Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Pollux!” Pollux looked up from the strawberries he was helping grow, the sweet, near dizzying smell of the fruit filling his lungs as he worked, his white-wine hair turning almost yellow in the afternoon sun.

“Percy! Jason, what do you guys need?” He asked as he pushed himself up from kneeling. Jason smiled and waved as the duo walked over to where Pollux was standing.

“Rachel called a head councillors meeting at the big house and Annabeth told Percy to come get you, I just decided to tag along” Jason replied, pushing up his glasses.

“If RED is dishing out another prophecy, I swear to the Gods above I will force feed her her own paint.” Percy butted in, knocking his hip against Pollux’s as the walked.

“So, what has The child of the Great Mr. D been up to lately?” Pollux laughed, it was a running joke with the senior campers to call him that due to his fathers forced attendance and sobriety at Camp Half-Blood; but it still stung a little when anyone said the and not a.

“Oh not too bad, been doing what I do best and not running off on some quest trying to get myself killed, unlike some people,” Percy scoffed, putting a hand over his chest as Pollux continued. “How have The Heroes of Olympus been travelling?” He flashed a grin as he said that title, sharp canines making an appearance as he knew full well how much The Seven ‘loved’ being called that.

“Oh fuck you Grapes McGee, at least-“

“We’ve been good, I’ve already seen Nico try cut Percy’s throat open from his taunts in the arena and Leo threaten to shoot him into the sun chariot if he tries interrupting his work again.” Jason interrupted with a tired look, he seemed to be contemplating having Leo follow through with the threat as he rubs his hand down his face. “I’ve been practicing opening up my style of fighting and the only other person that’s not this doofus would flatten me,” he rolled his eyes as he kept talking, “so I’ve been stuck with Percy all day and I’m too worn out from his bullshit.” Jason ended the rant with a tight-lipped smile aimed at the son of Poseidon, jaw clenched and eyes narrowed.

“Well”, the Son of Dionysos added, enjoying the show unfolding, “seems like you two have had an eventful day, lets just hope Rachel’s bringing us to the meeting for an upcoming movie night or something; I’ve been wanting to know when its gonna happen next.”

Percy picks up at that, seemingly forgetting the taunts thrown his way. “Actually, I heard-“

“You heard what, Seaweed Brain?”

Annabeth called from the porch, smirking as she leans over the railing a bit to hard, making it tilt towards the trio, (‘that railing’s gotta snap someday, its as old as my Dad’ Pollux thinks,) watching Percy run up to his girlfriend to complain about people interrupting him today.

When Pollux made it inside with the others, he noticed three people missing.

“Where’s Katie and her two monkeys?” Percy spoke, just as Pollux was going to ask, deciding to take a seat next to Will and waving to him instead.

“No clue, but if the bastards aren’t here soon im dragging those fuckers by the wings on their ankles” Clarisse replied, polishing her (‘fourth or sixth?’ Pollux thought quietly) spear, dirty combat boots propped on the ping pong table in all of her 6’2 Daughter-of-Ares glory.

“Clarisse, if you don’t get those dirty ass shoes-“

“WE’RE HOOME~” Travis sang, promptly cutting off Annabeth’s rant as he bursted into the room, a disinterested Katie following behind her boyfriend as he paraded himself into a chair.

“Where’s Tweedle Dee? I thought you two were attached at the hip?” Nico questions, a sparkle of murder in his eyes as he leans on his hand facing the Son of Hermes.

“Can a guy not be parched and grab himself a simple beverage?” Connor asks as he enters the room, a slight limp in his step while he carries two Diet Cokes and a smirk.

“Why are you limping?” Travis interrogates.

“Just a bad day, that’s all.” Connor replies, handing his older brother the can.

“You weren’t limping before.”

“Flare ups exist, dumbass.” Pollux could sympathise with Connor on that point, waiting hours for medical attention for both his broken arm and - a less noticeable - broken shoulder during the Battle of Manhattan, only led to his shoulder healing lopsided; his right shoulder now forever slightly drooping like he was mid-shrug. It seemed that Connor got a similar result.

“You two need to stop picking at one another so Rachel can talk.” Annabeth once again interrupted, her face now set in a much more serious look. The redhead in mention standing beside her. “There’s a reason she called us; the floor is your’s, Dare.” She finalised, taking a seat next to her boyfriend.

“Annabeth is right,” Rachel began, hands pressed into the table as she looked at the teens gathered; an unreadable expression painting her face. “I want to start by saying this isn’t about any upcoming events at Camp Half-Blood. This conversation can not leave this room.” Her expression set into a grim look, the demigods shuffled in their seats, readjusted their positions or wore a look of unwanted anticipation in reply.

Rachel heavily sighed, bowing her head before she spoke once more.

“There’s a new prophecy.”

Fuck.

Her voice was firm as she spoke, but by only looking at her figure you could see the resentment and regret dripping through the cracks as Rachel’s body shook in near inconspicuous amounts. Every head councillor was stunned into silence, already feeling the loom of another prophecy hanging over their heads so soon - too soon - from just escaping the previous by the skin of their teeth. The water bottles on the table shook, Percy too overwhelmed to utter a sound; opting to simply drop his forehead onto the table. It was Will that broke the glass silence, somehow seemingly already over the shock of Rachel’s announcement.

“Do you remember what the prophecy was? Did you record or write it down? Do you have it?” He rapid fired the questions, turning his body to look at her so all Pollux could see was the mess of thick, sun bleached curls that rivalled Pollux’s own shoulder-length ringlets; but even he could easily hear the worry seeping more into his voice as he talked and Pollux wasn’t the best in emotions.

That was always more Cabin 10’s department.

Or Castor’s department.

“Yea, yea I was able to record the prophecy before I blacked out, don’t worry.” Rachel assured Will, making him heave out a small sigh but keep his shoulders tense as the Son of Apollo sat back down.

“I could feel the Spirit getting restless so if I could just find the time..” She trailed off as she searched for the time-stamp on her phone (curtesy to Leo wanting a demigod-safe device and Rachel being a willing test dummy). “Got it, I haven’t been able to write it down so if anyone has pen and paper that’ll be great.” Piper piped (heh, Piper piped) up, a pen and random napkin for Rachel at the ready.

“Okay, everybody shut up, it’s playing in three,” Rachel began counting down the recording, as well as counting down the chosen demigod’s fates.

“Two,” The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it wth a blunt spoon.

“One.” The recording began.

“Child of thieves, child of plagues and child of plays,

Work together in tandem to escape old ways,

Stuck in what was once their own,

Truth in turn will be displayed and shown,

Yellow, green, and purple threads unexpectedly intertwined,

To try and survive under the radar of the divine.”

The recording finished. No one spoke. But Pollux’s mind was running faster than nymphs running from Gods. Only three words spinning around in his mind; Child of Plays.

Child of Plays.

Child of Plays.

Child of Plays.

Plays were what you went to see in an auditorium, on a stage, or most commonly; in a theater. Who is the God of Theater? Dionysos. And who was the only living child of Dionysos?

That’s right. Pollux was, unfortunately, the only living Child of Dionysos. He was the Child of Plays.

Chapter Text

Will was in the infirmary when he heard someone calling his name. 

“Kayla!” Will called, brows furrowed as incident reports were spread across the desk before him, a headache forming at the sight of the work. “Go see what the camper wants, I’m too busy with reports about people being idiots.”

“On it!” Kayla replied, broom in hand as she raced to the exit, but before she could the camper in question was already inside; leaning against the wall. “Oh.. hi, Clarisse; mind telling me what you’re here for? You don’t look hurt.” Kayla stopped mid step to look at the Daughter of Ares, her dust and dirt covered self sticking out like a sore thumb in the florescent lights of the infirmary.

“I need Solace, Rachel called a councillors meeting and she doesn’t sound like she’s fucking around today.” 

Kayla opened and closed her mouth as she looked between Clarisse and her brothers office, unsure of what to do, “Um, Will’s really busy right now and-“

“It wasn’t a suggestion.”

“Neither was that. I can’t just interrupt Will-“

“Yes you can.”

“But I’m not going to, I can relay the message but that’s pretty much it. Now, what do you want Clarisse?” Kayla was losing her patience quickly, that seemed to always happen between Apollo and Ares campers.

“Well if you’re not gonna interrupt him, I will. Move it, Punk,” Clarisse shoved past a squawking Kayla, and banged on the office door before shoving it open and stepping inside.

“Kayla, how many times do I need to remind you not to slam that door open?” Will said, head in his hands as he massaged his temples, tiredness evident in his voice. He did not have the patience for bullshit today.

“Oops.” Clarisse simply replied, causing Will to snap his head up to meet her eyes in surprise.

“Why are you here?” Will questions, “I mean, you almost never come in here unless you need something or are actively dying.” It was strange, campers like Clarisse refused to come into the infirmary, sometimes being so stubborn they have to be dragged in for a check up (*cough* Percy *cough cough*).

“I’m not dying, if you’re that concerned,“ Clarisse began, a bored look displayed on her features; “Rachel called a meeting, I don’t know what about but she sounds serious; She told me to come get you.” She finished, having pushed herself off of the filing cabinets she was leaning on.

Will sighed, looking back down and around to his desk. “I.. I can’t, I have too much shit going on right now, somehow the campers had gotten the good idea to hurt anyone -including themselves- in a five mile radius during Capture the Flag, these reports are piling up and I just can’t. Tell someone to take notes for me and forward Rachel my apologies.” He concluded, looking back up to the Daughter of Ares, with eye bags underlining his eyes and his expression set in a frown. It still felt like he was adjusting to the titles he had: Head Councillor of Cabin Seven, Head Medic, seemingly the only person with half a brain during Capture the Flag.

“One, you know damn well I don’t do apologies; Two, she thought you might say this so I have the be the poor bastard who has to inform you, Head Councillor Attendance is required.” 

“I can’t just stop whatever I am doing for a Head Councillors meeting, Required Attendance be damned.” Will’s eyes settle it into a glare, his voice firm as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair.

“I literally just had to up and leave teaching a lesson at the arena so I think you can to.” Clarisse stepped forward, raising her voice as she met Will’s glare with her own.

“I have an infirmary to run!” 

“And I have children to keep from maiming another but we can’t be everywhere at once!” She yelled, now in front of the infirmary’s desk where Will stood on the other side. His face dropped into something unreadable as he lowered his head, after a long moment he slightly turned his head to the left like he was expecting something. Clarisse followed his gaze to land on, “Is that a shrine?”

“Yeah,” Will began, calmer than before, “My cabin mates put it up jokingly for good luck;” The Son of Apollo turned back to meet her eyes, chewing on the inside of his lip. “That year was the Battle of the Labyrinth, I still give offerings from time to time when I’m feeling the rush.” He finished off with a tight-lipped smile. Will’s eyes darted around the room before quietly asking, “What’s the meeting about again?”

She huffed, “I have no clue, Rach’ quite literally dragged me out of the arena, told me to come get you and meet back at the Big House; now I kindly suggest we leave now before she starts pelting blue hairbrushes at us.” Will smiled at that, pushing himself away from the desk before stopping.

“How long will the meeting go for?”

“Should be five to ten minutes, give or take.” 

Will nodded before rounding the desk and calling out, “Kayla! Do you know where Austin is?”

Kayla popped her head into the room, “He should be in the back sorting inventory, why?”

“I want you to take over covering reports while I’m in the meeting, I should be back in, I think five minutes, think you and him can manage while I’m gone?” Will questioned, his hands fluttering around the paperwork as he spoke to his little sister, in such a similar way from how Lee spoke to him.

Kayla rolled her eyes, “We’ll be fine, Will! Stop worrying and hovering around and go!” She shoved both Head Councillors out of the office with a huff.

Will furrowed his brows and scrunched up his face while turning to look back at the office door. “Where in Hades did she get the audacity?” He grumbled

“I’m looking at the source.” 

The Son of Apollo whipped his head around to glare at the Daughter of Ares, “Do you not want your cabin healed after Capture the Flag?” He snapped, raising an eyebrow.

“Do you want your head shoved down a toilet, Punk?” Clarisse snapped back, “Hurry up, we’re gonna miss the meeting at this rate.” She called back, already staring to walk away.

“Hey!” Will called, jogging to catch up with Clarisse as he muttered something about girls and audacity.

The two demigods walked together in silence, the noise of life at camp filling the space. The smell of the strawberry fields surrounding camp like an invisible fog, the afternoon sun shining brightly in the west, causing shadows to begin dancing around their respective campers and flora on the ground. Neither one of them spoke, not needing to fill the space; their cabins had come to a truce during Manhattan, but had officially settled their problems with one another after everything. With the help of the new councillors, Cabins 5 and 7 weren’t at each other’s throats (anymore than usual).

The blue paint of the Big House came into view as they rounded the corner, unusually quiet. “Where’s Chiron and Mr. D?” Will asked, turning to Clarisse.

The girl in question furrowed her brows as if just realising the quietness, “I think I saw Chiron at the archery range, and for all I know Mr. D could be napping or turning campers into dolphins.”

Will nodded in agreement and followed her inside. The rec room only had a few people inside as he glanced around, Rachel quietly pacing at the front of the room, Nico, head down and arms crossed on the ping pong table as he slept; Piper and Leo chatting at the end of the table (‘When will we actually get a real meeting room and table?’ Will wondered) as the latter fiddled with an assortment of wires. Clarisse plopped herself near the Son of Hades, still napping, and started cleaning her spear. 

Will ventured into the kitchen where he found Katie and Annabeth, who both respectively waved hello as he entered. “Do either of you now what this meeting is about?” Will started, taking a seat next to Annabeth.

“Not a clue.” Katie replied, swirling her (‘Ginger?’) tea with a spoon before continuing, “But I have a feeling that im gonna have to rangle Trav’ and Connor over here from wherever they are.”

“Rachel will probably have me go grab Percy soon if he doesn’t come.” Annabeth piped up, lifting her gaze off the architecture book in front of her to look at Katie and Will; she looked him up and down before stating with a smirk, “You look like you’ve slept the recommended 10 hours a night.”

“Why thank you Annabeth, how kind of you.” He replied, a dry smile matching his dry tone.

“Anytime.” She said, the smirk turning to a full shit-eating grin.

At that moment, Rachel walked into the room, impatience clear in her demeanour as she addressed Katie, “Do you think you’ll be able to grab the Stolls from wherever they are? I want to start this meeting ASAP.” 

“Of course I don’t mind.” The Daughter of Demeter waved off the Oracle, turning to the two blondes before leaving and giving them a ‘I-told-you-so’ look, muttering as such. Shortly after she left, Percy and Jason entered the kitchen, Will and Annabeth stopping their conversation to greet them both.

“Yeah, we passed Katie and she told us about the meeting and to go to the Big House, what’s it about anyway?” Percy questioned, leaning on the bench as he spoke.

Will shrugged, “We’re in the dark as much as you guys are, I haven’t asked Rachel yet but i doubt she’ll say anything before everyone arrives.” He tapped his finger on the table as he spoke.

Annabeth perked up a the word ‘everyone’, seemingly realising something; “Speaking of everyone, who are we missing from the rec room?”

“Uh, we saw Katie outside,” Jason began, starting to count the corresponding demigods on his fingers, “Rachel, Piper and Leo I saw.”

“Nico is asleep on the ping pong table.” Percy added, jerking his thumb to the connecting doorway.

“Nico is asleep on the ping pong table,“ Jason echoed, “You and Annabeth are right here, I also saw Clarisse sitting near Nico; am I missing anyone?” The Son of Jupiter finished, a questioning look on his face as he asked the other occupants of the room.

“Katie went to go grab the Stolls, so that leaves.. Pollux! Do you guys think you can go get him?” Annabeth replied, looking to the two newcomers.

“Yeah! We’ll be back in a minute!” Percy called as he skipped out of the room, dragging Jason in tow.

Will sighed as he stood up from the barstool, turning to the Daughter of Athena as he spoke, “I’m going to go wait in the rec room for those three, you coming?” He tilted his head towards the room as he asked her.

She smiled at the invite, but shook her head, “I’ll wait on the porch, but do you think you can save me a seat?” Hopefulness lacing in her tone as she asked.

The Son of Apollo rolled his eyes and smiled, “Obviously.” 

“Thanks, Will.” Annabeth smiled, relief on her face.

Will walked back to the other room, finding it more alive than before from the anticipation of the meeting; (‘Seriously, how long does Rachel think that a bunch of ADHD and ADD kids could be patient for?’) They were bound to get restless, himself included. He sat down at the ping pong table, making sure there were two extra chairs for Percy and Annabeth, per her request. He watched as Leo now fiddled with some pipe cleaners as he chatted with Piper at the end of the table, his hands seemingly having a mind of their own as he messed around. Will glanced over Piper to notice Nico, now awake, and to Clarrisse sitting next to him (‘With those dirty ass boots on the godsdamn table-‘), who for some reason was still tending to her spear, now polishing the spear tip with interest, sometimes turning the spear itself so the bronze tip would catch the light. His eyes swept over the four empty chairs on her right to look back at Rachel; she was also now in a chair, but he could tell she was bouncing her leg -fast- , her face tightly pinched as she tapped her phone on the side of the table.

Will heard the others arrive before he saw them.

“Where’s Katie and her two monkeys?” Percy asked as Will turned to greet them, Percy’s face scrunched up in confusion as he followed his girlfriend; Jason passed the two and rounded the front of the table to sit on Rachel’s left, and Will smiled when Pollux waved hello as he was moving to sit in the empty chair on his right.

“No clue, but if the bastards aren’t here soon im dragging those fuckers by the wings on their ankles” Clarisse spat, clearly over the waiting game. (‘Doesn’t that girl have an ounce of patience??’)

Annabeth looked at Clarisse with incredulity, “Clarisse, if you don’t get those dirty ass shoes-“

“WE’RE HOOME~” Travis burst into the room with his over the top but very in character entrance, unknowingly saving the Daughter of Ares from Annabeth’s wrath. Will also noticed Katie trailing behind Travis, a look of utter defeat and disappointment covering her face.

“Where’s Tweedle Dee? I thought you two were attached at the hip?” Nico finally spoke, seemingly pissed from Travis and his over the top bullshit. Will could relate. Heavily. (‘Wait I thought Connor was Tweedle Dum-‘)

“Can a guy not be parched and grab himself a simple beverage?” Connor entered the room and all Will could do was wince. He always felt like shit when he saw injuries he couldn’t fix; even though Connor didn’t tell him for hours after the initial injury -a badly sprained ankle- and took it like a champ, he should have been able to do something. But he couldn’t didn’t. And now Will had to watch Connor live with it, knowing he could have done something.

Travis narrowed his eyes as he looked at his younger brother, “Why are you limping?”  

Conner held out the can as he shrugged. “Just a bad day, that’s all,” He replied.

Travis glared, “You weren’t limping before.”

“Flare ups exist, dumbass.” The shitty feeling in Will’s stomach only grew as Connor spoke, he tried to smooth out his face before somebody could notice.

“You two need to stop picking at one another so Rachel can talk.” Annabeth interrupted the brothers, her face grim (‘Does she know what this meeting is about?’) as she continued; “There’s a reason she called us; the floor is yours, Dare.” She finalised, taking a seat next to her boyfriend. Will smiled a little at the unintentional rhyme.

“Annabeth is right,” Rachel began, hands pressed into the table as she looked at the teens gathered; an unreadable expression painting her face. 

“I want to start by saying this isn’t about any upcoming events at Camp Half-Blood. This conversation can not leave this room.” Her face darkened, Will -along with the other Head Councillors- grew even more apprehensive at Rachel’s tone in reply. Rachel sighed deeply, it almost sounded sad, she tilted her head down towards the table before she continued.

“There’s a new prophecy.” 

Will didn’t know how to react to that.

Will only needed to look at Rachel to see the regret, the anger, at this announcement, her hatred for putting the other demigods lives on the line; knowing the damage a single prophecy could -can- cause. He watched her ever so slightly shake from the emotions swirling inside her, just begging to be spilled. He noticed the water bottles placed periodically on the table shake, not needing to even turn to his left to know it was the Son of Poseidon’s doing; he didn’t blame him, Percy had been through enough. 

As the blonde sat there, no one had the guts to break the silence, opting to wear the faces of mourners or to simply stare at the air, too stunned to speak. Will couldn’t stand the silence, it felt like that every second that ticked by was another second closer to the chosen demigods demise. Maybe a little morbid, he knows, but he needed to spill the questions swelling in his mind.

Will stood up, not being able to stand sitting for any longer, “Do you remember what the prophecy was? Did you record or write it down? Do you have it?” He felt the questions come tumbling out of his mouth, (‘This was just supposed to be a normal councillors meeting this was just supposed to be a normal councillors meeting why-‘).

“Yea, yea I was able to record the prophecy before I blacked out, don’t worry.” Rachel cut Will’s thoughts off with her assurances, he heaved a sigh and sat back down; but that didn’t fully stop his worries.

Rachel turned her attention to her phone as she fiddled to find the recording as she explained, “I could feel the Spirit getting restless, so if I could just find the time..”

Rachel sighed in relief after a long moment, “Got it, I haven’t been able to write it down so if anyone has pen and paper that’ll be great.” Piper had a napkin and pen on hand (‘Where did she get those??’) and passed them across the table to Rachel. 

“Okay, everybody shut up, it’s playing in, three,” Will had to remind himself to regulate his breathing.

“Two,” (‘Why is she counting down so ominously?’)

“One.” The Oracle pressed play.

“Child of thieves, child of plagues and child of plays, 
Work together in tandem to escape old ways, 
Stuck in what was once their own, 
Truth in turn will be displayed and shown, 
Yellow, green, and purple threads unexpectedly intertwined, 
To try and survive under the radar of the divine.”

The room was silent. Will couldn’t stand it, he had too many thoughts and he knew, he knew that they didn’t have much time; they never seem to.

“At least it’s.. more straightforward than the usual..?” Will could almost could hear the neck cracking as everyone turned to face Leo. The Latino shrunk in onto himself slightly, not expecting the immediate reaction. “I mean it’s easier to narrow down who the demigods are, like my quest with Piper and Jason. Y’know, ‘Child of Lightning, The Forge and The Dove’ ? That was pretty straightforward, and is it this one to? Like the trio was literally mentioned in the first line.” As Leo spoke, he gained more confidence as he explained the reasoning.

“Leo makes a good point, if we figure out the demigods now then we can get them prepared as fast as possible; I didn’t hear a time limit but we can’t just wait around and stall.” The eyes trained on Leo all flicked over to the Son of Hades when he started speaking.

“But we don’t know where they’re going, at no point of the prophecy does it mention a direction or place. We can’t just pack them up and leave them at a bus terminal.” It was staring to feel like a tennis match, as Will turned to listen to Percy’s statement.

Jason turned to Rachel, grabbing the room’s attention. “Are you sure that’s the whole prophecy? Can you make sure we’re not missing a line or something?”

Rachel leaned her head against the palm of her hand as she tried to explain, “I’m sorry Jason but that is all that’s there. Theres no extra stanzas The Spirit forgot or neglected to say; that’s all we have to work with.”

“I hate to say this but I’m with Percy,“ Clarisse began, “We can’t just dump them in the city and pray for the best. We need a plan for action; Chase?”

Annabeth stood up. “We need a plan for action, that’s a definite. But before we can figure out where the questers are going to go; we need to figure out the questers themselves. Leo brought up a good point earlier with the titles, if we can review those, we’ll be able to narrow them down and then, we can discuss travelling. Does that sound reasonable?” She finished her speech off with the question, once the room agreed; she continued. “Rachel, if you can pass me the napkin we can get started.” The redhead complied and passed her the napkin as the Daughter of Athena sat back down. “Alright, first line reads: ‘Child of thieves, child of plagues and child of plays/’ if we were to go off of Leo’s assumption of the titles connecting to the gods; who do we think of?” 

Before anyone was able to throw ideas around, someone muttered something.

“Child of Plays.”

“What was that, Pollux?” Annabeth replied, clearly confused by the out of context comment.

“I’m the Child of Plays.”

“Care to share with the class your reasoning, dude?” Connor questioned, his head cocked to the side; similar to everyone else’s reactions.

“Dionysos is the God of Theatre, right? What happens -usually- in theatre’s, especially older ones? Plays. And I can prove my argument that I know one of you are going to ask,” Pollux took a breath from his rant to pitch his voice differently; “‘Are you sure you’re the Child of Plays, Pollux? It could be a different Child of Dionysus!’ And all I need to say to counter that argument is, ‘Do you see any other children of Dionysos at this camp?’” He was standing up at this point, but he looked.. off. His hands were twitching, clenching then unclenching as if to ground himself. His face was almost in a scowl, but it was like he wasn’t fulling committing to the expression. The persona he was trying to display was slipping in places, like a poorly put on mask; but he had a point no one could refute though.

The room was nearly silent, the only prominent noise being Pollux’s huffs of air as they all waited for Annabeth’s verdict. “Well, that’s information I can’t -and won’t- deny, thank you Pollux.” She nodded towards the blonde in question as he sat back down. Will wasn’t used to Pollux being so forward, but after the death of his twin Pollux doubled down on his training and sword fighting; becoming one of our best sword fighters.

As Annabeth wrote down the information on paper, Will’s mind began to wander. Where were the questers going? We’re they going to go out of the country like last time? How long are they going to be gone for? When will be a good time for the questers to leave? How much ambrosia and nectar does he need to lend out? How is Kayla and Austin doing without him? Is Kayla doing okay with the paperwork? What other inventory is he going to need to order? Did Austin clean everything properly like he showed him? Is he forgetting anything?When is lights out gonna come around? When are the harpies going to serve barbecue again? He might need to pull another all nighter-

“William!”

The boy in question shot out of his thoughts. “Hm?” He tried to acting like he was listening. Acting was never his strong suit.

“Who are you voting for? Connor or Travis?” Percy asked him, by the look on his face it seemed he asked will multiple times already.

“Why are we voting on them? They’re both terrible options.” Will heard a huff of amusement -probably from Pollux- from behind him before Connor cut in.

“SEE? Will dosen’t think we need this stupid vote (I never said that but alright) and plus, I. Have already. Volunteered.” Connor seethed, directing his glare to his older brother. It was a rare sight to see a Stoll wear most negative emotions on either boy’s face, let alone seriously arguing with one another.

“You’re right.” Travis began with an irritated look, “Most of the room already agrees that I should be the one to go on the quest, so sit back down!”

Will leaned over to Pollux as he spoke, “When did we figure out that one of the Stolls were going on the quest?”

“About 3 minutes ago while you were zoned out, Hermes is the God of Thieves.” The Son of Dionysos replied, still eyeing the argument.

The arguing continued as Will asked another question, “Stupid question, but why can’t we just send both of the Stolls on the quest? Like, I know the number 3 is like, sacred in Greek Mythology and all but didn’t Annabeth break that rule on her quest?”

“Good point, but the quest only calls for one child: ‘Child of Thieves, Child of Plagues, Child of Plays.’” Will noticed that Pollux hesitated with the last one but he didn’t mention it. “By sending two children of Thieves, that’s directly ignoring the prophecy’s deliberate wording, and ultimately setting yourself and the rest of your companions up for failure.”

“Pollux, I might have been hearing wrong and not realising this entire time, but can you repeat the titles again please?”

Pollux furrowed his brows in confusion but complied, “What’s wrong Will?”

Will stared holes in to the ping pong table as he drooped his head into his hands and sighed, “Oh sweet baby hellhounds in a picnic basket.”

Pollux’s face broke out into a confused smile before asking with an incredulous tone, “Dude what the fuck did you just say?”

“Pollux my Dad is the God of Plagues.” Pollux’s smile was gone as they stared at one another.

“Oh shit.”

Will stared harder. “No shit.”

But before either boy could say more, a loud bang on the table scared both of them.

“LISTEN TO ME. YOU, ARE NOT, GOING.”  Travis was standing as well at this point, glaring at his younger brother while Connor stood defiantly.

“WHY THE FUCK NOT? WHAT MAKES YOU SO MUCH MORE SPECIAL?” Connor yelled back, his voice much louder than before. Will had never seen the brothers argue to this extent, yes the Stolls were known for their petty disagreements and bickering and all the times they gave each other the cold shoulder; but they always made up by dinner time. This was on the very edge of a full blown fight.

Travis took a couple of breaths before speaking again, clearly not wanting to tip over that edge. “Connor, I just want to keep you safe. I-“

“SAFE?” The younger boy cut him off, a look of incredulous and disbelief as he ranted, “Travis we’re demigods! When are the lives of demigods ever been safe? We don’t even know the time limit on this quest!  The last quest issued went on for MONTHS. You have college in the fall! You can’t miss that!” His face had morphed into something of frustration and almost.. pleading?

“Exactly Connor, I have college in the fall, I’m the eldest person going and someone has to keep everybody safe.” Travis stood his ground, staring down his sibling as if daring him to argue more.

Connor looked ready to throw hands. His fist on the table was in a knuckle-white grip and slightly shaking; he was staring with absolute murder in his eyes. But then Katie stood up, Connor’s eyes flashed with hope as he pleaded with the girl. “Katie c’mon you have to be on my side here! You’re going to college with him for Gods’ sake and you need him to stay. C’mon please!”

Katie grabbed Travis’ arm from behind and the Son of Hermes’ face fell, and that was before she stared talking. “Connor.. Travis is right. Theres no easy way to say this, but there’s no say on this quest, someone needs to keep the others safe and in check. The quest you’re referring to is an outlier compared to the others in comparison, only going for an average of a few days to two weeks at most. I’m sorry, but it’s for the best.” The daughter of Demeter finished her speech with a sorrowful look, Travis tried stepping forward and bargaining with Connor, but he wasn’t having it.

“I seriously thought that you would have been on my side Katie, guess not.” The Son of Hermes’ face had settled into a simple resting bitch face, and he then said something no one would have expected from him.

“Fuck you, Travis.”

The boy in question recoiled as if he’d been slapped, Connor weaved around him and all the other occupants in the room but it wasn’t needed as everyone was just.. frozen. Connor stopped just at the doorway, his hand curling around the frame before he spoke. “Good luck with the quest, Pollux. And to the Child of Plagues as well.” He slammed the door on his way out.

Everyone winced at the sound, and Travis just seemed to deflate. He looked conflicted with himself, unsure; Annabeth tried to reassure him that he did the right thing. He turned to face her, “I hope to The Gods I did.”

It took some time to readjust from.. whatever that was. It still stunned Will a little from the argument, he always knew the Stolls to be attached at the hip, always planning their next set of shenanigans and pranks together. Not having the two boys at each other’s throats, let alone over a quest. Will realised the closest thing The Sons of Hermes got to one was the Battle of Manhattan, and no one counted that shit show of PTSD a quest.

“Okay,” Annabeth started, more hesitant than last time. “We have Travis for the Child of Thieves and Pollux is the Child of Plays; all we need left is the Child of Plagues. Anyone have any ideas?”

“It’s Will.”

“Funny story…”

Will and Pollux spoke at the same time, gathering surprised looks from the Son of Dionysos’ blunt approach and amused looks from the Son of Apollo’s much gentler approach. 

Rachel clicked her younger in surprise, “Well, that makes things easy. We have our three questers! Is there anything anybody wants to say before we finish the meeting off?” The Oracle questioned, looking around the table at its occupants.

“Yea, your best chance to pack is either tonight or just after you wake up, we can figure out everything: where you guys need to go, what you’ll need, etc, tomorrow. Just try and get a decent nights sleep and say your ‘See you laters”.  It’s getting close to dinner time anyway.” Percy finished off, gesturing to the darkening sky as proof.

“Questers, anything you guys wanna say?”

“Yes, no late night tonight; either of you. Try and get as much sleep as possible for your energy tomorrow.” Travis added, a pointed look aimed at the medic who nodded in understanding.

“Welp, if that’s all; Meeting closed. Good luck, Questers.” Annabeth concluded the meeting, everyone began shuffling out, saying their own good lucks and byes to the trio; but Will felt like he was on auto pilot. He was going on the quest. He was the Child of Plagues.

Well this was going to be interesting.

Chapter Text

Connor didn’t know when he ended up on the floor.

Now look, he didnt mind the floor! He used to sleep there all the time with Travis before Manhattan; but now they have the room for all the Hermes kids and the unclaimed to be on beds now. Maybe he fell out in his sleep? Y’know, from tossing and turning so much. he did have a weirdass dream though…

Connor stands on the side of a highway, 4 empty lanes of asphalt in front of him. He sees a… fruit stand? Yea, an old-fashioned fruit stand with three *extremely* old ladies, like, so many wrinkles (‘How can he tell from so far away??’). Anyway, he walks forward, but before he could get far, 

“Travis?”

Travis had pushed infront, muttering something like not going. Travis had reached the fruit stand, but no matter what fruit he hovered his hand over, the three old ladies would sync up and say, 

“Not that one.”

It was weird, to say the least.

Connor jogged up to the fruit stand and looked at the array of fruit: Apricots, pears, strawberries, kiwis, dragonfruit, starfruit, grapes, oranges, passionfruits, bananas (‘Hehe’), cantaloupes, watermelons ,and even more stuff he couldn’t name (‘Miranda wouldn’t shut up about fruit one time, don’t ask’).

Connor had no clue how this rickety old stand could hold this much fruit, but it was a dream, his dreams didn’t need to obey the laws of time and physics. Within the display, right at the front were the greenest Granny Smith apples the Son of Hermes had ever seen, like, the type of apples you only see in supermarket commercials.

Connor was in a dream. No laws needed to be obeyed in his dreams. He was hungry.

It was unusual to see Travis so indecisive (‘It’s literally just fruit dude c’mon’). But, he was keeping the three old ladies distracted. Now, Connor only stoll stole from million dollar companies, y’know, Walmart, Whole Foods, The LEGO Store, places that would put up a hissy fit but it didn’t hurt their fat wallets. He didn’t condone stealing from small stalls like this; that was just a dick move.

Connor thumbed the dip of the apple, it rolled off the stand; just before it thumped into his palm, the Son of Hermes looked up at the trio of women.

“That one.” They smiled.

The apple fell into his open hand, and he woke up.

Why was he still on the floor again? Right, probably fell out of bed; but now that he sat up and looked around the cabin, something was off.

The Hermes’ cabin was way more crowded, children sleeping on small spots on the floor. It looked like before; Before Manhattan, before.. before Luke left. (‘It’s probably just a prank..’) And his ankle felt fine. Weird.

Connor tried adjusting to the darkness, and to the small sea of bodies on the ground. He felt someone shifting slightly and he turned to look down.

*SMACK*

The sound seem to reverberate through the tight room, but it was better that Connor screaming.

Who he saw sleeping next to him was Travis. A thirteen year old Travis. Connor frantically looked around the room again, but this time he didn’t just skim over the faces. Miranda, Chris, Jake, Lacy, Mitchell, Ethan, Alabaster, Lou Ellen.

Children who had gone missing, Children who had been claimed, Children who had joined the other side, Children who had died.

Connor was surrounded by dead bodies, all of them still breathing.

Connor clawed tightly to keep his hand on his face, he knew that nice he let go the floodgates would burst. He bit his lips, the insides of his mouth , his tongue; he tried anything to keep the sobs at bay. He looked down at his other hand gripping his shirt like a lifeline. Connor forced himself to let go to look down at his ankles.

After the war, Hermes had pulled Connor and Travis aside with the promise of a gift.

“I know, I should be saying ‘Use these wisely!’ But you two should know the most I’m not that guy..” Hermes tried to joke, but it fell flat. Connor was limping badly, having to put almost all his weight on his right foot with the help of Travis. Neither of them were doing too well, both being covered in scrapes, bruises, cuts, and other assorted injuries. They still had to count their dead and tend to the wounded.

Hermes cleared his throat. “Anyway, I had come to the.. realisation that,” He looked away before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I have not been the most…. present father. But I wanted to thank you both. When, when Luke.. left; you two stepped up as the Head Councillors. You two both kept my cabin, and its occupants, in check; and I wanted to gift you both something for your resilience.”

“What..” Travis started, looking unsurely to Connor, who wore a similar expression. “What did you have in mind..?” 

Hermes simply smiled, eyes crinkling around the edges. “Maia.” He spoke as he snapped his fingers once.

Instantly, on either sides of both boy’s ankles their skin started to glow. Their ankles started getting hotter and hotter and Connor thought he would pass out from the immense heat plus his sprained ankle. Suddenly, it was as almost if the bright lights bursted from their ankles, the boys squeezed their eyes so tightly it hurt to compensate for the pain; because screaming infront of your dad isn’t the best first impression. Then, the pain -from the ‘gift’, not from the sprained ankle- had subsided, Connor looked down to see

“Oh what the actual fuc-“

Travis slapped his free hand over his mouth before he could finish his sentence; where the burning lights had been, were wings. A singular dove wing was fluttering on either side of their ankles, just like the ones on Hermes’ sandals.

“You.. you gave us wings.” Connor breathed, looking up at his father.

The god in question only huffed a laugh. “ They’re only dove wings, but they should have a similar -if not the same- concept of my sandals. You only need to say the trigger word to retract or activate the wings, you will probably only need a short running start to get them going, and the mist should conceal them so you can wear normal shoes. They’ll react to your voice only, unlike the shoes.” Hermes finished off his small speech before adding on in a softer, smaller tone. “I hope you like them.”

Connor wanted anklewings back. His ankles were bare, not wearing the sunburst scars from the gift, and the wings protruding from the centre. His left ankle also felt fine. It was weird, not having the constant ache and now having both ankles be equally flexible.

It felt wrong.

Everything felt wrong, the air inside the cabin somehow too warm on his skin, the hair on his head being too short but the curls are somehow still in his eyes, the clothes covering him being the wrong size yet somehow still fitting him, the body he was forced into being too small, too lanky, too young; but somehow being just right.

Wait a fucking second. 

He was forced into this body. 
He can’t get out. 
Connor is stuck. 

Oh shit.

“Stuck in what was once your own,” 
The damn prophecy wasn’t being vague and misleading like usual, it was being the most straightforward motherfucker on the planet! Too bad Connor was too homosexual to catch it the first time.

(‘I really need to stop with the jokes if I’m gonna take this seriously..’)
“Shut up!” Connor quietly told himself, his voice was too high for a seventeen year old boy, but perfect for an eleven year old. He needs to stop comparing things before he goes crazy.

Connor took a few shuddering breaths before making an attempt to stand up, his own jokes had calmed him down ever so slightly; but not enough that if someone were to look at him, deem Connor okay. He still had his hand over his mouth, albeit a much softer grip than the full on clamp on his face from earlier. Connor let go of his face entirely, a few sniffles escaping him before he could escape the confinements of Cabin Eleven.

He tried shuffling away from his older brother, but that only led to the roster possible scenario, Travis waking up.

“Con..? Dude, what are you doing up? Luke’ll kill you.” Travis whispered, Hypnos’ domain still trying to lull the older (‘Younger?’) boy back to sleep.

Connor winced for two reasons; One, being the implication that their previous (‘Current? This is getting too confusing.’) Head Councillor would kill him, knowing about the seemingly sudden betrayal from Luke. Even in his own head does the name leave a confusing aftertaste in his mouth. Secondly, Connor was still pissed at Travis about the meeting. He made the choice to storm out of the room. But, despite very popular belief, Connor was not a dumbass. After he slammed the door he sat down and listened to the rest of the meeting through the keyhole and cracks. Thank his Father for better hearing for better eavesdropping.

“I’m-..” Connor stopped himself to clear his throat. “I’m okay, Travis. Go back to sleep.” Connor then realised; that was NOT what Travis had asked him, and he had royally fucked up. Someone retract his previous statement. He was a dumbass.

“That’s.. not what I asked you, Con.” Connor wished, no prayed that Travis would stop calling him that. “Did you have a nightmare? Are you okay? Do you want me to wake up Luke?” Travis was speed running questions in a hushed tone, much more awake from his little brother’s out of character reaction and response.

“Seriously Travis, I’m okay!!” Connor frantically whispered, he hurried to get up and in the process, had stepped on some poor kid’s hand. “Ah shit.”

At his point, Connor had dug and lined a six foot grave for himself. “What did you just say?!” Travis loudly asked him. Yes, loudly. Fun Fact! Hermes children are known to be light sleepers! So what do you get when you have a overwhelmed Connor Stoll, a thirteen year old Travis Stoll triggered into ‘Older Sibling Mode” who forgets his volume, and an overstuffed cabin of Hermes children and unclaimed campers?

A: Chaos.
B: A shit show.
C: Connor getting his ass whooped with an audience.

A double clap turned the lights on suddenly, causing a myriad of groans, curses, and other noises of disagreement to be thrown around the cabin. A voice full of authority rang out and Connor finally understood the expression ‘Blood running cold.’

“What’s going on?”

The answer was D: A pissed off Luke.

“Connor started it!” Travis yelled out, the boy in question turning incredulously to Travis pointing at him. 

Connor was going to strangle Travis; or cry, whichever came first.

Now that the lights were on, Connor could see every camper’s face, clear as day.

Connor was going to cry first, but he’ll be damned if anybody saw it.

Luke looked down at him with furrowed brows and a frown. “Connor, what were you-“ Connor didn’t let him finish, he was already shoving people out of his way; it wasn’t like him to be such a dick. But everything was too hot, too loud, too bright, and somehow Connor’s brain had acknowledged his shirt collar to be too tight and his skin is too sweaty and his tongue doesn’t sit right in his mouth anymore and he needs to LEAVE.

The late night air (‘What day is it?’) was like a cooling cream on his skin from where it was hot; his lungs felt like they could never expand enough, feeling barricaded by his rib cage.

There was someone beside him, he could see their frantic hand movements in his peripherals, the noises they were making were almost erratic, so heavily worried about his outburst. He knew who it was; he knew him so well; (‘But did I?’) how he responded to his sibling’s negative reactions, he somehow always knew how to calm them down.

Connor finally tuned Luke’s words in. “You can’t just push people out of your way like that, you need to tell me what happened Connor. I’m really worried about you.” Luke had gotten on one knee near the end, trying to turn the younger boy’s downturned face towards his own to look at him. Connor didn’t want to talk, he didn’t want to turn and look at this man, (‘He’s only eighteen, he’s only a year older than me.’) knowing what he one day will do.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Connor tried not to cringe at the sound of his voice, high-pitched and now just that ever so scratchy undertone from his unwanted emotions added to the mix, he sounded like a whiney child. He hated that. And what doesn’t he want to talk about? The fact that he is refusing to look at his cabin mate, Head Councillor, his brother, in the face? All over something that hasn’t even happened yet? Does he not want to talk about the five years of problems surrounding his demigods life? Does he not want to talk about his current problems? What does Connor not want to talk about?

“That’s okay,” Luke began; still trying to gently turn Connor’s face to meet it. “We don’t have to talk about it just yet.” (‘Just, yet.’) “Do you want to go for a walk around the cabin area? That might help you.” Luke offered, Connor took it and weighed his options in. 

Pro’s: Connor can try and collect his thoughts, get used to the changes of his body, and he can stay away from Travis for just a second longer.

Con’s: Connor will be walking with Luke. He might have to talk (to Luke). He might have to make eye contact (with Luke).

This was a terrible idea.

“Yea, okay.” Connor replied, reluctance evident in his voice.

Luke smiled and huffed a sigh of relief. “C’mon then, we can’t be out too long; unless you want to be harpy food?” Luke tried to joke, but it fell flat.

Connor really didn’t want to do this, but Luke was already helping Connor to his feet, (‘When did I sit down??’) and pulling him gently along. As the duo walked, Connor tried to keep his head down, but he never realised the temptation of looking at what was once his. (‘Who the fuck am I? Rapunzel??’) He felt like Bambi, with his very shortened legs, tripping up enough to have his older brother Luke look at him with is lips pursed; but he didn’t say anything. Damn Luke’s parental instincts.

Connor looked up at the upcoming Dionysus cabin, it was weird how Luke was going anti-clockwise, instead of tracing the horseshoe shape. Though Connor could only try hard not to stare at the empty spaces where the newer cabins should be; he felt weird knowing half of the kids sleeping on the floor should be in the cabins that should already be made for them. It sucked to see all of Percy’s hard work just… not exist. The Son of Hermes saw The  Son of Poseidon as a brother, and he knew damn well Percy felt the same. Or else he would of ratted Connor out to Chiron about the weed.

It wasn’t long after The Battle of Manhattan that Connor started selling weed, and Connor started smoking the plant shortly after the Battle of the Labyrinth; he stopped so he could have a sober and clear head for the war, but he picked that joint up not a week after August 18th.

He looked across the yard to the odd cabins, having gotten used to his dumbass eleven year old body. He notices the turned on lights of the Apollo cabin. He stops, having to back track slightly to get a better look. Luke looks confusingly at the younger boy but complies. Something’s wrong. All of the Apollo campers (‘Has there always been that many?’) are crowding around something. A girl Connor doesn’t recognise steps away to grab something, leaving a clear shot for Connor to see in the window.

A small boy is crying. He’s hunched in on himself, almost like he’s trying to hide underneath the thick, blond, curls on his head. He keeps desperately wiping at his face with tanned hand and arms, covered in a layer of freckles that look like flecked on paint. An older boy lifts his head up by the sides of his face he gently cradles. The crying child opens his eyes.

Blue eyes. Clear blue eyes.

Connor knows those eyes. He’s friends with those eyes.

“Will?”