The aftermath of the Battle of Manhattan. Shit gets calm…er. Hope you enjoy.

"Uh…"

"Fay! We need to get to camp!"

I held up my hands, stopping Thalia's rant.

"Hang on…Rachel…stole Percy's pegasus?"

"Yes! She's heading for camp, and Peleus will eat her!"

This seemed to shock me out of my confusion.

"Well, then. Thalia, we need to focus. Stop dilly-dallying."

Before she could even think about hitting me, I headed to the road. It was largely empty still, only a few cars in the road. Thalia hurried up behind me, and said,

"How are we getting there?"

I grinned and patted my car keyring. Thalia looked at it, then looked up at me.

"No?!"

"Yes."

"That's a real car?"

"Uh huh."

"What?!"

I grabbed the keyring, and placed it on the road. Then I pressed the button twice. First, the hologram sped up and transformed, and then the solid material took its place. All the while, Thalia watched, speechless. I walked up to the fully formed car, and opened the shotgun seat, waving my hand like a butler.

"After you, miss."

She bounded forward.

"Wow! How long have you had this?!"

I walked round and got into the driver's seat before replying.

"Just over a year."

She gaped at me.

"Just over a…and you just decided to mention it?"

I frowned as the car hummed to life.

"What? When? While fighting Koios? Oh, by the way Thals, I have a car?"

She blushed, and I gently pushed her shoulder, laughing. She muttered something that sounded like, 'Shut up and drive'. So, I decided to try a feature. I didn't exactly know what to do, but spoke confidently,

"Create tracking path."

The car whirred louder, then an automated voice replied,

"What is the destination?"

I grinned; Thalia looked flabbergasted. The voice sounded like female Australian Siri. I have no idea why it was Australian. Or female. I coughed slightly, then said,

"Camp Half-Blood."

I had no idea if it knew where that was, as Camp was magical, but apparently Hephaestus thought of that. The car's dashboard glowed slightly, then projected a yellow line onto the road. It travelled up Fifth Avenue and turned a corner out of sight. Thalia stared at it.

"Is that actually…"

She opened the window, and poked her head out. I knew she couldn't see it. She brought her head back in, and said,

"This is so awesome."

"I am awesome."

She laughed and said,

"Drive already."

So I did. I took the lack of cars as an excuse to break even more speeding regulations, and sped down the empty roads of Manhattan at as fast as I could manage. Thalia was…a giant scaredy cat. She clutched the sides of her chair and repeatedly yelled,

"Slooow down!"

However, I reached Camp Half-Blood in record time. We both exited the vehicle and I quickly clicked my celestial bronze key twice. The car shrank down and I scooped it up, running after Thalia as she ran up Half-Blood Hill. Over by the Big House, I saw green light glowing out of all the windows and a certain redhead was standing on the porch steps, arms raised. I saw Percy and Annabeth running over as well, and sped up.

I reached the porch as I heard Chiron say,

"I know what I said, Percy. But I was wrong. Rachel had a vision about the curse of Hades. She believes it may be lifted now. She convinced me she deserves a chance."

Percy's voice was frantic.

"And if the curse isn't lifted? If Hades hasn't got to that yet, she'll go crazy!"

I ran forward. I had no idea what was going on, and so asked,

"What curse of Hades?"

Chiron turned to answer but Percy beat him to it.

"Hades curse the mummy that she'd be oracle until Hades was welcomed as an Olympian. Rachel thinks the curse is broken."

I frowned.

"But…Hades was welcomed. Remember? Up on Olympus? He was cheered and applauded."

The Mist had swirled around Rachel as Percy stared at me. He opened his mouth and frowned, then spun. He cried out and ran forward, but was blasted backwards. Annabeth ran over to see him. The Mist almost entirely enveloped the farm house, then the Oracle appeared. She looked bad, and for a decaying mummy, that was bad. Her hair was falling out in clumps. Her leathery skin was cracking like the seat of a worn-out bus. Her glassy eyes stared blankly into space, but it looked like Rachel had called her there.

The redhead (Rachel, not the mummy…weirdos) held out her arms, looking confident.

"You've waited too long. But I'm here now."

The sun blazed, and a man appeared above the porch. I didn't even need to look up to know who.

"Apollo."

He flashed a grin at me and held his finger to is lips.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he said. "You have the gift of prophecy. But it is also a curse Are you sure you want this?"

Rachel nodded.

"It is my destiny."

"Do you accept the risks?"

"I do."

"Then proceed."

Rachel closed her eyes. I felt the atmosphere change slightly, like something was waiting to enter Rachel. She suddenly spoke,

"I accept this role. I pledge myself to Apollo, the god of oracles. I open my eyes to the future and embrace the past. I accept the spirit of Delphi, voice of the gods, speaker of riddles, sear of fate."

I knew Rachel was patient, but whether she had memorised this or was being given it, I had no idea. With every word, the green mist thickened around her. A green column of smoke, like a huge python, uncoiled from the mummy's mouth and slithered down the stairs, curling affectionately around Rachel's feet. The Oracle's mummy crumbled, falling away until it was nothing but a pile of dust and an old rainbow dress. Mist encircled Rachel in a column around her. She disappeared from view, then the smoke cleared.

She collapsed into the foetal position, and me, Percy, Annabeth, Thalia and I noticed Nico, rushed forward. Apollo held up his arm.

"Stop! This is the most delicate part."

Percy looked scared.

"What's going on? What do you mean?"

Apollo gazed at Rachel, concern on his face.

"Either the spirit takes hold, or it doesn't."

I frowned and Annabeth asked,

"And if it doesn't?"

Apollo looked nervous.

"Five syllables. That would be real bad."

Despite Apollo's warning, Percy ran forward, and knelt down by Rachel. I walked forward as well. The Mist had sunk into the ground, and Rachel was barely breathing. Then her eyes fluttered open. She looked up at us as if her vision was blurry, squinting.

"Percy? Fayden?"

"Are you ok?"

She tried to sit up, and clutched her temples.

"Ow."

Nico spoke, and he looked worried.

"Rachel. Your aura almost completely faded. I could see you dying."

She shook her head.

"I'm alright. Please, help me up. The visions…they're a little disorienting."

Me and Percy grabbed each shoulder, and helped her up as she limped over to the banisters on the porch. Apollo drifted down.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi."

"You're kidding," said Annabeth.

Rachel managed to smile slightly.

"It's a little surprising to me too, but this is my fate. I saw it when I was New York. I know why I was born with true sight. I was meant to become the Oracle."

Percy stared at her.

"You mean you can tell the future now?"

"Not all the time," she admitted. "But there are visions, images, words in my mind. When someone asks me a question, I…ugh…oh no…"

Apollo spoke up.

"It's starting."

Rachel doubled over, as if someone had punched her. Then she stood up straight and her eyes glowed serpent green. When she spoke, her voice sounded tripled, as if three Rachels spoke at once:

'Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,

To storm or fire the world must fall.

History repeats itself, Hated by Fate,

The power of loved one's lost, before it is too late.

An oath to keep with a final breath,

And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.'

At the last word, Rachel collapsed. Me and Percy caught her and helped her back up. Her skin felt clammy and feverish. When she spoke, her voice was normal.

"I'm alright."

I looked over and Apollo.

"What was that?"

The sun god lowered fully to the floor, his sandalled feet touching the grass. He looked around, the said,

"I believe, that we just heard the next Great Prophecy."

"What does it mean?"

Seriously Percy. If a prophecy made sense, it wouldn't be a prophecy. Rachel frowned.

"I don't even remember what I said."

Apollo smiled.

"No. The spirit will only speak through you occasionally. The rest of the time, our Rachel will be as she's always been. There's no point grilling her, even she has just issued the next big prediction for the future of the world."

Percy seemed scared. I guess the idea of another Great Prophecy in his life, and for a matter of fact, I felt the same way, worried him.

"What? But…"

Apollo interrupted.

"Percy. I wouldn't worry too much. The last Great Prophecy about you took almost seventy years to complete. This one may not even happen in your lifetime."

I thought about what Rachel had said. About the 'Hated by Fate' and the 'Doors of Death'.

"Hmm. I wouldn't want to be the next generation."

Apollo laughed.

"No! I certainly wouldn't. Been the Oracle for five seconds, and she's issued a life threatening, world ending prophecy. She'll be great!"

Everyone seemed to disperse after that, at Apollo's silent command, except Percy. He stayed behind as I walked around camp with Thalia. I looked at her, and said,

"Weird, not being a Hunter?"

She shrugged.

"Not really. Kinda. I was a Hunter and Camper for around the same time, so…"

I nodded.

"Well. Now, you're stuck with me forever!"

I grabbed her waist and lifted her up, spinning her around. She yelled and kicked her legs, before managing to hook hers around mine, sending my flying over her back, although she soon followed. She lay on top of me, and grinned.

"You threatening me with a good time?"

I smirked.

"A great time."

Thalia laughed, shaking her head and rolling off, holding out her hand. As I allowed her to pull me up, she said,

"You really don't think little of yourself, do you?"

I grinned.

"What, when I have all this?"

I gestured to my body. Thalia laughed and pushed me over. Even sprawled in the ground, I still laughed. Springing up, I grabbed her and rolled her to the floor. In no time, we were wrestling. It didn't take long for Thalia to come out on top, and smirked down on me. She started to brag, but I leaned up and kissed her. Her words were immediately cut short with a stifled yelp and she leaned down. Then, I peeked one eye open, and glanced around. The canoe lake was less than a metre away.

What?

Still kissing her, I closed my eyes, and ever so slightly shifted. Then I instantly broke away, and shoved, hard. She cried out in shock, and then spluttered as she was submerged. I howled with laughter on the edge, and as she came up glaring, I clutched my stomach laughing so hard. Unfortunately, I had closed my eyes to do this, and suddenly felt what seemed to be wet tentacles lifting me. My eyes shot open, and I saw the water had lifted up, hovering me over the lake. I twisted. Percy was laughing behind me, his arms out.

"Percy!"

The son of Poseidon smirked and replied,

"An eye for an eye,"

In a really 'supervillain' way, then dropped me. I splashed into the water, and couldn't even think before I felt Thalia lunging, pushing us both into the water. We struggled underwater, but it seems I triumph in submerged unarmed combat, having grabbed her, and pinned her against the side of bank. She struggled, then finally stopped. I raised an eyebrow, and she muttered,

"Fine, you win."

I laughed at her defeated expression, then hauled her out of the water, climbing out after her. Percy smiled at us, then we suddenly dried.

"Cheers."

He nodded, then said,

"It's dinner, but Chiron lost the horn."

I raised an eyebrow, and Percy grinned.

"I have no idea. Come one."

He turned and walked off, both of us maybe ten steps behind. When we got to the Dining Pavilion, I decided to sit with Thalia. There was obviously no Kronos table, and I had always been able to walk among the tables, so no one even batted an eyelid. It was quiet while everyone ate, the only thing of note happening was when Juniper ran forward yelling,

"GROVER!"

And flying tackled her boyfriend to the ground, earning cheers and whoops all around. As we all dismissed ourselves, I nudged Thalia, pointing. Percy had stayed at the Poseidon table, Annabeth walking over, with what looked like a blue brick. She seemed to get my silent message, and we both crept back round, trying to hear them. What was surprising, was we weren't the only ones. At least 15 other campers had hid just outside the torchlight as the night fell, almost invisible to the oblivious pair. I had got close enough to hear them as Annabeth said,

"You know I'd kick your butt."

Percy brushed what looked like blue cake crumbs off his hands. Then he gulped, and said,

"When I was in the River Styx, turning invulnerable…Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."

Annabeth was looking away, trying to hide embarrassment.

"Yeah?"

"Then up on Olympus," he said, "When they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking,"

"Oh, you so wanted to."

Percy smiled.

"Well, maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought…I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. And I was thinking…"

He trailed off, and I smiled. Finally, Percy was being smooth. Finally. I nudged Thalia, grinning as she looked on in anticipation.

"Anyone in particular?"

Annabeth's voice was soft and gentle. Percy looked over and saw she was trying hard not to smile. He frowned at her, saying,

"You're laughing at me."

"I am not."

"You are so not making this easy."

Then she finally laughed, and put her hands around his neck. I felt like a small girl watching Love Island, waiting for my OTP to kiss.

"I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

Then she kissed him, and I saw Percy short circuit. I whooped with joy as Clarisse, who surprisingly was watching as well, said,

"About time."

The two looked around, and it seemed like the torchlight was bending to reveal us. I was standing out in the front, grinning as Percy mock glared at me.

"Oh, come on! Is there no privacy?"

Clarisse looked gleeful.

"The lovebirds need to cool off!"

"The canoe lake!" Connor Stoll shouted.

We all converged on the pair, and I was the one to pick up Percy, Annabeth being held aloft by Thalia and a few others. We all marched down the hill, keeping them close enough together to hold hands. Everyone was laughing, including the OTP on my shoulders. We walked to the bank of the lake, and threw them in. Everyone cheered as the sank to the bottom, and I rolled my eyes as I saw a forcefield materialise around them, and the two ripples move closer together. I leaned over to Thalia, and I could say this easily as I'd finally got together,

"Finally!"

She laughed and nodded, replying,

"Finally."

Camp lasted another two weeks longer than it usually did, right up to the start of the school term. I was a year rounder, so merely watched as many campers everyday said their farewells and left up the hill. Percy, Annabeth, me and Thalia basically became the Aphrodite cabin's new obsession, the demi-titan and the ex-Hunter, as well as the One True Pairing that everyone at camp shipped since they knew the two. No one else seemed to care, but…Aphrodite cabin gotta Aphrodite cabin. No one really trained or anything, although I got a lot of comments of my training with Athena. Annabeth had had a small conversation about that:

"Um…"

"Yeah. I know."

"She'll beat you up."

"Yep. However, I'll have hung around her more than you."

My voice had a mischievous tone and my eyes glinted, but Annabeth still punched me, saying,

"Stop being an idiot."

I laughed and answered,

"I'll never stop doing that."

My imitation of her voice made her blush, and I punched her back. This led to a full-on fight, and we both ended up in the infirmary for the evening, sporting yellow bruises, but that's how we said hello most days.

Athena hadn't got back to me, but I wasn't worried. Truth be told, I really just wanted to not insult Zeus, and after what Luke had said about my sword skills, I wanted to be even better.

And I wanted to beat Artemis.

Or at least last longer than twenty seconds.

That sounded wrong.

Anyway, with no one training, it was basically just two weeks of celebration. A practical joke war sprung up between Hermes and Ares, and I was supporting both with ideas and supplies, telling both that I was backing them alone. I'd buy some things of Hephaestus, then pick the cabin losing the war, sell the supplies at twice the price and also sold prank ideas. Both sides thought I was backing them, when really, I was profiting from the war itself.

It took at least a week and a half before Annabeth realised why the thing was going on so long, and ratted me out. I was then subject to a war between me versus Ares and Hermes, which sucked. I still made about 5 talents or 30,000 drachmae. That sounds like a lot, but $1 is about 286 drachmae, so I really had about $104. Still, I became the bank of Camp Half-Blood. Then proceeded to make even more on interest, based on my ability to reverse the effects of whatever my leant money did if I wasn't paid back. Chiron finally caught on just before the final day, as I was approaching 60 talents, or $1257.84. Basically, I was rich, compared to everyone else at Camp. And Chiron shut down my black-market scam, like the good, law-abiding horse that he is. I still supply mini cabin wars to earn a little illegal profit.

What? Don't judge me. Money is awesome, especially with me also spreading rumours about different cabins to start rows.

Basically, I became an asshole. A rich asshole.

Thalia found it amusing, and I paid her a small amount anyway, because I'm just that nice. When the day arrived for Percy and Annabeth to leave, I had almost 167 talents, which was roughly 1,000,000 drachmae, or $3494. An Ancient Greek city state could have been happy with that. Nowadays? Well, its $3494. Not very much, but in Camp Half-Blood? Rich. Where was this stored? Where did it come from?

I'll answer the second. Camp made money for farming and selling Strawberries, to keep our alias up and pay for projects. The campers that helped got a small sum. I merely took that sum by a long string of shady business dealings.

I'm an asshole. We've established this.

It had been three months, and I actually had more money that stored in the Big House, so used my IOU with Apollo to make him give me a credit card. It was enchanted, so while in the mortal world, it read as storing 1,002,000 drachmae, but no matter where I went, it would convert to the currency as I spent it.

I just told you the first question. Damn.

By the way, if you haven't realised yet, this is a joke.

Not the money-making thing. I really am that rich. Just the 'me being an asshole'. I deliberately stopped so Camp could actually have money to build structures and start projects. I only took a little and often.

Anyway, I got bored as Winter approached, having milked everyone at Camp, and shared it with Thalia (She was my bodyguard). So, we both decided to try and prank visit Percy in his school.

We both travelled into Manhattan using my car, and parked up outside his high school, Goode High School. I exited the car, and headed for the teacher's entrance.

"You ready?"

Thalia grinned, and nodded. When we were buzzed in, someone behind a glass window asked us our name, and why we were visiting. Thalia raised her hand, and snapped her fingers.

"We are the new teachers for the Sophomore's. Professor Grace and Mr. Thatch."

The woman's eyes glazed and said,

"Welcome. The class is about to start."

Now, supposedly, Percy was currently in History class at this time, so we had had the Athena cabin drill the hell out of us so we knew our shit. I paid for silence. Wearing disguises- I had a fancy suit on, and wore sunglasses; Thalia wore a neat skirt and simple shirt, wearing fake reading glasses and so much makeup I actually saw the difference in her cheek bones, complements to Aphrodite cabin- we headed for the class. Every teacher we met got 'Misted' by Thalia. She had just done it, as I said,

"Another one misted."

"Stop saying that!"

I grinned as Thalia mock glared at me. Finally, we reached the classroom. I adjusted the folders in my arms, and nodded at Thalia, who took a deep breath. We decided to run test runs on our fake accents. I had figured out how to change the gender of my 'Siri' in my car, but nothing else, so we were both Australian.

"Gooday gooday, Professor Grace. How do you do?"

"I'm very well, thanks. You?"

We grinned. Perfection. Then pushed open the door and walked in. Because Thalia's disguise was less convincing, she was the Teacher, and could hide behind the computer screen, while I was the assistant.

I instantly spotted Percy, third row back and four from the left wall, he looked up along with everyone else as 'the new teachers' walked in. This was about to be the hardest part, as Thalia would have to show her face. Hopefully makeup being there at all would throw him, but still.

"Gooday, everyone! My name is Professor Grace. I am your new History teacher."

I stepped forward.

"And I am Mr. Thatch. I'm her assistant."

We were both almost nineteen, so could pass as adults. No one batted an eye. Well, each of the opposite gender drooled at us respectively, Percy included, gazing at my girlfriend's legs. I'm going to kill him for that. Thalia sat down behind the desk, and started taking the register. After a short while, she said,

"Jackson, Percy."

Percy called out,

"Here."

I peered at Percy in hopefully the same way Dr. Thorn had two years ago, and said,

"Perseus Jackson?"

It worked. Instantly, Percy frowned. He never told any school his real name. Sure enough, his hand drifted to his pocket, where I knew he carried Riptide, I had sunglasses on, but still…Percy would pay attention to me more now. This was amazing. Thalia started talking about the American Civil War. After about twenty minutes, a girl got up to ask for the loo. She was actually quite pretty, but also looked rather dumb. Perfect monster prey.

"Please, Professor Grace? Can I go to the loo?"

Thalia nodded. I waited for the girl to leave, before saying to Thalia,

"I need to leave as well."

She smirked behind a sheet of paper, and nodded. I left the room, following the girl. Again, I heard Percy said,

"Professor Grace?"

Then I heard Thalia reply annoyed, and footsteps behind me. I turned and saw Percy heading towards me, hand in pocket.

"Mr…Jackson?"

He nodded, stopping in front of me.

"What are you doing here…Perseus?"

He frowned, a half glare.

"Why do you call me that?"

"Is it not your name? Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Jackson and…"

I lowered my sunglasses slightly, and Percy didn't even look at my eyes as I said.

"Poseidon."

His pen was instantly out of his pocket, but not yet a sword. He raised it, and said,

"Who are you!"

An Australian female voice sounded out behind him.

"What is going on here, Mr Jackson?"

He turned quickly, and said,

"Nothing Professor Grace. Mr Thatch just wanted to have a talk with me."

Thalia grinned at me; a movement Percy saw. His thumb and forefinger hovered over the cap of his pen, and we couldn't help it. Reverting to our normal accents, we burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHA!"

"HAHAHA!"

"Oh, god. His face!"

"I know!"

Percy was looking seriously confused. I shook my head, tears in my eyes, and back in an Australian tone, said,

"Mr Jackson. Wait here."

Then me and Thalia walked off into the teacher's bathroom. I pocketed the sunglasses (They were actually pretty sweet Ray-Bans the Aphrodite guys got me), and Thalia walked over to the sink, still laughing, and washed off her makeup. She binned her fake reading glasses, then said,

"Let's go give him a heart attack."

I grinned, and we both left. When Percy saw two of his friends where his teachers once were, he looked like a fish. Mouth wide open, eyes bulging, completely speechless. We doubled over in laughter again.

"HAHAHA! Your face"

"We got him!"

Percy was astonished.

"Wha…ho…what the…why…"

Finally, he got a sentence together.

"What on earth are you doing here?!"

Thalia wiped tears from her eyes.

"We decided to prank you. We were bored."

Percy just stared. Then finally,

"How much effort did you put into this?"

I glanced at Thalia, then grinned, saying,

"About a month's worth of History lessons, and a three-hour makeover from the Aphrodite kids."

He gawped at me. We burst out laughing again.

"But…but…where is the real History teacher?"

"We killed him."

Thalia said it with such a straight face, Percy took ten seconds before saying, with a deep breath,

"Where is he?"

I grinned again, my mouth in a never-ending upturned position.

"It's a she, and she's not even coming today. You should have a free period. Thalia misted the teachers."

She slapped me and said,

"Stop calling it that!"

Percy was now glaring at us.

"You made me miss a free period! You guys…"

He had sighed exasperatedly as he slumped. I burst out laughing again, then said,

"Come on. Skive school for an hour. We'll catch up."

Percy shook his head.

"No. My mom will kill me. You guys, get outa here, you idiots."

I looked at Thalia, then raised my hands.

"Ok, ok."

We both turned, still grinning and headed for the doors. Just as Percy turned around, I sped him up slightly, so when he took what he thought was a step forward, he suddenly ran into the opposite wall, as a teacher walked down the corridor.

"Jackson! No running in the corridors! I've told you this!"

I ducked round the corner laughing as Thalia grinned, not bothering to see Percy's glare.

We sped back to camp, laughing at the short tale and couldn't wait to tell Connor and Travis. They had erected a large poster on the wall in the Hermes cabin for the best pranks pulled, and my magical phone will have taken photos. So far, the Golden Mango was top spot. I'd say we have a competitor.

It was maybe…a few weeks after that incident…why do I keep doing this?! Sense of mystery? It was two weeks, three days, 20 hours, 34 minutes and 47 seconds since that incident. 48 seconds.

I'll stop.

Anyway, I was bored. So, I decided to try and ask Thalia out on a date. I say try, because she doesn't exactly like hanging out outside camp, but, still. Brave face on.

I was training with Clarisse when the thought occurred. She had swung towards my head in a diagonal swipe, a move I could block in my sleep, and nearly took my head off.

"Woah! Fayden!"

I looked up at her.

"What are you doing? Raise your guard!"

I grinned. Only Clarisse could tell me off because she'd almost killed me. I coughed and said,

"Sorry. I just had an idea."

Clarisse lowered her blade.

"What idea?"

"I'm going to take Thalia on a date."

Clarisse coughed violently and stared at me; eyebrows raised.

"Thalia? On a date?"

I nodded.

"You do know…Thalia isn't really the date type."

I nodded again.

"Yeah. I'll try my luck. Maybe butter her up or something."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. Then she said,

"Hey, have you seen Annabeth?"

I shook my head, frowning. Clarisse looked around, as if she thought someone could hide in the large circle of empty flat ground that is the arena.

"She's mad at Percy."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"He was supposed to meet her back at camp three days ago. He hasn't turned up. She can't even IM him, for some reason."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Hmm. He better be planning a surprise date or something, otherwise he's dead. Anyway…"

I noticed Clarisse looked worried, which was surprising, considering she hated Percy. I pointed this out, as she scowled.

"I don't care if prissy's missing…it's just, you know…strange."

I grinned.

"Sure."

Before she could argue, I stood and said,

"Well. That was…you still suck."

Clarisse forgot about hurting me and laughed, standing... then punched my arm.

"Yeah, compared to you. You're having lessons with Athena. When's your second one, by the way?"

I grinned, and counted on my fingers.

"She's annoying. She keeps slipping and saying the days and months in Ancient Greek. She said…um…her birthday during Pyanepsiōn. Which is…October?"

Clarisse nodded, saying,

"So, nearly five days."

I frowned.

"When's her birthday?"

Clarisse rolled her eyes, then patted me on the shoulder.

"It's a good thing you can fight with a sword."

I pushed her playfully, saying,

"When's her birthday?"

She grinned, then said,

"Honestly. It's the third of the month! So, 3rd of October…in five days."

I grumbled, raising my hands in protest,

"How am I supposed to know! Stupid goddess…just stick to the modern calendar!"

Clarisse laughed, and proceeded to push me out of the arena, calling after me as I stumbled onto the grass,

"Good luck with your date!"

"I haven't even asked!"

She turned, calling back,

"And I'm already wishing you luck! You're screwed!"

I grumbled something about unhelpful friends, then walked off. I knew Thalia was down by the archery range. Her skill didn't just vanish when she stopped being a Hunter, but she had to practise. From where I was, I was heading downrange, walking up to where she was firing. If she missed, she'd still not hit me. I was too far away, but it would be close. I walked up behind a target, and clenched my fist. Just in time, I heard the familiar twang of an arrow, and walked out from behind the target. Both archer and arrow were frozen, and I positioned myself in front of the arrow, snatching it out of the air. Holding it up as if I'd just caught it, I unfroze her. She gasped and dropped my bow. I had, in her eyes, appeared out of thin air, in the way of her arrow, but had caught it.

"Fayden!"

I burst out laughing, but jogged over. She was glaring at me, but all I had to do was pout with my arms out, and she hugged me, saying,

"I wish I could say no to you."

I laughed, and pulled away. I picked up her bow, then stepped up to her, reaching round to her back to slide the arrow back into the quiver. I could feel her amused breath on my chin. When I stepped back, she raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"Really?"

"What?" I replied innocently.

She rolled her eyes, and said,

"So, what you 'ere for?"

I grinned at her reminder of the practised Aussie accents.

"I'm going to test your ability to say no to me."

Her smile faded, replaced with a frown.

"How come?"

I took a deep breath, then moved closer, removing her quiver and taking her bow. Placing them on the ground, I took her hands, milking the pleading eyes like a pro, I said,

"How would you like to go out into Manhattan, and, you know…do stuff."

She frowned for a few seconds, then broke into a smile.

"Fay."

"Hmm?"

"Are you trying to ask me out for a date?"

I shrugged, grinning.

"Maaaybe."

She rolled her eyes, laughing, then pursed her lips. I prepared my arguments in my head.

"I don't know. I don't really like…"

I rolled my eyes and interrupted,

"You don't know that! You never go out! You need to relax, go have fun!"

She grinned, replying,

"Says the guy who spends all his time in the arena."

"Hey, I do other things!"

She grinned wider.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. When you aren't training, you're running a mildly illegal business."

I shrugged innocently.

"Eh…Ok, fine. But you don't do anything fun!"

"Hey, I do fun. Remember when we pranked Percy!"

I grinned at the memory, then my pleading face came back. I stepped in closer, almost touching her nose with mine.

"I mean real fun. Like, hanging out with your favourite person."

She laughed and backed away, a light blush on her cheeks.

"Someone thinks highly of themselves."

I raised an eyebrow, and replied,

"Don't even deny it."

She grinned at my confidence.

"Yeah, fine. You are. Obviously. But still…"

This time, when I stepped in, I started comically breathing on her neck, the way you would do it sexily, but way over the top. In a ridiculously 'This is an 80's porn tape' husky voice, I whispered,

"You know you want to."

She burst out laughing, and tried to step back, but I followed her. She kept retreating, but I kept just breathing in her neck.

"Alright fine! Just stop doing that! I'll go on a date with you!"

I stopped and whooped. She shook her head.

"You're such a child."

I pressed against her like a little kid to their mom, and said in a high-pitched voice,

"Do you still wove me?"

She pushed me away laughing, and said,

"You know I do."

I reverted to my normal voice to say,

"Yeah. But it's fun to hear you say it."

She blushed, then shoved me.

"Stop being such a sop. I said I'd go."

"Oi! I'm allowed to say I love my girlfriend! Unless you don't want to be!"

My hurt voice worked, like every other time I pretended to do this. Instantly, she backtracked, her face pale.

"No, no! That's not what I…hang on! No! You are bullshitting! I'm not falling for this again!"

I laughed again.

"I thought I'd got you again!"

She picked up her bow, and said,

"Get. I wanna train."

I smiled and answered,

"So…tomorrow, midday?"

"Yeah, yeah. Get outa here you idiot."

With one final burst of laughter, I walked off, deciding to make a trip to the Aphrodite cabin. They had demanded those awesome Ray Bans back, and I wanted them.

My god! $200! That's double their price! Those cheeky little…Humph. Anyway, I also nabbed off them a set of neat clothes. I wasn't wearing a suit. It was just a neat shirt and my pair of black jeans. I decided to take my hoodie with me, just in case, but wrapped it round my waist.

I may have been stressing out. No I wasn't! Ok…maybe I was…No!

You see?

Anyway, the few times I saw Thalia for the rest of the day, she blushed and hurried off. I could tell it was the same behaviour I had. She was stressing, which I found cute. I didn't find me stressing cute. I found it annoying. I did spot her leave the bathrooms with what was obviously a failed attempt at her putting on makeup herself, the newest Aphrodite head councillor, Drew Tanaka trying not to laugh behind her. This was adorable. I didn't even like makeup that much. She knew I preferred her natural look. The fact she forgot that was adorable.

*Cough*.

I'm being side-tracked.

I've completely forgot to tell you guys about my new cabin! Wait, was that a 4t…No! I said I'd stop that.

Regardless, I had a Kronos cabin to myself, the only cabin not to one of the gods. It was the tallest and widest cabin, something I secretly enjoyed and publicly didn't care. The walls were solid obsidian in the middle, like the thrones at Mount Othrys, but the last few inches either side was covered in fool's gold, some kind of iron compound that looked like real gold. The roof was a glittering golden brass, reflecting the sun away from the building so much it blinded you to look too hard. The door was actual gold, something Chiron refused to do, so I funded myself. Pure, 24k gold. It had a steel inner frame, because gold is super soft, but my door was worth thousands of dollars. Awesome!

The windows were normal, and while it was the tallest and widest, it wasn't actually the biggest. It was impossible for me to have siblings, unless Zeus wanted a place to camp and hide from Hera. Come to think of it...maybe I should have made it a bunk bed. That's pretty common. Anyway, it wasn't very long. Inside, in the corner, was a double bed, with a natural dark oak frame, not polished or anything. It looked like someone had just peeled the bark away and turned it into a bed. The sheets were crisp white, but both pillows and duvet were gold in colour. I had a lamp either side, sitting on two desks. Inside, I kept my stuff. So far, this consisted of my butterfly knife, which I didn't carry around constantly, magic credit card, a melted piece of Kronos' scythe I had salvaged from Hestia's Hearth up on Olympus, resting in a small see-through tub, and a few pictures I had printed off my phone:

The moment where I had pretended to kiss Zoe. I still laughed at that.

Me beating the crap out of Atlas with Artemis. Badass.

Me riding Pyrois, Apollo's horse back to his palace. That was so much fun.

Me goggling at my car in Hephaestus' forge. I still feel guilty for getting that…psyche.

Me and Calypso laughing together at a dinner table. I missed her. She was awesome. I assumed after Percy's wish, she had been released and decided to live her life. I had no idea where she was.

My pretending to be Santa, with Thalia pressed on my lap, blushing like mad. She was adorable.

Me dead. Less cool. It had Thalia crying at my head, and Nico kneeling over me, whispering in my ear. A few others were there.

A blurred me kicking Koios in the face, him flying back in the air. This was awesome to look back on, terrifying at the time.

A dying Luke, thanking me for stabbing him. This was sad. I felt bad for doing it, but it was him or Annabeth.

There were many more still on my phone, including one where I was kissing that girl from Apollo's palace. I had tried desperately to delete this, but apparently, I couldn't. Thalia hadn't noticed this yet. Thank the gods. The only framed one was sitting on one of my tabletops, the picture of me and Thalia kissing on Olympus, the background slightly blurred with a vignette, so it was more focused on us. Other than all this, there was a golden sofa that stretched into an 'L' in the middle of my cabin, a TV on a table. The only cabin to have technology. I had to buy this myself as well. The walls and roof and everything had been enchanted by a kid from Hecate's cabin so the tech worked. I also had an awesome computer, desktop and the rest of the set, like camera and mic. It was pressed against the back corner, the opposite one to where my bed was. So yeah…my cabin was the best. The bed, right now, was occupied.

By me, you dirty minded freaks.

I had fallen asleep stressed about tomorrow.

My first date with Thalia, despite being together for weeks and already admitting to loving each other. I never understood that. Of course I loved her. I kissed her. Multiple times. I wanted her to be my girlfriend. I never understood how one could do that and not love the person, so it really wasn't hard for me to say. However, a first date, in the mortal world.

That would be stressful. It's a pity Percy had decided to be Annabeth's training meat, because it would've been cool to go on a double date. Oh well…us three and his mutilated corpse can always go together. If he ever returns from wherever he's hiding.

Where's Percy? I love and hate this chapter. I decided to just think of something, and no matter how dumb it is, write it. So, yeah. And I will write a bit with Athena training Fayden, but it obviously won't be the first lesson anymore. This is the last chapter for The Last Olympian, but there will be two more to represent Percy going missing, and Fayden's original involvement into the Heroes of Olympus plot before The Lost Hero starts. I'll write an Author's Note to explain, as I've said. Hope you had a laugh at this stupid chapter.