Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

**POV - Percy**

My day started off perfectly.

Until, of course, it turned into a complete disaster.

I didn’t know what to expect when Chiron ordered Annabeth and me to the Big House, but it definitely wasn’t eight pretty boys rolling around on the floor, shouting at each other like a bunch of demigod toddlers on a sugar rush.

The blond dude with purple streaks in his hair was standing next to Mr. D and Chiron looked absolutely exhausted, like he had already given up on life.

"Percy, Annabeth!" bellowed the centaur—well, half-centaur, half-man, but whatever—as soon as he saw us approaching.

Eight pairs of eyes snapped toward us, pinning me in place. For some reason, I had the sudden urge to hide behind a tree.

After a few awkward moments, the guy next to Mr. D spoke. He had an accent—Australian, maybe?

“It’s good to see you, Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon. Oh, and hey there, little sis.”

He waved at Annabeth.
Annabeth, who never lost her composure, immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in shock.

And then—before I could even process what was happening—she sprinted across the terrace and threw herself into his arms, shrieking, “CHANNIE-HYUNG!”

…Okay, what?

Annabeth never threw herself into anyone’s arms. Not even her dad’s. Who was this guy?

I mean, it was obvious he was a child of Athena—his gray eyes were identical to the goddess’s—but why had I never seen him at camp before?

And what in Hades name was a hyung?

Also, why were the seven remaining dudes still sprawled across the terrace, engaged in what could only be described as a deadly tickle war?

Before I could wrap my head around anything, one of the guys on the ground stood up. He had purple hair and had just been hugging another kid a second ago.

“Annabeth. We meet again.” He smiled warmly at her before turning his attention to me.

And man, he was pretty.

Big, chocolate-brown eyes, black earrings, a red hair clip on his left side. He looked normal enough—except for the gigantic scyth strapped to his back, which shimmered in a misty green fog, practically screaming DANGER: KEEP AWAY.

Also, his eyes? They had this strange, unsettling glint—one I had only ever seen in Mr. D.

“You must be Percy.” His gaze burned into me, making me shiver. “I’m Minho. And this is Chan.”

He gestured to the light brown-haired boy, who was now standing beside him with Annabeth still clinging to his waist like a koala.

“I—uh. Yes? I’m Percy?”

Wow. Brilliant response, Jackson. 10/10. Really nailed that first impression.

Behind me, someone giggled.

“He’s cute. Can we keep him?”

I turned toward the voice.

It was the kid Minho had been hugging earlier—definitely smaller than the others. His blue hair sparkled under the sunlight, and his golden eyes gleamed with mischief.

Wait. No. Were his eyes golden? Or…blue?

Whatever. Not important. I refocused on Annabeth, who had finally let go of Chan.

“Uh, Chiron? You wanted to speak with us?”

“Ah, yes, Percy,” Chiron said. “Allow me to introduce you to Olympus’s *
elite team.”

He gestured toward the boys on the floor, who had now escalated from tickle fights to hurling plushies at each other.

“…Huh?”

I was definitely not doubting his words. Nope. Not at all.

But then I realized something weird about this whole situation.

I like never—never—pay attention to people’s looks, much less a group of dudes I *ust met. So why did I immediately notice the blue hair instead of, say, the six extremely sharp and dangerous looking knives strapped to that guy’s body?

Then, from across the table, I caught a pair of pink eyes staring at me.

Wait.

I *swore* there had been five guys fooling around just a second ago. Now there were only four.

Where did the missing one—

Oh.

He was sitting in a fluffy pink chair at the end of the table.

And were his eyes…changing from green to pink?

I didn’t have time to process that, because suddenly, heat flooded my face, and a single thought hit me like a tidal wave:

He’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.

Silky brown hair tied into a low ponytail with black and blue strands woven through it. The prettiest pink eyes ever. he was staring at me—like I was prey. And then instinct took over.

I drew my sword.

Which turned out to be the worst decision of my entire life.

Like literally.

The second Riptide transformed from pen to celestial bronze sword, several weapons were immediately aimed at my face.

I didn’t even have time to blink.

Riptide was wrenched from my grip before I could react, stolen by a fox-like guy who disarmed me in milliseconds.

Two arrows were pointed at my heart. The small blue-haired dude had his daggers at my throat.

But the worst part?

Minho’s scythe was hovering inches from my face, his aura flickering dangerously.

I froze.

Annabeth let out a strangled yelp.

Then, finally, another voice cut through the tension.

"Put your weapons away, everyone."

It was deep, calm, and absolutely *not* a request. It was a command.

Instantly, the five guys who had been about to murder me backed off, returning their weapons to their sheaths.

The deep-voiced guy picked up Riptide and stepped in front of me.

For some reason, his presence was comforting. He radiated warmth, like a golden light, and when he handed my sword back, I somehow knew he wasn’t a threat.

"Please excuse my friend over there," he said with an easy smile. "He likes bewitching people."

And—oh, gods—he was gorgeous.

He had golden freckles scattered across his face, blond hair shining like gold and he glowed—literally, just like the sunlight.

I blinked.

Now wait a damn minute.

I turned to glare at the guy in the pink chair.

Sure enough, his eyes were shimmering with that misty pink color again.

Before I could yell at him—

SMACK

A pink slipper nailed him right in the face.

I turned in awe.

My savior?

A brown-blond-haired guy wearing round glasses and something similar to a Sherlock Holmes uniform. His face was completely blank, like he hadn’t just committed an act of divine justice.

"Hyunjin-hyung, stop using your love spell on him. I nearly killed him," he deadpanned.

"Seungmin, you little—!" The pink-eyed witch dude shot to his feet, gripping a long staff in one hand and the slipper in the other. His nose was bleeding and his eyes had turned green again.

"Now, now, everyone," Chan clapped his hands, trying to restore order. "You’ve had your fun. Let’s get to business already."

With a lazy flick of Mister D’s hand, we were all seated around the table.

“Mister Hyundai, get up. That’s my pink chair”
Mister D really set his priorities right, huh?
The pink-eyed menace grumbled as he slumped into his new, not so pink chair next to the deep-voiced guy.

I sat there, stunned, next to Annabeth and my glasses-wearing savior, who was currently glaring daggersat the magic pink princess across the table.

Ok...

What in the actual Hades is happening right now?

So much for my oh-so-perfect day I guess.

Chapter Text

POV: Percy

"Would someone have the decency to explain why you're here?" Annabeth asked, arms crossed.

For some reason, I had a gut feeling that we really didn’t want to know what these guys were doing here.

"Now, now, Miss Annabell," Mister D drawled, making Annabeth’s eye twitch. "Be patient. We wouldn’t want to be rude to my son and his friends." He summoned a Diet Coke out of thin air and took a sip, looking oddly proud as he glanced at Minho.

Wait. His son?

I turned to the guy in question, who was currently fixing his black earrings with the air of someone used to being the center of attention. He didn’t exactly give off the same chaotic energy as Mister D, but now that I thought about it, his eyes had that same dangerous spark. Great. Another wine-induced troublemaker.

"Uh, Percy, Annabeth, how about I introduce everyone first? Then we can get to the actual discussing part."

Thank the gods someone was finally making sense. Chan, the only one so far who seemed remotely sane, got up from his chair. Why he sat down before? No clue, he could have just remained standing.

"Since you already know Lee Know and me, Annabeth, let’s start with us first. As you probably guessed, I’m a son of Athena and the leader of our little group. This here is Minho—also known as Lee Know—son of Dionysus."

Chan nodded at the purple haired guy who gave an exaggerated wink before taking a sip of his fathers Diet Coke how starred at him in shock.

"And these two—Changbin, son of Demeter, and Seungmin, son of Apollo."

The first one, Changbin, had dark hair and wore a flower crown. The second—my savior from earlier—had round glasses and multi-toned brown-and-blond hair. Both of them nodded politely, looking way too put-together for a group that had been tickle-fighting on the floor not even five minutes ago.

Chan reached out and snatched something from the blue-haired boy next to Changbin—probably a knife, knowing these guys.

"Ahem.Hannie, give me that," he scolded before continuing. "These two are our twins—Han Jisung and Felix, sons of Apollon."

Hold up. Twins?

I blinked at them, baffled. They didn’t even look like they were related. Felix, the deep-voiced guy who had picked up my sword earlier, looked like a literal golden retriever. Jisung, on the other hand, had mischief practically radiating from his eyes.

"Felix must’ve noticed my expression because he laughed. "Yeah, we get that reaction a lot." Then, grinning, he added, "Oh, and please call my brother Jisung, otherwise he’ll either ignore you for the rest of the day or stab you—it’s a 50/50 chance."

Jisung looked highly offended but didn’t argue, mostly because Chan was now glaring daggers at him from across the room.

"Moving on," Chan said, clearly eager to stop his teammates from embarrassing themselves further. "This here is Jeongin."

He pointed to the blonde, curly-haired kid—the one who had disarmed me in milliseconds. He looked about ten years old, but his skill level was definitely way beyond that.

"Son of Ares."

Ah, great. Not another one.

Ever since I fought the actual god of war, his kids had been extra enthusiastic about trying to turn me into Percy-flavored roadkill. But to my absolute horror, Jeongin just smiled sweetly at me.

I had no idea what was worse—Clarisse actively trying to stab me or this kid lulling me into a false sense of security.

"And the last o— Percy, are you even listening?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, totally!”

I definitely wasn’t, but whatever.

“Well, if you say so.” Chan sighed.
"And last but not least," he went on, "this is Hyunjin, son of Aphrodite."

I turned to look at him, expecting to see the same pink-suited, love-spell-casting guy from earlier—but no. The dude standing there now had red hair, black eyes, and was wearing gym clothes.

Wait. What?

I squinted. "Is that the same guy?"

"He can shapeshift," Jisung explained, looking bored. "Oh, and I’d advise you not to piss him off. Hyung has a special connection with Hecate. If you’re not careful, he’ll turn you into a guinea pig."

A shiver ran down my spine. I really, really didn’t need a repeat of my run-in with Circe.

Also, what in the gods' name is a hyung?

I made a mental note to ask Annabeth later, but—of course—later never came.

---

After the introductions were done, Chan exchanged a few words with Chiron before turning back to us.

"Alright, kids, let’s get down to business."

Something about the way he said that made my stomach drop.

"Percy, we obviously aren’t here by coincidence. A few weeks ago, Jisung received a prophecy from his father, Apollo. And, well… I suspect we’ll need your help with it. Unless, of course, there’s another child of Poseidon we aren’t aware of?"

I shook my head. Besides Tyson and me, there were no other kids of Poseidon, and since my little brother was a Cyclops, I doubted he counted in this situation.

“What’s the prophecy about?” I asked. “Can you at least tell me before we decide anything?”

“I can’t tell you, Percy. It’s too risky.”

“Too risky?” I repeated. “Then how are we supposed to—”

“But,” Chan cut me off with a mischievous smile, “we can show you.”

…What now?

I narrowed my eyes. "Show me? What’s the difference? Are we talking flashback montage? Did you guys strap a GoPro to Jisung while he was sleep-prophecying?"

My confused expression must’ve been hilarious because in the corner of the room, flower-crown-guy—Changbin?—started giggling.

Chan ignored him. Instead, he turned to Jeongin and said something in a language I definitely didn’t recognize.

"정인, 그렇게 친절하시다면."
(“Jeongin, if you’d be so kind.”)

Huh? It wasn’t Latin, and it definitely wasn’t Ancient Greek. I glanced at Annabeth, hoping she had a clue, but she looked just as confused as I was.

Jeongin nodded and pulled something out of his backpack.

It looked like a piece of parchment… except it was floating.

Floating parchment was usually a bad sign. Unless, of course, it was another one of Zeus’s weird kids, in which case it was definitely a bad sign.

Apparently it wasn't, because when Jeongin handed it to Jisung, the parchment unrolled itself and golden light wrapped around him. His eyes glowed as he began to speak.

---

Eight shall rise, bound by fate,
From wisdom, war, and nature’s gate.

*A sun split in two, one light, one dark,
A love divine will leave its mark.

The earth shall quake, the skies shall rend,
To break a bond that time won’t mend.

Two sons of death and sea will stray,
Their choices lead the world astray.

United as one, they face the fall,
Or risk the ruin of gods and all.

---

The moment the last words left his mouth, Jisung collapsed.

Minho moved fast, catching him effortlessly before he hit the ground. Without breaking a sweat, he carried him—bridal style—into the Big House. Hyunjin and Felix followed close by.

I just sat there, too stunned to speak.

Another prophecy.

Rachel had already given us a major one right after the Titan War. Now, not even a month after the Battle of Manhattan, a second prophecy had appeared—this time, delivered by a bunch of kids who, five minutes ago, were throwing plushies at each other.

And, of course, once again, it involved me.

Oh I'm so fucked. I really can't catch a break, can I?

Chapter Text

POV-Percy

Chan must've sensed my frustration because he sighed. "We don’t know exactly what it means, but considering it mentions a 'son of the sea,' we thought you might be involved. So our first move was to come to camp and ask for your help, Son of Poseidon."
Great.
So, if the gods fall again, guess who’s on the blame list?
"Okay, so you guys figured out most of it," I said, rubbing my temples. "Seems simple enough, I guess—but honestly? I don’t get it." I looked around at them. "That third line? Time won’t mend a bond? What’s that supposed to mean? And since when do we call gods primordial ones? Someone wanna explain?"
Annabeth, ever the encyclopedia, answered first. "Percy, the Primordials aren’t gods. They’re beings older than the gods, born directly from Chaos—the first deity to exist. Gaea, Nyx, Tartarus... they all fall under that category."
I was about to respond when Jeongin, the tiny war machine, suddenly piped up, looking way too excited.
"It's saying that some massive disaster—earthquakes, storms, you name it—will shatter this ancient connection involving powerful, primal beings. And once it's broken, it’s done for good—nothing can fix it!"
As if he’d just realized he’d embarrassed himself, Jeongin’s face turned bright red, and he quickly ducked behind Changbin.
"미안합니다..." ("I'm sorry...") he muttered, staring at Chiron like he was seeking permission to exist. Then, in the same strange language, he added, "하지만 내 생각엔 우리가 그를 믿어서는 안 될 것 같아요."
(“But I don’t think we should trust him.”)
I squinted. I definitely didn’t understand that.
Before I could say anything, Chan ruffled Jeongin’s hair. "Don’t worry, Jeongin. Percy won’t betray us. You can speak freely with him."
Okay, pause.
"What did he just say?" I demanded. "Because I don’t speak French or whatever that was."
Annabeth elbowed me hard in the ribs. "It wasn’t French, seaweed brain."
Jeongin, who had recovered from his embarrassment, giggled, his eyes barely visible now. Gods this kid really did look like a tiny fox. "Korean. We all speak a magically modified version of Korean. That’s why it sounded unfamiliar at first."
Right. Because that was a normal thing people could just do.
"It was a favor from Hecate," he added. "She enchanted our speech so we could communicate anywhere without anyone listening in."
Ok that's honestly cool, I also wanna talk in magically altered language to secretly insult others.
Before I could dwell on that thought, Hyunjin—who had changed hair colors again btw (was it purple now? Neon yellow?)—burst out of the big house, looking furious.
"Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah, we can speak a dozen languages—who cares?" he snapped. "Jisung collapsed again! We need an answer! Now!"
He looked ready to shake someone to death, which, judging by how his hair kept shifting colors, was a serious problem. Even Mr. D was giving him a vaguely disturbed look.
"While you guys were busy explaining the prophecy to this moron"—he gestured at me—"which, by the way, we could’ve done while traveling to the Underworld, Jisung’s life force is fading so fast that Lix is barely keeping him conscious!"
That shut me up.
There were a million things I wanted to ask—about their quest, about Hecate’s weird enchantments, about why their seer was currently 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨—but Hyunjin’s yelling must’ve gotten to Chiron, because after ten more seconds of intense starring, he dismissed me and Annabeth to check on Jisung.
We barely caught a glimpse of what was happening inside the Big House, but what we did see was enough.
Jisung was laid out on the cushioned sofa, his entire body convulsing like he was having a seizure. He looked even paler than before—if that was even possible.
Felix stood beside him, gripping a glowing staff, his hands trembling. His normally mischievous expression was gone, replaced with sheer panic.
Minho was at Jisung’s side, gripping his hand, his face twisted with fear. Even the seemingly unshakable son of Dionysus looked scared.

Annabeth pulled me away before I could step closer.
"Come on," she murmured. "We should go. There’s nothing we can do to help."
"Shouldn’t we—"
"Percy." Her voice was firm. "Let’s go."
I didn’t argue.
Back at my cabin, Annabeth warned me not to mention what we saw inside the Big House to anyone. She told me to think carefully about Chan’s request—to really consider whether I wanted to help them on their quest.

But, of course, I never got the chance to give the son of Athena an answer.

Hera made sure of that.

Chapter Text

POV: Chan

It was quite the shock when Jisung suddenly jolted awake on a random summer evening.

One moment, he was peacefully cuddling with Minho—both of them knocked out after several exhausting days of monster hunting. The next, he was floating mid-air, like a balloon someone forgot to tie down.

I tried to grab him, because let’s be honest, a Jisung balloon would be useless against the giant squid we were supposed to hunt later.
But before I could, a swirling purple mist surrounded him, lifting him even higher.

What followed? Absolute panic of course.

There was a lot of screaming (mostly from Jisung), a lot of cussing (mostly from me), and a lot of threatening murder (exclusively from Minho).
Then Jisung—still floating—shouted something about a world-ending prophecy and some heroes whose help we’d need.
And right after delivering that cryptic message? He crash-landed right on top of his twin brother, the purple mist vanished instantly, and Jisung, still unconscious, started mumbling something about cheesecake.

Hannie woke up three days later, completely fine but with zero recollection of the whole floating, prophecy-shouting incident.
All he could remember was some weird dream about his dad rattling off random names.
Jassieon? Hansel? Leonardo?
I mean, seriously—Hansel? Who names their kid Hansel? Wasn’t that the fairy tale with the witch and the fancy gingerbread house?
Lee Know, of all people, actually suggested we go to Germany to look for Hansel and Gretel—maybe interrogate the witch for answers.
Hyunjin and I both shot that idea down immediately, our ferret boy(yes that's one of Hyunjins nicknames)got weirdly quiet and gave Lee Know a death stare before muttering something about "cookie bribes" and "not just a fairy tale."

Which, y’know… we definitely didn’t ask about.

Yeah, okay. Never mind.
My kids are at each other’s throats again—hold on a second.

Anyway, that was only the short version of the chaos we’d gone through a month ago.

There was also the murderous mummy child in Egypt.

And the resurrected Spanish conquistadors who were convinced that Lee Know was the Antichrist.
(Still not sure how that happened, by the way.)

And if it weren’t for at least seventeen other equally ridiculous incidents, we probably would’ve made it to Long Island much faster.

And then… IT happened.
Not the alien, Lix. No, I mean THAT event.
…NO, not the time we got stuck in that medieval castle! I told you guys, I’d rather never hear about that again!
It was an accident, and I already apologized to Artemis like 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦!

Where was I? Right.

The night a goddess kidnapped the son of Poseidon.

It was the evening after we met Percy Jackson for the first time.
Honestly? I liked the guy. He reminded me so much of Han that I wouldn’t even be surprised if they were the real twins instead of Felix and him.
It was slightly irritating, though—him dating my little sister, being the great hero who saved Olympus (twice, by the way), and, of course, being a Forbidden Child.
You know, classic demigod problems.

At midnight, I was trying to read a book for once.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
I had already counted the kids twice—everyone was still at camp.
Lee Know hadn’t sleepwalked outside again.
Seungmin had somehow gone two whole hours without losing his ADHD stress toys.
Our concealment spells were holding, the emergency teleportation staff was still strapped to my belt. Even the food rations were double-checked.
Everything should have been fine.

And then, of course—

KABOOM!

And the night exploded in a burst of green light.

I hate it when I’m right.

Why does bad stuff always happen to me?
I bolted out of my room in the Big House, the others already gathering in the hallway—weapons in hand, ready to defend.
"What now?" I groaned.
Minho stared at me, scythe in one hand, dragging Jisung behind him with the other. His cat pajamas and grim reaper aesthetic did not match.

"Min, I told you—no room sharing!"

He shot me a look that clearly said fuck off and mind your own business, before jogging ahead to catch up with Hyunjin and the others.

When we reached Cabin Three, everything looked… normal.

No visible damage. No smoke. No craters. No hellhounds running wild.
And, most suspiciously?
No other campers.
Which shouldn’t have been possible.

A KABOOM that loud should’ve woken up everyone.

We should’ve been surrounded by hordes of armed demigods, all ready to stab first and ask questions later.

Instead, the only ones here were us—seven demigods and a tiny fennec fox.
(Jeongin, apparently so spooked that he’d shifted into his animal form.)

"Felix, Changbin," I ordered, instincts kicking in. "Go get Chiron and tell him what’s happening. Take Han and Innie with you. Now."

Felix nodded, instantly turning on his heel. The others followed close behind.

I turned back to the rest of our group. "Weapons out, guys. Let’s see what brilliant excuse Percy has for us this time."

And with that, we stepped into Cabin Three.

Chapter Text

~this will be expanded, I'm currently just trying to figure out how on earth AO3 let's me insert pictures hehe~

Stray Kids x PJO

Bang Chan- Athena
Lee Know- Dionysos
Changbin- Demeter
Hyunjin- Aphrodite
Han- Apollon
Felix- Apollon
Seungmin- Apollo
Jeongin- Ares

~Also this is more like headcanons for them so I didn't exactly use pretty language hahaha~

- Channie is the leader of this mysterious group of elite solders who fight for Olympus

-he really is like the group dad even though he's only a bit older

-Lee Know Know might be Dionysos son but he prefers grape juice. He's really great at inflicting madness tho

-his beloved scythe was a gift from Hecate whom he's great friends with. Cuz she was interested in his immense mental strength... Not anything weird (◍•ᴗ•◍)

-I thought of making Binnie a son of Hades or Ares but tbh I can only picture him with a flower crown and lots of birdies around him

-Binnie is probably the strongest in raw magic power and muscle power but he's also great at archery

-Hyunjin is Aphrodites favorite child, like ever. Since he alone (I think) got her ability to warp his appearance and, if he wants to, looks like the person one loves the most.

- can also use charmspeach, hypnosis and is really good with daggers

He was raised by another goddess so he isn't exactly interested in Aphrodite who's tried more than once to make him her priest.

-hannie is the little guy who's the most dangerous of them all. He's literal twins with Lix, but their powers couldn't be more different.

-he is exceptionally good with small knifes and daggers, putting curses (like,u know, sickness and stuff) on people and he can sometimes see the future or make prophecies and obviously music but he's horrible at archery

-Lix is incredible at archery but his main power focuses on healing others. He can like make forcefields and heal everyone inside a certain range instantly
Like -POOF- and ur alive again

- they don't look alike at all, Felix has golden freckles on his face and golden glowing skin while hannie is rather pale and has golden-blue eyes

-Seungmin is WAYYYY to good at archery and bewitching everyone's mind with his beautiful voice that most overlook his skill with the sword

-he was asked three times to perform in front of the gods on Olympus and has earned the favor of Zeus himself (even tho he'd rather not have hehe)

-I really didn't know where to put innie. He's quite good at everything but I liked the idea of him being Ares' son and condemning violence

-like, he's the best at handling weapons and is probably better than Percy at sword fights but he doesn't like the fact that he can make others angry at will

Have fun reading my dears <3

~Mocchi~

Chapter Text

POV-Chan

It was dark inside, the scent of seawater lingering in the air as we made our way across the cabin.

"Chan, all the beds are empty. Percy's not here."

Seungmin stood next to two king-sized beds—one still perfectly made, the other a messy tangle of blankets, as if its owner had left in a hurry.

We searched the cabin, coming across an assortment of things: celestial bronze fishing rods,H2O posters, a table that looked suspiciously like a Cyclops workbench—except it was covered in plushies and unicorn drawings.

Tyson’s, no doubt.

"Hyung! Come here, quick!"

Hyunjin’s voice rang from the opposite side of the cabin. He stood in front of a large stone basin filled with salt water. The sharp smell and the rainbow-colored fish swimming inside made that obvious.

The water glowed slightly, but that wasn’t what had him so mesmerized.

A woman’s image flickered across the surface.

Her features shifted—one moment young and breathtakingly beautiful, the next wrinkled and old. A goatskin cape draped over her shoulder, only to be replaced by peacock feathers and a flowing black robe.

Oh, great.

We’d had more than our fair share of run-ins with Lady Hera, both in her Greek and Roman forms.
Right now, it looked like she couldn’t decide which version of herself to appear as.

Then she looked up and locked eyes with me.

Her voice trembled as she spoke, her breath coming in short gasps like she had just run a marathon.
(Which, for the record, was impossible, because I know for a fact that Lady Hera did not share mine and Changbin’s enthusiasm for working out. Honestly, I don’t even think she understood why puny little mortals wanted to sweat or build muscle in the first place.)

"My dear heroes, I must make haste in speaking with you. My time is dire, and I cannot hold this connection for long. Only because Hecate granted me a portion of her power may I now give thee my counsel."

So this not-so-Iris-message was Hecate’s doing? Interesting.

"Before continuing thy own quest, thou must first assist the seven demigods of the Great Prophecy. Only when their fate hath been fulfilled may thine own truly begin. Yet aiding but one side shall not suffice, for I bid thee send half of thy company to the other camp. But beware—reveal not thine identities to any other demigod, lest what is most dear to thee surely perish."
She exhaled, looking drained.

Hyunjin’s voice was hesitant. "My Lady—"
All of us stood frozen, trying to process what she’d just said.

"What are you saying?" His voice was sharper now. "If we don’t continue our own quest, Jisung will die! And where on earth is Percy Jackson?! And why in the gods’ name are you talking like an old history book?!"

Priorities. Hyunjin had them.

Hera must’ve been truly desperate, because instead of scolding him—like she always did—she simply sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Spare me, Hyunjin, dear child," she said wearily. "Thy sarcasm is not needed right now. I am in quite a desperate situation."

That was an understatement.

"I entrust thy little band with guiding the new heroes to victory. In return, I shall cast a counter-curse upon Jisung. Believe it or not, he is... quite dear to me."

I raised an eyebrow at that, but she continued.

"As for Percy Jackson... I had no choice but to send him to the other cam—"

"CAMP JUPITER? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? "

I didn't 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 to shout.

It just happened, okay? Because what the actual Hades was she thinking?!

The others all turned to stare at me, stunned.

"Geez, Channie-hyung," Changbin muttered, giving me a 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 judgmental look. "No need to shout."
Hyunjin rubbed his ears like I’d just burst his eardrums and they suddenly started bleeding.

Drama Queen.

Minho, of all people, looked at Lady Hera apologetically and motioned for her to continue.

"I—yes, Christopher, perhaps I am out of my mind," Hera snapped, her voice suddenly raw with frustration. "After all, I used the last of my strength to reach you, believing you could help me. I am trapped in this gods-forsaken fucking cage!"

Wait—what?

Hera… was trapped?

And she was cursing?

And not speaking like she belonged in a Shakespearean play?

I exhaled slowly and held up my hands in surrender.

"Fine. We’ll figure it out, My Lady." I ran a hand through my hair. "I guess I don’t have much of a choice. We’ll send half the team to Camp Jupiter and do our best to assist the Seven. But—" I met her gaze. "You have to shield Jisung from the curse."

Arguing with the Queen of Olympus was pretty much impossible anyway.

Hera gave us a smile before evaporating into a cloud of goat-smelling steam… and boiling Percy's poor rainbow fish in the process.

Felix and the others arrived five minutes later, Chiron and Dionysus in tow.
"—not sleep deprivation, you old grape enthusiast!"

I sighed. "Mister D, I assure you, something did happen."

Jeongin, now back in human form, confirmed our suspicions. "No one else heard the explosion from Cabin 3. Just us."

I nodded. “We shouldn’t talk here,” I muttered. “I have important new information.”

Ignoring the increasingly worried glances from Chiron and Dionysus, I led the group toward the Big House.

By the time everyone settled into the "meeting room" (which was technically a table tennis court), it was already past 2 a.m.

I took a deep breath. "This is very crucial information, so please do not interrupt me or I might accidentally stab you."

Not a threat. Just a fact. When I’m tired, I have a tendency to stab things.

My pillow, the tree next to me, Seungmin’s thigh—it really depends.

"Okay," I sighed. "First: Percy’s at Camp Jupiter. The gods are clearly in deep trouble if Hera was desperate enough to swap them. Our first mission is to assist the Seven from Rachel’s prophecy. Then we can resume our own quest."

Lee Know scowled. "But Hannie—"

"I know Jisung needs a cure," I cut in. "Hera promised to suppress the curse until we finish this… side quest."

That didn’t make him look any happier, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"Second," I continued. "We have to split up."

That immediately got protests. And a plushie to the face, courtesy of Felix.

"We cannot just split up, Hyung!" he yelled. "It’s too dangerous! Remember last time?"

Oh, I remembered.

Last time we split up, Seungmin accidentally summoned a giant dinosaur that chased us through half of Japan.
Meanwhile, the others somehow destroyed a section of the Great Wall of China while being hunted by something that was either a demonic Hello Kitty or a unicorn projectile-vomiting rainbows.

So, yeah. Splitting up? Not exactly ideal.

"Hera sees no other way," I said. "She was desperate enough to send Percy there herself. Which means our enemy isn’t just some giant squid."

I absentmindedly twitched my ears. (I flicked my ears—yes, I have wolf ears, don’t judge. Half our group has animal traits, courtesy of Lady Hecate.)

"No more arguing. The twins need to go to Camp Jupiter—Apollon is still a Roman deity even if he didn't changed much. Hyunjin and Minho will go, too. The rest of us stay here and assist as best we can."

Chiron nodded, knowing full well that my decision was final.

“And remember,” I warned, “under no circumstances can you reveal your true identities to the Romans or things will turn ugly real fast. Hera had made that very clear."

After more discussions (and another plushie attack from Felix), I sent everyone to bed—except Minho and me. We stayed up strategizing with Chiron and Dionysus.
"You two should sleep," Chiron eventually said. "Tomorrow will be a long day."
He wasn’t wrong.

I dragged Minho back to our rooms, already dreading what lay ahead.

Tomorrow was going to be very long indeed.

Chapter Text

POV – Felix

The room I was supposed to share with my brother was empty.

Again.

He had sneaked out to Minho, despite Channie-hyung's very clear “Stay in your rooms, or else” speech last night.
Not that I was surprised. Those two were like a cat and its favorite sunspot—always gravitating toward each other.

It was only six in the morning, and I was wide awake.

Not because I wanted to be, mind you.

Sleep just wasn’t happening.

I'd never been separated from my brother for more than a day before.

We just... didn’t do that.

Like ever.

And it was worse for me, being the only healer in our group.

Letting the others go off into danger without me felt like trying to sleep while your oven was on fire.

Technically possible, but highly ill-advised.

So, why am I telling you all this, dear imaginary AO3 reader? Because I just broke the fourth wall and I really, really don’t want to think about what’s coming in a few hours.
Honestly, I’d rather be reading a book or playing Genshin Impact, but oh no—demigod life doesn’t come with a pause button, even for me who was only more or less one.

Huh?

What was that?

What did I mean by more or less a demigod?

Well, you see—oh, never mind. I'll tell you later.

I hear Jisung coming back.

You know what, I'll tell you later.

Jisung stumbled into the room, looking like he had just fought a small war against a map (and lost).
He had ink scribbles all over his cheek, and he clutched a bundle of parchment under his arm.

"Hyung, you’re back." I gave him a small smile and tapped the bed beside me.

He flopped down with a dramatic sigh, grabbing my cat plushie and squeezing it like it was his emotional support animal (which, to be fair, it kind of was).

"Did you and Lee Know finish planning?"

Jisung nodded, still smushing the plushie.
"Seungmin thinks it's best if we use teleportation stones to reach Camp Jupiter, but I have no idea how we’re supposed to convince the Romans that it's normal for four demigods to just pop into their forest."

He curled into a ball of blue hoodie and general distress.
"I don’t wanna say goodbye, Lix. Dad told me it’s a bad idea to split up, but Channie won’t listen."

I sighed. 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦. "It’s probably not the best idea right now, but we don’t have a choice. If we want the prophecy of the Seven to start, this is the only way."

Jisung groaned in frustration, rolling onto his back dramatically before reaching for one of his daggers.

"Hey, no stabbing things out of spite. Did you pack everything?" I grabbed the weapon and started looking for our shared suitcase.

Jisung huffed and stood up. "You’re so slow, brother dear. I already packed everything into the necklace."

…Right. The necklace.

What’s that, dear reader?

Ohh, that’s one of our many magical items, courtesy of Lady Hecate (or, well, technically Hyunjin).
It has a small leather pouch attached to a black string, and you can store up to three full suitcases inside it.

What?

You really thought we’d be dragging actual suitcases through the forest?

Are you nuts?

"Lix, who are you talking to?"

Oops. Shit.

Jisung stared at me from across the room, one eyebrow raised and his tiny backpack in hand.

"Uh. No one. Don’t worry about it." I grabbed my cat plush and followed him outside before he could press further.

By the time we reached the main entrance of the Big House, the others were already waiting. Chiron and Mr. D were there, along with Annabeth and—oh.
A fellow son of Apollo.
Chan glanced at me for a moment before turning back to his Very Important Conversation with Annabeth and the camp director.

I dragged Jisung toward the blond boy, who had freckles like me.
He was clutching something wrapped in cloth and looked nervous.

Like, oh-no-the-teacher-called-on-me nervous.

Jisung leaned over to whisper, “That guy looks like he’s about to either pass out or bolt.”

I hummed. “Bet he does both.”

Will took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Uh, hi,” he started awkwardly. “I’m Will. Will Solace. Head counselor of Apollo cabin.”

Jisung and I exchanged a glance.

We must have really made him nervous.

I gave him my best friendly, non-threatening healer smile and held out a hand. “Hey, Will. I’m Felix. Thanks for seeing us off.”

Will hesitated before shaking my hand, and to his credit, he didn’t bolt.

He seemed to refind his confidence and continued to speak.
"We heard about your stay from Annabeth, so we wanted to give you something."
He gestured to the package in his hands before holding it out to me.
"There are three sons of Apollo on this mission, so we thought you might need it. I hope… if we meet again, we can talk more and maybe be friends."

Jisung, ever the dramatic one, clutched his chest.
“Are you asking us to be your friends? Will Solace, are you proposing friendship?!”

Will blinked. “Uh—”

Jisung lunged for a hug. Minho intercepted him mid-air, grabbing him by the hood like a misbehaving puppy.

“Not so fast, you gremlin.”

Jisung dangled for a moment before pouting dramatically, but at this point, Lee Know was immune to his antics.
Instead, he turned his attention to the package in my hands.

I unwrapped the cloth, immediately noticing the gold-thread embroidery.
The first thing revealed was a long, flowing—uh… cape?

“Damn,” Seungmin muttered. “Fancy.”

Neatly wrapped ambrosia pieces followed, then a stunning bronze dagger—

—and then. 𝘖𝘩.

𝘖𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵.

“Where in Hades’ name did you get this?!” I all but yelled, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

Hyunjin and Changbin squinted at the three golden bottles in my hands. The others looked equally confused, but Chan—oh, Channie-hyung—he knew.

His entire body went rigid.

Within seconds, both he and Annabeth were right there, eyes locked on the bottles.

"Felix, what on earth is that?"

I.N materialized out of nowhere, eyes locked onto the bottles like they contained the secrets of the universe.

"That’s—wait. No, seriously, where the fuck did you get that?" Even Chan was shuddering now, moving just a tiny bit closer.
Jisung and Seungmin were frozen.

Because what Will had just handed me was Liquid Sunlight.

𝘓𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵!

The most OP, cheat-code, holy-grail substance for any child of Apollo.

The realization hit like a truck.

Minho muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “holy shit,” while Jisung looked like he was about to ascend to the heavens.

This stuff wasn’t just rare—it was legendary.
It could heal anything.
Wounds? Gone.
Diseases? Erased.
I could probably even bring the dead back to life with it.

Probably. I’d never actually tested that theory.

Will shuffled awkwardly. "Uh. These ones actually are from uh… from dad."

Jisung blinked. “…Apollo just gave you these?”

Will shrugged. “Apparently.”

Seungmin shook his head in disbelief. “We have got to start getting better gifts from him.”

Chan, having apparently regained his ability to function, thanked Will at least a hundred times before we finally said our goodbyes.

The walk to the border was quiet at first, the reality of what we were about to do sinking in.

I clutched the wrapped bundle of supplies Will had given us.
Jisung was uncharacteristically silent, and even Hyunjin—our usual picture of confidence—looked deep in thought.

When we reached the edge of camp, Chan finally spoke, his voice steady.

“We’ll assist Annabeth until we find more demigods connected to the prophecy,” he said, his gaze serious. “Your mission is to find as many of the Seven as possible. Protect them until we have more information.”
He turned to Minho.
“You take the lead. Keep everyone alive. If you find Percy and he remembers nothing, which—given Hera’s worry about them finding out about each other—is likely, befriend him. Figure out what he needs.”

The purple haired boy nodded, deadly serious.

Chan sighed. "If everything goes well, we’ll meet in about a month at the Brooklyn Base. Good luck."

We hugged each other, one by one.
I handed Seungmin a bag of medical supplies he could use if something happened.
We double-checked our magical communication drachmas, just in case.

Then, the others walked back toward the cabins, already planning their next steps.

And me?

I could only think about whether I’d ever see them again.

My family.

My 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"Felix."

Hyunjin’s soft voice pulled me back to reality. He stood beyond the border, teleportation stone in hand, signaling that it was time.

I exhaled slowly, stepped forward, and grabbed Jisung and Minho’s hands.

“Alright,” I muttered. “Let’s go crash a Roman party.”

The world blurred—
—and everything went black.

Chapter Text

Felix’s POV

The teleportation stone dumped us near a small lake, a few hundred meters above the Caldecott Tunnel.

Not the worst landing we’ve had—at least no one materialized inside a tree this time.

Camp Jupiter wasn’t exactly new territory for us.

We’d been here at least eleven times before, always under different disguises, thanks to Hyunjin’s shapeshifting spells.

Each time, we’d come up with a new cover story, changed our names, and acted like we’d never set foot here before.

Honestly, it was getting exhausting.

Chan had decided it was safer for us to only fully reveal ourselves to one camp, and since he and Minho were raised at Camp Half-Blood, that was the natural choice.

Fine by me.

Not like I had any loyalty to either side.

My brother and I had… well, an unusual childhood.

When we were eight, a bombing attack forced us to leave home. Our mom was a traveling journalist, covering riots and conflicts across the world, and at the time, we were living in Afghanistan. Then, the explosion happened. The school we went to was reduced to rubble, and our mom—she didn’t make it. The only thing that saved us was our dad’s divine protection and the first aid training our mom had drilled into me.

We wandered around in the wreckage for days before Lupa found us.

You’d think she’d have taken us straight to Camp Jupiter, right?

Nope.

Not a chance.

Halfway there, we ran into Chan, Minho, and little Jeongin—who was only four at the time. And for reasons that still make zero sense to me, Lupa decided, "Eh, good enough," and left us with them.

Actually, I even asked once why she did that. She just stared at me like I was a particularly dumb puppy, then walked away because ✨obviously✨, a twelve-year-old, a ten-year-old, and a four-year-old were the perfect guardians for two traumatized kids. Sorry, my bad for questioning her parenting style.

Eventually, we found Hyunjin and Changbin. They were living in a cave, fighting off skeleton warriors, with Hyunjin half-dead from injuries. Apparently, he had been at Camp Half-Blood for a few months but decided to run away. Then he met Changbin, who also had nowhere to go, and together, they survived. Barely.

A week after that, we found Seungmin in Seoul, literally dangling from a rooftop while hellhounds tried to turn him into a chew toy.That was six years ago. Since then, we’d snuck into Camp Jupiter at least eleven times.

What’s that? You’re saying I could’ve just said, "We've visited Camp Jupiter eleven times before," and left it at that?

Wow. And here I thought you guys were actually interested in us.

Why did I think that?

My dear AO3 reader, you wouldn’t be here if I didn’t interest you.

And let’s be real—I do interest you.

But fine, I’ll cut the history lesson. For now.

We made our way down to the tunnel entrance before Lee Know suddenly yanked us into some bushes.
“There are guards at the doors, so we can’t just sneak in,” he said, peering ahead. “I say we take out our phones, lure some monsters in, and then run straight to the gate. Any story ideas?”
Hyunjin took a few seconds to reply, probably because he was still recovering from the last time Minho had a “plan.”

“We met by chance in the forest,” he suggested. “Minho and I saw you and Jisung being chased by monsters, and we all ran here together. Standard cover-up story.”

“No,” Jisung objected. “It’d be better if we say we’ve been traveling together for a while. That way, we can stay close without anyone getting suspicious.”

Minho considered it before nodding. "That works."

We decided to add a few extra “adventures” and monster fights into our backstory, just to make it more convincing.

Also, we agreed to keep our real names and appearances this time.

If everything went well, we wouldn’t have to bother with disguises in the future, which was a huge plus because I was sick of pretending to be some random demigod named “Ethan” every time we came here.
Now, onto the second part of Minho’s plan—attracting monsters.
Why can we use phones without short-circuiting them?

Glad you asked.

Hecate.

Obviously.

She enchanted our phones with some mild protection spells—nothing fancy, just enough to stop them from frying when we touched them. Unfortunately, she didn’t remove their built-in monster beacon feature.

So no scrolling through TikTok in peace for us.

It took less than five minutes before we had a solid twenty monsters on our tails. One Catoblepas (big, ugly, smells like a sewer), several Harpies (angry chicken women), some Cerastes (snake things with murder-horns), and three Empousai (vampire cheerleaders, but on steroids).

That was our cue to start running.

As we reached the asphalt near the tunnel entrance, the two guards stationed at the doors spotted us.
For a moment, they just… stared.
Their expressions went from confused (probably wondering why we were covered in dirt and running towards them) to panicked (probably because of the monsters).

“HELPPP! PLEASE!”

Oh gods, Jisung could be way too convincing sometimes. He practically screamed at the top of his lungs, fake tears running down his face. He even threw in a dramatic trip-and-fall, landing face-first on the ground.

At least I think that was staged.

…Then again, knowing Jisung’s natural level of clumsiness, maybe not.

In perfect synchronization, Minho sprinted toward him, tossing a stick at the oncoming monsters like it was a grenade.

Meanwhile, I did my part: letting out a high-pitched scream and launching myself at the nearest guard like a terrified kitten.

The poor girl looked absolutely mortified. But to her credit, she snapped out of it fast enough to draw her sword and stab the nearest Harpy.
Then she grabbed my hand and dragged me inside the tunnel.

Oh yeah, she was panicking.

A few moments later, the girl came sprinting back—dragging Hyunjin with one hand and holding an Empousa’s head in the other.

…Okay, what?

How did she do that? Did she rip it off with her bare hands?

Did Minho throw another stick at it, and it somehow worked?

Probably.

Yeah, most likely was it Minho's doing.

For now, she yanked us further into the tunnel, only to spin around again and rush back outside. The second guard had managed to wrangle the other two—Minho and Jisung—inside, but she was struggling under her own injuries.

Hannie and Minho had her wedged between them, supporting most of her weight. A deep cut on her thigh was bleeding heavily, staining her pants a dark red.

“Hurry, hurry, HURRY! They are right behind us!”

Lee Know’s voice was practically at a dog-whistle frequency at this point.

He shoved us forward, trying to get everyone through the exit—as something yanked him back by the collar.
The second Empousa loomed over him, fangs bared and eyes glowing like embers.
Minho reacted first, grabbing one of Jisung’s daggers and flinging it at the monster.

He missed.

Jisung did not.

With a flick of his wrist, my brother sent his own dagger straight into the Empousa’s forehead. Instead of dropping dead like a reasonable monster, she screeched in fury and lunged at him, her claws flashing through the air. Hannie jumped onto her back and started stabbing her repeatedly.

"Jisung!" Hyunjin shouted, frantically pulling at the exit door.

"One second! I'm currently occupied!" Jisung called back, still stabbing .

"Jisung! Now!"

With an impressive flip, my brother vaulted off the Empousa, yanked his dagger out of her forehead, and sprinted toward us.
Then, finally, the door clicked open.

With zero grace whatsoever, we tumbled through. I barely had time to register the pain from hitting the floor before I was scrambling to my feet and yanking as many people as possible toward the river.

Now, I say “river,” but let’s be real—it was basically a liquid death trap.

The Little Tiber was deep, the currents were murderous, and I was definitely not built for Olympic swimming.

Neither was Jisung, considering we were both under 160cm and not exactly known for our aquatic skills.

Still, I managed to get the unconscious guard and Hyunjin into the water, gripping them like a drowning koala clinging to a tree. The guard had an arrow sticking out of her shoulder, blood seeping from a nasty cut on her forehead. Meanwhile, Hyunjin had taken a direct hit from the Catoblepas’ poisonous gas while opening the gate.

He was barely conscious, his head lolling against my shoulder.

I was just starting to lose my grip on them when someone grabbed my collar and yanked me out of the water.

Coughing and gasping, I sprawled on the grass, too dizzy to do anything but blink up at my savior—a Roman demigod I didn't recognize. He wasted no time hauling Hyunjin and the guard onto solid ground.

That’s when an explosion shook the air.

I turned just in time to see Jisung—my absolute moron of a brother—firing explosive arrows at the remaining monsters.

Now, you’d think that, being a son of Apollo, he’d have some archery skills.

Nope.

Jisung might actually be the worst archer in demigod history.

Every single arrow missed its target—except for one, which clipped a Harpy’s wing and sent it spinning into a very angry Catoblepas.

He now had real tears streaming down his cheeks, a bloody knee, and was missing half his jeans from the various explosions going off near him.

Near him. Not the monsters.

A very panicked Minho was at the edge of the river, shivering violently. He was soaking wet, shaking like a leaf, and carrying the injured girl on his back.

It took me a second to realize why he wasn’t jumping in.

Oh. Right.

Lee Know couldn’t swim.

And on top of that, he hated water. Despised it. His animal form was a cat, after all.

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out immediately, so I did the next best thing—I crawled to the edge of the river like a very determined turtle.

“HYUNG! DON’T WORRY, I’LL CATCH YOU, I PROMISE!” I shouted, reaching my hands out.

It wasn’t even that far. Three meters at most. And Minho was over 170cm tall—he could wade across if he really had to. But his hesitation lasted just long enough for a Harpy to spot them.
Jisung was still playing tag with a dozen monsters, hitting everything but his actual targets, so I had no choice.

I slid back into the river.

My foot found purchase on some rocks, and I managed to wade about halfway in.

I reached out to grab them—

Only to spot the Harpy diving straight for Minho’s back.

“HYUNG, WATCH OUT!” My instincts took over. I lunged forward, grabbed them both—

And my foot slipped.

The current was unforgiving, yanking me under immediately. The girl was still in my arms, but she was bleeding out fast. Minho was nowhere to be seen. I kicked frantically, trying to surface, but the river had other plans.

Black spots danced in my vision as my lungs started to burn. Desperate, I reached for my dagger and drove it into the riverbank, halting our descent.
Now came the real problem: getting us to safety.

I dug my feet into the riverbed and forced myself upright, lifting her above the surface. She slipped twice, and each time, I nearly lost my grip. My vision was going fuzzy, my lungs screaming for air.

One last push. Just one more—

With every ounce of strength I had left, I shoved her toward the shore.

I barely registered the hands pulling her out before my own strength gave out.

Water filled my mouth.

My head dipped beneath the surface.

And just like that, the world faded to black.

Chapter Text

POV – Felix
The world was silent.
Which, honestly, should’ve been a red flag.

I wasn’t dead—at least, I didn’t think I was—but if my near-drownings in the past had taught me anything, it was that the world shouldn’t be this quiet.

My lungs still burned, my limbs felt like jelly, and something was poking into my back.

So, logically speaking, I had survived.

Barely.

Then someone slapped me.

Not gently.
Not even a light tap.
Full-on, open-palmed, I-will-slap-you-back-to-life force.

I choked, coughed up about half the river, and finally opened my eyes to see Hyunjin kneeling over me, hand raised for a second strike.

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” He dropped his hand. “I was about to start mouth-to-mouth.”

I groaned, rolling onto my side as more water dribbled out of my mouth. “I hate you.”

“I live you too, lix.” He beamed, absolutely glowing with unearned pride.

Minho crouched a few feet away, attacking his soaked jacket like it had personally offended him.

His hair dripped, clothes clung to his frame, and he radiated hatred for all things liquid.

He looked one second away from declaring war on the concept of water itself.

Jisung had just made it across, collapsed on the riverbank like a dramatic Victorian widow.

His jeans were even more shredded than before, one shoe was missing, and he was covered in enough soot and ash to be declared a chimney.

“How,” I rasped, “are you that bad at archery?”

He didn’t answer. Just lifted one trembling arm and flipped me off.

I actually chuckled—until something soft smacked me in the face. A plush yellow chick. I didn’t even need to look.

“NEVER do that again!” Jisung sobbed, launching himself at me like a toddler at a theme park mascot.

His arms locked around my neck. “I thought—I thought—!”
“Shhh, Hyung, it’s okay,” I murmured, awkwardly patting his back while scanning the clearing.

The Roman guard I’d dragged out was unconscious and pale.
One of her comrades crouched beside her, red-stained bandages doing a poor job of hiding the deep cut on her thigh.
Her breathing was shallow, and I suddenly wasn’t sure if I had saved her just to watch her fade anyway.

Not that we were in great shape ourselves.
Minho looked ready to hiss at anyone who came near, Hyunjin’s skin was still blotchy from the poison, Jisung resembled a walking fashion disaster, and I—well, I looked like someone had tried to drown me.
Twice.

"Here." Someone dropped a towel over my head.
"We wouldn't want our newbies to catch a cold. " the boy who pulled me out the first time was grinning at me.

Shit.

I need to play the confused little newbie.

"I- I'm sorry b-but what happened? What where those things? " I made use of my best "I'm an innocent and unknowing little teenager" voice.

"Those where Harbys. How on earth did you guys attract so many? " a second guy was staring down at me, a questioning look in his eyes.

Lucky for me, Jisung was still emotionally compromised from my “surprise self-sacrifice,” so I pinched his side.

He howled like a banshee and clung to the first guy. “THOSE THINGS WERE SO TERRIFYING!”

We had to pry him off the poor demigod before we could explain anything. Or at least half-explain.

Between my still-raw throat and Jisung’s Oscar-worthy sobbing, it took a while to get the facts across.

Eventually, the older demigod smiled kindly. “You’ve been through enough. Get some rest. We’ll talk in the morning.” and not a moment later I felt my eyes getting heavier.

Oh. The boy must be a child of Hypnos— no wait Somnus.
The last thing I saw was him waving his hand across my head and I instantly fell asleep.

For once, I slept like a dead person.
No dreams. No visions. Just peace.

When I woke, sunlight filtered through the infirmary window and I felt—fresh.
Like, post-spa-day fresh.
Apparently, Minho and Hyunjin had been carried in after me.
They had passed out after confirming Jisung and I were safe. But let’s just say our cat didn’t land on his feet this time.

I hobbled over and found two of them a few beds away. Jisung sat beside Hyunjin’s bed, eyes fixed on our friend like a hawk guarding a nest.

“You’re awake,” he said without looking up. “They took Minho to the vet. He transformed mid-sleep.”

I snorted. “Tell me they tucked him into a little basket.”
“They did.”

We both wheezed, careful not to laugh too loud.

“While you three were out, the Praetor came by,” Jisung added. “She said to meet her once you’re all up.”

I stretched and groaned. “Guess that means I’ve got to retrieve our pet kitten.”

He hummed.

I glanced down at Hyunjin peacefully sleeping. “Try waking Hyung by telling him the last set of Hecate-made watercolor pigments are gone.”

“Evil,” Jisung said, cracking a grin.

Finding the vet wasn’t exactly hard.

Turns out, there's only one place in the entire camp with a bunch of yelling, hissing, and someone shouting “Don’t you dare declaw me, boy!”

Minho, still half-transformed, was curled up on a metal table, fur fluffed and tail flicking angrily.

A very exhausted-looking centaur in a lab coat was attempting to coax him out with a can of tuna.

I leaned on the doorframe, arms crossed. “So. This is where they keep the wild beasts.”

Minho’s ears twitched. His eyes met mine—slitted, dark purple, and filled with the wrath of a thousand offended felines.

“I swear to the gods, if anyone puts me in a cone, I’m setting this place on fire.”

“You say that like it’s a threat.” I walked over and scratched behind his ear. “You good?”

He slapped my hand away, the motion ruffling his fur. “I was until someone screamed "IT'S A CAT" in their sleep and alerted the entire infirmary.”

“Wasn’t me.” I paused. “Probably Hyunjin.”

“Definitely Hyunjin,” Minho muttered, transforming back into his human form with an irritated grunt.

He was wearing one of those oversized hospital tunics, and I could see faint bandages peeking out from under it.

“He drooled on my tail.”

I snorted and tossed him a fresh set of clothes someone had dropped off.

“Get dressed, drama queen. The Praetor’s expecting us. Apparently we impressed her by nearly dying.”

Minho raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue.

Instead, he swung his legs off the table and started changing.

I turned around to give him privacy, focusing instead on a very scratched-up clipboard labeled “Roman Pet Registry – DO NOT LOSE AGAIN.”

When we got back to the infirmary, Jisung had somehow wrangled Hyunjin into semi-consciousness by repeatedly whispering the phrase “free art supplies” in his ear.

Hyunjin blinked blearily, his currently platinum blond hair plastered to one side of his head and mumbling something about cursed paintbrushes.

“You're awake ” I said, kneeling beside his bed.

“Barely,” he croaked, but a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Please tell me Minho didn’t destroy the vet.”

“I did not destroy the vet,” Minho called from the
hallway. “I merely... threatened him creatively.”

“You bit him,” I corrected.

“Minor detail.”

Jisung stood up and clapped his hands. “Okay, team! Now that everyone’s mostly functional, time to face the Roman queen herself.”

“Praetor,” I reminded him.

“Whatever. Do we bow or salute? Offer a gift? Sacrifice a goat?”

“You’re thinking of Zeus.”

“Still wouldn’t hurt.”

We left the infirmary in a chaotic little procession: Jisung walking ahead like he owned the place, me half-carrying Hyunjin, and Minho grumbling something about fleas.

The camp was buzzing with energy—training dummies being demolished in the distance, kids in purple shirts sparring, the occasional Lare soaring overhead.

And then, waiting for us in front of a marble pavilion with columns the size of a Saturn SUV, was Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano.

She was taller than I expected. Her arms were crossed, and a pair of metal dogs sat beside her. Her eyes scanned us with all the warmth of a the ice queen herself.

“You must be the Newbies who nearly drowned two of my Campers.”

“No,” Jisung said, unflinching. “We’re just wet, bruised tourists with a flair for dramatic entrances.”

Reyna didn’t smile. “Follow me. We have a lot to discuss—and not much time.”

So naturally, we followed her.

Because after nearly drowning, getting poisoned, and accidentally registering your friend as a domestic cat… why not walk straight into the Roman Council room?

Chapter Text

POV – I.N

They left.

And for the first time since I could remember, I was without Felix-hyung.

The others didn't seem to think it was a big deal — not even a little bit — that my favorite hyung, the one who always knew exactly how to take care of me, was just... gone.

Well, okay, maybe Channie-hyung still counts. He *is* my legal guardian, after all. But he’s more like a half-dad-half-big-brother type of deal, so technically, it doesn’t count the same way.

After Minho-hyung, Hyunjin-hyung, Hannie-hyung, and Felix-hyung left, we headed back to the Big House.
The sun was setting, dyeing the sky a deep, heavy red. It looked like the whole world was bleeding out.

Annabeth was pacing up and down the front porch, mumbling under her breath, looking like she was ready to either break something or cry. Probably both.
She looked... seriously upset.

Maybe I could help?
Maybe she’d give them back later if I asked nicely.

I sighed and shuffled toward her — more like wobbled, if I’m being honest, because walking properly when you’re sad and tired is apparently impossible.

"Here," I mumbled, holding out my hand.

In my palm sat two tiny plushies.

"They always help me feel better," I said, my voice embarrassingly squeaky. "You know, when... when I feel lonely."

Oh gods, why did I sound like a baby bird?

Annabeth blinked at me, startled, then crouched down a little so we were more eye-level. (I'm not *that* short — she’s just ridiculously tall. Totally unfair.)

"Oh? And who do we have here?" she asked, her voice way softer than usual. Her eyes even had that little sparkle — the same one Hyunjin-hyung and Felix-hyung get when I show them something important.

"This is FoxI.Ny," I said seriously, lifting the first plush. "He's my favorite. And this is Bbokari. Felix-hyung gave her to me."
I hesitated. "They're... uhhh, I don't know the English word. Sorry, Annabeth. But we all have one! And they always make things better, so maybe they'll help you too!"

I carefully placed the two tiny plushies into her hands, then added very seriously, "But you have to give them back once you're done being sad, okay? Because they’re really, really, *really* important to me."

Everyone around us laughed a little — even Annabeth — and she reached out to ruffle my hair.

I blinked up at her, confused.
What was so funny? Did I say something wrong?

This.
This right here was exactly why Felix-hyung should never, ever leave me alone again.
Normally he’d explain these weird moments to me so I wouldn't have to hurt my brain trying to figure it out by myself.

Annabeth seemed to pick up on my confusion because she smiled — like, actually smiled — and said, "Don't worry, little Jeongin. I’ll give FoxI.Ny and Bbokari back once I'm done, promise."
She tilted her head playfully. "But now you have to tell me — why is Bbokari the only girl in the group?"

Then she asked, "But tell me — why is Bbokari the only girl in your group?"

Ohoho.

Looks like my spell worked.
Annabeth wasn’t pacing anymore.
She wasn’t even frowning. Instead, she looked actually... interested.

So I explained — very seriously — that our little plushie friends were made by Hecate (even though she technically didn’t ask if we wanted magical plushies — not that we were complaining).
And that Bbokari wasn’t the only girl.

"Han Quokka is a girl too!" I said proudly. "You just can’t tell because she’s a quokka, and quokkas are too cute to care about that kind of thing."

When she asked why Felix and Han chose girl plushies, I tilted my head and thought really hard.

"Uhhh, maybe because they wanted to dress them up in pretty clothes? Or... maybe they don’t really have a gender? I dunno. To me, they’re just Bbokari and Quokka. That's enough."

Annabeth nodded like I’d just revealed some ancient wisdom from Athena herself.
We kept talking about important stuff — like why FoxI.Ny is smarter than most demigods and how Bbokari once "defeated" Channie-hyung’s alarm clock — until Channie-hyung finally came over, looking slightly amused.

"Sorry, Annabeth," he said, smiling gently. "But I think that’s enough for today. Iennie’s a sword genius, sure, but he’s still a kid. And tomorrow’s gonna be a long day."

I pouted but didn’t argue.
Instead, I trudged over to Channie-hyung and grabbed his outstretched hand, sneaking one last longing look at my plushies.
I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to sleep without them... but Hyung was right.

My eyes were already drooping, and the soft, fluffy fox jacket Channie wrapped me in wasn’t exactly helping.

Maybe, if I fall asleep fast enough, I won’t have time to miss them.

Maybe....

I was running.

Running towards a tiny flickering light way, way in the distance, while scary screams echoed around me.

Not just any screams.

It was Hyunjin-hyung and Felix-hyung — my Hyungs — screaming for help.

"Hyunjin! Felix!
Where are you!!"

I screamed so loud my throat hurt, but it felt like I was shouting into a wall.

Nothing answered.

Weird creatures with way too many arms and legs were chasing after me, but honestly, I didn’t even care. I just kept running, heart hammering like crazy.

Then—

PAIN.

A sharp, stabbing pain ripped through my side and I heard a gross crack, like someone stepping on a bag of chips. (Except it was my ribs. Not chips.)

"𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒, 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎, 𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐔𝐒!"
"𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐄!"

I bolted upright with a yelp, sweat dripping down my forehead, my whole body shaking like a soggy noodle.

Breathless, I grabbed at the blanket tangled around me, trying to figure out where I was.

Luckily, I wasn’t in scary red nightmare land anymore.

Someone must’ve put me to bed, 'cause I was all bundled up like a spring roll in a mountain of blankets and fluffy stuff.

Across the room, Seungminnie was snoring away in his own blanket nest, surrounded by a whole army of plushies and pillows.

The tiny gap in the curtain showed it was still dark outside — like, middle-of-the-night dark.
Carefully (and very ninja-like), I wriggled free from my blanket mountain.

I used my toes to feel around for my fluffy red slippers — the ones Hyunjinnie-hyung gave me for my birthday — and finally slipped them on.
I didn’t want to wake Seungminnie up. He's like a ticking bomb if you wake him up wrong. (I love him but...I like living.)
So I tiptoed out of the room, down the long hallway to the last door where the lights were still on.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked.

"Chiron, have you finally decided whether or not to tell Anna—huh? Iennie?"
Channie-hyung blinked at me, looking like he just got hit in the face with a pillow. Then his face changed to Concern Mode 3000.

"What are you doing here, little guy? It’s super late! You should be sleeping, Innie!"

I shuffled my feet, looking at the ground. "I’m sorry, Channie-hyung... I couldn't fall back asleep. I kept having a nightmare and... and I couldn’t find Bbokari and Foxy and..."

And that’s when my voice broke and my eyes started doing that stupid thing where they get all watery.

Ugh. Not cool, Jeongin. Not cool.

Chan’s face melted into that big soft smile he does, and before I could even blink, he was kneeling down and scooping me into a giant hug.

(Channie-hyung gives the best hugs in the world. Fact. No debate.)
"Aww, Jeonginnie. It’s okay. Come inside. Remember buddy, you gave Bbokari and Foxy to Annabeth so she wouldn't feel so sad." He sighedamd continued " You can sleep on Minho’s bed tonight if you want. I'll be right at your side."

That sounded like the best idea anyone ever had in the history of ideas.

I nodded, trying not to cry into his shirt like a baby, and let him carry me into the room.

Chan carefully tucked me into Minho-hyung’s bed, which was super comfy and surrounded by a bunch of his cat plushies.

"Look who's here, bud. " Chan said, grabbing a white bunny plushie and handing it to me. "Minho left Leebit here to watch over us. Pretty cool, right?"

I squeezed the bunny tight while Chan pulled the blanket up to my chin.

"Now, Iennie, I really need you to sleep. Tomorrow, we’re gonna need our sword genius Yang Jeongin to help us fight some monsters," he said, ruffling my hair.

I nodded seriously.

Sword Genius Mode: Activated.

But before I closed my eyes, I pointed at the messy desk behind him — covered in papers and maps and weird scribbly notes.

"I'll go to sleep, Channie-hyung... but only if you promise to sleep too! You have to! No sneaky working while I’m not looking!"

Chan laughed, his dimples popping out. "Alright, alright, little boss. I promise I’ll go to sleep right after you."

Satisfied, I snuggled deeper into the blankets, Leebit squished against my chest.

Honestly, that was easier than I thought it would be. Minho always said it took three people and a bribe (usually in the form of cheesecake) to get Chan to stop working.

I closed my eyes, finally starting to drift off again...

...only for a shiver to slither down my spine, dragging me back to the waking world.

Even with the blanket pulled up to my chin, the cold didn’t stop crawling under my skin.

It wasn’t just the cold.

Something felt... wrong.

I should’ve been asleep by now.

I should’ve been safe.

But every little noise — even the soft creak of the bed — sounded twisted, stretched too long, too slow.

Like the world around me was holding its breath.

Like something was waiting for me to fall asleep.

I squeezed my eyes shut and hugged Leebit tighter, trying to ignore the cold sweat sticking my clothes to my skin.

Channie-hyung was right there — his presence was warm and constant — but I could still feel... it.

Something was watching.

A shift in the air.

A brush of icy breath against the back of my neck.

The shadows in the room?

They moved.

Stretching unnaturally across the floor, creeping up the walls.

I pulled the blanket tighter around me, but that feeling...
It only got worse.

The temperature dropped, freezing even the tips of my fingers.

I shivered, a tremor running down my spine.

Then —
scrape.

Like nails dragging across glass.
I whipped my head to the side.
The curtains were still.
The room was still.
Nothing.
I felt my heart pounding, my chest tightening with each breath.
I couldn’t shake it.
That feeling.
Something was there.
And the shadows on the wall?

They were changing.
No longer stretching like they belonged.
They twisted, they curled... they reached.

I couldn’t stop staring.
Couldn’t look away.

I tried — I really tried — but my eyes were glued.
Then —
a soft, slithering whisper crawled into my ear.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐧. 𝐖𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬."

I gasped, choking on air that felt thick, like something was pressing against my lungs.

Suddenly, the floor beneath me groaned, the sound like a door opening, like a deep, ancient creak of something that had been forgotten.

Click.

The lights flickered — once, twice, before they went out altogether.

Pitch black.

Silence.

No heartbeat.
No breathing.

Just the rush of blood in my ears, the deafening, suffocating silence.

Then, the laughter.
It started low.
A chuckle.
A small, almost playful sound.

But the more I heard it, the deeper it got — turning into a slow, wet gurgle from somewhere just behind me.
I twisted, heart hammering in my chest, eyes wide, but all I saw was the darkness.

But I could hear it.

The sound was crawling closer.
Something dragging along the floor, something wet, something... wrong.

"𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨?"

The voice was everywhere now.

Low.

Twisted.

Echoing.

I couldn’t scream anymore.
Couldn’t make a sound.

My throat was sealed shut.
But the terror kept coming.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦!"

Suddenly, the floor beneath me gave way with a sharp crack.
I was falling — deeper, faster, into endless nothing.

𝐒𝐧𝐚𝐩

I hit the ground hard — but when I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in Channie-hyungs room anymore.

I was somewhere else.
Somewhere dark.

Where the walls were made of stone.
I could barely see — but I could feel it.

The presence in the shadows, shifting, waiting.

I could hear... something breathing.
But it wasn’t normal.
It wasn’t human.
"𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞! "

The voice coiled around me, heavy and cold.
I tried to move, tried to scream, but my body wouldn’t respond.

My hands were shaking — and when I looked down at them, they were pale.
Too pale.
The color had drained from my skin.

The darkness reached toward me.
Fingers made of shadows grabbed at my wrists, pulling me down, pulling me under.

"𝐍𝐎 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔! "

The walls started closing in, squeezing in on me, tightening around my chest, crushing me.
I gasped for air, but it was like the air was running away from me.
"𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤!"

And then, I heard it.
The final crack.
The sound of bones breaking.

I screamed.
Instead a loud, high-pitched screech echoed through the dark space.

My chest heaved, my eyes snapping open, gasping for air, still trapped in the nightmare, still in it.

And then, I scream.
A real scream.

The room burst into view.
The light from the bedside lamp blinked back on, the shadows retreating.

But my heartbeat...
It didn’t stop pounding.
And that’s when I saw it.
The shadow in the corner.

A figure.
No face.
Just... darkness.

My breath hitched.
I tried to move.

But it was like I was frozen in place, unable to look away.
It didn’t move.

But it was there.

Watching.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭, 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨!"

I thrashed, kicked, screamed—
And jolted awake with a loud, ragged cry that shook the whole room.
This time it was real.
This time the world didn't melt.
This time I heard real voices.

"Innie!!"

"Iennie, it's okay!!"

Chan, Seungmin, and Changbin were all around me, eyes wide with worry.

Chan grabbed me first, pulling me into another huge hug — real this time. Warm and alive.
Seungmin wrapped his arms around me from the side.

Changbin gently ruffled my hair, trying to calm me down.

"I'm here, I'm here," Chan kept repeating, over and over.
"We're all here, buddy. You're safe. You're safe."

I was still crying.
Still trembling.
Still gasping for air.

But I clung to them like my life depended on it.

Because for a second there, it had felt like I didn’t have them anymore.
And that hurt more than anything.

"It's okay, Iennie," Seungmin whispered, resting his chin on top of my head. "Bad dreams can't hurt you."

"We're not going anywhere," Changbin added, his voice low and firm, the way he talked when he really meant something.

Bit by bit, the world stopped spinning.
Bit by bit, the darkness slithered back into the corners.

They tucked me back into bed — all three of them — and Chan made sure to stay sitting on the floor next to me, arms folded on the mattress so I could see him.

Changbin and Seungmin left the room after a while to let me rest.

But I didn’t fall asleep right away.

Even with Leebit squished tight to my chest, even with Channie's soft breathing next to me, something felt... wrong.

Like someone was still there.

Watching.

Waiting.

I kept my eyes squeezed shut, pretending not to notice.

But deep, deep down, I knew.
The nightmare wasn't over.

It had just started.

Chapter Text

Uhm well hello people.

I just wanted to say that I won't update any time soon, maybe in a few weeks idk honestly.

Because there was a school shooting in the school next to me. It was the first one in our country's history and yeah well that's kinda a lot.

A friend's sister died and idk what to do honestly.

And last week we had two Bomb threats....

Yeah so I think I'mma take a break :)

Love you and please stay safe

~Mocchi~

Chapter Text

POV – I.N

It’s been a day since that terrible nightmare, and the feeling of something watching me still won’t go away.

My little LeeBit plushie dangled from my waistbelt next to my dagger and sword, like a tiny emotional support warrior. Chan-hyung, Changbin-hyung, and Seungminnie had all been curious about what turned me into a sobbing pile of fox fur, but I couldn’t tell them. What if talking about the dream made it real?

Nope. No, thank you. Not today, you shitty Gods.

The nightmares had started showing up more often—like surprise guests who don’t bring snacks and also want to eat your soul. But at least I’d managed to cut down on the nightly screaming and crying. Progress! (Yay?)
The scary shadow-thing in my dreams was getting clearer too. It had kind of a face now. Sort of. Like when you see someone through a foggy window and you think it’s your math teacher but it might also be a tree???

Anyway.

Today, Chiron gave us a quest.
Well, a small mini-mission, like the tutorial level in a video game. We were supposed to help Annabeth follow a clue about where Percy was. We obviously already knew he was somewhere near Camp Jupiter, but of course, our ever-responsible, self-sacrificing, annoying-big-brother-energy Channie-hyung promised to help anyway.

But due to Carriage regulations or something like that only Seungminnie and I were allowed to go. Apparently Channie-hyung and Changbinnie-hyung were too heavy to also go with us and yeah.... I didn't realize get that.... They could have just given them seperate Pegasi, they are both really great riders, but Chiron probably needs them for some grown up stuff.

At the stables, Annabeth introduced us to some guy named Charles Beckendorf. And okay. He looked like he could bench press a truck while solving a crossword puzzle. But he also talked in this quiet, nice voice, like a friendly bear who bakes cookies. I liked him.

He showed us the Pegasi. One of them was a huge black stallion named Blackjack—Percy’s apparently—and the other was Marmalade, who immediately tried to eat Seungmin’s hair. Seungmin looked offended. Marmalade looked like she had no regrets.

“Jeongin, right?” Beckendorf asked as he approached me. I nodded, feeling weirdly small under his giant shadow.

“We’ve got a little time before we leave,” he said, crouching down and ruffling my hair like I was five. “Wanna try a quick flight with Blackjack?”

Before I could answer or ask why he just ruined my very perfect hairstyle, he added, “Sorry, you remind me of my little brother.”

“You have a little brother, Beckendorf?” Annabeth asked as she returned from wherever she’d wandered off to.

He didn’t answer right away. Then he said, “He would've been around your age now, Jeongin.”

Would’ve been.

That gave me goosebumps.
The way he said it, and the look in his eyes— his little brother was definitely no longer with us.
And now I reminded him of a ghost.

Awesome.

Nobody said anything after that, and I figured riding Blackjack was safer than sitting in silence. (Spoiler alert: I was very, very wrong.)

I’d ridden normal horses before, so getting on was fine. But I might’ve forgotten Blackjack had fucking wings, and he just... took off. No warning. No countdown. Not even a “hey, hold on.”
One second I was adjusting my seat, and the next I was sky pasta.

Out of sheer panic, I transformed into my fox form. Beckendorf and Annabeth both screamed—like, really screamed—as I dug my claws into Blackjack’s back like a terrified fur gremlin.

“EYO, LITTLE DUDE, GET YOUR CLAWS OUTTA ME RIGHT NOW!“ a voice shouted—inside my head.

I squeaked in surprise. Not like a heroic squeak. More like... rubber duck meets anxiety.

“YO, TINY FOX DUDE,” the voice continued. “IF YOU DON’T TURN BACK INTO A HUMAN RIGHT THIS INSTANT, I SWEAR I’LL DROWN YOU!”

Wait. Was the horse...talking?

Oh holy Pancakes of Hestia, the HORSE was yelling at me.

What in the name of Zeus's left sandal—

I didn’t even try to respond. I just clung tighter, now on Blackjack’s neck, practically braided into his mane.

Then, because clearly this horse had no chill, Blackjack dove straight toward the ocean.

OH MY GOD. HE REALLY WAS GONNA DROWN ME.

Fueled by panic and adrenaline and maybe some dramatic flair, I somehow screamed, “I’LL TRY TO TURN BACK INTO A HUMAN, BUT IF YOU DROWN ME, I SWEAR ON MY FATHER’S FREAKING PRIDE, I WILL TURN YOU INTO A SAUSAGE!!!”

Blackjack stopped mid-dive.

Which meant gravity caught me like a vengeful toddler.

I went flying.

Straight across the sky.

Toward a Rock.

Aaaaaaaand this was how I died. Not in a battle. Not in a heroic quest. But launched like a flying fox-missile into a boulder because I insulted a horse.

Great.

In that exact moment, I made peace with the important things in life.
Like the fact that I’d never finish my collection of shiny monster teeth. Or tell Hyunjin that I stole his strawberry lip balm three weeks ago. Or finish that one crossword puzzle Seungmin gave me where I just guessed "lasagna" for every answer.

And then—BOOM—something grabbed me midair.

Or, okay, it was more like I was suddenly dangling from someone's mouth.

“MARMELADE, YOU ANGELIC QUEEN! I OWE YOU A SALT BRICK!” Chan’s voice yelled from behind me.

I blinked.

Marmalade?

I looked up and saw Marmalade flapping her fluffy wings like she was in some kind of dramatic horse ballet, with Chan-hyung clinging to the underside of her back like a gremlin knight. His hair was flying everywhere, his face was this close to panicking, and honestly, he looked like a concerned soccer mom in armor.

“Innie!” he cried, reaching down to grab me. “Are you okay?!"

“I—” I tried to answer, but I was still a fox and my sudden adrenaline burst that allowed me to talk in my animal form had absolutely vanished, and all that came out was a weird high-pitched squeal that definitely didn’t scream “fine.” More like “emotional support needed, please bring snacks.”

Chan pulled me onto his lap like I was a baby, and cradled me way too tightly. “Don’t worry, I'm here. It’s okay. You’re safe now. I’m never letting you fly again unless I’m piloting the horse personally. I fucking swear.”

“Y’all done?” Blackjack said from above us, flapping casually like he didn’t just throw a child out of the sky.

“EXCUSE ME?” Chan roared. “You nearly YEETED MY LITTLE BROTHER INTO THE SEA.”

“I said he was clawing me!”

“He weighs like five bananas! What kind of Pegasus can’t handle a little kid?!”

They started arguing. Midair. Loudly. Meanwhile, I was a fox burrito clutched to Chan’s chest like the emotional support plushie I desperately needed, questioning all my life choices.

Eventually, Marmalade huffed and started descending, muttering under her breath. I think she said something about “never flying with dramatic siblings again,” but I was too busy trying to shift back into a human.

Which I did. Mid-flap.

“Oh my gods, Innie! Your fucking Pants!” Chan yelped and immediately wrapped me in his cloak. “You always forget the pants when you transform back!”

“It’s not my fault!” I squeaked, fully human now and very, very cold. “Foxes don’t need pants!”

“Humans do!”

“Why are we yelling about pants in the sky?!”

By the time we landed, Annabeth and Beckendorf were already on the ground waiting, both looking like they weren’t sure whether to laugh or call an ambulance.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, hiding under Chan’s cloak.

“You almost exploded on a rock,” Annabeth said, hands on her hips. “That’s not really fine.”

“It was Blackjack’s fault,” I mumbled.

“He is kind of a diva,” Beckendorf offered.

“HEY!” Blackjack neighed from above. “I’m a majestic war steed! I don’t have time for clingy fox babies!”

“I don’t have time for egotistical flying furniture!” Chan shot back.

They were about to start again when Seungmin finally showed up, riding another Pegasi at a slow, smug trot. He looked down at me, raised one eyebrow, and said, “You good?”

“Do I look ok to you????,” I said, still wrapped like a burrito.

“You almost died before the quest even started,” he pointed out. “That’s got to be a new record.”

“Thanks,” I said dryly. “I aim for greatness.”

“Can you aim for not dying next time?”

Before I could throw a rock at him, Annabeth clapped her hands. “Okay! Drama break’s over. We’ve got a long journey ahead. Let's go and get ready!”

I groaned.

And then I felt it.

The tug.

The weird, shadowy chill again, like something was brushing against the edges of my thoughts. Watching. Waiting.

I glanced around. The trees didn’t move. The Pegasi were calm. But something was off.

Chan must’ve noticed, because he knelt beside me. “You okay, Innie?”

I nodded quickly.

But that obviously was a lie.

Because honestly?

No. I was not ok.

I was tired of the dreams. Tired of being scared. Tired of pretending I wasn’t just a ten-year-old kid who missed home and wanted to stop feeling like something bad was about to happen.

But instead I just said, “Let’s go find Percy.”

Chan didn’t press. He never did, and I’m so grateful for that.

We spent the next ten minutes getting Seungmin and me ready for the actual takeoff. Chiron and a few other campers stopped by to say their goodbyes and wish us luck on our quest before heading back to their own activities. Binnie-hyung gave us both a hug and handed over some ambrosia—just in case.
“Everything’s gonna work out just fine. Trust Hyung on that.”

Chan gave me a soft pat on the head and helped me climb onto one of the carriages now hitched to the Pegasi.

“Yeah, you two have some really reliable guardians with you. And if things get too heated, don’t hesitate to use your weapons. Better safe than sorry, you hear me, Seungmin?”

Seungmin just shrugged and stuck his tongue out at Chan before Annabeth gave Blackjack the signal to finally take off.

“Bye Channie-hyung! Binnie-hyung! I hope we’ll be back soon! I LOVE YOUUU!”
They smiled and waved as Beckendorf made our carriage lift off.
I know the “I love you” was a bit cheesy, but this was my first real mission without a Hyung (Seungmin doesn’t count), and honestly, I was getting kind of nervous.

But like Changbin said—everything’s gonna be totally fine!

Chapter Text

Everything’s gonna be totally fine!

Which, of course, is the exact moment the universe decided to say: “Oh really?”

We were flying smooth over the desert—wind in my face, sun in my eyes, heart in my throat. Beckendorf was handling the reins like a pro while Annabeth kept her eyes on the horizon, probably trying to sense any incoming disasters with her Wisdom Vision or whatever Athena kids do.

I was doing very important things like trying not to puke and keeping Seungmin from poking the Pegasi with his dagger.

“You know,” Seungmin said, lounging like this wasn’t a flying carriage 500 feet above the ground, “if we crash, you’ll hit the ground first.”

“Thank you,” I said. “That’s very comforting. Have I mentioned lately how much I don’t like you?”

He smiled like that was the most loving thing I’d ever said.

We reached the Grand Canyon just as a freak storm started brewing. Dark clouds spiraled overhead like someone had taken a whisk to the sky. I spotted people on the glass skywalk below—tourists, a school group maybe, and—

“Wait. Was that a boy getting zapped by lightning?!”

Two kids were hanging onto the railings like the wind was trying to throw them off. And a satyr was swinging a baseball bat at a cloud person who was apparently trying to kidnap everyone.

“Uh, Beckendorf?” I pointed. “You seeing this?”

Annabeth stood. “Yep. These thingies are not on my favorite monsters to kill list. We’re so going down.”

“Wait, no no no no NO?!”

“Buckle up,” Beckendorf muttered.

I did not get the chance.

The carriage jolted midair, like the Pegasi had been hit by turbulence... or a wind person? The thing flew up with a screech and slammed into the side of our chariot, sending me tumbling right overboard and straight to my very very certain death :)

Then—WHAM—I hit the skywalk roof-terrace because of course I did. My back hurt. My butt hurt. My everything hurt.

I rolled and sprang to my feet in one breath, because a shadow was already streaking toward me. A wind spirit—was that a human? A troll?No idea. It had glowing eyes, storm-colored skin, and a face like someone had permanently blended a thundercloud with a tax auditor.

“You’re not part of this,” it hissed, voice buzzing with static. “Doesn’t your little friend suffer enough with the curse my master laid upon him?”

My brain stalled.

“…Wait, what?” I tightened my grip on my sword, expression twisting. “What do you know about Jisung’s curse?!”

The blade in my hand started to shimmer—not just the normal eerie glow it always had, but that deep green pulse it only gave off when my anger hit boiling point.

The monster snarled and summoned a sword of its own—a jagged, twisting thing made of stormclouds and crackling electricity.

“I will tell you NOTHING!”

“Oh? Wanna bet?” I said through gritted teeth.

It shrieked and dove for me.

We collided mid-air.

Steel met storm as I parried, our blades screeching in the air, the sound sharp enough to pierce bone. The moment our weapons touched, my sword pulsed again—like it could smell my fury and was hungry for another mental breakdown to dish out. A blast of greenish light flared down my blade and into the spirit.

It recoiled instantly, snarling in confusion.

“No—not them again—I destroyed them, I ended them—why are they here—GET OUT—”

“Not until you talk!” I slashed again.

But this spirit was strong. It didn’t unravel like the others. Even with the hallucinations tearing at its mind, it came back swinging, faster, meaner, screeching like a broken siren.

And then—

A scream behind me.

I twisted and saw two kids—maybe my age, maybe a little older. A girl with brown hair, pressed against a support beam, and a boy trying to defend her against another wind demon thingie with... was that a wrench? No, oh gods dammit it was a screwdriver.
A SCREWDRIVER!

The spirit attacking them was smaller but faster than mine, and it lashed out with slicing gusts, forcing them back toward the edge of the glass platform.

The Grand Canyon yawned open beneath them like a giant, waiting mouth.

“NOPE—Not on my watch!” I pivoted and sprinted.

“YOU DARE IGNORE ME?!” the low growl came from behind as the spirit started slicing toward me.

I spun and blocked it one-handed without stopping, letting the clash trigger another pulse of magic.

“Multitasking, ever heard of it?” I snapped, then bolted for the civilians.

The smaller wind spirit had the girl pinned with wind blades. I tried to reach them but with every precious second I spent sprinting toward them, I realized it was hopeless.

Then—"DUCK!"—a spear came flying across the platform like a comet, slamming right through the spirit’s chest.

It exploded midair in a flash of lightning and howling mist.

I turned, breathless.

Seungmin stood across the skywalk, eyes lit with burning fire. His shirt was torn at the shoulder, a clean red line bleeding down his arm. Despite the clear rage in his eyes, Seungmin’s face didn’t show pain or anything really—just a mild “hm” expression, like he was judging a slightly undercooked omelet.

He flicked the blood off his arm like it was an annoying bug, then turned—another spirit dove for him. He was already sprinting, gone in a flash of stormlight.

I turned back to the two kids, who were staring at me like I’d been catapulted in from an alien planet.

“Are you guys alive? Still breathing? Anything broken?” I rattled off, stepping between them and what was left of the mist.

“Uh—what just happened?” the boy asked.

“Nothing you’ll want to remember,” I muttered, already spinning back to face my very windy problem.

But then—

A CRACK behind me.

Too late, I remembered: the platform was glass. But in the spur of the moment this little detail was quickly forgotten. And oh boy was that a mistake....

The first spirit, still alive and very angry, had slammed into the platform so hard that hairline fractures were spreading under our feet like a spiderweb of doom.

“Get OFF the glass!” I shouted, spinning to meet the monster again, who was now hovering slightly above the ground.

“You think saving two mortals changes anything?” it rasped.

“You think that sword scares me?”

“No,” I said. “But I should.”

It lunged.

We clashed again, the sound of it shaking the platform. I twisted my blade to force another surge of magic into it—visions, guilt, terror—but the spirit resisted. It shoved through the hallucination and slammed its blade down so hard I nearly dropped mine.

“Your friend will fall!” it howled. “The curse runs deeper than you think—”

“SHUT UP!” I roared, going full offense.

My strikes came faster, sharper. I ducked, spun, drove the flat of my blade against its side, letting the hallucinations flood it again. For a moment, it faltered—eyes wide with visions only it could see. Its arms trembled.

Refusing to give in, the spirit shrieked, pulled a wind dagger from its form, and hurled itself at me, hug-stabbing me in my thigh.

It hurt like a bitch, but before I could do anything it started shouting again.

“You can’t beat me! I’m the mighty Eziquielle, first born of—"

“Go to hell, you piece of storm trash,” I whispered in its ear as I yanked the dagger out and pushed away.

I twisted the sword, and the final rune flared.

A burst of light—green and white and blinding—exploded between us.

The wind spirit reeled back. Its body unraveled midair. Its own memories crashed down on it—guilt, destruction, screams, fire—and it couldn’t block them out anymore. I heard it begging, sobbing, screaming words in a language I didn’t even understand.

It wasn’t fighting me anymore.

It was drowning.

I leapt and slashed through its chest, one clean motion, like slicing through mist.

It froze, shaking violently—then shattered into glowing dust.

Gone.

Silence returned to the skywalk, broken only by my breathing. Harsh. Shaky.

My sword flickered once more, then dimmed.

I dropped to one knee, the energy draining out of me all at once like someone had popped a balloon. Blood trickled down my leg where I got wounded.

An eerie silence followed.

Except for the cracking of glass under my boots.

I looked down.

A huge fissure split beneath my feet. The platform groaned.

“OH, COME ON!”

The crack spiderwebbed under me with a thunderous (hehe u see what I did here ✨) roar.

I didn’t even have time to run.

The glass exploded beneath my feet.

For a second, I was flying—if you could call flailing through empty air with shards slicing past your face flying. Something stabbed into my shoulder. Another into my stomach and something warm and wet dripped down from my forehead, clouding my right eye red.

I didn’t scream. Just clenched my jaw, tightened my grip on my sword, and braced for impact already halfway down the Grand Canyon.

Then something caught me. Or someone.

A pair of arms grabbed me mid-fall and I realized we were slowing down. Shakily.

I blinked up through the blood in my eye. It was a boy—older than me, maybe sixteen?—in a tattered orange shirt, holding onto me with one arm and gripping a glowing golden sword in the other. His face looked like it had taken a few punches, and his legs were barely moving.
I recognized him. He was the kid who got zapped by lightning and if I remember correctly he was fighting one of these nasty wind spirits just like me.

He was panting hard. So was I. Neither of us said a word.

The edge of the skywalk came back into view, though the platform looked worse than I remembered—cracked, bent, smoking in places.

We weren’t gonna make it.

He tried to rise higher, but his flight stuttered. I felt us dropping again.

Great. Rescued only to die together. Lovely.

Then a rope whipped down past us like a lifeline from heaven.

Or, well… from Seungmin.

He stood at the edge of the broken skywalk, completely unimpressed as usual, a length of thick rope in his hand.

“Took you long enough!” I shouted up.

He didn’t respond. Just tossed the rest of the rope down and started pulling—one hand, no grunting, like hauling two demigods out of the Grand Canyon was mildly inconvenient. Maybe he'd planned a nap or something and we'd ruined it.

The older boy caught the rope, still holding onto me with his other arm. I sheathed my sword in one clumsy motion and wrapped my good arm around his leg. Pain flared, but I ignored it.

Up we went. Foot by foot. My boots finally hit cracked glass again.

Seungmin lurched forward, grabbed my hip and shoulder, and gently lowered me to the ground, where someone had spread a makeshift blanket out of T-shirts. It was warm and smelled faintly like fabric softener and sweat. Gross. But also...not bad?

My savior—whoever he was—stumbled back, chest heaving. Exhausted.

I rolled onto my side and groaned. “Remind me,” I muttered, “never to do that again.”

Seungmin crouched beside me, his frown deepening as he inspected the glass shards sticking out of my stomach.
“You’re lucky. The cuts aren’t too deep.”
His voice was unusually soft. “Come on, Innie. Let’s get you patched up again before we keep going.”

He sounded… concerned. Like, genuinely concerned. Which was somehow more unsettling than the fall. Kim Seungmin openly showing worry? Not serious at all. Ah ha ha. Ha. Ha?

I turned my head toward a small group nearby—Annabeth, Beckendorf, and the two teens from earlier. They were talking in hushed tones, but I couldn’t make out a single word. My vision blurred like someone had smeared Vaseline across my eyeballs.

Then everything went black.

“Come on, little hero,” the rasping voice crawled across my mind. “Don’t you think it’s time to give in?”

Claws dragged me downward. That familiar figure stood only centimeters from my face. The monster from my nightmares. Smiling.

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head up until I was forced to look into his glowing red eyes. Then, without warning, his body crumbled into black dust—and rushed straight into me.

Right into my head.

My eyes flew open.

I was lying in the back of our carriage, wrapped in a blanket. Seungmin was sleeping beside me, his expression soft, the moonlight highlighting his hair. For a second, everything felt... okay.

I tried to reach out—to pat his head or poke his cheek or something—but I couldn’t move. My hand wouldn’t lift.

Then I realized, with a cold jolt of horror, that I was looking at Seungmin.

Not from my body.

From outside it.

I twisted around—or tried to—but my body remained limp, perfectly still, curled up next to him.

“Minnie?” I called. “Minnie, can you hear me?”

Nothing.

Then my body moved.

It turned toward me—it, not me—and stared straight into my soul. A faint red shimmer danced in its eyes. And then... it smiled.

Not my smile.

Something older. Crueler.