And we're back with the Jackson family, and as always they don't get peace for long- Poor Percy, I did say that the whole thing with Nico was gonna give her issues didn't I? You'll get chance to see them in this chapter.

Life at the Jackson home had settled quite quickly when they'd returned home from camp after Christmas. Percy, Nico and Bianca had helped Leo set up his room- and Leo had seemed almost as if he wasn't willing to believe that he was getting a real home again at first- though it did slowly start to sink in for him after the first two weeks, after which he started to actually start treating the house more like a home- especially when Sally had told him that they could build a big shed in the garden that he could use as his own little den- he'd built that mostly by himself, though Percy and Nico had helped some- Bianca and Sally had provided snacks.

Of course the biggest change for Percy was the absence of Annabeth, who she missed with an intensity she hadn't expected- even if they Iris called every day it still wasn't the same.

She'd been kept fairly busy though- both Leo and Bianca needed training, and Percy helped them both- though Nico and Bianca worked together for the most part, Nico talking his older sister through their powers and coaching her- and Percy had to give him credit, he was pretty patient with his older sister.

Meanwhile Percy focused more on Leo, who was not as fast a learner as Bianca- oh he was incredibly smart and inventive, but when it came to using his powers he was much less confident, more hesitant, which was surprising considering how well he'd wielded them during the battle against Atlas.

He refused to even try if Percy wasn't nearby after one occasion on which he'd accidentally set the table on fire and Percy had made quick work of dousing it with some water.

It was painfully obvious that he was scared of his powers- which was all the more reason he needed to learn control, but Percy was pretty weary of pushing him too hard,
whatever had made him so scared of it had to be pretty bad.

It had been Sally who'd found out the cause of his fear, she'd managed to speak to his social worker who had told the woman his history- and when Sally had quietly explained to Percy that Leo had started a fire as a child that had killed his mother it had all made a kind of horrible sense- oh he had used his powers in fits of desperation
trying to protect her and others but on normal days? When he wasn't under extreme pressure?

Of course he was scared.

Of course the month passed fairly quickly and soon enough Bianca re-joined the hunters after a month- with a much better grasp on her powers and a promise to visit her little brother as often as she could- and Percy too for that matter, they'd bonded somewhat over everything that had happened with Nico.

It had been somewhat tearful but at least this time the parting was on good terms.

Bianca wasn't abandoning Nico this time. She was just saying goodbye for now. There was a huge difference- for one thing Nico was actually okay with it. He had a good support network, a loving family. He'd grown past the days of needing Bianca to look after him- he'd grown past needing Percy as well, truthfully, though that didn't make them any less close, it was different. Percy didn't need to be his protector anymore- he'd grown up.

Percy might have missed that role if it wasn't for Leo- because he definitely needed someone looking out for him- oh he had a wicked sense of humour and he acted as if nothing bothered him but Percy could see straight through that- Leo was painfully insecure, but he was starting to thrive under the loving care of Sally and Percy- slowly gaining confidence in himself- and he'd loved the freedom of having his shed which he used for his tinkering- which often ended in explosions- which Percy and Nico loved honestly- and Sally just rolled her eyes fondly and told them not to cause too much damage in the garden.

And Sally had recovered from her time as a hostage at the hands of Alabaster well enough too- she was slightly more protective than she had been- often of Leo, which made sense since he'd been held captive with her.

And Percy had also noticed her mother going out more often- which wasn't that odd really- but at one point she'd seen her mom getting dressed up all fancy and when she'd asked why Sally had told her that she had a meeting to talk to a teacher at a high school about her going in to give a talk.

As Percy had later remarked to Annabeth, there must be a lot to discuss because that had happened three more times over the course of the next few weeks- and honestly Percy was happy for her mom.

The woman was practically glowing, and Percy was more than willing to let it keep going until her mom was ready to talk about it. As long as she was happy and safe Percy didn't care what her mom did.

In any case, while things weren't perfect, they were good, which was why she didn't expect things to go wrong when they did.

Percy and Nico had gone out to pick up some shopping- Leo was busy tinkering in his shed- he'd been horrified that they couldn't use phones without drawing in monsters and he'd started working on designing on- it was his current pet project, and honestly if it kept him happy then Percy was more than okay with leaving him doing his thing.

Her mom would have gone but she was getting ready for a date, though she claimed it was yet another meeting with the mystery teacher- Percy was willing to believe that, but it was definitely a date too. Honestly it was kinda adorable how happy her mom was now.

In any case she and Nico had been to the store and got a bunch of treats for the evening since they planned on having a movie night- since it was a Friday it meant they could stay up late so they planned on watching a bunch of movies and setting up a blanket fort.

They were on the way home when Percy heard a yell, and she turned her head, frowning as she looked around- but she couldn't see where the noise had come from. That was weird.

She pulled a face, turning her head to ask Nico if he'd heard the noise- except Nico wasn't there.

Percy let out a panicked noise, gaze flicking around frantically.

"Nico?" she tried to keep her voice steady, tried not to let the rising panic drag her under.

She was being paranoid- he'd be around somewhere he'd probably just slipped away. She shouldn't be panicking she'd find him in a moment and he'd be fine.

But the logical thoughts- which almost sounded like Annabeth's soothing voice, didn't give her any real comfort.

Oh she could handle not having him in her line of sight constantly- but- but he'd just disappeared and she didn't know where he'd gone, and she was shaking as she looked around frantically, shoving her way past people, calling his name.

She probably look crazy she knew but she didn't care, she didn't care how crazy she looked. Where was Nico? He wouldn't just disappear like that. He wouldn't do that to her.

He'd tell her if he needed to shadow travel away. So why couldn't she see him.

"NICO!" she probably looked crazy but she didn't care as she tore through the streets, grabbing the arm of a man, "My brother! My little brother he was with me a second ago
I can't see him!"

"What-" the man looked startled, "Your brother-"

"He's twelve, black hair, wears an aviator jacket I can't find him!" she was almost hysterical, fighting back terrified tears. "Please have you seen him-"

"No-"

"Oh gods oh gods no." Percy let go of the mans arm and took off again. "Nico!" this couldn't be happening. Maybe if she went home he'd be there.

Yeah, yeah that made sense Nico was probably at home was all. He'd probably gotten parted from her and headed straight home. She'd get home and he'd be there.

She nodded her head to herself and took off towards home- but she'd only made it a few steps before she spotted a figure with dark hair wearing an aviator jacket ducking into an alley up ahead.

Her eyes widened before her brows furrowed in a mix of surprise and confusion and then she took off into a sprint down the street, darting into the ally in time to see the figure ducking out the other end.

"Nico! Nico is that you?" what was going on? Something was wrong, Percy could feel it.

She chased the figure, ducking and weaving through alleys for what felt like a lifetime- and then she ducked into one last alley- except it was a dead end one, and it was empty- but she'd seen someone ducking into it so what-

There was a sharp pain in her back, the point of a blade pressing into the skin.

"Before you do anything stupid princess, try and remember that for all you know my monsters have your little brother right now."

The blood drained from Percy's face and she felt her stomach sinking. Because she knew that voice. She knew it far too well.

"Alabaster." Percy couldn't bring herself to turn her head and look behind her, she probably should- but she was terrified. The last time she'd seen him she'd been pulling him over the edge of a cliff to what at the time she'd been sure would be his death.

"Uh huh princess- now we're going to walk forward so you're stood by that wall okay? And remember, you have no way of knowing if I have your brother or not."

"You're a bastard." Percy hissed the words as she slowly moved forward, her reluctance painfully obvious as she reached the wall.

"Hands up and flat against the wall princess-"

"And if I say no-"

"Are you really going to say no? Clearly I planned this out Percy, and we both know that I won't hesitate to order your baby brother killed-"

Percy ground her teeth together as she lifted her hands and placed them flat against the wall in front of her. "Whatever you're planning isn't going to work Alabaster-" she tensed when she felt his hand sliding into the pocket of her jeans and plucking Riptide out.

"There we go. Just had to make sure you don't have your sword- after all you have a habit of trying to kill me." the pressure of the blade in Percy's back eased and she felt him stepping back slightly. "You can turn around now princess."

"Not sure I want to-"

"What?" Alabaster's eyes narrowed, "Can't look me in the eye after what you've done?"

"What-" Percy blinked, "What I've done?" she whirled around, suddenly furious "What the actual fuck do you think you're talking about Alabaster?"

"I'm talking about what you did to me-" then Alabaster was shoving her backwards, pinning her to the wall and her eyes widened in shock, the wind getting knocked out of her at the force of it. And Alabaster's eyes were gleaming with fury as he grabbed her chin, gripping it tightly and forcing her to meet his gaze- and she shuddered at the sight that met her- the left side of his face was scarred, the skin around his temples and eye red and uneven- it was probably a miracle he still had sight in his left eye. "When I was trying to save your life."

"What did you expect?" Percy spat back, forcing down her panic, "What did you expect Alabaster? Did you think I'd ever accept your help after everything you've done-"

"I tried so hard- I tried again and again. I've given you chance after chance to join me. I've given you so many chances to switch sides- to see reason." he leaned in close, his breath hot and damp against her face. "My beautiful perfect Percy- I gave you so many chances I tried so hard to make it work. But every time you betrayed me-"

"I didn't want you to give me chances! I want you to stop-"

"Well you're going to get what you want." there was a cruel look on Alabaster's face, "This is your last chance. If you say no now... then whatever happens next is on you Princess."

"What makes you think that anything's changed?" Percy demanded, "Things are still the same Alabaster. You're still the boy who tried to throw me into Tartarus and I'm still the girl who threw you off a cliff. I don't get it. Why do you never give up on me?"

"Because I love you Percy." Alabaster's expression softened, "Please. I- I know I hurt you I know I did, but I don't want things to be like this- we could run away together, forget all of this." and Percy stared into his eyes, a wave of shock rolling over her when she realized that after everything that had happened he was being totally serious.