Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.

Story: Perseus Jackson and the Last Frontier

Chapter 25: Friends and Family

Third Person's POV

Percy finished his story. The room was completely silent. The six gods in the room were deep in thought, while the others sat in their chairs stunned at Percy's story, everyone except Annabeth. The daughter of Athena held Percy's hand, encouraging him to stay calm.

Stacia watched the couple; she could tell that her brother and the blonde woman were in love, it didn't take a daughter of Aphrodite to see that. "So, that is how you defeated my mo… I mean Nyx and Erebus." Percy's eyes showed that there was more to it than that. "There's more, something to do with me?"

Percy nodded. Everyone was curious now, including Annabeth. "Actually, it's something to do with both of us." Percy stared into his father's sea green eyes. Poseidon looked away quickly; a scowl spread across the son of Poseidon's face. "Stacia, you and I are true children of the sea."

At this statement Triton looked at his father accusingly. "You didn't. Tell me you didn't?"

Poseidon looked down at the ground. "Stacia, you and your brother were born more than half bloods." At his words Annabeth's hand covered her mouth, to cover her gasp, realization finally entering her clouded mind. "Sally, she saw me as both Roman and Greek. You and your brother are of both personas."

Artemis and Athena both stared at their uncle in shock. Hecate felt a pang of jealousy in her heart. He had loved Percy's birth mother that much. "Therefore, after your near death experiences, you are more than three-quarter god. You are both nearly gods. Percy, I can sense that you are even closer than your sister."

Percy's eyes narrowed. The wolf glare that Lupa taught him was there in full force; Poseidon flinched at the stare. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Poseidon took a deep breath. "I tried, but you shouldn't have known, it wouldn't have been safe to tell you outright."

"So, you held this from me, to keep me safe from whom?"

Poseidon looked at Artemis, and then Athena. Athena's grey eyes widened slightly. "To keep you safe from our father, from our family," Athena answered.

Poseidon nodded. "My brothers would have killed you on the spot."

Hecate stood up; a torch appeared in her hand. "No one shall kill my children. If they try, there will be war."

"Hecate, please calm down. No one will hurt them," Athena urged. Hecate's eyes changed to solid black. "You don't believe that. You know Zeus. His paranoia is too strong, too much a part of his personality. He will try to kill them."

Percy stood up, he let go of Annabeth's hand as his chair flew back and crashed into the wall; the wooden chair broke into three pieces. "He can try, but I swear upon all that's good in this world that he will have the fight of his immortal life." Percy turned around and stormed out of the room. All eyes were on his back as the door slammed behind him.

Annabeth stood to follow him, but stopped when her mother placed her hand on her shoulder. "Let him be alone for a while."

Hecate walked over to Stacia; the girl sat in her chair quietly, but her sea green eyes were filled with fear. "No one shall hurt you, my child." Hecate wrapped her arms around her adopted daughter and hugged her tightly. Stacia held onto her mother for dear life.

"We won't let them," Poseidon said. Triton nodded in agreement.

Artemis stood up; she would tell her father, but a part of her felt guilty for what she was going to do. She stepped out of the room, hoping no one noticed her, but she was wrong. She climbed the stairs to the upper deck of the ship. She stepped outside, the sky was a deep blue and the sun's height showed that it was well passed noon. Artemis leaned on the rail and looked out over the horizon.

"What you're planning to do is wrong," a familiar voice said from behind her. Artemis didn't even flinch; she knew that annoying voice better than anything. "It is my duty as an Olympian. It is your duty as well, Apollo," she replied harshly.

Apollo chuckled. "Percy saved me. Stacia helped him."

"She held you prisoner, and now you defend her just because she's Perseus's sister."

"Not just because. She changed sides. She learned the truth and changed the course of her life. Don't you see, she's very much like her brother, loyal to a fault, unless she's betrayed?"

"I'm not betraying anyone."

Artemis never turned around. "You seem awfully defensive," he argued.

Artemis turned around; her silver eyes were unusually dark. "I'm following my duty, upholding the laws of Olympus."

Apollo walked toward his sister. "Who are you trying to convince, me or you?" Artemis was about to speak, but Apollo raised his hand to stop her. "Do you want to be the cause of a war? Do you really think that Poseidon and Hecate would allow Zeus to hurt their children?"

"I know my duty."

Apollo's blue eyes shined. "Where was your duty when you left for Alaska? Where was the duty of Olympus when Poseidon and Athena left to join you?" Artemis opened her mouth to argue, but she couldn't. She lowered her head in defeat. Apollo stepped closer. "Thanks for saving me." Artemis stepped forward and pulled her twin into a tight embrace. "Don't ever do that again," she admonished as a lone tear leaked from her eye. Apollo smiled. "I wouldn't dream of doing that again, Little Sis." Artemis's silver eyes glowed before she kicked her brother in the shin. Apollo cursed as his sister watched on in amusement; the god of the sun hopped around the deck on one foot. "I'm the oldest, so shut up you twit," she chastised.

With Percy

Percy stood in the gym as he punched the heavy bag that hung from the ceiling. He sent a thunderous punch into the bag before he spun and kicked the bag causing it to spin around and move side to side haphazardly. The bag moved toward him; Percy jumped forward and kicked the bag so hard that the steel chain broke that held it to the ceiling, causing the bag to fly six feet away and onto the hard wooden floor of the gym.

"Wow, what did that bag ever do to you?" Frank said as he stood behind his friend.

"Now is not the best time to be in my presence Frank," Percy replied.

Frank chuckled. "When is it ever?"

The corner of Percy's mouth twitched at the poorly veiled insult. "You're really bad at this game Frank. You need more lessons from Nico."

Frank chuckled again. "We didn't have much time to talk with the whole save Apollo and the world thing."

Percy turned around. Frank was a few inches taller than the son of Poseidon; a true testament to Frank's genetics and the blessing of Mars. "Now is probably not the best time to catch up."

"It never is a good time for you or any of us. It seems that there is always a quest, a mission to save the world or at least one of the camps."

Percy nodded. "A demigod's work is never done."

Frank grinned. "Tell me about it." Percy became serious once again; all semblance of good humor was gone. Frank cleared his throat. "No one is going to hurt you or Stacia. We can all promise that."

Percy grabbed a water bottle off the ground before he downed the entire contents of the bottle in a few seconds. Percy sat down on a wood bench near the far wall of the gym. Frank joined him a few second later. "She's all that I have left."

Frank knew what he was talking about. "I know."

Percy knew that Frank was one of the few people that could understand him, the other being Leo. "This is about your mom."

"You never got to meet her Frank."

Frank nodded. "I wish I could have. Annabeth and Thalia always said that she was best."

Percy nodded. "She did so much for me, but all I gave her was trouble."

Frank shook his head. "You loved her, right?" Percy nodded. "So, you gave her the most important thing that anyone can give another, their love."

Percy smiled. "Frank, when did you become an Aphrodite girl?"

Frank choked at the accusation, making Percy laugh hard. "That wasn't funny Perce."

"It was," Percy replied with an amused expression on his face. Frank smiled, glad that his friend could still smile and laugh after all of the terrible things he had been through. "It's good to hear you laugh," Frank commented. Percy smiled before he punched the son of Mars in the shoulder. Frank rubbed his arm. "What was that for?" Percy stood up and walked toward the door. "For being such a good friend and for still being my idiotic nephew." Percy opened the door and left. Frank sat on the bench shaking his head.

With Annabeth

Annabeth sat on her bunk, trying hard to read an architecture magazine, but her mind was restless, too many worries. A knock on her door drew the daughter of Athena out of her internal musings. "Come in," she answered. The door opened to reveal a ten year old girl with long, jet black hair, and startling sea green eyes that glowed with the power of Hecate. "Annabeth, right?" Stacia asked. Annabeth smiled at the shy nature of the girl, it reminded her of a very young Perseus Jackson. "Yeah, it's Annabeth, come on in, what can I do for you?" Annabeth replied.

Stacia stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "I wanted to talk to someone; other than my brothers, my dad or my mom."

Annabeth nodded. "Why did you choose me?" Stacia stepped toward the door. "No, no, it's okay, I was just curious."

Stacia heaved a sigh of relief. "You're close to Percy… and… you're a daughter of Athena, so you're smart, right?"

Annabeth smiled. "I've been told that."

Stacia pulled a chair away from the wall and sat down facing the daughter of Athena. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared that I'll disappoint everyone."

"You could never do that. You've already done so much to prove yourself."

Stacia shook her head. "I was raised by evil Primordials who wanted to destroy the world."

"Well… nobody's perfect." Annabeth smiled internally thinking about what Percy would have said, if he heard her say, nobody.

Stacia frowned. "I have to be perfect. My brother is Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, hero of Olympus. I can't afford to be less than perfect."

Annabeth chuckled. Stacia's face turned red with anger. "Don't get mad, but Percy, perfect?" Stacia cocked her head to the side and gave Annabeth a curious expression. Annabeth smiled; the girl looked like a lost puppy at that moment. "He was such a Seaweed Brain when we were growing up."

"Seaweed Brain?" Stacia queried.

Annabeth smiled. "The nickname I had for him when we were growing up." Stacia stayed quiet, listening to Annabeth talk about her brother. "He acted so stupid sometimes, stupid and reckless, but he would do anything for a friend, and he's the bravest person I've ever met."

Stacia smiled. "You love him, don't you?"

Annabeth blushed slightly at the question. "That obvious, huh?"

Stacia chuckled. "Yeah, but I'm happy for him, and you. Why did it take you both so long to get together? What got in the way?"

The door opened to the room, startling both occupants. "Life, and death; they got in the way. It seems like that's always the way with half-bloods."

Annabeth sat up straighter in her bed. "Were you listening?"

Percy smirked, his crooked grin stretching across his face. "Stupid and reckless, huh?"

Annabeth blushed. "You know you were."

Percy nodded in agreement. "I know; someone had to offset, the wise and the careful."

Annabeth stood up with her hands on her hips. "Watch yourself Jackson."

Percy's grin grew. He cleared his throat when he noticed Stacia watching the two of them with a look of pure amusement on her face. "So, both of you are in here teaming up on me."

Stacia smiled. "It is the obligation of every younger sister to make the older brother's life as embarrassing as possible."

"Oh it is, huh?" Percy said before he lunged forward and began to tickle his sister. The girl fell on the floor screaming with laughter as her brother tickled her ribs. Percy finally stopped. Stacia sat on the floor with her arms crossed across her chest. "I hate you," she said. Percy put his hand over his heart. "I love you too, Sis." Stacia stood up and hugged her brother tightly. "I love you too," she said. Percy grinned as he stared at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena could only smile warmly at her boyfriend; the look of happiness on his face was something that warmed her heart. It was good to see him happy. He had been through so much in his life that he deserved all the happiness he could get. Annabeth swore to herself to keep him happy, no matter what.

AN: Merry Christmas everyone, sorry for the delay, but life has been very busy. Happy holidays from the Last Frontier!