AN: I hope you all are having a wonderful life. Thank you for reading! ~SmartzyFan

Chapter 21: Talks, Plans, Quests

Artemis, Arc, and the others had just passed Chicago.

He wasn't too worried about the latest attack. He knew that Arc and Angel (especially Angel!) were strong enough to defend themselves. They could easily cream their fair share of ordinary monsters, and they may have a bit of difficulty with the Ordians (if those monsters were wittier than the ordinaries) but they were together, and that alone had made them a formidable force.

They camped out for the night in the van somewhere in the city, with presumably only one or two of them that would stay awake. He hoped Artemis wasn't one of those. He hadn't talked to her much since the quest was issued (it was only for one night, but still..)

"Percy."

The man perked up from his spot at the observatory. He'd been using his free time before bed to watch his son, his lover, and their companions on their quest. He had a lot to spare, so he'd put up somewhat of a bar stool on his constellation (he wasn't sure if it was shining because of that) and sat there, his elbows atop the fence and supporting his chin as he watched over them.

He was alone because for some reason, Zoë and Ouranos still weren't back from whatever they were doing. It'd been two days since Zoë and he talked at the same spot as he was in right now. He wondered what they were doing at the moment. Without them, he supposed he'd be teacher-less and have even more sweet free time, but apparently, Chaos didn't want that.

He sighed, remembering that small mission he went on in their time slots, and looked up. His sister was there, her head tilted to the side curiously. "What are you doing here?"

He sat straight as she walked towards him. "Watching."

"Hmm." Nyx stopped beside him, standing on Zoë's constellation. She looked surprised to see what he was watching. "It's Enkeli."

Percy scratched his head sheepishly as she turned to him. "Eh. She's with Arc."

"And Artemis."

"Yeah, and Artemis."

They were silent then, for a few more minutes, watching. "How have you been doing?" Nyx asked.

"I'm doing fine," he replied. "My training's okay, and the mission's aren't too hard for me anymore. A bit boring though."

"Boring, huh," she mused, looking down on her daughter thoughtfully while the latter volunteered to keep watch. "I'll tell you what makes it boring."

"Oh yeah?" Percy glanced up from the glass.

She hummed in response, nodding. "You see, Mother's a strict one. Caring, but strict. Sure, she'll do everything to keep you safe, and she'll also make sure you won't get yourself into trouble. But to do that, she'll have to scare you into obeying."

"Let me guess. Because I'm obeying, it makes my life boring."

"Correct."

"So what're you trying to tell me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows incredulously. "Disobey her?"

Nyx smiled at him. "Tell me you don't want to," she retorted genially. "It's not in your nature to do what you don't want to."

"That's true, I guess.." His lips thinned into a line, thinking about it. "But it's not like I'd gain anything good from doing that."

"Oh, you would, trust me," she assured, pointedly turning back to watch her daughter.

Percy blinked and followed her gaze to the top of the van, where Enkeli and Artemis sat to keep watch. They seemed to be talking about something, though because of the view high above them, he wasn't able to hear what they're saying.

He willed Katoptris to zoom in slightly on them; Nyx didn't argue. They could now see the two as more than little silhouettes. And he was surprised that Artemis was looking up at him, or rather his constellation, her eyes practically saying, I wish you would come be with us soon.

It made his stomach drop, as if he was plummeting downwards on a rollercoaster to Hades. Until now, he never really had realized how much he missed her, or Thalia and Nico, or Chiron, or even everyone else. He also missed his mother and stepfather dearly, and perhaps even their kid or kids for that matter, even though he'd never met them. He was alone. He needed them.

He swallowed. He thought about what his sister said. Disobey Chaos. Disobey his keeper and mother. Disobey her for a better outcome. But what outcome? He then remembered what Hermes had told him, a long time ago when he was still young.

Young people don't always do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment.

He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the railing. He wasn't sure if it was going to apply to him. Maybe he could pull it off... but the probability was less than the chance of an untrained him shooting a bullseye.

He sighed again and started to walk out of the observatory.

Nyx noticed him and called out. "Hey, where are you going?"

Percy shook his head. "Nowhere." There was plenty of that place around the Void.

"And that's the end of the second day," Kelli said, her arms folded behind her head.

"Who'd take watch, then?" Arc asked. Four pairs of eyes turned to him. He sighed in defeat. "Alright. I'll just wake you up if there's trouble."

In truth, he was actually pleased with this. It gave him some alone time, which he'd been yearning since they left camp. Even if it meant staying up all night. He did that on Khaos, after all, wandering around the halls of his grandmother's palace (sometimes at the streets of the city if he really didn't want to sleep) after his father and everyone else had gone to bed.

His companions rolled the windows down to get some air in as he slid the door close. The quickly approaching midnight was cool. He was tempted to go around for a walk, but he knew he had to watch out as the Ordians might be close and ambush them. Well, either him or them, but they were the ones he was worried about.

He looked around and climbed a nearby tree, tall enough for him to see at least a mile away. He managed to do it swiftly without scratching himself, which, by the way, happened almost every time he scaled tall objects.

Arc sighed as he settled down. He was still thinking about what Kelli had said, about his dad being his real dad. And his mom being... somewhere, watching over him. It just wouldn't show itself real to him. It was too hard to believe. Maybe his dad could be, but his mom? No.

He'd imagined what his mom looked like. He'd imagined her coming into Khaos and surprising him and hugging him and kissing him and smothering him like all moms would. He'd imagined it ever since he was little. Did he get her hair color? Was she gentle? Cold? Powerful? He had no idea.

Even though Percy had always been there for him, had been a dad to him, he never felt like he had a family. He always felt alone. He didn't know why the Fates ever assigned to him a life without knowing the people who actually gave him that. If this was the life of a hero fated to save the world from Order (ironically), then he'd rather be reborn as a mortal, or better yet, an animal.

"Arc?"

He jolted and nearly fell from the branch. He took hold of his sheathed sword and looked down. He was surprised. "Lady Artemis?"

She nodded. "May I join you?"

"Uh." He swallowed and shifted in his seat, getting ready to jump down. "No, no; I'll just come down."

"Don't bother." The goddess scaled the tree in a matter of seconds, almost like the way he did earlier. She settled at the other side of the tree, looking around them. "It's high up here. I like the way you think."

He wasn't sure why she was praising him, a boy. "Uh, thanks."

They paused. They were silent and listened to the night wind rustling through leaves. Arc was kind of surprised that the goddess willingly came over and sat with him—like, what guy doesn't? Maybe those who don't know. Very funny, Arc, he thought amusedly. Talking to yourself like that. Are you crazy? Yes you are.

Artemis looked over him weirdly, and he flushed in embarrassment. She must've heard those thoughts. Thank the gods he wasn't thinking about something else.

"How are you?" she asked out of the blue.

Arc coughed, trying to hide his sputtering. "I'm doing fine. Pretty exhausted, but fine. What about you?" Then he thought that he shouldn't be talking so casually with her.

She chuckled. "Apart from this feeling in my chest, I'm okay," she admitted. "And don't worry; I won't blast you for talking 'so casually.'"

He realized that she was again reading his thoughts. "Could you not do that? It's creepy."

"Sorry."

An awkward silence passed between them again.

"Um, what were you talking about earlier?" At this, she raised an eyebrow. He elaborated. "You know, about that feeling."

"Oh." She sighed and leaned against the trunk. He looked over. She seemed to be thinking hard about something, and looked like she was debating something over in her head. "You see, there was this guy.."

"Um, what?" he asked, confused. "You're talking about a guy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up; and yes. Don't act so surprised." He complied, not really wanting to be reindeer chow. "He has been... dead, for decades now, you know? And uh... I don't know, I just want him to... come back, somehow."

Arc blinked and looked over her again. He was definitely talking to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, moon, and childbirth. Why would she miss a guy? He wanted to ask, but knowing him, it might come out rude and so he just kept his trap shut.

"And... look, I don't know if you're the same boy. Angel has said so, but—"

"Wait, Angel? What's she got to do with this?" he interrupted, earning him a harsh glare. He realized that too much interruptions into the moon goddess's speech might just turn him into the thing that all hunters loved to chase.

"You do seem like him, with your big mouth and all..," she mused. "You might know him."

"Who?" he asked cautiously.

Artemis hesitated, swallowing nervously. Right now, contrary to the other times (especially when she wanted to blast Kelli,) she looked more like a teenage girl than a goddess to Arc. She looked exposed and troubled, overwhelmingly different from her goddess self. He wondered, feeling a little spark of playful conceit, if he was the first guy she had opened up to.

She opened her mouth and was about to speak; he held his breath in anticipation—when a small noise, almost inaudible from their vantage point, sounded from the direction of the van. Only if he didn't have sharp ears would he not hear it. He stood up quietly as his companion did the same. "What was that?"

The goddess shook her head, squinting at the van. "Stay where you are; I'll try to get up close." She leapt off her branch and landed on another one, doing so repeatedly until she was close enough.

He looked down at the height of the drop. The only reason that the branch could carry him was that he was able to balance on top of it. One wrong move, and it might snap. Not that it endangered his life, exactly, since he could just try to glide downward, but...

THUMP!

The branch gave off a small crack. Arc flapped his arms in the air pathetically, as if that would help him balance, then eventually found his brain and hugged the tree, wrapping his legs around it as well. Irritably, he looked around for the goddess.

He found her looking over at him. She was using one hand to cover her mouth, the other on her bow, which she presumably used to shoot him a boxing glove. Her eyes were smiling, and he knew she was laughing at him. He felt a twinge of anger, yet he couldn't help but see the funny side of it.

Artemis gestured to him. A gesture he hadn't seen before, but somehow, he could understand it. He nodded. She took off.

He waited. He was pretty sure that's what she said through the gesture. He was curious though. What did she see there?

He caught a movement in the van. He narrowed his eyes. Kelli? He thought.

Then a head poked out of the driver's side, looking tired and annoyed. It was Nico. It was kind of sad for him to hope that his cousin would wake up in the middle of the night, even though it's her favorite time of the day. Or night. Whatever.

Nico's head was swinging back and forth through the window, looking for people or perhaps threats. He looked up and saw him. He mouthed, where are they?

Arc raised an eyebrow. They?

The son of Hades nodded, mouthing, Artemis, Thalia?

The grandson of Chaos blinked. Thalia went out?

As if on cue, the mentioned hunter came running out of the woods, from the direction Artemis bounded off to, the latter on her heels. He was so surprised to see the giant and its Cyclops cronies following them that his grip almost loosened. They wouldn't be able to fight that many Ordians at once. If it were the clean ones, they could've stood a chance.

He cursed himself for not keeping a keen enough eye out.

The goddess caught his eye, practically glaring at him, saying, Hurry up and start that chariot!

He didn't know why the goddess trusted him so much as to let him drive her chariot, but he wasn't complaining. He shimmied around the trunk so his back was facing the van, propped his leg up for power, and leapt backwards. To a mortal eyes, it would seem crazy jumping from that high, but he was no mortal. He manipulated the winds to slow his fall, careful to make it subtle so they won't notice. He landed just right, and glanced at the monsters. They were coming fast.

Not wasting any more time, he scrambled into the driver's seat, shutting the door behind him. He kicked the engines running. Arc felt a pool of excitement originating in his stomach. This was his first time driving a car, a god's chariot more importantly. Not many demigods got that privilege, and more importantly, no guy gets the chance of driving the Artemis' chariot.

He glanced at the side mirror, where Thalia and Artemis and the monsters were rapidly closing in, then at the controls or whatever it was called. It looked easy enough. The steering wheel was the easiest. There was some kind of clocklike gizmo, three of them. Then there was a funky-looking joystick like from a helicopter, and letters in a column beside it. And then there was also what he thought was the footbrake, and then the accelerator..

"ARC! STEP ON IT!"

The grandson of Chaos (and machine-junkie to boot!) jolted in surprise, but complied immediately, pounding the pedal with his foot, before glancing at the side mirror again. The two huntresses were at the side now, at reach of the sliding doors, and fortunately the Ordians got held up by something the two threw at them. Or maybe it was Kelli, who was throwing someone's bow at them.

But then he almost ate the wheel as the van reversed, its engines comparing to a rocket's, and plowed into the giants behind them. The butt would've dented if it hadn't been a divine chariot. The two girls clambered into the van as he changed the gear into drive, the giants dazed. And then he jammed the pedal, going forward this time. Having parked at an abandoned roadside lot, they were instantly on the empty road, leaving the monsters in the dust visible in the night air.

Arc found out that he was a natural at driving, but he was still shaking from the narrow escape. His knuckles were turning white from when he was gripping the wheel. That's why he sighed in relief as Artemis put the car into autopilot and that helped him loosen up. He slumped on the seat, looking to the back where everyone was.

"That was close." Kelli sighed, looking out the back window, which was next to her bunk. He nearly laughed when he remembered that she had been throwing a bow, and not an arrow.

"What happened, exactly?" Nico inquired, shifting uncomfortably in his seat on his bed.

The two goddesses (though the others didn't know the other) looked to Thalia at his question. The girl gulped. He was a little suspicious at her reaction. Most of all, why would she sneak out of the van in the middle of the night?

But then she threw up her hands and sighed. "Okay, let's face it. I saw some movement at the back and decided to check it out myself."

"You were awake the whole time before that? Why didn't you call the others when the monsters were already in sight?" Artemis asked. Then her eyes narrowed, though there was a glint of hurt in them that he could barely see. "Were you waiting for everyone to fall asleep?"

Looking down, Thalia shook her head quickly. Arc and Nico and Artemis exchanged glances. Arc could see the shimmer of Kelli's onyx eyes in the scarce moonlight as she glared at the Hunter through the darkness inside the van.

That was how they confirmed that something was amiss.

"Wrong, wrong, wrong." Percy sighed, ripping the next paper off and torching it completely in his hand with white-hot flame, leaving nothing but smoke. For the umpteenth time that night.

After being trained in strategy, he could now see the flaws and predict the consequences in plans even better than before he became the heir of Chaos (and Khaos, come to think of it). And he could make better plans. ...Well, plans that were less suicidal.

Considering both, he couldn't believe that all his output tonight turned out to be stinking rubbish.

The good side was, well, at least he could still see that they sucked.

It couldn't be possible. What was happening to him? Was it because he was nervous? Or maybe because his conscience was tugging at him even before he started?

What Nyx said was... wrong, to be straightforward. It was wrong, but it was true, and Percy knew it was. There was something, something that was somehow fascinating that drew him to do what she said. But it was also scary. Downright terrifying, and it wasn't just his mother's impending wrath that made it like that.

He sighed and settled on doodling on the sketchbook while he was still thinking about the next plan. Mostly it involved sneaking out in the middle of the Khaos night. Working tech things on the Katoptris so that it would transport them to the place by jumping in. Making a spy animal/cyborg/water clone and sending them below as his proxy. Some more other crazier things besides those.

Every complicated after complicated plan, it just didn't seem right. It was like it had more chances of him getting busted for it, and he knew it. Most of the time, as he was making the plans, he was totally confident that it was perfect and that he could pull it off, but when they were finished, he felt like he'd made a recipe with the wrong ingredients. They didn't look right.

Maybe he should get back to his comfort zone. Being in this training regime and the heir of Chaos, he'd forgotten to be the old Percy. Who always winged everything he went through, and always had a suicidal plan if ever he decided to have one. Suicidal and risky, yes, but definitely working if executed properly.

Percy smacked himself on the forehead and stood up, flipping the cover of the sketchbook back. He tossed the pencil on the desk as he cautiously approached his bedroom door. He cut a little space open and peered out into the hallway. After making sure it was empty, he slipped out and closed the door silently. And then he started to go to the throne room first, since it was the easiest and fastest way to go.

Being in the throne room plenty of times, he knew its layout from the training circle and galaxy (universe) simulator up to the throne room itself. He was in there plenty enough to know that there was a nice handy portal behind Chaos' throne, which she used to monitor and 'planet-hop' (kinda like mall-hop). All he hoped for was that the room wasn't his mother's bedroom too.

As he neared the massive throne room doors, he thought of a bunch of excuses to say if he was caught, or if someone answered from inside the doors when he would knock. If he was caught, he'd say that he was looking for his mother because he couldn't sleep. If someone answered, maybe he would run before someone came out to investigate, or simply poke his head in and tell them he couldn't sleep. Easy as pie.

The thought was pushed out of his mind, however, when he was in front of the doors now. He tried to remind himself of the excuses, but his mind had blanked out of nervousness. He gulped and ended up winging it.

He raised a fist to knock to check if someone was inside, but the voices beat him to it.

"I don't think I can hold it in much longer," a voice, which he recognized as his best friend's, admitted. He was surprised, but pleased. Zoë and Ouranos were back?!

"Please try to, my dear," Chaos replied, sounding desperate. "His training is coming to an end. He would know by himself soon enough."

"But Chaos." Zoë sighed heavily, as though she was frustrated with herself. "He's my best friend. I can't take lying to him."

"You've already told him what you should."

Percy was shocked, his hand still hovering in the air. Just as he thought: they were hiding something from him. They were lying to him. It was about Arc, he was sure. He was just worried and concerned for his adoptive son. Why won't they tell him what was going on? It hurt to think that they didn't trust him as much as he did them.

"Yes, but not what I could."

"If you tell him it all, he won't finish his training and go—"

"His training is already finished, as far as I'm concerned," his best friend interrupted firmly, which impressed him. It was pretty brave of her to cut his mother off.

The creator of the universe let out a soft sigh, at least it sounded soft from behind the doors. "It will only hurt him."

There was no response from the huntress for a moment, and he momentarily thought that she wasn't going to at all. "And how would it hurt him?" she asked, her tone giving away her aggravation.

Chaos exhaled. "You see, Zoë, I have discovered something in Percy that makes him dangerous, once again. He has gained power, the amount I don't know, but its sinister aura is enough to tell us that it's out to harm allies."

Percy's eyes widened. This was completely new to him. It seemed that his best friend agreed with him, as he heard her say so. He was dangerous. His new power was meant to harm his loved ones.

"I didn't want to tell anyone. I don't want them to treat my son differently," his mother confessed, making him feel warm and loved, but the feeling didn't last long.

"What do you mean power?" Zoë inquired skeptically.

"I do not know for sure, but if he loses control of it, the outcome won't be pretty." His mother sounded truly devastated about it.

"I get it now..," The Huntress whispered, almost inaudible to him. "This extra training is for him to control it?"

"Yes," the creator replied just as softly. "He doesn't know about this power, and it's best if he won't. The important thing is that he doesn't use it, and if he does, he is in control."

But he knew about it now. It's too late.

"But what about Arc?" Zoë now asked. "And Artemis? And... and both of them? They would want to know about each other—especially Arc. He feels quite lonely, even with Enkeli by his side."

"Leo Valdez's spirit will keep him strong. That boy had gone through much the same," Chaos said, sounding a tad bit guilty. "For now, we will let fate run its course. They're bound to know eventually. Informing makes it unconvincing."

As his best friend nodded her agreement, Percy backed away from the door, having heard enough. They've gone too far on hiding the information. He could accept them trying to save him from his destructive power, but lying to Arc was too much. He was just a kid. An adopted kid, no less. He needed his true parents, and the son of Chaos was sure that they knew about them, too.

He didn't even know how Leo was involved.

His caution subsided with his nerves, and carelessness and rage clouded his brain like a vengeance. He started running, his footsteps loud and echoing in the empty hallways. He didn't care.

Percy vapor-traveled to the jet port as the doors to the throne room opened.

It was twilight when they entered the state of Minnesota.

It took them about thirty minutes to drive to the city destination, and another five minutes to find an ideal spot to rest and prepare. The van had been autopilot for hours, running itself, but somebody still had to stay awake and look out for danger, in anywhere of the roads they were taking.

Artemis had been, of course as the owner of the van, in default the one to watch out.

And even she was exhausted.

She'd been without sleep for two whole days. She could take more, considering she was a goddess and she was pretty much awake every night, but Percy's nightly visits had her body slowly blend into the mortal's usual sleeping hours, and when at the usual times she'd be spirited during night's approach, instead she'd find herself exhausted and yawning for a nap, a long one to be precise, as to have more time with him.

And now when she absolutely needed one, he couldn't have been more helpful by showing her his little constellation, and a mesmerizing one at that, making her want to just sit there and watch it until it faded by the sun, the afterimage promising a faithful return at dusk.

Curses.

She was sitting in the driver's seat, keeping a good eye on everything by the mirrors. At least, that's what she thought. She may have snoozed a few times while looking outside, but what's important was that there were still no sign of monsters when she jolted awake. ...And then she goes back to sleep.

That's why she was a little bit surprised (so stunned) when the door opened from the outside. As her eyes were still groggy with sleep, she almost shot the assailant with her bow, when to her relief it was only Arc.

"Lady Artemis." He smiled, sliding the door close behind him. She blinked. He was holding two plastic bags from McDonald's.

"Where have you been?" she asked, looking around and at the GPS installed into the van. There wasn't any McDonald's nearby; at least, any that was open already. The nearest had to be twenty minutes away—and by car.

"I brought us breakfast." He put the bags on the table. He took out a breakfast bagel and started eating. She realized that she was also hungry and did the same.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going out?" she asked between bites. The mortals do prepare food as slow as a revolving planet, but the wait was worth it. They could cook.

Arc chuckled, slurping from a straw quite loudly. Angel began stirring, groaning. "I didn't want to wake you up."

Her face colored and she faced front, pretending to mind her own business. The most embarrassing thing that could happen to her was to be caught sleeping on guard duty by her boyfriend's son—and that's what exactly had happened. Well, at least she was lucky that it was he, not some other thing, like a monster for example.

"You know, you could have slept. I was keeping watch outside."

She frowned, feeling a unfamiliar tightening in her chest as she heard his words. "Why didn't you say so? You could've been gotten from behind and—"

"Ooh, what's that smell?" Angel asked, yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She walked up to the table, blinking at it. Her hair had exploded in the duration of her sleep, black strands sticking out in every direction. She was a mess, which was to be expected of a sleeping teenager.

But Artemis was thankful that she was interrupted. She wouldn't have been able to finish her sentence then, and what would she say? Some truth that will make her feel bad the moment she said it?

"Breakfast," Arc replied, fetching another bagel for her.

"Wow," the girl marveled, sweeping hair away from her face and taking a bite. "I never knew they prepare these things for breakfast."

He grinned mischievously. He looks familiar, the goddess thought. The smile looked like it was from her dreams, and the silver in his.. It—it might've been from the mirror.. "That particular branch didn't."

Angel looked excited. "Really? Like, you threatened them?" She let out a slightly crazed laugh. "My teachings have finally entered your half-mortal brain."

Artemis just watched them from the driver's seat, her drowsiness gone. "You know I wouldn't do that to them," he protested.

"Oh yeah," she realized, looking disappointed. "I forgot that you were old seaweed hunter's kid for a second there."

The moon goddess perked up. Seaweed hunter..?

"Angel!" Arc hissed at her, his eyes frantically looking around, particularly at her. Guess he didn't want anyone to know about it. Wouldn't want any trouble, like monsters, paparazzi, the likes.

"What?" The girl threw her hands up, potato fries flying, but she also glanced at the two still sleeping demigods. "They're asleep."

The boy mouthed something to her, and Artemis had no doubt that it was her name. She almost chuckled at his paranoia, but she would feel like she was intruding.

"Cut it out," Angel said dismissively, waving her hand. "She knows who you are. Who do you think 'Moony' was?"

This time she felt like she was the one taken of personal space. "What?"

The girl laughed. "I saw that when Arc took your sweets from his room. I wondered who that was, so I snooped around my mom's conversations with the others and I knew it was you."

Artemis couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Why would they talk about her?" Arc then asked, completely bewildered. "Why would she give him sweets? I mean, I first thought Moony was sort of his Alastrian girlfriend with a goofy pseudonym."

She didn't know what to say. The boy evidently inherited Percy's talent to piss off immortals unknowingly.

Angel grinned mischievously, checking the beds of the two sleeping demigods, before saying something. "She's his girlfriend."

This left the two of them jaw-dropped, and Artemis just sunk into her chair, unable to face Arc when he turned to gaze at her in wonder.

After a few awkward minutes of silence, the boy spoke. "So.. Why are you suddenly dropping the bomb on us?"

It didn't take a while for the response. "Unlike my mom, I don't like keeping you in the dark. No pun intended," the girl added cheekily. "You see, there's a reason you were found on the moon... why your dad found you... and why your name is Arc—"

She stopped abruptly. Artemis turned to check what happened and saw why.

Thalia was stirring. Her hand reached out to scratch her head, and she sat up, blinking. After a while, she noticed them. "What are you all doing out here? Is something wrong?"

The goddess was about to reply when Angel beat her to it. She was shaking her head, sending her a warning glance that somehow, also said watch this. "Nothing. We're eating breakfast. Want some bacon bagels?"

Her lieutenant declined. She immediately noticed what was wrong. Her half-sister didn't refuse bacon, however groggy she was. Angel glanced at her again, her onyx eyes having the same smug glint as Athena's told you so!

Arc announced that he was going out to scout the surroundings, and left soonest after to do so. Apparently, he'd had enough of the interruptions and the breakfast.

Before Angel had shown her that her lieutenant was... suspicious, the goddess had opted to suggest letting her in on the little secret. She knew about Percy, after all. But for the duration of the trip, she acted as though they've got no secret bound between them. She didn't even volunteer to keep watch with her. Artemis didn't like Angel's accusations about her, but it might explain the sudden appearance in Camp Half-Blood when the Hunters supposed she was captured.

Artemis couldn't just ignore how the fact that her thirty-ish hunters were devastated about her lieutenant's capture seemed more believable compared to the one latter who appeared out of nowhere—seemingly knowing where they were going in the first place—claiming otherwise.

Angel continued offering her breakfast, bagels, sandwiches, fries, (she began to wonder where Arc had gotten the money to buy those all) when she finally accepted a coffee cup. She sat on her bed, sipping her coffee quietly, her eyes nervously glancing towards the direction of the mall five minutes away from them.

They discreetly—but knowing the other was doing the same—watched the daughter of Zeus for a few terse minutes, before Angel turned to her and shrugged. "Do you think I should wake the zombie up?"

It took her a couple of blinks to realize it was the son of Hades that she was talking about, but by the time she opened her mouth to speak, Arc stepped back in.

"Everyone," he called, shuffling his feet uncomfortably when he realized he'd interrupted a conversation and all attention had reverted to him. "It's clear, I guess. We have three hours before the mall opens—three hours to study the area and prepare," he said timidly, obviously not used to leader talks like his father was. "Uh, you better wake him up."

As Angel stood with a smirk to wake the son of Hades, he glanced at Artemis and their eyes locked meaningfully. It was the first time she truly saw Percy and... someone very familiar that it blew her mind, in Arc, and from that second on she vowed to always look out for him.

And the first challenge Artemis had to go through was going to be the toughest one yet.

Drake Tristan Grace placed his laptop on the dining table. He took the butter out of the fridge and reached for the bread knife sitting with the other utensils at the kitchen counter, throwing them to the table with a plate. He put some bread in the toaster and padded to the front door with two empty bottles.

His routine was always like this. A damn boring day after another as always. But then he learned to live with it. It wasn't every day that a guy like him was the son of two of the most famous demigod heroes of the century. He didn't get any powers, so everything was predictable in his mortal life. The good side was that he didn't have a constant death threat looming over him.

Not to mention that he was pretty intelligent, and good-looking. At least he got his parents' godly appearances. He was older than he looked, but it was a good thing too because it earned him an easy promotion.

He retrieved the milk bottles and the daily newspaper from the doorstep, replacing them with the empty bottles. He shut the door and went back to the kitchen, pouring one bottle of milk into a glass and shelving the rest in the fridge. He took the toasted bread and buttered them. He spread out the newspaper and began to eat.

The headline was about the new technology coming out, blah blah, which he had no intention getting. He thought they were just making the world die a little faster. He flipped through the paper and found nothing more interesting than the opinion on higher tuition fees for schools, since they were now using higher-tech facilities. He snorted; the government was just as bad as his godly granddad.

As he thought that, thunder sounded in the distance. He threw the paper to a chair and switched the TV on by the remote. As long as it didn't mess with the electricity, he was cool with the spontaneous thundering.

Drake reached for another buttered toast as he flipped to the news channel. The breaking news smacked him in the face.

"This early morning our astronomers have spotted a large jet in the atmosphere, which, according to our aeronautical engineers, appeared to be an unknown model. Our astronomers believed also to have spotted a humanoid figure dropping to the ground at a rate faster than a rocket, following the jet's disappearance—fading out of the sky. Another odd thing is that a constellation, which should be outshined by the rising sun, flashed momentarily in its wake."

The picture and the name of the star formation appeared on screen.

"In theory, the unrecognized aircraft and the figure are signs of extra-terrestrials, strengthened by the fact that the jet dropped the figure at an impossible height, and then vanishing, or going back out into space. Until we confirm that this jet had merely flown out of our country radar, this will be our verdict.

"Civilians are requested to watch out for anything even mildly suspicious about the surroundings, like foreign and unusual noises. The police were already informed and are sending secret police out into neighborhoods, as to not alert anyone and even act instantaneously in town crimes.

"We shall wait for more information regarding this 'UFO'. Tune in for the next breaking news, later on LCN."

His eyes narrowed as he switched off the TV, his toast half-eaten. Considering he barely even lingered on news channels since he'd read off most in the papers and nothing was too attention-grabbing except for a delinquent crashing schools, it was surprising that he'd watched a whole report on something utterly insane.

Well, as a mortal who managed a school that teaches fact, it was absurd and silly; but as a mortal who knew about the world of the gods, it was interesting—and possible.

Drake stood and opened the blinds covering the windows, and approached the sink. He tapped into hot water and waited as it came and went through the drain. After a while, steam rose and filtered into colors. He fished a drachma out of a drawer and tossed it into the mist, asking for his dad.

As the son of a demigod, he knew that they couldn't use phones, even with the new technology that the world had to offer. Hephaestus could try to make a special one, but that would make others want it as well and the god would end up with tons of work for things he wouldn't benefit from.

He found his dad, still seventeen in physical age, in front of the Roman barracks, initiating morning drills for the Roman warriors early in the morning. He was shouting orders and being strict, per usual as a Roman general, walking around and pushing the campers harder. He almost felt sorry for the kids when he remembered what he called for.

"Dad."

Jason turned. Then he shouted more orders before approaching the IM. "Drake. What's happening?"

"I think this Order business is taking it far. The news says there's an alien that jumped from more than a thousand miles above air and into the ground. It couldn't be a real alien—I mean, those things aren't really real," Drake said skeptically, "right?"

The immortal's eyes narrowed. "Anything that tells us who this is? Any detail?"

"Nothing important. Something about a constellation appearing in the day."

The demigod's face flashed with comprehension. "Which one?"

"The Swordsman."