Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Apotheosis.

The Highest point someone can reach in their life.

Another term?

The Elevation of someone to Divine status. Also known as Deification, or just Deific.

Quite the interesting word for someone like me.

Oh yeah, Hi, I’m Percy Jackson.

Currently, I’m on a quest to find Zeus’ master bolt. I brought my Satyr best friend Grover Underwood, and the daughter of Athena, Annabeth Chase.

I would run through it all, but considering what you’re reading, I feel like you know my story up till now. For the sake of clarity though, I’ll sprint through it.

My Mom got evaporated by a Minotaur that I killed, got brought to a camp for Demigods, found out I’m a demigod in the first place, made friends and enemies, and found out I’m the son of poseidon. I then got forced to go on this master bolt quest where some notable mentions include blowing up the St. Louis arch and being labeled a Terrorist, trying to “Help” Ares get his stupid thing back which turned out to be a trap, went to the underworld where me and Hades had a lovely conversation about the fact that I’m not the Lightning Thief (He did not take too kindly to my offers and opinions), saw my mom die AGAIN, and now I’m having a staredown with Ares on a coastline.

It would be pretty epic if not for the fact that he looks like he came out of the cliche 90s biker gang, and how he was nearly bald.

Sure me, but hair usually makes you look way more epic.

You might be wondering why I’ve skipped quite a bit? Well, this is where the story starts to get good, and I find out I am way more than just the Son of Poseidon.

Anyway, let’s get back to the present.

I stepped into the surf. “Fight me yourself, Ares.”

He laughed, but I heard a little edge to his laughter…an uneasiness.

“You’ve only got one talent, kid, running away. You ran from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld. You don’t have what it takes.”

“Scared?”

“In your adolescent dreams.” But his sunglasses were starting to melt from the heat of his eyes. “No direct involvement. Sorry, kid. You’re not at my level.”

Annabeth said, “Percy, run!”

The giant boar charged.

But I was done running from monsters. Or Hades, or Ares, or anybody.

As the boar rushed me, I uncapped my pen and sidestepped. Riptide appeared in my hands. I slashed upward. The boar’s severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea.

I shouted, “Wave!”

Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea.

I turned back to Ares. “Are you going to fight me now?” I asked. “Or are you going to hide behind another pet pig?”

Ares’s face was purple with rage. “Watch it, kid. I could turn you into-”

“A cockroach,” I said. “Or a tapeworm. Yeah, I’m sure. That’d save you from getting your godly hide whipped, wouldn’t it?”

Flames danced along the top of his glasses. “Oh, man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot.”

“If I lose, turn me into anything you want. Take the bolt. If I win, the helm and the bolt are mine and you have to go away.”

Ares sneered.

He swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. “How would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?”

I showed him my sword.

“That’s cool, dead boy,” he said. “Classic it is.” The baseball bat changed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth.

“Percy,” Annabeth said. “Don’t do this. He’s a god.”

“He’s a coward,” I told her.

She swallowed. “Wear this, at least. For luck.”

She took off her necklace, with her five years’ worth of camp beads and the ring from her father, and tied it around my neck.

“Reconciliation,” she said. “Athena and Poseidon together.”

My face felt a little warm, but I managed a smile. “Thanks.”

“And take this,” Grover said. He handed me a flattened tin can that he’d probably been saving in his pocket for a thousand miles. “The satyrs stand behind you.”

“Grover…I don’t know what to say.” He patted me on the shoulder. I stuffed the tin can in my back pocket.

“You all done saying good-bye?” Ares came toward me, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise. “I’ve been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. What have you got?”

A smaller ego, I thought, but I said nothing. I kept my feet in the surf, backing into the water up to my ankles. I thought back to what Annabeth had said at the Denver diner, so long ago: Ares has strength. That’s all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes.

But do I have that Wisdom?

He cleaved downward at my head…

but I wasn’t there.

My body thought for me. 

The water seemed to push me into the air and I catapulted over him, slashing as I came down. But Ares was just as quick. He twisted, and the strike that should’ve caught him directly in the spine was deflected off the end of his sword hilt.

He grinned. “Not bad, not bad.”

He slashed again and I was forced to jump onto dry land. I tried to sidestep, to get back to the water, but Ares seemed to know what I wanted.

He outmaneuvered me, pressing so hard I had to put all my concentration on not getting sliced into pieces. I kept backing away from the surf. I couldn’t find any openings to attack. His sword had a reach several feet longer than Anaklusmos.

Get in close, Luke had told me once, back in our sword class. When you’ve got the shorter blade, get in close. 

Oh yeah, Luke was like, my first friend at Camp Half-blood. Probably should’ve mentioned him.

I stepped inside with a thrust, but Ares was waiting for that. He knocked my blade out of my hands and kicked me in the chest. I went airborne—twenty, maybe thirty feet. I would’ve broken my back if I hadn’t crashed intothe soft sand of a dune.

I was seeing double. My chest felt like it had just been hit with a battering ram, but I managed to get to my feet.

I think Annabeth said something, but I couldn’t hear her over my own mind.

What was it even saying ?

I rolled to one side as Ares’s blade slashed the sand.

I ran for my sword, scooped it up, and launched a swipe at Ares’s face, only to find my blade deflected again.

Ares seemed to know exactly what I was going to do the moment before I did it.

I stepped back toward the surf, forcing him to follow.

“Admit it, kid,” Ares said. “You have no hope. I’m just toying with you.”

My senses were working overtime. I now understood what Annabeth had said about ADHD keeping you alive in battle. I was wide awake, noticing every little detail.

I could see where Ares was tensing. I could tell which way he would strike. At the same time, I was aware of Annabeth and Grover, thirty feet to my left. I saw a car pulling up, siren wailing. Must have been a cop car? Maybe that’s what Annabeth shouted. Spectators, people who had been wandering the streets because of the earthquake, were starting to gather. Among the crowd, I thought I saw a few who were walking with the strange, trotting gait of disguised satyrs. There were shimmering forms of spirits, too, as if the dead had risen from Hades to watch the battle. I heard the flap of leathery wings circling somewhere above.

More sirens.

I stepped farther into the water, but Ares was fast. The tip of his blade ripped my sleeve and grazed my forearm.

I heard another voice. Something about dropping a gun?

Ares turned to glare at our spectators, which gave me a moment to breathe. There were five police cars now, and a line of officers crouching behind them, pistols trained on us.

“This is a private matter!” Ares bellowed. “Be gone!”

He swept his hand, and a wall of red flame rolled across the patrol cars.

The police barely had time to dive for cover before their vehicles exploded.

The crowd behind them scattered, screaming.

Ares roared with laughter. “Now, little hero. Let’s add you to the barbecue.”

He slashed. I deflected his blade. I got close enough to strike, tried to fake him out with a feint, but my blow was knocked aside. The waves were hitting me in the back now. Ares was up to his thighs, wading in after me.

I felt the rhythm of the sea, the waves growing larger as the tide rolled in, and suddenly I had an idea. Little waves, I thought. And the water behind me seemed to recede. I was holding back the tide by force of will, but tension was building, like carbonation behind a cork.

But…

But then I felt something else.

Something…different.

Something far more powerful, and far less restrained then even the Sea.

Ares had started to plunge his blade closer and closer, and I could tell the next strike would definitely land.

So, I panicked, and just did what my offhand could do.

I punched.

Straight in the Gut of the God of War.

Something happened though.

Maybe it was just the adrenaline going to my head, or the panic of being inches away from death, but I will swear to you that something changed with that punch.

My arm seemed to take up an entirely new appearance. It went from the pasty white caucasian that I was so used to seeing, to something that resembled those marble statues in the Museum.

Like it was made of Porcelain.

A Band wrapped around my wrist and forearm, like bracers from those comics, and it didn’t feel like some Iron-man nanotech, where it was wrapped around my arm.

That was my arm.

The biggest reveal though, was what happened to Ares.

Somehow, the God of War didn’t anticipate one of the earliest forms of combat as a move, and he was dumbstruck by the sudden punch to the gut. He clearly tried to regain his breath, but something stopped him.

We were both seemingly frozen in time, one over the other, but neither moving. I took another glance at my arm, only to see that, while my arm was back to normal, my hand looked like that porcelain from before.

“What the Hell?” I quietly spoke, as I looked around.

It wasn’t just me and Ares that seemed to be frozen in time.

The Waves of the ocean were still, something that should be impossible.

I looked at the Coastline. Annabeth and Grover were stuck in place, and the wave of fire was now a dark grey, also frozen in time.

“What the hell?” I repeated, as I turned back to Ares, only to find that he was still frozen. What the hell kind of Sea power was this?

I mean, I guess dad was also God of Storms, Earthquakes, and Horses, but I can’t think of anything along those lines that would stop time.

 Before I could consider a truly awful idea, something made itself clear.

I was looking around at the frozen coastline, when I looked behind me. 

The Sun was far smaller. FAR smaller, and clearly, something was using it. An outline of a strange symbol had covered the sky, with the sun taking center stage of it.

I was about to comment on it, before a new voice made itself clear.

Welcome, Usurper

the voice stated, seemingly coming from every angle,as I looked closer at the Symbol in the sky.

It…kind of looked like an eye, with the sun acting as the Pupil.

“Wh-” I started, before it continued.

In solitude, only you behold the heavenly splendor enveloping this realm.

It continued, once again, the voice enveloping the entire area.

Your presence here has been ordained, so that you might fathom your destiny.

“What the hell does that mean!?” I shouted, confused and befuddled at this turn of events. “I thought my Destiny was already ordained! I’m already on this quest!”

No response came, at least not to my question.

The Dark One watches intently. The One who betrays you soon drifts in your domain. It is incumbent upon you to conquer them.

Seriously? So, back to that betrayal part of the prophecy? Great, just what I need. And who the heck is the dark one?

Once triumphant, your fate shall interlace with mine once more, and you will be tested.

“Can you at least explain who or what you are!? Why am I here?” I shouted to the heavens, only to get a…laugh? A Heavily distorted laugh, but it seemed like that’s what it was.

You are far more than just the Son of the Sea, Perseus Dominic Jackson. Good Luck.

And with that, the Eye symbol closed itself, and the sun returned to its normal size and position in the sky.

I only had one thing to say.

“What the Fuck?”

And that’s all I said for about 7 minutes in this frozen hellscape.

Perseus Dominic Jackson…

Was…that my middle name? What kind of middle name is that?

And who was that in the first place? Who has such control of the world that they could freeze everything except me, assumedly, in their tracks?

The same awful idea crossed my mind, but I put it aside. Surely not.

Either way, there was still something to do.

It wasn’t until I truly started to think that time seemed to resume.

I just had to Punch Ares again.

As soon as I Punched the guy again, in the face this time, time itself seemed to resume, as Ares took a couple steps back at the, from his perspective, double tap.

I could see the golden blood oozing from his now bleeding nose, but he tried his damndest to hide it.

“Really? A Couple punches is what you go for?” Ares asked, attempting to sound disappointed. “Would’ve thought you would’ve used some fun Sea tricks for me.”

“I’ve got plenty more up my sleeve,” I said, trying to sound cool. I think it worked?

“Sure you do godling,” Ares said, before continuing his assault, but I was ready for that.

…Somehow.

I had my left hand in the water, with Riptide in the right, ready to block the strike. Soon, he made his way back into the water.

I released the tide and jumped, rocketing straight over Ares on a wave.

A six-foot wall of water smashed him full in the face, leaving him cursing and sputtering with a mouth full of seaweed. I landed behind him with a splash and feinted toward his head, as I’d done before. He turned in time to raise his sword, but this time he was disoriented, he didn’t anticipate the trick. I changed direction, lunged to the side, and stabbed Riptide straight down into the water, sending the point through the god’s heel.

The roar that followed made Hades’s earthquake look like a minor event.

The very sea was blasted back from Ares, leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide.

Ichor, the golden blood of the gods, flowed from a gash in the war god’s boot. The expression on his face was beyond hatred. It was pain, shock, complete disbelief that he’d been wounded. He limped toward me, muttering ancient Greek curses.

Something stopped him.

It was as if a cloud covered the sun, but worse. Light faded. Sound and color drained away. A cold, heavy presence passed over the beach, slowing time, dropping the temperature to freezing, and making me feel like life was hopeless, fighting was useless.

Ares looked stunned.

Police cars were burning behind us. The crowd of spectators had fled. Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, in shock, watching the water flood back around Ares’s feet, his glowing golden ichor dissipating in the tide.

Ares lowered his sword.

“You have made an enemy, godling,” he told me. “You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware.” 

His body began to glow.

“Percy!” Annabeth shouted. “Don’t watch!”

I knew I shouldn’t have. I knew from the moment he started glowing that I should’ve looked away, but my paranoia had gotten the better of me. I wouldn’t have put it past Ares to strike when he was turning to his true form.

I knew that If I looked, I might as well have sealed my fate, as he said.

I couldn’t help it though.

Then…

Nothing happened.

I saw his true form, and I saw it with no limits.

This glowing red amorphous form, with twinklingly yellow, orange, and white points masked by his biker attire looking like Singed Skin. It felt Like I was looking at the Universe itself, with stars and galaxies dancing along the black background of an empty void.

An Insouciant, Carmine Yonder

What the hell?

I didn’t think that.

That thought distracted me from the true form of Ares enough for him to fully vanish. I shook my head, wondering where that thought went, when I looked around.

Chaos.

Police cars were burning behind us. The crowd of spectators had fled. Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, looking back at me in shock, watching the water flood around us all.

I looked back. Ares was fully gone. The tide rolled out to reveal Hades’s bronze helm of darkness. I picked it up and walked toward my friends.

But before I got there, I heard the flapping of leathery wings. Three evillooking grandmothers with lace hats and fiery whips drifted down from the sky and landed in front of me.

The middle Fury, the one who had been Mrs. Dodds, stepped forward.

Her fangs were bared, but for once she didn’t look threatening. She looked more surprised, as if she’d been planning to have me for supper, but then decided that it’d be better to see what I’d do.

“We saw the whole thing,” she hissed. “So…it truly was not you?”

I tossed her the helmet, which she caught in surprise.

“Return that to Lord Hades,” I said. “Tell him the truth. Tell him to call off the war.”

She hesitated, then ran a forked tongue over her green, leathery lips.

“You are a strange one. Live well, Percy Jackson, and farewell. Become a true hero.”

“Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again…”

She cackled, savoring the idea. Then she and her sisters rose on their bats’ wings, fluttered into the smoke-filled sky, and disappeared.

I joined Grover and Annabeth, who were staring at me in amazement.

“Percy…” Grover said. “That was so incredibly…”

“Terrifying,” said Annabeth. “Cool!” Grover corrected. I didn’t feel terrified. I certainly didn’t feel cool. I was tired, sore, confused, and completely drained of energy. 

“Did you guys feel that…whatever it was?” I asked. They both nodded uneasily. 

“Must’ve been the Furies overhead,” Grover said. 

“What? Wait, what are you talking about?” I asked, as Annabeth and Grover looked at each other.

“The big dark wave? You know, the big cold thing?” Annabeth asked, confused at my question.

“Oh…I doubt that Furies would do that, Grover. They’re just glorified Harpies,” I played along, as Grover got this look of, ‘Really man?’

I looked at Annabeth, and she had this look of Understanding. I think she was still thinking about the dark wave, but I was still stuck on…whatever that whole Vision was.

“Ugh…whatever, let’s just get to New York,” I said, looking in the backpack, seeing that the Master Bolt was thankfully still there. The Smallest object, and it could’ve caused earth to implode on itself. “We gotta get there tonight.

“That’s impossible,” Annabeth said, “unless we-”

“Fly,” I agreed. She stared at me. “Fly, like, in an airplane, which you were warned never to do lest Zeus strike you out of the sky, all while carrying a weapon that has more destructive power than a nuclear bomb?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Pretty much exactly like that. Come on.” I continued, as the three of us made out way to the closest airport.

Something told me though, that even if Zeus was a sourpuss and struck us down, we’d be more then okay.

It’s kind of hilarious how my once fellow mortals could always wrap themselves in this blanket of logic and reasoning. I could literally strike someone down with the master bolt right now, and any witness would say that I just pointed my finger, and conveniently, lightning happened to strike at the moment.

According to the L.A. news, the explosion at the Santa Monica beach had been caused when a crazy kidnapper fired a shotgun at a police car. He accidentally hit a gas main that had ruptured during the earthquake. 

This crazy kidnapper (Or as we know him now, Ares) was the same man who had abducted me and two other adolescents in New York and brought us across the country on a ten-day odyssey of terror.

Poor little Percy Jackson wasn’t an international criminal after all. He’d caused a commotion on that Greyhound bus in New Jersey trying to get away from his captor (and afterward, witnesses would even swear they had seen the leather-clad man on the bus, with such great comments like, “Why didn’t I remember him before?”) The crazy man had then caused the explosion in the St. Louis Arch (which I would like to add, how could I have done that?) A concerned waitress in Denver had seen the man threatening his abductees outside her diner, gotten a friend to take a photo, and notified the police. 

Finally, brave Percy Jackson (“I was beginning to like this kid”) had stolen a gun from his captor in Los Angeles and battled him shotgun-to-rifle on the beach. Police had arrived just in time. But in the spectacular explosion, five police cars had been destroyed and the captor had fled. No fatalities had occurred. Percy Jackson and his two friends were safely in police custody.

The reporters fed us this whole story. We just nodded and acted tearful and exhausted, and played victimized kids for the cameras. Grover certainly had the most trouble with it, but Annabeth should’ve been given an oscar for her performance.

Me on the other hand, was mostly silent, playing the part of a very confused and paranoid pre-teen, which was quite easy.

I did get one jab in though.

Suck it Gabe. Have fun with all those random calls from across the country asking for free stuff, every minute for, like, a week. Maybe two.

Bonus from that, we raised enough money for, not just 3 tickets to the airport, but 3 first-class tickets, as the media had basically forced the public’s hand. I usually hate the media, but on this end, they’re not that bad.

I knew there was no choice but to fly. I hoped Zeus would cut us some slack, considering the circumstances. It was still hard to force myself on board the flight.

Takeoff was a nightmare at the start, yet it seemed like either Zeus had done what I asked, or maybe something was weakening his control, because every spot of turbulence was gradually getting weaker and weaker. I hoped it was Dad. He was god of storms afterall. 

Either way though, I didn’t unclench my hands from the armrests until we touched down safely at La Guardia. The local press was waiting for us outside security, but we managed to evade them thanks to Annabeth, who lured them away in her invisible Yankees cap, shouting, “They’re over by the frozen yogurt! Come on!” then rejoined us at baggage claim.

I guess she’s Athena’s daughter for a reason. She knows what the hell she’s doing.

We split up at the taxi stand. I told Annabeth and Grover to get back to Half-Blood Hill and let Chiron know what had happened. They protested, and it was hard to let them go after all we’d been through, but I knew I had to do this last part of the quest by myself. 

If things went wrong, if the gods didn’t believe me…I wanted Annabeth and Grover to survive to tell Chiron the truth.

After I made sure they were gone, I headed to Manhattan. I had some Gods to discuss with.

The guard at the entrance, probably because of the media tour, was far easier than I expected to deal with.

I asked for an audience with Zeus, he said no, I told him to look at me, he did, and just gave me the pass.

Thank all gods for my slightly recognizable appearance.

He told me to hold the pass when I got into the Elevator, and lo and behold, a neat little red button appeared that said 600.

The Music playing was…an odd choice, but not unwelcome.

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator doors, I nearly fell back into the elevator. I was standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. Below me was Manhattan, from the height of an airplane. In front of me, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky. My eyes followed the stairway to its end, where my brain just could not accept what I saw.

Look again , my brain said.

We’re looking, my eyes insisted. It’s really there.

From the top of the clouds rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces. A city of mansions, all with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires.

Roads wound crazily up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the snow. Precariously perched gardens bloomed with olive trees and rose bushes. I could make out an open-air market filled with colorful tents, a stone amphitheater built on one side of the mountain, a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other. It was an Ancient Greek city, except it wasn’t in ruins.

It was new, and clean, and colorful, the way Athens must’ve looked twenty five hundred years ago.

It was wonderful.

Had it not been for who was running the place, I’d probably have stayed here.

My trip through Olympus was a daze. I passed some giggling wood nymphs who threw olives at me from their garden. Hawkers in the market offered to sell me ambrosia-on-a-stick, and a new shield, and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV. 

The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered. Satyrs and naiads and a bunch of good-looking teenagers who might’ve been minor gods and goddesses. Nobody seemed worried about an impending civil war. In fact, everybody seemed in a festive mood. Several of them turned to watch me pass, and whispered tothemselves.

I climbed the main road, toward the big palace at the peak. It was a reverse copy of the palace in the Underworld.

There, everything had been black and bronze. 

Here? everything glittered white and silver.

I realized Hades must’ve built his palace to resemble this one. He wasn’t welcomed in Olympus except on the winter solstice, so he’d built his own Olympus underground. Despite my bad experience with him, I felt a little sorry for the guy. To be banished from this place seemed really unfair. 

It would make anybody bitter.

Steps led up to a central courtyard. Past that, the throne room. Room really isn’t the right word. The place made Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations.

One of them…one of them looked familiar.

A Circle with 4 lines, each going in one of the cardinal directions. The North and South converged in the center of the circle, forming a diamond shape, with a singular star in the center of the diamond.

I don’t know why…but I felt drawn to it. Almost like how a Siren allures the sailors at sea, but this wasn’t harmonic resonance that drew me to it.

It was just its appearance.

I felt like I had seen it before.

Like I…had connected with it.

Before I could mention it at all though, it seemed to blink, and vanish into the black and dark blue background of space.

I stood there for another minute before shaking myself out of it. I had a meeting with gods to attend.

I entered the last door in sight.

Twelve thrones, built for beings the size of Hades, were arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. An enormous fire crackled in the central hearth pit. The thrones were empty except for two at the end: the head throne on the right, and the one to its immediate left. I didn’t have to be told who the two gods were that were sitting there, waiting for me to approach. 

I stepped toward them, and to my surprise, I was shockingly confident. My legs barely trembled, and when a random chill breeze passed through the whole room, I didn’t shiver whatsoever.

I don’t know where this burst of confidence came from, but I wish I had gotten it earlier.

The gods were in giant human form, as Hades had been, but I could barely look at them without feeling a tingle, as if my body were starting to burn. Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, wore a dark blue pinstripe suit. He sat on a simple throne of solid platinum. He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray.

He looked like if Mr. D took his life seriously, but not himself.

As I got nearer to him, the air crackled and arced, and I could tell without even looking at him that my presence, no, my existence pissed him off.

The god sitting next to him was his brother, without a doubt, but he was dressed very differently. He reminded me of a beachcomber from Key West.

He wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it. His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman’s. His hair was black, like mine. His face had that same brooding look that had always gotten me branded a rebel. But his eyes, sea-green like mine, were surrounded by sun-crinkles that told me he smiled a lot, too.

His throne was a deep-sea fisherman’s chair. It was the simple swiveling kind, with a black leather seat and a built-in holster for a fishing pole. Instead of a pole, the holster held a bronze trident, flickering with green light around the tips.

He seemed far more humble and respectable than the “King of Gods.”

The gods weren’t moving or speaking, but there was tension in the air, as if they’d just finished an argument.

I sucked up my Pride and Fear, trying to replace it with confidence and respect as I strode to the Fisherman’s throne.

I approached the fisherman’s throne and knelt at his feet. “Father.” I dared not look up. My heart was racing. I could feel the energy emanating from the two gods. If I said the wrong thing, I had no doubt they could blast me into dust.

To my left, Zeus spoke. “Should you not address the master of this house first, boy?”

I kept my head down, and waited.

“Peace, brother,” Poseidon finally said. His voice stirred my oldest memories: that warm glow I remembered as a baby, the sensation of this god’s hand on my forehead. “The boy defers to his father. This is only right.”

Thank gods that Dad was on my side.

“You still claim him then?” Zeus asked, menacingly. “You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?”

“I have admitted my wrongdoing,” Poseidon said. “Now I would hear him speak.”

Wrongdoing .

A lump welled up in my throat. Was that all I was? A wrongdoing ? The result of a god’s mistake ?

“I have spared him once already,” Zeus grumbled. “Daring to fly through my domain…pah! I should have blasted him out of the sky for his impudence.”

I mean, I am impudent, but you really think that I hold your super-weapon, maybe don’t do anything that could eradicate me from existence?

“And risk destroying your own master bolt?” Poseidon asked calmly. “Let us hear him out, brother.”

Zeus grumbled some more. “I shall listen,” he decided. “Then I shall make up my mind whether or not to cast this boy down from Olympus.”

Christ man. I get you’ve not had your little toy for, what, a month or something, but when the, “Kid who stole it,” is, you know, A KID, maybe be a little nicer?

“Perseus,” Poseidon said. “Look at me.”

So, I did, and I wasn’t sure what I saw in his face. There was no clear sign of love or approval. Nothing to encourage me. It was like looking at the ocean: some days, you could tell what mood it was in. Most days, though, it was unreadable, mysterious.

I got the feeling Poseidon really didn’t know what to think of me. He didn’t know whether he was happy to have me as a son or not. In a strange way, I was glad that Poseidon was so distant. If he’d tried to apologize, or told me he loved me, or even smiled, it would’ve felt fake. Like a human dad, making some lame excuse for not being around. I could live with that. 

“Address Lord Zeus, boy,” Poseidon told me. “Tell him your story.”

So I told Zeus everything, just as it had happened. I took out the metal cylinder, which began sparking in the Sky God’s presence, and laid it at his feet.

I did leave out the event involving, what I could only assume, was a Sky God or something.

There was a long silence, broken only by the crackle of the hearth fire.

Zeus opened his palm. The lightning bolt flew into it. As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity, until he was holding what looked more like the classic thunderbolt, a twenty-foot javelin of arcing, hissing energy that made the hairs on my scalp rise.

“I sense the boy tells the truth,” Zeus muttered. “But that Ares would do such a thing…it is most unlike him.”

“He is proud and impulsive,” Poseidon said. “It runs in the family.”

“Lord?” I asked.

They both said, “Yes?”

“Er, sorry. Lords,” I corrected, as the two nodded in recognition. ““Ares didn’t act alone. Someone else, or something else, came up with the idea.”

I described my dreams, and the feeling I’d had on the beach, that momentary breath of evil that had seemed to stop the world, and made Ares back off from killing me.

“In the dreams,” I said, “the voice told me to bring the bolt to the Underworld. Ares hinted that he’d been having dreams, too. I think he was being used, just as I was, to start a war.”

“You are accusing Hades, after all?” Zeus asked.

“No,” I said. “I mean, Lord Zeus, I’ve been in the presence of Hades. This feeling on the beach was different. It was the same thing I felt when I got close to that pit. That was the entrance to Tartarus, wasn’t it? Something powerful and evil is stirring down there…something even older than the gods.”

Poseidon and Zeus looked at each other. They had a quick, intense discussion in Ancient Greek. I only caught one word. Father .

Father ?

Hold on who-

Oh…

Poseidon made some kind of suggestion, but Zeus cut him off. Poseidon tried to argue. Zeus held up his hand angrily. “We will speak of this no more,” Zeus said. “I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from its metal.”

He rose and looked at me. His expression softened just a fraction of a degree. “You have done me a service, boy. Few heroes could have accomplished as much.”

“I had help, sir,” I said. “Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase-”

“To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust you, Perseus Jackson. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live.”

“Um…thank you, sir.”

“Do not presume to fly again. Do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise you shall taste this bolt. And it shall be your last sensation.”

Thunder shook the palace. With a blinding flash of lightning, Zeus was gone.

I was alone in the throne room with my father.

“Your uncle,” Poseidon sighed, “has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would’ve done well as the god of theater.”

An uncomfortable silence.

“Sir-” I started, but Poseidon held up his hand.

“Please, Percy. When we’re alone, you don’t need to refer to me as such,” Poseidon reaffirmed, and my hope in him was restored.

“Erm, Father?” I tried that one out, and Poseidon chuckled.

“If you wish. Now son, what have you wanted to ask?”

“What was in that Pit?”

Poseidon visibly darkened, but he shook it off fast. “I’m assuming you’ve already guessed, haven’t you Percy?”

“Kronos. King of the Titans…” I guessed, receiving a slow but firm nod. 

Poseidon gripped his trident. “In the First War, Percy, Zeus cut our father Kronos into a thousand pieces, just as Kronos had done to his own father, Ouranos. Zeus cast Kronos’s remains into the darkest pit of Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their mountain fortress on Etna destroyed, their monstrous allies driven to the farthest corners of the earth. And yet Titans cannot die, any more than we gods can. Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain, still hungering for power.”

“He’s healing,” I said. “He’s coming back.”

Poseidon shook his head. “From time to time, over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men’s nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. He awakens restless monsters from the depths. But to suggest he could rise from the pit is another thing.”

“That’s what he intends, Father. That’s what he said.”

Poseidon was silent for a long time.

“Lord Zeus has closed discussion on this matter. He will not allow talk of Kronos. You have completed your quest, child. That is all you need to do.”

“But-” I tried, but Poseidon held up his hand again.

“Now son, there’s a time and place for everything. Simply discussing between us will not change the opinions of those that have their heads stuck in the sand,” Poseidon said, before leaning down to me. “There’s something else on your mind though, isn’t there?”

How the heck did he know about that?

“I-...yes Father. Back on the coastline, when I was fighting Ares-” I started my little story.

“Well done by the way Percy. It seems like the Sea flows through you well enough to vanquish even the most talented of fighters,” Poseidon mentioned, a proud smile on his face, and my faith was once again restored.

“I-thank you. Uh, when I was fighting Ares, something weird happened,” I started to explain the strange time-stop occurrence, and as I went on, Poseidon’s face morphed from one of pride and kindness to one of Confusion.

Once I finished, his look was similar to when Zeus was in the room. Firm, stoic, and clearly contemplating.

“Odd. It is possible that you have attained a power from one of your ancestors,” Poseidon mentioned as a possibility. “Or perhaps another being has taken interest in you as well. Chronomancy, as implied by the name, originated from my Father himself. Perhaps your brush with Tartarus gave him enough leeway to find a way into your mind.”

“Will I be okay?” I quickly asked. Surely that wouldn’t be the end for me, right? My Dad’s dad taking me out from inside out?

“Oh, for sure. Even in his state, and even with your close contact, the most he could do is pass on his own powers, and speak into your mind. He couldn’t do anything to harm you, less you count him annoying you to death with his endless monologues,” Poseidon joked, and we had a nice chuckle.

““You must go, child. But first, know that your mother has returned.”

I stared at him, completely stunned. “My mother?”

“You will find her at home. Hades sent her when you recovered his helm. Even the Lord of Death pays his debts. One of his best facets in my mind.”

My heart was pounding. I couldn’t believe it. “Do you…would you…”

I wanted to ask if Poseidon would come with me to see her, but then I realized that was ridiculous. I imagined loading the God of the Sea into a taxi and taking him to the Upper East Side. If he’d wanted to see my mom all these years, he would have. And there was Smelly Gabe to think about. Poseidon’s eyes took on a little sadness. “When you return home, Percy, you must make an important choice. You will find a package waiting in your room.”

“A package?”

“You will understand when you see it. No one can choose your path, Percy. You must decide.”

I nodded, though I didn’t know what he meant.

“Your mother is a queen among women,” Poseidon said wistfully. “I had not met such a mortal woman in a thousand years. Still…I am sorry you were born, child. I have brought you a hero’s fate, and a hero’s fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic.”

I tried not to feel hurt. Here was my own dad, telling me he was sorry I’d been born. I wanted to reassure him that it wasn’t truly his fault, or that I didn’t mind terribly, but I just couldn’t.

“It is alright son. You are the one that must bear the brunt of a Hero’s journey. It is only fair that I apologize for such an action.”

“I’ll leave you then.” I bowed awkwardly. “I—I won’t bother you again.”

I was five steps away when he called, “Perseus.”

I turned.

There was a different light in his eyes, a fiery kind of pride. “You did well, Perseus. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God.” 

As I walked back through the city of the gods, conversations stopped. The muses paused their concert. People and satyrs and naiads all turned toward me, their faces filled with respect and gratitude, and as I passed, they knelt, as if I were some kind of hero.

Well, I guess I am now.

However, I truly had no idea how much of a Hero I’d be by the end.

About 30 minutes later, still in a trance, I was back on the streets of Manhattan.

I caught a taxi to my mom’s apartment, rang the doorbell, and there she was. My beautiful mother, smelling of peppermint and licorice, the weariness and worry evaporating from her face as soon as she saw me.

“Percy! Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my baby.”

She crushed the air right out of me. We stood in the hallway as she cried and ran her hands through my hair.

I’ll admit it, my eyes were a little misty, too. I was shaking, I was so relieved to see her.

She told me she’d just appeared at the apartment that morning, scaring Gabe half out of his wits. She didn’t remember anything since the Minotaur, and couldn’t believe it when Gabe told her I was a wanted criminal, traveling across the country, blowing up national monuments.

She’d been going out ofher mind with worry all day because she hadn’t heard the news. Gabe had forced her to go into work, saying she had a month’s salary to make up and she’d better get started.

I swallowed back my anger and told her my own story. I tried to make it sound less scary than it had been, but that wasn’t easy. I was just getting to the fight with Ares when Gabe’s voice interrupted from the living room.

“Hey, Sally! That meat loaf done yet or what?”

She closed her eyes. “He isn’t going to be happy to see you, Percy. The store got half a million phone calls today from Los Angeles…something about free appliances.”

“Oh, yeah. Forgot I did that,” I got out, a little smug.

She managed a weak smile. “Just don’t make him angrier, all right? Come on.”

In the month I’d been gone, the apartment had turned into Gabeland.

Garbage was ankle deep on the carpet. The sofa had been reupholstered in beer cans. Dirty socks and underwear hung off the lampshades.

Gabe and three of his big goony friends were playing poker at the table.

When Gabe saw me, his cigar dropped out of his mouth. His face got redder than lava. “You got nerve coming here, you little punk. I thought the police-”

“He’s not a fugitive after all,” my mom interjected. “Isn’t that wonderful, Gabe?”

Gabe looked back and forth between us. He didn’t seem to think my homecoming was so wonderful.

“Bad enough I had to give back your life insurance money, Sally,” he growled. “Get me the phone. I’ll call the cops.”

“Gabe, no!”

He raised his eyebrows. “Did you just say ‘no’ ? You think I’m gonna put up with this punk again? I can still press charges against him for ruining my Camaro.”

“But-”

He raised his hand, and my mother flinched.

For the first time, I realized something. 

Gabe had hit my mother. 

I didn’t know when, or how much. But I was sure he’d done it. Maybe it had been going on for years, when I wasn’t around.

A balloon of anger started expanding in my chest. I came toward Gabe, instinctively taking my pen out of my pocket.

He just laughed. “What, punk? You gonna write on me? You touch me, and you are going to jail forever, you understand?”

“Hey, Gabe,” his friend Eddie interrupted. “He’s just a kid.”

Gabe looked at him resentfully and mimicked in a falsetto voice: “Just a kid.”

His other friends laughed like idiots.

Then…something happened.

Something new.

One of the many flowers that my Mom had put up around the house started to move.

It started to bloom in Gabe’s direction.

Before I knew it, this large Pink beam shot from the flower, knocking Gabe straight into the wooden wall and out of the building, sending him careening down to the pavement below.

Me and Mom, along with Gabe’s buddies set up immediately and ran over to the new hole in the wall and looked down, seeing Gabe now with his leg contorted and hanging from the Fire-escape. He was cursing and yelling in pain, but clearly still alive. Eddie immediately ran for the phone, dialing emergency services, saying that a Wrecking ball had smashed through the apartment wall and taken Gabe out with it, and that he needed immediate help.

The rest of his buddies quickly started to pick up the poker stuff, probably taking his chips, before hightailing it out of there.

I looked at my Mom, and I could tell that she wasn’t fooled by the mist, clearly seeing what I had just seen.

It was odd. It felt like, no matter what happened, Gabe would be gone by the end of the night. No matter if what happened did happen, something else would’ve taken it’s place, and Gabe would be out of our lives forever.

Time seemed to stand still as we both listened to the ambulances arrive, hearing them cart Gabe away, and we thoughtlessly answered the first responders questions.

When they all left, my mother begged me to answer her, asking if that was me who made the flower shoot out its ray of light, or if it was another god, or demigod, or just a friend.

I don’t know what that was…but something told me it was me.

Chapter Text

We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we’d won some reality-TV contest.

According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.

Annabeth’s shroud was so beautiful, being a gray silk with embroidered owls. I told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. She punched me and told me to shut up.

Being the son of Poseidon, I didn’t have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make my shroud. They’d taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X’ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.

It was fun to burn.

As Apollo’s cabin led the sing-along and passed out s’mores, I was surrounded by my old Hermes cabin mates, Annabeth’s friends from Athena, and Grover’s satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher’s license he’d received from the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover’s performance on the quest “Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past.”

The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, who seemed to shoot me an acidic glare any chance they got. I mean, makes sense, considering I absolutely whooped their dad.

That was fine with me though. It’s not like they’d leave me alone anyhow, so if I can get them even more pissed off, that just makes the pie taste sweeter.

Even Dionysus’s welcome-home speech wasn’t enough to dampen my spirits. 

“Yes, yes, so the little brat didn’t get himself killed and now he’ll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday.…”

I moved back into cabin three, but it didn’t feel so lonely anymore. I had my friends to train with during the day. At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing my father was out there. Maybe he wasn’t quite sure about me yet, maybe he hadn’t even wanted me born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what I’d done.

However, I also listened to the sky. Sure, the sky was technically the domain of both my father, Zeus, and I guess Apollo, but clearly something else inhabited it too.

As for my mother, she had a chance at a new life. Her letter arrived a week after I got back to camp. She told me Gabe had been hospitalized for radiation poisoning, which the police had found to be from his “contaminated Cigars.” While they investigate the company the cigars came from, he won’t be out of the Hospital for a long time, and from how well I knew him, I wouldn’t be surprised if the doctors and nurses had a little…accident happen with him.

She also said that she had found a good place to start her writing career, which I was so glad to hear. Sure, she hadn’t written any novel-length stories yet, but from all the shorts I’ve read from her, she had talent, and I’m so happy she’s able to pursue it.

She also mentioned that she found a good private school for me if I’d prefer to go home and back into seventh grade. However, if I would like to stay at Half-blood, she’d understand.

I read that letter time and time again, before I made my choice. My mother might be the light of my life, but sometimes the light isn’t what you need to follow. Sometimes, you need to follow the smaller glimmers, and besides, back home, she’s my only light. My friends are here.

July passed by quickly. There was a neat little 4th of July celebration that was spectacular, as the show was managed by Hephaestus and his kids, so of course they weren’t going with some lame blue and white fireworks.

During that, Annabeth and Grover had found me on one of the tallest hills of the camp, and we spent a good amount of time watching the show. Annabeth left first, stating she needed to keep track of her younger siblings, and Grover left too, siting searcher duties.

It was on that hill that I met and found someone new.

It was just me for a while, watching the remainder of the show, when I felt a weight on the tree I was leaning on. I looked up and around the tree, before looking at the other side.

“Yello?” I asked the sitting counselor, who looked at me with surprise. She was quite beautiful, so something told me she was part of the Aphrodite cabin.

Silena Beauregard was her name, and while we didn’t talk much, I had a feeling I had someone else to look forward to during my time here.

She left soon after I found her, so I returned to watching the fireworks for the remainder of the night.

After the 4th, From time to time, I’d walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. I tried to convince myself that it's prophecy had come to completion.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

Been there, done that. Even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades.

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned.

Check. One master bolt was delivered, and one helm of darkness back on Hades’s oily head.

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.

This line still bothered me. Ares had pretended to be my friend, then betrayed me. That must be what the Oracle meant.…

And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.

I had failed to save my mom, but only because I’d let her save herself, and I knew that was the right thing.

So why was I still uneasy?

Usurper.

I recognized that voice.

I looked back at the sky, but there was no symbol this time.

I looked around for the time-stop, but nope. Not this time.

It was surprisingly absent however. No one around me.

The one who betrays you is closer then you believe. The Prophecy has not concluded.

Well damn, that was convenient.

“I thought you’d only talk to me in that gray-scale frozen time place Kronos!” I spouted out, shooting my personal theory as well, but the same laugh as before emanated from the clouds above.

The Titan of Time holds no force over you, Perseus Dominic Jackson. Good Luck.

Just like that, the presence removed itself.

Well, crap. Someone near me is a traitor.

The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.

The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.

I got my own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer, I was glad the firelight covered my blushing. The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.

“The choice was unanimous,” Luke announced. “This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!”

The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares’s cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena’s cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.

I’m not sure I’d ever felt as happy or sad as I did at that moment. I’d finally found a family, people who cared about me and thought I’d done something right. And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year.

But…I just couldn’t enjoy it.

Someone in the pile is willing to turn traitor. Someone I trust, and someone I like.

The mental notes I’ve been making have been hard to fill out.

There were plenty of easy suspects to eliminate.

Clarisse, Silena, and Mr. D were out of the running immediately. I don’t trust Silena, even if I do like her, and I don’t like nor trust Clarisse or Mr. D at all.

Chiron does meet both requirements, but he doesn’t have a motive. Why would he betray a demigod now after over 2000 years?

Annabeth…maybe. She does meet the requirements, and I could see that she would want me gone due to the whole Athena/Poseidon thing. However, wouldn’t she have done something during the quest?

Did she?

Grover…no motive.

That’s what I told myself anyway.

Luke…

I stopped at Luke each time.

I Trusted and kind of liked Luke. He was the first friend I made at Camp Halfblood, outside of Grover obviously. He defended me against Clarisse. He trained me with the Sword. He did a lot for me.

Despite that though…I didn’t really know anything about him.

I knew his dad was Hermes, I knew he was friends with both Annabeth and this Thalia character, and that he went on a quest with them where Thalia died, but other than that, he never really opened up about his life.

It…seemed like there were at least two main suspects. Annabeth and Luke.

Unfortunately, the brains that I gained from this quest, kept telling me it was the latter, each time.

Turns out, I never filled out my registration form to either stay at Camp Halfblood, or leave to go home.

However, I had my mind made up. Sure, I would’ve loved to finally have a year with my mom without Gabe around, and she’d surely be happier, but I have a feeling that my quest was far from the last time I’d ever be back here. Might as well start getting a feel for the place at all times.

I got to the sword-fighters arena and found that Luke had had the same idea. His gym bag was plopped at the edge of the stage. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a sword I’d never seen before. It must’ve been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies’ heads right off, stabbing through their straw-stuffed guts. His orange counselor’s shirt was dripping with sweat. His expression was so intense, his life might’ve really been in danger. I watched, fascinated, as he disemboweled the whole row of dummies, hacking off limbs and basically reducing them to a pile of straw and armor.

They were only dummies, but I still couldn’t help being awed by Luke’s skill. The guy was an incredible fighter. It made me wonder, again, how he possibly could’ve failed at his quest.

Finally, he saw me, and stopped mid-swing. “Percy.”

“Um, sorry,” I said, embarrassed. “I just-”

“It’s okay,” he said, lowering his sword. “Just doing some last-minute practice.”

“Those dummies won’t be bothering anybody anymore.”

Luke shrugged. “We build new ones every summer.”

Now that his sword wasn’t swirling around, I could see something odd about it. The blade was two different types of metal. One edge bronze, the other steel.

Luke noticed me looking at it. “Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter.”

“Backbiter?”

Luke turned the blade in the light so it glinted wickedly. “One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both.”

I thought about what Chiron had told me when I started my quest. A hero should never harm mortals unless absolutely necessary.

“I didn’t know they could make weapons like that.”

“They probably can’t,” Luke agreed. “It’s one of a kind.”

He gave me a tiny smile, then slid the sword into its scabbard. “Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?”

I don’t know why I hesitated. I should’ve felt relieved that Luke was being so friendly. Ever since I’d gotten back from the quest, he’d been acting a little distant. I was afraid he might resent me for all the attention I’d gotten.

But my mind kept racing with all the possibilities.

There was still a traitor in the midst, and Luke was setting off a lot of red flags.

“You think it’s a good idea?” I asked. “I mean-”

“Aw, come on.” He rummaged in his gym bag and pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. “Drinks are on me.”

I stared at the Cokes, wondering where the heck he’d gotten them. There were no regular mortal sodas at the camp store. No way to smuggle them in unless you talked to a satyr, maybe.

Of course, the magic dinner goblets would fill with anything you want, but it just didn’t taste the same as a real Coke, straight out of the can. Sugar and caffeine. My willpower crumbled.

“Sure,” I decided. “Why not?”

We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot. All the monsters with any sense must’ve been taking siestas in their nice cool caves.

We found a shady spot by the creek where I’d broken Clarisse’s spear during my first capture the flag game. We sat on a big rock, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight in the woods.

After a while Luke said, “You miss being on a quest?”

“With monsters attacking me every three feet? Are you kidding?”

Luke raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I hated all of that! I can live without seeing the depths of the underworld again, thank you very much. You?” I ask, a bit peeved.

A shadow passed over his face.

I was used to hearing from the girls how good-looking Luke was, but at the moment, he looked weary, and angry, and not at all handsome. His blond hair was gray in the sunlight. The scar on his face looked deeper than usual. I could imagine him as an old man.

“I’ve lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen,” he told me. “Ever since Thalia…well, you know. I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like, ‘Okay, ride’s over. Have a nice life.’”

He crumpled his Coke can and threw it into the creek, which really shocked me. One of the first things you learn at Camp Half-Blood is: Don’t litter.

You’ll hear from the nymphs and the naiads. They’ll get even. You’ll crawl into bed one night and find your sheets filled with centipedes and mud.

“The heck with laurel wreaths,” Luke said. “I’m not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic.”

“You make it sound like you’re leaving.”

Luke gave me a twisted smile. “Oh, I’m leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say good-bye.”

He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion.

I started to go for my pen.

“I wouldn’t,” Luke cautioned. “Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You’ll be dead in sixty seconds-”

“I fucking knew it was you,” I angrily said, resuming a state of frozen nature, as he gained a slight smirk. “ ‘You will be betrayed by the one who calls you a friend. ’ I didn’t have many friends, but you were the one that checked off all the boxes.”

He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans.

The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe.

“I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy,” Luke said. “Didn’t you feel it? The darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn’t you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics, being pawns of the gods. They should’ve been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they’ve hung on, thanks to us half-bloods.”

“Luke…you’re talking about our parents,” I said.

He laughed. “That’s supposed to make me love them? Their precious ‘Western civilization’ is a disease, Percy. It’s killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest.”

“Luke, they started in the East. Blame civilization as a whole for their evolution, not them. Yeah, I met Zeus and he was a bit of a jerk, but he’s also King of a literal race of superbeings. That’s not an easy job. Hermes is-”

“Shut UP! Hermes sure as hell had visited his other children, plenty of times! He couldn’t even be bothered to stop and say hi after I failed my quest!” Luke Complained, anger seeping through his stoic face.

“You’re as crazy as Ares.”

His eyes flared. “Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I’m afraid you won’t live that long.”

The scorpion crawled onto my pants leg.

There had to be a way out of this. I needed time to think.

“Kronos,” I said. “That’s who you serve.”

The air got colder.

“You should be careful with names,” Luke warned.

“I couldn’t be fucked. If names are truly so powerful, then where the hell is Chaos? Their name is said hundreds of times everyday by mortals and gods, you don’t see them coming around the bend do you? Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams, just like he did to me. The trouble is, I’m not an idiot like you.”

Luke’s eye twitched. “You should’ve listened.”

“He’s brainwashing you, Luke. Frog in the Water ring a bell?”

“You’re wrong. He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I’d done, that was the best he could think up.”

“That’s not an easy quest,” I said. “Hercules did it, with a lot of trouble.”

“Exactly,” Luke said. “Where’s the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn’t in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this-” he pointed angrily at his scar, “-and when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus’s master bolt right from his chair. Hades’s helm of darkness, too. You wouldn’t believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and Iknew they’d discovered my theft.”

The scorpion was sitting on my knee now, staring at me with its glittering eyes. I tried to keep my voice level. “Okay, first off, have you ever played a video game? Most of them are literally about replaying a level to get better at it. The glory of repeating is that you can do it better then the last. Secondly, why didn’t you just bring the items to Kronos? Surely, even in his ‘Death by thousand cuts’ state, he sure as hell could’ve used them.”

Luke’s smile wavered. “I…I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt. Artemis, Apollo, Athena, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn’t careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos’s voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares’s head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence.”

Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty. “Afterward, the Lord of the Titans…h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp HalfBlood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way, from Ares down to Tartarus.”

“Again, so firstly, you’d rather literally be eternally punished by your great grandpa then have a semi-distant father? What kind of priority checklist is this? Secondly, so you summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest, but why?”

“We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn’t safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked.”

“So, I’m guessing the flying shoes were cursed?” I asked. “They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus?”

“And they would have, if you’d been wearing them. But you gave them to the satyr, which wasn’t part of the plan. Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse.”

Gods help me, but I did chuckle at that. “You’re not wrong about that.” 

Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on my thigh.

“You should have died in Tartarus, Percy. But don’t worry, I’ll leave you with my little friend to set things right.”

“Thalia gave her life to save you,” I said, gritting my teeth. “And this is how you repay her?”

“Don’t speak of Thalia!” he shouted. “The gods let her die! That’s one of the many things they will pay for.”

“You’re being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don’t listen to Kronos.”

“I’ve been used?” Luke’s voice turned shrill. “Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? Krono-”

“Lets see, he defended me against his brother, gave me some sick powers, claimed me only days after arriving here, and clearly cares about me at least slightly. I’ll take that over nothing at all, like what you have with Kronos,” I inserted my two cents, but clearly Luke was too far gone.

“...Kronos will rise. You’ve only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest. The ones who serve him.”

“Call off the bug,” I said. “If you’re so strong, fight me yourself.”

Luke smiled. “Nice try, Percy. But I’m not Ares. You can’t bait me. My lord is waiting, and he’s got plenty of quests for me to undertake.”

“Luke-”

“Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won’t be part of it.”

He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.

The scorpion lunged.

I swatted it away with my hand and uncapped my sword. The thing jumped at me and I cut it in half in midair.

I was about to congratulate myself until I looked down at my hand. My palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. The thing had gotten me after all.

My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. The water, I thought. It healed me before.

I stumbled to the creek and submerged my hand, but nothing seemed to happen. The poison was too strong. My vision was getting dark. I couldbarely stand up.

Sixty seconds , Luke had told me.

I had to get back to camp. If I collapsed out here, my body would be dinner for a monster. Nobody would ever know what had happened. My legs felt like lead. My forehead was burning. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.

“Help,” I croaked. “Please…”

None moved. I only heard a counselor shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn...

Then everything went black.

I don’t know how long I was out, but when I did wake up, I was somewhere I had never been before.

It looked like Olympus, high in the sky, but there was no civilization here. I was thousands of miles above the ground, and I could see the sky and land move beneath me. I could see I was on this…staircase. A Staircase made of pure glass, one that moved up and down. I couldn’t see where the down went, but clearly I shouldn’t have gone that way.

So, I went up.

Up hundreds of stairs.

I was getting tired, but something kept me going. Maybe this is how you die. Maybe, if I make it to the top of the staircase, I get to Elysium.

My legs were giving out, but I just kept going. Slower, and slower, and slower.

It looked like there were only 10 steps left every time I took a look, but they kept getting added onto the staircase. The more I went up, the more were added.

All I could do was keep going.

And going.

Going…

going…

going…

And going…

until…I got there.

The top of the staircase.

I thought it would’ve been this massive glass pane, overlooking the entire world.

No. not at all.

It looked like what would be best described as a Cosmic great plains.

Comets and stars falling from the sky past the horizon as a constantly changing colored floor that was held up by two large red hands danced and shifted beneath me as I walked onto it.

Vines grew with leaves of all different colors, all surrounding the plains, as the grass became a living rainbow, like a flag waving across such a large landscape.

A Purple and Pink aura enveloped the entire area, and a glassy sphere seemed to redirect any falling stars to a different location.

“Wha-” I started, before the voice reappeared.

Greetings, Usurper.

It came back.

But this time, it had a direction.

I looked up…

And gazed in awe.

The Firmament welcomes you.

I was so frozen in shock and confusion that the being in front of me seemed to recognize it.

I see you are astonished by our enigmatic Form.

I dumbly nodded. 

Let us switch to a more sensible appearance.

The being in front of me started to glow, similarly to Ares’ true form, as its shape molded and twisted into an entirely different one.

Now instead of the enigmatic, barely comprehensible creature I saw a second ago, there was now a…still confusing, but far less one towering before me. A Being with 6 floating hands and a crystalline like body, with jets of rainbow fire emanating from it’s center, containing a gem like material. It’s head wore a similarly crystal crown, and it’s eyes pierced through my essence with a glowing white glare.

See my form, if you wish

“It seems your mind is able to comprehend this form much more favorably than my previous,” The being spoke, this time from an actual mouth instead of, seemingly, through the air itself.

“Uh…yes?” I dumbly said. What else could I say? This was beyond anything I’d even seen in the past few months! Nearly every other god had at least a humanoid appearance, and most of the monsters we came across were at least mammalian, or something along those lines.

They were things that I could feasibly comprehend.

This…this was a whole new ball game.

It turned, motioning for me to follow it into the cosmic playground, which I slowly did once I got the feeling back in my legs.

“As you likely remember from before you arrived, your very own prophecy was fulfilled. The prophecy ordained by the Oracle that resides in your recreational area,” The being spoke, it’s voice seeming to extend the area around it, providing more space to traverse.

“I…I guess? I mean, it sure seems like all the parts of it are done,” I started speaking. The two of us continued to walk through the world of light when we came across a…strange site.

It was a field of grass, not unlike what you’d see if you went in the middle of Kansas, with slight rolling hills, blossoming flowers, and a singular tree in the middle. A big tree too.

Lightning bugs danced around the flowers, while silvery owls flew, perching on the tree, and squawking at each other.

A Stump arose in front of the tree, and the being used one of its disembodied hands to point towards the stump, as if to say, “go sit down.” So, I did.

Fear and adrenaline were the two main things coursing through my body. The urge to cooperate and do whatever this thing said was strong, because clearly, I was way out of my depth. At least with the Greek world, I had knowledge of it. Not a lot, but still. This…this was something new, and I did not know anything.

I sat down on the stump, and the being used another of it’s hand to touch the tree. I heard the sound of something detaching, and suddenly, the hand reemerged from the tree, a pink apple in hand.

The hand offered it to me, as the being decided to…I guess sit next to me? It didn’t have legs to begin with, so I guess it just floated slightly lower to the ground.

Taking the apple, which I assumed I was meant to eat, I decided to ask my first question. “Where are we?”

Despite it’s lack of a mouth, the being seemed to smile. Not menacingly or smugly, but warmly. Like I was a child learning about places of the world.

Well, I guess I was a child, and this is a new place in the world.

“This…this is the Eternal Garden. This is a place where only beings of such divine status can even see, let alone wonder in. It is a place of Peace and of sanctuary. You will find there is no danger here. No cries of suffering,” The being explained to me, as I looked across the landscape. Well, it wasn’t wrong. It certainly did seem peaceful, and there sure wasn’t any monsters roaming around that would give me any trouble.

“So…who are you?” I asked again, and the being looked away from me.

“...That is a question that can only be answered when you learn of yourself,” The being explained, as another of its hands pointed to the apple in my hand. “This is what is known as a good apple. It grows from the Eternal tree you see here.”

Then, we sat in silence. I’m guessing that the being wanted me to eat the apple, but I was far too skeptical. However, it seemed to pick up on that.

“I am proud of your instincts. People say that Paranoia is unhealthy, and while that is certainly true, it can be a saving grace in many scenarios. However, you may trust that no harm will befall you here. Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, Spiritually, or in any other way,” The being explained further. Then, silence again.

It seemed like the being wanted me to make the choice, rather than pressuring me (at least not heavily) or using some compulsion like Ares did. The unspoken between us was, “Eat the apple and learn all about yourself, or stay your course and leave this place.”

So…I took a bite.

To my utter shock…nothing happened. It was a pretty good apple, hence the name I suppose, but nothing else happened. I expected some, Life flashing before my eyes, or a glance at the world in the future, or who I’d be in due time.

Nope. Just a pretty good tasting apple.

The being then nodded, as the landscape around us changed. Changed from a lushous green field of rolling hills, to an empty space with no ground, but thousands of stars surrounding us.

“Woah!” I yelped as I was suddenly floating. In a second, the being snapped one of their fingers, and I was straight again, feet down. Not on anything, but far more comfortable then just floating aimlessly.

“Forgive me. I had forgotten you are not quite used to such extremes,” The being explained.

“Uh, you’re fine. So, what was the deal with the apple?” I asked, just so confused at the prospect.

“The apple was a test, or more of an Oath. By consuming the Apple, you chose the path that would lead you to Apotheosis. Denying it, you would forget all of this, and return back to life where you once were, the timeline resuming as it once was.” The being explained, and I was even more confuzzled then before. “You see Perseus, this sequence of events has played out thousands of times before. Each one different from the last, but all maintaining the same continuity. I will not spoil it further for you, but rest assured, you needn’t need to know in the first place.”

I think I had my mouth open the entire time, trying to find something to say, but there was no possible question to ask.

“Now that you have passed the oath, I may explain myself further. Your questions will be answered to the best of my own ability,” The being explained, so I went with ol’ reliable.

“Who are you?” I asked, as the being chuckled.

“I wish I remembered. I had and still have many names, but I never remember my original. You may refer to me as THE NAMELESS DEITY.” As soon as the deity finished their sentence, a shockwave was sent out, purely from the name alone. I guess that whole ‘names bring honor’ wasn’t wrong.

“...Okay then, uh, Why am I here?” I asked, as the deity nodded.

“That’s the ticket. Listen intently Perseus Dominic Jackson, for your tale is one that intertwines with mine since your birth,” The Deity started, as the landscape changed once more. Now, we were in a void. No stars, no cosmic dust, just blackness.

“I don’t remember much of my life. Past your birth in fact, is as far as I truly remember. Best I have are bits and pieces. However, I have enough to learn my own history,” The deity started, as it waved its hand. Suddenly, the earth appeared behind us. “I was one of the first beings that creation had blessed to exist. I was the Deity of Light. I don’t remember when I was created. Perhaps it was the time of Ancient Greece. Maybe it was the Romans. Maybe it was Mesopotamia. Perhaps it was far beyond even the earth as a whole.

Long Ago, I was allowed to roam free, as any god likely had the power to do. Unlike most of them however, I was not interested in many of the pleasures of humanity or godhood. I preferred the simple pleasures of beauty.” Suddenly, we were back on the ground, in another landscape, as plenty of vibrant blooms appeared around us, and a starry night sky flew overhead. “The flowers, the stars, and so much more. As such, I became quite the recluse, only responding to the calls of other deities of my caliber.”

One day, I declined such a call, one directly from the other deities of my caliber. I was too busy with my VIVAJUYFYLAEs.” Suddenly, those lightning bugs from before returned, and I guess that those were what their names were? “As you might expect, plenty of them were quite upset. That’s truly where my memory fades. However, I remember a few things afterwards. A being known as the Dark One had locked me away in a stone.” Suddenly, a large humanoid passed by, it’s eye replaced by a Semicircle with 5 points along it, and a diamond in the center, and a Rough stone with a similar symbol to the sky symbol in its center appeared. “For my own safety or their own gain, I do not know. Then, eons later, that stone had cracked, a piece of it finding their way to the surface of earth where someone, because you humans are such beings, consumed it.”

I may or may not have cracked and giggled at that, and the Deity clearly didn’t mind. 

“That human was your ancestor.”

I stopped immediately in place. There was no human that appeared, so I couldn’t really gauge how accurate it was to me, but clearly the Nameless Deity knew what they were talking about.

“Generations passed for your family. Nothing was apparent on the surface, but in each of your ancestors there was a little piece of me. That piece of me was always locked away however. An immense amount of power would be needed to break the chains that binded me to the stone.”

My mother appeared.

“Then…you came along,” and then an Identical copy of me appeared beside her. “The birth of a Demigod is quite the powerful event, same goes for the creation of one in the first place. The impregnation of your mother by the God of the Sea had broken the first chain, and the birth had broken the second.”

I sat there in silence. The…the deity wasn’t….they weren’t saying what I think they were…were they?

“Why do you think you’re here in the first place, Perseus? Remember, as I said, only beings of divine status can roam this place unimpeded by me or the force of the cosmos. I understand that you are rather…blase about being a demigod, however, I hope that you being a Primordial Deity will be more appealing to you, no?” The Nameless Deity answered, and I could tell it had a smirk on.

“You…you’re…no,” I stammered out. There was no way. I already had my reservations about being a Demigod in the first place. Being the vessel for a literally cosmic Deity? Please no.

“I Apologize for the inconvenience, however you will soon learn that such power is needed for what will come. I am sure you have already learned that the Titan of Time is returning,” The deity started, as I nodded dumbly once again. “That will soon become, not the least, but certainly not the most of your worries. There is more out there that not even Zeus could comprehend, let alone admit exists, and as you’ve learned, the gods will do little if Zeus does not acknowledge its existence.”

“Clearly,” I responded without thinking. “Wait, then why can’t you just deal with it? If you’re some all-powerful being, surely you aren’t bound by the same rules the Olympians set for themselves.”

“You would be correct. If a threat came that would lead to the destruction of earth, I would oppose and eradicate such an event. However, as it would seem, most of my power is still chained behind the Stone. Even more unluckily, I have no idea where the stone could be located.”

“Great…it’s all up to me again,” I complain. I was started to like this guy, but clearly-

“Not exactly. Even if most of my power is chained, I still have enough influence and power to do quite a few things, least of which communicate with you at any time. I might not have all of my mind intact, but my knowledge is far from useless,” The landscape shifted back to the garden.

“Not only that, but this realm, now that you’ve consumed the apple, is alway available to you. Once in this heavenly splendor, time is frozen for the rest of the world. You will be able to relax, and you will never be alone, less you want to be.”

“And, of course, you will have access to a new arsenal of abilities, courtesy of me. Not to boast, but in your modern terminology, Zeus wishes he was such a Unit.”

Okay…hearing a Primordial Deity crack a meme on me was not something I expected to hear today.

“Now, this arsenal will be restricted, not only because of how limited your access to me is, but also due to how dangerous these abilities are, both to the world, and yourself. The Master Bolt would look like a stick in comparison. Please do not misunderstand, once you learn to control them safely here, they will become available to you. However, I would rather you know how to control a beam with the force of a Nebula first, before you go and use it on a manticore.”

“I…that’s fair actually. I assume that I would come here to practice safely? It seems like nothing here can really be harmed if it can just go in and out of existence. Wait…why am I so calm about this?” I say out loud, because yeah, I have been really quiet about everything happening.

“That is the effect of the Eternal Tree. Such a masterpiece of nature and beauty creates a calming aura around the entire garden, lessening all of those pesky emotions severely.”

“Now Perseus. The last gift I can give you, is a choice. This is a choice that could change your entire future and life from this point forward, is such a way, that it would eradicate the world you know right now,” Okay, this seems like a far less great deal.

“Perseus Dominic Jackson…would you like a second Chance?”

“...of what?” I asked, confused at the prospect.

“You see Perseus, being a Primordial Deity, the many domains that your gods and titans cover used to be only done by us. There weren’t many of us, so we each had many domains to cover. It just so happens that one of the domains that I covered was Time itself.”

Oh…that’s what they meant.

“Unfortunately, due to the existence of the Titan of Time, my handle on the domain itself has shifted considerably. Had he not existed, I likely could have transported you far across time to solve many problems that had come up throughout history. Now, the best I can do for you is early May. ”

“When I first got to Camp HalfBlood…” I say out loud, hoping I’d be wrong.

“I am truly sorry I cannot send you further, either to save your mother, or prove your innocence to the gods. Should you choose to accept, you are correct in your assumption that you’ll be sent to when you first awaken at Camp HalfBlood.”

“No…no, it’s okay. That’s far more then you need to do. Besides, I at least save her at the end anyways,” I reassure the deity, before… “I’ll do it.”

“Superb. Before I do this act however, there are three things you must remember,” The deity started, as I payed close attention.

“Firstly, many of the gods and titans of your time likely don’t know of my own existence. I was hidden away for eons afterall. While I would prefer to keep it that way, should the time come, do not be afraid to use what I have given you.”

Okay…so don’t go overboard and don’t talk about the Nameless Deity. Gotcha.

“Secondly, as for your quest, I must alert you of the fact that the Fates, the Oracle, or anyone involved in the creation of the quest do not care for the size of the party you bring.”

…what does that mean?

“The 2 Companions was the standard set by the gods themselves, to see how powerful a demigod could be. However, that standard can be broken with no effort. Just name your choice when it comes, and the quest companions will be sealed. No one could do anything about it.”

What.

“You could bring the entire camp on your quest if you wished, although I highly recommend you don’t. A Simple group of 6 or 7 would do wonders more than your 2, although those 2 were a magnificent choice.”

“Well, that makes me feel better, but seriously!? I nearly died, like, 8 times, and both Annabeth and Grover had their own near-death experiences too, and you’re telling me that I could’ve brought an army with me!?”

“Indeed. Do not Blame Chiron however. Not even he can oppose the gods' decisions. And, once again, I recommend you do not bring more than, say, 10 companions. They live their own lives too.”

“Yeah, I guess. I can still blame Mr. D, right?” The Deity chuckled as two of his hands made a shrugging gesture.

“I suppose so. Thirdly, and most importantly, do not follow the Prophecies,” The deity explained, and I raised an eyebrow. “ Prophecies are simply Predictions based on current events and knowledge. Sure, a supernatural eye can see far clearer than a normal, but they are not omniscient. A Prophecy can be shattered like any prediction. See pass the lines, and they become blurry and malleable, able to be broken and changed.”

“So…my own prophecy I got that initiated my quest can be changed?”

“Now that you know it can be changed, yes. Many demigods and gods themselves drive themselves to follow a prophecy, and by doing so, they lock themselves into a future. That’s not to say it will be a bad future, but always remember that a Prophecy is just a prediction, not a permanent fixture on time itself.”

Well, that changes a lot. Maybe if I find out whatever this ‘Great Prophecy’ is, it can be changed.

“It is time, Perseus. Are you ready?”

“Just one question. What do you mean when you call me Perseus Dominic Jackson?” I asked the Deity, who laughed heartily.

“You will learn. Oh, you will learn.”

Well, that’s not ominous at all.

“We will meet again Perseus. Till that time comes, good luck.”

“Uhm…good luck to you too,” I stay out of instinct, and it nods at me.

Then, everything went black again.

Chapter Text

When I finally came to, having drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, I was seated in the comfy deck chair on the porch of the farmhouse. The weather was nice, no storms on the horizon for now, maybe a break in Zeus and my Dad’s constant Arguing. My mouth was dry. I felt so parched. On the table next to me sat a glass of nectar, with a bright green straw and a stupid little paper parasol, which I carefully picked up with both hands and sipped on. 

It tasted like my mom’s blue chocolate chip cookies, as expected. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it.

“Percy,” a familiar voice said. “You saved my life. I ... Well, the least I could do was ...” The satyr, dressed in pants and sneakers, obviously trying not to overwhelm me, dropped a shoebox in his lap. “I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this.”

I popped the box open, looking down at the Minotaur horn I had left on the hill, too occupied with Grover. A black-and-white bulls horn with a jagged edge where it had been broken off and a tip splattered with dried blood. 

I wordlessly closed the box again and met Grover’s gaze. Spoils of war.

“The Minotaur,” I said, slowly and deliberately.

“Uh, Percy, it isn’t a good idea to name a monster.”

‘Names have power. I know. But ask me if I care.’ I took another sip of the nectar, which made me feel a little better.

“You’ve been out of it for two days,” Grover shifted uncomfortably. “What do you remember?”

I gazed out over the meadow, over groves of trees, a winding stream and acres over strawberries spread out under a clear, blue sky. It was beautiful. 

Then I remembered.

I remembered it.

THE NAMELESS DEITY.

It…it meant what it said, didn’t it. It wasn’t some elaborate bit by a prankster god or something.

I am part of a Primordial Deity, and I was sent back in time.

I then remembered the first thing it told me to alway remember.

With a monotone voice, I began, “A goat on my doorstep, a madman-esque car chase, a bull man, mom…” I trailed off. Even though I knew I’d get her back by the end of the summer, the mere thought of mom in Hades’ clutches gave me goosebumps.

No offense to the guy, he seemed reasonable.

“I’m sorry,” Grover sniffled, “I’m a failure. I’m…I’m the worst satyr in the world.” He stomped his foot so hard the sneaker came off. “Oh, Styx!” he mumbled as he struggled to put it back on.

Taking another sip, I said quietly, “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was! I was supposed to protect you!”

“Even if I left you in the dust and went to Montauk with mom? I chose to fight that thing because it…took mom.”

Grover winced. “But ...”

“And it isn’t your fault the car got hit by lightning, right?” Making sure he didn’t look my way, I sent a scathing glare skywards. ‘Yeah, that was your fault you petty jerk.’

“I...” Grover tried again.

“Not your fault.”

“But it’s my job! I’m a keeper. At least…I was.”

‘So, the stupid satyrs or wine god had already blamed Grover for my mistakes. Great going,’ he thought bitterly. In true godly fashion. I took another sip, emptying the glass now. That felt better. I was energized and ready to take on the world, a familiar feeling after drinking so much nectar.

Grover took the glass from him, asking how I felt before stating, “Good. I don’t think you should risk drinking any more of that stuff.”

‘Okay, fine.’

“Come on, Chiron and Mr. D are waiting.”

Percy followed the satyr around the house. The porch wrapped all the way around it. My legs still felt a little wobbly but I sucked it up, one hand clenched around my spoil of war. I’d probably find a way to hide it in the Poseidon Cabin, the sooner the better, before someone’s sticky fingers took it. That, and I didn’t want to carry it around all the time. 

I know I’m technically not allowed in there yet, but I didn’t care. Privacy is golden.

As they came around the opposite end of the house, I stopped, taking in the view in quiet relish. In the distance the ocean glittered in the sun and between here and there the camp stretched out. The dining area, the amphitheater, training areas, the archery range, currently in use by a bunch of kids in bright orange shirts. There were the cabins, neatly nestled in the woods and he caught sight of the blue of cabin three, which filled me with a yearning for it. A game of volleyball was in progress in the sand pit and some canoes raced across the lake. A group of riders led some pegasi down a winding trail. I took in a silent, deep breath and felt something settle in himself at the sight of the camp.

Grover subtly elbowed me and I tore my gaze away from the camp’s sprawling grounds and towards the other end of the porch. Two men sat across from each other at a card table, and I clung to my description of Mr. D; a cherub who’d turned middle-aged in a trailer park. It was a perfect fit. Chiron had his back turned, seated in his wheelchair and Annabeth leaned against the porch rail. I barely recalled her being on nursing duty at some point while I was out but couldn’t recall her asking questions like she had last time.

“That’s Mr. D,” Grover murmured to me. “He’s the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that’s Annabeth Chase. She’s just a camper, but she’s been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron…”

“You mean Mr Brunner?” I deadpanned. Play it up Perce, play it up.

Chiron turned and smiled with a mischievous glint, which had me on guard immediately. “Ah, good, Percy,” he said, “Now we have four for pinochle.”

Of course. I wanted to groan right there and then. I forgot I had been forced to play this stupid game. He took the offered seat to the right of Mr. D in his Hawaiian shirt, which he was more accustomed to seeing on his dad, who stared at Percy with bloodshot eyes and a heavy sigh. “Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now don’t expect me to be glad to see you.”

‘Oh, what a welcome,’ Percy thought sarcastically. I scooted away from Mr. D a little, muttering an “Uh, thanks” and glanced at the cards on the table. Chiron sent Annabeth away, asking her to check my bunk, which was a spot on the floor in an already overfilled cabin, he remembered with a grimace. Sleeping on the floor hadn’t been nice. 

After Annabeth had called me out on an uncontrollable body function in my sleep and skipped away, I glanced from Mr. D to Chiron and back but didn’t break the silence.

“Right,” Chiron eventually said. “I am Chiron. I’m afraid Mr Brunner was a pseudonym.”

“Okay,” I responded. I chose Not to ask what Mr. D was short for again. Instead, he watched the god shuffle the cards.

“I must say, Percy,” Chiron continued on, “I’m glad to see you’re alive. It’s been a long time since I made a house call to a potential camper. I’d hate to think I wasted my time.”

I slowly moved his gaze from Mr. D to Chiron. Wasted your time... what a way to phrase that. Were demigod lives truly so worthless in the eyes of the immortals or were words this cold just Chiron’s way of distancing himself to cope with their losses? 

I still didn’t see why Chiron would have chosen to make a ‘house call’ with him. It was true he was powerful, being the son of Poseidon (andbeing a Primordial Deity apparently) but with Gabe’s stench still clinging to me and Grover’s ability to sniff out monsters, they could have just avoided them. Except there had been a fury in my math class, I had refused to listen to Grover and my mom didn’t want to send him away, and I hadn’t wanted to leave.

“To be honest,” Chiron continued, unaware of my own silent debate, “I wasn’t sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that is always the first test.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So having them die because they can’t make it alone is acceptable?” It slipped out before I could bite it back. Mr. D slowed in his shuffling and leveled an unreadable look at me that I ignored in favor of staring at Chiron.

The centaur frowned. “No, of course not.”

“There was a huge bull man after me, even after Mrs Dodds. You knew, yet you decided to make me think I was going crazy instead of helping me.”

“It could have been a one-off experience.”

I just stared at the centaur. Was he being serious? Did he gamble with demigod lives that much? Why was protecting them such an alien concept to him and the gods? Instead, they chose to use their mortal children as chess pieces, pawns and tools to further their own selfish agendas, they debated on killing me in front of them, never visited, only punished but never rewarded. Unless they had literally stopped a war and saved their own lives.

Except for my own dad, hopefully.

Now I’m starting to see Luke’s point of view.

Before I could snap at Chiron in my own rising anger, Mr. D impatiently turned to Grover, “Are you playing or not?”

“Yes, sir,” the satyr trembled as he took the fourth chair. It didn’t really help my emotional state to see him so afraid of his patron. He doubted Pan would appreciate his satyrs’ being so afraid of the god that took them under his wing for the sake of his old friend.

“Do you know how to play pinochle?” The god eyed me suspiciously and I just shook his head.

“No.” Play it up Perce, Play it up.

“No, sir,” he was corrected but kept my mouth shut. Mr. D seemed to wait for a moment but eventually dealt the cards.

“I can see you have questions,” Chiron said as he picked up his hand.

‘I do. Just not the ones you expect me to have, and far less than you’d probably expect.’ I bit my lip for a moment of thought. “What is this place?” I tried. It should be vague enough, right?

“Did your mother tell you nothing?”

I sighed, remembering her literally dissolving into dust. “She said she didn’t want to send me here. My father wanted me to go. Once here, I probably can’t leave.” Except for saving godly pride perhaps. “She wanted to keep me close to her.”

“Typical,” Mr. D said, “that’s how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?”

After he had explained the rules when I pretended not to know them, Chiron picked up the conversation again, “I’m afraid there’s too much to tell. The usual orientation film won’t be sufficient.”

‘You may start any moment now. We’re not in a hurry. And the film would have helped more than any of you did. It would have probably answered my questions,’ I thought as I stared at my cards. A solid hand but one did not simply win against Chiron. The centaur gave me a short speech on how the gods were alive but I barely listened. I voiced some barely disguised disbelief and mentioned science which got Mr. D ranting until he summoned a goblet of wine and was reminded of his punishment. After that whole skit was over, Chiron turned to me again.

“Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits.”

“Why was she off-limits?”

Mr. D paused, narrowing his eyes at me. “Why, indeed,” he murmured. “He loves to punish me. The first time, prohibition. Ghastly. Absolutely horrid ten years. The second time, well, she was really pretty, and I couldn’t stay away. The second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. ‘Be a better influence’, he told me. ‘Work with youths rather than tearing them down.’ Ha! Absolutely unfair.”

“Isn’t keeping a god away from his domain considered torture?” I muttered, remembering a previous incident. I guess I had spoken a little too loudly, given that both Chiron and Mr. D stared at me. “And that seems rich, coming from him of all people.”

Chiron sighed, but before he could say anything, “He’s not wrong,” Mr. D said, a tone in his voice that I couldn’t quite place. “It is unpleasant to say the least.” He was silent for a breath before turning to Chiron, “Seems you taught him something after all. No questions. Figured out who I am…” he turned to me somewhat expectantly.

“Dionysus.”

The god nodded. He turned back to the game. “I believe I win.”

Chiron looked at me somewhat skeptical but placed his cards down and claimed the game.

With a sigh, Mr. D rose from his chair. “I’m tired. I believe I’ll take a nap before the singalong tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment.”

Grover flinched, sweating profusely. “Y-Yes, sir.”

Mr. D turned to me. “Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners.”

I would’ve scoffed, but the fact that he said my name kind of shocked me. Either way, he always minded his manners. I just chose not to use them when it came to gods. 

‘Respect is earned, not deserved’, someone had once told me and the phrase had stuck with me. The gods believed they deserved respect yet did nothing to earn it. A king of Zeus’ caliber wouldn’t have kept his throne for long in the mortal world. Percy understood why neither Hades nor Poseidon bothered, both already busy with their own respective realms, but why did the minor gods allow this?

“Will Grover be okay?” I asked.

Chiron nodded, though he seemed a little doubtful. He rattled off an explanation of why Dionysus was taking his temper out on satyrs because Zeus had punished him before waiting for an expectant pause but I questioned none of the things mentioned. Eventually, he nodded. He continued, unprompted, about the heart of civilisation and Olympus currently being found above the Empire State Building.

I hummed, realizing he still hadn’t been told what he was. “So, who am I then?”

“Who are you,” Chiron mused, shifting his weight, intent on getting up. “Well, that’s the question we all want answered, isn’t it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be toasted marshmallows at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore them.”

‘Just tell me I am the son of a god, you just don’t know which one.’ I thought, looking at the back of my hand. To my surprise, there was a symbol on it.

A symbol I recognized from the previous timeline.

My Eye.

Oh…so the deity wasn’t lying about being able to communicate with him whenever.

The symbol is of my Eye. It’s similar to the way a Demigod is claimed, but a permanent fixture. I understand that this makes it far harder to hide your identity, but if you prefer, I can move it to a more hidden location.

Where would that be exactly?

Wherever you wish.

How about beneath my hair?

Done.

Alright, that’s one thing out of the way. I saw the symbol on my hand fade into my skin. Obviously, I couldn’t tell if it did transfer to my head, but I was hopeful about that.

Not so much of this welcoming though. This is a repeat of the train wreck introduction. I bit back a sigh. There were no bunks to get in cabin eleven. The place was overcrowded because the gods didn’t think it worth their time to snap their fingers and claim a child of theirs. 

I had never understood why there wasn’t a cabin for the unclaimed in camp, no matter how messed up it was that there was a need for it in the first place.

“Then, why am I here?” I tried to needle the term out of the centaur as the man got up from his wheelchair.

“Ah, that feels good. I’ve been cooped up in there for too long.” He turned towards me, pausing for a moment. “You are in danger outside the barrier protecting the camp. Monsters will come after you.”

‘Oh, for the love of…’ Percy exhaled. “Why?”

“It is in your blood, Percy. Once you realize who you are, they will hunt you down.” The centaur moved towards the steps, intent on starting the tour.

With some frustration, I got up and moved beside him. I continued trying to get the word from Chiron in increasingly direct or cryptic ways, probably coming across like an annoying child asking ‘Why?’ over and over again. It didn’t work. Chiron’s answers were short, sometimes cryptic, straight up nonsensical in some cases. If I didn’t already know who and what I was, and didn't already know about the world of the gods, I would have been beyond confused. But this way it almost became a strange game of sorts as Chiron showed him the strawberry fields and headed towards the woods, eventually turning from answering to explaining, “The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed.”

“Stocked with what?” I immediately fired back. ‘Come on, give me something!’

“You’ll see. Capture the flag on Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?”

I hid a grimace. That game wasn't fun. Annabeth had used him as bait to keep half the Ares cabin out of the fight for the flag. The untrained twelve-year-old that had come to camp not even a week prior. I don’t do shields, not really. I’m far more rogue-esque. “Where would I-” he began.

“No,” Chiron interrupted. Rude. “I don’t suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I’ll visit the armory later.”

‘Or take me and let me choose myself?’ I trotted after the centaur who moved on, not explaining anything as one probably should to the new camper brand-new to their world. I was shown the archery range, spotted Michael training a few others and…was that Silena? 

The canoeing lake was next, followed by the stables. I took a moment to sneakily accept and return the greetings from the animals that eagerly crowded me with enthusiastic “My Lord,” whinnying. 

Next was the javelin range, the amphitheater and the arena. It was blank, no giant scroll hanging there declaring the winners and runner-ups of their tournaments.

Chiron turned and brought my attention to the dining pavilion, framed by its artistic pillars. It held twelve tables. We moved on to the cabins, twelve of them, proudly arranged in a U with the two mausoleums of King Zeus and Queen Hera on the far side. My gaze was immediately drawn to cabin eleven, the only one that looked like a regular, old summer cabin. The paint was peeling, the threshold worn. He looked to the open end of the community ground between them. I stopped in front of cabin three during our little walk around the place. It called to me with a gentle breeze of the sea, the gray stone saturated with pearls, coral and seashells beckoning him to step over the threshold. It looked lonely and I felt as if it asked me to come in, to claim what was my right. I fiddled with the horn. Chiron watched him, so I would need to find another opportunity. Later, during the singalong, maybe. Easy.

Something else dragged my attention though. Something beyond the cabins. I could tell what it was, but something told me that the Deity had something to do with it.

The other cabins were crowded with campers. Inside cabin five, the Ares campers were wrestling and listening to loudly blaring rock music. Clarisse caught his eye, gave him an evil sneer. I just brightly grinned back and she frowned.

I already had a plan set for those companions. I didn’t personally like Clarisse, but I knew she was a fighter. She was the daughter of War, for gods’ sake. Because of that, she likely just doesn’t care about civility. If he can drill that into her skull, maybe the two can actually cooperate.

Our tour eventually ended in front of cabin eleven, where Annabeth was waiting, absorbed in an ancient Greek architecture book. She looked over at me critically, like she was already analyzing every aspect of me, how to put him to use and get me to take her along on the quest she believed me to go on soon. 

She wasn’t wrong about that, I would be dealing with a glorified fetch quest in a few days.

Thankfully, I had some more aces up my sleeve then before.

“Annabeth,” Chiron said, “I have a masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?

“Yes, sir.”

“Cabin eleven,” Chiron said, tearing me from his musing, gesturing at the doorway. “Make yourself at home.” He galloped away towards the archery range.

“Go on,” Annabeth pressed and Percy turned back to the cabin, sweeping his gaze over the present campers.

The cabin itself was as I remembered: over-packed, sleeping bags everywhere, making it look more like an evacuation center than a cabin. They were sizing me up and I caught the Stoll brothers eying the horn. I would have to play the ‘keep away’-game with them again. 

“Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven,” Annabeth announced.

“Regular or undetermined?”

“Undetermined,” she responded and everybody groaned. Honestly? I get it. The cabin was home to at least twice as many campers as there were beds and at least two thirds he recognised as undetermined at this point in time. He would be slightly peeved too if his cabin would be reduced to this. They really needed an ‘undetermined’ cabin. Or get gods to claim their children. 

I knew which one I’d prefer to happen.

For gods’ sake, a Primordial Deity that is sealed behind a magical stone claimed me, and these guys can’t be bothered to take, what, 2 seconds to confirm something that everyone likely already knows?

Luke stepped forward, the mere sight of him seizing my heart. My hand twitched around the horn. Part of my brain screamed at me to take him out now. I immediately silenced it, he couldn’t touch the guy. 

Not yet, too soon. 

The wound was still fresh. Bleeding even. However, not only were there too many people around for anything potential murder, but Luke was a fighter. I’m sure he’s running 5 different scenarios in his head right now, especially if Kronos is in his head.

Much like I’m in yours.

“-can have that spot on the floor, right over there,” Luke said. I paused, shifting my attention back to his words. I followed the gesture towards the empty spot, barely big enough to curl up on.

“This is Luke,” Annabeth said, blushing a little. Right, forgot she had a crush on him. I had to admit, Luke was an attractive man. Like his father, I’m assuming. “He’s your counselor for now.”

I just gave a wave. “Nice to meet you,” I said quietly. Spending time with Luke like this again would be hard. I swallowed around the lump that was forming in my throat. “Think I’ll get claimed?” I asked and Luke just shrugged.

“Who knows? Some of us get lucky, others…” he glanced towards a few of the unclaimed, like Chris or Ethan, “don’t.”

Annabeth grabbed my wrist. “Come on. I’ll show you the volleyball court.”

“Seen it.”

“Come on!” she insisted and dragged me outside. Once outside, I pulled his wrist back but followed. We had walked barely a few meters before she said, “You’ll have to do better.”

He frowned. They had had this conversation last time but why was she reacting like this now? “Why?”

She rolled her eyes and murmured, “Can’t believe I thought you were the one.”

I am the one? What The Hell did I do for you to get angry at me? I rubbed my wrist almost subconsciously and glanced past her at the open fields. A heated game of volleyball was taking place at the court behind Annabeth. “What's your problem?” I asked.

She huffed. “Do you know how many people want your chance?” The girl stared at the horn I was still holding.

“To almost get killed?”

“To kill a monster like that? To prove themselves to their Parent? What do you think we train for?”

I just sighed. ‘Surviving,’ I wanted to respond. ‘To not get killed once we cross the border. Not for proving ourselves to gods who don’t give a fuck in the first place.’ Instead, I kept quiet, staring at her with a faint exasperation. She crossed her arms.

“You faced not only him but also a Kindly One. Whoever your parent is, they must see the potential. You had this…”

I kind of stopped listening to her rant, instead turning my attention to the volleyball game behind her. The Apollo cabin, the game led by Lee Fletcher, was obliterating the nymphs. Campers and satyrs cheered on the side-lines. 

I understand Annabeth’s frustration, sure, but I see no need in proving yourself to be recognised by my godly parent. Either they cared or they didn’t. I don’t know how Athena is, but I was lucky with my dad. In comparison to the other gods, Poseidon was winning ‘dad of the year’ pretty much every year.

Granted, I hadn’t known him for long, but he’s been the nicest person he’s met that hadn’t tried to kill him at first sight.

Annabeth had stopped talking at some point and spoke up again now, “It really depends on who your parent is.”

I didn’t know what exactly she was referring to. I hadn’t listened after all. Either way, I just deadpanned, “My mom is Sally Jackson. She works at the candy store at Grand Central Station. At least, she used to.”

Annabeth sighed. “I’m sorry about your mom but I mean your other parent. Your father.”

“Lost at sea,” I chirped back. Ain’t that ironic?

Her frustration grew more evident. It was almost fun to rile her up a little. “He’s not dead.”

‘No, wise girl,’ I bit back a grin, ‘that was your hint.’

“You know him?” I asked instead.

“No, of course not.”

Not even in name? “Really?”

Annabeth growled faintly, but before she could respond, a husky voice yelled, “Well! A newbie!”

I turned to look over. Four campers from the Ares cabin came marching over. Time for that, it seemed.

“Clarisse,” Annabeth sighed, “Why don’t you go polish your spear or something?”

“Sure, Princess,” the Ares camper said, “So I can run you through with it on Friday night.”

I hid a grimace. It hadn’t been Annabeth that had gotten run through after all. I rubbed the spot where her stupid, electric spear had hit me that night. Annabeth cursed at her.

“Who’s this little runt?” Clarisse turned towards me.

Daughter of Ares…Interesting Choice Perseus.

‘ Rude,’ I thought as Annabeth responded, “Percy Jackson. Meet Clarisse, daughter of Ares.”

I looked her up and down. “Huh,” I just said.

Clarisse sneered. “We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy.”

“Clarisse-” Annabeth tried to object.

“Stay out of it, wise girl.”

Though Annabeth looked rather pained, I just fought back my own glee. Clarisse was expecting, as she said, a runt. Someone who didn’t know what the heck they were doing.

Not, you know, a Time-traveling son of the sea god with Primordial powers.

I intentionally dropped the horn as Clarisse grabbed me, a little afraid my own reflexes would turn on her if she caught me off guard, and was dragged off towards the bathroom. It looked like any public bathroom and I debated leveling the building on purpose to force camp to afford some better toilets and showers.

Honestly, yeah, I’ll do just that.

“Like he is ‘Big Three’ material,” Clarisse laughed as she dragged me to a toilet. “Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking.”

Annabeth had followed, probably out of morbid curiosity. She had picked up the horn, as I expected. Holding a hand over her eyes, she peeked through her fingers. As Clarisse forced my head over the bowl and I caught a whiff of the scent, I pulled on the water in the pipes and toilets. It obeyed my wish, shooting out of the toilets, out of shower heads and bursting pipes, washing the girls out of the bathroom. It didn’t stop there though.

Using the built up pressure, I sent a wave to Annabeth to get her away from the blast zone, and sent the rest of the Ares campers out of a nearby window. Then…well…

I blew it up.

The water pressure that was being built up erupted out of all the plumbing, sending the building’s shell skyrocketing and a bunch of pipes shooting their streams as their heads poked out of the ground.

There. Maybe there will be a decent bathroom soon.

I looked around to see not only Annabeth, wet but not drenched, and the Ares campers, completely drenched on the other hand, but a crowd of campers surrounding the now sky-high bathroom.

“How did you...” Annabeth began and trailed off.

“I don’t know,” I waved her off. If she didn’t realize who my parent was after this, I certainly wouldn’t tell her. Let them play their guessing game despite the very obvious hints.

Outside, campers had gathered around the drenched girls. As Clarisse caught sight of me, she growled, “You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead.”

I just gave an exaggerated shrug. Your dad certainly tried and failed, I’m not afraid of his kid.

As she was dragged away, kicking and screaming, Annabeth gave me a calculating look. I could almost hear the direction her thoughts were taking. She wanted to take advantage of the newfound animosity between him and the Ares cabin to keep them out of the fight by presenting me as bait in a secluded location. It would have been a good plan, if it were not for the tiny fact. 

The almost unimportant point of me being an absolutely untrained, unknowing demigod that hadn’t held a sword in his life. 

As far as she knew anyway. 

She was setting me up to get beaten up. Cruel efficiency for the greater good. Sacrifice a pawn. A strategy worthy of Athena.

Well, a Strategy worthy of Athena means nothing to the Strategy of dumb luck, and being completely OP.

Truer words have never been spoken.

That’s what you comment on?

“I’m thinking,” Annabeth broke the silence of us staring at each other as she returned the horn, “I want you on my team for capture the flag.”

And there we are.

Annabeth resumed Chiron’s tour. She showed me the metal shop, the arts-and-crafts, the climbing wall. Everywhere, people whispered and glanced in our direction. I guess it was a given. I had become one with the plumbing and demonstrated my destructive power over the bathroom, while also defying and taunting Clarisse of all people. We eventually returned to the canoeing lake.

“I’ve got training to do,” Annabeth said flatly, “Dinner’s at seven thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall.”

I nodded slowly. “Alright. Sorry.”

She leveled at me with a look. “You need to talk to the Oracle. I’ll ask Chiron.”

I tilted my head. What was she going off of? Just her general hope that I could be the one? 

Her wish that any new camper would be the one? She had no grounds to ask for that. She had ended up right, but where was she coming from? Was it intuition? Or perhaps she trusted her instincts just like I had learned to do very quickly.

I turned and stared into the lake, reconsidering everything. Had I not already known, I’d still be absolutely clueless. Until now, nobody had really alluded to me being a demigod. 

Well, also being a Primordial, but that’s a pretty new development.

I made eye contact with the two naiads chilling at the bottom of the pier. Both smiled and waved at me. I waved back, for politeness sake.

“Don’t encourage them,” Annabeth immediately chastised, “Naiads are terrible flirts.”

‘Or are they just greeting their lord’s son?’ I gave the two a grin before turning around to face the blonde. “Alright. Can I go home now?” I asked, just to annoy her. I wasn’t sure why I felt the urge but I did, and I gave in.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t you get it? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us.”

I gave her a blank stare before turning to stare at the calm waters of the lake again.

“We are not human. Not totally human, anyway.” She paused and eventually added, as if wanting to ensure that I had truly understood, “Your father is one of the Olympians.”

“Right.” I watched two eels play catch near the naiads until one of them hid in their hair and the two stopped their game.

“It’s the most common thing in the old stories. Why would they change their habits?”

“And yours?” I asked, just for the sake of it.

“Mine?”

“Your dad…?” I started, remembering Frederick Chase. I hadn’t met him, only heard about him from his daughter.

“My dad is a history professor at West Point. I haven’t seen him since I was very small. He teaches American History.”

“Your mom, then?”

Annabeth preened. “Cabin six.”

“Goddess of Wisdom. And strategic war,” I stated and Annabeth nodded proudly. “And my dad?” I prodded.

She shrugged. “Undetermined. Nobody knows.”

I bit back a sigh. As if that toilet display wasn’t obvious? The denial is strong in these guys. I could probably move the whole lake across camp and they wouldn’t get it. “Mom knew,” was all I said.

“Maybe not. Gods don’t always reveal their identities.”

“He would have. He loved her. She knows,” I stubbornly reiterated. I wasn’t wrong anyway. Sally knew I was Poseidon’s son, she just never told me in her attempts to protect her boy. But ‘lost at sea’ was a rather strong hint in hindsight.

Honestly, I probably should’ve figured it out before I even met Alecto, with how I could see through the mist occasionally.

Annabeth looked at me carefully. She clearly didn’t want to burst my bubble. “Maybe you’re right.”

I am.

“Maybe he’ll send a sign. That’s the only way we know for sure: Your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son.”

He will. Friday night. After I trash Clarisse and her goons. 

“Sometimes it happens.”

I grimaced. “And sometimes it doesn’t,” I voiced the unspoken implication.

Annabeth ran her palm over the rail. “The gods are busy.”

“They can’t be that busy if they have time to have the children in the first place. Sounds more like they just don’t care.” I scoffed and Annabeth flinched, glancing skywards. I expected the usual thunder accompanying my words, but it stayed strangely silent.

Hey, maybe the deity can hold back Zeus on occasion?

More like the Deity can obscure your words from the gods.

Well, that’s even more perfect!

“Sometimes, it seems that way,” she mumbled. “And some of us have mortal parents that don’t care either.” She pulled on her necklace, fiddling with her dad’s college ring.

“How long have you been here?” I asked, just to make sure I’d have my bases covered if it ever came up again.

“Since I was seven.” She tapped her beads. “One for every year you stayed, handed out every August.”

I didn’t pry, it was never a good idea if it came to Annabeth. Only knew her for a couple months, and that lesson was learned fast. After a few minutes of silence, she left me, running off to practice.

I took a quick look around before falling backwards into the lake. I allowed the water to pull me under and breathed in deeply. It made me feel at ease, calm and protected. A few fish approached me, and greeted me eagerly. I ducked under the pier to stay unseen and settled with the two naiads for some idle conversation. Both seemed a bit surprised at first, but quickly realized who I was. They swore themselves to silence until my dad would claim me.

After an hour, maybe two, I left them and the lake behind but not before entrusting them to sneak the horn into cabin three or return it to me once I was claimed. I wandered back to the Hermes cabin on the long path. The campers were messing around with each other and I plopped down on my free spot. Nobody approached me until Luke sat down next to me.

“Stole you a sleeping bag,” he said. “And some toiletries.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

The guy barked a laugh and nodded. “No prob. Tough first day?”

“It’s…alright? Wish people would give me straight answers,” I muttered.

Luke leaned back. “Doesn’t get easier, really. Especially not with the gods.” I heard the faint emotion in his tone.

“So, your dad is Hermes?” I asked, trying to gauge Luke’s current level of resentment towards his father.

He pulled a switchblade out of his pocket. “Yeah, Hermes.” His voice was toneless, carefully even. So, pretty high.

“Ever met him?”

“Once.” Now some emotion crept into his tone. A thin layer of hatred. Luke stayed silent for a bit before he said, “Don’t worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they’re mostly good people. After all, we're an extended family, right? We take care of each other.”

‘Mostly,’ I noted. Granted, he was most likely referring to the Ares cabin and their bullying and harassing, but something told me that that wasn’t it. I carefully looked at Luke’s face which was settled in a neutral expression. He looked calm, nothing betrayed his plans or treacherous thoughts. In barely one and a half months, he would sic a pit scorpion on me and fully go off the deep end. Perhaps he already had gotten a hold of Backbiter? And yet he played the nice guy for now.

Acting and Charisma are fantastic skills to attain.

“Hey, don’t worry too much about Annabeth by the way,” he suddenly said and I frowned. “She’s too eager to get out of camp, hopes every new camper is the omen she’s been waiting for.” A conch shell blew in the distance. “Come on, it’s dinnertime,” he said and got up.

Cabin eleven’s campers marched up the hill to the pavilion, squeezing themselves onto the benches at their assigned table even though several were completely empty. 

I felt the need to convince the campers to abolish that rule quickly since half my butt hung off the seat. I glanced at the blazing fire in the center of the dining area and made up my mind. 

I needed to talk with Poseidon, needed to figure out what to do. I hoped dad would listen and be able to give me some advice at least. 

Quickly, I loaded up his plate and once it was my turn to sacrifice some of the dinner, I scraped it into the large brazier, letting Luke’s words go in one ear and out the other.

‘We need to talk, dad. I don’t care about ancient laws or Uncle Z, this is more important than them. Prophecy-level important. Titan rising-level important.’ I paused, then added, ‘Primordial Deity-level important. Please. The sooner, the better.’

As I returned to my seat, I caught the slightest whiff of the sea breeze. The wind blew towards the ocean, however, so I took it as a sign from my father. I figured that prayer had caught the sea god off guard. 

I wasn’t supposed to know who dad was yet after all.

Parental Heritage can be a chasm. Once crossed, both parties can thrive.

Are you just going to be spouting Fortune cookie advice in my ear from now on?

Don’t you agree that you’d need it?

Damn.

Mr. D half-heartedly introduced me to the rest of the campers, Chiron announced the next capture the flag game and the campers trudged off towards the campfire for their singalong and roasted marshmallows. I stole away though, heading for the beach in hopes that dad would listen to my request. If I had to head all the way to his palace to get the god to listen, then, by all means, I would.

I made my way down to the beach, toeing off my shoes and leaving them on the sand as I waded into the waves and climbed onto a rock standing above the water, watching the waves crashing against it. The beach was quiet. Only a soft breeze blew and the stars gleamed above.

“Perseus…” A familiar voice pulled my attention to his right. Poseidon stood above the waves, a glint in his eyes, looking faintly displeased.

I had been aware of what a gamble that prayer was, but being faced with a Poseidon that didn’t know him yet was a little daunting. “Dad…”

“I am surprised you seem to know. You should not. Nor should you have called for me like that.”

I sighed, driving a hand through my hair. “A gamble,” I admitted. “I’m not even sure if and how I should tell you.” I pulled my legs up, settling in a cross-legged position, turning fully towards my father.

Poseidon looked me over, quietly stating, “There is familiarity in how you speak to me. We have never met.”

“Only once, as a baby, right?”

The god sighed. “Were your words true? Is whatever knowledge you hold that dangerous?”

“Well…” I paused. “How am I even supposed to say this?” I stared in the waves for a long time until Poseidon cleared his throat.

“I should not be here, Perseus. If Zeus…”

“I know,” I mumbled, basically interrupting his father. “And it’s just Percy, please.” I straightened and took a breath. “Look, I have a feeling that whatever happened to me broke all possible laws and rules in existence. Can you…maybe swear to keep it a secret? Don’t talk about it to anyone unless we both agree it’s a necessity? I just need to talk about this and there is no other possible option. Not really.” Technically, I could tell anyone, but Percy was unsure if they wouldn't try to change things from the get-go, change too many events too fundamentally and bring down a new catastrophe down on them. And the first quest had gone rather well, there was no real need for changes, there were only possibilities.

That’s not even considering the Primordial Deity that now rests in his own head.

Indeed. Entrusting Poseidon is a rather smart Idea. The King of the Sea is far more trustworthy than most of his caliber.

Poseidon hummed, quiet for minutes. The silence had me growing increasingly anxious. I started fidgeting. “Fine,” he eventually relented. “I shall trust you on this, my son. There is age to you that is…unusual but not unfamiliar for a twelve-year-old boy. A look in your eyes that speaks of hard experiences, of loss and perseverance. Something I cannot quite explain.” The god lifted his head to the night sky and I quietly marveled how dad had hit the nail on the head. One really couldn’t underestimate the ruler of the sea. “I shall swear on the river Styx to keep silent about this conversation, Percy.”

I gave a quiet sigh of relief and nodded. “Thanks. Is there a way to ensure nobody will listen in on this? I’ll have to name essentially every god and monster in existence.”

The sea god made a soft noise and exhaled. He reached out and laid a hand over mine. A flash and some rising bubbles later and then I found myself at the bottom of the ocean, far out in the Atlantic. “I can shield us fully out here,” his father said. “But staying too long will arouse suspicion. From my brother and at camp.”

I nodded. He’d have to keep this short somehow, then. “So, I…” I paused, tilting my head at a school of fish flitting by. “...might have time traveled?”

Poseidon inhaled slowly. “You…what?”

“Or I came back to the past?”

“That is Father’s power.”

“Oh yeah. I guess it would be, but not exactly.”

Poseidon choked and grabbed his son’s shoulder. “Do not joke about this, Percy!”

I sighed. “I’m not. Look, as much as The Titan of Time's power would make sense here, I know for a fact it wasn’t. There’s a lot I need to get through though, so, can we just accept that fact?”

Father’s hand remained on my shoulder, a grounding weight with gentle warmth. I shifted a little, noticing how my father’s eyes darkened as he searched for a lie in his son’s face and found none. “I should probably start at…well, the start?”

“Please.” Poseidon seemed anxious at the thought of the possibility of his father rising, and of whatever had sent his son back that wouldn’t have been his father. His thumb rubbed on Percy’s shoulder blade. “I can tell that whatever happened has been hard on you. You are not a twelve-year-old despite your physical appearance.”

“Well…no, still about 12. When I got sent back, it was about 1 or 2 months before my birthday. And then I found myself back here. At the beginning. I don’t know how, I don’t know why.”

“Only a few months, yet you’ve looked like you’ve lived a lifetime.”

“And so much has happened in those few months,” I muttered. I sank to the ground, settling on the soft sand. Dad remained standing.

“I assume the Theft is involved?” Poseidon asked, tensing at the memory of his brother accusing him.

“The lightning bolt?” I glanced at my father, sensing him tense. I paused, nodding my head to answer the question, quietly sorting out the events of the future. “On Friday,” I began, “after the capture of the flag game, you claimed me. Nine days later, I’m sent off to fetch the bolt because someone always blames others instead of taking care of his problems.”

“It is good to hear I claimed you quick, at least,” Poseidon murmured. “I am a little desperate right now which most likely motivated me.”

“I didn’t understand for some time. But I did eventually get that it would have been best for you to wait until after the summer solstice.”

“I do not like my children to remain unclaimed like so many others.”

“Yeah, that’s probably going to be a major problem soon, actually. I guess we'll get to it.”

“I am uncertain I like the sound of that.” Poseidon sat down opposite me, mirroring his cross-legged position.

I grimaced. “I don’t know what the point of everyone accusing each other was.”

Poseidon sighed. “He is paranoid.”

“He is beyond paranoid, dad. He might as well have chosen to ignore the problem until it was inches from Olympus.”

Something flickered over Dad’s face, too fast for me to identify. “Percy, please watch how you speak to and about gods out there,” he warned gently and I barked a laugh.

“Dad, I lost all respect I never even had in those few months. I don’t know all the gods personally, but it seems like nearly all of them have done something wrong that led to this sequence of events. Thankfully, you’re at the lower end of it all, as opposed to some of the others.” Poseidon’s expression twisted and I added, “I’ll just warn you now: You hated a lot of things I did even after they happened. I get it, you're worried, but I did what I had to.”

My father winced. “It seems you inherited my more…prominent traits, then.”

“That’s what you told me, yeah.” I rubbed my knee anxiously. “So, the lightning bolt. I get claimed on Friday. On the…I think it was the eleventh? Chiron has me go and speak to the Oracle, it spits out the first quest-related prophecy.”

“Do you remember it?”

“I remember it all, thankfully. I hope I can stick to my past actions enough to keep them from changing. You shall go west and face the god who has turned, you shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned. You shall be betrayed by one you call a friend, and you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end. ”

Poseidon tilted his head in thought. “The god in the west?”

“A lot of people immediately jumped onto blaming Hades, but he’s as much a victim as Zeus in this. His helmet was stolen, too.”

The god frowned. “He has said nothing.”

“He said something about how everyone thinks he wants war even though he is already overworked. How no one would offer him justice for his lost symbol of power. Thought everything was a ploy by you. Stuff like that. He was really bitter that day. Can’t even blame him. He got banished from his own home for whatever reason and everybody shuns and blames him for anything.”

A shadow settled over Poseidon’s face. “It is not often that someone calls the gods out on their mistakes,” he stated slowly. “Many of us have grown rather complacent. I am aware Hades mistrusts me, but I did not think it was to such an extent that he would believe me turning on both of them.” A silence settled over them for a few minutes before the god shook himself out of his thoughts and met my eyes. “Please, continue, son.”

I nodded and began recounting the quest. Unlike in his retelling to Chiron, I left out nothing. Every detail he could recall, every dream, every injury, every near-death experience. With every mention of Kronos, Poseidon grew paler and tenser. His hand had gripped mine at some point and he squeezed it tight. I didn’t pause, continuing to barrel on through the encounter with Ares,  Procrustes, and the Underworld.

“Remember the backpack Ares had given us?” As the sea god nodded shortly, I continued, “The bolt is in there. Enchanted to only return to its container once we reach the Underworld.”

“Ares,” his father growled.

“He’s being influenced. I realized that on the beach.”

“What beach?”

“In a bit. Luke gave me the shoes that Grover wore, if you recall. He intended to have them drag me down to...” I paused, took a deep breath. It still wasn’t easy recalling the time spent down there. It had gotten better, but it was still a struggle some days. “He wanted to use me to deliver the bolt to Kronos.”

“The friend who betrays you. Luke, then?”

“Yes,” I mumbled. “Kronos’ little pawn, his advocate. His vessel.”

“He truly did rise, then. We must take action.” The sea god almost rose.

“Yeah, nice for you to say that at least. Zeus thinks otherwise.”

Poseidon frowned, settling down again. “How did you survive this?”

“I have no idea. Dumb luck? Too stubborn to die? I piss gods off left, right, and center.” I grimaced as my father winced. “Anyway,” I pressed on, “We met Hades. He complained about everyone, about his missing helmet, the first time anyone probably heard about that. He demanded we hand the bolt over to him and return his helmet. He was of firm belief I had it. He…had taken mom as a kind of insurance.”

Poseidon growled. “Sally,” he murmured, a fond reminiscence ghosting over his features. “He has taken her?”

“Yeah, two days ago, when we got chased to camp by the Minotaur.” I gave his father a few moments to work through whatever he was working through. Once his expression settled, I said, “We used the pearls to leave and mom was left behind. That’s what we believe the last line to have meant. Ares was waiting for us on the beach. We…had a fight.”

“You…fought a god.”

“I had to. I needed the helm from him. So I offered a duel with the bolt and helm on the line. Taunted him into accepting. I fought him with the ocean, really, but something happened.” I paused, wondering if it was a good decision to bring up the Deity.

As I said, while I prefer to keep myself under wraps, you could not choose a better vessel for a secret then the God of the Sea.

“Remember how I told you that I knew it wasn’t Kronos’ power that sent me back?”

“Yes?” Poseidon answered, a bit nervous about where this was going.

“I…I think I might be more than just your son, Dad. I think there’s another god’s power hitching a ride with me,” I mentioned, half expecting Dad to either be frozen in place, or…something.

“...go on,” Poseidon simply said, as I nodded.

“Whoever it was, when I was fighting Ares, time basically stopped. Whoever it was made it clear that…a lot was going to happen. It told me that there was a realm that I’d always be welcomed in, that something called, “The Dark One,” watches over me, and how the traitor was coming close. It knew a lot, dad. A lot that even I didn’t know at the time.” I went on, not mentioning the Deity’s…name? I guess?

‘Can you really call The Nameless Deity a name?’ I thought to myself as dad looked outwards to the sea.

“I know a bit more about it now, but it happened later on. Do…do you want me to keep going?” I asked, as Poseidon continued to look outwards.

“...Yes. Keep going Percy,” Dad answered, and I nodded.

“Okay. As I was saying with Ares, I drew first blood by stabbing his heel. He spoke of dreams and voices, cursed me and vanished,” I explained.

The sea god opened his mouth, trying to form words before closing it again. I waited. “Ares is being influenced by father.”

“Yes.”

“He chased after the thief and was talked into aiding him instead.”

“Yes.”

“Fool,” Poseidon muttered and I chuckled.

“It’s Ares, dad.”

“He cursed you?”

“Something about how my sword will fail me whenever I hope for success.”

“Did it affect you?”

“Haven’t hoped for success yet with my sword. Besides, maybe now that I’m back in the past, it’s over in the first place.”

“Let us hope. Continue, please,”

I nodded and moved on. I returned the bolt, Zeus refused to acknowledge the problem, and we returned to camp. I mentioned Luke's betrayal at the end of the summer, and Poseidon gained a grimace.

“Perhaps we can have Hermes attempt to persuade his son,” Poseidon mentioned the Idea, but I shook my head.

“It’s a bit late for that. Luke wanted an actual father at least at some points in his life, but Hermes is literally the only mailman. It’s hard to visit your kids whenever your shift doesn’t end,” I mentioned, and Poseidon sighed.

“Well, that’s as far as I got. Luke siced a Pit scorpion on me and sliced through darkness to leave the place. I blacked out after that,” I started, before taking a big sigh. “Dad…are you able to go in my mind in any way?”

“I can certainly communicate, however I have no dominion over the mind or memories itself. If I did, this conversation would go by much faster,” Poseidon mentioned.

An unfortunate outcome.

“Well, we have to do this the hard way then,” I mentioned, standing up a bit. ‘Nameless Deity, what power can you give me to showcase that you, you know, exist without it going overboard?’

They are your powers, Perseus. If you wish for a weak showcase, simply hold your fingers out.

I did as the deity told me to, and suddenly, an orange fireball was summoned, with 6 smaller teal fireballs erupting from it, as it shot forward into the sandy ground. It was so hot, the sand turned to glass on contact.

Poseidon looked at me in shock, as I shrugged. “Uh…Mom might have been related to a Primordial Deity…and one that is in my head right now…”

Dad looked at me so dumbly, I thought his brain must’ve broken. To my surprise, he slowly walked towards me and hugged me.

“I knew you’d be destined for greatness…It wasn’t in the way I thought, but it was magnificent either way…”

Yeah…that got me to crack.

Chapter Text

Now that I had dad on my side, life would be much easier.

Not only does he know exactly when to claim me, rather than it just being really convenient timing, but he’s also in the know about the whole, Nameless Deity thing.

It was a bit hard to explain it to him, considering that, you know, no one knows who the Nameless Deity is, but it seemed that so long as it wasn’t a Titan, he was fine with it.

He even said that he might be able to talk with Hecate, who was the leading Historian of the gods apparently, and they might be able to unravel the mystery of who the Deity was.

I would greatly appreciate it.

No problem, Big man.

Dad said that he would be rallying his armies in case of any Titans return, most notably his father, and he would be trying to get Oceanus to at least remain neutral should the unthinkable happen.

Once the meet and greet between dad was over, I said my goodbyes and dad vanished. His touch still lingered on my skin, filling me with a sense of safety. I collected my shoes, slipped them back on and looked up at the stars. 

I shook off the thoughts and turned towards camp. Grover approached me. 

Perfect timing, dad. Thanks.

“This is where you are. Thought we lost you,” the satyr cried.

“Sorry,” I said. “It’s all so much, I just wanted to…think. About all that,” I gestured at the camp, “Mom.”

Grover winced and squeezed my shoulder. “Sorry about her,” he muttered. “It’s almost time for lights out. You can’t be found outside after that.” He gently tugged at me to get me to move back towards the camp.

“Why?”

“The harpies.”

Still not sure why literal human-eating harpies are used to ensure the curfew. It’s a little extreme, isn’t it? Aello, Celaeno, and Ocypete were a fixed part of camp, though and something would be missing if they were gone. I followed along, didn’t feel like asking the questions I should be asking of why, what are those, when is the curfew, etc.

I felt tired. Emotionally drained and physically exhausted. Grover led me back to the Hermes cabin, where Luke greeted me.

“You good?”

“Miss my mom,” I dismissed the guy and curled up on his tiny spot on the floor. I wouldn’t miss this. Or all the noise at night. The Poseidon cabin was blissfully quiet, only filled with the gentle sound of distant waves crashing against the beach. It was calming and soothing. 

Unless Annabeth had snuck in. Or Grover had snuck in at night.

The general chaos of the Hermes cabin woke me early the next morning. I caught Travis trying to check my sleeping bag in order to nick the horn and gave only a secretive grin once the demigod noticed it wasn’t here and he had been caught. The guy obviously took it as a challenge but I was always happy to start another prank war on them. 

Camp had always known that you didn’t try pranking the son of Poseidon and they would learn again.

In the next few days, I settled back into the camp. I got out of the Ancient Greek lessons with Annabeth by proving my fluency, to a surprised Chiron, but was unable to avoid testing the outdoor activities again. 

My attempt at Archery ended not quite as badly as before, where the arrow had ended in Chiron’s tail even though he had been behind me, but was still miles away from the target. 

I was decently fast, but the wood-nymphs left me in the dust anyway. 

I managed to skirt around the wrestling practice, not feeling keen of Clarisse pulverizing me.

My canoe skills were as good as always; it was a sea vessel after all. I selectively ignored the watchful eyes of senior campers and counselors trying to figure out who my father was, which amused me to no degree. I kept subtly influencing the water around me, sometimes straight up moving it, but they still didn’t notice. 

Whenever I could, I stole away into the forest, found myself a suitable stick the length of Riptide, and ran through my training. It felt nice, being able to just get accustomed to the ever-so-smaller body, the lesser strength and height without any eyes on me, not counting the naiads of the stream next to which I practiced, of course. 

They often tried to give advice and strangely enough it was rather helpful. Somehow, they always pointed out the right flaws in my forms.

Three days later, just like before, it was time for the very first sword-fighting lesson. Cabin eleven gathered for its weekly session with Luke as the instructor. They began with the usual warm-ups, some simple stabbing and slashing at the poor dummies. 

I went through every single one of the practice blades available, but they all felt wrong. I sighed, taking a random one in the end. Luke had almost run out of patience with the whole episode and suggested that he might just simply need a specific blade. They could check the armory later and try those. I was hesitant to agree, because it was probably a waste of time anyway. There is no Riptide in there. I missed the pen in his pocket, felt almost naked and helpless without it. 

I had never realized what an anchor that weapon had become to me until it was gone. I hadn’t even had it for that long, yet it felt like a piece of my soul was missing.

A tad overdramatic, don’t you believe?

Once I was equipped with some blade that had a decent length, but was all wrong otherwise, they moved into dueling practice. Luke ran through all the maneuvers, thrusts, parries, shield blocks and the likes. I forced myself to take the blows instead of fighting back and winced at them.

“Too high,” was all that Luke said.

‘Not exactly going easy on me, are you?’ I kept my eyes firmly on Luke, analyzing his form, identifying potential weak spots, favored movements; I’d need that knowledge later. 

By the time Luke called a break, I felt a little sore. 

‘Beating up a twelve-year-old. Great job, man.’ I rolled my shoulders back, getting the tension out, while mentally cataloging the sore spots and the muscle aches I’d definitely have the next day…unless he took a dip in the sea, of course.

Luke poured ice water over his head, giving his system a temperature shock but momentarily cooling him down. I just took a cool drink, pressing the can into my neck before downing it.

“Okay, everyone circle up!” Luke called. “If Percy doesn’t mind, I want to give you a little demo.”

‘Right. Too bad I do mind.’ I gave my blade an idle spin as I curiously looked at Luke. The casual gesture made Travis whisper to his brother but Luke hadn’t noticed. Connor immediately whispered back and the Stolls dissolved into a quiet, heated debate.

Luke ignored them, instead explaining the disarming technique. 

I was familiar with it; it was a part of the regular repertoire. 

After Luke had tried it on me the last time, I had made sure to master it. 

“This is difficult,” the guy stressed, speaking on before demonstrating in slow motion. “Now in real time. We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?”

‘Yeah, definitely trying to humiliate me here. I’m pretending to be a bloody beginner.’ I took a step back and readied my sword. Luke came after me quickly, the first attack missing as I sidestepped. I wasn’t foolish enough to try taking on a physically stronger, bigger and faster guy head-on. Trickery and deception were how you won a battle like this. I countered another strike and caught the change in Luke’s expression. He was getting into it, blows growing heavier and faster.

The unbalanced sword in my hand made things harder for me, coupled with half of my focus being diverted to intentionally keeping my movements clumsy and uncoordinated. No need to show the traitor my slightly-above average skills yet. 

I couldn’t help myself from applying the maneuver, though, and Luke’s sword went clattering to the ground.

I bit back a smug grin and pretended to be shocked as the other campers were stunned into silence. Connor eventually groaned and muttered, “We totally should have betted.”

It broke the spell and murmurs broke out. Luke got over his surprise and grinned. “That was amazing. Show me again.”

I refused. Luke insisted. I refused again. The older one almost pleaded but I feigned exhaustion. It went on for a bit. If the son of Hermes thought he could outlast the stubbornness of the sea, he was sorely mistaken and he did eventually admit defeat and turned to another camper to try it on.

Later, I tried the climbing wall, even managed to somehow reach the top despite the sore spots from sword practice complaining and demanding a bath in the ocean. 

Grover had scampered to the top like the mountain goat. He apparently was, but I couldn't really care less what type of goat-satyr he was.

“So, how’d it go with Mr. D?” I asked innocently. I felt the need to reassure Grover and to be able to do that, I did have to ask that question even as his friend slumped and yellowed.

“Fine,” he said. “Just great.”

‘G-man. That was more sarcastic than anything I have ever said, And I am known for my sarcasm.’ 

Indeed.

I shifted, pulling one foot up and placing my chin on my knee as we watched the naiads weave baskets below. “Meaning?” I gently pressed. I needed a bit more information to really speak up before he got the reputation of a freaky mind-reader.

“I…” Grover looked down,“ Judgement was suspended, so I still don’t have my license.”

‘Sucks,’ I thought. ‘Especially since the shit that went down was sorely my fault. Both times. Sorry, man.’

“He said I hadn’t failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he’d consider the job complete.”

Sounds nice on a first impression. But quests are essentially suspended since Luke’s little adventure. How mean. Percy sighed softly. “Not that bad,” I said carefully. “I take you along and there you go.”

“He might as well have sentenced me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest…and even if you did, why would you want me along?”

I turned to face him. ‘I can only say that with confidence because I already know. In ten days, we’re off.’ I leaned forward a little. “Because you’re my friend. Because you’re my protector.” It took a lot of reassuring before Grover stopped looking so bleak and I dared to let the matter drop, turning to other topics instead. I steered the conversation from the empty cabins over the Big Three’s oath.

“Percy?”

“Hm?” I turned back to Grover. “Sorry, I was just thinking that it wasn’t fair.”

“The children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods.”

I swallowed a scoff. ‘You don’t say, G-man.’ Not to brag, but he was a force of nature, and from what he learned about Thalia from Luke and Annabeth, so was she.

Now, you have a little more oomph behind you, don’t you?

Indeed I do.

After dinner, it was time to capture the flag. Athena and Ares were facing off.

“Heroes!” Chiron announced, “You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!”

I had quietly listened to him, providing himself with a running commentary of that little speech. There had to have been incidents where campers had been bound or gagged for that rule. Which meant that campers had died at capture the flag before if there was a need to explicitly state it. As for maiming, well, the Ares campers didn’t care about the rule anyway and the punishment for it was laughable too. A revoking of the desert privilege.

“Here. Chiron thought these would fit.” Luke handed me a helmet which did fit and a huge, oversized shield which was way too heavy to be of use. “You’ll be on border patrol.”

‘Huh, you’re not questioning that. You’re in on Annabeth’s plan, aren’t you?’ I fixed my helmet in place and shouldered the shield. I’d be ditching that as soon as I was parked at the creek.

Annabeth yelled, “Blue team, forward!”

With a cheer the campers took off into the south woods. The red team ran off towards the north with jeering taunts thrown at the Blues.

“So, what is border patrol?” I casually asked Annabeth as I came up at her side. I caught her hand twitching towards her pocket.

‘Still think I’m a Hermes kid with sticky fingers?’

“It’s easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan. Also, watch Clarisse’s spear.” She pressed ahead, leaving me behind.

Okay, translation: “I already know Clarisse is after you so I’ll park you away from everybody else to keep her out of the game for as long as possible. That’s why I’m warning you about her spear without actually mentioning the damned electricity.” 

I sighed to myself. Annabeth really never changed in her plan-making. At least she tended to warn me once they had gotten past her, ‘Your dad is my mom’s rival, so we are rivals’-phase.

Once we had reached the creek, where I was to be stationed and the rest had scattered into the woods, I dropped the shield, quietly rolled my shoulders and tested the sword I had been handed. 

It was just as wrong as any other I had been given since my return to the past. The conch horn blew, signaling the start of the game, quickly followed by sounds of battle, yelling and battle cries. 

An Apollo kid raced by and vanished in the undergrowth in enemy territory. ‘Missing all the fun here, guys,’ I thought. 

A low canine growl tore me out of my thoughts. “What?” A chill ran down my spine and I whirled around. Is that the hellhound? It’s here already? I totally forgot about that. Percy carefully scanned the trees, trying to locate the growl but before I could, Clarisse and four minions spilled out of the underbrush to my left.

“Cream the punk!” Clarisse screamed, her two-meter spear in hand, barbed tip flickering with red light. A sign of magic.

‘Oh joy,’ I thought to myself as I dodged the first Ares camper. The fighters charged across the stream and I was faced with half the Ares cabin. I steadied my stance as they surrounded me. 

‘Come on, then.’ I sidestepped Clarisse’s spear as I blocked another sword but it grazed my arm. A painful tingle rushed through my body, my arm went numb, my hair stood on end. 

Ah, almost nice. 

Another Ares camper managed to make use of the short moment. He needed to shake off the effect of slamming me in the chest and sending me into the dirt. The siblings burst out laughing.

“You’re so tough, ganging up 5 to 1 on an untrained newbie. No wonder your cabin isn’t respected, you idiots,” I growled. I rolled away from another jab of Clarisse’s spear as she called, “Give him a haircut.” With a quick shift, I got back to my feet and took a step backwards, closer to the stream.

Two of the guys yelled and charged and he ducked aside, tripping one and he fell face-first into the running water. Clarisse used her reach to slam the sword out of his hand. Sparks flew as the metal made contact and both of my arms felt numb.

“Oh wow,” she drawled, “I’m scared of this guy. Really scared.”

I shook out my arms, glaring back at her. “You want the flag, go that way,” I nodded backwards, pretty sure the damn thing was to my right. I just needed the pause to regain the sensation in my arms and took another step backwards towards the stream. In my current state, against five Ares campers, I was needing the boost to hold my own, unless I could disarm Clarisse first. 

‘Oh, I’m breaking that dam spear again. Fuck this.’ I made a fist and my arm tingled.

Wait…

Simply imagine the Spear snapping. Your hands will do the rest.

“Yeah,” one of the guys said, “But see, we don’t care about the flag. We care about the guy who made our cabin look stupid.”

“You don’t need help with that. Look at you,” I shot back.

Naturally, they charged…at the unarmed guy. I jumped backwards to dodge a thrust but got hit in the ribs by Clarisse’s stupidly long spear. I clenched my jaw at the shock. The pain was tolerable, the shock a little less. A sword hit his arm at that moment, leaving a good cut.

“No maiming, guys,” I said with a faint scoff. Anybody but these dimwits would have probably picked up on my tone, but they didn’t.

“Oops, guess I lost my desert privilege.”

‘You’re about to lose the rest of your pathetic pride as well, dude.’ I allowed the push that sent me into the creek, and I landed with a splash. The water soaked into him, re-energizing him, chasing off the numb feeling in his limbs. I hopped to my feet, grabbing the sword on the way up.

As the five charged, I sidestepped one, hit the other over the head with the flat of my sword. ‘A little too hard,’ he noticed as the guy crumpled into the water. I swung at one while dodging the other, the sword shearing off the horsehair plume as I ducked. He backed away. Clarisse took his place, thrusting her spear at me.

I imagined the spear snapping, the red lightning that came from it bursting out. Suddenly, I felt my hands change, and I swiped. My hands looked like the Porcelain from back on the coast, and an afterimage of pure light was left as the spear snapped like a twig.

Meet the Light Slash.

“Ah!” she screamed. “What the hell was that!? You idiot! You…you corpse worm!”

While she was busy insulting me, I dropped the tip of my blade into the water, electrifying it with the broken spearhead, and shocking her brothers before smacking her between the eyes with the sword-butt. Before I could round in on her, screaming and elated yelling arose from the woods. Luke was racing towards the boundary line, red team’s flag in hand, Hermes campers flanking him and a few Apollo kids covering their retreat, fighting off the Hephaestus guys.

“A trick!” Clarisse shouted. “It was a trick.”

“You don’t say,” slipped out of my mouth before I could reign myself in. “Why else would she park a camper you have beef with here otherwise? Idiot.”

Clarisse lunged at me, but I jumped back and willed the water to trip her. She landed face-first in the shallow stream. With a growl she got up and the five Ares campers staggered after Luke,  even though it was already too late. He crossed the line and the flag shimmered and replaced its depiction with a huge caduceus. Cheers exploded all around them, the conch horn blew. The game was over.

“Not bad, hero.” Annabeth said, right next to me. I didn’t bother to look; she was invisible.

“Save it,” I told her. “You set me up.”

She took off her Yankees cap and shrugged. “I told you. Athena always, always has a plan.”

“Some plans aren’t worth it. They’ll create new enemies,” I scoffed, shaking my head. “I could have gotten killed. My dad wouldn’t like that.”

“You don’t know that. Most gods will never act on our deaths. I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but…” she shrugged again. “Clearly, You didn’t need my help.”

Before she could say anything else, the canine growl was heard again, followed by a howl. I glanced at Luke, who just lowered his hand as if he had given a signal. Oh boy. Here we go.

Chiron yelled instructions as the cheering died immediately. Weapons were drawn. On the rocks just above the cluster of campers the hellhound revealed itself. It crouched, staring straight at me. I braced for the impact, mentally cursing Luke.

“Percy, run!” Annabeth yelled, trying to step in front of him before he could stop her. The hellhound leapt over her, the swipe missing my chest by a hair’s breadth as I jerked backwards. I couldn’t bring the heavy, clunky sword up for a hit fast enough and a second swipe connected, ripping through the armor. I fell backwards, into the water, as a cluster of arrows sprouted from its neck.

‘A little faster next time, guys,’ I scoffed and slowly inhaled as the monster dissolved into shadow and soaked into the ground.

“That’s a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment,” Annabeth muttered, sounding a little shaken. “They don’t…they’re not supposed to…”

“Someone summoned it,” Chiron said. “Someone inside the camp.”

Luke came over just as Clarisse blamed me, but was silenced by Chiron. 

"Uh guys…Injured person at your feet? Not the time?” I allowed the healing energy from the water to course through my veins, healing the cuts on my chest, and slowly sat up. The movement brought everyone’s attention to me, Annabeth moved to speak but froze instead, staring above my head. A few campers gasped. I glanced up to see the hologram-like sign of a green trident shimmering above my head. 

So dramatic. Thanks, dad.

Not just your father.

What?

I looked up again, past the trident, and saw another symbol.

The same symbol from the constellations in Olympus.

My Eye. My Signature symbol, you could say.

I thought you wanted to remain a secret?

I am a secret. A Secret everyone knows exists, but no one knows the answer to.

Are you sure you aren’t just my real Dad?

Positive. You are the son of Poseidon.

“This is really not good,” Annabeth murmured.

“It is determined,” Chiron announced, with confusion evident on his face at the sight of the second symbol. Around them, the campers knelt as I slowly got up, turning to the centaur. “Poseidon. Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God, and Legacy of the unknown.”

Ooh, that’s new.

Needless to say, that brought a rather unexpected end to the game and day. A hellhound in camp, a forbidden demigod. 

Luke had gotten what he wanted. He had proven that camp was too dangerous for me, so Chiron would allow the quest to bring Kronos the bolt. At least, that’s what the Son of Hermes wanted. 

I didn’t intend on going along this time either, obviously. Now that I knew there was no limit to companions, oh boy, this will come back to bite Luke.

The next morning, I was moved to cabin three. Finally, I laid sprawled out in my old bunk, staring at the ceiling. 

Now, I just had to get past this awkward phase where people were avoiding me because they were unsure of what to do with me, after that, I’d be great as always. 

I sat up slowly, staring into the little fountain Poseidon had already added. I wasn’t sure if he had mentioned it during their conversation, but it hadn’t been here the first summer. I dipped a hand into the salt water, fishing out a drachma. I flicked it back inside, watching it sink to the ground before I got up and headed to the dining pavilion. I got a whole table to himself, no more ‘half a butt of the bench’-sitting, which was nice, but eating alone wasn’t quite as nice. I’d gotten used to company at the table again. Since they had gotten rid of the separated table-rule, and now he was back to being alone. Oh, well. I’d manage.

As I stepped into his cabin, I froze in surprise before relaxing again just as quickly and shut the door. A figure stood in the center, back turned to me. “Dad.”

The god turned, smiled thinly. “Percy.” He sat down the Minotaur horn on its little spot again. “You broke it off.”

“Yeah. Had no other weapon,” I said with a shrug, stepping into the cabin properly. “Thanks for yesterday. Now the campers need to get over it and I’ll be all fine.”

Poseidon grimaced. “Someone else also needs to get over it.”

I snorted. “I bet. Hypocritical. Considering he broke the oath as well, at least once.” He trotted over to his bunk and plopped down on the edge.

“Indeed. No matter how many times me or Hades mentions that Thalia was the first of yours, he somehow always manages to not hear. Strange,” Dad subtly joked, and I slightly smirked. I wish I knew Thalia. From Annabeth and Luke, she seemed like someone I’d love to wreak havoc with.

“Maybe he just needs to get his hearing checked. He is getting rather old,” I replied, as Dad gained a smirk. “So…”

“Yes, I saw the other symbol during your claiming. It seems your deity would like to watch over you just as much as me."

Indeed I do, King of the Sea.

“They said, ‘Indeed I do, King of the Sea.” I relayed. ‘Is there any way that you could appear, or are you just stuck in my mind?’

Unfortunately, I can not appear in such a magnificent form as you have seen me in. I most likely could physically appear in one of my humanoid appearances however.

‘Could you?’

Give me time.

“Well…hopefully my quest will come soon. We can get the ball rolling,” I mention to dad to buy time for the deity to do whatever it is they were planning.

“Indeed. Considering the context, I am assuming that you will be taking the same companions of your Satyr Protector, and the Daughter of Athena?” Dad asked, as I sat on my bunk.

“Definitely, but I also found a little loophole in that companion thing,” I mentioned as Poseidon tilted his head. “I read in a lot of demigod quests that they usually take two companions, which can be really anyone, is that right?”

“As far as I am aware, that is how it has operated for centuries, yes.”

“Well, I kept digging further, and I found out that there is no restriction on the amount of companions you can have on your quest, at least nothing out-right limiting the amount,” I dropped the bomb, and from the Look on Dad’s face, he didn’t know that either, to my slight shock.

“...What? Why has every demi-god only taken two companions then? Surely they would’ve preferred more, simply for safety,” Dad proclaimed, as he looked at the empty cabin, and I could tell what he was thinking.

‘Maybe more of my children would have survived,’

“From what I could find, it was a standard set by the gods themselves. Sort of a default, primary option for it, rather than an actual rule. The Fates, Oracles, anything associated with prophecies and quests, hell even Apollo have not mentioned anything about a limit to companions being allowed. The standard came from, as you might guess-”

“Brother…of course. If there was any demigod that could even pose a threat and has gained a quest, he would want as little chance for them to return alive,” Poseidon growled, showing the first real hint of anger I’ve seen from him. “But then, surely he would have lifted it once the many deaths came, wouldn’t he have? He’s not heartless.”

“Heartless would assume he had one to begin with.”

The voice of the deity appeared again, but this time, far less telepathic, and much more physical. Me and Dad looked to the open doorway…and saw someone very new.

It was a male humanoid, with a gilded glowing robe, with slits of silver and different metal across, and locks of long snowy white hair falling behind its back. Its face was gilded too, a mask of pure gold, with the same symbol, their eye apparently, pressed across the top of their face, and a purple smoke, with a smell similar to incense filled the room.

“Good evening Poseidon, God of the Sea, Storms, Earthquakes, and Horses, and Perseus Dominic Jackson, Son of Poseidon. Pleasure to meet both of you in person.”

To say the meeting was a surprise was putting it mildly.

Dad immediately summoned his trident in instinct, but once it became clear that this was, you know, the deity that gave me my new powers and sent me back in time, he lessened his battle-senses.

“So…you are the deity that gave my son a second chance?” Dad asked, anxiety and confusion still prevalent in his tone, but also interest.

“Indeed Poseidon. As I am aware of, you also know of his heritage with me, correct?” The deity asked, as Dad nodded. “Good. I apologize if my appearance is not living up the standard your son set, however with my power so limited, only such a small-scale humanoid appearance can be managed physically.”

I barely understood the Word vomit, but this was not small-scale. Dude was taller than Dad!

“That is not a problem. However, I wish to learn more about you, and who you are,” Dad asked, as I mentally cursed. I didn’t tell him about the Deity’s…amnesia I guess?

“As do I. You see Poseidon, back before even the age of the Titans, when Chaos was the Progenitor of all, I was one of the first beings. However, that is the cleanest cut of my own self-history I can give you. My Mind is shattered, and chained behind a stone somewhere in the world. Where? I have no idea where it could possibly be located. Perhaps it is above the heavens, or beneath the underworld. I am not aware.”

“A Deity with a shattered Memory…that is an awful fate,” Dad mentioned, as the deity held up its surprisingly human hand.

“Please, do not feel pity. I have come to terms with my own limitations. For as much as I wish to learn the truth of myself, I know such a feat will likely never occur, especially in Perseus’ lifetime,” The deity proclaimed, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Your son is a good man, Poseidon. He is indeed destined for Greatness. A Greatness that will be felt across many-a-generation of god.”

“Not that I wanted it, but I guess now that I have it, I gotta do what I gotta do, right?” I tried to joke, as Poseidon shook his head.

“I suppose, but listen closely Perseus, and take note to remember these words,” The deity started, standing closer to me and placing both of his hands on my shoulders, before the left eye of his mask started to glow. Suddenly, the eye symbol from before reappeared. I guess he wasn’t kidding when he said it was their eye. “There is no other demigod, titan, god, or being, alive or dead, that I would entrust with my power. Not only because it would be impossible, but because none are as pure as you. You have made mistakes, out of prejudice, anger, sadness, and agony. Same as everyone else. However, you have kept yourself intact. You defended Grover and Annabeth against the evils that plagued your path, and when they defended you, you thanked them. You gave to them, as you have to everyone. More mistakes will be made, but no matter what happens, you will find a way to keep yourself on the right path. There will always be danger in your life, and if I can help defend yourself even a little, then my life will have meaning again.”

Uh…wow. That…that was a lot.

It felt both genuine, and like shit they made up on the spot.

“I know you are confused, lost, afraid, as anyone in your position would be. However, you marched towards that nightmare. You confronted Medusa, Echidna, Hades, Ares, and someone who you thought was your friend, Luke. Life will always be a series of trials, and they might never end for someone like you. However, no matter what, know this.”

You will never be alone.

After that display of affection from both Dad and The Deity, the two talked.

I’m not sure what it was about. Probably about the whole family tree, and what is coming in the future. It was likely about me though, considering that they were technically both related to me, one direct and one very very indirectly.

Then again, it also just looked like two dads talking about their shared son, which made me feel really weird.

I don’t want to imagine that relationship.

After whatever they were talking about was done, The deity walked back up to me, Dad right behind them.

“Perseus, remember, I will always be with you, and if you need anything, you know where to go,” They…he? (They definitely had a masculine appearance, so let’s go with he) He told me, before nodding, and vanishing in a puff of purple incense.

“A bit dramatic, don’t you think?” I asked in the open air.

Perhaps, but theatrics are always quite fun.

“I assume you are talking to him?” Dad asked, to my nod. “Very well. He was correct in many of his statements. You’re not alone Percy, nor shall you be for your days. Whether or not I am there, you have plenty of friends, allies, and even a deity resting in your head.”

“I know dad. I wasn’t planning to go all, ‘Lone Wolf,’ like Ares or something. It’s no fun,” I explained, as Dad nodded.

The god smiled and drew back, straightening to his full height, which made him tower me, his 12 year old son, but I felt protected rather than threatened. “Now, we do not have much time left, I’m afraid. I will be needed elsewhere soon.”

“I have a favor to ask, then,” I quietly asked.

“Yes?”

“Could you get me a weapon?”

“Do you not wish to wield Riptide? You spoke so fondly of that blade earlier.”

“I do. It’s a part of me. As if made for me. I meant a secondary one. Let me branch out a little. I want to try something new. I’ll always keep my trusty pen sword.”

Poseidon grinned. “Something in particular?”

“A trident? Would I be good with it?”

“It would come rather naturally to you; it is my signature weapon after all.”

I nodded, relieved. “One that would come back to me, like Riptide?”

“Hm,” his father tilted his head. “An easily done enchantment, frankly. A little pendant on a necklace? A ring? Something else?”

“The pendant sounds good. I could string my beads on it, too, once I get them.”

His father gave a thoughtful nod. “I’ll find something for you, my son. I’ll send it to your cabin once it is done.”

“Done?”

“My child will get something made for them, not a dusty weapon from the armory.” The tone of Poseidon’s voice made clear that arguing would be pointless and I ducked my head as I felt a blush creep up his face.

I waved him off as the god flashed away.

“Well…I better get to bed.”

A week passed and May 11th rolled around. I had spent the time having one-on-one practice with Luke and getting beaten up by the guy with me only putting up a half decent fight. He sucked it up quietly, further re-acclimating himself with his relatively younger body in battle and made a beeline for the ocean every time afterwards, taking full advantage of the restorative abilities it granted me. 

Poseidon had delivered the promised trident the day before. A beautiful Sea-Prism (Which I didn’t know was a material) weapon with an intricately carved shaft. It felt good in my hands, a solid, grounded weight with good balance. It was as long as I was tall and would grow with me if dad’s note was to be believed. It shrunk down to a tiny pendant if let go off with intent of returning it to the necklace and reformed as a weapon if removed from it with intent of wielding it. 

The shaft was filled with water, the note had said, which allowed me to control the weapon through it if needed. “A nice gimmick,” I admitted as I marveled at the craftsmanship. Its name was engraved right where the three prongs parted from the shaft: Inundatio ex Laminis. Flood of Blades.

Dad, in the note, said the weapon itself was called Tenebreus Tides.

Apparently, it shoots a water spear that pierces enemies and terrain, and when striking a target, it summons liquid blades and spears to assault the struck foe. Having no target to use it on, I restrained myself.

I spent some time familiarizing myself with it. Its tips, with multiple blue shifting colors, were razor-sharp and I accidently embedded the weapon in a beam when I tried controlling it through the water and misjudged the reach. I had to pull with all my physical and water powers to get it back out, but it came free eventually and I went tumbling to the ground.

This was a heavy Weapon. Riptide was far more of a lightweight and fast weapon, as opposed to Tenebreus Tides’s heavy strong swings and pokes. I’d need to get a bit more strength to use it properly.

I just kind of laid there for a moment, staring at the ceiling before rolling over and pushing to my knees. A flash of white caught my eye and I turned towards the closed door. The newspaper, I realized, picking it up. 

“Boy and mother are still missing after a freak car accident.” 

I just sighed, tossing it into the waste bin. Whatever. 

Not sure what your intention was, here. No need to remind me of my dead mother. That's just cruel.

I picked up Tenebreus Tides, releasing my grip on it and willing it to return to the necklace, and it appeared on it. With some quick movement, I put it on, the pendant settling against my skin, and turned in for the night.

After my dream of Zeus and Poseidon wrestling on the beach, squabbling like children, and Kronos beckoning me to come down, whom I told, in no uncertain terms, to fuck off, I had a new one.

Of a place I certainly recognized.

Welcome back, Usurper.

Oh, well, there he was.

In all his enigmatic glory, hovering over the entire eternal garden.

I mean, I guess it was his place, but still, he watched it like the eye of Sauron.

It’s far from an unnecessary action.

Either way, why am I back?

Remember, this realm is yours now too. Whenever you dream, or whenever awake, your mind and body can be transferred here, for whatever reason you wish.

So…I can practice some new magic?

If that is what you wish, we can begin.

SWEET!

There won’t be much that your body can currently handle, but I’m certain that there will be something to keep your interest.

Please, just give me the sauce!

I woke up to being dragged to the Big House by Grover, who muttered about Mr. D wanting to see me. Above them, thunderclouds rolled over the camp and I sighed. Always so fucking dramatic.

‘He is particularly enraged today,’ a familiar voice responded and Percy almost tripped over his own feet.

Dad? 

‘Bad timing, is it?’

Just surprised. Thanks for the trident, it’s great.

Dad chuckled in my mind. ‘You are welcome, my son. I needed to speak with you for a different matter, however. The rules restrict me badly, especially with my brother breathing down my neck like he is now. I cannot always assist or answer when you call.’ The god sounded almost apologetic, to my surprise.

‘I know that,’ I thought, slowing down on my walk to the Big House. I feared there was a chance Mr. D would pick up on the conversation if he got too close, or catch him distracted. ‘I don’t expect you to answer me whenever I call for you, dad. You’re a busy god.’

‘A parent should be there for their child, so I was told.’ Amusement coloured Poseidon’s voice as he recited my own complaint and…well, I cracked a little again. It was nice to know dad cared, but it was great to actually hear it. ‘I will. As much as I am able to. Percy, I wish to inform Amphitrite. She has more freedom to move than I do.’

I froze. ‘Your wife.’ My immediate reaction was to agree to the request, but it got me thinking.

‘Because she flies under Zeus’ radar.’ Catching Grover’s confused and faintly worried expression, I picked up the pace again, mulling it over. From what I learned about Hera, the wives and husbands of the gods and goddesses weren’t exactly too fond of their illegitimate children, but maybe Amphitrite was different? 

‘Hey, dad? Go for it.’ Even if she wasn’t, I’ve still got two good parents to look forward to.

Aww, how nice…

Shoot, forgot you were here.

I received no response from Poseidon, but I was sure dad had heard me. 

The two reached the card table where the wine god and Chiron were invested in a game with two invisible players. “Well, well,” Mr. D said without looking up, “Our little celebrity.” I bit my lip to keep silent as the god continued, “Come closer. And don’t expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father.”

Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rattled the windows in their frames. The heavy clouds had rolled in now, hanging low above camp. The atmosphere among the campers was tense, they kept glancing at the storm, unscheduled and unnatural.

“If I had my way,” Dionysus said and I looked back at the god with a carefully neutral expression. I could tell that Grover had picked up on the discontent and anger toiling in my gut by my own expression. “I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We’d sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this-”

I stopped listening as the two engaged in their little skit. The gods’ readiness to murder any demigod for basically no reason and simultaneous expectation that they would lay down their lives for them was mind-boggling. Where did this confidence come from that their children would never turn against them? Because of their blood connection? Plenty of historical events of children overthrowing their parents. They themselves had overthrown their parent. Maybe I should just lead a riot against the gods?

Do not.

But what if we won?

‘Percy.’

Fine.

I tuned back in to Mr. D and Chiron to hear the former say, “I’m off to Olympus for an emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I’ll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you’re all that smart, you’ll see that’s a much more sensible option than what Chiron feels you must do.” He stood up, turning a playing card into a security pass and flashed away.

“Huh,” I said. That was…almost nice. Horribly phrased as usual, but I’d be living a blissfully ignorant dolphin life instead of this…For like ten minutes before dad would turn me back, I guess. 

“Sit, Percy, please. And Grover,” Chiron said. He laid his winning hand on the table and turned to him. “Tell me, Percy. What did you make of the hellhound?”

Piece of cake with a suitable weapon. Which I didn’t have. “If you hadn’t shot it, I’d be dead,” I said eventually. It sounded more sensible than his thoughts.

“You’ll meet worse,” Chiron said. “Far worse, before you’re done.”

‘Amen to that,’ I thought, memories of all the monsters, gods, titans and primordials he had faced in just one year. 

Well, I guess the titan wasn’t directly, but still. 

“Done with what?” I prompted Chiron, wishing that the centaur would just be straightforward for once.

“Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?”

“Are you gonna tell me what it is?”

Chiron grimaced. “Well, that’s the hard part, the details.”

“Poseidon and Zeus are fighting over something, an item,” I mumbled, glancing at the sky and sea blending together into one dark, ominous gray in the distance.

Chiron and Grover exchanged looks, panic flashing through the satyr’s eyes. Chiron leaned forward. “How did you know that?”

I met his gaze before pointing a finger at the storm above. “The weather has been absolutely horrible, since Christmas, since the winter solstice. The sky and sea are fighting. And I have dreams.”

“I knew it,” Grover said. “This is his quest!” His eyes were full of excitement. “It must be!”

“Only the Oracle can determine.” Chiron stroked his beard. “Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: A lightning bolt.”

“And what is he supposed to do with that?”

Chiron watched Percy carefully. “Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before…”

“A collaborative effort of multiple gods, incited and organized by Hera, because he was a shit king,” I scoffed and ignored the thunder that sounded above. Still is.

“Choose your words carefully, Percy. The gods do not like to be insulted. But yes, that was what I was referring to.”

“And my dad is obviously the only one that could have possibly stolen it?” I sank back in his chair, challenging Chiron with a look.

The centaur sighed. “Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it. Namely, you.”

“Sure, the demigod that didn’t even know he existed at the time.”

I watched Chiron frown. “Well, Zeus is paranoid. He has never trusted Poseidon since that incident. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you’ve come along, the proverbial last straw.”

I glared at the sky and sighed. “People get pissed if someone accuses them of theft without evidence and then refuses to listen to reason. He’s letting the real thief get away because he’s too busy blaming it on old grievances.” Thunder rolled and I scoffed quietly. “You know I’m right.”

“Well…” Chiron began, trying to form words for a moment before shaking his head. “Do not offend the gods, Percy. Most observes would agree that thievery is not Poseidon’s style. But the sea god is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by summer solstice. That’s June 21st, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date.” Chiron trailed off into explaining how he had hoped the gods could deal with this and I looked at the horizon.

‘It boggles me that he just throws accusations around without ever stopping, re-considering and just stubbornly insisting no matter what happens. Kronos would get his hands on the bolt and probably rise sooner just because his own son is too busy turning into his father.’

‘Do not say that, Percy.’

‘Am I wrong? He prefers striking down demigods just because they are a teeny bit more powerful than the regular one, because they might be a threat. He never stopped to consider if that demigod might be vital in saving his ass later. He never stopped to consider that that behavior might be what causes the demigod to turn on him. He is too caught up in the past, in old grievances and perceived threats to see the actual, present ones. Denial does not make Kronos stop in his plans.’

Dad sighed softly but didn’t deny my own words.

The sea god then winced. ‘Percy…Most of us cannot go against Zeus without risking severe punishment. They are not in a position like mine where they could push back. They-’

“Percy?”

“Hm?”

Chiron sighed. “At least try to listen.”

“I did,” I jumped to my own defense, “I was just thinking.”

‘I will speak to you later, my son. Perhaps we can bring some change in their behavior that would not cause such resentment among the demigods.’

‘Get rid of the stupid rule, then.’

“I have an idea where the bolt might be,” Chiron said. “Part of a prophecy I had years ago…well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle.”

I just nodded. “Okay.”

Chiron directed me to the attic and we headed there, climbing up the ladder into the poor mummy’s junk-filled little abode. Hades had really done a number on her with his curse.  She beckoned him forward to speak and I took a soft breath, praying that nothing had changed. I saw no reason why it would have, but I couldn’t shove down the apprehension toiling in my gut.

“What is the prophecy for this quest?” I did not ask about my destiny again. The mummy could have just as well spat out the Great prophecy. Or some cryptic shit about my actual destiny once the war was over.

Or, something at least. Surely there was a war coming, even if I actually did break this prophecy.

Gabe and his poker buddies appeared in the mist. Horrible choice, really. They spoke: “You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.”

“Good,” I muttered. One duel with Ares, coming up.

“You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.”

‘One stupid bolt for one stupid god.’

The third continued, “You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.”

One set of cursed shoes, ready for order…or was it the scorpion? So far, so good.

“You shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.”

Despite knowing what was coming, the words were still a gut punch. Leaving mom behind in Hades’ clutches when they had left the underworld had been a painful action. 

“And you will find that your own power can far eclipse those around and above you, so far and so high.”

Oh…well, I guess an Addition is better then a change.

I watched as the smoke receded back into the Oracle’s unmoving figure. So…I guess the oracle knows a bit more about me then expected.

Those with a clear sight can always see the soul through their eyes.

Eyes are the window to the soul…

I couldn’t stop the whispering in the back of my mind as I numbly climbed back down. I slumped into the chair at the pinochle table still thinking about it.

“Well?” Chiron asked.

“I would retrieve what was stolen.”

Grover almost bounced, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. “That’s great!”

“What did the Oracle say, exactly?” Chiron pressed. “This is important.”

I really wanted to ask why, but if the deity is anything to go by, I guess prophecies can be changed and broken. “I’ll face a god that has turned in the west and will safely return what was stolen.”

Chiron looked unsatisfied. “Anything else?”

I thought about saying one of the other lines, but in fear of either a Thunder-wielding king of gods, a spiteful son of Hermes, or the Titan of time himself…

“No.”

Clearly skeptical, the centaur nodded slowly. “The Oracle’s words often have double meanings. Don’t dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass.”

“Okay. So, I go west and face a god?”

“Ah, think a little, Percy. I think you know who that is. If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?”

“Somebody else that wants to take over,” I said tonelessly. Man, Hades will throw a hissy fit if it actually comes to a war. He’s the last one who wants that to happen.

“Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions-”

Whose kingdom would grow powerful with the-do you hear yourself, Chiron? His kingdom would grow weaker, more overcrowded, even bigger. He’d have even longer commute times from his palace to the entrances. Even more subdivisions, even more expenses. You of everyone should know that, I think. So why would you blame him?

“Hades…?” I voiced slowly as Chiron looked at me expectantly.

“The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility.”

‘...That you’re willing to consider. That’s why you’re setting me on an innocent god’s trail.’

Grover froze, aluminum falling out of his mouth. “Whoa, wait. Wh-what?”

“A fury came after Percy,” Chiron reminded him. I grew a little tired of their conversation. I wanted to get this whole fetch quest done and over with. I listened to Chiron blaming the recent hellhound on the god and Grover muttered about Maine being nice this time of the year.

“Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt,” Chiron insisted and I tuned him straight back out again, focusing on Grover instead who had started to tremble. If he wanted his license, he had to come along.

“So,” I eventually interrupted their conversation, “let me get this straight. I’ll go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead.”

“Check,” Chiron said.

“Find the most powerful weapon in existence.” As far as Zeus is concerned.

That bolt is powerful, but if truly wanted power, he would have created it out of the same material as Poseidon’s own Trident.

Which…what would that be made of?

Auric. Quite the rare metal, and one of the most dangerous to collect.

Good to know. So, it’s OP?

Indeed. Had he created the bolt from Auric, Kronos would be far more than just split into many thousand pieces.

“Check.”

“And get back in ten days.”

“That’s about right.”

I glanced at Grover, back at Chiron and nodded. “Alright. Let’s do it, then.” As I watched the centaur’s eyebrows raise, I shrugged internally. The only real problem I had the first run through was the time limit. And…I guess Ares? If the deity didn’t save my butt by stopping time and giving me a minute to breathe, I probably would’ve panicked my way through everything.

You would have done well.

“Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?” Grover asked weakly and I smiled softly.

“You don’t have to go,” I told him. He absolutely did if he wanted his license, but pressure with Grover never ended well.

The satyr stared at his hooves for a moment, shifting. “No…it’s just…” He took a deep breath and stood. “You saved my life, Percy. If…if you’re serious about wanting me along, I won’t let you down.”

I nodded with a grin. “Thanks, G-man.” I got up as well, turning to the old teacher. “So, west we go? Underworld entrance or something?”

“Yes, it is always in the west.”

Anybody else would have needed more information, but I already punched the DOA studios in LA into his mental navigation system. “And no planes for me…Time for a road trip.” What wouldn’t I give for a license right now? A car of my own would be more flexible and reliable than a bunch of buses and trains.

Sure, I couldn’t drive in the first place, but surely Grover or Annabeth knew what they hell they were doing.

“No!” Grover shrieked. “Never go on a plane.”

“As I said: No planes for me.” I sighed internally. It annoyed me to no end that Zeus was so petty. Dad never cared if his brother’s children went for a swim in the ocean…I think. Never met any I guess. Thankfully, it seemed like he didn’t go after demigods just to get back at their parents.

“Yes, travel overland. Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered if you will accept her help.”

I bit back a grin. Trust Annabeth to be so proactive. She probably volunteered the moment I had come to camp. “Who would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?” I teased.

Behind Chiron the air shimmered and Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her pocket. “I’ve been waiting a long time for a quest, Seaweed brain,” she said. “Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you’re going to save the world, I’m your best bet to keep you from messing up.”

Woah, hey. Did you say that last time, too? I can do things without you, Wise Girl. 

I just shrugged. “If you say so. I suppose you have a plan, then?”

“Do you want my help or not?” she snapped but I could tell that my question had hit a spot because she didn’t have a plan, not yet anyway. Give her ten minutes.

“Sure, why not. So…should I like, confirm my pick to the fates or something?” I asked, betting that Chiron would allow it.

Quite the trick .

You told me about the companion limit, blame yourself.

Chiron nodded, as I turned back to the Attic where the Oracle had been hiding.

“I choose Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase to be my companions” I confirmed the pick that was likely already hypothesized, or probably chosen for me. Chiron nodded, but before the fates seemed to seal the choice, I spoke again. “As well as Luke Castellan, Clarisse la Rue, and Silena Beauregard.”

The looks of Chiron, Annabeth, and Grover were clearly shocked, and it only grew when the three I mentioned seemingly appeared out of the blue.

“Wha-” Luke started, before Clarisse interrupted.

“What the hell!? How am I here?” Clarisse angrily asked, as Chrion looked at the three senior campers with a look of confusion and sympathy.

“It seems…you three are going on a quest, courtesy of Percy Jackson.”

Lightning flashed and rain began to pour down onto camp as if to punctuate their agreement to go on a glorified fetch quest.

Chapter Text

To say that Chaos reigned after my little pick would be putting it Lightly.

Luke, ever the charmer, said that he was flattered by the pick, and that he would try his best to help me on my quest.

No you wouldn’t. I can see it in your eyes. You had no idea that you were coming in the first place, and you know exactly what is coming in the first place.

He doesn’t know of your future knowledge, Perseus. It is likely that he was more confused at you coming with 5 companions in total.

I mean, yeah, but I can get a little hit in when he doesn’t know.

Clarisse was both utterly pissed at the fact she had to go on a quest that was managed by and for me, and was also completely confused at why she was even picked in the first place.

In all reality, I actually had a good reason. First off, if everything went as planned, she’d see her dad being a dickhead, and secondly, as much as I don’t like her, she is a fantastic fighter. The only reason I beat her both times was because my powers came in clutch. If not, I’d be toast. She might be ruthless and merciless, but she was someone who knew how to handle her weapons perfectly.

Couple that with Luke, who would absolutely fight whatever monster or obstacle they came across so that his image was kept up, especially with Annabeth in the party, the quest would be far easier.

Silena…well, Silena was our silver horse. Being a daughter of Aphrodite, which we could not only use against Ares, but also just in general, she practically had a Barter and Speech skill of 90. It was like this effervescent aura around her that would help her get through any obstacle simply by showcasing her face.

At least I think so. That’s what I got when I talked to her in this and the last timeline, she just had an aura that made anyone like her.

Granted, she was also quite surprised whenever I called her to be a companion, but since we had met at an earlier point than the last timeline, it wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for me to call on her.

However, the thing they were most confused about, of course, was that the party was larger then any previous one since the argonauts.

Annabeth especially, while not mad at the outcome, was really confused. If there had been any loophole to get more companions on a quest, she would’ve been the one to figure it out.

I’m sure she was thinking that anyway.

Well, I did my best at Bullshitting my way through it.

“Everything I read about quests before this always had, like, way more then just 2 or 3 people with them. The Odyssey, the Argonauts, and more. I just thought, ‘Hey, why would they get to have way more companions than us if they were on similar quests. Have times changed that much?’ So, I just decided to hedge my bets and name anyone I knew here. I guess the rules haven’t changed.”

Grover looked impressed and very excited that I managed to actually find something that could definitely keep me alive.

Annabeth facepalmmed, probably thinking about how she should’ve figured that out.

Luke had the face of someone impressed, but I could tell he was pissed considering the circumstances. That didn’t stop him from giving me the old, “atta’ boy” treatment.

Clarisse and Silena shared similar glances of confusion, especially considering that one of them presumed I hated her guts, and the other barely knew me.

Granted, I barely knew her either, but still.

Chiron on the other hand, similarly to Grover, had a look that clearly said, “You’re smarter than you let on.” Surprisingly, he didn’t protest the situation, and I can only assume that he didn’t because there weren't any rules being broken.

I’m sure that some of the gods would have some choice words if they were to find out that I had literally seen through their standard and just didn’t care.

I was kind of scared that Zeus might strike me down literally seconds after my pick, but thankfully, most I got was thunder rumbling.

You would live.

Wait, I would?

Lightning means nothing to Light itself. Most that would happen is your clothes would be singed.

Damn…I’m OP.

Still though, might it be best to NOT get smited by lightning? Just to make sure you’re a secret?

If you wish.

“In any case, this afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own.” Chiron explained. Right, we’re going to many different places, starting in New York.

It took me a few minutes to shove some clothes and a toothbrush into a backpack. After that, I was sure I was settled. The camp store handed me one hundred dollars, which I frowned at because it was barely enough to pay for the bus. Couldn’t we just take six pegasi west? Or horses in general? They’d be faster and cheaper. 

And friendlier, I Guess. 

We’d avoid the furies, Echidna and Medusa. Then again, that was the only monster I was almost looking forward to.

Dad told me he had sent her head to my home, which was what the box was. If the flower incident didn’t happen, we might’ve gotten a statue of gabe rather than a broken one.

I believe both are adequate outcomes.

Oh sure, the guy deserved either one.

The twenty drachmas I got were shoved into the backpack to join the handful I had grabbed from cabin three’s fountain. Chiron gave both a flask of nectar and a few ambrosia squares each and I headed up to the hill to meet up with Argus, Annabeth, and Grover. Chiron introduced them just as Luke came racing up to them, Clarisse and Silena not far behind.

“Hey,” he panted, “Glad I caught you.”

‘Sure you are,’ I really wanted to say, eying the shoes in his hand, which he took notice of.

“I…I was planning to give these to you for your quest if you’d need them. But, since we’re both going, I guess I won’t need to say bye,” He came up with that on the spot, I’m sure. “They were gifts from dad for my quest…not that I use them much anymore. Maybe you can find a use for them on it?”

“Uh…thanks? Why are you acting like we’ll never see each other again? We’re going to be together for at least 10 days?” I played with his mind. He really wasn’t expecting to be brought along, was he?

“Yeah…I guess. Look, Percy, a lot of hopes are riding on this, so…” he paused, shifting a little, “Let’s go get this bolt and kill some monsters, yeah?”

‘Do you mean ‘monster’ monsters or ‘god’ monsters? Hopes as in campers and gods or hopes as in Kronos and his cronies?’ I accepted the offered handshake, watched him leave towards argus, likely talking with the security guard, while I handed the shoes to Grover. “Here,” I said, silently apologising to him. As long as they were taken off before the Underworld, they were safe, but it felt wrong to hand my best friend a cursed item. “I can’t use them.”

Granted, it seemed like Grover would counteract the curse simply by being grover, but still.

His face lit up. “Me?” He put them on quickly and went off on his first flight. 

It went as bad as I remembered.

“Practice,” Chiron called after him. “You just need practice.” Chiron and I watched Grover for a moment before the centaur caught his arm. Annabeth smirked at the display, while Clarisse who had just gotten to the hill was cackling at the sight. Silena and Luke stayed silent. “I should have trained you better, Percy. If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason…they all got more training.”

You didn’t actually train me at all, man. That was Luke, my dad, and the deity in my head. 

He tries Percy. There is only one of him afterall.

I tried to reassure him anyway, but my mind whirled in anticipation. 

Hand it over already, come on!

“What am I thinking?” Chiron cried. “I can’t let you get away without this.”

He pulled a pen from his pocket and I locked onto it. The cheap ballpoint pen was my most prized possession and the days without it had felt off. 

Like a piece of me was missing. 

I took it with a sort of reverence and thanked the centaur.

“That’s a gift from your father. I’ve kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one.”

I barely listened, instead uncapping the pen. It grew longer and heavier and turned into the shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, with its leather-wrapped grip and flat hilt riveted with gold studs. Anaklusmos was engraved on it. It sang in the demigod’s hand and the missing puzzle piece clicked into place. I felt whole, completed, at peace. 

“Riptide,” I breathed.

…interesting.

“Use it only for emergencies,” Chiron said. “And only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn’t harm them in any case.”

I just nodded to signal Chiron I had understood, but couldn’t tear my eyes away from the blade. It sat perfectly balanced in his hand, weight and length just as I remembered.

“Now, recap the pen.”

I was hesitant to do so, but turned Riptide back into pen form. I tucked it into my right pocket. 

Time to leave. Chiron sent us off as they filed into Argus’ car.

Fantastically, the car seemed to extend with the amount of people in it, because all of sudden, the car that barely held the three of us before, now barely held the six of us.

Live and learn.

We were out of the countryside and on the highway in no time. I recalled how jarring it had been to return to the real world after my stay in the camp the first time around. 

I made a few attempts at conversation with Annabeth, most of which she shot down rather coldly. It would take her a while to get over our parental rivalry.

It hadn’t been til, what, going to the underworld that the both of us could talk to the other without being mad?

I tried the same with Clarisse, who threatened to grab my heart out of my chest if I said another word to her.

Silena, Luke, and Grover were happy to talk though.

Argus dropped us off at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side. We grabbed our backpacks, purchased bus tickets, and settled in to wait for it. As soon as we got on the bus, because it finally came, Grover grew restless.

“What is it?” Percy asked.

“I don’t know,” he said tensely. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

G-man. Buddy. If you think there’s a monster, tell us. Don’t ‘It’s nothing’ us. 

The furies don’t obey the natural law of the mist.

Wait, what?

Why do you think Alecto made it so close to you that day?

That explains a lot.

I watched the three old ladies board the bus, recognising Alecto. Grew old, didn’t you? I clutched my backpack to my lap, having learned from last time, and kept it close as I watched them. 

Both Annabeth, Grover, and Luke had stashed theirs away despite my words and I chose not to press the issue. Maybe I should have?

Clarisse and Silena on the other hand, didn’t feel anything odd, ergo, their stuff was in plain sight.

Once they hit the Lincoln tunnel, the furies announced their need for the bathroom, which the bus didn’t have, and came down the aisle.

“Percy, take my hat,” Annabeth said. I didn’t argue, slapping it on, shouldering my backpack. Quickly and as quietly as I could, I slipped out of my seat, climbing over two, thankfully empty, rows and snuck towards the front. I stopped next to the driver as chaos erupted in the back. The Entire crew got accosted by the trio, albeit Luke and Clarisse were not standing down.

I paused, hand hovering over the wheel before I hit the emergency brake instead. 

The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet road and came to a stop. They had narrowly avoided a cluster of trees. I hit the button for the door and exchanged places with the driver as the man fled the bus. Passengers followed, yelling and screaming.

The furies recovered quicker than the rest and cracked their whips. Clarisse and Luke had gotten up fast, revealing their own weapons. I uncapped Riptide and moved towards them, bringing the blade down onto the back of the one closest to me. 

She exploded into dust and I jumped onto the seat, stepping onto the backrest and pounced onto the second. The blade sank deep into the fury's back and I landed hard on my knees.

Alecto was left, wary of her sisters’ sudden demise. I took off the cap.

“Hello Alecto!” I greeted cheerily. I didn’t know if that was the right move, considering I probably shouldn’t know her name, but either way, her ugly face scrunched up.

“Perseus Jackson,” she said, “You have offended the gods. You shall die.”

“Firstly, I really liked you better as a maths teacher,” I shot back. “Secondly, it's Perseus Dominic Jackson. Thirdly, no thank you.”

The fury eyed my sword, hissing. “Submit now, and you will not suffer eternal torment.”

“Nah, I’ll pass.” I gripped the hilt tightly, ready for her to make a move. Can’t use the fast pass before I don’t have Ares’ backpack.

Then again, I didn’t have to worry. Clarisse had gotten a replacement spear for the one I had snapped a few days back, and she made good use of it by stabbing Alecto straight through the skull, which I found was a mess as I was in the splash zone of a bunch of dust as she evaporated to nothingness.

“Zeus will destroy you!” she hissed in her death throes. “Lord Hades will have your soul.”

I kind of just sat there for a few seconds, before looking up at Clarisse, who had the most smug grin I’ve ever seen.

“I would say something witty here, but genuinely, thanks,” I surprised her by actively admitting she won, and I could see it in her face.

I finally figured out how to defuse Clarisse and people like her. Just be nice.

It showed, as she opened her mouth to say something back, but nothing came out, and she just stubbornly grabbed her stuff and started to leave the bus.

I decided to do the same, and everyone else made the same decision.

I jumped off the bus, taking care not to get photographed again by ducking behind the bus before the tourist could snap the photo.

Thankfully, because we were in far less of a panic, we got off the bus with our bags still in hand.

Then Lightning came down onto the bus, shredding a crater in the roof and exploding the windows. 

‘You son of a- we’re trying to fetch your stupid bolt and you try to fry us? Maybe I should keep it, then?‘

‘As funny as it would be, that would not be the wisest decision to make now Percy,’

‘Neither is frying the kids who are trying to get your bolt back.’

This was the second time Zeus had hurled lightning at me, at least in this timeline. But this time I was trying to help the god get his master bolt back. Why was he hindering me?

Paranoia can do wondrous things, now can’t it?

Why are you being witty now? I thought you were meant to be the classic style of deity, all good natured and polite with your fancy talk?

I think we’re far past that point.

Okay, fair.

We ran into the woods, a burning bus behind us, thankfully with stuffed backpacks, but still a long way to go as evening descended.

Me and the quintet trudged through the woods on the New Jersey riverbank. Grover was shivering, eyes full of terror, continuously muttering “Three Kindly Ones. All three at once.” The only reason he kept going on was because Annabeth and Silena were pulling him along, while me, Clarisse, and Luke headed the journey.

That and he had his tin cans this time around.

“Come on! The further away we get, the better,” she said. Glancing at me, she asked, “You did grab your bag, right?” I nodded, adjusting said backpack. Thankfully, everyone still had their own this time, so Annabeth reached into Grover’s and pulled out another tincan, which he happily nibbled on.

“Never got why the goat boy is so obsessed with those,” Clarisse mentioned as she looked back at the scene. I wanted to protect Grover, saying it’s just his biology, but something told me I’d get a punch if I said a word.

Judging from how Clarisse looked at me expectantly, it seemed I was right.

I stepped over a thick root, almost tripping over it. Our path was dark, the city’s glow behind us faded into the black.

We moved mostly in silence, exchanging a few conversations, and with Grover’s attempts of playing a ‘Find path’ song on his reed pipes. Eventually, the light of a neon sign shimmered through the woods. With it came the smell of delicious food. 

I swallowed as my stomach immediately demanded it. I didn’t feel the draw as much as last time. Maybe knowing what’s coming helps? It didn’t matter ultimately. We…well, I needed her head, so into the monster’s den they would go. 

Between the trees, on the other side of the road, stood a dilapidated, closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for an old movie and the garden gnome emporium. I squinted at the sign above the gate. Knowing what it said made it no easier to parse out the neon letters. I glanced down the road, a spot in the middle of nowhere. If one was thinking clearly, it was easy to see this screaming ‘demigod trap’. 

No mortal statue business would stay afloat out here if even gas stations went down. 

I crossed the street, once again ignoring Grover’s hesitation and unspoken warning.

“The lights are on inside,” Annabeth said. “Maybe it’s open.

“Snack bar,” Percy yearned. The hunger was real, after all.

“Snack bar,” everyone else agreed.

“Are you five crazy?” Grover said.

Maybe a little. There is no way I didn’t crack in some way during this the first time…

“This place is weird.” The Satyr followed unwillingly, creeped out by the statues they passed.

“That’s just how statues are Grover,” Silena assured him. Oh, if only you knew.

We eventually made our way to the door.

“Don’t knock,” Grover pleaded. “I smell monsters.”

“Reason doesn’t work on enchanted people,” I muttered under my breath and glanced at Annabeth and Luke.

“Your nose is clogged up from the Furies,” Annabeth told him, “All I smell is burgers. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Same here. I could go for some bacon on mine,” Luke reciprocated.

I cut their conversation short by knocking. The door creaked open rather quickly, a tall Middle Eastern woman in an entirely covered get-up and veil stood before them.

“Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?”

“They’re…um…” Annabeth started to say.

“We got lost on our hiking trip,” Clarisse jumped in. It was a better excuse than the circus caravan we came up with last time, but no sane parent would take a physically disabled child on crutches on a hiking trip, right? 

It didn’t matter anyway; she was a monster who had demigods delivered straight to her doorstep. No need to question their flimsy excuses.

“Oh, my dears,” Medusa said. “You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area.”

They passed even more statues, I caught sight of a family, brightly smiling as if their picture was being taken. I tried to swallow the taste of bile in my mouth. The woman was cradling a toddler. A little girl of, at most, three years of age. 

I looked at the rest of the crew. Grover’s anxiety was growing by the second, as he continiously looked amongst the rest of the statues. Luke was nonchalant, but feigned confusion at some of the statues. Or…maybe that was real confusion. He probably hadn’t actually been here. Silena and Annabeth seemed far less worried, while Clarisse wasn’t even phased.

‘So many signs of danger we failed to notice the first time. She is one of the most popular monsters. It’s the first thing we should have thought of.’

“Please, sit down,” Aunty Em said, gesturing at the picnic tables in front of them.

“Um,” Grover said reluctantly, “We don’t have any money, ma’am.” The satyr was fidgeting with his crutches, eyes darting around looking for an exit. I felt a little sorry for dragging him through this. They could have easily avoided her, but my want of her head had stopped me from steering them away from the warehouse.

“No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice lost ones.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Annabeth and Silena said simultaneously, as Percy tacked another count to his tally of red flags.

Medusa stiffened and relaxed just as quickly. “Quite all right, Annabeth and Silena,” she said. “You have such beautiful grey and Blue eyes, children.”

That’s another one. What are we at? Six? I grimaced as the monster turned her back. She brought out plastic trays of double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes and XXL servings of French fries. The son of Poseidon hesitated before taking a bite out of his burger. Screw it. I’m hungry.

Luke and Clarisse were not far behind, falling for the bait quickly. Annabeth and Silena joined in too.

“What’s that hissing noise?” Grover asked, eying the waxed paper on the tray.

‘Nice hearing.’ I strained to listen, but the snakes must be too quiet for his ears. 

‘And nice hint…Man, we really should have listened to you.’

We finished their food and just like before Medusa asked for a photo, for reference. Annabeth had woken somewhat, shaking off the enchantment as the conversation had gotten along. I, however, started to feel it a bit. Perhaps eating the food hadn’t been a good idea, or she already started to focus on me. It took all of my willpower not to give in, fiddling with Riptide in my pocket to ground himself.

Medusa led them out to a park bench. As she turned to direct Annabeth, her back was open to me. 

Could she see through the eyes of her snake hair? 

I had no clue and I didn’t stop to consider, instead taking advantage of the opening and the moment of surprise, uncapping Riptide and swinging it at her neck. No need to risk the fight. 

The blade cut clean through and decapitated the monster. Her body disintegrated and her head fell to the ground with a thud.

“Percy, what the Hades?” Annabeth shrieked, quickly slapping her hands over her eyes. Silena, Grover, and Luke also had looks of Surprise on their faces. Clarisse was smirking, probably just at the sight of a, now revealed, dead monster.

“What?” I asked, carefully glancing at the head’s position and toeing it fully face-down with my shoe.

“A warning would have been nice.”

“Like you warned me of being bait?” I replied, pointing at Clarisse, who warmly waved her hand towards her. “And also, warn Medusa that we know it’s her?”

Annabeth growled. "That's something else enitrely," she hissed. I didn’t answer, capping Riptide. She sighed in angry exasperation, but fell silent, staring down at their disgusting spoil of war.

“Oh, yuck,” Grover muttered to his right. A faint gurgle arose from the head. “Mega-yuck.”

There was a brief silence, before Clarisse quickly said, “Dibbs on mounting it on my wall.”

Maybe it was a bit petty, but I would never let her have it, not just because it would be a safety risk. I crouched, tightening Medusa’s black veil to prevent it from revealing her eyes. I stuffed it into a few plastic grocery bags to double wrap it as Annabeth complained above him. 

‘Hey, dad?’

A few moments passed, before he felt his father’s attention on him. ‘Percy.’

‘So, remember when I sent Medusa’s head to Olympus last time?’

‘Do not.’ The god sounded exasperated. ‘Send it to me if you have to. I will return it to you once you have need for it.’

‘Just what I wanted to ask. Don’t want to lug it around the states. Thanks.’

A grin crept onto my face as he rummaged through the office, pocketing twenty dollars and a handful of drachmas, until I found the packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express.

I did not miss Luke’s frame of disdain at the showing of his father’s name. 

I shoved the head into a box and addressed the packing slip to Poseidon.

“He’s not going to like that,” Grover warned. “He’ll think you’re impertinent.”

“Aw, thanks, G-man.” I paid for the transfer and turned to Grover as the box disappeared with a pop.

“I am impertinent.”

I also did not miss Clarisse glaring at me for taking her trophy away.

Suck it.

We spent the night out in the woods, camping on a local party spot if the littered soda cans, fast-food wrappers and alcohol bottles among other things were anything to go by. 

Annabeth was out as soon as she laid down, that being right next to Luke who was also dead asleep, while Silena and Clarisse had taken their own spots. I spent some time talking to Grover, officially learning about his dream of searching for Pan, of his and Annabeth’s suspicion that something was not as it seemed. 

No shit. Nobody had really expected Kronos to be part of it all.

Nor does he expect my existence.

You too.

As I slept, I found myself in a dark cavern before a gaping pit and my stomach churned. Dead spirits tried to pull him back as my dream-self walked to the edge of the chasm, no matter how hard I tried to jerk back from it. The mere sight of it triggered my flight or fight response.

“The little hero ,” Kronos beckoned from the depths, amused somehow, cold and ancient. “ They have misled you, boy. Barter with me. I will give you what you want.” 

The titan had the audacity to bait him with his mother and rage filled the demigod. His dream-self refused to say a word and cold laughter echoed from the pit. “Help me rise ,” the voice continued. “ Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!”

The spirits kept whispering. “No! Wake!” I forced all my will into taking a step back. If forced to choose between two evils, take the lesser.

Or the greater, perhaps?

Wait…no way.

Suddenly, the vision of the dark cavern started to glow with an effervescent light. The dark eyes of the pit faded, before the mythical white eyes of the deity reappeared in the pit. The cavern transformed into a cosmic field, similar to the garden, as many a comet and star fell from the heavens above, striking the spherical guard of the Firmament.

I’m sure this will be much more productive and wondrous then you hearing the Titan’s pleas again, wouldn’t you say so?

Very much so. Wait, because he was cut off, wouldn’t he find out about your existence?

He’ll certainly be aware something cut him off, but it’s more likely he’ll assume it is Hypnos, or something of the like. My existence is forgotten about, even by me.

Yeah, I guess so. I mean, if I was Kronos, I sure wouldn’t expect the Son of Poseidon to have a Primordial Deity older then me in his mind.

Besides, the Titan of Time holds no domain over your mind, or your dreams. However, I do. Your consumption of the Good Apple has given me more then enough power to evict unwanted presences from your mental palace, should the need arise.

Oh perfect!

Also, you were right.

This…this is far better than eternal whispering.

I woke to vigorous shaking. “And so, The zombie lives,” Clarisse said as I sat up, with Grover being the one doing the shaking.

“Here, breakfast.” Annabeth tossed me a bag of nacho-flavoured corn chips. “And Grover found a friend.”

I slowly calmed, taking deep breaths. Grover said cross-legged on a blanket with the pink poodle. Gladius. Gladio? Something Gladi. The animal yapped at me, very suspiciously.

“No, he’s not,” Grover said, as Clarisse rolled her eyes at Grover casually talking to animals.

“What did he say?”

Grover didn’t answer, saying instead, “Percy, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Percy.”

I said hello to the poodle and Grover explained how they had met. There was a reward of $200 for his return, money they would need for the train westward.

“So,” Annabeth began, in that certain tone that I associated with ‘Shut up, I have a plan’, “we turn in Gladiola, we get money and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple.”

“Won’t be enough to reach LA,” I muttered, and from Silena’s glimpse, she knew that was true too.

Annabeth seemingly hadn’t heard me. She pointed towards the train tracks. “There’s an Amtrak station half a mile that way. According to Gladiola, the westbound train leaves at noon. We can make it.”

“Maybe we can find somemore afterwards?” Silena asked me, because clearly Annabeth isn't taking in anyone elses ideas.

That was her flaw, wasn’t it?

We went ahead with Annabeth’s idea, cashing in the reward and getting on the train, spending two days travelling west. Despite my attempts to avoid my photo being taken during the bus incident, somehow it appeared on the news, showing me, Annabeth, and Grover, with Luke and Clarisse in frame too, leaving the bus. 

I was a little frustrated about that, but at least the paper didn’t accuse me of assaulting three elderly passengers again, instead just reporting the sighting of a missing child. There was a line towards the end of the article debating whether I was being coerced by the group, which I thought was hilarious.

I mean, I guess I am being coerced by Annabeth occasionally, and Luke was pretty dang convincing, but Grover and Clarisse couldn’t land such a thing even if they maxed out their charisma.

During the journey, I took Annabeth aside and apologised for suddenly attacking Medusa like that. 

It hadn’t really been dangerous, but had been a better solution than fighting blind. She begrudgingly agreed and I explained that comparing it to her plan during the capture the flag game was a little off, but people didn't like being used. Especially not as bait without knowing they were bait. It brewed animosity and turned allies against each other. She apologised after their long conversation, but it seemed a little half-hearted.

I’ll need to work on emotions with her. Logic and the best strategy should not sacrifice the importance of relationships, emotions and the sanctity of life.

On the afternoon of June 13th, the train rolled into St. Louis.

“I want to do that,” Annabeth sighed.

“What?” I asked, watching her as she craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch.

“Build something like that. Have you ever seen the Parthenon, Percy?”

“Only in pictures.”

“Someday, I’m going to see it in person. I’m going to build the greatest monument to the gods ever. Something that’ll last a thousand years.”

I just nodded. “Good luck with that.”

The train rolled into the city and the three got off. I hesitated to agree to the sightseeing trip, given what happened on it, but Luke was pretty much always on Annebeth’s side, and Clarisse would do anything to get back at me. Silena just also wanted to go sightseeing, so that was 4-2. 

That, and sticking around the train station for three hours was just begging to get attacked by a monster. It was better to stay moving.

They marched through the underground museum with Annabeth nearly vibrating with all sorts of interesting facts. My instincts were going haywire, and I had learned to obey them very quickly. Echidna was around here somewhere, but I couldn’t spot her or her chihuahua of a son until they were stuffed into the elevator to the top with her.

Mother of Monsters...Quite disappointing. The father is far more threatening.

“No parents?” Echidna asked. I subtly placed himself between her and the rest of the crew, fingers tightly gripping my pen.

“They’re below,” Annabeth told her. “Scared of heights.”

“Oh, the poor darlings.” Her son growled. 

“Now, now, sonny. Behave.”

My hand coninually twitched in my pocket, thumb rubbing over the cap. I was tense and ready to jump her, but it would be best to wait. An elevator with mortals on it wasn’t the best place to start a fight with a chimera and the mother of monsters.

Once at the top, Annabeth excitedly babbled on about changing the support structure to add bigger windows or a see-through floor. The mere idea of that made me feel even more uneasy than I already did, being so high up. 

Heights are a common fear. No need to be ashamed.

Okay, sure. How about heights with monsters around you at all times?

Even more rational then before.

Shoot.

Thankfully, the park ranger came to my rescue by announcing that the deck would be closing in a few minutes. Just like before, the elevator was already full with just Annabeth, Silena, and Grover. Both offered to stay back with me, but I waved them off. It was better if they left since he’d probably take the fast way down again.

Then again, Luke and Clarisse were still up here. All I could hope was that they’d either catch the next elevator, or they had their own powers to save them. Luke had his flying shoes that were completely rigged, but what did Clarisse have?

I really did not want their lives to be up to me to save.

You know, you’re thinking far too small.

What’s up Nameless?

Remember what power I showed you beforehand?

…

…

OH YEAH!

Once the elevator car was gone, the park ranger, a little boy and his parents, and Echidna were left, alongside me, Clarisse, and Luke. Clarisse had been mostly complaining about being stuck up here, while Luke seemed to also catch on to Echidna, if he didn’t already know she was here. I kept a side eye on her, catching the forked tongue flickering between her teeth. Her ‘sonny’ began yapping at him.

I felt an indescribable urge to kick the dog out the window as a preventive measure.

“Now, now, sonny,” Echidna said. “Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here.”

“Doggie,” the little boy squeaked. “Look, a doggie.” Thankfully, his parents pulled him back.

I tightened my grip on Riptide in his pocket. The chimera kept barking, growing in size, bark turning into a roar. It drowned out the scream of the little boy. The park ranger was gaping at it and I wondered what they were seeing. The chimera growled.

Echidna hissed a strange sound of laughter, “Be honoured, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna.”

What a strange way to introduce yourself. 

Fucking Zeus again. That’s strike three already. If you keep this up you can save your sorry ass yourself, without your bolt. I’ll be keeping that. 

That won’t help your case Perseus.

Yeah, yeah, I know. 

Besides, you could likely make your own later on, once you get the hang of forging and crafting.

What.

I shook out of my trance, and “Anteater,” slipped out while I seethed at Zeus, and Echidna howled. 

Whoops. My damn mouth.

“I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia. Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Percy Jackson, my son shall destroy you.” The Chimera charged.

“As if you weren’t going to do that anyway,” I scoffed and leapt to the side. I narrowly dodged the bite, rolling away from the family in an attempt to keep them out of harm’s way as much as possible. Riptide shifted from pen to sword in his hand and he took a deep breath.

“Luke! Keep everyone else safe! Clarisse, you got the chimera?” I shouted. Luke nodded, pulling out his own blade and moving to the mortals, while Clarisse rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, get on with it!” Clarisse shouted, pulling out her own spear and rolling towards the chimera, shocking it behind the Lion’s ear.

The monster opened his lion head’s mouth in pain and I tensed for a split second. A column of flames shot from it and I had no choice of tanking some of the flames in the restricted fighting space he had. 

Ouch. That…didn’t hurt nearly as much as I thought it would have.

A child of the sea would have a natural resistance to heat.

Good to know.

A glance to the side revealed the gaping hole in the side of the Arch. 

Aw, fuck. Couldn’t we have had this fight outside?

The Chimera turned to face me again and I slashed Riptide at its maw. The blade connected, tearing a deep gash on its face, destroying one eye. I jumped back just in time to avoid the serpent tail as the monster howled in fury, shaking its head. The tail struck fast at me, pulling back and snapping at great speed and I struggled to keep avoiding it. It wrapped around my ankle, yanking me towards the Chimera. Then, Clarisse came in, spearing through the other eye of the lion, and sending a shock through the entire body, frying it from the inside, and making the entire room smell like an overcooked steak. 

Quickly, I got into a proper stance.

Yes…remember, proper hand movement, and speed.

Right…

Here we go…

Suddenly, Riptide began to glow a brilliant purple and pink, with tinges of red bouncing off. I Spinned once, gathering the momentum needed, before slashing Chimera across the left ribs.

In a split second, a Large column of light appeared, and then a loud blast sound, with this jet stream erupting from the floor as it accelerated upwards, this column of pink, purple, and red fire blasting through the Chimera’s left side, burning and evaporating the flesh quickly.

The Cosmic Burst is one of my favorites.

I almost lost grip on Riptide in the process, but managed to hold on as the Chimera howled in so much pain, and its tail lifted me off the ground and slammed me back. The blade flew out of my hand and down towards the Mississippi River. I would have cursed hadn’t the impact forced all air out of his lungs.

The Burning sensation from the chimera certainly helped my confidence, and when I turned to see Clarisse having no trouble with fighting the weakened Chimera, I decided it was about time to focus on the other problem. My hand subconsciously wandered up to my necklace. I had almost forgotten about the second weapon on his person, still so new. Riptide as my only defence, next to water and sarcasm, was surprisingly, deeply ingrained in me. I wrapped my fingers around the little pendant.

“They don’t make heroes like they used to, eh, son?” Echidna taunted, likely not realizing the Chimera was basically on its last legs.

The monster growled, but Clarisse was a battleborn warrior. If she could take down a Chimera, not only would she be revered at camp, but she would prove herself as a badass. 

“Most heroes were of age before they had their adventures,” Percy bit out. My entire leg was on fire now. I took a step backwards towards the edge of the hole.

Echidna ignored his words, saying, “If you are the son of Poseidon, you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline.”

However, instead of retreating, I started looking over at Clarisse. She caught my eyeline, and moved her head to say, “Go get the bitch!”

I tore Tenebreus Tides off the chain, the trident growing in my hand and charged, ramming the weapon through Echidna’s knee. She howled like I had broken every bone in her body, before Tenebreus Tides started to glow brightly.

Suddenly, a Multiple water-formed spears and blades burst forth from the tips of Tenebreus Tides, and considering the tips were all currently implanted in her…

Yeah…sorry for whoever has to clean up Mother Monster’s innards from the inside of the Arch’s top, but what happened happened.

“I have nothing to prove to you or Zeus.” I quipped, looking at the remaining eye of Echidna, before turning back to Clarisse and the Chimera. I wanted to go and help, get it over with faster, but…

“NO! STAY THE HADES BACK PRISSY! I GOT THIS!” Clarisse shouted, as the chimera literally had its paws against her raised spear’s shaft. Thankfully, the more dangerous part of the tail had been knocked out, or at least numbed, by the inward shock, so now all that was left was a fire-breathing lion.

Honestly, this was probably just a Tuesday for Clarisse.

What I didn’t account for, was the Chimera turning around to me for just a second, and literally just ramming me off the arch.

I really, really should not have been standing near the exposed exit.

“PERCY!” Luke shouted as I was launched off. Down towards the river as Clarisse’s raging war  screams arose above. I couldn’t tell if me getting pushed off gave her adrenaline, or if it just made her laugh, but from the rather Grusome stab noise I heard seconds after I fell, I’d say she won that battle.

Suck on that Chimera. You took one second to mess with me, and now you're dead.

I just counted the seconds until impact. They ticked by awfully slow and I felt like the world had come to a halt as I took in the scenery surrounding his fall. Even though the fall took only about six seconds, it felt like an eternity. 

I could have fought a war in that time.

Once I finally had reached the water, the splash the eminated was way too small. Almost like I was a pebble.

“Perceus.” A female voice called out to him. At first, my instincts wanted me to call her mom, but she was off. This wasn’t Sally Jackson, but the voice was so similar. 

I turned and there, floating above the gleaming bronze of Riptide, stuck in the mud, was Amphitrite. The Queen of the Sea in all her beautiful glory. Her black hair, billowing softly in the river’s current had no clear end, becoming river water at some undefinable point, head crowned by coral and shells, her lips adorned by a gentle smile. Her presence was faint, her body partly melting into the water, flickering in the muddy waters.

Maybe it was just some Sea Family trick? I haven’t met her before, yet I could tell who it was a second after I saw her.

“Lady Amphitrite,” I answered, giving her a light bow.

The Queen of the Sea paused. “After Poseidon’s story, I did not expect such a respectful greeting.” I tilted my head in question and her smile grew. “It is clear that he spoke the truth. Percy, I cannot stay long in such waters.” She eyed the filthy water with disgust. “Nor do I wish to. Come see me in the ocean, at Santa Monica. It should be on your way.” Her presence faded a little. “I would warn you not to trust the gifts, but you already know.”

I made a face. “Yeah. I’ll go to the beach.”

Amphitrite nodded and faded fully into the water, her presence gone. I remained still for a moment, a strange sense of melancholy overcoming him. I shook it off and reached for Riptide. 

‘Why didn’t you come back to me this time? Was this when you chose me as your wielder because I chose to fight this fight?’

I stared at my dull reflection in the faintly glowing blade. Naturally, it didn’t answer.

I made for the shore, climbing out of the river and shuddering. Swimming in those kinds of waters was disgusting. A sea of emergency lights flashed around the Gateway Arch, helicopters circling overhead. 

Yikes, sorry about that. 

A reporter spoke into a camera about probable, but unlikely terrorist attacks and I sighed. Not again. I pushed through the crowd, trying to find Annabeth, Silena and Grover, overhearing how Channel five had already learned how an adolescent boy had gone wild on the deck, setting off a freak explosion.

I paused. Damn, they work fast. Why is the mist never on my side…?

“Percy!” I got tackled by Grover, who hugged me tightly. “We thought you’d gone to Hades the hard way.”

“Technically the easy way,” I muttered and the satyr whacked me upside the head.

Annabeth appeared at my side, trying to look angry, but just as relieved as Grover. “We can’t leave you alone for five minutes. What happened?”

“Yeah, and where are Luke and Clarisse?” Silena asked, her mascara running. Was…was she crying?

“Well, turns out Echidna was up there,” I started, and each one of their faces paled at the mention of the Mother of Monsters. “...and also Chimera?” paled further.

I gave them a brief recap of the events, and by the time I was finished, A Helicopter had landed, carrying Clarisse and Luke.

“What the hades was that Prissy?” Clarisse yelled, mostly in anger, but I could hear both a little relief and hilarity. I guess it was kind of funny, because all I could say was…

“I…fell?”

“Two hundred metres?”

Behind them, the crowd made way for paramedics and the mother of the little boy who was fixed onto a stretcher, rambling on about my fight with the Chimera.

“Was she talking about the Chihuahua?” Annabeth asked as they vanished into the masses.

“Chimera. But yeah. He set the Arch ablaze, I stabbed Echidna and blew her up, then he pushed me off. The end.”

“Percy!” Grover chastised.

They passed another reporter speaking about “Percy Jackson, the little missing child turned potential monument exploder.” Ducking behind the news van, they vanished into an alley and made their way back to the train station to leave the city.

Well, it went better then last time, but still, I would’ve preferred there not to have been a “Terrorist” Attack.

Chapter Text

On July 14th, the next day, the train reached Denver. I was tempted to just steal some money somewhere and bail, but I figured Ares would hunt us down for a ‘talk’ anyway. 

Granted, he likely wasn’t expecting the kid who gave him the Bolt to be with us, nor his daughter or his wife’s daughter, but they’re still both good actors.

Actually, was Ares that involved that he knew Luke? It sure seemed like it from Luke earlier, but Ares never said whoever gave him the Bolt’s name. 

Maybe Luke was really just that good of an actor and played an entirely different person when Ares confronted him? I don’t doubt it, but Luke is pretty distinguishable.

Either way, I was starving, and if anything good had come out of that meeting, it had been the meal. Because I had mentioned my conversation with the river spirit in passing (no need to freak Annabeth out by mentioning Amphitrite by name, even if calling her a spirit was probably a little disrespectful and I apologized in spirit for it) to explain my need to go to Santa Monica, she insisted on talking to Chiron about it. 

I wasn’t sure what she hoped to get out of that conversation, but I went along with it, traipsing after her through downtown Denver on the look for a car wash as if, you know, the son of Poseidon right next to her couldn’t just whip up some mist no problem. 

Not that I had mentioned it. And if I were too now, after half an hour of searching, she’d probably rip my head off.

And so, they ended up in the stall furthest from the road; six apparent children, ages 12 to 15, hanging out in a car wash without a car. Though I wasn’t sure which would be worse, not having one or being here with a car. Each of them were a little young to be driving yet. 

Grover grumbled about the price and Annabeth handed him her last remaining quarters. I had plenty of drachmas left, but only one quarter, which was all they needed thankfully. Grover positioned the nozzle, setting it to fine mist and the light fractured through the vapor, creating a rainbow.

“Oh goddess, accept our offering,” Annabeth said and threw a drachma through the rainbow. It shimmered and disappeared. “Half-Blood Hill.”

A little vague if Chiron is your intended conversation partner. Last time Luke came through the mist, but now that he was here…

Instead of the Half-horse I’m sure she was expecting, on the other side of the mist was a girl of their age, with brunette hair braided to her right shoulder, and a flower crown along her forehead. She looked up through the mist in surprise, and a grin spread across her face when she saw the recipient.

“Annabeth? Is that you?” She asked, and Annabeth clearly was not expecting her, but nodded in response. “Oh, you guys are still alive! Me and the rest of the camp were panicking after the news came!”

“We’re…uh…fine,” Annabeth stammered and I suppressed a fond eye roll. Come on Annabeth, you need to be a bit more confident, and a bit less nervous. She hastily straightened her shirt. “We thought-Chiron-I mean-”

“You thought Chiron would appear here? Yeah, classic mistake. Let me guess, you just said, ‘Half-Blood Hill?’” She asked, and Annabeth’s blush could light up the ocean. “I did the same thing on my quest. Got connected to the Stolls. Is Luke and everyone else there?”

Luke quickly joined the viewing party, with Silena and Grover joining soon after. Clarisse stayed out of it, and I took Grover’s spot, holding the nozzle.

“Look, we don’t have that many Drachmas left-” yes we do. I still have plenty. “-so we need you to relay this information to Chiron, Katie.” Luke asked, to which the Brunette, now named Katie, nodded determined.

Then, they just did a quick walkthrough of our quest so far. The Kindly ones attacking, my speedrun killing medusa, and the whole Echidna and Chimera mishap at the Arch. She also mentioned that they were heading to Santa Monica on the advice of a ‘water spirit.’

With each mini-adventure established, Katie’s face became more and more strained, almost like she was getting more and more angry that we had to go through this.

Amen Sister.

By the time Luke and Annabeth were done listing the quest so far, with Grover and Silena backing them up, Katie looked more like a rose then Annabeth seconds ago.

“...Where is Percy,” She asked, and maybe it was my natural instinct to cooperate with an angry woman, but I forced the nozzle into Clarisse’s hand, and made my way over there faster then Grover could say Enchilada.

“Uhm, right here Ma’m?” I responded, unsure of how this was going to go. 

“Percy, I don’t know what the Hades you did, or why the gods are so mad at you, but you’re the one that chose some of my best friends to go on your quest. You better come back with everyone intact, or else, I swear, I will make my way to the Underworld and wring your neck out myself,” Katie gave the most powerful threat I’ve ever heard in my life, and I, being the 12 year old wreck I am, just stupidly nodded. Seconds later, she went back to her normal self.

“Well, good luck from now on! Hope to see-” Katie waved, but…

“WAIT! Is everything okay over there?” Luke asked, and I couldn’t tell if it was out of genuine caution, or with his master plan.

Katie’s smile faded. “There, uh, there’s some trouble going around, mostly with the campers. Chiron had to break up a fight,” Katie continued. “Things are pretty tense here. Word leaked out about the Zeus-Poseidon stand-off. We’re still not sure how. Probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound.”

I scoffed quietly. Love that you just called Luke a Scumbag without knowing it. Maybe that can give him a kick in the pants he needs.

“Now the campers are starting to take sides,” Katie continued, “It’s shaping up like the Trojan war all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, Hephaestus, and Hermes are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena and Dionysus are backing Zeus.”

I was confused. The Ares campers are backing Poseidon? Even with our confrontations? Clarisse had lowered her arm holding the nozzle, so I was mostly holding the mist together with my powers. 

“I’m pretty sure that the Dionysus kids are trying to convert some of the Hermes kids to their side, and I am not looking forward to the Civil war on our doorstep. Nearly every other Cabin has stayed Neutral but I’m more then a little Confident that the Athenas are trying to persuade Demeter…no offense Annabeth.”

I could tell that offense was indeed taken, but it was not enough for her to really speak up.

“Well, if that’s everything, I’ve got to go relay this to Chiron. He will be sorry he missed you lot,” Katie replied, a little bit of an accent coming through at the end, before the rainbow closed off.

We…we didn’t really know what to do for a little bit. We just kind of sat at the Carwash before Clarisse basically forced us up, saying, “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather die killing a dragon or Titan, not being smited by lightning because I was just sitting around.”

Fair enough Clarisse, fair enough.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a bus, taxi, or boat to Santa Monica easily. We walked at least 36 miles across the state. Luke, “Thankfully” had plenty of little speed tricks to share with us, definitely earning the trust of Annabeth and Clarisse, had he not already had them.

For some reason, I got the vibe that Silena was the most distrusting of Luke, which made no sense.

That should be ME.

Maybe it was just a general mistrust of Hermes' kids or something, but she was the most apprehensive about anything that came from Luke’s mind.

That might get you saved more then you expect, Silena.

Either way, with the two pairs of Hermes shoes, one that Luke said he got from another Hermes kid, and the…I guess speed aura that Luke can extrude, the 36 miles trip, that should’ve taken at least a day, was over in about 2 hours.

Not bad.

Either way, we had stopped at a Diner on the way, and I could tell that Silena and Luke were trying to con the Waitress into a free meal. I mean, it probably would’ve worked if Luke hadn’t been trying to join in. 

Like, yeah dude, you’re pretty handsome, but Silena is literally the daughter of the goddess of beauty. No amount of general charisma and good looks is going to beat divine looks and a maxed out charisma stat. 

That’s when I heard the familiar sound of an Engine revving behind us.

Sure enough, in came the biker-god himself.

The moment I laid eyes on him and felt his aura, I wanted to lunge across the table and sucker punch him in the throat. 

As he slid into the booth, crowding Annabeth, Luke, and Silena against the window, he also sent the waitress off.

“So,” he drawled, grinning at Percy, “You’re old Seaweed’s kid, huh?”

Oh, I’m going to enjoy beating you up again. 

I balled a fist under the table, rubbing my knuckles over my knee, trying to contain the urge that grew with every passing second. 

Reign in your aura, you fucking freak. 

Grover shifted uncomfortably next to him, clearly picking up on Percy’s anger. “What’s it to you?”

Multiple people sucked in a breath, eyes flashing in warning. “Percy, this is-” “Prissy, shut up! That's my-” “I’d be quiet Perce, that’s-” “Calm down Percy. This is-”

“S'okay,” Biker-Ares said, acting all magnanimous and I dug my fingers into my knee, drawing a long, slow breath.

From the look he was giving as he looked across the table, I was right in assuming he was not expecting at least Clarisse here. Granted, those sunglasses were dang good at hiding a poker-face, but I could still see the eyebrow raises when his eyes made contact with Clarisse, Luke, and Silena.

Clarisse looked like a saint in comparison to how Ares acted, looking at us like prey.

Don’t try to strangle a god. Wait a few years, get physically stronger first. Wait, no. Don’t try to strangle a god. Period. 

…

Maybe just a little running through? 

Just a bit? 

Teeny-tiny stab?

Do not .

Come on!

“I don’t mind a little attitude. ‘Long as you remember who’s the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?”

I wanted to laugh, punch him, strangle him, drown him in a toilet. Preferably, all of that, in that order. 

I forced the anger down, knowing this was Ares’ influence heightening my already rather strong dislike of the god. Don’t give in. 

I relaxed my hand, meeting Ares' gaze. 

‘You’re not the boss,’ was probably what my eyes were screaming at the god, ‘you’re a pathetic pawn in Kronos’ plans.’ As tonelessly as possible, I said, “Ares.”

The biker grinned, taking off his shade. “That’s right, punk. Heard you broke Clarisse’s spear.” He said, pointing at his daughter, sitting next to me.

“She was asking for it,” I shot back, not caring that she was right next to me. Honestly, I’m pretty sure just shouting that impressed her.

Besides, it was just the shaft, get over it.

“Probably. That’s cool. I don’t fight my kids’ fights, you know? What I’m here for, I heard you were in town, I got a little proposition for you.”

I wanted to tell the god to choke on his own spit and go die in a ditch, but I bit my tongue. The waitress returned with some trays and Ares paid the poor woman with drachmas. Considering they were solid gold, he had definitely overpaid, but they weren’t exactly accepted currency in the mortal world.

Ares twisted his knife in his hands before pointing the tip at me. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“A favor,” he repeated with a raised eyebrow. “And you can’t do it yourself because...?”

“Percy!” Annabeth, Luke, and Silena hissed as Grover whimpered quietly next to him. Clarisse on the other hand?

Grinning for Miles.

“Because I don’t have time for it myself,” Ares snapped, eyes burning hotter than before.

Because you’re fucking scared of Hephaestus’ trap is why, Coward.

“I left my shield in an abandoned waterpark here in town. I was going on…a little date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. It was left behind. I want you to fetch it for me.” Ares paused, stabbing the knife into the table. “A god is giving you a chance to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?” He leaned forward. “Or maybe you only fight when there’s a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you.”

I felt my own anger burning hotter. Ares was focusing my aura on him, no doubt. 

Calm.

That didn’t really do the trick, but it at least reminded me to keep a cool head.

I swallowed the ever-growing urge to grab that knife and stab Ares in the eye with it, and leaned back. Crossing my arms over my chest, I countered, “I don’t need to prove myself to any of you.” Something flashed through Ares’ eyes that I couldn’t quite pin down. “I already told this to Echidna before I blew her up with manifested swords of water. We’re not interested. Already on a quest, in case you haven’t noticed.” I did need the backpack from Ares, but I wouldn’t give in so easily.

I also did not miss Luke’s slight panic. What, is your plan falling apart at the seams? Didn’t expect Percy Jackson to be so defiant?

Buddy, you really should have been keeping a closer eye on me, even before I came to HalfBlood.

“I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis and me, naturally. If I couldn’t sniff out a weapon that powerful…” He licked his lips, the thought of owning that weapon clearly an inviting one, but the demigod could only scoff internally. Ares had been the one who had tracked Luke down, after all…only to join forces with him. He had been sweet-talked into aiding a titan. “Well,” the god continued, “If I couldn’t find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I’m the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath.”

“You told him Hades stole the bolt.” I shook my head at that, unsure whether to call that bravely stupid or stupidly brave. If three major gods waged war against each other, Ares wouldn’t come out of that unscathed no matter how big his love for war was. And if Poseidon found out Ares had deceived him? 

The wrath of the Sea was lethal, for mortals and gods alike. 

Hey, dad? That true?

‘Sure. Framing someone to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognised it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank you for your little quest.’

Dad’s voice purred in the back of his skull. With it came a gentle sense of calm, washing over the demigod, and chasing away the anger caused by Ares, which I was rather thankful for. 

The deity did its best, but it’s still locked behind a stone that is…somewhere.

The most I can do in the Physical world is appear in a humanoid form. It’s certainly useful, but not quite for this situation.

It was getting harder and harder to resist the ever stronger-growing aura of the god. 

‘He is, by far, not the brightest candle, as they say, but he does have his moments. It seems I do indeed owe Hades an apology. I already know about the events since you told me but hearing it transpire like this is…different.’

“Oh thank you so much,” I drawled, shoving all the sarcasm I possibly could muster into my words. It’s weird for me too, dad. And knowing this lies ahead that I 100% can’t avoid? The pit, probably? Again? Not cool.

“Hey, I’m a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I’ll help you on your way. I’ll arrange a ride west for you and your friends.” Ares tried his best to put on a gracious face, but failed miserably.

“Yeah, no.” I plucked a fry from his tray, and not missing Clarisse’s bewilderment of my utter disregard for her dad’s…existence. I’m keeping that mental image for a while.

Ares could get that shield of his so easily. 

Or stop going on dates with his own brother’s wife.

“Really,” Ares raised a challenging eyebrow. “No money, No wheels, No clue what you’re up against. Help me out, and maybe I’ll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom.”

‘He does have a point, Percy. You have no money or transport. I could send you some aid, but you would lack the bolt. It seems there is no way around retrieving the shield in order to obtain it.’

Yeah, I know. I just don’t want to. He’s the son of a bitch and a bitch himself.

‘Percy!’

I fought down a grin at my father’s half-hearted scolding. “My mom, hm?”

Ares grinned. “That got your attention. The water park is a mile west of Delancy. You can’t miss it. Look for the tunnel of love ride.”

Ares vanished, flashing away, and I scowled. “Never actually said I’d do it.”

‘Son, reign yourself in a bit. You are living dangerously.’

Story of my life. 

I much prefer The God of War’s counterpart.

What? Does he have a counterpart?

Take a look into the Romans once you return. You might find more then you expect.

Okay…still doing the fortune cookie stuff, huh?

I slumped against the backrest, shoving a handful of fries into his mouth while Grover and Annabeth freaked out next to him. Luke was pretty astonished for how I treated Ares, Silena seemed proud of me, and Clarisse was caught between fuming at me, and laughing at me. 

Any advice on getting that shield without triggering Hephaestus’ traps? I don’t feel like being entertainment on Olympus TV again.

‘Well…Ares or Aphrodite would be most suited to answer you.’ Amusement coloured dad’s tone as I looked at both Clarisse and Silena. ‘It depends on the trap. I am certain you will find a way. It is a trap made for gods, however, so tread carefully.’

I’ve already done this once, dad. I’ll be fine.

A wave of concern and gentle reprimanding washed over me. ‘It does not make you invincible, my son. One misstep can still severely injure, if not kill you. Tread with caution,’ Dad pressed.

“Right,” I murmured, fighting down a blush. My Dad’s obvious care and worry warmed me from my toes to the tips of my hair. I grabbed the cheeseburger in front of me, not going to waste free food.

‘Can you blame me for worrying? Mortals are fragile. I wouldn’t want to lose my dear son to Hephaestus’ traps, an angry god smiting you or something else.’

I bit back a chuckle. 

Well, even if that was true, we know that I’ve got a lot more up my sleeve, don’t we?

‘I suppose, but that does not lessen any concern I have for you.’

I guess. 

Then I caught Annabeth’s expectant gaze. I swallowed a mouthful of cheeseburger. “Sorry, what?”

She sighed. “We will have to go. You don’t just ignore a god.”

Watch me.

“He wasn’t kidding about turning you into a rodent.”

‘I would turn you back,’ Poseidon said, almost a little offended that Ares would dare to touch his child.

That’s…just encouraging me to piss him off, dad.

‘Well,’ Poseidon sighed and I could almost see the god pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, ‘I have a feeling trying to steer you onto a safer path would make you even more …rebellious?’

You always told me that the sea doesn’t like to be restrained or controlled, that it is wild and untamed.

Dad fell silent for a moment before a soft chuckle reached me.

‘I am being confronted by myself. You resemble me a lot in your personality, son. Just watch yourself. I cannot shield you from everything.’

Nor would I want you to. Let me have some fun with all of this if I already have to save the world again twice.

Shortly after we had demolished their meals, 5 of us found themselves in front of a run-down and locked water park that looked sad and creepy in the evening light. Luke had stayed back to “Guard the perimeter,” and, “Be the watchdog.”

Sure buddy. Sure.

The sun was slipping behind the mountains, casting long and eerie shadows over the area.

“Not exactly the place I’d bring the goddess of love on a date,” I said dryly. Annabeth Snorted as she muttered a quick “no.” Meanwhile, Silena looked appalled at the place.

I couldn’t tell if she was either confused as to why her mother would come here, or if she thought that Ares thought this was good enough for her mother.

Grover jumped the fence with his flying shoes, incorporating a totally “on purpose,” back-flip and me and Annabeth climbed the fence, holding down the barbed-wire for each other. Clarisse just broke the fence, as you do, while Silena followed through the hole she made. 

We found our way to the souvenir shop and freshened up a bit with some merchandise. Despite this place being abandoned, it seemed like there was plenty of stuff left in the shop to keep someone up and running for over 5 months. 

Then, we made our way through the park in search of the Tunnel of Love. The park was eerily quiet as if waiting with baited breath. 

I wasn’t sure what for, only that I didn’t want to be around for it.

Well…I mean, I guess I kind of know what for, but clearly, no one else did.

I was kind of hoping that Ares would show up, and try to be sneaky as he dismantled the trap because both his daughter and Aphrodite’s daughter were here with us, but to no avail did the idiot show up.

Ahead, the attraction we were looking for finally came into view. The empty pool was surrounded by bronze Cupid statues and I shook my head at that. 

Only gods would go on a date where they were watched by statues of their own son. 

At the bottom was the boat, as cliché and pink as I remembered, with Ares’ shield sitting on one of the seats, glinting faintly in the fading light. I squinted at the display in suspicion, trying to work out how they could potentially disable the trap.

“What are we waiting for!? Dad’s shield is right there! Let’s get it so we can get this over with!” Clarisse shouted, moving towards the boat cart. I was about to move to get her out of the way, but Annabeth actually moved first, forcing the daughter of war back.

“Not yet.” Annabeth ran her fingers over one of the statues. “There’s a Greek letter carved here,” she said. “I wonder…”

I waited for a moment, but she said nothing else. “Hephaestus,” I pointed out helpfully, in hopes her smarts could figure this out and get them the shield without going on that ride again.

Her eyes lit up in understanding before darkening. She joined me in squinting at the boat. I recalled how the trap had worked last time, how the golden net had trapped us in the pools, how the spiders had flooded in-wait, flooded? 

I paused, tilting my head at the mirrors and the pipes hidden behind them and the spiders they contained. Next to me, Annabeth mumbled a mile a minute, spitting out all sorts of theories how the trap worked.

“So,” I interrupted her thought process eventually, before she’d start running in mental circles and burn herself out, “if that idea with the net is valid, you think flooding the pool would help?”

Annabeth had prodded a Cupid statue, tugging on the arrow and catching sight of the golden threads connected to it. “It’s definitely some kind of net. These Cupids will create it and then some other trap activates down there. Something with those mirrors, perhaps.” She turned to consider the possible height of the net. It would be close to the pool’s surface. “We could reach through the net after triggering the trap of the pool being filled. But how? I don’t think the plumbing will still work.”

I hummed. “If being a Poseidon kid is worth anything, maybe…” I left the sentence unfinished, walking over to the booth with the controls. I didn’t need them, in all actuality, but I didn’t want to appear too compedent too fast. That’d be a one way ticket to being smited. I hadn’t known how to control my powers yet, nor demonstrated any in public, aside from the “Clearly” accidental spouts. 

If I suddenly busted them out of nowhere, Annabeth would be without a doubt suspicious. I ran my eyes over the many buttons, only half of them still labeled with barely readable, faded letters. Annabeth appeared next to me after a minute.

Meanwhile, Grover and Silena were basically holding Clarisse back from just sinking the boat and getting the Shield and leaving. To be fair, it probably would’ve been fine if she did sink the boat, but either way, not the best idea.

“Electrical controls and no power,” she said and I just nodded. She began rummaging around in the drawers and eventually pulled out a large sheet of paper. “The blueprint for the construction…not where I would have kept it.” She stepped back outside, spread the paper out on the ground and brooded over it. The drawings on it made no sense to me. Too technical and convoluted. I’m the son of the Sea, not of technology.

Not one of my domains, for certain.

Keep forgetting you’re here. Any skill or power that could help?

Unfortunately, no. None of my powers are technical oriented, at least in this fashion.

Shoot.

I stared at the pool, gently tugging on the water in the pipes to test the amount. There was plenty still left in the system and the construction was old, rusted and without maintenance for probably decades.

“There are pipes directly behind the pool walls,” Annabeth eventually said, pointing them out in the blueprint. She explained how there was probably still water in there and if they could breach them somehow, the pool should flood. “Could you do what you did with the toilets?”

I raised an eyebrow at the reference, and did not miss Clarisse rolling her eyes at the callback. I then shrugged. “I’ll try.” Took you long enough, wise girl.

I stepped over to the edge of the pool, gently coaxing the water into moving. Taking some time to simply sit there to create the illusion of figuring things out, I pulled on the water, tearing it out of the pipes. It flooded the cavities where the spiders were stored before bursting the hatches open and pouring into the pools. Annabeth’s breath hitched at the sight of the spider’s floating in it and she took several rapid steps backwards with a half-stifled scream of terror. They were short-circuiting, and slammed into the walls of the pool by the rushing water with such force that some even exploded. The boat began to swim, toiling around on the surface, bobbing and twirling. I did my best to keep it afloat with my own powers. Gushing water swept over the seats, washing away the fine golden tripwire threads and the Cupids came online, firing their bows at each other and lacing the golden net above the pool. Silena had covered her mouth in surprise and shock, probably at the sight of her half-brother’s statues shooting at where she could, potentially, have been. Clarisse was also torn, and I couldn’t tell if it was about the same thing, or the shield. The statues then loudly announced their countdown to Olympus Live.

“Man,” Grover bleated nervously, “Am I glad no one of us went down there. Good thing you caught the trap.” I did my best to not reply, hoping that Annabeth would take the credit for figuring it out. Unsurprisingly, she did just that.

“We still need to get the shield out.” Clarisse replied, as she watched the pool fill up with a torn expression. Her dad really meant a lot to her, didn’t he? 

A Parent’s admiration can be a grand driving force, no matter what it is for.

The bobbing, whirling surface was black with little spiders, the boat relatively center. “Think you can get that boat over here?” Annabeth asked, as she hadn’t moved from her spot, half hiding behind Grover in her fear.

I tugged on the vessel, pulling it towards me as the waters calmed. The pool had almost filled,  and it would soon get stuck in the netting. It obeyed and bobbed over towards them. I reached out, quickly grabbing the boat and Annabeth grabbed the shield and scarf from the seats with trembling hands before both hurried back as the last gaps in the fine-threaded golden net closed. Grover heaved a heavy sigh of relief behind them, while Clarisse and Silena still had looks of shock on their faces.

“Ten, nine, eight…” The countdown continued. We all shared a look and jumped to our feet, hurrying away from the trap. We didn’t stop running until they had reached the entrance of the park again on Annabeth’s behest. She really didn’t want to be captured by the cameras. We then  finally stopped to catch their breath.

“So, the scarf?” I asked. Annabeth glanced at the fine silk.

“Aphrodite’s,” Silena answered before Annabeth could give her opinion. Annabeth decided it might’ve been best to give the scarf to someone who actually knew about it, so the scarf came to Silena’s possession, who then caressed and examined it closely. 

“Rose perfume, with a dash of lavender and laurel incense…” She squinted her eyes, before widening them in surprise. “Love magic. This is absolutely coated in it.”

“Well, What do we do with it? Give it to the cabin? Return it to her? Something else?” I asked, as Silena and Annabeth looked at each other.

Annabeth contemplated. “How would we return it?”

I shrugged. “Hermes Express?” She gave me a look. “What? Just saying. Maybe it’ll get us on her good side? ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,’ or something. Might be worse if it’s a love goddess.”

The girls pretty much all laughed. “We’ll deal with that once we’re back at camp,” Silena replied, shoving the scarf into her own backpack. “Might be best for me to hold onto it.”

“Fine with me.” I tapped the shield. “Now, this thing…” I scowled at it. I really hated being tricked and used. I was about to strap it to my arm, before Clarisse grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t even, Prissy. If anyone is holding that, it’s me,” Clarisse threatened, and while I wouldn’t normally have been too scared of her, the wrath in her tone was far more subdued.

That meant, it was flaring up. And that meant, ‘STAND DOWN.’

So, I followed my instincts, handed her the shield, and sidestepped away slightly.

As you said minutes ago, ‘hell hath no wrath , like a woman scorned.’

Et tu?

That’s not the proper use of the saying.

Shut up.

Either way, we exited the park via the hole Clarisse decided to make.

“Good, you guys are okay,” Luke appeared beside us. I really wanted to accuse him of just sitting there, but judging from the stale blood on his left shoulder and right forearm, that would be dumb.

“What the Hades happened to you?” Clarisse asked, probably pissed she didn’t get to fight something.

“Just a pack of wolves came around. They were pissed for some reason, but one slice at the pack leader sent them running,” Luke answered. That didn’t happen last time around. 

That didn’t even make sense. If this entire quest was basically being puppeteered by Luke and Kronos, with Ares as a pawn at most, and pretty much Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades being the ones most affected by the master bolt thievery, why are wolves coming around?

Isn’t Artemis the one in charge of wolves or something?

Artemis holds the domain of Wild Animals in general, not wolves exclusively.

Please don’t tell me we’ve pissed her off. Doesn’t she have an entire, like, miniature army or something?

The Hunters of Artemis, yes. A Formidable force when seperated, let alone together.

Hades, please tell me Artemis sent those purely to Luke and not us in general.

I was about to continue, when I noticed something odd.

There was a feather on the grass next to Luke. Not any normal, white bird feather either. This was not something that was dropped.

This was chopped off, and the weirdest part about the feather?

It was tingling. Tingling, and singing, and arcing with a red lightning bolt around it.

Curious…

Something told me that Luke encountered more then just a pack of wolves out here, but something else told me he wouldn’t answer if I asked.

Once all five of us were on the other side, I said, “Let’s go. We need to have a talk with Ares.”

Ares was in the diner parking lot, grinning at us as we walked up to the place. I really wanted to knock him out like a rock-em sock-em robot. 

Do not.

Come on! Let me have something fun!

Patience.

I am the exact opposite of that!

“Well, well,” The god drawled. “Some of you didn’t get yourselves killed.”

“You sound almost disappointed, jerk,” I growled and chucked the shield at him. Grover and Annabeth caught their breath behind me, while the rest of the crew stood their ground.

Ares caught it, spinning it in the air and it turned into a bulletproof vest that he slung over his shoulder. “I was looking forward to the show,” he said with a shrug. “How’d you get out of that trap in a minute, punk?” I crossed my arms, glaring at him in silence and the god shrugged again. “Alright, keep your secrets, kid.” He jabbed a thumb towards the eighteen-wheeler parked across the street. “That’s your ride. Take you straight to L.A. with one stop in Vegas.”

I scowled at the truck with its lettering proclaiming kindness and a humane zoo transport. The ride had been awful and I felt sorry for the animals caged within. I turned my glance back at Ares and raised a silent eyebrow. “Really?”

Ares snapped his fingers and the back door of the trailer unlatched. “Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here’s a little something for doing the job.” He threw the blue nylon backpack at me, barely catching it by a strap. A tingle ran through my fingers. Even if it wasn’t in its container at the moment, the master bolt was clearly unhappy to have even its casing touched by a son of the Sea.

“Thank you, Lord Ares,” Grover said almost immediately, fearing I would say something dangerous again. “Thanks a lot.”

I mean, I guess it was a smart move, but I doubt that Ares would be dumb enough to do something that could actually hurt anyone here.

As I turned back towards Ares, I caught the waitress in the window, the cook next to her, snapping a picture of us. 

I could see the headline already: Twelve-year-old outlaw beats up defenseless biker. Fuck. The mist really hates me for some reason.

“One more thing,” Ares said. “Your mother is not dead.”

Ah right, he did promise me that. I gave him my best confused stare. “What?” I asked blankly.

“She was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That’s metamorphosis. Not death. She’s being kept.”

“Because hostages,” I stated, rolling my eyes at the premise.

Ares grinned. “Exactly, you know something after all. Taken to control you.” He got on his bike.

“Nobody controls me,” I scoffed, and I could see Clarisse’s eyes bulge at the blatant disrespect to her dad.

If you want respect for your parent, grab the other one. I’m sure she’s way better.

“Oh, yeah? See you around, kid.”

I kept telling myself to not say a quip. Don’t say it. DON’T SAY- “You’re pretty smug for a guy who runs from Cupid statues.”

I could feel the anger rising from Ares, and suspiciously from behind me. “We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time, you’re in a fight, watch your back.” And with that the god revved his engine and roared off.

I was really expecting a punch to the back of the head from a certain spear-wielding daughter of Ares, but to my surprise when I turned around, she was more so just steaming in place. 

“That was not smart, Percy.” Luke warned, which I would certainly, and totally, take to heart. It’s not like this was orchestrated by you.

“I don’t care.”

“You don’t want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god.” Annabeth continued, and I once again held myself back from rolling my eyes.

We’ll talk again in a few days, wise girl.

I believe you might be a bit confident. Perhaps reign it in.

Maybe, but I like being confident. Until Lightning strikes me again, I’m going to keep going.

I could hear the sigh from the garden itself.

“Uh, guys,” Grover said, “I hate to interrupt, but…” He pointed towards the diner. At the cash register, the two disgusting human beings driving the transport were paying for their purchase. “If we’re taking the zoo express, we need to hurry.”

Right…well, Ares did something good for us at least. That’s one point to his negative 87.

I also didn’t miss the strange way Silena comforted Clarisse. 

The inside of the truck was even more disgusting than I remembered. A heavy smell of ammonia hung in the air. I uncapped Riptide to get some light and the blade casted a faint bronze glow over the sorry scene of three seriously mistreated animals. Grover began angrily muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a murder plan. 

I’d be behind him 100%.

The truck’s engine roared to life and the trailer began moving, shaking with the turns they were making. I sat down to avoid falling, carefully pulling the sack of turnips from the lion’s cage and exchanging it with the hamburger steaks of the zebra and antelope. The poor beast devoured it and stared at me expectantly like a man starved. 

Which he probably was. I could count all of his ribs without even being that close to him. I used a water jug from the back of the trailer to refill their bowls and settled down in the corner with Grover and Annabeth, who had cut the balloon loose from the antelope’s horns.

Silena on the other hand, had been giving all of the animals the attention they deserve, alongside Grover, as they did their best to give them love and attention. It was kind of adorable.

Clarisse and Luke on the other hand, had mostly stayed in the back. Luke went to sleep in minutes, to my surprise, while Clarisse had basically become a sentinel for the back door.

Something told me she just wanted to be the person to stab the guys when they opened the door, and as much as I wanted to stop her, because then we’d have no driver, one look at the animals pulled me back.

Me, Grover, and Annabeth had spoken for a bit, about Annabeth’s arachnophobia, and how Grover had apparently been seeing a nymph when he could.

Go Grover, dang. 

Once Grover had been reassured that he was doing a good job, he fell asleep. The conversation turned to Annabeth’s dad for a bit before she too fell asleep.

My own sleep was haunted by another dream of the bastard two stories down. 

Percy Jackson , it crooned. Yes, the exchange went well, I see.

I thought back to the backpack. Changing hands must have been the trigger for this annoying dream, then.

It continued speaking, asking, And he suspects nothing?

“Nothing, my lord!” The voice was at Percy’s shoulder, the speaker invisible but that was without question Luke. “ He is as ignorant as the rest.”

I really, really, wanted to laugh. If anyone here was ignorant, it would be these two clowns. For a moment, I considered turning around in my journey and throwing the backpack at Zeus’ face, explaining the enchantment and telling him to haul his own self downstairs to have the bolt return to its case.

Honestly, I really, REALLY wanted to. It would have been hilarious to get the bolt back in, what more then half the time then planned, and to have Luke get a front row seat to the entire plan falling apart?

Oooh, I would eaten that up like Lasagna.

Deception upon deception , Kronos mused. Excellent .

“Truly, my lord. You are well-named the Crooked One .” I grimaced at Luke’s attempt of flattery. That’s not really a compliment.

There once was a crooked man after all. 

There lived a crooked man, who made a crooked deal. He kept a crooked cane, and his catch in crooked creel. He stole a crooked child, who cried a crooked squeal. and that crooked little man was broken on the wheel.

Uhm…was that just a random poetry reading?

“But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly-”

You? Kronos’ voice was full of scorn and I imagined Luke cowering. You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened.

“But my lord-”

Peace, little servant. Our six months have brought us much. Zeus’ anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. Now we shall use it against him.

I scowled. Why was Kronos so convinced I could be turned against my own father? The other gods? Maybe. Zeus? I’d pay to punch him. But Poseidon? His father? We had barely even spoken, and yet he has done more for me then anyone else.

Except Mom. Sorry Dad, you’re not beating Sally jackson.

As soon as both items are delivered into my hands , Kronos continued, then paused. But wait. He is here.

“What?” Luke sounded very tense.

“Yeah, hi,” I tried saying and it seemed to work. “Could you fuck off from my dreams, please? Trying to get some rest here.”

A wave of freezing cold washed over me as Kronos’ full attention turned to me. Blast his father’s blood – he is too changeable, too unpredictable. The boy brought himself hither.

“I absolutely did not,” Percy snapped. “I have no interest in your little skits.”

“Impossible ,” Luke cried at the same time.

For a weakling such as you perhaps, Kronos snarled and I snickered at that. It was kind of funny how Kronos, clearly, did not care for Luke in the slightest. He just puts up with him because he’s the closest pawn he has.

“Can I leave now?”

Kronos’ coldness chilled him to the bone even in sleep. So…you wish to dream of your quest?

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll take three hours of nothing, please.”

Kronos did not fulfill said request, much to my annoyance. Instead, the scene changed to a vast throne room with black marble floors and bronze walls. Hades’ throne stood at the end, at its foot stood his mother, frozen in golden glow with her arms outstretched. My own hands were withering, turning to ashes, grinning skeletons in Greek armor draped my decaying body in silk and laurels wreathed in Chimera poison as the titan’s voice echoed through the hall. 

“Hail, the conquering hero!”

“Hey, now would be a good time for a peaceful sleep!?” I shouted.

Indeed, it seems.

Once again, the landscape shifted, but the cold wave from the Titan of Time disappeared, instead replaced by a glowing light of warmth, and pure nothingness.

“Thank you Deity. I’m getting really annoyed by that guy.”

I believe we all are. Apologizes for not having you leave earlier, but it was possible that information could have been gathered. Unfortunately, it seems both the Titan of Time and his accomplice are as daft as we predicted.

You’re not wrong. 

I snapped awake as Grover shook me and my first words were, “What the heck?”

“The truck’s stopped,” Grover said. “I think they’re coming to check on the animals.”

“Hide,” Annabeth hissed and vanished with her Yankees cap.

“Please! These guys deserve a spear through the eye!” Clarisse exclaimed, before Silena literally tackled her to the ground, probably waking Luke up in the process.

“Shut up Clarisse! We can’t hurt Mortals, and you know that!” Silena exclaimed, and gave a glare that could rival Medusa. I could hear Clarisse’s gulp from here.

Me and Grover hid under the turnip sacks and watched the trucker water the animals before splashing the lion with the rest. As the poor beast roared in indignation and the man belittled it, I grabbed Grover’s upper arm. The satyr was tense, moments away from committing homicide, there’s no way he wasn’t. Once Annabeth had lured the man out by banging on the trailer, I hurried to my feet. I quickly uncapped Riptide and slashed the lock of the zebra’s cage.

“Be careful,” I said. It bowed to me, and jumped out the trailer, galloping down a wide boulevard. Las Vegas had definitely seen worse. 

Or better?

A Zebra wandering around was nothing new, I’m sure.

Grover placed a sanctuary on all three before they let the other two loose. I did not miss Clarisse giving the Lion some scratches before they left though.

I guess she would bond with the king of the Jungle.

We slipped out the trailer and disappeared down the streets, hurrying past casino after casino. I knew the Lotus Casino was most likely around the next corner we would turn, but I was determined not to enter it. His father had been right. It was a gamble we couldn’t afford. 

But we did need money, several hundred dollars, in fact. Or a different way of transport. We still had some 500 kilometers to go. The only way of obtaining it quickly were the dam casino’s cards. 

Or car theft, I guess. But we were twelve, not sixteen, although something told me that Luke could probably pass as a 17 year old for some reason. 

As I was lost in thought, we ended up in front of exactly the one building he wanted to avoid. “Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?” the doorman asked. Clarisse had the most suspicious look I’ve ever seen from the guy, and Silena didn’t look much different.  Grover and Annabeth were hesitating whether or not to go in as well, before I grabbed all five of them and dragged them off.

Is what I would say if I could do that, but in reality, I just dragged Grover and Annabeth away, and the others happened to follow.

“Why not? What’s the harm?” Annabeth asked as they rounded the corner.

“Uh…the spirit? In the river? She told me not to trust casinos,” I stated as matter-of-factly as I could. 

Oh man, that’s the best I could come up with?

“What kind of warning is that?” Grover questioned.

I stopped, away from the dangerous lure of the Lotus Eaters. “Something just felt off and I remembered the warning and just…acted.”

“What was its name again? Lotus Hotel and Casino?” Annabeth murmured. “There was a myth …” She tapped her fingers against her thigh in thought. “The Lotus Eaters. Odysseus met them.”

“Shit…Guess even those guys survived this long,” Clarisse mentioned, looking back at the entrance, with the same smiling doorman.

I nodded slowly. Leave it to Annabeth to figure things out, and Clarisse to piggyback. Grover seemed skeptical, glancing back in the direction of the hotel. “What do we do now, then? Today’s the 15th. We have six days left to find the bolt and return to Olympus. Los Angeles is still pretty far.”

“We could technically make it if we walk. But we’d have no way of getting back,” Annabeth said.

“Let’s not walk some 500 kilometers through the desert, please.” Silena grimaced at the thought. “I’d say no to hitchhiking, too.”

“The truck would have taken us there,” Grover pointed out.

“But it would have left the zebra at the mercy of whatever magic show they were talking about,” Annabeth muttered. “And I’m not okay with that.”

“Me neither,” Me and Clarisse quickly agreed. Neither of us were surprised.

The six of us settled into an alley, squatting on the large dumpster and brainstormed.

I suggested exchanging some drachmas for a thousand dollars and jumping into the nearest taxi, but Annabeth brought up that five of us looked like homeless vagrants at this point, and hadn’t seen a shower since they left camp. Any pawn shop would probably view them as thieves, and any taxi driver would have thought they stole the money. 

Silena offered to smooth that over with her “magic tongue,” but Annabeth was certain that it would only apply to her, no matter how charismatic she was in actuality.

Well, that’s kind of rude. I don’t think you can really call someone out on their own powers.

That's kind of the whole reason I brought her along anyway. Outside of just being a good person, she’s the silver horse! She has the max charisma stat! That’s her whole deal, Wise girl!

She also brought up the point that a bus ride would probably cost up to a hundred dollars per person, too. Grover jokingly suggested finding another lost pet from some rich folks up in Hollywood.

The saddest part was that it was the best idea we’ve got so far.

I settled against the wall, staring at the sky above. “Any other ideas?” I asked, but no one had any new ideas. Even Annabeth had fallen silent. “Pegasi from camp would be nice…”

“Oh yes,” she agreed. “We could have just ridden them from the get go. But I see no way of getting some now. I tried praying to Mom for some help earlier, but she hasn’t answered.”

That…that didn’t feel right. I thought Athena cared for Annabeth? Maybe she wanted her to be independent?

I glanced at her, glanced back up at the sky and hopped off the dumpster, startling Silena who was sitting on the edge. I moved a little further into the alley where it opened into a larger backyard of sorts, and clapped my hands together in an exaggerated gesture.

“What are you doing?” Grover asked, clearly confused.

I dramatically cleared my throat only to telepathically call out, Dad? Turning to Grover, I said, “I’m gonna give this praying-thing a try.” I mustered up as much innocence as he could. The satyr raised an eyebrow, followed by Annabeth, Clarisse, Silena, Luke, and Grover again, in that order.

‘Percy,’ dad answered, a faint suspicion in his tone. ’The praying-thing?’

“The praying-thing,” Grover repeated at the same time. “There is no water here, Perce.”

‘Uh, yeah. Look, we avoided the casino so we have no way of getting west without the infinite money-cards. Could I request some pegasi?’

Poseidon didn’t respond and I didn’t answer Grover. Silence befell the area. After a few minutes, Annabeth said, “Looks like it worked just as much as mine.”

As if to prove her incorrect, wings beat above and six pegasi landed in front, five of them greeting me with an overlaying “My Lord!”’.

I gave Annabeth the most mischievous grin I could manage. “Hey, guys. Thanks for coming.” I patted the one closest to me, a white mare with black spots. “Thanks, dad.” A gentle sea breeze blew through the alley, but there was no verbal response. The wind ruffling through my hair almost felt like a hand.

‘You came quickly, thanks,’ I told them, swinging myself onto the mare’s back. ‘Got any names for me?’

“Eh,” she said, “we were close by. I’m Serendipity. Those fools are Dexter and Baxter, and we picked up Michelle and Machina on the way.” The horse motioned to the Full Black, Tan, Full White, and Grey pegasi respectively. “Mind some delicious apples?”

I chuckled, “Don’t have any on me. And camp is on the other coast. But if we find some? All yours.”

“I’ll hold you to that, my Lord.”

“You do that, but, who’s the Pink one?” I threaded my fingers through her mane as I pointed to the descending pink and purple Pegasi.

“Oh yeah, that’s Cirrus. Be careful with her, she…she prefers the Cider version of Apple if you catch my meaning,” Serendipity replied, as Cirrus shook her head.

“I am aware I am an Alcoholic Dip, you don’t need to make me seem better then I am,” Cirrus replied with the most sass I have ever heard.

Annabeth and Grover took Dexter and Baxter, while Clarisse and Silena took Michelle and Machina. Luke got stuck with Cirrus, probably because she’s the only one that would take him. Everyone else seemed very opposed.

I wonder why.

“I forgot that pegasi fell under Poseidon’s domain,” Grover admitted. “They fly.”

“At least, we’ll make some quick progress now,” Annabeth stated. “To LA.” She cast a veiled glance at me. “Didn’t expect him to answer, if I’m honest.”

I shrugged. I couldn’t exactly tell her of my actual relationship with dad. Not yet, at least. “Let’s go.”

True to Annabeth’s prediction, they sped westwards, the earth flying by beneath them. 

I kept looking back at everyone’s trip. Grover and Baxter were having a grand old time, probably because of the connection between the two.

Annabeth and Dexter were flying like a plane. Straight as an arrow, and no possible change unless needed.

Clarisse and Michelle were definitely having fun, basically slicing through every cloud they possibly could.

Silena had literally been styling Machina the entire trip, shading and braiding the mare’s mane, which led to a couple of close calls, but by the end, Machina was easily the prettiest mare there.

Well, she would be if Cirrus didn’t exist in my mind.

A Pink and Purple Pegasus, already an abnormality even for a mythological creature, but damn, she was gorgeous.

Plus, she was hilarious! While I know for a fact that no one else could understand her, I know for a fact that she was deliberately giving Luke a hard time.

"Did anyone ever tell you that large assets cause back pain? Well, they were right. This kid is too damn heavy." I did my best to not snort at that, and I think only Grover caught on.

And, whenever Cirrus, totally on purpose, dropped Luke down 50ft in a second, well, "Sorry, I have no moral compass at the moment."

I’m kind of glad that I didn’t choose to ride her, but I also kind of wished that I did ride her, because that would’ve been a fun ride.

Either way, After three hours they took a break at a small freshwater lake, since the pegasi were thirsty and Grover demanded a break to take care of a human need…or goat need?

I dipped his toes in the water, enjoying the coolness on my skin. It was a hot day. June 15th it was, six days until the gods’ summer solstice meeting, six days to the deadline. Unless something came swinging in to blindside them, avoiding the casino had given us time to easily take care of matters. 

“Stay here for the day?” Grover asked.

I glanced at the sun, it was sometime after noon but not really afternoon yet. “Why?”

“It’s nice,” the satyr said with a sigh.

“Grover, we’re on a time limit,” Annabeth pointed out. “It took us five days to get there, it’ll take us five days to get back.”

I nodded in agreement as Grover let out a quiet whine. But he understood, they mounted their pegasi again and resumed their journey.

We arrived at the Santa Monica beach in the late afternoon, early evening hours. Our mounts landed right on the sandy shore, I said thanks and goodbyes and they took off again.

I did not miss Cirrus asking Serendipity if they could Visit Dionysus.

“What now?” Annabeth asked, glancing around.

“You wait and I go do some talking, I guess?” I pointed at the water. The surface shimmered in the light of the sinking sun, turning golden. Annabeth made a face at that, but didn’t try to stop me as I stepped into the water, walking in deeper and finally submerging myself. The ocean was cool on my skin, welcoming me and wrapping its waters around me. I walked along the bottom until a mako shark slid up to me, nuzzling him like a heeling dog. I petted it softly. “Hey, buddy.” Grabbing onto its dorsal fin as it invited me to, I was pulled further out until the sandbank reached a plunging end, 50 meters beneath the surface.

A shape rose from the depth, a huge stallion-sized sea horse coming up, carrying the Queen of the Sea. She dismounted, seahorse and mako shark whistling off to play catch around them, and stepped onto the edge of the sandbank. “Hello, Percy,” she greeted with a smile.

“Lady Amphitrite,” I answered. I didn’t want to mess up with…I guess my stepmother, so best go with the respectful way.

Based on her growing smile, she was pleased. “Such formality from the whirlwind his father mentioned.” Her tone grew a little teasing before she became serious, “Thank you for coming here, Percy. A nereid such as myself cannot sustain their life force for long so far upriver. But my cousins, the naiads, assisted me.” I nodded slowly. “Poseidon has told me your story, Percy. I struggled to believe it at first but our encounter convinced me. You truly have returned to your past.”

“Yeah,” I breathed.

Amphitrite stepped closer, her eyes glinting in the dim light beneath the ocean. “A heavy fate that has been bestowed upon you.”

I grimaced. “Still don’t know why it’s always me.”

“Nobody truly understands the workings of Fate, I fear. I have had my own share of questions about it.” The Queen smiled gently. “I believe Poseidon has left out some things in his retelling. Tell me, Percy, how did we meet?”

“Uh ...” he said eloquently. “We…we actually hadn’t met last time around. On this first quest, in fact, I don’t think we knew each other existed. I was far too busy getting the Bolt back and dealing with my own lineage, and I’m assuming that you were…well, I would say helping, but something tells me you’re the one that takes charge of the kingdom most of the time.”

Amphitrite smiled warmly at that, and I could tell who was wearing the pants in this relationship. “Thankfully, with your future knowledge, Poseidon has already started strengthening defenses and upped the weapon production. We hope Zeus is too occupied with his missing bolt to notice that our kingdom is currently preparing for a war.”

I gave an unsure shrug. “As far as I know or remember correctly, nobody up there really noticed the war was even happening. I mean, I haven’t met everyone yet, but Zeus has the biggest case of Denial I have ever seen. At least Poseidon took my warning seriously, both in this timeline and the last, so whenever Kronos, or Typhon, or whoever comes marching from the depths, at least the ocean world will be prepared, even if Olympus isn’t.”

“I would prefer a destroyed palace over Typhon reaching Olympus, my dear.”

“I mean, I guess so. Olympus in general seems way too important to leave to the dogs, like how Rome was to the Roman Empire.”

At the mention of Rome, I saw Amphitrite bristle a little. Not enough to break her composure, but certainly enough to be caught.

So…there is something up with Rome.

“Olympus is our seat of power, Percy. If it was destroyed, so would we.”

“There it is. Sorry that I seem, you know, out of it I guess, but aside from you, Poseidon, Hades, and the one in my head, I’ve kind of lost respect for most godlike beings. I keep forgetting that you all are related to Olympus in some fashion, whether or not you are a god.”

“Indeed. However, I’m more then certain that there are more than a few gods that you will respect, once you meet them in person.”

“I hope so.”

“Speaking of family, have you met any of my own children?”

“I…I don’t think so. If I remember right, you only have three right? Triton is your son, and your daughters are…Rhode and Kymo…poleia? Kymopoleia?”

Amphitrite's warm smile gave me a confidence I didn’t even know existed. “Correct, however, it probably is for the best that you did not meet Triton. He is far more judgmental and less polite when it comes to his father’s affairs.”

“Yeah, sorry about that by the way. I know it’s not my place to say, you should be hearing this from Poseidon himself, but on his end, at least for me, I apologize. However, I am sure that if you met my mother, you two would get along well.”

“Perhaps one day, and thank you for your condolences. However, they are not Necessary. Unlike Hera, and her perfect family image, I have gone the route that Persephone has followed. I am aware that the gods, despite how much they truly love their spouses, at least most, they cannot help urges, especially those they cannot control. Despite what some might say, we all have mortal desires that we crave.”

“I…wow. I know this probably doesn’t mean much, but thank you. I was half expecting you to call the whole sea on me, where half of the sea does it out of obedience, and the other half does it out of fear.”

“I appreciate that. It is nice to know that my own achievements have not been forgotten.”

Wait…did she do that to someone?

“Well, hopefully, we will be able to have a more…proper family then you were expecting,” my stepmother spoke thoughtfully. “No reason not to attempt a little heart to heart to fix our strained family. We do not want it to end like Hera’s perfect family now, do we?”

I snorted, noticed her mirthfully sparkling eyes and doubled over laughing. “No,” I wheezed.

“I’ve learned that Triton’s loathing of his half-siblings comes from a fear of not being able to lead the kingdom in his later years. However, you have no desire for power if your adamant disdain for being a demigod means anything. You would not desire his position as the heir.” The goddess reached out to attempt wrangling my messy hair into submission with a few careful fingers. “I suppose I will speak with him as well. The Sea cares for its own. It embraces its own. It loves deeply. And,” she tapped me on the nose, “rules and laws do not control it.”

“So everyone keeps saying,” I grinned. “No favoritism, no interference, all that.”

“You are of the Sea, Percy. You are your father’s son. We will guard your back.” She opened her palm and presented him with seven shiny white pearls. “Take these. I trust you know of them?”

“The fast pass exit from the Underworld.” I carefully accepted them. “Thank you…my lady.”

She chuckled. “Amphitrite will do, my dear. Or-” she smiled warmly, “– stepmother?”

I blushed and ducked my head. Even if I knew mom was doing…well, not fine, but she would be fine, it was nice knowing at the end of the day, I have a lot more people looking out for me.

Adorable…

God Damnit.

“Thanks, stepmom.” I was happy that she was so accepting and kind so early meeting her. Even if she never retaliated against her husband’s children for his infidelity, she didn’t have to be nice or welcoming. I glanced at the pearls shimmering in my hand. “Wait, seven?”

“You wish to save your mother, child. You will need a pearl for each of you.”

“But the prophecy?”

“It may not refer to your mother, my dear, and more so, as I have learned from you, and another memory, prophecies can be shattered, like glass. Either way, It matters not, it will resolve itself in the way it intended.”

My thoughts jumped back to the attic where I had briefly wondered if it was Luke I had failed to save in the very end. I clutched the pearls in my hand and nodded weakly. “It always does,” I muttered. “Thank you.”

Amphitrite brushed some hair out of my face. “Try to avoid angering Hades, however. There is not much any of us can do if he chooses to strike you down in his own throne room deep within his domain.”

“I’ll try my best,” I said honestly. “He is one of the few I respect.”

She drew back, looking me over thoughtfully. “I suppose that is all I can ask for, then,” she said, giving him a light smile. “Originally, before Poseidon told me of your…situation, I was prepared to give you six pearls. I wished to ask you if you thought yourself of similar talent to great heroes.”

“Like Orpheus and his musical skill?” I remembered. “Or Hercules and his strength? Houdini who escaped from the pit?” I paused, turning my gaze to the chasm-like descent into the ocean’s depths to my left. “Been there, done that. Except musical skills, I guess. I can’t play instruments to save my life.”

“The oracles foretold great and terrible things for your future and I know now how unfortunately correct they were,” Amphitrite said slowly. “You might just be one of the greatest mortal heroes, Percy.”

“Never wanted to be one.”

“There is no need to be so humble. You achieved what many would consider impossible. Traversing across the depths of the world to obtain a weapon of unimaginable power, in such a short time, and with little help.”

I was reddened at that. “I did what I had to.”

The Queen chuckled, gently patting my head. “Off you go then, Percy. Your friends are waiting for you above.”

I nodded. “I will see you, then.”

The goddess nodded with a laugh, summoning her seahorse back to her. “Yes, child. I look forward to it. I would like to hear your story from you personally, if you do not mind.” She mounted it.

I waved as she vanished back into the depths. Tightly clutching the pearls, I made for the surface with the mako shark accompanying me. The sun had gone lower, casting long shadows. Annabeth, Silena, and Grover were sitting in the sand, waiting for me. Silena had definitely been fashioning both her own hair and Annabeth’s hair, and I couldn’t tell if Annabeth had protested and given up, or she just didn’t even register it. 

Clarisse and Luke on the other hand had seemed to have just been battling each other for the entire time. I guess it was an efficient use of their time.

I kept my account of the meeting short, made up some cryptic warning with my memories from the conversation I had in the last timeline.

Annabeth grimaced at the pearls. “No gift comes without a price.”

Normally, I’d agree in a heartbeat, but these are indeed free. 

Because my dad and Stepmom are the best. 

I paused, faintly bewildered at myself for such a childish thought, before accepting it with a mental shrug. It’s not like I was wrong. Poseidon was a great parent… at least in godly standards. In mortal ones he was more of an absent father, but that was way better then gabe.

And Amphitrite?

…

I think I know why Dad fell for Sally.

 “They do,” I told her.

She shook her head. “No, there is no such thing as a free lunch. There will be a price, just wait.”

I shrugged, tugged them into my pocket and we turned our backs to the sea, marching into the city. We had a meeting with Hades to get to.

Chapter Text

I had shown Annabeth the delivery slip from Medusa’s office, questioning Persephone’s taste in garden decoration, and catching a glimpse of Silena’s amused laughter at the subject, and off we went in search of DOA Studios. 

I didn’t quite recall how we had made it there, only roughly where it was. The quest for finding the entrance had involved a lot of wandering around, asking people, consulting phone books and maps. 

But obviously a location so closely connected to the Greek world would show up in the mortal’s sight. 

I subtly steered us all in the right direction as they went, stopping at an appliance store because the television behind it broadcasted Gabe in an interview, with a picture of me tucked into the upper left corner.

There is no way that that man isn’t a prostitute , I thought as I watched the man cry some fake tears about how much Sally’s disappearance and the loss of his car had devastated him. 

It filled me with rage. 

The only reason that man cared about Sally being gone was the lack of money. I clenched my fist as the image cut to the grainy photo of me, Annabeth, Grover, and Luke outside the diner, talking to Ares, with Silena and Clarisse out of frame. Grover hauled me away before I could punch a hole into the store window.

It grew dark as we continued our wandering through the city. The shady people, the more unfortunate souls started appearing on the streets and we dodged several people not so subtly trying to apprehend us. When someone called out to us, I leveled them with a glare that could freeze the sea with how cold it was.

A Tad overdramatic.

Oh shush, you love it.

As they moved away from him they passed Procrustes’ waterbed shop. I was tempted to say ‘hi’ to my monstrous half-brother and kill him to neutralize a potential threat to other demigods, but pressed past. A few more turns, a few blocks further, we finally reached our destination. 

DOA recording studios.

Like pretty much anything with Hades tended to be, it was a building made of black marble, golden lettering proclaiming its purpose above glass doors. Midnight was close but the inside was brightly lit and bustling with the souls of the dead. Behind the counter sat a guard, Charon, in his expensive Italian suit, sunglasses and an earpiece.

I glanced at my little party of travelers. “Ready?”

“No.” was the overwhelming response, even Clarisse. Sure, she might be the demigod of war, but no one goes up against one of the big three and gets away unscathed.

Well, except me. Twice so far.

You don’t count.

Come on!

“Hopefully,” Annabeth said. “Hopefully the plan will work.”

I nodded and stepped into the building. Every seat on the black leather furniture was taken by souls waiting for passage, soft music playing on the speakers. I moved up to the podium, looking up at Charon’s elevated position. The man looked a little overdressed for a security guard in his suit.

The ferryman leaned over the desk. “Well, hello. How can I help you little dead ones?” His smile was kind yet cold and his sunglasses only reflected their own faces back at them.

“We want to go to the Underworld,” Annabeth said.

His mouth twitched. “Well, that’s refreshing.”

“It is?”

“Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No, ‘There must be a mistake, Mr Charon.’ How did you die, then?”

I glanced at Grover who panicked and said, “We drowned in a bathtub.”

I wanted to facepalm. I had hoped he’d have a better excuse this time but I obviously didn’t. I gave a nod to Charon.

“Big bathtub,” The ferryman said, leaning back faintly impressed. “I don’t suppose you have coins for passage. Normally with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children…alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you’ll have to take a seat for a few centuries.”

I reached into my pocket and fished out six drachmas. I wasn’t sure how many were left, but I hadn’t spent that many. Carefully stacking the three on the counter, I said, “I have these. Not sure what they are, but do they count as coins?”

Annabeth gave me a strange look, but Charon leaned forward again, fingers hovering over the coins. “Well, now…” he licked his lips. “Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven’t seen these in…” His head tilted up, looking at the six through his sunglasses. I met his gaze, radiating any child-like innocence I could scrape together. Grover was still looking confused and scared, so he sold his part excellently. Annabeth was guarded, wary, and clearly anxious talking with the ferryman himself. Luke was stoic, trying to put up a tough face. Silena was similar to Annabeth, and Clarisse just looked annoyed that this was taking so long.

I swallowed, then smiled brightly and chirped, “My dad collects a lot of ancient stuff. I like stealing coins from his collection.” Technically, I supposed, not even a lie. They are from dad.

I could almost feel Charon’s suspicion as the ferryman asked, “You have any more of these, mate?”

“A few,” I said, maintaining my bright and cheery demeanor as much as I could, digging into my pocket and pulling out another small handful, dropping it on the counter with both hands. “Is that enough?” A quick glance counted perhaps a dozen drachmas. If I exchanged that for dollars, I might get a few new suits out of those.

There was a very long pause. I mentally prepared my bribing skills for usage, that I clearly had no experience with, but Charon leaned back slowly, eyes still burning through me. With a quick hand, I snatched the drachmas and got up. “The boat is almost full anyway. I could add you six and be off.” Stepping past his podium, he added, “Come along.”

We made our way through the crowds of spirits who clutched at us, clawing and pawing at our clothes. The elevator was almost full, every spirit holding a green boarding pass. Two spirits tried to get on with us, but Charon shoved them back, warning the lobby to play nice before the doors closed. As they descended, the spirits and Charon started to change, clothes fading to make way for long robes. His back was turned, so he didn’t notice the six living people not changing.

Around them the elevator became a wooden barge that Charon was rowing across the River Styx. The waters churned beneath our feet, the surface bobbing with all sorts of peculiar items like diplomas with gilt edges, plastic dolls and bones, dead fish. Greyish mist curled up from the black water.

Annabeth grabbed my hand for reassurance and I squeezed it lightly. As they reached the other side, I quickly tugged her along, hiding from Charon’s sight by ducking behind other passengers, alongside the rest of my crew. 

If he had noticed, the ferryman did not say anything, instead turning around to ferry the empty barge back across the river.

The entrance of the Underworld spread out before us, a huge intersection of different streams of people, lines and gates. Two lines barely moved, the other towards EZ Death moved along quickly. I glanced at Annabeth. She caught my look.

“The fast line must go straight to Asphodel. No contest. They don’t want to risk judgment from the court because it might go against them.”

I just nodded. We watched a priest get pulled from the line by security and recognised him as the bastard who had embezzled a donation fund for orphanages. As they approached the gates, the green mist revealed Cerberus. The oversized Rottweiler with two additional heads was standing over the splitting path, panting quietly, three sets of eyes boring into me. It sniffed.

“It smells us,” I muttered.

“No duh Prissy. It can smell the living,” Clarisse affirmed in her own special way. 

“But we have a plan, right?” Grover asked, his anxiety clearly not helping our case.

“Maybe?” I tried for an encouraging tone, but probably failed. “You think normal dog schooling would work on him?”

Annabeth paused, rifling through her bag. Just as I suspected, she did have the red rubber ball. “Might as well try,” she said, voice shaking a little. Taking a deep breath, she raised it and marched forward.

It worked again, thankfully. Cerberus’ three heads fought over their new toy, but dropped it as Annabeth and Grover ordered. 

Grover had a grand ol’ time with Cerberus after he got over his initial fear, leading me to hope he would be a much better version then last time. Meanwhile, me and the rest got past the massive dog, and both Annabeth and eventually Grover followed after quickly. It whispered pitifully and I made a mental note to come and play with it more often.

Or, at least get Grover to play with it more often. I mean, a massive, three-headed dog must be some real fun to play with, especially seeing them fight over which one could hold the toy.

An aberration, but an adorable one, regardless.

The six of us eventually made our way through the packed Fields of Asphodel, attempting to blend into the crowds to avoid any security ghouls among the masses. We passed the judgment pavilion with little trouble, all the while, catching a glimpse of Elysium.

I had slowed in my step. I couldn’t shake the feeling I was forgetting something. I took another step and froze in my movement. 

“Shit,” I whispered and shot around to Grover who looked wistfully in the direction of Elysium. The shoes had sprouted wings, flapping faintly, but not moving yet. “Grover, are your shoes supposed to do that?” I asked.

The satyr looked down, with the rest of the crew also looking down. I spared a glance at Luke, and I could tell, despite his traitorous nature, he had completely forgotten about the shoes too, and while he might want me dead, Grover was far from his target.

In fact, Grover was probably the farthest thing from his target. Luke seemed pissed off at the gods in general. Grover on the other hand, was likely someone he was sympathetic for. Considering that Grover’s whole deal is that he’s meant to guide the demigods that Luke cares for as well to safety, he would not want him dead. 

Annabeth had crept closer to Grover, but before she could say something… 

“No,” Luke answered instead. “Take them off, Grover.”

He complied, hurriedly shaking off the shoes. They bucked a little before settling down. He picked them up, squinting at both them and Luke. “What was that?”

I did not miss Silena’s death glare reach peak capacity on Luke. Hades, she has a hate boner for him or something. Maybe being the daughter of Aphrodite, she can read emotions and feelings easily or something?

Luke started muttering something about malfunctions, and Annabeth started to follow, before I had enough I cut them both off. 

“Don’t trust the gifts…” Both Annabeth and Luke whirled around, and everyone had a silent stare at me, demanding an explanation. “The river spirit, remember? No trusting casinos or gifts. We got three gifts. The backpack from Ares,” I thrusted my thumb at it, noting the increased weight now. It seemed the bolt had come home to its case. “The pearls from dad, and-” he pointed a finger at the shoes, “those.”

“But…” Annabeth turned back to look at the sneakers, then back at her crush. “They are from Luke.”

Just as she spoke, they acted up again, floating free from Grover’s hands and circling his head before taking off. They headed closer to Hades’ palace before veering off into a dark tunnel. Four of us followed, Annabeth demanding to see where they went, while Silena and Clarisse held back. The tunnel opened into a huge cavern and I froze, blood turning to ice in my veins, heart stopping for a moment. Ahead was the chasm I had seen in my dreams. A city block-sized entrance to Tartarus. 

“Move,” It told my body, but I refused to take another step closer to it.

The shoes sped onwards, straight into the chasm and vanishing into the depths. “Impossible,” Annabeth muttered, as Luke’s wide eyes said it all.

It broke me out of my trance a little bit, just wondering what he was going to excuse that with, but the chasm kept whispering. I could almost make out words, quiet mutterings in Ancient Greek. Kronos was beckoning me to come down. My body was ice, My heart hammering in my chest, my eyes seeing not the chasm, but Tartarus himself taunting me. 

The Primordial holds no weight over you, same as the Titan of Time.

A calming flow enveloped my body, and I could feel my body warming back up, and my senses returned.

“–cy! Percy! PERCY!” The shout directly in my ear abruptly jerked me back to reality. I blinked, turning to meet Grover and Luke’s worried look. “Perce? What’s the matter?”

I swallowed, taking a step back. My legs were weak, my whole body was shaking, my heart almost leaping out of his chest in its frantic rhythm. I lowered my gaze to the floor, away from the chasm, opened my mouth, but found no words to explain this episode. Exhaling quickly, I tried to take a deep inhale, but my lungs burned and my breath only came quick and shallow. My vision swam.

Must these Demigods make this more troubling. I require peace to maintain your calm mind.

“Breathe, Percy,” Annabeth said. “You’re hyperventilating.”

Grover pulled me backwards, back into the tunnel, forcibly turning me away from the yawning pit and settling me down against the wall. “Deep breaths, buddy,” he murmured.

I could barely see, but I could make out Grover and Annabeth staying near me as I tried to calm down. I could also see Luke, looking in the direction of Tartarus, and turning back with a horrid face of…fear?

“Percy?” Grover eventually asked, and he lifted my head, meeting an increasingly worried gaze. The satyr must have picked up on my emotions changing from sheer panic to despondency and perhaps a faint depression.

I let my head fall back against the fall. “I think I’m okay,” I muttered. “As okay as I can be right now.” I breathed deeply and nodded to reassure himself. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” I’ll break down fully later.

I could almost hear a voice in the back of my head, scolding softly, 

“ Scheduling a mental breakdown for ‘later’ is not healthy, Percy.” I couldn’t decide whether it sounded more like my stepmom or dad.

Sure, because I don’t care for your wellbeing.

“You sure?” Annabeth asked quietly. “You had a full panic attack there.”

“Yeah, I’m good now. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I just don’t understand why.”

I shifted. There was no way I could tell Annabeth the truth. “I don’t know,” I murmured. “Something spoke to me and it just…freaked me out.”

“It spoke to you?” she shrieked, jumping to her feet. “Oh no, no, no. No, it can’t be.” Frantically shaking her head, she began pacing, muttering under her breath.

“It could?” I voiced carefully; I had an inkling where her thoughts had gone. “The Crooked One,” I whispered and she froze and whirled around, with Luke and Grover also looking at me in disbelief.

Shut up Luke. You knew what was going to happen.

“No,” she snapped with such conviction, I almost believed her.

I didn’t argue. I was exhausted, felt mentally drained like I hadn’t in years. Knowing that I had to navigate myself through a confrontation with Hades, AND a duel with Ares after that only made me feel worse. 

I can’t do this right now. 

Shrugging off my backpack, I zipped it open with one hand and stared at the cylinder inside. I could almost feel the crackling electricity crackling within. A weapon of mass destruction, Zeus’ master bolt.

Annabeth audibly inhaled and rapidly backed away. “What is that?”

“This?” I tapped the cylinder with one finger, which sent an almost painful tingle through my body. “This is what Zeus is searching for. ‘Don’t trust the gifts,’ she said. ‘Trust nobody but dad.’” I let my head fall back again. “There is no need to talk to Hades. He never had it in the first place.”

“Wha-What?” Grover squeaked. The satyr trembled, wide eyes staring at the bolt.

“How…How did…” Annabeth began pacing again, putting the clues together.

“Ares caught the thief, joined forces with him, blamed Hades,” I muttered and closed my eyes. I was so tired, I wanted to sleep for a day, I wanted some parental comfort, I wanted a hug. “Handed us the bolt,” I continued, ignoring her incredulous stare. I opened my eyes, watching the demigoddess in front of me dropping to the floor in disbelief.

Luke, surprisingly, was the first to talk. “We should move on. Talk to Lord Hades, figure things out and get that,” he glanced at the backpack, “back to Lord Zeus.”

Keeping appearances up, ay Castellan?

Not while I’m alive.

“Wait, wait wait, why did your shoes decide to kamikaze themselves into the pit?” I asked, sending the conversation back to Luke, who looked down in confusion.

“I…I really don’t know. I can only assume that whoever’s the traitor in HalfBlood wanted to take me down. They knew that I was going on your quest, and clearly that had a hand in it in the first place, and I guess they thought they could take me out,” Luke looked at Grover and patted his back. “I’m glad you were able to take them off in time.”

Grover blushed slightly before bleating, but Annabeth looked in a bit of disbelief.

Come on Wise girl, see past that damn charisma stat.

“We can talk about this later, Luke. Percy, get up. He’s not wrong. We have to get to Hades,” Annabeth proclaimed, and I really hoped that she did what I wanted her to.

Getting up felt like a mountainous task, but I slowly forced myself to my feet, trying to shake off the mental exhaustion and downtrodden mood. I slipped a hand into my pocket and fiddled with Riptide, clasping the other around Tides for a moment before exhaling and straightening. I grabbed the backpack, zipped it back up, and turned to face my friends.

Well, “friends.” At least two met that criteria.

Neither had asked any questions yet, and they probably wouldn’t for a while, but I’d have to face the music eventually.

Not now, though. 

Now, they had to face a god that believed I had stolen his helm.

We left the tunnel, returning to the intersection with Clarisse and Silena, and turned our attention to Hades’ palace. The three furies circled above it, the outer walls of the fortress glittered black, a two-storey bronze gate stood wide open, almost beckoning them to come in. It was engraved with countless scenes of death, of both ancient and modern methods.

Past it they walked through Persephone’s Garden. It was filled with multi-coloured mushrooms, poisonous shrubs and luminous plants. Jewels were embedded in the scenery to make up for the lack of flowers, some Medusa victims were scattered around. In the center stood an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark. 

She’s making do with what she has. 

Indeed so. She is far more resourceful than most you will find.

Back to Tea-leaf readings?

It seems just.

We headed up the steps of the palace and into the house of Hades. A polished bronze floor stretched out before them, unroofed, with the cavern roof far, far above. Skeletons in various military gear guarded side doorways, their eyes boring into our back as they walked down the hall, headed for the big double doors at the opposite end.

As we approached, they creaked open, revealing the throne room beyond. The seat at the end was occupied, Hades resting on it, three meters tall and clad in dark, silk robes. He was the only god that truly struck me as such a being. The only one I had ever seen in Greek-style clothing or armor. No Hawaiian shirts or pin-striped suits, no biker jackets. Just an ancient being that carried himself as one, never diminishing his dignity. 

Granted, I hadn’t met many of the gods, but still.

Despite his relaxed lounging on the throne, Hades radiated an aura of power, my instincts warning me of a panther ready to pounce.

For a moment, I felt Hades’ aura wash over him, beckoning me to curl up and sleep forever and I needed a moment to dismiss it, to shake it off. The current mood was too similar.

Hades will hold no place in your mind either.

Just like that, it vanished.

You really are, just, unbelievably overpowered, aren’t you?

A complement I will happily accept.

“You are brave to come here, son of Poseidon,” Hades spoke, “After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply foolish.”

I breathed deeply and stepped forward. “Greetings, Lord and Uncle,” I said with a light bow. “I’m afraid there has been a misunderstanding.”

Hades’ brow furrowed. “A misunderstanding,” he repeated, voice low and cold.

“We were told by everyone I can recall that the bolt was in your hands. But I have realized earlier that we, along with everyone else, were tricked into believing that.” I carefully tapped the strap of the backpack. “We,” I continued as Hades remained silent, “came down here because of that belief.”

“How bold of you after what you have done,” Hades said and I winced softly.

“What have I done? I came to camp one day and found myself accused of all sorts of actions.”

Hades’ eyes glowed faintly. A rumble shook the throne room.  I grimaced. There was the earthquake in Los Angeles. I had held a faint hope to avoid it. “Do you think I want war, godling?”

I glanced at the approaching skeletal warriors. “You? Out of every god in the Greek pantheon, your name is probably last on the list,” I said before I could filter my own words. But Hades paused, a faint surprise on his features.

“Is that so?” he asked.

“I just thought that was obvious. The entrance is bigger than airports terminals, the commute time seemed awful, with Charon saying that souls have waited centuries, so many subdivisions just from what I’ve seen on my way here,” I lied, trying to recall Hades’ own rant from the last timeline. “War would mean more death, and a surplus of souls. More souls mean more subdivisions, traffic problems, wage increases, all that.”

Hades sat quietly, blinking slowly. “You surprise me, godling,” he eventually said. “This is the first time someone understood my situation without being told. I used to be a rich god, but my expenses drained my wealth.” He sighed before shaking his head. “No, godling, your father may fool Zeus, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan.”

“His plan to get Uncle to stop his baseless accusations?” I shot back before he could stop himself.

Hades narrowed his eyes. “You were the thief on the winter solstice,” he began. I wanted to interject, but something held my tongue. 

Might not be best to use your bottomless sass now.

“Your father sought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus. You took the master bolt and my helmet. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon’s thief, and I will have my helmet back!”

And there we have it. I could tell that Annabeth wanted to say something, but I hurried to say, “Uncle, I wasn’t aware of the gods’ existence at that time. Dad wants a war about as much as you do, which is not at all. I am not the thief, Uncle. Someone has tricked me into carrying the bolt into the Underworld to deliver to the chasm close by. I did not know your symbol of power was missing. Nobody ever mentioned that.”

Hades frowned. “I have said nothing of the helmet’s disappearance because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing, So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you.”

I shifted my weight. The backpack weighed heavy on my shoulder. “Why do all of you refuse to just speak to each other? Dad holds no ill will against you,” I muttered. A little too loud apparently, since Hades scoffed.

“Poseidon holds no ill will against me, you say? How would you know your father’s grievances, godling?”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t feel like engaging the god in this discussion. It could become dangerous, even more than their current stand-off already was. I mulled over my response and carefully stated, “I believe that all of this could have been avoided if you spoke with each other instead of just throwing blame around. Zeus, in particular. He started all of this.” Hades frowned and I added, “It has reached a point where you wouldn’t even mention the theft of your symbol of power to them, Uncle.”

The god remained silent, tapping a finger on his armrest as he scrutinized me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, his uncle’s face remained in a neutral expression. 

I wanted to see what everyone else was thinking. I’m guessing that Grover was terrified by the second he saw the god of the dead, and Silena wasn’t fairing much better. Annabeth was probably hoping to be a lawyer or something, but with me holding my own case, she was more stunned then anything. I couldn’t guess how Clarisse and Luke were, but I’m feeling the latter was, more so, just panicking.

After what felt like hours of silence, the god finally said, “I dislike the point you are making, demigod. You are brave to call out gods for their behavior.” He paused for a moment, snapping his fingers and a golden sphere of light appeared before the three questers. Sally, frozen in time at the moment she was taken.

I reached out, refraining from touching her just at the last moment. “Mom,” I whispered, a thick lump in his throat.

“Yes,” Hades’ said, a faint satisfaction in his voice, “I took her. I suspected you came here to bargain with me for her. But it seems that my brothers and I were pitted against each other by a fourth party.  I will offer you a chance to prove your words, godling. Return my helmet and I shall release her.”

“Lord Hades, we-” Annabeth began to say, but I cut her off hastily.

“Sure.” I would have to fight Ares anyway. Might as well get into Hades’ good graces.

“Percy, you ca-” Luke tried, likely to get me to shut up.

“I’ll get it back for you,” I added, giving his friends a warning look, especially at one son of Hermes. “From the thief.”

Hades raised an eyebrow. “Very well, Percy Jackson. If you fail to return it before the solstice, I will not return your mother.”

I wanted to yell at him to stop this leverage-nonsense, but I still felt dead tired, and wanted to do nothing but curl up somewhere and sleep for a year. 

Instead I just nodded, casting a yearning glance at mom. I wanted her comfort, her arms around me in a safe embrace, gentle loving words whispered at me. With a deep breath, I tried to shake off the feeling, but it remained steadfast and settled in my gut.

Pretty much everyone else seemed to be bursting with questions and complaints, but held their tongues for now. I’d have to face that rapid fire questioning once they were out of here, too. Looking back at Hades, I caught the god lifting his hand and saw his mother vanished again. It ached in my heart to leave her to the god for even a minute longer, but at least this one could be trusted to keep his bargains. 

Besides, if anything, at least Hades seemed pretty monogamous compared to everyone else.

Little children have been birthed from the God of the Dead, and an even smaller number from a third party.

With another stern reminder of the agreement, Hades sent us upwards.

Within the blink of an eye, I found myself submerged in the sea. I felt the rush of energy coursing through his veins, but the usual feeling of alertness didn’t come. The strange tiredness didn’t leave me, and I just floated for a moment before I noticed my friends struggling to the surface and swam to help them. 

Grover and Clarisse were the hardest, because both were panicking the most. Silena, surprisingly, swam easily across the currents, and Luke and Annabeth, once calmed down, were able to get themselves centered and off of the water.

I brought them up, all 5 breaching the water gasping and panting for air, and oriented myself. We  were roughly two miles out from the shore of Los Angeles, sirens blaring faintly and lights visible in the distance. The earthquake had hit just as hard as before.

Willing the water to keep my friends on the surface and sending them towards land, I sank beneath the waves again, muttering something about the water spirit wanting to talk again. I just needed some excuse to get a few minutes to myself, to drag myself out of the hole he had fallen into.

As I floated along, permitting the current to gently sway me and pull me out a little further to sea, losing myself in thought, a hand firmly took hold of his shoulder from below.

“Percy,” Dad’s voice sounded behind me.

I didn’t move nor respond, so Poseidon turned me around, meeting his gaze. I blinked slowly.

“Are you alright, my son? Do you need something?” Worry coloured the god’s tone and a warm feeling washed over me, taking some of the numbness away.

I slowly shook my head, sinking against my father who embraced me in warmth.

“What did my brother do?” Poseidon murmured, gently running a hand through my hair.

“Nothing,” I muttered. “Just too much. Everything’s too much.” I wrapped my arms around dad and just soaked up the attention.

I…I need this.

I hadn’t even noticed I had fallen asleep. At the time, I’m assuming that Dad had sent me ashore, making sure that I would end up with my friends. It was about 8 PM, so when they saw me asleep, I guess they also decided to take a nap.

After Silena had, apparently, forced everyone to change out of their wet clothes and into normal ones, even ordering Grover to change my shirt while I was still asleep.

I’ll have to thank G-man later.

Either way, once I did fall asleep, I found myself in a familiar location.

I would certainly hope so, Usurper.

There you are.

“By the way, what’s up with the whole, “Usurper,” thing? I thought I was, like, your second coming, or something.”

Time will Tell, Perseus. Now though, you must prepare.

“Prepare? For-

…

Right. Ares.”

Indeed. The God of War would have certainly given you more trouble last time, had I not intervened faster.

“Yeah, so, are you going to teach me how to do that Time-stop punch?”

Not exactly.

“Okay…”

You see Perseus, there is no form of chronomancy related to a “Punch.” Rather, it is a different style of time control, that I had happened to use when you had punched the God of War.

“Oh…well, can I learn that?”

Perhaps, but it would not be of much help for the battles ahead, till you fully master it.

“Come on, at least tell me what it’s called!”

Very well. I had, affectionately, named it, “Chronos’ Hand”

…

“What the heck man.”

It felt appropriate when I was watching the Titan grow.

“Wait…wait wait wait, you were watching the Titan of Time, the Crooked one, Kronos himself grew up?”

Yes, it seems a sliver of my memories have come crawling back. You see, despite my power being sealed behind the stone, and by proxy my essence and soul, I could still sense everything around me. I could hear, I could see on occasion, and I could feel.

Oh god, I could feel.

Pain, thankfully not, but if there is one thing that an empath will tell you, is that feelings are…overrated.

I remember…the dark one. I remember he had me around his neck like a trophy, or perhaps as a precaution. If they are as powerful as I assume, it’s likely the latter.

I could see the young titans, and I could see the primordials themselves.

Nyx was quite adorable in her early years.

The same could go for many titans. Kronos himself was far more fair and just than he is now, likely in disdain of his father.

…How ironic. It seems this lineage will always return to the fatherly personality of the first, Ouranos.

Either way, Kronos himself only ran himself mad when the prophecy of his overthrowing came about. I’m sure you know the legend.

“Yeah, he ran himself crazy about one of his kids overthrowing him, so he ate them all, but Zeus survived thanks to Rhea replacing him with a rock, and Zeus took him down. What’s the deal?”

The Deal was what happened between those events. 

I…I only see glimpses. The dark one was conversing with…someone. A being that gave life to the world. Another Primordial.

“Gaea?”

No…no, this is someone different. Then…Kronos and the other Titans came and…I…I can’t tell.

There is a confrontation, and suddenly, I am ripped away from the Dark one’s grasp. I…I can’t tell what they look like, but their power is shoved into yet another stone, similar to me.

The being of life…I…I shall not repeat what they did to her.

“…do you…do you need a moment? Where did these memories even come from?”

It must have been your close proximity to Tartarus, and by extension, Kronos. Tartarus himself is known to restore the memories of those nearby, likely to cause more pain. I…I suppose it worked, but now, we’re steps closer to unraveling the mystery of me.

If that is a price to pay for further unwinding the yarn ball, then so be it.

“Alright…well-”

Yes, we must prepare. Your battle against the God of War will likely not be as easy as last time. You’ve ventured faster and easier then last time, and you have clearly angered him before stepping foot into battle.

You must learn, and you must be tested.

“I…I don’t like the sound of that.”

After my little whimper, the landscape changed. The stars shrank away in fear and left the sky, the lightning bugs that were fluttering about did so as well, and the large eye of the deity appeared in the sky.

It was only then that I realized, I had not even been seeing the deity, simply listening to him.

The eye looked at me and shrunk, before a large beam of light shot out from the cosmos towards the tree in the center of the field.

The light stayed as two marble hands appeared, and pried open the beam of light, like a cut on skin, and tore it open, as the sky filled once again with Cosmic entities, but this time even more so.

Like they were watching a fight.

I was still in Shock, and it only grew when I heard this catastrophic roar behind me. I didn’t even need to look behind me to know it was the deity.

Prepare yourself, Usurper.

Shit.

Let’s switch it up, shall we?

Percy’s eyes bulged as he heard the warning of the Deity, and in seconds, he had pulled out Riptide. He glanced around the area, before noticing something was attached to his back.

It was a pair of wings. Large, amorphous red and orange glowing wings that looked more like pieces of paper.

“What the hades?” Percy asked, before he saw a wall of flowers appearing to the left of him. Quickly, he ran to a gap out of pure instinct, and good thing he did, as the flowers suddenly bloomed, and a massive beam of energy erupted from each one.

‘Just like what happened to Gabe…’ Percy thought, before getting back up on the ground, and shaking his head. He was in battle now, and his enemy was something he couldn’t possibly beat.

But, he’d still try it.

Starting to run, he kept looking around for where the Deity might be, only to see it gliding above him, thousands of feet in the air.

“Well, that’s not fair!” Percy Shouted.

Gods will never fight fair, Perseus. Do with what you can.

Percy knew he was talking about the wings. It’s not like he could get up there anyway else. He couldn’t see any water nearby, and he hadn’t been taught any vertical abilities.

Well, no time like the present.

Percy grew silent as he tried to manipulate the wings attached to his back. He kept looking at the deity, whose wings were flapping slowly and powerful.

The wing size difference was laughable, but Percy had nothing else to go on, so he tried to move said wings similarly.

It wasn’t until he looked again that he realized he was just moving his arms, not his wings.

“You’ve never taught me how to fly with actual wings!” Percy shouted again.

Feel throughout yourself. It’s a new pair of limbs, and you must find it through your mind and body’s system.

‘That helps.” Percy sarcastically thought, as he closed his eyes. He just decided to move his limbs in a way.

Arms?

Still flapping like makeshift wings.

Legs?

Jangling one at a time, like some dance move.

Neck?

Twirling and bending like a normal human neck.

‘Come on…where are you, wings?’ Percy thought, unbeknownst to the Deity snapping their fingers, and conjuring a star in their left hand.

Seconds passed as the star twirled and spun in the deity’s hand, as Percy kept running through their own body like a checklist, trying to find an unknown variable.

Perseus.

“What?” Percy asked, finally opening his eyes to see the star in their hand.

Dodge.

Suddenly, the deity’s hand threw the star in Percy’s direction, at an unbelievable speed, and Percy’s eyes widened. A Burst of adrenaline enveloped his body as he jumped out of the way of the approaching.

However, he kept moving.

He didn’t feel anything, but he did realize he was in the air far longer than he should have been. He opened his eyes to look down, only to see himself gradually rising higher and higher above the ground, and higher and higher to the cosmic sky and the deity themselves.

It would seem Plato was correct. Necessity is the Mother of invention.

“NOT COOL!” Percy shouted, as he strained himself in the sky, trying to control his new wings, and not trying to barrel to the ground.

Many gods are, “Not cool,” Perseus. You already know that.

“...god…dang it. Okay, fine, but why are you playing dirty? Even Ares played pretty fairly,” Percy complained, as the deity laughed.

Perseus, do you truly believe that Ares saw you as a threat?

“Hurtful, but I guess I see your point. He was pretty cocky. I only won because he underestimated me, and I overestimated him,” Percy admitted, before he shook his head. “Wait, why are we fighting anyway? I thought you were going to teach me some of my abilities?”

I believe I am. Everything I can do, you can do.

Percy shook his head in disbelief. “Wait…you mean I can summon stars with a snap?”

You already have, remember? This version is just far more concentrated, and far more dangerous.

Percy thought for a second, and closed his eyes, stabilizing himself in the air, and snapping his fingers. He peeked through his right eye, seeing a small star, nearly the size of his torso, hovering above it.

It’s referred to as, “The Collapsing Star.”

“Why collapsing?” Percy asked. The deity snapped their fingers again, another massive star appearing in their left hand, before it flew to the center, with two hands crushing and contracting it into a much smaller space. Suddenly, a massive shockwave rang out, and Percy found himself flying at mach 1 away from a chasing Black-hole.

You wished to know, do you know now?

The deity watched from his vantage point as Percy both flew from the black hole that was diminishing by the second, and also tried himself to crush the star.

“GAH! This is way too hot! How are you able to do this no problem!?” Percy shouted, as the deity turned to him, a hand appearing from the midst of the cosmos.

I suppose you haven’t learned that yet. You need to conjure your, as you call them, “Marble hands” to do so with no aftereffects.

Percy looked confused, before closing his eyes again, clenching his hands and jaw as he concentrated.

Before he knew it, not only were his hands covered in marble scales with the power bands, like the last times, but two floating hands were generated from thin air and approached the star itself, compressing it before the star became a smaller black hole, and started to chase after the Deity, who simply snapped their fingers, and the black hole evaporated in a second.

Very good. You’re learning fast.

“Learning? That’s what you call this?” Percy shouted, in both anger and frustration, but with adrenaline still running through his veins.

You are, are you not?

Percy’s frown only deepened, but he couldn’t say anything. He really had been learning.

There are still plenty to learn, but plenty of that will be for later, when your body can handle it. However, before you awaken, there are a couple more I can show you.

The Deity snapped their fingers again, teleporting Percy towards the center of the garden, as the deity started to move fast at the Demigod. Percy dodged fast, before turning back, and seeing multiple small orange and blue lights chasing after him, originating from the deity in the form of a ring. The lights dashed towards Percy like heat-seeking missiles, and Percy continually dodged and flew past the lights, juking and dodging the many lights as they slowly evaporated into the void.

The Starburst ring could be great for your larger targets.

“Are you just going to force me to learn these by attacking me with them?” Percy asked, confused, as the Deity stood back, floating back into the cosmos, watching over Percy. A Neutral face grew on Percy, as he tried to think about what the Deity did.

Gaining speed as he flew, his wings started to flap like a hummingbird, all the while he clenched his right hand, the marble flowing onto his arm like a symbiote, before he stopped in a second, and holding his hand out, and a burst of the same lights erupting from his marble hands, blasting forth and launching themselves towards the deity that resided quite a ways away. The deity flipped into itself, another snap echoing through the cosmos, before the lights disappeared, and the Deity appeared in the center of the world again.

Very good.

…

You will pass the Test.

Percy Jackson would fall into a deeper slumber then expected. His friends assumed he was worn out and exhausted from the encounter with Hades. In reality, the test would continue. Hours would pass, and the test would only end when someone awakened him in the real world.

Chapter Text

It took almost an hour before I could muster up the energy to say get up from my testing slumber, and re-join my friends who were impatiently waiting for me.

“What the Hades have you been doing?” Annabeth greeted me as I stepped up. I didn’t bother to answer her, turning my attention to the god further down the sandy beach, who was waiting for him, leaning against his bike.

“Hey kid,” Ares greeted him. “You were supposed to die.”

I simply sighed. Ares was way too cocky for his own good. “Sorry to disappoint,” I deadpanned, fingers curling around Riptide in my pocket. 

Let’s get this over with, bastard. 

I looked the god up and down, before adding with as much exasperation a twelve-year-old could muster, “Hand over the helmet, will you? I don’t want to just snitch to my uncles when I return the bolt.”

Irritation flickered over Ares’ features. “No way, kid. We will have a nice three-way slugfest going on once the solstice passes.”

“And what do you gain from that?” I sighed. I know I’d already gone through this, but I also knew Clarisse was right there, and she was listening intently. Hopefully, I can get her to see that her dad is an asshole.

Such an act could strengthen or strain your friendship with the Daughter of War.

Worth it.

“War, obviously.” Ares pulled out the skip cap from his pocket that turned into a bronze helmet which he placed on his bike.

“You really think you’d survive this three-way war of self-destruction? If they go against each other, you’d be caught in the crossfire.” I tried to reason with the unreasonable god. 

“You really think that I didn’t account for that? I’m the Goddamn god of War kid, I think about everything before I so much as utter the words that’ll start it,” Ares proclaimed, head still in the clouds clearly.

“And what about your kids?” I decided to go with that route. Ares was definitely a Sadist, maybe even a masochist, but if I can trip him up with his own kids, maybe I can shut him up.

“They-...They’ll be fine. They’re my kids, they’ve trained long enough, if they even needed it. They’ll come through it unscathed,” Ares protested, as I caught a glimpse of Clarisse.

It was a mix of fear and concern. Clearly, despite being the daughter or war, she was not game for it so soon.

“Sure about that? One is right here, want to ask for her opinion at all?” I shot back. I wish Annabeth was speaking up, because this battle of wits was fluctuating heavily.

“I know that’s how she feels, right Clarisse?” Ares asked, pointing his stupid bat right at La Rue, who hastily nodded. “See kid. That angle ain’t gonna work for you.”

“Yeah, because you're her dad. Of course she’s gonna lie to you to keep you happy. Pretty simple equation,” I kept going. “How about Silena? You sure Aphrodite would be keen on you letting one of her kids pass on too, because you wanted a three-way splatfest?”

Ares kept looking more and more steamed by the second. “You’re really testing my patience here kid.”

“Good. You might as well be ‘the God of Wrath,’ because there is no way you have any patience to begin with. You set up both your own kid and your girlfriend’s kid to be harmed at best, and killed at worst, just so that you could, what, get an eternal battle that not even you would probably make it out of? Why’d you even give us the bolt if you wanted war in the first place? Would have been better to keep the bolt for yourself.”

“Yeah.” His features clouded. “Why didn’t I ...?” For a few seconds the god was caught in a trance before he scoffed. “I didn’t want the trouble. Better to have you caught red-handed with that thing.”

I hummed noncommittally. “Sure,” I said dryly. “It wasn’t your idea in the first place, wasn’t it? You’re just another pawn in someone else’s game.”

I did not miss Luke gulping heavily.

Ares laughed pretty haughtily. “I am the god of War! I take orders from no one. You really think I’m, what, a chess piece or something?”

“That’s exactly what I think. In fact, you’re not even a Pawn. At least a Pawn can turn into a queen. No, you’re a singular bullet in a minigun. You’re used as pure ammunition for whoever is pulling the trigger. Trouble is, I’m fucking Bulletproof.”

The agitated god tried to hide his emotional state with a smirk, but his burning glasses and steaming face showed it all. “Let’s get back to the problem at hand, kid. You’re alive. I can’t have you take the bolt back to Olympus. You just might get those hard-headed idiots to listen to you and that’d be bad for business. So I’ve got to kill you. Nothing personal.”

“This seems very Personal. Again, are you really sure you want to do this with your kid here?”

Ares answered with a snap of his fingers. The big, ugly beast that I fought before stood tall on the shore. I just shook my head, uncapping Riptide.

“It’s good motivation.” Ares grinned at me, clearly not taking me seriously.

“Fight me yourself. Don’t look like a coward for your kid. That’s not a good example,” I said, ignoring the boar pawing at the sand, glaring at the god instead. Clarisse clearly was trying to utter something, but she just kept sputtering out nonsense.

Ares laughed, but there was a clear edge to his tone. “You have one talent, kid. Running away. You ran from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld.”

“Well that’s a unique angle,” I scoffed, relaxing my grip on the blade a bit. “I killed the Chimera. Hades sent me back up after we reached an agreement.” Ares growled, but I wasn’t done yet. “I also killed Medusa, helped kill the three furies, killed Alecto herself at least twice, Killed Echidna, Snuck into the Underworld in the first place, beat your stupid attempt at a trap, and survived against a Primordial. I’d say that far exceeds running.”

I was rambling at that point, and rambling something fierce, because I did not want to say I survived against a Primordial. I hope he only took that as Tartarus.

He snapped his fingers and the boar charged. I heard Annabeth yell “Percy, run!” but I tuned her out. I steadied himself, waited until the last second and dodged the beast. 

Just like the Chimera.

I didn’t hesitate striking at it while it passed. The same geyser of cosmic flames erupted beneath the boar, who in a burning frenzy, ran into the waters nearby, only to be sucked under by force, squealing and crying as it died slowly.

I turned to Ares. “Gonna hide behind pigs?” I taunted, and he was clearly enraged, but also incredibly confused. 

And he wasn’t the only one.

“What…the…HELL kind of Hecate magic was that Prissy!?” Clarisse yelled out, followed soon by other messages of confusion, and I did my absolute best to not smirk or grin.

“Isn’t he Poseidon’s kid?” Silena asked Annabeth, who shared the same question.

“Maybe he’s a legacy?” Annabeth posed, but not even her hyper-mind could find an answer to that question.

Ares tried to keep his squalor under wraps. “Watch it, kid. I could turn you into-”

“A cockroach,” I interrupted. “A tapeworm, whatever. It'd surely save your godly ass from getting beaten by a twelve-year-old. Oh, my mistake, a twelve-year-old that has apparently run from every confrontation known to the man. Sure Ares, turn me into it, because I bet that even as a worm I could beat you without a damn weapon.”

His glasses erupted in flames. “Oh man, you are really asking to be turned into a grease spot.”

“Can you endure the consequences?” I snapped. “If you win, turn me into whatever and explain it to dad. If I win, hand me the helmet and get lost. You can’t win here, even if you kill me, so what are you going to do?”

Ares sneered, swinging a baseball bat over his shoulder. “You really are just asking for a death wish, aren’t you kid? Well, let me oblige.”

I capped Riptide and brought out tides. A Fast weapon would probably have been a better choice, as Ares turned his baseball bat into a huge two-handed sword with a silver skull for a hilt. Heavy vs Heavy means no real advantage. However, I was too damn happy to just not bring out Tides. He stepped towards me, snarling in anger.

“I’ve been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. What have you got?”

“Let’s see, I’ve fought and killed the mother of monsters, defied the gods numerous times, beaten the three furies, probably messed up fate too many times, survived a Primordial, and beaten your stupid boar, all before I turned 13. Oh yeah, also a smaller ego,” I taunted one last time which turned out to be the tipping point. 

Ares swung his two-handed blade downwards to cleave me in two, but I decided now was the time to really show off. I didn’t just move out of the way. 

I flew away.

My amorphous wings erupted from my spine as I glided upwards like an arrow shot from Apollo and twisted Tides to strike against Ares’ shoulder, resulting in the water blades of Tides to shoot out from the sand and rocky shoreline, all directed at the God of War.

“Oh yeah, one more thing. I am also way cooler than you,” I taunted again, because this was just too fun. Ares twisted, shifting out of the way of the strike, and continuing to dodge the incoming watery blades, before he slashed at me again and I flew back, further towards the sea. 

The sudden change of weapons caught Ares off guard, clearly. I bet he was expecting me to use Riptide and be up-close and personal, giving him the range advantage. I heard Annabeth and Grover proclaiming about it, but shoved it aside. I needed to focus. 

Although the look on Luke’s face was enough to give me life.

Tenebreus Tides felt good in my hands. Better then usual. I felt a strange flow of power rush through my veins. The water within its shaft softly whispered to me, clearing my mind.

Last time, Ares had reach with his two-hander that Riptide lacked. I couldn’t get in close, the god’s defense was too tight.

Now though? Who cares about melee range. If the God of War couldn’t be bothered to bring out a bow and shoot me down? That was his own fault, not mine.

So, I continually flew overhead, striking and stabbing Ares on occasion to send more watery blades his way, all the while I kept my eyes on his sword. Sure, it was completely out of range of me, considering the whole flying thing, but it was best to be cautious.

“Percy,” Annabeth yelled, “Cops!”

I glanced towards the shoreline boulevard. A cop car had pulled up, spectators were gathering, the cop himself was calling for backup since Ares was armed. 

A slash aimed at his midsection, a narrow dodge and blocked counter. 

The second car pulled up within a minute. 

I could hear the Leathery wings flapping above, the furies already waiting. 

An attempted strike at the god’s main hand. 

More sirens in the distance, a cop screamed through a megaphone to drop the guns.

My senses were working on mega-overdrive, focusing on everything happening around him. My main focus was Ares, but I caught the details in my surroundings, unlike last time. The god glared at the spectators and I counted five police cars now.

“This is a private matter!” Ares bellowed. “Be gone!” He made an attempt at a sweeping motion towards the cars, but no way was I letting that happen again.

I dashed straight towards Ares. I couldn’t tell if he noticed me, but if he did, he didn’t show it. I’m assuming that he was expecting to skewer me as I flew towards him, because seconds before he raised his blade to me. However, that wasn’t my intention.

I stopped abruptly, and the blast of the starburst ring erupted from my body, with all the miniature orange and blue lights accelerating fast as they started to home in on the God of War. He panicked and put his hand that was intending to get rid of the spectators back to the sword as he made continually blocking movements, deflecting the stars as they flew his way. 

Yet another astonishing move by yours truly.

Ares snarl returned. “Alright, little hero. So you’ve got some tricks. But now’s about time that I add you to the barbecue.”

I shook my head. “What, can’t handle the press?” 

Dragging mortals into the fights of the gods wasn’t exactly fair game, and definitely not fair to mortals. Ares slashed at me again and I dodged easily. Something told me he’s not used to fighting winged enemies. 

Using the length of Tides, I tried a faint, getting in close, but Ares blocked the strike with such force that it was knocked out of my hand. Jumping to the side, feet landing in water, I made use of the water within the shaft to pull it back into his hand.

Easy. 

Ares was stupid enough to follow him into the sea again. I waited until the god raised his two-hander to bring it down on him again and channeled the water straight at his chest, knocking the god off balance as I struck at him. Ares struggled several steps back in an attempt to regain his balance, bringing the blade down, but he was too late. Tides connected, the three sharp prongs sinking into the god’s abdomen, with that gushing golden ichor erupting from his body like a geyser.

The god of war roared in pain, stumbling back. A shock wave emanated from him, blasting me back as I stabilized myself in the air, blasting water and sand out and away from him. The god’s golden ichor flowed from the three puncture wounds, soaking his clothes. He stared at me in an expression of pain, shock and complete disbelief to have been wounded by a demigod of all possibilities. Pressing a hand over the injury, he stepped towards me, muttering curses in Ancient Greek.

Then the Tides effect kicked in.

The watery blades were not turned off just because he thought the battle was over, and he soon found himself covered head to toe with Chilly pointy swords, stabbing every part of his body without a hint of mercy. Ares continued to scream and roar in pain before he closed his fist, and started to break in a brilliant red glow.

“Oh no, you’re not getting away that easily,” I muttered as I ran straight at him. I think I could hear Annabeth shouting to look away, but I’ve already dealt with this and nothing happened.

So, I did the same thing I did last time to win the fight, once and for all.

I Punched him.

Straight on the nose.

And time went cold.

You know, I didn’t explain to you how the Fractal punch worked for a reason.

The Deity’s scolding voice was kind of hilarious. It was the same as before, but far less defined. More like he was going off the rip, rather than reading a script.

“I know it was probably dangerous, but come on! I’m not letting him get away that easily this time! I slashed his heel last time, and that’s when he decided to call it quits? He’s the goddamn god of war, surely he can take a couple more hits!”

It might seem cowardous to you, however that’s simply because you don’t understand how a God’s life works. You had critically injured him before, and you certainly did it again now.

“Wait…seriously? One little slash to the heel, and he was on the brink of death?”

It’s called the Achilles’ heel for a reason.

Well fuck, I walked into that one.

“Okay, sure. Maybe I went a little overboard this time around, but-”

But nothing. Sorry to say, Dear Perseus, but remember the saying. The bigger they are…

“The harder they fall, I know. He’s just…just so annoying! He can’t be bothered to think about his actions because all he sees is, ‘Ooh, war good, peace very bad,’ not even realizing that he still has like, dozens of children wandering around that would very likely die, and also the fact that he’ll probably die too!”

Regardless, I must ask that you reign in your destructive nature. Your last time through, you needed only one good slash to defeat him. This time though, you went quite, how you say, Overkill.

“Well Overkill is Underrated! Besides, you taught me all of these new powers, and encouraged me to talk to my dad, which gave me Tides!”

Said powers are also heavily deluded against the gods. God on God fighting usually results in far less bloody ramification than you're expecting, at least between the gods themselves.

“Wait, seriously?”

Indeed. Godly beings are far less affected by godlike powers than most. Why do you think Celestial Bronze is such a common weapon? It affects godlike entities severely.

“Well…alright then, but still, Tides-”

Was unforeseen. If you must blame me for giving you an idea, then by all means. However, my foresight does not extend to minutes long, nor years passed like Prophecies.

“Well…goddammit, you’re giving me nothing to work with here!” I shouted, but it was clearly jokingly, and the deity caught on, due to the low laugh I heard right after.

Captain of speech and debate back in the day.

“What?”

That joke went over your head it seemed. 

“Clearly.”

I’ve had eons and eons to talk to myself and think of a counter for any and all scenarios of debate. Since I had no one to debate with, I was the captain.

“...okay. No offense, but stick to your day-job, comedy is not your strong-suit.”

Correct. Theater seems to be a domain of Zeus.

“HAH!” I snorted at that. “Definitely. The guy is so over dramatic. Dad said so last time, and I am very inclined to agree. It’s almost like he wants to play the Villain or something.”

More like playing the Tyrant. As said, a spitting image of how his father came to be, and his father before him.

“I guess so,” I was actually having fun talking to the deity, and completely forgot about the scenario surrounding me.

Back to the topic at hand though, if you wanted to defeat Ares easily, there is a far simpler way.

“Oh right, that guy,” I said, pointing towards the glowing-red god of war. “Which would be?”

Simply say the word, “Mars.”

Time resumed afterwards, due to me not understanding but going along with the Deity’s plan, and punching Ares in the face again.

“GAH! What the Hades Kid!?” Ares said, grabbing his nose in pain as he sneered at me again, but this time, I did something different.

“Hey, who’s Mars?” I asked, not knowing what would happen next.

Ares' eyes widened considerably, and I could barely make them out from underneath his sunglasses, their glowing red and gold coloration. “How the-Don’t you dare say that again kid.”

“What, say Mars?” I did it again, still not understanding what might have happened. “What’s wrong with Mars? I like Mars.”

Ares kept taking steps back, growing more concerned by the second, as I just kept repeating the name of the Great red Giant.

“STOP IT KID!” Ares kept growing more concerned, as he tripped backwards on the sand and tried to crawl backwards.

“What’s wrong Ares? You don’t like Mars? I like Mars. I think Mars is pretty cool,” That was the tipping point it seemed, because Ares started to glow bright red again.

However, he didn’t disappear.

Gone was Ares’ biker-gang ascetic, with spiked boots and leather jacket cosmetics. In his place was someone that looked…far more serious.

Wearing Green camo pants, a black tank-top, and a bulletproof vest, with sunglasses containing one glowing eye and scars riddling his body like a maze, the new Ares took one look at me and smirked.

“Smart move Kid.” The new Ares, who I can only assume was named Mars said, before he vanished in a puff of black smoke, disappearing into nothingness.

After a minute, I felt the presence again; a cold, heavy presence passed over the beach, slowing time, dropping temperatures to freezing, covering the sun like a dark cloud. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Not to my Disciple.

Good to know you care.

The Police that had once been there had seemingly vanished, and same goes for the spectators. Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, watching in shock. The waters returned, flooding around the glowing ichor that had been left behind.

Seconds later, the watery tides revealed Hades’ Helmet, sunken into the sand slightly, facing towards the sun.

The tide brought Hades’ golden helmet to me and I carefully picked it up.

The flapping wings of the furies got closer. Alecto, or Mrs Dodds, as I would always call her, landed first, stepping ahead of her sisters. Her disappointed look made me grin. “We saw the whole thing,” she hissed. “So…it truly was not you?”

“As I kept telling everyone,” I countered, raising the helmet in her direction. “Return that to Uncle Hades, will you? I keep my promises, I hope he will keep his.” Or I will make him.

Let’s not battle the god of the dead, yes?

Fine.

Alecto caught it, running a forked tongue over her green lips. “Live well, Percy Jackson. Become a true hero. Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again…” She cackled, savoring the idea.

I snorted. “I’ll kill you again, like both times before, I suppose,” I answered as they fluttered into the sky and disappeared.

Slowly, I got to my feet, looking down at the sea around my knees. With a long slow breath, I tapped my pocket to ensure Riptide’s return, his necklace to ensure Tide’s return, and stepped out of the water towards my friends.

“Percy…” Grover said. 

“That was so incredibly…” Silena continued

“Terrifying,” Annabeth put forth.

“Cool!” Grover added his own.

“Stupid!” Silena continued.

“Brave,” Luke also added, and I couldn’t tell if that was real or not. Surely he wasn’t actually proud of me, right?

Clarisse however, didn’t add anything. She seemed more…far. Almost like she still couldn’t process it.

I didn’t respond. Now that I was on solid ground, away from the sea, I felt drained and exhausted. I collected my backpack off the ground, shouldering it.

“Did you feel that?” I asked idly, referring to the random cold wave.

Most nodded, Clarisse still abstaining.

“Must have been the furies above,” Grover muttered.

If only, G-man. If only. 

I glanced at Annabeth and saw understanding in her eyes, alongside severe apprehension. Neither of us wanted it to be the titan of time, but Kronos didn’t care about demigod opinions.

If only Kronos had an idea of my existence.

Indeed.

“Well…what are we standing around for? We gotta get to New York fast. Five days.”

After playing the victim for the reporters and pocketing the gathered money, the six of us vanished into the streets of the city.

“No planes, I don’t care what anyone says,” I said. “We still have five days.” I glanced at the sunrise. Today was June 16th.

“I’m not sure the money is enough for a train ride,” Annabeth pointed out, with Silena confirming it after, especially for the six of us.

I grimaced. I had no interest in sitting in a rolling tin can for three or four days either. Sending a quick prayer to dad, I hoped the god would send me some pegasi. It was heeded quickly and Serendipity and the other four came to pick us up.

Cirrus was missing, instead replaced by a pure black mare with a light blue mane. Serendipity said her name was Loony, and she was obsessed with hair dyes.

We sped eastward, away from LA and their close presence to Hades. The pegasi were fast, able to fly at full speed without hindrances, taking plenty of breaks on the way, and they managed to reach New York on the evening of the 20th.

Grover, Silena, and Annabeth wished to join me in this confrontation with Zeus, but I managed to talk them out of it, sending them back to Camp with Clarisse and Luke guiding the way, mostly to tell Chiron their story. 

However, I did ask that they prayed to a few gods in particular to get to Olympus as fast as possible. Athena, Hestia, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, and Aphrodite would hopefully make it to the meeting to help out a little bit.

Hopefully.

I mean, I don’t think any of them care about me at all, but still, if its from their kid asking, maybe it’ll get them going?

Apollo, Hermes, and Artemis are just a hunch. Artemis is definitely the biggest one.

I entered the Empire State Building alone, strolling up to the receptionist who was lounging in his chair, reading Harry Potter.

“Key-card for the 600th, please.”

“No such thing, kiddo.”

I sighed in annoyance. I was obviously a demigod, not a random homeless kid demanding nonsense. Slinging the backpack off my shoulder I said, “I need to speak with Uncle Z.”

Now, the guard finally looked up, scrutinizing me heavily.

“Uncle…” he repeated. “You got an audience?”

“Nope.”

“No audience, no way up, kiddo.”

An urge to reach over the counter and grab the guard by the collar overcame me. 

The Main problem with that was that I couldn’t reach the guy behind the desk with my current height. 

I began unzipping the backpack. “He’ll make an exception. Unless you want me to…” I left my sentence unfinished, instead telegraphing a motion of pulling the bolt out of its case.

The man’s eyes went wide. “No, no. Gods, no.” He scrambled to grab a card from beneath the counter and handed it to Percy who grinned.

“Thank you,” I chirped, snatching it and heading to the elevators. I ignored the security guards’ instructions, stepped into the lift, and inserted the card.

Lousy elevator music played through the speakers and I was tempted to tell Apollo where exactly he could shove his music taste. 

Maybe I should wait until after I meet with him up here, if he even comes. 

Impatiently tapping my fingers against the wall, I waited for minutes. 

“You’d think gods could afford a faster elevator.”

Finally, with a soft ping, the doors opened to Olympus. I had no eyes for anyone, heading straight to the massive palace in the centre. Slowing in my steps, I eventually stopped at the top of the staircase, taking in the massive hall stretching out in front of him. Huge thrones were spread out in an inverse U, gathered around a massive fire pit blazing high into the sky. Each chair’s owner is obvious in its style. Two gods in their giant human forms were arguing in the back, their squabble affecting the mortal world directly below with another storm. The hall was empty otherwise.

Poseidon was first to pay attention to me, pausing his argument with Zeus to turn to the tiny little demigod approaching the huge figures.

“Percy,” he acknowledged.

“Dad,” I said, then turning to Zeus and giving a little bow. “Lord Zeus.”

The god frowned, already opening his mouth to probably complain about not being greeted first, but Poseidon spoke first. “What brings you all the way here?”

“Well…” I began, pausing to glance at Zeus who glared at his brother for keeping him from speaking. “With the deadline and all that, I figured getting here ASAP was better than waiting till the last moment.” I unzipped the backpack and offered it to Zeus, not touching the bolt and its zap-happy casing.

It flew out of it, back into the hands of the Lord of the Sky, growing back to its full size of five meters. The god had a satisfied glimmer in his eyes. “Finally.”

Poseidon gave me a knowing look, prompting me to, “Tell us your story, boy.”

With a shrug, I complied, launching into my tale. I definitely did not omit any hints of my father’s appearances and their conversations aside from the granted prayer for pegasi. I definitely did not mention anything about the Deity and my extraordinary powers. I subtly emphasized Hades’ position as a victim, giving my father a look that said “Fix it” and downplayed my own powers and strength, especially during my duel with Ares.

Granted, Ares would probably go complain to Zeus, Especially this time around, but hopefully he was still that Mars person. Whoever that was.

“I sense the boy speaks truth,” Zeus muttered, “But that Ares would do such a thing…it is most unlike him.”

“He is proud and impulsive. It runs in the family,” Poseidon said and I swallowed a chuckle.

It does, given his parents. Or grandfather. 

Carefully, I brought up the titan to the two gods and watched them quarrel in quiet Ancient Greek.

Eventually Zeus held up his hand angrily. “We will speak of this no more. I must personally go to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from its metal.” His expression softened the faintest bit as he turned to me, “You have done me a service, boy. Few heroes could have accomplished as much.”

“I had help, though.”

“To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust you, Perseus Jackson. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live. Do not let me find you here when I return. Otherwise, you shall taste this bolt. And it shall be your last sensation.”

“Uh…thanks?”

Thunder shook the palace. A Blinding flash of light was clearly about to take place, but before he could, the fire in the center of the palace began to burn bright.

“ZEUS.” The powerful voice of a woman erupted from the blazing fire, and for the first time, the stoicism that Zeus portrayed finally cracked.

Out of the fire came a young woman, with dark red hair and a long red cloak that stretched across her entire body, covering every portion that could portray her womanhood. She was, clearly, pissed off at, who could guess, the King of the Gods.

“Young Brother, I certainly hope that you were not planning to thank this child by simply sparing his life for no wrongdoing,” the woman proclaimed, her golden eyes peering straight into…well everyone.

“Hestia. I was merely-” Zeus started.

“Protecting your rule over a child who clearly doesn’t know ‘how to act’ any better than your own children?” Hestia continued. “This child has only learned of his true lineage, at most, a month ago. He has no desire to steal away your throne or titles, dear Brother, as you accuse every Demigod that comes through these halls of wanting to do.”

Hestia then turned to me after peering through Zeus’ soul, and gave me a warm smile, one that made my fear wash away like a fall.

“I don’t suppose you have a reason for accusing a child, that has little to gain and everything to lose, of attempting to overthrow you?” Hestia asked in a sickly-sweet voice that even made me fear for the King of God’s life.

For about a second. Then I remembered that he sucks.

“He-”

“Could have been the one to have stolen your bolt? The bolt that was stolen, oh say, 3 or so months ago? I’m not sure why you didn’t just ask him. He seems like he has told the truth, in its entirety, so far,” Hestia complimented, and I just dumbly nodded.

Hestia is now my second favorite god.

Aww…have I lost my spot?

Yes.

“Or perhaps, if you truly aren’t sure, why not just ask me? My Lasso of Truth would certainly let you see what supposed lies might have been told, should your internal detector be faulty,” Hestia continued, in her same sweet tone, before she grabbed a ring on her left hand.

In seconds, the ring transformed into a long glowing rope. Hestia then turned to me, motioning me to hold my hand out, to which she dropped a piece of the lasso into it. I felt a golden wave wash over me, one of comfort and calmness.

Exact opposite of Ares and Hades.

“Now, Perseus, why don’t you tell us more?” Hestia asked.

“I did not participate in the stealing of Lord Zeus’ master bolt. I do know who did it, but I did not assist, nor give the idea to do so, nor help in any way,” I felt forced to say. “I don’t want to take Lord Zeus’ throne as King of Olympians, nor do I want to put my father on the throne. Oh, also he was not the one to initiate the stealing of your bolt, and neither was Hades.”

I guess you can’t overpower the Lasso?

There would be no reason. You would say the same thing.

…probably.

“Good. See Brother? Not every Demigod that appears in your presence is seeking to steal away your throne. He helped you retrieve your dear weapon, at major risk to his and his friends’ lives. I think that deserves a far better reward then NOT KILLING HIM,” Hestia ended her spheal with a yell that could crack the heavens, and it showed. Me, Dad, and Zeus have moved back from the Goddess of the hearth.

Zeus was definitely trying to formulate something in his head, probably another reason to kill me. I’m guessing it was, “Pray hard enough to distract Hestia from her duties.” However, I’m guessing something told him that it wouldn’t go over well.

Zeus sighed, before continuing, “Fine. Demigod, what would you want in…exchange, for the retrieval of my Bolt.” Zeus definitely did NOT want to give me anything, but with Hestia here, he couldn’t really say no.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to give ME anything.

“Could you please make sure that the Satyr, Grover Underwood, gets his Searcher's license? He’s my best friend, and I just want what’s best for him. Please, Lord Zeus?” I tried my attempt at being sweet and innocent. It didn’t fit at all though.

“So be it,” Zeus stumbled out, before flashing away fully this time. Hestia shook her head.

“Your uncle,” Poseidon sighed, “has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would’ve done well as the god of theatre.”

I snorted. “All gods have a flair for the dramatics. You’re no better, dad.”

My dad  chuckled, as Hestia turned to me.

“But seriously? I shall let you live?” I slightly mocked Zeus’ tone. “How cliche is that? Has he not seen a movie before?”

“He’s certainly not the greatest at negotiations,” Hestia admitted, as I turned to her.

“Thanks for showing up. I was scared that things would go…well pretty bad.” I returned the admission, and she gave me a warm smile.

“My Youngest brother is very, how the children say, trigger-happy. I was more then happy after I heard so many of your friends pray for your safety.”

Hmm…wonder if Luke was involved in that at all?

“Thank you Hestia, Truly. You know that our brother is, certainly, least trusting of me, and it’s nice to have you here to keep him stable in comparison,” Poseidon continued, as Hestia smiled once more.

“Always Brother. Now though, I must return to Camp Half-blood,” Hestia said, turning back to the fire she had originated from.

“Wait, you were at Camp Half-blood?” I asked, because what?

“Oh indeed! I tend to the hearths and campfires all around half-blood! Most people ignore me however, likely thinking of me as another camper. If you see me, I am always available to talk if you need someone,” Hestia reassured me. “Mortals always seem to assume that we are bombs. Animals. You make one wrong move, and you’re smited out of existence. Maybe…maybe if you've been called a ticking time-bomb all your life, you might start acting like one.”

She paused. “Sometimes…it's nice to talk to someone who sees you as a person, rather than a god.”

 She then waved goodbye as she stepped into the fire, disappearing.

I believe you best take that to heart Perseus.

After a couple seconds, “As you said, he refuses to acknowledge the threat lurking in the background,” Poseidon said quietly.

“I expected nothing else, really.” I looked around, but me and my father were alone. “So, what now? Gramps doesn’t care whether Uncle Z acknowledges his awakening or not.”

“I am preparing my domain for any coming war. If Father is rising, its unlikely he will do so alone. Oceanus is a definite guarantee unless he can be appeased. Perhaps I can convince a few Olympians of the necessity of acting, but it's unlikely many will acknowledge it.”

A long pause followed. “Has Uncle returned my mom?” I asked, a little concerned about the answer.

Poseidon nodded and relief flooded me. 

Mom was safe. 

I really wanted to see her. 

Dad smiled knowingly. “The Lord of the Dead tends to pay his debts. Speaking of returns, your package is still with me. I can return it once you are home.”

“Please,” I muttered.

Did you not like the Surprise from last time?

Something a little less destructive would be nice, yes.

Poseidon reached out and ruffled my hair. “Go on then and make her proud.”

“Not you?”

“I could not possibly be prouder of you, my son,” he answered with a wide grin, and I am almost confident that I flushed red.

“T-thanks,” I stammered out and dad laughed.

“Now, let us get you home, shall we?”

I nodded. I couldn’t wait to see mom again. 

I said my goodbyes and Poseidon brought me to the door of our little apartment in Manhattan before flashing away. 

With a deep breath, I rang the doorbell. 

The door opened to reveal my mom, worry evaporating from her features as she laid eyes on me.

“Percy! Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my baby.” She crushed me in a hug and cried in relief. I couldn’t hold back my own tears either and the pair stood in the hallway and soaked up each other’s presence.

Sally told me how she had just reappeared out of thin air in the middle of their apartment, scaring Gabe right out of his non-existent wits. 

A man such as that wishes he knew what wits were.

She couldn’t remember anything since the Minotaur, which was probably for the best, and didn’t believe Gabe telling her that her baby was a wanted criminal, blowing up national monuments. 

Gabe had forced her right back into work since she had an entire month’s salary to make up for and she hadn’t heard the days-old news of the resolution yet.

That bastard really dared to treat mom like that. She deserved the world and more. 

I told her my own story, downplaying the danger I had been in as much as was feasible. Just as I was getting to his duel with Ares though, Gabe’s voice echoed from the living room.

“Hey, Sally. That meatloaf done yet or what?”

She closed her eyes. I caught a fleeting anger in her expression. “He won’t be happy to see you, Percy.”

I slightly smirked. “The feeling is mutual, to the highest order.”

“Just don’t make him angrier, all right? Come on.”

Disgusted, I followed mom deeper into the apartment. In the month I had been gone it had turned into Gabeland. Garbage was ankle-deep on the carpet. The sofa was covered in beer cans, dirty socks and underwear hung off the lampshades. 

How the hell do you even manage that? 

And you still invite people over?

You are assuming the people he’s inviting are better.

Fair. I mean, at least one of them is decent.

Gabe was playing poker with three of his friends. When he saw me, he turned an interesting shade of red and purple and his cigar dropped out of his mouth. 

Living fire hazard.

“You got nerve coming here, you little punk. I thought the police-”

“He’s not a fugitive after all,” Sally interjected. “Isn’t that wonderful, Gabe?”

Considering how Gabe looked back and forth between mother and son, he didn’t quite share her opinion. “Bad enough I had to give back your life insurance money, Sally,” he growled. “Give me the phone. I’ll call the cops.”

“Gabe, no!”

His eyebrows shot up. “Did you just say no? You think I’m gonna put up with this punk again? I can still press charges against him for ruining my Camaro.”

I scoffed. 

It was hit by lightning, dude. How delusional are you to think I’ll get in trouble for that? I don’t control nature. 

Well…not in a provable court of law anyway.

“But-” his mother tried.

Gabe raised his hand and she flinched. Blood rushed in my ears at the reminder that I had not been the only target of Gabe’s violent tendencies. 

I pulled out my pen, fully aware that the bronze blade would be useless against the bastard. But it helped to calm me down somewhat.

“What, punk? You gonna write on me? You touch me and you’re going to go to jail forever, you understand?”

I frowned. Where was I even supposed to begin pointing out the flaws in that logic? 

Did this man think the justice system catered to his whims? There was nothing they could pin on me, especially not the destruction of the car.

“Hey, Gabe,” Eddie interrupted. “He’s just a kid.” Gabe looked at him in resentment and mimicked his words in false falsetto. The other idiots laughed at that.

Percy raised an eyebrow at that display. Why does that guy hang out with these fools? He’s the tiniest bit of decent, unlike them.

“I’ll be nice to you, punk. I’ll give you five minutes to get your stuff and get out. After that, I’ll call the police.”

“By all means,” I muttered. Watching Gabe humiliate himself in front of them might even be entertaining.

“Gabe!” his mother pleaded.

“He ran away. Let him stay gone.”

I was one more stupid remark away from grabbing a knife or something from the kitchen and committing murder right in front of four witnesses.

Before I could act on my impulse, Mom took my arm and pulled me out of the living room. “Please, Percy. Come on. We’ll go to your room.”

Perhaps she had caught how I trembled in rage. They moved to my room which had been completely filled with Gabe’s junk. Car batteries were stacked in the corner, a rotting bouquet of sympathy flowers sat on the windowsill. Old magazines, definitely not appropriate for children’s eyes, were scattered across my bed.

I don’t want to know what that man did in my room.

Chaos itself wishes to eradicate such a man.

That’s a tall order.

“Gabe is just upset, honey,” Sally said. “I’ll talk to him later. I’m sure it will work out.”

“Mom,” I said gently, “It will never work out. Not as long as Gabe is around.”

Wringing her hands nervously, she tried, “I can…I’ll take you to work with me for the rest of the summer. In the autumn maybe there’s another boarding school-”

“Mom.”

She lowered her head. “I’m trying, Percy. I just … I need some time.”

I glanced back at the package on the bed, sitting precariously on a stack of magazines. The same battered old cardboard box I used to pack up the head in. I tapped two fingers on it, turning back to my mother.

“Mom, do you want Gabe gone?”

“Percy, it isn’t that simple.”

“Just tell me,” I pressed. “That jerk has been hitting you.” And me. I’d never tell her that, however. Her guilt over that would eat her up inside. She didn’t deserve that.

She nodded, almost imperceptibly. “Yes, Percy,” she said quietly. “I do. And I’m trying to work up my courage to tell him. But you can’t do this for me. You can’t solve my problem.”

I absolutely could. 

I could shove this head into Gabe’s face and be done with it.

I could burn the man alive, and his buddies would laugh at him the whole time.

I could make blades of pure water erupt out of his body.

I could make light itself eradicate him in seconds.

But…

It isn’t my place. 

This is your decision, mom. 

With a quiet breath, I wrapped my knuckles on the box. “I could, mom. Or you could.”

“Percy?”

“One look inside this box and he’d never bother you- Us again, mom.”

I could tell that she understood. “No, Percy. You can’t.”

“You deserve better than this, mom. You should go to college, get your degree, like you always wanted. You can write your novel, meet a nice guy maybe. Live in a nice house. You don’t need to protect me anymore by staying with that garbage of a human being.” I was tempted to call Gabe much worse, but I would only traumatise my mom if I suddenly started cursing like a sailor. “Get rid of him,” I added softly.

Sally’s eyes were misty. She wiped a tear off her cheek. “You sound so much like your father,” she said and I lowered my head to hide a blush. “He offered to stop the tide for me once. He offered to build me a palace at the bottom of the sea. He thought he could solve all my problems with a wave of his hand.”

“He could. But you’d see no meaning in a life like that, right?”

She smiled. “Yes. If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself. I can’t let a god take care of me…or my son.”

Nothing wrong with dad caring for me, though. It’s helpful. 

And nice to have a father in my life.

…

What, no sarcastic comment?

I see myself as more of a hitchhiking guardian.

…so a foster parent?

…Touche.

“I have to…find the courage on my own,” Sally continued, reminding me that this is a heartfelt moment. “Your quest has reminded me of that.”

I grinned, nodded. For a moment, both listened to the sound of poker chips clacking on the table, swearing and ESPN blaring from the living room.

“I’ll leave the box,” I stated. “If he threatens you … use it.”

Paling somewhat, his mother slowly nodded. “Where will you go, Percy?”

“Camp.”

“For the summer…or forever?”

“Summer. I’d never leave you, mom.” I had planned to stay forever, but after seeing her one more time?

She deserved her son.

Sally smiled but I could tell she worried. She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “You’ll be a hero, Percy. You’ll be the greatest of them all.”

I’d be fine with being number 2, though. 

I took a last look around his sorry bedroom. It’d be the last time I’d see it. 

Not that I’d miss it.

As he walked to the front door with mom, Gabe called out, “Leaving so soon, punk? Good riddance.”

I gritted my teeth to force down a ‘Likewise, asshole.’

“Hey, Sally! What about that meat loaf, huh?”

A steely look of anger flared in her eyes as Sally turned towards the living room and I knew she would be fine.

“The meatloaf is coming right up, dear,” she said. “Meatloaf surprise.”

She winked at me, as I grinned and left the apartment.

Eat your heart out, you Pavlovian mutt.

Chapter Text

I kind of blanked out during the return celebration. We wore our laurels, burned our shrouds and sat together at the campfire, admiring Grover’s new searchers license. I don’t know if Zeus actually held up his end of the deal, or if it was even needed, but better safe then sorry. 

Nearly everyone was in a party mood, even most of the Ares cabin. Clarisse was still distant though. Maybe she needed someone to talk to?

I found Hestia earlier at the campfire. Maybe I can send Clarisse her way?

I fully snapped back to alertness later in the cabin, laying on my bunk bed, staring at the ceiling.

The days passed in peaceful activity. I trained with his friends, played and messed around and established a clear pranking superiority over the Stoll brothers.

Their ice-water bucket on-top of the door prank meant nothing to a child of the sea, but I made sure to pay them back with a little prank of my own.

I put a bunch of liquids in a bottle, alongside some gross stuff like a used band-aid and some stale ketchup, and shook it up. Then, I replaced their bottle at lunch with two bottles of the LIQUID.

I liked to call it Bob-job, and their immediate response of running to the newly renovated bathrooms to spend the next hour or so puking their lungs out seemed to be a good showcase of my finesse.

During late nights, I snuck out, spending time in the sea, simply enjoying it. On some occasions, Poseidon or Amphitrite joined me for a little conversation. I especially enjoyed those nights, deepening my newly established relationship with the Queen of the Sea, as well as Dad.

My mother’s letter arrived a week after my return to camp, detailing how Gabe had mysteriously vanished, police unable to find him and his friends. She had also sold her first ever life-sized statue of poker players that had sparked an entire new art direction of super-ugly neorealism.

She had called it, “Straight Flush.”

I don't know if eddie was sent to the shadow realm too, but I wouldn't put it past her.

She told me not to worry as she was done with sculpting and had disposed of the box of tools I had left her. 

I idly wondered how and where she had gotten rid of it. 

At the bottom of the letter she had added that she had found a good private school nearby that I could go to if he wished.

I scribbled her a reply in a hurry, writing that I wanted to try going to said school and living at home. Staying year-round at camp? Never.

Too many monsters, even for my taste.

Not for me however. I want to see more of this new world.

Don’t you already know most of the world?

I know about it, but I haven't seen it yet.

Well, guess you’re not getting everything you want, are you?

On July 4th, the camp gathered for a fireworks display organized by the Hephaestus’ kids. They didn’t settle for a few simple explosions, instead pulling off a major art display, finishing it off with two giant Spartan warriors fighting in the sky before exploding into a million colors.

During the display, Grover said goodbye to us. I wished to stop him, but refrained. This was Grover’s new journey, and if I’m not on board, that’s okay. After hugs, fussing, checking his supplies, and more hugs, Grover left.

He'd fulfill his greatest wish eventually.

And I'll be right beside him, even if it wasn't physically.

Granted, I don't even know what the searchers really do, but I wished him luck regardless.

July passed and the confrontation with Luke neared. I didn’t know how to handle it. The last night of summer arrived far too quickly for my liking. I loved being at camp, I loved being with my mom a tiny bit more, but when it came to leaving camp I always wanted to stay longer. The campers ate one last meal together before the summer-only kids would return to their homes. At the bonfire, the senior campers handed out the end-of-summer beads.

I was handed my own leather necklace with a single bead on it; a pitch black one with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center. I fiddled it off the leather necklace and added it to the bronze necklace his father had gifted him. It joined Current and the seven pearls from Amphitrite I hadn’t gotten to use.

“The choice was unanimous,” Luke announced. “This bead commemorates the first son of the Sea God at this camp and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!”

The entire camp cheered. Even the Ares’ cabin got to their feet. I finally felt like I had fully arrived at my second home. And yet tomorrow, I would return to my mother for the year, only coming back next summer.

The next morning, he found a form letter on my bedside table. In classic Dionysus manner, the name was written as Peter Johnson. It requested a decision whether I wished to stay or not by noon. I discarded it; I had already made my final decision to return to my mother. I was looking forward to spending the days with mom, spending free time in the city and just being a delinquent teenager. 

I am well aware I’m one. 

I certainly hope so.

The list of messes caused at schools was astronomical. It didn’t begin with cannons fired at school buses and it didn’t end with drenching students in fountains. Those were just moments. The bus was a highlight, nothing more. Same as the unplanned swim in the shark tank.

The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. Campers were inside, packing up their things, running around with brooms and mops, prepping for final inspection. Suitcases were hauled over the hill to the shuttle bus who’d be taking the campers to the airport. I had already packed and tidied up.

There was part of me that just wanted to go now. Not deal with Luke and his little tirade against the gods, but also knew that if I didn’t, things would probably get screwed up.

So, I headed for the sword-fighter’s arena, finding Luke there, destroying training dummies with a blade that was half steel, half celestial bronze. 

Backbiter.

After reducing an entire row of dummies to straw and armor, he noticed me and called out.

“Hey.”

“Just doing some last-minute practice.”

“Those dummies won’t be bothering anybody anymore,” I dryly said, running my eyes over Backbiter.

“We build new ones every summer.” Luke shrugged. He noticed my stare at the blade and took to explaining it, bragging about it being one of a kind.

How did that thing not set off alarm bells already? No demigod would need that.

Luke sheathed the blade, giving me a tiny smile. “Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?”

I paused. This was the moment, the fulfillment of the prophecy. I don’t exactly look forward to Luke’s betrayal, even if it essentially had already happened when he had stolen the symbols of power whenever that was, and I wasn’t thrilled about the scorpion. How could I avoid getting stung?

Leave that to me.

“Well?” Luke asked, jerking me out of my theorizing.

“You think this is a good idea?”

“Aw, come on.” Rummaging through his gym bag, Luke pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. “Drinks are on me.”

Alright, let’s do this. 

With a shrug, I said, “Sure. Why not?”

The two headed into the woods and Luke pretended to look around for a monster to fight, subtly chasing off the one and only one they came across. I in turn pretended not to notice. Eventually, they sat down near the creek. Luke settled on a big rock but I chose a spot at the water, dipping my feet into the shallow river.

After a while of silent Coke drinking, Luke asked, “You miss being on a quest?”

“With monsters attacking me every meter and a half? Are you kidding?”

Luke raised an eyebrow.

“I’d rather choke on acid. Hell, you’ve been on two now, you should know,” I added. The son of Hermes acknowledged. “It fucking sucks.”

A shadow passed over his face. He looked angry, weary. “I’ve lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen,” he said. “Ever since Thalia…well, you know. I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like ‘Okay, ride’s over. Have a nice life’.” He crumpled his Coke can and threw it into the creek. That alone was unforgivable already, the nymphs and naiads always knew who it was and they’d get even. “The heck with laurel wreaths,” Luke continued, anger lacing his tone now. “I’m not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic.”

I sighed softly. “Sounds more like you want to be the hero, pretty damn bad.”

Luke scoffed.

“Why else would you be complaining about going on one quest you actually asked for. I’d be happy to stay here for the rest of my days instead of going out there, fighting monsters all day.” I leaned back on my hands, radiating an easy and relaxed mood, but kept watch on Luke out of the corner of my eye. “And you are making it sound like you’re leaving. So why bother?”

Luke gave a twisted grin. “Oh, I’m leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say goodbye.”

“Well, bye, then,” Percy shot back, keeping my tone nonchalant while tensing unnoticeable.

The son of Hermes snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground next to my leg. Out crawled a little pit scorpion. My hand jerked for my pocket, an instinctual reaction.

“I wouldn’t,” Luke cautioned, “Pit scorpions can jump up to five meters. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You’ll be dead in sixty-”

“Not with a baby,” I countered. “And that is a baby.” I don’t know how I knew-

Surprise.

Luke had gotten up, stepping into my line of sight, frowning. The scorpion began crawling onto my knee. “How would you know that?”

I shrugged in a slow, exaggerated manner, willing the water around my ankles to creep higher.

“You’re…awfully relaxed about this,” Luke said carefully.

“Eh, I’ve seen worse than betrayal and little pit scorpions. Gonna give me a reason, maybe?”

“I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy,” Luke actually began, launching his villain speech as I dubbed it quietly. “Didn’t you feel it? The darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn’t you realize-”

“Wait, was that you this whole time? Uncool man! You put all of us in danger on my quest! Me I kind of get, because I guess I’m just your pawn or something, but what the hell did Silena, or Annabeth, or even Grover do to you?” I blurted out, maintaining a very stable formation as not to upset the scorpion enough for him to attack.

“Yeah, Who knew that you could bring so many people on a quest? Apparently you, the kid who just showed up to camp one day, not knowing anything about our world,” Luke mentioned, as his smirk returned. “You had help, didn’t you?”

“A lot, what’s your point?” I countered, unsure of where this was going.

“No, no. You had divine help. Not even Annabeth figured out the quest limit thing, and she might as well be the daughter of intelligence itself. Someone high up there, someone that cares about you, told you about it, didn’t they?” Luke crept closer, as I tried my best to maintain a confused and nonchalant expression. Internally, I was panicking.

Calm. This is under control.

“So, who is it? Was it your father, Poseidon? The king of the Seas helping his son on his quest? Oh no, I doubt it. Ancient laws and all that rot. How about Hesita? She’s always up to help someone? Maybe even Athena? Or perhaps it was one of the minor gods and goddesses? How about Tyche? You don’t hear a lot about her. Maybe Eris? Nemesis? Hecate?” Luke continued naming multiple gods and goddesses that I didn’t even know existed, which made it easy to keep calm. "You sure seemed to show quite the proficiency in magic earlier. Are you her little project?"

Silence.

“…Keeping up your pokerface, huh. That’s fine.” Luke started again. “Don’t you get how useless it all is? All the heroics, being pawns of the gods. They should’ve been overthrown thousands of years ago ,but they’ve hung on, thanks to us half-bloods.”

“…I don’t even know where to start with that nonsense you’re spouting there, man. Those are our parents, not that it means much to some of us clearly.”

Luke laughed. “Their precious Western civilization is a disease, Percy. It’s killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest.”

I barked out a laugh, one not restrained, meeting Luke’s eyes. “Dude, do you listen to yourself? The western civilization is created by mortals. The gods suffer because of it just as much as you believe yourself to be. You really think, you’ll find someone more honest to start over with? You’re even more stupid than Ares.”

Luke’s blue eyes flared. “Ares was a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I’m afraid you won’t live that long.”

The scorpion took that prompt to crawl higher up my thigh.

“You could try. You honestly believe fucking Kronos is honest?”

Luke flinched, surprise flashing through his eyes before darkening as the air got colder around them.

“You should be careful with names,” he said.

“Ask me if I give a fuck,” I sighed, allowing part of my unfiltered thoughts to color my speech. 

Preach.

“You stole the bolt and the helm for him. He spoke to you. Ruined my sleep, too. I gotta say, it's risky to do your little Walkie-talkie stuff when you’re sleeping right next to me, but I appreciate the effort you’re going through. Clearly, you two care.”

“You should have listened,” Luke said, eye twitching.

“Do you think I’m an idiot? He’s brainwashing you and you’re stupid enough to listen. Never watched a movie before? This is textbook brainwashing.”

“You’re wrong. He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides, and return it to Olympus. After all the training I’d done, that was the best he could think up.”

“No, that was the best you could accomplish,” I snapped. “Not that it is an easy thing to do, mind you. Even Hercules struggled with it. You know, the son of Zeus? Ringing a bell? That means you’re on par with Hercules, and you’re upset that you got the same task? Dude, if I knew I was on par with one of the greatest heroes of all time, I'd make a song about myself in a heartbeat.”

Luke Snarled. “Where’s the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn’t in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this -” he pointed angrily at his scar, “-and when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone back then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I sneaked into the throne room and took Zeus’ master bolt right from his chair. Hades’ helmet of darkness, too. You wouldn’t believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they have never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling and I knew they’d discovered my theft.”

I fought down my many complaints and urges to call him out on his idiocy. I understood where Luke was coming from, I got why he was upset that his quest had already been done. I just didn’t understand why he wanted to be the hero so badly, why he sided with a Titan that would obviously use and discard him as he pleased. 

I haven’t even met the guy and I can tell just from the way he’s talking that he’ll throw Luke away as soon as needed.

Kronos needed a vessel and he got a willing tool in Luke. But Kronos would leave no stone unturned. No demigod, loyal or not, would stay alive. 

I didn’t voice my thoughts. Instead, keeping my voice as level as I could, I asked, “Then why not directly deliver them to Kronos?”

“I…I got overconfident,” Luke said and I bit back a laugh. Of course.

“Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt. Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him but I wasn’t careful enough.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. 

‘You still are,’ I wanted to say but held my tongue. 

No fucking way can you beat Ares in a battle. No matter what people say, he is still the god of War. I only defeated him because I have both the sea and light itself by my side, and he underestimated me.

“He disarmed me, took the symbols of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos’ voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares’ head; about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence.” Luke drew his new blade, running a thumb down the flat of it with an admiring gaze. “Afterwards, the Lord of the Titans…h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and helmet the rest of the way, from Ares down to Tartarus.”

I flinched at the name of the Primordial, but Luke misinterpreted it.

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “I summoned the hellhound. We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn’t safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked.”

“Yeah, sure. If not for me calling on you. Didn’t expect that huh.”

Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting centred on Percy’s thigh. “An oversight, as with the flying shoes. Clearly, you were smarter than I expected.” he admitted. “You should have died in Tartarus, Percy.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” I muttered.

“But don’t worry. I’ll leave you with my little friend to set things right.”

I sighed. “You are delusional, Luke. I don’t even know who Thalia is, but she died for you. Don’t dishonor her like that.”

“Don’t speak of Thalia!” Luke shouted. “The gods let her die! That’s one of the many things they will pay for!”

Press him.

“Did she die? Was there a body? A Funeral? Surely you would’ve seen and confirmed her dead before, you know, going on a tirade. Maybe she just meta-morphed like my mom did. Ever think of that you idiot?” I pressed, and The demigod paused. I caught a hesitation in his agitation. 

“No,” he finally said. “She died.”

“Jesus Christ dude. You’re being used. You and Ares. Don’t listen to Kronos,” I pressed on.

“I’ve been used?” Luke’s turned shrill. “Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you?”

“Plenty,” I interrupted coldly. “Weapons, transportation, sick-ass powers, an actually good step-mom, you want the whole list? I’ve known him for only a month, and he’s given me so much. I don’t get why you’re so pissed at Hermes dude. Blame the ancient laws, or just do what I do and Blame Zeus. I’m on board with that, but Hermes? He’s literally the only Mailman, and he’s prohibited to see his kids or else he’s, what, stripped of his godhood or something? Just be mad at grandpa, not dad.”

Luke inhaled, staring at him for a moment and I held his gaze.

There was a flash of regret, and a glimmer of hope.

Just as the I wanted to push him a little further, Luke said, “Kronos will rise. You’ve only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest, the ones who serve him.”

“You truly believe that? Kronos will kill everything. No one will be excluded. Gods, demigods and mortals, whether they sided with him or not. Don’t be stupid, Luke.”

“Nice try,” Luke smiled and I sighed with a head shake. “You can’t bait me. You can’t deceive me. My lord is waiting and he’s got plenty of quests for me to undertake.”

“That’s what this is all about in the end, isn’t it? You want to be the hero and he’ll give you the illusion of being one.”

Luke shook his head. “Goodbye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won’t be part of it.” He slashed his sword in an arc and started to disappear in a ripple of darkness.

“Oh no, you’re not done here,” I said, as I focused really hard. 

There was another reason I chose this area, outside of the running stream.

There were flowers here.

In a blink of an eye, a cosmic burst of light erupted from the multitude of flowers beneath where Luke once stood, evaporating the darkness and sending Luke to the floor, rainbow colored fire burning his shirt like a sizzling pancake.

Then, I pulled my trump card. I willed the water to send the pit scorpion on its way, sending him down the stream. Once it was a while away, I pulled out both Riptide and Tides. I’d gotten used to wielding both overtime, and while I was far from perfect, I could take on Luke easily.

“You want me dead, then come at me you nerd,” I taunted the kid once more, who simply smirked.

“I was wondering where that Hecate magic went. So that’s your little magical guardian, is it?” Luke grinned as he held tight onto backbiter, the rainbow flames dying out as half of his shirt burned away.

“I’m sure you wish it was,” I said, before swiping tides his way, Riptide backing Tides up with a second swipe afterwards. Luke dodged both, but I tapped the ground with Tides, sending a rush of Watery blades his way, which he neutralized soon after. “You know, I am kind of glad you underestimated me. Makes it easier to vanquish both you and your Titan king in one fell swoop. Take you out, his vessel is severed, wam, bam, thank you ma’m, life continues as normal.”

“Oh, I far from underestimated you,” Luke mentioned, going into his own combo strikes against me, which were blocked by Riptide being an absolute boss. “You really shouldn’t have let me on the quest. I’ve been able to study you, and see exactly what you can do.”

“Good thing I kept the aces up my sleeves,” I shot back, tapping tides against Backbiter after blocking it with Rip. More watery blades shot out, and I followed soon after with a Dimensional Slash in Luke’s direction, sending blades of pure light his way. “You were there the day I was claimed, you know I’m far more than the son of Poseidon.”

Luke, as much as I hate to admit it, was a great fighter. The watery blades were easily dismantled due to his high speed, being son of Hermes. The Light blades were easily dodged for the same reason. The Slash however, did slice a large section of his cheek, causing a gush of blood coming down his face and neck.

“I prefer Ace of Spades if I’m being honest,” I kept going. Luke was a hothead, and would break down like Ares. You just have to keep going. “Far better than your 3 of diamonds, or whatever you have.”

Luke stopped talking by this point, realizing that I might actually kill him, and tried to ripple out of there again. I just rolled my eyes, as he forgot to take a step off the flowers.

The flowers weren’t necessary for a Cosmic burst, but they sure made it pack a better and bigger punch. The same jetstream of cosmic flames erupted from the bed of flowers, evaporating the darkness once again, and setting flames to Luke’s hair and his shoes. He contemplated jumping in the water, which was definitely a hard choice, before deciding that water was better then fire, and quickly leaping into the water to douse his shoes and head in quickly.

“Uh oh! Bad decision Luke!” I said, wrapping the stream around his body, and especially around backbiter, separating the weapon from the wielder. He struggled quite a bit, eventually breaking his left arm free and attempting to bite the water away. To his credit, it would’ve worked, had someone not been controlling the water itself. “What are you, 7? Who the hell bites water?”

Luke was still paying me no mind. “You know, you’re really taking the fun out of this. I stayed around for your little monologue, and you can’t even be bothered to talk back to me whenever I’m winning? You’re ruining it!” I joked to him, my shit-eating grin on full display. 

“Maybe…maybe if I play with your toy?” I offered, as the water presented Backbiter to me like a trophy. “Why thank you!” I said, as I held the new weapon in my right hand, replacing where Riptide once was. It felt wrong. This weapon was wrong. “You know, this weapon is kind of unfair. Mind if I Nerf it a little?”

Luke looked at me in confusion, before I pulled out another ace. I put Tides back in its inanimate form, freeing my left hand, and slowly, the marble crept itself from my elbow onto my fingertips.

Then, I snapped my fingers.

In an instant, the blinding light of the sun ruptured through the dark and dangerous woods, and not even Luke could look away from its brilliance.

“How…what are you? Are you some kind of god in disguise?” Luke demanded.

“Ahh, there’s the talking again! Took long enough,” I joked, as I held the star slowly and carefully. Collapsing star was definitely the ability I’ve practiced the least. It’s the most dangerous due to its unpredictability, but for a final showdown? 

I was more then keen enough.

“Oh, by the way, you know exactly who I am.” I said, as I had the water hold onto Backbiter once again. I needed both hands for this.

“I am Perseus Dominic Jackson,” I started, before I started to crush the Star between my hands. “Son of Poseidon, and Legacy of the Nameless Deity.”

I would later learn that when Luke looked at me then and there, I had the eye symbol overlaid over my right eye. Just another addition to how cool I look.

In an instant, the star exploded into a form of darkness that Luke wishes he could maintain, the black hole staying stationary as I held onto it with severe force. I quickly willed the water closer, allowing it to toss Backbiter straight into the abyss. Backbiter seemed to squeal as it stretched and contorted around the black hole, before vanishing into nothingness.

“NOO!” Luke shouted, showing the most emotion I’ve seen all night. “DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU’VE JUST DID!?”

“Uhh…yeah, I had an epic moment in history and neutralized an opponent. I’d say that’s pretty cool,” I went right back to nonchalance. By now, the nymphs have likely heard the commotion and were on their way. I needed to end this fast.

“You’ve just destroyed a ONE OF A KIND WEAPON!” Luke shouted once again, as I mocked him with a hand puppet.

“Yeah, yeah, save it for your blog. If you really want to go down that road Luke, then you might as well launch yourself off a cliff. If you truly wish to serve Kronos, then get out of my sight, and don’t let me see you again here.” I said, releasing him from the water. “Alternatively, you can step away, and come back to camp with me. No one has to know about this little rendezvous, and you can continue life as before, ignoring Kronos in his entirety, and living a life worth living.”

It didn’t even take two seconds before he ran. He ran, oh so far away.

“Fucking Coward,” I proclaimed.

“That was quite impressive,” a soft, female voice said. I looked to my left. In front of me stood a beautiful woman, long black flowing hair almost reaching her knees, falling like a gentle wave, intensely green eyes meeting mine with gentleness and her lips pulled up in a smile. “Hello there, my little brother,” she said, sweeping her dress with one hand as she crouched down. In her left hand held the pit scorpion from earlier. The little one squirmed in her iron grip. “Mother has told me our little demigod is in dire need of aid. It seems I was not needed.”

“Benthesikyme?” I murmured, and I still didn’t know how. Maybe it is some weird Sea-family trick.

A little surprise coloured her features at being recognised before she gave me a beaming smile. “How rare to be recognised!” she exclaimed happily. “Mother said you would but I was doubtful.” She plucked the pincher right off the scorpion with an expression of clear dislike. The creature squeaked and trashed in her grip.

“Thank you,” he said, pulling his legs up and smiling at her. “Really. Even if I didn’t need it, you showed up regardless to help me. That means a lot.”

“Yes, of course, little one. As long as I can help slightly, that’s all I wish.”

I grimaced with a nod. “Amphy sent you?”

The nymph raised her eyebrows. “Amphy?” she repeated.

“Uh, yeah. Stepmom.” I felt heat creep up my face.

My godly sister chuckled. “She must truly like you to allow it. Theseus was never permitted such familiarity.” She rose. “Let us go speak with Chiron, shall we? Neither Mother nor Father are likely to be pleased about this, even if you have not been harmed,” she waved the little squeaking scorpion held in her fingers around. Offering me her free hand, she pulled me up. “I was a little wary when I noticed how tense both were when I visited today. Quite surprised when Mother jumped up and ordered me to come here since I can slip past godly attention more easily than them.”

“Yeah. Thank you, again,” I channeled all my thankfulness into my words and my sister playfully ruffled his hair.

“No need. I would not want to see my baby sibling perish in such a way. I have grown a little curious about you, I must say. Not only is it rare that both Mother and Father pay such attention to one of Father’s mortal children, but clearly you are far more than you show.”

“Yeah…very long and convoluted story,” I said after a moment of silent walking through the woods.

She snorted slightly, before continuing, “Clearly. I don’t believe any of our family has shown such prowess and mystical power in comparison,” she teased.

“No, probably not,” I admitted. I looked up to the tall woman who met my gaze with warm eyes. “It’s just a really long story,” I added quietly.

Before Benthesikyme could speak, a few nymphs emerged from the trees, greeting her ecstatically. Their conversation was side-lined for a few minutes before she said goodbye to them and gently pushed me into the direction of the Big House.

“What did you mean?” she asked.

“The long story?” I questioned. As she nodded, I turned my gaze to the ground, debating mentally if telling her would create problems. I was hesitant to tell people about it. Not only was the Deity meant to be kept a secret, but if more than just Poseidon and Amphitrte start to spout about Luke and Kronos returning, it could mess up Olympus’ balance. “Well…it’s certainly a long one,” I muttered. “I could tell you later.”

“I would love to hear it.”

“Sure,” I said as we stepped up the short stairs to the Big House’s porch. Chiron sat there, speaking with Annabeth.

He looked up as they approached, eyes widening in surprise then confusion as he spotted Benthesikyme.

“Hello,” she greeted with a bright smile. “It seems you have a little security problem in your camp.” She raised the hand holding the scorpion, still trashing and squeaking in her grip.

The centaur visibly paled. “A pit scorpion?”

“It has attacked Percy,” she accused, dropping it on the table and placing an empty glass bowl over it. “Or at least attempted to.”

“How did this…” Annabeth started staring at it in fear.

“How did it enter the border?” Chiron asked.

I took a slow breath and launched into my tale of the encounter with Luke, how disillusioned and angry the demigod was, deaf to reason and helpful advice. 

I did not mention his new weapon. It’s not important now.

Chiron frowned, staring at the little deadly thing while Annabeth quietly tried coming up with excuses before giving up on it and angrily muttered, “No, I can believe it. May the gods curse him…he was never the same after his quest.”

“This must be reported to Olympus,” Chiron muttered. “I will go at once.”

“Don’t bother,” I said, plopping onto a chair. “I mentioned my dreams, the voice in the pit that spoke to me, how he influenced Ares, when I spoke to Zeus. He declared the matter closed, even after Poseidon and Hestia attempted to open his eyes. He prefers ignoring the problem over proactive preparation, I suppose.” Thunder rolled across the sky and I rolled my eyes. “Nothing better than to get caught unprepared by your old man that you needed a lot of help to incapacitate in the first round.” The thunder grew louder and I scoffed.

Chiron raised a hand to try and stop Percy. “Calm, Percy. We cannot force the gods’ hands. If that is Zeus’ decision we shall respect it.”

“Foolish one that it is, like most of his latest ones,” Benthesikyme stated quietly, idly trying to wrangle my unruly hair into submission. “Father has understood the rising threat and we shall remain alert. Uncle’s decision will not be our downfall.”

“Yeah,” I agreed softly.

The centaur tilted his head. “It is not wise to act against Zeus.”

“We are not, Chiron. We are alert against the possibility of the Titan of Time rising again, as Percy has informed us. Father is convinced that his dreams, the voices and the pit are definitive signs. It would be foolish to try and ignore it.”

The man rose from his wheelchair, hooves clopping on the wooden porch. “Perhaps,” he said carefully, glancing at the sky. “The prophecy that has foretold Percy has spoken of his future, of struggles and dangers.”

I tapped the armrest, catching a glance from Annabeth. He could tell she was trying to figure out how the Great Prophecy and me interacted, if I was truly the one it spoke of. 

Whatever that really meant.

Tilting my head backwards, I looked up to my sister who smiled gently. “A prophecy of me, huh?” I asked idly, just to fill the silence.

Chiron agreed, but said he couldn’t tell me as I would most likely try changing it. Given the thunder rolling above, Zeus agreed with that sentiment. 

I bit back a laugh.

Clearly, they don’t understand how a Prophecy works. It’s a prediction of events. An accurate and likely one, but as you have shown, they can be shattered like glass.

Did I really? I kind of did everything the prophecy said would happen. Even that new line at the end.

The prophecy hasn’t concluded yet Perseus.

Wait, what?

Nope, don’t think about it. Now is the time for good times.

Chiron and Benthesikyme continued debating the topic a little further before she said goodbye and returned to the sea. By then, it was time for me to leave. I grabbed my bags and hurried to meet my mom who was waiting for me at the property line. She greeted me with a tight hug and I gave one last glance back at camp before turning my back to it. I’d be back soon enough.

How Curious…

So it seems that Dominic has returned, through a vessel this time.

…

How very interesting…

I wonder…

Chapter Text

I spent the rest of the year trying to be a good mortal boy. 

Attending school, studying for my tests (which was easier than before) and being on my best behaviour. 

Sure, I was attacked by the occasional monsters and therefore had multiple remarks about my tardiness, but all things considered, it was going pretty well. 

I spent some weekends with Benthesikyme, and I even met Rhode who dragged me on several shopping trips, occasionally taking Sally along as well, refusing to take a single penny of hers, insisting on paying for everything. 

In other news, the two of them are also now in on the secret. They promised with a minor oath that they wouldn’t reveal anything. Amphitrite wanted a Styx oath, but I didn’t want to be too hard on them. I’ve slipped up enough with secrets, and Rhode was definitely a yapper. I don’t want her punished for something she can’t help.

My father and stepmom continued their sporadic check-ins and meetings. There wasn’t really much reason needed to. My time-travel story is done, and anything that happens now is going off the rip and out of nowhere. However, I was NOT going to deny their presence.

Sally and Amphitrite had even met, and it definitely seemed like they hit it off, much to Poseidon’s relief.

It was going really well. I hadn’t met either Triton or Kymopoleia yet, but I wasn’t complaining. His stepmom had mentioned that my brother needed a little more time to come around.

He was definitely the guy most hurt by his father’s infidelity apparently.

All things on, nothing was really going wrong.

Then one day, I was given a sidequest.

By who?

Well…by Chaos themselves.

Or maybe, the Deity would prefer to call them by their preferred name…

The Dark One.

A Normal day at the beach never exists.

Here I thought that a semi-nice family vacation with both sides of my family would go…decent at best.

Triton and Kymopoleia had, unsurprisingly, abstained from the outing, but Rhode and Benthesikyme were more than happy to join Poseidon and Amphitrite as they went with me and Mom to Montauk.

For the first hour or so, not much happened. The water was clean enough for us all to relax and I won’t be ashamed to admit that I played with my sisters. They are immaculate at water manipulation, unlike me, who is still a novice despite everything.

Everything was not even going fine. It was going great.

Then I saw a very bright star.

It was only about 7:30 in the evening, and early august overall. There was still plenty of light from the sun out.

However, this star was brighter then Polaris could ever wish.

Saying that makes me think I just offended whatever being is controlling Polaris, if there even is one.

I thought it was neat, before I looked closer.

It was getting brighter.

And bigger.

I knew dad knew too, because as soon as I looked at him, he was looking at the same star with concern.

“EVERYONE, OUT NOW!” Poseidon shouted across the waves, which led to Me, Benthesikyme, and Rhode being pushed to shore, where Dad cast a large shield around us and the house, which I assumed was to keep it safe.

Not that it mattered, because the star that was falling from the heavens shattered the shield and landed dead in the sand nearby, to a massive shockwave.

“So yeah, that was a meteorite,” I said after my fear let go. Benthesikyme nodded and Rhode was hyperventilating. Mom’s fear went away soon after I returned to my joking self, but Poseidon and Amphitrite were still on guard.

The steam and smoke from the burning meteorite finally began to clear, but instead of a grey and black rock from space it was…something new.

A Large purplish-blue object, that was bigger than the damn cabin itself, was embedded deep in the sand. It didn’t look like a normal rock though. It looked more like a Geode. You know, those rocks that have like a bunch of jewels in minerals inside of them? It looked like a geode cracked in half, and like a painting with blue and purple all over it.

“Okay, maybe not a meteorite,” I cautiously said, pulling out Riptide in the event of something bad and stepping in front of Mom. Benthesikyme and Rhode took out their respective weapons too.

At first, the rock just sat there, embedded in the sand. After a minute, we put our weapons away, reasoning that it was likely just the oddest looking meteorite that could’ve been thrown at us.

Who was unknown. I’m pretty sure that Astraios or something was the Titan-god of the stars and planets, but I don’t know if that extends to everything else in space.

Then, the rock moved.

Immediately after, we pulled the arsenal out again, as the rock started to shift and vibrate, as it lifted itself off of the sandbed it was stuck in.

The Sand had literally formed into glass because of how hot the rock was when it entered.

The Rock started to float, quite a few feet off the ground. At first it just floated, but then it turned towards us.

We were ready for whatever stupid dark god was going to make itself known. So much so, that my left arm had already started to turn into marble.

Then, it hissed at us.

A hiss that sounded like a truck gone off road and skidded along the ice like a chalkboard.

It grated against my ears as the Rock started to exhale this dark material, spreading it amongst the terrain around us, before it turned back down to the ground, its geode like hole facing directly down.

In a brief second, the Rock seemed to throw up another mass of dark magic, before it hissed again, and turned to the sky, shooting straight back into the atmosphere like nothing happened.

The Dark mass it left behind was a swirling clump of purple and black auras, each of them spinning and moving independently of each other, before they all started to merge together, forming a silhouette of a humanoid form.

“ Holy Fuck, I’m never doing that entrance again.” A twisted and distorted voice came from the direction of the mass, as the silhouette started to gain more details.

A Purple robe lowered down to the calves, with long dark purple hair reaching down to the lower spine, and stockings that reached to the exact same length of the robe. A fabric sash wrapped over the right shoulder, with a metal band over the left shoulder, with a light purple band wrapped between the two, going perfectly horizontal. Their skin was a light purple as well, with deep black eyes with purple sclera, and small purple horns. They were wearing a Black and purple conical hat, and fingerless gloves that ended in inch long nails. A Centerpiece of a blue, purple, cyan, white, and black gen was placed where their naval would have been, and stands of silver layered their outfit.

“You try to be cool one time, and you get burned like a motherfucker,” They said again, their voice contorting as one of their hands rubbed against their forehead. Then, they looked at us. “Oh shit. You guys were prepared. That takes some of the fun away.”

“Prepared for what?” I asked, already guessing that they were here for a fight.

“Well, I was going to block out the sun to get your attention, maybe do some mirror illusions, move a tree or 3, throw a lantern, I don’t know. Anyway, small talk done,” They said, before snapping their fingers. A tree nearby turned an ugly shade of blue, with glowing yellow lights along its trunk, and a bizarre hissing sound played as the tree picked itself up by the roots and scuttled along to the being. She pushed the tree over, leaving it fully horizontal, before sitting on the trunk. “Nice to finally meet all of you in person. I know you, and despite the fact that you are all very confused, I know you all know me.”

“Wh-”

“I mean, of course you all know me, you all came from me.”

That made all of us pause, even more confused. It was about 20 seconds before they waved their hands in frustration.

“Holy shit, I thought I made you guys smarter. I’M CHAOS YOU STUPID FUCKS!” 

Everything happened at once, and that’s when we realized that we were literally in the presence of the Progenitor of everything.

And god did they have a Sailor’s mouth.

“Literally Chaos? Like, ‘the Primordial being that made everything’ chaos, not just the concept of Chaos, like mischief incarnate?” Rhode asked, being the first to break the silence.

“Of course I’m that Chaos! You know who the hell the chaos incarnate is, fucking ERIS! Fuck me, I really should’ve fixed intelligence when I could’ve.”

Before we could talk, they kept going.

“You. Perseus. You’re the one with the deity in your head, yeah?”

“Uh…how-”

“I’m chaos. I know a lot of things. Don’t question it, you’ll drive yourself mad. Yes other people and gods have done so. Deal with it. Anyway, how's he doing? Haven’t talked with him since he was put behind the Terminus.”

“Wait…wait, what the Hades is the Terminus?” I asked, now more confused. I tried to ask the Deity, but I guess Chaos’ presence made it impossible to contact him. Chaos tilted their head confused.

“Wait…he hasn’t told you that?”

“No! He says his mind was shattered, and he barely remembers anything since before he came into contact with me,” By this point, I had separated from my family, and was standing right before Chaos itself. Poseidon and Amphitrite had moved Mom and my step-sisters away a little bit, either out of fear or respect I’m not sure.

“Oh FUCK!”

That curse let out a wave of power that could only be described as immense, as the form they took became more wobbly and distorted.

“Well shit. That wasn’t meant to happen, uhh…hmm.”

Chaos thought for a second, keeping silent, doing the cliche thinking pose.

“Uhh…maybe you could-”

“If I told you anymore about the deity in your head, I am almost certain that you and everyone else’s head here would explode, so don’t bother asking.”

That shut me up fast.

“Okay…so his memories are nearly all gone…well that sucks, but thankfully he’s still here. Could be way worse.”

“Wait…are you ‘The Dark One,’ he talked about?”

Chaos looked surprised for a second, before laughing like it was the end of the world.

“He still calls me that!? Oh Fuck, that is hilarious!”

I was about to continue, before-

“Anyway, sad and funny as that is, not why I’m here. Percy, I need a favor.”

“You…all powerful progenitor of all, Chaos…need a favor from me?” I asked, bewildered at the prospect.

“Don’t act shocked kid. Not only do you have Dominic in your head, but you’re also too nice for your own wellbeing. Besides, I go and do what needs to be done, I am almost confident the earth would collapse in on itself.”

Well damn. Chaos was as blunt as a dull axe.

Wait, who the fuck was Dominic?

“Okay…what-”

“Sensational. So, you ‘member that Casino you decided to avoid this time around?”

“Wha-”

“Yeah yeah, time travel, I’m chaos, don’t question it, keep up kid.”

“Okay fine!”

“Perfect. Anyway, that casino just so happens to hold a couple of demigods who happen to be the children of one of my favorite children, Hades, not that he or they know that. They’ve been in there since WW2 broke out, maybe a little beforehand, and they have no fucking clue how much has changed. I need you to get them out, bring ‘em to camp, and get them accustomed to the world now. Think of it as your side-quest for a god on par with the one in your head.”

“O…uhh…okay?” I started, before thinking ahead. “What’s in it for me? Don’t try some-”

“Something like, ‘I won’t vaporize you from existence,’ or, ‘my undying love and admiration?’ Yeah, I wasn't going to.”

“Good. I’m sick of people asking favors and then offering literally nothing. If someone’s life is in danger, then yeah sure you don’t have to put something on the table, but for something above menial but below life and limb, I kind of want something in return.”

“Good. Despite what anyone might say, being selfish is okay once in a while. Anyway, how does $22.89 sound?”

“...how sad is it that the offer you just made me is the best offer for a quest I’ve gotten since I’ve found out I’m a demigod.”

“That just means you haven’t improved your haggling and bartering skills. Due to our, admittedly, limited scope and control over things not in our domain, most of the time we’ll actually give something in exchange for a quest or favor if you press hard enough, or in your case, at all, like with what happened with Zeus a couple months ago.”

Good to know.

“Okay…so just $22.89 for this? I mean…again, the best offer I’ve gotten, but I-”

Chaos decided to zip straight towards me, looking me dead in the eyes with a sharp grin on their face.

“Good, you’re thinking. If you accepted that stupid reward, I would’ve been upset.”

“Jeez, okay.”

“Here’s my real offer. I can get you $500 straight, and a one-time use of my Noxus Spray.”

Okay, that was a word I had never heard of before.

“What does the-”

“The Noxus Spray allows you to vaporize any living thing from existence permanently. No rebirth, no wandering the underworld or Tartarus, no ghosts, spirits, wraiths, nothing. They are just fully gone. You spray it on Alecto, she’s gone from your life for good.”

“Okay, that does sound good.”

“I sure hope so. I don’t give that little thing out willy-nilly, that’s a once in a lifetime token right there. One free eradication sent right to your door.”

Chaos then put on a visor cap and an apron, pulling a strange purple and blue spray bottle out of the ether.

“Kills 99.99% of lesser beings, guaranteed!”

“...okay, what’s with the tv-ad pitch?”

“Who do you think gave them the idea?”

“Oh, you son of a-”

“Ah-ah-ah! Don’t swear in front of your mother now!”

Oh right. Mom and dad were here.

I had honestly forgotten.

I turned around to face them, a bit ashamed, only to see them frozen in time.

“HAH! Made you look!”

“Okay, now I can say it. You son-”

“Nope! Time ain’t frozen the same way your little deity does it. They themselves are frozen in time, not the other way around. They can still hear everything you say.”

“I can’t get away with anything with you, can I?”

“That’s exactly what…well honestly, that’s what everyone says, but especially your little deity. Said it all the time back in the day. A Rascal that one, let me tell you.”

“Why are you talking about them like they’re a child?”

“Because they were one then? It’s called Point of View Percy. Get with the times!”

“Hold on…you’re saying you knew the Nameless Deity-what am I saying, you made them, of course you knew them when they were a kid.”

“Eh? What are you smoking? Didn’t it tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Dude, Your little Deity is older then me.”

Now that…that made me clench and widen my eyes.

“Wh-”

“Yeah, it’s more accurate to call him my slightly older brother, in everything but blood. Pantheon of gods and all that rot, you know?”

“Woah…okay, that changes things a lot.”

“Yeah. Bro got stuck behind a rock, and then just a couple weeks later, the same thing happened to me. Trouble is, Chaos isn’t contained so easily. I managed to break through some of the stone, allowing my form to physically appear and interact with the world. The Titans were not smart enough to actually anchor me and my presence to the Genesis (You know, the stone) so here I am, in about 14% of my glory!”

I decided to look a bit more at Chaos as a whole. “This is 14%?”

“Well, kind of. My form changes depending on the amount of chaos currently happening in the world. This one is the original Chaos, but there are quite a few more. Not that you’ll ever see them, mind you.”

“Okay…anyway, so you just want me to go to the Lotus Casino and rescue a few kids? Why not just get someone else that doesn’t happen to be a Legacy of a Primordial Deity? It’s not like the Casino is heavily guarded.”

“You’re right. I just want to mess with you specifically, but remember, one-time use of a spray that solves all your problems! I’d say a pretty good deal!”

It was a good deal in all reality. If I timed it right, I could eliminate Luke, Kronos, or just whoever posed a threat in an instant, and it couldn’t be blocked at all assumedly. Plus, an extra $500 was nothing to sneeze at, at least for a 12 year old like me.

“Okay…Say I accept the deal. Would I have to just go there now, and on my own?” I asked, wanting to get all of my facts straight.

“Well, I can give you quick transport to the casino and back, but for the kids themselves, you’re going to have to be the one to drop them off at HalfBlood. I’m sure that won’t be a problem for you though, right? You’ve sure got pegasi behind you, and you can definitely protect them should something go awry.”

“I mean, I guess so,” I said, before turning back to see my still frozen family. “Nothing’s going to happen to them while I’m gone, right?”

“If by that you mean that I will do something, then no. Besides, your dad, step-mom, and siblings will protect your mother just fine if that’s what you’re wondering. So, ready for a teleport?”

I thought about it for a little while longer, before nodding my head. “Tell them I love ‘em.”

“Don’t need to kid, you just did.” Chaos then lent her hand down, to which I grabbed.

In the blink of an eye, it felt like I was stretched across multiple realms of reality, my limbs contorting and distorting to acclimate to whatever this strange sense of reason and disorder could be. I could feel my body twisting and splitting, almost like I was orbiting a black hole, before all of a sudden, it stopped.

I scarily opened my eyes, only to realize I was on a balcony, overlooking the city of Hustle and Bustle that was Las Vegas, with the Lotus Casino in my line of sight. I was still holding Chaos’ hand.

“There you are, kid. By the way, once you’re ready for the return trip, just say ‘Aberration.’ I’ll be there faster then you can say the word.”

“Wait, what are the kids I’m looking for anyway? Any descriptors?” I asked, not just wanting to walk back into that place with nothing to do.

“Oh yeah. Black hair, sullen eyes. One’s got short hair, the other braided. 8 year old boy, 11 Year old Girl. I think the boy is obsessed with a card game or something, and the girl is overprotective,” Chaos said, before tipping her hat. “Chau!”

Just like that, Chaos disappeared in a puff of purple twilight smoke.

“You son of a bitch.”

Then, she came back.

“Rude. Also, take this,” Chaos said, tossing me a watch. “Just a gift. Have fun.”

Then gone again.

In the end, it took me a week, or a long couple hours within the hotel, to run into my targets. Literally. He turned a corner and almost collided with a 10 year old black haired kid. He looked Italian. I froze, all his mentally laid out conversations dying in my throat as the kid chirped an apology. I stared at this tiny, Italian boy with his black hair, dark eyes and the wide grin on his face.

It felt…it felt wrong. Like I should not be meeting and talking to this kid.

Maybe it was just because he was Hades' kid? A Side effect or something?

Finally, glancing down at the figurine in the boy’s clutches, I managed to ask, “You play Mythomagic?”

The kid’s eyes brightened even more, his grin splitting his face. “Yeah!”

“Cool,” I answered dumbly. “Is it fun?”

“You want to try?” The kid asked.

Before I knew it he was dragged along by a hyperactive little italian kid and tried to figure out the card game spread out between them. The kid’s name was Nico Di Angelo. To be fair, I didn’t complain about it, it was an excellent opportunity to get to know the demigod, and figure out how to tell him that the figures of his game were real. 

Also to learn how this game actually works. Me and Grover did countless attempts, but it was mostly just like Pokemon, in that it was more of a collectathon then a game to us.

I glanced at the Poseidon card in his deck, tapping it softly.

“Poseidon is really good,” Nico said. “He has this really powerful side effect-” Nico chattered on, but I blanked on the explanation that followed.

What do I do now?

“He’s my dad,” I said without thinking. That’s what I do now I guess.

Nico blinked at me. “He’s a god.”

“Yeah. They’re real,” I continued, figuring I might as well just commit to the reveal now. I already opened the Pandora’s box that was this kid’s revelation, can’t close it now.

Nico blinked again. “Gods.”

“Yeah.”

He leaned forward. “The Greek gods are real?”

“Yeah,” I said again, meeting his gaze blankly. “And people connected to it can tell when they encounter another demigod. And I can tell you’re one.” 

Not exactly the truth, but close enough. I can’t exactly say that Chaos herself decided to give me a sidequest to save him and his sister and reveal the secrets of the universe to them or something. 

Besides, it wasn’t fully a lie. Many Demigods can be spitting images of their parents. Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Ares, and to be fair, even if I didn’t know, I think Hades would’ve been my first guess for this kid.

Nico stared at me, trying to discern if I was messing with him or not I’m guessing.

I got a cup of water, and decided to demonstrate with a small little power, rather than a deity power.

“So, you see the water right?” I asked Nico, who nodded skeptically. “Remember when I said I was the son of Poseidon?”

Nico nodded again, before I pointed a finger gun at the water cup, which made the water turn the cup upside down and twirl around, without the water ever coming out of the cup. Then the cup came off, but the floating ball of water still remained.

His wide eyes were enough to make him believe me.

Once we were past that hurdle, Nico rapidly-fired questions at me that I answered as best as he could. 

I spoke of the camp, of the gods, how I had been introduced to their world. Breaking down my quest into essential key points, I recounted his meetings with Hades and Ares. I bit my lip when Nico asked me about his own father, giving the vague ‘We know once he claims you’ type of answer.

I did not tell him about the Deity or time travel, because that wasn’t really important.

I told Nico of a few of my embarrassing moments, how scared I had been a few times on my quest, hoping to appear as human as possible; I don’t want the kid to think he has to live up to an expectation.

Eventually another girl joined them, introducing herself with a soft smile, taking the empty seat. She said her name was Bianca, Nico’s older sister. Nico immediately launched into an excited retelling of everything I had told him. I occasionally added to it or corrected facts, but let him speak otherwise. Nico seamlessly transitioned into guessing his own godly parent.

I glanced at my watch and swallowed. Nearly two weeks had passed already. I didn’t exactly have a deadline, but I’d rather get it done before fall started.

“What’s that watch?” Bianca asked. “It moves so quickly.”

“It shows the time outside the casino. I need to leave it soon.”

“Why would time move so quickly?”

“The casino distorts time, a day inside is like a week out there,” I nodded towards the direction of the exit.

The siblings’ eyes went wide. “Really?” Bianca whispered.

“Yeah, I entered like a couple hours ago, but almost two weeks have passed already.”

“We have been here for over a month,” she said quietly. “What’s the date?”

“It’s January 3rd, 2007,” I answered and the two fell quiet, stunned by the revelation.

Nico jumped up. “We need to get out of here,” he exclaimed.

“But...” Bianca began.

“He is right. You were already torn from your time, it’s only ever getting worse.”

Nico slumped back into his seat. “Can we even leave? We were told to stay here.”

“So?” I challenged. It was always a great time to incite a teenage rebellion.

In the end, it was Bianca that needed convincing. But finally, she got up, they collected their things from their room and followed me out of the casino. Nico was tempted to grab the new card they offered, whatever that was about, but I took his arm and gently pulled him towards the exit.

Once they were outside, the son of Poseidon breathed a deep sigh of relief. Mission complete. I straightened, glancing at the watch again. About September 30th. Seven o’clock, evening. We still had to get back to camp for now.

Bianca and Nico oriented themselves, muttering among each other, checking the date on newspapers, looking around with wide eyes. Apparently, the time they entered the Casino was back in the 1940s. I cannot imagine how odd it must be looking at the world now. 

I was content to follow for a bit, to let them get their bearings…until we were attacked by hellhounds, that is.

That put a bit of a damper on our exploration of Las Vegas. 

I defeated them quickly, not wanting to endanger the two, and was subsequently besieged by Nico until I had explained every little detail I knew about Riptide.

The pegasi Dad sent caused another half-hour delay. Apparently there was some gathering of the Pegasi or something, and it took Dad a couple hours out of his day before he could get a trio to leave the free apples and treats to come pick us up.

The Pegasi made me swear to get them a 20lb bag of apples each, which I agreed to.

They didn’t have to be from the store. The Demeter kids would be helpful.

Once we were moving, I relaxed. Three demigods of the Big Three standing on one spot were just begging for attacks from all sorts of monsters. My earlier annoyance of Nico’s near constant excited chatter shifted into a form of fondness.

The kid was just excited. He just learned one of his parents is a god. He was having a very different reaction I had whenever I found out, so I had to respect that.

Bianca on the other hand seemed distant in comparison. Almost like, despite the hellhounds, the pegasi, me in general, she still couldn’t believe it.

As midnight rolled around, we stopped at a small lake, settling in for the night.

“Do demigods always travel like this?” Bianca asked, patting her pegasus.

“Not really. We used buses and trains in the summer when we travelled to Los Angeles. But dad is the Lord of the Horses, so I can ask him to send me some help.”

“How cool!”

“I thought gods are not permitted interference?” Bianca pointed out.

“They aren’t. But some of them don’t really care. They can go around Zeus’ restrictions like dad often does. We meet regularly. But...” I exhaled, tilting his head back to look at the stars, “...most gods never actually talk to their children, not willing to break the ancient rule. Some of the campers are pretty angry at their parents because of it. I’m an incredibly lucky one that my father is so…present in my life. For mortals he’d still be classified as an absent father, I guess.”

“Do you think our father would talk and visit?” she asked, pulling her legs up to rest her chin on her knees. “I only remember a few times where it could have been him that was present.”

“Maybe?” he tried. “It’s hard to tell without knowing who your dad is. Some do, some don’t.” I hesitated before telling them of Luke, his recent actions, and how angry he was with his father, not mentioning Kronos or even alluding to him.

A sombre silence fell over their little group once I fell silent, both siblings lost in thought. Something flickered over Nico’s expression, but I couldn’t identify it, it was gone too quickly. Bianca muttered of unfairness under her breath. The ten-year-old eventually fell asleep, curled up under the trees, head resting on his sister’s leg. Bianca absentmindedly ran her fingers through his hair.

“You know,” she began, breaking their silence, and I looked up, “Nico and I were always together. On our own. I never really got to live for myself. Always watching over him.”

I pulled Riptide out of my pocket, thumbing the cap and keeping my gaze on it. After a moment of silence, I softly said, “You never had a place for yourselves. Where you were safe, I meant. My mom sent me to school all over the east coast in hopes I’d be far enough away to be safe from monsters. I wasn’t. But I had mom to come home to, to complain to and unwind with, I didn’t have a younger sibling to keep safe and care for.” Bianca hummed faintly, agreeing to my words. 

Bianca eventually drifted off to sleep and I settled in to keep watch. I didn’t think it necessary, but it was better to be safe rather than be woken up by a monster snacking on you. I watched the clear night sky, huddled into my warm winter jacket, staring into the dark. 

It took us two more days, the siblings insisting on stopping in a few cities on the way, Bianca being insanely curious about the changes in the world since their original time. Nico on the other hand, was mostly obsessed with finding out more about the mythical world, rather than the mortal one.

We arrived back in New York on January 6th, ending up at my mom’s apartment instead of camp. She happily greeted the two demigods, preparing the guest room for them. 

Apparently, even though they did hear everything during the Chaos Conversation, they didn’t get a chance to do anything. As soon as me and Chaos left, they were transported back to their respective locations of residence. Poseidon and Amphitrite were sent to the Sea Palace, Mom was sent to her apartment, and my sisters were sent wherever they called home.

Obviously, mom was terrified, but Dad was able to calm her down enough. Not without Mom practically forcing his hand to help me with the Pegasi.

God I loved her.

I would have to go back to school the next morning and Sally had offered to drive the siblings to camp. He and Nico withdrew to his bedroom, discussing more of the mythical world and my quest while Bianca helped his mom with dinner.

In the end, the siblings stayed for over a week. Sally patiently assisted them in adjusting to a different time period, helped them catch up on the most important historical events, even offered to enroll them in a school.

Eventually, on Sunday, the four of us drove to camp and introduced the Di Angelo’s to Chiron. Mr. D squinted at them in suspicion, but didn’t say anything. Bianca eventually chose to stay at camp, but Nico took Sally up on her offer from the day before and returned to their apartment with them. 

No doubt trying to stay near me, which I didn’t mind at all. The kid was fun, and while Bianca was closer to my age and maturity, it was nice to have a fun and wild kid around.

Nico was enrolled in my current school. His mom had apparently lied about Nico’s age because he ended up only one grade lower than me: in sixth grade. I had turned 13 recently, so seventh grade for me. 

I wasn’t sure where she had gotten the necessary papers for him, or how she had explained his presence to the school, and I had an inkling he didn’t want to know. 

Mom had a way of getting what she wanted, and perhaps some help from Chiron. 

I chose to blame the mist and didn’t question it further, instead helping Nico with his schoolwork as he had never really entered the education system since his Casino adventures.

It wasn’t until after Nico had fallen asleep that night that I had found a certain gift on our front room table.

A Sticky note on a stack of 20 dollar bills, and a Spray bottle with a purple foggy liquid inside.

I picked up the Sticky note, and read it quietly out loud.

Guess you didn’t need that return trip after all, did ya?

By the way, I’d recommend keeping the kids close to each other. Siblings care about each other, you know?

Anyway, don’t say I did nothing for you. That Noxus Spray can only be used by those I give permission to by the way, so don’t worry about a certain Hermes kid finding one of them.

Be good people - Chaos

…That’s her signoff?

“Perseus Dominic Jackson…” I said to myself, looking at a picture of the Son of Poseidon.

That kid was an enigma that I just couldn’t unravel.

I should be able to do that. I’m a child of Athena for Hades sake.

But this…this kid was just such an unknown figure.

His name was rather boastful, but considering it wasn’t him that gave him a name, it was fine. Perseus, the great hero, the one who beheaded Medusa, slayed numerous monsters, and became one of the most recognized people in Mythology.

Not a surprise his mother would name him that. It was just a name afterall.

But his middle name was not.

She looked through every record she could find on the Son of Poseidon. He had no middle name whatsoever.

Perseus Jackson

Percy Jackson

Perce Jackson

Peter Johnson

None had a middle name. Even Mr. D’s made up names didn’t include a Dominic at some point.

Dominic.

It meant Lordly.

It meant you belonged to a God, or to a Master.

It was made by the Roman Catholics, not by some Greek Philosopher.

It wasn’t just his name that made me pause though.

His powers…they were not of the son of Poseidon.

Nothing proved that more then his fight with Lord Ares.

She expected Water powers and Riptide, she’d be a fool to think those wouldn’t come into play. A Trident, while unexpected, wasn’t off the walls crazy either. Poseidon used a Trident as his main weapon afterall, it wouldn’t be impossible to believe that his Son held one too, and one that seemed quite powerful as well. Those watery blades certainly took a toll on the God of War.

No, what was strange was the Geyser of Red, Blue, and purple flames that erupted from the Ground when he slashed the boar.

And then when Amorphous Yellow wings sprouted from his back like a butterfly.

The way that his slashes seemed to cut across reality itself, sprouting blades of pure light to compliment the Trident’s watery blades as they both bombarded the God of War with little signs of stopping.

And that doesn’t even mention the relentlessness that Perseus showed.

The Poseidon kid was Merciless in his onslaught against the God of War, but that wouldn’t be much of a surprise. While she wasn’t nearly as temperamental as Perseus, clearly, she was also angry at the God of War. She just wasn’t dumb enough to make an enemy out of him.

However, Perseus was dumb enough to do so.

And he won.

He didn’t even win, he dominated against him. Percy gave Ares no chance, hammering him with attack after attack, switching weapons and abilities on the fly, literally in this case, and then ending it with a punch straight to the face.

And then, somehow, he had been able to…pacify the God of War.

That was the only word I can think of that could make sense.

He kept repeating the word Mars, and then, Ares changed and disappeared with a smirk on his face.

I am not stupid. Mars was the roman word-equivalent to Ares.

As such, whenever Percy kept repeating the name of the Red Planet, and Ares turned into a more serious demeanor in comparison, it was easy to draw the conclusion.

The roman gods were real too, and were likely some extension of the greek gods too. Maybe a Variation or alternate personality?

It’s possible, but regardless, Percy continued to show his prowess even before the fight with Ares.

She still remembers the Capture the flag match. At first, she thought she was seeing things in the heat of the moment. Marble crawling onto someone's arms like a Venom Symbiote didn’t really match with a god on the Pantheon.

Maybe Hephaestus, but clearly, he was no son of the Blacksmith.

Not only that, but Percy seemed Acutely aware of everything in general, which was odd for someone who supposedly just learned about the non-mortal world.

It’s not like he hid it either. At least not well. 

He somehow knew about the Cupid Trap, he knew how to control his powers like it was as easy as addition, he knew how the underworld worked, he knew Hades wouldn’t have been the thief, despite going to the underworld to begin with, and most importantly, he knew how to exploit Ares like a cat to a laser.

There was something up with him.

Son of the Unknown.

She remembered what Chiron had called out back when he was claimed, and she remembered that second symbol above his head like it was yesterday.

That Symbol…that was nothing in the Greek Pantheon.

Not Hera, Not Hecate, Not Tiche, Not Zeus, Hermes, Athena, Thanatos, Iris, Apollo, Hades (like she theorized the Di Angelos likely are), Aphrodite, Artemis, or even just an alternative to Poseidon.

That wasn’t anything in the Pantheon.

She had even prayed to her mother for an answer, only to receive a dismissive message saying exactly what she thought.

“That is no symbol on the Greek Pantheon Annabeth.”

Well what is it then?

Despite the dismissive response, it did seem that Athena was confused too.

(Later on she would learn that her mother had visited numerous gods to find what Symbol was raised above Percy’s head that day)

Perseus Dominic Jackson was a Puzzle she couldn’t crack…

…and she hated that she loved it.

“Stupid…fucking Percy,” Luke proclaimed as he continued to tredge through the numerous and delibrate environmental hazards.

There is no way there would be a lava pit here if the Gods didn’t decide to put it there.

Percy was all Luke could think about.

How he had destroyed Backbiter like it was a twig Luke had picked up, how he had utterly humiliated Luke without anyone even watching, how he had created a Fucking SUN like it was nothing at all.

He was the son of Poseidon, not fucking Helios!

Obviously, he was the son of something else, or at least a Legacy, and now he had a name to it…

If he could even call it a name.

“...Son of Poseidon, and Legacy of the Nameless Deity…”

Of course he would give out probably his biggest secret for a cool moment. That’s exactly the kind of person Percy was.

It didn’t help that he had the chops and power to back it up too. He had expected a fight to happen that night. Percy was, afterall, the son of one of the big three. He had prepared like it was the end of days, which it might as well have been.

Kronos hadn’t contacted him since his failure to defeat the Son of the Sea God.

Not even a voice of disappointment or anger.

Just Silence.

It was painful.

It was so painful, to know he had failed his master so much he hadn’t even talked back to him, that he didn’t even notice the zip behind him.

And another Zip.

It wasn’t until the 5th Zip did he hear it, and immediately, he picked up a broken sword nearby. 

Better then a stick.

He looked around him, looking for what was likely a monster, or something at least under Kronos command, but saw nothing.

Well, except for a red flash.

He turned to the flash, only to see another out of the corner of his eye.

He turned to see another.

And another turn, and another flash elsewhere.

Another, and yet another.

Another, and yet another. 

“GET OUT OF THERE YOU COWARD!” Luke shouted, assuming that this was Percy messing with him further. It seemed stupid to follow him, but Percy wasn’t exactly smart.

The zipping didn’t stop, and the flashing kept going.

Luke eventually had enough, and picked up a nearby rock and threw it into where the flash last was.

The rock hit the ground like nothing was there, and before Luke picked up another, something happened.

Thousands of red, glowing eyes appeared through the dark woods, between the thick trees.

All staring at him.

“Oh…shit,” Luke worriedly said, recognizing those eyes from earlier on Percy’s quest.

While they were in the Water Park, he had an encounter with a strange bird-like creature, with red electrical powers, flowing yellow feathers, and glowing red eyes.

4 eyes, to be exact. On each side of its head.

Dragonfollies.

This is the second time in his life that he had even seen them. The first time, after the water park, he had delved deep into the library and archives to find any record.

Thankfully, the Dragonfolly was recorded beforehand. They were rare creatures, all under the command of one being which was currently unknown. They were curious creatures, but very territorial depending on who might step into their territory.

Before he could think, several red eyes started coming closer to him, and in the blink of an eye, he had felt the brushing of static electricity all along his body, as feathers from the follies had started touching every section they could. One even stuck a claw onto his shoulder, slicing a clean cut through. He groaned as he ducked beneath the onslaught of dragonfollies, sticking up the broken blade to hopefully take them out.

It didn’t, of course. 

However, that didn’t stop Luke from equipping his Shoes and hopping away, going faster then they could hope to do.

The screech from the woods could be heard miles away, as thousands of Dragonfollies cried out.

They found their target, and now they need to report to their master.

Destiny is for the Weak.

That was the motto that Yharon lived by.

Fate has no control over your life unless you let it.

Destiny was a ruse, one created by those idiots who call themselves gods.

Gods were nothing to a being like him.

A Jungle Dragon.

A Being that could burn the planet to a crisp shall he deem it so.

A Being that has died many times before, and has let destiny run its course.

A Being that has seen enough war and bloodshed for a Titan’s lifetime.

And a being that was dying.

He had hoped that his previous Rebirth wouldn’t be his last, but sadly, it seemed like Achilles would be the hero to kill his final life.

He had been fought by nearly every Greek hero. Achilles, Perseus, Jason, Heracles, Atalanta, Orpheus even, Bellerophon, even Thesus and Aegeus.

None had earned his respect.

They had all cheated, using their godly powers or friends to stand even a chance against him, or kill him outright.

The day that someone comes and defeats him as a mortal will be the day he chooses to lay down and die.

He was just a pawn to the Gods. A Test for their heroes. Someone they could sharpen their skills and swords against.

Not a living creature.

To them, he was a training dummy in all but name.

They were lucky he was old.

Older then any of them in fact.

Hestia, the only god he partially respected, had been only a baby whenever he was a grown Dragon.

He was old, and he knew it.

How he had been able to restrain himself for so long, without blowing a gasket and eradicating the Gods who claimed to have a Pantheon, he doesn’t know. He's honestly impressed with himself.

Perhaps it was because the Gods were a lesser of many, MANY evils.

A few of the gods were, at least, tolerable. Hestia, Artemis, and Hephaestus are some of the few that Yharon would show mercy to should the worst come.

Hestia, the Mother to those who have none. Artemis, the Protector of those who have none. Hephaestus, the architect of those who have nothing.

At least, that’s what he called them.

Those are the only ones who deserved to be named by him.

No other shall gain a title that derives from a Jungle Dragon.

Just then, as he was brooding about his life, a Dragonfolly screeched in his ear.

Irritating little creatures they were. A Failed experiment by Hecate and Athena, to create more Jungle Dragons.

‘You idiotic divinities,’ he remembered thinking. ‘You’re grand King of Gods had already eradicated the rest with his revolt against Kronos. Your foolish test will prove nothing of use.’

He will admit he wasn’t entirely right.

The dragonfollies, despite being such irritations, were a good way of surveying the world.

Being much faster then him, and obeying him to an absolute, they were the surveillance he would require to find someone who could take his life.

And hearing of a Rogue Demigod of Hermes, frustrated with life and the gods as a whole, so much so he had ended up working with Kronos to overthrow the gods?

Well…

The flame that Yharon once held for battle was reignited.