Percy wasn't accustomed to dreaming of one of his best friends hiding in a wedding dress shop. Especially when that best friend was a goat from the waist down. But, that was the dream he had. Grover hiding from something in a wedding dress shop. So when he woke up, he was very confused.

Percy winced when he rolled out of bed and trapped his wing beneath himself. He rolled onto his back and sat up, folding his white wings out of sight into his back. Getting up, Percy opened the bedroom door and went through it…

… and caught a faceful of cling film!

"What…" Percy spluttered, batting the clear material out of his face. "Parisa!"

Percy stomped through to the kitchen to find his little sister cackling at the outcome of her prank. Mom was making blue waffles. Percy spied a glass of water right in front of Parisa and flicked his hand up. The water shot up like a mini geyser and hit Parisa in the face. His little sister toppled backwards off her seat and came crashing down to the floor, frantically wiping her face.

"Percy, I'm gonna kill you!" Parisa hissed, getting back to her feet.

Percy, bent over in laughter, chortled, "Don't dish it if you can't take it!"

Parisa leapt for Percy's face in the form of a cat right as their mom said, "No fighting!"

Now, to get things straight; it was hilarious to see Parisa stuck in mid air as a Bengal cat, suspended and frozen by seemingly nothing. But, it was not fun to be in the same situation. Okay, in fairness Percy had been about to smack his little sister out of the air, but still - he didn't like being paralyzed.

"I left you two alone for 10 minutes!" Cailee's voice filtered into the kitchen from the couch.

Percy glanced to the side. Cailee's hand was clenched into a fist pointed in the direction of the kitchen, and her eyes were flicking between the two of them. Their older sister had frozen them in place with her mind.

"Thank you, Cailee." Mom piped up gratefully, setting the fresh waffles down on the table on a plate. "Can you take Parisa and her breakfast over there, sweetie?"

Cailee set down her book and extended her other hand to Parisa's breakfast, releasing Percy to take hold of the plate. She had worked hard on her mind-moving stuff, but she could only control two things now instead of the previous one. Cat-Parisa and her blue waffles floated over to Cailee while Percy sat down at the table, and Cailee settled her irate feline sister in her lap with a soft, "Claw me and the waffles go in the bin."

Fight averted, breakfast continued.

Explanation time? Yeah it would probably be best to overview the year.

So, after Percy had been healed by Raphael, he and Parisa had stayed at Camp Half-Blood until the end of the summer session. Parisa's bow and knife craze had not calmed down at all. Daylight teleported them home, bags and all, at the end of the last day, which was a lot more of a strain than taking one demigod had been. School had started back up not too long after that.

Given Yancy hadn't worked out so well last year and their mom knew they were safest together, Percy had been pulled from Yancy and Parisa, now finally middle school age, was enrolled with Percy at this 'progressive' school called Meriweather College Prep. 'Progressive' meaning they sat on bean bags instead of chairs, teachers dressed casually, and they didn't get given formal grades. Cailee however, done with middle school, hadn't gone back to school. Not properly anyways. Instead of doing her sophomore year in a school, Cailee was being homeschooled by one of their mom's old friends alongside her own two high school age children. Mom insisted that Cailee shouldn't go back to school until she felt ready, and that she needed the time and space to recover.

Speaking of Cailee, there was something strange about her now. Her presence hadn't changed but Percy could swear he could feel a familiar dark whisper bleeding through it on occasion, whenever Cailee got upset or mad. The memories that stirred… Percy would rather leave them behind. He could still hear the sickening 'Crack!' of his arm being broken some days even though it had healed clean years ago.

Day had adopted a new timetable of sorts. She spent the day with "her peers" doing her learning - apparently even angels needed to go to school - and came to New York when Percy and Parisa got out of school. It was… different, not having her around every moment of the daytime. Winter was even stranger, given the days were shorter.

"Percy? Earth to Percy?"

Percy snapped back to the present. Just in time too. Parisa had thrown his backpack at his face.

"Come on, we've got to get the train!" Parisa insisted. She was back in human form, ready for school.

Percy caught his backpack and rolled his eyes at Parisa. "Tell me you at least remembered your knife?"

Parisa patted herself down before shaking her head sheepishly.

"Oh honestly." Cailee sighed mirthfully and hurled something at Parisa. Parisa's super-senses allowed her to catch it. "If it wasn't for me and Mom, you two would forget your heads were attached to your necks."

Percy pushed Parisa out of the door before his little sister could argue with the older blonde. The object Cailee had thrown was Parisa's celestial bronze knife. Thankfully it wouldn't set off metal detectors and Parisa sheathed it in the back holster beneath her t-shirt. At least she'd remembered that. All Parisa had to do to draw the blade was yank it down and voila! Self defence time!

Speaking of changes, Parisa had developed her shapeshifting some. She could now turn into a wolf, a puppy, a Bengal cat, and a viper. Not only that, but Parisa had learned to change her human features. In addition to the sea green eyes she shared with Percy, Parisa had adopted Cailee's golden hair back in September. That… took some getting used to on Percy's part. Cailee loved it though. Something about it being really sweet and supportive.

Back in the apartment, Cailee set down her book. Time to get ready for the day.

Cailee headed into the bedroom she shared with her siblings and shut the door. First was the usual routine of getting dressed. Cailee ditched her sleepwear and stood in front of the mirror, staring herself dead in the eyes. Every morning she had to confront herself. The therapist said it would help, and Cailee was starting to agree.

Her baby blue eyes didn't hold the control and steel they used to. Now all Cailee saw was a haunted storm reflected back at her in the mirror. They were eyes of someone who had seen more than one type of hell.

"It wasn't your fault, none of it. He did it to you." Cailee told herself. "You've survived hell on Earth and in Perdition. Your father is proud of you. It doesn't matter if you feel broken - it's beautiful, and so are you."

~There is a special beauty in pain, and you know that now.~

Cailee found herself smiling so hard her face felt like it was going to split in two. Her father's voice never failed to make her feel better, sparing as it was. He was rebellious like that; occasionally bending the rules for something as simple as encouraging Cailee or offering advice.

Time to get dressed.

Cailee picked a simple pair of bootcut jeans and a yellow pullover. Throwing them on, she grabbed her trainers and bag. Unlike her younger siblings, she didn't have to take a train to make it to school - all she had to do was make it about 7 blocks uptown to the apartment where she did her homeschooling. Walking cut it for Cailee.

Ducking out of the bedroom, Cailee found her mom on her way to get ready for work. Mom had lost her job as a nurse when she was kidnapped and didn't show up for her shift. Hardly her fault, but humans didn't see it that way so Cailee had to find herself astounded that her mom found a job at Sweet on America within days of returning home. It wasn't much, but it paid the bills. Cailee was pretty sure her mom was lowkey running a second job during the weekend given Cailee was in charge of taking Percy and Parisa to church on Sunday and they never saw their mom there.

"Mom, do you ever take a day off?" Cailee asked.

Cailee's mom just flashed her a warm smile as she gathered up her things. "I do manage to take care of myself, if that's what you mean, sweetie. You wrangling Percy and Parisa helps so much!"

Cailee smiled back softly, biting back a tear or two. "At least now they prank each other instead of resorting to violence first. Not like before… well it used to be so much harder when Maverick was around."

Cailee flinched when she caught the fragile look in her mom's eyes at the mention of Maverick - a kind of warning, like if she pushed too far her mom would start to cry.

"Mom, I'm so sorry…" Cailee found herself shushed with a shaky smile.

"It's okay, sweetie. You were just speaking your mind, I'm never going to tell you off for that." Sally soothed Cailee's worries immediately. "And you're right. Maverick and Parisa both had vicious tempers and when those two acted up Percy always shoved Parisa out of harm's way, and full-blown violence was never far behind that."

"I guess I just wish I'd had the strength to kill the violence in its crib before everything came crashing down and ended in murder." Cailee sighed.

"Maverick was convicted of manslaughter, not murder, Cailee." Cailee winced at the sharpness in her mother's correction. "You know the difference."

"But he meant to kill those two. He did kill them." Cailee reasoned.

"I hardly think the human law system covers half-blood on half-blood violence and killing." Sally countered gracefully. "And Maverick was not of sound mind that night as you well know - you were there."

Cailee knew her mom had her there. She'd been witness to Maverick killing those two Nephilim, hell, she'd fought on his side until she realised how far he was going to go, and what he had already done that night. She was the one who called the cops - she wouldn't be surprised if Maverick held a grudge against her for that. He was stuck all the way back in Oklahoma, locked up in solitary confinement. He'd pleaded guilty at his trial; and been sentenced to juvenile detention. Cailee didn't remember how long his sentence was meant to be, but it had lasted 4 years now.

"I guess that's true." Cailee yielded, snapping back to the present. "I should get to Beth's, schooling and all."

Her mom smiled as she walked to her own room to get her bag. "That's my girl. Oh, and Cailee - you should try having a conversation with Maverick. He might surprise you."

He might surprise you.

Those words rang in Cailee's head as she descended the stairs to street level. Could he? He had sounded… different… when she had heard him in Egypt. She couldn't feel what he felt anymore; their connection had been weakened by all that had happened. But she could feel his dark presence down that cord. He hadn't cut her off. Cailee didn't know how to feel about that.

You are right. I only stirred up conflict, and when things got violent it was always Percy and Parisa who suffered for it. Those two are happier and safer without me in their lives as long as you're still there.

Maverick. Cailee almost stopped cold as she passed the threshold onto the street. She hadn't heard him in a while. It was scary to remember he had a direct line into her head no matter where she was.

Consciously putting one foot in front of the other, Cailee cautiously sent back, I can't say I was either of those things with you gone.

Cailee winced as she felt the devouring howl of Maverick's rage burn across their connection. It withdrew just as fast as it came. Maverick was forcing himself to be cold to spare her the backlash.

You have the demigod to protect you now. He's already done a better job than I ever did.

He did not just bring Luke into this!

I never asked you to protect me, Cailee retorted. And this is between you and me, no one else.

Cailee knocked into someone due to being distracted. She immediately turned, saying, "I'm so sorry…"

It was one of Artemisia's daughters. The eldest, the first to break free. Cailee stopped dead in her tracks. That deathly chill she'd felt in the graveyard was easily recognisable to Cailee now. But the young woman didn't seem upset. She looked like she had been waiting to walk into Cailee by the look in her shocking pale grey eyes.

"Cailee Jackson. For freeing myself and my sisters, my mother now owes you a blood debt. That debt has created a connection between your grace and my mother's. Reach out to her like you do with your other bonds and she will hear you. You can ask any one thing from her, be it knowledge, assistance, or an act, and my mother will fulfill your request if it is within her power."

"Ummm, thank you?" Cailee replied with a shaky voice.

Artemisia's daughter gave a cool smile of courtesy. "Thank my mother. As my own person, I would advise you not to name this favor frivolously or in haste. The full reach of Death herself is at my mother's disposal - and it extends further than you know."

The young woman stepped back into the Manhattan work rush, and she was gone in the blink of an eye. Ummm, what?

Cailee continued on her way, utterly thrown off. First Maverick, then Artemisia's daughter? This day could not get any more chaotic. And of course, Cailee had no idea how wrong she was.

"Tyson, watch out!"

Update: Percy's day sucked so far. Parisa had punched his lights out on the train after he made a blonde joke and nearly caused them to get thrown off, Matt Sloan and his jocks had been causing metaphorical hell all day, and now Percy was playing explosive dodgeball with a half-dozen cannibalistic giants. Did he mention Parisa hit like a sledgehammer? Or that since Percy had no pockets on his gym shorts he couldn't get hold of Riptide?

Yeah, this day sucked.

Percy was tempted to get his wings out, but that would expose his half-Archangel nature to every human being in the vicinity. The Mist did not cover up angelic stuff unless it was forced to by someone. It sure as heck covered up cannibal giants throwing flaming bronze dodgeballs though.

Thankfully, Percy had learned more than just sword skills and how to play Capture the Flag before he and Parisa came home from Camp Half-Blood. Monster Assault Techniques class was coming in real handy. Sure he'd been dodging heavy rubber balls at camp, but the idea was the same. Kind of.

Now who was Tyson? Good question. Percy's best answer would be 'homeless kid the school took in as a community project whose only friends were Percy and Parisa'. Tyson was tall, built like a brick factory and as strong as Percy when he was in his human-angel hybrid form, if not stronger. And boy was Tyson's strength coming in handy in this dodgeball match of death!

The doors to the gym had been sealed by the giants. So when one of them was kicked in so hard the door decapitated one of the giants, Percy was gobsmacked.

"Perce!"

Percy caught the pen thrown by Parisa, and by the time he looked at it, Riptide's full glory was in his hand. Wait, wasn't Parisa supposed to be in class?

"I bailed to save your sorry hide." Parisa explained, clearly creeping in his head again. "I'm soooo in for it later so you better back me!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll cover for you." Percy grumbled.

Then he noticed the giants had stopped throwing.

Now to be real; it wasn't every day a monster stopped trying to eat its half-blood lunch. But it definitely was never the case that said monster quaked like beat dogs at the sight of an 11 year old girl. Even if she was the daughter of an Archangel.

"What is going on here?" Percy wondered out loud.

Parisa gave the terrified giants a scrutinising look before she commented, "It looks like they're bricking it because I'm here. Hey, Joe Bob! What are you so scared of?!"

The giant with the nametag 'Joe Bob' answered with a horrible stutter.

"Y-Your f-father, P-Princess of t-the P-Pit."

Percy could swear he heard Parisa rolling her eyes as she moaned, "Oh, the whole daughter of Tartarus thing!"

"It makes sense though. If he goes back to the Pit when he's killed, he's in your dad's domain." Percy pointed out to his little sister.

"And if Daddy's not happy-" Parisa mimed slitting her throat. "Off with his head."

"B-Basically."

"Drop dead, Canadians!" Parisa snapped. And Joe Bob and his cronies did exactly that.

"Did they just…"

"... turn to monster dust when you told them to drop dead? Yep." Percy finished Parisa's sentence as he doubled over with laughter.

Parisa put her knife away with a pout. "I wanted to stab him."

Now Percy rolled his eyes.

"If you want to maim someone, Sloan's over there." Percy pointed out offhandedly.

Parisa looked over at where Matt Sloan was rooted to the spot with terror, then back at Percy with her puppy-dog eyes.

"Can I?" Parisa pleaded.

"I'm strangely blind for the next 20 seconds." Was Percy's only response as he covered his eyes with his free hand.

Percy peeked through his fingers. He wasn't disappointed. Parisa hit Sloan in the throat, floored him, then finished off with a massive booting to the unmentionables. Percy involuntarily flinched when he saw that. He didn't envy Sloan - Parisa's strength and the force of her blows was monstrously disproportionate to her size and build.

True to his word, Percy dropped his hand 20 seconds after he raised it to 'cover' his eyes. Parisa practically skipped back over and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Percy."

"For what?" Percy asked, feigning innocent.

"For being my favourite brother." Parisa replied with a wink. "Now we really should ditch. And I suppose we should take Tyson too, him being a cyclops and all."

Percy looked at the massive shy kid that was Tyson. Sure enough he had only one eye. How hadn't Percy noticed that before? Oh right, the Mist. It could still affect his human half, and given he had never turned his Archangel Sight on Tyson, he'd never seen through the Mist to find the singular eye instead of a pair. Being a cyclops did explain the strength Tyson possessed.

"We're teleporting, and me and Tyson are getting changed first." Percy told Parisa before he headed back to the changing rooms. "Come on, big guy."

Tyson lumbered after Percy. Parisa escaped while they changed, and Percy and Tyson met her by the fire engines outside once back in their regular street clothes. Parisa shrugged her backpack off and pointed to her back.

"Unzip me, would you?"

Percy pulled down the zips their mom had sewn into the back of Parisa's t-shirt to allow her to use her wings without destroying her tops. Then he turned around and let Parisa do the same to him. While she fumbled with a jammed zip, Percy remarked,

"Really? 'Unzip me'? You realise how bad that would sound out of context, Pari?"

"Shut up." Parisa growled, punching Percy in the side and yanking both zips hard, finally getting them open. "I'm 11, and you're my brother."

"And yet you assumed the worst." Percy laughed. He jumped forward when Parisa went to punch his head and turned back to face his blushing sister. "I like teasing you as much as the next brother, but where are we flying?"

"You're the older one here!" Parisa protested.

"Yeah, yeah, shut it." Percy groaned. "Camp it is. We go home, ditch our bags, get our gear, then go to camp. We're already in trouble with school and possibly Mom too, so we might as well go to camp and put it off."

Now Parisa was smiling.

"You had me at 'camp'. Now teach me to teleport; it's not fair that you and Cailee know how and I don't!"

Percy was quite aware of Tyson watching the back and forth like an excitable little kid. To be fair, he was often like this with new and fun stuff. Regardless, Percy focused on walking his little sister through it.

"Alright, wings out." Percy started. Both Nephilim took their hybrid forms.

Tyson now looked like a kid in a candy shop. He seemed fascinated by the angelic wings he saw, and reached out to touch Parisa's primaries. "Your wings are pretty."

With a cautioning stare from Percy, Parisa let Tyson touch her wing. It was the gentlest Percy had ever seen the young cyclops. Tyson treated the wings with utter reverence, as if he was afraid that doing more than stroking would break them or upset Parisa. Which it probably would - Parisa was quite particular about who touched her wings. Well, who touched her in general really. Call her clingy or cagey, that was just how it was.

"I'll go first, and when I land I'll call you to me. Follow that call with everything you have and flap your wings as hard as you can." Percy explained.

Parisa nodded.

Percy took hold of Tyson carefully so to not worry him. "Bend your knees, Tyson. You too, when you fly, sis. Helps with the landing."

Tyson bent his knees at the same time as Percy, and Percy launched himself and the gentle cyclops through space and time with a single flap. Considering Tyson's utter inexperience with flying he took it quite well, minus the throwing up. Thankfully for Percy's mom, Percy noticed Tyson about to toss his cookies and did a second teleport to the sink so Tyson barfed in it and not all over the floor.

Home, Percy closed his eyes and reached out for Parisa's primal fire. Taking hold of the spiritual cord bonding them, Percy yanked it as strongly as he could. Strangely enough, Percy felt Parisa take off. Actually, calling her felt more like he was pulling her through space and time rather than Parisa doing it all herself. That would explain why it was so easy to do when Day called him the first time. Sure enough, Parisa appeared out in the blink of an eye, almost falling flat on her face.

"You didn't mention that I would nearly fall on my face." Parisa deadpanned.

"Day didn't tell me that either, so I didn't want to spoil the surprise." Percy retorted, ditching his school bag in the bedroom and grabbing his and Parisa's camp bags, already pre-packed.

"Cailee never tripped."

"That you saw." Percy countered. "You good to go?"

Parisa zipped up her bag after a quick check through. "Yep. You going to camp first then pulling me?"

Percy nodded, walking over to Tyson again. "Yeah. I'll teach you to teleport independently at camp once we've settled in. Tyson, we've got to teleport again. You ready?"

"I not like it, but Percy is good friend." Tyson smiled, and let Percy get hold of him again.

Percy pictured Half Blood-Hill. The grassy slope. Thalia's Pine at the top. The place he'd defeated the Minotaur. One flap of his wings later and Percy stepped away as Tyson threw up again. He pulled Parisa to him and she arrived seconds later.

Camp Half-Blood definitely wasn't as they had left it.

For one thing, the moment Percy turned his Archangel Sight on the boundary he saw the barrier was incredibly weak now. Also, two bronze bulls the size of elephants were charging around, to and fro through the barrier like it wasn't even there. Lastly, Clarisse and Annabeth were leading armored campers against the bulls.

"Jacksons, get up here!" Clarisse hollered, clearly noticing them.

Bronze bulls? Today already sucked, why not go for the full ride?

Screw it, Percy decided.

"Cailee's mind moving mojo would be really handy about now." Parisa remarked with a voice full of cheek.

Percy shoved his little sister gently and said, "We can still take them apart. Come on."

"This might hurt." Parisa groaned to herself and both Nephilim started running at the bull that had seen them.

It charged to meet her, and she leapt as gracefully as a cat, kicking off its back. Riptide sprang into full form, and Percy drew the bull's attention off his sister by slashing it across the rear right leg as it went barrelling past. As it passed, Percy felt the sheer heat blazing from the bronze hide. It would burn anyone who touched it. Parisa's trainer was smoking on the bottom just from kicking off of the bull as she ran for the second one, Tyson not far behind her.

Percy's quick attack did little more than cut a gash in the surface metal plating, but it was clearly sufficient to catch the notice of the mechanical monster. Then Lucifer's son went to work keeping it distracted.

"Hey, bronzie! Come get me, you rusty bucket of bolts!" Percy taunted, readying himself.

The bull obliged him.

Percy leapt over the first attempt to gut him with a boost from his wings and smacked the flat of Riptide's blade against one of the bronze bull's horns. It might not be living, but it certainly had the programming to act like a living bull.

"Is that all you've got, McDonald's?" Percy jabbed, grinning like an idiot. "No wonder you don't make good monster burgers!"

The second swing of the mechanical beast's head had Percy perform a twisting backflip over it. He landed it, and clanged the sword against the bronze monster's side to annoy it again.

"You missed!"

Diving under its body and rolling out the other side as it went to gore him again, Percy thrust the sword beneath the plates of the bull's shoulder and into the mechanisms beneath, effectively crippling the joint. Pulling it out, he heard a camper yell, "GET CLEAR!"

Spying the camper in question, Annabeth with a jar of Greek fire in one hand and a dagger in the other, Percy launched himself up and away, putting the bull between himself and Annabeth and wrapped his wings around himself as a shield. The next thing he knew was an explosion of heat and a flare of green flames rushing over the bronze bull.

It was melted to slag in under a minute.

Percy landed in a heap. The explosion had thrown him off balance in the air. Pulling himself up off the ground, Percy picked up his sword from where he'd dropped it and surveyed the area. The second bull was buried headfirst in the ground by Tyson and Parisa was going to work hacking its head off with her knife. Percy retracted his wings into his back and capped Riptide.

Annabeth came striding up to him, a furious look on her face, her grey eyes flashing with anger. "What the Hades do you think you were doing?! You could have been killed!"

"Keto did worse." Percy replied with a shrug.

Annabeth looked like she wanted to argue that, but someone shut her up.

"Lay off, Wise Girl. Jackson's talent for pissing off gods and monsters allowed us to scrap both of the Colchis bulls." Clarisse grinned, pulling her helmet off. The daughter of Ares then turned to Percy with a grim smirk.

"You put some meat on your bones, Flashlight."

"Good to see you too, Clarisse." Percy greeted Clarisse, letting the burly girl pull him into a handshake that might've broken his hand if he was fully human.

"How did those bulls get through the barrier?" Percy asked once he had his hand back. "I thought Thalia's tree…"

Annabeth interrupted gently, as if she didn't want to burst his bubble.

"Percy, Thalia's tree has been poisoned. You didn't notice on your way in?"

Percy turned his sight to the massive pine. The needles were yellow and dead ones were all around the base of the tree. Right in the middle of the trunk at Percy's elbow height was a puncture like a bullet hole. Poisonous green sap was oozing out. The barrier was failing because Thalia's tree had been infected with… something.

He blinked and his Archangel Sight manifested again. Percy approached the tree and tentatively laid his hand on the bark. The poison was slowly but surely eating away at its vitality. But this poison… it was old, so old Percy could feel the millennia of its venom washing over him just by seeing it. Older than Enyo, but not quite older than the Big Three - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. It would not be so easily washed out or cured. It would take immense healing power, beyond that of what was available.

Percy pulled Parisa to him via their bond and his little sister was there immediately. She understood, and dabbed up a bit of the sap, sniffing it. Her green eyes burned with that primal dark brown light as she examined it.

"Elder Python venom - from Python himself." Parisa concluded, flicking the rancid sap off her fingers and wiping them on her pants.

"Who did it?" Percy asked. His voice was quiet, tense, dangerous.

"No idea." Clarisse answered shortly. "Come on, things have changed around here."

Boy, was Clarisse understating it.

The whole ecosystem of Camp Half-Blood looked sickly; paled and withering. Dryads with bows patrolled the border where the forest reached. Instead of playing games like volleyball and such, campers looked to be preparing for a siege. The forge was churning out weapons and campers were stockpiling them in the armory shed. No one stopped to say "Hi" or "Welcome back." Some gave Tyson a wary look, but it was no worse than those Percy and his siblings received from all but the Ares cabin and a few others last year.

It felt like an outdoor military school, not a summer camp.

And the worst part? Percy felt singled out. The campers glared when he and Parisa weren't looking - as if they were suspects for the poisoning. He could feel the spark of Parisa's irritation being stoked by every dirty look she noticed. Parisa felt hostility from them.

Chiron had been fired, and so had Argus. Chiron was gone already, replaced by some 'Tantalus' character. Speaking of the new activities director, they met him at dinner. Everyone filed in. Luke hadn't returned from New York yet, so the Stoll brothers were standing in for him. Several kids were missing from the Hermes cabin.

"Well if it isn't the Johnsons." Mr D drawled.

Percy didn't bother correcting the Olympian. Parisa did.

"That's Jackson to you."

Ohhhhh. Parisa seemed to share Percy's gift for pissing gods off. Mr D, thankfully, shrugged her off. Then Tantalus, sat where Chiron usually stood, spoke.

"Ah, the Nephilim." Percy's skin crawled with the way Tantalus said the name of his race. "Monstrous half-bloods as bad as the cyclops they've brought, eh?"

Tantalus was wearing a prisoner jumpsuit with the number 0001 on the front. He was old and decrepit - Percy imagined he could break Tantalus in half with ease - pale and thin, and looked as if he hadn't ate or slept for a very long time.

A loud flapping sound silenced the dining pavilion. Percy didn't need to turn around to know Day had appeared, shoulder to shoulder with him. But he turned his head anyway.

Day still looked pretty much the same. She had grown a little across the year, her physical age seeming to mirror or at least closely follow Percy's own. Day was wearing a sabbath dress the colour of the dawn sun instead of the pale gray gown she'd favored for a time - a gift from her mother. Overall, she looked well, if a bit tired. Her wings were away even though she'd just arrived. It seemed Day had learned some of her sister's tricks.

"Ah, Dandelion! I was wondering when you would arrive." Mr D appraised. He then turned to Tantalus. "This girl, you need to watch. She doesn't look it but she's an Angel of Heaven."

"And you don't look like a god, but here we are." Day riposted.

Parisa's glare earned Tantalus' attention next.

"Don't give me that look, child of Tartarus. Your kind were wiped out for a reason weren't they?" Tantalus goaded her.

Percy felt his sister's ire burn hot. Parisa feinted, as if to lunge at Tantalus, and her wings snapped out her back with the sound of a whip crack. Tantalus almost toppled over as he scooted back in his chair as much as he could. Fear contorted the frail old man's face. Not fear of being struck, or even of Tartarus. Fear of Parisa herself.

Parisa looked a bit happy with herself for scaring him and snapped her wings away, and she, Day, and Percy headed to the Heaven table with no further delays, unfortunately leaving Tyson with Mr D. They had to, camp rules.

"So how's your day been?" Percy asked Day as he idly picked at the pizza he was served.

"Tiring; I had combat training today." Day replied. She was eating, which Percy had never seen her do before.

"That doesn't sound so…"

"Thanatos pitted me against the Keres." Day interrupted Percy.

"Oh." Percy gulped.

The Keres. Fun. The Spirits of Violent Death wouldn't be a picnic to spar against, Percy imagined. By their name, Percy imagined they would very much enjoy tearing someone apart.

"Did you win?"

Day shook her head with a weary smile at Parisa's inquiry. "My spirit sisters don't have limits to their numbers and my strength isn't infinite. I couldn't win against them all. Thanatos healed me but you should have seen the state I was in by the time he called the match."

Not too long later, Tantalus had the conch horn blown to get their attention. Not as effective as Chiron's hoof stomp. It took awhile for the campers to stop talking.

"A very fine meal! Or, so I'm told." Tantalus announced once it was quiet. As he spoke, he tried to sneak a piece of food but the plate slid away from him. Percy stifled a laugh. "As always, it's a pleasure to be here. But today I am happy to announce there are some new changes!"

What else could possibly change?

"The chariot races are reinstituted! Yes, there were some unfortunate technical problems…" Percy was certain he heard someone grumble something about 3 deaths and 26 mutilations. "... some years ago, but the races are back now. Teams may register in the morning, and the first race is 3 days from now. You will be released from your regular activities to design and build the chariots, and the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for a month."

Clarisse raised the objection of the border patrol, and Tantalus not only brushed over it like it was nothing, but lauded Clarisse for "single-handedly besting the bronze bulls". Utter crap. Clarisse and Annabeth's patrol had distracted the bulls, but Annabeth, the Jacksons, and Tyson had been the ones to take them down.

"Now before we proceed to the campfire and have our singalong, Percy and Parisa Jackson have seen fit to bring this beast here," Tantalus gestured at Tyson.

Percy felt his temper rising, and so did Day.

"That old sot…" Percy growled before his guardian angel pulled him back into his seat and took his hand.

"The Olympians already fear your kind enough, Percy." Day told him warningly. "Don't be like the old Nephilim. Don't give them a reason to banish you from camp like Chiron and Argus."

Percy's attention was brought back onto Tantalus as the old man scooted backwards for the second time that evening, this time from Tyson. Swirling above Tyson's head was a glowing green trident. The symbol of Poseidon. Tyson had been claimed. He'd have to live in the Poseidon cabin, all alone. Day seemed to catch onto his thoughts pretty fast.

"Let me handle this." She whispered.

Day closed her eyes, and Percy hissed as her grip on his hand tightened. But he could feel her power moving from her body toward Tyson.

"What in Father's name?!" Mr D exclaimed.

Above the holographic trident, a new symbol exploded violently into life. This one was more than an image - it was a roaring ring of sun energy, devouring all the heat in the pavilion and throwing it back outward like a star. A halo.

Percy looked at Day, who opened her eyes with a smile. "What did you do?"

"I claimed Tyson the same way Michael claimed you and Parisa."

Cailee waited impatiently for Percy to answer the phone. When he finally picked up, her first words were,

"What happened today?"

"Ummm… got attacked by Canadian giants at school, Tyson's a baby cyclops, Thalia's tree has been poisoned, Chiron got fired and I'd like to break his replacement in half, Tyson's going to be living in the Heaven cabin with us, and Pari wants to know, and these are her words not mine so, when you're getting your ass here. That's the highlights. Lovely to hear from you too, by the way."

Cailee blinked. Not what she was expecting. Then again, her siblings could never be normal if their lives depended on it.

"I called because Mom's freaking out. You didn't leave a note." Cailee said. "I'll let her know you two are safe. I don't know when I'll be joining you."

"Right, you've got to meet your boyfriend." Percy teased from his end.

"Luke's not my boyfriend! Just wait till I get hold of you, you little lite brite!" Cailee hissed down the phone, flushing.

"Good luck doing that when you're liplocked." Percy jibed. Then he hung up.

That little… Cailee could flay her little brother alive right now! The sheer cheek he and Parisa had was astounding. For all the seriousness and responsibility Cailee herself showed, they seemed determined to be the opposite.

Cailee exited the bedroom and walked into the living room where her mom was. "They're at camp. They got attacked at school and probably went straight there."

Sally was visibly relieved.

"That's good. At least they're safe." Sally got up, looking at the clock. "Cailee, your date is in half an hour! Go get ready."

Cailee darted into her room before her mom could chase her in then headed right for her bed. Sure enough, the dress was where she'd left it laid out earlier, along with the accompanying tights, boots and jacket. It was just a black halterneck skater dress, but Cailee was still anxious about putting it on. It would be the most of her body she had shown in almost a year. The walls seemed to close in, but Cailee shut her eyes and focused on her breathing.

In… 1… 2… 3… 4… Hold… 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7... Out… 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6… 7… 8…

Cailee turned aside from the dress and did her makeup instead. That wasn't hard. It was her job to wear this stuff. Sure, she didn't have the artistic skill Ava did but Cailee didn't think she was too bad. She'd be teaching Parisa whenever her little sister finally chose to sneak into Cailee's makeup when she wasn't home and experiment. Makeup was fine.

But when she was done, Cailee had to tangle with the black dress on her bed. It was still there, as if mocking her.

Daylight wears this kind of thing every day, Cailee reasoned with herself. If an angel could wear a dress like this one every day, so could she, right? It went down to her knees and was sleeveless. It covered everything she needed it to. But when Cailee opened her eyes, the garment was glittering maliciously at her, as if to say 'You don't have what it takes'.

It's just a dress, Cailee told herself. You've worn dresses before.

Pulling up her anger at the irrational panic to drive herself, Cailee changed into the dress. It didn't bite her. Looking in the mirror, Cailee examined her reflection. She had to do a double take, because she didn't see who she was used to seeing in her reflection. Gone was the girl haunted by violation and shame. In her place was a beautiful young woman whose smile was a radiant dazzle, and that woman's eyes were sparkling with life and joy.

Good heavens, she looked good. And for once, Cailee felt it too. She felt on top of the world. She headed back to her mom with a couple minutes spare. The look of her mom's face was everything; joy, pride, and love.

"Sweetie, you look beautiful!"

Cailee pounced on her mom and wrapped the older woman in a zealous hug. "I feel like it too, Mom."

"Well then, you'd best not keep Luke waiting then." Sally said slyly, pushing Cailee towards the door. "Go get 'em, Tiger."

Cailee closed the door with a playful "Rawr." then proceeded to giggle her way to the elevator and practically punched the ground floor button in. She hadn't felt this joyful… well, ever! By the time the metal box reached the ground floor, Cailee was so excited she literally bounced out and exited the building, running straight into Luke.

"Good evening, milady." Luke greeted teasingly Cailee as he set her back on her feet. "Are you that eager to see me?"

"That depends…" Cailee teased right back.

"On?"

"On your behaviour."

Luke rolled his eyes playfully and directed Cailee to his car. It was a very nice car - one of the new sports cars that had come out this year. Cailee gave Luke a questioning look.

"Jaguar F-type Coupé, 5000cc engine, V8, supercharged, 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, top speed of 186 miles per hour." Luke declared proudly.

Cailee raised her eyebrow even as she got in. "And how much did it cost you?"

Luke shut the passenger door, jumped in the driver's seat, then casually remarked, "Somewhere in the range of fifty to eighty thousand dollars."

Cailee's jaw dropped.

"Who did you rob?" She demanded with a giggle.

"No one." Luke replied innocently as he pulled away into the traffic. "Would you believe me if I told you I was just really good at poker?"

"Only if you used your tricks." Cailee conceded, still smiling like she couldn't stop. She didn't want to. She noticed his shirt and slacks then. "Someone's dressed up tonight."

"Well I've got to keep up with a supermodel, so I try my best." Luke countered with his wicked smirk.

"I'm not a supermodel." Cailee protested.

Luke just laughed, and with a wink he said, "Could've fooled me."

Cailee blushed. Luke was way too good at this flirting business - she was definitely out of her depth. She'd have to try and pick up on his little tricks a bit more than she had been previously.

Luke drove them to a diner outside the city limits and, like a perfect gentleman, opened Cailee's door and escorted her in. It wasn't the high end restaurants you'd get on a fairytale dinner date, but Cailee liked it. It had a welcoming feel, and it seemed like a safe place. Out of the way, no drunken idiots, and Cailee could tell she wouldn't be having any panic attacks tonight. The staff were lovely too. Luke insisted that the chicken burger was excellent so she got one and Luke opted for a BBQ Bacon 'N' Cheese. But what Cailee enjoyed most was the outlandish tales Luke had from his years at camp.

"... so Chiron trots into the dining pavilion at dinner and, don't ask me how, but Travis and Conner have managed to get him into a bright red prom dress with a plunging neckline!"

Cailee covered her mouth as she almost smashed her head on the table in laughter. "No way!"

"Way!" Luke chuckled, holding his sides from his own mirth.

Cailee waited until her uncontrollable laughter was lessened enough to speak again before she remarked, "I would have paid good money to see that! But how did they get one that fitted him?"

"It beats me." Luke said, wiping tears from his eyes and Cailee's. "I still haven't found out to this day."

Luke glanced at the time. It was almost midnight.

"I should get you home before your mom comes chasing me down in her Prius."

"I'd like to see her catch you, with your fancy speed machine." Cailee shot back, tucking a rogue bit of hair behind her ear.

Luke counted out the bills and tucked the money under his empty glass, then got his jacket. "I'd go easy on her, but even if she did catch me you could just whisk us away with those wings of yours."

He had her there.

Cailee pulled on her own jacket and followed Luke to the door. As they exited, Luke called to the young man who'd delivered their food, "Cheers Landon! See you some time!"

"You got it, Luke!" Landon called back with a thumbs up.

Cailee giggled as soon as the door was shut. Luke turned around with a beaming smirk on his face.

"What?"

"You know people everywhere, don't you, good sir?" Cailee teased. To emphasise the point, she poked him in the chest.

"We all have friends." Luke retorted, still with that damnable smirk on his face.

Let's see if being bold throws him off, Cailee thought to herself.

She stepped into Luke's personal space, so close that her face was barely a foot from Luke's own. She heard his breathing speed up. She'd got him.

But Luke still managed to one-up her! He pulled her in to him gently, causing Cailee to yelp for a moment. She tried to glare at him, but he was too darn handsome to stay mad at, so Cailee settled for wrapping her arms around his neck. Their faces were only an inch apart now.

"I really enjoyed tonight." Cailee mused quietly.

Luke smirked even more. "Best night of your life?"

Cailee found herself a bit breathless, being so close to Luke. She still managed a reply, but she knew Luke could hear her blushing even if he couldn't see it.

"It's up there."

"I'll have to try harder then."

Another car pulling into the parking lot illuminated them both. Cailee could hardly see Luke's scar - it was just roguish, not wicked now. Her eyes wandered down to his lips. They were awfully inviting with that damnably confident smirk. Maybe…