The seven of the great prophecy stood in front of the Olympians. The demigods had returned triumphantly on the Argo II a few months ago. Zeus decided with the other Olympians that the two eldest children of Kronos deserved the honour of being seated with the others because of their participation in the war. Hades and Hestia sat together on their temporary thrones along with the rest of their family.

Zeus looked down upon the heroes with pride and respect twinkling in his eyes. "Great heroes," he began, his eyes shining with pride as he looked at Jason, and then the others. "For you efforts in ending the threat of the giants we grant each of you the greatest gift of all. We wish to bestow upon each of you the mantle of immortality. You will remain the immortal trainers of Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter."

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, looked at all his friends and smiled. It was about time that others got the attention as well; he always felt out of place up here with the gods. Percy looked at his father with his crooked grin. Poseidon returned the gesture, but his sea green eyes showed how proud he was of his son.

"Your bravery and persistence has been proven." Zeus looked at the other Olympians. "Jason Grace, my boy, how do you choose?"

Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, the roman form of the king of the gods, looked at his girlfriend, Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. She gave him a nod and a smile full of love. "My lord - father - I accept your generous gift."

Zeus didn't smile, but everybody in the room could feel the pride emanating from the king of the gods. "Very good, my son. Now, on to Piper Mclean. What is your decision?"

Aphrodite could barely contain the excitement in her as her body glowed pink.

"I accept your offer, my lord," Piper said. She couldn't be happier. She had fallen in love, and now she would be with her love for all eternity.

"Now, Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, what is your decision?"

Leo looked at Jason and Piper. His two friends gave him reassuring looks. Leo gave them a slight nod before looking at his father. Hephaestus remained stoic, but everyone could tell that he was excited for his son.

"I accept your offer, my lord." Hephaestus's stern face disappeared. It was replaced by a small smile that most people would overlook. Leo's face took on a warm glow of happiness as a feeling pride enveloped the young demigod. His mind raced with all the ideas he could make with his father at his side.

"Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, what say you?" Asked Zeus.

"Yes, my lord."

"Good. Now, Percy Jackson, it appears that you can never stay out of a fight to defend Olympus. Although you have been asked this once before, we, the gods of Olympus, ask you a second time. Will you choose godhood?" Zeus asked. He knew that his nephew was unpredictable, but he could sense what his answer would be.

Percy looked around at his friends, and then looked towards the love of his life. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, looked back at him with love in her eyes. He gave her his crooked grin, and then looked at his father. Poseidon stared down at his son; he knew what his answer would be.

Percy knew better than most that godhood wasn't something that was easy. He had seen the pain on Hermes' face as Luke Castellan had died, and before when the god talked about his son and the child's mother. Percy remembered the pained expression on his father's face when he spoke of leaving his mother.

"My lord, I mean no disrespect to you or any other immortal or soon to be immortal," he said as he looked at his friends. "But I've seen gods suffer because of the restrictions that you all have. I could not stay out of the lives of my mortal family and friends. I don't think I could handle that. My fatal flaw is loyalty, as a very wise woman once told me." Percy looked to the goddess of wisdom as he said this. He could tell that something was bothering her. "Therefore, I must regretfully decline your offer."

Zeus looked at Percy. He was not surprised at his nephew's decision. He never conformed to what others would do. He followed his heart and in many ways the lord of the sky respected the young man for it. He had felt slighted when the boy had first declined his offer, but now he felt almost proud of the boy. He gave Percy a slight nod.

"Lastly, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. We offer you the same gift. However, your mother has gone a step further." He paused. He knew that his next statement would cause serious damage. "You would be the goddess of architecture."

Annabeth just stared at Zeus at disbelief. This had to be a dream. She could help architects all over the world. She could give them inspiration. She could literally help rebuild and recreate the world. She turned to her mother. Athena just stared at her, then gave her an encouraging nod.

Annabeth was so lost in thought that she didn't fell the unease coming off the son of Poseidon next to her. Percy couldn't keep his eyes off her, but Annabeth just stared at her mother. She stepped forward and looked at the other gods. The rest stared at her curiously, but Aphrodite looked afraid. Annabeth didn't know why. She knew she was forgetting something, but all she could think of was the vision she had when she heard the sirens. It was a vision of the world recreated by her own hand.

"I accept your offer, my lord."

Percy shot awake in his bed. That memory had been circling around in his head for the past few months, ever since the award ceremony on Olympus. Annabeth had abandoned him. After he declined godhood twice, she accepted it as soon as she had the chance. He had not seen her since the afterparty, in which they had a hasty breakup.

He left his bed, knowing that he would get more sleep later, and went to the bathroom. Being a son of Poseidon, he loved the water. After a long soak (where he fell asleep), he heard his mother pounding on the door.

"Percy," shouted Sally Jackson-Blofis from across the door, "get up now, young man, or you are going to be late for school!"

"Coming, mom!" yelled Percy. He quickly exited the tub, and rapidly put his clothes on. Within a record 10 seconds, he was dry (son of Poseidon, remember?) and dressed. He got out of the bathroom and headed for the dining table, swinging his bag on his shoulder when he passed his work desk. When he got there he quickly sat down and grabbed a large share of blue pancakes, which he promptly began shovelling into his mouth.

"Slow down," chided Sally, in a vain effort to keep him from choking.

"Sally, you should know by now that he is never going to slow down," said Paul Blofis, as he came down the stairs. He grabbed his briefcase, and sat down next to Percy. "So, Percy, excited for your last day of school?"

"Kinf of, buf I alfo fink thaf —"

"Percy, swallow your food, then speak."

After he swallowed his food, he continued, "Sorry mom. Anyway, I'm also gonna miss my friends."

"So, Percy, are you going to camp this summer?" Asked his mom.

"No, mom," replied Percy, just swallowing his pancakes as he spoke, "I'm getting too old for that place. I'm done with the world of the gods."

Percy and Paul stepped out of their dented Prius. The hoof prints from 2 years ago were still visible on the roof of the car. Paul said bye, and scurried away to the teacher's entrance, knowing that it would be embarrassing for Percy if he was caught with him. Percy barely entered the school when he was quickly surrounded by his friends. Marley McilRoy became his best friend after he did everything he could to separate himself from the godly world. Billy Ray Cruz tagged along with them, and Jodie Hytner and Steph Stykes rounded out the group.

"Hey, Perce," began Marley, "excited for the last day of school?"

"Yeah, Percy," said Steph, "maybe we can get a girlfriend for you, finally. This is your last chance to have one of those romantic high school sweetheart stories!" Steph was a major romantic, but she brought an energy to the group that none of the others did.

"Hey, Jackson," shouted Johnny Finch, quarterback on the football team, "I saw you swimming, man. Great job winning the cup."

"Thanks, Johnny!" Replied Percy.

"Anyway," continued Marley, "I hear that Ms Sutton is retiring. Can you believe that? The new kids won't have to deal with that old bat! Lucky bastards."

"Come on, Marley. She wasn't that bad." Jodie was the teacher's pet. Every teacher's pet.

"Yeah, Marley. Didn't you want to impress your girlfriend's mother? I don't think she'll like you talking like this about her," teased Percy. It was common knowledge that Marley had a gigantic crush on Lily Sutton.

"Shut up," hissed Marley, his face a brilliant shade of red.

"Yeah, Marley," smirked Billy, "didn't you want to —"

He was cut off as Marley punched him in the gut, draining his lungs of air, but it did not stop him from laughing. At this point, Marley gave him his death glare, while the rest of their friends joined Billy on the floor, dying of laughter.

The day went about normally, with all the teachers giving them goodbyes. Several were sentimental and from the heart, while some were grudging. Regardless, they all made a mark on the students, and Percy was especially moved by them. At the end of the day, all the seniors gathered around exchanged contact information, making plans to meet later in life.

Percy wandered the hallways for what would be the last time. He observed the lockers and reminisced about the good times he had in these hallways.

"Percy?" Came from behind him. He turned around and spotted Marley, Billy, Jodie, and Steph. Steph came forward. "What happened?"

"I'm going to miss this place."

"So are we, Percy."

"No, you don't understand. I've not had a proper life after I turned twelve. This last year, with just normal school work, school problems, and school friends, this was the best year of my life."

"Why, Percy?" Began Marley. "What is this secret of yours?"

Percy desperately wanted to tell them, but he knew he shouldn't. He'd already revealed too much. His mind raced as he tried to come up with an explanation.

"I —"

A boom sounded across the school. All of them stumbled. They looked around, and Steph yelled, "It's came from the gate!"

They all rushed to the gate, and saw a sight that no one expected. The entire school, students, teachers, staff, everybody, stood around the new arrival. For in the middle, stood an unnaturally tall man with a bike. He looked normal other than that but everybody there could tell that there was something different about the man. Paul was stunned, but immediately rushed to Percy when he arrived.

"Percy!" Paul exclaimed, "Do you know him?"

Almost everyone there turned to Percy. Percy, on the other hand, was glaring at the man with irritation. The biker looked up from his baseball bat, spotted Percy, and grinned. Slinging the bat over his shoulder, he took off his sunglasses, making the whole school gasp and stumble away. Where his eyes should have been, were pits of flames.

"Hey punk," said Ares, God of War, "the Olympians want to see you."

Of course what is war without great heroes. Percy Jackson's life has been once again disrupted by the gods and their problems. He must now choose between the sky and the sea, and the stakes are heating up. Who will the hero of Olympus side with?