Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Pain. All Grover could think about was pain.

He’d been out in the wilderness, searching for Pan as is every satyr’s dream. For thousands of years, they’ve been out looking for Pan in hopes of bringing the world back to how it was, wild and free. Hoping that Pan could fix the corruption that humanity had left on the earth. 

The search was dangerous, however, so satyrs needed to prove themselves ready to go out and look for Pan. To do so, they needed to bring in multiple demigods to Camp Half-Blood, where they also act as protectors, successfully for a chance at receiving a Searcher’s License.

A few years before, Grover had gone on a protection mission. He was tasked to bring in two demigods to camp safely. They were high-value demigods too, and after his first failure, he didn’t want to mess up again. The demigods were stubborn, but they agreed to go with him by the end of it on the condition that they never be separated on the way there.

So, with that, Grover took both of them and led them to camp. There were many close calls and brushes with death, but they managed to make it alive. He had brought them both alive and in one piece to camp.

The few weeks after that were amazing. The two demigods were integrating into camp pretty well, everyone’s morale was high with the two new additions, and most importantly, Grover got his Searcher’s License. He’d done it. He could go out now and look for Pan.

On top of all that, he’d become some sort of hero at camp. The satyrs all looked to him as an idol after that, all of them saying he would be the one to find Pan. He had to be. After all, who else could bring in two high-level demigods to come safely despite all the unexpected problems and dangers their combined scent brought?

Grover had ridden that high for some time. He’d search for Pan while keeping an eye on demigods as well. He almost went off to Florida, sensing the incredible power of nature in that area, but he was convinced not to go. Gleeson said he’d had a bad feeling about that area, and Grover chose to trust in his instincts.

After some time, while he was still beloved at camp, the Council of Cloven Elders began to grow impatient. He’d been searching for close to a year and a half by that point, and still nothing. So, he got a bit more reckless as he looked.

He’d fall for obvious monster traps, just barely getting out alive. He’d miss obvious demigods who’d need to be brought in by others. He even forgot to pack extra tin cans for the trip.

That was how he’d managed to get himself into this situation. On one of his trips, he managed to ignore all his instincts telling him to turn away. That he was walking into a trap. That he wouldn’t walk out of this one. All because he felt the presence of nature nearby. If Gleeson had seen him, he’d smack him over the head with his club, but Grover was getting desperate.

As soon as he walked in, he was assaulted by a volley of arrows. They were deadly sharp and hit him in the arm and side. Not enough to kill him, but enough that his movement was limited after that.

He ran as best he could, trying to outpace whoever it was that wanted him dead. He couldn’t tell who was chasing him. Monsters no doubt, with how many arrows came his way. 

As he ran, he thought back to everyone at camp. He had to get back to them. Had to warn them of a deadly killer on the loose. He didn’t know what they wanted, but there was a high chance they’d kill more than just him. Maybe they wanted all satyrs dead. Maybe they wanted all campers dead. Who knew? 

All Grover knew was that he had to get back to camp alive and warn them. Maybe Chiron would know what to do.

That was when an arrow lodged itself in his leg. He collapsed to the ground in pain, unable to see in front of him, vision blurry.

He tried to crawl away. He had to make it to camp. He couldn’t die here. He just couldn’t.

As he was crawling, an arrow was shot into his hand, pinning it in place. He tried to pull it out, but someone stepped on him.

He couldn’t tell who it was, but they were strong. He couldn’t move around to see who it was, and even if he could, his vision was so blurry he doubted he’d recognize what they were.

His assailants said nothing. He just heard the pulling back of a bow, the loosing, and then everything went dark.

Grover Underwood, hero of Camp Half-Blood, was killed.

Chapter Text

Percy’s day could not possibly get any worse than it already had. 

The school trip was about as boring as usual, the day wouldn’t end, and his math teacher was a monster in disguise.

Maybe that last bit was more important than the others, but it was the problem that was most easily solved.

It was May, give or take, and Yancy Academy had decided to take them on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Ancient Greek exhibit. The trip was led by Mr. Brunner and Mrs. Dodds, the Latin and pre-Algebra teachers respectively, and he had brought in an assistant chaperone, Luke Castellan.

Luke was an interesting guy. He was a tall, blond, athletic guy with what looked like a knife scar slashed down his right eye. That didn’t make him any less handsome in the eyes of just about everyone in class, Percy included. He was Mr. Brunner’s aide, helping him out with whatever he needed, mostly regarding his wheelchair. Mr. Brunner tended to let Luke wheel him around from class to class and take care of distributing whatever he needed to the class, while occasionally helping out during supplementary sessions.

Luke was also the first person to take an interest in Percy at a school. Mr. Brunner did as well, but Luke was more free to do something about it. He could go up to Percy between sessions and just hang out with him and no one would bat an eye. The official reason was that Luke was Percy’s tutor in Latin, assigned to him by Brunner specifically after Percy mentioned having some difficulties with the class.

In actuality, Luke and Percy mostly just hung out while doing some schoolwork in between. Luke was probably the closest thing to a friend Percy had, which was a bit hard given he was about seven years older than him. 

Still, he looked up to Luke. He was a cool guy all things considered. 

Mr. Brunner was probably the best teacher Percy had ever had. Fun and interesting, while maintaining professionalism and being able to switch from humor to seriousness at the drop of a hat, he held Percy’s attention in class while never making any lesson boring.

With the two of them on this trip, Percy had some hopes that it would turn out fun. Unfortunately, they were accompanied by Mrs. Dodds. She was Brunner’s opposite in just about every way. Cold and calculating, with a sinister air about her. Being around her put Percy on edge like he should be preparing for an attack for whatever reason.

They went about the museum, looking at multiple different art and statues. Percy recognized a few of them: Heracles fighting the Lernean Hydra, Perseus slaying Medusa, and Atalanta killing the Calydonian Boar among others.

He was trying to listen to Mr. Brunner talk about the historical significance of some of those artifacts, but Nancy Bobofit and her friends wouldn’t stay quiet, making it harder for Percy to listen.

Nancy was one of Percy’s classmates. She was a red-haired young girl with freckles all over her face. She and Percy did not get along very well, often getting into a few fights here and there. Nothing too severe, not with Brunner and Luke always watching, but that didn’t stop them from trading barbs every so often. Nancy learned quickly that Percy wasn’t as easy a target as she was used to, so she kept her attacks verbal. 

This time around, she and her friends were laughing at some of the statues, distracting Percy from Brunner’s lecture. He couldn’t keep quiet at that.

“Will you shut up?”

It was louder than he had intended.

“Anything you would like to share with the class, Percy?” Brunner kept his tone mild like he was genuinely curious.

“No sir” Percy’s ears turned slightly red at that.

“Perhaps you would like to tell me about the art here”

He pointed to a piece of art that Percy immediately recognized. “That’s Icarus flying to the sun, right?”

“Correct. And he did this because?”

“Well,” Percy took some time to try and remember the story. “Him and his dad, Daedalus, were in a maze right? The Labyrinth. And they wanted to get out. So Daedalus made them wings so they could try to fly, but they weren’t perfect, so they couldn’t fly too close to the sun or too close to the sea or they’d break.”

He paused for a moment. This part of the story always got him. “Icarus didn’t listen though. He flew too high and the sun melted the wax holding the wings together. He fell into the ocean and died because of that, right in front of his dad.”

The idea of a child dying in front of their parent was always tough for Percy. He imagined his mom in this scenario. He didn’t want to keep that image in mind.

Nancy Bobofit laughed. “As if this’d be important. Where will I use why Icarus died in real life?”

“An excellent question, Miss Bobofit. Tell me, Percy, where can you use Icarus’s tale in real life?” Brunner never missed a student speaking. 

Nancy turned about as red as her hair. Percy thought about it for a moment before landing on an answer. “It’s meant to remind us to listen to our parents? Because Icarus didn’t listen to his dad, so he fell and died?”

The answer was in the realm of being correct, but Brunner still did not look fully satisfied. “Well, I suppose you can get three-quarters credit, Mr. Jackson.” What did he mean by that? Brunner continued “It is true that Icarus flew too close to the sun, melting the wax off his wings. That caused him to fall to his doom while Daedalus could only watch on in horror. He likely was never the same again. On that happy note, let us move out for lunch.”

Lunch was a relatively dull affair. For Percy anyway. All the other students were enjoying their time, pushing each other around, planning pranks, and in Nancy’s case, trying to steal from an unsuspecting vendor.

Percy however just sat on the side trying to look like he wasn’t a part of this group. It didn’t work as well as he would’ve liked, but it gave him something to think about.

Luke went to check up on him. He did that from time to time. Percy liked to pretend it didn’t affect him, but he always appreciated it.

“Hey Perce,” He sat next to him and offered him an apple. Percy took it, thanking Luke. “Nice job with the art piece by the way.”

“Thanks,” Percy didn’t even blush. By this point, he’d gotten used to Luke constantly hyping him up. “I still wish I understood what Mr. Brunner wanted for full credit.”

Luke looked contemplative for a moment before he shrugged. “Who knows? Brunner’s mind isn’t easy to read. Unless he tells you directly, it’s hard to tell.”

That was true. After all, Mr. Brunner knew how to hide his emotions, unlike some other teachers. Percy risked a glance at Mrs. Dodds. She was off to the side, seemingly uninterested in what was going on. Percy knew that wasn’t the case. She was likely waiting for him to mess up so that she could strike.

Luke seemed to understand where his gaze was. He gave him a quick warning look that Percy didn’t quite understand before changing the subject. “So, you think you’ll be coming back next year?” 

That’s an awkward change Percy thought, but he just shrugged in response. “No idea. After being expelled from five schools in the last five years, I stopped thinking about that until I reached the end of the year.” Percy found it easy to confide in Luke. He just felt trustworthy. And while he tended to have a mischievous smile that would raise alarm bells in most people’s minds, he did seem really genuine when it mattered.

Luke clapped him on the back once before getting up. “I need to check in with Brunner on some things real quick. I’ll be back before you know it.”

And with that, he went off. Percy watched him go with a slight melancholy. He wasn’t entirely sure why. It wasn’t like Luke was gone or anything. He was right there with Mr. Brunner. But Percy enjoyed spending time with Luke. Besides his mom, he was closest to Luke after all.

It didn’t help that Nancy Bobofit decided to change targets at that moment. She strode over to him with a proud smile and dumped a half-eaten sandwich in his lap while laughing.

“Oops,” she smiled sardonically. 

Percy had had enough by that point. She’d been heckling him the entire year without giving him any reprieve, and he hadn’t been able to do anything about it because Mrs. Dodds gave special attention to her. And somehow, Dodds managed to have decent sway within the school. 

Percy picked the sandwich up and tossed it at Nancy, too angry to say anything. She turned to him with a murderous look on her face, ready to say something. Percy didn’t stick around to listen, and stormed off angrily, bumping into her in the process. She grabbed his arm, trying to turn him around, and a wave roared in Percy’s ears. 

When he focused again, Nancy was in the water fountain, the other students stood shocked around her. Mrs. Dodds was right beside her comforting her. She turned a triumphant look towards Percy and pointed at him.

“Come with me, honey.” she took delight in those words.

Nancy smirked at Percy who just glared back at her. When he looked at Mrs. Dodds, she’d moved to the Museum. He turned to try and find Luke or Mr. Brunner, but they were both out of sight. With no other choice, Percy followed Mrs. Dodds.

As they walked through the Museum, Percy went through all the possibilities of what Dodds would want him to do. Maybe she’d have him buy a new shirt for Nancy, but that wasn’t it.

She stopped in front of what appeared to be a bust of Zeus, growling in anger. When Percy stopped, she turned to glare at him. “We know what you have done, child. Confess now and you will be judged less harshly.”

Percy racked his brain to think about what she could be talking about. He settled on either his secret stash of candy he’d been selling from his dorm room or his plagiarizing of his essay on Tom Sawyer. 

“I’m sorry ma’am.” He went with the safe option.

“Do you think us fools, Percy Jackson? We have been watching you closely for months now.” Her growl was now sinister, no longer the voice of an irritated teacher.

“I’ll- I’ll try harder.”

She growled at that. “Your time is up.”

At that moment, she shifted. She became a monster, winged and shriveled, grey with talons. She looked like she came straight out of a horror movie. Her face had sunken in and her skin had turned leathery. Her eyes bore a hole into Percy’s skull as she poised to attack. 

A monster. She was a monster. Percy didn’t know what to do with himself. She was a monster coming to kill him. He didn’t see any way he could get out of this alive.

That was when Luke ran in. He didn’t panic or scream. He tossed Percy a pen. “Uncap it!”

Percy had to duck from Dodds swooping in as Luke caught up to him. He had a sword in hand and was poised to fight whatever that monster was. Percy couldn’t help but think that at that moment, Luke looked like a hero out of an old myth.

“Percy! The pen! Now!” Luke ground out as he took a swing at Dodds. She flew out of the way without much effort, now focused on Luke.

Percy uncapped the pen and from it grew a bronze sword. Dodds was still flying around as Luke skillfully fended her off, but he couldn’t land a proper hit on her. He’d dodge, slash, attack, and parry, but he’d never manage to get her.

As she swooped in for one more attack, she shifted her target, going straight for Percy. Luke would get to her, but not before she got her claws on Percy. So Percy did what came naturally and swung his sword.

It didn’t hit her, but it distracted her enough for Luke to get his shot in. Dodds blew up like a sandcastle in a ceiling fan, spreading gold dust all over the place. 

The adrenaline wore off and Percy slumped in place. Luke caught him before he fell.

“Easy there,” he lowered him until he was sitting on the floor. “You alright, kiddo?”

“Tired.” Was all Percy could manage out.

Luke gave a short laugh. “Yeah, that’s how we all feel after our first monster fight.”

Percy turned to look at him, using up a decent amount of energy to do that. “Monster?”

Luke looked thoughtful before nodding. “Monster. I’ll explain more when we’re back at Yancy and you’re more rested up. For now, we need to tell Chi- Mr. Brunner what happened.”

Percy nodded, trusting Luke. He’d never broken his word to Percy. 

They went out to talk to Mr. Brunner, Luke supporting Percy as they walked. He listened to the whole story and his face turned grim.

“I see.” He nodded to himself. “Very well then. I trust that you will explain everything to Percy, Luke?”

Luke nodded without hesitation. Percy was still leaning against Luke during all this, his eyes threatening to close. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nancy giving him the stink eye, but he didn’t care all that much. He was too tired to use up any energy caring about what she thought.

Percy slept on the bus ride back. When he woke up, Luke led him back to his dorm. On his way, he prepared himself for any number of strange conversations. However, nothing could have prepared him for what was said then.

Chapter Text

The Greek Gods are real. 

It took some time for Percy to come to terms with that, but when he did, he just rolled with it. Might as well be the case, after all.

It did help that Mr. Brunner, real name Chiron, stood from his wheelchair to reveal a horse as a lower body. After learning his Latin teacher had been a centaur, nothing was too surprising for Percy.

After that, they gave him a quick rundown of all the important facts he’d need to know before they moved forward.

“So,” Chiron began. “As you’ve seen with your own eyes, monsters are real. Mrs. Dodds was one such monster, a Fury.”

Luke cringed at the name but Chiron didn’t flinch. Percy didn’t understand why, which Chiron must have seen because he gave a small smirk.

“Names have power you see. Luke here knows this well; you do not call on the name of any monster unless you are prepared to face it. It causes ripples in the Mist which they can detect. To avoid such problems, you may call them the Kindly Ones.”

Despite his explanation, Chiron looked completely calm. “You’re not worried?”

Chiron just smiled. “Any monster that decides to come for me would be too idiotic to really pose a threat. The stronger ones… let’s just say they tend to leave things be, too preoccupied with other issues most of the time.”

That solved that problem. In which case,  “The Mist?” That was new.

“The magical veil placed over the eyes of mortals to hide the mythical world. Its specifics are known better by Lady Hecate, but what you need to know is that calling out a monster’s name causes the Mist to react quite noticeably, assuming you are a demigod.”

Percy got up and started pacing, unable to stay still. “Demigod?” 

“Quite. The children of Olympus, from the Council, as well as those not on the Council. A mortal with divine blood in their veins. That allows for certain abilities I will explain to you at a better time.”

Percy blinked. He’d need to know about the abilities of a demigod? “Wait, why would I need to know that?” 

Chiron gave a sad smile while Luke grimaced. “It’s because you’re a demigod, Perce.” Luke kept his tone gentle.

That last bit shook Percy a bit. His whole life, he’d been told his dad was dead, being lost at sea. Now he learned he’s a demigod. A Greek demigod from the looks of it. That meant his dad wasn’t human. He’d be a Greek God. He was immortal. He just learned that his dad was still around.

“Do not judge your Father too harshly, Percy,” Chiron spoke as if reading Percy’s mind. “He is bound by many Ancient Laws preventing any contact with you. He also could not bring attention to you, as should you be revealed as a demigod, your life will become much harder.”

Percy pretended to accept that explanation. It didn’t change much for him though. It still meant he’d have to go home to his stepdad even though in his mind he shouldn’t need to. 

Regardless, they kept going. Luke was also a demigod from the introduction, a son of Hermes, who was the one who called Chiron to check up on Percy when he noticed that he might be a demigod.

Percy suddenly had a vague memory of Chiron showing up halfway through the year, with another teacher suddenly leaving Yancy without much explanation. Chiron said he’d sent the former teacher on a vacation and took over to see what Luke had been so insistent about.

“Before I forget, Luke gave you the sword, correct?”

Percy nodded. “Yeah, he threw me a pen that turned into a sword. Should I… give it back?” Percy didn’t really want to, it was one of the few things that he liked from today.

Chiron thankfully shook his head. “No need for that. Keep it. You will need that sword going forward.” Well, that’s reassuring.

They then told him about a camp for demigods where they could learn to fight and be kept safe. Camp Half-Blood they said it was called. His mom, Sally, had known about this camp and about Chiron and Luke watching over him for some time now, but she had kept it to herself.

At that moment, that was all that mattered. They would explain more as time went on when relevant, but for now, they didn’t have much time. Zeus’s Master Bolt had been stolen and any unaccounted-for demigod was a suspect. 

With special permission, Percy was allowed to leave Yancy. He wasn’t sure how Chiron managed it, but he was off with Luke to get home to talk to his mom about the situation. On the way, Luke explained a few extra things.

“So, we told you every demigod that’s not accounted for was a suspect, right?” Percy nodded. “Right, that’s because there are laws preventing the theft of Olympian weapons by other Olympians.” Gods and Olympians were used interchangeably in the conversations. “So, while it’s true that Zeus suspects that Poseidon stole the Bolt, Poseidon couldn’t do it personally. He’d need a demigod or a mortal to do it.”

That made sense in some ways, though the idea that Percy would be a suspect after knowing nothing was a bit ridiculous to him. Luke must have noticed that because he continued “Every demigod might be a suspect, but Zeus isn’t just killing all of them upon finding them. He’s called for an investigation. If the demigod is innocent, it usually shows pretty quickly. I’ve been with you all year, so you should be in the clear.”

Luke didn’t sound too confident to Percy, but he stayed quiet. They went along the road well past whatever logical speed limit. Percy didn’t mind that too much. It meant he got home faster and got to see his mom sooner.

He paused for a moment. They said they’d called his mom and she knew he was coming home. She took things well all things considered. She just said she’d go with them to camp and explain her side of the story on the way. That was fine by Percy. He wasn’t exactly happy that his mom kept this a secret, but he’d hear her out.

That was when he remembered what was waiting for him at home. Gabe Ugliano, his stepfather. A real beast of a man, more of a monster than even Mrs. Dodds had been. 

And they were going straight to him.

He toyed with the window’s crank, twisting it around a bit. He hadn’t wanted anyone to find out about Gabe, never mind Luke. He was trying to think up ways to get out of seeing Gabe when they got to the city.

He wouldn’t be able to come up with an excuse fast enough. And he couldn’t lie to Luke about where his mom’s apartment was. For one, his mom was meeting them there, so they had to be there for it to work. More importantly, he was never able to successfully lie to Luke.

“You alright, Perce?” Luke nudged him, worried.

“Uh, yeah, totally.” Percy hoped that sounded convincing, but Luke just frowned unconvinced.

He didn’t push, however, which Percy didn’t mind too much. It meant he had more time to come up with a plan for how to handle this. 

They made it to the front of the apartment complex. They went up the elevator. The whole ride was quiet, Luke obviously worried about Percy, and Percy unable to say anything, pulling at his bag’s straps the whole way. 

They made it to the apartment and opened the door. Gabe was sitting at the table with his gambling buddies, four guys just making a mess of the place. Dirty clothes were thrown all around the place, empty beer cans crumpled up on the floor, and the smell of cheap cigars filled the room.

Gabe side-eyed him and cocked an eyebrow at Percy. “So, you’re home. Got any cash?”

That was it. He didn’t seem to notice Luke behind Percy, who had shifted into a protective stance behind Percy. He didn’t ask Percy why he was home or ask about his stay at Yancy. 

He expected Percy to provide for his gambling funds without question. Last time he didn't comply, Percy had to pretend he’d gotten into a fight with the neighbor’s kids so his mom didn’t question what had happened.

“I don’t have any money.”

Gabe turned fully to him, likely about to figure out how much money he’d have on him when he paused in shock.

Percy turned and saw Luke glaring a hole in Gabe. Luke was a strong guy, but he typically wore a smile on his face that kept everyone around him at ease. He was normally easygoing, never really getting angry no matter how hard some people seemed to try.

Not so this time. He looked ready and able to fight an entire army and come out on top. His size helped add to that, and the scar down his face was even more pronounced now.

“Is there a problem, sir?” His tone was casual enough, but it promised pain if Gabe messed up.

Gabe audibly gulped and shook his head. He didn’t question who Luke was. Didn’t seem to be brave enough to. He just turned back to his game quietly while the other guys looked nervous.

Percy marveled at that. He was worried that Gabe would cause problems for Luke, either by getting him in trouble with the cops or maybe if he had some connections somewhere. A small part of him also worried that Luke would turn away from Percy if he knew about Gabe.

It didn’t matter too much now. They went into his room which was filled with Gabe’s garbage. Luke did not look amused.

“This is where you live?” He wasn’t quite able to hide his disgust at the room.

“It’s not always so bad.” Percy tried to sound convincing, but Luke shot him a look and he turned away. “I don’t know why mom stays with him. It’s not so bad with her, but…”

Luke nodded. “I might have an idea for why she’s with him, but I’d rather let her explain it to you. She should be coming any time soon if I’m not wrong.”

They had agreed to meet up at about half past three, and it wasn’t too far away. They sat in the room, the silence occasionally broken by Percy asking his questions.

“What’s camp like?”

“It’s the best place on earth. You’ll love it there.”

“Ok, but that doesn’t really answer my question.” 

“Heh, it’s a little hard to describe without seeing it. You’ll see what I mean.”

A pause. “What kind of activities are there?”

“All kinds. Capture the Flag is a particular favorite, but it’s not the same as you might be used to.” Percy figured that much considering the circumstances. “We’ve also got a rock climbing wall with some lava thrown in for an extra challenge. Don’t worry, no one gets too hurt on it.” That didn’t reassure Percy as much as Luke thought it would.

“We’ve also got sword fighting training and monster classes. It’s best to know what you’re up against before it comes to kill you.”

That made sense. “What about the others there? What’re they like?”

“Well…” Luke thought about it before settling on the answer. “There’s a bunch of different people there. Some are fun to hang around, some can be… a bit of a pain.” He tried hiding a wince but didn’t quite manage it. “But in general, we’re all one big family. We look after each other. I’ll introduce you to a few of my friends when we get there. I think you’ll get along.”

Before Percy could think of another question, Sally walked into the room. Percy jumped up and immediately ran to her. He forgot Luke was there for a moment as she hugged him close. He’d tell her she’s smothering him and to lay off but he couldn’t quite hide the smile on his face.

She let go and turned to Luke, who Percy just remembered was there. He had a small smile on his face, not a teasing one. “So,”  She started. “You said we need to get Percy to camp?”

Luke and Percy took turns explaining what happened at Yancy, starting all the way back at the start of the year. Percy mentioned finding the sudden shift in the weather to be a bit strange as well. Sally nodded and listened attentively, especially when they got around to the Museum trip.

When they finished, she looked stricken. She took a deep breath and brought Percy closer to her. He just hugged his mother tightly.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

She turned to him with barely hidden tears in her eyes. “We need to get you to camp, Percy. I’ll explain what I can on the way.”

And so, they got ready to go to camp. Gabe might have posed a problem, but Luke made sure he kept quiet. When they got in the car, Sally started talking to herself.

“I always knew this day would come, but every year I’d tell myself we can wait a bit longer…”

“Mom,” Percy interrupted her before she got too lost in thought. “You said you’d explain what you could?”

She nodded but kept her eyes on the road. “I’m guessing Luke has already told you about your situation?” 

“Yeah.” They had gone over that extensively. 

“What he probably didn’t tell you was how you stay at camp. For more dangerous cases, campers stay year-round without going home. When you were born, there was a risk you’d be a case like that, and I…” she trailed off for a moment. “I was selfish.”

“What?” Percy couldn’t comprehend that. His mom was the kindest person on earth, never raising her voice to a single person. Not him, not the customers at her retail job, not even Gabe. How could she be selfish?

“I couldn’t bear to let you go. I wanted to keep you with me as long as I could. So, I took alternate measures to keep you safe from the monsters that would try and kill you.”

“How?” That bit hadn’t been covered yet. Luke took over.

“Demigods have a scent, Percy. It’s… hard to explain. It’s not exactly a smell you have that can be… well, smelled by most people. It’s more like an aura that’s different from other mortals. It’s the divine blood in us. That aura manifests into a scent that monsters and satyrs can smell from miles away. At camp, we’re safe. Monsters can’t get into the borders. Outside is a different story.”

“And that’s why I married Gabe, honey.” Sally took over from there. “His scent kept you safe from monsters. I’d look for a boarding school to keep you as far away from him as you could while only spending as much time as needed to cover your scent. Your Father told me about a demigod’s scent and…”

She’d married Gabe for him. Percy almost cried at that. The guy was repulsive, a real monster if there ever was one. The way he treated his mom was inexcusable. And she married him for Percy.

Percy had many other questions. Why was he kept in the dark until now? Why would he need to stay at camp year-round? Would he ever see his mom again? Now that he knew about all this, would they need to keep Gabe around?

So many questions, but they’d have to wait. They had made it to camp without much issue, and it was time to go.

Percy gave his mom one last hug goodbye before heading in. She couldn’t follow him through the border, but she’d be safe outside. Without Percy around, no monster would target her. She promised to find a way to handle Gabe when she got home and that she’d keep in touch. And with that, Percy watched his mom drive off, not knowing when he’d ever see her again.

Chapter Text

The tour of camp went about as well as Percy could hope.

Luke took him down the hill, towards where he said Chiron would be, pointing out all the important landmarks of camp.

“That’s the archery field there.” Luke pointed to the distance where a bunch of kids were practicing with bows. Percy counted about ten or so.

They moved a bit forward when Luke pointed out the bathrooms. “Careful there, you never know when the Stolls decide to set up a prank for anyone who has to take a shower,” Percy noted a bit of fondness in Luke’s voice when it came to them. He’d have to ask later.

They moved near a massive building, something like four stories tall, painted baby blue with a white trim. Percy could see a pegasus weathervane on top made of bronze. On the porch, Percy could see two people playing some sort of card game.

“That’s the Big House,” Luke explained. “We’ll find Chiron and our director, Mr. D there. Mr. D is… I think I’ll let Chiron explain more, but all you need to know is Mr. D is Dionysus.”

Percy stopped in his tracks for a moment and turned to Luke. “Dionysus? God of Wine Dionysus? Olympian Council member Dionysus?”

At Luke’s nod, Percy stared ahead for a moment. Dionysus was actually the Camp Director. Things were getting weirder and weirder by the moment.

Luke steered him forward while he was still processing that. By the time Percy had finished, Luke had gotten both of them to the front porch where the two figures from before, now revealed to be Chiron and Dionysus.

“Ah, Percy,” Chiron was the first to notice them. Dionysus turned a semi-curious look towards the two demigods before going back to the cards. “Glad you could make it. I hope you have found Camp to be exciting.”

That seemed to bring Percy out of his reverie. Instead of answering Chiron’s question, he turned to the Camp’s Director. “You’re Dionysus,” he said with a hint of wonder in his voice.

Mr. D turned and eyed Percy, not betraying any thought. He turned back after what felt like ages and simply nodded. Percy couldn’t believe it. A God of Olympus was sitting right in front of him. His eyes were a deep purple, radiating power. His hair a curly black, falling at around shoulder length. He was wearing a tiger-print shirt from the looks of it. 

He simply sat there intently focused on the game at hand, as though nothing in the world could be considered a distraction. Luke had to pinch Percy to get his mind back on track. Judging from the small smirk, Dionysus knew that well.

“So,” Percy tried to sound casual, knowing he failed miserably. “You work here, Mr. Brun- Chiron?” Percy winced internally at the slip. He’d come to terms that his Latin teacher was the centaur from the myths, but seeing him dressed in his school getup brought Percy back to Yancy for a moment.

“Indeed I do,” Chiron turned to him with a kind smile. The same he had on his face when he told me he was sure I’d do perfectly fine on the exams I thought I’d be failing. “Here, I am the activities director. I assume Luke told you of Mr. D?”

All Percy could do was nod as he sat down. He tried to will his voice to work, but it wouldn’t. He still couldn’t believe Dionysus was the one directing Camp.

Chiron seemed to have noticed the silent question but avoided it for now. Instead, he began to expand on the explanation from Yancy. “Hmm, I don’t suppose our normal Orientation Film will do in this case. It would likely confuse you more than help. Truly a dreadful thing.” Luke nodded in agreement. “So, you know that the Gods of Olympus are indeed real. Their realm is here, within America itself.” Percy blinked at that. They were here?

“Yes indeed,” Chiron seemed to read Percy’s mind. He always had the uncanny ability to guess what Percy was thinking. “They move from place to place, wherever the Flame of the West as it would be called resides.”

“Flame of the West?”

“It’s the guiding force of Western Civilization.” Dionysus was the one who answered this bit. Percy sat up straight and turned his full attention to the explanation. “Anywhere civilization is influenced by the Greeks, Olympus resides. Today, that place is here in America.” Dionysus went back to the game.

“Quite,” Chiron nodded. “The Flame also resided in many other places, such as Rome and England for example, neither of which were particularly popular I will admit.” Dionysus just gave Chiron a look at that.

All through this explanation, they kept playing the card game. They never explained what it was, but it seemed like Chiron won. Dionysus shrugged and packed the cards away. He went into the Big House after that without a word said. 

“Now, where were we?” Chiron continued “Ah, right. In addition to all I just said, Olympus resides on the top of the Empire State Building.”

Percy blinked twice at that. “The top of the Empire State?” The idea didn’t seem to compute in his head. If Olympus were there, wouldn’t it be noticed? Sure, the Mist would hide it, but something would show wouldn’t it?

Chiron continued, answering the question in the process. “Yes indeed. Of course, it doesn’t rest on top of the mortal half of the building. It resides on the 600th floor, inaccessible to any mortal of course, in a completely different plane of existence from the rest of the mortal world.”

That answered that question. With that, Chiron got up from where he was sitting. Getting a better look at it, Percy could see it was a chair with a compartment that allowed him to rest his horse half in it, similar to the wheelchair he used at Yancy. 

“With that out of the way, let us continue your tour of our camp shall we?” 

And they did. Chiron pointed out all the spots that Luke hadn’t.

“There is the arena. Sword and spear fights take place there. We make sure to keep them nonlethal, despite certain campers’ best efforts.” He sounded pretty annoyed at that last point.

“Best efforts?” Percy couldn’t help but ask.

Luke snorted. “Some Ares campers can get a little… enthusiastic in the arena. They usually have a decent hold on themselves, but sometimes…” He shook his head. “We have good healers who stop anything from getting too bad.” He stopped at that.

With that reassurance, the tour continued. They passed the Arts and Crafts building, which was more of a shed with all the material and an outdoor set of tables where everyone could work on their things. On the opposite side, Chiron pointed to the lava wall where campers were trying to get up a climbing wall with lava flowing down. Luke said it was an extra challenge for the campers, but Percy thought it was a bit much. Chiron said he’d get used to it eventually and with that, they moved on. 

Chiron pointed to a group of pillars jutting out proudly towards the sky. “That is Zeus’s Fist. Out of all the landmarks at camp, this one’s importance can not be understated.” Chiron looked nostalgic for something all of a sudden. “It was raised when Zeus chose this spot to house Camp Half-Blood in the Americas. You will learn more about that during camp’s activities.”

They kept going until they reached the cabins, passing by the archery field up close. It looked interesting and Percy figured he’d try it out at some point, but they passed by before he could get a good look at everyone there.

The cabins on the other hand were an interesting bunch. Luke had mentioned that the children of Olympus all got cabins here, but he didn’t go into too much detail about it. Looking down at the clearing they had reached, Percy could see them. Thirteen cabins each different from the last. He saw one bright as the sun, a shining gold, off in the distance. There was one that looked more like a workshop than anything else, steam rising from it. Another was covered in vines and plant life, but it didn’t look wild. 

“Here we have the cabins, one for each of the Olympians.” Luke pointed to one in the distance. “That one’s Cabin 11, the Hermes cabin. You’ll be staying there for about a week before we move you to either your Parent’s cabin or the Unclaimed cabin or Zeus’s.”

“Unclaimed cabin?” Percy tilted his head.

“It can take some time before you are claimed, Percy. Depending on a number of factors, it could take anywhere between a week or a few months before you are claimed.” Chiron explained gently. “In such a case, we need to move you to another cabin in order to keep the numbers in each cabin on the lower end. Originally, they’d be sent to Zeus’s cabin. He does rule over hospitality after all, so a temporary stay there would work. Some, however…” he trailed off for a bit.

“Some don’t get claimed.” Luke picked up, sounding a little annoyed. “They stay for a long time without ever getting any sign. Some do get claimed, but have no cabins here, so we couldn’t send them anywhere. Recently, we ended up building the Unclaimed cabin to account for that. And because the Zeus cabin kept overflowing with people.” He looked towards the Zeus cabin in a mix of what looked like irritation and concern, though it wasn’t too clear.

“That aside,” Chiron changed the subject as subtly as he could. “I will leave you now to meet up with your new cabin mates, Percy. I do hope you enjoy your stay here. Luke, I trust you will handle the rest?”

Luke nodded and Chiron galloped away, saying something about advanced archery class. With that, Luke led Percy to the Hermes cabin to show him his new temporary home.

Chapter Text

As they got closer to the cabins, Percy could see more details on them. 

He saw the Zeus and Hera cabins looked like His and Hers versions. 

Cabin One, Zeus’s, was ornate and large with marbled columns holding up the roof. It was styled like an Ancient Greek temple almost, with a few key differences. Namely, it looked like it was made to be lived in, with a sort of mini garden on the front. Its doors were polished bronze and it had lightning streaks all over it.

Hera’s, Cabin Two, was more sleek and graceful, keeping the marbled white. It had peacock images all around the walls. It was clear no one lived in it.

Cabin Three caught his attention though. Luke mentioned it was Poseidon’s, and it showed. It was a low cabin, almost as if it were just a cover on the land. It looked like it wouldn’t have been out of place at the beach, and he could hear the rushing water even from as far as he was.

He went closer to it, Luke following him nervously.

“You alright there Perce?” Percy kept going forward. 

He looked into the cabin, seeing the inside. It looked barren like no one had lived in it for decades. And yet, parts of it had a certain pull to them. He could see the bunks were made and ready to be used, the walls decorated with waves, and the sound of rushing water filled the cabin.

Luke pulled him back before he could see more. “Let’s keep going, yeah?” Percy nodded, still in a bit of a daze.

He was brought past a few of the other cabins, the Ares cabin standing out particularly, looking like it wouldn’t be out of place on a battlefield, with barbed wire surrounding the perimeter of the cabin and shields and spears hung around it. The Athena cabin by contrast looked like a command base, and through one of the windows, Percy could see blueprints scattered about.

Finally, they reached the Hermes cabin. It almost looked like a fancy hotel, inviting and cozy from the outside. If Percy was going to stay here for a bit, he didn’t think he’d mind. He could see a caduceus above the door, which was already open. A kid about Percy’s age walked out.

“Luke!” He ran straight towards them, pausing a bit when he saw Percy. “You must be new here. I’m Connor, nice to meet you.”

He stuck out his hand for Percy to shake it. “Hey. I’m Percy.” Still adjusting to everything that was going on, Percy couldn’t really think of anything else to say.

Thankfully, Connor just smiled with sympathy. “Rough first day?” Percy just nodded and Connor went on. “Yeah, it’s like that for all of us. Don’t worry, it’ll get better.”

Percy was glad to hear that. Taking a close look at him, Percy could see a bit of a resemblance between him and Luke. They both had a bit of a mischievous look in their eyes, though Luke hid it better. He could also see they had a bit of a similar face, with their smiles being very close. Besides that, his hair was a bit longer than Luke’s, a little shaggy at that, and black instead of blond. He was a bit taller than Percy and looked in better shape.

Luke picked up from there. “So, you’ve met each other now. Con, Percy’s the kid I told you about from Yancy.” Percy and Connor both perked up at that. Connor looked excited while Percy was a bit surprised that Luke talked about him that much. “Perce, Connor here is one of the Stolls, my pain in the ass little brothers.” 

“Awwww, you do love us!” Connor had a shit-eating grin on his face the whole time, but he couldn’t quite hide the happiness in his eyes. He turned to Percy there and smiled. “Well, come on in!” 

The hotel feel of the Hermes cabin didn’t fully translate to the inside of it. It looked more like, well, a traditional camp cabin. That sounded weird to say out loud, but after what he’d seen, a regular camp cabin seemed almost mythical. 

He saw a bunch of faces. Many of them looked almost like Luke and Connor did, with the same mischievous eyes and smile. Those must be the children of Hermes who lived in the cabin. The others were a variety of looks, from sullen to excited to intrigued, all of them lacking what Percy had come to accept as the trademark Child of Hermes smile.

“Cabin eleven!” Luke got everyone’s attention effortlessly. “This is Percy Jackson, our newest camper! He’ll be with us for the time being while we show him how camp works. Treat him as you would treat any other new camper!”

Percy looked around as everyone’s eyes were on him. Luke was at his back which made him feel a bit better, but he couldn’t keep still at that point. He walked in trying to make a good first impression.

Which was precisely why he tumbled over someone’s bag and fell face-first on the floor.

Most of the cabin laughed at that, with only Luke holding back, though he was smiling. Dick . 

Someone came up to him as he got up. He kept laughing, but he did look slightly apologetic. “Hey,” he got out in between laughs. “Sorry about that, that was my bag.” He only looked slightly sorry. “My name’s Alabaster. Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand for Percy to shake it. 

Alabaster was a little taller than Percy so he had to look up to get a good look at his face. His eyes were a striking green, not like Percy’s. They kind of reminded him of some spells in TV shows. His hair was brown and cut relatively short. At least, it was shorter than Percy’s was. He looked friendly enough despite the fact he was still laughing. 

Luke pointed to a bunk on the side Percy could use as he got a good look around. He was introduced to a few others, namely Ethan who was about a year older than him, Bentley and Paris who seemed to be attached to the hip, Chris who was mostly reserved, and Connor’s older brother, Travis.

Travis looked almost like Connor’s twin. The only way Percy could tell them apart was that Travis was a bit taller. Managing to keep a straight face somehow, he made a joke about them being sons of Hermes and having the last name of Stoll which got the most unimpressed look Percy ever saw in his life. He counted that as a win.

“You can leave your things here for now, Perce. They’ll be safe here.” Luke promised as the Stolls both pouted in sync. “Let’s continue the tour real quick, there’s still a few places I want to show you.”

Luke explained the rest of the cabins he hadn’t managed to before. He explained each one on its own and who would be in it. The Aphrodite and Demeter cabins got a bit more of an explanation than the others, with Luke clarifying that if need be, the campers in there can be very dangerous despite what other campers might say. Percy could swear Luke’s eyes drifted to one of the cabins then but he couldn’t be sure.

As they got closer to Cabin 8, Luke’s face contorted in annoyance. “This is the Artemis cabin.” He said shortly. “The Hunters stay here from time to time.” Percy could swear he muttered “unfortunately” under his breath.

“What are they like?” He wondered if he’d regret asking.

Luke took a deep breath at that. “They’re… a mixed bag to say the least. Some of them are alright I guess, not too annoying. Some of them… let’s just say I’d rather have dinner with your math teacher than talk to them any longer than I strictly need to.”

And with that out of the way, they kept going to Cabin 1. Zeus’s cabin. Percy couldn’t lie, he felt a slight bit of anticipation on the way. This was the cabin he’d be moved to temporarily until he was claimed. 

As they got closer, Percy couldn’t help but readjust his first impression of the cabin. It still looked the same, but it gave off an aura of being both imposing and welcoming as if issuing a warning that those welcomed within were to be treated with respect.

Luke walked up to the door and knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice. Not long after that, the door opened and Percy was a little intimidated. 

The person had short spiky hair that was black as a raven’s feathers, with electric blue eyes that had an edge to them, wearing punk clothes and looking ready to take on an entire army. As Percy looked closer, he felt he should know who this was, like he’d been told before.

Luke just smiled like greeting an old friend. “Rough day, Thals?” 

“You have no idea.” Thals said wearily. “So many campers moved here last night and I’ve had to juggle the idiots with the rest. It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for… wait, who’s the kid?”

“Ah, right. Thalia, this is Percy Jackson, new camper. Percy, this is Thalia, counselor of the Zeus cabin and an old friend of mine.”

Thalia. Luke had told Percy about her from time to time when they were still at Yancy. He’d made her out to be some cosmic badass, and looking at her, Percy had to admit she looked the part. 

She turned to him with a curious eye. She didn’t look hostile, so he took that as a plus. After all he’d heard from Luke, he knew he didn’t want to be on her bad side.

Thalia suddenly smirked. “So, you’re the kid who managed to get under Luke’s skin?” 

Percy blushed while Luke covered his face. “It wasn’t on purpose.” He did mean that. He’d been trying to work with some food dyes to make his lunches at Yancy blue, just like he and his mother stuck with after Gabe said there was no such thing as blue food, when he got the wrong dye and dropped it into the water supply. He hoped no one would notice, and most people didn’t. Luke got the brunt of it, showering with that water first and being the one to bring it up with the school’s staff.

Luke wasn’t easy to annoy, but Percy managed it that day. Looking back, it wasn’t the best first impression, but they managed to work past it.

Thalia laughed. “I’ll never forget the look on his face that day. It made my week.” She gave him a small smile. “I think I’ll enjoy having you around.” She sounded like she actually meant it. Percy’s face grew a little warm hearing her speak so openly about her apparent fondness for him. Considering she’d only heard of him, it surprised Percy just a bit.

“Anyway,” Luke shot her a look of equal parts irritation and fondness. “I was just showing Percy around camp and was wondering if you wanted to join.” 

Thalia thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “Sure, might as well.” She turned to the cabin behind her and told everyone she was going out for the time being and then they were off.

They were near the woods. Apparently, they were stocked with monsters for practice, though no one was sent alone and they were always low-level monsters for learning, Higher-level monsters required prior approval from Chiron and were never summoned without supervision.

Thalia was mostly quiet, listening to Luke’s explanation with what looked like a small smile on her face. After Luke finished up with the forest explanation, Thalia chimed in. “Did you take Percy to the armory yet?”

Luke shook his head. “Haven’t had the time. Besides, he’s already got a weapon.”

Thalia raised an eyebrow as Percy pulled out his pen. To her credit, she didn’t comment on the pen and just took it and uncapped it. The pen turned into a sword with a leaf-shaped blade about three feet long. Thalia handled it with grace and skill. She gave it a few test swings before nodding, satisfied. 

“It’s a good sword, though it’d be a good idea to find you some other equipment to carry along with it.” And with that, they went to the armory.

On their way, Percy noticed a lot of campers pointing at him and talking. They seemed to be looking at Thalia and Luke in awe for some reason. They’d look between them and Percy and start whispering as if it were the latest mystery that needed solving. Percy shuffled closer to Luke.

When she noticed this, Thalia gave all of them a death glare and they turned back to their activities without a second glance. She went back to catching up with Luke after that like she hadn’t scared an entire group of campers with just a look. Luke didn’t look like he thought this was weird.

When they got to the armory, Percy couldn’t hide his shock. It was two stories tall and wider than three school buses were long. It looked like an army barracks., with racks of weapons even on the outside. If the Ares cabin looked like it belonged on a battlefield, this armory looked like where they’d get stocked up before going.

Thalia smirked at him. “Impressive, isn’t it?” Her expression turned more serious as he looked at her in awe. “That’s the reaction most people get when they first see it.” 

“Wait till you see the inside, Perce.” Luke patted his shoulder. “We’ll be able to fit you up with something in there. Worst case, we can find you a shield.”

Luke was right. The inside of the armory was even more impressive than the outside. Weapons and armor filled out all the rooms the armory had. Split by category, each room was fitted with all kinds of equipment with all different sizes. Some large, some medium, and some that looked like they were fitted for kids about seven years old.

“Uh…” Percy wasn’t sure what to do with that last bit.

Luke and Thalia both shared a grim look. “Sometimes… the kids don’t really have a choice.” That was all he said on that matter, and Percy didn’t need to hear anymore. 

They went around looking for a weapon for him, but nothing seemed to work. They were all balanced wrong, at least for Percy. None of them sat right in his hands like the sword Luke gave him did. He didn’t see how he could use any of them effectively in battle. He could barely carry some of them.

As they continued through the armory, something caught Percy’s eye. Luke noticed that immediately.

“See something you like?” 

Thalia turned to them at Luke’s words and followed Percy’s gaze. Her eyes landed on a simple Spartan shield. “Bit big on you, don’t you think?” She had a point, even if he didn’t like admitting it.

The shield was big, big enough to sled on. It was over half as tall as he was and just as wide, made of pure bronze - Celestial Bronze, Luke explained - and looked too heavy for Percy to carry. Still, he liked it, even if he probably couldn’t lift it.

Luke ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll grow into it.”

Thalia finally found them a shield that Percy could work with. It wasn’t anything special and didn’t look Greek exactly, but it’d do. It was a simple round shield, just enough to guard Percy without being too big for him to work with. It felt a bit awkward to carry, but Thalia said he’d get used to it.

Just as they were leaving the armory, someone walked up to them with a disgruntled look. 

“Luke, Thalia, come with- wait, who’s this?”

“Ah, hey Silena.” Thalia took over from there. “This is Percy Jackson, new camper. Percy, this is Silena Beauregard. She’s one of the senior campers in the Aphrodite cabin.”

Silena’s face brightened at hearing he was a new camper. “Hey, I must’ve missed you when you got in. It’s nice to meet you.” 

She gave him a bright smile he couldn’t help but mirror. She seemed really happy with him being there, given her blue eyes sparkled with every word she said.

Thalia brought her attention back to why she was there. “So, Sil, you said there was something going on?”

Her disgruntled look came back with a vengeance, and Percy decided right then and there he never wanted to get on her bad side. 

“Yeah, you two need to get to the Big House.” Her face twisted into a sneer at her next words. “The Hunters are here.”

Chapter Text

The way everyone was acting, Percy thought they were going to war. 

When Silena told them that the Hunters were there, Thalia looked like she was trying to drill a hole into the horizon with her glare and Luke looked ready for war crimes. 

Percy shifted nervously. He’d never seen Luke get this angry before. He was usually really calm, looking like he could take anything with a smile on his face, but one mention of the Hunters and all of a sudden, he looked ready for war. Before that, he’d already sounded annoyed talking about them. Who were they anyway?

Luke, Thalia, and Silena turned to him at that, looking like they just remembered he existed. Luke’s death glare softened a bit, and Thalia and Silena looked like they were trying to make an effort to relax.

“The Hunters are a group of maidens sworn to Artemis.” Oh, did he say that out loud? Luke gave a small smile. “Yeah, Perce, you did. And no, I can’t read minds, I just know you well.” Percy tried to hide his blush at that.

“You’ll see soon enough just why we got this angry, kiddo.” Thalia turned away, going back to glaring at the distance. “The Hunters… let’s just say, there’s no lost love between us.”

Luke and Thalia went off to meet with the Hunters, leaving Percy with Silena. She seemed to relax her scowl a bit when looking at him, so at least he knew it wasn’t him she was mad at. 

As they went back to the main cabin area, Silena explained what she could about the Hunters. She broke off into a bunch of anger-filled rants half the time, but she managed to get the idea across. They were sworn to Artemis and as a result, they got immortality. In exchange, they have to swear off all forms of romantic love and remain maidens for eternity. They spend their time hunting monsters, protecting young girls, and making the campers’ lives a living hell. 

Every time the Hunters camp to camp, from what Silena said, it was the same story. They’d antagonize the campers, poke at them, and generally ruin their day. She said it was because many of them, including their lieutenant, thought themselves above the other campers both because of their role as immortal hunters and because of their lack of romance. They have a specific hatred for the guys and all children of Aphrodite as well. They’ll treat them both as less than the dirt they run on.

“They sound…” Percy couldn’t even finish the sentence. The Hunters really did sound awful.

“There are some that aren’t too bad I suppose.” Silena got out begrudgingly. “Some of them join for the thrill of the hunt, for a chance at adventure. Some are just there because they have nowhere else to go. They tend to be more polite around us. We don’t necessarily always get along, but we can coexist. The rest of them though…”

She looked ahead in the distance and Percy followed her gaze. They’d reached the area with the cabins, and he could see a standoff between some campers and a group of what Percy assumed were the Hunters. 

Silena let out a sigh. “Should probably handle that before a fight breaks out. Clarisse tends to break people’s bones when she’s mad. Percy, could you try and tell as many people as you can that the Hunters are here? When you’re done, you can go to the Big House and see if Chiron has anything for you. And remember,” she turned to him with a smile, “If you ever need anything around here, you can count on me.”

On his way to the Big House, he told as many people as he could about the Hunters. Most of them had just about the same reaction of anger and a nod of acknowledgment. The only one who gave a slightly different reaction was Connor, who went into a bit more detail about how the Hunters almost burned down three cabins last time they were here. 

“They can’t take a joke! We just did our usual pranks, you know? Dunked some paint on them, moved all their weapons to the Big House roof. We had to tone back a lot of what we would’ve done because they can’t take a joke, so we kept it harmless, and they just set fire to the Hermes cabin. The fire spread and hit the Aphrodite and Unclaimed cabins as well. We had kids younger than ten in there, and they didn’t care one bit!”

Percy just stood there shocked. “They’re still allowed to come after that?”

Connor deflated a bit. He looked resentfully at the distance. “There’s only so much Chiron can do to punish them. They don’t stay long, and when they leave, they have a habit of playing up whatever happened to Lady Artemis to make them look like the victims. I’m not sure what happens when they leave, but it doesn’t change much here.”

Percy thought about that for a bit. It seemed his stay at camp was going to get a lot tougher now. Connor continued after that “I guess they aren’t all that bad. One of them is a lot better than the rest, too. She actually gets along with most of us here. And since last time, Chiron’s gotten a lot stricter with them. He’s probably now with Mr. D trying to iron out the details of how to handle the Hunters.”

Percy let that settle in his head. The first thing was how everyone seemed calm at the idea that Dionysus was running the camp. No one was freaking out or anything. He wondered if he’d get to that point someday.

The second was Connor’s apparent fondness for one of the Hunters. Or, maybe fondness was the wrong word for it. Whatever the word was, he didn’t seem to hate her too much. 

The third was the point Connor made about Chiron being stricter with the Hunters. He wondered why it was Chiron, not Dionysus, but that probably had something to do with Olympian politics or Divine Laws or something. He remembered Chiron explaining something about Divine Laws both when teaching the myths and when explaining the situation to him, so that might be it.

And then, there was the fact that Chiron might be busy. He didn’t consider that. Silena had told him to go to Chiron when he was done, but it didn’t look like he’d be able to. When he asked Connor, he just smiled.

“Yeah, Sil tends to get tunnel vision when she hears the Hunters are here. She probably didn’t think much about what Chiron would be doing now.” He looked thoughtful for a moment before grinning. “If you want, you can join me for today. I’ll show you the activities and how to go about them.”

Percy figured that’d be a good idea, so he joined Connor in his activities. He had fun canoeing the most. The other activities were not exactly as fun.

When they went to archery, Percy somehow managed to nail Connor in the behind despite the fact he was behind and to the right of Percy. He laughed it off, but it was a little embarrassing. 

Foot racing went somehow even worse. Percy ended up in the dust with the nymph instructors all outspeeding him like it was nothing. They tried reassuring him that they’d had a lot of practice compared to him, but it didn’t make him feel all that much better. However, the fact that only Connor managed to keep up with them helped a bit.

Wrestling was more or less the same as that. The instructor this time was Clarisse, the girl from earlier. She flattened him at every turn but didn’t look smug about it. She gave him some tips for improving which he appreciated.

Connor looked at him in shock. When Percy asked why, Connor just shook his head.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen Clarisse not try and flatten a newbie.” He thought about it for a moment before realizing it. “Ah, she always gets more fair when the Hunters are around. She prefers that the campers be able to wipe the floor with them.”

With that, they moved to arts and crafts. Percy had a lot of fun there, even though he couldn’t make anything look right. Silena was the one teaching there, her demeanor a complete one-eighty from what she was like just a bit ago. She had a massive smile on her face as she coached everyone on how to handle their projects. When Percy messed up, she just gave him a gentle smile and gave him some tips, even patting his shoulder. Normally, Percy wasn’t a big fan of contact, but it felt… good, in a way.

They spent most of the rest of the day together, just hanging out in between activities. Percy found that Luke was right; he really did enjoy it here.

A few hours later, Luke found the two of them hanging out at the docks. 

“Hey, you two.” He didn’t look too happy, but it didn’t seem directed at them.

“So, what’re we gonna do about them ?” Percy almost didn’t recognize Connor’s tone. Though, with everything he’d heard, he couldn’t really blame him.

Luke sighed. “They’re here because Lady Artemis is out looking for the thief. She and Lord Apollo have been tasked with double effort. The Solstice deadline is coming fast, so the Hunters needed to be brought here in the meantime.” 

Connor snarled so viciously, Percy had to flinch back. “You’re telling me they’ll be here until June ?”

“We can’t do anything about it Con,” Luke turned to the two of them,  putting a hand on both their shoulders. “Chiron and Mr. D will both make sure they won’t cause too many problems this time around.” The at least, I hope part was left unsaid. 

“What happens now?” Percy couldn’t keep the question in. Connor turned to him at that, as if he’d just remembered he was there. He gave him a slightly sheepish look. Percy just gave him a reassuring smile. 

“Now,” Luke explained. “We prepare for our customary ‘friendly’,” he emphasized the air quotes as he scoffed, “capture the flag match against them.” He shook his head. “We managed to get it so we only need to do one game while they’re here, with the others depending on how things go forward. There’ll only be more if this game goes well for all parties.”

Percy heard Connor scoffing and muttering that Thalia would sooner dye her hair blond. Despite the atmosphere, Percy couldn’t help but ask. “Capture the flag with the Hunters?”

Luke nodded, but it was Connor who answered. “Whenever the Hunters visit, we have a ‘friendly’ match with them. It’s always the same. They’ll pick the ones who hate us the most, use real weapons, aim for maiming blows, flaunt their blessing, and make the games not fun at all.”

“They have a fifty-six-game winning streak,” Luke said with no emotion. “They usually show up in the winter too, when we have fewer campers. They just steamroll us and we can’t do anything about it.” He looked up at that moment and gave a vicious grin. “But this time, we’ll be at full strength. And Mr. D gave us the green light to go all out.”

Connor matched his grin and Percy couldn’t help but feel excited. He might not have the same training as them or the same experience with the Hunters, but he couldn’t wait for Capture the Flag.

Chapter Text

The next two weeks were an interesting bunch to be sure.

Percy started to get settled in at camp, going from activity to activity while making some friends. At the end of the first week, he was moved to the Zeus cabin, and then about three weeks to a month after that, he’d be moved to the Unclaimed cabin, assuming he remained unclaimed.

He made a few new friends too, namely Silena and this big guy from the Hephaestus cabin called Charles Beckendorf. He remembered Connor telling him that no one ever called him Charles or Charlie or Chuck. So naturally, Percy took it upon himself to exclusively call him Chuck. He took it in good humor, thankfully, and they spent the rest of that day talking to each other. They ended up being somewhat friends by the end of it, with Percy calling him Chuck exclusively.

There were other people he met from camp who were tough but they managed to find an understanding. Clarisse for example didn’t seem to like Percy all that much. Although, she didn’t seem to hate him either. She was tough with him, not giving him a single moment to relax when training, but at the same time she made sure he’d get results. He imagined it was like Connor said, that she was being easier on him than she otherwise would be because the Hunters were there.

Speaking of which, the Hunters were a nightmare for Percy to be around. They were arrogant, conceited, and generally made it their mission to make everyone at camp’s life miserable.

For example, his first meeting with them happened at the basketball court. He wanted to shoot some hoops and found the court empty, so he thought it’d be a fun time.

A little after he started, the Hunters came in and tried to kick him out so they could play. 

“ Boys are not allowed to witness us in action.” She only looked at him through the corner of her eye. “Leave before we are forced to take drastic action.”

Percy turned to them and just stared. He didn’t know how to react without causing an all-out brawl, and judging from the looks the other campers were giving him, it would be a massive one.

He decided he didn’t particularly care about what might happen. “I was here first.”  He wasn’t sure where this anger came from, but he wasn’t about to let them have their way here.

The hunter turned to him then, staring at him like he was less than dirt. “What was that?” She arched an eyebrow, trying to look intimidating.

If he was being honest, she did look like she could be a bit scary. She was pretty big for someone who looked fourteen, with red hair and a predator’s gaze. Sadly for her, Percy was not in the mood to cater to her whims.

“You heard me,” he snapped back, refusing to back down. “I was here first, not you. You can wait until I’m done for your turn.”

She looked murderous at that, and her friends started to close in on him, trying to block him from running.

He was thinking of how he could make it out of this one when he felt people closing in behind him. Looking back, he saw Clarisse and Silena up front, each one with a few members of their cabins as backup.

They looked out for blood.

“There a problem here Perce?” Silena's voice was casual compared to the anger in her eyes. Her posture tensed, ready to rip the hunters apart. Clarisse stood there quietly, glaring a hole through the hunters. It was then that Percy figured he should probably learn their names at some point down the line, but that could wait for now. 

“You!” The lead hunter snarled at Silena who didn’t look phased in the slightest. Clarisse looked like she was trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, it’s us again. What’re you gonna do about it?” Clarisse cocked her head to the side. “I hope it’ll be something stupid, ‘cause I’m itching for a fight.”

The hunters looked less sure than before now. The ones on the sides were looking at each other nervously while the redhead just looked angrier than before. 

It looked like they would come to blows when another hunter came forward behind them. 

“What is the meaning of this?”

Percy stepped back as Clarisse and Silena visibly tensed. He couldn’t really blame them for that. This hunter wasn’t like the others.

She wasn’t as big as the loudmouth from before, cutting a more lithe figure. She was tall with coppery skin, giving off an air of royalty, almost like she was some sort of a Persian princess. The tiara on her head helped with that image. Her hair was braided back, and unlike Redhead’s arrogance, she gave off confidence in waves. She didn’t just talk a big game. She could back it up. 

The other hunters looked at her a bit tensely but with a bit of triumph. They looked like they’d just been handed their birthday presents early but didn’t know what they’d be. 

Before either of them could speak, Percy took his chance. “I was here trying to shoot some hoops and they showed up and tried to kick me out. There’s enough space for all of us to be here but they said I wasn’t worthy to be here.” The princess looked like she agreed with that but kept quiet. Percy swallowed down his nerves and shook his head. Her gaze pierced through his very soul. 

She motioned for him to continue. “When I said no, they moved closer, looking like they wanted to beat me up. Clarisse and Silena came in to back me up, and that was when you came in miss…”

“Zoë Nightshade,” She looked approving of Percy’s attempt at respect even if she looked like she’d rather be talking to anyone else. “I see. You seem to be speaking the truth.” She turned to the other hunters. “Go back to the cabin. I will deal with you later.”

They grumbled but left as soon as they were told. She turned back to the demigods. Clarisse and Silena still hadn’t said a word, looking at Zoë with a mix of nervousness and anger. Percy did understand that bit. He was pretty angry at first so he didn’t notice, but Zoë definitely felt dangerous. 

“I will handle my unruly sisters privately. I trust this issue has been resolved?” She made it sound like a question out of what seemed like courtesy. The matter was resolved and that was that. 

Later, during a break in combat training with Thalia at the helm, he asked her about that whole mess earlier. She scoffed and shook her head.

“You just met two of the most insufferable hunters out of the bunch, and the most dangerous.” She looked pretty angry at the thought. “The redhead was Phoebe. She’s one of the older hunters and she really loves pushing our buttons. You know how they say everyone’s fighting a battle in their head that you don’t know about? With how she acts, she might as well be fighting an entire world war and a half. It’s like she always tries to go out of her way to make us regret every coming to camp in the first place.” She huffed, setting her spear aside. “Out of all the hunters, she’s hands down the most hated one at camp.”

She took a deep breath, calming herself. Percy just stood quietly, waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t, he asked “What about Zoë ?”

Her face morphed into a grimace. “Zoë’s… annoying. She’s the lieutenant of the Hunt. Only one above her in that group is Lady Artemis. She’s… a real piece of work.” It sounded like they had history, and it didn’t sound good. “She thinks she’s better than everyone around her, always walking around like we owe her for existing in her presence. She doesn’t go out of her way to make us suffer, I’ll give her that much, but it’s less out of the kindness of her own heart and more because she’d see it as beneath her.”

Percy nodded, but he could tell there was more to it than that. “You said something about the most dangerous?”

Thalia nodded. “Yeah, that’d be Zoë. She’s the one you won’t want on your bad side. Granted, I could take her any day of the week.” She gave a confident smirk and Percy couldn’t help but believe her. “And Luke could do the same. But for the rest of camp, well, she’s not lieutenant for nothing.”

Percy nodded. Zoë came off as more than just skilled. Where Phoebe seemed like she could be goaded into making mistakes, Zoë  came off as being far more collected. 

There still was one question though. “You said two of the most insufferable hunters. Can they get any worse?”

Thalia glared into the distance. “Much worse. Just pray you don’t have to deal with her .” Percy left it at that.

Other than that mess, the Hunters were just annoying to be around. Maybe not all of them, as some were generally more civil than the rest, but they tended to keep to themselves so Percy never found himself interacting with the kinder hunters as much.

All that made him extra excited for Capture the Flag. Luke explained it as best he could. They’d each have a flag they needed to take, the Hunters tended to have very tight knots, weapons were expected, and injuries tended to happen. 

Thankfully, they had two excellent medics on hand. Will Solace of the Apollo Cabin, who was a seventeen-year-old guy with shaggy blond hair, blue eyes, and a kind smile. The other medic was Chiron himself, so things should be fine.

Luke gave Will the rundown of Percy’s case. The two of them seemed pretty close. 

“First Capture the Flag ended up against the Hunters, huh?” Will gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure whatever happens you’ll be alright.”

It was like he could calm Percy down just by being around him. 

Right before the game started, he was sent to the armory to find some armor, already having a sword and shield. When he got there, he was greeted by two guys waiting for him.

“Well then, look who we’ve got here.” The guy on the right gave him a big smile, blue eyes twinkling. “Name’s Paris, and the big lug over there is Bentley.”

Bentley just gave Paris a tired look. He turned and gave a sharp nod to Percy before going back to check the armor stand. His hair was blond and cut close to his head, maybe like an inch long at most, his green eyes missing nothing while inspecting the stand.

“Don’t mind him bud, he just gets grumpy before any Capture the Flag game.” Paris gave Percy a smile and went to grab his hand to lead him forward only for Percy to tense a bit. Paris noticed that but his smile didn’t waver. “Not a fan of touching, huh? That’s cool. Come on in, we’ll fit you up with something that’s just as cute as you are.” He went to Bentley, black hair shining as it hung off the side of his head. 

So they went into the armory, Percy’s face as red as a tomato and Bentley more exasperated than before, which was pretty impressive.

“We’re gonna have to take your measurements to fit you with the best armor.” Bentley’s voice never rose above a conversational tone, but Percy could feel the steel behind it. 

“Don’t worry about that,” Paris chimed in. “I’ll make sure he’s perfectly fitted with everything he needs.”

And so, after some time and a lot of comments from Paris that turned Percy red, they managed to match him with a suit of bronze armor that fit him and didn’t weigh him down too much. It was more lightweight than the armor the other campers would wear, but this was the best he could do after only two weeks of training. 

“There you go. All fitted up.” Paris waved him off as he went. “Have fun! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

Bentley just gave Percy another nod. He didn’t talk much.

When it was time for the match, it was tough to get the team down for the campers. Just about everyone wanted to join in, but they could only have as many campers as there were hunters. As it stood, they had about thirty hunters to match. 

Thalia, Luke, Silena, and Clarisse were all definite members of the team. Beckendorf also volunteered from the Hephaestus cabin. Bentley, Paris, Connor, and Travis also insisted they joined. Then there was one from the Demeter cabin called Katie Gardner who also jumped at the opportunity to join the game as well as one of Silena’s sisters, Drew. Percy also joined in mostly because this being the first Capture the Flag game from when he joined camp, it was tradition for him to partake in it. 

A few others here and there and they managed to get all thirty campers for the game. Thirty campers out for blood.

Chiron stomped on the concrete floor. “Heroes, hunters! You all know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. You may use the entire forest, but no more. Any magic item is allowed. The banners must be displayed in the open with no more than two guarding it. Prisoners may be disarmed, but not bound or gagged. I will be enforcing that rule myself. No killing is allowed and intentional maiming will be punished. Will Solace and I will serve as battlefield medics and I will serve as referee. Arm yourselves!”

Luke was the captain of the campers’ team. In his armor with his sword and shield, he looked like a real Ancient Greek hero. 

Thalia stood next to him, looking about as terrifying as can be. He was glad she was on his side.

“Alright campers, listen up! The hunters have been a thorn in our side for too long now! This is our chance to make them pay for everything they’ve done!”

Everyone cheered at that, pumping themselves up for the match.

“Paris, Bentley, I want you two to guard the flag. Use anything you have to make sure no hunter gets to leave with it.”

Bentley gave a curt nod and Paris gave a wicked grin. Percy had the feeling that not a single hunter would make it past them.

“Connor, Travis, you two, and Drew go out and sabotage their every plan. Hit-and-run tactics are key here.”

The three of them looked at each other, grinning like maniacs. 

“Clarisse, Silena, I want you two to take Katie and Beck and as many people as you need to rip through the hunters’ lines. Don’t let a single one of them have a break.”

The group all cheered loudly, excited at the prospect of fighting the hunters.

“Thalia, you’ll be on Zoë duty. Tear her a new one.”

Thalia gave him a confident smile and nodded. They looked at each other for a moment longer before Luke turned to Percy. 

“And for you Perce, I want you on border patrol. Just stand near the creek and make sure no one gets past. We’ll have a few other campers nearby in case you need anything. Call out if you need help.”

Percy nodded. Border patrol sounded manageable. 

“I’ll be gunning for their flag. The plan is to be in and out of their base before they even know it.”

That was the crux of the plan. They needed to be fast about it, and Luke was easily the fastest out of all of them.

“Alright gang, let’s show them what for! Move out!”

They all got into position. Percy found himself on a quiet edge of the creek, making sure everything was going alright. He heard the sound of battle going off in the distance all around him. He was a little sad at missing all the fun, but a bigger part of him figured this was a good idea.

Luke had told him how the hunters fought. He didn’t find himself exactly in the mood to deal with that just yet. Maybe some point down the line.

As he stood, he saw a few people jumping in and out, running past him to join the battle. At one point, Connor came in and waved a quick hello before going back into the field to mess with the hunters.

Despite understanding why he was placed here, Percy couldn’t help but feel a little bored. He had nothing to do out here besides stare at the creek. He wished something interesting would happen.

As if on cue, he heard footsteps coming from behind him. There were no campers left around him, most of them deciding that it’d be more fun to join the fight and thinking that no one would come to Percy at this point. 

They were wrong.

He stared at her coming up to him slowly. He was ready for a fight, but she didn’t seem cruel like some of the other hunters. She looked at him with a bit of curiosity, as if contemplating how to go about talking to him. 

She had blond hair with eyes a hint of forest green. She was a bit taller than him and looked about a year older, though that didn’t mean much with her being a hunter. She moved with grace and elegance, as well as a cool confidence few could match. 

She stopped at about five feet away from him. The curiosity in her eyes hadn’t faded, and she tilted her head as she looked him up and down.

Finally, she smiled at him. “Hey, my name’s Annabeth, nice to meet you.”

Chapter Text

This match was going much smoother than usual. 

Luke found himself zipping through the field unopposed, save for a few hunters who weren’t on par with his skill. 

He pushed aside most of them, stopping only to beat down a few here and there. Most of them were newer recruits and he didn’t want to go too hard on them. That was until he noticed Naomi off on the side and decided he could afford a small detour.

She snarled when she noticed him. “Pig!” 

“Eighty-six!” He yelled back as he took her out quickly. Nothing annoyed the hunters more than when he’d count out how many times he’d heard a line from them.

He barreled through after that, running straight for the flag. He found it guarded by two of the newer hunters. They were also pretty respectful of the other campers so he treated them as he would have a newer camper in the arena, and then he got the flag. The knot was the same as always which he untied pretty easily. 

Flag in hand, he ran for the boundary. He only hoped everyone else was doing alright.

Annabeth. That wasn’t exactly a common name. 

She sized Percy up, looking at him as though he were a puzzle she needed to solve. 

Percy tensed up. He wasn’t sure what she wanted with him, but he didn’t want to find out. 

She noticed but she didn’t seem surprised. “Don’t trust me, huh? That’s fair.” She gave him a kind smile, the same one Will had earlier. “I take it you haven’t had the best experience with us so far?”

Percy shook his head, surprised this conversation was going alright. Annabeth nodded. “Figured as much. Some of the others… Well, they can be a little rough around the edges sometimes.”

She looked at him again before her eyes cleared in realization. “You must be even newer to camp than I thought. This your first game?”

“Uh, yeah.” Percy wasn’t sure what to do at this point. This hunter was acting… nice. Not like the ones at the basketball court, or the lieutenant. Even the nicer ones weren’t this friendly from the start. Maybe this is the one Connor was talking about?

Her eyes lit up at that. “Well, how about a spar then?”

Percy contemplated his options. It didn’t seem like any other hunter was coming their way. And he was starting to get a little bored.

“Sure. Name’s Percy by the way.” He pulled out his sword and shifted into a battle stance. 

Annabeth grinned as she pulled out her knives and charged at him.

“That all you got?!”

Clarisse wasn’t enjoying this nearly as much as Silena was. Her taunt came out so loud, she was sure the whole camp heard her. 

That wasn’t to say Clarisse wasn’t having the time of her life. She was locked in a one-on-one with Phoebe, who was nowhere near as good as she thought she was. 

That wasn’t to say Phoebe was a slouch, she was very skilled of course. Thousands of years as a hunter was bound to give her some level of competence.

Despite that, she definitely barked more than she bit. You’d think a millennia-old huntress would be able to overpower a barely fifteen-year-old demigod, but as good as Phoebe was, she wasn’t half as good as she thought she was.

She was no Zoë.

With that in mind, Clarisse took her time with this one, drawing the fight out both to humiliate Phoebe and to keep her busy. 

Over on the side, Silena was ripping through another hunter, Cely or Cello or whatever. She was leaving a trail of battered hunters behind her, something like five already downed by her alone. They were left for their partners to take them to prison, which they seemed to enjoy a lot. 

This game was going great. All they needed to do was count on Luke to get the flag as Thalia held off Zoë, which judging by the lightning bolt she just saw in the distance, she was handling herself just fine. 

Phoebe also saw that and paled slightly. “You’re using your powers?” 

“What? Thought you were the only ones who could do that?” she grinned darkly.

To her credit, Phoebe gathered her wits quickly enough. “It doesn’t matter, demigod. The hunters will prevail again.” 

“We’ll see about that.” Growing bored, Clarisse decided to ramp things up.

She was definitely enjoying this.

“Guard up, Percy!”

Percy was having the time of his life. This hunter, Annabeth, was nothing like the other ones he’d met.

Phoebe and her group were annoying, Zoë had been intimidating, and the others were pretty polite but were a little distant at first. They were fun to talk to, he’d admit, but it usually took a bit before they would start actually holding a conversation.

Annabeth on the other hand was laughing right with him as they danced around each other, trading blows. She was good, a lot better than he could technically handle at the moment, but she was going at his pace.

He might’ve felt annoyed with that any other time, but somehow, she managed to make it fun. It was almost like she was showing him some tricks as they fought.

It ended with her knife at his chest and Riptide on the floor.

“I win.” She smirked and he shook his head.

“You just got lucky.” He went to grab Riptide again as she cocked an eyebrow.

“That so?” 

“Oh yeah.”

She tilted her head. “How about a best of five then?”

Percy readied himself again. “You’re so on.”

Paris sure loved watching Bentley at work.

Just now, he was ripping through at least six hunters on his own. Most of the others were sitting back and watching, mesmerized at the idea that one guy could be this skilled. 

He was a machine when it came to fighting. Every movement efficient, not a step wasted, surrounded not by opponents but by targets, dropping every moment.

It was truly beautiful.

That short break out of the way, he turned back to the task at hand. A hunter had made the mistake of trying to fight him to get to the flag, seeing as her lieutenant was otherwise preoccupied at the time. 

That was only her second biggest mistake that day. 

She’d closed the distance on Paris, thinking he’d be an easy fight. After a few years of sparring with Bentley before getting to camp, Paris was more than equipped to deal with…

“Hey sunshine, mind telling me your name?”

“Go to Tartarus!” She kept swiping at him with her knives, hoping to get him. She never would though.

“Oh, you first sweetheart.” He was having more fun with this than he probably should be. He was sure Bentley would roll his eyes at all this, but he couldn’t help it.

He wasn’t about to let these hunters get away with everything they’d said about him. So naturally, he came prepared.

The hunter, whatever her name was, kept swiping at him, hoping for a lucky hit. She didn’t get too lucky. Paris did though, and each strike he hit her with was more crucial than the last.

Finally, his plan went into motion. The girl froze for a moment, eyes wide. Then, she ran to the nearest bush and started throwing up whatever she had in her stomach.

“Oh, darling, seems you’ve finally caught on.” He walked up behind her with a smirk. “Just like everything else I do, I fight dirty .”

The emetic poison was doing its job well. The hunter was completely incapacitated. He might have felt bad if it were anyone else.

“Are you done?” Bentley’s voice, as always, came as a welcome sound to Paris’s ears. 

“Just about, dearest!!” He could practically hear Bentley’s eyes rolling. 

Bentley was done on his end, with about seven hunters knocked out around him. He really did know how to put on a show. His face was glistening in the sunlight, with quite the pump from the workout he just went through. His eyes boring holes through the hunters on the floor were just the best thing he’d ever seen.

Gods, he just knew his hair would be matted onto his head had it been longer. A part of him might have wished he’d grow it out, but at the same time, it just suited him so well. So deliciously well.

That aside, he saw a hunter making it past the two of them and reaching the flag. He wasn’t too worried though, considering what he left on it.

He could see his plan at work, with the hunter doubling over in discomfort while clutching her stomach. She immediately ran to the nearest bush.

“What did you do?” Bentley looked somewhat amused.

Paris just gave him a wide smile as he sauntered up to him. Draping an arm over his shoulder, he leaned in close. “Just a bit of fast-acting laxatives I… borrowed from the Hermes cabin. I thought it fit.”

Bentley rolled his eyes but didn’t push Paris away. He also couldn’t quite hide the satisfied smile he had on his face. They had quite a bit of fun here.

Suddenly, grey clouds gathered in the sky. Both Paris and Bentley looked up in shock for a moment before understanding what happened. Before any of them could react, a bolt of lightning struck somewhere in the center of the battlefield.

Seems Thalia had found her prey.

“So, how’re you finding camp so far?”

Annabeth had been trying to carry on a conversation for a while now, but Percy wasn’t used to fighting just yet and was mostly focused on dodging her hits.

After a bit though, they did fall into a rhythm that Percy could mostly keep up with without needing to focus all that much. At least, it was enough that he could get a few words out.

“It’s good.”  A dodge. “Having fun.” A swipe. “People are great.” A roll.

It was almost like he was getting better as they fought. Like she…

He held his hands up for a moment, asking for a break. She obliged, lowering her weapons and tilting her head.

Percy looked directly at her. “Are you actually training me?”

She gave a sheepish smile as she tilted her hand in a so-so moment. “Not exactly. I am going at your pace, which is the pace of a beginner, and I’m trying to stay at just the right level above that to push you without making it a complete stomp.” She shrugged and smiled. “I figured you’d get better with this and decided it might be worth it.”

That made sense in some ways, though it did raise one important question.

“Why though? I mean, it’s not that I don’t appreciate it, but… well, I mean, no offense but, you’re a hunter and I’m a camper. Why go out of your way to help me out?”

She looked at him for a moment, pondering the question herself. Finally, she just let out a sigh and motioned for them to sit down. “It’s a bit of a long story.”

Percy shrugged. “I’ve got time. And it’s not like I’ll be changing the course of the game.” 

Either way, he was technically keeping a hunter busy.

They sat and Annabeth seemed to be collecting her thoughts. “I never agreed with how some of us treated the campers.” She spoke softly, her voice staying low and gentle. “It always grated at me that we treat you guys like you’re less than dirt when that was part of the reason we joined the hunters in the first place. And sure, some aren’t as bad, but I feel like it’s not enough.” 

She shook her head and turned to look directly at him. “That’s why I try as much as I can to remedy that. I know it’s not much, but I’d rather not be a part of what a lot of them like to do. So, I go out of my way to make friends here. I do hope we can be friends too.”

She gave him a small smile, hopeful and kind, and he couldn’t help but give it back. “I think you got yourself a deal, Annabeth.”

He held out his hand and she shook it. Just as they stood up, ready to continue their spar when they heard the roll of thunder in the distance.

They looked up to see storm clouds and a bolt of lightning strike the earth. Whoever it was targeted at would be in big trouble now.

Annabeth’s face went completely blank at that. Percy couldn’t get a read on her.

He considered poking her in the side to get her attention but that didn’t seem like a good idea. “Annabeth.” She turned to him and he flinched at the look in her eyes. She noticed and shook her head.

“Sorry,” She reached out and he let her put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

Percy nodded. He wasn’t really scared of Annabeth, but she could be intimidating when she wanted to be. “You alright?”

She grimaced and looked away. “It seems my lieutenant is in trouble. There’s no way Thalia would’ve sent that on anyone else.”

“This game is going quite well I would say.”

Chiron was looking down at the forest where the game was taking place, and Will could see a glint of pride in his eyes. “The campers are winning.”

Will smiled upon hearing that. It was no secret that no one at camp really liked how the Hunters acted, but Chiron hated it especially. He hated some of them so much he offered to play on camp’s side in this game. They explained that they wanted to win on their own and he respected that. Instead, he just convinced Mr. D to allow them to go all out, which wasn’t too hard to do.

So that’s how they found themselves standing on one of the nearby hills, Iris Message nearby so Will could see it for himself. Every time a hunter met a camper, the campers were winning. He could see Clarisse, Paris, Silena, and Bentley going wild,

The image shifted to show Connor, Travis, and Drew doing their thing. The Hunters didn’t know what hit them when one of them would pop in and rip them a new one before pulling back. So many of their plans were ruined by those three. Drew especially was ripping the Hunters’ formations apart with her charmspeak, getting them to change course and fight each other for a bit. It might’ve worked better on those who were attracted to the user, but it worked well enough on them.

He also saw Luke reach the Hunters’ flag and take it easily. Things were looking up on that front.

The message shifted to show Percy locked in combat. If Will remembered correctly, that hunter was not as bad as most of the others. They both seemed to be having fun at least. 

Just as Will thought he wouldn’t need to worry too much about anyone, he saw storm clouds gathering overhead. He breathed a sigh. Seems Thalia was going all out.

“I do believe Thalia will be needing some bed rest after this, wouldn’t you agree Will?”

Will could only nod. He got why Thalia did this, and he didn’t exactly blame her, but it would be nice if she didn’t overdo it for once.

Out of every role she could have been given, Thalia was handed both the hardest and most important one of the match. Make sure Zoë Nightshade was unable to join the fight. 

That was easier said than done given how dangerous Zoë was. She told Percy she could take her any day of the week, and while that was true, it’d take just about everything she got to take her on. 

She zipped through the forest, trying to find the best spot to start her attack. Finally, she picked out a point near the middle, right where Zoë’s path would lead her if she wanted to go straight for the flag, which she tended to do.

It wasn’t the best plan on her part, but she expected this to go like it did last time for her. An easy game where she just rushes down the shortest path and barrels straight into the flag, picks it up, and runs off with it.

Last time was a bad game for camp. They were in the middle of winter back then, so just about half of everyone was gone. They barely had like thirteen campers, fifteen if she and Luke were included. Not that they would’ve been in that game given they were on a quest that day. 

The Hunters always boasted that they had an unbeaten streak and yet they only ever fought the campers when they were at their weakest. That would change today.

She sat in silence, waiting for Zoë to show up. Her senses were in hyper mode, so she could feel just about everything around her.  The birds above her, the wind moving in through the trees and bushes, the footsteps of everyone around her. The battles around her were raging hard. She’d have to ask Chiron after the match for the highlights.

She wondered how Luke was doing. He’d probably be nearing the flag now, or he might’ve already gotten it. Chances are, he taunted whatever hunter he ran into, he did have a habit of doing that. She couldn’t stop a small smile from forming at remembering the last time they’d run into the hunters. He really laid into them that day.

She stayed there for what could have been hours or minutes, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was Zoë was taking longer than she usually did. 

Finally, Zoë closed in. She didn’t bother going in stealthily, choosing to rush through as quickly as possible through the trees, confident in her victory.

Seizing the opportunity, Thalia called on her powers to summon a group of storm clouds. They covered the sky above the forest, grey as can be. She was sure anyone not completely engrossed in a fight would’ve noticed. 

From those clouds, she brought down the strongest bolt of lightning she ever called upon. At least, the strongest she’d called upon on anyone who wasn’t a monster. Zoë would survive this, but she was about to have her whole world rocked.

The bolt came down. Zoë didn’t even know what hit her until it was too late and she was plastered against one of the nearby trees. Thalia got in closer to admire her handiwork. Zoë was already getting back up, grabbing her bow, ready to fight. She had to hand it to the hunter, she was quite resilient. 

“Should’ve known that wouldn’t keep you down.” She casually walked up to her, not threatened in the slightest.

Zoë looked up at her hatefully. “Thalia Grace.” Her voice was a low growl. She didn’t take her eyes off Thalia, looking like she was trying to glare her to death.

“Ooh, full name huh? That’s gonna get you in more trouble than you think.” She could see Zoë’s entire demeanor change. Her goal was no longer getting the flag. It was taking Thalia down by any means necessary. 

Thalia didn’t mind that all too much. It just made her job easier. 

At an unspoken signal, they both rushed each other, Thalia, spear and Aegis in hand, Zoë holding her bow. She avoided looking at Aegis, which probably wouldn’t help her fight all that much.

Zoë wasn’t moving as fluidly as she normally could, still stunned by the bolt. The fact she could move at all spoke to her resilience, though, and the fact that she could fight as well as she was while averting her gaze spoke to her skill.

Even then, it wasn’t nearly enough to match Thalia. She was toying with the lieutenant, dancing around her, taking shots, and moving out of reach again. Zoë couldn’t keep track of her. Had she been at full capacity, Thalia had no doubt this would have been the hardest fight in her life. As it stood, this was a good warmup. 

She’d swing her spear at Zoë and hit her, then dodge out from her attacks. Her knives were at a disadvantage when Thalia set the pace for this fight, not letting her get anywhere close enough to do any damage, and she couldn’t aim well, disoriented as she was. 

They kept fighting for what felt like ages, with Zoë slowly gaining her focus back. She started fighting like a demon. Thalia knew no one at camp besides her and Luke would be able to take her on as she was there, and she hadn’t even regained her full focus back yet. 

She could see everyone gathering around them, watching the fight with bated breath. They kept dashing in and out, neither one of them willing to concede loss to the other.

Thalia would never admit this to anyone, but she was starting to have fun. Very few people are able to give her this much trouble, Luke being the only camper who could really be considered her equal in combat, and that was without her using her powers. Chiron could mop the floor with her, but she didn’t exactly count him.

This was the first time she could actually fight with just about all she had and still have to work for victory. This was the first time she’d felt that in a long time. 

Finally, Zoë seemed to be slowing down, and Thalia was starting to feel somewhat tired herself. Whoever scored the next hit would be the winner. Thalia just had to make sure it was her.

They ran at each other, fully intending to finish the fight. Zoë managed to get past Thalia’s range and went in for a slash. Thalia just barely parried it with her shield and dropped her spear, punching Zoë in the stomach, downing her. She dropped to the ground and put her in a sleeper hold. 

They wrestled on the ground for a bit, with Zoë kicking and clawing at her the whole time. She didn’t let go, squeezing the life out of Zoë. Finally, Zoë started to nod off. As she passed out, Thalia let go and got to her feet, stumbling a bit on her way up.

She looked around and saw her audience. She could make out Connor, Travis, and Drew on one side. Silena was smiling widely. 

And the closest of them all was Luke. Just barely on the campers’ side of the creek, he stood there with a proud smile on his face, flag in hand. The flag shimmered from silver to orange as he held it up high, walking up to her and raising her hand.

She could hear the cheers all around her as she stood tall in victory. Chiron trotted to them with a proud glint in his eyes.

“The game is decided! Camp Half-Blood wins!”

Chapter Text

The next two weeks were just about the best Percy could have asked for.

They’d won the game pretty handily, with Thalia scoring a decisive win over Zoë. They’d shown the Hunters that they weren’t unbeatable, and camp was riding high off that. 

Most of the Hunters had calmed down a bit. At least, they’d stopped being as annoying as they tended to be. They seemed a lot more muted. At least, the more hostile ones were. The friendlier ones kept up as they always did even if they seemed disappointed in their loss. 

Out of all of them though, Percy found himself becoming fast friends with Annabeth. Turned out, she was the one Connor was talking about when he mentioned one Hunter being better than the rest. It seemed they were already sort of friends, which made things a lot more fun. The three of them spent most of their free time hanging out together after that.

When he went and told Luke and Thalia, he received mixed results.

“Uh, so, Percy…” Luke seemed lost for a moment. “I’m glad you’re making new friends, don’t get me wrong, it’s just-”

“Are you sure she means what she says?” Thalia cut him off, her expression thunderous.

Percy looked at her in confusion. “I mean, she was friendly enough. She even gave me a few tips on how to fight.”

Thalia took a deep breath. She turned to Luke with a meaningful look. He nodded and turned to Percy.

“Listen, Perce, we’re not saying that she’s definitely not your friend or anything, and we don’t want to tell you what to do. Just be careful you know?”

Thalia nodded. “You’re part of my cabin now, so you’re under my care. I’m not going to stand by and let anyone hurt you, so I just want you to know that Annabeth is the other hunter I hoped you wouldn’t meet.”

Percy blinked at that. She’d seemed nice enough to him, so why did Thalia hate Annabeth so much?

Luke explained further. “We met her once a few years back. It… wasn’t great. But from what you told us, who knows? Maybe she’s turned over a new leaf. Connor likes her well enough.”

Thalia didn’t really look convinced but she nodded. “Just be careful, ok? I don’t want you getting hurt. I might not like her, but it looks like you might.”

With that in mind, Percy went about his activities. He’d take swordfighting with Luke, spear fighting with Thalia, arts and crafts with Silena, and even a bit of metalworking with Chuck, though it was clear he didn’t have much talent there.

His reflexes were good as far as Luke told him. He also used some of the tips Annabeth would give him, which helped him make a name for himself in the sparring yard.

“Pretty soon, you might just rival Luke for the title of best swordsman at camp!” Connor patted him on the back.

The time he spent with Annabeth was interesting. They mostly sparred and traded stories when they were free, and did their activities when all other times. Despite being a Hunter, she didn’t mind going through the activities at camp. She even seemed to enjoy them, even if she didn’t exactly get along with everyone.

She and Silena didn’t seem to hate each other, which meant Chuck treated her well, and she was friends with Connor, but that was about it. Luke didn’t like her much and Thalia hated her, while Clarisse seemed to always be glaring at her. The rest of the campers would give her distrustful looks, except for Paris and Bentley who just seemed indifferent to her.

Alabaster seemed to act differently around her, but Percy couldn’t exactly tell how. When he asked Annabeth about it, she laughed a bit.

“He’s just like that sometimes. It’s nothing you need to worry about.” 

Their spars were always fun. She had a wealth of knowledge when it came to fighting, which Percy supposed came with being a Hunter for hundreds of years, and she was happy to share it with him.

Other than that, they mostly traded stories. Annabeth had a lot of stories to tell.

“So, one time, back in the 20s, the Roaring 20s they called it at the time.” She gave a small laugh. “That didn’t last long. Anyway, there was this guy who just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“They’re just all over the place?” He’d seen a few of those guys out and about, mostly whenever he was shopping with his mom, but he’d hoped things were slightly different in the past.

In a way, he was right. “Oh, you have no idea. Difference was back then, they didn’t exactly have to take no for an answer. Anyway,” the stories continued until they were done with their break. She told him story after story, from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. She didn’t speak too much about any other period of time, so he figured she’d have joined the Hunters around the 1700s. 

Her pirate stories were among the best.

“I ran into Blackbeard once.” She mentioned it as casually as one would talk about going to the store.

“What was he like?” Percy wanted to hear all about it.

“Oh, I met him early on, before he’d really made a name for himself. He wasn’t that intimidating at the time. He was just Edward Teach. Or was it Thatch?” She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. Anyway, he was just the second in command to Benjamin Hornigold at the time. Met him in a port city once.” 

She had a look on her face like she was reminiscing. “He was weirdly respectful of me at the time. He treated me better than most other pirates would have. I get the feeling he was a bit of a softy.” And wasn’t that a sentence? Percy thought to himself. “But yeah. His captain, Hornigold, was not exactly as respectful.” Her face went dark. “Not too important in the grand scheme of things I suppose.”

Percy stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again. “What happened to them?”

“The pirates?” Her face brightened a little. “Well, Blackbeard was killed in a fight. Slashed multiple times, I think it was twenty, shot seven times, beaten senseless, decapitated, and tossed into the sea. Yeah, no, he’s very dead.” Percy did imagine he would be after that. “As for Hornigold, well, it’s a bit less certain. His ship was caught in a massive storm in 1719. His body was never found, and while he probably would be dead by this point, I’m not entirely sure when he would’ve or how. Who knows?” She smirked. “Maybe he found a way to gain some form of immortality.”

With that reassuring thought, they went back to their activities, going to the climbing wall. They found Connor there, waiting for them.

“What took ya!” He ran to them with a big smile on his face. 

“We were just talking about pirates,” Annabeth explained. 

Connor’s face took on a mix of excitement and mock betrayal. “You talked about pirates and didn’t include me ?”

Percy shrugged. “You snooze, you lose.”

Connor dramatically clutched his heart. “Oh, the betrayal is too much! I can’t handle it!” 

Annabeth punched him in the arm playfully. “Come on, don’t overdo it.” She was laughing though.

As they waited their turn on the wall, Connor shared a bit of what he knew about pirates. “Did you know that Blackbeard had fourteen wives?”

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “That’s never been proven and it just didn’t happen. It was closer to five or six.”

She spoke each word with the confidence of having seen that era. Percy doubted he’d ever not be amazed when she’d spout information like that.

They went up the wall, with Connor doing the best out of them. Annabeth handled it pretty well, and despite having been there for two weeks already, Percy still hadn’t really gotten used to the wall yet.

“Look out, Perce!” Connor called out as he almost lost his grip. He managed to make it to the top though, even if it took him thrice as long as the average camper. Connor assured him he’d get there eventually. 

It wasn’t just Annabeth and Connor he spent time with. He’d also spend time with Thalia a lot, especially considering she was his cabin counselor. She was also one of the combat instructors alongside Luke. He saw her mostly during training where more often than not, she or Luke would be the ones paired up with him. 

“Raise your guard!” a jab. “Too high!” a sweep. “Right there!” 

She was a good teacher. He felt himself improving after each lesson. 

Later on, she took him to the side when they both had a break. 

“So, how’re you liking camp so far?” 

He launched into describing everything. This camp was awesome.

“I never thought anything could be this much fun. Everything’s amazing!” He could see she was smiling a bit but didn’t stop.

When he got around to Annabeth, he could see her grimace. She didn’t comment, but he could tell she still wasn’t too happy about that.

There was one thing he wished had been different though. “I miss my mom.” 

She was quiet, letting him continue. “It’s just… I know I’ve been away from her for a lot longer before; I went to boarding school after all. I just miss her, you know?”

He looked down, not wanting to say more. That he was scared he’d never see her again, that Gabe might do something, that he’d be here forever. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked towards Thalia. She looked sympathetic. “Maybe we can arrange for her to visit later on.”

“Really?” He didn’t want to get his hopes up all that much, but maybe they could.

“We’ll see what we can do.” She didn’t explicitly promise, but it felt like she did. With that, Percy felt a bit lighter.

He’d also spend time with Silena during arts and crafts. Most of the others knew what they were doing, so she could afford to give him most of her attention. 

“Alright, we’re gonna have to work on that.” She was amazed that he managed to make what was supposed to be a bust of himself look more like a bust of Gollum, but she didn’t give him a hard time about it. 

Purely coincidentally, he’d find Beckendorf around Silena a lot. 

“Hey, Chuck!” He was going to make it a point to call him nothing else if he could help it. 

Beckendorf just shook his head as Silena tried to hold back a giggle. “Chuck?”

“Don’t.” He turned to her with that, but his eyes were playful with something else behind them too.

He watched as the two of them hung out while trying to help him with the bust. The two of them seemed to be really close.

Either way, Beckendorf stayed with them for a bit. He got to talk to him a bit more, getting to know him. He’s the one who heads the forging-related activities, which Silena said he was really good at.

“Charlie here can make you a rocket launcher out of spare toaster parts.” She squeezed his arm once as he shifted from foot to foot, seeming flustered at the attention.

“It’s not a big deal. I’m just good at making things.”

Silena rolled her eyes. “He’s the best at camp. Don’t let him convince you otherwise.”

As Percy continued working on his bust, which somehow now looked more like Yoda, Silena and Beckendorf went off to chat together. Percy thought that this might not be the best time, given they had a session going, but they looked happy together, so he didn’t say anything.

Aside from that, there were the standard Ancient Greek mythology lessons, though he was learning them as history which took some adjustment. His main teacher there was Alabaster, who was interesting to listen to.

“So, the Trojan War started because Paris couldn’t keep his junk in his toga. Basically, he was tasked with picking the fairest among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Thinking with his dick, he took Aphrodite’s offer of the prettiest girl in all the lands being his wife- can’t say I blame him- but she happened to be Helen of Sparta, and kidnapping her set all of Greece against Troy.”

Percy would look around while listening to Alabaster, who didn’t seem to mind. Over in the distance, he could see Paris glaring at Alabaster, looking like he was waiting for him to say something so he could rip into him. Paris noticed Percy looking at him and smirked.

“Well, Perseus, can’t say all of us have a heroic namesake like yours.”

Percy tensed. “What do you mean?” He tried to play it off as casually as he could. 

Paris’s smirk seemed to grow. “Well, can’t be revealing all my secrets too soon, eh sunshine?” Percy stayed tense and Paris shook his head. “I haven’t been following you around if that’s what you’re worried about. Bit too short for my tastes. Though, who knows what might happen in the future.” He winked and Percy blushed. “I just overheard Luke mention it when you got to camp.”

He turned to Alabaster, face contorting to disgust once again. “As for you, do me a favor and keep your eyes away from me, otherwise we’ll be having problems .” 

Alabaster nodded and turned back to the text, but Percy could see he’d tensed up. Thankfully, Paris was done being threatening, and he turned back to Percy with his usual smirk.

“As for you, sunshine, do keep in mind I don’t like being compared to that Paris.” Paris shook his head. “Really, he lacked any sort of brain in that head of his. Not someone who makes for a good namesake.”

And with that, Paris turned his attention back to whatever he and Bentley were reading. Percy turned back to Alabaster, who was still eying Paris warily, and they got back to the lesson.

With all that filling up his time, he didn’t see much of Luke. He’d hear about him through Thalia whenever it was time to head back to the cabins. He’d been busy with the Hunters being at camp the whole time; breaking up fights, reassuring the others, reporting to Chiron and Dionysus, and the like.

When he did get to see him, it was clear that Luke was tired. He tried to hide it, but Percy could see the stress lines on his face and the irritation in his eyes whenever a hunter popped up. Most of them seemed to steer clear of him, though some decided it’d be a good idea to try and mess with him.

It usually ended with Luke taking the hunter to the arena where they worked out their differences in a way everyone would benefit from.

Watching Luke in action was mesmerizing. It was almost like he was dancing in a way, and yet that didn’t make it any less deadly. His technique was unmatched, even against hunters who were thousands of years old. Even when he fought many, he’d turn their numbers against them, making sure he’d move in a way that they were as much of a threat to each other as they were to him.

And to think he did all that without even trying. Sure, most of the older Hunters seemed to have grown stagnant with the way they acted, not improving their skills beyond what was needed, but they were still good fighters. The only one who even stood a chance against Luke from what he understood was Zoë, and she steered clear of both him and Thalia after the Capture the Flag game ended with her in the infirmary for three days.

Speaking of the Hunters, he’d started to really see just how annoying some of them could be. Most of them were fine, even if they were very standoffish. Some were a lot of fun to be around, Annabeth being an obvious one, but also some others like one called Penelope and another called Hippolyta. The two of them were pretty friendly and had a lot of cool stories to tell. They even tried to teach him how to use a bow, but it was pretty clear that he wasn’t going anywhere with that.

“Maybe throwing knives would be better?” Penelope tilted her head as she looked at the arrow that had lodged itself in the tree directly to the side of them. 

Hippolyta just shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

He did do better with throwing knives, but he’d need to practice with them. As it stood, he’d made two new friends.

Not everyone was happy with the fact he was making friends though. The older hunters kept giving him the stink eye whenever they saw him. At first, he’d thought it was just because he was, as Phoebe would put it, a dirty, filthy, disgusting boy who was beneath them in every conceivable way. But the looks he was getting were far worse than the ones other campers were getting.

It wasn’t because he was friends with Luke and Thalia either, otherwise Clarisse and Silena would also be getting similar looks.

It hadn’t been until he’d seen them glaring holes into him while he was hanging out with Annabeth that he realized they hated him because he was close friends with someone within the Hunters. When he brought it up with Annabeth, she just shrugged.

“Some of the girls don’t like it when the others are friendly with campers in general, especially boys. They probably think you’re trying to get me to break my oath or something.” Percy tilted his head in confusion. She continued before he could ask. “Our oaths of eternal maidenhood. Basically, no dating forever.” 

Percy’s face went red at that. He hadn’t exactly thought of Annabeth in that sense. She was just a good friend, nothing more.

If she noticed him blushing, she didn’t mention it. “Either way, you’ve got nothing to worry about. They’ll glare, but that’s just about all they tend to do.”

He trusted her with that. Still, he had a bad feeling about this.

That bad feeling came to pass about two weeks after the game ended. He had just docked his canoe, canoeing being one of the few things he was actually good at when he was accosted by the more annoying hunters.

“I thought we might find you here.” Phoebe was the one leading the pack. There were about four of them including her, he counted. Aside from Phoebe, there was Celyn, the youngest of the bunch as far as he knew, Naomi, a former princess who had all the priss of royalty, and Aspasia, who wasn’t a part of the annoying hunters' group but was too scared to refuse them.

“What do you want?” Percy scanned the area for anyone who might help. He saw Clarisse over in the distance and he waved to her. She seemed to notice him and went off, presumably to get backup. That meant he’d have to stall for as long as he could. 

Celyn walked up to him and sneered down at him. “Watch your tone with us, boy . You’re lucky we gave you a warning that we’d come here.”

Percy tensed. They had him surrounded, blocking every way out for him. There was no running, and the creek behind him would just slow him down. He saw Aspasia was more hesitant in her stance. Maybe he could work with that.

“You,” Phoebe brought him out of his thoughts. “Have been more of a nuisance than we’d ever had to deal with, mongrel.” 

“Way more.” Naomia pulled her bow out, not bothering to nock an arrow.

“Parading around like you own the place, flaunting your status, and even trying to tempt our own hunters into breaking their oaths.”

… what?

He wanted to fire back with something, anything, but he couldn’t. He needed to keep focused and wait for the right moment to escape. 

“And even now,” Phoebe didn’t seem to notice what Percy was planning. Or maybe she just thought he was too dumb to plan anything out. “You are so conceited that you don’t even bother defending yourself. It truly is disgusting.”

Percy couldn’t stop himself after that. “Coming from someone who needs to gang up on someone just to win, that doesn’t mean much.”

Anger flashed in her eyes as she took a step forward. “You play with fire, boy. You’ll regret crossing us.”

She took another step forward as the others repositioned themselves. Percy took this as his chance.

He ran towards Aspasia and pushed her aside, remembering Luke’s instruction about what to do when he was surrounded. He needed to get in a position where they were all in front of him and make sure he could make it so they only fought him one at a time.

He didn’t expect this to work forever, they were bound to catch up to him, but he just needed to last long enough. 

Celyn was the one who closed the distance first. He’d managed to uncap his sword and just barely block her knife slash as he ducked another one. He kept moving backward, trying to keep distance between himself and the hunters, and so far he’d managed to. They hadn’t taken him seriously, or in Aspasia’s case seemed to be letting him get away, so he managed to stall just enough for help to arrive.

It just wasn’t the help he’d been expecting.

An arrow sailed over his shoulder, barely missing Phoebe who was frozen in shock. 

Percy turned to see Annabeth glaring at the four hunters in front of her. “What the actual fuck do you think you’re doing?”

He’d never seen Annabeth this angry before. It wasn’t directed at him, which did make it better, but even her rage during Capture the Flag hadn’t been this bad.

Phoebe seemed stumped, and neither Celyn nor Naomi were eager to answer. Aspasia ran straight to Annabeth though.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. They said they wanted to teach him a lesson. I tried to stop them but I couldn’t.” She got out in a rush as if worried Annabeth would cut her off.

The blond hunter turned to the other three with murder in her eyes. He went up to her hoping to de-escalate the situation.

Which, of course, was the perfect moment for Clarisse to show up with just a whole bunch of campers. She’d brought her entire cabin with her, some ten strong, all ready to pummel the hunters to the ground.

“Not bad, Jackson. Wasn’t expecting you to get away from them.” She noticed Annabeth behind him and gave her a grudging nod. “Guessing you were helping him out just now?”

Annabeth nodded, still too angry to talk it seemed. Percy had grabbed her arm by that point and she’d gently broken out of his grasp to grab his hand instead. She seemed to be both calming herself while comforting him. 

The other hunters turned to the Ares cabin, suddenly nervous. Percy almost wanted to call them out and bring up the fact that they didn’t seem so tough now when he heard a blood-curdling howl cut through the woods.

He turned to see some sort of monster. He didn’t know what it was called, but it looked like a massive wolf, blood red eyes and easily the size of an elephant. Its teeth were the size of hunting knives and its gaze was directed at him. 

He couldn’t move. Try as he might, he was frozen in fear. He could see his death coming in many different ways. It could maul him to death, bite his throat out, crush him with its size, or just barrel through him and leave nothing intact.

It ended up pouncing, and he could see his life flashing before his eyes. He really did get in a lot more fights at school than he thought he did. He could see the beast slowly closing the distance. He wanted to move, but he couldn’t. And even if he could, he doubted he’d be fast enough to make it out of the way in time.

“Percy! Get down!” 

Before he could react, Annabeth tackled him to the side, the monster sailing through the air before landing in front of the others. The hunters and the Ares cabin all took battle stances, ready to fight, but they were too slow. He’d barely managed to get up before it mauled him. Annabeth had swung at it so it stopped before it could get the full hit in, but his chest was still opened badly.

Before anyone could do anything about it, the monster had two arrows lodged in each eye and another in its throat. Chiron was right behind them and it seemed Annabeth had managed to get a shot in as well.

That didn’t stop Percy’s pain though. 

“Percy!” Annabeth was by his side quickly, bow thrown on the side.

“I’m okay.” He told them. In truth, it felt like he’d been stabbed right in the chest with a rusty carving knife, but he didn’t want to worry them.

“Hush, child. Let me take a look.” Chiron had come to inspect the wound when he paused. Percy followed his gaze and was just as confused.

The wound was closing. Not incredibly quick by any means, but quicker than it should have been.

Annabeth inspected it as well before her eyes landed on his hand. He looked at it and saw nothing out of the ordinary. It was right in the sand where little waves were coming over it occasionally.

Annabeth seemed to think otherwise. “Percy, get in the water.” He wanted to protest, but he was still in too much pain to do so. She helped him walk into the creek and he instantly felt better, l like he’d been injected directly with pure caffeine. 

He stood straight and he could see his wound closing. He looked up at the others who all had pensive looks on their faces.

“Look, I’m sorry,” he started, hoping this would calm them down. “I don’t know what’s going on, I-”

“Percy,” Clarisse sounded completely serious, jarring him into silence. “Look up.”

He looked up and saw a shimmering green trident. In the distance, he could see campers stopping at the beach and possibly looking his way. The others around him had gone completely silent.

Chiron bowed and the others followed suit, though the hunters stepped back in apparent fear. “It is determined. Percy Jackson is claimed as the Son of Poseidon, The Earthshaker, Father of Horses, God of the Sea.”

Chapter Text

After being claimed, Percy was moved directly to the Poseidon cabin. He didn’t have anyone to listen to, he had the whole place to himself, and he was essentially his own boss without needing to listen to anyone other than Chiron and Dionysus.

And yet, it was the most miserable he’d been at camp since he got there.

For one, most people avoided him if they could. There were three reasons as far as he understood. For one, news of the monster, a hellhound he’d later learn, spread like wildfire. It was a targeted attack on him, and what was originally thought to be a safe haven for demigods was no longer that. People started thinking if they were seen around Percy, they could be next.

The second reason was that he’d been claimed. He’d seen how filled the Unclaimed cabin was, so much so that there were plans for an extension being built for it. Everyone there was desperate to be claimed, to have their Olympian parent acknowledge them, and yet none had. And now, he’d shown up and gotten claimed in just about a month, right before he was supposed to move into that cabin. A lot of them didn’t take too kindly to that.

The third reason was told to him by Thalia, one of the few people who didn’t leave him behind. If anything, she seemed to double up on how much she hung out with him.

“About seventy years ago, give or take, the Big Three took an oath,” She’d told him as they hung out on the dock. “Them being Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Their children were considered too powerful, causing way too much damage wherever they went, so the oath was made to prevent any more kids of the Big Three from being born.”

That somewhat made sense, and yet he could tell there was more to it. “That’s it?”

She looked at him for a second before smirking. “Luke’s right, you are too smart for your own good.” She kept her tone light, even as her eyes took an edge. “There’s also a prophecy that tells of the potential destruction of Olympus tied to one of the children of the Big Three. I don’t know what it is, just that it’s supposed to take place when one of us turns sixteen.” She shrugged. “My sixteenth came and went and nothing happened, so I don’t know how true that’s supposed to be, but it’s another reason for that oath.”

Percy nodded, but that still didn’t explain everything. “Then why is everyone avoiding me?”

He tried to keep the pain out of his voice, but he couldn’t help it. Some people he’d considered his friends had stopped talking to him completely. Ethan, Alabaster, Clarisse, Paris, Bentley, and even Silena had taken to avoiding him. The only ones who didn’t were Luke, Thalia, Connor, Annabeth, Penelope, Hippolyta, and Beckendorf.

Thalia looked at him before pulling him into her side. He didn’t even have it in him to feel embarrassed as she threaded her fingers through his hair. “They’re scared of what they don’t know. They think we’re dangerous, that we’re nothing but trouble.” She paused before she sighed. “I’d say it gets better, but I don’t want to lie to you. It took years before they stopped giving me the side eye. But hey, you’re not alone.” She smiled at him. “You’re my cousin, and there’s no way I’m letting you go through this alone.”

That made him feel much better. It still hurt that he’d lost his friends, but he knew he had others at his back.

Luke was another one who didn’t drop him as soon as he’d been claimed. They spent a lot of time together training Percy’s skills with his sword, and when they didn’t he took over most of Percy’s lessons.

“Medusa was a child of Phorkys and Keto, the only mortal among the Gorgon sisters. At least, that’s the older version of the story, told by Hesiod in Ancient Greece. The other one about her being found in Athena’s temple with Poseidon wasn’t told until Ovid showed up in the Roman period.”

Percy nodded, though he wasn’t fully there. Luke noticed and put a hand on his shoulder, bringing his attention back to the son of Hermes.

“Hey, listen, I know things are rough, but don’t worry.” He smiled at him. “Things will blow over soon enough. I promise.” And Percy believed him. Luke had never lied to him before, so while he didn’t think things would ever be like they were before, he did trust Luke that things would get better.

Besides them, Connor and Annabeth went out of their way to make sure he didn’t feel alone. When he asked them, they just shrugged.

“It wasn’t easy at first, I won’t lie, but then I talked to Luke who brought up Thalia. She’s been here for five years and is Luke’s best friend. The way he and Thalia act,” Connor laughed a bit before shaking his head. “Let’s just say if she was as bad as everyone said she’d be, she and Luke wouldn’t be friends right now. Basically, if Thalia’s cool, there’s no reason that being a Big Three kid means you’re bad news.”

He nodded and when he turned to Annabeth, she just smiled and shrugged. “Because we’re friends, Seaweed Brain. Any more questions?” Her smile took any edge out of the sentence.

It didn’t stop him from shoving her though, after which she tackled him to the ground as Connor burst out laughing. After all that had happened, he was glad he still had some friends.

That didn’t make things easy though. Everyone else had taken to avoiding him like he had some sort of disease. Even the annoying hunters left him alone after he’d been claimed. At first, he’d thought it was Thalia scaring them away; he’d seen her glare at them one time and they looked like they’d rather be facing the hellhound again. It wasn’t until he was training with Penelope and Hippolyta that they told him.

“You were claimed by Lord Poseidon after they tried to attack you.” She shook her head with a scowl. “When Zoë heard what they did, she was furious. She tore into them for so many reasons, but besides that…” she looked away, now tense. “Your Father can be quite vengeful at times. With you having been attacked, well, Zoë didn't even need to tell them to stay away.”

Hippolyta nodded. “The others are a little scared of coming anywhere near you. I don’t think any of them will be safe near the sea any time soon.” Percy found he didn’t entirely mind that. 

Penelope smiled at him. “Now, back to the throwing knives.” 

Then there was Beckendorf. He wouldn’t call the two of them the closest, but they were friends. That didn’t change going forward.

“I mean, you’re still you at the end of the day.” Beckendorf had taken him to one side after lunch one day. Percy had been surprised and Beckendorf took over. “Doesn’t matter what cabin you’re in, you’re still Percy Jackson.”

That was nice to hear. They didn’t hang out a lot, but that was just the kind of friendship they had at that point. They did get a bit closer by the end of the week though, so there

Other than that, he found that many of his activities were a lot harder to go through. While he had some friends, that didn’t mean they were around the whole time. That made some of his activities really awkward.

Most notably, Arts and Crafts had gotten hard to handle with Silena mostly ignoring him except for when she’d side-eye him like she was waiting for him to snap. She looked scared of him for some reason, and that hurt more than the looks of distrust from the other campers. 

To make things worse, he hadn’t heard anything from his mom in the month he’d been here. Even when he’d go to boarding school, they’d find a way to talk every once in a while. This was the longest he’d gone without hearing from her, and with Gabe there alone with her, he was worried.

His dreams didn’t help either. Night after night, he’d hear a voice speaking to him. He wasn’t sure who it was, but he knew this wasn’t a normal dream.

“Poor hero,” It said, appearing sympathetic. “Alienated by all those who claimed to care for him, left alone in a world he was supposed to fit in with.”

“You need not worry,” It’d say another night. “All will be well in the end. Everything will be resolved.”

He hoped the Voice was right. There wasn’t much more of this he could handle.

It took about a week before anyone else decided to talk to him, and it was the last person he’d expected.

Clarisse had approached him when he was in the arena. Luke and Thalia were both busy with Zoë, something about trying to figure out how to keep the peace at camp, so he didn’t have anyone to spar with at the time.

He’d been hacking up the dummies when the daughter of Ares walked up behind him.

“You form’s off, punk.” She offered a nugget of wisdom. He dropped his sword when she called to him and she laughed at him.

“Not funny.” He went to pick up Riptide, eyeing Clarisse warily. “What do you want?”

Clarisse just shrugged. “Got bored. Thought I’d come and train a bit.” She studied him for a moment. “Wanna spar?”

Percy turned to her immediately suspicious. “Why?” She hadn’t spoken to him since he’d been claimed and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with whatever she had planned.

“What, can’t ask for a spar?” She looked confused as if she didn’t know what his problem was. That just made Percy even angrier.

“You haven’t said a word to me since I got claimed.” He snapped. “Why should I trust you?”

Her eyes widened before she grimaced. “Would you believe me if I said I forgot you were claimed?” 

Percy blinked before he kept glaring. “And how’s that supposed to fix anything?”

Clarisse glared right back. “I’m going to let this slide just this once, punk, but don’t think you can talk to me like that again.” She took a deep breath and continued talking. “I wasn’t talking because everyone else was already causing enough trouble as it was for you. I figured you’d need some time alone, so I stepped back.” She looked at the dummy and then back to him. “I guess that wasn’t the right move.”

Percy looked away, refusing to meet her eyes. He’d spent the whole week with everyone just avoiding him like he was some sort of plague. He didn’t need to be given space. He’d needed someone there.

“So what now?” He looked at the dummies he’d hacked apart. There was no way they’d be used again the way he left them. He wondered how many spare dummies they had at camp.

“Well, I’m still up for a spar if you want.” Percy turned to her in shock and she rolled her eyes. “Don’t be surprised. I don’t care who your daddy is. If you can fight, that’s good enough for me.”

Percy nodded mutely. It was better than he’d expected, and so the two sparred for the rest of the day. No one bothered them, the Hunters being reined in by Zoë and no one was dumb enough to get in Clarisse’s way and those that were also didn’t want to be around Percy.

Clarisse won every bout they had, but she was impressed with Percy. “You’re not too bad for a newbie.” She gave him a look over like she was imagining how he’d do in a few years.

Percy shrugged. “Not good enough to take on those hunters without backup.”

Clarisse scowled. “It was four on one. There aren’t many who could beat those odds.” She wiped the sweat off her forehead as she went to rack her spear. “Those cowards can’t win without the numbers anyway.”

“You really don’t like them, do you?” Percy knew everyone at camp had some level of dislike of the Hunters, but there were some who took it to different extremes. Clarisse was one of them.

She huffed and glared over at the arena walls. “I hate it when people bark out hot air. The Hunters keep talking big game but when it comes down to it, they can’t hang with us, but they act like they’re big shots.” Her glare intensified as she turned to look at a group of hunters walking over to the basketball court. “There’s also the fact that they tend to try and send anyone from the Ares cabin to the infirmary whenever they show up.”

Percy stared at Clarisse for a moment. That sounded like a nightmare to deal with. And yet, he could only think of one thing to ask.

“They get away with that?” It didn’t make any sense to Percy. He understood that there was little Chiron could do, but the rest of the campers didn’t seem like they’d just let that happen. “Doesn’t anyone stop them?”

Clarisse shrugged. “You probably already heard why Chiron can’t do much to them. As for the rest of the campers,” She grimaced as she continued. “A lot of them hold grudges against the Ares cabin for one reason or another.”

“Like what?” Percy couldn’t fathom the idea that the campers just let the Hunters do what they wanted with any cabin.

“Oh, all kinds of things. Things they heard, things we’re framed for, fighting back against pranks.” Clarisse shook her head. “It’s gotten better recently, but for the most part, unless it’s Luke or Thalia, no one really cares what the Hunters do with us.”

Percy didn’t like that. He didn’t like that at all. He’d believed that everyone at camp here was family, but it seemed there was a lot more to it than that.

Clarisse noticed the look on his face and shook her head. “You’re seeing what camp’s like when the Hunters are around. For the most part, we tend to band together because we hate them more than we hate each other. When they aren’t around, things are different. You can ask Luke what it’s like.”

And that was the end of that conversation.

They sparred a bit more after that, with Percy mostly trying to get his mind off what Clarisse had told him. He’d ask Luke about it some other time. For now, he had to focus.

No one else spoke to him. Silena had stopped staring at him like he was going to blow up, but that was about it. 

He’d met Gleeson Hedge during that week, a short, intimidating satyr who was the unofficial leader of the nature spirits at camp. According to Thalia, not even the Council of Cloven Elders, whoever those were, could tell him what to do. He didn’t seem to care that Percy was a son of Poseidon, which was all that mattered in the end.

He thought about how everything had changed. How this safe haven, this place he was starting to see as a second home had become a place where he only felt miserable. He tried to keep his hopes up, but sitting alone in the Poseidon cabin with few people still talking to him, it wasn’t an easy task. He wanted to hope things could get better, but he didn’t see how.

His most recent nightmare wasn’t like any of the others.

He was on a windy beach, a storm brewing in the distance. Over by the surf, he saw bursts of lightning coming down to be swallowed by a wave. The earth itself was shaking as the sky trembled. This was no ordinary storm.

It was like the sky and the sea were fighting, trying to tear each other apart. The waves were churning, ready to swallow the land itself seemingly only held back by the fact that Percy was in the surf. The bolts of lightning coming from the sky made any kind of nuclear weaponry seem like a minor event, being felt from as far as the horizon, and only held back by the sea.

Percy was scared. He didn’t understand why he was seeing this. Things only got worse when he heard a deep laugh.

“You see how the earth trembles.” The Voice was back. “They battle over lost trinkets and stand aside as humanity suffers for it.” A bolt of lightning was deflected by a wave, hitting a nearby building. Despite the distance, Percy could hear the screams. “They do not deserve your loyalty, young one. I hope you see that soon.”

The ground beneath him opened up and he was falling. The last thing he saw before he dropped was the entire sky lighting up as the sea swallowed the land, and then nothing.

Percy woke up in a cold sweat. 

Looking around, he found he was still in the Poseidon cabin. He got up and rushed out the cabin door only to find Luke about to knock.

“Woah, Percy, you alright?” Luke grabbed him by the shoulders as Percy shook his head. “What happened?”

Percy looked up at him and saw how worried Luke was. He shook his head as he shook himself from Luke’s grasp. “Just a nightmare.”

Luke nodded and opened his arms. Percy went right into them as Luke held him gently. “Wanna talk about it?” 

Percy shook his head. He didn’t want to think about what any of that meant. He just stayed in Luke’s arms for a bit, taking what comfort he could.

He pulled back and looked up at Luke. “So, why’re you here?” 

Luke took a deep breath. “I’m here to bring you to the Big House.”

Dread pooled in Percy’s stomach. “What for?” 

“It’ll be easier to explain when we’re there.” With that, Luke led him to the Big House.

On the way there, Percy couldn’t help but worry, Since he’d learned about the oath of the Big Three, he figured it was a crime for him to be alive and that he’d be executed sooner or later. He figured Luke was just taking him so that Dionysus could deliver the verdict and that would be the end of it.

When they got there, he found Thalia waiting for them alongside Chiron and Dionysus. They turned to him at once as he got closer.

“Glad you could make it, Jackson.” Dionysus’ eyes glowed a deep purple. He didn’t seem interested in killing Percy at the moment, which was fine by him. 

“Now,” He continued, setting aside the pinochle cards. “As you might know already, your father broke the oath of the Big Three by having you. Naturally, this has caused quite the stir on Olympus.” He pointed to the horizon where a storm was forming and was closing in on the camp borders. “Especially with the Bolt being stolen and Poseidon being the prime suspect. He has now claimed you, which had originally caused you to become a prime suspect as well.”

He stared at Percy for one moment longer before carrying on. “Thanks to young Castellan here, that has been mitigated somewhat. However, you are not quite safe yet. If Chiron is correct, then your perils are just beginning. I will leave him to explain.”

And with that, Dionysus turned one pinochle card into an access pass and shimmered before disappearing. Chiron set down his cards as he turned to Percy.

“Tell me, Percy. What did you make of that hellhound?”

That was an odd question. Still, he didn’t think it’d do to lie to Chiron.

“I was scared. If it weren’t for you and Annabeth, it would’ve killed me.”

Chiron nodded grimly. “I am afraid that a hellhound will be the least of your concerns going forward, my boy.”

Percy swallowed hard. “What does that mean?”

Chiron sighed. “It means that should you accept it, you will need to go on a quest.”

“A quest?” Percy didn’t like the sound of that.

Chiron nodded. “When Dionysus says that you being the suspect was mitigated somewhat, it doesn’t mean that you are safe. Zeus still believes you are the thief, but has decided that you may be allowed a chance to prove you are indeed innocent.”

“And to do that, I’d need to go on this quest.” Percy finished the sentence. He took a deep breath. “Well, guess I don’t have much of a choice then. What do I do now?”

Luke shared a look with Thalia as he took over. “First, you’ll need to visit the Oracle. I’ll lead you to her. Come on.”

When he got to the attic, Percy was beyond confused. He’d remembered that the Oracles of Ancient Greece were pretty important, so they’d be in places that reflected that. Here, Luke was saying their Oracle was in the attic.

When he went up, he saw a bunch of trophies. A hydra head cut off by a son of Hermes in the 80s, a Nemean Lion pelt looted by some demigod from the Middle Ages, and a bronze leg that was brought in by Luke and Thalia on a quest of theirs. 

He kept looking for the Oracle when he found her sitting on a stool. She was a shriveled husk, her skin hollow and dried up. Where her eyes should have been were empty sockets, covered in dust and cobwebs. Her hair, which might have once been thick and pristine, was now barely hanging on by a thread. 

She was skin on bones, literally, a proper mummy kept in the attic. He didn’t understand why, but it was clear that this oracle had died long ago.

He walked up to it slowly, trying to keep from provoking it. It didn’t seem interested in killing him at the very least. 

When he got closer to it, it started spewing out green mist. He heard its voice in his head, slithering around and coiling around his brain. I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach seeker and ask. 

He took a deep breath as he tried not to look directly at it. “So… what do I have to do?”

The mist started forming around him, filling the room and turning it into a horror movie. If the Oracle hadn’t seemed so indifferent to his existence, Percy would have thought he’d die right there.

The mist formed into Gabe and his poker buddies. Percy had to try not to flinch at that. Gabe and his buddies turned to him one by one, telling him the prophecy.

Eddie was the first. You shall go west and face the God that has turned .

The one on the left continued. You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned .

The one on the right was next. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend .

And Gabe rounded off the prophecy with possibly the most chilling line. And you shall fail when it matters most in the end .

With that, the prophecy was spoken. The mist dissipated and the Oracle sat silently on its stool. Percy got the feeling he could stay here for an eternity and not get a single answer to any question he had. He wasn’t about to try though. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

He got back to the table and refused to meet anyone’s eyes. He didn’t want to think about the prophecy. Unfortunately, that was all the others wanted to know about.

“So, Percy, what did the Oracle say?” Chiron kept his voice calm, trying to keep Percy relaxed. It didn’t really calm Percy down completely, but it did help.

“She said that I’d get the Bolt back.” He’d hoped that’d be enough, but it wasn’t.

“What was the exact phrasing?” Chiron prodded. “That is important.”

Percy took a deep breath. “She said ‘You shall go west and face the God that has turned. You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned’.”

Chiron looked at Percy for a bit longer. “Is that all, child?”

Percy nodded. He didn’t think anyone believed him, but they didn’t push. He didn’t mind that. He didn’t want to think about any friend who’d betray him. He already had enough of that.

“Do not overthink what the Oracle said. Prophecies are not clear until they have come to pass after all.” And Percy did remember that part of his lessons with Chiron, about how heroes would always try to avoid prophecies only to fulfill them somehow.

“Now then,” Chiron clapped his hands. “It is time for you to prepare for your quest. The prophecy has been given, and the quest issued.”

Percy nodded. “What do I do now?”

“First, you will need a destination. The prophecy said you must go west, correct?” Percy nodded and Chiron continued. “Good. Now, you need to think of a likely culprit for the theft as well. Do you have anyone in mind, Percy?”

Percy shrugged. “Not really. It could be just about anyone. I’m sure you could come up with any number of reasons for anyone to be the actual culprit, right?”

Chiron nodded proudly. “Correct. Now, I have reason to believe that you must go to the Underworld for your quest. For one, the entrance is found in Los Angeles, which is west of here as the prophecy entails. Also, you were attacked by a Fury, and they only answer to Hades, Lord of the Underworld.”

Percy blinked. “Are you saying Hades is the thief?” That would make things very tricky to deal with.

Chiron only shook his head. “No. Hades is just as likely to be the thief as any on Olympus. I simply believe that your quest will require you to go to the Underworld for it to be completed. I do suspect that Hades has a part in all of this, but I do not dare presume what. As it stands,” Chiron’s face shifted into a grimace. “It may be for the best that Hades truly is the culprit.”

Percy nodded, not wanting to know more. He had a feeling he’d turtle up in his cabin if he did.

“I am afraid you will need to travel by land,” Chiron explained. “As a son of Poseidon, going into Zeus’s domain is a bad idea on the best of days, never mind when you are accused of stealing the Master Bolt.”

That made sense to Percy, though it did mean that the quest got a lot more complicated.

“With that settled, you will need to pick your companions on your quest.” Chiron continued as if he’d said nothing. “It is customary for three to go on a quest, so you will need to pick two campers to accompany you. As you can imagine, you already have two volunteers.”

Percy looked back at Luke and Thalia. They were the most experienced at camp, and just about the only two he figured he could still trust after the week he’d had. He didn’t have many others he could think of either way.

And yet, he couldn’t help but ask. “You guys would go to the Underworld with me?”

Luke nodded firmly. “There’s no way I’m letting you go on this quest on your own, Perce. I’ve got your back.”

Percy then turned to Thalia, who just shrugged and smiled. “You’re my cousin, Kelpy. I’m with you.”

Percy could feel a lump in his throat. They were with him. That was all that mattered now.

“Now then,” Chiron got their attention. “Best you go and prepare yourselves. You have a long journey ahead of you.”

Chapter Text

Packing up was easier than Percy had thought it’d be. 

Only having a handful of things he needed to take with him definitely helped. He just had to take a change of clothes, some snacks, and his sword. 

Luke and Thalia packed similarly, only taking the bare essentials, thought for them it came from experience on quests. Chiron also gave them some essentials, about five hundred dollars each as well as thirty golden drachmas for each one of them which could be exchanged for anything on the divine side. They could find a divine pawn shop and exchange them for supplies, food, and even mortal money if needed. Thirty for each should be enough to carry them through the quest according to Chiron.

He wasn’t too sure how he’d do on this quest, but he figured it wouldn’t be too bad considering who was on the quest with him.

“Quests are a pain to deal with.” Thalia didn’t like sugarcoating things and told Percy exactly what he could expect on this mission. “You can expect anything to go wrong within the first three minutes of leaving camp, especially with you and I being out there. Children of the Big Three tend to have a stronger scent than other demigods. I don’t entirely know why, you’d have to ask Chiron about that. What matters is we’ll need to be on guard.”

With that comforting piece of advice, he found himself making his way to the top of the hill blocking camp off from the rest of the world. He couldn’t believe he was going out of the valley he’d just gotten used to. 

While on his way there, he was stopped by Silena, asking him if they could talk when he got back to camp. A part of him wanted to say no, wanted to cut her out completely, but another part of him had missed her.

“We’ll see when I get back.” Percy figured it’d be for the best that he wait until he got back to say anything. He didn’t want to deal with this at the moment.

Silena’s face dropped as she nodded and left. He wasn’t sure whether he’d actually end up talking to her, but he knew he wasn’t going to do it now. 

At the top of the hill, he found Chiron waiting for him. The centaur was at the border of the camp, waiting to see him off and make sure he was fully packed.

He wasn’t alone though. Waiting by his side was a familiar face.

“Annabeth?” The blond smiled at him as he made it to the top of the hill. 

“You didn’t think I’d let you go on this quest without seeing you off, did you?” Her face shifted into a more serious expression. “Chiron told me that your quest is for the Bolt. Something like this…” She shook her head. “Well, it won’t be easy, I can tell you that much.”

Percy shrugged. “Not like I have much of a choice. Besides, I’ve got Luke and Thalia helping me out.”

Annabeth’s expression shifted into something Percy couldn’t read. “Yeah, they’re pretty good.” She shook her head. “Doesn’t mean I won’t be worried with you out there.”

Percy’s face went a bit warm at that. He wasn’t used to people being this open with caring about him besides his mom. It wasn’t until Luke that he met someone who did, and even then, it took some time before he managed to accept it.

With Annabeth though, he got the feeling she was genuine. Her next words did help enforce that.

“Um, I was a bit worried about you going off with just a sword, so- here.” She took her dagger off her belt and handed it to him. “It’s made of silver, one of few weapons that are. It’ll help you out alongside your sword.”

He grabbed it and took a closer look at it. “It’s balanced.” He marveled. It wasn’t quite perfect like Riptide was, but it wasn’t as bad as some of the other weapons he’d tried out.

Annabeth shrugged. “I heard you had problems with a lot of the weapons at camp, so I worked with Beckendorf and…” she heaved a sigh. “ Alabaster to try and get that dagger to be easier to wield for you.”

He held back a wince at Alabaster’s mention, but he didn’t want to focus on that. Instead, he chose to focus on something else. “You don’t like Alabaster?” 

Annabeth shrugged. “It’s not that I hate him, he just gets a bit much sometimes, you know?” Percy nodded before Annabeth continued. “Plus, I’m not exactly happy with how he treated you.”

Percy ducked his face. There she was again, just casually caring about him. He risked meeting her eyes after a bit and she smiled slightly at him.

“I meant it when I said we were friends, you know.” She tilted her head. “I’d rather be able to do something so you don’t get hurt.”

He nodded, still not sure how to respond. Annabeth sighed and opened her arms out for him. He didn’t even think twice as he stepped into her hug.

“Be careful out there, Seaweed Brain. This quest is going to be tougher than anything you’ve seen so far.”

He nodded into her shoulder and held her close for a bit longer. When he stepped back, he heard Thalia and Luke getting closer. He could tell from their bickering.

“Are you sure you packed enough? Last time we went out, we ended up needing to pawn everything.”

“Oh, real rich coming from you. Remember our first quest when I had to steal half a registry because you left all the food at camp?”

“I was fourteen , you were eighteen . I have an excuse, you don’t.”

“Right, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Why you!” 

When Percy turned, he found that Thalia had Luke in a headlock. Luke was laughing the whole way while Thalia had to hide the smile on her face. The two of them then noticed that he was looking at them and they straightened up and made the rest of their way up the hill.

“So…” Luke shifted from foot to foot. “Any chance you can all just forget you saw that?”

“Nope”

“Don’t think I will.”

“Not likely.”

The three looked at each other and laughed while Luke and Thalia just groaned. 

“Well, I’ve got to go.” Annabeth hugged Percy one last time before heading off. “Good luck, Seaweed Brain!” And with that, she ran back down the hill, blond hair flying behind her.

“I believe you all have what you need.” Chiron gave them all a look over as they nodded. He inspected Percy’s bag a bit closer before nodding in satisfaction. “Good. I will leave you to your quest now.” With that, he galloped off back to the Big House.

When he looked back to his questmates, Thalia’s eyes were narrowed. “What did she want?”

Percy shifted a bit under her gaze. He wasn’t scared of her, but she could be pretty intense. Luke put a hand on her shoulder as she made a visible effort to relax. Percy showed them the dagger.

“She wanted to see me off before I left. She gave me this.” He handed Luke the dagger as he twirled it around.

“It’s a good dagger.” He handed it to Thalia who inspected it for a moment.

Pursing her lips, she nodded. “Not bad.” She handed it back to Percy and went directly to the van.

Percy turned to Luke. “I know she hates the Hunters, and that you had a bad meeting with Annabeth, but isn’t that a bit much?”

Luke sighed, turning a narrowed gaze towards Annabeth’s direction. “The meeting was more than just a bit bad. I’ll tell you about it later. Thalia…” Luke turned his eyes to her retreating form. “She has a habit of holding grudges, and she can get really angry about them.”

Percy turned to look at her as she got in the van. She was still tense as she got into the van, slamming the door hard.

“I can see that.” His heart sank a bit as he thought about how bad the trip was going to be with Thalia that angry.

“Hey,” Luke turned to him quickly. “She not mad at you. Don’t worry about that.” 

Percy nodded but he didn’t entirely believe him. He knew Luke wouldn’t lie to him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Thalia’s anger was more than just at Annabeth.

The van could only take them into the city, but it was enough for them to get a start. 

Thalia still hadn’t said a word since they stepped out of camp and Luke seemed distracted by something, so Percy was left looking out of the window at the buildings and signs.

After spending over a month at camp, the real world almost seemed like a myth to him. The buildings seemed unreal, the signs were amazing, and the people made him do a bunch of double-takes. There were so many people.

Luke noticed him and chuckled a bit. “It can be pretty wild seeing the outside world again after spending some time at camp.”

Thalia nodded but still said nothing. She kept her gaze trained to the window, scowling in the distance. He figured it was a good idea to not comment on that.

The van took them to a bus stop where they waited for a bit. Percy tried to pass the time by playing a bit of hacky sack on his own. Luke and Thalia seemed too distracted for him to ask them to join. After a bit, he noticed that they were trying to hide their nerves.

“Everything okay?” He cut into the silence. 

Thalia answered, speaking for the first time since they stepped out of camp. “Something’s coming.”

Luke nodded. “It feels… familiar somehow.”

The Greyhound showed up before Percy could ask what they meant. They got on and found it was mostly filled, with only a few spots in the back free. They went all the way to the back as the tension between the three kept rising.

“Keep your bag on you,” Thalia told him as they sat down. “You don’t want it too far to grab.”

He nodded and sat tensely. He kept looking around, hoping to see what they did, but he couldn’t find anything. It was like a shadow was following them in broad daylight. 

He tried to calm his nerves and remember his training at camp. One of the first things he was taught was that panicking won’t help. He’d need to be focused. He’d need to be ready.

He ended up staring out the window for a bit too long. He’d noticed the passing scenery, ranging from buildings to lampposts to traffic lights. He managed to relax a bit as he watched the world pass him by. He then stared at the distance for a while, getting lost in the real world even more. He kept the danger in the back of his mind, but for now, he let himself relax.

What might have been a few minutes or hours later, the bus stopped. He heard Thalia take in a sharp breath.

“Boys!” She instinctively reached for a can of mace as Luke reached for what looked like a pendant around his neck.

Percy followed their gaze and immediately paled. It was his old Algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodds. She walked in with two others who looked very similar to her. They sat at the front of the bus and crossed their legs, making sure no one could get out.

“I thought monsters take ages to come back!” That was one of the first things they taught him in the monster classes. Monsters did reform after some time, but the more powerful ones tend to take longer.

“They serve Hades,” Thalia said in a low voice. “He must have some way to bring them back quickly.”

Percy gulped, unable to hide his nerves too well. He’d barely managed to beat one of them back at Yancy, and that was only with Luke’s help. As it stood, it was practically a three-on-two. He didn’t see himself able to help out too much.

“Percy,” Luke kept his voice steady. “Listen carefully. When they get up, I want you to stay here, alright? Keep out of their range, only take shots when you see an opening. Leave most of the fighting to us, alright?”

Percy nodded. He didn’t see any reason why he would need to step in, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt if Luke said it was okay.

He looked around for an emergency stop button and managed to find it. It was right next to Thalia who was sitting next to the window.

“Does the window open?” He asked, hoping his plan might work.

Thalia tried and managed to get it to a point where someone could jump through it.

“I have an idea.” Percy started as Luke sighed in defeat. The last time he’d said that ended with Luke covered head to toe in toiler water when a prank at Yancy went wrong. 

This one went over a bit better with his quest mates. He said they could push the emergency stop and jump out the window when the Furies decided to attack. Luke and Thalia looked at each other before nodding.

“It’s our best shot.” Luke turned to look at the Furies. “I’d rather not have to fight them inside this bus.”

So they sat in silence for a bit, preparing themselves for the fight to begin. Percy could feel the adrenaline start to fill him as he kept his eyes on the Furies at the front of the bus. He couldn’t let them win. 

After what felt like ages, the one that used to be Dodds stood up. “I need to use the restroom.”

The other two stood up as well. “So do I.”

“So do I.”

They started making their way to the back where the three questers were. Giving only a quick look as a warning, Thalia pushed the emergency stop button. The bus started slowing down to a halt as the Furies got closer. Just as they were on top of the three, the bus stopped. 

As quickly as they could, the demigods jumped out of the window, the Furies screeching in anger behind them. As they stood back up and regrouped, they heard glass shattering as the monsters took their true forms and flew out of the now speeding away bus, ready to attack.

“Percy, duck!” Thalia jumped into action, her can of mace turning into a spear as she called a shield into action. The Furies all looked away as Thalia barreled into them, while Luke brought out his sword and jumped into the fray.

Looking at the two of them fighting together, Percy couldn’t hold in his awe. On their own, they were each a force to be reckoned with, proven especially as each of them could take on some of the best that Camp Half-Blood had to offer. Together though, they seemed unstoppable. 

Wherever Thalia wasn’t, Luke was and where Luke wasn’t, Thalia stepped in. They covered each other’s blind spots, making sure they had each other’s back. Between the two of them, they kept all three Furies busy.

Thalia took two Furies at once, whatever was on her shield helping her big time. Whenever one tried to break out of the fight, Thalia would send a lightning blast at the monster, forcing it to charge back at her. Luke was facing off against the lead Fury, Mrs. Dodds, as he held her off with what looked like all he had. 

That didn’t make as much sense to Percy at first, but then he took a closer look. Thalia and Luke were sweating hard. The two of them couldn’t hold the three Furies off forever. It was clear they were already expending all their energy holding them off as it stood.

They couldn’t hold out for much longer. That thought alone scared Percy. These two were the top demigods at Camp Half-Blood. If they couldn’t beat them, what could he do?

One of the Furies turned to him. “Where is it, boy?”

“What?” 

The Fury screeched and lunged for him. He rolled as quickly as he could, heart in his throat. When he got back up, she flew back at him as quickly as she could, but Thalia had blasted her again. 

“Percy! Get up!” Luke called to him as he swung at Dodds.

He took a deep breath and stood. He couldn’t stay back. Thalia was back on the two-on-one disadvantage while Luke was still locked in a stalemate. He had to step in.

Percy uncapped his pen and let Riptide settle in his hand. He kept a close eye on the demon grandmothers, waiting for an opening like Luke had told him. There weren’t many, as between Luke and Thalia’s attacks and the Furies flying, he wasn’t skilled enough yet to make use of most of those openings.

Finally, he saw one of the Furies attacking Thalia slow down. She seemed to have gotten the monster with her spear, and Percy rushed in. The Fury didn’t have much time to look back as Percy closed the distance and shoved Riptide into her neck.

She choked out as she turned to dust. The other Fury screeched loudly but couldn’t do anything. Now that she was alone, Thalia managed to take her out quickly.

All that was left was the lead Fury, and between Luke and Thalia, she went down quickly. It almost wasn’t a fight.

Luke got the killing blow this time, shoving his sword right in the Fury’s face. She turned to dust as Percy felt the adrenaline rushing out of his body.

He dropped to the floor as the others walked up to him.

“Not bad, kid.” Thalia reached her hand to pull him up.

“Thalia.” He looked up at her. She looked proud, though he wasn’t sure of what.

“Yeah?”

“I can’t move.”

She smiled as she reached down and lifted him so he could sit. She squatted near him as Luke got down to one knee, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“You did great, Percy.” Luke squeezed his shoulder, keeping his voice gentle. “That wasn’t an easy fight.”

“You two did most of the work.” Percy didn’t want to take too much credit for the fight. All he did was stab one Fury while they did all the fighting.

Thalia just shrugged, keeping her hand on his back. “We all gotta start somewhere, and this is a good start. You did good kid, take the compliment.”

He nodded, too tired to argue. He was getting hungry, and the snacks they’d packed wouldn’t cut it.

“Can we get something to eat?” Percy hoped they were near some diner somewhere, but it seemed they were far from any city.

Luke and Thalia shared a look. “We can try to find something.” Luke finally said. “Be careful though, there’s no telling what’s coming next.”

Chapter Text

They walked for hours without finding anything.

After the whole mess with the Furies and the bus, the questers had gotten pretty hungry, so the three of them trudged along looking for a place they could eat.

The bus had left without them, with a few people managing to snap a few pictures of the fight as far as Percy could tell, which didn’t seem like it’d be a good thing. 

Luke had assured him that the Mist would cover up their tracks, but he didn’t sound too sure about that. If anything, the fact that he kept looking behind him made Percy even more worried.

They moved a bit longer in silence, Luke and Thalia constantly checking their surroundings to make sure they were safe. At some point, Percy got too tired to keep going, so they decided to rest for a bit.

Luke was the one who broke the silence. “I’m gonna go off to see if I can find anything worth checking out. You guys stay here, I won’t be gone for long.”

With that, Percy was left alone with Thalia.  On the one hand, he did feel safe around her, even with the tension between them at the moment. On the other hand, that tension was starting to get to him, and he didn’t know how to bring it up.

He didn’t need to, as Thalia broke the silence pretty quickly. “You alright, Percy? You’ve been a little quiet since we left camp.”

Percy turned to her, shocked. He hadn’t expected her to talk to him for a while, not at least unless she absolutely had to like she did on the bus. 

Thalia frowned at him. “Okay, something’s definitely up. Wanna talk about it?”

Percy blinked. This didn’t make any sense. Wasn’t she mad at him? 

She got closer, her frown deepening. She almost looked worried. “Percy, you can talk to me. You know that, right?”

Percy turned to her with wide eyes. “You’re not mad at me?”

Her eyebrows shot up as she moved to kneel in front of him. “Of course not! Why would you think that?’

Percy looked at her before he ducked his head. “It’s just… you were mad when Annabeth showed up when we left. And you didn’t say anything on the way to the city until we got on the bus. Even then, you looked mad at something. I just thought…” Percy wasn’t sure how to put it into words. The worry that she’d blame him for Annabeth being there, the fear that she’d be cold to him the whole way. He didn’t want to lose another friend. She was one of the only ones he had.

Thalia seemed to get what he meant and she gently put her hands on his shoulders. “Listen… I was mad when we left camp, but it wasn’t at you, alright? I don’t trust Annabeth in the slightest and…” She took a deep breath. “I don’t trust her motives around you. I was mad at her , but never at you.”

That calmed him down a bit. Thalia didn’t stop talking after that. “As for why I was so quiet, I had a feeling we were being followed. It’s something you’ll pick up as you get more quests under your belt. I was keeping an eye out for anything that might show up.”

Percy nodded. That made sense. She gave him a half smile as she squeezed his shoulders once. “If I’m mad at you kid, you’ll know it. I’m not one for being subtle about my feelings.”

Percy couldn’t stop the laugh that came out of him. Subtle was the last thing he’d use to describe Thalia. “I’d say what you did to Zoë in Capture the Flag kind of proves that.”

She chuckled as she nodded. “Wasn’t about to let her win.”

With that, they settled into a comfortable silence, broken up by Thalia sharing some stories about her time at camp. 

“You should’ve seen when Connor pulled a prank on the Athena cabin.” She shook her head in bewilderment. “I’m not sure what he was thinking, shoving that tarantula in Malcolm’s bunk, but the guy almost ripped Connor’s arms out their sockets.”

Percy’s eyes widened at that. “He did what ?”

Thalia nodded. “Children of Athena are terrified of spiders. Like, completely terrified to the point of not being able to think when they see one.”

Percy thought about that for a moment. “Because of the Arachne story, right?”

Thalia nodded. “Spiders have targetted children of Athena ever since. Though, the fact that it’s another Roman story does make it a bit weird.” Thalia shrugged. “Doesn’t matter all that much I suppose. What does is that you don’t want to throw a spider at a child of Athena.” 

“I’m guessing Malcolm still holds a grudge?” Percy didn’t see Connor getting away with that too easily.

“Oh, definitely.” Thalia nodded. “Malcolm’s been holding that grudge for something like three years now and he doesn’t seem to be letting it go. Connor hasn’t done anything like that since.”

Percy nodded, then tilted his head. “Wait, you said Malcolm tried to rip Connor’s arms off. Did anyone stop him?”

Thalia nodded. “Luke was around at the time to keep them apart. I ended up stepping in to calm everyone down after that, but I couldn’t get Mal to drop the grudge.” She shrugged. “Connor hasn’t pushed the line like that since, so you know. Silver linings and all.”

Percy nodded. That did make some sense. However, he did wonder why Connor thought it was a good idea to put a spider in a child of Athena’s bunk. 

He didn’t get to think about that much longer as Luke had come back. “You two doing alright?”

Thalia looked at Percy for a moment before giving Luke a half smile. “Yeah, we’re doing alright. What about you? Find anything?”

Luke nodded, though he looked wary. “I found something that looks like a path down the road. It might lead to something, but I have a bad feeling about it.”

Thalia’s face got more serious. “What kind of bad feeling are we talking?”

“A nine. Definitely a nine.”

Thalia hummed in thought. “Let’s check it out. We might be able to get something useful out of it anyway.”

Luke nodded before looking at Percy. He seemed to be considering something. “Percy,” he started. “When we get to whatever it is I found, I want you to be on your guard, okay? We have no idea what might be out there. You’ll have to be careful.”

Percy nodded, intent on keeping his guard up. He didn’t want to be surprised like he’d been on the bus.

They made their way down the road, keeping their guard up in case any monster decided to jump them. They didn’t get attacked on the way, which was a plus, but it also made Percy think that there was something big coming.

With that in mind, Percy had a question about something Luke said. “What did you mean when you said a nine by the way?”

Thalia kept her gaze forward as she answered. “It’s a danger system we have to give us an idea of how bad the monster we’re dealing with. It’s out of ten. We’ll fill you in on the whole thing later, but a nine is basically Luke and I have to be on the top of our game or we might get taken out.”

Percy blanched at the idea of facing a monster that Luke and Thalia would struggle with. He wasn’t sure what he could do to help there.

“What would the Furies have been?” He decided to ask to take his mind off of that.

“An eight. Bit tough, but not too bad.” Luke piped up from the side.

That made him even more worried. They were facing something worse than the Furies. He did not want to know what it could be. “What would a ten be then?”

Thalia and Luke shared a look before speaking in unison. “We call Chiron.”

With that, they fell back into silence. Percy wasn’t sure he wanted to know anymore at this point, considering what he’d been told. The road seemed endless, with it stretching for miles on end. 

After what could’ve been hours or minutes, time never seemed real to Percy, they reached a spot with what looked like a small building. It looked like it had garden equipment to Percy, though he couldn’t make out the neon cursive words the sign on the place said.

“What’s that say?” He hoped Luke or Thalia would be able to read it.

“No idea.” 

“Looks like gibberish to me”

It was times like these when he remembered the whole demigod dyslexia thing. “So, this is the place you found?”

Luke nodded. “Percy, I need you to stay here and keep watch, alright? If whatever’s in there tries to call for help, we’ll need you to handle it out here.”

Percy looked at Luke for a moment. He had a feeling Luke had another reason behind keeping him out here, but his reasoning made sense. Percy nodded and stuck behind to keep watch. He figured that Luke and Thalia could handle themselves.

Which made him wonder why he felt his stomach sinking as he watched them walk towards the building.

“So, what’s the real reason you wanted Percy to hang behind?” Thalia sounded more curious than anything, which meant Luke was on the right track leaving Percy outside the area.

Luke just shrugged. “It’s a level nine threat.”

Thalia wasn’t convinced though. “Between the two of us, we can handle a level nine easy. Shit, the Furies together are a level nine, they’re only level eight when they’re alone and Percy managed himself well enough.” She narrowed her eyes. “What aren’t you saying?”

Luke sighed. He really should know better than to try to hide something from Thalia. “It’s a level nine, yeah, but it’s on the higher end of a nine.” Luke shook his head. “It might even be pushing a ten.”

Thalia’s eyes widened. “A ten ? Why-” She paused for a moment before realization dawned on her face. “You don’t want this to be another Kelli.”

Had it been anyone else, Luke might have hated that he was so easily read. But this was Thalia, his best friend, his partner in crime. In a way, it was comforting that there was someone who knew him as well as she did.

“I’m not completely sure who this monster is,” Luke admitted. He’d only known from the fact that this one had an almost visible aura surrounding its base. “I just know it’s a deadly one. Being that deadly… I didn’t want to leave it standing. Besides, it’s on the way we’ll have to take to get to Cali. If we don’t deal with it, it might follow us, and I’d rather handle it on our terms.”

Thalia nodded. She knew why he didn’t want to leave this one alone. The last time they’d ignored a monster because they thought they couldn’t handle it, it led to a massacre before Chiron stepped in. No one had blamed them for it at the time, which did help, but that didn’t mean Luke didn’t blame himself.

He’d promised himself that day that he wouldn't let something like this happen again, and he didn’t intend to break that promise today. 

As they got closer to the building, it seemed to look more like an emporium. There was something unsettling about it as the two moved closer like they were being constantly watched.

He tried to keep an eye out for any clues as to what kind of monster they might be dealing with. He couldn’t find anything that seemed too out of place. It looked like the place was a Garden Gnome emporium given all the gnome statues on display. He figured that might’ve been what the neon sign said, though he couldn’t exactly double-check.

When they got to the door, the sign said the place was open, but there was no one around. At least, he didn’t see anyone around.

He shared a look with Thalia before they walked in. The door chime signaled to whoever the owner of this emporium was that they’d entered, and as if on cue, the owner stepped in.

“Ah, I wasn’t expecting customers at this time.” The owner was dressed casually enough, wearing a dress shirt and jeans with nothing too overt. The only discerning part of the outfit was a thick veil covering the owner’s face. “You can call me Aunty Em. How can I help you today?”

Luke’s guard was up. He knew it was up. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel relaxed. He didn’t get any bad vibes from this owner, which almost kicked him into high alert. He decided to take over the talking while Thalia tried to figure out who they were dealing with.

“My friend and I were just looking for a place to stay while waiting for our ride. We’d hoped you could help us.”

A standard cover story for when they walk into a new place. “You poor dears. You’ve come to the right place.” The monster purred while approaching them. “I will make sure you are well taken care of.”

If this monster thought Luke could be seduced, she had another thing coming. He’d grant her this much, she was much smarter than most monsters trying this out.

Thalia’s gaze was sharp, though not as sharp as usual. She seemed almost distracted, but he didn’t think much of it. Aunty Em led them into a booth they could sit at while she said she’d cook them something. While they were sitting at the booth, Thalia leaned close to him. 

“You hear that?” Luke strained a bit to try and pick up what Thalia might have been talking about. It took him longer than he would have liked, but he managed to hear a faint hissing. His eyes widened.

“Snakes.” He looked around to see if anything else could prove his theory when he found a statue of a satyr, face contorted in fear. His eyes went back to Thalia’s, who looked as worried as he was.

“ Medusa. ” He tried keeping his voice down, but it didn’t seem to be enough.

“I suppose I should’ve expected you to figure me out quickly, darlings.” Her voice was soothing, like a warm blanket on a cold winter day. He couldn’t let himself fall for it, though, This was one of the deadliest monsters out there. He had to focus.

“Come now, no need to be so tense.” She came closer and Luke stood up and shut his eyes, pulling his sword out. He heard Thalia step beside him with her spear and shield ready, though he wasn’t sure how much her Aegis would help against Medusa.

“Well, I suppose that’s a flattering enough look.” Medusa sounded amused. “I always did wonder what happened to my head after that ingrate Perseus cut it off.”

Luke heard her get closer and he tensed up. He shuffled closer to Thalia, making sure they could back each other up. On his own, he knew he was good, but he always felt invincible when he was with her.

Medusa laughed as she stopped right in front of them. He couldn’t deny it was a comforting sound. It made him feel like he didn’t need to fight back, but he knew he should. He couldn’t fall for her tricks.

“Oh, darlings,” she crooned as she moved around them. “You need not be so tense. It’s bad on your bodies, you know?” She sounded so genuine, Luke almost dropped his sword. He could feel Thalia struggling to keep fighting next to him.

“Why should we listen to you?” He managed to bite out, still not willing to look at her. 

“What reason have I given you to mistrust me so, darling?” She kept her voice soft and amused. “Tell me, what have I done that is so evil?”

“You mean besides terrorizing mortals before Perseus cut off your head?” Thalia ground out. “And that was only after you thought it’d be a good idea to hook up in Athena’s temple!”

Medusa chuckled softly. “Is that what they say these days?” She walked closer to them as she continued her story. “It is true that I had a… relationship I suppose you would call it with Poseidon, but it was neither in Athena’s temple nor was I transformed into a Gorgon. I was born like this, darlings, the daughter of Phorkys and Keto. Poseidon and I were together in a field of flowers.” She sighed wistfully. “It was a truly wonderful time.”

She then snarled as she continued. “And then that insolent whelp Perseus came to my island searching for glory .” Luke could feel her vibrating with anger. “He killed me in my sleep for no reason other than to impress some king he never cared for.” She sighed as she seemed to be calming herself. “I spent an eternity in Tartarus after that. Reforming is a painful process you know? All because one measly hero decided that he needed glory .”

She put a hand on Luke’s face after that. He knew he should fight back, but for some reason he didn’t. She caressed his face gently with her thumb as she spoke again. “But you two are different, aren’t you? You aren’t here for glory. You’re here to keep people safe. You thought I was a danger to your friends and you couldn’t bear that. But I’m sure you can see that I mean no harm. Open your eyes, my dears. I promise you that you will not be turned into stone.”

Every single one of his instincts was screaming at him to keep his eyes shut. And yet, he found himself looking at the veiled face of Medusa. She hadn’t lied to them. Her face was still covered. He saw Thalia in a similar spot as him. She looked relaxed with Medusa’s other hand on her cheek, holding her tenderly.

“You see, my dears? Nothing to worry about.” She dropped her hands as she gathered them to sit again. “Everyone always gets the wrong impression of me. They think me some heartless monster who thrives off chaos and death. They speak so ill of me that it turns such darling children such as yourself against me.” She sounded so nice, it was hard not to listen to her.

“Sit my dears. You’ve fought so hard for so long, you deserve to rest.” She threaded her hands through their hair, and Luke could feel himself calming down. “I will make sure no one can hurt you again.”

Luke knew he should resist. He knew she was a monster, one who wanted him dead and could kill him and Thalia too. But her voice was soothing, her touch calming. He wanted nothing more than to let go, to fall into her embrace and never leave. She'd keep him safe, she'd keep him happy. He could be the one taken care of for once, something he hadn't felt since he was barely six. 

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

As if reading his mind, she put her arms carefully around the two, and he saw Thalia sinking in as well. “My dears, you need not worry. I will watch over you.”

And Luke thought of nothing else after that. He laid his head on Medusa’s shoulder, seeing Thalia do the same on her other one.

“Olympus has made you pawns, my sweets. Errand runners worth no more than a carrier pigeon.” She spoke so softly, that Luke was almost being lulled to sleep. "You deserve so much more, darlings. You deserve care, love, a safe place. I can give you all that and more, my dears. I will give you the world ."

And with that, Luke stopped thinking.

Percy was bored.

He was keeping watch, just like Luke had asked him to, but it wasn’t as easy as it looked.

There was just nothing to do. Whatever the monster Luke and Thalia were dealing with was, it seemed to have claimed this area for its own because nothing got close. The few monsters that did wander in close after seeing him would tense and run away as soon as they crossed a certain point.

He saw a hellhound run for the hills, a Laistrygonian Giant he believed it was called looked terrified and turned the other way. Even a telemarketer didn’t dare get close, which made Percy wonder if that nine rating should’ve been a ten.

He tried so many things to stave off the boredom. He thought about his conversations with Connor and Annabeth, he tried counting the blue cars that passed by, counting about seven before he gave up, and even tried reading the neon sign when it got too bad. 

None of it helped with how bored he was.

He was also growing a bit worried. Luke and Thalia could handle themselves, sure, but they’d been gone for a while. They shouldn’t be having too much trouble, and if they were… Percy didn’t want to think about that.

He sat for a bit longer before he couldn’t take it anymore. He wasn’t going to sit back and have Luke and Thalia do all the work again. He had to do something.

He got up and marched down to the building, noticing all the garden gnomes on his way down. He also saw other statues, lifelike statues that looked terrified of something. That gave him a bad feeling.

As he got closer, he noticed Luke and Thalia being crowded out of what looked like an emporium. There was someone with them he didn’t recognize though. Someone with a thick veil on their head.

He got as close to them as he dared and blanched as he realized what was happening. Luke and Thalia looked like they were in a daze, with Luke looking completely out of it. The garden statues looked way too real for Percy’s liking, almost like they used to be people. And worst of all, Percy could hear snakes hissing, and it was coming from the person guiding Luke and Thalia to a bench in the garden.

Everything came together in that moment. Percy was dealing with Medusa.

From the looks of it, Thalia and Luke couldn’t help him. He was on his own for now. He tried to think of how Medusa had died in the myth. He remembered something about Perseus, his namesake, cutting her head off while she was asleep. She didn’t seem too asleep now.

He had to do something though, otherwise, his friends would die. He wasn’t sure what he could do though, he was very much outmatched.

The more he thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed. He couldn’t beat Medusa in a fight and he didn’t have any backup. He didn’t even have the polished shield Perseus had, so if she took that veil off, he’d be done for. 

What was he thinking? There was no way he’d be able to pull this off. Medusa was too powerful. That’s something he’d heard Annabeth mention at camp once when she was talking about monsters she’d hunted. Medusa was one of the few that the Hunters didn’t approach without their full squad. What could he do against her?

He saw Luke and Thalia sit on the bench. “Now my dears, I’ll need you to sit still. I want this picture to come out perfectly. It will take only a moment, darlings.”

She didn’t have a camera. What could she mean by a picture? 

He looked around the garden and saw the statues again before his blood ran cold. She wanted to turn them into stone. 

He couldn’t let that happen.

He wouldn’t let that happen.

He’d need to cut her head off, preferably before she took that veil off. He looked around and thought of anything that could distract her. He couldn’t run out into the open, that’d just give her the upper hand. It was starting to get dark out, so maybe he could use that to his advantage. 

He saw a wheelbarrow filled with gardening tools not too far from him. Maybe if he clattered that around, the sound would distract her.

“Perfect. Now, just stay like that my sweets while I take the picture.”

He didn’t have much time. He ran and pushed the wheelbarrow over, the tools all clattering together and into each other. They were so loud that he figured even the drivers on the road would have heard it.

At the very least, Medusa did. She perked up and turned towards him. “Strange. There must be a mole in the garden again.” She sighed in frustration. “Stay right here, darlings. I will be right back.”

She made her way towards him slowly. “Perhaps not a mole,” She sounded amused. “Perhaps we have a third demigod around here.”

Percy darted over to a nearby shed, hiding as best he could. He managed to get away before Medusa saw him. She made it to the wheelbarrow and observed the scene. “Why are you hiding, sweetling? There’s nothing to fear. Your friends know they have nothing to worry about from me. Surely, that must mean something to you.”

Percy tried to keep his breathing even. He didn’t want to alert her to where he was before he had a plan ready. Unfortunately, she seemed to have figured out where he was. “Ah, a smarter demigod than most. I’ll give you that much.”

He peeked out from behind the shed, keeping his eyes trained on the ground to see where she was. She got closer and closer to him as Percy tried to look for a way out. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of anything. He was backed into a corner. All he could do was stand and fight.

She reached right in front of him and was getting ready to take her veil off before she stopped and stood rigid. “Poseidon…”

Percy didn’t stop to think what she meant by that. He sprang out from behind the shed as quickly as he could and pulled Riptide out. He swung his sword right at her neck, cutting her head clean off. Her body disintegrated and her head fell to the side, veil thankfully still covering her face. 

Percy ran to where Luke and Thalia were. Thalia seemed to be coming out of the daze while Luke was still completely out of it.

“Luke!” Percy hoped it’d get him to focus, but he barely seemed to notice.

He went directly to Luke, keeping half an eye on Thalia as well. He grabbed the son of Hermes by the shoulders and shook him a bit. “Luke, are you with me?”

“Hmm… Percy? What’re you doing here buddy?” He was talking like there was a wall of honey between them. 

“Luke, we gotta go.” Percy tried. Maybe that’d get him to snap out of it.

It didn’t. “Go where? Aunty Em said she’d take care of us. You’ll love her, Perce, I’m sure of it.”

This couldn’t be good. He looked at Thalia who seemed to have come to. She looked between the two of them as her eyes widened. “Luke, hey, Luke, can you hear me?”

He turned to her, still in a daze. “Yeah, Thals, I can hear you. Any idea where Em is?”

Thalia started to look more concerned. “Luke, Em’s Medusa, remember?”

Luke looked confused. “That doesn’t make any sense. We’re not stone.”

Thalia bit her lip. “Luke, please listen. We have to go.”

“Go where Thals. It’s great here.”

Percy stared at Thalia trying to get Luke to wake up from his daze without success. She was holding herself well, but she looked like she was losing hope. Luke was too far gone.

Luke…

Percy couldn’t keep his sniffling in. Seeing Luke like this was too much. This was the same guy who’d stuck with him the whole year, who helped him when he was down, who stood by his side when so many others didn’t. Luke was one of the strongest people he knew. Seeing him like this was too much to handle.

Luke and Thalia both turned to him in shock. Luke got up from the bench and knelt in front of him.

“Percy,  Percy , what’s wrong kiddo?”

Percy looked at Luke for a moment longer. His eyes seemed clear now, which made Percy cry even harder.

He threw himself at Luke, holding him as close as he could as he cried his eyes out. Luke held him tightly while Thalia stood off to the side, giving them space.

They were safe now. That was all that mattered.

Chapter Text

Thalia lost track of how long Luke had held Percy.

The kid was crying his eyes out as Luke tried soothing him. Thalia stepped back and let Luke do his thing. As much as she would’ve liked to help, she didn’t see how she could. Besides, Percy needed Luke at the moment. 

Luke held him close, rocking him back and forth as he moved the two of them back to the bench so they could sit down. Percy had a death grip around his waist, not willing to let go any time soon.

After some time, Percy’s sobs started dying down. He was just sniffling a bit at this point and he finally stopped. He seemed to go limp in Luke’s arms, who moved his around so he could lay in his lap.

Oh . Percy had cried himself to sleep.

Thalia made her way to the two and quietly sat next to Luke. He was running his hand gently through Percy’s hair, which seemed to soothe the kid as he slept.

“You alright, Luke?” She kept her voice low, not wanting to wake Percy up. Luke didn’t answer her.

She frowned, getting more worried. She knew he’d heard her from the look on his face, so the fact that he didn’t say anything meant he was in his mind.

“You can always talk to me, Luke. You know that.” She settled on reminding him as he would remind her when she’d get in a mood.

He nodded, keeping his eyes trained on Percy. He stayed quiet for a moment longer before he broke the silence. “I just can’t get over how easily I let Medusa take over me.”

Thalia nodded. “I was wondering about that. You’re usually a lot more resilient. What happened this time?” 

She wasn’t accusing him of anything and he knew it. She was just worried. “You know about my mom.” She nodded. That was one of the first things he’d told her about when they met. “I thought I’d moved past it but… I guess a part of me still wishes I could be taken care of, instead of being the one doing the caring.”

Thalia understood what he meant. “And Medusa made it sound like she could be the one to do that for you.” He nodded and Thalia’s heart broke. “Oh, Luke.”

She threw an arm around his shoulder carefully as he leaned on her shoulder, both of them making sure they didn’t wake Percy up. He didn’t cry; Luke never cried, not even when they’d been on the streets, but he did lean into her as much as he could. She lay her head against his as he continued explaining.

“It’s just… she made it sound so real, Thals. She made it sound like I could actually rest. I haven’t been able to do that since I ran from home.” He looked up at her for a moment. “I’m not sure how you managed to hold yourself so well.”

Thalia found her answer quickly. “I never really had a moment to rest. Not even when I was with my mom.” She’d told him about Beryl Grace before. He nodded in understanding as he moved his free arm around her back. “And when we got to camp, you did end up deciding to take on the role of the older sibling more than I did. Probably why the idea of getting to feel a mother’s love again hit you so hard.”

Luke shrugged. “Maybe. Still a bit embarrassing that I couldn’t break out of her spell even after Percy killed her.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask. How did Percy manage to get you to break out of that?” Thalia had been surprised at how easily Luke broke out as soon as Percy started crying. She had a feeling she knew why, but she wanted to hear it from Luke.

His answer didn’t disappoint her. 

“I’ve never seen him cry before. Something in me just screamed at me to protect him when he did.” Luke took a deep breath as he sat up straight to look Thalia in the eye. “I guess you could say I might have decided to be his hero.”

Thalia nodded. The way Luke spoke about him when they were still at that private school showed that much. There was still something that needed answering. 

“Why though? You’re not one to get attached to people this quickly this much. What’s so different about Percy?”

Had it been her, she could easily see herself getting that attached to Percy. In some ways, it was like looking at Jason again but with different hair. But mostly, it was for the reason she figured Luke got so attached to him.

“He reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age.” Luke turned back to look at Percy’s sleeping form. “Lost, scared, not sure what to do. Hoping for someone to help him. I couldn’t help it I guess.”

Thalia hummed in agreement as she brought a hand to Percy’s furrowed eyebrows. She smoothed them out as he seemed to relax.

“Looks like he’s having a nightmare,” Thalia noted as Luke nodded. “Think it’ll be a useful one?”

Luke shrugged. “We’ll ask him when he wakes up.”

The two of them gently picked Percy up and moved him into the emporium. In the back, Medusa had thankfully had a couch they could put him on as they found a place to rest. This quest was shaping up to be harder than either of them had expected, but she had faith that they’d make it out.

Percy’s nightmare was about what he’d come to expect.

It started normally enough, the usual promises of safety from the Voice, the sea and the sky seemingly fighting, and so many people screaming. He didn’t know what any of it was supposed to mean, but it was starting to get to him.

About halfway through the dream though, things shifted. Suddenly, he was back at his apartment. He could tell that from the beer cans strewn all over the floor. There were dirty clothes thrown over the couches, and the smell of smoke filled his nose quicker than he’d seen Travis Stoll fall off the lava wall.

Yep, home sweet home alright.

He looked around, hoping to find his mother, hoping for some comfort. Instead, he found Gabe at the poker table, which was the opposite of that.

“Took you long enough to get here, Brain Boy. Why don’t you make yourself useful and grab me a beer.”

Gabe stared directly at him, the promise of punishment if he refused to obey him. He went to the kitchen to grab him a beer before things got bad. When he got back, his mom was there and Gabe wasn’t sitting at the table.

“You took too long, punk.” Gabe was holding her by the arm tightly. His eyes promised pain. “You know what that means.”

Percy wanted to shout, to scream, to fight back, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move as Gabe brought his fist up high. He couldn’t move when he brought it down to Sally’s face. He couldn’t move when his mom fell to the floor. He couldn’t move when Gabe went to go again.

“You see, young one?” The Voice came back, washing over Percy as the apartment faded into nothing. He was brought in front of a pit. “Your Father left you with that man, correct? He let your mother marry someone like him instead of doing anything to help. What purpose could that have had?”

Percy couldn’t answer. Gabe was an awful man, to put it mildly, and the fact that Poseidon left them with him didn’t make any sense. Percy had heard so many good things from his mom, so why were they left alone with Gabe?

“Worry not, child. There is a way out.” The Voice washed over him, filling the room. “There is always another way.”

Percy wasn’t sure what he’d say if he were there longer, but thankfully he wasn’t. His dream shifted all of a sudden back to camp. It was the day after he’d been claimed when Thalia promised that she wouldn’t turn against him after he’d been claimed. He hadn’t told her how much it meant to him at the time, but looking back, he had a feeling she knew.

After that, he had trouble remembering his dream. It was just the usual garbled mess until he woke up.

Luke was the one shaking him awake in the morning. “Rise and shine, buddy.” He slowly got up and noticed it was daytime now. They were inside the emporium, Percy noted, and he was on the couch. 

He looked around for Thalia, finding her sitting at the booth. She turned to him and gave him a small smile. “Doing alright, Kelpy?”

He nodded, slowly remembering the night before. His eyes widened as he shot to his feet. “Medusa’s head!”

“Easy there, champ.” Luke put a hand on his shoulder. “We handled it while you were asleep. The head should be with Chiron now. He’ll know what to do with it.”

Percy nodded, relaxing a bit. He then remembered what happened the night before, and he looked up at Luke. “You alright?”

Luke looked at him for a moment before his eyes cleared. “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it. I guess Medusa really got me.”

“Probably just wanted you specifically, you know?” Thalia smirked. “You are quite the catch.”

Percy wasn’t sure what Thalia was talking about, but Luke flushed red. “Shut up.”

This is weird . Percy decided it would be better to ignore all that.

He went to the back while Luke and Thalia traded barbs to check if Medusa had any supplies the two missed.

It seemed they focused on sleeping more than anything else because the back room was filled to the brim with important things. He found a safe with about a hundred golden drachmas in it, a book that listed all the mythological hotspots in the country, and a bunch of receipts for deliveries to a spot in Los Angeles called DOA Recording Studios, apparently, it was the entrance to the Underworld.

He grabbed everything he could and went back to the front where he found Luke pinning Thalia to the ground. They looked like they were wrestling or something. Whatever it was, neither one of them managed to stop laughing.

Thalia turned and saw Percy standing there and the smile dropped. Luke followed her gaze and suddenly looked very awkward.

Percy just shook his head. “I don’t want to know.”

They nodded and got up, neither one of them meeting his eyes. He sighed and told them what he found in the back.

Thalia tilted her head when he mentioned DOA. “It sounds familiar. I think I heard something about it when I lived there.”

“You lived in California?” Percy perked up at that, but Thalia’s face morphed into anger for a moment, so Percy dropped it.

“Anyway,” Luke took over from there. “We have a destination on our hands now, so we can focus on that next.” He turned to Percy, looking concerned. “Before that, though, mind telling us about your dreams, Percy?”

Percy blinked, confused. That came out of nowhere and he wasn’t entirely sure why. Thalia flicked Luke on the forehead. “Did you at any point tell him about demigod dreams, Luke?”

“Demigod dreams?” Percy tilted his head, even more confused now.

Luke blushed a bit. “Must’ve slipped my mind.”

Thalia shook her head. “Dumbass.” 

She then turned to Percy and told him about how a lot of the time, especially on quests, demigods tended to get dreams that gave them information about either the quest or something they could use, almost like a prophetic dream. She also explained how they tend to be more like nightmares and Percy looked like he was having a nightmare last night.

“Ah,” That did explain why he kept having some of the weirdest dreams he’d had in a while.

He figured it wouldn’t hurt to tell them. Despite the Oracle’s warning that one of his friends would betray him, he didn’t see how telling them about his dreams would matter in that sense.

He didn’t bring up the dream with Gabe, though. He wasn’t ready to talk about that one.

The two of them looked worried. “The sea and sky fighting would be my Dad and yours fighting, but that voice…” Thalia trailed off, looking confused. “I’m not too sure who it could be.”

Luke was quiet, looking at Percy closely. Thalia noticed and poked him in the side. “Something you wanna say?” Luke didn’t react.

When he finally spoke, he was dead serious. “You said the voice was promising you things?” Percy nodded. “Those things, were they anything about power or glory?”

Percy shook his head. “It just told me that everything was going to be alright and that I can trust it.”

Luke’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “I might know what’s going on, but I’d rather be sure. Just keep in mind, Percy, don’t trust whoever it is in your dreams.”

With that bit of reassurance, they got up and prepared to move further west. Luke had found an Amtrak not too far from them that’d take them to about Denver, which should help cover the distance to California. Percy just hoped they’d make it in time.

Chapter Text

The Amtrak ride was somehow both more fun and more boring than Percy had expected.

On the one hand, he got to see so many amazing sights on the way to Denver. He’d later learned that Medusa’s spot was somewhere in New Jersey, so he had a decently long trip to look forward to. He saw large fields of grain, hills in the distance, and even more of the real world that he’d missed while at camp.

He even managed to catch sight of a herd of centaurs. He brought them to Luke and Thalia’s attention, and the youngest centaur waved back at them. They waved back as the herd moved, seemingly hunting. No one else on the Amtrak noticed.

He even caught the sight of a massive lion in the distance, though it disappeared before Percy could show it to his friends.

On the other hand, there wasn’t much to do but wait. He tried to amuse himself on the road, but it wasn’t easy. Sitting still had never been possible for him, and being cooped up on a long trip like this didn’t help.

They’d spent about a day and a half or so on the train before it stopped in St. Louis. The conductor said they’d be staying there for about three hours as Luke shook Thalia awake.

He turned to Percy then. “More nightmares?” 

Percy nodded. The Voice had come back to his dreams again, with more promises of the same. This time though, it reminded him of the prophecy’s line about a friend betraying him. He didn’t want to think either one of them would turn on him, but he couldn’t help his worry.

Thalia was still sleeping. From experience, Percy knew that she could be a deep sleeper, but it was getting almost comical. Luke was shaking her but she didn’t even budge. He sighed and turned to Percy.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this.”

He looked around to make sure everyone had stepped off the Amtrak before turning to Percy. “Might want to move to the other side, Percy. This isn’t going to go too smoothly.”

Percy obliged and moved around to the other side. Luke then put a hand on Thalia’s shoulder before speaking, clear as day. “Thalia, you need to get up; Hedge needs help delivering another satyr baby.”

Speeding like a bolt of lightning, Thalia got up and ran out of the train before Percy could process what had happened. He turned to Luke. “Should we-”

“Give it a minute.” Was all Luke said.

Sure enough, soon after, Thalia stomped her way back to Luke and aggressively jabbed a finger at his chest. “You piece of shit.”

Luke just smiled. “And?”

Thalia sighed. “You know I’ll get back at you for this, right?” 

Luke shrugged and Thalia just shook her head with a smile. “Idiot.” She turned to Percy. “Can you believe this guy?”

“Hey, don’t try to turn him against me.” 

“Who’s trying? Give me a week and he’ll forget all about you.”

Percy thought it would be a good idea to leave the train at that point.

They made their way to the city as they discussed what they should do next. They had three hours in St. Louis and none of them wanted to stay on the train for that time.

Percy saw the Arch in the distance. “Kind of looks like a shopping bag handle.”

Thalia looked at it and snorted. “You know what, you got a point.”

Luke shook his head. “What, you want to go check it out?”

“No,” Thalia’s response was short and tense. Luke grimaced and seemed to squeeze Thalia’s hand in apology who nodded back. Percy wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“So, no Arch.” Percy looked around hoping to find something interesting. “Is there a park around here we could go to?”

Luke nodded. “The Citygarden Sculpture Park. I don’t think it’s too far from here, we should be able to go there and make it back here in time for the Amtrak to leave.”

He led the two of them to the park as Percy kept glancing at Thalia. The way she’d refused to go on the Arch was odd. He didn’t particularly like the idea of going up the Arch in the first place, he imagined it was pretty cramped at the top and the idea of being that high up in the air didn’t appeal to him all that much in the first place. It appealed even less after Chiron told him it’d be a bad idea to go into Zeus’s domain at the moment.

But he didn’t get why Thalia was so vehement against going up the Arch. Evidently, he wasn’t as subtle as he thought he was, because Thalia shot him a smile.

“Don’t worry about it too much, Percy. I’m just not a big fan of heights.”

Percy slowly nodded even though that didn’t make too much sense at first. He figured she’d have had a reason for that, so he didn’t ask.

They reached the Park soon after, and after getting in, Percy was practically set loose to explore everything he could find. 

He spent some time at the fountains, wondering if he could control the water a bit. He decided to give it a try as he willed the fountain to go higher. It worked quite well, though Luke later would say it worked too well as he was splashed head to toe. Thalia laughed the whole way as one of the Park’s security came to check up on Luke.

They assured him that something like this had never happened before and that they’d ensure it never happened again. They offered him a change of clothes and a towel as Thalia and Percy were holding back their laughter at Luke’s clear irritation with the guards.

Other than that, Percy found himself admiring the sculptures. He figured if his mom had been with him, she’d have told him about each one’s significance and history. He had a feeling Annabeth would’ve known as well, maybe even knowing some secret history about each one.

It was while he was admiring these sculptures that this older lady appeared near him. “Enjoying your time, dear?”

Percy nodded, turning to look at her. She was a tall woman, with beady eyes and a little chihuahua in her arms that snarled at him. It quickly started barking and growling at him.

“Hush now, Sonny. No need to be angry at this fine young man.” 

“Sonny. Is that his name?” Percy tilted his head. 

“No,” The lady answered, leaving him more confused than before.

They stood in silence for a bit longer, only the growls of the dog breaking it. Finally, she broke the silence. “It’s not often that one as young as you appreciates art such as this.”

“My mom talked a lot about sculptures. I figured I should check them out.” Percy was starting to get worried. He looked around for Luke or Thalia, but they were nowhere to be found.

“Such devotion to your parent.” The lady cooed. “I’m sure you are a child anyone can be proud of.”

Percy turned back to her as the dog barked even louder. “Is he alright?”

She smiled and nodded. “Oh, he’s perfectly fine, dear. Simply hungry.” She turned to the dog and spoke to it gently. “Hush now, dearest. You’ll get your lunch soon enough, don’t worry.”

But the dog kept growling. It never stopped staring at Percy either. Its eyes were too intelligent for a normal chihuahua too.

“Fine, son. If you insist.” The lady set the dog down.

“Uh, did you just call that chihuahua your son?” Percy stepped back slowly.

“Chimera, dear. It’s an easy mistake to make.” The lady smiled. “You should be honored, Percy Jackson. It is not often that Lord Zeus allows me to test a new hero with one of my brood.” She tilted her head at him. “You might want to run now, dear.”

He took another step back as the dog started to grow. First to the size of a Doberman, then to the size of a lion, then an elephant, then even bigger. It was a massive beast, looking to be about the height of a dinosaur skeleton while being as wide as a barn door. It had the body of a lion with a goat’s head popping out from behind it, spewing flames as it breathed. Its tail was a snake that had its sights set directly on Percy.

The lion head snarled at him, showing its fangs, each maybe the size of Riptide. Its claws looked more like daggers, ready to rip him to shreds. This monster made the hellhound that almost killed him look like a puppy.

The lady smirked at him. “Well, I will leave you two to get acquainted with each other. Try not to cause too much of a mess, will you dear?”

The lion head growled and the goat head blasted a column of fire into the air, startling a few people around them. Percy thought he saw a few people staring in terror as if they knew what they were looking at.

“Good boy.” She patted the monster on its side and turned to Percy. “No need to worry about your friends, I’m sure they’ll manage just fine without you. After all, you aren’t the first friend whose death they’ll have gotten over..” 

Percy didn’t know what she meant by that but she didn’t leave him a moment to think. “Well then, I must be off now. Have fun, darling.” She turned and left the two as the Chimera lept at Percy. He rolled under it and started running. There was no way he could fight this thing on his own. He couldn’t think about what she said. He needed to find Luke and Thalia.

As he ran, the monster cut him off at every turn, either by jumping over him or breathing a column of fire his way. The fire burned some of the trees down, but Percy couldn’t focus on that. He had to find his friends if he was going to survive.

Before he could make it too far, the snake tail wrapped itself around his leg and threw him over to the fountain. He landed hard on his back in the middle of the water, which brought him to his feet almost immediately. He stood and looked at the monster again. He wasn’t going to be able to find help, so he’d have to find a way to survive.

He stayed in the fountain. The water was his only advantage at the moment. Whatever the mortals saw, it seemed like it made them decide to leave, as he was alone with the monster now. That made his fight easier. He didn’t want to have to worry about everyone around him.

The monster lept at him again and he rolled under it, aiming a slash at its stomach. The cut didn’t do much besides anger the monster though, as it sent another volley of fire at Percy. He jumped away from the blast, but that sent him back to the ground. He was cut off from the water.

He felt his energy sap away as he struggled to his feet. The monster was too strong. He couldn’t beat it. He couldn’t even survive against it. This was the end for him.

It seemed to know that as well, approaching him slowly as if it were savoring its victory. He hadn’t noticed the scaly legs before, but it made the beast even more intimidating than ever.

There wasn’t much Percy could do now. He raised Riptide and pulled out the dagger Annabeth had given him, hoping to at least hurt the Chimera in his final stand.

That was when Percy noticed storm clouds gathering above them. The Chimera didn’t seem to notice as the goat head turned to him ready to spew flames again. Before it managed, a bolt of lightning arched its way down to blast it away from him, knocking it several feet back.

“Percy! Run!” Thalia had jumped in from behind him ready to fight. The monster let out a deafening roar as it got back to its feet. It did flinch away from Thalia’s shield but that didn’t stop its charge.

Percy figured it’d be a good idea to follow Thalia’s advice. He looked around for Luke only to find him in the air, looking like he was shadow-fighting. He didn’t have much time to think about that.

He bolted from the fight. If he had to guess, the Chimera was another level-ten threat. It seemed even more dangerous than Medusa was, though it was hard to compare the two.

He couldn’t get two steps away without getting a blast of fire his way though. As much as Thalia tried to keep the monster busy, it always managed to break out and find its way to him, either with a volley of fire or a swipe of its tail. It was destroying the park with every movement, either burning the trees down, breaking the sculptures, or ripping through the hedges. It seemed laser-focused on him.

The few times he turned back to see the fight, he noticed that it seemed to mostly ignore Thalia, who was looking back at Luke worriedly, only batting her away for the most part. That was, at least, until Thalia managed to cut off the Chimera’s tail before hitting the goat's head with a bolt of lightning.

“I think you made it mad!” Percy yelled back as he took in the destruction. The park had been flattened, becoming unrecognizable from what it was before. The trees were all on fire, and smoke beginning to fill the area. Percy had a feeling the fire department would be called soon. At least, he hoped so.

They needed to get out of the park if they were going to stay conscious enough to fight it. 

Even among that, Luke was still not paying any attention to the fight. With half a moment to breathe, Percy wondered what Luke was doing at the moment. He was still wildly swinging his sword as he zoomed through the air, going through nothing, looking terrified about something. He looked back at the Chimera and went back to running.

The Chimera hadn’t slowed down, still barrelling towards him, though it started paying more attention to Thalia as it did. Losing its tail didn’t seem to lessen how deadly it was, as it still tore the entire park apart doing so while also cutting off her offense.

Percy kept running. He couldn’t stop. If he did, then they were done for. For one, the Chimera would rip him to shreds, and two, it’d focus completely on fighting at that point, which would make the fight even harder than before.

Reaching the end of the park, he ran into the street. Hopefully, the mortals around would slow the Chimera down.

“What the fuck is that!” Apparently not. He didn’t dare turn around to see what was going on. Not when the screams reached his ears, not when the smoke hit his nose, not even when he heard a building fall. He kept his eyes trained on the Arch. He remembered there being a river nearby. Maybe he could use that to his advantage.

The beast’s roar chilled him to the bone, but he didn’t stop. He kept running until he got to his destination. The Arch was a lot bigger up close than he’d expected, seeming to reach up to the sky. It was like Olympus had designed it so that Zeus could pull St. Louis out of the country easily should the need arise.

Another roar deafened him and he couldn’t help but turn to look. This time, the monster was charging straight at Luke who was still fighting his imaginary foe. Luke managed to get out of the way, but the building behind him, the Old Courthouse if the screaming mortals were anything to go by, didn’t get so lucky.

The Chimera barrelled into it with reckless abandon, leaving nothing of it intact. Percy saw the debris flying all over the place, barely missing everyone around it if they were lucky. The streets had been mostly cleared, thankfully, though that likely meant that the police were on their way, and Percy really didn’t want to be a part of that when it happened.

He decided he’d run enough. If he kept going, the monster would just keep destroying the city, and it’d already done enough of that. He could just about feel the river behind him, having made it halfway between the Arch and it. He’d stand his ground here.

The Chimera seemed to have noticed that as it turned to run towards him. Thalia called a lightning bolt at it which distracted it for a moment. Turning to the daughter of Zeus, it set off another column of fire that Thalia dodged as the Chimera kept trying to hit her with it. During all that, the Chimera managed to tear through the bottom of the Arch, breaking a hole through the side. 

It gave up on that as it charged straight at Thalia, making the hole through the foot of the Arch even bigger. Percy watched in horror as it started swaying back and forth, seemingly about to topple.

Thalia noticed that as well as she seemed to gather up all her power for one massive attack. With a defiant yell, she called a bolt of lightning to strike the Chimera with all she had. The beast was singed and battered but still somehow standing, just barely, which was more than what could be said for Thalia. 

She collapsed right after, so she’d be out of the fight. The Chimera seemed to notice that as it slowly approached her, seeming ready to end its fight. He couldn’t let that happen.

“Hey! Sonny!” He’d hoped the Chimera’s hearing was better than a human’s so that would get its attention. Either it did or seemed to think that Thalia wasn’t as appetizing a snack, but it turned to glare at him, deciding that Thalia could wait. 

Father, help me .

Percy began trying to call the river to help him. It’d be the first time he intentionally tried something like this, so he hoped it worked. He imagined the whole river answering his call. He briefly wondered what this must have looked like to the mortals around him. Going from a clear, cloudless day, to bolts of lightning dropping suddenly, to the river itself now rising to swallow parts of the city.

Wait… the river’s rising?

Turning back, sure enough, the river had risen high up and was barrelling towards him. The Chimera noticed this as well, seemingly going wide-eyed at the prospect of having to deal with a sudden tidal wave. The last thing Percy saw before the wave hit them was Luke deciding to break off from whatever he was fighting to grab Thalia and fly as high as he could to avoid the wave. After that, the river swallowed both him and the Chimera.

Percy saw the Chimera take a massive blow from the wave. It seemed to get absolutely battered as it got thrown around by the torrent. The wave pulled them both into the river as it continuously fought against the monster, dragging it downstream, far away from Percy. 

He settled at the bottom of the river as he tried to catch his breath. The first thing he noticed was that he was that the river didn’t seem to be fighting him like it did the Chimera. He could feel the water ebbing and flowing around him as it seemed to welcome him in its embrace.

The second thing he noticed was that he was completely dry. It was like the river didn’t touch him at all.

The third thing he noticed was that he was breathing. That probably should have been the first thing he noticed, but he was a bit too busy to pay attention to that. It seemed like a minor issue at first, but thinking about it, it was probably a good thing.

He got up and looked around. There was no sign of the Chimera left, which was good. He wasn’t sure if it was still alive or not, but at least he wouldn’t have to worry about it. He then thought about what happened during the fight. He didn’t catch much of it, but what he did notice didn’t look good.

One fight had leveled an entire chunk of the city. The park was burned to ashes, likely even more wrecked than he realized. He didn’t even want to think about what happened to the Arch after that tidal wave. It was already in a bad way before that happened, and it was massive. Although, strictly speaking, the wave alone would’ve been bad enough without the Arch already being damaged.

Percy sat down, dejected. They’d leveled a decent chunk of the city, destroying a national monument while endangering who knows how many lives. What was the point if all they’d lead to was death and destruction? How can they call themselves heroes after this? 

“You need not fret, young one.” A gentle voice called to him from the side. When he turned, he saw a breathtaking woman with long flowing black hair and some sort of crab claws as horns. “You have done an admirable job with what you were given.”

She radiated a calm grace, looking more regal than anyone Percy had ever met. He bowed, figuring he was dealing with a queen of some kind, so he’d best play his cards right.

“You may rise, dear one.” When he looked up, he thought he saw a hint of a smile. “My time here is short, young one. With the level of pollution this river is at, I can not stay long. Meet me at Santa Monica Beach. I have a message from your father. And remember, beware the gifts.”

She left immediately, leaving Percy alone with a catfish about the size of Gabe. She’d said he did an admirable job with what he was given, but he didn’t know whether he believed that. Even then, it did give him some confidence back, enough to at least leave the river.

As he emerged, his heart sank. The Arch had fallen over onto the city behind it, crushing many buildings below. He didn’t know what the casualties would have looked like as a result. He only hoped that the civilians had evacuated during the fight.

He didn’t find anyone around him, so that gave him some hope that there might have been few casualties. Human lives at the very least, considering the fact that he could count how many buildings were left unharmed on one hand. He moved forward, stepping over the broken glass from all the windows shattered, staring in horror at the rising fire in the distance. The entire park had been turned into a raging inferno, with very few trees being unburned. They were, of course, ripped from their roots and seemingly thrown aside, almost like they were used as battering rams.

He noticed what looked like law enforcement in the distance making their way to the scene and he bolted. He couldn’t be seen around this wreckage. With his luck, he’d be blamed for it just like with the canon back in fifth grade.

He wasn’t sure which way he was going until he ran straight past a destroyed building on the way he’d come to the Arch. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it looked important. 

Turning another way, he kept running until he ran straight into someone. He was about to apologize when a familiar voice called.

“Percy!” Luke grabbed him and pulled him into an alleyway close by. Percy was too relieved to question what was going on. He trusted Luke. Even after seeing him fighting nothing, he couldn’t shake his trust in Luke. He had a feeling there was a reason behind that; he’d ask about it later.

Luke led Percy to where Thalia was sitting down. She looked tired but conscious again, so that was a plus.

“Hey, Kelpy. Doing alright?” She sounded incredibly tired, almost like each word took everything she had to say.

Percy nodded, sitting right beside her and leaning his head on her shoulder. With Luke saying he needed to go scout ahead, he figured he’d keep Thalia some company. 

“So, what’d you think of your first level ten?” Thalia asked him as she dropped her head on his.

“I think I’d rather be in school.” She laughed as she slung an arm around his shoulder. 

“Well, that is generally what a level ten feels like.” Her voice turned serious after that. “Luke told me about the big tidal wave that hit. Wanna tell me what happened?”

Percy shrugged. “I’m not sure. I know I called a bit of water, but I didn’t think that much would show up. I didn’t even feel anything like that when it showed up. It was almost like someone else had called it.”

Thalia hummed. “We’ll talk about it later then. For now, we should get ready to move. The Amtrak leaves soon, and we need to get back on track for the quest.”

Percy nodded. It’d been somewhere between two and a half to three days since they’d left camp as far as he knew. Assuming the three-hour wait the Amtrak was giving them was almost over, they’d be in Denver by the next day, which would be the fifteenth of the month, giving them six days to make it to the Underworld, retrieve the Bolt, and get it back to Zeus. He wasn’t sure if that was enough time, but they’d have to make it work.

When Luke came by to tell them the coast was clear, Thalia seemed to have recovered enough to get moving. They had to keep their heads down and make it quickly to make sure they didn’t get caught, which was harder than they’d made it look. Along the way, Percy heard that one of the buildings knocked over was the Wainwright Building, whatever that was.

They finally made it to the Amtrak where Percy explained more about what happened with his fight with the Chimera. By the end of it, they both agreed it’d be a good idea to see what Poseidon wanted.

“Santa Monica isn’t too far out of our way,” Luke reasoned. “We should manage to get there and make it to the Underworld in time.”

And with that, the Amtrak got moving as they went far from St. Louis. Percy had a feeling they’d need to keep their heads low after that. At least until they figured out a way to keep from being wanted criminals.

As it stood though, they needed to get to Denver first. He just hoped they’d be able to make it there without much issue.

Chapter Text

The rest of the trip to Denver was thankfully uneventful. At least, it was from a monster attack sense.

He’d managed to explain to Luke and Thalia what happened before the Chimera had started attacking him, with Luke identifying that the monster’s mother was Echidna. When Percy asked if that was a sort of anteater, Thalia just laughed as Luke turned beet red.

“For future reference, kiddo, don’t call her that unless you want to piss her off,” Thalia said in between laughs as she poked Luke in the side.

After that, it was their turn to explain their side of the story. About halfway through their stay at the park, they’d split up for a quick moment, each one of them attracted by a different part of the park. Percy had gone off to the nearby sculptures while Thalia went to a nearby bench as Luke was changing after the fountain fiasco.

They hadn’t noticed how far they’d been split up until it was too late. It took them a moment to find each other, and by that point, Echidna had apparently manipulated the Mist to make them think they were fighting a warrior of no equal. To hear them describe it, it went beyond even a ten on their scale. Any attack they tried was countered, any strike used against them. It was like the warrior knew what they were going to do before they even did.

When they noticed the Chimera attacking Percy, Luke had told Thalia to go off and fight the monster, thinking he’d need to stay behind so that she could help Percy. Percy felt something lodge itself in his throat as he heard Luke prioritize saving him to winning his fight. Luke had thought taking to the air would be an advantage, but it turned out that the warrior could also fly. Luke couldn’t land a single hit.

It wasn’t until Percy had called the tidal wave that Luke even considered breaking off. When he grabbed Thalia, he was moving on autopilot, and the wave had washed the illusion away.

“I can’t think of anyone other than Echidna who could come up with an illusion that strong,” Luke mentioned. Thalia seemed to agree with him, but she looked annoyed that she’d fallen for it anyway.

Percy nodded. He’d figured there was a reason why Luke was flying around like a kite without a string instead of fighting the Chimera, but to hear him explain that he’d been fighting while convinced he wouldn’t win for no reason other than to make sure Percy survived had Percy even more conflicted about the prophecy than before.

However, that did bring up a question Percy had. “Flying shoes?”

Luke nodded. “A gift from Dad. Useful, right?” Percy had to admit, that was pretty cool.

After that, they all decided to take a quick nap before they made it to Denver. They didn’t know when the next time they’d be able to sleep was, so they figured it’d be best to make use of the time they had.

Percy’s dream had been as turbulent as ever. The Voice was back, this time reminding him of something Echidna had mentioned before she set the Chimera at him. She’d mentioned a friend Luke and Thalia lost before. 

“Even now, they refuse to speak of him,” The Voice told him. “He more than any was their saving grace, and yet they ignore his death as it suites them.”

He heard a scream, an arrow loose, a heartbeat stop. 

“His name has yet to be spoken. Ponder on that, young one. Think beyond what you are told.”

When he woke up, they’d finally made it to Denver. They still had all their supplies, including the money, which made the Iris Message they were about to send much easier.

They found an empty car wash and ducked in. They had a few quarters on hand which they used to set the pump off to create a rainbow. 

Thalia fished out a drachma from her bag and turned to the rainbow. “Oh, Iris. Please accept my offering.”

She tossed the drachma into the rainbow as it shimmered. “Chiron, Camp Half-Blood.”

The mist shimmered as it showed the face of the old centaur, looking visibly disgruntled. 

“Chiron!” Percy couldn’t help exclaim. Seeing his old teacher again filled him with happiness.

Chiron turned to them and seemed to relax slightly. “Ah, Percy. It is good to see you again. Where are Luke and Thalia?”

“Right here, Chiron.” Luke popped his head from around where he was holding the nozzle of the water pump and Thalia draped herself over Percy’s shoulders. He didn’t even have it in him to pretend to be annoyed. Having Thalia essentially hugging him was nice. 

“Good. I am glad you are all… relatively alright.” Chiron took note of how they looked, which Percy imagined was quite rough. On top of that, the old centaur probably picked up on their exhaustion. “Is there any reason in particular you called?”

They launched into an explanation of what happened with Echidna, the Chimera, and St. Louis. Chiron nodded grimly. He seemed to already have heard of that. “The news has already started reporting on a massive terrorist attack on the city of St. Louis. Hundreds injured, thousands displaced, with an unknown number of potential casualties. I had hoped you had managed to evacuate the population before the fighting started.”

Luke nodded. “We managed a bit of it before Echidna sprung her trap. I think the mortals followed our plan, but you know.” He shrugged. “It can be hard to convince them of what they don’t believe in.”

Chiron nodded as Percy shifted from foot to foot. He figured Luke didn’t mean to sound condescending when he said mortals, but he couldn’t help but hear it.

Chiron seemed to have noticed that but didn’t comment as Luke went on. “So, we were kind of hoping if you had anything you could do to help with the whole wanted fugitive problem.”

Chiron grimaced at that. “Unless you have a culprit you can pin the blame on immediately, I am afraid the best I can offer is keeping the authorities confused on the matter. Even the Mist has its limits.”

Luke nodded. “Anything that helps. We’ve already got enough on our plates to worry about as is.”

Chiron nodded. “I will see what I can do. Is there anything else you would like to relay?”

Percy stepped up. “I’ve been having a few dreams too.” He went over most of his dreams, leaving out the most recent one. He didn’t want to think about that one just yet. Chiron looked pensive at hearing about the Voice.

“You say it seems to be trying to tell you something you do not quite understand?” Percy nodded as Chiron’s face took on a mask of calm. “I would recommend you take caution with these dreams, Percy. You do not want to approach them lightly.”

Percy nodded as he considered Chiron’s words. He had a feeling the Voice was telling part of the truth, which made him worried about what the truth looked like. As it stood, he didn’t want to think about it.

Thalia stepped in after that. “How’s camp going Chiron? You looked a bit tired when we called.”

Chiron sighed. “The Hunters are getting more difficult by the day.” There was a collective sigh at that as Chiron chuckled. “Yes, exactly. In addition to that, the rest of the campers are growing tenser the longer they stay. On top of that, there is the slight issue of the Bolt’s theft creating even more tension among everyone. Keeping them in line is not easy.”

Percy figured that made sense, though it made him wonder exactly what the annoying Hunters had been doing since they’d left. Without Luke or Thalia there to keep the peace, it didn’t sound good.

“Well, if that is all, I should be going now. I believe Phoebe has caused another issue that needs to be resolved. A massive shock, I know.” He gave a small smirk at that. “I wish you the best of luck on your quest.”

With that, they cut the message. Percy stood in the lot, stomach emptier than Thalia’s patience reserves. Luke turned to him. “Sounds like you’re hungry then. How about we go grab some food and maybe we can talk about what’s bothering you so much.”

Percy blinked at him. “What makes you think there’s something bothering me?”

Luke smiled. “I know you, Perce. Now come on, I think even Hades heard how hungry you are right now.”

They changed up their clothes, using the change they’d brought with them, and hoped that it’d be enough to not get them kicked out of whatever diner they stepped into. They found one nearby and went in, sitting at one of the booths when a waitress showed up. She looked at Luke and immediately broke out into a big smile.

“So, what can I get you!” She sounded a bit weird while talking and for whatever reason Thalia was glaring right at her. Luke gave the waitress a smile as he listed off their orders. Three cheeseburgers with fries they decided to go with.

“Well, if you need anything else, my name’s Ashley. Enjoy your meals!” She gave Luke one last look before leaving. He met Thalia’s eyes as she huffed and slumped into her chair. 

“Uh… what’s going on?” Percy looked between the two of them.

“Nothing,” they both said. Percy thought it’d be a good idea to leave it at that.

At that moment, Percy felt the earth rumble. He turned to the entrance of the diner and saw a massive motorcycle ride up to the entrance. The rider looked intimidating. If Luke looked like a soldier when he was scaring Gabe, this guy looked like war itself. He had battle scars all over and definitely had biceps to spare. He stood up and entered the room and everyone seemed to enter a trance. He waved and everyone went back to their meals. He strode to their table and pulled a chair to sit. He looked directly at Percy and smirked. 

“So, you’re Uncle’s kid then?” 

All of a sudden, Percy felt an intense anger. He wanted to fight the Biker sitting right in front of him. He wanted to punch something, preferably soon. Everything around him was angering him now. 

He felt angry enough to go to war. Angry enough to kill an entire army. He didn’t care when it happened, but he needed to get through with that.

“Oh, this one’s got a lot of anger in him then,” Biker Guy laughed. “At ease, soldier. There’s no war going on now.”

Percy immediately relaxed. He felt like he was at a campfire in between battles, which made him confused because he didn’t even know what that felt like. He suddenly felt tentatively relaxed, like he was resting for the next fight.

A God of Olympus was sitting at his table. That was the only explanation Percy could come up with. The question is, which one?

Biker Guy smirked. “Come on, cousin. You’re a smart kid. I’m sure you can work it out.”

Percy sat up straight as the answer came to mind. “You’re Clarisse’s dad. Ares, God of War.”

Ares nodded, satisfied. “Got it in one. I heard you and Clarisse don’t hate each other. Impressive of you, I’ve gotta admit.”

Percy just shrugged. “The Hunters seemed to help with that.”

Ares barked a laugh. “Yeah, they’d do that.” He turned to his friends quickly. “Castellan. Sister.”

They bowed their heads slightly and Percy copied their movements. The spike in anger at first made him forget who he was dealing with for a moment.

“Raise your heads. I don’t have much time and I’d rather get through this conversation in its entirety.”

Just then, the waitress came back. Her smile dropped as she saw Ares, face morphing into slight shock. Her smile came back soon after as she gave them their food. “I hope you enjoy your meals!” She made it sound like she was talking to everyone but she was looking specifically at Luke. She turned to Ares after that and pulled out a notepad. “Would you like to order, sir?”

Ares turned to her with a polite smile. “No need. I’m just here with them. You can put their meal on my tab. Under Warren Peace.”

“Of course! Enjoy your stay!” She gave Luke one last weird look at left. Thalia was glaring at her cheeseburger as Ares chuckled.

“Oh, Dite’s gonna have so much fun with you two.” He muttered quietly. Percy didn’t understand exactly, but neither Thalia nor Luke seemed to have heard. 

“So,” Percy decided he’d take over since Luke was shifting awkwardly in his seat and Thalia was stabbing the fries with her fork. “You said something about a conversation?”

Ares nodded. “I heard you were on a quest to find the Master Bolt. I have to say, I’m impressed with how far you’ve made it on your own, especially with all the obstacles in your way.”

Percy shifted in his seat. They’d destroyed a chunk of St. Louis on their way here. He didn’t think they were doing all that well.

Ares looked at him with a slight frown. “You did the best you could, kid. That monster was going to rip apart the city no matter who was fighting it. The fact that you beat it before it did worse was impressive. Don’t sell yourself short.”

Ares was praising him? Percy didn’t really know how to feel about that. Thankfully, he didn’t have to think about it for long as Ares continued talking. 

“This quest isn’t something easy after all. When Zeus learned the Bolt was stolen, Olympus’s best hunters went out to search for it. Apollo, Artemis, Athena, and I all went to try and find it. We didn’t manage to, of course, which brings us to our current situation.”

He turned to look directly at Percy. “You’re on a wild goose chase at the moment.” He raised a hand before Percy could continue. “Let me explain, kid. The Bolt is hidden at the moment and Poseidon is being framed for it. Oldest trick in the book, really, but it works. Someone wants to start a war between the Big Three, so pitting Zeus against Poseidon is the best start.” Ares’ tone grew distant. “A war like that would weaken Olympus, and whoever’s planning this is very cunning.”

His expression cleared as he continued. “Regardless, you three are in a bit of trouble as it stands. A nationwide manhunt is happening right now, looking for the ones responsible for the whole fiasco in St. Louis. While you three aren’t suspected yet, it’s only a matter of time before you get put on the list. That’ll make it almost impossible for you to make it to the Underworld in time, assuming you still want to go.”

Percy nodded. “So, are you here to help?” He asked hopefully. He wouldn’t say no to help at this point.

Ares wiggled his hand. “In a sense. I’m here to offer you a side quest in exchange for more supplies as well as a way west that won’t get you in any trouble.”

Percy grew cautious. “What’s the quest? We’re on a bit of a time crunch.” 

Ares nodded. “I know, which is why this shouldn’t take too long for you to finish. There’s an abandoned water park nearby where I was on… let’s say a date with my girlfriend. I left my shield there. Get it for me and you’ll get your ride.”

Percy took a look at Luke and Thalia. They were both quietly listening in. When they saw him looking, they nodded. He turned back to Ares. “We accept,”

Ares smirked. “Good. Now, enjoy your meals. I’ll be around this diner waiting to hear about your success.”

He stood and left them to their meal. Percy turned back to Luke and Thalia, who took on a more serious expression. 

Luke picked up his burger. “We should eat up and get ready. At least we now have a way to get west.”

Thalia nodded. She seemed a lot less angry now as she calmly ate her fries. “That does help us out a bit, I’ll admit. But why would Ares have left a shield behind in a water park?”

Luke grimaced. “I get the feeling when we find out, we’re not gonna like the answer.”

The water park looked abysmal.

Percy tried to rack his brain for why Ares would bring anyone on a date here. It was run down, looking as if it had been closed since it was built. The rides were broken, there was no one at the entrance, and Percy thought he could smell some electrical fire nearby.

“ This is where Ares goes on a date?” Percy couldn’t help but ask.

Thalia tilted her head. “He usually goes to out-of-the-way places to meet up with Aphrodite, but this… something doesn’t add up here.”

Percy blinked. “Aphrodite? She’s married to Hephaestus, right?”

Luke nodded. “Yes. I told you the story at camp, remember?”

Percy nodded. He remembered the story of Aphrodite, Ares, and Hephaestus, which is what made him ask.

“If Hephaestus keeps trying to catch Ares and Aphrodite, maybe that’s why Ares left the shield here because of something Hephaestus did.”

Luke considered that. “It’d make sense. We’ll have to be on guard in that case.”

They went into the park by climbing the fence, holding apart the barbed wire at the top for each other to move. Luke could have used his shoes to fly, but after his fight with the Mist creation from Echidna, he wanted to stay grounded unless necessary.

They walked into the park, taking in the whole place, looking for where Ares could have the shield. All they found were various abandoned rides with names that would have been laughed out of the middle school ironic comedy club.

At one point, he saw a gift shop that was supposed to sell a bunch of clothes themed for the park, but looking at them made his eyes hurt with how loud they were. He was glad they had packed fresh changes of clothes, otherwise, he’d be walking around looking like those gaudy billboards on the streets advertising some kind of skin care treatment that wouldn’t work.

They kept looking until Percy noticed something. “Hey, guys. This way.”

He led them to a big empty pool that seemed to be the end of a ride called The Thrill Ride O’ Love: This Is Not Your Parents’ Tunnel of Love.

Percy looked at it for a moment before violently ejecting the thought of his mom with anyone. He didn’t want to think about that.

“So,” Percy asked, desperately trying to move on from his thoughts. “There’s the shield down there.”

The shield looked pretty big from where he was, but it was hard to tell from where he was. Percy knew it couldn’t be as easy as going in and out, but they had few other options.

“Well, I’d say two of us should go down there and one of us should stay up here,” Luke suggested. “We’ll need backup in case anything goes wrong.”

Percy nodded. “How about you two go down and I stay up here?”

They looked at him with blank faces. Percy shifted as he tried to explain. “Well, it’s a water ride, right? I figured maybe being out of the trap if it springs would be better for me to be able to help from up here…” He trailed off as they seemed to look more contemplative.

Thalia ruffled his hair and he relaxed a bit. “Not a bad idea, kid. Come on, Luke. Let’s go.”

They went down to the bottom of the pool, laughing about something as they went down. They kept looking back at Percy for whatever reason. When they made it to the bottom of the pool, Luke grabbed a scarf that Thalia took from him quickly. She poked him in the side which seemed to make him jump a bit. He glared at her as she bumped his shoulder and they both laughed at something. Percy almost wished he could hear what they were saying, but he had a feeling it was better this way.

When they got to the shield, Luke knelt by it and started working on something. Thalia turned up to him and yelled out. “Luke found a tripwire! He’s working to get the shield free without having to deal with it!”

Percy gave her a thumbs up and waited. Percy noted that Luke was meticulous. That was evident even from where Percy was. Luke got to work immediately and seemed to find out how to break the tripwire without activating the trap. He pulled up the shield and then cussed out loud. 

“There was a pressure plate!” He yelled out. Quicker than Percy could comprehend, Cupid statues all around turned around and shot arrows with thin strings tied to them, weaving a net. The pool’s sides opened, setting a whole wave of metallic spiders out. Cameras turned to the boat and a voiceover saying they’ll be broadcast to Olympus sounded over the area.

Thalia and Luke got on the boat in the middle of the pool and got ready to fight. Percy ran to the controls of the ride and started turning a bunch of switches and hoped it’d work. “I’m gonna call a wave of water! Get ready!” 

They nodded as Percy got to work. Thalia started sparking and any spider that got near them was shocked. Percy figured that’d work for a few, but he’d need to get his part done before all the spiders made their way to the boat. Those were designed for Ares and Aphrodite. He didn’t want to know what they’d do to demigods.

Percy tried calling water into the ride. He imagined water from the Mississippi River making its way to Denver. He could feel a tug in his gut as hundreds of gallons of water made their way to the water park. 

“Luke! Thalia! Strap yourselves in!” They did so immediately, trusting his word without question. The idea should have shaken him, but for the moment, he focused on the massive amount of water bursting out of the pipes into the pool. 

The water washed away all the spiders, seemingly short-circuiting them as well. The water rushed and pushed the boat into a high-speed trajectory right into the park gates. He tried to will the water to slow down but he didn’t have enough control over that.

Thankfully, he didn’t need to worry about that. Luke unfastened his seat belt and turned to Thalia, telling her something that Percy couldn’t hear. He then grabbed her close and shot up into the air with the shield, flying with his shoes again. 

Thalia was holding Luke in a death grip, her head buried in his shoulder as he gently made his way to the floor. When he set her down, she didn’t let go of him. Percy gave them space as Luke held her and whispered something to her. She nodded and stepped back, staying close to Luke.

Percy walked up to her with a sudden realization. “You’re afraid of heights?” 

She turned to him with a guarded look on her face. “Yeah, what of it?”

Percy just blinked. “I didn’t think you’d be afraid of anything.”

She looked at him curiously. “Everyone’s afraid of something, kid.” She took a deep breath and started moving. “Come on. Let’s go. I’m just glad we got out before the cameras started rolling.”

Chapter Text

When they got back to the diner, Ares was waiting for them.

“I see you got my shield. Good.” Luke tossed the shield and Ares grabbed it, twirling it into a bulletproof vest. 

Percy couldn’t stop himself. “You knew it was a trap.”

Ares nodded. “I did. And so did you when you got there. I figured you could handle the little side quest just fine, and I was right. Besides, I can’t give you an easy quest for a reward like this.”

Percy grumbled but accepted that. At least, he did when Luke squeezed his shoulder. He didn’t like listening to most people, but with Luke it was different.

“So,” Luke took over. “You said something about a ride west?”

Ares nodded and pointed to an animal truck. The letters on the side were big and clear, making it a bit easier for Percy to read them. With some struggling, Percy saw they said Kindness International: Humane Zoo Transport. Warning: Live Wild Animals.

“That’s our ride?” Percy couldn’t help but ask.

Ares just nodded. “It’s one of the few ways you can make it west without much issue. The truck’s going to stop in Vegas first.” Ares’ gaze darkened quickly. “It’s also an animal smuggler truck, so whatever you want to do with it is up to you. If you could take it apart, it’d be good, but you’ll need to find another way west after that.”

Ares tossed a bag at them that Percy caught. “That should have everything you need. Your quest isn’t exactly something I’d say is doable, but if you’re insistent on completing it, you’re gonna need what’s in that.”

Percy took a look in the bag and found more snacks, some extra drachma, and what looked like an access pass at the bottom of it.

“What’s this for?” Percy pulled it out confused.

“An access pass to any exchange center for your drachma. Consider it an extra reward for getting my shield back without any damage to it.” Ares mounted the absolutely massive motorcycle and turned to them one last time. “I’d wish you luck, but you’re gonna need a lot more than just that to succeed.” 

He didn’t sound condescending to Percy with that last line, but he couldn’t think of what that meant. It didn’t matter all that much as they had to board the back of the truck soon before it started moving.

When they settled in, Percy could believe this was an animal smuggling truck considering the fact that the gazelle, zebra, and albino lion they had in the back were all kept in tiny cages, the zebra’s hair was matted with gum, the lion’s ribcage was visible, and the gazelle had a balloon tied around its neck.

“Kindness and humane, huh?” Thalia looked around in disgust. 

Luke looked visibly angry. “As soon as we reach Las Vegas, we’re freeing them. I don’t know how we’ll do it, but we can’t let them stay here.”

Percy agreed. This was just awful to look at. He didn’t understand how people could be like this.

He didn’t have much time to think about that, though, as the truck got moving and he had to sit quickly. Looking at the animals around them, they wanted to help them as best they could. They carefully cut the balloon off the gazelle and swapped the food trays around. The drivers had given the salad to the lion and some burgers to the other two.

When they were done, they tried relaxing as best they could. They’d made it to around the end of the fifteenth of June before they got into the truck. By the time they made it to Vegas, he had a feeling it’d be well into the sixteenth, giving them just about five days to complete their quest.

Luke noticed that as well. “Five days is enough to finish the quest as long as we’re careful. We’ll have to be quick when we get out.”

Thalia nodded. “Did that access pass have an address on it by any chance, Percy?” 

Percy quietly fished the pass as he read out the address. According to Thalia, it’s right in the middle of Vegas, so that helped. 

Now that he had a moment to think, he couldn’t help but remember Echidna and the Voice talking about Luke and Thalia’s friend. He wanted to trust them, but the idea that they just forgot a friend’s death was hard to ignore. He didn’t want to trust Echidna, but how much of that could be a lie? A demigod’s life is dangerous after all. He knew that well, so it didn’t surprise him that they had a friend die. But why didn’t they talk about them?

Luke noticed him brooding and poked his side gently. “Wanna talk at us, Perce?” 

Thalia shifted around to face him. They were both focused on whatever it looked like he was going to say, which made it a bit easier to find the words.

“Before Echidna left, she said something to me. Something that the Voice in my dreams brought up again.” He took a deep breath. “They said that you two had a friend that died. A friend who was very important to both of you. A friend neither one of you talks about.”

When he looked at them, they were silent. Pensive, almost. They just looked at the ground tensely, not seeming willing to say a word. 

Percy started rambling. “And I know they’re trying to get me to not trust you guys, which I don’t. I mean, I don’t not trust you- I mean, I… I trust you guys. I do, I just… I don’t know. I just wanted to-”

“Grover.” Thalia cut him off gently. “His name was Grover.”

Luke took over as he reached out to grab Thalia’s hand. “He’s the satyr who brought us to camp. Originally, he’d been sent to get only Thalia, but when she refused to go without me, he led us both. Despite everything we ran into, from Hades sending monsters to kill Thalia to cyclopes in Brooklyn. He led us to camp safely and was hailed as a hero.”

Thalia smiled wistfully. “Everyone was so proud of him. He got his Searcher’s Licence, something all satyrs need to find Pan. I’ll tell you about that some other time.” She gave him a quick smile as he shut his mouth. “He went out as a hero. He was an inspiration to camp. The first satyr to get a child of the Big Three safely in ages.”

Percy took all that in. There was more to the story though. “What happened to him?”

Luke shrugged helplessly. “We don’t know. One day while he was out, he was attacked by something. A monster probably. He didn’t make it. We only found out through the Hunters one day telling us that they found a Columbine flower out in the wilderness that bore his mark on it. I’m not sure how they knew, but they weren’t lying. Grover died out there while looking for Pan.”

“It was a huge blow to camp’s morale.” Thalia took over from there. They hadn’t let go of each other’s hand by this point, and Percy couldn’t blame them. “He was one of our heroes. A pillar at camp. For him to have just died… we were lost for a while. Luke and I did what we could, and Gleeson helped out a lot. We managed to recover since then, but it was a tough few years.”

Percy nodded. “Is that why no one mentioned him? Because it hurt too much?”

Luke nodded. “Talking about Grover is a tough thing at camp. Some people haven’t gotten over his death yet, so we try not to mention him too much.”

Percy swallowed a lump in his throat. He didn’t like the fact that he doubted them even in the slightest at this point. Hearing their story helped a lot. “Sorry.”

Thalia shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You deserve to know.”

Luke smiled at him. “Why don’t you sleep, Percy? We can take it from here.”

Percy was too tired to argue. The day of using his powers, running, and now on the back of a moving truck was getting to him. He slept like a rock.

Which wasn’t to say that he didn’t have impressive dreams. He was at the edge of a pit, the Voice talking again. Though this time, it wasn’t talking to him.

There was someone next to him, shrouded in mist. He didn’t know who it was, but he didn’t like where this was going.

“And the boy suspects nothing?”

“Not at all. He’s as ignorant as the rest. Soon, both items will be delivered.” The person next to him spoke in a way that was both familiar and alien. Percy felt like he should know who this was, but the way they spoke was so different from anyone he knew that he couldn’t place his finger on it.

“Then our plan is proceeding well. Soon, Olympus will be in our grasp.”

“And the demigods will fall soon after.” This person was vindictive. Whoever they were didn’t sound like they liked demigods all that much. “But are both items really necessary? Surely with just one-”

A powerful anger filled the area, cutting the person off. “Do not test me, child. You have already failed me once.”

“But I-”

“Peace, young one. Patience will see us through. Poseidon has already played his most desperate card.” That caused the person to shift around a bit, seeming nervous. “Soon we will… wait. He is here.”

The person sounded surprised. “What? Did you summon him, my Lord?”

“No.” The Voice sounded irritated. “The boy has brought himself hither. His Father’s blood makes him quite unpredictable.” 

The Voice was now paying full attention to Percy. “So, young one. You wish to gain knowledge. An admirable trait, I must admit. Here, a gift for you, seeing as you have been so accommodating.”

A blast of wind hit Percy and he was ejected from the dream. His next dream was just about as bad as the first.

Percy was blinded. He couldn’t see where he was, which made it hard to move around. Thankfully, or rather, unfortunately, in this case, he didn’t need to.

The Voice’s blast sent him moving through the air, being privy to multiple different conversations.

“You moron ! What were you thinking ?! Do you realize just how badly you could have screwed us over?!” The person from before was yelling at someone who was apologizing profusely. 

“Are you sure about this?” Another voice called out.

“Relax, dove. I know what I’m getting us into… Just trust me, okay?”

“Always.”

The last one was the most disturbing.

“Look here, boys! A lost mortal girl.”

“Leave me alone!” The voice was scared. Terrified even. The assailants all just laughed.

He heard many like this until the dream was over. All the while, the Voice spoke over. “Remember, nothing is what it seems to be.”

Percy woke up with a start. Luke was shaking him awake. 

“The drivers are coming back!” Luke told him as they all hurried to hide behind a stack of supplies while one of the drivers walked in. He made some comments about the zebra being sawed in half, gave the lion a salad, taunted the gazelle, and said he wished he hauled appliances.

Thalia started sparking as she put her hand on the floor of the truck. Soon after she did that, the other guy was yelling for the current smuggler to help him with the engine, saying it had been fried. The guy in front of him cursed and went to see what was happening while the demigods freed the animals.

The zebra bowed to Percy. “Thank you, lord.” He heard in his head. Percy blinked as he thought he was going crazy. “No need to worry about us. We will find out way to safety.”

The animals ran out of the truck as the smugglers gave chase. The police quickly ran after them, forming an interesting line.

The three then went to a nearby payphone to call Chiron at camp, hoping that he could do something about the animals there. He confirmed that he’d talk to the Hunters and ask them if they had any contacts in Las Vegas that could take care of that.

After that whole debacle, they took off to find the exchange spot in Vegas in hopes that they could find a way to California quickly.  Percy was practically melting in the heat, so they had to take a lot of breaks along the way. Luke got him three bottles of water to help, which was nice.

Percy spotted a place across the street called The Lotus Hotel and Casino. Luke caught his gaze and tightened his grip on his shoulder. “You don’t want to go there, Percy; that place is bad news.”

Percy didn’t question it, too busy trying to keep standing to do so. The heat was really getting to him. Compared to New York, Las Vegas was like a furnace.

They finally made it to the shop, and the inside was blessed with perfect air conditioning. The inside of the shop was cool as can be, a perfect chill to contrast the blistering heat of the outside. Percy felt like he could just stay there forever.

“Ah, Luke, Thalia, it’s been a while.” The shop clerk called out.

Luke’s eyes widened. “Alexander?” He rushed up to the clerk with a big smile as Thalia followed him quickly. The clerk hopped over the counter and embraced the two like they were old friends.

Percy stood awkwardly at the door as the three older demigods caught up. The clerk, Alexander, was a tall guy with blond hair and grey eyes. A child of Athena from the looks of it. He had a scar on his right cheek and a tattoo of an owl on his left bicep. He looked formidable, a retired warrior. A soldier who grew old in a profession where they die young.

As such, it was clear his eyes missed little, which was evident by the fact that he quickly noticed Percy trying to disappear into the corner. 

“Who’s your friend?” He waved Percy to come over. Percy cautiously did as Luke turned to him, remembering that there were three who went into the shop.

“Ah, sorry. Alexander, this is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Percy, this is the former counselor of the Athena cabin from when Thalia and I got to camp, Alexander. An all-around great guy, and a killer at Capture the Flag.”

“Never lost a match.” Thalia continued. “And he also completed the most quests out of any camper, but who’s counting?”

Alexander shook his head. “That’s enough you two. It’s nice to meet you, Percy.” He shook Percy’s hand as Percy struggled to form a sentence. 

“Uh,” He finally managed to get out. “Demigods can live out here?” Percy internally cringed at that question.

Alexander just nodded, “It’s not easy, I’ll admit. Some monsters still think it’s a good idea to try and mess with you, and hiding from the mortals is a bit of a pain, but it can be done. So, what brings you to my humble shop?”

They gave him the access pass and explained their quest. Alexander nodded as they spoke, mind seeming to race at a thousand miles an hour. When they mentioned they needed a way to get to California quickly, his eyes lit up.

“I have just the thing for you.” He led them to the back of the shop where he showed them a chariot with two pegasi leashed to it. When they saw Percy, they both bowed.

“Greetings, lord. How may we be of assistance?” 

Percy was a bit stunned. It reminded him of the zebra. He figured it had something to do with Poseidon creating horses. “Uh, we need to get to California quickly.”

The pegasus on the left almost seemed to laugh. “No need to worry. We can get you and your companions there in no time.”

Percy was glad. When he turned to the others, they seemed a bit shocked. 

“Percy,” Luke asked tentatively. “Since when can you talk to Pegasi?”

“I think it has something to do with Dad creating horses. I heard the zebra talk to me when we left the truck.”

The others shrugged and moved on. Despite the pegasi’s insistence that they do this for free, Percy managed to convince them to let them pay for the rental. It cost them about ten golden drachmae for the express trip. Pricing was at that in exchange for the best Pegasi and the chariot.

As they took off, Percy was allowed to sit on the pegasus on the left, Smokey he learned her name was, as he didn’t fit in the chariot with Luke and Thalia. When he said he was worried it might cause some issues, Montgomery, the other pegasus, assured him that it would be completely fine.

While they were on the flight, Percy told Luke and Thalia about his dream. It was a bit hard given they all had to yell and Thalia had a death grip on both the chariot and Luke’s hand, but he managed to get the idea across.

“You’re saying there’s more than just the Bolt stolen?!” Luke yelled out.

“That’s what the Voice said! And I heard so many others! I think there’s more to this than we know!”

Luke nodded. “We’ll talk about it more when we get down!”

They cut the conversation after that and focused on the ride to California. Percy kept thinking about the fact that this Voice seemed to be connected to the theft of the Bolt and whatever else there was. And yet, it kept telling him that Olympus didn’t deserve his loyalty. He wasn’t sure what to believe.

“Where would you like us to set you down, lord?” Smokey asked.

“Santa Monica beach, please!” They whinnied in acknowledgment as they veered over to the beach in question.

Setting them down, they turned to Percy and said their goodbyes. With that, they took off, back to Vegas. It seemed to be reaching nighttime when they set down, which meant the sixteenth was almost over. 

He turned to Luke and Thalia then. “Before I go in to see what the message is, is there anything either of you want to tell me?”

Luke turned to Thalia with a heavy look. “That Voice you’re hearing. I had those dreams too when I was younger. You can’t trust anything that voice tells you. No matter how convincing it sounds.”

Percy nodded. He knew that the Voice was probably shady, but hearing Luke confirm that made him feel a bit better. 

With one final breath, he turned to the sea. He figured that Poseidon’s message for him would be useful. And for one moment, he dared think that they might get some help.

Chapter Text

Walking into the sea was not exactly what Percy had expected.

For one, he could see the currents all around him. It was mesmerizing to look at; if he hadn’t been on a time crunch, Percy could just stay there forever.

Other than that, there was a three-foot-long Mako shark swimming around him. Percy blinked as that registered in his brain. A Mako shark was nuzzling him like a dog.

Mom would flip if she saw this .

The shark was swimming around him excitedly as if it were trying to get his attention.

“You wanna show me something?” The shark seemed to nod. “Alright then.”

He grabbed the shark’s fin and they shot off at high speed. Percy could see the ocean zoom past him, thousands of fish and sea life he didn’t recognize. He couldn’t see the shore anymore and in front of him was still an endless expanse of ocean.

He remembered then that one of his teachers once said that the earth was mostly covered in oceans and water. And Poseidon ruled over the seas. And Percy was Poseidon’s son.

How can I be the son of someone so powerful ?

The shark stopped swimming soon after that. Percy was set down near a cave around the ocean’s bed. He looked around in awe as he realized he wasn’t affected by the pressure around him. He wondered how deep he could go before he’d start feeling it.

It didn’t take long for his attention to be taken away, though. The same lady from the river flowed in front of him. He bowed again only to feel a warm current flowing around him.

“You may rise, Perseus,” He did and looked directly at the lady in front of him. Her eyes were a distractingly beautiful shade of green, kind of like what his m om’s would become whenever they went to Montauk. The crab claws were still there, which he probably shouldn’t have been staring at. She didn’t seem offended though, chuckling lowly.

“Yes, you are seeing that correctly, young one,” He flushed red as he looked at his feet. Taking a deep breath, he asked the question that had been on his mind for some time now.

“Who are you?” 

The lady seemed to consider him for a moment. “You have much of Poseidon in you, young one. I would know. I am Amphitrite. I suppose that would make me your stepmother.”

Percy took that in as he realized who he’d been talking to. Amphitrite. Queen of the Sea. Wife of Poseidon. And he was the son of Poseidon. 

This is awkward .

Percy shifted from foot to foot as he considered what to say. Thankfully, Amphitrite decided to take over. “You need not be nervous, young one. I have known of your existence since you were born.” She gave him a small smile. “Your Father is not capable of hiding much from me, you know. I hold no ill will towards you or your mother.”

That did help Percy calm down a bit. With that, he asked his next question. “Why are you here?”

“I will admit, I was curious. It has been a long time since a child of Poseidon was born, and an even longer time that a child of Poseidon was born to a woman as extraordinary as your mother.” Percy was confused at that. How would Amphitrite know about his mom? She seemed to notice the question on his face, continuing the explanation. “Poseidon told me all about her. She truly is unlike any mortal I have ever heard of.”

Percy nodded. His mom was everything to him. She was very special, so he wasn’t surprised at any of that.

And yet. “If Poseidon is so,” he paused to look for the right word. “Interested in me. Why isn’t…” He took a deep breath. “Why can’t I speak to my Dad?”

A cold current flowed around him, as if in answer. 

Amphitrite sighed. “Do not judge your Father so harshly, child. Even now, war encroaches and Poseidon must prepare. Additionally, none on Olympus may show any kind of favoritism among demigods.”

“Their own children too?”

“Especially them,” She sighed and reached out. “May I?” 

He nodded as Amphitrite ran a hand through his hair, gently holding his face. “He can not interfere with your life. Gods are not like mortals, dear one. Their mere presence influences the world, shapes it, and changes it. They can only act indirectly.” She suddenly smirked. “As such, I am here.”

Percy perked up. “What does that mean?”

Amphitrite smiled again. “As you are not my child and I am not directly interfering, that business at the Arch notwithstanding-”

“You helped me at the Arch?” He blushed as he realized he’d interrupted the Queen of the Sea. She just chuckled and nodded.

“Yes, I did. You have even more of Poseidon in you than I’d initially thought.” That didn’t exactly help his blush, but it did make him feel a bit warmer. “As I was saying, I am here to give you a warning and a gift.”

She placed three pearls into his hand. “Your journey to the Underworld is not an easy one. Very few mortals can escape Hades’s realm. Heracles with unparalleled strength, Orpheus with his musical talents, even Houdini who could escape any realm should he wish. Do you have these talents?”

“Uh, no my Lady.” 

“You need them not. You have your own talents that will flourish as you grow. As it stands, however, you will need these to return to the mortal realm. When you are in need, crush them beneath your feet. What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea.”

Percy nodded. “And the warning?”

“Beware the gifts. And go with what your heart tells you. You will face sorrow unmatched in the Underworld as well as hopelessness you have never felt. Trust in yourself and stay strong.” She started shimmering. “I must go now, dear one. Be careful, and trust in yourself.”

“Wait,” Percy called out. “You told me not to trust the gifts! What gifts?”

She was gone too quickly. Percy didn’t have an answer to that other than to be careful. He wanted to try and follow, to see if he could find Poseidon, but he had to make it to the Underworld in time. He kicked his way up to the Mako shark which took him back to the shore.

When Percy made it to the shore, he found Thalia and Luke sitting side by side with Thalia leaning her head on Luke’s shoulder. They looked so peaceful he almost didn’t want to interrupt. They seemed to be talking about something. 

“Hey guys,” He called to them and they got up. He explained what happened to him in the sea and Thalia blinked.

“You met Amphitrite? She didn’t hate you? Huh?” Thalia looked like she needed to be rebooted as Luke poked her in the side. She shook her head and looked back at Percy. “Okay, sure, fine. Just gonna… ignore that for now. So, you got a way out of the Underworld?”

Percy nodded. “She said something about crushing these pearls under our feet when the time comes. I think they’ll take us out of the Underworld and into the sea.”

Luke nodded. Before he could speak, they heard a voice calling to them. “Ah, the questers have at last arrived. And a daughter of Zeus is among them. Excellent.” 

The man approaching them was very pale, with his skin pulled tightly over his face. He was athletic, with the kind of muscles built from running. He bared his teeth, sharp fangs like a wolf’s, and he had glowing red eyes.

He pulled his hood back to reveal long, greasy hair. He glared directly at Thalia as his face turned into a snarl. “I am in luck it seems. Seeing as Echidna failed, not only will I finish my own quest for my master, but I will also get to enact my revenge on your father!”

Percy looked at Thalia who was just unimpressed. “You again? How many times does this make it, Luke?”

“I’d say about sixty-three. This year.” Luke sighed and turned to Percy. “Percy, meet Lycaon, first of the lycanthropes. He tried to feed human meat to Zeus, mocked people praying to the King of the Gods, and sent assassins to kill Zeus at one point and he thinks he’s been wronged.”

“Lies! Lies and slander!” Lycaon frothed at the mouth. “I only tried to feed Zeus some human flesh. How was I to know that I was truly dealing with Zeus? It was just a test! He slaughtered my children as a result! All but that ungrateful little ingrate that was my youngest!”

“Did you forget the part where you and all your sons were just a bunch of blasphemous assholes?” Thalia tilted her head. “And the fact that you the human meat you served was that youngest son you’re calling an ingrate?”

Lycaon howled and attacked. That wasn’t the smartest move on his part as Luke and Thalia immediately sprung into action while Percy jumped back into the sea. He called a wave to grab Lycaon as Luke and Thalia jumped back. 

The wolf-man howled as he came back up from the sea. “A worthy effort, young pest. But it will not be enough to kill me!”

“He’s right, Percy.” Luke grimaced. “We’ll need a silver weapon to kill him.” 

Percy nodded as he pulled out the dagger Annabeth had given him. He wasn’t too good with it, so he tossed it to Thalia, who grabbed it without question.

Lycaon’s eyes widened. “Wait, I’m sure we can talk about this!”

Thalia didn’t listen as she barreled into the idiot and generally made a fool out of him. Her speed and fighting style countered Lycaon’s every move. He flinched when he looked at her shield, at which point Thalia dropped her spear and shoved the dagger into his head. He melted into shadow as he cursed Thalia.

“Well, that happened.” She shrugged and handed Percy the dagger. “It’s a good blade.”

Percy nodded. He thought about what Lycaon had said. There was something that caught his attention. “He said Echidna failed and then talked about a master. Does that mean they were working together?”

Luke nodded. “They might be, yeah. Wouldn’t be too weird for monsters to band together, though the fact that Echidna is working with Lycaon of all people is a bit weird.”

Percy blinked, suddenly remembering something. “Wait, Echidna told me Zeus sent her.”

Thalia turned to him. “You didn’t mention that.”

“I just remembered. She said Zeus sent her to test me or something. But if she’s working with Lycaon…”

Luke stepped in. “She was lying. I mean, she’d be lying either way. Zeus can make some strange decisions, but interrupting a quest for the Master Bolt by sending Echidna and the Chimera while Thalia’s on the quest makes no sense.”

Percy nodded. “That means there’s someone else pulling the strings. The Voice maybe?”

Luke nodded. “Maybe. Although, I don’t know who could be powerful enough to command monsters like that. Maybe it’s Echidna? Pretending she’s not involved?”

Percy wasn’t too sure about that. He felt like there was one last piece of the puzzle missing before they figured it out.

“Doesn’t matter for now,” Thalia decided. “We still need to get to the Underworld. If for nothing else, at least so that we can find out why Hades is attacking Percy.” 

She was right. They needed to get to the Underworld soon. Even if Hades isn’t involved in any of this, that was their only destination.

They moved into the city after that. From the looks of it, they were well into the night at the moment. They were close to the end of their quest with plenty of time to spare, and yet Percy couldn’t help but feel tense. There was too much that didn’t make sense and not enough information to figure it out.

He noticed a bunch of rich kids trying to be criminals eyeing them up. They’d take one look at Luke and Thalia though and seem to decide that they had better things to do with their time. They all left the demigods alone.

They kept looking for DOA Recording Studios, not bothering to ask anyone as Luke pointed out it’d be hidden from mortals.

At some points, it seemed almost hopeless. The entrance to the Underworld was too well hidden. That was until they ran into a place called Crusty’s Waterbed Palace.

Thalia and Luke shared a look. “That’s a monster lair.”

He wasn’t sure how they could tell, but he trusted their word. They walked in, trying to see if there was any information there like there was in Medusa’s place.

“Welcome-” The clerk startled Percy who pulled out Riptide and slashed his head off. It all happened before anyone really noticed.

“So, I’m guessing that was the monster?” Percy asked. Luke chuckled and Thalia nodded seriously.

“Let’s look around,” She said, already making her way to the back.

They scoured the place, looking for anything that might help.

“Hey, Percy,” Luke showed up next to him, helping him turn a bed over. “I noticed you like to go for cutting the monsters’ heads off.”

Percy nodded. “They can’t fight without a head.”

Luke looked at him confused. “Uh… what?”

Percy gave him a cheeky grin. “That’s what you taught me!”

“It also helps that a lot of monsters have something going on that makes decapitation a fitting end for them!” Thalia called from the back room.

Luke was facepalming the whole time. “Just… don’t try that on a hydra, alright?”

Percy just gave him a look. “What kind of idiot tries to cut off a hydra’s head?”

Thalia shrugged. “You’d be surprised. Take a look at this.” She showed them an address billing for DOA Recording Studio. “Looks like it’s just across the road from here. Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

Percy hated Italian suits.

They’d barely gotten past Cerberus, Luke having had experience with dogs as well as wrangling the Stoll brothers, so taming the big dog wasn’t too difficult. 

The problem was with Charon. Luke seemed to still be irritated about the whole thing.

“Why did I think it was a good idea to say we drowned in a bathtub ?” He was grumbling to himself the whole way.

Percy had acted quickly, convincing Charon to let them pass with a bit of bribery. The Styx had been polluted, Percy had huddled near Luke and Thalia who framed themselves around him as they started feeling hopeless, and now they were wandering the Fields of Asphodel.

Percy looked around at everyone there. Luke had mentioned that it was a neutral place for those who didn’t do much in life. Compared to Elysium, which was a lot smaller, it made Percy feel a bit bad.

He supposed at least Asphodel was bigger than the Fields of Punishment. That place was terrifying to look at. He saw familiar punishments, like Sisyphus, Tantalus, and more. He also saw people being forced to run through fields of cacti on hot coals, forced to listen to opera music on repeat, and even a spot in the back where he thought he saw a bunch of people being lectured by-

“Is that Sigmund Freud?” Percy couldn’t help but notice the guy. He’d gotten a bit fixated on Freud about a year ago when a teacher of his brought the madman up. He’d recognize the guy anywhere.

“Oh yeah, I’d heard of that.” Thalia mused. “Apparently, it’s a punishment for people who write pretentious think-pieces about art. Seems fitting if you ask me.”

Percy nodded, though he couldn’t help but notice that Thalia looked a bit distracted. She was looking back and forth in Asphodel as if looking for someone. He walked up to her and bumped her side.

“You okay?” She turned to him and sighed, ruffling his hair. 

“Yeah, I’m alright Kelpy. Don’t worry about me, ok?” She slung her arm around his shoulders and he leaned into her. She seemed to have noticed he was starting to get a bit more tense than before. His time in the Underworld was starting to get to him.

Luke made sure to stay by them. He didn’t comment on Thalia looking at anything, though he did grab her hand, so he must have noticed. They continued walking before Percy noticed a familiar sight.

“Hey, guys. Look at that.” He pointed to a big cave in the distance. He swore he could see a massive pit in the back.

For some reason, he felt drawn to it. He broke off from his partners and ran towards it.

“Percy!” He thought he heard someone calling him, but he wasn’t paying attention. He kept running towards it. He heard a familiar voice calling to him. It was comforting, warm, and promised him safety if he could just get there.

As he got closer though, he noticed what it was. When he did, he froze in place. He couldn’t think. He could barely breathe. He was terrified.

That had been the pit where he last heard the Voice speak from.

He barely registered Luke and Thalia reaching him. He distantly felt Luke pulling him into his arms and Thalia bringing out her shield and spear, daring anyone to come close to them.

He heard Luke whispering soothing things to him. It helped. He also gave Percy a grounding exercise after a bit, which helped Percy breathe again.

“What’s wrong, Percy?” Luke prodded gently. He had an awkward but comforting grip around him, which was good, but he couldn’t stay in it forever, much as he wished he could. 

He pulled back and pointed a shaky finger toward the massive pit. “That’s the pit; that’s where I heard the Voice talking the last time.” His voice cracked as he talked, unable to keep the fear out of it. He had a feeling he knew what that pit was.

Thalia took in a sharp breath. “Are you sure?” 

Percy nodded and she moved to stand in between them and the pit. Luke pulled his sword out as he placed a hand on Percy’s shoulder. “You know what that place is, right?” 

Percy gulped. He had a feeling but didn’t know if he wanted to say it. Luke squeezed his shoulder one more time and Percy took in a deep breath. “Tartarus.”

Even as far as they were from the Pit, even as low as Percy whispered it, the name sent a chill around them. That wasn’t a place for any of them. It wasn’t a place they should be in. He felt watched like there was someone over his shoulder that wasn’t there.

They shouldn’t stay any longer.

The three of them went as far away from it as they could, huddling together when they finally stopped. “That was it. That was the place in my dreams.” Percy couldn’t help repeating. He was shaking like a leaf in a storm. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for an eternity. He wanted his mother. He wanted his father. He wanted to feel safe.

Luke and Thalia did what they could to help him with that. Luke held him for a long time while Thalia stayed close, a comforting presence, all the while he was blinking back tears and trying to compose himself. The gravity of the situation fell on him like a meteor. This was far bigger than they had thought.

When he could finally think again, he pulled back a bit. He didn’t want to be too far from them at the moment, but he needed to know about this. “Guys… I…” He trailed off as he realized something. The bag on his back was a lot heavier than before.

Thalia seemed to notice something was off too. “Percy, open your bag.”

He did. When they looked into it, they saw something that made them all gasp. 

“The Master Bolt…” Thalia trailed off. She must have sensed the lightning in it now that they were safe.

“But- how?” Percy blurted out. “We looked in the bag before, it wasn’t there! We even got the bag from-”

“From Ares.” Luke finished. He looked grim. “We got the Bolt from Ares.”

“You don’t think Ares…” Thalia trailed off.

Luke shook his head. “I doubt it. For as much as people say Ares loves war, this kind of war is far beyond that. He wouldn’t pull something like this.” He paused for a moment before he sighed. “I think I might know who we’re dealing with.”

They looked at him quietly, waiting for Luke to gather his thoughts. When he spoke, Percy almost wished he hadn’t,

“We’re dealing with someone who can command Lycaon as well as Echidna. We’re dealing with someone who’s trying to start a war between the Big Three, someone capable of either convincing or controlling Ares to help with that war. Someone who’s in Tartarus. Someone who probably has a massive grudge against Olympus.”

Thalia took in a sharp breath. “You don’t mean…”

“Kronos…” Percy whispered. He’d been speaking with the King of the Titans. He was rising from Tartarus. This quest just got a lot more complicated.

“If Kronos is the Voice in your dreams, that means we’re dealing with a war against all of Olympus.” Thalia managed to say. “We’ll need to be very careful going forward.”

Luke stood up. “First, we need to speak with Hades. Maybe we can get out of this in one piece.”

It was then that Percy remembered where they were. They needed to get moving to finish this quest. Even without that, they couldn’t stay in the Underworld forever.

They got moving, making their way to Hades’s palace in the distance. Percy kept tensing whenever he heard any sound, worrying that the King of the Titans was behind them. He didn’t want to know.

Along the way, a thought occurred to him that was enough to shake him out of his worry. “Wait. If Kronos is the one who had the Bolt stolen… then, why is Hades sending Furies after me?”

Luke considered that. “Did you say in your dream that you heard something about both items? Maybe the Bolt isn’t the only thing that was stolen.”

Thalia nodded. “Now that you mention it, when we fought the Furies, one of them asked you ‘Where is it’ right?”

Percy nodded. He hadn't thought much about it, especially not with the whole encounter with Medusa taking place soon after that. “You think Hades had something stolen as well?” 

Luke nodded. “It’d make sense. Steal something from two of the Big Three and leave the third member untouched. Frames Poseidon and gets a three-way war ready.”

Percy had to admit, that was a good plan. They just had to find a way to stop it before it was too late.

When they reached the palace, Percy was almost overwhelmed.

He’d seen it from a distance, looming over the horizon, but up close, it was truly magnificent. It was made of dark marble, standing tall as a testament to the Lord of the Underworld’s power. Towers reached up to seemingly touch the ceiling of the Land of the Dead, warning away any who might dare to approach it.

When they entered, the sight was no less impressive. Massive hallways, all decorated with rich gems and ornate paintings of great figures. Percy saw Frederick the Great, Richard the Lionheart, and many others. On the other side, there were many other paintings of some of history’s worst people, including the likes of Mao, Genghis Khan, and many more. They were scattered on both sides of the hallway as if standing as a testament to humanity’s peaks and dregs. On top of that, Percy saw a few carvings signifying death. A deadly plague, soldiers at war, a mushroom cloud. Percy wondered if those were omens of things to come or moments that already have.

They passed by the gardens of Persephone, and Percy couldn’t help but admire its beauty. Moving along, they finally made it to what looked like the doors to Hades’ throne room. 

There were skeletal guards standing at attention. They almost looked like they’d been expecting them. They stepped forward and opened the doors to the throne room, which took Percy’s breath away.

It was massive, intimidating in a way. And yet, it wasn’t nearly as imposing as the figure sitting on the throne.

Robed in silk, a crown atop a regal head. Hades sat impassively, observing them with a kind of quiet intensity as they made their way forward. He radiated power, cunning, and charisma the likes of which few could match. He looked like a panther, coiled and ready to strike its prey.

“It seems you have made it this far. Brave, or perhaps quite foolish.” His tone betrayed nothing. No anger, no worry. Only cold judgment. 

“Lord Hades,” Luke took over, which was good for Percy as he’d been distracted by the images on Hades’ robe. They almost looked like escaping souls. “We’ve come to clear up the situation.”

“Is that so?” Hades arched an eyebrow, almost seeming curious. “Speak quickly then and I will decide what to do with you soon after.”

Luke nodded. “This whole was was a setup. Kronos is involved.” At that, Hades leaned forward, paying complete attention to their story.

With that, Percy and Thalia joined in to explain what had happened. They talked about Echidna and Ares, about the meeting with Lycaon, and Percy’s dreams. They told Hades about the stop by the Pit and how the Bolt suddenly appeared in the bag that Ares had given them.

Hades listened to them until the end. He was quiet for a moment. And then. “You speak the truth. Or at least, what you believe is the truth.”

They nodded and Hades seemed satisfied. “Despite that, the fact remains. My Helm is missing.”

Percy blinked. “Your Helm?”

Hades’ full attention was turned to Percy, and he suddenly wished he’d stayed quiet. His gaze bore deep into Percy’s soul, making him feel so much smaller than he was. “Yes. Around the same time the Bolt was stolen, my Helm went missing as well. I had no delusions that any on Olympus would aid me in its search, so I kept that to myself. As it stands, it seems my dearly departed Father is the culprit behind the theft, using Ares as collateral perhaps.” Hades’ voice didn’t raise one bit the whole time, staying calm and collected which made the situation all the more tense.

“I would imagine that Ares currently possesses my Helm.” Hades mused. “Be that as it may, given that you are telling the truth, what reason do I have to let you leave my realm?”

Luke stepped up. “We could offer to retrieve the Helm.” 

Hades nodded. “A fair offer. And what assurance do I have that you will in fact return it?”

That stumped them a bit. Hades continued on. “I know you have those pearls from my brother. They will not be enough to save you from my realm on their own. Not without quite the amount of collateral damage, to say the least. You may claim that you will return my Helm as soon as you retrieve it, but I need assurance that you will do so.”

Thalia took a deep breath. She stepped up with her head held high. “You can keep me as a hostage.”

Luke turned to her sharply as Percy gasped. “No!” 

Thalia turned to them. “Listen. It has to be you two who leave. You can fight with each other well, you know each other well. One of us has to stay behind for this; it’s best to be me.”

Luke looked at her quietly. They seemed to have a full conversation with just their expressions. They both turned to look at Percy before Luke sighed. Percy understood then. At least in part.

There was no way they’d leave him behind in the Underworld no matter what the cost was.

His heart broke at that moment. He’d been worried the whole time that a friend would betray him, worried that either one of them would betray him, and yet they’d proven time and time again that they would never. Even now, at the end of their quest, Thalia chose to stay behind so that he could leave, even though she seemed the most terrified of Hades out of all of them.

Hades merely nodded in approval. “Very well. I accept these terms. Retrieve my Helm and I will release your friend. Fail to do so and she will remain here for eternity.”

They nodded. Given it was Thalia’s choice to stay, Percy figured there was little anyone could do to fight Hades on this. He shared a look with Luke and another with Thalia before crushing the pearl under his foot. He saw Luke do the same from the side, with Thalia being given a seat near the two thrones in the room.

A bubble formed around him and Luke and it shot up to the ceiling of the palace. Soon, they were out of the Underworld and in the Pacific Ocean with a goal in mind. 

They had to find Ares and find the Helm.

Chapter Text

When they got to the beach, Ares was already waiting for them.

“I see you two are still alive. Not bad.” 

Percy had reached his boiling point. He didn’t care anymore. “You set us up.”

Ares nodded smugly. “It was easy, really. Grab the Bolt and Helm, frame Poseidon for it, Zeus and Poseidon are at each other’s throats, and Hades is still looking for this.”

He pulled out the Helm and twirled it. “Pretty soon, a war breaks out.” He pointed at Percy. “Problem is, you were supposed to die in the Underworld. That way, Poseidon blames Hades who now has the Bolt, bringing Zeus’ eyes to it, making it a three-way war.”

“But they’re your family!” Percy couldn’t stay quiet. “A war like this would bring Olympus down!”

“Best kind of war happens between families. The bloodiest too.” Ares said that almost unconvinced. He sounded like he was repeating it from another place. “As for bringing Olympus down.”

He trailed off, looking lost for a moment. Percy pushed further. “How did the Bolt even get to the bag in the first place?”

“Bit of magic tinkering.” Ares still looked lost, almost as if trying to block out a voice. “Bolt shows up in the bag when you get close to Hades. He sees you with it. Gets mad. Not sure how you managed to keep things calm. Either way, whatever happened, I’d still have the Helm.”

There was something there that didn’t make sense. “Why send the Bolt to Hades then?”

Ares seemed to consider that. “That’s a good question.” He seemed to be thinking about it while also seeming to listen to a voice. Percy shared a distressed look with Luke.

Ares blinked before turning to them. “Not important. What matters is you’re alive, and you’re impeding the war effort.”

Percy took his chance. “This war wasn’t your idea, was it? You’ve been listening to that Voice! You know it’s Kronos, right?”

Ares blinked again. He looked agitated. “If you’re implying that I’m taking orders, kid, think again. I don’t take orders. I don’t have dreams!”

Percy tensed. “I never mentioned dreams.”

Ares looked caught. He started to say something when Luke stepped in.

“Doesn’t matter at the moment. What does is the Helm. You against us to first blood. Winner takes all. We win, we get the Helm and the Bolt. You win, keep both.”

Ares laughed. “You know what, why not? Got nothing better to do, and I suppose at least one of you is a half-decent warrior. Might be fun. So, classic or modern.”

Percy and Luke unsheathed their swords. Ares nodded. “Classic it is.”

He pulled a shotgun out of the bike and it morphed into a massive broadsword. Percy blinked. “That’s not Greek.”

Ares nodded. “Gotta have some variety, kid. Keeps things fresh.”

Luke spoke to Percy then, keeping his voice low. “Back me up here. Take shots whenever you see an opening. And please be careful.”

Percy nodded, keeping his eyes glued to Ares. He was going to make every attack of his count.

Luke charged first, getting instantly parried and knocked to the side. Percy rushed to the sea as Luke got up. If he was going to help, he’d need a substantial boost.

Ares noticed him running and cut him off, seeming to teleport in front of him with a vicious slash. Percy ducked as best he could, but he didn’t dodge the oncoming kick.

“Percy!” He barely saw Luke get up and engage Ares again. They traded blows as Luke tried his best to dodge. He barely managed to get away with it before Ares kicked him back too. 

Percy tried to think. They weren’t going to win by brute forcing this fight. The only way they could win was by outsmarting Ares. Ares, who’d been fighting for thousands of years and had an insane amount of battle experience.

Yeah, piece of cake .

Percy turned to see a group of people had gathered up. A bunch of nature spirits and mortals were watching them fight while a police officer was calling for backup. As Percy stood, he saw a kid with blond hair and blue eyes staring at them in shock. Next to him was a girl with choppy hair holding a surfboard looking utterly confused.

He didn’t have much time to think about it as he ran to help Luke. The two of them tried attacking Ares at the same time, but they didn’t have much luck.

“Admit it, I’m just toying with you. You’re doing well for a bunch of demigods, but it’s not enough.” He slashed at Luke and elbowed Percy to the ground. Luke rolled and took the fight on his own for a bit. Percy looked at Ares again, trying to see if he could think of a way they could win.

He noticed Ares looked unfocused. He seemed to be fighting two battles at the moment, one with them and one within. Maybe they could use that.

Luke was knocked to the ground right as more police officers showed up.

“Put the guns down.” One of them yelled as they seemed to be trying to arrest Ares.

He just turned to them in irritation. “Begone!”

Ares waved at them, sending a volley of fire that blew up the police cars parked nearby. The crowd scattered in panic. 

“Now, to finish the job.” Ares turned back to Luke, readying a killing blow.

Percy picked up Riptide and rushed to slash at Ares. He parried and looked mildly impressed. “Fierce. That’ll take you far.”

Percy noticed the sea was right behind him now. Ares didn’t seem to notice that, looking completely out of it. Percy started willing the sea to push back. He was preparing it to unleash a massive wave. He just hoped it’d be enough. 

Luke noticed what was happening and slowly got to his feet. Percy shot him a look and he nodded, staying in position, ready to strike.

Ares started approaching Percy, looking ready to kill him. That was when Percy struck.

A ten-foot-tall wave made its way forward. Percy jumped and rode it above Ares’ head, who got hit with the full brunt of it. He was coughing up seaweed when Percy and Luke both closed in. Luke slashed high while Percy went low.

Ares parried Luke’s strike.

He didn’t parry Percy’s.

Ares let out a scream of anger that knocked them back several feet. When Percy looked up, he saw Ares’ expression clear with anger and pain warring with each other. Golden blood shined in the sea. He’d landed a hit. 

Ares turned to them in shock. He looked at them and at the crowd behind them. He glared before speaking. “Not bad.”

His words were gritted out, barely restrained anger in them. Ares straightened and approached them slightly. “I suppose all’s fair.”

He took one last look at them before glowing. “Look away!” Luke yelled just as Percy turned his head. A flash of light went off before it dispersed. Ares was gone.

When Percy looked back, he found the Helm right at their feet. Ares had left it behind.

“So it truly was not you.” He heard Mrs. Dodds speak up from behind him.

Turning, they saw Thalia standing in between the Furies. Percy tossed the Helm to his former teacher and ran with renewed energy at the daughter of Zeus.

“Thalia!” Luke called out from behind him. They reached her at the same time and she held them close. 

Percy turned to look at Mrs. Dodds, not letting go of Thalia. “Did you ever really hate me? Or was it just a part of me being framed?”

Dodds considered him. “I had thought you’d stolen from Lord Hades. That made you an enemy of mine. Now, I suppose you are merely another mortal. Make sure you do not ruin that.”

The Furies took off to return the Helm to Hades, leaving them to their reunion. Their quest was done. Now all they needed to do was get back to New York.

“Any idea what day it is?” Percy asked, exhaustion suddenly hitting him like a truck.

Thalia nodded. “It’s the seventeenth. We finished early.”

Percy nodded. “Gotta get back to New York quickly.” He yawned. “Gotta hand the Bolt back.”

They nodded, though no one moved. For now, they just held each other as they could finally relax. They’d done it.

Chapter Text

Making their way to New York was easier than they thought.

After dealing with the news reporters who didn’t want to leave without getting their account on the crazy kidnapper who took them on an Odessey of terror. The kidnapper, being Ares of course, was also responsible for the attack at the Arch, as it would be impossible for a kid and two law-abiding citizens to pull an attack like that off.

After pandering to the reporters for who knows how long, they were taken to a nearby hotel where they crashed for about twelve hours or so. It probably would’ve been longer, but they wanted to be done with this quest as soon as they could.

“Mortals really do believe anything they’re told, huh?” Thalia commented. Percy didn’t know what to say about that.

Passing by a nearby drachma pawn shop, they managed to book a pegasus ride back to New York. It was set in chunks of course, going from California to Wyoming, then to Iowa, then Michigan, before landing them back in New York.

Percy really wanted to forget what happened in Iowa, and from the looks of it, Luke and Thalia wanted to as well.

When they set down in New York, they were thankfully not too far away from the Empire State Building. Hopping on the subway, they rode in relative silence, mostly relishing the fact that they were almost done.

It was halfway through the eighteenth of June, so they were ahead of schedule. He wondered if that was normal. Considering everything that happened, it was almost surreal that they’d made it early.

When he asked Luke, the son of Hermes just shrugged. “There’s no real rule about when a quest ends. The whole ‘only ends at the deadline’ thing is something movies, TV shows, and books like to do to artificially create tension towards the end. Really, considering how much we’re taught and trained for this, finishing quests early is more of the norm.”

Percy shrugged as the train came to a stop. They’d made it out near the Empire State and were making their way there. Percy had tried to convince them to go back to camp ahead of him, but they refused.

“Either all of us go or none of us do Kelpy. We’re not about to let you go in alone.”

The front desk guard looked like he was expecting them. Percy blinked at their welcome, and the guard just laughed.

“You think I wouldn’t be told of your quest? Something as important as the Master Bolt’s return is not something to be withheld for some cheap attempt at comedy. I’ve been expecting you for some time.”

“And you just believe us without proof?” Percy couldn’t help but ask.

The guard just shook his head. “Your questmates are enough proof on their own. They are quite well known.”

That made enough sense to Percy. When they got in the elevator, the music playing was some kind of annoying opera music. When Percy asked, Luke grimaced.

“I think it was a bet or something. Apollo lost and had to put some of the most annoying music possible. He just ended up cursing it so that anyone in it just hears the most annoying music to them for something like a hundred years.”

Percy nodded as the elevator kept going. Somewhere around the five hundredth floor, which Thalia helpfully informed Percy was the store room with all the world-breaking weapons that no one should have, the music stopped playing. It made the rest of the ride a bit more tense. 

When they finally got to the top, Percy’s jaw hit the floor. Olympus was incredible to look at. So unbelievable, he almost didn’t believe his eyes.

A massive city built with pristine white marble. Ornate columns reaching out, as if to hold the very sky up. Palaces littered the city, the homes of deities. 

They were floating above Manhattan, as though they were on a meteor ready to fall to the earth, being held up only by the will of Olympus. It was almost too much to take in.

Thalia tensed up as they crossed the bridge leading to the main city. Percy wasn’t particularly excited to cross it either, so they stuck near each other. When they got to the solid ground, it became easier to breathe.

Making their way through the city of Olympus was even more awe-inspiring than the sight from afar. The palaces were decorated with massive statues, depicting the likes of Ares, Aphrodite, Athena, and the others in magnificent splendor. The gardens were breathtaking as well, massive fields of flowers and trees to the point they looked more like pastures than gardens. He saw what looked like nature spirits or the like frolicking in the distance. 

He also saw one breathtaking man counting arrows. He was blond and had a sharp gaze, the likes of which made Percy’s breath catch. He was athletic, buff but not too buff. He turned to Percy with a knowing smirk before going back to the arrows. Percy tried to hide his blush but Thalia caught him anyway.

She laughed and ruffled his hair. “Looks like you caught Eros’ attention. He looks like what you most find attractive. Wanna talk about what you saw?”

Percy shook his head. He’d be taking that to the grave.

They kept going until they reached what looked like the throne room. The gates were opened as if beckoning them to enter.

The inside of the throne room was massive. Enough to make Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. It was an open throne room, letting the sun fill it with shining light and a pleasant warmth the likes of which are rarely seen on earth.

At the center of the room sat twelve thrones. Most of them were empty save for the two near the center. They passed by the hearth as they approached, which sat at the center of the thrones. 

The two there were obviously Poseidon and Zeus. Zeus had a massive well-kept beard with electric blue eyes that pierced Percy’s soul. He was clearly a king, sitting impassively as the three approached. Much like Hades, Zeus exerted an aura of confidence and power, though this one was more overt. He was King of the Gods and it was obvious.

Poseidon on the other hand seemed to be almost the opposite of that in every way. He sat more relaxed, observing them with a sort of detached interest. He also radiated power, but it was more calm. Despite that, it was clear that there was a hidden power behind that calm, much like the sea. Gentle yet unforgiving, calm yet tempestuous. 

Almost instinctively, Percy went straight to Poseidon first, kneeling. “Father.”

He heard Luke and Thalia take in sharp breaths from next to him as they knelt before Zeus, who turned to Percy. “Should you not address the master of the house first, boy?”

“Peace, brother,” Poseidon spoke from above Percy. “The boy defers to his father, it is only right.”

“So you still claim him then? The boy sired against a sacred oath?” Zeus seemed curious.

From his periphery, Percy saw that Poseidon just coughed and gestured vaguely toward Thalia. Zeus seemed to accept that reluctantly.

“Rise, my son. Address Lord Zeus. Explain your quest.”

When Percy looked up to Poseidon, he saw many different things. Poseidon seemed a mix of unsure of something and yet almost proud of him in a way. Percy shifted under that feeling. He wasn’t too sure of Poseidon yet either, which seemed to be partly returned. He could work with that.

He stood up and turned to Zeus, beginning the explanation. He told everything, from the start of his year at Yancy, being accused of the theft of the Helm as well, the obstacles they faced, as well as Ares’ strange involvement in the quest. He tried to leave nothing out, and what he did miss Luke and Thalia stepped in to fill.

He placed the Bolt at Zeus’ feet, who called it up to wield it once again. The Bolt grew in size, looking like a true weapon of mass destruction in the process.

“The boy speaks the truth. I sense no lies coming from him. And yet, for Ares to do so is quite strange.”

Poseidon snorted. “He is proud and impulsive. It runs in the family.”

“Lord,” Percy spoke up again.

“Yes?” They both turned to him.

“It wasn’t Ares’ idea.” He went into detail explaining his dreams, how they were connected to Tartarus, and who they believe is responsible.

“It’s Kronos. It has to be.” Percy finished, hoping he’d be believed.

They turned to each other, speaking in rapid-fire Ancient Greek. It was a dialect he hadn’t heard from at camp. It sounded older than anything he’d ever heard. He only caught one word: “Father.”

Zeus raised a hand. “We will discuss this later with the entire Council. This year’s Solstice will be eventful. As it stands, I must purify the Bolt in the waters of Lemnos to remove the taint from it.” He turned to Thalia. “I could use your help if you would?”

Thalia nodded, seemingly stunned. Zeus nodded and teleported out of the room with her in tow, leaving Percy with just Poseidon and Luke. 

Luke coughed awkwardly. “I think I left something outside. Uh… I’ll wait for you there?”

And with that smooth exit, Percy was left with only his father in the room. 

The silence was cut by Poseidon sighing. “My brother always did have a flair for dramatic. He would likely do well in theatre alongside Dionysus.”

Percy shifted, unsure of what to say. It wasn’t easy talking to Poseidon who was standing at fifteen feet tall.

Poseidon noticed this and shrunk down to a more human size. Percy still had to look up, but at least he wouldn’t hurt his neck doing so.

“You have done well, my son.” Poseidon regarded Percy with a kind of fiery pride. “Not many can claim to have completed such a quest.”

Percy wasn’t too sure. “I had help.”

“As did Heracles, as did Perseus, as did Theseus.” Poseidon’s tone was gentle like a calm wave brushing over Percy. He was reminded of a feeling as a baby, a warm hand brushing over his head, a glowing smile. Poseidon must have visited him when he was younger. “No hero has ever truly completed a quest alone.”

Percy nodded. It just hit him that he was standing with his father. Someone Percy had thought was long dead and then learned was actually an Olympian. Percy wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Poseidon noticed that and sighed. “It is often difficult for us to be there for our children. Our actions shape the world itself, and the wrong move can lead to catastrophe. As such, the laws prevent us from acting directly. Unfortunately, many seem to think that means we can not act at all.” Poseidon seemed thoughtful at that. “I may not have been able to be there as you grew, Perseus. But know that I was watching you whenever I could.”

Percy blinked. “You saw me grow up?”

Poseidon nodded. “As much as I could. That I promise you.”

Percy blinked away tears. There was one thing he needed to know. “Did you know about…” He could barely say his stepfather’s name and Poseidon’s eyes darkened for a moment as if understanding what Gabe had done.

“Not in any detail. Otherwise, he would have been vaporized in an instant. That much I know for a fact.” Poseidon sighed, gaze turning nostalgic. “Your mother thought he would keep you safe. I doubt she knew the extent of that man’s filth. To endure him for your sake proves only what I knew from the start. Your mother is a queen amongst women.”

Percy nodded. “You really care about her, don’t you?”

Poseidon nodded. “When I met her, she was unlike any I had met in ages. I offered to build her a palace underneath the sea, away from any mortal hardship. She refused, of course. Saying that if she wanted to live her life, she had to earn it for herself.” Poseidon smiled at Percy. “You have much of her in you, my son.”

Percy turned red. “Thank you… sir.”

Poseidon nodded. “You are a true son of the Sea God, Perseus. No one can take that away from you. No matter how hard they may try.”

Running into his father was the last thing Luke had expected.

He figured he’d give Percy a moment alone with Poseidon. Many demigods wished they could have that moment with their parents, so he wasn’t going to deprive Percy of that.

Which was how he found himself wandering the gardens and finding Hermes standing awkwardly next to a tree.

“Luke!” He acted surprised, though it wasn’t too convincing. He sighed, giving Luke a small smile. “The whole surprised thing isn’t going to work, is it?”

Luke shook his head, trying not to laugh. He hadn’t expected to almost laugh, but he couldn’t help it.

A few years ago, he’d made peace with his relationship with Hermes. Time at camp had helped temper his anger from his youth, and Chiron explained the situation with Olympians and how the distance with demigods was necessary. He didn’t like it but he understood it.

And since then, Hermes had shown a level of care he hadn’t expected either. He’d get gifts, quests, and even answers to his prayers. He’d grown to learn that Hermes did care about him even from afar. He’d accepted the distance between them. He was fine with the distance. He was fine with only seeing Hermes at the Winter Solstice from a distance.

Which is why seeing Hermes here threw him for a loop. He wasn’t sure what to say, how to act, what to think. What did Hermes want? 

He got his answer pretty quickly. “Come with me. We have a lot to talk about.”

They found a nearby bench as they sat. Luke figured it was a good idea to let his father start the conversation considering he had no idea what to even say.

He didn’t need to wait long as Hermes began talking. “I’m glad to see you doing well.”

Luke nodded. “It was just a typical quest, you know?”

Hermes nodded. “Yes, that it was. And your friends?”

“They’re good.”

“Good.”

If this were any more awkward, Luke would have to call it a parody. 

Finally, he couldn’t take it. “Look, Father, not that I’m not grateful for this, but why talk to me now? You never went out to see me in person. And I know you care, it’s just… why? Why stay away all this time? Why wait till now?”

Hermes stared at Luke for a time before sighing. “You know… when you were born, your mother wanted to find a way to stay connected to the mythical world. She knew I couldn’t stay for long, so she decided to try and become the Oracle.”

Luke stared in shock. He hadn’t known that. Hermes continued, now looking off into the distance. “We didn’t realize at the time just how bad the situation with the Oracle was. Apollo might’ve known something was up, but not in detail. The transfer didn’t hold. Not entirely, which is why she became what you know her as now.”

Luke’s blood ran cold. When he was younger, he often blamed his father for his mother’s state. As he grew older, he figured that some event led to her state. Now he was learning about it in detail. And he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to know more or not.

Curiosity won in the end as he continued listening. “I tried to stop her. I promise I tried. She wouldn’t listen. She always was willful.” He had a nostalgic smile then. It melted off soon after. “The Oracle’s spirit imparted some level of prophetic visions to her, but they weren’t stable. She started seeing futures that might come to pass, things that may or may not happen. One of them was about you.”

Luke blinked. “Me?”

His voice sounded raspy to him, but Father didn’t comment. “She spoke of a dark fate that was going to make its way to you. I thought that maybe if I stayed away, you’d be fine. That I might be able to fight that prophecy if I just let you grow on your own.” He sighed again, turning to look at Luke. “I suppose it doesn’t matter now. You’ve done well for yourself, my son.”

Luke nodded. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Taking a deep breath, he looked up with purpose. “I promise I’ll make you proud, Dad.”

He just got a warm smile and a gentle hand on his neck. “You already have, my son.”

When Thalia dropped to the floor, she found herself in an isolated part of Olympus. There was no flowing river, no water, just an empty amphitheater.

She turned to Zeus confused. He just laughed. “Did you really think my Bolt can be tainted by mortals?”

Thalia shrugged. “I’ve heard weirder things happen.”

He scoffed. “Perhaps, but no. I was simply giving Poseidon some time with the boy, as well as Hermes some time with your friend.” He paused for a moment before looking at Thalia. “I also wished to speak with you alone.”

Thalia blinked before shrugging. She didn’t see any reason why not to.

They went to their seats and faced each other. Thalia took a good look at her father. He exuded regality unlike any she’d ever seen. As a matter of fact, all of the Big Three did. They were all kings of various domains after all, so she can’t say she was surprised. It was just a bit overwhelming sometimes knowing she was the daughter of the King of Olympus.

Zeus seemed to notice that and smiled. “Do not sell yourself short, my daughter. You are no slouch yourself.”

Thalia shrugged again. “I mean, yeah, sure, but it’s still a bit much sometimes, you know?”

He nodded. “It can be difficult being so isolated from your peers. I am glad you have found your place at camp.”

Thalia nodded again. She couldn’t say she had the best relationship with her Olympian parent, at least not when compared to Hermes and Luke, but she understood why. She was also comfortable with where she stood. He was proud of her. That was enough for her.

That did mean she could ask questions somewhat comfortably. “Father. What do we do about Kronos?”

Even here, as far away from Tartarus as they could be without leaving the planet, Kronos’ name saturated the room with latent power. Even with Zeus there, Thalia could feel the Titan’s strength filling the room.

Zeus seemed to consider her question before deciding to answer. “There is not much we can do at the moment. Not overtly at any rate. Father is a crafty being, and should we act in the open, it would give any Titan the freedom to act as well. As it stands, we will prepare, do what we can from a distance, and wait for the right moment to act.”

Thalia nodded. That made enough sense to her. “Glad to see you’re taking this seriously.”

Zeus raised an eyebrow. “Did you expect me to hide from my father like a child who broke a vase?”

Thalia almost laughed at that mental image. “I mean, no, not really. I just didn’t expect you to believe Percy.”

Zeus seemed to consider that. “I suppose that is a fair assumption. I will not say I dislike the boy, more that I am wary of what he may represent. As it stands, he has proven himself well enough. I sensed no lie coming from him.”

“You’re saying you trust him?” Thalia couldn’t help but ask.

“Not quite. I do not know him enough yet to say I trust him. But I do trust you .” He paused to look at her. “If you say he is worthy, I can accept that.”

Thalia blinked, not having expected that. She nodded sharply as she let the idea sink in. Her father trusted her. That was enough.

The three of them met again at the bottom of the elevator. 

They shared the talks they’d each had. Thalia assured them that Kronos would not be ignored and that they just needed to wait and see what to do next. They’d tell Chiron at camp, who probably already knew, and they’d go forward from there.

Percy asked them if it was possible for them to see his mom before going back to camp, which they both agreed to do. They found a nearby cab and rushed as quickly as they could to see her.

Luke had told Thalia a bit about Gabe on the way there. Percy didn’t mind that too much, considering she’d end up seeing what he was like soon enough.

When they got to the apartment, they were met with law enforcement taking Gabe out of it in cuffs. When he turned to them, he looked livid at Percy before noticing Luke and Thalia behind him. Gabe was led away quietly as he kept his head down.

Walking into the apartment, Percy saw his mom sitting on the couch, looking somewhat relieved. He couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Mom!” He rushed to her as she turned to see him. She gathered him in her arms and fussed over him again. This time, he didn’t even pretend to be annoyed with it. He was so glad to see her again.

“Percy! Oh, Percy, you’re back.” She held him close and didn’t seem to want to let go. If he was being honest, he didn’t want to let go either. He just turned to face Luke and Thalia while still in her arms. They had small smiles on their faces as they shared a look.

“Guys, come on. What are you waiting for?”

They sat around the table and started explaining what happened. Sally had been told by Chiron that Percy had gone on a quest to retrieve the Bolt, which of course meant she was worried the whole time. She tightened her hold on him when they got to explaining St. Louis.

“You know, Gabe tried to blame the whole thing on you when we heard. I didn’t believe him of course, figuring there must’ve been something going on there.” 

They continued the talk, and Sally laughed when they got to Percy meeting Amphitrite. 

“Seems you’ve made a good impression then?” Percy nodded and Sally smiled. 

By the time they were done explaining, and Sally was quite happy to hear they’d all gotten to talk to their parent, she kissed the top of Percy’s head. “I’m so proud of you, baby. So, so proud.”

He buried himself in her side as she turned her attention to his friends. “And as for you. Thank you for helping him. It means the world to me.”

“No problem, Miss Jackson.” Luke took over. “It was our pleasure.”

“Oh, please honey. Just Sally’s enough.”

Percy was glad they were getting along and he really didn’t want to bring the mood down, but he had to ask. “Mom. What was going on with Gabe?”

Sally took a deep breath as she started explaining her end of the last two months. She’d been looking for a way to get rid of Gabe since Percy left, but it wasn’t easy. He had such a hold on her that she could barely move without him knowing what she was doing. It took everything she had, but she managed to call the police without him knowing. Soon after, they started monitoring the situation, and as soon as they had enough evidence, he was taken away in cuffs, which was just about now.

“I can’t say I’m going to miss him. Maybe now, we can find some normalcy.”

Percy nodded. He was glad Gabe was gone. From the looks of it, he wasn’t coming back. 

“So, what now?” She asked them.

Percy reluctantly pulled back. “Now, we have to go back to camp.”

She nodded, keeping a brave face. “For the summer or…” 

Percy smiled. “Just for the summer.”

Without Gabe around, there was no way he was passing up a whole year with just his mom. She mirrored his smile and sent them off to camp. They were finally done.

Chapter Text

They received a hero’s welcome when they got back to camp.

Luke and Thalia didn’t seem too surprised, but Percy couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed at first. He knew they’d finished a quest, but he didn’t expect everyone to suddenly like him.

Well, maybe not everyone exactly. Most of the Hunters still hated him, which he didn’t exactly care about, so at least that was still normal.

Annabeth had run directly to him when she saw him, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her back as Luke and Thalia went to debrief Chiron.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Seaweed Brain.” She whispered to him

Percy just hugged her a bit tighter. It was her dagger that helped them towards the end after all.

“Come on, you have to tell us what happened.” She dragged him to Connor where the three of them caught up. 

When they finished talking, Annabeth looked a mix of happy and annoyed. “I can’t believe Lycaon was that stupid.” 

Percy shrugged. “At least we had your dagger with us.”

She nodded, smiling again. “Yeah, I’m glad it helped you.”

After that, they were taken to the pavilion to burn their shrouds. Luke had explained on the way there that it was a tradition for quests, as a sort of preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. If they survived the quest, they’d burn their shrouds personally; otherwise, they’d be burned with their shroud.

Typically, it was a camper’s cabin that made the shroud, so Thalia had the Zeus cabin band together to make an ornate shroud with lightning patterns, and Luke had one made by the Hermes cabin, a grey piece with a traveler’s path.

Percy’s was a beautiful green and blue shroud with waves and sealife scattered about it. Before he could ask who made it, Zoë handed him the torch. 

“Consider this an apology for my sisters’ attack on you,” She didn’t look happy, but she also didn’t look disgusted. He spoke with Penelope after the shroud burning, not finding Annabeth and needing an explanation about it.

“It was Zoë’s idea to try and placate Lord Poseidon after Phoebe’s braindead move.”

Percy blinked. “I guess it would’ve been hard to convince the others to do that.”

She just shrugged. “I mean, a little, but it was only the more stubborn ones. Most of us were happy to pitch in.”

Percy was confused. “I thought most of you hated us.”

Penelope shook her head, frowning lightly. “That’s just some of the older ones. What makes you say that?”

“I heard the Hunters burned down a bunch of cabins last time you came.”

Penelope snarled at that, though Percy didn’t feel it directed at him. “That was Vera. She was always a pain; Lady Artemis kicked her out soon after we left camp that year, not wanting her around for longer.”

He found Ananbeth soon after that but she was already getting ready to go. Soon after the shroud burning, the Hunters were being taken from camp back to do their job and they weren’t sure when they’d see her again. She looked sad to leave them, but she packed up.

He and Connor saw her off at the top of the hill. “I’ll see you guys as soon as I can.”

She hugged them both close, seeming to linger a bit longer than usual. She gave him a quick smile and shared a look with Connor before turning and leaving.

He turned to Connor then. “Think we’ll see her again?”

Connor nodded. “Definitely. She’s always dramatic when she leaves.”

They went back to their activities after that, catching up with what they could together.

He asked Connor about everyone treating him like a hero instead of a virus, and Connor just shook his head. “Clarisse kind of got on everyone’s back about how they treated you a bit after you guys left. She whipped everyone into shape. The fact that you finished the quest did help a bit.”

Percy shrugged, not really finding it in him to care all that much.

After one of his activities, Silena had taken him to one side asking if they could talk now. Truth be told, Percy had completely forgotten about their falling out before he’d left. He’d told her he’d think about it on the quest, but he didn’t even remember to.

He nodded, having forgiven her for how she acted. Seeing how he and Thalia had ripped apart St. Louis by complete accident, he couldn’t blame anyone for being scared of him at first.

That didn’t stop her from spewing rapid-fire apologies.

“Look, I know I messed up with you, and I’m not trying to justify it. I’m sorry, I’m really really sorry for ignoring you the whole time, and-”

He cut her off by throwing his arms around her. “You really babble when you’re nervous.”

“Rude.” She hugged him back as she relaxed. “So… we’re good?”

He pulled back and smiled at her. “We’re good.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you though.” She pulled back and led him to his next activity, which was arts and crafts. It was just as fun as it used to be, so he figured everything would be fine.

Time passed, the Solstice went by and nothing major happened, and Percy got to experience what camp was like without the Hunters around.

In a lot of ways, it was so much more fun. He got to see pranks being thrown around, people just messing around, everyone acting like kids. He could go out and do his activities without worrying that he might have to deal with a stuck-up hunter from the Iron Age stepping up and trying to prove he’s nothing but a speck of dirt at the bottom of her shoe, which was nice.

Despite that, though, he found himself missing Annabeth. He really hoped he could see her again someday. 

On the Fourth of July, the Hephaestus cabin was in charge of creating a fireworks show for the campers. Given they weren’t too many and they wanted it to be perfect this year, they decided to personally handle it, so they weren’t watching this year. 

Silena had offered to take Percy to the fireworks this year, and he accepted, wondering why she was being so formal about it. When they sat to watch, she explained to him that the fireworks were practically how people went on dates at camp. Percy blushed but she told him that they could also go as friends, which is what she offered.

He sat next to her as she told him about the show. How it was done once a year to give the campers something to enjoy besides the activities themselves, how many of the historical figures shown were demigods in secret, and some insider knowledge she’d learned from Chuck about how they work.

They lay side by side on the blanket as they watched the fireworks go off. He was glad they were friends again, something he told her as she smiled at him.

“You’re a good kid, Percy. I’m glad you gave me a second chance.”

She gave him a quick peck on his cheek and he flushed red. She giggled at that and went back to watching the fireworks. He didn’t find himself minding it too much.

He mostly found himself in a routine for the next few days. He’d wake up, go to breakfast, do his activities, repeat. He’d already told Chiron about his plan to go back home for the year, which Chiron agreed to so long as he followed a training plan while there. Given what they knew about Kronos rising, Percy would need to be well prepared.

Everything was normal until one day, he woke up and got a knock on his window. When he went to check, he found nothing but a note that told him to meet him at the creek.

Frowning, he weighed his options. On the one hand, this was a weird request. On the other hand, he couldn’t think of anyone who’d hurt him who would give him a note to meet at the creek.

Shrugging, he figured it couldn’t hurt to check. He went to the creek as he wondered who might be calling him.

When he got there, he found himself at the spot where he was posted during his first capture-the-flag match. He found another note there that told him to look at the forest nearby.

Turning, he saw someone he’d thought he wouldn’t see again for years.

“Annabeth!”

He ran towards her and threw his arms around her. She laughed as she hugged him back.

“Missed me, Percy?” She sounded happy to see him again.

“So much!” He pulled back and looked at her. She was actually here. He almost didn’t believe it. That was until he saw what she was wearing.

It was a plain white shirt and jogging shorts. She didn’t have any of her Hunters’ getup on. No knives, no aura, no bow. She looked like a normal girl.

She noticed him looking and nodded. “I left the Hunters earlier this week.” 

Percy blinked. “You left the Hunters?”

Annabeth nodded again. “Yeah. I figured it wasn’t for me.”

Percy shook his head. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but he figured it wasn’t too bad. “Come on, I’m sure you have a lot you want to tell me.”

They sat by the creek, catching up over the past few weeks they’d had. Annabeth was a good listener, making sure to pay attention to his every word. She’d even brought coke with her, so that helped a lot.

When he finished, she gave him a small smile. “I’m glad you’re happy here Percy. I really am.”

She sounded genuine, and yet it was almost like she was hiding something.

“Hey, Annabeth, are you alright?” He bumped her shoulder with his. “You know you can tell me anything, yeah?”

She smiled sadly at him. “Yeah, I guess so.”

She took a deep breath as she began to talk. “When you were out there on the quest. You ever noticed how they seemed to treat mortals?”

Percy blinked. That wasn’t exactly what he’d expected her to say. “Kind of. Luke seemed a bit weird about them and Thalia too.”

Annabeth nodded. “I’ll give them this much, they’re not as bad as some of the others. But For the most part, demigods seem to act like mortals are beneath them.”

She scoffed, looking irritated after that. “They act all high and mighty about it, acting like we owe them for existing. Olympus I can get. They’re not humans, so sure; but the demigods are just so stuck up with it! They act like they’re so big, so important, even when they’re not.”

The way she was talking worried Percy a bit. She sounded really angry. “Is it really that bad?”

She turned to him, eyes now filled with pity. “You’ve only seen a bit of it so far. Only saw how they act around each other. You haven’t seen how they can be with mortals.”

Percy blinked. “You’re talking like you know how…” Percy’s eyes widened in realization.

Annabeth nodded, turning back to look at the creek. “I’m mortal. Or, well, I was before joining the Hunters. And I suppose I am one now. I joined back during the seventeenth century, during the Salem Witch trials. The way demigods treated mortals was even worse back then. Part of those witch hunts were just demigods who chased after mortal girls just for the fun of it.”

She sounded like she was holding something back there, and Percy didn’t want to know what it was.

Percy blinked as he noticed something. Her voice was very similar to the one in his dreams when Kronos gave him visions of the past. The girl who was running from a group of people chasing her. He remembered them saying something about mortals.

“You were one of those mortal girls.” He breathed out in shock.

She nodded. “I was. But it’s more than that,” she turned back to him as she continued, looking angry now. “No matter what you tell them, they’ll never learn. They’ll always think they’re better than us. They’ll always treat us like we’re nothing even though they’re half mortal themselves. Why should I stay quiet about that? Why should I take that lying down? So, I decided to do something about it.”

“Annabeth, what are you saying?” Percy didn’t like where this was going.

She gave him a small smile. “You’re a smart guy. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

And he did. Much as he wished he didn’t, he figured it out. “You were the lightning thief.”

He’d meant for it to come out as a question, but it turned out to be a statement. She nodded, satisfied that he’d figured it out. “I’m the lightning thief.”

“Why?” He blurted out. “Why steal the Bolt? Why do all this? You said you hated demigods. How does bringing Olympus down help with that?”

Annabeth shrugged. “Honestly, it was just a means to an end. I can’t fight demigods on my own, and the Hunters, for all they hate demigods too, wouldn’t help me with that. Kronos wants to bring Olympus down which will bring demigods down as well. I can work with that.”

Percy sat in horror as he listened to her. At that moment, he remembered the only line in the prophecy that hadn’t been completed.

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend .

“Why are you telling me this?”

Her gaze turned hopeful at that point. “I wanted to offer you to help us.”

“Help you?” Percy couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

She nodded. “Think about it. What has this camp done for you? They turned against you as soon as you were claimed! They treated you like you were some sort of disease, only turning back when you finished your quest. Even those who were your friends turned against you. What’s stopping them from doing something like that again? They don’t care about anyone here; they only care about themselves.”

She was making sense. Too much sense. Percy didn’t like it.

“You’d be a powerful member of our forces. High ranking, with anything you want. You can give yourself anything you need. I promise you, I can make sure you’re treated well there.”

Percy blinked, trying to make sense of all this. She was promising him he’d be treated well, which made little sense to him. “The hellhound. Lycaon. Echidna. All of those were there to kill me, all from your side. How can you promise I’d be taken care of?”

Annabeth shook her head. “I had nothing to do with Echidna. I don’t even know what she was trying to do. As for Lycaon,” she bared her teeth, snarling better than Lycaon ever did, “that idiot was only supposed to grab the bag and take it to Tartarus. I didn’t think he’d be dumb enough to try and attack you like that.”

Her glare turned murderous after that. “As for the hellhound, it was that thrice-damned idiot Alabaster. He thought it’d be a good way to get you out of camp. I tore into him when I found out. I promise I won’t do anything like that to you. You’re my friend, Percy. I take care of my friends.”

Percy started stepping back. That was when Annabeth hit him with one last line. “You told me about how great your mom is. You think anyone here cares about that? To them, she’s just another mortal. They wouldn’t care about her if not for her connection to you, and even then they wouldn’t offer her much. Why stand with these people?”

She was making sense. He hated how much sense she was making. There was a part of him that wanted to give in, that wanted to join her. Annabeth had done more for him in the short time he’d known her than many others. She was one of his closest friends and she was making way too much sense for him to say no.

And yet, he couldn’t. He couldn’t turn his back on Luke, on Thalia, on Clarisse and Chiron, on Silena and Beckendorf, on Connor. They were his friends. They wouldn’t be on Kronos’ side. He couldn’t betray them. He could never betray them.

“I’m sorry, Annabeth. My answer’s no.”

She nodded, looking disappointed. “Shame.” 

She moved close to him and studied him closely. Then, quicker than Percy could comprehend, she snatched her dagger from his belt and slashed at him.

He dodged as quickly as he could, barely getting nicked in the process. He pulled out Riptide and stared at Annabeth in shock. “Annabeth, why-”

“You’re too dangerous of an enemy for us to have. It’s nothing personal, Percy. Trust me, it’s gonna hurt me a whole lot more than it’s gonna hurt you.”

Percy glared at her and called a blast of water to hit her right in the face. It knocked on her back quickly as she coughed up a storm.

While she was recovering, Percy reached for the creek and shot up a stream of water as high as he could. He wasn’t sure if anyone could see it from here, but he hoped someone would.

“You really should’ve picked your spot better, Wise Girl. Trying to fight me next to the creek? You’re pulling a Lycaon there.”

She snarled at him and launched herself with all the fury she could muster. Percy had to admit, she was a lot better than he thought. A lot better than him. He knew she’d held back in their spars, but he hadn’t realized just how much. It didn’t help that he couldn’t hurt her with Riptide, but he had no other weapon to counter the dagger.

He had only two advantages at the moment. For one, she was so angry it clouded her judgment as she tried to attack, which gave Percy some wiggle room to work with.

And more importantly, the stream of water he’d shot up had come back down, and he directed it to hit him before Annabeth had charged at him, giving him a much-needed boost.

As they exchanged blows, Percy noticed something strange. She was still better than him, yes, but it wasn’t by as much as it should have been. Her movements were slower, he reflexes duller, her awareness lacking.

That was when he remembered what she’d opened with.

Heh, guess that makes it three advantages .

He kept that to himself as they exchanged blows. She was growing increasingly frustrated as he held her off.

“This doesn’t make sense! I know you’re good, but you can’t be that good yet. My Hunter’s Blessing-” Her eyes widened as she barely ducked a punch from Percy.

“Seems you figured it out. You’re not a hunter anymore, Annabeth.” 

Her snarl was no less impressive. “Doesn’t matter. You still can’t beat me.”

He saw someone come from behind her. He couldn’t help but smile. “I know. But he can.”

Annabeth turned just then to see Chiron rushing towards them. Percy’s plan had worked.

“Chiron.” She whispered in shock. Before Percy could react, she chucked the dagger right at him. He ducked, barely escaping its sting, and watched helplessly as Annabeth ran through a rift that opened in front of him.

Chiron arrived barely a moment after she’d left. He sighed in frustration, turning to Percy. “What happened here?”

Percy told him everything, only leaving out Annabeth’s motivation. He told Chiron that he had alerted Annabeth to his approach. 

“I’m sorry. I’d thought you’d make it before she could do anything. I didn’t think she could teleport like that.”

Chiron shook his head. “In my prime, she would not have been able to escape even as she did. I fear I have let myself get rusty. That is something I will need to work on over the coming months.”

He turned to Percy then, regarding him closely. “You are unharmed?” 

Percy nodded. “She thought it’d be a good idea to fight me near the creek.”

Chiron outright laughed at that. “She may be cunning, but I suppose she thought herself more cunning than she truly was. Come, we must tell the others.”

Everyone took the news about as well as could be expected.

“What!”

“No way!”

“She did what ?”

Thalia, thankfully, hadn’t said a thing about being right. She stood by Percy, throwing an arm around his shoulder as Luke handled Connor. The two of them had been the most affected by Annabeth’s betrayal, but over the course of her last visit, she’d managed to endear herself to many of the others, leading to only Luke, Thalia, and Clarisse still disliking her.

Dionysus had gone back to Olympus to relay the information. Percy had a feeling it wasn’t going to be taken well.

They tried to go back to normal camp life after that, though it wasn’t easy. There was just too much to worry about. Between Kronos rising, a traitor within camp, Alabaster having left before they could get him, and who knows how many others who were secretly against them. There was too much to worry about.

Despite that, the last month and a half of Percy’s time at camp was decent enough. He and Connor stuck together, not too willing to split up after the whole Annabeth situation. They didn’t talk about her much. The pain was too raw.

When they reached the last day, Percy had gotten his things ready. While normally he’d ignore deadlines until they showed up, he’d made his decision months ago. He was going back to his mom.

That was how he found himself with Luke and Thalia, packing his things to go.

“What’re you guys going to do over the year, by the way?” He asked them when they were almost done.

Luke shrugged. “We’re year-rounders, Perce. Typically, we just stick around and wait till the next year. I tend to go to college when I can, but that’s about it.”

Thalia nodded. “We don’t really have anything else to do, really.”

Maybe it was the fact that Annabeth had betrayed him, maybe it was the fact that he’d miss them more than he thought. Whatever the reason, Percy couldn’t stop himself from blurting out the next question. “How about you guys come home with me?”

It hadn’t taken too much convincing for Luke and Thalia to agree to come home with him. After getting rid of Gabe, Sally had pawned a few drachma they’d looted on the quest to buy a new house and put a deposit for Percy to start a new school in the fall. The apartment had been a four-bedroom apartment, Sally reasoning that they could use the space if Percy wanted any friends to stay over for a night. She hadn’t expected him to bring two friends over for a year, but she welcomed them with open arms.

They promised they’d pull their weight, which Sally appreciated, and they got settled in soon after. Looking at the two of them in the living room, no sign of Gabe anywhere nearby, despite everything going on, Percy couldn’t help but feel excited for the coming year.

Chapter Text

Sequel's out now, called Ocean Madness. You can find it in the series this is a part of. Enjoy the comedy as well.

Alabaster's Incompetence:

“It was that thrice-damned idiot Alabaster. He thought it’d be a good way to get you out of camp. I-”

“Wait, he did what?”

Percy couldn’t help cutting her off. The idea that Alabaster thought trying to kill him was a good idea to get him out of camp was absolutely baffling.

Annabeth nodded vigorously. “He did! You can bet I tore into him for it. There was no way I’d let something like that slide.”

Percy shook his head. “No, I don’t blame you. There’s so much that could go wrong with that! Even ignoring that he’s trying to kill someone, he tried to kill me! Isn’t the whole idea that I make it out of camp? How can I do that if I’m dead?”

“Right?” Annabeth sat down as she beckoned him. He had a feeling they’d be there for a while. “That’s what I said to him. He tried to defend himself saying that Chiron needed to be convinced that camp wasn’t safe for you, but like- Poseidon would’ve claimed you at some point anyway! And even then, there are safer ways to do that without summoning a hellhound! I was already planning a few ways to get you out of camp actually.”

Percy blinked. “Wait, what were they?” 

Annabeth waved her hand. “Nothing to worry about. Basically something like the attack Phoebe tried to pull on you but with some of the girls you could handle. I did need you to be alive, you know. Not just because you could be a useful ally.”

“Wait, really?” Percy tilted his head.

“Well, yeah.” Annabeth looked at him. “I did mean it when I said you were my friend, Seaweed Brain.”

Percy shrugged and went along with it. “Did Alabaster do anything else dumb?”

“You mean besides hit on me at every opportunity?” She deadpanned.

Percy blinked. “Huh?”

Annabeth laughed a bit. “You look funny when you’re confused.” Her smile took the sting out of her words. “But yeah, he’s got this idea in his head that he’s a player and he’s trying his luck with me.”

Percy shook his head. “And you haven’t killed him?”

Annabeth sighed. “He’s too useful for me to get away with that now.”

Percy nodded. Then, a thought popped into his head. “Wait, if you wanted me on your side, why did Echidna try to kill me?”

“She tried to what?” Annabeth turned to him sharply.

“She brought the Chimera to fight me and tried to keep Luke and Thalia from helping out.”

Annabeth looked aghast at that. “She was just supposed to make you think Zeus was out to get you! Maybe sow some seeds of doubt for Luke and Thalia in you by bringing up Grover-”

“Oh, that’s what she was doing!” Percy realized.

“What do you mean, child?”

Chiron stepped out, looking utterly confused. They brought him up to speed of their conversation as he put his head in his hands. “That child will be the death of me, and I am immortal.”

“Yeah, I get you.” Annabeth nodded in commiseration. “But back to Echidna. What did you mean by that, Percy?”

“Well, she said something about an old friend Luke and Thalia don’t talk about who died, but that was it.”

Annabeth facepalmed so hard, Percy thought her hand might go through to the back of her head. “That is the single dumbest way to go about it. She should’ve told you about him! He was a hero to he campers!”

Chiron nodded. “Thinking they refuse to speak of their dead hero would be quite the way to turn you against us.” He turned to Annabeth. “Are you certain you have competent allies, Miss Chase?”

She gave him a tired look. “Not anymore. I can tell you that Kronos is going to be really angry with all of them.”

Chiron grimaced. “I can’t exactly say I pity them, but I can imagine.”

The three of them sat and discussed the sheer idiocy of Alabaster further. Somewhere during all this, Paris appeared to join in on the fun. He shared some stories of Alabaster of his own, namely how he kept trying to one-up Paris at everything he did.

“The guy is absolutely irritating! He thinks he’s so much better just because he knows a bit of magic? What a joke! Did you know he tried to curse Luke’s shoes to drag you to Tartarus and it backfired on him?”

Percy stared at him, but it was Annabeth who answered. “Are you serious?”

Paris nodded. “His idea was that Percy would be carrying the bag and the shoes would drag him to Tartarus. He thought he could convince Luke to let Percy borrow them.”

Chiron looked disappointed. “Giving a son of Poseidon who is suspected to have stolen the Master Bolt flying shoes is idiotic enough, to begin with, but how did Alabaster think that Percy would be the one holding the Bolt?”

Paris shrugged. “If I knew, I’d tell you.”

“Hey, Annabeth.” Percy poked her in the side.

She turned to him, tilting her head. “Yeah?”

“Are you sure Alabaster’s too useful?”

Annabeth shook her head. “Not anymore. How did it backfire by the way?”

Pars snickered. “He managed to curse his own shoes to have an anti-gravity effect. They ended up attaching him to the roof of the Unclaimed cabin for hours by the time I found him.”

The ensemble couldn’t help but laugh at that. The idea of Alabaster failing so miserably was far too entertaining. 

They stayed there for hours trading stories. By the end of it, Alabaster had lost any semblance of credibility among the four of them. Percy also had a feeling that he wouldn’t be able to get any of it back.

Thalia's Awkward Conversation:

Watching Percy and Luke float up to the ceiling was both comforting and terrifying for Thalia.

Comforting because at least they got out alive. She didn’t want to think of what would’ve happened if Percy were stuck here.

And terrifying because she now was alone with Hades, who’s made no secret of not particularly caring for her.

She supposed at least she knew Hades didn’t want to kill her. If that were the case, she’d have already been dead.

Still, it didn’t make things any less awkward. 

“Come,” she was jolted out of her thoughts by the Lord of the Underworld. “Take a seat, child.”

She gulped and walked up to a chair that materialized not too far from the two thrones. Sitting down, she found the chair to be comfortable enough.

She sat there for some time before the silence started to get to her. Hades was staring out into the distance, not paying her any mind. She wasn’t sure what to say, or if she should say anything, but she couldn’t stand the silence anymore.

“So…” He turned to her inquisitively. He didn’t look annoyed with her existence yet, so she figured she was still doing fine. “How’s the Underworld this time of year?”

Hades raised an eyebrow. He didn’t look amused or insulted. Honestly, Thalia wasn’t sure what to call that expression; Hades was stoic as could be.

“Busy.” Was all she was given. Off to a great start.

“Like… a lot of people dying?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

If this were any more awkward, Thalia would be floating off to the sea without the use of the pearls. She shifted in her seat, unable to hold in her nerves.

She blinked as she remembered that Persephone was out of the Underworld this time of year. And she’d asked Hades how the Underworld was.

“I see you’ve realized what you said.” Hades sounded vaguely amused at the moment. Thalia wasn’t sure whether she wanted to run for the hills or melt into the floor.

She sat quietly for a bit longer, not wanting to make things any more awkward, but there was only so long she could stay still. 

“What do you do with people who believe in a different afterlife?”

“They go to the afterlife they believe in.”

Thalia blinked. “Huh?”

Hades raised an amused eyebrow. “You think everyone who dies comes here?”

Thalia shrugged. “Well… I didn’t really think much about it.”

Hades snorted. “If that were the case, managing the Underworld would be even more of a nightmare than it already is.”

“Nightmare?”

“You’ve seen how filled Asphodel is, haven’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Imagine it triple the size.”

Thalia blinked. “Okay, wow, that’s…”

Hades nodded. “Indeed. Truth be told, I was half expecting you children to walk in accusing me of wanting to start the war to expand my kingdom.”

Thalia blinked. “What kind of a moron would think that? A war between Olympus would make things worse for anyone who doesn’t want to take over. You’ve never done anything close to wanting to take over.”

Hades nodded. “True, but you would be surprised how idiotic some people could be.”

“Alabaster.” She said without even thinking.

Hades raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

Thalia ended up explaining who Alabaster was, and Hades looked less and less impressed with every word. “I do not think I have ever heard of a single more idiotic being in all the millennia I’ve ruled over the Underworld.”

“Wow, that’s saying a lot.”

“Indeed.”

They lapsed back into silence after that, though it was a bit less intense than before. She shifted around a bit before talking again.

“You really believed us about Kronos?” She couldn’t help but ask.

“I sensed no lies coming from you. I am not unreasonable you know.”

Thalia nodded. “I know that. I wasn’t expecting a rant about how expensive running the Underworld is or that Luke and I were running errands for Poseidon and helping Percy steal the Bolt and Helm.”

Hades stared at her for a moment. “I would be more concerned for the state of your camp if one of its leaders thought something like that than anything else.”

Thalia nodded. “It’s something Alabaster would expect though.”

“I believe we’ve already established he is an idiot.”

“True. But yeah, I’m kind of surprised. I figured we’d have to try a bit harder to sound believable.”

Hades considered her for a moment. “Tartarus is near my domain. I can sense my Father rising should I wish to. When you mentioned that, I chose to confirm your statements.” His gaze darkened for a moment. “You were correct.”

Thalia shivered a bit before composing herself. Before she could ask anything else, the Furies showed up.

The lead one fluttered down and kneeled at Hades’ feet. “My Lord. The demigods have successfully retrieved the Helm.”

Hades nodded, satisfied. “Very well. Take this one to the surface then; they have upheld their end of the deal, I will uphold mine.”

They nodded and moved around to Thalia. Soon after, she was teleported to the surface, with her last thoughts being that as awkward as this started, maybe it wasn’t all that bad.