Resolve, for Good or Ill

After all of the revelations dropped on them, the trio needed some time apart to process the information. Serenity remained in the kitchen while Diego retreated to Hector's room. Naomi elected to give the two of them privacy and left the cabin to go hunting. Hector felt confined within the cabin and chose to wander the forest, in sight of the cabin but distant enough to have some privacy.

The sun filtered through the branches above, tinting green as it hit the ground. The chittering of squirrels and cries of birds echoed around the forest. A gentle breeze cooled Hector as the sun reached its zenith in the sky. All his life the sounds and smell of the woods brought Hector peace of mind, and despite his Aunt Luna's betrayal he still felt calm beneath the boughs. Hector finally stopped wandering and leaned back against a tree. His eyes rose to the sky. For a brief moment he had a vision of the thunderstorm gathering again, but the clear blue sky remained cloudless. Shaking his head, he cleared the memory from his mind's eyes and focused on deep breathes. Once he felt his mind and body were under control, he returned his gaze to the sky.

Kronos. Kronos is my father.

The implications were still staggering to him, but the truth brought a strange kind of comfort to know who and what he was. His reaction to Kronos, the energy he felt when interacting with the Titans, it made sense given who his parent was. This might also explain why the cabin counselors could never guess who our parent was. I doubt many demititans even exist. Still, why didn't Dionysus see it? Perhaps it had been too long since I was discovered? Or maybe Artemis had told them I was dead and only now revealed the truth.

Hector shifted uncomfortably. It still unnerved him how easily Artemis treated him with love and kindness last time he spoke with her, only for her to turn around and have him eliminated. Something didn't add up. How? What could have changed in so short a time to make her want to kill me? I admitted listening to Kronos but I told her that I did not obey him. She didn't kill me then. Did something happen to her that forced her to betray me? Or is this how the gods always were?

His heart was tearing itself in two trying to rationalize her actions, but to no avail. There's no way for me to get the truth without talking to her again, but trying that now would be suicide. Whatever her motives, his eyes narrowed, the fault ultimately lies with Zeus. Just thinking the name brought a surge of anger through him. How dare he! How dare he condemn a child to death for the crime of existing? Hypocrite, he is a child of Kronos, as are his brothers! Even Chiron is a son of Kronos! So why us?

Thinking over Zeus's actions this summer, his rage continued to boil. He sentenced children to death for being born. Dionysus told me he was restricted from his own domain over a nymph! He threatened to destroy the world over an accusation with no proof! By the Styx, distant thunder boomed, he even broke the most sacred oath a god can make without consequence, and then had the audacity to take issue with Poseidon for being the same! He does not deserve to be king!

The last thought pulled Hector up short. He doesn't deserve to be king. What am I saying? Hector shook his head but the thought would not leave his mind. Who am I to make that call? I'm just a 12-year-old kid from the middle of nowhere; what do I know about who deserves to rule the world? The distant cry of a deer began to echo but was abruptly cut short. Hector looked sharply in that direction, higher into the mountains. The briefest flash of silver confirmed Naomi had made her kill. I may be a kid, but I'm old enough to know right and wrong.

Fighting to reign in his anger, he tried to think rationally. Ok, Zeus has done a lot wrong but he has also done a lot right, hasn't he? He mentally ran through everything he knew about Zeus, a scowl forming on his face as story after story revealed another negative aspect to the king of the gods. In every tale I can think of, he is never the benevolent king. Zeus is at best the lesser of two evils.

But if I join the Titans in war against Olympus, it won't just be the gods punished.

Hector felt part of himself twist with the thought. The demigods would fight tooth and nail for their parents. Many of them would think nothing of killing in order to receive their parents' approval. Not to mention the mortals and spirits caught in the crossfire of the war. Zeus needs to go, but is it worth starting a war?

Hector's head began to throb. This was an issue he was nowhere near ready to face. Around his mind arguments flew for the gods and for the Titans. Sighing he admitted, "I can't settle who deserves to rule. But if we want to live there is only one place to go."

Reaching back into his mind he ventured, "Father?"

The familiar chill settled upon him. "You finally know."

"Yes…I'm sorry I gave you grief."

"See that it does not happen again."

Hector dipped his head. "When we reach Mt. Tam, is there anything we should be aware of?"

"To reach the peak, you will have to pass through the Garden of the Hesperides. You may only enter at sunset, so time your arrival for that moment." A brief chuckle echoed as Kronos receded before offering a final line. "Mind the dragon."

Hector blanched as he felt Kronos lift his influence fully, involuntarily breathing deep as the weight of his father's influence was pulled away. The chill that had settled over him since arriving at camp finally released its hold and warmth entered his veins again. Hector was barely cognizant of the change as he grumbled, "Mind the dragon he says. Thanks dad."

Within the cabin Serenity nursed a small tea brewed by Naomi. The heat suffused her body and she felt the last of her aches fade away. Closing her eyes, she sighed. "I could get used to this."

"Oh, there are layers to that statement."

Letting out a small 'eep', Serenity whipped her head around to see Diego leaning against the doorframe leading to Hector's room. Feeling her cheeks begin to glow she defended, "I meant the tea! Just the tea!"

Diego's smirk stretched into a mischievous grin. "Right. Just the tea, made by Hector's mom," Serenity began to redden as he pressed, "His favorite kind actually, while resting in his childhood home, a place that you are only the fifth person to ever see…"

"Ok that's enough Diego!" Serenity fought down her blush and narrowed her eyes at him before a devilish light appeared in her eyes. "Say, you seem awfully fixated on who I pay attention to? Feeling left out?" Seeing Diego's jaw drop and the barest hint of red she pressed, "You want me to pay more attention to you? That's pretty cute. Say, is there something you wanna tell me?"

Gulping Diego raised his hands in surrender. "Alright alright you win. I'll back off."

Serenity gave him a teasing smile before allowing him to retreat. "Good. Now, how do you know so much about Hector?"

Diego's eyebrow crept up as he stood opposite her. "He's my best friend. I thought that was obvious."

Serenity shook her head. "No, I mean, in the valley you mentioned his aunt forgiving you. And all the stories you two told me about things you did together have been within the past year and a half. Your average friend for a year won't be willing to cross the country on a life-threatening journey. What is it with you two?"

Diego pinched the bridge of his nose before gesturing to the couch. "It's complicated."

Serenity sits down and pats the seat beside her. Diego sits opposite to her and she turns to give him her full attention. "So, what happened?"

Diego was lost in thought for a bit. The distant cry of a deer brought him out of his reminiscence. "I guess it starts with my dad. He is a naval seaman and so spends most of the year away from home. He treated me alright when he was around, but it seemed like he valued his career more than he did me. I began to get into fights, start trouble, make a ruckus."

Serenity's head tilted. "Why would you do that? Just because he wasn't around?"

Diego shrugged. "I guess I hoped he would be around more. Talking to him didn't seem to work. I fell in with some other kids I thought were like me. Causing trouble, having fun. It was in 3rd grade that I finally met Hector."

Diego folded him arms behind his head and leaned back. "He seemed like the perfect target. Quiet, good grades, could do nothing wrong. Best of all he had no friends, so we could do whatever we wanted to do to him."

Serenity frowned at him but gestured him to continue. "We made his life at school hell. Granted we were in elementary school so it was mainly pranking, taking his homework, every now and then beating him up. He was a kid from nowhere, who would care what we did?"

"This went on for the rest of elementary school. In 6th grade things changed."

Diego's voice grew softer. "Dad had received a letter threatening to take further action with me for my bullying. He didn't bother to read it. I had enough. Nothing I did would get his attention, so I decided to run away. I disappeared from the school and ran for the mountains. I figured if I hid long enough Dad would be forced to come back home to look for me."

Serenity shook her head. "I get it, I mean I hid from my dad for the same reasons but really Diego?"

He shrugged and continued, "Things were going pretty well till I actually got into the mountains. I quickly got lost and to make things worse, a storm hit. I couldn't find a place to stay, and during the storm I fell and twisted my ankle."

Serenity winced as Diego pressed on, lost in his memories. "I found a cave and crawled in. By that time my resolve had broken; I just wanted to go back home. I hadn't thought enough about what to do. It was then that he found me."

The ghost of a smile appeared on Diego's face. "Hector had heard the story that I had run away. He overheard my 'friends' talking about my plan to head for the mountains. He came after me, to talk me into staying."

Serenity's face was stuck in an expression of confusion. "After how you treated him? But why?"

Diego smiled at her. "I asked him the same thing. He told me that his Aunt Luna had taught him something: How someone treated you after you helped them said a lot about their character, but doing nothing when you have the ability to help says something about yours. He stayed through the storm and then helped me get back to the city, made sure the cops found me."

Diego shook his head. "Both Ajax and Naomi were there." He shuddered, "My disappointed Dad and a furious Naomi? I was almost glad to be back in math class."

Serenity erupted into giggles bringing a smile back to Diego's face. "A few days later I saw Hector being bullied again. I had thought about what he said, and this time I jumped in to help him. From that day on I helped him stand up to the people that bullied him. We started to hang out more and things went from there."

Serenity leaned back with a smile and asked, "Did you talk with your dad after all that?"

Diego nodded. "Yeah. Hector even came with me, though he stayed quiet through most of it. He said that he wanted to support me but he knew I had to do it. He's not a fighter, but he's always there if you need him. Whenever I need to talk something out or dig myself out of getting a D- he did the best he could to help. When Kronos started messing with him, I thought it was time for me to return the favor."

Serenity gave him a small smile. "Thank you for sharing with me. He's lucky to have you."

Diego mumbled while a blush began to appear. "I'm just doing the best I can."

Serenity smiled again before it disappeared. "So…what do you think? About what Hector said?"

Diego crossed his arms, a frown stretching across his face. "I don't think we have a choice. The gods will try to kill us whether or not we explain ourselves. I don't know all the stories that Hector does, but I can't think of a single time when Big Sparky did a positive thing for humanity. Didn't he try to wipe us out, several times?"

Serenity bit her lip. "I don't know any of the stories. I know some names but not like Hector does. I want to go to Mt. Tam though."

Diego's neck cracked as he twisted to look at her. "What?!"

Serenity's eyes hardened. "You heard me. I'm in. I don't feel like getting vaporized by the king just because he was scared of a few infants. It sounds to me like they chose us to be with the Titans. Besides, I still want to meet my mother. Only one place to do that."

Diego grinned. "Guess its settled. Mt. Tam, here we come."

When Naomi and Hector returned, they were met with the determined expressions from both Diego and Serenity. "We're ready to go."

Far south in the city of San Francisco, three demigods stepped off their train and made their way deeper in the station. The leader, brawny for a 14-year-old, looked out the window towards the mountains to the north. "There is Mt. Tam. Athena said that if they survived, they'd be heading there. We best reach it first."

Beside him, a slightly younger kid with blond hair and a bow slung across his back eyed the crowds. "You sure that's a good idea Clarence? Monsters are bound to be rampant there. Shouldn't we camp further away?"

The third, a blond girl with striking grey eyes agreed. "Ben has a point. If we charge the mountain now, we will have to hold off monster attacks for days. Besides, you said in the Capture the Flag game he is only quick for short bursts, right? Its gonna take some time for Hector to make his way down here."

Clarence sighed, thinking back to that fight. Oh, how he wished he could go back and warn Hector not to leave. But it was too late…wasn't it? "Alright, we'll stay in the city for now Lisa."

He turned to Lisa fully. "You sure Athena said it? We can't bring them back."

Lisa frowned as she shook her head. "Mom was quite clear. She doesn't want them alive."

Ben pat him on the shoulder. "I get how you feel man. This feels wrong but whatever Hector was to us before, he is the enemy of the gods now. Best we get this over with fast. He doesn't deserve to suffer. A quick death is the best mercy we can give him now."