The sailing ship roared through the sea of monsters at speeds that were impossible without assistance from Poseidon. Grover the satyr sat silently on the deck of the wooden boat.
"So, you were created by Kronos to win the Titanomachy for him?" Grover asked,
"Pretty much, he somehow managed to essentially clone his essence into a mortal form, unbound by the ancient laws but with all the power of the Titan Lord of Time." Percy answered.
"Then, why did it take you so long to defeat Polyphemus?" Grover asked,
"My powers over Time aren't easy to control. Time and space are actually the same thing. Time is literally part of the fabric of reality, it's one of the strongest domains that exists. But as a result it requires a mind on the level of a titan or god to handle control over it. I had to purposely enrage myself to tap into them and kill Polyphemus. And even then it could've ripped my body apart and scattered my atoms across the universe." Percy answered,
"Oh." Grover muttered.
"Yeah. I've got other powers that I can actually handle, but my small control over Time is extremely powerful. I believe the term of the modern generation is 'O.P'" Percy joked. Grover chuckled and ripped his wedding dress off before tossing it over the side of the boat.
"So where did you get this boat?" Grover asked,
"Poseidon is lending it to me, and helping me control it. We should be back at Camp by morning." Percy answered.
"That's awesome. But why are we not even stopping to sleep along the way?" Grover asked,
"Thalia's pine has been poisoned, the boundary is failing." Percy answered,
"Yeah, otherwise you wouldn't be getting the Fleece. What I meant was why do you want to get back so desperately?" Grover probed.
"It's gonna sound stupid." Percy warned.
"Most explanations I hear are stupid. Just go ahead." Grover answered. Percy sat on the deck across from him and took a deep breath.
"During the second world war, I lost the ability to see color except in things that were important to me or that evoked a strong emotion in me. My dog and my sword were the only two things that I saw in color until eight years ago. I was watching a group of three demigods on their run for Camp, they were being chased by a horde of monsters. I wanted to help them but there was only so far I could go from the entrance to Camp, so I watched. Then, one of two girls turned toward where my viewpoint was following them. And her eyes were blue. I immediately rushed to the edge of where I could go and waited for them. I held off the monsters while they ran into the safety of Camp but the blue eyed girl didn't run. She rejoined the battle despite being tired and hurt, and saved my life at least once. In the end a fury got her, her dad turned her into a tree. The same tree that is now dying because it was poisoned. The same tree that the barrier around Camp relied on for power." Percy finished his story with his eyes on the wooden floor. Grover stared at him.
"You fell in love with her when she came back to help you." He muttered,
"If that makes sense then I guess that's what happened. I still don't know. I reached the conclusion, logically, that I was fated to fall in love with her after eight years of introspection and questioning. But I don't think I'm in love with her right now, I mean I learned her name from her companions, not from her." Percy argued.
"Maybe. Nobody knows, but if you are in love don't let her get away. Maybe you aren't right now, but one day you will be right? So keep her safe until then and it'll all end well." Grover reasoned. Percy nodded and went to stand at the bow.
"Maybe. I can't believe I'm taking love advice from a twenty something year old satyr. Especially one who was almost married to a cyclops." Percy joked. The satyr pouted.
"It's gotta be from someone though doesn't it?" Grover asked,
"I don't know. My life was pretty peaceful up until now, I mean, except for the warring and everything. I just sat in my house and thought about things. I have no idea what I'll do now that Kronos is rising. Or now that I'll have to interact with camp." Percy answered, he felt a spike of fear course through him, he hadn't been afraid of an enemy so much since he first turned against his father.
"We'll just have to see." Grover added sagely.
"Yeah we will. Get some sleep man, probably gonna have a busy day tomorrow." Percy laughed. Grover nodded at him from his position at the side and started snoring almost immediately. Percy turned his gaze back to the endless horizon.
Camp Half-Blood was in an uproar when Percy and Grover returned. Tantalus was screaming obscenities at Annabeth in front of Thalia's pine. Percy and Grover made it to the beach and headed for the hill quickly, not noticing that the ship behind them wasn't sinking back into the sea. Percy caught his eldest sister's eyes as he marched for the tree and offered the little girl a hand. She took it and allowed her youngest brother to carry her up the hill. Percy restrained himself from slugging the man as he approached. His sister wouldn't approve.
"Tantalus." Percy warned, the man had his fist cocked back and aimed for Annabeth's face. The man turned and turned red with anger as he saw Percy standing behind him.
"Where did you go punk?" Tantalus yelled, not noticing the goddess on his shoulders.
"My younger brother is not a 'punk' Tantalus, and I'm sure Zeus would love to hear you insulting his little brother and screaming at his older sister." Hestia threatened. Tantalus paled as he saw the goddess. Percy stepped forward and pushed him out of the way,
"Out of our way. Bitch." Percy whispered the last word to prevent his sister from scolding him and headed for the dying tree. Percy tossed the Golden Fleece high into its branches and smiled as he felt the boundary strengthen and begin to repair itself. Annabeth stared at the Fleece in awe,
"Was it hard to kill Polyphemus?" she asked excitedly,
"Nah, he pissed me off." Percy answered. They stared up at the healing tree in silence, Hestia humming happily from Percy's shoulders. Then the tree creaked. Percy looked around in confusion before his gaze settled on a bulge growing from the trunk near the roots. Hestia and Annabeth noticed it as well.
"What's that?" Annabeth asked, Hestia smiled knowingly,
"Sister, we may have need of a blanket in the next few seconds." Percy warned, a thick brown blanket dropped into his hands.
"Keep the campers back for a bit please dear." Hestia addressed Annabeth. The daughter of Athena hurried to push back the gathering crowd.
"Hestia wants you all to stay back! Get back or she might smite you for disobeying her!" Annabeth shouted, Hestia sighed and shook her head. The bulge grew. Percy carefully set the small goddess down and opened the blanket as he crouched in front of the bulge. It creaked one last time before splitting open and dumping the daughter of Zeus onto the grass. Percy wrapped her still form with the blanket, Annabeth's warnings stopped working as the crowd of campers surged forward and surrounded the tree.
