Hello guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter, won't be long before there's some action I promise, I'm currently writing chapter 28 right now-I feel very evil and I feel so sorry for poor Percy lol, so you have that to look forward to. Anyways as always please do read and review.

Voting-

Percy/Annabeth/Rachel: 15
Percy/Thalia: 15
Percy/Jason: 3
Percy/Jason/Piper: 1
Percy/Thalia/Rachel: 1
Percy/Calypso: 1
Nico/Percy: 1

Thalia/Luke: 6


Christmas passed and Percy returned to school she knew that whatever had happened on the Solstice must have been big-the weather had taken a dramatic turn for the worst, and when school started back up again Grover was unusually jumpy even for him.

And there was a new Latin teacher.

Percy actually liked him-she liked to think that she had decent instincts and he felt safe, but she wasn't stupid-she could recognize Celestial Bronze when she saw it, and she saw it whenever he pulled out the sword on Tournament days.

If she was honest she felt oddly drawn to that sword-but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind-it was probably nothing.

Less than a week in he called her mom to speak to her-Sally acted oblivious of course-but after the call she'd told them that she was sure she recognized Mr Brunner's voice, though she couldn't place where she'd heard it.

In any case she felt that it was pretty reasonable to assume that he wasn't human-the way he seemed to focus on her more than any other students, the glances he exchanged with Grover, they knew each other.

She did wonder who he was, but she wasn't willing to dig and get caught out because of it.

And then of course two weeks later they'd gotten a new Pre-algebra teacher, Mrs Dodds, who absolutely despised Percy.

Yeah within a week she'd decided that the woman was a monster of some kind.

She felt as if the world was closing in around her. Something big was happening and she didn't know what, it was terrifying and infuriating all at once.

They couldn't know exactly who she was-even if the oils no longer hid that she was a Demigod there was no way that they'd be able to make out who her father was and she'd been so very careful-of course there was the fact that she was a miniature female version of her father but still, they couldn't know. They just couldn't or she was sure they'd have acted before.

Still it put her on edge-she was having nightmares-her father was fighting Zeus about something she was sure of it-though oddly enough she didn't think it was about her, not exactly.

In any case it meant that she wasn't sleeping well.

And then as the school year came to a close came the field trip-to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It was Mr Brunner leading the trip-if Mrs Dodds hadn't been his co-chaperone Percy would have probably been more excited about it, but the monster was going to be there too, so it would just be another day spent feeling tense and stressed.

Still at least she had Grover with her, he was usually fairly good at distracting her and he was proving that today, chattering happily-though she could tell he was concerned-he'd commented more than once about the bags under her eyes.

She'd just told him that she had family stuff to worry about-she knew he was suspicious but there wasn't much she could do after all.

In any case as they made their way through the echoey galleries, past states and glass cases holding ancient pottery Percy tried to enjoy herself, looking at the displays curiously as they passed them.

She had to admit it was pretty amazing that they'd survived for so long, and she tried to focus on them, ignoring the creeping feeling of dread.

Something was happening, something was coming, and she felt like she was being watched which didn't help at all.

When they came to a halt it was in front of a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top.

She listened as he explained that it was a grave marker for a girl around the same age as the class-that thought made Percy shudder-she knew Demigods tended to have rather short lifespans, she felt her heart go out to the poor dead girl. She might have even been a Demigod. There was no way for Percy to know of course-but she'd died a young and probably tragic death-she only hoped that she didn't end up like the girl.

She tried to listen over Mitchell and Amy's whispers and giggling-honestly at this stage they were the two people Percy hated most in the school, Amy was the girl who had tried to convince her to abandon Grover what felt like a lifetime ago and Mitchell.. well he was just the biggest bully in the school.

She clenched her fist, turning her head to glare at the duo and their little gang, hissing the words, "Shut up, I'm trying to listen."

Of course that just earned her a glare from Mrs Dodds-and honestly she'd happily deck the old cow in the face if she didn't think that the monster would take that as a chance to rip her throat out.

This went on for several minutes-and every time Percy tried to get them to shut up Mrs Dodd's glare would intensify, and she felt Grover shifting uncomfortably next to her.

She could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her, boiling inside as it always did-and as always it burst out despite her attempts to reign it in.

"Would you just shut the fuck up and show some respect." she demanded as she turned to look at Amy and Mitchell. "Some of us are actually interested." of course it just had to happen when there was a lull in the noise around them, and the entire class heard and started snickering.

"Miss Jackson." Mr Brunner raised an eyebrow, a faintly amused smile playing across his lips, "Do you have something to say?"

Percy pressed her lips together in a tight line, glaring at the idiots before she turned her head to look at the teacher and gave a too forced smile. "No Mr Brunner, I'm sorry I just couldn't hear you very well."

"In that case perhaps you'd like to tell me what you think this picture represents." he pointed to one of the pictures on the Stele and Percy resisted the urge to groan as she peered at it, tilting her head.

Thankfully she recognized it. She hated looking dumb-she wasn't, sure she was reckless and hair brained at times but she wasn't actually stupid.

"That's Kronos eating his kids." she wondered which one of them was her dad? Probably better if she didn't dwell on that thought.

"Yes." Mr Brunner smiled encouragingly, "And do you know why he did that?"

She did, her mom had made sure she knew as many of the stories as was possible, and the story of Kronos was a fairly important one "Kronos was the King of the Titans, and when he killed his father his father warned him that one day the same would happen to him. So when he had children he ate them."

"Very good." the smile on the teachers face was wider-and Mrs Dodd's scowl was worse. "And how did they escape?"

"Rhea, his wife loved her kids and she didn't want any more of her children to be eaten so she switched their youngest out with rock-and years later when he grew up he tricked Kronos into eating something gross-I can't remember what it was, and he threw up and he threw up the Gods-"

"That's gross." Amy shrieked, and Percy twitched, unable to resist.

"Y'know maybe he didn't eat anything, maybe he just saw your face." that made Grover snicker-and Mitchell moved as if to hit Percy, who raised an eyebrow. "Try it asshole-"

"Now now!" Mr Brunner's voice was loud, "No fighting. Miss Jackson apologize for your comment. Miss Jones, you will apologize for interrupting Miss Jacksons explanation."

That made Amy go red, and Percy resisted the urge to smirk as the girl glowered and said. "Sorry for interrupting Percy."

"I'm sorry for saying your face would make Kronos puke." there was some snickering from the other kids, and Mr Brunner sighed.

"Yes yes. That's enough children. Now Miss Jackson, could you finish your explanation?"

"Of course Mr Brunner. So after Kronos puked up his kids they rebelled and the Gods defeated their father and cast him down into Tartarus."

"Very good." she flushed with pride at the proud look the teacher gave her-and she very purposely ignored the glare Mrs Dodds was shooting at her.

"That was a very good summary of the story-it was a mixture of mustard and wine that Zeus fed his father, and they chopped him up with his own scythe in fact." he clapped his hands together, "Now on that happy note I do believe it's time for lunch. Mrs Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"
With that they all began to filter outside, and Percy and Grover moved to follow the others, lingering back to avoid Mrs Dodds.

Of course Percy should have known better because before they could leave Mr Brunner was calling out, "Miss Jackson." and Percy winced, giving Grover a look that screamed 'Why me?'

"You go on ahead." she turned around as Grover headed away, his crutches clicking on the stone floor as Percy made her way back to the teacher, who was looking at her with those old looking eyes of his-sad and wise all at once.

"Yes Mr Brunner?"

"You've done very well today Miss Jackson. Your answer was very good. You know a lot about myths don't you?" she could see the suspicion in his gaze and she turned her head away, staring at the Stele.

"My mom likes them." she said after a moment, "She always has, she used to tell me them when I was a little girl." mostly about her father and Hermes-because Luke had loved hearing about his father too.

"I have another question for you Miss Jackson?"

"Oh?"

"Tell me, how would your studies and knowledge of the old tales apply to your life." and Percy hoped that he hadn't spotted the flash of panic that crossed her face at his words.

He knew she was a Demigod-he had to, and he suspected that she knew-if not actively then deep down inside.

"Well." she gave her best goofy grin, "I guess a good moral of the story would be that you shouldn't eat your kids if you don't want them to overthrow you."

Mr Brunner's eyes sparked with amusement at that. "You may have a point there Miss Jackson but you know that's not what I meant." his expression turned more serious, "What you learn from me is vitally important, especially for you. I expect you to treat it as such. I will only accept the best from you Percy."

Percy wanted to make some quip-but something stopped her and she nodded.

"I know." her voice was soft and she ducked her head, hand twitching upwards to reach for her locket, though she stopped herself before she could grab it.

"Yes." Mr Brunner said after a long moment, his eyes watching her carefully, "Yes Miss Jackson, you do don't you?"

"Can I go outside now? I.. uh, I'm hungry."

"Yes, yes of course." the man nodded, turning his gaze back to the Stele, a sad look on his face-she wondered if he'd known the girl who died. And wasn't that a sad thought-but it was possible, she didn't know who or what the teacher was after all.

Grover was sat at the fountain out the front of the museum, and Percy headed towards him quickly, brushing her hair out of her face and letting out a breath, trying to ignore the unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey dude." she dropped down onto the cool stone next to him, and Grover gave her a concerned look.

"Are you okay Percy? What did Mr Brunner want?"

"Just to talk." Percy looked up at the sky-black clouds-another storm. Gods what was going on? It had to be something big, the fighting didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

"You're not in trouble"

"No." she gave a wry smile, "Mr Brunner likes me too much for that and honestly I doubt he blames me for snapping at Amy." she glanced towards the girl, who was with Mitchell and their little gang, before her gaze swept past them and away-and her eyes narrowed very slightly as she spotted a man leaning against the wall, near the corner of the building.

He was looking right at her-that usually would have been a cause for concern, but she wasn't worried because even from a distance Percy could tell who it was.

He looked like Luke-or at least Luke looked like him.

Hermes. But what in Hades name would he be doing here at her school.

No one else had noticed him yet-that was good. Percy glanced at Grover. "Hey dude, I just want to stretch my legs okay. I need some space."

"Are you sure?" Grover gave her a worried frown and Percy nodded, "Yeah man, I'm sure." she grinned, punching his shoulder lightly. "I'll be back soon." she walked off, walking casually, not directly towards Hermes, who when he saw her moving towards him very casually shifted and made his way around the side of the building.

Percy followed him, slipping out of sight away from the rest of the class and taking a deep breath as her gaze focused on the God stood in front of her, and she bowed lowly.

"Lord Hermes. It's a pleasure to meet you."