I know I'm late but...you know, school.

Nico spoke two words: "Come out."

Gradually, Percy emerged from the shadows. As he walked into view, the camp erupted in whispers and gasps. Old friends, demigods, stared in amazement at the long lost hero. The campfire flared a stunning sea green before dimming to a dark, intense glow. The tension in the air was almost palpable.

Yet, Percy paid no attention to any of these things. He stood facing the small group right in front of him, watching their expressions intently.

Nico nodded casually at Percy as if the son of Poseidon hadn't disappeared off the face of the planet for three years.

Annabeth's expression melted into one of shock. Percy knew her so well, he could practically see the thoughts churning through her head. The former couple gazed at each other with wide eyes, not quite sure what to do.

Both were snapped out of their trance by Thalia.

She too was gaping at him. "Percy? What are you doing here?"

He avoided her question with a smirk. "Nice seeing you too, Pinecone Face."

Chiron was gazing warily at the unruly campers. Several of them were out of their seats, demanding explanations. Things were mellow for now, but the pressure could erupt at any moment.

"Demigods," the mentor raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Please return to your cabins for the evening. Ask your councilors any questions you may have, everything else will be explained tomorrow."

No one seemed too pleased with that order as they begrudgingly filed out from the amphitheater. Many of them were looking at Percy curiously, wondering what his arrival could mean. He tried his best to ignore their dissecting stares.

Chiron turned back to Percy along with Annabeth, Nico, and Thalia. "And you four," he beckoned them toward the Big House. "Let's take things inside. We have quite a bit to discuss."

The walk was short, but quiet and extremely uncomfortable. No one dared speak, and Percy could feel the others casting him sharp glances.

Reaching the Big House, they gathered in Chiron's office. He couldn't help notice that Annabeth sat as far from him as possible.

Chiron calmly folded himself into his wheelchair. He looked at them all with weary eyes and sighed. "Percy, I'm sure these three have their fair share of questions. Would you mind giving them a brief explanation?"

The demigod opened his mouth, wondering where to begin. Oh, how Percy wished to be anywhere else at that moment. Of all people, the ones in front of him deserved answers the most, but Percy wasn't sure he could give them what they wanted. If one thing was for sure, he couldn't tell them about his powers; it would only infuriate the gods.

He settled for the vaguest answer he could give. "On the day I disappeared, I upset the gods." Percy's voice was shaking and he refused to look at any of them. Regardless, he could feel their eyes boring into the top of his head.

"I've always had a talent for irritating immortal beings. You could say I finally crossed the line." He was stretching the truth a bit, trying to avoid revealing the reason for his banishment. It hurt to be so cryptic, but Percy didn't have much of a choice.

"For the past three years, I've been separated from the Greek world, living on my own. I only returned because I got in a mess with some mortals. They locked me up with Travis Stoll about a week ago. The two of us escaped, but I was injured in the process. He brought me here for help."

Nico was the first to speak up. "What do our parents think of you being here?"

Percy laughed a little darkly at that. "They're probably not pleased. The only reason they haven't booted me out is because it would just cause more chaos. Campers would ask more questions and maybe get angry. I plan to leave as soon as possible. Although, now that the whole camp knows I'm here, that might be a bit difficult."

There was a pause during which everyone turned to Annabeth. She hadn't said a word since seeing Percy, and they were all tensed, waiting for her reaction.

It was quiet when it came. She stared at the floor with curly hair falling limply around her face. "You left us."

"Annabeth—" Chiron gently reached out to her, but she jerked away from him.

Finally, her eyes met Percy's. Two swirling gray pools of pain and regret. They pierced him with their anger.

She stood and marched across the room, towering over Percy. "You. Left. Us." She jabbed her finger against his chest, punctuating each word. "I don't care if the gods banished you, if you ran away, or if you were kidnapped by an alien life force. You didn't even care to say goodbye before. So why should I care what you have to say now? You made your choice. You left us, left me. Now I think it's time you left again." With tears spilling down her cheeks, the daughter of Athena marched out of the office. Chiron wheeled after her, calling her name.

Percy flinched when the door slammed behind them.

Nico shook his head. "Well, that was a disaster."

Sitting in that room, he felt small. Annabeth reacted exactly how he'd dreaded she would, but in no way had he been prepared for the pain of the situation.

She deserved so much more than he could offer her. She deserved a hero, someone who could defend her, someone good. Percy was none of those things. War had crippled him. For months on his own Percy had searched for some form of relief, an escape from the evil that he could feel corrupting him, but he hadn't found any sign of hope.

It was a demigod's fate to die at the hands of monsters. Percy was slowly reaching that end. He was being torn apart from the inside out.

Pointlessly, Percy muttered the only thought running through his head.

"I had no choice."

Percy looked to his shocked cousins, almost pleading for them to understand. He needed someone to understand. "I really had no choice. The gods—they—they made me leave. I wasn't allowed to say goodbye."

Thalia looked at him sympathetically. Her tough daughter-of-Zeus façade was gone. "We believe you, Percy."

Nico nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Percy. If there's one thing we know about you, it's that you'd never run off unless you were forced. You're way too loyal."

He was grateful to them for that as he rubbed his face with his hands. Having his cousins' support lifted an enormous weight from his shoulders.

Thalia stood and nudged him in the shoulder. "Alright, you two come with me."

"What? Where?"

"This place just got really depressing. We're gonna go blow off steam."

I honestly don't know how this is gonna work that summer's over. I might switch back to weekends. I'll write when I have the time. But don't worry-I have no plans to abandon this. Just don't freak out if my update doesn't come exactly once a week. Longer(ish) chapters coming soon!

So whatcha think? Seriously. Anyone mad at me? Excited to see what happens? What's Percy gonna do now?

Let me know!

Thanks for reading!

-LL