Two Brothers Overlooked

– I do not own Percy Jackson. All rights belong to Rick Riordan. –

Epilogue

A heavy silence descended on the throne room as they considered all they'd just heard. "I had hoped you would notice. I had hoped that for once you would look closer, instead of taking everything at face value." That was what Percy had said before leaving the throne room. And, in hindsight, he really shouldn't have had to hope for it so desperately, as if it was something highly unlikely, bordering on impossible. Because they'd had all the time to look, to realise what was going on, and, with all of those unexpected things happening through both Kronos' and Gaia's manipulations, they'd also had all the reasons they needed for taking a closer look, for looking beyond what seemed obvious to find what was really going on. And maybe, if that had happened, those two great people who had been looking out for them from the shadows for all that time, even when they only got scorn in return, wouldn't have had to suffer through half as much (at their hands, but no one was really comfortable thinking about that).

But for all that the conditions had practically been shouting at them to do so, they had just ignored all the hints and continued to take everything at face value. And Percy, Apollo, and even Octavian had suffered for it, and suffered greatly. They couldn't change that now, no matter how much they wished to. After all, even in their world of gods, monsters, and six impossible things before breakfast, nothing could change the past.

That didn't mean they couldn't try to make up for their mistakes, their ignorance, and all they had put them through – what little it would be worth in the end. Because nothing would ever make it right, and both would never be able to forget all that had been done to them. Still, they had to at least try. They owed Percy and Apollo that much.