Gabriel: Parting ways with Brian and returning to Camp

Brian recovered at a relatively impressive pace and was on his feet before long. That was fine with me because I had seen him in so much more pain than I had ever seen in my entire life and practically had a heart attack right there. The creepy thing about his recovery was how he would play with his arm as though he were making sure it wasn't its own creature. To be honest, I would not have cared if it was just as long as Brian was alive and almost completely well again for the hard part of our journey: saying goodbye.

I had known Brian for the better portion of a decade and now it was time to make the goodbye that told you that you may never see the person in question again. Brian had a culture to restore and I had a camp of demigods to return to before our own war was waged with Prometheus. "How does that thing feel to you Brian, weird?" I asked. He chuckled and said that it was different from having the arm that Hyperion had bitten in the form of a snake.

"What will you do with the body of Allie? She betrayed Saturn's Land yes but she made amends for it in the end through her sacrifice," Annabeth asked. "I'll give her a proper Roman funeral and go around doing that with the other corpses in Saturn's Land. Assuming there's anything left for a funeral for those thousands of corpses that is," Brian answered.

"I wish we didn't have to go our separate ways, I really enjoy the conversations we have together," Annabeth said. That reminded me of one they had where Brian made fun of himself and his missing arm to her amusement. He even went as far as to use his stump as a puppet and fake having it talk to reply to her laughter. "Have you considered taking on ventriloquism?" she had asked.

I knew he had and he nodded upon her asking him that question, showing his honesty in that aspect. "But I left it after I became Supreme Archbishop of Saturn's Land," he added. She seemed a little saddened by that and asked if there were a whole lot of responsibilities but that's beside the point. Presently, she was asking Brian if he wanted to keep the donkey and a horse for himself so that he could survive the wait for the rest of his people.

Previously, we had found the Horn of Beowulf the Great and had used it. If there were any survivors, it would not be longer than a few days before they started to trickle in. "What will you do with Allie's body?" Annabeth asked. "Give it a proper funeral as she deserves for her final sacrifice in life," Brian answered.

"You are a very benevolent man Brian, that's a rare characteristic these days. Especially here in America if you get my meaning," she said with a smile. Brian laughed but it was short and somewhat dry but I did find it funny myself. He started immediately on preparing a funeral for her and I had to admit that he did a fine job setting up a pyre from wood and bits of rocks.

"She will have a request for a peaceful afterlife put in for her. It's the least I can give her for the goodness that she intended to do. Most people betray their homelands and clan out of greed, selfishness, ambition, or all of them but she did it out of love," he explained. I nodded and helped him light it on fire with a lightning bolt created by the Sky Sword when he was ready and he thanked me for that.

"And now my old friend, we must part ways for at least this moment," I said. "We have already parted ways once and that one time makes it hard for me to realize we're doing it again," Brian said. "It's hard on me too buddy but at some point, there comes a time when we must forsake what we want for what is right. No it's not always fair but who said life is always fair, right?" I replied.

Brian nodded in agreement and rose his new left hand to me for a final handshake. I laughed, getting the picture, and shook his hand with my golden left hand the way soldiers in the army do. "Goodbye Gabriel, son of Kronos, I owe you one," Brian said while our hands remained clasped. "Don't worry, it was a blast and that is good enough for this demigod," I said and we both knew that was true.

"Oh Gabriel, if you happen to become a god I will make sure to dedicate at least one temple to you when we get a safe location. You have been a good friend and I'd hate to lose you forever," Brian told me. "I don't blame you bud but don't worry, I'm gambling that we'll see each other before too long," I said back. As I said that I watched as his black skin shined against the sun and I knew that it would be time to go back to Camp soon.

"Gabriel, your horse is ready whenever you are," Annabeth told me. "Hey Brian, one more thing before I forget. Keep this, you may need it along the way to that safe haven you seek," I told him. After that I fished a coin out of my pocket and told him its properties.

"But this is your lucky coin, I can't take this. What about those old superstitions about bad luck when you give your talisman to someone else?" Brian asked. "I assure you that compared to where you may be going, those will be just Mother Goose stories," I answered. "Good comparison," Annabeth said.

"Gabriel, can I have a word with you in private before you go?" Brian asked. I nodded and told Annabeth to simply wait for my return from the "private word" with Brian. When we were far enough away from Annabeth, Brian surprised me with what he said next. "Remember when I met Nadine?" he asked.

I nodded and it was true, I did remember that day very well. "On that day… I don't know how to say this but I guess we fell in love with one another. She told me she would not leave you though and said that you were a very tortured soul. Those twins of hers that you thought were yours… they were actually mine," he said.

How was that possible because I distinctly remembered bonking Nadine before I left her. I even asked him how it was possible and he said that according to her, she had used pills on me in case I ever left her. "She told me she only wanted my offspring and had me pray to the gods that you be told they were yours instead," Brian added. I didn't know how to take that any way except the way that I could.

"When did you impregnate her?" I asked. "A day or two after you left by Hera's order. Please, do not feel anger for her, if anyone you should be mad at me for hiding it from you. She loved you too but it was a love more like that between friends than between wife and husband," Brian answered.

"I am not angry at her or you Brian, you were only doing what you had to comfort her," I told him. It was true, I felt no anger at him but rage at Hera for making me desert Nadine and forcing them to this. Brian could tell probably from how my face looked and said no more besides goodbye. "You're my best friend Brian and you always will be; from here on, just do what you feel is right even if it's not what's necessary," I said then Annabeth and I left through ruins of Saturn's Land for good.