Thanks so much to those of you who helped get me to 200 reviews! New goal… 250?

Also, thank you guys so much for the encouraging comments. I'm feeling pretty good at this point, with only a lingering cough which will hopefully go away soon. I'm ready to be able to leave my bedroom and go back out into the world.

Also also, does anyone watch the Mandalorian? Because holy crap… that last episode made me wonder if I secretly was an Athena child… arachnophobia and all that.

ALSO also also, tell me Percy and Annabeth don't give off the same energy as Sokka and Suki from ATLA. There's a reason those two couples are probably my favorites. Percabeth=Sukka

I do not own PJO/HOO.

I am a question to the world
not an answer to be heard
or a moment that's held in your arms
and what do you think you'd ever say
I won't listen anyway
you don't know me
and I'll never be what you want me to be

~I'm Still Here by John Rzeznik (Jim's Theme)~

.

Let me tell you about the last time I was tied up, while someone with a drawn sword approached me, fully intent on his sick, twisted idea of revenge.

Oh wait… that never happened, until now. Normal people don't typically deal with this kind of stuff, not even once in their lives. And if you did, well- you're probably not normal.

In a moment of strange irony, instead of Chrysaor sauntering towards me, I could suddenly picture my old high school bully, Kenny Horton, with his greasy brown hair sitting like a mop on top of his head. He rubbed his hands together, as he bared that ugly smile at me, like I was one of his famous 'science experiments'.

I could even hear his voice, lacking in all intelligence, "Woohoo, Luke- today we're gonna see how well your neck stands up to celestial bronze." I could tell you already, my neck would not fare well at all.

A chorus of screams and shouts brought me back to reality. Chrysaor was taking his sweet time with his approach, though his sword was already fully drawn. He seemed to be enjoying the moment to the fullest, as he listened to the sounds of my parents screaming.

I could see both of them struggling, their bonds not giving way to their incessant efforts.

"Luke!" My mother cried, as she actually managed to get to her feet, followed shortly by my dad. Whatever her desperate plan had been, the fact that her arms were immobilized meant it was doomed. Both of them were easily restrained by the Cynocephaly, who latched onto their arms, and held them back with spears on their throats.

No nightmare could have compared to the pain I felt when I saw my mother cry, or my father struggle in vain for a hopeless cause. No matter how powerful he supposedly was, there was only so much he could do without a weapon.

"Your acknowledgment of your son is touching," Chrysaor teased, as he drew ever closer, "But it will not save him from my wrath now."

Erica suddenly stepped forward into his path. "Wait," She held her hands up, "You never said anything about harming Luke." There was genuine surprise and concern in her voice.

"So?" The masked psycho said.

"This was not part of the deal," Erica growled, "I was told you just wanted them." She pointed at my parents. "We had an agreement- no harm came to anyone else."

"And in return you would get your reward and run off to live a life of security and never be heard from again, yada yada yada," Chrysaor mockingly finished for her, mimicking a mouth with his hand. "Sorry, little fool. The deal's changed. You can either accept it, or die." With that, he waved his hand, and two dog monsters grabbed Erica's arms, restraining her.

"That was not part of- " She squirmed around, trying to break free from her captors. "You promised! Cole said you promised!"

Chrysaor waved his hand again, and suddenly Erica was dragged away, through the army of monsters. Her screams became muffled.

"Erica!" I yelled, though I didn't have time to think about her for long. A sword was pointed at me, its tip no more than a few inches from my face. Chrysaor didn't say anything, he just smiled victoriously.

I knew I didn't have long. I turned to the side, and looked at Carolyn and Alek, who were both kneeling next to me. Alek was still staring off in the direction they had dragged Erica, his face contorted into several different emotions. Carolyn had put up a brave front, to her credit, but even she was beginning to crack. Her face was red, and tears were starting to flow faster with each second.

I felt guilty for dragging her along, and I wanted to tell her as much, but such words were impossible to produce. A fleeting smile on her part though told me everything; there was no point in spending our last few moments in regret.

Finally, I looked at my parents. It seemed like such a long time ago that they were the focus of my absolute abhorrence, when it reality, that was like last week or something. I despised them, even after I was claimed, and probably more so actually. I thought I was perfectly justified in my reasonings too, and yet- here I was.

Something had changed inside of me, and though it almost felt sudden, I knew it was anything but that. I first felt it begin, well- I couldn't tell you exactly where. As weird as it was to admit, Aphrodite might have known what she was doing after all.

It was a shame to think that I came all this way just for answers, and that I was now a few seconds away from ending up on the business end of some vengeful maniac's sword. Speaking of which…

Chrysaor glowered down at me. "This will bring me great pleasure, ending your life. Forcing my brother to watch as the light fades from his only child's eyes, before I ceremoniously end his own, along with that daughter of Athena."

A gruesome threat to be sure, but one word suddenly stuck out to me. Brother.

'You'd be surprised to know just who all you're related to.'

The words floated around in my head, as if taunting me with how ironically they had proven to be true.

"Wait!" I yelled, just as Chrysaor raised his sword. He paused in mid-air. I didn't wait for him to ignore my interruption. "Brother?" I repeated questioningly. If I could have seen his face under his helmet, I have no doubt Chrysaor would've been raising an eyebrow.

"What?" He spat, disgusted with the fact that I was still alive or something.

"You said 'your brother'. Surely you weren't talking about- "

"Yes, yes, your father," He replied, as if it should have been obvious that I was related to the dude with the ugliest sense of fashion since… well, name any modern fashion show. "He's a son of Poseidon. I'm a son of Poseidon. And we're all just one big happy family, NOT. Which is why I'm going to kill you now."

My eyes went wide with realization… maybe, all hope was not lost. That sword blade wasn't looking any less sharp though. I needed more time to figure out what I was doing… to plan… to save my parents. To save my friends. To save all of us.

Inexplicably, my (godly) grandmother's words came back to me, right after she had christened my trident. 'It is not your greatest weapon.' All this time, I had barely understood what she meant, if at all.

Sure, it would have been nice to have some actual power over water or something like that, but I was starting to realize that maybe I had some even better. Something only a child (or grandchild) of Athena could possess.

My mind started racing, and I felt more attuned than ever. You know those scenes in movies where someone is doing a lot of calculating and thinking and it shows the equations floating through the air as if the person were actually seeing them? That's what it felt like in those moments. I had never felt sharper.

Stall, was the name of the game. So I started laughing.

Everyone was looking around in bewilderment, as I chuckled (pretty loud and obnoxiously) for no apparent reason.

"Something funny?" Chrysaor asked in annoyance.

My eyes scanned the area as I feigned laughing still, searching… searching… found it. Our weapons- piled neatly on the ground less than ten yards away from where my parents where held. A glint of color caught my eye, and I zeroed in.

Riptide. Perfect.

It couldn't be much longer; I just needed to keep us all alive until then. I also needed to get the message across to my parents, make them aware of the plan without raising suspicion.

"I said," Chrysaor demanded, "IS SOMETHING FUNNY?"

I stopped laughing, and stared up at him with a hint of a grin. "A couple things actually."

He smiled, a fake one, showing he wasn't really in the mood to be humored. "Humor me. Last chance before I kill you."

"Well," I shrugged, "I guess there's no harm in it."

"Oh, there will be some harm soon, trust me."

"It's just," I got a faraway look in my eyes, "You ever think about how cruel the world can be sometimes?" Chrysaor tilted his head. I ignored him and continued on. "I mean, take you for example. You've gone to all this trouble, waited all these years to get your precious 'revenge', and yet, at the end of the day, you're still gonna end up on the end of my father's sword."

I wasn't sure whose face was more confused. Chrysaor's or my dad's.

"That's a good one, boy," Chrysaor chuckled, "Is that supposed to scare me?"

"It should," I retorted, "Have you ever seen Riptide? Some crazy magical properties that thing has." I glanced subtly in my parent's direction, hoping they were getting the secret message.

My father looked as clueless as ever, of course. My mother, at least, was narrowing her eyes. I smiled secretly inside my head. She knew. Only thing was, this plan only worked if my dad was on the same page.

Chrysaor was really getting a good laugh out of my antics at this point. "Have I seen Riptide? Seen and defeated, I should say. Just ask your father what happened the last time we faced off."

"Still," I continued, "A mighty fine weapon it is. And you know what they say about good weapons? They should never leave your pocket."

My father's sea-green eyes went wide with realization, and suddenly we were in business. Now, it was simply a waiting game. Time to enact phase two.

"Enough of this," Chrysaor bellowed, raising his sword once again.

"Hold up," I yelled, "I did say there two things I was laughing about, did I not?"

Cole suddenly stepped forward. "Sir, I don't think it's such a good idea to let this boy go on speaking- "

"Silence," Chrysaor shouted, holding his hand up as a way to tell the other demigod to shut his mouth.

I subtly breathed a sigh of relief. Cole could have ruined everything. Chrysaor leered down at me, his sword hanging at his side, but still ready for action at any moment.

"Go on," He requested, "I see no issue in savoring this moment just a little bit longer."

"Well," I spoke confidently, "It seems that your compatriot here," I pointed my chin in Cole's direction, "Forgot to inform you of some very, shall we say, important information."

Chrysaor looked begrudgingly at the 'oh-so-trustworthy' son of Zeus. Then back to me.

"Oh yeah? And what's that exactly?"

I peeked at the pile of weapons. Riptide was still there.

Keeping my panic under wraps, I looked up at Chrysaor and smirked. "I guess he forgot to mention one very special prophecy."

"Prophecy?" I could see his eyes flamingly ignite under his helmet. "What prophecy?"

"The one that sent me on this quest to begin with," I replied, somewhat enjoying the pale blankness that had swept over Cole. Gazing him down right in the eyes, I began to quote those words that had changed my life not too long ago.

"The son of the Chariot goes boldly west."

My parents watched on in anticipation. I could see their eyes; both pairs brewing up their own storms within. It made the hairs on my neck stand up.

"To find the lost heroes of the greatest quest."

Chrysaor snarled at me, and he slowly started to raise his weapon. I didn't waiver though.

"Before the day of Athena's advent."

The pen was still there on the ground. I figured it couldn't be much longer, but I still needed more time. All around me, the Cynocephaly shifted anxiously, as if they too felt the electricity in the air.

"Lest success greet the one who revenge intents."

Chrysaor tilted his head, his sword paused in midair. No doubt he was curious to see where I was going with this.

"The curse blows through the godless land."

I felt Carolyn, and even Alek shift beside me, as if they too had caught on to what I was trying to do. I glanced at my parents again, and noticed my father, even with his hands still tied, working one into his pocket. He was simply waiting for the moment.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cole follow my gaze. His eyes bulged out. He probably realized along with everyone else what was going on.

I didn't care. I smiled up at Chrysaor.

"For the son of Poseidon's final stand."

The helmeted swordsman shifted slightly, and he lowered his sword hand, which was all the time I needed.

"Hey!" Cole yelled, trying to get the attention of the monsters guarding my parents.

I huffed. He was too late. The pen had already disappeared off the ground. In a split-second glance, I met my mother's eyes, and saw something in them that I could never have dreamed of seeing once upon a time. Pride… directed at me.

"You see Chrysaor," I spoke again, this time with a little pride of my own in my voice, "A certain someone used to say, 'Even strength has to bow down to wisdom sometimes.'"

The schling of metal could be heard suddenly, and Chrysaor whipped around just in time to see my father, with his hands still tied, expertly cutting my mother's bonds. Before the Cynocephaly could even react, she roundhouse kicked the one that had been restraining her, with an agility that should not have been possible for a woman her age.

The monster guarding my dad stood no chance once she grabbed the discarded spear. And before you could even say the word 'chariot', both of my parents stood with their hands free and a weapon each… which sounds great, except that they were still surrounded by Cynocephaly, and hopelessly outnumbered.

"A valiant effort," Chrysaor mocked, "But still short-lived."

He waited. Nothing happened.

"Well?" He shouted at the Cynocephaly, who had just been standing there. "Get them!"

Raising their weapons, the monsters closed in the circle surrounding the two demigods. My dad, seemingly unbothered, stretched his arms out, as if waking up from a long nap.

"Haven't done this in a while," He said jokingly, before raising his arms.

The ground began to shake and rumble, as if an earthquake were bearing down on us. And yet, for some reason, I had never felt safer. (Oof… can't believe I said that.)

All around us, water erupted, creating a wall of spewing geysers. I watched as the ground began to crack all around us, such that a crevice formed in almost a perfect circle surrounding the entire army of Cynocephaly. Some fell as the snowy ice gave way under their feet, while others scattered in a panic. Most of the army was still there however, and thirsty for a fight.

When I looked around, I saw that our little patch of ice had been separated from the rest, creating a small island, or iceberg, I guess. At that point, we had no choice but to fight. Winners take all.

I was happy my plan had worked out up to this point, but unfortunately, the odds were still fairly grim. My parents were facing down a hundred dog-headed monsters with spears, and now Chrysaor himself stalked towards them, the tip of his sword playfully dragging through the snow.

"I will admit," He spoke casually, as if he didn't even take notice of the recent developments, "I'm getting a little déjà vu at the moment. But if you think I'm going to let this turn out like last time, I'm afraid you're seriously mistaken."

All I could do was watch and pray, as a grey-eyed daughter of Athena, and a green-eyed son of Poseidon, prepared to make (quite possibly) their final stand.

..

A lot of you seem to think you know how its going to turn out regarding the prophecy already… and all I gotta say is, prophecies are weird man. You never know who's gonna end up… well, you get the idea

*wink wink*