They were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so everyone was rather happy to see them. They wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in their honor, then there was a procession down to the bonfire, where the Heroes got to burn the burial shrouds the cabins had made for them in their absence. Annabeth's shroud was beautiful and made out of gray silk with embroidered owls. Percy said it would be a shame not to bury her in it, Annabeth punched him in the arm as Macaria laughed.

The Ares cabin had volunteered to make the Jackson siblings shrouds, they simply taken two old bedsheets and pained smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border and wrote the word LOSER on Percy's really big in the middle, they seemed too afraid of Macaria's father to even try to write the word on it. Though her and Percy were rather happy to burn them,

Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, Percy was surrounded by his old Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena, while Macaria had the company of the nymphs. Grover was still out searching for Pan. The only ones that were not at the party were Clarrise and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks which said they would never forgive them. The trio didn't care.

Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen their spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get himself killed and now he'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday..."

Percy and Macaria moved back into cabin three, since Poseidon deemed her as 'his' which still made both of them shudder. Macaria hoped that her father and the rest of her relatives would bully the Olympians into letting them have their own cabins as well. Only in her and the minor gods dreams.

Sally's letter had arrived a week after they returned from camp. She told them Gabe had left mysteriously-disappeared off the face of the planet, in fact. She'd reported him missing to the police, but she had a funny feeling they would never find him

On a completely unrelated subject, she'd sold her first life-size concrete sculpture, entitled The Poker Player, to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho. She'd gotten so much money for it, she'd put a deposit down on a new apartment and made a payment on her first semester's tuition at NYU. The Soho gallery was clamoring for more of her work, which they called "a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism.

But don't worry, she wrote. I'm done with sculpture. It's time for her to turn to writing. It didn't take long for the siblings to find out that Medusa's head had mysteriously been cropped off but some unknown figure. The cold on her father's case was enough of a confirmation that it was true. Though she wasn't sure how he did it and why it took a minor gods so long to kill her.

At the bottom, she wrote a P.S.: Percy, Macaria, I've found a good private school here in the city. I've put a deposit down to hold the two of you a spot, in case either of you want to enroll for seventh grade. The two of you could live at home. But if both of you want to go year-round at Half-Blood Hill, I'll understand.

Percy had folded the note carefully and set it on his bedside table, where he read it every night before he went to sleep, trying to decided the answer. He had asked her for an opinion but Macaria had simply said that she would go where-ever he would.

On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was sup-posed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.

The trio spread a picnic blanket as the fireworks exploded overhead. Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware.

July passed.

Percy spent his days devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares' hands. Though there was something else that was on his mind that they often spoke about together. The Prophecy.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

The traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades.

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned.

The master bolt delivered. The helm of darkness back on Hades's head.

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend

And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end

It seems that neither of them wanted to believe the thought that had crossed their minds. Who the betrayer was. Both of them new that there were only twp counselor that they were both friends with. It wasn't Annabeth. But ti could be-

The last night of the summer session came to an end as the campers ate their last meal together and burned part of their dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer-beads. They received their own leather necklace, where there was a bead for the first summer. Percy had a big blush on his face while Macaria smiled happily. She was still considered an outsider but with Percy at least people pretended she wasn't. It was a bittersweet ending. The design was pitch black, with a sea green trident shimmering on the center for Percy and a black triangle with a square and circle in the center (Squaring the Circle Alchemy original deathly hallows).

"Why am I receiving one?" Macaria asked.

"It seems that you've been separated into your own cabin. Metaphorically." Luke whispered. "And it only seemed fair even if you are officially apart of the Hermes cabin."

"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God and the first Daught of Death at this camp, and the quest they undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!" The entire camp got to their feet and cheered, even the Ares' cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause, which Macaria grabbed her hand and put her in the middle.

It almost made her happy, that for a moment she felt like she belonged. But the fact that she even became a counselor made her an outsider. She held a small smile on her face and looked over to her friends. Annabeth and Percy were red in the face and they were filled with happiness. Annabeth was embarrassed and estatic while Percy seemed to be at peace.

The next morning, Macaria found a form letter on her beside table. She looked over to Percy, who was still sleeping, and saw that he had the same letter. She woke him up and they opened up their letters. Of course Dionysus got both of their names wrong, as she peaked over at Percy's.

Dear_Mary Johnson_,

If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.

Have a nice day!

Mr. D (Dionysus)

Camp Director, Olympian Council #12

"I'm gonna go out to train." Percy said in a rush, she could feel the anxiety radiating off of him as he ran out the door. Macaria took a moment to run out into the woods and spent half an hour racing with the nymphs. When she felt her stomach drop and she felt herself body forward, black clouds trying to block her path, but she ignored them. Macaria felt the invisibility surrounded her body. It didn't take her long to find Percy with Luke, but the moment she arrived Luke snapped his fingers and a small fire burned a hole in the ground at Percy's feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of Percy's hand. A scorpion. Percy moved to go for his pen.

"I wouldn't." Luke cautioned."Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right
through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."

"Luke, what-" Percy said but he paused, a melancholic look on his face. Luke stood up calmly and brushed off his jeans. The scorpion ignored him, only looking at Percy. It crawled up onto his shoe.

""I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy," Luke said. "Didn't you feel it-the darkness gathering, the
monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics-being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us halfbloods."

"Luke… you're talking about our parents." Percy said and Luke laughed.

"That's supposed to make me love them? Their precious 'Western civilization is a disease,
Percy. It's killing the world. The only way to stop it is to burn it to the ground, start over with something more honest."

"You're as crazy as Ares."

Luke's eyes flared. "Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Percy, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long."

The scorpion crawled onto Percy's pants leg. "Kronos." Percy said. "That's who you serve," The air got colder.

"You should be careful with names," Luke warned.

"Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."

Luke's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened."

"He's brainwashing you, Luke."

"You're wrong. He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two
years ago, Percy? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the
Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done, that was the best he could think up."

"That's not an easy quest," I said. "Hercules did it."

"Exactly," Luke said. "Where's the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this"-he pointed angrily at his scar-"and when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades's helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."

The scorpion was sitting on Percy's knee. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos"

Luke's smile wavered. "I ... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt- Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty. "Afterward, the Lord of the Titans ... h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way-from Ares down to Tartarus."

"You summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."

"We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked."

"The flying shoes were cursed." Percy said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus."

"And they would have, if you'd been wearing them. But you gave them to your sister, which made him even happier."

"Why? What's so special about her?" Percy asked, panic in his voice.

"All the gods seem to nagivate towards her." He paused. "The Lord of the Titans, he's been watching her. Ever since she was born. She's a…. Valuable prize." He seemed to realize he'd said too much because he changed topics. "Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest-the ones who serve him."

"Call off the bug." Percy said. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself."

Luke smiled. "Nice try, Percy. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me. My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake."

"Luke-"

"Goodbye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it." Luke walked right beside her and grabbed her arm, the invisibility was gone in that exact moment. He grabbed her roughly and pressed his lips against hers. Macaria's eyes widened and she bit hard down on his bottom lip and pushed him off her her. Luke didn't flinch and whipped the blood off of his face with a smile. "I'm only passing on the message." He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.

Macaria stood there in shock until she saw the scorpion lung at Percy. Percy swatted it away with his hand and uncapped his sword. T jumped at him and he cut it in half in midair.

"Percy… Your hand!" She yelled. There was a huge red welt, which was oozing and smoking with yellow guck. Macaria grabbed Percy as he collapsed in her arms, his body burning. She felt the tears run down her face and she ran forward as fast as she could. There was a loud cracking sound and a moment of darkness and she saw she was in the sickroom of the Big House.

"Please help! Luke summoned a scorpion! And- And!" Chiron moved past her and placed a straw in Percy's mouth, his skin green and graying. One he was down Chiron propped Percy in a bed. His right hand was bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner and Annabeth brought over a washcloth and dabbed it on his forehead.

"Now, explain everything." And she did, Percy woke up only a second after she finished.

"So it was Luke…" Annabeth's voice faltered, her expression angry and sad. "May the gods curse him.. He was never the same after his quest."

"This must be reported to Olympus." Chiron murmured. "I will go after him."

"Luke is out there right now," Percy said. "I have to go after him."

Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods-"

"Won't even talk about Kronos," Percy snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!"

"Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready." Chiron said and Macaria took his hand. Percy looked over to her, a guilty look on his face. He squeezed her hand.

"Chiron ... your prophecy from the Oracle ... it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? Was Macaria? And Annabeth?" Percy asked.

Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place-"

"You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"

His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you …"

Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.

"All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!"

He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."

"We can't just sit back and do nothing," Percy said.
"We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."

"Assuming I live that long." Percy said.

"Really Percy!" Macaria yelled, it was one of the very times she had ever truly been filled with rage. "You want to run off and find Luke?! You'll die! We already almost lost Mom! Wha about you?! Will I have to go on some stupid quest and almost die every single day to get to you some back to life?!"

The room was silent.

"Macaria-"

"Just because my father can control death doesn't mean that I can take losing another member of my family." She said quietly and got up. "I'm going outside. Percy, make your decision." She then left the group on their own and took a seat on the porch. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the vollleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.

It didn't take long for Annabeth and Percy to follow her outside, though Percy was in much more pain. Looking like death.

"What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked as she took a seat beside Percy, who was avoiding eye contact with me.

"I don't know." Percy said. Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly "I'm going home for the year."

"What?" Macaria asked.

"You mean, to your dad's?" Percy asked at the same time. She pointed towards the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted: two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blonde hair. They were all waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.

"I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him ... I was
sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided... we'd give it another try."

"That took guts." Percy said.

She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least ... not
without sending me an Iris-message?"

Percy smiled. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to." He paused and looked over at Macaria. "Plus I think I've worried someone very important to me already." He said softly.

Annabeth smiled for a fraction of a second. "When I get back next summer. We'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed."

Macaria sent her a sharp look but she smiled.

"Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena." The Jackson siblings said together. She held out her hand to Percy and he shook it.

"Take care, Seaweed Brain,"

"Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told me. "Keep your eyes open." "You too, Wise Girl." Annabeth told Percy. "Keep your eyes open."

"You too, Wise Girl." She looked over to Macaria and they gave each other a hug.

"You know, I wasn't sure if I was going to like you. You seemed to distant." Annabeth said with a smile on her face.

"You seemed to arrogant." Macaria said playfully.

"I'm happy we've met." Annabeth said.

"Me too."

They walked her up to the hill and joined her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world.

Percy looked around at Long Island Sound. He gave her a look and she nodded. They've made of their mind.

"We'll be back next summer." Percy said. "And we'll survive until then. After all, we're the children of the sea and death." They asked Argus to take them back down to cabin three, so they could pack their bags for home.