Here we go, continuing right after the chapter previous.

Oh, and my thanks to all those views and reviews. They never cease to make my day

Song of choice: Old School- Hedley

Disclaimer: And yet again let me remind you that I do not, and will not, own these characters. Ever, like, who can afford that?

"Thorn, how could you?" My mother asked, wringing water out of her hair

"Mom, it wasn't my fault. Poseidon said it himself, he invited me." I said, my voice growing in agitation.

"Beth, leave her be. Go inside, I'll talk to her" My dad said, leading me back to the beach. He sat on a tall rock and shook off his fancy shoes. He sighed.

I looked around at our surrounding's; a beautiful beach, a stunning sunset and an awkward conversation to muster out

"No, it's not your fault. Thorn, I'm sorry. Your mother has always been judgemental, and it comes out more than she wants it to. It's just…" his voice cracked, but only for a moment, because he had the mean to continue

"We don't want to let you go, Thorn. That's what this is all about."

A rough wave crashed on our rock, splashing my father in sea salt. He rolled his eyes

"Dad, let it go." he said, causing me to laugh. It seemed so… real, the way he talked to the waves as if it was a real thing. There is someone watching out for me after all.

"Dad," He looked over at me "Can I ask you something?"

He faced the waves "Course. Well, not anything. I'm not about to tell you about the war. But other than that, sure."

Oh dad…

"Can you tell me about, you know, your parents?"

He smiled over at me "Well, you know all about your grandma,"

"When did you first meet Poseidon?"

"When I was twelve. At Olympus, in the throne room. I had just sent Annabeth- well, I mean your mom, and Grover off to camp. I had to return the master bolt myself."

I tucked up my legs and faced the sea "Why?"

"I couldn't do that to them. If I got killed, at least they would be safe. They didn't deserve to die like I did"

"No one deserves to die dad. That's a lie. You didn't do anything wrong! You were a hero!"

"Maybe, but it wasn't my doing that required a death. It was my fathers. I'm a forbidden child"

"How the heck can a kid be forbidden?" I asked, adding a nice touch with air quotations

"You see, there was a prophesy. It was foretold that the next child of the big three- that is, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades- would have the power to save or destroy the gods. They didn't want to take that risk, so the brothers made a deal that they would never have demigod children ever again."

I frowned at the horizon "So you were… illegal almost"

He laughed softly "Yeah, I guess you could say that"

"So were you the kid in the prophesy?"

He took a second to answer "Yes. I was the one. The hero with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Literally"

"Not funny. That was truly a horrifying sentence. Honestly!" I paused "What was the prophesy?"

"I don't want to repeat it, Thorn. But you deserve to know." He tucked his knees to his chin

"A half-blood of the…eldest gods,

Shall reach sixteen against all odds,

And see the world in, in endless sleep,

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his, end his days

Olympus to preserve, or raze"

I stopped in horror at the words he spoke. My dad had to face this reality all his life. The entire time he knew he was going to die at the end

"Dad, I'm so sorry" I stuttered out. I was truly in shock

"There's nothing to be sorry for" he says quietly "You didn't know"

I stood. I felt defiant and angry "No, it is my fault. Let's go inside. Come on"

Still he remained seated

"No. Go on, I'll, I'll catch up"

I glanced back as I walked away, and what I saw surprised me. I saw a broken man; drowning in a whole new level of pain.

-Percy-

I couldn't say that I hadn't expected her to ask. She had to know what it meant eventually, because with us around, it was bound to make an appearance.

Still, it was hard to spit out the words. Those lines that I dreaded yet yearned to know all my life. Sighing, I thought about what this could mean. My kid was worried about me, and everything I do in the mythological world is now going to affect her.

Great, yet another person to worry about.

And Annabeth, gods, she's going to kill me. Rant on and on for hours about how stupid that was. Well, it won't be the first time.

And Poseidon. I hadn't seen him in a decade, had to forget about him for my daughters sake. I couldn't believe how he just swooped down and invited her to his palace on a moment's notice. Didn't he know how dangerous that was? How stupid? She could've died from the pressure alone! We don't even know what her powers are yet!

I glared at the sea

"What were you thinking!" I screamed at the waves "She could've died! Your own granddaughter and you put us through this! Why?"

When the ground shook below me; I knew I went too far. But it subsided as quickly as it came. Instead of an earthquake, a lone figure appeared in the sand

I didn't even have to look over

"Why did you do it?'

The figure sat beside me. "I didn't do anything, Jackson. Rather the opposite. I've come to help"

I glanced beside me to see a contemplating Athena.

"Your families in danger," she continued, glancing out to sea "And what you do now could hinder or help the situation"

"What do you want me to do?" I asked defiantly "Hide her away again?"

She gently shook her head "No, she's already been exposed to the gods. Hiding her won't erase her memories. You have to decide what to do with her. Camp and everything you've known, or us"

I stared at my mother in law "Us? As in the gods, or us as in me and Annabeth?"

She crossed her legs "You and my daughter, Percy. She needs her parents right now. Something of home that she's had her whole life. You can't expect her to understand us right now"

I tried to form an intelligent answer "You mean the gods, right? Camp, monsters, you want us to protect her from that?"

"Yes and no. You can't block out the mythological world any longer now that she knows, but you can also guard her from outside issues that don't involve her"

"Like, what, exactly?"

Athena was about to answer when a yelp sounded behind us. I spun around to see my stunned wife, standing in the sand

"Mom?" she asked, frozen with nerves "Is that you?"

The goddess stood, and embraced her daughter. Annabeth nearly cried into her mother's arms, but regained composure at the last second

"Annabeth, your mom and I were just talking about, you know, Thorn"

She cast a sideways glance at me, but took it as an opening "I see. And what may that be?"

"What will happen now, and how you two can protect her" Athena said, sitting back down

"Mom, we do protect her, and have for her whole life."

She shook her head sadly "Not like this. She needs physical and well and psychological support. She needs a steady relationship as much as she needs defence. You need to be there for her, now more than ever. She's seen her parents reduced to almost nothing, you can prevent that."

"We can't prevent it any more than we already am. We're not used to this yet either" I said spitefully

"Take her home, Percy. Show your daughter your world. Tell her your adventures, your friends, and why you did what you did. She deserves to know. Especially now"

With that, Lady Athena disappeared in the same matter she came. My wife looked doubtfully frazzled.

I gestured to our old rendezvous spot "hey, come sit down Beth. It looks like we have a lot to talk about"

This is going to go on for forever. Oh well, it's something to do :)

Have a very merry Christmas

Love always,

-Silence Nevermore