You're Gonna Go Far Kid

by JercyShore

"The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies" An au in which Jason Grace is Greek instead of Roman and he betrays camp instead of Luke. Title taken from The Offspring's "you're gonna go far kid".

A/N: This is a Greek!Jason fic during the timeline of The Lightening Thief through the Last Olympian Luke didn't betray camp in this AU. If you have a problem with dark!Jason and or Greek!Jason then don't read. And please don't comment saying "This isn't canon! Jason would never act like this!1!" I know that, this is just for fun, emphasis on the AU. It goes against Jason's character, sure, I know. But nobody ever writes about dark!Jason so I'm giving this a second try.

Also, this is really badly edited. Commas are my worst enemy I'm sorry if that bugs you. But anyways, enjoy!

---

"C'mon, guys!" A young Grover Underwood yelled out at the others. "Camp is just this way! We're almost there!"

Thalia ran alongside Grover, dragging a six year old Jason Grace behind her. Determined to keep her baby brother safe. "They're gaining on us!" Little seven year old blonde haired Annabeth cried out, clutching their friend Luke Castellan's hand. At that moment, Thalia knew what she had to do to keep her friends and family safe.

"Luke! Take care of Jason." Thalia let go of her brother's hand and pulled out her knife from her pocket. "I'll hold them off." Luke looked at her with a pained expression but took Jason's hand nonetheless and dragged him away from his older sister, despite the six year old's protests.

"Thalia no! They'll kill you!" Annabeth protested.

"Go! Grover take them to safety." Thalia stood her ground, knowing she wasn't going to be making it out alive. Luke and Grover tried to drag Annabeth and Jason into safety but the six and seven year olds refused to leave their sister and friend to die. Little Annabeth and Jason watched with wide fearful teary eyes, as Thalia died in front of them then being turned into a pine tree by Zeus. Luke and Grover having to drag them away into Camp Half-Blood kicking and screaming.

---

Jason knew a new camper would be coming into camp soon, he just didn't know who it would be or when they were coming. But he knew they would have an important role in the future. Kronos told him that much. He didn't understand how important or useful this person could be to him since he's obviously the child of the prophecy. But either way, he had to make friends with the kid. Kronos made that clear, and Jason really didn't want to mess up Kronos's orders again. Not after last time.

Jason was practicing with Luke in the arena when Grover, the satyr who brung him to camp, was half carrying, half dragging a kid with messy dark hair into camp. Jason stopped his practice with Luke to watch. As soon as Grover was into camp, a couple of Apollo kids rushed over to help take the unconscious boy to the infirmary. He didn't look very old, his age maybe, eleven or twelve. He must be the kid Kronos told him about.

"New camper." Luke said, bringing Jason out of his thoughts. "I wonder what he did to knock himself unconscious."

"I'm gonna go see." Jason said. "I'll see you at dinner." Luke shrugged and went back to training the other demigods as Jason put his sword away and went to the infirmary.

"Jason." Lee Fletcher, head counselor of the Apollo cabin, said giving him a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"Just wanted to see what happened with the new kid."

Lee sighed and shook his head, "I'm going to tell you what I told Annabeth and the other curious eyes, nobody is seeing him until Chiron does and I'm not letting out any information until Chiron knows the full details. The kid just arrived. You can visit the guy tomorrow."

Jason wanted to argue but he knew it was pointless. He'll just have to sneak in later tonight. Annabeth probably already has with her invisibility hat. He almost scowled, he should've known she would try to see the kid. Probably thinking he's the one who's going to take her out of camp and onto a quest. Just like she does with every new camper. It's getting ridiculous.

Jason sighed. "Alright Lee." Jason walked over to Annabeth and stood on the side of her. "Did you catch a glimpse of him?"

Annabeth nodded, probably thinking of a plan to get into the infirmary. "He doesn't look like much. Kind of scrawny."

Jason smirked at her. "Still think he's the one?"

"Everyone's my golden ticket until proven otherwise." Annabeth said, turning to look at him. "Why are you here? I thought you were practicing with Luke."

"I came to see what was going on. Lee sent me away though." Annabeth nodded in understanding, most likely ignoring what he just said. Jason rolled his eyes. "Heard anything about him?"

"I overheard Chiron talking to Lee about moving him into the Big House's sick room. I'm not sure why though. But Lee agreed. Chiron is gonna have him moved later tonight to avoid stares and whispers."

"He must be important if Chiron wants to watch over him." Jason said. "What do think is so important about him?"

"I'm not quite sure why Chiron wants to keep an eye on him. But," Annabeth said, turning towards him. "Maybe, Chiron thinks he's a powerful demigod. I mean he did leave for a few months."

'He's definitely important', Jason thought to himself. 'He's the kid Kronos told you about. Don't screw this up.'

"Maybe he's the reason why." Annabeth said. "Maybe this kid is powerful. Maybe another child of the big three."

"You think so?" Jason asked.

"If he wasn't, I don't think Chiron would have him moved to the Big House tonight. He must be really important or powerful to have Chiron's attention like that."

Jason couldn't help but agree with her on that one. Even Kronos knew he would be important in the future. He just didn't know how important he would be.

---

Percy woke up in the infirmary to a young blond kid sitting on his bed. Percy blinked his eyes open and looked around confused. The blond handed him a glass of water. "You're finally awake."

Percy took the glass from the stranger's hand and took a sip, instantly feeling better. "Where am I?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"Camp Half-Blood. You've been out for two days."

"Two days?" Percy asked, surprised.

The blond nodded. "Do you remember anything?"

"My friend Grover..he had goat legs..mentioned something about being a satyr. And my mom.." The memories of Sally being killed by the Minotaur suddenly hit him.

Jason gave him a look of understanding. "You should rest more. I'll let Chiron and Grover know you're fine." The blond got off his bed and made his way to leave the big house's sick room.

"Who are you?" Percy asked, bewildered at the kid.

The guy turned back towards him and gave him a small smile. "Jason. Jason Grace." He then turned back around and left the room. Percy fell back asleep instantly.

A few hours later the blond kid from earlier, Jason, walked back into the room. This time, with another blonde following behind him. "You drool when you sleep."

Percy blushed in embarrassment and quickly wiped his mouth. The blonde sat near him on his bed and looked at him calculatingly. "What's gonna happen on the solstice?"

"I'm sorry..what?" Percy asked in confusion. What is this crazy blonde chick talking about?

"Annabeth," Jason scolded. "The guy is finally coming around."

"He could be the one.." She mumbled under her breath.

Jason sighed, "How are you feeling?"

"Better I guess. Confused."

"Understandable." Jason said with a smile.

"What is this place?" Percy asked.

"Camp Half-Blood." Jason answered.

"Camp what?"

"Half-Blood. A safe haven for demigods."

"Demigods?" Percy asked. Was he still dreaming? "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sure you learned all about Greek mythology in school." Percy nodded, still confused. "Well this place is for the children of the gods of Olympus. This is where we train."

"What?"

"Come on." Jason gave him a small smile. "Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."

"Waiting? Waiting on me? Why? Am I in trouble?" Percy asked.

Jason laughed at the look of utter confusion on Percy's face and smiled. "You're not in trouble. You'll see. Maybe Chiron can explain things better than I can." Jason helped him up and out of bed and led to him to where these 'Mr. D and Chiron' people were at.

His legs argued about getting out of bed and moving so much, but he'd been out of it for two days, he was curious as to what this place looked liked.

---

After his meeting and a game of pinochle with Chiron and Mr. D., he was able to leave the Big House and get a tour of camp. While Annabeth showed him around, she pointed out things here and there and explained some more things.

They passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the Minotaur horn Percy was carrying. "That's him." Campers would whisper to their friends.

Annabeth dragged him along. "The woods are stocked, if you want a challenge, but go armed." Annabeth said.

"Stocked with what?" he asked. "Armed with what?"

"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"

"My own-?"

"No," Annabeth said. "I don't think you would. I'll have to let Chiron know."

He wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. They saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Annabeth mentioned Chiron didn't seem to like very much), the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Annabeth said they held sword and spear fights. Was this supposed to be like the gladiator days? He wasn't sure he was prepared for that.

"Sword and spear fights?" He asked.

"Cabin challenges and all that," she explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, and there's the mess hall." Annabeth pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.

"What do you do when it rains?" he asked.

Annabeth looked at him like he'd lost his head. "We still have to eat, don't we?" Percy decided to drop the subject.

Finally, she showed him the cabins. They were arranged in a giant U, with two at the front and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most strange collection of cabins he had ever seen. Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, even on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike.

The two cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleum. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

"Zeus and Hera?" he guessed. Annabeth nodded. "Their cabins look empty."

"Several of the cabins are. That's true. Only one person stays in one. Nobody ever stays in two."

Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty? He stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three. He peeked inside the open doorway. "Oh, I wouldn't do that!" Annabeth said.

Before she could pull him back, he caught the salty scent in the room, like the wind on the shore at a beach. There were empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign of life anywhere in the cabin. The place felt so sad and lonely, he was glad when Annabeth put her hand on his shoulder and dragged him off in a different direction.

Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers. They kept walking until they made it to the last cabin on the left, the one he figured where he would be staying at. The blond guy he'd met at the Big House was sitting in front of the cabin, number eleven, poking the ground with a sword looking bored. When they reached him, he gave them a friendly smile.

Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most normal. It looked like one of those stereotypical cabins you'd see at most summer camps, but older and more worn down. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. Inside, it was filled with kids, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds.

He stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They were staring at him sizing him up. He knew this routine. He'd gone through it at enough schools.

"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."

So naturally he tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of himself. There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.

"Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven." Annabeth said.

"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.

He didn't know what to say, but Jason did however, "Undetermined."

Everybody groaned.

A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."

The guy was about nineteen, and he looked like one of those college frat boys. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy blond hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like he was in a knife fight at some point.

"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. He glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing. She saw him looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."

"For now?" He asked.

"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."

Percy looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given him. He had nothing to put there to mark it as his own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. He thought about setting that down, but then he remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.

He looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing him as if they were waiting for a chance to pick his pockets.

"How long will I be here?" he asked.

"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."

"How long will that take?" The campers all laughed.

"Come on," Jason said. "We'll show you the volleyball court."

"I've already seen it."

"Come on." He grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside. He could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind him.

When they were a few feet away, Annabeth stopped to look at him. "Jackson, you have to do better than that."

"What?"

She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."

"Annabeth, give him a break." Jason said. "He's new."

"What's your problem?" Percy was getting angry now.

Annabeth ignored him and kept walking, Jason and a scowling Percy following behind her.

---

They showed him a few more places: the armory and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough. He was sure that sorta thing had to be illegal at other summer camps.

Finally they returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.

"I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."

"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets."

"Whatever." She said, going on her way.

"Just ignore her Percy." Jason said, turning to face him. "Y'know how preteen girls are."

"That's it. I want to go home now."

Jason frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."

"You mean, mentally ill kids?"

"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."

"Half-human and half-what?"

"I think you know."

He didn't want to admit it, but he was afraid he did. He felt a tingling in his limbs, a sensation he sometimes felt when his mom talked about his dad.

"God," he said. "Half-god."

Jason nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."

"That's crazy."

"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennial?"

"But if all the kids here are half-gods-"

"Demigods," Jason said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."

"Then who's your parent?"

Jason gripped his sword in his hand so tightly that his knuckles started turning white. For a moment, he feared he'd went too far asking and that Jason would slice him with his sword for having the audacity to ask such a question.

"Zeus." He said, his voice sounding forced.

"So, you're forced to sleep alone in an empty cabin? Does that ever get lonely?"

"Very much."

"So how long will I be undetermined for? How do I even get determined?"

"Your father will send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens."

"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"

Jason looked like he was busy trying to hold back some emotions. He just couldn't decide what emotions. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always...They don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us. They only acknowledge us when they want something from us."

He thought about some of the kids he'd seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. He'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn't have the time to deal with them. But gods should behave better.

"So I'm stuck here," he said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"

"It depends," Jason said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force. The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble: about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world. But very, very few are like that."

"So monsters can't get in here?"

Jason shook his head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."

"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?" Percy asked.

"Practice fights. Practical jokes."

"Practical jokes?"

"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."

"So...you're a year-rounder?"

Jason nodded. From under the collar of his T-shirt he pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's and Annabeth's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.

"I've been here since I was six," he said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."

"Why did you come so young?"

Jason put his necklace back in his shirt. "That's a question for another day."

"Oh." He could sense it was a sensitive subject. "So...I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"

"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless..."

"Unless?" He asked confused.

"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time..." His voice trailed off. He could tell from his tone that the last time hadn't gone well.

"Back in the sick room," he said, "Annabeth asked me something about the summer solstice."

Jason sighed, "Annabeth just wants to get out of this camp. Don't worry about it too much."

"She sounded like it was important. Like she thought I knew something about it."

"Well, do you?" Jason asked.

"Well...no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"

"From what I've gathered from Annabeth's mumbling and sneaking off with her to spy on Chiron, something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time we were there, everything seemed so normal."

"You've been to Olympus?" Percy asked.

"Some of us year-rounders, Luke, Clarisse, Annabeth, and I and a few others, we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."

"How do you even get to Olympus?"

"At the Empire State Building you take an elevator to the six hundredth floor." Jason looked at him like he was sure Percy must know this already. "You are a New Yorker, right?"

"Oh, sure." As far as he knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but he decided not to point that out.

"Right after we visited," Jason continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. Annabeth and I have our theories. The best we can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, Annabeth was hoping you could be a child of anyone except Ares or Poseidon so you two could work together. She thought you might know something."

"Why not Ares or Poseidon?"

"Athena doesn't get along that well with Ares. And she has a rivalry with Poseidon. Their kids are supposed to hate each other. She was also hoping you'd be able to get a quest and be her golden ticket out of camp. But she thinks every new camper is her golden ticket. It's kind of ridiculous now."

"That's kind of sad. Why can't she get her own quest?"

"Chiron told her her time would come and someone would take her out of camp. Now she's just waiting on that person. Now c'mon, dinner's almost ready. I'll walk you back to your cabin."

---

Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, Percy noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles. They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers. Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to him as he walked over to his spot on the floor and plopped down with his Minotaur horn.

The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact.

"Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store." Percy couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part.

"Thanks." He said.

"No prob." Luke sat next to him, pushed his back against the wall. "Tough first day?"

"I don't belong here," Percy said. "I don't even believe in gods."

"Yeah," he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them, it doesn't get any easier." The bitterness in his voice surprised Percy, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything.

"So your dad is Hermes?" he asked.

Luke pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second Percy thought he was going to gut him, but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes."

"The wing-footed messenger guy."

"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors."

Percy figured Luke didn't mean to call him nobody. He just had a lot on his mind. "You ever met your dad?" he asked.

"Once."

Percy waited, thinking that if Luke wanted to tell him, he'd tell him. Apparently, he didn't. Percy wondered if the story had anything to do with how he got his scar. Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."

Luke seemed to understand how lost he felt, and he was grateful for that, because an older guy like Luke, even if he was a counselor, should've steered clear of an uncool middle schooler like him. But Luke had welcomed him into the cabin. He even stolen him some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for him all day.

"Now, come on, it's dinner time."

---

The next few days he settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that he was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.

Each morning he took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and they talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. The rest of the day, he'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something he was good at. Chiron tried to teach him archery, but they found out pretty quick he wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. He didn't complain though, even when he had to take a stray arrow out of his tail.

Foot racing? No good either. The wood nymph instructors left him in the dust. They told him not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. But still, it was a little embarrassing to be slower than a tree.

And wrestling? Forget it. Every time he got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize him. "There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in his ear.

The only thing he really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.

He could tell the senior campers and counselors were watching him, trying to decide who his dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. He wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, or as good at archery as the Apollo kids. He didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork or, gods forbid, Dionysus's way with vine plants. Luke told him he might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But Percy got the feeling he was just trying to make him feel better. Luke really didn't know what to make of him either. Jason told him he could be his half-brother, but Percy figured he only said that to make himself feel better.

---

At last, it was time for capture the flag. When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and everyone all stood at their tables.

Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

Percy turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"

"Yeah."

"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

"Not always," he said. "But often."

"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do, repaint the flag?"

He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."

"Whose side are we on?"

Luke gave him a sly look, as if he knew something he didn't. "Hermes made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."

The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo, Zeus, and Hermes. Apparently, privileges had been traded, shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities, in order to win support.

Ares had allied themselves with everyone else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what he'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters, he wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.

Hephaestus kids weren't pretty, and there weren't very many of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else in the world.

"Heroes!" Chiron announced. "You all know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, shields, and whatever else they would need.

"Whoa," Percy said. "We're really supposed to use these?"

Jason snorted from across the table, gathering his armor. "Unless you want to get killed by your friends in cabin five." Jason wished them both luck, a certain gleam in his eyes Percy couldn't place, and walked away.

"Here," Luke said, handing Percy his stuff. "Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."

His shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle and it weighed about a ton. It would make an amazing snowboard but he hoped nobody seriously expected him to run fast while wearing it. His helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes. "Blue team, forward!" Annabeth yelled.

They cheered and shook their swords and followed her down the path to the south part of the woods. The red team yelled taunts at them as they headed off to their territory.

He managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over his equipment. "Hey." She kept walking. "So what's the plan?" he asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"

Her hand went towards her pocket, as if she were afraid he'd stolen something. "Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"

"Border patrol, whatever that means."

"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan." She pushed ahead, leaving him in the dust.

"Okay," he mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."

---

Jason stood behind a bush in the woods as he watched Percy sit alone by the creek on 'border control'. He snorted. Annabeth's plan may work to distract Clarisse to be able to capture the flag, but she left Percy way too vulnerable for a different kind of attack. Jason smirked to himself. She made this way too easy for him.

Jason pulled out his new sword, Backbiter, and slashed the air. A black ripple, like a black hole, appeared and a hellhound from the fields of punishment leaped out. The hellhound bared its fangs at him and growled.

"It's him you want." He said, pointing to Percy's figure. "He's the one you want to kill." The hellhound turned its gaze towards Percy and growled. Jason watched as Percy tensed up and raised his shield. The kid looked scared and ridiculous in his oversized helmet and armor that he almost felt bad for summoning the hellhound to attack him. Almost.

"Not yet." Jason told the hellhound. "Wait until he's near the centaur." The hellhound stopped growling and backed away out of sight.

Jason stayed in his spot behind the bush long enough to see Clarisse and her siblings come out and make their way towards Percy. He took that as his cue to leave and made his way to his designated spot to steal Ares' flag.

---

After being nearly killed by a few of the Ares kids, the game was finally over and all Percy wanted to do was sleep. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Luke deserved it after all, he captured the flag and won the game for their team. Percy was about to join the celebration and congratulate Luke when Annabeth's voice, right next to him in the creek, spoke up. "I'm impressed. You didn't do too bad."

He looked, but she wasn't there. "How did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.

He felt himself getting angry. He didn't even care about the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," he said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke and Jason to capture the flag. You had it all figured out."

Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me nearly killed."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but..." She shrugged. "You seemed like you had it all under control." Then she looked down at his wounded arm. "How did you do that?"

"Sword cut," he said. "How else?"

"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it."

He looked down at where she was staring. The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As he watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared. "I-I don't get it," he said.

Annabeth was thinking hard. He could practically see the gears turning in her head. She looked down at his feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and told him to step out of the water.

"What-"

"Just do it."

He came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. His arms started to go numb again. His adrenaline rush left him. He almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied him on his feet.

Annabeth said something in Greek under her breath. "This is not good. I didn't want...I assumed it would be Zeus..."

Before he could ask what she meant, he heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest. The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek at the Apollo kids.

Annabeth drew her sword. There on the rocks just above them was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.

It was looking straight at Percy. Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled at him to run. She tried to step in front of him, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her, an enormous shadow with teeth, and just as it hit him, as Percy stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through his armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at his feet.

By some miracle, he was still alive. He didn't want to look underneath the ruins of his shredded armor. His chest felt warm and wet, and he knew he was badly cut. Another second, and he would've been a goner.

Chiron trotted up next to them, a bow in his hand, his face grim.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't...they're not supposed to..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp." Luke came over with Jason at his side, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone. "Someone summoned a hellhound? Who would do such a thing?" Jason asked in surprise.

"It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!" Clarisse yelled.

"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her. They watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared. "You're wounded," Annabeth told him. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

"I'm okay."

"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."

Percy was too tired to argue. He stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around him. Instantly, he felt better. He could feel the cuts on his chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.

"Look, I-I don't know why," he said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..." But they weren't watching his wounds heal. They were staring at something above his head.

"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um..."

By the time he looked up, the sign was already fading, but he could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.

"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."

"It is determined," Chiron announced.

All around him, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.

"My father?" he asked, completely bewildered.

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

---

The morning after capture the flag, Chiron moved Percy to cabin three. He didn't have to share with anybody. He had plenty of room for all his stuff: the Minotaur's horn, one set of spare clothes, and a toiletry bag. He got to sit at his own dinner table, pick all his own activities, call "lights out" whenever he felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.

And Percy was absolutely miserable. Just when he'd started to feel less of an outcast, to feel he had a home in cabin eleven, he'd been swept away out of the cabin and been treated as if he was the plague.

Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but he got the feeling they were all talking about it behind his back. The other campers steered clear of him as much as possible after the claiming. Cabin eleven was too nervous to have sword class with him after what he'd done to the Ares kids in the woods, so Jason offered to teach him. Jason pushed him harder than Luke did and he wasn't afraid to bruise him up in the process. He figured he volunteered to teach him so he could beat him up whenever he wanted and he wouldn't have to feel bad about it afterwards. 'Oh you have a little bruise? Oh well, you're also a child of the big three, you're powerful, you'll get over it. Now come here and let me nearly kill you again.' Makes sense.

"You're going to need all the training you can get," he promised, as he would knock the sword out of Percy's hands again. "Life full of monster attacks and quests."

Annabeth still gave him his Greek lessons, but she seemed distracted. Every time he would say something, she gave him a look teachers give their students for talking out of turn. After their lessons, she would walk away muttering about him to herself. He was starting to consider asking Jason for teaching lessons instead if she kept talking to herself like an insane asylum patient.

"Hi, Perce." Jason said, sitting down next to him by the lake, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hey, Jase. What's up?" he asked, turning to look at him.

Jason gave him a friendly smile. "Just wanted to see how you're hanging in. You seemed lonely."

Percy shrugged. "That would be because no one else wants to be near me. They're all afraid I'm going to make another hell hound appear or do what I've done to those Ares kids during capture the flag."

"Don't sweat it." Jason said. "It's because you're a child of the big three. They're always afraid of us and the power we have. That's why we're not supposed to exist."

"If we're not supposed to exist then why are we here?" he asked.

"Because our dads can't help themselves?" Jason offered. "It's what the gods do. They have affairs with mortals and then they have us."

Percy stifled a smile. They sat in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other's presence. After a few minutes he turned his attention back to Jason, breaking the silence. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Jason looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Aren't we supposed to hate each other? Y'know, children of Zeus and Poseidon, aren't we supposed to resent each other. Our fathers don't get along so shouldn't we? Isn't it in our blood to dislike each other."

"Typically, yes. In the past children of the big three had rivalries. But it doesn't have to be like that now. Why should I hate someone that has never done anything to personally offend or anger me in any way? Just because my father hates you doesn't mean I have too." Jason said.

"I just figured." Percy said quietly. "With all the unwanted attention I've been getting lately you might resent me or you wouldn't want to be seen with me."

Jason laughed. "Don't worry about that. I'm not angry with you nor do I hold any kind of resentment towards you. We're friends. Best friends for a reason. We're best friends because we understand each other better than anyone else. I understand what it's like to feel like an outcast and a child of the big three. And you understand what it feels like to lose someone who means the world to you. Our parentage and recent events shouldn't change that."

Percy managed a smile. "Thanks Jase. That means a lot."

"I admit." Jason said. "I was kind of disappointed Poseidon claimed you. I was hoping you would've been a child of Zeus. But, the more I think about it, it's probably best you're not a child of Zeus. The fates and everyone else wouldn't be able to handle us as brothers so they'd made us best friends instead."

It was Percy's turn to laugh. "I don't think they can handle us now. Two children of the big three who actually get along?"

"Okay true." Jason said. "We could do some considerable damage."

"The way the camp is acting, it's like they expect us to."

Jason nodded, a certain gleam in his eye Percy couldn't understand but shrugged it off. "I'll always be here for you, Perce. No matter what. You can always come to me for anything. I'm here for you. I promise."

Percy gave him a grateful smile. "You can always come to me too, bro. I'll always be here for you."

"Good to know. Wanna spar?" Jason asked.

"Don't you mean 'want to get get beat up again?' Sure why not? Another bruise isn't that bad." Jason laughed and stood up off the ground, offering Percy a hand. Percy took it.

"One of these I might let you win."

"You might?"

"Probably not. I just said that to be nice."

"True friendship right here."

---

"Percy!"

Percy turned around to find Jason Grace standing outside cabin 3 with a smile on his face. "Hey. So glad I caught you before you left on your quest." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and held it out to him.

Percy took and stared at it a bit confused. "Uhh..thank you? I think..That's really nice of you Jay."

Jason laughed. "Uncap it."

Percy looked at him confused. What did Jason want him to do with a pen? How was a pen going to help him on his quest to recover Zeus's lightning bolt. He uncapped the pen anyway, not expecting it to do anything. He definitely wasn't expecting his ball point pen to transform into a perfectly balanced sword.

Jason laughed at the look of amazement on his best friend's face. "Pretty cool right? If you lose it, it will appear again in your pocket." Percy felt relieved, he was never good at keeping track of his writing utensils. "Chiron was going to give it to you but he has archery lessons so I volunteered."

"Thanks bro." Percy said still checking out his sword. "It's name is Riptide. Doesn't work on mortals though."

Percy smiled and recapped the pen. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course Perce." Jason said, stepping into his cabin and sitting on the edge of his unmade bed. "What's up?"

"It's about the prophecy the oracle gave me.."

"It's a prophecy bro, they normally have double meanings." Jason tried to assure his friend and offered him a smile. "What was the prophecy again?"

Percy sighed, "You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,
You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,
And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end."

"Well, the god who has turned is obviously Hades. You're going to find the lightening bolt and bring it back. The last bit, I have no idea about."

"I think it's Annabeth." Percy said, looking around to see if anyone else heard him.

"What?" Jason asked surprised.

"The line in the prophecy, 'You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.' I think it might be Annabeth."

"Annabeth? Why her?"

Percy shrugged. "Well for one, she volunteered for the quest before I even knew about it. And she never really seemed to like me very much."

"That's just how she is. She hasn't been outside of camp besides going to Olympus for that field trip since she was seven. She wants to prove herself. She's been wanting a quest since she came here." Percy sighed. Jason gave him a small smile. "Don't worry about the prophecy too much Perce. It's not good to think about them or try to figure them out."

"I guess you're right." Percy agreed.

"Oh!" Jason said, suddenly remembering something. "Maybe you could use these." He handed Percy a pair of sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal. "Maia!" Jason said.

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much, he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared. Jason smiled.

"Thanks bro." Percy said. The fact that Jason was giving him a pair of magic flying shoes almost made him blush as much as Annabeth when she was around Luke. He picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. He looked at Jason again. "Are you sure this is safe?" He asked. He felt bad for doubting his new friend's generosity, but being in the air with the whole Zeus thing still scared him.

"It's fine." Jason smiled. "A son of Zeus himself is giving them to you as a gift. You'll be okay." Jason reassured him. But he didn't feel too assured but he didn't want to seem rude by denying the gift. So instead, he faked a smile, and opted on giving the shoes to Grover for him to use. Grover might have better luck at flying than he will.

---

"Do you ever think about leaving? Leaving and not looking back?" Percy looked over at Jason as they sat near the woods at Camp Half-Blood, sitting in silence.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked confused.

"I mean leaving camp for good and not coming back. Stop being the gods lap dog and let them solve their own problems for once."

Percy nodded his head in agreement, "A normal life for once would be great. Not having to worry about monsters attacking all the time." Jason felt a spark of hope. "But camp isn't so bad. Well minus the whole Clarisse thing and sleeping alone in an empty cabin, it's kinda fun." Jason rolled his eyes and glared at the ground like it personally offended him.

"Try living here alone with no family since you were six. It gets old really fast."

"Oh.." Percy suddenly remembered that like Annabeth and Luke, Jason's been living at camp for years now, no family to return home to. Well Annabeth has family, she just doesn't want to reach out to them. He has no idea about Luke and Jason's moms, but it must be bad if they ran away from home. The only family Jason had left was Thalia, but she was killed to save their lives. "Sorry Jase, didn't think about it that way."

Jason sighed. "It's fine. Would you really want to stay here at camp all year long though? Honestly?"

He thought about it for a second. Besides Clarisse and Mr. D., camp isn't so bad. And not having to sit in a classroom for 10 months didn't seem like such a bad idea. But then again his mom, he doesn't think he could leave his mom for good. And now that Gabe's out of the picture, he can finally live with his mom. But then he'll be leaving his new friends behind at camp. "I don't know." he answered after a while. "I don't know if I could leave my mom. No school for ten months seems great, but I don't think I could."

"Camp isn't as great as you think it is." Jason said. "My first year was the hardest. I didn't have Thalia to look after me." Jason glared at the lake. "But I had Luke and Annabeth. She was like my sister, couldn't replace Thalia, but she understood how I felt. Thalia was like her sister too. But Luke, he looked after us, he was like our big brother. The three of us sharing a cabin together didn't seem like a bad idea, we've done it all the time on the streets. But then those plans changed when Annabeth got claimed by Athena and swept away into her cabin with her siblings. I don't think she really minded though, she had siblings who understood her more. Then I got claimed by Zeus."

Jason's voice got more bitter. "I got stuck sleeping alone in a cold dark cabin. Going from always sleeping with Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth at my side, to sleeping alone, it wasn't something I was used to. At least Luke and Annabeth had their cabin mates for company." Percy understood where Jason was coming from, he felt the same way when he was swept away out of the overly crowded Hermes cabin, and into the empty Poseidon's cabin.

"I still got to see them during the day, but we were forced to sit at our own tables, again, I was alone with nobody to talk to. They were at their own table with their siblings. The only good thing about having my own cabin was that I could plan my own activities and I got to call lights out whenever I wanted. Those were the only pros to being alone.

But after I got claimed, all the other campers stayed away from me. They were too afraid that Zeus might smite them if they did anything to me. The only ones who weren't afraid to be near me were Luke and Annabeth. Even Dionysius isn't as mean to me as he is to the other campers. The older campers and head counselors were too afraid to accidentally hurt me or bruise me up a bit so they refused to train with me. So for a bit Chiron taught me. Then Luke got really good and he started giving me lessons. Things around camp didn't really get better for me until my third summer here. Everyone finally stopped treating me like a fragile piece of glass after a while."

"So the constant staring and whispering behind your back and feeling like an outcast eventually goes away after a while?" Percy asked.

There was a hint of a smile on Jason's face. "Not really, no. Everyone is always going to talk about you, Perce. They're just not as obvious about it and they pretend they're not scared of you to your face after a while. But it never truly goes away." Jason said. "Especially now that's there two children of the big three at camp when we're not even suppose to exist."

They sat in silence for a while. After a few moments, Jason turned his gaze back towards him. "Y'know why I brought you out here?"

"Not really. No. I just figured you wanted to catch up. Maybe beat me to a pulp for getting so much attention lately and not spending enough time with you."

Jason laughed. "I'm not going to beat you up, Jackson. But I should for not spending time with me. That's not cool. I missed you."

Percy smiled. It felt good to know that he still had a friend in Jason. He may have had his doubts in Annabeth and Luke due to the line in the prophecy, which he was wrong about, but it felt good to know that he was right about not doubting Jason. Jason's his best friend next to Grover, neither of them would ever betray him. "I missed you too Grace. Now why did you bring me out here? If I didn't know you very well I would believe you're being sketchy and planning my murder."

Jason laughed lightly and shook his head. "I brought you out here to offer you to come with me."

"Go with you?" Percy asked. "Where would we go? We can't just leave camp. You said it yourself, it's suicide."

"Not where we'll be going, Perce. Didn't you feel it while on that silly quest, the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics, being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us, their children they don't care about."

"Jason, you're talking about our parents," Percy said.

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

Percy had no idea what was going on or what to think. "What are you even talking about?" Jason snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at Percy's feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of his hand. A scorpion.

Percy started to go for his pen.

"I wouldn't," Jason cautioned. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."

"Jason, what-" Then it hit him.
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. No..

"You," Percy said.

Jason stood off the ground calmly and brushed off his jeans. The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on Percy, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto his shoe.

"How could you?"

"If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long. Unless.."

The scorpion crawled onto Percy's pants leg. There had to be a way out of this without getting killed. "Kronos," he said. "That's who you serve."

The air got colder. "You should be careful with names," Jason warned.

"Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened."

"He's brainwashing you, Jason."

"He speaks the truth, Percy. You just need to listen to him. He convinced me to steal my father's master bolt and Hades' helm. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades's helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. My father never once thought I would be the one to steal his weapon of power." Jason smirked. "No one ever suspects Zeus's Golden Boy for anything. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd found out what happened."

The scorpion was sitting on Percy's knee, staring at him with its glittering eyes. Percy tried to keep his voice level. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"

Jason's smile wavered. "I...I got overconfident. Dad sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt: Artemis, Apollo, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say.

I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Jason drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty.

"Afterward, the Lord of the Titans...h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way, from Ares down to Tartarus."

"You summoned the hellhound during capture the flag. You summoned it to attack me." Percy said, still in shock at his suppose to be friend's betrayal.

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

"The flying shoes were cursed," Percy said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus."

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

"I thought we were friends.."

Jason looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on Percy's thigh, his eyes seemed a bit pained. "I was supposed to be friendly, it was all part of the plan. However, it was all real. I do genuinely like you as a person. You get me. You know what it's like."

"Thalia gave her life to save you," Percy said, gritting his teeth. "And this is how you repay her?"

Jason's pained eyes quickly turned into a glare. "Don't speak of Thalia!" He snapped. "The gods let her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for."

"You're being used, Jason. Don't listen to Kronos."

"I've been used?" Jason's voice turned shrill. "Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? Nothing! He only claimed you because he needed you! He only claimed you because he was desperate for you to clear his name! The gods are using us!" Okay maybe he has a point. "Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest, the ones who serve him."

"Jason, take the scorpion back." Percy said. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself."

Jason smiled. "Only way I'm calling that scorpion off is if you join me. It's not too late to join the right cause."

"I refuse to join you." Percy snapped. "I'm not going to join someone who lied to my face and used me."

"We all have to sacrifice somethings sometimes, Perce. But fine." Jason glared. "Have it your way. I hope for your sake, your death is quick and easy."

"Jason-"

"Goodbye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming and you won't be part of it." He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.

As soon as Jason was gone, the scorpion lunged. Percy swatted it away with his hand and uncapped his sword. The thing jumped at him and he cut it in half in midair. He was about to congratulate and pat himself on the back until he looked down at his hand. His palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. The scorpion had gotten him after all.

His ears pounded. His vision went foggy. The water, he thought. It healed him before. He stumbled to the creek and submerged his hand, but nothing seemed to happen. Water can cure his cuts but apparently it's not strong enough to cure poison.

His vision was weakening and he could barely stand up, his legs were like jello. Sixty seconds, Jason had told him. He had to get back to camp. If he collapsed out here, his body would be dinner for a monster. Nobody would ever know the truth.

His legs felt like lead. His forehead was burning. He stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.

"Help," he croaked. "Please ..."

Two of them took his arms, pulling him along. He remembered making it to the clearing, a counselor shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn.

Then everything went black.

---

He woke up with a drinking straw in his mouth. He was sipping something that tasted like liquid chocolate chip cookies. Nectar. He blinked his eyes and squinted at the light.

He was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, his right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner while Annabeth and Luke sat next to him on the bed. Annabeth was holding his nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on his forehead.

"Here we are again," he said.

"You idiot," Annabeth said, her voice sounding relieved. "You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing..."

"Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit."

Chiron was sitting near the foot of the bed in human form. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale. Maybe stress from running a camp for demigods.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Betrayed. But also like I've been on a blind date with death."

Chiron gave him a sad smile. "Part of that would be the pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."

Between sips of nectar, Percy told them the story. The room was quiet for a long time.

"I can't believe that Jason..." Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. Luke was quiet and shaking his head. He too couldn't believe it. The guy he seen as a little brother..

"He was never the same after Thalia.." Luke shook his head again. "I don't want to believe it."

"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once."

"Jason is out there right now," Percy said. "I have to go after him."

Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods-"

"Won't even talk about Kronos," he snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed! And Zeus isn't going to believe that his son would do anything like this. Jason told me himself that nobody ever suspects Zeus's Golden Boy."

"Percy, look at your hand." Luke said. "You can't even hold up a sword. What makes you think you can go and seek him out? You'll get yourself almost killed again."

He hated to admit it, but Luke was right. One look at his hand, and he knew he wasn't going to be sword fighting any time soon. "But we can't just sit back and do nothing."

"We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice..."

He got the feeling that Chiron had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise him. "But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision."

He wanted to protest. He wanted to ask him more questions. But Chiron's expression told him there could be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you." Then he was gone.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth. You too, Luke."

"What?" Annabeth asked, confused.

Luke raised an eyebrow. "You're the one that almost died due to pit scorpion venom. You shouldn't be apologizing."

"The last two lines in my prophecy: You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end. I thought one of you would be the one to betray me. Jason was so nice..I never suspected him. I thought we were friends."

"Percy," Annabeth said. "We don't blame you. I thought Jason was our friend too. I can't believe he would do this either."

"Once you're all healed up and ready to fight again next summer, we'll get a quest to go after him." Luke patted his leg. "Now get some sleep. We'll talk more later."
He wanted to argue, that he didn't need more sleep and that he wanted to talk more but he felt his eyes growing heavy. Slowly he felt himself being pulled back into sleep.

---

"Well." Jason smirked at Annabeth, Luke and Percy. "Look who decided to join me, three of my favorite demigods." Jason sent Tyson a glare. "Send them away. But leave Percy. I would like a word with my best friend." The monster guards nodded and grabbed a hold of Annabeth, Luke, and Tyson. Percy tried to stop them but one of the guards grabbed hold of his shirt and held him back.

"Percy! I'll think of something! Don't listen to him! I'll get us out of this!" Annabeth yelled out over her shoulder as the guards dragged her away.

"That's better." Jason said, as he stood against the wall. "Never really liked her that much. Always thought she's better than everyone else because her mother is the goddess of wisdom." Jason rolled his eyes.

Percy glared, "Don't talk about her that way."

Jason smirked, "Aw, don't tell me you have a crush on Annie." Jason laughed. "That's sweet. Too bad she much rather your friend Luke."

Percy clenched his fists, "I don't have crush on Annabeth. And Luke was your friend too. Y'know, until you betrayed him. Betrayed everyone. Everyone who cared about you."

"Was, Jackson." Jason sneered. "He was my friend until he chose that camp over me! I told him I was planning on leaving camp to avenge Thalia's death, and he refused to join me. Too loyal to the gods." Jason glared. "Like you." Jason pushed himself off the wall and walked over to stand in front of him. "You rather be their damn lap dog than be on your best friend's side! You rather let Thalia's death be meaningless than help me avenge her!" Jason glared. "I thought we were friends Percy."

"I thought we were too." Percy glared back. "But instead you decided to prove me wrong by trying to kill me with a scorpion. Thanks a lot for that Jason. Real best friend material right there."

"Like you know anything about being a good friend Jackson." Jason snapped.

"I know best friends aren't supposed to try and kill each other!" Percy yelled.

Jason glared, "I didn't bring you in here to fight with me."

"Then why am I here?" Percy asked.

"To offer you a deal again." Jason walked around the room. "You join my side and I'll make sure Annie and Luke aren't hurt."

"Why are you so keen on me joining your side Jason?" Percy glared.

"I still consider you a friend Perce." Jason looked over at him.

"Why? I could kill you right now. And just end all of this right now."

"You wouldn't. You've had your chance since the second you got on this boat. But you haven't done anything. You still think you can change me and get me to join your side."

"And you still think you can get me to abandon camp and my family to join your side."

"A guy can hope." Jason said, shrugging.

"You don't need my help to take down Olympus Jason. There's only one child of the big three mentioned in the prophecy." Percy reminded.

"I didn't say I needed you on my side Percy." Jason rolled his eyes. "I know I can take down Olympus without your help. I want you on my side."

Percy looked at him confused. "Why?"

"Contrary to belief Percy, I don't hate you. I actually like you. You're the first person I felt close to, really close to after Thalia's death. Yeah I had Annabeth and Luke, but they always treated me like some fragile piece of glass and like a little brother. When you came into camp after fighting the Minotaur and losing your mother, you understood what I've been through with Thalia. And you didn't treat me any differently because of who my father is. You get me better than anyone else Perce. So forgive me for wanting my best friend by my side. Also, tearing down Olympus will be a whole lot easier with another child of the big three." Jason explained.

"It's never too late to come back to camp and make peace. It will be a whole lot easier keeping Olympus safe with my best friend on my side."

"That's not going to work Perce."

"A guy can hope right?" Jason smiled slightly. "So I take it as you're not going to join me."

"You would be correct Jay."

"Well in that case, good luck trying to escape with your friends and that...cyclops." Jason said with disgust and nodded towards the guards. Percy reached into his pocket for his sword but Jason knocked it out of his hands and across the floor using Backbiter. "I think I'll keep you three hostage and leave that cyclops for dead." Jason said while holding Percy at sword point. "Might let my friends handle him."

Percy sent him a glare as the guards grabbed a hold of him. "You make it really hard to trust you Grace."

"Look who's talking." Jason spat. "Don't call me untrustworthy when you're running around calling that thing your brother. Especially when his kind is the reason Thalia's dead!" Jason hissed out as the guards dragged Percy away.

Jason turned and slashed the head off of one of the training dummies in his office thing and threw his sword down. Who does Percy Jackson think he is? Turning down his generous offer, twice, then running around with that...that thing that killed his sister, calling it his brother. How dare he? Jason scowled at the be-headed dummy and slashed the remaining limbs off as well. First, he chose their friends over him, and now he's choosing that cyclops over him. He's going to make Percy regret it.

---

"So, do you have a plan?" Percy asked from his cell in the brig. Annabeth nodded and explained the plan to everyone thoroughly.

"Guards!" One of the monster guards walked over to Percy's cell and hissed at him. "What do you want sea spawn?"

Percy resisted the urge to gag at its stench. "I want to see Jason, to tell him I give up. I'll join him." The monster gave him another glare and unlocked his cell and grabbed a hold of him, almost digging its nails into his arm. Percy went over the plan again in his head as he was lead back to Jason's office. He hoped to gods Annabeth's plan worked. She's the daughter of Athena sure, but their plans never really go as planned.

"What do you want now Jackson?" Jason's voice was cold.

"I thought about what you said and I wanna join you." By the look on Jason's face, he wasn't buying it. Jason crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at him with icy cold blue eyes. "Why should I believe you?"

"We're best friends." Percy tried for his best genuine expression. "I don't want to fight you anymore Jase. I can't escape with them anyway so what's the point in fighting anymore if you're going to get the fleece and awaken Kronos? I can help you get the fleece faster. Just like it should've been before. Us against camp and the gods. I'm sorry I didn't recognize that before."

Jason stayed silent for a moment. "What about Luke, Annabeth, and..that thing?"

"Let them go. They can't get the fleece without me. They need me." Percy said. "They'll die out there on their own."

Jason smiled and it looked genuine and if Percy didn't know the other demigod, he would've believed it. His smile looked genuine and real, but his eyes held a certain gleam in them that made Percy nervous. Percy had no idea if Jason bought his lie, but it was too late now. He felt he just signed Annabeth and Luke over to be killed.

"Bring me the prisoners." Jason gave Percy a smile that made his stomach churn. He knew. "Time to deal with them."

A few minutes later the monster guards brought back Annabeth, Luke, and Tyson. Percy wanted to scream at them to run but Jason's guards had them surrounded. Annabeth gave Jason an icy glare. "What do you want with us Jason?"

Jason gave her an innocent smile. "I'm letting you go. Percy's allegiance for your freedom."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Luke hissed. "Let us leave."

"Oh I will." Jason smirked. "Take them up to the deck and feed them to the drakon."

"That wasn't part of our deal Grace." Percy snapped.

"I said I'd let them go. I didn't say how I would let them go." Percy wasn't really surprised, he was sorta expecting it. The guards dragged them up to the deck and Percy reached into his pocket for riptide. Jason however pulled out Backbiter and put the sword to his back.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Perce."

Annabeth pulled out her dagger. "Now!" Then they charged. They ran for the lifeboats, slashing through monsters as they ran for it. Annabeth took out one of the mortal security guards while Luke took out traitorous demigods. Tyson handled Jason's guard Oreius while Percy kept Jason busy. Thanks to his intense training sessions with Luke, Percy managed to disarm Jason and caused a wave to throw him back across the deck.

The four of them ran to the nearest lifeboat but more of Jason's army appeared on the deck. Annabeth and Tyson managed to make it onto the lifeboat but then the hellhounds attacked. Percy took one out with his sword but one of the hellhounds leaped onto Luke's back, knocking him to the floor of the boat and pushing his sword across the boat.

"Luke!" Annabeth yelled out in anguish as it grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him off. "Percy do something!"

Percy grabbed a hold of his friends hand and felt himself being dragged away too. "Go on without me!" Luke said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not leaving you here to die!"

"You need to get the Golden Fleece! Go! I'll survive!" Percy looked torn. "Go! You don't have time! GO!" Luke yanked his hand away from his friend's grip and tried to fight the hellhound off of him. "Percy! C'mon!" Annabeth croaked. With a heavy heart and gut full of regret, he got on the lifeboat and escaped without Luke.

---

Percy woke up in his cabin at Camp-Half Blood to a loud banging on his door. Grover flew inside without waiting for permission. "Percy!" his voice trembled. "Annabeth...on the hill...she..."

The look in Grover's eyes told him something was terribly wrong. Annabeth had been on guard duty that night, protecting the Fleece. If something had happened..

Percy ripped off the covers, his blood running cold. He threw on some clothes while Grover tried to make a complete sentence, but he was too stunned, too out of breath. "She's lying there...just lying there..."

Percy ran outside and raced across camp to Thalia's pine tree, Grover right behind him. Dawn was approaching but the whole camp seemed to be waking up. Word was spreading, something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way towards the hill, satyrs and nymphs and heroes in a weird mix of armor and pajamas.

From Grover's incoherent sentences, he expected to see the Fleece missing from the pine tree, but it was still there, shining just like it was when they put it down on Thalia's tree.

"Curse the titan lord," Chiron said, catching up to stand by Percy. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"The Fleece," he said. "The Fleece did its work too well."

Percy walked closer to the pine tree. At the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Another girl in Greek armor was kneeling next to her. His heart raced and he couldn't think straight. Annabeth had been attacked? But why was the Fleece still there?

The tree itself looked perfectly fine, whole and healthy. "It healed the tree," Chiron said, his voice ragged. "And poison was not the only thing it purged."

Then Percy realized Annabeth wasn't the one lying on the ground. She was the one in armor, kneeling next to the unconscious girl. When Annabeth saw them, she ran to Chiron. "It...she...just suddenly there..." Her eyes were streaming with tears, but Percy still didn't understand. He was too freaked out to make sense of it all. He ran towards the unconscious girl.

"Percy, wait!" Chiron called out after him.

Percy knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth: a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands he never heard of.

She wasn't a camper, he realized. He didn't recognize her from any of the cabins. And yet he had the strangest feeling he'd seen her before...

"It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe..." Nobody else came close to the girl.

Percy put his hand on her forehead. Her skin was cold, but his fingertips tingled as if they were burning. "She needs nectar and ambrosia," he said. She was clearly a half-blood, whether she was a camper or not. But he didn't understand why everyone was acting so scared.

Percy took her by the shoulders and lifted her into sitting position, resting her head on his shoulder. "Come on!" he yelled to the others. "What's wrong with you people? Let's get her to the Big House."

No one moved, not even Chiron. They were all too stunned. Then the girl took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes. Her irises were startlingly blue, electric blue. The same electric blue eyes as Jason. The girl stared at Percy in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who—"

"I'm Percy," he said. "You're safe now."

"Strangest dream..."

"It's okay."

"Dying."

"No," he assured her. "You're okay. What's your name?" That's when he knew. Even before she said it. He could tell by her eyes. The girl's blue eyes stared into his, and he understood what the Golden Fleece quest had been about. The poisoning of the tree. Everything. Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece into play, another chance to control the prophecy.

Even Chiron, Annabeth, and Grover, who should've been celebrating this moment, were too shocked, thinking about what it might mean for the future. And he was holding someone who was destined to be his best friend, or possibly his worst enemy.

"I am Thalia," the girl said. "Daughter of Zeus."

---

After spending a few days in the infirmary under the eyes of Chiron and the Apollo kids, Thalia was free to walk around camp.

"What do you mean gone?! Where did Jason go? Where is he?! I want to see him!" Thalia demanded, glaring at everyone. "I want to see my little brother."

"Thalia," Chiron said as calmly as possible. "He's gone. He joined Kronos's side."

"No! I refuse to believe that."

"Well believe it." Percy said, growing annoyed with the daughter of Zeus. "Jason's the one who poisoned your tree."

"No! Jason wouldn't do that. My Jason wouldn't do that. You don't know him. He's a good kid." Thalia glared.

"How would you know how he is now? You were a pine tree for seven years! He's changed!" Percy snapped.

"Percy." Chiron said calmly.

Thalia stared at him wide eyed and turned to look at Annabeth. "Why would he...Jason wouldn't..he wouldn't hurt a fly.."

"He's changed a lot since you been gone Thals." Annabeth said, shooting Percy a glare, turning her attention back to the dark haired girl. "After you..y'know, died, he was never the same. He blames your father and the other gods for your death. He's resentful." Annabeth patted her knee. "He joined Kronos' side to avenge your death."

Thalia shook her head. "I don't want to believe it."

"We don't want to believe it as much as you do Thalia, but it's true. Percy has the scars to prove it." Annabeth said, looking at Percy. "Show her."

Thalia looked back at Percy, her watery blue eyes glaring at him. Percy sighed and showed her the scar on his hand. "This is from the end of last summer when he summoned a pit scorpion to kill me for not joining his side. This," he lifted up his shirt a bit and showed her the scar on his rib. "Is from his sword Backbiter. I got it from fighting him for the Golden Fleece."

Thalia looked at the scar. "I can't believe it.."

Percy sighed and sat down by her. "I didn't want to believe it either, he was one of the first friends I made at camp and one of the nicest people I've known. He understood how I felt when I came to camp and he understood how I felt being a child of the big three. I didn't ever think he would betray camp like this but he did. And his betrayal hurt, I know it's hard to believe but it's the truth."

"My Jason.." Thalia said quietly.

"Anger makes people do crazy things." Percy said. "He has Luke right now on his monster infested boat."

"He has Luke?" Thalia asked. "I thought he was on a quest.."

Annabeth shook her head sadly, her grey eyes tearing up. "We snuck out of camp to rescue Grover and we snuck on Jason's boat. We ended up getting caught and.." Annabeth's voice cracked a bit. "We tried to escape but a hellhound grabbed a hold of him. Percy tried to save him but Luke made us go on without him, promising that he would find a way to escape. We hadn't seen him when he met up with Jason and his monster army again."

"He's dead?" Thalia asked, close to tears.

"No." Percy said. "I don't think he is. I believe Jason is gonna use Luke as a bargaining chip. He's going to use him until he is no more of use to him."

"So what now?" Thalia said, getting angry. "We're just going to sit around and wait. We're just going to let Luke suffer?!"

"We're going to save him, Thalia." Percy said. "I promise."

---

Percy thought it was the end for he and his friends. He shouldn't have tried to take on Thorn by himself. Now they're all gonna pay the consequences. The helicopter was getting closer and they were all doomed. There's no escape plan and no way to get out of this.

Percy's thoughts were interrupted when an arrow flew over his head and hit Thorn square in his shoulders. What in the name of Hades?

Thorn cried out in agony. He unleashed his spikes into the woods where the stray arrow had come from, but as soon as he did, more arrows were shot towards him. It was as if the arrows had stopped the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but Percy had to be hallucinating. No one, not even Apollo's children, could shoot with that much accuracy. Only a person who was blessed by Apollo himself, could do that.

Thorn pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy took a chance to try swipe at him with his sword, but Thorn wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged Percy's attack and slammed his tail into Percy's shield, knocking him to the ground like a rag doll.

That was when a group of preteen girls made their appearance known. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, around his age. Fourteen maybe. The group wore silver ski parkas, jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth said in surprise.

"Oh, wonderful." Thalia muttered. Percy wondered what she meant but he figured it wasn't the time to ask.

One of the older girls stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet, like a tiara in a way, braided into the top of her long dark hair. She must've been the leader of the cult. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

Percy couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore. But he hoped she wasn't talking about them.

Thorn made a sound of disgust. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than Percy, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had her auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and eyes Percy had never seen before, they were silvery yellow like the moon. Was that normal? Her face was so beautiful it made Percy catch his breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!" He then lunged at Thalia and Annabeth.

"No." Percy yelled, charging at Thorn. He had to protect his friends.

"Get back, boy!" the girl with the circlet, Zoe said in disgust. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Percy ignored what she said, determined to save his friends. He leaped onto the monster's back and drove his sword into his mane. The manticore growled out in pain, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Percy hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoe ordered.

"No!" Annabeth screamed, covering her mouth with her hands as she watched the Hunters shoot.

They ignored Annabeth's plea and let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, Thorn, with Percy still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. She started to run after him, but Thalia grabbed her and held her back. It was too late, they couldn't save him. Percy was gone with Thorn.

---

Percy woke up from his spot on the floor to see a couple of monsters standing above him, surrounding him. He didn't remember much, but he did remember falling off the cliff with Thorn. Everything after that was fuzzy.

"C'mon spawn of sea god." One of the monsters taunted with a smirk, lifting him up off the floor and tying him up. "We have a special job for you." Percy tried to get away but the bonds were too strong. They dragged him to what seemed to be an empty room except a giant chunk of rock. Except this giant chuck of rock looked really familiar to the world. And wasn't that a body underneath that rock? The more he thought about it, it started to seem more and more like the story of Atlas.

The monster guards kept dragging him along, bringing him closer and closer. And the closer he got, he realized the figure holding up the rock was Jason. His frenemy Jason Grace. Percy's heart dropped, what were they doing to him? The monster guards dropped Percy to the floor in front of Jason and undone his bonds. Percy quickly got closer to Jason and put his hands to his cheeks. "Jason.."

Jason avoided his gaze, "Get away Percy.."

"Jason, look at me.." Percy tried to calm his heart. "Please look at me." Jason forced himself to look up. Guilt filling him up at what he was about to do. "I'm not leaving here without you."

"I can't leave Percy." Jason said through clenched teeth. "Someone needs to hold up the sky."

"Isn't that Atlas's job?" Percy asked in confusion.

"Not anymore." Jason winced. "It's my job now."

"I'll help you!" Percy said.

"No! You don't know what you're saying Perce. You need to get out of here."

"Jason," Percy begged. "Let me help you."

Jason looked torn, "Together." Percy nodded and got down on both knees and braced himself for the impact. As soon as the earth was on his shoulders, his arms wanted to give out. The pain was like nothing he's ever experienced before. Together, he and Jason held up the weight of the world, but it didn't feel like it was helping. Then suddenly, Percy felt more of the weight coming onto his shoulders. Percy looked over at Jason as he let go of his hold on the earth and slipped out from under the world, leaving Percy to hold the earth alone.

"Jason!" Percy said in shock.

Jason got up on shaky feet and took a deep breath, avoiding Percy's gaze. "You always were a good friend Percy. Too trusting."

"Jason.." Percy said quietly. "You tricked me.."

Jason looked over at him and gave him a pained expression. "Someone will be here shortly to release you from your place."

"Jason," Percy winced out. "Please don't do this." He pleaded.

Jason got down on both knees in front of him and gave him a sad smile. "I'll get you out of here soon enough Perce. I promise. Just hang in there."

Percy looked away from him and avoided his gaze. How could he be so stupid to trust Jason like this? He honestly should've seen it coming. Jason already conjured up a pit scorpion two summers ago to attack him when he refused to join his side. And then last summer he held Luke captive on his monster infested boat and tortured him, he poisoned his own sister's tree, and he slashed Percy with his sword Backbiter while they fought over the Golden Fleece. If he's capable of doing all of that, then why wouldn't he trick Percy into taking the weight of the world off his shoulders and onto his own?

Percy wanted to hit himself for being such an idiot. He won't be able to get himself out of this one anytime soon. Not even one of Annabeth's brilliant plans could save him now. Speaking of Annabeth, what was she and the others doing? Are they looking for him? How will they even find him? Even if they do find him, it won't do him any good. It's not like he can just let go of the sky and leave with them. Someone has to hold up the sky at all times. And he's pretty sure he can't trick one of Jason's army monsters to take his place, no one would be that stupid.

---

"Castellan." Jason walked into Luke's room on deck of the boat and gave the sickly looking blond a taunting smirk. "How you feeling?"

Luke gave him a cold glare, "Peachy."

"That's good to hear." Jason's smirk widened. "I have a friend of yours here who's dying to see you."

"What friend?" Luke asked, his voice dripping venom. "Wait a minute," Luke paused. "I thought you were holding up the sky."

"A special..frenemy..of mine released me of my duties. Now it's your turn to release him. Well, it's your choice really. But he'll end up dead if you choose not to." Jason shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"What friend?" Luke asked in fury. "What idiot decided to help you?"

Jason gave him a smirk and undone Luke's bonds and dragged him to where Percy lay, holding up the sky. "C'mon, you'll see."

Luke struggled against Jason's grip but froze when he noticed who was beneath the earth. "Percy.."

"Luke don't do it! Don't trust him." Percy pleaded. "I won't allow you."

Jason let go of Luke and dropped him to the floor in front of Percy. Luke looked at Percy with wide eyes. "How did this happen?"

Percy let out a painful breath, sweat gathering on his head. "He tricked me. Luke you need to leave. Go!"

"So what's your choice Castellan?" Jason asked, leaning up against one of the rocky walls. "Are you going to save him from death and take his position under the earth, or are you going to leave him here to rot. He'll eventually die there if someone doesn't release him."

"Luke don't!" Percy pleaded.

Luke gave Jason a icy cold glare that would've made some of Jason's monster army retreat. Jason, however, seemed unfazed. "How could you do this to him? You were his friend!"

"Make your choice, Castellan." Jason said, cleaning his sword. "Either take his place and relieve him, or watch him die under the weight of the sky. The choice is all yours. I can't force you to do anything, a person must be willing to take it. But he'll end up dead if you don't."

"Don't do it, Luke!" Percy choked out in a hoarse voice. "Don't let him blackmail you! Get out of here!"

"I'm not going to let you die, Percy." Luke said, putting a hand to his face. Jason's eyes blazed in jealousy at the sight but said nothing. "You're not strong enough to continue this any longer. I can see you fading." Luke forced out. "You have to let me take it."

"I'm not gonna let you die because of me Luke." Percy said through clenched teeth, his energy weakening. "I won't allow it."

"Swallow your pride for once Jackson and let me save you." Luke glared and got down on both knees and together he and Percy held up the weight of the world. As soon as Luke had a firm hold on the world, Percy arms failed him and he collapsed, too weak to move on his own. Jason grabbed a hold of his legs and dragged him out from under the earth and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder.

"Maybe Castellan," Jason looked over at Luke who was glaring back at him. "someone might be stupid enough to save you. I'll handle Jackson." Jason said turning to leave.

"Don't you dare hurt him anymore than you've already have Grace!" Luke yelled out after him.

Jason stopped and turned around to give him a fierce glare. "I wouldn't dream of it. That's the whole reason why you're there taking his place." It took Luke a moment to understand what Jason was trying to say, his eyes widening. "He's not going to like you much after this Grace. He never will, not the way you want."

Jason avoided his eyes. "Good luck trying to find someone willing to save you the pain Castellan." Jason said, taking a half conscious Percy back to his suite on the boat.

---

Percy woke up in a soft bed to someone pouring water over him. His muscles still ached but he felt like some of his energy returned to him. He doesn't know how long he's been out for but it felt like forever. "Well, Sleeping Beauty is finally awake." A voice spoke up. Percy blinked his eyes opened to find a sickly looking Jason Grace sitting on his bed. Suddenly, memories from Percy first meeting Jason in the infirmary after his fight with the Minotaur came flooding back to him. "You were out for a few hours. You missed quite a lot."

"Where am I?" Percy asked, starting to get up, Jason pushed him back down on the bed.

"My suite on the princess Andromeda. Now stay still, you're not rested enough." Jason said.

Percy pushed his hands away and tried to sit up anyways. "I don't care. I'm not staying here. I need to save Luke."

"He's no longer there anymore." Jason said. "Someone relieved him."

"What?" Percy asked worriedly. "Who's holding up the sky now?"

"Now calm down, Perce." Jason taunted. "Getting worked up over silly business that doesn't concern you won't do your health any good."

"You're not doing me any good Jason!" Percy yelled. "And this does concern me! Luke is my best friend!"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Percy. It doesn't matter who relieved him. Luke is alive. Now you need to stay in bed."

"Why are you doing this?" Percy asked.

"Caring for my frenemy while I have other things to do?" Jason said. "I still care about you. Maybe a little too much."

"But why? We hate each other."

"I don't hate you, Jackson. If I hated you I would've sat back and watched you rot under the weight of the world. If I wanted you dead I wouldn't have black mailed scar face to save you. And I sure as Hades wouldn't have brung you to my room on the princess Andromeda and nursed you back to health if I hated your guts."

"Well, you did try to kill me before."

"I thought we were past the whole scorpion thing." Jason said. "You lived. No harm no foul."

"But there was harm." Percy pointed out. "You intended to kill me not once, but twice, and the first time I almost did die."

"I have a bit of a temper if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, I've noticed." Percy rolled his eyes. "I'm just wondering why you still care about me."

"I wonder the same thing sometimes." Jason said to himself. Percy looked at him confused. "I still care about you because you understand me better than anyone else. You haven't gave up on me yet."

"What makes you think that?" Percy asked.

"You took the weight of the world off my shoulders."

"You tricked me."

"Which shows you still care. No matter how many times I've went against you, you still hate to see me in pain." Jason said. Percy stayed silent. Jason sighed and got off the bed. "Get some rest, Jackson. I've got to make sure Luke is still alive." Jason made his way to the door and stopped, turning back towards him. "Consider my offer again, Percy. I miss having you around." Jason then turned back around and walked out the door quietly.

---

"Well, isn't that cute." A voice spoke up behind everyone. Thalia, Zoë, and Annabeth turned around to come face to face with the General. Jason was at his side, holding Percy's arm in an iron tight grip. Percy had his arms tied behind his back and a gag in his mouth with Jason's sword to his throat. Annabeth whimpered at the sight.

"Let him go Jason." Thalia spat.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Thals. Not my decision. But it's great to see you again." Jason said giving her a small, weak smile. He looked even worse than he did in D.C. Thalia didn't respond, she just glared at him.

Atlas smirked, "So these are the heroes?" He laughed and turned his attention to Thalia. "It seems like you were wrong about this one Jason."

"I wasn't wrong." Jason managed to get out, but it seemed like it hurt to speak. "Thalia, you can still join our side. It's not too late."

"Jason..." Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"

"The gods don't care about us." Jason pleaded. "They don't care about us, never did, never will. They're the reason you were killed Thalia. Join me, we can take down Olympus for once and for all. They don't deserve to rule."

Thalia shook her head. "Free Percy. Let him go."

"I can't do that Thalia." Jason muttered.

Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Jason, her eyes full of pain, she wanted to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Jason. I don't know you anymore."

"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me...Don't make him destroy you."

Annabeth looked towards Thalia and Zoë. "Now," And together they charged.

Thalia went straight for Jason. But despite his sickly appearance, Jason was still quick with his sword. He snarled and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.

Annabeth went to attack Atlas but remembered the line from the prophecy, "The Titan's curse must one withstand." She had no chance of taking on an immortal being, so instead, she ran to Artemis.

"Run daughter of Athena." Artemis said.

"The sky, lady Artemis, I can't take on a Titan. Give me the sky."

"No!" Artemis said, sweat was gathering on her forehead. "It will crush you. I won't allow a maiden to take this curse."

"Percy took it." Annabeth said.

"He barely survived. His pure heart saved him."

"Lady Artemis, please." Annabeth didn't wait for an answer. She knelt down next to the goddess and cut the chains with her dagger. She then got on both knees and took the held up the weight of the sky with Artemis. Artemis gave her one last look and got out from under the rock and went to Zoë's aid.

Meanwhile Thalia and Jason's fighting was getting more and more aggressive. Sparks of lightening were flying between the two but neither seemed to be giving up. Thalia kept pushing Jason back using her shield causing Jason to become more and more frustrated every time she did.

"Give up Jason." Thalia spat. "You can't beat me."

Jason growled, "I'll show you."

The next thing Annabeth seen was Atlas sending Zoë back against the rocks. Just as he thought he severely wounded Artemis, she sent him flying back towards Annabeth. Annabeth loosened her hold on the earth and let herself be pushed out of way and let Atlas take back his position under the weight of the world.

Thalia backed Jason to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Jason had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.

He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Jason's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.

"Well?" Jason asked. He tried to hide it, but everyone could hear the fear in his voice. Thalia trembled with fury.

Behind her, Percy came scrambling, finally free from his bonds. His face was bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"

"He's a traitor," Thalia spat. "A traitor! How can you trust him Percy?"

"He's your brother Thalia." Percy choked out. Thalia hesitated.

"Family means nothing to her anymore." Jason glared, but his eyes showed the pain and hurt.

"You don't know the meaning of family Jason!" Thalia yelled out in rage.

"We'll bring Jason back," Percy pleaded. "He'll be of use to us!"

"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Jason sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please dad? To show him how important you are? To be the hero of this story?"

Thalia hesitated, and Jason made the mistake of trying to make a desperate grab for her spear.

"No!" Percy screamed. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Jason away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell. "Jason!" Percy screamed.

Everyone rushed to the cliff's edge. They all stared at Jason's broken form on the rocks. Despite how much Jason betrayed him, Percy couldn't bare to see it. He wished desperately that he was still alive, but it was impossible. The fall was fifty feet at least, and Jason wasn't moving.

Thalia and Percy were frozen in their places. Thalia had tears streaming down her face and Percy felt like his legs were going to give out. Annabeth grabbed their arms and dragged them away from the scene and over to lady Artemis who was holding Zoë in her arms.

---

After rescuing and sending Luke off to Chiron at camp for medical attention, the trio made their way into the throne room, all eyes were on them. All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall. Staring at the trio like they weren't just planning their murder.

"Welcome, heroes," Lady Artemis said. The goddess of the Hunt got down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl. She walked toward them, her silver gown shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. "The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told them. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't at all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes..."

She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?" She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. The Lady Hera. On Zeus's right, Lord Poseidon in his usual attire: kaki shorts and a horrendous Hawaiian shirt. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus.

Hermes was wearing a business suit, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, probably not even paying any attention to the meeting, but he gave Percy a thumbs-up. Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at the trio while he sharpened a knife.

On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in a green gown sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. Lady Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who yet again, was fixing her makeup. She smiled at Percy knowingly and made him blush in spite of himself.

All the Olympians in one place. So much power in the throne room it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart.

"All in favor of not disintegrating them?" Hermes asked, wanting the meeting to be over as quickly as possible.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and Percy. "These two are dangerous. One child of the big three already changed sides," Zeus's eyes blazed, but Ares paid him no mind. "How do we know the other two won't? It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—"

"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits."

"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well. She's not at fault for her brother's actions."

Thalia tried to avoid her father's gaze, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment. Not that Percy could really blame her, he managed to compliment her and bash her deceased brother all at the same time.

The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a security risk here with the other two."

"Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you—"

Athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods... such as Thalia and Percy... are dangerous. But I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide."

"I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will not stand for it."

"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."

"Don't call me sis! I will reward them. Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoe Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"

Stunned silence filled the room. Percy stared at Thalia in shock. Annabeth smiled, she squeezed Thalia's hand and let it go, as if she'd been expecting this all along.

"I will," Thalia said firmly.

Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. "My daughter, consider well—"

"Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again."

She knelt before the goddess and began the words from the Hunt's oath. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men..." Afterward, Thalia surprised Percy by giving him a hug. Safe to say, Percy blushed.

"Um... aren't you supposed to not do that anymore? Hug boys, I mean?" Percy asked, still in a bit of shock from the oath.

"I'm honoring a friend," she corrected. "I must join the Hunt, Percy. I haven't known peace since... since Half-Blood Hill. I finally feel like I have a home. But you're a hero. You will be the one of the prophecy."

"Great," He muttered.

"I'm proud to be your friend." She gave him one last smile and she moved on to hug Annabeth, who was trying hard not to cry. Then she even hugged Grover, who looked ready to pass out, like somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon. Then Thalia went to stand by Artemis's side.

After managing to get away from Apollo and Hermes, Percy went off to search for Annabeth but couldn't find her anywhere. "You won't let me down, I hope." A voice spoke up behind him.

Percy turned and found Poseidon smiling at him. "Dad... hi."

"Hello, Percy. You've done well." Percy gave him an uneasy smile, still a bit uncomfortable with the praise his father was giving him.

"I won't let you down," He promised.

"Your former friend, Jason," Percy went to protest that Jason was still his friend but he thought better against it. Arguing with a god, his dad especially, really isn't a good thing to do at a time like this. "He once promised things like that. He was Zeus's pride and joy after Thalia's death. Just bear that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall."

"Jason fell pretty hard," Percy said, trying to hide his grief for his fallen friend. "He's dead."

Poseidon shook his head. "No, Percy. He is not."

Percy's heart rate started to pick up. "What?"

"He's still alive, Percy." Poseidon said. "I don't know how, but he is. Beware of him, he's more lethal than ever now. Kronos is still with him, growing stronger. He will retreat and plan his next assault before attacking you and your friends again. Be careful who you trust, Percy." Poseidon looked like he wanted to say more but then he noticed Bessie being played with by some demigods across the courtyard. "I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "Be good, my son. We may not speak again for some time." Then he was gone.

Percy didn't know what to think or how to feel. He just witnessed his best friend get kicked off a cliff and fall to his death. Well except Jason didn't die. But he doesn't know how he didn't, that sort of fall should've killed him. Any demigod or mortal would've died from that type of fall. Not even children of the big three like themselves could've survived that. But there was Jason, proving everyone wrong. Somehow Jason Grace, son of Zeus, beat the odds.

Percy was about to keep searching the crowd for Annabeth when another voice spoke up behind him. "Your father takes a great risk, you know."

He turned around and found himself face-to-face with Athena. "Lady Athena." He tried to keep his voice neutral but his facial expression most likely gave him away.

She smiled dryly. "Do not judge me too harshly, Perseus. I spoke the truth about you and Thalia. You two are very dangerous, can't always trust everyone." Percy understood she was referencing Jason. "You may be good at heart and intend to do what's right, but then again, your fatal flaw might just ruin us all."

Percy felt his stomach drop. Last summer, he and Annabeth had a talk about fatal flaws. Hers, she said, was pride. She believed she could do anything. Like taking the weight of the world off of Lady Artemis's shoulders and onto her own. Percy had no idea what his was supposed to be.

If he didn't know any better, he would've thought Athena pitied him. "Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think about it, Percy. How has he manipulated you before? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now with Jason, when you took the weight of the world off his shoulders and onto yours." She paused, disapprovingly. "In each case, the people you care most about have been used to lure you into his traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. Even your enemies whom you once considered a friend."

"Jason's under Kronos's spell." Percy tried to argue.

"That may be true, Percy, but that still doesn't excuse his actions. Tell me, if he were to trick Thalia, Grover, Luke, or my daughter even, would you still think he was innocent?" Athena asked. Percy thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "And why is that?"

"It's different when it's the people you care about. When someone you once cared about, a person you still think you can change, hurts you, you think they really don't mean for it to happen. You think they still care about you. But when they hurt the people you care about, it's unacceptable." Percy explained.

"I think it's time you learn to cut your losses and prioritize your loyalties, Perseus." Lady Athena gave him one last look and with that she was gone, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

---

"Percy," Sally's voice called out from the kitchen. "You have a friend waiting for you in your room."

"Friend?" Percy asked. Who would be waiting for him in his room? Surely it's not Annabeth or Grover. They would've waited for him in the kitchen with his mom. And it's not Thalia, she's a hunter now and busy doing her own thing. And it can't be anyone from camp, no else besides Annabeth, Luke, and Grover knows where he lives.

"Mom? Do you know who they are?" Percy asked.

"Not personally, no. But they said you two were friends. Blond hair and blue eyes." Sally answered.

Luke. Percy told himself. It's just Luke. But why is he waiting for him in his bedroom and not in the kitchen or living room? Percy made his way to his bedroom and walked in, throwing his bag down on the floor. Instead of coming face to face with his friend Luke Castellan, he found himself looking at the back of another blond, Jason Grace.

"Your mother is really nice." Jason said, staring out the window of Percy's bedroom. "I see where you get your friendliness from."

"What are you doing here, Grace?" Percy asked.

Jason turned his gaze from the window and towards his frenemy. Percy was taken back by the blond's appearance. His once military cropped blond hair was almost white and longer, sticking up in every direction. His once bright blue eyes like the sky, were now a dull blue like someone or something sucked the life out of them. His face was pale and he wore deep purple bags under his eyes. But he still managed to give him a small smile nonetheless.

"I missed you."

"You look like death." Percy said. "What happened to you?"

"Being the Titan Lord's right hand man tends to suck the life out of a person." Jason said, grimacing.

"Then why are you still doing it?" Percy crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's why I'm here I-"

"I'm not going to join your side, Jason." Percy interrupted.

"I want you to run away with me. Just the two of us." Jason said frantically.

"What?" Percy asked, surprised.

Jason looked desperate and scared. Like his life depended on Percy's leaving with him. Percy didn't know what to think or how to feel about the current situation he was in.

"Leave with me. Leave the prophecy behind. We won't have to worry about it. Please, just come with me." Jason begged.

Percy shook his head. "I don't trust you."

"Percy, please!" Even Jason's voice sounded desperate. "I'm begging you."

"Why should I trust you?" Percy asked. "You've betrayed my trust in the past, you tortured Luke on your boat, you tricked me into taking the weight of the world off your shoulders. You blackmailed Luke into taking it from me. And you've tried to kill me on multiple occasions in the past. What makes this time any different?"

Jason looked pained. "I know I've made mistakes in the past. But Percy, please, you have to trust me. I'm scared. You don't know what he's going to make me do." Jason pleaded. "I'm terrified."

Percy put his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Then come back to camp with me." Percy said. "You don't have to be scared. It's not too late to switch sides."

Jason shook his head sadly, his blue eyes watery and full of fear. "I can't do that."

"Yes, you can, Jason." Percy said. "We can protect you."

Jason shook his head and got out of Percy's grip, turning away from him. "I have to go."

"Jason.." Percy said sadly. "I can't leave everyone behind. I just..I can't trust you.."

"I expected much. But a guy can hope." Jason said, leaving out the window.

---

Percy walked into a dark room, expecting the room to be guarded but he was greeted with nothing, not even Jason. That was strange. He expected at least someone or something, to be guarding the coffin. But there wasn't anything or anyone. This had to be a trick but Percy shook off the thought and approached the coffin anyway. He knew he had to act fast before he ran out of time.

Percy didn't know what he was gonna see when he opened the coffin but he knew it was now or never. He quickly opened the lid and watched it fall to the ground with a loud bang. He pulled out Riptide, ready to strike the Titan Lord, but when he looked in the coffin, he felt his blood run cold. He wasn't prepared to see Jason, his best friend, his brother no matter how much he betrayed him, in Kronos's coffin looking lifeless. Percy couldn't bring himself to strike him. He knew he should've but he couldn't.

He was so numb with shock that he didn't even notice Ethan pledge his allegiance to Kronos until it was too late. Jason sat up in the coffin, his eyes no longer blue, but golden. He got out of his coffin, stretched his limbs, and looked at Percy with a smirk on his face.

"This body has been well prepared for me." He sounded like Jason, but it wasn't Jason. He looked like Jason but his voice was colder and more older sounding than Jason's. "What do you think, Jackson?"

Percy felt his heartbreak all over again. He couldn't believe what was happening. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe his best friend went this far and actually gave Kronos his body. No. Jason couldn't have been this stupid. Percy wanted to cry.

Kronos's smirked at Percy again. "Jason cared about you a lot, you were his greatest weakness and yet the feelings were never mutual." Percy felt like his legs were going to give out on him at any moment. Kronos walked over to him and grabbed Percy's face in his hand. "He was a very angry young man, each time you declined his offer, he felt the betrayal each time and he felt angry for even feeling like that. That anger made him obedient, and for that, I must thank you. If it wasn't for you, maybe he wouldn't have gone through with it."

Percy collapsed onto his knees and let the tears fall. Kronos was right, he could've saved him but he didn't. And now because of him, his best friend was gone, Kronos standing in his place. He should've trusted him. He wanted to give up right then and there. He was tempted to just let Kronos kill him, it would hurt a lot less than having to see Jason as Kronos. He wished he could go back to the last time he'd seen Jason. Maybe, just maybe, he could've stopped him, maybe hugged him one last time. Anything! But it was too late. His best friend was gone.

He then felt himself being picked up off the ground.

"C'mon, Percy." Annabeth whimpered. "We have to get out of here."

"No!" A blue hairbrush went flying past Percy and hit the titan square in the face. Kronos was unfazed for a moment which gave time to allow Annabeth and Rachel to drag a whimpering and crying Percy away. Percy swore he left his heart behind in that room.

---

"Percy!" Annabeth groaned, "Why don't you accept it already?! Jason's gone! He's no long there, Kronos has complete control over him. Always has."

Percy shook his head and clenched his fists. "You're wrong Wisegirl. He's not gone. He's still in there."

"Percy, listen to me." Annabeth glared. "Jason isn't in there anymore. You seen him! You seen the golden eyes and heard that ancient voice! It's Kronos, not Jason."

"No, Annabeth." Percy stopped walking and stood in front of her. "He's in there. I heard him when Rachel hit him with the hairbrush. He's in there, deep down there. I know my best friend."

"Why do you keep insisting that he's not evil, Percy? Need I remind you, he tortured Luke, he threatened Tyson, he tricked you into holding up the sky for him, he poisoned his own sister's tree!" Annabeth glared. "He tried to kill you, on multiple occasions might I add! Best friends don't do that to each other."

Percy looked away, "We still care about each other. He came to me, after Thalia joined the hunters." Annabeth looked surprised, "He asked me to run away with him. To forget about the prophecy, forget about everything and just go off and do our own thing. He said he was scared but I.." Percy shook his head, he couldn't help but hate himself now. It's all his fault, he should've trusted him.

"I didn't know if I could trust him again. I didn't know if I could leave my whole life behind. I just..I could've saved him Annabeth..I could've saved him from being Kronos's host and now it's too late."

Annabeth went to say something but noticed Grover's baseball cap lying on the floor. "Grover's hat!"

---

"You guys head up to Olympus." Luke yelled out over his shoulder, hitting a traitorous demigod over the head with his sword. "We'll handle it down here."

After leaving Luke behind with the other campers to defend New York, they made their way up to Olympus. When they made it, Hestia and Rachel were no where in sight and parts of the city were in ruins.

"Look out!" Grover yelled. The archway to Olympus crumbled. Percy looked up in time to see a statue of a glaring Hera coming down on them. Thalia and Percy would've been crushed, but Annabeth pushed them out of the way. "Annabeth!" Grover cried out. Percy felt his stomach drop, Annabeth sacrificed herself to save him and Thalia. He was sure she was dead.

When the dust cleared and the mountain stopped rocking, they found her still alive, but her legs were pinned under the statue. They tried desperately to move it, but it was impossible. They tried to pull Annabeth out from underneath Hera but she cried out in pain. "I lived through everything else in this world, but now Hera decides it's perfect time to try and kill me! I'll get her for this."

"We'll come back for you Annabeth!" Percy promised. He didn't want to leave his friend pinned under Hera, their least favorite goddess's statue, but he didn't really have a choice.

"I'll be here!" Annabeth groaned.

Percy, Thalia, and Grover made their way to the throne room where they found Jason, or well Kronos, standing in the middle of the throne room, his arms wide, staring at the endless ceiling as if taking it all in. His cold evil laughter echoing loudly around the room. "Finally!" he yelled. "I finally have my chance to destroy this place once and for all. Now who shall I start with first?" He looked at all the thrones as if he was considering his options. Ethan Nakamura tried to stay off to the side, but he caught sight of the trio.

"They're here.." Ethan whispered to Kronos.

Kronos turned towards the trio and smiled, the sight of seeing his best friend with golden eyes made Percy sick. Jason looked healthier than the last time he'd seen him. He was no longer pale and skinny, no longer had deep purple bags under his eyes, his hair was no longer a whitish blond color anymore. He looked normal, but his golden eyes betrayed him. Apparently hosting an Titan overlord does wonders for a person's appearance. Thalia, who stood to the left of Percy, looked like a wounded puppy. "I think I'll start off with you, Jackson." Kronos smirked. "Will you die trying to fight me? Or will you bow down?"

Kronos's scythe changed into Jason's old sword, Backbiter. Thalia's eyes widened at the weapon, "Percy, your sword! Hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap."

Percy didn't like the idea of being reminded of his supposed death. Why would she bring that up at a time like this? Before Percy could respond, Kronos's raised his sword.

"Stop!" Thalia yelled.

Kronos attacked Percy at inhumane speed, it almost made his head spin. Percy's instincts took over. He tried to dodge the sword and focus on fighting, but he wasn't that much of a match against an immortal like Kronos. Ethan tried to help defend his master but Thalia stepped in. Kronos backed Percy up against Hephaestus's throne and slashed. Percy jumped up onto the seat to dodge his sword. But then Hephaestus's throne went into defense mode, Percy barely jumped off the throne in time, as a shot of electricity shot Kronos directly in the face. Kronos's dropped down to his knees and dropped backbiter. Thalia saw her chance and kicked Ethan out of the way, charging at Kronos.

"Jason! Listen to me!" Thalia tried to reason with him but he pushed her aside, making her slam into Athena's throne and she crumbled to the floor.

"Thalia!" Percy screamed. Ethan Nakamura got to his feet and stood between the two. Kronos got up from the floor, he reached for his sword but it didn't return to him.

"Nakamura!" he groaned. "Time to prove yourself. You know his weakness. Kill him!" Ethan looked towards Percy.

"Look around, Ethan." Percy said. "Is this what you want? Everyone dying? Your friends dead?"

"There's nothing for Nemesis." Ethan said quietly.

"That's right!" Kronos tried to stand on his feet but stumbled. "Kill them! They deserve it!"

"You told me your mother is the goddess of balance," Percy tried to remind him. "The minor gods deserve better, but this isn't balance. He won't make things better. Only worse." Ethan looked around the room.

Then Ethan charged at Kronos while he was still down. The impact of Ethan's sword should've beheaded him, but thanks to Jason's dip in the Styx, instead of beheading him, Ethan's sword shattered and he fell back grasping his stomach. A piece of his own blade had bounced back and pierced his armor. Kronos got to his feet unsteadily, glaring down at the son of Nemesis. "You betrayed me, Ethan. You disappoint me the most."

Ethan stared back at Percy, his face full of pain. "Deserve better," he gasped. "If they just...had thrones-" Kronos made the floor cave in around Ethan and the son of Nemesis fell through. "Who's next?" Kronos spat and picked up his sword.

"The gods will be here soon." Percy said. "You've lost."

Kronos snarled, "This is only the beginning Perseus." Kronos charged at him again with inhumane speed. Grover tried to step in, but Kronos swatted him aside like a pesky fly. Percy tried to use a trick he learned from Luke, but Luke taught Jason the same trick and disarmed him.

"STOP!" Thalia yelled, popping out of no where. Kronos turned towards her and slashed, but Thalia blocked it with aegis. "Jason, you need to stop this."

Kronos snarled. "Jason Grace is dead! His body will burn away as I take my real form!" Percy tried to move but he was frozen. He suspected it was Kronos's doing. Kronos knocked aegis out of her hands and held his sword to her neck. "We're family, Jason!"

"I'll kill you daughter of Zeus!" Kronos yelled. Percy was sure Kronos was ready to pull a Zeus or Hera, whatever story you want to go by, and throw Thalia off of Olympus.

"You wouldn't harm your sister." Thalia said through gritted teeth as he pushed the blade deeper into her throat. "You're holding him back now from killing me."

"LIES!" Kronos yelled out, pushing Thalia to the ground. He stood over her with his sword raised.

"Best friends, Jason!" Percy called out, finding his voice. "You promised me we would always be friends! You remember what you told me at camp?" Percy felt himself tear up, his voice cracking a bit. "You said we were best friends for a reason. The reason being that we understand each other better than anyone else, that we care and look out for each other."

Percy's sure he felt a tear fall. "You said the fates and everyone else wouldn't be able to handle us as brothers so they'd made us best friends instead." Yup, that was definitely a tear. "You promised me we'd always be there for each other..But we're not friends Jason...We're brothers. You're my brother Jason!" Percy tried to take a step forward but he was still frozen in place. "You're my brother!" Kronos turned to face Percy, staring at the sword at his feet.

"Brothers.." Kronos said quietly, in what sounded like Jason's voice. "Percy.." Kronos said, but this time it was Jason. Jason took an uneasy step forward.

"Percy! Your sword!" Thalia cried out. Percy realized at that moment what Thalia was trying to tell him. He wasn't the hero of the prophecy, Jason was. Percy was finally able to move again and picked up his sword and knocked Backbiter out of Jason's hands.

"Perseus." Kronos's voice growled, Jason's body started to turn gold. "He's changing. Please, Percy!" Jason cried out in anguish.

"No!" Kronos growled out, he looked for his sword but it was across the throne room. Kronos made a move to get it but Percy stepped into stop him. But Kronos threw him as if he were a rag doll against the base of Athena's throne next to Thalia.

"Riptide, Percy." Thalia murmured. "Curse blade shall reap." Kronos grabbed his sword and dropped it in pain, his body was starting to smoke. Jason turned and collapsed to the ground, "Please, Perce.."

Percy felt conflicted, this very well could be his downfall and the end to Olympus. But he always trusted Jason. Instead of taking a chance to strike him himself, he struggled to his feet and handed Jason his sword. He watched as Jason undid his armor and lightly stabbed himself with the sword in his Achilles heel. It didn't look like a deep cut but Jason yelled out in pain. After stabbing himself in his Achilles heel, Jason collapsed onto the palace floor.

Laid out on the floor of the throne room, Jason Grace, the son of Zeus, was dying. His Achilles heel was bleeding out and his eyes were back to their original color, Percy's favorite color, electric blue.

Thalia limped over with Grover's help, both teary eyed. Jason turned his gaze from the ceiling to his sister. "I'm sorry Thals..I almost let him kill you. I'm so, so sorry.." Jason croaked out.

"Shh.." Thalia whimpered, pushing his blonde hair out of his face. "You saved us. I'm sorry for not being there for you."

"D-Don't be s-sorry." Jason choked out. "You sacrificed yourself to save us on Half-Blood Hill. I'm the one who poisoned your tree." Jason started coughing up blood.

"We can get ambrosia," Grover said suddenly. "We can-"

"Grover," Jason coughed again. "It won't work. It's not going to heal me. This is how it has to be." Thalia cried out. Jason turned his gaze towards Percy and gripped his hand, tearing up. "I'm so sorry Perce..I should've listened to you."

Percy felt tears stinging his eyes and felt one slide down his cheek. "I'm not mad, Grace. I forgive you. You always were, and always will be, my best friend."

"I-I need to t-tell you s-something.." Jason coughed again. "I should've told you sooner. I-I l-love you.."

"What?" Percy asked in shock.

Jason took a unsteady breath. "I-I love you..I should've told you s-sooner.."

"It all makes sense now.." Percy said to himself. "That's why you came to see me..why you wanted to run away together.."

Jason nodded and took another unsteady breath. "Why?" Percy asked, his voice cracking.

Jason laughed shakily. "I've been asking myself," another shaky breath. "that for some quite time now." It looked like breathing was becoming more harder and painful for him.

Percy didn't know how much longer he could witness his best friend like this. So instead, he took Jason's face in his hands and leaned down and kissed him. Percy's eyes fluttered shut. He always thought the idea of kissing a friend would be awkward, weird even, but to his surprise, having Jason this close didn't feel awkward or weird in the slightest. It felt..normal. He felt like it was just him and Jason together at that moment. It was as if time had slowed down and it was just the two of them together. Percy involuntarily leaned in closer.

He felt Jason put a weak hand to his cheek. Jason's lips were rough and chapped against his own but they glided over each other smoothly. He chose to ignore the feel and taste of blood on his lips. He wanted to remember this moment. His cheeks were flushed and he tried not to focus on the feeling of Jason's heart beat slowing down, instead he tried to focus purely on Jason. He tried to focus on the feel of his lips against his own, the smell of his cologne, the feel of having Jason's body this close to his, how Jason's free hand was fisting his shirt. Percy wanted to brand it to memory.

But then he felt Jason's lips slowing down, then stopping all together. He felt the hand fisting his shirt go slack and the hand on his cheek leaving his cheek. But most importantly, he felt Jason's heartbeat stop. Percy pulled away from the younger male and opened his eyes to find the hand that was holding his cheek, laying limp at Jason's side. His eyes were closed and he was no longer breathing. Percy felt a tear slide down his cheek and he didn't bother to wipe it away. He let the tears fall freely.

---

Moments after Jason's death, the gods charged into what was left of the throne room, dressed in their full body armor expecting to find a fight to the death. Not three figures crying over a limp body.

Percy turned to face the Olympians with tears in his eyes. "We need a shroud," he announced, his voice cracking in the process. "A shroud for the son of Zeus."

"Now hold up." Ares said, ignoring Zeus's eyes blazing in anger. "Why should we give that trai-"

"SILENCE!" Zeus yelled, interrupting Ares. "My son is getting a shroud." Zeus sent the rest of the Olympians icy cold looks. "If anyone dare decides to disagree with my decision, then Hephaestus won't be the only one getting thrown off Olympus." Not a single person made a sound or move to object. No one wanted to face Zeus's wrath.

The Three Fates themselves took Jason's body. They gathered up his body, now wrapped in a shroud, and began carrying it out of the throne room.

"Wait," The King of the gods said. Sparks of electricity went flying as he walked by. Zeus unwrapped Jason's face and kissed his forehead. He murmured some words in Ancient Greek, a final blessing. "Farewell," he whispered. Then he nodded and allowed the Fates to carry away his son's body.

As they left, Percy thought about the Great Prophecy. The lines now finally made sense. The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. The hero was Jason. The cursed blade was Percy's sword, Riptide. Jason had given it to him before he left for his first quest to recover Zeus's lightning bolt. It was cursed because Jason had broken his promise and betrayed his friends. A single choice shall end his days. Percy's choice, to give him the sword, and to believe, as he had, that he was still capable of setting things right. Olympus to preserve or raze. By sacrificing himself, Jason had saved Olympus. Rachel was right. In the end, Percy wasn't really the hero. Jason was.

Zeus had taken his throne. The other gods filed in and took their seats as well. Even Hades was allowed to attend the meetings. While Zeus was talking: some long speech about the bravery of the gods, etc., Thalia and Annabeth walked in and stood next to Percy. They each gave him a small, watery smile and a pat on the back. Percy tuned out the majority of what Zeus was saying, too much on his mind to even concentrate on Zeus's mindless rambling.

He really should be paying attention to what the king of the gods was saying, but he couldn't get Jason's last words to him out of his mind. He loved him, Jason loved him and Percy had no clue whatsoever. He was so damn oblivious it all made sense now. All of Jason's attempts to get him on his side, the time he black mailed Luke into taking the weight of the sky off of his shoulders instead of letting him die. How after Luke took the weight off of his shoulders he took Percy back to his suite on the princess Andromeda and nursed him back to health. When he went to see him in New York and asked him to run away from everything with him. How he was so hesitant to give the orders to his forces to kill him, Rachel, and Annabeth in the labyrinth. Everything makes sense now and Percy had absolutely no idea.

"PERCY JACKSON!" Poseidon announced. His name echoed around the chamber. Percy thought he was caught in the act of not paying attention and now he was going to pay for it.

All talking died down. The throne was so quiet you've could heard a pin drop. Everyone's eyes were on him: all the gods, the demigods, the Cyclopes, the spirits. Percy tried to give Annabeth a small genuine smile but it felt and probably looked forced. He made his way to the middle of the throne room. He bowed to Zeus first. Then he knelt at his father's feet.

"Rise, my son," Poseidon said. Percy stood uneasily.

"A great hero must be rewarded," Poseidon said. "Is there anyone here who would deny that my son is deserving?"

Percy waited for someone to pipe up. The gods never agreed on anything, and many of them still wanted to smite him, but nobody protested.

"The Council agrees," Zeus said. "Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods."

Percy felt dumbfounded. "Any gift?"

Zeus looked pained, like giving out gifts to one of his least favorite demigods was one of the last things he wanted to do. "I know what you will ask. The greatest gift of all. Yes, if you want it, it shall be yours. We haven't bestowed this wonderful gift on anyone in a very long time, but, Perseus Jackson, if you wish it, you shall be made a god. Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father's lieutenant for the rest of eternity."

Percy stared at him, stunned. Was Zeus being serious? "Um...a god?"

Zeus rolled his eyes. "A dimwitted god, apparently. But yes. If the entire Council agrees, I can make you immortal. Then I will have to put up with you forever." Zeus grumbled the last part. It seemed like he was punishing himself instead of bestowing a gift on his least favorite nephew.

"Hmm," Ares sounded like Christmas came early. "That means I can smash him to a pulp as often as I want, and he'll just keep coming back for more. I like this idea."

"I approve as well," Athena said, though she was looking at Annabeth.

Percy glanced back. Annabeth was trying not to meet his eyes. Her face was pale. He flashed back to two years ago, when he'd thought she was going to take the pledge to Artemis and become a Hunter. He'd been on the edge of a panic attack, thinking that he lost his best friend. Now, she was in the same position.

Then he thought about Jason. His deceased best friend, the son of Zeus who recognized his mistake in the end and sacrificed himself to save them all. Becoming a god seemed to have it's perks. No aging, no dying, no sickness..But he couldn't leave his family and friends. He wouldn't be able to bare spending the rest of eternity having to watch his family and friends wither away and die.

Then he turned and looked at Annabeth again. He thought about their friends from camp: Charles Beckendorf, Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard, so many others who died in this war. He thought about Ethan Nakamura as well as all the other unclaimed kids. And he knew what to do.

"No," he answered.

Everything went silent again. The gods frowned at each other like they must have misheard. They acted as if they couldn't believe someone would ever turn down godship and immortality.

"No?" Zeus said. "You are...turning down our generous gift?" There was a dangerous edge to his voice, like a thunderstorm was about to happen.

"I'm honored and everything," Percy said. "Don't get me wrong. I just can't leave my friends and family behind."

The gods were glaring at him as if he personally offended them, which he kinda did, but Annabeth had her hands over her mouth. Her eyes were shining. And that kind of made up for it.

"I do want a gift, though," he said turning back to the Olympians. "Do you promise to grant my wish?"

Zeus thought about it for a moment. "If it is within our power."

"It is," Percy said. "And it's not even difficult. But I need your promise on the River Styx."

Ares scoffed. "You don't think we can keep a promise sea spawn?"

"Someone once told me," Percy said, looking at Hades, "you should always get a solemn oath."

Hades shrugged. "Guilty."

"Very well!" Zeus growled. "In the name of the Council, we swear by the River Styx to grant your reasonable request as long as it is within our power."

They all didn't seem to like the agreement but agreed nonetheless. Thunder boomed, shaking the throne room. The deal was made.

"From now on, I want you to properly recognize the children of the gods," He said. "All the children, of all the gods." The Olympians shifted uncomfortably.

"Percy," Poseidon asked, "what exactly do you mean?"

"Kronos couldn't have risen if it hadn't been for a lot of demigods who felt abandoned by their parents," Percy said. "They felt angry, resentful, and unloved, and they had a good reason."

Zeus started him angrily, almost getting out of his throne. "You dare accuse—"

"No more undetermined children. I want you to promise to claim your children, all your demigod children, by the time they turn thirteen. They won't be left out in the world on their own at the mercy of monsters. I want them claimed and brought to camp so they can be trained right, and survive."

Someone went to interrupt him but Percy ignored them. "And the minor gods, Nemesis, Hecate, Morpheus, Janus, Hebe, they all deserve recognition, respect and a place at Camp Half-Blood. Their children shouldn't be ignored. Calypso and the other peaceful Titan-kind should be forgiven as well. And Hades—"

"Are you calling me a minor god?" Hades yelled.

"No, my lord," Percy said quickly. "But your children should not be considered and forced to feel like their outcasts. You should have a cabin at camp just like everyone else. No undetermined demigods will be forced to stay in the overflowing Hermes cabin anymore, wondering who their parents are. They'll have their own cabins, for all the gods. And no more pact of the Big Three. That didn't work anyway. You've got to stop trying to get rid of powerful demigods. We're going to train them and accept them instead. All children of the gods will be welcome and treated with respect. That is my wish."

Zeus snorted. "Is that all?"

"Percy," Poseidon said, "you ask much. You presume much."

"I expect all of you to keep your promise." Percy said.

Percy expected to be smited on the spot by all the offended glares he got in return. But surprisingly, it was Athena, one of the gods who disliked him the most, who spoke up: "The boy is correct. We have been unwise to ignore our children. It proved a strategic weakness in this war and almost caused our destruction. Percy Jackson, I have had my doubts about you, but perhaps", she looked towards her daughter, and then acted like the words were painful to say. "perhaps I was mistaken. I vote that we accept his wish."

Zeus grumbled and rolled his eyes. "Being told what to do by a mere child. But I guess if it's for the best..."

"All in favor?" Hermes asked.

All the gods raised their hands. "Thank you." Percy said and bowed.

---

He and Annabeth were on their way to leave Olympus and be reunited with Sally and Paul, when they noticed Zeus in a side courtyard of the palace. He was staring at Percy, and expressionless look on his face.

Percy glanced at Annabeth. "I'll meet you at the elevator." Annabeth agreed and made her way to the elevator.

Percy walked over and bowed at the king of the gods. "Lord Zeus."

"Perseus Jackson." Zeus said stiffly, his voice almost bitter. Percy figured he was still angry towards him about the whole turning down godship thing. Which should've been a sign to stay quiet but instead Percy opened up his mouth.

"I owe you an apology."

"And why is that?"

"I thought you were a terrible father," He admitted. "I thought you abandoned Thalia and Jason. I thought you ignored him because you knew his future and didn't do anything to stop it."

"I did know his future," Zeus said.

"But you knew more than just the bad stuff, that Jason would turn evil. You understood what he would do in the end. You knew he'd make the right choice. But you couldn't tell him, could you?"

Zeus turned his gaze from his nephew and stared at something across the courtyard. "I didn't want to admit that my son, a child of mine, would ever go against Olympus. I refused to believe it."

"You had to let him find his own path," Percy said, "and play his part in saving Olympus."

Zeus said nothing for a few moments. "You're by far not my favorite demigod, Perseus Jackson. You're on the bottom of that list." Percy stayed silent, he expected that much from the Lord of the skies. "I almost blasted you to bits when Jason visited you at your apartment in New York."

"Why didn't you?" Percy asked.

Zeus just gave him another one of his infamous glares. "I wanted too, it took a lot of self control to not smite you."

Percy wanted to question Zeus's "self control" but he told himself that his mother, Paul, Luke, and Annabeth were waiting for him. Being smited just after they won the war against Kronos wouldn't be a good idea. And he's already on thin ice with the Lord of the skies, better not make that ice any thinner than it already is by pointing out that he broke his oath with Poseidon and Hades not once, but twice, with the same woman.

"You're lucky Poseidon was there to stop me." Zeus sighed. "When Jason went to see you, I thought perhaps you could do what I, a god, could not do and save him. When you refused to go with him, I could barely contain my rage. I should have known better, even a pesky annoying demigod like yourself, couldn't save my son." Zeus gave him a side glance. "Or maybe you could have. He cared about you." Zeus looked like whatever he was going to say next was too painful to even imagine. "He loved you." He said like the very thought of Jason crushing on Percy disgusted him. "For some reason I can't even begin to understand, he loved you, cared about you enough to seek you out in New York. But, yet, you turned him away."

"I didn't think I could trust him again." Percy defended. "He betrayed my trust a lot."

"Yes, well," Zeus sighed. "I held a lot of resentment towards you and blamed you for him becoming Kronos's host. I believed you could've been the one to save him."

"I wish I could've saved him. Jason died a hero. He sacrificed himself to kill Kronos."

"You and Thalia helped him realize his mistakes in the end. But Kronos isn't dead. You can't kill a Titan."

"Then—"

"I don't know," Zeus grumbled. "None of us do. Blown to dust. Scattered to the wind. With luck, he's spread so thin that he'll never be able to form a consciousness again, much less a body. But don't mistake him for dead, Perseus."

Percy felt his stomach drop. So Kronos could come back. The thought felt like a slap in the face after all what he and everyone just went through, all the lives they've lost. All of it seemed a bit pointless.

"However," Zeus spoke up after a moment's silence. "I must thank you." He grumbled.

Percy looked up at him in confusion and in disbelief. "For what sir?"

"Being Jason's friend and believing he could change when no one else would. Not even me." Zeus muttered out. "Once I found out what would come of my son, I denied it. I refused to believe a child of mine would ever think of betraying me. Then, when I realized he had been helping Kronos rise, I refused to acknowledge him as my son and I ignored him. I figured if he dared to go against me, then he wouldn't be considered a child of mine. But you believed he could change. And for that I must thank you. But don't get used to me thanking you sea spawn." Zeus grumbled. "I still detest your existence."

"Thank you, sir." Percy muttered. "That really means a lot."

Zeus gave him another annoyed look. "I've said what I had to say. You may go now."

Percy gave the king of the gods one last bow and turned away and left as quickly as possible to meet up with his friends and family.

---

Jason's blue eyes flew open to someone shaking his shoulders. Jason looked around confused. Where was he? And why was this hobo looking down at him? He had absolutely no idea where he was, or why he was outside behind an alleyway of what looked to be an apartment complex. What in the name of Hades was going on?

"What are you doing in my box kid?" The hobo grumbled. Jason looked at the man in confusion before realizing that he was, in fact, laying down in a cardboard box. How did he get in here? The man glared at him. "Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners kid? You can't go around sleeping in another man's house."

"S-Sorry.." Jason stuttered out, picking himself up out of the box and stood up on shaky legs. "Must've passed out." The man grunted. "Where are we?" Jason asked timidly.

The man looked at him like he asked the world's dumbest question. "You must've been drunk out of your mind last night kid to wake up not knowing where you are." The way Jason's head was hurting when he got up, he must've been hungover. "Manhattan, kid. Did you run away from home?"

"I don't know.." Jason said, trying to think back of what he remembered last. Why couldn't he remember anything?

The man rolled his eyes and got inside of his box. "Well, word of advice kid, don't get inside of another man's box again. New Yorkers aren't too kind." The man then turned over and went to sleep.

Jason left as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was going but his legs seemed to know. After a bit of walking he found himself right outside of an apartment building. Why did he come here for? He looked at the building, finding himself wanting to go into the building to look for someone. Not just someone, a boy. An image of a tall guy with raven colored hair and a grey streak in it with bright sea green eyes came to mind. More images of the breathtakingly gorgeous male came back to him. Jason didn't know how, but he knew the guy. He knew the guy meant a lot to him. He was important, really important. This guy lived here and he had to speak to him.

But how was he supposed to even find him? He can't go door-to-door looking for a guy who's name he didn't even know. He would get thrown into an insane asylum for sure. And what was he supposed to say to the guy when he found him? 'Hi, I don't know your name, or even my name for that matter, but I know you and I need some help.' Yup, they would definitely lock him in a cushion room. So, instead he sat down on some steps outside of the apartment building and tried to remember who he was.

After a couple of minutes of trying to remember who he was, nothing besides his first name came to mind. Jason. That's his name. But why couldn't he remember his last name? Or his age? This was getting to be pretty scary.

"Hey, kid," a voice said. "you okay there?" Jason looked up to find a tall blond haired guy, in his twenties maybe, with sky blue eyes and a scar going down the side of his face, looking at him with concern. He wore a pair of slightly ripped jeans and orange T-shirt that read 'Camp Half-Blood'. His shirt reminded Jason of a place. A special place that he feels like he should know but he, for the life of him, couldn't remember.

Jason studied the guy's face. He knows this guy, he's sure he does. Then an image of a small, young group of children flashed into his mind. A blond haired teenager around the age of fourteen with sky blue eyes, a short twelve year old girl with short, spiky, black hair and electric blue eyes, a small, plucky, blonde haired, seven year old girl with grey eyes and a smart mouth, and a small six year old blond haired little boy with a small scar on his upper lip. The guy standing in front of him is the teenager from his memory. His name suddenly comes to him.

"Luke?" Jason asked.

Luke looked startled, like he was surprised Jason knew his name. But Jason ignored how startled he looked. He was just happy he recognized someone. Maybe Luke could explain why he was here. Maybe then things would start to make sense.

"How do you know my name?" The guy asked, his hand going to his sword. "Are you a monster?"

"What?" Jason asked in confusion. "No, what are you talking about?"

Luke looked at him weary and looked down at Jason's appearance: a pair of worn out jeans and the same orange Camp Half-Blood shirt he was wearing. Jason didn't realize he was wearing the exact same shirt as him. Luke then sighed in relief. "You must be a camper. Are you lost?"

Jason had no idea what Luke meant by camper, he didn't attend any camp, well not that he remembers, but he was lost. "Yeah, I don't know where I am or why I'm here. But I'm looking for a guy who lives here."

Luke looked surprised. "Were you part of one of our teams who went out searching for Percy?"

"Searching for Percy?" The name suddenly clicked in his mind. That was the name of the guy he was searching for.

Luke looked at him strangely. "Percy Jackson. Y'know, hero of Olympus, son of Poseidon." Luke noticed the confused look on Jason's face and groaned. Annabeth was going to kill for giving out so much information to a total stranger. "Are you sure you even go to camp?"

"Look," Jason said. "I don't know anything about this 'camp', or why I'm wearing this shirt, or how I got here. I can't remember any of that, but I do know your name and Percy." Luke looked surprised and a bit weary at that. "He's my best friend. And if he's missing, like you say he is, then I want to find him. I feel like he's the one who can help with my memory. I'm not sure why, but something brought me to this apartment. I think it's something to do with him."

"Well," Luke said, biting his lip. "You might be a bit useful. And you're obviously lost and confused so you're coming to camp with me. Maybe Chiron will be able to explain what in the name of Hades is going on."