I Realize Where Home Is.
"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-no! No, no, no, no. Pontus? My father? The least mentioned immortal ever? Asides from a few others..but seriously? Him?!" I screeched.
We were back at the Big House and the Chief was glancing at the orb as I paced up and down, every demigod had begun to whisper and glance at me in horror. If I really was the Daughter of Pontus, then I definitely was the niece of Tartarus as well.
I wanted to scream, pinch myself, surely this was a dream. Sure I was looking for my father, but this wasn't the way I pictured it.
"Chief, tell me this is a dream, tell me it isn't real!" I wailed.
The Chief hugged me
"I'm sorry Atalanta…" he whispered.
I wanted to burst to tears , but instead I wrenched myself away from his grasp and ran off to the Hera Cabin. I bust open the door and Hera was there, sitting on my bed examining one of my photos on my bed headboard.
"Is that why you didn't tell me? Why has no one told me?!" I asked her furiously. "Because he was a primordial deity? Because I'm-I'm related to him? How-how did my parents even meet? That-I-I…." I stuttered and I fell to my knees and I remembered what Bob had told me.
"Yes, but I'm afraid that you won't like it...Andy, promise me that when you do receive the full truth, please don't get upset, understand that the reason why the truth was hidden was all to protect you.." Bob said.
"Look, it's okay, you wanted some of the truth and you got it, it's okay if you mess up, no one will think bad of you, I promise." she said as she stood up
"They will...everyone else will, watch." I told her
Hera sighed angrily
"My lady, I'm-if-if I'm his daughter I'm also...his niece! How?! Why?! Why me?! I-I just want a regular family tree, a tree, not a...thornbush!" I spat
"Look, I know it's hard, but you have to understand that it isn't our fault." Hera said sternly
"Of course not! Because my parents decided to fuck each other and have me!? I-I can't stay here…" I said
"Because you do not want to commit the same mistake…" Hera said quietly
I glanced at her as she handed me four pictures. I recognized them, one of them was me, and Luke during my birthday. Another of Silena and Beckendorf, another of Luke, Thalia, Grover and Annabeth and the last one of me and my cousin, Ladon.
I felt tears being too well up as I gulped and smiled.
"Look, I know you feel guilty and you think it's their fault, but remember that the ones we love will only truly leave us, if we forget what they did for us and if you, forget them…" Hera said and she disappeared.
I went outside to take a shower and I saw some campers stare at me and whisper.
"YOU MONSTER!" screeched Drew as she stomped towards me, her mascara ruined (I think it was mascara….I don't know much of beauty products)
She pushed me as I stumbled and I sent her a back kick against her stomach.
"YOU'RE A MONSTER! YOU UNDERSTAND! NO ONE LIKES YOU! YOU'LL ALWAYS BE UNLOVED! YOU HEAR ME!" she screamed
I threw my clothes aside as many campers began to huddle around and whisper.
"Yeah, well guess what? NO ONE LIKES YOU EITHER!" I roared.
"Andromeda! That's enough!" Chiron said in a firm calm voice
I glared at Chiron
"Of course, always going for the demigods, right?" I snarled as Drew began to laugh. I shot out a powerful jet of fire, as some Egyptian hieroglyphics, in a reddish orange hue glowed and floated around like bubbles until they disappeared. I looked below and saw that the grass at my feet had withered. I glanced at what I did as Drew glanced at me in horror. I checked my arms and slightly tugged away the sleeve of my hoodie as the black line began to glow a fiery red and then it faded.
"You mess with me one more time and I will toss you over a cliff and laugh as you hit the bottom!" I screeched as I snatched my clothes and stormed off towards the showers…..
(Piper)
I went towards Drew and glared at her
"Was this your plan?" I snarled at her
Drew smirked
"She doesn't belong here and nor do they." she implied pointing to Phoenix, Bowles, and Luis.
"Didn't you hear what Chiron said?" I hissed
"Of course I did," Drew said
"Then why do you keep bothering her? She's had enough!" I growled
Drew didn't say anything. I smirked
"You're jealous, of course." I said in disgust as Annabeth took out her dagger and glared atDrew and then Drew stormed off to the Aphrodite Cabin.
"I'd give anything to not have such a toxic sister like her…" I wailed as Annabeth hugged me and led me to the Athena Cabin.
(Andy)
I got off the shower and put on a fresh new pair of pajamas and I began to squeeze the water off my hair. I glanced at myself in the mirror. I saw that my tattoos were showing once again and I saw that black line appear as it replaced the blue in my veins and glowed red and then it was gone.
Curse you Tartarus….
He couldn't be my uncle, he-he just couldn't be related to me…. I-I...
I went down on my knees and covered my face with my hands.
Yet your wishes, also have a dark reason for being made….
For a snake always bites its own tail…
Although it's never bad to let a snake have a taste of its own venom at times too...
I sighed. I grabbed my flip-flops and held them in my hand as I folded my clothes and made sure my undergarments weren't seen and I walked out. I went back to the Hera Cabin, I heard the distant sound of people singing and I sighed as I saw the rest of the campers singing along to campfire songs. I opened the door and set the clothes on a small pile and began to dry my hair with my towel and grabbed a brush and began to comb it. Once I did, I put on my flip flops and cleaned my feet as I went off towards the beach. I felt the grains of sand weave in through my feet and I sat down as I pulled my knees towards my chest and glanced at the soft rippling waves. It was a full moon tonight. Nothing could've been more peaceful. Except for the rest. It was Friday. Everything would have to go the way it did, right? I saw some small starfish, crabs and little frogs come towards me and I lightly petted them.
"Look at you, I still don't see why others harm you, why we harm you, you guys aren't monsters, we are. I'm so sorry, you guys deserve better, every animal should be alive, humans are monsters, we made this. We caused this. We're fucked up the whole world, but one day, one day the world will reset, every animal will be back and there will be no humans to harm you, one day you guys will be roaming freely without fearing of getting killed, all you would have to worry about the food chain and that's it. No invasive species in lands and waters that are not theirs, everyone would be where they belong…..home. We caused this, we humans and humans only. I promise one day the sun will shine on all of you. I promise." I told them
"Nice speech." said a voice as I turned around and saw Nico, with a bag containing ingredients for s'mores.
"Oh gods Skull Head, stop scaring me like that? Are you always going to do that?" I asked him
"Probably." he said as he sat down beside me and took out two plates and set them on the sandy floor.
He took out the graham crackers, marshmallows, and two types of chocolate. I stretched my legs and sat criss-cross.
"I brought dark and milk, which one?" he asked me
"Dark, I have a thing for bitter things." I told him as I took the purple Dove's bag of bite-sized chocolate and a bar of dark chocolate as I opened the bag and breathed in the scent of Dove's dark chocolate.
"Oh, gods! The scent is amazing!" I said as Nico smiled.
I grabbed two chocolates and opened the purple tin foil wrapper and set it inside my pocket and chewed on the chocolates.
"Mmph!" I let out as I smiled and nodded
"Yeah, this is the good chocolate! I'm telling you Skull head, I have a thing for sweet things, I have a bit of a sugar tooth, so if I get sugar high, it's your fault." I told him as I swallowed the melted chocolate.
"It will be both of our faults At, mine because I brought the food and your fault because you ate it." he said
"Yeah, sure. It's still your fault." I said playfully
Nico shook his head and smiled a little
"How are you feeling?" he asked
"I-I don't know, I mean, I-I'm just confused, my brain is still trying to process everything and it's quite confusing. I-I don't know anymore…" I muttered.
"Well, in that case, make yourself a s'more and eat it, we'll see if you feel better after that." he commented
I smiled and grabbed the box of graham crackers and pulled two of them out and placed them on my plate and pulled out the dark chocolate bar and opened the wrapper and broke off a slab of it, just as big as the graham cracker itself and placed it on top of one of the crackers. I grabbed the open bag of marshmallows and grabbed two, I placed one on top of the cracker and chocolate and the other I ate it.
"Hey! That's not fair!" chuckled Nico as he grabbed the bag and pulled three of them and shoved them in his mouth.
"You're going to choke!" I exclaimed with a laugh.
Nico swallowed them all and smiled.
"Damn it!" I muttered.
"What, you wanted me to choke?" he asked, aghast.
"No, I just thought you were going to choke." I told him
"Okay, that's very low Clever Girl." he said
"Yeah, sure, Skull Head," I told him as I closed my s'more and took a bite out of it.
"So are you going on the quest?" he asked
"I don't know, I'm still quite unsure…" I replied
"Well, if you decide to come, we'll make sure to give you a room in the Argo II" Nico said
"Wait, you're going?" I asked him.
"Yeah, I don't have much of a choice, don't I?" he said with a chuckle
"No, I guess not.." I muttered.
"Tell me, do you guys sing Campfire songs in the Valley?" he asked me
"Yeah, we did." I said with a faint smile as I remembered all of those fun memories at the Valley.
I opened my mouth and began to sing.
[humming in the beginning]
Yet we will go, wherever we moan,
We've ventured far, long and abroad
Throughout the forest, Through the misty mountain top.
We will do what we can, to find the land
We must away, 'ere break of day
To find our long forgotten souls….
I sang in a mellow tone.
"Wow, that was pretty good." Nico said
"Thanks." I told him as I made myself another s'more sandwich
"Is there another song you can sing, aside from the one you sang in Tartarus?" Skull Head asked
"You just want to hear me sing, don't you?" I asked him as I casted a suspicious glance at him.
Nico shrugged,
"No, it's not for me, it's for them." he said as he nudged his head towards the ocean and I saw that many sea animals, birds, squirrels and pegasi had come to hear me.
I sighed and began to sing once more:
"Why?
Who me?
Why?" I whispered as I imagined the orchestral part playing inside my head and I sang louder
"Feet don't fail me now
Take me to the finish line
Oh my heart it breaks every step that I take
But I'm hoping at the gates,
They'll tell me that you're mine
Walking through the city streets
Is it by mistake or design?
I feel so alone on a Friday night
Can you make it feel like home, if I tell you you're mine?
It's like I told you honey
Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough
I don't know why
Keep making me laugh, let's go get high
The road is long, we carry on
Try to have fun in the meantime
Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
Choose your last words
This is the last time
'Cause you and I, we were born to die
Lost but now I am found
I can see but once I was blind
I was so confused as a little child
Tried to take what I could get
Scared that I couldn't find
All the answers honey
Don't make me sad, don't make me cry
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough
I don't know why
Keep making me laugh
Let's go get high
The road is long, we carry on
Try to have fun in the meantime
Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
Choose your last words,
This is the last time
'Cause you and I
We were born to die
We were born to die
We were born to die
Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane
So don't make me sad, don't make me cry
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough
I don't know why
Keep making me laugh
Let's go get high
The road is long, we carry on
Try to have fun in the meantime
Come and take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane...
Choose your last words,
This is the last time
'Cause you and I
We were born to die
Once I finished I let out a small cough and glanced at the animals whose amount had increased all glancing at me with adorable puppy dog eyes, asking for more.
"No, my voice almost cracked and I can only sing that Lana Del Rey song, okay? Now shoo! Go on! Skedaddle!" I huffed as they groaned and began to leave little by little.
"That was pretty good, do you like that song?" Skull Head asked
"Yeah, it's been on my brain a lot, along with a few other songs…" I mumbled.
"Like which ones?" he asked
"Do I Wanna Know, Clocks, Demons..etc…." I replied
I took another bite of my s'more sandwich
"Best thing ever!" I replied with my mouth full of sweetness
"Animals, really like you, when they heard you singing they all scrambled towards you," Nico said
"Yeah, well I have that charm against them, it's not their fault, it's mine actually. Little kids ages 6 and under just come towards me asking me if I can play with them, obviously I can't just say no, right? I mean they're kids! Little kids, they just want to play! And same thing with animals, which I guess that's why I'm a hook magnet to little kids and animals, because I say yes." I explained
"Well, no wonder why. Now that explained a lot." Nico said with a smirk
"Yeah, I think the largest amount of nostalgia I ever had in my whole life wasn't even a song, it was playing hop-scotch with a little black girl, she was adorable I'll tell you that, nice manners, she wasn't rude like other little kids.." I said as Nico chuckled
"No! I'm serious, little kids scare me much more than monsters! I swear, those little- mendigos chamacos! Son unos-!" I began in spanish as I sighed
"Hijos de su mera mama! I swear elementary school kids scare me far much more than monsters, seriously I've had like three or four of them flick me off! What the heck?!" I exclaimed as Nico laughed
"I'm being honest, the smallest things are the ones that hold the biggest amount of anger! When I played hop-scotch with that little girl I swear I felt like a lit-er-al six-year-old! When I drew with chalk on the sidewalk and drew a lot of butterflies, I still like butterflies though. Oh, god I'm telling you, if I wanted to cry at that moment playing with her, I would've, but I remembered that I was in public so I didn't. I swear, little kids change, some kids these days are so rude! Heck, even I wasn't that rude! Even in middle school! Some seventh graders were so rude to us eighth graders! I even asked Bowles if we were that rude and he said no." I added
"Well, generations change." Nico said
"Yeah, yeah they do…" I mumbled
"Are you okay?" asked Nico
I snapped my head back and glanced at him
"Oh! Uh, yeah, I got a little distracted…" I told him casually
He took out something from the inside of his jacket and handed it to me.
I grabbed it and it was a brand new IPod.
"Oh my gods! Skull Head, thank you!" I told him as I hugged him
Nico was overwhelmed and awkwardly hugged me back.
"Thank you, this is great!" I exclaimed with excitement as I turned it on and grabbed my earbuds from my pajama pant pocket and hooked them into the earbud socket and turned it on.
I pressed play as Clocks by Coldplay began to play. I sighed and relaxed my shoulders.
Lights go out and I can't be saved,
tides that I've tried to swim against
Have brought me down upon my knees
Oh, I beg and beg and plead, singing
Come out of things unsaid
Shoot an apple off my head and a
Trouble that can't be named
A tiger's waiting to be tamed, singing
You are
You are
Confusion never stops
Closing walls and ticking clocks
Gonna come back and take you home
I could not stop that you now know, singing
Come out upon my seas
Cursed missed opportunities
Am I a part of the cure?
Or am I part of the disease? Singing
You are, you are, you are
You are, you are, you are
And nothing else compares
Oh nothing else compares
And nothing else compares
You are
You are
Home, home where I wanted to go
Home, home where I wanted to go
Home, home where I wanted to go
Home, home where I wanted to go
"Wow, you really do love music, don't you?" he asked
"Well, of course! It's amazing!" I exclaimed.
Nico sighed
"What's wrong?" I asked him
"I don't know, I'm just...everything just went by so fast, you know?" he said
"Yeah…" I mumbled
"How-how did you make it out of the pit of Chaos? You should've been dead…." Nico whispered
"I almost did, I guess it was my magic...When I got out I didn't worry how I made it, I was too busy getting myself out of there. You told me two weeks and four days, right? Well, I had fallen for two weeks, because I was in Epirus for four days. It-it-it felt worse than falling down to Tartarus. The gravitational pull was so strong...I just felt my skin, ripping away from me, my bones, everything wrenching itself off my body and then...my spirit...my soul began to disappear…. I knew it was my last chance, I-I don't ask me what I did, because I have no utter memory at all…. I-I can't remember what I did, and next thing I knew I felt like I was being pulled back together and I was a bird. As I began to fly away I felt the pit attempt to grab me again, it began to rip itself through me and-and I just fought back, I think in that moment it was my father, Pontus himself who went through me that day and he made it possible for me to get out, he fought against Chaos, the void itself. I-I felt like a god, literally and I think for that split second I was him. You know? But I didn't know it was him until today, when he claimed me and now realizing I'm his-his daughter….well….. It makes sense now….. I fought through so many things...things a regular demigod…. child of a god or a titan didn't even make it through…. I always knew that my father wasn't just a god, he had to be a deity of great power and I guess my mom must've had immense power too, for being a Descendant of Hatshepsut and being respected by many deities..." I said as I blinked the tears off my eyes.
"Descendant of Hatshepsut?" asked Nico
" Yeah, me, my mom and my ancestors are all Descendants of Hatshepsut herself the first Egyptian female pharaoh." I told him
"Oh, wow." he said
"Yeah, the family tree is just girls there's rarely ever been any boys…" I said
"Well, that's quite unique, a line of woman warriors like you?." Nico asked
"Yeah, we are" I muttered
"Impressive," he said quietly
"Yea, well at this point I doubt anything would surprise me." I croaked
"Well, at least you know something…" he said
"What else?" he asked me
"I was a Vestal Virgin, but that was before, I joined them around a year before Kronos and retired last year, after the damage that has been left by Gaia, well…. It didn't do us much good. I went to the House of Life at age 10 and trained there for two summers until I got the hang of my magic."
"Nice." Nico said smoothly
"Yeah, Skull Head?" I began to ask him
"Yeah?" he said
"What do you remember from what I told you in the cage?" I told him
"I-I...do you want me to be honest with you?" he told me as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking guilty
"Yeah." I told him, bracing for the worst
"I-I couldn't listen to much… The-the monsters were playing those games and making so much noise and I could barely hear your voice, I just said what came up to my head to comfort you… At, I'm so sorry, I'm such a terrible friend.." Nico said
"No, it's okay, but you helped..you helped me out more than anyone else has in my life.." I told him
"At? I'm sorry…" he said
"Yeah, I know...but, hey, it's always good to go back home….." I muttered as I stood up and grabbed the pack of graham crackers and the chocolate, both the bar and bag.
"I'll see you soon Skull Head." I told him as the words began to ring inside my head.
"Andy, I know someone out there that is way stronger than they think they are…I know that one day they'll bring justice and order to its reign and that they will slay evil...I know they will, I know that they're the strongest woman warrior out there!" "But, they're not physically strong… There are better fighters than them!" "They don't have to be physically strong! Other things matter too! They're emotionally strong, and mentally strong! They've made it through so much! Any other person might have gone insane, or killed themselves! But she had the hope and courage to continue! And has so much willpower! Andy, that makes her more special than everyone else! Because she moved on where others wouldn't!"
I thought about it and I went to the Hera Cabin and grabbed out my notebook as I dumped my food on my bed and began to write:
"Everyone fights battles..,yet there is always a battle in which we lose…and even if we lose…we can't save everyone no matter how much we'd love to reverse time or say a final goodbye and bring them back with you that way they are beautiful and that life isn't lost….it doesn't always work that way…but we try to save as many that way they have a blessing to count…that today..they live…"
"Even if people bully you, and tease you…you have to stand your ground and say "I'll prove that I'm no wimp" you stand your ground and tell them that they're ..wrong.."
"You can hit me all day, but I'll still stand up 'cause I'm not a coward like you.."
"The only difference between you and me is that I have courage… and you don't"
"You see, sometimes you're so desperate looking for your treasure, family and the truth; that,...you don't realize the treasure, family and the truth were right in front of you this whole time…."
"My fear is my confidence,
My pain is my courage,
And my agony is my hope…."
"To not be scared you must pretend you're not scared…."
I'm gonna go back home. I have to…..
I am the Daughter of Pontus…..
A/N: Thanks for everything! Also, I updated The Dark Virgin earlier today and the footnotes you guys read are Andy's notes and comments about whatever thing was footnoted. (Except for the last two footnotes in Capter 15 of The Dark Virgin, THOSE are NICO'S notes.)
raffa18sapio, kalisfandomstories1004, thanks for everything and for your support.
Mika1303 thanks for reviewing on my stories!
Love y'all! ❦
Also, I changed the Rating to M because another chapter is going to have dark and violent sequences, so yeah. I rated it M just in case.