Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Montauk?” Percy asked as he entered the room that Poseidon was in. 

“Not the real place but, yes, pretty much.” Poseidon smiled at both Percy and Sally as they entered the room. 

Poseidon had chosen to open it up to the cabin that Percy and Sally would always stay in at Montauk. Through the window, the waves could be seen crashing on the shore peacefully. 

“Any reason?” Sally asked with a serene smile.

Poseidon shrugged. “This place is something important for you both,” Poseidon smiled slyly. “It is also where we first met and spent the summer together.” They smiled at each other.

Percy made a face. “Hey. Not while I’m here in the room with you guys.”

Poseidon and Sally looked at each other and laughed, leaving a grumbling Percy in between them. 

The family calmed down and sat on the beds. Percy and Sally took up one bed while Poseidon sat on the other, all facing each other.

Percy pulled his feet up and sat cross-legged on the bed beside his mom. He looked at both of his parents. 

A god, demigod, and mortal just sitting together inside a cabin by the beach. What a funny sight to see. 

Poseidon sighed. “Before you ask or say anything, Percy, I would like to talk about my words in the throne room if that is okay.”

“I know that you didn’t mean–ow.” Percy got cut off by a nudge from his mother. He looked at her quizzically. 

“Let your father explain,” Sally told Percy before turning to look at Poseidon with her arms crossed. “I want to hear it, too. Those were no words a father should have said in front of their child.” She finished sternly, raising an eyebrow at Poseidon.

Percy listened to his mom and turned to look at Poseidon expectantly. He felt like a little kid now that he was in a conversation with both his parents. This was a new experience for him. 

A smile briefly crossed Poseidon’s face at the display before it quickly turned serious again. “I would like to apologize. I do not care if you say that you do not need one. I do not want to hide behind excuses. Let me do this.” Poseidon raised his hand to stop Percy from cutting him off. 

Percy shut his mouth, his cheeks coloring pink. Poseidon took this as his cue to continue. “First of all, you were never a wrongdoing, nor were you a mistake. Sure, there was an oath that I broke but I never regretted it once. I love your mother, and I love you, Perseus.”

Percy gaped at Poseidon, speechless. Sally’s stern expression melted off her face as she smiled. 

Poseidon allowed his pride and love to show on his face. “Your birth was a gift for both me and your mother. You are the greatest blessing we could ever have in our lives.”

Sally nodded, taking one of Percy’s hands in hers. 

“I—” Percy swallowed, his eyes round and wide like a puppy’s, melting both Sally’s and Poseidon’s hearts. 

Poseidon leaned forward and reached out to place his hand on Percy’s knee. “I did tell you only yesterday that I wanted to prove to you how much I care, no matter how much you say you understand.”

Percy searched his dad’s face. Everything he saw was genuine. Percy’s lips twitched into a small smile. “Thank you.” He whispered, accepting everything his father just told him. 

Poseidon gently clapped him on the shoulder and sat back up properly in his place. Sally also nodded at Poseidon in thanks. The god shook his head. Don’t thank me just yet. He was still resolving to be better. 

Poseidon grinned at Sally. “I am not as good with words as you are, Sally. Thank goodness our child took after you in that regard.”

Sally laughed as Percy blushed. “I guess so.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the tender mood hard to interrupt. Eventually, Percy exhaled loudly, having found the courage to ask what had been bothering him ever since it was revealed. 

“Umm…speaking of blessing,” Percy wrung his hands together nervously. “Did you really…?”

Poseidon studied him for a moment before nodding. “I did.”

“But why?” Percy couldn’t help but ask. 

“It sounds weird but I did it to keep you safe.” Poseidon shot back. “What I told my brother was the truth. You are special. Much like your mother, I believe you will achieve great things and become a great hero. The best, even.”

“I still don’t understand.” Percy shook his head. “I was a baby. And what the heck do you mean to keep me safe? Didn’t you just put me in more danger?”

“I will get to that in a bit."

Sally looked at Poseidon. “I didn’t even know you visited back then. Much less know you blessed him.”

“I couldn’t stay long,” Poseidon confessed. “It would have put the both of you in danger. I couldn’t give you my regards.”

Sally nodded in understanding. She was still trying to grasp the fact that Poseidon visited Percy when she believed that he never saw Percy until after he found out he was a demigod.

“Seems as I have deemed you both speechless,” Poseidon chuckled. “Not an easy feat seeing as you always have something to say, child.”

Percy blinked. “So what does that mean for me? It’s obviously not the same as, say, the Ares one where they become temporarily invincible or something.”

Sally’s eyebrows rose. She didn’t even know that was a thing. 

“Yes, this is not a temporary one, though I can give those too,” Poseidon confirmed. “And as for what it means for you, well, I know someone that can explain it better.”

“What?”

Poseidon’s eyes zeroed in on Percy’s SPQR tattoo and sighed. “I guess it’s about time you knew. Both of you.”

“Poseidon?” Sally asked. “What do you mean?”

Poseidon’s form shimmered. His beard grew a bit longer and his hair styled neater. The color of his eyes leaned closer to blue than green and turned less playful, more stern. The way he carried himself in general was much less laid-back than Poseidon usually did. He looked much more disciplined. 

Percy’s jaw dropped. He scrambled to sit properly, almost falling over in the process. “Neptune.”

“Neptune?” Sally gaped. 

“Hello, Perseus.” Neptune gave Percy a respectful nod. “Sally.”

All Percy could do now was stare incredulously at the Roman version of his father. “I- wha- huh?” His tattoo suddenly seemed to burn on his arm. 

“I guess I will just say it then, yes? To spare you from any more confusion.” Neptune’s lips quirked up in a smile. “In an agreement between Poseidon and I, it was I that bestowed the blessing upon you.”

“You?” Percy felt like he forgot how words even worked at this point. 

“Don’t get me wrong, child, for you are still very much Greek.” Neptune clarified. “It is just that you have something Roman in you as well. Not just any Greek can bear the mark of a Roman.”

Percy blinked and looked down at the Roman brand on his forearm. 

Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t everyday a random Greek newbie entered Camp Jupiter. The Romans weren’t exactly known for their acceptance. 

“Now, as for the blessing…” Neptune continued. “Let us start with this. Your cousins each have an aspect of their fathers, as they are either Greek or Roman. Young Jason is much more affiliated with the winds than Young Thalia who leans to lightning and electricity. Young Nico has Hades’ aspect of darkness and shadows while Young Hazel has Pluto’s aspect of riches. That doesn’t mean that they can’t control the other, they are just more comfortable and better at using their own aspect.”

“What are you saying?” Percy practically demanded. 

“You were born with both somehow. You are the union of Poseidon and I. Remind me again, Perseus, what am I most well-known for among the Romans?” Neptune asked. 

“Freshwater.” Percy’s eyes widened. “But Poseidon said—”

“And he is still right. We are still both water gods but I am more affiliated with freshwater while Poseidon, the sea. Not to mention our earthshaking aspect as well.” Neptune explained. “You don’t only manifest one aspect of your father, but all.”

Sally tucked stray strands of Percy’s hair behind his ear. “You okay, honey?”

“Hmm?” Percy was just staring at Neptune. “Oh, I mean, yeah. I just, uh, I’m just processing it.”

“The blessing is there to help your body handle the power that you already have. We knew, since the moment you were born, that you were special, Perseus.” Neptune clarified. “I know that when a blessing is involved, it is automatically related to plain power but, well, you didn’t need that.” Neptune chuckled. “The Latin was a bonus.”

Percy just stared at him. Power. There goes that word again. 

“Your potential is exponential. It is up to you. We believe you have that strength and spirit. You are the reason why you can do what you do. Similar reason as to why Mars doesn’t just give his blessings out to anyone. They need to be strong and knowledgeable enough to use it, lest they perish on the battlefield, no matter if they are invincible.”

Percy rubbed his eyes tiredly. When he looked back up, Neptune was gone. 

Poseidon looked at Percy. “You are a true son of the sea god, Percy. And the son of the one and only Sally Jackson, of course.”

Sally shook her head fondly. Percy was able to smile at that. 

“Percy,” Poseidon called out. “I’ve also been meaning to ask, how would you like it if while we are here, I help you explore and train your powers?”

Percy looked at him surprised. Poseidon just shrugged. “It’s like you said, you had no one to teach you. I am willing to do just that.”

Percy looked at Sally then back at Poseidon. “I-I’d like that.” And he really did. He still worried immensely about his control over his powers. This could really help. 

None of them mentioned Percy’s little display of power a while ago with the bathroom and the small flood. 

Poseidon breathed a sigh of relief. Until now, he didn’t know if Percy would’ve wanted that. Now he had confirmation. “We can even explore what you can do, since even I do not know the extent of your power and potential. Who knows, maybe you can control different forms of water even.”

“Yeah.” Percy shifted uncomfortably. “But yeah, I would really appreciate that. You helping me, I mean.”

Sally smiled as she looked at both of them. They basked in the comfort of silence for a few moments longer before Sally clapped her hands together. “Well, this has been nice but we shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer. Both of you can bond more during your training sessions.”

Poseidon laughed. “Right.”

The three of them got up, adjusting their clothes. Percy watched both of his parents dust themselves off and smiled a genuine smile. It was nice seeing his parents together. Maybe next time he could drag Paul and Annabeth along. Now that’s a complete family. 

Percy stretched, an idea suddenly forming in his head. He tapped his dad on the shoulder. “How does Neptune feel about messing with Jason?”

When he turned back to face Percy, it was Neptune. He raised an eyebrow, an amused glint in his eyes. “Anything to get back at them for giving me a tool shed as a temple.”

Percy looked surprised, expecting things like this from Poseidon, not Neptune. The demigod shook his head and smiled. “Great. You don’t even have to do all that much, just walk back in as, well, you.”

Neptune chuckled. “Come, Perseus. We don’t want to keep the Romans waiting.”

The theater was pretty peaceful while waiting for Percy and his parents to come back. Everyone was mostly just excited to watch the next one, seeing as it was the last episode for this first layer of the box. Something was bound to happen. 

The room was filled with chatter as everyone was caught up in their own conversations. Leo had somehow ended up in the other room, in the forge with Hephaestus. They weren’t exactly talking to each other, but the air between them was comfortable as they tinkered and created random things. 

Sally entered the room first. Everyone turned to look at her with questioning expressions. Sally just smiled. “Get ready. We’ll start the next one as soon as those two come back.”

“Nice!” Thalia shot up from her place on the floor, startling Nico in the process. 

“Why are you so excited?” Annabeth asked amusedly. “I would think you wouldn’t care. It’s about Percy after all. You two could care less about each other’s life story.”

“You wound me, Annabeth.” Thalia placed a hand on her heart. “Percy’s my bestest friend! I love watching his every single move.” She said sarcastically. 

Annabeth just raised an eyebrow at her. 

Thalia huffed. “Okay fine, I just want concrete information about what happened to that sorry excuse of a mortal called Ugliano.”

“Hear, hear,” Leo said, walking back inside the theater and wiping his hands on his shirt with Hephaestus trailing him. 

Finally, Percy walked in with his father close behind him. 

“There you a—” Jason started to say, turning around to face Percy. He froze when he saw who was walking behind him and almost had a heart attack. “Lord Neptune!”

Hazel and Frank also froze. The three Romans scrambled to get up and bow at the now amused god. 

Percy snorted as he walked by his friends, patting Jason on the shoulder and activating the last number. 

The other gods just grumbled and looked away, especially Athena, and focused on staying Greek. What Neptune was doing here, they had no idea. 

“At ease, Romans,” Neptune said smoothly and unfazed. “Do not fret for I will not smite you.” 

The three nodded and stood up straight, still nervous in front of the god that Romans generally feared. 

Jason’s heart was still beating hard against his chest. As the son of Jupiter, Neptune wasn’t exactly his favorite god. 

Before Neptune made his way back to his seat, he addressed the Romans one last time over his shoulder. “Though, I would at least like it if someone cleaned that poor excuse for a temple you have back at your camp, hmm?”

As Neptune went to sit down, he changed back into Poseidon. Percy snickered at the looks in the Roman’s faces. “Close your mouth, Grace. You’ll catch flies.”

The Romans reluctantly sat back down in their seats. Jason was still slightly in shock. Thalia snorted at her brother’s expression. “Am I missing something here? It’s just Uncle isn’t it?”

Poseidon grinned, his laid-back personality returned as his Greek self. “To you and the Greeks, maybe, dear niece. Neptune to the Romans on the other hand…”

“Yeah, he’s not exactly the most popular god.” Percy answered for the stunned Romans. “They fear him more than anything.”

Jason was now burning red. “Uh…why exactly did Lord Neptune suddenly appear?”

Percy raised his arm up, tattoo on full display. “Appeared after seeing this.” He said casually, using the excuse he and Neptune came up with. 

If Zeus found out it was actually Neptune that blessed him, he’d probably get zapped to bits. 

Percy smirked at Jason. “And I just wanted to mess with you. Sorry, Hazel, Frank.”

Jason scowled at him. Percy just laughed. “Payback for carrying me a while ago.”

Annabeth took back her place beside Percy. Instead of Sally going back to her seat in between Paul and Poseidon, she was asked by Annabeth to stay. She was about to ask why when Annabeth also called Will over. 

That was the clear sign that something was going to happen to Percy, even in this last episode. 

Everyone else noticed this, too. They settled down in their seats, preparing themselves. 

“What else can even happen? The quest is done isn’t it?” Frank asked, having finally calmed down from seeing Neptune for the first time ever in person. 

“All the more reason to expect something to happen,” Percy said. “Let’s get this over with.”

We were the first…as if we’d won some reality-TV contest. 

“First to return alive since Luke?” Hazel repeated, slightly shocked. 

“When you didn’t come back with Grover and Annabeth, we automatically thought of the worst.” Connor said. “When we found out you were fine and the quest was a success, well, of course we’d celebrate.”

“It was like whatever bad luck that came with Luke after his failed quest was gone.” Travis nodded. “You brought so much hope back.”

According to camp tradition…made for us in our absence. 

“So,” Paul said. “The shrouds…it’s like preparation for if…”

“If we don’t make it back from a quest or mission,” Annabeth supplied. “I know it sounds horrible but…I guess that’s just how things go.”

Paul nodded, exchanging a sad glance with Sally. 

First, the scene showed Annabeth’s shroud. Gray silk with embroidered owls. Percy told her it was a shame not to bury her in it seeing how pretty it was. Annabeth just told him to shut up with a punch to the arm. 

“My first shroud,” Annabeth leaned her head on Percy’s shoulder, memories coming back to her. “Isn’t that crazy?”

“Wait so, who made yours then, Perce?” Piper asked. “You don’t have any cabinmates.”

Percy sighed. “You’ll see.”

Being the son of Poseidon…volunteered to make my shroud. 

Percy’s shroud was shown next. It was just an old bedsheet that was painted with smiley faces that had X’s for eyes. A huge LOSER was painted in the middle. 

“Ah,” Piper scrunched her nose. 

Sally frowned slightly. “That’s not very nice.”

“It’s fine, mom,” Percy took her hand. “We were all just kids being kids. Besides, it was all the more fun to burn.”

Clarisse just sighed. Yeah, back when she was young and extremely petty. Now, she and Jackson had reached some kind of weird understanding disguised behind harmless jabs at each other. It was pretty fun, actually. Not that anyone else would understand. 

Percy met her eyes and snorted, grinning a little bit, his thought process similar to Clarisse’s. 

“Okay, but still,” Katie rubbed her face and sighed. “We should’ve treated you better in general. Especially your first summer there.”

“Hey,” Percy smiled at her. “We’re all fine now, aren’t we? Past is in the past and all that jazz.” Percy waved his hand dismissively, truly not minding. 

They burned the shrouds. 

It was fun to burn. 

“See? It’s all just a fun memory now.”

The camp continued on to the sing-along, led by the Apollo cabin. 

Apollo smiled brightly at the sight of his children having fun in the sing-along. 

Percy was surrounded by campers and satyrs alike. The satyrs were also admiring Grover’s newly received searchers license. 

The council had called Grover’s performance…seen in the past. 

The teens clapped and cheered for Grover. 

“Deserved!” Rachel called, cupping her hands around her mouth. 

Grover blushed and smiled at everyone gratefully. 

Hermes turned to face Grover curiously. So he did get a searcher’s license. And he was here. Alive. 

The Ares cabin off to the side could be seen sending Percy dirty looks. 

The only ones not in a party mood…disgracing their dad. 

“Honestly,” Percy huffed. “How’d you even find out about the fight?”

“Hermes cabin eavesdropped on Annabeth and Grover’s report back to Chiron,” Pollux said like it was obvious. “And you know how fast word travels.”

“I should’ve known.”

“We also got word from the satyrs that you saw on site,” Travis informed. 

“Oh, right,” Percy realized. 

‘Yes, yes…no canoe races this Saturday…’ Dionysus said his welcome-home speech. 

Poseidon shook his head exasperatedly. Typical of Dionysus. 

It got late and Percy retreated into his cabin. 

I moved back…had my friends to train with during the day. 

“I’m glad you no longer feel lonely there,” Sally told Percy earnestly, she herself relieved by the fact. 

Percy nodded. “Honestly, having a cabin to myself is now something I treasure after all the chaos of everything else.”

“Ugh, yeah,” Will crossed his arms. “Lucky for you then. Having siblings in the cabin with you shatters any hope for peace and alone time away from the chaos.” He says this as the counselor of one of the biggest cabins. 

At night…And so far, he was proud of what I’d done. 

“I am,” Poseidon said, taking every opportunity he could to remind Percy of that fact. 

Percy lay in bed, lost in thought. He reached over and grabbed a piece of paper from his nightstand and stared at it, deep in thought. It was a letter from Sally. 

As for my mother…art gallery in Soho. 

“Yes!” Thalia practically jumped out of her seat, pumping the air with her fists. 

Everyone else burst out into cheers and claps, all directed at Sally. 

“You are so amazing and brave, Sally.”

“Good riddance!”

“I am so happy.”

Clarisse looked at Sally with newfound respect in her expression. “Wow.” She said. 

Artemis looked at the mother, approval shining in her eyes. “You are very brave, Sally.”

Sally looked at the goddess in surprise before smiling and bowing her head. “Thank you, Lady Artemis.” She then looked to her side to see Percy smiling widely and proudly at her. She chuckled, rubbing his head. “And thank you, Percy.”

“You do not seem so surprised, Mr. Blofis.” Poseidon regarded Paul curiously. “You knew about it then?”

Paul looked at the god before smiling as he turned to look at Sally. “I did.”

Poseidon observed him for another few moments before nodding. If this man knew about all of this and still married Sally, then he knew that Sally and Percy were safe with him. They seemed happy as well. That is all he wished for them. 

She’d gotten so much money for it…turn to writing.

More cheers, knowing that Sally was finally able to pursue writing. 

Hades hummed as he thought of something. “If you would like, I can make sure he gets what he deserves down in the Underworld. His case is definitely something that can garner my personal attention.”

“If that’s what you’d like,” Sally shrugged. “But Percy and I have moved on. Whatever happens to him after death is no longer my business, and I don't really want anything to do with it, Lord Hades.”

Hades nodded at Sally approvingly. A good soul. 

“She may want nothing to do with it but I do,” Thalia told Hades with an evil glint in her eye. “Just a little visit maybe…” She said as she played with the string of her bow. 

Hades raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t completely turn her away. 

Thalia huffed. Nico leaned over to her and whispered, “I’ll come with you.” 

Thalia’s grin came back. She and Nico shook hands. “Deal.”

At the bottom of the letter was a postscript. The P.S. said: Percy…year-round at Half-Blood Hill, I’ll understand. 

“Why can’t I tell what choice you made?” Piper tilted her head, deep in thought. “Mustn’t have been easy.”

“No, yeah,” Percy nodded. “It took me forever to finally come up with a decision. Take a guess if you want but I think it’s obvious.”

“Obvious for you. I haven’t known you for that long yet, Perce.”

“Eh.”

Percy carefully folded the note and kept it on his nightstand. The projection fast-forwarded, showing that Percy would read the note every night deciding on what to do. 

“So that’s why I never got a response, then?” Sally teased Percy. 

Percy just gave her a sheepish smile. “Perhaps.”

The Fourth of July came and the scene showed the whole camp gathered and getting ready for the fireworks display, courtesy of cabin 9. 

Being Hephastus’ kids, they weren’t going to settle…red-white-and-blue explosions. 

The Hephaestus kids were shown preparing their missile-sized rockets. 

Hephaestus let out a small smile at the sight of his children.

Leo perked up at the scene. 

Annabeth explained the fireworks show to Percy. ‘The blasts…million colors.’

“That sounds amazing,” Hazel breathed. 

Leo’s eyes sparkled. “I can’t wait to be able to be a part of that.”

Annabeth smiled at Leo. That’s right. Leo and the others haven’t experienced the Fourth of July fireworks yet. “Oh, you’ll love it. And I’m sure you’ll get ideas once you see the fireworks too.”

Leo grinned, directing his attention back to the screen to watch the fireworks. 

Annabeth and Percy were getting ready for the show, spreading a picnic blanket together. 

Clarisse raised an eyebrow at the couple. “You went to his first fireworks. Together.”

Annabeth scowled at her but a blush dusted her cheeks. She wondered if anyone knew that her crush on Percy began for her at twelve too. 

Percy rolled his eyes. “We were twelve, Clarisse. Besides, who else was I supposed to watch it with?” Percy looked at Annabeth and winked, making her blush an even deeper red. 

“Am I missing something here?” Piper asked curiously. 

Katie snorted. “The fireworks are known as the ‘main dating event’ of the camp. Asking someone to watch the fireworks with you is basically the equivalent of asking someone out.”

“Oh.” Piper’s brightened. “Oh!”

While the two were setting up, Grover came up to them to say goodbye. ‘I’m off…you know.’

“C’mere, Grover.” Annabeth reached an arm out for a hug. Grover complied. Percy also reached over from where he sat in between Annabeth and Sally, squeezing the satyr’s shoulder. 

Sally smiled fondly at the trio. 

I tried to feel happy…my oldest friend. 

“Aww, Percy!” Grover grinned at a shy Percy and practically climbed over Annabeth to hug Percy. It was done in a very joking and exaggerated manner, but the intention was genuine. 

Annabeth laughed along with everyone else and moved to give Grover space as he crushed a complaining Percy. 

Percy jokingly complained but he held Grover tightly nonetheless. 

Annabeth hugged Grover and fussed over him. Percy asked him where he was off to first. Grover smiled at him sadly. ‘Kind of a secret…humans and Pan…’

Rachel sighed and looked down. She was fortunate enough to see the god, as a full mortal at that, before he faded. 

‘We understand…cans for the trip?’ Annabeth said. She kept asking Grover questions, making sure he was prepared. ‘Jeez, Annabeth…mama goat.’ Grover grumbled but he wasn’t truly annoyed. 

“Now I have two mama goats,” Grover grumbled, giving both Annabeth and Thalia a pointed look. 

Thalia grinned at him unapologetically. 

‘Well, wish me luck.’ Grover said as he adjusted his backpack. He gave Annabeth one last hug and clapped Percy on the back before turning to leave. 

At the same time, fireworks went off across the sky depicting scenes like Heracles and the lion, Artemis hunting a boar, and even George Washington.

Those that have never seen the fireworks before, looked up at the display with childlike wonder. 

Paul gaped. “That’s really pretty but also, is that George Washington I just saw?”

Annabeth snorted in amusement. “My half-brother.”

“Oh.” Paul blinked in surprise. “Wow.”

Before Grover really left, Percy called out to him. ‘Hey Grover…hope they make good enchiladas.’ Percy told him. Grover, at the edge of the woods, smiled before turning back around and disappearing into the woods. Annabeth laid a hand on Percy’s shoulder. ‘We’ll see him again.’ She said. 

I tried to believe it…Grover would be the first. He had to be.

“Well, that made me slightly emotional,” Piper rubbed at her eye. The three’s friendship was just so pure.

“And you were the first,” Thalia grinned proudly. “Not a spoiler since we can all see that you’re here.”

“All thanks to you guys,” Grover whispered to Percy and Annabeth before pulling away from Percy and settling down on the floor in front of them on his stomach. He also snuck a glance at Clarisse. She helped too.

Hermes watched the satyr curiously. So he got the searcher’s license and went on his search. He’s here and alive right now, meaning he either came back alive but didn’t find anything about his son, or he succeeded in the search for Pan. It was hard not to have his hopes up but he was also scared of the heartbreak if it turned out otherwise.

The projection fast-forwarded again. It showed a montage of bits and pieces of Percy’s days as the summer passed, including Percy’s first victory at the lava wall.

“Such a small yet important victory for every camper,” Chiron smiled. 

“Uh-huh, I would think so,” Paul swallowed as he stared at the climbing wall again.

“Once you get through it the first time, it’s not as hard anymore after.” Percy grinned. “The climbing wall is one of my best camp activities.”

“It’s still hard,” Will made a face at him. “Some of you are just too good.” He said, directing his statement at people like Percy and Clarisse. “Or satyrs.” He added, looking at Grover.

Grover shrugged, laughing.

“I remember falling off once,” Annabeth said wistfully. 

Paul didn’t know how to react to that statement. 

“Just out of curiosity,” Sally said. “How did you even think of putting lava on a climbing wall?”

All the demigods shrugged and looked at Chiron. Chiron smiled, albeit a bit sheepishly. “It was actually, ah, an accident.”

“What?” Paul gaped. 

“An eidolon got into camp and threw Greek fire at the ‘normal’ climbing wall. The wall was dripping in flames for hours and, well, I got inspired.” Chiron said. “Lava is safer than Greek fire though so that is what we used.”

The Seven just showed negative reactions when Chiron mentioned the eidolons, not really minding the rest of the story as much. “Hate those things,” Leo muttered bitterly. 

The mortals, on the other hand, were slightly horrified. 

“But why would eido- whatevers be in camp? I thought you had protective barriers.” Rachel said.

“Eidolons,” Annabeth corrected. “They possess people.”

“Oh, the magical borders only existed with my tree, remember?” Thalia answered. 

Chiron nodded. “Our border guard was a metal dragon before the barriers.” He glanced at Leo as he said that. 

Leo’s eyes brightened. Festus. Oh right. Festus was the border patrol before. 

“Honestly, thanks for the protection Thalia,” Will said. They all knew full well that it was because of Zeus’ intervention that they had the barrier but they weren’t going to thank him now, were they?

Thalia smirked knowingly. “No problem.”

The next scenes showed Percy every time he passed the Big House, glancing up at the attic window with a frown on his face. 

I tried to convince myself…to completion.

The smiles on everyone’s faces slowly faded. Apollo furrowed his eyebrows.

“But,” Frank said, confused. “The quest is done. It should be completed already, shouldn’t it?”

Apollo tilted his head with a frown on his face. “If you doubt the prophecy’s completion then it probably hasn’t been fulfilled. There’s always a feeling of surety when a prophecy is completed.” He looked at Percy. “And from what I’ve seen, your instincts are very accurate.”

The other members of the Seven exchanged nervous looks. That didn’t sound good.

Percy sighed. Annabeth rested a hand on his arm where he had been subconsciously rubbing his palm. He didn’t even notice he was doing that.

You shall go west…So why was I still uneasy?

They pondered on each line along with Percy.

“It’s the betrayed by a friend line, isn’t it?” Jason said, remembering the conclusion that he, Piper, and Leo had collectively come up with in a former episode. He almost forgot about that with everything that has happened so far. It was Luke, right?

“I have the same thoughts,” Athena nodded. She was sure that this would be the moment she’d find out if her guess was right. She quickly glanced at Hermes.

“As if I was ever your friend,” Ares scowled, crossing his arms. Of course, he’d care more about that than a possible traitor still roaming free.

The last night of the summer session came all too quickly…end-of-summer beads.

Piper grabbed both Jason’s and Leo’s hands. “I hope we get to experience that soon.”

Jason squeezed her hand, sharing a determined look with Leo. “We’ll make it back. Get you guys your first bead.”

“Excuse you, Mr. Roman,” Leo raised an eyebrow at Jason. “We’ll get you one too.”

The trio smiled at each other. Gods, why couldn’t Gaea just disappear?

Percy received his own necklace, a bead already on it. Even under the firelight, Percy’s blush could be seen. The projection zoomed into the bead. A pitch-black bead with a shining green trident in the center.

The Greek demigods fingered that specific bead. Thalia grinned at Percy. “Nice. Both of us are now in the ‘have-beads-dedicated-to-you’ squad!” She pointed at the pine-tree bead on Annabeth’s necklace. 

Percy laughed, even if he was as red as he was on-screen. “Yup.”

‘The choice was unanimous…to stop a war!’ Luke announced. The whole camp gave a standing ovation, cheering loudly. The Athena cabin led Annabeth to stand beside Percy so that they could cheer for her as well.

The teens joined in on the cheering, even if it was Luke who was announcing it on-screen. Nothing could stop them from showing their friends some enthusiastic support. 

Both Poseidon and Athena were smiling proudly at the scene. Athena was really impressed by her daughter. During the start of all of this, she had been vehemently against Annabeth going on this quest so young. Looks like she didn’t have to worry too much.

She would still worry about Annabeth, she was her daughter after all, but she guessed she wouldn’t stop Annabeth from doing what she believed she had to do. That wouldn’t stop her from chiding her about it though.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Luke mentioned the quest going to the darkest part of the Underworld. She might be overthinking it but the darkest part of the Underworld was literally the Pit, not Hades’ Palace. Did Luke intend that?

I’m not sure I’d ever felt so happy or sad as I did…most of them would be leaving for the year.

Those that have stayed year-round at camp nodded. “The off-season is always so much quieter than during the summer.” Annabeth reminisced.

Clarisse snorted. Yeah. Especially after Prissy’s first summer seeing as every time he stepped foot into camp, it was automatically utter chaos.

Fast-forward again to the next morning, where Percy found a letter on his bedside table from Mr. D. 

Dear Peter Johnson…Camp Director, Olympian Council #12

“That’s…reassuring.” Hazel laughed nervously, talking to Frank. They were both still only learning the ways at Camp Half-Blood.

That’s another thing about ADHD…until I’m staring one in the face.

A lot of the demigods made noises in agreement. They could relate.

“But that means you still haven’t decided.” Piper looked at Percy curiously.

Percy shrugged. “It was a hard decision but it was also really important. I really couldn’t help but push it until the last second.”

Summer was over, and…few hours to decide.

“Seeing as you are not harpy food, I am assuming you come to a decision soon,” Dionysus raised a strict eyebrow at the demigod.

Percy snorted. “Yessir.” He said jokingly. Dionysus just grunted back in response.

The decision should have been easy…or nine months of sitting in a classroom- duh.

“Duh!”

“There is an obvious answer in that statement.”

“Because of that, I’m now inclined to think that you chose the opposite.”

But there was my mom to consider…didn’t kill me.

“Your points for both sides are so solid that at that point, I’d have flipped a coin.” Leo told Percy. 

“Honestly? I was tempted.” Percy replied. 

I decided I’d go down to the arena…clear my head.

“Always a good choice.”

“Not if you suck at sword-fighting.”

“I meant training. Not just sword-fighting.”

“I knew that.”

As Percy walked towards the arena, the other campers were getting ready for final inspection before leaving. Argus was even helping some of the Aphrodite kids with their luggage. Percy watched them as he passed by. 

Don’t think about leaving yet. Just train. 

“You really procrastinated the hell out of this, huh?”

“Yep.”

Percy arrived at the arena to see that he wasn’t alone. Luke was hacking at the dummies with his sword, bag on the floor off to the side. 

Hermes perked up at the sight of his son, still not having noticed anything out of the ordinary. The Stolls on either side of him shared a sad look and began to brace themselves for what was sure to be a devastating reaction from their father. 

Among the cabin members that were present during all of this, they all knew that Luke was their father’s favorite. 

With his blade, he practically destroyed the dummies, drenched in sweat. His face was one of pure intensity as if he were really in danger and fighting something or someone. 

“Geez,” Leo muttered. “What’d the dummies do to you?”

“Says the guy who burns them to ashes,” Piper whispered back, amused. 

“Hehe,” Leo blushed. “Right.”

They were only…awed by Luke’s skill…wonder again how he possibly could’ve failed at his quest. 

The demigods were slowly growing quiet. They, too, remembered Luke’s skill with a sword, which was why even though they’ve never exactly seen one, the showdowns between Luke and Percy were sure to be intense. 

Percy sighed. In the short time that Luke had pretended to be his friend, he looked up to the older. That quickly changed but it still hurt immensely. 

Eventually, Luke saw Percy. ‘Percy.’ He stopped mid-swing. Percy stood there, slightly embarrassed. ‘Um, sorry. I just-’

“It’s not like you stopped him or anything, Perce.”

‘It’s okay…last-minute practice.’ Luke said as he lowered his sword. 

Frank furrowed his eyebrows. “Isn’t he a year-rounder? Or did I get that wrong?”

He didn’t receive an answer. 

‘Those dummies…anymore.’ Percy said. Luke shrugged. ‘We build…every summer.’

“You must make a lot then,” Paul said. “I’m sure those dummies don’t ever last too long.”

“It’s easy,” Connor shrugged. “Don’t really need the Hephaestus kids to make a pile of straw stand. They still volunteer to make them though, except they actually allow others to help with this one.”

“Well, yeah, because messing one up won’t jeopardize anything unlike messing with their personal projects,” Pollux said. 

Percy could now take a good look at Luke’s sword. He narrowed his eyes at it. 

The blade was…the other, steel. 

The gods’ eyes widened. 

“That should not be,” Zeus said angrily. “Hermes, why would your son have such a weapon?”

“I- I don’t know. I’m sure he has some kind of explanation…” Hermes said nervously. 

Athena could not help but feel some pity for the god. Maybe even some slight worry. 

‘Oh, this?…Backbiter.’ Luke said, noticing that Percy had been staring at it. Percy looked back up at him. ‘Backbiter?’

“Backbiter,” Nico muttered. “Just from the name itself…”

Luke showed the blade off. ‘One side…mortals and immortals both.’

Paul sucked in a breath. The idea of such a blade was just terrifying. That meant he could be hurt by it, too. 

Sally had a similar train of thought, her hand tightening around Percy’s arm just a bit at the sight of the blade. 

I thought about what Chiron…never harm mortals unless absolutely necessary. 

“And that ‘absolutely necessary’ situation never actually comes,” Clarisse said darkly. “So to have a blade with the intention of killing mortals…” She trailed off, sparing a glance at Hermes who had gone extremely still and quiet. 

‘I didn’t…weapons like that.’ Percy told Luke. 

“That is because we don’t,” Hephaestus said with a grunt. 

“We don’t,” Ares repeated, with emphasis on the word ‘we’. With that coming from Ares, then it is irrefutable that it is something bad. 

‘They probably can’t. It’s one of a kind.’ Luke nodded. 

“I mean technically we can,” Apollo reasoned. “But we don’t. Creating blades like that use processes that aren’t exactly…ethical, so to speak.”

‘Listen…something to fight?’ Luke smiled at Percy as he sheathed his sword. 

The demigods shifted uncomfortably. The Seven minus Percy and Annabeth were starting to worry for Percy. 

I don’t know why I hesitated…attention I’d gotten. 

“My instincts were warning me,” Percy mumbled, realizing now as he looked back on it in hindsight. “Any other person, I probably wouldn’t have even hesitated.”

Annabeth squeezed his arm as a form of comfort. “Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”

‘You think…I mean-’ Percy said as he hesitated. Luke was going through his gym bag now. ‘Aw, come on. Drinks are on me.’ He said, triumphantly holding up a six-pack of Coke from his bag. 

Nico cursed. “Damn. That’s how he got you.”

Percy wrinkled his nose but couldn’t say anything. Nico was right after all. 

Chiron sighed. He guessed he couldn’t blame Percy for that. He was only a twelve-year-old after all. So, so young.

Percy stared at the pack of Coke. 

There were no regular mortal sodas…didn’t taste the same as a real Coke, straight out of the can.

Thalia sighed. “I agree with you there, Kelp Head.”

Will made a face. “It’s not healthy.”

“So?” 

“Nevermind. I realize I can’t win that argument.”

“At least you’re aware.”

“Pssh.”

Sugar…willpower crumbled. 

‘Sure. Why not?’ Percy gave in.

Percy groaned and buried his head in his hands. 

Sally chuckled, pushing a strand of hair away from his face. “Don’t forget that you were twelve, honey. I can understand why it convinced you.”

“Still,” Percy grumbled.

They made their way to the woods but it was empty. They decided to sit on a rock under the shade near the creek, drinking their sodas. 

Annabeth found herself biting her fingernails again. She didn’t know what exactly Luke and Percy talked about. She didn’t know how all of this went down other than Percy’s recount of the story (which most likely omitted a bunch of things). She didn’t know when and how Percy got stung. Basically, she wasn’t prepared. 

‘You miss being on a quest?’ Luke asked after a few moments of them just sitting in silence. Percy looked at him. ‘With monsters…every three feet?’

Luke raised an eyebrow at Percy who looked down and sighed. ‘Yeah, I miss it.’ Percy admitted. 

Percy scoffed but didn’t say anything. Annabeth gave him a worried glance but understood. She felt the same. 

‘You?’ Percy asked. Luke’s face darkened. 

I was used to hearing…imagine him as an old man. 

Hermes furrowed his eyebrows at the state that Luke was in, worried. 

‘I’ve lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since…I came back, it was like ‘Okay, ride’s over. Have a nice life.’’ Luke told Percy. 

“He’s acting like he didn’t ask for the quest,” Thalia said angrily. 

At this point, even Hazel and Frank knew that there was something up with this guy. Only Hermes refused to see it. 

Luke crumpled his can and threw it into the creek, shocking Percy. 

One of the first things you learn…centipedes and mud. 

Grover scowled at the littering, as did Dionysus. “Brat.” The god muttered. 

‘The heck with laurel wreaths…dusty trophies in the Big House attic.’ Luke said. 

“Then why did he ask for the quest in the first place?” Jason asked. 

“He talks about it more in a second,” Percy replied. 

‘You make it sound like you’re leaving.’ Percy looked at him. Luke gave him a twisted smile. ‘Oh, I’m leaving…say good-bye.’ He snapped his fingers. At Percy’s feet, fire burned a hole in the ground. A black scorpion came climbing out. 

Percy tensed. 

The color from Hermes’ face had completely drained away. The Stolls watched with wide eyes, seeing the exact moment of Luke’s betrayal for the first time. 

The other demigods had cried out in alarm when the scorpion revealed itself. 

Percy went for Riptide but Luke cut him off. ‘I wouldn’t. Pit scorpions…dead in sixty seconds.’

Zeus finally shook himself out of his stupor. “How did he do that?” He demanded. “Pit scorpions come from the depths of Tartarus.”

“It should not be possible. He should not be able to unless…” Hades left his statement hanging. 

It was like the whole room held its breath as everyone waited to see what would happen. 

“Percy,” Sally grabbed his arm. “You never told me…”

Percy grimaced.

“One minute?” Paul gulped. “That’s…that’s fast.”

Poseidon glared at the image of Luke on the screen, his hand closing around a nearby pillow. 

‘Luke what-’ Percy cut himself off, realization hitting him. ‘You.’

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

“No,” Hermes shook his head in denial. “Luke would not…” He trailed off. He remembered the state that May was in. How he knew that Luke’s fate led to something horrible. “No…”

Luke just calmly stood up and dusted his jean off. The scorpion only paid attention to Percy, crawling on his shoe. 

‘I saw a lot…they’ve hung on, thanks to us half-bloods.’ Luke said. 

Zeus glared at the screen. 

The gods shifted uncomfortably. That much was true, that without the half-bloods—the heroes—they’d have been long gone. 

Pawns. That word kept coming up like during the fight against Medusa. Did they really feel that way?

‘Luke…you’re talking about our parents,’ Percy said nervously. Luke laughed unkindly. ‘That’s supposed to make me love them?…something more honest.’

All Hermes could do was stare at the screen, at his son, with a heartbroken look on his face. 

Poseidon looked down. This is why they wanted to be allowed to at least say hi to their children every once in a while! Something Zeus and Hera never understood with their loyalty to the Ancient Laws. 

At least Zeus showed some signs of changing during their meeting a while ago. 

‘You’re as crazy as Ares.’ Percy accused. 

Ares scowled. 

“Well, the boy is not in the right mind, that’s for sure,” Dionysus commented. “Does he truly think the Titans are ‘honest’?”

Luke glared. ‘Ares is a fool…I’m afraid you won’t live that long.’ Luke glanced at the scorpion that was now crawling up Percy’s leg. 

Ares’ scowl deepened. He didn’t know which one he found more annoying. Probably the fool statement. 

Sally couldn’t do anything but keep her fearful eyes on the scorpion. She already knew about Luke, but she knew nothing about the scorpion. 

There had to…I needed time to think. 

“I wouldn’t even be able to think of a single word in that situation.”

‘Kronos. That’s who you serve.’ Percy said. 

The room turned cold once again at the mention of the name. Percy couldn’t help but shiver slightly at the (for him, doubly) cold atmosphere. 

‘You should be careful with names,’ Luke warned Percy. 

“We got that now, thanks,” Annabeth huffed. 

“He is probably already able to sense when he is being talked about,” Hades hypothesized. 

“I do not doubt it,” Demeter agreed. “Seeing as he is already powerful enough to do all that he did so far.”

‘Kronos got you…in your dreams.’ Percy continued. 

“I know you are stalling, child,” Hera scowled. “But did you really have to mention his name again? Even after the warning?”

“I only ever got told that I should be careful with names, that they have power and all that,” Percy blew out a puff of air. “No one ever actually explained to me why . I had to learn through experience. Again.”

‘He spoke…You should’ve listened.’ Luke told Percy, his eye twitching in the process. 

Zeus stiffened. “Did he speak to many more demigods, then?” 

The demigods didn’t answer him. The gods looked at each other nervously. 

‘He’s brainwashing you, Luke.’ Percy said. Luke scoffed. ‘You’re wrong…best he could think up.’

“He wanted a quest,” Hermes looked miserable. “I…”

The Stolls each placed a hand on his arm. 

“And you gave him one, dad,” Travis murmured. “You gave him one.”

“He just- I guess he expected something different,” Connor sighed sadly. 

‘That’s…Hercules did it.’ Percy said. 

Zeus nodded, eyebrows furrowed. “It is one of the greatest feats of a hero. Why is he so unsatisfied?”

Percy’s face soured. But Hercules didn’t do it by himself. Jerk. 

Thalia buried her face in her hands, rubbing them across her face in frustration, both at Luke and her father. 

‘Exactly. Where’s the glory…stone by stone right then, but I bided my time.’

“All because of a quest?” Hera asked incredulously. She would never understand mortals. 

“It was a tipping point,” Annabeth said, glaring at the floor. “He’s harbored his resentment for much longer.”

“Made it easy for Kronos to reach him,” Athena deduced, nodding. 

‘I began to dream of Kronos…my theft.’

“And so the thief is confirmed,” Demeter said. 

“We were there, too,” Clarisse frowned. “No one noticed at all.”

“He’s still Hermes’ son,” Hades sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But that shouldn’t be an excuse for why Olympus’ security failed.”

If this situation wasn’t as dire, Hermes would have maybe felt proud that a son of his could steal something of this caliber. It reminded him of when he himself stole Apollo’s cattle. 

But alas, all he could feel now was heartbreak and sadness. He couldn’t help but blame himself for his son’s behavior. 

“We need to see to better security,” Zeus addressed the rest of the gods. He focused most on Hephaestus and Athena. “A mortal should not be able to steal so easily. We have grown too complacent.”

Zeus was lucky that Percy was too tense to talk back. Security was not the main problem here. Sure, they could improve it, but what they should improve is their treatment of demigods. 

The scorpion had reached Percy’s knee, staring straight at Percy. He swallowed. ‘So why…items to Kronos?’ He asked, keeping his voice as steady as possible. 

Luke wavered. ‘I got overconfident…Ares who caught me…return them to Olympus and burn me alive.’

“Of course I caught him,” Ares grumbled. 

“Don’t pride yourself on it now,” Athena raised an eyebrow. “What you did after—”

“I know, damn it.”

‘Then Kronos’ voice…before anyone noticed my absence.’ Luke explained, drawing his sword and running his thumb down the blade. 

“Maybe father shouldn’t send you to find his bolt if this still happens,” Apollo snorted. “They were lucky that it was easy to convince you with the idea of a ‘great war’.” 

Ares rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Hestia sighed in exasperation. Some of the gods would never let Ares live this down. 

‘Afterward…from Ares down to Tartarus.’ Luke finished. 

“The one in one of your dreams,” Rachel said. “He was getting scolded by the Titan Lord in one of your dreams, right?”

Percy hummed in affirmation. 

“The Titan Lord…it is terrifying how much he planned out,” Athena said. “I mean, even the fact that the Hermes cabin takes in the undetermined made it easier for him to befriend Perseus.”

Artemis nodded, her hand on her chin as she thought. “It really would have been perfect except he got caught. Pride is always the downfall of many, isn’t it?”

‘You summoned…in the forest.’ Percy realized. Luke shrugged. ‘We had to make Chiron…And it worked.’

Chiron shook his head sadly. It did work. It worked perfectly, in fact. 

‘The flying shoes…me and the backpack into Tartarus.’ Percy continued. Luke nodded nonchalantly. ‘And they would have…Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse.’

Grover stared forward, hurt. 

“He’s wrong,” Thalia said immediately, her voice stern. “Grover, he is completely wrong.”

“If anything, he’s the one that keeps messing things up. I mean, flying shoes to the son of Poseidon?” Annabeth backed Thalia up. She reached out to hold Grover’s hand. “Percy and I would’ve died without you on that quest. Even the adventures after! You are our protector. The best one, too.”

Percy placed a hand on his shoulder. “I could never ask for a better best friend, G-man,” Percy told Grover. “Luke just needed someone to blame for things he couldn’t control. You just happened to be there, for both this and the Half-Blood Hill incident. You didn’t mess anything up.”

Grover sniffled. “I love you guys.”

“We love you too, G-man.”

“Us too!” Hazel exclaimed. “We haven’t known you as long as the others here, but especially after everything we’ve seen so far, I just know that you are an amazing friend.” The rest of the Seven nodded in agreement. 

Grover smiled at them, his expression filled with gratitude. 

Luke looked at the scorpion that was now on Percy’s thigh. ‘You should have died in Tartarus, Percy.’

Percy flinched back, his hand quickly retracting from Grover’s shoulder as if he’d been shocked. 

Grover looked at him in worry and slight confusion. 

Percy stared at the ground in front of him as he curled in slightly on himself. Luke’s voice rang in his head. You should have died in Tartarus, Percy. 

A month ago, this would have meant nothing much. Now? Now all he could think of was that:

He should have died in Tartarus. Not Bob. Not Damasen. 

“No,” Annabeth’s eyes filled with tears. “Percy, you can’t believe that.” Her voice shook. 

Nico was glaring so hard at the image of Luke, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the screen caught fire. 

Leo actually caught on fire, unable to hide his reaction. The rest of the Seven reacted in their own ways as well, all in worry and even anger at Luke’s words. 

Sally looked at Percy, her hand hesitantly hovering over his arm. “Percy?”

Percy was brought back to reality when he felt something on his hand. He flinched, suddenly overwhelmed by everything. He looked up, his eyes wide, only to find Annabeth looking back at him with worried and teary eyes.

“S-sorry,” Percy said miserably, feeling bad for reacting that way. “I-”

“Don’t be,” Annabeth shook her head.

Percy was mumbling to himself. Annabeth heard a few words. “Should’ve…I should have…”

“No!” Annabeth squeezed Percy’s hand so as to not surprise him by accident again, before placing both of her hands on his cheeks. “Percy.”

She held his face in her hands, waiting until Percy’s gaze focused on her. When he did, she continued. “No one deserves to die down there, no matter what they’ve done.”

“But monsters—”

“They live there! It’s natural for them.” Annabeth’s tears finally leaked out of her eyes. “You are not a monster, Percy. Please…” She broke, crushing Percy in a hug as she cried into his shoulder. 

Thalia covered her mouth as everything clicked into place. She looked at the glaring Nico, to the crying Annabeth, and lastly the frozen Percy. She recalled their behavior when they watched what happened near the chasm. “No…”

“What?” Sally’s voice shook as she looked at the demigods before sharing a confused and worried look with Paul and Poseidon. “Why—”

“You were there,” Thalia breathed, her eyes quickly turning wet. “Please tell me I’m wrong. Tell me…”

Jason gently grabbed his sister’s arm. “Thalia—”

Thalia ripped her arm away and stood. “No, Jason! I need to know! The three of them are my friends! I can’t be kept in the dark like this! Not when everyone else knows, too. So please—”

“Yes!” Piper’s voice cut through loud and clear. She was crying now, too. “The answer is yes. They did.”

Thalia’s legs gave out from under her as she stared at them in horror. She was the last demigod to know. The others were already in tears as they watched Thalia find out the news. 

“Would somebody please tell me what is going on?” Sally asked desperately. 

“Tartarus,” Athena realized, staring at her daughter. “They were in…”

“What?” Hades and Poseidon demanded. 

The three in question flinched and shied away. 

Sally had paled and Paul could barely grasp what was happening. 

Percy just sat there, Annabeth in his arms, disappointed in himself. I guess my parents know now too. He couldn’t protect them from the news. 

Sally let out a sob and pulled both Percy and Annabeth into a hug. She beckoned Nico over. 

Thalia wiped her face and gently pulled Nico to where Sally was reaching out. Thalia and Sally sandwiched the three in a protective embrace. 

Nico, not usually one for physical contact, actually felt safe in the embrace of Sally and Thalia. 

Clarisse took it upon herself to glare at the gods. “Don’t ask.”

“Please,” Katie added. “We won’t be able to answer any of you anyway.”

Poseidon’s mouth went dry. The pain in his son’s eyes, the way he looked without his shirt on, his behavior every time the Pit came up… this was why?

“Can we move on?” Percy croaked. “Please?”

Hades went to open his mouth but Nico cut him off. “We don’t want to talk about it, okay? So please.” He said as the hug dispersed. Thalia and Nico scooted back to their places, the former still wiping her tears away. 

Annabeth also pulled away, wiping her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Thalia moved close to her, giving her a separate hug. Annabeth was her little sister. 

Annabeth sighed, leaning her head on Thalia’s shoulder. 

Everyone else quietly directed their attention back to the screen, to continue like the three asked. 

‘But don’t worry…little friend to set things right.’ Luke continued. Percy looked at him angrily. ‘Thalia gave her life…repay her?’

Luke looked enraged. ‘Don’t speak of Thalia!…will pay for.’

“I hate to admit it but the gods are the reason why I’m still alive.” Thalia sniffed bitterly. Annabeth’s hold on Thalia’s arm tightened. Grover also reached out to hold Thalia. The three that were heavily affected by Luke and his words and actions. The three that were there with him that fateful night on Half-Blood Hill. 

‘You’re being used…Don’t listen to Kronos.’ Percy tried. Luke’s voice raised even more. ‘I’ve been…ones who serve him.’

Percy shook his head. Quietly, he stood up and made his way to the bathroom to wash his face or something. He just needed some space. 

He forgot all about that statement that Luke had said. It overwhelmed him. 

He hoped nobody would mind. He didn’t want to disturb anyone as they were extremely focused on the screen.

Hermes deflated. “Luke…”

“I’m sorry, dad,” Travis said sadly. 

“No,” Hermes hugged his sons closer to him. “I should be sorry. I should have been a better father. To all of you. I’m just glad you two are okay.”

“As okay as we can be,” Connor sighed, but snuggled into his dad’s side. 

“I will do better,” Hermes held them tightly. “I promise that I will do better.” A tear slipped down his cheek. “Oh, Luke…I have failed you.”

‘Call off…fight me yourself.’ Percy challenged. Luke smiled amusedly. ‘Nice try…to undertake.’ … ‘Goodbye…You won’t be part of it.’

Luke finished his speech with a slash of his sword. He disappeared in a ripple of darkness. 

“That should not be possible either,” Zeus sat up straight. 

“Unless the weapon is…” Hephaestus’ eyes widened. 

“Could it be?” Hades asked. “Father’s…”

“If it is,” Ares said, weapons as one of his expertise. “My guess is that it has properties of the scythe, but is obviously not the full, real thing yet.”

“But the danger is still there,” Athena nodded. 

The scorpion jumped. 

The watchers cried out in alarm. 

Percy swatted it away with his hand, uncapped his sword, and slashed the scorpion in half. 

The teens cheered for a while, not sensing anything wrong. 

Annabeth’s eyes widened as she sat up in shock. In the mess of everything that happened just now, she forgot about the true danger, her mind a jumbled wreck. 

When she looked over, Percy’s place was empty. “Shit.”

People looked at her, thinking something happened to her, in turn directing their attention away from the screen. “What’s wrong?”

Annabeth’s heart beat against her chest, her muddled brain having a hard time catching up. Percy had been stung already, hasn’t he? And that would mean he was stung through the curse as well…

And they had stopped paying attention to the screen so it had stopped. 

Just as she realized their mistake, a loud thud came from the bathrooms. Annabeth’s heart dropped. “No! Grace, come with me!” She screamed, getting up, dragging Jason along with her. He was the person nearest to Annabeth that she knew could also easily carry Percy’s weight. 

“What’s wrong?” Jason tried asking, all while following her lead anyway. 

“Keep watching, damn it!” Annabeth yelled in desperation to the rest of the room. A small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that it wouldn’t play if she and Jason weren’t there to watch. “Shit!” She cursed again as she ran, Jason right behind her. 

The bathroom door wasn’t fully closed, but Annabeth still slammed it open with force. 

Those that could see the bathrooms from where they sat, gasped in shock. 

One of the sinks was running. Annabeth cried out. Percy was on the floor, unconscious.

Jason immediately sprung into action, scooping Percy up in his arms and telling Annabeth to stop the sink. 

They practically ran back to their places. Jason gently set Percy down in his place. Everyone could see the state he was in now, as well as the red and yellow welt on his palm. He was extremely pale.

Hazel got up on her knees, her hands flying to her mouth as she watched Sally cry out in terror. “The scorpion got him.” Hazel gasped out in fear. All around, the room burst into their own exclamations of fear and utter worry. 

Sally gripped Percy’s uninjured hand as tears streamed down her face. Will was on his other side, already pouring water on the scorpion's sting, uncaring about anything else getting wet because of it. 

Poseidon had subconsciously summoned his trident and stabbed it through a pillow as he got up to move closer to Sally and his son, Paul following beside him.

No one needed to say it, they all forced themselves to focus on the projection.

Percy looked down at his hand, to find it with a huge red welt that had yellow guck oozing out of it. He stumbled to the creek and dipped his hand in but nothing happened.

“Why isn’t he healing?” Piper asked, panicked.

Apollo swallowed, having immediately moved to be next to the injured demigod as well. “The poison’s too strong. It’s poison from Tartarus, nothing like poison here in the overworld.”

“Not to mention it is only freshwater,” Poseidon said with a panicked voice. “No match for a venom that fast.”

Percy was turning green now. He was also starting to sweat profusely. 

Percy struggled as he tried to stand back up. His eyes kept blinking as he struggled to stay awake, going in and out of focus. He stumbled towards the direction of camp.

Sixty seconds…Nobody would ever know what had happened.

“He’s burning up,” Will reported. Apollo conjured up a rag. Without having to say anything, his son immediately understood, dumping even more water to wet the rag. Apollo handed the wet cloth to Sally who knew what to do. She wiped her son’s face with the piece of cloth before holding it against his forehead.

‘Help, please…’ Percy croaked out, barely able to speak. Tree nymphs came out of their trees, panicked, and each took an arm as they helped pull Percy along. A camper spotted them and screamed for help. Chiron came running out, blowing a conch horn with panic clear on his face before the screen went black.

Percy’s complexion was now going from green to a sickly gray as the poison coursed through his body.

Poseidon inhaled sharply. “Apollo—”

“Move over!” Apollo yelled before slamming a hand down on Percy’s chest, where his heart would be, and emitting a bright glow. He didn’t know how much time had passed but he knew that he needed to give this boy more time until he woke up on-screen, healed. He was doing everything in his power, seen in the way he gritted his teeth from the effort.

Sally was sobbing in Paul’s arms, having moved to give the god of healing some space. Thalia back hugged Annabeth, which was also a way for her to hold the blonde back as she flailed in panic. Apollo needed space.

Nico had found Hazel’s hand. They held each other in a tight grip as they once again felt Percy's life force reaching dangerous territory. 

After what felt like forever but in reality was only a second, the projection flashed a new scene. 

Percy was laying on a bed in the Big House, his hand heavily bandaged. A straw was in his mouth, giving him nectar. Argus was standing in the corner of the sickroom while Annabeth sat next to Percy’s bed, dabbing a washcloth on his forehead. Chiron was seated on his wheelchair near the foot of the bed. 

In his unconscious state, Percy sighed like he had been relieved of pain. Apollo fell backwards, relieved. Will looked down at Percy’s hand and almost sobbed in relief. It was still red but the swelling had gone down and it was no longer oozing with pus. 

As quick as lightning, Sally and Annabeth were once again by Percy’s side, replacing Apollo and Will. The father and son willingly stepped back, giving them space. 

Hazel and Nico were no longer holding each other in a death grip. Percy was stable again. 

No one truly relaxed still as they all held their breaths, going back and forth between Percy and the screen. 

Percy’s eyes slowly opened as he sipped on the nectar. He blinked, taking in his surroundings. 

Percy groaned in pain. He was starting to wake up. 

Sighs of relief could be heard all throughout the room. 

‘Here we are again.’ Percy told Annabeth. Annabeth looked down at him. ‘You idiot,’

Which is how I knew she was overjoyed to see me conscious. 

“I’m your idiot,” Percy mumbled deliriously as he finally opened his eyes. 

Annabeth let out a watery laugh. “You have got to stop scaring us like this.” She stroked his head gently. 

“Percy Jackson, if you get poisoned again I am grounding you,” Sally said, wiping her tears away. 

“I guess I’m grounded then,” Percy said, reaching his hand up to wipe his mother’s tears away. “I’m sorry.”

Sally just shook her head, holding Percy’s hand against her cheek. 

“What the fuck, Jackson?” Leo demanded. “How in Olympus do you manage to get yourself both in and out of these situations?” He ranted freely now that he knew Percy wouldn’t die. 

Jason’s head fell on Thalia’s shoulder, the rush of adrenaline completely leaving him. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“A pit scorpion,” Frank shook his head incredulously. “A freaking pit scorpion!”

Paul and Poseidon didn’t even bother moving back to their seats, preferring to stay close to the crowd as it meant staying close to Percy. 

Poseidon stretched his arm out with his palm open, summoning his trident to his hand, complete with the pillow still stuck on its prongs. He sighed, plucking the pillow off and dusting away the fluff. “I think I aged unwillingly. You, child, are going to make me an old man.”

“You are an old man,” Percy mumbled back, his mind clouded with pain resulting in a broken brain-to-mouth filter. 

Poseidon allowed himself to chuckle. Percy was okay. Ish. 

‘You were…weren’t for Chiron’s healing…’ Annabeth trailed off. 

‘Now, now,’ Chiron spoke up. Percy looked surprised, not able to notice Chiron in the room earlier. Chiron looked pale and weary. 

“Thank you, Chiron,” Both Sally and Poseidon addressed the centaur at the same time. 

Chiron nodded at both of them. 

“Not easy, huh?” Apollo sighed as he noticed Chiron’s tired state on-screen. 

“No,” Chiron confirmed. “But that did not matter. As long as he was healed, that was the only important thing.”

‘Percy’s constitution deserves some of the credit.’ Chiron said. 

“What did you mean by that, by the way, Chiron?” Annabeth asked. 

“Did you notice that Percy went well over a minute?” Chiron asked. “If not through the screen, then in what we saw in real life just now?”

The teens stared in disbelief. In their panic, they didn’t even notice that Percy lasted longer than the sixty seconds Luke mentioned. 

“I am honestly not sure of the reason either, but Percy’s system was able to fight the poison long enough to help him survive,” Chiron explained. “You demigods already have a better fighting chance against poisons compared to regular mortals. Percy here seems to have even more. His parentage could be a possibility for why this is so, but it also could just be his strength. The water from the creek could have actually unknowingly helped too, maybe.”

“Please do not take this as a sign to just keep getting poisoned, though.” Poseidon told his son.

Percy just groaned and rubbed his face with his uninjured hand. He did not want any more talks about poison. Who cares if he passed the sixty-second mark? All he knew was that he survived. He didn’t care about why. It just made him even more uncomfortable with his powers.

Frank bit his tongue. Would Poseidon ever find out about the gorgon’s blood incident with Phineas? He wouldn’t like that. Seriously, that incident scarred him. 

‘How are you feeling?’ Chiron asked. 

“Like shit,” Percy groaned in pain again. 

‘Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved.’ Percy answered. 

“Like shit,” Percy repeated. 

“That is a very interesting description, though,” Apollo mused. “Never heard getting poisoned being described like that, ever.”

“All I know is that it hurts,” Katie said after observing the state Percy was in. 

“Hurts is an understatement.”

‘Apt…exactly what happened.’ Chiron said. Percy recounted the story to the best of his abilities, in between sips of nectar. 

Chiron sighed. He was able to see now how everything went down. It wasn’t far from Percy’s retelling, but there had been some details that Percy had either overlooked or chose not to say. 

After a few moments of silence, Annabeth spoke up. ‘I can’t believe…never the same after his quest.’ She said, her expression a mix between anger and sadness. 

Hermes closed his eyes in anguish. He was still having trouble accepting it. 

‘This must…I will go at once.’ Chiron said. Percy frowned. ‘Luke is…go after him.’

“You literally just got poisoned.” Hazel crossed her arms at Percy. “What makes you think you can just get up and chase after a guy that quite literally just disappeared?” 

‘No, Percy. The gods-’ Chiron started but was cut off by Percy. ‘Won’t even talk about Kronos…matter closed!’ Percy snapped. 

Percy closed his eyes, feeling the annoyance. 

Hestia shook her head at the ridiculousness of ruling the matter closed. She thanked the primordials that their Zeus was showing signs of listening to reason. 

‘Percy…You are not ready.’ Chiron said patiently. Percy looked at his injured hand. 

I didn’t like it, but…sword fighting any time soon. 

Percy winced as he looked at his hand now. It wasn’t covered up in bandages like back then, so he could actually see the injury now. It wasn’t as bad as before he blacked out but it still looked pretty nasty. 

Annabeth gently held his fingers, careful to avoid the sting on his palm, and pushed his hand down, out of Percy’s sight. “It’ll be gone before you know it.”

‘Chiron…your prophecy from the Oracle…Was I in it? And Annabeth?’ Percy asked. Chiron turned nervous as he glanced up at the ceiling. ‘Percy, it isn’t my place-’

Percy cut him off again. ‘You’ve been ordered…haven’t you?’ He asked. Chiron looked at him sadly. ‘You will be a great hero…But if I’m right about the path ahead of you…’

Zeus raised an eyebrow at Chiron. Would he really tell the child?

Thunder boomed. Windows rattled. 

Some people jumped and yelled out in surprise. 

Zeus nodded approvingly. He was stopped. That was good. That prophecy was much too dangerous. 

‘All right! Fine!’ Chiron shouted at the ceiling. 

Piper, Leo, and Jason exchanged wide-eyed looks. They weren’t used to seeing Chiron react like that. 

Poseidon hid a snort at Chiron’s outburst. He may only be their half-brother, but yelling at a sibling would always be universal. 

‘The gods…Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing.’ Chiron said instead, sighing in frustration. 

“It’s a good thing we’re not watching our future then, huh?” Clarisse drawled, smirking at the gods. 

Hera huffed. “Why, it is not like we have a choice, child. Chronos and Ananke must think otherwise.”

“Whatever,” Thalia shrugged, talking to the rest of the demigods. “Not our problem anyway.”

“The seeing-the-future-thing might not be our problem but this whole thing, in general, is a problem.” Percy complained, his head pounding. 

“For you.” 

“…”

“Okay, Percy, we got it. You can stop swearing now.”

‘We can’t just…do nothing.’ Percy said. Chiron looked at him. ‘We will not sit back…Train patiently. Your time will come.’ Chiron advised. 

“That is right,” Hades nodded. “Father feeds on negativity as it is the easiest to manipulate. Especially in mortals.” He glanced at Hermes for a second at that. The poor god was still wallowing in misery. He could not blame him though. 

‘Assuming I live that long.’

Sally flinched slightly, giving Percy a sharp look. Percy just looked up at her sadly. He couldn’t help that a demigod’s life was usually terribly short. 

The fact that he lived to see the day after his sixteenth birthday still felt like a miracle to him. 

‘You’ll have to trust me…first you must decide…I cannot tell you the right choice…’ Chiron said with a hand on Percy’s ankle. 

I got the feeling…all his willpower not to advise me. 

Chiron shook his head fondly. “Of course you saw my inner conflict. You also very well know which one I would have preferred.”

Percy smiled at the ceiling sheepishly seeing as he was still on the floor on his back. Turning his head to look at Chiron was too difficult in his current position. 

‘But you must decide…back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision.’ Chiron said. 

I wanted to protest…But his expression…he had said as much as he could. 

“There you go again being all intuitive and observant,” Annabeth muttered fondly, still running a hand through Percy’s hair. 

‘I’ll be back…Argus will watch over you.’ Chiron promised. 

“Having Argus watch over you is always reassuring.”

“If not creepy at times.”

“Nah, you get used to all the eyes.”

Chiron then looked at Annabeth. ‘Oh, and…they’re here.’

Athena looked at Annabeth curiously, as did some of the teens. 

‘Who’s here?’ Percy asked. He was met with silence. 

“Yeah. Thanks for that.”

Chiron rolled out of the room, leaving for Olympus. 

“How do you even make it to Olympus, Chiron?”

“Okay, fine, don’t answer.”

Annabeth was silent, staring at the ice in Percy’s drink. Percy looked at her curiously. ‘What’s wrong?’

Annabeth leaned down and kissed Percy’s forehead. He looked so concerned and worried on the screen while he himself was injured. It melted her heart. 

‘Nothing…need anything?’ Annabeth stuttered. Percy nodded. ‘Yeah…go outside.’

“Me too. I want to get up.”

‘Percy, that isn’t a good idea.’ Annabeth protested. 

Will looked at Percy with a warning expression. “Percy, I don’t think you should—” 

Percy slid his legs out of the bed. Annabeth immediately caught him as he almost fell to the floor. He turned slightly green from the nausea. ‘I told you…’

Meanwhile, Percy was pushing himself up, ignoring Will’s warning. He accidentally pressed down hard on Annabeth’s finger as he was getting up. Annabeth hissed slightly in pain, causing Percy to whip his head around in concern to face her. 

Poseidon watched as Percy opened his mouth to apologize to the daughter of Athena before he turned slightly green. Thanks to him observing his son very closely, he was able to summon a bucket right in front of Percy. 

Just in time, too. The teens winced as Percy retched into the bucket that Poseidon had given him. Sally was quick to pull the strands of hair that were getting in his face, back. 

“I told you,” Will scowled as he watched Percy wipe his mouth, a look of disgust on the son of Poseidon’s face. “You hit your head when you fell in the bathroom. That one is not from the curse.”

Percy made a face as Poseidon snapped the bucket away. He hated the taste of vomit. “Whatever. I’m up now.” 

“I’m so glad I got over that stage of puking when other people puked,” Piper winced, gripping her stomach. 

“That must have sucked,” Rachel said, looking at Piper. 

“It did. Very much.”

‘I’m fine,’ Percy insisted. 

“You are a menace.”

I didn’t want to lie in bed…destroy the Western world. 

“Not the most patient, are you?”

“No.”

Leaning heavily on Annabeth, Percy managed to walk out to the porch. He leaned on the railing, sweating. Argus kept his distance but still watched over them. 

Grover caught the small vial of nectar that Will threw towards Percy. He uncovered it and handed it to his friend whose face was twisted in discomfort. 

Percy graciously accepted the nectar and downed it all at once. The pounding of his head slowly faded away but the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach stayed, seeing as it was part of the curse. 

The camp was practically empty at this point, most of the campers having chosen to go back home for the school year. Annabeth looked at Percy. ‘What are you going to do?’ She asked. Percy shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

“How much longer until you finally make your decision?”

“I got there. Eventually.”

Percy explained what he felt Chiron wanted from him as well as admitted he didn’t want to leave Annabeth alone with only Clarisse for company. 

“Thanks, Prissy.” Clarisse rolled her eyes. 

“No problem, La Rue.”

Annabeth looked down. ‘I’m going home…Percy.’ She said quietly. 

Athena’s eyes widened. “You mean…you went back to your father?”

‘You mean, to your dad’s?’ Percy asked. 

Athena was so surprised by Annabeth’s choice that she didn’t even react to asking almost the exact same question as Percy. 

Annabeth pointed towards Thalia’s pine. On the hill stood the silhouette of a family—two children and their parents. 

Athena gasped softly. 

‘I wrote him…we’d give it another try.’ Annabeth said. Percy looked at her, slightly surprised. ‘That took guts.’

Thalia also looked a bit surprised that Annabeth really took Percy’s advice to write to her father. She smiled softly. So, Annabeth’s soft spot for Percy already existed when they were twelve. 

Annabeth looked at Percy. ‘You won’t try anything…not without sending me an Iris-message?’

Percy studied Annabeth’s expression on-screen. “You were really worried about me, weren’t you?” He smiled slyly at Annabeth. 

Annabeth (gently) socked him on the shoulder. Percy just raised an eyebrow. Annabeth turned pink. “Maybe.”

Percy chuckled in response. 

‘I won’t go looking…I usually don’t have to.’ Percy smiled. 

“You were definitely right about that,” Annabeth muttered. That was one intense dodgeball game. 

‘When I get back…sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?’ Annabeth said. 

Clarisse stared at the couple incredulously. “I cannot believe you two.” They looked back at her innocently. 

To those that didn’t know, it just sounded like Clarisse was just tired of the twelve-year-olds’ antics back then. Those that did know, hid their smiles. It happened exactly like Annabeth said. 

Even Chiron was exasperated but he was careful not to let any obvious reaction show. He could express his exasperation at the two, when they watched that part. 

‘Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena.’ Percy said.

“I do not approve of that plan and you know it,” Athena scowled. 

Percy just stifled his laughter while Annabeth snorted in amusement. 

‘Take care, Seaweed Brain. Keep your eyes open.’ Annabeth said as she and Percy shook hands. Percy grinned. ‘You too, Wise Girl.’

“That is adorable!”

Percy watched as Annabeth walked up to her family. She looked back and touched Thalia’s tree before going out into the mortal world. 

For the first time at camp, I felt truly alone. 

“Lonely already? I only just left.” Annabeth teased. Percy reddened. Annabeth softened. “I feel lonely without you, too.” She whispered. Percy smiled at her. 

Percy turned his gaze to the Sound. 

I remembered my father…be restrained. 

Poseidon smiled. 

I made my decision. I wondered if…approve of my choice?

“Of course,” Poseidon said fondly. 

‘I’ll be back next summer.’ Percy promised, addressing Poseidon as he looked out at the water. 

“I knew it!” Piper cheered.

Sally smiled. Sure, that meant Percy wouldn’t get to train as much, but as his mother, she was extremely happy with his decision. 

Sorry, Chiron. 

Chiron chuckled. He was not disappointed at all. If anything, he expected this decision from Percy. It’s just who he was. 

‘I’ll survive until then. After all, I am your son.’ Percy finished his promise to his dad before turning to ask Argus to help him back to his cabin so that he could pack his bags for home. 

The sound of applause filled the room as the screen faded to black. 

Poseidon was so proud that he teared up a bit. “A true son of the sea.” He whispered to himself. 

“And scene!” Rachel cheered. “That was one hell of a ride!”

“And it was only the first one,” Grover reminded. 

“That seriously blows my mind,” Leo shook his head. “I mean, that whole thing already felt like a whole life story!”

“When in reality, it was only one summer,” Percy sighed tiredly. “Would you look at that? I’m completely healed now. Thank goodness.” Percy said as he looked at his hand. He was no longer nauseous either. 

“So, uh, what now?” Nico asked. 

“I think that young Percy needs a break,” Hestia smiled warmly. “So for the rest of the day, feel free to do whatever you want. We can have dinner in a few hours.”

“Will you be fine with starting the next part tomorrow?” Chiron asked Percy. “Or would you like a day’s worth of break?”

Percy flexed his hand, just to make sure it didn’t hurt anymore. “Umm…could I get back to you on that and by that I mean answer you at the last minute?” 

Annabeth snorted. 

“Kidding.” Percy grinned. “We can start tomorrow. I don’t need a day off.”

“Alright then.” Chiron nodded. 

Clarisse scowled. “Is there any chance we could skip the entire second part?”

“Nope, sorry. Deal with it.”