Chapter Two

The following Friday found Annabeth and Felix making their way through SoHo to the mythical Top of the World. The building was surrounded by Cyclopses, and the Stoll brothers were manning the front desk to make sure that all of the people invited arrived. Annabeth pulled Felix through security -he was staring at the Cyclopses in fascination - and stopped at the desk.

"Name," said Connor, not looking up.

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena," said Annabeth. "And Felix Beauchamp, mortal. He's here at Nico's request."

Connor's head snapped up. "Annabeth?"

"Yes," said Annabeth.

"Travis!" said Connor excitedly. "Travis, Annabeth's here!"

"Welcome back Annabeth," said Travis. "It's been quiet without you. Nobody's as good at wiping the floor with the other team as you."

"Thanks," said Annabeth. "I missed you guys too. Can we go in now? It's been a while since I've seen my siblings."

"Nope," said Travis. "You're scheduled for an Aphrodite makeover, so..." he pressed a button on the desk phone: "Paging Aphrodite Cabin to the front desk for a makeover. That's Aphrodite to the front desk."

"Nico said he wouldn't do this," protested Annabeth.

"Oh, he didn't," said Connor with a too-sweet smile. "They volunteered."

"Gah," said Annabeth as a large group of very fashionable and very excited teenagers and young adults emerged from the main room and swept her away, leaving a slightly bewildered Felix standing in the foyer with two giggling demigods and skeletons holding AK47s.

When Annabeth returned, she was wearing a knee-length silver dress with an owl and trident buckle on her belt, from which her knife hung. Her blonde hair was down, curled, and held off her face by a silvery diadem. Light makeup sharpened her features. Silver gladiator sandals were on her feet, and her storm grey eyes were more tempestuous than ever.

"When Aphrodite's children give you a makeover," said Annabeth, "they spare no effort in making you look really good. Even if you don't want them to."

"You do look great," said Felix. "I don't think I've ever seen you with your hair down before. Or wearing makeup."

"Don't rub it in," muttered Annabeth. "Ready to meet my siblings?"

"I guess," said Felix.

"Table Six," said Travis. "Don't worry, we signed you in."

"Thanks," said Annabeth. She led Felix into the main area, stopped abruptly, and smacked her forehead.

"What's wrong?" asked Felix.

"I designed this place," said Annabeth. "I'm so stupid - I didn't even realize who the client was. This is one of my favourite blueprints."

"It's a beautiful building," said Felix. "You did a great job."

"Thanks," said Annabeth, moving towards a table of silver-clad people. "Hi guys, I'm back. What have you all been up to?"

"Annabeth!" cried the table. Over the next half hour, Annabeth introduced Felix to the best legal, financial, and political minds in the world. He met leading research scientists and up-and-coming writers, city planners and historians. It amazed him that they were all Annabeth's siblings.

A girl in a white tunic and pants with a crescent moon and deer embroidered over her heart came over and interrupted Annabeth's conversation with her brother Malcom. "They want to see you and Felix in the throne room."

"I was hoping we'd have more time," said Annabeth. "Would you take us there, Phoebe?"

"Of course," said Phoebe, giving Felix a nasty glare. They followed her through the throngs of people and past more armed skeletons to a set of doors with a cloud and thunderbolt emblazoned on them. The doors opened into a round room where three demigods loaned on elegant couches. Phoebe closed the doors behind them.

"Annabeth, you made it!" said Thalia. The blue-eyes immortal stood and crossed the room to hug Annabeth. Like Phoebe, she was wearing white, but with purple accents and a thunderbolt and moon pin. Her hair was held off her face by her silver circlet. She eyed Felix appraisingly.

"Thalia, this is Felix," said Annabeth. "He's a friend from work who Nico took a fancy to."

"I'm just here as moral support," protested Felix. Thalia lifted an eyebrow.

"Nico you never said," teased Thalia. Nico shrugged.

"He mentioned to me," said the third demigod from his seat. a faint smile lit his sea green eyes. "And my knowing matters a bit more than yours does in this situation, Thalia."

"I suppose," frowned Thalia.

"It slipped my mind," said Nico reassuringly. "I didn't leave you out of the loop on purpose."

"I know," said Thalia. "Come sit and chat for a while. We're getting bored of each other, and Percy's getting too good at keeping his temper."

"It's rapidly becoming my specialty," said Percy. He extended a hand to Felix. "Percy Jackson. It's nice to meet you, Felix. Rumour has it you're clear sighted?"

"I'm what?" said Felix.

"You can see the magical aspects of the world," said Thalia. "Like monsters and Annabeth's knife. This building. The things hidden from most mortals."

"Oh," said Felix. "Yeah, I guess I am. It's gotten dimmer of the years though."

"That's pretty normal," said Percy. "My mom is clear-sighted, and hers dimmed too. It won't put you in extra danger, if you're worried about that. It would be different if monsters were out for your blood."

"I had a teacher with snake legs once," said Felix. "She was scary. Everybody behaved in her class and handed stuff in on time. Nobody wanted detention with her."

"That happens a lot," said Percy. "I once had Alecto the Fury as a math teacher. She failed me on purpose. Stabbing her was fun."

"You're kidding," said Felix.

"So that's why she doesn't like you," said Nico. "Normally she loves kids."

"The Furies need an excuse to hate me now?" said Percy.

"Yeah, that was a bit of a stupid point," allowed Nico.

"So, Felix," said Thalia, "you're an architect?"

"I am," said Felix. "Right now, I'm working on redesigning affordable housing so that it's safer and eco-friendly. I believe that Dare Enterprises is backing the whole project. It's challenging, but I'm enjoying it."

"Good old Rachel Dare," sighed Nico. "Her father is mortified by what she's done with his company, but down in the Underworld, all he can do is watch. Over and over, forever."

"I personally think that punishment was brilliant," said Thalia. "Rachel's done a lot lately for the environment and humanity."

"I met her once," said Felix. "She seemed really eclectic and very determined. She's grounded."

"The Rachel I remember hated snobbery," said Annabeth. "She's proactive with the things she's passionate about."

"She fakes society lady well," said Percy, "but nobody runs Rachel Dare but Rachel Dare."

"She's here tonight," said Nico. "Come up to the high table after dinner and chat for a while. None of us will mind."

"And speaking of dinner," said Thalia, "we should probably go and get this party started. Everyone will be getting hungry."

"Gods forbid that we let table eleven go hungry," said Percy. "Last time we left them too long, they decided to host an impromptu game of capture the flag with breadsticks, dinner rolls and tablecloths."

"Sounds like fun," said Felix. "Annabeth, your family knows how to party. Why didn't you say?"

"It never came up," said Annabeth. "I never thought that anyone would meet my family."

They rejoined table six as aurae carried out platters of food. Annabeth carried on her conversation with her siblings in between mouthfuls of various foods. Felix listened to a debate over different types of eye surgery. The table to their left was having a food fight with bite-sized pieces of food that was surprisingly all caught by the target's mouth. The table to the right was arm wrestling as they ate. Across the ring, one table was singing loudly and off key. It had to be the weirdest family reunion Felix had ever been to.

"So what do you think of this generation of heroes?" asked Annabeth.

"Completely insane," said Felix. "This is possibly one of the best parties I've ever been to in my life. There's so much going on."

"Funny thing," said Annabeth, "this is what mealtimes at summer camp used to be like. Utter chaos, totally fun and a celebration of life, our daily accomplishments and our parents. I can't believe how much I've missed it." She looked around the room wistfully at the organized chaos. The three seated at the high table were doing some light policing. Little bolts of lightning kept males away from table eight, and a fountain exploded over a potentially ugly fight between tables five and nine. Annabeth laughed at the surprised expressions on the fighter's faces.

"If you miss it," said Felix, "why not go back?"

"Because I'm still mad at Percy and Nico," said Annabeth. "And this is very much their world. It's nice to see my siblings again, though. I've missed having other people to bounce ideas off of, and hear completely new ideas. It's been a while."

The chime of a spoon against a crystal goblet caught everyone's attention. Percy stood in front of the head table, glass in hand. He grinned, and everyone looked expectant. "I thought I might remind people of why we're here tonight, but before we get to that, I'd like to point out a very important addition to table six. Welcome back Annabeth Chase."

Annabeth stood and waved to thunderous applause. Felix was astonished by the whistles and cheers that greeted his friend. She waved her hands for silence and promptly got it.

"It's good to be back," said Annabeth. "I hadn't realized how much I've missed everyone - and how much I've missed while I was gone. I doubt I'll be disappearing again anytime soon." She sat down to an even louder round of applause. Percy let it go on for a few minutes before gesturing for silence.

"I'm glad to see her too," said Percy. "So thank you Nico for finding Annabeth. Which brings us to the actual reason we're here. Could Clarisse LaRue and Chris Rodriguez please come up to the front of the room?"

Wolf whistles and catcalls accompanied the young woman seated at the head of table five and the young man seated at the head of table eleven as they came up to the front of the room. Annabeth clapped loudly along with everyone else. The two of them grasped each other's hand and quickly kissed.

"Chris and Clarisse," said Percy, his voice suddenly very serious. "We have all gathered here today to witness your intent to marry each other. If either of you has second thoughts, now is the time to raise them."

"I am committed," said Clarisse.

"As am I," said Chris, squeezing Clarisse's hand.

"Does anyone in this room object?" Percy asked of the room at large. No one moved. Percy nodded. "I didn't think so. Chris and Clarisse, with the blessing of your siblings and fellow demigods, go forward in your life together."

"Please take your proper places at Hera's table," said Thalia. "The goddess of marriage will watch over you as you affirm your commitment to each other." Chris and Clarisse sat down at a table to the left of the head table. A nervous silence filled the room. After a moment, the couple relaxed and their family applauded.

"With the approval of the gods," said Nico, "let us celebrate!"

"Your family has some strange customs," said Felix as the noise level returned to deafening heights.

"They seem weird, but they're necessary," said Annabeth. "Come on, let's say hi to Chris and Clarisse."

Upon reaching the table, Clarisse hugged Annabeth. As soon as she let go, Chris gave Annabeth a hug. Clarisse then glared at Annabeth. "Where in Tartrus have you been?"

"Around," said Annabeth. "I know I shouldn't have gone completely silent. Fatal flaw acted up, I'm afraid."

"We're glad you came back," said Chris firmly. "We were hoping that if you did, we could invite you to be in the wedding party."

"I'd love to," said Annabeth. "Here's my home and work numbers. Give me a call and let me know what you want me to help with."

"We will," said Clarisse, accepting the phone numbers. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Felix," said Annabeth. "We work at the same architectural firm."

"Hi," said Felix. He shook hands with the couple.

"It's nice to meet you," Chris assured him. "Clarisse isn't a people person. So you're the guy in charge of Rachel's new pet project. How's that coming?"

"Really well, actually," said Felix. "How did you know?"

"I'm a child of Hermes," said Chris. "Info is my specialty."

"Mr Beauchamp,"said Rachel, elbowing her way into the conversation. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"She's lying," said Nico, who'd slid up like a shadow. "She knew you were coming before we'd even planned the party."

"That's true," admitted Rachel. "Still, I'm pleased to see you."

"It's good to see you as well Ms Dare," said Felix. "I've been hearing a lot about you all evening. All good things, of course."

"Oh, of course," said Rachel. "I'm excited for the reveal of your designs."

"Come by the office next week and have a look," said Felix. "I haven't cyanotyped them yet, so if there are any changes you'd like made, I can do them easily."

"I may just take you up on that offer," said Rachel.

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Nico as Rachel turned her attention to Clarisse and Thalia's conversation.

"Yeah," said Felix. "This is the most low pressure party I've ever been to."

"That's just how we are together," shrugged Nico. "Most of us here have fought together. We've all lost friends. This is the good times."

"Who did you lose?" asked Felix. "You don't have to answer. It was a rude question."

"My sister Bianca," said Nico. "She's been reincarnated now."

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Felix sincerely. Nico waved it off.

"She's happy now," said Nico. "And so am I. Children of the Underworld spend a lot of time with the dead. I got to know that she was okay with dying, that she loved me and was sorry that she left me behind. Not many people get that privilege."

"So what do you do?"

"Oddly enough, I'm a police officer in the guns and gangs squad. I just transferred over from homicide a couple of months ago."

"Is it rewarding? I can imagine that some of the things you see are horrible."

"For me, it is. I keep tabs on various monsters around the city. Most of them are baby cyclopses who just want something to do. The pair of sphinxes we might have to relocate - they keep eating stray dogs and homeless people."

"That must be hell on homicide."

"Not really. Most officers assume that they just jumped into the river or froze to death and were mistaken for garbage by a sanitation worker."

"That's really sad," said Felix.

"It's a depressing job," said Nico. "But it's comfortable for me."

"Really?"

"Really. It was Percy's idea, actually."

"So, um, are you and Percy together?"

"We are for now," said Nico, "though I doubt that we will be for much longer. Lord Uncle Zeus has made his objections loudly and clearly. Millennia of family history indicates that if we keep trying his patience, someone's going to get hurt."

"Is it strange, dating your cousin?"

"Not really," said Nico. "I mean, considering the amount of in-family marriages, incest kind of gets overlooked. And the rule is: if you share a godly parent, you're related and if you don't then you're fair game. For most of us, getting together with mortals is not really an option."

"I suppose it wouldn't be," said Felix. They were quiet for a minute.

"Sorry for dragging you here," said Nico abruptly. "I just needed Annabeth to come to this. To come home."

"It's fine," said Felix dismissively. "I was going to spend the evening sulking at home with bad movies and worse popcorn." At Nico's questioning eyebrow, Felix elaborated, "My boyfriend just broke up with me."

"Glad you could have a fun night out instead," said Nico. He glanced around at the gathering and blanched at the large cloud of purple glitter growing over one of the tables. "It might be a good idea to leave soon, though."

"Why?"

"Table twelve is summoning Dionysus," said Nico. "Everything will go nuts once he gets here. Can I walk you home?"

"I'm supposed to be staying at Annabeth's tonight," said Felix.

"Percy's walking her home," said Thalia. "Apparently they need to have a chat."

An eerie little smile crossed Nico's face. "Yeah. That's good. So can I walk you back to your place?"

"Sure," said Felix. "It's a nice night. I'm up for a walk."

"I can handle the crowd," said Thalia. "Go. I'll call if I need help." Nico nodded, taking Felix's hand and pulling him through the crowd to the streets of New York.