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Chapter Text

26 years.

26 years after the second Titan war. Stories were passed down ever since that day. And even after 2 decades, they're still being told.

"The heroes of Olympus", people call them.

Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, carrier of the Athena parthenos, survivor of Tartarus, once by himself, other with Will Solace. Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, favorited by Hecate, tamer of Arion. Frank Zhang, son of Mars, shapeshifter, and killer of Caligula. Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, fixer of the bronze dragon, Destroyer of Gaea, and the first to have Hephaestus' power in centuries. Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, defeater of Khione, counterer of Medea's charmspeak, and the old owner of the Cornucopia.

Jason Grace, son of Rome- yet also a child of Greece, one of the reasons for more cabins that the old campers could only dream about, and now a hero Apollo honors.

And finally..

Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.

Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, architect of Olympus and the new cabins, first to solve Athena's quest, and survivor of Tartarus.

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, child of the great prophecy, leader of the Battle of Manhattan, and also a Tartarus survivor.

Nobody had died in vain. Nobody ever will.

Camp Half Blood slowly turned into a small city. The camp that used to have only 20 cabins now had 100, consisting of honorary for those like Hestia, or for a god or goddess who has children such as Nyx. Theres a museum of all the heroes who had went down in history. Annabeth Chase's blue prints for the new cabins, Nico Di Angelo's sword- anything the heroes had touched or felt and willingly gave up.

Dionysus' 50 year sentence was officially over- he had left as soon as possible.

Apollo- or Mr. A, as campers now call him- had stepped up and taken the job. Camp loves him. He's the perfect guy to go to when you have drama, yet he's the perfect protector. Chiron, of course, never left. The heroes he had trained? He's grown to love training them all. He goes as far as mixing them up as his own kids instead of their godly parents.

The campfire was still a tradition. Due to the rise of campers, you didn't have to show up, but most still did.

This night, instead of the Apollo kids performing some random songs, or some kid acting like they could actually be a comedian before they die of the age 18- It was Rachel Dare, the oracle, telling a story about the legendary 7. Grover Underwood, Lord of the wild to most, Grover Underpants to the little ones, was up there aswell.

"And then- Just as they thought they were finally safe- Annabeth felt a tug on her ankl-"

Rachel was cut off. Her eyes turned green. Green flowed out of her mouth as she stayed perfectly still.

"Its alright, guys!" Grover said, waving a hand, "This is probably just a minor prophec-"

"Five shall rise when fate decays

Passion, vengeance, shadow, spell, and grace

One's bond must break

One shall turn, and hearts shall quake

Only together can time be undone-

Or Olympus shall fall to the nameless one."

Everyone noticed as Mr. A stiffened.

Everyone noticed as Chiron was alarmed immediately.

A new prophecy that may cost Olympus after 26 years.

26 years of finally being free. All gone.

Rachel grabbed Grover's shoulder for support as she held her head, "Ow.."

Campers were immediately alarmed.

But what they were talking about?

"5 shall rise?" A camper started.

"It said passion, vengeance, shadow, spell, and grace.."

"What? So all of those are domains?"

"Probably.."

"Passion is Eros.. Grace is probably Aphrodite.. Spell is 100% Hecate. Vengeance is definitely Nemesis."

"Is shadow Nyx.. Or.. Or is there a new Hades kid?"

"No.. Nobody came in the Hermes cabin this week.. Or this month.."

"Hades was faithful to Persephone and actually kept his dick in his pants, dumbass."

"Well, that pact?! Guess what, sherlock! Theres 2 Poseidon kids and 1 Zeus kid!"

But then?

"Passion? As in Eros?"

"Dumbass, of course it means Eros."

"But theres only 2 kids in the Eros cabin..?"

Their heads shifted.

The only 2 kids in the Eros cabin sat there awkwardly.

Zach De Luca, the oldest and the head counselor. He's quiet, only talks when he's spoken to.

He's typically doing sword drills- and one of the freaks that actually likes them despite Eros' chosen weapon being a bow and a quiver of arrows. People found out pretty quickly he mustve taken over the 'war' side of Eros.

He stands tall at around 6'0- he wouldn't know what height he is since he never cared enough to check it out- he just knows he's tall; brown hair that falls over his forehead, typically messy like he rolled out of bed; he has olive skin; he's usually wearing the red version of the camp t-shirt with a normal pair of baggy jeans, but he decided to show up wearing basic red plaid pajamas and the ugly orange version of the shirt; He doesn't typically wear his glasses but he was wearing them in that moment; gods, he wish he wasn't.

In short, he looked like a dork in the very moment people actually paid attention to him when he wasn't on the training field.

Ryan was the opposite. You could tell he was the son of Eros, despite him and Zach looking exactly the same. He was just a smaller version without glasses. It just seemed like he did the role, 'Son of Eros' better.

Ryan was sweet and more bold- girls, sometimes even guys, would get on their knees if Ryan did as much as pass by. Ryan's the son of desire. That one was obvious.

The 2 froze as if they were deer in headlights. They've never felt more uncomfortable before. And that's saying quite a lot.

"Zach," Mr. A spoke suddenly, "May I see you in the big house?"

~~~

Zach was faced with Mr. A and Chiron the moment he sat down.

"Do you know why you were called in here?" Mr. A asks.

"Yes, sir."

"We understand if you feel a little scared because of this." Mr. A started, "We know that you've only went on about 2 quests in the 6 years you've been here."

Zach wanted to laugh at that. 'Only'? Zach has been stuck raising his little brother. That quest has been lasting long enough- making sure he took showers when he was younger since they weren't used to working water in.. You know what? Nevermind. The point is, raising a little brother is hard. Zach doesn't blame Bianca di Angelo, a girl who people debated if she should be a considered a hero or not, for joining the hunters.. But then she died right after.

"So, we don't blame you if you would want to pass this prophecy down to your brother. We can.. Make some arrangements or-" Chiron was cut off by Zach.

"Woah, woah, woah." Zach immediately spoke, "I thought you couldn't outrun prophecy."

Apollo seemed to bite his tongue. The god couldn't lie.

Apollo, being the god of truth, made that a little obvious. But what gave it away more? The way he always gossipped with everyone, and before he could stop himself, there would always be something like, "Oh, honey, he's gay." Coming out.

"I'll take my leave." The god had said.

"Mr. A-" Chiron was interrupted by Mr. A's voice. It was firm. Unyielding.

"I have to."

The door shuts behind him.

Chiron sighed before turning to Zach once more.

"Zachary," He started softly, "What I said was true. You can avoid this prophecy. You can pass it on to your brother. I assure you, its possible."

Zach's expression seemed to shift. For someone as.. Well.. Mysterious, as he is, it's hard to actually see him pissed off. But those words? Those words seemed to set him off.

Zach's hands slammed down on the table as he stares at the centaur with rage that he had only seen when Achilles had found out Patroclus had taken his armour and died.

"I have raised my brother ever since I knew how to walk. My brother will not risk dying- let alone put in danger just because a prophecy says 'Passion'. There are 2 of us. The child of passion will be me."

Chiron took a breath, "I admire the love you have for your little brother. But are you sure? Once you decide this, there may be no turning back."

"Thats ok with me."

Chapter Text

Chiron blinked as he looked at Zach. Chiron knew Zach has never left his brother's side ever since they came to camp, let alone let him out of his sight for more than 5 minues. He knew Zach would go measures to make sure his brother is safe.

But he didn't know that Zach would go this far.

Chiron cleared his throat, his voice cracking only slightly, "Very well then.. You are to find the child of spell, vengeance, grace, and shadow."

"Wait- what? Youre not just gonna-"

"Zachary," Chiron interruoted, "Its important that you choose the people for this quest."

"Im.." Zach pointed to himself as if there was someone else in the room other than Chiron, "Im leading the quest..?"

"You are practically killing yourself in order to save your brother. Of course you are."

~~~

Practically signing yourself up for a death sentence is one thing.

Trying to find people for said death sentence is another.

Zach thought it was easiest to try to find the child of Hecate. People said that half of the cabin was filled 20 years ago.. Clearly, it's still not true today since theres only one child of Hecate.

Zach had tried to ask around. The most he got was blank stares; people going, "Theres a kid in the Hecate cabin?" Or, "Oh.. I never really bothered to find out what their name was.."; and.. Actually, that was pretty much it. Nobody knew about the child of spell.

So, Zach sighed and went for straight confrontation. He tried to knock on the door of the Hecate cabin?

Nobody had answered the door.

You may think: "Of course nobody answered the door! They're probably doing camp activities!"

Well, you'd be wrong. Ever since the new cabins and with Camp Jupiter coming over sometimes and causing even more ruckus, you didn't have to go to do camp activities everyday. They reccomended that you did it atleast 4 times a week, but in reality, they just made sure you did one activity a week.

So, not their cabin, maybe the library- something that they made in order to honor Annabeth Chase.. And also so the Athena kids would stop sneaking out of camp to get more books.

The librarian was a child of Athena- Olivia, Liv for short. Zach saw her all the time in head counselor meetings. Pin-straight black hair that went down her back, but she had always kept it back in a simple braid; black glasses; a flat nose- in an adorable way; and she has this tan skin the color of chestnuts; and eyes so brown to the point they looked black.

She also did this thing where she'd give people the nastiest look at meetings but then end up being the biggest sweetheart known to man.

"Hey- uh- Liv?" Zach started.

Liv looks up, adjusting her glasses as she gives Zach a small smile, "Zach, right?"

"Yeah! Uhm.. Would you, by any chance, know if a child of Hecate was here? And would you be able to tell me their name? Maybe more if you can?" Zach questioned, getting more desprate by the moment despite it only being an hour.

"Lets see.." Liv's voice trailed off as she clacked away on her computer. Pretty sick, right? Instead of demigods not allowed to have electronic devices at all, Hephaestus finally figured out how to tweak devices to not track monsters. It's easy, really. You can bring a phone to a Hephaestus kid with a drachma- boom! You have a phone thats untrackable.

"Uhm.." Liv started as Zach stared at her like a puppy waiting for it's owner to give them a treat, "Oh! Here it is! Noah Bernard. He's checked out 4 books. One about crystals, one about spells, one about.. Cats and how to take care of them.. And.. Dogs and how to take care of them..? And.. Sorry, bud. That'all I got."

Yes! A name!

"THANK YOU, LIV!" He accidentally shouted, making the other people in the library pissed.

Liv put a finger on her lips, signaling him to be quiet, but then patted his shoulder, "You're welcome."

~~~

Getting a name was the best Zach was gonna get.

It's been 3 hours of combing through camp- trying to find the child of spell. It doesn't seem like that the child of Hecate seems to have any friends because all he got was blank stares when he asked if anyone knew someone named, 'Noah Bernard'.

He's asked everyone. He's asked Romans, only for them to shake their head; he's asked if there was another god of magic, only for people to call him stupid; he even asked the Eris kids. Nobody likes the Eris kids.

He sits down on the steps of his cabin.

"You ok..?"

Zach looks up from his sulking.

Stupid messy hair; hazel eyes; and the same olive skin as him.

"Yeah, Im alright, Ryan.." Zach barely made out as he rubbed his temples.

"You're not wearing your glasses." Ryan returned.

"And?" Zach shot back. They were on his nightstand inside the cabin.. But he doesn't exactly feel like getting up and go getting them.

"You can't see correctly without your glasses." Ryan frowned.

Zach looks up at him.

He's right.. He can't see correctly without his glasses because he can't even read the words on Ryan's shirt, despite him knowing it just says, 'CAMP HALF BLOOD'.

"Put your glasses on." Ryan finally added.

"No."

Ryan sighed before pushing past him to go inside the cabin.

Ugh, seriously. Who does Ryan think he is?! Zach has busted his ass raising him for so long. And now he's doing the stupid quest for him.

And Ryan thinks he can boss him into wearing his glasses?! Hell no!

Ryan came back outside with his bow and quiver. Hah. That loser didn't get a magical object that could turn into the weapon. He just got the bow and quiver straight-up.

And then he held up Zach's glasses.

Of course he did.

"Easy as that." Ryan added as he puts the glasses in Zach's lap.

"Im not gonna wear these." Zach says in an instant.

"People said you were looking for a child of magic, no?" Ryan asks, raising a brow.

"Yeah..?"

"Wear them. Maybe you can actually spot the kid, ya dingus."

~~~

It's been another hour.

Absolutely nothing.

Zach sighs as he finally gets to the door of his cabin. Gods, he needs a nap. He desserves it.

"NOAH!"

NOAH?!

Zach immediately perks up. Suddenly, he's spinning on his heel and following the voice.

"How many times do I have to tell you?!" Mr. A scolded, "NO animals inside camp!"

Facing Mr. A was a pale boy- it looks like he could've been mixed up for a ghost or maybe the undead. Thats how pale he was. He seemed to be somewhere around 5'10- give or take; he had dark hair that fell over his eyes ever so slightly; he had grey eyes; and he was dressed in a black hoodie and jeans.

But you could still see the orange t-shirt peeking out of the hoodie.

But what was the most odd? The guy was holding a small orange kitten and there was a small bowl of.. Zach is guessing food.

And there was also a puppy- if Zach had to guess, a spaniel of sorts, standing by him, which was also growling at Mr. A.

Zach thought the day he had ran away from home was the fastest he's ever ran.

But he's pretty sure that the way he ran to Mr. A and Noah beat that by a long shot.

"Noah, for Olympus' sake- you can not keep feeding the animals that wander by the boarder! They're meant to-"

"HEY! SORRY MR. A FOR INTERRUPTING YOU!" Zach proceeded to run infront of Noah.

Noah stared, raising a brow as Zach fumbled to actually stand still.

And then Zach's hands proceeded to grip his shoulders, "Are you Noah Bernard?" 

Noah's eyes seemed to widen with panic before meeting the ground before meeting Zach's.

"Nope. My name is.. Uhm... Barry."

"Barry?" 

"Noah, stop lying." Mr. A sighed before turning to Zach, "Yes, this boy is named Noah Bernard."

Noah smiled awkwardly, almost as if he wasn't used to smiling.

"Ugh! Why'd you tell him?!" Noah groaned, "Now he's gonna drag me on his stupid quest!"

"You knew I was looking for you?!" Zach yelled.

"Of course I knew you were looking for me! As soon as I heard Liv tell you my name I immediately left the library to go hide in my cabin!" Noah yelled back, "I managed to avoid you for 4 hours- but then I had to go feed the strays because I always feed them by 4!"

"YOU WERE THERE THE WHOLE TIME?!"

"OF COURSE I WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME!"

"Noah, you will sit with Zach at dinner tonight." Mr. A said firmly, "Try.. Er.. Actually talking. And put the cat down."

Thats also another thing. Ever since the new cabins, you were able to sit anywhere you wanted at meals- all they really did was make about 8 more tables before just telling kids to sit wherever.

Noah frowned as he put down the cat.

The dog began barking.

"Tell them to leave." Mr. A said flatly before getting down to pet the cat.

"Do I have to-"

"Yes."

"Barry, Circe," Noah began before pointing at the boarder, "Leave."

The dog whimpered.

"I know, buddy.." Noah sweet talked, "I know.."

And then the 2 animals left.

~~~

This was weird.

Noah didn't do anything. All he did was eat and glare at Zach whenever they made eye contact.

Zach clears his throat, "So.."

Noah glared at him once more.

Zach stood his ground, "What do you like to do usually?"

"I like the stray cats and dogs."

"Well.. Tell me about them."

Zach saw the way that Noah's eyes lit up the moment he said it. Was he.. Getting excited..? Nevertheless, Zach just kept nodding as Noah kept going.

"The orange cat you saw earlier was Barry- he's super friendly and immediately warmed up to me when he first met me. The spaniel is Circe- she's like.. I dont know. But she always manages to get her way-"

Noah kept running his mouth about the strays that always came by camp. A puppy named Biscuit- another he named Croissant because she only eats croissants, and so on.

By the time dinner was ended, Noah had listed off all the strays that have ever came by camp.

Zach had noticed that the boy nobody ever talks to, not even bothering to learn his name- is actually pretty cool.

Huh. Maybe Zach wont mind dying with this guy.

Chapter Text

Zach has found one person for this prophecy, Noah Bernard.

Surprisingly, the child of spell is pretty cool despite the lack of friends he has. He said something about preferring being unknown. 

Here they are now. They both decided to try to find the child of grace.

The Aphrodite cabin has about 6 people. People said that the whole cabin used to be full..

Thats also the thing about more cabins. Olympians and minor gods think that affairs are somewhat useless now.

"Everyone knows they're just gonna die before 18 anyway," Mr. A had once said, "And what happened after Luke Castellan.. Athena had came to the conclusion to have minimal affairs since we can't always be there. We don't want our children to be upset, but we can't tamper with you guys. We also can't have angry children trying to overthrow us.. Again. So, we all just agreed that having children may not be the best idea."

Zach had knocked on the Aphrodite cabin's door with Noah next to him.

The door opens.

They were immediately attacked by perfumes and colognes and air fresheners.

Noah choked on all of the smells, gripping on Zach's shoulder to cough.

"Sorry about the smell!"

The boy who had answered the door had blonde, curly hair; he had sunkissed skin- obviously, he had tanned due to the fact that there were tan lines, revealing that he was actually pretty pale; these blue eyes that would make you think that they were plucked from the sky; he was kind of short compared to Zach; and he wore the blue version of the Camp t-shirt with grey sweatpants.

Zach recognized this guy. He was the sweetest person. Zach had bumped into him once, and he just looked at Zach with a small smile and said, "It's alright, don't worry about it."

"Hi, Oliver! Uhm.." Zach says with a small smile, "Can we come in by any chance?"

"Of cour-" Oliver was interrupted by a voice.

"Ollie, do NOT let them in! I can smell them from here!"

"Lee.. Be nice." Oliver frowned.

"Oliver-"

"Oliver." A rather soothing voice said, "Let them in. Just tell them to wipe their feet first."

"Taking off your shoes would be a better decision." Oliver whispered with s chuckle.

The 2 went inside. Damn. This place is nice as hell..

They took off their shoes, which kind of looked pathetic with the amount of nicely kept shoes.. Besides the busted up converse that were Oliver's.. That part was weird.

Oliver is the heir to a lot of companies. It never made sense why he showed up to camp with converse that were on the verge of falling apart, jeans with paint stains on them, and sweaters with rips in them.

On the ground were 3 kids. One of them showing what Zeus had recently posted on Instagod and making fun of him.. That was also a perk of being a demigod and having a phone. You got to have apps that used to be exclusive to immortal beings.. Apollo tries way too hard on his socials, by the way.

"No way he thinks he's cool." One laughs.

Their laughter all died down the moment they saw Noah and Zach enter the cabin.

"Oliver, what the Tartarus? I told you not to let them in!" A blonde snapped.

Zach recognized her.

Leah Adamik, head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin. Blonde hair that covers her back; big blue eyes that could give you the dirtiest look; flawless makeup everytime; fair skin; she wore the pink version of the Camp T-shirt, although it was cinched in the back; with flared jeans.

"They seem nice." Oliver said sweetly.

Yeah.. Leah can't be mad at him for long.

"Why are you here?" Another girl asks.

She was about Ryan's age- 14 years old; Chocolate colored skin; dark braids with a shock of blonde; dark brown eyes; and the pink version of the camp shirt with grey  sweatpants.

She was on her phone but had put it down to just give Noah and Zach a nasty look.

Clearly, the only one who actually was ok with Noah and Zach being there was Oliver.. And Oliver likes everyone, no matter what they do.

"We're looking for the child of grace." Noah answered after coughing out even more perfume and cologne.

"Oh- you mean the prophesized child of grace?" Leah returned, her brow raised, "And why are you acting like you never used cologne or some shit before?"

Noah ignored the last question, "Yes.. The prophesized child of grace."

"Well, thats too bad," Leah sighed as she waved her hand in disinterest, "All of us aren't here."

"Leah.." Oliver began once again, "Just give them a chance? Please? And only one of us is missing."

Leah sighed.

"Laura isnt here at the moment. She went on a quest the morning of the prophecy." Leah finally revealed, "But you already know Oliver and me. The girl with the braids is Mari, the one to my left is Chloé and the one to my right is Ethan."

"Can you leave now?" Mari asks.

"Mari.. Please..?" Oliver practically begged, "Give them a chance."

"One of us is gonna die." Chloé said bluntly.

"So," Zach started, now taking over, "Do we have any volunteers?"

"Quest means almost dying or dying." Leah retorted with an eyeroll, "Have you learned anything from the stories Rachel tells at the campfire? Nico Di Angelo, went to Tartarus twice. Annabeth Chase, almost died because she did the Athena's mark. Jason Grace. And dont even get me started on Percy Jackson."

"But you said.. What was her name? Lauren?"

"Laura. Her name is Laura." Ethan deadpanned.

"She's on a quest. You said-" Noah was interrupted by Leah waving a hand dismissively.

"She went on the quest to appease Thanatos. She's planning a funeral out for another demigod or something."

A child of Aphrodite..? Directing a funeral?

"I know what your thinking," Oliver began softly, "Directing a funeral is just a Laura thing. Not an Aphrodite thing. Egyptians used rose oil to help preserve bodies, rose bushes were also put ontop of young lovers graves to signify eternal love. Roses are one of the main symbolizations for Aphrodite.. Laura planned a funeral once.. And then she became favoured by Thanatos."

Oh. That makes a whole lot of sense now.

"Anyway, ya done now?" Leah asks, already ready to push them out.

"Wait- no-" Zach says in an instant, "We still want to find the prophesized child."

"How did the 7 even find eachother?" Noah grumbled.

"Welp," Chloé says as she gets up, "We're all gonna die anyway."

"Can you not-" Oliver sighed, only to be cut off by Ethan.

"Mari's right. If Mr. A and Chiron actually think that we can handle a war, they're wrong. Wer'e not Percy Jackson, we're not smart like Annabeth Chase, we're nothing like the prophesized 7-"

Leah face palmed, "Thats the whole point, dumbass. The prophesized 7 are supposed to be overpowered. They defeated Gaea for a reason-"

"Guys-" Oliver pleaded.

And now the whole cabin is yelling at eachother.

"Come back later, please." Oliver managed to get out over the screaminf.

"We will.." Noah murmured, ready to drag Zach outside with him.

But suddenly?

"HEY!" Zach's voice cut through the room like a blade, "Shut up."

To Noah's surprise, the whole cabin went quiet.

And then.. 5 seconds later..

"Oh my gods- he charmspoke us!" Leah yelled, "How the fuck did he charmspeak Aphrodite kid- Oh.."

Leah sighed as she remembers the prophecy, "You're a child of Eros, aren't you..?" 

"Well-" Zach pushes his hair back with a laugh.

"I don't mean it as in, 'You're hot' way, I like girls. I have no interest in you. The prophecy says passion. Eros is passion."

Oh. That makes more sense. Why would Zach think that was a way of Leah flattering him?! Ugh! He's so stupid!

"Yeah.." Zach says, now looking down as his face is red with embarassment now.

"Sit at our table at lunch. We'll talk to you then."

~~~

Sitting sith the Aphrodite table was.. Definitely was an experience.

"You guys don't know him like I do!" Oliver tried to explain.

"We know that James is a little bitch who makes kids cry by just walking past them." Ethan returned bluntly as he doesnt even look up from his phone.

"No he isn't!"

"Wait.. James..? As in James Martinez..?" Zach asked.

If he was being honest? Zach hates that hoe. It's not everyday that he gets caught talking shit about someone.. But James? James is an exception.

Zach remembers the first time he had stepped foot into camp. James was older than him by a year. He was taller. And he was scarier.

James ended up making fun of Ryan, resulting in him crying and Zach trying to swing his sword at him, only to fall due to how heavy it was. Yeah. The gift from Aphrodite and Eros..? It was and still looks the same.

Was he being salty? Yes. Was he holding a grudge? Also yes. But James never changed!

"Yes! He's dating Oliver!" Mari finally answered.

Zach dropped his fork.

Noah's mouth dropped.

"YOU GET IT!" Leah screamed.

"You guys don't know him like I do!" Oliver repeated.

"He gave his jacket to the daughter of Eris at the campfire yesterday." Chloé deadpanned.

"Yes- but no-"

 "He told you to 'go get him a coke'." Chloé added, "And not to mention you actually got it for him."

"But-"

"He got mad at you when you decided you didn't wanna make out with you." Leah finally said, "That should be a dealbreaker!"

"He was just-" Oliver cuts himself off, "You guys don't know him like I do!"

"Thats the 3rd time you said that." Noah sighed.

"What the hell happened to Aphrodite areia?!" Leah yelled, "Didn't we all agree that we want to restore that in OUR mother's name?! Why the hell are we still making people believe that were fuckin' housewives n' shit?!"

Silence.

"You want people to still believe that Aphrodite is a war goddess?" Noah questioned quietly.

"More than anything."

"Then join the quest."

Leah's face falls for a second.

Then breathed in.

Breathed out.

"Piper McLean and Silena Beauregard, Leah.." Chloé says gently.

Leah looked at Chloé, her gaze softening.

Then she finally looked back at both Noah and Zach.

"Fine."

Chapter Text

The child of vengeance was known all around camp.

Zach has been dreading this moment the most.

The child of vengeance- or a child of Nemesis. Specifically a son.

Gods, Zach hates his ass.

Nemesis' son was.. Different. He was basically an extension of the Hermes cabin. But he was worse. Yes, he pulled pranks and everything. But if you turned your back for a second when he's around and you did something to piss him off? You might as well just kiss your reputation goodbye. There's a more than 50% chance that there's something rigged around you.

Mr. A tried to do something about it.

Key word: tried.

Mr. A had assigned him to do work in the stables after he pulled a prank on the Hermes cabin. Something even the Hermes cabin was scared of. Nobody knows what because the the Hermes kids would always go quiet. The only person who was safe was the head counselor. And that's because he's kid's friend.

"You'll regret that." Nemesis' son had said with a small smirk, patting his shoulder.

"Youre not wearing the camp shirt, too. That's another reason why you're doing stables."

Mr. A then faced.. An unfortunate turn of events right after.

Everything just.. Seemed to not go his way.

The Apollo kids were tired in the morning- which is weird because they're NEVER tired in the morning. More people got injured in capture the flag- which is odd because they have added more safety rules over the years. Due to the Apollo kids somehow still being tired, their work was sloppier and Mr. A had to heal campers himself.

That wasn't all, too.

Mr. A had thought: "Alright, maybe just this day is weird."

Yeah.. No.

The next day, one of his children had broke his arm. The worst part? The child has his gift of music.

The kid couldn't pick up his guitar, saxophone, flute, anything, for months.

Adding onto that, Mr. A's daughter had gotten hit by an arrow. And as if that wasn't enough, She's one of the best medics, meaning, she was the only one who knew how to treat something like that in her cabin. 

Mr. A had to treat her.

The 3rd day. That was the kick.

Majority of the camp had somehow gotten injured. Including the medics.

Zach had gotten injured due to an arrow in capture the flag, earning a cut across his forehead.

Ryan had gotten injured by nearly spraining his ankle just because Zach had left his sword on the ground in their cabin, resulting in him falling over it.

Mr. A had finally realized that it was that stupid child of Nemesis who was doing this since he was the only one unharmed.. He was also just drinking a Dr. Pepper by his cabin with a smug look on his face.

The only thing that the kid said?

"If you don't want this to happen again, don't make me do things."

Mr. A sighed.

"Just make sure nobody gets injured. Do something the Hermes kids would do, and I won't."

"Deal!"

So here Leah, Noah, and Zach stood. Infront of the Nemesis cabins door.

People used to say that this cabin used to be full aswell.. But now there's only one kid.

"Child of vengeance.." Noah holds back a sigh as he doesn't even bother to knock, instead, he just opened the door immediately.

Bad choice.

Ice water.

Leah gasps, immediately backing away and checking if her hair, which was curled since this morning, was still curled.

"What the hell, Max?!" She shouted, glaring at the son of Nemesis.

Zach, who was standing next to Noah, ended up getting soaked aswell.

"Wow." Zach murmured, "Just wow.."

"HAH!" The child of vengeance laughs from his bed, "THAT WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT FOR MR. A OR CHIRON- BUT THATS EVEN BETTER!"

Max had hair the color of the night sky that was cut into a shaggy haircut, going past his jaw ever so slightly; striking green eyes that looked tired, yet still full of life; pale skin to the point he looked like a ghost, kind of like Noahs; He wore a 'THE BEATLES' T-shirt, obviously loved due to the point the image was fading; a leather jacket that was doused with pins from bands from the 60s-80s along with a couple of other ones; and baggy black jeans.

Noah breathed in.

And breathed out.

"I want to strangle him already." He whispered.

"I've been wanting to strangle him." Leah whispered back.

"Can we come in?" Zach finally asked.

"I dunno, can you?" Max chuckled.

Zach walked in anyway.

Bad choice.

Ice cold water. Again.

Zach looked up, seeing a bucket hanging by a rope.

"HAH! DUMBASS!" Max cackled, holding his stomach.

"Alright. What the fuck, dude?" Zach finally said as he wiped his eyes, "What did I do to deserve that?!"

"Don't know," Max grinned, still chuckling, "You tell me."

"What does that even-" Leah started, only to cut herself off, "Oh. Child of vengeance."

"Is there anything else..?" Noah sighed, shivering slightly.

"I don't know, is there?" Max said mockingly.

"Dude."

"Nah, come in."

"No." Leah said, stepping forward.

"What?" Max returned, raising a brow.

"Prove that there's nothing around." 

Max sighed at Leah's words, "What do I even do?"

"Walk around. Prove that there's nothing rigged." Noah says, still dripping with water.

Max rolled his eyes but did it anyway. He walked around his cabin, waved his arms around, and pretended to try and punch Zach in the face.

"See?" Max finally revealed, "Nothin'."

Zach, Noah, and Leah all looked at each other before finally stepping inside.

But the moment Leah stepped a little too far up?

Pie.

Pie fell from the ceiling.

A flash of.. Pink?

Then pie was splattered everywhere.

Max wiped his eyes as pie filling dripped down his face, "Dude! Not cool!"

Leah was holding a shield above her head.

It was made of celestial bronze, from what Zach could tell- so clearly not from Rome; it had an inner circle that was pink with.. 2 snakes? 2 swans? Forming a heart. It kept shifting every second; and there was a rose above the heart colored in red.

Even with pie all over it, Zach could tell it was a weapon gifted by a god.

And, Leah confirmed Zach's suspicion when it turned into a gold necklace with a pink heart on it.

"What the hell, dude?!" Leah shouted, making sure there was no pie chunks in her hair before turning to Max, "Why didn't it drop when you were fucking around?!"

"Seeeee.. That's the thingggg.." Max dragged the letters of the word at the end of each sentence. Zach doesn't know why. He just wants to wrap his hands around the guy's neck and strangle-

No. Don't think about it.

"My cabin does that to people I decide I want revenge on." Max finished.

"Excuse you? What 'revenge'- we never talked to you before!" Noah pointed out as he wiped pie off his hoodie.

"You. Ruined. My. Me. Time." Max clapped in Noah's face between each word, "That's. Annoy.ing."

"Go. Fuck. Your. Self. Dude!" Leah also clapped in Max's face in-between each word.

Another pie came dropped from the ceiling.

The shield again.

"Nice try, asshole."

"Ohhhh my gods! You guys are sooooo annoyingggg!" Max groaned as he flopped dramatically on his bed, "I just wanted to leave hate comments on Zeus' Instagod page, and guess what?! You idiots disturb me!"

"Youre leaving hate comments on the king of gods instagod page..?" Zach asks with horror.

"Oh my gods! What's your account?!" Leah said excitedly, her mood changing in an instant as she took out her phone.

Noah's and Zach's head turned to her.

Leah scoffed as she put away her phone, "Buzzkills."

"Anyway-" Zach was interrupted by Max raising his hand with a groan.

"Don't. Even. I know why you're here. 'Child of vengeance' or whatever the hell Rachel said." Max rolls his eyes, going on his phone once more, "Point is, im not your guy."

Noah blinked, "What?"

"Yeah.. Uhm.." Max waves his hand dismissively, "I don't like doing things.."

"Are you fucking stupid?" Leah asks.

"I'm not stupid," Max snapped back as he got up from his bed, "You know what happens to prophesied bitches?!"

Max picks up a Jason Grace action figure- something that all the heroes of Olympus had gotten because Leo Valdez insisted that 'The ladies would want him if he had one' as Mr. A had once said. He also picked up a Clarisse La Rue action figure, plucking the spear out as he turns back to the 3.

"Oh! I'm prophesied and everything!" Max says, shaking the Jason Grace action figure, making him bounce up and down, "memememememe- just minding my own business! You know, like a 16 year old should be doing instead of DYING! Oh! B-But Apollo says he needs my help! I'll help him and then I'll work on my temples for minor gods!"

Max mimicked Jason walking again.

And then he stabs Jason's back with the spear, "Pow! Pow! Pow!"

"Y'know, he has a good point-" Noah was cut off by Leah putting a hand on his mouth.

"That's not the point, dipshit." Zach remarked.

"Is it? Because I think it is. We're not overpowered like the seven. We're not Nico Di Angelo or Reyna Ramirez-Arellano! Do you SEE someone who even RESEMBLES Annabeth Chase in the slightest?! Or maybe- I dunno, maybe a BIG THREE KID?" Max mentioned, "Y'know- there's THREE big three kids! One daughter of Zeus and 2 sons of Poesidon! They're strong as HELL. And have you SEEN the head counselor- Jeffery- or whatever the hell his name is?!"

"Jeremy. His name is Jeremy. And the other one is a younger kid named Aiden." Zach said under his breath.

"JEREMY LITERALLY LOOKS LIKE PERCY JACKSON AND ACTS LIKE ANNABETH CHASE!" Max shouted.

"No he doesn-" Noah was cut off by Max shoving his phone in his face along with a Percy Jackson action figure.

An instagod account with the username, 'Ihatemydad62' along with the nickname set to, 'Jeremy 🐚'. The profile picture had a kid at the beach who had obviously been in the water, wearing regular blue swim-shorts with a white button-up that was left un-buttoned revealing a lean body with tan skin, the same as Percy Jackson's; sea-green eyes, also the same color as Percy Jackson's; and jet-black hair.. Like Percy Jackson.

"Oh." Noah murmured, "But that doesn't prove he also acts like Annabeth Chase-"

"Look outside. He's playing with a Athena kid."

The 3 looked at eachother before going outside.

"YOU CHEATED!" The Athena kid had shouted, jabbing a finger in Jeremy's chest.

"It's chess. How would I even cheat..?"

"YOU-!"

"WHY THE FUCK DO YOU ALWAYS ASSUME YOURE THE SMARTEST PERSON JUST BECAUSE YOUR ATHENA'S SON?!"

The 4, because Max had joined just to watch it all fall apart for fun, watched.

The Athena kid had tried to flip the whole ass table.

And then they were waterboarded. 

"Thanks, Aiden!" Jeremy called out.

"See?" Max grinned, "So no. Not doing the quest."

"Dude-"

"If you bother me again, you won't be hearing from me but instead a bunch of angry griffins. Ok, byeeee!"

Then the door was slammed shut.

Chapter Text

"I hate that bitch!" Leah decided firmly at the lunch table.

The lunch table consisted of Noah, Zach, and Leah. The other people at the table decided to give the 3 the most space as possible.

"He's not that bad. He had solid points." Noah admitted, but it seemed like it pained him to say it.

"I mean.. Is he wrong, though?" Zach remarked, remembering Max's words from yesterday, "The children of the Zeus and Poseidon are pretty strong.."

"I was just saying that because he didn't follow me back on Instagod- but that too, I guess."

"I hate to admit it.. But Max Is right. The 2 Poseidon kids are strong. And Madi? She even looks like Annabeth Chase and acts like Percy Jackson." Noah murmured.

"What?" Zach said with confusion, "No she doesn-"

Across the pavilion, stood Madi, daughter of Zeus, standing up on one of the tables.

"DAD!" She yelled at the sky, "TAKE DOWN THAT POST YOU MADE YESTERDAY! ITS OFFENSIVE!"

A flash of lightning. It didn't seem.. Angry.. Nor happy.

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING WHY?!" She hissed, "YOU CALLED PERCY JACKSON A BITCH!"

A flash of lightning again.

"IF YOU WISH YOU DIDNT HAVE ME, YOU SHOULDVE KEPT YOUR DICK IN YOUR PANTS!"

Cursing out a god doesn't seem wise, but when thunder tried to strike her down, there was always a shield that appeared out of nowhere above Madi.

A shield that was made with celestial bronze; had peacock engravings on it; along with peacock feathers all around it, always covered her.

Which happened right now.

"Thanks, lady Hera!" She shouted with a smile.

"Well-" Zach said, trying to justify what he had just said.

Leah pulled up Annabeth Chase's instagod account, showing her profile picture specifically.

Madi had curly blonde hair, just like Annabeth Chase's; Grey eyes, just like Annabeth's; and sun-kissed skin.. Like Annabeth.

She acted exactly how Percy Jackson was said to act like. Loud, funny, but not the peacock part. Rachel Dare said that Hera hated Percy Jackson.

"Holy shit- you're right.." Zach admitted under his breath.

It made sense why Max didn't want to become part of the prophecy. Zach didn't want to do it either. But Zach couldn't lose his only family. Ryan's practically his son. Eros wasn't there just like the other gods, their mom was out of the picture, and maybe. Just maybe, there's a vague memory from their other relatives, remembering that there were once 2 sons of Allegra De Luca. But that would be forgotten overtime, anyway.

Zach was the one who taught Ryan about hygiene because of they were once in a house where the water was always shut off. Zach was the one who taught Ryan manners. Zach was the one who took Ryan to the nearest icecream shop to cheer him up.

Zach was the one who stole for Ryan.

He couldn't let his only brother look Thanatos right in the eye.

But Madi is about the same age as Ryan.

So is Aiden, the other son of Poseidon. 

Sure, Jeremy is around the same age as Noah, Leah, and Zach. But Zach has talked to the guy before.

He's too nice for his own good.

"We can't let them just.. Take the prophecy from us. That's simply not possible. You can't run away from prophecy." Leah finally spoke.

"You're right." Zach agreed as the food was left alone on his plate, "Madi and Aiden are both around 14."

"What about Jerem-"

"Jeremy doesn't deserve to die early. I doubt that he would, but either way.." Zach looked down in his lap, "Rachel didn't say anything that could resemble Poseidon in the slightest. Max is-"

Zach shut his mouth, his lips tightly pressed together as if it pained him to say it.

"Our guy.." He finally sighed, "We have to persuade him somehow."

"Words didn't work." Leah murmured and then looked Zach in his eyes, "Are you saying we beat him up? Because I'm in-"

"What- no!" Zach yelled, "We have to make him agree in some way."

"What? Like a spell?" Noah gasps, "I can totally make a spell like that!"

"No- we're not forcing him." Zach stated firmly.

"He's right there." Leah pointed to across the pavilion, "What? Do we just-"

"Yup! Let's go!"

~~~

Across the pavilion, Max sat with a couple of Hermes kids and a bunch of other kids Zach didn't recognize.

"Oh. It's you guys again." Max glared at the 3.

"Oh! Shit! Aren't you guys like- prophesied or some shit-"

Logan. Head counselor of the Hermes cabin. It's strange, really. He looks like Luke Castellan. He has the same body shape and about the same height along with the same eyes and scar. That's all he has in common- But even then it's strange. He's pale, just like Luke Castellan; brown, tousled hair that he rarely cuts; freckles all over his face- some all over his body too; the blue version of the camp t-shirt; and cargo sweatpants.

"Yeah- anyway- Max, sweetie, get over with it, your prophesied. You're coming with us." Leah demanded.

"I thought we weren't forcing hi-" Noah was interrupted by Logan wrapping an arm around him.

"Hey, chill, muchachos and muchachas." Logan says smoothly, leaning onto Noah, "We're all friends here."

"Are we?" Max shot back, "Are we really?"

"Yes. Yes, we are." 

"Give me back my tarot cards, asshole." Noah says in an instant.

"Worth a shot." Logan says with a smirk, slipping the box back in Noah's pocket.

"With the cards." Noah clarified, clearly annoyed.

Logan grins, shuffling the cards and giving them a small knock before slipping them in Noah's pocket.

Noah snaps his fingers.

Purple mist around his pocket.

Now the cards are in their box.

"We need to talk with Max." Leah finally announced.

"Uh.. No you don't." Max rolls his eyes as he threw a bread roll at Zach.

Zach catches it, "Your aim sucks."

And then proceeds to eat it infront of him.

"Yes, we do." It was obvious Noah was trying not to punch someone in the face. You could tell by the way his fists clenched by his sides.

"Wellllll.." Max pokes at his food, and then points his fork at the 3, "You can't make them leave."

"Everyone but Max." Leah began, "Leave the table."

Max whipped his head, seeing as people left.

"I hate children of Aphrodite." He concluded with a pout, crossing his arms.

"Cmon. You're prophesied. You're helping."

"I dont wannaaaaa.." Max whined.

"Don't make this difficult. You can't run away from prophecy." Noah deadpanned.

Max just rolled his eyes.

"Listen," Zach began with a sigh.

"Oh noooo, Mr. I'm-the-leader-of-this-quest is talking.. Whatever shall we do.."

Zach shut him up, "I know that you dont want to do this quest."

"No, really?"

"But I know you're a year-long camper. You dont have anyone to go to if Olympus gets wrecked. You'll have no choice other than to live on the streets. I know youre.. What? 16? 17?"

"I'm 15." Max says under his breath, looking down at his lap, "My main goal as a demigod is not dying before I turn 18."

Zach doesn't know if he was using charmspeak or not- it was usually just something he accidentally did. But it didn't feel like he was. It didn't feel like he had to push the weight of a truck to make Max agree.

"You can either die on the streets," Zach remarked, "Or you can die trying to save Olympus and fighting for the place you call home. What's it gonna be?"

Max stays silent.

Fidgets with his hands in his lap.

And then sighed.

"Are you really not gonna leave me alone until I say yes..?" He asks with a dry laugh.

"No."

"Fine."

Chapter Text

Zach went back to the Eros cabin that night. He was happy.. But also dreading finding the child of shadow.

"You happy that you finally got Max on your side, or what?" Ryan asks, coming out of the bathroom with a smirk, water dripping from his hair as he tried to dry it with an old t-shirt.

That's another thing- cabins got their own bathrooms. Percy Jackson could only dream about that.

"I'm not happy 'bout that part. Youre not a head counselor. You dont know about the shit he pulls at the head counselor meetings." Zach confessed, "I'm just not too thrilled about trying to find a 'Child of shadow'."

"What? You think the kid is a child of Selene? Hades? Or Erebus?"

Zach sighed, "I dont know.. Leah said she tried to find the guy on Instagod.. No luck."

"Well-"

Ryan's phone pinged.

Ryan started smiling.

"Who are you texting?" Zach asks in an instant.

"Nobody." Ryan murmured hastily.

"Ryan, tell me. I'm your older brother."

"Are you trying to charmspeak me?!" Ryan yelled.

"Worth a shot." Zach said smugly.

Zach enters the bathroom with Ryan, grabbing his toothbrush as Ryan did the same.

"Give me the toothpaste, jackass." Ryan said, clearly annoyed.

"Nuh-uh. Not until you tell me." Zach says with the biggest grin on his face.

Ryan rolled his eyes as he continued texting.

"Hey- what's that in the shower?" Zach asks, pointing behind Ryan.

"Wha-"

Zach snatched his phone.

"HAH! DUMBASS!" Zach beamed, holding it above his head.

~~

DANI ❤️

Goodnight <33

YOU

Goodnight ❤️

sleep well :)

DANI ❤️

Archery tomorrow?

YOU: 

OFC !!

~~

"Who's Dani?" Zach was smiling like a madman, holding the phone above his head so Ryan couldn't reach it.

Ryan blushed, "Nobody! Shut up!"

"You have a crush, don't you?!"

"No!"

Zach's smile didn't fade.

Ryan goes quiet for a second.

"Yeah.."

Zach handed Ryan's phone over, still looking as smug as ever.

"Tell me about him." Zach says as he sticks his toothbrush in his mouth.

"His name is Daniel Torres- he goes by Dani. Madi and Aiden introduced us since Dani doesn't have that many friends- Madi knew I would like him immediately. Aiden just thought I'd like Dani as a friend. Dani's from the Apollo cabin, specializes in healing, art, and music- he's not a good archer but he's decent in hand-to-hand combat. He's 14 years old, he's sweet, he loves cats more than anything. His favorite movie is frozen. Not the second one- the first one. His favorite color is yellow- but not, 'in-your-face' neon yellow, more like marigolds and the color the sun is when it starts to set. He has somewhat of a charmspeak- but it's more like a.. A sing-speak..? If he sings and intends to make someone do what he wants- they do it the more they listen to his voice. He doesn't uses it often since he doesn't like the idea of taking advantage of it."

Ryan takes a breath before continuing.

"He likes the idea of love songs, usually not the modern ones, though. His favorite music artist is Grant Perez and Laufey. His favorite hero is Frank Zhang because he fought for the things he loved. He also collects rubber ducks and crystals."

Zach spat out his toothpaste, turning on the sink to wash away the white foam it had created.

Zach chuckled, ruffling Ryan's hair.

"Remember what dad said." Zach remarked with a smile still on his face.

"Ugh- he's not even there most of the time!"

"He's still a god. And gods know what you say."

Ryan sighed, snatching the toothpaste away.

"I'm gonna head to bed, 'kay?" Zach murmured.

"It's only 10."

"And I didn't have the 2-hour nap I usually take at 5 for 3 days now."

Ryan laughs truly before sticking the toothbrush in his mouth, "Weak."

"Hey!" Zach's laugh dies down as his voice gets softer, "Night, kid."

"Night." Is what Zach thinks Ryan said- Ryan was still brushing his teeth.

Zach walks to his bunk.

Turns off the lights.

The blanket is warmer than usual, the mattress is cold, his pillows are the perfect temperature.

Oh.. This is gonna be the best sleep of his whole damn life.

~~

Zach knows this wasn't his cabin. He knows this wasn't camp. He knew Ryan wasn't just on the other bunk away from him.

He was on the ground instead. The hard wood floor was starting to hurt his body from just sitting there for too long.

Not again. Not the attic again. Anything but the attic again.

But there was dust building up on broken furniture, the only source of light were provided by the stars and moon outside.

Zach looks up, seeing that there's a mirror. It's broken, but it's not cracked enough so he could see his face.

The t-shirt that had holes in it, the shorts that he was forced to wear in 50 degree weather since his mom was always too busy drinking or sleeping to buy him new clothes. His socks were hanging on by a thread- the socks that were once white were know starting to turn grey instead.

'This isn't the body that you're in now.' He tells himself, 'Calm down.'

But he can't.

It's stuffy and realistic. Too stuffy and realistic.

A sound of glass breaking.

A scream.

"ZACH!"

No.

Stop.

Not again.

Please.

"Ryan?!" Zach calls out.

"ZACH!" The voice shouted, but this time the voice was trembling.

Begging.

Begging for someone to come help him.

"RYAN?!" Zach finally screamed, banging on the door of the attic.

It was locked shut.

Again.

"RYAN!" Zach shouts his name as if it's the last thing that could get him out of the attic. He isn't begging to be let out like he used to. He's begging to just be the one to take the hit instead of his little brother.

"MOM!" Zach's screaming, still banging on the door of the attic, "PLEASE, STOP!"

His throat is starting to hurt due to how loud he's screaming. Although, he can't really care at the moment. His brother is getting hurt and he can't stop it. The only thing he cares about is getting out of the damn attic and protecting him.

The scene shifts.

It's daytime now. The sun is shining through the windows, forcing Zach to wake up.

There's a moment of silence that Zach goes through.

The wooden floor is making his body hurts.

He had fallen asleep crying, knowing he couldn't protect his brother.

The dust in the attic is so heavy to the point it makes it hard to breathe.

His throat is sore from screaming so much.

But then he realizes something.

His brother is still down there.

That gets him up pretty easily.

He tries banging on the door again. No luck.

He tries budging it open. No luck.

He looks around.

furniture. Old furniture. Old furniture means furniture that breaks easily.

He spots a chair- something that came with the house. His mother stared at it with disgust and made 9 year old him carry it up here.

Zach tips it over so the chairlegs were facing him.

He breaks it off- using almost all the energy he has.

And now he's hitting the chairleg against the attic door with all the strength he has, despite the fact it's not much.

1 hit.

2 hits

3 hits.

8 hits.

17 hits.

26 hits.

49 hits.

63 hits.

CRASH!

The attic door had finally broken through. It's enough room for Zach to go through. The ladder is still there. He knows his mom was probably too drunk to even know how to move it in the first place.

Zach went down the ladder and ran down the stairs. He's slow, yes- but he's still running as fast as he can.

His mother passed out on the couch. Ryan's trembling on the floor as blood drips from his forehead. His left eye is swollen shut. He has bruises on his arms. Zach knows that there are more, but he can't bring himself to look for them.

"Z-Zach..?" Ryan managed to get out.

"Ryan?!" Zach whispers, "I-I'll help you- it's ok-just breathe-"

The scene shifts again.

A bus. The seats are uncomfortable, but it's the most luxury they'll get with the money they have. 

A backpack is in Zach's lap, filled with waterbottles, granola bars, and the money that their mom was supposed to spend on more alcohol.

Ryan is asleep against Zach's shoulder. The hoodie Ryan's in reeks of alcohol. It practically swalllows his body.

Ryan was cold. Zach did the first thing he could think of. Steal their mom's clothing.

Or.. Steal Allegra's clothing.

That woman is no longer their mother. She was just someone who gave birth to them. She will never be a mother. Never.

They've been in this train for 2 hours now.

Zach doesn't know when to get off. All he knew was that he had to take his brother and leave that house.

Ryan is soon waking up when they hear something.

"Arriving at New York, Manhattan.."

Manhattan.

They came all the way from New Haven..

"Ryan, this is our stop." Zach says softly as Ryan blinks away his sleepiness.

"Hm..?"

"Cmon, get up."

The scene shifts once again.

It's nighttime.

It's cold, it's raining.

It's hard to see things.

Ryan suddenly screams and trips.

"RYAN!"

Ryan's on the ground, Zach couldnt tell if he was crying or not because of the rain, as he holds his ankle.

Zach wants to yell at him for being a dumbass- anything. But its not fair. He knew it wasn't Ryan's fault for not knowing where anything was. It was pitch black outside. There were no cars. No anything.

 "Ryan- what happened?!" Zach asks hastily.

Fuck.

They didn't know where they are. They didn't even know this city.

"I-I just tripped- Ankle- hurts-"

Zach tries to help Ryan up.

Ryan screams in pain.

"How 'bout a break?" Zach offered.

"Yeah.. Please-" Ryan managed to sob out.

Zach looks around.

Anything. Please. Anything.

But there's a sign being held up by 2 stone pillars.

Even though its dark, Zach is close enough to see it.

It keeps switching between.. Scribbles? And actual English Zach can read for once.

'CAMP HALF-BLOOD'.

Alright..

Let's give that a try.

Zach manages to put Ryan on his back after some struggle.

Ryan's heavy.

But the guy can't even use his ankle, so he better get used to it.

He manages to walk through the stone pillars, dropping to the ground when he sees.. A light?

A campfire.

That's what it was.

Zach and Ryan laid there for a bit, unsure of what to do.

Do they scream? Do they ask for help? Do they follow the rule, 'Stranger danger'?

But campers seem to notice either way.

"Oh! You poor thing!"

A lady with brown skin the color of wood; green hair- just like the leaves of a tree; matching green eyes; and a white dress that goes down to her knees.

People turned their heads pretty quickly.

Zach had many questions- like, 'Why are they all in the same shirt?', 'The shirt has a pony, do they just like ponies?', and, 'Why are they all screaming at the same time?'.

But he had one instinct as about 5 people began to come towards them.

Why did some of them have bows?

Why did some kids at the campfire have swords?

They're gonna hurt them.

"DONT TOUCH HIM!" Zach suddenly screeched as he shielded Ryan's body, causing some kids to cover their ears.

"Kid, relax." One of them put their hands up before turning to the group, "Put your weapons away- You'll scare them!"

Zach stood his ground as the group inched towards them.

"We won't hurt you." Someone spoke slowly.

"Get away!" Zach screamed.

They slowly put their hands on Zach.

Zach immediately started thrashing, "GET OFF ME!" 

"Kid- calm down!" They held him tighter.

One of them took a step towards Ryan.

"STOP! YOU'LL HURT HIM!"

He keeps screaming. They'll just hurt Ryan. That's all anyone ever does. Zach can't have that. Not when he's right here.

He bites the kid's arm so they'd let him go.

"CAN I GET A HYPNOS KID?!"

Zach is trying to drag Ryan away.

There's a lot of houses here, surely he can just use one for tonight.

There's a red one. He likes red.

Oh. But it also has barbed wire all around it. Maybe not.

Then he sees someone dragging a girl over.

She looks tired. She's rubbing her eyes, murmuring about something.. And not to forget she's the only one not in the camp shirt. She's wearing hello kitty pajamas instead.

Zach tries to bite her.

But then she puts her hand on his head.

~~

Zach wakes up with a jolt.

He's sweating, his pillows are no longer cold, his mattress is now hot.

He's breathing heavily, and he's doing something he never does.

He reaches over and puts on his glasses.

"Holy shit," Ryan laughs when he sees Zach, "You good?"

Ryan's already in his usual outfit. Red camp half blood shirt, baggy jeans, and his beat up converse he had since he was 12.

His hair is still a mess, but people somehow manage to like that about the both of them.

"Uhm.." Zach runs a hand through his hair when he catches his breath, "Yeah. Don't worry."

"Breakfast's in like.. 10 minutes. Get ready. You signed up to help train young campers about sword fighting."

"Don't act like you're the older one." Zach hissed.

Ryan chuckles as he sits on his bunk, "Yeah, yeah.."

Zach slowly gets up.

Goes to the bathroom.

And stares at himself in the mirror.

Allegra De Luca isn't part of their life anymore.

It's fine.

That's why they ran away in the first place.

"Pull yourself together." 

Chapter Text

At first, Zach was excited to finally find the 'Child of shadow'. He's worked his ass off trying to find the first 3, now all he has to do is find the last one with the help of 3 people!

Oh, was his ass wrong.

Max, who obviously didn't even want to be part of the prophecy in the first place, did nothing. That part, is understandable. Zach can tell he's gonna be pretty useless when they're on a quest. 

So, Max just sat in his cabin with a grin on his face.

What wasn't expected?

Leah. 

Leah wanted to restore her mother's name! Of course she would want to help!

Leah, ironically, ended up hanging out in the Nemesis cabin with Max. Apparently, they had bonded by texting last night, so now they're, 'Bestfriends' even though Leah didn't even like the guy before that day.

And Noah?

Noah happened to be near when the new campers were trying to do archery.

He was then stabbed in the shoulder.

So with Noah in the infirmary, Leah and Max not wanting to help, he had no choice but to try to find the 'Child of shadow' by himself.

He had walked past Ryan.

All Ryan did was give him a middle finger with a grin.

Zach started asking questions, starting with the Ares cabin first.

Dumb idea.

"Hey! Do you know if there's a child of.. Something associated with shadow? Maybe Erebus? Selene?"

AJ, the head counselor of the Ares cabin- Zach only knew him because he had a buzz cut and tried to swordfight with him all the time when they were 14, only to lose miserably everytime. His hair had grown out now, its messy, goes a little over his eyes; he has dark brown eyes the color of wood; skin with a tan- but dont let that fool you- he's pale as fuck in the winter; he's wearing the red version of the camp t-shirt, the sleeves cut off; along with cargo pants.

"I dont know, is there?" AJ laughed.

"I'll fucking strangle you."

"You know what?" AJ still kept that shit-eating grin on his face as he continued, "How about we swordfight? You win, you get the info. But if I win?"

The other 2 Ares kids he were with, one a young girl, and another girl who was about 13, 'Ooooh'd.

"You have to tell everyone that I'm the best sword fighter ever."

Zach raised a brow.

"One," Zach sighed, "That's stupid. Two, you're annoying. Three, you're just gonna lose. Four, if you're gonna start war, dont take after your dad by not even winning it."

"Ohhh.." AJ chuckled, "So he is a pussy."

Zach doesn't get mad often. He grew up with a little brother. He grew up taking more than he was able to.

But what AJ had said?

That pissed him off.

"Why dont you take your fuckass sword and shove it down your dumbass throa-"

He quickly cuts himself off.

"Fine."

~~

People gathered around the training area. Apparently, AJ had said that, "I can beat Zach's ass in a minute," and "He's gonna look pathetic on the ground."

He saw Ryan in the crowd next to a smaller brunette boy about his age.

His hair was messy as hell- not in the way that the other people styled it, more like a, 'I-Just-rolled-out-of-bed' type of thing; he wore the classic orange camp t-shirt he somehow managed to pull of; blue, baggy jeans with the most outrageous heel bite; green eyes that actually looked kind of nice in the sunlight; pale skin like he was a vampire- it was like he never saw the sun in years; and he had a lot of freckles on his cheeks..

He also wore Ryan's jacket. Zach only recognized it because it was a jacket he gave to Ryan.

People were recording as if this was gonna be the funniest thing ever.. Ryan was one of them. 

AJ swung his sword around.

zach knew that sword.

It was the same sword he used when he was 14- one of the reasons why he lost all the time. The sword was crafted beautifully. Celestial bronze for the blade; the guard was colored red, the word, 'γενναιότητα' etched into it, which just translates to 'Bravery'; the grip was colored red..

A beautiful sword indeed.

"So, Zachariah." The child of war (but losing them) started.

"Zachary." The child of passion corrected.

"Yeah- whatever- You ready to get your ass beat?"

Zach flicked his hand, his ring turning into a sword.

The sword was gifted to him by Eros in a vision.

The blade of the sword was made with celestial bronze and the guard was a dark red, along with a heart etched into it along with the name, 'Έρως'.

Zach didn't reply to AJ's question.

An Eris kid had counted them off.

"3.. 2.. 1.. GO!"

Swords swung wildly- but it was mostly AJ swinging his sword recklessly.

Zach's sword was blocking each attack with ease, barely batting an eye as AJ tried to stab at his abdomen.

Zach ended up kicking AJ to the ground.

Then put the tip of his sword at AJ's neck.

Zach smiled as AJ just stared in disbelief, "You said something about me getting my ass beat?"

Ryan sighed as if he was disappointed that Zach didn't get his ass beat.

"Wha-" AJ stuttered, "BEST OUT OF 3!"

"Ohhhhh," Zach remembered the way AJ had made him want to do this duel, "So he is a pussy."

AJ kept tripping over his words.

"So," Zach started, "The child of shadow."

AJ sighed.

And then groaned, "Ughhhh! You're so annoying! You haven't changed one bit!"

Zach flicked his hand, making his sword disappear, "AJ."

AJ looked to the ground as if he was contemplating everything before he finally opened his mouth.

"His name is Alexander Blackwood- pretty sure he goes by Alex. Child of Nyx, I think. I talked to him once when I was like- 12- for capture the flag. He's tall, pale as a ghost, black hair, black eyes, and usually wears all black. You can't miss him."

"Thank you."

~~

Spoiler alert.

That asshole fucking lied.

Noah was out of the infirmary by the time Zach was ready to go look for Alex.

They looked for 3 hours.

"Have you seen Alex? Tall, pale skin, black eyes and hair-" Zach would try to ask.

"Who now?" A person would ask with their brow raised.

They asked the Romans.

They just shook their heads and said, "Better luck next time."

So here they were.

The group was back together.

Leah and Max were laughing over tiktoks and other things- most likely a prank Hermes had tried to pull on Ares, only to get hit multiple times as Hera tries to pull him off.

Or atleast.. They were.

Zach ended up running his mouth about AJ, about how he was, 'An asshole' and how he's, 'Just salty'.

"Ohhhhh.." Max grinned, "What do you want me to do? Shove pie in his face? Make him trip on his own sword? Make him eat a nutella sandwich- did you know he's actually allergic to nuts?"

Zach just crossed his arms.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh-" Leah giggled, "He's pouting now~"

"Guys-" Noah murmured, "Just shut up.. I dont think he's too-"

"IM GONNA KILL HIM!" Zach shouted, his hands slamming the table.

The 2 campers who had sat there just stared at Zach.. And then got up and ran.

Max whistled lowly before he grabbed his dr. Pepper, "Someone's pissed.."

Zach's eye twitched.

"Do you want me to go confront him with you?" Leah asks with a chuckle.

Zach nodded.

"Let's go, babes."

~~

AJ was laughing with his cabin- along with a bunch of other kids who, again, Zach didn't know.

"Ooooo~" Someone nudged AJ with a giggle, "You gonna demand a redo?"

"Shut up!" AJ barked in an instant.

"AJ, Alexander, Alex Jones- whatever works for you- We just gotta know if you were serious about this 'Alexander Blackwood'." Leah said with a smile that was more 'I'll fucking kill you' rather than, 'I'll kill you'.

AJ raised a brow, "What? But there is a kid named Alex- child of Nyx like I said!"

"Yeah, no, there isn't. Noah and I looked around for 3 hours." Zach deadpanned.

AJ looked taken aback.

"B-But there is!" He sputtered, "There is a kid who lives in the Nyx cabin-"

"We asked everyone."

"I wouldn't lie about thi-"

"Wow.."

Jeremy was at the end of the table since it was closest to the lake as he spoke sarcastically, "AJ lying..? What a surprise.."

"Shut up, watersports!" AJ snapped back.

"The Tartarus did you just call me?!" Jeremt shouted, standing up now.

"Guys-"

AJ grabbed a handful of his mash potatoes, throwing it straight at Jeremy's face.

Jeremy wiped his eyes with at napkin.

His eyes twitched.

And then everyone's drink at the water had exploded, soaking AJ completely.

AJ wiped his eyes.

"Awwww.." Jeremy made a mocking sad face, "Did baby get drowned in his own tears..?"

AJ's fists clenched.

"FOOD FIGHT!" He suddenly yelled.

"That won't wor-" Zach was then cut off by seeing Max get hit in the face with peas.

"YOU LITTLE-" Max shouted as he grabbed a breadroll and threw it at someone.

Leah got her shield out before a piece of pie could hit them both.

They both ran over to Noah and Max.

"My cabin-!" She spoke in an instant, "NOW!"

"CHILDREN!" The sun god had shouted, "STOP THROWING FOOD!"

"Youre the god of prophecy!" Chiron had called out, "How do we stop them?!"

Apollo winced.

"We don't.."

"WHAT?!"

~~

They all sat in Leah's cabin, sighing with relief.

"It smells so good in here." Max murmured.

"It does.." Zach murmured as he shut his eyes, lying down on the floor.

And then he shot up.

"RYAN!" He shouted, "He hates loud noises-"

"Dude. He's 14."

"He turned 14 only a month ago!"

"He can handle himself." Noah sighed.

"But-"

"Hes fine." Leah says dismissively.

"NOPE! NOPE, NOPE, NOPE!"

Zach had rushed out the door.

"Ugh, he's so dead-"

He came back 10 seconds later.

Ryan was standing by his side, covered in mash potatoes and veggies of other sorts.

There was a boy standing by him, the same guy who Zach saw when he was sword fighting AJ

"Oh- I know you." Leah said when she saw the other boy standing shyly next to Ryan, "You're Alice's brother, Dani. You help her in the infirmary most of the time."

"Ohhhhh.." Zach smirked, "So THIS is Dani!"

Ryan smacked him.

"Yeah- uh.." Dani returned as he looks Leah dead in her eyes, "You like my sister, right?"

Everyone noticed how Leah's blush slowly got more and more visible.

"No!" She squeaked.

Dani sneezed.

"Dani's basically allergic to lying. You're lying." Ryan deadpanned.

"I-" Leah stuttered, "I- what?! No! Who would like Alice?! Sure, she has this beautiful curly brown hair- brown eyes that look beautiful in the sunlight- and maybe she just has tan skin that literally looks like she was kissed by Mr. A multiple times-"

"Mr. A does kiss her multiple times. He loves her. She's the favorite out of all of us. Why do you think she gets tanned instead of sunburnt?"

Leah is still pink in the face as Max just pats her shoulder sympathetically.

"Oooooo~" Zach says with the biggest grin known to mankind, "Someone has a crush~"

"SHUT UP! NO I DONT!" Leah shouted as she buried her face in her hands.

Dani sneezed again.

"Damn." Ryan murmured.

"Wait.." Noah muttered, "Dani, you're like a lie detector, right?"

"Yeah..?"

Noah looks out the window, lushing away the pink curtain.

AJ and Jeremy.

Jeremy was trying to waterboard AJ, but it was clear he was getting more and more tired by the second.

AJ was trying to beat water with a sword, but it was clear he was losing.. And also getting tired.

"Leah," Noah started, "Can I have your shield?"

"It only works when I'm the one using it."

"Can you come with me, then?"

Leah winced and looked outside, "Out there..?"

"You have a magical shield. I don't feel like trying to come up with a spell for a magical barrier."

Leah sighed and flicked her hand, her shield forming as they both ran outside.

The other 4 watched as Leah's shield was hit by various types of food.

"Is that my dad..?" Dani watched Mr. A as he got up on one of the tables, screaming about how this is worse than the Trojan War..

And then he was hit in the face with broccoli.

They watched through the windows as Leah and Noah had to forcefully pull AJ away, AJ trying to kick them to no prevail. He ended up just flipping Jeremy off.

He was then dragged into the Aphrodite cabin.

"Hi." Max attempted.

"Kill yourself." AJ returned without missing a beat.

"I hope you die a slow and painful dea-"

"SO! AJ!" Zach yelled, making Ryan cover his ears.

"Child of shadow. Is he just someone you made up?" 

"I already told you, I wouldn't lie about something like this. Camp is my home. Old lady hates my ass. I wouldn't risk it."

Zach looked at Dani, who didn't sneeze at all, or didn't show any sign of having an allergic reaction.

"How about his name? Did you lie about his name?"

"Nope. I got his name correct. Talked with my sibling to make sure I gave you the right name."

Dani didn't sneeze.

"Uhm.." Zach muttered, "Are you sure he's Greek? Or is he Roman?"

"Nope. 1000% sure he's Greek. Child of Nyx. Not Nox."

They all shared glances.

AJ wasn't lying.

But how is that possible?

By now, people should already be pointing out if there was a 'Child of shadow' that Zach had missed.

But nobody was saying anything.

"Thanks, AJ."

~~

Zach, Leah, Max, and Noah sat at the campfire together, hoping they would find any clues to where the 'Child of shadow' is.. Zach was a bit surprised when Ryan said he was, 'Too tired' for a campfire. Which is insane because he usually comes along.

But, alas, all they were met with was Rachel telling a story about Apollo's trials and how Meg McCaffery was a cool kid. She was pacing around the stage, microphone in her hand. She was wearing these paint-splattered overalls with a green t-shirt underneath, her now short red hair pulled back in a yellow bandana.

But then?

Jeremy came up on stage, whispering something in Rachel's ear.

He looked panicked. As if the world had missed a piece of it.

Madi, and Dani came running onto the stage aswell, having the same expression. They were all talking at once.

But Rachel's brow furrowed as she finally looked up at the kids and spoke into the microphone.

"Has anyone seen Aiden Howell or Ryan De Luca?"

Zach straightened.

"What?!" Zach shouted, "He was just in the cabin!"

"I checked cabin 39!" Dani shot back, "I-I came by to ask if he wanted to come to the campfire because he wouldn't answer his phone- but when I knocked multiple times and just went inside- he wasn't there!"

Zach ran onto the stage in an instant.

Dani was crying, some of the words unintelligible.

"W-We looked everywhere for him-" He got out as Zach pulled him into a hug.

His brother was missing.

But Ryan was fine when he was in the cabin.

Kids immediately started looking around, most of them not seeing him at all.

Jeremy took the microphone from Rachel's hands.

"W-We've looked everywhere- I checked the water- Dani's checked everywhere in camp, Madi checked the forest- but ever since the food fight, Aiden's been missing. And I know Aiden. He's stupid, but he's not this stupid."

Everyone saw as nobody raised their hand- not even Aiden's or Ryan's voice going, "HAH! WE'RE RIGHT HERE!"

"He's about 5'7, annoying as hell, usually in the water, brown hair with matching brown eyes, he has a bit of a tan but his tan lines are INSANE. I last saw him in a white t-shirt and blue pajama pants because he said he wasn't really 'feeling dinner'." Jeremy barely whispered into the microphone.

He handed Zach the microphone, "I last saw my brother in my cabin. He was wearing the red version of the camp t-shirt with red pajama pants. He's like- a smaller version of me with no glasses."

Zach handed Jeremy the microphone back.

Their eyes scanned the crowd, nothing. No Ryan. No Aiden.

Jeremy just sighed, burying his face in his hands as if he was about to cry as he handed Rachel the microphone back.

"If anyone sees him, please report back to Jerem-"

She drops the microphone.

She holds onto Jeremy.

"When hearts are stolen and oceans fall still,

The shadow’s oath shall drink its fill.

The silent tide and love’s last flame,

Taken by hands that have no name.

To the ash of Troy must heroes tread,

Where memory sleeps and truth lies dead.

Only where the gods once lied,

Can those forsaken be untied."

Mr. A's face paled, which, people didn't even know gods can do.

His smile dropped.

Chiron stood there.

The 2 left in an instant.

Chapter Text

Zach knows what it's like to lose something.

He once lost his favorite crystal he always kept in his pocket; he's lost a 10 dollar bill before; hell, he even lost the feeling what it was like to be loved when he was 4.

But this?

His cabin was torn apart as if he'd find Ryan hiding under his bed, giggling as Zach would find him and hug him like it was the last hug he'll ever receive.

But no.

The only clue he had gotten when he ran back to his cabin that night was just Ryan's arrow- a green arrow- stuck to a wall.

Ryan never misses. Everyone knows that.

Ryan's quiver was laid on the ground.

The thing about Ryan's quiver of arrows was that it was enchanted. Each arrow meaning something different. Zach didn't remember exactly which one each of them meant, but he did know one thing.

Ryan had normal arrows for defense, he doesn't use them often, though. The colored arrows don't hurt. They mess with your emotions. But the normal arrows were Ryan's special touch.

The colored arrows never ran out. Zach doesn't know exactly what purple, red, or blue meant, but he knew one thing.

Black arrows are distraction.

Green arrows are curiosity.

How come Ryan didn't use the normal arrows? Why did he use the enchanted ones? Even if he did, why use green? Why not the black ones? The black ones, were, arguably, more useful in this situation. Ryan could've hit whatever was attacking him and-

Zach throws a candle against the wall.

His entire cabin was wrecked, as if breaking everything would help him find Ryan quicker.

Ryan's sheets were on the ground, Zach thinking that maybe, just maybe, he could find Ryan underneath them and this would just be an unfunny joke; Eros' altar was destroyed- Zach wanted to blame his father for the disappearance of Ryan, wanting to blame him for not doing anything; Ryan's collectables- the stupid figurines from blind bags he had gotten by begging Mr. A to convert his drachmas into money for, were now on the floor instead of the way Ryan had organized them; And Zach had found something in Ryan's nighstand.

A bouquet of paper flowers and rubber ducks being taped together with yellow paper holding the bouquet together. There was a note sticking up higher in the flowers. One that was written in yellow ink with suns around the words.

'Be my boyfriend?'

Zach couldn't even stand looking at it for too long before shutting the drawer.

Zach collapses to the ground, gripping onto the bedpost as he does something he thought he would never do again ever since he got to camp.

Tears rolled down his cheeks.

He starts choking on his words.

He's crying.

He's crying and he can't stop.

The only thing that ever mattered to him most in his damn life is now gone. The only person who he viewed as his own child is gone.

Ryan De Luca is gone.

Ryan Antonio De Luca.

Gods, Ryan hated his middle name. Zach couldnt blame him. They both got middle names and swore they would never tell them to anyone. It reminded them too much of home.. Too much of Allegra.

It's ok, they would never see that woman ever again.

But Zach may not see Ryan ever again.

That's the worst part.

But as Zach's tears rolled down his face, as he finally let's himself cry freely, his mind goes to something else.

Jeremy.

Jeremy is missing Aiden.

How is he reacting?

Gods, what is he doing?

Zach's ruining the last things Ryan could've ever touched.

Zach let's out a shaky exhale as he pushes himself up.

He cleans up the glass that was shattered around the floor because of the candles he had thrown; he carefully rearranged the stupid Sonny angels, labubus, smiskis, and the skullpandas Ryan wasted his money on in the way Zach thinks it was arranged originally; he made Ryan's bed; and then he put the jacket Ryan had left on the floor back on his bunk.

Zach's tried everything.

Iris messaging, trying to get the guidance of Hermes, asked Noah..

Everything.

He can't lose that idiot.

Anything but losing him.

~~

Jeremy was too busy breaking down in the Hestia cabin to even be angry.

His brother- that annoying ball of sunshine, was gone, and he didn't know where he is.

Jeremy's life was supposed to change when he finally found someone to care for. Someone to have his back.

But that person was gone.

"Hey.." Darren murmured as he rubbed his back.

Darren Sammuels.

A child gifted by Hestia. It's not common for gods to gift children, usually its some type of animal, but Darren was different.

His mother was and still is a devotee of Hestia. She had suffered a miscarriage one day and ran to Hestia for comfort. The next thing she knew? A baby had came out of the fireplace.

Darren is the type of person to make you cookies on a day you weren't feeling good.. Darren was the type of example that Chiron or Mr. A would point out when talking about Xenia.

Which is why there's 4 different cookies infront of Jeremy with icecream topped on all of them.

Jeremy's choking on his sobs as Darren engulfed him in a hug. Of course his hugs are warm.. Everything about him is warm.

"He'll be fine.." Darren whispered gently, "You guys are children of Poseidon, one of the big 3. Theres water everywhere."

"But what if he's in a dessert or-" Jeremy's cries made it hard to talk correctly.

Darren shushed him.

"It's ok.. You forget 70% of the human body is water." Darren whispered comfortingly, "It's ok. He'll be fine.. Now,"

Darren puts on a small smile as he takes the loaf of sourdough that was left to cool on the counter, "You want a PB&J? I made the strawberry jam myself."

~~

A counselor meeting was called right after lunch.

Mr. A and Chiron stood infront of the room.

Mr. A was always in his Lester Popadopulous body. Something about people finding it more comfortable talking to him. But.. Now? Lester was nowhere to be found.

Instead, they were met with a man who looked to be in his early 20s; sun-kissed skin; blonde messy hair that reached his jaw, part of it was tied up; he had blue eyes; and also in a white t-shirt that read, 'DONT MESS WITH TEXAS' in red, white, and blue letters; on top of that, he wore a green flannel; he wore baggy jeans with many paint splatters; and his nails were painted yellow.

He was also wearing sunglasses indoors. That part was strange. Mr. A hated the idea of sunglasses in general because they dim down 'his beauty'. Well- that's what lady Artemis had said when she came to visit camp. Turns out, the twins actually liked gossiping with campers.

Basically, in other words, he looked like an older version of a Will Solace figurine with sunglasses.

"If this isn't obvious enough," Chiron's voice trailed off when he saw the god put a hand over his stomach, "We are missing a couple of campers."

The table was arranged in number of your cabin.

Madi and Jeremy were across eachother, the closest to Apollo because their cabins were 1 and 3.

That meant nobody could calm Zach down when his eye twitched and his hand curled into a fist under the table.

"Hopefully, you followed camp protocol and did a headcount of your cabin members.. This isn't the first time this happened, after all."

Chiron's voice made Zach's stomach feel like it was twisting. He should've trusted the centaur. Chiron was the only person Zach knew he could trust when he first came to camp.

"Dad," Alice Parker, head counselor of the Apollo cabin, finally started.

The sun god tried to look away, but Chiron cleared his throat.

That made him face her.

"Is there.. Something you wanna tell us?" Alice asks gently, "Youre wearing sunglasses indoors.. Thats.. Not like you at all."

Mr. A's hand gripped his stomach.

Suddenly, the trashcan is flying towards him as he lifts up his hand.

Now, most people didn't know that gods could throw up.

Apparently, they can.

Mr. A threw up gold, if you could think of what gold liquid is with ambrosia chunks in it, that's what it looked like.

Campers gagged.

Others shuddered.

"Oh my stars!" Liquid gold came out from behind Mr. A's sunglasses, "I'm sorry for putting you all in danger, children! He- He was supposed to be forgotten-"

Mr. A threw up again.

"I NEED ASCLEPIUS!" Mr. A sobbed out before the room was blinded by a golden light.

Mr. A was gone.

"Sorry," Leah finally spoke up, "Who's 'he'? What does Mr. A mean by, 'He was supposed to be forgotten'?"

Chiron stood there, "Children, please. Focus on what is important. Ryan De Luca and Aiden Howell."

"What's more important is this guy Mr. A said 'He was supposed to be forgotten'. Not these 2 ki-"

The card infront of the kid read, 'THANATOS, CABIN 22'. It was James. That asshole who made fun of them up until Zach charmspoke him to walk into a lake and stay underwater for 40 seconds. He didn't do the whe 40 seconds, though. Jeremy had saw just in time to save him. See? Jeremy's too good.

The moment Zach heard that, he got up in an instant and slammed his hands on the table.

"ARE YOU SAYING SOMEONE WE DONT EVEN KNOW IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY BROTHER?!" Zach shouted, his voice echoing through the room.

"Well- I'm just saying- your brother is.. Well.. Kinda weak.. We might as well just admit he's with my dad by now."

"Child." Chiron warned.

"Oooooo- shit's gonna get messy.." Max murmured across the room.

"What the hell did you just say?" Zach asked.

There was this look in his eyes. The type of look that the Ares kids would get if you insulted one on their siblings or friends. AJ knew to shut up when he saw that look.

That's how you know its bad.

"Hey, guys." Darren spoke gently, "How about we just have some cookies and be over with thi-"

Darren didn't get to finish.

Zach lunged at the counselor across the table, his hands immediately going around his neck.

"ILL FUCKING KILL YOU!" 

Everyone was screaming as Zach squeezed James' throat.

"HELL YEAH!" Leah shouted since everyone knew she hated James ever since she met him.

She proceeded to start recording as Zach started banging James' head against the ground.

"YOU WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN?!" Zach screamed, banging his head harder, "YOU WANNA FUCKING SAY THAT AGAIN?!"

"ZACHARY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" Chiron shouted, unable to get through the screaming children that were now running around the room.

Zach didn't care.

He wanted to choke him.

Zach wanted to make him see Thanatos and the 3 judges.

His hands squeezed tighter as James' hands clawing at his got weaker.

But suddenly?

Cold.

Ice.

Chains of ice were dragging him away as Zach still screamed.

"Ugh," The head counselor, and also the only camper in the Khione cabin, scoffed as if he was supposed to be the one offended, "Seriously, you couldn't have just waited when until you guys were alone?"

Alan White. He's basically his name. He's tall, about 6'5; he's as white as snow and has a Canadian accent; he has blonde-white hair that just looks like white; he has heterchromia- one eye is green, the other blue; he's usually just wearing a hoodie and jeans- but in this case, he was wearing a blue jacket with a white version of the Camp t-shirt.

He also just.. Doesn't talk or do anything at head counselor meetings- so this was surprising.

"Er.." Chiron just blinked at the 3, "Thank you, Alan."

Alan just stared.

People slowly took their seats once again.

"Zach, I know you're upset, but trying to kill a fellow camper is unacceptable." Chiron stated firmly, "And James, the way you talked about Ryan is not at all following one of the most important camp rules. Xenia. You be kind and the other person treats you the same. Saying that about a camper is not acceptable."

Chiron continued, "I know that you are upset, Zach. But.. James, I will be talking to you after this meeting."

People broke out in, 'Ooooooo's and 'Youre in trouble~'.

"Children. We are getting off track." 

Everyone shut up.

"Ryan and Aiden are missing. AJ claims that there used to be a child of Nyx named Alex. Whatever is happening, keep a close eye out and make sure you always have someone by your side, whether that be a cabin mate or a different campers. Single campers will be going into other people's cabin for this reason."

Single campers groaned, except Darren.

"Whoever stays with me can have the brownies I made an hour ago. I also have Disney, Youtube, and Netflix."

Most of them cheered right after they heard Darren say that.

~~

The meeting was done after 10 more minutes.

Zach walked out of the meeting room, just staring ahead as if there was something that he could say.

But someone nudged him.

Zach flinched, instinctively taking his sword out.

Noah screamed, raising his hands.

"Oh- sorry.." Zach murmured.

The sword shrunk back into a ring.

"I just wanted to ask if I could stay in your cabin? I don't really have any friends and-"

"Of course." Zach interrupted.

"Oh." Noah's eyes widened as if this was the first time someone ever invited him, "Thank you."

Zach just smiled and nodded his head.

He watches as Leah skipped back into her cabin.

He watches as Max begged Chiron to let him stay by himself-

Wait.

What?

"Max, I've already told you." Chiron returned, "Nobody is allowed to be by themselves. Safety comes first. We learned that from Percy Jackson being kidnapped by Juno."

"Yes, I know-" Max sounded like he was begging, which is something Zach thought he wasn't capable of, "But please. I can't-"

"Max." Chiron continued, "If you want, you can go to New Rome and stay with the Romans, but that's as far as I'm letting you go."

"Chiron, please, you don't-"

"Nobody is staying by themselves."

Max sighed in defeat.

Zach watched in disbelief. Max doesn't do that. He doesn't sigh like a kicked puppy, and he sure as hell doesn't beg.

Zach waited for Chiron to walk away before coming up to Max.

"Hey, dude, you ok?"

Max blinked, "Oh- Uhm- yeah.. It's nothing."

"Why were you asking to be alone?" Noah asked.

"No reason-"

"Why not asking Logan? You guys are close."

"Uh- Well- he's part of the Hermes cabin- the cabin is usually filled with campers and I don't wanna sleep on the floor-"

"Everyone knows that's just when Percy Jackson was around. Cabin 11 isn't as crowded anymore."

"Well-"

"Max," Zach finally cut in, "Do you wanna stay in my cabin? Noah's coming along and we could talk about the prophecy there."

Max stared, "No-"

"Max. You can't be alone."

Max looked down.

Then back up at them.

"Alright. Fine."

~~

It was only an hour later.

Campers were moving into their friend's cabin. Stuff was all over the camp.

Mr. A had finally came back, but he stayed in the Rachel's cave instead of the big house.

But Leah was running around.

Leah ended up on James' cabin door just as he was about to take out his backpack.

"Is Oliver with you?" She asks in an instant.

"No? I told him he was being annoying this morning so he stopped messing with me." James said dismissively.

"You What?" Leah responded immediately.

"Yeah- told him-"

"Doesn't matter. Where is he?"

"What?"

"He isn't in the Aphrodite cabin. I came back from the meeting only to find him gone. My cabinmates said that he had gone out for a walk by the lake. He isn't there. He isn't in the forest either. He isn't with his friends at all. Where. Is. He?"

"I don't know."

Leah's eye twitched, "You.. You don't?"

"No? I was just about to go to the Eris cabin to stay there?"

Leah immediately turned around and bolted to the big house.

Chiron was sitting there, playing chess with.. Rachel?

"I dunno- Mr. A literally just kicked me out of my own cav-"

Leah interrupted Rachel.

"Oliver is missing."

Chapter Text

Leah has always been different from her siblings.

She was the one who screamed her head off when someone insulted another; she was the one who killed a monster using a hair straightener; she was the one who always followed the way of 'Aphrodite Areia', the war side of Aphrodite, instead of 'Aphrodite Pandamos', the Aphrodite most people know- the love and beauty goddess.

But Leah knew her mom better than most people. She knew that Aphrodite wasn't just doves and roses. She knows that there's a war side to her mother, and she sure as hell knows that Aphrodite Pandamos isn't just the only Aphrodite.

When she had ran into her cabin, praying, hoping that Oliver was still there, she was greeted by the sister who had come back from her quest a while ago. 

Laura.

Laura was the one who understood Leah- Laura didn't take after Aphrodite Pandamos or Aphrodite Areia like her other siblings. She took after Aphrodite Melainis; the Aphrodite bounded to shadow and death.

Laura kinda reminds Leah of a ghost. She kinda looks like Noah's long lost sister- If the sister was more fashionable, refused to dress up in the camp t-shirt at all, opting to go for the orange 'CAMP HALF-BLOOD' pin along with the beaded necklace, and was Japanese.

Laura has pin straight, dark, black hair- sometimes it got in her face and you would think she's the girl from 'The Ring'; she's as pale as snow- which is another reason why she kind of looks like the creature from 'The Ring'; She's usually dressed in long black skirts, lacy black tank-tops, black combat boots- you'd think she's goth until she actually tells you that she listens to J-pop.

Her eyes were the most interesting part, though. You'd think they'd be black, maybe a soft brown- but instead? They're actually pure white. Most people think she's blind.. But she actually has the best eyesight among campers.

There used to be a son of Erebus before he turned 18 and went to New Rome. He used to hide all the time in the shadows. 

Laura was about 9. She knew exactly where he was at all times.

"Laurs.." Leah murmured, "Do you know where Oliver is..?"

Laura sighed softly before she pulled Leah into a hug, "Im sorry.. But I dont.. I-I just heard the news. We've been looking everywhere for him."

Leah let's out a shaky breath, "Campers have been going missing since a day ago.. I just-"

"It's alright." Laura says gently, "We'll keep looking, alright?"

Leah nodded.

~~

3 hours.

They've looked everywhere.

But the worst part?

When the Aphrodite cabin went to go ask James again- Oliver's boyfriend despite literally everyone telling him that James is a red flag. James had said; "It's Oliver. He's probably just attention seeking. Again."

4 girls were in his cabin.

4. Fucking. Girls.

Leah felt her eye twitch as the door was then shut.

"Im gonna kill him one of these days." Leah stated.

"Leah.." Ethan said, "Just.. Let's just go back to our cabin."

"James is cheating on the boy, and we both know it!" Leah shouted.

"Leah.." Laura puts a hand on her shoulder, "Let's just go back to our cabin, ok?"

"You guys go ahead.." Leah says under her breath, "I'm just.. Gonna talk with my.."

Leah's voice trailed off.

Because who were Noah, Max, and Zach to her?

Well- Max is her favorite out of all of them. Zach's too serious about everything- all he cares about is Ryan and sword fighting. Noah's too quiet to gossip with- she didn't even know he was a head counselor because he never says anything at meetings. She remembers she saw him once when she was around 13. He was sitting with Mr. A because nobody ever talked to him. The Hecate cabin didn't have a camper in it for 3 years until Noah came.

Max is loud, funny, and everything. But he's hiding something. Leah doesn't know what it is, but he is. It makes her annoyed knowing she doesn't know.

"My.. Uhm.. Colleagues?" Leah shrugged.

The other 3 just nodded before they headed back to their cabin.

Leah didn't even know what to think other than Oliver as she walked to the Eros cabin.

Oliver isn't just a 'half brother' he practically is her brother. He's the one who always went to her for advice. He's the one who always let her cry on his shoulder after finding out a girl didn't like her back. 

She had to find Oliver.

It wasn't fair to him, after all the things he's done for her, that she didn't.

She ends up knocking on the Eros cabin.

The door opens, revealing Noah.

"Oh." Was all Noah said, "Hi."

"Hi..?" Leah returned as Noah just stared at her blankly, "Uh.. Can I come in?"

"Oh! Yeah- sorry-" Noah says in an instant.

Leah stares at Noah, who was now avoiding eye contact with everyone, when she came inside.

Noah kinda reminded her of a puppy that was kicked way too many times. He always looked down, he never talked, and stayed close to Zach at all times if he could.

The first thing she noticed about the Eros cabin was the big coark board in the middle of it. Pictures of Ryan, the 2 prophecies written on napkins, and even little sticky notes all over the board.

And there was also a.. Green arrow on it as well?

Zach was pacing in front of it, muttering stuff like; "Where is he?", "How did he even-", "He never misses.."

Max was sitting on one of the bunks, but he looked more fidgety than usual. That wasn't like him. At all.

Noah was sitting on the ground near Zach. There were spell books, his computer, and a notebook all around him.

"Hi." Leah said.

Zach's head snapped to her.

Max seemed to calm down when he saw her.

Noah still looked down.

"Hey." Zach said, but his voice was rather.. Emotionless?

Leah doesn't know why, but her voice kept going, "Im.. Sorry about your brother."

"What are you doing here?" Zach returned.

"I wanna talk about the prophecy. My brother went missing as well.. And.. Uhm.." Leah exhaled, "I think he might be where your brother is right now. My siblings said that all he did was go on a walk by the lake. But there were no signs that he was even there."

"Alright.. Take a seat wherever you want."

"Actually," Leah walked towards the cork board, "I wanna help identify whatever the quest is."

Zach nodded, "Shoot your shot."

Leah stared at the 2 napkins. Both of them were in messy handwriting, almost as if it was panicked.

She looks at the first one first.

The first 2 lines she remembered. 5 demigods destined to save Olympus. 

Passion, Zach; vengeance, Max; shadow, Alex (whoever that is); spell, Noah; and grace, her.

The third line?

"One must fall. One must break." Leah read outloud.

She thinks about it for a second before opening her mouth.

"Alex might've been the one who might've 'fall', given to the fact we dont know who he even is, but.. 'One must fall, one must break'. 'Fall' doesn't always mean death. It could just mean 'falter' instead. We don't even know where the missing campers are. That has taken a toll on everyone. 'One must break' is you, Zach."

Everyone just seemed to freeze.

"What?" Max finally said.

"Think about it." Leah had said, "Who's most devastated out of all of us? Zach. He's been pacing the whole ass morning. Let's not forget that he made the whole board just to find Ryan. You're slowly breaking, right, Zach?"

Zach slowly nodded, "You're.. Right."

Leah just smiled before she kept going.

"One shall turn, hearts shall quake." She took a breath before speaking once again, "Hearts. More than one. Everyone who is missing a sibling, their hearts quake. One of us in the prophecy has betrayed us.. But.. I dont really know who."

Zach glanced at the board.

Then, at the second prophecy.

"The shadows oath shall drink it's fill." Zach read outloud, "Alex isn't here because he isn't working with us- hes working with whoever is trying to kill us."

Everyone stared at each other before Noah finally got up.

Noah looks at the 2 prophecies before carefully taking them down from the board.

"Only together can time be undone, or Olympus will fall to the nameless one." He stares at the words before he finally allows himself to speak, "Time.. The god of time."

"Kronos.." Max's voice is quiet, but it's loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Kronos is trying to rise again? But-"

"No." Max suddenly said.

For the first time that night, he got off the bunk, "Nameless one. Mr. A had panicked when it was even mentioned. He said something about him being, 'Forgotten'."

"What? So we're fighting against a god we dont even know the name of?" Noah asks.

Everyone stared at each other.

"We can always ask Mr. A?" Noah tried.

"You saw how he freaked out the moment Rachel said the 'nameless one'. He's probably gonna start throwing up again." Max complained.

"It's worth a shot."

~~

Mr. A was sat in Rachel's cave, back in his Lester Popadopulous form.

"Rachel, please." He pleaded softly.

"Apollo, I really don't know who you're even talking about. I never even-"

Rachel cuts herself off when she sees the 4 standing at the entrance.

"Oh! Uh.. Hi.."

Mr. A just stared.

"Hey, we need to talk to you." Zach started.

"Of course! What do you need-" Rachel was interrupted by Leah.

"Oh- sorry, Rachel. Not you.. Mr. A?"

Mr. A paled.

"As a god of prophecy, I knew you guys were gonna come.." Mr. A had murmured, "But not this soon. I was hoping you'd ask me after you're done with your quest.."

Nonetheless, the god gets up, "I know who you're here to talk about. Please, follow me."

Mr. A leads them out of Rachel's cave, going to the big house instead.

"I know this may seem.. Er.. Confusing.." He started as they sat down on the couch.

The 4 just listened.

"But.." Mr. A runs a hand through his hair, "I was hoping this would be a prophecy that wouldn't come in another couple of-"

He cuts himself off. 

"Nevermind.." Mr. A exhaled, "I was hoping as the god of poetry I would be able to make this sound lighter.. But its.. Hard to."

"What do you mean..?" Zach asks with a brow raised.

"You heard the prophecy and how the 'nameless one' shall destroy Olympus.." Mr. A looks down, wearing an expression that he never wore- weary and distressed.. That was.. Odd.. Knowing he's one of the happiest gods.

"The nameless one is my son.."

"What? As in Asclepius- or-" Max was interrupted

"No. Kyrios. His name was Kyrios."

The 4 looked at each other in confusion, knowing that none of them had ever heard of a god named, 'Kyrios'.

"Uh.. Demigod or god..?" Leah questioned.

"He was a demigod turned into a god." The sun god answered.

Apollo had laughed, but it was bitter.

"Unlike demigods back then, Kyrios didn't train for war. He studied the cosmos and studied the sun to appease me. in fact, he did most things to appease me. He walked through temples, wrote poems, and spoke with oracles.. He believed knowledge could rewrite the world. He believed that prophecy didn't need to bind people.. But free them

Apollo took a shaky exhale before continuing.

"The other Olympians loved him. Athena favored him because he possessed wisdom as if he were blessed by her. Hermes whispered riddles to him for fun, smiling as he solved them. Even the Fates.. The Fates watched him carefully. So.. I asked my father one thing."

He let out a sigh as if he was reminiscing that day.

"'Make my son a god,' I had pleaded with my father, 'Not of war, not of wrath.. But of remaking, or choosing another way.' Zeus had made him a co-god of crossroads- or, at least, that's what I thought he was. Turns out, Zeus made him the god of alteration, of paths not taken, and revision. At first, I thought that was a good thing since Hecate didn't like the idea of being mixed up as a co-god rather than one of the most important.. He didn't do much at first. He walked through libraries, helped scholars, helped mortals correct fates twisted by godly cruelty.. He was supposed to make the world better. Athena loved talking to him and even suggested that there should be a library dedicated to him in Athens." 

The god had paused and looked down at the floor began continuing.

"But then.. Kyrios believed that it was wrong that the Olympians controlled fate. He started to unwrite divine orders. He whispered truths to mortals who were meant to die. He bent time for love, he shifted destinies, and defied prophecy.. And then me. The god of prophecy."

Another shaky breath.

"At first, I thought it would be fine. He's my son. I didn't want to take any drastic measures yet. But then he rewrote an ending to a war blessed by Hera herself. He tried to erase the death of Hyacinthus from history. He even tried to change the date of Zeus' champion's death."

He took a deep breath before he continued.

"Athena had told him he had gone too far, and Zeus punished him by killing a child of his. Hera remained angered. For a while, it had stopped. We believed that he had finally felt the guilt he was supposed to feel.. But.. Somehow, he managed to change what he was supposed to be. He was supposed to be the god of alteration, paths not taken, and revision. We found out because he had whispered to people in Athens to make a statue of him."

A light shone in the room. Not from Apollo. Not from the windows that pictured the setting sun, but in front of them.

Light that was sculpted into art.

A statue.

The man was nude, his hair looked like it was from one of the statues of Apollo; he held a fractured clock high in the air; the platform he stood on read his name and description.

'KYRIOS'

'GOD OF FORBIDDEN TRUTHS, FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, AND THE FUTURE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN'.

"At first, we didn't think much of it. We had asked Athena if this was going too far. But she was blinded by the idea of Kyrios being her champion. We didn't think it was that big of a deal.. But people began to believe that was what he was truly the god of instead of what he was supposed to be. He ended up in the throne room telling us what the future could've been. If Hera had spared the mothers of illegitimate children that were now gods, if Zeus had spared Prometheus, and if Hades rejected Persephone.. The truths gods had buried."

Tears of gold began to run down Apollo's face.

"Kyrios saw every secret the Fates had cut from their loom. And worse? He could change the present. He whispered to those what could have been their fates. Heroes began to abandon prophecies. Kings refused war. Even the gods hesitated."

"Why didn't Zeus strike him down-?" Zach's question was interrupted.

"He tried to." Apollo's voice shook, "But even the gods hesitated. Athena became angered by this, but even wisdom didn't know what to do. Zeus believed he was a corruptor, a threat to the fabric of destiny, because if wisdom personified didn't know what to do, what else could Kyrios be?"

The light sculpted into a statue began to shift into the moirai, but they were angered.

"The moirai had declared his godlyhood a mistake. They stated that if he stayed, Olympus could unravel."

Apollo paused before the light turned into someone slowly being disintegrated.

"Zeus and the moirai conspired.. And eventually? He was erased from existence.. But the god of the unwritten can never be erased."

The light separated and turned into 3 things.

A fractured clock.

A blank scroll unraveling into the mist.

And an eye with a shattered pupil.

"These are his symbols." Apollo's voice remained shaky.

The 4 stared at them all.

"You must restore peace in Olympus once again."

Chapter Text

Theres a lot of things Max doesn't like.

He doesn't like the idea of going back home to Vermont where his dad hated his ass no matter what he did; he doesn't like the color yellow, way too bright for him; he doesn't like Olivia Rodrigo's music, its just not his thing.

But being in Zach's cabin?

Zach, who was tweaking out over losing his little brother and just stopped pacing every few minutes to stare at a wall for a while?

That definitely beats everything on his lists of things he doesn't like.

Noah was also there.

Zach yelled at the poor boy about an hour after Mr. A had talked to them about Kyrios because he had accidentally sat on Ryan's bed. Now Noah was just sitting in the corner, too ashamed to sit down on a bed.

Max wishes that he had gone with Leah instead- but he doubts she out of all people would understand. The bright pink walls of her cabin, the pink nails she would always touch up-

The idea of the Aphrodite cabin was too much for him to even think about.

But this?

Yeah..

Max would've chosen the Aphrodite cabin with no hesitation if he knew Zach was gonna be like this.

Don't get him wrong, Max always thought that Zach was never his type of person he would like to be around. Max is extroverted, a pranker, usually mixed up for a Hermes kid, actually.

And then Zach.

Max acknowledged him about once when he was forced to do sword drills when he was around 14. Max watched as Zach swung the sword and managed to beat AJ, barely glancing at the people who yawned over him.

He thought that Zach was annoying. He hates nonchalant people who act as if nothing is happening more than anything.

But this..?

Zach had moved on from the 'concerned brother who just wants his brother back' to, 'ok, this guy might be on crack' to, 'Are you ok? Like, genuinely, are you ok?'.

Because now Zach was rocking back and forth, holding his knees to his chest.

This was one of the rare times that Zach was wearing his glasses- so he looked like a dork that was freaking out over a math test.

"Where is he..?" Max could hear him mutter to himself, "He was fine yesterday.."

Noah, still sitting in the corner, finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey, Zach.. You ok..?"

"What?!" Zach yelled, "Of course I am! Why wouldn't I?! It's not like I actually care about my son- I mean- I-I mean my brother- I-"

Zach's words turned into a stuttering mess as he just began to giggle, falling onto his side.

Noah let's out a scared whimper before backing more into a corner.

"Ok, dude, what the fuck?" Max finally said.

"What the hell do you know about Ryan-?" Zach muttered, still giggling softly.. Which turned into crying.

Ok.. This actually freaked Max out a little.

Maybe he wouldn't mind just.. Disappearing rather than deal with Zach.

Ugh.. And his chest was starting to hurt.

Noah was already giving him weird looks when he left to be in the bathroom for 15 minutes to have a break.

Alice had told Max to take 30-minute breaks.

Alice and Logan already know. Max can't have other people knowing. The only reason Logan knew was because Max had accidentally slipped up one day.

Alice only knew because he almost broke his ribs from not taking any breaks.

"Im just gonna.." Max slowly picked up his toothbrush from his bag, which was in the corner of the bunk he was sitting in.

Zach just nodded while still giggling and crying.

Max just nodded before going to the bathroom.

He looked down for 5 seconds to put toothpaste on his toothbrush.

"AH! WHAT THE HELL?!" He screamed with actual horror.

Noah was behind him, standing perfectly still.

Noah kinda reminded Max of a lonely puppy. Noah had the eyes that were too big and almost looked like he's been waiting for a friend his whole life. He had this shaggy hair that everyone else had- maybe that was his way of just trying to blend in and not be noticeable, Max had thought when he had first seen Noah.

"Holy fuck dude-" Max says, the words slipping out of his mouth like they were nothing, "You scared the shit out of me!"

"Oh.." Noah murmured, now fidgeting with his hands, "Sorry.."

Ok- maybe not lonely puppy. Maybe more of a 'kicked' puppy instead.

"You good, dude?" Max finally asks.

"Uh.." Noah looks down as if he's scared to make eye contact, "It's just-"

Noah bit his tongue instead, "Never mind."

Max shrugged before putting the toothbrush in his mouth.

And 2 minutes later?

"I.." Noah began once again.

Max is gonna be honest here- he was tuning Noah half-out because he thought he was just gonna shut his mouth again.

"I know." Noah finally said.

Max's brain somehow managed to take those words in.

Max raises a brow.

'I know' can mean a lot of things.

Max spits out the toothpaste, the white foam disappearing from him turning the sink on.

"What do you know?"

Noah closed his mouth.

And opened it again.

"I-I know-" Noah shuts his mouth again.

Max's eye twitched.

This guy was starting to annoy him.

"Dude, spit it out right now." Max practically demanded.

Noah began fidgeting again.

Max rolls his eyes, accepting that Noah won't tell him shit.

Max pushes past him, making him stumble in the process.. Ultimately, he makes him fall down.

Zach was still on the floor, but this time he was just against the wall, knees pulled to his chest as he stared off into the distance.

Max gets in his bunk.

Ugh.. His chest and ribs were starting to hurt, and wearing this thing for 12 hours straight was starting to hurt like shit.

Just..

Max was on the top bunk in the corner, meaning Zach couldn't see him very well.. Zach was also still staring into the distance..

But Noah was still in the bathroom.

Noah doesn't even talk..

So does it even matter..?

Max puts his blanket up higher before retreating his arms inside his shirt.

One is unclasped.

3 are unclapsed..

7 are unclapsed..

8 are ok, right..? He can live with 8, so he doesn't have to clasp them again in the morning..

Nevertheless, Max covers his eyes with his arm..

And then he falls asleep.

~~~

If Max could rank the things he didn't like, dreams would be in the top 10.

Gods, he hates dreams.

It's usually Nemesis scolding him about something- sometimes about praying to Hera instead of her, but usually, Max would tune her out.

But..

He was..

Sitting at the island table in his childhood home?

He can't be home. Camp was his home. His dad's gone. And his stepmom-

Don't think about her..

Max takes a breath before properly taking in everything.

He was still in his pajamas.

But there was a coloring book in front of him. A Disney princess that was fully colored. He remembers coloring it in the back of his mind, but he wasn't able to finish coloring it.

Colored pencils were infront of him, the pink colored pencil used to color the dress still in his hand.

But.. This was near a decade ago- how-

"Max?" A voice called out softly.

It can't be.

That voice.

"Mama..?" He choked out.

He can feel the tears welling up in his eyes no matter how much he tried to bite them down.

"Oh! There you are!"

Long brown hair that was now tied into a bun; her reading glasses were now on top of her head instead of resting on her nose; her dark brown eyes he always wished he had so he didn't have to take after his father; her tanned skin..

She looked early 40s. Which didn't make sense because she was only 31 when she..

"I've been looking for you!" She says as she cups both of his cheeks, kissing Max on the forehead.

"What do you want for dinner?" She says as she pulled back, "And why do you have your old coloring book out?"

"I-" Max's voice shook.

She patiently waited like she always did.

"I dont know.." He finally murmured.

She only chuckled.

But something flashed on her face.

Then, on her stomach.

Her insides were gutted out, her bones cracked and some not even there.

Blood dripping from out of her mouth as she spoke.

"Why did you leave me?" She asks softly.

"I-I didn't! I didn't want to- I-"

"Theres so much guilt weighing you down.." She whispers as a smile pulls at her lips, "I can fix that.."

"What..?" Max murmured.

The scene shifted, and Max was no longer standing in his childhood home.

A library..?

"I can fix that.." The voice that came out of his stepmom's mouth was not her voice.

It was rough and distorted- Max knew that it wasn't even a person speaking.

But who?

A god?

A god wouldn't-

"Kyrios." Max finally murmured.

"You were always the smarter one among kids.." His stepmom- or Kyrios chuckled.

"What do you want?!" Max yelled.

"I want you on my side." Kyrios spoke gently, "I can give you everything you ever wanted.. A boy's body.. Esperanza.."

Max's breath caught in his throat.

His stepmom?

Max started to consider it.

He could have his stepmom back..? He didn't want Nemesis, who claimed to be his only mother. He didn't care for Nemesis, just like how she didn't care for him.

"Don't you understand..?" Kyrios whispered, "Just join me.. I can lift this prophecy off your shoulders.. I can give you everything you've ever wanted.."

If Max was being honest?

He couldn't help but consider it.

"Just take my hand.." Kyrios murmurs softly, "And it'll be ok.."

Max reaches his hand out.

But then he pulls it back.

No.

"Im prophesied, though.." Max murmured softly, "I can't-"

"But you can." Kyrios says softly, "Didn't you hear Apollo? I can change prophecies."

"But-"

"You know Alex?" Kyrios suddenly asks, "Alex Blackwood?"

"The son of Nyx..?" Max recalled.

A shadowy cloud then appears next to Kyrios.

Someone lands on their feet as if they had jumped.

He had hair that looked like Zach's but dyed black; striking grey eyes that looked like they've been through everything; he looked like he hasn't seen the sun in a couple of years; he had a black jacket baggy enough for him having to keep the sleeves up by rolling them to his wrists; and black cargo pants.

Was this..?

"Alex..?" Max finally got out.

The man glances at Kyrios.

"Introduce yourself." Kyrios spoke gently.

"Alex Blackwood." The man in black said, "Pleasure to meet you.. Uh.. Marina, right?"

Max stiffened hearing that name.

He hasn't heard that name since he was 11..

Alex was nudged.

"His name is Max now." Kyrios whispered.

"Oh." Alex stared at him, up and down, "My bad."

"Alex here.." A smile tugs at his stepmom's body's lips, "Has been working with me. The reason why I was able to rise in the first place."

"What-?" Max spoke, "How long..?"

"'Bout a year now." Alex said, "He's the reason why Im not on the streets anymore. He's the reason why I have a purpose now."

"The streets..?" Max murmurs to himself before looking up, "But AJ said you were a camper. A camper since you were 10."

"A camp?" Alex repeated with confusion.

"A camp for demigods!" Max tried to explain, "For Greeks- the other for Romans!"

Alex squinted and then laughed, "Good try."

"But-"

"He's trying to fill your mind with poison." Kyrios claimed, "Do not listen."

Kyrios turned back to Max.

"Last chance, Maximus."

Max's mouth felt dry.

"NO!" He finally blurted out, "I will never help you!"

Kyrios clicked his tongue.

And then snapped his fingers.

~~

Max woke up in a sweat.

He patted himself down for his phone.

In his pocket..

Max opened it.

4:37 AM

Max sighed.

He couldn't help considering it..

He could give Max the body he's ever wanted.

Then?

A small voice cut through the silence in the corner.

"I know."

Noah was still awake.

Max was getting tired of this ominous shit.

"Know what, asshole?" Max finally barked.

Silence, but only for a second.

"That you were born a girl.."

Chapter Text

Noah has never been.. Known.

He doesn't like the attention. He never did. Especially when he was back in the woods..

Where the pine and twigs would stab at his feet the moment he finally got out of that house.

Would it even be considered a house?

Thoughts bubbled in his head as he walked back into the Eros cabin.

Zach has been obsessing about the idea of Ryan ever since he had gone missing. The only things

"Hey.." Noah began, "You ok?"

"Does he look ok?" A voice snarled from behind him.

Shut up.

Zach stared at Noah for what felt like years. Just staring in his eyes and looking like he'll murder the other if he does as much as take a step forward.

Noah fidgets with his hands, something he's grown used to doing when he's stressed.

"You'll never be enough."

"Zach?" Noah murmured softly as he took another step, "You ok..?"

Zach's eye twitched.

"Do I look ok, Noah?" He says suddenly, jabbing a finger in Noah's chest.

"Told you." Another voice giggled in Noah's ear.

Shut up..

"Has your brother ever been missing?!" Zach snapped, pushing him back enough to make him stumble.

"He doesn't even know the half of it~"

Shut up. Please.

"No-" Noah returned quickly, trying to balance himself.

"Liar.." Another voice chuckled.

Stop. Please..

"Zach." Noah says softly, putting both his hands on his shoulders, "I just.."

"Just what?" Voices are overlapping each other as they laugh, cackle, and mock.

"Feel guilty because you're the only one who escaped?"

Go away. I never talk to you guys.

"We don't appear because we don't talk, Noah." One of them giggled in his ear.

"We appear because you," a finger that just goes through his shoulder, "Just surround yourself with the wrong emotions."

Leave. Now.

"Just what, Noah?!" Zach yelled.

"I-"

"Spit it out.."

Stop.

"Im just worried about you." Noah finally got out.

Zach seemed to visibly calm down.

"He'll never be calm."

Shut up.

Noah pats his shoulder, something that Mr. A would do when he's stressed before he sat down on one of the bunks.

Zach didn't like that. At all.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He immediately yelled.

"I-Im just sitting down-" Noah returned, raising both hands in surrender.

"Not there!" Zach shouted.

"Why not-"

"Do you not see the way that the sheets are different from all the other beds?" The same voice whispered, "And.. Remember.. Zach sleeps on a top bunk.."

Noah's eyes widened.

"Im so sorry!" He squeaked out, "I-I didnt-"

"You're always apologizing!" Zach's voice sounded just like his the moment he yelled that, "When are you actually saying something useful?!"

The voices all around Noah were just stabbing remarks of his past. It was getting harder to block them out by the moment.

"You're the only one who escaped, remember?"

Stop. Please.

"You're selfish.. You left them." Their hand managed to actually touch him instead of going through him this time, "Maybe you do deserve to go back.."

Not him again.

Anyone but him again.

Suddenly, it feels like Zach is towering over him despite him only being 3 inches taller than Noah. Noah feels smaller, as if he isn't already 15. He feels like a child again.

A child who was to be locked outside in the cold winter if he did something wrong.

A child who was locked in the basement if he cried..

"I didn't mean to.." Noah's voice is barely above a whisper, but there's not much he can do about it. If he speaks any louder, he may start crying.

He can't let his first ever friend think any less of him than he does right now.

"That's always what I hear from you." Zach spat out, "Seriously, why can't-"

"What the hell is going on?"

Zach rolled his eyes.

Noah turned around.

Same shaggy black hair; a baggy black hoodie; these black jorts that look like they've been through war; and the beat up converse he seemed to love.

"Go pick a bed." Zach scoffed, "Be more useful than him."

Noah looked down.

"Looks like even he agrees."

Voices kept laughing at him.

Don't cry. Do anything but cry.

"Zach, what the hell?" Max finally said, throwing his bags down, "I know you're upset about losing your brother, but why are you taking it out on other people?!"

"Oh, piss off." Zach returned.

"You little-"

Max tried to lunge at him. The only thing that stopped him was a spell that Noah had memorized, launching him back where he came from.

"Thank you." Noah said quietly.

Max just glanced between Zach and Noah.

"You," Max began, "Need to calm down."

Zach's fists clenched, looking at the cork board he had made full of evidence where Ryan could be, then at Noah.

His eyes softened.

And then he pulled Noah into a hug.

"Im sorry.." Zach murmured, "Im just.. Worried. I need to go take a walk- I'll be back."

Zach pulled away.

"You cant leave without another per-"

Noah's words were interrupted by Zach, shutting the door behind him.

"You ok?" Max asked gently, almost as if that if he was to raise his voice too loud, Noah would bolt.

He probably would, actually.

"Yeah."

"Liar."

Dammit! They just stopped talking!

Max stared at him.

Max then proceeded to pat his head as if he were a puppy.

Noah didn't even process it before Max disappeared into the bathroom.

~~~

15 minutes.

15 whole minutes with both Zach and Max gone.

What if something happened to them? Zach went out on a walk- what if he was taken? What if he's now with his brother?

And Max.

Max's been in there for a while. Noah can't figure out if he's still in there or somehow managed to sneak out. What if-

"You're the only one still here.."

Voices start to echo around him.

'Max is in the bathroom' his mind insisted, but there's a small part of it that says that Max isn't. Telling him that Max is in the woods.

In that house..

In the very house, he managed to escape, but no one else did.

The fire..

He made it out.

Nobody else did.

He's selfish.

He didn't think about the others. He didn't even look back. He just ran on his bare feet, feeling the pine and twigs stabbing at his feet.

He could still feel the blood on his feet.

Don't cry.

Do a nything but cry.

Thats how you invite them.

The bathroom door swings open, revealing Max glued to his phone.

He's ok.

He's still here.

But what about Zach? What if Zach never came back? What if-

The other door swings open.

Suddenly, Noah is being pulled into a crushing hug.

"Im so sorry." Zach said once again, "I didn't mean to hurt you.. I just.. Lashed out. Im so sorry, I-"

"It's ok." Noah pulled back.

He wasn't used to hugs. He didn't get them often. Not unless if you count the time that Mr. A tried to when he was 12 (Mr. A then had to deal with a crying child for 2 hours.. And then Hecate had to come down to comfort him..)

Zach looked at him, unsure, "Are you sure..?"

Noah nodded then took a seat on the bed once more.

Zach's eye twitched.

Noah looked down with confusion.

Different sheets.

Oh shit-

~~~

Noah should've known better.

He's a bit of an idiot for sitting on Ryan's bed a second time, so he didn't even try apologizing when Zach had started yelling at him again while Max had just sat there- maybe questioning his life decisions.

So, while Zach worked on trying to find where Ryan was (which was just staring at the board and muttering things under his breath), Noah had decided to just punish himself by sitting in the corner of the room.

"You're an idiot."

Noah breathed in.

And then out.

'Don't let them get to you.' His mind yelled at him.

"We can help you make Max your friend."

He perked up at that one.

Wait..

Are these the good ones or the bad ones?

He doesn't feel that anxious at the moment.. So.. Are they the good ones..?

He just decided to shut himself up.

Max can be his friend! His second friend ever! He'll be 16 in a month.. So that means he'll have 2 friends by the time he turns 16! Oh, this is awesome!

"Now.. Max is actually born a girl, that's why he was in the bathroom for so long.."

What? But that doesn't make sense.. Why does Noah have to know that in order to be Max's friend? He would want to be Max's friend either way!

"You just have to tell him that you know.. Friends trust each other with secrets."

That part did make sense. He saw Leah and Max whispering, pointing, and laughing, and they're close friends.

What if he finds out a secret about Leah? And then she can be his friend as well! He'd have 3 friends!

But Max didn't know his secrets.. So would that be bad..?

Noah then noticed that Max was getting up with a toothbrush in his hand.. While Zach was hugging his knees to his chest and murmuring the same things over and over again.

"You have to go tell him now!"

Noah quickly jumped to his feet and then followed Max into the bathroom.

Max was putting toothpaste on when Noah came.

Stand behind him would be good. Not bothering him or distracting him..

"AH! WHAT THE HELL?!" Max jumped back when he saw Noah.

That made Noah flinch as well.

"Holy fuck dude-" The words slipped out of his mouth easily, "You scared the shit out of me!"

Noah scared Max? No! What if he doesn't wanna be his friend anymore?! And then he'll be stuck by Zach- which he doesn't mind.. But what if Zach grows tired of him?! What if- no. You have to reply to Max!

"Oh.." Noah starts fidgeting with his hands, thinking about the idea, "Sorry.."

"You good, dude?"

Max is so much cooler than him.. Why would he wanna be his friend? But Noah wants to be his friend! Dammit! Mr. A gave him a lesson on how to make friends! He should've listened!

"Uh.." Noah looks down, finding that avoiding eye contact is easier, "It's just.."

Telling Max that he knew he was born a girl?

What if the ghost was wrong?

"Never mind." Noah squeaked out before he could stop himself.

Stupid!

Max seemed to shrug before he started brushing his teeth again.

Alright. Just wait until he's done. Easy as that.

Noah counts to 120 before he started again.

"I.."

It feels wrong..

"I know.."

The words are stuck in his throat. Noah wants to speak up. He knows what to say. Why is it so difficult to say it..?

Max had already spat out the toothpaste by now, turning to Noah with a brow raised.

"What do you know?"

"I-I know-"

Just spit it out.

Why is it so hard to?

Noah notices as Max's eye twitches. Maybe out of annoyance? Mr. A did the same thing when Noah refused to cooperate with him.

"Dude, spit it out right now."

He even sounded annoyed.

Noah began fidgeting again. He wants to say it. He desperately wants Max to be his friend. But it sounds so..

Max pushes past him.

Noah falls onto the floor.

"You should've told him." A voice said, "It's not like he doesn't already know."

Noah closes his eyes.

Alright.

He'll talk to him in the morning.

~~~

Noah woke up in a cold sweat.

Both of them were asleep.

Another dream.

Another dream about the house burning, the only way he survived was because of a dog his mother had sent to protect him.

The pine stabbing his feet until he could find somewhere else.

All he found was a road that he followed for hours.

He then stayed homeless for another year before being found by a satyr since he was almost attacked by a cyclops.

The homelessness was somehow better than that house.

Noah didn't have to get on his hands and knees and apologize if he did something wrong; he didn't have to cry, begging his family to let him back in if he had messed up..

He was used to being hungry; so, being on the streets didn't really change him that much..

He just learned to steal and how to get what he wanted. That was about it.

Suddenly, he hears someone sitting up.

Noah looks up, staring at Max.

Max was.. Sweating?

Yes! This is his chance to tell him! And then they can both be friends!

"I know.."

Ok.. Ok.. Keep going. Don't blow it.

"Know what, asshole?"

It wasnt harsh! He's just tired!

Alright- here it goes!

"That you were born a girl.."

Chapter Text

Noah stared in confusion.

He was supposed to gain a new friend! That's what the ghosts said! He told Max a secret he knew about him!

Yet Max was staring at him with.. Horror? Anger? Maybe a hint of confusion?

Was this normal? Does this look mean that Max is his friend now? Does this mean that Noah gained another friend?!

This is so exciting! Now, all he has to do is befriend Leah, and then the children of the prophecy can all be friends instead of colleagues!

Yes! He's a genius!

This is why he was confused when Max dragged him outside.

The patrol harpies stared but shrugged before talking to one another.

Camp Half Blood was more like a small something like Camp Jupiter.. Except you just grew up in Camp Half Blood.

Patrol harpies now only care if you didn't check in with Mr. A or Chiron about staying for longer than a summer- that rule was updated a couple of years back. The only rule is that you now had to be quiet when going outside. Being loud is when the patrol harpies eat you.

"How the hell did you know that?!" Max hissed.

Noah flinched.

Why did Max have the same expression on his face when his dad was angry? Before he had hit Noah.. Before he had taken a knife and cut off-

No.. Don't think of her right now..

"I-I thought-" Noah tripped over his words. It became something he simply couldn't stop after leaving that house.

Thoughts bubbled up in his mind, mainly confused ones.

'Is Max mad at me?' He asked himself. It didn't make sense that Max was practically shaking with rage.

"You thought nothing!" He snapped, "How did you even find out?!"

Max paused. But only for a second.

"He told you, didn't he?"

Ghosts didn't have genders to Noah.. They just looked like blank, see-through bodies.

But ghosts were alive once, right? So.. What if the ghost that told him was a man once before..

Noah tilted his head slightly before shrugging, "I guess..?"

Max's face, which didn't have much color at first, proceeded to drain of the little color it had left.

"What'd he tell you?" Max gripped Noah's shoulders tightly.

So tight it felt like..

Stop.

Don't think about him.

"H-He told me you'd be my friend if I told you I knew?"

Max's grip tightened, making him wince.

"You can't tell anyone."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

Confusion struck Noah like Zeus' lightning bolt.

Why wouldn't Max want new friends?

Then the answer hit him: He doesn't need new friends because the ones he already has are more than enough!

"Ok!" Noah smiled.

Max gave him this weird look.

"Thats it? Just 'Ok'?" He mocked Noah's voice when he said that last word.

"Well.. You don't need new friends.. Soooooo.." Noah smiled like a puppy would, "Does that make us friends?"

Max stared at Noah, his face just etched with more confusion than anger.

After a couple of moments of silence, he opens his mouth, "What?"

Damn.. What does Noah say? He never really had much freedom to talk until he got out of that house.. What would Leah say? She's cool..

Actually, Noah doesn't know Leah enough to even know what she would say.

"So we're friends now?" He asks with a smile without thinking twice.

Wow. Way to go. Leah would definitely say that.

Max just scoffed, rolled his eyes, and shoved past him to the Eros cabin.

Ok.. That might be a yes!

~~~

Breakfast was.. Interesting.

For the first time, people we're actually.. Happy? Usually, everyone is still hunched over, begging to go back to their cabin, every single emotion is typically in the pavilion.

There was a bunch of kids who flooded out of the Hestia cabin. Obviously, most of the campers have decided to stay with Darren. Noah couldn't blame them. Darren's the type of person who you always want to be with.

Darren was also the only one who ever talked to him when he came to camp! He gave Noah bread weekly!

Everyone took their seats.

Noah was sitting next to Max.

Zach was sitting next to Leah.

This time, Zach didn't look as messed up as he did the night before. He didn't have his glasses on, and he wore the red version of the camp t-shirt instead of the orange.

So, yes, already some progress.

Leah and Zach were going over the prophecy together. It seems like Leah and Zach had already somehow become friends overnight.

What Noah didn't understand was the way Max's face looked.

He looked.. Sad? Scared?

Wait.. Noah's friend is sad! What should he do? What does someone even do in this situation?

"What's up with your face?" Noah asks.

Ok.. Maybe that wasn't the best way to put it.

By now, Zach and Leah had stopped talking. The 2 were just watching them both, waiting for something to happen.

But Max slowly turns to him, his eye twitching. Max was no black eyeliner today- so he didn't look as intimidating as he usually does.

"What. Do. You. Mean?" Max asks slowly.

Noah tilted his head.

What do friends usually do in this situation? What would Darren do in this situation..?

I mean.. Darren usually gives everyone food.. So..

Noah proceeded to give Max a piece of his chocolate muffin, placing it on the corner of Max's plate.

Noah noticed as Zach raised a brow and chuckled softly.

He noticed as Leah let's out a short laugh.

Ok! He did well then! He should do what Leah and Zach are doing!

Before Noah could even smile, Max just slowly turned to Noah.

And then proceeded to dump his yogurt on Noah's head.

That yogurt was cold. Noah felt strawberry chunks fall out and onto his lap.

Leah and Zach stopped laughing.

"Max, what the hell?" Zach immediately said, "All he did was give you a piece of a muffin for Eros' sake!"

"No- its ok!" Noah says quickly.

What was it called? It started with a P.. Max did it all the time..

A prank!

A simple, funny prank.

Noah began laughing, but his heart wasn't really in it. He didn't like that prank..

Leah and Zach glanced at each other, deciding to shrug it off when they saw Noah laughing.

"So," Leah cleared her throat as she began to speak, "We figured out some of the prophecy. If we're correct, we're supposed to go to Troy. Or, well- Hisarlik."

"If we're correct, Alex is already working with Kyrios.. But then we also need a clue- maybe something from Olympus or something.. And then we can find Ryan, Aiden, and Oliver." Zach finished.

"But what about the last line?" Max suddenly asks.

The prophecy, which was written on a napkin, said, 'Love decide which soul to take.'

All 4 of them- well, all 3 of them since Noah was too busy admiring Zach, glanced at each other.

"We dont know." Leah says finally, "We'll figure it out eventually, though."

"Great!" Max immediately gets up, "Because I have to get ready for the day since I'm supposed to hang out with friends!"

Noah's eyes lit up once more.

He could have more friends if he learned secrets about Max's friends!

~~~

Max did not get the hangout he wanted.

Noah has been following him around all day.

If he was in the Eros cabin? Suddenly, Noah's just standing there as Leah and Zach try to figure out the prophecy.

He needed to grab something he left in the Nemesis cabin? Noah is right behind him.

He's in the bathroom? Noah is waiting outside the door.

Every single corner he turns, Noah is just standing there.

When he showed up to the spot him and only Logan (originally) were supposed to meet up at both of them noticed they both had +one's.

Max noticed this guy.

Zee's a son of Demeter. But, he was claimed by Persephone after she decided she wanted a demigod of her own without cheating on Hades.

Max remembers seeing him at one of the head counselor meetings.

"Hey! You remember Zee, right?" Logan grinned, "He wanted to come along!"

"Uhm.." Zee began, "Who's your friend?"

Noah smiled and waved like an idiot.

Max scoffed and rolled his eyes, "He's not my friend."

Noah looked at him and tilted his head.. His eyes proceeded to light up a moment later.

"Because we're best friends!"

"He won't stop following me."

Zee gave Noah a confused look.

"Awh.." Logan chuckled softly, looking at the way Noah looked at Max, "He's kinda adorable."

"He isn't." Max deadpanned.

"So.." Zee started, "Hestia cabin?"

"Yeah, alright.." Max sighed.

~~~

The Hestia cabin was basically a bakery between 4-7 PM.

Darren had helpers- also known as unclaimed children, whom he helped take in along with older volunteers.

Yes, you did have to sit on the floor. But Darren was nice enough to let you bring in things to sit on- such as pillows and blankets.

You just weren't allowed to touch the bunks.

So, Zee, Noah, Max, and Logan sat on the ground.

Zee had decided to sit next to Max.

Logan decided that Max wasn't exactly fit to sit next to Noah since he kept yelling at him.. And also because a couple of people kept talking about what had happened at breakfast.

The menu was on Darren's instagod page.. Which had over 500 followers. It was kinda insane, honestly. Everyone loved him.

Well.. Besides the head counselor of the Khione cabin.. But he doesn't like anyone.

"Hey!" Darren smiled warmly, "Is there anything you'd like?"

Logan and Zee said their own orders before it came down to Max and Noah.

"I'll have the slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream." Max said.

Noah looked at him and didn't think twice.

"I'll have the same as him!" He chirped, pointing at Max.

Max's eye twitched.

"How about you just be fucking original for once?" Max snapped, suddenly getting into Noah's face.

"Uhm.." Darren's pen stopped writing.

Someone noticed his eye twitching.

Word got around way too quickly.

"This is a cabin dedicated to Hestia." Darren gestured to the fireplace in the back of the cabin, "Since Hestia was the goddess of hospitality, you'll stay hostile in honor of her. Am I clear?"

Max took a deep breath.

There's 3 unspoken rules about Hestia in camp.

1) You honor her first. Mr. A makes sure there's a prayer before every meal.

2) You don't disrespect her. Ever.

3) You don't piss her or the children she blessed off.

Max slowly sat back down and murmured an apology that he clearly didn't mean.

"I'll have that with you guys shortly." Darren returned with a smile he clearly didn't mean either.

Max made sure Darren was gone before giving Noah the worst death stare of his life.

"You're the most annoying person ever." Max groaned, "You really had to make me do that in front of Darren?"

"Right?" Zee returned, but he had an apologetic look on his face the moment the word left his mouth.

"Guys- what?!" Logan says in an instant, "Look, Max, I love you- Always have since you stepped foot into the Hermes cabin and you wanted to be my friend- but what the hell? How you acted infront of Darren is not Noah's fau-"

"It's ok!" Noah interrupted, "He's just.. Honest."

Logan had the most confused look on his face, but he decided to drop it.

Max proceeded to do occasional jabs directed at Noah.

"Just pretend he's not here. He just followed me."

"You're not even supposed to be here."

Gods forbid he'd try to join a conversation.

He noticed that Zee would also back up Max with the same apologetic look on his face.

So, ultimately, Noah decided to shut up.

By the time the food came, Max noticed one thing.

Zee was staring right at him.

"What the hell are you looking at?!" He snapped.

Then he paused.

Then, he turned straight to Noah.

"You told him, didn't you?! I'll fucking kill you!"

"Max, what the hell..?" Logan said with actual horror, his smile wiped off his face for once.

"Yeah- he told me." Zee had cut in, but his voice sounded uncertain. You could only hear it if you listened closely.

How his voice shook. How he looked confused on what they were even talking about.

Noah's heart dropped in an instant.

He didn't tell anyone.. He wouldn't..!

Even if he did, Max would have more friends! Why would he be upset about that?!

Max's eye twitched once again.

"I fucking knew it." He sneered, jabbing a finger into Noah's chest.

"But- But I didn't..!"

Noah looked at Zee with pleading eyes. He could tell that the son of Persephone's heart dropped just by the way he looked.

"Wait- tell him what?" Logan decided to cut in.

"Well- cat's outta the bag now, isn't that right?" Max was now gripping Noah's wrist to the point it actually hurt, "Go on, tell 'em, Noah. Tell them what you know."

"But-" Noah stammered.

He has to hold in tears. He can't cry infront of Max.

It felt like that house from years ago. Even though he had gotten out of it 4 years ago, it doesn't feel like it.

He feels like he's crying in front of that man again. The man who had forced him to tell him everything..

"Max, what the fuck-?! Let go of him!" Logan yelled, having to pry Max's hand off of Noah's wrist.

Zee watches in horror.

"Go on." Max sneered, "Tell them you know I was born a fucking girl."

He said it loud enough so only the 4 of them heard it.

Zee's face immediately shifted to confusion. To processing. To horror.

"Wait- no-! He didn't-! Im sorry- he didn't actually-!"

It was too late.

Noah was already running to the Eros cabin with tears in his eyes.

He barged in, not even caring that Leah was already in the room with Zach.

The 2 seemed to be mapping out where to go for the quest when Zach had finally noticed Noah.

Noah collapsed in Zach's arms, who didn't even question it, just sat him down on one of the bunks and wrapped his arms around him.

Leah was already asking what happened.

Noah didn't even tell the truth.

"I-I just.." Noah choked out, "Ran into some Momus kids.."

He'll cover up what Max did.

Thats just what friends do.

Right?

Chapter Text

Noah knows what it's like to be unloved..

Well.. It's not like he ever experienced being loved in the first place.

Noah had gone to bed that night, terrified.

He lost a friend. Max didn't even let him apologize. All he did was walk away.. And then something bad to Noah would happen.

Tried apologizing the first time? One of his crystals broke.

Tried apologizing a second time? Someone accidentally spilled their hot coffee on him.. Whatever.. He got kinda used to that when he was younger.

Tried apologizing the third time because he always heard 'Third time's the charm'? Max ended up yelling at him to "leave him the fuck alone!"

So.. Yeah..

Noah didn't feel the need to eat. It's not like he even deserved it after what happened in the Hestia cabin.

That's what he would say at least.

"Are you sure youre ok?" Zach had asked with one foot out the door.

Noah had responded with a nod.

And before he knew it, Leah and Zach had already left.

Noah had already brushed his teeth by now. Brushing his teeth felt weird still.

But he needs to fit in just to feel the sense of normalcy, so he does it anyway.

Noah was curled up in his bunk, already closing his eyes.

And soon enough? He let Hypnos pull him into an embrace.

~~~

Noah blinked.

The same wooden floor was always covered in blood or tears that he was always forced to clean up.

The same wooden floor that would hurt every time he was forced to get on his knees and pray.

The same wooden floor that he would always be kicked on if he were to disobey him.

Noah was terrified the moment he looked in the glass, a reflection of himself bouncing off it.

His curls were frizzy due to him always gripping onto them, begging someone to actually notice that he's upset and still.. 10 years old. Right. Lydia always made sure he remembered.

His skin was pale due to the lack of sun. Good. Theres monsters outside. The people who ran away were eaten by them, thats why they never came back.

There was a bruise on his shoulder, but he knew there were more of them on his body. He deserved them.

Someone then threw him to the ground before he could take anything in.

Him.

Not him again.

Please.

The same dark curls; the same grey eyes he inherited but wish he didn't; the same pale skin..

His body was shaking with rage as he gripped Noah's throat.

Noah's hands clawed at the other's, trying to get them to pull away.

But there's only so much a 10 year old could do.

"You didn't eat your whole plate, didn't you?"

He didn't. He wasn't hungry. It wasn't his fault! He hasn't been hungry for 2 days now..! He didn't think it was that big a deal!

Noah shook his head, feeling the dizziness kick in now.

"DAD!"

The pressure of his hand slowly reduced, but it still rested on the 10 year old's neck.

Lydia.

Black, pin-straight hair; the same matching pale skin that everyone had; grey eyes the same as Noah's; a black dress that was down to her calves because anything above her knees were sinful and then she would be forced to cleanse herself by being locked in a shed with no food or water for days; and the same look of fear in her eyes.

She was only 13.

His older sister.

"Lydia-" Noah was crying now.

Boys weren't allowed to cry.

Not in this house.

Before his sister could even signal him to stop, his father had already noticed.

Even at 10 years old, Noah had learned how to read everything yet always refused to believe it.

Body language, eyes, and even the way someone's hands would shake.

"Please don't be mad at him.." Lydia's voice went small, unable to even speak at a normal tone.

The grip on his father's hand suddenly tightened once again.

"Please-" Lydia begged.

She was held down by 2 men who they were forced to pray to aswell.

"PLEASE!" She cried out, thrashing in the men's arms, "HE'S LITTLE! HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND!"

Tears were running down her cheeks, trying to get to Noah, but the men's grip was unyielding.

"DON'T KILL HIM! PLEASE!" She sobbed.

The grip on Noah's neck tightened instead.

"TAKE IT OUT ON ME!" She suddenly shouted.

The hand on Noah's throat was taken off, but he was held down.

"Hold him down." His father demanded.

In almost an instant, Lydia was released as the 2 men slowly walked towards Noah.

"Lydia!" He sobbed, "LYDIA!"

The men took hold of both of his arms.

"LYDIA!" He sobbed out once again.

He was punched in the stomach, "Shut up!"

That just made him cry louder.

He tried kicking and tried thrashing, but all he saw was his father inching closer to Lydia.

He watched as he saw his father grab a knife.

Lydia remained frozen, not moving a muscle.

"Hands on the floor. Now."

Lydia did as she was told.

Noah screamed, trying to escape the grip he was restrained in.

His father raised the knife.

Blood.

Blood everywhere.

Lydia's scream pierced the air.

Lydia's index finger was gone, now rolling on the floor now.

Noah was watching in horror, crying harder now.

"Take him outside. Now."

~~~

2 nights.

Noah was outside the house for 2 nights.

He was terrified to even move anywhere, raised on the idea that there were monsters that would dismember him and slowly eat him.

Well.. It's not like he could move. His wrist was tied to a wooden pole, keeping him trapped in the same place.

He's hungry.

He's thirsty.

He tried banging on the door, begging for forgiveness as if that had worked on him before.

It didn't.

There was someone who then proceeded to beat him repeatedly until he swore he wouldn't do it again.

He looked through the window once. That one time, he saw Lydia.

She was wearing a bandage with a new dress.

She looked at Noah once, her face turning to fear.

She quickly shook her head 'no' and gestured for him to leave.

He remembered it was Lydia's turn to cook out of all the women in the house..

He misses Lydia's food.

Cassie's food was always too bland, never enough seasoning. He was never allowed to ask for more salt, though.

Because that counted for cooking.

Cooking wasn't for boys.

Amelia's food was always too seasoned. Too much salt to the point is inedible.

Lydia's food was just right. Just enough seasoning. Good food.

He rested his head against the wooden pole.

Just.. Maybe some sleep will take away the need for food for now.

~~~

Noah woke up to the smell of burning.

His eyes weren't fully opened.

Cassie always burnt food.. She would get frustrated and then locked outside because she would scream and cry about it.

But then Noah realizes something.

He's not inside the house.

Then what-

He could see through the window that there's a fire.

Theres a small flame thats slowly spreading through the walls of the house.

The room that had the window had the door closed, so you wouldn't even see the fire if you were in another room.

No- nonono! Not Lydia.

Anyone but Lydia.

He looked through the other window.

He could see Lydia clearly.

He banged on the window, trying to signal to her that she needed to get out.

She just raised a brow, a look of sadness crossing her face.

She left the room.

No- no!

The fire was quickly spreading- faster than Noah could even imagine.

He was terrified as he tried tugging at the rope that kept him tied to the pole- just so he could say that there was a fire and save Lydia.

How did the fire even happen-

Cassie.

He must've slept through the day, and it was breakfast now- Cassie must've made breakfast and accidentally burnt the food again-

Now Lydia was in danger!

He tried screaming and banging on the door again.

Only for it the wall nearest to the door catch fire.

"LYDIA!" He screamed, watching as the forest slowly started to burn with the house.

He started to hear the screams.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He heard his father's voice scream.

Then the roof collapsed.

The door opened.

He saw the 2 men that he always had to pray to on the ground, chests not rising up and down.

He saw Cassie under a support beam.

He saw Amelia coughing up smoke, trying to crawl on the ground.

Other kids in the house tried to run for the door. Their lungs are not able to take it.

He saw all of them on the floor coughing out smoke or already dead.

Noah tried to move, only able to walk 3 feet away from the house due to the rope.

"Please-" Noah whispered, "Please..!"

He tugged at the rope, trying to undo the knots, but it was no use.

Crunching of leaves.

Going quicker and quicker-

A monster? Is this how he'll die?

He tried moving quicker, the knots not budging no matter how much he tried.

The crunching got quicker, faster, louder.

Noah tried to match it's speed, but it was no use.

A big monster, about as big as the window; it has black fur all around, but around its mouth was all white to its face to its stomach, with touches of brown in it's fur; it had floppy ears; and big eyes.

Noah whimpered in fear, trying to move back only to see the fire.

The monster proceeded to start chewing on the rope, shaking its head back and forth with a growl.

Noah looked back, trying to find somewhere to go, only to see the entrance of the house on fire.

His father was running.

"NOAH! HELP ME!"

"W-What-" Noah's voice shook with fear.

Someone pushed him down.

Lydia.

Lydia was on top of him, holding one of his legs.

"If I burn.." Her voice said softly through the fire, "You'll burn with me."

"NOAH!" His father screamed again.

But the monster was already done chewing through the rope.

"NOAH! RUN!" Lydia had shouted.

"But-!"

Not Lydia.

He can't lose Lydia.

Please.

"RUN! NOW!" Lydia shouted.

Just then, a support beam blocked the entrance.

The monster let out a sharp, cracking noise as it ran only a few steps then looked behind Noah.

"Are you gonna follow me or what?!" It said.

Wait- it could talk?!

"What-"

"C'MON!"

The monster bit his sleeve, then dragged him away from the forest no matter how much he cried for Lydia.

The pine dug in his feet as he ran with the monster.

It dragged him until he saw a clearing.

A black, not exactly rocky, but not smooth either, clearing. It had yellow lines that were disconnected from time to time. There was also a white line separating 2 areas.

"W-Where am I..?" He finally asked.

"What do you mean-" The monster cut himself off, "Oh. Cult.. Right.. This is a road."

"What are you?!" He finally screeched, "GET AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!"

"Woah- ok- calm down." The monster laid down on its stomach, "Im a dog. Your mom sent me. You can call me.. Uhm.. Buddy."

"My mom..?" Noah asks.

"You'll understand soon enough, kid."

~~~

Being on the streets with Buddy wasn't the worst thing ever.

Buddy would talk to him, something that didn't happen often.

But from time to time, Noah would see Lydia.

Hear Lydia's voice.

Something Buddy called 'panic attacks with just a bit of schizophrenia.'

There were times when him and Buddy didn't get food, but it was ok.

Noah was used to being hungry and ignored anyway.

Him and Buddy would cuddle up on a sleeping bag Buddy had somehow stolen.

Buddy would curl against Noah.

Noah would curl against him.

But one day, he saw Lydia.

Noah was sitting under a bridge when he did. He was sitting on the sleeping bag as he looked up with watery eyes.

Lydia hugged him and then threw him to the ground.

"I DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!"

~~~

Noah woke up, tears in his eyes.

Right.

That was a dream.

He should've known.

It's hard to tell what's real and what isn't now.

He muffled his cries with a blanket, putting it to his mouth.

Light.

Light poured out from the bathroom, revealing Leah.

Before Noah could even hide under his blanket, Leah noticed.

"You ok?" She asks softly the moment she sees Noah.

She sounds so much like Lydia.

He tried nodding, but a sob slipped out instead.

She frowned.

"You know what usually helps Oliver?" She asks softly.

Noah slowly turned to look at her, Leah wiping away the tears that were now running down his cheeks.

"You wanna sleep in my bed?" She asks softly, "I dont know- everyone in the Aphrodite cabin usually just do that after a rough day."

It was hard to talk at first, but Noah eventually swallowed down his tears and got it out.

"I cant walk all the way to the Aphrodite cabin.."

Leah softened.

"Zach had let me stay here so we could figure out the prophecy and just sleep here if we get too tired.. I wanted to stay here anyway since I sleep on the bottom bunk while Oliver sleeps on the top.."

Noah thought about it.

And then slowly nodded.

Leah smiled, giving him a gentle squeeze before she led him to a bunk in the corner.

She got in first and then patted the spot beside her.

Noah slipped in.

Leah covered them both, hugging him.

Noah finally allowed himself to break down against Leah's shoulder.

Chapter Text

Breakfast was more than awkward.

Zach was talking about how he and Leah had finally found out how to find the missing kids.

"So," Leah started, a perfectly manicured finger pointing at a map, "We get to Hisarlik. We find the ruins of Troy. We find the kids, and then we get out of there. Boom. Peace and love."

Leah's voice was rather.. robotic, even. Even though she tried to add humor to her words, it felt empty.

"We think that the missing people could be hidden underground.. We wouldn't know. So, just keep your eyes open when we're in Hisarlik." Zach's voice remained monotone. It always was. But this time, it just felt forced.

"So, we go to Hisarlik, get the people, easy as that, right?" Max quipped, "I've got a way we could get there."

Noah kept on flinching every time Max even began talking. Luckily, he managed to get himself together and stop after Max spoke his 5th sentence.

He's learned to shut up when someone was talking now.. Well, he's always knew how to do that. It's just that he thought he could speak freely now.

Clearly not.

"What's your plan?" Zach sighed.

"Welp.." Max just smirks and leans back, proceeding to fall in the process.

Zach sighed and rolled his eyes, "Max, cmon, get up."

Max gets up triumphantly, a grin on his face, "Clearly, you guys haven't met Meatball."

Leah pointed her fork at the 3 meatballs on his plate, "Those meatballs?"

"No!" Max says instantly, "I mean.."

He just smirks, "You'll see."

Zach didn't like that. At all. The last "You'll see" ended with Max stealing his chocolate stash.

"So," Leah says, "Plan is that we leave after breakfast. Hopefully, we can ask Colton- or whoever the head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin is- to build us a chariot. I have a lot of drachmas- they'll work fast enough with any paycheck."

"We won't need the chariot." Max said smugly.

"Can you stop with the ominous shit and tell us what you have?" Zach sighed with an eye roll.

"Nope! That'll ruin the surprise."

Zach's eye twitched.

"So," Leah steered the conversation the other way before Zach could punch Max, "How about.. We pack after breakfast, we can watch a movie tonight, and.. Yeah!"

The table seemed to fall silent.

Noah still picked at his food, seemingly not listening to what Leah had said.

Max started eating his meatballs in slow chews.

Zach's jaw remained clenched, practically gripping his fork.

"So.." Leah's voice trailed off, "Am I gonna get a response or not?"

Zach let out a breath slowly before turning to Leah.

"Alright. Fine. Movie night in my cabin."

~~

Movie night was more than awkward.

Leah was used to matching pajamas, laughing over camp secrets, and then going into the 'therapy session' where they used to talk about all the fucked up things in their lives.

She remembers how Oliver hated being the idea of 'perfection' just because he was rich and pretty. He said that his parents weren't even home most of the time. How they expected him to marry rich no matter what.

She remembers talking about her life before she turned 10.

How she was forced to keep her hair short.. How she was forced to watch TV shows for little boys.. How she was forced to wear clothing for boys.

She remembers being shipped off to that place..

No. Don't think about it.

"So," Her voice cuts in through the tension, "What movie do you guys wanna watch?"

They were sat in front of a TV in the Eros cabin. Something Eros gave Zach for his 15th birthday- yet Ryan used it more than he did.

Leah flipped through the movies, looking at the 3 expectantly before groaning.

"Ok- I know most guys act like they're 'too good to do movie night'- but you guys can at least answer a simple question."

Noah seemed to shrink into the blanket Zach provided more.

Zach shoved another handful of gummy bears in his mouth. The selfish jerk wouldn't even share with the other 3.

The guy literally keeps his candy in a locked drawer. That's how much of a fastass he is.

"We can watch Rocky Horror." Max recommended, "I don't think it's on Netflix.. But it's a good movie."

"Ok- that's one of the choices. Does anyone else want to watch another movie?" Leah asks, looking at the 2.

The 2 stayed silent until Zach nudged Noah.

"Do you wanna watch anything?"

Max rolled his eyes.

"Uh.." Noah murmured, "I actually.. Don't really know any movies.. I don't watch TV, actually.."

"Don't lie." Max scoffed.

"Max." Leah said firmly.

"What? He's lying. We all know he is."

"Im not-"

"Yes you are."

Voices broke out, going back and forth with each other.

Max said that Noah was lying, that he always does.

Zach said to just drop it and that it wasn't that big of a deal.

And then Leah trying to get everyone to stop arguing.

Noah just quietly stood up, nobody noticing in the darkness of the room, and then went to the bathroom. The same fluorescent lights he's been with for the last 2 days shining down on him.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" He hears Leah scream.

He can hear the 2 voices die down immediately.

"Since none of you guys can pick a movie.. We'll watch.. Uhm.. This one."

Noah leans his head against the door, listening to the voices of the movie flooded into the room and through the cracks of the bathroom door.

He listens to the voices.

One of them sounds like Lydia.

A German accent that was there- but not quite, the voice a little deep but still pretty high-pitched.

One of them sounded like Cassie.

A thick southern accent. They use 'baby' and 'darlin' repeatedly.

He counts the minutes, listening to them laugh in unison whenever the actors say jokes.

5 minutes go by without anyone noticing Noah was gone.

Then 10.

Then 30.

Then Noah loses track of time. He resorts to tracing patterns on his body with a finger instead.

He listens to the voices of the 3 actually getting along now that he's gone. They laugh, they joke around, and everything probably seems lighter out there than how it is in the bathroom.

Noah ended up bringing his knees to his chest. The motion was rather fluid- he got used to it when he was 6 as a form of comfort when Lydia wasn't there.

He buries his face in his knees.

Maybe he wasn't fit for the prophecy.

It's not like he was fit for anything at all.

~~~

Waking up due to banging on the bathroom door was not how Noah wanted to wake up.

"Open the door! I gotta take a piss!"

Oh. Max.

Noah slowly got up, rubbing his eyes.

How long has it been? Is it time to go now?

He opens the door, facing Max.

It was still not the right time to be awake- Noah could tell that much because of the windows that had curtains over them. Zach didn't like keeping the curtains open at night. Well.. Ryan didn't like keeping them open at night. Zach kept doing it out of habbit.

He also saw Zach sprawled on the floor surrounded by bags of candy, his head on Leah's stomach.

Leah was asleep, her hair all over her face with her faced turned to the side, her hand resting ontop of Zach's head.

"Can you get out the way?"

Max doesn't wait for Noah to comply- he simply pushes him out and locks the door.

So..

Noah just crawls into his bunk.

Pull the sheets up.

Pray that Max isn't mad at him anymore.

And then shuts his eyes.

~~~

The morning light shines bright as Zach tries to process what's going on.

His back hurts, but his neck doesn't.. This is weird because he usually doesn't have any body pain when waking up since his bed is covered in soft blankets and pillows.

And then he finally opens his eyes fully.

He sees candy wrappers all over the floor of the Eros cabin, no blanket in sight.

He notices that he was actually lying on Leah's stomach- something that she said he could do due to the fact she was 'used to it'.

He fell asleep in the first 30 minutes of the movie, worried about Noah but didn't even notice when he left. So.. He just assumed that he'd be out of the bathroom soon.

The reason he fell asleep? Leah had these long nails she just got redone. They were sharp. And for some reason, felt really, really good when she ran her hand through his hair.

He also notices he was wearing his glasses since he tried to rub his eyes, only for the thick lens to block them.

He takes them off and rubs his eyes as he sat up, trying to get used to the sunlight.

He sees a lump on Max's bed.

And then a small lump on Noah's bed.

He's told Noah this before- to stop curling in on himself like that, or he'd get scoliosis. Noah didn't listen. At all.

6:59, the clock reads.

Which means that an alarm should go off in 3..

2..

1-

That annoying blaring sound that usually plays on videos when the screen shakes and turns red starts playing.

Zach can hear people groan, blankets falling off of the 2 who were in bed.

He hears Max groan, throwing a pillow at Zach since the alarm is on his phone.

He misses Zach by 2 feet.

Noah blinks awake next, not even bothering to tame his bedhead.

Leah rubs her eyes before taking the pillow off the ground and smacking Zach with it.

"Owwwwww..." Zach groaned.

"Shut up.." Leah grumbled as she slowly got up.

"Wait.. What's outside?" Noah murmured.

"Oh- shit.." Max murmured, "Demeter kids?"

Outside were flowers, enough of them to form an entire garden, even. They were beautiful, colorful hues transitioning into white roses.

"No.." Zach murmured, "Anya respects me.. She doesn't exactly like me. The only exchanges we've had are sword fights.."

"And isn't she with that Dionysus kid?" Leah yawned, "What was his name..? Kaden..? He was like.. Depressed or something..? Wait.. It could've been her other cabinmates.."

"No- I'm 16- her cabinmates are like- 12-13 years old."

"Well.. Children of love, though."

Leah had a point. It wouldn't be the first time Zach would have gotten a love letter from a 13 year old.. It was kinda embarrassing, honestly..

Zach sighed as he got up, opening the door and breathing in the fresh scent of flowers.

A flower sprouted out beneath his feet- a narcissus.

And.. A letter came with it?

He picks up the letter slowly, looking at how it was sealed with dark pink wax, a pomegranate shape in it. A beautiful green envelope- kinda matching Max's eyes, honestly.

And then he turns it over.

Max's name is written on it. In handwriting that was most likely taken time on, the cursive letters have a heart on top of the x.

He walks back into the cabin, watching as the flowers slowly spread to on each side of his cabin.

"You got mail." He says as he passes the letter to Max.

Max looks outside, looking at the flowers.

Then back at the letter.

"Narciussuses, roses, crocuses, and violets are all connected with Persephone, right..?" He asks slowly.

Zach thinks about it for a second before looking at Noah for confirmation.

"Yeah." Noah said softly, "She was picking those types of flowers before Hades kidnapped her."

Max slowly opens it.

"My dearest Max.." He reads softly, "Oh shit- there's a comma after 'dearest'?"

He starts reading it. Actually reading it. Zach never thought he'd see the day.

He only hears small parts of the letter to him. Max's voice filling with panic each time.

"Please don't get mad at Noah," Max reads softly, his hands gripping on the paper, "They just wanted to be included..?!"

"You probably dont care what I think, but I dont care that you're-" Max's voice goes quieter somehow, "He doesn't even care..?"

"Im sorry you had to find out like that.." His voice goes shaky as he forces himself to keep reading.

Zach notices how much his eyes dart around the paper, almost like he's reading it over and over again.

"What is it abou-" Zach tried to ask.

"Nothing!" Max hissed.

Zach puts his hands up in defeat, "Alright.. Alright.."

~~~

Breakfast was.. Weird.

It wasn't like yesterday. The air literally felt different. It was like Madi got pissed at Zeus again, causing Zeus to do a couple of lightning strikes that were made out of peacock feathers.

The prayer to Hestia was the same. It always was. Mr. A would lead the prayer, and then you would toast to the hearth while yelling out your godly parent's name.

Max seemed nervous.

That was the second time Zach had ever seen that, and it was weird again.

He noticed how Max was quieter. Max never went quieter.

The group kept discussing what they'd do when they got to Hisarlik.

Noah said he researched the place, saying that he knew a spell that translated Turkish into English or Ancient Greek in their ears.

Leah had gone over weaponry. She had her magical shield- check.

Max had his needoh given from Nemesis since he had screamed at her altar it was 'the least she could do for her son she didnt take an eye from'.

Zach had his sword. He always did since the ring always came back to him.

And then Noah had his spellbook.. And crystals.

Turns out, crystals probably hurt more than the celestial bronze Zach had.

The group ate silently.

After that, the group filled their watterbottles and checked for last minute things.

And then they were facing Mr. A and Chiron in the Big House.

"You're so lucky Dionysus isn't running this camp anymore," Mr. A said softly, "Cmon, give me a hug, guys."

He first gave a hug to Leah, whispering in her ear.

Zach picked up one word- or, well, name.

'Alice'.. Mr. A's daughter.

He was given a tight squeeze next.

And then Max.

He hugged Noah gently, giving him a small pat on the back afterward.

Chiron looked at the 4 with a smile they couldn't place if it was a smile of grim or happiness.

"Goodluck." Chiron said, bowing his head, "Glory will be bestowed upon you if you make it back."

If.

That was the scary part.

"We will." Max says suddenly, "Trust us."

"Please do." Mr. A said softly, "You know.. You guys remind me of people I once knew

"Who?"

"The seven.. Well.. Not exactly the seven. More like Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, and Hazel Levesque. Now off you go." They received one smile from the sun god before they vanished with a blinding light.

They were at the camp boarder, standing there.

"Did we just-" Leah grins.

"WE JUST GOT COMPARED TO THE SEVEN!" Zach shouted.

"Uhm.." Noah cut through the commotion, "The 'ride' you told us about, Max?"

Max seemed to be zoned out before snapping back to reality, "Oh- right-"

His signature grin pulls at his lips as he snaps his fingers.

"MEATBALL!"

He whistles loudly, a 3 note tune that he probably made up in 2 seconds.

He frowns when nothing shows up for 5 seconds.

"Oh.. Cmon." He grumbled.

"Who's Meatball?" Leah asks.

"Just- shut up!" Max hissed before yelling at the sky once more, "Cmon! I gotta honeybuns! I'll even give up a cosmic brownie!"

The other 3 look at eachother, thinking Max was going insane.

Suddenly, a gust of strong wind makes them fall on their asses.

"What the fu-" Zach was interrupted.

About 25 feet wide with it's wings outstretched. One of it's legs had a pink ribbon tied into a bow on it.

Talons at the front.

Legs of a lion at the back.

Half a lion.

Half an eagle.

"Everyone," Max said proudly, "Meet my baby."

Then he threw a honeybun into its mouth.

Chapter Text

"Uh-" The words slip out of Max's mouth like its nothing, "Noah, why don't you sit in the front with me..?"

Noah had to look around as if there were other Noahs, then point to himself, silently asking, 'Me?'

Even the other 2 looked around as if that wasn't actually Max.

Hell, even the griffin looked confused.

"Yeah.." Max cleared his throat, "With me.."

Noah nervously glances at Zach, who looks just as confused as he is.

"Uh.." Zach finally spoke up, "How about.. Noah just sits with me.. You know.. In the back. And you can sit with Leah.."

Leah nodded in agreement, "Yeah.. The last thing we need is yelling at Noah again."

Max stiffened.

"Alright.. Uhm.." He looks at the griffin, noticing one thing.

He groans in annoyance.

"MOM!" He shouts at the sky, "What the hell?! Give it back!"

"Give what back..?" Leah asks.

"She's being annoying again.." Max murmured angrily, "GIVE IT BACK!"

The other 3 watched as Max yelled at the sky. If you were a mortal, you'd think he'd gone insane.. But, most demigods do this to talk to their godly parents.. Unless you're a children of the underworld. Then you knock on the ground and start talking to the ground.

"Mom!" Max scoffed, "You're so-"

Max lets out another groan of annoyance.

"What are you pissed about now? How come you're always pissed about something?" He asks the sky again.

"What did I do..?" He thinks outloud, "Is it about me praying to Hera? No- I always do that.. Uh.. Is it about me.. I don't know.. Dude! Just tell me what you're pissed about!"

Suddenly?

A cloud of smoke erupts in front of them. The group coughs immediately. Max seemed to be the only one who didn't drop to the floor wheezing for air.

"Mom." Max says through gritted teeth.

Nemesis wasn't doing the, "I look like the people you want revenge on" thing anymore.. Or maybe that was just for Max since he just didn't like her.

Because Nemesis looks like Max would always picture her.

Dark, long hair that flows in the wind; eyes that had nothing but black in them; ghostly white skin from always being in Tartarus with Nyx; and a flowing black dress that goes down to her ankles.

"You little-" Max jabbed at her chest, "Give it back!"

"Give what back, Maximus?" She snarled, almost sounding like her words were dripping with annoyance.

"Give what back?" Max laughs, but it's humorless, "Look- I don't know what's up your ass today- but give it back. I know you took it."

"Took wha-" Nemesis looks around before her eyes land on Meatball.

She stifled a laugh before she turned back to Max, who seemed to have steam coming out of his ears.

"I didn't take your chariot. Maybe whoever took it took it before I could get some revenge on you."

"You didn't take the chariot?" Max asked.

"Nope."

"Then who the hell did?!"

"Wait- wait- back up." Leah says suddenly, "So.. Someone took your chariot, but you don't know who?"

Max shakes his head, now pacing around.

"Who the hell would-" Max groans in frustration, now kicking a rock.

"I'll make you a deal." Nemesis says suddenly.

"Oh my gods- here it come, guys! I'm gonna become Ethan Nakumara! She's gonna take my eye and then only grant my wish the moment I'm dead!" Max falls dramatically, Zach clutching him and putting him back onto his feet pretty easily.

Nemesis' fists clenched, "Don't you ever talk about your brother like that."

"Why? Because you can't handle the idea that you treated Nico di Angelo better than your own son?"

A whip summoned in Nemesis' hand out of thin air, she snapped it near enough to not hurt them, but near enough to know that she would.

"Listen to me, Maximus!"

Max's eye twitched, Leah having to put a hand on his shoulder and waiting for him to compose himself.

Nemesis took a deep breath as the whip disintegrated in her hand.

"I'll give you a new chariot."

"But?" Max prompted.

"It'll come with a price."

"What price?" Zach asked before Max could.

"That'll be a surprise for the future." Nemesis decided.

Max's eye twitched, but he knew there wasn't much he could do about Nemesis being vague.

She was always vague. it's one of the things he hates about her.

Silence follows the group of 4, Max's fists clenching and unclenching every 5 seconds.

"You're a desperate group of teenagers." Nemesis speaks slowly, "I've seen this more than I can count. Desperation only lasts so long, knowing I'm right here and can give you what you want."

"It's your call, Max." Leah says softly.

A long sigh.

"Fine. Give me the chariot."

Nemesis' lips turned into a smile. It felt like it was mocking Max.

She snaps her fingers.

"Atta boy."

She disappeared, a chariot where she once stood.

~~~

And thats how they got to where they are now.

Nemesis had given them something that looked like a carriage instead.

The chariot was black with golden details on it. And in gold letters?

'KNOW YOUR PLACE'

So yeah, maybe Max kicked it so hard it left a dent in it.

Leah was asleep against Max's shoulder.

Max had these thick headphones on. They were wireless. Otherwise, Leah would've somehow gotten tangled up in them.

And they didn't leak music. That's what Zach was happy about.

Zach was staring outside the window as Noah watched movies on his phone.

Noah looked as if he had never seen anything like Zach's phone.

First, he examined the phone case.

It was just a clear one, one that was already turning yellow, with a Polaroid picture inside. One of Zach and Ryan, sitting at a campfire. The date read, '3/28/25'.

That made the picture around 3 years old..

Then he played with the keyboard for a while.

He spelled his name a couple of times, then just started playing with the letters for no reason at all.

Then Zach proceeded to show him Blockblast.

Noah played for around 30 minutes before Zach decided to show him his downloads on Netflix.

So now Noah is watching 'A whisker Away'.

"You know.." Zach says out of nowhere, "You can just.. Ask for a phone."

"What?" Noah asks.

"Yknow.. Asking Hephaestus..?"

Noah tilts his head in confusion.

"Yknow what- I'll show you when we land. You have candles, right?"

Noah nodded.

~~~

By the time the movie was done, Noah was already lying down on Zach's lap.

Zach had taken back his phone, his hand resting on Noah's shoulder, rubbing it gently.

Noah's eyes slowly closed as Zach continued.

"Hey, Zach..?" He asks with a yawn.

"Hm?"

"Why are you friends with me?"

Silence.

If Noah wasn't lying, he's been avoiding that question ever since Max had yelled at him in the Hestia cabin. Was he really worthy of being Zach's friend..? Why would Zach actually like him?

It didn't make sense.

Zach's hand froze on his shoulder.

"I don't know." Zach murmured after some time, "I don't.. Usually like people. Honestly, I don't like making friends since I'm always too scared I'll get myself hurt."

Zach paused before he continued.

"Then.. I met you.." Zach kept going, but his voice cracked, "I thought you seemed annoying at first.. But then I saw how much you cared for the animals you feed.. And I just.. I just knew I had to be your friend."

Noah proceeded to turn his head to look up at Zach.

"Thank you."

Zach just smiles.

Noah turns his head again.

Regardless of what Zach said, it still felt like he became his friend out of obligation. Because of the prophecy.

Would Zach really still care if Noah weren't part of this quest?

Noah was practically invisible just a week ago.

Noah closes his eyes.

And suddenly?

He's lying down on Hypnos' lap instead of Zach's.

☆☆☆

Noah sat up, the black carpet familiar.

A library.

Noah remembers this library.

It was the library he would always go to when he was homeless. The librarian recognized him over time and gave him small snacks.

The walls were tall, and so were the shelves. The library looked like every fantasy one.

Book shelves separated into 4 sections on each side, the bookshelves as tall as the building to the point there was a ladder in every section; there were tables in the middle of the library, high-school or college students were usually found there; and infront of the library were the checkout counter.

But.. The library was empty. It lacked the usual sound of computers typing; the sound of the scanner when someone checked a book out..

Instead, the library was empty.

"Hello?" Noah calls out.

"Hello, Noah."

Noah jumped.

"Don't be afraid." The voice said gently, "I just.. Wanna talk to you."

Noah turned around slowly.

A really tall guy. Or maybe he was just tall because Noah was on the ground.

He had pale skin like he had a vitamin D deficiency; black, shaggy hair that kind of reminds him of Max's, but his hair was tied back into the smallest ponytail; he had these black cargo sweatpants on; and a black hoodie with bleach stains.

A sword was on his back. That sword might've been the most gorgeous sword he had ever seen.

A black blade with a purple glow in the middle. At the bottom of the blade, it had intricate designs that represented the night; such as stars and the moon.

But his eyes were the most interesting.

They were grey, yes, but they had stars in them.

Literally.

His pupils were shaped as stars.

Noah stood up.

And decided he had to have a better look.

The guy instinctively backed away as Noah tried to get closer.

"You're like.." Noah said, "Really cool."

The stranger raised a brow before he chuckled lightly. "So this is the kicked puppy?"

"What?"

"You know- thats what people call you. Defensive at first, but you don't actually bite."

"I am not!" Noah yelled, despite him never raising his voice in a library once in his life, "You can go fuck-"

The newcomer proceeded to laugh.

Then pat his head.

Like a dog.

"You little-!"

The stranger puts up both of his hands in defeat before the words come out of his mouth.

"My name is Alex."

Noah proceeded to back away. "Like.. Child of the night, Alex..?"

"Yes." Alex steps closer, "I know what the others truly think about you."

"No- no, you don't." Noah says quickly, "You work with Kyrios and-"

"Johnathon Bernard." He says suddenly.

Noah froze.

He hasn't heard that name in years. He was hoping he'd never have to hear that name ever again. Why does he know his name? Even bigger question: How does he know that name?

"Then Lydia." Alex's voice was calm as if he wasn't just naming dead people Noah had once known, "Cassie aswell."

"How-"

"Dont worry about it." Alex interrupted, "Point is: I just wanna talk to you."

"How are you even talking to me?!" Noah shouted, "You just-!"

"Dream travel." Alex cuts him off once again, "Bunch of Hypnos kids in Kyrios' army. We pick things up."

"You think I'll trust someone part of Kyrios' army?!" Noah says defensively, "No way in Tartarus! Wake me up!"

"Not yet."

"Why not-"

"Your favorite color is purple. Everyone tends to think it's green because you usually put up green Hecate banner on the first day of summer. You listen despite the fact you wanna talk no matter what. You really like frogs- Specifically desert rain frogs- because you think they look funny."

Noah stays silent. How did he know that? Not even Lydia knew that much about him before she died. So how did Alex, someone he just met 10 minutes ago, know this..?

"I know you're desperate for a friend." Alex says suddenly, snapping Noah out of his thoughts.

"Yeah.." Noah murmured, "I wanna believe Zach wants to be my friend.. But it just feels like he just wants to be out of obligation.. Because.. Yknow.. The prophecy."

Alex's lips turned into a line before he spoke again. Slowly this time.

"I get it." He says softly, "Really, I do."

Noah sits on one of the chairs.

So does Alex.

"I can be your friend." Alex says after a moment of silence.

"You'd do that for me?"

Alex laughs.

"It'll be our secret, alright?"