Sorry forgot to mention this for the last chapter, but considering my creative juices for naming things have run dry, I'm naming Percy's watch / butterfly knife / dagger Lazarus (representing rebirth), which was suggested by Darknaim. Thanks to everyone who were suggesting names, and there were a ton of great ideas, but this name just felt right.

Anyways all these guesses on who's betraying who is just so fun, I love it. I ain't spilling shit on who's right and blah blah blah, but just reading all these guesses make me a little giddy.

So, this problem will hopefully solve all your answers (well, not all of them. Some of them) so enjoy the chapter and…

Wait, scratch that. You'll probably still be angry with me after this chapter. Maybe after the chapter after this. Well, never mind that, enjoy!

Chapter 27: All of Us

He should've known as soon as he collapsed into his bed of navy-blue sheets that when he opened his eyes, his vision would be bombarded with hues of pink and purple.

Even so, he wasn't truly surprised when he found himself lying on a king-sized bed with a gold frame and a fluffy pink blanket covering his calves.

He turned to his right to find what he expected, the goddess of love lying down right next to him, nearly touching shoulder to shoulder. Despite himself, his lips curled into a small smile at the sight of the goddess who was clearly attempting to contain her giddiness.

"I told her. I told Artemis." Percy said, even though he still didn't know what exactly he told the goddess of the Hunt. He was still quite confused about the situation himself, if he was being honest. "But I'm sure you figured that out already, right?"

"Yup." Aphrodite said happily, popping the p. Percy could almost imagine the goddess bouncing her legs up and down on the bed in her fit of uncontrollable joy, acting like a small schoolgirl who just got told she could have an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert. "She took it well, didn't she?"

"Definitely." Percy said flatly. "She acted absolutely splendid afterwards."

"Sounds like her." Aphrodite said, smiling wider. "But seriously, notice anything about her after?" Percy cocked his head, looked towards the ceiling, and shrugged.

"Not really. I guess I just want to give her space and time to think about what it means. Didn't seem too cold until the council meeting." Percy said thoughtfully. He adjusted the pillow beneath him and slid down the bed so instead of his upper half lying against the headrest, he was fully stretched out on the large bed with his head resting against the pillow akin to a marshmallow. Although he knew he was in a dream, he sighed at the relaxing position he was in. "Wait, you didn't lie to me, right? You didn't try to implant lies or anything?"

"What? Of course not!" Aphrodite looked appalled at the idea. "I would never!"

":I thought you did that sort of thing. With mortals and stuff." Percy threw out offhandedly. He wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but at the same time he wasn't exactly sure who Aphrodite truly was. From his recent interactions with her, everything he had previously thought about the goddess was a lie.

"Well… I did a long time ago." Aphrodite confessed guiltily. She picked at the bed with her hand, plucking at the fluffy blanket and twisting the violet bed sheets. "But only with humans, and not for a while. I don't like making love that's fake…"

"It's okay. I understand." Percy said honestly. Aphrodite continued to pick at the bed sheets, which was very unlike the goddess even when she was in her more vulnerable states. "Hey, don't feel guilty about something that you did so long ago. You're being truthful now, and that's all that matters."

Aphrodite smiled and nodded, her brown hair bobbing up and down.

"I could say the same for you." Aphrodite said, nudging Percy's shoulder with her own. Percy smiled sheepishly and nodded in agreement. At this point, he was fully knowledgeable that constantly looking back at his teenage years wasn't healthy in the slightest. The hard part was using that knowledge to actually forgive himself and the gods and everyone else. At least he had made a first step in forgiving the gods and coming to the understanding that they weren't totally at fault.

"Yeah, yeah." Percy said. "Speaking of which, Piper told me earlier to visit my friends in the Underworld soon. Do you know what that's about?"

Aphrodite bit her lip and stared at the wall opposite them. Percy even saw her cock her head to the side at a few points in her minute of thought.

"I think she visited the Underworld a little after the initial ambush on the Hunt." Aphrodite said. "I couldn't tell you why you should visit. Maybe your friends have something important to tell you."

"Maybe…" Percy trailed off in thought. He shook his head and tried to wipe any thoughts on the situation - negative or positive - out of his head. "Enough of that. So, why am I here?"

Aphrodite grinned and leaned her head against Percy's closest shoulder, not even receiving a flinch out of the demigod who was simply used to her actions now.

"Can't I just visit my favorite demigod simply because I want to see him?" Aphrodite asked innocently. Percy scoffed and shook his head.

"Favorite demigod? What about your children?" Percy asked, extremely close to laughing out loud. Aphrodite scrunched her nose and shrugged yet again.

"Fine, favorite demigod besides my children." Aphrodite relented.

"That's better, but seriously, you want an update on my love life?" Percy asked, only half-joking.

"Yeah! Anything interesting?!"Aphrodite perked up, causing Percy to chuckle at her excitableness.

"I guess. Well, I told Artemis like I already said, so we'll see what happens there." Percy informed. "And Calypso said that she's willing to wait for me until I'm ready."

Percy shrugged, not knowing what else to say. Aphrodite probably already knew everything about his love life, what with her being the goddess of love, so he didn't really see any point in telling her any details that were more in depth.

"So…?" Aphrodite asked.

"So what?" Percy asked. Aphrodite sighed at Percy's obliviousness.

"So, who are you gonna choose?" Aphrodite asked. Percy bit his lip and sighed in frustration.

"I don't think there's really a choice, is there? I mean, Calypso's waiting, but Artemis isn't an option even if I want her to be." Percy said. He hated how it sounded like he was talking about his friends like they were objects without conscious decision-making skills, but he was flustered and out of words. He didn't know how to proceed and he hated that he was in this position.

"Give it time. I'm sure Artemis will figure it out." Aphrodite said. She practically squealed in excitement. "Oh, I just love love triangles. They're just so dramatic!"

Percy rolled his eyes and chuckled at the goddess next to him. He had identified Aphrodite's passion, and it shouldn't've been hard to guess in the first place. She truly loved love.

"How about you choose for me? Shouldn't you know who I should pick, being the goddess of love and all?" Percy asked. He hated making decisions between people, whether it regarded who should fight beside him or who he should be friends with. Final decisions between people were just… hard.

"Nope. Even if I did know who you should end up with, that decision is all yours, Percy." Aphrodite wagged her finger at the demigod, which he promptly tried to snatch in playful annoyance. "Love isn't some true or false question. It isn't black and white. That's why it's so beautiful. Choose based on what you feel, don't overthink it." Aphrodite lectured. The way she spoke, the surge of confidence she had during her speech, Percy figured she could give a whole college course on the subject and still have some leftover lecturing to do.

Still, Percy was annoyed that he had to make the decision, groaning in frustration to express his annoyance.

"What if I just don't make a decision?" Percy suggested. "I could just not choose anyone, and that would be better for everyone, wouldn't it?"

"What!?" Aphrodite yelled. Percy's eyes widened in alarm at the sudden increase in volume and shrunk into himself as Aphrodite retracted herself from his shoulder to glare at him menacingly. "Don't you dare! The worst thing you can do in this situation is not give love a chance!"

One look at Aphrodite's hardened expression and heaving chest was enough to have Percy nod vehemently in agreement, not wanting to ever see this side of Aphrodite who probably wasn't even at her peak of anger.

"Alright… Alright." Percy said. "You good now?"

Aphrodite nodded silently as her chest began to slow down and her breathing steadied. Percy allowed her to calm down back to the state they were in before, a moment of silence befalling upon the two in their little room away from everything and anything.

"So…can I ask you a question?" Percy inquired, not wanting to further incur the goddess' wrath. Again, Aphrodite silently nodded. "You're not mad at me about Ares, right?"

Aphrodite's eyebrows scrunched together and she shook her head.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Aphrodite asked, honestly confused.

'Well, I thought you two were dating or something." Percy said. He shivered at the thought of the true Aphrodite he knew being with a jerk like Ares. Perhaps the god of war had another side to him as well, but Percy highly doubted it.

"Oh… no." Aphrodite shook her head. "I was just using him for sex, and we hadn't done it for a couple of years anyways."

If Percy had water in his mouth, he would do a spit take. Sadly, he didn't, so he had to settle for a loud coughing fit with him keeling over with watering eyes. Aphrodite giggled at Percy's dramatic reaction and patted him lightly on the back in an attempt to help him recover.

"Was it something I said?" Aphrodite asked teasingly. "It's just a word, Percy, honestly!"

"Yeah, it's a word!" Percy said obviously once he just about fully recovered. "It's just…"

"Oh my gods, wait…" Aphrodite's smile grew impossibly wide and she giggled again. "Don't tell me…"

"What?" Percy asked, exasperated and confused.

"You're not a virgin, are you?" Aphrodite asked, her face lighting up in amusement. Percy's face reddened even further in embarrassment and yet another word that made him uncomfortable. "You are! Oh, how exciting!"

"Exciting?" Percy asked while his face was akin to the color of a tomato. Aphrodite nodded enthusiastically and clapped happily.

"Oh you have to tell me once you lose it! I'll want all the details!" Aphrodite squealed. Percy rolled his eyes and groaned. This was definitely not something he wanted to talk about with anyone, and with a goddess no less.

"That's… disgusting." Percy landed on. Aphrodite shook her head and smiled.

"Everyone's first is always the most beautiful! It's not the greatest sex, but it's always memorable!" Aphrodite explained as if the act of losing one's virginity was alike to seeing the Aurora Borealis for the first time.

"Really? And when did you lose it?" Percy asked daringly. The words slipped out of his mouth before he was able to register what he was saying, and once he realized what he had just uttered, his face became so red it was on the brink of exploding with color.

"Well…" Aphrodite zoned out in thought, cocking her head and tapping her chin with her index finger. "I can't remember. But that's because I've done it so many times."

"Wonderful. Just splendid." Percy said with yet another eye roll. "I'm glad we had this talk."

"Same here!" Aphrodite cheered. Whether she picked up on his sarcasm or not, she didn't seem to care.

A comfortable silence enveloped the two, the adrenaline of their fun dying down and the reality of the events that lie ahead coming to the forefront of their minds. Aphrodite settled back to lying down next to Percy, her head on his shoulder and one of her hands running through his wildly long hair.

To anyone looking in on them, they would probably think they were a couple. But for Percy, Aphrodite had become one of his better friends in recent history. It was odd, how Aphrodite could be so physical and Percy had just begun to accept it. He didn't mind his hair being messed with, and knew that Aphrodite had no romantic feelings for him. Perhaps it was just a way to soothe herself and Percy beside her, so the demigod allowed the goddess to continue playing with his raven black locks.

"I should get going." Percy stated, breaking the silence. Aphrodite hummed in agreement, yet made no motion to indicate she was leaving.

"I'll see you when you feel like it?" Percy suggested. Aphrodite smiled and nodded.

"But I always wanna see you." Aphrodite smirked. Percy rolled his eyes and grinned.

"Of course you do." Percy said. "But seriously, see you later?" Again, Aphrodite nodded.

"Tell Artemis I'll talk to her soon." Aphrodite said lazily, a tired smile written on her perfectly shaped face.

"Alright, hopefully she doesn't kill me." Percy said flatly. "Adios mi amor."

Aphrodite blew a kiss as Percy leaped off the bed and headed toward the door, the demigod catching the invisible gesture and chucking it to the side with a smirk. Percy yanked open the deep-purple doorway and strode through the darkness as he returned to consciousness.

He didn't have to look back to know that Aphrodite was smiling with joy.

Artemis didn't just understand that Percy had to venture to the Underworld, but also encouraged the son of the sea god to take the time to visit the land of the dead. Apparently, she thought it was a good idea to reset his mental state and be free of any stress for a day or so.

Percy had a hunch that Artemis also wanted some time for herself to think and be rid of Percy's presence for a day, but he didn't call her out on it. The conversation was already awkward enough with the two returning slightly to a more formal vocabulary and the many pauses in between their lulls of conversation.

It didn't help that Percy just had to mention what Aphrodite wanted him to say, but thankfully Artemis still had the decency to teleport him to the Underworld entrance in Los Angeles.

The trip down to Elysium was… ominous, to say the least. Charon was considerate (even though he still asked for a tip), and Cerberus was more restrained than usual. Whether the giant three-headed dog was calmer merely due to coincidence, Percy had no clue. All he knew was that he didn't appreciate the fact that he had no idea what he was walking into.

Well, he knew he was walking into the home of his dead friends, but other than that he didn't have any idea as to why Piper had even suggested he come.

As per usual, Percy arrived at Hades' palace and requested his permission to see his friends in Elysium, to which the lord of the dead thankfully said yes to. Although, what wasn't part of their now routine greetings was Hades requesting a conversation after Percy had finished with his friends, to which Percy had agreed to with a slightly confused and concerned resolve.

Nico and Hazel accompanied him to the gates of Elysium, as per usual, with the three catching up on recent events and the two siblings warning Percy to be careful with everything happening as of late. Percy agreed, chuckling at their worried nature for the son of Poseidon.

The son and daughter of Hades stopped at the entrance of Elysium, this time without a detour that included a group of cyclops, which Percy was thankful for.

The two gestured for Percy to enter Elysium, waving goodbye as he headed toward the house of his friends that he had memorized so long ago. As he walked, each step gave him an increasing sense of anxiety. This couldn't be anything good, right? There was almost no chance that this could be about anything good if Piper had suggested he come unless it was about the upcoming threat. But if it was about that, then why wouldn't Piper just tell him upfront? No, this was personal, something that could only be told between said parties.

Getting deja vu, Percy rapped his bare white knuckles on the wooden door to the home of his fallen friends, all a part of the Prophecy of Seven. He exhaled deeply, and he could feel his breath shuddering as his chest began to burn and his shoulders began to stiffen.

Not too long after, the door swung open, revealing a blonde-haired daughter of Athena with grey eyes that seemed to bore into his soul and know everything about Percy without him having to utter a single word.

While Percy smiled weakly, Annabeth smiled fondly.

"Seaweed Brain." Annabeth greeted, practically whispering. Percy's smile grew wider at his old nickname, something he hadn't heard in a while and a name he felt like only one person could utter without him getting annoyed.

"Wise Girl." Percy said back. His hands snuck into the pockets of his jeans, and Percy felt as if they were two old friends who hadn't seen each other in a while, planning to go get coffee at the local cafe and catch up on each others' lives. But of course, Percy only wished for that to be the case. Instead, he was stuck with having to travel to the Underworld just to talk to his former best friend.

Annabeth noticed Percy's uneasiness and sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be an easy conversation, but it was a necessary one.

"Come on in, Percy." Annabeth smiled sadly, her grey eyes as calculating and intimidating as ever, with a hint of melancholy now entrenched in her entrancing orbs. "We got a lot to talk about."

Percy nodded in understanding and walked past Annabeth to sit on the couch, the girl closing the door behind him and settling down right next to him.

It was oddly quiet in the house, almost silent in fact.

"Where are the others?" Percy asked. Annabeth smiled.

"Sleeping. It's quite late, you know?" Annabeth teased.

"Then why are you up?" Percy asked. The daughter of Athena shrugged, her smile fading to a grin but the joy on her face not completely leaving.

"Couldn't sleep." Annabeth responded. The girl wrung her hands together in front of her, the nervousness rippling off her in waves. Percy smiled at her ADHD tendencies. Some things never change.

"So, Piper told me to come here." Percy said rather awkwardly. Annabeth looked up from her lap to give him a knowing smile that made him turn sheepish.

"I realized that Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said playfully. Percy's cheeks tinted red and his neck felt suddenly itchy as he continued to grin. Even in death, Annabeth continued to torment him with forced embarrassment.

"I'm assuming she told me to come because you have to tell me something?" Percy asked, his own hands now fidgeting with each other in his lap. He crossed his legs and brought a hand to run through his unruly hair.

Annabeth sighed and looked past Percy in conflict. She knew what she wanted to say, but how was she to say it? After a brief moment of silence, Annabeth's stormy grey irises locked onto Percy's sea-green eyes in resignation.

"There's no way to sugarcoat it, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth took a deep breath, taking care to blow out as long as possible. "We're going for rebirth, Percy. All of us."

I thought about cutting the chapter off right when Percy got to the house, but I felt like the chapter would just be another filler with not much content, so you're welcome for not leaving you guys on yet another cliffhanger (Well, I guess it's sort of a cliffhanger. We'll call it a cliff jumper).

Some of you guys probably already guessed what Piper was talking about earlier, so good on you for recognizing it. It's like you're all psychic or something.

Let me know what you guys thought about this one, I personally think I did a kind of shit job with the last part, but who knows?

Review Responses:

Jontybh: Verrrrryyyyyyy slowwwwwwwww burn.

parallaxyt: Piper and Helen? Suspicious? What ever do you mean? :). I like Piper in this story too, she's kinda like Calypso where she's really emotionally intelligent (which is an actual definable thing for those who don't know), and who doesn't love emotionally intelligent characters? But the question is will you love her when the story's all said and done?

GodOfFamine: Update soon just for you, I think? And Piper was being a bit sus, but it was for a pretty good reason, as you can see.

TheMeister7: I've begun to realize that the buildup will literally be like ¾ of the story lol. Eh, whatever.

Gibson1014: Hera you say? And Helen being suspicious? Oh I love these guessing games, I practically live and breathe for it. And being suspicious of a young and excitable yet shy girl who practically pops out of nowhere? Probably a good call ;).

KitKathy520: I love it, all of it. I love the guesses and the paranoia and I just love all of it. But, you have to take into account, who would Helen have to truly be in order to control not just Ares but Apollo as well? Or are they simply working for the same person that the gods were? We'll find out right after the break, stay tuned!

Jack's Shack of Story Yaks: Yeah, Rhea was kinda a reach but the gods were pretty paranoid of everyone and were really just suggesting anyone they thought it could be, even someone such as Rhea.

Percyfanjackson: Not quite a Pertemis interaction this chapter, but you'll get one soon, very soon. And as for Calypso, she's just i the background, waiting for Percy to decide if he's ready for her, and I'm trying to get through a pretty plot-intensive stretch of chapters so I don't wanna include too many unimportant interactions.

Guest: Yeah, filler chapters to me are just chapters that focus more on interactions / things not important to the main plot. And yeah, they can't make Percy a god of war because Ares'll reform sooner or later, lol.

Warped12: Love the guesses, spot on prediction with the rebirth, probably made it too obvious but hindsight is 20/20. And hey, if you don't have a certainty about who Percy'll end up with, then I'm doing my job correctly.