Christmas Party on Twenty Fourth of December.”

That’s only a few days. Su noted in surprise. How the hell did Rhode get off so lightly?

“And until such time you regain your human form, you shall be entrusted to the care of your wife Su Li.”

With that Mr. D snapped his fingers and in a burst of purple light, Rhode was transformed into a beautiful white-tailed deer doe, one with a collar wrapped around her neck and an attached leash that had suddenly found its way into Su’s hands.

“Count yourself lucky Rhode. Lady Hera’s meddling earned you plenty of sympathy points and that got your punishment cut down a great deal.” Chiron told the transformed daughter of Poseidon. “It’s unlikely you’d get off as lightly for something like this ever again.”

Rhode’s transformed form as a white-tailed deer

“I usually do rabbits, but deer are fine. This time at least.” Mr. D off-handedly commented. 

“We discussed this Mr. D,” Chiron said with a tired sigh. “A rabbit would too easily be mistaken for a target during archery practice out in the woods. We don’t have deer in the woods thanks to the monsters so it’s a safer choice.”

“My dear, dear centaur. That is half the fun!” 

“Mr. D, do you want Rhode to die by friendly fire?” Su asked daringly. “After all the trouble you just went through to have her rescued from Othrys?”

“Psst. Point.” Mr. D conceded with a pout.

“Mr. D, do you have anything else for the girls?”

“Yes, don’t groom her too much, Li.” 

Su blanched at the joke as the mad god cackled. 

“Su, Rhode, just go.” Chiron said, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. “Otherwise, we’ll be here all night listening to Mr. D’s deliberately bad jokes.”

“Hey! At least I’m making them bad on purpose instead of some people.”

“Uh, Mr. D, can we, um, go?” Su asked warily as she looked between an irritated Mr. D and an annoyed Chiron.

“Yeah, yeah, go already.” Mr. D said distractedly, his attention mainly focused on glaring at Chiron.

Su breathed a sigh of relief at the dismissal and leading Rhode along on her leash, she beat as hasty a retreat from the examination room as she could. Even as the sounds of an argument trailed behind her.

Rhode, now a doe, allowed herself to be led along by Su as they made their way out of the Big House. It was a strange experience being a deer. The walking on all fours and the having a completely different body thing was oddly enough, not even the strangest bit. That, she was surprised to find, was something that she adapted to easily enough probably thanks to some element of the transformation magic. What was the most strange was the sense of peace that came from being a deer. Her mind was still human, but there was something about having an animal brain that seemed to just strip away all the complex worries and emotions that seemed to stress her out so much when she was human. It was relaxing being free, if only temporarily, from all that. 

It was why she made no effort to resist as Su led her along like she would’ve if she’d been human. If she had, she’d have been insulted by the idea of anyone leading her around on a leash. But as a deer, that didn’t bother her. She trusted Su to take good care of her and so she trusted her to lead her to wherever they needed to go. It made life easier to leave the decision-making in the hands of another. At least for a while.

“Su? Where’s Rhode?” Rhode heard Percy ask as they exited the Big House’s main entrance and found him, Flóga, Thalia, Grover and Annabeth waiting for them.

“Um, she’s right here?” Su tried nervously, causing Percy to pale and turn to look at her.

Guess my break time is over. Rhode thought with a sigh as she hastily turned to address Grover before Percy did something he would regret. She knew her brother and hasty, emotion driven actions was practically his forte.

Grover! Rhode grunted. Translate for me!

“Got it, Rhode.” Grover said with a nod,

Bosslady!? That’s really you? Flóga asked, but Rhode ignored her mount for now. She had a powderkeg of a brother to disarm.

Percy, yes, it’s me. Rhode said in a series of grunts which were all she seemed capable of as a deer and which Grover dutifully translated. I got turned into this as punishment by Mr. D for breaking the ‘no sex’ rule.

“What!? This is too much!” Thalia hissed, sparks dancing off her body in her agitation. “This is totally unfair.”

It seemed Percy wasn’t the only ticking time bomb she had to defuse. Speaking of Percy...

“Agreed.” He said, his hand slipping into the pocket where Rhode knew he kept Riptide.

Shit! I need to talk fast.

All of you! Calm down! Rhode said as fast as quickly as she could, forcing Grover to struggle to keep up with his translation. He didn’t have a choice. He had to punish me. I did break the rule. He couldn’t just give me a free pass, even if he really seemed like he wanted to. The other gods would throw a fit if he showed that level of favoritism.

“It was either this,” Su said, gesturing to Rhode’s transformed body. “Or piss off the gods whose kids got punished for the same rule in the past and have them curse Rhode in revenge.”

Everyone winced at that. They all knew Rhode’s terrible history with curses and none of them wanted to add to it.

Wait! Hold up! Bosslady, you had sex! Flóga asked, looking at Rhode pointedly and causing everyone else to do the same. 

Yeah. With Jack. And I’m having a baby-

At the mention of the baby, Grover blushed atomic red and sputtered in shock, putting an end to his translation. That however paled in comparison to Flóga’s reaction. The Pegasus immediately fainted, falling to her side like a tower, mumbling about having a brother or sister. 

“Uh, what did Rhode say?” Percy asked, blinking in surprise.

“You’re pregnant aren’t you, Rhode?” Annabeth asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose in agitation.

Rhode just nodded.

“What!?” Percy and Thalia shouted in remarkable unison as they both shot Rhode’s belly a shocked look.

“She isn’t right now.” Su stepped in to explain when it was clear by Grover’s continued incoherent stuttering that he was in no position to continue to help to translate. Not that Rhode really wanted to do the explaining for this. The mere thought of what had been done was enough to twist her heart. “Lord Poseidon showed up just now to magically extract the baby, he put it into an amphora to incubate and take it back to Atlantis until it is ready to be born.”

“So Rhode wouldn’t be punished for being pregnant at Camp.” Annabeth said with a knowing nod. “Nice workaround.”

I thought so too. Rhode said even if no one could understand, Grover still looked too out of it to do so much less translate her words for the others, and nodded, hoping at least some of her meaning was successfully conveyed.

“Guys, we can talk about this more later.” Su said as she glanced over in the direction of the yard between the Cabins, the place where funeral pyres were usually set up after Quests. 

Oh gods! I forgot about the pyre! Rhode thought aghast. How could I forget that!?  

Su’s reminder didn’t just sober Rhode up though. It had that effect on everyone except the insensate Flóga.

“Right,” Percy said, his mood turning from one of disbelief to one of sadness just as mercurially as the sea that they both descended from could be at times. “Jack’s pyre.”

Rhode nodded and began trotting off in the direction of where the final goodbye to her baby’s father was waiting for her, her family trailing behind her in silent support.

Huh, didn’t know I could smell rainbows. Rhode said as she sniffed the conjured rainbow they intended to use for their I.M.s for the day. 

“It’s not rainbows so much as the magic.” Grover told her, gesturing at the rainbow conjuring fountain in Cabin Three they were gathered around. “The rainbows this fountain of yours makes are magical. Normal rainbows don’t really have smells, unless you count the smell of wet from whatever water body created them.”

Su tugged on her leash as she fished out a drachma. “Rhode, pay attention. We’re about to start. We agreed on Emily, Gaige and Penny first, right?”

Fiiine. Is that corn? Rhode asked as she eyed the bag of corn feed that Su had hung on a hook nearby.

“I think she’s going native.” Grover said, sounding worried. 

“No, she’s just trying to joke around.” Su said with a roll of her eyes. “Rhode, be serious. You were the one who wanted to do this. So stop fooling around.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Grover grumbled while Rhode bobbed her head. 

“Rhode,” Su said sternly. “If you’re not going to cooperate then we’re not doing this, got it? So behave.”

Sorry, honest. Rhode said as she shuffled her hooves, looking sullen. 

And she was honestly sorry. Ever since becoming a deer, the subsequent suspension of her responsibilities had combined with the relaxing effect it had on her mind to awaken a mischievous side of her that she just found impossible to resist.

Animals just had it so simple that it was a treat. 

Not that Su, as the one responsible for her for the time being, felt the same way. Since she had to deal with all the pranks that Rhode pulled and/or clean up after her. It was exhausting and Rhode didn’t blame her for developing a low tolerance for her antics. Even though it had only been a day so far.

“She’s apologizing.”

Su stared at her doe eyes and nodded. “You better be, Rhode. And stop being such a pest, would you?”

I’ll try. Rhode said fidgeting.

“She said she’d try.” 

Su just sighed. “That’s as good as I’m going to get.”

“Probably,” Grover agreed. “I think being an animal is messing with her self-control.”

“It definitely is.” Su corrected. “But enough dallying. Let’s get started. We have multiple calls to make. Emily and her family first, right? They should all be home at this hour if I remember her schedule right, so let’s do a group call.”

Rhode nodded.

“Alright. Toss the drachma, Su.”

Su obliged Grorver and tossed the coin into the waiting rainbow. “Emily, Gaige and Penny. Campbell, California.” 

The rainbow blurred and transformed into an image of a living room that was an odd mix of orderly and messy with the two Campers and their automaton daughter seated in front of a TV and watching some show or other. Emily and Gaige were cuddling on a sofa whilst Penny was sitting in a loveseat, pointedly not looking at her parents.

“Hi guys,” Su greeted.

“Hi Su, Grover.” Emily greeted as she nudged Gaige who dutifully used a remote lying on the sofa next to her to turn their TV off. “What’s up? And is that a deer?”

“Um, how do I say this?” Su said, looking lost.

Grover, just tell them I’m here too. Rhode suggested.

“Uh, guys, you’re missing someone.” Grover said, gesturing to Rhode. “Actually this is-”

“Hello Rhode,” Penny said with a wave. “Why are you a deer?”

Emily shot up in her seat at that and shot Penny an alarmed look, before turning to look at Rhode with a horrified expression.

“That’s Rhode !?” She practically shrieked.

“Um, yeah.” Su admitted sheepishly as she ran a hand up and down Rhode’s back in what was fast becoming a nervous tic.

“Is she a deer?! How’d that happen?!” Gaige exclaimed from the I.M. “Is it a witch thing? This feels like a witch thing.”

“No, she got a little grounded?” Su said with a slight grimace.

“...Who did she- No. Let me guess.” Emily pinched her nose, understanding written all over her face. “Jack?”

Su nodded curtly. 

“Wait what? Oh, ooooh!” Gaige said, noises of understanding escaping her. “Well, shit. Where is the guy huh? Too scared to face us?”

As the ginger fumed, Su gave a wince. “He didn’t make it during the last Quest.”

“Oh, well. Good, never liked him that much after he went all angst.”

“Creator! Please show some sympathy for life!” Penny scolded her mother. 

“Enough.” Emily said suddenly as she stood. “We’ll be there on the next flight over. Rhode?”

Yes? Rhode asked, shuffling back from the I.M. image slightly, thoroughly intimidated by the very serious stare Emily shot her.

Somehow realising that she’d gotten her message across, Emily continued.

“Don’t do anything else stupid until I get there and am in a position to stop you. Got it?”

Rhode, and Su and Grover for that matter, nodded in furious agreement.

“Good, see you guys in a day or two.” Emily said, sounding all cheery as she waved her hand through the I.M. and cut the connection.

“Was Emily always that scary?” Grover asked, earning a shake of Rhode’s head.

“Yes.” Su said, cheeks pink. “Sometimes. She can get very intense when she’s worked up.”

There’s a story there. Rhode said and Grover translated per verbatim. 

“Yeah, but I’m not telling.” Su said, her blush deepening. “It’s about you, Rhode. She was giving me advice. That’s everything I’m willing to say.”

Advice? Rhode asked, blinking in confusion. You don’t mean that kind of advice, right…

“Huh? What kind of advice?” Grover asked, sounding oh so curious.

“Nothing!” Nothing!

Grover cocked his head in confusion for a long moment before he blushed as he figured it out. 

“Oh! Ahem! Bedroom advice!” He practically squealed, as his face imitated a tomato.

“Yes. That.” Su said, blushing atomic red now. “Let’s just call the next person on the list. Who is it?”

Next on the docket is Lee.  

“It’s Lee, Su.” A blushing Grover squeaked out.

Su tossed another drachma into the fluttering rainbow and said. “Lee Jordan, London.” 

“Hiya Su, Grover, Bambi Rhode.” Lee said with a cheeky smile as he answered the call.

Wait! How the hell did he know about me being a deer!? Rhode grunted in shock.

“How?” Grover asked much more succinctly.

“Penny texted me,” Lee said, raising a smart phone for them to see. “Did you know that since she’s an automaton she can use phones just fine? Or that magical interference means that so long as I stay in a wizarding enclave I can too? Though the reception is abysmal.”

“Hi Lee,” Su said with a roll of her eyes at their friend’s antics. “And yes to the former though I didn’t know Penny got a phone. Last I checked she was still trying to convince Gaige to get her one. The latter is news to me, you just figured it out?”

“Yup. Phones are getting popular in the British Wizarding World after the reformation so I decided to give it a try. No monsters started boiling out of the woodwork when I did, so I kept it.”

Rhode huffed. Just try and be careful. I got lucky with a divine one. Just keep an eye out.

“Rhode says to keep an eye out, she got lucky with her phone.” Grover helpfully translated. 

“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry so much.” Lee said, putting his phone aside and flashing them a V sign.

“So, um, why are you taking the fact that Rhode’s currently a deer so well?” 

“What should I do? Faint? I could do it if it helps.” Lee asked with a roll of his eyes.

“Please don’t,” Grover said with a sigh. “Flóga did it already. Carrying her back to the stables was a pain.”

“ Damn horse is good. Not to mention Rhode looks adorable, no need to panic.”

Rhode snorted and stomped her hoof at that.

“Please don’t. The younger kids have been trying to pet her nonstop.” Grover said, begging from his tone alone for the conversion to not go in that direction. 

“ Ha! ” 

Tell him about the baby. Rhode told Grover. If he got the news from Penny, he won’t know about it.

“Uh, Lee, there’s more to Rhode’s situation-”

“Let me guess, she’s not just a deer because Jack talked her into having sex with him. There were consequences to what they did?”

“You guessed it?” Su asked, blinking in surprise.

“Yeah, it wasn’t hard.” Lee said with a shrug. It was easy to forget that for all his jokes, Lee was a clever guy. “Though Gaige giving Chiron an I.M. to check after, in Penny’s words, Emily had a fit and cut you guys off, helped.”

Sounds like Gaige. Rhode opined. Whilst it was usually Emily that was the level headed one between them, whenever the daughter of Aphrodite lost her cool, her partner always stepped up to serve as their voice of reason.

“So you know the baby is in Atlantis with Lord Poseidon?”

“Yeah, so Mr. D doesn’t need to run her over with his SUV.” Lee nodded. “Your Dad takes super good care of you, you know that Rhode?”

Yeah, I know. Rhode said with a nod.

“Jordan! Are you ready? You’re on air in ten minutes?” A voice shouted from somewhere nearby through the I.M..

“I’ll be there in a minute!” Lee shouted back. “ Sorry about that, you guys honestly caught me at a bad time. If Penny hadn’t texted ahead and I was expecting your I.M., things would’ve been messy. We’ll catch up at another time, okay?”

“Sure,” Su nodded. “You know our schedule here at Camp, drop us a I.M. during our free hours when it’s convenient for you.”

“Will do. Take care guys! Air Jordan signing off!” Lee said with a cheeky wave that they returned, Rhode awkwardly standing on three legs as she used one of her forelimbs to do so, before he swiped a hand through the I.M. on his end and cut the link.

“Alright, anyone else?” Grover asked, looking at Rhode as Su fished out a fresh Drachma.

Fergus and Atlanta? Rhode suggested and Grover relayed it to Su.

“You sure about that, Rhode? They haven’t really been keeping in touch with us lately…”

Rhode nodded decisively and Su sighed.

“Grover, the two of them are still living together in Dallas?” Su asked, as she scrunched her forehead together to try and recall the details. 

Grover nodded. “But I dunno if they’re both home or whatever, don’t think they shared their schedule with us. Better to call them one at a time.”

“Gotcha, who first?”

Fergus. Rhode said with certainty. She missed the old fiery Scotsman.

“Okay.” Su said as she tossed the Drachma into the waiting rainbow created by Cabin Three’s enchanted fountain. “Fergus Wallace, Dallas, Texas.”

The image formed almost instantly and fortunately Atlanta was with Fergus. Unfortunately, their two friends were currently in flagrante delicto and the trio in Camp were greeted with a view of more of the two half-bloods than they’d ever wanted.

“Oh my!” Su covered her eyes quickly, putting her other hand over Rhode’s eyes too even as Grover made distressed goat noises and turned around quickly. 

Man, I forgot how sculpted Fergus was. Or that Atlanta had such nicely shaped boobs.

“Rhode, please!” Grover bleated. 

Both lovers on the other end of the I.M. finally seemed to notice their company and their heads spun towards the image.

“We’ll call back later!” Su shouted as she reached out to cut the call.

“Thank you!” Fergus cheerfully said before the image was cut. 

“Wa-!” Atlanta shouted, only to be cut off as the image faded.

...So, you think they’re going to finish or blue ball it?

The answer presented itself when seconds later the rainbow of the fountain transformed into an incoming I.M. image.

“Grover, Su, what’s up?” Atlanta asked, holding a sheet tightly to herself to cover her modesty whilst a grumpy looking Fergus sat next to her in a set of clearly freshly thrown on boxers. “You never call. This has got to be important.”

Su and Rhode exchanged a look.

Don’t tell me… Rhode said as a sinking feeling grew in her gut.

“W-We’re so sorry. It’s just been so chaotic and it slipped my mind.” Su said, sounding guilty. “I’m so sorry, you two. I’m sure Rhode is too.”

“Speaking of the lass, where is she?” Fergus frowned, looking around. Seemingly setting aside his grumpiness at the mention of Rhode.

Rhode raised her head up and awkwardly used one of her forelimbs to nudge her head in an imitation of pointing at herself.

“ ...Well, that’s new.” The son of Ares mumbled.  

“You got caught having sex at Camp didn’t you?” Atlanta said with a sigh. 

Rhode ducked her head.  

“Ha! Knew she would do it.” Fergus snickered. “ With all them lads and lasses pining for her? Never stood a chance.”

“Honestly, Rhode, that’s like the most elementary mistake to make.” Atlanta said with a shake of her head. “I’m surprised Emily didn’t teach you the workaround. All you needed to do was hitch a ride with Argus into town and fool around there. It’s how the rest of us did it while we were still staying at Camp.”

Su stood a little straighter at that. “This has been noted. Though considering Emily and the rest of us were trying hard to not let Rhode get taken advantage of, I don’t think she would’ve shared that little trick.”

“Taken advantage of? You guys are talking about Jack aren’t you?” Fergus asked with a growl. “What did he do?”

It’s not important anymore. Rhode said in a series of sad grunts. He died on a Quest while saving me so it’s all forgiven. And he gave me a gift beyond anything anyway.

“He died on a quest, saving Rhode. And he, um, left her a parting present.”

“Saved? What the frick did we miss?!” Fergus stood up from the bed in a panic. 

“A lot it seems.” Atlanta said with a sigh. “By parting present, I take it that Rhode’s pregnant?”

“Not at the moment,” Su said with a shake of her head. “Lord Poseidon took the baby to Atlantis so Mr. D wouldn’t have to-

“Run Rhode over with his SUV.” Atlanta said with a nod. “I’m familiar with the general plan. Aphrodite does it for her kids in Cabin Ten when they need it, though she usually turns the fetuses into dove eggs and looks after them in her temple on Olympus before returning them to her daughters once they leave Camp for the year.”

“She does that?” Su gasped, putting words to Rhode’s own surprise.

“Yeah,” Grover said with a nod. “Cabin Ten doesn’t advertise it of course, but it’s something of an open secret.”

“ Frick lass, you could have talked to us about this stuff. See all the new advice Atlanta just gave you? I know we brushed you off a little, we were busy, but if ya tried harder to reach out...” 

“It’s fine, Fergus. What’s done is done and we were at fault too.” Atlanta said, running a hand through her hair tiredly. 

It hit Rhode like buckshot as a stone filled her gut. She turned to Grover, nudging him with her wet nose. 

Grover, tell them I’m sorry. I-I miss them and I should have called them. Rhode pleaded as she felt all emotional and hungry as she padded around, feeling upset. I’ll try to keep in touch more.

“Rhode, apologizes.” Grover said succinctly. “And she’ll try harder to keep in touch.”

“Alright, cool. Cool, we uh, we’ll chat later.” Atlanta said, shifting her sheet shield a bit. “ It was nice hearing from you. Hugs and kisses girls. I need to I.M. Emily and shout at her. There were plenty of things she could’ve told you that would’ve helped you loads but didn’t.”

“Frick yes.” Fergus pumped his fist. “I’ve got a few things to say to her too.”

Grover, tell them not to be too harsh on her. Emily was probably too focused on trying to protect me from Jack, so…

“Rhode says not to be too hard on Emily. She was trying to protect Rhode from Jack and left things out.”

“Protect Rhode from Jack?” Fergus asked with a growl. “Ya know what? I’ll ask Emily about that. Gods, what the frick did we not know about!?”

“A lot apparently. And yes, we’ll go shout at Emily and get what we need to know from her. No need for us to vent on you guys, not when it isn’t really your fault. So again, girls, Grover. Take care.”

Su shot Rhode a look and received a nod in reply.

“Right, seems like Rhode’s done too. So until next time.” Su said with a smile.

“Till next time, everyone.” Fergus practically growled, obviously trying to keep a lid on his anger so he didn’t explode at the wrong person. “Gods Bless!”

“Gods Bless, Fergus, Atlanta.” Su said as she waved a hand through the I.M. image, dismissing it.

Am I the only one worried about Emily’s eardrums? 

“No, you aren’t.” Grover said with a shake of his head, causing Su to look at him questioningly. “Rhode asked if we should worry about Emily’s eardrums.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Su said uncertainly. “I mean Gaige and Penny will protect her.”

They would. Just like Su and the rest of her family would protect her whenever she needed it. 

I really am blessed to have them as my family. Rhode thought as she nuzzled into Su’s side in a display of her gratitude and affection, one that was returned as the daughter of Demeter hugged her neck, leaving Rhode to lick her cheek. 

Days later, Rhode and Su watched in fond exasperation as Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Beckendorf and even a visiting Tyson were baby proofing Cabin Three and musing about her three half-blood siblings’ reaction to Rhode’s impending baby.

After overcoming his anger at Jack knocking Rhode up, something made easy by his ultimate sacrifice, Percy had become over the moon at the idea of a niece. He was absolutely sure that Rhode’s baby was a girl. In fact baby proofing their Cabin was his idea and he was the one directing things, with the help of books. He had been the one to rope in Beckendorf and even called Tyson back to Camp to help. 

Said cyclops baby brother of Rhode’s was in fact very much driving the son of Hephaestus up the wall if the pinched look that Charlie was sporting was any indication, no mean feat considering his usually laidback, accommodating nature. Then again he was the one having to dissuade her overenthusiastic brother from one over the top baby gift to another.

“Uh, Tyson, I don’t think the baby is going to need armor. Much less a matching chainmail bib and studded rattle.” Charlie said, rubbing his temples tiredly in response to Tyson's latest suggestion for a present for the baby as they both worked to stock the newly installed cupboards at the ‘baby supply corner’ as Percy had dubbed it with the mountain of baby supplies her brothers had already somehow conned him into emptying his credit, and their own, with the Camp store to buy.

“No? What about-”

Tuning out her little brother’s latest crazy idea and rolling her eyes at Su’s giggles at it, Rhode turned her attention to her other little brother. 

“Percy, are you sure we need to round off every sharp corner?” Annabeth asked, as Percy barked his latest order from the book he was using as a reference. “That sounds a little excessive.”

“It’s what the book says, Wise Girl.” Percy said, looking up from the book with a frown.

“Let me see that,” Annabeth said as she walked over to double check Percy’s instructions.

“Annabeth has come round to the idea of the baby, huh?” Su observed. 

Rhode could only nod. 

Bethy had initially been unsure about the situation, unhappy that Jack had done this to Rhode. At the same time unable, as she admitted to Rhode, to hold it against the baby because that would’ve been just like how her stepmom first viewed her. So whilst she hadn’t fully given up on her misgivings, she had promised to help out the best she could.

“They are overdoing it,” Thalia said, gesturing at the others in Cabin Three as she took a seat on the opposite side of Rhode from Su on the daughter of Poseidon’s bed and joined in on watching the show. “You really only need to start baby proofing when the kid starts crawling and even then so long as you keep them in a fixed area, there’s no real need to proof the whole place.”

You’d know. Rhode thought even as she nodded, thinking back on everything Thalia said both in the past and in the last few days about how she’d practically raised her little brother Jason when he was a baby due to how neglectful her mother had been.

“Really?” Su asked, looking surprised. 

“I’ve got experience with babies.” Thalia admitted evasively.

Su thankfully got the hint and didn’t press and subtly changed the topic. “So anything in particular to take note of?”

“Keep the kid away from staples, trust me. They’ll nibble on anything if you give them the chance.” Thalia said, only half joking.

Rhode and Su both nodded slowly. Rhode didn’t know what her best friend was thinking but she was wondering how the hell had Thalia learned that ? Did Jason get his hands on some staples at some point? And if so how !?

Her thoughts on the matter were derailed when the familiar voice of Penny shouted from outside the Cabin door.

“Rhode, Percy, could Creator Two and I have permission to enter?” The automaton’s voice boomed.

Emily and Penny are here!? She wasn’t kidding when she said she’d be coming over!? Rhode gasped as she leapt off her bed. Despite Emily’s words, she hadn’t honestly expected her to really just drop everything and pay a visit again .

“Do they have permission?” Su asked formally as she walked alongside Rhode as they both made it towards the door, to which Rhode nodded distractedly.

The moment Su opened the door, Emily ran inside and swept Rhode into a hug that took her clean off her feet, completely unmindful of her state as a doe.

Too tight, Emily! Su! Help! Rhode grunted in distress, shooting Su a pleading look as her legs flailed.

Su, the traitor, just smiled and politely greeted the new arrivals. “Welcome back, Emily, Penny. It’s only the two of you?”

“Yes, unfortunately Creator can’t leave her job this time.” Penny explained as she stepped into the Cabin.  

And Emily didn’t have any commitments? That doesn’t sound right. Rhode said, something that Penny must’ve understood because she promptly offered an explanation.

“Creator Two is taking an extended Christmas break from her internship to be here. Thankfully, her boss is understanding but we don’t know if this will affect her grade.”

This is the second time she’s done something like this. Rhode noted in confusion. I appreciate it  but why?

Penny, much to Rhode and Su’s surprise, translated Rhode’s words for them.

“How is Penny translating?”

“I installed a Deer Translator, or as close as one that Creator could make on such short notice. Though I do wonder why Rhode was asking for macaroni when Creator Two hugged her.” Penny knitted her synthetic brows together. 

“I think that was a bug, Penny.” Emiily said with a laugh as with one last hug, she finally put Rhode down.

“I will make a note of it.” Penny chirped in delight. 

“And as for why I’m here. Of course I’d come, I’ll come whenever and wherever you need me Rhode. Always.”

Rhode was overwhelmed with gratitude at that and as Thalia made it over to stand next to her, she was struck with a realisation. Emily was behaving like what she imagined Thalia would have been like in the situation if their roles hadn’t been reversed by the daughter of Zeus’ time as a tree. Emily was treating her like a little sister and Rhode loved it.

She missed it when she would be the one being taken care of. 

“Alright, so what help do you guys need?” Emily asked as she surveyed Cabin Three and her eyes settled on where Charlie and Tyson were putting away the baby supplies. “I see you guys have some baby supplies already, but we’ve brought a truckload-”

“Literally.” Penny interjected informatively. “We bought a whole truck full of supplies after we got off the plane before driving up. We even bought the truck.” 

Emily rolled her eyes at the interruption but otherwise continued like it hadn’t happened. “-more. Where should I put them?”

An hour before the Christmas Party on the Twenty Fourth, Rhode trotted alone into Mr. D’s office to get her punishment lifted only to find Dionysus sitting behind his desk waiting for her with a serious look on his normally jovial face.

“I take it you were expecting Mr. D?” Dionysus asked, clearly having sensed her surprise. “Well, I thought this persona of mine was more suited to the discussion we are about to have.”

Discussion? Rhode asked, blinking in confusion.

“Let’s get you in person. I am not in the mood for talking to an animal.” The mad god said, snapping his fingers as Rhode was changed back in a burst of purple smoke. She coughed a bit from the powerful wine smell but the fact that she could do so was a relief in itself as it came out as a human cough, not a deer one. 

“Thank you, Lord Dionysus.” Rhode said as she stretched her now human limbs.

The god waved the thanks away and gestured to a seat in front of his desk. “Sit down, Rhode. There are things I need to explain to you.”

Rhode nodded and obeyed, feeling awkward actually sitting in a chair after the ordeal of deerhood.

“First of all, I must explain that I allowed what happened to you with Jack because it was a choice between two bad options. Either you went through all the torment that you did with Jack or you’d suffer worse at Castellan’s hands while you were his prisoner. Both would mess up your mind but you’d survive the experience with Jack, but Castellan would’ve broken you irreparably.”

Rhode shuddered at that and the god shot her a sympathetic look but nevertheless continued without pausing. She remembered her nightmare and thanked the Fates for dodging that bullet.

“Oh, I didn’t know the exact details of what would’ve happened. Future Sight is not within my domain so my power of prophecy is weak at best, but I had enough of an inkling of what might happen to make the choice I did.” He said firmly, showing how he continued to feel his decision was the right one. And considering the options, Rhode had to agree with him. “The latter was unacceptable to me. I’d blessed you by that point, I’d invested in you, and you would not be allowed to shame my choice in that regard. So that’s why I did my best to steer things towards the lesser of two evils.”

“Thank you for that, Lord Dionysus. I have an inkling of what might’ve happened to me and- If what I had gone through with Luke was the lesser version, then I’m beyond grateful. What he put me through, his advances and bearing the sky, already almost broke me… If I had endured worse, I shudder to think how bad things would be for me... Just thank you!”

Rhode bowed her head, fists tight in her lap as she felt her throat tighten up and a choked sob escaped her. 

“You’re welcome, Rhode.” Mr. D told her with his stereotypical sardonic grin. “Now run along. I believe you have a party to get dressed for. Your mother sent you a new dress I believe?”

“Yes, Mum did.” Rhode confirmed as she stood. “Thank you again, Lord Dionysus.”

Mr. D just waved her thanks away and gestured for her to hurry up and leave.

Smiling at this side of her patron and how easily he slipped into it, Rhode offered him one last grateful bow before leaving the office. She had a party to prepare for.

Rhode stood in one corner of the Dining Pavilion having some drinks and snacks with Percy as they watched the other Campers enjoy the Christmas Party. Dressed up for the occasion, like the Pavilion had, in the dress Amphtrite had sent her she was thoroughly enjoying the party. And her Mum had really outdone herself this time. 

The blue dress with a see-through halter neckline that featured a row of appliques at the top was absolutely captivating. The see-through tulle over a straight neckline of the upper body gave a touch of sexiness to the dress. One that was only added to by the additional appliques that circled around the waist forming a waistband that pinched at the waist to create a tighter fit, below which was a gorgeous tulle skirt that extended to the floor and added a stunning charm to the A-line silhouette dress.

Rhode’s Dress

It alone had garnered her more than her fair share of turned heads so far. Though quite a few she was sure was also from the curiosity of her being a doe just hours ago. Many Aphrodite Cabin Campers at least, she knew from a few questions they tossed her way, were flabbergasted at how quickly she’d managed to get ready for the party.

“Rhode, you sure you don’t want to head back to the Cabin early and rest?” Percy asked, his tone was tinged with worry, like it had been ever since she had been rescued. “I mean, you were a deer like literally a couple hours ago.”

“Don’t worry so much, Percy. The whole experience as a doe was a joke, I’m totally over it. Though I do like corn a lot more now.” The daughter of Poseidon noted, holding a finger to her chin playfully. 

“You sure?” Percy asked, being the total helicopter brother he’d been ever since she got back from Olympus.

“I’m fine, Percy.” Rhode insisted, pulling him into a headlock and giving him a noogie. “I’m not fragile.”

“Okay! Okay! I get it!” Percy said pitifully, prompting Rhode to let him go. “Did you have to mess with my hair?”

Rhode just giggled at her brother as he desperately tried to smooth his hair into something resembling order.

“Don’t worry about your hair, Percy.” Su said as she walked over. “I doubt Annabeth will mind. She knows messy hair makes you look perfect.”

“Su~!” Percy whined, earning him another giggle at his expense from Rhode.

“Dearest Percy, it’s true.” Su insisted with a teasing smirk. “And talking about Annabeth, she's about to finish her dance with Thalia. I think she might want the next one to be with her boyfriend.”

“I get the hint, Su. Watch Rhode for me okay?”

Both Rhode and Su rolled their eyes at his overprotectiveness, but he just grunted and marched off to find his girlfriend.

“That was sneaky of you, Su.” Rhode commented as she eyed the woman who was legally her wife up and down and appreciated the view. She was rocking the deep red thigh split mermaid hem qipao she had chosen for the occasion.

Su’s Dress

“I’ve no idea what you mean, Rhode.” Su said with a coy smile on her painted lips. “I was just telling Percy the truth.”

“Maybe.” Rhode allowed with a smile of her own tugging at her face. “But what about how you engineered Tyson dancing with Penny? Or Thalia taking a spin around the dance floor with Chiron, of all people, now that she’s free?”

“I’m feeling shippy today.” 

“Or you wanted some alone time with me.” Rhode said with a roll of her eyes, cocking her hip and resting her hand on it. “You know you just needed to ask, right?”

Su just shrugged and changed the topic.

“By the way, the way you handle Percy is amusing as the Pit, you know that?”

“And you should learn a thing or two about it.” Rhode suggested teasingly. “You’ll need to, since he’s your brother-in-law now.”

Su blushed.

“Nothing’s changed that much between us.” Su insisted, fiddling with her hands nervously. “I mean, like we agreed on Olympus, right now it’s just a piece of paper that Hera forced onto us.”

“Is it?” Rhode asked with a raised eyebrow. “I know you were supposed to be taking care of me while I was a deer but we’ve been going in and out of each other’s Cabins all the time since Olympus. That’s a change isn’t it?”

“I-It was just ‘cos I was made responsible for you.” Su said with a pretty blush that flattered her pale skin.

“If you say so, Su.” Thalia said as she walked over with a drink in hand, her dance with Chiron apparently over. “Seriously, girl, I suck at this relationship thing and even I have to say that you should just be more honest with yourself.”

“Thalia!” Rhode chided her sister warningly.

“Fine~! I’ll shut up.” Thalia said with a sigh.

“So~! Thalia, how did you like that porcupine plush that we got you for Christmas?” Su asked in a desperate bid to change the topic by bringing up the present that they’d bought for Thalia. By virtue of being a deer in the gift buying period available to her, Rhode hadn’t been able to get the gifts she wanted for her friends and family on her own and had to share them with Su hence Thalia’s new plush having come from both of them.

“I like it,” Thalia begrudgingly admitted. “I mean, I’m not usually into plushies but…”

“But?” Rhode asked curiously.

“It’s really cute, you know? So, thanks you two.” Thalia said, her freckles glowing from her flush expression. “And well… It’s a gift from you, Rhode. Of course I’d like it.”

“That’s sweet, Thalia, but do you actually like it?” Rhode pressed.

“Yeah, it looks good on my bed. The contrast with my sheets makes it pop.” Thalia said with a cheeky grin. “It’s all cute and my sheets are all-”

“Overly serious?” Su supplied with a teasing grin.

Thalia nodded. “It’s totally gap moe.”

“You’re reading too much slang trivia again Thalia.” Rhode said with a giggle. “You know you don’t need to try so hard to pretend to be your age, right?”

“I know.” Thalia shrugged with a pout. “But enough about me! Why don’t you two lovebirds go dance?”

Rhode exchanged a look with Su who just shrugged.

“Sure, we’ll get out of your hair for a bit.” Rhode said as she offered Su a hand, which her best friend graciously accepted. 

“Take a breather and chill.” Su said as she allowed Rhode to lead her to the dance floor. “We’ll be back in a bit.”

Even as most of Camp was enjoying themselves at the Christmas Party, Nico di Angelo was sitting out and inside Cabin Eleven having a I.M. conversation with his sister Bianca. They’d always spent Christmas together and this year wasn’t going to be an exception. Not even if they couldn’t do so physically.

“I’m so sorry I had to just up and disappear like that Nico, but with the war we Hunters had to move out ASAP.” Bianca said as the prearranged I.M. call was established.

“I understand Bianca,” Nico lied. He didn’t, but he wasn’t about to tell his sister that and upset her.

“ No, you’re wearing your grumpy face. You’re upset.” Bianca said, seeing through him easily. “I am sorry, Nico. But… I needed to do something for me. You know? I’m the Lieutenant of the Hunters. So I should be able to get them to swing by Camp more often. I think strengthening our relationship would do the rest of the Hunters some good.” 

“So being a Hunter is what you choose to do for yourself?” Nico said, struggling and mostly failing to follow his sister’s logic.

“Yeah. You probably hate me for it, but I need to be me, Nico. I-I wanted to spread my wings. I am sorry. I’ll say it as many times as I have to for you to understand.”

“I don’t hate you, I can't hate you. But I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Nico.” Bianca sighed, pressing her hand against the rainbow on her end, Nico did the same, but all it felt like was cold and wet in the winter air. “I’ll make sure to always call you when I can. I promise you that. No matter how old you get, little mister.”

Nico snorted. “Soon I’m going to be older than you. Taller too.”

“Physically maybe, but you’ll always be my little brother.”

“How long is puberty going to be for you? Forever?” Nico couldn’t help but tease her, it felt nice. Just, just talking to her like this. 

“Wouldn’t know.” Bianca said with a shrug. “I escaped that fate.”

“Bianca~!” Nico whined. A little disappointed that she wasn’t willing to play along.

“ I’m sorry Nico, but well… Becoming a Hunter. Becoming Lady Artemis’ Lieutenant. It’s changed me. It’s hard sometimes to act like I used to. But for you, I’ll try okay?”

“Okay,” Nico said with a tight smile.

“Father should be contacting you soon. If he hasn’t already. Just, please give him a chance, Nico. He loves us, he loves us so much. Please get along. For me?” She asked with those pleading eyes he couldn’t help but crumble to. He nodded in understanding.